Mistreatment of Afghans in Pakistan Harms Relations Between Both Countries, Says Haqqani

The writers of these letters have asked the UN Security Council to take immediate action to save Afghan women under the Taliban rule.

According to Razia Barakzai, one of the organisers of the campaign, in the letters, there are cases such as "targeted and continuous killings of women, stoning and beating up of women, sexual assaults, torture, and arbitrary arrests, forced and underage marriages, compulsory hijab, mistreatment, humiliation, and insulting of women”.

Other matters discussed in the letters have been the closure of girls' schools, the ban of women from stadiums and amusement parks, denying women the right to employment, travel, and political participation, and extensive violations of women's human rights.

Mujahid quoted Akhundzada as saying, "Those files in which all the sharia (Islamic law) conditions of hudud and qisas have been fulfilled, you are obliged to implement. This is the ruling of sharia, and my command, which is obligatory.”

Hudud refers to offences which, under Islamic law, certain types of punishment are mandated, while qisas translates as “retaliation in kind” -- effectively an eye for an eye. Hudud crimes include adultery -- and falsely accusing someone of it -- drinking alcohol, theft, kidnapping and highway robbery, apostasy, and rebellion.

Qisas covers murder and deliberate injury, among other things, but also allows for the families of victims to accept compensation in lieu of punishment.

The Taliban spokesperson said that Akhundzada in a meeting with the judges of the group delivered the message. However, the Taliban have not released any document that proves the leader of the group is alive.

These statements attributed to Akhundzada come two days after the Taliban flogged 20 people on various charges in Taloqan city of Takhar province after the Friday prayers.

The Taliban accused four of these men and women of having affair and beat each of them with 30 lashes.

Seven other girls were also flogged for not observing the hijab required by the Taliban and roaming in the city’s bazaar and nine other young men were flogged for accompanying these girls in the bazaar.

According to the sources, the baker had been tortured continuously during detention.

According to sources, the man, who owned a bakery in district 7 of Kabul, had been detained by the Taliban members during their visit to Logar province.

The body of the baker has been handed over to his family on Thursday at the Department of Public Health in Logar province.

According to a WFP report, the organisation donates one-month food packages or cash aid to the citizens who participate in their training courses.

Participants of the WFP training courses learn skills such as growing fruits and vegetables and marketing agricultural products.

Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF), condemned the action and said that it shows the "disgusting face" of the group.

In the picture published by Ahmad Massoud, it can be seen that the Taliban members had dug his tomb too.

Former governor of Balkh, Atta Mohammad Noor, reacted to the destruction of Naqibullah Akhund’s tomb and said that these Taliban actions increase Afghan people’s “hatred" towards the group.

A few days ago, Taliban members had also destroyed the tombstone of Afghanistan’s national hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The Taliban have continuously denied involvement in the destruction of the graves of their opponents. However, in the past year, many reports that confirm the group’s involvement in destroying opponents’ graves have emerged across Afghanistan.

On the other hand, the Taliban have revealed the group’s leaders’ graves on various occasions and have reconstructed them.

In the latest case, the Taliban constructed a road leading to the grave of Mullah Omar, the founding leader of the group in Zabul province.