Category: Afghanistan

Out of 25 detainees, 15 were identified as Pakistani nationals…reports Asian Lite News

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) in Afghanistan has arrested at least 25 suicide attackers in different provinces in the last two years, according to Khaama Press.

Moreover, out of 25 detainees, 15 were identified as Pakistani nationals, according to MoI spokesperson Abdul Matin Qani.

Qani said, “The intelligence and investigative forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan had their discoveries and detained the criminals and more than 25 who were trying to carry out suicide attacks here.”

However, Qani further revealed that the security forces have prevented two border attacks on Tajikistan and Uzbekistan which shows their commitment to regional security and neighbouring countries’ interests, reported Khaama Press.  

Moreover, experts highlighted that preventing such security incidents can boost trust and cooperation among the neighbouring countries. This will also address security challenges in the region and will build confidence among the region’s countries.

Whereas Pakistani officials have accused the Taliban administration of not being restricted and have also taken action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan hideouts in the country, Khaama Press reported.

Recently, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called upon the Taliban to address the presence of any Pakistani militants in Afghanistan. He further stressed the importance of taking decisive action regarding this issue and warned that if the Taliban does not act, they will take necessary actions to address this issue, according to Khaama Press.

However, the Taliban authorities have denied the allegations and claimed that they will not allow any individual or group to use the country’s territory against neighbouring countries.

Earlier in March, the suicide attack near a checkpoint on the Taliban-led Foreign Ministry’s road, killed at least six, and injured several others including three Taliban forces.

Former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, also condemned the attack and called it an attack organized by the “enemies of the Afghan people”.He said the attack contradicts all human and Islamic values.

Earlier this year, Afghanistan was rocked by a suicide attack outside the Taliban Foreign Ministry in Kabul, resulting in the deaths of five persons and injuring others, according to officials reported Dawn.

Kabul police chief Khalid Zadran said an explosion took place on the road outside the Afghan foreign ministry in which five were killed and a number of others were injured.”The Islamic Emirate condemns such an aimless and cowardly attack on Muslims. The perpetrators will be found and punished for their evil deeds,” Zadran said.

More than 40 wounded were brought to a surgical centre in Kabul run by Emergency NGO, a humanitarian organization. (ANI)

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The US-led NATO troops left Afghanistan following the resistance of Taliban forces under the leadership of Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada in August 2021…reports Asian Lite News

The Afghan caretaker government has declared August 15, the day of the administration’s takeover of Kabul, as the “victory day” and a public holiday in the war-ravaged country.

“Tuesday, Asad 24, 1402 (August 15 according to the Persian Calendar) is the victory day of the Jihad (holy war) of the people of Afghanistan under the leadership of Islamic Emirate against the United States and its allies. It will be a public holiday in the country,” said a statement released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US-led NATO troops left Afghanistan following the resistance of Taliban forces under the leadership of Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada in August 2021. 

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Sharifullah, a bookseller said, “There are issues because of the lack of female students’ presence in the universities. This issue also affects the book business.”…reports Asian Lite News

The commission to assess the problems of booksellers has revealed that 30 per cent of booksellers in Afghanistan have stopped their business due to a lack of a good market, Afghanistan-based Tolo News reported.

Speaking to Tolo News, Abdul Wodod Mukhtarzada, a member of the commission, said that the booksellers have also complained about high taxes which are difficult to pay as their business has witnessed a decline.

Mukhtarzada said, “We used to sell more than 500 books and we had 200 librarians here but I can say now that their number has dropped significantly.” Several booksellers expressed concern that book reading culture has faded in Afghanistan.

Sharifullah, a bookseller said, “There are issues because of the lack of female students’ presence in the universities. This issue also affects the book business.”

Mansour Qazizada, a bookseller, stressed that the market is down and people lack the capacity to buy. He also spoke about various taxes that the booksellers need to pay.

Qazizada said, “You know that the market is down and the people lack the capacity to purchase books. Also, there are many types of taxes and the Kabul municipality sends their representatives.”

Meanwhile, the Taliban-led Ministry of Information and Culture said that efforts were being made to pardon the taxes of the libraries to support the book markets in Afghanistan, according to the report.

Mahajar Farahi, deputy minister of Taliban-led Information and Culture for publications, said, “We are trying to waive taxes on books and thus we can implement a tradition of book reading. We have held various exhibitions.”

Earlier this week, a group of young people in Kabul organised the “Smart Way” book display to strengthen the reading culture in Afghanistan according to Tolo News report.

By implementing such initiatives, young people claimed they want to inspire residents, particularly other young people, to read literature, as the Taliban has already put strict restrictions on the education of young girls and women in Afghanistan.

“We held it to create a culture for the youth of our society to read books, books are entertainment for them,” an organizer, Sharifa Hesar said, according to Tolo News.

“The purpose of holding this exhibition is to strengthen the culture of reading among young people,” said Farhad Malik Zada, an organizer.

Speaking to Tolo News, several expo attendees said that the reasons why people don’t study enough are related to the economy, a lack of employment opportunities, and a high usage of social media. Visitors, however, claimed that organising such displays was successful in promoting reading culture.

The stagnation of the book-selling business over the past two years has alarmed booksellers in Kabul and the surrounding regions of Afghanistan, who have regularly expressed their concern, according to Tolo News. (ANI)

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Fazl Hadi Wazin, a university lecturer, said that the Taliban should open schools and universities to girls “without delay…report Asian Lite News

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised the imposition of restrictions on Afghan women, Afghanistan-based Tolo News reported. In the report, HRW said that Afghan women have been denied the right to education, employment, and social involvement since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

The report released by HRW reads, “Over the past two years, Taliban authorities have denied women and girls their rights to education, work, movement, and assembly. The Taliban have imposed extensive censorship on the media and access to information, and increased detentions of journalists and other critics,” according to Tolo News report.

Fazl Hadi Wazin, a university lecturer, said that the Taliban should open schools and universities to girls “without delay.” Meanwhile, some female students stated that they are very worried regarding the closure of schools and universities for girls in Afghanistan.

Shakeba, a student, said, “We haven’t gone to school for three years. One year because of corona and two years because of the Islamic Emirate. We hoped that schools would be opened for us, but they were not opened,” Tolo News reported. Another student Farahnaz called on the Taliban to allow female students to study.

Similarly, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a report in July said that the Taliban continues to restrict the rights of women and girls, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported. The seven-page report that covers the period from May to June highlighted the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women.

The report said, “On 3 May 2023, the de facto Ministry of Public Health announced that only male medical students would be permitted to take the ‘Exit Supplementary Exam’ in order to pursue further specialized medical studies,” Tolo News reported.

It further said that the move comes in addition to the earlier bans preventing women from appearing in the medical school entrance examinations. The report said that the UNAMA recorded instances when the Taliban took measures to impose previously announced restrictions on women’s freedom of movement and participation in employment.

The Taliban’s decision to ban female students above grade six from school has drawn widespread criticism at the national and international levels. Further, the Taliban which took over Kabul in August last year has curtailed women’s rights and freedoms, with women largely excluded from the workforce. (ANI)

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Many nations are cutting back on their aid to Afghanistan…reports Asian Lite News

The interference of Taliban in the humanitarian assistance has become a massive roadblock in the distribution of aid to the Afghan people in need, said the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), according to TOLOnews.

According to SIGAR’s quarterly report to the US Congress, “Taliban interference in humanitarian assistance is the main barrier to beneficiaries accessing aid in 2023… there were a total of 110 access incidents related to Taliban interference in April 2023 alone.”

Citing the report by SIGAR, TOLOnews underlined that a third-party evaluation of Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), Afghanistan’s central bank, revealed that it lacked independence from the “Taliban regime and had deficiencies in anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.”

“Half of DAB’s assets that were previously held in the United States are now a part of the Afghan Fund, a Swiss charitable fund to be used to benefit the Afghan people. Treasury has said that DAB must prove its independence and the ability to counter illicit financing before the funds can be returned,” the report said.

Many nations are cutting back on their aid to Afghanistan, according to economist Mir Shikib Mir, because of rumours that the Taliban is meddling in the aid distribution.

Shikib Mir said, “The interference of the Taliban in the aid process has been repeatedly reported, and therefore, many countries have reduced their assistance due to the concerns they have,” reported TOLOnews.

However, the Taliban refuted all the claims and denied any kind of interference in the aid distribution process in Afghanistan.

“We deny the SIGAR report. The Islamic Emirate has no interference in distribution of aid. We have accurate monitoring on the distribution of assistance to Afghanistan,” TOLOnews quoted Taliban’s Deputy Minister of Economy, Abdul Latif Nazari as saying.

Notably, today all foreign aid to Afghanistan stands halted, except for the assistance that is being given to international aid agencies and NGOs to directly help the Afghan people. The sudden stopping of aid caused a severe liquidity crisis and imports of urgently needed food and medicines could not be funded.

The Afghan government collapsed on August 15 in 2021 leading to the Taliban taking over the country.

Taliban’s swift ascension to power in Afghanistan has triggered economic disarray and a dire humanitarian crisis in the country. Since taking control of Afghanistan, banned girls beyond grade six from attending schools, and simultaneously, also banned women from attending universities since December last year.

The regional and international communities and the people of Afghanistan have criticized the ban on girls’ education. The Taliban has, however, not lifted the restrictions. (ANI)

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