UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations on Monday banned two Taliban officials from travelling abroad in response to the harsh restrictions the hardline regime has imposed on Afghan women, diplomats said.

       Travel exemptions permitting 15 Taliban officials to go abroad for talks and negotiations were set to expire on Monday.

       For 13 officials the travel exemptions were extended for at least two months, but they were scrapped for two education officials in response to the Taliban’s decision to ban secondary girls’ education.

       According to a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity, the officials now banned from travelling are Said Ahmad Shaidkhel, the deputy education minister, and Abdul Baqi Basir Awal Shah — also known as Abdul Baqi Haqqani — the minister of higher education.

       Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022