At Least Six Injured As Blast Rocks Mazar-i-Sharif City

During the telephone conversation, Rahmon said that the increase in the activity of terrorist groups, including ISIS, in Afghanistan has caused the instability of central Asian countries.

According to him, since August 2021, thousands of members of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Ansarullah and Hizb ut-Tahrir have been released from Afghan prisons.

Putin also believes that northern Afghanistan has become a hub for ISIS and Al-Qaeda fighters.

The Tajik president has warned Central Asia states that the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan may lead to the radicalisation of the region.

Rahmon is going to talk about Afghanistan at the next meeting of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which will be held in Samarkand in September.

According to media reports, in addition to the president of Tajikistan, the presidents of Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan will probably attend the upcoming SCO meeting.

After taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban announced that the group will form a 100,000-member strong army.

The Taliban’s military recruits must have a background of membership of the group.

According to the decree, attributed to the leader of the Taliban Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group can’t hire former Afghan national army soldiers in its military establishment.

He has urged for an investigation into the civilian detentions in Panjshir.

A video clip has been circulating on social media depicting Taliban officials arresting a number of people with handcuffs.

Taliban forces claim that the detained people were members of the National Resistance Front (NRF).

Many have criticised the Taliban’s behaviour after the release of the video clip. Several social media users have stated that the Taliban arrest and imprison civilians under the pretext of fostering relationship with the National Resistance Front.

After the National Resistance Front increased its attacks against the Taliban members in Panjshir, this group has appointed one of its most radical commanders as the commander of Panjshir and Andrab.

According to reports, the Taliban have also sent hundreds of additional troops to Panjshir province on Monday.

Pauwels stressed that he will be leaving Afghanistan on Tuesday and stated that it is a turbulent time.

According to Pauwels, Raffaella Iodice will soon replace him as the head of the EU delegation in Afghanistan.

The appointment of a female diplomat as the head of the EU delegation in Kabul is symbolically interpreted as the strict stance of the European Union regarding its support of women's rights in Afghanistan.

Earlier, Pauwels in his interview with TOLOnews had emphasised that the reopening of girls' schools is the priority for the European Union in Afghanistan. He listed women's right to work, human rights, media freedom, and the formation of an effective and inclusive political system as other priorities of the EU delegation.

Sibghatullah Ahmadi, the NRF spokesperson, wrote on Twitter that with the Taliban's control over Afghanistan, this country has become a house without doors and windows.

On Sunday, Afghanistan International sources from Panjshir province sent video clips which had recorded drones flying over Panjshir.

The Taliban have not yet commented on the reports of drones flying over northern Afghanistan.