Hacker Group Claims Attack On Taliban Defence Ministry Website

Iran’s presidential office released photos of the meeting without providing further details.

Baradar and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi travelled to Tehran to attend ceremonies honouring Iran’s former supreme leader.

Muttaqi met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday.

At the same time, Tehran has also hosted prominent Afghan opposition figures, including Ahmad Massoud and Mohammad Mohaqiq.

Despite the two visits taking place simultaneously, there have been no official reports suggesting that the Taliban delegation and the Afghan opposition leaders have held, or are expected to hold, direct talks.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the US State Department said the people of Pakistan have suffered greatly from the actions of terrorists. The statement reflects Washington’s response to rising tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban administration in Afghanistan in recent months.

The United States continues to designate the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist group. Islamabad has been seeking broader US support in its campaign against Pakistani militants based in Afghanistan.

The Taliban and Pakistan, once close allies, fought their most serious military confrontation in the history of relations between the two countries in March last year. According to the United Nations, Pakistan’s recent airstrikes on Afghanistan’s border regions killed at least 28 civilians and wounded 49 others.

The Taliban later claimed it had responded by carrying out airstrikes on targets inside Pakistan. Islamabad, in turn, said its forces intercepted and shot down four rudimentary drones over Balochistan province.

Pakistan accuses the Taliban of sheltering members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allowing the group to plan attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban reject the allegation, saying insecurity in Pakistan is an internal matter and accusing Islamabad of blaming Afghanistan to cover up its own security failures.

Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally of the United States, and relations between Washington and Islamabad have improved since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Pakistan has also played a key role in diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran.

According to the sources, Abdul Jabbar Taqwa, the former governor of Kabul and an adviser to the former president, travelled to Tehran to represent Karzai at the official ceremony.

The funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei is scheduled to begin at 6 am on Monday, 6 July, in Tehran.

According to Iranian state media, official funeral ceremonies will be held in several cities, and Khamenei is due to be buried in Mashhad.

Karzai remained in Kabul after the Taliban returned to power, but his travel and political activities have faced restrictions in recent years.

The Taliban has also sent a delegation to Tehran for Khamenei’s funeral, led by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is also part of the delegation.

Eyewitnesses said at least two young women were detained on Thursday afternoon at a large grocery store in the Bekrabad area of Herat.

Bekrabad is a predominantly Shia area in the south of Herat city.

Another eyewitness reported the arrest of a young woman at Imam Fakhr Razi Square in northern Herat.

According to the source, the woman was not wearing the Taliban-approved dress code, and five Taliban soldiers detained her.

The source said the young woman was inside a three-wheeled vehicle, and the Taliban also arrested the driver for carrying her.

At the same time, another source told Afghanistan International that the Taliban detained nine young women on Thursday in Herat city.

The Taliban have repeatedly detained women in Herat over the past month. The group says women in Herat should not wear manteaus.

Afghans in 30 countries have held rallies against the detention of women in Herat.

At least two protests have also been held in Herat against the Taliban’s actions, both of which were suppressed by the group.

Two people were killed during a protest in the Jebrail area of Herat city.

Guests include Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance Front, and Mohammad Mohaqiq, head of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan.

The official funeral ceremony for Ali Khamenei and members of his family killed alongside him began early on Friday at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla, attended by foreign dignitaries.

The Islamic Republic invited both the Taliban and its Afghan opponents to take part in the ceremony.

Ahmad Massoud and Mohammad Mohaqiq were among those in attendance.

Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi travelled to Tehran on Thursday to attend the funeral.

Sources said Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund had initially been expected to attend the ceremony and hold a meeting with Ahmad Massoud on the sidelines. Earlier, Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, Alireza Bikdeli, delivered the official invitation to Mullah Abdul Wasi, the Taliban’s chief of administrative affairs.

This is the first time that leaders of anti-Taliban groups and an official Taliban delegation have been invited to the same formal event in Iran as representatives from Afghanistan.

Ali Khamenei was killed about four months ago during large-scale US and Israeli airstrikes. His funeral was postponed because of the continuing wartime situation.

Following his death, Iran’s Assembly of Experts appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new leader.

The Taliban maintains close ties with the Islamic Republic and publicly backed Tehran during the recent conflict. On Thursday, Iran’s ambassador to Kabul said relations between the two sides were moving in a constructive direction.

After arriving in Tehran on Thursday, Baradar and Muttaqi met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, although no details of the talks have been released.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said politicians from around 100 countries were expected to travel to Tehran to attend the funeral.