4 Taliban Members Killed In Mazar-e-Sharif City, Claims AFF
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) on Tuesday reported an attack on a Taliban outpost in Khalid bin Walid town in Mazar-e-Sharif city of Balkh province.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) on Tuesday reported an attack on a Taliban outpost in Khalid bin Walid town in Mazar-e-Sharif city of Balkh province.
According to the front, four Taliban members were killed and two others were wounded in this attack.
On X social media platform, AFF stated that the Taliban "are shooting at people's vehicles and harassing people under the pretext of searching for former security forces”.
This is the third attack of the AFF on Taliban military bases and outposts in the last three days.
The Taliban has not yet commented on these attacks by AFF in Kabul and Balkh province.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Taliban has announced that President Xi Jinping of China has officially recognised Asadullah Belal Karimi as the Taliban's ambassador and representative.
Initially, Belal Karimi presented his credentials to the Chief of Protocol of the Chinese Foreign Ministry rather than directly to President Xi Jinping.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesperson for the Taliban's Foreign Affairs Ministry, stated in a recent announcement that President Xi Jinping accepted Karimi's credentials during a special ceremony. This ceremony also included the presentation of credentials from ambassadors of 41 other countries.
The Taliban's Foreign Affairs Ministry had previously declared that China recognised Belal Karimi as their ambassador in Beijing.
Prior to the Taliban's ascent to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Belal Karimi served as a member of the group's Cultural Commission and was later appointed as its deputy spokesperson.
More than two years after the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, no country has formally recognised the legitimacy of their government.
China was notably the first country to appoint a new ambassador to Afghanistan following the Taliban's rise to power.
Although the Taliban has not been officially recognised by any state, countries such as Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Russia, and China have acknowledged members of the Taliban as diplomats and heads of Afghanistan's political and consular missions. Representatives and ambassadors from these countries are present in Kabul.
According to the latest Transparency International report, Afghanistan, under Taliban control, has dropped to the 162nd position, with the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score of 20, in the 2023 anti-corruption index.
In the previous year, in 2022, Afghanistan held the 150th position among 180 countries, maintaining the same score.
In 2021, Afghanistan was ranked 174th among 180 countries globally, with a score of 16 points.
Denmark has been ranked first among countries in the world with a score of 90. Finland and New Zealand with scores of 87 and 85 are in the second and third place respectively.
In the meantime, Somalia is known as the most corrupt country in the world with a CPI score of 11, falling two places as compared to last year.
In the fight against corruption, Afghanistan finds itself alongside countries like Sudan, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Chad, Comoros, and Eritrea.
Transparency International reports that among the 180 countries surveyed, nearly two-thirds scored below 50 in the corruption index.
In contrast to 2022, Iran has been ranked 149, experiencing a decrease in its corruption score.
In its analysis of the decrease in transparency in some countries, this organisation has said that the global trend of weakening judicial systems allows corruption to grow by reducing the accountability of government officials.
According to this organisation, even in countries that rank high in the anti-corruption index, impunity has caused corruption to increase in some countries.
According to the report of Transparency International Organisation, several countries with a high score have also been involved in many cross-border corruption cases, which has caused them to resort to bribery when doing business abroad.
According to this assessment, the top-scoring countries often fail to prosecute transnational corruption agents and their associates.
Local sources reported an explosion in Taloqan city, the capital of Takhar province, on Tuesday.
According to sources, the explosion occurred around 2:00pm local time in front of the Taliban municipality building. Sources added that a Taliban vehicle had been the target of the explosion.
There is no information yet about the possible casualties from the incident.
Taliban officials have not commented in this regard.
The National Resistance Council for Salvation of Afghanistan has said that essential consultations with political factions opposing the Taliban have not taken place, even as the Taliban has been invited to the Doha meeting.
The council emphasised that in accordance with the Security Council resolution, the United Nations should engage in consultations with all relevant parties before appointing a special representative.
The National Resistance Council in a statement on Tuesday wrote, "The concern of political factions at the national level and numerous meetings and conflicting movements at the international level about Afghanistan indicate the lack of national and international consensus and coherence about Afghanistan with the centrality of the United Nations."
This council had previously asked the United Nations to invite the representatives of the political factions opposed to the Taliban to the meeting in Qatar.
The statement of the council states that the UN Security Council is committed to electing a special representative with all parties involved in the Afghanistan issue.
This council has emphasised that neglecting any of the involved parties will result in the failure of current processes and the prolonged continuation of the Afghan crisis.
Earlier, the UN spokesperson announced that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will host a meeting on Afghanistan in Doha on 18 and 19 of February.
Recently, Taliban officials also claimed that they were invited to the meeting.
None of the parties were invited to the first UN meeting on Afghanistan in Doha hosted by Antonio Guterres.
During the regional summit in Kabul, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran's Special Representative for Afghanistan, emphasised on the necessity of fair governance and fostering good relations with neighbouring countries.
Qomi suggested that demonstrating these two core principles in an official declaration would be positively received both regionally and internationally.
During his address at the "Afghanistan Regional Cooperation Initiative" in Kabul, Qomi expressed satisfaction that the summit was organised following Tehran's proposal at the Moscow Format meeting.
He highlighted the importance of establishing a secure platform for Afghanistan's global engagement, respecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Kabul summit, marking the first instance of the Taliban hosting a regional meeting with ambassadors and special representatives from neighbouring and regional countries, began on Monday afternoon at the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Despite being delayed due to bad weather as reported by Taliban-controlled media, the meeting eventually started around 4:30 PM Kabul time.
This meeting takes place against the backdrop of the upcoming UN Secretary-General-hosted summit on Afghanistan in Doha.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's Foreign Minister, urged regional representatives attending the Doha summit to accurately present the realities of Afghanistan to the global community. He reassured the participants that Afghanistan does not require a new UN coordinator, given the presence of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Muttaqi reiterated the Taliban's stance against the appointment of a new UN special representative, asserting the Taliban government's readiness to address shared concerns and issues. This statement comes in response to the UN Security Council's Resolution 2721 (2023), which recommends the appointment of a representative to facilitate intra-Afghan dialogues for an inclusive government.
In his meeting with representatives from 11 regional countries, Muttaqi emphasised on the Taliban's commitment to regional security, stating the group's intention to prevent instability and insecurity in neighbouring countries.