Ignoring Warnings, a Growing Band of Tourists Venture to Afghanistan

Ignoring Warnings, a Growing Band of Tourists Venture to Afghanistan
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Religious Scholars Voice Support for Islamic Emirate’s Window Regulations

Some of these scholars consider this decree important and effective in preventing potential harm to women.

A number of religious scholars in the country have welcomed the leader of the Islamic Emirate’s decree on regulations to prevent the construction of windows in buildings facing towards neighbors.

Some of these scholars consider this decree important and effective in preventing potential harm to women.

Haseebullah Hanafi, a religious scholar, stated: “This decree is a good initiative because in Kabul, especially in urban areas, tall buildings often cause religious and social discomfort to the people living in the lower buildings.”

Hussein, a resident of Kabul, said: “This is a very important issue, and we also request people to observe it and ensure its practical implementation.”

Previously, the leader of the Islamic Emirate issued a new decree establishing regulations to prevent the construction of windows in buildings facing neighboring homes, especially areas where women reside.
The decree was issued with the aim of “protecting privacy and preventing potential harm to women.”

According to the decree, if someone constructs a building on their property, they are not allowed to install windows facing areas or courtyards of neighboring homes where women are present.

In one part of the decree, the leader of the Islamic Emirate stated: “The builder cannot construct windows facing the neighboring house where women typically cook, where a water well exists, or where women customarily sit.”

Additionally, the decree emphasized that if a window in an existing building violates these regulations, the owner must block the view using a wall or appropriate coverings.

Another section of the decree specifies: “If someone has constructed a window facing the neighboring house, they are required to build a wall of human height or use other means to eliminate the harm to the neighbor.”

Under this decree, municipalities and relevant departments are tasked with preventing the construction of such windows in new buildings and ensuring “strict supervision” over the implementation of these regulations.

Religious Scholars Voice Support for Islamic Emirate’s Window Regulations
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Pakistan’s Rocket Attack on Afghan Mosque Kills 3 People

Some family members of the victims are calling on the international community for justice.

Residents of Dand-e-Patan district in Paktia province report that on Saturday, three people were killed and five others were injured when a rocket fired by Pakistan struck a mosque.

Some family members of the victims are calling on the international community for justice.

“Pakistan fired mortars; two of my brothers were martyred, one of our relatives was also martyred, and five people were injured,” said Akram Khan, a relative of the victims.

“They should be held accountable and provide proper answers. Civilians should not be targeted,” said Aql Khan, another family member.

“In the mosque, our civilians were martyred. There was no government or conflict here. There’s nothing in this area. They have oppressed us severely. They should be questioned, and our rights should be taken. This is a great injustice against us,” said Abdul Rahman, another family member.

Meanwhile, over a thousand residents of Dand-e-Patan district in Paktia have been displaced to safer areas following recent clashes with Pakistan.

Many residents of Alisher district in Khost province have also abandoned their homes along the Durand Line.

These displaced people claim that Pakistan frequently targets civilians during conflicts and inflicts casualties on them.

“It was one o’clock at night when Pakistan attacked. Twenty to thirty artillery shells were fired. Nomads have died, and almost a thousand families have migrated,” said Lal Mohammad, a displaced person.

“There were many problems. The sound of the artillery was terrible. Children were crying, and all the residents of Dand-e-Patan have left,” said Hukumran, another displaced individual.

Pakistan’s rocket attacks continue to claim civilian lives even as, on Saturday, the Ministry of Defense of the Islamic Emirate announced that it had targeted several locations on the other side of the Durand Line, which the ministry claimed were used to plan terrorist attacks and activities against Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Rocket Attack on Afghan Mosque Kills 3 People
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Islamic Emirate: UNSC Meetings Without Afghan Representative ‘Ineffective’

Some political analysts also stress the need for a representative of the caretaker government in such meetings.

The Islamic Emirate described the United Nations Security Council’s meetings on Afghanistan as unilateral and ineffective in the absence of a representative from the caretaker government.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, stated that until a representative of the caretaker government is able to defend its legitimate rights and demands in such meetings, they will remain ineffective.

Fitrat said: “Such UNSC meetings have been held multiple times in the past, but they have always been ineffective. As long as Afghanistan is absent from discussions about Afghanistan and cannot defend its legitimate demands, these meetings will naturally be one-sided and ineffective.”

Some political analysts also stress the need for a representative of the caretaker government in such meetings.

Additionally, some of these experts urge the Islamic Emirate to respond positively to the legitimate demands of the international community and global institutions.

“The Islamic Emirate’s demand is for Afghanistan’s seat at the United Nations to be given to the caretaker government. On the other hand, when decisions regarding Afghanistan are made there, an Afghan representative should be present,” said Sayed Ebadullah Sadiq, a political analyst.

“In general, the United Nations follows the spirit of Western countries and currently has no specific plans regarding Afghanistan,” said Aziz Maarej, another political analyst.

Meanwhile, the members of the United Nations Security Council, in a recent meeting, stressed drafting a roadmap for a political solution to achieve a stable Afghanistan, its full integration into the international community, and Afghanistan’s fulfillment of its international commitments.

In a statement, the council noted that in their recent meeting on Afghanistan, its members expressed deep concern about restrictions on women and girls, including the closure of medical institutes for girls, and called on the caretaker government to reverse these measures.

Islamic Emirate: UNSC Meetings Without Afghan Representative ‘Ineffective’
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Afghan Taliban hit ‘several points’ in Pakistan in retaliation for attacks

Al Jazeera

Afghan Taliban forces have targeted “several points” in neighbouring Pakistan, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense said, days after Pakistani aircraft carried out aerial bombardments inside the country.

The statement from the defence ministry on Saturday did not directly specify that Pakistan was hit, but said the attacks were conducted “beyond the ‘hypothetical line’” – an expression used by Afghan authorities to refer to a border with Pakistan that they have long disputed.

“Several points beyond the hypothetical line, serving as centres and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organised and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan, were targeted in retaliation from the southeastern direction of the country,” the ministry said.

Asked whether the statement referred to Pakistan, ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khowarazmi said: “We do not consider it to be the territory of Pakistan, therefore, we cannot confirm the territory, but it was on the other side of the hypothetical line.”

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Afghanistan has for decades rejected the border, known as the Durand Line, drawn by British colonial authorities in the 19th century through the mountainous and often lawless tribal belt between what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan.

No details of casualties or specific areas targeted were provided. The Pakistani military’s public relations wing and a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, a security source told the AFP news agency on Saturday that at least one Pakistani paramilitary soldier was killed and seven others wounded in cross-border exchanges of fire with Afghan forces.

Sporadic clashes, including with heavy weaponry, erupted overnight between border forces on the frontier between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan and Khost province in Afghanistan, officials from both countries said.

The incidents come after Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities accused Pakistan of killing 46 people, mainly women and children, in air strikes near the border this week.

Islamabad said it had targeted hideouts of fighters along the border, while Afghan authorities warned on Wednesday they would retaliate.

The neighbours have a strained relationship, with Pakistan saying that several attacks on its territory have been launched from Afghan soil – a charge the Afghan Taliban denies.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – which shares a common ideology with its Afghan counterparts – last week claimed a raid on an army outpost near the border with Afghanistan, which Pakistan said killed 16 soldiers.

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“We desire good ties with them [Afghanistan] but TTP should be stopped from killing our innocent people,” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a cabinet address on Friday.

“This is our red line.”

Afghan Taliban hit ‘several points’ in Pakistan in retaliation for attacks
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Khalilzad: Doha Deal Path to Govt Through Negotiations

The Doha Agreement, signed in February 2020 between the Islamic Emirate and the United States in Doha.

Zalmay Khalilzad has stated that the “nature of Afghanistan’s political system” is not explicitly mentioned in the Doha Agreement; however, the agreement clearly specifies that the “nature of Afghanistan’s new government” should be determined through negotiations between the Islamic Emirate and other Afghan parties.

The former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation wrote on the social media platform X that the current challenge for Afghans, the Islamic Emirate, and others is how to implement the commitments of the Doha Agreement considering the existing realities.

“The Doha Agreement did not define the nature of Afghan political system, but it clearly stated that a new government would be determined by negotiations and dialogue between the Taliban and other Afghan sides. The challenge for Afghans, Taliban and others, is how to deliver on this commitment, given current realities,” Khalilzad said.

Khalilzad’s comments come as Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the deputy political prime minister, recently stated that the Doha Agreement does not mean the United States can dictate governance to the Islamic Emirate.

Aziz Maharaj, a political analyst, said: “The Doha Agreement outlined discussions on the structure of the state system, which should be finalized through agreement among Afghans. However, the agreement was altered due to contemporary necessities, the Ukraine war, and other issues, leading to the current problems and instability.”

Najib Rahman Shamal, another political analyst, told TOLOnews: “I hope the interim government, with consideration for the interests of the Afghan people and Islamic values, will fully cooperate in implementing the agreement with the US and the international community. This could help resolve the challenges caused by non-implementation and enable Afghanistan to reclaim its place in the international arena.”

The Doha Agreement, signed in February 2020 between the Islamic Emirate and the United States in Doha, includes key provisions such as the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, the initiation of intra-Afghan negotiations, a permanent ceasefire, and the non-use of Afghan soil against the United States and its allies. However, both parties have occasionally accused each other of violating parts of the agreement.

Khalilzad: Doha Deal Path to Govt Through Negotiations
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UN Calls for Political Roadmap and Reversal of Restrictions in Afghanistan

The members also recognized the vital role of the United Nations in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Members of the United Nations Security Council have emphasized the need to develop a political roadmap to achieve a stable Afghanistan, fully integrate it into the international community, and fulfill its international commitments.

In a statement recently released, the UN Security Council said that during a recent meeting on Afghanistan, members expressed deep concern over restrictions on women and girls, including the closure of medical institutes to female students. They urged the interim government in Afghanistan to lift these restrictions.

The members also recognized the vital role of the United Nations in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan, emphasizing that efforts to resolve Afghanistan’s issues, including the Doha Process and regional and global peace, remain critical.

A section of the statement reads: “They underscored that dialogue, consultation, and engagement among all relevant Afghan stakeholders, the region and the wider international community, including through the Doha Process convened by the United Nations, is critical for a political settlement in Afghanistan, as well as peace and stability in the country, the region and beyond.  In this regard, recalling its resolution 2721 (2023), they recognized the importance to discuss the situation in Afghanistan in a comprehensive manner.  Also, they emphasized the importance of developing a political road map to be discussed with all relevant stakeholders, in order to achieve an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbors, fully reintegrated into the international community and meeting its international obligations.”

The statement also addressed the Islamic Emirate’s treatment of women and girls, stating: “The members of the Security Council are deeply concerned with the continuing negative impact of the Taliban’s policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms on Afghanistan’s peace, stability and development and its people.  Recalling its resolution 2681 (2023), the members of the Security Council emphasized the need to ensure the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan for the country’s future and long-term development and urged the Taliban to swiftly reverse these policies and practices, including the “vice and virtue” directive and the recent decision to suspend women’s and girls’ access to education in private and public medical institutions. Positive developments in this area are crucial for building confidence with the international community.”

The Security Council also reiterated that Afghan soil should not be used against other countries and urged the interim government to strengthen efforts in combating terrorism.

Political analyst Wais Naseri told TOLOnews: “If the right to work and education, participation in society, and the freedom of political activities are not guaranteed, no country in the world will recognize the Islamic Emirate.”

The council’s demands also included combating drug trafficking, eradicating poppy cultivation and narcotics production, and removing barriers to humanitarian aid access. However, the Islamic Emirate has yet to comment on the statement.

UN Calls for Political Roadmap and Reversal of Restrictions in Afghanistan
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Mawlawi Abdul Kabir: Afghanistan Must Maintain Balance Between East, West

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir also described Afghanistan’s current political situation as positive.

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the deputy political prime minister, stated that the interim government is prepared for positive engagement with the world to rebuild and improve the country’s economic situation.

In an interview with RTA, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir said that those contemplating the reoccupation of Afghanistan through force should learn from the past struggles of Afghans against major powers.

The deputy political prime minister said: “Anyone who comes with coercion and force is an enemy of our Islamic system. The Afghan people and the Islamic Emirate will never allow it. If they fail to learn from past experiences, Afghanistan’s history against oppressors is clear.”

According to Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, Afghanistan has historically suffered due to misguided policies that prioritized the interests of Eastern and Western powers and now it is essential for Afghanistan to maintain a balanced policy between the East and the West.

He stated: “It is necessary that we neither use Afghanistan in favor of the East against the West nor against the East. Afghanistan, as an Islamic and independent state, must preserve its Islamic system, independence, and neutrality.”

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir also described Afghanistan’s current political situation as positive, adding that the interim government has established extensive relations with various countries. He called on nations that have yet to engage with the interim government to establish political relations.

He further said: “Our diplomatic relations are so extensive that we have close to 40 representations worldwide. We call on neighboring, regional, and global countries to maintain positive interactions with us within the framework of Sharia. For countries without embassies in Kabul, we invite them to reopen their missions.”

These remarks about maintaining broad relations with the world come as, more than three years into the Islamic Emirate’s return to power, no country, including neighboring nations, has formally recognized the Islamic Emirate.

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir: Afghanistan Must Maintain Balance Between East, West
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Our Reporter Returned to Afghanistan, Seeking Lessons and Secrets

Azam Ahmed, a Times correspondent and former bureau chief in Afghanistan, made repeated trips to areas in the country that had once been off-limits to foreigners.

The New York Times

Here’s what he found.

The Talib looked as ragged as his outpost, a trailer banked on a snowy mountain pass. Holes were bored into its sides to ventilate a sputtering wood stove.

Upon seeing foreigners, the Talib, with an unkempt beard and layers of ill-fitting sweaters, ordered us out of the car.

For more than an hour, my colleague Bryan Denton and I waited on the trailer floor as he reviewed our documents. Beside him, two guards slept beneath heaped blankets. It smelled as if they had been there a while.

The Talib asked questions: Why had we come to Afghanistan? Where were we going? What were we doing?

We told him what we had told so many other Taliban members. I covered the war as a New York Times correspondent and bureau chief. Now I wanted to see the war from another perspective, to see what lessons — and secrets — the United States left behind.

I began to wonder if our luck had run out. Bryan turned to me and frowned.

The guard began recording us with his phone, sending our hearts racing. Almost no recording of a foreigner in similar circumstances has ended well this century.

But the Talib had other things on his mind.

“Can you please indicate that you have been treated well, and that no harm has come to you?” he asked, presumably collecting evidence in case we complained to his superiors.

One of the stranger things about our travels was how freely the Taliban allowed us to explore. For most of the war, they had shot, bombed or abducted any foreigner they could find. Times colleagues had been kidnapped or killed.

Yet no matter where we were, if we produced our paperwork, we were granted access to places that few foreigners had ventured in nearly two decades: the other side of the war.

We spent nights in half-constructed buildings, in barren deserts and perched on the edge of raging rivers. We interviewed hundreds of people and surveyed more than 1,000 others about war crimes committed by American allies.

I often think of this moment in relation to Vietnam. In that war, decades passed before the United States engaged its former enemy. By then, parts of history were lost.

Here is what we learned.

Time and again, we found, the Americans set the stage for their own defeat well before the Taliban marched to power in August 2021.

The United States empowered warlords and criminals to conduct the war on its behalf, individuals who inspired so much hatred that their very presence became a Taliban recruiting tool. This propensity was embodied by no one more than Lt. Gen. Abdul Raziq, the police chief of Kandahar Province.

By blindly trampling into places they did not understand, the Americans seeded hatred. Errant airstrikes not only killed innocents. They killed American allies — the very people who supported them the most.

In the rugged region of Nuristan, we traced the origins of one of the deadliest assaults on American soldiers. We discovered that American troops had created the enemies that they feared the most — and in places that they never needed to be.

After the war, the Taliban declared that, no matter which side you had been on, the fighting was over. Former enemies were prohibited from settling scores — and for the most part people listened.

The Taliban has also declared an end to poppy, seemingly accomplishing one of Washington’s key war goals.

The district, Bakwa, had once been a barely inhabited stretch of desert. But thanks to American efforts to eradicate poppy — and the opium trade — people had flocked to the desert district, where the Taliban embraced them.

President Biden blames the Afghan Army for crumbling so quickly. President-elect Donald J. Trump blames Mr. Biden.

Both versions ignore the history in places like the north of Afghanistan, a region where values like democracy and women’s rights might have actually lasted.

There, the United States empowered militias to fight the Taliban. Instead, these groups tortured, kidnapped and massacred civilians. They created such hatred toward the Afghan government and its American allies that people turned to the Taliban.

Before the Americans withdrew, the Taliban were already negotiating their rise to power.

Azam Ahmed is international investigative correspondent for The Times. He has reported on Wall Street scandals, the War in Afghanistan and violence and corruption in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Our Reporter Returned to Afghanistan, Seeking Lessons and Secrets
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UN condemns Pakistani airstrikes in Paktika, Afghanistan

Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, has expressed his regret over the Pakistani airstrikes in the Bermal district of Paktika province.

On Friday, December 27, Bennett posted a message on X/Twitter, expressing his sorrow over the deaths of Afghan civilians, including women and children, in the airstrikes.

He emphasized the need to adhere to international law and called for an investigation and accountability to prevent further harm to civilians.

Previously, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had reported credible information regarding the deaths of dozens of civilians, including women and children, in the Pakistani airstrikes on Paktika.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also stated on Thursday that it had received reports of at least 20 children being killed in the airstrikes on the Bermal district of Paktika.

The tragic loss of life in these airstrikes highlights the growing vulnerability of civilians in conflict zones, particularly in border areas like Paktika. The deaths of women and children are especially concerning, as they reflect a disturbing disregard for international humanitarian law, which calls for the protection of non-combatants during armed conflicts.

As tensions continue to rise in the region, the international community must urgently address the issue of cross-border military actions and work towards ensuring the protection of innocent lives.

The call for an independent investigation into these airstrikes and holding accountable those responsible for violating international law is crucial in preventing further civilian casualties and ensuring justice for the victims.

UN condemns Pakistani airstrikes in Paktika, Afghanistan
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