The Russian leader added that the IS “terrorists seek to enter the territory of the Commonwealth under the guise of refugees”. ..reports Asian Lite News
The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Islamic State (IS) terror group was present in the north of the country, saying it was “baseless”, the media reported.
Addressing a virtual summit of the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) on Friday, Putin said that Russian data has revealed that 2,000 IS fighters are in the north of Afghanistan, TOLO News reported.
The Russian leader added that the IS “terrorists seek to enter the territory of the Commonwealth under the guise of refugees”.
Responding to Putin’s claim, the Cultural Commission under the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture said on Saturday: “Concerns expressed in this regard are, to some extent, baseless. Daesh has no support from the people in any part of Afghanistan.”
The development comes as Moscow is slated to host two meetings on Afghanistan this week.
The first meeting on Tuesday will be attended by officials from the US, Russia, China and Pakistan.
While the second on Wednesday will see the participation of representatives from a number of countries.
Taliban-Uzbek talks
Uzbekistan officials held talks with a Taliban delegation on Saturday on a series of issues, including economic ties and border security in the Uzbek border city of Termez, Xinhua reported.
Both sides “discussed issues of trade and economic interaction, border security, cooperation in the energy sector, international cargo transportation and transit,” Xinhua reported citing the Uzbek foreign ministry statement.
According to the publication, the Uzbek delegation was led by Sardor Umurzakov, the government’s deputy prime minister and minister of investments and foreign trade, while the Taliban delegation was led by acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi.
Termez being Uzbekistan’s southernmost city, is located at the border with Afghanistan.
It has been almost two months when the Taliban captured Kabul after an aggressive and rapid advance against Afghanistan government forces after US military drawdown.
Meanwhile, after announcing the government in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime has failed to get recognition. Aside from China, Pakistan and a handful of other countries, the rest of the world is taking a wait and watch policy while keeping an eye on the conduct of the outfit.
‘Taliban allow girls to attend schools’
During a press conference here, Deputy head of the UNICEF Omar Abdi cited the Taliban officials that Afghan girls will soon be allowed to attend secondary and high schools, a media report said.
Expressing hope that soon Afghan girls be allowed to attend secondary and high schools, Abdi said that they have urged the Taliban not to wait over the issue, reported Khaama Press.
Abdi had met Afghanistan’s acting minister of education who had told him about a plan based on which they will allow girls to attend secondary schools in two months.
He also emphasised that the situation is dire in Afghanistan and children pay the utmost price.
Highlighting concerns about Afghan children, he said that nearly ten million children need humanitarian aid and the number is expected to rise in the future, according to Khaama Press.
Abdi paid a visit to Afghanistan last week. He met with dozens of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition — a life-threatening illness — during his visit to Indira Gandhi Children’s hospital in Kabul. (ANI)