Killed Two Taliban Members & Injured Five Others in Kabul, Claims AFF

Taliban officials said that based on the new decision, the group will issue passports to 1,000 applicants in Herat city daily.

Residents of Herat sent photos to Afghanistan International on Thursday which depict a massive crowd outside the Taliban’s passport office in the western city.

According to the report of the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar news agency, Noor Ahmad Islamjar the group’s governor in Herat had made the announcement regarding the increase in the distribution of passports in Herat on Wednesday while inaugurating the new passport office headquarters.

Islamjar said that after this, up to 1,000 passports will be distributed in Herat every day. Bakhtar news agency reported that the increase in the distribution of passports in Herat had been ordered by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister.

Local Taliban officials said that previously, 250-300 passports were issued daily in Herat.

Local sources in Herat told Afghanistan International that before this, the Taliban only issued passports to people with health issues.

In the past few months, the Taliban has stopped the process of distributing passports in different provinces of Afghanistan several times. However, local sources previously told Afghanistan International that the sale of passports in the black market continued at exorbitant prices "from two to four thousand dollars per passport".

With the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and the increase in migration of Afghans, the number of applicants applying for passports has increased dramatically across the country.

According to reports, Sadat had been mysteriously killed three days ago.

On Thursday, Zadran also said that the group’s forces have arrested three people on charges of murder of the female Afghan YouTuber.

The Taliban official said that the investigation into the death of this YouTuber is still ongoing.

After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, mysterious murders of women have increased across Afghanistan.

Qomi added, "We will watch that the Americans do not create an atmosphere like the past in Afghanistan again."

He did not elaborate on the issue.

However, without providing any evidence, Qomi has claimed that "instead of military campaigns, the United States is strengthening ISIS-K”.

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on Thursday that Qomi made these statements during a programme in Iran's Qom province.

The Iranian ambassador has also said that the Americans withdrew their forces from Afghanistan after 20 years.

Qomi, who maintains close relations with the Taliban, said, "The scene is very complicated, but the fact is that the Americans did not want to leave Afghanistan, but they were forced to do so, and this is considered a big failure for them."

The representative of the Islamic Republic in Kabul had previously accused Washington of trying to turn Afghanistan into a dangerous region for its neighbours.

In an interview with IRNA, Qomi had claimed that the United States was trying to return Afghan special forces to Afghanistan for special situations.

Muttaqi raised this issue during a meeting with Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani, Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul and Sohail Mahmood, head of Pakistan Institute of Strategic Studies.

During this meeting in Kabul, Muttaqi said, "Let's not doubt each other's intentions."

He emphasised, "Instead of verbal conflict and media statements, let's find the causes of the problems."

Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesperson of the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, shared pictures of this meeting on his social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Muttaqi called the relations between Taliban and Pakistan friendly and fraternal and stressed on preventing damage to bilateral relations.

Claiming that peace and stability have reigned in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s foreign minister promised the Pakistani ambassador that they would stick to their commitments. Muttaqi assured Pakistan that "no one will be harmed" from Afghanistan's soil.

On August 18, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s former Minister of Defence, in an interview with Afghanistan International, had emphasised that Pakistan will use force if the Taliban does not fulfill their commitments.

He explained, "In case, we obtain evidence that attacks are coordinated from Afghanistan's territory against Pakistan, Islamabad will resort to force to defend its territory."

The former Pakistani defence minister said that after his visit to Kabul on February 22, the attacks of the Pakistani Taliban on the territory of Pakistan has increased.

Both officials met in Beijing and reviewed the situation in Afghanistan.

Tajikistan and China, like other countries, do not recognise the Taliban and have repeatedly asked the group to fulfill their commitments towards fighting terrorism.

Tajikistan is worried about the presence of ISIS and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups on its borders and China, despite its close relations with the Taliban, has a written pledge from the Taliban that the group will fight against the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM).

According to the Tajik media, during the meeting between the Tajik and Chinese officials which took place on Tuesday, it had been decided that Beijing and Dushanbe will cooperate under the framework of the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, as well as other regional and international organisations, to fight terrorism, extremism, and transnational organised crime.

Tajikistan announced that several documents were signed during Rustam Emomali’s visit to China to expand cooperation between the two countries.