Taliban, Uzbekistan Aim to Raise Trade To $5 Billion Over Five Years

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.

In a post on X, Noor said shedding innocent blood brings neither power nor legitimacy.

Karamuddin Rezazada, a former member of parliament representing Ghor province, was shot and wounded on Tuesday afternoon in Mohammad Shahr, Karaj, according to two sources who spoke to Afghanistan International. The sources said two men on a motorcycle opened fire on him.

Rezazada was reportedly wounded in his left arm and is being treated at a hospital in Karaj. Sources described his condition as stable.

Noor blamed the Taliban for the attack and warned that continuing on such a path would deepen longstanding divisions in Afghanistan. He said he regretted that, in his view, the group had not grown weary of violence.

He added that, to avoid renewed conflict and prevent a repeat of past tragedies, he and others had so far exercised restraint.

Noor claimed that several current Taliban officials, including ministers and a deputy prime minister, had at various times been detained by his forces and later released in what he described as a gesture of goodwill and in accordance with Islamic principles.

He also alleged that he once intervened to prevent a US special forces commander from killing Mullah Fazel Mazloom, who now serves as the Taliban’s minister of transport and civil aviation.

Noor urged the Taliban to respect the sanctity of innocent lives, saying the killing of defenceless people, whether inside or outside Afghanistan, reflects instability rather than strength.