Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has defended the Islamic Emirate’s policies on women and girls, sanctions and security, while calling for stronger relations with the United States and other countries.

In a BBC interview this week, Muttaqi was asked why Afghan women and girls face restrictions on education, work and public life. He rejected criticism of Afghanistan’s human rights situation and said sanctions against the country were politically motivated.

“This is an injustice to Afghans. It’s an excuse. There are no sensible reasons for sanctions being imposed on Afghanistan,” he said.

Muttaqi argued that the situation in Afghanistan is now better than during the decades of conflict, including the 20 years of the US and NATO-led war.

He said Afghanistan had endured around 40 years of war and that the Islamic Emirate was now seeking to strengthen relations with countries in both the East and West.

“Our relationships have developed a lot with regional and eastern countries, in terms of economy, politics, relationships and investments,” he said, adding that there had also been developments with European countries.

On recent “technical talks” in Belgium on the issue of Afghan migrants, he described the development as positive and said the Islamic Emirate hoped for a good future.

Muttaqi acknowledged that formal international recognition is important, but described Russia’s recognition of the Islamic Emirate as a positive development.

Asked about restrictions on women, he said Afghanistan’s policies should be viewed through Afghan cultural and social values rather than Western standards.

“The conduct with women shouldn’t be looked at through the glasses of Western culture and tradition. Afghan values should be considered,” he said.

Muttaqi claimed that more than three million girls are currently studying in schools and madrassas, and said female students at religious schools also study modern subjects.

He said more than three million girls below Grade 6 are attending school, with female teachers involved in their education.

However, he acknowledged concerns raised by foreign diplomats and organisations that the continued exclusion of girls from secondary education could eventually create shortages of female teachers and doctors.

“This really is a problem. And it will be considered,” he said, while adding that Afghanistan does not currently face such shortages and that the authorities would seek to prevent them in the future.

Muttaqi also rejected claims that al-Qaeda or other foreign militant groups are operating in Afghanistan.

He said the Islamic Emirate would not allow groups to use Afghan territory to plan attacks against other countries, arguing that allegations about the presence of foreign militants were part of propaganda.

“So far no one has presented any proof,” he said.

Muttaqi also pointed to the elimination of poppy cultivation and improvements in security as developments he said should be recognised.

Seeking normal ties with Washington

On relations with the United States, Muttaqi said the Islamic Emirate wants positive and normal relations with Washington but would not accept the presence of foreign military forces in Afghanistan.

He said Afghanistan is a developing country with investment opportunities in many sectors, although the Islamic Emirate does not know how much interest US investors currently have in the country.

He said the return of around six million Afghans had placed pressure on the country, but claimed that returnees had been taken back to their home areas. He added that many were skilled workers who were already contributing to Afghanistan’s development.

Despite continuing international concerns over women’s rights, humanitarian needs and Afghanistan’s economic situation, Muttaqi said the Islamic Emirate wants to deepen diplomatic and economic engagement with the international community.

Helmand Governor Amanuddin Mansour met with UNAMA Deputy Special Representative Bruno Lemarquis and his delegation on Sunday to discuss security, economic development and humanitarian needs in the province.

The meeting at the Helmand Provincial Governor’s Office covered a range of issues, including security and stability, development projects, healthcare, agriculture, alternative livelihoods to poppy cultivation, project funding and markets for agricultural and industrial products.

Mansour briefed the UNAMA delegation on the situation in Helmand and called for greater cooperation to address the needs of local communities and expand development opportunities.

Lemarquis thanked provincial officials for their cooperation and praised what he described as efforts to improve administration, maintain security and stability and prevent corruption.

He said the security situation had created a favourable environment for economic and development activities, while stressing that further work and joint efforts were needed to improve people’s economic conditions.

The UNAMA deputy also highlighted the importance of providing farmers with legal and sustainable alternatives to poppy cultivation, alongside efforts to prevent poppy production.

The two sides discussed mobilising funding for development projects and expanding healthcare services, with Lemarquis calling for stronger coordination between relevant institutions.

The meeting also focused on marketing Helmand’s agricultural and industrial products, including cotton. According to the Helmand Governor’s Office, Uzbekistan has expressed strong interest in purchasing Afghan cotton, making access to foreign markets an important opportunity for farmers and producers in the province.

Members of the UN delegation raised issues and questions concerning different sectors of Helmand and discussed possible solutions with provincial officials.

Mansour responded to the issues raised and outlined the province’s major challenges, needs and proposed solutions. He also called for increased cooperation to expand economic and development projects, improve livelihoods, strengthen healthcare and find markets for agricultural products.

Both sides agreed on the need to continue and strengthen cooperation in support of Helmand’s population and its economic and development priorities.

Lemarquis was accompanied by Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s country representative in Afghanistan; Mihyung Park, head of the International Organization for Migration office in Afghanistan; Polleak Ok Serei, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Afghanistan, as well as representatives from UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency and other officials.

Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a single digit per day at the weekend, preliminary shiptracking ​data showed on Monday, well below a 10-day average of ‌14, Reuters reported.

Over the weekend, four vessels exited the Gulf through the strait, including a Handysize vessel sailing in ballast, a Handy vessel carrying LPG, a Supramax carrying ​fertilizer and a Suezmax laden with crude or condensate.

Ten vessels entered ​the Gulf, including a mini-bulker carrying minor bulk commodities, ⁠a Handymax carrying grain, a Panamax carrying metals and a Supramax carrying ​dry bulk cargo, the data showed.

The figures exclude any vessels that might ​have crossed the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.

A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of ​Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said early on Sunday.

It ​said the crew’s status, damage assessment and environmental impact were unknown.

Meanwhile, the vital East-West ‌oil ⁠pipeline in Saudi Arabia, which has helped relieve the logjam in the Strait of Hormuz, was temporarily shut down by a drone attack coming from Iraq, Saudi officials said.

Before the Iran war started on February 28, the ​strait typically handled ​about 125 large, ⁠commercial vessels per day, including tankers, gas carriers, bulkers and container vessels, accounting for some 20% of ​the world’s daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas ​supply, read the report.

A U.S. ⁠blockade of Iran-related shipping has halted Iranian crude oil exports since it was reimposed in mid-July.

In the Bab el-Mandeb strait, 24 and 27 commodity ⁠vessels travelled ​through respectively on Saturday and Sunday, tracking ​data showed, compared with an average of around 27 ships over the last 10 days.