China, Qatar Discuss Taliban-Pakistan Tensions & Regional Stability

Tawus told Afghanistan International that she became engaged in 2020 and married her husband in late 2025.

According to her, a few months after the marriage, “another man, who is Pashtun and armed”, entered their home and claimed that he was her real husband.

She said the Taliban court in Ashtarlay District arrested several of her relatives after the man filed a complaint.

The Taliban police command in Ashtarlay detained her father for 24 days from April 2 to April 27, her brother-in-law for 14 days from April 27 to May 10, and her father-in-law for four days.

Mawlawi Elham, Taliban judge in Ashtarlay district, confirmed the arrests in an interview with a local media outlet.

Tawus said the Taliban released her father-in-law on Wednesday, May 13, after local elders provided guarantees.

Local sources, speaking anonymously, said Taliban authorities had urged the woman’s family and the complainant to resolve the issue through local Hazara and Pashtun elders.

According to sources, the complainant said he would withdraw his case if Tawus’s family gave him another woman in marriage and paid 700,000 Afghanis.

Despite repeated attempts, Afghanistan International was unable to obtain the complainant’s comments. Local Taliban officials also did not respond to requests for comment.

Asked about the case, Judge Elham told Afghanistan International: “I don’t have time.”

Tawus said she is currently in hiding and has avoided appearing before the Taliban court out of fear that she would be detained and forced into another marriage.

She claimed the man accusing her has close ties to the Taliban and said that if she appeared in court, Taliban authorities would imprison her and force her into remarriage.

Local sources in Daykundi confirmed the complainant is a civilian with close ties to the Taliban. A former local official told Afghanistan International the man also maintained close relations with the Taliban during the previous government.

Tawus said the Taliban court had not asked the complainant to provide any evidence supporting his claims and had instead pressured only her and her family.

“If this man truly married me, he should provide documents, witnesses and bring the cleric who performed the marriage,” she said.

Documents submitted by Tawus’s family to the Taliban court show that the “director of Rasul Akram Madrasa” signed and stamped her marriage certificate.

Tawus accused the Taliban court of ethnic bias, saying: “If there is no ethnic discrimination, why does this Pashtun man eats with the Taliban commander and judge, who are themselves Pashtun, while my family members are in prison?”

Unanswered Letters

Nader, Tawus’s father-in-law, wrote in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by Afghanistan International, to the Taliban intelligence office in Daykundi that the complainant had twice entered his home with a weapon, insulted women in the household and threatened them with death.

The letter stated that the man had “connections with government offices in Ashtarlay district” and was trying to extort money from Tawus’s family.

Habib, brother of Tawus, also wrote to the Taliban governor of Daykundi, saying that Tawus and her younger brother had worked in the complainant’s shop for nearly three months while studying in Nili city, earning 3,000 Afghanis.

Habib wrote that the complainant was now falsely claiming he had paid for Tawus’s education and pilgrimage expenses to Karbala in Iraq.

“These claims are false and dishonour a married woman,” he wrote, adding that his father remained imprisoned by the Taliban.

Habib asked the Taliban governor to cooperate and insisted the complainant should be held accountable for his allegations.

Another letter from a village local to the Taliban district governor stated: “I have no knowledge of any money allegedly paid by Asadullah to Jan Mohammad’s daughter (Tawus) or of him covering pilgrimage expenses.”

At the same time, 16 elders from Bidagh village wrote to the Taliban district governor describing the complainant’s marriage claim as “baseless and untrue”.

They urged the Taliban to stop arresting the bride and groom’s families, describing the matter as a “family honour issue”.

Tawus studied nursing in Nili, the capital of Daykundi province, but was unable to work in the field because of Taliban restrictions.

She confirmed that while studying, she and her brother worked for nearly three months in the complainant’s shop to cover expenses. She said the shop was located in a market where other men and women also worked.

Taliban Judge

Mawlawi Elham told local outlet that Tawus’s family, had to provide evidence disproving the man’s claim.

He said her relatives were imprisoned because “this is a criminal matter and, according to the complainant, why was a married woman given to another man?”

He also said Tawus had worked in the complainant’s shop and that the two had married. Addressing the fact that Tawus’s parents were unaware of any such marriage, he said: “Under Hanafi jurisprudence, parental consent is not required for marriage; two witnesses are sufficient.”

He stressed that until Tawus appears in court, the evidence and claims cannot be reviewed.

Regarding allegations that the complainant was armed and had threatened the woman’s family, the Taliban judge said security agencies should deal with that matter.

Tawus’s family says Taliban authorities are ignoring the documents and evidence they have submitted.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced on Thursday, May 14, that the regulation had been published in Official Gazette No. 1489.

The 31-article regulation outlines various grounds and procedures for marital separation and grants judges’ authority to issue separation rulings under certain conditions.

Article 3 addresses marriage to a “non-equal” spouse. According to the regulation, if a woman with a legal guardian marries a man without her guardian’s permission and the man is considered socially, religiously or ethnically unequal by the family, the marriage may in some cases be deemed invalid and subject to annulment.

The document also addresses the prolonged absence of a husband. It states that if a husband is absent, but his whereabouts are known, a wife cannot seek separation solely on the grounds of absence or non-payment of maintenance.

It further states that if a husband is missing and his wife remarries during his absence, the second marriage becomes invalid if the first husband later returns. In such cases, the woman is considered legally married to the first husband, who may choose to keep her as his wife, divorce her or separate through a form of divorce in exchange for compensation.

Article 22 states that if a husband mistreats his wife, denies her rights or there is severe hostility between them, the woman may apply to a court. However, the regulation adds that if the abuse can be prevented through other means, a judge cannot grant separation solely at the wife’s request without the husband’s consent.

Another section states that if a woman claims one of her husband’s close relatives touched or kissed her sexually, the judge must question the husband. If the husband confirms the allegation, the judge may order separation. If he denies it, the woman must provide witnesses. If she cannot do so, the husband may swear an oath; if he refuses, the judge may order separation.

The regulation also addresses “Zihar”, an Islamic term referring to a husband comparing his wife to a female relative he cannot marry. In such cases, marital relations are forbidden until religious atonement is made. If the husband refuses to make atonement or divorce his wife, the judge may compel him through imprisonment or corporal punishment.

The regulation further states that if either spouse leaves Islam, the marriage is automatically dissolved without requiring a judicial ruling.

It also says that if a husband suffers from sexual disorders, the wife may seek separation through the courts. In some cases, judges may immediately order separation, while in others they may allow the husband one year for treatment.

However, the regulation states that certain illnesses, including mental illness, vitiligo and leprosy, are not considered valid grounds for separation.

The new pledge comes in addition to more than $2 billion in aid announced by the US in December last year under a new mechanism aimed at improving the efficiency, transparency and accountability of aid distribution. The move comes as US foreign aid funding has been sharply reduced.

Jeremy Lewin, deputy head of US foreign assistance, humanitarian affairs and religious freedom, said 92 percent of US aid distributed through the mechanism had gone to countries identified by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as facing the highest levels of humanitarian need.

He added: “US assistance was focused on the places where we have a foreign policy interest, where it aligns with the president’s interest”.

Lewin said the list of countries receiving US support through OCHA, of which the US is the largest donor, now includes Venezuela and Lebanon. Countries not considered priorities for US foreign policy would therefore not be included.

He stressed that funding channeled through OCHA represents only part of overall US humanitarian assistance abroad.

“By avoiding those countries, we're not doing a disservice to the ‌humanitarian sector,” Lewin said. “We're allowing us to focus on the areas where we overlap, and we don't think that there needs to be some compromise in their principles ... while also allowing us the sovereign right to invest in places where it aligns with our national interest.”

Tom Fletcher, Head of OCHA, who appeared alongside Lewin, said the United Nations remained committed to neutrality and impartiality while adapting its humanitarian system to an era of shrinking financial resources.

According to Fletcher, before the latest US announcement, OCHA had secured $7.38 billion from 65 countries. However, that remains far below the $23 billion the agency says it needs this year.

InterAction, the largest coalition of American non-governmental organisations, welcomed Washington’s decision.

Its chief executive, Tom Hart, told Reuters there was significant alignment between the US and OCHA regarding which countries should receive aid.

It remains unclear whether Afghanistan will be included among the beneficiaries. The US previously suspended aid to Afghanistan over concerns that the Taliban were misusing humanitarian assistance.

Afghanistan had been one of the largest recipients of US humanitarian aid in recent years. However, Trump suspended assistance to the country after returning to the White House.

The Trump administration has argued that some US-funded humanitarian aid was reaching the Taliban. At the same time, several American officials, particularly members of Congress, have insisted that US taxpayers’ money should not fall into the hands of what they describe as the terrorist Taliban.

Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, rejected Pakistan’s claims that the attack on the police center in Bannu had been planned in Afghanistan. He insisted that Afghan soil is not used against any country.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Andrabi said the conclusion was based on technical information, available evidence and intelligence data.

He added that Islamabad had asked the Taliban administration to take immediate, practical and tangible measures against armed groups, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch separatists and Islamic State Khorasan Province.

During the briefing, Andrabi also declined to comment on remarks recently made by Pakistan’s ambassador in Moscow, who told TASS that tensions with the Taliban had eased and relations were moving in a positive direction.

He similarly avoided commenting on talks in Urumqi after being asked about the recent meeting between China’s special envoy and the Taliban foreign minister.

Pakistan’s confrontational approach towards the Taliban has intensified since the Bannu attack.

On May 9, the Fateh Khel police post in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, came under a complex attack.

According to reports, the attackers used a car bomb and then engaged in armed clashes with security forces after the explosion.

Some reports also said the attackers used small drones and ambushed reinforcements arriving at the scene.

The assault killed 15 Pakistani police officers and wounded several others. The police post building and an armoured vehicle stationed there were also destroyed.

A group calling itself the “Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan” claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani authorities say the group is linked to factions of the TTP.

Pakistan has insisted it will continue security operations against militant networks, while the Taliban administration has rejected Islamabad’s accusations.

Pakistan claims that around 7,000 TTP members are operating in Afghanistan under Taliban protection.

According to the UNDP report, around 26.6 million people in Afghanistan faced livelihood insecurity and were unable to meet basic living needs in 2024. In 2025, that figure rose to nearly 28 million after an additional 1.4 million people were affected.

The report stated that three out of every four people in Afghanistan do not have enough food.

Afghanistan is facing a deep humanitarian and economic crisis that has worsened since the Taliban returned to power, with poverty, unemployment and dependence on humanitarian aid increasing sharply.

International organisations have repeatedly warned that declining foreign aid, banking restrictions and the lack of investment have left Afghanistan’s economy in a fragile state.

According to UN reports, the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women and girls, particularly in education and employment, have had a direct impact on the economy and household livelihoods.

The United Nations and economic institutions have stressed that excluding women from education and the labour market has severely reduced Afghanistan’s productive and economic growth potential.

Continuing political instability, the return of migrants, climate change, drought and shrinking job opportunities have also increased pressure on Afghan citizens.

Despite efforts by aid agencies, international organisations warn that without sustained financial support and changes in Taliban policies, Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is likely to deepen further in the coming years.