Taliban Must Ensure Afghanistan Soil Not Used Against Pakistan For Terror, Says Islamabad

In the meeting, Abdul Kabir said that like other Afghans, Shias will be given equal rights under the Sharia law.

The Taliban’s acting prime minister’s press office added that Shia clerics and influential community members presented their suggestions during the meeting with Abdul Kabir.

The press office didn’t provide more details about the suggestions provided by the Shia clerics.

On the eve of the Muharram and Ashura ceremony, sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban ordered Shias to refrain from raising Shia religious flags and providing water and food on the streets and roads during the month of Muharram.

The sources emphasised that the Taliban has not officially issued any order regarding these restrictions and has raised the issue verbally with the relevant figures in the community to address issues faced by the Shia population of Afghanistan.

After taking power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have not appointed Shia representatives to senior cabinet positions of the group’s government. During the past two years, Shia representatives have repeatedly met with senior Taliban officials to address the demands of the Shia population.

However, last year, the US State Department published a report on religious freedom in the world and said that Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban is witnessing severe violations of religious freedom.

Referring to the forced displacement of religious minorities in Afghanistan, the US State Department said that the Taliban expelled members of the Shia communities from their homes in several provinces and divided their lands among the supporters of the group.

Human Rights Watch also stated ISIS has repeatedly attacked Hazaras who are mainly followers of the Shia sect of Islam and other religious minorities in their mosques, schools, and workplaces, but the Taliban has not taken measures to protect them.

At the same time, Ghassab announced the formation of a committee to facilitate Afghan investors in Iran.

In an interview with Bazar Media, he said that although the investment of Afghans in Iran is small, it is significant in terms of numbers.

Ghassab explained that investments have been made in various sectors, including agriculture, industry, and construction.

Bazaar media on Friday reported that Afghans were the biggest foreign investors in Iran last year. In this report, it has been stated that the process of cash injection by Afghans to Iran's economy has increased significantly in terms of number and value.

It was said on the same basis, due to the increase in the amount of investment by Afghans in Iran, on Wednesday, the first meeting of the "Committee to Facilitate Afghan Investors in Iran" was held in the Office of the Special Representative of the President of Iran for Afghanistan Affairs, with the presence of all relevant government agencies of Iran.

Ghassab said that the goal is to facilitate the attraction of Afghan investors to Iran along with removing their obstacles, as well as supporting Iranian investors who are working in Afghanistan in commercial, security, and judicial aspects.

The ban is also imposed on raising flags on Muharram and opening cabins for volunteer distribution of food and water.

In the past twenty years, Afghanistan witnessed the celebration of Muharram and Ashura openly by the Shia community members.

Meanwhile, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, stressed that the Taliban will ensure the security during the Muharram ceremony in the coming weeks.

Mujahid said that last year there was no security incident during Muharram and the group will make sure that security remains tight during the Shia religious ceremony.

After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, and despite the group’s emphasis on respect of the rights of Shia citizens of Afghanistan, the leaders of the Shia sect of Islam have complained of discrimination against members of the community.

Last year, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Taliban removed the holiday of Ashura from the Afghan calendar. This decision of the Taliban faced harsh criticism from Afghan citizens, especially Shia citizens.

Afghan Shia leaders have repeatedly asked the Taliban to recognise Jafari's jurisprudence, however, the group has not yet officially expressed its opinion on this issue.

In one case, the Ministry of Higher Education of the Taliban rejected the request of the Council of Shiite Scholars to include Jafari jurisprudence in the university curriculum.

The Daily reported that "in addition to the security problem, the presence of Afghans has also caused a food security challenge in the area”.

Jomhouri Eslami newspaper is affiliated with the reformist political movement of Iran. The Daily published its report on Monday, July 10.

Some Iranian media have called the daily report’s title "strange".

Jomhouri Eslami quoted an Iranian journalist’s interview with Ensaf News and wrote that after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the presence of Afghans in Iran has increased dramatically.

The newspaper, quoting a source, discussed the life of Afghans in Iran, especially in the south of Tehran, and claimed that around eight million Afghans currently reside in Iran.

The newspaper claimed that Afghans live in a collective lifestyle and said that around 13-15 Afghans live in rented homes.

The report also discussed the possibility of a "rebellion by Afghans living in Iran" and it has been stated that "if the Afghans who are living in Iran decide to revolt, we [Iranians] are done".

Justifying this claim, Jomhouri Eslami has raised the issue of the recent tensions between the Taliban and the Iranian government regarding the water rights issue from the Helmand River.

The daily’s source claimed that when something happens in Iran, maybe a percentage of Iranians abroad chant slogans against Iran or the regime, but recently on the water rights issue that has been disputed between the Taliban and Iran, "the same nationals who were in Kahrizak [south of Tehran] chanted slogans in favour of the Taliban".

The report also stated that "Afghans can get a driving license or have a bank account and this will affect Iran’s economy”.

The journalist claimed that Afghans "come with empty pockets and return with full pockets".

However, it has been said that Afghans "deposit 50 to 60 billion Iranian Toman annually into the pockets of Tehran's governorate. According to the law, every Afghan citizen must pay three to four million Iranian Toman to the government every two to three months to renew their visa”.

The source of the newspaper called the exact number of Afghans in Iran a "mystery" and explained that there are no specific statistics because they enter Iran illegally.

According to the daily’s source, "If an Afghan kills someone and goes to Afghanistan, we cannot do anything."

In this report, it had been emphasised to the authorities of the Iranian government that "employing foreign nationals is a crime. The government inspectors must inspect all workshops and livestock farms south of Tehran where they [Afghans] have been employed”.

The reporter of Jomhouri Eslami believes that the issue of Afghans in Iran is currently a security dilemma for the Iranian government.

According to Iranian media outlets, 150 Afghan citizens have been arrested during the police raid.

Ali Akbar Javidan, the police chief of Hormozgan province told the Fars News Agency, close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, "In this operation, 550 fuel tanks with an amount of 300,000 litres were discovered, 80 motor pumps for fuel collection, five vehicles carrying fuel, five stolen and unauthorised motorcycles were discovered, 50 kilometers of fuel pipelines from tanks to the coast were destroyed, and 150 unauthorised foreigners were arrested."

Iranian authorities have not revealed the identity of the arrested individuals yet.

The campaign of Baloch activists also reported that the military forces, in addition to destroying and setting fire to fuel tanks, destroyed several houses in the attack on Kolahi Minab village in Hormozgan province.

A well-informed source told the Baloch activists campaign that these forces raided this village along with a special military unit and they didn’t allow movement of residents for hours.

According to this report, the lack of work and income has caused the residents of this village and neighbouring villages to be engaged in fuel delivery. Since the authorities of the Iranian government consider fuel delivery as smuggling, people engaged in fuel delivery are subjected to severe repression, and every year hundreds of them are killed and wounded by the Iranian military forces.