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Afghan man threatens to sue Guardian over ‘fake news’
Safiullah Ahmadi, a young Afghan whose photo was published in the Guardian newspaper this week, alongside a story of the alleged killing of a gay person in Kabul, has said he intends to sue the publication.
In a video posted on social media, Ahmadi said he is looking for “restoration of dignity and has requested all media outlets, including the UK’s Guardian, run a correction and remove his photo.
On Tuesday the Guardian published a story on the alleged abduction, torture and killing by Islamic Emirate security forces of an openly gay medical student in Kabul.
The Guardian named the victim as Hamed Sabouri but used a photograph of Ahmadi.
According to the report, a video of Sabouri’s alleged execution was then sent to his family, who, the Guardian states, have since left Afghanistan.
Ahmadi who is living in Iran at the moment says he learned about the news of the killing of the gay medical student in the media and through social media networks.
He said he had no idea why his photograph was used.
“Unfortunately, the story that the Guardian newspaper published with my picture, the accusation that I am gay and that I was killed by the Taliban three days after being tortured, is not true, and the Guardian newspaper and all the newspapers that published this should be held accountable,” Ahmadi said.
“I want to get a lawyer and restore my dignity,” he added.
The story, which has gained widespread interest, has been slammed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) – who have denied any truth to the allegations.
IEA Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said there was no truth in the story the Guardian newspaper published.
The same person, Ahmadi, speaks for himself, that he is neither gay nor dead and wants to restore his dignity, said Mujahid.
“Is this freedom of speech?”, Mujahid asked in a tweet.
“By publishing such baseless reports on Afghanistan, media such as BBC and Guardian show that they don’t want real freedom but they want ‘desired freedom of expression’ to bite anyone they want freely and fearlessly,” Inamullah Samangani Director of Government Media and Information Center (GMIC) tweeted.
“Biased treatment reveals the main purpose,” Samangani added.
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Tajik foreign minister urges international community to help Afghanistan address its challenges
Tajikistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sirodjiddin Mukhriddin, has called on the international community to step up assistance for Afghanistan as the country continues to face challenges.
Speaking at a press conference, Mukhriddin said Tajikistan and Afghanistan maintain active coordination between their law enforcement agencies to prevent security incidents along their shared border. He noted that this cooperation remains essential, as the frequency of armed attacks and criminal activity in border regions has increased in recent months.
He said that Afghan authorities had assured Tajikistan they would take necessary measures to stop further incidents and would conduct thorough investigations into any violations.
Mukhriddin emphasized that Tajikistan supports constructive international engagement aimed at improving Afghanistan’s socio-economic conditions. He highlighted that Tajikistan has provided more than 6,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, including food and essential supplies delivered in 2025 to assist communities affected by devastating earthquakes.
The minister also pointed to growing economic cooperation between the two neighbors. Tajikistan has reopened border markets and continues to supply electricity to Afghanistan.
Tajikistan and Afghanistan share a border of more than 1,300 kilometers—over 1,100 km of which consists of waterways and about 190 km of land boundaries.
Meanwhile, Zafar Samad Director of the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, has said that last year, 17 incidents of clashes happened with drug smugglers along the border with Afghanistan. As a result, two Tajik forces and 10 Afghan nationals have been killed, he added.
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Baradar: Afghanistan is not an easy target, but a ‘bitter tree’
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, warned during a graduation ceremony for soldiers of the Ministry of National Defense that the Islamic Emirate will respond decisively to anyone with ill intentions toward Afghanistan.
He said the country is “not an easy target, but a bitter tree that has made the throats of empires bitter and newborns can never digest.”
Baradar also announced that in the coming days, the Islamic Emirate will introduce tax exemptions of one to five years for domestic and foreign investors, based on the level of investment in new sectors. He also said that the process of distribution of land to manufacturers will be accelerated.
Baradar called on countries to engage in political and economic relations according to the values and principles of the Islamic Emirate, emphasizing that energy and resources spent on conflict would be better used to support one another and strengthen common interests.
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Fourteen former Afghan government forces killed in last three months of 2025: UNAMA
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), in its latest report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, stated that 14 members of the former Afghan government forces were killed in the last three months of 2025.
The report noted that during this period, there were 28 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, and at least seven cases of torture and ill-treatment targeting officials and personnel of the former Afghan government.
According to the report, some of the officials and forces who had recently returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan were among those subjected to extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and detentions.
The report also highlighted restrictions on women’s work and movement, executions and flogging of individuals, and disruptions to internet and telecommunications services.
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