UN Official Visits Panjshir Province & Meets Taliban’s Governor

Sidorov added that the CSTO is taking measures to restrain the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan.

On Thursday, during a press conference in Moscow, he stated that as of now, there is no military threat from Afghanistan. however, simultaneously it has been acknowledged that the current leadership of Afghanistan still does not fully control the situation in the country.

Sidorov responded to a question about whether Afghanistan is still considered a terrorist threat to CSTO member countries, stating, “Special measures are being taken in the northern areas of Afghanistan, which share borders with the member countries of the CSTO.”

However, he did not provide details about the measures taken by the organisation.

Sidorov also added that the issue of drug trafficking from Afghanistan still exists.

Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan are members of the CSTO and have held several joint military exercises near the borders of Afghanistan in the past two years.

He urged the audience to judge the Taliban based on their "achievements," rather than media portrayals. In a video clip released by the Taliban official on social media, Omar's speech, which echoed the Taliban's unified governance under their leader, received support from those present.

The timing of the event is uncertain but coincides with Omar's visit to the Netherlands for the World Local Production Forum.

On 6 November, the Bakhtar News Agency, controlled by the Taliban, reported Omar's participation in the conference in the Hague, Netherlands.

Following his attendance at the Hague forum, Omar is said to have travelled to Germany at the invitation of an Afghan cultural activist.

Vinokurov said that the canal would reduce the water supply of the Amu River and affect the regional water agreements.

Kazakh media outlets quoted the chief economist of the Eurasian Development Bank and reported that according to forecasts, Central Asia will face a chronic water shortage by 2028.

He said at a round table conference in Almaty on Thursday, "The Taliban is now building the Qosh Tepa canal and its inauguration is planned for 2028, which will reduce the flow of river water in Central Asia."

Qosh Tepa Canal is one of the largest water transfer canals in Afghanistan and the region, which starts from Kaldar district in Balkh province and will transfer the water of the Amu river to Andkhoi district of Faryab province.

Earlier, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the president of Uzbekistan, had warned that the construction of the Qosh Tepa Canal by the Taliban could fundamentally change the water regime in Central Asia.

Despite the criticism, the Taliban has continued to build the canal. Recently, the group announced the construction of the second phase canal in Afghanistan.

During a ceremony to celebrate the start of the second phase of the canal, Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defence minister, said in a statement that seemed to be a response to Uzbekistan, "Neighbours should not worry, we will never violate the rights of our neighbours in using the water of Amu Darya."

Shamail Tawana Naseri, leader of the Afghan Women's Movement for Justice and Freedom, told Afghanistan International that the activist had been detained from Dashte Barchi area in western Kabul.

Azada is a member of the Afghan Women's Movement for Justice and Freedom.

According to Naseri, on Thursday, the Taliban intelligence agency informed Parisa Azada's family that she had been detained by the group.

Taliban officials have not commented on the detention of the female activist.

The Afghan Women's Movement for Justice and Freedom was established in January 2022 and since then has repeatedly protested against the policies of the Taliban.

Fereshta Abbasi, the Afghanistan researcher at the Human Rights Watch, demanded the immediate release of this member of the protest movement in Afghanistan.

She wrote on X social media platform that the Taliban should end arbitrary arrests of these women activists and hold their forces accountable.

In recent months, the Taliban also detained three other women rights activists in Kabul.

According to the Pakistani government, 212,225 people entered Afghanistan from the Torkham crossing and 105,000 from the Chaman border crossing.

The process of forced deportation of Afghan immigrants without residency documents from Pakistan continues, despite the criticism of international organisations.

Bilal Karimi, the Taliban’s Deputy Spokesperson, said that over the last two weeks, 12,430 refugee families, including 73,208 people, have returned to the country through Spin Boldak border crossing.

Pakistan ordered immigrants without official residency documents to leave the country voluntarily until November 1. After the deadline, Pakistan's Ministry of Interior started a door-to-door search operation to identify and arrest Afghan immigrants without official documents.

At the same time, Jan Achakzai, the Minister of Information of the Baluchistan province of Pakistan, has once again announced that Afghans can enter Pakistan only with passports and visas. Before this, Afghan travellers could cross the border and enter Pakistan with a national identity card too.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International criticised the behaviour of the Pakistani police towards Afghan immigrants and demanded their release from the detention centers, and urged Pakistan to stop arbitrary detentions of these immigrants. The human rights group said that the mass deportation of Afghans from Pakistan deprives many of them of access to their basic rights.