New Taliban Consul General Appointed In Mashhad
Iranian media have reported that Noor Mohammad Mutawakil has been appointed as the new Taliban consul general in Mashhad, following the death of the former consul general.
Iranian media have reported that Noor Mohammad Mutawakil has been appointed as the new Taliban consul general in Mashhad, following the death of the former consul general.
Mutawakil previously served as head of ideological affairs at the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence.
According to reports, the legal and diplomatic procedures for Mutawakil’s formal entry into Mashhad are under way, and he is expected to officially assume his duties as the Taliban’s new consul general in the city.
Tasnim News Agency reported on Monday that Anwar Ahmad Nabil will serve as acting head of the Taliban’s consulate in Mashhad until Mutawakil officially begins his role.
Faizanullah Naseri, the former Taliban consul general in Mashhad, passed away in May due to a heart condition.
Abdul Rahman Habib, spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Economy, has claimed that more than 2,600 national and international organisations are registered with the ministry, with 820 of them currently active across Afghanistan.
According to Habib, 280 of the active organisations are international.
Speaking in an interview with Taliban-controlled Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), Habib said these organisations operate in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan, working in sectors including healthcare, education, social services and economic development.
The Taliban’s announcement comes despite earlier reports suggesting a growing crackdown on foreign organisations. In December last year, sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah, during a meeting in Kandahar, labelled foreign organisations in Afghanistan as “spies” and called for their closure.
Although that directive has not yet been fully implemented, hundreds of domestic and international organisations have ceased operations since the Taliban returned to power, citing funding cuts and restrictions imposed by the group.
In January, a deputy from the Taliban’s Ministry of Economy said that following the suspension of US aid to Afghanistan, the activities of at least 50 international aid organisations across 28 provinces had ended.
The Taliban has also imposed a range of restrictions on the operations of both domestic and international organisations, repeatedly ordering them to align their activities with the group’s directives.
There have been numerous reports of Taliban interference in the work of these organisations, allegations the group denies.
The increasing restrictions have forced some organisations to suspend or shut down their operations entirely.
Noor Jalal Jalali, the Taliban’s minister of public health, travelled to Iran on Monday morning to pursue health cooperation between the two countries, the Iranian embassy in Kabul said.
In a brief statement posted on X, the embassy said the purpose of Jalali’s visit is to expand health-related collaboration. No further details about the visit have been released.
In March, the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health said in a press release that Alireza Bikdeli, Iran’s ambassador in Kabul, had announced that Iran would soon resume construction of two hospitals in Kabul and Bamiyan.
Jalali has previously criticised the forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran.
The Taliban health minister has described the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from both Pakistan and Iran as a sign of those countries’ fear of Afghanistan’s progress. He said Afghan migrants face harassment, mistreatment and confiscation of their property in both countries.
Fawzia Koofi, a former member of Afghanistan’s parliament, has rejected the Taliban’s recent invitation for former officials to return to the country, saying it is not an effort at reconciliation but a calculated move to silence dissenting voices.
In a speech during Eid al-Adha at the presidential palace on Saturday, Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Hasan Akhund called on opponents including those who had worked with the Americans to return to Afghanistan. He claimed that the Taliban has declared a general amnesty and does not intend to harm anyone.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for Afghanistan, described Akhund’s message as a positive step.
Koofi, however, stressed that many former officials particularly former security personnel who have returned to Afghanistan have faced arrest, torture or execution. She said there is credible evidence of targeted killings of returning former security forces.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has confirmed killings of former military personnel.
In a report published in May 2024, UNAMA stated that despite the Taliban’s announcement of a general amnesty, the group continues to arrest, torture and kill employees and soldiers of the former government. Over a three-month period, UNAMA documented 38 cases of arbitrary detention, 10 cases of torture and mistreatment, and at least four extrajudicial killings of former government personnel.
The Taliban has denied such reports, dismissing them as propaganda.
The US State Department has also expressed concern over the Taliban’s retaliatory actions against former Afghan security forces.
Taliban officials maintain that the war ended with their takeover of Afghanistan and that security has been restored. The group has established a commission to invite opponents to return to the country. However, no major political figures have accepted the invitation. Aside from Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah leaders of the former government who remained in Kabul most prominent non-Taliban political figures remain in exile.
Political opponents of the Taliban have repeatedly stated that the group is not genuinely interested in dialogue or reconciliation, but is instead seeking allegiance. They have emphasised that under no circumstances will they pledge allegiance to the Taliban.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has condemned US President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, labelling the United States an “oppressor.”
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.
Coinciding with Eid al-Adha, the Taliban has announced that it has collected donations from residents of Paktia province to aid the people of Gaza. The Taliban police command in the province said 821,000 Afghanis had been raised so far.
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.