Drug Production In Afghanistan Has Fallen By 90 Percent, Says Russia

Kazba News Agency reported on Tuesday that Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Resources Group is considering either the direct purchase of a chromium mine or the creation of a joint venture with Afghan partners.

According to the report, during talks between Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin and the Taliban administration’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the import of industrial-grade aquamarine stone to Kazakhstan for processing was discussed.

The report added that plans were also made to sign a memorandum of understanding for the export of 30,000 tons of zinc ore from Afghanistan to Kazakhstan for processing, in a deal valued at $18.8 million.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce previously announced that 25 cooperation agreements were signed between Afghan and Kazakh private-sector representatives during the Afghan Kazakh Business Forum in Kabul.

The agreements were signed during the visit of Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister to Kabul and are aimed at expanding trade and facilitating imports and exports between the private sectors of the two countries.

Leading a high-level delegation, Zhumangarin visited Kabul on June 21 and held separate meetings with senior Taliban officials, including Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Industry and Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi.

Although Kazakhstan, like most countries except Russia, has not formally recognised the Taliban administration, political and economic ties between the two sides have expanded significantly over the past five years. Senior officials from both sides have made repeated visits to Kabul and Astana.

Yerkin Tukumov, Kazakhstan’s special representative for Afghanistan, has said that removing the Taliban from Kazakhstan’s list of terrorist organisations does not amount to recognising the Taliban administration. He stressed that Kazakhstan’s policy remains one of engagement without formal recognition and described Afghanistan’s situation as still highly complex.

Referring to Afghanistan’s economic and social challenges, Tukumov said decades of experience have shown that any economic, humanitarian or institutional vacuum in the country is inevitably filled by destructive forces.

Kabulov did not name the country, but according to Izvestia, Pakistan is currently the principal opponent of Taliban participation in SCO activities and meetings.

The newspaper reported that although Afghanistan was granted observer status in the SCO in 2012, Kabul’s participation in the organisation’s regional mechanisms has effectively been frozen since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Afghanistan’s last official participation in SCO meetings dates back to 2020.

Kabulov said the authorities in Kabul are seeking full membership in the SCO and already maintain contacts with other member states. However, because all decisions within the organisation require unanimous approval, opposition from a single member has stalled any progress on the issue.

Experts cited in the report said Pakistan’s opposition is linked to the recent deterioration in relations between Islamabad and the Taliban. Ties have been strained since last summer over border clashes, missile strikes and Pakistani accusations that the Taliban provide sanctuary to militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Cross-border attacks between the two sides have also continued.

International Recognition Remains a Major Obstacle

Izvestia reported that, beyond Pakistan’s presumed veto, analysts at Moscow-based think tanks believe another barrier exists within the SCO itself: the Taliban administration’s lack of international recognition among all member states.

According to analysts, even if Pakistan were to agree, inviting Taliban representatives to official SCO meetings would remain difficult until all ten full members formally recognise the Taliban administration.

Despite these obstacles, Moscow has continued expanding relations with Kabul. Kabulov said Taliban representatives would again take part in this year’s Moscow Format consultations on Afghanistan.

His remarks come after Russia, and the Taliban signed a technical and military cooperation agreement in May. Kabulov described the deal as a legal framework for future cooperation.

Ahmad Saidmurodzoda, Deputy Secretary-General of the SCO, told Izvestia that a review of the organisation’s legal framework is currently under way under Kyrgyzstan’s chairmanship. Until those reforms are completed and approved, all observer entities, including Afghanistan, will retain their current status.

On June 10, Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Russia’s special envoy to the SCO, said Afghanistan’s full membership remains problematic, while also calling for the revival of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded in 2001 and currently comprises ten full members: Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

A number of other countries and entities, including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Egypt, Kuwait, Laos, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates, participate as observers or dialogue partners.

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.