Afghanistan

Christina Markus Lassen, Denmark’s UN ambassador and Security Council president for August, called the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power a “rather grim anniversary”.

Credible sources in the Taliban’s Justice Ministry say the commission for recovering seized land plans to review Hazara and Shia townships and properties across several Afghan provinces.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has welcomed recent remarks by Iran’s deputy ambassador in Kabul about armed opponents of the group, saying they reflect the wishes of the Afghan people.

Sources told Afghanistan International that Abdul Karim Abbasi, the former head of Panjshir’s provincial council, has been released after spending two years and five months in Taliban custody.

Amid increased military activity by opposition groups, the Taliban said on Sunday, 2 August, that it had recruited 547 new personnel across seven Afghan provinces.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the group has suspended operations at some mines in Badakhshan while it reviews extraction guidelines, citing illegal mining, disorder and the seizure of mining sites.

As the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return approaches, Human Rights Watch says Afghanistan faces one of the world’s gravest human rights and humanitarian crises.

Residents of Badakhshan say Taliban forces opened fire on protesters in Yaftal-e Payeen district on Saturday, causing casualties. The exact number of dead and wounded remains unknown.

Mohammad Rahmati, managing director of private broadcaster Tamadon TV, and network employee Mohammad Reza Ehsani have been released from Taliban custody, sources say.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front says it ambushed foreign militants supporting the Taliban on the road to Zebak district in Badakhshan, killing at least two and wounding three others.

Pakistan’s military has rejected the UNAMA report that hundreds of Afghan civilians were killed or injured in its cross-border attacks, saying the report is baseless. A Pakistan army spokesperson said that it targeted only Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan sites.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) says it killed at least two Taliban members in an attack on the group’s patrol vehicle in Herat. Taliban officials have not commented.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, has called the UN Security Council sanctions committee’s update of identity details for five senior Taliban officials a continuation of failed past policies.

The World Bank says Afghanistan's trade has shifted sharply towards Central Asia and Iran after disruption along the Pakistan route. Central Asian corridors now handle 48 per cent of imports and Iran 46 per cent, while Pakistan's share has fallen to almost zero.

Sources in Herat say the Taliban detained at least four women at shopping centres on the city’s 64-Metre Road on Friday afternoon over their clothing and hijab.

Pakistan’s army spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says Afghan citizens carried out most of the country’s 28 suicide attacks this year, again accusing the Taliban of supporting armed groups.

Informed sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence has seized the Kabul home of former Member of Parliament Zalmai Khan Mujaddidi and expelled his relatives from the property.

Georgette Gagnon, acting head of UNAMA, has again urged the Taliban to lift restrictions on girls’ education and allow them to return to learning at all levels.