Over 2 Million E-IDs Have Been Distributed, Says Taliban

Bakhtar News Agency, quoted the Taliban officials as saying that the income through electronic ID distribution has been deposited to the Taliban’s government account.

E-IDs are currently being distributed across the country while former government officials have expressed concerns about the issuance of Afghanistan citizenship to the terrorist groups’ members.

Massoud Andarabi, former minister of interior in the previous government, said, “The Taliban is distributing Afghanistan IDs and passports to international terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, in order to conceal their connections with them.”

Andarabi claimed that the Taliban started this initiative after the advice of their trusted circles among the Pakistan military.

Taliban’s Statistics and Information Directorate said that there are 73 centers for E-ID distribution across Afghanistan and this could boost the distribution process further.

According to reports, the increase in demand for IDs has been for the purpose of getting passports in order to leave Afghanistan.

Earlier, it had been reported that Mullah Hassan Akhund, Taliban’s prime minister, had ordered the group officials to distribute passports with paper IDs as well due to an increase in the demand for passports. The previous government had banned passport distribution with paper IDs.

Electronic ID distribution had begun in April 2018 and Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s fugitive president, was the first to receive it.

Gave Sacrifices to Prove Loyalty to Afghan Taliban, Says TTP

Sep 1, 2022, 10:29 GMT+1

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced that the group has fought foreign forces along with the Afghan Taliban. In a statement, TTP stressed that many suicide attackers of the group had been killed in the war in Afghanistan to prove the group’s loyalty to the Taliban.

TTP congratulated the Taliban on the first anniversary of the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.

TTP has emphasised that it will prove its loyalty to the Afghan Taliban in the future too. TTP and the Afghan Taliban enjoy a close relationship. After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban also increased its attacks against the Pakistani government, especially the Pakistan army.

According to reports, after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the senior leaders of the TTP have been stationed in Afghanistan. Over the past year, the Afghan Taliban has hosted peace talks between the Pakistani authorities and the TTP.

The TTP recently announced that it will establish an "Islamic Emirate" across the border region with Afghanistan.

Iran, Russian Envoys Discuss Afghanistan & Counter-Terrorism Cooperation

Aug 31, 2022, 15:06 GMT+1

Zamir Kabulov, Russian Special Envoy on Afghanistan and Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iranian Special Representative, met in Moscow. Rasul Mosawi, an Iranian Foreign Ministry official said that the two sides discussed regional cooperation, including stability and security of Afghanistan.

Kazemi Qomi is accompanying Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Iranian foreign minister, to Russia.

The Iranian delegation arrived in Moscow on Tuesday.

Ahead of his Moscow visit, Abdollahian told reporters that he will discuss with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov bilateral issues and developments in Afghanistan.

Russia and Iran are yet to recognise the Taliban government, but they have close relations with the group and have accepted their diplomates in Moscow and Tehran.

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

Aug 31, 2022, 13:03 GMT+1

Saeed Khosty, the former spokesperson of the Taliban's Interior Ministry, who has been accused by an Afghan woman of forced marriage and rape, said that the marriage took place with the “willing consent” of the woman.

Khosty added that he regrets marrying this Afghan woman who now accuses him of forced marriage and sexual assault.

Earlier, an Afghan woman had published a video message alleging that she was forced to marry Khosty.

Khosty on Twitter said, "Six months ago, I married this girl of her own will." He claimed that he did not beat the woman and divorced her "using his Shariah authority".

But according to the woman, she was forced into this marriage at the Taliban intelligence directorate.

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.

Afghan Woman Alleges Domestic Abuse After Taliban Official Forced Her into Marriage

Aug 31, 2022, 11:50 GMT+1

An Afghan woman published a video message alleging that she was forced to marry Qari Saeed Khosty, the former spokesperson of the Taliban's interior ministry. According to the woman, she was forced into this marriage in February 2022 at the Taliban intelligence directorate.

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.

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.

Taliban Celebrates Day of Withdrawal of Foreign Troops at Bagram Airfield

Aug 31, 2022, 10:34 GMT+1

The Taliban on Wednesday held a special ceremony and military parade at the Bagram airfield to celebrate August 31, the day of the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan last year.

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.

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