RSF Demands Immediate Reopening Of Local Radio Station In Khost
The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organisation has called for the immediate reopening of a local radio "Zhman" in Khost province of Afghanistan.
The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organisation has called for the immediate reopening of a local radio "Zhman" in Khost province of Afghanistan.
In a note on social media platform X, this organisation once again condemned the Taliban's attacks on press freedom.
The Afghan Journalists Centre had reported on Wednesday that the Taliban in Khost province closed the office of the local radio "Zhman" for playing music in the background of a programme.
This centre said that the Taliban has stopped the broadcast of two local radio stations in this province since the past two weeks.
In the past three years, the Taliban has closed a large number of media outlets under various pretexts.
The group has also imposed strict restrictions on journalists and the media. The actions of the Taliban against the media and the narrowing of the space have caused a large number of these institutions and journalists to stop working.
During a meeting with JP Singh, an official of the Indian Foreign Ministry, Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that the group expects its relations with Delhi to develop.
In this meeting, Muttaqi also called for facilitating the issuance of Indian visas to Afghans, especially businessmen.
Zia Ahmad, the Taliban's deputy foreign ministry spokesman, said in a statement on the social media platform X on Thursday, November 7, that Muttaqi and Singh discussed political and economic relations between Afghanistan and India.
The statement quoted Amir Khan Muttaqi as saying that the Taliban expect the group's relations with India to expand in various sectors.
JP Singh is in charge of the Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran section of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
In its statement, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry quoted the Indian official as saying that in addition to humanitarian aid, Delhi has also started its development assistance to Afghanistan and is in technical talks in this regard with relevant institutions in Afghanistan.
The Taliban statement also quoted JP Singh as saying that in the near future, talks on Chabahar port will be held between technical delegations of the countries of the region, Afghanistan and India.
The Indian diplomat also met with Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister. In this meeting, Taliban and Indian officials emphasised on the expansion of bilateral relations.
The Taliban said that the Indian official promised to facilitate the issuance of visas to Afghans.
After the Taliban takeover, India closed its embassy in Kabul. New Delhi also cancelled all visas issued to Afghans and stopped issuing new visas. More than three years after the Taliban rule, India is still not responding to Afghans' visa applications. Thousands of Afghan students in India, who went to Afghanistan on vacation after the Taliban came to power, are stranded there.
India sent a delegation to Kabul for the first time since the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2022. Although the visit was aimed at providing humanitarian aid, Taliban officials, including Mullah Yaqoob, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Abbas Stanikzai, spoke to Indian media afterwards and expressed their desire to expand ties with Delhi.
The Taliban and India are discussing expanding relations at a time when relations between the Taliban and Pakistan are tense. Pakistan accuses the Taliban and India of supporting the country's armed opposition. An accusation that the Taliban and India have denied.
Eskandar Momeni, the Iranian Interior Minister, said that the production of traditional drugs in Afghanistan has decreased, but the production of industrial drugs such as methamphetamine has increased.
Momeni called the rise in the production of industrial drugs in Afghanistan dangerous for the security of the region and the world.
Iran's interior minister made the remarks on Wednesday, November 6, on the sidelines of an Iranian cabinet meeting.
Momeni had previously called the Islamic Republic one of the victims of Afghanistan's increased drug production.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) had also announced on Wednesday that poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has increased by 19% in 2024 as compared to the previous year.
The United Nations cited the Taliban's failure to combat poppy cultivation this year, adding that the area of poppy cultivation has increased from 10,800 hectares last year to 12,800 hectares this year.
The Taliban, however, rejected the UN report, calling it "baseless and far from the truth”.
In response to the latest UN report, a spokesman for the Taliban's Interior Ministry said that the assessment may have been made before police campaigns to eradicate poppy cultivation earlier this year.
Since then, all poppy fields have been wiped out by Taliban forces and drug cultivation has "significantly reduced", he claimed.
In response to Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections, the Taliban's foreign ministry expressed hope that the future US government would take "realistic steps" to improve the country's relations with the Taliban.
Recalling the history of Trump's relations with the Taliban, this ministry requested more interaction between the two sides.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban emphasised in a note on the social media platform X that in the opinion of this group, the opening of a new chapter in the relations between the two sides can be accompanied by mutual interactions in various fields.
This comes even as during the presidency of Donald Trump, the United States and the Taliban reached the historic Doha agreement. In the framework of this agreement, which was signed in February 2020, the United States committed to the gradual withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan, and the Taliban also made commitments to reduce violence and start intra-Afghan dialogue.
This agreement was signed after a phone call between President Trump and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the current deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban’s economic affairs, in order to end the 20-year war in Afghanistan and led to the withdrawal of American forces from the country.
The fall of the previous government of Afghanistan was one of the consequences of signing this agreement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban added in its announcement that this agreement should be the basis of the future relations between this group and the United States, and with the continuation of constructive interactions, the ground for the reconstruction of bilateral relations will be provided.
The Taliban's foreign ministry has also expressed hope that Trump will play a constructive role in ending regional crises and wars, especially in Gaza and Lebanon.
Despite the Taliban’s official ban on poppy cultivation, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reported a 19% increase in Afghanistan’s poppy cultivation for 2024 compared to the previous year.
According to the United Nations, the Taliban have struggled to control poppy production effectively this year.
The UN’s data indicates that the area dedicated to poppy cultivation rose from 10,800 hectares last year to 12,800 hectares this year. Published on Wednesday, the report highlights that most of this increase has occurred in Afghanistan’s northeastern regions, where the price of dry opium has surged to around $730 per kilogram.
The United Nations emphasised the importance of supporting Afghan farmers to reduce their reliance on illegal markets. “As poppy cultivation in Afghanistan remains at a manageable level, we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to help Afghan farmers build sustainable sources of income independent of illegal markets,” stated Ghada Fathi Waly, Executive Director of UNODC. She added that Afghan communities, facing severe financial and humanitarian challenges, urgently need alternative livelihoods.
‘Changing Geography of Poppy Cultivation’
According to UNODC findings, the geographical focus of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has shifted significantly. Until 2023, the southwestern provinces traditionally served as the primary poppy-growing areas. However, in 2024, 59% of Afghanistan’s poppy cultivation occurred in the northeastern provinces, representing a 381% increase in these areas compared to the previous year.
Efforts to eradicate poppy cultivation in Afghanistan face ongoing challenges. This year, Taliban forces reportedly used violent tactics to suppress several protests by farmers during poppy field eradication operations, particularly in Badakhshan province. In one instance, the crackdown on protesting villagers in Badakhshan resulted in at least seven deaths.
The protesting farmers criticised the Taliban’s inability to provide viable alternative crops, arguing that the destruction of poppy fields without offering sustainable income options would exacerbate poverty for many families.
The issue of poppy eradication and the development of alternative livelihoods was also a central topic at the recent third Doha meeting, attended by the Taliban and special representatives from regional countries. At the meeting, participants pledged to collaborate with the Taliban through specific working groups dedicated to the eradication of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.
Iran Human Rights reported that the Islamic Republic has executed three prisoners, including an Afghan, at the Isfahan Central Prison.
The organisation wrote that the prisoners had been sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic's judiciary on charges of murder and drug offences.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported on Wednesday, November 6, that the Islamic Republic authorities carried out the death sentences of these prisoners at the Isfahan Central Prison on Saturday morning, November 2. The organisation identified the executed Afghan as Moavin Mir Jahani and said that he was 40 years old.
According to Iran Human Rights, Moavin Mir Jahani was arrested and sentenced to death on charges of "drug trafficking and carrying weapons”.
Earlier, Iran Human Rights announced on November 3 that executions of Afghans in Iran have increased since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, and that 90 Afghans have been executed in the country since 2022. In the past month alone, 13 Afghans have been executed in Iran on various charges, the organisation said.
The Iran Human Rights Organisation said that the execution of prisoners convicted on drug-related charges has increased steadily over the past four years, every year.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has continued to carry out the death sentences of prisoners despite strong opposition from international human rights organisations.
