World Bank Report On Unemployment, Limited Investment 'Far From Reality', Says Taliban

The Taliban did not specify whether these refugee families returned to Afghanistan voluntarily or forcibly.

According to the Bakhtar news agency, 16 families returned to Afghanistan through Torkham, 28 families through Spin Boldak in Kandahar, 19 families through the Nimroz Silk Bridge, and 39 families through Islam Qala in Herat.

The Islamic Republic and Pakistan have increased pressure on Afghan refugees in recent months, detaining and deporting them.

After the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, hundreds of thousands of citizens sought refuge in Iran and Pakistan.

Observers said that Afghan refugees face serious difficulties in meeting basic needs and shelter after being forcibly returned from neighbouring countries.

The court wrote that the defendants were sentenced to 20-39 lashes. They have also been sentenced to one to two years in prison.

On Saturday, December 7, the Taliban's Supreme Court wrote that the defendants were flogged in the presence of representatives of government institutions, court clients, and the general public.

According to the Taliban's Supreme Court newsletters, the group has punished nearly 20 people with public flogging in the past week alone.

Despite the objections of international organisations to corporal punishment and torture of defendants, the Taliban has continued to punish them with flogging. The group considers the flogging of defendants in public to be an order of "Islamic law”.

The country described the Taliban's new decision as a "horrific violation of basic human rights”.

In a statement on Friday, the British government said that Afghanistan is "the only country that imposes such restrictive policies on girls' education".

"The recent decision is a tragic setback," the statement said.

Last week, the Taliban leader issued a decree closing all higher and semi-higher medical education institutions to girls. Mullah Hibatullah's decision has been met with widespread international reactions.

The British government called the Taliban's policies against women "oppressive" and warned of the long-term, threatening and serious consequences of this decision on the health and lives of people, especially women and girls.

The UK called on the Taliban to lift the ban and urged the international community to remain "united in their "resolute opposition to the Taliban's continued restrictions".

The British government stressed that it is "committed to its lobbying efforts in this regard" and called on other countries to make this issue a priority.

"We will continue to engage with the women and girls of Afghanistan, as well as the diaspora in the UK, on this issue," the statement said.

Earlier, a British MP also condemned the Taliban leader's decision, describing it as "immoral" and "short-sighted”.

The company wrote in a statement that according to the contract, Turkmenistan's electricity will be imported to Afghanistan through four routes: Andkhoy, Aqina, Badghis and Torghundi in Herat.

According to the statement published on Friday, December 7, the contract was signed during the visit of DABS chairman Abdul Bari Omar to Turkmenistan.

Afghanistan is not self-sufficient in electricity production and imports more than 70 percent of its electricity needs from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Iran.

A delegation of DABS in a meeting with officials of the Turkmenistan Electric Power Company appreciated the country's cooperation in importing electricity to Afghanistan.

According to sources, the Taliban's intelligence agency has announced that the ban was carried out for security reasons.

According to local sources, Taliban officials in the group's intelligence department have not provided further explanations about the reasons for the ban.

Bilal Sarwari, a journalist, also announced the ban in Kabul's Green Zone on his X social platform account.

In a photo he posted on his social media page, there is a sign in the corridor of one of the inns, "For security reasons, guests cannot spend the night in rented rooms."

Before the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, the Kabul Protected Area, known as the "Green Zone", was home to embassies of foreign countries, including the US embassy, and the offices of international institutions and organisations.

The Presidential Palace, Ministries of Defence, Interior, and Foreign Affairs were also located in this area.