Taliban Should Not Be Granted International Legitimacy, Says Israeli Lawmaker

Jamshid Khojaev, Uzbekistan’s deputy prime minister, and Nuruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s minister of industry and commerce, discussed practical steps to expand trade and economic cooperation during an online meeting.

In a post on LinkedIn on Monday, Khojaev said Uzbekistan places particular importance on what he described as friendly and constructive relations with Afghanistan. He said bilateral trade had grown two-and-a-half times over the past five years, rising from $653 million in 2021 to $1.7 billion in 2025.

He said the shared objective is to raise that figure to $5 billion.

Khojaev said both sides had agreed to accelerate implementation of a preferential trade agreement and advance investment and industrial cooperation projects. He added that practical steps would begin after Ramadan, including a business forum in Kabul and the development of a roadmap for priority sectors.

Azizi said trade between the two countries is expected to increase severalfold. He said extending operations to 24 hours a day at the Hairatan and Termez border crossings reflected a firm commitment to strengthening commercial ties.

Official data show trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan reached about $1.1 billion in 2024, with nearly $1 billion representing Uzbek exports to Afghanistan.

Before 2021, annual trade between the two countries was reported at more than $600 million.

Since disruptions to Afghanistan’s trade with Pakistan, exchanges with Central Asian countries, particularly Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, as well as with Iran, India and China, have increased.

In recent years, the Taliban authorities have sought to expand alternative transit routes to reduce reliance on Pakistani ports.

In a joint statement presented at the council’s 61st session, the organisations said the Taliban have intensified repression over the past four years, particularly against women and girls.

Referring to the Taliban’s penal code, the statement described it as a dangerous formalisation of repression that could have serious consequences for the protection of fundamental rights in Afghanistan.

The groups said the document lacks legitimacy and violates fair trial standards, freedom of expression, the prohibition of discrimination, the rights of women and children, proportionality between crimes and punishments and other basic freedoms.

The statement was signed by 86 Afghan civil society organisations and 13 international groups, including the World Organisation Against Torture, the Canadian Network for Education Defenders, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the Asia Democracy Network.

The signatories urged the international community to support victim-centred accountability efforts, ensure funding and political backing for international investigative mechanisms on Afghanistan and strengthen support for Afghan civil society organisations and human rights defenders.

The statement also highlighted restrictions on freedom of expression, discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, discrimination against LGBTQ people and what it described as a growing risk of severe punishments.

The council’s 61st session began on Monday, 23 February, in Geneva and is scheduled to run until 31 March. Afghanistan’s human rights situation is due to be reviewed on 26 February, when reports on conditions in the country are expected to be presented.

The report says bans on women’s education and employment, as well as restrictions on freedom of movement, have deepened the health crisis facing women.

The study on the right to health of women and girls in Afghanistan is based on group discussions and individual interviews with 137 people across 29 provinces, 17 written submissions and survey data from more than 8,000 women in 33 provinces.

Bennett said the Taliban’s return to power has curtailed women’s and girls’ ability to make independent decisions about their own bodies and health. The report warns that without urgent action by the international community, Afghanistan faces a troubling trajectory.

According to the findings, women’s health needs are often treated as secondary because of entrenched patriarchal norms, economic dependence and limited decision-making power within families. As a result, medical care is frequently delayed until illnesses become severe.

The report says women’s health in Afghanistan is largely framed in terms of maternal and reproductive care, while other needs including chronic illnesses, mental health and preventive services are overlooked.

It also notes that in many areas examinations by male healthcare workers are considered inappropriate. A woman from Jawzjan province was quoted as saying Taliban restrictions had directly influenced family attitudes, with women denied the right to choose and even decisions about their own health made by male relatives.

The report identifies poverty, restrictions on education and employment, patriarchal norms, gender discrimination, disability, geography, ethnicity, religion and the lack of identity documents as major barriers to healthcare access for women and girls.

It adds that women and girls in remote and rural areas face long distances to health facilities, limited transport, a shortage of female staff and high treatment costs.

People in the provinces of Kunduz, Kabul, Takhar, Baghlan and Badakhshan told Afghanistan International the tremor struck at about 3:40 p.m. local time.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred 28 kilometres from the town of Ishkashim in neighbouring Tajikistan. The quake struck at a depth of 104 kilometres and was felt in parts of both Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

He warned that negligence in protecting the country’s borders would not be tolerated.

Speaking on Wednesday, 25 February, during a meeting with border troops, Nouri said they must stand firm with what he described as a principled policy rooted in Afghanistan’s history and safeguard the country’s frontiers. He added that the Taliban administration would review and address the needs of border personnel.

He told the troops that protecting the borders had been entrusted to them and described it as the responsibility of 40 million people, urging them to demonstrate seriousness and vigilance. He said he took pride in young men defending what he called Islamic territory and described them as guardians of the nation.

the Taliban border forces assured the minister they would protect every part of Afghanistan’s territory and would not allow any violations.

His remarks follow recent Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Taliban border forces clashed with Pakistani troops in Nangarhar Province a day earlier. After the confrontation, Pakistan accused the Afghan Taliban of initiating unprovoked fire along the frontier and said it had responded to what it described as aggression.