Afghan women and children receive bread donations in Kabul's Old City, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

ISTANBUL – The Taliban’s education ministry says all male students grades six to 12 and male teachers should resume classes starting Saturday.

The statement Friday published on Facebook did not include girls of that age, and the lack of guidance highlighted ongoing concerns that the Taliban might impose restrictions on girls and women. The Taliban previously allowed girls in grades one to six to resume their classes.

In the past, the hardliner group that took over Afghanistan last month had forbidden girls and women from attending school and work.

In some of the provinces, women still are not allowed to continue their work, with exceptions for women who have worked in health departments, hospitals and education.

In a related story, Germany’s president has bestowed one of the country’s highest awards to the commander who led the evacuation of Germans and some Afghans from Kabul.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised Brig. Gen. Jens Arlt’s leadership of an operation that he said was “unprecedented” in Germany’s post-World War II history.

The German military evacuated more than 5,300 citizens of 45 countries from the Afghan capital, part of a wider international effort to airlift 120,000 people after the Taliban takeover last month.

Steinmeier noted that Arlt had managed to bring home all of his 500 troops unharmed, despite the risks they faced on the ground. He added that “we bear some of the responsibility for human tragedy” in Afghanistan.