Afghanistan’s Population Nearly 35 Million, Claims Taliban

According to the Taliban statement, each individual received 39 lashes and a six-year prison sentence as part of their punishment.

The flogging sentence was carried out on Friday, March 8, by the Taliban's court in Parwan province.

The group did not provide additional details regarding the execution of this sentence.

Earlier on Thursday, Taliban had also punished four individuals in Helmand on various charges.

Since the takeover of power by the group, physical punishments have been implemented. Despite international calls to cease public and physical punishments, the group persists in carrying out such measures against accused individuals.

Noori stated that the Taliban has effectively addressed all matters, but those who have left Afghanistan present an inaccurate picture.

Speaking at a gathering in Nangarhar province, he said that Afghanistan will achieve self-sufficiency in producing wheat, fruits, oil, and electricity "in a few days" and will soon make its own passports and weapons.

Noori criticised those who departed from the country following the group's return to power, labelling them as "Western slaves" who disseminate inaccurate information about their country to the international community.

The front stated that unless they are not attacked by the Taliban, they will refrain from engaging in military operations until the end of Ramadan and the days of Eid.

On X social media platform, AFF wrote, "In case of witnessing provocative actions by the Taliban group, such as harassment, inhumane treatment, and violent encounters against civilians, especially women, it will assess the option of a military response against this group during the month of Ramadan.”

In recent months, the Freedom Front has carried out guerrilla attacks on Taliban bases and outposts in several Afghan cities, especially Kabul.

The front claimed that over the past two years, it has killed 592 Taliban members and injured 699 members of the group by attacking 233 targets across the country.

Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X social media platform, that the World Bank is financially supporting the project.

The National Electricity Company of Afghanistan (DABS) also wrote on X social media platform that a meeting regarding the CASA-1000 project was held in Istanbul, Turkey, with representatives from the World Bank, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan in attendance.

This state-owned company, under the control of the Taliban, said that the CASA-1000 project will continue from the Sher Khan Port in Kunduz province to the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar province, spanning a length of 580 kilometres.

The CASA-1000 project aims to transfer electricity from Central Asia to South Asia. The project was inaugurated in Tajikistan in 2016, with the participation of regional leaders, and was scheduled to be completed by March 2022.

However, following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, the project's progress came to a halt. Reuters reported in August 2022 that practical work on the CASA-1000 project had been stalled due to the unstable situation in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the front said that one Taliban member was killed, and three others were wounded in this attack.

NRF, led by Ahmad Massoud, stated on X social media platform on Saturday, that in this area, a Taliban’s defence ministry battalion is stationed.

Taliban has not commented on the matter yet.

On Friday, NRF also had announced that in the attacks by its forces in Parwan and Herat, four Taliban fighters, including the chief of staff of the Taliban division in Bagram, were killed.

The NRF is a military and political faction opposed to the Taliban, engaging in various attacks against the group over the past two and a half years.