Envoy Will Not Return To Afghanistan Till Security Guaranteed, Says Pak Foreign Office

In the last two months, the Taliban has resumed punishing Afghan citizens through radical practices and many believe that the group has returned to their 1990s era.

In recent months, the Taliban have flogged several Afghan citizens in different parts of Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s implementation of punishment such as execution in public has been widely condemned internationally.

The Taliban announced on Wednesday that the group members have publicly flogged 27 people, including two women, on various charges in Helmand and Zabul provinces.

Rahmon discussed Afghanistan issues during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif.

The Tajik president arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday. Assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and security in Central Asia has been the focus of Rahmon's talks with Pakistani officials.

Pakistan and Tajikistan have common security concerns about Afghanistan. Since the Taliban came to power, both countries have been attacked by terrorist groups from Afghanistan.

In addition to meeting the Pakistani prime minister, Rahmon had a separate meeting scheduled with Khawaja Asif, the country’s minister of defense, on Thursday.

According to a statement by the office of the Tajikistan president, Rahmon has also discussed the political, military, and social situation of Afghanistan with Pakistan’s defense minister.

The details of these talks have not been announced yet.

According to the sources, the two sides continue to engage in the firefight.

The Taliban and Pakistani officials have not commented on the reasons behind the firefight yet.

On Sunday, the Spin Boldak crossing had witnessed another armed skirmish between the Taliban forces and the Pakistani military. Six Pakistani civilians and one Taliban member had been reportedly killed in the clashes.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had reacted to the clashes and had stressed that the Taliban must ensure that the incident will not be repeated.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had addressed the country’s Parliament and said that the Taliban were the main cause behind the firefight. He said that the Taliban, accepting their fault, apologised to Pakistan, and promised to prevent such incidents in the future.

In the last few months, this is the second time that the Taliban forces have clashed with the Pakistani military in the border areas.

Faiq had been appointed as a senior Afghan diplomat to the UN by former president Ashraf Ghani’s administration.

The UN Credentials Committee is due to announce its decision regarding Afghanistan officially on Friday.

According to the sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban had sent its credentials to this committee to take over the seat of Afghanistan, but the committee rejected it.

This is the second attempt of the Taliban for Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations. The group made a similar request last year and introduced Suhail Shaheen as the group’s representative to the United Nations.

Mawlawi Mohammad Qasim Riaz, deputy provincial director of Information and Culture in Helmand, confirmed the flogging of these citizens.

According to Riaz, these citizens have been punished for theft and extramarital affairs.

These people have been punished in the central stadium of Lashkargah city in Helmand province and some of them have been sentenced to prison for several months.

In Qalat, the capital city of Zabul province, the Taliban have flogged seven people, including two women, at the Shaikh Mati High School on charges of theft and extramarital affairs.

After flogging the two women, the Taliban in Zabul Province sentenced them to three and one-year sentences in prison.

According to the Taliban, some of the men who have been punished in Zabul have also been sentenced to prison terms ranging from a few months to three years.