AFGHANISTAN - Closed-Door Talks With the EU

A delegation from the Afghan Taliban met with European Union staff in Brussels for closed-door talks that focused on diplomatic services and “dignified returns” of Afghans to the isolated and war-ravaged nation, said a Taliban official.

“This was a historic visit as first time ever that delegation from Islamic Emirate visited the E.U. and held talks with member states in Brussels,” said Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs who led the delegation of five figures.

Afghan authorities have imposed draconian restrictions on rights, particularly for women and girls, since the Taliban seized power in the country in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces.

Afghan activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said that she was “deeply shaken” that the E.U. was talking with the Taliban.

“Europe must not legitimize a regime responsible for one of the worst human rights crises in the world. Any engagement with the Taliban must begin and end with the rights of Afghan women and girls,” she wrote on X.

-www.nbcnews.com, 23 June 2026

Commentary: A Google search reveals some references to the Bible:

• The Persian Empire: Much of what is now Afghanistan was encompassed by ancient Persia. Because the empire stretched from India to Ethiopia, this geographic area falls directly into the background of events like those in the Book of Esther.

• The Lost Tribes of Israel: Early historical commentators and Persian historians have long noted traditions connecting the Afghan people—particularly the dominant Pashtun ethnic group—to the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Some Afghan royal lineages trace their history back to ancient Israel and the Tribe of Benjamin.

These are mere speculations about identifying descendants claiming to be from the ten lost tribes of Israel. “Within Judaism, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel serves as the leading halakhic (Jewish law) authority. Over the years, they have reviewed various international communities claiming Israelite ancestry, such as the Beta Israel of Ethiopia and the Bnei Menashe of India.”

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, Europe remains among the region’s top destinations for displaced people globally, hosting 13.2 million refugees.

Taliban rule of Afghanistan means extreme risk for believers, as the regime strictly enforces the death penalty for apostasy (leaving Islam). They actually deny the existence of Christians in their country.

Be that as it may, the Lord knows His own, and His unequivocally authoritative statement, “I will build my church,” is absolute. Let us continue to pray for those hidden Christians in the land of Afghanistan.

(See The Cross in the Shadow of the Crescent, Item #2300, $16.99.)