Pak Foreign Minister Calls For Revival Of SCO’s Contact Group For Afghanistan

The UN said that the purpose of this meeting is to increase international engagement with Afghanistan in a coherent and structured manner.

On Tuesday, the UN provided details about Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General's meeting with senior Taliban officials.

DiCarlo met with Taliban officials and some Afghan figures, including Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan, in Kabul between May 18 and 21. During this trip, DiCarlo invited Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, to participate in the third Doha meeting.

The United Nations stated that DiCarlo also met with a number of Afghan civil society activists during her visit to Kabul.

Abdul Kabir, the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, conditioned participation in the third Doha meeting on the acceptance of the group's stance.

Abdul Kabir told DiCarlo this week that Afghanistan is under the complete control of the Taliban and that the country "has one emir who is obeyed”.

In a statement, the UN said that Afghan figures told the UN Under-Secretary-General that any strategy for international engagement with Afghanistan must address the humanitarian, developmental, and economic challenges facing Afghanistan.

The statement adds that they also pointed to the dangers and threats posed by drugs and terrorist groups.

The Under-Secretary-General discussed the human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly the restrictions on women's education, with the Taliban and Afghan figures in Kabul.

In a statement, the ministry expressed concern over "terrorist attacks" on foreign tourists in Afghanistan.

On Friday evening, May 17, armed assailants attacked foreign tourists and their companions in the Bamiyan province.

According to the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, six people, including three foreign nationals and three Afghan citizens, were killed, and seven others, including four foreigners, were injured in the attack.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Referring to this attack, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

The statement, published on the official website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, declared, "Given the current circumstances, the security situation in Afghanistan is extremely challenging, and we 'strongly' advise against traveling to this country for personal reasons, including tourism."

Meanwhile, Joe Sheffer, founder of the Safarat tourism agency, told AFP that if the attacks continue, "Afghanistan’s tourism industry will be over."

Sheffer said that after the armed attack in Bamiyan, several clients canceled their trips to Afghanistan, and the agency is reviewing its operations in the country.

He told AFP, "We will reduce group sizes... We are cancelling itineraries in remote locations... We are reducing walking in public places."

This airline had suspended all its flights to Afghanistan in August 2021 following the Taliban's takeover.

Turkish Airlines officials previously stated that the airline would have four flights per week from Istanbul to Kabul and vice-versa.

Yesterday, the Turkish Ambassador in Kabul wrote in a note on the X social media platform that Turkish Airlines is returning to Afghanistan "strong and ready”.

Flydubai and Air Arabia have also resumed their flights to Afghanistan.

He went missing on the Kabul-Nangarhar route last month, but it was later revealed that the Taliban officials had detained him.

Zawab is renowned among Pashtuns for his satirical and critical poems.

Sources close to him told Afghanistan International that the poet had posted a poem on Facebook a few days before his arrest, which the Taliban interpreted as a protest against their policies. At that time, the Taliban did not provide details about the reason for his arrest.

Ataullah, Zawab's son, wrote on his Facebook page that his father was detained by the Taliban while travelling to Jalalabad to finalise the new issue of the Meena magazine.

Zawab is a resident of Nangarhar, but after the fall of the previous government and the Taliban taking over power, he went to Kabul, where he owned both Meena magazine and a bookstore.

The Meena magazine, known for its literary, artistic, and humorous content, is very popular among young people. It began publication in 2002.

The Front claimed that one Taliban member was killed and two other members were injured in this attack.

The Taliban have not yet responded to the claim by the NRF.

In recent weeks, this anti-Taliban group has reported multiple attacks on Taliban checkpoints and outposts.