Belt & Road Initiative Important For Expanding Relations With China, Says Taliban Minister

Informed sources said that the main purpose of these trips was to enforce the ban on photography and filming.

Hanafi called on the local Taliban authorities to fully implement the orders of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in cooperation with the ombudsman.

The Taliban's Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced on Wednesday that Khalid Hanafi had travelled to Logar Province, where he met with members of the Taliban and local officials.

The ministry did not elaborate on the details of Khalid Hanafi's personal meetings with provincial officials or his recommendations.

Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada and a number of Taliban ministers, governors and commanders are working to ban photography and filming at the level of government institutions. However, some members of the Taliban still post pictures of their daily meetings and activities.

Khalid Hanafi, who is close to and trusted by the Taliban leader, has instructed Taliban governors and commanders to refrain from taking photos and videos during his travels. The first province where the ban was implemented was Kandahar, where the governor of the province, Mullah Shirin, banned photography and filming and asked government employees to submit their reports in writing.

Currently, announcements from some provinces and ministries are published without photographs, and in some areas, the broadcast of national television programmes has also been stopped.

It is said that Khalid Hanafi's trips to the provinces were made on the direct orders of Mullah Hibatullah. He travelled to Nangarhar, Laghman and Logar last week and in addition to attending public meetings, he also had personal meetings with local officials.

According to the order of the Taliban leader, the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has received special privileges and all government institutions have been obliged to fully implement the laws and orders of this ministry.

The court said that the individuals received between 25 and 39 lashes. They were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to one year and five months.

The Taliban's Supreme Court announced in a statement on Wednesday evening, October 23, that seven people have been convicted of extramarital affairs and 10 others have been punished on charges of theft and same-sex relations, in public and in the presence of court officials and clients.

Earlier, on Thursday, October 17, the Taliban's Supreme Court had announced the flogging of eight people in Khost province. The court announced that each of the eight individuals in Khost province was sentenced to 35 lashes in public and sentenced to one year in prison. The eighth individual was also sentenced to 39 lashes and two years in prison.

Despite the objections of international human rights organisations, the Taliban has continued to inflict corporal punishment and torture on defendants in public. The group's Supreme Court publishes daily reports of public punishment across Afghanistan.

International human rights organisations have criticised the process of trying individuals by the Taliban's courts and expressed concern about the defendants' lack of access to a lawyer and a fair trial.

Emphasising on the respect for the fundamental rights of the people, they called for a peaceful and immediate resolution of the issues in Afghanistan.

In the declaration at the end of its 16th meeting, the BRICS leaders emphasised on the basic rights of Afghan citizens, including the rights of women, girls, and various ethnic groups in the country.

The statement stressed on the need to provide immediate and uninterrupted humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, calling on the Taliban to lift the ban on girls' education in secondary and higher education.

The BRICS leaders also said that "more visible and verifiable actions must be taken in Afghanistan" to ensure that Afghan soil is not being used by terrorists.

"We support Afghanistan as an independent, united and peaceful country free from terrorism, war and narcotics," the statement reads in part.

BRICS said that it emphasises on the primary and effective role of regional platforms and Afghanistan's neighbouring countries in resolving the country's problem, while welcoming the efforts of regional initiatives to facilitate the settlement of Afghanistan.

The 16th BRICS summit with the participation of 36 countries and six international organisations began on Tuesday, October 22, in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, and will continue until Thursday, October 24.

Heads of delegations from member states including Russia, Brazil, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran are attending the meeting.

The group expanded with the membership of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia at the beginning of this year.

The organisation said that the death sentences of these defendants were carried out in
Ghezel Hesar prisons in Karaj and the central prison of Karaj.

The rights group has written that it does not have information about the identity of the Afghan prisoner executed in Karaj. The organisation added that the Islamic Republic's judiciary had sentenced the prisoners to death on charges of "corruption on earth, drug-related crimes, and supplying and distributing poisonous alcoholic beverages”.

Iran Human Rights had also reported on Tuesday, October 22, that five prisoners, including two Afghan citizens, had been executed in Qom Central Prison. The human rights organisation had said that they were executed for murder.

Iran Human Rights wrote on Tuesday that the death sentence of an Afghan named Abdul Qadir was carried out on October 10, and another Afghan, whose identity is unknown, was executed by the Islamic Republic on October 16.

Despite international requests to stop the execution of the death sentence, the Islamic Republic has continued to execute prisoners throughout the country.

The explosion occurred around 2pm local time. Footage of the incident obtained by Afghanistan International shows that the explosion took place among vendors.

Sources said that the explosion also caused some casualties and that it was caused by a magnetic mine.

Taliban officials have not commented on the incident and no individual or group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

Following the explosion, fire-fighting trucks arrived at the scene. Footage shows people fleeing the scene after the explosion.