Haji Mirzaman
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Seventy-year-old Haji Mirzaman laments as he fiddles with the wooden door on a beloved box camera he has used for 55 years. Just over a decade ago, he was one of dozens of photographers who still made a living in Kabul by shooting portraits with the primitive Afghan box camera, known in Dari as a “kamra-e-faoree,” or “instant camera.” Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday reported 453 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 3,062 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 64,274, the total number of reported deaths is 2,772, and the total number of recoveries is 54,686. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Afghanistan’s one-off Test against Australia will be held at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena in Australia from November 27 to December 1, the Afghan Cricket Board confirmed Wednesday. It will be Afghanistan’s first match against the hosts in the longest format. Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
May 18, 2021
ISLAMABAD – China has renewed diplomatic efforts to help facilitate a negotiated end to the conflict in Afghanistan, saying it is ready to hold peace negotiations between warring Afghans.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed peace prospects in phone conversations with his Afghan counterpart, Mohammad Haneef Atmar and National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib, said officials in both countries.
Beijing is increasingly worried the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan will descend the turmoil-hit neighbor into chaos and a sanctuary for Islamist militants.
“China is ready to facilitate internal negotiations among various parties in Afghanistan, including creating necessary conditions for negotiations in China,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as telling Mohib.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced last month it was time to end the “forever war” in Afghanistan and directed the remaining around 2,500 American soldiers to leave the country by September 11, starting on May 1.
NATO allies are also pulling their roughly 7,000 troops from the country in line with Biden’s decision.
The military drawdown has seen increased fighting between Afghan government forces and Taliban insurgents despite international calls for both warring parties to reduce the violence and negotiate a power-sharing deal to end the country’s long war.
Beijing maintains close contacts with both the Taliban and the Afghan government.
The Afghan adversaries opened direct peace talks in Qatar last September, an outcome of Washington’s troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban signed in February 2020.
But the so-called intra-Afghan peace dialogue has mostly been deadlocked and U.S. efforts to push the two sides to accelerate the process have not succeeded.
In recent days, Wang has increasingly criticized Washington for what he described as the “hasty” U.S. troop pullout, claiming the move has undermined the Afghan peace process and “negatively affected regional stability.”
The chief Chinese diplomat repeated his criticism while speaking to Mohib on Monday, and emphasized the need for moving the peace process forward to “promote a smooth transition” in Afghanistan.
“Although the U.S. unilateral withdrawal of troops at a crucial stage of the Afghan domestic reconciliation process has brought uncertainty to the evolution of the situation in Afghanistan, peace is the trend of the times,” Wang said.
The Chinese foreign minister in his conversation with Afghan counterpart Atmar urged all parties to the conflict to create a “favorable environment” for jumpstarting the peace talks.
“China hopes that Afghanistan’s future leadership will pursue a moderate Muslim policy, promote a foreign policy of peace, maintain friendship with neighboring countries, and firmly combat all forms of terrorism,” Wang said.
The Chinese offer of hosting Afghan peace talks, analysts say, appears to be an attempt to position China for a more active political role in the region after the exit of the U.S.-led Western troops from Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan resolutely fights all forms of terrorism, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, and is ready to further deepen counterterrorism and security cooperation with China,” the Chinese statement quoted Mohib as assuring Wang.
An Afghan government statement issued in Kabul said Mohib and Wang “identified terrorism as a common threat that both sides should fight.”
It quoted the Afghan national security advisor as telling the Chinese interlocutor that “all levers of influence” should be used to “induce (the) Taliban” to engage “earnestly” in peace talks.
The ETIM has been outlawed by China as a terrorist group. The Islamist outfit claims it is fighting for the rights of minority Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Chinese officials insist sustained crackdowns on ETIM operatives in the province have “effectively” tackled the security challenge.
The United States, however, accuses China of committing serious human rights abuses against ethnic Muslims in Xinjiang in the name of fighting terrorism.
In a coordinated effort this past March, several Western countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada and the European Union imposed sanctions on Chinese officials connected to the abuses.
China has detained Uyghurs at camps in Xinjiang, where detainees are allegedly subjected to torture, forced labor and sexual abuse, charges Beijing rejects as Western propaganda.
Niazi
Ariana: A prayer ceremony for Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, the deputy head of the Taliban splinter group in the western part of the country, was held on Monday at Herat’s Grand Mosque. “If someone is who fights against the government is being killed, we let their families or relatives to burry,” Herat governor Abdul Wahid Qatali said. During the two days of the funeral and mourning ceremony, dozens of his armed supporters and white flags were visible in Herat city – a move that sparked concern among the locals. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday reported 303 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 1,809 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 64,122, the total number of reported deaths is 2,762, and the total number of recoveries is 55,118. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
May 17, 2021
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last week could potentially lead to cuts in funding for essential services for Afghan women and girls.
The bipartisan Protect Women’s and Girls’ Rights in Afghanistan Act would require the U.S. secretary of state to report twice yearly to Congress on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.
The proposed legislation would continue U.S. support to “preserve the rights” of Afghan women, but warns that the United States will “refuse to provide economic aid to an Afghan government” that violates these rights.
The bill comes amid the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. and international forces from Afghanistan by September 11.
It also follows a November 2020 joint statement by the United States and Afghanistan’s other main donors that laid out the “key elements” that would be taken into account when considering whether to continue their current development and budgetary support to the country. These elements included respect for women’s rights.
“Efforts to hold this and any future Afghan government to account are vital,” HRW said in a statement.
But it also said that “donors should consider how they can respond to government abuses without harming women and girls by cutting essential services.”
Falling international donor support to Afghanistan has already reduced women’s access to essential health care and “could imperil” girls’ access to education, the group said.
“Defunding the government should not mean defunding services. Nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan have proved they can deliver vital services despite the country’s escalating insecurity, so long as they have sufficient resources,” according to HRW.
In 2013, member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee contributed $141 million to health and population assistance in Afghanistan, HRW noted in a recent report, adding that by 2019 the figure had dropped by more than one-quarter to $105 million.
And with more than 75 percent of its budget coming from international donors, the Afghan government has little ability to move toward self-sufficiency in the short term.
Tolo News: Mohammad Daud Laghmani assumed office as the new governor of northern Faryab province at a ceremony at the army base in the city of Maimana on Monday, sources said. Daud Laghmani was supposed to assume office this week but the governor’s compound in Maimana city is still surrounded by protesters who oppose the appointment. Click here to read more (external link).