Iran Confirms 10 Afghan Migrants Died From Cold While Crossing Border

Ahmadze denied the rape charge, claiming the sexual encounter was consensual.

Thomas Welsh, a judge at the High Court in Edinburgh, described the incident on Tuesday as “terrifying and violent”. Ahmadze was also found guilty of making threats and engaging in abusive behaviour.

According to his defence lawyer, Shaun Alexander, Ahmadze was born in Afghanistan and arrived in the UK in 2023 after what was described as a long and difficult journey.

Ahmadze told the court that he had joined the Afghan National Army as a teenager but was later arrested after the Taliban took control of the area. He said he managed to escape from a Taliban prison along with several other detainees, but was shot in the arm while fleeing.

The defence lawyer said a custodial sentence in the case was unavoidable, but warned that Ahmadze could face the risk of deportation to a country where his life would be in danger.

Police Scotland said in a statement that Ahmadze will now face the consequences of his action adding that they hope this conviction and sentence send a clear message that sexual violence has no place in Scotland.

According to the sources, the directive also bans the publication of images and videos from official meetings of government bodies.

On Tuesday, the spokespersons for the Taliban governor in Khost and the provincial police command informed local media that, under instructions from the Directorate for the Propagation of Virtue, they would no longer provide live images or video footage.

In recent days, both offices have halted the publication of live images on social media platforms.

Khost is the 24th province where the Taliban have formally enforced a ban on publishing images of living beings. The restriction is being implemented under Article 17 of the Taliban’s law on the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice.

Since the middle of 2024, the ban has been officially announced and enforced in 24 provinces, including Paktia, Kandahar, Takhar, Badghis, Helmand, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Farah, Nimruz, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Jowzjan, Zabul, Parwan, Kunduz, Bamiyan, Daikundi, Faryab, Panjshir, Laghman, Sar-e Pol, Balkh and Herat.

In a statement issued on Monday, a day after the conclusion of the visit by the Taliban’s health minister to New Delhi, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it would expand health cooperation with Afghanistan and continue humanitarian assistance.

The ministry also announced the establishment of a joint working group between the health ministries of India and Afghanistan to coordinate cooperation in the sector.

According to the statement, Noor Jalal Jalali, the Taliban’s minister of public health, met Kirti Vardhan Singh during his visit. The talks focused on health projects, the creation of cancer treatment centres in Afghanistan, the formation of the joint working group and the deployment of Indian doctors to support capacity-building programmes for Afghan physicians.

Jalali visited India from December 16 to 21 and toured at least 10 hospitals and pharmaceutical, health and food institutions. Indian officials offered what New Delhi described as positive assurances, reflecting efforts to deepen engagement with the Taliban administration at a time of strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

The visit followed recent trips to India by the Taliban’s foreign and commerce ministers, marking a noticeable increase in contacts over the past two months.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Jalali said medicines from Pakistan had previously accounted for 60 percent to 70 percent of Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical market. He said tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan had forced Kabul to seek alternative suppliers, adding that India had become one of Afghanistan’s main options for addressing shortages.

Jalali said the Taliban was seeking to open a “new chapter” of cooperation with India, particularly in the health sector.

The growing engagement comes amid heightened tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan, including repeated border clashes. During the dispute, Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, accused elements in Kabul of acting as proxy forces for India, an allegation made while Taliban and Pakistani delegations were holding talks in Istanbul to address border challenges.

Mohsen Abdollahzadeh, a board member of Iran’s Association of Pharmaceutical Distributors, said that despite a 50 precent increase in domestic drug production, Iran is facing a severe shortage of medicines. He said smuggling to Iraq and Afghanistan has become so extensive that traders in those countries are unable to import medicines through legal channels.

Abdollahzadeh described the smuggling of medicines from Iran to Afghanistan as alarming and warned: “If this continues in the same way, it could disrupt Iran’s pharmaceutical market.”

His comments come as the Taliban have announced a ban on the import of medicines from Pakistan following military tensions with Islamabad and the closure of border crossings. A Taliban deputy prime minister has warned that within about a month, Pakistan-made medicines will no longer be cleared through customs at Afghanistan’s ports.

Taliban officials have said they are seeking to replace Pakistani medicines with imports from India and Iran. Earlier, Afghanistan’s public health minister travelled to India as part of efforts to diversify medical supply sources.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Hashemi, spokesperson for Iran’s Food and Drug Administration, said he could not rule out the smuggling of medicines to Afghanistan, noting that price differences between Iran and regional markets have created incentives for such violations.

Hashemi warned: “If this situation continues, we will face temporary shortages of medicines in Iran, and this will put additional pressure on the supply chain.”

However, he rejected claims of “widespread” drug smuggling from Iran to Afghanistan, saying available evidence points to limited cases rather than large-scale trafficking.

The Food and Drug Administration spokesperson also announced an agreement with Taliban authorities to expand official pharmaceutical exports to Afghanistan. He said the aim is to meet Afghanistan’s medical needs through transparent and legal channels while preventing illegal imports and smuggling.

According to the court, 1,163 individuals were jailed in the last three months. Taliban military courts handle cases involving personnel serving in military roles within the Taliban administration.

The figures were published in a report by the security and executive directorate of the Taliban Supreme Court. The report did not specify the alleged crimes, charges, length of sentences, identities of those imprisoned or the locations where they are being held.

The report said Taliban military courts also issued thousands of summonses, with some individuals reportedly contacted by telephone and ordered to appear before Taliban military and judicial authorities.

Taliban military courts have jurisdiction over cases involving employees of the ministries of defence, interior and intelligence.

In previous years, Taliban courts have tried cases involving allegations such as kidnapping, document forgery, murder and abuse of authority. In many cases, however, the Taliban have released little information about defendants, their positions, judicial proceedings or the rulings issued.