Taliban Pressure Blamed For Postponement Of Opposition Meet In Islamabad

In a statement on Sunday, 24 August, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice said the land in Pul-e-Alam, the provincial capital, had been registered as “Emarati” or state-owned land during a meeting of its Committee for Preventing Land Usurpation. The ministry said the case concerning 1,406 acres has been referred to the central commission for a final ruling.

The Taliban have established the Commission for Preventing Land Usurpation and Restoring Seized Lands, tasked with reclaiming what they describe as state property from “land usurpers.” Officials claim large areas in Kabul and other provinces have already been reclassified as government-owned.

No independent body exists in Afghanistan to hear complaints from citizens who allege the Taliban are forcibly seizing private property under the guise of land reclamation.

Klobuchar is among nine senators backing the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act, introduced earlier this month after reports that some evacuees were facing possible deportation. Immigration officials have begun detaining Afghan refugees brought to the United States after the 2021 withdrawal whose asylum claims remain unresolved.

“We must stand by the Afghans who stood with us in the war,” Klobuchar wrote on X on Sunday. “Veterans are standing with our Afghan allies as Battle Buddies volunteers. Now Congress needs to step in and pass my bipartisan bill to ensure they can put down roots here and continue contributing to our communities.”

The legislation, co-sponsored by Democrats Klobuchar, Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen, along with Republicans Lisa Murkowski, Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy and Mike Rounds, would create a clear pathway to green cards for Afghans who supported US missions and were relocated after the Taliban takeover.

Many of those evacuees currently live in the United States under humanitarian parole. Some, however, have been told to return to Afghanistan. The Trump administration has argued that conditions in Afghanistan do not warrant further protection, citing security concerns to oppose expedited resettlement.

The bill follows another bipartisan proposal, the Enduring Welcome Act, introduced on 19 August by four House members seeking to revive and codify the relocation programme for Afghan partners.

In its report on Sunday, Bakhtar published photos showing only male ministers after Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp and several colleagues from the centre-right New Social Contract party stepped down over failed efforts to impose new sanctions against Israel.

Taliban-controlled outlets have repeatedly censored images of women, both inside Afghanistan and in their reporting on international affairs. Critics say the group’s media policy not only erases women from Afghan public life but also applies the same exclusionary rules abroad.

Since returning to power, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on media freedom. Women’s visibility on television has been sharply curtailed, with female presenters forced to cover their faces and cultural programming heavily censored.

In many provinces, images of living beings have been banned under a decree issued by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency reported on Sunday that the Ministry of Finance has started disbursing pensions. Radio Hurriyat said payments are limited to retirees whose documents have been verified by a special court.

Retirees have repeatedly staged protests in recent years over the Taliban’s failure to pay pensions, which were suspended after the group seized power. Under the former Afghan government, more than 160,000 retired workers received regular pensions.

In December 2024, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued an eight-article decree instructing retirees to submit claims through special courts in order to receive payments. Although the decree set out a process for handling pension cases, it was not implemented until now, leaving pensioners without income for four years.

In a statement, the AFF said two other Taliban members were wounded in the assault, which took place in the city’s first security district. The group also released a video purporting to show its fighters carrying out the attack.

Local residents told Afghanistan International that an explosion was heard in Taleqan around the same time.

The Taliban, which typically does not comment on attacks by armed opposition groups, has so far remained silent on the incident.