Two Ismaili Men Wounded In Armed Attack In Badakhshan

UNICEF expressed concern that snowfall has intensified an already dire humanitarian situation, while Taliban authorities reported deaths, injuries and the closure of major transport routes due to severe weather conditions.

Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas said two people were killed and 12 others injured as a result of avalanches and severe storms in the Do Shakh area of the Salang Pass. He said the Salang highway and several other major routes remain closed to traffic, adding that snow-clearing operations are under way in multiple locations.

Taliban officials in Herat also reported that the Herat–Kandahar highway has been closed to all vehicles because of icy conditions. Storms and strong winds continued in some areas on Friday, particularly in South Salang. The Taliban urged citizens and drivers to avoid travelling on impassable routes.

In a post on X, UNICEF said: “Heavy snowfall overnight has made an already dire situation even harder for children in eastern Afghanistan affected by the earthquake. We are responding with continued services, but the needs are growing fast, and more support is urgently needed.”

Heavy snowfall has caused widespread human and financial losses. Afghanistan’s state-run electricity company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, said on Thursday that the imported power line from Uzbekistan along the Pul-e-Khumri–Kabul route had been cut.

The Taliban said on Thursday that the nationwide death toll from heavy snowfall and rainfall has risen to at least 14.

In a statement released on Friday, the council said the move was deliberate and aimed at “distorting the image of Islam in the eyes of global public opinion”.

The opposition body said the penal code governing Taliban-run courts “openly violates human dignity and religious and sectarian equality”, warning that several of its provisions institutionalise discrimination and abuse.

Referring to the contents of the code, the council said the Taliban have imposed explicit religious discrimination by recognising followers of only one sect as Muslims and branding adherents of other sects as heretics.

It added that the code divides society in what it described as a primitive and medieval manner, “effectively legitimising slavery, defining women as concubines and husbands as masters and owners of women, and imposing a range of degrading and inhumane punishments on society”.

The council, which is made up of political party leaders and opponents of the Taliban, stressed that no group has the right, through what it described as a narrow, monopolistic and extremist interpretation of religion, to deprive others of their religious and human rights.

It called on the international community, particularly member states of the International Criminal Court, human rights organisations, the European Union and the United Nations, to act before it is “too late”.

According to a document obtained by Afghanistan International, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has endorsed the penal code, which contains 119 articles.

The code grants judicial institutions the authority to sentence opponents and critics to death. Under Article 4, Clause 6, citizens are even permitted to personally punish individuals if they witness what is described as a “sin” being committed.

The Taliban’s penal code also explicitly recognises slavery, using the term ghulam (slave) in several articles.

Johan Forssell called on European Union member states to agree on a common mechanism for issuing identity and travel documents to rejected Afghan asylum seekers and Afghan nationals convicted of crimes.

Forssell said the EU is unwilling to enter formal negotiations or political agreements with the Taliban, arguing that such steps would confer legitimacy on the group. However, he said member states should engage at a technical level to resolve documentation issues so deportations can be carried out more efficiently.

Speaking to The Associated Press on the sidelines of an informal meeting of EU justice and interior ministers in Cyprus, Forssell said that the deportation of Afghan asylum seekers is a major concern, because there are numerous cases in which Afghans have committed crimes in Sweden, yet deporting them is almost impossible.

He said similar policies apply to Syrian migrants but added that Afghan nationals are currently a priority for the Swedish government.

Unrecognised Embassies Complicate Returns

Forssell said Afghan nationals abroad are unable to obtain identity cards or passports because most Afghan embassies in Europe are not recognised by the Taliban.

He said the European Union’s delegation in Kabul has recently held discussions with Taliban officials on issuing passports and identity documents for Afghan nationals living in European countries, describing the talks as “a very positive first step.”

According to Forssell, EU countries are united in seeking additional measures to speed up the deportation of rejected Afghan asylum seekers and Afghan nationals convicted of crimes.

He added that more than half of Afghan asylum applications are expected to be rejected and said those applicants “must return to their country.”

The Associated Press reported that Magnus Brunner, the EU commissioner for home affairs and migration, also confirmed that EU member states are holding technical-level talks with Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to facilitate the return of rejected asylum seekers.

In a statement released on Thursday, the EU said it had signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to implement the programme’s second phase in cooperation with local partners. The EU said the new phase builds on the results and lessons of the initial stage.

The programme will support Afghan women across different stages of economic activity, including the establishment and expansion of small businesses, as well as access to financial and technical services adapted to Afghanistan’s social and economic context.

According to the statement, the initiative aims to remove barriers to women’s participation in the economy, improve access for women entrepreneurs to financial resources and markets, and strengthen income-generating skills.

The EU said the programme will promote “culturally appropriate and Sharia-compliant financial mechanisms,” alongside business development support, mentorship and market linkages.

The project will be implemented mainly in underserved provinces in central Afghanistan, where the EU says women’s participation in the labour force remains low and access to financial services is limited.

According to the sources, the guesthouse, which accommodates about 80 people, has been monitored for the past four days, with residents repeatedly questioned by Taliban members. Those staying there were deported to Afghanistan about two months ago after their Pakistani visas expired, despite holding German admission pledges, and were subsequently housed in a guesthouse in central Kabul.

The sources said the cost of accommodation is being covered by the German government.

Taliban interrogators questioned residents about their backgrounds, the timing of their return from Pakistan, the length of their stay there, their reasons for seeking relocation to Germany and the entity paying their expenses. Residents were reportedly barred from contacting anyone outside the guesthouse, and internal meetings among them were also prohibited.

The sources added that Taliban members have maintained a constant presence at the site, converting one room into an interrogation office. Families were filmed during questioning, and computers were confiscated.

On Wednesday, Taliban forces reportedly surrounded the guesthouse with 13 vehicles before entering the building.

The sources also said that four residents, including two LGBTQ individuals, went missing after the raid, and no information has been provided about their whereabouts.

Those staying at the guesthouse include former local staff of Germany, judges, human rights activists, women’s rights activists, LGBTQ individuals and journalists.

Separately, several Afghans holding German admission pledges including a family of seven scheduled to be transferred from Islamabad to Kabul were returned at the last minute to a guesthouse at Islamabad airport following intervention by the German government.

German media have reported that the security situation for Afghans with German admission pledges in both Kabul and Pakistan has deteriorated. Germany’s interior minister is seeking to reduce migration pressures while also grappling with commitments made by the previous government to Afghans promised admission.

Human rights activists accuse the German government of leaving Afghans with admission pledges in limbo and exposing some of them to the risk of serious harm or death.