Ministry of Defense (MoD) Inspector General Latifullah Hakimi says the Islamic Emirate’s army now totals 170,000 personnel.

Speaking at an event on Sunday in Herat, attended by a group of university professors, writers, poets and others, Hakimi said that all these forces are equipped with military uniforms and efforts are being made to improve security even further.

“We have 170,000 soldiers in the framework of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, organized, coherent and uniform soldiers,” he said.

At the event, some jihadi commanders also criticized the non-payment of pensions of former soldiers.

They said that there is a need to re-recruit former Mujahideen into the ranks of the current army and to pay the pensions of officers and soldiers who are registered with the Ministry of Defense.

In addition, Herat’s Information and Culture Department Head Naeemulhaq Haqqani once again asked politicians and educated personalities of the country to return to their homeland.

“The Islamic system is not looking for opposition, it is looking for agreement. The message of general amnesty has not been closed yet, the message of amnesty is still open, whoever returns to his country, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will embrace him,” said Haqqani.

Afghanistan should not serve as a refuge for terrorist organizations and women in the country should have access to education and employment, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Saturday.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Faisal called on countries to step up efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.

“We reaffirm the importance of security and stability in Afghanistan and that it should not serve as a refuge for terrorist organizations. We call for respect for the rights of the Afghan people including [the] right of women to education and employment, and we call for stepping up international and regional efforts to revive humanitarian and economic aid to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people,” Faisal said.

The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that it is committed to not allowing anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against the security of any other country.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference in New York that the upcoming Moscow format in Kazan will be about how neighboring countries can help Afghanistan.

Norway’s Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim said her country engages with the IEA.

“If this can help to address the dire humanitarian situation especially for women and girls who are being deprived of education and the future, it is worth the attempts,” she said.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to scrap discriminatory policies against women and girls in Afghanistan.

Addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly this past week, he stated that denying women and girls the right to education is a violation of Islamic teachings.

He said his country is committed to the people-to-people relations with Afghanistan, and these relations will continue through humanitarian assistance. He added: “Malaysia is deeply concerned about the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.”

A delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also told the IEA during a visit to Kabul recently that education is a duty for both men and women based on the consensus of Islamic scholars.

However, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly emphasized that it is committed to ensuring women’s rights within the framework of Islamic Sharia and have also said that educational and educational restrictions against girls are not permanent.