Taliban Commerce Minister Urges Afghan Sikh & Hindu Communities To Return

Anand Prakash, joint secretary for Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, said cargo flights on the Kabul–Delhi and Kabul–Amritsar routes would restart shortly. He said the air freight corridors on both sectors had been activated and that flights would follow “very soon.”

Prakash said the decision is expected to boost the flow of goods and strengthen commercial relations between the two countries. He noted that all formalities on India’s side have been completed and that New Delhi is now waiting for the required documentation from the Afghan side. Cargo flights will resume once the process is finalised, he said.

The announcement came during the visit of Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s minister of industry and commerce, to New Delhi. India’s Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the visit, saying it formed part of India’s continued support for the development and welfare of the Afghan people.

The move comes at a time when Afghanistan’s trade with Pakistan has been disrupted by recent border clashes. In recent months, the Taliban have shifted a significant share of Afghanistan’s imports and exports from Pakistan to Iran and Central Asian countries.

Television broadcasting in Afghanistan began in 1978 with the establishment of National Radio and Television under the Soviet-backed government, an institution now fully controlled by the Taliban.

Over the past four years, the Taliban, acting on Akhundzada’s orders, have sought to restrict or eliminate visual media. The group’s “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law bans the broadcast of images of living beings. Ratified by Akhundzada in July last year, the law imposes sweeping media restrictions and violates numerous civil rights, particularly those of women.

This June, a member of the Taliban’s Qatar office told Afghanistan International that Akhundzada had “never listened to the radio in his life, never watched television, and never engaged with modern digital media.” Other Taliban sources have said he occasionally listens to the radio but only rarely.

According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center, the Taliban have banned the broadcast of images of living beings in more than 20 provinces as part of enforcing the “virtue” law, a move widely condemned as a violation of free expression and an extension of the Taliban’s ongoing media crackdown.

In addition to banning imagery, the Taliban have imposed extensive censorship nationwide. All media outlets operate under Taliban surveillance and directives, and authorities in Kabul do not tolerate even slight criticism.

Human Rights Watch reported earlier this month that the Taliban have dismantled media and speech freedoms over the past four years. The organisation said Afghan journalists have faced waves of arbitrary detention, censorship, torture and forced self-censorship since the Taliban returned to power.

According to the report, the Taliban’s intelligence agency and the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue monitor nearly all media content, and even minor criticism of Taliban officials can lead to arrest or torture.

In an interview with Geo News, he claimed that “95 percent” of Afghans are tired of the Taliban and reject their system of government.

Criticising the Taliban’s response to the recent earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, Hussain said women were left calling for help while the authorities prevented others from assisting them. He alleged that Taliban members prioritised saving livestock over helping victims, saying this reflected “a medieval government in the 21st century.”

Hussain also commented on what he described as a shift in Pakistan’s military and security establishment, saying that for the first time in four decades, institutions had moved away from an ideological approach to Afghanistan. He said the conflict was no longer framed as a religious struggle but understood simply as a contest for power.

He argued that the Taliban have no real connection with the Afghan population, describing the group as “installed by the United States.” He claimed that when former ISI chief Faiz Hameed travelled to Kabul in 2021 and was given significant influence, Pakistan “became a viceroy implementing the policies of others.”

Hussain said Afghanistan’s current crisis dates back half a century to the overthrow of King Mohammad Zahir Shah. He argued that Zahir Shah had been the “axis of stability” in the country and said the Bonn Conference’s failure to restore him to power was a major historical mistake.

He further criticised Pakistan’s security institutions, saying they were paying the price for the miscalculations of former military leaders, particularly General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Faiz Hameed. Hussain said those leaders assumed the Afghan Taliban would cooperate on the issue of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, even though “there is no difference between the Afghan Taliban and TTP; they are the same movement.”

Referring to Hameed’s widely circulated photo at Kabul’s Serena Hotel, Hussain said Pakistan was perceived as having installed the Taliban regime, although he argued that “it was the Americans who brought them to power.”

Hussain concluded that even if the Taliban were replaced, Pakistan had no guarantee the next government would be friendly. He said the best policy for Pakistan was to “leave Afghanistan alone” and stop attempting to shape its political leadership.

According to a statement from the Taliban embassy in Kyrgyzstan on Friday, the two diplomats discussed strengthening relations, enhancing economic and trade cooperation and expanding diplomatic engagement. Regional connectivity and humanitarian assistance were also included in the talks.

The statement said both sides viewed the Taliban foreign minister’s recent visit to India as an important step toward developing bilateral ties. They also expressed hope that the visit of Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban minister of commerce and industry, to New Delhi would create new opportunities for trade, exports and imports.

Azizi travelled to India on Thursday and met several Indian officials, including the foreign minister.

The Taliban has deepened its outreach to New Delhi at a time when relations with Islamabad have deteriorated to their lowest level in years.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday Sandra Jensen Landi said the TTP, with an estimated 6,000 fighters, has become a major threat to regional stability and that some of its deadliest attacks are planned from Afghan territory.

Her remarks come amid a recent spike in attacks targeting security forces and government officials in Pakistan’s border regions, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of allowing TTP militants to operate from Afghanistan, an allegation the Taliban reject.

At the same meeting, Usman Jadoon, Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the country has lost more than 80,000 people and suffered billions of dollars in economic losses during its two decades of fighting terrorism. He claimed groups such as Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army were active in Afghanistan, receiving support from the Taliban and backing from India.

The Danish envoy also warned that extremist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda have expanded their online propaganda and recruitment campaigns, and said countering these efforts requires broad international cooperation.

Security incidents and terrorist attacks in Pakistan have risen sharply since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. In recent months, Pakistan has carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan targeting TTP fighters and commanders.

The continued airstrikes prompted a Taliban military response, leading to more than a week of clashes along the border last month. Both sides later entered negotiations, resulting in a ceasefire agreement.