Unknown Fate Awaits Former Taliban Spokesman

Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan , Asharq Al-Awsat
Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan , Asharq Al-Awsat
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Unknown Fate Awaits Former Taliban Spokesman

Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan , Asharq Al-Awsat
Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan , Asharq Al-Awsat

The fate of former Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan remains unclear in light of the Peshawar High Court’s decision which prohibited the government from releasing him under any circumstances.

Ehsan remains detained by Pakistani security services. According to government officials, he is undergoing extensive interrogation.

It is worth noting that the Pakistani government sought in 2014 to grant him general amnesty, after he admitted in a clip that the Pakistani Taliban had carried out terrorist operations inside Pakistani cities commissioned by Indian intelligence.

Immediately after local press reported the Pakistani government's intention to release Ehsan, the parents of students who died in the bombing of an army school in Peshawar petitioned the Supreme Court in Peshawar, demanding the court to compel the government not to release him under any circumstances.

In response to the petition, the Supreme Court ordered the government not to release Ehsan.

Subsequently, Pakistani Interior Minister Muhammad Tallal Badar Chaudhary told his country's Senate that Ehsan would appear before the military court.

The statement by the Pakistani Interior Minister was made in response to rising concerns by Senate members on the possibility of Ehsan’s release under a deal between him and Pakistani security services.

The Interior Minister added that these fears were unfounded because “security services did not intend to pardon him from the start.”



Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
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Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)

A cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists left the Greek island of Syros Tuesday without its passengers disembarking, after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island’s port, unfurling Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

Carrying banners that read: “Stop the Genocide” and “No a/c in hell” — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip — the protesters chanted slogans on the dock near where the cruise ship, the Crown Iris, was docked on Tuesday, local media said. There were no reports of any violence.

The ship is operated by an Israeli company, Mano Cruise, which said about 1,700 passengers were on board and it is sailing to Cyprus.

Greece’s coast guard said the ship set sail at around 3 p.m., earlier than originally scheduled, but did not immediately have any further details.

“The management of Mano Cruise has decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination,” the company said in a press release. “All passengers and crew members are resting and spending time on the ship on their way to the new destination.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion.