A report from the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crimes said the country is also a major opium producer and heroin source, even though the Taliban declared a war on narcotics in August 2021.

The mining contracts are the Taliban’s biggest such round of deals since seizing power two years ago.

The Vice and Virtue Ministry says women have not been properly wearing the hijab at the Band-e-Amir park, while Human Rights Watch says ‘step by step the walls are closing in … as every home becomes a prison’.

China has been reluctant to fill the void left by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, with pundits citing ‘no illusions about great influence over the Taliban’ and lingering security risks.

Supporters celebrated Tuesday, marking the day two years ago when the US-backed government collapsed, but others denounced the increasing restrictions on women’s lives.

Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada barred women from universities last December. A Higher Education Ministry adviser said universities were ready to readmit female students as soon as Akhundzada gives the order for the ban to be lifted.

But the risk of sanctions and security factors mean Chinese companies are still reluctant to invest in Afghanistan, says academic.

More professional women are enrolling in nursing and midwifery courses, fed up with being cooped up and unemployed since the Taliban seized power.

State media heralded the departure of a cargo from Lanzhou, a key transport hub, but analysts said its main importance is the symbolism.

At the SCO summit in Shanghai, India and Iran refuse to endorse statements promoting China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Decision comes after Chinese foreign ministry’s external security affairs chief holds first such meeting with Iranian and Pakistani counterparts in Beijing.

It is thought to be the first assault of its kind since the Taliban swept to power in 2021 and began to crack down on the rights of Afghan women and girls.

Ariana will fly weekly between the Afghan capital and Xinjiang after three-year, pandemic-induced break.

Call comes as foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet for first time since Taliban took power in Kabul.

Amir Khan Mutaqi is barred by sanctions from leaving Afghanistan but was granted an exemption for a trip to Islamabad to meet his neighbouring counterpart.

Analysts said the comments at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting were tailored to his Indian hosts and other members.

Alleged Isis mastermind was behind the 2021 bomb attack that killed more than 170 Afghans and 13 US soldiers during the international military evacuations from Afghanistan.

Qin makes the appeal, which also asks the fundamentalist group to work with neighbouring countries, during a visit to Uzbekistan.

Counterterrorism will be a key factor for China to recognise the Taliban’s international status and further economic ties, observer says.

‘If there is no justice, and there is oppression, selfishness, murders and revenge, as well as killings without courts, this country will be ruined,’ Islamic scholar, Hibatullah Akhundzada, said.

Chinese foreign minister meets Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, highlighting need for secure energy supplies.

Chinese foreign minister will meet Uzbek president and acting foreign minister on Wednesday and discuss Taliban-ruled neighbour with counterparts from region on Thursday.