Kabul Clerics Protest Taliban's Monopoly Of Power, Say ‘Afghanistan Is Not Just Kandahar’

The Taliban's Supreme Court said in a statement on Tuesday, January 28, that it had sentenced a man in Paktika to 39 lashes and six years in prison.

The court also announced that the group's primary court in Aliabad district of Kunduz province sentenced another person to one year in prison and sentenced him to 39 lashes.

Statistics from the Taliban's Supreme Court and statements by the group's officials in various provinces show that the Taliban has publicly flogged nearly 600 people and executed six others last year.

Despite strong opposition from international human rights organisations, the Taliban has continued to carry out corporal punishment of defendants across Afghanistan.

Afghan women are living "in one of the darkest periods in Afghanistan's history", and Afghan women's lives have turned into a nightmare after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the movements said.

In their letter, they called on the first lady of the United States to put diplomatic and economic pressure on the Taliban, support educational programmes for Afghan girls and women, and facilitate the refugee process for Afghan women.

More than 30 women's protest organisations and movements on Tuesday, January 28, in an open letter to First Lady Melania Trump, called for attention to the situation of Afghan women and girls inside and outside the country.

In this letter, the protesting women discussed the situation of Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban, saying that women's human rights have been violated in this country and they have been deprived of their basic freedoms.

The letter states, "The Taliban has issued anti-women decrees banning girls' education and depriving millions of girls of their right to education. This crisis will confront the future of the country with economic, social and cultural problems."

The protesting women also expressed concern about the situation of ethnic minorities and the Taliban's repression of Hazaras, Tajiks, and Uzbeks, saying that many families have been forced to leave their homes due to these pressures.

In this letter, the first lady of the United States has asked the US to put pressure on the Taliban using diplomatic and economic means.

Supporting the education of Afghan girls through the establishment of a special fund abroad, the establishment of online schools, and the support of refugees, especially Afghan women and girls, are other demands of the protesting women.

Women's protest movements have said that the United States can ensure the safety of women's rights activists in cooperation with international organisations.

The letter to Melania Trump reads, "We, Afghan women, are in one of the darkest periods in the history of our country, the world should not forget us. We need justice, support, and global attention. You can play a key role in attracting international support for Afghan women."

"We stand with our [Afghan] allies," he said when he arrived at the Pentagon in response to a question about the fate of Afghan refugees eligible for transfer to the United States.

Hegseth began his work as the US Secretary of Defence at the Pentagon on Monday, US time.

In an interview with reporters, Hegseth referred to the bracelet that belonged to a US soldier killed in Afghanistan and claimed that he wears it "everyday".

Trump's executive order to suspend all US immigration programmes has put the process of relocating US Afghan allies in a difficult position.

According to the Associated Press, there are currently about 15,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan eligible for transfer to the United States.

On Monday, January 28, CNN quoted Anna Lloyd, an official with the Task Force Argo, as saying that 3,000 Afghan refugees eligible for transfer to the United States are in a camp in Qatar and another 500 in Albania are waiting to travel to the United States. In addition, thousands more are still inside Afghanistan.

Lloyd also said that the suspension of US immigration programmes and the cancellation of foreign aid by the new US president has put Afghan refugees in third countries, especially the Qatar camp, in a critical situation.

According to the NGO Task Force Argo, Afghan refugees in camps in Qatar do not even have access to toilet paper and children's hygiene supplies.

Although Trump's US immigration programme has not been suspended, Lloyd said that most of these migrants are unable to travel to the US due to flight funding cuts.

CNN, citing two sources in the Trump administration, reported that discussions are also underway within his administration about what can be done to exempt Afghans who have helped the United States abroad from Trump's order to suspend US immigration programmes.

Outside the government, a number of US senators, pro-immigrant organisations, including the Argo and AfghanEvac Task Force, human rights organisations, and US war veterans in Afghanistan are working to resume the process of relocating eligible Afghan refugees to the United States.

Alireza Bekdeli said that recognition is a legal process based on international law and has its own characteristics.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with the Taliban's prime minister, foreign and defence ministers, as well as a number of Afghan businessmen, during his one-day visit to Kabul on Sunday. Araghchi is the first Iranian foreign minister to visit Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in the past three and a half years.

In these meetings, he emphasised that a new chapter in relations between Iran and Afghanistan will begin. However, this visit was also met with criticism inside Iran.

The Jomhouri-e Eslami newspaper wrote, "The supporters and encouragers of this trip either do not have a complete knowledge of the region and are not aware of the consequences and complications of the Taliban's rule, or they are lobbying and paving the way for the Taliban, or they are pursuing personal or group interests, and in general, they do not have a heart for Iran and Iran's national interests."

The newspaper strongly criticised the Taliban, writing, "A rebellious, violent, and backward group that lacks internal legitimacy and acceptance, and has destroyed all ethnic and religious groups and minorities, and does not respect the most basic rights of women, and does not tolerate negotiations, does it deserve a visit at the level of the foreign minister?"

In an interview with ISNA news agency, Iran's ambassador to Kabul responded to these criticisms, saying that interaction with neighbours is part of humanitarian principles.

"If there is a need for a reason for the relationship between two neighbours in the same apartment, the neighbouring countries should also look for reasons for their relationship with each other," he said.

He added that Iran's interaction with Afghanistan is based on securing the mutual interests of the people of the two countries. "The issue of recognition of the Taliban regime is a different discussion that should be addressed in its place," he said.

‘Situation of Iranian Women in Afghanistan’

Abbas Araghchi also met with some Iranian citizens during his visit to Kabul. According to the Iranian ambassador, most of the Iranians living in Afghanistan are women who are married to Afghan men and live in the country due to family ties.

Referring to the precarious situation in Afghanistan, Bekdeli said, "The economic problems caused by years of war and conflict have also affected the lives of Iranian citizens. We are trying to reduce the economic problems of these people.”

Iran has close ties with the Taliban, and in addition to expanding economic cooperation, efforts have been made to establish "intelligence channels" between the two sides. The Islamic Republic is concerned about the activities of ISIS and other opposition groups in Afghanistan, and the Taliban is also concerned about the movements of its opposition fronts in Iran.

However, the Islamic Republic has extensive influence over the Taliban government, especially in the group's leadership circle in Kandahar.

Expanding economic relations, managing border security issues, addressing the situation of Afghan refugees in Iran, combating terrorism and narcotics, and managing water resources are among the most important issues of Iran's attention in relation to Afghanistan.

According to an audio file provided to Afghanistan International on Monday, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, said that he had been "infected with a coronavirus-like disease" and that was why he had "gone to rest".

He did not mention that he left Afghanistan and went to Dubai after fearing arrest, but accused the media of spreading "false propaganda" in this regard.

Reliable sources told Afghanistan International on Monday that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had ordered Stanekzai's exit ban and arrest, but he was able to leave Kabul with the help of Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister. Apparently, he has become angry with Stanekzai because of his harsh and unprecedented criticism of the Taliban leader.

After the publication of the Afghanistan International report, Zia Ahmad Takal, a spokesman for the Taliban's Foreign Ministry, told local media, without mentioning the report, that "there is no disagreement among Taliban officials and Stanekzai has gone to rest".

In the audio file, Abbas Stanekzai said that he was unable to personally respond to the reports due to his severe illness. He also said that he had asked the Taliban's Foreign Ministry spokesman to respond to these reports.

In the audio message, he clarified, "There is no disagreement between me and the Supreme Leader. Everything is calm."

Abbas Stanekzai's harsh and unprecedented statements against Hibatullah Akhundzada about the "un-Islamic" deprivation of women's rights have angered the Taliban leader. Stanekzai said that the closure of schools and universities for girls is unjust and illegitimate.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for students of a madrassa in Khost Province recently, Stanekzai said that the Taliban has been "acting against Sharia" and had ignored the rights of 20 million of Afghanistan's population (women).

He strongly criticised the ban on girls' education, stressing that the Taliban's decision has no religious basis and only reflects Hibatullah Akhundzada's personal viewpoint.

He said that this decision has caused the world to turn against the Taliban.

Although there have been numerous reports of disagreements between Taliban officials and the group's leader over the ban on women's education, members of the group insist that all Taliban officials obey Hibatullah Akhundzada's orders. At least two senior Taliban officials, Sirajuddin Haqqani and Abbas Stanekzai, have warned of the consequences of the group's leader's policies, without naming him.