Kakar linked the ongoing deportation drive of illegal immigrants to counter-terrorism actions…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said on Wednesday that there has been an increase in terror incidents in Pakistan since the Taliban came to power in 2021, Dawn reported.
Kakar linked the ongoing deportation drive of illegal immigrants to counter-terrorism actions, reported Dawn, a Pakistani English-language newspaper.
The Pakistan Caretaker Prime Minister, while addressing the media in Islamabad, said, “After the establishment of the interim Afghan government (Taliban) in August 2021, we had a strong hope that there would be long-term peace in Afghanistan. […] Strict action would be taken against Pakistan-opposing groups, especially the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and they would absolutely not be allowed to use Afghan soil against Pakistan.”
“But unfortunately, after the establishment of the interim Afghan govt, there has been a 60 per cent increase in terror incidents and 500pc rise in suicide attacks in Pakistan,” he said.
He further said: “In the past two years, 2,267 innocent citizens’ lives have been lost to this tragic bloodshed, for which the terrorists of TTP are responsible who are conducting cowardly attacks on Pakistani using Afghan soil.”
“During this time, 15 Afghan citizens were also among the people involved in suicide attacks. Other than this, till now, 64 Afghan citizens were killed while fighting Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies during the counterterrorism campaign,” he added.
Kakar did not provide any further details about the alleged involvement of Afghan nationals in any specific terror attack.
His statement comes after the country witnessed a sharp rise in terror incidents during the past week, including at Mianwali Training Air Base claimed by the Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan and an ambush in Gwadar claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Front, while no group claimed responsibility for attacks in Dera Ismail Khan, as per Dawn.
Kakar went on to recall that the above details were in the knowledge of the Taliban.
The premier said that according to a monitoring report released in July this year by the United Nations, there was “clear mention of TTP centres in Afghanistan and increase in its activities against Pakistan”.
The prime minister added that even after reassurances from the Afghan government of taking action against the TTP, “no actions were taken against anti-Pakistan groups”. “Instead, in a few instances, clear evidence of enabling terrorism also came forward,” he said without providing further details, as per Dawn. (ANI)
The Taliban spokesperson said Afghans have been forced to migrate to various countries due to the wars over the past 45 years in Afghanistan….reports Asian Lite News
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has called on countries hosting Afghan refugees to not forcefully deport them as the migrants do not have any preparation for it yet. Mujahid also called for tolerance based on Islamic and neighbourly manners, TOLO News reported.
The Taliban spokesperson said Afghans have been forced to migrate to various countries due to the wars over the past 45 years in Afghanistan.
As per Mujahid’s statement, Afghans have not created problems or destabilization in host countries. He urged neighbouring countries to treat them properly, TOLO News reported.
This comes as the Pakistan caretaker government announced October 31 as the deadline for Afghan refugees to leave the country.
The deadline called for nearly 2 million Afghan refugees to leave Pakistan or they will face forced deportation.
“The Afghans who are being forcefully deported, their materials, money and other property are their personal property and no one has the right to seize it from them and impose unfair and unjust conditions on them,” the statement read.
The statement called on Afghan traders to cooperate with the commission established to help the refugees. It also instructed the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and other relevant ministries to provide necessary facilities for the traders and industrial owners who are returning home.
The Taliban urged Afghans who are in exile due to political concerns to return, saying that they can live their lives in calmness in Afghanistan.
Amid forced expulsion by Pakistan, a group of Afghan refugees on Monday started a protest outside the office of the United Nations Human Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad, according to Khaama Press.
Over 1.7 million undocumented migrants in Pakistan were given until November 1 to depart by the country’s temporary administration, less than a month ago. Pakistan issued a warning to migrants, threatening to arrest and deport them if they do not leave the nation.
The protest, which took place on Monday, was launched by defence lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, and individuals vulnerable to the Taliban, who argued that the UNHCR hasn’t properly examined their cases over the last two years, Khaama Press reported.
The protesters asserted that Afghan migrants are not granted visas by the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul, and the UNHCR is not willing to give them proper papers that would shield them from abuse by Pakistani authorities.
Worrying that leaving Pakistan will expose them to the violations of human rights by the Taliban, the Afghan refugees continue to remain in a difficult position. Moreover, according to Khaama Press, the lawyers for Afghan women also accused the UNHCR of failing to act in response to the demonstrations. (ANI)
China has been in talks with the Taliban over plans, begun under the previous foreign-backed government, over a possible huge copper mine in eastern Afghanistan…reports Asian Lite News
Afghanistan’s acting commerce minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi has said the Taliban administration wants to join China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. It will send a technical team to China for talks, he added.
Azizi told Reuters that they had requested China to allow Afghanistan to be a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Belt and Road Initiative. He also said the two sides were holding technical discussions.
Taliban officials and ministers have at times travelled to regional meetings, mostly those focused on Afghanistan, but the Belt and Road Forum is among the highest-profile multilateral summits it has been invited to attend, The News reported.
The impoverished country could offer a wealth of coveted mineral resources. A mines minister estimated in 2010 that Afghanistan had untapped deposits, ranging from copper to gold and lithium, worth between $1 trillion and $3 trillion. It is not clear how much they are worth today, The News reported.
China has been in talks with the Taliban over plans, begun under the previous foreign-backed government, over a possible huge copper mine in eastern Afghanistan.
Azizi will continue discussions in Beijing on plans to build a road through the Wakhan corridor, a thin, mountainous strip in northern Afghanistan, to provide direct access to China, Akhundzada said.
Officials from China, the Taliban and neighbouring Pakistan said in May they would like Belt and Road to include Afghanistan and for the flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to be extended across the border to Afghanistan, The News reported.
Azizi encouraged Chinese investment in resource-rich Afghanistan, highlighting lithium, copper, and iron.
He said security is a top priority for the Taliban-led government, enabling travel to previously restricted industrial, agricultural, and mining provinces. At the Belt and Road Forum, Afghanistan and 34 other nations joined forces to advance digital economy and green development.
Taliban officials have attended regional meetings, primarily related to Afghanistan, but the Belt and Road Forum is one of the most prominent multilateral summits they’ve been invited to….reports Asian Lite News
Taliban will attend China’s Belt and Road Forum underscoring Beijing’s growing official ties with the administration, despite its lack of formal recognition by any government, the media reported.
Taliban officials and ministers have at times travelled to regional meetings, mostly those focused on Afghanistan, but the Belt and Road Forum is among the highest-profile multilateral summits it has been invited to attend, The News reported.
The forum in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious global infrastructure and energy initiative, billed as recreating the ancient Silk Road to boost global trade.
The Taliban’s acting minister for commerce and industry, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, will travel to Beijing in the coming days, ministry spokesman Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad said.
“He will attend and will invite large investors” to Afghanistan, he said.
The impoverished country could offer a wealth of coveted mineral resources. A mines minister estimated in 2010 that Afghanistan had untapped deposits, ranging from copper to gold and lithium, worth between $1 trillion and $3 trillion. It is not clear how much they are worth today, The News reported.
China has been in talks with the Taliban over plans, begun under the previous foreign-backed government, over a possible huge copper mine in eastern Afghanistan.
Azizi will continue discussions in Beijing on plans to build a road through the Wakhan corridor, a thin, mountainous strip in northern Afghanistan, to provide direct access to China, Akhundzada said.
Officials from China, the Taliban and neighbouring Pakistan said in May they would like Belt and Road to include Afghanistan and for the flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to be extended across the border to Afghanistan, The News reported.
While no countries in the region have officially recognized the interim government in Kabul, some countries, particularly Iran, have established channels of communication and trade with the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate….reports Asian Lite News
Ever since the eventful return of Taliban in Afghanistan, their relations with neighbours like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Iran continues to be complex, with a strong undercurrent of hostility. While three of them opened dialogue with them, the Tajik government did not.
No countries in the region have officially recognised the interim government in Kabul. But, countries, especially Iran, have also opened channels of communication and trade with the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate.
Worries in Central Asia
Maintaining economic relations, as well as stabilisation of humanitarian and political conditions in Afghanistan, have been at the forefront for Central Asian states. Diplomatically, Kazakhstan and others have been very cautious engaging with the Taliban by maintaining discussion through diplomatic envoys but without giving the regime full state recognition.
On April 15 this year, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin made an official visit to Kabul. During the visit, Zhumangarin unveiled his government’s trade plans with Afghanistan: “Politics is politics, and economy is economy — we plan to ramp up this trade cooperation,” stated the prime minister. He noted that the current trade volume with Afghanistan amounts to approximately $1 billion, and given the market in the country is “very large and promising,” there are real prospects for delivering wheat, flour, and seed oil. Specifically, he emphasised that Kazakhstan has a $174 million export potential to Afghanistan in food, petrochemical, chemical, metallurgical, light machine-building, construction, and other key industries. In this line, Kazakhstan is planning to open a trade liaison office in Kabul. Such improvements in bilateral trade can also contribute to increased regional connectivity, as well as improvement of supply chain and energy routes.
Following Zhumangarin’s visit, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said on April 17 that Kazakhstan has agreed to provide diplomatic accreditation to the representatives of Afghanistan without recognising the legitimacy of the Taliban government itself.
In Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, both immediate neighbors of Afghanistan, Islamist groups and movements have already fought for the Islamic state in the past and thus they have raised local governments’ domestic concerns about the rise of extremism.
Tajikistan remains as the only Central Asian state reluctant to engage with the Taliban, largely due to its concerns about the militant groups such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Tajikistan (TTT).
Iran’s Pragmatic-Problematic Relations
Iran has charted a practical route of diplomacy to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. This is in sharp contrast to popular perceptions that Taliban, hardline Deobandis who are even close to Ahle Hadith and Wahhabis, may be natural enemies of Shia Iran.
On February 26, Iran officially handed over the Afghan embassy in Tehran to diplomats from the Taliban — a big step in formalising and deepening their ties.
The situation is notably different from the tensions that characterised the first iteration of the Taliban’s “Islamic Emirate,” when Tehran had deep security concerns about the group due to its mistreatment of Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara community and its 1998 killing of Iranian diplomats at the Mazar-e-Sharif consulate.
“America’s long involvement in Afghanistan helped thaw relations between the two regimes given their mutual enmity toward Washington and desire for US withdrawal. Hence, the years leading up to the 2021 fall of Kabul saw increasing reports of Iran providing weapons to the Taliban, and their ties would only widen and accelerate afterward,” Mehdis Hedayat, a West Asia expert based in Tehran, told India Narrative, while sharing her reading of Taliban-Iran equation.
She added that the Taliban leadership was even invited to attend multiple festivities last month related to the anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution in February and Muharram processions last month.
Over the years, trade and economic cooperation have boomed, with two-way trade reaching $1 billion as per the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce. For Tehran, trade with Kabul has been a means to transcend the crippling effects of the US sanctions, sporadically in place since 2005, and has helped support Iran’s ‘resistance economy’. The border regions are also deeply integrated, with Iranian rials being used in the Afghan border town of Zaranj and the ubiquitous presence of Iranian goods on supermarket shelves.
But while trade has boomed, differences in other aspects have continued to fester.
Last year (March 2022- February 2023), nearly 445,403 refugees from Afghanistan took refuge in Iran. Tehran has historically hosted a large proportion of Afghan refugees, mainly from the Shia Hazara and Tajik communities with around 3.6 million refugees already present in the country. But while its refugee policy has been relatively inclusive, it has repatriated many refugees back to Afghanistan, sometimes voluntarily and oftentimes through force.
Since the coming of the Taliban, around 100 refugees who were trying to enter Iran illegally have been killed by Iranian security forces.
Differences over the equitable distribution of water flowing from the Helmand River in Afghanistan to the Hamoun wetlands in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province have also been a sticky issue. As both Kabul and Tehran grapple with water shortages and the lack of a robust water management infrastructure.
The Afghanistan-Iran border has also witnessed frequent skirmishes because of apparent ‘misunderstandings,’ sometimes resulting in an exchange of fire and the capture of posts. The last few months have seen multiple major incidents in Hirmand county, Herat, and Nimroz province. The Iranian border guards have intercepted the Taliban’s attempts to raise their flags in territories claimed by Iran and construct illegal roads, while warning against conflating its muted response to these transgressions as its weakness. A joint commission to cooperate on the issue was formed in August 2022 but the clashes have continued.
During a meeting at Baghlan University, Minister said that attempts are being made to demolish the current system under the pretext of concerns related to women….reports Asian Lite News
Taliban-appointed acting minister of Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadim emphasized that based on Sharia, men and women are not equal, reported TOLO News.
During a meeting at Baghlan University, he said that attempts are being made to demolish the current system under the pretext of concerns related to women.
The acting minister of higher education, Neda Mohammad Nadim, said in a meeting at Baghlan University that there are now attempts being made to demolish the current system under the excuse of concerns related to women.
According to TOLO News, he noted that despite Western nations trying to demonstrate that men and women have equal rights, women and men are “not equal”.
“The Almighty Allah has distinguished between men and women. A male is the ruler, he has the authority, he must be obeyed, and the woman must accept his world. A woman is not equal to a man; however, they (Western nations) have placed her above a man,” said Nadim.
He further said that the duties of the current government are to behave well towards the people and provide security and justice, reported TOLO News.
“This is the responsibility of the Islamic Emirate: to treat the people well. It should bring ease, it should bring good news, there should be no hatred, there should be no differences among the officials, and the second thing is to ensure security,” he said.
Whereas, some professors and students of Baghlan University asked the acting Higher Education Ministry to create a suitable educational environment in universities, especially Baghlan University.
Sayed Sati, a lecturer at Baghlan University said, “The most crucial requirements and conditions that can make a university grow in terms of science and research are the provision of facilities and equipment.”
Moreover, one of the students Yama Barna said, “The lack of regular transportation for students is the first issue. It should be taken care of because the distance between the city and the institution is great. The second issue is the lack of a dorm, which students have experienced for years.”
In a speech at Kunduz University, the acting higher education minister, Neda Mohammad Nadim, stressed the ministry’s efforts to address these issues and expand resources for universities, reported TOLO News.
However, Afghanistan’s women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces.
A startling 80 per cent of Afghan girls and young women, who are of school-going age, are currently denied access to education under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, a new report by Care International stated, according to Khaama Press.
It has been more than two years since girls above grade six have been prohibited from attending schools in Afghanistan, and it is unclear when those doors will reopen, Tolo News reported.
Afghanistan remains the only country to ban girls’ and women’s education, resulting in a substantial economic toll of approximately USD 5.4 billion. (ANI)
Afghan-Pakistan relations in turmoil as Pak detains refugees.(photo:IN)
The education and work of girls and women are the two main issues which sparked reactions at an international level….reports Asian Lite News
The UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan, Richard Bennet, called on the Taliban to reverse the “draconian, misogynist policies” against women and allow them to work and run businesses, Tolo News reported.
Speaking to the 54th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, Bennett said 60,000 women have lost their jobs due to recent restrictions of the interim Afghan government.
“Recently the Taliban has restricted women’s activities even more. Beauty salons have been prohibited, eliminating approximately 60,000 jobs, depriving them of one of few remaining women’s only safe spaces,” Tolo News quoted Bennet as saying.
The education and work of girls and women are the two main issues which sparked reactions at an international level.
Meanwhile, the representatives of some countries who attended the meeting also voiced concerns over the restrictions on Afghan girls and women in access to education and work.
Lubna Qassim, UAE Deputy Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, said the “significant humanitarian challenges facing Afghanistan will have a significant negative impact on the Afghani society and its future.”
Lubna Qassim, added that there is no positive progress on the “ban imposed by the Taliban government on universities, education for girls, and their exclusion from working and civil society organizations national and international humanitarian organizations,” Tolo News reported.
Pakistan Deputy Representative to the UN Human Rights Council, Zaman Mehdi, urged the Taliban authorities “to take steps toward the resumption of female education” and enable them to “contribute to the Afghan society” and respect the rights and freedom of all Afghans including women and girls.
He also expressed concern about the “increasingly worrying humanitarian, human rights, and social-economic conditions in Afghanistan.”
However, the Islamic Emirate in response said that the rights of women are observed within an “Islamic structure”, Tolo News reported.
“Afghanistan is an Islamic country, and we define the rights through Islamic Sharia. Our people also want that right which Sharia determined for them. I am sure the ruling government in Afghanistan is not wasting the rights of anyone,” Tolo News quoted Mujahid as saying.
Notably, with the resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 in Afghanistan, the country’s educational system has suffered a significant setback. As a result, girls have been deprived of access to education, and seminaries or religious schools have gradually filled the void left by schools and universities.
Afghanistan’s women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Girls and women in the war-torn country have no access to education, employment and public spaces.
It has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement for women and girls.
Taliban leaders have also disregarded international calls for women and girls to be given access to education and employment. Apparently, they have also issued warnings to other nations not to meddle in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.
Taliban have also barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses. (ANI)
The Taliban leadership has also emphasized to store owners and homeowners that installing security cameras is necessary…reports Asian Lite News
In order to improve security, the Taliban government’s Ministry of Interior has announced the installation of more than 62,000 security cameras around the nation, according to Khaama Press.
The Ministry of Interior’s spokesperson, Abdul Matin Qani, told the media in a video clip that more than 62,000 surveillance cameras had been deployed in various areas of Kabul.
The police administration in Kabul’s spokeswoman had previously stated that as part of this scheme, residents are installing surveillance cameras in their houses and streets to help with security measures.
The Ministry of Interior has reportedly sent information forms to homes and informed store owners and householders that failing to install cameras will result in sanctions, according to country residents, Khaama Press reported.
The Taliban leadership has also emphasized to store owners and homeowners that installing security cameras is necessary.
Following the Taliban’s ascent to power, the nation has seen a considerable upsurge in suicides amid a grave humanitarian crisis.
The severe humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the escalating poverty levels have resulted in increased migration and challenges with regards to unemployment and residency issues in neighbouring nations. This has resulted in some migrants returning to Afghanistan voluntarily.
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the majority of Afghans have sought migration due to security reasons, prosecution, lack of job opportunities and the economic situation amid a severe humanitarian crisis in the country.
UK announces $125M aid
The United Kingdom has dedicated USD 125 million for supporting the people of Afghanistan, who are undergoing one of the worst humanitarian crisis under the Taliban regime, Tolo News reported.
The official handle of ‘UK for Afghanistan’ said on X platform (formerly Twitter) that it has dedicated USD 125 million to support the Afghan people.
“Britain remains committed to a secure and prosperous Afghanistan. That’s why this year, we are proud to be dedicating $125m to supporting the people of Afghanistan,” UK for Afghanistan said on X.
The deputy of the Ministry of Economy, Abdul Latif Nazari, welcomed the international assistance for the Afghan people but highlighted that it should not be tied to political matters.
“We ask the international community, relief organizations including the UN, to continue aid, and aid should not be linked to political issues,” Tolo News quoted Nazari as saying.
“The right way of using the world’s aid is not clear. If the right way to use the aid is not clear, and there is no necessary transparency and appropriate response to the aid situation, no matter how huge the aid is, sadly, it will not be effective on the economic situation of Afghanistan,” Tolo News quoted an economist named Shaker Yaqoobi as saying.
Notably, millions of people in Afghanistan are currently suffering from poverty, unemployment, a lack of access to food, and poor health conditions, Tolo News reported citing figures from various international organizations.
Abdul Munir, a young man who works as a vendor in Kabul and is his family’s primary provider despite having a disability, said that he has only received aid twice from the relief organizations.
“I received aid from the current government once or twice,” said Abdul Munir, a resident of Kabul.
According to the World Health Organization’s recent report, 28.8 million Afghans need urgent assistance, while this figure reached 18.4 million people before August 2021.
Additionally, the International Committee of the Red Cross for Afghanistan reported that currently, half of the people of Afghanistan lack access to food and medical care.
It is stated that this aid will be focused on the education of Afghan children, as per Tolo News.
Notably, with the resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 in Afghanistan, the country’s educational system has suffered a significant setback. As a result, girls have been deprived of access to education, and seminaries or religious schools have gradually filled the void left by schools and universities.
Taliban have also barred girls from attending secondary school, restricted women and girls’ freedom of movement, excluded women from most areas of the workforce and banned women from using parks, gyms and public bath houses. (ANI)
Taliban forces arrested Velayati at the end of his 10-day personal trip to Afghanistan on August 19 without any explanation…reports Asian Lite News
Iranian photojournalist Mohammad-Hossein Velayati, who was detained last week in Afghanistan, has been released, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which Velayati works for, reported.
The journalist was handed over to the Iranian embassy in Kabul on Friday night, the report said on Saturday, adding that the release was confirmed by Bilal Karimi, a spokesman of the Taliban administration, but the reporter has yet to be transferred to Iran.
Tasnim on Tuesday reported that “Taliban forces” arrested Velayati at the end of his 10-day personal trip to Afghanistan on August 19 without any explanation, as he was returning to Iran, stressing that he had entered Afghanistan legally through the air border, Xinhua news agency reported.
In a post on X, previously known as Twitter, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Friday night that intensive diplomatic efforts were being made to return Velayati to Iran.
Pakistan Taliban stay firm on demand for separate tribal area at Kabul meeting held to broker peace.(PHOTO:IN)
Under the Taliban, Sikhs and Hindus have faced severe restrictions, including on their appearances, and have been banned from marking their religious holidays in public, leaving many with no choice but to escape their homeland.
When Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, there were concerns that some of Afghanistan’s tiny non-Muslim minorities could vanish. Two years on, those fears are becoming realised a media report said.
While Afghanistan’s last-known Jew fled the country shortly after the Taliban takeover, the Sikh and Hindu communities are believed to have shrunk to just a handful of families, RFE/RL reported.
Under the Taliban, Sikhs and Hindus have faced severe restrictions, including on their appearances, and have been banned from marking their religious holidays in public, leaving many with no choice but to escape their homeland, RFE/RL reported.
“I cannot go anywhere freely,” Fari Kaur, one of the last remaining Sikhs in the capital, Kabul said.
“When I go out, I’m forced to dress like a Muslim so that I can’t be identified as a Sikh,” she said, in reference to the Taliban’s order that all women must wear the all-encompassing burqa or niqab.
Kaur’s father was killed in a suicide attack targeting Sikhs and Hindus in the eastern city of Jalalabad in 2018.
The attack reportedly led as many as 1,500 Sikhs to leave the country, including Kaur’s mother and sisters.
But Kaur refused to leave and stayed in Kabul to fulfil her father’s dream that she finish school, the RFE/RL report said.
In March 2020, 25 worshipers were killed when Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) militants stormed a Sikh temple in Kabul.
Following the attack, most of the remaining members of the minority left Afghanistan.
Again, Kaur refused to leave. But now, more than two years after the Taliban seized power, she said the lack of religious freedom under the militants has left her no choice but to seek refuge abroad.
“We have not celebrated our key festivals since the Taliban returned to power,” she said.
“We have very few community members left behind in Afghanistan. We cannot even look after our temples.”
There were up to 100,000 Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan in the 1980s. But the war that broke out in 1979 and the onset of growing persecution pushed many out.
During the civil war of the 1990s, the Taliban and rival Islamist groups pledged to protect minorities. But many Sikhs and Hindus lost their homes and businesses and fled to India, the report said.
Taliban members inspect the site of a roadside bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua/IANS)
When the Taliban regained power in August 2021, it attempted to assuage the fears of non-Muslim Afghans. The militants visited Sikh and Hindu temples to try and assure the remaining members of the communities of their commitment to their safety and well-being.
But the Taliban’s draconian restrictions on Sikhs and Hindus have forced many to seek a way out of their homeland, RFE/RL reported.
Niala Mohammad, the director of policy and strategy at the nonprofit Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, said the situation for religious minorities in Afghanistan — including Hindus, Sikhs, Bahai’s, Christians, Ahmadis, and Shia Muslims — has deteriorated sharply under Taliban rule.
“The situation continues to deteriorate as political extremist factions that claim to represent Islam, such as the Taliban, ascend to power in the region,” said Mohammad, who was previously the South Asia analyst for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
“This exodus of diverse religious groups has left a void in the country’s social fabric.”
