Tajik President Expresses Concerns Regarding Ongoing Situation in Afghanistan & Palestine

During a ceremony at a Jihadi madrassa in Paktia province, Haqqani said that madrassas should not only provide religious education, but also include teachings on Jihadi and military thoughts.

This senior Taliban official views the instruction of jihadi thoughts and religious skills as a way to prepare students in seminaries for the defence of "Islam and the country”.

On Saturday, Bakhtar News Agency, under the Taliban control, reported that during the meeting, Haqqani stated that the Taliban will not permit the establishment of any system in Afghanistan other than the Islamic system.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the students of a jihadi madrassa in Paktia, he added that the expansion of madrassas and mosques is everyone's responsibility.

Haqqani sought the establishment of madrassas in remote villages.

In the past two years, the Taliban has built dozens of jihadi mosques and madrassas in many provinces of Afghanistan. In addition, many educational centres, including institutes and schools of the former Ministry of Education, have turned into jihadi madrassas.

Takhar Technical and Vocational Institute, Abdul Hai Habibi High School in Khost Province, Technical High School in Kandahar Province, Babrak Khan Zadran High School in Paktia Province, Mitra Private TV Building in Mazar Sharif City of Balkh, Teacher Training Institute in Herat, and Samangan are among the locations that have transformed into jihadi madrassas.

In May 2022, the Taliban released a message attributed to Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group's leader, stating that "religious schools should be established in all districts of Afghanistan”.

As per these documents, individuals are required to have security clearance from the Taliban intelligence agency at the time of employment.

On Friday, sources in Khost province shared documents with Afghanistan International, revealing that a female resident of the province successfully passed an employment exam for a government health department. Despite her success, she has not been assigned, as the Taliban intelligence directorate in the province rejected her security clearance.

Sources said that Taliban intelligence agency did not confirm the recruitment of the woman.

Relatives of this woman said, "We bear no guilt; only some family members served in the previous government".

According to them, the Taliban intelligence prevented the woman from being employed in a health institution due to her connections with previous government employees.

Her relatives mentioned receiving a letter from Taliban officials in Khost province to address the issue. However, Taliban intelligence officials verbally told them that, "Don't complain again, and you cannot work in the Taliban regime."

Meanwhile, there is another letter circulating on social networking sites indicating that the Taliban's Ministry of Commerce has instructed all institutions to obtain approval from the Taliban intelligence agency for their recruitments.

This matter arises despite Taliban officials consistently stating that they prioritise competence and expertise in their recruitment processes.

She stated that Russia will not support the UN Secretary General's decision to appoint a special representative for Afghan affairs without Taliban approval.

In a statement, Evstigneeva said that the UN special coordinator's report largely aligns with the overall approach of regional actors to Afghanistan's issues.

She said that they express a shared aspiration with the authors of the draft to alter the current state of affairs, aiming to guide the international community toward greater pragmatic engagement with the Taliban. However, she added that the recommendations should be discussed in a patient and comprehensive manner.

The Russian diplomat stated the efforts to impose development paths on Afghanistan, even under the auspices of the United Nations, are counterproductive and will hardly yield any results.

"It is important to take a sober assessment of the situation on the ground, taking into account the reaction of the Talibs themselves," she said.

Evstigneeva emphasized that the issue of Afghanistan can be solved only if there is a consistent and patient dialogue with the Taliban officials and if certain Western donors stop their usual rhetoric and stop manipulating humanitarian aid.

On Friday, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Afghanistan, with Russia and China opting to abstain from voting.

The resolution called on the UN Secretary-General to appoint a special envoy for peace in Afghanistan.

Mohammad Mahdiyar informed Afghanistan International that two youths were killed, and one was injured in the incident.

Mahdiyar said that on December 20, Taliban members stopped his son and two other young men in western Kabul, and opened fire at them.

He said that a week after the incident, the Taliban handed over his son's corpse to his relatives. Mahdiyar added that the Taliban warned his family to bury the body of “Ali Juma” quietly, without holding any ceremony.

When local elders questioned Taliban officials in the 13th police district of Kabul about the reason for shooting these three young men, they were told that the individuals were killed due to “insulting the Mujahideen”.

Ali Juma's family also sent pictures of these shot young men to Afghanistan International.

Return from Iran to Kabul

This former Afghan army member stated that, following the Taliban's takeover of power, he and his family had to flee to Iran out of fear of retaliation.

However, his son returned to Kabul so that he could participate in the national university entrance examination and begin his studies.

The family of Ali Juma is urging the United Nations and the international community to intervene, to put an end to the Taliban's serial killings in Afghanistan and ensure justice for the victims.

Samdiyarov said that Astana has decided to exclude the group in the new update, in accordance with the UN practice.

Quoting the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Kazinform News Agency wrote that the country regularly updates the national list of terrorist organisations which are banned in Kazakhstan, and as a part of this process, it has been decided to exclude Taliban from this list now.

At the same time, Samdiyarov emphasised that the diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and the Taliban depend on the decisions and resolutions of the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly, and the country will strictly adhere to them.

In reaction to Kazakhstan’s decision, Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, stated that while his country respects Astana's decision, Moscow has not yet decided to remove the name of the Taliban from the list of banned groups.

On Friday, in an interview with Russian media, NCN, Kabulov said that his country "will not negotiate" on this issue of removing the name of the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups.

He emphasised that no actions or negotiations will be undertaken to remove the Taliban from the list of banned organisations until the Russian leadership takes a decision on this matter.