Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's Interior Minister, expressed gratitude for the initiation of operations by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Kabul during a meeting with the country’s ambassador.
The Taliban's Ministry of Interior Affairs stated that Haqqani and Ilham Mohammadov, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, discussed religious, political, and cultural relations between the two countries, emphasising on their expansion.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry described the start of the embassy activities of Azerbaijan in Kabul as a "historic step" between Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
It added that both countries share many commonalities in religious and cultural matters. Last month, both Taliban and Azerbaijan dispatched their ambassadors to Baku and Kabul. Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Afghanistan presented his credentials to Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister on February 15.
The Taliban's Ministry of Interior stated that Mohammadov also praised the Taliban's efforts in ensuring security and combating drug trafficking.
The German police arrested two Afghan citizens for plotting an attack on police and civilians near the Swedish Parliament.
According to the police, the two individuals were ordered by the ISIS Khorasan branch to carry out the attack in response to the burning of the Quran in Sweden and other countries.
The German Federal Police announced on Tuesday that the Federal Prosecutor's Office had arrested Ibrahim and Ramin, Afghan citizens, based on a court order in the city of Gera, Thuringia state.
The police further stated that Ibrahim has been strongly suspected of having membership and supporting ISIS, and Ramin has also been accused of supporting this terror group.
According to the German police, these two Afghan citizens have been supporters of ISIS's ideology since 2023, with Ibrahim joining the ISIS Khorasan branch in Germany in August.
The press release detailed that in the summer of 2023, ISIS tasked Ibrahim with executing an attack in Europe as a reaction to the Quran burning in Sweden. The German police said that Ibrahim, with Ramin's collaboration, intended to kill police officers and other individuals with firearms in the vicinity of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm.
The police revealed that the two Afghan citizens had made preparations for the attack in consultation with ISIS, examined the local conditions around the potential crime scene online, and made several unsuccessful attempts to purchase weapons.
The Federal Police of Germany mentioned that Ibrahim, with Ramin's cooperation, had previously collected approximately two thousand euros for ISIS and sent it to North Syria through an intermediary.
The suspects will soon be presented to the Federal Court.
Kenneth McKenzie, the former CENTCOM commander, has said that while the Taliban currently shows no inclination to attack America, they have provided sanctuary to groups that are intent on targeting the country and its forces.
This retired US General stressed that he considers the Taliban a terrorist organisation.
General McKenzie, on Tuesday, provided explanations during a hearing of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on the manner of America's withdrawal from Afghanistan.
McKenzie emphasised that the empowerment of ISIS and Al-Qaeda should be America's primary concern regarding Afghanistan and urged vigilance over the country for this reason.
Taliban officials have stated they will not allow any group to use Afghan soil to launch attacks. However, they have refused to crack down on Al-Qaeda and other militant groups in Afghanistan.
The former CENTCOM commander mentioned that the Taliban's policies, particularly their severe violation of human rights, will not alter America's perspective on Afghanistan under Taliban rule in the coming decades.
Zahra Elahian, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, emphasised on the need to review the conditions for granting citizenship to Afghans.
Elahian said that if an Afghan obtains an Iranian birth certificate, there is no obstacle to their participation in elections, but the issue emerges when investigating the conditions in which they obtained the citizenship.
In an interview with the Young Journalists Club published on Tuesday, Elahian mentioned the existence of special conditions for granting Iranian citizenship to Afghan immigrants, although she did not provide further details.
This Iranian parliament member asked the country’s interior minister to attend the parliament and explain about the "unauthorised" entry of Afghans and the policies in place for them.
Afghans makes the largest immigrant population in Iran. Similar to Pakistan and Turkey, Iran deports individuals without residency documents.
Iranian officials report that following the Taliban's takeover of power in August 2021, the number of Afghan immigrants in Iran reached six million.
Zahra Elahian had previously claimed that "unauthorised immigrants" in Iran "do not adhere to any principles and have caused various security, economic, and social problems”.
Her statements regarding the examination of the conditions for granting Iranian citizenship to Afghan immigrants have surfaced even as last week, some Iranian media reported that on the verge of upcoming presidential elections in Iran, the image of an Afghan-Iranian citizenship ID became controversial, compelling the National Migration Organisation to respond and issue a statement.
As reported by Asr-e Iran, the migration organisation declared, "In response to the widespread dissemination of an identity card belonging to an individual [Afghan] with Iranian citizenship, and the connection of this matter to the activities of the National Immigration Organisation, we hereby clarify that the issuance of this identity card is not affiliated with any programmes of our organisation."
Some Iranian media outlets have called the announcement "deafening" and have called for transparency in this regard.
In the aftermath of Pakistan's air strikes on Paktika and Khost, Vedant Patel, a US State Department spokesperson, urged Islamabad and the Taliban to reconcile and resolve their differences.
Patel stressed on the importance of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a sanctuary for terrorists intent on harming the United States and its allies. Highlighting this during a Monday press conference, Patel insisted on the Taliban's responsibility to prevent terrorist activities from emanating from Afghan territory.
He called on Pakistan to exercise restraint and ensure that civilian casualties are avoided in its counter-terrorism efforts. Additionally, Patel disclosed ongoing discussions between the US and Pakistani leaders regarding Afghanistan and terrorism.
The Deputy Spokesperson for the US State Department labeled Pakistan as a significant ally of the United States, affirming consistent dialogue with Islamabad on counter-terrorism and security matters.
Matthew Miller, another spokesperson for the US State Department, communicated to Afghanistan International, Washington's support for Pakistan's battle against terrorist factions.
Sources early Monday reported to Afghanistan International that the Pakistani Air Force targeted the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in the provinces of Khost and Paktika. In response, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry implicated the Afghan Taliban in leveraging the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan for their ends, characterising the air strikes in Afghanistan as anti-terrorist actions. Following these strikes, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan's Ambassador to Kabul in protest. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's spokesperson, said that the strikes resulted in the deaths of three women and three children in Paktika and three family members in Khost. These incidents followed the Pakistan army's confirmation that several of its security personnel were killed in North Waziristan due to suicide attacks and a confrontation with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Mark Milley, the previous Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with Kenneth McKenzie, the former CENTCOM commander, are set to testify before the US Congress about the tumultuous withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan.
The testimony is scheduled for this Tuesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Numerous members of the US Congress, along with present and past officials of the US, have labelled the withdrawal from Afghanistan as chaotic and have voiced criticism towards the Biden administration's management of the exit strategy.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee, under Michael McCaul's leadership, is organising sessions aimed at scrutinising the Biden administration's execution of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. These sessions will allow for a direct query from representatives to the officials involved.
Mark Milley, who led as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2019 until September 2023, shared his disappointment during an ABC News interview last September regarding the conclusion of America's two-decade-long engagement in Afghanistan, emphasising that the outcome was not as he had hoped.
Kenneth McKenzie, who commanded the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) from March 2019 to April 2022, has expressed regret concerning the manner of the US' exit from Afghanistan, highlighting the potential threat of ISIS attacking US interests from Afghan territory. He further advocated for the continued presence of US forces in Afghanistan.
Earlier, on February 15, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy to Afghanistan, provided his testimony in a Congressional hearing focused on the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Doha Agreement, contributing to the comprehensive evaluation of the withdrawal's aftermath.