Iran’s Interior Minister Rejects Taliban’s Statement About Lack of Water in Helmand River

According to Ayar’s family, the Taliban have transferred him to an unknown location.

Mohammad Nasim, the poet's uncle, said that their efforts to contact the Taliban’s security and intelligence agencies haven’t produced any results in finding the whereabouts and the fate of Ayar.

He emphasised that Zabih Ayar is not a criminal and the Taliban are obliged to provide information about his arrest.

Meanwhile, Ahmad, the poet's brother, said that soon after the arrest of Ayar, the Taliban intelligence agency admitted that the poet had been arrested by the group, but they have denied detaining him now.

Ayar's family added that after his detention, the Taliban arrested some of his friends too.

The Taliban has not officially said anything about the arrest of this poet.

In the past twenty months, the Taliban has arrested several Afghan university professors, activists and writers.

The Iranian president, who was addressing a joint press briefing with his Indonesian counterpart too, referred to the "success of Iranian women" and spoke about the common views of these two countries on international and regional issues, including Palestine and the situation in Afghanistan.

During the presser, Raisi also emphasised on the importance of the formation of an inclusive government with the presence of all ethnic groups, and the facilitation of educational opportunities, and social activities for women in Afghanistan.

Raisi also spoke about 35,000 children with disabilities in Afghanistan and said that "two decades of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan has brought nothing, but destruction and killing”.

He emphasised that Iran and Indonesia have decided to seriously fight against "unilateralism" in issues related to the countries of the region and the world.

The Iranian president is on a three-day visit to Jakarta which started on Monday at the official invitation of the Indonesian President. The purpose of this trip is to expand the economic, political, and cultural relations between the two countries.

So far, no other source has independently confirmed the attack. In previous cases, the Taliban has not reacted to AFF or National Resistance Front’s attacks.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front, an anti-Taliban armed group, announced the front’s "spring operation" against the Taliban on April 14. During this time, the group has reported several attacks in Kabul and other provinces.

AFF confirmed in April that several of its key members, including prominent commander Akmal Amir, had been killed in a battle with the Taliban in the Salang district of Parwan province.

According to Iran’s Student News Agency (ISNA), the head of Iran’s Department of Environment stressed on the meeting with the Taliban and water rights issue and said that Iran’s president has personally intervened to address the issue.

However, Salajegheh did not provide more details about the meeting between the officials of the Taliban and the Islamic Republic.

In the past week, tensions between the Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Iran over water rights from the Helmand River have escalated.

Earlier, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi asked Iranian officials to address the water rights issue through understanding and face-to-face talks instead of “making noise in the press”.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have said that they are committed to the water rights of Iran from Helmand River according to the 1973 water rights treaty between Iran and Afghanistan, but said that drought in Afghanistan is the main reason behind water shortage issues.

However, the Iranian authorities believe that the Taliban has been lying to them and have demanded a visit of Iran’s technical teams to assess the Taliban’s claims regarding drought and the lack of water in dams in Afghanistan.

The Taliban intelligence agency arrested Wesa, an activist for girls’ education and director of PenPath organisation, in late March in Kabul.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has confirmed that the group’s intelligence agency had arrested Wesa for “encouraging people to engage in anti-government activities”.

Rights groups have repeatedly said that those detained by the Taliban don’t have access to due procedures, justice, and lawyers.

Wesa has a strong record of volunteer work in relation to promotion and advocacy for the education of girls and awareness building about education for Afghans in remote areas of Afghanistan.

He has set up workshops and mobile libraries for children in several provinces. With the Taliban banning the education of girls, Wesa concentrated his educational activities on education for girls and women across Afghanistan.

Several international institutions and human rights activists have called for the release of Wesa, but the Taliban have not answered these calls and have kept him in detention.