Taliban Flogged 18 Men & 9 Women in Northern Afghanistan

According to the US Special Representative, UAE is playing an important role and has been a long-time hub for Afghan businesses.

West added that the plan of encouraging policies to attract investment in Afghanistan was one of the other aspects of his talks with the UAE authorities.

In addition, West added that during his visits to the United Arab Emirates, the reopening of girls' schools in Afghanistan was also emphasised.

During his UAE visit, Thomas West met several Afghan politicians, and Taliban officials including Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defense minister.

The Taliban announced on Wednesday that the group executed a man on charges of killing another Afghan citizen. Eyewitnesses in Farah said that the person was shot at the football stadium in the capital center of Farah province.

Several Taliban officials had travelled from Kabul to Farah to watch the execution. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Ministers; Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice; Amir Khan Muttaqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior; Abdul Hakim Sharee, Minister of Justice; Habibullah Agha, Minister of Education; Khaled Hanafi, Minister of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice; Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, were among the delegation which visited Farah and watched the execution.

The shooting of a citizen by the Taliban has been met with widespread reactions.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul urged the Taliban authorities to stop death penalty immediately.

Amnesty International also called the Taliban’s execution "cruel, inhuman and humiliating".

The armed skirmish lasted between the two sides for an hour.

Sources told Afghanistan International that the gunfight started on Wednesday at 11:00 am local time at the border area of "Lati Kandu".

The Taliban authorities didn’t confirm the clashes, and the Pakistani authorities have not commented on this matter so far.

Unconfirmed reports indicate that at least two members of the Taliban forces have been injured in the clashes.

Other senior leaders who visited the province to watch the execution included Taliban governors, the Chief of Staff of the Taliban leader, and Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.

The Taliban said in a statement on Wednesday that they executed a person named Tajmir for killing an innocent citizen.

The Taliban claimed that the three stages of the court have been followed for the implementation of this verdict while it was implemented with the approval of Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban.

The Taliban added that the sentence was executed in the center of Farah province in the presence of senior leaders of the group.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Ministers; Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice; Amir Khan Muttaqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Sirajuddin Haqqani, Minister of Interior; Abdul Hakim Sharee, Minister of Justice; Habibullah Agha, Minister of Education; Khaled Hanafi, Minister of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice; Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, were among the delegation which visited Farah and watched the execution.

Earlier, local sources from Farah province confirmed that the Taliban had asked people to gather in the city’s stadium to watch the execution of two men and the stoning of a woman to death in Farah province.

Previously, the Taliban in several provinces of Afghanistan have publicly flogged Afghan citizens on various charges.

Human rights organisations and the international community have condemned the Taliban’s radical acts against Afghan citizens.

This is the first time that senior Taliban leaders have travelled from Kabul to a province to watch the execution of a citizen.

The Taliban is conducting this countrywide one-day exam even though the group has not allowed Afghan girls in secondary and higher education to attend classes at schools for the past 15 months.

According to the ministry's statement, 140 questions from all subjects taught in 12th grade will be included in the exam, and those who pass the exam will be allowed to appear in the annual university entrance exam (Kankoor) in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has asked the students to wear proper hijab during the exam.

Female students criticised the move saying that they have been forced to take the exam without any preparation.

A number of these students have said that the Taliban have deprived them of education for more than a year and now they want to remove the girls completely from Afghan universities.

In the last one year, despite the criticism of Afghan citizens and the international community regarding the opening of the girls' school, the Taliban have not responded positively.