3 Former Members of Afghan Security Forces Killed in Balkh

The clock displayed the number of days, hours and minutes since he has been held by the Taliban (January 7) and will remain in place till he is released.

Paris-Centre mayor Ariel Weil, deputy Paris mayor Jean-Luc Romero-Michel, Behboudi’s wife Aleksandra Mostovaja and RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire all spoke at the event, stressing on the need to step up the campaign for Behboudi’s release.

Christophe Deloire, RSF secretary-general, said that every minute that this reporter spends in a prison cell is one too many. “Our campaign, reinforced by an active support committee, is being heard by the Taliban authorities,” Deloire added.

He was arrested by the Taliban in Kabul just 48 hours after arriving there on a reporting visit. Earlier, Reporters Without Borders, along with representatives of 15 French media outlets for whom Morteza worked, had signed a joint petition for the journalist's release.

Afghanistan is ranked 156th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2023 World Press Freedom Index.

On Thursday, Russian media reported that according to Peskov, during the preparations for the next SCO summit, the Taliban’s request for taking part in the summit will be assessed.

He stressed that such decisions require the consensus of all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Earlier, the Taliban had asked the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to facilitate the participation of the group in the upcoming SCO meeting which is scheduled to be held in Kazakhstan.

The group has also criticised the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for not inviting their representatives to participate in the SCO heads of state virtual summit.

In a statement, the Taliban’s foreign ministry said that Afghanistan is an observer member of SCO and the absence of the group in the SCO virtual meeting "impedes coordination" with the organisation.

The Taliban's foreign ministry also called the absence of Afghanistan’s representatives during such meetings as an obstacle to comprehensive coordination to prevent instability and drug trafficking, support humanitarian assistance, implementation of infrastructural projects, and facilitate regional economic initiatives.

The 23rd meeting of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has been held virtually by India. Among others, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the President of China, Xi Jinping, have participated in the SCO meeting.

However, at the SCO summit on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the organisation remains focused on Afghanistan, as the situation in the country continues to be tense.

Meanwhile, Bakhtiyar Hakimov, Russia’s Representative for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) affairs, in a press conference on Wednesday said that the Taliban has not been recognised for objective reasons, and engagements with the group are “informal”.

Mahami said, "The neighbour [Taliban] did not keep its promise during the past years, and if any water has been received in the country, it was the result of the floods."

Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday that Mahami met with the managers of Iran’s Ministry of Energy in Sistan and Baluchistan province.

Iran’s representative to the province stressed, "Water and electricity issues are considered to be one of the problems of the country, but the situation is more difficult and critical in our province, especially in the center and north of [Sistan and Baluchistan] province."

He emphasised that there should be serious efforts to prevent further crises in the province.

Mahami said that in the current situation, there is a decrease in floods, and "the enemy has planned not to send more water toward our country". He added that this is the reason why they [Taliban] have been diverting the water to the Gowd-i zerrah region in Afghanistan.

WFP added that the Taliban also exerted “strong control” over the export of foreign currency, which caused stability of the Afghani currency rate.

According to the organisation, the strengthening of the afghani can be considered a positive economic development.

Since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2021, Afghanistan’s Central Bank has continuously reported receiving USD 40 million in humanitarian assistance packages from the international community to Kabul. These reports have been met with criticisms from Afghans and the Taliban’s opposition groups.

On Sunday too, Afghanistan’s Central Bank announced that a USD 40 million humanitarian package reached Kabul.

A reliable source in the Central Bank of Afghanistan, on Saturday, confirmed to Afghanistan International that the cash packages are being sent to Kabul, but the Taliban have avoided publicising it.

Meanwhile, WFP stressed that Afghanistan's export sector has also seen a slight improvement “with a steady contribution from food and coal exports”.

According to the World Bank economic monitoring data, in the first three months of 2023, Afghanistan’s exports reached 500 million dollars, showing a seven percent increase compared to the same period of time, last year.

In this report, it has also been stated that Afghanistan’s imports in 2023 amounted to USD 1.8 billion which shows a 32 percent increase than last year.

The Taliban’s higher education minister discussed cooperation in the education sector in a meeting with Robert Dickson, the British Charge d’Affairs for Afghanistan.

Dickson has been appointed as the interim Charge d’Affairs of the UK mission in Afghanistan. He is on a visit to Kabul and met with the Taliban’s foreign minister too.

Nadim also said that the stability of Afghanistan depends on education and that’s why the world should cooperate in the development of education sector in the country.

He stressed that educated Afghans need to return to Afghanistan and take part in the development of the country. With the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, many university lecturers and professors have been removed from their positions in state universities and or have fled the country.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Taliban’s foreign ministry announced that Amir Khan Muttaqi met with Dickson in Kabul.

This ministry stated that the Taliban is thankful to the UK for “not supporting armed oppositions” of the group.

Muttaqi told Dickson that the UK should not formulate its Afghanistan policies based on "media reports". He called on the British government to be “realistic” about the Taliban.