Taliban - The Purbottar

29 Mar

Taliban prohibits beardless government employees entry to offices

editor0 CommentsworldTaliban

The Taliban barred beardless civil servants from entering their offices in Afghanistan on Monday. Eyewitnesses said that representatives of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's Vice Ministry of Propaganda and Prevention blocked the entry of Finance Ministry staff because they were beardless.The employees were allowed to enter the ministry after they wore hats as recommended by the Taliban representatives. According to a report, the Ministry of Propaganda and Vice Prevention has denied stopping government employees at the gate. "All government agencies were instructed not to allow women without the hijab and male employees of the public administration to conform to their…

28 Mar

International media banned in Afghanistan

editor0 CommentsInternationalTaliban

The Taliban in Afghanistan have decided to ban international media outlets from broadcasting over local media. The BBC first stopped broadcasting on Sunday night. The BBC has asked the Taliban to reverse its decision, saying it will affect more than 6 million viewers of its Farsi, Pashto and Uzbek language service programs. The BBC Persian TV channel can still be accessed, but only by 20 percent of Afghans with satellite TV. The Khaama Press quoted, “The BBC’s TV news bulletins in Pashto, Persian, and Uzbek have been taken off air in Afghanistan after the Taliban ordered our TV partners to…

21 Sep

Taliban appoint deputy ministers in the all-male government

editor0 CommentsNorth EastGOVERNMENT, Taliban

The Taliban announced a list of deputy ministers on Tuesday, failing to name any women, despite an international outcry when they presented their all-male Cabinet ministers earlier this month. The list was presented by government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The list of deputy ministers signals that the Taliban have not been swayed by international criticism and that they’re doubling down on their current hard-line path despite initial promises of inclusivity and upholding women’s rights. The international community has warned that it will judge the Taliban by their actions, and that recognition of…

14 Sep

Taliban today said that news of Mullah Baradar’s death is false.

editor0 CommentsNorth EastMullah Baradar, Taliban

The Taliban have denied that one of their top leaders has been killed in a shootout with rivals, following rumours about internal splits in the movement nearly a month after its lightning victory over the Western-backed government in Kabul. Sulail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, said Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, former head of the Taliban political office who was named deputy prime minister last week, issued a voice message rejecting claims he had been killed or injured in a clash. "He says it is lies and totally baseless," Shaheen said in a message on Twitter. The denials follow days of rumours…

12 Sep

Afghan women rally in support of the Taliban

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghans, Taliban

Afghan women wearing full face veils sat in rows at a Kabul university lecture theatre Saturday, pledging commitment to the Taliban's hardline policies on gender segregation. About 300 women -- covered head-to-toe in accordance with strict new dress policies for education -- waved Taliban flags as speakers railed against the West and expressed support for the Islamists' policies.A handful wore blue burqas, which have only a small mesh window to see from, but most wore black niqabs covering most of the face apart from the eyes. The women attended an event at a university, in which women speakers spoke in…

01 Sep

UNSC resolution addresses ‘key concerns’ on Afghanistan: India

editor0 CommentsIndia, InternationalAfghanistan, Taliban

Despite the abstention of two “P-5” countries, Russia and China, from the India-led United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2593, the Government of India said it was a “matter of satisfaction” that the resolution, addressed India's “key concerns” on Afghanistan. According official sources, the resolution, which called on the Taliban to keep its commitments on preventing terror groups in Afghanistan and urged them to assist the safe evacuations of all Afghan nationals wishing to leave the country, was the result of careful coordination and “high-level official contacts with UNSC members, including a call to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken,…

30 Aug

Taliban Want to Continue Political, Trade Ties With India, Leader Stanekzai Says

editor0 CommentsIndia, InternationalTaliban

Taliban leader Sher Mohammed Abbas Stanekzai has said the group wants to continue Afghanistan’s political, economic and cultural ties with India, the first time a member of the Taliban’s top hierarchy has spoken on the issue since the takeover of Kabul. In a nearly 46-minute video posted on the Taliban’s social media platforms on Saturday, Stanekzai spoke extensively in Pashto on the end of the war in Afghanistan and the Taliban’s plans for forming an Islamic administration based on Shariah. He also spoke about the Taliban’s views on relations with key countries in the region, including India, Pakistan, China and…

30 Aug

All parties should establish contact with the Taliban and guide it actively

editor0 CommentsNorth EastAfghanistan, Taliban

China has told the US that the Afghanistan situation has undergone fundamental changes and it is necessary for 'all parties' to make contact with the Taliban and 'guide it actively', reiterating that America's troop withdrawal may provide an opportunity for the resurgence of terrorist groups. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, discussed the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan amidst chaotic airlifts of Afghan civilians and diplomats by the US and NATO countries before the August 31 deadline. Wang and Blinken also discussed bilateral ties which were riddled with tensions…

25 Aug

Pakistan hands over list of most-wanted TTP terrorists to Taliban

editor0 CommentsNorth EastPAKISTAN, Taliban

Pakistan has handed over a list of most-wanted terrorists affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from the war-torn neighbouring country to the Taliban. Pakistan shared the list with Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhundzada after they took control of Kabul recently, media reports stated. Reportedly, Akhundzada had set up a three-member commission to investigate Pakistan's claim that the TTP was using Afghanistan to plot cross-border terrorist attacks. According to a report with The Express Tribune, Islamabad is seeking action against TTP and its affiliates have already initiated talks with the terror group. "We have taken up the issue with them…

24 Aug

CIA Chief Held Secret Meeting Yesterday With Taliban In Kabul: Report

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan, Taliban

America's top spy held a secret meeting with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the two sides since the militant group seized the Afghan capital, a media report said on Tuesday. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country to the UAE. CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul on Monday with Baradar in the highest-level…