Russian deputy prime minister, Alexey Overchuk, says trade between Russia and Afghanistan increased by around 2.6 times during the first two months of 2026, reaching about $500 million.
Overchuk made the remarks during a meeting with Taliban minister of higher education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, at the Russia-Islamic World Economic Forum.
He said trade between the two countries still has significant growth potential, although current figures remain relatively modest.
According to Overchuk, Russian data shows bilateral trade reached around $326 million in 2025, while Afghan figures estimate it at approximately $500 million.
The Russian deputy prime minister said Russian exports to Afghanistan increased 2.7 times in January and February 2026, while imports from Afghanistan rose by 1.9 times.
Overchuk added that Afghans still remember goods previously supplied by the Soviet Union, including Soviet-made cars and lorries, and are interested in seeing such exports resume from Russia.
He also said the two sides discussed agricultural exports, sanitary control measures for these products, the signing of a bilateral agreement in that field, Russian energy exports and opportunities for investment cooperation.
Abdul Latif Mansoor, Taliban minister for rural rehabilitation and development, says the Taliban respects all sects, amid growing reports of pressure on Shia citizens and the detention and mistreatment of Shia clerics.
The remarks came after widespread reactions to reports that Taliban morality police humiliated and assaulted a Shia cleric.
Shia cleric, Hussaindad Sharifi, said Taliban morality officials beat him for registering a “temporary marriage”. He added that the Taliban had recently detained dozens of Shia clerics and forced them to sign pledges.
Sharifi urged the Taliban to change their policies and stop insulting the Shia sect, its clerics and followers.
On Sunday, May 17, the Taliban minister met Sayed Hassan Fazelzada, a famous Shia cleric and several other representatives of the Shia community.
He claimed that Afghanistan is currently governed under an Islamic regime and that all people support the regime “happily”. He added: “Our regime respects all sects.”
In recent months, the Taliban have detained several Shia clerics in Kabul, Herat and other Afghan cities for various reasons.
Hussein Azimi, an influential Shia cleric, was detained by armed Taliban members in Herat’s Jebrail town on April 2 and taken to an undisclosed location. Taliban authorities refused to provide information about his whereabouts or the reason for his detention.
In another incident, several Shia clerics in Herat were arrested on Maech 19, for refusing to celebrate Eid on the date announced by the Taliban.
Meanwhile, a number of students at Balkh University told Afghanistan International on April 10, that the Taliban had forced them to sign documents pledging to convert their sect to Hanafi Islam.
Afghanistan International also reported last year, based on an official document, that the Taliban Ulema Council in Badakhshan had announced that followers of the Ismaili sect would receive financial rewards and security guarantees if they converted to Sunni Islam.
The detention, beating and humiliating treatment of Shia clerics, along with increasing pressure on Shia citizens, have sparked strong reactions among politicians and social media users.
Taliban opponents and critics have accused the group of religious discrimination and systematic pressure against Afghanistan’s Shia community.
Human rights activists say the Taliban are ignoring the Shia Personal Status Law and attempting to impose Hanafi jurisprudence on all aspects of citizens’ lives.
Nooruddin Azizi, Taliban’s commerce minister, called for stronger economic ties with Russia during talks with Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, warning that some groups were trying to undermine bilateral relations.
Taliban media outlets reporting on the meeting did not specify which groups Azizi was referring to or how they were allegedly attempting to damage ties.
The Taliban ministers for commerce and higher education travelled to Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan to attend the Russia–Islamic World International Economic Forum.
Russia is the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban administration.
Possible Deployment of Afghan Workers to Russia
Azizi said the Taliban administration is exploring the possibility of sending Afghan workers to Russia and that Moscow has also shown interest in the proposal.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the forum, he said: “Various Afghan government institutions are working on the issue of migrant workers, and efforts are continuing to achieve tangible results.”
Azizi stressed that interest in the cooperation was “mutual” and that both sides wanted progress on the matter.
According to him, the main obstacle is language. “The only existing barrier is language-related issues, but we are trying to resolve this challenge,” he said.
He added that a joint commission is working on the issue to find solutions and reach a final agreement.
Earlier, Mikhail Matveyev, Russian parliament member opposed the proposal to recruit Afghan workers, describing it as a threat to Russia’s security.
Shia cleric Hussein Dad Sharifi says Taliban morality police beat him in Kabul for registering a “temporary marriage”. He said dozens of shia clerics have recently been detained and warned against conducting such marriages.
Sharifi said officers from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice took him to Kabul’s District 18 police station on Wednesday, 6 May, after he officiated the marriage of a couple, where he was assaulted.
The cleric said morality police summoned him, threatened him and treated him violently. “They punched me and my turban was knocked off my head,” he said.
Sharifi, a Shia cleric in Kabul, said Taliban forces have recently detained dozens of Shia clerics over the registration of “temporary marriages”.
According to Sharifi, Taliban officials forced the clerics to sign written pledges promising not to register temporary marriages again, warning them they would otherwise face imprisonment.
Speaking at a mosque in Kabul, Sharifi said: “The Taliban have stripped the Shia faith of official recognition, and now they will not even allow us to practise our personal and private affairs according to our religious beliefs.”
He said Shia clerics were being treated “like criminals”, forced to sign written undertakings and threatened with prison.
Sharifi added that not only clerics but ordinary Shiite citizens were also being humiliated and insulted.
Criticising Taliban policies, he said: “If we are not allowed to practise according to our faith, they should officially announce that the Shia Isalm is banned, so we no longer consider ourselves bound by it.”
He also referred to incidents in which Taliban morality police questioned young couples in markets and demanded marriage certificates. “Where in the world do people ask couples for marriage papers in the middle of a market? This is not justice; it is an insult to the people,” he said.
Taliban morality police had previously detained a young man and woman shopping for wedding items in the Dasht-e-Barchi area on accusations of an extramarital relationship. Sharifi said he was beaten for having officiated their marriage.
He described the actions as “an insult to the Shia Islam and Shia people”, adding: “Do such actions not amount to an attempt to forcibly change people’s faith?”
Sharifi called on Taliban authorities to revise their policies towards Shias and prevent insults against Shia clerics, sect and communities.
“If such a policy exists at a higher level, it must be reconsidered,” he said. “These actions deepen divisions, wound people’s religious feelings and damage Afghanistan’s national interests.”
Earlier, the Afghanistan Shia Commission said it had raised the issue of the “insulting treatment” of Sharifi during a meeting with the head of inspections at the Taliban’s Propagation of Virtue ministry, and called for such incidents not to be repeated.
Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Taliban chief justice, warned during a visit to northern Afghanistan that “a system built on oppression cannot survive”, urging Taliban officials to avoid abusing prisoners and detainees.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Taliban Supreme Court said Haqqani had travelled to the provinces of Kunduz, Badakhshan, Balkh, Jawzjan and Baghlan.
According to the statement, he told local Taliban officials they should be grateful because “an Islamic system rules the country and there is no foreign interference”.
Haqqani specifically addressed the treatment of prisoners and suspects, saying: “No one has the right to punish a criminal arbitrarily. Criminals and prisoners must be treated well.”
He added that “any form of oppression, abuse and inappropriate treatment of prisoners and criminals is unacceptable and must be avoided”.
Addressing Taliban forces, the senior official said: “Try not to oppress anyone, because a system that commits oppression will not endure.”
Haqqani is one of the founders of the Taliban movement and among the group’s most influential figures.
His remarks come despite widespread accusations against the Taliban administration of conducting desert courts, carrying out revenge killings, summary executions, torture and mistreatment of detainees.
Reports by international organisations, including the United Nations, have documented the killing, torture and disappearance of hundreds of former Afghan security personnel, the execution of suspected Islamic State Khorasan Province members without trial, and deaths of political detainees under torture in prison.
This is not the first time a senior Taliban official has warned about abuses committed by Taliban forces.
Previously, Sirajuddin Haqqani also said that “a system cannot survive through oppression”.
Abdul Hakim Haqqani himself is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity.
The Taliban leader and chief justice are under investigation over their alleged role in systematic persecution based on gender and policies targeting women, girls and other groups in Afghanistan.
Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, said the Taliban have stripped the Jaafari jurisprudence of official recognition and imposed widespread pressure on the religious practices of Shia Muslims.
In a post on Facebook, Mohaqiq said the measures included insults, beatings of Shia clerics and interference in matters related to personal status laws and religious affairs.
He described the actions as contributing to deeper social divisions in Afghanistan.
Mohaqiq referred to the recent detention and assault of Hussaindad Sharifi, a prominent Shia cleric and prayer leader in Kabul, who he said was beaten and humiliated by Taliban officials for officiating a temporary marriage contract for a Shia couple.
Sharifi has also said Taliban forces recently detained dozens of Shia clerics for registering temporary marriages.
According to Sharifi, Taliban officials forced the clerics to sign written pledges not to conduct such marriages again and threatened them with imprisonment if they failed to comply.
Mohaqiq added that dozens of Shia religious scholars had been summoned to Taliban police stations and ordered not to conduct marriage ceremonies according to Shia traditions.
He said clerics were warned they could face six months in prison if they violated the order.
The anti-Taliban politician also referred to a case in Daykundi in which an elderly Pashtun man reportedly claimed marriage rights over a young married Hazara woman.
According to Mohaqiq, the Taliban court pressured the couple without sufficient grounds, detained relatives of the family and forced the couple to flee the area.
He described the incidents as examples of what he called “religious and honour-based pressure” against Hazara and Shia communities.
Mohaqiq warned that, alongside military and security pressures, such actions would deepen hostility and tensions within society.
He urged the Taliban to respect the personal status laws and religious affairs of Hazara and Shia communities, saying continued interference would benefit no side.
He also called on the Taliban, “at least for their own interests”, not to further violate the private and religious affairs of Hazara and Shia citizens.
Earlier, local sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban morality police had taken Sharifi to Police District 18 in Kabul and physically assaulted him.
According to the sources, Taliban officials treated the cleric in a “humiliating and violent manner” because he had conducted the marriage ceremony of a couple before their wedding celebration.
