Page 13 - Afghanistan

Gunmen kill 14 people in Afghanistan's Shiite-majority area; 6 wounded

Gunmen killed 14 people in a Shiite-majority area in central Afghanistan, the Taliban said on Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country this year. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility before the Taliban acknowledged the shootings, which took place Thursday and targeted people as they travelled between the Shiite-majority provinces of Ghor and Daikundi. A machine gun was used in the assault, the IS group said. It gave a higher death toll than the Taliban.

5.8-magnitude earthquake jolts Pakistan, tremors felt in Delhi NCR

Delhi earthquake: After Afghanistan, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken Pakistan. Tremors felt in many Northern regions of India, including Delhi NCR

GOP gives highest honour on 13 troops killed during Afghan withdrawal

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday posthumously presented Congress' highest honour the Congressional Gold Medal to 13 US service members who were killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the politics of a presidential election swirled around the event. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the legislation to honour the 13 US troops, who were killed along with more than 170 Afghans in a suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate at Kabul's Airport in August 2021. President Joe Biden signed the legislation in December 2021. On Tuesday, the top Republican and Democratic leaders for both the House and Senate spoke at a somber ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, hailing the lives and sacrifices of the service members. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the lawmakers gathered to ensure the sacrifices of all our servicemembers were not in vain. We must care for them and their families and defend the values of freedom and democracy they so nobly fought for,

Afghanistan's Norway embassy is closing this week: Statement from mission

Afghanistan's Norway embassy is closing, the country's second diplomatic mission to announce closure this week. The move comes months after the Taliban said they no longer recognise diplomatic missions set up by the former, Western-backed government, including the one in Norway. In a statement on the social media platform X, the embassy announced the closure would take place on Thursday. The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, like many other political and consular missions of Afghanistan, will continue its activities with the values of human rights, pluralism and peace, despite the many difficulties and limited resources, the embassy statement said. The embassy premises would be handed over to Norway's Foreign Ministry, according to the statement in Dari. The UK government said on Monday that the London embassy would close on September 27, following the dismissal of its staff by the Taliban authorities in Kabul. Britain does not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate

US Congress honours 13 troops killed during Afghanistan withdrawal

House Speaker Mike Johnson is hosting a ceremony Tuesday to posthumously present Congress' highest honour the Congressional Gold Medal to 13 US service members who were killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the politics of a presidential election swirl around the event. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the legislation to honour the 13 US troops, who were killed along with more than 170 Afghans in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near Kabul's Airport in August 2021. President Joe Biden signed the legislation in December 2021. The top Republican and Democratic leaders for both the House and Senate are expected to speak at Tuesday's ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. The event is taking place against the backdrop of a bitter back and forth over who is to blame for the rushed and deadly evacuation from Kabul. Johnson scheduled the ceremony just hours before the first debate between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. House Republicans

8 Afghan Taliban soldiers killed in border clash with Pak forces, 16 hurt

At least eight Afghan Taliban soldiers, including two key commanders, have been killed in a fierce clash with the Pakistani security forces in the border region near the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The exchange, which was reported in the Khurram border district of the province over the weekend, also injured 16 Afghan Taliban soldiers. The Afghan side attacked a Pakistani checkpost with heavy weapons in the Palosin area on the Pak-Afghan border on Saturday morning, the Dawn newspaper reported, quoting sources. We have reports about heavy losses on the other [Afghan] side. So far, eight Afghan Taliban have been killed, and 16 others have sustained injuries in retaliatory firing by the Pakistani forces, sources said, adding that two key' commanders were also killed. There was no official word on the incident from the Pakistan military's media wing - the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). This is not the first time Afghan troops have opened fire on Pakistani security for

Islamic radicals want to make B'desh another Afghanistan: Activist Nasreen

Expressing concern that Bangladesh might go the Afghanistan way, writer-activist Taslima Nasreen has said that Islamic radicals are brainwashing and indoctrinating youths to make them "anti-India, anti-Hindu and pro-Pakistan". Nasreen said she and others had initially supported the students' movement in Bangladesh against an "autocratic government". However, the recent actions like violence against Hindus, targeting of journalists and the release of "terrorists" from jails showed it was not a students' movement but was "planned and funded by Islamic jihadis", she said. "When students protested against the quota system in July, we supported them... people who believe in women's rights, human rights and freedom of expression. "Sheikh Hasina was an autocrat who always encouraged fundamentalists and curbed freedom of expression. People were angry with her, she told PTI in an exclusive interview. She said they had hoped that a fair election would be conducted to democratically form a n

6 killed, over 13 injured after suicide bomber detonates in Afghan capital

Police in the Afghan capital say a suicide bomber carried out an attack Monday, killing at least six people and injuring 13 others. The blast took place in the southwestern Qala Bakhtiar neighborhood in Kabul, said Khalid Zadran, spokesman for the Kabul police chief. The dead included one woman, he said, while 13 people were wounded, all of them civilians who were taken to a hospital for treatment. A police investigation is underway. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. The Islamic State group's affiliate, a major rival of the ruling Taliban, has carried out previous attacks on schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout the country. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 during the chaotic departure of U.S. and NATO troops after 20 years. Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban gradually reimposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, as they did during their previous rule of Afghanistan from 1

Will keep engaging with stakeholders in Afghanistan, including Taliban: UN

Notably, the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan had expressed deep concern on August 25 regarding the new morality law imposed by Afghanistan's de facto authorities

UN to engage with Taliban in Afghanistan despite new laws limiting women

The United Nations will continue to engage all stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, a U.N. spokesman said, even though Afghanistan's rulers issued a ban on women's voices and bare faces in public and severed ties with the U.N. mission after it criticized them. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York defended the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, and its head Roza Otunbayeva, who said that the new laws provided a distressing vision for Afghanistan's future. She said last week the laws extend the " already intolerable restrictions on the rights of women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation. The laws were issued after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the " propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice after seizing power in 2021. They say the laws are based on their interpretation of Sharia law. The ministry

Kalpataru gets notice from Afghan govt for not submitting tax declarations

Kalpataru Projects International Ltd on Tuesday said it has received a tax notice from the Afghanistan government for non-submission of certain declarations. In an exchange filing, the company said, "The branch office through its consultant... received certain tax challans from the Ministry of Finance, Afghanistan Revenue Department with the demand of payment of tax liability, additional tax and fine, due to non-submission of certain declarations for FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22." The notice was received on August 26, it said. The authority has demanded tax liability of AFN 8,774,153 (Rs 104.59 lakh), additional tax of AFN 12,150 (Rs 0.14 lakh) and fine of AFN 166,401 (Rs 1.98 lakhs), Kalpataru Projects International Ltd said. The branch anticipates this additional tax and fine may be waived off by the Ministry of Finance once the payment towards the tax liability is discharged, it said. Last week, the company also received a tax notice from the GST authority in India. The authority

Trump to criticise Harris over Afghan war withdrawal in Guard speech

In a speech Monday to National Guard soldiers in Michigan, former President Donald Trump is expected to promote his foreign policy record and tie Vice President Kamala Harris to one of the Biden administration's lowest points: the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. The speech coincides with the third anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is set to appear at 2 p.m. Eastern time at the National Guard Association of the United States' 146th General Conference & Exhibition in Detroit. Since Biden ended his reelection bid, Trump has been zeroing in on Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee, and her roles in foreign policy decisions. He specifically highlights the vice president's statements that she was the last person in the room ...

US still hunts attackers who killed Americans during Afghanistan exit

President Joe Biden promised the day of the attack outside Hamid Karzai International Airport that we will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay.

Airlines fly over Afghanistan as Middle East becomes greater risk

The carriers mostly stopped transiting Afghanistan, which lies on major routes between Asia and Europe

Taliban silences Afghan women with new laws, bans public speaking

The new regulations of Taliban govt also ban publishing images of living beings, playing music, transporting solo female travellers, and mingling of unrelated men and women

Taliban has deprived 1.4 mn Afghan girls of schooling through bans: Unesco

The Taliban have deliberately deprived 1.4 million Afghan girls of schooling through bans, a UN agency said Thursday. Afghanistan is the only country in the world with bans on female secondary and higher education. The Taliban, who took power in 2021, barred education for girls above sixth grade because they said it didn't comply with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. They didn't stop it for boys and show no sign of taking the steps needed to reopen classrooms and campuses for girls and women. UNESCO said at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education since the takeover, an increase of 3,00,000 since its previous count in April 2023, with more girls reaching the age limit of 12 every year. If we add the girls who were already out of school before the bans were introduced, there are now almost 2.5 million girls in the country deprived of their right to education, representing 80 per cent of Afghan school-age girls, UNESCO said.

Olympic bans: A list of countries that were excluded from past Games

In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russia and Belarus have been banned from participating in the games due to the Ukraine war. But they are not the first to face such a ban.

Families of service members killed during Afghanistan withdrawal slam Biden

Relatives of some of the 13 American service members killed during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention Wednesday in an emotional moment that revived one of the low points of President Joe Biden's presidency. Many of the Gold Star families have criticized Biden for never publicly naming their loved ones. On stage Wednesday, one of the family members named each of the 13 service members, and the crowd echoed back each name as it was read aloud. Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, told the crowd. Donald Trump knew all of our children's names. He knew all of their stories. The crowd chanted Never forget! and U.S.A.! as Trump and the entire convention hall stood. President Biden cares deeply about our service members, their families, and the immense sacrifices they have made," Adrienne Watson, a National Security Council spokesperson, said in a ...

Heavy rains in eastern Afghanistan kill at least 40, destroy houses

Heavy rains in eastern Afghanistan have killed at least 40 people and injured nearly 350 others, Taliban officials said Tuesday. Among the dead in Monday's storm were five members of the same family when the roof of their house collapsed in Surkh Rod district, according to provincial spokesperson Sediqullah Quraishi. Four other family members were injured. Sharafat Zaman Amar, a spokesperson for the Public Health Ministry, said the 347 injured people had been brought for treatment to the regional hospital in Nangarhar from Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, and nearby districts. About 400 houses and 60 electricity poles were destroyed across Nangarhar, Quraishi said. Power was cut in many areas and there were limited communications in Jalalabad city, he said. The damage was still being assessed. Abdul Wali, 43, said much of the damage occurred within an hour. The winds were so strong that they blew everything into the air. That was followed by heavy rain, he said. His ..

8 Pak Army soldiers, 10 terrorists killed in attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At least eight soldiers of the Pakistan Army and 10 terrorists were killed when a group of 10 terrorists attacked a major military cantonment in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said on Tuesday. All 10 terrorists who launched the daring attack were also eliminated after they attempted to enter the Bannu Cantonment on Monday, with security forces effectively thwarting the move, the statement said. The terrorists' failed attempt forced them to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall of the cantonment, leading to the collapse of a portion of the wall and damaging the adjoining infrastructure. Eight soldiers were killed in the ensuing operation and all the terrorists were "sent to hell", the statement added. "This timely and effective response by the security forces prevented major catastrophe, saving precious innocent lives," the statement said, adding that the heinous act was undertaken by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which operates from Afghanistan an