The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Friday rejected a report by the United Nations Secretary-General suggesting that 23 armed groups claim to operate in the country.

The report, titled the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security, also said that at least nine extrajudicial killings, at least 17 arbitrary arrests and detentions and at least 9 instances of torture and ill-treatment happened in violation of the general amnesty.

IEA’s Foreign Ministry in a statement said that “categorizing unsolved murder cases as extra-judicial killings, criminal cases as arbitrary arrests and physical altercations in the course of arrest as torture and ill-treatment is injustice and misrepresentation.”

The statement also said that drawing national level conclusions from a “small sample size of alleged cases and labeling social media propaganda accounts as genuine armed groups is a clear bias to confirm certain narratives or an information gap.”

The foreign ministry said that they appreciate that the report has taken note of steps taken by IEA with regards to improved governance, accountability and access to services, continuation of salaries to female civil servants, efforts towards national reconciliation and unity, curbing arms trafficking, and narcotics cultivation and trade, treatment of drug addicts and decline in security incidents by illegal armed elements and Daesh.

“We are encouraged that the report urges continuation of constructive engagement between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and international community that puts the needs of the Afghan people first,” the statement said.

“Within the limits of our sovereignty, national interests and teachings of the Holy Religion of Islam, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan stands ready to continue to work with the international community to address issues of shared concern.”