Single SCO Member Is Preventing Taliban Inclusion, Says Russian Envoy

The commission includes Abdul Haq Wasiq, head of Taliban intelligence; Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of Army Staff; Shamsuddin Shariati, head of the Directorate for Monitoring and Follow-up of Decrees; Helmand Governor Amanuddin Mansour; and several other senior Taliban officials.

Ibrahim Sadr, deputy interior minister, and Economy Minister Din Mohammad Hanif are also members of the commission. The body held a meeting in Faizabad on Tuesday.

Ismail Ghaznavi, the Taliban governor of Badakhshan, is not a member of the commission. However, Amiri said its members had also met with the governor.

According to Amiri, the Taliban leader has tasked the commission with examining Badakhshan’s problems and submitting a report to Kandahar.

The Taliban official said all issues in the province, including disputes surrounding the mining sector, would be reviewed by the commission.

Intelligence Post Offered to Juma Khan Fateh

Amiri also told Afghanistan International that Juma Khan Fateh has been offered the leadership of an intelligence department branch in Kabul. According to Amiri, Fateh has accepted the proposal and is expected to move to the capital soon.

Fateh has not publicly commented on the offer.

The Taliban leader recently removed Juma Khan Fateh from his position as deputy governor of Zabul and appointed former Standards and Quality Administration chief Faizullah Tamim as his replacement.

The commission was formed following growing discontent in Badakhshan.

Local Taliban members have complained about the management of mining resources and what they describe as a reduction in their role in overseeing the province’s mineral wealth.

The creation of the commission suggests the Taliban leadership is still attempting to manage dissatisfaction among local commanders in Badakhshan through dialogue.

One of the clearest signs of internal tensions has been Juma Khan Fateh’s dissatisfaction with the Taliban’s policies in the province. He has reportedly opposed his reassignment to Zabul, the continuation of mining operations in the Darwaz region and the imprisonment of some of his associates.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Saturday that tensions among Taliban factions in Badakhshan had intensified and that the risk of an internal armed confrontation was increasing.

Several previous rounds of talks between Fateh and senior Taliban officials, including Army Chief Fasihuddin Fitrat, reportedly ended without a breakthrough.

The office said the incident is under investigation and efforts are under way to identify those responsible.

Earlier, local sources in Daikundi said that unidentified gunmen shot dead Yaser Behzad Hosseini, a former army officer of the previous government, on the evening of June 20 in Alqan market, just a short distance from the Shahristan district governor’s office.

Media outlets close to the Taliban later published a video showing what appeared to be a forced confession by the victim’s father. In the footage, recorded under unclear circumstances, he says his son was killed by “civilians” and that Taliban forces were not involved.

Mohammad Mohaqiq, former vice president of Afghanistan and a prominent opponent of the Taliban, condemned the killing and described it as part of a pattern of “organised and serial killings” targeting former security personnel of the former regime.

Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan’s representative to the United Nations, also reacted to the incident, saying that former members of the previous government’s security forces have become victims of Taliban crimes.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, June 23, the Taliban governor’s office in Daikundi rejected the allegations.

Although the statement did not mention the victim by name, details regarding the location and circumstances indicate that it referred to the killing of Yaser Behzad Hosseini.

The case is notable because it is one of the relatively rare instances in which the Taliban have publicly announced an investigation into the killing of a former member of Afghanistan’s security forces in the province.

The embassy said discussions focused on the future of Afghanistan’s engagement with the international community and ways to support and strengthen those ties.

In a statement issued on Monday, June 22, the Qatari Embassy said the meeting was attended by Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s acting head and the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs, and Scott Smith, head of UNAMA’s political affairs section.

The Taliban was represented by Zakir Jalali, Second Political Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Abdul Hai Qanit, head of the ministry’s Centre for Strategic Studies.

UNAMA has not yet released details of the meeting.

Zakir Jalali thanked Qatar for hosting the discussions and said he appreciated the country’s efforts to facilitate constructive engagement between Afghanistan and the international community.

He also stressed that realistic and pragmatic engagement between Afghanistan and the United Nations is essential for building trust, strengthening mutual understanding and expanding practical cooperation.

Although Qatar has not formally recognised the Taliban administration, it has maintained relations with the group and remains one of the most important channels of communication between the Taliban and the international community.

In recent years, Qatar has also played a significant role in several diplomatic initiatives related to Afghanistan, including efforts that led to the release of American prisoners from Taliban custody.

He stressed that individual states retain authority to assess and decide each case separately.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday, Lammert said the technical meetings with Taliban representatives are a continuation of previous discussions and were organised in response to requests from EU member states.

He said the process is aimed at individuals who have committed serious offences or are regarded as security risks, with planning for their return forming a central part of the discussions.

Meanwhile, Belgium announced that it had issued one-day visas to a five-member Taliban delegation attending the EU migration meeting in Brussels. A spokesperson for Belgium’s Foreign Ministry said the visas carry limited territorial and temporal validity and are valid only in Belgium for a single day.

Lammert said the initiative for the meetings came from 20 EU member states and Schengen partner countries, which last October called for a mechanism to discuss the return of migrants.

He also stressed that decisions on deportations remain the responsibility of individual member states. Each country assesses asylum claims and residency cases separately and makes decisions based on individual circumstances.

According to Lammert, the European Commission’s role is to coordinate and facilitate technical contacts between member states and relevant parties.

He added that the Brussels meetings provide an opportunity for greater coordination among member states in organising migrant return procedures.

In recent months, the European Union has sought common approaches to managing returns, while human rights organisations have warned of the potential risks facing Afghan returnees.

Within this framework, European countries have emphasised the distinction between individuals convicted of serious crimes and other asylum seekers.

The broadcaster said Taliban forces stormed its offices on the eve of Tasua and Ashura.

The network urged the public to follow developments closely and stressed the need for vigilance regarding unfolding events.

A representative of the station confirmed to Afghanistan International that the situation was ongoing but declined to provide further details. The Taliban have not yet commented on the incident.

Tamadon TV is one of Afghanistan’s first private religious broadcasters and was founded by Asif Mohseni, the late leader of the Islamic Movement Party.

In June 2024, the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice announced that Tamadon TV would be shut down because of its alleged links to the Islamic Movement Party and its use of what the ministry described as state land that had been unlawfully appropriated. The ministry argued that media outlets affiliated with political parties are not permitted to operate in Afghanistan.

At the time, the Afghanistan Journalists Centre described the ministry’s move against Tamadon TV as a political decision that violated the country’s media law.