Sources from the National Resistance Front (NRF) confirmed to Afghanistan International that Abdul Samad Kohgaday, also known as Commander Hamza, a commander of the NRF, was killed in a battle with the Taliban.
According to sources, Commander Hamza was ambushed by the Taliban in Kohgaday village, Nahrin District, Baghlan.
The source added that at least one of Commander Hamza's companions was also killed in the battle.
Both the Taliban and the National Resistance Front have yet to officially comment on the incident.
The Resistance News Agency, affiliated with the NRF, recently released a video on social media showing Abdul Samad Kohgaday in the mountains of his native place Nahrin. In the video, Commander Hamza emphasised on the continuation of resistance against the Taliban.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will continue to play its role in addressing issues related to Afghanistan.
Speaking at a ceremony in Beijing on Friday, he reaffirmed China's commitment to promoting peace.
According to Chinese media outlets, Xi stated that Beijing will continue to play a constructive role in the Ukraine crisis, resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and addressing issues related to the Korean Peninsula, Iran, Myanmar, and Afghanistan.
Xi Jinping made these remarks at the 70th anniversary celebration of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in Beijing.
Although China, like other countries, does not recognise the Taliban, it maintains economic and diplomatic relations with the group and has handed over the Afghan embassy in Beijing to the Taliban.
Yue Xiaoyong, China's special envoy for Afghanistan, recently stated in an interview with Iranian media outlet IRNA that the international community should respect "the culture of the Afghans" and their "approach to handling internal affairs”.
This Chinese diplomat reiterated the importance of the international community refraining from any interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs, advising against "imposing external solutions to resolve Afghanistan's issues”.
The US State Department released its annual report on "International Religious Freedom" on Wednesday, stating that religious minorities in Afghanistan faced violent attacks and widespread discrimination last year.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while presenting the department's annual report, said that millions of people worldwide do not enjoy religious freedoms.
The report emphasises that over the past year, the Taliban has not protected places of worship in Afghanistan.
The US State Department's annual report mentions the declining population of Sikhs and Hindus, attacks on Shia places of worship, and assaults on Hazaras.
Referring to the killing of a Salafi cleric in February 2023 in Kapisa province, the report notes that thousands of Salafi followers have left Afghanistan since the Taliban took control.
The report cites sources indicating that the killing, torture, and forced displacement of Hazaras by the Taliban, as well as the seizure of their land and homes, have occurred in Bamiyan, Daikundi, Maidan Wardak, Baghlan, Balkh, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Herat, Ghazni, Sar-e Pul, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Takhar, and Samangan.
The report states that Sikhs and Hindus are concerned about their safety under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan and fear torture if they file a complaint in court.
According to the US State Department, more than 900 Sikh and Hindu citizens have left Afghanistan since the Taliban's takeover, with only six remaining to protect their sacred sites and books.
The report quotes a Christian rights organisation as stating, "The Taliban are striving for the complete eradication of Christianity or any other religious minority from the country."
Referring to the ban on the teaching of Shia jurisprudence in all schools, the report notes that no Shia clerics have participated in the country's religious councils.
The report also mentions that in July 2023, the Taliban banned the celebration of Eid al-Ghadir in Kabul, Balkh, Herat, and Daikundi provinces.
The US State Department report states, "In addition to religious issues, the Taliban have prepared an extremist violent curriculum for schools, which includes military training."
The report, referring to suicide attacks on worshippers in Baghlan in October 2023, an attack on a sports club in a Hazara-majority area of Kabul in November, and a bombing on a bus carrying Hazaras in Kabul on November 8, states that systematic attacks against Hazaras have not ceased.
Rasoul Mousavi, General Director of the Iranian Foreign Ministry's West Asia Department, described the Taliban's policies as "very intelligent and calculated”.
In a note on X social media platform addressed to the Taliban's opponents, Mousavi wrote, "Whether you agree or not, they defeated the US both on the battlefield and in Doha."
In the note, which seems to be written to the Taliban's opponents, it states, "Your lack of approval for the Taliban's policies does not change the reality that the decision-making centre and policies of the Taliban are intelligent."
Mousavi described the UNAMA head's statement about the Taliban "coming from the mountains" as "a major misunderstanding of the Taliban”.
During a press conference in New York, in response to a question from Maryam Rahmati, a reporter for Afghanistan International, about the Taliban's opposition to the presence of women in the Doha talks, Roza Otunbayeva, head of UNAMA said, "[The Taliban] are not like you and me. The Taliban have come from the mountains and from war, and turning them into people who sit around the negotiation table and accept our principles is not easy."
The Iranian diplomat's defensive statement in favour of the Taliban comes at a time when the Taliban's decisions and policies have faced widespread anger from Afghan citizens. In nearly three years of governance, the Taliban have made a series of decisions that Afghan citizens perceive as violations of fundamental human rights and insults to their human dignity.
The Taliban have issued dozens of decrees depriving women of basic rights such as the right to education, work, sports, free travel, political activity, and participation in gatherings.
The group has also imposed extensive restrictions on Hazaras and Shia Muslims in Afghanistan, with no women, Hazaras, or Shia citizens holding any positions in the group's cabinet.
Yue Xiaoyong, China's Special Envoy for Afghanistan, evaded commenting on the ban on girls' education in Afghanistan.
In an interview with the Iranian media outlet IRNA, Xiaoyong said that the international community should respect the "culture of the Afghans" and their "way of handling internal affairs”.
This Chinese diplomat emphasised again that the international community should avoid any interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs and recommended refraining from "imposing foreign solutions to solve Afghanistan's issues”.
Xiaoyong, who visited Tehran to participate in a regional contact group meeting ahead of the third UN meeting on Afghanistan, said, "The international community should avoid imposing foreign solutions to solve Afghanistan's issues."
China has accepted the Taliban’s representative as Afghanistan's ambassador in Beijing, but has refrained from recognising the Taliban administration as the official government of Afghanistan.
China has also maintained its diplomatic representation in Kabul at the ambassadorial level and has close relations with the Taliban. The country is seeking economic opportunities, particularly access to Afghanistan's mineral reserves.
Xiaoyong said that the third UN meeting on Afghanistan would be "informal" and held behind closed doors.
However, he added, "We want to reintegrate Afghanistan into the international community as soon as possible.”
He described the previous UN meetings on Afghanistan in Doha as "unsuccessful" because Taliban representatives were not present. He argued that representatives of an independent country were not present in a meeting discussing that country.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced on Thursday, that three individuals were publicly flogged in Paktia province on charges of theft and extramarital relations.
In a statement, the court said that each of these individuals had been sentenced to 30 lashes and 11 months in prison.
In a recent case, the Taliban publicly punished a woman in Herat and another woman and man in Parwan on charges of "extramarital relations" and "running away from home”.
Human rights organisations report that the principles of fair trial are not observed in Taliban prisons and courts.
A human rights organisation named Rawadari, in an investigative report, stated there are discriminatory decisions, torture and forced confessions from the accused in Taliban courts and lack of independence and impartiality, and the principle of acquittal is violated.