Ayaz Gul VOA News June 11, 2024 ISLAMABAD — A United Nations diplomat has encouraged the Taliban to attend a conference on Afghanistan later this month, stating that it would help return much-needed global attention to the crisis-ridden country. Malick Ceesay, the head of the Pakistan-based liaison office for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA),
8am: The Hazara residents of this area in Ghazni have condemned the Taliban’s decision as unjust. They stress that nomads (Kuchis) have occupied hundreds of acres of government land around Ghazni city and settled there, yet the Taliban deliberately overlook this while falsely labeling private lands as usurped. It is noteworthy that in less than
RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi: The only technocrat in the Taliban’s cabinet has been dismissed and replaced by a hard-line cleric. Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada on May 28 removed Health Minister Qalandar Ebad, a trained doctor, and named Noor Jalal, a former deputy interior minister, as his successor. The Taliban’s theocratic regime is dominated by senior
8am: The Taliban’s ethnocentrism is undeniable. This group heavily relies on ethnic factors in its appointments. Currently, the majority of government office employees belong to one ethnic group. Even when people visit government offices, they are forced to speak Pashto with the staff, or else their concerns may not be addressed. It may be unbelievable
8am: Firoz Jawed, a resident of Mazar-i-Sharif, also believes that the Taliban only oppose the celebration of festivals that are more prevalent among non-Pashtun ethnic groups. He adds, “The Taliban oppose Nowruz because they do not consider it a festival of their ethnic group. The Gul-e Narinj (Orange Blossom) Festival in Nangarhar was celebrated with
8am: Some residents of Jaghori district in Ghazni province claim that a Taliban’s morality police official has expelled at least 50 Hazara street vendors from the Sang-e-Masha bazaar and handed it over to Pashtuns from Muqur district in Ghazni province and Shinkay district in Zabul province. They assert their dismay at the extensive interference and
8am: Abdul Hamid Khorasani, a Tajik-origin member of the Taliban originally from Panjshir province, who has been widely supported by Serajuddin Haqqani, has always been a prominent figure within this group, frequently appearing in the media and social networks. Over the past three years, Abdul Hamid Khorasani has been actively involved in the identification and
8am: Given the strong ethnic inclinations within the Taliban, their religious ideology has also taken on an ethnocentric hue. They are striving for the widespread promotion of the Pashto language and consider the Persian language, which historically served as a lingua franca facilitating understanding and communication among all the country’s inhabitants, as a foreign and
Afghanistan International: Following Abdulhamid Khorasani’s protest against “Taliban ethnocentrism,” several non-Pashtun Taliban members warned that if the insults against him continue, they will split up from the Taliban. This Tajik-origin commander, through a video, supported the protests in Badakhshan and opposed the suppression of protesters. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: The Taliban, predominantly Pashtun in composition, represent a nexus of ethnic and religious identity. Besides suppressing followers of other religions, they have also deeply divided people along ethnic lines, often ridiculing non-Pashtun ethnicities. Attacks on women by Taliban fighters and commanders predominantly target non-Pashtun women, as reported by media outlets. Hence, the Taliban exploit