CIS Anti-Terrorism Centre Warns of Taliban's 'Export of Sharia' to Central Asia

Baradar told Mehrabian that the technical delegation of Iran, which recently visited the Helmand River, confirmed the decline in the water level of the river.

On Tuesday, the Taliban’s Prime Minister's office posted on X social media platform that Mullah Baradar had mentioned that Afghanistan possesses abundant resources for hydro, wind, solar, and coal energy production.

In the statement, the group also stated that Mullah Baradar had a conversation with Mehrabian regarding water management, drought, and Iran's technical cooperation in electricity production in Afghanistan and the use of irrigation systems.

Mullah Baradar said that in many areas of Afghanistan, people were forced to be displaced due to the drought and lack of water.

In the last two years, the Iranian government and the Taliban have had tensions over Iran's water right from the Helmand River.

Following these tensions, Iran's foreign minister told the Taliban that the practical release of Helmand River’s water and supply of water to Iran is a serious demand of the country and has an impact on the relations between Afghanistan and Iran.

The Taliban, stressing on its commitment to the water treaty between the two countries, said that the water level of the river has decreased due to drought. Recently, a delegation from Iran visited the Helmand River to assess the situation.

In a letter from the ministry, authenticated by a reliable source to Afghanistan International, the Taliban announced the appointment of Faizullah as the first secretary of the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan.

Based on the letter, the Taliban has promised to pay the overdue six months’ salaries of the Afghan embassy staff in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan maintains a close relationship with the Taliban's opposition groups, and the former Afghan government's ambassador at the embassy in Tajikistan has consistently opposed the Taliban. However, the Taliban, despite not being officially recognised by Tajikistan, intends to establish its presence in the country by appointing a diplomat.

In the letter, the Taliban's foreign ministry has asked the Afghan embassy to inform the Tajik government about the appointment of a new diplomat.

Nonetheless, it remains uncertain whether the Tajik government will accept the Taliban's diplomats if the Afghan embassy in Dushanbe chooses to cooperate, like countries such as Turkey and Uzbekistan.

No country has recognised the Taliban in the last two years, and most of the Afghan embassies are in the control of ambassadors and employees of the previous government. However, the Taliban is trying to change the situation by appointing new diplomats at these embassies.

Asila Wardak, an Afghan women's rights activist, who attended the meeting, told Afghanistan International that Guterres emphasised that the Taliban will not be recognised without ensuring women's right to education and work.

According to Wardak, the UN Secretary-General said that issues related to Afghanistan are on the agenda and a priority for the United Nations.

Guterres added that he intends to engage and support more on the issues related to Afghanistan.

Habiba Sarabi, a member of the peace negotiations team of the previous Afghan government with the Taliban, and Shahrzad Akbar, the former chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, were also present in this meeting.

It has been said that this is the first meeting of the Secretary General of the United Nations with Afghan women activists after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.

In the past two years, the Taliban has imposed extensive restrictions on the lives of Afghan women.

Despite international pressure, the Taliban has not reversed its restrictive measures, especially regarding Afghan women's right to work and education.

Pakistan's deadline for deporting immigrants was announced on October 3 and has been implemented from November 1 this year.

According to the decree attributed to Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Taliban, a special commission has been formed for the transfer and relocation of the deported Afghan immigrants.

On Monday, on the X social media platform, the commission reported that the number of returnees since November 1 has reached 15,207 families, all of whom have returned to the country via the Torkham border crossing.

The number of immigrants who have returned to the country through the Spin Boldak crossing has not been announced so far.

Following the end of the one-month deadline, on November 1, Pakistan intensified the detention and forced deportation of Afghan immigrants without legal documentation in the country.

The country first detains undocumented immigrants and then, forcibly deports them.

Despite the repeated demands of the United Nations and several countries to stop the process of deportation of Afghan immigrants, Pakistan and Iran continue to deport them.

Taliban’s spokesperson for the ministry in a statement said that these people will be appointed as "ombudsmen".

Following the takeover of power in 2021, the Taliban formed a cabinet in which the Ministry of Women's Affairs was nullified, and the Taliban's Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was established instead.

In the past two years, this Taliban ministry has issued a series of orders that, according to international human rights organisations, violate the fundamental rights of Afghan citizens. It has appointed ombudsmen all over Afghanistan who widely and systematically restrict the freedoms of citizens.

Despite its declaration that ombudsmen do not have the right to use violence against the people, Afghanistan International has documented numerous cases of such violence by them in the last two years.

Afghanistan International published video clips showing that Taliban ombudsmen have been subjecting people to harsh treatment in various provinces.