Afghan activists at the Paris conference urged France to recognise gender apartheid in Afghanistan and refer it to the UN Security Council for legal and diplomatic action against Taliban restrictions on women.
Karim Khurram, former Minister of Information and Culture of Afghanistan, accused Pakistan of promoting narratives against Afghanistan’s identity, reacting to remarks by a regional think-tank head suggesting the country could fragment.
Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said deadly attacks in Pakistan are largely linked to militant groups based in Afghanistan and accused India of backing armed groups operating inside Pakistan.
Local sources told Afghanistan International on Friday that Taliban forces clashed with residents in Argo district of Badakhshan over poppy eradication, leaving at least one person dead and three others injured.
Ismatulla Irgashev, Uzbek President Special Representative, met Tetsuya Yamada Director General of the South Asia Department at JICA, on Thursday to discuss joint projects aimed at Afghanistan’s socio-economic development.
The Afghan Shia Commission urged resolving disputes through dialogue, moderation and national unity at a meeting in Kabul. Its head said the group supports the Taliban’s “security achievements”.
Tahir Andrabi, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said Taliban support for Pakistani militants is preventing tensions from easing, warning relations will not normalise unless such backing ends.
The Taliban Ministry of Refugees said 491 Afghans returned from Pakistan after being released from prisons, crossing via Torkham and Spin Boldak border points.
Sources familiar with the matter told Afghanistan International that the Taliban and Iran have cooperated on developing a mobile phone application capable of monitoring users in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi welcomed ceasefire deals by tribal elders along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Kunar and Nuristan, calling them a sign that local people want peace.
Maria Sultan, Head of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SSASI), says Afghanistan may lose its current geographic form in a shifting regional order, warning the country may not exist in its present structure in the future.
Local sources in Badakhshan told Afghanistan International that a female entrepreneur was shot dead by an unidentified gunman on Thursday in Ishkashim bazaar.
A two-day conference on Afghanistan’s human rights situation and the ongoing crisis began on Wednesday at the French National Assembly, with French officials, a UN rapporteur and former Afghan leaders attending.
Afghanistan Media Support Organization said Farhad Ghafori, head of Radio Etihad in Logar, has been released after 15 days in Taliban detention. Five other journalists remain held with no information on their fate.
Saif Khyber said a video showing a woman being beaten in Kabul is not connected to the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, insisting the ministry has no female employees.
Hannah Neumann, member of the European Parliament, says deporting Afghan asylum seekers is not only a humanitarian failure but a strategic mistake for Europe, warning it could strengthen Taliban-linked networks.
Taliban’s Mines Minister, Hedayatullah Badri, has again urged the start of extraction at the Aynak copper mine in talks with China’s ambassador and company officials, though the long-delayed project remains stalled.
Abdul Karim Haidar, deputy justice minister, said defence lawyers in Afghanistan must act in line with the interests of the Taliban’s Justice Ministry and authorities after receiving legal licences.
A meeting of Taliban governors and police chiefs in the south-west was held in Kandahar, chaired by Governor Mullah Shirin Akhund, who prioritised security and enforcement of the leader’s decrees.
Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir said Taliban support for Pakistani militants is an irrational and misguided policy, adding Pakistan’s military operations against them will continue.
UNICEF says it and partners have delivered learning materials to four million children in Afghanistan and helped rebuild 232 schools, stressing every child deserves a safe place to learn.
The European Parliament said a petition calling for the recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan and the designation of the Taliban as a terrorist organisation has been referred to its Committee on Petitions.