Former Football Federation Chief, Accused of Sexual Assault, Meets Taliban Governor

The conflict, which lasted five days, was resolved last week through the mediation of local elders and officials from both sides. The initiation of the skirmish was attributed to the construction of a checkpoint by Pakistani forces at the zero point on the border.

Haji Raouf, a member of the local jirga involved in resolving the conflict, confirmed that the Kharlachi border crossing resumed normal commercial activities on Friday, 24 May.

During the clashes, local residents sent videos to Afghanistan International showing significant damage to shops and residential structures in the Dand Patan district market.

The Kharlachi border gate is one of the 18 official crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan, facilitating the daily passage of approximately 100 to 150 lorries. Transit trade at this crossing operates under a bilateral agreement signed in 2010.

The recent closure led to substantial financial losses for both Afghan and Pakistani merchants, many of whom depend on the steady flow of commercial goods across the border.

Speaking at the BRICS Anti-Drug Working Group meeting in Moscow on Thursday, Kakavand highlighted the persistent trafficking and transit issues of drugs originating from Afghanistan, noting no significant reduction.

He also highlighted Iran’s willingness to enhance collaboration with BRICS nations in areas such as information sharing and anti-narcotics strategies.

Iran, whose BRICS membership was approved last year, is actively engaging with the group, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

This engagement marks Kakavand’s first participation in the BRICS Working Group, where he openly challenged the Taliban’s narratives about drug reduction. Etemad Online reported that such direct refutation by a prominent Iranian security official is unprecedented in the past year.

This media outlet also noted a growing domestic criticism within Iran against the lenient approach towards the Taliban, particularly due to the Taliban’s stance on withholding Hirmand water rights from Iran, perceived as an affront to Iranian national interests.

According to AGT, the past two months have seen significant discord, particularly between the Kandahari Taliban and the Haqqani network factions.

On Saturday, May 25, AGT’s intelligence unit disclosed that the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) is sharply divided. Mullah Wasiq, the GDI head, supported by Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah, and the Haqqani network are the main contenders. The position of Kabul province’s intelligence head, currently held by a Mullah Wasiq ally, is a focal point of the dispute.

Further disruptions occurred when Abdullah Ghaznawi, Wasiq’s son-in-law and Chief of Staff of GDI chief, was ousted following criticisms from the Haqqani network. In contrast, Shamsullah, Wasiq’s grandson, remains the head of foreign relations within Taliban intelligence. The Haqqani network’s preferred candidate, Tajmir Jawad, serves as the first deputy head of the intelligence agency.

Relations between Wasiq and Tajmir Jawad are reportedly strained, with Mullah Hibatullah having met with Tajmir only once. AGT claims Tajmir Jawad is actively seeking to replace the current Kabul intelligence head. Although recent disagreements led to armed confrontations, intervention by Kandahar authorities helped to quell the clashes.

According to the sources, one of the conditions is granting Taliban the Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations.

Taliban sources, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Pashto section of Afghanistan International that the second condition is the UN withdrawing its special representative for Afghanistan. The third condition is consulting the Taliban on the agenda and composition of the third Doha meeting.

A diplomatic source also told Afghanistan International that the Taliban strongly oppose the participation of representatives from Afghan civil society and political groups in the third Doha meeting.

The source added that the Taliban's demand for the UN seat is a tactical move, as they know it is unlikely to be granted.

According to sources within the Taliban, the group also informed the UN and Qatari delegations in Kabul that issues such as girls' education, women's employment, and the formation of an inclusive government should not be on the agenda for the third Doha meeting.

The Taliban told these delegations that these are internal matters for Afghanistan and that the group is working to find appropriate solutions.

The sources added that the Taliban stated they would only participate in the meeting if it focuses on Afghanistan's security, drug eradication, and the fight against armed groups, particularly ISIS.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the UN delegation in Kabul told Taliban officials that the third Doha meeting will discuss girls' education, women's employment, the formation of an inclusive government, human rights violations in Taliban prisons, the group's relationship with Al-Qaeda, and ultimately the international community's engagement with the group.

Taliban sources said the group is still waiting for their conditions to be accepted before deciding whether to participate in the third Doha meeting.

This meeting, hosted by the UN, is scheduled to be held on June 30 and July 1 with the presence of special representatives for Afghanistan from various countries.

The UN has stated that the purpose of the meeting is to "increase the international community's coordinated and orderly engagement with Afghanistan."

The Taliban did not participate in the previous two Doha meetings.

Relatives of Shahpari told Afghanistan International that the Taliban detained her six months ago on kidnapping charges in Parwan and subsequently, the group’s urban court sentenced her to three years in prison. The Taliban have not provided information about her charges and the forced marriage.

Relatives told Afghanistan International that Shahpari was forcibly married off by a Taliban city court judge while she was sentenced to three years in prison. Sajjad, Shahpari’s brother, said that the Taliban member named Raihan has since confined Shahpari inside a house in the Ghorband Valley. According to Sajjad, Shahpari has managed to make several phone calls to her family requesting for her rescue during this time.

Shahpari, originally from Dasht-e-Barchi in Kabul, had her relatives approach the Taliban courts in Parwan after receiving her phone calls. Her brother told Afghanistan International that this Taliban member works for a local Taliban media outlet in Parwan and was married to another women too.

Complaints in Taliban Courts

Shahpari’s mother, in a complaint letter obtained by Afghanistan International to the Taliban appellate court in Parwan, wrote, “My daughter Shahpari, a single woman, who was sentenced to five years of imprisonment by the Islamic Emirate’s Sharia court, was serving her time in Parwan prison.”

Her mother further wrote, “Shahpari was not ready for marriage, but the prison officials and the court gave her away to a husband.” Quoting her daughter, the mother stated that Shahpari is currently in house arrest at a private residence by an unknown person.

According to a document obtained by Afghanistan International, Mufti Abdul Wali Halim, the head of the Taliban appellate court in Parwan, wrote in a letter to the urban court’s criminal panel, “Consider the contents of the complaint and proceed according to procedural and investigation principles.”

Sajjad said that the Taliban initially told them Shahpari was sentenced to five years for kidnapping but later, upon their approach to the Taliban city court in Parwan, announced her sentence was three years. He added that they do not have access to the case details or the specifics of the charges against Shahpari, and the Taliban have only informed the family of the charge and the duration of imprisonment. He also said the Taliban did not inform them about the forced marriage.

Sajjad added that his sister had gone to a friend’s house in Parwan province and was arrested by the Taliban on kidnapping charges.

Threats and Forced Religious Conversion

Sajjad, Shahpari’s brother, said that after receiving a phone call from his sister, he approached the Taliban city court. He said that the judge of this court threatened them with imprisonment and forcibly expelled them from the office.

Sajjad added, “We told the Taliban city judge to bring Shahpari and her husband and if my sister was happy with this marriage, we would have no problem. However, the Taliban judge refused to do so.”

Sajjad said, “I also spoke with Raihan, a Taliban member, but he warned me not to make any more phone calls to Shahpari and claimed that Shahpari is his lawful wife.”

The brother also said that this Taliban member has pressured Shahpari to convert from “Shia to Sunni” sect of Islam after the forced marriage.

Last month, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that the religious freedom of minorities, including Shiites, has been violated in Afghanistan.

Recently, the US Department of State in its annual human rights report stated that 16 women out of 90 imprisoned in the provinces of Jowzjan, Faryab, and Samangan became pregnant after being raped by Taliban members.

The US Department of State also stated that the Taliban have executed at least four women in Samangan after repeated rapes by its members.