Taliban Forms New Special Forces Unit To Provide Security For Qosh Tepa Canal

AFF disclosed details of the offensive on social platform X, stating it occurred in Kandahar's first district.

The Taliban has not yet issued a statement regarding the incident.

This attack follows a recent AFF operation against a Taliban police command in Baghlan City, where two Taliban members were killed.

In a statement, Turk wrote that between September 15 to November 11, more than 327,000 people arrived in Afghanistan from Pakistan.

In his statement on Wednesday, he added that the UN Human Rights Office has received first hand reports that Afghans were subjected to abuse and arbitrary treatment from Pakistani officials while crossing the border into Afghanistan.

In the statement, an Afghan immigrant is quoted as saying, "The local police conducted a night raid at our home. They confiscated cash, jewellery, goats, sheep and other items from our home and took them. They gave us just a few hours to collect the remaining stuff and leave the home by that day at dawn. As we were leaving, a bulldozer began to destroy our home.”

Turk said that arbitrary arrest and detention is against Pakistan's obligations and international laws.

“Many Afghans are arriving with very few financial resources, having been forced to leave their homes and jobs, in addition to being forced to pay bribes or having their possessions seized”, said Turk.

The statement also expressed concern regarding the situation of former security officials, ethnic and religious minorities, women and girls, human rights defenders, civil society activists and media workers who are forced to leave Pakistan.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that Pakistan must protect people who may face persecution, torture, ill-treatment or other irreparable harm in Afghanistan.

He asked the government of Pakistan to suspend the deportation programme of Afghan immigrants and investigate the complaints related to the violations by the authorities of this country.

It has been said that the agreement emphasises on strengthening economic relations, improving customs affairs, facilitating the issuance of visas and transit.

Taliban’s ministry of commerce in a statement wrote that in this agreement, cooperation on regional connectivity, reduction of transit costs, transportation facilities, digitisation of customs systems, strengthening and development of the banking system have been agreed.

The agreement has been signed by Nooruddin Azizi, the Minister of Commerce of Taliban; Gohar Ejaz, the Minister of Industries of Pakistan, and Jamshid Khodjaev, the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, on Tuesday, in a meeting in Islamabad.

In this meeting, the enhancement of regional integration through the development of trilateral economic and trade relations, as well as the expansion of transit facilities were emphasised.

The participants of the meeting reviewed the prospects of investment in different sectors and emphasised on joint investments in the private and public sector.

Gohar Ejaz stressed on the access of all three countries to new markets in the region and called for the strengthening of mutual economic relations.

Ejaz said that the tripartite meeting is an important step towards close economic cooperation and provides the basis for increasing trade, investment and economic relations.

Following the decisions made in this meeting, the technical groups of the three countries are set to commence their work in the field of trade and transit in the next week, and sharing the results to facilitate the signing of the final agreement among the three parties.

The Taliban said that the total value of the contract is USD 36 million.

According to Bakhtar news agency, the contract was signed on Wednesday, in the presence of Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

The Taliban said that this project will be completed in the next two years.

Baradar stated that in this project, aside from enhancing Afghanistan's industry, DABS will benefit monetarily.

According to a statement from Mullah Baradar's office, Afghan Invest company is set to complete the 500 KV power line project between Sheberghan and Dashte Alwan, spanning over 305 kilometers, within the next two years.

The Taliban stated that approximately 76 percent of the project has been completed, and Afghan Invest is tasked with finishing the remaining 23 percent of the work.

The ministry emphasised that without explicit instructions from Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, no entity is authorised to allocate, trade, or claim ownership of lands near the canal.

In a recent statement, the Ministry urged the public to refrain from attempting to acquire land around the Qosh Tapa Canal until a formal directive is issued by the Taliban's leadership.

This clarification comes amid rising speculation over the past few months about land allocations in the Qosh Tapa development area. Reports suggested that lands near the canal were being distributed to Taliban members.

Last year, the National Resistance Front accused the Taliban of allocating lands around the canal to individuals, including those allegedly transferred from Pakistan, and other outsiders.

Additionally, there have been allegations of certain companies involved in the Qosh Tapa project offering land in exchange for financial compensation.

Mullah Baradar, the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister, has responded to these allegations, warning that anyone found engaging in unauthorised land distribution activities or financial transactions will face severe legal consequences.

The Qosh Tapa Canal, stretching approximately 270 kilometres, originates in the Kaldar district of Balkh and passes through Jowzjan province before reaching Faryab province. The Taliban has invested substantially in this project over the last two years. The canal, which diverts a portion of the Amu River's water, aims to irrigate about 550,000 hectares of land and potentially relocate up to three million people. Critics, however, view this as a strategic manoeuvre by the Taliban to relocate populations for specific objectives.