Taliban says plans to formally join China’s Belt and Road Initiative

October 19, 2023 Current News Articles

By Joe Cash

Reuters

October 19, 2023

BEIJING, Oct 19 (Reuters) – The Taliban administration wants to formally join Chinese President Xi Jinping’s huge ‘Belt and Road’ infrastructure initiative and will send a technical team to China for talks, Afghanistan’s acting commerce minister said on Thursday.

Beijing has sought to develop its ties with the Taliban-run government since it took over in 2021, even though no other foreign government has recognised the administration.

Last month, China became the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul, with other nations retaining previous ambassadors or appointed heads of mission in a charge d’affaires capacity that does not involve formally presenting credentials to the government.

“We requested China to allow us to be a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Belt and Road Initiative… (and) are discussing technical issues today,” acting Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters in an interview a day after the Belt and Road Forum ended in Beijing.

The Pakistan “economic corridor” refers to the huge flagship section of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Afghanistan’s neighbour.

Azizi said the administration would also send a technical team to China to enable it to “better understand” the issues standing in the way of it joining the initiative, but did not elaborate on what was holding Afghanistan back.

Afghanistan could offer China a wealth of coveted mineral resources. Several Chinese companies already operate there, including the Metallurgical Corp. of China Ltd (MCC) which has held talks with the Taliban administration, as well as the previous Western-backed government, over plans for a potentially huge copper mine.

“China, which invests all over the world, should also invest in Afghanistan… we have everything they need, such as lithium, copper and iron,” Azizi said. “Afghanistan is now, more than ever, ready for investment.”

Asked about the MCC talks, Azizi said discussions had been delayed because the mine was near a historical site, but they were still ongoing. “The Chinese company has made a huge investment, and we support them,” he added.

Investors have said security remains a concern. The Islamic State militant group has targeted foreign embassies and a hotel popular with Chinese investors in Kabul.

Asked about the security challenges, Azizi said security was a priority for the Taliban-run government, adding that after 20 years of war – which ended when foreign forces withdrew and the Taliban took over – meant more parts of the country were safe.

“It is now possible to travel to provinces where there is industry, agriculture and mines that one previously could not visit… security can be guaranteed,” Azizi added.

Afghanistan and 34 other countries agreed to work together on the digital economy and green development on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Ahmad Masih Noori and Charlotte Greenfield in Kabul; editing by Miral Fahmy

Call to help resettle more Afghans who worked with British military

October 18, 2023 Current News Articles

By Jack Fenwick

BBC News

17 Oct 2023

Campaigners have called on the government to make it easier for Afghans who worked with the British military to be resettled in the UK.

The main resettlement scheme is restricted to those deemed at significant enough risk, such as interpreters and translators.

However, it does not cover jobs such as mechanics, chefs and drivers.

The Sulha Alliance charity said such individuals were also at risk of attacks by the Taliban.

Under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, Afghan citizens who worked with the UK government in “exposed or meaningful roles” may be eligible to be relocated to the UK, along with their family members.

The Sulha Alliance – which supports Afghans who worked for the British Army – has given evidence to MPs on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which is looking at the government’s response to the UK withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 after the country fell to the Taliban.

Documents sent to MPs on the committee include the story of a 35-year-old former mechanic who worked with the British military in Afghanistan – and was refused resettlement by the UK government under the ARAP scheme.

The Sulha Alliance says that last month, members of the Taliban found his 87-year-old father and demanded to know where his son was hiding.

They say he refused to tell them and was beaten to death.

The evidence claims that before he died in hospital, he said the Taliban had told him they would kill him because his son was a “traitor” for working with the West.

The documents were submitted ahead of an appearance by Foreign Office Minister Lord Ahmad before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee later.

Peter Gordon-Finlayson, a former army captain who co-founded the Sulha Alliance, said he was concerned about how the government is assessing the levels of risk involved for Afghans wishing to be resettled in the UK.

He said the government argues that Afghans working in roles other than interpreters were not on the ground with British troops and so were not directly seen by the Taliban and the local community as working alongside the UK, putting them at less risk.

“Unfortunately that is not quite true,” he told the BBC.

“The reality is that those who were recruited to be mechanics and chefs and so on and support the British Army, were recruited locally from the areas around where the British military camps were – and so they were known within the community – and they were seen every day going in and out of British army bases, so they are very much at risk.”

It is understood the government has indicated to campaigners there are no plans to change the ARAP scheme to include more professions.

A British military plane evacuates people from Kabul airport on 24 August 2021 — *Thousands of people were evacuated from Afghanistan to the UK in August 2021*

Mr Gordon-Finlayson said if the government would not change the ARAP scheme, they should adapt other schemes to make it easier for people like the mechanic highlighted by the Sulha Alliance to be resettled in the UK.

The government runs a second scheme for vulnerable Afghan refugees known as the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) – but at the moment the only way to apply is through a recommendation from one of a number of specific organisations such as the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Mr Gordon-Finlayson said: “We’d like to see a scheme where individuals can apply directly to that pathway to be able to be brought to the UK in a safe and legal way.

“Those who worked with us are now in hiding permanently, not able to work, therefore not able to support their families and that also plays havoc with mental health,” he said.

“So there’s a lot of desperate people out there who are feeling very isolated and like their service to the UK was the worst mistake that they could make for both them and their family.

“I fear for the next major military operation that we as a country embark upon, that we will struggle to recruit brave men and women from the local community to do these crucial role to support us.”

The charity’s evidence also raises concerns among campaigners about why some applications are taking so long.It believes some former interpreters are finding it difficult to have their resettlement confirmed because their contracts with British forces were previously terminated.

Mr Gordon-Finlayson said: “I know from my time in Afghanistan that interpreters had their employment terminated because of petty squabbles amongst the interpreters – who owned the TV in the interpreters’ tent – or something like that…

“Some people who were let go for reasons that were not genuine national security threats are now stuck in Afghanistan because of the way that their contract with the UK forces ended, and that strikes us as unfair.”

A government spokesperson said: “The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. “We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.”

Poll: Most US Adults View Afghanistan As An Adversary

October 18, 2023 Current News Articles

Ayaz Gul
Voice of America
October 18, 2023

FILE - Taliban fighters patrol on the road during a celebration marking the second anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan, in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Aug. 15, 2023. — *FILE – Taliban fighters patrol on the road during a celebration marking the second anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan, in Kandahar, south of Kabul, Aug. 15, 2023.*

ISLAMABAD — A new survey finds that most American adults perceive Afghanistan as an adversary rather than an ally of the United States, and two-thirds believe the nearly 20-year Afghan war was not worth fighting.

The nationwide poll’s findings from the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research come two years after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the return of the Taliban to power. The U.S. had invaded the South Asian nation to punish the then-Taliban rulers for harboring al-Qaida leaders who planned the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Many of those surveyed were skeptical about how successfully the U.S. achieved its key objectives, such as eliminating the threat from extremists or improving opportunities for women in Afghanistan.While 46% of adults believed the war successfully captured or killed those responsible for the 9/11 terror strikes on the U.S., only 16% said that Washington had succeeded in developing a functioning Afghan government. Less than a quarter of adults, or 22%, said the U.S. successfully improved opportunities for women in Afghanistan.

“The findings show that few think the U.S. succeeded during the war in improving opportunities for Afghan women, but most still view advancing the rights of Afghan women as an important foreign policy goal,” said Sheila Kohanteb, Forum Executive Director at The Pearson Institute for Study and Resolution of Global Conflict.

“The public clearly believes the U.S. should try to help improve the situation of Afghan women, and many continue to hear about the restrictions being placed on women in Afghanistan,” Kohanteb added.

The Taliban have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law across the impoverished country since reclaiming power and installing their men-only government in Kabul. They have restricted women’s rights to education and work. Women are forbidden from visiting public places, such as parks and gyms, and undertaking long road trips without a close male guardian.

The U.S. survey reveals that 41% of adults think Afghanistan is an enemy, and another 42% say it is unfriendly, while only 14% report it is an ally or friendly nation.

Regarding current foreign U.S. policy goals in Afghanistan, 77% of adults say it is at least somewhat important to eliminate the threat of Islamic extremists taking shelter in the country, and 74% support advancing the rights of women and girls.

The survey indicated that 59% were unaware of the Taliban retaking control in 2021, and 64% had not heard about the restrictions on women.

The poll showed that 68% of U.S. adults had heard at least something about the U.S. troop withdrawal, but fewer had heard about the treatment by the Taliban of Afghan citizens who worked with the United States during the war. Only 52% had heard a lot or some information, while 47% said they had heard little or nothing.

While withdrawing its troops in August 2021, the U.S. also airlifted tens of thousands of Afghans from Kabul airport, who worked closely with international troops during their two-decade-long presence in Afghanistan. But many more are still trying to flee the country, fearing retribution from the Taliban and urging Washington to meet what they say is its moral responsibility to ensure their safety.

US Senator Calls to Cut Funding to Afghanistan

October 18, 2023 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

17 Oct 2023

Limitations on Afghan Women Harms 20-year Gains: UK Minister

October 18, 2023 Current News Articles

Fatima Adib

Tolo News

18 Oct 2023

The British official also criticized the Afghan caretaker government’s policies against Afghan women and girls.

The foreign affairs committee of the UK parliament arranged a meeting on the county’s policies vis-a-vis Afghanistan.

Lord Ahmad, UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, who was also speaking at the meeting said that women and girls’ rights have had setbacks in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

Lord Ahmad said that ongoing limitations on Afghan women and girls will damage the gains of the past two decades in Afghanistan.

“And I think many of the gains that we were able to achieve, particularly on the rights of minorities, on the rights of women and girls and the progress we saw in education — those are real setbacks on what we had achieved and that has been reflected and evidenced by what we have seen in the subsequent… I think it is deep regret for many who operated that NATO team,” said Lord Ahmad, UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia.

The British official also criticized the Afghan caretaker government’s policies against Afghan women and girls.

“The Taliban’s philosophy is nothing to do with Islam, it is a draconian subversive philosophy which is against different people and different communities and as we know against women and girls, ” said Lord Ahmad, UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia.

Lord Ahmad further added that UK has provided the Afghan people with over a half million pounds in the first 18 months of the Islamic Emirate rule over Afghanistan.

“We provided over half a million pounds in that first 18 months… to reach 50 percent Afghan women with our humanitarian assistance,” said Lord Ahmad, UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia.

Earlier, UK’s defense minister, in his interview with the Daily Mail on the first anniversary of the Islamic Emirate, said that the UK had come with correct goals to Afghanistan and added that the UK had done much for Afghanistan’s security, economic development, education and other sectors while arguing that the goals had failed.

He had also said that UK’s mission in Afghanistan failed with the loss of hundreds of its soldiers

UN Experts Urge Pakistan to Cancel Refugees’ Repatriation Plan

October 18, 2023 Current News Articles

Nazir Shinwari

Tolo News

18 Oct 2023

World Food Program appeals for $19 million to provide emergency food in quake-hit Afghanistan

October 18, 2023 Current News Articles

BY RAHIM FAIEZ

Associated Press

October 18, 2023

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United Nations’ World Food Program on Wednesday appealed for $19 million to provide emergency assistance to tens of thousands of people affected by a series of devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that has rocked western Afghanistan.

Ana Maria Salhuana, deputy country director of the World Food Program in Afghanistan, said it was helping survivors but it urgently needed more funding because “we are having to take this food from an already severely underfunded program.”

The group said it is working to provide emergency food assistance to 100,000 people in the region.

“Disasters like these earthquakes pound communities who are already barely able to feed themselves back into utter destitution,” the WFP said.

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck part of western Afghanistan on Sunday, after thousands of people died and entire villages were flattened by major quakes a week earlier. It was the fourth quake the U.S. Geological Survey has measured at 6.3 magnitude in the same area in just over a week.

The initial earthquakes on Oct. 7 flattened whole villages in Herat province and were among the most destructive quakes in the country’s recent history.

The WFP said staffers responded within hours of the first earthquakes, distributing fortified biscuits, pulses and other food items to affected families in destroyed villages.

“An estimated 25,000 buildings have been destroyed,” the group said a statement. “The survivors are currently sleeping in tents next to the rubble of their homes, desperate and afraid of further earthquakes and aftershocks.”

The latest quake was centered about 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside the city of Herat, the capital of Herat province, and was 6 kilometers (4 miles) below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

More than 90% of the people killed were women and children, U.N. officials said. The quakes struck during the daytime, when many of the men in the region were working outdoors.

Taliban officials said the earlier quakes killed more than 2,000 people across the province. The epicenter was in Zenda Jan district, where the majority of casualties and damage occurred.

The WFP said affected families will need help for months with winter just weeks away. It said that if there is funding, the emergency response will be complemented by longer-term resilience programs so vulnerable communities are able to rebuild their livelihoods.

The UN body was forced earlier this year to reduce the amount of food families receive and to cut 10 million people in Afghanistan from life-saving food assistance due to a massive funding shortfall.

In addition to the earthquake response, the WFP also urgently needs $400 million to prepare food before winter, when communities are cut off due to snow and landslides. In Afghanistan, these include communities of women who are being increasingly pushed out of public life.

The initial quake, numerous aftershocks and a third 6.3-magnitude quake on Wednesday flattened villages, destroying hundreds of mud-brick homes that could not withstand such force. Schools, health clinics and other village facilities also collapsed.

Besides rubble and funerals after that devastation, there was little left of the villages in the region’s dusty hills. Survivors are struggling to come to terms with the loss of multiple family members and in many places, living residents are outnumbered by volunteers who came to search the debris and dig mass graves.

Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, where there are a number of fault lines and frequent movement among three nearby tectonic plates

Afghanistan’s terrible earthquakes

October 17, 2023 Current News Articles

ZINDA JAN

The Economist

Oct 12th, 2023

Over 2,000 have died in the country’s latest calamity

Afghans must think their country cursed. In the past two years they have seen the Taliban return to power, a huge cutback in Western aid that has pitched most of the population into poverty—and a series of horrific natural disasters. In recent days powerful earthquakes have devastated over a dozen villages near the western city of Herat, close to the border with Iran. Over 2,000 people are reported to have been killed and many more injured or made destitute.

The epicentre of the earthquakes, which included two of magnitude 6.3 on October 7th and another on the 11th, was the district of Zinda Jan, around 40km north of Herat. Thirteen villages in the district were largely obliterated, their mud-brick buildings turned to heaps of suffocating earth. In the village of Nayeb Rafi on October 9th a crowd of volunteers could be seen helping survivors dig out their living and dead relatives. It was a terrible scene.

Muhammad Amin, a 56-year-old shepherd lying on the rubble of his former house, said his six close relatives had all been killed inside it. He had been outside the village when the first earthquake struck. “I ran back but everything had been destroyed,” he said. “Collapsed houses, dust in the air, people crying and shouting for their families.”

A Taliban spokesman initially put the death toll at over 2,000. A spokesman for the regime’s National Disaster Management Authority said around 4,000 people had been killed or injured. The government’s disaster response was patchy. A village elder in Zinda Jan said the Taliban had sent bulldozers to his shattered village, but they had arrived late and were manned by inexperienced drivers, whom he accused of killing some of the people they were trying to dig out.

The quakes, which followed severe recent floods, mudslides and an earthquake last year that killed over a thousand people, showed up the meagreness of the Taliban state. According to a recent study by the World Bank, 60% of government spending last year went on the ministries of defence, interior and the intelligence department. According to Michael Semple, an Afghanistan expert based at Queen’s University Belfast, this was primarily to keep the Taliban’s own members in line. “They’re using security expenditure to keep the movement together, by promising jobs to all and sundry in the armed forces.”

Foreign aid agencies are struggling to make up the shortfall. The un has raised only a third of the $3.2bn it has targeted for Afghanistan this year. Perhaps the earthquakes will change that. The Taliban said that aid from Iran and Turkey had reached the devastated area, and that Australia, China, the eu, Japan and Pakistan had made additional pledges. Meanwhile, the disaster has made the existing suffering of the affected areas very much worse. ■

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Rubble of a country”

Precipitation Dropped 37% Compared to Last Year: NEPA

October 17, 2023 Current News Articles

Naveed Samadi

Tolo News

16 Oct 2023

Aid Continues for Earthquake Affected Areas in Herat

October 17, 2023 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

16 Oct 2023

Earthquake victims whose houses were destroyed in Herat demand shelter from government and global aid agencies.

The distribution of aid from global institutions and domestic and foreign charities to all villages affected by the earthquake is continuing.

The assistance includes food, tents, blankets, clothing and hygiene materials.

Earthquake victims whose houses were destroyed in Herat demand shelter from government and global aid agencies.

Nasir Ahmad Salehi reports that the process of distributing aid from global institutions and domestic and foreign charities in all villages affected by the earthquake is continuing.

A Germany-based charity has provided food and non-food aid for hundreds of families in the village of Nayeb Rafi in Herat’s Zenda Jan district.

Mohammad Aalem Shahab, responsible for a charity organization, said: “We have brought aid to the sisters and brothers affected by the earthquake, including tents, blanket, tea, sugar, oil and flour.”

Menhajudin Hashemi, Afghan Red Crescent Representative, said “for 78 families food and non-food items distributed. From now on، we want to bring tents to some families whose tents have been destroyed and help them.“

The victims who have lost their homes and everything in this earthquake called the aid vital.

They say that global aid agencies have saved their lives.

Mohammad Hashem, earthquake victim: “Every day help comes to us, but we lost all our possessions and our lives are ruined.”

Abdul Basir, earthquake victim: “Now we survive with this aid and if it continues، it is good، but if the aid is cut off، we need a lot of things including winter clothes.“

Earthquake victims in Herat are calling for permanent shelter from government and global aid agencies.

They say that life is hard because of the cold weather, and their children are sick.

Habibullah, earthquake victim: “It’s too cold and if the cold increases, we’ll have more problems.“

Mohammad Naeim, earthquake victim: “We can’t live here and we want to be sheltered everywhere، in every village and every province، because there are children and women who can’t come here.“

Tents were distributed to all villages affected by the earthquake, including Zenda Jan, Anjil and Kashk of Herat.

In addition to the United Nations, Turkiye, Iran, China, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and some other global institutions have helped by giving food and tents to the victims of the Herat earthquake.

Over 2,000 have died in the country’s latest calamity

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