UN Special Envoy and Uzbek FM Discuss Afghanistan in Tashkent
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov in Tashkent.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov in Tashkent.
Saidov highlighted that the discussion focused on humanitarian aid, economic recovery, and Afghanistan's infrastructure projects.
The Uzbek foreign minister, in a statement on his Telegram channel on Thursday, mentioned that the meeting involved an exchange of views on various initiatives concerning Afghanistan. Further details about these discussions have not been released.
Amnesty International expressed concern over the "arbitrary arrest" of Parisa Azada, a women's rights activist, and demanded her immediate and unconditional release from the Taliban prison.
On Friday, the organisation also demanded the release of other women’s rights activists including Manizha Siddiqi, Zhulia Parsi, Nida Parwani, and university professor Rasoul Parsi,
Parisa Azada was arrested on Wednesday by the Taliban intelligence agency in Dashte Barchi area of Kabul.
The Taliban officials have not commented on the motive behind Azada’s detention.
Amnesty International has warned that the continuation of severe Taliban restrictions and crackdown on women's and girls' rights can amount to crimes against humanity and gender persecution.
Amnesty International has once again called for the formation of an independent international mechanism to hold the Taliban accountable.
Markus Potzel, deputy head of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), visited Panjshir province and met with Mohammad Agha Hakim, the Taliban’s governor for the province.
In the meeting, the Taliban governor said, "The situation of human rights in this province is much better."
Bakhtar News Agency, controlled by the Taliban, on Thursday, reported that Hakim told the UN official that Panjshir is more stable than other provinces of Afghanistan.
He welcomed Potzel's visit to Panjshir and said that in the last two years, the province was "forgotten by foreign institutions and donors.”
The Taliban governor in Panjshir asked the UN official to pay attention and provide aid support in the province.
He claimed that all ethnic groups live in Panjshir harmoniously, emphasising the absence of discrimination within the province.
Panjshir is known as the traditional stronghold of the Taliban’s opposition front. The main base of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the former leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, was in this province. In 2021, Panjshir stood as the last province to come under the control of the Taliban.
Following the collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban, intense guerrilla battles continued in Panjshir and Andarab region. The Taliban has been accused of massive arbitrary arrests, torture, and killing of the residents of the region.
In June, Amnesty International called the Taliban's "cruel behaviour" against the residents of Panjshir as a "war crime". The organisation said that it was able to document cases of "extra-judicial executions, torture, imprisonment, and arbitrary arrests" of people in this province.
Amnesty International confirmed that the Taliban resorted to mistreatment and torture of civilians amid the resistance forces in Panjshir. According to the organisation, the Taliban "detained the men and youth from the villages and subjected them to beatings and other abuse”.
In the meeting with Potzel, the Taliban’s governor in Panjshir, denied these reports and said that the leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, "has more compassion and mercy for the people of Panjshir than in other provinces and makes exceptions for the residents of the province in all matters”.
UNAMA has not released a statement concerning the meeting. It remains unclear whether the deputy head of UNAMA successfully met the relatives of the victims of the Taliban’s killings and the families of the prisoners during his visit of the province.
General Anatoly Sidorov, chief of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Joint Staff, announced that the Taliban still do not have full control over the situation in Afghanistan.
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.
Abdul Bari Omar, Director of the Taliban's National Food and Drugs Administration, addressed Afghans in Cologne, Germany.
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.
Evgeny Vinokurov , the chief economist of the Eurasian Development Bank, has warned that the establishment of the Qosh Tepa canal by the Taliban will lead to a water crisis in Central Asia.
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."