Tashkent Doesn’t Allow Taliban Ambassador to Place Group's Flag Next To Uzbek Flag

Sep 24, 2024, 11:37 GMT+1

On Monday, the Taliban announced the inauguration ceremony of Abdul Ghafar Bahar, the group's ambassador to Uzbekistan.

At the same time, sources told Afghanistan International that Tashkent told the Taliban not to place the flag of Uzbekistan next to the Taliban flag due to the lack of recognition of the group.

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Taliban's Actions Will Reduce World's Interest in Doha Meet, Says UN Deputy Secy General

Sep 24, 2024, 10:22 GMT+1

UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary Di Carlo warned that the Doha process is in danger of being halted due to the Taliban's non-compliance with its commitments.

She said at a meeting on Monday that the international community expects the Taliban to participate in the process in good faith.

The meeting on the status of women was held in New York in the presence of the UN Secretary-General and some of the member states of this organisation.

Referring to the Taliban's Law on the Promotion of Virtue, Di Carlo said, "The countries participating in the Doha meetings are willing to continue this process, but the passage of the Law on the Promotion of Virtue reduces their willingness to participate in the Doha meetings, and there is a risk that it will be stopped."

"Those involved in the process want it to continue, but they expect the Taliban to fulfil their international obligations in good faith. Interaction is key," she added.

She also stressed on the need to increase pressure on the Taliban, saying that countries must act on what they say. "If we want the Taliban to take us seriously, we have to keep our word," DiCarlo added.

The third Doha Conference on Afghanistan was held under the chairmanship of Di Carlo. During this meeting, the issue of human rights and women's rights was removed from the agenda of talks with the Taliban, and instead, representatives of the Taliban and the participating countries talked about the growth of the private sector and the fight against drugs in Afghanistan.

The United Nations hopes that the Doha meeting will become a platform for understanding and convincing the Taliban to change its policies. However, the Taliban have rejected any international demand to change their policies towards women.

Emphasising on the importance of dialogue and engagement, DiCarlo noted that the Taliban must fulfil their commitments.

The UN deputy secretary-general called on the Taliban to work towards inclusivity of government, respect for the rights of women, girls and human rights in general, and increase efforts to combat terrorism and counter narcotics.

She reiterated that if these commitments are implemented, the international community will gradually reduce its restrictions and provide development assistance to Afghanistan.
"To be honest, without these measures, the Taliban and Afghanistan cannot return to the international community," DiCarlo said.

Taliban Arrests 16 Women in Khost For Not Wearing Proper Hijab & Having Illicit Relations

Sep 24, 2024, 08:55 GMT+1

Local sources from Khost told Afghanistan International that a week ago, the Taliban took 16 women from the women's market and transferred them to the Khost Central Prison.

According to sources, the Taliban have accused these women of "not wearing the proper hijab and having illegitimate relationships”.

So far, local Taliban officials in Khost province have not commented on the matter.

Sources informed Afghanistan International on Monday that some of the detained women are residents of Lucknow and Zazi Maidan districts in Khost.

The families of the detained women say that the Taliban transferred the women to Khost Prison. They said that even after a week, the Taliban has not provided information about the reason and motive for the arrest of these women.

"The whole of Khost knows that only women go to the women's market, and the Taliban has allowed the women's market to be open, but now they have arrested women and put them in jail without any crime," said a relative of one of the detained women.

The women's market in Khost was built by the municipality during the previous government and was open after the Taliban came to power.
This women's market is located in the centre of Khost with dozens of shops, its shopkeepers are only women, and only women buy their necessities from this market.

Taliban in Panjshir Begins Second Round of Unlicensed Weapons Collection

Sep 23, 2024, 16:32 GMT+1

The Taliban's police command in Panjshir on Monday announced the start of the second round of the process of collecting unlicensed weapons in the province.

Taliban officials in Panjshir announced that no one has the right to keep or transfer unregistered weapons.

The Taliban-controlled Afghan National Radio (ANA) quoted the group's police command in Panjshir as saying that the process of collecting unlicensed weapons and clearing the tinted windows of cars has begun for the second time in the province.

Islamuddin Hammad, director of the Taliban's police command in Panjshir, said that he took the action to "provide security and identify irresponsible gunmen”.

The Taliban have banned the use of unlicensed weapons and military equipment, and have previously repeatedly asked their officials and fighters to hand over unlicensed weapons to the group's relevant institutions.

This comes as the Taliban has launched house-to-house search operations to collect weapons in Kabul and other provinces of Afghanistan for the past three years.

Taliban Arrests 70 Money Changers in Herat, Say Local Sources

Sep 23, 2024, 14:36 GMT+1

Local sources in Herat said that the Taliban arrested at least 70 money changers from the Khorasan market in the city on Sunday.

According to sources, these money changers had gathered in front of the governor's office several times in response to the increase in the costs of exchange licences and bank guarantees.

Images obtained by Afghanistan International show a strong presence of Taliban troops inside the Khorasan Market, Herat's exchange market.

The money changers said that the Taliban has increased the total cost of the exchange licence and bank guarantee to nine million afghanis.
According to sources, since Sunday, when these money changers were arrested, there has been no information about their fate.

The Taliban has not yet commented on the matter.

The Taliban has always dealt with protests and gatherings with violence and do not tolerate criticism of their policies and performance.

Afghan Students in Shiraz Protest Against Ban on Enrollment in Iranian Schools

Sep 23, 2024, 13:19 GMT+1

As the new school year begins in Iran, a number of Afghans, especially students, protested in front of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the city of Shiraz on Sunday.

Refugees told Afghanistan International that Iranian schools will not enrol Afghan students now.

A video of the protest provided to Afghanistan International shows Afghans chanting "Education is our right”.

The protesters called on the United Nations to provide education for Afghan children in Iran.
An Afghan refugee sent a video to Afghanistan International saying that schools are closed to Afghan students.

The sender of the video from Shiraz says that Afghan male students are also not allowed to enrol in schools.

"They don't let Afghan children go to school, the officer says that Afghans have no place, they don't study and the door of the school is closed for them," he said.

This comes as Iran's Minister of Education announced on Sunday that the necessary arrangements have been made for the registration of Afghan students.

Referring to the presence of more than 600,000 Afghan students in Iran, Alireza Kazemi said that after the completion of the registration of Iranian students, they will also be registered.

Despite the Islamic Republic's promise to enrol Afghan students in Iranian schools, there have been numerous reports that Afghan students have been banned.

In late September, schools in Kerman, Shiraz and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces refused to enrol Afghan children.

On Saturday, Kerman Governor Mohammad Mehdi Fadakar announced during a meeting of the Education Council of Kerman province that the registration of Afghan students without a degree in schools in this province has been seriously pursued and banned.

The Islamic Republic official warned school principals in Kerman province that they do not have the right to register undocumented asylum seekers.