Afghanistan Freedom Front Attacks Taliban Outpost in Parwan, Kills 5

Sources told Afghanistan International that Haq had been detained for broadcasting an advertisement related to cricket matches which featured a woman.

Ziaul Haq had been the head of evaluation of RTA and had continued working for the TV Station after the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Local sources said that the Taliban officials detained him on Thursday at the entrance of RTA which is located in Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul. According to a source, Ziaul Haq was beaten up by the Taliban officials when he was detained.

Sources added that the Taliban officials also threatened the staff at the RTA news department for broadcasting women’s comments during a live televised news conference. It has been said that the broadcast of images of a woman who did not cover her face during the press conference provoked the anger of the Taliban’s intelligence agency.

Officials of RTA, which is under the control of the Taliban, did not respond to Afghanistan International on the issue of the detention of the TV station’s employee.

RTA is a state broadcaster which is now controlled by the Taliban after the group’s takeover of Afghanistan.

Earlier, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had also announced the detention of nine journalists by the Taliban in the last 10 days.

On Thursday, UNAMA added that the organisation seeks to remind the Taliban of their “obligations under international law to respect, uphold and promote rights to freedom of opinion and expression”.

The UN agency also mentioned the rights of all those in custody, including the right to meet with their families, access to a lawyer, and be informed of the charges against them.

Without providing the details about media workers’ detention, UNAMA stressed that Mortaza Behboudi, an Afghan French journalist, and Matiullah Wesa, an activist for girls' education, are being held by the Taliban too.

During the last two years, the Taliban has widely suppressed the media and arrested and tortured journalists.

According to the recent report by "Afghan Witness", a UK-based group, at least 98 journalists and media workers have been detained by the Taliban in the last two years.

Nai, an organisation supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, on Friday, announced that the Taliban have detained five journalists in the past week.

On August 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Taliban to end the "relentless campaign" of suppression and intimidation of the media in Afghanistan.

According to CPJ, the Taliban has continued "censorship, beatings, and arbitrary detentions of journalists" in the last two years in Afghanistan.

Zohrevand said that Afghanistan is turning into a dangerous black hole in the region.

In an interview with the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) on Thursday, the former Iranian ambassador to Kabul, said that any regional group with access to weapons and radical ideology has representatives in Afghanistan.

Zohrevand stressed that the recent statements of the former US special envoy for Afghanistan about the Taliban must be taken seriously.

On the eve of the second year of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, Khalilzad in an exclusive interview with Afghanistan International, asked the opposition leaders of the Taliban to return to Kabul and talk with the group.

Referring to these statements Zohrevand said, “Zalmay Khalilzad clearly declares the presence of the Taliban in Afghanistan as a political reality and even asks the country's politicians to return and continue their lives [under the group]. He has made these statements while the US has not recognised the Taliban, and has put new scenarios on its agenda.”

The former Iranian ambassador to Kabul believes that the US is even looking to shift the conflict and crisis into Pakistan in any possible way.

According to him, even the Chinese in Pakistan's Gwadar port had been singled out and it was a targeted attack.

Referring to the Taliban’s lack of legitimacy in Afghanistan, Zohrevand said that with the current situation, a popular uprising might emerge in Afghanistan, which according to him will undoubtedly plunge the Taliban into a deeper crisis.

According to Taliban media reports, Delawar visited Panjshir to observe the formation of the provincial mining committee.

On Thursday, the Taliban-controlled Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), reported that Delawar spoke with the governor and other local officials of the group in Panjshir about the mining operations in the province.

Delawar has claimed that with the extraction of mines, Afghanistan will soon see strong economic growth.

He announced the signing of the contract for Afghanistan's gemstone mines and said that they want to start extracting other mines, including oil and gas too.

After taking over power in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime has focused on mining as the main source of revenue for the group’s government.

On Tuesday, August 8, the Taliban announced that the extraction of the emerald mine has started in Hesa-e Awal district of Panjshir province.

Salehinejad said that the abducted man was released after 61 days.

According to Iranian media reports, he explained, "A middle-aged man was taken hostage while walking with his child in one of the parks of Jiroft city. When he was released, he was safe and sound due to the continuous efforts of the prosecutor's office and the police of Jiroft city."

Details of how he was released from Afghanistan have not been provided. The Taliban have not yet reacted to this report.

On Wednesday, the chief prosecutor of Jiroft said that since the kidnapping report had been received, the efforts of the police forces to free this person began, and it was determined by intelligence officials that the defendants had transferred the hostage to Afghanistan.

According to Salehinejad, the kidnappers, who were not natives of Kerman province, kidnapped the middle-aged man with the motive of extorting money from the hostage's family.