Torkham Border Crossing Closed Hours After Reopening, Says Taliban

Feb 23, 2023, 11:30 GMT

The office of the Taliban governor in Nangarhar province announced that the Torkham border crossing has been closed again, hours after it was reopened on Thursday. According to the Taliban, Pakistani authorities have ordered the closure of the border crossing.

Earlier, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar news agency reported that the Torkham crossing has been reopened to transit of passengers and goods.

Pakistani authorities have not yet commented on the closure of the Torkham border.

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Taliban To Start Issuing Passports to Afghans Next Week

Feb 23, 2023, 08:51 GMT

The Taliban officials announced in Kabul that the distribution of passports to Afghan citizens will resume next week. Abdul Karim Hasib, the director of the passport office, said on Thursday that the group will start issuing passports from next Wednesday.

The Taliban had stopped issuing passports to Afghans in late 2022.

The Directorate of Passports said that the online registration process for obtaining a passport will start in all provinces of Afghanistan from next week.

Taliban has asked Afghan citizens to file their application for passports at their respective provinces.

According to Taliban officials, those who had filed their application for passports from Kabul must visit their provinces to obtain their passports.

According to the Taliban, the group will issue 10,000 passports on a daily basis.

Former Balkh Governor Criticises Iran for Handing over Afghan Embassy To Taliban

Feb 22, 2023, 14:34 GMT

The former governor of Balkh, Atta Mohammad Noor criticised Iran for handing over the embassy of Afghanistan in Tehran to the Taliban. Noor said that Taliban’s control of the embassy in Iran is against the good neighbourliness and a threat to Afghans living in that country.

Noor urged Iran to reverse its decision of the transfer of the embassy’s charge to the Taliban.

Sources told Afghanistan International that Iran has decided to handover the Afghan embassy in Tehran to the Taliban next Saturday.

According to the sources, 15 diplomats have decided not to work with the Taliban and the Islamic Republic has closed the embassy and prohibited these diplomats from entering the embassy premises.

Iran has informed the Afghan diplomats in Tehran of Islamic republic’s decision about the transfer of control of the embassy to the Taliban on Monday, and the diplomats have decided to leave their jobs instead of working with the Taliban.

Sanctions Are in Nobody’s Interests; Resolve Challenges Through Dialogue, Says Haqqani

Feb 22, 2023, 12:24 GMT

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, said that the banking and economic restrictions imposed against the Taliban increase the suffering of Afghans.

During a meeting with the Japanese ambassador in Kabul, Haqqani said that the sanctions are not in the interest of anyone in Afghanistan.

Haqqani emphasised that only through dialogue and mutual understanding, can they can solve the problems.

He described the position of the international community against this group as unfair and said that this policy "punishes" the common people in Afghanistan.

Haqqani urged the international community to change the trust deficit into dialogue and understanding.

However, the ambassador of Japan in Kabul asked the Taliban to allow Afghan girls to return to schools in the upcoming academic year.

While the Taliban suggests dialogue with the international community, the group has been accused of massive human rights violations across Afghanistan.

The Taliban has banned Afghan women from work, and education and removed them from social life.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister And Spymaster Meet Taliban Officials in Kabul

Feb 22, 2023, 09:23 GMT

Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) chief Nadeem Anjum, and Pakistan's defense minister Khawaja Asif arrived in Kabul to hold discussions with Taliban officials. This is Anjum's first visit to Kabul as the head of Pakistan’s Intelligence agency.

The Taliban said in a statement that the Pakistani delegation held discussions with Mullah Baradar, the Taliban deputy prime minister, on biliteral and economic relations.

No further details have been released about the visit of Pakistan’s defense minister and ISI chief to Kabul.

The high-ranking Pakistani delegation's visit to Kabul comes amid weeks of heightened insecurity in Pakistan.

After the deadly Peshawar attack, Pakistan's Defense Minister said that these attacks have been conducted by terrorists that enter Pakistan from Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials said that the Tahreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the main anti-Pakistan group, has hideouts inside Afghanistan.

IS-K Confirms Death of Senior Member During Clashes With Taliban

Feb 22, 2023, 08:56 GMT

The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) confirmed the death of Ejaz Amin Ahangar, known as Abu Usman Al-Kashmiri, a senior member of the group in southern Afghanistan. IS-K said in a statement that Al-Kashmiri had been killed on February 14 during a clash with the Taliban.

The exact location of death of this senior IS-K member has not mentioned in the IS-K statement.

Before joining the IS-K, Abu Usman Al-Kashmiri had been a member of Harakat Al-Mujahedin in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. He, then, joined Al-Qaeda and after a while in 2015, he announced that he had joined the ISIS.

Al-Kashmiri is believed to have been the first Amir of the "Indian province" of ISIS.

Over the past few months, the Taliban has reported numerous clashes with ISIS members in different provinces of Afghanistan.