No Casualties Following Explosion in Kabul, Says Taliban Police

This joint statement, issued by Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan on Friday, was released on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website.

These CIS nations expressed their deep concerns regarding the persistent flow of narcotics from Afghanistan to Central Asia. The statement particularly pointed out alarming levels of methamphetamine, cocaine, hashish, and various industrial drugs infiltrating the region.

In a united front, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have declared their intention to bolster collaborative efforts to combat this drug trafficking menace. Their commitment, as reaffirmed in the statement, is to engage in effective, coordinated actions both nationally and internationally to address the global drug crisis.

Highlighting the severity of the situation, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, in his address at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, reported that Tajik border forces have intercepted over 10 tonnes of drugs from the Afghanistan border in the past two years, underscoring the critical nature of the problem.

According to the AFF, the coordinated strikes resulted in the deaths of three Taliban members, including a commander, and injured six others. The attacks targeted Taliban outposts in the Kote Sangi and Gulkhana areas.

Taliban officials have yet to issue a statement regarding these incidents.

In more detail, the AFF disclosed that one of the assaults occurred in the Kote Sangi area of district five, resulting in the death of Taliban commander Mohammad Younes Torabi and injuries to three of his men. This attack took place at 6 pm local time on Friday.

The AFF described the members of the Kote Sangi Taliban outpost as particularly brutal, alleging their involvement in unwarranted house searches and looting in the district over the past month.

A separate AFF statement reported an additional attack on a Taliban outpost in the Gulkhana area of district six, occurring at 8:30 pm local time on the same Friday. This attack reportedly left two Taliban members dead and three wounded.

Local sources in Kabul, reporting to Afghanistan International, confirmed hearing multiple explosions and gunfire in the Kote Sangi area on Friday evening, followed by further reports of explosions and gunfire.

The AFF has released two videos purportedly showcasing their attacks in the fifth and sixth districts of Kabul, marking a significant escalation in attacks by the group on the Taliban.

The organisations argue that the report, presented by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, fails to adequately address human rights issues in Afghanistan and seems to downplay their significance.

In an open letter to UN member states, these organisations criticised the report for seemingly aligning with a policy that appears to appease the Taliban, contending that it overlooks the human rights situation and the needs of Afghans. They assert that the report's characterisation of the 2021 events in Afghanistan as a "political transition" is a misrepresentation, potentially normalising the Taliban's actions.

The group expressed concern that the report's narrative could embolden other military factions to forcibly take over countries without facing repercussions. They pointed out that the UN report's authors did not engage with victims or groups oppressed by the Taliban, claiming that the views expressed in consultations with civil society were not reflected in the final document.

Highlighting the contrast between the UN report and various sources documenting human rights abuses in Afghanistan, including reports by UNAMA, the UN Special Rapporteur, SIGAR, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, the organisations lamented the omission of these issues in the UN's assessment.

Moreover, the letter criticised the report's limited coverage of the Taliban's decrees against women's rights, noting that 80 such decrees have been issued, severely restricting women's freedoms.

The civil society groups recommend that any engagement with the Taliban should be conditional on their commitment to uphold international human rights standards, including women's and girls' rights. They also suggest that members of a proposed contact group focusing on Afghan diplomacy should have a strong background in human rights and no prior ties to Afghanistan or its factions.

Emphasising the need for an inclusive and legitimate government in Afghanistan that represents diverse ethnic and ideological groups and restores rights for women and marginalised communities, the organisations urged the international community to provide equal platforms for women and oppressed groups.

The Taliban has not yet reacted to the claim of the AFF.

On Thursday too, AFF had announced that it had killed at least four Taliban members and wounded three other members of the group in two separate attacks in Koh Band district of Kapisa and Jabul Siraj in Parwan.

The Taliban has not responded to any of these claims.

The Taliban usually refrains from commenting on attacks by opposing armed fronts. Over the last two years, the group has sought to downplay the activities of these opposition forces.

However, over the past two years, the Taliban has detained hundreds of individuals in various provinces of Afghanistan on charges of being members of opposing fronts.

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.