Taliban Dismisses Physician from Health Ministry, Appoints Cleric Instead

Kouhgard stated that transit to Afghanistan has seen a "90 percent increase in weight" and declared its value to be over USD 242 million.

Earlier, in 18 shipments this year, the Director-General of South Khorasan Customs announced a threefold increase in cargo transit to Afghanistan.

Kouhgard, on Monday, in an interview with IRNA, said that cargo transit to Afghanistan has seen a "90 percent increase in weight”.

According to him, transit of goods has grown by 965 percent in terms of the number of trucks and by 770 percent in terms of value.

Transit goods to Afghanistan include trucks carrying sugar, flour, oil, used empty containers, and chemical fertilisers.

These goods have been transited from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Indonesia through the Mahiroud Customs to Afghanistan.

This Iranian official also reported exports of goods from South Khorasan Customs to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Iraq.

These goods include cement, fuel oil, tiles and ceramics, edible salt, plastic products, and other export items to these countries.

Kouhgard said that the total exports through South Khorasan Customs in the past year amounted to over USD 122 million, with a 70 percent increase in value and a 30 percent increase in weight.

South Khorasan has four border markets and shares a 331-kilometre border with Afghanistan.

According to the Taliban's press release, this is the first time a women's chamber of commerce and industry has been established in this province.

At the inauguration ceremony, Fariba Noori, the deputy head of the Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that the chamber would operate in accordance with "Islamic Sharia law and Taliban regulations”.

The Taliban's press release mentioned that so far, women's chambers of commerce and industry have been established in 20 provinces of Afghanistan.

Taliban officials described the opening of this chamber as "very necessary and beneficial" for women's business activities.

The Taliban inaugurated this chamber while women in Afghanistan are currently facing extensive employment restrictions.

The Taliban have restricted women's presence in public spaces.

TASS news agency reported on Monday that this issue was emphasised in the joint statement of Putin and Mirziyoyev during the Russian President's visit to Uzbekistan.

In the joint statement, it has been stated that the leaders of the countries consider achieving peace and stability in Afghanistan as a priority due to its significant impact on the security of Central Asia and neighbouring regions.

According to the report, both countries intend to coordinate their efforts within the framework of the Moscow Format, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and other mechanisms with the goal of achieving concrete results for resolving the situation in Afghanistan.

The two sides also positively evaluated the first meeting of the working group for the development of the Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan transport corridor.

Putin arrived in Uzbekistan on Sunday evening for a two-day visit.

This is Putin's third trip abroad since the start of his fifth presidential term.

His first and second trips in his new presidential term were to China and Belarus.

The Taliban punished this individual with 21 lashes.

According to the Taliban’s Supreme Court's press release, this individual was punished on Monday in the Urgun district of Paktika province.

According to this press release, the court of Urgun carried out this sentence after it was confirmed by the Taliban’s Supreme Court.

The Taliban have not provided details about the accused individual.

Yesterday, Taliban officials in Ghor province reported the execution of flogging sentences on eight individuals, including one woman.

Human rights organisations have called on the Taliban to stop these brutal corporal punishments. These organisations state that detainees under the Taliban regime do not have access to fair trial procedures. In response, the Taliban have said they will continue to implement "Islamic Sharia”.

Kabulov stated that an invitation to the meeting has been sent to the Taliban. According to him, the Taliban are interested in buying oil and other goods from Russia.

In response to a question from the TASS news agency about what Russia will discuss with Taliban representatives at the meeting, the Russian diplomat said there are many promising areas for cooperation.

In another report, TASS quoted Zamir Kabulov as saying that Russia's Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs have informed Vladmir Putin that the Taliban can be removed from the list of banned organisations.

The Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, who has always sought to expand Russia's relations with the Taliban, previously stated that "the Taliban are no longer enemies of Russia”.

In the past nearly three years, Kabulov has played an important role in facilitating relations between Russia and the Taliban. He previously stated that the Taliban trust Russia as the successor to the former Soviet Union.