Category: Afghanistan

The majority of violent incidents, including threats against and arrests of journalists and media personnel, have been conducted by Taliban government agencies…reports Asian Lite News

The plight of journalists in Afghanistan is deteriorating with every passing day as the violence against the community has increased manifold in the nation under Taliban rule.

According to Khaama Press, the Afghanistan Journalists Centre (AFJC) released a study on the deteriorating state of the media in Afghanistan, noting that violence cases against journalists have climbed by 64 in the previous year. The report was released on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

The majority of violent incidents, including threats against and arrests of journalists and media personnel, have been conducted by Taliban government agencies, according to the AFJC.

One person was killed, 21 people were hurt, six people were physically harassed, 115 people were threatened, and 70 journalists were detained, of which at least two (Murtaza Behbudi and Khairullah Parhar) are still in Taliban custody, Khaama Press reported.

According to the Afghan news agency, the centre has also stated that the media environment in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime has been unfavourable, adding that after the previous government was overthrown in August 2021.

About half of Afghanistan’s 600 media outlets ceased operations because of financial difficulties and restrictions put in place by the ruling regime, according to Khaama Press.

Earlier in April, journalists in Afghanistan once again denounced the lack of access to information under the Taliban regime in the country and said that it results in their loss of timely coverage.

They also said that the de-facto authorities are not cooperating with them in any manner.

Lack of access to information has been one of the main challenges for journalists in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in August 2021.

The ever-increasing restrictions against media in Afghanistan have also drawn widespread criticism globally with the United Nations (UN) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) decrying the arrests, demanding the Taliban stop harassing local journalists and stifling freedom of speech through continued detentions and threats.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August last year, it rolled back women’s rights advances and media freedom revoking the efforts on gender equality and freedom of speech in the country. (ANI)

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The biggest and worst humanitarian disaster in the world at the beginning of the year was in Afghanistan….reports Asian Lite News

Afghanistan received fresh monetary aid for the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) of Euro 1.5 million for 2023, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced, Khaama Press reported.

On Tuesday, OCHA posted on Twitter to acknowledge Ireland’s recent significant contributions to the Afghan people, saying that additional humanitarian supplies will have a beneficial impact on the lives of Afghans in general. In all of Afghanistan, poverty and hunger have significantly increased since the Taliban retook control of the country in August 2021.

Approximately 28.3 million Afghans, or roughly two-thirds of the country’s population, will require urgent humanitarian and protective assistance in 2023, according to the organization’s (OCHA) findings, reported Khaama Press.

The biggest and worst humanitarian disaster in the world at the beginning of the year was in Afghanistan. Both in terms of quantity and intensity, this signifies a drastic decline.

Humanitarian organisations have repeatedly urged the international world to continue to stand in solidarity with the Afghan people and provide assistance to them during these trying times.

Aid organisations and humanitarian organisations have remained committed to continuing to provide their life-saving support to the people of Afghanistan in 2023, despite the restrictions imposed by the Taliban de facto government, particularly on women and girls.

Unpaid pensions

Many military veterans and retired employees residing in the country have voiced their concerns over unpaid pensions, TOLOnews reported.

They gathered before the Directorate of Retiree Pensions in Kabul to complain about unpaid pensions and threatened to take to the streets if their issues are not resolved. Afghanistan is currently grappling with a serious humanitarian crisis as according to international assessments, the country now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world.

The economic and political situation of Afghanistan has taken a turn for the worse since the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August of 2021.

Yaqob Shah, 67, claimed to have worked in the Balkh province’s security division before retiring many years ago. Shah said that three months ago, he travelled from Balkh to Kabul to pick up his pension

“I started at the top. Trust me, I even sold my blanket. I have eight people in my family. I come here every day. I live here in travelers’ lodging,” said Shah.

Other people TOLOnews spoke with expressed anger over their unpaid pensions.

Sayed Abdul Wahid said, “We must launch a significant civil movement.”

Another retiree stated, “This is our right and it has been taken away from our salaries,” according to the Afghan news agency.

Apart from the problem of pensions, the country is grappling with a severe humanitarian crisis. People are deprived of their basic rights to work, and education has been restricted to boys, with girls and women strictly not being allowed to attend schools or work in NGOs.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, thousands of Afghans fled Afghanistan to the neighbouring countries fearing persecution and death threats. Most of these people entered host countries through illegal channels, now facing serious problems including forceful deportation and imprisonment. (ANI)

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Guterres said that the meeting was not about recognising the Taliban regime and as for meeting with them, he said that this “is not the right moment to do so”…writes Arul Louis

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that the international community is concerned about the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan, which has repercussions for the region and beyond.

After a meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan that he convened in Doha, Guterres said that the participants were worried about the stability of that country and expressed serious concerns about “the persistent presence of terrorist organisations — a risk for the country, the region, and further afield”.

Drug trafficking is another area of serious concern about Afghanistan, he said.

India was one of the 21 countries as well as the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation that participated in the meeting.

Guterres said that the meeting was not about recognising the Taliban regime and as for meeting with them, he said that this “is not the right moment to do so”.

The meeting was “about developing a common international approach” to Afghanistan and the “participants agreed on the need for not only a strategy of engagement that allows for the stabilisation of Afghanistan, but also allows for addressing important concerns”, he said.

He added, “While different countries placed different priorities on these concerns, according to their own situation, there is a general recognition that they are intertwined.”

Guterres also condemned the “grave violation of human rights” under the Taliban, in particular, the restrictions on women.

“Let me be crystal clear: We will never be silent in the face of unprecedented, systemic attacks on women and girls’ rights,” he declared.

Guterres described the situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan as “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world today” with six million Afghans “one step away from famine-like conditions”, while 28 million “will need humanitarian assistance this year to survive”.

There was a serious shortfall in the $4.6 billion appeal for the Humanitarian Response Plan, having received only $294 million, he said.

The restrictions on women working outside their homes are impacting the humanitarian operation of the UN because women Afghan employees of the UN are being prevented from providing relief, Guterres said.

In protest, the UN asked all its employees — about 2,700 Afghan men and 600 international workers, including 200 women who are exempt from the ban — to stay home till the end of this week.

In a rare show of immunity, the UN Security Council last week demanded that the Taliban “swiftly reverse” the restrictions placed on them.

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Almost 28 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian aid and protection assistance, including 15 million children…reports Asian Lite News

The World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations has vowed to carry out its mission in Afghanistan regardless of any political gap, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.

Head of the UN World Food Programme in Afghanistan, Hsiao-Wei Lee, stated on Thursday in Berlin, Germany, that the organization had no plans to leave the country. “Humanitarian aid is vital to most vulnerable people, including women, children and people with disabilities,” she said, as quoted by Khaama Press.

Recently, a UNICEF representative in Afghanistan said the organisation, despite all challenges, stands with the women and children of Afghanistan.

According to the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, 28 million people in Afghanistan require humanitarian aid and protection assistance, including 15 million children, Khaama Press reported.

The Afghanistan government banned the UN aid workers from working, which has backlashed globally. The UN agencies urged the Taliban to lift the restriction on women working for humanitarian organizations, saying that it would be difficult to provide help to the country without female aid.

Earlier, the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan remarked that the organisation supports Afghan mothers and children despite all difficulties.

The UNICEF representative in Afghanistan estimates that 28 million people in Afghanistan, including 15 million children, need humanitarian aid and protective support, Khaama Press reported.

Earlier in January the World Food Programme underlined that an estimated 875,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2023 in Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported. The WFP report also stated that 2.3 million children as well as 840,000 women are also on the verge of suffering from moderate acute malnutrition.

The economic and political situation of Afghanistan has only gone worse since the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August of 2021.

Afghanistan is currently grappling with a serious humanitarian crisis as according to international assessments, the country now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world.

Additionally, the Ukraine crisis has had a massive impact on the rise in food costs and how it was out of reach for many Afghans. Afghan children and women are impacted the most by the atrocities that the Taliban has unleashed in the country since taking control.

The de facto government forbade the UN relief workers from working, which caused a global outcry, Khaama Press reported. The UN organisations encouraged the Taliban to remove the ban on women working for humanitarian organisations, arguing that it would be challenging to aid the nation without female assistance. (ANI)

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The Taliban has been criticised for its growing curbs on women, including a ban on education and employment….reports Asian Lite News

The Taliban has not been invited to a United Nations-organised conference on Afghanistan in Doha.

Envoys from the United States, China and Russia, as well as major European aid donors and key neighbours such as Pakistan, are among the representatives from about 25 countries and groups called to the two days of closed-door talks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the Qatari capital on Monday, Al Jazeera reported. Last week, the UN chief said the de facto Afghan rulers would not be invited to the meeting to discuss the dire humanitarian situation in the country and its international isolation. Taliban recognition was not on the agenda, Al Jazeera reported citing a UN source.

The Taliban has been criticised for its growing curbs on women, including a ban on education and employment.

The Doha Agreement resulted in the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of occupation, leading to the collapse of the West-backed government, Al Jazeera reported.

The Taliban was accused of violating the Doha Agreement after the country’s military takeover.

Before the Doha meeting, the office of the UN chief said the forum “is intended to achieve a common understanding within the international community on how to engage with the Taliban” on women’s and girls’ rights, inclusive governance, countering terrorism and drug trafficking.

The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned the curbs on Afghan women. The UN, which has been engaging with the Taliban, provides food aid to millions of Afghans. The UN deputy chief travelled to Kabul in January to meet Taliban leaders to press the group on women’s rights and education, Al Jazeera reported.

The Doha meeting is crucial for the international community’s engagement with Afghanistan.

It comes as the UN is expected to review its critical relief operation in Afghanistan in the wake of Afghan women being stopped from working with the global agency.

The UN has said it faces an “appalling choice” over whether to maintain its huge operation in the country of 38 million. The review is scheduled to be completed on Friday. (ANI)

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The identity of the IS leader has not been released yet…reports Asian Lite News

Senior Islamic State leader, who was allegedly behind the 2021 bombing at Kabul airport in Afghanistan, has been killed by the Taliban, US officials have said.

The August 2021 bombing at the Abbey Gate entrance of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul killed 170 civilians and 13 US troops as people were trying to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

US officials told CBS News that the leader died weeks ago, but it took time to confirm his death, the BBC reported.

The identity of the IS leader has not been released yet.

US officials said they determined through intelligence gathering and monitoring of the region that the leader had died, though they did not provide further details on how they learned that he was responsible for the bombing, the British news broadcaster reported.

According to a report in the New York Times, the US learned of the leader’s death in early April. It is unclear whether he was targeted by the Taliban or if he was killed during ongoing fighting between IS and the Taliban, the newspaper reported.

On Monday, the US began notifying families of the deceased troops about the death of the IS leader.

Darin Hoover, father of Marine Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover who died in the blast, confirmed to CBS that he had been notified of the news by the Marine Corps.

“They could not tell me any details of the operation, but they did state that their sources are highly trusted, and they’ve got it from several different sources that this individual was indeed killed,” Hoover said in an interview on Tuesday.

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