International Taste Institute in Belgium Ranks Afghanistan Saffron As Number One
The International Taste Institute in Belgium, announced on Tuesday that after laboratory evaluations, Herat saffron was ranked first in terms of taste.
The International Taste Institute in Belgium, announced on Tuesday that after laboratory evaluations, Herat saffron was ranked first in terms of taste.
The Taliban's Ministry of Agriculture also stated that Afghan saffron has achieved the top rank for best taste for the ninth time.
The International Institute of Taste annually assesses the quality of food products from various countries and ranks them following laboratory tests.
On Wednesday, the Taliban's Ministry of Agriculture announced that Herat saffron, representing Afghan saffron, was evaluated in the laboratory of this institute and Afghan saffron has achieved the top rank for best and highest quality taste for the ninth time.
The ministry, citing statistics from the Agricultural Statistics and Information Directorate for the year 2023, stated that a total of 8,304 hectares of land in 26 provinces of the country were under saffron cultivation. From this total land, over 23 metric tonnes of saffron were collected, with 22 metric tonnes harvested from Herat province.
Earlier, the Taliban's Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that in 2023, Afghanistan exported 67 tonnes of saffron worth USD 49 million to nine different countries.
The Taliban stated that following the prohibition of poppy cultivation, saffron cultivation has increased in 26 provinces of Afghanistan.
Two credible sources in Kabul told Afghanistan International that Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Minister of Interior, will meet US security officials during his visit to the United Arab Emirates.
According to the sources, the two parties will discuss their security concerns.
Yesterday, Sirajuddin Haqqani embarked on his first foreign trip to the UAE and met with the President of the country.
Haqqani is the head of the Haqqani Network, and the Taliban refer to him as the “Conqueror of Kabul”. Given Haqqani’s position within the Taliban administration, his role is becoming increasingly significant over time.
Unresolved Issues Between the Taliban and the US
It is expected that the Taliban’s Minister of Interior will discuss important unresolved issues between the Taliban and Washington during his meeting with US officials.
Blacklist
The Taliban confirmed that the names of over 20 of their officials remain on the US blacklist. Since the Taliban’s return to power, not only have these names not been removed, but additional Taliban officials have been added to the list.
Over-the-Horizon Operations
Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, American drones have continued to patrol Afghan skies. Taliban officials have stated that Afghanistan’s airspace is “occupied by the US,” and they consider the continued drone patrols as an act of American coercion.
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, recently admitted that the group lacks the capability to stop these patrols.
Prisoners
The US confirmed that two of its citizens are imprisoned by the Taliban. One of these prisoners is Ryan Corbett, who was arrested in August 2022. The identity of the second individual remains unknown.
The Taliban have confirmed that 16 foreign nationals are imprisoned by their group.
$10 Million Bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani
In 2012, the US designated the Haqqani Network as a terrorist group.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers Sirajuddin Haqqani an international terrorist and initially offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. After the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, this reward was increased to $10 million. This bounty has not been revoked.
Girls’ Schools and Women’s Rights
The US has called for the reopening of girls’ schools and improvements in human rights under Taliban rule, but the group has ignored these demands from the US and the international community for nearly three years.
Taliban’s Relationship with Al-Qaeda
Severing ties with Al-Qaeda is a key element of the Doha Agreement. However, the United Nations Security Council states that the Taliban still maintains a relationship with Al-Qaeda.
According to reports, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Al-Qaeda leader killed in a US airstrike in Kabul, was living in Sirajuddin Haqqani’s guesthouse.
Afghanistan International shared this information with Taliban officials, but they neither confirmed nor denied it.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said that Sirajuddin Haqqani discussed strengthening relations between Afghanistan and the UAE, and securing cooperation in health and construction for the Taliban’s security institutions during his meeting with UAE officials.
On Wednesday, the Taliban spokesperson wrote that UAE officials had agreed to release Afghan prisoners from their jails.
Visa issuance for Afghans and digitisation
Afghanistan’s traffic system were other topics discussed by the Taliban and UAE officials.
The Taliban spokesperson stated that the UAE will participate in Afghanistan’s reconstruction, and investment companies from the UAE will invest in Afghanistan.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban representatives, including Abdul Manan Omari, the special representative of Mullah Hibatullah in Qatar, discussed the third round of the Doha talks with US and UN representatives.
According to the sources, both parties exchanged their respective conditions.
Sources told Abdul Haq Omari, a reporter of Afghanistan International, that Abdul Manan Omari, the Taliban's Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, who went to Doha on May 27, met Ali bin Samikh, Qatar's Minister of Labour, and representatives from the United Nations and the United States.
According to the sources, US and UN representatives shared the 15-point agenda for the third round of Doha meeting with the Taliban representatives, and Hibatullah's envoy shared the Taliban's nine conditions with the US and UN representatives.
Topics for Third Round of Doha Meeting
According to the sources, the agenda for the third round of Doha talks includes the following 15 points:
1. Reviewing the human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
2. Comprehensive discussion on the Taliban's stance towards women, girls, and the media.
3. Discussing the appointment of a special representative for Afghanistan.
4. Assessing the demands of exiled politicians, Afghan women, and civil society representatives.
5. Challenges facing the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
6. Evaluating the status of freedom of expression in Afghanistan under Taliban control
7. Report from the UN Security Council's special representative on security threats from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to the region and the world
8. Discussion on decreasing job opportunities and increasing economic problems
9. Perspectives of the international community, including the US and regional countries, on Taliban rule in Afghanistan
10. Discussion on forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan
11. Assessing the fight against ISIS and drug trafficking in Afghanistan
12. Discussing the impacts of climate change on Afghanistan and strategies to combat it
13. Discussing challenges facing the private sector
14. Discussing challenges in Afghanistan's financial and banking system and seeking solutions
15. Comprehensive discussion on providing alternative crops to opium for Afghan farmers
Taliban's Conditions
According to the sources, the Taliban delegation led by Abdul Manan Omari presented the following nine conditions for their participation in the third round of Doha meeting during their coordination meeting with UN and US representatives in Qatar:
1. No appointment of a UN special representative for Afghanistan
2. Granting Taliban the Afghanistan seat at the United Nations
3. Lifting restrictions imposed on Taliban ministers and leaders by the US and UN
4. Allowing UN agencies to operate in Afghanistan in accordance with Taliban demands
5. Requesting the UN Security Council to stop issuing anti-Taliban statements
6. Ending statements and meetings with Afghans abroad regarding the ban on women and girls' education and work
7. Preventing unnecessary actions and pressure from the US and UN against the Taliban
8. Serious attention from the US, the international community, and the UN to humanitarian aid and climate change in Afghanistan and providing unconditional and continuous humanitarian aid
9. Cooperation from the UN in education and higher education should not be one-sided and solely focused on modern education.
Sources within the Taliban told Afghanistan International that Taliban representatives at this meeting stated that a Taliban delegation is ready to participate in the third round of Doha talks, but the final decision on participation depends on the group leader’s approval.
According to the sources, the Taliban delegation that may participate in the third round of Doha talks, if agreed, includes Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban's Foreign Minister; Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Din Mohammad Hanif, Minister of Higher Education; Abdul Manan Omari, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and special envoy of Mullah Hibatullah, Mohammad Naeem Wardak, Taliban ambassador in Qatar; and Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's nominee for Afghanistan's UN representation.
The third round of Doha talks is scheduled to be hosted by the United Nations in Doha, Qatar, on June 30 and July 1.
The Afghanistan United Front (AUF), led by Sami Sadat, former commander of Afghanistan's special forces, published a report on the threats posed by ISIS.
The report states that ISIS-Khorasan currently has 9,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and, with it has the capacity to conduct attacks "throughout the region”.
The detailed report by the front was released on Wednesday.
The report indicates that the number of ISIS forces in Afghanistan is rapidly increasing, and is gaining the operational capacity for suicide attacks, insurgency, and assassinations in cities as well as attack government facilities or economic centres throughout the region.
The Intelligence Commission of the Afghanistan United Front stated that currently, the largest and strongest ISIS center in the world is the ISIS network in the Khorasan region, with its leadership based in Balochistan of Pakistan, and its operational members stationed in Afghanistan.
According to the report, by the end of 2023, many active ISIS leaders from Syria and Iraq had traveled to the Balochistan region of Pakistan and Kunar province of Afghanistan.
The report states that following ISIS' defeat in Syria and Iraq, members of the group from the Middle East also went to Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has led to the strengthening of ISIS-Khorasan.
The front has warned that "the ISIS group has the ideological, human resources, and recruitment capacity to carry out attacks in Europe and the United States, and they have demonstrated this capability in Afghanistan and Iran as well."
Although the Taliban claims to have suppressed ISIS, the group occasionally launches attacks against Taliban forces and civilians, mainly Shias and Hazaras.
The presence and expansion of ISIS in Afghanistan is also a major concern for Central Asian countries.
Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former Afghan National Security Advisor, in response to an attack by an Afghan assailant in Mannheim, Germany, called for the expulsion of Taliban sympathisers from the country.
This former Afghan official urged the German government to immediately return supporters of "Taliban ideologies" and "gender apartheid" to Afghanistan.
The deadly attack by an Afghan assailant in Mannheim has heated up discussions about refugees in Germany. While right-wing parties are using this opportunity to call for the prevention of accepting migrants, Germany's Interior Minister has stated that they are examining ways to deport criminal and potentially dangerous Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, Spanta wrote on the X social media platform that a minority living in Germany agrees with the Taliban ideology.
He wrote, "There is a very small minority that needs to be identified. These individuals agree with the Taliban ideology, support gender discrimination, and act based on it. These individuals should be immediately expelled to Afghanistan."
Spanta seems concerned about the negative repercussions of anti-immigrant debates in Germany and the tightening conditions for refugees. He called for the protection of refugees who have fled from the Taliban. He said that refugees opposing the Taliban, especially women, deserve protection and security.
Some German parties have called for the deportation of criminal refugees to Afghanistan. Currently, Germany does not deport Afghan and Syrian refugees due to the political and security situations in their countries.
Suleiman Ataee, from Herat, Afghanistan, attacked a gathering of Islam critics with a knife in the city of Mannheim on Friday, injuring six people, including a police officer. The police officer later died in the hospital.
Spanta, referring to the statements of German politicians about deporting Afghan refugees, said that decisions regarding the return of criminal refugees to Afghanistan should be made based on "law" and "human dignity”.
This attack occurred on the eve of the European Parliament elections. Far-right parties are trying to gain the most political advantage from the incident.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's Minister of Interior, met with Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi.
Khalid Zadran, the Taliban's police spokesperson in Kabul, wrote on X social media platform on Tuesday that Haqqani has traveled to the United Arab Emirates with a delegation.
The group's intelligence chief is accompanying him on this trip.
Details about this trip are not yet available.