Non-resolution of Water Rights May Negatively Impact Bilateral Relation, Says Abdollahian

According to the Taliban, Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, has suggested the plan during a meeting with the Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on the sidelines of the Tashkent conference on Afghanistan.

In this meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations, and economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban earlier, in a decree, banned poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.

However, Tajikistan's Interior Minister recently said that smuggling across the border has increased since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Ramzan Rahimzada said that the Taliban has not been successful in preventing drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

Hafiz Zia Jalal, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Taliban Foreign Ministry, said in a tweet that Wang Yi spoke about China's aid to Afghanistan in the humanitarian sector and reconstruction, especially in trade and agriculture.

The Taliban said that China's foreign minister has pledged to start issuing visas to Afghans from August 1, 2022.

According to the Taliban, Amir Khan Muttaqi, expressed his appreciation for China in allowing Ariana Airlines flights to China's Urumqi city and said that this initiative will increase Afghanistan's exports to China.

The Taliban delegation led by Amir Khan Muttaqi went to Uzbekistan on Monday this week to participate in the Tashkent international conference on Afghanistan.

Representatives of 20 countries and organisations including the United States, Russia, the European Union, China, United Kingdom, India, Iran, and Pakistan were also present at the Tashkent conference.

According to the Taliban MoD, these military officers have completed an 18-month training course at the Indian Military Academy.

Taliban officials welcomed these officers at Kabul airport.

Earlier, Farid Mamundzay, Afghanistan's ambassador to New Delhi, said that 43 Afghan military officers had graduated from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in India.

The Ministry of Defense of the Taliban said that they had encouraged these military officers to return to Afghanistan.

The return of military officers comes at a time when watchdog groups and the United Nations, confirmed that the Taliban has killed dozens of military personnel of the former government in cold-blood and detained and tortured dozens of others.

The firing started at around 8:00pm on July 28 and as a result, a 30-year-old woman, a 17-year-old girl, and a 17-year-old boy were injured. They were transferred to the Emergency hospital in Kabul.

Local sources told Afghanistan International that a Taliban unit, called “Laghmani Unit” came to Dara Orti of Salang district and warned people not to leave their houses.

“Later, forces of this unit went to the mountains and opened fire at every window from where lights could be seen switched on or if anyone was spotted moving around," sources said.

Taliban has not yet commented on this matter.

It is expected that SCO foreign ministers will discuss important regional and international issues and approve the decisions that are to be presented at the summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in September.

There will be one-on-one meetings of the foreign ministers of the SCO on the sidelines of the event.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban, who went to Uzbekistan last week to participate in the international meeting in Tashkent, has not returned to Kabul.

Muttaqi met with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China in the past few days.

Kabulov, during a press conference on Thursday, said that if Massoud is ready, he can probably play a role in the power structure. He, however, added that to reach an agreement, the resistance must be stopped.

According to Kommersant Newspaper, Kabulov stressed that any attempt to support the armed opposition means the resumption of civil war on an ethnic-political basis. He said that Russia does not support such approaches.

These statements were made while there were reports that Ahmad Massoud and the Taliban held meetings in Moscow.

Increase in IS-K fighters in Afghanistan

Kabulov also said that the number of Islamic State-Khurasan (IS-K) fighters in Afghanistan has increased.

He said that since the Taliban took over power in August 2021, the number of ISIS fighters in Afghanistan has tripled. Kabulov added that in the past year, this number has reached 6,000.

Kabulov stated that the rise of ISIS fighters is "the most negative aspect of the current situation in Afghanistan”.

He said that this situation poses a threat not only to Afghanistan, but also to the national interests of Russia's partners such as Iran, Pakistan, and China.

According to Kabulov, as a result of the sanctions, the Taliban does not have enough financial resources to increase the ability of its forces to fight against terrorists.