Iran Approves New Regulation Banning Afghans From Some Provinces

Rahimizadeh said, "These statistics show an increase of 50 percent as compared to last year."

According to Iranian media outlets, the director general of Dogharoun Taybad Border Customs, referring to the transit of goods to this border, announced that this year, more than 451,000 tons of goods have been exported from the Dogharoun border to Afghanistan, which represents an increase of 33% compared to last year.

According to him, construction materials, gasoline and liquefied natural gas are among the most important items exported to Afghanistan.

He also announced the transfer of more than 804,985 tons of goods worth $3.31 billion from other countries to Afghanistan through Dogharoun, adding that this figure shows an increase of 150 percent in terms of weight.

Regarding imports from Afghanistan through this border, Rahimizadeh said that since the beginning of this year, more than 11,000 tons of goods worth $14 million have entered the Dogharoun border from Afghanistan. Oilseeds and building stones are among the items imported from Afghanistan to Iran.

The Director General of Dogharoun Border Customs described this border as a "golden gate" for trade and transit of goods and one of the busiest land crossings of the Islamic Republic in the field of goods and passengers.

He added that at least 4,000 people, including drivers, passengers, and employees of various administrative and service sectors, travel through the border daily, and more than one million passengers travel legally between Iran and Afghanistan annually.

The Dogharoun border customs is located 18 kilometres from the city of Taybad and borders Afghanistan.

The countries also expressed concern about the consequences of the Taliban's decision to ban girls from studying in medical institutes, especially mothers and infants – both born and unborn, both boys and girls – and will further destabilise an already fragile healthcare system.

A joint statement issued by the G7 and Afghan representatives on Friday, December 20, said that the Taliban's decision to ban girls' education in medical institutes will have devastating consequences for the country's citizens.

In a joint statement issued after the conclusion of a meeting on Afghanistan in Geneva, the special representatives of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union, stressed that the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls should be lifted immediately.

According to the statement, the meeting, which was held on Monday, December 16, was attended by the deputy of UNAMA, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, representatives of the World Bank and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation as observers.

The joint statement also said that long-term stability in Afghanistan requires a credible and inclusive national dialogue that leads to the formation of an inclusive, constitutionally-based system with responsible political leaders.

Representatives of the G7 and Afghanistan pointed to the ongoing threat of terrorism to Afghanistan's security and stability and reviewed the Taliban's actions to counter terrorist threats from ISIS. They stressed that the Taliban must take action to counter terrorist threats.

"Some terrorist groups are still living safely inside Afghanistan and are capable of planning and executing domestic and cross-border terrorist attacks," the statement said.

According to the statement, the delegates asked the UN Secretary-General to appoint a special envoy for Afghanistan to follow up on the process between Afghan actors and the international community to achieve peace.

They also stressed on the need for governmental and non-governmental humanitarian organisations to work in Afghanistan and the need to continue helping Afghans.

The report states that these courts must enforce the rights of retirees based on "Sharia and the law”.

Bakhtar News Agency reported on Saturday, December 21, that Hibatullah Akhundzada has issued a decree obliging the Ministry of Finance to regulate and implement the salaries of retirees.

Earlier, the Taliban leader had issued a decree canceling the pension system in Afghanistan. The Taliban has not paid pension to retirees in their more than three years of control over Afghanistan.

Over the past three years, retirees have repeatedly protested in front of the Retirement Treasury Department, the Ministry of Finance, and UNAMA to pursue their rights to withdraw salaries.

He wrote on social media platform X that issues related to Afghan refugees in Pakistan were discussed during the meeting.

Pakistan's special envoy for Afghanistan wrote on Friday, December 20, that the meeting was held at the request of Philippa Candler.

He did not elaborate on the details of the talks, but the meeting took place as the deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan continues, and concerns have increased due to the cold season in winter.

Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called on Pakistan to stop deporting undocumented Afghan refugees during the winter season. The organisation had warned that deporting migrants during the winter would endanger their lives.

The Taliban official called on countries not to interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

In an audio tape on Friday, December 20, the Taliban's deputy spokesman stressed that the group's commitments in the Doha Agreement are clear and they have adhered to it.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said on Thursday (December 19) that the Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which rules Damascus, must follow through on its promises to form an inclusive government and learn from the Taliban's isolation. He stressed that the rebels ruling Syria must take concrete steps to advance the country's affairs.

During the peace talks in Doha, Taliban officials spoke of changes in their views and promised to respect the rights of Afghan citizens, including women. After taking control of Afghanistan, the group reneged on calls for the formation of an inclusive government and respect for women's rights, and returned to the harsh policies of the 1990s.

"The Taliban portrayed a more moderate face when they took over Afghanistan, or at least tried to portray them as such, but their true nature was later revealed," the secretary of state told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

However, Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban's deputy spokesman, said that the recent changes that have taken place in Afghanistan are based on "Islamic law" and that other countries should not interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

He noted that the group's commitments in the Doha talks did not stipulate that other countries should interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham who recently took power in Damascus, says he does not want to establish a Taliban-style government in Syria. Ahmed al-Sharaa has said that unlike the Taliban leaders, he will not stop the education of women and girls.