12 September 2021
Kandahar: Female Doctor claims to be beaten by Taliban
Dr. Fatima Rahmati, a female doctor in Kandahar province claimed in a video clip, that her home was stormed by the Taliban fighters. She was beaten along with her family members and a neighbor. Doctor Fahima Rahmati who is also a social activist said that the Taliban fighters had also taken her mobile phones during their raid on her home on Sunday night, September 11. Rahmati said that she was neither a former government official nor had a weapon in her home but the Taliban fighters wanted to take with themselves her brothers. Provincial officials in Kandahar province said that they were not aware of the raid and will investigate the case and bring to justice the culprits. Fahima Rahmati is a local doctor and is running a charity foundation in Kandhar province and helping poor families. (KHAAMA PRESS) (INDIA BLOOMS)
Foreign Minister of Qatar visits Kabul to meet Taliban
Qatar’s foreign minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani arrives in Kabul on Sunday, September 12, and met with the Taliban’s head of government. Al-Thani has visited Kabul several times since the Taliban takeover. This is his first visit after the Taliban announced their caretaker government. The foreign minister and Deputy Prime Minister met with the head of the interim government of the Taliban, Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund in the Presidential Palace (ARG). (KHAAMA PRESS) (DOHANEWS) (REUTERS) (Geo News)
Afghan police back to jobs in Kabul Airport
Taliban have invited border police of the previous Afghan government to return to their jobs in Kabul International Airport to work alongside them. On Sunday, September 12 a number of the former border police were seen on their jobs in the airport alongside armed members of the Taliban. Although the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has invited some civil servants across Afghanistan including those in customs, this is the first time that military officials of the former government are returning to jobs. (KHAAMA PRESS) (THE TIMES OF INDIA) (DAWN) (THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE)
Universities to resume in a week with new curriculum: Taliban
Ministry of higher education of Afghanistan said that they have been busy discussing issues with the educational association and will resume all universities across the country as soon as they overcome the problems. Acting minister of higher education Abdul Baqi Haqqani said that he was discussing financial issues along with other problems confronting higher education in Afghanistan.The educational sector is currently one of the most impacted sectors in Afghanistan which was hit by the limitations of the corona pandemic and now the transformation of the regime. (KHAAMA PRESS) (THE TIMES OF INDIA) (tass (RUSSIAN NEWS AGENCY))
14 September 2021
Thousands of Afghans protest against Taliban in Kandahar province
Thousands of men and women took to the streets of Kandahar city and protested against the Taliban’s decision based on which the families of late Afghan security forces should evacuate their residence. Protestors had gathered at the gate of the provincial governor’s office and had blocked a road in the city. Provincial officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan recently directed all the families in a division of the Afghanistan national army to evacuate their residences in three days. (KHAAMA PRESS) (DAWN) (REUTERS) (MENAFM) (ANI)
Afghan private sector asks for release of Afghanistan’s reserves
The private economic sector (industrialists and investors) in Afghanistan asked the international community and the US to release over $9 billion reserves of the country. Representatives of the private sector who have gathered at the chamber of industry and commerce on Monday, September 13 warned of an economic and humanitarian crisis if the reserves were not released. The US froze over 9 billion dollars reserves of Afghanistan’s central banks after the Taliban took power on August 15. They added that over 3 billion dollars among the over nine billion dollars frozen by the US belonged to the private sector in Afghanistan.
Earlier, UN secretary-General’s special representative to Afghanistan Deborah Lyons had asked for the release of reserves and flow of money to avert humanitarian crisis in the country. (KHAAMA PRESS) (Mathrubhumi)
#DoNotTouchMyClothes: Social media campaign, Afghan women challenge all-black outfit under
A number of Afghan women living abroad have posted their photos wearing traditional Afghan clothes to defy the all-black head to toes robes worn by hundreds of women in Kabul and other provinces recently. They have been conducting sort of online protest to show the world what the exact traditional clothes and outfits of the Afghan women are. They are not wearing scarves but confess the scarf to be an integral part of the traditional Afghan clothes. Recently, a group of women wearing all-black attire took to streets in Kabul and provinces to support the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and ask for their rights of education and work under the principles of Islam. (KHAAMA PRESS) (Voice of America) (BBC NEWS) (Aljazeera)
Intl-community pledge USD$1 billion to Afghan people
The minister-level gathering at Geneva which was convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, September 13 aimed at addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. The amount of USD one billion dollars of humanitarian aid announced by 156 participants including over 90 states was far beyond the expectation. United Nations and other international NGOs had predicted over 600 million dollars to suffice for addressing the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Among the countries, UK pledged over 200 million pounds, the US pledged USD$64 million, Japan USD$200 million, France 100 million euros, Germany 5 million euros, and UN $20 million. (KHAAMA PRESS)
Afghan Women Residing In Tajikistan Protest against Taliban, Pakistan
Dozens of Afghan women residing in Tajikistan have rallied at Afghanistan's embassy in Dushanbe to protest against the erosion of human rights under the newly installed Taliban-led government and what they said was Pakistan's support of the militants. The women chanted "Pakistan, go away from Afghanistan!," "Stop killing Afghans," and "We support resistance," among other slogans, as they gathered in front of the embassy on September 14, before entering the building.
The protesters told RFE/RL that they were concerned over Afghanistan's future and expressed hope that the resistance fighters led by Ahmad Masud in the country's north would be supported by other nations to battle against the Taliban. (Gandhara)
15 September 2021
Local radio shut since Taliban’s takeover
A local radio named MILMA ended its ten years of journey in southeastern Paktika province and was completely shut on Tuesday, September 14. The owner and in charge of this private radio station Yaqoob Manzoor said that they were no longer going on air due to financial problems and inappropriate working environment. Manzoor said that the closure of the radio left 35 employees jobless.
Ever since the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan on August 15, the media outlets were among the most hit sectors in the country. (KHAAMA PRESS) (Aljazeera)
EU announces additional aid to Afghanistan
Head of the European Union Urela Von Der Leyen said that the union of 27 European states are standing beside Afghanistan and are announcing additional 100 million euros in humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan. Der Leyen said “we must do our best to avert the looming humanitarian crisis and hunger in Afghanistan”. The additional amount of money is in addition to 1.2 billion euros announced by the council in 2020. The latter amount of money is planned to be provided to Afghanistan in the period of 2021-2025. (KHAAMA PRESS) (FRANCE 24) (Gandhara) (REUTERS)
British Afghan Women on Hunger Strike to Protest Taliban’s Treatment of Women in Afghanistan
Three British Afghan women are on a hunger strike near the British Parliament to protest the treatment of women in Afghanistan by the Taliban. (Video Report)
(Voice of America) (THE NATIONAL NEWS)
16 September 2021
Khalilzad accused Ashraf Ghani of the situation in Afghanistan
US special representative to Afghanistan’s peace Zalmay Khalilzad said the people of Afghanistan themselves caused the ongoing situation and accused former president Ashraf Ghani of disturbing peaceful transition. Zalmay Khalilzad in his recent interview said the escape of Ashraf Ghani failed the scheme of peaceful transition and the entering of the Taliban to Kabul. The special envoy has said that former president of Afghanistan was not willing to the peace talks and added that the US should not be blamed for the failure of the Afghan government. (KHAAMA PRESS) (Afghan Voice Agency AVA)
We impose no conditions on Taliban: Russia
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that they were not imposing any conditions on the Taliban and added that the Taliban were declaring their objectives themselves which were fighting terrorism and drug trafficking. The Russian foreign minister arrived at the collective security treaty organization (CSTO) meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Wednesday, September 15.
Sergey Lavrov said that the Taliban’s commitment to fighting terrorism and drug trafficking was welcomed. (KHAAMA PRESS)
Taliban asks UN’s cooperation for recognition, lifting sanctions
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan asked the UN to help them in recognition of their government, removing names of the Taliban leaders from the black list, and lifting all other sanctions imposed by the international community. The acting interior minister of the IEA Sarajudin Haqqani met under the secretary-General of UN Gilles Michaud and secretary-General’s special representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons on Wednesday, September 15 in Kabul. Spokesperson of the Taliban Zabiullah Mujahid in a series of tweets said that Sarajudin Haqqani asked the UN to be pragmatic in lifting sanctions from the Taliban.
(KHAAMA PRESS) (Soldier of Fortune)
Taliban Not Ruling Out Holding Elections
During their two-decade-long insurgency, the Taliban cast aspersions on democratic elections, describing them as un-Islamic, and frequently attacked Afghan election workers and rallies. But a top Taliban spokesman now says the group is not ruling out holding elections as it moves to establish a permanent government based on Islamic law, or Shariah. In an interview with VOA's Urdu Service, Suhail Shaheen, the top spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha, Qatar, said the issue would be determined by a future constitution.
"About election or no election, let's wait," Shaheen said. "We have a constitution [planned] in the future, so we would have deliberation about that in the future, about when we are drafting the constitution, so that would be seen there at that time, not now." (Voice of America)
More than 100 Afghan journalists appeal for help through RSF
More than 100 anonymous Afghan journalists have issued an urgent appeal to the international community through Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Entitled “Afghan journalism is threatened with extinction,” the appeal has been signed by a total of 103 journalists (including 20 women) from many different media outlets, who say they reflect “various political opinions and ethnicities.” (Reporters without Borders (RSF)) (Gandhara) (anews)
17 September 2021
Regional Summit Vows to Work with Taliban, Urging That Pledges Be Upheld
Leaders at a meeting of the China- and Russia-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization emphasized Friday the need for engaging with Taliban-led Afghanistan to prevent a looming humanitarian crisis and an economic collapse in the war-torn country. The SCO summit in Tajikistan came a month after the Islamist Taliban swept back to power in Kabul as the United States-led Western troops withdrew, ending nearly two decades of involvement in the Afghan war.
China’s President Xi Jinping, speaking via video link to the security bloc, renewed his call for the Taliban to eradicate terrorism, while promising to provide more assistance to the neighboring country and calling on others to do so. (Voice of America) (DAWN) (NEWS BREAK)
'We Need Help': Drought Destroys Crops in Rural Afghanistan
In central Afghanistan's Ghor Province, drought has blighted Murtaza Farzan’s potato crop and left him hoping for international aid, which has also dried up since the Taliban takeover in August. Many people have fled the land for the regional capital, Firozkoh, where a Taliban official told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that nearly 70 percent of the harvest had been lost. (Video Report) (Gandhara) (REUTURES)
Afghans who fled Panjshir: ‘Everything can change by the hour’
Since the Taliban claimed “complete control” over the Panjshir Valley in Afghanistan’s northeast earlier this month, the group has been accused of “widespread atrocities”, forcing many Afghans to flee the province – the last remaining enclave of resistance against the group’s rule.
“We didn’t even know what was happening in the next village,” said a government worker who managed to flee the province six days ago. Like other sources Al Jazeera spoke to, he did not want to reveal his identity for fears of retribution. (Aljazeera)
18 September 2021
Taliban replaces ministry of women affairs
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan officially put an end to the ministry of women affairs and replaced it with one of its strictest ministries when it comes to societal affairs. The Taliban brought down the signboard of the ministry and replaced it with the ministry of “promotion of virtue and prevention of vice” on Friday, September 17. Earlier, the ministry was excluded from the caretaker cabinet of the Taliban announced more than ten days ago.
In the meantime, a number of female employees of the ministry gathered at the gate of the ministry and asked the Taliban to allow them to get back to jobs as they needed to feed their families. (KHAAMAPRESS)
(INDEPENDENT) (Voice America)
153 media outlets at risk of closure since Taliban takeover: IFJ
International Federation of Journalists in its latest report said that 153 media outlets had been impacted since the Taliban’s takeover. The media outlets are on verge of closing their offices forever. The report also reads that the freedom of speech has been curtailed, female journalists are left out of jobs, and excesses against journalists have also been increased. The report reads that the self-safety of journalists is also at risk adding that the seizure of vehicles from journalists and their intimidation is rather concerning. (KHAAMA PRESS) (Pajhwok Aghan News)
Some Afghan embassies break contact with Taliban govt
A former official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) says some of Afghanistan’s embassies are acting independently and the nature of their revenue remains unknown. Similarly, the ministry says one embassy is yet to deposit its money in a bank and four others have refused to answer questions about their activities. A former MoFA official, who wished to go unnamed, told Pajhwok Afghan News, 80 percent of the ministry staffers had left Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover. (Pajhwok Afghan News)
2 killed 19 wounded in consecutive explosions in eastern Afghanistan
Three consecutive explosions targeting rangers of the Taliban killed 2 and wounded 19 more among them women and children in Police District 5 of Jalalabad city of eastern Nangarhar province. Health officials of the provincial hospital in Jalalabad city said that 21 wounded people have been rushed to the hospital among them two died due to severe injuries. As per the local health officials, three of the victims were civilians, and the rests of them were Taliban fighters. This was the first series of blasts in eastern Nangarhar province since the Taliban takeover. (KHAAMA PRESS) (Pajhwok Afghan News)
Taliban directs resumption of boys-only schools, no mention of girls
Ministry of education of Afghanistan led by the Taliban, in a recent directive, directed all secondary and high schools to be resumed on Saturday, September 18. As per the directive, only male students and teachers of secondary, high schools, and religious schools-Madrasa- are allowed to return to schools. The directive covers the above-mentioned educational institutions of all 34 provinces. “Hereby, students and teachers of all private and Emirati (governmental) secondary, high schools, and religious schools are asked to return.” Read the directive. (KHAAMA PRESS) (BBC News) (The Guardian) (Aljazeera)
Accept new Afghan refugees: UN to Pakistan
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has urged Pakistan to accept a new influx of refugees from Afghanistan. If sent back due to the lack of documentation, the new Afghan refugees could be at risk, warned the top UNHCR official. The Italian diplomat told reporters that the future was full of uncertainties and risks, but the international community continued to engage with The Taliban. (Pajhwok Afghan News) (DAWN)
Afghanistan's singers flee Taliban violence
Afghan singers who escaped to Pakistan say they had no choice but to flee when the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. The BBC spoke with six singers who crossed the border to Pakistan illegally and were now living in hiding. One said he feared he would be executed if he stayed in Afghanistan. The Taliban have banned music and are accused of executing a folk singer in northern Baghlan province in August. (BBC NEWS) (Opera News) (THE GURKHA TIMES)
UNSC wants Taliban to form broad-based govt
The United Nations Security Council has called on the Taliban to set up an inclusive and broad-based government including women. In a unanimously-passed resolution on Friday, the powerful UN body underlined respect for human rights, including for the rights of children and minorities. There is no woman in the 33-member caretaker government announced this month by the Taliban. By the same token, the cabinet has no representative from other political groups. (Pajhwok Afghan News)
Taliban allows humanitarian aid be provided to people in Panjshir
The interim cabinet of the Taliban decided humanitarian aid be provided to the people of Panjshir after they took over the province as the very last holdout in Afghanistan. The decision was taken by the cabinet led by the premier Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund. (KHAAMA PRESS)
Imran Khan asks for inclusive government in Afghanistan
Pakistani Prime Ministry Imran Khan has said that he has initiated a dialogue with the Taliban leaders so that they establish an all-inclusive government in Afghanistan. Imran Khan said that he was asking for a government that includes the Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras. The Pakistan Premier in a series of tweets said that such an inclusivity would ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan to be ensured after 40 years of conflict in the country. (KHAAMA PRESS) (DAWN) (THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE)
19 September 2021
Fearful US Residents in Afghanistan Hiding Out From Taliban
Every night in yet another house in Afghanistan’s capital, a U.S. green card-holding couple from California, take turns sleeping, with one always awake to watch over their three young children so they can flee if they hear the footsteps of the Taliban.
They’ve moved seven times in two weeks, relying on relatives to take them in and feed them. Their days are an uncomfortable mix of fear and boredom, restricted to a couple of rooms where they read, watch TV and play “The Telephone Game” in which they whisper secrets and pass them on, a diversion for the children that has the added benefit of keeping them quiet. (Voice of America)
Activists Protest Lack of Women's Affairs Ministry
The announcement of the caretaker cabinet by the Taliban did not include the Ministry of Women Affairs which operated during the former government. Now its building has been given to the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. 90 percent of the ministry’s employees during the former government were women. Reuters reported on Friday that a number of the employees gathered in front of the ministry’s building to resume their work, but the ministry does not exist anymore. (Tolo News) (THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE)
Fate of Afghanistan's Embassies Unclear
Although more than a month has passed since the fall of Ashraf Ghani's government on August 15, no decision has been taken by the caretaker cabinet about the activities of Afghanistan’s embassies and political missions abroad. Officials from the Cultural Commission of the Information and Culture Ministry say the Foreign Ministry will soon make a decision in this regard. Saeed Khosti, a member of the commission, said the diplomats and diplomatic missions cannot operate without consulting the Foreign Ministry in Kabul. (Tolo News) (Pajhwok Afghan News)