Pakistan Firm on Exit Fee for Afghans Waiting for Asylum in West

Officials in Pakistan have defended charging fees on Afghan nationals leaving the country or waiting for Western-sponsored resettlements, saying the decision complies with local immigration laws.

The targeted community comprises tens of thousands of people who worked for the U.S.-led NATO military mission in Afghanistan and fled the country fearing reprisals after the then-insurgent Taliban seized power in August 2021.

A Pakistani immigration official confirmed Friday that each Afghan asylum-seeker waiting to depart to a third country would be charged more than $800 for overstaying their visas or not possessing documents to stay legally.

“The government is doing a big favor to them. Otherwise, they would have to pay such amount every week in penalties,” the official told VOA anonymously because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

U.S. officials have reported that about 25,000 Afghans could be eligible for relocation to the United States under a special immigration program. Britain has announced it would resettle more than 20,000 people from Afghanistan in the coming years.

Western embassies in Islamabad offering resettlement plans have reportedly decried the imposition of exit fees as an unprecedented move and raised it with Pakistani authorities through relevant United Nations agencies.

Thursday, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected “inaccurate” media claims questioning the legality of the financial penalty or suggesting it is Afghan-specific.

“The fact is that under Pakistani laws, like the immigration laws in several countries, including the United Kingdom, there are fines and punishments for individuals who overstay their visas or are found to be in violation of immigration laws,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly news conference in Islamabad.

“So, any fines that Pakistan has imposed or will impose will be in conformity with our laws,” she said.

The imposition of exit fees comes amid mass deportations of foreigners, including an estimated 1.7 million Afghans illegally residing in Pakistan or overstaying their visas.

The crackdown has forced nearly 360,000 Afghans to return to their country of origin since mid-September, according to official data released Friday. Pakistani authorities have said those waiting for resettlement in the U.S. and other countries will not be deported to Afghanistan.

Pakistan has also repeatedly clarified that the 1.4 million legal Afghan refugees it hosts and more than 800,000 Afghan migrants registered by the Pakistani government in collaboration with the former Afghan government and the International Organization for Migration are not the subjects of the deportation plans.

The United Nations and partner agencies have repeatedly urged Islamabad to suspend its deportation plans, citing the onset of a harsh winter and the “worsening” Afghan humanitarian crisis.

Philippa Candler, representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, in Pakistan, said Tuesday that “mass arrivals are adding to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where winter temperatures are already dipping to -4°C (24.8° F) in some locations.

“Many Afghan returnees are vulnerable, including women and children, who could lose their lives in a harsh winter if left without adequate shelter,” Candler said.

Pakistan Firm on Exit Fee for Afghans Waiting for Asylum in West
read more

Female Afghan Students Decry US Visa Denial

Nineteen-year-old Dewa — not her real name — had an admission letter to an undergraduate college program in the United States and a scholarship covering all her expenses. But the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, rejected her student visa application, saying they believed she was intending to immigrate.

Following the initial refusal in August, Dewa made a second attempt in October, bolstering her application with a support letter from a U.S. congressman urging the embassy to give “full and fair consideration” to her case.

That didn’t work either.

In recounting her experience with VOA over the phone, Dewa said, “The visa officer only said that I did not prove that I will return to my home country.”

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan did not respond to emailed inquiries and phone calls.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State confirmed to VOA that all visa applications, including student visas, are adjudicated in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act. That includes the requirement to overcome the presumption of immigration intent.

“Consular officers assess the circumstances of each student visa applicant and our guidance instructs consular officers to adjudicate student visa applications based on the applicant’s present intent rather than to speculate about what might happen in the future,” the spokesperson wrote.

Now facing the prospect of deportation from Pakistan as her short-term visa expires in two weeks, Dewa is confronted with the grim reality of her future in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have imposed restrictions on education for girls, closure of secondary schools and universities, and serious limitations on women’s work.

In support of Dewa’s dream of an education in the United States, her father borrowed $4,000 from relatives to pay for their trip to Pakistan, accommodation, and visa application fees.

“I feel terrified every time I remember that my family has wasted everything we had in my journey for education,” Dewa says.

Dewa’s plight is further compounded by the trauma of a deadly earthquake in October that destroyed her family’s home in Herat province.

Three other female students, who did not want their real names to be used in this article, shared similar accounts, revealing that their visa applications to the U.S. and Canadian embassies in Islamabad were denied, despite each presenting fully funded scholarship awards.

“My visa application was rejected summarily on the ground that I did not prove strong ties to my country,” said Fahima Amini, who has been admitted to a postgraduate program at Niagara University in the United States.

Shukria Ahmadzai, another student, faced delays and an eventual rejection by the Canadian Embassy without an explanation.

Describing the decisions as “callous” and “illogical,” these Afghan female students voiced how their dreams for education and a better future have been shattered.

“We are condemned in Afghanistan just because of our gender, and we are rejected by the rest of the world,” said Amini, whose visa applications to both the U.S. and Canada were denied last year.

Human rights groups are urging the United Nations to officially recognize what they term “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan and hold Taliban officials accountable for misogynistic policies.

Some also point to stringent visa requirements as a hurdle for Afghan women seeking education abroad.

“If the Taliban’s policy is monstrous, inhumane, and illegal, so too is the U.S. government’s apparent policy of excluding women from Afghanistan from entering the United States,” said Kevin Hinkley, a professor of political science and co-director of the Justice House Program at Niagara University.

Hinkley highlighted the challenges faced by two of the four Afghan women admitted for the 2024 cohort at Niagara University, who have been attempting to obtain U.S. visas since 2021.

Despite repeated declarations of support for Afghan women by U.S. officials, Hinkley criticized the lack of tangible action.

“The Biden administration’s policy — as enforced by the U.S. State Department’s Consular Affairs Bureau at the embassy in Islamabad — appears to be one of systematic discrimination and exclusion, denying Afghan women and girls access to educational opportunities in the U.S. on the same terms as international students from any other country in the world.”

Hundreds granted visas

In the wake of the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul has left Afghan citizens seeking U.S. consular services with limited options, often requiring them to travel to a third country, predominantly neighboring Pakistan.

However, for many, especially women without a male chaperone, the journey from Afghanistan to Pakistan is fraught with difficulties and steep costs.

In contrast to the stringent no-immigration intent requirement for U.S. student visas, several European countries have stepped up to offer refugee status to Afghan women due to the Taliban’s pervasive gender discrimination and persecution within Afghanistan.

“Being a woman from Afghanistan is in itself considered to be a sufficient basis for obtaining protection in Sweden,” Carl Bexelius, an official at the Swedish Migration Agency, said last year.

“From now on, women and girls from Afghanistan will be covered by section 7, subsection 1 of the Aliens Act. 1, (asylum) solely because of their gender,” the Danish Refugee Board said in a statement in January.

The United States has admitted tens of thousands of Afghans over the past two years, mostly individuals who worked for the U.S. military in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2001.

The number of Afghans awarded student visa has also gone up significantly. From September 2021 to September 2023, at least 700 student visas were issued to Afghan applicants compared to about 180 student visas awarded in the two preceding years, according to the Department of State.

However, the Department of State refrained from disclosing the number of rejected student visa applications, stating that publicly available data does not include a breakdown of student visa refusals or total applications by applicant country.

Those denied a visa, like Dewa, question the apparent disparity between the U.S.’s official policy of supporting Afghan women and the hurdles faced by individuals seeking education in America.

“How can the U.S. embrace Afghan men through a special immigration program, individuals with a history of violence, corruption, and failure, while rejecting girls who come to America for education?” she asked.

Female Afghan Students Decry US Visa Denial
read more

UN agency urges Pakistan to halt expelling Afghans during winter

By

  • Pakistan should halt deportations as winter may be deadly- UNHCR
  • Vulnerable Afghan individuals should be identified -UNHCR
  • Police searching homes and expelling those who remain
  • Many Afghans go underground, fearing danger back home

ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (Reuters) – The U.N. refugee agency on Wednesday urged Pakistan to halt deportation of undocumented Afghan refugees during the harsh winter season, as police continued to search homes and expel Afghanis who had not already left.

Islamabad last month announced it would expel over a million undocumented refugees, mostly Afghans, amid a row with Kabul over charges that it harbours anti-Pakistan militants.

Over 370,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan since Oct. 1.

“UNHCR is calling upon the government of Pakistan to halt these mass numbers of returns during this harsh season of winter because the cold in Afghanistan is really deadly and it can take lives,” the agency’s regional spokesman, Babar Baloch, told Reuters TV in an interview.

“We’re talking about desperate women, children and men being on the move, leaving Pakistan in droves,” he said.

The agency has said the Afghans’ return should be voluntary and that Pakistan should identify vulnerable individuals who need international protection.

Pakistan is home to over 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom are undocumented. Many came after the Taliban retook Afghanistan in 2021, and a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion.

Pakistani police have been searching door to door in refugees settlements for those who have not left voluntarily, beginning with the port city of Karachi, where hundreds of thousands of Afghans live. Anyone remaining may be forcefully expelled.

Thousands of Afghans have gone underground in Pakistan to avoid deportation, fearing for their lives if they return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan following the hasty and chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led western forces in 2021.

Islamabad has thus far not entertained calls by international organizations and refugee agencies to reconsider its deportation plans.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has admitted a petition filed by rights activists seeking to halt the deportation, which is yet to be taken up for a hearing, a court order issued on Wednesday said.

Reporting by Asif Shahzad Editing by Bernadette Baum

UN agency urges Pakistan to halt expelling Afghans during winter
read more

‘What’s wrong?’: The silence of Pakistanis on expulsion of Afghan refugees

By

Al Jazeera

Islamabad, Pakistan – They were a common sight across major Pakistani cities, performing low-paying wage work – loading goods at markets, pushing carts on streets to sell fruits and vegetables, or picking trash.

But since the beginning of the month, those Afghans have been missing from public view after the Pakistan government ordered a crackdown on undocumented refugees and migrants, nearly 1.7 million of them from the neighbouring country.

Air conditioner technician Raza Ali, who works in a major electronics market in Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city in the eastern Punjab province, told Al Jazeera he was “not friends with them, but they were always around”.

“But since the government started its crackdown, they just vanished. It could be good for us because now our people can do their jobs,” the 31-year-old told Al Jazeera.

“Look, they were not from here. If the government is sending them back to their own country, what is wrong with that? I think this is the right decision. Besides, I did not know them. It does not make any difference to my life,” he added nonchalantly.

Ali’s sentiments perhaps explain the muted response of common Pakistanis to the expulsion of the Afghan refugees, many of whom were born in Pakistan and had never seen Afghanistan.

The Afghan migration to Pakistan began in the late 1970s after the Soviets invaded their country. Then, the Afghans came in more waves after the United States attacked Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the more recent Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021.

The Pakistani government, whose expulsion campaign began on November 1, says 1.7 million of nearly 4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan were undocumented. Islamabad blames the refugees for a recent spike in attacks by armed groups, most of them carried out by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as Pakistani Taliban because of its ideological affinity with the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan’s caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, the top government official supervising the expulsion drive, last month alleged that 14 out of 24 suicide bombings in the country this year were carried out by Afghan nationals.

Last week, he told the parliament more than 300,000 Afghans left the country this month, despite criticism from the United Nations and rights groups over forcibly driving the refugees and migrants away.

But there is no visible outrage over the move within Pakistan – a silence being contrasted by their anger over Israel’s forced displacement – and what many experts call a genocide – of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

‘Great deal of racism’

Gallup Pakistan, in a survey conducted in the first week of November, found that 84 percent of respondents “strongly approved” the government’s move to expel the “illegal” refugees and migrants, mainly from Afghanistan.

Moreover, an overwhelming 64 percent of the respondents said the repatriation of the Afghans would lead to improved security and peace in Pakistan.

Muhammed Rehan, a bookshop owner in Karachi, the country’s largest city and a refuge for tens of thousands of Afghans, said while the government decision may have been guided by the “frustration” over its inability to control the increasing violence, he agreed with the reasoning of their expulsion.

“The decision to repatriate undocumented people is the correct one. There are a lot of criminal elements among them, and police must take care that they only arrest those who are without papers or those who have committed any crime,” he told Al Jazeera.

“These Afghan families also impacted the rental market in Islamabad, making it difficult for the locals to acquire property,” he told Al Jazeera.

But Pakistani sociologist Nida Kirmani believes there is a “great deal of racism” against the Afghans in Pakistan, which she says is due to years of “state-sponsored brainwashing” that framed the Afghans as enemies.

Kirmani, associate professor of sociology at Lahore University of Management Science, told Al Jazeera the Pakistani state portrays the Afghans as “terrorists”, even when the state apparatus itself was central to the growth of groups such as the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“Many people here have bought into these narratives. Plus, at times of economic insecurity and upheaval, we often see a rise in xenophobic discourses and movements. The current scenario is part of this general trend, and Afghans become easy scapegoats,” she said.

Karachi-based lawyer Sara Malkani claims there was “some resistance” by the civil society groups to the government’s decision. One reason for the muted public outrage, she said, could be because of the fears of state suppressing mass anti-government protests.

“There is public sympathy in some quarters, and there are activists who are trying to demand the government should bring more transparency in the [expulsion] processes, but there is a need to educate people on why Afghans chose to escape Afghanistan and what role did the Pakistani state play in perpetuating the conditions in Afghanistan,” she told Al Jazeera.

Malkani said it is important to change the public perception within Pakistan about the Afghans, who are going back to a country impoverished by decades of conflict and which is now facing a political and humanitarian crisis.

“Under the current Taliban government, we are already seeing widespread gender apartheid, with girls denied the right to education and women denied the right to employment and mobility. It is unconscionable to forcibly deport them [to face these problems],” she said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
‘What’s wrong?’: The silence of Pakistanis on expulsion of Afghan refugees
read more

The Afghan Embassy says it’s permanently closing in New Delhi over challenges from India

Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Afghan Embassy in New Delhi is permanently closed, it announced Friday, due to challenges from the Indian government and a lack of diplomatic support.

In a press release, it said the decision was already effective from Thursday and follows the embassy’s earlier move to cease operations starting Oct. 1 due to the absence of a recognized government in Kabul. At the time, it had said it would continue to provide emergency consular services to Afghan nationals.

The embassy said the earlier decision was made “in the hope that the Indian government’s stance would evolve favorably for the normal continuation of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi.”

But in the eight weeks since, the embassy faced a difficult choice due to “constant pressure from both the Taliban and the Indian government to relinquish control.”

There was no immediate comment by India’s External Affairs Ministry.

India has not recognized the Taliban government — which seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 — and evacuated its own staff from Kabul ahead of the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan two years ago. India no longer has a diplomatic presence there. India has said it will follow the lead of the United Nations in deciding whether to recognize the Taliban government.

The Afghan Embassy in New Delhi was run by staff appointed by the previous government of ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, with permission from Indian authorities.

In its statement Friday, the mission said there are no diplomats from the Afghan Republic in India, and that those who served the embassy have safely reached third countries.

“The only individuals present in India are diplomats affiliated with the Taliban,” it said, adding that the mission has been handed over to the Indian government.

“It now rests upon the Indian government to decide the fate of the mission, whether to maintain its closure or consider alternatives, including the possibility of handing it over to Taliban ‘diplomats,’” it said.

The U.N. refugee agency says Afghans account for around one-third of the nearly 40,000 refugees it has registered in India, which doesn’t include those registered through other agencies.

The Afghan embassy said the community in India has significantly declined over the past two years, with refugees, students and others leaving the country. The number has nearly halved since August 2021, and very limited visas were issued during this period, it said.

In 2022, India sent Afghanistan relief materials, including wheat, medicine, COVID-19 vaccines and winter clothes, to help with shortages in an already war-devastated Afghan economy that was on the verge of collapse.

 

The Afghan Embassy says it’s permanently closing in New Delhi over challenges from India
read more

108 Cases of Violence Against Journalists in 2023 in Afghanistan: Watchdog

The head of NAI, Zarif Karimi, said that the cases include arrests, harassment and humiliation of journalists by the security forces.

NAI, a media-supporting organization in Afghanistan, said that nearly 110 cases of violence against journalists have been recorded in 2023 in Afghanistan.

The head of NAI, Zarif Karimi, said that the cases include arrests, harassment and humiliation of journalists by the security forces.

“Our reports show that we have recorded 108 cases of violence against journalists, which includes various cases including beating, arrest, humiliation and insult and other unlawful action against the  journalist,” he said.

This comes as the Afghanistan Journalists Center reported that from March 21 to November 17, 2023, at least 13 directives concerning the media have been issued, exceeding the limited adjustments proposed by the Islamic Emirate in the country’s media laws.

Journalists and media organizations continue to face repercussions based on these directives, they reported.

“The Afghanistan Journalists Center documented a total of 75 incidents violating media freedom in the first six months of the ongoing solar year,” AFJC said. “These incidents involved 33 arrests and 42 instances of threats against journalists and media personnel.”

“The situation of the media family is concerning and we will not have a good future. So we call for early implementation of media law,” said Masror Lutfi, head of the Union of Journalists of Afghanistan.

The journalists, who were interviewed by TOLOnews, called on the Islamic Emirate to support the Afghan media.

“The media family and the journalists call on the government to accept freedom of speech meaningfully,” said Zabiullah Sharifi, a journalist.

“We call on the government to be cooperative with the media and solve the challenges ahead of the media,” said Islamuddin Ahmadi, a journalist.

But the Islamic Emirate’s deputy spokesman, Bilal Karimi, told TOLOnews that he cannot confirm the figures provided by the media watchdogs about the situation in Afghanistan.

“We cannot confirm these figures but the Islamic Emirate supports the media within Islamic law and the interest of the country,” he said.

The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that the media law has been prepared and sent to the office of the supreme leader, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akunhdzada.

108 Cases of Violence Against Journalists in 2023 in Afghanistan: Watchdog
read more

If Govt is Recognized, Kabul Will Adopt Intl Norms in Line With Sharia

However, he stressed even if the Islamic Emirate is recognized, the issues which are against the Islamic rules will not be accepted.

The Islamic Emirate’s Spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said that they are not obliged to adhere to the UN laws unless their government is recognized by the United Nations members.

This comes as November 19 is the 77th anniversary of Afghanistan’s joining the UN.

However, he stressed even if the Islamic Emirate is recognized, the issues which are against the Islamic rules will not be accepted.

“The Islamic Emirate has not yet been recognized. So we have no obligation towards it. Whenever we are recognized, we will accept all of the norms and laws which are not against Islamic Sharia,” Mujahid said.

He also stressed the need for the presence of an Islamic Emirate representative in the UN.

“We should have the membership as do many other countries. The rights of the people of Afghanistan in the UN should be given,” he said.

Meanwhile, the permanent representative of Afghanistan to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Nasir Ahmad Andisha, said that the UN plays an important role in Afghanistan.

“The only important mission in Afghanistan currently is the UN. However, the activity of this organization has been limited to provision of humanitarian assistance, but it has an important role as a major international organization,” he said.

“It is time for Afghanistan to use a logical policy and engage with the international community and become an important member of the UN,” said Sayed Jawad Sijadi, a political analyst.

Hossein Azizi, a minister, on behalf of Afghanistan, signed the convention of the UN in 1964 in the US.

If Govt is Recognized, Kabul Will Adopt Intl Norms in Line With Sharia
read more

More than 400,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan following crackdown on migrants

BY MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — More than 400,000 Afghans returned to their home country following the ongoing crackdown on illegal foreigners in the country, Pakistani authorities said Monday.

Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, confirmed the number and told The Associated Press that the majority have been using the border crossings of Torkham and Spin Boldak to return home.

An estimated 1.7 million Afghans had been living in Pakistan when authorities announced its nationwide crackdown, saying that anyone without proper documents had to leave the country by October 31 or else get arrested.

However, Pakistani officials said the other 1.4 million Afghans registered as refugees need not worry as only people without proper documentation were sought after.

In the 1980s, millions of Afghans fled to neighboring Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of their country. The numbers witnessed a spike after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

Pakistan also introduced plans under which hundreds of thousands of residents in the southwestern border town of Chaman would need visas to cross between the two countries. They previously had special permits.

On Monday, hundreds briefly blocked a key road leading to the Chaman border, disrupting traffic and the repatriation of some of the Afghans.

Residents in Chaman have been protesting repeatedly, asking Pakistan to allow them to continue using the special permits for business purposes and to meet with relatives who live in the Afghan border city of Spin Boldak.

Since November 1, police in Pakistan have been going door-to-door to check migrants’ documentation. Pakistani officials had said before that the crackdown involves all foreigners in the country, but most of those affected are Afghan nationals.

The latest development comes days after the World Health Organization warned that about 1.3 million Afghans were expected to return to their country of origin from Pakistan despite the onset of cold weather. Such expulsions have drawn widespread criticism from international and domestic human rights groups.

The Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan said it was providing shelter and food to returnees.

 

More than 400,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan following crackdown on migrants
read more

Reactions to Food And Drug Official’s Trip to Europe

The Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that Abdul Bari Omar was invited to the Netherlands on an official visit.

After the reaction of the head of the Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority’s trip to Germany and his speech among Afghan immigrants in this country, the Islamic Emirate said that Abdul Bari Omar went to the Netherlands based on an official invitation.

The Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that Abdul Bari Omar was invited to the Netherlands on an official visit.

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate emphasized that this trip was not illegal and Omar was able to travel to Germany and several other European countries with a Dutch visa.

“The fact that some issues have been raised by the protest parties in Germany is related to the country and its people, but the travel was legal, the professor was also legal, and there was nothing that could be considered a violation,” Zabihullah Mujahid said.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany on X expressed its lack of news about the visit and speech of this official of the Islamic Emirate in the city of Cologne, and condemned the visit of the head of AFDA and said that this country will not normalize relations with the Taliban until they respect human rights, especially the rights of women and girls.

The German Foreign Office wrote on X: “We strongly condemn the appearance of Taliban representative Abdul Bari Omar in Cologne. No visa was issued by one of our visa offices for the personal data we have. We are examining further measures in close cooperation with the internal authorities and partners.

The trip was not announced to us. We do not recognize the Taliban. As long as the Taliban in Afghanistan blatantly trample on human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, there will be no normalization with the Taliban regime.”

Analysts considered why this trip and the speech of this official of the Islamic Emirate have met with reactions among the Afghan immigrants in Germany.

“In order to free themselves from some pressure, they make such a statement. How is it possible for someone to enter a European country like Germany, which has strong intelligence?” said Hassan Haqyar, political analyst.

“They did not clarify this issue because they have a semi-official relationship with the current government and he was invited officially,” said Hewad Zazai, political analyst.

The head of AFDA was invited to the Netherlands on the (6th November) in an official trip to participate in the 2nd World Local Production Forum, and after that he has also traveled to Belgium, Slovakia and Germany

Reactions to Food And Drug Official’s Trip to Europe
read more

Sharia Punishment Does Not Violate Human Rights: Supreme Court Official

The gathering was held under the title of “implementation of Sharia Hudod and its role in society.”

An official of the Supreme Court said that the implementation of Sharia Hudod (rules of punishment) are not against human rights or violate freedom.

Speaking at a gathering held in the Academy of Science of Afghanistan, head of the Darul Iftah (a decision-making entity within the Supreme Court), Azizullah Mutaheri, said that the implementation of Sharia Hudod has its certain conditions.

“What is the biggest wisdom of Qisas (retribution)? When someone kills someone, if the Qisas is implemented, it becomes a message to others,” he said.

“The fundamental issue is justice… The Sharia Hudod should be implemented. Conditions are important to be paved for Sharia Hudod,” said Mohammad Sharif Rahmani, head of the appeals court.

The gathering was held under the title of “implementation of Sharia Hudod and its role in society.”

The deputy head of the Academy of Science, Amir Jan Saqib, said that with implementation of the Sharia law in the country, justice will be paved.

“The developed countries around the world don’t have good security because of the lack of Sharia Hudod, but in the countries where there is an Islamic government, there is security,” he said.

An official of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, Mohammad Yahya, said that the implementation of Sharia Hudod will improve the security of the country as well.

“The Sharia Hudod is being implemented on the people who are threatening the security of the society,” he said.

This comes as many international human rights groups have repeatedly voiced concerns over the violation of human rights in Afghanistan.

Sharia Punishment Does Not Violate Human Rights: Supreme Court Official
read more