Taliban's Occupation of Afghanistan Poses Threat To All, NRF Reacts To Moscow Attack

West also mentioned that India will continue its humanitarian assistance and the delivery of medicines to Afghanistan.

The US Special Representative wrote on social media platform X that he had met with Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the Deputy Foreign Minister of India, and JP Singh, head of the Afghanistan and Pakistan division at the ministry.

He also conversed with Indian officials about the "path forward" for Afghanistan and the country's needs for the current year.

West described his discussions with Indian officials on Afghanistan as "valuable”.

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan announced last week that he would be traveling to India and the United Arab Emirates to discuss cooperation in support of the Afghan people.

According to sources, the individual received 39 lashes on Friday in Dowlat Yar district.

The spokesperson did not provide details regarding the gender of the accused or the specific nature of the accusation.

Since the takeover of power in August 2021, the Taliban has reinstated physical punishments, despite widespread protests from human rights defenders both within and outside Afghanistan. The group says that their punishment is based on Sharia.

In a brief note on X social media platform, Haqqani referred to the evolution of Pakistan's policy towards the Taliban from 2001 to 2024.

The former Pakistani diplomat said that Islamabad had stated in 2001 that Pakistan does not support the Taliban. Later, Pakistani politicians said, "We are hedging against Indian influence by supporting the good Taliban."

Haqqani added that following the Taliban's victory, Pakistani authorities said, “Taliban have broken the shackles of slavery by forcing the US out.” He pointed to a speech by Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, who stated on August 16, 2021, one day after the Taliban entered Kabul, that Afghans had broken the shackles of slavery.

According to him, now in 2024, Pakistan believes that the Taliban has become a threat to the security of the country.

These statements come amid further deterioration in relations between the Taliban and Islamabad following Pakistan's airstrikes in the provinces of Khost and Paktika on March 18.

Following the attacks along the border in Paktia province, clashes erupted between the Taliban and Pakistani border guards. In response, the Taliban's Defence Ministry released an image of Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defence minister, dressed in military attire.

The letter specifically points to a plot to poison the food of Taliban fighters during Iftar, which is the evening meal which one consumes when fasting ends.

Dated Thursday and endorsed by the coordination commander of the 201 Khalid bin Walid Corps in Nangarhar, this communication was directed to the leadership of the corps' third infantry brigade.

Information shared with Afghanistan International highlights the Taliban's apprehensions regarding the National Resistance Front's strategy to leverage toxic substances against their forces throughout Afghanistan.

Further details from the letter reveal that an NRF member based in Tajikistan has reportedly called upon their comrades to engage in the poisoning scheme targeting the Taliban.

Originating from the Taliban's 201 Corps intelligence division, the directive calls for heightened vigilance within the brigade's ranks, urging commanders to steer clear of food offerings from unverified sources.

Till date, the National Resistance Front has not issued a response to these warnings of the Taliban.

Metsola unequivocally condemned the gender apartheid prevailing in Afghanistan. Her remarks came in the wake of discussions with European Union leaders in Brussels on Thursday.

Metsola was responding to questions from Musadiq Parsa, a journalist with Afghanistan International.

Describing the plight of Afghan women as a stark form of gender apartheid, Metsola expressed her condemnation and recounted encounters with courageous Afghan women who sought refuge in Portugal to escape the Taliban's oppression.

She underscored the EU's responsibility to ensure that the dire circumstances in Afghanistan, especially the severe breach of women's rights by the Taliban, are not overshadowed by other global crises.

Human rights advocates have long characterised the Taliban's systematic curtailing of Afghan women's fundamental rights as gender apartheid, advocating for its formal acknowledgments.

Throughout their dominion over Afghanistan, extending beyond two and a half years, the Taliban have systematically stripped women of essential liberties, spanning education, employment, sports, travel, and the freedom to engage in public life, through comprehensive restrictions and prohibitions.

Advocates for women's rights assert that beyond recognising gender apartheid, there should be international legal action against the Taliban for their role as perpetrators of women's rights violations. Yet, concrete measures for the official recognition and accountability of gender apartheid in Afghanistan and globally remain to be enacted.