Taliban Dispute Russian Concerns Over Threats From Afghan Soil

The monitoring team’s mandate expires on February 17. If renewed, the existing sanctions regime including asset freezes, travel bans and an arms embargo will remain in place.

The 1988 sanctions apply to individuals and entities associated with the Taliban who are involved in violence, arms supply, recruitment or other activities seen as threatening peace and stability in Afghanistan. Apart from a humanitarian exemption approved in late 2021, the regime has seen no major changes since the Taliban returned to power.

The United States has rejected most requests this year for exemptions from travel bans, according to diplomatic correspondence. In a letter to committee members last summer, Washington said it would review exemption requests on a case-by-case basis with increased scrutiny, arguing that the Taliban continued to use what it described as hostage diplomacy and had failed to meet counterterrorism commitments.

Following that stance, some countries have opted to notify the committee of travel by sanctioned Taliban members rather than formally request exemptions.

The Afghanistan 1988 Sanctions Committee is a subsidiary body of the Security Council responsible for overseeing implementation of the measures. It designates sanctioned individuals and entities, decides on exemption requests and reports to the council. The monitoring team assists the committee by preparing reports, making recommendations and reviewing the sanctions list.

The latest negotiations on the monitoring team’s mandate were held in December 2024 and resulted in an extension of the mandate, keeping the Taliban under sanctions.

Issues cited by diplomats as factors in favour of extending the sanctions include the Taliban’s reported links to groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, al-Qaida and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement; policies restricting women’s rights, including bans on girls’ education; and the absence of what critics describe as an inclusive government.

The monitoring team also supports the ISIL and al-Qaida sanctions committee. Under Resolution 2734, adopted in June 2024, that mandate runs until June 2027.

Lavrov made the remarks Monday during a meeting in Moscow with Talatbek Masadykov, secretary-general of the CSTO. He said new security challenges and threats, particularly those emerging in Central Asia and Afghanistan, are at the top of the bloc’s agenda.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a regional military alliance whose members include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Under its framework, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

The situation in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power remains a sensitive security issue for neighbouring countries and the broader region.

Saeed Khosti, head of the Department for the Registration of Jihadi Works and Documents at the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture, said the “social media battlefield” could not be abandoned. “If we leave this field empty, the enemy’s narrative will grow stronger and the Taliban will be defeated,” he said.

Khosti, who previously headed the propaganda wing of the Haqqani network, was appointed earlier this week to the ministry post. Speaking to online supporters of the Taliban, he said users often first encounter content from media outlets opposed to the group when they log on to social media.

According to him, such messages are repeated frequently throughout the day and influence young people and the broader public.

As an example, he cited criticism of the Taliban’s recently published penal code, saying opponents portray it as lacking justice or equality. He said repeated exposure to such content shapes public perceptions.

Khosti argued that remaining silent would strengthen what he described as the enemy’s narrative and said the Taliban should take the initiative in the media sphere rather than remain defensive.

He also said media outlets opposed to the Taliban exaggerate minor stories to undermine the group’s messaging and described social media as a “live battlefield” requiring sustained attention similar to a military front.

Khosti has previously served as a spokesperson for the Taliban’s Interior Ministry and later as an adviser at the Ministry of Information and Culture.

He has also faced accusations of sexually assaulting a female university student, allegations that have circulated publicly but have not been addressed in detail by Taliban authorities.

In a statement posted on its X account Monday, the ministry said the new faculty aims to strengthen scientific, educational and research activities in the field of Prophetic traditional medicine.

The ministry said the faculty would “play an important role in the development of medical sciences, the enhancement of professional capacity and the expansion of health services” in Afghanistan.

Prophetic medicine, sometimes referred to as Islamic medicine, is a body of traditional medical practices used by some Muslim communities over centuries, often as an alternative to classical Greek-influenced medical systems.

Based on traditions and recommendations attributed to the Prophet of Islam, the approach seeks to treat illnesses and preserve health.

Sharafat Zaman Amarkhel said the campaign will run until Thursday, February 5, and aims to vaccinate 7.3 million children under the age of five.

The drive is being carried out in Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Nuristan, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Zabul, Balkh, Faryab, Kunduz, Herat and Badghis.

The World Health Organization said in a report published in November 2025 that despite a decline in polio cases in Afghanistan, the risk of virus transmission remains high in southern areas bordering Pakistan.

According to official reports, nine positive polio cases were recorded in Afghanistan in 2025.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio cases are still being reported.