Iranian Envoy Hails Expansion Of Bilateral Relations As Helmand River Water Reaches Iran

AGT emphasised that the arrests were motivated by their origins from Panjshir and the group's recent disclosures about the Taliban's governmental institutions.

Sources informed Afghanistan International on Sunday that the Taliban had detained Mir Khawaja Mujahid, the head of Afghanistan's powerlifting federation; General Isa, a former official in the previous Afghan government's intelligence and interior ministries; and his son, accusing them of affiliating with AGT in Kabul.

Previously, AGT had released documents identifying 58 senior Taliban intelligence members and approximately six thousand department personnel, all reportedly trained in Pakistan.

Moreover, AGT disclosed a list of 189 senior Taliban officials, alleging the establishment of "a network of individuals from the same clan, tribe, and madrasa" within the Ministry of Defence. It noted that only one official is non-Taliban, and all had received education in Pakistani religious schools.

AGT also reported that General Isa hails from a village in Panjshir, the birthplace of Amrullah Saleh, the former Vice-President of Afghanistan. Contrarily, a source claimed that General Isa is a relative of Saleh and previously collaborated with him as an advisor in the Ministry of Interior.

AGT remarked that the Taliban perceive "the backbone of Afghanistan's Green Trend and its members as the people of Panjshir”.

Following the arrests of General Isa and his son, Hamid Khorasani, a Taliban member, circulated a statement in the media alleging that Isa is related to Saleh and engaged in "propaganda" and "destructive activities" against the Taliban.

AGT has dismissed these claims by Taliban sources, affirming that General Isa and his son were targeted solely for their Panjshir origins.

According to Hengaw, the recent executions included four Afghan prisoners at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad in the early hours of Thursday, 18 April.

Additionally, on Wednesday, 17 April, Hojatullah Bakhtawer, a 23-year-old prisoner, was executed at Tabriz Central Prison.

The Iranian government's official sources have yet to confirm these executions. Previously, Iranian officials had reported that approximately 6000 Afghan citizens are imprisoned in Iran on various charges.

The group's statement detailed that the attack resulted in casualties among the Taliban, with 10 people reported killed or injured.

The attack targeted a civilian bus as it passed through a Taliban checkpoint in the third district of Kabul city, according to ISIS. Initial reports from Taliban officials, however, stated that the explosion, caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on a passenger bus, killed one person and wounded three others.

Khalid Zadran, the spokesperson for the Taliban police command, confirmed the details of the incident. This violent act occurs amidst ongoing assertions by Taliban officials that they have effectively suppressed ISIS in Afghanistan, countering foreign assertions about the group's active presence as mere "propaganda."

Concurrently, a video received by Afghanistan International shows armed individuals breaching the border fence from Afghanistan into Waziristan.

According to reports, these militants, associated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a commander within the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), made their way into Waziristan by cutting through the border fence after Eid al-Fitr celebrations. Sources relayed to Afghanistan International that the group included both Pakistani Taliban fighters and some Afghans.

To date, the Taliban have not issued any statements regarding this incident. Meanwhile, senior Pakistani officials have repeatedly expressed concerns that Hafiz Gul Bahadur and other TTP militants in Afghanistan are operating under the protection of the Taliban, alleging that they have safe havens within the country.

Despite these claims, the Taliban have denied such accusations, asserting that Islamabad is shifting the blame for its own security failures onto the Taliban.

This past Wednesday, similar drone sightings were reported by other residents of Parwan. While no nation has officially recognised these drones as their own, the Taliban have consistently accused the United States of infringing on Afghanistan's airspace.

In related developments, individuals from Badakhshan, Panjshir, Kunar, and Laghman provinces have reported seeing drones in their skies to Afghanistan International.

Additionally, in Kandahar, there have been multiple observations of drones. Notably, on April 3, sources noted that unmanned aircraft loitered for several hours above the office of Mullah Hibatullah, the Taliban leader, in Kandahar. These drone patrols reportedly unsettled the Taliban, prompting them to relocate their leader.

Top Taliban officials, including the Minister of Defence and the Army Chief, have reiterated claims that Afghanistan's airspace remains under "occupation" by the United States.