Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada
8am: Given Mullah Hibatullah’s significance in the Taliban’s leadership hierarchy, ensuring his security is a top priority for the group. Those responsible for protecting him have not yet concluded that his life is not seriously endangered, allowing him to appear in public, and his images and videos to be disseminated… The seclusion of Mullah Hibatullah might be a skillful manipulation of mass psychology. When a figure remains hidden among the masses, alongside the potential threat to their life, their charisma may diminish. People, in the absence of a visible presence, rely on imagination and speculation. This approach allows for easy manipulation and the instillation of fear or hope. Click here to read more (external link).
NIKKEI Asia: Afghan women say they are afraid to leave their homes, after the Taliban began intensifying its wide-ranging crackdown on hijab-wearing and making arrests across the country at the start of the year. Kabul resident Farkhunda, 27, told Nikkei Asia that since she and four others were arrested, her sister has been too scared to even attend classes at a religious seminary. “As you know, there is a complete ban on girls’ education in schools and universities and one of my sisters was attending a religious seminary. After our arrest, she refused to go there too,” Farkhunda said. 
8am: Applicants are risking their lives to obtain passports at a time when, according to global assessments, Afghanistan’s passport was recognized as the “most worthless passport” in the world in 2023. Most people view the sacrifice of people with their lives for the world’s most worthless passport as a sign of dissatisfaction with the Taliban. They emphasize that the citizens of the country are suffering from the oppression of the Taliban, who are incapable of providing even the most basic government services and lack the wisdom and knowledge to do so. 
Khaama: Officials in Afghanistan’s Laghman Province, under Taliban administration, have reported that four people were killed during a dispute between two families at a volleyball game in the Alishing District. It should be noted that sports events in various provinces have previously led to conflicts and violence. Earlier, a teenager was killed during a football match in Baghlan.