Taliban Leader Calls For Unity In Eid Message, Avoids Mentioning Women’s Rights

The court stated that the person received 37 lashes and was sentenced to one year and six months in prison following a ruling by local judicial authorities, approved by the Taliban’s highest court.

Details about the trial process, including whether the individual had legal representation, were not disclosed in the statement. The flogging was carried out in public, a practice the Taliban frequently employs across Afghanistan for those their courts deem guilty.

Such punishments have fuelled widespread fear and intimidation among Afghan communities. International human rights organisations have repeatedly criticised the Taliban’s justice system, highlighting the absence of fair trial mechanisms under their rule.

In a Wednesday post on X, Bennett expressed solidarity with the athletes.

“I support the call by the Sport & Rights Alliance for FIFA to take a strong stand against systematic gender oppression and ensure that Afghan women footballers in exile, who are barred from playing in Afghanistan, can return to international competition,” he wrote.

The Sport & Rights Alliance had previously echoed this demand on X, pressing FIFA to address the discrimination that prevents exiled Afghan women footballers from participating. Human Rights Watch and other organisations have similarly urged FIFA and the alliance to facilitate their return to competitive matches.

In a recent letter, FIFA reaffirmed its commitment to monitoring the situation of women’s football in Afghanistan. The organisation stressed that supporting women’s football remains a priority and that it is exploring practical, sustainable ways to improve Afghan women and girls’ access to the sport.

In a statement, UNAMA chief Roza Otunbayeva stated that the Taliban disregards the Afghan people’s demands.

She added that the ban not only jeopardises girls’ futures but undermines peace and well-being for all Afghans. She warned that the policy exacerbates Afghanistan’s already severe human rights, humanitarian, and economic crises, further isolating the country from the global community.

The new school year began approximately a week ago, yet girls above the sixth grade remain barred from classrooms, a restriction enforced by the Taliban’s Ministry of Education since their 2021 takeover. The ban extends to universities, where female students have also been excluded for four consecutive years.

Otunbayeva highlighted the closure of girls’ schools as a primary obstacle to Afghanistan’s recovery. She said that it dims prospects for improvement and must be lifted.

The ongoing denial of education to Afghan girls has drawn widespread condemnation. Amnesty International, UNICEF, and prominent global figures have renewed calls for the Taliban to reverse the policy. Despite this, the Taliban has shown no willingness to relent, maintaining its stance amid mounting pressure.

Saleh cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s pledge to recover American weapons from the Taliban, suggesting it may be a symbolic gesture rather than a substantive policy.

"I do not know if it is just one of those headline-media slogans or if it will be backed by real actions," Saleh said of Trump’s call to retrieve weapons valued at £5.5 billion ($7 billion). He speculated that Trump aims to "publicly ride the Taliban once to show that they are under control, and then the US will start to tap them, hug them, and feed them more than before.”

Saleh, a vocal critic of the Taliban, claimed that nearly 100,000 NATO and US weapons have vanished since the group’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan. He said "We know their serial numbers and the location from which they went missing. The word ‘missing’ is strange. It can mean stolen, sold or simply sent to secret location for secret purposes."

Reports since the Taliban’s return to power suggest American arms are surfacing beyond Afghanistan’s borders. Pakistan has accused the Taliban of arming the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch militants, who are using these weapons against Pakistani forces. Similar claims have emerged from India, with allegations of US-made arms appearing in Kashmir.

Pakistan has repeatedly pointed to Afghanistan as a sanctuary for the TTP, a charge the Taliban denies despite evidence of growing insurgent activity.

Saleh also critiqued India’s warming relations with the Taliban, accusing New Delhi of sidelining Afghan factions that favour a pluralistic system. He suggested India is engaging the Taliban to mitigate terrorism risks or subtly influence the group’s structure. However, he warned that the Taliban’s inherent nature makes them a destabilising force.

This marks a stark shift from last year’s assessment, which referenced Afghanistan six times and the Taliban eight times.

The 2025 US Intelligence Community’s global threat report highlights Al-Qaeda leadership in Iran and its operatives in Somalia, Syria, and West Africa, but omits any mention of their activities in Afghanistan. This comes despite United Nations Security Council reports confirming Al-Qaeda and ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) fighters remain active there. A UN report recently noted senior Al-Qaeda figures in rural Sar-e Pul, Kunar, Ghazni, Logar, and Wardak provinces, with lower-ranking members residing in Kabul under Taliban protection.

The omission follows the US decision to lift a bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, and two other Haqqani Network members. The move coincided with a US delegation visit to Kabul, led by Adam Boehler, Donald Trump’s hostage affairs envoy, and Zalmay Khalilzad, former US envoy to Afghanistan. The Taliban subsequently released an American hostage.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Al Arabiya on Tuesday that discussions with Trump’s team included requests to control Afghanistan’s embassy in Washington and reopen the US embassy in Kabul. “We are awaiting their response,” he said.

The report identifies ISIS-K as a rising threat, describing it as the most capable South Asian affiliate for launching attacks abroad. It warns of the group’s efforts to expand into Central Asia, Iran, Russia, and the West, using online platforms to recruit and inspire attacks. Last year’s attacks in Russia and Iran, alongside arrests of ISIS supporters in Europe and the US, highlight its growing operational reach.

Al-Qaeda, meanwhile, retains its intent to target the US and its citizens, the report states. Leaders, some based in Iran, have sought to exploit anti-Israeli sentiment over the Gaza conflict to galvanise attacks against Israel and the US.

The report acknowledges the capabilities of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its historical ties to Al-Qaeda but stops short of addressing Pakistan’s repeated assertions that TTP uses Afghanistan as a safe haven. The UN has warned of TTP’s cross-border activities, yet the US assessment remains silent on the issue.

The Taliban insists it has suppressed ISIS-K in Afghanistan, yet the group’s Khorasan branch continues to stage attacks within the country. Last year, US intelligence flagged ISIS-K’s plans to target foreign entities in Afghanistan, alongside the Taliban’s restrictive policies on women and girls and its failure to address the nation’s humanitarian crisis.

The exclusion of Afghanistan from this year’s report raises questions about evolving US priorities as the Taliban seeks diplomatic engagement with Washington.