Taliban, Pak Foreign Ministers Hold Talks In Istanbul

The human rights organisation welcomed his release and emphasised that Saidi should never have been imprisoned for exercising his right to freedom of expression. Amnesty International also thanked supporters of its “Urgent Action” campaign, which had called for his immediate release.

Saidi, director of Anar Media, was arrested on 14 July 2024 in Kabul alongside colleagues Sayed Waris Saeedi and Hasib Sadat. While his colleagues were released the following day, Saidi remained detained and was later sentenced to three years in prison for alleged propaganda against the Taliban.

Reports indicate that he was held in an intelligence detention facility before being transferred to Pul-e-Charkhi Prison, despite suffering from serious health issues.

Saidi has worked in Afghanistan’s media industry for over two decades. He was reportedly targeted for writing a screenplay highlighting the denial of education to girls under Taliban rule. The screenplay was intended to become a critical film addressing education and women’s rights in the country.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center and the Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization had previously demanded his release. According to available data, more than 10 journalists remain in Taliban custody.

Amnesty International reiterated the importance of defending freedom of expression and called for global support for artists, journalists, and media professionals facing repression.

Speaking at the 51st session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul on Saturday, Dar stressed Afghanistan’s critical role in regional peace and stability.

Dar emphasized that Afghanistan remains vital to regional peace, while also urging continued humanitarian support for the Afghan people, the unfreezing of Afghan assets, and the enhancement of regional connectivity to help restore stability in the country.

He noted that Pakistan remains in active diplomatic contact with the Taliban administration and recently upgraded its diplomatic representation in Kabul to ambassadorial level.

Dar urged the Taliban to abide by their international commitments, emphasizing that they must fulfill their pledges on counterterrorism and respect for human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls.

Before returning to power in 2021, some Taliban representatives had pledged support for women’s education and employment during intra-Afghan talks in Doha. However, since seizing control, the group has banned girls from attending secondary school and university and imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s participation in public life.

The Taliban maintain that women’s rights, including access to education, are internal matters and have rejected external pressure on the issue. Nonetheless, regional actors, including the OIC, have publicly stated that bans on female education are inconsistent with Islamic teachings.

Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban have risen over the past two years, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban of harbouring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and Baloch separatists. In turn, the Taliban have accused Pakistan of supporting ISIS elements within Afghanistan.

Relations between the two sides have recently improved, aided by Chinese mediation. Last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted a trilateral meeting with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar to encourage greater cooperation.

The platform reports that daily overflights have risen from an average of 50 to approximately 280, as many airlines reroute to avoid Iranian airspace due to heightened security risks and ongoing conflict in the region.

During the first two years of Taliban rule, most international airlines avoided Afghan airspace altogether. However, those restrictions began to ease in 2023. Despite this, many carriers continued to opt for alternative routes, citing safety concerns.

The recent surge in overflights could become a significant source of revenue for the Taliban, who face acute financial constraints. The group reportedly charges a transit fee of $700 per flight, collected through third-party intermediaries. With the current traffic volume, this could generate more than $1 million per week.

Flightradar24, founded in Sweden in 2006, is a widely used platform that allows users to track real-time commercial flight paths across the globe.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Agriculture said Minister Attaullah Omari met with Russia’s Deputy Minister of Energy on the sidelines of the Russia 2025 Economic Forum to discuss potential collaboration on water infrastructure.

Omari praised Russia’s experience in dam construction and requested technical and engineering support to develop Afghanistan’s water resources. The two officials reportedly discussed deploying Russian engineers to assess project feasibility and the exchange of expertise on modern irrigation systems.

The Russian deputy minister reportedly expressed his country’s willingness to cooperate with the Taliban and confirmed that technical teams would be dispatched to Afghanistan to evaluate the proposed projects.

In addition to infrastructure, Omari appealed for Russian assistance in bolstering Afghanistan’s food security, specifically in supplying wheat to address ongoing shortages.

Relations between Moscow and the Taliban have grown steadily since Russia removed the group from its list of terrorist organisations. Taliban officials have increasingly participated in diplomatic and economic forums held in Russian cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kazan.

In a statement issued on Saturday, 21 June, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the report sought to create unnecessary concern and portray a negative image of Afghanistan. He asserted that security across the country is better than before and that citizens are living “peacefully” under the Taliban’s rule.

Mujahid accused the United Nations and other international institutions of consistently ignoring what he described as progress in Afghanistan. He argued that minor incidents are exaggerated in such reports and that ordinary criminal acts are wrongly categorised as security threats.

“The people should not pay attention to the propaganda of malicious circles,” Mujahid said, claiming that Afghanistan is now safer than many other countries and that over two million people travelled for leisure during the Eid al-Adha holidays.

The Taliban’s response follows Guterres’ strongly worded report, released on Thursday, 19 June, in which he warned that the Taliban’s restrictive policies have deepened Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis. The Secretary-General highlighted rising poverty, unemployment, natural disasters, and what he termed an “oppressive regime.”

He expressed particular concern over the impact of Taliban-enforced rules such as those imposed by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on women and girls. Guterres also noted that declining levels of international aid have worsened conditions for millions of Afghan families.

The report cited ongoing media restrictions, arbitrary arrests of journalists, and credible reports of torture and extrajudicial executions as violations of the Taliban’s promise of a general amnesty.

“The Afghan people cannot confront these crises alone,” Guterres stated, calling on the international community to remain engaged and to increase support for Afghanistan’s population.