Category: Afghanistan

The estimated Budget for the fiscal year 1400 is over 473 billion Afs (nearly $6 billion), including 311 billion Afs ($4 billion) for the regular Budget and 162 billion Afs ($2 billion) for the development Budget….reports Asian Lite News

The Afghan Parliament on Monday endorsed the current fiscal year’s Budget with a majority of votes amid tensions between the two state branches.

The Parliament rejected the Budget draft twice in the current fiscal year began on December 21, 2020.

On Sunday, lawmakers and the Finance Ministry officials agreed on almost all the 19 disputed points, but they are yet to reach a consensus on the allocation of the Budget for the High Council for National Reconciliation as well as over the reduction in the number of development projects, MPs said.

Both sides have also disagreed on a 15 million Afs allocation for the Afghanistan Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, but the issue was solved when the fund was removed from the third Budget draft, according to the lawmakers.

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The estimated Budget for the fiscal year 1400 is over 473 billion Afs (nearly $6 billion), including 311 billion Afs ($4 billion) for the regular Budget and 162 billion Afs ($2 billion) for the development Budget.

In the third and latest draft, 105 million Afs ($1.3 million) has been shifted to the regular Budget from the development Budget.

Meanwhile, the regular budget, as usual, is twice as large as the development budget.

According to the Budget draft, 46 per cent of the estimated amount is provided by internal sources

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Villagers said hundreds of Taliban militants launched massive offensive on pro-government militiamen in Tepa Akhtar area of Khanabad district early morning triggering heavy fighting which lasted for three hours…reports Asian Lite News

At least 26 people were killed during clashes between security forces and Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province on Friday, a top official confirmed.

“In the clash 16 pro-government militiamen including their commander Abdul Hakim and 10 Taliban rebels were killed and nine others including five rebels were injured,” the official told Xinhua news agency.

Villagers said hundreds of Taliban militants launched massive offensive on pro-government militiamen in Tepa Akhtar area of Khanabad district early morning triggering heavy fighting which lasted for three hours.

Mohammad Yusuf, head of Kunduz provincial council, also confirmed the clash, saying that delay in dispatching reinforcement led to the death of 16 pro-government militiamen.

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No one has claimed responsibility for the majority of the attacks, but Afghan officials have generally accused Taliban militants for the targeted attacks in recent months….reports Asian Lite News

Targeted killings across Afghanistan in the month of January claimed the lives of more than 50 people, triggering concerns among civilians of the war-torn country, according to official figures published on Tuesday.

According to the figures by Xinhua news agency, five people comprising two security forces members and three civilians were killed in three attacks in Kabul, while a praying leader and teacher of a local seminary was shot dead in Kandahar province over the weekend.

A service member of the Afghan National Directorate of Security, the country’s intelligence agency, was assassinated in Kabul on January 30, while a civil society activist was mysteriously killed in Nuristan province.

On January 26, Safiullah Amiri, deputy provincial councillor in Kunduz province, and the son of a local official were killed in a bomb attack.

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Abdul Raqeeb, a local religious figure, was killed by gunmen in Parwan province on January 23.

On January 21, two army officers in an army pick-up truck were shot dead in Police District (PD) 5 of Kabul near a crowded traffic circle. The attackers fled the scene.

Wali Raghi, a senior government official, was killed after gunmen opened fire on him in Chahar Dara district of Kunduz on January 19.

On January 18, two brothers, both employees of the NDS, lost their lives in a terror attack in Logar province.

The same day, gunmen attacked and killed Mohammad Zahir Haqyar, chief of Washer district of southern Helmand province, in provincial capital Lashkar Gah city.

Also on Jan. 18, the director of provincial directorate of Environmental Protection Agency lost his life in an attack in eastern Ghazni province.

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Some remaining 27 people were killed and several others wounded in separate targeted attacks in Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Helmand, Farah and Badghis provinces.

No one has claimed responsibility for the majority of the attacks, but Afghan officials have generally accused Taliban militants for the targeted attacks in recent months.

Militants of the Taliban and Islamic State (IS) have conducted scores of targeted attacks against civilians and military officials in recent years.

They consider anyone working for the government and NATO and US-led troops as a target.

Over 60 people were killed in targeted attacks in December 2020 across Afghanistan.

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Based on the report, the Taliban were responsible for 4,568 deaths and injuries of civilians during this period, while the unknown groups were responsible for killing and wounding 2,107, while the security forces were blamed for 1,188 deaths and injuries…reports Asian Lite News

In its latest report, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has revealed that more than 8,500 civilians were killed and wounded due to the war and violence in the country last year.

According to the AIHRC report, there were some 3,000 dead Afghan civilians killed, while over 5,000 were wounded.

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan dropped 21 per cent in 2020 as compared to 2019, TOLO News reported.
Unknown armed groups were the second highest cause of casualties after the Taliban, it said.

Based on the report, the Taliban were responsible for 4,568 deaths and injuries of civilians during this period, while the unknown groups were responsible for killing and wounding 2,107, while the security forces were blamed for 1,188 deaths and injuries.

“Civilian casualties are still very high, we can say that there is a catastrophe going on in Afghanistan,” said Naeem Nazari, the deputy head of the AIHRC.

“The Taliban in recent times has committed major crimes without taking responsibility for them. The Taliban have martyred thousands of our civilian compatriots,” said Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior.

In 2018 and 2019, complex suicide attacks and car bombing incidents caused most of the casualties.

However, in 2020 targeted killings, assassinations and magnetic mine explosions claimed the most civilian lives, and, more worryingly, no group has claimed responsibility for these attacks.

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