Shia Activists in Germany Declare Resistance Against Taliban 'Permissible & Necessary’

Local people said that these individuals were detained on charges of having images of the national flag of Afghanistan and pictures of former presidents on their phones.

So far, the Taliban's Ministry of the Propagation of Virtue has not provided an explanation in this regard.

Residents of Bak Khel district said that Taliban ombudsmen are inspecting people's phones in various parts of the province. If they find images or content contrary to the group's preferences, they arrest the people.

The residents said that on Friday, the Taliban arrested eight individuals from the district for having images of the national flag of Afghanistan on their mobile phones. According to sources, these youths also had images of former presidents Ashraf Ghani, Hamid Karzai, and Daoud Khan on their phones.

Meanwhile, some local elders in Bak Khel district said that for several months, Taliban local officials in the province have been inspecting phones and harassing young people.

One local leader described the Taliban's phone inspections as a violation of people's privacy, stating, "The Taliban not only conduct body searches in Bak Khel district, but also in many other areas and the province capital."

The Taliban's Ministry of Refugees reported that over 10,000 Afghan migrants were expelled from Iran during this period.

The ministry noted that there are children and women among those who returned to Afghanistan.

The statements from the ministry indicate that Afghan migrants were returned through the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Pul-e-Abrisham, and Islam Qala border crossings.

The governments of Iran and Pakistan have recently intensified the deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants. According to statistics from the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees, over a thousand Afghans are deported daily from these two countries.

Many of the deported migrants have complained about the treatment they received from police officials during their expulsion. They reported that police in Iran and Pakistan mistreated them after their arrest.

Meanwhile, officials in Pakistan and Iran consistently state that they are handling Afghan migrants in accordance with international laws and consider the deportation of undocumented Afghans to be their legal right.

In their statement released on Saturday, the movement emphasised that only genuine and robust support can foster hope for a future where Afghan women can live without fear and oppression.

The statement highlighted the urgent need for comprehensive and sustained international intervention, noting that 95% of Afghan women fear the Taliban.

UNAMA recently republished a survey from April showing that only 4% of women and 3% of men in Afghanistan support the recognition of the Taliban government. Additionally, 45% of female respondents believe that to improve the situation for women, the international community should facilitate direct dialogue between them and the Taliban.

The Purple Saturdays movement condemned the Taliban government as a direct and pervasive threat to Afghan women, stripping them of their rights, justice, and freedoms.

According to the movement, while the United Nations and the international community have expressed concern about the plight of Afghan women, their efforts to bring change have been largely ineffective.

Baerbock indirectly criticised the Chancellor and the Interior Minister of Germany for their promise to swiftly deport criminals from Afghanistan and Syria to their countries.

Following recent attacks by some Afghan migrants in Germany, several German politicians have called for their immediate deportation to Afghanistan and engagement with the Taliban.

A spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party of Germany, German Chancellor’s party, has called for the reopening of the German embassy in Kabul and the dispatch of German diplomats to Afghanistan.

According to German media reports, the country’s officials have entered discussions with neighbouring countries like Uzbekistan and Pakistan to facilitate the deportation of criminals to Afghanistan.

The Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement requesting the German government not to send migrants to a third country and has expressed readiness for dialogue with Germany.

On Friday, the German Foreign Minister emphasised that they should not succumb to the conditions set by a terrorist Islamic group.

Speaking at an event in Hamburg, Baerbock expressed her belief that in times of insecurity, making promises about things without knowing how to implement them the next day cannot contribute to security.

Referring to the murder of a German police officer in Mannheim by an Afghan man, she said that such violent criminals have lost their right to protection, according to Die Welt newspaper.

However, she cautioned that it should not be assumed that the problem will be solved by quickly deporting them to Afghanistan or Syria.

Baerbock did not provide details on the Taliban's conditions for accepting deported migrants.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated on Wednesday that his promise to deport criminals from Afghanistan and Syria remains valid and will soon be implemented.

The Chancellor and the Interior Minister of Germany's federal coalition government are from the Social Democratic Party, while Baerbock is from the Greens Party.

The organisation has called on the Taliban to end the restrictions on the basic rights of women and girls.

Coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, Human Rights Watch wrote on X social media platform, "As the Paris Olympics begin, millions of women and girls in Afghanistan are being denied the right to education and sports."

The human rights organisation has urged the Taliban to end the mistreatment of Afghan women and girls and to lift the restrictions imposed on them.

Over the past three years, the Taliban have imposed severe restrictions on women's work and activities. In addition to prohibiting girls from attending school above the sixth grade and preventing them from entering universities and educational centres, the group has also banned women's sports.

Earlier, the spokesperson for the Taliban-controlled Olympic Committee told Agence France-Presse that they do not recognise the three Afghan female athletes who are participating in the Paris Olympics.

Six Afghan athletes, three women and three men, are representing Afghanistan in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Additionally, five Afghan athletes are participating in the event as part of the International Olympic Committee's refugee team, bringing the total number of Afghan athletes at the Paris Olympics to eleven.