Taliban Set to Launch Elite Boys School In Kabul

The Taliban’s Ministry of Education has announced plans to establish a special school in Kabul for high-achieving male students from across Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Education has announced plans to establish a special school in Kabul for high-achieving male students from across Afghanistan.
The school, to be named Sayed Jamaluddin Model High School, will admit top-performing students from grades 7, 8 and 9. In a statement released Thursday, 2 October, the ministry said at least 200 boys have already been identified and admitted, with a target enrolment of around 600 students.
Officials said the school will be equipped with modern facilities and is expected to begin operations soon. However, the ministry did not clarify the selection criteria or how the institution would differ from regular schools.
The initiative is limited to boys, as girls remain barred from education beyond grade 6 under Taliban rule.
The announcement comes amid sweeping changes to Afghanistan’s education system since the Taliban seized power. Science subjects have reportedly been scaled back in favour of religious studies, and many public school teachers have been dismissed and replaced with madrasa-trained clerics.

Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, said nationwide internet blackouts should never be imposed, calling them a violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.
His remarks came after internet and telecommunications services were restored this week following nearly two days of nationwide disruption ordered by the Taliban.
“Relieved to hear from people inside Afghanistan who are back online and reconnecting with one another and the world after almost 48 hours of darkness (longer for some),” Bennett wrote on Wednesday. He said cutting access not only disrupts lives but also violates the right to information.
Many Afghans were left without internet access for more than two days, a situation Bennett warned should never be repeated.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric also welcomed the restoration, saying the Taliban’s shutdown had harmed both Afghanistan’s economic stability and its citizens’ right to free expression and information.
The United Nations previously described the nationwide blackout as an additional crisis compounding Afghanistan’s already severe challenges.

Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the Taliban will not cede control of Bagram airbase to the United States, pushing back against remarks by US President Donald Trump about returning to the strategic site.
Larijani said any renewed American presence in the region would face fierce resistance and argued that airstrikes alone cannot topple governments such as Iran’s. He described US military campaigns in the Middle East and South Asia as “deadly for American troops.”
In an interview on Wednesday, Larijani said Washington, with Israeli support, may be able to harm regional countries but cannot maintain control over them. He cited Iraq and Afghanistan as examples where the US was ultimately forced to withdraw.
“Mr Trump said in an interview that we will take Bagram airbase, but the Taliban minister responded that not an inch of land will be given,” Larijani said, highlighting sharp disagreements between the two sides. He dismissed Trump’s threats, asking: “What does it mean that you must take Bagram airbase?”
Referring to the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, Larijani warned: “Bombing alone does not solve problems. Come down on the ground and they will deal with you. You cannot take a country just with bombing.”
During that conflict, Israel carried out heavy airstrikes on Iran, while Tehran responded with hundreds of rockets. US strikes also caused significant damage to Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump later announced the end of hostilities between Israel and Iran.
Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of returning to Bagram, warning of “bad consequences” if the Taliban refuse. He has described the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as a “shameful day in American history.”
The Taliban remain under pressure over Bagram, though it is unclear how Washington could re-establish a presence at the base.
Russia, China and Iran have all voiced opposition to any US return. Their foreign ministers, speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, said a renewed American base in Afghanistan would threaten regional stability and security.

Mahmoud Sayadat, head of the Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, said the UN “snapback” mechanism has little impact on Iran’s economic ties with the Taliban administration.
He stressed that the two sides remain “coordinated and aligned” on regional and global developments.
Speaking to an Iranian news agency on 1 October, Sayadat said the effect of the sanctions is minimal because trade with Afghanistan is conducted mainly through land routes. He called for improvements at the Milak border, which links Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province to Afghanistan’s Nimruz province, including opening a second bridge to ease cargo movement and boost Chabahar’s role in Afghan transit trade.
According to Iranian officials, annual trade between the two countries through the Dogharoon crossing amounts to around $3 billion.
The remarks follow the European Union’s 29 September announcement that nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, previously suspended, had been reimposed after the activation of the snapback mechanism. The United Kingdom, France and Germany triggered the process a month earlier.
A resolution put forward by China and Russia to block the mechanism failed at the UN Security Council on 26 September, leading to the reinstatement of all UN sanctions on Iran at 3:30 a.m. local time on 28 September.
The European Union subsequently said it would once again freeze the assets of Iran’s central bank and several major lenders, while also reimposing bans on Iranian cargo flights to EU airports. Measures preventing the servicing of Iranian cargo aircraft and ships carrying prohibited goods were also reinstated.

Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Hanzab, Qatar’s special envoy for Afghanistan, met in Doha with Yerkin Tokumov, the Kazakh president’s special envoy on Afghanistan, to discuss political, security and humanitarian developments in the country.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Tokumov’s visit but released no further details of the talks.
Both Qatar and Kazakhstan maintain close contacts with the Taliban despite not formally recognising the group.
At the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasised the importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan, saying inclusive development is key to ensuring long-term regional security.

A Taliban official said internet and telecommunications services were restored on the orders of the group’s prime minister, Mullah Hassan Akhund, after being shut down on instructions from Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada.
On 29 September, the Taliban administration cut fibre-optic internet and telecom services nationwide, disrupting government institutions, halting banking and customs operations, and grounding flights.
In Washington, US Congressman Tim Burchett wrote to President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, calling the blackout “a flagrant assault on the Afghan people’s fundamental rights.” He urged the UN Security Council to condemn the move in a resolution.
Burchett later said the Taliban’s actions suppress Afghans and deepen the country’s isolation. Taliban spokespersons have not commented on either the shutdown or the subsequent restoration of services.