US Secretary of State Urged To Halt Assistance To Afghanistan

The SIGAR report claimed that the Taliban has not acted against opium reserves in Afghanistan, leading to a doubling of the drug's price.

The Taliban claimed that since their return to power, drug cultivation, sale, and trafficking have been eliminated for the first time in decades.

The group’s Ministry of Interior stated, "The latest SIGAR report is baseless. For the first time in several decades, the phenomenon of drugs has been eradicated across the country."

The Taliban's Ministry of Interior also emphasised that no one would be permitted to cultivate poppy.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime confirmed in its latest report that while poppy cultivation has decreased, the production and sale of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine have increased.

SIGAR accused the Taliban of failing to address existing opium reserves in Afghanistan. The organisation reported that traders and farmers are involved in storing opium and inflating its price. SIGAR noted that while poppy cultivation has decreased, the value of opium has doubled since the ban on poppy cultivation was enacted.

The Daily Telegraph previously reported that Afghan farmers are covertly cultivating poppies in response to rising narcotic prices. According to the Telegraph, the price of opium has surged from £30 per kilo to £800-£1,000 since the Taliban's takeover, with some senior Taliban officials reportedly benefiting from this increase.

Taliban officials, speaking anonymously to the British newspaper, suggested that the ban on poppy cultivation might be aimed at raising opium prices, thereby enabling officials with hidden opium reserves and secret poppy fields to "accumulate more wealth”.

SIGAR, which does not have an office in Afghanistan, compiled its report based on findings from other organisations, including the United Nations.

The group released a video alleging that the fighters survived this gruesome incident and reached a "safe place”.

Security sources informed Afghanistan International that the fighters have fled to Afghanistan. The TTP has consistently denied its presence in Afghanistan, though Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of harbouring Pakistani militants who then launch attacks on Pakistani security forces from Afghan soil.

In its statement, the TTP claimed that Pakistan's anti-terrorism forces had "buried alive" these fighters in Mohmand district, Peshawar. Security sources added that the police had "imprisoned them in a cave”.

A video posted on social media by pro-Taliban influencer Muneer Sherzad shows him meeting and praising the two TTP fighters. Reports suggest Sherzad met them in Afghanistan and expressed support for the TTP’s struggle against the Pakistani government.

The Afghan Taliban has repeatedly denied the presence of Pakistani militants in Afghanistan, a claim that Pakistan and other countries have contested.

Accusing the Taliban of consistently violating religious freedoms, the commission called for sanctions against responsible officials of the group.

In its annual report released on Wednesday, the commission urged Washington to designate Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as a "Country of Particular Concern”.

The report noted that in 2023, the Taliban severely restricted the individual and religious freedoms of all Afghans, particularly women and religious minorities such as Shia Muslims, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians, and continues to do so.

During Muharram, Taliban officials stated that for the safety of mourners, Ashura ceremonies should be limited and held at specific locations. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said that the Taliban has restricted the religious freedom of Shias.

ISIS has attacked Shia Muslims religious sites in the capital on several occasions. The Taliban has failed to prevent ISIS attacks on this community.

According to the report, ISIS-Khorasan has continued its attacks on the Shia minority in Afghanistan. In October 2023, ISIS attacked the Imam Zaman Mosque in Pol-e-Khumri city of Baghlan province.

The Taliban stated that seven people were killed in the incident, but sources told Afghanistan International that the death toll was over 20.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom highlighted the role of the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in enforcing discriminatory Taliban decrees. Additionally, the Taliban publicly administer punishments such as flogging for alleged moral crimes.

The commission called on the US government to sanction and freeze the assets of Taliban officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that the Taliban arrested several journalists, women's rights activists, and religious minorities last year.

The group has also restricted the activities of aid organisations by banning women from working. In another move, the Taliban arrested 18 local employees of an NGO in September 2023, accusing them of promoting Christianity.

The commission recommended that the US government place Afghanistan on the list of countries with serious concerns about the freedoms of its citizens.

Additionally, the commission urged the US government to prioritise asylum requests from at-risk religious minorities.

The commission stated that US diplomats should raise the issue of religious freedoms in Afghanistan in their interactions and meetings with Taliban representatives.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan federal entity established in 1998.

According to the group's statement, three Taliban fighters were killed in the incident.

AFF has shared a video of the attack on its social media platform.

The group also mentioned in their statement that one Taliban member was injured during the attack.

Afghanistan International has not independently confirmed the occurrence of this attack or the reported casualties.

In recent months, this anti-Taliban armed group has frequently claimed responsibility for guerrilla attacks on Taliban checkpoints and posts in Kabul and other provinces.

Haqmal told McPhillips that media projects should be provided to the media in coordination with the Taliban's Ministry of Information and Culture.

On Wednesday, Haqmal said that the media outlets have complaints about the projects, and to address these complaints, the projects should be made available to these organisations in coordination with the Ministry of Information and Culture.

The Bakhtar News Agency, under Taliban control, reported that McPhillips assured she would increase coordination with the group's Ministry in this regard. Bakhtar wrote that "the head of UNESCO welcomed the progress made in various sectors in Afghanistan”.

The Afghanistan Journalists Centre says that since the Taliban's return to power, freedom of expression and the media have been deteriorating alarmingly. Widespread censorship, a financial crisis, and the flight of hundreds of journalists has led to the shutdown of media outlets.

Private media are not allowed to broadcast music, films, and foreign series. Some sources say that "the newsrooms of some private media outlets are managed by the Taliban’s Intelligence, the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and the Taliban's Ministry of Culture”.

The Afghanistan Journalists Centre has also expressed concern about violence and the arbitrary detention of journalists.