Taliban Promises Iran To Send Fighters To Lebanon, Claims Israeli Media

The Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani government had declared Sunday as Arafah and Monday as Eid.

Shahadat posted a video on the social platform X, stating that "thousands" of people performed the Eid prayer at the Islamic Party Grand Mosque. The images show a large number of worshipers engaged in prayer.

The Shahadat newspaper did not mention the exact location of the prayer, but some sources indicated that the mosque is located in the Shamshato Camp in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Unlike Saudi Arabia, the Taliban declared Sunday as Arafah and Monday as Eid. This decision has elicited numerous reactions from politicians and citizens on social networks.

The Taliban declared Monday as Eid, even though several senior officials of the group who are on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia celebrated Eid on Sunday. Some users have pointed out this "contradiction" in the Taliban's announcement of the Eid day.

Mujahid stated that the composition of the delegation representing the group in Doha will be announced soon.

The third Doha meeting, hosted by the United Nations and attended by special representatives of countries on Afghan affairs, is scheduled to take place on June 30 and July 1.

Mujahid mentioned that the Taliban have discussed the agenda of the meeting with the United Nations and have deemed it beneficial for Afghanistan.

Previously, the Taliban had set conditions for participating in the third Doha meeting. These conditions included setting their desired agenda, granting the group Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations, and not inviting members of civil society to the meeting.

The Taliban also requested that the United Nations refrain from appointing a new special representative for Afghanistan.

It is not yet clear to what extent the United Nations has accepted the Taliban's conditions.

Zaeef explained that any "emir" who gains absolute power will gradually become an "absolute tyrant”.

According to Abdul Salam Zaeef, after an emir becomes a tyrant, he surrounds himself with flatterers and distances himself from knowledgeable and wise individuals.

This well-known diplomat of the Taliban, during the first rule of the group, wrote on X social media platform on Saturday, that over time, the decisions and orders of the emir are shaped by flattery.

Zaeef has suggested that a "powerful leadership council" could fill the void of an emir.

Zaeef, who held significant government positions during Mullah Omar's era, was arrested in Pakistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and then, transferred to Guantanamo Bay prison.

After spending three years there, he was released from Guantanamo in 2005. Subsequently, during Hamid Karzai's presidency, he established a religious foundation named "Afghan Foundation" in Kabul.

In his note on X, Zaeef cited the neglect and abuse of responsibilities, as well as the mixing of personal desires with Sharia by the emir and his close associates, as other factors leading to the decline of Islamic societies.

This prominent Taliban figure emphasised that it is crucial for anyone taking on a responsibility not to neglect their duties. He insisted that if a person is not competent for the assigned responsibility, they should resign to allow someone else to take their place.

Zaeef also stated that it is important for law and Sharia to be implemented without "personal whims”. According to him, if decisions are made based on personal desires, it will cause division and disobedience.

Of them, 7,422 refugees returned from Iran and 2,851 from Pakistan.

Based on daily reports released by the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, these refugees had been expelled from the two neighbouring countries between June 8 and June 15.

Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees stated that children and women are among those refugees who returned from these two countries.

The ministry added that Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Islam Qala, and Pul-e-Abrisham border crossings.

In recent months, the Pakistani and Iranian governments have significantly increased the expulsion of Afghan refugees from these countries. Some of the returned refugees from Iran and Pakistan reported that the police in these countries detained and imprisoned them before their expulsion.

According to some refugees, the Pakistani government usually imprisons Afghan refugees without legal residency documents for three months before returning them to Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, some Afghan refugees in Iran, in contact with Afghanistan International and through videos sent to the team, have claimed that the Iranian police mistreated them.

Pakistani and Iranian officials, following the expulsion of Afghan refugees, stated that the expulsion process only applies to those who do not have legal residency documents in these countries. However, some of the returned refugees from these two countries said that despite having legal visas, they were still arrested by the police and returned to Afghanistan.

CNN reported that multiple US security officials believe that the withdrawal from Afghanistan has reduced the country's ability to gather intelligence on terrorism threats in Afghanistan.

Earlier, the New York Post, citing informed sources, reported that six Tajik citizens were arrested in three US cities on charges of membership in ISIS-K.

US intelligence officials are keenly aware of the intelligence-gathering gaps in Afghanistan, where ISIS-Khorasan is said to be based.

According to CNN, US officials believe that instead of training and field operations, ISIS-K is trying to radicalise and inspire attackers.

CNN did not name these US officials.

The US officials and analysts closely monitoring Islamist terrorist groups say that ISIS-K has significantly increased its online propaganda capabilities.

According to terrorism experts, citizens of Tajikistan, one of the poorest countries in the world with a population facing severe religious repression, are more vulnerable to recruitment by ISIS.

Colin Clarke, a researcher who specialises in terrorism, said that ISIS is strengthening its propaganda to reach "diasporas currently in Europe, North America, and the region and Central Asia, and is trying to encourage people to carry out attacks”.

Two US officials also said that immigration and intelligence officials are appropriately monitoring anyone traveling from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to the United States.