By Ron Synovitz RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 6, 2021 With the Taliban in control of more than half of all districts in Afghanistan, promises made by Taliban political negotiators in Doha appear to be falling by the wayside. The movement’s so-called Political Affairs Commission in Doha had vowed in a February 2020 peace deal with the
Ayaz Gul VOA News August 6, 2021 ISLAMABAD – Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents closed a major crossing point Friday for travel and trade with Pakistan, demanding the neighboring country end the alleged mistreatment of Afghan travelers and ease other restrictions. The abrupt closure of the busy Spin Boldak crossing into the southwestern Pakistani town of Chaman
RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi August 6, 2021 Local officials in western Afghanistan say Taliban fighters have entered the provincial hub of Zaranj and its Kabul-backed governor and other senior officials have fled, leaving the militant group poised to capture its first major population center since an all-out offensive began four months ago. A provincial administration official
Tolo News: Like millions of people across Kabul, Afghans in other provinces on Wednesday night chanted the slogan “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest), in a show of support for Afghan forces fighting the Taliban. The rallying cry began earlier in Herat city and has been reported in other areas across the nation as well.
Ariana: Former first vice president, Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum said on Thursday that Taliban have accelerated their efforts to seize control of at least one province in the country. According to Dostum, Herat, Takhar, Jawzjan, Kandahar, and Helmand are the provinces of choice that the Taliban is hoping to have control over. Click here to
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 5, 2021 The Afghan Air Force on August 5 resumed air strikes against Taliban positions in southern Afghanistan as militants made additional gains in the country’s north. A Defense Ministry statement said air strikes were carried out across the country, including in the southern Helmand Province where government forces are
Frud Bezhan Mustafa Sarwar Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 5, 2021 Afghanistan’s thriving media scene has been hailed as one of the biggest achievements of the past 20 years, following the Taliban’s ban of independent media during its brutal former regime that was ousted in 2001. But the resurgent Taliban is rapidly reversing those gains
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 5, 2021 Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a new warning on the failures of Afghanistan’s justice system to adequately protect women and said gains by Taliban militants currently waging an all-out push for territory “further risk crucial legal protections.” In a 32-page report on the implementation of a law
Ariana: Abdullah Atefi, a poet and historian from Uruzgan province, was killed Wednesday night, allegedly by the Taliban. According to Mohammad Omar Shirzad, governor of Uruzgan, Atefi was dragged out of his house in Chora district before being killed. Click here to read more (external link).
Nafees Takar VOA News August 5, 2021 When thousands gathered in a former Taliban stronghold in Pakistan’s South Waziristan region to denounce the militants’ actions in Afghanistan, the mass rally attracted little attention among Pakistani news networks. Journalists and rights associations say the lack of coverage of last month’s rally is a result of a