Taliban Urges Islamic Republic to Recognise Group in Afghanistan

The Mashhad Guild Office recently declared that Afghan workers are banned from working within a 3-kilometre radius of the Imam Reza Shrine. According to Iran's Bazaar News Agency, the fine for each day of illegal employment of Afghans is approximately $200 since the beginning of this year.

Ashrafi reported that in the year 1402 (Solar Hijri calendar), 260 joint inspections of foreign nationals were conducted in South Khorasan Province in collaboration with relevant executive agencies. Similar restrictions on Afghan workers are being enforced in other provinces.

On Saturday, the IRNA News Agency reported that Mohsen Sayyadi, the Director of Inspection and Supervision of Businesses in Mashhad, announced that employing Afghans within a 3-kilometre radius of the Imam Reza Shrine is prohibited. Sayyadi stated that "violation files" have been opened for 31 business units in Mashhad for employing Afghans.

According to the General Directorate of Foreign Nationals of Khorasan Razavi, after Tehran, which has the highest number of foreign immigrants, Mashhad has nearly 400,000 foreign citizens with legal documents and nearly 300,000 foreign citizens without legal documents. No international organisation has confirmed these figures so far.

Previously, the Director General of Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Affairs of Kermanshah Province announced the prohibition of movement, residence, and employment of Afghan immigrants in 16 provinces. These provinces include East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Lorestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Gilan, Mazandaran, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan, and Hamadan.

Nicaraguan officials stated that Michael Campbell, the country's ambassador to China, will manage the affairs of Nicaragua's embassy in Kabul from Beijing. This is the first time Nicaragua has appointed a non-resident ambassador for Afghanistan. Located in Central America, Nicaragua previously had no diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.

Rosario Murillo, the Vice President of Nicaragua, said, "We appreciate the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban) and the people of Afghanistan for the opportunity given to our comrade Michael Campbell."

Nearly three years after the Taliban's return to power, no country has yet recognised the Taliban. The Nicaraguan government has also made no reference to recognising the Taliban government.

In recent months, Nicaragua's ambassador to China had met with Taliban diplomats in Beijing. The Taliban stated that the Nicaraguan ambassador conveyed the president's condolences to the Taliban for the flood casualties in Afghanistan.

They accused Otunbayeva of considering Afghan women as "second-class" and "whitewashing" the Taliban during a United Nations Security Council meeting.

In the statement, a number of Afghan women, civil rights, and political activists claimed that Otunbayeva, under "the direction of the United States," invited the Taliban to an international meeting and ignored the situation of the Afghan people, especially women.

The statement reads: "With complete shamelessness and in violation of all existing international and legal norms, Otunbayeva stated that Afghan culture places women in a second-class position, and they will not be present at the third meeting, while whitewashing the Taliban."

On Friday, Otunbayeva reiterated during the Security Council meeting that the Taliban's presence at the third Doha meeting does not equate to normalising or legitimising the group. She emphasized her efforts to establish a consultative process.

Women’s rights activists and international human rights organisations argue that the UN excluded women from the third Doha meeting due to the Taliban’s preconditions.

The Associated Press also reported that the UN representative defended the absence of Afghan women from the Doha meeting.

The third Doha meeting, with the participation of representatives of various countries including the Taliban, will be held over two days. The UN Secretary-General’s representative said at a press conference in New York yesterday that Afghan women will be present on the second day of the meeting.

The state-run media stated that since the initiation of the deportation plan for Afghan migrants, over 620,000 Afghans have been returned to their country.

According to a report by Radio Pakistan, from Tuesday, 11 June, to Friday, 21 June, 5,014 men, 4,087 women, and 4,714 Afghan children have been deported from Pakistan.

The media outlet reported that a total of 620,981 Afghan migrants, including women and children, have been deported from Pakistan over the past nine months.

Pakistan began the deportation programme for Afghan migrants in October 2023. Islamabad has announced its intention to deport all undocumented migrants from the country.

Earlier, Pakistan's Interior Minister stated that all possible efforts have been made to secure the country's borders and prevent illegal border crossings and human trafficking.

This decision comes after months of negotiations between the Taliban, Pakistan, and China.

According to the sources, the Taliban in Afghanistan are attempting to move TTP fighters from areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, particularly in Khost province, to other provinces in Afghanistan.

However, the TTP has expressed concerns about the Taliban's decision to relocate their fighters, and discussions on this matter are still ongoing.

This decision follows recent attacks in Pakistan and an attack on Chinese citizens in Besham, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

In the nearly three years since the Taliban took over the power in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government has repeatedly accused them of harbouring Pakistani Taliban fighters. Reports also indicate that senior TTP members and many of their fighters are present in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban have repeatedly denied these accusations.

It now appears that the Afghan Taliban are willing to relocate Pakistani Taliban fighters from border provinces to other provinces within Afghanistan. Although it is not clear to which provinces these fighters will be moved, earlier reports suggested that the Taliban plan to resettle them in northern and western provinces of Afghanistan.

In May 2023, a senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Turkey's Anadolu news agency that Islamabad had reached an agreement with the Taliban's Ministry of Interior to relocate Pakistani Taliban fighters from the border to western Afghanistan.

At that time, Anadolu Agency reported that Pakistan would fund this relocation.

The spokesperson for the Hezb-e Junbish Milli Party also previously stated that the relocation of TTP to northern provinces would turn these areas into another Gaza.