Afghanistan Now Base of International Terrorists, Says Russian Envoy to Tajikistan

The Taliban spokesperson said that foreign circles have misinterpreted his recent comments in which Mujahid said that the Taliban leader should not be openly criticised.

Mujahid added that his comments had not been aimed at a specific person, however, he spoke about the activities and criticism of the media regarding the Taliban leaders.

Meanwhile, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, had criticised the monopolisation of power by Taliban leaders in a gathering in Khost province on Saturday and said that the current situation is not acceptable.

Haqqani had said that the current situation will result into rifts between the people of Afghanistan and the Taliban.

A day after Haqqani's speech, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said at a gathering at Kabul University that criticism of the supreme leader should be conducted privately.

Several senior Taliban leaders said on Wednesday that the legitimate desires of the people must be answered for the survival of the Taliban regime.

The UN organisation said that they need $450 million to provide healthcare services, outbreak response, maternal and child health care, and services for people with disabilities.

The United Nations recently said that around 28 million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian assistance.

This organisation has called for 4.5 billion dollars in 2023 to take care of the needy in Afghanistan.

Hemad added that those who had insulted citizens have been arrested too.

On Wednesday evening last week, hundreds of Afghan citizens rushed to the Kabul airport, after there were rumours that the Taliban were sending Afghans to Turkiye.

Taliban members had violently engaged with the people and scattered them with aerial shots.

In a video that was posted on social media, the Taliban members had been insulting people who had come to the airport and had even engaged in aerial shots.

Hemad pointed to the Wednesday incident and added that no one is allowed to display disobedience and sabotage.

He had previously said that there is no government in Afghanistan to follow up on water rights issues of Iran from Helmand river.

Iranian vice-president said that the Taliban does not fulfill their obligations towards Iran.

According to Iranian media reports, Salajegheh stressed that discussions about the water rights of Iran has been underway through diplomatic channels. He added, "I want to go to Afghanistan myself."

The head of the environment department of Iran said that the Taliban’s arguments regarding the water rights issues are not real or based on scientific logic.

Salajegheh hoped that the talks on the water rights issue will finally come to a conclusion.

Border disputes and the water rights of Iran from Helmand river have been sources of conflict between Iran and Afghanistan.

The Taliban have repeatedly said that they accept the Helmand water rights treaty, but Iran has stressed that the group has not taken any practical steps on the issue.

Protesters on Wednesday asked the United Nations to review and address their asylum applications.

The Afghan protesters included journalists, civil activists and prosecutors in the former government of Afghanistan and have been waiting for their asylum request to be accepted by the United Nations for the past year.

Earlier, several journalists in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, had held a demonstration and demanded the organisation to process their asylum requests.

After the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghan citizens, especially journalists and human rights activists, have fled to Pakistan.