Several Anti-Taliban Political Leaders Skip Vienna Meeting

According to Iranian media, the protesters also urged Iran to prevent the completion of the construction of Bakhshabad Dam on the Farah River.

According to Tasnim news agency, the residents of five cities of Sistan region including Zabul, Zahak, Hamon, Hirmand, and Nimroz, which are part of Sistan and Baluchistan province, participated in the demonstration on Sunday afternoon.

According to the news agency, the protestors criticised the performance of the foreign ministry and water commission of Iran regarding the pursuit of the water rights of Iran from Helmand River.

This is the fourth protest rally on the issue of water rights that has been held in the past few months. The Iranian officials have repeatedly emphasised that the Taliban are committed to providing the share of Iran from Helmand water rights.

Rangin Dadfar Spanta, the former Afghan National Security Advisor, told Afghanistan International that participants will discuss the coordination of efforts to establish a system based on the will of the people during the meeting.

According to ground reporters, National Resistance Front (NRF) leader, Ahmad Massoud; former National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta; Professor Nazif Shahrani; Media owner Sanjar Sohail; and other opposition figures entered the meeting venue.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan had previously announced that this meeting will focus on building trust between the opposing factions of the Taliban and will continue for three days.

Rahmatullah Nabil, the former head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) announced, "Given the current situation in Afghanistan, it is of utmost importance to prioritise the alignment of perspectives in addressing the Afghan issue and to acknowledge every endeavour that facilitates consensus and constructive dialogue.” However, Nabil said that he has not been able to participate in the meeting.

Fathullah Mansour, the elder son of Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, has been in-charge of airports in the southwestern zone since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.

The new appointment of a family member of the former Taliban leader comes at a time when a recent decree attributed to Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered that family members of the Taliban officials can’t be employed in the group’s government offices.

The decree of the Taliban leader stressed, "Ministries and independent directorates have been directed to refrain from hiring individuals for their duties, based on kinship ties and personal relationships."

This is even though the Taliban had dismissed most of the professional employees of the government offices and replaced them with their own members since taking power in August 2021.

Many of the people appointed by the Taliban in government positions have not pursued higher education.

In an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Abdollahian added that all options are on the table to get the water rights.

He did not give details about these options, but said that the Iranian president has ordered receiving the water rights of Iran from the Helmand river of Afghanistan.

The Iranian foreign minister said that in his recent meeting with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister in Samarkand, he also discussed the issue of water rights of Iran.

Earlier after meeting with Muttaqi in Samarkand, Abdollahian said on Twitter, "We will not fall short of Iran's water rights."

However, the Iranian foreign minister implicitly rejected any pressure on the Taliban by Tehran and said, "We continue our efforts through the diplomatic path."

Previously, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament had said that they consider the water rights issue as a matter of national security.

On February 2022, the Taliban had announced that the group fully accepts Iran's claim of water rights, but despite Iranian official’s repeated statements that the water rights of Iran from the Helmand river have not been given, the Taliban have not reacted so far.

Kakar, who is also a member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, has released videos showing a group of handcuffed men.

Kakar stressed that the court released some of these detained refugees on bail.

Agha Mir, one of the detainees shown in the video, said that he had been arrested twice before. According to him, "The police attack at night, they demand money from us, we don't have money, they take us first to the police station and then to the court."

In the last two months, Pakistani police have arrested nearly 1,400 Afghan citizens on the charges of "not having legal stay permit in Pakistan”.