Ban on Women’s Education Part of Pashtun Culture, Says Pak Representative to UN

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.

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.

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”.

Uzbekistan stated that the Taliban has not been fulfilling its technical obligation and hence, the transportation services have been suspended.

The Uzbekistan officials have said that the railway administration under the control of the Taliban has not been able to implement the "agreed terms" between the two sides.

According to the Uzbek officials, representatives of Kabul and Tashkent had met to discuss the railway issues last year in Termez city.

During the meeting, it had been agreed that the technical steps would be implemented by the Taliban regarding railway transportation by February 1, 2023. However, it seems that the Taliban have not been able to act in accordance with the agreement signed by the two sides.

Lavrov added that the international community has urged the Taliban to fulfill their commitment.

He said that in order to recognise the Taliban government, a government is required which has the inclusion of all ethnic and political groups.

However, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasised that lack of an inclusive government is not an obstacle for Moscow's engagement with the Taliban.

Lavrov said that Russia would continue its talks with the Taliban to encourage the group to form an inclusive government.

Ahead of the presser, the Russian Foreign Minister had held closed doors talks with his Pakistani counterpart in Moscow.

During the joint press conference with Zardari, Lavrov added that terrorist threats continue to emerge from Afghanistan, and Moscow and Islamabad agreed to jointly work in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The Russian Foreign Minister did not elaborate more regarding the details of the agreements between the two sides, but added that they use the contact group of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, to deal with terrorist threats.

During the Taliban reign of Afghanistan, the Russian embassy and also the charge d'affaires of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul have been attacked in 2022.

ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attacks.