Latest news with #TheTaliban
Al Bawaba
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Porn star poses in hijab, abaya carrying AK47 in Afghanistan
ALBAWABA - American porn star Whitney Wright, 33, has caused wide outrage on social media during her trip to Afghanistan, where she was welcomed by The Taliban members. Also Read The Taliban to close all NGOs that employ Afghani women The porn star, who is from Oklahoma, posted photos from her recent visit to the Islamic country where she appeared in a very different look away from her usual lingerie pictures and X-rated videos. Whitney Wright visited many historical places in Afghanistan including the Herat Citadel and Sabz Masjid or the Green Mosque in Balkh, Daily Mail reported. In one of the photos, the American porn star caused fury online after she was seen wearing a hijab and abaya while carrying a AK47 in the Band-e Amir national park in Afghanistan. However, according to reports, the US adult star removed the pictures. Now-deleted photo of US adult star Whitney Wright in Afghanistan. (Instagram/Whitney Wright) Why did American porn star's Afghanistan visit caused this fuss online? Whitney Wright, the US adult star, has disturbed social media after sharing her images inside the Islamic country over the strict rules, The Taliban government is imposing on local women as they are banned and unable to leave their homes without a male guardian. In Afghanistan, women are being barred from their basic rights like education and work. In addition, in 2023, women were banned from visiting any attraction if they are not wearing the hijab 'properly' and 'going sightseeing is not a must for women', according to the all-male vice and virtue ministry. US porn star Whitney Wright in Tehran, Iran. (Instagram/Whitney Wright) Women's rights activists were angered how did The Taloban government allowed the America porn star inside the country alone without male guardian, while Afghan women are being banned from any basic rights. Before deleting the photos, Wright posted them with only one-word caption "Afghanistan". She had previously traveled to other Arab and Mulsim-majority nations including Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
The Independent
28-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
American porn star Whitney Wright visits Afghanistan despite Taliban control
A US porn actor has traveled to Afghanistan in a trip unacknowledged by the Taliban, who have restricted the rights of women and girls and imposed strict morality laws since seizing power in 2021. Whitney Wright, who caused uproar with a visit to Iran last year as authorities there cracked down on women, posted images of her trip to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan on her Instagram account. They show a plane from national carrier Ariana on a runway, a tiled ceiling from the Western city of Herat, supermarket items and vehicles. Wright does not appear in the images. She did not respond to messages from The Associated Press on Friday. Nobody from the Taliban was immediately available for comment. The Taliban are keen to attract tourists and promote a different side of the country. Foreigners are visiting, encouraged by the drop in violence. Earlier this month The Taliban took over the operations of Afghanistan 's only luxury hotel in Kabul, more than a decade after they launched a deadly attack there that killed nine people. The Serena Hotel said it was closing its operations in the Afghan capital on Febuary 1, with the Hotel State Owned Corporation taking over. The corporation is overseen by the finance ministry. The Taliban first targeted the Serena in 2008 and again in 2014. Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani acknowledged planning the 2008 attack, which killed eight, including U.S. citizen Thor David Hesla. As a U.S. citizen born in Oklahoma City, Wright would need a visa to enter Afghanistan but there are no operational Afghan embassies or consulates in the U.S. Whitney Wright in Iraq: The Taliban have control of some 40 diplomatic missions around the world. The State Department says U.S. citizens should not travel to Afghanistan for any reason due to civil unrest, crime, terrorism, kidnapping and limited health facilities. It also says there is a risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals.
BBC News
24-02-2025
- BBC News
Taliban to 'endeavour' to release British couple 'as soon as possible'
The Taliban has told the BBC it will "endeavour" to release two British nationals who have been arrested and held in Afghanistan "as soon as possible".Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were arrested on 1 February while returning to their home in the country's Bamiyan American national and an Afghan were also arrested, a spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior Affairs said."A series of considerations is being taken into account, and after evaluation, we will endeavour to release them as soon as possible," they added. Mr and Mrs Reynolds had been running training projects in Afghanistan for 18 years. The reason for their arrest has not been daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told the BBC she had not heard from her parents in more than two UK's Foreign Office said on Sunday it was aware two British nationals had been detained in Afghanistan.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Taliban in crisis as leadership splits over women's rights
The Taliban is facing an internal revolt over women's rights that has become public and could lead to a full-blown conflict in Afghanistan, The Telegraph can reveal. Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, the country's supreme leader, is battling a rebellion from senior cabinet ministers over his ban on girls' education and restrictions on women's economic participation. Akhundzada, who has led the Taliban since 2016 and is now Afghanistan's de-facto leader, is at odds with Sirajuddin Haqqani, the interior minister, Mullah Yaqoob, the defence minister, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the deputy foreign minister, who all want the Taliban to be more progressive. Stanikzai has fled to Dubai after his criticism of the supreme leader led to an arrest warrant being issued, while Haqqani is also thought to be out of the country. Now, Akhundzada has deployed soldiers to Kabul airport to stop other high-ranking officials from leaving. Akhundzada, who is rarely seen in public and has almost no digital footprint, is facing his biggest crisis since the Taliban swept into power after the chaotic withdrawal of the US from the country in August 2021. When they seized power Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, assured the world that women would be allowed to work and study 'within the framework of Islam'. However, within weeks, these assurances began to unravel. By September, the Taliban announced that only boys and male teachers would return to secondary schools, effectively barring girls from secondary education. In March 2022, they briefly declared that all students, including girls, would be allowed back to school, only to revoke the decision within hours, citing the need for an 'appropriate Islamic environment'. In May 2022, the Taliban imposed a strict dress code for women, mandating full-body coverings, further restricting their public presence. Mohammad Nabi Omari, the Taliban's deputy interior minister, was reportedly moved to tears while pleading for the reopening of girls' schools, arguing that even if girls' education wasn't a religious obligation, it was at least permissible. His views were ignored. Now, more than three years since the so-called 'temporary' ban on girls' education, another academic year is set to begin in March without any females the classroom. Hopes that restrictions would be lifted have faded, leaving an entire generation of Afghan girls facing a future without formal education. Leaked audio messages from the deputy foreign minister has revealed evidence of the split. 'The restrictions imposed on women are the personal wish of some Taliban elders and are un-Islamic,' Stanikzai said. 'The obedience to a leader is conditional, and if a leader strays from the right path or issues harmful decrees, they should not be followed.' Going further, at a graduation ceremony last month in southeastern Khost province, near the Afghan-Pakistan border, Stanikzai said: 'We are being unjust to 20 million people. There is no justification for this – not now or in the future. During the time of the Prophet Mohammed, the doors of knowledge were open for both men and women. 'There were such remarkable women that if I were to elaborate on their contributions, it would take considerable time.' Shortly after Stanikzai's speech, Akhundhzada ordered his arrest to silence dissent within the leadership. Stanikzai escaped to the UAE before the authorities could arrest him. He claims that he is only there while 'recovering from a Covid-like infection'. The comments mirror those of Haqqani and Yaqoob, who are against the 'monopolising' of power by Akhundzada's hardline faction in Kandahar. Haqqani, a powerful figure within the Taliban, has also publicly questioned the ban on women's rights and the regime's reluctance to engage with the international community on women's issues. The interior minister has been in Dubai and Riyadh since January 22 after the UN Security Council approved his travel-ban exemption. Although the Taliban's spokesperson acknowledged the trip, little has been disclosed about its purpose or Haqqani's delayed return. Haqqani, whose 'Haqqani Network' has been linked to Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI, remains on the US most-wanted list for orchestrating high-profile attacks against American and Nato forces for nearly two decades. A formal split within the Taliban could weaken its control, sparking infighting, defections, and a loss of centralised authority. He could leverage his influence over fighters to challenge Akhundzada's dominance. Haqqani is supported by Yaqoob, the son of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader who gave refuge to Osama bin Laden and the al-Qeada terror group. As defence minister he has sway over a large number of troops. Akhundzada may already be exacting his revenge. In December, Khalil Rahman Haqqani, the refugee minister, was killed along with four others in a suicide attack in Kabul. He was a senior leader within the Haqqani Network and was aiding al-Qaeda's military in Afghanistan. After coming to power, he was known for lobbying behind the scenes for girls and women to attend secondary schools and universities. 'We shouldn't just shrug this all off. The fact that these internal divisions have been playing out for so long, combined with other notable developments like the still unexplained killing of a top Haqqani leader, indicate that the supreme leadership is struggling to quell these disruptions,' said Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute director at The Wilson Centre think tank. 'That's significant for an organisation that demands and expects unquestioned loyalty and obedience from all. 'The fact that a leader as senior as Stanikzai left the country is quite significant and shows just how serious the spat has become, at least when it comes to tensions playing out on personal levels.' The Telegraph can reveal that on Tuesday, a delegation of 14 officials was removed from a flydubai flight at Kabul airport and prevented from heading to Qatar, at least partly because there were two women in the group. The Haqqani-backed group were heading to the Afghanistan Future Thought Forum where discussions were thought to be centred around women's right to work and access to education. Mujahid admitted that differences exist within the leadership but insisted there was no open conflict. Speaking in an X Spaces discussion, the Taliban spokesman said: 'Differences in viewpoints are normal. Every member of the Islamic emirate looks at an issue from a different perspective, and sometimes these matters even leak to the media. However, there are no disputes. 'Lately, we have seen false information and baseless propaganda aimed at misleading public perception. We do not harm each other over disagreements.' Mr Kugelman said that for now Akhundzada remains in power. 'The supreme leadership in Kandahar remains in full control, with no indications of any type of mutiny,' Mr Kugelman said. 'We are seeing dissent from some prominent leaders, but it's not something that's morphed into some form of wider internal rebellion.' While some senior Taliban figures, including Haqqani and Stanikzai, have openly criticised Akhundzada, others have expressed their discontent privately. Taliban officials told The Telegraph that many enforced rules primarily focus on 'controlling women' and 'often don't even make sense'. They accuse Akhundzada of creating an atmosphere of fear by linking every directive to religion, branding critics as 'enemies of Islam'. Last year, Haqqani told a religious gathering in his native Khost region: 'This situation can no longer be tolerated.' The Taliban's policies have plunged Afghanistan into an economic and humanitarian crisis. More than 25 million people – over half the population – now live in poverty with limited access to food. Nearly one million jobs have been lost as businesses struggled, and women remain locked out of education and the formal economy. The UN has suspended several 'time-critical' aid programmes in Afghanistan following the Taliban's ban on women in humanitarian work, education, and the formal economy. The international community has repeatedly stated that recognition of the Taliban regime depends on respecting women's rights, forming an inclusive government, and ensuring Afghanistan is not used as a base for terrorism. 'The Taliban have always tried to present themselves as a united front under one supreme leader. But now, we're seeing cars in Kabul with pictures of Sirajuddin Haqqani and banners reading 'Haqqani Network'. This is a clear message – they no longer want to obey Kandahar,' said a doctor in Kabul, who requested anonymity. 'We are deeply worried. A split within the Taliban isn't just a possibility any more; it's becoming inevitable. The clouds of crisis are gathering, and it's no longer a question of if, but when. There are rumours that unknown armed men have taken over parts of Baghlan [province], and reports of Taliban fighters abandoning Panjshir [province] are only adding to the fear,' he added. 'Anyone who can replace this current hardline regime and bring back freedom of expression and education for all – including women – would be a welcome relief. We desperately need that change.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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