Afghanistan Joining SCO As Permanent Member Currently Impossible, Says Russian Envoy

This contract, revealed on Wednesday, commits the Iranian firm to supplying 20,000 railway sleepers for the development of Afghanistan's railway infrastructure.

Brace Concrete Industries, hailing from Hamadan province, is recognised for its specialisation in manufacturing concrete sleepers, illustrating the company's innovative and leading stance in the sector.

An official from the Taliban’s Railway Authority informed IRIB about their order of 20,000 sleepers from Brace Concrete Industries.

Hossein Mirabian, the founder of Brace Concrete Industries, detailed that the delivery schedule includes 10,000 sleepers by the end of the Persian year and an additional 10,000 by April 2024, ensuring a steady supply for the ongoing railway projects in Afghanistan.

Mirabian further indicated plans for expanded involvement of his company in Afghanistan's railway development initiatives.

Despite the lack of formal recognition of the Taliban by the Islamic Republic and other nations, there exist engagements, with Iran maintaining both diplomatic and economic interactions with the group.

The letter stated that Seddiqi is in a dire condition at the Pul-e-Charkhi prison and has fallen severely ill due to "Taliban torture”.

A copy of this letter that was published on Wednesday has been sent to Afghanistan International. The Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women also said that the Taliban prevented Seddiqi’s family from providing her with medicine.

The letter highlighted that the Taliban has accused this activist of burning an image of the Taliban leader. The movement urged the United Nations to address Seddiqi’s situation.

Manizha Seddiqi was forcibly taken by the Taliban intelligence forces on October 9, 2023, and later transferred to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison. However, the Taliban has not provided any explanation for her detention or her current situation in prison.

In a statement, Amnesty International stated that women rights activists have been detained on fabricated charges, and they have not been given the right to a fair trial.

According to the front, these attacks were carried out at the Taliban checkpoints on Silo Road and in front of the National Archive.

The NRF stated that these attacks occurred one hour apart from each other during the night.

The Taliban has not yet commented on this matter. However, a source close to the Taliban told Afghanistan International that the NRF's attack on the Silo Road checkpoint did not result in any casualties.

The NRF has reported that one Taliban fighter was killed in the attack.

This marks the fifth attack by the NRF on the Taliban in the past three days. Meanwhile, Afghanistan Freedom Front, another armed group against the Taliban, announced this week that it would refrain from launching any military attacks during Ramadan and the Eid days.

In a statement, the court mentioned that the individual has been sentenced to three months of imprisonment and 20 lashes.

On Wednesday, the Taliban’s Supreme Court said that the individual was flogged two weeks ago under the jurisdiction of the district court of Barmal district, Paktika province.

The Taliban did not provide further details regarding the gender of the individual.

Recently, this group had flogged four men on charges of "banditry" in Parwan province.

In less than a month, Taliban has flogged nearly 30 individuals in Herat, Logar, Balkh, Bamiyan, Parwan, Sar-e Pul, and Paktika provinces.

Following the takeover of power in Afghanistan, physical punishments such as flogging, hand amputation, and execution have resumed.

Human rights activists and former government officials accuse the Taliban of having double standards in punishment, saying that the group does not implement Sharia rulings on its members.

According to the report, Iran has dispatched Afghan children to fight in Syria as part of the Fatemiyoun Brigade.

A group of human rights activists in Iran published a comprehensive report on Tuesday, March 12, documenting Iran’s long-term operations of recruitment and use of child soldiers in warfare.

The main goal of this report is to expose the systematic exploitation of vulnerable populations, with a special focus on migrants and Afghan children by Iranian military and paramilitary forces.

The findings of this group of human rights activists document and highlight Iran's violation of several international laws, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that children under 15 should not be recruited or used in conflicts.

The activists have called for immediate action from the international community, including sanctions, diplomatic pressures, and support for NGOs working to protect vulnerable populations from child recruitment.

The report notes that one of the most concerning findings is the high casualty rate among child soldiers in the Fatemiyoun Brigade.

HRANA added that Iran has recruited Afghan children into the Fatemiyoun Brigade and Pakistani individuals into the Zainabiyoun Brigade.

Fatemiyoun Brigade is a militia group affiliated with Iran's Quds Force, claiming to organise volunteer Afghan forces for deployment to Syria to fight against Bashar Assad's opponents and ISIS.

According to HRANA's report, the Fatemiyoun Division began its operations in 2013, marking the first deployment of Afghan "Fatemiyoun" defenders to Syria.

The report indicates that recruitment agents initially targeted Afghans for enlistment in this force, from factories to prisons, with promises that going to Syria would annul their prison sentences, stabilise their residency status in Iran, and provide them with houses and significant amounts of financial support.

HRANA, quoting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the former Afghan government, wrote, "Tehran has exploited the poverty and deprivation of Afghans who migrated to Iran for its sectarian and expansionist interests and goals."

Samad Rezai, a commander of the Fatemiyoun in 2018, stated that at least 80,000 individuals under the Fatemiyoun brigades were deployed to Syria, with 2,800 reported as killed.

Zuhair Mujahid, the charge of cultural division of the Fatemiyoun Brigade, announced in 2017 that more than two thousand members of the Fatemiyoun forces had been killed in the Syrian war, with eight thousand wounded.

Recruitment of Children for the War in Syria

HRANA says that most members of the Fatemiyoun Brigade were Afghan migrants. According to the report, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was also active in recruiting within Afghanistan and had unofficial offices in the country.

Although the exact number of child soldiers in the Fatemiyoun is unclear, HRANA's evidence suggests that the Revolutionary Guards have used children under 18, even under 15, as soldiers to join the Fatemiyoun and participate in the Syrian war.

HRANA's report states that in 2017, Human Rights Watch confirmed the use of at least eight Afghan children in the Fatemiyoun Brigade by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. All these Afghan children were killed in the Syrian war, and four of them were only 14 years old at the time of their death.