Tag:Taliban

Guterres has called on Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on women and girls, protect media freedom and due process, prevent further violations of the general amnesty, and end corporal punishment.

Restrictions on education and freedoms, combined with chronic poverty and lack of future opportunities, have fuelled high levels of distress.

UNESCO says it will keep seeking every possible avenue to support learning while pressing for the restrictions to be lifted.

The combination of funding cuts, mass returns, climate shocks, high food prices has left millions of Afghans facing preventable hunger and illness.

In a sobering assessment released this week, the United Nations has painted a complex portrait of Afghanistan under Taliban governance, where a dramatic increase in security incidents coincides with fragile stability, devastating cross-border violence with Pakistan, and a deepening humanitarian and human rights crisis.

The international community’s response – through statements, potential aid conditions, or sanctions – will be critical in determining whether such crackdowns face meaningful consequences.

Experts suggest the Eid address serves multiple purposes: rallying domestic support, discouraging dissent, and messaging the international community ahead of potential future talks. With Akhundzada rarely appearing publicly and operating primarily from Kandahar, his sermons remain key vehicles for policy direction.