Taliban Members Killed in Separate Attacks in 3 Provinces of Afghanistan, Claims NRF

Jul 26, 2023, 10:24 GMT+1

The National Resistance Front (NRF) claimed to have killed three Taliban members in separate attacks in Nuristan, Laghman, and Nangarhar provinces.

In a statement on Tuesday, NRF also added that a Taliban member had been wounded during an attack by its forces in Nangarhar province.

NRF said that on Tuesday morning, its forces killed two members of the Taliban in the "Digal" area in the west of Nuristan province.

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Influential Shia Cleric Calls On Mourners To Defy Taliban Orders On Muharram Rituals

Jul 26, 2023, 09:28 GMT+1

Ayatollah Sayed Mohsen Hojjat has asked the Taliban to respect Muharram rituals and ceremonies and lift the imposed restrictions on Shia practices in Afghanistan.

While speaking to a crowd of Shia mourners in Kabul, Hojjat pointed out the Taliban's harsh treatment of the mourners and asked Shias in Afghanistan not to obey the Taliban’s restrictive orders.

It is not clear when the speech had been delivered, but Tamadon TV in Kabul broadcasted it on Tuesday, in which Hojjat talks about the Taliban's new restrictions imposed on the Ashura ceremony. He has described these restrictions as the Taliban's disrespect for the Shia sect and its followers.

Sayed Mohsen Hojjat criticised the Taliban’s ban on raising flags during Muharram and opening of cabins for voluntary distribution of food and water and asked Shias to ignore these Taliban’s orders.

Hojjat said, "We are from this country and we obey this government as long as they don’t talk against our sect. If they ask us to take down our flag, you should not do it.”

He asked the people to commemorate the Ashura ceremony regardless of the "beating" of the Taliban.

The Taliban have said that they have restricted Muharram mourning ceremonies for security reasons. This position has angered the Shia Ulema Council of Afghanistan as the organisation has demanded the lifting of these bans.

Shia Council Asks People To Not Mourn In Caravans In Public Spaces in Afghanistan

Jul 25, 2023, 15:06 GMT+1

Following the Taliban's imposed restrictions on the month of Muharram, the Shia Ulema Council asked people to refrain from collective mourning in the streets.

The Council also asked people to individually visit the shrines of Abolfazl and Sakhi in Kabul. These two are the most popular Shia shrines in Kabul.

In a statement, this council specifically asked the Shia mourners to refrain from appearing in mourning caravans on the streets on the 7th and 10th of Muharram.

Under the previous Afghan government, Shiites used to move from one place to another in the form of mourning caravans.

The Shia Ulema Council recently asked the Taliban twice to lift the restrictions on the Muharram ceremony in Afghanistan.

The council had confirmed that the Taliban had ordered a ban on raising flags on Muharram and opening cabins for volunteer distribution of food and water.

The Taliban governor in Kabul had also announced that Shias can only hold mourning ceremonies during the month of Muharram at mosques and other religious centers that “have no security risks”.

In recent days, reports were published that the Taliban in Kabul prevented the movement of the mourners' convoys and beat Shia mourners in the streets of the capital city.

After the Taliban imposed restrictions on the Muharram ceremony, several political and military groups opposed to the Taliban condemned the group’s anti-Shia acts.

Taliban Appoints New Police Chief for Panjshir Province

Jul 25, 2023, 13:34 GMT+1

The Taliban’s Ministry of Interior appointed a new police chief for Panjshir Province. Qari Ahmadullah Badr was introduced as the Taliban’s police chief in Panjshir on Tuesday.

The Taliban has changed the police chief of Panjshir three times in the last two years.

The new police chief of the group in Panjshir was previously the police chief of Samangan province.

Panjshir is the main hub of the National Resistance Front’s (NRF) activities against the Taliban. NRF has clashed with the Taliban many times in this province in the past two years.

After the escalation of the security situation in Panjshir, the Taliban appointed Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as the military commander in Panjshir and Andrab region.

According to the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, during the introduction ceremony of the new police chief of Panjshir, the group’s governor for the province, Mohammad Agha Hakim, said that the outsiders’ perceptions of Panjshir are not true.

The governor of the Taliban has claimed that the people in this province "obey" all the orders of the leader of the group.

According to reports, the Taliban in Panjshir has intensified detaining civilians on the charge of cooperation with the NRF and have been mistreating the residents of the province. It has been reported that only in the past few months, the Taliban has arrested and tortured dozens of residents of Panjshir province.

Previously, Dad Mohammad Batar and Mullah Mohammad Tayeb Haqqani worked as Taliban police chiefs of Panjshir province.

Turkish Police Arrests 34 Illegal Afghan Immigrants In Ankara

Jul 25, 2023, 12:15 GMT+1

Police in Türkiye announced that 34 illegal Afghan refugees and four people associated with smuggling these Afghans have been arrested.

These refugees have been transferred to Ankara and await deportation to Afghanistan.

The Ankara police arrested these refugees after they received information about the arrival of a group of "illegal" immigrants from the borders with Iran. The Ankara police announced that these asylum seekers entered Türkiye without passports and identity documents.

The arrest and deportation of Afghan immigrants in Türkiye has increased in recent months.

In the latest case on Monday, 38 "illegal Afghan immigrants" has been arrested from a boat off the coast of Ayvacik in the Turkish city of Çanakkale.

Following the announcement of the new immigration policy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the arrest and deportation of Afghan immigrants in the country has increased significantly.

It has been reported that more than three thousand Afghan refugees have been arrested and forcibly deported from Turkiye this year.

Turkiye confirmed that more than three hundred thousand Afghan immigrants live in the country.

Taliban’s Senior Defence & Security Officials Visit Herat Province

Jul 25, 2023, 10:13 GMT+1

Taliban officials, including Defence Minister Mawlawi Yaqoob; Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani; Intelligence Chief Abdul Haq Wasiq, and the group’s chief justice met with the group’s officials in the western region in Herat province.

The Taliban has not revealed details of the discussions or visit of the group’s senior officials to Herat province.

According to reports, the senior Taliban officials arrived at Herat province on Monday.

Media sources reported that senior military and intelligence officials of the Taliban have visited Herat province due to concerns arising from the Islamic Republic of Iran.