Taliban Leader Signals Fear Of Collapse From Internal Discord

The review session took place while there is sharp disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over the evacuation and resettlement of former Afghan partners.

Democratic senators said the halt to evacuations and relocations for holders of Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) amounted to a betrayal of America’s Afghan allies who supported US forces during the two-decade war.

Republican senators, however, argued that the evacuation process was deeply flawed and posed risks to US national security, citing a recent attack in Washington, DC, in which two members of the National Guard were injured.

Following the attack by Rahmatullah Lakanwal, a former member of the Afghan military, scrutiny of Afghan refugees in the United States has intensified. Donald Trump has halted the relocation of Afghan refugees and the issuance of visas to citizens of Afghanistan and several other countries, saying refugees particularly Afghans would be subject to heightened security screening.

Alex Padilla, a Democratic senator from California, rejected Republican claims that security vetting was neglected during the evacuation. He said the Biden administration, despite the chaotic circumstances following the fall of Kabul, adhered to all required security screening procedures and that Afghans transferred to the United States had passed necessary checks.

Padilla said US service members relied on Afghan allies for nearly two decades in some of the most dangerous battlefield conditions, noting that they served as interpreters, intelligence assets and combat partners. He said it was unfair and regrettable to blame all Afghan allies or immigrants more broadly for the actions of one individual, urging lawmakers to avoid scapegoating.

Dick Durbin, another Democratic senator, said Afghan allies were re-vetted multiple times during their journey to the United States, a process that often took months. He said many had risked or lost their lives supporting American forces.

Durbin added that more than 70 percent of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan believe the US government has not done enough to support Afghan partners since 2001. He said US troops must know that when they rely on foreign partners in combat, the United States will stand by them after the war.

Chris Coons cited letters from about 1,200 SIV holders describing the harm caused to Afghan allies. He said one Afghan who served for eight years as an explosive ordnance disposal specialist with US special forces still fears arrest by immigration authorities and deportation to Afghanistan.

Coons warned that former US partners returned to Afghanistan would face severe Taliban reprisals, noting that the Taliban had killed a relative of one such ally. He said the United States must not abandon those who stood alongside it.

Republican senators countered by citing the attack on National Guard members and argued that thousands of Afghan refugees were brought to the United States without proper vetting. They accused the Biden administration of mismanagement and incompetence during the evacuation.

Ted Cruz said 13 US service members were killed during the evacuation following the fall of Kabul and that many Afghan allies were left behind. He argued that failures in security screening endangered national security and claimed more than 120,000 people entered the United States within days without full vetting.

Cruz said warnings over the years about security risks linked to unchecked refugee admissions had been ignored.

In a post on X, the UN agency said the funding will be used to provide health, psychological and social services to vulnerable communities, including people affected by natural disasters.

Japan’s embassy in Afghanistan also announced in December 2025 that Tokyo had allocated $19.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghans, saying it hopes the support will make a tangible difference in the lives of vulnerable people.

Since the Taliban returned to power, Japan has provided a total of $549 million in assistance to Afghanistan over the past four years, according to Japanese and UN agencies.

Residents told Afghanistan International that officers from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have increased their presence over the past week in busy parts of Herat and have detained women for wearing dresses that Taliban deem as inappropriate.

Local sources said that on Wednesday that Taliban morality police arrested several women in different parts of the city for wearing Manto. Witnesses said that before noon on the same day, Taliban officers also detained a number of women near Herat’s central hospital for not wearing the hijab required by the authorities.

One woman told Afghanistan International that she witnessed Taliban morality police beating a woman in the Pul-e Rangina area because she was wearing a manto.

According to reports, Taliban enforcers have deployed personnel at Pul-e Rangina, Cinema Square, Golha Square, Darb-e Iraq and other busy areas of Herat to monitor women’s dress.

The Taliban have previously detained and beaten women in Herat, including female health workers, for not wearing Burqa. Some women in the city continue to wear Arabic-style hijab and mantos, despite Taliban directives.

The Taliban have also barred women without Burqa from accessing government services in Herat city and in some districts of the province. Videos obtained by Afghanistan International show Taliban morality police preventing women from entering Herat’s central hospital because they were not wearing Burqa.

In earlier incidents, Taliban officers reportedly held several female health workers inside the hospital for hours until Burqas were brought for them from outside.

Kabulov’s remarks come after a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries at the level of special envoys was held in Tehran in 2025, which was attended by Russia’s representative. Russia also hosts the annual Moscow-format talks on Afghanistan, though it remains unclear whether those talks will be held in the new calendar year.

Russia is the only country that has formally recognised the Taliban administration.

In another part of his remarks, Kabulov said Russia and the United States have not held any direct talks on Afghanistan.

He added that as of December 2023, no communication channels remained between Moscow and Washington on Afghan-related issues.

In an interview with TASS, Kabulov also said Afghanistan’s banking system is currently unable to process Russia’s Mir payment cards.

Asked about the prospects for using Mir cards in Afghanistan, he said he does not expect this to happen in the near future, citing technical limitations within Afghanistan’s banking sector and the impact of international sanctions.

Previously, Gul Hassan, the Taliban’s ambassador to Moscow, said the Taliban administration was in talks with Russia on banking cooperation, including the possible use of Mir cards.

The Mir network is a Russian payment system created by the country’s central bank as an alternative to international systems such as Visa and Mastercard.

Responding to a question about regional instability, Kabulov said the Taliban are unable to influence developments in the region.

Speaking at a jihadi school in Kandahar province, Mujahid said the Taliban have placed significant emphasis on religious and jihadi education since returning to power.

He also claimed that the authorities have paid attention to modern education, saying about 12 million students are “engaged in learning modern subjects” in schools across the country. Mujahid added that the Taliban have “reformed” the national school curriculum, without providing details.

Since seizing power, the Taliban have prioritised the construction and expansion of jihadi schools, mosques and religious institutions nationwide.

International organisations and human rights groups have expressed concern over the rapid growth of these schools, warning that they risk promoting extremism.

The Afghanistan Human Rights Center said in a recent study that the expansion of Taliban-run jihadi schools has “negative and dangerous” effects on the thinking of young people.

The study, published last year, said the Taliban have altered school curricula and removed several key subjects. It also warned that the number of jihadi schools may be higher than official figures suggest.

According to the findings, the Taliban have built at least one large jihadi school in each province, equipped with extensive facilities and dormitories capable of housing up to 2,000 people. Additional jihadi schools have also been established in many district centres.

In Kunduz province alone, the study said, four large jihadi schools and about 800 religious schools have been established over the past three years.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have kept schools above the sixth grade and universities closed to girls for more than four years, a policy that has drawn widespread international condemnation.