Tolo News: Who is Abdul Ghani Alipoor–also known as Commander Shamshir–and why has he established an illegal armed group in his province? Where did the rift between his militia and government forces begin? Alipoor is a commander in Behsud district of Maidan Wardak province, whose armed men–according to the Defense Ministry–shot down a government security
Tolo News: A decision by the National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) to add 54 new ethnic designations to the already existing 14 ethnic groups used on the electronic national identity cards has sparked a controversy, with critics saying the additions will fuel division among Afghans at this critical juncture in the nation’s history. Click
RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan March 4, 2021 Afghan officials say a female doctor died in a bomb blast in the eastern city of Jalalabad in what appeared to be another targeted killing in the war-torn country. Elsewhere in Nangarhar Province, officials said on March 4 that seven civilians from Afghanistan’s mainly Shi’ite Hazara minority were
Ahsan Arian Abubakar Siddique February 15, 2021 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Mohammad Ayaz lost two family members last summer in a clash with a rival family over an irrigation channel in southeastern Afghanistan. Ayaz lives near Gardez, the capital of Afghanistan’s southeastern Paktia Province. He says he lost his son and nephew in the July
By Radio Mashaal January 17, 2021 Pakistani security forces have detained and forcibly expelled a prominent ethnic Pashtun rights activist, Sanna Ejaz, from the restive province of Balochistan. Ejaz is a leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a civil rights movement that has come under a growing government crackdown. Video footage uploaded on social media
Ariana: Second Vice President Sarwar Danish has called on Pakistan and the international community to probe the “cowardly” attack on coal miners, seven of whom were Afghan nationals, by extremists groups in Pakistan and prosecute the culprits. The Islamic State (Daesh) claimed responsibility for executing the ethnic Hazaras. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Habibullah Rafi, a well-known Afghan writer and member of the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, said he has discovered a 400-year-old book on the history of Pashtuns. He said the 600-page book was found in Germany with the cooperation of Afghans in that country. Click here to read more (external link).
By Radio Mashaal December 19, 2020 An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on December 19 handed over a lawmaker and Pashtun-rights leader to be held in custody for 12 days over a sedition charge that has sparked protests all over northwestern Pakistan. Lawmaker Ali Wazir was arrested in the city of Peshawar on December 16 after the
Ariana: Sarwar Danish, Afghanistan’s second vice president, said at a gathering on Sunday that the basic rights of Afghans, especially minorities, need to be focused on and preserved during peace talks and after a peace agreement has been reached. “In our country when you speak about minority rights, some people say that it is against
NYT: In Panjshir, one of the last holdout regions against the Soviets and the Taliban, some would prefer to go their own way rather than support a government negotiating peace with the insurgency. Deputy head of the upper house of Parliament who represents Panjshir: “…don’t trust the government anymore.” Click here to read more (external