Page 12 - Taliban

Over 90% of people killed by Afghanistan quake were women and children: UN

More than 90 per cent of the people killed by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in western Afghanistan last weekend were women and children, U.N. officials reported Thursday. Taliban officials said Saturday's earthquake killed more than 2,000 people of all ages and genders across Herat province. The epicentre was in Zenda Jan district, where 1,294 people died, 1,688 were injured and every home was destroyed, according to U.N. figures. Women and children were more likely to have been at home when the quake struck in the morning, said Siddig Ibrahim, the chief of the UNICEF field office in Herat. When the first earthquake hit, people thought it was an explosion, and they ran into their homes, he said. Hundreds of people, mostly women, remain missing in Zenda Jan. The Afghanistan representative for the United Nations Population Fund, Jaime Nadal, said there would have been no gender dimension to the death toll if the quake had happened at night. At that time of the day, men were out in the

EU Parliament condemns 'gender apartheid policy' of Taliban in Afghanistan

They also condemned the increase in human rights violations in Afghanistan, particularly arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and torture by former security forces

Unjust, unfair: Taliban on Pakistan's decision to expel Afghan refugees

The Taliban's acting minister urged the Pakistani people and clerics to stop such "violent" actions against Afghan refugees in the country

Taliban needs to meet its commitments to get legitimacy: White House

The Taliban needs to meet its commitments to get legitimacy, the White House has said. We've not recognised them as a governing power in Afghanistan. They want that. They want legitimacy. Then they need to meet their commitments, John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, told reporters at a news conference here on Tuesday. I mean, how can you effectively govern, how can you effectively have a useful economy when basically half your workforce, all women, are prohibited from being a part of that process? So, we're going to keep holding them accountable for their commitments, he said in response to a question. Asked if this means that the US will not have any conversation with the Taliban, he replied, Of course not. We're still working to try to get our allies and partners in Afghanistan out. That takes conversation. It takes dialogue. But it's important to the United States to keep meeting our word to the people who hel

Afghanistan has shut its embassy in India from October 1; here's why

The Afghan embassy has cited 'lack of support from the host government' to effectively carry out its duties as a reason for the suspension of all operations, barring emergency consular services

C5+ Germany meeting highlights need for inclusive govt in Afghanistan

"The cabinet of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is comprised of all tribes and representatives and the rights of all citizens including women have been ensured in the country," Mujahid said

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Decision to shut down Afghan embassy not because of India: Former envoy

Underlining the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, Bhaswati Mukherjee noted that the decision was triggered by internal Afghan politics

Global acceptance of Taliban depends on respecting women's rights: US Envoy

According to Amiri, officials delivered a clear message: The Taliban must respect Afghan and women's rights to be part of the international community, according to Khaama Press

Afghan embassy in India announces shut down of operations from Oct 1

The Afghanistan Embassy here announced Saturday night that it is ceasing its operations from October 1, citing 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, the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi said it regrets announcing the decision to cease its operations, effective October 1, 2023. "It is with profound sadness, regret, and disappointment that the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi announces this decision to cease its operations," the statement said. The embassy said that this decision, while deeply regrettable, was made after careful consideration, taking into account the historic ties and long-standing partnership between Afghanistan and India. The embassy statement also listed key factors affecting its ability to continue the mission effectively and said that they were the primary reasons for the "unfortunate closure". The embassy cited a "lack of suppor

India participates in 5th Moscow Format Consultation meeting on Afghanistan

Taliban-appointed acting minister for Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan, representatives of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Turkey also attended the meeting

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UN Dy Secy-General calls to put pressure on Taliban to ensure girl's rights

Mohammed while speaking at a press conference, said that the situation of women and girls is getting worse day by day in Afghanistan

New Delhi examining Afghan embassy's purported communication on closing ops

The Afghan embassy in India has purportedly come out with a communication on closing down its operations and New Delhi is examining its authenticity, sources said on Thursday. The embassy has been headed by Ambassador Farid Mamundzay and it is learnt that he is currently in London. Mamundzay was appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government and he has been operating as the Afghan envoy even after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The Afghan embassy in New Delhi has purportedly issued a communication on this issue, the sources in the Indian government said on reports of the embassy closing down its operations. "The authenticity of the communication and its contents are being examined," one of the sources said. "This is in the context of the ambassador being out of India for the past many months, a steady departure of diplomats to third countries reportedly after receiving asylum as well as reports of infighting amongst the embassy personnel," the source ..

UN meeting presses Taliban for violating women's rights in Afghanistan

The Women's Rights Council representative further called for global support to define "gender apartheid" in international law

UN to declare gender apartheid as mental health of Afghan women worsens

The U.N.'s most powerful body must support governments seeking to legally declare the intensifying crackdown by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on women and girls gender apartheid, the head of the U.N. agency promoting gender equality said Tuesday. Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, told the Security Council that more than 50 increasingly dire Taliban edicts are being enforced with more severity including by male family members. That is exacerbating mental health issues and suicidal thoughts especially among young women and is shrinking women's decision-making even in their own homes. They tell us that they are prisoners living in darkness, confined to their homes without hope or future," she said. Under international law, apartheid is defined as a system of legalized racial segregation that originated in South Africa. But a growing consensus among international experts, officials and activists says apartheid can also apply to gender in cases like that of Afghanistan, where .

Taliban controls the world's best performing currency this quarter

It has made online trading illegal and threatened those who violate the rules with imprisonment

Complete isolation of Afghanistan will not work: Qatar Foreign Ministry

Ansari highlighted that Qatar is working to mediate in Afghanistan and the rest of the world

Taliban weighs using US mass surveillance plan, met with China's Huawei

But some analysts question the cash-strapped regime's ability to fund the programme, and rights groups have expressed concern that any resources will be used to crackdown on protesters

Nearly 2 million people in Afghanistan face acute food insecurity: UN

The organisation said that 41 million people in Afghanistan face severe food insecurity at an alarming level