“This is the fact that we never permit anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against other countries,” said Mujahid.
Pakistani military personnel are claiming that Afghanistan is a safe place for TTP and other terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis.
Inter-Services Public Relations Pakistan in a statement said that yesterday General Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, during a visit with injured soldiers of the recent terrorist attack in Zhob, briefed that “the involvement of Afghan nationals in acts of terrorism in Pakistan is another important concern that needs to be addressed. Such attacks are intolerable and would elicit an effective response from the Security Forces of Pakistan.”
General Syed Asim Munir, expressed “serious concerns” and claimed that “safe havens and liberty of action were available to TTP in Afghanistan.”
Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s defense minister, also tweeted that Afghanistan is not fulfilling obligations as a neighbor and brother country and is not abiding by the Doha agreement.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed that the terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis can find refuge on Afghan soil.
This comes as nine soldiers died after militants stormed an army base in Pakistan’s southern Balochistan province, and three more were killed in an exchange of fire in the area on Wednesday.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, in reaction to recent remarks of Pakistani military officials said that Afghan soil will not be used against other countries, particularly neighbors.
“This is the fact that we never permit anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against other countries,” said Mujahid.
Afghans fleeing deteriorating economic and humanitarian conditions find themselves with few pathways to seek refuge.
The immigration detention centre was packed. There were more than 100 people in a single room meant to accommodate less than 20.
A, an Afghan man who asked that his name be withheld, had come to the United States with his wife to seek safety. But as they experienced their first few days on US soil, a different reality sank in: one in which their future was all but certain.
“We thought our problems had been solved, that we had escaped the risk of prison and torture in Afghanistan,” he said. “We didn’t know that this was what awaited us in the United States.”
A has spent the last six months in that detention centre, stuck in a limbo that awaits many Afghan asylum seekers arriving at the US-Mexico border after the Taliban takeover of their country.
With limited options for legal immigration, thousands of Afghans like A have resorted to desperate measures, embarking on dangerous trips to enter the country irregularly. And like A, many have found themselves swept up in the US immigration detention system, faced with possible expulsion.
“Nobody would take these risks unless they had to,” said Laila Ayub, a lawyer with the US-based Afghan and immigrant rights group Project ANAR who is representing A. “It is 100-percent related to the fact that there are no accessible pathways to the US.”
A dangerous trek
A and his wife have strong ties to the US. Both worked with the US-backed government in Afghanistan in areas like security and human rights.
But that history made them and others a target for potential reprisals under the Taliban, which swept into Kabul in August 2021, after the US withdrawal.
Previously, the US had toppled the Taliban government when it invaded Afghanistan in 2001, and it continued to fight the group during its two-decade occupation.
When the Taliban returned to power, A and his wife felt vulnerable. They sold their possessions and left,with the US-Mexico border as their destination.
The journey, however, took them across thousands of miles and more than a dozen countries. First arriving in South America, they joined the train of migrants and asylum seekers travelling north through Central America, a dangerous trek across tangled rainforests and steep mountains.
“When we were walking through the jungle I never felt tired, because I was hopeful that our situation would improve when we reached the United States,” A said in a phone call with Al Jazeera.
But the hazards went beyond the physical terrain. Criminal groups and abusive authorities along the way often prey on migrants and asylum seekers, who face high rates of theft and sexual assault.
A says he was robbed on the trip, losing his passport as well as his money and electronic devices.
Restricted pathways
Stories like A’s have become increasingly common, as Afghans are stuck between perilous conditions in their home country and a restrictive path to refuge in the United States.
“Every family we come across expresses concerns about their loved ones back home and are seeking lawful pathways to find a way to the US,” said Zuhal Bahaduri, who works with resettled Afghan families in California with the group the 5ive Pillars Organization.
“But with the US’s broken immigration system and closed border policies towards their own allies, it draws a lot of concern. They are in limbo here and in Afghanistan. We’ve left our allies in limbo.”
Initially, when the US-backed government in Afghanistan collapsed in August 2021, nearly 90,000 Afghans were brought to the US through a mechanism known as humanitarian parole in an effort called Operation Allies Welcome. But Afghans who were not able to secure passage out of the country during the messy US withdrawal have largely been shut out.
Of more than 66,000 Afghans who have sought humanitarian parole since July 2021, fewer than 8,000 had their applications processed, according to an investigation last year from the news outlet Reveal. The success rate was even narrower, with only 123 applications granted.
Other programmes such as the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), set up for Afghans who worked with the US, are backlogged. Wait times can last years, and more than 62,000 completed applications were pending as of January.
Critics say these pathways are too modest to address the needs of the Afghan people, many of whom face heightened dangers because of their association with the US. The US occupation, they add, contributed to decades of violence and instability in Afghanistan.
“It is deeply frustrating to see the United States walk away from its moral obligations to provide these folks refuge,” the US-based diaspora group Afghans for a Better Tomorrow told Al Jazeera in a statement, “when it’s responsible for the harm it caused in Afghanistan.”
‘Treated like criminals’
When A and his wife finally arrived at the US-Mexico border in December, they were not prepared for the experience of being held in US detention centres.
“The floors were concrete and the room was packed. We couldn’t sleep for days,” said A. “There was no room to stand, and the guards cursed at us.”
A credits his stay with worsening his respiratory issues and high blood pressure. He recalled the humiliation he felt being shackled for three days as he was transferred from one facility to another.
“The Americans worked with us. We thought they respected us,” he said. “Now this is the situation I’m in.”
Another Afghan man, who also spoke with Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity and will be referred to as Akbar, echoed that feeling of disillusionment.
Akbar said his family spent years working with the assistance agency USAID on construction projects in Afghanistan, some of which came under attack by the Taliban. Now, one of his brothers is being held in an immigration detention centre, which Akbar likened to a “jailhouse”. “My brother tried to work with the US to improve his country, and now he’s being held in jail,” Akbar told Al Jazeera over a phone call. He explained his brother’s wife and children were released by immigration authorities, who dropped them off in the streets of an unfamiliar city with no money or information.
They are now staying in a shelter in New York City, where Akbar said that they are racked with anxiety as they navigate life in a new country without their husband and father.
Akbar himself passed through a detention centre, but he was released with his wife and children after about nine days. “We thought we were coming to a humane society,” he added. “But we have been treated like criminals and animals.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from Al Jazeera regarding the continued detention of A and Akbar’s brother.
A’s wife, however, was released shortly after her initial detention. Their separation weighs heavily on A’s mind. “The responsibility of her happiness is on me,” he said. “I brought her here, and now I can’t even look after her health.”
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
‘Like a jailhouse’: Afghans languish in US detention centres
The Afghanistan Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock said that farmers and ranchers in Afghanistan need more help.
The EU in Afghanistan said in a statement that the European Union provided more than €5.7 million in livelihood support to the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan to improve the lives of 350,000 vulnerable Afghan families in 16 provinces.
The EU added that this will improve food security, strengthen community resilience and support rural communities in transitioning from aid dependency towards self-sufficiency.
“We ensure that 350,000 households will be more food secure and less dependent on international aid assistance”, said Raffaella Lodice, the EU Chargée d’Affaires to Afghanistan.
At the same time, some livestock farmers consider droughts and economic problems to be the most important challenges facing them.
“We bought it 5 and 6,000 Afghani and now we sold it for 3,000 Afghani, it is a drought, there is no straw, there is no grass,” said Abdul Shokor, a livestock breeder.
“There is nothing in the plain, and we have nothing to give to the animals. That’s why we bring the animals to the market to sell,” said Ezatullah, a farmer.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock said that farmers and ranchers in Afghanistan need more help.
“Our farmers can raise livestock well. The same money that the EU has contributed is a good opportunity in the livestock sector, said Merwis Hajizada, deputy of the Afghanistan Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.
At the same time, the Ministry of the Economic said that 46 foreign organizations have activities in the agriculture sector in the country.
“46 foreign institutions and 73 domestic institutions are active in the agriculture sector, which implemented 544 projects in the field of agriculture and irrigation in the country during the Islamic Emirate period and have provided work for 4,013 people,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, the deputy minister of Economy.
“Security is more secure in the country now than at any other time, in remote areas, and “helping institutions” can help and continue their activities for farmers.
Earlier, the World Food Program said in a report that due to droughts and the invasion of locusts, wheat production will decrease by 30-35% in 2023.
EU Allocates 5.7M Euro to Dutch Committee to Support Afghans
They expressed their concerns and urged the Islamic Emirate to review its decision.
Instructors who were interviewed by TOLOnews confirmed that “Teacher Training Centers” have been dissolved.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) in a letter which was released 6 days ago said that the instructors and employees of Teacher Training Centers will be recruited to fill vacancies of schools, Darul-Uloom and seminaries.
Some of the instructors of Teacher Training Centers told TOLOnews that the centers were dissolved based on the decree outlined in the letter.
They expressed their concerns and urged the Islamic Emirate to review its decision.
“In a letter, a special guideline, unfortunately, an educational entity, an administration of the Ministry of Education, a backbone of the society, has been demolished,” said Hamid Ahmadzada, an instructor of Parwan Darul-Mualimeen.
The instructors of these centers said that more than 4,000 academic figures working in the Teacher Training Centers across the country would face an uncertain future.
“The Ministry of Education on one hand claims that the school teachers are not professionals and on the other hand, it separates 4,000 academic teachers from the education (sector),” said Zabiullah Hashimi, an instructor of the Teacher Training Center in Parwan.
Despite multiple attempts, TOLOnews was unable to obtain a comment from the Ministry of Education.
“It is not wise that thousands of instructors lose their jobs and also we will face a shortage of teachers in the future,” said Farhad Ibrar, university instructor.
According to available numbers, more than 6,000 instructors and civil employees are working in “Teacher Training Centers” across the country.
Teacher Training Center Shut Down by Islamic Emirate
America’s huge, badly-coordinated and politically-driven aid programme in Afghanistan engendered the corruption that undermined its entire mission and turned Afghans away from the western coalition, according to the head of a US aid watchdog.
“We did not really understand Afghanistan or how it worked as a country,” John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (Sigar), told a conference at the defence and security thinktank the Royal United Services Institute.
“We sent so much money so quickly into so poor a country with so little oversight we were actually giving more money than the gross domestic product of Afghanistan for so many years,” Sopko said.
He said unrealistic timelines set by Washington and Brussels had “led to a desire to show success”.
“We do not want to be honest and as a result we learned how to do the wrong thing perfectly by checking boxes. We focused on inputs but never looked at the outcomes,” he said, giving the example of the US checking whether hospitals were built but not whether they were being used.
Sir Hugh Bayley, a commissioner of the UK’s Independent Commission for Aid Impact (Icai), said the west did not understand local traditions, culture or capacity. He said the UK parliament needed to end its “optimism bias” and demand the truth from aid workers on the ground.
He revealed that UK diplomats had been advocating with the US for a different political approach from about 2015, but were unable to persuade the Americans to broaden the base of a centralised Pashtun-focused Afghan government.
The UK officials were in favour of attempts to pull in people who were supportive of the Taliban but also tractable. “They regret that such steps were not taken when the UK was in a position of strength,” he said.
Conceding US dominance, Sir Hugh said one diplomat had admitted to him the UK “did not have the influence at strategic level that we sought”.
“We tolerated that because this was not the third world war, because we did not face an existential threat to western democracy and our independence,” Sir Hugh said. “The implication was that if the UK had faced such a threat, the relationship between allies would have required a more collegiate system.”
Sir Hugh said the turnover of UK military, development staff and diplomats was too fast, meaning there was little institutional memory. “Insufficient attention was paid to its locally recruited staff who spoke the languages, understood the culture and who were free to mix and mingle in the local community, and who were crucially there for a long time and had much better memories of what had been tried before.”
Nigel Thornton, a lead analyst at Icai, who has interviewed hundreds of former UK diplomats and aid workers in Afghanistan, said the UK’s aid programme was intended to build a state in the service of security.
He said the UK knows from decades of learning what an effective aid programme looks like, and it took until 2016 for the country to acknowledge that it would take decades for a viable state to be built, and this would require engagement with the Taliban to secure political legitimacy.
“It is hard to build legitimacy with people when the government is kicking down their doors at night,” he said.
The UK prioritised the transatlantic relationship rather than challenge US priorities, he added.
One lesson, he said, was to “fail faster”, look in the mirror, admit the unpalatable truths and be prepared to change quickly.
Wahid Faqiri, a political analyst, said that the US played an important role in the creation of corruption in Afghanistan.
The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko said that corruption was the greatest challenge in Afghanistan and it “undermined” the US entire mission in the country.
Speaking at an event at the Royal United Services Institute of UK, he said the US lost “a lot of money” and “not only did a lot of money and goods and services” go to “the Taliban and other insurgents” but it also “lost the morale of the Afghan people, and the Afghan government, and turned many of the Afghan people away from the coalition.”
Sopko said that Washington itself contributed to the corruption problem as it sent “so much money so quickly to poor a country with so little oversight that we actually were giving more money than a gross domestic product of Afghanistan for a number of years.”
“The United States alone were giving more than over a hundred percent of the GDP,” he said.
Political analyst Mooen Gul Samkani said: “The US is one of those countries that when it goes to a country and attacks it, major American companies join in to provide logistic and weapons support in a bid to earn more money in the initial days.”
Wahid Faqiri, a political analyst, said that the US played an important role in the creation of corruption in Afghanistan.
“During the 20 years of the US mission, it (US) had an influential role in administrative corruption and it mainly relied on corrupt people,” he said.
Sopko also underscored challenges to coordinate between the US and “50 some countries” and international organizations operating in Afghanistan.
“But equally, we had problems with 20 or 30 different US government agencies operating in Afghanistan. And that was a serious problem,” he said.
Sopko Said Corruption ‘Undermined’ Foreign Effort in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan’s 15 provinces, at least one Swedish institution operates in the fields of education, health, child welfare, or other areas.
The Islamic Emirate on Tuesday suspended all Swedish activities in Afghanistan in reaction to a Swedish citizen burning the Quran.
Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement saying that the Islamic Emirate in reaction to the burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden has stopped the activities of all institutions of this country in Afghanistan, and until this country apologizes to Muslims, its activities in Afghanistan will be stopped.
“Sweden allowed and insulted the Holy Quran; the Islamic Emirate condemns the evil and insolent acts and suspends all of Sweden’s activities in Afghanistan until Sweden begs for pardon from the Muslims,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate.
In Afghanistan’s 15 provinces, at least one Swedish institution operates in the fields of education, health, child welfare, or other areas.
“As a Muslim nation, it can respond and continue to condemn these actions in a way that does not harm Afghanistan itself and the Afghan nation,” said Aziz Marij, a political analyst.
“Governments are aware that the Swedish government was not engaged; for example, Erdogan met with the Swedish Chancellor yesterday. In any case, it’s possible that the Norwegian or Danish committees will take over the Swedish committee’s operations,” said Tariq Farhadi, another political analyst.
Meanwhile, some local officials and residents of Mazar-e-Sharif at a gathering condemned the burning of the Quran in Sweden.
“Islam is alive throughout the world, and they cannot put Islam out by burning a holy Quran,” said Hekmatullah Obaid, a religious cleric.
Clerics shared their views:
“Islamic countries have the right to take any appropriate measures to prevent the repetition of these criminal acts and to protect the sanctity…,” said Fazl Hadi Wazin, a religious cleric.
This comes as two weeks ago an Iraq-born Swedish citizen tore a copy of the Quran and lit it on fire outside the Stockholm Central Mosque.
The act was condemned by other nations throughout the world, including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Morocco.
The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan addressed the issue in a statement:
“The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, SCA, is seeking dialogue with the de facto authorities of Afghanistan to clarify if the directive of July 11 to suspend all Sweden’s activities in Afghanistan will affect our organization,” the SCA said in a statement.
According to the statement, the SCA is not a Swedish government entity, SCA is independent and impartial in relation to all political stakeholders and states and is funded by a broad range of donors.
“SCA strongly condemns all acts of desecration of the Holy Quran, as we do any attempt to create conflict or hostility between people based on religious belief, ethnicity, nationality, or any other division,” the statement reads.
Kabul Suspends Swedish Institutions in Afghanistan Over Quran Burning
In the meantime, some residents of the Kabul said that they do not have access to social services in the current situation.
On World Population Day, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized the need to support the rights of women and girls in the world.
On Twitter Guterres asked the world to stand by the women who are fighting for their rights.
“Gender-based discrimination harms everyone – women, girls, men, and boys. Investing in women uplifts all people, communities, and countries. On World Population Day and every day, let’s stand with women and girls fighting for their rights,” he tweeted.
In the meantime, some residents of the Kabul said that they do not have access to social services in the current situation.
“There is no electricity at all in some Afghan provinces and villages. No water is available, and there are no medical facilities,” sai Fazl Rahman, a resident of Kabul.
“The population has grown. The weather has warmed up and that there is a lot of waste that spreads numerous diseases,” Mansour, a resident of Kabul, told TOLOnews.
World Population Day, observed on July 11, aims to raise awareness about global population issues and their impact on society.
“Population growth has various consequences. One is that it has environmental consequences; as the population grows, environmental problems in the communities increase, and on the other hand, it has consequences affecting other economic and social problems,” said Mohammad Baqer Mohseni, a university lecturer.
Even though the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) has not released updated population numbers, according to official sources, the country’s population exceeded 34 million in the solar year 1401.
Guterres: Let’s Stand with Women, Girls Fighting For Their Rights
KABUL: Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate for Political Affairs Mawlavi Abdul Kabir met with a number of religious scholars, youths and influential figures of the country’s central province of Maidan Wardak, his office said in a statement Monday. In the meeting, Mawlavi Kabir said that the current system has risen from the heart of the society, all Afghans have equal rights and discrimination has no place in the Islamic system, according to the statement.
Expressing the pleasure over the re-establishment of the Islamic system, the elders said that after decades for the first time the real representatives of the nation took the country’s affairs and this was as a result of efforts and sacrifices of the people, according to the statement. Also, they assured of their full support to the Islamic Emirate as well as assured of any necessary cooperation with the current system, the statement added. They shared problems related to their province with the PM Kabir, asking for the implementation of the development projects and distribution of electricity in their province.
Meanwhile, Deputy PM appreciated their sacrifices and efforts for supporting the Islamic Emirate and taking constructive and active part in Jihad and assured that special attention will be paid to address their challenges, the statement added. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is a common home for all Afghans and all officials are ready to honestly serve for the war-affected people and country,” the statement quoted the deputy PM Kabir as saying. The Kabul Times
No discrimination in Islamic Emirate: Prime Minister
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Two children died as scores of Afghan families fled a Taliban demolition this week of their shantytown homes in Kabul, an international aid group said Tuesday.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said the demolition of the ramshackle settlement in the Pul-e-Shina area outside of Kabul this week left 280 families, or around 1,700 people, homeless. The group said it received reports of two children — one aged 4 and another aged 15 — dying as families evacuated their homes.
The group did not know the immediate cause of death. A spokesman for the Kabul municipality, Niamatullah Barakzai, said there were no deaths or injuries during the clearance operation.
More than 6 million people are internally displaced in Afghanistan, mostly due to decades of war. But worsening living conditions since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 — as U.S. and NATO forces were withdrawing from the country after 20 years of war — and increased economic hardship are also forcing people to move.
The economic collapse has driven large swaths of the population into poverty as the flow of foreign aid has slowed down, forcing people to seek work, shelter, and aid elsewhere.
The council urged the authorities to halt further evictions and to uphold their obligations under international law, which guarantees their rights against forced eviction.
“Internally displaced people who are living in these settlements are already on the brink of survival and struggling with the economic crisis — this raises serious concerns that evictions will exacerbate the already extreme humanitarian needs,” said Neil Turner, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s country director.
Barakzai, the Kabul official, denied houses were demolished in Pul-e-Shina. “We cleared the land that was illegally taken by people,” he said. “No one was harmed. The death of children is a lie. We have all the evidence and we will not allow anyone to illegally take an area.”
Nearly 80% of the previous, Western-backed Afghan government’s budget came from the international community. That money, now cut off, financed hospitals, schools, factories and government ministries. The pandemic, medical shortages, drought and malnutrition have made life more desperate for Afghans.
Aid group says 2 children died as families fled Taliban demolition of their Kabul shantytown
Afghanistan Peace Campaign