Afghan Women Protesters Hold Demonstration in Takhar

In an exclusive interview with Afghanistan International, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister, however, said, "Taliban will provide Iran's water rights according to 1973 water treaty."

On Thursday, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi warned the Taliban officials to allocate the share of water for Sistan and Baluchistan from the Helmand River. He said that the Taliban should take his warning seriously and "not complain later that we weren't told”.

The Taliban reacted to Raisi’s statement and said that there is not enough water in the Helmand River.

However, the Islamic Republic does not accept the Taliban’s claim of lack of water in the Helmand River and said that the Taliban should allow Iranian experts to visit the dams and confirm the Taliban’s claims.

The Taliban Supreme Court has not provided details of the punishment for these Afghan citizens, but has stressed that these people have confessed to their “crimes”.

After taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has publicly punished hundreds of citizens on various charges.

Earlier, Abdul Malik Haqqani, the deputy chief justice in the Taliban’s Supreme Court, announced that since taking power in Afghanistan, the group had sentenced hundreds of people to “Qisas [retribution] and stoning”.

Haqqani said that the Taliban has ordered the execution of 175 people and the stoning of 37 people throughout Afghanistan since taking power in the country.

He emphasised that the courts of this group have ordered four people to be buried alive and Sharia laws have been implemented on 103 other people.

Human rights groups have repeatedly called on the Taliban to stop the public punishment of Afghan citizens and have stressed that those accused by the Taliban don’t have access to due procedures and justice.

According to the Taliban, Ariana Airlines will have one weekly flight from Kabul to Urumqi.

Last year, the foreign ministers of the Taliban and China discussed the resumption of direct flights between the two countries.

Among the countries in the region, China has shown more willingness to invest in Afghanistan's mines, and the Taliban, which is isolated globally, has shown more interest in China's role in Afghanistan's economic development.

He asked the Taliban to react responsibly to the "friendship messages of Iran”.

Earlier, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, asked the Islamic Republic not to politicise the water rights issue from the Helmand River and stressed that there is no water in the Kamal Khan dam.

Vahidi's statements about the water rights issue indicate that the high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic do not believe in the Taliban officials’ statements. On Tuesday, Iran's Interior Minister said, "If the other side claims that Hirmand [Helmand River] does not have water, our experts should be sent to the place and investigate. If there is no water, we will not have any dispute."

The Iranian officials’ demand to dispatch an expert team to assess the Taliban’s claims of lack of water in the Kamal Khan dam has not been accepted by the Taliban. The Taliban officials have said that they are ready to address the water rights issue through face-to-face talks between Iran and Taliban officials.

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.