Page 10 - Taliban

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

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

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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

UN Security Council extends sanctions oversight on Taliban for another year

The UNSC members, in a meeting on Thursday, approved Resolution 2716, requesting the Sanctions Monitoring Team to support the committee established by Resolution 1988

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 ...

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

UN agency warns of Afghans dying in winter if they don't get proper shelter

The UN refugee agency has warned that Afghans could die in harsh winter conditions if they don't get adequate shelter once they cross the border from Pakistan. Almost half a million Afghans have left Pakistan since early October, when the Islamabad government announced it would arrest and deport foreigners it said were in the country illegally. The overwhelming majority of them are from neighboring Afghanistan, though Islamabad insists the policy doesn't target a specific nationality. The forced returns are piling pressure on Afghanistan and aid agencies, which are providing the bulk of essential services like health care. Freezing temperatures are setting in and conditions at the border remain dire. Many Afghan returnees are vulnerable, including women and children, who could lose their lives in a harsh winter if left without adequate shelter, the U.N. refugee agency said in a report published Friday. People arriving at the border are exhausted and require urgent assistance as well

Taliban must embrace and uphold human rights obligations in Afghanistan: UN

The Taliban must embrace and uphold human rights obligations in Afghanistan, the UN mission in the country said on Sunday on Human Rights Day and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have erased basic rights and freedoms, with women and girls deeply affected. They are excluded from most public spaces and daily life, and the restrictions have sparked global condemnation. The UN mission, highlighting the Taliban's failures in upholding rights' obligations, said it continues to document extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment, corporal punishment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and other violations of detainees' rights. People who speak out in defense of human rights face arbitrary arrest and detention, threats and censorship, the mission said. We pay tribute to and express our solidarity with Afghan human rights defenders, many of whom are paying a heavy price for seeking to uphold the fundamental tenet

Taliban's education policies harm boys as well as girls in Afghanistan: Rpt

The Taliban's abusive educational policies are harming boys as well as girls in Afghanistan, according to a Human Rights Watch report published Wednesday. The Taliban have been globally condemned for banning girls and women from secondary school and university, but the rights group says there has been less attention to the deep harm inflicted on boys' education. The departure of qualified teachers including women, regressive curriculum changes and the increase in corporal punishment have led to greater fear of going to school and falling attendance. Because the Taliban have dismissed all female teachers from boys' schools, many boys are taught by unqualified people or sit in classrooms with no teachers at all. Boys and parents told the rights group about a spike in the use of corporal punishment, including officials beating boys before the whole school for haircut or clothing infractions or for having a mobile phone. The group interviewed 22 boys along with five parents in Kabul, .

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,

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

2 killed, 10 injured in suicide blast targeting security forces in Pakistan

At least one person was killed and 21, including 13 security personnel, injured in a suicide bombing by a TTP-splinter group targeting a security forces convoy in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. An explosives-laden tri-wheeler hit the security forces convoy on its way to Bannu from the North Waziristan district near the Azad Mandi in Bannu Cantonment on Sunday, police said. The bombing killed a pedestrian and injured 13 security personnel and eight civilians. Those injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital, Bannu. The condition of three security personnel is stated to be critical, according to the police. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. This comes after Pakistan's security forces killed eight terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the province on Sunday, according to the military's media wing.

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

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"

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