Afghanistan

Russia will invite the Taliban to international talks on Afghanistan scheduled for October 20 in Moscow, the Kremlin’s envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said Thursday. In response to a question from Russian journalists on whether representatives of the hardline group would be invited to negotiations involving China, India, Iran, and Pakistan, Kabulov said: “Yes.”

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said Monday their security forces had destroyed an Islamic State Khorasan Province cell in Kabul and killed all the militants there.

The Taliban has warned of consequences if the United States did not stop flying drones over Afghan airspace. The statement on Wednesday, released on the Taliban’s Twitter account, said the “US has violated all international rights and laws as well as its commitments made to the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, with the operation of these drones in Afghanistan”.

Top US defence officials have said the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan can be traced back to a deal between the group and the Trump administration. The so-called Doha agreement was signed in February 2020 and set a date for the US to withdraw its troops. Gen Frank McKenzie said the deal had a "really pernicious effect" on the Afghan government and military. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed, saying the agreement had helped the Taliban get "stronger".

The Taliban said Tuesday they plan to temporarily enact articles from Afghanistan’s 1964 constitution that are “not in conflict with Islamic Sharia (law)” to govern the country.

The international criminal court’s new prosecutor has asked the court to relaunch an inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban and supporters of Islamic State in Afghanistan since 2003. The move by Karim Khan shows a determination to use international law to investigate not only past but also contemporary crimes against humanity.

[…] As a matter of high priority, the EU will initiate a regional political platform of cooperation with Afghan direct neighbours to help prevent the negative spill-over effects in the region, and support the economic resilience and regional economic cooperation, as well as humanitarian and protection needs.

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan last month, they have made some commitments to uphold human rights. However, their subsequent actions have “sadly contradicted” those promises, the UN rights chief told a side event of the General Assembly on Tuesday.

The Afghan Taliban will be under major stress in the coming weeks and months as they focus on the challenges of governance. Such pressure could generate fresh internal tensions, analyst Michael Kugelman writes.

The mission was extended for another six months and was unanimously approved. The resolution stressed the importance of an inclusive government.