Taliban

After capturing Kabul on August 15, 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed severe restrictions on women's and girls' rights, suppressed the media, and arbitrarily detained, tortured, and summarily executed critics and perceived opponents, among other abuses. Taliban human rights abuses have brought widespread condemnation and imperiled international efforts to address the country's dire humanitarian situation, Human Rights Watch said.

In his first televised interview with newly established media outlet Afghan Broadcasting Network (ABN) on Wednesday, Ghani specifically blamed former US envoy for Afghan peace Zalmay Khalilzad as well as a number of prominent Afghan politicians, reports dpa news agency. Ghani seemed to be most angry at Khalilzad, who signed a peace deal with the Taliban in Doha that paved the way for the full withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. He called Khalilzad "corrupt" and "incompetent".

In the wake of the killings, which occurred on August 7, the TTP leadership has held frantic discussions about how to deal with the loss of some of its top guns, the RFE/RL report quoted observers as saying. While no group has claimed responsibility for the separate deadly blasts that killed the commanders, experts suggest they could be result of an internal rift over the prospect of a lasting truce with Islamabad, which the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, has fought to overthrow since 2007.

In a statement, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) urged the de-facto Taliban government to provide greater security for minorities so that they can hold their religious ceremonies without further attacks, dpa news agency reported.

The US may consider a round of sanctions against the Taliban regime since its hiding al-Zawahiri, the mastermind of 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) attacks with Osama Bin Laden and the attacks on the Kenyan and another embassy on American soil. The Al Qaeda leader was also behind the suicide attack against USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer of the US Navy, that killed 17 sailors. In the attack, terrorists exploded a small boat alongside the USS Cole as it was refueling in the Yemen's Aden port.

Ever since the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government in Kabul and seized power in August 2021, the export of and customs duties from coal have become a key source of revenue for the militant group, RFE/RL reported. Afghanistan has significant deposits of coal. Out of the country's 80 coal mines, 17 are operational, with most located in central and northern Afghanistan.

Now, in 2022, the Taliban have dug up the vehicle of their founder in Zabul province, where it was buried 21 years ago, Express Tribune reported. The Toyota vehicle was buried by Mullah Omar when he arrived at Zabul province in southern Afghanistan from Kandahar. The car was found wrapped in plastic and mostly undamaged. The front mirror was, however, broken, a local said.

The Taliban figure was referred to as a commander of the Haqqani branch on social media, and the sources claimed that he resides in Khost and that his wife's residence is in the Barki Barak district of Logar, reports Khaama Press. The sources claim that this incident occurred in the Shah Mazar region of the Barki Barak district of Logar province.

Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank Mohammad Idris and Deputy Finance Minister Nazir Kabiri are also members of the Afghan delegation that departed Kabul on Wednesday, reports Khaama Press. Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a spokesperson for the Finance Ministry in Kabul, said the delegation will meet Thomas West, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, and officials from the Treasury Department.

Equipped with a science laboratory, library, and computer lab, the Abdul Hai Habibi High School was considered one of the most modern and prestigious government schools in southeastern Afghanistan. But since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, the secular school in the city of Khost has been converted into a madrasah, or religious seminary, forcing many of its 6,000 students and 130 teachers to leave, RFE/RL reported.