Republic's Ambassadors In West Under Pressure To Engage With Taliban Or Close Embassy

These restrictions have seriously hindered the provision of essential services to those in need. In a new report on Thursday, OCHA said that in addition to the Taliban's restrictions, a lack of funds is also an obstacle to the process of providing aid to the needy in Afghanistan.

More than 70 of these restrictions have directly impacted women's role in the distribution of humanitarian aid and prevented them from actively participating in the process. The report said that the Taliban imposed nearly 100 new restrictions in 2024, six of which specifically targeted female participation (including requirements such as adherence to hijab, restrictions on women working in the field and salary reductions for female government employees).

OCHA stressed that the Taliban's strict laws for the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice have intensified restrictions on Afghan women in humanitarian activities, which has led to a decrease in the process of delivering aid.

OCHA has announced that due to a lack of funds, 3.7 million people in Afghanistan have been deprived of basic services such as health and social services. OCHA warned that without financial support, people in need in remote areas of Afghanistan will be deprived of access to vital assistance.

OCHA also announced that in 2024, about 23.7 million people in Afghanistan will be in need of humanitarian assistance, of which 17 million are prioritised. The agency has requested a budget of 3.06 billion euros for these individuals, but so far only 31.4 percent of it has been funded.

After the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, the country became one of the most critical regions in the world in terms of humanitarian needs. Following the fall of the previous government and the cessation of international aid, millions of people were severely deprived of basic services and rights. This situation particularly affected women and children, depriving them of access to education, health and other essential services.

By imposing strict laws, the Taliban has not only restricted women's participation in humanitarian activities, but has also affected the provision of aid to all groups. In this regard, international institutions are under pressure to seek solutions to meet humanitarian needs in Afghanistan despite security and political challenges.

"China will provide Afghanistan with zero percent tariffs for 100 percent tariff lines," Zhao Xing wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.

China has sought to expand its ties with the Taliban since the group took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, but like all countries, it has refused to formally recognise the group's government.

Under Taliban control, Afghanistan offers abundant mineral resources to Chinese companies.

Meanwhile, the sale of Afghanistan's lithium, copper and iron reserves to the world's largest commodity buyer will help the Taliban bolster its weak economy and provide a much-needed revenue stream.

Late Thursday, China's ambassador to Afghanistan, Zhao Xing, posted a photo of his meeting with Abdul Kabir, the Taliban's deputy prime minister, on his official X account, saying, "China will provide zero percent tariffs to Afghanistan for 100 percent tariff lines."

According to Chinese customs data, Afghanistan exported $64 million worth of goods to China last year, nearly 90 percent of which was pine nuts. The Taliban has said that they are looking to attract foreign investors willing to help diversify Afghanistan's economy and exploit the country's mineral wealth.

Afghanistan did not export any goods to China last year, but since his appointment last September, China's ambassador to Kabul has regularly posted photos of meetings with Taliban officials in charge of mining, oil, trade and regional communications.

Several Chinese companies operate in Afghanistan, including China Metallurgical Co. Ltd. which has held talks with the Taliban government about a large copper mine in Logar.

At a September summit in Beijing attended by more than 50 African leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that goods entering his country's $19 trillion economy from "less developed countries that have diplomatic relations with China" from December 1 would not be subject to import tariffs.

The Taliban's embassy in China has not commented on the Chinese ambassador's remarks in Kabul.

Last October, Afghanistan's acting commerce minister told Reuters that the Taliban wanted to formally join China's Belt and Road Infrastructure Initiative.

The Taliban has also called on China to allow the group to be part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $62 billion connectivity project that connects China's resource-rich Xinjiang region to Pakistan's Gwadar port.

The Taliban intelligence agency had arrested Wafa more than three months ago for no apparent reason.

Wafa's family allege that he was tortured by the Taliban intelligence officials.

Meanwhile, a source from Nangarhar National Radio and Television told Afghanistan International's Pashto section that Aziz Ahmad Wafa had been dismissed from his job by the TV department.

In the past four months, the Taliban has arrested about nine journalists without clear reasons and then released some while others are still in the group's custody.

The Taliban's arbitrary detention and torture of journalists has repeatedly drawn widespread reactions from human rights organisations.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has said that journalists in Afghanistan continue to face arbitrary arrests.

In a separate development, the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) also said that it had attacked a Taliban battalion on the outskirts of Maimana city, the capital of Faryab province.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front said that two Taliban fighters had been killed and two others were wounded in the attack.

A spokesman for the Taliban's police command in Faryab indirectly confirmed the attack in response to reporters. The Maimana explosion was caused by a car tyre burst, he said, and called on journalists to dismiss the "rumours of an attack".

The Afghanistan Freedom Front has also released a video of its attack on the Taliban's base in the city of Maimana. The video shows what appears to be a Taliban stronghold, its gate and the group's flag above it, the passage of vehicles and citizens, as well as the sound of a relatively large explosion.

Attack in Kabul

In Kabul, the National Resistance Front (NRF) announced that its forces attacked a Taliban patrol on Thursday evening, October 24, in which three Taliban members were killed.

The NRF said in a statement that the attack was carried out at 6:30 pm on Thursday in the area of the Kart-e-Naw bakery station, which is related to the 8th security district of Kabul city, on the Taliban's intelligence forces.

The statement said that as a result, the weapons of the Taliban members were also captured by the forces of this front.

Earlier, local sources told Afghanistan International that they heard a loud explosion. According to them, the site of the explosion was Karte-e-Naw.

The Taliban has not yet commented on the attack.

The organisation wrote in its report that the two men were named Ayub Sangar and Abdul Raqib Maliki.

The Hengaw report states that the two men were executed on charges of "premeditated murder”.

The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation wrote that the authorities of the Central Prison in the city of Qom executed these prisoners on Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday, October 23, Hengaw also announced the execution of an Afghan citizen in Iran. The organisation did not provide details about the identity of the Afghan.