International News
Stubborn Taliban (Opinion)
The manner in which the Taliban have been able to retain power in Afghanistan and their latest decisions show that to save millions of Afghanis from impoverishment and death, international community will have to adopt a new approach.
While the nearly one-year old Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government trundles on in the absence of international recognition, financial support and faces international backlash on its mostly anti-women and minorities decisions, reminding one of its earlier harsh tenure, the IEA government has not given up on efforts to cajole the international community whilst trying to engage with its neighbours and regional powers at an equal level.
Afghan Loya Jirga
Last week, a three-day assembly of Islamic clerics and tribal elders, called Loya Jirga, was held in Kabul. The assembly pledged support for the Taliban and called on the international community to recognise the country’s Taliban-led government and freeze its assets.
It is reported that some 70 personalities representing Afghan refugees in Pakistan and 30 others from Iran participated in the Jirga. According to the state-run Bakhtar news agency, about 3,500 religious scholars and elders from across Afghanistan were invited to attend the grand assembly.
Participants of the Jirga were expected to discuss a series of issues, including reopening schools for girls from 7th grade to 12th grade, the type of government, national flag and national anthem.
However, the indications are that the overwhelming majority of attendees were Taliban officials and supporters, mostly Islamic clerics. Women were not allowed to attend, a practice that started during the US-backed government in the past.
The Jirga issued an 11-point statement at the conclusion, urging countries in the region and the world, the UN, Islamic organisations and others to recognise theIEA, remove all sanctions imposed since the Taliban takeover and unfreeze Afghan assets abroad.
The US has frozen nearly $9 billion of Afghanistan’s funds. Reportedly US officials and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi held talks in Qatar last week to explore ways for unfreezing the money.
It also called for mutual respect and coexistence with neighbouring countries, in the region and the world at large, stressing that “the Afghan soil won’t be used against any country and Afghanistan also won’t allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs”.
It also supported the administration’s ban on poppy plantation and drug production and its smuggling, noting that poppy cultivation, drug production and its trafficking are against Islamic teachings.
The participants also described the Islamic State terror group as “insurgent, terrorist”, noting cooperation with the group is against Islamic laws. The statement further described them as “Kharijite group of this age that spreads corruption in our Islamic country. Any help or association with them is illegal. And that any armed opposition against the Islamic establishment is a breach of Islamic laws and regarded as rebellion”.
In a surprise development, the reclusive supreme leader and spiritual chief of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada reached Kabul from his base in southern Kandahar province and addressed the gathering on July 1.
His appearance added symbolic heft to the gathering. In his hour-long speech carried by state radio, Akhundzada called the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan a “victory for the Muslim world”.
The battle for coal
Meanwhile, there are reports that the Taliban have increased the price of Afghan coal from $90 per tonne to $200 per tonne, and set custom duties at 30 per cent, hours after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced import plans for the same. The move is also aimed at rejecting allegations that it’s becoming a “puppet” of Pakistan.
But now, members of the regime are seeking to alter the image of the Taliban’s relationship with the Pakistani government. On June 29, the spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals, Mufti Ismatullah Burhan, told The Independent Urdu that no coal trade agreement exists between the two countries, and that the Taliban will use coal as a “pressure point” for Pakistan.
Afghan newspaper Daily Hasht-e Subh also quoted warnings from expert Mirahmad Shakib that the real damage of any accelerated coal imports would not be to either country’s economies but to the environment in Afghanistan. “Pakistan is plundering Afghanistan’s resources in the absence of a responsible national government.” Shakib said.
Since it took over Afghanistan last year and the subsequent economic crisis, the Taliban government has been attempting to rely on natural resources for revenue as an answer to the country’s economic crisis.
The way forward
The Jirga opened in the absence of women representatives and concluded without hinting at reopening schools for girls above grade six and women’s right to work outside home.
In its reaction to the Jirga, Human Rights Watch has said that a decision-making body, such as a Jirga that excludes women and other groups is not legitimate. While human rights advocates claim they do not anticipate and expect significant improvements from the Taliban Jirga in Kabul, Heather Barr, co-director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, said no one in the Taliban’s Jirga could speak up and that the assembly did not reflected ethnic diversity.
Reportedly, the Taliban elders have been able to keep a complete lock on decision-making since taking over the country last August, and they touted the Jirga as a forum to hear a range of voices on issues facing Afghanistan.
Overall, it appears that Taliban are desperate for the international community to recognise the new Islamic Emirate at the earliest and unfreeze its assets, enabling it to plan for the future.
In its first budget presented in May earlier this year, the IEA government announced a deficit of 44 billion Afghanis ($501 million), the authorities didn’t elaborate or clarified how the gap between expected revenues and planned spending will be met.
The Taliban are under international pressure to be more inclusive as they struggle with Afghanistan’s humanitarian crises. The international community is determined to set its terms while the Taliban are adamant to dictate their own terms for any compromise, as they have been able to control the country for almost a year.
It remains to be seen how it all will pan out as the Taliban are a very stubborn lot and instead of pressure, to find a common ground cajoling and being empathetic will be in favour of both the Afghan people and international community.
(Asad Mirza is a political commentator based in New Delhi. He writes on Muslims, educational, international affairs, interfaith and current affairs)
International News
Iran designates Argentine Navy, Air Force as ‘terrorist organisations’

Iran Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that the country has designated the Argentine Navy and Air Force as terrorist organisations.
The move came in response to the Argentine government’s decision in late March to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry described Argentina’s decision as “hostile and being in contradiction with the fundamental principles of international law,” saying Iran’s move was based on the principle of reciprocity and a domestic law on reciprocal action against the US designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
The law calls for equivalent countermeasures against countries that comply with or support Washington’s actions against Tehran, the statement said, Xinhua news agency reported. The ministry held the Argentine government responsible for all consequences arising from the decision, stressing that the IRGC is an integral part of Iran’s armed forces.
The office of Argentine President Javier Milei announced on March 31 that Argentina had designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
The decision followed calls by US President Donald Trump’s administration for its allies to designate the IRGC and Hezbollah as terrorist organisations.
The Argentine government said the measure had been adopted in response to the IRGC’s support for Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group, which Buenos Aires blames for a deadly 1994 bombing attack on the AMIA Jewish community centre in the capital city. The attack killed 85 people and injured over 300 others.
Earlier this month, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that Tehran had designated Britain’s Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Secret Intelligence Service as “terrorist and hostile” entities over the British government’s anti-Iran actions.
Meanwhile, Qatar said Tuesday that progress had been made in negotiations between the United States and Iran, describing recent White House talks involving Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani as positive, while cautioning that it was too early to predict when an agreement could be reached.
Business
India seen as credible broker for Russia-Ukraine peace talks: Report

India is seen as a credible country that can help in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine because it is one of few major powers with working relationships with both countries, according to a report in Al Jazeera.
It cited a foreign affairs expert as saying that India’s strategic autonomy puts it in a position to push for peace because New Delhi is “friends with both” sides.
India has also been even-handed. In July, it summoned Moscow’s charge d’affaires to condemn a Russian strike on a merchant vessel that killed 10 people, including four Indian crew members. Days later, it summoned Ukraine’s ambassador over an Indian seafarer killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the MV Omorfi, the report observes.
It highlights that India is also an importer of goods from both Russia and Ukraine. In the 2025-26, India imported 1.46 million tonnes of sunflower oil from Russia and 443,000 tonnes from Ukraine, according to the Indian Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), alongside large volumes of Russian crude.
The article cites Maximilian Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, as saying that Zelenskyy approached India “because they have leverage over Moscow, and they are still one of the few major buyers of its oil.”
He added that a large amount of Russian money sits in the Indian financial system, which Moscow wants to keep access to.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, about a third of the world’s grain exports passed through the Black Sea, with Ukraine supplying a tenth of global wheat exports and 15 percent of maize. Disruption hits food-importing countries hardest, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia, the report states.
Indian officials point out that India as a leading voice of the Global South is keen that food exports to these developing nations resume to prevent adequate supplies and controlling rising inflation.
Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have discussed the issue of opening the food corridor over a phone call.
“India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue,” Zelenskyy posted on X after call. The leaders discussed Russia’s blocking of grain exports in the Black Sea, he said.
PM Modi said India was ready to contribute “in every possible way” towards a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, during a visit to Kyiv in September, spoke of a potential pause on strikes against Black Sea shipping and energy infrastructure. On October 4, he said India was talking to both Russia and Ukraine about shipping safety, grain and energy exports and “non-attack possibilities”.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier called India’s proposal “the broadest”, because it covers both the Black Sea and energy infrastructure. The US plan offers only a halt to strikes on energy facilities.
International News
Hamas alone responsible for suffering of Gaza people: Israel

Israel has blamed Hamas for the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and said reconstruction could not begin until the group disarmed, a day after US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace criticised Israel for delays in allowing humanitarian supplies into the war-devastated enclave.
In a statement posted on X on Tuesday (local time), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had facilitated the entry of more than 91,000 tents and over 8,200 trucks carrying winter supplies, including blankets, clothing and tarpaulins.
“Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza,” the statement said, adding that the group’s refusal to disarm remained the main obstacle to reconstruction.
As of November 8, humanitarian partners had received appeals for aid from more than 26,000 households whose shelters or belongings were damaged. More than 6,000 family shelters were reportedly destroyed and 17,400 damaged, and more than 3,900 households currently have no shelter at all, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The Board of Peace said Monday that Israel’s response to the winter emergency remained “insufficient” and called for the immediate entry of essential shelter, sanitation and drainage equipment.
It said Israeli delays had aggravated a foreseeable humanitarian crisis, while also urging Hamas to disarm and relinquish power, according to Xinhua news agency.
The Board of Peace, chaired by Trump, was formally established in January 2026, following an October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to oversee the implementation of Trump’s peace plan, including Gaza’s transitional governance and reconstruction.
The OCHA said about 1.4 million Palestinians, or 65 per cent of Gaza’s population, were living in tents or makeshift shelters. It warned that humanitarian shelter stocks inside Gaza were virtually exhausted, while more than 150,000 tents remained outside the territory awaiting entry.
-
Crime4 years agoClass 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra2 years agoFalse photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News2 years agoMinistry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMaharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News2 years agoJ&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface
-
Crime2 years agoBaba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
