Recent floods in Afghanistan caused by incessant rain kill 400 people

 The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has confirmed that 400 people have died in the recent floods triggered by incessant rain across the country

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has confirmed that 400 people have died in the recent floods triggered by incessant rain across the country. The floods hit the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Laghman, Panjshir, Parwan, Kabul, Kapisa, Maidan Wardak, Bamiyan, Ghazni, Logar, Samangan, Sar-e-Pul, Takhar, Paktia, Khost and Daikundi, as well as the Salang areas, TOLO News reported.

“The wounded have been evacuated to the hospitals. The people whose residences were damaged in the floods, they have been evacuated and provided with tents,” Mawlawi Sharfuddin Muslim, the deputy Minister of Natural Disaster Management, said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement added that the floods have also inflicted financial losses. In 2022, over 30,000 people have been affected by natural disasters in Afghanistan including more than 5,000 people affected by flash flooding.

Malala slams Taliban for hijab decree, urges world leaders to take action

 Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has expressed fear for women and girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban issued a decree making the hijab compulsory for women in Afghanistan.

Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has expressed fear for women and girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban issued a decree making the hijab compulsory for women in Afghanistan. She urged world leaders to hold Taliban accountable for violating the human rights of Afghan women. “The Taliban want to erase girls and women from all public life in Afghanistan – to keep girls out of school and women out of work, to deny them the ability to travel without a male family member, and to force them to cover their faces and bodies completely,” tweeted Malala.

She urged world leaders to take collective action to hold the Taliban accountable for violating the human rights of millions of women and girls. “We must not lose our sense of alarm for Afghan women as the Taliban continue to break their promises. Even now, women are taking to the streets to fight for their human rights and dignity – all of us, and especially those from Muslim countries, must stand with them,” added Malala…

900,000 Afghans lost jobs since Taliban takeover in Afghanistan: US

 According to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), at least 900,000 Afghans have lost their jobs since the Taliban took control last August.

According to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), at least 900,000 Afghans have lost their jobs since the Taliban took control last August. Working women are disproportionately affected, according to SIGAR, with women’s employment expected to fall by 21 per cent by mid-2022, reported The Khaama Press. Since the Taliban took power, unemployment has skyrocketed, and poverty across many parts of the country has put millions of people at risk.

According to the International Labour Organization, more than 500,000 Afghan workers lost their jobs in the third quarter of 2021, and the number of people who will lose their jobs since the Taliban took control is expected to reach 700,000 to 900,000 people by mid-2022, reported Khaama Press. Due to four decades of conflict, severe drought, and pandemics, Afghanistan’s economy was already collapsing. After the Taliban seized power following the hasty withdrawal of US soldiers, the international community froze Afghanistan’s assets and withheld help.

Taliban stops issuing driving licence to women in Kabul: Reports

 The ban comes at a time when the country suffers from a devastating humanitarian crisis, with an acute shortage of food and other essential supplies.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has stopped issuing driving licenses to women in Kabul and other provinces, media reports said. The ban comes at a time when the country suffers from a devastating humanitarian crisis, with an acute shortage of food and other essential supplies. Before the Taliban takeover, women in Afghanistan could be seen driving in some of the major cities of the country including Kabul. However, the Taliban has now stopped distributing driving licenses to women, local media said.

Notably, the situation of human rights in Afghanistan has worsened since the collapse of the Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power in August last year. Although the fighting in the country has ended, serious human rights violations continue unabated, especially against women. In a recent decree, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan banned girls from attending school above grade sixth leading to worldwide condemnation. The leaders of the outfit have since said that the move was taken because of an apparent “shortage of teachers” and that the right of girls to study beyond grade sixth will be restored “shortly”

Afghanistan gets over $760 mn in cash aid to fight poverty, food shortage

 The aim of the international aid has been to prevent widespread poverty and food shortages in the country hit by a devastating humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover in August last yeara

Afghanistan has received over USD 760 million in cash as humanitarian assistance from the international community, the country’s central bank informed, adding that the money donated is beneficial in maintaining the value of the Afghan currency. “In total, USD 761.6 million has been delivered. This aid preserves the value of the Afghani,” Saber Momand, Da Afghanistan Bank’s (Central Bank of Afghanistan) spokesperson was quoted as saying by Tolo News.

The aim of the international aid has been to prevent widespread poverty and food shortages in the country hit by a devastating humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover in August last year.However, some locals allege that the aid is not being donated in a fair manner, Tolo News reported. “Donations come but they do not give it to us. There are representatives of the people in our area who say that if you share fifty per cent of the aid with us, I will put your name on the list. If you do not, I will not take your name,” Mirajan, a worker was quoted as saying.

Ex-Afghan army general Sami Sadat prepares for new war against Taliban

 Speaking for the first time about the plans, Lt Gen Sami Sadat told the BBC that eight months of Taliban rule has convinced many Afghans that military action is the only way forward

A former general in the Afghan army says he and many other soldiers and politicians from the previous administration are preparing to launch a new war against the incumbent Taliban regime in the country. Speaking for the first time about the plans, Lt Gen Sami Sadat told the BBC that eight months of Taliban rule has convinced many Afghans that military action is the only way forward. He said operations could begin next month after Eid, when he plans to return to Afghanistan.

The Taliban took control of the country in a rapid offensive last August. The hard-line Islamists swept across the country in just 10 days, as the last US-led NATO forces left following a 20-year military campaign. Lt Gen Sadat said that he and the others would “do anything and everything in our powers to make sure Afghanistan is freed from the Taliban and a democratic system is re-established”….

Taliban's Afghan takeover has led to 'erosion of human rights': Blinken

 Blinken’s remarks came as the US state department released the 2021 Human Rights Report on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday (local time) said that the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan has resulted in a “serious erosion of human rights” in the country. Blinken’s remarks came as the US state department released the 2021 Human Rights Report on Tuesday.

“In Afghanistan, the Taliban’s takeover precipitated a humanitarian crisis, and has resulted in serious erosion of human rights, from arbitrary detentions of women, protesters, and journalists, to reprisals against security forces for the former government, to growing restrictions on where women and girls can study or work,” he said during the press briefing.

Notably, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also claimed that there has been a surge in human rights violations in Afghanistan, reported Tolonews. “Human Rights Watch works on the human rights situation in about 100 countries around the world and at the moment we see Afghanistan as a very urgent priority. The human rights situation in Afghanistan is deeply worrying,” the media outlet quoted Heather Barr, associate director of the Women’s Rights Division at HRW, as saying.

US, allies call on Taliban to revoke ban on girls' education in Afghanistan

 Condemning the Taliban’s decision not to reopen secondary schools to Afghan girls, the United States and its allies have called on the group to revoke its decision.

Condemning the Taliban’s decision not to reopen secondary schools to Afghan girls, the United States and its allies have called on the group to revoke its decision. A joint statement issued by Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union has condemned the Taliban’s decision on March 23 to deny so many Afghan girls the opportunity to finally go back to school.

“The Taliban’s action contradicted its public assurances to the Afghan people and to the international community,” read the statement, adding that the decision came after months of work by the international community to support teacher stipends based on an expectation that schools would be open for all, with the higher interest of Afghan students and teachers in mind.

“We call on the Taliban urgently to reverse this decision, which will have consequences far beyond its harm to Afghan girls. Unreversed, it will profoundly harm Afghanistan’s prospects for social cohesion and economic growth, its ambition to become a respected member in the community of nations, and the willingness of Afghans to return from overseas,” added the statement…Read More

Taliban allows girls in Afghanistan to return to high schools from today

 The Taliban has allowed girls to return to high schools from Wednesday, ending the uncertainty over whether the Islamic group would allow full access to education for girls.

The Taliban has allowed girls to return to high schools from Wednesday, ending the uncertainty over whether the Islamic group would allow full access to education for girls. Teenage girls across will return to their classrooms after being banned after the Islamic outfit sized power last August. Since taking power, the Taliban have rolled back women’s rights in virtually every area, including crushing women’s freedom of movement.

The vast majority of girls’ secondary schools were closed. Universities recently reopened, with new gender segregation rules. But many women are unable to return, in part because the career they studied for is off limits now as the Taliban banned women from most jobs. “Critical period ahead for Afghanistan as school and colleges soon re-open after winter break. UNAMA conducted a discussion on Higher Education yesterday with Mawlawi Abdul Baqi Haqqani. Importance of equal access to quality education for all & guarantees for academic freedom was stressed,” the UN Mission in Afghanistan said in a tweet…

Afghan women face violence, repression as world focus shifts

 Under the Taliban’s latest rule, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Afghanistan are facing “grave threats” of violence and death

The Taliban reportedly captured 40 people in Mazar-e-Sharif, a medium-sized city in Afghanistan, at the end of January 2022. Taliban members then allegedly gang-raped eight of the women. The women who survived the gang rape were subsequently killed by their families. The fact that the women had been raped violated a societal honor code called Pashtunwalli, which prohibits women from engaging in sex outside of marriage.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted that some of the women they arrested “remain detained because their male relatives have not yet come to escort them.” News of the attack is circulating among various Afghan communities and some local media, according to several Afghan women’s rights activists who are part of my academic network. These colleagues cannot be named because of security concerns. Women’s rights activists marched in Kabul on Jan. 16, 2022, asking where the women of the Mazar-e-Sharif attack have gone.

Over 6,400 Afghan journalists lost jobs since Taliban takeover: Survey

 More than 6,400 journalists in Afghanistan have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover of the country, according to a recent survey.

More than 6,400 journalists in Afghanistan have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover of the country, according to a recent survey.The survey conducted by non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) shows a radical change in the Afghan media landscape since the Taliban took power. As many as 231 media outlets have had to close.

The Taliban takeover’s impact on Afghanistan’s media has been dramatic, according to the survey by RSF and its local partner, the AIJA.More than four out of every ten media outlets have disappeared and 60 percent of journalists and media employees are no longer able to work.The hardest hit among all are women journalists as 80 percent of them have lost their jobs since Taliban took control of Kabul…

Taliban won’t agree to ceasefire unless reason behind war is discussed

The Taliban will not agree to a ceasefire unless peace negotiators discuss the main reason behind the war, said their spokesperson Mohommed Naeem

The Taliban will not agree to a ceasefire unless peace negotiators discuss the main reason behind the war, said their spokesperson Mohommed Naeem. The spokesperson claimed that the terrorist group reduced violence levels with the beginning of the preliminary round of talks but the government has not halted its “offensive operations, according to Tolo News. “It does not make sense to end 20 years of war in one hour. In our perspective, it will be logical to discuss the main aspects of the problems and the war and then finalise a ceasefire so that the problem is resolved permanently,” Mohammad Naeem told TOLOnews.

“Suppose, if we announce a ceasefire today, but then we fail to reach an agreement at the negotiating table tomorrow, do we go toward the war again? What does this mean?” he added. Naeem further said that the Taliban wants an Islamic system “that is answerable to the public and the nation”. “One of our objectives was to end the invasion of Afghanistan. The other one was that there is a true Islamic system that is answerable to the public and the nation,” Tolo News reported quoting the spokesperson.

Naeem said that despite the possibility of ups and downs in the negotiations, he is optimistic about the outcome of the talks between the two. “We have entered the peace process with a strong will and determination. We want this problem finally to be resolved. The process is complicated and it has its own complexities, but we are hopeful that the problems come to an end,” added Naeem…Read More

Pak PM Imran Khan to visit Qatar 2 days before US-Taliban deal signing

This will be Pak PM’s second visit to Qatar after assuming office in 2018

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will embark on a day-long visit to Qatar on Thursday, just two days before the US and Afghan Taliban would sign a landmark peace deal in Doha.

“As part of regular exchange of high-level visits, Prime Minister Imran Khan will be visiting Qatar on February 27, 2020 to meet His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar,” The Express Tribune quoted a Foreign Office statement as saying on Wednesday night.

This will be the premier’s second visit to Qatar after assuming office in 2018. Khan, however, would not attend the signing ceremony which is scheduled for Saturday. Instead Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will represent Pakistan at the ceremony to be attended by delegates from over two dozen countries. The 18-month gruelling talks have now resulted in an imminent agreement between the militant group and the US under which foreign troops would be withdrawn from the war-torn country. In return, the Taliban have agreed not to allow the Afghan soil to be used against any other country.

US, Taliban close to violence reduction pact; troop withdrawal not imminent

Many questions about the expected agreement remain unanswered and it’s unclear if Trump will sign off on the deal

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said Tuesday he is cautiously optimistic that there could be a US agreement with the Taliban over the next days or weeks, but a withdrawal of American forces is not imminent. Robert O’Brien was asked whether Trump would sign off on an agreement where both the Taliban and US forces would pledge to adhere to a reduction in violence” a move that could lead to all-Afghan negotiations to end the decades-long conflict and outline a political future for the country.

The agreement would call for the Taliban and US forces to refrain from conducting attacks or combat operations for seven days, according to a person familiar with the ongoing discussions who was not authorized to discuss the proposed agreement and spoke only on condition of anonymity. I think that we’re making significant progress, O’Brien said at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington.

“It’s something we’re keeping the president appraised of on a very regular basis. You hate to make predictions when it comes to Afghanistan … but I’ll say that we’re cautiously optimistic that some good news could be forthcoming on that front. The president had made it very clear that there will have to be a reduction in violence and there will have to be meaningful intra-Afghan talks for things to move forward, O’Brien said. “If both those things and a number of other conditions are met and we are able to get agreement on them, I think we could have some good news coming out of Afghanistan so we’ll have to wait and see over the next several days and weeks.”

US to keep 8,600 troops in Afghanistan after deal with Taliban: Trump

The comments provided some clarity on US intentions after lengthy negotiations with the Afghan guerrilla group over finding an exit from a war that has lasted two decades

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US will keep a permanent presence in Afghanistan, with 8,600 troops initially, even after a deal is reached with the Taliban. “We’re going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News radio.

“We’re always going to have a presence.” Donald Trump also warned that if another attack on the United States originated from Afghanistan “we would come back with a force like … never before.”

The comments provided some clarity on US intentions after lengthy negotiations with the Afghan guerrilla group over finding an exit from a war that has lasted two decades.
Despite overwhelming advantages in firepower, the US military has little to show for its efforts and Trump is hoping he can declare the war over in time for his 2020 reelection campaign.

63 killed, 182 wounded in Kabul wedding blast; Taliban denies involvement

Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi provided the toll, which is the highest in Kabul in recent months

International News: Joy and celebration turned into horror and carnage when an Islamic State suicide bomber targeted a packed Afghan wedding hall, killing at least 63 people in the deadliest attack to rock Kabul in months, officials and witnesses said Sunday.

The massive blast, which took place late Saturday in west Kabul, underscores both the inadequacy of Afghanistan’s security forces and the scale of the problem they face as Washington and the Taliban finalise a deal to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan and hopefully build a roadmap to a ceasefire.

The groom recalled greeting smiling guests in the afternoon, before seeing their bodies being carried out hours later. The Kabul Blast “changed my happiness to sorrow”, the young man, who gave his name as Mirwais, told local TV station Tolo News. “My family, my bride are in shock, they cannot even speak. My bride keeps fainting,” he said.

“I lost my brother, I lost my friends, I lost my relatives. I will never see happiness in my life again.” Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said a suicide bomber carried out the attack, with at least 63 people killed and 182 injured.

“Among the wounded are women and children,” Rahimi said. Afghan weddings are epic and vibrant affairs, with hundreds or often thousands of guests celebrating for hours inside industrial-scale wedding halls where men are usually segregated from women and children….

‘Sandwiched’ Pak, two-front dilemma & Afghan-India ties: Imran’s worry list

‘We would do anything, I mean, if (there is) any role Pakistan can play in this. We have already suggested this to Iran’, said Imran Khan

International News: Forewarning the United States about any misfortune against Iran, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said any activity on the lines of Iraq could be much more awful and individuals would overlook al-Qaeda.

“My stress over Iran is…. I am uncertain about whether every one of the nations understand the gravity of the circumstance if there is a contention with Iran,” Khan said in light of an inquiry during his appearance at the US Institute of Peace, a research organization financed by the US Congress.

“You know, this won’t be equivalent to (the 2003 US attack of) Iraq. This could be a whole lot worse…. It could release fear based oppression, which – individuals would overlook al-Qaeda…. You know, the fight may be very short on the off chance that it proceeds, besieging runways, etc,” he said.

“Yet, the outcomes from that point forward, my stress is that very few individuals completely get it. Also, I would unequivocally ask that there ought not be…another military circumstance,” Khan said in the midst of an acceleration of strain among Iran and the US. “We would do anything, I mean, if (there is) any job Pakistan can play in this. We have just recommended this to Iran,” he said…