Afghanistan

[…] Thomas West, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, underscored the reasons behind the diplomatic standoff during a Tuesday event at the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington.

Methamphetamine trafficking in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries is surging, according to a report published on Sunday by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Understanding Illegal Methamphetamine Manufacture in Afghanistan, highlights a drastic increase in seizures of the drug, from 2.5 tons in 2017 to 29.7 tons in 2021.

The cut in rations comes amidst growing alarm over shrinking aid for Afghanistan, where a U.N. humanitarian response plan is only about a quarter funded, even after the budget was downgraded in the face of funding shortfalls.

The vice and virtue minister, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, visited the province earlier this month and asked security personnel to stop women from visiting the park, saying “sightseeing is not a must for women.”

A new publication from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) presents “credible” reports that between 15 August 2021 and 30 June 2023, the country’s de facto authorities were responsible for 218 extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 144 instances of torture and ill treatment, and 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions.

The Taliban on Wednesday banned all political parties in Afghanistan, stating that such activities are against Islamic law, or Sharia.

More than 30 independent UN human rights experts have called for the international community to recommit to support the people of Afghanistan, in a statement issued on Monday marking two years since the Taliban took power. 

De facto Taliban authorities in Afghanistan are presenting an impressive list of achievements in the fight against narcotics about a year after their reclusive supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, outlawed drug production. 

The supreme leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban has labeled cross-border attacks, including those on Pakistan, as “haram” or forbidden under Islam. Senior Taliban leaders communicated the “diktat” or decree from Hibatullah Akhundzada to Pakistani officials during recent bilateral talks to underscore their determination not to allow anyone to threaten other countries from Afghan soil.

U.S. officials told Afghanistan's Taliban that Washington was open to technical talks on economic stability and discussions on combating narcotics trafficking, the U.S. State Department said on Monday following two days of talks in Qatar.