Taliban’s Prisoners Fewer Than Your Executions, Muttaqi Responds to Calls for Inclusivity

During a press conference on Wednesday, Zakharova said that the Taliban and representatives of other ethnic groups should engage in negotiations.

She mentioned that three days ago, Massoud met with Sergey Mironov, the head of the “A Just Russia” Party at the Russian Parliament.

Russia has repeatedly asked the Taliban to form an inclusive government. Last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow would consider recognising the group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan if the Taliban guarantees the establishment of an inclusive government.

Zakharova added that although the Taliban government has not been recognised, Russia continues to cooperate with the group. However, she also emphasised that there are still terrorist threats and social, economic, and human rights issues under the rule of the Taliban.

"If the situation proceeds according to an unfavourable scenario, international terrorist organisations, primarily ISIS, will take advantage of the situation and plan to expand further outside of Afghanistan, especially in Central Asia,” said Zakharova.

She added that Russia wants the Taliban and representatives of other ethnic groups to start a dialogue in order to form a truly inclusive government, intensify the fight against terrorism, and drugs, and ensure human rights.

Ahmad Massoud, the leader of NRF, met with Sergei Mironov, in the State Duma of Russia in Moscow.

According to a statement by A Just Russia Party, the two sides discussed the political situation in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the NRF also wrote that Massoud discussed the ways out of the current crisis in Afghanistan during a meeting with Russian officials.

Two days ago, Russian expert Andrey Serenko, in an analysis wrote that the Taliban's focus is on dialogue with the United States and the group's growing financial and political dependence on Washington is probably a reason behind Moscow reconsidering its relations with the Taliban.

However, he said that despite the ties with the NRF, Russia will still try to maintain a dialogue with the Taliban, so that "all the eggs are not in one basket".

The Taliban-controlled Bakhtar news agency reported on Wednesday that senior Taliban officials also participated in the gathering.

While addressing the gathering, Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister, claimed that the group has established absolute security in Afghanistan. Hanafi added, "In the Islamic Emirate, all expenses of government offices are financed from the internal budget of the country."

Continuing to praise the Taliban, he claimed that during the republic era, the affairs of Afghanistan were based on personal and party interests.

So far, no country has recognised the Taliban. One of the main preconditions of the international community is the formation of an inclusive government and respect for human rights in Afghanistan.

In line with these demands, Amnesty International announced on Wednesday that 198,612 people around the world petitioned the Taliban to end human rights violations in Afghanistan.

In this petition, it has been emphasised that two years after the group’s takeover of Afghanistan, the country is on the verge of irreversible destruction.

In addition, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, addressed the gathering and said, "We must know that uniting with tyrants and enemies of the homeland and asking them for help is not in anyone's interest."

Muttaqi did not name any person or group, but his statements were made a day after the visit of Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front, to Moscow. During this trip, Massoud met Sergei Mironov, the leader of the A Just Russia Party, who is also considered an ally of Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia.

During this meeting, Sergei Mironov said that he seeks the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan and extended a hand of friendship to the National Resistance Front.

However, the foreign minister of the Taliban claimed that no foreign country supports opponents of the group in Afghanistan.

Muttaqi stressed, "Afghanistan's weakness will be detrimental to everyone. It has been promised and assured in international forums that the world will not support the opponents of the current Afghan government.”

The Taliban has held similar meetings many times before to consolidate its power base and gain the support of clerics.

Referring to their petition which had been launched last year, the global rights body on social media platform X stated that Afghans deserve their right to live in freedom, dignity, and equality.

They also called on the Taliban to end human rights violations.

The petition had stated that the Taliban has started a new era of human rights abuse and violations since taking over on August 15, 2021 in Afghanistan.

Amnesty added that the Taliban had also broken their promise of protecting Afghan people’s rights, especially women’s rights, and they have resumed the cycle of violence and committed a litany of human rights abuses and violations with full impunity.

“Thousands of Afghans have been arbitrarily detained, tortured, disappeared, and even killed. Journalists, activists, human rights defenders, artists, academics, religious and ethnic minorities remain at particular risk,” the petition states.

It called on people to sign the petition as human rights in Afghanistan were under attack on all fronts and that it must be stopped.

Rashid said that the Taliban authorities have reasons for preventing Afghan girls and women from pursuing education, but they do not think it is necessary to convey the reasons to the citizens of Afghanistan and the media.

He said that they can only talk about the reasons for depriving Afghans girls and women from their right to education privately.

After two years of closing schools and universities to girls and women, Rashid claimed that the ban was for a "limited” time.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world where the education of women and girls is prevented.

On Tuesday, Rashid was speaking to the students of Paktia University where he said that students have repeatedly asked him about the closure of schools and universities to women and girls. But he emphasised that the Taliban does not want to talk openly about the reasons for closing schools.

He did not explain why Taliban officials are reluctant to explain their views on women's education. Previously, to justify the ban imposed on Afghan girls and women’s higher education, the Minister of Higher Education of the Taliban, said that the female students did not follow the Taliban's regulations regarding clothing and gender segregation.

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.

According to Takhari, six children were among the Afghan prisoners.

The Taliban official added that so far 2,516 Afghans have been released from Pakistani prisons and transferred to Afghanistan.

Takhari added that the Afghan consulate in the city of Karachi, which is under the control of the Taliban, is also trying to free 300 more Afghan prisoners.

In the past few months, the Pakistani police have arrested hundreds of Afghans who have travelled to the country due to security threats, health reasons, and migration to third countries.

Pakistani officials have said that these Afghan nationals had been arrested due to a lack of legal document issues.

Previously, human rights organisations and activists have expressed concern about the situation of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan.