EU Again Calls For Lifting Restrictions On Afghan Women & Girls

Three Kabul residents told Afghanistan International that after the explosions, the sound of warplanes and drones patrolling the skies above the city could be heard.

One resident said: “At around 3:25am, we heard gunfire followed by an explosion.” Another source also confirmed that “two powerful explosions” had occurred.

As of publication, Taliban authorities had not commented on the incident, and the exact cause of the explosions or any possible casualties and damage remained unclear.

According to the commission, the discussion took place during a meeting with the head of inspection at the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

The commission said the Taliban promised cooperation and a “serious follow-up” on the matter, adding that officials had pledged to share the results of their investigation and any actions taken.

Afghanistan International reported on Monday, May 11, that Taliban morality officers had subjected Ayatollah Sharifi to “physical and insulting treatment” in Kabul.

Local sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban morality officers transferred the Shia cleric to Kabul’s District 18 police station and physically assaulted him.

According to the sources, the Taliban mistreated Sharifi because he had officiated the marriage of a couple before their wedding ceremony took place.

The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has not officially commented on the meeting with the Shia Commission or the reports concerning the treatment of the cleric.

The Taliban have consistently claimed that the rights of all ethnic and religious groups in Afghanistan are protected under “Islamic law”, though international organisations and human rights groups have repeatedly challenged those claims.

Over the past five years, the Taliban have repeatedly detained, pressured and harassed Shia clerics and community elders for various reasons.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre published its Global Report on Internal Displacement 2026 on Tuesday, May 12. According to the report, more than 82 million people worldwide were displaced within their own countries last year.

The report says conflict and violence have become the main drivers of internal displacement, while natural disasters are another major cause. It describes internal displacement as evidence of a global structural crisis.

According to the report, conflict and violence caused a record 32.3 million internal displacements in 2025. The report also highlighted the situation in Afghanistan.

It said around 4.4 million internally displaced people in Afghanistan were specifically displaced by conflict and violence.

The report referred to deadly earthquakes in August and November 2025 in eastern provinces and Mazar-i-Sharif, which caused 8,000 new displacements, while many displaced people returned to damaged areas despite destroyed infrastructure.

It also stressed that decades of conflict, repeated droughts and a deep economic crisis have left Afghanistan with very limited resources for reconstruction and livelihoods.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Taliban’s economic deputy office said the five-year agreement includes supplying and installing advanced equipment, repairing existing laboratory systems, and introducing foreign specialists to improve the professional capacity of staff at Afghanistan’s standards and quality authority.

The statement added that domestic and overseas training programmes would also be organised for technical staff, while efforts would be made to obtain internationally recognised certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Over the past five years, the Taliban have signed several similar contracts with foreign companies in different sectors. However, the group usually publishes only the signing announcements and provides little transparency about implementation, progress or the final outcome of the projects.

Taliban opponents accuse the group of secrecy in managing financial resources, arguing that the lack of transparency around contracts, budgets and revenues creates opportunities for misuse.

Critics also say it remains unclear how Taliban revenues, including income from mines and natural resources, are being spent.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced on Tuesday, May 12, that the “Law on the Sale and Distribution of State Land Plots and Issuing Construction Permits” had been published in the official gazette. The law, based on several decrees by the Taliban leader, contains 38 articles across six chapters.

Although the Taliban says the law aims to regulate the distribution, sale and ownership of government land for residential and commercial use, its provisions indicate the group may seek to invalidate previous ownership claims and resell the land to residents.

Articles 7 and 8 allow the Taliban to classify land it claims ownership over as “state land”, even if housing developments or residential settlements already exist there.

Article 11 imposes strict conditions for retaining ownership. It states that if a person who receives a land plot fails to take possession within six months or does not pay the price of a commercial property within three months, ownership rights will be revoked.

The article further states that if construction does not begin within three years, the Taliban may reclaim the land and cancel the allocation contract.

Under the law, individuals may own no more than four residential plots in reclaimed housing developments. The Taliban may confiscate any additional plots beyond that limit.

These provisions could pave the way for cancelling previous ownership rights and confiscating land where people have lived for years.

Articles 4 and 5 state that land prices will be determined solely according to regulations drafted by the Taliban, with residents having no role in setting or negotiating prices.

After returning to power, the Taliban established a commission to prevent land grabbing and recover allegedly seized land. However, reports indicate the group has confiscated and registered thousands of acres of private land in various regions under the label of “state-owned” property.