36 Killed In Pakistani Attacks On Afghanistan, Says Taliban

Qurban Gul, Sediqa’s mother, said in a video that her daughter is ill in prison and appealed to the Taliban to release her immediately.

She also sent documents to Afghanistan International, saying she had exhausted every possible effort to secure her daughter’s release without success.

Responding to the mother's appeal on Saturday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he would follow up on her petition.

Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, anyone under the age of 18 is considered a child. Sediqa’s family says she was imprisoned while still a minor and has not yet reached the age of 18.

Two years of Sediqa’s life have been spent behind prison walls and in Taliban courtrooms. She was still a child when her ordeal began with an alleged forced marriage, and today she remains behind bars. Despite everything she has endured, she says: “Even if I die, I will never accept this marriage.”

Sediqa is an ethnic Turkmen from the predominantly Turkmen village of Murichaq in Bala Murghab district of Badghis province.

Afghanistan International has obtained dozens of documents related to her case, indicating that it involves a complex legal process, pressure from an influential man and the determination of a young woman who has resisted a forced marriage from childhood into adulthood and now remains imprisoned because of it.

He also claimed former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad warned Afghanistan could become “another Syria” after the US withdrawal.

Speaking at a meeting in Kabul on Saturday, Delawar said Khalilzad argued that figures such as General Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammad Noor had been kept under US influence and that the situation would spiral out of control once American forces withdrew. He added that Khalilzad had also warned Afghanistan could move towards fragmentation.

Delawar said the Taliban took control of the situation after the US withdrawal and had continued to honour their commitments under the Doha Agreement.

Taliban Reject Claims of Secret Doha Annexes

The senior Taliban official also rejected claims that the Doha Agreement contained secret annexes.

His remarks come after Khalilzad previously acknowledged that annexes existed, although he did not disclose their contents.

Delawar said the annexes referred only to arrangements ensuring that US forces would not be targeted while moving between different Afghan provinces.

He added that following the signing of the Doha Agreement, the Taliban carried out no attacks against US forces in Afghanistan and that no American soldiers were killed.

Although Taliban attacks on foreign forces ceased after the Doha Agreement was signed in 2020, fighting between the group and the former Afghan government's security forces intensified significantly, with numerous reports documenting heavy casualties among Afghan defence and security personnel.

Delawar's remarks come as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of the United States returning to Bagram Air Base in public speeches.

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.”