Two Thirds of Afghanistan’s Population Will Need Humanitarian Assistance in 2023

The Taliban official said that the woman who has been raped is a Hazara and a resident of Khost district of Baghlan province.

Earlier this week, local sources in Panjshir province said that Taliban members had raped a woman and her four daughters in the village of "Hazara Kepa Deh Khawak" in Paryan district of Panjshir.

However, Mawlawi Aminul Haq said that he has visited the area and spoken to the family of the rape victim. The local Taliban official emphasised that the Taliban members sexually assaulted only one woman and her daughters had not been assaulted.

In the leaked audio tape, Aminul Haq, quoted the woman who had been sexually assaulted, and said that two Taliban members entered their house, assaulted the woman's husband, and forced him to leave the house, after beating her up, they raped her.

The Taliban judge added that they have arrested six members of the group on charges of rape.

The Taliban judge stressed that he is trying to enforce the "Hudod" order on the Taliban forces in Panjshir to enforce the Sharia law.

This Taliban official said that the residents of Panjshir "should not publicise the incidents that happen to their sisters and mothers in Panjshir”. He added that the publication of these facts doesn’t prevent the behaviour of Taliban fighters and will not cure any pain.

Previously, Taliban spokesmen had denied the incident in Panjshir province.

In the past year, there have been many reports of sexual assault by the Taliban. However, the Taliban has not put any of its forces to trial so far.

UNAMA urged the Taliban to respect human rights on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. UNAMA has published the first article of the Declaration of Human Rights, which states, "I am born free and equal, and all human beings should be treated in the same way.”

This comes even as the Taliban has been accused of massive violations of human rights in Afghanistan.

International organisations have expressed concern about the situation of human rights and asked the Taliban to respect the human rights of Afghan citizens, especially women and girls.

However, the Taliban not only have not responded to these demands, but also increased the restrictions on women and girls.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948, at the extraordinary session of the United Nations General Assembly in Paris.

Nabil, who was speaking on the sidelines of the "Herat Security Dialogue" in Tajikistan, said that during the US-Taliban Doha Agreement in 2020, there was a lot of publicity that the Taliban had changed in comparison to the group’s past in the 1990s and has cut ties with regional and international terrorists and recognises women's rights.

However, Nabil stressed that during the past year, it is clearly visible that the Taliban did not make any fundamental changes in their views and actions.

The former spy chief of Afghanistan said that the countries participating in the "Herat Security Dialogue" conference have reached a mutual understanding that if the situation in Afghanistan becomes more fragile, it will be a threat to the region and beyond.

He called this meeting positive and expressed hope that "we can find a common path and a common language between the people of Afghanistan, the region, and the international community so that it can be used as a roadmap for the next meetings”.

Taliban officials have repeatedly prevented female journalists from attending news conferences and such meetings in the past.

According to the Taliban’s restrictive policies, female TV presenters in local Afghan media have not been allowed to appear in TV programmes without wearing masks.

At the meeting, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah, the Minister of Information and Culture of the Taliban, asked the Afghan media representatives to adjust their activities that benefit the Taliban regime and the people of Afghanistan.

The Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on Afghan media and journalists, and they have not been allowed to publish independent reports.

Afghan local media are not allowed to report human rights violations and the dire situation of Afghan citizens.

At the same time, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the group has been focused on strengthening the Afghan media and standardised their activities.

The explosion occurred during noon prayers and local sources said that the death toll is much higher than that announced by the Taliban.

In the pictures from ground zero that Afghanistan International has received, several dead bodies and wounded people can be seen.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion.