Pak Intelligence Delegation To Hold Talks With Anti-Taliban Leaders In Istanbul

The organisation welcomed the return of the Afghan women's national cricket team to the field after years of exile, calling it "great news”.

On Friday, January 31, Amnesty International supported the Afghan women's cricket team's match in Melbourne, Australia, saying that the Taliban must "immediately" lift "severe restrictions" on the rights of Afghan women and girls.

The organisation stressed that the Taliban must end systematic gender-based harassment in Afghanistan.

The Afghan women's cricket team recently played a friendly match against Women's Cricket Without Borders after nearly three and a half years.

The match, held in Melbourne, Australia, ended with the Afghan women's cricket team losing by seven wickets. However, some sports experts have called the return of the women's team to the field a "major victory" for Afghan women.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they banned all sports for women, among other restrictions. The members of the Afghan women's cricket team, who are based in Australia, have not participated in any official match since then.

Pourjamshidian said that smugglers in Afghanistan continue to maintain their drug stockpiles.

In April 2022, the Taliban banned poppy cultivation, as well as its production, consumption, and sale.

Pourjamshidian, however, said, "We are witnessing the entry of narcotics into our country [Iran] from the previous stockpiles that smugglers had in Afghanistan."

He recently visited Kabul with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, saying, "The issue of arms smuggling and terrorism is one of the most important issues we have with Afghanistan."

Mizan News Agency reported on Friday, January 31, that Pourjamshidian added, "During the visit to Afghanistan, the promotion of border security, Iran's rights, and prevention of drug smuggling to Iran were pursued."

In November this year, the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that the production of traditional drugs in Afghanistan has decreased, but instead the production of industrial drugs such as methamphetamine has increased. The ministry called the increase in the production of industrial drugs in Afghanistan dangerous for the security of the region and the world.

Abbas Araghchi traveled to Kabul on Sunday morning, January 26, along with a political and economic delegation, and met with the Taliban's prime minister, foreign ministers, and defence ministers.

This was the first visit of the Islamic Republic's foreign minister to Kabul since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021.

In a meeting with Taliban officials, Araghchi stressed that a new chapter in relations between the Islamic Republic and Afghanistan will begin.

After his visit to Kabul, Abbas Araghchi called the challenges to the Persian language, rights, border security, internal security of Afghanistan, security of Shiites, security of merchants, narcotics, terrorist groups and ISIS "very important challenges".

Nazari acknowledged the delay in the payment of employees' salaries, fluctuations in the value of the Afghani currency, and the suspension of the work of foreign institutions, but called it a "normal" phenomenon.

Earlier, Afghanistan International, citing reliable sources from government agencies, reported that the authorities had officially informed them that their salaries would not be paid in the next three months.

Sources also said that the Taliban has banned logistical procurement and purchases in offices.

Two days after the publication of this report, Latif Nazari, the Taliban's deputy minister of economy, posted a video of himself on the social media platform X and emphasised that the fluctuation of the value of the Afghani in the market, the delay in the payment of employees' salaries, and the suspension of the activities of foreign institutions are a "normal" matter and cannot create an obstacle to Afghanistan's progress.

US foreign aid, with the exception of aid to Israel and Egypt, was suspended during the first hours of Donald Trump's presidency. Hours after the suspension of these aids, the relative economic stability in Afghanistan was disrupted and the price of the Afghani currency reached 80 Afghanis.

Following the fall in the price of the Afghani currency, the Taliban took strict measures to control the market.

In the past few days, local sources reported the deployment of Taliban intelligence forces in Sarai Shahzada, the main currency exchange centre in Afghanistan. According to money changers, the Taliban monitors the exchange rate and conducts strict inspections of their cash registers and phones.

Money changers say that these actions of the Taliban have stopped the purchase and sale of dollars in this centre.

The Taliban also sold the dollar to money changers for 78 afghanis on Wednesday, but hours later, they forcibly auctioned it for 75 afghanis in the market, causing heavy financial losses to the money changers.

Following the sharp decline in the value of the Afghani, the Taliban's Central Bank has injected about $70 million into the market in the past week. However, money changers claim that the actual amount of dollars auctioned is much lower than the amount announced by the Taliban.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Thursday announced the official rate of the dollar at 74 afghanis and stressed that "the afghani has maintained its value and there is no need to worry".

Referring to polio cases in Afghanistan and Pakistan, she said that this measure poses a serious threat to the fight against polio eradication.

The head of the WHO's regional division stressed on the important role of US relief assistance in an online news conference.

Balkhi raised her concerns about the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organisation, adding that this issue will have a serious impact on vulnerable groups in Afghanistan.

The polio vaccine is vital for Afghanistan and should be used to prevent the spread of the disease, she said.

According to the World Health Organisation, at least 25 cases of polio have been recorded in Afghanistan in 2024. This comes as the Taliban claim that there are no positive cases of polio in the country.

Polio Free Afghanistan had announced on January 26 that a new round of polio vaccination campaigns will soon begin in 16 provinces of Afghanistan.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of all foreign aid for nearly 90 days.

This action has raised concerns about the spread of poverty, the strengthening of food insecurity, and the fragility of Afghanistan's health situation.

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan confirmed on Thursday that discussions on the matter are ongoing between Islamabad and Washington.

However, the spokesperson did not provide further details on the nature or progress of the discussions with American officials.

The refugee transfer programme was suspended following the election of Donald Trump as US President and the subsequent executive order halting the country's refugee admissions. As a result, thousands of eligible Afghan refugees remain in limbo in third countries such as Pakistan, Qatar, and Albania.

Many of these refugees have expressed concerns regarding their safety, citing their past cooperation with US institutions in Afghanistan over the past two decades. They fear retribution from the Taliban and have been awaiting relocation under the US refugee programme.

According to reports, approximately 15,000 eligible Afghan refugees are currently in Pakistan, 3,000 in Qatar, and another 500 in Albania, awaiting their transfer to the United States.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously announced that, under an agreement between Washington and Islamabad, the transfer of these refugees was expected to be completed by September 2025. Despite the suspension of the programme by the Trump administration, the ministry maintains that the agreement remains in effect.