8am: Local sources in Nimruz province have reported that the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has issued a warning to barbers in Zaranj city, urging them to refrain from shaving their customers’ beards. According to the sources, the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Nimruz issued a warning to all barbers in Zaranj on Monday, May 29, advising them against shaving and trimming their customers’ beards, reducing the length of their hair in Western styles, and displaying “illicit” pictures in their barbershops. Click here to read more (external link).
Victims of 2010 Night Raid in Uruzgan Call for Compensation
Tolo News: Family members of victims of a night raid that they say was conducted by Australian forces in 2010 in Kakrag, Uruzgan, said they should be paid compensation. Residents claim that “at least 60 people were killed, and 59 others were wounded” in a night raid by Australian forces in Kakrag village of Tarinkot city. According to the residents, the raid was conducted by Australian forces on July 5, 2010. According to interviews with locals, 13 girls, 9 boys, 14 elders, 8 youths and 16 women were killed in the raid. Click here to read more (external link).
Death toll climbs as rain continues across parts of Afghanistan
Ariana: The Ministry of Natural Disaster Management said on Tuesday that at least 24 people have died and 13 others have been injured in recent rains in 13 provinces of the country in the past 10 days. Shafiullah Rahimi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Natural Disasters, says that in the past 24 hours, three people died and one person was injured in heavy rain in Paktia, Paktika, Maidan Wardak and Khost provinces respectively. In addition, 31 houses were either damaged or completely destroyed in the rain. Click here to read more (external link).
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Taliban Shut Down Girls’ Education in Jaghori District: A Step Backward in Progress
8am: Reliable sources from Jaghori have informed Hasht-e Subh that on Monday, May 29, the Taliban warned the officials of educational centers in this district that they are not allowed to admit girls until further notice. The closed centers include those that offer English language, computer, and academic subjects. Click here to read more (external link).
Iran’s Share in Afghan Fuel Market Plummets
Financial Tribune: Iran’s share in Afghanistan’s gasoline and diesel market has reduced significantly over the last three months, the head of the Board of Directors at the Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Exporters Association. “The neighboring state is meeting its demand by purchasing fuel from other countries, including Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan,” Hamid Hosseini was also quoted as saying by ILNA. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghan Singer Arrested For Putting Taliban Verses To Music
An Afghan singer who was well-known for supporting the Taliban has fallen foul of the militants. Khosh Naseeb was arrested after putting Taliban verses to music.
Tolo News in Dari – May 29, 2023
Turkey Election: Karzai, Abdullah, World Leaders Congratulate Erdogan

Erdogan
Khaama: Leaders from around the world including Former Afghan President and Former Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah congratulated Recep Tayyib Erdogan after he won another term. Dr. Abdullah has stated that Turkey and Afghanistan are historical friends and allies and Turkey has always stood by the people of Afghanistan during difficult times. Click here to read more (external link).
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Border Tensions Continue: the Taliban and Iran Clash 12 Times
8am: Over the past two years, there have been 12 armed clashes between Iranian border guards and Taliban militants. These confrontations have resulted in fatalities on both sides, as well as civilian casualties, including women and children. Within the last 22 months, the Taliban have twice captured Iranian border forces. During the initial clash, several media outlets reported on the Taliban’s occupation of Iranian border posts. Click here to read more (external link).
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Border Clashes Subside Between Iran, Afghanistan
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
May 28, 2023
ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities and neighboring Iran said Sunday deadly clashes between their border security forces had subsided, with both sides engaging in talks to ease tensions.
The skirmishes erupted in the Afghan border province of Nimroz Saturday, killing two Iranian security forces and a Taliban border guard, officials in both countries said.
Both sides traded blame for the heavy exchange of cross-border gunfire, escalating Iran’s tensions with Afghanistan amid a dispute over water resources.
Sunday, the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency quoted a senior official as saying that “the situation is under control” in the conflict zone near the Sasuli border post in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province.
Alireza Marhamati, the deputy provincial governor, said that “local Iranian and Afghan officials have held negotiations on the cause of the clashes and agreed to continue their talks.”
A spokesman for the Afghan Interior Affairs Ministry said in a statement that his government “does not want to fight with its neighbors” and insisted Iranian forces started the conflict, prompting Afghan border forces to retaliate.
Bilateral tensions have recently escalated over Iranian allegations that the Taliban are breaching a 1973 water-sharing treaty between Tehran and Kabul by blocking water flow from Helmand River, which flows from Afghanistan to Iran’s arid eastern border regions.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during a visit to the border province, called on the Taliban to respect the treaty, which envisions shared water resources and outlines access to monitoring of the water level. Raisi warned the de facto Afghan rulers against violating the agreement and vowed to defend Iran’s water rights.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes dialogue and negotiation are a good path to addressing any issue. Making excuses for war and negative actions do not serve the interest of any of the parties,” Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khowarazmi wrote on his official Twitter account.
The United Nations says Afghanistan and Iran have suffered from a prolonged drought, and drought conditions have worsened over the past decade.
Last week, Afghan Foreign Affairs Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, responding to threatening statements by the Iranian leadership, said that Kabul was committed to the water treaty.
In a televised speech, Muttaqi urged Tehran not to overlook the region’s drought and try to resolve the issue in “face-to-face talks instead of making noises” through media.
“We also expect the officials of Iran to adjust their expectations in line with the treaty and base the criteria for judgment and comments on the provisions contained in the treaty,” he added.
Analysts warned that Afghanistan and the region at large could ill afford another conflict.
Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan official, said the Taliban would avoid a standoff with Iran. He noted that Afghanistan is fragile after 40 years of war, and four million Afghans live on Iranian soil as refugees.
“Sure, skirmishes and then a war can start with Iran, but soon Afghanistan will end up as the terrain for proxy wars with Teheran,” said Farhadi. “Arms and munitions will flow to Afghanistan to fight Iran, but the fighters would be Afghan youth, and the destruction will occur in Afghanistan. Not a good perspective.”
Iran has retained its embassy in Kabul along with nearly two dozen neighboring and regional countries since the Taliban seized power nearly two years ago, but it has not recognized the new Afghan government nor has the world at large.
The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s right to education and work as well as a lack of political inclusivity in their government have deterred the international community from granting them legitimacy.
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