Taliban Official Responds to Afghan Woman’s Accusation of Forced Marriage

The woman in the video clip claimed that her father was a former general, who had served at the National Directorate of Security, the former Afghan government’s intelligence agency.

She said that she has been a victim of sexual assault and has been beaten up several times over the past year.

Another video clip published on social media shows Qari Saeed Khosty inside the woman’s house. The woman has a shovel in her hand, and asked Khosty to leave her house.

In another video clip, it seems that the woman had been admitted to a hospital due to injuries and her loud cries could be heard.

The woman in the clip also said that she was a university student at the medical faculty, but is now kept in an apartment in Gulbahar Center, in the heart of Kabul and is not allowed to leave the complex buildings.

Gulbahar center is a shopping mall and apartment complex which is located in District 1 of Kabul and is in close proximity of the Taliban’s intelligence headquarters.

In the video clip, the woman pleaded to be rescued, although she informs that after the message, she might be dead by the time the video is released.

According to her, in the past year, she always been beaten up and raped by Khosty.

The woman stressed that she tried to escape from Afghanistan several times to save herself, but was detained escape by the Taliban officials at the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan.

She also stated that after her arrest, the Taliban renewed her marriage with Qari Saeed Khosty.

Although it is not clear when the message was recorded, it seems that this video was recorded after the removal of Khosty as the spokesperson of the Taliban's Ministry of Interior.

In the past year, many reports of Taliban commanders and members marrying for the second and third time have surfaced on social media in Afghanistan.

Forced marriage and child marriage is a common practice among the Taliban, and members of the group have been accused of forced marriages across Afghanistan.

Addressing a gathering, Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Taliban’s Prime Minister, said that international pressures and sanctions against the group will not be effective. He urged the international community to have a mutual understanding with the group.

Hassan Akhund added that with the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, the night raids of foreign forces have ended, and "security has been ensured in the whole country”.

The Taliban PM also congratulated the Taliban for the "victory" and commemorated those who "sacrificed their bodies and parts of their bodies for the sake of God".

The Taliban had utilised suicide attackers in their fight against the previous government and foreign forces in Afghanistan.

According to the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency, Hassan Akhund urged the Taliban not to lose the "ideals of Jihad”.

According to Bakhtar, representatives from Pakistan, China, Russia, and Turkey had also participated in this ceremony. Earlier, the Taliban in a statement urged the international community to adopt a "reasonable policy" toward Afghanistan.

Bakhtar news agency reported that Taliban forces celebrated August 31 in many provinces across Afghanistan.

In a statement published by Zabihullah Mujahid on Twitter, August 31 has been referred to as the "victory day". The statement reads, "Let's use the opportunities of this great conquest and make tireless efforts to establish a strong, true, and solid Islamic system."

The Taliban statement urged the international community to respect the independence of Afghanistan and adopt reasonable policies toward the country too.

The Taliban has said that the "policy of pressure and threat" has failed over the last twenty years and has only increased the crisis.

The last American soldier left Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, which ended the 20-year-long military presence of the United States in Afghanistan.

With the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the country's economy has crumbled, and Afghan girls and women have been systematically deprived of their basic rights.

Nuruddin Azizi, the Acting Minister of Industries and Commerce of the Taliban, said that China has exempted tax of 98 items from Afghanistan.

According to Azizi, among others, about one million square meters of carpets and rugs were exported too.

Azizi, however, said that the amount of Afghanistan's exports to Uzbekistan has declined compared to the previous year.

Azizi stressed that talks are underway to increase exports from Afghanistan and attract more investments in the country.

He said that Turkey, China, United Emirates, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia have expressed interests in investment, particularly in the mining sector of Afghanistan.

Azizi said that in the current solar year, the Ministry of commerce and industries has issued 6,300 business licenses of which around 100 are issued to foreign companies.

According to him, in the latest development, Iran's commercial cargo was recently transported to Tajikistan through Afghanistan.

With the fall of the previous government, the Taliban had dismissed hundreds of professional staff members of the Ministry of Finance.

The dismissed employees of the Ministry of Finance protested in front of the ministry in Kabul on June 11, 2022, and said that their salaries haven’t been paid yet. Protesters also said that prices of food items have increased in the market due to inflation, and they face a dire economic situation.

It seems that the Taliban have hired their own members in this ministry after firing employees of the Ministry of Finance in a collective move.