A number of teachers at religious schools, mosque instructors and Shia families in Herat province say the Taliban have banned the teaching of several religious books belonging to the Shia denomination.

The Guardian has reported that a recent meeting between European Union officials and a Taliban delegation in Brussels to discuss the return of Afghan migrants has sparked widespread anger among Afghan women and human rights activists.

A number of European lawmakers, former members of Afghanistan’s parliament and human rights activists have called on the European Union to refrain from inviting Taliban representatives to Brussels and from any official hosting of the group.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has called on the European Union and its member states not to return Afghans to places where they face danger.