Over 600 Foreign Citizens Granted Work Permits, Claims Taliban

Khalid Zadran, spokesperson for the Taliban police command in Kabul, stated on Saturday that ISIS members were planning attacks during the month of Muharram.

Late on Saturday, Zadran wrote on the social platform X that in this operation, several ISIS members were arrested, and a large amount of explosives, weapons, and ammunition were seized.

Al-Mirsaad, a media outlet affiliated with the Taliban intelligence agency, provided details of the Taliban intelligence operation in Kabul.

According to Al-Mirsaad, citing Taliban intelligence sources, "On Wednesday, 10th July, special Taliban forces conducted an operation on an ISIS hideout in the 5th district of Kabul, arresting several members of a major ISIS network and discovering and seizing a large amount of explosives, weapons, and ammunition."

The report added that the head of this ISIS unit is an Afghan who had lived in a neighbouring country.

It claimed that this individual was recruited by the ISIS-Khorasan branch, which the report added is based in Balochistan, and sent to Afghanistan.

The Taliban-affiliated media added: "This man first married a Pakistani woman and then was sent to Afghanistan after being trained."

Al-Mirsaad noted that among the arrested individuals were those responsible for an attack a few months ago on a Shiite community vehicle in the Kote Sangi area of Kabul.

The report also mentioned a list of religious scholars, professors, prominent anti-government figures, and Pakistani politicians targeted for assassination by ISIS, some of whom had already been killed.

The network reportedly had a list of targets in Afghanistan and a neighbouring country. This news comes as the United Nations Security Council, in its latest report, highlighted the expanding influence of ISIS in Afghanistan and its penetration into Central Asian countries.

The UN Security Council stated that ISIS has infiltrated the Taliban’s Ministries of Defence, Interior, and Intelligence. According to the report, ISIS is quietly but rapidly recruiting new members.

Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, stated that the purpose of establishing this commission is to combat intoxicants and narcotics, find alternative crops for farmers, and treat drug addicts.

On Saturday, this Taliban office issued a statement saying that the initial meeting discussed the procedures of the commission. Abdul Kabir emphasised that their stance on combating narcotics is clear and that no one is allowed to cultivate, produce, or smuggle narcotics.

In this meeting, Abdul Haq Hamkar, the group’s Deputy Interior Minister for Counter Narcotics, claimed that all poppy fields have been destroyed. He emphasised that the Taliban have been successful in combating narcotics and that the international community has also acknowledged this success.

In its latest report, the United Nations Security Council stated that Taliban leaders have benefited from the ban on poppy cultivation, but farmers have suffered.

At the third Doha meeting, the Taliban asked the international community to help Afghan farmers.

The Taliban have banned poppy cultivation and narcotics production. The United Nations earlier reported that the Taliban leader's decree had been ignored in Badakhshan province.

Yazdanparast told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have access to information about NDS officers, leading to their arrest and torture.

As the head of the women's section at the former NDS's 050 department, Yazdanparast recounted that on 15 January 2022, Taliban fighters entered her home in Kabul under the pretext of conducting a search operation. Upon entry, they struck her face with a rifle butt.

"I handed over my weapon to the Taliban, but they took me with them, and for one and a half months, at the 40th Directorate of Intelligence, I was beaten and tortured with rifles, fists, and kicks," she said.

Yazdanparast explained that the Taliban have access to information about former NDS employees, allowing them to identify and detain them. She also mentioned that her son, who worked for the NDS, had left the country before the Taliban took over.

Images provided by Yazdanparast to Afghanistan International show her face and body bruised from the torture.

Yazdanparast, who holds the rank of colonel, said she was released from Taliban captivity on 6 March 2022, through the mediation of local elders and subsequently fled Afghanistan.

Having served in the NDS since the government of former President Najibullah in the early 1990s, except during the first Taliban regime, Yazdanparast stated that she served in the intelligence agencies of former Afghan governments for 25 years.

She revealed that she was held in solitary confinement and that all the prison guards were men. After her release from Taliban custody, she underwent about a year of medical treatment.

Yazdanparast also recounted that the Taliban killed her husband in 2008 due to his work with foreigners. He was a translator at Bagram Air Base during Hamid Karzai's presidency.

"The Taliban warned my husband several times not to work with foreigners, but he ignored their threats and was killed by them one morning on his way to work," she said.

The young man, identified as "Habib”, was killed amid rising tensions between the Taliban and Afghan Shiites over Ashura observances.

According to local sources, Habib had clashed with Taliban members the day before his death to protest against the restrictions imposed on Shia mourners in Herat.

A source informed Afghanistan International that Habib was under 25 years of age and a resident of Saidabad in Jebrael township. The source mentioned that Habib had twice approached the "Poste Siah”, Taliban checkpoint between his home and the city, to protest against the Taliban's restrictions on mourning ceremonies, leading to arguments.

The Taliban have not officially commented on the incident.

Residents reported that the Taliban later returned to the site of the killing and deleted surveillance camera footage from nearby buildings.

In recent days, tension between Afghan Shiites in Kabul and Herat and the Taliban over Ashura observances have intensified.

Over the past week, the Taliban have repeatedly raided Jebrael township, tearing down Ashura flags and symbols from rooftops and shops.

Video clips sent to Afghanistan International from Kabul also show Taliban members removing Ashura symbols in Shiite-majority areas. Earlier, Taliban restrictions on Ashura observances had sparked anger among residents of the Chindawol area in Kabul.

Previously, Ahmadullah Muttaqi, the Taliban's Director of Information and Culture in Herat, described mourning ceremonies of the month of Muharram as "political and foreign heresies" that should be stopped.

Local sources also reported that the Taliban arrested seven protesters in Jebrael township who opposed the restrictions on mourning ceremonies. There are no updates on the fate of those arrested.

Vasilyev stated that significant terrorist groups with various religious affiliations are present in Afghanistan.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, the Russian state news agency, he mentioned that some of these groups had not appeared randomly but had been compelled to depart from the Middle East, particularly the border region between Syria and Turkey.
He also noted that those individuals are trained in combat tactics and have access to funding.

According to Vasilyev, terrorist groups in Afghanistan have different names and religious compositions.

He also announced that all member countries of the CSTO support the programme to strengthen the borders between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are members of the CSTO.

Russia's representative to the CSTO stated that each country will decide how it can assist experts, improve equipment, and train troops based on its own needs and capabilities.

Vasilyev acknowledged the need for dialogue with the Taliban but implied that such talks are currently not feasible. According to him, engaging with the Taliban within the framework of the CSTO requires resolving legal issues.
He confirmed that some CSTO member countries have their own channels for interaction with the Taliban.

Like other countries, Russia does not officially recognise the Taliban, however, maintains diplomatic relations despite increasing threats from Afghanistan.
The Taliban remains on Russia's list of terrorist groups. Nonetheless, Russian officials recently stated that the removal of the Taliban from this list is under review.