The Taliban on Sunday publicly flogged two people in the Pashtun Kot district of Faryab province after convicting them of having an extramarital relationship, the group’s Supreme Court said in a statement.
According to the court, each received 39 lashes and was also sentenced to one year in prison. The floggings were carried out in front of local residents.
Despite repeated international appeals to end corporal punishment, the Taliban continues to impose public floggings for so-called moral offences, reviving punishments reminiscent of its 1990s rule.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly criticised the Taliban’s judicial system, saying it lacks due process and that defendants are denied basic legal rights, including access to defence lawyers.
The Taliban is holding talks with Russia to explore connecting Afghanistan’s banking system to Russia’s Mir payment network, the Taliban’s ambassador to Moscow, Gul Hassan, said on Sunday.
Hassan told the Russian newspaper Izvestia that discussions are under way on allowing the use of Russia’s Mir bank cards in Afghanistan, with initial steps already taken toward implementation. He said the move would help expand trade and financial cooperation between the two countries.
The Mir payment network, developed by Russia’s central bank as an alternative to Western systems such as Visa and Mastercard, aims to facilitate financial transactions amid international sanctions.
According to Izvestia, one of the main challenges to launching the system in Afghanistan is the country’s shortage of ATMs and banking infrastructure.
Hassan said the Taliban needs unrestricted financial transactions to strengthen trade ties with Russia and attract Russian tourists to Afghanistan. He added that the project would mark an important step toward easing the Taliban government’s financial isolation.
Iran, which is also under Western sanctions, signed an agreement in 2024 to integrate with Russia’s Mir system.
Russia remains the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban.
The Taliban’s defence minister, Mullah Yaqub Mujahid, said the group does not consider armed groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to be terrorists, in contrast to Islamabad’s position.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, Mujahid said Pakistan and other countries use the label of “terrorism” for political purposes against their opponents. “There is no universal or clear definition of terrorism,” he said, adding that any government can brand its adversaries as terrorists to advance its own interests.
His remarks come after a Pakistani military spokesperson said on 10 October that militant attacks launched from Afghan soil pose a serious threat to Pakistan’s national security and warned that Islamabad would not remain passive in response.
Mujahid urged Pakistan to resolve its dispute with the TTP through dialogue, stressing that the Taliban will not allow any armed groups to use Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan.
The Taliban denies the presence of Pakistani militants inside Afghanistan and considers the TTP’s demands of Islamabad legitimate. Like their Afghan counterparts, the Pakistani Taliban have declared jihad against Pakistan’s government and seek to establish a Taliban-style Islamic state there.
The TTP has stepped up deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent months, while Islamabad has struggled to contain cross-border assaults and repeatedly called on the Taliban to restrain the group. Pakistan has warned that it will retaliate against TTP attacks launched from Afghan territory.
Mujahid also said the Taliban would respond to any attacks on Afghanistan by Pakistan or other countries. He expressed hope that upcoming talks in Türkiye, focused on establishing mechanisms for cooperation between Islamabad and Kabul, would help ease tensions between the two sides.
The Taliban’s defence minister said on Sunday that the Durand Line was not discussed during the recent agreement between the Taliban and Pakistan.
Speaking at an online press conference from Doha, Mullah Yaqub Mujahid referred to the Durand Line as an “imaginary border,” stressing that the issue “belongs to the nations.”
His remarks appeared aimed at addressing speculation among political observers over a clause in the agreement referring to “respect for each other’s territorial integrity.” Mujahid said the Taliban would not allow any party to violate Afghanistan’s sovereignty or threaten its security.
He described the talks with Pakistan as “successful,” saying both sides had agreed not to support opposition groups or engage in hostile acts against each other. He added that both countries pledged to prevent their soil from being used against the other and that neither would intervene if the other came under attack.
According to Mujahid, the negotiations lasted about twelve hours, after which both sides agreed to mutual respect, non-aggression, and the establishment of a “complete and lasting ceasefire.”
He said a technical committee, under the supervision of Qatar and Türkiye, would be created to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and to strengthen political and economic ties.
Mujahid also said the Afghan public had supported the Taliban during their conflict with Pakistan, asserting that “the people stood with us.”
Addressing foreign relations, Mujahid said the Taliban seeks “strong and friendly” ties with both India and Pakistan and warned that no country has the right to dictate Afghanistan’s foreign policy.
“We want relations based on mutual respect with India while maintaining good relations with Pakistan,” he said. “Our ties with India are not against Pakistan, and our ties with Pakistan are not at the expense of India.”
The agreement between the Taliban and Pakistan was reached on Saturday night in Doha with mediation from Qatar and Türkiye.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed the ceasefire deal, saying it would immediately halt cross-border terrorism from Afghanistan and that both neighbours had agreed to respect each other’s territorial integrity.
The Taliban’s ambassador to Qatar said on Sunday that talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Doha concluded successfully, with both sides agreeing to a ceasefire and pledging not to support each other’s opponents.
Suhail Shaheen wrote on X that Pakistan had agreed not to back groups opposing the Taliban, while the Taliban committed to refraining from supporting anti-Pakistan groups or attacks on Pakistani forces.
He said both parties also pledged to respect Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and to avoid targeting civilians or infrastructure.
Shaheen expressed gratitude to Türkiye and Qatar for facilitating the discussions and said the next round of talks between Taliban and Pakistani delegations would be held in Türkiye soon.
The Chaman–Spin Boldak border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan is expected to reopen for transit within the next two days, sources told Afghanistan International on Sunday.
A source said a 10-member delegation from Pakistan’s Chamber of Commerce met with officials from the Spin Boldak Chamber of Commerce in Kandahar to deliver a message about reopening the crossing, possibly on Sunday or Monday.
The deputy head of the Spin Boldak District Chamber of Commerce and Investment said he met with representatives from the Chaman Chamber of Commerce on Saturday to discuss the resumption of trade.
Local traders in Kandahar said the closure of the Chaman–Spin Boldak route has left thousands of cargo trucks carrying transit goods stranded on both sides of the border.
All trade routes between the two countries were shut down following recent border clashes between Taliban and Pakistani forces, bringing commercial activity to a halt.
A Pakistani official earlier said the closure of crossings including Torkham, Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan, and Chaman had caused millions of dollars in losses to traders.
Several Afghan traders in Torkham and Spin Boldak told Afghanistan International that Pakistani authorities have instructed Karachi port to suspend the loading of Afghan goods until further notice.
Afghan business representatives have urged both the Taliban administration and the Pakistani government to separate politics from trade and avoid disrupting commercial activities that sustain cross-border livelihoods.