Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives are to hold talks Saturday and Sunday about containing extremist groups in Afghanistan and easing the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country, officials from both sides said. Watch this report for more details.

Doha: US to hold talks with Taliban officials on evacuees

When Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 16, 2021, people all around the world were worried that darkness would take over the country, but metaphorically. However, seems like this is about to happen literally now.<o:p></o:p>

Afghanistan faces the danger of losing all of its electricity as majority of the electricity bills remain unpaid since Taliban took control of the country.<o:p></o:p>

The neighbouring countries of Afghanistan help the country by supplying nearly 78 per cent of its power needs. However, the Taliban’s new government is failing to pay the bills.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/did-ashraf-ghani-flee-afghanistan-with-a-lot-of-money-us-watchdog-to-investigate-418802">Did Ashraf Ghani flee Afghanistan with a lot of money? US watchdog to investigate</a>

<o:p></o:p>

This is turning into yet another problem for the Taliban government that is already struggling to bring order and peace in Afghanistan. Adding to the existing cash crunch and a downward spiral of the economy, electricity bills remain unpaid due to which companies and international governments are refusing to help the struggling nation.<o:p></o:p>

Before Taliban took over, Afghanistan used to pay nearly $20 to 25 million every month to neighbouring countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. When Taliban took over the country, majority of the international governments have stopped all kinds of financial aids for the country. In addition to this, the US and other allies have frozen Afghanistan’s overseas reserves.<o:p></o:p>

Due to this, Afghanistan now has unpaid electricity bills of nearly $62 million, due to which the supplier countries can cut power supply any time they want, acting CEO of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat told Al Jazeera.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/afghanistan-taliban-desperate-to-get-international-recognition-419010">WATCH |</a>

<o:p></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/afghanistan-taliban-desperate-to-get-international-recognition-419010/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"We've asked the UNAMA in Kabul to assist the people of Afghanistan to pay the country’s power suppliers as part of their humanitarian aid," Ahmadzai said. He has also predicted that the amount of the unpaid bills is expected to increase to nearly $85 million in the next week and has therefore requested for $90 million from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.<o:p></o:p>

While the Taliban government waits for a reply and assistance from the UN mission, only 38 per cent of the Afghan population have proper access to electricity now.<o:p></o:p>

Taliban, meanwhile, is assuring locals that the neighbouring countries will not cut off the power supply as "we have a good relationship with them and we don’t expect them to stop providing us power,"&nbsp;assured Bilal Karimi, a spokesman for the terrorist group.<o:p></o:p>

When Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 16, 2021, people all around the world were worried that darkness would take over the country, but metaphorically. However, seems like this is about to happen literally now.

When Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 16, 2021, people all around the world were worried that darkness would take over the country, but metaphorically. However, seems like this is about to happen literally now. Afghanistan faces the danger of losing all of its electricity as majority of the electricity bills remain unpaid since Taliban took control of the country. The neighbouring countries of Afghanistan help the country by supplying nearly 78 per cent of its power needs. However, the Taliban’s new government is failing to pay the bills. Also read | Did Ashraf Ghani flee Afghanistan with a lot of money? US watchdog to investigate This is turning into yet another problem for the Taliban government that is already struggling to bring order and peace in Afghanistan. Adding to the existing cash crunch and a downward spiral of the economy, electricity bills remain unpaid due to which companies and international governments are refusing to help the struggling nation. Before Taliban took over, Afghanistan used to pay nearly $20 to 25 million every month to neighbouring countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. When Taliban took over the country, majority of the international governments have stopped all kinds of financial aids for the country. In addition to this, the US and other allies have frozen Afghanistan’s overseas reserves. Due to this, Afghanistan now has unpaid electricity bills of nearly $62 million, due to which the supplier countries can cut power supply any time they want, acting CEO of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat told Al Jazeera. WATCH | "We've asked the UNAMA in Kabul to assist the people of Afghanistan to pay the country’s power suppliers as part of their humanitarian aid," Ahmadzai said. He has also predicted that the amount of the unpaid bills is expected to increase to nearly $85 million in the next week and has therefore requested for $90 million from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. While the Taliban government waits for a reply and assistance from the UN mission, only 38 per cent of the Afghan population have proper access to electricity now. Taliban, meanwhile, is assuring locals that the neighbouring countries will not cut off the power supply as "we have a good relationship with them and we don’t expect them to stop providing us power," assured Bilal Karimi, a spokesman for the terrorist group.

Afghanistan's unpaid electricity bills cross $62 million as Taliban struggles to get financial aid

A bomb ripped through a mosque filled with Shia Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing or injuring at least 55&nbsp;people, according to a Taliban police officer.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb, which occurred in Kunduz, the capital of Kunduz province, but Islamic State terrorists have a long history of assaulting Afghanistan's Shia minority.&nbsp;

Body parts were seen surrounded by rubble inside the mosque, which is utilised by the minority Shia Muslim population.&nbsp;

"We have received more than 100 wounded patients and over 55&nbsp;dead bodies, but the number will change. We are still receiving more people," said a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital worker, who did not want to be named.

Interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti confirmed the blast, without giving details. 
 
Local residents said&nbsp;the blast hit a Shia&nbsp;mosque during Friday prayers, the most important of the week.

"This afternoon, an explosion took place in a mosque of our Shia&nbsp;compatriots ... as a result of which a number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. 
 
Watch:&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/explosion-targets-shiite-mosque-in-afghanistans-kunduz-city-during-friday-prayers-419178/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

If verified, the death toll would be the biggest since US and NATO soldiers departed Afghanistan at the end of August, when the Taliban assumed control.

The Taliban have been targeted in a string of fatal strikes by rival IS militants, including ambushes and an explosion at a mosque in Kabul, the capital.

The explosion in Kunduz occurred during the weekly Friday prayer service at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque.

The Friday midday prayer is the climax of the Muslim holy week, and mosques are usually packed.

Ali Reza, a witness, claimed he was praying at the time of the explosion and saw numerous victims.&nbsp;

Shia Muslims, who are frequently targeted by Sunni extremists, have been subjected to some of Afghanistan's most brutal attacks, with rallies destroyed, hospitals assaulted, and commuters ambushed.

Shias account for about 20% of the Afghan population.

Many of them are Hazara, an ethnic minority that has been oppressed for decades in Afghanistan.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

A bomb ripped through a mosque filled with Shia Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing or injuring at least 55 people, according to a Taliban police officer.

A bomb ripped through a mosque filled with Shia Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing or injuring at least 55 people, according to a Taliban police officer. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb, which occurred in Kunduz, the capital of Kunduz province, but Islamic State terrorists have a long history of assaulting Afghanistan's Shia minority. Body parts were seen surrounded by rubble inside the mosque, which is utilised by the minority Shia Muslim population. "We have received more than 100 wounded patients and over 55 dead bodies, but the number will change. We are still receiving more people," said a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) hospital worker, who did not want to be named. Interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti confirmed the blast, without giving details. Local residents said the blast hit a Shia mosque during Friday prayers, the most important of the week. "This afternoon, an explosion took place in a mosque of our Shia compatriots ... as a result of which a number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Watch: If verified, the death toll would be the biggest since US and NATO soldiers departed Afghanistan at the end of August, when the Taliban assumed control. The Taliban have been targeted in a string of fatal strikes by rival IS militants, including ambushes and an explosion at a mosque in Kabul, the capital. The explosion in Kunduz occurred during the weekly Friday prayer service at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque. The Friday midday prayer is the climax of the Muslim holy week, and mosques are usually packed. Ali Reza, a witness, claimed he was praying at the time of the explosion and saw numerous victims. Shia Muslims, who are frequently targeted by Sunni extremists, have been subjected to some of Afghanistan's most brutal attacks, with rallies destroyed, hospitals assaulted, and commuters ambushed. Shias account for about 20% of the Afghan population. Many of them are Hazara, an ethnic minority that has been oppressed for decades in Afghanistan. (With inputs from agencies)

At least 55 killed in Afghanistan's Kunduz mosque blast: Taliban official

The Taliban have been desperate to get international recognition as the official government of Afghanistan. But however, their efforts have been futile till now. Watch this report to know more.

Afghanistan: Taliban desperate to get international recognition

More than a month has passed since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan but the state of affairs in the troubled country doesn't appear to be any different from what was witnessed in the 1990s.

In an interview with Washington based outlet NPR, veteran Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi has refuted the claims that the new government in Afghanistan is "moderate" in any way.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/women-teachers-face-uncertain-future-after-taliban-bans-them-from-schools-417874">Women teachers face uncertain future after Taliban bans them from schools</a>

Quraishi on Friday&nbsp;that nothing has changed from how the outfit ruled that country in the 1990s."I don't know why they promised that they're going to be moderate, but I don't think so," Quraishi told NPR.

"According to what I'm noticing, what I'm witnessing here in Afghanistan, they are the Taliban.

There is nothing changed between the Taliban in the '90s and between the Taliban in 2021."According to Quraishi, the Taliban have reinstated harsh punishments in the country.

Kabul fell to the Taliban in August and since then people are in a state of terror with increasing cases of human rights abuses being reported from several parts of the country.

Recently, the United Nations and other rights groups have received harrowing and credible reports of the impact on civilians of violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/displaced-families-in-kabul-to-return-home-taliban-419096">Displaced families in Kabul to return home: Taliban</a>

Taliban forces unlawfully killed 13 ethnic Hazaras, including a 17-year-old girl, in Afghanistan's Daykundi province, a rights group said earlier this week.

The killings happened in Kahor village of Khidir district on 30 August.

Eleven of the victims were former members of the Afghan National Defence Security Forces (ANDSF), and two were civilians, a new investigation by Amnesty International has revealed.

According to eyewitness testimony gathered by Amnesty International, the Taliban extrajudicially executed nine of the ANDSF members after they had surrendered, killings that appear to be war crimes.

Two civilians were killed as they attempted to flee, including a 17-year-old girl shot when the Taliban opened fire on a crowd of people.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-ransack-kabuls-gurdwara-karte-parwan-break-cctv-camera-and-locks-418481">Taliban ransack Kabul’s Gurdwara Karte Parwan, break CCTV camera and locks</a>

The rights group verified photographs and video evidence taken in the aftermath of the killings, and identified the location of Kahor village, where they happened.

"These cold-blooded executions are further proof that the Taliban are committing the same horrific abuses they were notorious for during their previous rule of Afghanistan," said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International`s Secretary-General."

They repeatedly violate the rights of those they perceive as their adversaries, even killing those who have already surrendered. The Taliban say they are not targeting former employees of the previous government, but these killings contradict such claims," Callamard said.

More than a month has passed since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan but the state of affairs in the troubled country doesn't appear to be any different from what was witnessed in the 1990s.

More than a month has passed since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan but the state of affairs in the troubled country doesn't appear to be any different from what was witnessed in the 1990s. In an interview with Washington based outlet NPR, veteran Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi has refuted the claims that the new government in Afghanistan is "moderate" in any way. Also Read | Women teachers face uncertain future after Taliban bans them from schools Quraishi on Friday that nothing has changed from how the outfit ruled that country in the 1990s."I don't know why they promised that they're going to be moderate, but I don't think so," Quraishi told NPR. "According to what I'm noticing, what I'm witnessing here in Afghanistan, they are the Taliban. There is nothing changed between the Taliban in the '90s and between the Taliban in 2021."According to Quraishi, the Taliban have reinstated harsh punishments in the country. Kabul fell to the Taliban in August and since then people are in a state of terror with increasing cases of human rights abuses being reported from several parts of the country. Recently, the United Nations and other rights groups have received harrowing and credible reports of the impact on civilians of violations of international humanitarian law and abuses of human rights. Also Read | Displaced families in Kabul to return home: Taliban Taliban forces unlawfully killed 13 ethnic Hazaras, including a 17-year-old girl, in Afghanistan's Daykundi province, a rights group said earlier this week. The killings happened in Kahor village of Khidir district on 30 August. Eleven of the victims were former members of the Afghan National Defence Security Forces (ANDSF), and two were civilians, a new investigation by Amnesty International has revealed. According to eyewitness testimony gathered by Amnesty International, the Taliban extrajudicially executed nine of the ANDSF members after they had surrendered, killings that appear to be war crimes. Two civilians were killed as they attempted to flee, including a 17-year-old girl shot when the Taliban opened fire on a crowd of people. Also Read | Taliban ransack Kabul’s Gurdwara Karte Parwan, break CCTV camera and locks The rights group verified photographs and video evidence taken in the aftermath of the killings, and identified the location of Kahor village, where they happened. "These cold-blooded executions are further proof that the Taliban are committing the same horrific abuses they were notorious for during their previous rule of Afghanistan," said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International`s Secretary-General." They repeatedly violate the rights of those they perceive as their adversaries, even killing those who have already surrendered. The Taliban say they are not targeting former employees of the previous government, but these killings contradict such claims," Callamard said.

Nothing changed between Taliban of 1990s and 2021: Report

The United Nations human rights council has voted to appoint a special rapporteur on Afghanistan. This decision was taken to probe allegations of violations by the Taliban and other actors in power. The vote concluded with 28 in favour and five against. China, Pakistan and Russia voted against the probe into Taliban leaders.

United Nations human rights council votes to appoint special rapporteur on Afghanistan

Poland's envoy to India Adam Burakowski has warned of a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and his country is willing to "contribute to humanitarian aid". The Polish embassy in Delhi is accredited to Afghanistan and played a key role in coordination of the evacuation in August when Taliban took over the country.

Speaking to WION's Sidhant Sibal, envoy Burakowski highlighted how Poland&nbsp;"evacuated around 1300 people from Afghanistan, Afghan nationals. These are people who worked with our mission in Afghanistan, our embassy when it was there."

The envoy welcomed the "decision of the government of India to be more open for foreign nationals".

Indian government has announced that foreign tourist will be allowed from November 15&nbsp;for those on chartered flights as Covid situation eases.

Interestingly, the Polish envoy also talked about polish artist Stefan Norblin who has decorated Indian palaces, including the Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur. The artist left Poland after the country was attacked during World War II and has been working &nbsp;for Maharajah Umaid Singh of Jodhpur in India. He designed the art deco murals at the famous Umaid Bhawan palace.

WION: How has Poland helped in evacuation process from Afghanistan? 
Adam Burakowski: Our embassies are very few embassies accredited to Afghanistan from Delhi,&nbsp;that is why we are observing the situation in Afghanistan very closely. The fall of Kabul on August 15 was a big surprise and shock for us,&nbsp;as for other countries and Afghanistan itself. So, from the very beginning, we started to plan the evacuation of people who helped us during our 20 years of involvement in NATO mission in Afghanistan. We sent military planes to Poland&nbsp;to take back people to Poland. We evacuated around 1,300 people from Afghanistan, Afghan nationals. These are people who worked with our mission in Afghanistan, our embassy when it was there. It closed down in 2014 and also Polish military contingent. Also, civilians in Ghanzi province, where we made many development projects in Ghazni. We evacuated these people, and those who worked with our allies, such as NATO, EU delegation, and other countries like Lithuania. It was a big scale operation that lasted for 11 days and we reached this number of 1,300 Afghans. We also cooperated very closely with&nbsp;Mr Tahir Qadiry who was the head of mission of Afghanistan in Delhi and then he moved to Poland as an envoy. Ambassador Tahir was very active and even had press conference with our PM about the whole development. We consider the evacuation as success. We consider our 20 years in Afghanistan as a success because Poland contributed much on development of Afghanistan —&nbsp;education, empowerment of women and also people to people contacts. Afghanistan is very important country for us still and we are observing the situation very closely.

WION: How do you see the situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban government&nbsp;which is seen as non inclusive, with no minorities such as the Hazaras, no women? 
Adam Burakowski: We are in European Union, and we are discussing with our partners on whole situation, and will take call on the situation together and how to deal with current admin of Taliban in Afghanistan. As you mentioned, the government&nbsp;is definitely not inclusive and it is also up to Taliban what they want to do. We will be observing this very closely.&nbsp;We are afraid of potential humanitarian crisis because winter is coming and economy is down because of this sudden takeover by Taliban. Also, we are ready to contribute to humanitarian aid.&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp;How have your talks&nbsp;been with India? 
Adam Burakowski: We have constant discussions with the MEA about the development in Afghanistan. We are to a very large extent very like-minded in many aspects of the current situation in Afghanistan.

WION: How do you see ties with India? 
Adam Burakowski: Our relationship has always been very friendly. It was impacted by Covid, and just yesterday we welcomed the decision of the government&nbsp;of India to be more open for foreign nationals. Just before the Covid, we had a direct flight from Delhi to Warsaw. It was a big success, the demand was very high. We would like to restore it as soon as possible.&nbsp;

WION: About the connect between the two countries, we know Polish artist Stefan Norblin has been the decorator of indian palaces, including the Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur. Can you throw some light about&nbsp;his life and times. 
Adam Burakowski: Stefan Norblin was a polish artist and very active in Poland. He was multi-talented and when the World War II broke out, and Poland was attacked by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, he escaped and finally reached India and got orders from few maharajas, the biggest one in jodhpur. He designed part of Umaid Bhawan in Jodhpur and it was started by Maharaja of Jodhpur, Umaid Singh. He designed the luxurious suites of the palace, the Maharaja and Maharani suites and made series of painting depicting Indian mythology in art deco style. The polish artist contributed to the final look of Umaid Bhawan, one of the biggest palaces in India. His pictures are in the museum there. Polish team came to restore the painting and they are in good shape. I would like to welcome everyone to Jodhpur and look at the pictures.

Poland's envoy to India Adam Burakowski has warned of a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and his country is willing to "contribute to humanitarian aid". The Polish embassy in Delhi is accredited to Afghanistan and played a key role in coordination of the evacuation in August when Taliban took over the country.

Poland's envoy to India Adam Burakowski has warned of a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and his country is willing to "contribute to humanitarian aid". The Polish embassy in Delhi is accredited to Afghanistan and played a key role in coordination of the evacuation in August when Taliban took over the country. Speaking to WION's Sidhant Sibal, envoy Burakowski highlighted how Poland "evacuated around 1300 people from Afghanistan, Afghan nationals. These are people who worked with our mission in Afghanistan, our embassy when it was there." The envoy welcomed the "decision of the government of India to be more open for foreign nationals". Indian government has announced that foreign tourist will be allowed from November 15 for those on chartered flights as Covid situation eases. Interestingly, the Polish envoy also talked about polish artist Stefan Norblin who has decorated Indian palaces, including the Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur. The artist left Poland after the country was attacked during World War II and has been working for Maharajah Umaid Singh of Jodhpur in India. He designed the art deco murals at the famous Umaid Bhawan palace. WION: How has Poland helped in evacuation process from Afghanistan? Adam Burakowski: Our embassies are very few embassies accredited to Afghanistan from Delhi, that is why we are observing the situation in Afghanistan very closely. The fall of Kabul on August 15 was a big surprise and shock for us, as for other countries and Afghanistan itself. So, from the very beginning, we started to plan the evacuation of people who helped us during our 20 years of involvement in NATO mission in Afghanistan. We sent military planes to Poland to take back people to Poland. We evacuated around 1,300 people from Afghanistan, Afghan nationals. These are people who worked with our mission in Afghanistan, our embassy when it was there. It closed down in 2014 and also Polish military contingent. Also, civilians in Ghanzi province, where we made many development projects in Ghazni. We evacuated these people, and those who worked with our allies, such as NATO, EU delegation, and other countries like Lithuania. It was a big scale operation that lasted for 11 days and we reached this number of 1,300 Afghans. We also cooperated very closely with Mr Tahir Qadiry who was the head of mission of Afghanistan in Delhi and then he moved to Poland as an envoy. Ambassador Tahir was very active and even had press conference with our PM about the whole development. We consider the evacuation as success. We consider our 20 years in Afghanistan as a success because Poland contributed much on development of Afghanistan — education, empowerment of women and also people to people contacts. Afghanistan is very important country for us still and we are observing the situation very closely. WION: How do you see the situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban government which is seen as non inclusive, with no minorities such as the Hazaras, no women? Adam Burakowski: We are in European Union, and we are discussing with our partners on whole situation, and will take call on the situation together and how to deal with current admin of Taliban in Afghanistan. As you mentioned, the government is definitely not inclusive and it is also up to Taliban what they want to do. We will be observing this very closely. We are afraid of potential humanitarian crisis because winter is coming and economy is down because of this sudden takeover by Taliban. Also, we are ready to contribute to humanitarian aid. WION: How have your talks been with India? Adam Burakowski: We have constant discussions with the MEA about the development in Afghanistan. We are to a very large extent very like-minded in many aspects of the current situation in Afghanistan. WION: How do you see ties with India? Adam Burakowski: Our relationship has always been very friendly. It was impacted by Covid, and just yesterday we welcomed the decision of the government of India to be more open for foreign nationals. Just before the Covid, we had a direct flight from Delhi to Warsaw. It was a big success, the demand was very high. We would like to restore it as soon as possible. WION: About the connect between the two countries, we know Polish artist Stefan Norblin has been the decorator of indian palaces, including the Umaid Bhawan palace in Jodhpur. Can you throw some light about his life and times. Adam Burakowski: Stefan Norblin was a polish artist and very active in Poland. He was multi-talented and when the World War II broke out, and Poland was attacked by Nazi Germany and Soviet Union, he escaped and finally reached India and got orders from few maharajas, the biggest one in jodhpur. He designed part of Umaid Bhawan in Jodhpur and it was started by Maharaja of Jodhpur, Umaid Singh. He designed the luxurious suites of the palace, the Maharaja and Maharani suites and made series of painting depicting Indian mythology in art deco style. The polish artist contributed to the final look of Umaid Bhawan, one of the biggest palaces in India. His pictures are in the museum there. Polish team came to restore the painting and they are in good shape. I would like to welcome everyone to Jodhpur and look at the pictures.

Polish envoy to India Adam Burakowski warns of humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

The Taliban-led government's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has started the repatriation process of Afghan families who fled to Kabul after the fall of their home provinces to the group in August, the media reported.

According to the Ministry, there are around 2,000 displaced families in Kabul, TOLO News reported.

The Ministry assured that the displaced persons will also be provided with aid.

In a statement on Friday, Deputy Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Arsalan Kharotai said "this process began today and will continue, thus all (displaced) families in Kabul will go back to their provinces".

Also Read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-ransack-kabuls-gurdwara-karte-parwan-break-cctv-camera-and-locks-418481">&nbsp;Taliban ransack Kabul’s Gurdwara Karte Parwan, break CCTV camera and locks</a>

Since the Taliban started their march towards Kabul, hundreds of families fled their home provinces and have been living in open areas or in tents in several parts of Kabul.

Their situation has become more dire as winter approaches, said the TOLO News report.

Baghlan resident Mihruddin, who is physically challenged, said: "I haven`t received any aid. The little aid that is provided, the able-bodied take it."

Another displaced Kunduz resident, Abdul Baseer, said "we have a demand to immediately move the people, the people have become sick, it has been over a month that we are here".

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-based-ex-pm-of-afghanistan-on-way-to-kabul-via-pakistan-418836">India-based ex-PM of Afghanistan on way to Kabul via Pakistan</a>

The World Food Program said that Afghanistan is scrambling with severe economic conditions and warned of an economic crisis in within coming weeks in Afghanistan.

Although some countries and donor organizsations have provided humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, a large of number of people remain in need of support.

The Taliban-led government's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has started the repatriation process of Afghan families who fled to Kabul after the fall of their home provinces to the group in August, the media reported.

The Taliban-led government's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has started the repatriation process of Afghan families who fled to Kabul after the fall of their home provinces to the group in August, the media reported. According to the Ministry, there are around 2,000 displaced families in Kabul, TOLO News reported. The Ministry assured that the displaced persons will also be provided with aid. In a statement on Friday, Deputy Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Arsalan Kharotai said "this process began today and will continue, thus all (displaced) families in Kabul will go back to their provinces". Also Read | Taliban ransack Kabul’s Gurdwara Karte Parwan, break CCTV camera and locks Since the Taliban started their march towards Kabul, hundreds of families fled their home provinces and have been living in open areas or in tents in several parts of Kabul. Their situation has become more dire as winter approaches, said the TOLO News report. Baghlan resident Mihruddin, who is physically challenged, said: "I haven`t received any aid. The little aid that is provided, the able-bodied take it." Another displaced Kunduz resident, Abdul Baseer, said "we have a demand to immediately move the people, the people have become sick, it has been over a month that we are here". Also Read | India-based ex-PM of Afghanistan on way to Kabul via Pakistan The World Food Program said that Afghanistan is scrambling with severe economic conditions and warned of an economic crisis in within coming weeks in Afghanistan. Although some countries and donor organizsations have provided humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, a large of number of people remain in need of support.

Displaced families in Kabul to return home: Taliban

US prosecutors have charged a former Taliban commander with terrorism-related offences related to attacks on US troops in Afghanistan including the 2008 attack on an American military convoy.

Haji Najibullah, who is already in US custody on the initial indictment, has been charged with 13 crimes including kidnapping, providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, according to a statement US Department of Justice.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-claim-secondary-schools-in-kunduz-province-open-for-girls-418528">Taliban claim secondary schools in Kunduz province open for girls</a>

He was earlier charged with kidnapping an American journalist and two Afghan civilians.In addition to those charges, the superseding indictment charges Najibullah with attacks on US troops conducted by him and the Taliban fighters under his command, including a June 26, 2008, attack on an American military convoy that killed three US&nbsp;Army servicemembers and their Afghan interpreter.

He is also charged with an attack that resulted in the shooting down of a US military helicopter&nbsp;on October 2008.

Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Najibullah will answer for his heinous acts in an American courtroom.

"As alleged, during one of the most dangerous periods of the conflict in Afghanistan, Haji Najibullah led a vicious band of Taliban insurgents who terrorized part of Afghanistan and attacked US&nbsp;troops, Strauss said.

"One of these lethal attacks resulted in the deaths of three brave American service members and their Afghan interpreter, and another attack brought down a US&nbsp;helicopter.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/1-million-afghan-children-at-risk-of-dying-due-to-acute-malnutrition-un-officials-418603">1 million Afghan children at risk of dying due to acute malnutrition: UN officials</a>

Najibullah also arranged to kidnap at gunpoint an American journalist and two other men, and held them hostage for more than seven months. Neither time nor distance can weaken our resolve to hold terrorists accountable for their crimes and to see justice done for their victims." Strauss added.

Around 2007, Najibullah was the Taliban commander responsible for the Jaghato district in Afghanistan's Wardak Province, which borders Kabul.

In this role, he commanded more than a thousand fighters, at times acted as a spokesperson for the Taliban, and reported to senior leadership in the Taliban.

During that time, Najibullah and the Taliban fighters under his command conducted attacks intended to kill and which did kill American and NATO troops and their Afghan allies, using automatic weapons, improvised explosive devices ("IEDs"), rocket-propelled grenades ("RPGs"), and other anti-tank weapons, including an attack that destroyed an Afghan Border Patrol outpost in or about September 2008.

Meanwhile, in 2008, Taliban fighters under Najibullah command attacked a US military convoy in the vicinity of Sayed Abad, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, with IEDs, RPGs, and automatic weapons, killing three U.S. Army servicemembers - Sergeants First Class Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay, and Sergeant Mark Palmateer - and their Afghan interpreter.&nbsp;

US prosecutors have charged a former Taliban commander with terrorism-related offences related to attacks on US troops in Afghanistan including the 2008 attack on an American military convoy.

US prosecutors have charged a former Taliban commander with terrorism-related offences related to attacks on US troops in Afghanistan including the 2008 attack on an American military convoy. Haji Najibullah, who is already in US custody on the initial indictment, has been charged with 13 crimes including kidnapping, providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, according to a statement US Department of Justice. Also Read | Taliban claim secondary schools in Kunduz province open for girls He was earlier charged with kidnapping an American journalist and two Afghan civilians.In addition to those charges, the superseding indictment charges Najibullah with attacks on US troops conducted by him and the Taliban fighters under his command, including a June 26, 2008, attack on an American military convoy that killed three US Army servicemembers and their Afghan interpreter. He is also charged with an attack that resulted in the shooting down of a US military helicopter on October 2008. Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Najibullah will answer for his heinous acts in an American courtroom. "As alleged, during one of the most dangerous periods of the conflict in Afghanistan, Haji Najibullah led a vicious band of Taliban insurgents who terrorized part of Afghanistan and attacked US troops, Strauss said. "One of these lethal attacks resulted in the deaths of three brave American service members and their Afghan interpreter, and another attack brought down a US helicopter. Also Read | 1 million Afghan children at risk of dying due to acute malnutrition: UN officials Najibullah also arranged to kidnap at gunpoint an American journalist and two other men, and held them hostage for more than seven months. Neither time nor distance can weaken our resolve to hold terrorists accountable for their crimes and to see justice done for their victims." Strauss added. Around 2007, Najibullah was the Taliban commander responsible for the Jaghato district in Afghanistan's Wardak Province, which borders Kabul. In this role, he commanded more than a thousand fighters, at times acted as a spokesperson for the Taliban, and reported to senior leadership in the Taliban. During that time, Najibullah and the Taliban fighters under his command conducted attacks intended to kill and which did kill American and NATO troops and their Afghan allies, using automatic weapons, improvised explosive devices ("IEDs"), rocket-propelled grenades ("RPGs"), and other anti-tank weapons, including an attack that destroyed an Afghan Border Patrol outpost in or about September 2008. Meanwhile, in 2008, Taliban fighters under Najibullah command attacked a US military convoy in the vicinity of Sayed Abad, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, with IEDs, RPGs, and automatic weapons, killing three U.S. Army servicemembers - Sergeants First Class Matthew L. Hilton and Joseph A. McKay, and Sergeant Mark Palmateer - and their Afghan interpreter.

US prosecutors charge ex-Taliban commander with killing American troops

US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko on Wednesday, said that the office will look into accusations that former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani fled the country with large sums of money. Ghani has denied the reports but speculation persists

Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul as Taliban closed in on the outskirts of the Afghan capital in August. He was bitterly criticised for his action.

Now, the US Congress has instructed Sopko's team to look into the claims of Ghani fleeing with a lot of money.

"We haven't proven that yet. We're looking into that. Actually, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked us to look into that," Sopko told a House of Representatives subcommittee.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/he-smashed-the-idol-of-somnath-taliban-leader-anas-haqqani-praises-mahmud-ghaznavi-418613">'He smashed the idol of Somnath': Taliban leader Anas Haqqani praises Mahmud Ghaznavi</a>

Sopko's Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has long been investigating fraud, waste and abuse during America's massive state-building effort, which came to an ignoble end after 20 years with the Taliban takeover.

Sopko suggested to the House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee that oversees development aid that the failure of the U.S. project shouldn't have been a surprise, given rampant corruption and mismanagement.

"Corruption grew so pervasive that it ultimately threatened the security and reconstruction mission in Afghanistan," he told the House panel.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/1-million-afghan-children-at-risk-of-dying-due-to-acute-malnutrition-un-officials-418603">1 million Afghan children at risk of dying due to acute malnutrition: UN officials</a>

The congressional hearing was one in the series of hearings looking at US withdrawal from Afghanistan which caused utter mayhem and paved path for return of Taliban.

"We can apply the lessons learned in other conflict zones," Representative Joaquin Castro, the subcommittee's Democratic chairman, said.

The United States and other countries have cut off almost all aid to Afghanistan.

"These are trying times for all of us who care about the future of the Afghan people, especially the Afghans that aided the US and its allies over the past 20 years," Sopko said.

(With inputs from agencies)

US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko on Wednesday, said that the office will look into accusations that former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani fled the country with large sums of money.

US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko on Wednesday, said that the office will look into accusations that former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani fled the country with large sums of money. Ghani has denied the reports but speculation persists Ashraf Ghani fled Kabul as Taliban closed in on the outskirts of the Afghan capital in August. He was bitterly criticised for his action. Now, the US Congress has instructed Sopko's team to look into the claims of Ghani fleeing with a lot of money. "We haven't proven that yet. We're looking into that. Actually, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee has asked us to look into that," Sopko told a House of Representatives subcommittee. Also Read | 'He smashed the idol of Somnath': Taliban leader Anas Haqqani praises Mahmud Ghaznavi Sopko's Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has long been investigating fraud, waste and abuse during America's massive state-building effort, which came to an ignoble end after 20 years with the Taliban takeover. Sopko suggested to the House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee that oversees development aid that the failure of the U.S. project shouldn't have been a surprise, given rampant corruption and mismanagement. "Corruption grew so pervasive that it ultimately threatened the security and reconstruction mission in Afghanistan," he told the House panel. Also Read | 1 million Afghan children at risk of dying due to acute malnutrition: UN officials The congressional hearing was one in the series of hearings looking at US withdrawal from Afghanistan which caused utter mayhem and paved path for return of Taliban. "We can apply the lessons learned in other conflict zones," Representative Joaquin Castro, the subcommittee's Democratic chairman, said. The United States and other countries have cut off almost all aid to Afghanistan. "These are trying times for all of us who care about the future of the Afghan people, especially the Afghans that aided the US and its allies over the past 20 years," Sopko said. (With inputs from agencies)

Did Ashraf Ghani flee Afghanistan with a lot of money? US watchdog to investigate

The Taliban have been desperate to get international recognition as the official government of Afghanistan. America and the United Nations have allowed limited humanitarian assistance into the country. WION tells you more.

US and UN allow limited humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan

Minorities are under attack in Taliban's Afghanistan: +Men from the Taliban vandalised a Sikh shrine in Kabul +A Taliban leader hailed Ghaznavi for "smashing Somnath idol" +Ethnic Hazaras have been massacred Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: Taliban Attack Gurudwara, Hail Ghaznavi who plundered Somnath

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder of Taliban and the Deputy Prime Minister in the new Afghanistan government, has returned to capital Kabul and assumed his duties.

Taliban co-founder and Afghan Deputy PM Mullah Baradar, returns to Kabul from Kandahar

A black and white Taliban flag flies over the blown-up statue of a revered Hazara chief at the entrance to Bamiyan in central Afghanistan.

Since the radical Islamists swept to power seven weeks ago they have repeatedly promised a more moderate, inclusive brand of rule than during their last stint, when minorities were brutally persecuted.

But members of the Hazara community here don't believe them.

"Everyone is terrified," says Najwa, a 26-year-old local journalist now out of work.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/military-bases-turn-into-small-cities-as-afghans-wait-months-for-homes-in-us-417873">Military bases turn into small cities as Afghans wait months for homes in US</a>

"It is impossible to believe them. For the Hazaras, and especially for us women, there is no more hope."

She and other Hazaras fled into the mountains when they first heard the Taliban were coming, but a week later they returned.

As a member of the Bamiyan Film Academy, Najwa could have been evacuated to France like many of her peers but, hidden in the wilderness, she missed a vital call.

"And now it is too late," she says.

- 'Abductions, murders' -

Afghanistan's new rulers have declared a general amnesty and promised reform.

But fears abound that they will repeat the brutal repression of minorities and women seen during their former reign from 1996 to 2001.

"We know that there have been abductions, murders," Najwa says.

The Hazara, who make up as much as a fifth of Afghanistan's around 38 million people, have been persecuted in the country for centuries.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/women-teachers-face-uncertain-future-after-taliban-bans-them-from-schools-417874">Women teachers face uncertain future after Taliban bans them from schools</a>

They have suffered massacres during the rule of several Afghan governments in recent decades, but especially under the Taliban -- Sunni hardliners who see the mainly Shiite ethnic minority as heretics.

The Islamists have carried out several mass killings of Hazaras, including in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998, where Human Rights Watch says at least 2,000 mainly Hazara civilians were executed.

While nothing on that scale has been reported since the Taliban takeover on August 15, an Amnesty International investigation published this week found Taliban forces had killed 13 Hazaras, including nine surrendering former government soldiers, in Daykundi province on August 30, in what "appear to be war crimes".&nbsp;

- 'Not enemies' -

But Musa Nasrat, Bamiyan's acting governor and new chief of police, insists Hazaras have nothing to fear.

"It is true that in the beginning, people were afraid," he tells AFP, claiming that all those who initially fled had returned.

"We told them: 'Return to your normal life. We are here to protect you'," he says, insisting that "we are not enemies of the Shiites."

The Taliban's enemy, he says, was "the corrupt government" of ousted president Ashraf Ghani.

But now, "we have won. Peace will rein."

In a bid to reassure the Hazaras, the new rulers have made a Shiite, Mahdi Mujahid, the intelligence chief in Bamiyan province.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/nearly-1000-taliban-militants-rally-in-kabul-to-show-power-and-unity-417860">Nearly 1,000 Taliban militants rally in Kabul to show power and unity</a>

"My community has nothing to fear," he said, in his first statement on the job.

But more than words will be needed to calm the community's fears.

"We cannot trust them," says Abdul Danesh Yar, a 33-year-old private school principal.

"Our country's history is full of massacres and deportations of Hazaras."

Yar, like so many others here, says he feels betrayed by the United States and its allies over their hasty withdrawal in August after 20 years of fighting.

"We believed in their values, and they abandoned us," he says, adding that he would leave if he could, "for the future of my children."

The Taliban, he argues, "will never change." &nbsp;&nbsp;

- 'No one believes them' -

The Taliban's return to power has been a particular shock in Bamiyan, home to the famous giant, ancient Buddha statues that the Islamist group dynamited when it was last in power two decades ago.

The provincial capital was among the cities that received the most international assistance in the two decades that followed the Taliban's ouster.

Women here outnumbered men at the university, and they did sports like cycling and volleyball.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-say-islamic-state-cell-destroyed-after-mosque-attack-418068">Taliban say Islamic State cell destroyed after mosque attack</a>

Bamiyan also boasted the first woman governor in the country, Habiba Sarabi, who ruled here from 2005 to 2013. Today she lives in exile in Turkey.

"For now, they have not done bad things," says Abdulhaq Shafad, a 41-year-old local poet and member of a newly-created committee aimed at "solving problems" with the Taliban.

But he warns that the situation could quickly deteriorate if countries begin recognising the Taliban leadership.

"The future is unpredictable," he warns.

At the entrance to the city, Rajabali Sahebzadah's potato fields are a stone's throw from the ruins of the statue commemorating Abdul Ali Mazari, a Hazara leader and prominent anti-Taliban fighter anointed as a martyr long after he died in Taliban captivity in 1995.

It was blown up three days after the former insurgents seized control of Afghanistan, leaving a scattering of white rubble.

The Taliban have denied destroying the statue, the 25-year-old farmer says. "No one believes them." 
&nbsp;

A black and white Taliban flag flies over the blown-up statue of a revered Hazara chief at the entrance to Bamiyan in central Afghanistan. Since the radical Islamists swept to power seven weeks ago they have repeatedly promised a more moderate, inclusive brand of rule than during their last stint, when minorities were brutally persecuted.

A black and white Taliban flag flies over the blown-up statue of a revered Hazara chief at the entrance to Bamiyan in central Afghanistan. Since the radical Islamists swept to power seven weeks ago they have repeatedly promised a more moderate, inclusive brand of rule than during their last stint, when minorities were brutally persecuted. But members of the Hazara community here don't believe them. "Everyone is terrified," says Najwa, a 26-year-old local journalist now out of work. Also Read | Military bases turn into small cities as Afghans wait months for homes in US "It is impossible to believe them. For the Hazaras, and especially for us women, there is no more hope." She and other Hazaras fled into the mountains when they first heard the Taliban were coming, but a week later they returned. As a member of the Bamiyan Film Academy, Najwa could have been evacuated to France like many of her peers but, hidden in the wilderness, she missed a vital call. "And now it is too late," she says. - 'Abductions, murders' - Afghanistan's new rulers have declared a general amnesty and promised reform. But fears abound that they will repeat the brutal repression of minorities and women seen during their former reign from 1996 to 2001. "We know that there have been abductions, murders," Najwa says. The Hazara, who make up as much as a fifth of Afghanistan's around 38 million people, have been persecuted in the country for centuries. Also Read | Women teachers face uncertain future after Taliban bans them from schools They have suffered massacres during the rule of several Afghan governments in recent decades, but especially under the Taliban -- Sunni hardliners who see the mainly Shiite ethnic minority as heretics. The Islamists have carried out several mass killings of Hazaras, including in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in 1998, where Human Rights Watch says at least 2,000 mainly Hazara civilians were executed. While nothing on that scale has been reported since the Taliban takeover on August 15, an Amnesty International investigation published this week found Taliban forces had killed 13 Hazaras, including nine surrendering former government soldiers, in Daykundi province on August 30, in what "appear to be war crimes". - 'Not enemies' - But Musa Nasrat, Bamiyan's acting governor and new chief of police, insists Hazaras have nothing to fear. "It is true that in the beginning, people were afraid," he tells AFP, claiming that all those who initially fled had returned. "We told them: 'Return to your normal life. We are here to protect you'," he says, insisting that "we are not enemies of the Shiites." The Taliban's enemy, he says, was "the corrupt government" of ousted president Ashraf Ghani. But now, "we have won. Peace will rein." In a bid to reassure the Hazaras, the new rulers have made a Shiite, Mahdi Mujahid, the intelligence chief in Bamiyan province. Also Read | Nearly 1,000 Taliban militants rally in Kabul to show power and unity "My community has nothing to fear," he said, in his first statement on the job. But more than words will be needed to calm the community's fears. "We cannot trust them," says Abdul Danesh Yar, a 33-year-old private school principal. "Our country's history is full of massacres and deportations of Hazaras." Yar, like so many others here, says he feels betrayed by the United States and its allies over their hasty withdrawal in August after 20 years of fighting. "We believed in their values, and they abandoned us," he says, adding that he would leave if he could, "for the future of my children." The Taliban, he argues, "will never change." - 'No one believes them' - The Taliban's return to power has been a particular shock in Bamiyan, home to the famous giant, ancient Buddha statues that the Islamist group dynamited when it was last in power two decades ago. The provincial capital was among the cities that received the most international assistance in the two decades that followed the Taliban's ouster. Women here outnumbered men at the university, and they did sports like cycling and volleyball. Also Read | Taliban say Islamic State cell destroyed after mosque attack Bamiyan also boasted the first woman governor in the country, Habiba Sarabi, who ruled here from 2005 to 2013. Today she lives in exile in Turkey. "For now, they have not done bad things," says Abdulhaq Shafad, a 41-year-old local poet and member of a newly-created committee aimed at "solving problems" with the Taliban. But he warns that the situation could quickly deteriorate if countries begin recognising the Taliban leadership. "The future is unpredictable," he warns. At the entrance to the city, Rajabali Sahebzadah's potato fields are a stone's throw from the ruins of the statue commemorating Abdul Ali Mazari, a Hazara leader and prominent anti-Taliban fighter anointed as a martyr long after he died in Taliban captivity in 1995. It was blown up three days after the former insurgents seized control of Afghanistan, leaving a scattering of white rubble. The Taliban have denied destroying the statue, the 25-year-old farmer says. "No one believes them."

'No more hope': Afghan Hazaras live in fear under Taliban rule

Anas Haqqani, the Taliban's leader, on Tuesday paid a visit to the mausoleum of Mahmud Ghaznavi, the conqueror who stormed Gujarat's famous Somnath Temple in the 11th century and lauded him as a "great Muslim fighter."&nbsp;

On Twitter, he praised Ghaznavi, who had previously attacked Gujarat, plundered the Somnath temple, and broken its jyotirlinga (idol).

The tweet has enraged Indians, resulting in a backlash. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghanistan-haqqani-networks-anas-haqqani-says-india-is-not-a-true-friend-413565">Also read | Afghanistan: Haqqani network's Anas Haqqani says India is 'not a true friend'</a> 
 
"Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior &amp; Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni &amp; smashed the idol of Somnath, tweeted Haqqani.

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Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior &amp; Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni &amp; smashed the idol of Somnath. <a href="https://t.co/Ja92gYjX5j">pic.twitter.com/Ja92gYjX5j</a>
— Anas Haqqani(انس حقاني) (@AnasHaqqani313) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnasHaqqani313/status/1445435933214617602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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From 998 until 1030, Mahmud Ghaznavi was the first independent king of the Turkic dynasty of the Ghaznavids.

His empire stretched from northern Iran to the Indian subcontinent's Punjab, Transoxiana's Khwarazm, and Makran.&nbsp;

Ghaznavi is believed to have attacked and looted the wealthiest cities and temple towns in mediaeval India, such as Mathura and Somnath, seventeen times.

In 1025, Mahmud Ghaznavi raided Gujarat, plundering and destroying the Somnath temple.

Lord Shiva is the temple's main deity. 
 
He utilised the wealth to expand his Ghazni capital.&nbsp;

Ghaznavi targeted Hindu temples primarily because they were the Hindus' wealth, economics, and ideological centres.&nbsp; 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Anas Haqqani, the Taliban's leader, on Tuesday paid a visit to the mausoleum of Mahmud Ghaznavi, the conqueror who stormed Gujarat's famous Somnath Temple in the 11th century and lauded him as a "great Muslim fighter.

Anas Haqqani, the Taliban's leader, on Tuesday paid a visit to the mausoleum of Mahmud Ghaznavi, the conqueror who stormed Gujarat's famous Somnath Temple in the 11th century and lauded him as a "great Muslim fighter." On Twitter, he praised Ghaznavi, who had previously attacked Gujarat, plundered the Somnath temple, and broken its jyotirlinga (idol). The tweet has enraged Indians, resulting in a backlash. Also read | Afghanistan: Haqqani network's Anas Haqqani says India is 'not a true friend' "Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior & Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni & smashed the idol of Somnath, tweeted Haqqani. Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior & Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni & smashed the idol of Somnath. pic.twitter.com/Ja92gYjX5j — Anas Haqqani(انس حقاني) (@AnasHaqqani313) October 5, 2021 × From 998 until 1030, Mahmud Ghaznavi was the first independent king of the Turkic dynasty of the Ghaznavids. His empire stretched from northern Iran to the Indian subcontinent's Punjab, Transoxiana's Khwarazm, and Makran. Ghaznavi is believed to have attacked and looted the wealthiest cities and temple towns in mediaeval India, such as Mathura and Somnath, seventeen times. In 1025, Mahmud Ghaznavi raided Gujarat, plundering and destroying the Somnath temple. Lord Shiva is the temple's main deity. He utilised the wealth to expand his Ghazni capital. Ghaznavi targeted Hindu temples primarily because they were the Hindus' wealth, economics, and ideological centres. (With inputs from agencies)

'He smashed the idol of Somnath': Taliban leader Anas Haqqani praises Mahmud Ghaznavi

Taliban fighters entered Gurdwara Karte Parwan, the main Sikh shrine in Afghanistan capital Kabul, on Tuesday and damaged CCTV cameras and broke several locks, according to members of the Afghan Sikh minority.

Taliban fighters enter Gurdwara Karte Parwan, damage CCTV cameras

In police districts across Kabul, young fighters emerging fresh from the battlefields are now patrolling the streets of the Afghan capital. Some wear the uniforms left behind by the US-assisted Afghan forces they deposed.

Taliban fighters patrol the streets to keep peace

Anas Haqqani, the Taliban's leader, paid a visit to the mausoleum of Mahmud Ghaznavi, the conqueror who stormed Gujarat's famous Somnath Temple in the 17th century and lauded him as a "great Muslim fighter."

'Ghaznavi's reign instilled pride in Taliban': Anas Haqqani praises Mahmud Ghaznavi

Diplomats from the United Kingdom have met with the Taliban government in Kabul for the first time since taking power. They discussed the humanitarian crisis and the safe return of British citizens.

UK diplomats meet Taliban leaders in Afghanistan for first time since takeover

Afghan girls are allowed to attend secondary schools in Kunduz province of the country, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen has said.

Sharing a video on his Twitter handle, Shaheen, who has been nominated as the new Afghan government`s permanent representative to the United Nations said:"Girls are going to high schools in Khan Abad, Kunduz Province.

"The shared video shows several girls in black dresses and white scarves, some with veils, waving Taliban flags.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="wionews.com/world/wion-exclusive-life-under-taliban-women-run-studio-forced-to-shut-down-in-kabul-417039">WION exclusive- Life under Taliban: Women-run studio forced to shut down in Kabul</a>

In September, the Taliban have banned girls from secondary education in Afghanistan, by ordering high schools to re-open only for boys.

Girls were not mentioned in the Taliban`s announcement, which means boys will be back at their desks, while their sisters will still be stuck at home.

"All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions," the statement had said.Girls were also prohibited from secondary education under the Taliban`s previous rule across Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Meanwhile, Kabul University`s nearly 70 teaching staff resigned in protest after the Taliban fired the doctorate-level vice-chancellor.

The group replaced the chancellor with one of their own members who has had significantly less formal education, reported New York Post.

The Taliban-appointed new chancellor barred women from the institution as either teachers or students. But under the strict mandate of gender segregation, classes in various private institutions are open to all.

According to UNESCO, Afghanistan has made important gains in the education sector in the past two decades.

Since 2001, the female literacy rate has almost doubled from 17 per cent to 30 per cent, and the number of girls in primary school has increased from almost zero in 2001 to 2.5 million in 2018.The number of girls in higher education institutions has increased from 5,000 in 2001 to around 90,000 in 2018.&nbsp;

Afghan girls are allowed to attend secondary schools in Kunduz province of the country, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen has said. Sharing a video on his Twitter handle, Shaheen, who has been nominated as the new Afghan government`s permanent representative to the United Nations said:"Girls are going to high schools in Khan Abad, Kunduz Province.

Afghan girls are allowed to attend secondary schools in Kunduz province of the country, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen has said. Sharing a video on his Twitter handle, Shaheen, who has been nominated as the new Afghan government`s permanent representative to the United Nations said:"Girls are going to high schools in Khan Abad, Kunduz Province. "The shared video shows several girls in black dresses and white scarves, some with veils, waving Taliban flags. Also Read | WION exclusive- Life under Taliban: Women-run studio forced to shut down in Kabul In September, the Taliban have banned girls from secondary education in Afghanistan, by ordering high schools to re-open only for boys. Girls were not mentioned in the Taliban`s announcement, which means boys will be back at their desks, while their sisters will still be stuck at home. "All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions," the statement had said.Girls were also prohibited from secondary education under the Taliban`s previous rule across Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Meanwhile, Kabul University`s nearly 70 teaching staff resigned in protest after the Taliban fired the doctorate-level vice-chancellor. The group replaced the chancellor with one of their own members who has had significantly less formal education, reported New York Post. The Taliban-appointed new chancellor barred women from the institution as either teachers or students. But under the strict mandate of gender segregation, classes in various private institutions are open to all. According to UNESCO, Afghanistan has made important gains in the education sector in the past two decades. Since 2001, the female literacy rate has almost doubled from 17 per cent to 30 per cent, and the number of girls in primary school has increased from almost zero in 2001 to 2.5 million in 2018.The number of girls in higher education institutions has increased from 5,000 in 2001 to around 90,000 in 2018.

Taliban claim secondary schools in Kunduz province open for girls

Taliban fighters enter Gurdwara Karte Parwan, vandalise religious site

Nearly two months into Taliban's rule in Afghanistan&nbsp;worries are mounting over the situation of minorities in the country as the famous Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul was&nbsp;vandalised&nbsp;on Tuesday. According to the Sikh community at the Gurudwara, the Taliban entered the holy place and broke&nbsp;the CCTV cameras.

It is the first such development since the Taliban's takeover of Kabul. No reaction has come from the Taliban's spokespersons&nbsp;who are normally quite media savvy and quick to react on social media. Puneet Singh Chandhok, President Indian World Forum in a tweet called the development "alarming"&nbsp;and one that "abused the sanctity of the holy place".

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Alarming reports from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kabul?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kabul</a>.Unidentified armed forces entered Gurdwara Karte Parwan.They not only abused the sanctity of the holy place but also vandalised it.Requesting intervention of <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> ji <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MEAIndia</a> for safety &amp; well being of our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hindu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hindu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sikh?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Sikh</a> brethren living there
— Puneet Singh Chandhok (@PSCINDIAN) <a href="https://twitter.com/PSCINDIAN/status/1445370387303329795?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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In a separate incident, Anas Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani Network and part of the Afghan Taliban dispensation was seen praising Mahmud Ghaznavi and his action on&nbsp;"smashing the idol of Somnath".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/after-ghani-govt-fell-taliban-commander-took-over-radio-station-in-laghman-418420">Also Read:&nbsp;After Ghani govt fell, Taliban commander took over radio station in Laghman</a>

Haqqani, who spent the early days of his life in Pakistan had visited the grave of Mahmud Ghazni to pay homage to him. In a tweet he said, "Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior &amp; Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni and&nbsp;smashed the idol of Somnath."

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Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior &amp; Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni &amp; smashed the idol of Somnath. <a href="https://t.co/Ja92gYjX5j">pic.twitter.com/Ja92gYjX5j</a>
— Anas Haqqani(انس حقاني) (@AnasHaqqani313) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnasHaqqani313/status/1445435933214617602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The development&nbsp;comes even as the Taliban has been pledging to support the right of minorities. But the group is already seen reneging&nbsp;on their promises when it comes to women's rights and an inclusive government in Kabul. There are no women and members of the minority Hazaras in the Taliban government. Almost more than 30 members of the cabinet has&nbsp;members on the UN terror list.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/why-the-talibans-repression-of-women-may-be-more-tactical-than-ideological-418352">Also Read:&nbsp;Why the Taliban’s repression of women may be more tactical than ideological</a>

The number of Afghan Sikh and Hindu minorities have drastically reduced in the country. During the&nbsp;Jalalabad suicide attack in 2018&nbsp;nineteen members of the Sikh community were killed,&nbsp;since then, many have come to India and found refuge in the country.

In &nbsp;August, India brought back many members of the Sikh Hindu community from the country as Kabul fell to the Taliban. It&nbsp;included two&nbsp;Afghan Sikh MPs - Anarkali Honaryar and Narendra Singh Khalsa.

The situation of minorities under the Taliban in 1990s was bad&nbsp;and included rules like wearing yellow bands as a mode of identification. The group had back then blown the historic Bamiyan Buddhas leaving the world in a state of shock.

Nearly two months into Taliban's rule in Afghanistan worries are mounting over the situation of minorities in the country as the famous Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul was vandalised on Tuesday.

Nearly two months into Taliban's rule in Afghanistan worries are mounting over the situation of minorities in the country as the famous Karte Parwan Gurudwara in Kabul was vandalised on Tuesday. According to the Sikh community at the Gurudwara, the Taliban entered the holy place and broke the CCTV cameras. It is the first such development since the Taliban's takeover of Kabul. No reaction has come from the Taliban's spokespersons who are normally quite media savvy and quick to react on social media. Puneet Singh Chandhok, President Indian World Forum in a tweet called the development "alarming" and one that "abused the sanctity of the holy place". Alarming reports from #Kabul.Unidentified armed forces entered Gurdwara Karte Parwan.They not only abused the sanctity of the holy place but also vandalised it.Requesting intervention of @narendramodi ji @MEAIndia for safety & well being of our #Hindu #Sikh brethren living there — Puneet Singh Chandhok (@PSCINDIAN) October 5, 2021 × In a separate incident, Anas Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani Network and part of the Afghan Taliban dispensation was seen praising Mahmud Ghaznavi and his action on "smashing the idol of Somnath". Also Read: After Ghani govt fell, Taliban commander took over radio station in Laghman Haqqani, who spent the early days of his life in Pakistan had visited the grave of Mahmud Ghazni to pay homage to him. In a tweet he said, "Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior & Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni and smashed the idol of Somnath." Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior & Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni & smashed the idol of Somnath. pic.twitter.com/Ja92gYjX5j — Anas Haqqani(انس حقاني) (@AnasHaqqani313) October 5, 2021 × The development comes even as the Taliban has been pledging to support the right of minorities. But the group is already seen reneging on their promises when it comes to women's rights and an inclusive government in Kabul. There are no women and members of the minority Hazaras in the Taliban government. Almost more than 30 members of the cabinet has members on the UN terror list. Also Read: Why the Taliban’s repression of women may be more tactical than ideological The number of Afghan Sikh and Hindu minorities have drastically reduced in the country. During the Jalalabad suicide attack in 2018 nineteen members of the Sikh community were killed, since then, many have come to India and found refuge in the country. In August, India brought back many members of the Sikh Hindu community from the country as Kabul fell to the Taliban. It included two Afghan Sikh MPs - Anarkali Honaryar and Narendra Singh Khalsa. The situation of minorities under the Taliban in 1990s was bad and included rules like wearing yellow bands as a mode of identification. The group had back then blown the historic Bamiyan Buddhas leaving the world in a state of shock.

Worries mount under Taliban rule as Kabul's Gurudwara vandalised

On October 5, a group&nbsp;of 15-17 unidentified heavily armed men barged into Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul, trashed the sacred edifice, tied guards, and fled after destroying the CCTV cameras put there, reports ANI News Agency quoting Puneet Singh Chandhok, President, Indian World Forum.&nbsp;

"I have received alarming reports from Kabul. A group of unidentified, heavily armed Taliban officials have entered Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul, " said Chandhok.

"They have taken the community present in the Gurdwara into custody. It is being alleged by the locals on the ground that the officials have broken off the CCTV cameras of the Gurdwara and are currently vandalising it," added Chandhok.

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Apparently, heavily armed Taliban stormed biggest Sikh place of worship, Gurdwara Karte Parwan, in Kabul &amp; allegedly vandalized the Gurdwara as well. Taliban fighters also damaged the CCTV cameras. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KarteParwan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KarteParwan</a> <a href="https://t.co/pvdC2rSPTu">pic.twitter.com/pvdC2rSPTu</a>
— OSINT Insider (@OSINT_Insider) <a href="https://twitter.com/OSINT_Insider/status/1445382461232455687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Meanwhile, local Gurdwara management is hurrying to the scene, and the exact number of authorities and individuals present in the area is yet unknown.

The Karte Parwan Gurdwara is located on Kabul's northern outskirts.

The Taliban had previously taken the Nishan Sahib – Sikh sacred flag from the roof of a Gurdwara in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia region.

Guru Nanak once visited the Gurdwara, which is located in the Chamkani region of Paktia.

Minorities in Afghanistan have been exposed to targeted killings, violence, and discrimination based on their religious and ethnic identities since the Taliban took control of the country.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

On October 5, a group of 15-17 unidentified heavily armed men barged into Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul, trashed the sacred edifice, tied guards, and fled after destroying the CCTV cameras put there, reports ANI News Agency quoting Puneet Singh Chandhok, President, Indian World Forum.

On October 5, a group of 15-17 unidentified heavily armed men barged into Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul, trashed the sacred edifice, tied guards, and fled after destroying the CCTV cameras put there, reports ANI News Agency quoting Puneet Singh Chandhok, President, Indian World Forum. "I have received alarming reports from Kabul. A group of unidentified, heavily armed Taliban officials have entered Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul, " said Chandhok. "They have taken the community present in the Gurdwara into custody. It is being alleged by the locals on the ground that the officials have broken off the CCTV cameras of the Gurdwara and are currently vandalising it," added Chandhok. Apparently, heavily armed Taliban stormed biggest Sikh place of worship, Gurdwara Karte Parwan, in Kabul & allegedly vandalized the Gurdwara as well. Taliban fighters also damaged the CCTV cameras. #KarteParwan pic.twitter.com/pvdC2rSPTu — OSINT Insider (@OSINT_Insider) October 5, 2021 × Meanwhile, local Gurdwara management is hurrying to the scene, and the exact number of authorities and individuals present in the area is yet unknown. The Karte Parwan Gurdwara is located on Kabul's northern outskirts. The Taliban had previously taken the Nishan Sahib – Sikh sacred flag from the roof of a Gurdwara in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia region. Guru Nanak once visited the Gurdwara, which is located in the Chamkani region of Paktia. Minorities in Afghanistan have been exposed to targeted killings, violence, and discrimination based on their religious and ethnic identities since the Taliban took control of the country. (With inputs from agencies)

Taliban ransack Kabul’s Gurdwara Karte Parwan, break CCTV camera and locks

According to reports, Kabul is reportedly facing a winter blackout due upaid dues to the Central Asian electricity suppliers even as the Taliban considates its&nbsp;hold over Afghanistan.

Afghanistan reportedly imports most of its electricity from its neighbours namely Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. According to the Wall Street Journal, this year domestic production has been hit due to drought conditions in the country.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-faces-a-series-of-severe-challenges-says-chinese-think-tank-418134">Also Read: Taliban faces a series of severe challenges, says Chinese think-tank</a>

The WSJ in its report said the chief of Afghanistan's power authority has warned that the&nbsp;situation could turn out to be a humanitarian disaster.

The World Bank had suspended aid to Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power in August with the&nbsp;International Monetary Fund(IMF) also clamping down on funds.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-set-to-deploy-suicide-bombers-along-afghanistan-border-report-417875">Also Read:&nbsp;Taliban set to deploy suicide bombers along Afghanistan border</a>

The country is already facing a crisis as the UN warned children under the age of five need treatment against life-threatening diseases and malnutrition.

The US had allowed exemptions to sanctions allowing crucial aid to the country last month allowing aid groups and international organizations to engage in order to meet the basic needs of Afghans.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-will-have-to-recognise-taliban-regime-sooner-or-later-says-pakistan-pm-imran-khan-417746">Also Read:&nbsp;US will have to recognise Taliban sooner or later, says PM Imran Khan</a>

The country has already been hit by fuel crisis and mounting food prices. Thousands of Afghans had lined up outside ATMs in an attempt to get cash after the Taliban took control in August as cash was in short supply even as the Taliban has struggled to pay government employees.

The US has reportedly blocked $9 billion in Afghan reserves held overseas resulting in a cash crush in the country even as the new&nbsp; Taliban government looks to restart services in the country.

(With inputs from Agencies)

&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

According to reports, Kabul is reportedly facing a winter blackout due upaid dues to the Central Asian electricity suppliers even as the Taliban considates its hold over Afghanistan.

According to reports, Kabul is reportedly facing a winter blackout due upaid dues to the Central Asian electricity suppliers even as the Taliban considates its hold over Afghanistan. Afghanistan reportedly imports most of its electricity from its neighbours namely Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. According to the Wall Street Journal, this year domestic production has been hit due to drought conditions in the country. Also Read: Taliban faces a series of severe challenges, says Chinese think-tank The WSJ in its report said the chief of Afghanistan's power authority has warned that the situation could turn out to be a humanitarian disaster. The World Bank had suspended aid to Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power in August with the International Monetary Fund(IMF) also clamping down on funds. Also Read: Taliban set to deploy suicide bombers along Afghanistan border The country is already facing a crisis as the UN warned children under the age of five need treatment against life-threatening diseases and malnutrition. The US had allowed exemptions to sanctions allowing crucial aid to the country last month allowing aid groups and international organizations to engage in order to meet the basic needs of Afghans. Also Read: US will have to recognise Taliban sooner or later, says PM Imran Khan The country has already been hit by fuel crisis and mounting food prices. Thousands of Afghans had lined up outside ATMs in an attempt to get cash after the Taliban took control in August as cash was in short supply even as the Taliban has struggled to pay government employees. The US has reportedly blocked $9 billion in Afghan reserves held overseas resulting in a cash crush in the country even as the new Taliban government looks to restart services in the country. (With inputs from Agencies)

Kabul faces winter blackout as Taliban unable to pay electricity suppliers: Report

Several people who were seeking to leave Afghanistan for medical treatment and other facilities, gathered outside the passport department in Kabul.

People complained about the passport department being closed and said that despite repeated promises to resume the operations of the department, the passport office is yet to open.

Many people who had gathered outside the closed passport office were among those who study abroad, work outside Afghanistan and the ones who are patients and have to leave the country to get medical attention, TOLOnews reported.

Pacha Gul, who travelled to Kabul from Paktia, southeastern province of Afghanistan said, "My Passport has expired, I have to go to Peshawar in Pakistan. I paid 700 dollars for only one gate pass, for the consulate. But the process doesn`t work there either and when I came here, the department is closed."

He said that he worked in Saudi Arabia. But now he is unable to travel because his passport stands expired.

Shafiq Hamdam, a university student said, "Let the passport department be opened. Some are medical patients here, some are having trade problems and some are facing educational problems."

Rostam Amerkhil, who is a resident of Afghanistan`s Wardak province urged the passport office to be reopened as it was causing trouble to the people.

"Everything is connected to the passport if they want to leave the country or stay. Let the passport office be open, don`t cause trouble for people," Amerkhil said.

The Interior Ministry of the Taliban-led government said that the department would resume its activities soon.

"Decisions have been taken in this regard. The process will begin soon," said Sayed Khosti, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry.

The upcoming cabinet meeting of the Taliban-led government would discuss the passport department`s activities, said TOLOnews quoting a source in the passport department.

Several people who were seeking to leave Afghanistan for medical treatment and other facilities, gathered outside the passport department in Kabul. People complained about the passport department being closed and said that despite repeated promises to resume the operations of the department, the passport office is yet to open.

Several people who were seeking to leave Afghanistan for medical treatment and other facilities, gathered outside the passport department in Kabul. People complained about the passport department being closed and said that despite repeated promises to resume the operations of the department, the passport office is yet to open. Many people who had gathered outside the closed passport office were among those who study abroad, work outside Afghanistan and the ones who are patients and have to leave the country to get medical attention, TOLOnews reported. Pacha Gul, who travelled to Kabul from Paktia, southeastern province of Afghanistan said, "My Passport has expired, I have to go to Peshawar in Pakistan. I paid 700 dollars for only one gate pass, for the consulate. But the process doesn`t work there either and when I came here, the department is closed." He said that he worked in Saudi Arabia. But now he is unable to travel because his passport stands expired. Shafiq Hamdam, a university student said, "Let the passport department be opened. Some are medical patients here, some are having trade problems and some are facing educational problems." Rostam Amerkhil, who is a resident of Afghanistan`s Wardak province urged the passport office to be reopened as it was causing trouble to the people. "Everything is connected to the passport if they want to leave the country or stay. Let the passport office be open, don`t cause trouble for people," Amerkhil said. The Interior Ministry of the Taliban-led government said that the department would resume its activities soon. "Decisions have been taken in this regard. The process will begin soon," said Sayed Khosti, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry. The upcoming cabinet meeting of the Taliban-led government would discuss the passport department`s activities, said TOLOnews quoting a source in the passport department.

Afghanistan: Passport department remains shut, trouble for many Afghans

Taliban’s love for radio stations is quite old. In its earlier stint at ruling Afghanistan, it used to run a radio station for various purposes. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The love seems to have grown with time. Now, it seems to have allegedly taken over a radio station in Laghman province by force as it did for the whole country a few months back. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/why-the-talibans-repression-of-women-may-be-more-tactical-than-ideological-418352" hreflang="en">Why the Taliban’s repression of women may be more tactical than ideological</a>

As per reports, the head of Radio Khyber Nawekht, a local radio station, said that a local commander affiliated with the Islamic Emirate stormed into the radio compound and took over its control after the fall of the former government.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Hamid Khyber, head of the radio station, said, “On the first day the Taliban came to power, a local commander took custody of the compound. In addition, the Taliban threatened the journalists with death. So, the operations were halted.”

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/kabul-faces-winter-blackout-as-taliban-unable-to-pay-electricity-suppliers-report-418292" hreflang="en">Kabul faces winter blackout as Taliban unable to pay electricity suppliers: Report</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;

“The broadcasting has stopped and our colleagues are facing a lot of challenges,” said Salahuddin Ahmadzai, a journalist, who works at the station. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Although the local commander is yet to provide details, the interior ministry said that an investigation is underway. &nbsp;

Saeed Khosti, spokesman, interior ministry, said, “Our request from the people is that if the Mujahideen station themselves in their houses or offices, contact the nearby officials. They will pass on the case to us.” &nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Taliban’s love for radio stations is quite old. In its earlier stint at ruling Afghanistan, it used to run a radio station for various purposes. The love seems to have grown with time.

Taliban’s love for radio stations is quite old. In its earlier stint at ruling Afghanistan, it used to run a radio station for various purposes. The love seems to have grown with time. Now, it seems to have allegedly taken over a radio station in Laghman province by force as it did for the whole country a few months back. Also Read: Why the Taliban’s repression of women may be more tactical than ideological As per reports, the head of Radio Khyber Nawekht, a local radio station, said that a local commander affiliated with the Islamic Emirate stormed into the radio compound and took over its control after the fall of the former government. Hamid Khyber, head of the radio station, said, “On the first day the Taliban came to power, a local commander took custody of the compound. In addition, the Taliban threatened the journalists with death. So, the operations were halted.” Also Read: Kabul faces winter blackout as Taliban unable to pay electricity suppliers: Report “The broadcasting has stopped and our colleagues are facing a lot of challenges,” said Salahuddin Ahmadzai, a journalist, who works at the station. Although the local commander is yet to provide details, the interior ministry said that an investigation is underway. Saeed Khosti, spokesman, interior ministry, said, “Our request from the people is that if the Mujahideen station themselves in their houses or offices, contact the nearby officials. They will pass on the case to us.” (With inputs from agencies)

After Ghani govt fell, Taliban commander took over radio station in Laghman

Why are the Taliban stripping away so many of Afghan women’s hard-won freedoms?

That may seem like a facetious question. When the Taliban ruled the country in the 1990s, after all, their regime was known for having some of the world’s harshest restrictions on women. The group still adheres to a fundamentalist vision of Islamic society.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/times-have-changed-pictures-of-afghan-women-before-taliban-rule-go-viral-406508">'Times have changed': Pictures of Afghan women before Taliban rule go viral</a>

But ideology is only part of the story.

Every group has a range of beliefs, and not all of them become priorities for governance. Some Taliban officials, particularly those who conducted peace negotiations and favoured international engagement, have suggested that this iteration of Taliban governance might be less restrictive toward women. And there are certainly economic incentives, as the resumption of international aid would be based at least in part on human rights considerations.

None of that has seemed to make a difference thus far. Although some Taliban officials continue to say that conditions will improve, women are still being kept from workplaces and schools. Each week seems to bring a new report of restrictions.

In that light, the Taliban’s decision to restrict women’s freedom begins to look like a political choice as much as it is a matter of ideology. Understanding why the Taliban might see that choice as rewarding, experts say, offers insight into the group’s state-building efforts, and to the nature of the society, they now rule again.

The Insecurity of Taliban Security

“I did not for a minute believe that the Taliban had changed,” said Muqaddesa Yourish, a former deputy minister of commerce who fled to the United States with her family when the Taliban took power. “If anything has changed about them, it is that they know how to deal with the West.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/women-teachers-face-uncertain-future-after-taliban-bans-them-from-schools-417874">Women teachers face uncertain future after Taliban bans them from schools</a>

Less than two months after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, their promised allowances for women in the workplace and schools have yet to appear. Most women are still banned from going to work, a supposedly temporary measure the Taliban claim is necessary for security.

The leadership is using the same wording in describing when women might be allowed to attend public universities. And when secondary schools reopened, the Taliban directed boys to return to the classroom but said nothing about girls, which families across the country understood as a directive that girls should stay home.

Groups like the Taliban often struggle to make the transition from violent insurgency to actual governance, said Dipali Mukhopadhyay, a researcher at the University of Minnesota who studies rebel governance in Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere.

They do not have the experience, funding or personnel to deliver sophisticated government services. Instead, their main strength is controlling security — using their status as the country’s most powerful violent group to operate a kind of country-level protection racket, exchanging public safety for obedience.

“We shouldn’t buy this narrative that they are an alternative to the previous government because they are providing security,” said Metra Mehran, co-founder of the Feminine Perspectives Campaign, which sought to bring women’s voices into peace negotiations. “They’re not providing security; they’ve just stopped killing us.”

Mukhopadhyay echoed that sentiment. “That’s the cornerstone of understanding what the Taliban is offering: security and also the threat of force,” she said. “But people, particularly women, know that form of security comes with an ideology attached to it.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/as-need-in-afghanistan-grows-dire-aid-groups-plead-for-help-417450">As need in Afghanistan grows dire, aid groups plead for help</a>

Viewed through that lens, restricting women’s freedom serves as a powerful demonstration of the Taliban’s power. When women and girls vanish from offices and schools, it shows that the Taliban have enough power — and implicitly, enough capacity and willingness to use violence — to dramatically reengineer public spaces.

Mukhopadhyay noted that the Taliban had not only dismantled the Ministry for Women’s Affairs, but had also replaced it with the Ministry for Vice and Virtue, the feared religious police known for their public beatings of women who went out without a male relative or were dressed in something other than a burqa.

“That’s a very potent symbol of who’s winning within the Taliban right now,” she said.

‘The Talib in Every Man’

But marketing is only part of the story. Despite support and funding for gender-equality efforts during 20 years of US-backed governments, Afghan women’s freedoms have always been fragile.

Yourish said she has always sensed that many Afghan men were uncomfortable with women in public life. Although her own father and husband were supportive of her career, she said, they often seemed like outliers.

In the final days before the Taliban took power, Yourish said, she and her friends traded stories of how “the Talib in every man is coming out,” she said. Male strangers approached her and other women on the street, shouting cryptic threats like “your days will be over soon,” she said. She could sense women’s progress crumbling, she said, even before the previous government fell.

Also read |&nbsp;​​​​​​​<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/watch-taliban-fire-shots-at-kabul-women-protesting-for-right-to-study-417115">Watch: Taliban fire shots at Kabul women protesting for right to study</a>

On paper and in the tables of foreign aid budgets, gender equality was a priority for two decades. And there were substantial improvements for many women, especially those who were educated and lived in more urban areas.

But Afghanistan remains a deeply patriarchal society. The Taliban’s promise to return to “traditional” values, in which women are subordinate to their male relatives, is an attractive offer to many Afghan men.

Alice Evans, a researcher at King’s College London who studies women’s economic and social progress, said women’s rights were caught in a “patrilineal trap.”

Societies where family wealth passes through the male line traditionally place a high value on brides’ chastity, Evans said. “Girls are then closely policed to improve their marriage prospects and family honor,” she said, and norms develop that keep women out of public life.

The dynamic is self-reinforcing: Families do not want to risk deviating from social norms on their own, so everyone ends up stuck in a system in which women have to stay close to home.

To get out of that trap, women’s wages have to become high enough that the benefits of working outweigh the risks to family honour, Evans said. In East Asia, for instance, rapid industrialization raised women’s potential earnings, effectively buying them out of the honour-based rules that constrained them to the home.

That did not happen in Afghanistan, where economic productivity and employment languished despite the influx of aid. Women’s wages did not rise enough, in enough places, to outweigh their families’ honor-based concerns, or to transform social norms.

Also read |&nbsp;​​​​​​​<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/wion-exclusive-life-under-taliban-women-run-studio-forced-to-shut-down-in-kabul-417039">WION exclusive- Life under Taliban: Women-run studio forced to shut down in Kabul</a>

That may strengthen the Taliban. Rebel groups that are seen as grounded in local communities and values tend to be more successful, Mukhopadhyay said. For conservative Afghans, particularly men, restricting women’s freedom may be a way for the Taliban to claim they support local values.

But it could still backfire, Mukhopadhyay said, if restrictions are so extreme that Afghans see them as overreach by leaders who do not understand how the country has changed. For decades, “the Talibs were living across the border in Pakistan,” she said. “Their perceptions of Islam, and modernity, are not the same as those of people in Afghanistan.”

Women’s employment did become widespread enough that many families relied, at least partly, on their income, said Manizha Wafeq, co-founder and president of the Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Their earnings have vanished in recent weeks as a result of Taliban restrictions, and that could cut into the public’s acceptance of their rule.

“It’s already an economic crisis for the whole country,” Wafeq said. “People are already trying to figure out how to feed their families.”

Why are the Taliban stripping away so many of Afghan women’s hard-won freedoms? That may seem like a facetious question. When the Taliban ruled the country in the 1990s, after all, their regime was known for having some of the world’s harshest restrictions on women.

Why are the Taliban stripping away so many of Afghan women’s hard-won freedoms? That may seem like a facetious question. When the Taliban ruled the country in the 1990s, after all, their regime was known for having some of the world’s harshest restrictions on women. The group still adheres to a fundamentalist vision of Islamic society. Also read | 'Times have changed': Pictures of Afghan women before Taliban rule go viral But ideology is only part of the story. Every group has a range of beliefs, and not all of them become priorities for governance. Some Taliban officials, particularly those who conducted peace negotiations and favoured international engagement, have suggested that this iteration of Taliban governance might be less restrictive toward women. And there are certainly economic incentives, as the resumption of international aid would be based at least in part on human rights considerations. None of that has seemed to make a difference thus far. Although some Taliban officials continue to say that conditions will improve, women are still being kept from workplaces and schools. Each week seems to bring a new report of restrictions. In that light, the Taliban’s decision to restrict women’s freedom begins to look like a political choice as much as it is a matter of ideology. Understanding why the Taliban might see that choice as rewarding, experts say, offers insight into the group’s state-building efforts, and to the nature of the society, they now rule again. The Insecurity of Taliban Security “I did not for a minute believe that the Taliban had changed,” said Muqaddesa Yourish, a former deputy minister of commerce who fled to the United States with her family when the Taliban took power. “If anything has changed about them, it is that they know how to deal with the West.” Also read | Women teachers face uncertain future after Taliban bans them from schools Less than two months after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, their promised allowances for women in the workplace and schools have yet to appear. Most women are still banned from going to work, a supposedly temporary measure the Taliban claim is necessary for security. The leadership is using the same wording in describing when women might be allowed to attend public universities. And when secondary schools reopened, the Taliban directed boys to return to the classroom but said nothing about girls, which families across the country understood as a directive that girls should stay home. Groups like the Taliban often struggle to make the transition from violent insurgency to actual governance, said Dipali Mukhopadhyay, a researcher at the University of Minnesota who studies rebel governance in Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere. They do not have the experience, funding or personnel to deliver sophisticated government services. Instead, their main strength is controlling security — using their status as the country’s most powerful violent group to operate a kind of country-level protection racket, exchanging public safety for obedience. “We shouldn’t buy this narrative that they are an alternative to the previous government because they are providing security,” said Metra Mehran, co-founder of the Feminine Perspectives Campaign, which sought to bring women’s voices into peace negotiations. “They’re not providing security; they’ve just stopped killing us.” Mukhopadhyay echoed that sentiment. “That’s the cornerstone of understanding what the Taliban is offering: security and also the threat of force,” she said. “But people, particularly women, know that form of security comes with an ideology attached to it.” Also read | As need in Afghanistan grows dire, aid groups plead for help Viewed through that lens, restricting women’s freedom serves as a powerful demonstration of the Taliban’s power. When women and girls vanish from offices and schools, it shows that the Taliban have enough power — and implicitly, enough capacity and willingness to use violence — to dramatically reengineer public spaces. Mukhopadhyay noted that the Taliban had not only dismantled the Ministry for Women’s Affairs, but had also replaced it with the Ministry for Vice and Virtue, the feared religious police known for their public beatings of women who went out without a male relative or were dressed in something other than a burqa. “That’s a very potent symbol of who’s winning within the Taliban right now,” she said. ‘The Talib in Every Man’ But marketing is only part of the story. Despite support and funding for gender-equality efforts during 20 years of US-backed governments, Afghan women’s freedoms have always been fragile. Yourish said she has always sensed that many Afghan men were uncomfortable with women in public life. Although her own father and husband were supportive of her career, she said, they often seemed like outliers. In the final days before the Taliban took power, Yourish said, she and her friends traded stories of how “the Talib in every man is coming out,” she said. Male strangers approached her and other women on the street, shouting cryptic threats like “your days will be over soon,” she said. She could sense women’s progress crumbling, she said, even before the previous government fell. Also read | Watch: Taliban fire shots at Kabul women protesting for right to study On paper and in the tables of foreign aid budgets, gender equality was a priority for two decades. And there were substantial improvements for many women, especially those who were educated and lived in more urban areas. But Afghanistan remains a deeply patriarchal society. The Taliban’s promise to return to “traditional” values, in which women are subordinate to their male relatives, is an attractive offer to many Afghan men. Alice Evans, a researcher at King’s College London who studies women’s economic and social progress, said women’s rights were caught in a “patrilineal trap.” Societies where family wealth passes through the male line traditionally place a high value on brides’ chastity, Evans said. “Girls are then closely policed to improve their marriage prospects and family honor,” she said, and norms develop that keep women out of public life. The dynamic is self-reinforcing: Families do not want to risk deviating from social norms on their own, so everyone ends up stuck in a system in which women have to stay close to home. To get out of that trap, women’s wages have to become high enough that the benefits of working outweigh the risks to family honour, Evans said. In East Asia, for instance, rapid industrialization raised women’s potential earnings, effectively buying them out of the honour-based rules that constrained them to the home. That did not happen in Afghanistan, where economic productivity and employment languished despite the influx of aid. Women’s wages did not rise enough, in enough places, to outweigh their families’ honor-based concerns, or to transform social norms. Also read | WION exclusive- Life under Taliban: Women-run studio forced to shut down in Kabul That may strengthen the Taliban. Rebel groups that are seen as grounded in local communities and values tend to be more successful, Mukhopadhyay said. For conservative Afghans, particularly men, restricting women’s freedom may be a way for the Taliban to claim they support local values. But it could still backfire, Mukhopadhyay said, if restrictions are so extreme that Afghans see them as overreach by leaders who do not understand how the country has changed. For decades, “the Talibs were living across the border in Pakistan,” she said. “Their perceptions of Islam, and modernity, are not the same as those of people in Afghanistan.” Women’s employment did become widespread enough that many families relied, at least partly, on their income, said Manizha Wafeq, co-founder and president of the Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Their earnings have vanished in recent weeks as a result of Taliban restrictions, and that could cut into the public’s acceptance of their rule. “It’s already an economic crisis for the whole country,” Wafeq said. “People are already trying to figure out how to feed their families.”

Why the Taliban’s repression of women may be more tactical than ideological

The European Union foreign policy chief said on Sunday the Taliban government's behaviour up to now was "not very encouraging", and any economic collapse in Afghanistan would raise the risk of terrorism and other threats. Watch this report for more details.

EU foreign policy chief: Taliban government behaviour 'not encouraging'

The Taliban have denied reports of the foreign troops&nbsp;presence at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, reported local media.

Omar Mansor, a member of the cultural commission, said: "There are no foreign troops currently in Afghanistan, including Chinese", according to TOLOnews.

On Saturday night, Bagram residents had said that the lights of the base were seen, the first time since the US troops left the airfield.

However, Mansoor informed that the Taliban members had switched on lights there.

"The lights were switched on again at Bagram air force base. There were some voices heard at the base. A plane has also been seen there," TOLOnews quoted resident of Bagram district, Shamshad as saying.

Unconfirmed reports had rumoured the presence of the Chinese air force at the base. `A foreign force is rumoured to be involved, with fingers pointed at China, which denied eyeing the base,` Russia Today reported.

Earlier in September, analysts had said that China was eyeing the former US airbase of Bagram in Afghanistan in order to expand its influence in the region and embarrass America.

Paul D Shinkman, writing in US News had said that China secured friendly relations with the new Taliban government in Afghanistan and is now considering new ways to expand influence and embarrass the US.

Beijing is considering deploying military personnel and economic development officials to Bagram Airfield, perhaps the single-most prominent symbol of the 20-year US military presence in Afghanistan, Shinkman said.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The Taliban have denied reports of the foreign troops presence at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, reported local media. Omar Mansor, a member of the cultural commission, said: "There are no foreign troops currently in Afghanistan, including Chinese", according to TOLOnews.

The Taliban have denied reports of the foreign troops presence at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, reported local media. Omar Mansor, a member of the cultural commission, said: "There are no foreign troops currently in Afghanistan, including Chinese", according to TOLOnews. On Saturday night, Bagram residents had said that the lights of the base were seen, the first time since the US troops left the airfield. However, Mansoor informed that the Taliban members had switched on lights there. "The lights were switched on again at Bagram air force base. There were some voices heard at the base. A plane has also been seen there," TOLOnews quoted resident of Bagram district, Shamshad as saying. Unconfirmed reports had rumoured the presence of the Chinese air force at the base. `A foreign force is rumoured to be involved, with fingers pointed at China, which denied eyeing the base,` Russia Today reported. Earlier in September, analysts had said that China was eyeing the former US airbase of Bagram in Afghanistan in order to expand its influence in the region and embarrass America. Paul D Shinkman, writing in US News had said that China secured friendly relations with the new Taliban government in Afghanistan and is now considering new ways to expand influence and embarrass the US. Beijing is considering deploying military personnel and economic development officials to Bagram Airfield, perhaps the single-most prominent symbol of the 20-year US military presence in Afghanistan, Shinkman said.

Taliban deny presence of Chinese troops at Bagram Airfield

The Taliban have said that they had destroyed an Islamic State cell in the Afghan capital, hours after a suspected IS attack on a mosque killed five people.

Taliban: ISIS-K cell destroyed after Mosque attack in Kabul

A Chinese think-tank recently said that the Taliban faces a series of severe challenges. This includes unity and establishing an open and inclusive government.&nbsp;

As the Taliban's interim government failed to win&nbsp;global recognition, an article in the state-run Global Times on Saturday said, "China and Pakistan must cooperate closely on the Afghan issue to persuade the Afghan Taliban to establish an open and inclusive government and implement a moderate domestic and foreign policy".

The article has been titled "Why is it essential for China, Pakistan to enhance coordination against terrorists, safeguard regional stability."

Written by the secretary-general of Research Centre for China-South Asia Cooperation at the government-run Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, Liu Zongyi, the article said, "at present, the verbal expression of the Afghan Taliban is very different from that in the past, but we do not know what specific policies they will champion in the future".

"The Afghan Taliban are now facing a series of severe challenges. First, the unity of Afghan Taliban itself. Second, whether the Afghan Taliban can establish an open and inclusive government.

The article said that China and Pakistan, as "all-weather strategic partners", must work together to maintain and promote regional security and stability.

A Chinese think-tank recently said that the Taliban faces a series of severe challenges. This includes unity and establishing an open and inclusive government. As the Taliban's interim government failed to win global recognition, an article in the state-run Global Times on Saturday said, "China and Pakistan must cooperate closely on the Afghan issue to persuade the Afghan Taliban to establish an open and inclusive government and implement a moderate domestic and foreign policy".

A Chinese think-tank recently said that the Taliban faces a series of severe challenges. This includes unity and establishing an open and inclusive government. As the Taliban's interim government failed to win global recognition, an article in the state-run Global Times on Saturday said, "China and Pakistan must cooperate closely on the Afghan issue to persuade the Afghan Taliban to establish an open and inclusive government and implement a moderate domestic and foreign policy". The article has been titled "Why is it essential for China, Pakistan to enhance coordination against terrorists, safeguard regional stability." Written by the secretary-general of Research Centre for China-South Asia Cooperation at the government-run Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, Liu Zongyi, the article said, "at present, the verbal expression of the Afghan Taliban is very different from that in the past, but we do not know what specific policies they will champion in the future". "The Afghan Taliban are now facing a series of severe challenges. First, the unity of Afghan Taliban itself. Second, whether the Afghan Taliban can establish an open and inclusive government. The article said that China and Pakistan, as "all-weather strategic partners", must work together to maintain and promote regional security and stability.

Taliban faces a series of severe challenges, says Chinese think-tank

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