Taliban Carried Out 215 Public Floggings In Three Months, Says UN

He said the gathering could be a positive step in the fight against terrorism, but Islamabad wants a written guarantee from the Taliban and Mullah Hibatullah.

Speaking at his weekly briefing on Thursday, Andrabi said Pakistan welcomes anti-terrorism positions, adding that any review of the resolution depends on receiving its official copy.

Nearly 1,000 pro-Taliban religious scholars from various Afghan provinces met in Kabul on Wednesday, 10 December, and declared in a resolution that no Afghan citizen should participate in battles outside the country’s borders. The resolution emphasised that the Taliban must prevent individuals from leaving Afghanistan to fight.

The Pakistani government has repeatedly said that fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attack the country’s police and military forces from inside Afghan territory, and has urged the Taliban to take practical steps to stop these attacks.

Rahmatullah Najib, head of the Taliban negotiation team, recently said the Pakistani delegation at the Istanbul talks requested a fatwa from Hibatullah against fighting in Pakistan. The Taliban delegation responded that Hibatullah does not issue fatwas. According to Najib, Pakistan must submit its request to the Taliban’s Darul-Ifta and should not expect fatwas to be issued according to its wishes.

Pakistan had previously asked the Taliban during peace talks in Istanbul and Doha to provide a written assurance that they would help prevent attacks by TTP militants. Islamabad stressed that this guarantee must be official and backed by regional countries in order to stabilise relations between the two sides. The Taliban refused to give such a written commitment, and the talks ended without results.

The head of Russia’s diplomatic mission in Pakistan added that Moscow is ready to expand counterterrorism cooperation with both Islamabad and Kabul. Khorev stressed that terrorism is a shared threat and that confronting it serves the interests of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and the wider international community.

In October 2025, armed clashes erupted along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border in what became the deadliest confrontation since the Taliban returned to power.

The Russian ambassador in Islamabad had previously stated that his country was prepared to mediate between the Taliban and Pakistan. Expressing concern over regional security, particularly developments in Afghanistan, Khorev said Russia supports efforts to strengthen peace and stability in South Asia.

Following the breakdown of Taliban–Pakistan talks in Istanbul, Moscow and Tehran held several rounds of consultations on managing tensions between the two sides. Iran had earlier announced plans to host a special regional meeting to address the crisis in Taliban–Pakistan relations.

Russia and the Islamic Republic maintain close political and security ties with both the Taliban administration and Pakistan.

Earlier, sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistani and Taliban representatives had held talks in Saudi Arabia, which also ended in failure. The negotiations in Saudi Arabia took place after the second and third rounds of talks in Istanbul produced no results.

Qatar and Turkiye, acting as mediators, hosted three rounds of negotiations between the Taliban and Pakistan. The first round was held in Doha, where the two sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid earlier confirmed the failure of the Istanbul talks. On 8 November, he wrote on X that the discussions with Pakistan in Istanbul had “led to no result.”

Mujahid said certain factions within Pakistan’s intelligence and military were obstructing the process and attempting to inflame tensions through “fabricated pretexts.”

The tribunal convened in October, where four prosecutors and more than 20 Afghan witnesses presented evidence on bans on education and employment, arbitrary detentions and the suppression of women’s protests.

The People’s Tribunal on Afghanistan’s Women was held over three days in Madrid, during which prosecutors and Afghan women and girls outlined allegations against the Taliban based on documented reports.

The accusations included gender-based crimes, denial of the right to education, exclusion from political and civic participation and the deprivation of women’s right to work. At the close of the three-day hearings, the judges said the voices of Afghan women had been heard and warned that the Taliban should not be normalised.

The tribunal’s final judgment is scheduled to be announced on Thursday in The Hague, the Netherlands, in the presence of Rashida Manjoo, Araceli García del Soto, Elisenda Calvet Martínez, Emilio Ramírez Matos, Ghizaal Haress, Kalpana Sharma, Mai El-Sadany and Marina Forti.

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem and other experts from various fields are also expected to speak at the event.

Women and girls who testified before the tribunal say they hope the ruling will help increase global attention and pressure to hold the Taliban accountable.

The statement, released on Wednesday, 10 December, to mark International Human Rights Day, notes that Afghanistan is not unfamiliar with universal human-rights values and was among the first states to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

According to the AFF, Afghanistan’s former government had joined seven of the nine core human-rights treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention Against Torture, the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, thereby undertaking extensive commitments to support and strengthen human rights.

However, the AFF says Afghans now live under a regime that is neither the product of the people’s vote nor adherent to any human-rights standards.

The statement says that four years after the Taliban takeover, the group systematically and routinely violates the fundamental rights of the population, including the rights to political participation, freedom of expression and access to information, as well as the rights to work, education, movement, communication and justice.

The AFF describes the situation of Afghan women as “unprecedented in modern history,” saying women and girls have not only been denied education and employment but have also had their human dignity openly violated. According to the group, Afghanistan is now the only country where women have been effectively removed from public life.

The statement also criticises the international community and the United Nations, arguing that policies such as political engagement, lack of transparency in humanitarian aid and a focus on crisis management rather than crisis resolution have effectively strengthened and prolonged Taliban rule.

Another section highlights the plight of Afghan migrants and refugees abroad, condemning mass deportations, mistreatment and clear violations of international refugee conventions.

The armed anti-Taliban group presents eight recommendations to the international community, including continued non-recognition of the Taliban; launching an international political process to transition away from Taliban rule; conditioning humanitarian aid; halting deportations of Afghan refugees; supporting media, civil society and women; establishing an international mechanism to document and investigate Taliban crimes; appointing a UN special representative for the Afghan peace process; and recognising gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

Amanda McGregor, Australia’s special representative for Afghanistan, noted that Afghan political groups have united around fundamental principles.

According to her, these principles include national sovereignty, democratic governance and the guarantee of human rights for all Afghan citizens, especially women and girls.

Writing on X on Wednesday, McGregor said that it is encouraging to see Afghan political groups uniting around fundamental principles for their country’s future; principles achieved through Afghan-led dialogue, including national sovereignty, democratic governance and the realisation of human rights for all Afghans, including women and girls.

She emphasised the need for continued alliances that include active participation of women and women’s groups.

Her remarks came after, on Tuesday, the High National Resistance for Salvation of Afghanistan, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, the National Assembly for the Salvation of Afghanistan and the National Movement for Peace and Justice of Afghanistan issued a joint statement during an online meeting titled “National Alignment of Afghan Political Parties and Movements.”

The statement stressed the priority of resolving Afghanistan’s crisis through dialogue and direct intra-Afghan negotiations. Coalition members called for lasting peace and the formation of a legitimate and inclusive system based on the will of the people.

The statement also underscored respect for human rights particularly the rights of women, ethnic groups and religious communities as well as transparent and effective management of humanitarian aid and measures to prevent its misuse.