Taliban Arrests Two Influential Shia Clerics In Herat's Jibril Town

The court said in a statement Monday that the individuals had been convicted of extramarital sex.

In a statement issued on Monday, November 4, the court said that a woman and a man were flogged in the courtyard of the municipality of Farkhar district of Takhar province.

On Monday morning, the Taliban's Supreme Court also announced the execution of another woman in the Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar province on charges of "running away from home”.

A recent UNAMA report shows that the group has flogged 95 men and 16 women across Afghanistan on various charges in the past three months.

Corporal punishment carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan is not limited to flogging.

Recently, the Taliban's Supreme Court announced that since August 2021, five people have been executed in the country, and 30 more death sentences are awaiting final approval by the group's leader.

According to the Taliban's court ruling in Kuz Kunar district of Nangarhar province, the woman was flogged 39 times in public for "running away from home”.

The Taliban's Supreme Court said that the woman was flogged in the presence of a number of Taliban officials, mullahs, and the public.

The Taliban's court statement said that the group's mullahs spoke about the "value of hudud and punishment" after the woman was flogged.

The United Nations political mission announced in its quarterly report last week that the Taliban have handed out corporal punishment to 111 people, including 16 women, across Afghanistan in the past three months. UNAMA said that the Taliban flogged these individuals individually and sometimes in groups on various charges.

In a note on social media platform X, Abdul Mateen Qani wrote that this group of 100 people have been equipped with "advanced military equipment”.

The Taliban official wrote on Sunday, November 3, that this mobile motorcycle group will operate round the clock.

Qani stated that the purpose of forming this mobile group is to prevent criminal activities.

According to details provided by the Taliban's Interior Ministry spokesman, the 100-member mobile group is operating in the security districts of Faizabad city and other districts of Badakhshan province.

OCHA warned that aid cuts could jeopardise gains and increase food insecurity and poverty in the country.

In a report published on Sunday, OCHA explained that most of the aid came in 2022, with resources peaking at nearly $3.3 billion.
The aid comes amid an unprecedented increase in poverty, economic crisis, political collapse and the risk of health system collapse.

The organisation spoke of the positive effects of international aid on poverty reduction and the humanitarian crisis, adding that "Afghanistan remains extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, climate change and geopolitical developments”.

Referring to the Taliban's Law on the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, OCHA expressed concern over the increasing restrictions on Afghan women and girls, calling it a sign of the human rights crisis and protection risks in the country.

The organisation stressed that international efforts have prevented famine and the number of vulnerable people has decreased. The absence of active fighting in the country has also facilitated better access and identification of needs in remote areas, OCHA said.

The organisation has warned that if the budget level is reduced, humanitarian gains will be quickly lost, and the vulnerable people of Afghanistan will once again face more suffering and damage.

Some observers have said that the Taliban members are misusing international humanitarian aid and interfering in its distribution.

The ministry said that it was acting in accordance with the procedure of the UN Assembly and recognised Afghanistan's representative to the United Nations as the representative of the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

The Taliban's embassy in Islamabad on Saturday had announced a meeting between the chargé d'affaires of the embassy, Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, and the ambassador of the Republic of Maldives to Pakistan, Mohamed Thoha.

After the meeting, the Maldives Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that in international relations, it acts in accordance with the procedure of the United Nations General Assembly regarding the person representing a state. The ministry stressed that in accordance with this procedure, the Maldives recognises Afghanistan's representative to the United Nations as the representative of the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

The Maldives Foreign Ministry stressed that "the recent meeting between the Maldivian ambassador to Pakistan and the Taliban representative in Islamabad took place without the approval of the Maldivian government”.

According to the statement, after the meeting, "appropriate measures have been taken by the Maldivian government," however, the Maldives Foreign Ministry did not elaborate on the measures.

On Saturday, the Taliban's embassy in Islamabad quoted the Maldivian ambassador as saying that the country "as a brotherly Muslim country, wants strong and close relations with Afghanistan”.

The Taliban's embassy quoted the Maldivian ambassador in Islamabad as saying that he expressed hope that they would be able to establish transit and trade relations with Central Asian countries through Afghanistan.

The Taliban diplomat said that the group wants constructive relations with all countries and is trying to turn Afghanistan into a regional connection point with economic-oriented policies.

The Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean, consisting of 1,192 islands, and is known as a tourist destination famous for its beautiful beaches and crystal clear waters.

So far, no country has recognised the Taliban, and the United Nations General Assembly has refused to accept the Taliban's representative. Nasir Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan's Acting Representative to the United Nations, is present.

The international community has conditioned the legitimacy of the Taliban on the observance of human rights, the formation of an inclusive national government, the observance of women's rights, especially the right to education and work, and the fight against terrorism.