US Sought Military Base In Afghanistan, Says Senior Taliban Official

Speaking on Saturday, Mohseni said the two men were being held in solitary confinement without a court order and without any official announcement of charges and called on the relevant authorities to release them immediately.

He also expressed concern about Rahmati’s health, saying the managing director’s physical condition was incompatible with prolonged detention.

Mohseni said the authorities that ordered Rahmati’s detention without a court order would be fully responsible if anything happened to him.

In recent days, Taliban forces raided Tamadon TV’s office in Kabul, forcing the broadcaster off the air. The network’s management also said part of its property had been confiscated. The Taliban also closed the Khatam al-Nabieen university and mosque.

Taliban officials have told media outlets that the Khatam al-Nabieen Seminary building had been built on “usurped” land.

At the time of publication, Taliban authorities had not explained the reasons for the detention of Mohammad Rahmati and Mohammad Reza Ehsani or disclosed any possible charges against them.

Nearly five years after the Taliban returned to power and barred Afghan women from education, work and sport, Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team played two historic matches at the famous Fenner’s Ground in Cambridge, England.

Competing under the name “Afghan Women’s XI” because of international restrictions, the team faced the UK Armed Forces Women’s Cricket Team and the Cambridge University Women’s Cricket Club in two Twenty20 matches.

The team’s origins date back to 2010, when Afghan women formed the country’s first national women’s cricket team despite cultural opposition and security threats. But everything changed after Kabul fell in August 2021. The Taliban banned women’s sport and completely shut down the women’s division of the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

Players spent weeks hiding in safe houses, burning national team uniforms and destroying or concealing their bats and medals to avoid being identified by Taliban intelligence.

With support from international organisations and the Australian government, most of the players eventually fled to Pakistan through dangerous routes before being resettled in Australia, Canada and Britain on humanitarian visas, where they restarted training from scratch.

Cricket’s Biggest Contradiction

The matches once again highlighted a major contradiction in world cricket.

Under International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, full member nations are required to have a national women’s team. Yet the ICC continues to recognise the Afghanistan Cricket Board under Taliban control. Afghanistan’s men compete freely in international tournaments, while the women’s team has no official national status and now competes as a refugee side without official funding.

Meeting King Charles

The team’s visit to Britain, which coincided with the Women’s T20 World Cup, included events hosted by Cambridge institutions such as Hughes Hall.

The highlight of the trip was an official meeting with King Charles III at Clarence House in London, seen as a strong gesture of international recognition for the players.

During the meeting, veteran player Shukria Noori presented the King with a cricket bat signed by all members of the team. King Charles praised their courage, saying he was delighted they had been able to continue pursuing the game they loved.

A Voice for Millions of Afghan Women

The players have increasingly become advocates for human rights.

Captain Nahida, who coordinates the team from Melbourne, described the initiative as a movement for change.

Another leading player, Firooza Amiri, said the team now represents millions of Afghan women who have been deprived of their most basic rights under what she described as the Taliban’s system of gender apartheid.

Seventeen-year-old wicketkeeper Ekil Latifi, who was forced to leave her family behind when Kabul fell, said the matches provided an opportunity to stand up for the rights of Afghan women.

For these Afghan women, playing in Cambridge was about far more than cricket. Five years after being forced to destroy their own sporting equipment to protect their lives, every run scored and every wicket taken stood as proof that although the Taliban emptied Afghanistan’s playing fields, they had failed to destroy the hope, talent and identity of Afghan women.

Speaking at a meeting in Kabul, he said there is no alternative to Taliban rule.

Delawar claimed that, for the first time in 48 years, the Taliban administration has ended division and internal disputes in the country and brought everyone into a single line. Responding to accusations that power has been monopolised, he said the administration does not belong only to clerics and Mullahs.

He also rejected calls for an inclusive government and criticised former political factions, saying: “They speak of a republic regime and Afghan inclusivity. Were your factions inclusive? Which faction had democracy? The father was leader, and after him, his son became leader.”

Ending Centres of Power and Obedience to Leadership

The senior Taliban official also referred to the elimination of internal opposition, saying that previously each region had its own separate authority, but the Taliban had ended such “disorder”.

He specifically referred to Atta Mohammad Noor, who resisted his dismissal as governor of Balkh under the former regime, and added: “Now, whatever order the Amir gives, everyone obeys without question.”

Delawar also claimed nationwide security had been restored. Referring to Panjshir province, he said: “Last year, 190,000 tourists visited Panjshir, whereas in the past Panjshir was someone else’s territory and no one could go there.”

Response to Lack of International Legitimacy

Delawar also addressed the Taliban administration’s lack of international legitimacy, saying that if he were in the position of US officials, he too would not recognise the Taliban.

“They suffered a heavy defeat that they cannot forget. If they recognise us, they will be questioned by their own people,” he said.

Delawar again called on exiled politicians to return to Afghanistan, although he added: “Even if you do not return, nothing special will happen and we will continue our work, but it is better for you to come back.”

The EU said it stands alongside the Afghan people in efforts to combat narcotics.

In a post on X on Friday, the EU delegation said it supports drug treatment and rehabilitation centres across Afghanistan in cooperation with the World Health Organization, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and other partners.

The EU added that one of the key elements of its efforts is helping children who have been indirectly affected by addiction return to school. It also said it supports programmes aimed at preventing relapse among recovering drug users and promoting alternative livelihoods in Afghanistan.

Earlier, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime warned in its World Drug Report 2026 that the unprecedented decline in opium production in Afghanistan, alongside the spread of synthetic opioids, is reshaping the global drug market.

According to the report, Afghanistan, which produced around 80% of the world’s illicit opium until 2022, has seen opium production fall by 95% since the Taliban imposed a ban on poppy cultivation.

Informed sources say he has organised his forces in recent days and held extensive meetings with residents in Nusay district.

According to the sources, since returning to his traditional power base, Fateh has increased his field presence while strengthening the deployment of fighters under his command, suggesting he is preparing for any potential developments.

Kabul's offer rejected

Sources close to Fateh said efforts had been made to open talks and offer him a new position, but the Taliban commander has rejected any return to the power structure.

Two sources who recently met him in person told Afghanistan International that Fateh responded to the proposals by saying: “I am in my own home. I do not want a position. I will stay here. I will not fire the first shot.”

According to the sources, he has nevertheless kept his forces on high alert and remains fully prepared both militarily and logistically.

They added that Fateh believes the mountainous terrain of Badakhshan would make it difficult for Taliban forces based in Kabul to launch a successful operation against his positions.

Juma Khan Fateh, one of the Taliban’s most influential commanders in north-eastern Afghanistan, is known among his supporters as the “Conqueror of Darwaz”. In recent weeks, he was removed from his post as deputy governor of Zabul after a dispute with the Taliban leadership in Kandahar over the management of local resources and gold mines.

Observers believe his dismissal without being assigned another position is part of a broader effort to sideline non-Pashtun commanders within the Taliban’s power structure.

Now, with his return to Badakhshan, increased military activity, strengthened force deployments and rejection of Kabul’s proposals, attention has increasingly focused on the possibility of a confrontation between the dissident commander and the Taliban leadership.

Taliban officials have not commented publicly on the reported developments.