750 Ethnic Conflicts Solved Since Islamic Emirate Rule: Abid

Abid added that the Islamic Emirate is committed to solving the ethnic conflicts and more than 140 other conflicts are getting solved.

Abdul Khaliq Abid, the deputy minister of tribal affairs and borders, in an exclusive interview told TOLOnews that after the Islamic Emirate came to power, 750 ethnic conflicts have been solved in the country.

Abid added that the Islamic Emirate is committed to solving the ethnic conflicts and more than 140 other conflicts are getting solved.

According to the deputy minister, after the Islamic Emirate came to power, people will no longer be allowed to marry off their daughters as retribution for murders committed by her male family members.

He added that this tradition [marrying off girls to compensate for murder] has been stopped across the country.

Regarding solving ethnic feuds, Abid said: “Across the country, 750 big and small conflicts have been resolved. From 10 years to nearly 100 years these conflicts have existed, when several people were killed among these parties, and now they are resolved.

He added that small and big conflicts in Nooristan, Panjshir, Badakhshan and a number of other provinces have been solved and the long-time conflicts have changed to friendship.

According to this official of the ministry, after the Islamic Emirate came to power, no girls have been married off in exchange for murders committed by her family members.

He said: “No one can marry off his daughter or his sister for the murder they committed because God has given a clear verdict for the murderer.”

Meanwhile, a number of analysts consider it important to resolve conflicts in order to unite the citizens of the country.

“By solving ethnic enmities, people will trust the government and ethnic unity will be ensured among the citizens of the country,” Gul Mohammadudin Mohammadi, a political analyst, told TOLOnews.

Abdul Khaliq Abid, the deputy minister of tribal affairs and borders, in this interview added that the rights of all Afghan citizens are guaranteed throughout the country, and claims that the rights of minorities are not protected in the country are not true.

750 Ethnic Conflicts Solved Since Islamic Emirate Rule: Abid
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UN emphasizes support for women’s businesses in Afghanistan

Written By: Tabasum Nasiry

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has stated that, in light of the collapse of Afghanistan’s economic system, it has supported 50 women in the central regions of the country in various aspects, ranging from small and medium-sized businesses to infrastructure and healthcare services for women.

On Monday, 29th January, this organization released a report, affirming that the goal of UNDP’s development programs is to support women entrepreneurs in strengthening and enriching communities.

Friba, a college student at Bamyan University’s Law School, who couldn’t continue her education due to limitations, expressed to this organization that she wanted to support her family after completing her studies. However, due to the constraints, she has established a small dairy business in a residential complex in Bamyan.

She, who collects raw materials from villages across the region to produce dairy products, emphasized that with the “cessation of dairy product purchases, orders decreased by over 60%, and women in the districts even had to stop raising sheep and cows because there was no demand. I lost hope and considered quitting.”

Friba, expressing her satisfaction with the United Nations development programs, stated, “One of the reasons women are subjected to violence is their lack of economic independence.”

According to the UNDP report, in addition to supporting women entrepreneurs, the organization has also provided them with business opportunities worth over USD 1,500.

This is happening while, after two years, women are still deprived of access to their fundamental rights, including education, work, and active participation.

The United Nations Development Program had previously announced that it has created communal kitchens to provide work opportunities and income.

According to the UNDP development program, the prohibition of women’s work has affected Afghanistan’s economy, causing a blow of 600 million to 1 billion dollars to the country’s economy.

UN emphasizes support for women’s businesses in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan drops from 150th to 162 in Corruption Fighting Index: Report

In a recent report by the International Transparency Organization, Afghanistan, now ruled by the Taliban, has fallen to the 162nd position in the Corruption Fighting Index for 2023, with a low score of just 20 points.

In 2022, Afghanistan was ranked 150th among 180 countries with the same score.

This is in contrast to Afghanistan’s position in 2021, where it ranked 174th among 180 countries with a score of 16 points.

The International Transparency Organization reports that among the 180 countries they assessed, nearly two-thirds of them scored less than fifty points.

Meanwhile, Somalia has fallen two places compared to the previous year, earning 11 points, making it the most corrupt country in the world.

Afghanistan is now ranked alongside countries like Sudan, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Chad, Comoros, and Eritrea in the fight against corruption.

Iran has also seen a drop in its ranking to 149th place compared to 2022.

Denmark, with a score of 90 points, is considered the cleanest country in the world, followed by Finland with 87 points and New Zealand with 85 points, ranking second and third, respectively.

The organization points out in its analysis that the decrease in transparency in some countries is due to a global trend of weakening judicial systems, leading to a decrease in government officials’ accountability for corruption.

According to this organization, even in countries with high rankings in the Corruption Fighting Index, exemptions from punishment have led to an increase in corruption in some countries.

According to the report from the International Transparency Organization, countries with high scores are often involved in numerous high-profile corruption cases, leading to bribery when conducting business abroad. Furthermore, countries with the highest scores frequently fail to apprehend corrupt actors and their associates.

Afghanistan drops from 150th to 162 in Corruption Fighting Index: Report
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Karzai stresses girls’ education in meeting with women activists

Hamid Karzai, former President of Afghanistan, emphasized the vital importance of reopening schools and universities for girls during a meeting with a group of women activists and supporters of girls’ education.

Mr. Karzai considered girls’ education crucial for the progress and development of Afghanistan during this meeting.

He also wrote in his social media platform X on Tuesday that “National dialogue and understanding are essential for ensuring lasting peace and stability in the country.”

During this meeting, female activists stressed the necessity of higher education for girls for the growth and development of society.

These women activists called for effective measures in various areas, including ensuring girls’ education rights, and emphasized national unity in this regard.

Mr. Karzai had previously mentioned during a meeting with representatives of international organizations that national dialogue should be initiated for the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Since the Taliban took control of Kabul, they have implemented over 50 decrees that severely curtailed women’s rights, including access to education, employment, and free movement. These restrictions have effectively erased women from public life.

Despite facing widespread criticism from both national and international organizations and prominent figures, the Taliban has continued to tighten its grip and impose more restrictions. As a result, no countries have officially recognized their regime due to these oppressive policies.

Karzai stresses girls’ education in meeting with women activists
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Inclusivity Not Discussed at Kabul Conference: Mujahid

The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that the outcome of the conference will strengthen regional solidarity.

The Islamic Emirate said that the issue of an inclusive government was not talked about in Monday’s Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative Conference in Kabul.

The conference, which was attended by representatives of eleven regional countries including Russia, Pakistan, Iran, India, China, and Indonesia finished on Monday evening behind closed doors.

The spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that the outcome of the conference will strengthen regional solidarity and will help addressing joint regional security menaces.

“This was one of the important conferences in Afghanistan, which will lead to regional solidarity. In the conference, joint security threats were also discussed that require the contribution of all countries’ to address the threats,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate.

Prior to the convention, Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan, said that the inclusivity of the Afghan government will be part of the agenda in the conference, but Zabiullah Mujahid denied the issue.

Mujahid said that the Islamic Emirate’s stance over the nature of government in Afghanistan is clear and that this issue should not be provoked by other countries.

“Inclusive government was not part of the agenda of the meeting. We have clarified our stance which is that inclusivity is an Afghan issue not the issue of other countries. Other countries should talk over issues which belong to them,” told Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate.

“Russia reiterated its requests from Taliban which is establishment of an inclusive government, a government where all people and political movements are given parts,” said Wais Naseri, a political analyst.

“There is a regional and international consensus about resolving the issues of Afghanistan which is need for intra-Afghan talks and a special representative for the talks,” said Wahid Faqeri, another political analyst.

Talking about the UN’s next month meeting about Afghanistan, the acting foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate, Amir Khan Muttaqi said that special representatives for Afghanistan should present a realistic picture of the country at the meeting.

Inclusivity Not Discussed at Kabul Conference: Mujahid
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Region Dealing with Kabul for Security, Economic Stability: ICG

But ICG underscored that regional actor sought more dealings with Kabul.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report that as most of the world shuns the “Taliban due to their violations of women’s and girls’ rights, countries in the region around Afghanistan are dealing with the regime to address their needs for security and economic stability.”

According to the ICG, the region, “as the Taliban broadly define spans the Eurasian continents, from China in the east to Türkiye in the west and from Russia in the north to India and the Gulf monarchies in the south. It encompasses countries closer in, such as the Central Asian states, Iran and Pakistan.”

“The Taliban, like previous Afghan rulers, view Afghanistan as a bridge connecting all these places,” ICG’s report reads.
The report stated that the regional countries’ policies toward the “Taliban” vary enormously, though all believe contacts with the regime to be necessary, but so far, their engagement is limited.

“Kabul and its regional partners are struggling to develop a modus vivendi as regards issues of mutual concern, which range from boosting trade to managing disputes over water and halting transnational militancy. It is a fraught endeavour, but a worthwhile one, and Western capitals should not stand in the way,” the report cited.

According to the report, the Western diplomats cancelled their meetings with the “Taliban” due to their “denial of basic rights to Afghan women and girls and their imposition of draconian social rules since returning to power in August 2021 has sabotaged.”

But ICG underscored that regional actor sought more dealings with Kabul.

“Some have condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls, particularly bans on girls’ secondary and higher education, but overall regional officials tend not to put emphasis on women’s and girls’ rights,” the report said. “At the same time, they are convinced that the best way to secure their countries’ interests and moderate the Taliban’s behaviour in the long term is patient deliberation with Kabul, rather than ostracism.”

These channels between Kabul and regional capitals appear to offer the Taliban their best hopes for diplomatic engagement in the coming years, ICG suggested.

The Islamic Emirate said that the interim Afghan government has good relations with the neighboring and regional countries and that efforts are underway to improve relations with other countries as well.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that the rights of women and human rights are ensured within an Islamic structure.
“The International Crisis Group, while making reports, unfortunately, tries to find out the small issues and work on them and describe them as a problem and then report them,” he said.

Political analysts gave various opinions in this regard.

“We accept the issues of girls, that the schools, universities and parks are closed for them,” said Saleem Paigir, a political analyst.

“The issues of human rights violation in Afghanistan, the closure of schools and universities for girls, lack of inclusive government… are the issues which the IGC focused on,” said Najib Rahman Shamal, political analyst.

Link to ICG Afghanistan report:

https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/337-talibans-neighbourhood-regional-diplomacy-afghanistan

Region Dealing with Kabul for Security, Economic Stability: ICG
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Amu Darya’s daily oil extraction will surpass 2,000 tons, says Chinese company

Khaama Press

Chinese company Afg-Chin Oil and Gas Limited has announced plans to activate 24 new wells in the Amu Darya basin in 2024, aiming to increase daily oil extraction to over 2,000 tons.

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum confirmed that the company’s head recently met with the Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum to discuss their ambitious agenda for 2024.

Among the discussed plans are the construction of oil reserves with a substantial capacity of 6,000 tons and the establishment of an oil refinery. Additionally, they plan to repair two idle wells and drill 22 new ones.

Afg-Chin Oil and Gas currently possesses an oil reservoir capable of holding 4,000 tons, but they intend to construct a new reservoir in the Qashqari area of Sar-e-Pul Province, increasing its capacity.

Acting Minister of Taliban, Shahabuddin Delawar stressed the importance of transparency in the mining process during the meeting. He also emphasized the need to employ specialists and engineers from Afghanistan.

These developments are part of the efforts to make Afghanistan self-sufficient in the oil and gas sector, which might signal a push towards greater economic independence.

With the activation of these new wells and the expansion of oil infrastructure, Afghanistan aims to strengthen its position in the energy sector and reduce its reliance on external sources for oil and gas.

Amu Darya’s daily oil extraction will surpass 2,000 tons, says Chinese company
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Daesh No Longer Threat for Afghanistan: Islamic Emirate

Mujahid added that Daesh is not acting in the interest of any country.

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that Daesh is not a threat for Afghanistan and that the Islamic Emirate’s forces have tightened the security across the borders.

Mujahid made the remarks in reaction to a report of an Indian newspaper in the Sunday Guardian, which cited senior members of the Tehrik Taliban Pakistan as saying that the motive behind the clash alongside the Durand Line on Jan. 20 was that “the Pakistan military was trying to push ISIS terrorists into Afghanistan and it was to pursue this objective that its armed forces stirred up the dispute at the border so that the ISIS cadre could enter into Afghanistan while the Afghanistan guards were engaged against their much well equipped neighbors.”

Mujahid added that Daesh is not acting in the interest of any country.

“The borders of the countries are safeguarded. Our security forces are paying attention to any kind of danger. We don’t believe that there is Daesh in Afghanistan,” he said.

Among those cited was the former TTP commander Ehsanullah Ehsan, who called it a ‘Kashmir-style infiltration’ attempt on the Afghan border by the Pakistan army, the Sunday Guardian reported.

“After the said incident, social media accounts linked to the Pakistani army claimed that the skirmish took place after Pakistani forces retaliated to the Afghan forces’ objection to the repair that was being carried out at the border fence. However, according to my information, this happened when ISIS fighters were trying to cross the border from Pakistan and were spotted and confronted by the Afghan border guards. Their intruders had the full support of the Pakistani army and were being provided military [cover] by the Pakistan army which was noticed by the Afghan side,” he was quoted by the Sunday Guardian.

This comes as political and military analysts said they consider Daesh a threat to the interim government and urged the Islamic Emirate to suppress the group.

“Pakistan is seeking to implement its intelligence and its strategic projects of the western countries not only in Afghanistan but also within the Central Asian countries,” said Sadeq Shinwari, a military analyst.

“Daesh is a dangerous phenomenon in Afghanistan and it affects the internal security of Afghanistan,” said Aziz Maarij, a political analyst.

This comes as the acting Defense Minister, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid stressed that Daesh was defeated in Afghanistan.

Daesh No Longer Threat for Afghanistan: Islamic Emirate
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Kabul Hosts ‘Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative’

He also said that regional security remains of grave importance for the Islamic Emirate.

The summit named “Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative” was held with the participation of envoys of regional countries on Monday in Kabul.

Speaking at the summit, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who was also chairing the event, said that the regional cooperation could be focused on exploring region-centric and engagement pathways based on common regional benefits; creating a region-centric narrative for positive and constructive engagement with the “Afghan government” to tackle existing and potential threats in the region; exerting efforts directed at soft connectivity and hard connectivity that would lead to regional economic development benefitting peoples of the region; unanimity in calling for the removal of unilateral sanctions on the region and on Afghanistan in particular and respecting one another’s choices of indigenous and traditional development models and governance methods.

He also said that the Islamic Emirate had good engagements in the fields of trade development and regional transit with regional and neighboring countries over the past two years.

“On the one hand, with the end of the 20-year occupation and the overall 45-year war and bloodshed in Afghanistan, and the formation of an independent central government, and on the other hand, the Islamic Emirate’s region-centric perspective considering the principle of economy-centered foreign policy of the Afghan government, reliant on regional connectivity,  has paved the way for us to work together on common interests in cooperation with the region by creating a region-centric narrative and continued fight against potential threats,” Muttaqi said.

He also said that regional security remains of grave importance for the Islamic Emirate.

Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate stands ready to engage and cooperate with the regional countries by working together based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

“The Islamic Emirate… respects others’ interests, choices, government structures, and development models, and in return, expects others to respect Afghanistan’s interests, and governance and development choices and models,” he said.

A photo of the summit of “Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative” released by the deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, shows that the Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, Iranian ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi and other regional envoys have attended the event.

The summit is being held weeks before a high-level conference which is due to be convened by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

Kabul Hosts ‘Afghanistan’s Regional Cooperation Initiative’
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Taliban Under Scrutiny After $1.2M ‘Stolen’ From Crashed Russian Jet

The Taliban is under scrutiny after $1.2 million is reported to have been “stolen” from a Russian private jet that crashed in Afghanistan’s northern Badakhshan province on January 21.

Four out of the six people aboard the Dassault Falcon 10 aircraft survived the crash. The jet was carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia, traveling from Utapao airport, near Pattaya, to Moscow via India and Uzbekistan, Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport said.

Anna Evsyukova, who was urgently hospitalized in Thailand and was due to continue her treatment in Russia, and her husband Anatoly Evsyukov, were killed in the crash. The survivors arrived from Dubai to Moscow on Friday.

One of the Falcon 10 pilots, Arkady Grachev, said on Friday the crash was caused by “technical problems.” Co-pilot Dmitry Belyakov also said that the cause of the Falcon 10 crash was a technical malfunction, “apparently a problem with the fuel,” state-run news agency Tass reported.

In the aftermath of the crash, the Afghan newspaper Hasht-e Subh reported, citing sources in the region, that $1.2 million was “stolen” from the private jet. The publication reported that Mohammad Ayub Khalid, the Taliban governor for the northeastern Badakhshan province, has ordered an investigation into the matter.

Officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban is a military organization and movement in the middle of a civil war in Afghanistan. Founded in 1994, it has at times controlled Afghanistan, once from 1996 to 2001 and then again in 2021.

“The accusation of the Taliban in Badakhshan for stealing this amount of money has caused this group of pilots and three crew members not to hand over the plane to the Russian embassy in Kabul,” Hasht-e Subh reported.

Grachev responded to the reports that more than 1 million had been stolen from the jet.

He said “there was no money there” but said the crew members gave “some small money” to the Afghans as a token of gratitude for assisting them after the jet crash.

“There [was] personal money there… They [the Afghans] came to help, we had to thank them somehow,” he said.

Grachev said that the survivors spent a day and a half in the cold, and had to “burn their shoelaces” to keep warm.

“Then the doctors started to pull us out. We were taken out from a height of 4,000 meters through deep snow, we walked for about five hours to the village,” he said.

Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express, 

Taliban Under Scrutiny After $1.2M ‘Stolen’ From Crashed Russian Jet
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