Taliban Confirms Release of 75 Afghan Nationals From Pakistani Prisons

Aug 30, 2023, 09:34 GMT+1

The Taliban consulate in Karachi announced the release of 75 Afghan prisoners from the Sindh prison in Pakistan.

Abdul Jabbar Takhari, the Taliban Consul in Karachi, said that these prisoners were freed and transferred to Afghanistan from various prisons in Sindh on Tuesday.

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Afghan Girls Must Live Freely & Get Education, Says White House

Aug 29, 2023, 15:43 GMT+1

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House spokesperson, has again emphasised on the importance of girls' right to education in Afghanistan.

During a press conference on Monday, Pierre said that the US President has always been very clear about the importance of girls living freely and being able to go to school and seek education.

Pierre added that the US has been very clear in laying out their concerns, such as girls’ education, with the Taliban.

However, Pierre stressed that Washington remains laser-focused on trying to support and assist the Afghan people without bolstering the Taliban.

Referring to the support of US President Joe Biden's administration towards the education of Afghan girls, she said that the US government consistently assesses Washington’s relationship and approach with the Taliban.

For more than 700 days, the Taliban have deprived Afghan girls and women of the right to education in Afghanistan.

Assessing Report by Iran’s Expert Team About Water Level In Afghanistan, Says Iranian Prez

Aug 29, 2023, 14:17 GMT+1

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that his government is assessing the report regarding the water level in Helmand submitted by the Iranian delegation which visited Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, during a press conference in Tehran, Raisi once again emphasised on the implementation of the 1973 water treaty between Iran and Afghanistan.

The president of Iran said that the Islamic Republic enjoys a good relationship with its neighbours.

Referring to the challenges of water shortage inside Iran, the president of Iran said that Tehran already has agreements with its neighbours regarding the water issue and that these countries should adhere to them.

Raisi added, "Especially, regarding the water in the areas around Sistan and Baluchistan in Afghanistan, with the discussions and follow-ups that our special representative in Afghanistan, Kazemi Qomi, and his colleagues, these negotiations led to dispatching an expert team to Afghanistan. They (Taliban) also accepted this delegation to assess and see whether the water is sufficient to meet the needs of Sistan and Baluchistan."

The president of Iran said that the report of this delegation is being followed up and assessed.

Earlier in May, Iran's president warned the Taliban to share water from the Helmand River.

Over the years, Iran has accused Afghanistan of restricting the flow of water from the river by building dams over it, a charge that Afghan authorities deny.

Speaking during a visit to the southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province – a deprived region where the water is desperately needed – President Ebrahim Raisi had warned the Taliban, "Take my words seriously so that you don't complain later."

"Afghanistan's rulers should allow our experts to come and check the truth of the matter. If our experts confirm lack of water there, we have nothing to say, otherwise we will not allow the rights of our people to be violated in any way," he added.

NRF Leader Meets Head of Faction, A Just Russia, At Russian Parliament

Aug 29, 2023, 13:00 GMT+1

Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF), met with Sergei Mironov, the leader of the faction, A Just Russia, in the State Duma of Russia in Moscow.

According to a statement of A Just Russia party, during the meeting, the two sides discussed the political situation in Afghanistan.

Mironov said that Russia respects the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.

He said, "We stick to this position, and we believe that the people of Afghanistan should determine their own future."

Sergey Mironov added, "We believe that Afghanistan should not become a place for geopolitical ambitions."

The NRF leader also said that during the Taliban rule, the political situation in Afghanistan has worsened. He added that terrorist organisations and drug trafficking have increased in the country and people's rights are being violated.

Massoud emphasised that without an elected government, counternarcotics programmes, and fighting terror groups inside Afghanistan, the country can become a bomb which may explode at any moment.

Meanwhile, Mironov said that in his personal capacity and on behalf of his party, he supports the NRF leader.

Sergey Mironov also announced that they will hold a meeting in the State Duma of Russia about the problems of Afghanistan in the coming months in the presence of Ahmad Massoud.

The National Resistance Front has not yet commented on Ahmad Massoud's visit to Moscow and the details of this trip.

Positive Impact of Taliban’s Counter-Narcotic Efforts on Iran, Say Iranian MPs

Aug 29, 2023, 11:44 GMT+1

A delegation of members of the parliament of Iran praised what they called “significant progress” in the Taliban’s in counternarcotics efforts.

During a meeting with the Taliban’s deputy prime minister Mawlawi Abdul Kabir on Monday, the delegation said that the Taliban’s measures in the fight against narcotics have had positive impacts on Iran.

Previously, the Iranian authorities had criticised the increase in the production of drugs under the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s Prime Minister's office has shared the statement in which they quoted Iranian MPs as praising the group’s counternarcotics measures on social media platform X, and the Iranian embassy in Kabul has shared the same statement of the Taliban.

It seems that the authorities of the Islamic Republic have contradictory views about the Taliban and the narcotics issues. Not long ago, Eskandar Momeni, the Secretary General of Drugs Control Headquarters in Iran, had said that the production and trafficking of drugs in Afghanistan has increased nearly 50 times in two decades.

Momeni added that Afghanistan ranks first in drug production and second in industrial drug production in the world.

Momeni said that despite the promises of the Taliban to stop the production of narcotics, the cultivation and production of drugs have increased in Afghanistan.

After the takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban imposed a ban on poppy cultivation and touted its reduction as an achievement of the group. However, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime announced in a report that Afghanistan produced 80% of the world's opium in 2022.

Reshuffle of Taliban Governors & Police Chiefs in 8 Provinces of Afghanistan

Aug 29, 2023, 10:51 GMT+1

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, announced that Mawlawi Abdul Ali Qudratullah has been appointed as the governor of Parwan; Zia ur-Rahman Madani of Logar, and Obaidullah Aminzada as the governor of Takhar province.

According to Mujahid, the Taliban leader has appointed these former governors of the group to new positions.

Before this, Qudratullah had been the governor of Logar; Zia ur-Rahman Madani had been posted in Takhar, and Aminzada was the governor of the group in Parwan province.

Meanwhile, the Taliban leader has also appointed Seyed Mohammad Hanif Ebada, as the police chief of Bamiyan, and Sediqullah Shahin as the police chief of Ghor province.

According to the spokesperson of the Taliban, Mawlawi Ziaul Haq, the former police chief of the Taliban in Kapisa, has been appointed as the police chief of the group in Takhar, and Mohammad Osman, the former governor of the Taliban for Kunar, has been appointed as the police chief of Taliban in Kapisa province.

The Taliban leader has also appointed Mullah Sirajuddin, the previous police chief of the group in Jawzjan as the new police chief of Faryab province.

Sheikh Saniullah Farahmand, the former head of the Kunduz Ulema Council, has been appointed as the head of the military court of Kunduz, and Sheikh Abdul Waris, the previous head of the Kunduz court, has been appointed as the head of the Taliban military court in Balkh province.