Acting Defense Minister Pledges Swift Resolution to National Challenges

April 23, 2024
Nazir Shinwari
Tolo News
23 April 2024

According to the spokesperson of MOD, Mujahid in this meeting said that Afghanistan is the common home of all Afghans.

The acting Minister of Defense, in a meeting with the representatives and elders of the Union of Afghans Residing in Europe, stated that the existing challenges in the country will soon be resolved.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense (MOD), Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, said that Afghanistan is the common home of all Afghans and they should take part in the current opportunity to advance the country.

“The acting Minister of National Defense, welcoming the statements of these compatriots, referred to Afghanistan as the common home for all Afghans, stating that everyone should seize this opportunity to contribute to the prosperity and advancement of the homeland,” said Inayatullah Khwarazami, a spokesman for the MoD.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum stated that the acting minister, in meetings with some Afghan scientific and cultural figures residing in Europe, also mentioned that Afghans living abroad can confidently return to their country and contribute to its reconstruction and progress.

“The acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, in a meeting with Afghans residing in Europe, discussed the implementation of projects and the country’s progress. Shahabuddin Delawar  pledged that all Afghans living abroad can return to their country with full confidence,” said Homayoun Afghan, spokesperson for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.

A number of Afghans residing in European countries who met with some officials of the Islamic Emirate discussed issues such as girls’ education, women’s employment, and the country’s advancements.

“Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, who holds a special place in the Islamic Emirate — we have asked him to pay attention to the rights of children and citizens for the protection of the system, national unity, and ultimately for a peaceful Afghanistan,” Hekmatullah Hekmat, president of the Union of Afghans Residing in European Countries told TOLOnews.

Representatives and elders of the Union of Afghans Residing in Europe who have recently visited Afghanistan have discussed various issues during their meetings with the Deputy Political Prime Minister and the Acting Ministers of Interior, Education, Hajj and Religious Affairs, and Vice and Virtue.

Acting Defense Minister Pledges Swift Resolution to National Challenges
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US State Dept: No Plans to Recognize the Islamic Emirate

April 23, 2024
Mitra Majeedy
Tolo News
23 April 2024

The Islamic Emirate called the claims in the annual report of the US State Department regarding the situation in Afghanistan, baseless.

The US Department of State in its annual report published on April 22 stated that Washington has no plans to recognize the “Taliban” in Afghanistan.

In this report, which addresses the state of human rights globally in 2023, the US Department of State also mentioned that the “Taliban” have neither reversed nor softened their decrees regarding work and education for women in Afghanistan.

The report claims that over 90% of the prisoners under the rule of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan are political prisoners and criticized issues such as arrests, torture, restrictions on media, and freedoms of movement.

“No decree or directive pertaining to women and girls’ education, or work, was reversed or softened. The Taliban did not purport to formally change existing laws as legislated by the Republic-era government; however, they promulgated edicts that contradicted those laws and were inconsistent with Afghanistan’s obligations under international conventions,” the report reads.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “In Afghanistan, the Taliban have limited work opportunities for women, shuttered institutions found educating girls, and increasing floggings for women and men accused of, quote, “immoral behavior.”

The report criticized issues such as extrajudicial killings, torture and degradation of individuals, procedures of detention, treatment of prisoners including political prisoners, confiscation of individual properties, freedom of speech and media, restrictions on internet usage, and restrictions on individuals’ participation in political processes and parties.

The Islamic Emirate called the claims in the annual report of the US State Department regarding the situation in Afghanistan, baseless.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, told TOLOnews: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the governing power, is committed to Islamic and Sharia rights for all its citizens. The Western world desires the implementation of Western equivalent rights and essentially strives to impose Western culture.”

Waheed Faqiri, a political analyst, said: “This report was indeed shocking and I think it confirms all the past occurrences, and I believe that America will not recognize the Taliban during the election campaigns that continue until the end of this year.’

Nearly three years after the return of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, no country, including neighboring countries, has recognized the Islamic Emirate.

US State Dept: No Plans to Recognize the Islamic Emirate
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UN Women: Focus on women affected by Herat earthquake

April 22, 2024
Khaama Press

Written By: Hakim Bigzaad

The United Nations Women’s Section has released a report stating that the majority of the victims of the Herat earthquake were women and children, with a focus on women in their aid efforts.

This institution, which recently elaborated on its assistance to earthquake victims in Herat, emphasized that 58% of the youth casualties in the October 7, 2023 earthquake in Herat were women. According to the report, 60% of the wounded and 61% of the missing persons are also women.

It is noteworthy that on October 7, 2023, an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale shook Herat province in western Afghanistan, mainly affecting women and children. The epicentre of this earthquake was in Zindajan district of Herat.

The report mentions that cash assistance has been provided to 500 female heads of households in affected areas, but details of the assistance provided are not available.

Furthermore, the report states that 600 women have received non-food aid such as blankets, clothes, shoes, and tents, while an additional 370 women have received psychosocial support and social assistance.

The deadly Herat earthquake on October 7, 2023, destroyed about 400 villages to varying degrees. 10% of women in these affected villages were entrepreneurs.

According to the United Nations Women’s Section, 178 of the 400 affected villages have received assistance.

UN Women: Focus on women affected by Herat earthquake
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Afghan Migrants Need Intl Attention: Exiled Human Rights Defenders

April 22, 2024
TOLOnews
TV Network
22 April 2024

Armed attacks, arrests, and disappearances of Afghan migrants have instilled fear among them.

The International Federation of Human Rights Defenders in Exile expressed concern over the poor conditions of Afghan migrants in Pakistan.

The organization in a statement said that armed attacks, arrests, and disappearances of Afghan migrants have instilled fear among them.

The statement said: “The International Federation of Human Rights Defenders in Exile immediately calls on the international community to intervene to prevent a humanitarian disaster and address the dire situation of Afghan migrants in Pakistan.”

Samiullah Azizi, the International Federation of Human Rights Defenders in Exile, said: “The problems that have recently occurred, including arrests by the police, targeted killings, and harassment by the Pakistani police due to lack of visa or expired visas, suicides, and most recently the kidnapping of three former Kabul Bank employees here, are issues we are facing.”

After seven days since the start of the second round of the deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan, some Afghan migrants in that country are expressing concern over their increasingly challenging situations.

They are demanding an immediate halt to the deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan.

“A mechanism should be built to free migrants from this distress and worry,” said Mir Ahmad Raufi, head of the Afghan Refugee Council in Pakistan.

“The situation of Afghan migrants in Pakistan is worrying. Recently, Afghan migrants have faced armed attacks, abductions, and arrests. Afghan migrants cannot properly roam around the city and markets,” said Zaher Bahaand, an Afghan journalist in Pakistan.

Earlier, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan at a press conference, said that his country currently has no plans for migrants who hold Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC).

Afghan Migrants Need Intl Attention: Exiled Human Rights Defenders
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26% Decline in Afghanistan’s Gross Production Last Year: World Bank

April 21, 2024
Bibi Amina Hakimi
TOLOnews’ Reporter
21 April 2024

According to the report, the ban on drug cultivation has resulted in a $1.3 billion reduction in farmers’ incomes in Afghanistan.

The World Bank in a recent report stated that Afghanistan’s gross output decreased by 26% in the past calendar year.

According to the report, the ban on drug cultivation has resulted in a $1.3 billion reduction in farmers’ incomes in Afghanistan.

The report also said that in 2023, revenue from taxation increased by 13%, reaching 102 billion afghani.

The findings of this report indicate that although exports remained relatively stable in 2023, there was a 15% decrease in exports to Pakistan.

“Afghanistan’s economic outlook remains uncertain, with the threat of stagnation looming large until at least 2025. The absence of GDP growth coupled with declining external financing avenues for off-budget expenditures paints a bleak picture of the nation’s economic prospects. Structural deficiencies in the private sector and waning international support for essential services are anticipated to impede any semblance of economic progress,” the report reads.

However, regarding this report, the Ministry of Economy said that various projects aimed at reducing poverty were implemented in the past calendar year.

Abdul Latif Nazari, a professional deputy at the Ministry of Economy, stated that attracting investment, focusing on the mining sector, increasing exports, preventing dollar smuggling, and improving the Afghan currency’s value against other currencies are among the most significant achievements of the Islamic Emirate.

“The recent World Bank report is incomplete in our view; the Islamic Emirate has taken serious steps in supporting the growth of domestic production, developing trade and transit, strengthening national monetary stability, launching major economic projects, and also strengthening Afghanistan’s agriculture. We have reduced the inflation rate in the country. Our demand is that sanctions and restrictions on the people of Afghanistan be urgently lifted,” he added.

Sakhi Ahmad Payman, the first deputy of the Chamber of Industries and Mines, said: “There is no doubt that the Afghan economy has contracted since the transformation due to the blocking of Afghanistan’s funds, the non-recognition of Afghanistan, and strengths in Afghanistan. Over the past two years, the value of the Afghan currency, exports, and investment in the mining and industrial sectors of Afghanistan have increased.”

Several economic experts believe that for economic growth, banking restrictions need to be removed, and work on major projects including the TAPI pipeline, Aynak copper extraction, and CASA-1000 should practically begin.

Shabir Bashiri, an economist, said, “Infrastructure projects play an important role in expanding employment opportunities in the country and can be extremely effective in reducing poverty.”

According to statistics, exports to Pakistan reached $1.2 billion in 2022, while in 2023 this figure decreased to one billion dollars. Conversely, exports of food items to India in 2023 increased by 43 percent.

26% Decline in Afghanistan’s Gross Production Last Year: World Bank
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Child Malnutrition Increasing in Samangan: Officials

April 20, 2024
Aziz Rahman Abram
Tolo News
20 April 2024

According to the department, in 1402 (solar year), more than 700 children were afflicted with malnutrition, and a number of them are still hospitalized.

The Public Health Department of Samangan reported an increase in the number of children suffering from malnutrition in the province.

According to the department, in 1402 (solar year), more than 700 children were afflicted with malnutrition, and a number of them are still hospitalized.

Usman Hameedi, the head of the Samangan Provincial Hospital, said that since the beginning of the month of Hamal (solar calendar), 64 children suffering from malnutrition have been admitted to this hospital.

The head of the Samangan Provincial Hospital said: “The number of malnourished children who were hospitalized and then discharged after recovery in the Samangan Provincial Hospital reached 716 during the year 1402 (solar year), and we are currently in the month of Hamal of the year 1403, with the presence of more than 50 patients indicating an increase in this disease.”

A number of families whose children have been affected by this disease attribute poverty, economic challenges, and irregular nutrition of pregnant mothers as the causes of the increase in this disease.

“Children suffer from malnutrition due to reasons such as poor economy, insecurity, lack of hygiene by mothers, and lack of spacing between births,” said Fauzia Kargar, a nurse.

Mahiuddin, who came from a remote village in the Hazrat Sultan district of Samangan province in order to treat his child, said that due to poverty and lack of health facilities in their area, two 20-day-old children in his family suffer from malnutrition.

“We are mountain people; my daughter-in-law became pregnant there, and there is no clinic, no doctor, no nurse in our area, and we could not receive proper care during pregnancy because we are poor and cannot find good things to eat or drink. As a result, two of my 20-day-old children have contracted malnutrition, and we have come here to the Samangan Hospital so they can hopefully get better,” Mahiuddin told TOLOnews.

“I did not complete my 9 months of pregnancy when my child was born sick. No matter how much I treated him, he did not get better because I was anemic during pregnancy and had blood transfusions. Now my child is also malnourished; I treated him in Mazar and we are now hospitalized here in Samangan,” said Anisgul, the mother of a sick child.

At the start of 2024, Save the Children warned that due to the food crisis in Afghanistan, one out of every three children is suffering from hunger.

Child Malnutrition Increasing in Samangan: Officials
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Senior Taliban special advisor killed in Pakistan

April 19, 2024

Khaama Press

April 19, 2024

Mullah Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, Taliban Special Advisor to Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada and the head of a Taliban jihadist school in Kandahar Killed in Quetta City, Pakistan, on Thursday, April 18th.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, confirmed the killing of Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, a member of the Taliban’s supervision department.

According to reports, Akhundzada had gone to a village in Qaetta, Pakistan, to visit his family during the Eid al-Fitr days when he was killed by unknown assailants.

Zabihullah Mujahid expressed condolences for Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada’s death in a note posted on his social media account on Friday, April 19th.

The Taliban spokesperson and other officials of the group have not provided any explanation on how Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada was killed and by whom.

The Taliban has condemned the killing of Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, calling his death a “great crime.”

Some Taliban members mourned Omar Jan Akhundzada’s killing, sharing his body photos on the X network without details. Photos showed no gunshot wounds to his head and face. No one has claimed responsibility yet. Akhundzada was appointed as special advisor to Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada in March 2022. He wielded influence among religious scholars in Kandahar and was part of the Taliban leader’s inner circle. Mullah Hibatullah consults trusted individuals in Kandahar on key matters, often bypassing the Kabul cabinet and Taliban ministries in decision-making.

So far, no individual or group has claimed responsibility for his killing.

The Afghan National Radio Television, under Taliban control, reported that Mr. Akhundzada was a member of the Taliban’s oversight department and a teacher at a jihadist school in Kandahar.

However, according to reports, Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada was an advisor to Hibtullah Akhundzada and he led a Taliban jihadist school in Kandahar.

Senior Taliban special advisor killed in Pakistan
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Afghans with disability urge Taliban to end ban on aid agency

April 19, 2024
By Akmal Dawi

Voice of America

April 18, 2024

FILE - A child stands in a waiting room at a clinic run by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, in Wardak province, Afghanistan, Oct. 6, 2021. The SCA was forced to halt its activities last year, including services for new mothers and support programs for the disabled. 
FILE – A child stands in a waiting room at a clinic run by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, in Wardak province, Afghanistan, Oct. 6, 2021. The SCA was forced to halt its activities last year, including services for new mothers and support programs for the disabled. 

All born blind in a remote village of war-torn Ghazni province, the four brothers and three sisters faced extreme poverty and a lack of support for their disabilities.

Last year, the Taliban directed the SCA to halt humanitarian activities, including support programs for the disabled.

Taliban officials issued the order in protest of an Iraqi Christian refugee who burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden. That refugee, Salwan Momika, has since reportedly left Sweden, but the ban remains in place, depriving tens of thousands of disabled Afghans of the SCA’s critical assistance services.

“We have clarified our status as an independent NGO and our condemnation of the events in Sweden that led to our suspension,” Andreas Stefansson, secretary general of the SCA, told VOA in written comments.

Swedish Group Halts Afghanistan Aid After Taliban Bans Sweden’s Activities

The SCA

With a $40 million budget for 2023, the SCA, which remained active throughout several cycles of armed conflict in Afghanistan over the past four decades, had 7,000 local and 15 international staff servicing vulnerable communities nationwide.

“Many of our staff are the sole breadwinners of large extended families,” said Stefansson, adding that one-third of SCA employees were female.

Despite being forced to suspend its operations for nearly a year, the organization has continued paying salaries of many of its local employees.

Taliban restrictions

Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have relentlessly restricted the work of local and international aid agencies in Afghanistan.

Last year, the Taliban’s ban on Afghan women working for aid agencies led several international NGOs to temporarily suspend operations in protest.

Other restrictions have also been reported.

Humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan reported 1,775 incidents of bureaucratic and administrative impediments and restrictions imposed on their work in 2023, according to the United Nations.

The restrictions come amid an environment of prevalent need.

“An estimated 23.7 million people — more than half of the population — will require humanitarian assistance in 2024,” the U.N. secretary-general said in a report last month.

The situation in Afghanistan is expected to deteriorate further as Pakistan sends hundreds of thousands of refugees home. More than 3 million Afghans are still in Pakistan, facing forced return to a country already grappling with poverty and the aftermath of war.

Afghan children returning from Pakistan face grim reality, survey finds

Isolated under Taliban rule, Afghanistan has suffered significant reductions in donor funding.

Last year, the U.N.-led humanitarian appeal received about half of its needed $3.2 billion. As of April, this year’s appeal has received 7% of its needed funds.

Stefansson says his organization has been in dialogue with Taliban authorities to lift the ban.

Taliban officials have not commented on when or if the SCA’s operations in Afghanistan might resume.

“We implore leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to allow the Swedish committee to resume its activities,” said Qari Wazir Mohmmad of Ghazni. “Without their assistance, our lives are destroyed.”

Afghans with disability urge Taliban to end ban on aid agency
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Save the Children Warns of Food Crisis Among Afghan Returnees

April 19, 2024
Hadia Ziaei
Tolo News
19 April 2024

The Islamic Emirate said that serious efforts are ongoing to address the challenges of Afghan migrants in order to provide them with shelter.

Save the Children said that most children from Afghan families deported from Pakistan do not have access to adequate shelter, education, and food.

The organization, citing a published survey, added that one in every three children faces a hunger crisis, and one in every six families lives under a tent.

Save the Children said: “About three-quarters of returnees and families in host communities reduced portion sizes or restricted the food consumption of adults so small children could eat on at least two days in the previous week. Almost 8 million children in Afghanistan – or one in three – are facing crisis levels of hunger. Nearly one in six families live in tents. Only a third had managed to bring assets back with them from Pakistan. Almost two thirds (65%) of children who have returned to Afghanistan have not been enrolled in school.”

Khan Mohammad, who recently returned from Pakistan to Kabul, said he had left the country during the former Soviet Red Army’s presence and now faces a challenging life with his children.

Khan Mohammad told TOLOnews: “We couldn’t work in Pakistan, and if we went out, they would arrest us and ask for money in exchange for release.”

“We have neither a shelter to live in nor anything to eat; these are our problems,” a woman deported from Pakistan told TOLOnews.

Ahmadullah, 30, also recently returned with his family from Pakistan and is worried about advancing their life and providing for them.

“We are poor people, it would be very good if we are helped, as we have neither work nor shelter here,” Ahmadullah told TOLOnews.

The Islamic Emirate said that serious efforts are ongoing to address the challenges of Afghan migrants in order to provide them with shelter.

Hamdullah Fetrat, the deputy spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, said: “The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation created commissions for returning migrants and displaced people that have been addressing their issues for over a year now, and work on building houses for them is proceeding rapidly.”

According to the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, 555 Afghan migrants returned to the country through the Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings on Wednesday.

Save the Children Warns of Food Crisis Among Afghan Returnees
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11,000 Afghan Migrants Incarcerated in Iran and Pakistan

April 19, 2024
TOLOnews
TV Network
19 April 2024

Meanwhile, many Afghan migrants residing in Iran and Pakistan complain about the challenges they face in these two countries. 

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) reports that eleven thousand Afghan migrants are currently imprisoned in the prisons of Iran and Pakistan.

According to Abdul Matlub Haqqani, the spokesperson for this ministry, over twelve thousand prisoners have been released from Pakistan and Iran in the past year and have returned to the country.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations said, “In the past year, approximately 12,020 individuals have been released from prisons in Iran and Pakistan, and currently, about 11,000 Afghans who have been arrested for various crimes are incarcerated in these countries. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, particularly the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, is making efforts to secure the release of these prisoners.”

Meanwhile, many Afghan migrants residing in Iran and Pakistan complain about the challenges they face in these two countries.

They urge the interim government to take serious measures to address their issues.

Mehdi, an Afghan migrant in Iran, stated: “A few days ago in southern Tehran, buses were organized to deport migrants, and dozens of people were transferred to camps with these city buses.”

Hawa, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said, “Unfortunately, the situation for migrants in Pakistan is dire and concerning; an Afghan in Pakistan does not enjoy the slightest municipal standing.”

Some activists in the field of migrant rights say that the Islamic Emirate should persuade the governments of Pakistan and Iran based on international conventions to stop harassing and detaining Afghan migrants.

Juma Khan Poya, an activist in the field of migrant rights, said: “The current authorities and officials in Afghanistan, based on international conventions including the Geneva Conventions, should persuade the governments of Iran and Pakistan to cease the harassment and detention of migrants.”

Previously, the Islamic Emirate’s Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, reported that over the past two years, they have freed more than four thousand Afghans from Pakistani prisons.

11,000 Afghan Migrants Incarcerated in Iran and Pakistan
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