Taliban Agriculture Minister Attaullah Omari met India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, in New Delhi on Wednesday for talks on bilateral relations and development cooperation.
Following the meeting, Margherita said the two sides had held positive discussions on relations between India and Afghanistan.
In a post on X, he said the talks focused on ongoing cooperation for welfare and development of the people of Afghanistan.
Omari arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday at the head of a delegation. The visit is part of the Taliban’s efforts to expand relations with India.
Taliban ministers of foreign affairs, commerce and public health have previously travelled separately to India and met Indian officials.
The visits come as the Taliban’s relations with Pakistan, its former ally, have become severely strained. The two sides have faced serious border and security tensions in recent months.
India has not recognised the Taliban administration, but it has increased its diplomatic and economic presence in Afghanistan.
One year ago, on 8 July 2025, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
The ICC said the two senior Taliban officials were being sought over their alleged role in systematic persecution on gender and political grounds against women, girls and others in Afghanistan.
The warrants were issued on the basis of extensive evidence of systematic policies of gender-based persecution targeting women, girls and opponents.
The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that, from 15 August 2021 onwards, the two senior Taliban officials played a role through decrees, rulings and official policies in systematically depriving women and girls of fundamental rights, including education, work, freedom of movement, expression and belief.
The court said these actions amounted to gender-based persecution and crimes against humanity.
The case was built on reports by human rights organisations, statements from witnesses and victims, media records and official Taliban decrees.
After reviewing the evidence, the court’s prosecutor concluded that Taliban policies were not isolated or local decisions, but an organised and deliberate policy aimed at systematically removing women from public life.
These policies included bans on girls’ education, restrictions on women’s employment, severe limits on freedom of movement, and the suppression of protesters and civil society activists.
As the ultimate decision-maker within the Taliban structure, Hibatullah Akhundzada bears primary responsibility for these policies.
The Taliban immediately rejected the warrants and said it did not recognise the court in The Hague.
By contrast, figures including Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan; Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai; and Afghan activists welcomed the decision and described it as an important step towards justice.
Despite issuing the warrants, the ICC has no enforcement force of its own, and responsibility for carrying them out rests with countries that are parties to the Rome Statute.
To date, the warrants have not been enforced because the Taliban leaders have not left Afghanistan and the group maintains full control over Kandahar.
One year after the warrants were issued, no arrests have been made. However, the warrants remain valid and continue to carry legal and political consequences for the Taliban’s international relations.
Two senior UN officials visiting Afghanistan have urged Western countries to maintain constructive engagement with the country to help prevent renewed instability. They said continued engagement and support could contribute to Afghanistan’s security and stability.
Barham Salih, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Alexander De Croo, head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), made the remarks during a joint visit to Afghanistan, warning that ignoring the country could carry serious risks.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Salih said experience had shown that ignoring Afghanistan is not the right decision.
He said engagement, support and encouragement of sound policies could help preserve security and stability in Afghanistan.
The UN official warned that renewed instability could lead to increased drug trafficking, extremism, organised crime and further waves of migration and displacement, affecting both the region and the wider world.
The two UN officials said the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including the ban on girls’ education beyond primary school and limits on women’s employment, remain among the international community’s biggest concerns.
Salih and De Croo said they had raised these issues with Taliban officials and believed continued engagement could encourage reforms and support the development of a more inclusive system.
The officials stressed that disengagement from Afghanistan could impose greater costs on the international community.
“You cannot ignore Afghanistan. What happens in Afghanistan does not necessarily stay in Afghanistan,” Salih said.
The United Nations believes continued international engagement, targeted assistance and efforts to create economic opportunities can help reduce the country’s crises and prevent renewed instability.
While the two officials emphasised economic opportunities and engagement with the Taliban, several Western countries have adopted a pragmatic approach by maintaining contacts with the group through what they describe as technical discussions.
Other governments and Western lawmakers, however, remain concerned that such engagement could legitimise the Taliban, citing the group’s growing restrictions on women and girls.
Return of Millions of Migrants Adds Pressure
After four decades of conflict, Afghanistan continues to face severe economic and humanitarian challenges.
UN officials said nearly six million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan, since 2023, with another two million expected to return this year.
The large-scale returns have placed additional pressure on local communities already struggling with poverty, limited resources and food insecurity.
De Croo said: “In Afghanistan, crises rarely arrive one at a time. One crisis is almost always layered on top of another.”
Declining Aid and Economic Challenges
The UN officials also warned about the consequences of declining international assistance.
According to the head of UNDP, 422 health centres have closed across Afghanistan over the past year because of funding shortages, leaving more than three million people without access to basic healthcare.
The World Food Programme has also said that funding cuts have limited its ability to assist many children suffering from severe malnutrition.
Decline in Drug Production
Despite the challenges, the UN officials pointed to some areas of progress.
De Croo said security, anti-corruption efforts and the reduction of drug production had improved in some respects.
He said Afghanistan’s illicit drug production, once among the world’s largest sources of opium and heroin, had fallen by around 95 per cent.
However, he warned that without support for farmers and viable alternative crops, there was a risk that poppy cultivation could return.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the head of UNDP arrived in Kabul on Sunday. During their visit, they travelled to Nangarhar and Mazar-e-Sharif, where they met survivors of the recent earthquake, returning migrants and Afghan women.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to recognise and support Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team. He warned that the players remain in exile and their funding is due to end in August.
Richard Bennett wrote on X on Wednesday that, following FIFA’s support for Afghan women footballers, the International Cricket Council should find a similar solution.
He wrote: “Recognition & sustained support- nothing less.” The UN special rapporteur made the appeal as the ICC’s annual meeting opened in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The four-day meeting, running from Wednesday until Saturday, will discuss key issues including officiating systems and applications for new membership.
Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team was established in 2010 but lost its official national status after the Taliban returned to power. Most of the players fled Afghanistan, and a number of them are now living in Australia.
A new survey suggests around 75 per cent of respondents are dissatisfied with the Taliban. Some participants identifying themselves as lower-ranking Taliban members also criticised corruption, nepotism and appointments within the group.
Zawia News published the survey on Tuesday under the title, How satisfied are you with the Taliban, and to what extent have your expectations of the group been met? The outlet said around 1.7 million people participated.
According to the published results, 21 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the Taliban’s performance, while 3.6 per cent described themselves as neutral.
Zawia News said the survey was conducted through Facebook, X and WhatsApp messages. Nearly 14,000 people submitted comments or messages, generating more than 10,500 reactions, nearly 9,000 social media comments and 3,652 WhatsApp messages over four days.
According to the report, 32.2 per cent of the WhatsApp messages came from individuals who identified themselves as Taliban members or lower-ranking fighters.
The report said these respondents criticised financial and moral corruption, nepotism in appointments, preferential treatment for associates of senior commanders and the neglect of ordinary Taliban members. Some said they had fought against the former Afghan republic regime but had received neither positions nor benefits since the Taliban returned to power. Others complained about economic hardship affecting themselves and their families.
Zawia News also reported that dissatisfied participants cited the ban on girls’ education, restrictions on women’s employment, the Taliban’s lack of legitimacy, growing poverty, economic stagnation, administrative corruption and uncertainty over Afghanistan’s future as the main reasons for their dissatisfaction.
Supporters of the Taliban, by contrast, identified improved security, the end of the influence of powerful local figures and the implementation of some infrastructure projects as the group’s main achievements.
Women accounted for only five per cent of participants in the survey.
The outlet stressed that the survey was informal and did not publish details of its sampling method, measures to prevent duplicate participation or its statistical margin of error. It said the findings should therefore not be regarded as representative of the views of Afghan society as a whole.
Previously, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) published research in March 2024 showing that 96 per cent of women surveyed opposed international recognition of the Taliban, while only four per cent supported recognition without changes.
In addition, UN Women reported in August 2025 that 92 per cent of Afghans surveyed supported girls’ education, with strong backing across different sections of society.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met senior UN officials in Kabul on Tuesday, saying emergency aid alone is insufficient and calling on the international community to support Afghanistan’s long-term development.
The Taliban Foreign Ministry said Muttaqi raised concerns over the detention of some Afghan migrants and the legal problems faced by those lacking identity documents in several countries. He urged the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help address these issues.
Taliban criticises deportations
According to the ministry, Muttaqi said the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries was worsening Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis. He said the Taliban had taken steps to receive returnees and provide basic services, but that their long-term resettlement and improved living conditions required sustained international development support.
He also described the Taliban’s ban on poppy cultivation as one of the group’s “major achievements”, saying its continuation depended on investment in agriculture, strengthening the private sector, creating jobs and providing alternative livelihoods for farmers.
Taliban account of the UN officials’ remarks
The Taliban Foreign Ministry claimed that Alexander De Croo, the UNDP Administrator, described improved security, nationwide stability and reduced poppy cultivation as favourable conditions for expanding development cooperation.
According to the Taliban, he also stressed the need to move beyond emergency humanitarian assistance and place greater emphasis on economic growth, private-sector development and job creation in Afghanistan.
The ministry also quoted Barham Ahmad Salih, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as saying that UNHCR does not support the forced deportation of Afghan migrants and is working with host countries to ensure that returns are voluntary, safe and dignified.
According to the Taliban, Saleh also spoke of strengthening cooperation between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and UNHCR to find a sustainable solution to the refugee issue.
The ministry said both sides agreed to continue cooperation on supporting returning migrants and advancing Afghanistan’s economic and development programmes.
The United Nations has not yet independently released details or its own assessment of the meeting.
Who are the two UN officials?
Before joining the United Nations, Alexander De Croo served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2020 to 2024. He previously held several senior government posts, including deputy prime minister, finance minister and minister for development cooperation.
Barham Ahmad Salih is an Iraqi politician and former president of Iraq, serving from 2018 to 2022. He currently serves as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and has previously held the positions of Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq.