8am: Abdul Hakim Shar’ee, the acting head of the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Justice, stated that “there is no place for parties in the regime of this group, and mentioning a party name is a crime.” He made these remarks two days ago at a meeting in Kabul, referring to recent tensions between the Taliban and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Islamic Party. This comes as, following the fall of the previous government to the Taliban, dozens of political movements and their key members have left Afghanistan due to fear of the Taliban. Of the 72 political parties registered in the previous government’s Ministry of Justice, currently, no party is active in Afghanistan, and the Taliban do not allow any political or civil activities in the country. Click here to read more (external link).