Three Taliban Members Killed in Parwan, Claims AFF

It has been stated that "the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Delhi has been permanently closed”.

The Afghan Embassy in India announced that the closure of political representation has been implemented since Thursday.

It has called the persistent challenges from the Indian government as the reasons for the complete closure of this agency.

The embassy stated that, despite an eight-week wait, there was no sign of a change in the Indian government's attitude toward extending visas for diplomats.

The Afghan Embassy in Delhi has sent all the financial details of the embassy to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 110 pages, which includes a bank account with 500,000 dollars.

The embassy has requested the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue displaying the flag of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Embassy in Delhi announced at the beginning of this year that it has to stop all its activities due to unprecedented conditions. At that time, in a statement, it wrote that it took the decision due to the lack of support from the Indian government.

Following that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India announced that the Afghan embassy in Delhi will continue its operations.

However, the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi confirmed that earlier the Afghan ambassador in Delhi had a prolonged absence and that a large number of diplomats had left the country.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the Afghan embassy in Delhi was operated by the diplomats of the previous government and with the permission of the Indian government.

The participants also discussed countering terrorist threats and drug trafficking.

The CSTO had previously stated that terrorist groups are actively present in Afghanistan, and drug trafficking continues from the country.

According to TASS news agency, in a meeting held in Minsk, the CSTO emphasised on the need to strengthen foreign policy, enhance crisis response mechanisms, and expanding cooperation with other international and regional organisations.

TASS, citing the Russia’s foreign ministry, reported that a number of documents have been signed during the meeting to expand the cooperation between member countries of the CSTO.

In addition, on Thursday, the heads of the countries within CSTO gathered to discuss the current issues in international and regional security.

Without providing details, the CSTO announced that the heads of state have made decisions on responding to the crisis.

The heads of state from Russia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Secretary General of the CSTO attended the meeting.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin and Emomali Rahmon, the presidents of Russia and Tajikistan, discussed Afghanistan and regional security in Moscow.

In an official statement, the AFF also mentioned that another Taliban member was wounded in this attack.

There has been no response from the Taliban to AFF's claim as yet. Typically, the Taliban refrains from commenting on assaults conducted by Afghan armed resistance groups.

Over the past two years, they have attempted to minimise the visibility and impact of their opposition forces' activities. Despite this, there have been numerous instances where the Taliban has detained individuals across various Afghan provinces, accusing them of affiliating with these resistance fronts.

Criticising the policies of the Taliban, Koofi said that if there is a shortage of oxygen, the Taliban will prohibit women from breathing.

In her speech, Koofi used the phrase "handing over power to the Taliban" and said that like 1990s, this group started self-destruction after taking power in 2021.

This well-known human rights activist pointed to the two-year Afghan women's civil rights struggles after the Taliban returned to power and said that a series of resistances against the Taliban would lead to a change in the situation.

Koofi said that the Taliban's fear of civil resistance is more than war. However, she stressed that none of the movements can achieve victory alone.

Eyewitnesses informed Afghanistan International that on Thursday afternoon in Jibrail town of Herat city, armed individuals on a motorcycle shot at Rajab Akhlaqi and Khadim Hossein Hedayati.

These two members of the Herat Shia Ulema Council hailed from the Lal and Sarjangal districts in Ghor province, as per sources.

Local Taliban authorities are yet to make a statement regarding the attack, but local reports indicate that Taliban forces converged at the crime scene following the murder of the two Shia clerics.

Till date, neither an individual nor a group has accepted responsibility for the assassination of these Herat Shia Ulema Council members.

In a related incident last month, Eid Mohammad Etimadi, another Herat Shia Ulema Council member, was also slain by armed assailants in the Injil district of the same province.

Reports suggest that Etimadi was abducted before being executed by the gunmen.