Afghanistan’s Air Space Remains Occupied By US, Says Taliban Chief of Staff of Army

Under the Taliban, extrajudicial executions of people associated with the former government, members of armed groups such as the National Resistance Front (NRF), Islamic State of Khorasan Province (IS-KP) and those allegedly not following the Taliban’s rules appeared to be widespread and systematic, the report stated.

The rights watchdog stressed that even peaceful protesters faced arrests, torture and enforced disappearances which has created an atmosphere of fear in the country.

The report also touched upon the fact that restrictions on women’s rights, freedom of the media, and freedom of expression increased exponentially and institutions designed to support human rights were severely limited or shut down completely.

It gave examples of mass killings of civilians and former government officials and political opponents and called it a “war crime”.

The report highlighted that between August 2021 and June 2022, UNAMA recorded 2,106 civilian casualties and stated that the Taliban is yet to investigate these matters thoroughly.

The report also touched upon how the Taliban began publicly executing and flogging people for crimes such as murder, theft, “illegitimate” relationships or violations of social norms.

The report lamented the fact that independent human rights groups were unable to work freely in the country and Afghanistan’s own national human rights institution remains closed.

Mark Adams, the spokesperson of the Olympic Committee, said that Afghan sports officials have discussed with the governing authorities the issue of access of women and girls to sports and are waiting for the Taliban’s decision.

The committee had previously expressed concern about the banning of women and girls' access to sports and urged the Taliban to lift the restrictions.

It is not yet clear what the committee's next steps will be if the situation for female athletes in Afghanistan does not change.

In the video released by the NRF spokesperson on Twitter, exchange of gun fire can be seen, but the location of the gun fight has not been identified.

The spokesman of the National Resistance Front added many Taliban members had been killed by the NRF.

The Taliban has not yet reacted to this news so far.

At least six people had been killed and several others had been injured in the attack near the Taliban's Foreign Ministry. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

In their statement, the members of the UNSC emphasised on the need to hold the perpetrators, organisers, financiers, and sponsors of these " of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”.

The council called on all states to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

The UNSC statement reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever, and by whomsoever committed.

The UN Security Council consists of five permanent members and ten non-permanent members who get elected by the General Assembly for a two-year term.

The United States of America, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Russia are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The French foreign ministry stressed that it supports the efforts of the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMA) to release Wesa from the Taliban prison.

The French Foreign Ministry has emphasised that "no society can improve positively by denying women's rights”.

However, Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed that Wesa had been holding rallies without informing the Taliban government. He claimed that Wesa held open and secret meetings with circles outside Afghanistan and received orders from outside the country.

Pro-Taliban Twitter users have also published photos of Matiullah Wesa attending meetings with Western officials and stressed that Wesa had been working for the right to education for girls at the behest of foreign circles.

Matiullah Wesa has been working for the cause of opening of schools and education for girls in remote areas of Afghanistan for more than ten years, and in this regard, he has met with several organisations and officials.

He had just returned from a trip to Europe, during which he had met many European officials to put pressure on the Taliban to reopen girls' schools in Afghanistan.