Taliban Prohibits Hezb-e-Islami’s Leader From Holding Meetings & Making Political Comments

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.

These women were scheduled to attend a conference to receive the Kosovo Courage Award.

On Monday, the Kosovo Medal of Courage was awarded to several Afghan activists.

A participant told Afghanistan International that Taliban officials thwarted the travel of the four invited women to Kosovo.

During her speech at the forum, Zahra Nader, editor-in-chief of Zan Times, said that her colleagues were barred from travelling by the Taliban. Nader highlighted that some Afghan women, who were invited to the summit, were absent today due to the Taliban's restriction on females travelling without a male guardian. They are permitted to travel only when accompanied by a man.

One of the forum participants informed Afghanistan International that the women who were prevented from travelling are Adela Yadegar, an employee of Forum for Afghan Women; Mahnaz Baluch, an employee of the International Organisation for Migration’ Negina Ahmadi, an employee of the Just for Afghan Capacity and Knowledge Institute, and Freshta Yaqubi, an employee of the Organisation for Sustainable Aid in Afghanistan.

According to the source, while the Taliban permitted the invited men to travel at the airport, they intervened to prevent the women from departing before their flight.

As of now, Taliban officials have not commented in this regard.

It is not the Taliban's first attempt to prevent Afghan women from traveling; previously, the group hindered a group of girls from traveling to the United Arab Emirates for education in 2023.

Taliban has imposed a ban on girls' education beyond the sixth grade and has placed restrictions on women's employment across various sectors.

Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), now under Taliban control, reported, citing officials of the group in Samangan, that efforts to reopen this highway have commenced.

According to reports, severe rainfall and recent floods have resulted in significant human and economic damages.

A Taliban spokesperson for the Ministry of Disaster Management said on Monday that, due to rain and flooding in the provinces, 33 people have lost their lives and 27 have been injured. Additionally, he noted that 606 houses have been destroyed, and 200 livestock have perished.

The police have stated that those holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) and Proof of Registration (PoR) cards have also been given this warning.

On Monday, Afghan immigrants told Afghanistan International that the police have warned that if they do not leave the villages of Baluchistan by 8am local time on Tuesday, April 16, they will be forcibly deported.

According to the sources, the police have warned Afghan refugees in the villages of Karas, Bazaar Naw, and Pishin in Baluchistan that they must evacuate these villages and return to Afghanistan voluntarily.

Earlier, the Pakistani government had announced that migrants holding ACC and PoR cards would not be expelled from Pakistan, but now provincial authorities in Baluchistan are saying that even legal migrants will be expelled.

PoR and ACC cards are identity documents for Afghan migrants that allow them to legally reside in Pakistan.

This card is valid throughout the country. This comes as the Pakistani government had announced that the second phase of expelling Afghan migrants from Pakistan would soon begin.

AGT's recent publication reveals that out of the reported 173,000 personnel in the Taliban's military forces, approximately 100,000 are classified as ghost soldiers. These ghost members are fictitious entities whose names appear in official records to illicitly claim additional benefits like salaries and food supplies, a practice rooted in systemic corruption.

This analysis was shared on Monday via the social network X, shedding light on the 2023 structure of the Taliban's military. The report notes significant variations in the actual presence of forces, stating, "In some areas, their presence is about seventy percent, while in others it drops to forty percent."

Further findings indicate that the true active duty strength of these forces is merely forty percent of the stated numbers. The total documented strength of the Taliban's army across various divisions stands at 173,724.

The report also touches on the undue privileges granted to certain Taliban personnel based on tribal affiliations, despite their nonexistence on the ground. This practice is reportedly more prevalent in northern Afghanistan, where the Taliban struggle for social support.

Additionally, AGT's intelligence unit has accessed employment records for over 50,000 staff members of the Taliban's Ministry of Defence, revealing that approximately 93 percent belong to the Pashtun ethnic group.