Iranian Deputy FM Meets Taliban Governor To Boost Bilateral Ties

Informed sources in Ghor said on Wednesday that Taliban intelligence officers had arrested at least six people from their homes in the village of Atus Sofla and others from their workplaces in Firozkoh, the provincial capital.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Taliban forces arrived in military vehicles, raided the homes of those detained and took them into custody.

The Afghanistan Green Trend also said in a statement that Taliban intelligence had arrested dozens of young people in Ghor, particularly in Firozkoh, on suspicion of belonging to the movement’s Green Unit. It warned that those detained could face physical and psychological torture.

According to the sources, the Afghanistan Green Trend had previously carried out a rocket attack on a Taliban checkpoint in Dawlat Yar district of Ghor. They said those responsible escaped, after which the Taliban began arresting former members of the Green Trend instead.

On July 8, Afghanistan Green Trend, led by former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, released a video claiming responsibility for an attack on Taliban forces in the market area of Dawlat Yar district.

One source said about 20 local elders visited the office of the Taliban governor on Wednesday to demand the detainees’ release. According to the source, local Taliban officials claimed they were unaware of the arrests.

A resident of Ghor said at least three of those detained had worked for the former Afghan government in the departments of agriculture and livestock, labour and social affairs, and the National Bank. He said they were arrested at their workplaces.

The Taliban has not officially commented on the arrests.

Sources said the detainees had been taken to an unknown location, and their families had received no information about their whereabouts or condition.

In its statement, the Afghanistan Green Trend said it was monitoring what it described as Taliban crime, but it did not confirm whether those arrested were members of the movement.

The Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group and the Humanitarian Access Working Group published the report on Wednesday, examining the impact of Taliban restrictions on women working in aid organisations.

The findings are based on a survey of 122 humanitarian organisations operating across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. The report identifies funding cuts, the dismissal of female staff, tighter operational restrictions and acceptance of Taliban conditions for women’s employment as its main findings.

It shows that the highest levels of restrictions on humanitarian organisations and female staff were reported in a handful of provinces.

Herat reported the highest rate at 36%, followed by Kabul with 31%, Nangarhar with 22%, Kandahar with 20% and Kunar with 17%.

The report presents the findings of the fifteenth round of the Gender in Humanitarian Action and Humanitarian Access Working Group survey.

It found that 56 percent of organisations had dismissed Afghan female employees because of funding cuts, while 46 percent said women could no longer attend offices as they had previously.

The report highlights that the education and health sectors have been most affected by restrictions preventing women from working. It also found that 45 percent of organisations were still trying to continue operations with both female and male staff.

Some 16% of women employed by aid organisations are now working from home following Taliban restrictions, while 61% of organisations said female staff required a male guardian to accompany them on work-related travel.

The Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group is a humanitarian coordination mechanism bringing together the United Nations, international and national NGOs, and other humanitarian organisations in Afghanistan.

The Humanitarian Access Working Group coordinates issues related to humanitarian access among the UN, NGOs and other humanitarian actors.

According to the survey, 49% of organisations said their female staff had experienced increased anxiety and security concerns because of Taliban restrictions on movement and dress.

Some organisations also reported that women were being stopped by officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice while travelling to work.

Earlier, UN Women warned that cuts in international aid were pushing organisations supporting women in crisis-affected countries, including Afghanistan, to the brink of closure.

Rashid said the law should provide a framework for the right to asylum while taking Islamic and Sharia rights into account.

According to a ministry statement, a special committee at the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees has finalised the draft asylum law, which will soon be submitted to the Taliban’s Ministry of Justice for further legal review.

The contents of the draft have not yet been made public.

The move comes as large numbers of Afghans have fled the country since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

According to United Nations reports, millions of Afghans are living as refugees or migrants in neighbouring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan.

Hundreds of thousands have also moved to Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia, marking Afghanistan’s largest wave of migration in recent decades.

Speaking on Tuesday, Neumann said the European Commission claimed its talks with the Taliban were limited to the return of people convicted of terrorism, murder or rape.

She said reports from Germany suggested authorities were preparing to deport Afghans with no criminal convictions.

The MEP also expressed concern that Afghanistan’s consular services in European countries could be handed over to the Taliban.

According to Neumann, the Taliban has made clear that the return of Afghan nationals depends on functioning consular services. She questioned whether the European Commission was paving the way for the Taliban to take control of Afghanistan’s consular services in Europe.

Earlier this month, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said its delegation’s talks with EU officials in Brussels focused on restoring consular services for Afghans living in Europe, expanding ties with European countries and discussing the situation of asylum seekers whose applications had been rejected.

Neumann warned that transferring consular services to the Taliban would go beyond facilitating deportations and could affect the lives of thousands of Afghans living in Europe.

“For Afghans who fled Taliban, this is not an abstract diplomatic question” she wrote.

The MEP urged the European Commission to clarify who would be returned to Afghanistan, how Afghans living in Europe would be protected from what she described as “transnational repression”, and what concessions the Taliban would receive in return for such cooperation.

Abdul Hakim Hemmat Akhundzada, head of public relations at the Taliban’s Interior Ministry, made the remarks at a gathering in Paktia.

Without naming Pakistan directly, he said: “Beside us is an ominous enemy that is close to Paktia.”

Addressing those present, the Taliban official said: “If I ask you what enmity these people and this country have with us, we have no religious enmity, no enmity over land and people, and no linguistic enmity. They simply cannot tolerate a united, prosperous, self-reliant Afghanistan that is free of war and at peace.”

He stressed the need for public awareness and shaping public opinion against the country.

The remarks come as Pakistan also accuses the Taliban of fuelling insecurity and crisis in the country in cooperation with India. Islamabad also accuses the Taliban of supporting the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists.

Pakistani officials say attacks and insecurity in the country have increased severalfold since the Taliban returned to power. Relations between the two sides are currently in deep crisis, talks have produced no results, and the outlook remains bleak.