Taliban Confirm Diplomats’ Visit To Europe For Refugee & Consular Talks

Kumar was declared “persona non grata” and forced to leave Kabul on 17 August, the sources said. He had served as a diplomat and officer with India’s external intelligence service in Kabul since the fall of the former Afghan government.

According to the sources, Kumar had met with anti-Taliban leaders during visits to Delhi and Qatar, where discussions were held about convening a meeting in Islamabad. That gathering, planned for 25–26 August, was postponed after senior Taliban leaders, including Abdul Ghani Baradar, Yaqoob Mujahid and Amir Khan Muttaqi, strongly objected. The Taliban also publicly criticised Pakistan over the initiative.

The sources said Kumar later explored the possibility of holding a similar meeting in Qatar or Dubai, as Delhi was unhappy about the prospect of such talks taking place in Islamabad.

Kumar returned to Kabul on 13 August and, two days later, reportedly met several Taliban opponents at a restaurant in the Shahr-e-Naw district. Taliban intelligence raided the meeting, detaining Afghan participants, the sources said.

On 16 August, Taliban officials summoned Indian embassy staff and informed them of their decision to expel Kumar. He left Kabul the following day for Delhi. The Indian embassy has not yet commented.

Despite decades of hostility, India and the Taliban have expanded contacts over the past two years. India handed control of Afghan embassies and consulates to the Taliban, while the foreign ministers of both sides have spoken by phone at least twice. India also invited the Taliban’s foreign minister to Delhi twice, though the visits were blocked by the UN Security Council.

At the same time, Pakistan has accused the Taliban of colluding with Delhi to support Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatists , allegations the Taliban deny.

Abdul Haq Wasiq, head of the Taliban’s intelligence agency, told Al Jazeera that ISIS no longer had a real base in Afghanistan and controlled no territory. He said recent attacks carried out inside the country or in the region had been planned from abroad.

Taliban officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring ISIS in its Balochistan province, though Islamabad argues that Afghanistan under Taliban control has become a hub for militant groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ISIS-Khorasan. Relations between the two sides have soured amid cross-border militant attacks.

Wasiq dismissed reports of fighters being transferred from Syria to Afghanistan as fabrications by intelligence agencies. He said such claims were intended to create mistrust, erode confidence and damage the Taliban’s political and security engagement on the international stage.

He maintained that Afghanistan was itself a victim of terrorism, alleging that militant groups maintained training camps abroad, purchased weapons on the black market and sent fighters to create instability inside the country. Wasiq warned that if regional and global powers remained indifferent or applied double standards to the issue, they would all face serious consequences in the future.

He rejected reports of intelligence cooperation with the United States, saying the Taliban had no partnership or formal agreement with any foreign power.

Wasiq also claimed that the Taliban’s intelligence agency had been “cleansed,” and that arbitrary arrests, torture and intimidation of civilians had ended. He argued that ISIS had become a tool of certain foreign intelligence services, and that some countries, by exaggerating the group’s presence and ignoring the transfer of fighters and funds, were inadvertently contributing to its growth.

His remarks came as international organisations continued to warn of militant activity inside Afghanistan. Pakistan has estimated that some 6,000 TTP fighters are present in the country, while Russia has raised concerns about militants arriving from Syria. The United Nations has also reported that al-Qaida has re-established itself in Afghanistan with several bases.

Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s envoy for Afghanistan, said he and his Tajik counterpart, Khisrav Sohibzoda, agreed on the importance of developing a joint and coordinated strategy to counter extremist threats. The talks took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, he added.

Sadiq did not provide further details about the proposed strategy.

Both Pakistan and Tajikistan have repeatedly voiced concerns about the spread of terrorism from Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power four years ago.

Following a recent suicide attack on a security forces base near the Afghan border, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused the Taliban of complicity, saying that "Taliban terrorists are celebrating with the blood of our sons.”

Pakistani authorities have long alleged that the Afghan Taliban provide safe haven to fighters from Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The United Nations estimates that about 6,000 TTP militants are based in Afghanistan, where UN experts say they operate training camps.

Tajikistan has also raised alarm about militant infiltration from Afghanistan. With support from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Dushanbe has announced plans to strengthen its Afghan border under a three-phase programme set to run over five years.

The UN agency stressed that conditions are even worse for those returning from Iran and Pakistan.

According to the report, since 2021 returning women’s access to essential services has sharply declined. Data shows that 21 precent of returnee women struggle to access clean water, compared with 14 precent among non-returnees. In addition, 22 percent face barriers to public health care, while 28 percent encounter obstacles to receiving legal services.

UNHCR said returning women are more isolated and face greater psychological stress. Only 19 percent said they have daily contact with other women, while 40 precent described their mental health as “very poor.”

Critical Situation for Female-Headed Households

The report said female-headed households carry heavier burdens. Sixty-one percent reported working long hours that damage their wellbeing, while food insecurity was higher than in male-headed households.

The absence of identity documents was identified as one of the biggest barriers to integration. Two out of three families said their members lacked property or civil documents. Requirements for women to be accompanied by a male guardian, along with limited knowledge of administrative processes, were cited as major obstacles to obtaining identity papers.

The report also found that women have minimal representation in local structures, with most decisions made by men. Returnee families reported facing more threats, denial of services and discrimination compared with host communities.

UNHCR warned that many cases of domestic violence and forced marriage go unreported, with women more likely to seek help from local elders or relatives rather than from courts or police.

Girls Allowed to Study Are Dropping Out

The report said girls’ access to education has declined significantly. Overcrowded schools, long travel distances and early marriage were identified as major causes of dropout. Under Taliban rule, girls are permitted to study only from grades one to six.

UNHCR said that addressing these challenges requires working with local councils and religious leaders, raising awareness, strengthening referral services, creating support networks, providing women-focused legal services and cash assistance, expanding psychosocial support, and creating livelihood opportunities in cooperation with the private sector.

Many international organisations have blamed the Taliban for this situation, stressing that the group’s restrictions on women’s education, work and freedom of movement have paralysed their daily lives.

Reports have consistently noted that Afghanistan is currently among the worst countries in the world for women, where the fundamental rights of half the population are systematically violated.

The group’s Supreme Court said 14 men in Kabul were convicted by a primary court of selling or smuggling narcotic tablets. Each received between 20 and 39 lashes and prison terms ranging from 10 months to three and a half years.

In a separate case in Balkh, a man and a woman were flogged for alleged illicit relations. The court said the punishment was carried out in front of local officials, court staff, soldiers and civilians, but did not provide details of the accusations. The Taliban deems any contact between unrelated men and women unlawful and has previously punished people even for phone conversations.

On Tuesday, the group flogged another man and woman in Laghman province for “moral corruption and fleeing home.” Over the past week, at least 31 people, including six women, have been flogged in public across Afghanistan, according to Taliban statements.

International organisations have repeatedly urged the Taliban to end corporal punishment and torture, but the group defends public flogging as an enforcement of Islamic law. The Supreme Court has not provided details on whether those punished had access to fair trials or legal representation.