Sources told Afghanistan International that Ismail Mashal, a university professor, has been detained by the Taliban. Mashal has been a critic of the ban on girls' education by Taliban, and recently he tore up his educational certificates as a protest against the Taliban’s move.
Mashal has also donated his books to Afghans, particularly girls, to protest against the Taliban’s policies on education for Afghan women.
There are no further details about the reasons for his detentions yet.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced that 16 people have been flogged in Helmand province. According to the Taliban Supreme Court, these people were publicly flogged on Thursday in Gereshk district of Helmand province.
The United Nations has called the Taliban's flogging of men and women oppressive.
However, the Taliban has increased the implementation of public flogging as a punishment for Afghan citizens in recent months.
In late 2022, the Taliban publicly shot a man in southwestern Farah province.
Most of the Taliban leadership had travlled to Farah province to witness the execution of the man.
Pakistan's Permanent Representative in the United Nations, Munir Akram, said that the Taliban's ban on women's education and work in Afghanistan is not a religious issue and is rooted in Pashtun culture.
Akram said that as part of the Pashtun culture it is enshrined that women should stay at home.
Akram’s remarks about the Pashtun culture have been met with sharp criticisms by Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Afrasiab Khattak, a former member of the Pakistan Senate, called these remarks an insult to Pashtuns and asked if “Pakistan represents the Taliban?"
Shah Mahmood Miakhel, Deputy Minister of Defense of the former Afghan government, also reacted to Akram’s remarks and said that playing an ethnic card is a shameful act.
Miakhel added that millions of girls in the Pashtun areas on both sides of the Durand line attend schools and are active members of their society.
Miakhel said, "Fanatic Taliban doesn’t represent Pashtun society, but they in fact represent wishes of Pakistan ISI.”
Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, also asked the international community last year to consider the cultural sensitivities in Afghanistan regarding human rights and women's rights.
Imran Khan had said that in Pashtun villages, people are not ready to send their daughters to school.
The US Department of State announced visa restrictions on current and former Taliban officials in response to the ban on education and work of Afghan girls and women. According to the State Department, the restrictions have been imposed to make Taliban leaders accountable.
According to a statement from the US State Department on Wednesday, the visa restrictions have been imposed on current and former officials of the Taliban, members of non-state armed groups, and other people who are involved in imposing restrictions and violence on women and girls.
The State Department stressed that the new sanctions would include the families of Taliban officials too.
The US State Department added that until the Taliban does not respect human rights and basic freedom of all Afghans, including women and girls, it should not expect the support of the international community.
Last year, the Department of State also announced restrictions on visas for Taliban members.
The Department of State said that the United States closely monitors the situation in Afghanistan with its international partners, and the Taliban’s actions will be costly for the group.
The US State Department added that equal and quality education should be provided for all Afghans, especially women, and girls.
Two days after the explosion in Peshawar city of Pakistan, the foreign minister of the Taliban Amir Khan Muttaqi indirectly asked Pakistan not to run away from their problems. Muttaqi added that Islamabad should look after its problems inside Pakistan.
Earlier, Pakistan's defense minister had said that Afghanistan's soil has been used against Pakistan. The Pakistan defense minister’s statement came after an explosion targeted a mosque in Peshawar city and killed and injured hundreds of people.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which, according to Pakistani officials, is based in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack. TTP officials said that it has carried out the attack in response to the killing of Khalid Khorasani, a commander of the group.
After the explosion, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, said that Afghan soil is being used against Pakistan and that Kabul and Islamabad should work together to defeat terrorism.
The foreign minister of the Taliban on Wednesday asked the Pakistani authorities to investigate the explosion at the mosque. He emphasised that a suicide bomber with a small bomb can’t have such a devastating impact.
Muttaqi said, “In the last twenty years, we have not seen a suicide vest, a bomb, or a barrel that can blow up the roof of the mosque.”
The Taliban has carried out massive explosions over the last two decades and has taken responsibility for a number of these attacks.
Muttaqi asked the Pakistani authorities not to criticise Afghanistan.
He added, "If you say that Afghanistan is the hub of terrorism, you have also said that terrorism has no borders. If terrorism was in Afghanistan, it would have spread to Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, China, and other countries."
After the Taliban’s take over of Afghanistan, several Pakistani officials have repeatedly said that the country's armed opposition had taken refuge in Afghanistan.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Wednesday that Afghanistan is experiencing one of the harshest winter seasons in a long time. WHO stated that it has sent medicine and medical supplies to health facilities across several provinces.
According to WHO, health teams have visited hospitals in Bamiyan and other provinces to ensure necessary measures are in place for the winter.
Meanwhile, WHO has emphasised that women's work is highly important in providing health services, especially in the winter season across the country.
This is while the Taliban has banned Afghan women from working in non-governmental organisations.
WHO said that it salutes Afghanistan's female health workers "for their heroic sacrifices in serving the health needs of Afghans”.