Page 19 - Afghanistan

Survivors struggle to rebuild lives 3 months after Afghanistan earthquake

A 6.3 magnitude quake on October 7 killed and injured thousands of people in Afghanistan's west. Three months on, survivors are struggling to rebuild their lives. Some families are living in canvas-coloured tents in Zinda Jan district, the quake's epicentre in the province of Herat, where every home was flattened. People endure the winter conditions with the help of donations and their Islamic faith, but they're anxious about what lies ahead. Habib Rahman, 43, was watching TV at his father-in-law's home when the quake struck. The horror still rings in his ears. He can't get it out of his head. However many details he gave about that day would never be enough, he told The Associated Press. Every squat mud building in Zinda Jan collapsed within minutes. Fear, shouting, panic and shock swept through villages. People used their hands to pull the living and the dead from under the rubble. If we look at this soil and dust, we will go beyond crazy, Habib said. The children are ...

Islamic State group claims responsibility for minibus explosion in Kabul

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in the Afghan capital late Saturday that killed at least two people. Fourteen others were wounded in the attack in Kabul's western Shiite neighbourhood of Dashti Barchi, according to police spokesperson Khalid Zadran. The Sunni militant group said its members detonated an explosive device on the bus carrying Shiite Muslims, whom they called disbelievers, in a statement released shortly after the explosion Saturday. It was the first attack in the country in 2024. The Dashti Barchi area of Kabul has been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic State group's affiliate in Afghanistan. The group has carried out major assaults on schools, hospitals, and mosques, and has also attacked other Shiite areas across the country. In November, in the same area of Kabul, the IS claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in which seven people were killed and 20 others were wounded. On October 26, four people were killed and seve

Bus explodes in Afghanistan, killing at least 2 civilians and wounding 14

A minibus exploded in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighbourhood in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, killing at least two civilians and wounding 14 others, a Taliban official said Saturday, the first attack in the country in 2024. Police spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion took place in the western part of the city, in the Dashti Barchi area. The cause remained unknown, but police launched an investigation, he said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group's affiliate in the region has in the past targeted Shiite schools, hospitals, and mosques in the same area. Last week during a press conference in Kabul, Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said there had been a 90 per cent decrease in attacks by the IS affiliate in the past year. The IS affiliate has been a major rival of the Taliban since the latter seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021. IS militants have struck in Kabul, in northern provinces and especially whereve

UN Chief Guterres to organise 2nd meeting of special envoys for Afghanistan

Meanwhile, the Taliban has called for the invitation of its representatives to the meeting of the special envoy

Afghanistan can become part of int'l community if it meets obligations: US

The resolution shows that the UNSC supports a "process by which Afghanistan is integrated into the international community only by meeting its international obligations," Miller said

War and empires

Today's anti-"woke" warriors in Congress likely would be surprised by the Boston University anthropologist Thomas Barfield's insightful Shadow Empires: An Alternative Imperial History

Pak, Afghan Taliban to make renewed efforts to ease tensions over TTP

A senior Afghan Taliban leader is expected to arrive in Islamabad early next month, while a leading Pakistani cleric is set to visit Kabul in a fresh bid to reduce bilateral tensions over the outlawed terror group TTP, media reports said on Sunday. Pakistan has consistently called for Afghanistan's Taliban government to take decisive action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and related militant groups operating from Afghan soil, including extraditing leaders responsible for attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban government, however, has been hesitant to comply because of historical alliances and ideological ties. The visits are part of efforts to reduce tensions between Kabul and Islamabad concerning the outlawed TTP, which intensified attacks against the security forces in Pakistan in the wake of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan more than two years ago. Mullah Sherin Akhund, a senior Afghan Taliban figure and governor of Kandahar province, is expected in Islamabad early ne

Displaced, crossing borders: Afghan people make tough journeys to survive

The barren desert plain among the mountains of eastern Afghanistan is filled with hundreds of thousands of people. Some live in tents. Others live out in the open, among the piles of the few belongings they managed to take as they were forced from neighbouring Pakistan. The sprawling camp of people returning to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing is the latest facet of Afghans' long, painful search for a stable home. More than 40 years of war, violence and poverty in Afghanistan have created one of the world's most uprooted populations. Some 6 million Afghans are refugees outside the country. Another 3.5 million people are displaced within the country of 40 million, driven from their homes by war, earthquakes, drought or resources that are being depleted. Over the course of months, an Associated Press photographer travelled across Afghanistan from its eastern border with Pakistan to its western border with Iran, getting to know displaced people and returned refuges and

Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis deepens amid economic downturn: UNICEF

The report highlights that the economic downturn has led to an increased demand for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan

Afghan schoolgirls finishing sixth grade in tears under Taliban rule

Bahara Rustam, 13, took her last class at Bibi Razia School in Kabul on December 11 knowing it was the end of her education. Under Taliban rule, she is unlikely to step foot in a classroom again. In September 2021, a month after US and NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan following two decades of war, the Taliban announced that girls were barred from studying beyond sixth grade. They extended this education ban to universities in December 2022. The Taliban have defied global condemnation and warnings that the restrictions will make it almost impossible for them to gain recognition as the country's legitimate rulers. Last week, UN special envoy Roza Otunbayeva expressed concern that a generation of Afghan girls is falling behind with each day that passes. Last week, an official in the Education Ministry said Afghan girls of all ages are allowed to study in religious schools known as madrassas, which have traditionally been boys-only. But Otunbayeva said it was unclear if there was

Children in Afghanistan remain highly vulnerable to grave violations: UN

The report, which was released on December 22, 2023, said that children's access to basic services was "disrupted due to protracted conflict, displacement, extreme poverty and food insecurity

Over 1 mn Afghan children facing severe malnutrition, says WHO chief

Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Ministry of Public Health said that the number of malnourished mothers and children in the country has slightly increased compared to past years

At UN meet, India calls for inclusive government structure in Afghanistan

Describing the situation in Afghanistan is still one of concern, India has said the formation of an inclusive and representative government structure, combating terrorism, and preserving the rights of women, children, and minorities in Afghanistan is an immediate priority for it. Addressing a Security Council meeting on the topic of Situation in Afghanistan' on Wednesday, India's Permanent Representative at the UN Ruchira Kamboj said that as a contiguous neighbour to Afghanistan, a friend to its people and as a country with direct stakes in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan, India was still concerned over the situation in the country. Our common and immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, formation of an inclusive and representative government structure, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, and preserving the rights of women, children, and minorities, Kamboj said. India has not yet recognised the Taliban set-up and has bee

India reaffirms unwavering commitment to Afghan people: Kamboj tells UNSC

She highlighted the ongoing concerns about the situation in Afghanistan, expressing particular worry about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions exacerbated by natural disasters

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Women survivors of gender-based violence being jailed by Taliban: UN Report

The UNAMA office added that before the re-establishment of the Taliban, there were 23 shelters for the protection of women survivors of gender-based violence in country, none of which are now active

India's approach to Afghanistan continues to be guided by historical ties

In the past two years, some Afghan diplomats have left India as they obtained residency in third countries but the remaining diplomats have taken over the responsibility for continued functioning of the diplomatic missions of that country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, he said India's approach to Afghanistan continues to be guided by its historical relations, friendship with its people and relevant UN resolutions. "The diplomatic presence of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi and the Consulates of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Mumbai and Hyderabad continue to function in India," he said in his reply. "During the past two years, some Afghan diplomats have left India since they obtained residency in third countries. However, the remaining Afghan diplomats based in India have taken over the responsibility for the continued diplomatic functioning of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," he ...

Police headquarter comes under attack in Pakistan; 2 policemen killed

At least two policemen were killed and as many as injured after militants attacked a regional police headquarters in a former Taliban stronghold in northwest Pakistan on Friday, three days after terrorists killed 23 soldiers in the same region. The attack occurred at the Police Lines in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tank district, the Dawn newspaper reported. A terrorist blew himself up in a suicide bomb and that the huge attack was thwarted, the newspaper quoted Tank District Police Officer Iftikhar Shah as saying. He said that all contingents present in the Police Lines were evacuated safely and that a search operation was underway after alerts of the presence of more militants in the area. The attack was claimed by a new militant group, Ansarul Jihad. The attack comes days after at least 23 soldiers were killed and more than 30 others injured after militants belonging to the Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a newly formed militant group that is an affiliate of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliba

Taliban sending Afghan women to prison for protection, says UN report

Taliban officials are sending Afghan women to prison to protect them from gender-based violence, according to a UN report published Thursday. Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, there were 23 state-sponsored women protection centers in Afghanistan where survivors of gender-based violence could seek refuge. Now there are none, the UN report said. Officials from the Taliban-led administration told the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan that there was no need for such shelters or that they were a Western concept. The Taliban sends women to prison if they have no male relatives to stay with or if the male relatives are considered unsafe, the report said. Authorities have also asked male relatives for commitments or sworn statements that they will not harm a female relative, inviting local elders to witness the guarantee, it added. Women are sent to prison for their protection akin to how prisons have been used to accommodate drug addicts and homeless people in Kabul, the repor

Afghan envoy to UN emphasises importance of women's education, work

In the statement of the UDHR conference, the international community was asked to take necessary measures in the area of human rights violations, especially women's rights in Afghanistan