Taliban’s Call For Opponents To Return Is Aimed At Silencing Dissent, Says Ex-MP

This marks the Taliban’s first public response to Trump’s decision to bar entry to citizens of 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The order is due to take effect on Monday.

In his Eid al-Adha speech on Saturday, Akhundzada said: “Citizens of 12 countries have been banned from entering America, and Afghans are also not allowed. Why? Because they claim the Afghan government doesn’t have control over its people. So, O oppressor! Is this what you call friendship with humanity?”

He linked the US travel ban to Washington’s role in global conflicts, accusing the United States of responsibility for the deaths of women and children in Gaza.

Criticising those who seek closer ties with Washington, Akhundzada said: “Some people are pleased with friendship with America and consider it a success.” He described the US as the “great oppressor,” claiming that “what it is doing today in Palestine is the same as what it did yesterday in Afghanistan.”

His remarks come as the Taliban continues to seek formal recognition and diplomatic relations with the United States. Taliban officials have repeatedly urged Washington to recognise their government.

Background on the Travel Ban

Trump defended the travel ban which covers nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan as a measure to protect US citizens “from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”

His administration argued that Afghanistan lacks a credible central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and does not have an adequate system for screening visa applicants.

According to the New York Post, one reason cited for the ban is the high rate at which Afghan nationals overstay their visas in the United States.

Although the ban includes certain exceptions for Afghans who worked with US forces, Trump suspended a key refugee resettlement programme in January, effectively halting support for thousands of Afghans who had cooperated with the United States leaving many in legal limbo and with no clear path forward.

The Taliban command in Paktia stated that the campaign to collect aid for the “oppressed and displaced people” of Gaza would continue. In a statement, it said: “The faithful people of Afghanistan consider themselves partners in the sorrow and grief of the oppressed people of Gaza.”

According to the Taliban, similar financial and humanitarian donations for Gaza have been collected in other parts of Afghanistan. However, the group did not clarify the mechanism or process for collecting and distributing the aid.

Several business owners in various provinces have previously reported that armed Taliban fighters forcibly collected money from them under the pretext of helping Gaza.

The Taliban’s fundraising efforts come as international organisations warn of a worsening hunger crisis in Afghanistan.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) announced on Thursday that about 20 percent of Afghan children approximately five million are facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that nearly 23 million Afghans are in need of humanitarian assistance. According to the agency, one in three Afghans does not know where their next meal will come from.

Meanwhile, several Islamic countries, marking Eid al-Adha, have announced that they will send sacrificial meat to support vulnerable people in Afghanistan. According to international organisations, since the Taliban took power nearly four years ago, poverty, unemployment and hunger have steadily worsened across the country.

The Taliban had earlier announced plans to develop renewable energy projects in the province, including the generation of 43.2 megawatts of wind power and five megawatts of solar power.

According to the report, the first phase will see the construction of a plant with a capacity of 43.2 megawatts, as part of a broader plan to eventually produce a total of 200 megawatts of wind power.

Emre Unal, commercial attaché at the Turkish Embassy in Kabul, said Turkish companies have invested around $7 billion in Afghanistan to date. He noted that this project marks the first time wind turbine technology is being introduced into Afghanistan by a Turkish company.

Unal added that Türkiye’s positive image among the Afghan population, trust in the quality of Turkish goods and engineering, and economic advantages including a young workforce and low business startup costs had created favourable conditions for expanding bilateral investment.

The Taliban officially launched the Herat wind power project on Saturday, 31 May, in a ceremony attended by Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group’s deputy prime minister. During the event, Baradar stated that the Taliban seeks to protect the environment by investing in renewable energy.

He emphasised that no obstacles remain to establishing an Islamic system and ensuring justice under Taliban rule.

Haqqani, along with other Taliban leaders, performed Eid al-Adha prayers at the presidential palace on Saturday. During the ceremony, he spoke about the Taliban’s return to power, claiming that it occurred without the backing of any foreign government, organisation or alliance, and was instead the result of direct divine intervention.

He argued that if the Taliban had come to power with foreign support, they would have been forced to comply with demands contrary to “Islam, and the Hanafi jurisprudence.” Haqqani stated: “Fortunately, we are not indebted to anyone and are not obliged to carry out others’ orders.”

For two decades, many Taliban leaders and commanders were based in Pakistan, and the former Afghan government accused them of waging war with the backing of Pakistan’s intelligence agency.

Observers also point to the 2020 Doha Agreement, which led to the withdrawal of US forces and the collapse of the Afghan republic, as a key factor in the Taliban’s return. Some analysts believe regional players such as Russia, Iran and Qatar also contributed to the group’s resurgence.

Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban have resisted international pressure,particularly from Western countries and the United Nations, to respect human rights, guarantee women’s rights and reopen schools and universities for girls and women.

Haqqani also claimed that the Taliban are not facing any active armed opposition in any part of the country.

However, reports indicate that the National Resistance Front and the Afghanistan Freedom Front continue to carry out guerrilla attacks against Taliban forces in northern provinces. The United Nations has confirmed some of these attacks.

In addition, ISIS has launched attacks against Taliban forces and officials, including the assassination of senior figures such as Khalil Haqqani, the former minister of refugees and former Taliban governor of Balkh.

Haqqani remains a senior figure within the Taliban leadership. Recently, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested an arrest warrant for him and the Taliban’s supreme leader on charges that include widespread human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

Hamid Noori, the city’s police chief, announced that the arrests were made over the past week. The detained individuals have been handed over to the relevant authorities for deportation, he said.

Noori described the detentions as part of a broader initiative to “enhance social security and promote public satisfaction,” and said the effort was aimed at combating crime.

Iranian authorities have recently stepped up the detention and deportation of Afghan migrants.

Fatemeh Mohajerani, spokesperson for the Iranian government, previously stated that under Iranian law, Afghan migrants with proper documentation are permitted to reside in the country, while those without legal papers will be deported.

Meanwhile, during recent Eid speeches, several Taliban officials called for an end to the mass deportation of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries. Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s minister of refugees and repatriation, urged neighbouring states to show patience and tolerance towards Afghan refugees.