EU Criticises Taliban, Calls For Special Rapporteur's Access To Afghanistan

The meeting emphasised on the joint cooperation between Uzbekistan and EU and the prevention of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan wrote in a statement on Friday, November 1, that they discussed the prospects for future cooperation between Uzbekistan and EU on Afghan issues.

The details of the conversation have not been announced, but the statement said that special attention was paid to the possibility of using the International Transport and Logistics Centre in the city of Termez to send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

According to the statement, Hakala also appreciated Uzbekistan's actions aimed at establishing a unified position on Afghanistan.
Although Uzbekistan does not recognise the Taliban like other countries, it has extensive economic and diplomatic relations with the Taliban.

Ismatullah Irgashev has repeatedly discussed Afghanistan in meetings with various European officials in recent months.

Darwish further disclosed that approximately 30 additional death sentences are awaiting final approval from the Taliban leader.

Speaking at an event titled “Coordination Among Government Institutions to Prevent Criminal Offences” in Panjshir, Darwish stated that “these sentences have been executed in accordance with Sharia law, with the aim of establishing justice and deterring crime.” He highlighted that around 30 additional retributive justice (Qisas) sentences have been issued by various courts and will be enacted upon approval from the Taliban’s Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The judicial system under the Taliban predominantly operates based on a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia and customary laws, diverging significantly from international human rights standards and civil laws. Numerous human rights organisations have expressed concerns over a lack of transparency in Taliban trials, the denial of legal representation for defendants, and the expedited and often compulsory nature of these judicial proceedings.

Reports indicate that defendants in Taliban courts are occasionally convicted without access to defence counsel and, at times, without adequate evidence. Severe penalties, including flogging, amputation, and execution, have also been administered by these courts.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported on Thursday that at least 111 individuals, including 16 women, were subjected to corporal punishment in Afghanistan over the past three months. UNAMA stated that the Taliban had carried out floggings of these individuals, sometimes individually and occasionally in groups, in response to various charges.

According to the committee's information, the drug shipment was transported to Kyrgyzstan via Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan's National Security Committee stated in a video released that it had arrested a foreign smuggler on charges of transporting the drugs. No details have been released about the identity of the foreigner.

The drugs were reportedly methamphetamine, and the smugglers were planning to transport them to Hong Kong, China, after Kyrgyzstan. China and Kyrgyzstan share a border.

Kyrgyzstan's National Security Committee said that the foreigner was in custody and that security forces were interrogating him to identify his accomplices.

The media outlet reported that 58 families from Pakistan and 146 families from Iran have returned to Afghanistan.

The Taliban-controlled state media outlet Bakhtar News Agency reported on Friday, November 1, that the Afghan refugees were deported to Afghanistan from the Torkham, Spin Boldak, Islam Qala and Pul-e-Abrisham crossings.

On Tuesday, October 29, the media outlet also reported the deportation of 268 Afghan refugee families from Iran and Pakistan.

Sergey Lavrov said that the United States and its allies are seeking to resume a military presence in Central Asia.

"The United States and its allies, who fled Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation, today want to interfere in the fragile process of stabilising the situation in the country and are inventing excuses to resume their military presence in Central Asian countries," he said on Thursday, October 31, at the International Eurasian Security Conference in Minsk, Belarus.

Sergey Lavrov did not provide further details. However, following its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US government had said that it would monitor the activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan "with aerial surveillance and reconnaissance”.

Under the plan, the US military in the region has strengthened its ability to monitor, control, and, if necessary, strike terrorists.

Earlier, the Taliban's defence minister had said in a televised interview that the group was trying to prevent foreign planes from patrolling Afghanistan's airspace. Mullah Yaqoob had said that Afghanistan's airspace was still under "occupation".

The Taliban has accused Pakistan of allowing US planes to enter Afghan territory. There have been reports of US drones patrolling the skies over Kandahar, Kapisa, Kabul, Badakhshan, Panjshir, Nimroz, Herat and some other provinces of Afghanistan.

Referring to the role of the United States in the political developments of various countries, Sergey Lavrov said, "As a result of the aggressive actions of the United States, NATO and the European Union, the risks of the fragmentation of our continent have increased."