Page 19 - Afghanistan

Malala urges world to confront Taliban's 'gender apartheid' against women

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has said that the world needs to recognize and confront the gender apartheid against women and girls imposed by the Taliban since they seized power in Afghanistan more than two years ago. She urged the international community on Tuesday to take collective and urgent action to end the dark days in Afghanistan. Yousafzai was awarded the peace prize in 2014 at the age of 17 for her fight for girls' education in her home country, Pakistan. She is the youngest Nobel laureate. Two years earlier, she survived an assassination attempt by the Pakistani Taliban a separate militant group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban when she was shot in the head on a bus after school. The 26-year-old activist spoke to The Associated Press after delivering the annual Nelson Mandela lecture in Johannesburg on the 10th anniversary of the death of South Africa's anti-apartheid leader and Nobel laureate. Yousafzai is also the youngest person to give the lecture, .

China formally accords diplomatic recognition to Afghanistan's Taliban govt

China has become the first country to confer diplomatic status to a Taliban-nominated official as Afghanistan's Ambassador to Beijing, thereby formally recognising the Taliban-run administration as a legitimate government in Kabul. As a long-standing friendly neighbour of Afghanistan, China believes that Afghanistan should not be excluded from the international community, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing on Tuesday when asked whether China recognised the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. Earlier reports from Kabul said China has given Bilal Karimi, a Taliban nominee the status of Ambassador and he has submitted his credentials to the foreign ministry here. China along with Pakistan and Russia maintained its embassy in Kabul after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of American troops from the war-ravaged country. While maintaining close contact with the Taliban interim administration,

US officials to visit Pakistan in Dec to discuss Afghanistan, other issues

Islamabad has been continuously blaming Kabul for rising terrorist attacks and usage of Afghan oil to carry out attacks in its neighbouring country

Pakistan sends back around 402,312 'illegal' Afghans to their homeland

"Thousands of Afghans are returning to their homeland on a daily basis through Chaman and Torkham borders, thanking Pakistan for its generosity," Radio Pakistan reported

Pakistan's SC hears petition on deportation of Afghans born in country

Pakistan's top court opened a hearing on Friday on a petition by human rights activists seeking to halt the forceful deportation of Afghans who were born in Pakistan and those who would be at risk if they were returned to Afghanistan. The deportations are part of a nationwide crackdown by the government in Islamabad that started last month on Afghans who are in Pakistan without papers or proper documentation. Pakistan claims the campaign does not target Afghans specifically, though they make up most of the foreigners in the country. Pakistan has long hosted about 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. In addition, more than half a million people fled Afghanistan when the Taliban seized power in August 2021, in the final weeks of US and NATO pullout. Since Islamabad launched the crackdown in October, giving Afghans until the end of the month to go back or face arrest, hundreds of thousands have returned home, many in Pakistan-organised ...

Pakistan's top court begins hearing challenge to expulsion of Afghans

More than 370,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan since Oct. 1, after Pakistan vowed to expel more than a million undocumented refugees, mostly Afghans

Afghanistan to open embassy in India, highlights commitment to boost ties

"In this regard, Afghanistan is pleased to announce its intention to open an Afghan embassy in India," the Afghan Embassy in India posted on X

Afghan embassy in New Delhi will be functional in few days: Taliban govt

The Afghan embassy in New Delhi will resume operations in the next few days, Deputy Foreign Minister in the Taliban set up, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, has said. Stanikzai told Afghan broadcaster RTA that officials at the Afghan consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai have visited the embassy following instruction from Kabul. The Taliban leader said Afghanistan wants good relations with the neighbouring countries. His comments about resuming operations at the Afghan embassy came days after the mission under the control of Ambassador Farid Mamundzay announced its permanent closure, citing "persistent challenges from the Indian government". Mamundzay, appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul, has been out of India for the last few months. On Friday, the embassy announced its permanent closure. The diplomats at the embassy appointed by the previous government had announced on September 30 too that the mission is ceasing its operations from October 1, alleging a "lack

Pakistan carried out 'widespread abuses' against Afghan refugees: Report

"Pakistani officials have created a coercive environment for Afghans to force them to return to life-threatening conditions in Afghanistan," said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch

Turkey delivers 500 tonne aid for Herat earthquake victims in Afghanistan

The provided assistance includes essential items such as food, clothing, spices, hygiene products, blankets, and tents, Khaama Press reported

EU pledges 10 million euros to support Afghanistan's healthcare system

The long-lasting cooperation between the EU and WHO has contributed to stronger and more resilient health care in Afghanistan, it said

Why Afghanistan has permanently shut its embassy in India

In a significant diplomatic development, the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi announced the cessation of its operations, effective from 23rd November, 2023. Watch the video to know why Afghanistan

Persistent challenges: Afghan Embassy announces permanent closure in Delhi

Afghanistan Embassy on Friday announced its permanent closure, citing "persistent challenges from the Indian government", even as heads of its Mumbai and Hyderabad missions claimed to have assumed the leadership of the embassy here. The developments come after the Afghanistan Embassy had announced on September 30 that it is ceasing its operations from October 1. The mission had then cited a lack of support from the host government, failure to meet expectations in serving Afghanistan's interests and reduction in personnel and resources. In a statement issued on Friday, the embassy said it regrets announcing the permanent closure of its diplomatic mission in New Delhi, effective from November 23, "owing to persistent challenges from the Indian government". "This decision follows the embassy's earlier cessation of operations on 30th September 2023, a move made in the hope that the Indian government's stance would evolve favourably for the normal continuation of the Embassy of the Islam

Afghanistan embassy announces closure in New Delhi, issues statement

Despite "limitations in resources and power", the Afghan embassy said it has worked "tirelessly for their betterment and in the absence of a legitimate government in Kabul"

Disturbing health crisis among women in Afghan prisons: UN report

According to the survey, the majority of jailed women in Afghanistan express concerns about their children's future and the impact on their families

Online violence against Afghan women surged this year due to curbs: Report

The London-based Afghan Witness Organisation published the results of their most recent study on the rise in online violence against campaigners for women's rights on Monday

Over 4 ,00,000 Afghans return home from Pak following crackdown on migrants

More than 400,000 Afghans returned to their home country following the ongoing crackdown on illegal foreigners in the country, Pakistani authorities said Monday. Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, confirmed the number and told The Associated Press that the majority have been using the border crossings of Torkham and Spin Boldak to return home. An estimated 1.7 million Afghans had been living in Pakistan when authorities announced its nationwide crackdown, saying that anyone without proper documents had to leave the country by October 31 or else get arrested. However, Pakistani officials said the other 1.4 million Afghans registered as refugees need not worry as only people without proper documentation were sought after. In the 1980s, millions of Afghans fled to neighboring Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of their country. The numbers witnessed a spike after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan also introduced

Saffron traders in Afghanistan urge for more facilities in exports, visas

Annual saffron exhibitions, according to Nabil, are intended to promote saffron production in the province of Herat and strengthen the status and worth of Herat saffron

Pak's KPK govt to launch eviction operation against illegal Afghans: Report

Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a major operation to evict thousands of illegal Afghans from the provincial capital Peshawar, a senior official said on Saturday. The move by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government came amid the ongoing deportation of illegal Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan. The crackdown has so far forced about 340,000 Afghans in recent weeks to leave Pakistan after spending years in the neighbouring country. "The KPK Provincial Government has decided to launch a grand operation for the eviction of illegal Afghans from this northwestern city of Peshawar," said the official. Pakistan's caretaker government has previously said security concerns were behind the deportation order. Islamabad has claimed that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 of the 24 major terrorist attacks that have taken place in the country this year. However, the Taliban-led government in Kabul has rejected Pakistan's claim. On Friday, a joint meeting of Deput

Taliban min attends meet in Pak despite tensions over expulsions of Afghans

A Cabinet minister from Afghanistan's Taliban-led government attended a trade meeting in Pakistan despite tensions over the expulsion of Afghans living in the country illegally, officials said Wednesday. Around 300,000 Afghans have returned home since last month, when Pakistan launched a nationwide crackdown on undocumented foreigners. The crackdown mainly affects about 1.7 million Afghans who fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of their country and after the Taliban takeover in 2021. The Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan has denounced the crackdown. However, this week the Taliban government sent Commerce and Industry Minister Nooruddin Azizi to Islamabad for a meeting of commerce and trade ministers from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. Aziz met separately with Pakistani officials to discuss trade issues and the expulsion of Afghans. In a statement on X, previously known as Twitter, the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said the three sides agreed to expand trade, .