Taliban Forms Counternarcotics Commission in Afghanistan

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.

According to the report, they were arrested at the Pakistan-Afghanistan and Pakistan-Iran borders for entering Pakistan illegally.

According to Pakistani officials, the country's security forces launched a joint operation after receiving information about the presence of suspected foreign individuals in the border areas, resulting in the arrest of 120 Afghan men.

In recent months, Pakistan has expelled tens of thousands of Afghans and returned them to Afghanistan.

Filippo Grandi, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), announced the suspension of the plan to return Afghans from Pakistan at the end of his three-day visit to Peshawar and Islamabad. However, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry denied this announcement.

The Pakistani government officially began the first phase of deporting undocumented Afghans last year. According to official statistics, 541,000 Afghan migrants were expelled from Pakistan in the first phase.

According to official Taliban statements, in the second phase of the deportation process, 800,000 undocumented Afghan migrants are to be returned to Afghanistan.

They told Afghanistan International that at least six Afghan workers were injured in the attack. According to these migrants, the assailants also took their cash and phones.

Images and videos provided to Afghanistan International show several injured people lying on the ground in a field, their bodies bloody and wounded. Ambulances arrived at the scene to transport the injured.

The migrants said that "thugs" attacked them at their workplace on July 11 at night, using weapons, sticks, and knives. They called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to arrest and interrogate the perpetrators of this incident.

The injured migrants are currently hospitalised at the Marvdasht Shiraz hospital. So far, the Iranian authorities have not commented on the incident.

This is not the first time Afghan migrants in Iran have been attacked. According to reports, Afghan migrants have been mistreated and beaten in various parts of Iran for years, with the perpetrators often not being held accountable.