US Asks Citizens to Refrain from Travelling to Afghanistan

Patel told reporters, " I’m fairly certain the Taliban is a designated terrorist organisation."

The Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department made these remarks on Monday evening, July 29, during a press briefing in Washington in response to a reporter's question.

The reporter referred to the bill proposed by Nancy Mace, a US congresswoman, and asked Patel whether the US agrees with designating the Taliban as a terrorist organisation similar to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

TTP is listed in the Department of State's "Foreign Terrorist Organisations" list, but the Afghan Taliban has not yet been included in this list.

Recently, Nancy Mace introduced a bill to the US Congress that would designate the Taliban as a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation."

According to Mace's statement, a key point of this bill is that no US government entity can recognise the Taliban government or allocate funds for this purpose.

Although the US does not recognise the Taliban government, US policy since the withdrawal from Afghanistan has focused on engagement with the Taliban.

The ministry announced that the consular services of these missions are "not acceptable" to the group.

The Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that it will no longer take responsibility for the actions of these Afghan missions in Europe.

The ministry noted that Afghan missions in London, Belgium, Berlin, Bonn, Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Australia have refused to cooperate and coordinate with this ministry in Kabul.

The Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that it repeatedly requested the Afghan political and consular missions in Europe to cooperate and engage with the ministry.

The ministry said that most of these missions' actions are conducted "independently and in clear violation of accepted principles" without coordination with the group.

According to the Taliban's statement, these services include the issuance of visa, documents, certificates, passports and renewal.

The Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Afghan and foreign citizens to seek consular services from Afghan missions in other countries.

These restrictions imposed by the Taliban on Afghan political missions in European countries come even though no country has recognised the group.

These measures may limit access to consular services such as passport and document issuance for Afghans living abroad.

So far, Afghan political missions in these countries have not responded to the Taliban's actions.

Previously, a few Afghan consular missions abroad had announced that they were engaging with the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide consular services to citizens.

During a meeting with Taliban diplomats in Tehran, Abdul Kabir claimed that the group now has a "suitable position" politically in the region and the world.

This Taliban official, who has traveled to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new president, met Taliban diplomats at the Afghan embassy in Tehran late on Monday, July 29.

Abdul Kabir mentioned that in the near future, the group's official political relations with some countries will begin, but he did not specify any particular country.

Recently, Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Kabul after more than a year.

Fazl Mohammad Haqqani, the Taliban's ambassador in Tehran, also said that Taliban diplomats have good relations with officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran and are working to expand relations with Iran in line with Taliban policies.

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban has traveled to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran. Concurrently with his visit to Tehran, Iran handed over Afghanistan's consulate in Mashhad to the Taliban.

The Taliban have appointed Feiz Ul Rahman Ataei as the Consul General in Mashhad.

The recommendation came from the Committee for Health and Epidemiological Control, following a review of various pomegranate-flavoured sodas made in Afghanistan.

Kazakhstani media reported that the committee urged the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs to advise companies against importing pomegranate-flavoured sodas under the brands "Royal," "Paradise," "Money," "Pure," and "Golden Life”.

The committee highlighted that the labelling on these soft drink cans does not conform to the standards of the Eurasian Economic Union. Specifically, the labels lack a warning about the presence of the artificial colouring "Azorubine E122," which may adversely affect children's mental activity.

Despite these labelling concerns, the Ministry of Health found no toxic or hazardous substances in the drinks that would pose a risk to human health.

In related developments, it was reported that Kyrgyzstan banned the consumption of beverages containing the artificial colouring "Azorubine" as of July 3.

These sources revealed that the men were former employees of the Ministry of Interior under the previous Afghan government.

The Taliban confirmed that these three men were killed while allegedly attempting to escape after being accused of murdering a member of the Taliban.

Local reports on Monday indicated that the Taliban conducted a public "summary trial and execution" of these former military personnel in the village of Sar-e-Jangal on Sunday, bypassing due process and fair trial procedures.

Following the fall of the Republic government, the three brothers had turned to farming, according to the sources.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the press office of the Taliban’s governor in Ghor described the men as "elements of sedition and Khawarij," alleging that they had killed Saeedullah, a Taliban member, a few days earlier.

The statement claimed that the individuals fled after the killing, but were subsequently arrested by Taliban forces. The Taliban further asserted that the detainees attempted to escape from custody in Murghab district and were, then, shot dead by Taliban forces.

The Taliban also stated that these individuals were previously affiliated with the "Khawarij" in Ghor, a term the Taliban use to refer to ISIS.

Despite the Taliban’s declaration of a "general amnesty," numerous reports of killings, detentions, and torture of former government military personnel have emerged during their three-year rule in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have previously faced accusations of killing former government employees, political opponents, or ordinary individuals under the pretext of ISIS affiliation.