Taliban militant (file photo)

8am: The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) urgently calls for coordinated international action to protect the Shia and Hazara communities in Afghanistan. In their statement, the organization highlights that the Afghan Shia, primarily comprising Hazaras, face systematic discrimination, targeted attacks, marginalization, harassment, and severe restrictions under the Taliban’s rule. The report reveals that the Taliban has banned religious freedom and beliefs for Shia and Hazaras, and is responsible for forced displacements, enforced disappearances of Hazara Shias, withholding of humanitarian aid, arbitrary detentions, and extrajudicial killings of civilians across Afghanistan. Additionally, FORUM-ASIA accuses the Taliban of compelling members of the Ismaili Shia community in Badakhshan province to convert to Sunni Islam to receive humanitarian assistance. Click here to read more (external link).