Exclusive: Afghan Diplomats In Tehran Refuse To Handover Afghan Embassy to Taliban

According to the sources, the Taliban’s new move has been made with the agreement of Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the Iranian ambassador to Kabul.

Sources said that they are ready to shut down the embassy’s operation in Tehran, but will not give it to the Taliban representative.

Other sources in the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that an agreement has been reached between the Taliban officials and Hassan Kazemi Qomi, the new ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kabul, to introduce a Taliban member as the acting head of the Afghan embassy in Tehran.

These sources said that the diplomats of the Afghan embassy said that they are willing to seal the embassy and handover the key to the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic, but are not willing to handover the embassy to the Taliban representative.

According to the sources, Haqqani is now in Tehran and is trying to take over the embassy. Currently, Afghan diplomat, Abdul Qayyum Soleimani, is the head the Afghan embassy in Tehran.

Soleimani was the deputy ambassador in the previous government, but after the resignation of the then ambassador to Tehran, Abdul Ghafoor Liwal, he took charge of the embassy.

Local Sources Confirm Imprisoned Afghan Journalist Khaled Qaderi’s Release

Jan 3, 2023, 11:48 GMT+0

Local sources in Herat confirmed that journalist and poet Khaled Qaderi has been released from Taliban's prison after nearly a year. The journalist had been detained by the Taliban intelligence in April 2022 on charges of publishing critical thoughts about the group.

Qaderi had been sentenced to one year in prison by a military court in Herat province.

The Taliban has not reacted to the reports of the release of Qaderi.

After Qaderi’s detention, his family criticised the Taliban that they had detained and imprisoned him without any crime.

Reporters Without Borders had reacted to Qaderi’s detention and trial and said that in the last twenty years in Afghanistan, this was the first time that a journalist had been tried in a military court.

After returning to power in 2021, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on the media and reporters in Afghanistan.

Afghan Family Asks UN To Call For Immediate Release of Daughter From Taliban Prison

Jan 3, 2023, 10:40 GMT+0

Afghan Family in another letter to the United Nations in Afghanistan have asked them to support the release of their daughter, Elaha Delawarzai, from the Taliban prison. The family stressed that it has been 54 days since Delawarzai has been detained and kept in Taliban prison.

According to the family, the Haqqani Network kidnapped Delawarzai from Islamabad and returned her to Kabul.

The family stressed that Delawarzai has been tortured in the Taliban prison.

Delawarzai, a former medical student, recently claimed that she was raped and tortured by Qari Saeed Khosty, the former spokesman of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister.

Earlier, on November 25, 2022, Delawarzai's family had sent a letter to United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and informed the UN that the Haqqani Network of the Taliban had kidnapped Delawarzai from Pakistan and returned her to Afghanistan.

The family accused an organisation called "Human First" for revealing their daughter's location to the Taliban.

In an open letter to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA), the family of Delawarzai said that she had given an interview to a reporter from the Toronto Star on November 11 after which, she went missing.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Delawarzai revealed that she had left Afghanistan and was wanted by the Taliban.

Delawarzai stressed that she was disappointed with every stakeholder. "The world is still rolling the red carpet under the feet of the Taliban, while many women are brutally tortured in Taliban prisons," Delawarzai insisted.

Armed Men Attack Afghan Journalist’s House in Kunduz, Injure His Wife & Children

Jan 3, 2023, 09:46 GMT+0

Ehsanullah Sharifi, an Afghan journalist in Kunduz province, said that on December 29, 2022, four armed people attacked his house, beat up his children and wife, and destroyed his property. Sharifi said that after the attack, he has been followed by "suspicious individuals".

Sharifi stressed that due to threats to his life, he has been unable to leave the house.

Sharifi had been working as a presenter with the Kunduz National Radio and Television, but recently had started working as a freelancer.

The Afghan reporter told Afghanistan International that his wife was in a coma due to the injuries caused by the incident, and after a few days, she regained consciousness on Monday night.

According to Sharifi, the attackers threatened his wife and children with death.

In the photos that he published of his house after the attack, the walls and floor of the room can be seen stained with blood.

Sharifi stressed that after the attack, he informed the Taliban’s security agencies, but said that after several days, there has not been any developments on identifying the perpetrators.

He added that he does not know why these people attacked his house and brutally beat up his family members.

According to him, his children suffered severe psychological damage due to this incident. He added that the attackers also "looted" and destroyed his property.

The Taliban have not reacted to the incident so far.

Ehsanullah Sharifi has worked as a reporter and producer at Kunduz National Radio and Television for about 13 years.

Taliban Court May Prosecute Afghan Media Outlets Running Operations From Abroad

Jan 2, 2023, 14:28 GMT+0

The Taliban courts will soon issue its verdict regarding the fate of media organisations whose executives have fled Afghanistan and operate the outlet from outside the country.

Abdul Haq Hemad, director of media assessment at the Taliban’s ministry of information and culture, has accused such media outlets of spreading propaganda against the group.

Hemad said, "A decision has been made regarding these media outlets. The matter has been in the court and it is expected that the court's decision will be announced in a few days."

Hemad stressed that according to the laws of Afghanistan, someone who works in the media sector in the country must be stationed inside Afghanistan. "No law allows the executives of the media outlet to operate from outside and promote propaganda against the regime," he added.

The Taliban official said that there are 165 radio stations and 55 TV stations operating in Afghanistan, and after the group took control of Afghanistan in 2021, 24 new media outlets have been established in the country.

Ban on Women From Working Threatens Lives of Afghans, Says UN

Jan 2, 2023, 09:36 GMT+0

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that the ban on women working for humanitarian organisations is an immediate threat to the lives of Afghan people. OCHA said that over 28 million people need support to survive in Afghanistan.

OCHA stressed that Afghanistan is facing the risk of famine, economic stagnation, and poverty.

After the Taliban leader issued a decree that banned Afghan women from working in non-governmental organisations, many international humanitarian organisations stopped operations in Afghanistan.

Aid agencies said that they are unable to continue providing aid in Afghanistan without their female colleagues.

The Taliban also insisted on their position regarding the prohibition of women's work and said that this decision was made based on Islamic Sharia laws.

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