ISIS Could Target Western Interests In Near Future, Says US CENTCOM Commander

Qomi added that the Taliban and Iranian authorities have also discussed the opening of the Khaf-Herat railway.

Qomi stressed that the increase in commercial activities at Chabahar port and the removal of transit barriers at border terminals were among the other main topics of negotiations between the Taliban and Iranian authorities.

The Iranian ambassador called these discussions "fruitful".

Earlier, the Taliban reported that Nooruddin Azizi, the Minister of Trade and Industry of the group, had met with local Iranian officials in Dogharon, Khorasan, Sistan & Baluchistan and Chabahar port on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, Taliban officials have repeatedly visited Iran. On Monday, the Taliban’s minister of refugees visited Iran too.

McCaul stated that the State Department has failed to comply with the committee’s investigation and is not replying to the committee’s document requests.

“The State Department continues to obstruct my committee’s investigation into the Afghanistan withdrawal and we will not tolerate it. The American people deserve answers on the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal,” he said.

He added that he is prepared to issue a subpoena in the event the State Department fails to cooperate with the committee’s document request.

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, has launched an investigation over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. On March 8, Chairman McCaul held a hearing examining the administration’s disastrous emergency evacuation from Afghanistan. Then, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price had said that the department was fully cooperating with the investigation.

Somaiya Walizada, a member of the jury of AFJC, said that this year the title has been jointly awarded to these three journalists.

Walizada added that the jury selected Yaqubi for the documentary "Mosafer Darya" which tells the story of illegal migration of photographer and filmmaker, Barat Ali Batoor to Australia, who had documented his long journey from Afghanistan to Australia.

Hanif had been selected for the award because of his reports about the earthquake victims of Paktika province and Wafa has been awarded for continuing to pursue journalism despite restrictions imposed by the Taliban.

The Journalist of the Year Award ceremony was held on Wednesday in Brussels.

In a message sent to the award ceremony, Yaqubi said that Afghanistan under the Taliban reign has transformed into a silent country which increases the responsibility of journalists and media outside Afghanistan to continue their professional journalistic work despite challenges regarding access to information inside the country.

The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on journalists and media outlets since August 15, 2021. During this time, many media outlets have shut down and media workers have fled Afghanistan.

Ahmadi said that the Taliban fighters intended to search people’s houses in one of the villages, but they faced resistance from two of the NRF forces.

Local sources confirmed the clash on Tuesday night in Andarab district of Baghlan province to Afghanistan International. However, sources didn’t provide precise information regarding the casualties of the incident.

Ahmadi said that these two members who clashed with the Taliban fighters were brothers and former members of Afghanistan national police and army.

Taliban officials didn’t comment in this regard.

As per the report, UAE authorities have arbitrarily detained between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans for over 15 months in the “Emirates Humanitarian City,” a humanitarian logistics hub in Abu Dhabi.

“Emirati authorities have kept thousands of Afghan asylum seekers locked up for over 15 months in cramped, miserable conditions with no hope of progress on their cases,” said Joey Shea, United Arab Emirates researcher at Human Rights Watch. “After enduring significant trauma fleeing Afghanistan, they are facing further trauma now, after spending well over a year in limbo in the UAE.”

Afghans, staying at the camp who have been interviewed by HRW, reported constraints on their freedom of movement, lack of access to fair and effective refugee status determination and safe and legal pathways for onward movement, lack of adequate access to legal counsel, and inadequate education services for children.

Living conditions have also deteriorated significantly, with detainees describing overcrowding, decay of infrastructure, and insect infestations, the report added.

The Afghans also stated that they are not allowed to freely leave the housing complex and are only permitted essential hospital visits under close supervision by security guards or minders from the camp.

The only other occasion when Afghans are allowed to leave the camp is when authorities took a group to a shopping mall, but they are accompanied and supervised by guards throughout the visit.

The rights organisation stated that the UAE should ensure that Afghans have access to counsel and legal services as many Afghans had been trying to apply for US resettlement but had not had fair and effective refugee status determination or other international protection procedures, or opportunities for onward movement.

The continued detention of the Afghans is unnecessary and arbitrary, Human Rights Watch said.

HRW urged the UAE government to investigate human rights violations that have occurred in Humanitarian City. It asked the UAE authorities to urgently identify and release children, pregnant and nursing women. It also stated that adequate healthcare should be provided to those detained.

It stated that the US government should leverage its influence with UAE authorities to urge the UAE to release detained Afghan evacuees, ensure they all have access to fair and individualized processes for assessing their legal status and protection needs.

In the weeks and months after the Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021, the United States, NATO, UAE, and other governments evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans to locations around the world. The UAE government took thousands of Afghans on private chartered flights to Abu Dhabi, and then transferred them to the Emirates Humanitarian City and Tasameem Workers City (TWC), another housing facility, pending onward movement. While many were later resettled in the US, Canada, and elsewhere, between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans remain arbitrarily detained in the UAE as of early January 2023.