Category: Afghanistan

The Panjshir residents also voiced concerns saying that the presence of the military in residential areas caused panic among the people….reports Asian Lite News

Residents of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province have said the buildings of many schools have been used as military outposts by the Taliban, TOLO News reported.

TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul. Panjshir residents have called on the Taliban to shift the security forces to military bases.

“This is a reality, and it should not be ignored that they are settled in the schools. We are witnessing that the military has settled in the schools, and it affects the morale of the students and people,” said Samiullah Sadeqqi, a resident of Panjshir.

“The military is in a school in Bazarak and thus there is less attention to schooling,” said Abid, another Panjshir resident.

The Panjshir residents also voiced concerns saying that the presence of the military in residential areas caused panic among the people.

“The military are in the schools and villages. We call on the Islamic Emirate to pull back the military from this area,” said Panjshir resident Mian Ahmad Elham.

“If this issue is followed by the senior leaders who prevent such actions, it will be great,” said Rizwanullah, a resident of Panjshir.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that the issue will be shared with the military officials to find a solution for it.

“We shared this issue with the officials in Panjshir to find a substitute path for the military who are settled there to prevent security issues, so that the schools will be evacuated. We also shared this issue with the education ministry,” Mujahid said, as per TOLO News.

‘Least peaceful country in the world’

The Taliban has reacted to the ‘Global Peace Index 2022’ of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) and called the findings related to Afghanistan “unjust,” Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in the ‘Global Peace Index 2022’ said that Afghanistan is the “least peaceful country in the world for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Yemen, Syria, Russia and South Sudan.” All these countries have remained among the ten least peaceful nations for the past three years. According to IEP, Afghanistan recorded the largest reduction in deaths from armed conflict in 2022 with conflict deaths from almost 43,000 to just more than 4,000, TOLO News reported.

“Afghanistan recorded the fifth largest improvement in peacefulness in the 2023 GPI, however, it remains the least peaceful country in the world. Although violence is still widespread throughout the country, the level of conflict has dropped considerably since the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021, and the subsequent Taliban takeover of the government,” it said.

The IEP noted that the perceptions regarding the criminality of Afghan nationals have improved slightly. It said that the number of people who say they felt unsafe walking alone reduced from 84 per cent to 77 per cent, according to TOLO News report.

The Index said that terrorist incidents in Afghanistan reduced by 75 per cent in 2022 and deaths from terrorism reduced by 58 per cent. The IEP stressed that the security situation in Afghanistan remains uncertain “with an escalation in conflict between ISK and the Taliban remaining a strong possibility.”

Reacting to the report, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that terrorist incidents have reduced by over 99 per cent in comparison to “what is stated in the report.”

“They said that the number of casualties went up. They still say 4,000 civilian casualties — it is untrue. We may have casualties up to 1,000. There have been some Daesh attacks in the past years or one last year, but (Daesh) is controlled,” he said, according to TOLO News report.

Political analyst Andar Khan Ahmad said, “Various terrorist groups can take advantage of the poverty and misery of people and can bring back the proxy war of the world’s power to our soil and can make Afghanistan insecure,” the report said.

According to the IEP, while the conflict in Ukraine has had wide media coverage, a number of other internal conflicts around the world have recorded substantial declines in deaths, such as in Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria and Somali.

Meanwhile, UN Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that a total of 3,774 civilians faced casualties including 1,095 people were killed from August 15, 2021, to May 30, 2023, and most of them died due to the explosion of Improvise Explosive Devices (IED), Khaama Press reported.

The report, titled “Impact of Improvise Explosive Devices,” said that since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, a total of 701 people were killed and 2,113 were wounded due to the IED.

“Three-quarters of these civilian casualties (2,814 civilian casualties: 701 killed, 2,113 wounded) were caused by indiscriminate IED attacks in populated areas, including places of worship, schools and markets,” the report said.

The report highlighted that UNAMA recorded 3,774 civilian casualties, which included 1,095 deaths and 2,679 injured between the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, and May 30 2023. Among them, 233 women (92 killed, 141 wounded) and 866 children (287 killed, 579 wounded), as per the Khaama Press report.

“UNAMA documented at least 2,814 casualties (701 killed, 2,113 wounded) as a result of IEDs from 15 August 2021 – 30 May 2023. Among those killed and wounded were 289 children (75 killed, 214 wounded) and 168 women (64 killed, 104 wounded.” The leading causes of civilian harm during this period were deliberate IED attacks (2,814 civilian casualties), explosive remnants of war (639 civilian casualties) and targeted killings (148 civilian casualties). (ANI)

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Farmers in the country’s south said that the Taliban authorities had destroyed their harvests of poppy….reports Asian Lite News

Afghanistan continued to account for the “majority (80 per cent) of global illicit opium production in 2022,” the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report, TOLOnews reported on Monday.

Whereas, in a separate report, UNODC said that Afghanistan is home to an estimated 3.5 million drug users, which account for nearly 10 per cent of the total population. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, however, refuted the claims and said that no further research on the country’s poppy production had been conducted.

“It has been two years since the cultivation of poppy has been banned. I am sure that even one per cent has not been cultivated, if it was cultivated, it has been eliminated. It means that in 2023 we have absolutely cleaned Afghanistan of cultivation of poppy… the 80 per cent claim is not correct,” he said, according to TOLOnews.

“Since the political change in August 2021, most drug treatment and rehabilitation centres in the country are struggling to remain operational due to resource limitation,” the report said.

“The ban on the cultivation of poppy and production of drugs and its trafficking can happen when there is international monitoring, and this process is being assisted by the international organizations and being practically put into effect,” said Wais Naseri, a political analyst.

While another political analyst, Hassan Haqyar said, “The cultivation and trafficking of drugs has been reduced based on the decree of the Islamic Emirate leader. To eliminate it fully, there is a need for the cooperation of the international community, but unfortunately, the international community has not helped Afghanistan in this regard as it should.”

Farmers in the country’s south said that the Taliban authorities had destroyed their harvests of poppy. They have time and again called on the government to help them by providing alternative crop cultivation.

Recently, Afghan counter-narcotic police have destroyed poppy farms on 123 acre of land in northern Badakhshan province, Provincial Director for Information and Culture Qari Maazudin Ahmadi said.

The illegal crop, according to the official, has been destroyed around the provincial capital Faizabad city and adjoining areas over the past couple of days.

Hundreds of hectares of poppy farms have been smashed across Badakhshan over the past two months, the official said pon Wednesday, adding police won’t allow anyone to cultivate poppy or other illegal crops in the province.

Afghan counter-narcotic police have accelerated the poppy eradication campaign as police personnel has destroyed 80 acre of poppy farms in the northern Jawzjan province since early May, Xinhua news agency reported.

Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Afghan caretaker administration, issued a decree in April last year to ban the cultivation of illegal crops, including poppy, and drug processing and trafficking. (ANI)

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The declaration from Hibatullah Akhundzada was made public ahead of the Eid-ul-Adha celebration, which will be celebrated later this week in Afghanistan and other Islamic countries….reports Asian Lite News

Amid reports of deteriorating conditions for women in Afghanistan, the Taliban has made tall claims of women being provided with a “comfortable, prosperous life”.

The supreme leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, released an Eid ul-Adha message on Sunday claiming that his government has taken the necessary steps to improve women’s lives in the country, Khaama Press reported. His remarks come at a time when women are banned from public life, and their work and education are severely curtailed over since the Taliban takeover.

The declaration from Hibatullah Akhundzada was made public ahead of the Eid-ul-Adha celebration, which will be celebrated later this week in Afghanistan and other Islamic countries.

“Necessary steps have been taken for the betterment of women as half of the society to provide them with a comfortable and prosperous life according to the Islamic Sharia,” the statement said.

“The status of women as a free and dignified human being has been restored, and all institutions have been obliged to help women secure marriage, inheritance and other rights,” he added.

Notably, his remarks have come just days after a UN report stated that the woman’s presence in Afghanistan, has been “totally erased” under the Taliban rule.

The UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Irene Khan, said at the 53rd regular session of the Human Rights Council, said that women’s public presence has been totally erased by the ‘Taliban’, Tolo News reported.

Previously, the UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan Richard Bennett, said that between September 2021 and May 2023, more than 50 edicts were issued regarding women and girls by the Islamic Emirate, which has “deprived Afghan women of the right to education, work, and participation in social and political life”, Tolo News reported.

According to the UN, fifty anti-women decrees have been implemented since Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported.

They have restricted media freedoms and banned women from public places like parks and gyms. The actions have sparked a harsh international backlash, further isolating the country at a time when its economy is in free fall and escalating a humanitarian crisis.

Despite all the assertions made by Akhundzada, Afghanistan still has the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with over 28 million people relying on aid for survival.

Notably, ever since the takeover, Taliban leadership has consistently issued severe decrees restricting Afghan women and girls’ access to education and employment.

Since the Taliban regained power in August 2021 after the US exit from the country, women are not allowed to work in the fields of education with domestic and international organisations, in gyms, or in public spaces. (ANI)

ALSO READ: UN slams Taliban curbs on women

Prior to the medical exam, female students in Afghanistan reacted to the decision that no longer allows female students to take the final medical exam ‘the exit exam’…reports Asian Lite News

The examinations for General Internal Medicine and Surgery was attended by only males and no female participants on Friday, TOLOnews reported.

The examinations were held at the Polytechnic University in Kabul and saw around 2,000 participants. The National Examination Authority said that 100 participants who secure the highest scores will be admitted to Avicenna University and Nangarhar University as per TOLOnews.

Abdul Baqi Haqqani, head of the National Examination Authority said, “100 people will be selected and from among them, 69 will go to Kabul and 31 others will be admitted to Nangarhar medical university.”

The participants of the examinations urged the officials to proceed with the examination transparently, according to TOLOnews.

“We call on the government to present doctors to society who are really doctors at an international level. The opportunities that are provided for the international doctors should be provided to the (Afghan) doctors,” said Rahim Gul Darwish, a participant.

“I hope justice will be served. Those who studied and made a great effort, their efforts should not be wasted,” said Nisar Naseemi, another participant, TOLOnews reported.

Earlier, TOLOnews interviewed graduates of medical universities who voiced criticism over the delay in setting the date of the medical expert examination, which is scheduled annually by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).

Prior to the medical exam, female students in Afghanistan reacted to the decision that no longer allows female students to take the final medical exam ‘the exit exam’.

Prior to the examination of medical experts, female students throughout the nation reacted to the decision that no longer allows female students to take the “exit exam,” the final medical exam, as per TOLOnews.

Centre for women?

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI) are partnering to set up a Women’s Integrated Services and Facilities Centre in Kabul, Khaama Press reported.

The UNHCR said the integrated services and facilities centre will support women-run businesses, training programs, and financial support to female entrepreneurs. The initiative was launched with UNODC and AWCCI, aimed at supporting women-run businesses, training programs and more, UNHCR tweeted on Friday, according to Khaama Press.

Moreover, the organization said that the centre will help internally displaced people and Afghan refugees who have returned to the country.

The business centre for Afghan women will be established following the series of bans imposed by the Taliban regime restricting women and girls from having social and political engagements in Afghanistan for the past nearly two years, as per Khaama Press.

A large number of businesswomen and female entrepreneurs have been forced to stay at home since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

Whereas, a group of Afghan women entrepreneurs created a local market exclusively for women in Faizabad city of northeastern Badakhshan province which aimed at improving the economic well-being of needy families, according to Khaama Press. (ANI)

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Irene Khan said in a report that women’s rights groups play an important role in the struggle for gender equality and in promoting the agency of women…..reports Asian Lite News

The UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Irene Khan, at the 53rd regular session of the Human Rights Council said that in Afghanistan, women’s public presence has been totally erased by the ‘Taliban’, TOLO News reported.

Irene Khan said in a report that women’s rights groups play an important role in the struggle for gender equality and in promoting the agency of women.

“Women’s rights groups play an important role in the struggle for gender equality and in promoting the agency of women. They have come under pressure as civic space has shrunk in a number of countries, the most egregious example being Afghanistan, where women’s public presence has been totally erased by the Taliban,” the report reads, as per TOLO News.

Suraya Paikan, a women’s rights activist, said: “Women’s presence in a ministry or in an institution cannot make up for their equal legal rights.”

The permanent Representative of Afghanistan in the United Nations Human Rights Council criticized what he called the increasing violence against women and girls in Afghanistan.

Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to UNOG, Suraya Azizi, said: “Since the unlawful takeover of Afghanistan, women and girls continue to remain at an ever-increasing risk of violence. Mr President, systematic discrimination against women and girls, a core element of the Taliban’s form of rule, has normalized gender-based violence. The restrictive environment they face outside the homes has multiplied instances of domestic violence.”

“Ignoring women’s ability to run the government and removing them from social, political, and civil positions will leave the nation with more economic and social problems and lead to personality stagnation in a generation,” said Nazela Hassanzada, a women’s rights activist.

Suhail Shaheen, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, challenged claims that women had been entirely exiled from the political and social sphere and said some women were employed by institutions of the Afghan government and that they would be assigned in other institutions as needed in the future. (ANI)

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Afghan religious leaders emphasised the importance of both the religious and modern science education….reports Asian Lite News

Some religious leaders in Parwan province of Afghanistan have called upon the Taliban regime to reopen schools for girls above the sixth grade, reported TOLOnews.

During the inaugural ceremony of a religious school, these religious leaders emphasised the importance of both the religious and modern science education.
“We ask the Islamic Emirate government to let girls get an education in accordance with Sharia law,” TOLOnews quoted Nasrullah Urfan, a religious cleric, as saying.

“As a citizen, I ask the Islamic Emirate to open schools across Afghanistan,” another religious cleric, Ehsan said, lamenting over the situation of Afghan girls in the country.

Afghan girls have repeatedly called on the Taliban to immediately open schools and universities for them, however, there is no development on the situation of females’ right to education in the country hit by economic and humanitarian crisis.

Notably, there were 63 religious schools in Parwan province during the previous government.

However, since the Taliban regained power in August 2021 after the US exit from the country, women are not allowed to work in the fields of education with domestic and international organisations, in gyms, or in public spaces.

Taliban has rolled back a wide range of human rights of women and girls, including a ban on attending high school and university, and restrictions on movement and work. (ANI)

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More than 7,000 homes were destroyed by the earthquake, which struck three Paktika districts….reports Asian Lite News

Earthquake victims in Afghanistan’s Paktika are still struggling a year later.

As per TOLO News, it has been a year since the devastating earthquake that hit Paktika province and left more than 400 people dead and nearly 1,700 injured.

More than 7,000 homes were destroyed by the earthquake, which struck three Paktika districts.

As per official figures, there are presently up to 5,000 families living in tents and caves.

Sakhi Marjan, a resident of the Gayan district of Paktika, “It has been a long time since we have been living in a tent. We ask them to build houses for us or give us money, we will build them by ourselves.”

“We are left to take care of the orphans, we don’t have a house, UNHCR still hasn’t built us a house,” said Fazlur Rahman, a resident of Gayan district.

Some earthquake victims said that in spite of pledges and millions of dollars in aid, they still lack access to food, clean water, and medical care, as per TOLO News.

They asked the officials of the Islamic Emirate and humanitarian institutions to fulfil their promises.

Abdul Munir, a resident of the Gayan district, said: “We ask them to build this road for us; roads are destroyed, and we cannot drive and pass through with ease.”

Physicians in the Gayan district said that as the weather warms up, malnutrition and TB infections have grown among children and women in the district. Up to 20 children and women go to health centres every day.

Paktika province’s governor, Faizullah Jamal, said 2,500 homes are now being built, some of which have already been finished.

“We are trying to attract the help of international organizations in all districts including Gayan, Barmal, and Zirok districts,” Jamal told TOLO News.

A devastating earthquake that hit the Paktika districts of Gayan and Barmal one year ago today left 406 people dead and 1,685 injured.

Taliban recognition not in sight

The US has said that recognition of the Taliban depends on the behaviour of the Taliban leaders towards Afghan women, Khaama Press reported.

Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State, Vedant Patel said that if Taliban authorities do not respect women’s rights, they will not only make Afghanistan fall behind but also undermine the international legitimacy of this country.

Patel said that not only is the Taliban holding Afghanistan’s future back, but they also continue to stand in the way of their desire for international acceptance and legitimacy.

Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva has said that the “April 5 restrictions against the Afghan women working for the United Nations places a question mark over our activities across the country,” TOLO News reported.

TOLO News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul.

She said the Taliban gave no explanation to the UN for the ban.”We have been given no explanation by the de facto authorities for this ban and assurances that it will be lifted.”

Otunbayeva while speaking at the UN Security Council’s Meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, said that the UN does not want to put the lives of its female staff at risk and therefore asked them to not report to the office and also asked the male staff to stay home to respect non-discrimination. (ANI)

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