Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China's resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here's what I'm following right now.

Xi's Upside And Downside

Former President Donald Trump has declared victory in the U.S. election against Vice President Kamala Harris.

It's an outcome that will have implications far beyond the United States, so here's what another Trump administration could look like for China.

Finding Perspective: Beijing and Washington are the world's two largest economies and another Trump term will have a major impact on where the relationship between the two rival powers goes.

There is something of a consensus in Washington when it comes to Beijing, with a focus on constraining China's continued rise on the world stage.

Trump's previous term saw a trade war, with him slapping tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Chinese goods and launching a global campaign against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.

Four years of President Joe Biden, meanwhile, saw him adopt a more measured tone than Trump, but his administration also targeted Chinese tech industries with investment and export controls, as well as tariffs on items like Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

Despite that overlap, there are still important differences in the short and long term for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The View On Trump: If Harris represented a more predictable approach and a more traditional U.S. foreign policy, Trump is the ultimate wild card for Beijing.

The former president has threatened upwards of 60 percent tariffs on all imports from China and has spoken openly of his desire to ramp up another trade war. None of that is good for Beijing as it grapples with a slowing economy and weighs how to use a potential fiscal stimulus.

But that short-term pain comes with potential long-term upside for Xi.

Chinese analysts have sometimes seen Trump's divisiveness at home and his "America First" brand of foreign policy as a net gain for Beijing as it tries to overtake Washington on the global stage.

That could look more appealing on the horizon if Trump, who has questioned traditional U.S. alliances, strains relations with U.S. partners in Europe and Asia and leaves diplomatic openings for Beijing.

Analysts saw Harris as looking to continue Biden's emphasis on building a network of allies and partners to constrain China, something that Philip Gordon, her national-security adviser, said in May, before Biden dropped out of the race, was an American advantage against Beijing and other potential U.S. adversaries.

"We're in a favorable position to win this geopolitical competition, to the degree it's Russia and China and other autocracies aligning against us.... It's why the president and the vice president have invested so much time in those alliances."

Yes, But: Trump has said that he wants to quickly push for the end of the war in Ukraine and has said that Taiwan isn't paying Washington enough money for the U.S. government's support, but the upside for Beijing isn't so straightforward.

While Trump bringing an end to the war in Ukraine -- if possible -- could embolden Beijing to act on Taiwan in the future, it could also free up Washington to devote more resources to the Indo-Pacific to more directly challenge China.

Why It Matters: Regardless of who would have won the U.S. election, Beijing expected little improvement in its tense ties with Washington.

Trump's victory now comes at a pivotal time for both countries, especially as Xi looks to turn China into an alternative center of global power.

Xi believes that the West -- and particularly the United States -- is in decline, and he remarked to Russian President Vladimir Putin last year that we are now living in a period of great historical change the likes of which we have "not seen in 100 years."

Kevin Rudd, Australia's ambassador to Washington who has met Xi several times, says that these views reflect how Chinese policymakers see the United States' trajectory and that Xi "sees the forces of history moving decisively in China's direction."

In his second term, Trump will be in a pivotal position to prove Xi right or wrong.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. Kazakhstan Inks Billions In New Deals

Kazakhstan signed eight commercial agreements worth $2.5 billion with Chinese companies on November 4.

The Details: The agreements were signed during a visit to Shanghai by Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.

The agreements support a broader strategy by Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and Xi to double trade turnover, which reached a record $41 billion last year, the Kazakh prime minister's press service said in a statement.

At an investment roundtable, Bektenov emphasized the potential for joint projects and industrial cooperation. Major Chinese firms also outlined plans to enhance operations in Kazakhstan, including energy initiatives and localized vehicle production.

There are already around 5,000 joint ventures between the two countries.

2. Slovakia's Fico Goes To Beijing

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Beijing for a multiday state visit where he signed a strategic partnership agreement and backed Chinese diplomacy around the war in Ukraine.

What You Need To Know: Fico met with Xi on November 1 and said afterward that China's position on the war in Ukraine "is fair, objective, and constructive" and that Bratislava was ready to join a proposal promoted by Brazil and China to resolve the war.

Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejecting the plan, Fico said Slovakia was willing to join other countries that China says have positively received it "and work with China to contribute to promoting a political solution to the crisis," according to a Chinese government statement.

Fico, who has criticized EU policies on Ukraine and has opposed sanctions on Russia, said Slovakia was "very keen on China's diplomatic efforts dedicated to regulating the conflict in Ukraine and have exchanged our attitudes on this fundamental issue."

3. More China-Afghan Deals

The Taliban's embassy in Beijing has announced the inauguration and operational launch of a new freight railway line connecting China and Afghanistan.

What It Means: It's another headline pointing toward warming ties between Beijing and the Taliban. Last week, China announced that it will offer the Taliban tariff-free access to its vast construction, energy, and consumer sectors.

But the devil is in the details. This rail line is not a direct connection from China to Afghanistan and instead crosses through Tajikistan and Uzbekistan before stopping in northern Afghanistan.

According to the statement, the first journey of the freight train to the Hairatan port has commenced, with an initial shipment of 50 containers expected to reach its destination within 20 days of its departure.

As with the ground-breaking ceremony for the giant Mes Aynak copper mine in July, the moves are important optics for a cash-trapped and largely isolated Taliban, but are likely to take years to truly develop into something concrete.

Beijing still has lingering security questions about Afghanistan and is hesitant about having too many direct connections between it and China.

A similar dynamic unfolded earlier this year when the Taliban announced a new road through the Wakhan Corridor leading to the border with China.

Despite the announcement of the completion of the project, however, a road link with China remains far from suitable for meaningful cross-border trade and there is little Chinese custom infrastructure at the border.

Across The Supercontinent

From Taipei to Kyiv via Vilnius: Taiwan signed an agreement with Lithuania on October 30 to donate $5 million to recovery efforts in Ukraine.

The funds will go to education, veteran rehabilitation, and safety training in explosives and hazardous materials.

Railway Collapse: The Serbian minister of construction, transport, and infrastructure resigned on November 5 following the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station that killed 14 people and left three injured, RFE/RL's Balkan Service reports.

Protests continue in Serbia and the role of Chinese and Hungarian companies involved in the construction of the station have also been in the spotlight. Serbian officials have said that while a Chinese consortium was involved in the station, it did not work on the roof that later collapsed.

Still, with the construction contracts kept secret -- a clause often requested by Chinese firms -- calls for greater transparency around the project are growing.

Finland's New Tightrope: Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrapped up a state visit to China last week where he met with Xi.

Stubb told Xi that North Korean activities with Russia were an escalation and provocation in a message delivered on behalf of NATO and the European Union.

One Thing To Watch

A survey conducted ahead of the U.S. election by pollsters at National Taiwan University in Taipei found that 56 percent of Taiwanese preferred Harris as the next U.S. president compared to only 16 percent for Trump. Twenty-three percent of those polled said they didn't have an opinion.

Winning over Trump -- who has spoken about reevaluating some tenets of Washington's traditional line towards Taiwan -- will be key for the self-governing island.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

Until next time,

Reid Standish

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.

A fire erupted at a gas distribution company in Kabul, killing at least six people, officials said. Noorullah Ansar, a Taliban-appointed official with the Afghan capital’s Disaster Management and Fire Department, said the blaze, which erupted in the Paghman district on the evening of November 2, also injured at least nine others. Other reports said the casualty toll could reach into the dozens.

Barna’s working day begins early in the morning, hours before she enters her office at a private media outlet in Kabul’s trendy Karte-e Char area.

Barna, a 26-year-old Afghan reporter whose name has been changed for security reasons, says she carefully chooses stories to pitch to her editors via WhatsApp messages while she is still riding on a packed minibus in an hour-long journey to work.

“By the time I reach the Pol-e Sorkh crossroad, which is about 15 minutes from the office, the editors and I go through several topics to make sure we pick a story that is important and interesting but at the same time is safe enough not to anger the authorities,” Barna says in describing her daily work.

“We have many red lines. We have to avoid certain topics, and we have to tone down our criticism in order to survive under the Taliban,” she told RFE/RL by phone from Kabul. “Our work and lives are full of restrictions and the government continues to impose even more.”

Afghan journalists fear that they will soon lose what Barna described as their “last remaining freedoms” after the hard-line, Taliban-led government recently banned the publication of human and animal images as part of new “morality laws.” Unveiled in August, the laws also say that a woman’s voice should not be heard in public.

Several Afghan provinces -- including Kandahar, Helmand, and Takhar -- shut down most television stations to comply with the ban.

Television channels in these provinces have effectively been turned into radio stations, leaving dozens of cameramen, photographers, video editors, and others out of work. The radio stations, meanwhile, were prohibited from airing a woman’s voice.

Afghan media reported last week that all other television networks in the country have been given two months to follow suit. But a high-ranking government source denied those reports on October 29.

The source told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that authorities will “address the issues that some visual media outlets are facing in some provinces,” but did not elaborate.

A cameraman in Takhar who lost his job because of the ban said the latest restrictions on the media will plunge Afghanistan into the dark ages.

“It feels like we live in a backward society that does not care about progress and development,” the cameraman told Radio Azadi, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Media without photography and video is like a body without a head.”

Another Afghan journalist condemned the ban as “irrational” and “extremist” and said the government would not be able to implement the policy throughout the country.

A 27-year-old reporter in Kabul said Afghan media “would lose thousands of media workers” if the Taliban tries to enforce the ban.

“Many will lose their jobs, and many others will leave the industry because our work will become meaningless,” the reporter told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity. “How can you keep your audiences with male-only radio reports with no video and no music?”

Thousands of Afghan journalists have left Afghanistan since the ultraconservative Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

According to press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), of the 10,870 men and women working in Afghan media at the beginning of August 2021, only 4,360 were still working in the industry in December of that year. During that period, of the 2,490 female journalists, just 410 were still in their jobs.

At least 141 journalists have been detained or imprisoned under Taliban rule, RSF reported in August, but added that no media workers were imprisoned at the time of its report.

“The biggest problem is that we don’t have anywhere to complain,” the Kabul-based reporter said. “Who do you complain to when the culprit behind your problems is the government itself and it doesn’t care about the criticism from the international community or public opinion?”

Dream Versus Reality

In Kabul, Barna and her colleagues haven’t yet been told to comply with the new “morality laws,” but the staff -- like most journalists across the country -- are bracing themselves for it. Barna says her female friends working in radio and TV are fearing the worst.

“Women journalists are already the hardest hit, and we stand to lose more,” she said. “Most Taliban officials refuse to speak to female reporters, so we must ask our male colleagues to get comments from officials for our reports.”

Barna says officials from the Vice and Virtue Ministry have installed security cameras at her workplace and pay random visits to ensure female workers don’t breach the strict Islamic dress code.

The latest constraints on Afghan media workers come amid the backdrop of grinding poverty and unemployment in the country.

Several journalists working for Afghan-owned media outlets in Kabul told RFE/RL they earn between 40 to 70 percent less in comparison to the wages they received before the Taliban came to power.

Due to a lack of funds, many media outlets have eliminated benefits such as shuttle buses and free or subsidized lunches for their employees.

Barna earns the equivalent of $150 a month, roughly half of the salary she made before August 2021.

“I dream of having enough money and freedom again to go to coffee shops in Pol-e Sorkh with my colleagues, as we used to do,” she said.

Many coffee shops along the bustling Pol-e Sorkh Road -- once popular with Kabul’s young people -- have been closed or turned into so-called family restaurants.

“But for the time being, my main concern is not to lose the last remaining freedoms we have, such as being able to work in the media, speak to people, and watch a TV report,” Barna said.

Wider Region

The situation of the media has deteriorated in other neighboring countries in recent years, with many independent journalists and bloggers languishing behind bars for their criticism of authoritarian governments.

Uzbek blogger Shohida Salomova has been placed in a psychiatric hospital after she reported that the son-in-law of President Shavkat Mirziyoev had purchased “20 expensive houses" in a wealthy Tashkent neighborhood.

In Tajikistan, independent journalists who criticize government policies often face long-term prison sentences on trumped-up charges with trials being held behind closed doors.

In Turkmenistan, independent media are nonexistent, while several journalists have paid the ultimate price for their work. Among them was 35-year-old former RFE/RL reporter Hudaiberdy Allashov, who died earlier this year after a long illness that his supporters say was brought on by pressure from the government due to his work.

Allashov had been jailed, beaten, and tortured with electric shocks, according to police sources. No one has been brought to justice.

Soltan Achilova, one of the few remaining independent reporters in Turkmenistan, says authorities not only put pressure on her but also target her relatives, friends, and anyone who gives her an interview or a comment.

She says security services have bugged her phone, often hack her e-mail account and personal computer, and follow her “everywhere.” She has been physically attacked several times and once strip-searched at the airport.

“When I call someone, security agents contact that person immediately and threaten them with dismissal from work. If that person doesn’t have a job, the agents threaten their relatives with dismissal and even imprisonment,” Achilova, 74, told RFE/RL on October 27.

Despite the ever-tightening space to operate, Achilova is not giving up her profession, saying that without reporters society will become a dark, silent place.

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 unrecognized Taliban government in Afghanistan has detained a political commentator and former university lecturer.

Jawed Mohmand was detained by Taliban intelligence agents outside his home in the capital, Kabul, on October 19, his family said.

A relative of Mohmand, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that he was "not faring well psychologically" in detention.

The Taliban has not revealed the reason for his detention. But his arrest came soon after the Taliban barred him from appearing as a guest on private Afghan television stations.

Mohmand was not known for his criticism of the Taliban and appeared at times to support the extremist group's policies.

Why It's Important: Mohmand's detention is part of the Taliban's crackdown on dissent.

The hard-line Islamist group has arrested and jailed scores of academics, political commentators, teachers, journalists, and activists since seizing power in 2021.

Last month, the Taliban detained Jawed Kohistani, a well-known political and military analyst, for over two weeks.

Shahrazad Akbar, executive director of the Rawadari rights organization, told Radio Azadi that the Taliban was creating a society "where no one dares to criticize its repressive policies" because the group "does not believe that rulers should be accountable to the people."

What's Next: The Taliban's crackdown on dissent is likely to continue.

Journalists, activists, and academics who criticize the extremist group are likely to be targeted.

The Taliban has further stamped out free speech in recent months. In September, the group imposed new restrictions on Afghan broadcasters, banning live broadcasts of political shows and on-air criticism of its policies.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban has said that two Afghans were killed in a shooting incident in Iran earlier this month.

Local reports and rights groups said Iranian border guards fired on and killed Afghan migrants seeking to cross into Iran from Pakistan on October 13. Iranian officials have denied the incident took place.

Hamdullah Fitrat, a Taliban spokesman, said the group's investigation found that "explosions and gunfire" targeted Afghan migrants, some of whom were wounded.

The United Nations and international rights groups have demanded a full investigation into the deadly incident.

Why It's Important: Iran has been the main destination for Afghans fleeing Taliban rule.

Many Afghans in Iran, who number several million, have complained of increasing violence and harassment at the hands of the Iranian authorities.

The Islamic republic has deported over 1 million Afghans in the past year.

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

Gul Hotak and her family survive on just one meal per day -- often leftovers from neighbors.

Hotak is the sole breadwinner for her family of four. Her husband is sick and cannot work. She cleans people's houses in exchange for food.

"My neighbors sometimes give us what little food they have cooked," Hotak, who lives in Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

"I wash clothes for others, and they give me dry bread or whatever leftovers they have from the night before. That's how we're getting by," added Hotak, who has two young daughters.

Hotak and her family are among the millions of people in Afghanistan -- the world's largest humanitarian crisis -- who are going hungry.

Around 70 percent of Afghanistan's population of some 40 million people do not have enough to eat, according to the United Nations.

Women and children are bearing the brunt of the hunger crisis in Afghanistan, where poverty and unemployment have soared since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The militant group has severely curtailed women's rights, including barring many women from working outside their homes.

Women who are unmarried or do not have a male guardian, or mahram, face even tougher restrictions. Many face obstacles to accessing humanitarian aid.

'I'm Losing My Mind'

Zainab and her five children often do not know where their next meal will come from.

The 32-year-old used to work as a cook. But she lost her job after the Taliban takeover. Her husband, an addict, disappeared several years ago, leaving her to fend for their children alone.

"Sometimes we don't even have dry bread to eat, and my children go to bed hungry," Zainab, who lives in the Afghan capital, told Radio Azadi.

"My kids had only dry bread and tea tonight," she added. "I'm hungry right now. My head hurts a lot. I prayed and cried, asking God to solve our problems. I feel like I'm losing my mind."

Simin is also the sole breadwinner for her family of five.

The 42-year-old said she does not have enough money to buy even the most basic food items.

"I went to my sister's house because I didn't have any onions or potatoes," she told Radio Azadi. "She gave me a few onions and some money to buy potatoes from the shop."

Simin has not been able to pay her rent for months, and her landlord has issued her an eviction notice.

"Our landlord has given us 10 days to leave the house," she said. "I'm at a loss as to what to do. I'm so tired of life."

'Staggering' Malnutrition

Women and children are the most affected by the hunger crisis in Afghanistan.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on October 17 that clinics in the country were recording "alarming" cases of acute child malnutrition.

"The scale of malnutrition in our country is staggering," said Mohammad Nabi Burhan, secretary-general of the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) has warned that it is only able to help half of the around 12 million Afghans who need humanitarian assistance.

That is due to the "severe shortage" of international funding, Ziauddin Safi, a WFP spokesman in Afghanistan, told Radio Azadi. "We cannot help more people."

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

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

The Key Issue

A new UN report says the Taliban is increasingly interfering in international aid operations in Afghanistan.

On October 22, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said aid agencies recorded more than 170 incidents of interference in September, which led to the suspension of 83 humanitarian projects.

The incidents in September represent a 31 percent increase compared to the previous month and a 66 percent rise compared to the same period last year, the OCHA said.

The OCHA said the Taliban detained or arrested nine aid workers and closed three facilities in September. The extremist group has also restricted the movement of aid and humanitarian workers.

“Interference in humanitarian activities, violence against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities” were the most common incidents, said the report.

Why It’s Important: The Taliban appears keen to regulate and control international aid projects in Afghanistan, the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

The militant group’s interference in humanitarian projects is likely to impede the delivery of aid to millions of Afghans.

“What is troubling is when this interference actually obstructs aid from getting to Afghans who desperately need it,” said Ashley Jackson, the co-founder of the Center on Armed Groups.

Jackson said most aid organizations operating in Afghanistan are good at negotiating with the Taliban to ensure that they can function. But she said that “most aid workers will tell you that it is onerous and takes significant time and resources.”

What's Next: The Taliban is likely to continue to press for more control over aid operations.

But its interference and restrictions could prompt Western donors to cut their funding to international aid projects in Afghanistan.

The UN is already scrambling to attract funding for its $3 billion annul humanitarian appeal this year.

What To Keep An Eye On

Kazakhstan has signed a memorandum of understanding with the unrecognized Taliban government to increase bilateral trade to $3 billion annually.

The Taliban’s Commerce Minister, Nooruddin Azizi, and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin signed the agreement on October 22.

Under the deal, Astana will build railway lines in Afghanistan linking Central Asia to Afghanistan’s southern and eastern regions, which border Pakistan.

Kazakhstan wants to eventually use Pakistani ports for exporting goods to the Middle East. It also wants Afghanistan’s trade with China to transit through its territory.

Astana will export new and used cars, grains, and wheat flour to Afghanistan while importing fresh and dried fruits.

Why It's Important: Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries have sought to expand their relations with the Taliban government, which is not recognized by any country in the world.

Many Central Asian states appear interested in developing economic ties. They are also worried about security threats emanating from Afghanistan, where dozens of extremist groups operate.

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

Ten members of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) were killed and three others were wounded in a militant attack early on October 25 in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, security sources told RFE/RL. Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, chief minister of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, confirmed the attack in a statement, without mentioning the number of deaths. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), a radical Islamist group that has been a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 2010, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by a large group of gunmen, according to police sources. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here.

At least two people were killed and several wounded on October 23 in Kabul in a blast near a government office where ID cards are issued, a Taliban source told RFE/RL.

The source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said the blast occurred when a man holding a plastic bag wanted to go to the ID office and the bag exploded. The man, who was injured, has been detained, said the source.

“Two people were martyred, and several others were injured," the source said. "It appears that someone was carrying explosive materials with him and it exploded against him.”

A video that was posted on the X account of Afghanistan International showed that the explosion took place near street vendors in the area where the ID office is located.

A statement issued by Kabul’s Emergency Surgical Center said 11 people were injured in the explosion, but did not mention any fatalities. The emergency hospital has not returned a call from RFE/RL to request more information, including whether there were any deaths.

The statement said the explosion occurred at around 2 p.m. local time in the Pamir Cinema district.

Stefano Gennaro Smirnov, deputy director at the Emergency Surgical Center said the injured included a 3-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old boy. One of the injured is in critical condition, Smirnov said in a statement.

He said the explosion occurred at a secondhand clothing market as customers crowded to enter when it opened.

“This is the Pamir Cinema neighborhood, one of the most densely populated in Kabul. Many of those affected by this attack will be living in conditions of severe poverty,” he said in the statement.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the incident. But the Khorasan branch of Islamic State (IS-K) claimed responsibility for similar attacks in Kabul and elsewhere since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

The Taliban conducted house-to-house searches in at least two districts of Kabul on October 22, local sources quoted by RFE/RL said.

A resident of the Khair Khana district in Kabul, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFE/RL that the Taliban carried out the searches in Khair Khana and another district of the capital known as 315.

Other media outlets have also reported on the searches, but the Taliban has not commented yet.

This searches come after at least two rockets were fired at Kabul Airport on October 19.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front, an anti-Taliban group, claimed responsibility for firing the rockets and said the Taliban had suffered "severe casualties and financial losses."

The Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed the attack on the military section of Kabul airport began with the launch of several rockets and was followed by an assault by its soldiers.

While a Taliban source confirmed the rocket attack on Kabul airport to RFE/RL, no comment was made regarding the claim of responsibility by the Afghanistan Freedom Front.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front linked the house-to-house searches in Kabul to its recent attack and said two Taliban members were killed in a fresh attack by its forces on a Taliban intelligence vehicle in the Qalacha district of Kabul on October 22.

Radio Azadi could not independently verify the claim.

A photojournalist who worked in Afghanistan during the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule says the reinstated group's new ban on images of living things is unfeasible today.

In the 1990s, the Afghan photojournalist, who asked to remain anonymous due to his continued links to the country, recalls that “photos were completely prohibited. The Taliban banned it. Even if there was a press conference or something, they said, ‘You cannot take pictures.’”

But during the first Taliban era, in which punishments could be severe for even minor transgressions, taking photos of people was still a regular, risky occurrence for the photojournalist, along with a small number of his fellow Afghans working for Western news agencies.

“We had small cameras, and when we went to do stories we would just go somewhere where there was no more Taliban, and we would take one or two shots, then quickly leave," he says. "It was like a 'stolen picture.'"

During the first Taliban era, he says, the handful of local photojournalists “had to process our film using chemicals. It was very complicated.”

Today, however, “everyone has a phone; it’s digital.”

Additionally, the veteran photojournalist says, “The Taliban themselves like to see Facebook. They have WhatsApp It will be very, very difficult to stop it" since the new generation of Taliban "grew up with the Internet."

The photographer says he was detained several times for taking photos during the Taliban's first rule. One of his colleagues was imprisoned overnight after photographing a man who turned out to be a foreign extremist from an Arab state who leaped up to detain the photographer and took him to the Taliban's "vice and virtue" police.

Some within the Taliban leadership apparently turned a blind eye to the ban on imagery showing living things during the 1990s.

“My pictures were printed many times in a Pakistani newspaper, and the following day the newspaper would be sent from Pakistan to [the Pakistani Embassy in] Kabul,” the photojournalist says. "The Taliban could have called me and asked, ‘Why did you take a picture?’ But this never happened."

But, he adds, “on the ground, it was absolutely not allowed to take photos.”

For ordinary people, indulging in illicit entertainment through the 1990s was a commonplace, if nerve-wracking, experience.

"People would watch TV and listen to music cassettes, but very secretly. They were sitting in the basement or somewhere and completely closing the window," he recalls.

The photojournalist says the second iteration of Taliban rule has been relatively lenient compared to the first, but "little by little, the smell -- the bad smell -- is returning," and referenced the recent shutdown of television stations in northern Afghanistan for screening images of people.

The Taliban leadership in the group's founding city of Kandahar is "very extremist," he says, though some have undoubtedly been changed by what they have seen of prosperity in the outside world -- something the Taliban's first generation of leadership never experienced.

"These Taliban in the past few years have been in Qatar, Iran, Pakistan, India, and they have seen how beautiful the world outside Afghanistan is. When [Taliban founder] Mullah Omar took power [in 1996], they came straight from the madrasahs and took Kabul, but after the civil war it was completely destroyed -- no TVs, no nothing."

This time, the photojournalist says, "the Taliban were handed a beautiful Kabul with construction, beautiful cars, restaurants, buildings. Everything is so superior to what the previous Taliban saw."

The Taliban’s repressive policies and extremist interpretation of Islam has turned Afghanistan into a pariah state.

In 2021, Afghanistan became the only country in the world to ban teenage girls from going to school.

Now, the country has become the first to outlaw any depictions of living things, including humans and animals.

“This decision is absurd and unbelievable,” said Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who tracks the Taliban.

Under Islam, idolatry is a sin, and the worship of idols is banned. Under its radical interpretation, the Taliban has cut off the heads of mannequins, prohibited the sale of dolls, and covered or taken down statues in recent years.

Now, the Taliban has expanded the ban on idolatry to include the “production and watching of videos and photos of living things on computers and mobile phones.” The ban is limited to images of things with souls -- meaning people and animals.

“At the core of it is a desire to replicate the initial [Taliban] emirate of the 1990s,” said Obaidullah Baheer, visiting fellow at the South Asia Center at the London School of Economics.

During its brutal rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban also outlawed any depiction of living things, including television and photography, deeming them un-Islamic. The hard-line Islamist group publicly destroyed television sets and video cassettes.

The Taliban also destroyed thousands of historical artefacts, most of them Buddha statues, that it deemed un-Islamic or idolatrous.

Its regime horrified the world in 2001 when it used antiaircraft artillery, anti-tank mines, dynamite, and other explosives to destroy two giant Buddha statues from the 6th century.

After the Taliban regime was toppled from power in the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the group used images and photos in their propaganda. They also maintained a website and a presence on social media.

Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban has run the state broadcaster and allowed some TV stations to continue operating, albeit with severe restrictions. Senior Taliban officials maintain social-media accounts, and upload videos and photos of their meetings and foreign visits.

Baheer says the Taliban’s ban on images of living things “seems to be a very tricky path to take” given the Taliban’s own widespread use of photography and television.

Concerns Over Press Freedom

The Taliban’s ban on the publication of images of living beings has sparked concerns about the impact it will have on Afghan media and press freedom.

The Taliban has already waged a brutal crackdown on dissent, including beating, detaining, and jailing dozens of journalists. The group has also forcibly shut down independent media outlets and prohibited virtually any critical reporting about its unrecognized government.

In recent days, Taliban run-media outlets have stopped showing images of living things in some provinces to comply with the new ban. Some TV stations have resorted to audio-only broadcasts.

The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said on October 14 that it is gradually implementing the ban.

Yousafzai said the ban will have wide-ranging ramifications for the media and Afghans’ access to information and entertainment. “It will turn Afghanistan into a vast prison,” he said.

"We thought that animals in Afghanistan have more freedom than women,” Fariba, a reporter in Kabul, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, referring to the Taliban’s severe restrictions on women’s rights. “But the Taliban has no mercy even for animals.”

Heshmat Wajdani, spokesperson for the Federation of Afghan Journalists in Exile, said the move is detrimental to press freedom. “It amounts to erasing the media and freedom of expression in Afghanistan," he said.

Three people were killed in Afghanistan's central Ghor Province in clashes between Taliban fighters and extremists affiliated with the Khorasan branch of the Islamic State (IS-K), a Taliban source told RFE/RL. The source said the clashes occurred when the Taliban conducted an operation to arrest an IS-K commander near the provincial capital, Firozkoh. During the operation, the commander, a civilian, and a Taliban member were killed, added the source, who said the operation was in response to IS-K fighters killing three Taliban fighters two weeks ago. Since the hard-line Taliban’s seized power in August 2021, deadly rival IS-K has carried out attacks throughout Afghanistan. The Taliban rulers have themselves been accused by watchdog groups of multiple human rights violations in Afghanistan. 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, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The United Nations and international rights groups have called for an investigation into reports that Iranian border guards fired on and killed Afghan migrants seeking to cross into Iran from Pakistan.

Local reports and rights groups say the incident occurred on October 13 in the Saravan district of Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, an impoverished and volatile region.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan says it has launched an investigation. Iranian officials have denied that the incident took place.

Haalvsh, a Baluch rights group, said gunshots and rocket-propelled grenades fired by Iranian forces killed dozens of Afghans. RFE/RL was unable to independently verify the group's claim.

Videos posted on social media appeared to show images of dozens of corpses wrapped in white cloth strewn on the road. RFE/RL was unable to independently verify the veracity of the video.

Taj Mohammad, a resident of the northern province of Balkh, said his cousin was killed in the incident. "We want international organizations and the government in Afghanistan to probe this incident," he told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

Jamaluddin, another resident of Balkh, said his son was killed in the incident. "The [Taliban] government does not ask and does nothing."

Why It's Important: Millions of Afghan migrants and refugees have fled to Iran -- either through Afghanistan or Pakistan -- since the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban's seizure of power in 2021.

Many Afghans in Iran have complained of increasing violence and harassment at the hands of Iranian authorities, who have deported over 1 million Afghans in the past year.

Richard Bennett, the UN special human rights rapporteur in Afghanistan, said on X that he was "seriously concerned" about the reports and urged Iran to "investigate transparently."

"Clarity is urgently needed. These reports don't stand in isolation. More dignity and safety is needed for Afghans worldwide," he said on October 16.

What's Next: If the incident is confirmed, Iran is likely to face international pressure over its treatment of the estimated 4 million Afghans living in the Islamic republic.

The incident could also strain ties between the Taliban and Iran. The sides have engaged in deadly border clashes in recent years.

What To Keep An Eye On

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has warned of rapidly rising malnutrition among Afghan children.

The world's largest humanitarian network said on October 17 that clinics in the country were recording "alarming" cases of acute child malnutrition.

The cases are much more frequent among communities suffering from falling incomes, climate-induced natural disasters, and the consequences of decades of fighting, it said.

"The scale of malnutrition in our country is staggering," said Mohammad Nabi Burhan, secretary-general of the Afghan Red Crescent Society. "Severe acute malnutrition can be fatal if left untreated."

In May, Save the Children warned that three out of 10 -- or some 6.5. million Afghan children --will suffer from "crisis or emergency levels of hunger" this year.

According to the UN children agency, UNICEF, some 815,000 children from six months to 5 years old were admitted for "severe wasting," meaning their body parts had become weaker because of malnutrition.

Why It's Important: Afghanistan is the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

As international funding recedes, an increasing number of Afghan children are likely to die of malnutrition and diseases.

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.

The Uzbek Foreign Ministry has rejected Afghan media reports saying that the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan requested the cancellation of concerts or other musical events at a trade center located on the shared border.

The statement comes after the Afghan outlet Atlaspress reported on October 14 that the Taliban had requested the Uzbek government stop hosting musical performances at the Termiz International Trade Center.

WATCH: The Taliban announced in August that it had destroyed over 20,000 musical instruments in Afghanistan in the past year. The extremist group considers instruments un-Islamic and permits only unaccompanied singing.

According to the publication, the Taliban allegedly warned that if this request was not fulfilled, Afghan citizens might be barred from visiting the facility.

The Taliban, who follow their own interpretation of Islamic law, have been known to oppose music and public musical performances, which they consider contrary to their religious principles. This could explain why such a request may have been made to Uzbekistan, as musical events are held regularly at the center.

In a statement to Gazeta.uz on October 15, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry clarified that no such request had been made.

"We have not received any formal communication from the Afghan side regarding the cancellation of any concerts or music-related events at the Termiz International Trade Center," the ministry's press service confirmed.

The Termiz International Trade Center, which opened in late August, serves as a free-trade zone where visitors, including Afghans, can trade for up to 15 days using multiple currencies without needing a visa.

The center regularly hosts entertainment events, including musical performances and concerts by Uzbek artists.

Despite the claims from Afghan media, the Uzbek government continues to operate the center as usual, with no disruptions to the planned entertainment and cultural programs.

The center remains a key hub for cross-border trade and interaction, further strengthening ties between the two neighboring countries.

With reporting by Atlaspress and Gazeta.ru

Afghanistan's Taliban morality ministry pledged on October 14 to implement a law banning news media from publishing images of all living things, with journalists told the rule will be gradually enforced. "The law applies to all Afghanistan...and it will be implemented gradually" by persuading people images of living things are against Islamic law, a spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Saiful Islam Khyber, told the AFP news agency. The Taliban government's judiciary recently announced legislation formalizing its strict interpretations of Islamic law. Aspects of the new law have not yet been strictly enforced, however, and Taliban officials continue to regularly post photos of people on social media.

Pakistan's decision to ban a prominent civil rights organization will further alienate the country's large Pashtun ethnic minority, experts say.

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a grassroots movement that advocates for the rights of Pakistan's estimated 40 million Pashtuns, was designated a "proscribed organization" on October 6 for allegedly undermining security in the South Asian country of some 240 million people.

Rights groups say the ban is aimed at silencing the PTM, which has accused the government and the powerful military of committing human rights abuses against civilians in northwestern Pakistan, a militant stronghold.

WATCH: Tens of thousands of ethnic Pashtuns attended the beginning of a three-day "jirga" or grand assembly on October 11 near Peshawar in northwest Pakistan.

Analysts say the ban could push the PTM to abandon its nonviolent campaign and further destabilize the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where many Pashtuns live.

"It's going to make Pashtuns much more apprehensive of the state," said Ayesha Siddiqa, senior fellow at King's College London. "There's going to be greater resentment and frustration."

Since its emergence in 2018, the PTM has accused the army of using heavy-handed tactics, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances, against civilians during counterterrorism operations against militant groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The province has been the scene of numerous operations against the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) extremist group that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians and uprooted millions in the past two decades.

Siddiqa said the ban on the PTM was a "knee-jerk reaction" by Pakistan's military, which has an oversized role in the country's domestic and foreign affairs. Its traditional dominance of politics has been undermined in recent years by civil rights organizations like the PTM and opposition political parties.

"PTM is a political movement, and that is something which the state finds much more difficult to control," Siddiqa added.

In recent years, the authorities have arrested and jailed the leaders and hundreds of members of the PTM, whose rallies often attract tens of thousands of people.

Widespread Condemnation

The government's ban on the PTM has been widely condemned.

Amnesty International on October 8 called on Islamabad to revoke the ban, which it termed "an affront to the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly."

Two days earlier, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent rights watchdog, had criticized what it said was "the government's decision to proscribe the PTM, a rights-based movement that has never resorted to violence and always used the framework of the Constitution to advocate its cause."

The PTM has said that over 200 of its members have been arrested in recent days ahead of a jirga, or assembly, planned for October 11-13.

Two days before the assembly, police clashed with PTM supporters in the northwestern town of Jamrud, using tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd. At least four PTM activists were killed in the clashes.

Despite the ban on the PTM, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has permitted the group to hold the assembly. On October 11, the provincial authorities said they will urge the central government to revoke the ban.

"The PTM has been raising very legitimate demands," said Farhatullah Babar, a former lawmaker and leader of the secular Pakistan People's Party.

He said the army and government have consistently reneged on promises it made to the PTM, including the removal of military checkpoints in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the clearance of landmines, and the release of civilians forcibly disappeared by the state.

"Stifling its voice will go down very badly with the entire Pashtun people," said Babar. "I think that this will alienate people even more. The incentives for them to remain peaceful will now decrease."

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

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

The Key Issue

The Taliban has threatened Afghan women who served in the police force under the previous Western-backed government, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The threats have forced hundreds of former Afghan policewomen, who were trained by the United States and its allies, to go into hiding, the global rights watchdog said.

HRW said some of the women have received threatening phone calls from Taliban officials who summoned them for questioning or warned them of unspecified consequences for their previous work.

Under the Taliban, some former policewomen in the culturally and religiously conservative country have been apparently killed by their own relatives for bringing “shame” to the families, HRW said.

Many former policewomen have sought refuge in neighboring Iran or Pakistan, or tried to obtain asylum in the West.

Why It's Important: HRW’s report highlights the dangers facing members of Afghanistan’s former armed forces.

After seizing power in 2021, the Taliban announced a blanket amnesty that included all Afghan officials, security forces, and individuals who cooperated with the departed U.S.-led military presence in Afghanistan.

But international rights watchdogs and the United Nations have documented widespread cases of retribution -- including extrajudicial killings and torture.

Before the Taliban takeover, Afghan policewomen suffered widespread sexual abuse and harassment, HRW said.

Afghan policewomen have been “doubly betrayed,” first by the former Afghan government and then by Western nations that ignored the abuse and have not granted them asylum, said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at HRW.

What's Next: HRW has called on Western nations that helped train and hire former Afghan policewomen, including the United States, to resettle them.

But it is unclear if the United States and European countries are willing or able to grant asylum to the women, some of whom remain inside Afghanistan.

What To Keep An Eye On

Germany has announced that it is planning to deport more Afghans to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told parliament on October 9 that Afghans convicted of serious crimes in Germany would be deported.

In August, Berlin deported 28 Afghan citizens for the first time since the Taliban takeover. The authorities said all were convicted criminals, although they did not disclose their crimes.

Why It's Important: Germany has granted asylum to tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans in recent years.

But Berlin has tightened the country's asylum policies as anti-immigration parties rise in popularity.

Germany’s announcement of more deportations has fueled panic among the country's large Afghan community -- which numbers around 475,000. Many Afghans fear they could be next.

“I am apprehensive about this unfolding situation,” an Afghan asylum seeker in Germany, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

“We all should not be punished for the mistakes of individuals,” said another asylum seeker.

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.

The FBI's arrest of an Afghan man who allegedly planned a U.S. Election Day attack has underscored the growing threat posed by the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group to the West.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, an Afghan citizen living in the United States, plotted an attack on November 5 in the name of IS-K, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Based in Afghanistan, IS-K has carried out a series of devastating, high-profile attacks in Russia, Iran, and Tajikistan in recent years.

"IS-K poses a dangerous threat to both the region and the West," said Abdul Sayed, a Sweden-based researcher who tracks militancy in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

"IS-K is not confined to Afghanistan alone,” Sayed added. “It operates with a global agenda and has a network functioning both regionally and internationally."

Resilient Force

IS-K is considered the most active and potent of all the regional affiliates of Islamic State (IS), the extremist group that overran large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014. IS was largely defeated by a U.S.-led coalition.

IS-K was founded in Afghanistan in late 2014 and captured small pockets of territory in the country as part of IS’s broader aim of expansion throughout South and Central Asia.

But it soon came under fire from Afghan and international forces as well as the Taliban, a rival militant group.

The threat posed by IS-K has increased since the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government in 2021, analysts say.

The Taliban, which then seized power, has waged a brutal war against IS-K, killing or capturing its key commanders and hundreds of its fighters. But IS-K has embarked on a strategy of urban warfare and remains a resilient force.

The group's ranks have been boosted by foreign fighters, particularly those from the former Soviet republics of Central Asia.

That has allowed IS-K -- which seeks to establish a caliphate, or Islamic state, in Khorasan, a historical region that includes parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asia -- to continue its attacks in Afghanistan and conduct complex assaults in the region.

In March, IS-K militants stormed the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow, killing around 140 people, underlining the threat it poses in the region.

Exploiting Grievances

Experts say extremist groups like IS-K have tried to exploit the grievances among Muslims since Israel launched its devastating war in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave.

That came after Hamas, a U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist group, carried out an attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people.

Israel has recently expanded its war by launching a deadly aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, the armed group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.

Lucas Webber, senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, an UN-backed project that monitors extremism online, says IS-K has been vocal in calling for attacks against the West in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East.

"[IS-K] has a robust, multilingual propaganda apparatus," Webber told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. "They can reach a diverse range of diaspora communities to build support and mobilize supporters to violence."

Webber says IS-K and its recruiters have targeted Europe. Now, he said, "we're starting to see an increase of activity in North America and the United States, specifically."

U.S. authorities said they have arrested an Afghan citizen and charged him with conspiring to conduct a terrorist attack on Election Day in the United States in the name of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

The Justice Department said in a statement late on October 8 that Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, a resident of Oklahoma City, confirmed to U.S. investigators after his arrest that he was plotting an attack aimed at large crowds of people at an unspecified location.

Tawhedi and a co-conspirator, who has not been named because he is a minor, "expected to die as martyrs" during the attack, the statement said.

The Afghan national arrived in the United States on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and was waiting for the conclusion of his immigration proceedings, the Justice Department said.

He acquired two AK-47 firearms and ammunition and initiated the sale of his house and other assets while arranging for his family members to be resettled back in Afghanistan.

"As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semiautomatic weapons and commit a violent attack," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.

The arrests come as U.S. authorities are facing heightened concerns over the possibility of terrorist acts on U.S. soil in the run-up and during the presidential election on November 5.

The FBI searched Tawhedi's phone and obtained communications between him and an individual who he understood to be affiliated with IS and allegedly facilitated "recruitment, training, and indoctrination" for the terrorist group, according to the criminal complaint, which also said Tawhedi appeared in a video recorded in July reading to two children about "the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife."

He also allegedly accessed and stored IS propaganda on his iCloud and Google account, was a member of pro-IS Telegram groups, and donated to a charity that gathers funds for IS.

“This defendant, motivated by [IS], allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland," said FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The complaint, which does not say how Tawhedi came to the authorities' attention, says an FBI informant posing as a buyer of personal property listed by the suspect on Facebook got in touch with him ostensibly to buy a laptop for his firearms business.

Tawhedi and his co-conspirator tested firearms together with the FBI informant before "buying" two AK-47 assault rifles and 500 bullets from him on October 7.

Once Tawhedi took possession of the guns and ammunition at a location in the Western District of Oklahoma, the two were arrested.

If found guilty, Tawhedi, who was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to IS and receiving a firearm to be used to commit an act of terrorism, faces up to 20 years in prison.

The program under which Tawhedi obtained a U.S. visa was meant to allow Afghans who helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan to relocate to the United States.

U.S. and international forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, leading to an almost immediate takeover of the country by the Taliban.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said a decision to remove the Taliban from a list of terrorist organizations had been "taken at the highest level," the TASS state news agency reported. The decision needs to be followed up with various legal procedures in order to make it a reality, President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, was quoted as saying on October 4. Putin said in July that Moscow considered Afghanistan's Taliban movement an ally in the fight against terrorism. Russia has been slowly building ties with the Taliban since the extremist group seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

Russia has urged the West to lift sanctions on Taliban-led Afghanistan and called for the inclusion of its government in discussions about the country's future in direct opposition to the U.S. position of keeping sanctions against the regime in place. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a session of the "Moscow Format" consultations on October 4 that it's necessary to engage with the Taliban administration despite its lack of formal recognition by Moscow. Despite the Taliban being unrecognized internationally, the Taliban administration's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi participated in the forum, highlighting Russia's ongoing engagement with the Taliban. The U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, Karen Decker, said a day earlier that Washington remained opposed to easing sanctions or recognizing the Taliban, stressing that progress on human rights, particularly women's rights, was necessary before any steps toward legitimacy or economic engagement could occur.

The Taliban's repressive policies and widespread rights abuses have made its unrecognized government in Afghanistan a global pariah.

To boost its international image, the hard-line Islamist group has tried to woo foreign tourists to the country, where violence has significantly dropped since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

But even as the Taliban looks to cash in on propaganda and financial benefits of foreign visitors, the groups' widespread restrictions on the movement of Afghans, especially women, have stifled the growth of the local tourism industry.

"The Taliban promote tourism because it has a major propaganda advantage for its government," said Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who tracks the Taliban.

"The Taliban want to cash in on the interest in tourism to project a positive image of the country it rules," he added.

The number of tourists visiting Afghanistan has steadily increased in recent years. In 2021, there were 691. In 2022, that number increased to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000, according to Taliban officials.

Foreign visitors have been drawn to the country's ancient history and scenic landscape. Chinese tourists make up the largest group of visitors. Major airlines stopped flying to Afghanistan after 2021, but several have resumed flights.

Taliban officials have also been keen to stress that foreign tourism also provides a financial boost to Afghans, many of whom are struggling to survive mass unemployment and rising poverty.

But the burgeoning tourism industry in Afghanistan faces formidable challenges.

Visas are expensive and difficult to obtain. Many countries cut ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. No country in the world recognizes the Taliban regime. Many Afghan embassies, especially in the West, have shut or suspended their operations.

The Taliban is also selective in who it chooses to grant a visa. Foreign journalists and rights activists are barred from entering and working in the country.

Even with a visa, foreign tourists must obtain written permission from the Taliban to visit tourist spots and take photos or videos of their interactions with Afghans and Taliban fighters.

Safety is also still a concern. The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group, a rival of the Taliban, killed six foreign and local tourists in the central city of Bamiyan in May.

IS-K militants have previously targeted foreigners and embassies in Afghanistan.

'Dark And Bleak'

The Taliban has been keen to exploit the rosy picture of the country presented in videos and photos taken by foreign tourists, including YouTubers.

"The Taliban know these YouTubers are not interested in stirring controversies," said Yousafzai. "So, they plan to send these YouTubers to places where they can do their ‘positive' reporting."

Many YouTube videos produced by foreign tourists show the Taliban in a positive light, portraying them as welcoming hosts. The videos also highlight the relative safety in the country and suggest that Afghans are happy under Taliban rule.

The Taliban, which is increasingly active on social media, often promotes the videos on various platforms.

The militant group has also made exceptions for female tourists to visit historical sites and national parks that are off-limits to Afghan women.

The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on the appearances, behavior, and movement of women in what rights group have described as gender apartheid.

"This is dangerous and distorts the truth," said Nazifa Haqpal, a British-based Afghan researcher.

"The truth under the Taliban's cruel rule is dark, bleak, and ugly," she said. "Unlike journalists, YouTubers are not bound by impartiality or professional ethics, which makes it easy for the Taliban to manipulate them."

Some Afghan women said that foreign tourists are playing into the Taliban's hands and whitewashing their suffering.

"Conditions for us are worsening with each passing day," Arezo, a young woman in the central province of Bamiyan, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

Even as the Taliban tries to woo foreigners, the group's restrictions have prevented the growth of local tourism.

Last year, the Taliban banned women from visiting Band-e Amir, a national park in Bamiyan. Consisting of crystal-blue lakes and soaring cliffs, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in the country.

The Taliban is "denying the most fundamental rights of Afghan women," Arezo said.

"Unfortunately, Afghan women are banned from tourism and leisure by the Taliban," Zala, a housewife in the capital, Kabul, told Radio Azadi.

"We are banned from enjoying the natural beauty and historic places of our ancient homeland," she added.

In recent years, the militants have barred Afghan women from using gyms and visiting public bathhouses and city parks.