UN Women has expressed concern that women and girls are bearing the greatest cost of the ongoing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. The UN agency stressed that women and girls urgently need support to access healthcare, food and shelter.
Adam Boehler, the US president’s special envoy for hostage affairs, said the imprisonment of former Taliban commander Haji Najibullah sends a clear message to hostage-takers and supporters of terrorism.
UN Secretary-General spokesperson Farhan Haq said Taliban forces used live ammunition to disperse a civil protest in Herat. He urged the Taliban to refrain from any unnecessary or disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrations.
Abdul Rahman Qanet, the Taliban’s deputy minister for mines, met Jeffrey Grieco, president of the Afghanistan-US Joint Chamber of Commerce, in Kabul.
Russia has called for the resumption of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)-Afghanistan Contact Group. Bakhtiyor Khakimov, Russia’s representative to the SCO, said Moscow believes reactivating the group is necessary.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has confirmed that 13 civilians were killed and 10 others wounded in recent Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. According to UNAMA, women and children were among the casualties.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has expressed concern over the Force suppression of protesters in the Jebrail area of Herat.
The World Liberty Congress has condemned the detention of women in Herat and the violent treatment of protesters, describing the actions as part of the Taliban’s broader policy of suppressing women and dissent.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting said its military carried out strikes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border overnight.
Sources told Afghanistan International that a Hazara woman was detained by Taliban morality police in Kabul three days ago after leaving her home to do routine shopping. She was reportedly taken away in a government vehicle to an unknown location.
Haji Najibullah, a Taliban commander involved in the kidnapping of American journalist David Rohde and two companions, was sentenced to 42 years in prison by a court in New York on Tuesday.
A Russian Foreign Ministry official says the Taliban continue to allow conditions in Afghanistan that enable some terrorist groups to operate. He said an estimated 20 militant groups with between 20,000 and 23,000 fighters are currently present in the country.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has confirmed that Pakistan carried out strikes inside Afghanistan, saying Pakistani forces bombed civilian homes in Kunar, Khost and Paktika provinces. According to Mujahid, 13 people were killed and 14 others injured.
Sources told Afghanistan International on Tuesday that a meeting involving representatives close to the Taliban and Pakistan has begun in Istanbul.
Amnesty International has condemned the Taliban’s reported use of live ammunition against protesters in Herat, saying it marks a shocking escalation in attacks on the rights to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and women’s rights.
AzizurRahman Muhajir, the Taliban’s head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat, has denied reports that women were detained for failing to comply with the group’s dress code.
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has expressed concern over the excessive use of force against protesters in Herat. He called for de-escalation, respect for freedom of expression and accountability for those responsible for violence.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has told the UN Security Council that 3,687 security incidents were recorded in Afghanistan between 1 February and 30 April, representing a 57 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
Ismail Khan, a former jihadi commander, has criticised the Taliban over the reported harassment and mass detention of women in Herat, saying the treatment of women in the city is unacceptable.
An eyewitness to Tuesday’s protests in Herat told Afghanistan International that he personally witnessed one person being killed and at least 22 others injured during the protest.
China’s representative at the UN Security Council called on the Taliban to reopen secondary schools to girls. He said that the fundamental rights of the Afghan people, including access to education, must be respected.