Taliban’s Supreme Court Flogs Individual Publicly For Extramarital Relations

Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), under Taliban control, reported that Pakistan has been denying entry to patients without passports and visas since Tuesday.

According to Taliban officials in Nangarhar, this route was closed on Monday.

Pakistan had previously also closed the Torkham crossing for patients who lacked visas and passports in recent months.

Additionally, the patient transfer commission in Torkham has urged applicants not to approach the commission until further notice.

According to these sources, residents of the Dahana-i-Ghori district staged demonstrations and blocked the Balkh-Samangan highway.

Images received by Afghanistan International indicate that some individuals are present on the road and have ignited fires.

Sources claimed that ongoing floods and the destruction of agricultural lands in the province prompted the protests as people are asking the Taliban to construct a canal to prevent further destruction.

Recent floods in various provinces have resulted in both human and financial losses.

Sources in Baghlan reported that even several hours after the protest began, Taliban authorities are yet to arrive at the scene.

AFF stated that the operation took place on Monday evening, targeting a Taliban police command outpost in Pul-e-Khomri city.

According to the front's statement, no AFF members suffered any harm during the operation.

AFF stands as one of the armed factions opposing the Taliban, engaging in offensives against the group across various provinces, notably in northern Afghanistan.

Taliban officials typically refrain from commenting on such incidents.

Hekmatyar's son did not confirm or deny the issue.

According to sources, after Hekmatyar made statements regarding the US drones occupying Afghanistan's airspace, some Taliban officials visited his residence and deemed his remarks contradictory to their principles.

During a gathering with some of his party members on Eid, Hekmatyar mentioned that US drones were patrolling Afghan airspace, saying that Afghanistan's airspace was under occupation. He expressed his refusal to accept any form of US presence or occupation in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to refute statements made by the US Special Representative, Tom West.

Hekmatyar stated, "Tom West mentioned in the US Congress that there is an active intelligence presence in Afghanistan. Such a statement is not ordinary but rather the words of a responsible individual."

He further mentioned that West claimed that the US has provided two billion dollars to the Taliban and the group is fulfilling their promise. The leader of Hezb-e-Islami emphasised that the Taliban should have rejected the statements made by this American official.

Although it remains unclear which statements of the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Hekmatyar was referring to, US officials have previously indicated that the US is monitoring the activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

The US government has conducted numerous attacks in Afghanistan with the assistance of drones operating in Afghan airspace, and the Taliban are unable to prevent these aircraft from entering Afghan airspace. In one such drone strike, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda was killed in Kabul.

US Republican representatives in Congress have criticised the Biden administration for losing the ability to monitor and carry out operations against terrorist groups in Afghanistan following withdrawal of all forces from the country.

Reports of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's meetings being banned and even facing a form of "house arrest" have also circulated on social media.

The Pashto section of Afghanistan International reached out to Habiburrahman Hekmatyar, the son of the leader of Hezb-e-Islami. Without confirming or denying the news about his father, he wrote, "Encountering challenges and fluctuations in the political struggle while advocating for truth against tyranny and lawlessness is natural."

Tensions between Hekmatyar and the Taliban have recently intensified. In the latest incident, the Taliban evicted him from his residence in Darulaman area of Kabul, where he had been residing since the signing of the peace agreement with the government of Ashraf Ghani, claiming that the property belonged to the Ministry of Defence.

Hekmatyar has consistently voiced criticism against the policies and leadership of the Taliban.

As per the RTA, Seyyed Hassan Mortazavi, Iran’s Deputy Ambassador, made this statement during a meeting with Maulawi Abdul Kabir, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban.

It added that Mortazavi told Abdul Kabir that Iran is trying to create a positive interaction between regional countries and the Taliban.

According to the Taliban, the Iranian diplomat has also called for further expansion of relations between Kabul and Tehran.

Following the Taliban's takeover of power in Afghanistan, Iran was one of the first countries to strengthen its political and economic ties with the Taliban.

The Iranian government, shortly after the Taliban’s takeover, handed over the Afghan embassy to Taliban representatives in Tehran and subsequently strengthened its diplomatic and commercial relations with the group.

This Iranian official cited Iran's lack of support for the political activities of opponents, even though a source close to the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) told Afghanistan International on April 6 that Iranian police had arrested three members of the front on charges of joining ISIS.

On April 6, Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi, Iran’s law enforcement forces spokesperson, said that they have apprehended "senior member and operational commander of ISIS" named "Mohammad Zakir" (known as Ramesh) and two other members of the group in Mahdasht city, Karaj.