The latest Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan have rekindled tensions between Afghanistan's Taliban rulers and Islamabad, who were once former allies.

While Pakistan has said it was targeting militant hideouts, Taliban officials said the December 24 attacks killed some 50 civilians. The Afghan Defense Ministry vowed that it "will not leave this despicable act unanswered."

Taliban officials said most of the victims were ethnic Pashtun refugees from Pakistan's Waziristan region and were targeted just across the border in Barmal, a district in the southeastern Afghan province of Paktika.

Pakistan defended the air strikes, saying its security forces acted along its western border with Afghanistan to "protect Pakistani people from terrorists."

Pakistani authorities have repeatedly blamed the Taliban, the militant group that claimed power again in Afghanistan in August 2021, for providing "hideouts and sanctuaries" to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an Islamist militant group designated a terrorist organization by the United States. The TTP is banned in Pakistan and seeks to overthrow the government in Islamabad.

Experts say the latest tensions are indicative of the deadlock between the two neighbors, despite Islamabad's past support for Taliban militants.

"The Taliban and Pakistan are in a bind over the TTP," says Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator. "Both have no good options and face dilemmas."

Following the militant group's return to power in 2021, the Taliban government facilitated peace talks between Islamabad and the TTP.

But the truce it brokered failed in November 2022.

Since then, the Taliban has resisted Pakistani demands to go after its longtime ideological and organizational ally, the TTP, by expelling it from Afghanistan or pressuring it to surrender to Islamabad. Pakistan has accused the Taliban of supporting terrorism by backing the TTP.

In Pakistan, the TTP has waged a violent campaign to reestablish control in the country's western border regions abutting Afghanistan. For the last two decades, TTP militants have controlled parts of this region, fighting an ongoing battle against the Pakistani military.

Hundreds of Pakistani security forces have been killed in the TTP attacks, while local civilians have suffered under the militant group's draconian rule. On December 21, the TTP claimed credit for killing 16 soldiers in South Waziristan.

SEE ALSO:

Syrian Islamist Rulers Shun The Taliban Governance Model 

The Taliban government is reluctant to move against the TTP, Yousafzai says, because the militant group's presence in Afghanistan is "just one part of a very complicated problem."

Yousafzai says Islamabad's demand that the Afghan Taliban solve the TTP issue "is not practical" because of the high anti-Pakistan sentiment among Afghans. "The Taliban is keen on ridding itself of the label that it once served Islamabad's interests," he says.

Islamabad partnered with Washington in its war on terror after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. But Pakistan also provided clandestine support to the Taliban insurgency that ultimately toppled the pro-Western Afghan republic.

This has won Pakistan few friends among Afghans, who blame Islamabad for their country's troubles.

Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, news director at the Khorasan Diary, a website tracking militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, says there is now little convergence of interests between the Taliban and Pakistan.

"Islamabad has exhausted all of its options to pressure the Taliban," he says.

The December 24 strikes were the fourth time Pakistani jets have bombed targets inside Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Since October 2023, Islamabad has expelled nearly 1 million undocumented Afghans. Pakistan has said those Afghans were living in the country illegally. Some of those expelled went to their ancestral villages, including in Paktika.

Pakistan has repeatedly closed its seaport and border crossings for trade with landlocked Afghanistan, further squeezing the country's struggling economy under the Taliban.

"None of these tactics has worked in the past, and it is unlikely to pressure the Taliban to abandon the TTP now," he said.

Mehsud says many in the Taliban feel "strongly obliged" to help the TTP, because it fought against the Pakistani military in the past to protect the Taliban and hosted their leaders and members while they were in exile in the country. "They are brothers in arms because of the ideological and ethnic relations," he says.

Successive TTP leaders have pledged religious allegiance to the Taliban leaders, who preach an ultra-conservative form of Islam. Leaders of both groups are ethnic Pashtuns and have deep personal ties. Islamabad has also claimed a growing number of Afghans are fighting for the TTP.

There is little hope that the impasse between the two sides can be solved anytime soon. "The Afghan Taliban is likely to push for gaining something major for the TTP, such as a formal recognition of its control over some region in Pakistan," Mehsud says.

But he sees Islamabad as unwilling to make such sweeping concessions.

Residents of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where the TTP is most active, have held demonstrations against the militant group's return.

"Pakistan is likely to continue diplomatic engagement with the Taliban and kinetic actions against the TTP simultaneously," he said.

SEE ALSO:

The Azadi Briefing: Taliban Suffers Devastating Blow With Killing Of Minister

On December 24, Pakistan's special representative to Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, held talks with senior Taliban officials as his country's military bombed alleged TTP hideouts inside the country.

Carrying out air strikes while diplomatic efforts are ongoing demonstrates Islamabad's "complete disregard for another nation's prestige and sovereignty," says Obaidullah Baheer, visiting fellow at the South Asia Center at the London School of Economics.

He says Islamabad needs a "very clear strategy" for dealing with the TTP, because it cannot expect the Afghan Taliban to make an enemy out of its ally.

Another consideration, Baheer says, is that the Taliban fears pushing the TTP into the arms of Islamic State-Khorasan. The ultraradical group, a Taliban archenemy, claimed responsibility for killing a Taliban minister on December 11.

"The TTP is probably the only leverage the Taliban has over Pakistan," Baheer says.

Afghanistan's Taliban-led government said Taliban forces targeted what it claimed were "centers and hideouts for malicious elements" it said were involved in a recent attack in Afghanistan, as an upsurge of cross-border fighting continues.

The statement from the Taliban's Defense Ministry followed reports of deadly early morning clashes on December 28 between Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards. It came days after the government said Pakistani aircraft bombed targets in Afghanistan in an attack it said killed dozens of civilians.

The ministry gave few details about the strikes, which it said were launched against targets in several districts behind the "hypothetical line" -- a reference to a portion of the border with Pakistan that Afghan authorities have long disputed.

Local sources told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that three people in Paktia Province were killed and two wounded by gunfire from Pakistani border guards, and that clashes also took place in the Khost province. The reports could not be independently verified.

There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government. But the head of a community in the Kurram district told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that Taliban forces fired rockets at two security posts near the border at about 6 a.m., setting off fighting that continued for several hours.

The Taliban's Defense Ministry suggested the strikes on Pakistan were retaliation for what the Taliban-led government said were Pakistani air strikes that killed 46 civilians in Paktika Province, which also borders Pakistan, on December 24.

Pakistan says that militants from the Islamist group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are hiding across the border in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban to take action against them. The Afghan Taliban say the TTP is in Pakistan.

There has been a steady increase in TTP attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan.

With reporting by Reuters

Pakistani air strikes killed 46 civilians in eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban-led government in Kabul said on December 25, while Islamabad claimed it targeted suspected militant hideouts in border areas.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told RFE/RL that there were many women and children among the victims of the December 24 strikes, which hit four locations in the Barmal district of Paktika Province.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistani authorities on the strike inside Afghanistan.

However, the Pakistani Army said security forces killed 13 insurgents in an overnight intelligence-based operation in South Waziristan, a Pakistani district that borders Paktika.

RFE/RL cannot independently verify the claims.

The strikes are likely to further spike tensions between the two neighbors.

Pakistan says that militants from the Islamist group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are hiding across the border in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban to take action against them. But the Afghan Taliban say the TTP are in Pakistan.

SEE ALSO:

Pakistani Militants Kill 16 Near Afghan Border As Violence Grows

The latest Pakistani air strikes come just days after TTP militants carried out a raid near the northwestern border with Afghanistan that killed 16 security officers and wounded eight others.

The attack occurred when militants opened fire at a security checkpoint in South Waziristan in the early hours of December 21.

The TTP, which seeks to impose Shari'a law in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it killed 35 Pakistani security officers. RFE/RL could not independently confirm the number of dead. Neither side said how many militants were killed during the attack.

There has been a steady increase in TTP attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were quick to congratulate fellow Islamists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

As the HTS fighters seized the capital, Damascus, on December 8, the Taliban said it hoped that the group would "lay the foundations of a sovereign and service-oriented Islamic government."

But over two weeks on, the HTS, a U.S. and EU-designated terrorist organization, appears keen on distinguishing itself from the way the Taliban has governed Afghanistan.

Its leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, has publicly pledged to adopt moderate policies compared to the Taliban's extremist approach to women's rights, national reconciliation, and relations with the international community.

"There are many differences between Syria and the Taliban," Sharaa told the BBC last week. "The way we govern is different."

Women

Sharaa said that his government would allow women to get an education. He said that in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, ruled by the HTS for the past eight years, more than 60 percent of university students were women. He also said Christian women would not be forced to observe the veil.

The Taliban banned teenage girls from grade 7 and above one month after seizing the capital, Kabul, in August 2021. It also prohibited women from university and professional education in December 2022.

In 1996, the Taliban took over Afghanistan and established a government that strictly adhered to Islamic law. A U.S.-led coalition overthrew them in 2001, but they reorganized as an insurgent force and eventually reclaimed power in 2021 after U.S. and NATO forces left.

Senior Taliban leaders have adopted a "fringe opinion" of Islamic Shari'a law to enforce the ban, which is opposed internationally and by many inside Afghanistan.

SEE ALSO:

Islam Does Not Ban Girls' Education. So Why Does The Taliban?

The HTS, however, is not in favor of full freedom for women and is considering various restrictions and limitations. "Regarding women assuming judicial authority, this is a subject for researchers and study by experts," said Obaida Arnaout, a spokesman for the HTS-led interim administration.

Arnaout has similar views about women's work in the parliament and government.

His comments provoked protests from women's rights activists who warned the Islamist group against imposing religious rule.

'Unity And Reconciliation'

The HTS's main political message is unity and reconciliation among Syria's diverse ethnic, religious, and sectarian groups, some of whom have been fighting a bitter civil war since 2011.

The Islamist HTS has appointed a transition government of figures from among its leaders. And it has largely shifted its administration from its northwestern Idlib stronghold to serve as the country’s interim government until March.

But leader Sharaa has pledged national reconciliation and inclusive government institutions.

"Syria is a country for all, and we can coexist together," he told journalists on December 22.

The HTS leader even invited a senior former Ba'athist leader and ex-vice president, Farouk al-Sharaa to participate in a future National Dialogue Conference in the capital. He has repeatedly pledged to work toward a constitution acceptable to all.

This is unlike the Taliban, which, since 2021, has monopolized power. Its theocratic government, led by Taliban clerics, has shunned Afghans who are not Taliban and refrained from writing a constitution.

Despite appointing a caretaker government in September 2021, there is no indication that the Taliban will ever allow the formation of an inclusive national government acceptable to all Afghans.

Foreign Relations

The international community is closely watching Syria's transition and how the HTS responds to fellow Syrians' aspirations.

Sharaa has reportedly impressed diplomats and senior international officials who met with him in Damascus to discuss future governance, counterterrorism, and foreign policies.

The initiative seems to be paying off. On December 20, Washington lifted a $10 million bounty on Sharaa. And the Syrian leader is pushing for a quick end to international sanctions on his country.

"Sanctions must be lifted quickly in order for us to take our country forward," he told journalists alongside the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on December 22.

In Afghanistan, most Taliban leaders remain on UN and U.S. sanctions lists. Some leaders have faced new travel bans and sanctions for imposing the education ban on women and other human rights violations.

As HTS continues to entrench power in Syria, Western officials and diplomats are cautious about taking the militant group at its word.

"The Taliban projected a more moderate face, or at least tried to, in taking over Afghanistan, and then its true colors came out," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York on December 18. "The result is it remains terribly isolated around the world."

Blinken advised "the emerging group in Syria" to focus on "moving the country forward" to avoid international isolation.

Pakistani military jets on December 24 conducted air strikes inside Afghanistan, targeting suspected hideouts of the Islamist militant group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The TTP positions targeted were in the Murgha area of the Bermal district in Afghanistan's Paktika Province, according to sources. The area borders the Angoor Adda town in Pakistan's volatile South Waziristan tribal district.

Pakistani jets carried out strikes against one target in the Murgha area and two more areas of the Bermal district.

There has been no official comment from Pakistan, but some accounts on X believed to be related to Pakistani intelligence confirmed the strikes and claimed casualties among the TTP militants.

An Afghan Taliban leader, speaking to RFE/RL on condition of anonymity, confirmed the strikes but added that it is too early to report on casualties.

The Afghan Taliban leader said an Afghan government official confirmed to him that there were strikes in three places in Paktika Province but it was not yet known who was targeted.

Pakistani security sources say the hideouts of the TTP were hit and dozens of militants were killed.

But a TTP official who spoke with RFE/RL said a camp of Pakistani displaced persons was bombed and civilians killed.

Pakistan says that TTP militants are hiding across the border in Afghanistan, and Islamabad has repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban to take action against them. But the Afghan Taliban say the TTP are in Pakistan.

SEE ALSO:

Pakistani Militants Kill 16 Near Afghan Border As Violence Grows

The air strikes on December 24 come just days after TTP militants carried out a raid near the northwestern border with Afghanistan that killed 16 security officers.

The attack occurred when militants opened fire at a security checkpoint in South Waziristan in the early hours of December 21. Laddha Police Deputy Superintendent Hidayat Ullah told RFE/RL that, in addition to the 16 killed, eight officers were wounded.

The TTP, which seeks to impose Shari'a law in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it killed 35 Pakistani security officers. RFE/RL could not independently confirm the number of dead. Neither side said how many militants were killed during the attack.

The year already had been one of the deadliest for the region.

There has been a steady increase in TTP attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province since the Taliban regained control of Kabul in August 2021.

The Pakistan Center for Conflict and Security Studies said in its most recent report that more than 240 people were killed in "terrorist incidents" in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in November.

The death toll included 68 security officers, the highest in a single month this year.

Meanwhile, the Army Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) claims to have killed dozens of suspected militants in operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this month.

The governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan say they are committed to wiping out the TTP.

Thousands of health-care professionals have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The severe shortage of doctors, including specialists, has left millions of Afghans with limited or no access to health-care services.

The flight of medical professionals has been fueled by the Taliban's oppressive rule and the humanitarian crisis gripping the country. Doctors have also complained of poor working conditions, low salaries, and harassment.

Abdullah Ahmadi, the former head of the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital in Kabul, one of the largest in the country, left Afghanistan just months after the Taliban takeover.

"The conditions for me were suffocating," said Ahmadi, an orthopedic surgeon who now lives in Finland.

He said that he was threatened and humiliated by unqualified and uneducated Taliban members who were appointed to positions in the Public Health Ministry and state-run hospitals.

Safa Hassani, an Afghan psychiatrist now living in Germany, said the Taliban's decision in September 2021 to ban teenage girls from attending school convinced his family to leave their homeland.

"I sacrificed my job and profession so my daughters can study," said Hassani, adding that overseas doctors face major challenges in obtaining a license to practice medicine in Europe.

'A Big Vacuum'

Sonia Cautain, a veteran French aid worker who worked in Kabul until 2023, witnessed firsthand the impact of the mass exodus of doctors from the country.

"Afghanistan has lost a lot of its best doctors," she said, adding that many left for the sake of their careers and families "because they didn't know what to expect" from the Taliban.

Cautain, who led a charity overseeing the French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children in Kabul, said the flight of doctors has "left a big vacuum in the health-care system."

The shortage of doctors is depriving Afghans of access to proper medical treatment. Some have been forced to seek expensive treatments abroad.

Abdul Ahad said he went to neighboring Pakistan to get treatment for kidney stones. He said he spent over $1,000 to get surgery.

Ahad complained that he could not find a qualified doctor to treat him in Kabul.

"Some of the [Afghan] doctors told me that the stones were in my kidney while others said it was stuck in my ureters," he said.

For every 10,000 people in Afghanistan, there are just 10 health workers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a recent report.

That is significantly lower than the required ratio of 44 health workers for every 10,000 people needed for universal health coverage, the organization said.

The WHO estimates that nearly 18 million Afghans need health assistance out of a population of around 40 million. Some 9.5 million Afghans have "limited or no basic health services," the organization said.

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The Taliban's ban on education for women has deprived the country of new female medical graduates. Afghanistan was short of women health-care workers even before the Taliban seized power.

'Dying On Their Way To See A Doctor'

Earlier this month, the militant Islamist group banned midwife and nurse training in Afghanistan, triggering concerns over the health consequences for women.

The exodus of medical professionals has been compounded by the loss of international funding, which accounted for over 75 percent of public spending under the previous Western-backed Afghan government.

"The sharp drop in development support sent a shock through the economy and the public health system," Human Rights Watch said in a report released in February.

The rights watchdog said insufficient health care "has left the population vulnerable to disease and other consequences of inadequate medical care."

Kayarash, an Afghan doctor who moved to the Czech Republic, said the "quality of available treatments has decreased" in Afghanistan.

He said the shortage of doctors, particularly female physicians, has forced patients to wait longer for specialist care.

"We are likely to see more deaths because of preventable diseases," he said.

In remote parts of Afghanistan, the lack of doctors is already proving fatal.

Waris Shah lives in the remote district of Barmal in the southeastern province of Paktika. He said the shortage of doctors has compelled residents to seek treatment in Kabul, located hundreds of kilometers away.

"Patients are frequently dying while on their way to see a doctor," he said.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Taliban's deputy foreign minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, has called on his government to end its clampdown on the press in Afghanistan.

"Too many restrictions and hurdles for media organizations dampen their morale," he told a gathering in Kabul on December 18.

He said harassment prevents Afghan media from "courageously" reporting on critical issues or criticizing authorities.

"Trust them because they are our media," he said while arguing that allowing the Afghan media freedom is in the interest of the Taliban government.

Stanikzai is the first senior Taliban figure to publicly criticize his government's draconian crackdown on Afghanistan's once-vibrant press. He has also repeatedly called on Taliban leaders to repeal the ban on women's education because "no country can progress without education."

Why It's Important: Stanikazi's comments are another instance of dissent within the Islamist group over its hard-line policies.

It is another attempt to warn against the consequences of the Taliban's extremist policies, which have turned its government into an international pariah that no country has formally recognized.

Yet the Taliban government has systematically moved to completely dismantle the free press, which mushroomed under the pro-Western Afghan republic.

Earlier this year, the Taliban attempted to kill visual media by banning the depiction of all living things, including humans and animals.

The Taliban crackdown on journalists consists of harassment, beatings, and detentions, as well as the jailing of scores of journalists. Fear of Taliban harassment has prompted hundreds of Afghan correspondents to go into exile.

Independent Afghan media in the country now operate under severe Taliban restrictions and broad censorship.

After the Taliban banned a discussion of "sensitive topics and criticisms" of its government and leaders, several independent analysts have been jailed for expressing their views on air.

The Taliban government has banned some international broadcasters and denied visas to most international correspondents.

Global and Afghan media watchdogs have accused the group of attempting to turn the Afghan press into a "propaganda tool."

What's Next: Despite Stanikzai's criticism, the Taliban's overall approach and policies toward the Afghan media are unlikely to change soon.

Its government will continue to stifle independent Afghan media to gradually push it toward becoming its propaganda arm.

What To Keep An Eye On

Residents of the Afghan capital, Kabul, are paying for the increasing air pollution in the city.

Doctors in the city say respiratory diseases have swiftly risen as the air quality has deteriorated with the onset of winter in the mountainous city.

"Out of every 20 patients I see, 15 suffer from respiratory diseases," Abdul Hadi Sherzad, a doctor at a private hospital in Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

This month, fuel prices have skyrocketed. Below-freezing nighttime temperatures prompt many of the city's impoverished residents to burn whatever they can find.

"People often burn car tires along with coal and wood," said Fariba, whose young son has contracted a lung infection because of air pollution, while her family cannot afford treatment.

Kabul is joining other major cities across South Asia, where air pollution is the worst globally, particularly during winter.

Why It's Important: Air pollution has become the No. 1 public-health hazard in Afghanistan's teeming capital.

Yet the cash-strapped Taliban government appears to be able to do little to mitigate the crisis, which is likely to cause many deaths this winter.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

The Azadi Briefing will next appear on January 10.

The Taliban has banned organ transplants in a move that could deprive Afghans of potentially lifesaving treatment.

The extremist group said that the transplant of vital organs like the heart, kidneys, and lungs was "un-Islamic."

The move has angered patients and doctors, who say thousands of Afghan patients will be impacted by the ban.

"I'm in deep trouble," said Wahid, a resident of northern Parwan Province who has developed stones in both of his kidneys and gallbladder.

"What will I do now?" added Wahid, whose name has been changed for security reasons. "The doctors say a kidney transplant is the only way to cure me."

Rashid, a resident of western Herat Province, says the Taliban's ban will deprive his sick cousin of a kidney transplant.

"He is still waiting in the hospital even after our village gathered donations for his transplant surgery," said Rashid, whose name has also been changed to protect his identity.

Bismallah Shewamal, an Afghan surgeon based in Germany, says organ transplants are a vital part of modern medicine.

"Organ transplants are an important means to save lives," he said.

Organ transplants are widely used as medical treatment around the world, including in Islamic countries.

Most organs are voluntarily donated by individuals before their death. Some countries allow the close relatives of at-risk patients to donate their organs. In several European countries, all citizens are considered willing organ donors, although family consent is also sought.

Booming Organ Trade

But the sale and purchase of human organs is illegal internationally, although the practice remain a problem around the world.

In Afghanistan, widespread poverty has fueled an illegal organ trade, especially for kidneys. That is because most people can survive with just one kidney.

In the absence of laws regulating organ transplants, donors simply had to give their consent to a doctor and hospital to perform such procedures.

In Herat Province, the practice became so widespread that a settlement was nicknamed "one kidney village." Afghans struggling to make ends meet sold their kidneys in the community for around $1,500 each.

The practice appears to have increased since the Taliban's seizure of power in 2021, which triggered an economic crisis and worsened an already dire humanitarian disaster.

The Taliban's ban appears to be a response to the booming organ trade in Afghanistan. But the decision will also impact patients who need transplants for medical reasons.

In a statement issued on December 10, the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice said the sale and buying of human organs "violates human dignity and has no place in Islamic Shari'a law."

But Islamic scholars have questioned the Taliban's justification.

Abdul Saboor Abbasi, an Afghan Islamic scholar, says several contemporary rulings by leading Muslim jurists allow voluntary organ donations for transplants.

"The donor must be an adult and of sound mind," he said. "And the recipient must benefit from the transplant."

Written by Abubakar Siddique based on reporting by Firuza Azizi of RFE/RL's Radio Azadi

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

In a major blow to Afghanistan’s Taliban government, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) claimed credit for killing its refugee affairs minister.

On December 11, Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani was killed in a suicide bombing inside the ministry building in Kabul, which claimed the lives of at least five more people.

Haqqani, in his 60s, was the uncle of the Taliban's interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani. He is the most senior Taliban figure killed by IS-K since the Islamist group returned to power in August 2021.

In 2011, the United States designated him a global terrorist and offered a $5 million bounty for help in capturing him.

Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani was the younger brother of the late Jalaluddin Haqqani, a leading anti-Soviet mujahidin commander in the 1980s who joined the Taliban in the 1990s. But his extended family and its loyalists are known as the Haqqani Network, once a brutal Taliban military wing.

Why It’s Important: The killing negates Taliban claims that its harsh crackdown against the IS-K has eliminated the ultraradical transnational jihadist group from Afghanistan.

It is a significant blow to the powerful Haqqani Network, which dominates the Taliban government’s internal security apparatus. Its members lead the Interior Ministry and the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), which has led the Taliban’s crackdown against IS-K.

“The murder proves IS-K’s small presence in Afghanistan is dangerous,” said Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator.

He said Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani’s killing would further isolate Sirajuddin Haqqani, who relied on his uncle to express sensitive views.

“His absence may create a leadership void,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Potentially weakening [the Haqqani Network’s] influence and internal cohesion.”

Yousafzai believes that senior Taliban figures will now limit their public dealings, which will further alienate ordinary Afghans from the Taliban government.

What's Next: In retaliation for the killing, the Taliban government is likely to launch a new campaign against the IS-K, which will disproportionality target Afghanistan’s tiny Salafist community for providing some of the group’s fighters.

The IS-K, however, will be encouraged by the killing and will continue to attack the Taliban, as well as religious and sectarian minorities in Afghanistan, to undermine its rule.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban government has welcomed the initial approval of a proposed Russian law that will pave the way toward removing the extremist group from the Kremlin’s list of terrorist organizations.

“The step represents a great development and is meant to remove obstacles in enhancing bilateral relations,” said Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry, on December 11.

Moscow has engaged with the Taliban after its return to power in 2021. But it has been slow in delivering on repeated promises to take the group off its list of terrorist organizations.

Moscow has eagerly courted the Taliban after the Islamist State-Khorasan (IS-K) claimed credit for attacking a concert hall near Moscow. At least 145 people were killed in the attack in March.

The move comes months after Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban "a trusted ally" in fighting terrorism in July.

Why It's Important: Like other regional powers, Moscow is keen on engaging the Taliban to prevent itself from terrorist threats emanating from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

It has consistently dangled the Taliban delisting and recognition of its government as a carrot to encourage the internationally unrecognized Taliban administration to cooperate on its security concerns.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Khalil Haqqani, the refugee minister in Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration, has been killed in an explosion in the capital, Kabul, two sources from inside the government told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi on December 11.

The sources said the blast, which occurred inside the ministry's compound, killed others as well, though no details were given.

Haqqani, the uncle of the Taliban's acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is the first senior cabinet member to be killed in an explosion since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as international forces withdrew from the war-torn country.

The United States designated Khalil Haqqani as a global terrorist on February 9, 2011 and had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

The Taliban has ordered all private educational institutions in Afghanistan to cease female medical education starting December 3, according to two informed sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. The directive from the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, was announced on December 2 during a meeting of the extremist group's Public Health Ministry in Kabul. The two sources told RFE/RL that the heads of the private medical institutions affected by the order were summoned to the ministry for the announcement. As a result of the order, all institutions offering training in midwifery, dental prosthetics, nursing, and laboratory sciences are now barred from enrolling or teaching female students, the sources said. Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.

Pakistan's northwest has been the scene of sporadic bursts of sectarian violence for decades.

In the latest flareup, over 80 people were killed in clashes in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province on November 21-23.

The violence erupted when gunmen fired on a convoy of Shi'ite Muslims. The deadly incident triggered retaliatory attacks on the Sunni Muslim community. The sides announced a seven-day cease-fire on November 24.

Troubled History

Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country. But Kurram, a mountainous district bordering Afghanistan, has a large Shi'ite population.

Decades of clashes, often over land, have left thousands of people in Kurram dead. Over 200 people have been killed since July, alone.

Northwestern Pakistan has been a hotbed of militancy for decades. The emergence of Sunni and Shi'ite armed groups in the region has exacerbated sectarian tensions, experts say.

"The rise of militant groups from rival sects has transformed Kurram into a battleground for sectarian dominance," said Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, news director at the Khorasan Diary, a website tracking militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Shi'a say Sunni extremist groups -- including the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State-Khorasan, and Lashkar-e Jhangvi -- are trying to exterminate or expel them from Kurram. Many of the groups have targeted Shi'a, whom they see as apostates.

In some of the worst violence in Kurram in recent decades, around 2,000 people, mostly Shi'a, were killed between 2007 and 2011 when the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, tried to overrun the district.

The Sunni community blames the violence in Kurram on the Zainebiyoun Brigade, a Shi'ite militia made up of Pakistanis who fought in Syria. The group included Shi'a from Kurram, some of whom have returned home in recent years.

Political Marginalization

Experts say the deadly sectarian violence in Kurram is also borne out of weak governance and political marginalization.

Pakistan's border regions -- including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -- have been the scene of deadly military offensives against Islamist and separatist insurgencies, and the army has been accused of committing widespread human rights abuses.

The federal government in Islamabad and the powerful military, which has an oversized role in domestic and foreign affairs, have also eroded democratic norms and institutions.

In 2019, Islamabad passed a law that granted security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sweeping powers, including detaining suspects indefinitely or without charge.

Syed Irfan Ashraf, a university lecturer in the northwestern city of Peshawar, said Pakistan's military has tried to enforce an "authoritarian governance model" in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"This governance model is taking a huge toll now," he said.

Violence against women and girls is pervasive across the world, and often underreported.

Rampant physical, sexual, and psychological violence is part of what activists have called a global attack on women's rights.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has erased women from public life and severely restricted their fundamental rights.

Under the rule of the extremist group, Afghanistan has become the only country in the world where teenage girls are banned from attending school.

"I wanted to become a doctor and serve my country," Marzieh, a teenaged Afghan girl, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. "I studied for nine years, but it was all for nothing. Now, I have ended up staying at home."

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Silenced But Not Forgotten: Women Under The Taliban

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No country has recognized the Taliban, which seized power in 2021. But a growing number of countries, including in the West, are cooperating with its government on trade, security-related issues, and immigration.

"If the world can look at what the Taliban are doing to women and girls and shrug and move on and focus instead on partnering with the Taliban on other issues, that says something incredibly damning about how little the rights of women and girls matter to global leaders," said Heather Barr, associate women's rights director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Under Taliban rule, there has been a surge in forced, early, and child marriages. The United Nations has said child marriages have increased by around 25 percent in the past three years in the country.

Rights groups have said a devastating economic and humanitarian crisis and the lack of educational and professional prospects for women have fueled the sharp uptick.

"I was married at 14, and I had my first child at 15," Shazia, a child bride, told Radio Azadi. "It was a daughter. I struggled a lot with her. I never thought I would survive. It was extremely difficult for me."

'Freedom To Choose'

In neighboring Iran, women are banned from many fields of study, sporting events, and from obtaining a passport or traveling outside the country without their husband's consent.

Women who violate the country's Islamic dress code, meanwhile, face fines and sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

A growing number of Iranian women have refused to wear the mandatory hijab, or Islamic head scarf, in defiance of the country's clerical establishment.

The hijab is a symbol of women's oppression in Iran, a 20-year-old woman inside the country told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

"This piece of cloth represents a right that has been taken away from us," she said. "It is the freedom to choose what I want to wear."

The issue of the controversial hijab was central to the unprecedented protests that erupted across Iran in 2022. The demonstrations were triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law.

During the protests, women and girls removed and burned their head scarves.

The authorities waged a brutal crackdown on protesters and doubled down on their enforcement of the hijab.

Meanwhile, scores of women in Iran are killed by their male relatives each year -- including their husbands, fathers, and brothers -- in the name of preserving the family's "honor."

According to Stop Femicide Iran, an NGO based in New York, over 150 women were victims of femicide in Iran in 2023.

Political Will

Gender-based violence is pervasive even in countries where women do not face restrictions in their appearances, freedom of movement, and right to work or study.

The UN estimated in 2023 that a woman was killed every 10 minutes by her partner or family member. Almost one in three women experiences violence at least once in her lifetime, according to the world body.

In Kosovo, at least 58 women have been killed in cases of femicide in the past 14 years.

Erona, a 20-year-old, was killed in April, almost a year after she got divorced. Her ex-husband is accused of murdering her.

Erona's mother, Milihatja, believes her daughter suffered years of domestic violence.

"She would come home and tell me that she would never return to him, but something would happen and she would go back," she told RFE/RL's Kosovo Service.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, a man live-streamed on Instagram the killing of his ex-wife before eventually turning the gun on himself.

The killing in August 2023 triggered shock and outrage, and underscored the issue of violence against women in the Balkan country.

Maida, who lives in the country's northeast, divorced and reported her abusive husband around a year ago.

"He came and grabbed me by the neck. My children saw it and started to cry. I told them ‘I'm OK,' but then he slapped me," Maida told RFE/RL's Balkan Service.

Then, she said, her husband threatened to kill her and their children. "I know what he's capable of, and I decided to go to the police and report him," she said.

Eventually, she managed to get a restraining order. But she still does not feel safe. "He can come at any time of the day and do what he imagined in his head," she said.

Experts say gender-based violence is preventable and addressing the issue often comes down to political will.

"These are not mysterious unsolvable problems -- they just require that governments be genuinely committed to upholding the rights of women and girls and that they put in place the resources, systems, and expertise needed to do so," said Barr of HRW.

The first train carrying goods from China to Afghanistan arrived in Mazar-e Sharif on November 23 after crossing through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the de facto Taliban rulers said. The Taliban said 55 containers arrived in Afghanistan after a 22-day journey, marking the inauguration of the first direct train link between China and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The train is expected to take Afghan goods back to China for sale there. Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, no country, including China, has formally recognized the extremist group -- which has been accused of massive rights violations -- but Beijing has attempted to increase ties as part of its economic push in the region, including its Belt and Road initiative. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

Iran wants to repatriate some 1,000 prisoners to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to serve their sentences there.

"They are costing a lot to the public purse," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmial Baqaei said of Tehran's motive in seeking to return prisoners to Afghanistan.

The comments follow a visit by Iranian government officials to Kabul last week. Deputy Justice Minister Askar Jalalian met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani, the refugee affairs minister.

The Taliban government has demanded that Tehran hand over all Afghan convicts after Iran Human Rights, a nongovernmental watchdog, said Tehran had so far this year executed 49 Afghans as part of an accelerating trend of executing Afghans since the Taliban's return to power three years ago.

Tehran, however, only wants to hand over Afghans convicted of drug trafficking during the next two months. The transfers will only take place with the prisoners' consent.

Why It's Important: Reports of wrongful convictions and arrests of Afghans have been on the rise as Iran seeks to expel millions of Afghans it says live in the country.

During the past year, many Afghans have complained of harassment, intimidation, discrimination, and violence at the hands of Iranian authorities in a harsh crackdown.

According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), Tehran deported more than 550,000 Afghan migrants during the first nine months of this year, from among the estimated 4 million that live in the country.

After the return of the Taliban to power following the collapse of the pro-Western Afghan republic in August 2021, millions of Afghans have sought shelter and jobs in Iran.

International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Iran of using the death penalty "as a tool of fear" to target "ethnic minorities and political dissidents."

Iran, a leading global executioner, has executed at least 651 people during the first 10 months of this year.

HRW Iran researcher Nahid Naghshbandi said the Iranian courts "are a tool of systematic repression and hand out death sentences indiscriminately, leaving legal protections meaningless."

What's Next: It is not clear whether the Taliban government will honor sentences by Iranian courts or will free Afghan prisoners once they return to the country.

The Taliban justice system and human rights record do not inspire confidence in the extremist group's capacity to look after the rights of Afghans at home or abroad.

What To Keep An Eye On

Residents of the Afghan capital complain that with the onset of winter, power cuts have made their lives miserable.

In many parts of the crowded city, residents only have electricity for a few hours a day.

"We are miserable because there is no electricity, wood, coal, or gas," Latifa, a resident of the Qala Zaman Khan district in Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

Firewood and coal cost upwards of $100 for a week's supply, which is out of reach for most impoverished residents.

Afghanistan imports most of its electricity from neighboring Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan. This costs the cash-strapped Taliban government $220 million annually.

The Taliban government struggles to collect electricity bills and relies on aggressive power cuts during low electricity supplies in winter.

Why It's Important: Three years after the Taliban's return to power, it has done little to improve electricity supply in the country.

Without investments, aid, and a comprehensive energy policy, Afghanistan relies on expansive energy imports instead of diversifying to green energy sources to tap into the country's abundant wind and sunlight.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

The Azadi Briefing will next appear on December 13.

Iranian authorities are using executions as "a tool of fear," particularly directed at ethnic minorities, dissidents, and foreign nationals, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on November 20.

The rights watchdog highlighted a recent surge in capital punishment sentences against these groups, noting that the verdicts are handed down amid rampant violations of due process.

According to Iran Human Rights group, in the first 10 months of this year, at least 651 people were executed in Iran -- 166 people in October alone.

HRW noted the case of Kurdish political prisoner Varisheh Moradi, sentenced to death by Iran’s revolutionary court in Tehran on November 10 on the charge of “armed rebellion against the state."

Moradi, a member of the Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan, was arrested in the city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province in August last year and kept for five months in solitary confinement in the infamous Evin prison where she was tortured. Her family has not been allowed to visit her since May, the group said.

Moradi was not allowed to defend herself, and the judge did not permit her lawyers to present a defense, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported.

“Iranian authorities use the death penalty as a tool of fear, particularly targeting ethnic minorities and political dissidents after unfair trials,” said HRW's Nahid Naghshbandi. “This brutal tactic aims to suppress any opposition to an autocratic government through intimidation,” she said.

Five other Kurdish men were sentenced to death in recent weeks on charges of “espionage for Israel," HRW said.

Four Arab prisoners from Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, are at risk of imminent execution, after being sentenced to death by a revolutionary court with two other individuals for their alleged involvement in the killings of two Basij members, a law enforcement officer, and a soldier.

The four -- Ali Majdam, Moein Khonafri, Mohammadreza Moghadam, and Adnan Gheibshavi (Musavi) -- were arrested in 2017 and 2018, according to human rights groups.

Afghan citizens in Iran have been targeted, in particular, by death sentences, HRW noted, adding that according to human rights groups, at least 49 Afghan nationals have been executed in Iran this year, 13 in the past month alone.

“Iran’s revolutionary courts are a tool of systematic repression that violate citizens’ fundamental rights and hand out death sentences indiscriminately, leaving legal protections meaningless,” Naghshbandi said.

“The international community should categorically condemn this alarming trend and pressure Iranian authorities to halt these executions,” she added.

Mai Sato, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, has also voiced concern about the "alarming" increase in the number of executions.

"In August 2024 alone, at least 93 people were executed, with nearly half in relation to drug offences," Sato said on November 1.

Nila Ibrahimi, an Afghan teenager living in Canada, has been awarded the prestigious International Children's Peace Prize for her efforts in advocating for the rights of girls in her native country. "The young change-maker's courageous efforts to advocate for the rights of Afghan girls has seen her recognized as a true inspiration, offering a message of hope for other young people around the world," the Amsterdam-based organizers said on November 19. Following the return to power of the repressive Taliban extremist group in 2021, the 17-year-old fled the country with her family, first to Pakistan, then to Canada, where she lives now. The Taliban has been assailed by international groups and Western leaders for human rights abuses, especially against girls and women.

Zholya Parsi, a women's rights activist in Afghanistan, and imprisoned Tajik lawyer Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov have been declared co-winners of the prestigious Martin Ennals Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize for human rights.

"Two outstanding human rights defenders who have made it their life mission to protect human rights in Afghanistan and in Tajikistan will receive the Martin Ennals Award 2024 on November 21" in Geneva as the award marks its 30th anniversary, organizers said on November 19.

The two "have shown exceptional courage and determination to bring human rights at the forefront despite evolving in deeply repressive environments," the group said.

It is not clear if Parsi would be allowed to travel to the award ceremony, while Kholiqnazarov remains imprisoned in his home country, serving a 16-year sentence.

The jury consisted of 10 leading human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

SEE ALSO:

Women Stage Small Demonstration In Kabul To Demand Rights

Parsi, a teach from Kabul, founded the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women (SMAW) to protest the return of policies and practices against women's rights and fundamental freedoms following the extremist Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

The movement quickly grew in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan and now has 180 members and has mobilized communities to resist the Taliban’s policies and practices, organizers said.

Parsi was arrested in the street by armed Taliban members in September 2023 and detained along with her son.

"She was released after three months of torture and ill-treatment under their custody, which further strengthened her resolve to resist Taliban oppression and repression," award organizers said.

Since returning to power, the Taliban has been assailed by international groups and Western nations -- which have not yet officially recognized the extremist group as legitimate rulers -- for human rights violations, especially those against women and girls.

Kholiqnazarov is director of the Lawyers Association of Pamir, one of the few civil society organizations active in Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan region.

After mass protests erupted in the region in November 2021 following the extrajudicial killing of Khorugh district resident Gulbiddin Ziyobekov, Kholiqnazarov joined the Commission 44 organization in which members of law enforcement agencies and local civil society representatives joined to investigate the reasons behind the unrest.

But in May 2022, the Tajik authorities renewed their crackdown on protests in the region, leading to the arrest of Kholiqnazarov and a dozen other members of Commission 44.

In December 2022, the Supreme Court sentenced Kholiqnazarov to 16 years in prison after finding him guilty of being part of a criminal organization and of participating in the activities of a banned organization engaged in extremist activities.

Kholiqnazarov pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"We are very proud to honor these two exceptional laureates," said Hans Thoolen, chair of the Martin Ennals Award Jury, said.

One Chinese national was killed and five others, four of them Chinese, were injured in a cross-border attack in Tajikistan's Zarbuzi Gorge, two sources close to a Tajik investigation told RFE/RL's Tajik Service on November 18.

The incident, which occurred in the southeastern Shamsiddin Shohin district, bordering Afghanistan, has not yet been officially addressed by the Tajik authorities.

According to the sources, the attack was carried out by armed individuals who crossed the border from Afghanistan. It remains unclear whether the attackers were criminals possibly involved in drug trafficking, a crime that is common in the area, or members of a militant group.

"Among the five injured, four are Chinese nationals and one is a local resident. All have been hospitalized in the Shamsiddin Shohin district," one of the sources said.

The Chinese nationals were reportedly working at a gold mine in the Zarbuzi Gorge. The attack marks the first known incident resulting in the death of a Chinese national in the volatile region.

The Shamsiddin Shohin district shares a porous border with Afghanistan that is often crossed by smugglers and militant groups.

Although the Taliban has assured neighboring countries that Afghan territory will not serve as a base for terrorist activities, Tajik authorities have been on high alert in recent years.

SEE ALSO:

Tajikistan Concerned By Provocative Taliban Watchtower On Border

The deadly attack underscores persistent security concerns along Tajikistan's southern frontier.

In August 2023, Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security reported killing three members of the banned Ansarullah militant group and seizing weapons in a separate cross-border operation.

These incidents highlight the ongoing threats posed by instability in Afghanistan, despite regional efforts to secure the border.

As the annual UN climate conference (COP29) takes place in Baku, RFE/RL presents exclusive coverage of environmental issues that are often underreported from regions that are often overlooked.

One of the world’s poorest countries, Afghanistan is also among the leading nations affected by climate change.

Decades of war and environmental degradation have made Afghanistan the fourth most vulnerable country in the world to the impacts of climate change.

Rising temperatures have exacerbated the frequency and severity of natural disasters, including droughts, floods, and landslides, experts say.

SEE ALSO:

Azerbaijan Eyes Prestige Boost From Hosting COP29, Despite The Critics

Deadly natural disasters in recent years have, in turn, aggravated the devastating humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan, where millions are at risk of starvation.

Climate change presents unique challenges to Afghanistan’s population of some 40 million, experts say, with around 80 percent of its people dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods.

The collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban’s seizure of power in 2021 has complicated Afghanistan’s ability to deal with the climate change crisis.

In the wake of the Taliban takeover, international donors immediately halted billions in development aid. International humanitarian assistance, meanwhile, has sharply receded in recent years, partly due to the extremist group’s dismal human rights record.

A Taliban delegation is participating as an observer at the UN Climate Conference in Baku. But the Taliban’s cash-strapped and unrecognized government is unlikely to attract the international assistance needed for Afghanistan to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Afghanistan contributes little to global emissions but has experienced rapid temperature rises. Since 1950, its mean temperature has risen 1.8 degrees Celsius, higher than the global average of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Rising temperatures have “wreaked havoc on agriculture and the agricultural value chain -- the country’s economic backbone,” according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

WATCH: Grappling with the most expensive electricity prices in South Asia, many Pakistanis are going off-grid and turning to low-cost solar panels from China. But the shift to solar risks creating a new fiscal crisis for the government.

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Pakistanis' Passion For Chinese Solar Panels Worries State Power Supplier (Video)

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Floods in the spring and summer killed more than 300 Afghans, displaced more than 20,000, and destroyed thousands of homes and hectares of farmland. The UNDP estimates that the floods caused more than $400 million in annual economic losses.

Afghanistan is a major source of fresh water for its neighbors. But climate change has rapidly increased water scarcity by decimating the country's hydrological infrastructure.

UNICEF, the UN's children's agency, estimates that eight out of every 10 Afghans no longer have access to safe drinking water.

More than 64 percent of Afghanistan's population is dealing with drought, pushing an increasing number of Afghans into food insecurity, according to the UN.

Data by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also shows that “climate change is increasingly a trigger for internal displacement as well as migration out of Afghanistan.”

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

A delegation of Taliban officials is attending the UN climate talks in Baku for the first time since returning to power three years ago.

The unrecognized Taliban government was not invited to the previous three COP meetings in Britain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, despite Afghanistan’s status as one of the nations most vulnerable to the ravages of climate change.

The head of the Taliban’s National Environmental Protection Agency, Matuil Haq Khalis, is seeking international support to mitigate the worst impacts of frequent extreme weather events.

“At COP29, we ask global leaders to respect the challenges faced by vulnerable populations about climate change and climate justice,” he said.

Why It's Important: According to the Inform Risk Index, a global risk assessment of humanitarian crises, Afghanistan is the fourth most at-risk country for a crisis due to climate change.

Despite being one of the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases, Afghanistan is already undergoing rapid climate change.

According to the UN, the country’s mean annual temperature has risen by 1.8 degrees Celsius, “thus intensifying glacier and snow melt, which provide water to rivers during summer.”

With freshwater resources shrinking dramatically, the UN's children's agency, UNICEF, estimates that eight out of every 10 Afghans now drink unsafe water.

In 2022, 64 percent of households reported drought as “the most frequent shock.” Most of the country’s 34 provinces now regularly experience drought, floods, or heavy rainfall.

In spring and summer this year, flash floods killed hundreds and displaced thousands in northern Afghan provinces. Climate change has now overtaken conflict as the leading cause of displacement in the war-ravaged country.

Irregular and severe weather patterns now threaten agriculture and animal husbandry -- the primary sources of livelihood in the Afghan countryside.

What's Next: Without a marked improvement in governance and international recognition, the Taliban is unlikely to partner with the international community to address Afghanistan's looming climate disaster.

The Islamist group’s human rights record and mounting restrictions on women and aid groups already hamper the diminishing humanitarian assistance it receives.

Unfortunately, this approach will deprive some of the most vulnerable Afghan communities from receiving much-needed climate adaptation and mitigation projects.

What To Keep An Eye On

In the latest instance of capital punishment, the Taliban publicly executed an Afghan man at a sports stadium.

On November 13, Muhammad Ayaz Asad was shot dead in the southeastern city of Gardaz. A Taliban court had sentenced him for killing Saif-ul-Qatal, another Afghan man, with a Kalashnikov rifle.

He was killed after the victim’s family refused to accept “diyat,” an Islamic concept in which the victim’s family can pardon the murderer for blood money.

The execution at the hands of the victim's family is part of "qisas," or retributive Islamic punishment for alleged violent crimes.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said executions carried out in public “are contrary to Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations and must cease.”

It called on the Taliban to establish an “immediate moratorium on all executions with a view to abolition of the death penalty.”

Why It's Important: Taliban leaders consider capital and corporal punishment a crucial part of their commitment to impose Islamic Shari’a law.

The extremist group has defied international criticism and domestic disapproval by carrying out these punishments publicly.

Such punishments are likely to continue and grow under Taliban rule, even while Afghans see them as part of Taliban oppression.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org