Taliban Governor of Balkh Dies in Explosion at His Office

The New Delhi meeting has been the first joint working group meet of India and Central Asian nations, which was held on Tuesday.

The participants exchanged opinions about the current situation in Afghanistan, including the political, security, and humanitarian situation of the country.

Preventing the dangers of terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking in India and Central Asia have been other issues of discussion by the participants.

According to Indian media, it was also emphasised that Afghanistan's soil should not be used by terrorist groups.

The representative of the United Nations World Food Programme also explained the need of the Afghan people for humanitarian aid during the New Delhi meeting.

Earlier, Moscow had approved the new head of the Afghan embassy in Moscow who had been appointed by the Taliban.

In late 2022, the Russian state news agency announced that the Taliban had dispatched another member to Moscow to work as the first secretary of the Afghan embassy.

Kabulov did not provide details about the new employees of the Afghan embassy in Moscow. However, he said that the new diplomats will help Afghans living in Russia to receive consular services.

Previously, the Afghan consulate in Istanbul, Turkey was handed over to the Taliban.

In addition to Russia and Turkey, Taliban diplomats have been accepted in Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Qatar, and China.

During their demonstration, they chanted slogans of "bread, work, freedom".

In Ghor, several women demonstrated in front of the Taliban’s governor office.

The protesters chanted slogans against the Taliban’s ban on the right of work and education of Afghan women.

It has been reported that the Taliban prevented media coverage of these women demonstrations in Ghor province.

In more than one-and-a-half years of their rule in Afghanistan, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on women’s social life.

Members of the Afghanistan Women's Justice Movement and Afghanistan Women's Political Participation Network were present during the demonstration.

Sources close to the protesters told Afghanistan International that the Taliban did not prevent the demonstration in front of the UN office at first, but at the end of the protest when the protesters were on their way home, they deliberately rammed their vehicles against the protesters and injured three of them.

The source added that the Taliban vehicle ran over the foot of one of the protestors.

Restrictions on women’s participation in the labour market have contributed to the decline, the report, Employment in Afghanistan in 2022: A rapid impact assessment, stated.

“Restrictions on girls and women have severe implications for their education and labour market prospects,” said Ramin Behzad, Senior Coordinator of the ILO for Afghanistan.

Emphasising that female employment levels in Afghanistan have fallen steeply since the Taliban administration took over in 2021, it also added that male employment levels are down seven per cent in the same period.

It stressed that the only reason why the figures haven’t dropped further is because of home-based self-employment, which has become the predominant form of women’s participation in the labour market.

“Providing equal access for all young women and men to quality education and training as well as decent and productive employment opportunities remain a key challenge and priority for the future of the Afghan economy and society,” he added.

The report found that for young people, aged 15-24 years, the impact on employment has also been severe and disproportionate.

Youth employment is estimated to have decreased 25 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022 relative to the second quarter of 2021.

The report added that in the fourth quarter of 2022, total employment (both formal and informal) is estimated to have been 450,000 lower than pre-transition levels, and more than 900,000 lower compared to a hypothetical scenario without a change in administration.

In addition, labour incomes have been hard hit and are increasingly volatile, especially hurting households struggling from rising food and consumer prices.