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UNSC sounds alarm on Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis

The members of the United Nations Security Council have called for aid and assistance as humanitarian crisis hits hard on Afghanistan….reports Asian Lite News

The issue of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan was raised in the United Nations Security Council High-level open debate where representatives from various countries urged for the providing aid in Afghanistan, reported the Khamma News Agency.

The agency on Friday said that the representatives of the countries, including Russia, the UK, Pakistan, India, Qatar and Switzerland, mentioned the humanitarian crisis and expressed concern over the number of people needing aid.

The UK ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, said that the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace called for reviving multilateral collaboration and placing women, like those in Afghanistan who must choose between selling their children or going hungry, at the forefront of peace initiatives.

The Russian representative using the forum blamed the United States and its allies’ actions for the most severe food crises in Afghanistan, reported The Khaama News Agency.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN said, “For example, Afghanistan has been struggling to climb out of the abyss of hunger and poverty for over 20 years because of the experiments carried out by the United States-led coalition to democratize this deeply traditional country in a Western fashion”.

Pakistan’s Deputy permanent representative to the UN, Aamir Khan informed that 117 million of the 258 million people who are food insecure live in 19 war and conflict zones and 15.3 million Afghans are expected to experience severe food insecurity, observed the Khaama News Agency.

“Pakistan will continue to support the 29 million Afghans in need of humanitarian assistance and to help revive Afghanistan’s economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, since the takeover of the Taliban administration, the group introduced the most restricted policies amid a dire humanitarian crisis that has left a financial impact, particularly on women, cites the Publication by The Khaama News Agency.

The report sums up that in a recent move, the group banned women’s beauty salons. As a result, more than 60,000 women employees who were prominent supporters of their families have lost their jobs.

Health situation worsens

Taliban appointed deputy minister of health services supply of Afghanistan Habibullah Akhundzada Hamed on Wednesday said jaundice cases have increased in Afghanistan in 2023, TOLO News reported.

Akhundzada Hamed said basic work has not been done to fight jaundice in the country, which can be caused by hepatitis.

Akhundzada Hamed said: “From 2017 to June 2023, 44,647 people were infected with hepatitis B and 21,621 were infected with hepatitis C.”

“For hepatitis B and C patients, PCR examinations have been provided in six provinces including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Herat, Balkh, and Nangarhar,” said Taliban appointed head of infectious disease control at the  Ministry of Public Health, Bismillah, according to TOLO News.

As per statistics, in 2020, 8,155 people, in 2021, 7,655 people, in 2022, 8,343 people, and so far in 2023, 8,779 people have been infected with a form of jaundice.

An official of the Taliban’s Public Health Ministry, Agha Mohammad Abid Tutakhil, said: “Currently, 95 per cent of people can be treated with antiviral drugs, but until now there is no effective vaccine against this disease or hepatitis C.”

“The price of hepatitis B and hepatitis C drugs has decreased by 90 per cent, and now the cost of treating one hepatitis C is only 60 dollars,” said Reza Al-Wadal, a representative of the World Health Organization in Afghanistan, as per TOLO News.

Based on the information of the Secretary General of the World Health Organization, jaundice kills one million people in the world every year and three million new cases are registered in the world every year. (ANI)

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Security threats escalate amid Pakistan-Afghan border dispute

Kabul, Islamabad trade barbs over Durand Line fencing

Pakistan’s actions were aimed at forcefully getting its position on the Durand line validated by the Taliban regime…reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan’s unfriendly approach towards its border areas with Afghanistan has resulted in a security quagmire for both countries, reported Khaama Press.

The vision of forcing the new Afghan administration to accept its position on the contentious Durand Line has been blurred by the regular scuffles along the border.

Pakistan’s actions were aimed at forcefully getting its position on the Durand line validated by the Taliban regime, reports The Khaama Press News Agency.

The Pakistani side, which had perceived the Taliban to be subservient to their strategic interests, has gone through a reality check during the past two years, according to a report by The Khaama Press News Agency.

The vision of forcing the new Afghan administration to accept its position on the contentious Durand line has also been blurred by the regular scuffles along the border.

It has also been observed that after the introduction of the new regime in 2021 in Afghanistan, the lives of ordinary tribals living along border areas have been in misery due to frequent incidents of firing and violations of Afghan airspace by Pakistani security forces.

The unilateral establishment of fences and border posts along the disputed border has also been widely targeted at the tribals and hampered their movement.

The fencing has been quite painful for the closely knit Pashtun and Balochi tribal communities living on both sides of the border, including their agricultural land, traditional trade, and movement of labour, according to the publication.

The Khaama Press News Agency also reported that the tribals, especially Pashtuns living in hilly areas on both sides, face the constant ire of the Pak army, which claims to be working to counter terrorism on the international border.

For more than a year now, Afghanistan has been lodging official protests with Pakistan over the issue of firing, airspace violations, and other hostile activities of Pakistani forces.

In June 2023, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) reportedly protested Pakistan’s firing of Afghan workers engaged in road construction in the Gurbaz district of Khost province.

During the same month, Afghan Defence Minister Mohammed Yagoob Mujahid reiterated his country’s long-held position on the Durand Line by calling it a ‘fake line’.

Despite highlighting several instances of border violations and unilaterally erecting illegal military installations, Kabul failed to make Islamabad understand its concerns.

The Pak security forces continued with the excesses through fencing, and military installations, apart from firing and pushing drones into Paktika, Paktia, and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan, observed The Khaama Press News Agency.

The Pakistani forces are also getting reactions from the Taliban in the form of retaliation, which is wide in scale and reach, says the report by the Agency.

The attacks inside Pakistan by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are also considered to be a manifestation of Pakistan’s failed policy for tribal areas. During the past two years, a spike has been observed in TTP attacks in the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

While the TTP’s action initially appeared concentrated in the Pashtun belt of north Balochistan, it later seemed to be reaching the Baloch-dominated parts of the province (central and south Balochistan). Apart from it, a few attacks were also reported from Sindh and Punjab.

Several security analysts point to some understanding between the TTP, Baloch insurgents, and religious militant groups in the former tribal regions, states the publication by The Khaama Press News Agency.

The Taliban leaders issuing unofficial provocative statements about Pakistan and its operations are likely to muddle the situation further for Pakistan and its military leadership.

The publication states that Pakistan portrays itself as a victim of terrorism in front of global eyes to establish tactical control over Kabul through the Durand issue.

The report sums up that the pursuit of strategic dominance has however led it to a quandary of violence which is rapidly expanding its reach.

Going by the Taliban’s public denouncement of Pakistani actions, the world no longer seems interested in the Pak narrative of being a sufferer of terrorism, reported Khaama Press. (ANI)

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Iran deported 43,000 illegal Afghan immigrants in past month

Afghan-Pakistan relations in turmoil as Pak detains refugees.(photo:IN)

Some citizens who recently returned to the country asked the current government to provide them with work…reports Asian Lite News

Iran deported 43,000 Afghan illegal immigrants back to their country in the past month, the Taliban-led Refugees and Repatriation Department said, TOLONews reported.

The Taliban-appointed deputy minister of Refugees and Repatriation Abdul Rahman Rashid said that they are trying to solve the problems of the country’s immigrants in different countries.

“Almost 46,000 people returned voluntarily and more than 43,000 were deported from the Islamic Republic of Iran because they did not have legal documents and documents to live there,” said Rashid.

Meanwhile, some citizens who recently returned to the country asked the current government to provide them with work.

Nizamuddin, 42, who returned to the country three days ago from Iran, spoke of the challenges he faces.

“They transferred many people in one car; in one car they carried 35 people and that was so difficult for us,” TOLONews quoted Nizamuddin as saying.

“In Afghanistan, there is no work, and education is useless here, when you have a master’s degree still there is no work for you, people flee from hunger to other countries,” said Mohammad Fawad, a deported person.

Based on official statistics, more than 1.6 million Afghans have migrated to neighbouring countries within the past nearly two years.

After the Taliban’s return to power, new waves of Afghan refugees shifted to Iran and Pakistan due to various reasons, including fearing death threats and persecution by the Taliban.

Last month in July, over 4,700 Afghan migrants have been deported within 24 hours through the Milak border crossing in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.

An Iranian border commander said 4,767 “illegal” Afghan immigrants have reportedly been sent back to Afghanistan through the Milak border crossing in Sistan and Baluchistan in the past 24 hours, Khaama Press reported. Immigrant officials mentioned “illegal entry, stay, and passport expiration” as the main reasons for deporting the migrants.

Parviz Ghasemzada, Iran’s border commander for the area, said people from other countries must enter, remain and leave Iran legally, Khaama Press reported citing Tasnim News Agency.

He asserted that anyone trying to enter Iran illegally would be taken to authorities and deported from the country. Ghasemzada further said, “Combating the illegal residence of unauthorized foreigners in Sistan and Baluchistan is seriously on the agenda.” (ANI)

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Natural disasters kill 700 in Afghanistan

People work outside of damaged houses after a heavy rain in Baghlan province, Afghanistan, May 4, 2022. (Photo by Mehrab Ibrahimi/Xinhua/IANS)

Natural disasters, including floods, have affected 20 provinces and four other provinces witnessed natural disasters like earthquakes over the past year…reports Asian Lite News

At least 700 people have lost their lives and hundreds have been injured due to natural disasters in the past year across Afghanistan, said officials from the Taliban’s State Ministry for Disaster Management during their annual accountability report, reported Khaama Press.

A spokesperson for the Ministry, Shafiullah Rahimi said during a press conference that natural disasters killed nearly 700 people and injured over 700 others during this period. Adding to that, Rahimi further said that the natural disasters have also fully or partially destroyed more than 20,000 residential houses in the country, reported Khaama Press.

Moreover, he added, “We have implemented 120 emergency and restorative projects.”

As per the Ministry’s report, natural disasters, including floods, have affected 20 provinces and four other provinces witnessed natural disasters like earthquakes over the past year.

“This Ministry has recognized the natural disasters in the districts and 20 provinces faced high threats from floods, and four provinces faced earthquakes. Bamiyan, Daikundi, Badakhshan, Ghazni, Parwan and Baghlan witnessed avalanches,” Rahimi added.

In the last week of July, at least 47 people died and 57 others were injured in flash floods in eleven provinces of Afghanistan.

Wardak province has experienced its deadliest natural disaster with 32 deaths, including 23 in the Jalrez district early on Sunday, as per the provincial director for the Natural Disaster Management Authority, Faizullah Jalali Stanikzai.

The official noted that besides killing people, the floods destroyed or severely damaged 500 residential houses and agricultural lands, according to Khaama Press.

Moreover, in terms of natural disasters, Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world,k including floods, earthquakes, avalanches, landslides and drought, reported Khaama Press.

However, the lack of a proper management system and access to vulnerable areas has increased the level of destruction and further effect of natural disasters in Afghanistan. (ANI)

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Passport delays upset Afghan citizens

Shield your passport while you enjoy the holidays.

Passport applicants have been attempting to get passports for many years, but they have not received them….reports Asian Lite News

The Afghan citizens have raised their concerns regarding the slow passport distribution process in the country and stated that not having a passport had caused residents to face several issues, TOLOnews reported.

In interviews to TOLOnews, the Afghan citizens said that they asked the General Directorate of Passports to speed up passport distribution in the nation’s capital and other provinces. However, under the Taliban regime, the people of Afghanistan continue to only face problems.

“I’ve been coming here for about three or four days, and I requested a name change on my passport. The manager collected our documents, and I don’t know what will happen next,” said Idris, a resident of Kabul, according to TOLOnews.

Passport applicants have been attempting to get passports for many years, but they have not received them.

Separately, another resident of Kabul, Zazai said, “People are having a lot of issues. Some of them applied a year ago, but they haven’t yet received them. People have (medical) patients.”

According to the General Directorate of Passports, eight to ten thousand passports are granted daily in Kabul and the provinces, and attempts are being made to establish passport distribution centres in each of the capital’s four zones, according to TOLOnews.

Meanwhile, following the slow progress of road repair work in Kabul, the residents have complained that the dust emanating from the construction work is causing various illnesses, according to TOLOnews.

They said that the damage to the roads is not a recent one but it has been four to five months since the construction began. “It has been four or five months since the digging and construction of the road began, from Chehelston Garden to this place, but no one has asked for it yet,” a resident, Qais said, according to TOLOnews.

“It has been a year since they started work on a part of the road and then it stops for five to six months and then starts again, and the people have faced challenges regarding this road,” said Rahmatullah, a Kabul resident separately.

However, some locals view road damage as one of the biggest obstacles to their everyday journey.

Kabul resident Faiz Agha stated, “The weather is hot, everyone is sick, and right now I’m sick from the dust of the roads.”

“It has been five months since the construction of the road started,” TOLOnews quoted Ahmad Fawad, a resident of Kabul as saying.

“There are many problems with dust and road construction. People become sick,” he added. (ANI)

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Kandahar reports over 1,000 TB cases in 6 months

According to officials, lack of treatment is the main reason behind the spread of tuberculosis….reports Asian Lite News

More than a thousand people were infected with tuberculosis in Afghanistan’s Kandahar in the last six months, TOLO News reported. TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. The province’s health officials said children, women, and the elderly are among those afflicted by the disease.

Head of the tuberculosis section in Kandahar’s Public Health Department, Jamaluddin Azimi, said, “In the last six months, we had approximately 1,160 tuberculosis patients, which has decreased by six and a half per cent compared to last year, and overall, the level of the disease among women is higher.”

Further, according to officials, lack of treatment is the main reason behind the spread of tuberculosis.
A resident of Zabul province’s Shahjoy district, Khan Mohammad, said he has been in treatment for several months.

“It has been 12 months since I was in treatment, but it did not benefit me. When I came here to the Doctors Without Borders centre, I was treated, and the doctors said that I will get well,” said Khan Mohammad, as per TOLO News.“I came here, the doctors treated me and helped me with everything, and now I am fine,” said Abdul Ahad, a Helmand resident.

Presently, 75 people suffering from tuberculosis are being treated at the Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Kandahar, most of whom are women and children, reported TOLO News.
Deputy of the Doctors Without Borders Centre in Kandahar, Mujeeb Rahman, said, “In the last six months, we have newly diagnosed and registered 415 people with tuberculosis in the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar and Sarpouzeh Prison.”
Cough, fever, and weight loss are the main symptoms of tuberculosis.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), many in Afghanistan die every year from tuberculosis. (ANI)

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U.S. pushes Taliban on human rights during Doha meeting

The American delegation expressed deep concern regarding the humanitarian crisis and the need to continue to support aid organizations…reports Asian Lite News

The United States expressed “deep concern” over the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls and expressed support for the people’s demands for their rights to be respected.

According to the US State Department statement, US Special representative for Afghanistan Thomas West along with Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights Rina Amiri, and Chief of the America’s Mission to Afghanistan, based in Doha, Karen Decker interacted with the Taliban representatives on July 30 and 31. “The American delegation expressed deep concern regarding the humanitarian crisis and the need to continue to support aid organizations and UN bodies delivering assistance consistent with humanitarian principles,” the US State Department said.

“US officials urged the Taliban to reverse policies responsible for the deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly for women, girls, and vulnerable communities. US officials expressed grave concern regarding detentions, media crackdowns, and limits on religious practice. The United States expressed support for the Afghan people’s demands for their rights to be respected and for their voices to shape the future of the country,” the statement added.
The American delegation also met the representatives of Afghan Central Bank and Taliban-appointed Finance department discussed the state of economy of the country and also took the note of the declining inflation, growth of merchandise exports and imports in Afghanistan in 2023, and voiced openness to a technical dialogue regarding economic stabilization issues soon.
US officials noted that Taliban’s commitment to not allow the territory of Afghanistan to threaten the Washington DC and its allies, and the two sides discussed Taliban efforts to fulfill security commitments.

Meanwhile, Taliban stressed the need for the removal of sanctions, said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, TOLO News reported. The Spokesperson told TOLO News that the Taliban-appointed acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also urged the US not to create obstacles for Afghanistan’s economic development. He said, “The obstacles should not be created ahead of Afghanistan’s development. The sanctions on the banks should be removed and the Afghans should be allowed to take actions that improve the country. There was discussion with the Qatari side as well.” (ANI)

ASO READ: US in talks with Taliban to address humanitarian crisis

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Music causes moral corruption: Taliban

A member of Taliban stands guard at a security checkpoint in Kandahar city, Afghanistan, Sept. 11, 2021. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua/IANS)

Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed numerous restrictions, including playing music in public….reports Asian Lite News

Authorities from the Taliban regime in Afghanistan have burned thousands of dollars worth of musical equipment, which included a guitar, harmonium and tabla, claiming that music “causes moral corruption”, a media report said.

According to the BBC report, the incident took place on July 29 in Herat province.

Images on social media showed that amplifiers and speakers were also set ablaze in the bonfire.

Many of these had been seized from wedding venues, the report added.

Responding to the incident, an official at the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry said playing music would “cause the youth to go astray”.

Ahmad Sarmast, Afghanistan National Institute of Music founder, likened the regime;s actions to “cultural genocide and musical vandalism”.

“The people of Afghanistan have been denied artistic freedom… The burning of musical instruments in Herat is just a small example of the cultural genocide that is taking place in Afghanistan under the leadership of the Taliban,” Sarmast, who is now based in Portugal, told the BBC.

Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed numerous restrictions, including playing music in public.

A similar bonfire of instruments was organised by the Taliban on July 19.

The regime had government posted photos of the blaze on X (formerly known as Twitter) at the time but did not say which part of the country it had taken place in.

All forms of music were banned from social gatherings, TV, and radio while the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan from the mid-90s until 2001.

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US in talks with Taliban for first time since Afghanistan’s fall

On their part, the Taliban said they wanted the unfreezing of Afghanistan’s assets, as well as lifting of sanctions and travel bans…reports Asian Lite News

For the first time since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, the US and Taliban held talks in Doha during which Washington pressed the regime to “reverse policies responsible for the deteriorating human rights situation” in Afghanistan, according to the Department of State.

In a statement, the Department said that talks with “senior Taliban representatives and technocratic professionals” had been held over Sunday and Monday in the Qatari capital, the BBC reported.

The US delegation “expressed support for the Afghan people’s demands for their rights to be respected and for their voices to shape the future of the country”, particularly for women, girls, and “vulnerable communities”, it added.

According to the Department, the delegation also pressed for the release of detained American citizens and “took note” of the Taliban’s “continuing commitment not to allow Afghanistan to be used as a platform for attacks on the US and its allies”, acknowledging a “decrease in large-scale terrorist attacks against Afghan civilians”.

On their part, the Taliban said they wanted the unfreezing of Afghanistan’s assets, as well as lifting of sanctions and travel bans.

Taking to Twitter on Monday, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said : “Also, humanitarian aid, freedom of travel, & Afghans’ access to consular services around the world were among importance issues of discussion.

“Removal of most of the restrictions on Afghan banks leading to easy transactions was considered a positive development. Both sides emphasized the continuation of such meetings, understanding, & interactions.”

According to Balkhi, the Taliban delegation was led by Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and included representatives from the Ministry, Da Afghanistan Bank and officials from the Afghan Embassy and Political Office in Qatar.

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, the US froze $10 billion of the war-torn country’s central bank assets held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Half of the funds now are in a Swiss-based Afghan Fund.

It took just days for Taliban fighters to regain Kabul following the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of conflict.

No country has formally recognised the Taliban since its return to power.

Since their takeover, the Taliban has faced widespread international condemnation over restrictions the regime has imposed on women’s education.

Afghanistan is also grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis, with almost half of its population — 23 million people — receiving assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP) last year.

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Take appropriate actions for recognition, US tells Taliban

Political analysts said that the issue of recognition is linked to the formation of an inclusive government…reports Asian Lite News

US Department of State deputy spokesman Vedant Patel has said if the Taliban intends to seek international recognition, they need to “start directly with the actions and the policies they choose to undertake in Afghanistan”, TOLO News reported.

Patel while speaking at a press conference in Washington DC, said that the US is “going to be watching very closely and will continue to take appropriate actions as needed.”

“As it relates to the United States and Taliban, we have been incredibly clear, quite regularly condemning the clear backsliding that we are seeing in Afghanistan, the egregious human rights abuses, the marginalization of women and girls,” he said, as per TOLO News.

The Taliban has, meanwhile, said that ensuring the rights of women is an internal issue and no country should interfere in this regard.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said: “The Taliban has its own rules in issues of values and women—whatever the Islamic Sharia allows and whatever is ensured is based on Shariah. The Americans and other countries should not interfere in the internal issues of Afghanistan.”

This comes as political analysts said that the issue of recognition is linked to the formation of an inclusive government, and the fulfillment of the international community’s wishes.

If the Taliban does not take “some of the rules and procedures on the international level and doesn’t take practical actions to eliminate restrictions against them, it will not be recognized by the international community, particularly the US,” said Najib Rahman Shamal, political analyst, according to TOLO News.

The US had earlier stated that it retained the ability to carry out its own operations against terrorism in the Pak-Afghan region, Dawn reported.

Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department, made these remarks in response to a query regarding recent terrorist assaults carried out within Pakistan from terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan. Nine soldiers were killed two weeks ago when terrorists assaulted a military facility in Zhob, Balochistan. The military’s media branch, ISPR, released a statement shortly after the incident, expressing “serious concerns” about the existence of terrorist “safe havens” in Afghanistan and urging Kabul not to allow terrorists to utilise their territory for carrying out strikes inside Pakistan, according to Dawn

The message also served as a reminder to the caretaker Afghan government of their obligations under the Doha Agreement. The US military finally left Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, in compliance with the agreement that the US and Afghan Taliban signed in Doha, Qatar, in February 2020.

Asked if the US expects the Taliban rulers to abide by the commitments they made in Doha, Mille said, “I will say that we will hold them to their commitments. But as we have said before, we retain the ability to conduct our own operations in the region to ensure that, regardless of any promises that the Taliban make and regardless of their relative ability or willingness to uphold them.”

He added that the United States retains the right to protect American interests. Asked how confident he was that the Taliban would keep their promises, Miller said, “I don’t want to express any amount of confidence or lack of confidence”, reported Dawn.

To a question about the Pakistani government’s plan to hold elections in early October, the US official said, “I will make clear that we support the peaceful upholding of fundamental democratic principles such as free media, free speech, freedom of assembly.” (ANI)

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