Iranian Political Prisoner Accuses Authorities Of Negligence In Afghan Inmate’s Death

The detainees include Sayed Munir Hadaf, director of Tasweer Weekly and head of the National Journalists’ Union of Takhar; Asadullah Timur, a local reporter; and Nasratullah Ebrahimi, a journalist with Ariana News.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Wednesday, 7 May, that the journalists were arrested two days earlier and transferred to prison by Taliban authorities. The arrests reportedly followed a chain of events stemming from an incident involving Timur.

According to the information provided, Timur had a verbal altercation with a tailor and was later threatened at gunpoint. He subsequently shared the incident on social media. The tailor in question is said to be the personal tailor of the Taliban’s intelligence chief.

Following the post, the Taliban’s criminal investigation department, allegedly acting on the orders of the intelligence chief, summoned Timur for questioning before detaining him.

Sources further report that Sayed Munir Hadaf and later Nasratullah Ebrahimi visited Taliban offices in an attempt to secure Timur’s release but were also detained. All three journalists were reportedly subjected to torture while in custody at the Taliban’s criminal investigation department. Their cases may now be handed over to the Taliban’s intelligence agency.

Despite repeated claims by Taliban officials that they respect press freedom, watchdog groups remain highly critical of the regime’s treatment of journalists. Amnesty International and other rights organisations have consistently raised alarms over the increasing threats, arrests, and violence targeting media personnel in Afghanistan.

According to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Afghanistan ranks 175th out of 180 countries, with a score of just 17.88 reflecting a severely restricted media environment under Taliban rule.

Previously, Afghan drivers were allowed to enter using a Temporary Admission Document (TAD), a one-year entry permit issued to facilitate trade and accommodate those lacking formal travel documentation, particularly individuals with tribal affiliations spanning both sides of the border.

New notices posted at the Torkham border crossing state that, from the end of May, all Afghan nationals must present both a valid passport and visa to enter and reside in Pakistan. The shift marks the end of entry arrangements that had enabled many Afghan drivers to work without standard travel documents.

The change comes despite earlier efforts to boost bilateral trade by easing border procedures for Afghan drivers. According to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, citing border officials, the temporary entry permits will no longer be issued or renewed.

In response to the policy shift, a delegation of local traders and drivers met with the Taliban’s consul in Peshawar, requesting that discussions be held with Pakistani authorities to reconsider or extend the previous entry system.

In a post on the social media platform X, Bennett stressed the importance of the issue, warning that equating Pashtun identity with support for the Taliban or assuming safety under Taliban rule is “false, discriminatory, and harmful.”

His remarks come in response to a report by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, which claimed that following a series of violent incidents involving Afghan nationals in Germany last year, Switzerland’s migration office had proposed a controversial plan to deport asylum seekers of Pashtun ethnicity to Afghanistan.

Reacting to the report, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration told Afghanistan International that it does not make distinctions based on ethnicity when assessing deportation cases. The office confirmed that deportation based on ethnic background has never been part of its policy.

The issue has sparked renewed concern among rights advocates and refugee communities, who warn against the dangers of ethnic profiling in European migration policy.

The announcement was made during Al Ketbi’s meeting on Tuesday with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs. A statement from Baradar’s office noted that the two sides discussed strengthening bilateral relations, with a particular focus on economic cooperation.

According to the Taliban, Al Ketbi also expressed the UAE’s interest in developing infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including railways and roads, a key priority for the Taliban regime as it seeks foreign investment to boost the country’s struggling economy.

The Taliban have frequently reported expressions of interest from regional countries in Afghanistan’s infrastructure and investment sectors. However, concrete details or timelines for the launch of such projects have yet to be disclosed.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad, Sadiq revealed that the Afghan Taliban are hesitant to confront the TTP due to fears that internal divisions could prompt further defections of their own fighters to ISIS. However, he confirmed that such defections have already occurred, with some Taliban members having joined ISIS, the TTP, and other militant groups.

This marks the first time a senior Pakistani diplomat has publicly admitted to defections within Taliban ranks to rival extremist groups. While Sadiq did not specify the motivations behind these defections, he highlighted the Taliban’s reluctance to act decisively against TTP elements operating from Afghan soil.

He criticised the Taliban for failing to address Pakistan’s persistent security concerns, despite diplomatic engagement including a recent visit to Kabul by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. “It seems there are internal disagreements among the Taliban on this issue,” Sadiq said, alluding to reported tensions between the Kandahar-based Taliban leadership and the Haqqani network over how to manage the TTP.

Observers suggest that the Haqqani network, which holds significant influence in eastern Afghanistan, continues to provide shelter to TTP operatives, a major point of contention for Pakistan. Sadiq stressed that the TTP remains not only a direct threat to Pakistan’s security but also a serious obstacle to stable relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Reflecting on the past, Sadiq said there had been an opportunity to address the TTP issue following Pakistan’s military Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014, which drove many militants from North Waziristan into Afghanistan. Some remained behind as sleeper cells, complicating efforts to dismantle the group entirely.

He also lamented that the TTP issue was overlooked during the US-Taliban peace negotiations in Doha, which culminated in the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Since then, militant violence has surged in Pakistan, with Islamabad claiming that groups such as the TTP operate freely from Afghan territory, an allegation consistently denied by the Taliban, who insist Afghanistan is not being used as a base for cross-border attacks.

According to Sadiq, the Taliban fear that cracking down on TTP may drive their fighters into the arms of ISIS-K, a rival extremist faction with whom they have a fraught relationship. “The Taliban control the cities, villages, and regions of Afghanistan, but they do not appear weary of war,” he said, pointing to ongoing instability and factional divisions within Afghan society.

Sadiq also disclosed that suicide bombers are sometimes trained in clandestine centres and then transferred or ‘sold’ to other extremist groups, further complicating the region’s security landscape. He noted that even under the previous Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani, the TTP was recognised as a threat to Afghan national security, and several of its leaders were apprehended.

In closing, Sadiq reiterated that Pakistan’s future relations with the Taliban government would hinge on their commitment to curbing TTP activity and ensuring Afghan soil is not used to stage attacks against Pakistan.