Taliban's Jihadi Madrassas Have Dangerous Impact On Minds Of Youngsters, Says New Study

Mast asked the Biden administration what was the benefit of this move for the United States.

The harsh criticism follows the suspension of all US foreign aid, with the exception of aid to Israel and Egypt.

The suspension of US foreign aid has caused a severe shock in the Kabul foreign exchange market. Hours after the news of the suspension of aid was published, the value of the dollar in Sarai Shahzada, the Kabul currency market, exceeded 80 afghanis.

Prior to the suspension of its foreign aid, the United States was Afghanistan's largest financial backer, which is controlled by the Taliban.

However, the US State Department announced in a letter to its diplomatic missions on Friday (January 24) that under the executive order of the new President Donald Trump, all foreign aid – with the exception of aid to Israel and Egypt – will be suspended for 90 days.

The letter stressed that no new foreign aid contracts will be signed until the situation is reviewed by the US secretary of state. The decision comes as part of the Trump administration's new policies to review foreign aid to other countries.

The Biden administration quietly awarded $15 million in taxpayer funds to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to help distribute "oral contraceptives and condoms," a non-public congressional funding notice reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon shows. In doing so, the administration acknowledged that "some coordination" with the Taliban would be "necessary for programmatic purposes."

Afghanistan International had previously published the news, citing its sources in Qatar and Kabul.

Earlier, Taliban sources told Afghanistan International that Mohammad Naeem, the head of the Taliban's embassy in Doha, had been summoned to Kabul and replaced by Suhail Shaheen.

Mohammad Naeem Wardak previously served as the Taliban's ambassador in Doha.

After his recall to Kabul, Suhail Shaheen was appointed as the Taliban's ambassador in Doha instead of Naeem Wardak.

After taking over power in Kabul in 2021, the Taliban introduced Suhail Shaheen as their representative to the United Nations. After three years of waiting, the United Nations did not hand over the seat of Afghanistan to Suhail Shaheen.

After the Taliban took control of Kabul and the group took control of the Afghan embassy in Qatar, Mohammad Naeem Wardak was in charge of the embassy.

Earlier, Taliban sources in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that the Taliban are preparing for the consequences of the change in US foreign policy towards Afghanistan at the same time as Donald Trump is reelected as president of the US. The appointment of Suhail Shaheen, who has experience in negotiating with the international community, is part of the Taliban's preparations to change the US foreign policy towards Afghanistan.

The United States usually negotiates with the Taliban through the Taliban's embassy in Qatar on prisoner releases, the fight against terrorism, humanitarian aid, and other issues.

Shaheen warned, "Everyone should learn from the jihad of the Afghan nation in the face of pressure and aggression in recent decades."

The warning came after the Secretary of State of US President Donald Trump announced that he would offer a much larger reward to Taliban leaders if reports that the Taliban are holding more American citizens than those set for Osama bin Laden, are true.

In response to this threat, Shaheen said that the policy of the Taliban government is to resolve issues peacefully through dialogue. He also warned that the Afghan nation's jihad in the face of pressures and aggressions in recent decades is a lesson to be learned.

This reaction came after two American citizens were exchanged for a Taliban member on the last day of the Biden administration.

However, two other Americans, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, remain in Taliban custody.

After Donald Trump came to power, a Canadian citizen was also released from the Taliban's prison.

The Canadian Foreign Minister on Sunday announced the release of Canadian veteran David Lavery from Taliban custody with the mediation of Qatar. Without providing details or how he was released, she wrote on the social media platform X that she had spoken to Lavery and that he had arrived in Qatar.

Suhail Shaheen said that the release of the Canadian citizen from Afghan prisons was achieved through the mediation of the "friendly country of Qatar" and positive interactions with the Taliban.

Recalling the release of the Canadian citizen, Shaheen tried to encourage the new US secretary of state to engage with the group.

The new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, wrote on social media platform X on Saturday, January 25, that it has been reported that the Taliban have taken more American citizens hostage than has been announced so far.

"If this is true, we should immediately put a very large bounty on the heads of senior Taliban leaders, perhaps even more than we had set for Osama bin Laden," Marco Rubio said.

The exact number of US citizens in Taliban prisons has not yet been announced.

The decision was made due to concerns about the spread of diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, sheep pox, and goat pox.

The ban, which covers African, Asian and European countries, comes after the World Health Organisation warned about the spread of animal diseases in various countries.

Foot-and-mouth disease and sheep pox are among the most dangerous animal diseases. Both diseases are mainly seen in African and Asian countries and have serious effects on other animals. Foot-and-mouth fever can lead to the death of animals in some cases.

According to these sources, Yaqoob Mujahid, the Taliban's defence minister, provided the conditions for his immediate visit to Dubai.

A well-informed source in Kabul said that after Abbas Stanekzai harshly criticised Hibatullah Akhundzada for banning girls' education, the Taliban leader ordered Abdul Haq Wasiq, the head of intelligence, to arrest Stanekzai and ban him from leaving the country.

After receiving the order, Wasiq contacted Defence Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, who is considered one of Abbas Stanekzai's main supporters in the Taliban structure.

According to these sources, the Taliban's defence minister asked him to leave Afghanistan immediately after learning of the Taliban leader's decision to arrest and ban Stanekzai from leaving Afghanistan.

The Taliban has not yet officially commented on the matter.

However, a source close to the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, in an interview with Afghanistan International, denied that "there is a dispute between Hibatullah and Stanekzai". The source said that Abbas Stanekzai had planned to publish a video about the incident, but was unable to do so due to the illness he suffered.

The source close to Stanekzai added that the Deputy Foreign Minister has asked Zia Ahmad Takal, the Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to take a position on this issue.

In a speech on Saturday, January 18, at the graduation ceremony of students of a religious school in Khost Province, Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, said that the Taliban are "acting against Sharia" and have ignored the rights of 20 million of Afghanistan's population (women).

He stressed that the Taliban's decision to close schools and universities to girls has no religious basis, and that the ban is only Hibatullah Akhundzada's personal view.

Abbas Stanekzai's remarks about injustice against women have been widely reflected in the international media. Reuters called the comments one of the harshest public criticisms of the policy that has led to the Taliban's international isolation.

CNN also described Abbas Stanekzai's harsh remarks as "rare public criticism of the policies" of Hibatullah Akhundzada.

An analyst told CNN that Stanekzai's recent speech went beyond his previous criticisms. "Stanekzai has publicly called for a change in policies and questioned the legitimacy of the current approach," he said.

The Economist Times, referring to Stanekzai's previous criticisms, wrote that this time he addressed Hibatullah Akhundzada directly and asked him to change his policies.