China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, discussed regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East, during talks in Riyadh.
According to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang met Prince Faisal on Sunday, 14 December, on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the China–Saudi Arabia Joint High-Level Committee.
During the meeting, Wang said China supports Saudi Arabia playing a more prominent role in regional and international affairs. No further details were released about the ministers’ discussions specifically on Afghanistan.
China has not formally recognised the Taliban administration but has been among the first countries to establish broad diplomatic and economic relations with it since the group returned to power.
Saudi Arabia has also not recognised the Taliban administration. However, over the past two decades particularly since the collapse of Afghanistan’s former government and the sharp decline in international assistance Riyadh has continued to provide humanitarian and relief aid to Afghanistan.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has urged members of the group to “recognise their limits and authority” after assuming office, warning against discord, negligence and arbitrary conduct.
His remarks follow comments by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, who recently said the group governs through humiliation, violence, fear and intimidation.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, published the text of Akhundzada’s speech on X on Tuesday, 16 December. The speech was delivered at a seminar in Kandahar.
Akhundzada called on officials across Taliban institutions to carry out their duties in accordance with what he described as Sharia law, and urged them not to discriminate between the poor and the wealthy in their decisions and conduct.
He said officials must understand the rights people have over them and the responsibilities they have assumed. According to Akhundzada, anyone who accepts a position of authority is obliged to receive proper training and act with awareness.
Although Akhundzada did not name any individual, his remarks followed statements made last week by Haqqani in Khost province, where the interior minister said a government that rules people through “fear and force” is not a real government.
In what appeared to be an implicit admission, Haqqani acknowledged that the Taliban relies on humiliation, violence and the creation of fear to govern. “A government that rules people only through intimidation is not a government,” he said. “Between the people and a good government, there must be a bond of affection and trust.”
Haqqani’s comments prompted reactions, particularly among figures loyal to Akhundzada.
Prisoners Must Not Be Tortured
In his speech, Akhundzada also addressed the treatment of prisoners, saying detainees must not be tortured and should not be punished without a court order. He instructed officials to provide opportunities for education to those in custody.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly criticised the Taliban for widespread repression and what they describe as a suffocating environment in Afghanistan.
Human Rights Watch has reported that Taliban forces have detained critics, journalists and individuals accused of links to opposition groups, citing allegations of torture and ill-treatment. Amnesty International has also documented arbitrary arrests, torture in detention centres and the treatment of protesters and activists in its reporting on Afghanistan.
Yaqoob Sheikh who has been described as having links to Lashkar-e-Taiba has warned the Taliban that if they fail to guarantee Afghan territory will not be used against Pakistan, his party will stand alongside the country’s army.
In a video message circulated on social media, Sheikh said his group was ready to make “any sacrifice” to defend Pakistan. “We are prepared to sacrifice everything for the defence of our beloved homeland,” he said.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh in 2012 for his membership of the central council of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba group in Pakistan.
The Markazi Muslim League, where Sheikh is a senior leader, was formed after the banning of Jamaat-ud-Dawa and later Milli Muslim League, both widely regarded as political fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba. Several leaders from those banned organisations are now active under the Markazi Muslim League banner in different parts of Pakistan.
Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded in Pakistan in the 1980s under the leadership of Hafiz Saeed, following a Salafi Islamist ideology. The group has primarily focused on attacks against India, particularly in the disputed Kashmir region.
Sheikh welcomed Pakistan army chief Gen Asim Munir’s move to mobilise clerics for the defence of the country, saying the step had earned Munir the trust and respect of Pakistan’s religious scholars.
He also referred to a recent gathering of Taliban clerics in Afghanistan, saying Afghan religious scholars had “issued a fatwa stating that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorism against any country.” The remarks appeared to refer to a meeting at which Taliban-aligned clerics opposed the use of Afghan territory by foreign militants and declared it impermissible for Afghans to take part in wars against other countries.
Sheikh praised what he described as the “sacrifices of the Pakistani army,” adding that every country has the right to exceed certain limits in self-defence.
He said the Afghan Taliban must declare that “not even a single bullet will be fired from Afghan soil towards Pakistan.” If such a guarantee were provided, he said, Pakistan’s clerics would be “appreciative” and relations between Kabul and Islamabad would improve.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and allowing them to plan and carry out attacks on Pakistani territory from Afghanistan. The Taliban have consistently denied the allegations.
Sheikh’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban and suggest that Islamabad’s military leadership is seeking to mobilise religious narratives and militant-linked networks to increase pressure on the Taliban. Pakistan has demanded a written guarantee from the Taliban that TTP militants will not use Afghan territory to launch attacks.
Several rounds of talks between the Taliban and Pakistan, held in Qatar, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, have failed to resolve the dispute or produce a lasting agreement. In recent months, border clashes between the two sides have left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.
About 1,000 Afghan refugees have taken the first formal step towards filing a lawsuit against the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the disclosure and mishandling of their personal data.
The law firm Barings, which is representing the claimants, is seeking £50,000 in compensation for each client.
Robert Whitehead, the firm’s owner, said a letter before legal action has been sent to the MoD. He said the firm has evidence that some individuals whose data was exposed, or people connected to them, have been killed, while others have been extorted by the Taliban through threats against their relatives.
“It was the MoD’s responsibility to protect the data,” Whitehead said.
The legal action follows an unprecedented incident in which the Ministry of Defence accidentally disclosed the personal details of Afghans who had applied for relocation to Britain because they feared reprisals from the Taliban.
The database contained the personal information of about 25,000 Afghan applicants and their family members, as well as details of some British special forces personnel. In February 2022, a British soldier inadvertently released the data. The breach remained undetected until August 2023.
In response, the UK government established a confidential immigration scheme for those affected, known as the Afghan Response Route. Under the scheme, 7,355 people have arrived in the UK or are expected to do so. However, the route was closed to other victims of the breach in July.
Among Barings’ clients are highly vulnerable individuals, including former members of Afghan special forces who worked closely with the UK before the Taliban returned to power. Other claimants include former police officers and members of Afghanistan’s judicial system.
Adnan Malik, Barings’ data protection officer, said the firm has seen videos showing armed groups ransacking homes and searching for people who cooperated with Western forces. He said one client reported that his brother, a former Afghan police officer, was recently killed, which the firm believes was a direct result of the data breach.
In another case, Malik said a former senior Afghan army officer now living in the UK reported being forced to pay the Taliban to keep his son alive.
Criticising the MoD’s handling of the case, Malik said it was “very strange” that the ministry warned during several court hearings that lives were at risk, before later saying that lives were not at risk.
The Ministry of Defence has previously said that simply having a person’s name on the spreadsheet was highly unlikely to be sufficient reason for them to be targeted. The ministry has said it will “robustly defend against any legal action or compensation claims.”
The United Kingdom has advised its citizens against all travel to Afghanistan, citing heightened military tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan and an increasingly unstable security situation.
In an updated travel advisory issued on Monday, the UK Foreign Office warned that violent clashes have occurred in border areas with Pakistan and that the overall security environment in Afghanistan remains volatile. The advisory also said the risk of detention of British nationals in Afghanistan has increased.
London noted that several border crossings in Afghanistan remain closed.
The advisory stated: “If you are a British national and you are detained in Afghanistan, you could face months or years of imprisonment.”
The Foreign Office stressed that its ability to assist British citizens detained in Afghanistan is extremely limited and that it cannot provide essential support inside the country.
It warned that any British nationals who choose to travel to Afghanistan despite the advice should carefully assess the risks, review their destinations and ensure they have appropriate travel insurance.
Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan have sharply deteriorated in recent months, leading to deadly border clashes. The United Nations has previously reported that at least 50 civilians were killed and 453 others wounded in clashes between Taliban forces and Pakistani forces between 10 and 17 October.
According to the UN report, most of the casualties resulted from airstrikes and cross-border shelling in Spin Boldak and Kabul.
Iran said Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries and Russia, meeting in Tehran, have called on the Taliban and Pakistan to return to negotiations and resolve their differences through diplomatic means.
In a statement on the meeting, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Afghanistan’s neighbours and Russia supported efforts to de-escalate tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan and expressed readiness to help strengthen those efforts.
The statement added that regional countries are prepared to assist in promoting stability in Afghanistan if requested by authorities in Kabul.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said participants emphasised the need for greater regional convergence to address existing issues and challenges, including those related to Afghanistan. The statement, released on Monday, said Afghanistan’s neighbours also stressed the importance of integrating the country into regional political and economic processes.
According to the ministry, regional countries, while underscoring ongoing security threats, expressed readiness to assist Afghanistan in combating terrorism and drug trafficking.
The Tehran meeting was held on Sunday, with the participation of special representatives from China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Despite Iran’s emphasis on consensus among Afghanistan’s neighbours and Russia, no joint statement has been issued so far.
The Iranian statement made no reference to human rights violations in Afghanistan, including restrictions on education and employment for women and girls, or the formation of an inclusive government.
Instead, participants stressed the need to strengthen economic and trade relations with Afghanistan to improve the livelihoods of the Afghan people. Tehran said countries at the meeting called on the international community to lift sanctions and release Afghanistan’s frozen assets.
The statement also urged countries considered responsible for Afghanistan’s current situation to assist in rebuilding the country and improving economic and living conditions without using aid as a political tool.
Participants further called on international organisations to support the return of Afghan refugees.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the second round of the meeting of special representatives of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries and Russia is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in March next year.
