Taliban’s Behaviour Towards Women Is Gender Apartheid, Says UN Special Rapporteur

According to the NRF, the first attack occurred in the Khair Khana area of Police District 15, while the second took place in Police District 9.

In a statement published on X social media platform, the NRF stated that at 8:25 PM on Tuesday, their forces attacked a Taliban checkpoint near the power junction in the Khair Khana area, resulting in the death of two Taliban members and the injury of another.

The Front also reported that in the second attack, which occurred simultaneously with the first, their forces targeted a vehicle carrying Taliban intelligence forces behind the customs office in the "Industrial Parks" area, killing four Taliban members and destroying their vehicle.

The NRF's claims regarding Taliban casualties in these attacks have not been independently verified.

Several Afghanistan International readers reported hearing a loud explosion in Kabul on Tuesday evening.

The court also stated that two other individuals in the same province have been punished for theft.

According to the court's statement, these individuals have been sentenced to 39 lashes and three years of imprisonment.

The Taliban claims that the punishment sentences were issued and executed by the court in Parwan.

Earlier, this group announced the punishment of a woman in Herat province for extramarital relations with 39 lashes.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban's Foreign Minister, stated that based on the orders of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s leader, Mujahid will lead the Taliban delegation at the Doha meeting.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that a meeting was held in Kabul to discuss the Doha meeting, focusing on sanctions on the financial and banking system, challenges in the private sector, and combating drugs.

Previously, the UN representative for Afghanistan expressed hope that the Taliban's Foreign Minister would attend this meeting.

The Taliban have not provided details about the composition and other members of this delegation.

The Taliban's foreign ministry mentioned that on Tuesday, with the presence of Zabihullah Mujahid, Noor Ahmad Agha, Deputy Governor of the Taliban's Central Bank, Mullah Abdulhaq Hamkar, Deputy Interior Minister for Counter Narcotics, and advisors from the Ministry of Commerce discussed the Doha meeting.

These women have launched a campaign seeking a boycott of the Doha meeting due to the absence of women’s rights in the agenda and at the negotiation table.

The third Doha meeting is scheduled to be held in the coming days without the presence of women in the main negotiations.

The exclusion of women and democratic forces from the Doha meeting has sparked widespread criticism from women activists and civil society. Critics argue that excluding women from the Doha meeting is against the values outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and assert that any meeting about Afghanistan without women lacks legitimacy.

Some international organisations, including Human Rights Watch, have criticised the exclusion of women from the Doha negotiations, calling it shocking.

Additionally, several Afghan activists and politicians have called for a boycott of the third Doha meeting.

Previously, Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security, urged Afghan women and civil activists to suspend relations with the United Nations.

While women have not been invited to the third Doha meeting, a delegation representing the Taliban government will attend.

The Taliban did not participate in the second Doha meeting, citing the UN's refusal to accept the group's conditions. One of the Taliban's conditions was that they should be the sole representative of Afghanistan in the negotiations.

Earlier, sources confirmed to Afghanistan International that the third Doha meeting will be held under the supervision of Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General. Previous meetings were led by Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General.

At the same time, Iran’s Chief of Police said that there is "no sign of reduced drug cultivation in Afghanistan”.

Abdul Mateen Qani, the spokesperson for the Taliban's Ministry of Interior, wrote on X social media platform on Monday, that the Taliban has "eliminated the scope of drugs from Afghanistan in a short time with limited resources”.

He added, "Currently, there is no drug-related threat from Afghanistan to neighbouring countries and the world."

Qani called on international organisations to provide alternative livelihoods for Afghan farmers.

The United Nations, in its latest report, stated that although poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has decreased, the production of recreational drugs, especially methamphetamine, has increased by the same measure.

Iranian officials have repeatedly criticised the Taliban's inability to combat drugs. Most recently, Ahmad Reza Radan, Iran's Chief of Police, said at the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking conference on Monday that "there is no sign of reduced drug cultivation in Afghanistan today”.

He cited "the presence of US" as one of the reasons for drug cultivation and production in Afghanistan, adding that increased drug cultivation in Afghanistan has led to higher drug transit and consumption in other countries.

Meanwhile, Iran’s commander of border guards in Khorasan Razavi reported the seizure of 198 kilograms of drugs near the Afghan border on Saturday.

Previously, the Secretary-General of the Anti-Narcotics Headquarters, Eskandar Momeni also said that there is no decrease in the production, growth, and trafficking of drugs in Afghanistan.

Momeni urged the United Nations to consider drugs in Afghanistan as a serious threat.