Afghanistan: General News and Discussion

India set to receive first Afghan Taliban minister after UNSC temporarily lifts travel ban​

October 3, 2025

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Acting Foreign Minister of Taliban Amir Khan Muttaqi gives statements to the press outside the Soria Moria hotel in Oslo, Norway January 24, 2022. — NTB/Terje Pedersen via Reuters

The UN Security Council (UNSC) Committee has temporarily lifted a travel ban on the Afghan Taliban foreign minister, which would allow him to visit India between October 9 and 16, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

If confirmed, it would be the first visit to India by a senior leader of the Taliban-run Afghan administration since it seized power in 2021 after 20 years of US military presence.

Delhi and Kabul have traditionally enjoyed close ties when the Islamist Taliban were not in power.

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is among Afghan Taliban members who are under UN sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze. Temporary exemptions are sometimes granted for diplomacy. The Afghan administration did not immediately respond to inquiries about Muttaqi’s travel plans.

India’s foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters that New Delhi had already been speaking to the Afghan administration, and noted that it had provided support after an earthquake on August 31. He did not specifically confirm that the visit would take place.

Indian and Afghan media have reported that Muttaqi will travel to Russia before visiting New Delhi.

In Moscow, he is expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with representatives from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Central Asian countries, the reports say.

Hekmatullah Hekmat, an Afghan political analyst, said the visit to India was highly significant for the Taliban government:

“Afghanistan is in dire need of establishing relations with regional countries, especially its neighbours. It needs to build political, economic, and trade ties and to gain recognition.”

Only Russia has so far recognised the Taliban government. India closed its embassy in Kabul in 2021, but a year later opened a technical mission to coordinate humanitarian assistance.
 
Interesting. India could become the second country after Russia to recognize Taliban.
 
Doesnt surprise me that Taliban would eventually end up in India lap, typical afghan. But this exposes India as supporter of terrorism and hopefully we grow balls to support anti-Taliban lobby to lay foundation of Pakistan friendly Khorasan.
 

Internet and Telecom networks restored in Afghanistan after 72-hour blackout​


by The Frontier Post

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KABUL (Khaama Press): Internet and telecom networks were restored in Afghanistan after a 72-hour blackout, resuming gradually with slow speeds, technical restrictions, and concerns over future sudden disruptions.

Internet services in Afghanistan were restored on Wednesday after a nationwide blackout that lasted nearly 72 hours. The shutdown, ordered under senior leadership, caused severe disruption across the country.

Residents in several provinces, including Herat and Kandahar, Kabul confirmed that fiber optic and mobile networks had come back online. However, access remained limited, with slow speeds and technical restrictions still in place.

Users reported that social media platforms and news websites were once again accessible. Yet the connection was unstable, making it difficult to carry out daily activities online.

The blackout, which began on Monday evening, had paralyzed education and professional life. Schools, offices, and businesses struggled to operate without internet access.

Banking systems, customs offices, money exchanges, and airports were also heavily affected. Flights in and out of Kabul were suspended, while financial transactions and trade slowed to a near standstill.

Civil society activists warned that the disruption underscored the fragility of Afghanistan’s communications infrastructure. They urged authorities to recognize internet access as a basic right and to prevent sudden nationwide shutdowns.

The United Nations and human rights groups echoed these concerns, noting that extended blackouts isolate communities, hinder humanitarian aid, and risk worsening Afghanistan’s already fragile social and economic conditions.

Although services have returned, residents expressed cautious relief, hoping connectivity will remain stable. Many stressed that repeated disruptions would inflict lasting harm on education, business, and livelihoods across the country.
 

Taliban celebrates fourth anniversary of return to power​

by The Frontier Post

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KABUL (AP): Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers celebrated the fourth anniversary of their return to power in August, with Defense Ministry helicopters scattering flowers from the air to crowds below.

Some 10,000 people gathered across the capital, Kabul, in six locations to watch the “flower shower.”
The Taliban seized controlof Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, as the US and NATO withdrew their forces at the end of a two-decade war.

Since then, they have reimposed their interpretation of Islamic law on daily life, including sweeping restrictions on women and girls, based on edicts from their leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The anniversary program also comprised speeches from key Cabinet members. An outdoor sports performance, initially expected to feature Afghan athletes, did not take place.

Members of the United Afghan Women’s Movement for Freedom staged an indoor protest on Friday in northeast Takhar province against Taliban rule.

“This day marked the beginning of a black domination that excluded women from work, education, and social life,” the movement said in a statement shared with The Associated Press. “We, the protesting women, remember this day not as a memory, but as an open wound of history, a wound that has not yet healed. The fall of Afghanistan was not the fall of our will. We stand, even in the darkness.”
 
4th year in Power..............

Rights groups, foreign governments, and the UN have condemned the Taliban for their treatment of women and girls, who are barred from education beyond sixth grade, many jobs, and some public spaces.

There was also an indoor protest in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Afghan women held up signs that said, “Forgiving the Taliban is an act of enmity against humanity” and “August 15th is a dark day.”

Taliban leader warns God will punish the ungrateful
Earlier in the day, the Taliban leader warned God would severely punish Afghans who were ungrateful for Islamic rule in the country, according to a statement.

Akhundzada, who is seldom seen in public, said in a statement that Afghans had endured hardships and made sacrifices for almost 50 years so that Islamic law, or Sharia, could be established. Sharia had saved people from “corruption, oppression, usurpation, drugs, theft, robbery, and plunder.”
 

UK envoy urges IEA to engage with world​


by The Frontier Post

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KABUL (Pajhwok): The United Kingdom’s special envoy has said the G7 convened a meeting of special representatives on Afghanistan this week.

In a post on X, Richard Lindsay, the UK’s special envoy, wrote: “This week we convened G7+ Special Representatives for Afghanistan and reaffirmed our commitment to supporting the people of Afghanistan.”

He urged the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to engage constructively and in good faith with the international community.

This comes as the IEA has repeatedly stated that it is ready for positive engagement with the world on the basis of mutual respect.
 
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Countries such as Afghanistan, North Korea and a few in Africa need so much reform. In particular, Afghanistan has been such a problem child - what is the justification for depriving your mothers, wives, daughters of basic human decency. Its like you take the concept of Burka and raise it to power of 10... Its just not right - whether in Iran or Afghanistan or anywhere else...

Also, its really orthodox to say its to "protect" women - freaking you should reform your men who get "excited". If a woman choose to wear one - that ok. However, I would argue that any God is beyond the physical and mental form so you don't need to appeal to God through such actions - God is always there with you and within you, you only need to open your spiritual eyes/senses
 
samsite84 said:
Countries such as Afghanistan, North Korea and a few in Africa need so much reform. In particular, Afghanistan has been such a problem child - what is the justification for depriving your mothers, wives, daughters of basic human decency. Its like you take the concept of Burka and raise it to power of 10... Its just not right - whether in Iran or Afghanistan or anywhere else...

Also, its really orthodox to say its to "protect" women - freaking you should reform your men who get "excited". If a woman choose to wear one - that ok. However, I would argue that any God is beyond the physical and mental form so you don't need to appeal to God through such actions - God is always there with you and within you, you only need to open your spiritual eyes/senses
Click to expand...
It's not to protect women but to oppress and control them. That's how they exert dominance.
 
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