Maintain ‘Positive’ Ties With India, Pakistan, Says Taliban

In response to the rising unrest, Taliban officials including the Minister of Defence, Mullah Yaqub Mujahid; the Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani; and the head of the intelligence directorate, Abdul Haq Wasiq, reportedly travelled to Kandahar. According to informed sources, the senior leaders met with Hibatullah Akhundzada to express their concerns about the potential consequences of the decision and urged him to reconsider.

The Taliban regime has been grappling with a financial shortfall following the suspension of US aid and reduced support from other international sources. As a result, many Taliban fighters and government employees have gone unpaid for several months, a situation that remains unresolved.

To address the fiscal crisis, Akhundzada ordered a 20 percent reduction in personnel across Taliban security agencies and civilian institutions. The move has intensified internal dissatisfaction and raised concerns about the cohesion and morale of Taliban forces.

Sources told Afghanistan International that the recent high-level visit to Kandahar took place three days ago, during which Taliban leadership sought to persuade Akhundzada to delay or suspend the staff reduction plan. It remains unclear whether he has agreed to revise the directive.

Under the restructuring order, a staggering 90,000 positions are to be eliminated from the Ministry of Education alone. In addition, a committee has been established to evaluate staffing levels across all ministries with the aim of further personnel cuts. The Taliban leader has instructed that support and service staff be the first targeted for dismissal.

A letter signed by Defence Minister Yaqub Mujahid and obtained by Afghanistan International instructs the Ministry of Interior and the intelligence directorate to begin the downsizing process by removing “unpopular and undesirable individuals.”

The Taliban’s official spokesperson has confirmed the group’s ongoing restructuring efforts, describing them as routine measures aimed at improving efficiency and streamlining government operations. However, internal sources suggest the morale of Taliban fighters has been significantly affected by the cuts and uncertainty surrounding future payments.

According to the ministry, the aim of these gatherings was to promote Islamic values, enforce religious principles, and foster cooperation with the media in accordance with Sharia law.

Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, the ministry’s spokesperson, made the remarks in a media statement on Saturday, coinciding with World Press Freedom Day. He emphasised that media organisations are expected to align their operations with Islamic guidelines and collaborate with the Taliban to implement Sharia.

Khyber added that the meetings took place across several provinces, focusing on ensuring the media’s adherence to religious standards and enhancing mutual cooperation. He stated that the ministry offers full support to media outlets that operate within the boundaries of Islamic principles.

Despite these claims, the Ministry of the Propagation of Virtue has been widely criticised for its role in suppressing media freedom in Afghanistan. Under the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic law, displaying images of living beings in the media has effectively been banned. This regulation has led to the suspension of visual media operations in several provinces.

Furthermore, restrictions have been imposed on the broadcasting of live programmes, and reports indicate that the ministry has interfered directly in newsroom operations in the capital, Kabul.

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the Afghanistan Journalists Centre released a report highlighting a 58 percent increase in violations against media freedom over the past year. Since May 2024, the centre has recorded 215 incidents, including 175 cases of direct and indirect threats and 40 cases of journalist detentions.

Amnesty International has also condemned the Taliban for their continued crackdown on freedom of expression, citing arbitrary arrests, torture of journalists, and ongoing media restrictions.

In a report published on Saturday, Hengaw stated that the identities of 118 of those executed have been independently verified. Among the executed were five religious activists and three political prisoners. The report also noted that four women were executed on various charges.

Of the total executions, only three were officially announced through Iranian state media or judiciary-affiliated websites. Additionally, seven executions were reportedly carried out in secret, without prior notification to the prisoners’ families or granting them a final visit.

According to Hengaw, 58 of those executed were convicted of drug-related offences, 47 for murder, five for religious activities, three for political activities, and four for other crimes, including rape, sodomy, and armed robbery.

The sharp rise in executions has sparked renewed concern among international human rights organisations over the lack of transparency and due process in Iran’s judicial system.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the court confirmed that the flogging was carried out in the presence of local officials, court staff, security personnel, and members of the public.

Over the past three months, at least 213 individuals including 169 men and 44 women have reportedly been subjected to flogging by the Taliban authorities.

On Thursday, a group of United Nations human rights experts issued a statement calling on the Taliban to immediately cease all forms of inhuman punishment in Afghanistan, including public executions and floggings.

The Taliban have defended such practices as part of the enforcement of “Islamic Sharia,” and have urged international organisations to refrain from interfering in what they describe as domestic judicial matters.

In a statement issued on Saturday to mark World Press Freedom Day, the human rights organisation stated that the Taliban have placed Afghanistan among the world’s worst countries in terms of press freedom.

Since the Taliban’s return to power, numerous media outlets have been forced to suspend operations for criticising the group’s policies, according to Amnesty. The organisation reported that the banning of political television programmes, restrictions on analysts and journalists working with exiled media, the arbitrary detention of journalists, and the silencing of independent voices have all contributed to Afghanistan’s plummeting ranking in global press freedom indices.

Amnesty also criticised the Taliban’s enforcement of the so-called vice and virtue laws, including a ban on broadcasting images of “living beings,” which has severely curtailed media production and freedom of expression.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, and several international organisations echoed these concerns, condemning the Taliban’s repression of media workers. UNAMA reported that journalists and media professionals face threats, arbitrary detention, and torture, warning that such restrictions combined with the country’s deepening economic crisis are depriving the Afghan public of access to critical information.