Taliban

Taliban has also advised road transports to refuse rides to women who do not follow the Taliban imposed guidelines. The new set of regulations imposed on Afghan women despite the fact that the Taliban authorities are trying to moderate their image internationally.

The remarks were made by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, while he addressed a gathering on Sunday, reports TOLO News. Regarding the withdrawal of US forces in August that led to the Taliban taking control of the country, Stanekzai said that "American soldiers fled from Afghanistan in the dark of the night".

The Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation confirmed that discussions were underway with the visiting joint Turkish-Qatari delegation, Khaama Press reported. "The joint Turkish-Qatari technical team came to Kabul on Thursday and held meetings with technical teams of the Islamic Emirate. These meetings will continue and in the near future they will reach an agreement in light of the country's national interests," TOLO News quoted Imamuddin Ahmadi, a spokesman of the Ministry, as saying.

According to a report on Khaama Press, the terror group released a statement on Saturday saying that it had carried out the December 23 attack. According to Kabul's security officials, a suicide attacker tried to enter the passport office on December 23 where hundreds of Taliban affiliates had gathered.

Abu Dojana, commander of the 201 Khalid Bin Walid Corps, said that despite the Taliban seeking good ties with the neighbouring nations, its forces also have the military equipment to defend Afghanistan in case of any provocation, reports TOLO News.

The amount of money that is supposed to be given to Afghanistan in 2022 will be spent to deliver various services in the war-torn country. The package is aimed at providing healthy food for children in schools, creating job opportunities, paying off electricity debts of Afghanistan to central Asian countries, and rebuilding governance beyond humanitarian aids in the country, the report said.

In its announcement on Friday, the UNSC said that the ban, which came into force on Wednesday, will last until March 21, 2022, TOLO News reported. Besides Baradar, there are 14 other Taliban members on the ban list, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. "The travel ban exemption is solely for travels required for participation in peace and stability discussions in a range of countries," TOLO News quoted the UNSC as saying in its announcement.

The UN is ready with a proposal to pay $6 million per year to Sirajuddin Haqqani who ironically also heads the UN designated terror outfit Haqqani Network (HQN). With a bounty of $10 million on his head, Sirajuddin Haqqani is among the top wanted terrorist list of the US.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said a local intelligence chief of the Taliban tried to remove the fence, and it was not a decision approved by the Taliban leadership, the report said. Soon after the incident, Pakistan and the Taliban established contact at the highest level and agreed to resolve the issue through talks.

Serious concerns have been expressed by the Central Asian States as well countries in the South and South East Asian region about the possibility of Afghanistan emerging as a hub of Islamic militancy under the Taliban, thus disturbing the security situation in the country and the region.