Hamoun Wetlands Drying Up After Taliban Built Dams, Says Iranian Official

The office said that 98 percent of these cases occurred due to the Taliban's interference, and these incidents increased by 66 percent compared to last year.

According to a report released by OCHA on Tuesday, October 22, two facilities in Afghanistan were temporarily closed in September this year, and one project was moved to another location.

Among the incidents, the southern, eastern and western regions of the country suffered the most, respectively, the organisation added.

According to the report, these incidents included interference in humanitarian activities, violence against employees, and restrictions on the movement of institutions, employees, or goods within the country.

The OCHA report shows that during this period, nine humanitarian operations employees were arrested by the Taliban and three establishments were forcibly closed.

"These incidents continuously disrupt the operational environment, where the safety of human workers is at stake," OCHA added.

In September, 73 cases of direct Taliban interference in the implementation of programmes, 35 cases of interference in the recruitment of employees, 19 cases of interference in requesting sensitive information from employees, five cases of influencing the supply of goods, five cases of limiting the participation of female employees, and three cases related to women's clothing were reported.

According to the report, other instances of Taliban interference have also been reported, including illegal tax requests, confiscation of aid, delays in signing documents, and the employment of facilities.

The report shows that after the Taliban's law for the promotion of virtue was signed, the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue has interfered in humanitarian activities in 48 cases.

According to OCHA, these interventions included surveillance visits to offices, staff detentions, segregation of work spaces, requests for sensitive information, and dress requirements for female employees.

According to sources, Taliban members have surrounded the area from the 11th district to parts of the 17th district in Sar-e-Kotal Khair Khana and were searching houses.

Local residents said that the Taliban has increased their checkpoints in the 315th Khair Khana crossing, Russ Road and parts of Khair Khana Hill.

Over the past three years, the Taliban has repeatedly searched the homes of Kabul residents, especially in the Khair Khana and northern areas of the city.

Taliban members have not yet officially commented on these searches.

The Taliban has repeatedly searched the homes of Afghan citizens in many provinces. The Taliban had earlier said that they were searching houses to find weapons.

House-to-house searches in Kabul's Khair Khana area comes as the Afghanistan Freedom Front, the group's military and political opposition, recently targeted the Kabul airport in an unprecedented operation.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front said on Sunday evening that it had attacked the military section of the Kabul airport from several directions. The front added that the operation began with the firing of several rockets and caused casualties to the Taliban.

The newspaper wrote that Pakistan is reluctant to expand relations with the TTP due to the Afghan Taliban's support for the TTP.

Pakistan's Express Tribune reported on Tuesday, October 22, that Pakistani authorities have so far shown no interest in nominating a successor after the dismissal of Asif Durrani. The outlet added that Pakistani Foreign Ministry officials believe that they can manage relations with the Afghan Taliban without appointing a diplomat to the post.

The Express Tribune writes that the government's hesitation to appoint new special envoy stems from the ineffectiveness of this role given the minimal diplomatic interaction between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.

In early 2023, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry named Asif Durrani as the country's special envoy for Afghanistan. The Pakistani media outlet has clarified that Pakistan's relationship with the Afghan Taliban deteriorated increasingly during Durrani’s tenure.

The Express Tribune quoted analysts of Pakistan-Afghan Taliban relations as saying that Asif Durrani was unable to have any impact on Pakistan-Taliban relations during his tenure. Analysts have said that Asif Durrani had no influence among the Afghan Taliban, as the Taliban's engagement was at its lowest level since he was given the responsibility.

At the height of tensions with the Taliban administration in Kabul, the Pakistani government dismissed Asif Durrani on September 11 this year.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of harbouring TTP militants and that the militant group is carrying out attacks on Pakistani soil from Afghan soil. This is something that the Taliban has always denied.

The organisation highlighted the recent release of two educational activists, Ahmad Fahim Azimi and Sediqullah Afghan, from Taliban detention, describing it as just one example of the Taliban’s “widespread crackdown” on civil society activists, journalists, and human rights defenders in Afghanistan.

Azimi, a girls' education activist, and Afghan, a rights activist, were released from Taliban custody after months of detention. Azimi and Afghan were transferred to Pul-e-Charkhi prison after being interrogated for 72 days, where, according to their families, they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

Amnesty International launched a campaign for the activists' release in February, calling on the Taliban to stop arbitrarily detaining civil society and human rights activists.

In its statement on the plight of Afghan activists, Amnesty International said, "Afghan civil society has been shattered by the Taliban's repression. Journalists, activists and protesters are regularly targeted, and many have been forced to go into hiding or flee abroad."

Amnesty added that activists living in Iran, Pakistan or Turkiye face financial difficulties and risk of deportation to Afghanistan.

"Together, we can protect those who risk everything to defend girls' freedom and the right to education," Amnesty International said, noting the importance of international pressure on the Taliban to support Afghan civil society activists.

The Interior and Defence Ministers, along with three Deputy Prime Ministers, believe this ban is detrimental to the Taliban's interests.

Under a new law on "Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," primarily enforced by the Taliban leadership, photographing individuals has been banned.

The law advises relevant authorities to prevent the publication of living beings’ images in media outlets.

According to sources, Taliban’s Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Defence Minister Yaqoob Mujahid are against this decision. Additionally, three Deputy Prime Ministers—Mullah Baradar, Abdul Salam Hanafi, and Abdul Kabir—also oppose it, viewing the enforcement of media-related provisions as a means to "cripple the promotional apparatus" of the Taliban administration. These officials express concern that some of Akhundzada's decrees could hinder the Taliban's diplomatic efforts.

A source close to the Taliban reported that individuals associated with the Haqqani network, which controls many propaganda centres, oppose the new media restrictions, perceiving them as attempts to isolate their network. Recently, the Haqqani network has initiated the production of a documentary through the Jalal Foundation, focusing on its role in two decades of conflict.

Sources revealed that Mullah Hibatullah is unable to appear in the media due to these restrictions, which has led him to attempt to suppress coverage of the conflict and the activities of other Taliban leaders. The Haqqani network, despite lacking influence in the Taliban's religious circle in Kandahar, is filling the gap with media propaganda.

The Haqqani network reportedly has the financial backing to produce documentaries and investigative reports about its activities, although this runs counter to the prevailing sentiments of the ruling religious faction in Kandahar.

Close associates of the Haqqani network have defended the current need for filming and photography by releasing an old video of the network's founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, who deemed such practices permissible.

Gradual Closure of National Television

It has been reported that a decision was made to gradually implement the law concerning public order, focusing initially on explaining the religious decree regarding the publication of images in media. However, when negligence regarding this law was observed in Kabul, Mullah Hibatullah ordered its initial enforcement in Afghanistan's national television, provincial channels, and state media.

Despite this directive, most young officials in the Taliban, aside from those in the ministries of higher education, virtue promotion, and a few other institutions managed from Kandahar, have not fully complied. Recently, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban Minister of Higher Education, allowed reporters at a meeting to record only audio. Meanwhile, Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Nabi Omari, who is closely associated with Sirajuddin Haqqani, reportedly did not respond during the session.

Employees of the Taliban-controlled national television informed Afghanistan International that Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, the head of this network, stated in a management meeting that Mullah Hibatullah plans to shut down national television, transforming it into "Radio Voice of Sharia”.

The Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture is yet to comment on Mullah Hibatullah's directive. However, a source indicated that the leadership of this ministry has also been instructed from Kandahar to gradually halt national television broadcasts.

According to Article 17 of the Taliban's law on "Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice," photographing living beings is prohibited. The Taliban has officially begun efforts to prevent photography, filming, and the activities of visual media across various provinces, believing that such practices, based on the Prophet Mohammad's teachings, constitute a "great sin." This initiative began in Kandahar and has since extended to Takhar, where orders to close local television stations were issued.