Taliban are ultra-conservative and I don't agree with what they are doing. They don't represent mainstream Islam.
And Lol @ Zakir Naik being a fake doctor, you are just being salty here.
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Afghanistan under the Taliban regime discussion
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Taliban are ultra-conservative and I don't agree with what they are doing. They don't represent mainstream Islam.
And Lol @ Zakir Naik being a fake doctor, you are just being salty here.
James
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Women can’t be stopped from seeking education, this is totally wrong.
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The Foreign Office on Thursday said Afghanistan’s de facto government has renewed its commitment to rein in cross-border terrorism and hoped that the Taliban administration would live up to its pledge.
“We have received some assurances and have held some important consultations with the Afghan authorities. We hope that the Afghan interim government will fulfil the commitments that it has made to Pakistan in terms of security,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly media briefing.
The remarks, made in response to media questions, come against the backdrop of spate of recent terrorism incidents in the country, believed to have been planned and directed by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders based in Afghanistan, including the incident at the Counter-Terrorism Department’s interrogation facility in Bannu.
“We have certain mechani*sms with Afghanistan in which we engage to discuss these iss*ues. We will continue to engage with them to ensure that the Afg*han authorities fulfil the commitments that they have made to Pakistan that Afghan territory will not be used to des*t*a*bilise or to threaten Pakistan’s security,” she said.
Bannu stand-off underscored Pakistan’s resurgent terrorism problem. The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban, has executed around 115 attacks so far this year, most of which happened after August this year when the group’s peace talks with the Pakistan government began to falter. The ceasefire was formally ended last month by the TTP.
The group that has been involved in terrorism for 15 years and executed some of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history, including the one on Army Public School, Peshawar, in December 2014 had been weakened by successive counter-terrorism operations and many of its fighters and commanders fled to neighbouring Afghanistan.
Islamabad had been pressing successive governments in Kabul to take action against the TTP and other militants based in Afghanistan. While the previous governments turned a deaf ear to Pakistani pleadings, the Afghan Taliban persuaded Islamabad to hold peace talks with the militants.
The peace talks that began last year broke down twice and nothing substantive was achieved by Pakistan, but it helped the TTP secure release of some of its detained leaders, while allowing a large number of its Afghanistan-based fighters to relocate here.
TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud’s message in the middle of hostage crisis in Bannu this week left little doubt that the group’s leaders were directing terrorist attacks from their hideouts in Afghanistan.
“I congratulate you for carrying out this sacred act. I instruct you not to surrender to these infidels and apostates under any circumstances,” Mehsud said while addressing the hostage takers in Bannu in an audio message, according to VoA.
The FO spokesperson pointed to engagement with other count*r*ies as well on the issue of terrorism threat emanating from Afghanistan as she said: “We are engaged with international partners, including our neighbour Afghanistan, to ensure that terrorist groups do not threaten Pakistan’s security.”
Ms Baloch did not specify any particular international partner with which Pakistan is engaging on this particular terrorist threat.
Commander of US Central Command (Centcom) Gen Michael Kurilla, who visited Pakistan last week for meetings with the Pakistani military leadership, it should be recalled, toured Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides his meetings in Islamabad, to discuss the security situation along the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s other major concern is the recent border incidents involving Taliban forces.
Ms Baloch, meanwhile, emphasised that despite these irritants Islamabad will remain engaged with the Taliban administration, which is still not internationally recognised.
“Pakistan prioritises dialogue and finding constructive solutions. That has always been our policy. We also want to find constructive solution to the current situation that we are facing, through dialogue,” she said.
Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2022
“We have received some assurances and have held some important consultations with the Afghan authorities. We hope that the Afghan interim government will fulfil the commitments that it has made to Pakistan in terms of security,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly media briefing.
The remarks, made in response to media questions, come against the backdrop of spate of recent terrorism incidents in the country, believed to have been planned and directed by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders based in Afghanistan, including the incident at the Counter-Terrorism Department’s interrogation facility in Bannu.
“We have certain mechani*sms with Afghanistan in which we engage to discuss these iss*ues. We will continue to engage with them to ensure that the Afg*han authorities fulfil the commitments that they have made to Pakistan that Afghan territory will not be used to des*t*a*bilise or to threaten Pakistan’s security,” she said.
Bannu stand-off underscored Pakistan’s resurgent terrorism problem. The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban, has executed around 115 attacks so far this year, most of which happened after August this year when the group’s peace talks with the Pakistan government began to falter. The ceasefire was formally ended last month by the TTP.
The group that has been involved in terrorism for 15 years and executed some of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history, including the one on Army Public School, Peshawar, in December 2014 had been weakened by successive counter-terrorism operations and many of its fighters and commanders fled to neighbouring Afghanistan.
Islamabad had been pressing successive governments in Kabul to take action against the TTP and other militants based in Afghanistan. While the previous governments turned a deaf ear to Pakistani pleadings, the Afghan Taliban persuaded Islamabad to hold peace talks with the militants.
The peace talks that began last year broke down twice and nothing substantive was achieved by Pakistan, but it helped the TTP secure release of some of its detained leaders, while allowing a large number of its Afghanistan-based fighters to relocate here.
TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud’s message in the middle of hostage crisis in Bannu this week left little doubt that the group’s leaders were directing terrorist attacks from their hideouts in Afghanistan.
“I congratulate you for carrying out this sacred act. I instruct you not to surrender to these infidels and apostates under any circumstances,” Mehsud said while addressing the hostage takers in Bannu in an audio message, according to VoA.
The FO spokesperson pointed to engagement with other count*r*ies as well on the issue of terrorism threat emanating from Afghanistan as she said: “We are engaged with international partners, including our neighbour Afghanistan, to ensure that terrorist groups do not threaten Pakistan’s security.”
Ms Baloch did not specify any particular international partner with which Pakistan is engaging on this particular terrorist threat.
Commander of US Central Command (Centcom) Gen Michael Kurilla, who visited Pakistan last week for meetings with the Pakistani military leadership, it should be recalled, toured Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides his meetings in Islamabad, to discuss the security situation along the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s other major concern is the recent border incidents involving Taliban forces.
Ms Baloch, meanwhile, emphasised that despite these irritants Islamabad will remain engaged with the Taliban administration, which is still not internationally recognised.
“Pakistan prioritises dialogue and finding constructive solutions. That has always been our policy. We also want to find constructive solution to the current situation that we are facing, through dialogue,” she said.
Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2022
SalimBhai
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They are not equal. When a man or a woman does. There is less compensation for women than men. Also in many not all court trials woman’s testimony of half of a man’s.
Taliban Bans Women From Working In NGOs
Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGO) to stop female employees from coming to work, according to an economy ministry letter, in the latest crackdown on women's freedoms.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/taliban-bans-women-from-working-in-ngos-3635668
So Taliban is slowly but steadily back to its stone age life like it did when in came to power in the 90s.
Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGO) to stop female employees from coming to work, according to an economy ministry letter, in the latest crackdown on women's freedoms.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/taliban-bans-women-from-working-in-ngos-3635668
So Taliban is slowly but steadily back to its stone age life like it did when in came to power in the 90s.
Bewal Express
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What don't they just ban women. Use the surgery available and turn them into men. Everyone is a winner
Bewal Express
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I was happy they kicked out the Inds that were attacking PK from Afg, but these ******* haven't learnt a thing from their last stint.
Then who according to your expert opinion is attacking Pak now?
Afghan Women Speak Out On University Ban: "Beheading Would've Been Better"
Marwa was just a few months away from becoming the first woman in her Afghan family to go to university -- instead, she will watch achingly as her brother goes without her.
Women are now banned from attending university in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where they have been steadily stripped of their freedoms over the past year.
"Had they ordered women to be beheaded, even that would have been better than this ban," Marwa told AFP at her family home in Kabul.
"If we are to be so unlucky, I wish that we hadn't been born at all. I'm sorry for my existence in the world.
"We are being treated worse than animals. Animals can go anywhere on their own, but we girls don't have the right even to step out of our homes."
The 19-year-old had recently passed an entrance exam to start a nursing degree at a medical university in the Afghan capital from March.
She was thrilled to be joining her brother, Hamid, in attending the campus each day.
But now their futures have been pulled apart.
"I wanted my sister to achieve her goals along with me -- to succeed and move ahead," said Hamid, 20, a student of business administration at a higher education institute in Kabul.
"Despite several problems, she had studied until the 12th grade, but what can we say now?"
Dreams crushed
The ban by the hardline Islamist government, which seized power in August last year, has sparked global outrage, including from Muslim nations who deemed it against Islam.
Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban's minister for higher education, claimed women students had ignored a strict dress code and a requirement they be accompanied by a male relative to campus.
But the reality, according to some Taliban officials, is that the hardline clerics that advise the movement's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada remain deeply sceptical of modern education for females.
Girls have also been banned from secondary schools in most of the country.
Women have been slowly squeezed out of public life in recent months, pushed from government jobs or paid a fraction of their former salary to stay at home.
They are also barred from travelling without a male relative and must cover up in public. Women are prohibited from going to parks, fairs, gyms and public baths.
Marwa and Hamid come from an impoverished family but their parents had supported their pursuit of higher education.
With dreams of becoming a midwife, Marwa had planned to visit remote areas of Afghanistan where women remain deprived of health services.
"I wanted to serve women in faraway places so that we never witness the loss of a mother's life during childbirth," she said.
Instead she will now stay home to teach her six younger siblings, while her father, the family's sole breadwinner, earns money as a vegetable vendor.
History repeating
Minister Nadeem insists women students behaved in a way that insulted Islamic principles and Afghan culture.
"They were dressing like they were going to a wedding. Those girls who were coming to universities from home were also not following instructions on the hijab," he said in an interview on state television.
But Hamid strongly rejected the justification for the ban.
"When universities opened under the Taliban, different days were specified for boys and girls," he said.
"They (girls) were not allowed to enter unless they wore a mask and hijab. How then can they (the Taliban) say they were without hijabs?"
After the Taliban seized power, universities were forced to implement new rules, including gender-segregated classrooms and entrances, while women were only permitted to be taught by professors of the same sex, or old men.
Marwa's mother, holding her newborn baby in her arms, said she felt history repeating itself.
Two decades ago she was forced to quit her studies during the Taliban's first regime between 1996 and 2001.
"I'm happy that my son is able to pursue his goals, but I'm also heartbroken that my daughter is unable to do the same," said Zainab, 40.
"If my daughter does not achieve her goals, she'll have a miserable future like mine."
NDTV
Marwa was just a few months away from becoming the first woman in her Afghan family to go to university -- instead, she will watch achingly as her brother goes without her.
Women are now banned from attending university in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where they have been steadily stripped of their freedoms over the past year.
"Had they ordered women to be beheaded, even that would have been better than this ban," Marwa told AFP at her family home in Kabul.
"If we are to be so unlucky, I wish that we hadn't been born at all. I'm sorry for my existence in the world.
"We are being treated worse than animals. Animals can go anywhere on their own, but we girls don't have the right even to step out of our homes."
The 19-year-old had recently passed an entrance exam to start a nursing degree at a medical university in the Afghan capital from March.
She was thrilled to be joining her brother, Hamid, in attending the campus each day.
But now their futures have been pulled apart.
"I wanted my sister to achieve her goals along with me -- to succeed and move ahead," said Hamid, 20, a student of business administration at a higher education institute in Kabul.
"Despite several problems, she had studied until the 12th grade, but what can we say now?"
Dreams crushed
The ban by the hardline Islamist government, which seized power in August last year, has sparked global outrage, including from Muslim nations who deemed it against Islam.
Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban's minister for higher education, claimed women students had ignored a strict dress code and a requirement they be accompanied by a male relative to campus.
But the reality, according to some Taliban officials, is that the hardline clerics that advise the movement's supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada remain deeply sceptical of modern education for females.
Girls have also been banned from secondary schools in most of the country.
Women have been slowly squeezed out of public life in recent months, pushed from government jobs or paid a fraction of their former salary to stay at home.
They are also barred from travelling without a male relative and must cover up in public. Women are prohibited from going to parks, fairs, gyms and public baths.
Marwa and Hamid come from an impoverished family but their parents had supported their pursuit of higher education.
With dreams of becoming a midwife, Marwa had planned to visit remote areas of Afghanistan where women remain deprived of health services.
"I wanted to serve women in faraway places so that we never witness the loss of a mother's life during childbirth," she said.
Instead she will now stay home to teach her six younger siblings, while her father, the family's sole breadwinner, earns money as a vegetable vendor.
History repeating
Minister Nadeem insists women students behaved in a way that insulted Islamic principles and Afghan culture.
"They were dressing like they were going to a wedding. Those girls who were coming to universities from home were also not following instructions on the hijab," he said in an interview on state television.
But Hamid strongly rejected the justification for the ban.
"When universities opened under the Taliban, different days were specified for boys and girls," he said.
"They (girls) were not allowed to enter unless they wore a mask and hijab. How then can they (the Taliban) say they were without hijabs?"
After the Taliban seized power, universities were forced to implement new rules, including gender-segregated classrooms and entrances, while women were only permitted to be taught by professors of the same sex, or old men.
Marwa's mother, holding her newborn baby in her arms, said she felt history repeating itself.
Two decades ago she was forced to quit her studies during the Taliban's first regime between 1996 and 2001.
"I'm happy that my son is able to pursue his goals, but I'm also heartbroken that my daughter is unable to do the same," said Zainab, 40.
"If my daughter does not achieve her goals, she'll have a miserable future like mine."
NDTV
Male Afghan Students Boycott Classes, Protest Women's Education Ban
Following the Taliban's ban on university education for girls, the male students in the country have boycotted their classes condemning the suspension of higher education for women, Tolo news reported on Sunday.
The male students have put forward a strong opposition to attending classes until they are open for female students as well.
"We will continue our boycott and if the female classes are not reopened, we will also boycott our lessons and will not continue education," said Muzamel, a student over Taliban's ban on women's education in the country.
"Universities are closed for our sisters. We don't want to go to university either," said Nawidullah, another student.
Furthermore, numerous lecturers at Kabul University also called out the Taliban to reconsider their decision, saying the closure of educational institutes is unfortunate, as per Tolo news.
"We ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen universities for our sisters," said Tawfiqullah, a lecturer.
"My two sisters are also pursuing higher education, but due to the closure of institutions, I will not continue as well," Tolo news quoted Mohebullah, another student as saying.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Higher Education earlier in December suspended higher education for female students. The decision led to widespread protests and global condemnation.
Since 15 August 2021, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls' freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms, and public bath houses.
These restrictions culminate with the confinement of Afghan women and girls to the four walls of their homes.
NDTV
Following the Taliban's ban on university education for girls, the male students in the country have boycotted their classes condemning the suspension of higher education for women, Tolo news reported on Sunday.
The male students have put forward a strong opposition to attending classes until they are open for female students as well.
"We will continue our boycott and if the female classes are not reopened, we will also boycott our lessons and will not continue education," said Muzamel, a student over Taliban's ban on women's education in the country.
"Universities are closed for our sisters. We don't want to go to university either," said Nawidullah, another student.
Furthermore, numerous lecturers at Kabul University also called out the Taliban to reconsider their decision, saying the closure of educational institutes is unfortunate, as per Tolo news.
"We ask the Islamic Emirate to reopen universities for our sisters," said Tawfiqullah, a lecturer.
"My two sisters are also pursuing higher education, but due to the closure of institutions, I will not continue as well," Tolo news quoted Mohebullah, another student as saying.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Higher Education earlier in December suspended higher education for female students. The decision led to widespread protests and global condemnation.
Since 15 August 2021, the de facto authorities have barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls' freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms, and public bath houses.
These restrictions culminate with the confinement of Afghan women and girls to the four walls of their homes.
NDTV
UN Urges Taliban To End "Unfathomable Restrictions" On Women
The Taliban must immediately revoke their policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, the UN rights chief insisted Tuesday, condemning their "terrible" consequences.
"No country can develop -- indeed survive -- socially and economically with half its population excluded," Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
"These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan's borders."
He said the policies risked destabilising Afghan society.
"I urge the de facto authorities to ensure the respect and protection of the rights of all women and girls -- to be seen, to be heard and to participate in and contribute to all aspects of the social, political and economic life of the country," said Turk.
On Saturday, Afghanistan's hardline Islamist rulers banned women from working in non-governmental organisations. The Taliban have already suspended university education for women and secondary schooling for girls.
"This latest decree by the de facto authorities will have terrible consequences for women and for all Afghan people," Turk said.
"Banning women from working in NGOs will deprive them and their families of their incomes, and of their right to contribute positively to the development of their country and to the well-being of their fellow citizens."
The move is the latest blow against women's rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban reclaimed power last year.
"The ban will significantly impair, if not destroy" these NGOs' capacity to deliver essential services, Turk said, calling it all the more distressing with Afghanistan in the hold of winter, when humanitarian needs are at their highest.
Several foreign aid groups announced on Sunday they were suspending their operations in Afghanistan.
Women have also been pushed out of many government jobs, prevented from travelling without a male relative and ordered to cover up outside of the home, ideally with a burqa, and not allowed into parks.
The international community has made respecting women's rights a sticking point in negotiations with the Taliban government for its recognition and the restoration of aid.
"Women and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights," said Turk.
"Attempts by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will not succeed."
NDTV
The Taliban must immediately revoke their policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, the UN rights chief insisted Tuesday, condemning their "terrible" consequences.
"No country can develop -- indeed survive -- socially and economically with half its population excluded," Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
"These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan's borders."
He said the policies risked destabilising Afghan society.
"I urge the de facto authorities to ensure the respect and protection of the rights of all women and girls -- to be seen, to be heard and to participate in and contribute to all aspects of the social, political and economic life of the country," said Turk.
On Saturday, Afghanistan's hardline Islamist rulers banned women from working in non-governmental organisations. The Taliban have already suspended university education for women and secondary schooling for girls.
"This latest decree by the de facto authorities will have terrible consequences for women and for all Afghan people," Turk said.
"Banning women from working in NGOs will deprive them and their families of their incomes, and of their right to contribute positively to the development of their country and to the well-being of their fellow citizens."
The move is the latest blow against women's rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban reclaimed power last year.
"The ban will significantly impair, if not destroy" these NGOs' capacity to deliver essential services, Turk said, calling it all the more distressing with Afghanistan in the hold of winter, when humanitarian needs are at their highest.
Several foreign aid groups announced on Sunday they were suspending their operations in Afghanistan.
Women have also been pushed out of many government jobs, prevented from travelling without a male relative and ordered to cover up outside of the home, ideally with a burqa, and not allowed into parks.
The international community has made respecting women's rights a sticking point in negotiations with the Taliban government for its recognition and the restoration of aid.
"Women and girls cannot be denied their inherent rights," said Turk.
"Attempts by the de facto authorities to relegate them to silence and invisibility will not succeed."
NDTV
35 Afghan Universities Could Collapse After Ban On Women Education: Report
A domino effect due to the Taliban banning higher education for women in Afghanistan is being felt by the country's private universities, which according to an estimate are staring at imminent closure, Tolo News reported.
"The economic challenges have surged widely 30 to 35 universities are facing major economic problems," said Mohammad Karim Nasiri, media officer at the union of private universities. Tolo News further reported that some university owners have warned that many educational institutions would shut down if female students are not allowed to attend university education.
The Tolo News report quoted, the founder of the Moraa educational centre for females Azizullah Amir saying "There is no man at this educational centre. If the implementation of this order continues, we will be obliged to close the doors of this centre".
The deputy head of Dawat University was cited in the report as saying that although universities are closed for women, he hopes this closure is only temporary. Soon universities will be reopened for female students to continue their education.
The Taliban-appointed spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education, Ziaullah Hashimi, said efforts are underway to resolve the issues in the sector. "We are trying to ease our principles and provide services for the universities and solve the problems that cause obstacles for universities," Tolo News reported.
Previously, in December this year, Taliban-appointed Acting Minister of Higher Education of Afghanistan Nida Mohammad Nadim said there is no opposition to barring women from university education in the country. This comes at a time when the Taliban is attracting criticism over the matter from around the world.
However, to express their frustration and anger on the issues of university education for female students banned by the Taliban, many male students from private and public universities have gone on strike chanting slogans like "education for all or none".
Contradicting Nadim's opinion on the education ban for female students in Afghanistan, the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar University, Ahmed El-Tayeb called for the Taliban to reconsider their decision to ban Afghan women from accessing university education, saying the decision contradicts Sharia.
The Grand Imam said that he "deeply" regrets the decision issued by the authorities in Afghanistan, preventing Afghan women's access to university education.
Tayeb said he warns "Muslims and non-Muslims against believing or accepting that banning women's education is approved in Islam. Indeed, Islam firmly denounces such banning since it contradicts the legal rights Islam equally guarantees for women and men," he said.
A lecturer from Kabul Polytechnic University who is in Turkey for his master's degree Ihsanullah Rahmani said, "I have offered my resignation to the Ministry of Higher Education as a protest and in support of our sisters. There are some other lecturers who are trying to continue their process of resignation,".
NDTV
A domino effect due to the Taliban banning higher education for women in Afghanistan is being felt by the country's private universities, which according to an estimate are staring at imminent closure, Tolo News reported.
"The economic challenges have surged widely 30 to 35 universities are facing major economic problems," said Mohammad Karim Nasiri, media officer at the union of private universities. Tolo News further reported that some university owners have warned that many educational institutions would shut down if female students are not allowed to attend university education.
The Tolo News report quoted, the founder of the Moraa educational centre for females Azizullah Amir saying "There is no man at this educational centre. If the implementation of this order continues, we will be obliged to close the doors of this centre".
The deputy head of Dawat University was cited in the report as saying that although universities are closed for women, he hopes this closure is only temporary. Soon universities will be reopened for female students to continue their education.
The Taliban-appointed spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education, Ziaullah Hashimi, said efforts are underway to resolve the issues in the sector. "We are trying to ease our principles and provide services for the universities and solve the problems that cause obstacles for universities," Tolo News reported.
Previously, in December this year, Taliban-appointed Acting Minister of Higher Education of Afghanistan Nida Mohammad Nadim said there is no opposition to barring women from university education in the country. This comes at a time when the Taliban is attracting criticism over the matter from around the world.
However, to express their frustration and anger on the issues of university education for female students banned by the Taliban, many male students from private and public universities have gone on strike chanting slogans like "education for all or none".
Contradicting Nadim's opinion on the education ban for female students in Afghanistan, the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar University, Ahmed El-Tayeb called for the Taliban to reconsider their decision to ban Afghan women from accessing university education, saying the decision contradicts Sharia.
The Grand Imam said that he "deeply" regrets the decision issued by the authorities in Afghanistan, preventing Afghan women's access to university education.
Tayeb said he warns "Muslims and non-Muslims against believing or accepting that banning women's education is approved in Islam. Indeed, Islam firmly denounces such banning since it contradicts the legal rights Islam equally guarantees for women and men," he said.
A lecturer from Kabul Polytechnic University who is in Turkey for his master's degree Ihsanullah Rahmani said, "I have offered my resignation to the Ministry of Higher Education as a protest and in support of our sisters. There are some other lecturers who are trying to continue their process of resignation,".
NDTV
daytrader
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UN suspends some Afghanistan programs after ban on female aid workers
Many humanitarian activities ‘paused’ as Taliban decision to bar women NGO workers prevents vital services across the country
The United Nations said that some “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped and warned many other activities will also likely need to be paused because of a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women aid workers.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, the heads of UN agencies and several aid groups said in a joint statement on Wednesday that women’s “participation in aid delivery is not negotiable and must continue”, calling on authorities to reverse the decision.
“Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans. Already, some time-critical programmes have had to stop temporarily due to lack of female staff,” read the statement.
...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...istan-programs-taliban-female-aid-workers-ban
Many humanitarian activities ‘paused’ as Taliban decision to bar women NGO workers prevents vital services across the country
The United Nations said that some “time-critical” programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped and warned many other activities will also likely need to be paused because of a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women aid workers.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths, the heads of UN agencies and several aid groups said in a joint statement on Wednesday that women’s “participation in aid delivery is not negotiable and must continue”, calling on authorities to reverse the decision.
“Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans. Already, some time-critical programmes have had to stop temporarily due to lack of female staff,” read the statement.
...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...istan-programs-taliban-female-aid-workers-ban
UN Says It Won't Halt Aid To Afghanistan Despite Ban On Women In NGOs
The United Nations said Thursday it would not stop providing help to Afghanistan despite the Taliban ban on women working in the country's aid sector.
"Let me make it very clear that the United Nations and humanitarian partners are very committed to the delivery of life-saving services to the people of Afghanistan," the UN Resident Coordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, told reporters.
Speaking after the G7 issued a statement calling the hardline Islamists' action "reckless and dangerous," Alakbarov said Afghanistan's humanitarian needs are "absolutely enormous."
"We do not believe that it is possible to deliver comprehensive humanitarian action without the participation of women," he said.
However, he added, "It's important that we continue to stay and deliver."
"Aid is never conditional. You cannot condition providing food or health assistance to a starving person, or a dying person."
He said the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and other UN officials will visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks to discuss the situation with the country's Taliban rulers, which also recently forbade women from university.
"I believe from my interaction with the Taliban, the best way of coming to the solution is not a pressure. It is a dialogue. This movement has not responded well to the pressure in the past."
UN officials have already had several "constructive" discussions with Taliban authorities on the situation, he said, citing talks with the health minister.
"Obviously delivery of health services to women and girls will not be possible without medical personnel," he said.
He said the minister agreed that there should not be a barrier, and that the women service providers may return to work.
"We are working under one thing only, and that is resolution of the bottleneck and getting negotiations going so the women can go back to work and girls can go back to school, based on an understanding that this is an absolutely essential right of other people," said Alakbarov.
"We need to focus on finding the solutions."
NDTV
The United Nations said Thursday it would not stop providing help to Afghanistan despite the Taliban ban on women working in the country's aid sector.
"Let me make it very clear that the United Nations and humanitarian partners are very committed to the delivery of life-saving services to the people of Afghanistan," the UN Resident Coordinator in Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, told reporters.
Speaking after the G7 issued a statement calling the hardline Islamists' action "reckless and dangerous," Alakbarov said Afghanistan's humanitarian needs are "absolutely enormous."
"We do not believe that it is possible to deliver comprehensive humanitarian action without the participation of women," he said.
However, he added, "It's important that we continue to stay and deliver."
"Aid is never conditional. You cannot condition providing food or health assistance to a starving person, or a dying person."
He said the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and other UN officials will visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks to discuss the situation with the country's Taliban rulers, which also recently forbade women from university.
"I believe from my interaction with the Taliban, the best way of coming to the solution is not a pressure. It is a dialogue. This movement has not responded well to the pressure in the past."
UN officials have already had several "constructive" discussions with Taliban authorities on the situation, he said, citing talks with the health minister.
"Obviously delivery of health services to women and girls will not be possible without medical personnel," he said.
He said the minister agreed that there should not be a barrier, and that the women service providers may return to work.
"We are working under one thing only, and that is resolution of the bottleneck and getting negotiations going so the women can go back to work and girls can go back to school, based on an understanding that this is an absolutely essential right of other people," said Alakbarov.
"We need to focus on finding the solutions."
NDTV
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<b>Several dead and wounded in blast outside Kabul military airport</b>
An explosion outside the military airport in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, has caused multiple casualties, according to a Taliban official.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the blast on Sunday left several people dead and wounded, adding that an investigation was under way.
He did not specify the nature or target of the explosion.
Local residents said a loud explosion was heard before 8am (03:30 GMT) in the vicinity of the military side of the heavily fortified airport. They said the area had been sealed off by security forces, and all roads had been closed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the regional affiliate of ISIL (ISIS) – known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) – has increased its attacks since the Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia minority.
“ISIS-K is the only enemy claiming the illegality of the Islamic emirate in Afghanistan [Taliban],” Nasratullah Haqbal, a journalist and political commentator, told Al Jazeera.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/1/several-feared-dead-in-blast-outside-kabul-military-airport
An explosion outside the military airport in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, has caused multiple casualties, according to a Taliban official.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the blast on Sunday left several people dead and wounded, adding that an investigation was under way.
He did not specify the nature or target of the explosion.
Local residents said a loud explosion was heard before 8am (03:30 GMT) in the vicinity of the military side of the heavily fortified airport. They said the area had been sealed off by security forces, and all roads had been closed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the regional affiliate of ISIL (ISIS) – known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) – has increased its attacks since the Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia minority.
“ISIS-K is the only enemy claiming the illegality of the Islamic emirate in Afghanistan [Taliban],” Nasratullah Haqbal, a journalist and political commentator, told Al Jazeera.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/1/several-feared-dead-in-blast-outside-kabul-military-airport
Taliban Seeks Economic Self Sufficiency, Foreign Investment For Afghanistan
The Taliban administration will encourage self-sufficiency and wants international trade and investment, the acting commerce minister said, as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of some humanitarian operations over restrictions on women.
"We will start a national self-sufficiency programme, we will encourage all government administrations to use domestic products, we will also try to encourage people through mosques to support our domestic products" Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters. "We will support any item which can help us for self-sufficiency."
Another part of their strategy was to boost trade and foreign investment, he said.
"Those who were importing items to Afghanistan from abroad, they are asking us to provide opportunities for investing in Afghanistan and they want to invest here instead of importing from abroad," he said.
He said that countries including Iran, Russia and China were interested in trade and investment. He said some of the projects under discussion were Chinese industrial parks and thermal power plants, with involvement from Russia and Iran.
Already facing a lack of formal recognition and sanctions hampering the country's banking sector, investors are faced with growing security concerns after attacks on foreign targets in Kabul, claimed by the Islamic State.
An attack on a hotel catering to Chinese businessmen this month, which badly hurt several foreigners, could prompt some to re-think investing, a leading member of the Chinese business community has said.
Azizi said authorities were working to ensure security.
"We do our best for our businessmen to not come to harm. The attack hasn't had any bad impact, (but) if it happened constantly, yes it might have bad impact," he said, referring to the investment environment.
Azizi laid out a plan to develop industry by creating special economic zones on land previously used for U.S. military bases. He said his ministry was presenting the plan to the administration's cabinet and economic commission.
He added that foreign investors were showing interest in Afghanistan's mining sector, which has been valued at more than $1 trillion. He said that an iron mine in western Herat and a lead mine in central Ghor province had seen 40 companies take part in an auction and that the results would be announced soon.
He said that a major contract signed with Russia in September for the supply of gas, oil and wheat would see the delivery of the items to Afghanistan in coming days.
The Taliban-led administration is facing increased isolation over policies in recent days restricting women from access to public life, including attending university.
An order barring female NGO workers has thrown the humanitarian sector, which is providing urgent aid to millions of people, into disarray, with some organisations suspending operations in the middle of the harsh winter.
Azizi did not comment on the new restrictions but said his ministry had allocated 5 acres of land for a permanent exhibition centre and hub for women-led businesses.
"We always support women investors," he said.
NDTV
The Taliban administration will encourage self-sufficiency and wants international trade and investment, the acting commerce minister said, as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of some humanitarian operations over restrictions on women.
"We will start a national self-sufficiency programme, we will encourage all government administrations to use domestic products, we will also try to encourage people through mosques to support our domestic products" Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters. "We will support any item which can help us for self-sufficiency."
Another part of their strategy was to boost trade and foreign investment, he said.
"Those who were importing items to Afghanistan from abroad, they are asking us to provide opportunities for investing in Afghanistan and they want to invest here instead of importing from abroad," he said.
He said that countries including Iran, Russia and China were interested in trade and investment. He said some of the projects under discussion were Chinese industrial parks and thermal power plants, with involvement from Russia and Iran.
Already facing a lack of formal recognition and sanctions hampering the country's banking sector, investors are faced with growing security concerns after attacks on foreign targets in Kabul, claimed by the Islamic State.
An attack on a hotel catering to Chinese businessmen this month, which badly hurt several foreigners, could prompt some to re-think investing, a leading member of the Chinese business community has said.
Azizi said authorities were working to ensure security.
"We do our best for our businessmen to not come to harm. The attack hasn't had any bad impact, (but) if it happened constantly, yes it might have bad impact," he said, referring to the investment environment.
Azizi laid out a plan to develop industry by creating special economic zones on land previously used for U.S. military bases. He said his ministry was presenting the plan to the administration's cabinet and economic commission.
He added that foreign investors were showing interest in Afghanistan's mining sector, which has been valued at more than $1 trillion. He said that an iron mine in western Herat and a lead mine in central Ghor province had seen 40 companies take part in an auction and that the results would be announced soon.
He said that a major contract signed with Russia in September for the supply of gas, oil and wheat would see the delivery of the items to Afghanistan in coming days.
The Taliban-led administration is facing increased isolation over policies in recent days restricting women from access to public life, including attending university.
An order barring female NGO workers has thrown the humanitarian sector, which is providing urgent aid to millions of people, into disarray, with some organisations suspending operations in the middle of the harsh winter.
Azizi did not comment on the new restrictions but said his ministry had allocated 5 acres of land for a permanent exhibition centre and hub for women-led businesses.
"We always support women investors," he said.
NDTV
"Ones You Killed Weren't Chess Pieces": Taliban Leader Slams Prince Harry
Prince Harry has revealed, in his memoir, that he killed 25 people during his military service in Afghanistan. In the autobiography named “Spare”, which will be launched next week, the Duke of Sussex described the killing as taking “chess pieces” off the board during the combat, British media reported.
The revelation has drawn a sharp reaction from Taliban leader Anas Haqqani, who denounced Prince Harry saying that those he killed were not “chess pieces” but humans.
Sharing a photo of the memoir's cover, the Taliban leader, in a series of tweets, wrote, “Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return.
He added, “Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes”.
The leader added, “The truth is what you've said; Our innocent people were chess pieces to your soldiers, military and political leaders. Still, you were defeated in that “game” of white & black "square".”
Anas Haqqani said that he doesn't “expect that the ICC (International Criminal Court) will summon you or the human rights activists will condemn you, because they are deaf and blind for you.”
“But hopefully these atrocities will be remembered in the history of humanity,” he added.
While Prince Harry's much awaited-memoir will go on sale on January 10, a lot of its content has already been accessed by British and US media. According to extracts from the memoir, the 38-year-old royal shared that he was part of six missions as a pilot that led to him “taking human lives”. He said he was neither proud nor ashamed of eliminating the targets, reported Daily Telegraph.
Prince Harry served two tours of military duty against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was initially a forward air controller from 2007-2008 and flew an attack helicopter from 2012-2013.
NDTV
Prince Harry has revealed, in his memoir, that he killed 25 people during his military service in Afghanistan. In the autobiography named “Spare”, which will be launched next week, the Duke of Sussex described the killing as taking “chess pieces” off the board during the combat, British media reported.
The revelation has drawn a sharp reaction from Taliban leader Anas Haqqani, who denounced Prince Harry saying that those he killed were not “chess pieces” but humans.
Sharing a photo of the memoir's cover, the Taliban leader, in a series of tweets, wrote, “Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return.
He added, “Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes”.
The leader added, “The truth is what you've said; Our innocent people were chess pieces to your soldiers, military and political leaders. Still, you were defeated in that “game” of white & black "square".”
Anas Haqqani said that he doesn't “expect that the ICC (International Criminal Court) will summon you or the human rights activists will condemn you, because they are deaf and blind for you.”
“But hopefully these atrocities will be remembered in the history of humanity,” he added.
While Prince Harry's much awaited-memoir will go on sale on January 10, a lot of its content has already been accessed by British and US media. According to extracts from the memoir, the 38-year-old royal shared that he was part of six missions as a pilot that led to him “taking human lives”. He said he was neither proud nor ashamed of eliminating the targets, reported Daily Telegraph.
Prince Harry served two tours of military duty against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was initially a forward air controller from 2007-2008 and flew an attack helicopter from 2012-2013.
NDTV
At Least 5 killed In Suicide Attack Near Afghan Ministry In Kabul: Report
A suicide bomber blew himself up near Afghanistan's foreign ministry where a Chinese delegation had been due to meet on Wednesday, causing more than 20 casualties, Taliban officials and witnesses said.
The Taliban claim to have improved security since storming back to power in 2021 but there have been scores of bomb blasts and attacks, many claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group.
An AFP team was conducting an interview inside the information ministry next door when Wednesday's blast took place.
A company driver waiting outside saw a man with a backpack and rifle slung over his shoulder walk past before the man blew himself up.
"He passed by my car and after a few seconds there was a loud blast," Jamshed Karimi said.
"I saw the man blowing himself up."
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed the blast "which unfortunately resulted in casualties".
"Security teams have reached the area," he tweeted.
In the aftermath, bodies lay strewn on the road outside the high-walled compound of the ministry, marked with the Taliban flag, a video verified by AFP showed.
Some injured people writhed on the ground, screaming for help, and a handful of onlookers scrambled to offer assistance.
The ministry itself did not appear to be badly damaged.
"There was supposed to be a Chinese delegation at the Foreign Ministry today, but we don't know if they were present at the time of the blast," deputy minister of information and culture Muhajer Farahi told AFP.
At least five Chinese nationals were wounded last month when gunmen stormed a hotel popular with Chinese business people in Kabul.
That raid was claimed by IS, who also took responsibility for an attack on Pakistan's embassy in Kabul in December that Islamabad denounced as an "assassination attempt" against their ambassador.
Four people were killed and 25 wounded in an attack on a mosque in the grounds of the interior ministry in Kabul in October, with survivors reporting it was a suicide bombing.
And two Russian embassy staff members were killed in a suicide bombing outside their mission in September in another attack claimed by IS.
Hundreds of people, including members of Afghanistan's minority communities, have been killed and wounded in other attacks since the Taliban regained power.
Afghanistan's regional chapter of the Islamic State group is known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), a historical term describing the vast territory they hope to rule spanning India, Iran and Central Asia.
The Taliban and IS-K share an austere Sunni Islamist ideology but the latter are crusading to establish a global "caliphate" instead of the Taliban's more modest and inward-looking goal of ruling an independent Afghanistan.
NDTV
A suicide bomber blew himself up near Afghanistan's foreign ministry where a Chinese delegation had been due to meet on Wednesday, causing more than 20 casualties, Taliban officials and witnesses said.
The Taliban claim to have improved security since storming back to power in 2021 but there have been scores of bomb blasts and attacks, many claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group.
An AFP team was conducting an interview inside the information ministry next door when Wednesday's blast took place.
A company driver waiting outside saw a man with a backpack and rifle slung over his shoulder walk past before the man blew himself up.
"He passed by my car and after a few seconds there was a loud blast," Jamshed Karimi said.
"I saw the man blowing himself up."
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed the blast "which unfortunately resulted in casualties".
"Security teams have reached the area," he tweeted.
In the aftermath, bodies lay strewn on the road outside the high-walled compound of the ministry, marked with the Taliban flag, a video verified by AFP showed.
Some injured people writhed on the ground, screaming for help, and a handful of onlookers scrambled to offer assistance.
The ministry itself did not appear to be badly damaged.
"There was supposed to be a Chinese delegation at the Foreign Ministry today, but we don't know if they were present at the time of the blast," deputy minister of information and culture Muhajer Farahi told AFP.
At least five Chinese nationals were wounded last month when gunmen stormed a hotel popular with Chinese business people in Kabul.
That raid was claimed by IS, who also took responsibility for an attack on Pakistan's embassy in Kabul in December that Islamabad denounced as an "assassination attempt" against their ambassador.
Four people were killed and 25 wounded in an attack on a mosque in the grounds of the interior ministry in Kabul in October, with survivors reporting it was a suicide bombing.
And two Russian embassy staff members were killed in a suicide bombing outside their mission in September in another attack claimed by IS.
Hundreds of people, including members of Afghanistan's minority communities, have been killed and wounded in other attacks since the Taliban regained power.
Afghanistan's regional chapter of the Islamic State group is known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), a historical term describing the vast territory they hope to rule spanning India, Iran and Central Asia.
The Taliban and IS-K share an austere Sunni Islamist ideology but the latter are crusading to establish a global "caliphate" instead of the Taliban's more modest and inward-looking goal of ruling an independent Afghanistan.
NDTV
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Mursal Nabizada: Gunmen kill former Afghan MP at home in Kabul
A former Afghan MP and her bodyguard have been shot dead at her home in the capital Kabul, Afghan police have said.
Mursal Nabizada, 32, was one of the few female MPs who stayed in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
Her brother and a second security guard were wounded in the attack on Sunday.
Former colleagues praised Ms Nabizada as a "fearless champion for Afghanistan" who turned down a chance to leave the country.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, women have been removed from nearly all areas of public life.
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said security forces had started a serious investigation into the incident.
Former lawmaker Mariam Solaimankhil said Ms Nabizada was "a true trailblazer - strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger".
"Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people," she wrote on Twitter.
...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64285789
A former Afghan MP and her bodyguard have been shot dead at her home in the capital Kabul, Afghan police have said.
Mursal Nabizada, 32, was one of the few female MPs who stayed in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
Her brother and a second security guard were wounded in the attack on Sunday.
Former colleagues praised Ms Nabizada as a "fearless champion for Afghanistan" who turned down a chance to leave the country.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, women have been removed from nearly all areas of public life.
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said security forces had started a serious investigation into the incident.
Former lawmaker Mariam Solaimankhil said Ms Nabizada was "a true trailblazer - strong, outspoken woman who stood for what she believed in, even in the face of danger".
"Despite being offered the chance to leave Afghanistan, she chose to stay and fight for her people," she wrote on Twitter.
...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64285789
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Terrible news. The country is getting worse under the taliban
Afghan Journalists Criticize Restrictions, Lack Of Information: Report
Journalists and media outlets in Afghanistan strongly criticized the lack of access to information as well as harsh restrictions placed on media professionals by the Taliban since it took control of the Afghan land in August last year, TOLOnews reported yesterday.
While putting up a strong urge to the Taliban regarding basic freedom to the press, they said that access to information is the fundamental right of people and journalists.
"When we contact the government or the officials or drop them a message, they don't respond to us; or they see our message but don't send back a reply on time," said Farkhunda Mehbi, a journalist.
Another journalist, Mustafa Shaharyar lamented that the Taliban spokesmen and government officials don't respond to journalists' questions, which is why many stories get published without balance, TOLOnews reported.
In the wake of the excessive rise in crime against journalists in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated in its report in early November the human rights violation of at least 200 reporters.
Taking to Twitter, UNAMA said, "Human rights abuses of more than 200 reporters in Afghanistan recorded by UNAMA since August 2021. Record high numbers include arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, threats and intimidation."
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August last year, it rolled back women's rights advances and media freedom revoking the efforts on gender equality and freedom of speech in the country.
According to a report by the South Asian Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) over 45 per cent of journalists have quit since the terrorist outfit assumed power. The ever-increasing restrictions against media in Afghanistan have also drawn widespread criticism globally with the United Nations (UN) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) decrying the arrests, demanding the Taliban stop harassing local journalists and stifling freedom of speech through continued detentions and threats.
In their first press conference following their takeover in August, the Taliban made promises on women's rights, media freedom, and amnesty for government officials. However, a number of people, including journalists, activists, and former government workers, continue to experience retaliation.
NDTV
Journalists and media outlets in Afghanistan strongly criticized the lack of access to information as well as harsh restrictions placed on media professionals by the Taliban since it took control of the Afghan land in August last year, TOLOnews reported yesterday.
While putting up a strong urge to the Taliban regarding basic freedom to the press, they said that access to information is the fundamental right of people and journalists.
"When we contact the government or the officials or drop them a message, they don't respond to us; or they see our message but don't send back a reply on time," said Farkhunda Mehbi, a journalist.
Another journalist, Mustafa Shaharyar lamented that the Taliban spokesmen and government officials don't respond to journalists' questions, which is why many stories get published without balance, TOLOnews reported.
In the wake of the excessive rise in crime against journalists in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated in its report in early November the human rights violation of at least 200 reporters.
Taking to Twitter, UNAMA said, "Human rights abuses of more than 200 reporters in Afghanistan recorded by UNAMA since August 2021. Record high numbers include arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment, threats and intimidation."
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August last year, it rolled back women's rights advances and media freedom revoking the efforts on gender equality and freedom of speech in the country.
According to a report by the South Asian Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) over 45 per cent of journalists have quit since the terrorist outfit assumed power. The ever-increasing restrictions against media in Afghanistan have also drawn widespread criticism globally with the United Nations (UN) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) decrying the arrests, demanding the Taliban stop harassing local journalists and stifling freedom of speech through continued detentions and threats.
In their first press conference following their takeover in August, the Taliban made promises on women's rights, media freedom, and amnesty for government officials. However, a number of people, including journalists, activists, and former government workers, continue to experience retaliation.
NDTV
Women's Rights Not Priority, Says Taliban Spokesperson After Education Ban
Amid the ongoing violation of the rights of Afghan women under the Taliban regime - banned from universities, as well as, from working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that overturning restrictions against women is not a priority for the group, reported Khaama Press.
The Taliban said on Saturday that it would not permit any act that violate Islamic law, and the concerns regarding restrictions on women's rights will be dealt with according to the established rule of the group in the country.
Taliban chief spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement, "The Islamic Emirate tries to regulate all matters in accordance with the Islamic Sharia, and the ruling government cannot allow act against the Sharia in the country," reported Khaama Press.
The latest action by the Taliban to ban women from working in NGOs sparked protests by female university students and women activists in several regions of the country, as well as brought condemnations, globally.
Some foreign governments, including those of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), OIC, and other international aid organisations, strongly condemned the action and urged the Taliban caretaker government to lift the ban and permit Afghan girls and women to pursue their education and continue working with NGOs, Khaama Press reported.
According to a UNICEF report released in August, the fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the country's economy at least USD 500 million over the past 12 months, which amounts to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Zabiullah Mujahid also asked Afghanistan's partners and international aid organizations to understand the religious demands in Afghanistan and avoid tying humanitarian aid to politics, reported Khaama Press.
On January 13, 11 countries urged the Taliban administration of Afghanistan to remove all restrictions against women and girls, allowing them to return to public life - to get an education and return to work.
However, the Taliban authorities have shown no alteration in their rather strict policy regarding women's education, employment, and movement in the country.
Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an intergovernmental group consisting of all Muslim-majority countries, rejected the Taliban's claim that its treatment of Afghan women and girls is in line with Islam's Sharia law, reported Khaama Press.
OIC has repeatedly called on the Taliban officials to remove the gender-based restrictions and allow Afghan women and girls to benefit from the inherent fundamental rights, to get an education, work and appear in the public environment.
NDTV
Amid the ongoing violation of the rights of Afghan women under the Taliban regime - banned from universities, as well as, from working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that overturning restrictions against women is not a priority for the group, reported Khaama Press.
The Taliban said on Saturday that it would not permit any act that violate Islamic law, and the concerns regarding restrictions on women's rights will be dealt with according to the established rule of the group in the country.
Taliban chief spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement, "The Islamic Emirate tries to regulate all matters in accordance with the Islamic Sharia, and the ruling government cannot allow act against the Sharia in the country," reported Khaama Press.
The latest action by the Taliban to ban women from working in NGOs sparked protests by female university students and women activists in several regions of the country, as well as brought condemnations, globally.
Some foreign governments, including those of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), OIC, and other international aid organisations, strongly condemned the action and urged the Taliban caretaker government to lift the ban and permit Afghan girls and women to pursue their education and continue working with NGOs, Khaama Press reported.
According to a UNICEF report released in August, the fact that girls in Afghanistan are deprived of secondary education has cost the country's economy at least USD 500 million over the past 12 months, which amounts to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
Zabiullah Mujahid also asked Afghanistan's partners and international aid organizations to understand the religious demands in Afghanistan and avoid tying humanitarian aid to politics, reported Khaama Press.
On January 13, 11 countries urged the Taliban administration of Afghanistan to remove all restrictions against women and girls, allowing them to return to public life - to get an education and return to work.
However, the Taliban authorities have shown no alteration in their rather strict policy regarding women's education, employment, and movement in the country.
Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an intergovernmental group consisting of all Muslim-majority countries, rejected the Taliban's claim that its treatment of Afghan women and girls is in line with Islam's Sharia law, reported Khaama Press.
OIC has repeatedly called on the Taliban officials to remove the gender-based restrictions and allow Afghan women and girls to benefit from the inherent fundamental rights, to get an education, work and appear in the public environment.
NDTV
Taliban Publicly Cut Off Hands Of 4 Men Over Alleged Theft Charges
The Taliban on Tuesday publicly flogged nine convicted of robbery and "sodomy" in Ahmad Shahi Stadium in Kandahar.
"The Supreme Court said in a statement that nine people were punished in Ahmad Shahi Stadium in Kandahar on Tuesday on charges of robbery and 'sodomy'", tweeted Tolo News.
Local authorities and Kandahar residents were in attendance during the lashing. The spokesman for the provincial governor, Haji Zaid, said the convicts were lashed 35-39 times.
Meanwhile, former Policy Advisor to Minister for Afghan Resettlement & Minister for Refugees in the UK, Shabnam Nasimi said that the Taliban have reportedly cut off the hands of four people in a football stadium in Kandahar.
"The Taliban have reportedly cut off the hands of 4 people in a football stadium in Kandahar today, accused of theft, in front of spectators. People are being lashed, amputated & executed in Afghanistan, without fair trial and due process. This is a human rights violation," she tweeted.
Despite international condemnation, the Taliban has resumed the flogging and the public execution of criminals following a decree by the hard-liners' supreme leader.
UN experts are deeply aggrieved about a public execution and that flogging has resumed in Afghanistan and call on the de facto authorities to halt immediately all forms of severe, cruel and degrading forms of punishments.
They said in a statement, "Since November 18, 2022, the de facto authorities have reportedly carried out floggings of over 100 individuals, both women and men, in several provinces including Takhar, Logar, Laghman, Parwan and Kabul. Each was given between 20 and 100 lashes for alleged crimes including theft, 'illegitimate' relationships or violating social behaviour codes. While the criminalisation of relationships outside of wedlock seems gender-neutral, in practice, punishment is overwhelmingly directed against women and girls. The flogging has been carried out in stadiums in the presence of officials and members of the public."
On December 7, 2022, the Taliban publicly executed a man in Farah city, Farah province, in what appears to be the first public execution since seizing power in August 2021.
"Senior de facto officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Chief Justice, were in attendance. The application of these punishments began after the Supreme Leader on November 13, 2022 ordered the judiciary to implement Hudood (crimes against God) and Qisas (retribution in kind) punishments across the country," added the statement.
Public floggings and executions violate universal principles prohibiting torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Afghanistan is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. The public spectacle of these punishments makes them especially distasteful and undignified.
"We are additionally raising doubts about the fairness of the trials preceding these punishments, which appear not to satisfy basic fair trial guarantees. International human rights law prohibits the implementation of such cruel sentences, especially the death penalty, following trials that apparently do not offer the required fair trial guarantees," added the statement.
It called on the de facto authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on the death penalty, prohibit flogging and other physical punishments that constitute torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and guarantee a fair trial and due process in accordance with international standards. At all times, no matter the status of a person, they are entitled to dignity and respect.
NDTV
The Taliban on Tuesday publicly flogged nine convicted of robbery and "sodomy" in Ahmad Shahi Stadium in Kandahar.
"The Supreme Court said in a statement that nine people were punished in Ahmad Shahi Stadium in Kandahar on Tuesday on charges of robbery and 'sodomy'", tweeted Tolo News.
Local authorities and Kandahar residents were in attendance during the lashing. The spokesman for the provincial governor, Haji Zaid, said the convicts were lashed 35-39 times.
Meanwhile, former Policy Advisor to Minister for Afghan Resettlement & Minister for Refugees in the UK, Shabnam Nasimi said that the Taliban have reportedly cut off the hands of four people in a football stadium in Kandahar.
"The Taliban have reportedly cut off the hands of 4 people in a football stadium in Kandahar today, accused of theft, in front of spectators. People are being lashed, amputated & executed in Afghanistan, without fair trial and due process. This is a human rights violation," she tweeted.
Despite international condemnation, the Taliban has resumed the flogging and the public execution of criminals following a decree by the hard-liners' supreme leader.
UN experts are deeply aggrieved about a public execution and that flogging has resumed in Afghanistan and call on the de facto authorities to halt immediately all forms of severe, cruel and degrading forms of punishments.
They said in a statement, "Since November 18, 2022, the de facto authorities have reportedly carried out floggings of over 100 individuals, both women and men, in several provinces including Takhar, Logar, Laghman, Parwan and Kabul. Each was given between 20 and 100 lashes for alleged crimes including theft, 'illegitimate' relationships or violating social behaviour codes. While the criminalisation of relationships outside of wedlock seems gender-neutral, in practice, punishment is overwhelmingly directed against women and girls. The flogging has been carried out in stadiums in the presence of officials and members of the public."
On December 7, 2022, the Taliban publicly executed a man in Farah city, Farah province, in what appears to be the first public execution since seizing power in August 2021.
"Senior de facto officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Chief Justice, were in attendance. The application of these punishments began after the Supreme Leader on November 13, 2022 ordered the judiciary to implement Hudood (crimes against God) and Qisas (retribution in kind) punishments across the country," added the statement.
Public floggings and executions violate universal principles prohibiting torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Afghanistan is a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. The public spectacle of these punishments makes them especially distasteful and undignified.
"We are additionally raising doubts about the fairness of the trials preceding these punishments, which appear not to satisfy basic fair trial guarantees. International human rights law prohibits the implementation of such cruel sentences, especially the death penalty, following trials that apparently do not offer the required fair trial guarantees," added the statement.
It called on the de facto authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on the death penalty, prohibit flogging and other physical punishments that constitute torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and guarantee a fair trial and due process in accordance with international standards. At all times, no matter the status of a person, they are entitled to dignity and respect.
NDTV
Afghan Taliban For First Time Reports Threat From Pakistan: Report
For the first time, the Taliban reported threats from Pakistan, which they considered as the safe haven from 2000-2021, independent journalist Bilal Sarwary said citing an internal memo.
Taking to Twitter, Sarwary said, "A leaked Taliban internal memo reports an ISKP training camp inside Pak's tribal area&warns of ISKP massing from Pak into Logar. This is an interesting twist in the story with first-time Taliban reports of threats from Pakistan where they once had their safe havens from 2002-2021."
Taliban and Pakistan's relationship are now on an edgy path. On one part Taliban felt threatened by Pakistan while on the other side, Islamabad faced severe repercussions for supporting the group.
Pakistan, which has always been involved in state sponsorship of cross-border terrorism since its inception and even praised the Afghan Taliban in the past but now facing its repercussions, the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) has reported.
However, now it is facing two-sided attacks from Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban which is supported by its ideological brother from Afghanistan, according to the recent SADF report.
When the Taliban captured Afghanistan in August 2021, then Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan praised the Afghan Taliban by saying it broke the "shackles of slavery," it said.
It must be noted here that December 2022 proved to be the worst month for the country, said SADF, a Brussels-based think tank devoted to South Asia and its relationship with the European Union (EU).
Since the takeover of the Taliban in Kabul, Pakistan saw a 50 per cent rise in terror attacks and most of which were by Pakistani Taliban (TTP) with the support of the Afghan Taliban. Even the peace talks between TTP and the Pakistan regime were revoked, it said.
The report further said that, in the last two decades, Pakistan had the opportunity to stop using Jihadism as a foreign policy tool and end the use of extreme Islamist factions as an influence. This could have improved its relations with India.
Pakistan could have improved on unhealthy civil-military relations, the protection of ethnic minorities and sustainable economic development. Instead, the leaders decided to maintain their support for the Taliban against both the US and its NATO allies, the SADF said.
According to the SADF Director of Research Siegfried O Wolf, the terrorism Pakistan is facing today is not the result of the Imran Khan government but is the result of "multiple lost opportunities and policy blunders by both military and civilian leadership since 1947."
"Pakistan's approach towards the Afghan Taliban failed since Islamabad's objectives in Afghanistan were not attained - much the opposite, we now witness the destabilization of Pakistan itself," it said.
In addition to this Pakistan had no comprehensive Afghanistan policy because of which it was assuming that the Taliban they are helping will remain grateful to them forever.
The same report by Wolf further claimed that there was a perception among Pakistani security circles that the ties, especially the military alliance between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan Taliban 'would gradually weaken' and that the new rulers in Kabul would take concrete action against the TTP and other anti-Pakistan elements on Afghan soil.
"This is astonishing since Islamabad had a previous experience that the former Taliban regime (1996-2001) also did not respond positively to Pakistani demands, foremost the recognition of the Durand Line as an international border and the hoped-for decisive measures against anti-Pakistani groups residing on Afghan soil," the SADF concluded.
NDTV
For the first time, the Taliban reported threats from Pakistan, which they considered as the safe haven from 2000-2021, independent journalist Bilal Sarwary said citing an internal memo.
Taking to Twitter, Sarwary said, "A leaked Taliban internal memo reports an ISKP training camp inside Pak's tribal area&warns of ISKP massing from Pak into Logar. This is an interesting twist in the story with first-time Taliban reports of threats from Pakistan where they once had their safe havens from 2002-2021."
Taliban and Pakistan's relationship are now on an edgy path. On one part Taliban felt threatened by Pakistan while on the other side, Islamabad faced severe repercussions for supporting the group.
Pakistan, which has always been involved in state sponsorship of cross-border terrorism since its inception and even praised the Afghan Taliban in the past but now facing its repercussions, the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) has reported.
However, now it is facing two-sided attacks from Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban which is supported by its ideological brother from Afghanistan, according to the recent SADF report.
When the Taliban captured Afghanistan in August 2021, then Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan praised the Afghan Taliban by saying it broke the "shackles of slavery," it said.
It must be noted here that December 2022 proved to be the worst month for the country, said SADF, a Brussels-based think tank devoted to South Asia and its relationship with the European Union (EU).
Since the takeover of the Taliban in Kabul, Pakistan saw a 50 per cent rise in terror attacks and most of which were by Pakistani Taliban (TTP) with the support of the Afghan Taliban. Even the peace talks between TTP and the Pakistan regime were revoked, it said.
The report further said that, in the last two decades, Pakistan had the opportunity to stop using Jihadism as a foreign policy tool and end the use of extreme Islamist factions as an influence. This could have improved its relations with India.
Pakistan could have improved on unhealthy civil-military relations, the protection of ethnic minorities and sustainable economic development. Instead, the leaders decided to maintain their support for the Taliban against both the US and its NATO allies, the SADF said.
According to the SADF Director of Research Siegfried O Wolf, the terrorism Pakistan is facing today is not the result of the Imran Khan government but is the result of "multiple lost opportunities and policy blunders by both military and civilian leadership since 1947."
"Pakistan's approach towards the Afghan Taliban failed since Islamabad's objectives in Afghanistan were not attained - much the opposite, we now witness the destabilization of Pakistan itself," it said.
In addition to this Pakistan had no comprehensive Afghanistan policy because of which it was assuming that the Taliban they are helping will remain grateful to them forever.
The same report by Wolf further claimed that there was a perception among Pakistani security circles that the ties, especially the military alliance between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan Taliban 'would gradually weaken' and that the new rulers in Kabul would take concrete action against the TTP and other anti-Pakistan elements on Afghan soil.
"This is astonishing since Islamabad had a previous experience that the former Taliban regime (1996-2001) also did not respond positively to Pakistani demands, foremost the recognition of the Durand Line as an international border and the hoped-for decisive measures against anti-Pakistani groups residing on Afghan soil," the SADF concluded.
NDTV
Taliban Detain, Beat Professor Who Tore His Certificates On TV: Aide
Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have "beaten and detained" an academic who voiced outrage on live television against their ban on women's university education, his aide said Friday.
Veteran journalism lecturer Ismail Mashal caused a storm by tearing his degree certificates to shreds on TV in December, protesting the edict ending women's higher education.
In recent days, local channels showed Mashal carting books around Kabul and offering them to passers-by.
"Mashal was mercilessly beaten and taken away in a very disrespectful manner by members of the Islamic Emirate," Mashal's aide Farid Ahmad Fazli told AFP, referring to the Taliban government.
A Taliban official confirmed the detention.
"Teacher Mashal had indulged in provocative actions against the system for some time," tweeted Abdul Haq Hammad, director at the Ministry of Information and Culture.
"The security agencies took him for investigation."
Mashal, a lecturer for more than a decade at three Kabul universities -- was detained on Thursday despite having "committed no crime", Fazli said.
"He was giving free books to sisters (women) and men," he added. "He is still in detention and we don't know where he is being held."
Footage of Mashal destroying his certificates on private channel TOLOnews went viral on social media.
In deeply conservative and patriarchal Afghanistan, it is rare to see a man protest in support of women but Mashal, who ran a co-educational institute, said he would stand up for women's rights.
"As a man and as a teacher, I was unable to do anything else for them, and I felt that my certificates had become useless. So, I tore them," he told AFP at the time.
"I'm raising my voice. I'm standing with my sisters... My protest will continue even if it costs my life."
A small group of male students also held a brief walkout protesting the ban.
The Taliban promised a softer regime when they returned to power in August 2021 but they have instead imposed harsh restrictions on women, effectively squeezing them out of public life.
In December, the authorities ordered all aid groups to stop their women employees coming to work. They have since granted an exemption to the health sector, allowing females to return to employment there.
Secondary schools for girls have also been closed for over a year, while many women have lost jobs in government sectors.
They have also been barred from going to parks, gyms and public baths.
NDTV
Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have "beaten and detained" an academic who voiced outrage on live television against their ban on women's university education, his aide said Friday.
Veteran journalism lecturer Ismail Mashal caused a storm by tearing his degree certificates to shreds on TV in December, protesting the edict ending women's higher education.
In recent days, local channels showed Mashal carting books around Kabul and offering them to passers-by.
"Mashal was mercilessly beaten and taken away in a very disrespectful manner by members of the Islamic Emirate," Mashal's aide Farid Ahmad Fazli told AFP, referring to the Taliban government.
A Taliban official confirmed the detention.
"Teacher Mashal had indulged in provocative actions against the system for some time," tweeted Abdul Haq Hammad, director at the Ministry of Information and Culture.
"The security agencies took him for investigation."
Mashal, a lecturer for more than a decade at three Kabul universities -- was detained on Thursday despite having "committed no crime", Fazli said.
"He was giving free books to sisters (women) and men," he added. "He is still in detention and we don't know where he is being held."
Footage of Mashal destroying his certificates on private channel TOLOnews went viral on social media.
In deeply conservative and patriarchal Afghanistan, it is rare to see a man protest in support of women but Mashal, who ran a co-educational institute, said he would stand up for women's rights.
"As a man and as a teacher, I was unable to do anything else for them, and I felt that my certificates had become useless. So, I tore them," he told AFP at the time.
"I'm raising my voice. I'm standing with my sisters... My protest will continue even if it costs my life."
A small group of male students also held a brief walkout protesting the ban.
The Taliban promised a softer regime when they returned to power in August 2021 but they have instead imposed harsh restrictions on women, effectively squeezing them out of public life.
In December, the authorities ordered all aid groups to stop their women employees coming to work. They have since granted an exemption to the health sector, allowing females to return to employment there.
Secondary schools for girls have also been closed for over a year, while many women have lost jobs in government sectors.
They have also been barred from going to parks, gyms and public baths.
NDTV
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Terrible situation. Sorry for the afghans
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ISKP chief killed in Kabul
Afghan Taliban carry out operations targetting high-ranking Daesh officials
The intelligence and military chief of a militant group called Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) was killed during an operation in Kabul in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, the Afghan Taliban administration arrested a high-ranking ISKP officer who is known to have been working as the terrorist organisation's subcontinent chief.
According to the operation details, two Daesh members were killed in an overnight operation against a cell on 1st Street of Shahrak-e-Zakireen, Khair Khana, PD 17, Kabul.
...
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2403690/iskp-chief-killed-in-kabul
Afghan Taliban carry out operations targetting high-ranking Daesh officials
The intelligence and military chief of a militant group called Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) was killed during an operation in Kabul in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, the Afghan Taliban administration arrested a high-ranking ISKP officer who is known to have been working as the terrorist organisation's subcontinent chief.
According to the operation details, two Daesh members were killed in an overnight operation against a cell on 1st Street of Shahrak-e-Zakireen, Khair Khana, PD 17, Kabul.
...
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2403690/iskp-chief-killed-in-kabul
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Afghanistan: Rounded up from the streets into Taliban drug rehab
"I was under the bridge trying to get some drugs when I felt a hand grab me from behind. It was the Taliban. They had come to take us away."
Mohamed Omar recalls the moment Taliban soldiers showed up unexpectedly at the Pul-e-Sukhta bridge in western Kabul.
Long before the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the area was a notorious hangout for drug addicts.
In recent months, they have been rounding up hundreds of men across the capital - from the bridge, from parks and from the hilltops. Most have been taken to a former US military base, which has been turned into a makeshift rehabilitation centre.
Afghanistan is the drug addiction capital of the world. An estimated 3.5 million people - in a country with a population of about 40 million - are addicted, according to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.
Under the Pul-e-Sukhta bridge, hundreds of men can often be seen squatting - hunched among piles of rubbish, syringes, faeces and occasionally the corpses of those who had overdosed.
The drugs of choice are heroin or methamphetamine.
The stench beneath the bridge is overwhelming, with dogs rummaging through piles of litter, looking for scraps of food. Overhead, traffic flows, street vendors hawk goods, and commuters rush to catch buses at the local depot.
"I would go there to meet my friends and take some drugs. I didn't fear death. Death is in God's hands anyway," says Omar.
...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65138423
"I was under the bridge trying to get some drugs when I felt a hand grab me from behind. It was the Taliban. They had come to take us away."
Mohamed Omar recalls the moment Taliban soldiers showed up unexpectedly at the Pul-e-Sukhta bridge in western Kabul.
Long before the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the area was a notorious hangout for drug addicts.
In recent months, they have been rounding up hundreds of men across the capital - from the bridge, from parks and from the hilltops. Most have been taken to a former US military base, which has been turned into a makeshift rehabilitation centre.
Afghanistan is the drug addiction capital of the world. An estimated 3.5 million people - in a country with a population of about 40 million - are addicted, according to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.
Under the Pul-e-Sukhta bridge, hundreds of men can often be seen squatting - hunched among piles of rubbish, syringes, faeces and occasionally the corpses of those who had overdosed.
The drugs of choice are heroin or methamphetamine.
The stench beneath the bridge is overwhelming, with dogs rummaging through piles of litter, looking for scraps of food. Overhead, traffic flows, street vendors hawk goods, and commuters rush to catch buses at the local depot.
"I would go there to meet my friends and take some drugs. I didn't fear death. Death is in God's hands anyway," says Omar.
...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65138423
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Biden administration blames chaotic Afghan pull-out on Trump
US President Joe Biden's administration has blamed its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan on his predecessor, Donald Trump, in a new report.
A 12-page summary of the report says Mr Biden was "severely constrained" by Mr Trump's decisions, including a 2020 deal with the Taliban to end the war.
But the report also acknowledges that the government should have begun the evacuation of civilians earlier.
Mr Trump responded that the White House was playing a "disinformation game".
The deadly pull-out in August 2021 ended America's longest war.
Thirteen US soldiers and nearly 200 Afghans were killed as US troops scrambled to evacuate more than 120,000 people in a matter of days.
A review of decisions and actions leading up to the withdrawal, conducted by the State Department and the Pentagon, was sent privately to Congress on Thursday.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives, who are investigating the pull-out, had been demanding to see the report for weeks.
The document remains confidential, but a summary of its conclusions - put together by the White House National Security Council with input from President Biden himself - has been made available to the public.
When the Afghan government collapsed, there were desperate scenes at Kabul airport as huge crowds tried to flee the Taliban.
On 26 August, an attack at the airport by two suicide bombers killed 170 Afghans and 13 US soldiers.
...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65208663
US President Joe Biden's administration has blamed its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan on his predecessor, Donald Trump, in a new report.
A 12-page summary of the report says Mr Biden was "severely constrained" by Mr Trump's decisions, including a 2020 deal with the Taliban to end the war.
But the report also acknowledges that the government should have begun the evacuation of civilians earlier.
Mr Trump responded that the White House was playing a "disinformation game".
The deadly pull-out in August 2021 ended America's longest war.
Thirteen US soldiers and nearly 200 Afghans were killed as US troops scrambled to evacuate more than 120,000 people in a matter of days.
A review of decisions and actions leading up to the withdrawal, conducted by the State Department and the Pentagon, was sent privately to Congress on Thursday.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives, who are investigating the pull-out, had been demanding to see the report for weeks.
The document remains confidential, but a summary of its conclusions - put together by the White House National Security Council with input from President Biden himself - has been made available to the public.
When the Afghan government collapsed, there were desperate scenes at Kabul airport as huge crowds tried to flee the Taliban.
On 26 August, an attack at the airport by two suicide bombers killed 170 Afghans and 13 US soldiers.
...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65208663
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Afghan students feel abandoned as India restricts visas
Hundreds of Afghan students are unable to resume their studies as India stopped issuing visas after the Taliban takeover.
New Delhi, India – For two years, Afghan student Yasmeen Azimi has been trying to get a visa to resume her studies in India. But the 22-year-old from Kabul says her visa application has been rejected thrice.
Azimi was admitted to a postgraduate programme to study political science at Chandigarh University in northern Punjab state in January 2021 under a scholarship provided by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous body under the foreign ministry.
But her plans to pursue her education in India were dashed after India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) cancelled all existing Afghan visas, including student visas, following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
As her visa process dragged on, Azimi eventually joined her course online, but eight months after starting, her results are still pending, despite making repeated requests to university authorities.
“There is no positive response. We cannot continue our studies this way,” said Azimi, who also faced difficulties in attending online classes as the internet was frequently choppy.
Her problems began on August 25, 2021, when India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released a statement announcing: “Keeping in view some reports that certain passports of Afghan nationals have been misplaced, previously issued visas to all Afghan nationals, who are presently not in India, stand invalidated with immediate effect.”
The Indian government also closed down its Kabul embassy as diplomatic ties were broken following the Taliban capture of the Afghan capital. Last August, New Delhi resumed limited operations at its embassy but visa facilities are still unavailable.
E-visa programme
New Delhi instead directed Afghan nationals to apply under an e-visa programme – but this is only valid for six months and granted in rare circumstances.
Last year, e-visas were given to only 300 Afghans, which means Azimi and thousands of other Afghans, who visit India for studying or medical treatment, have been made to wait.
E-visas are easy to apply for and require basic documents such as business cards, ID and invitation letters from an institution in India.
...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/8/afghan-students-feel-abandoned-as-india-restricts-visas
Hundreds of Afghan students are unable to resume their studies as India stopped issuing visas after the Taliban takeover.
New Delhi, India – For two years, Afghan student Yasmeen Azimi has been trying to get a visa to resume her studies in India. But the 22-year-old from Kabul says her visa application has been rejected thrice.
Azimi was admitted to a postgraduate programme to study political science at Chandigarh University in northern Punjab state in January 2021 under a scholarship provided by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous body under the foreign ministry.
But her plans to pursue her education in India were dashed after India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) cancelled all existing Afghan visas, including student visas, following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
As her visa process dragged on, Azimi eventually joined her course online, but eight months after starting, her results are still pending, despite making repeated requests to university authorities.
“There is no positive response. We cannot continue our studies this way,” said Azimi, who also faced difficulties in attending online classes as the internet was frequently choppy.
Her problems began on August 25, 2021, when India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released a statement announcing: “Keeping in view some reports that certain passports of Afghan nationals have been misplaced, previously issued visas to all Afghan nationals, who are presently not in India, stand invalidated with immediate effect.”
The Indian government also closed down its Kabul embassy as diplomatic ties were broken following the Taliban capture of the Afghan capital. Last August, New Delhi resumed limited operations at its embassy but visa facilities are still unavailable.
E-visa programme
New Delhi instead directed Afghan nationals to apply under an e-visa programme – but this is only valid for six months and granted in rare circumstances.
Last year, e-visas were given to only 300 Afghans, which means Azimi and thousands of other Afghans, who visit India for studying or medical treatment, have been made to wait.
E-visas are easy to apply for and require basic documents such as business cards, ID and invitation letters from an institution in India.
...
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/8/afghan-students-feel-abandoned-as-india-restricts-visas
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Taliban draw closer to China and say they will protect Chinese citizens in Afghanistan as our own.
The Taliban have strongly vowed to protect citizens from China against terrorist threats on their soil, the latest sign of a growing closeness between the two countries that has alarmed international observers.
China was the first major world power to restore its embassy in Kabul after the Islamist group’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan and has been ramping up its trade and infrastructure links with the Taliban regime.
After several attacks in recent months targeting Chinese workers in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s de facto foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said the Islamist group will not tolerate such activities.
We have done a lot of work to combat terrorism and we take security threats against China like a challenge to our own, the minister told the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during talks in the Tibetan city of Nyingchi on Thursday.
We will not allow any activities that would harm security and stability of China to happen in Afghanistan.
Mr. Muttaqi also offered and effective guarantee on the safety of Chinese nationals in Afghanistan but did not share more details.
The meeting in Tibet, seen as the latest in a campaign of diplomatic engagement by the Taliban, is the first where such language against terrorism has been used in records of meetings with Chinese officials.
Source: The Independent
The Taliban have strongly vowed to protect citizens from China against terrorist threats on their soil, the latest sign of a growing closeness between the two countries that has alarmed international observers.
China was the first major world power to restore its embassy in Kabul after the Islamist group’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan and has been ramping up its trade and infrastructure links with the Taliban regime.
After several attacks in recent months targeting Chinese workers in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s de facto foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said the Islamist group will not tolerate such activities.
We have done a lot of work to combat terrorism and we take security threats against China like a challenge to our own, the minister told the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during talks in the Tibetan city of Nyingchi on Thursday.
We will not allow any activities that would harm security and stability of China to happen in Afghanistan.
Mr. Muttaqi also offered and effective guarantee on the safety of Chinese nationals in Afghanistan but did not share more details.
The meeting in Tibet, seen as the latest in a campaign of diplomatic engagement by the Taliban, is the first where such language against terrorism has been used in records of meetings with Chinese officials.
Source: The Independent
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The Taliban is suspending consular services at two Afghan embassies, London and Vienna, over their lack of cooperation with authorities in Kabul
Source: Bloomberg
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Taliban spokesman says ban on Afghan women's education "small issue"
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: The Taliban's ban on girls in Afghanistan studying beyond primary school is "a small issue" and should not prevent the international community from recognizing it as the country's legitimate government, a spokesman said in a recent interview.
Zabihullah Mujahid told Kyodo News in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, that female education is "an internal matter" and that it is difficult at the moment to convince conservatives and moderates to "be at one table" on the issue.
The Taliban has suspended secondary and higher education for girls and prohibited female employees of national and international organizations operating in Afghanistan from working, a move that has provoked strong condemnation from Western countries.
The Taliban, which returned to power in August 2021, are not recognized by the international community as the legitimate government, due in part to concerns over the rights of women and girls.
Mujahid described criticism of the restrictions on women's education as a "propaganda tool by Western countries to isolate us."
"If we reopen girls' schools (now), people would think that we came under pressure from the United States and the international community," he said, adding, "We do not want that."
But while it is not a current priority, the spokesman said it is possible to resume secondary and higher education for girls and women within several years.
After the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet said its treatment of women and girls would be a "fundamental red line" that should not be crossed.
But Mujahid insisted resuming education for women should not be a condition for recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate government.
"If we are recognized, we will be able to pursue this issue even better and more easily," he said, adding the country will need help from Japan in transportation and buildings once it is ready to reopen girls' schools.
Taliban spokesman says ban on Afghan women's education "small issue"
The Taliban's ban on girls in Afghanistan studying beyond primary school is "a small issue" and should not prevent the international community from recognizing it as the country's legitimate government, a spokesman said in a recent interview.
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The Taliban on Saturday welcomed the one-year extension of the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban, said that Afghanistan needs to foster diplomatic relations with international organisations, especially the UN, and the international community, adding that UNAMA can contribute in this regard.
He said that the Afghan people want UNAMA to fulfil its representative mandate well, establish contact between Afghanistan and the world, reflect Afghanistan's development, achievements, security and stability to the world, and help establish trust with countries having reservations.
On Friday, the UN Security Council extended UNAMA's mandate for another year.
UNAMA, headquartered in the capital Kabul, has approximately 1,200 staff members.
tribune.com.pk
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban, said that Afghanistan needs to foster diplomatic relations with international organisations, especially the UN, and the international community, adding that UNAMA can contribute in this regard.
He said that the Afghan people want UNAMA to fulfil its representative mandate well, establish contact between Afghanistan and the world, reflect Afghanistan's development, achievements, security and stability to the world, and help establish trust with countries having reservations.
On Friday, the UN Security Council extended UNAMA's mandate for another year.
UNAMA, headquartered in the capital Kabul, has approximately 1,200 staff members.
Taliban welcome extension of UN mission mandate in Afghanistan | The Express Tribune
UN Security Council extended UNAMA's mandate for another year on Friday
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At least 21 people have been killed in a suicide bombing in the Afghan city of Kandahar, a doctor at the regional hospital has told the BBC
The Taliban government has put the death toll at three. Police said a number of others were wounded.
The Taliban said the suicide attack took place at around 08:00 (03:30 GMT) at a bank located in the city centre.
No group has yet said it carried out the attack, which appears to be the biggest in Afghanistan this year.
The blast took place at a branch where Afghan government employees were queueing to collect their salaries.
The dead and around 50 injured people have been taken to Mirwais hospital, the region's largest, a doctor from the hospital said on the condition of anonymity.
Kandahar is the seat of power of the Taliban, the base of their supreme commander.
While the overall security situation in Afghanistan has improved since the Taliban gained complete control with the full withdrawal of foreign troops in 2021, there continue to be dozens of bombings and suicide attacks in the country each year.
Many of them have targeted Afghanistan's Hazara ethnic minority and have been claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP, the regional affiliate of the so-called Islamic State group, a major rival of the Taliban.
www.bbc.com
The Taliban government has put the death toll at three. Police said a number of others were wounded.
The Taliban said the suicide attack took place at around 08:00 (03:30 GMT) at a bank located in the city centre.
No group has yet said it carried out the attack, which appears to be the biggest in Afghanistan this year.
The blast took place at a branch where Afghan government employees were queueing to collect their salaries.
The dead and around 50 injured people have been taken to Mirwais hospital, the region's largest, a doctor from the hospital said on the condition of anonymity.
Kandahar is the seat of power of the Taliban, the base of their supreme commander.
While the overall security situation in Afghanistan has improved since the Taliban gained complete control with the full withdrawal of foreign troops in 2021, there continue to be dozens of bombings and suicide attacks in the country each year.
Many of them have targeted Afghanistan's Hazara ethnic minority and have been claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP, the regional affiliate of the so-called Islamic State group, a major rival of the Taliban.
Afghanistan: Deadly suicide bomb reported at bank in Kandahar
At least 21 people were killed in the attack in the southern Afghan city, a doctor told the BBC.
www.bbc.com
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Even terrorist regimes (such as the Taliban) are suffering from terrorist attacks.
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Countries Should Not Comment on Enforcement of Hudud
The Islamic Emirate, in response to a statement from the French Foreign Ministry, has once again emphasized the interim government's commitment to implementing Sharia law in the country.Hamdullah Fetrat, the deputy spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, called the concerns of countries regarding the implementation of Sharia law unfounded.
Fetrat said, "Our request to countries that have made statements on this matter is that they refrain from commenting on the Hudud (punishments under Islamic law) so as not to offend the sentiments of Afghans."
Previously, the French Foreign Ministry had stated in an announcement that executions, stoning, and the corporal punishment of women by the Islamic Emirate violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of Afghan citizens.
The announcement states, "France condemns in the strongest possible terms the Taliban’s recent decision to resume stoning women to death and inflicting corporal punishment upon them. This horrific decision comes in addition to the many other violations of fundamental rights and freedoms committed by the Taliban against Afghan women since they took power by force in August 2021. We urge the Taliban to reverse its policy of oppression and erasure of women and girls. Together with active contributions from France, the UN Security Council has established that respect for women’s rights is a precondition for any dialogue."
Farhad Abrar, an international relations expert, said: "Issues such as human rights and women's rights are raised by Western countries as primary topics in their dealings with the Taliban. If the issue of stoning is also added to these, in my opinion, the Taliban will face further isolation by Western countries."
Lamia Shirzai, a women's rights activist, said: "The people of Afghanistan, especially women and girls, no longer have faith in the United Nations and other international legal bodies."
This comes as the country's Supreme Court has announced that it has recently carried out punishment on seven individuals, including one woman, for the crimes of "adultery and sodomy" in the Mohammad Agha district of Logar province.
Kabul: Countries Should Not Comment on Enforcement of Hudud | TOLOnews
Hamdullah Fetrat, the deputy spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, called the concerns of countries regarding the implementation of Sharia law unfounded.
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Islamic Emirate Leader Ratifies Seven New Laws
Sahibzada stated that the Ministry of Justice is committed to implementing Sharia in the country and formulates laws based on Islamic Sharia.The Head of Legislation at the Ministry of Justice remarked, “So far, laws including the Hearing of Complaints Law, the Law on the Collection of Beggars, and in total seven laws have been ratified.”
Fazal Hadi Sahibzada also emphasized that the laws of the previous government have been annulled in the country.
According to the Head of Legislation at the Ministry of Justice, over 160 other laws have been finalized by this ministry and sent to the Supreme Court and the leader of the Islamic Emirate for ratification and approval.
These laws pertain to the Ministry of Economy, the Supreme Court, Civil Affairs, and several other departments.
Fazal Hadi Sahibzada added, “Amirulmuminine places great importance on drafting and organizing laws, having established a council himself at its helm. So far, we have sent them 162 laws, procedures, and regulations from the Ministry of Justice.”
Meanwhile, some experts believe that lawmaking is crucial for good governance.
Sayed Bilal Ahmad Fatemi, a political expert, said: “As long as there is no constitution in existence or ratified, such commands or decrees count as administrative orders.”
Previously, the acting Minister of Justice emphasized that the current system is not operating in a legal vacuum, and all laws of the interim government are derived from the Quran, Sunnah, and Hanafi jurisprudence.
Islamic Emirate Leader Ratifies Seven New Laws | TOLOnews
Sahibzada stated that the Ministry of Justice is committed to implementing Sharia in the country and formulates laws based on Islamic Sharia.
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One killed in explosion claimed by IS in Afghan capital
One person was killed, and three others wounded by an explosion in Kabul on Saturday evening, Afghan police said, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility for the sticky bomb attack.
The improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated in the Kot-e-Sangi neighbourhood, near an enclave of the historically persecuted Shiite Hazara community, which has been targeted by the militant group in the past.
“The sticky bomb was planted on a minibus,” Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said in a statement late Saturday.
“The driver of the vehicle lost his life, and three other civilians were injured.”
Security personnel were investigating the incident, the statement added.
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility on its Telegram channel, saying a minibus carrying Hazaras was blown up as it passed through a Taliban checkpoint.
The attack “led to its destruction and the killing and wounding of around 10” people, the IS statement said.
The number of bombings and suicide attacks in Afghanistan has reduced dramatically since the Taliban ended their insurgency after ousting the US-backed government and returning to power in August 2021.
However, a number of armed groups, including IS, remain a threat.
Multiple people were killed last month when a an IS suicide bomber targeted a bank as people were gathering to collect their salaries. Authorities put the blast’s toll at three, but hospital sources told AFP 20 people were killed.
One killed in explosion claimed by IS in Afghan capital
KABUL: One person was killed, and three others wounded by an explosion in Kabul on Saturday evening, Afghan police said, with the Islamic State group
arynews.tv
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Another attempt at the Hazara community's genocide.
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Three tourists killed as several gunmen open fire in Afghanistan
At least four people - including three tourists - have been killed by gunmen in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, the Taliban's interior ministry has said.
A further four foreign nationals and three Afghans were injured in the attack, which saw several gunmen open fire in the mountainous region, they added.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said three of its nationals died in the attack and that at least one more had been injured.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was "overwhelmed" by the news in a post on X.
Four people have been arrested, Taliban spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for attack and blame is likely to fall on the Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan, a major Taliban rival which claimed an attack on Chinese citizens at a Kabul hotel in 2022.
The Bamiyan province is home to the remains of two giant Buddha statues blown up by the Taliban in 2001 and the region is a UNESCO world heritage site.
SKY News
At least four people - including three tourists - have been killed by gunmen in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, the Taliban's interior ministry has said.
A further four foreign nationals and three Afghans were injured in the attack, which saw several gunmen open fire in the mountainous region, they added.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said three of its nationals died in the attack and that at least one more had been injured.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he was "overwhelmed" by the news in a post on X.
Four people have been arrested, Taliban spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for attack and blame is likely to fall on the Islamic State's affiliate in Afghanistan, a major Taliban rival which claimed an attack on Chinese citizens at a Kabul hotel in 2022.
The Bamiyan province is home to the remains of two giant Buddha statues blown up by the Taliban in 2001 and the region is a UNESCO world heritage site.
SKY News
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Foreign Ministry Welcomes Moscow's Stance on the Interim Government
The ministry said that Kabul has always sought to strengthen relations with Moscow.Part of the statement reads: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the remarks of the leadership, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other Russian officials expressing political will to expand relations with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses to Russia its serious political determination to further expand and strengthen positive relations with the aim of securing the interests of the people of both countries based on mutual respect and shared interests."
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, told TOLOnews: "The recent remarks of Russian officials have been positive and indicate that they want to keep the door open for engagement with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate has also established good diplomatic relations with that country."
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a press conference in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, called Russia's engagement with the interim government of Afghanistan important and added that Moscow's relations with the interim government are significant and necessary.
Vladimir Putin told reporters: "There are problems in Afghanistan, these problems are clear and known to everyone; but the question is how to establish relations with the current officials? We need to build it in a way -- these are people who govern their country and territory, they are now in power, we must move forward based on realities and build our relations on that basis."
Recently, Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan, and Sergey Lavrov, the country's Foreign Minister, spoke about removing the Islamic Emirate from Russia's list of terrorist organizations.
However, on the other hand, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council reacted to Russia's decision to remove the names of Islamic Emirate officials from the list of terrorist groups, saying that this decision will have negative consequences for other countries.
John Kirby said: "The Taliban have not fulfilled any of their commitments, the way they treat people, Afghan girls and women, and their management of the economy. We are not in a position to recognize the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan. If Russia does this, we believe it will have bad consequences for others."
In a joint statement published following the Russian president's visit to Uzbekistan, establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan was mentioned as a priority for Moscow and Tashkent.
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I love historical threads, it’s amazing how this forum keeps history, some from back in the day and seeing how predictions turn out.
First 2-3 pages of this thread should give an idea how Taliban was perceived by Pak posters to last three.
First 2-3 pages of this thread should give an idea how Taliban was perceived by Pak posters to last three.
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UAE President meets Afghan Taliban govt. official
The leader of the United Arab Emirates met Tuesday with an official in the Taliban government.
The meeting comes as countries debate on how to deal with the Taliban, who seized control of Afghanistan in 2021 and since have barred girls from attending school beyond the sixth grade and otherwise restricted women’s role in public life.
While the West still doesn’t recognize the Taliban as Kabul’s government, nations in the Mideast and elsewhere have reached out to them.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, met Sirajuddin Haqqani at the Qasr al-Shati palace in the capital city, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
It published an image of Sheikh Mohammed shaking hands with Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister who also heads the Haqqani network, a powerful network within the group blamed for attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government.
“The two sides discussed strengthening the bonds of cooperation between the two countries and ways to enhance ties to serve mutual interests and contribute to regional stability,” WAM said. “The discussions focused on economic and development fields, as well as support for reconstruction and development in Afghanistan.”
For their part, the Taliban described the two men as discussed “matter of mutual interests,” without elaborating. It added that the Taliban’s spy chief, Abdul Haq Wasiq, also took part in the meeting.
Wasiq had been held for years at the US military’s prison at Guantanamo Bay and released in 2014 in a swap that saw US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, captured after leaving his post in 2009, released.
Haqqani, believed to be in his 50s, has been on the US radar even after the Taliban takeover. In 2022, a US drone strike in Kabul killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, who had called for striking the United States for years after taking over from Osama bin Laden.
The house in which al-Zawahri was killed was a home for Haqqani, according to US officials.
While the Taliban argued the strike violated the terms of the 2020 Doha Agreement that put in motion the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the accord also included a promise by the Taliban not to harbor al-Qaeda members or others seeking to attack America.
The Haqqani network grew into one of the deadliest arms of the Taliban after the US-led 2001 invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment over Haqqani’s visit.
The US long has been a close ally of the UAE, and has thousands of troops working out Al Dhafra Air Base and other locations in the country.
Since the Taliban takeover, China is the most-prominent country to accept a diplomat from the group.
Other countries have accepted de facto Taliban representatives, like Qatar, which has been a key mediator between the US and the group. American envoys have met multiple times with the Taliban as well.
The UAE, which hosted a Taliban diplomatic mission during the Taliban’s first rule in Afghanistan, has been trying to solidify ties to the group even as it sent troops to back the Western coalition that fought for decades in the country.
The low-cost carrier FlyDubai has begun flying into Kabul International Airport again, while a UAE company won a security contract for airfields in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the international community led by the United Nations has tried to provide aid to Afghanistan, as millions struggle to have enough to eat, natural disasters kill those in rural areas and the country’s economy has drastically contracted.
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Taliban open to cooperating with Germany on deportations
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Friday said they were open to cooperating with the German government on the return of Afghan criminals to their home country.
Berlin has said it is considering the deportations after the killing last week of a police officer by an Afghan national on the sidelines of a rally held by an anti-Islam group in the southwestern city of Mannheim.
However, Germany's Foreign Office has expressed doubts about the plan, which is backed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
The Taliban's Foreign Ministry said such an arrangement might be possible but appeared to suggest that Germany would first need to recognize it as Afghanistan's legitimate government. Since the armed militants took back power in Afghanistan in 2021, Berlin has refused to do so.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls upon the German authorities to address through normal consular engagement and an appropriate mechanism based on bilateral agreement," Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Kahar Balchi posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Germany did send some returnees back to Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover. Before that, there was an agreement that only men — especially criminals and individuals judged to be terrorist threats — would be forced to return.
German Chancellor Scholz on Thursday said he wanted criminals to be quickly deported, even to countries that are deemed unsafe like Afghanistan and Syria.
The comments follow national outrage over the killing of a 29-year-old police officer by an Afghan national who arrived in Germany in 2013 with his brother at the age of 14. He was initially refused asylum but, because of his age, was not deported.
The German Foreign Office remains skeptical about the discussion about deportations to Afghanistan, given the absence of recognition for the Taliban. Germany's embassy in Kabul was closed until further notice in 2021, and its diplomatic staff were withdrawn.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said initial statements by the Taliban show that they want to be paid for any repatriations "at least through international recognition."
The spokesman stressed that there are very clear international regulations for the normalization of relations, which would involve the implementation of Afghanistan's international obligations. Western states are demanding that human rights, especially women's rights, are fully respected in Afghanistan before recognition is granted.
Meanwhile, the German refugee advocacy group Pro Asyl has condemned the deportation plan.
"International law clearly prohibits any deportations to Afghanistan and Syria," Pro Asyl's managing director Karl Kopp told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
In his remarks published on Friday, Kopp described Scholz's proposed plans as unlawful because both Syria and Afghanistan "are known for their use of torture and inhuman punishments."
Taliban open to cooperating with Germany on deportations – DW – 06/07/2024
Afghanistan's Taliban leadership have said it is open to working with Berlin on accepting deported Afghan criminals. However, there are doubts within the government about how feasible the plan might be.
www.dw.com
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Taliban discussed prisoner exchange with US: Afghan govt
Two American prisoners were being held in custody in Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Wednesday, and an “exchange” for Afghans held in Guantanamo Bay had been discussed with the United States.
Zabihullah Mujahid did not name the US prisoners, but an American woman was among more than a dozen staff of an international NGO arrested by Taliban authorities last September, and aid worker Ryan Corbett has been custody in since 2022.
“We should be able to free our citizens in (an) exchange, as American citizens are important for them (the United States), just as Afghans are important for us,” Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul.
He said discussions over a prisoner exchange were held with US representatives during United Nations-led talks in Qatar.
The talks, which gathered UN officials, Taliban authorities and the special envoys to Afghanistan, ended on Monday.
“Two American citizens are imprisoned in Afghanistan,” Mujahid told the press conference, adding that Afghan prisoners were also held in the United States, including in the secretive US prison in Cuba.
“We have had discussions on their release with them (the United States) before. Afghanistan’s conditions should be accepted,” he said.
An American woman was among at least 18 staff of non-governmental organisation International Assistance Mission (IAM) detained on accusations of carrying out Christian missionary work.
The UN in June warned Corbett’s “life could be at risk” and called for Taliban authorities to give him “immediate access to medical treatment for his deteriorating health”.
Dozens of foreigners have been detained by the Taliban authorities since the group’s return to power in August 2021.
Many countries, including the United States, warn against citizens travelling to Afghanistan, citing risks of wrongful detention, violence and kidnapping.
At least one Afghan prisoner remains in detention at Guantanamo Bay, Muhammad Rahim, whose family called for his release in November.
In February, two former prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay until 2017 were welcomed home to Afghanistan, more than 20 years after they were arrested.
Abdul Karim and Abdul Zahir had been transferred to Oman and held under house arrest until their release.
They were among hundreds of suspected militants captured by US forces and held in Guantanamo Bay.
US authorities faced accusations of torture and abuse against prisoners at the facility, where many were held without charge or the legal power to challenge their detention.
Most of the military prison’s inmates have been released over the years, including senior Taliban leaders.
The US government has said for years it is working to reduce the number of detainees and eventually shut down Guantanamo Bay, which lies on the island of Cuba but is under US jurisdiction.
arynews.tv
Two American prisoners were being held in custody in Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Wednesday, and an “exchange” for Afghans held in Guantanamo Bay had been discussed with the United States.
Zabihullah Mujahid did not name the US prisoners, but an American woman was among more than a dozen staff of an international NGO arrested by Taliban authorities last September, and aid worker Ryan Corbett has been custody in since 2022.
“We should be able to free our citizens in (an) exchange, as American citizens are important for them (the United States), just as Afghans are important for us,” Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul.
He said discussions over a prisoner exchange were held with US representatives during United Nations-led talks in Qatar.
The talks, which gathered UN officials, Taliban authorities and the special envoys to Afghanistan, ended on Monday.
“Two American citizens are imprisoned in Afghanistan,” Mujahid told the press conference, adding that Afghan prisoners were also held in the United States, including in the secretive US prison in Cuba.
“We have had discussions on their release with them (the United States) before. Afghanistan’s conditions should be accepted,” he said.
An American woman was among at least 18 staff of non-governmental organisation International Assistance Mission (IAM) detained on accusations of carrying out Christian missionary work.
The UN in June warned Corbett’s “life could be at risk” and called for Taliban authorities to give him “immediate access to medical treatment for his deteriorating health”.
Dozens of foreigners have been detained by the Taliban authorities since the group’s return to power in August 2021.
Many countries, including the United States, warn against citizens travelling to Afghanistan, citing risks of wrongful detention, violence and kidnapping.
At least one Afghan prisoner remains in detention at Guantanamo Bay, Muhammad Rahim, whose family called for his release in November.
In February, two former prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay until 2017 were welcomed home to Afghanistan, more than 20 years after they were arrested.
Abdul Karim and Abdul Zahir had been transferred to Oman and held under house arrest until their release.
They were among hundreds of suspected militants captured by US forces and held in Guantanamo Bay.
US authorities faced accusations of torture and abuse against prisoners at the facility, where many were held without charge or the legal power to challenge their detention.
Most of the military prison’s inmates have been released over the years, including senior Taliban leaders.
The US government has said for years it is working to reduce the number of detainees and eventually shut down Guantanamo Bay, which lies on the island of Cuba but is under US jurisdiction.
Taliban discussed prisoner exchange with US: Afghan govt
KABUL: Two American prisoners were being held in custody in Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Wednesday, and an "exchange" for Afghans held
arynews.tv
Last edited:
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Mujahid: US, Germany, Saudi Arabia Requested Reopening of Embassies
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said that the representatives of the United States, Germany, and Saudi Arabia requested the reopening of their embassies in Afghanistan during the sidelines of the third Doha meeting.Mujahid, in a program on the National Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA), added that the issue of handing over Afghanistan's seat at the United Nations to the Islamic Emirate was also raised on the sidelines of this meeting with the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and representatives of the European Union and the United States.
According to him, some countries, including China and Russia, have supported this request from the Islamic Emirate.
The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate said: ”Countries also mentioned it. An American representative, who is currently in Qatar and was the US ambassador to Afghanistan, told us during a meeting that it would be good to see them in their embassy in Kabul as soon as possible. We told her that the conditions are suitable. Germany also made a similar remark.”
"There are some issues with their actions. If these actions are not in accordance with the United Nations Charter, I do not think that the seat will be handed over to the Islamic Emirate," said Sayed Akbar Sial Wardak, a political analyst.
The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate also said in response to the inclusion of citizens in the government that this matter will happen over time, and the interim government is committed to involving everyone for the country's development.
Zabihullah Mujahid said: "It is best to give Afghanistan some time to strengthen and ensure its unity. After that, the political arena is very broad, and people can participate in politics as well as contribute to the country's development.”
In another part of his speech, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate called the existence and activity of free media in the country important for constructive criticism and the prevention of corruption.
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Only Olympian training in Taliban’s Afghanistan to fulfil judo dream
Flipping his flailing judo sparring partner to the mat, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Samim Faizad is the only Olympic athlete training for the Games inside his Taliban-controlled homeland.
Six Afghans — including three women who are not acknowledged by the Taliban government — will compete at the Paris Olympics this month in cycling, athletics, swimming and judo.
Faizad is the only member of the team still living in Afghanistan and follows a rigorous regime whilst competing with the challenges of living in a country mired in poverty, recovering from war and governed by the Taliban.
“Physical fatigue subsides after 10 to 20 minutes, but mental and psychological exhaustion is much harder to overcome,” the 22 year-old, who works odd jobs to fund four hours of training in the Japanese martial art each day, told AFP.
“Judo means a lot to me,” he said while other fighters sparred at the run-down gym of the Afghanistan Judo Federation in Kabul.
“One of my biggest dreams has been to someday participate in the Olympic Games.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Afghanistan from the Games in 1999, during the first period of Taliban rule from 1996 and 2001 when women were barred from sport.
The country was reinstated after the Taliban were ousted by the post-9/11 invasion, but the Paris Games mark the first summer Olympics since they took back power in 2021.
Taliban government curbs have once again squeezed women out of sport, as well as secondary schools and universities, in strictures the United Nations describes as “gender apartheid.”
But this time the IOC has invited a squad without consulting Taliban officials — who have not been invited to attend — instead working with the largely exiled national Olympic committee.
The team of three women and three men were chosen under a system ensuring all 206 nations are represented at the Games, in cases where athletes wouldn’t otherwise qualify.
Faizad won his spot in a Kabul tournament of more than a hundred competitors.
“I will give my hundred percent to get the gold medal for my country,” said Faizad, who has practiced judo for 14 years and is 446th in the men’s world rankings.
The Taliban government have campaigned to be the country’s only representatives at diplomatic forums but in sport have been less dogmatic, praising teams that play under the old flag.
“We don’t want to mix politics and sports,” Atal Mashwani, the spokesman of the Taliban government’s sports directorate, told AFP.
However he insisted that “only three athletes are representing Afghanistan” at the Olympics, refusing to acknowledge the women competitors.
He added that with time “the flag issues will be solved.”
“The flag of the ruling government will be waved in international sports events,” he said.
Afghanistan first appeared at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and have won only two bronze medals, both in Taekwondo.
“In Afghanistan, there aren’t many opportunities for sport,” said Faizad.
“We don’t have standard clubs to train properly, but we do our best.”
The word judo means “gentle way” in Japan and Faizad tries to cultivate the zen-like calmness his sport requires of champions by putting all other things out of his mind.
“An athlete should be able to focus only on sport,” he said.
The young fighter is trained by his uncle, 36 year-old Ajmal Faizada — who competed in the 2012 London Olympics and will accompany him to Paris.
“We have both given our best in training,” said Ajmal.
“We are really aiming to return with the best achievement possible.”
The Paris Olympics will be Faizad’s first international competition — but with the Taliban government unrecognized by any other nation, the trip is difficult and complicated.
Most embassies in Afghanistan were evacuated during the Taliban takeover and Faizad must travel to neighboring Iran to apply for his visa.
“Whether I win or not, and if I return to Afghanistan empty-handed, I will train to be ready for the 2028 Olympic Games,” he promised.
Only Olympian training in Taliban’s Afghanistan to fulfil judo dream
KABUL: Flipping his flailing judo sparring partner to the mat, Afghanistan’s Mohammad Samim Faizad is the only Olympic athlete training for the Games inside his Taliban-controlled homeland. Six Afghans — including three women who are not acknowledged by the Taliban government — will compete at...
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Taliban should prevent use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks: US
Amid the recent rise in terror attacks across Pakistan, United States (US) has urged the Taliban to ensure that terrorist attacks are not launched from the from Afghan soil, ARY News reported.
During a press briefing, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the issue of Afghan soil being used by terrorists has been a priority for the US in engagements with Taliban.
He lauded the sacrifices of Pakistani people saying that the people of Pakistan have suffered greatly at the hands of violent extremists and terrorists. “We have a shared interest with the Pakistani people and the Government of Pakistan in combating threats to regional security”, he added.
On the matter regarding the IMF deal, the US State Department spokesperson said that Pakistan continues to be a close partner that the US work with on a number of important matters, including improving the Pakistan economy and the US have several times spoken about the importance of securing an IMF facility and Pakistan making reforms in that regard.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan security forces killed 10 terrorists who attacked Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the early hours of Monday.
The attackers attempted to infiltrate the Bannu cantt but were repelled, leading them to detonate an explosive-laden vehicle against the perimeter wall.
The security forces retaliated strongly and killed all the attackers, while eight personnel were also martyred.
The army’s public relations wing further said that the Bannu cantt attack was planned by Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which is operating from Afghan soil.
The ISPR urged Afghanistan to take strong action against the terrorists targeting Pakistan from its soil.
Source: Ary News
Amid the recent rise in terror attacks across Pakistan, United States (US) has urged the Taliban to ensure that terrorist attacks are not launched from the from Afghan soil, ARY News reported.
During a press briefing, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the issue of Afghan soil being used by terrorists has been a priority for the US in engagements with Taliban.
He lauded the sacrifices of Pakistani people saying that the people of Pakistan have suffered greatly at the hands of violent extremists and terrorists. “We have a shared interest with the Pakistani people and the Government of Pakistan in combating threats to regional security”, he added.
On the matter regarding the IMF deal, the US State Department spokesperson said that Pakistan continues to be a close partner that the US work with on a number of important matters, including improving the Pakistan economy and the US have several times spoken about the importance of securing an IMF facility and Pakistan making reforms in that regard.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan security forces killed 10 terrorists who attacked Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the early hours of Monday.
The attackers attempted to infiltrate the Bannu cantt but were repelled, leading them to detonate an explosive-laden vehicle against the perimeter wall.
The security forces retaliated strongly and killed all the attackers, while eight personnel were also martyred.
The army’s public relations wing further said that the Bannu cantt attack was planned by Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which is operating from Afghan soil.
The ISPR urged Afghanistan to take strong action against the terrorists targeting Pakistan from its soil.
Source: Ary News
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Russian Envoy: We Focus on Our Interests in Recognizing 'Taliban'
Dmitry Zhirnov , the Russian ambassador to Afghanistan, has said that Moscow will act based on its interests when deciding to recognize the "Taliban" and remove them from the list of banned organizations.
"Moscow's interaction with representatives of the Taliban movement (banned in Russia) has become closer, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan," Dmitry Zhirnov said in an interview with TASS.
"Work on the visits of Afghan delegations is very active. In the first half of the year alone, the Minister of Higher Education, the Minister of Industry and Trade, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Chairman of the National Olympic Committee visited Russia. Last year there were even more visits," Zhirnov said.
Dmitry Zhirnov added that Moscow's interaction with "Taliban" officials has become closer. He mentioned this in reference to recent visits by officials of the interim government to Russia.
According to Zhirnov, economic relations between Moscow and Kabul are also expanding.
Earlier Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special envoy for Afghanistan, announced that the process of removing the "Taliban" from the list of banned organizations is ongoing.
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Afghanistan - wish you were here? The Taliban do
When it comes to planning a holiday, Afghanistan is not at the top of most people’s must-visit lists.
Decades of conflict mean that few tourists dared step foot in the Central Asian nation since its heyday as part of the hippie trail in the 1970s. And the future of whatever tourism industry had survived was thrust into further uncertainty by the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
But a quick scroll through social media suggests that not only has tourism survived, it has - in its own, extraordinarily niche way - boomed.
“Five reasons why Afghanistan should be your next trip,” gush the delighted influencers, their cameras sweeping across glistening lakes, through mountainous passes and into colourful, busy markets.
“Afghanistan hasn’t been this safe in 20 years,” others declare, posing next to the vast chasms left behind by the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas more than 20 years ago.
Behind the sunny claims and glamorous videos are questions about the risks these travellers are taking, and exactly who this burgeoning industry is truly helping: a population struggling to survive, or a regime keen to shift the narrative in its favour?
“It is very ironic to see those videos on TikTok where there is a Taliban guide and Taliban official giving tickets to tourists to visit the [site of the] destruction of the Buddhas,” points out Dr Farkhondeh Akbari, whose family fled Afghanistan during the first Taliban regime in the 1990s.
“These are the people who destroyed the Buddhas.”
'It's just raw'
The list of countries visited by Sascha Heeney do not, on first hearing, sound like ideal holiday destinations - places many will be more used to reading about in the news.
But then, that appears to be exactly why Heeney, and thousands more like her across the globe, picked them out: off the beaten track, as far away from a five-star resort as you can get - and therefore, almost entirely unique.
So perhaps it is not surprising she was won over by Afghanistan.
“It is just raw,” says the part-time travel guide from Brighton, UK. “You don’t get much rawer than there. That can be attractive - if you want to see real life.”
What do the Taliban get out of it? After all, they have a reputation for being deeply suspicious, hostile even, towards outsiders, particularly Westerners.
And yet here they are, posing - if slightly uncomfortably - alongside the tourists, guns on show, their bearded faces potentially about to go viral on TikTok (banned in the country since 2022).
At one level, the answer is simple. The Taliban - largely isolated internationally, under widespread sanctions and prevented from accessing funds given to Afghanistan's former government - need money.
The tourists - whose numbers have crept up from just 691 in 2021 to more than 7,000 last year, according to AP news agency - bring it.
Most seem to join one of myriad tours offered by international companies, providing a peek at the "real Afghanistan" for a few thousand dollars a trip.
Mohammad Saeed, the head of the Taliban government's Tourism Directorate in Kabul, said earlier this year that he dreamed of the country becoming a tourist hotspot. In particular, he revealed, he was eyeing up the Chinese market - all with the backing “of the Elders”.
“All they want to do [with tourism], it’s good,” says Afghan tour guide Rohullah, whose smiling face has been shared dozens of times by happy clients since he started leading groups three years ago.
“Tourism creates a lot of jobs and opportunities,” he adds – and he should know.
After what he refers to as “the change” in 2021 - when the Taliban seized power as the US pulled out - he was offered a job as a tour guide by a friend. Before that, he had spent eight years working for the Afghan finance ministry.
And he hasn’t regretted it. Tour groups like Heeney's need drivers and local guides, and with tourist numbers continuing to rise, there is no shortage of work.
It is not surprising then to find groups of young men - and they are all men - attending Taliban-approved hospitality classes in Kabul, hoping to take advantage of the burgeoning industry.
“We expect much for this year,” Rohullah says. “This is a peaceful time - it was not possible to travel to all parts of Afghanistan before, but for now, it really is possible.”
The killing of three Spanish tourists and an Afghan at a market in Bamiyan in May by the Islamic State-affiliated ISK militant group stood out for being unusual because it targeted foreigners.
The British Foreign Office continues to advise against all travel to the country, which remains a target for attacks. ISK carried out 45 in 2023 alone, according to the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
Of course, part of the reason for Afghanistan's increased security now is that during the 20 year war which engulfed the country after the US invasion, the Taliban themselves were responsible for much of the violence.
Take - for example - the first three months of 2021, when the UN attributed more than 40% of the 1,783 civilian casualties recorded to the Taliban. It wasn't just the Taliban though. The same report noted US-led Afghan government forces were responsible for 25% of the casualties in the same period.
'Know the rules and learn the game'
What is perhaps more surprising is that Heeney and two other members of the group she led for Lupine Tours earlier this year were women - and they were far from the only ones. Young Pioneer Tours - which has long experience of organising holidays to North Korea and other off-grid destinations - even runs exclusively female trips to Afghanistan. Rohullah has guided female solo travellers “without any issues”.
The Taliban’s strict rules for their own female population - which has seen them forced out of the workplace, out of secondary education and even out of the Band-e-Amir national park, a stop on many of the international tours on offer - do not preclude female tourists visiting.
It does mean that “women and men have different encounters” in Afghanistan, acknowledges Rowan Beard, who has been bringing groups to the country since 2016. It is not necessarily a bad thing, he argues.
“Men cannot speak with women; women can,” he explains. “Our female tourists had the opportunity to sit with a group of women and hear from them about their experiences, and further insights into the country."
But everyone needs to follow the rules put in place. Heeney and her group were briefed in advance of what would be required in order to meet those rules, including on how they dressed, how to act and who they could, and couldn’t, talk to.
The Taliban - ever-present, watching from the sidelines with their guns - were among those who did not speak to Heeney or the female members of her group. She didn't begrudge it.
“You have to kind of know the rules and learn the game,” she explains.
For Heeney, speaking with the women - who were “incredibly happy” the group was visiting - was a highlight on a tour where the "absolutely lovely", generous and welcoming people of Afghanistan stood out.
In videos posted on social media, the women are noticeably missing from vibrant street scenes - a fact glossed over by one visitor, who declares people shouldn’t worry, they are just inside doing what women around the world love to do: shop.
'Whitewashing our suffering'
Watching these slick videos from outside Afghanistan, some are left with a bitter taste.
“[Tourists think] it is just this backward part of the world, and they can do whatever they want - we don’t care," says Dr Akbari, now a postdoctoral researcher at Monash University in Australia.
"We just go and enjoy the landscape and get our views and our likes. And this hurts us a lot.”
It is, she adds, “unethical tourism with a lack of political and social awareness”, which allows the Taliban to gloss over the realities of life now they are back in power.
Because this is, arguably, the other value of tourism to the Taliban: a new image. One which doesn't highlight the rules controlling the lives of Afghan women.
“My family - they have no male guardian - cannot travel from one district to another district,” Dr Akbari points out. “We are talking about 50% of the population who have no rights… We are talking about a regime which has installed gender apartheid.
“And yes, there is a humanitarian crisis: I’m happy that tourists might go and buy something from a shop and it might help a local family, but what is the cost of it? It is normalising the Taliban regime.”
Heeney admits she did have a “moral struggle” over the Taliban’s position on women before she visited.
“Of course, I feel very strongly about their rights - it crossed my mind,” she says. “But then as a traveller… I think countries are deserving to go to, and be listened to - we have a skewed idea. I like to see with my own eyes. I can make my own judgment.”
Beard argues for letting people “make their own conclusions rather than there being a one-size-fits-all answer to the experience women have in the country”.
The overly positive view shared by some on social media can definitely be seen as problematic, says Marina Novelli, professor of marketing and tourism at Nottingham University School of Business.
“I would be very wary of the sensationalisation of a destination,” she says, explaining that some may “paint an image that is naïve”.
“Sometimes travellers also want to send a positive message - but that does not mean that problems [aren’t still there].”
Boycotting is also not the way forward, argues Prof Novelli, who sits on an international tourism ethics board.
“I find that problematic - it isolates these countries even more.”
It also opens up a question over where to draw the line - there are plenty of tourist destinations in the global north which have governments with questionable practices, she says.
However, the potential for benefit is also worth considering: in Saudi Arabia, she says, a growing tourism industry has led to a widening role in society for women.
“I think tourism can be a force for peace, for cross-cultural exchange,” Prof Novelli says.
That potential though does not make it easier for women like Dr Akbari, and her family and friends in Afghanistan.
“Our pains and our sufferings are being whitewashed," she says, "brushed with these fake strokes of security the Taliban want."
BBC
When it comes to planning a holiday, Afghanistan is not at the top of most people’s must-visit lists.
Decades of conflict mean that few tourists dared step foot in the Central Asian nation since its heyday as part of the hippie trail in the 1970s. And the future of whatever tourism industry had survived was thrust into further uncertainty by the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
But a quick scroll through social media suggests that not only has tourism survived, it has - in its own, extraordinarily niche way - boomed.
“Five reasons why Afghanistan should be your next trip,” gush the delighted influencers, their cameras sweeping across glistening lakes, through mountainous passes and into colourful, busy markets.
“Afghanistan hasn’t been this safe in 20 years,” others declare, posing next to the vast chasms left behind by the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas more than 20 years ago.
Behind the sunny claims and glamorous videos are questions about the risks these travellers are taking, and exactly who this burgeoning industry is truly helping: a population struggling to survive, or a regime keen to shift the narrative in its favour?
“It is very ironic to see those videos on TikTok where there is a Taliban guide and Taliban official giving tickets to tourists to visit the [site of the] destruction of the Buddhas,” points out Dr Farkhondeh Akbari, whose family fled Afghanistan during the first Taliban regime in the 1990s.
“These are the people who destroyed the Buddhas.”
'It's just raw'
The list of countries visited by Sascha Heeney do not, on first hearing, sound like ideal holiday destinations - places many will be more used to reading about in the news.
But then, that appears to be exactly why Heeney, and thousands more like her across the globe, picked them out: off the beaten track, as far away from a five-star resort as you can get - and therefore, almost entirely unique.
So perhaps it is not surprising she was won over by Afghanistan.
“It is just raw,” says the part-time travel guide from Brighton, UK. “You don’t get much rawer than there. That can be attractive - if you want to see real life.”
What do the Taliban get out of it? After all, they have a reputation for being deeply suspicious, hostile even, towards outsiders, particularly Westerners.
And yet here they are, posing - if slightly uncomfortably - alongside the tourists, guns on show, their bearded faces potentially about to go viral on TikTok (banned in the country since 2022).
At one level, the answer is simple. The Taliban - largely isolated internationally, under widespread sanctions and prevented from accessing funds given to Afghanistan's former government - need money.
The tourists - whose numbers have crept up from just 691 in 2021 to more than 7,000 last year, according to AP news agency - bring it.
Most seem to join one of myriad tours offered by international companies, providing a peek at the "real Afghanistan" for a few thousand dollars a trip.
Mohammad Saeed, the head of the Taliban government's Tourism Directorate in Kabul, said earlier this year that he dreamed of the country becoming a tourist hotspot. In particular, he revealed, he was eyeing up the Chinese market - all with the backing “of the Elders”.
“All they want to do [with tourism], it’s good,” says Afghan tour guide Rohullah, whose smiling face has been shared dozens of times by happy clients since he started leading groups three years ago.
“Tourism creates a lot of jobs and opportunities,” he adds – and he should know.
After what he refers to as “the change” in 2021 - when the Taliban seized power as the US pulled out - he was offered a job as a tour guide by a friend. Before that, he had spent eight years working for the Afghan finance ministry.
And he hasn’t regretted it. Tour groups like Heeney's need drivers and local guides, and with tourist numbers continuing to rise, there is no shortage of work.
It is not surprising then to find groups of young men - and they are all men - attending Taliban-approved hospitality classes in Kabul, hoping to take advantage of the burgeoning industry.
“We expect much for this year,” Rohullah says. “This is a peaceful time - it was not possible to travel to all parts of Afghanistan before, but for now, it really is possible.”
The killing of three Spanish tourists and an Afghan at a market in Bamiyan in May by the Islamic State-affiliated ISK militant group stood out for being unusual because it targeted foreigners.
The British Foreign Office continues to advise against all travel to the country, which remains a target for attacks. ISK carried out 45 in 2023 alone, according to the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
Of course, part of the reason for Afghanistan's increased security now is that during the 20 year war which engulfed the country after the US invasion, the Taliban themselves were responsible for much of the violence.
Take - for example - the first three months of 2021, when the UN attributed more than 40% of the 1,783 civilian casualties recorded to the Taliban. It wasn't just the Taliban though. The same report noted US-led Afghan government forces were responsible for 25% of the casualties in the same period.
'Know the rules and learn the game'
What is perhaps more surprising is that Heeney and two other members of the group she led for Lupine Tours earlier this year were women - and they were far from the only ones. Young Pioneer Tours - which has long experience of organising holidays to North Korea and other off-grid destinations - even runs exclusively female trips to Afghanistan. Rohullah has guided female solo travellers “without any issues”.
The Taliban’s strict rules for their own female population - which has seen them forced out of the workplace, out of secondary education and even out of the Band-e-Amir national park, a stop on many of the international tours on offer - do not preclude female tourists visiting.
It does mean that “women and men have different encounters” in Afghanistan, acknowledges Rowan Beard, who has been bringing groups to the country since 2016. It is not necessarily a bad thing, he argues.
“Men cannot speak with women; women can,” he explains. “Our female tourists had the opportunity to sit with a group of women and hear from them about their experiences, and further insights into the country."
But everyone needs to follow the rules put in place. Heeney and her group were briefed in advance of what would be required in order to meet those rules, including on how they dressed, how to act and who they could, and couldn’t, talk to.
The Taliban - ever-present, watching from the sidelines with their guns - were among those who did not speak to Heeney or the female members of her group. She didn't begrudge it.
“You have to kind of know the rules and learn the game,” she explains.
For Heeney, speaking with the women - who were “incredibly happy” the group was visiting - was a highlight on a tour where the "absolutely lovely", generous and welcoming people of Afghanistan stood out.
In videos posted on social media, the women are noticeably missing from vibrant street scenes - a fact glossed over by one visitor, who declares people shouldn’t worry, they are just inside doing what women around the world love to do: shop.
'Whitewashing our suffering'
Watching these slick videos from outside Afghanistan, some are left with a bitter taste.
“[Tourists think] it is just this backward part of the world, and they can do whatever they want - we don’t care," says Dr Akbari, now a postdoctoral researcher at Monash University in Australia.
"We just go and enjoy the landscape and get our views and our likes. And this hurts us a lot.”
It is, she adds, “unethical tourism with a lack of political and social awareness”, which allows the Taliban to gloss over the realities of life now they are back in power.
Because this is, arguably, the other value of tourism to the Taliban: a new image. One which doesn't highlight the rules controlling the lives of Afghan women.
“My family - they have no male guardian - cannot travel from one district to another district,” Dr Akbari points out. “We are talking about 50% of the population who have no rights… We are talking about a regime which has installed gender apartheid.
“And yes, there is a humanitarian crisis: I’m happy that tourists might go and buy something from a shop and it might help a local family, but what is the cost of it? It is normalising the Taliban regime.”
Heeney admits she did have a “moral struggle” over the Taliban’s position on women before she visited.
“Of course, I feel very strongly about their rights - it crossed my mind,” she says. “But then as a traveller… I think countries are deserving to go to, and be listened to - we have a skewed idea. I like to see with my own eyes. I can make my own judgment.”
Beard argues for letting people “make their own conclusions rather than there being a one-size-fits-all answer to the experience women have in the country”.
The overly positive view shared by some on social media can definitely be seen as problematic, says Marina Novelli, professor of marketing and tourism at Nottingham University School of Business.
“I would be very wary of the sensationalisation of a destination,” she says, explaining that some may “paint an image that is naïve”.
“Sometimes travellers also want to send a positive message - but that does not mean that problems [aren’t still there].”
Boycotting is also not the way forward, argues Prof Novelli, who sits on an international tourism ethics board.
“I find that problematic - it isolates these countries even more.”
It also opens up a question over where to draw the line - there are plenty of tourist destinations in the global north which have governments with questionable practices, she says.
However, the potential for benefit is also worth considering: in Saudi Arabia, she says, a growing tourism industry has led to a widening role in society for women.
“I think tourism can be a force for peace, for cross-cultural exchange,” Prof Novelli says.
That potential though does not make it easier for women like Dr Akbari, and her family and friends in Afghanistan.
“Our pains and our sufferings are being whitewashed," she says, "brushed with these fake strokes of security the Taliban want."
BBC
FearlessRoar
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US Congresswoman Introduces Bill To Designate Taliban As Terrorist Organisation
Nancy Mace, a US Congresswoman, has introduced a bill in the US Congress that would designate the Taliban as a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation”.
The bill, known as the "Preventing the Recognition of Terrorist State Act," aims to prevent the recognition of the Taliban.
The Republican representative stated that freedom and justice demand rejecting tyranny and oppression in all its forms and that this bill will ensure the United States never recognises the terrorist regime of the Taliban.
Mace added, "By prohibiting any federal actions implying their legitimacy and designating them as state sponsors of terrorism, we stand firm against this rogue state’s barbarism.”
A statement released by Mace's office on Thursday indicates that, if enacted, the bill will prevent the recognition of the Taliban government.
The statement indicates that the bill will send a clear message to the Middle East that the US will never recognise a regime controlled by terrorists.
This is the first time such a bill has been introduced in the Congress to prevent the recognition of the Taliban.
According to Mace's statement, key provisions of the bill include prohibiting any US government entity from recognising the Taliban regime or allocating funding for that purpose.
The bill would also compel the US Department of State to designate the Taliban as a "State Sponsor of Terrorism" and a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation”.
US Congresswoman Introduces Bill To Designate Taliban As Terrorist Organisation
Nancy Mace, a US Congresswoman, has introduced a bill in the US Congress that would designate the Taliban as a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation”.
www.afintl.com
FearlessRoar
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Taliban celebrate 3 years since Afghanistan takeover with military show
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers celebrated three years in power on Wednesday with a military parade paying homage to their homemade bombs used in war, fighter aircraft and goose-stepping security forces.
The Taliban’s armed forces towed Soviet-era tanks and artillery pieces through the former US air base in Bagram, where Chinese and Iranian diplomats were among hundreds who gathered for the parade and speeches.
The former Bagram base once served as the linchpin for US-led operations against the Taliban for two decades.
A swarm of motorbikes strapped with yellow jerry cans, often used to carry homemade bombs during the fight against international forces, also rumbled past assembled officials.
There were US-made armored personnel carriers, the black-and-white flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — the Taliban government’s formal name for the country — fluttering above them.
Helicopters and fighter aircraft flew over the base, where Taliban fighters were once imprisoned, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Kabul.
Taliban forces seized the capital on August 15, 2021, after the US-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile. The anniversary is marked a day earlier on the Afghan calendar.
Their government remains unrecognized by any other state, with restrictions on women, who bear the brunt of policies the United Nations has called “gender apartheid,” remaining a key sticking point.
“Three years have passed since the dreams of girls have been buried,” Madina, a 20-year-old former university student in Kabul, told AFP.
“It’s a bitter feeling that every year, the celebration of this day reminds us of the efforts, memories, and goals we had for our future.”
Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who had been scheduled to appear at Bagram, praised the Taliban authorities’ victory over “Western occupiers” in a statement read by his chief of staff.
The Taliban government has “the responsibility to maintain Islamic rule, protect property, people’s lives and the respect of our nation,” he said.
Security has been a priority for Taliban authorities as they consolidated their power over the past three years, implementing laws based on their strict interpretation of Islam.
However, attacks by the Daesh group remain a threat and extra security was deployed in Kabul and in the Taliban’s spiritual home of Kandahar ahead of the “day of victory.”
A convoy of military vehicles and arms also paraded near the southern city.
Helicopters flew over the Ghazi stadium in Kabul, where hundreds of men gathered to watch speeches and an exhibition of athletics and performances of Taliban anthems.
Rugby player Samiullah Akmal praised the day’s events, saying it was “better than other years.”
“As a young man, I see Afghanistan’s future is bright... we are independent and the people surrounding us are our own.”
The stadium was full of people from surrounding provinces, Noorullah Noori, Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, told AFP, adding that there was a feeling of “unity.”
“Whether people are members of Islamic Emirate or not... they should be grateful for this blessing from God, they should stand behind the Islamic Emirate.”
The black-and-white standard decorated streets and trucks full of smiling men that choked Kabul streets.
Happy young boys carried a large flag in the Green Zone, once a secure enclave of foreign embassies, saying “We’re ready to do a suicide attack!“
While many Afghans expressed relief at the end of 40 years of successive conflicts, the economy remains stagnant and the population mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis.
“The past three years have been some of the worst of our lives,” said 26-year-old Zalmai, who works for a non-profit and only gave his last name.
“I don’t know what security the Taliban are talking about, people are hungry, the youth don’t have jobs... both girls and boys are facing uncertain future,” he said.
A joint statement from international non-governmental groups warned of the growing aid funding gap, with 23.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Women have been squeezed from public life — banned from many jobs as well as parks and gyms — and barred from secondary and higher education.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reiterated calls for pressure on the Taliban government to lift restrictions on women.
“The third anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover is a grim reminder of Afghanistan’s human rights crisis, but it should also be a call for action,” said Fereshta Abbasi, HRW’s Afghanistan researcher.
No country should interfere in Afghanistan. They have their own tribal culture and it is for them to decide which way they want to go.
One thing is for sure. They will keep getting exploited by other nations unless they embrace modernity and become financially independent. It is up to them.
One thing is for sure. They will keep getting exploited by other nations unless they embrace modernity and become financially independent. It is up to them.
KingKhanWC
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It seems they are exploiting their victory by humiliating the Americans 3 years on lol
Yeah and they dont do anything for the people. The US.was the biggest donor for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan the last 3 years at $2b. Everyone talks bad about the USA- but for sure want thir dollars. Unlike the islamic ummah countries who I can guarantee you probably contributed zilch to the Afghan humanitarian aid.. such a bunch of hypocrites.
KingKhanWC
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Yeah and they dont do anything for the people. The US.was the biggest donor for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan the last 3 years at $2b. Everyone talks bad about the USA- but for sure want thir dollars. Unlike the islamic ummah countries who I can guarantee you probably contributed zilch to the Afghan humanitarian aid.. such a bunch of hypocrites.
lol Afghans aren’t being blown up from the sky , their entire villages aren’t been wiped out by cluster bombs & their homes aren’t being invaded or females abused by foreigners. Afghanistan has a long way to go but only a tool would prefer living under foreign bloody occupation. The streets are safe , more jobs are being worked & it’s a clean & lovely place in most towns & cities . Stop crying because you enjoyed them being occupied .
American weapons is all they got. They cannot produce a single fire arm by themselves and they will not be able to do it in the coming decades either.
No ones crying lol.. If the taliban is so concerned - they should stop taking the foreign aid from the bloody foreigners. But no - the shameless guys still want the dollars coming in. Again a bunch of hypocrites just like so many islamic countries that take US aid and spew venom. For all the ummah talk - the amount of bending over backwards for US aid is weird isnt it..
They are surviving on Western financial aid. They produce nothing that the world wants. No nation can survive like that.Yeah and they dont do anything for the people. The US.was the biggest donor for humanitarian aid to Afghanistan the last 3 years at $2b. Everyone talks bad about the USA- but for sure want thir dollars. Unlike the islamic ummah countries who I can guarantee you probably contributed zilch to the Afghan humanitarian aid.. such a bunch of hypocrites.
Rich Arab nations are trying to become secular and include scientific thought in their future plans. So they are not going to support radical Islamic governments or rulers. We can see how Arabs are dealing with Palestinians. Total crickets from them.
KingKhanWC
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The USA stole $7 billion from
Afghanistan after their humiliation . Not to mention the destruction they caused. It’s their money which if any is being retuned
I really would suggest to Indian posters to do some basic research , before making daft points on a daily basis.
Afghanistan after their humiliation . Not to mention the destruction they caused. It’s their money which if any is being retuned
I really would suggest to Indian posters to do some basic research , before making daft points on a daily basis.
Red-Indian
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Taliban bans the sound of women’s voices singing or reading in public
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are cracking down on the sound of women’s voices in public, under a strict new set of vice and virtue laws under the Islamist regime.The laws were issued Wednesday after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, a government spokesman said, and cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations.
Among the new rules, Article 13 relates to women: It says it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short.
Women are also obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.
“Inshallah we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice,” said ministry spokesman Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq on Thursday, of the new laws.
First formal declaration of vice and virtue laws
The 114-page, 35-article document seen by The Associated Press constitutes the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021, when it also set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice.”The laws will empower the ministry to be at the frontline of regulating personal conduct, administering punishments like warnings or arrest if enforcers allege that Afghans have broken the laws.
The laws ban the publication of images of living beings, threatening an already fragile Afghan media landscape; the playing of music; the transportation of solo female travelers; and the mixing of men and women who are not related to each other. The laws also oblige passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times.
According to the ministry website, the promotion of virtue includes prayer, aligning the character and behavior of Muslims with Islamic law, encouraging women to wear hijab, and inviting people to comply with the five pillars of Islam. It also says the elimination of vice involves prohibiting people from doing things forbidden by Islamic law.
Last month, a U.N. report said the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through edicts and the methods used to enforce them.
It said the ministry’s role was expanding into other areas of public life, including media monitoring and eradicating drug addiction.
“Given the multiple issues outlined in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls,” said Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights service at the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.
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Red-Indian
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It's really brutal. Cannot countries like China, Japan, Eastern Europe which are running short of people and are trying to pay women to have children start allowing controlled migration from Afghanistan? Do a deal with the Taliban for a fixed amount for every refugee they allow to escape from their brutal regime. A couple of million refugees will hardly be a drop in the bucket for China which is actually seeing a declining population.
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Hitman
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Freedom fighters they are!
FearlessRoar
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US-Afghan Trade Chamber Praises Currency Stability
The Central Bank of Afghanistan said that the chairman of the Afghanistan-America Joint Chamber of Commerce, Jeff Greico, said the performance of the bank in the past three years has been effective in maintaining the value of the Afghan currency against foreign currencies, and he expressed his support for the private sector and banking activities in Afghanistan.Hassibullah Noori, the spokesperson of the Central Bank, said that Jeff Grieco, the president of the Afghan American Chamber of Commerce, raised the issue during a meeting with the first deputy of this bank.
According to Noori, the first deputy of the Central Bank also emphasized during this meeting the prevention of money laundering and income from crimes, the standardization of the money exchange sector and money service providers, and controlling inflation according to global standards.
The spokesperson of the Central Bank said: "In the past three years, the Central Bank of Afghanistan has successfully maintained the value of the Afghan currency and somewhat controlled inflation. Significant steps have also been taken in liquidity management and strengthening the banking system."
Several economic experts consider the provision of more facilities in banking services and support for the banking and private sectors vital for the country's economic growth.
Abdul Nasir Rashtia, an economic expert, said: "If the Bank of Afghanistan operates according to established laws and global standards, and serious financial support is provided to the private sector, this support can significantly contribute to Afghanistan's economic growth."
Abdul Ghafar Nezami, another economic expert, said: "From the latest statements of the Central Bank, it is clear that they intend to focus more on the banking sector. It is necessary for Islamic banking to develop in Afghanistan."
Previously, in the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan, emphasis was also placed on supporting the private and banking sectors in the country.
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Defense Ministry Rejects Claims of ISIS, TTP Presence as Baseless
The Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense stressed that Afghanistan's territory is currently safe and will not be used against any country, including its neighbors.
In this program, Fitrat said: "ISIS has been completely eradicated in Afghanistan and has no presence. The claims made are baseless."
The Chief of Staff also added that TTP does not have any bases in Afghanistan, and countries should not fear Afghanistan's territory.
He further said: "We all know that TTP has clear bases in Pakistan and controls areas there. They launch operations against Pakistani military forces from there."
Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman Air Force Major, had claimed that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ISIS have an active presence in Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, stating that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan organizes its operations from Afghan territory, said: "It is no longer a secret that terrorists launch their attacks from Afghan soil. We not only shared the sensitivity of this issue with the Afghan side but also launched a major operation against the terrorists."
Meanwhile, the Pentagon spokesman Major Ryder said: “The Taliban is currently the government in Afghanistan, and I'll use that term loosely, and so as the so called ruling entity there, clearly there is a difference between the ISIS-K but there are many other terror groups that are resident right now in Afghanistan.”
The Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Emirate also said yesterday (Tuesday) in its annual report program that ISIS activities in Afghanistan have reached zero, and countries that have concerns in this regard have no proof of ISIS presence in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan bans MMA, finds many aspects ‘contradictory to the teachings of Islam’
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has banned mixed martial arts (MMA), believing it to be un-Islamic, its sports authority said in a statement on Wednesday.
The order was passed down by Afghanistan’s morality police in the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice after an investigation into the sport’s compliance with Islamic law, or sharia, the statement and local media said.
“It was found that the sport is problematic with respect to sharia and it has many aspects which are contradictory to the teachings of Islam,” the Taliban government sports authority said in a statement sent to AFP.
“That’s why this decision has been made to ban mixed martial arts in Afghanistan.”
A sports authority official told local media MMA was banned in part because it was considered too violent and posed the risk of injury or death.
The Taliban authorities returned to power in 2021, implementing a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
They recently ratified a morality law formalising many rules on behaviour and dress, including that men must not wear shorts above the knee.
Martial arts are popular sports in Afghanistan.
Four of the 11 Afghans who competed at the Paris Games, on either the national or the Refugee Olympic teams, were martial arts athletes.
MMA has not been recognised as an Olympic sport, in part due to safety concerns.
Afghanistan bans MMA, finds many aspects ‘contradictory to the teachings of Islam’
Four of the 11 Afghans who competed at the Paris Games, on either the national or the Refugee Olympic teams, were martial arts athletes.
Afghan women are erased by the Taliban as the international community looks on
The oppression of Afghan women continues unabated before the eyes of the world. The Taliban imposed severe new restrictions earlier this month, with women not only obliged to cover their faces but now forbidden from raising their voices, singing or reading aloud in public. Western countries – led by the US and EU – have condemned the new laws but also seem resigned to the Taliban regime, which offers some stability in the region.
Invisible, and now silent. Three years after the Taliban's return to power, Afghan women continue to see their few remaining rights dwindle away.
A Taliban ministry promulgated a new set of laws on August 21 that it said “will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice”. The laws aim to control all aspects of the social and private life of Afghans, especially of Afghan women.
Among the rules in the 114-page text published by the ministry is the requirement for women to cover their bodies and faces completely if they leave the house as well as a ban on women making their voices heard in public.
The new laws are “attacking their very existence”, Chekeba Hachemi, president of the organisation Free Afghanistan, told FRANCE 24.
“We no longer have the right to hear the sound of a woman's voice, or to see even a glimpse of a woman's body. It's as if we were telling them: ‘We want to kill you slowly’.”
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Is this acceptable under Sharia law @Stewie @HalBass9 ? I remember the other day you said if given a choice muslims would vote for Sharia law in western world by exercising their democratic right
Do you agree with caging women?
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You should study the Quran, Brother Rajdeep. It has all the answers. If you find in there somewhere women should be caged, let us know.Afghan women are erased by the Taliban as the international community looks on
The oppression of Afghan women continues unabated before the eyes of the world. The Taliban imposed severe new restrictions earlier this month, with women not only obliged to cover their faces but now forbidden from raising their voices, singing or reading aloud in public. Western countries – led by the US and EU – have condemned the new laws but also seem resigned to the Taliban regime, which offers some stability in the region.
Invisible, and now silent. Three years after the Taliban's return to power, Afghan women continue to see their few remaining rights dwindle away.
A Taliban ministry promulgated a new set of laws on August 21 that it said “will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice”. The laws aim to control all aspects of the social and private life of Afghans, especially of Afghan women.
Among the rules in the 114-page text published by the ministry is the requirement for women to cover their bodies and faces completely if they leave the house as well as a ban on women making their voices heard in public.
The new laws are “attacking their very existence”, Chekeba Hachemi, president of the organisation Free Afghanistan, told FRANCE 24.
“We no longer have the right to hear the sound of a woman's voice, or to see even a glimpse of a woman's body. It's as if we were telling them: ‘We want to kill you slowly’.”
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Is this acceptable under Sharia law @Stewie @HalBass9 ? I remember the other day you said if given a choice muslims would vote for Sharia law in western world by exercising their democratic right
Do you agree with caging women?
I look forward to the day I can embrace you as a brother and call you Rizwan InshAllah
That didnt answer my question.
Nevertheless, what is your opinion on Taliban rule in Afghanistan? How do you see it as someone who lives in the modern western society?
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They are not a legit sharai system. They get something’s right but a vast majority of it is absolutely
non sharai
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But personally speaking, I think @Red-Indian had summarized it really nicely for us to get to end of such discussions. He said something along the lines of “let us look at what we currently have in the world and what is working for us”, rather than conceptualizing what an “ideal state with sharia system” looks like because we quite frankly don’t have one since all implementations are made by humans and they will be flawed.
Based on that assessment, I would go for a proper democracy that observes separation of church and state. I think that should put an end to this discussion.
Hope I didn’t get your thoughts wrong @Red-Indian
Based on that assessment, I would go for a proper democracy that observes separation of church and state. I think that should put an end to this discussion.
Hope I didn’t get your thoughts wrong @Red-Indian
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No...summarised quite well. I've been making that argument against most 'ideal' systems since nobody will admit that their beloved system could have any flaws if implemented correctly in letter and spirit. It's easier to get folks to agree that maybe this ideal system can wait for some time in the future when humans are enlightened/too oppressed/exhausted from all the evil in the world and are ready to accept that this ideal would solve all problems.
For now this - democracy with separation of church and state (allowing for a few minor compromises unique to each country) is the best we have.
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No cries or gurgles: The hospital ward filled with starving babies
“This is like doomsday for me. I feel so much grief. Can you imagine what I’ve gone through watching my children dying?” says Amina.
She’s lost six children. None of them lived past the age of three and another is now battling for her life.
Seven-month-old Bibi Hajira is the size of a newborn. Suffering from severe acute malnutrition, she occupies half a bed at a ward in Jalalabad regional hospital in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.
“My children are dying because of poverty. All I can feed them is dry bread, and water that I warm up by keeping it out under the sun,” Amina says, nearly shouting in anguish.
What’s even more devastating is her story is far from unique - and that so many more lives could be saved with timely treatment.
Bibi Hajira is one of 3.2 million children with acute malnutrition, which is ravaging the country. It’s a condition that has plagued Afghanistan for decades, triggered by 40 years of war, extreme poverty and a multitude of factors in the three years since the Taliban took over.
But the situation has now reached an unprecedented precipice.
It’s hard for anyone to imagine what 3.2 million looks like, and so the stories from just one small hospital room can serve as an insight into the unfolding disaster.
There are 18 toddlers in seven beds. It’s not a seasonal surge, this is how it is day after day. No cries or gurgles, the unnerving silence in the room is only broken by the high-pitched beeps of a pulse rate monitor.
Most of the children aren’t sedated or wearing oxygen masks. They’re awake but they are far too weak to move or make a sound.
Sharing the bed with Bibi Hajira, wearing a purple tunic, her tiny arm covering her face, is three-year-old Sana. Her mother died while giving birth to her baby sister a few months ago, so her aunt Laila is taking care of her. Laila touches my arm and holds up seven fingers – one for each child she’s lost.
In the adjacent bed is three-year-old Ilham, far too small for his age, skin peeling off his arms, legs and face. Three years ago, his sister died aged two.
It is too painful to even look at one-year-old Asma. She has beautiful hazel eyes and long eyelashes, but they’re wide open, barely blinking as she breathes heavily into an oxygen mask that covers most of her little face.
Dr Sikandar Ghani, who’s standing over her, shakes his head. “I don’t think she will survive,” he says. Asma’s tiny body has gone into septic shock.
Despite the circumstances, up until then there was a stoicism in the room - nurses and mothers going about their work, feeding the children, soothing them. It all stops, a broken look on so many faces.
Asma’s mother Nasiba is weeping. She lifts her veil and leans down to kiss her daughter.
“It feels like the flesh is melting from my body. I can’t bear to see her suffering like this,” she cries. Nasiba has already lost three children. “My husband is a labourer. When he gets work, we eat.”
Dr Ghani tells us Asma could suffer cardiac arrest at any moment. We leave the room. Less than an hour later, she died.
Seven hundred children have died in the past six months at the hospital – more than three a day, the Taliban’s public health department in Nangarhar told us. A staggering number, but there would have been a lot more deaths if this facility had not been kept running by World Bank and Unicef funding.
Up until August 2021, international funds given directly to the previous government funded nearly all public healthcare in Afghanistan.
When the Taliban took over, the money was stopped because of international sanctions against them. This triggered a healthcare collapse. Aid agencies stepped in to provide what was meant to be a temporary emergency response.
It was always an unsustainable solution, and now, in a world distracted by so much else, funding for Afghanistan has shrunk. Equally, the Taliban government’s policies, specifically its restrictions on women, have meant that donors are hesitant to give funds.
“We inherited the problem of poverty and malnutrition, which has become worse because of natural disasters like floods and climate change. The international community should increase humanitarian aid, they should not connect it with political and internal issues,” Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesman, told us.
Over the past three years we have been to more than a dozen health facilities in the country, and seen the situation deteriorating rapidly. During each of our past few visits to hospitals, we’ve witnessed children dying.
But what we have also seen is evidence that the right treatment can save children. Bibi Hajira, who was in a fragile state when we visited the hospital, is now much better and has been discharged, Dr Ghani told us over the phone.
“If we had more medicines, facilities and staff we could save more children. Our staff has strong commitment. We work tirelessly and are ready to do more,” he said.
“I also have children. When a child dies, we also suffer. I know what must go through the hearts of the parents.”
Malnutrition is not the only cause of a surge in mortality. Other preventable and curable diseases are also killing children.
In the intensive care unit next door to the malnutrition ward, six-month-old Umrah is battling severe pneumonia. She cries loudly as a nurse attaches a saline drip to her body. Umrah’s mother Nasreen sits by her, tears streaming down her face.
“I wish I could die in her place. I’m so scared,” she says. Two days after we visited the hospital, Umrah died.
These are the stories of those who made it to hospital. Countless others can’t. Only one out of five children who need hospital treatment can get it at Jalalabad hospital.
The pressure on the facility is so intense that almost immediately after Asma died, a tiny baby, three-month-old Aaliya, was moved into the half a bed that Asma left vacant.
No-one in the room had time to process what had happened. There was another seriously ill child to treat.
The Jalalabad hospital caters to the population of five provinces, estimated by the Taliban government to be roughly five million people. And now the pressure on it has increased further. Most of the more than 700,000 Afghan refugees forcibly deported by Pakistan since late last year continue to stay in Nangarhar.
In the communities around the hospital, we found evidence of another alarming statistic released this year by the UN: that 45% of children under the age of five are stunted – shorter than they should be - in Afghanistan.
Robina's two-year-old son Mohammed cannot stand yet and is much shorter than he should be.
“The doctor has told me that if he gets treatment for the next three to six months, he will be fine. But we can’t even afford food. How do we pay for the treatment?” Robina asks.
She and her family had to leave Pakistan last year and now live in a dusty, dry settlement in the Sheikh Misri area, a short drive on mud tracks from Jalalabad.
“I’m scared he will become disabled and he will never be able to walk," Robina says.
“In Pakistan, we also had a hard life. But there was work. Here my husband, a labourer, rarely finds work. We could have treated him if we were still in Pakistan.”
Unicef says stunting can cause severe irreversible physical and cognitive damage, the effects of which can last a lifetime and even affect the next generation.
“Afghanistan is already struggling economically. If large sections of our future generation are physically or mentally disabled, how will our society be able to help them?” asks Dr Ghani.
Mohammad can be saved from permanent damage if he’s treated before it’s too late.
But the community nutrition programmes run by aid agencies in Afghanistan have seen the most dramatic cuts – many of them have received just a quarter of the funding that’s needed.
In lane after lane of Sheikh Misri we meet families with malnourished or stunted children.
Sardar Gul has two malnourished children – three-year-old Umar and eight-month-old Mujib, a bright-eyed little boy he holds on his lap.
“A month ago Mujib’s weight had dropped to less than three kilos. Once we were able to register him with an aid agency, we started getting food sachets. Those have really helped him,” Sardar Gul says.
Mujib now weighs six kilos - still a couple of kilos underweight, but significantly improved.
It is evidence that timely intervention can help save children from death and disability.
Afghanistan: Babies dying as malnutrition disaster unfolds
Acute malnutrition, which has ravaged Afghanistan for decades, has reached an unprecedented level.
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Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt
Afghanistan’s Taliban government is keen to join the BRICS economic forum, a spokesman said on Tuesday ahead of the group’s summit in Russia.
The summit of emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa will meet on October 22-24 in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.
“Countries with major resources and the world’s biggest economies are associated with the BRICS forum, especially Russia, India, and China,” said Hamdullah Fitrat, a government deputy spokesman.
“Currently, we have good economic ties and commercial exchanges with them. We are keen to expand our relations and participate in the economic forums of the BRICS,” he said.
The Taliban authorities have not been officially recognised by any country but have growing relations with founding BRICS nations, including China and Russia.
The group, which has recently expanded by including Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Ethiopia, has not publicly reacted to the Taliban government’s comments.
A spokesman for the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP on Wednesday that they have “no information so far” about an invitation to the event.
Both Moscow and Beijing have expressed their readiness to invest in commercial projects in Afghanistan and to cooperate with Taliban authorities in its fight against Islamic State Khorasan, the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan branch.
Source: Dawn News
Afghanistan’s Taliban government is keen to join the BRICS economic forum, a spokesman said on Tuesday ahead of the group’s summit in Russia.
The summit of emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa will meet on October 22-24 in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.
“Countries with major resources and the world’s biggest economies are associated with the BRICS forum, especially Russia, India, and China,” said Hamdullah Fitrat, a government deputy spokesman.
“Currently, we have good economic ties and commercial exchanges with them. We are keen to expand our relations and participate in the economic forums of the BRICS,” he said.
The Taliban authorities have not been officially recognised by any country but have growing relations with founding BRICS nations, including China and Russia.
The group, which has recently expanded by including Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Ethiopia, has not publicly reacted to the Taliban government’s comments.
A spokesman for the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP on Wednesday that they have “no information so far” about an invitation to the event.
Both Moscow and Beijing have expressed their readiness to invest in commercial projects in Afghanistan and to cooperate with Taliban authorities in its fight against Islamic State Khorasan, the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan branch.
Source: Dawn News
Afghan women fight to hold Taliban to account over gender apartheid
When Sima Samar and other Afghan women came up with the term “gender apartheid” in the 1990s to describe the systematic oppression faced by women and girls under Taliban rule, she never imagined it would have become a key weapon in the fight to hold a second Taliban regime to account for their crimes two decades later.
“When the first Taliban regime fell, the idea that we would once again see the persecution, isolation and segregational and systematic repression of half the Afghan population on the basis of their gender seemed impossible,” says Samar, who served as the minister for women’s affairs after the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 and now lives in exile. “But now, in 2024, it is happening again and this time we must find a way to fight for justice.”
At the end of 2023, a campaign for gender apartheid in Afghanistan to be recognised and codified by the UN as a crime against humanity was launched, part of a desperate attempt by Afghan women living outside the country to get the international community to stop the new regime’s assault on women and girls.
“Racial apartheid is a crime against humanity under international law since 1973. Swap the word ‘racial’ for ‘gender’ and this is what is happening to Afghan women and girls,” says Samar.
MSN
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How bad is Taliban?
Why I don't see any protests from muslims around the world on this issue like they do for Palestine every week?
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Afghan women fight to hold Taliban to account over gender apartheid
When Sima Samar and other Afghan women came up with the term “gender apartheid” in the 1990s to describe the systematic oppression faced by women and girls under Taliban rule, she never imagined it would have become a key weapon in the fight to hold a second Taliban regime to account for their crimes two decades later.
“When the first Taliban regime fell, the idea that we would once again see the persecution, isolation and segregational and systematic repression of half the Afghan population on the basis of their gender seemed impossible,” says Samar, who served as the minister for women’s affairs after the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 and now lives in exile. “But now, in 2024, it is happening again and this time we must find a way to fight for justice.”
At the end of 2023, a campaign for gender apartheid in Afghanistan to be recognised and codified by the UN as a crime against humanity was launched, part of a desperate attempt by Afghan women living outside the country to get the international community to stop the new regime’s assault on women and girls.
“Racial apartheid is a crime against humanity under international law since 1973. Swap the word ‘racial’ for ‘gender’ and this is what is happening to Afghan women and girls,” says Samar.
MSN
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How bad is Taliban?
Why I don't see any protests from muslims around the world on this issue like they do for Palestine every week?
Even though they have their issues which is currently highlighted with this.
It's chalk and cheese to compare this human rights issue to a Generational Genocide.
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There is nothing as 'Even though'. Stop supporting Taliban terrorists and for heaven's sake speak up for the women in Afghanistan.
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