Cannabis, Opium Still Dominate Drug Use Among Afghan Men, Says UN

Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban’s minister of higher education, made the remarks while addressing a graduation ceremony for students at a religious school in Paktia province. He said all laws and rulings issued by the Taliban administration are “religious and Islamic”.

His comments come amid widespread reactions to the Taliban’s new penal code.

Critics say the code is among the group’s latest efforts to institutionalise its preferred judicial system, which they warn could expand discrimination, repression and human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Nadeem, however, said the code is based on “Islamic law and Quranic rulings”. He added that anyone who questions the code could ask a mosque imam whether the law is rooted in Hanafi jurisprudence and the Quran.

Under the penal code, the Taliban describe their opponents as “rebels” and provide for the death penalty in such cases. The code also includes references to “slaves” in several provisions, which critics say amounts to recognition of slavery under Taliban rule. Articles 4 and 15 of the code address issues related to slavery and associated rights.

He said the long shared border between the two countries allows traffickers to “sometimes take advantage”.

Tajik border authorities said on January 30 that they had clashed with a group of armed individuals along the border with Afghanistan. Tajik officials said the men were smugglers and that three of them were killed in the confrontation.

Speaking to Afghanistan’s state-run Radio and Television, which is under Taliban control, Mujahid said the Taliban is trying to address border issues and prevent drug trafficking.

He added that the Taliban authorities and Tajikistan are “coordinated” and that smuggling would be prevented in the future.

Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said several weapons were seized from the smugglers in the recent clash, along with four bags containing 73 packages of hashish and opium.

Shida Mohammad Abdali, who was appointed by Afghanistan’s former government, said he was leaving Tokyo “with deep sadness” and was proud to have kept the national flag flying over the embassy until the final moment.

The embassy had continued to operate under diplomats appointed by the previous Afghan administration. It recently announced it would suspend activities following consultations with Japan’s foreign ministry.

According to the embassy, all political, economic, cultural and consular activities of the Afghan mission in Tokyo will be halted from January 31 until further notice.

Abdali expressed hope that the national flag would continue to fly at the embassy until a legitimate Afghan representative is appointed.

Some ambassadors and diplomats from Afghanistan’s former government have refused to cooperate with the Taliban or hand over diplomatic missions to the current authorities.

Japan is among countries that maintain engagement with the Taliban while continuing to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. Japan’s embassy in Kabul remains operational, but Tokyo has not recognised the Taliban administration or transferred control of Afghanistan’s embassy to the group.

Heather Barr, the group’s associate women’s rights director, said nearly a year and a half had passed since Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia pledged to take action, adding that the time had come for concrete steps.

Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands announced last year that they would bring a case against the Taliban at the International Court of Justice in The Hague over widespread human rights violations, particularly alleged breaches of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The United Nations and more than 20 countries have supported the move.

On Thursday, Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, said Canberra, together with international partners, would continue legal efforts over what she described as ongoing violations of the convention in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

She also condemned what she called the Taliban’s repressive treatment of women and girls and said Afghans were enduring one of the world’s worst protracted humanitarian crises.

The court said those punished were accused of theft and what it described as moral offences.

Despite repeated calls from international and human rights organisations to abolish corporal punishment and uphold human dignity, the Taliban have continued to carry out public floggings.

Taliban authorities say flogging is part of their interpretation of Islamic law within the judicial system.

The development comes as the Taliban’s new penal code outlines different punishments based on an individual’s social status. Under the code, if a religious scholar commits an offence, the response is limited to advice.

By contrast, the same offence committed by someone described as middle class is punishable by imprisonment, while those from lower social classes may face prison sentences as well as corporal punishment.