Category: Afghanistan

UN chief warned that if the decision is not reversed, it will inevitably undermine UN’s ability to deliver life-saving aid to the people who need it…reports Asian Lite News

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday condemned the ban on Afghan women working with the UN in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.

Antonio Guterres in a tweet said: “I strongly condemn the prohibition of our Afghan female colleagues from working in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.” Guterres stressed that the prohibition on female workers would undermine the ability to deliver life-saving aid to the most needful people of Afghanistan, including women and children, according to Khaama Press.

“If this measure is not reversed, it will inevitably undermine our ability to deliver life-saving aid to the people who need it,” he said.

The UN expressed “serious concerns” after the Afghan female UN staff were on Tuesday banned from reporting to work in the eastern province of Afghanistan, Nangarhar, Khaama Press reported.

The UN said: “The United Nations in Afghanistan expresses serious concern that female national UN staff have been prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province.”

The UN warned the Taliban that the life-saving aid would be at risk without female staff since most of the International organization’s staff are female.

International organizations, including the UN, have repeatedly expressed their concerns over excluding women from the aid sector, saying that without female staff, the organizations will be unable to reach needy women.

The Taliban since it came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, has imposed bans on women and girls, preventing them from education and employment.

The Taliban first banned girls from going to school beyond sixth grade; in December 2022, a decree prohibited Afghan women from higher education and working with national and international NGOs.

Pledges solidarity

“We stand in full solidarity with our colleagues, and all women who every day put their lives at risk to serve their country and we salute their dedication, professionalism, and bravery. We re-assert their inalienable, fundamental human rights as enshrined in the UN Charter,” Sima Bahous, UN Undersecretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, said in a statement.

“We will not replace our female workforce with men,” she said, adding that UN Women is determined to continue in every way possible to deliver vital services and support, so no woman or girl will be left out or left behind, Xinhua news agency reported.

Afghanistan is in a humanitarian crisis with 28.3 million people, two-thirds of the population, needing humanitarian assistance to survive. Nearly a quarter of households in Afghanistan are female-headed, she noted.

The removal of skilled women aid workers decreases access by women and girls to critical life-saving services, and increases their risks when they have to seek assistance from men instead, said Bahous.

The de-facto authorities’ denial of women’s and girls’ rights to education and to engagement in society and the economy of Afghanistan is a self-inflicted wound on the country. This damage to future recovery and resilience deepens with every woman and girl whose horizons have been forcibly shrunk to her home’s four walls, she added.

UN Women joins UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling on the Taliban to immediately revoke this latest decision and reverse all measures that restrict women’s and girls’ rights to work, education and freedom of movement, she said.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Wednesday that the world body is instructing all its Afghan national staff — men and women — not to report to the office for now. In addition, UN national female staff in Afghanistan will not see their posts to be backfilled by men.

Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Secretary-General’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, said the Afghan UN national staff — Afghan men and women — are in solidarity.

“We will not have a situation where we are going to work with all-men teams. So our national staff will report to the office together,” he told a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York through a video link.

Alakbarov said the United Nations is working to create the normal conditions so that the Afghan UN national staff could return to work. He said everybody will be paid even when they have to stay home.

The United Nations has about 3,900 staff in Afghanistan, nearly 3,300 of them are nationals. Of those, there are about 400 women nationals and 200 women internationals.

ALSO READ: UN in talks with India for food supplies to Afghanistan

The tribal elders threatened to stop the construction if the authorities do not give a positive response by March 16…reports Asian Lite News

The dispute over the acquisition of land on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Torkham continues as construction work took up the speed to complete the project by the end of this year, reported Dawn.

The Khuga Khel tribe alleged that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), with whom they had originally signed an agreement on the provision of over 300 kanals of their collective land near the Torkham border for the construction of the terminal, had changed the designs and moreover had taken their 400 kanals of land without their consent. With the FBR opting to stay in the background, the tribal elders ‘pointed their guns’ at the National Logistic Cell (NLC) since it was awarded the contract and present on the ground to execute the construction plan.

Earlier, Scores of Tribesmen held a protest at the Bacha Khan Chowk on Sunday and raised slogans against the National Logistic Cell (NLC) for allegedly occupying their collective land in excess of the land acquisition agreement they had reached with the Federal Board of Revenue, as per Dawn.

Addressing the protesters, Khuga Khel elders Mufti Ejaz, Qari Nazeem Gul, Mirajuddin, Malak Lutfullah, Kalimullah, Haji Ilyas and others alleged that hundreds of kanals of land were unlawfully occupied by the National Logistic Cell (NLC) despite repeated protests.

Khuga Khel elders said their tribe was not against the construction of the terminal. However, they stressed that a proper legal procedure for land acquisition and due compensation for the owners should be followed, according to the Dawn report.

They claimed that NLC adopted a “divide and rule” policy by talking to a group of “so-called” Khuga Khel elders to reach an agreement as per their liking while ignoring the actual representatives and depriving them of their ownership rights.

The tribal elders said that the NLC could not befool them any more. The tribal elders threatened to stop the construction if the authorities do not give a positive response by March 16.

According to them, the livelihood of hundreds of locals was related to the business activities at the Torkham border. They claimed that some government departments were depriving them of their legitimate earnings in the name of the new border policy, as per the Dawn report.

They alleged that thousands of local labourers and porters were rendered jobless due to the implementation of a visa policy which they stressed was against the legitimate easement rights of the local tribes living on both sides of the border. The terminal was conceived in 2003, however, the construction did not begin until 2015 due to the security situation in the region. (ANI)

ALSO READ: FESTIVE PHASE: Blasphemy laws, Inflation dog minorities in Pakistan

This is the third blast of its kind, which has claimed the lives of innocent children in Afghanistan over the past six days…reports Asian Lite News

Two children were killed as a mortar mine left over from past wars went off in Afghanistan’s eastern Wardak province, provincial police spokesman Yusuf Israr said Sunday.

The incident took place when children in Sayedabad district found a mortar mine on Saturday evening and began playing with it. The device suddenly exploded, killing two children of a family, the official told reporters.

This is the third blast of its kind, which has claimed the lives of innocent children in Afghanistan over the past six days, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A similar blast claimed the lives of two children and injured four others in the northern Jawzjan province on Tuesday, while another child lost his life and three others were injured as an unexploded mine left over from past wars exploded in southern Zabul province on Friday.

War-torn Afghanistan is reportedly one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world, as dozens of people, mostly children, are killed and maimed every month due to the blasts of unexploded devices left over from the past four decades of wars and civil strife.

ALSO READ: Target killing continues unabated in Pakistan

David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), warned of possible starvation to hit Afghanistan hardest if funding is not received immediately…reports Asian Lite News

Recent heavy rains and flash floods in seven provinces of Afghanistan has affected at least 645 families, according to Khaama Press citing United Nations Mission.

The organisation said the international aid organisations are assessing the delivery of life-saving aid to the affected families throughout Afghanistan during these difficult times. According to the UN agency, the low budget has restricted the organization’s ability to speed up its vital aid to needy families in the country.

In the recent past, Afghanistan has witnessed heavy rains, flash floods and earthquakes, which has adversely affected the living condition of ordinary people, and multiplied their problems for survival.

On Tuesday, David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), warned of possible starvation to hit Afghanistan hardest if funding is not received immediately.

Beasley wrote on Twitter that the world cannot turn its back on the Afghan people in this hour of unprecedented crisis, and donor countries and aid organisations should generously contribute to help the people of Afghanistan during these difficult times.

Decades of complex and protracted conflicts, combined with a changing climate, gender inequalities, rapid urbanization, underemployment, and the recent regime change in the war-torn country pose considerable challenges in efforts to achieve zero-hunger and improved nutrition in Afghanistan.

About half of Afghanistan’s population lives below the poverty line, and food insecurity is on the rise, largely due to conflict and insecurity cutting off whole communities from livelihood opportunities.

As per the latest UN reports, nine out of ten Afghans do not eat enough, and roughly two-thirds of the population, or 28.3 million people, are projected to need humanitarian assistance in 2023, nearly four million more than last year.

Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, followed by a severe economic crisis, the problems of ordinary people have been compounded by droughts and floods. Families are struggling for survival as they have no other means of income to feed mouths other than relying on humanitarian aid, according to Khaama Press. (ANI)

ALSO READ: UNSC condemns continued terrorist attacks in Afghanistan

The Taliban-led governmnet is seeking to expand its international relations with the world while the US asserts that no country will recognize the current regime in Afghanistan….reports Asian Lite News

Taliban-appointed Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs in Afghanistan, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, called on the US to reopen its embassy in Kabul, according to Khaama Press reported.

During his visit to the Afghan Consulate in Dubai, Stanikzai said, “”Let us fulfil our responsibilities. Come and open your embassy. We take care of your security. When you come, other countries will do the same. Many countries are saying in private meetings with us that if America restores its relations with you, we will come immediately.” The Taliban-led governmnet is seeking to expand its international relations with the world while the US asserts that no country will recognize the current regime in Afghanistan.

In a recent briefing, the deputy spokesman of the US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said that restrictions on women would delay Kabul’s international relations.

Patel said, “We have seen this now time and time again – denying them education, denying them the ability to work, denying them the ability to participate in the provision of humanitarian assistance that benefits all Afghans,” according to Khaama Press.

The Taliban has, however, asserted that women’s rights are completely protected in Afghanistan and has urged other countries to refrain from meddling in its domestic affairs.

However, since the Taliban-led government took control of power in Afghanistan, the group has intensified its repression of women’s rights and freedom.

National and international organisations have slammed the Taliban suppression policy. They have asserted that it will promote poverty, unemployment, and extremism, harbouring terrorists and threatening global peace and security.

Matiullah Wesa, girls’ education advocate and founder of Pen Path was, recently, arrested by the Taliban.

In the past ten years, Wesa, an advocate for human rights and education, started an education program for thousands of girls living in rural Afghanistan, according to Khaama Press.

The UN Mission in Afghanistan expressed concern about the arrest of Wesa and called on the Taliban to clarify the reason for his arrest and secure all his legal rights.

Wesa’s arrest came amid the start of the new school year in Afghanistan, where the Taliban authorities have not allowed girls beyond grade sixth for the third consecutive year. (ANI)

ALSO READ: UNSC condemns continued terrorist attacks in Afghanistan

The Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims..reports Asian Lite News

The UN Security Council has strongly condemned the “continued heinous terrorist attacks” targeting civilians in Afghanistan, including an attack near the Afghan Foreign Ministry on Monday that left at least six people killed and several wounded.

In a press statement on Tuesday, the members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured, Xinhua news agency reported.

They reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and security in Afghanistan, as well as in the world.

The council members underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable, and bring them to justice.

They reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.

The council members also reaffirmed the need for all states to combat by all means “threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.”

ALSO READ: Taliban deny US claim of growing IS presence in Afghanistan