Extreme Cold Weather Puts Millions of People At Risk in Afghanistan, Says ICRC

The Tajik official added that as a result of the increase in drug smuggling from Afghanistan, more drug traffickers have been arrested too.

Vahidzoda stressed that in 2021, eight Afghan citizens had been arrested for drug trafficking in Tajikistan, and in 2022, the number has jumped to 19 people.

Tajikistan says that the largest shipments of drugs smuggled into Tajikistan has come from Afghanistan.

The Prosecutor General of Tajikistan also said recently that drug smuggling from Afghanistan has almost doubled.

Tajik authorities urged regional countries to expand cooperation in order to curb the increase in drug smuggling from Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan security officials had also previously announced that large amounts of drugs from Afghanistan entered the black market of regional countries.

Drug trafficking to Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries has been reported at a time when the Taliban have banned the cultivation and sale of narcotics in Afghanistan.

On Thursday, sources told Afghanistan International that Ismail Mashal had been detained by the Taliban.

Mashal has been a bold critic of the ban on girls’ education by the Taliban. Recently, he tore up his educational certificates in protest of the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education and work and donated his books, especially to Afghan girls.

Hemad said that members of the Taliban have treated Mashal well so that he feels at home at the security agencies. Hemad added that the university professor is in contact with his family.

However, on Thursday, relatives of Mashal told Afghanistan International that he was violently detained by the Taliban members.

The group has urged the United States to resolve issues between the two sides through diplomatic channels.

The US Department of State announced visa restrictions on current and former Taliban officials in response to the ban on the education and work of Afghan girls and women.

According to the State Department, the restrictions have been imposed to make Taliban leaders accountable for their policies against women in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban added that the group is "committed to the rights of the people of Afghanistan that are acceptable by Islamic values, and traditions of Afghanistan”.

The Taliban also asked the United States to adhere to the Doha Agreement and act upon their commitments.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban has emphasised that it is ready to discuss the differences with the United States.

The Taliban Ministry also stressed that despite US’ imposed restrictions on the financial and banking sectors, the group has been active to provide prosperous living conditions for Afghans.

The Taliban foreign ministry called the US restrictions on the banking sector "illegal" and a clear violation of the human rights of the Afghan people.

The Taliban's reaction to the new restrictions imposed by the United States comes at a time when this group has deprived Afghan girls and women of the right to education and work since taking over Afghanistan in August 2021.

Despite international pressure and human rights organisation’s calls, the Taliban hasn’t reversed their decisions regarding women and girls.

Human rights organisations have said that depriving Afghan girls and women of education and work has fuelled the economic crisis and increased poverty in the country.

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.

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.