Afghan Soil Will Not Be Used Against Other Countries, Taliban’s FM Promises Pak Envoy

During the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Central Asia Summit in Jeddah, Japarov added that they are committed to fighting against terrorism.

The first summit of the heads of state of the Gulf Cooperation Council and five Central Asian countries including Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan had been held in Jeddah on Wednesday.

The Kyrgyz president addressed the participants and asked the international community not to leave Afghanistan behind in isolation while the country’s citizens continue to suffer.

He added that humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan and full support for projects that help revive the Afghan economy are necessary.

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia hosted the GCC-Central Asia summit.

Bin Salman addressed the summit and said that he hopes for "new prospects" in the relations between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the five Central Asia states.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia announced that the Jeddah summit reflects the commitment of the participating countries to strategic cooperation.

In a joint statement, the participating heads of states in the GCC summit stressed on the importance of strengthening political and strategic relations and condemning terrorism.

The ministry had stated that these instruments had been destroyed and then burnt “according to Sharia law”.

When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they banned music across Afghanistan, including on Afghan media.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has been implementing the group’s policies to ban music and had collected instruments from various ceremonies.

Taliban members in the capital and provinces of Afghanistan visit wedding ceremonies and prevent people from playing music.

The Taliban agency on Tuesday added that the ban on the participation of female students in the university entrance exams has been decided by the Ministry of Higher Education of the Taliban.

The Taliban's National Examination Authority emphasised that the organisation was not part of the decision-making process on the ban of Afghan girls from university entrance exams.

The Taliban insists that the ban on women's education is temporary, but the continued ban on girls’ participation in university entrance exams shows that the group has no intention to lift the ban on Afghan girls’ right to higher education this year.

However, the National Examination Authority said that the first round of entrance exams for Afghan government universities will be held on July 20 and 21 in Ghor, Sar-e Pul, Daikundi, Logar, Faryab, Khost, Jawzjan, Takhar, Paktia, Baghlan and Bamyan provinces.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Defence uniform is similar to the uniform of the National Army of the previous Afghan government. It is also reported that the Taliban now uses the uniforms of the former government’s Ministry of Defence.

In an interview with Afghanistan International on Wednesday, Enayatullah Khwarizmi, Taliban’s spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, confirmed Mullah Yaqoob’s order sent through a letter about the uniform in the Ministry of Defence.

In this letter, it has been stated that the military personnel of the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence should wear military uniforms during their duty.

The Taliban's defence minister has banned the Taliban’s defence forces from use of the traditional appearance with a scarf, slippers, and other civilian clothing.

Mullah Yaqoob emphasised that the group’s Ministry of Defence has prepared and distributed military uniforms to all personnel of the ministry.

After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the group’s forces and civil servants continued to use traditional clothes in military and civil offices.

In recent months, reports have been published that armed people in plain clothes have been harassing and robbing citizens using the Taliban police rangers.

The Taliban’s new restriction imposed on Muharram ceremonies comes even though on Tuesday the Shia Ulema council had expressed dissatisfaction with the Taliban’s restrictions on the Shia religious ceremony across Afghanistan.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Kabul governor and the Taliban’s interior ministry promised that they will ensure security during the mourning ceremonies of Shias during the month of Muharram. In the statement, the Taliban asked Shia youth to cooperate with the group in providing security for the Shia religious ceremony.

While the Taliban have previously ignored any threats from the ISIS in Afghanistan, now close to the month of Muharram, the group has warned that ISIS plans to attack the Shia community members.

The Taliban has claimed that it has imposed restrictions on the Muharram ceremony in consultation with Shiite representatives. However, in response to the Taliban’s claim, on Tuesday, the Shia Ulema Council asked the Taliban to lift the restrictions imposed, so that Shia communities could hold the mourning ceremony during Muharram like the previous years.