Uzbekistan & Pakistan To Review Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar Railway Project

A spokesperson for the committee stated that Afghanistan will participate with a team comprising three women and three men, emphasising on gender equality.

During a press conference on Thursday, Mark Adams, the IOC spokesperson said that the formation of a gender-equal team sends a message to Afghanistan, where under the Taliban rule, women and girls' access to sports, gyms, and fitness centres has been restricted.

Adams mentioned that the IOC recognises the President of the Afghan National Olympic Committee, whose Secretary-General is currently in exile.

The IOC spokesperson added, "We have been working with the NOC president and the secretary general, who we recognise in exile, over some time".

He emphasised that there will be no place for Taliban officials in Paris. No official representatives of the Taliban government will be accredited to attend the 2024 Olympic Games.

Recently, the committee stated that it is in negotiations with the Afghan National Committee and sports officials to remove the current restrictions on women's and girls' sports in Afghanistan.

Male athletes are set to compete in track and field, swimming, and judo, while Afghan female athletes will participate in track and field and cycling competitions.

This reformist candidate stated that Western countries should take responsibility for their actions in Afghanistan, which led to the migration of millions of Afghans.

He said that the people of Iran have no reason to "bear the costs of others' wrong policies”.

On Thursday, June 13, Pezeshkian outlined his plans regarding Afghan migrants in Iran in response to a question from a user on X social media platform.

He emphasised that if he wins the presidential election, he will implement three measures concerning Afghan migrants simultaneously.

He stated that his potential government would completely seal the borders, organise the migrants, and negotiate with European countries regarding the acceptance of some Afghan refugees currently in Iran.

Pezeshkian is one of six candidates in the fourteenth presidential election in Iran. He is the only candidate from the reformist faction in Iran.

This Iranian candidate wrote that to prevent the influx of migrants into Iran, he would completely seal the borders. He acknowledged that although Afghans have played a significant role in Iran's economy and made sacrifices for the Islamic Republic of Iran during the "imposed war," they need to be organised.

The Iranian Ministry of Interior has said that approximately five million Afghans live in the country.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Parliament and another presidential candidate, also stated that if elected, he would seal the country's border with Afghanistan and expel foreign nationals.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that one Taliban member was killed and another was injured in the incident.

Residents near the explosion site, located in the 4th district of Kabul, confirmed the incident to Afghanistan International. The Taliban has not yet commented in this regard.

AFF is one of the Taliban’s opposition groups, primarily composed of former government military personnel.

On Monday, June 10, AFF also reported a guerrilla attack on a Taliban checkpoint in Darulaman area of Kabul. The front claimed that three Taliban members were killed and one was injured in the attack.

Sakhizada wrote in a note on Facebook that there were two attackers. The Taliban is yet to comment on the incident.

Mujeeb Bahir, the head of Ariana News, responded to a question from Afghanistan International by stating that he was unaware of the incident.

Ariana News is a private news network based in Kabul that has continued to operate under Taliban conditions and restrictions since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

According to the sources, on Thursday, the payment of the third month’s salary for these employees has also been delayed.

The sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said that for the third consecutive month, the Taliban have told some of their intelligence employees that their salaries will be paid "soon”.

The sources stated that the Taliban had promised their intelligence employees that the salaries would be paid today, Tuesday, on the eve of Eid al-Adha, however, the promise was not fulfilled.

It is unclear whether the Taliban's inability to pay its employees is limited to the intelligence department or if it extends to other security and defence agencies.

Over the past two and a half years, the salaries of some government civilian departments, including the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education, have been covered by international organisations such as the Red Cross and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

However, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced last August that it would likely end funding for 25 hospitals in Afghanistan by the end of August.

Medical staff at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar told Afghanistan International in April this year that their salaries had been reduced by 30 percent over the past two months for unknown reasons.

Similarly, as of Thursday, June 13, the Taliban have reduced the salaries of female government employees to five thousand Afghanis.