Uzbekistan Provides Soil Lab Equipment To Taliban

Recently, clashes between Pakistani security forces and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have escalated in the province.

The Pakistani army has announced the name of the slain senior army officer as Colonel Muhammad Owais.

Also on Wednesday, the Pakistani army announced that it had killed 13 insurgents in the South Waziristan region.

Earlier, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) killed 16 Pakistani security forces in an attack at a checkpoint in South Waziristan.

Pakistani officials have always said that TTP members have safe havens in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban, however, have rejected the claims of Pakistani officials.

Meanwhile, Pakistani army warplanes bombed several locations in Barmal district of Paktika province on Tuesday evening.

A Pakistani official told Reuters that Pakistani warplanes targeted a camp of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group. However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that at least 46 people were killed in the attacks, most of them women and children.

Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas, a spokesman for the ministry, said that the shipment included 1,000 iron coils from Bandar Abbas to Herat's Roznak station.

A spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Public Works wrote on Friday, December 27, "The shipment, which had started its departure from Chinese territory, arrived in Afghanistan via the Islamic Republic of Iran's rail network."

Haqshenas called the transfer of this cargo through the Bandar Abbas-Herat transit route "an important step in the development of Afghanistan's transit communications and connecting the country to open waters".

He also said that with the completion of the Khaf-Herat railway, new capacities will be created for the Afghan economy and will be the ground for the expansion of trade and transit in the region.

The project to connect Afghanistan to international waters through Iran's railway system began a few years ago. The work of this major project has been implemented in several phases since Ashraf Ghani's government.

Previously, Afghan traders had access to international waters only through Pakistan and the port of Karachi.

Pakistan's strictures have caused Afghan businessmen to transfer their trade through Karachi to Iran’s Chabahar port.

"We will not forget Pakistan's benevolence during the time of jihad, but we will not forget Pakistan's aggression on Afghan soil today," said Amir Khan Muttaqi.

Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Thursday, December 26, at a meeting marking the 45th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, that Pakistan had killed Waziristani refugees, including children, women and elders, in the attack on Paktika.

Muttaqi stressed that Waziristani refugees had taken refuge in Afghanistan ten years ago after the destruction of their homes by the Pakistani government and were now living in difficult conditions.

He called on Pakistan to not look down on Afghanistan. Muttaqi added that Pakistan "should know that Afghanistan is an honourable neighbour and has respectable people and politicians".

He warned the Pakistani government to look at the fate of the former Soviet Union and Britain in Afghanistan and learn from it.

The Taliban's foreign minister said that on the one hand, Pakistan sent its political delegation to Kabul for talks and on the other hand, the country attacked Paktika at the same time. He called Pakistan's move disrespectful to the Pakistani delegation.

On Tuesday, Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan affairs, had traveled to Kabul and met with a number of Taliban officials. On Tuesday evening, Pakistani warplanes attacked Barmal district of Paktika.

During the meeting with Abbas Araghchi, Bekdeli outlined plans to develop relations with the Taliban.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran wrote on social media platform X that Alireza Bekdeli, in a meeting with Abbas Araghchi, "presented a report on the scope of his mission and outlined the upcoming plans in the field of pursuing the development of relations and cooperation between the two neighbouring countries".

In a meeting between the Charge d'Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in Kabul and Interior Minister Iskandar Momeni, the importance of strengthening cooperation between the Interior Ministries of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Taliban was also emphasised.

Details of plans for developing relations with the Taliban have not been announced.

Although the Islamic Republic does not recognise the Taliban like other countries, it has close diplomatic and economic relations with the group.

Alireza Bekdeli arrived in Kabul on Saturday, November 30, for the official start of his mission. Upon his arrival in Kabul, he was welcomed by the Taliban's Foreign Ministry officials.

Alireza Bekdeli has replaced Hassan Kazemi Qomi by decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Qomi was the special representative of the Iranian president for Afghanistan affairs and introduced himself as the head of Iran's diplomatic mission in Kabul.

The Taliban said that one of the defendants was sentenced to 39 lashes and the other was given 29 lashes.

According to a statement by the Taliban's Supreme Court, the group sentenced the first defendant to five years in prison and the second defendant to two months in prison.

The Taliban has not commented on the identities of the suspects.

Despite international condemnation, the Taliban government announces the implementation of corporal punishment sentences against defendants almost daily.

Human rights organisations have repeatedly called on the Taliban to end corporal punishment of defendants.