There have been unconfirmed reports of disagreements within the Taliban’s leadership since Baradar disappeared from public view in recent days…reports Asian Lite News
Days after Taliban forming a new government in Afghanistan, a major row broke out between leaders of the Taliban at the Presidential Palace, media reported.
The argument was between the group’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and a cabinet member at the presidential palace, the BBC reported.
There have been unconfirmed reports of disagreements within the Taliban’s leadership since Baradar disappeared from public view in recent days, it was reported.
Meanwhile, the reports have been officially denied.
Quoting sources, BBC reported that, Baradar and Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani – the minister for refugees and a prominent figure within the militant Haqqani network – had exchanged strong words, as their followers brawled with each other nearby.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s new acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi has called for sanctions to be lifted against the ‘Islamic Emirate’.
Speaking at a presser in Kabul, Muttaqi on Tuesday called on Afghan expats to return home to help develop the country, Ariana News reported.
He said the Islamic Emirate is willing to work with all countries including the US but made it clear they “will not be dictated to”. Muttaqi added, “we can not allow any sanctions or embargoes” to be imposed on Afghanistan.
(Image Source ANI)
Last week, the Taliban formed the interim “Islamic Emirate”, appointing in its new government hardliners who oversaw the fight against the US-led military coalition. The cabinet members consist of many Taliban figures that are on the UN Sanctions List.
Taliban had announced the caretaker government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, naming Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as interim prime minister and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the group, as his deputy.
After the Taliban announced its interim government that included UN-designated terrorists, the US reacted by saying that the UNSC will base any decisions on de-listing terrorists, based on the Taliban’s human rights policies.
Meanwhile, on the issue of further sanctions on the Taliban, the group’s spokesperson Suhail Shaheen in a recent interview was seen on the backfoot. He said it would be a kind of injustice against the people of Afghanistan to impose sanctions.
“While we are turning a new page which is a phase of the construction of Afghan peace, for the people of Afghanistan, they impose sanctions at this critical phase. … So, I think it would be a great and blatant injustice to impose sanctions against the people of Afghanistan at this most critical of times,” Shaheen said in an interview with China’s Global Times. (with inputs from ANI)
A major row broke out between leaders of the Taliban over the make-up of the group’s new government in Afghanistan last week…reports Asian Lite News
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is under treatment in hospital in Kandahar.
He sustained with injury in fight with Haqqanis last week, The Pashtun Times reported.
Currently, he is under Pakistan protection and no one allowed to see him, The Pashtun Times quoted a family member as saying.
A major row broke out between leaders of the Taliban over the make-up of the group’s new government in Afghanistan last week, BBC reported.
The argument between the group’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and a cabinet member happened at the presidential palace, the report said.
There have been unconfirmed reports of disagreements within the Taliban’s leadership since Baradar disappeared from public view in recent days.
One Taliban source told BBC Pashto that Baradar and Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani – the minister for refugees and a prominent figure within the militant Haqqani network – had exchanged strong words, as their followers brawled with each other nearby.
The Taliban sources told the BBC that Baradar had left Kabul and travelled to the city of Kandahar following the row.
A senior Taliban member based in Qatar and a person connected to those involved also confirmed that an argument had taken place late last week, the report said.
The sources said the argument had broken out because Baradar, the new deputy prime minister, was unhappy about the structure of their interim government.
It has been said that the row stemmed from divisions over who in the Taliban should take credit for their victory in Afghanistan.
Baradar reportedly believes that the emphasis should be placed on diplomacy carried out by people like him, while members of the Haqqani group – which is run by one of the most senior Taliban figures – and their backers say it was achieved through fighting.
Meanwhile, the powerful Haqqani network is associated with some of the most violent attacks that have occurred in Afghanistan against Afghan forces and their Western allies in recent years. The group is designated by the US as a terrorist organisation.
Its leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is the interior minister in the new government.
Rumours about a fallout have been spreading since late last week, when Baradar – one of the best-known faces of the Taliban – disappeared from public view. There was speculation on social media that he might have died.
Sources told the BBC that Mr Baradar was expected to return to Kabul and might appear on camera to deny that any argument had happened.
Speculation remains over the Taliban’s supreme commander, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who has never been seen in public. He is in charge of the Taliban’s political, military and religious affairs.
Afghan women protest Taliban's hijab diktat by sharing photos in colourful dresses
Photos have emerged of a group of female students wearing head-to-toe black robes and waving Taliban flags in the lecture hall of a government-run university in Kabul….reports Asian Lite News
Afghan women around the world are protesting the Taliban’s new hijab diktat in schools by posting photos of themselves wearing colorful traditional dresses on social media, CNN reported.
The Taliban have mandated the segregation of genders in classrooms and said that female students, lecturers and employees must wear hijabs in accordance with the group’s interpretation of Sharia law.
Photos have emerged of a group of female students wearing head-to-toe black robes and waving Taliban flags in the lecture hall of a government-run university in Kabul.
Afghan women protest Taliban’s hijab diktat by sharing photos in colourful dresses
Other Afghan women responded by posting pictures of themselves in bright and colorful traditional Afghan dresses — a stark contrast to the black hijab mandate outlined by the Taliban.
Bahar Jalali, a former faculty member of the American University of Afghanistan according to her LinkedIn profile, helped kick off the picture posting campaign, according to other women who shared photos on Twitter., CNN reported.
Jalali tweeted a picture of a woman in a full black dress and veil and said: “No woman has ever dressed like this in the history of Afghanistan. This is utterly foreign and alien to Afghan culture. I posted my pic in the traditional Afghan dress to inform, educate and dispel the misinformation that is being propagated by Taliban.”
Other Afghan women soon followed her lead on social media, the report added.
Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi, head of the Afghan service at DW News, tweeted a picture of herself in traditional Afghan dress and headdress with the comment: “This is Afghan culture and this is how Afghan women dress.”
Shekiba Teimori, an Afghan singer and activist who fled Kabul last month, told CNN that the “hijab existed before Kabul’s fall. We could see Hijabi women, but this was based on family decisions and not the government.”
She said before the Taliban came to Afghanistan, her ancestors were “wearing the same colorful Afghan dresses you see in my pictures”.
The Trump-Biden surrender to the Taliban is a sorry repeat of the handing over of a free people in 1938 into the grasp of Nazi slaveholders, writes Prof. Madhav Nalapat
Among the tragedies of the 1939-45 war in Europe between the German armies commanded by Adolf Hitler and the powers opposing him was that it could have been avoided with ease. In common with most bullies, Hitler was a coward who moved only against those who were regarded as helpless or weak. Within German society, Hitler was encouraged in his psychotic obsession against the Jews and other victims by the lack of international blowback caused by the increasing frequency and aggression of his moves.
After the occupation of the Rhineland by a German army that would have folded up against French forces in a day, came the takeover of Czechoslovakia with the consent at the Munich conference involving Prime Ministers Neville Chamberlain and Eduard Daladier. The torching and loot of Jewish shops during Kristallnacht followed increasing and inhumane restrictions on this small but gifted community within the territory controlled by Hitler. None of this stopped a steady flow of high-profile supplicants from countries intent not on confronting but on appeasing Hitler.
In much the same way, even the tell-tale ministerial list given out by the Taliban dispensation in Kabul has only increased the flow of VIP visitors to Kabul and to Islamabad, the capital of the country whose military ( together with their patrons, the PLA) have several Taliban leaders on a leash. The manner in which the US and UK in particular have been supplicants to the Taliban dispensation has emboldened the Sino-Wahhabi alliance, increasing the risk that further adventures lie ahead.
Given the lack of hyphenation among policy circles within NATO between the actions of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and miscellaneous activities of the Wahhabi groups patronised by that institution, President Biden is not alone his error in believing that his surrender to the Taliban in Afghanistan has had no effect on his claimed is a focus on the PRC.
In a way, the handover of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August 2021 by Joe Biden and some of his Atlanticist friends bears comparison with the manner in which UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain facilitated the takeover of Czechoslovakia by Hitler in September 1938 . It was the craven acquiescence of both UK Premier Neville Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Eduard Daladier of France to the Czech tragedy that encouraged Adolf Hitler in his belief that there would not be a response from either power (much less the US) to the planned invasion and occupation of Poland.
The way in which President Biden, Prime Minister Johnson and Chancellor Merkel have grovelled before the Taliban (and by implication its Sino-Wahhabi patrons) has emboldened terror cells that have long been dormant in fear of massive retaliation. Hence the rash of operations such as that seen in New Zealand. Those who argued in favour of President Biden giving up US kinetic capabilities within Afghanistan to facilitate its handover to the Taliban wrongly saw the issue as separate from the broader range of matters of concern to US and allied security interests.
Now that the Taliban has unveiled its list of “acting” ministers, it does not appear to have been noticed that at least 21 among them argued against handing over Osama Bin Laden to the US after 9/11. Mullah Omar agreed with this view and replied to President Bush that Bin Laden was an “honoured guest” of the Taliban, and that a terror attack such as the planning and execution of the 9/11 terror attack in 2001 was not reason enough to deport him. To claim that such individuals represent a reformed Taliban is to indulge in delusion. Not that this characteristic has been missing from the policy of some major democracies.
When the legitimate government of Afghanistan, headed by Acting President Amrullah Saleh, has been facing the might of the Pakistan military, news of this external intervention is difficult to come by, at least in US media. It would appear that the habits of the ostrich are contagious. Several capitals vociferously looked askance at the manner in which the elected government of Myanmar was deposed by the military.
After a bout of Aung San Suu Kyi bashing caused by her refusal to permit a flood of Rohingyas to enter and settle in Myanmar in the manner that several chic Atlanticist NGOs were demanding, it has finally been accepted that Suu Kyi is the face not of repression but of democracy in her troubled country. The aftermath of what was termed at the time the “Arab Spring” in 2011 made clear that genuine salvation from dictatorship was not to be expected from emigre expatriates from these countries.
In Suu Kyi’s case, the undisputed leader of Myanmar refused to leave the country even when her British husband was on his deathbed, knowing that she would not be allowed back. Rather than live comfortably and safely overseas while her people suffered, Suu Kyi chose to remain amongst them, at an immense personal sacrifice. Small wonder that the people of Myanmar adore her. Amrullah Saleh fits into the same mould as the Nobel awardee, having opted to remain in Afghanistan while his boss (President Ashraf Ghani) escaped to the UAE, leaving behind a people in shock at the new masters of their country, a group whose rule during 1996-2001 has remained vivid in the public mind, not least because of the Taliban’s cruelty and repression.
While there have indeed been honeyed words from Acting Deputy Information Minister Zabihullah Mujahid, actions on the ground have not deviated from what took place during the previous Taliban administration. Despite the Taliban blocking internet and cell phone communication, news is daily seeping out of atrocities committed by elements of the Taliban. They are eager to take (preferably out of camera range) a horrible revenge on all those who had opposed them in the past. Such matters seem to be of little consequence to Joe Biden, just as they are to Xi Jinping.
Adolf Hitler made no secret of his plans since the 1920s but repeated them constantly ever since. Across Afghanistan, in streets and in homes, elements of the Taliban are showing why almost all the ministers who were active in fomenting terror from 1996 until 2001 regarded Osama Bin Laden as a hero rather than as the terrorist that he was. Executions are taking place since the Biden surrender, young girls are being dragged away to assault from ageing criminals, and loss of assets and lives is taking place on an industrial scale.
As then, so now, only a few are pointing to the reality that the Trump-Biden surrender to the Taliban is a sorry repeat of Chamberlain and Daladier handing over of the Czechs in 1938 into the hands of Nazi slaveholders. Should President Biden continue to act on the delusion that the Taliban has changed, and can be done business with, it will not be long before friends and relatives of Joe Biden will be ashamed to admit to their association with a leader who favours not the elimination but the appeasement of evil.
Highlighting the concerns over humanitarian access as needs rise dramatically, Guterres maintained that the country’s new rulers have pledged their cooperation…reports Asian Lite News
Leading the appeal in Geneva for $606 million to support emergency aid for 11 million people in Afghanistan, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has said that even before the uncertainty caused by the Taliban takeover last month, people were in the grip of one of the worst crises in the world.
“The people of Afghanistan need a lifeline. After decades of war, suffering and insecurity, they face perhaps their most perilous hour. Now is the time for the international community to stand with them,” Guterres said.
Highlighting the concerns over humanitarian access as needs rise dramatically, Guterres maintained that the country’s new rulers have pledged their cooperation “to ensure assistance is delivered to the people of Afghanistan. Our staff and all aid workers must be allowed to do their vital work in safety — without harassment, intimidation or fear”.
One in two Afghans do not know where their next meal is coming from, the UN chief explained, adding that “many people could run out of food by the end of the month, just as winter approaches”.
The flash appeal for food, life-saving interventions and essential healthcare – including maternal healthcare – comes against a backdrop of deep concern that women’s rights are under threat from Afghanistan’s new rulers.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stressed the extent of the humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan.
It had entered “a new and perilous phase”, she maintained, while many Afghans are also “profoundly concerned for their human rights, particularly women, ethnic and religious communities”.
Bachelet’s comments followed a warning from her office that whips, batons and live ammunition have been used on peaceful protesters in Afghanistan last week.
Unauthorised assemblies have been banned and telecommunications companies have been told to cut the internet on mobile phones in specific areas of Kabul, OHCHR had warned last Friday.
Alluding to those concerns at the high-level conference in Geneva, the UN Secretary-General highlighted the need for food, life-saving interventions and essential healthcare for the people of Afghanistan.
Guterres also insisted that “robust mechanisms” had been established to coordinate humanitarian efforts that were anchored in human rights.
Echoing the UN’s determination to “stand by” the people of Afghanistan and protect the “hard-won gains” for the country’s people over the last 20 years, UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths noted that he had received written assurances from the Taliban leadership to allow relief efforts to continue.
These guarantees followed his meeting with the Taliban’s interim leaders in Kabul last week, where he urged the country’s new rulers to respect human rights and facilitate aid access.
Women and girls should have access to education, among other rights and services “as anywhere else in the world”, Griffiths insisted, before revealing that the Taliban’s written commitments included the removal of “current and previous impediments” to the UN’s humanitarian projects.
Aid workers would also be protected by the Taliban, as would the sanctity of UN premises, the UN emergency relief chief explained, adding that they were in agreement about women’s rights and freedom of expression, in line with the country’s religious and cultural values.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani Pic creidts Twitter @DrabdullahCE
Al-Thani has visited Kabul several times since the Taliban takeover but this is his first trip after the Taliban announced their caretaker government…reports Asian Lite News
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul rahman bin Jassim Al Thani met with the newly appointed Taliban officials on Sunday.
Following the meeting, Taliban officials said that Qatar is committed to strengthening ties between Taliban regime and other foreign countries, TOLO News reported.
According to the TOLO News reports, Taliban officials added that Qatar will serve as a ‘bridge’ between the Taliban and international community for the better future of Afghanistan.
“Bilateral relations were discussed. Qatar will act as a bridge with our foreign relations.”TOLO News quoted Saaed Khosti, a member of the Taliban’s Cultural Commission as saying.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani Pic creidts Twitter
During the visit, Al-Thani held substantive discussions with former president Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation on issues related to inclusive government in Afghanistan.
Al-Thani, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, has visited Kabul several times since the Taliban takeover but this is his first trip after the Taliban announced their caretaker government, Khaama News reported.
The Foreign Minister and Akhund met in the Presidential Palace (ARG) on Sunday.
Akhund seated on the exact chair of former President Ashraf Ghani appeared for the first time since his appointment as head of the government.
The Taliban said both sides talked about bilateral relations and Qatar’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
“The meeting focused on bilateral relations, humanitarian assistance, economic development and interaction with the world,” TOLO News quoted Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman of the Taliban, as saying.
“The Doha agreement was a landmark achievement, all sides should adhere to its implementation.”
According to Shaheen, Al-Thani also reiterated his willingness to boost bilateral relations.
The private sector representatives called the freeze of Afghanistan’s reserve by the United States is contrary to the humanitarian laws…reports Asian Lite News
Afghanistan’s private sector on Monday warned that the country would plunge into an economic crisis and called on the US to release its frozen assets.
Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), Afghanistan Chamber of Mines and Industry (ACMI) – in a press conference in Kabul warned of economic collapse unless the country’s frozen reserves are released, reported Tolo News.
The private sector representatives called the freeze of Afghanistan’s reserve by the United States is contrary to the humanitarian laws and called on the United Nations to defend the rights of the people of Afghanistan in addition to the work it is doing for attracting humanitarian support for Afghanistan.
According to the private sector officials, in the last one month due to disruption in banking systems between Afghanistan and international banks, all the financial transactions has stopped and if this continues the private sector will face severe recession, reported Tolo News.
The officials of the private sector also said currently the international community and the former Afghan government owes billions of AFS from Afghan contractors and if that money is not paid, the contractors will face recession.
The officials also said so far, they have lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to the freezing of Afghanistan assets and the disruption in the banking system.
“We call on the United States and the world to solve the issue with the frozen assets because that money belongs to the people of Afghanistan. If you have political issues with the government or some people, you should not take people’s money hostage,” ACCI acting Director Yunus Mohmand said.
“In the last one month, we even have been unable to take out one cent from our accounts. The plan that allows people to withdraw USD 200 each week, may work for ordinary people, but businessmen cannot do business with USD 200 each week. We cannot withdraw millions of dollars by withdrawing USD 200 each week. The international community please do not pave the way for worsening of the situation,” Khan Jan Alokozay, a member of ACCI said.
Officials of ACMI said most of the factories are facing serious financial shortage and raw materials because they are unable to withdraw money adding that in the last one month over million labourers have not been paid, reported Tolo News.
“In the last one month, we have not paid the wages of our workers. In my own factory, 700 people work and I only have been able to give each 5,000 Afghani to buy the basic needs of their families. With this situation, how we can work? Is this not paving the way for our recession? The world helped us in the past 20 years to grow, and now their wrong policies pave the way for our collapse,” ACMI Director Shirbaz Kaminzada said. (ANI)
The organisations supporting free media in Afghanistan say economic problems are serious, and operating under restrictions of Taliban regime creates big challenges for media…reports Asian Lite News
At least 153 Afghan media outlets have stopped operations in 20 provinces following the Taliban takeover of the war-torn nation last month, a media report citing organisations supporting free media said.
The TOLO News report on Monday said these outlets include radio, print and TV channels, and their closure was mainly due to economic problems and restrictions.
“If the organisations supporting media do not pay attention to the outlets, soon we will witness the closing of the remaining ones in the country,” TOLO News quoted Hujatullah Mujadadi, deputy head of the Afghanistan Federation of Journalists, as saying.
Masroor Lutfi, representative of the Afghanistan National Journalists’ Union, has “urged the international organisations to take immediate action to address this problem. Otherwise, soon it will be the end of press freedom and other human and civil liberties”.
According to the TOLO News report, the Paktika-based Milma Radio is one of the outlets that recently stopped its activities.
It was established in 2011 and covered political, cultural, economic and sports stories.
“Due to an inappropriate working environment and economic problems, we stopped our activities,” said Yaqob Khan Manzoor, editor-in-chief of Milma Radio.
According to Manzoor, Milma Radio had 35 employees with an outreach to 13 provinces.
Now all of the former employees are jobless.
The organisations supporting free media in Afghanistan say economic problems are serious, and operating under restrictions creates big challenges for media.
The Taliban, however, has said they will try to create safe environment for media and journalists to continue their jobs.
The message, tweeted by Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem, follows reports that Baradar was injured or killed in clashes among the Taliban…reports Asian Lite News
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, confirmed in an audio message on Monday that he is alive and not injured.
The message, tweeted by Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem, follows reports that Baradar was injured or killed in clashes among the Taliban, Tolo News reported.
“Taliban spokesman says rumours of the killing of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s Deputy PM, is not true. He has been saying the same thing about Haibatullah Akhundzada for the past 2 years, but so far in the past 2 years, no one saw him or heared from him until now,” a Twitterati said.
Earlier reports said that Faiz Hameed, the head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had rushed to Kabul following a clash between Baradar and Haqqani-supported groups in which Baradar sustained injuries.
The Taliban insisted that Baradar is in Kandahar province, meeting with the group’s supreme leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada to discuss the country’s future…reports Asian Lite News
Speculation intensified about the fate of the Deputy Leader of Afghanistan government, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, after Taliban leaders met with senior delegates from Qatar in Kabul on Sunday, with Baradar conspicuously absent from the meeting, Daily Mail reported.
On Monday, the Taliban were forced to deny that Mullah Baradar is dead after rumours emerged that he was killed during a gunfight with his political rivals.
The Taliban insisted that Baradar is in Kandahar province, meeting with the group’s supreme leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada to discuss the country’s future now that the US troops have withdrawn.
But the social media rumour-mill believes he was actually killed in a gun battle in Kabul’s presidential palace on Friday that broke out during a meeting with the powerful and ruthless Haqqani family, the report said.
Three members of the Haqqani family were at the summit with Qatar delegates along with other members of the new Afghan government – led by Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund, the report said.
PIc credits @MofaQatar_EN
Baradar is one of the Taliban’s founding members and had served as deputy to its first supreme leader Mullah Omar, who died in 2013 from tuberculosis.
After Omar’s death, Baradar took over as leader of the political wing of the Taliban and is one of the group’s senior most figures.
But he is thought to be in conflict with the Haqqani family, leaders of the fearsome Haqqani Network which is affiliated to the Taliban but also has links to terror groups opposed to the Islamists, such as ISIS-K.
Two members of the clan – Sirajuddin and Khalil – now hold senior positions in the new government, taking the roles of Interior Minister and Refugee Minister, respectively.
Anna Haqqani also holds a role as a high-level negotiator, and was present during the meeting with Qatari diplomats.
Rumours about Baradar’s safety began circulating last week when the Taliban announced its new government and named him as Deputy Prime Minister, despite the widespread belief that he would take the top job.
That led to speculation that he had been demoted due to the in-fighting between Taliban founding members and the Haqqani Network — a powerful faction of the Taliban whose family members secured top positions in the new administration, the report said.
