Tag: Taliban

Taliban warn Pakistan against targeting militants in Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) – The Taliban has given a harsh admonition to Pakistan, forewarning against any tactical activity focusing on aggressors inside Afghan region. This assertion comes in the midst of developing worries over cross-line tasks that might actually raise pressures in the all around delicate district.
The admonition from the Taliban was conveyed through their representative, Zabiullah Mujahid, during a public interview in Kabul on Monday. Mujahid expressed, “We have seen with extraordinary concern the new exercises of Pakistan’s security powers along the Afghan-Pakistani line. We emphatically ask Pakistan to abstain from any activities that could prompt the infringement of Afghan sway.”
This statement follows reports of expanded Pakistani military tasks close to the boundary with Afghanistan. While Pakistan has reliably declared that its endeavors are pointed toward annihilating fanatic components inside its own lines, Afghan authorities have communicated anxiety about the vicinity of these tasks to the Afghan domain.
Pakistan, a vital provincial player, shares a permeable boundary with Afghanistan that stretches for north of 2,600 kilometers (1,615 miles). This line has been a wellspring of worry for the two nations as it has generally worked with the development of aggressors, bootleggers, and evacuees.
The Taliban, presently in charge of Afghanistan, has reliably expressed its obligation to guaranteeing that Afghan soil isn’t utilized as a base for assaults against some other country. Mujahid underlined this in his articulation, saying, “We have done whatever it takes to forestall any unfriendly exercises beginning from An afghan area. We anticipate our neighbors, including Pakistan, to regard our sway and work towards territorial dependability.”
The circumstance has provoked global spectators to call for limitation on the two sides. The Unified Countries and a few nations have encouraged political channels to be the essential method for settling any worries connected with cross-line security.
Pakistan has not given a prompt reaction to the Taliban’s advance notice. In any case, it has kept up with that its activities are fundamental for public safety and that it stays focused on helping out Afghanistan in the battle against psychological oppression.
This most recent improvement highlights the mind boggling and delicate nature of the Afghan-Pakistani relationship. As Afghanistan explores its new political scene under Taliban rule, dealing with these provincial elements will without a doubt be really difficult for both Kabul and Islamabad

August 22, 2023
Justice Katju Aligns with Taliban’s Beauty Salon Ban in 2023, Proposes Similar Closure in India Amid Economic Crisis

Disagreement with the Taliban’s Actions
On almost all issues I strongly disagree and disapprove of what the Taliban has been doing in Afghanistan, like depriving women of higher education, and compelling them to wear the burqa.
Agreement with the Taliban’s Ban on Beauty Parlours

But on one issue I entirely agree with them, that is, closing down beauty salons and beauty parlours.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66094490

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/4/taliban-bans-womens-beauty-parlours-in-afghanistan

If it were in my power I would close down all beauty parlours and salons in India, and ban beauty contests, modelling, fashion parades, disco dancing, etc. I have nothing against women looking beautiful, but consider the situation.
Concerns about Poverty and Unemployment in India

There is massive poverty in India, half of our tens of millions of children are malnourished ( according to Global Hunger Index ), there is record and rising unemployment, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, almost total lack of proper healthcare for our masses, etc.
Lies, damned lies, and statistics
https://thenewscaravan.com/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/
Considerations for Addressing Social and Economic Issues

In this situation, is it not a vulgarity and cruel mockery of our people to have fashion parades, beauty contests and beauty parlours when a large section of our people are poor, hungry and unemployed ?
Historical Analogies of Out-of-Touch Rulers
Is it not like Queen Marie Antoinette of France telling people who said they have no bread that they should eat cake ? Or like the Roman Emperors who said that if you cannot give the people bread, give them circuses.

July 20, 2023
In rare show of unanimity, Security Council slams Taliban ban on UN women workers

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United Nations: Ahead of an international meeting convened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on dealing with the Taliban, the Security Council in a rare show of unanimity has voted unanimously to condemn the regime’s ban on women working for the world organisation in Afghanistan.
The Council resolution adopted on Thursday also expressed “deep concern at the increasing erosion of respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls” and demanded that the Taliban “swiftly reverse” the restrictions placed on them.
Special representatives for Afghanistan from several countries are scheduled to convene on May 1-2 in Doha for the meeting to be chaired by Guterres to work out a united approach to deal with the Taliban.

India was one of about 20 countries from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America invited to the meeting.
The unanimous adoption of the Council resolution proposed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Japan and co-sponsored by about 90 countries underlines the Taliban regime’s isolation and signals international unity before the Doha meeting.
The UAE’s Permanent Representative Lana Zaki Nusseibeh said: “This cross-regional support makes our fundamental message today even more significant: the world will not sit by silently as women in Afghanistan are erased from society.
“The resolution also makes it clear that stability, economic recovery, and political reconciliation is not possible in Afghanistan without the inclusion of Afghan women and girls.”
The US Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs Robert Wood called the Taliban’s edicts on women “indefensible” and said, “Muslim-majority countries have spoken out against the Taliban’s rationale for these decisions”.

The Taliban invokes the Islamic Sharia law to justify its actions.
“In January, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation emphasized that Islamic law calls for women’s education, work, and participation in public life,” Wood said.
The Taliban extended its ban to about 600 Afghan women working for the UN earlier this month.
In protest, the UN asked all its employees — about 2,700 Afghan men and 600 international workers, including 200 women who were exempt from the ban — to stay home, disrupting the humanitarian work in the country.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Russia’s Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia, who presided over the Council meeting said: “We are happy that we were unanimous, but we were not completely happy because there is the resolution did not reflect all the issues relating to Afghanistan.”
Russia’s reservation, also shared by China, was that the resolution did not demand that the US release the $7 billion Afghan Central Bank money frozen by it after the August 2021 Taliban takeover of the war-torn nation.
Washington has set up a $3.5 billion trust fund for Afghanistan out of the frozen accounts in Switzerland to allow some of it to be used for that country.
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#rare #show #unanimity #Security #Council #slams #Taliban #ban #women #workers
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 28, 2023
Taliban kill mastermind of 2021 Kabul airport bombing, say US officials

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The Islamic State leader behind the 2021 Kabul airport suicide bombing that killed about 180 people including 13 US service members has been killed by the Taliban, according to US officials.
The IS leader, whose identity has not yet been released, was killed in southern Afghanistan in early April as the Taliban conducted a series of operations against the Islamic State group, according to one of the officials. The Taliban at the time were not aware of the identity of the person they killed, the official added.
The US military has informed families of the 11 marines, one sailor and one soldier killed in the blast during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Darin Hoover, the father of SSgt Darin Taylor Hoover, said the US Marines provided only limited information to him and did not identify the Islamic State leader or give the circumstances of his death.
Hoover is among a group of families that have kept in touch since the bombing, supporting one another and sharing information through a private group messaging chat.
Cheryl Rex, the mother of Marine L/Cpl Dylan Merola, who died in the blast, said it was through the chat group that they were informed late on Monday about the killing as they awaited official confirmation from US military officials.
Hoover said he and his son’s mother, Kelly Henson, have spent the past year and a half grieving the death of the 31-year-old US Marine Corps staff sergeant and praying for accountability from the Biden administration for the handling of the withdrawal.
The killing of the unidentified Islamic State group leader, Hoover said, does nothing to help them.

“Whatever happens, it’s not going to bring Taylor back and I understand that,” he said in a phone call. “About the only thing his mom and I can do now is be an advocate for him. All we want is the truth. And we’re not getting it. That’s the frustrating part.”
His son and the other fallen service members were among those screening the thousands of Afghans frantically trying on 26 August 2021 to get on to one of the crowded flights out of the country after the Taliban takeover.
The blast at Abbey Gate came hours after western officials warned of a major attack, urging people to leave the airport. But that advice went largely unheeded by Afghans desperate to escape the country in the last few days of an American-led evacuation before the US officially ended its 20-year presence.
The Afghanistan-based offshoot of the Islamic State, with up to 4,000 members, is the Taliban’s most bitter enemy and top threat militarily.
After the Trump administration reached a 2020 deal with the Taliban to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and the Biden administration followed through on that agreement in 2021, there had been hope in Washington that the Taliban’s desire for international recognition and assistance for the country’s impoverished population might moderate their behavior.
But relations between the US and the Taliban have deteriorated significantly since they imposed draconian new measures banning girls from school and excluding women from working for international aid and health agencies.
The August 2021 pullout of US troops led to the swift collapse of the Afghan government and military, which the US had supported for nearly two decades, and the return to power of the Taliban. A review of the chaotic withdrawal released earlier this month largely laid blame on Trump, saying President Joe Biden was “severely constrained” by the decisions of his predecessor.
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#Taliban #kill #mastermind #Kabul #airport #bombing #officials
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 26, 2023
Taliban take out ‘mastermind’ of bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops in Afghanistan

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After U.S. officials learned of the Taliban operation, the intelligence community worked with the military in recent days to independently confirm the terrorist’s death with “a high level of confidence,” the official said. The Biden administration is holding off on announcing the news until the family members of the victims of the Abbey Gate attack have been notified.
“We are not partnering with the Taliban, but we do think the outcome is a significant one,” the senior official said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the chaotic withdrawal after the rapid collapse of the Afghan government in August, 2021. They have also questioned whether the Biden administration has the ability to prevent another terrorist attack on the homeland without a presence on the ground in Afghanistan.
But the senior administration official noted that the Taliban operation validates Biden’s decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan.
It “reflects moreover the president’s judgment that we did not need to remain on the ground, in harm’s way, in Afghanistan in perpetuity in order to effectively address any threat that might emanate from Afghanistan,” the official said.
Kirby said the Biden administration has “made clear to the Taliban that it is their responsibility to ensure that they give no safe haven to terrorists, whether al Qa’ida or ISIS-K.”
The U.S. government has been hunting the Islamic State member responsible for the attack since Aug. 26, 2021, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside of the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport where U.S. service members were working to evacuate American citizens and at-risk Afghans. In addition to the service members killed, at least 170 Afghans also died in the attack.
At the time, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the bombing. After an investigation, the Pentagon concluded that it was the result of a single bomber, not the “complex” attack U.S. officials initially described.

Since the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan on Aug. 31, 2021, Pentagon officials have warned that ISIS-K is becoming an increasing threat. In October of that year, Colin Kahl, the undersecretary for policy, told lawmakers that the group could be able to launch attacks on the West and its allies within six months to two years.
Although the U.S. military no longer has a presence on the ground in Afghanistan, the U.S. still maintains an “over-the-horizon” capability to hunt terrorists there, military leaders have said. The Pentagon has conducted a number of operations in the country since August 2021, including one that resulted in the death of 9/11 architect and al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in August of 2022.
In January, the military took out Bilal al-Sudani, a financial facilitator for ISIS and ISIS-K, who was hiding in Somalia, Kirby said. The U.S. and its partners have also killed many ISIS leaders in Syria in recent years, he added.
“We have made good on the president’s pledge to establish an over-the-horizon capacity to monitor potential terrorist threats, not only from in Afghanistan but elsewhere around the world where that threat has metastasized as we have done in Somalia and Syria,” Kirby said.
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#Taliban #mastermind #bombing #killed #U.S #troops #Afghanistan
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 26, 2023
UN Women chief blasts Taliban ban on female Afghan UN staff

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United Nations: Sima Bahous, UN Undersecretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, has condemned the Taliban’s decision to ban Afghan women from working with the United Nations in Afghanistan.
“We stand in full solidarity with our colleagues, and all women who every day put their lives at risk to serve their country and we salute their dedication, professionalism, and bravery. We re-assert their inalienable, fundamental human rights as enshrined in the UN Charter,” said Bahous in a statement on Wednesday.
“We will not replace our female workforce with men,” she said, adding that UN Women is determined to continue in every way possible to deliver vital services and support, so no woman or girl will be left out or left behind, Xinhua news agency reported.

Afghanistan is in a humanitarian crisis with 28.3 million people, two-thirds of the population, needing humanitarian assistance to survive. Nearly a quarter of households in Afghanistan are female-headed, she noted.
The removal of skilled women aid workers decreases access by women and girls to critical life-saving services, and increases their risks when they have to seek assistance from men instead, said Bahous.
The de-facto authorities’ denial of women’s and girls’ rights to education and to engagement in society and the economy of Afghanistan is a self-inflicted wound on the country. This damage to future recovery and resilience deepens with every woman and girl whose horizons have been forcibly shrunk to her home’s four walls, she added.
UN Women joins UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling on the Taliban to immediately revoke this latest decision and reverse all measures that restrict women’s and girls’ rights to work, education and freedom of movement, she said.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Wednesday that the world body is instructing all its Afghan national staff — men and women — not to report to the office for now. In addition, UN national female staff in Afghanistan will not see their posts to be backfilled by men.

Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN Secretary-General’s deputy special representative for Afghanistan, said the Afghan UN national staff — Afghan men and women — are in solidarity.
“We will not have a situation where we are going to work with all-men teams. So our national staff will report to the office together,” he told a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York through a video link.
Alakbarov said the United Nations is working to create the normal conditions so that the Afghan UN national staff could return to work. He said everybody will be paid even when they have to stay home.
The United Nations has about 3,900 staff in Afghanistan, nearly 3,300 of them are nationals. Of those, there are about 400 women nationals and 200 women internationals.
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#Women #chief #blasts #Taliban #ban #female #Afghan #staff
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 6, 2023
UN seeks clarity over Taliban ban on female staff

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United Nations: The UN is seeking clarity after the Taliban regime in Afghanistan banned female staff of the world body from working in the war-torn country, said a spokesman.
“Our colleagues on the ground at the UN mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, received word of an order by the de-facto authorities that bans female national staff members of the United Nations from working,” said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Tuesday.
The United Nations is still looking into how this development would affect its operations in Afghanistan and expects to have more meetings with the Taliban in Kabul on Wednesday, “in which we are trying to seek some clarity,” he added.

For the Secretary-General, any such ban would be unacceptable and inconceivable. This is the latest in a disturbing trend undermining the ability of aid organisations to reach those most in need, Dujarric told reporters.
“It goes without saying, but unfortunately, it does need saying, that female staff members are essential for the United Nations to deliver life-saving assistance,” he said.
Such orders violate the fundamental rights of women and infringe on the principle of non-discrimination, the Spokesman added.
He later provided the gender breakdown of the UN staff members in Afghanistan. The world body has about 3,900 staff in Afghanistan, nearly 3,300 of them are nationals. Of those, there are about 400 women nationals and 200 women internationals, Xinhua news agency reported.
Out of a population of about 40 million people in Afghanistan, the United Nations is trying to reach 23 million men, women and children with humanitarian aid, said Dujarric.

Given the society and the culture in Afghanistan, the world body needs women to deliver aid to women, he added.
“So, we’re staying in close contact and engaging the de-facto authorities.”
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#seeks #clarity #Taliban #ban #female #staff
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 5, 2023
Restriction on Ram Navami procession: BJP MLA asks if Jharkhand is ruled by Taliban

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Ranchi: The BJP on Tuesday created a ruckus in the Jharkhand Assembly over restrictions imposed on Ram Navami procession and wondered if the state is being ruled by the Taliban.
During the Question Hour, BJP legislator Maish Jaiswal demanded that DJ (large music system) be allowed in Hazaribag’s Ram Navami procession.
An agitated Jaiswal also tore his kurta while making the statement.
Wondering whether people are living in a state ruled by the Taliban, Jaiswal alleged that FIRs were filed against innocent people while five persons are on fast unto death in his constituency Hazaribag demanding that DJ be allowed during the procession.
Jaiswal also alleged that there was a deliberate attempt to destroy the 104-year-old tradition of Ram Navami procession in Hazaribagh.
BJP MLAs chanted slogans such as ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’ in the House and created uproarious scenes.
Minister Mithilesh Thakur claimed that those staging dharna seeking to play DJ in Hazaribag are BJP workers.
“There is a directive to comply with the orders of the Supreme Court and the high court regarding the decibel limit. We respect all religions – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian. We are real devotees of Ram,” he said.

Hundreds of people recently took out a rally in Hazaribag against the administration’s order prohibiting the playing of recorded music and carrying traditional weapons including lathis during Ram Navami processions.
Ram Navami processions in Hazaribag are held for a longer time compared to other parts of the state.
Amid the uproar, Congress MLA Deepika Pandey Singh reached the well of the House claiming she was insulted by the BJP as a saffron party MP has described her as Nagarvadhu’ (bride of the city).
She said: “I am a mother. I am a sister. They (BJP) don’t want Goddesses and Gods. They want a city bride. They are not Hindus, they act in the name of Hindus.”
Meanwhile, the Assembly passed two bills for setting up private universities in the state amid a demand by the BJP for sending the proposed legislation to the Select Committing for proper vetting.
Thakur said setting up two more universities would result in increasing enrolment of students for higher education. There are 16 private universities in Jharkhand.
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#Restriction #Ram #Navami #procession #BJP #MLA #asks #Jharkhand #ruled #Taliban
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 21, 2023
No change in India’s position on not recognising Taliban: MEA

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New Delhi: India on Thursday asserted that there has been no change in its position on not recognising the Taliban regime in Kabul, in comments that came amid reports of an Afghan foreign policy body asking officials to attend an online programme under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) initiative.
The Institute of Diplomacy under the Afghan Foreign Ministry reportedly conveyed to officials in Kabul to register for the ITEC course which was to be hosted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kozhikode.
At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also said that the Indian side does not issue any note verbales to any entities that are not recognised by New Delhi.
A letter issued by the Institute of Diplomacy to informing officials about the ITEC programme also referred to a note verbale from the Indian embassy in Kabul on the course.
However, Bagchi said there is no question of sending such communication entities that are not recognised.
“India has been extending capacity building assistance to developing countries across the world through what is called the ITEC programme. This includes online courses,” he said.
Bagchi said these scholarship courses cover numerous topics and are conducted by different Indian institutions.
“These courses are also open to nationals of various countries, including Afghanistan.A number of Afghan nationals, both based in India as well as in Afghanistan, have been participating in these ITEC courses,” Bagchi said.

“Of course, the online courses do not involve travel to India,” he said.
The MEA spokesperson said there has been no change in India’s position on the Taliban regime.
“Our position on how we see developments in Afghanistan has not changed. I do not think anything should be read into ITEC courses vis-a-vis that. We certainly would not be issuing note verbales, which are inter-governmental notes, to entities that are not recognised,” he said.
India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and has been pitching for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul besides insisting that Afghan soil must not be used for any terrorist activities against any country.
India has been pitching for providing unimpeded humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the country.
In June last year, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a “technical team” in its embassy in the Afghan capital.
India had withdrawn its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 following concerns over their security.
The ITEC is the leading capacity building platform of the Ministry Of External Affairs.
Instituted in 1964, ITEC is one of the oldest institutionalised arrangements for international capacity building having trained more than 200,000 officials from 160+ countries in both the civilian and in the defence sector.
Building on India’s vast and rich network of governance and development-related expertise available in higher educational institutions and training facilities, the ITEC offers nearly 10,000 fully-funded in-person training opportunities through nearly 400 courses offered at 100-plus eminent institutes in India each year.
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#change #Indias #position #recognising #Taliban #MEA
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 16, 2023
Pakistan, Taliban discussing resettlement plan for TTP

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Islamabad: Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are discussing a resettlement plan for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in a renewed push to address the issue of cross-border terrorist attacks that have threatened to unravel their bilateral relationship, a media outlet reported.
The idea of resettlement came from the Afghan Taliban during the recent visit of a high-powered Pakistani delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. The Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt General Nadeem Anjum was also part of the daylong trip, The Express Tribune reported.
The purpose of the visit was to convey to the Afghan Taliban a clear message that Pakistan would no longer seek talks with the TTP since the group used earlier peace efforts to regroup and target Pakistan, the newspaper reported.
Sensing the Pakistani position, the Afghan Taliban proposed a new plan that envisaged disarming the TTP and relocating their members from the border areas. Unlike the previous plans, the TTP members will be resettled inside Afghanistan.
The Afghan Taliban, however, asked Pakistan to bear the cost of that plan. One official source said that Pakistan will have to bear the cost as certain other countries have done the same, the media outlet reported.
The source said this was probably the best available solution at the moment to deal with the TTP threat. The source, however, admitted that executing and verifying such a plan would be a challenge. Also, Pakistan wants if any such plan is implemented it has to be irreversible, it added.
Currently, there are between eight to 12 thousand TTP militants in Afghanistan. The number goes up to 30,000 if their family members are included.
After the Afghan Taliban takeover in August 2021, the then government of Prime Minister Imran Khan initiated talks with the TTP and allowed hundreds of TTP militants to resettle in Pakistan. The move, however, backfired as returning TTP militants started targeting the security forces and carried out major terrorist attacks.

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#Pakistan #Taliban #discussing #resettlement #plan #TTP
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 4, 2023