Tajikistan Exports Electricity Worth $82 Million to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan In 8 Months

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.

The Taliban's embassy in Uzbekistan said in a statement that some of the group's officials, Afghans living in Tashkent and Uzbek diplomats were present for the ceremony.

The Taliban has said that Abdul Ghafar Bahar has officially started his work as the group's ambassador to Uzbekistan.

On September 18, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry introduced Bahar as the group's proposed ambassador to Uzbekistan.

Although Uzbekistan, like all countries, does not recognise the Taliban government, it has close diplomatic and economic relations with the group and has given the Afghan embassy in Tashkent to the Taliban.

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.

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 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.

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.