Teacher Training Center Shut Down by Islamic Emirate

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
read more

US aid policies undermined success of Afghanistan mission, says watchdog chief

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.

“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.

Sopko was speaking on Monday at the conference in London, where UK and US aid watchdogs shared their perspectives on why the billions spent in Afghanistan had ended with the Taliban capturing the country so easily.

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.

The UN estimates that 28.8 million people in Afghanistan currently require humanitarian aid and is seeking $3.2bn to address the crisis this year.

US aid policies undermined success of Afghanistan mission, says watchdog chief
read more

Sopko Said Corruption ‘Undermined’ Foreign Effort in Afghanistan

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
read more

Kabul Suspends Swedish Institutions in Afghanistan Over Quran Burning

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
read more

Guterres: Let’s Stand with Women, Girls Fighting For Their Rights

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
read more

No discrimination in Islamic Emirate: Prime Minister

Kabul Times

 

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
read more

Aid group says 2 children died as families fled Taliban demolition of their Kabul shantytown

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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
read more

Journalists: Access Restricted to Timely Information From Interim Govt

However, the Ministry of Information and Culture said that the Islamic Emirate is committed to providing information to journalists.

Journalists complained about the lack of access to information, saying that the Islamic Emirate’s spokespersons are not providing information to them on time.

“When we want to contact the spokesperson, they first do not answer and if they answer they say that they are not aware about it. Thus, they don’t provide information,” said Toba, a journalist.

“We say to the Islamic Emirate that we face serious problems when we don’t have access to information to convey it to the people,” said Samiha, a journalist.

This comes as the head of the Afghanistan National Journalists Union (ANJU), Masroor Lutfi, confirmed the challenges faced by journalists seeking access to information.

“If there is no serious attention paid to this, providing information to the people will be face serious problems,” he said.

However, the Ministry of Information and Culture said that the Islamic Emirate is committed to providng information to journalists.

“All of the governmental institutions and spokespersons are obliged to provide information on time and if there is any issue, if the spokespersons don’t provide information to the officials, the journalists can refer to the Ministry of Information and Culture,” said Mahajar Farahi, deputy Minister of Publication of the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Culture said that the mass media law and issue of access to information have been sent to the leadership of the Islamic Emirate for approval.

Journalists: Access Restricted to Timely Information From Interim Govt
read more

Islamic Emirate Urges Intl Community to Remove Sanctions

With the Islamic Emirate taking over Afghanistan on August 15th, 2021, the Afghan assets in foreign reserves were frozen.

The Islamic Emirate has once again called on the international community to remove sanctions, saying that it is needed to facilitate engagement between the Islamic Emirate and the international community.

With the Islamic Emirate taking over Afghanistan on August 15th, 2021, the Afghan assets in foreign reserves were frozen.

In August 2022, the UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement on whether to extend travel exemptions for 13 Taliban officials.

According to TOLOnews findings:

–          More than $9 billion in assets were frozen by the US and European countries.

–          Restrictions were placed on the banking system and transfering money abroad.

–          Travel bans were placed on 15 Islamic Emirate officials.

Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that restrictions on traveling by Islamic Emirate’s leaders does not benefit any side.

“About 14 to 15 officials have issues with traveling. It (travel ban) existed previously but it has been extended. This doesn’t benefit any side as the travels of the leaders are necessary for engagement with the world and development of Afghanistan,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy (MoE) said that the imposed sanctions by the international community are affecting the life of the people of Afghanistan.

“The imposition of pressure policy and sanctions by some of the countries has affected our countrymen,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy Minister of Economy.

But political analysts gave various opinions about the sanctions on the Islamic Emirate’s leaders.

“If the Taliban wants, they can bring reform as an independent government and accept the conditions to get out of the blacklist and travel bans,” said Aziz Maarij, a political analyst.

“The Afghan currency is in a good position due to the strategic deposits of Afghanistan’s assets which guarantees the international value of the Afghan currency, although it is frozen,” said Azeraksh Hafizi, an economist.

Islamic Emirate Urges Intl Community to Remove Sanctions
read more

An Afghan man who spent years helping US forces in Afghanistan is shot and killed in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — At 31 years old, Nasrat Ahmad Yar had spent most of his adult life working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan before escaping to America in search of a better life for his wife and four children.

He found work as a ride-share driver and even managed to send money back to Afghanistan to help family and friends. He liked to play volleyball with friends in the Washington suburb where many Afghans who fled their country now live. At 6-feet-5 inches, he had a powerful serve.

Last Monday night, worried about making rent, he went out driving and was shot and killed in Washington. No suspects have been arrested, but surveillance video captured the sound of a single gunshot and four boys or young men were seen running away. Police have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Jeramie Malone, an American who came to know Ahmed Yar through her volunteer work with a veteran-founded organization bringing former Afghan interpreters to safety, also was struck by his generosity.

“He always wanted to be giving more than he was receiving and he was just really extremely kind.” In America, Malone said, “all he wanted was a chance.”

Afghans and U.S. military veterans gathered for a funeral service Saturday at the All Muslim Association of America in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Family and friends comforted Ahmad Yar’s children and wife as his casket was lowered into the ground with ropes and people used shovels to toss soil on top.

One of those in attendance was Matthew Butler, now retired from the military who met Ahmad Yar in 2009 at Bagram Airfield, then an American base north of Kabul, the Afghan capital. Ahmad Yar was his primary interpreter for two tours in the country.

Butler said Ahmad Yar was like a brother or a son to him, and he noted the military’s commitment to leaving no one behind — something he said now extends to Ahmad Yar’s wife.

“I pledged my support to his wife and his children, and said just because Nasrat is gone doesn’t mean my support to you is gone. I won’t leave you behind,” Butler said after the ceremony.

Amini said Ahmad Yar had worked for the U.S. military for about a decade as an interpreter and doing other jobs, seeing it as a way to help pave the way for the next generation in Afghanistan to have a better life.

While the U.S. has had a Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans who worked closely with the U.S. government to come to America since 2009, Amini said his friend didn’t want to apply right away, preferring to stay in Afghanistan, where he felt needed.

He remembered Ahmad Yar saying: “I have guys here I need to support. … When I feel that they don’t need my support then I can go to America.”

Then, in August 2021, the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban took over.

Mohammad Ahmadi, Ahmad Yar’s cousin, was already in America after also working for the U.S. military. The two talked on the phone about how to get Ahmad Yar and his family out of Afghanistan. Ahmadi said his cousin could see the Taliban soldiers walking through the streets of Kabul and was worried they would discover he’d been an interpreter for the U.S. military.

“He said, ‘I don’t want to get killed in front of my wife and kids,’” Ahmadi said.

When he wasn’t able to get out of the crowded Kabul airport, Ahmad Yar went to northern Afghanistan in hopes of getting into Uzbekistan. When that didn’t work, he and his family went to the northwestern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, where he and his family were able to get on a flight to the United Arab Emirates and then eventually travel to America.

Even when laying low in Mazar-e-Sharif, Nasrat would go out of his way to assist other Afghans who also had come to escape the Taliban — greeting them on arrival to the strange city, bringing their families to stay with his, and feeding them, while all waited for flights out, Malone said.

“Nasrat was very different, because even though he was needing help, he was always helping me,” she said.

While waiting at the interim transit camp in the United Arab Emirates, he asked for writing supplies for the children so he could teach them English before they arrived in the U.S., Malone said. “It was really important for him for his kids to get an education and for them to … have opportunities they never would have had in Afghanistan.”

His eldest child, a girl, is now 13, and the others are boys, ages 11, 8 and just 15 months old.

The family went first to Pennsylvania, but Amini said his friend was robbed there and decided to move to Alexandria, in northern Virginia. Amini said Ahmad Yar told him he’d fled to the U.S. “to be safe and unfortunately I’m not safe here.”

In northern Virginia, they both ended up being ride-share drivers and lived about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from each other. Like many in the Afghan diaspora there, they chatted throughout the day in a WhatsApp group text. And they played in a weekly volleyball game. Ahmad Yar was really good and no one could block his serve, Amini said.

Amini said they spoke Monday evening and the next thing he knew he was woken up by another Afghan friend who had somehow heard that Ahmad Yar had been killed.

In disbelief, Amini began frantically calling his friend. But it was the police who finally answered the phone: “The police officer said: ‘I’m sorry. Unfortunately he’s not alive anymore.’”

The police said in their report that they responded to a call about an unconscious person and found Ahmad Yar’s body. They rushed him to the hospital, where he was declared dead. On the surveillance video they released, one of the four suspected attackers shouted, “You just killed him.” Another answered, “He was reaching, bro.”

Washington has struggled to handle steadily rising crime rates, with murders and carjackings mostly to blame. Homicides are up 14% compared with this time last year. Early Wednesday, nine people enjoying the Independence Day festivities were shot and wounded, police said.

His wife is still in shock, said Ahmad Yar’s cousin, Ahmadi. But she said she and her husband had the same goal in coming to America — to provide a future for their children.

She told Ahmadi: “I have the same goal for them. They can go to school. They can go to college and become educated and good people for the society.”__

Associated Press videojournalist Serkan Gurbuz in Fredericksburg, Virginia, contributed to this report.

 

An Afghan man who spent years helping US forces in Afghanistan is shot and killed in Washington
read more