Archive

The Taliban has dismissed the Organisation of Turkic States’ plea for an inclusive Afghan government as an internal affair.

India has resumed issuing visas for Afghan citizens after a four-year suspension, government sources told The Hindu.

The Taliban’s Supreme Court announced on Saturday that it has publicly flogged 18 individuals in Kabul and Laghman provinces on charges of drug trafficking, extramarital sexual relations and theft. All were also sentenced to prison terms of between seven months and six years.

Iran and Pakistan expelled a total of 3099 Afghan migrants on Friday, 23 May, the Taliban’s High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues announced. Of those deported, 1912 returned from Iran and 1187 from Pakistan.

Leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) have called for the establishment of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, highlighting the country’s ethnic diversity and the significant presence of Turkic peoples as a “unique bridge” to the Turkic world.

Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, announced on Friday that 100 kilometres of a new border wall along the Razavi Khorasan Province frontier with Afghanistan have been finished.

Dozens of Afghan women’s civil society organisations have demanded that international bodies launch legal proceedings against Cheryl Benard, wife of former US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad, for comments they say downplayed the Taliban’s gender-based repression.

Cheryl Benard, author and wife of former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, said she would “celebrate and eat ice cream” if Afghan women were freed from Taliban rule, urging Afghans to resist gender apartheid from within the country.

The Taliban embassy in Tehran has announced the suspension of various consular services, including the issuance and renewal of passports and other legal documents, effective Saturday, 24 May.

Mohammad Amir Tawasoli, a former pilot in the Afghan army, has died by suicide in Mashhad, Iran, after reportedly receiving an exit notice from Iranian authorities.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Afghanistan’s Hezb-e Islami party, has called on Afghans to unite in the face of what he describes as renewed external threats and potential geopolitical manoeuvring over Afghanistan.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s ambassador in Qatar has claimed that Iran and India no longer regard the group as a proxy of Pakistan. Speaking in an interview with Al Jazeera, Shaheen stated that both New Delhi and Tehran have come to recognise that this perception was inaccurate.

Iran and Pakistan deported a combined total of 4047 Afghan migrants on Thursday, 22 May, according to the Taliban’s High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues.

Taliban forces have detained the 12-year-old son of prominent cleric and vocal Taliban critic Mawlawi Abdul Qadir Qanit during a raid on the family’s home in Kabul, sources close to the family told Afghanistan International.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Ishaq Dar, has proposed the formation of a regional bloc comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and Bangladesh.

Taliban-affiliated individuals have reportedly threatened female employees of United Nations agencies in Kabul with death, marking a serious escalation in the group’s campaign of intimidation against women working with international organisations.

The Taliban has reportedly arrested Mawlawi Bashir Ahmad Hanafi, a religious scholar in Helmand province, for the second time.

Amnesty International has reported that Afghan women and girls have endured some of the most severe human rights violations since the Taliban’s return to power, with virtually no avenue for justice.

The Taliban has publicly flogged a woman and two men in Yangi Qala district of Takhar province after convicting them of theft and engaging in sexual relations outside of marriage.

The Taliban has once again detained Mawlawi Abdul Qadir Qanit, a prominent religious scholar and vocal critic of the group.

China has announced that Pakistan and the Taliban have agreed to elevate their diplomatic relations to the level of ambassadors.