Some Taliban Cabinet Members Have Pakistani Citizenship, Claims Pak Newspaper

Putin said that weapons sent to Ukraine are sold to the Taliban and "can be accessed by anyone".

On Friday, in a meeting with members of the country's Civic Chamber in Moscow, the Russian president criticised the military support of the Western countries to Ukraine and the sale of these weapons in black markets.

Since February last year, when Russia invaded militarily on Ukraine, Western countries have been sending weapons worth tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine to fight the Russian forces.

Ukraine said that it has tight control over the weapons it receives, but some Western security officials have previously expressed concern about the weapons being sold on illegal markets.

The United States of America asked Ukraine to take more measures to fight corruption in the country.

Last year, the head of Interpol, Jürgen Stock, warned that some advanced weapons sent to Ukraine would end up in the hands of organised crime groups.

In March, a report on the war in Ukraine and the illegal arms trade was published by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime stating that so far, no significant number of weapons have been taken out of Ukraine.

However, the report warned that if the threats are not addressed, when the current war ends, "Ukraine’s battlefields could and will become the new arsenal of anarchy, arming everyone from insurgents in Africa to gangsters in the streets of Europe”.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy report, eight major Western donors, led by the United States of America, have pledged to Ukraine to send at least 84 billion euros in military aid to the country.

In a statement, the Taliban wrote that the visit was made at the official invitation of the Iranian government and Mullah Baradar and the delegation accompanying him will discuss economic cooperation, bilateral relations, trade, transit, transportation, infrastructure, railways, and regional connectivity with Iranian officials.

As per the Taliban's statement, this visit will involve deliberations on increasing trade via the Chabahar port, expanding Afghanistan's involvement at the port, and promoting economic cooperation between the two nations.

The Taliban said that Mullah Baradar will encourage Iranian businessmen to invest in Afghanistan during his visit to Tehran.

Taliban’s Office For Deputy PM for Economic Affairs wrote that "a high-ranking delegation" of the Taliban will accompany Mullah Baradar during his visit to Iran”. Iranian media outlets wrote that 30 Taliban members are included in the delegation.

ISNA news agency reported that prior to the Taliban's takeover of power in 2021, Mullah Baradar had traveled to Tehran "as the head of the Taliban's political office”. Nevertheless, following the Taliban's return to power and Mullah Baradar's appointment as the group's deputy prime minister, this marks his first visit to Tehran.

In a statement, he emphasised that despite significant and fundamental differences in his perspectives with the Taliban, it is essential to engage in discussions and be ready for "national cooperation" to address this challenge.

Atmar said that his differences with the Taliban are on fundamental rights and freedoms of people, especially women, and regarding the political system, peace, and stability in Afghanistan.

In the statement, he wrote that the time has come for the Taliban leaders to make a "wise, responsible and patriotic" decision considering the fate of the "deplorable immigrants" and the widespread consequences of expelling the immigrants.

Atmar stressed that the Pakistani government has "disrespected" the human rights of Afghan immigrants and "disregarded" the wishes of the people of Pakistan and international organisations.

He added that the Taliban and the political opponents of the group should "cooperate" to protect the lives, property, and dignity of the immigrants.

In the statement, he said that the Taliban can turn this "tragedy into an opportunity for national reconciliation and the sustainable return of all Afghan refugees”.

Atmar strongly stated that the Pakistani government will never stop "exploiting the Afghan immigrant population for political and security objectives”.

He emphasised that the "instrumental use" of Afghan immigrants in "experimental policies and proxy wars, even against Afghanistan, is a shameful and unforgivable history”.

He stated that the time has come to end this "tyranny" and asked the Taliban to immediately stop "the policy of harassment, detention, and killing of people affiliated with the previous government, political and human rights activists and restrictions against the basic rights of citizens, especially women".

He also emphasised that, in the longterm, a legitimate political system, founded on the will of the people and national reconciliation, should be established through intra-Afghan dialogue.

In an interview with Afghanistan International, Bugti added that the purpose of this decision is to deport "foreigners" who do not have residence permits in Pakistan.

He stressed that the deportation of illegal immigrants is not limited to "one or two million Afghan nationals", but is a matter related to 220 million Pakistani citizens.

The interior minister of Pakistan added that according to the plan of the interim government of Pakistan, any foreigner who entered Pakistan illegally will be deported.

Bugti considered the decision to deport migrants to be somehow related to Pakistan's security issues and said that Afghan citizens were involved in 14 suicide attacks of 24 in Pakistan last year.

This Pakistani official emphasised that the decision was made to establish law and order in Pakistan and safeguard the interests of its people.

He also addressed speculation that the interim government of Pakistan might have made this decision to settle scores with the Taliban and said that they have no scores with the Taliban at all.

Bugti added that in his recent meeting with the Taliban ambassador in Islamabad, there was no request made to stop the deportation of the immigrants. Instead, the primary focus of their discussion was to "facilitate and expedite the repatriation" of immigrants from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

Recently, several Taliban officials have voiced their objections to Pakistan's decision, which has fuelled speculation that the Taliban may be opposed to Pakistan's stance.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani interior minister said that the group's ambassador in Islamabad did not make any request to reconsider the decision to deport the immigrants.

On October 3, Bugti announced the interim government's decision to deport undocumented immigrants and said that the deadline for voluntary departure would expire on November 1.

As per the interim government of Pakistan's announcement, there are approximately 1.7 million undocumented immigrants in the country, with the majority being Afghan citizens.

Alokozay told Afghanistan International that factories and cargo trucks are part of the confiscated assets.

"Four thousand containers of commercial goods remain in the Karachi port and similarly, the fate of 500 factories built by Afghans in Pakistan is not clear," he told Afghanistan International.

He added that the situation of 500 carpet weaving factories in Karachi and Quetta and about two thousand trucks of Afghan businessmen in Pakistan is still unclear.

Alokozay said that the total value of these factories and heavy vehicles reaches more than four billion dollars. He said that Afghans have a 30% share in the economic sector of Pakistan.

He asked the Taliban to start diplomatic efforts to extract the capital and return it to Afghanistan.

Mullah Hassan Akhund, the Taliban's Prime Minister, in a strong statement on Friday reacted to the confiscation of assets of Afghan immigrants and the destruction of their homes in Pakistan.

On Thursday, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the Taliban, referring to the confiscation of Afghans’ assets in Pakistan, said that no one has the right to seize the property and personal items of Afghans and that the country’s citizens can transfer their funds to their country according to the law.

On the other hand, Afghans who were forcibly deported from Pakistan say that in addition to their houses, livestock were left behind and the Pakistani police did not even allow them to move many of their personal belongings.

Although Pakistani officials have not said much about Afghan investment, on Thursday, the country's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti told a Pakistani media outlet that he is working on developing a strategy to determine the investment status of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan.

Pakistan has announced that more than 1.7 million immigrants without official residence documents live in the country and should leave Pakistan.