‘broke.af’ goes offline as Afghan web domains suspended amid payment dispute

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

By Raphael Satter

Reuters

February 16, 2024

WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) – More than 100 Afghan websites have been suspended after a French internet services firm failed to make payments to the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Communications, officials said this week, a blow to mischievous internet users who used the “.af” appended to Afghan web domains to give their sites an edgy feel.

Country-specific domains — like Canada’s .ca or France’s .fr — are typically used by individuals or organizations in that country, but some — such as Tuvalu’s .tv or Libya’s .ly — also see wide use internationally because they can be used to create unique or evocative domains like “twitch.tv” or “bit.ly.”

Afghanistan’s .af once had a cult following because in American parlance the initials can also stand for “as fuck,” an earthy phrase meaning “very” or “extremely.”, opens new tab Scores of sites with names such as “sexy.af” and “awesome.af” were registered between 2015 and 2021, according to records maintained by internet intelligence firm DomainTools.

The double-entendre does not appear to have anything to do with the recent suspensions.

Afghan Ministry of Communications and IT spokesperson Enayatullah Alokozai said 150 domains ending in .af and registered through the Paris-based Gandi had been suspended pending the clearance of roughly $17,000 in back payments.

Gandi’s CEO, Arnaud Franquinet said the number of domains was likely closer to 100. He told Reuters that international sanctions on the Taliban and Afghanistan’s shaky banking situation had made it difficult to settle the debt.

“Given the context, it’s hard to get the green light to make all the payments,” Franquinet said. “We’re working on it, but it takes a while.”

The disappearance of .af domains drew attention in the tech community earlier this week, opens new tab after software developer Erin Shepherd, the co-creator of a small, gay-friendly social media space “queer.af” published a message from the Afghan Communications Ministry announcing the domain’s suspension.

Shepherd said they knew the domain, which they registered in 2018, was not long for the world after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 and vowed to rule according to their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Same-sex relationships were criminal offenses in Afghanistan even before the Taliban took over, but many LGBT Afghans and advocates have said fear has grown and many felt forced to flee the country since their return to power as foreign forces left.

“It’s a fun domain but we knew it was from Afghanistan and we knew political things could change,” Shepherd said.

Another Gandi customer, Chicago-based tech worker William Lieurance, said his website “broke.af” went offline around the same time. It was no big loss; he said he registered the site in 2016 “after one too many Miller High Lifes” but had never got around to turning it into what he at one point envisioned as a tongue-in-cheek guide to financial literacy for millennials.

“The lesson I’ve taken is that registering a domain is not the same as owning a domain,” Lieurance said.

The status of other Afghan sites including sexy.af and awesome.af was unclear. Many appeared to no longer be active or simply had not been renewed. Messages sent to sexy.af and awesome.af’s old registrants were not returned.

In a conversation over WhatsApp, Alokozai, the Taliban spokesperson, said the content of the various domains was irrelevant to the suspensions. If the payment was made, he said, “this problem will be solved.”

Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Daniel Wallis

Majority of Afghan women against Taiban recognition: UN

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

February 17, 2024

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recently conducted a survey among Afghan women, shedding light on their apprehensions concerning the potential recognition of the Taliban.

Interviews with 745 women from all 34 provinces revealed that nearly 67% of respondents fear that recognizing the Taliban could worsen the already precarious situation of women’s rights in the country.

According to the survey’s findings, a significant portion of Afghan women, approximately 32%, are open to the idea of recognizing the Taliban only if all imposed restrictions on women are entirely lifted.

Interestingly, the report highlights varying degrees of opinion among Afghan women regarding the conditions for recognizing the Taliban. While 25% of respondents are in favour of recognition after the removal of some existing restrictions, another 28% firmly oppose any recognition under any circumstances, emphasizing the gravity of the situation for women in Afghanistan.

A separate survey conducted by UNAMA in July 2023 revealed that an overwhelming 96% of Afghan women prefer any recognition of the Taliban to be contingent on significant improvements in the situation of women.

The report also highlights the Taliban’s introduction of 50 decrees directly targeting women’s rights, according to the United Nations. This alarming statistic underscores the systematic challenges Afghan women face and the urgent need for international attention and action to protect their rights and freedoms.

The Taliban’s arbitrary detentions instill fear in Afghan women, with 57% afraid to go outside without a male relative. Only 1% believe they influence community decisions. Women oppose Taliban recognition without lifting restrictions. They seek international support to address Taliban oppression, emphasizing the need for women’s rights in Afghanistan.

Amnesty International urges Doha Meeting on Afghanistan to end ‘Taliban’s Human Rights Abuse’

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

February 17, 2024

Deprose Muchena, Senior Director at Amnesty International, emphasized the crucial opportunity presented by the upcoming UN-convened meeting in Doha, Qatar, on February 18-19 to address the culture of impunity and the human rights abuses of the Taliban.

He stresses the need for unified action to safeguard the rights of all Afghan citizens, particularly women and girls, and to address the culture of impunity enabling the Taliban’s human rights abuses.

Amnesty International, alongside nine other organizations, wrote to the UN Secretary-General on February 7, 2024. They urged ensuring Afghan civil society, including women human rights defenders, participate fully in the Doha meeting, prioritizing women’s rights in discussions.

“The upcoming Doha meeting is a significant opportunity for a unified and concerted action to protect the rights of all Afghan people, particularly the rights of women and girls. The culture of impunity that enables the Taliban’s ongoing grave human rights violations needs to be addressed urgently,” Muchena said.

He said that the Taliban in Afghanistan disregard international law, severely limit freedoms, and intensify discrimination against women and girls.

He also added, “The Taliban as the de facto authorities in Afghanistan have shown a complete disregard of the country’s obligations under international law having severely restricted the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and access to justice in the country. The Taliban’s discriminatory restrictions on the rights of women and girls, with the apparent aim of completely erasing them from public arenas, has also intensified in recent months.”

meanwhile, he urged the International community to demand Taliban reverse restrictions on women’s rights and release arbitrarily detained individuals.

“The international community cannot continue to take a ‘business as usual’ approach vis-a-vis the human rights situation in Afghanistan. In Doha, the UN Secretary-General, senior UN officials, and all Special Envoys attending the meeting from the region and beyond should insist that the Taliban immediately reverse all restrictions curtailing the rights of women and girls and release all those arbitrarily arrested and unlawfully detained,” he urged.

On February 18 and 19, 2024, the UN-convened meeting of Special Envoys and Representatives on Afghanistan will gather in Doha, Qatar. It aims to discuss the path forward on Afghanistan’s independent assessment mandated by Resolution 2679.

The Taliban’s strict dress code enforcement has intensified, further oppressing women and girls. Their discriminatory measures escalate, targeting dissenters with torture, imprisonment, and disappearance, potentially constituting crimes against humanity.

Khaama Press Editor in Chief Detained by Authorities in Kabul

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

By Khaama Press

February 17, 2024

KABUL, February 17, 2024 – Mansoor Nekmal, the Editor in Chief of Khaama Press, has been detained following a summons to the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, sparking urgent calls for his release and a rallying cry for press freedom in Afghanistan.

The detention came after a recent report published by Khaama Press on the hijab issue, which led to Mr. Nekmal being summoned by the ministry. Mr. Nekmal attended a meeting at the ministry on Saturday, February 17, from where his whereabouts became unknown, leading to concerns over his arrest.

The report in question highlighted the decreased visibility of women on Kabul’s streets following arrests related to hijab violations, incorporating insights from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Rina Amiri, the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights. It also included interviews with young women, their identities protected by masks, voicing their concerns over the recent crackdown.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) has expressed deep concern over Mr. Nekmal’s arrest, calling for his “immediate and unconditional release.” The AFJC emphasizes the need for the Taliban Ministry of Vice and Virtue to adhere to media laws and allow journalists to operate freely within the legal framework.

Mansoor Nekmal has been an integral part of Khaama Press, leading the Kabul office for approximately two years. His detention is a distressing signal to the press community in Afghanistan, suggesting an escalation in efforts to silence independent media.

Khaama Press, standing firm on its commitment to journalism and the truth, calls upon international organizations, human rights agencies, and the global community to support the cause for press freedom in Afghanistan. The immediate release of Mansoor Nekmal is imperative not only for his safety but as a stand against the suppression of free speech and the media in Afghanistan.

We urge all stakeholders to advocate for the principles of freedom of expression and the protection of journalists worldwide, reminding authorities of their obligation to respect and ensure the free flow of information, which is crucial for a democratic society.

Biden ‘privately defiant’ over chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, book says

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

Martin Pengelly in Washington

Joe Biden is “privately defiant” that he made the right calls on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in summer 2021, a new book reportedly says, even as the chaos and carnage that unfolded continues to be investigated in Congress.

“No one offered to resign” over the withdrawal, writes Alexander Ward, a Politico reporter, “in large part because the president didn’t believe anyone had made a mistake. Ending the war was always going to be messy.”

Ward’s book, The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore Foreign Policy After Trump, will be published next week. Axios reported extracts on Friday.

Ward adds: “Biden told his top aides, [national security adviser Jake] Sullivan included, that he stood by them and they had done their best during a tough situation.”

Ward quotes an unnamed White House official as saying: “There wasn’t even a real possibility of a shake-up.”

The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, a month after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. The Taliban, which had sheltered the leader of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, was soon ousted but fighting never ceased.

Figures for the total US death toll in the country since 2001 vary. The United States Institute of Peace, an independent body established by Congress, says that 2,324 US military personnel, 3,917 US contractors and 1,144 allied troops were killed during the conflict. More than 20,000 Americans were wounded.

“For Afghans,” the institute goes on, “the statistics are nearly unimaginable: 70,000 Afghan military and police deaths, 46,319 Afghan civilians (although that is likely a significant underestimation) and some 53,000 opposition fighters killed. Almost 67,000 other people were killed in Pakistan in relation to the Afghan war.”

Hundreds of thousands were displaced. Furthermore, according to the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, “four times as many [US] service members have died by suicide than in combat in the post-9/11 wars [including Iraq and other campaigns], signaling a widespread mental health crisis”.

Biden entered office determined to withdraw, and in late summer 2021 US forces pulled out, leaving the defense of the country to US-trained Afghan national forces.

The Taliban swiftly overran that opposition, and soon scenes of chaos at Kabul airport dominated world news. Tens of thousands of Afghans who sought to leave, fearing Taliban reprisals after a 20-year US occupation, were unable to get out. More than 800 US citizens were left behind, notwithstanding Biden’s promise on 18 August that troops would stay until every US citizen who wanted to leave had done so.

Ward, Axios said, quotes a senior White House official as saying: “There’s no one here who thinks we can meet that promise.”

On 26 August, 13 US service members were killed in a suicide attack. Three days later, a US drone strike killed 10 Afghan civilians, seven of them children. No Americans faced disciplinary action over the strike, which a US air force inspector general called “an honest mistake”.

According to Axios, Ward also details extensive infighting over the withdrawal between the Departments of State and Defense.

Biden, Ward says, tended to favour the state department, having been chair of the Senate foreign affairs committee, and to be wary of the Pentagon, having been vice-president to Barack Obama through eight years of inconclusive war.

Taliban decrees on clothing and male guardians leave Afghan women scared to go out alone, says UN

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

Associated Press

February 17, 2024

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan women feel scared or unsafe leaving their homes alone because of Taliban decrees and enforcement campaigns on clothing and male guardians, according to a report from the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.

The report, issued Friday, comes days before a U.N-convened meeting in the Qatari capital is set to start, with member states and special envoys to Afghanistan due to discuss engagement with the Taliban and the country’s crises, including the human rights situation.

The Taliban — which took over Afghanistan in 2021 during the final weeks of U.S. and NATO withdrawal from the country — have barred women from most areas of public life and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed despite initial promises of a more moderate rule.

They are also restricting women’s access to work, travel and health care if they are unmarried or don’t have a male guardian, and arresting those who don’t comply with the Taliban’s interpretation of hijab, or Islamic headscarf.te

The U.N. mission’s report, published Friday, said the decrees are being enforced through arrest, harassment and intimidation. Women said they increasingly fear going to public spaces owing to the threat of arrest and the “long-lasting stigma and shame” associated with being taken into police custody.

Over half of the women interviewed for the report felt unsafe leaving the house without a male guardian, or mahram. Risks to their security and their anxiety levels worsened whenever a new decree was announced specifically targeting them, the report said.

Women who went out with a mahram felt safer but noted the stress from depending on another person to accompany them. Some said their male guardians chided them for “wasting time” if they wanted to visit certain shops or stray from a route limited to performing basic necessary tasks.

This undercut chances to “enjoy even micro-moments of stimulation or leisure” outside the home, said the report.

Some women said that male relatives were also afraid and reluctant to leave the home with female relatives, as this would expose them to Taliban harassment.

A spokesman from the Vice and Virtue Ministry, the Taliban’s morality police that enforces such decrees, said it was “nonsense and untrue” that women are scared to go to the shops.

“There is no problem for those sisters (women) who have observed hijab,” said Abdul Ghafar Farooq. “As women are naturally weaker than men, then Shariah (Islamic law) has called mahrams essential when traveling with them for the sake of their dignity and respect.”

He said harassing women was against the law.

Heather Barr, from Human Rights Watch, told the Associated Press that Afghan women’s fear of leaving home unaccompanied was “damning and devastating” but not surprising.

It seemed to be a specific goal of the Taliban to frighten women and girls out of leaving their homes, Barr said.

“This begs the question of what on earth this discussion is in Doha, with the U.N. hosting special envoys,” she said. “We need to be asking why the focus of this meeting and every meeting isn’t about this crisis that is unprecedented for women around the world.”

The Taliban are not attending the Doha meeting, their chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a voice note to the AP on Saturday night.

A Foreign Ministry statement said participation would only be beneficial if the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban call their administration, are the sole and official representative for the country at the talks.

The U.N. envoy for Afghanistan last year warned the Taliban that international recognition as the country’s legitimate government will remain “nearly impossible” unless they lift the restrictions on women.

Mujahid: Terrorist Groups Not Allowed to Operate from Afghanistan

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

Naweed Samadi

Tolo News

17 Feb 2024

Mujahid told TOLOnews that countries’ concerns about the existence of terrorist groups and their threats from Afghanistan are unfounded.

The spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that they have pledged to all countries in the region and the world not to allow any terrorist group to operate in Afghanistan.

Mujahid told TOLOnews that countries’ concerns about the existence of terrorist groups and their threats from Afghanistan are unfounded.

“I clearly declare that Afghanistan is safe, it has a responsible government, and the government is committed that no outside group is allowed to operate from Afghanistan or be present in Afghanistan,” the spokesman added.

This comes as the sixth annual meeting of security council secretaries on Afghanistan kicked off in Kyrgyzstan’s capital of Bishkek on Friday.

According to TASS News Agency, Russia’s delegation was led by Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev. Security officials from China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are also taking part in the event.

TASS also quoted Patrushev as saying: “The West planted a ticking time bomb by abandoning an enormous amount of weapons when it retreated [from Afghanistan].”

Speaking at a meeting in Bishkek of the security council secretaries on Afghanistan, Nikolay Patrushev also said: “The West’s geopolitical schemes encompass Afghanistan with over 20 terrorist organizations, fielding over 23,000 militants, now based in the country.”

“Obviously, their main goal is to put pressure on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Zalmay Afghanyar, a political analyst.

Meanwhile, Hindustan Times reported that India’s deputy national security adviser Vikram Misri represented India at the sixth annual meeting of security council secretaries on Afghanistan, and highlighted India’s worries about large drug shipments linked to Afghanistan and potential instability due to the presence of terrorists from banned groups.

“The whole world, especially the United Nations and other organizations that operate here in Afghanistan say that drug and smuggling have decreased to zero. Up until yesterday, they were saying that Daesh had vanished from here [Afghanistan], and both the United States and Russia had acknowledged this,” said Kamran Habibi, a military analyst.

In the meantime, Kazakh media also reported that the participants of the sixth annual meeting of security council secretaries on Afghanistan have agreed to share information about the activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan with each other.

UNSC Meets on Terrorism, Islamic Emirate Responds to UN Claims

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

17 Feb 2024

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that Daesh has been suppressed in Afghanistan.

Islamic Emirate in response to the remarks of UN Security Council’s members about the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, said that “false” intelligence information causes these concerns.

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that Daesh has been suppressed in Afghanistan.

“Daesh was already an ominous and active phenomenon in Afghanistan when Afghanistan was under occupation, this phenomenon was found and grew, but the Islamic Emirate has tried its best to defeat it,” Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Speaking at the UNSC meeting on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, Several UNSC members including the UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov once again warned of the presence of Daesh and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, and their threat to international peace and security.

The UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov spoke of the Islamic Emirate’s fight against Daesh.

“In Afghanistan, efforts by the de facto authorities have reportedly impacted the ability of the Daesh affiliate to conduct attacks inside the country. Nevertheless, the group maintains the intention to carry out attacks abroad. Despite this important achievement, the risk of resurgence by Daesh remains,” he added.

“The Taliban have made efforts to counter ISS-K and it is critical they adhere to the counter-terrorism commitments,” said Robert A. Wood, the alternate representative of the United States to the UN.

China’s representative also voiced concerns over the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

“According to the SG report, the concentration of terrorist forces in Afghanistan and the collusion between ISIL-K and other terrorist groups including the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, not only undermine Afghanistan’s own security but also our spread to regional peace and security. The international community must remain highly vigilant in this regard and work as one,” said Zhang Jun, the representative of China to the UNSC.

Previously, the United Nations Security Council also said in a report that Daesh, Al Qaeda and some other terrorist groups are active in Afghanistan, but these claims were called baseless by the Islamic Emirate.

Islamic Emirate Reacts to UN Report on Women in Afghanistan

February 17, 2024 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

17 Feb 2024

Mujahid said that women’s rights are ensured in the country and such reports are baseless.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, in response to the joint report of UN institutions addressing the situation of women in Afghanistan, said that UNAMA is preventing the political progress of the current Afghan government by publishing such reports.

The spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the current realities of the country are not reflected in these reports and these institutions are seeking to create conspiracies and make excuses regarding Afghanistan’s diplomatic relations with other countries, which are not yielding results.

Mujahid said that women’s rights are ensured in the country and such reports are baseless.

“Recognition of a country is based on the laws of the UN, not on the basis of some women or some people in a country. Second, the institutions are seeking to create conspiracies and make excuses regarding the diplomatic relations of institutions and countries with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” the spokesman said.

“UN Women, IOM and UNAMA convened online and in-person (where safe to do so) group consultations and conducted individual telesurveys, together reaching 745 Afghan women across all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces,” the report said.

According to the UN institutions’ survey, women said international recognition of the current Afghan government should happen only when restrictions on female are reversed.

“Women stated that international recognition should happen only after reversing all restrictions (32 percent) or after some specific bans are reversed (25 percent) on women and girls; 28 percent said that recognition should not happen at all, under any circumstances. In July 2023, a similar question found that 96 per cent of women maintained that recognition should only occur after improvements in women’s rights or that it should not occur at all,” the report reads.

“Women expressed deep disappointment with those Member States that, in their efforts to engage the DFA, overlook the severity of an unprecedented women’s rights crisis and the associated violations of international law, based on the treaties to which Afghanistan was a signatory. Women did not accept the current plight,” the report further stated.

Meanwhile, some political experts think that the Islamic Emirate’s recognition depends on its ability to comply with the world’s demands for the protection of women’s and girls’ rights.

“Apart from the fact that whether or not the international community recognizes the current government, the issue of girls schools and universities, the employment of women and the meaningful presence of women in society are demands of national interests and are an important step for the stability of Afghanistan,” said Najibullah Jami, a political analyst.

This comes as many in the international community has made the recognition of the Islamic Emirate conditional on the ensuring of women’s rights in the country.

Afghanistan Will Never Recognize Durand Line as Border: Stanikzai

February 16, 2024 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

16 Feb 2024

The deputy FM stated that the requirement of visas and passports to travel “to Afghanistan” is not acceptable to the Afghanistan people.

The deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Islamic Emirate said that Afghanistan will never recognize the Durand Line as a border.

Speaking at a gathering in Logar on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai said that Afghanistan’s territory is still on the other side of the line.

The deputy FM stated that the requirement of visas and passports to travel “to Afghanistan” is not acceptable to the Afghanistan people.

“We have never recognized Durand and will never recognize it, today half of Afghanistan is separated and is on the other side of the Durand Line. Durand is the line which was drawn by the English on the heart of Afghans. And today our neighboring country deports the refugees in a very cruel manner and they are being told to return to their country,” said Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the deputy foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate.

Although he did not name a specific country, Stanikzai claimed that foreigners are working to weaken the Islamic Emirate.

Stanikzai said that there is no opponent that can be trained against the Islamic Emirate.

“We clearly tell the foreigners that no one should try to weaken the Islamic Emirate or destroy the Islamic Emirate. They cannot do it, because today we are united, and we have no opponents to train them against us to destroy the Islamic Emirate,” added Stanikzai.

The deputy foreign minister criticized anti-Islamic Emirate gatherings and added that the disagreement of former Afghan government officials is in league with Westerners.

“The political opponents of the Taliban have raised the issue of sharing political power as one of their main options, an issue that the international community raises in the form of an inclusive government in Afghanistan, and they try to get the Taliban to satisfy this issue,” said Farhad Ibrar, a political analyst.

Earlier, other high-ranking officials of the Islamic Emirate have also criticized the gatherings of Islamic Emirates opponents abroad and countries that host such meetings.

Martin Pengelly in Washington

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