Taliban Critic Qari Esa Mohammadi Safely Exits Iran

Jalali highlighted the group's intention to secure "responsible representation" at international forums.

Ahead of the Doha meeting, the Taliban expressed opposition to the appointment of a new UN envoy for Afghanistan, advocating for a "meaningful" involvement of their delegates.

Jalali, on Wednesday, shared via the X social media platform that the Taliban is in favour of "meaningful" and continuous participation in dialogues with the United Nations, aiming for the initiation of "high-level and transparent" conversations between the two parties.

According to the Taliban's Foreign Ministry advisor, the Doha meeting presents a valuable chance, assuming proper management.

With the UN's Afghanistan-focused meeting in Qatar drawing near, Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the Special Coordinator for Afghanistan from the UN, has had two meetings with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Taliban.

Scheduled by the UN Secretary-General, this meeting anticipates attendance from representatives across 20 countries. Yet, specifics regarding the involvement of women and Taliban opponents remain unclear.

Dujarric added that ethnic and religious minorities appear to be disproportionately impacted by the Taliban’s crackdown.

During the press conference on Monday, he stated that UNAMA is looking into the allegations of ill treatment and incommunicado detention of women.

Previously, on January 22, UNAMA reported that the Taliban detained women and girls, predominately from Hazara-dominated areas in Dashte Barchi in western Kabul, and some from the Khair Khana area of Kabul, where most residents are Tajiks.

This UN official added that the isolation of women provides the environment for men “to enforce repressive oppression at home”.

In 2022, the Taliban ordered women to wear loose and long black clothes, preferably a burqa. The group warned that if they do not comply with the hijab rule, they will be punished, and their relatives will be imprisoned.

Earlier, the UNAMA in Kabul called the arbitrary detention and violence against Afghan women humiliating and dangerous.

Meanwhile, according to information shared with Afghanistan International, the Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, as well as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have initiated investigations to determine the reasons behind the Taliban's detention of the girls and the methods employed in the process.

Haqqani detailed that 45,000 of these migrants came back from Iran, while the remaining 5,000 returned from Pakistan.

This announcement was made public on Wednesday through Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), now under the control of the Taliban.

The official highlighted that the Ministry of Refugees is offering assistance to the returnees at border crossings, including SIM cards, cash, and health services.

During a visit to the Torkham border crossing on Tuesday, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban, emphasised that Afghan migrants should not be coerced into returning to Afghanistan amid the winter season.

Following the initiation of a deportation process for undocumented migrants by Pakistan in November 2023, reports from international organisations indicate that around half a million Afghan migrants have made their way back to Afghanistan from Pakistan within this timeframe.

These entities have advocated for the official recognition of gender apartheid in the nation to diminish governmental interactions with the Taliban.

Their communication highlights the Taliban's restrictive orders and misogynistic actions against women, effectively ostracising them from public life and pushing them to the margins of society.

By acknowledging the existence of gender apartheid, these human rights organisations believe that pressure will mount on all governments and international bodies that are in dialogue with the Taliban, encouraging them to refrain from any form of engagement or compromise.

The International Service for Human Rights and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom also called on global nations to denounce the oppression and mistreatment of women, as well as the state of gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

To date, the Taliban have dismissed all national and international pleas for the observance of Afghan women's rights, asserting that their policies are aligned with Sharia law and remain immutable.

He explained that he aimed to underscore the extensive potential for 'martyrdom' forces within Afghanistan, Iran, and other Islamic nations.

During an interview with the private Shamshad TV at the Iranian Embassy in Kabul, he sought to rationalise his earlier remarks on the preparedness of "a martyrdom army" from Afghanistan which could be sent to aid Palestinians and fight against Israel.

Previously, during a discussion with the Iranian state media, Kazemi Qomi labeled Afghanistan as a component of the resistance axis. However, in his latest interview, he remarked, "There is tremendous potential in these countries, notably Afghanistan, where individuals are willing to lay down their lives for the sake of Al-Quds (Jerusalem). They possess martyrdom and Jihadist forces."

Responding to a Shamshad reporter's inquiry about the location of these forces, Iran's special representative mentioned, "The people of Afghanistan”.

This top diplomat of the Islamic Republic further noted that his prior dialogue did not broach the subject of dispatching a suicide army from Afghanistan to Gaza, emphasising that there is no intention of intervention.

Nonetheless, Qomi affirmed, "Such capacity exists within the aware consciences of Afghanistan's Muslim and revolutionary populace. Should the circumstances be conducive and the need arise, they are well-prepared; the same holds for Iran and other countries... I never stated our intention to send [suicide attackers from Afghanistan to Gaza].”

On February 7, speaking to Iran's state-run Ofogh channel, the special representative for Afghanistan, expressed that "more than one brigade of martyrdom forces" could be mobilised from Afghanistan to support Gaza if required.

He acknowledged Afghanistan's geographic distance from Gaza, but reinforced its status within the "resistance axis”.

The statements from Qomi elicited a broad range of responses, including from Atta Mohammad Noor, a Taliban adversary, who asserted that Afghanistan's sovereignty does not extend to dispatching suicide forces to Gaza.