Taliban Leader Seeks Coordination & Obedience From Security Ministers

Participants of the Ashura ceremony told Afghanistan International that Taliban members beat up and dispersed mourners and disrupted the processions.

According to videos provided to Afghanistan International, people scattered into the streets.

Telecommunication Networks Shut Down In Kabul

As Shia Ashura ceremonies take place in Afghanistan, sources in Kabul reported that the Taliban have shut down all telecommunication networks in the capital.

Sources told Afghanistan International that under the pretext of ensuring security, Taliban fighters have also blocked all roads in western Kabul. The sources stated that the telecommunication networks in Kabul were cut off on Tuesday morning.

Afghanistan International's sources indicated that the Taliban, in addition to cutting communication networks, have prohibited residents of western Kabul from moving around the Shia neighbourhoods. According to the sources, there is a significant presence of Taliban fighters in western Kabul.

Over the last few years, the Taliban had also cut off telecommunication networks in several Afghan cities on the occasion of Ashura. The Taliban have not officially commented on the shutdown of telecommunication networks and the internet in Afghanistan.

Taliban officials have stated that the number of casualties in Nangarhar could increase.

Zaman announced that significant damage has been inflicted on the people due to the floods and storm.

According to him, the Sorkhrud district of Nangarhar has suffered the most damage. Images shared on social media show that the storm has destroyed power and telecommunication poles.

In one instance, 11 members of a family died in Sorkhrud district due to the collapse of a house roof.

The provinces of Laghman, Kunar, Panjshir, and Badakhshan have also experienced flooding. Five people have died in Kunar as a result of the floods.

Climate change, drought, and heavy rainfall have caused devastating floods in several provinces. The United Nations announced in May that at least 60,000 people in Baghlan had been affected by the floods.

According to the ministry's statement, 8,377 people have returned from Iran and 1,353 people have returned from Pakistan.

The statement added that the migrants returning from Iran entered the country through the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat and the Pul-e-Abrisham border crossing in Nimruz.

The migrants coming from Pakistan mostly returned through the Spin Boldak and Torkham border crossings.

It added that these migrants have been referred to UN-affiliated organisations for assistance.

Following the Taliban's takeover of power in 2021, Iran and Pakistan began expelling migrants and have intensified the deportation process in recent months.

The Taliban use the return of these migrants for propaganda purposes, linking it to increased confidence in the security conditions for returning to the country.

According to the IRIB, these trucks have been stuck within Afghanistan's borders since the past 23 days and are facing numerous problems.

The media outlet did not provide an explanation for the "rejection of the cargo by the other side”.

Taliban sources have not yet publicly commented on this news, but previously they had reported returning some Iranian goods, including petroleum products.

The reports from Iranian media do not clarify what the trucks' cargo contained.

Achakzai was arrested by the Taliban last year and later released through the mediation of tribal elders. He had previously served in the logistics section of the Border Forces Brigade in Spin Boldak district.

So far, no details are available about the motive behind this murder or the perpetrators of this incident.

Mohammad Sangin Achakzai, the victim’s brother, was also the former commander of the 03 National Police Unit in the previous government.

Rangin Achakzai had close relations with General Abdul Raziq Achakzai’s family, the former chief of police in Kandahar. Abdul Khaliq, General Raziq's brother, expressed regret over his death and said that Rangin Achakzai was "killed by a ruthless enemy”.

General Abdul Raziq Achakzai was a prominent commander and a staunch opponent of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. He was killed on October 18, 2018, in a shooting by the former Kandahar governor's bodyguard, who was a Taliban infiltrator.

After the fall of the previous government, dozens of soldiers and individuals close to General Raziq's family in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar were killed by the Taliban, and some of them are still being held in Taliban private prisons.