US To Transfer Group Of Migrants, Including Afghans, To Central African Republic

He described the women detained in Herat as suffering from “psychological and religious problems” and said authorities had been instructed to remove them from public areas.

Speaking to Al Emarah, a Taliban-affiliated media outlet, Islamjar described the detention of women over their clothing as an order from “God and His Messenger”. He claimed that some women in Herat had failed to follow the Taliban’s dress code because they had been influenced by “non-Afghan culture” while living in neighbouring countries as migrants.

The Taliban governor said the decision was implemented only after months of deliberation and years of waiting due to what he described as an urgent necessity.

“We have spent years and months considering different ways and solutions to enforce the hijab decree in Herat,” he said.

Islamjar claimed that wearing the burqa constitutes the traditional form of “Islamic hijab” in Herat. He added that, due to migration, the Iranian-style hijab has become more common and that women may move around the city wearing it, provided their faces remain covered.

According to the governor, the women targeted by the campaign are attempting to alter Herat’s “cultural, religious and historical identity”.

Islamjar also claimed that no women in Herat were detained by male officers. He said the arrests were carried out by female personnel trained in military and arrest operations.

However, videos circulated from the first day of the campaign in parts of Herat appear to show male morality police officers forcibly detaining women and girls.

The Taliban governor dismissed the footage, claiming that “all the images” broadcast by media outlets showing the arrests were fake and generated using artificial intelligence. He also insisted that no women or girls from Herat are currently being held in prison.

According to Islamjar, some of the women were disciplined by female officers and their families before being allowed to return home.

Without disclosing where the detainees had been taken, he said the women had been “advised and disciplined” in a secure location. He added that they were released after their families provided guarantees and discussions were held with relatives.

He said the EU has no choice but to talk to the Taliban if it wants to return rejected Afghan asylum seekers to Afghanistan.

The remarks come amid a wave of criticism across Europe over the invitation, with some critics arguing that it represents a retreat from the EU’s core values and principles.

Brunner stressed that contacts with the Taliban are purely technical and operational and do not in any way amount to recognition of the group’s government.

“It’s no option not to talk to these people in order to improve the situation,” he said. “At least to improve the situation for Europeans, but also for asylum applicants and asylum-seekers.”

According to reports, around 20 of the EU’s 27 member states have signed a joint letter calling for practical mechanisms to deport Afghan nationals who do not qualify for residency, particularly those with criminal records or convictions for serious offences.

In recent years, the EU has shifted its migration policy focus from preventing arrivals to accelerating the return of rejected asylum seekers.

Human Rights Criticism

Human rights organisations and UN experts have strongly criticised the policy. They argue that forcibly returning asylum seekers to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, amid a severe humanitarian crisis, widespread poverty and sweeping restrictions on women and girls, is both unlawful and unethical.

The European Union says Afghan nationals lodged nearly one million asylum applications in member states between 2013 and 2024, with roughly half of them being approved.

Meanwhile, Germany has also begun deporting some Afghan nationals with criminal convictions since 2024.

In a post on X on Thursday, June 11, UN Women voiced concern over the worsening humanitarian consequences of the conflict and its impact on women and girls.

According to UNAMA, Pakistan’s recent airstrikes inside Afghanistan killed 13 civilians and wounded 10 others. The UN mission said women and children were among the casualties.

While the Taliban accuses Pakistan of violating Afghanistan’s airspace and bombing several locations in the provinces of Khost, Paktika and Kunar, Islamabad has dismissed reports of 13 civilian deaths as propaganda warfare.

Boehler stressed that hostage-taking is not a tool of negotiation but a criminal act.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the office of the special envoy said those who kidnap American citizens and cause suffering to their families will eventually face the consequences of their actions.

He added that the conviction demonstrates the United States’ commitment to pursuing such crimes and seeking justice for victims.

Haji Najibullah, a Taliban commander involved in the abduction of American journalist David Rohde and his two companions, was sentenced to 42 years in prison by a court in New York on Tuesday.

He was convicted for his role in the 2008 kidnapping of Rohde and his two companions.

Prosecutors said the aim of the hostage-taking was to obtain ransom payments and secure the release of Taliban prisoners held by the United States.

They said the hostages were forced to record proof-of-life videos during their captivity.

According to prosecutors, Taliban fighters appeared in the videos threatening the captives with automatic weapons and demanding that they urge their families and the US government to meet the Taliban’s demands.

Published information indicates that Najibullah served as a Taliban commander in Maidan Wardak province from 2007 and also acted as an unofficial spokesman for the group.

He was arrested while travelling in Ukraine in October 2020 and later extradited to the United States for trial.

Boehler has travelled to Kabul and met Taliban officials as part of efforts to secure the release of American citizens.

Referring to the release of Dennis Coyle from Taliban custody earlier this year, Boehler said in March that the policy of taking hostages to gain concessions from the United States was dead. “No trades. No money. Hostage diplomacy is dead.”, he said.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines said the two sides discussed attracting investment to Afghanistan’s mining sector and expanding economic cooperation.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the ministry said Grieco expressed his readiness to support efforts to attract and expand investment in Afghanistan’s mining industry.

According to the statement, the Taliban deputy minister for policy welcomed the interest and said the necessary facilities would be provided, within existing laws and procedures, for reputable foreign companies seeking to invest in the sector.

The Taliban official described Afghanistan’s mineral resources as one of the country’s most important assets for economic growth, job creation and attracting both domestic and foreign investment.

The meeting is one of the few engagements between Taliban officials and an American party focused primarily on economic and investment issues.

The United States has not recognised the Taliban government, and contacts between the two sides in recent years have largely centred on political and security matters, as well as the release of American citizens and detainees.