Taliban, Turkmenistan & Kazakhstan Discuss Connecting North & South Asia

He mentioned that international terrorist groups take refuge in Afghanistan due to the unstable and ambiguous political situation in the country.

Speaking on Friday at the defence ministers' meeting of the SCO in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, he criticised the United States’ efforts to regain power in Central and South Asia after withdrawing from Afghanistan.

The presence and establishment of extremist groups in Afghanistan and the increase in attacks by these groups, especially ISIS, have created serious security concerns for the Central Asian countries.

The Russian defence minister regarded the establishment of US military infrastructure in the region as a direct threat to the stability of the SCO.

He emphasised that these objectives should be recognised as direct threats to the organisation's stability.

According to him, the United States is attempting to impose a new security system in the Asia-Pacific region.

Shoigu, in his address, urged participants to safeguard the stability of the organisation against "destructive external influences”.

He specifically referred to the efforts of "colour revolutions" and advocated for the establishment of a system where the security of all Eurasian countries is equally assured.

Sources informed Afghanistan International that during this attack, the younger sister of the former officer was killed due to the Taliban gunfire, while his mother sustained severe injuries.

According to the sources, the former security forces member had served in the previous government as a member of the popular uprising forces and sought refuge in Iran following the Taliban's takeover of power. Recently, he was expelled from Iran and returned to Afghanistan.

Based on information provided by these sources, Taliban fighters targeted the former security forces member's home in the Dasht-e Qala district of Takhar with the intention to kill him.

The sources further stated that although the former security forces member escaped unharmed, his sister fell victim to the Taliban gunfire, and his mother suffered severe injuries.

As of now, Taliban officials have made no comment on the matter.

These guards had been detained earlier on Thursday after entering Afghan territory in Farah province.

Mehr and ISNA news agencies wrote that six Iranian border guards who were detained by the Taliban at the Afghanistan border had been released a few hours ago.

Earlier, sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban border forces had arrested six Iranian soldiers who had crossed the border in Farah province.

Iran had stated that these forces had "mistakenly entered Afghan territory."

The Taliban had handed over the detained border guards to the intelligence department for further investigation.

The committee urged the Taliban to refrain from harassing and mistreating journalists.

Saadat, a journalist of Radio Naz; Masum, a journalist of Radio Iqra, and Tasal, a journalist of Radio Wolas Ghag, were detained on Monday, April 22, after being summoned by the provincial directorate of the Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Sources informed CPJ that the Taliban detained these journalists for broadcasting music and talking to female callers.

According to the sources, these three journalists have been transferred to the police command of Khost province and are expected to face trial soon.

After the takeover of power in Afghanistan, the Taliban banned the broadcast of music in the media.

The Afghanistan Journalists’ Centre (AFJC) reported that Taliban authorities in Khost province last month prohibited women and girls from making phone calls to the media.

According to AFJC, female listeners in some cases used to call in for questions and answers during educational programmes.

Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s programme director, called the detention of Khost journalists "the latest example of ruthless media suppression by the Taliban”.

The Taliban has stated that media can only operate within the framework of the values and policies approved by the group in Afghanistan.

Earlier, the Taliban banned the operation of two television networks on charges of violating "national and Islamic values”.

Furthermore, the Taliban's Minister of Communications announced plans to impose restrictions on Afghan users' access to Facebook in Afghanistan.

Tashkent aims to connect Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan through this initiative to bolster trade in Central Asia.

Transport ministers from these countries met on Tuesday, in Termez, Uzbekistan, to discuss this trade corridor.

According to a statement from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport, participants in the meeting discussed connecting Central Asia and the South Asian countries through the development of a multi-modal transportation corridor to increase Uzbekistan's transit capacity.

This initiative includes plans to enhance transportation, as well as the analysis of transit shipments, digitising documents, and simplifying transit processes between countries.

In November 2023, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Tashkent, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan signed a memorandum to establish this corridor.

Uzbekistan reported a significant increase in cargo transportation through Afghanistan since 2021. According to their statistics, transit cargo volume reached 675,000 tonnes in 2022 and one million tonnes in 2023.

Uzbek authorities express hope that this volume will increase in 2024.

The proposal for a new transportation corridor comes as Uzbekistan, with this ambitious initiative, seeks to diversify its trade routes, upgrade transportation infrastructure, and reduce reliance on Russia.