Threats to Afghan Media by Warring Sides Spark Outrage
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
May 6, 2021
ISLAMABAD – Media advocates and international partners of Afghanistan have denounced the Taliban insurgency for threatening local journalists for allegedly not being impartial in their reporting of the country’s long war.
The warning coincided with allegations that the chief of the Afghan spy agency had also made a “constricting gesture” against the local media at a “confidential session” in Kabul with Afghan lawmakers.
On Thursday, unknown gunmen killed a former Afghan television anchor in southern Kandahar province. The slain man, identified as Naimat Rawan, was currently heading the media section at the Afghan Finance Ministry. No one took responsibility for the attack.
Rawan had only three weeks ago ended his contract with TOLO News channel, Afghanistan’s largest media network.
The renewed assault on Afghan media came as battlefield hostilities between government forces and the Taliban have spiked particularly since May 1, when the United States and NATO allies formally began pulling their troops out of Afghanistan after nearly 20 years.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement released via Twitter on Wednesday warned Afghan reporters to stop reporting and broadcasting what he alleged was “one-sided news at the behest of Kabul administration” or “face the consequences.”
A media advocacy group, Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC), swiftly condemned the insurgent threat.
It reminded the Taliban that they “must be committed to protecting the fundamental rights of citizens, of which freedom of expression is one example” under a February 2020 peace-building deal the Taliban negotiated with the United States.
AJSC also expressed concerns over recent remarks by the head of the Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), in which he slammed parts of local media outlets for allegedly broadcasting Taliban propaganda.
A lawmaker who attended the meeting quoted NDS chief Ahmad Zia Seraj as urging the media to be responsible and warning of legal action against those carrying “terrorist propaganda.”
“The fact that both sides involved in the conflict accuse the media of violating the principle of impartiality also shows that the media is not affiliated with any party and media do not bolster interests of a particular party,” stressed the AJSC statement.
The U.S. and British diplomatic missions in Kabul in a joint statement reiterated their strong support for Afghanistan’s independent media.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing violence and threats against the media, and the Taliban’s attempts to silence journalists,” tweeted Ross Wilson, the acting American ambassador.
Afghanistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. Since 2006, as many as 76 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan, according to UNESCO.
Earlier this year, three female employees of a local broadcast agency in eastern Afghanistan were gunned down by Islamic State militants.
Afghan officials blame the Taliban for being behind most of the attacks on journalists in recent years. The insurgents reject the charges and accuse NDS operatives of carrying out assassinations of media workers as well as civil society activists as part of its campaign to malign the Taliban.
Critics have warned President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops from the country by September 11 would see more Afghan violence and bloodshed because it would encourage the Taliban to step up its military campaign to try to regain power.
Washington has recently increased diplomatic efforts to press the Taliban to reduce violence and negotiate a peace deal with the Afghan government. But the insurgents have halted the peace dialogue until all international forces leave Afghanistan.
The Taliban instead launched major battlefield attacks across the country in the last few days, overrunning district centers and government security outposts in several provinces.
The Taliban during Thursday’s fighting also seized control of the country’s second-biggest dam after months of fierce fighting in Kandahar. Afghan officials said the Dahla Dam provides drinking water for the region and irrigation to agricultural land via a network of canals.
Both Afghan adversaries have also claimed inflicting heavy casualties on the other, with civilians also getting caught in the crossfire while thousands of others are fleeing to safety.
HRW Warns Against Further ‘Life-Threatening’ Cuts In Afghan Health System
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
May 6, 2021
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that falling international donor support to Afghanistan has reduced women’s access to essential health care, and that it expects further cuts in the coming months as foreign forces prepare to withdraw from the country.
In a report published on May 6, the New York-based human rights watchdog outlines the barriers Afghan females face in trying to obtain health care, as well as the health-care system’s deterioration due to falling support from international donors.
The drop in funding “has already had a harmful — and life-threatening — impact on the lives of many women and girls, as it affects access to and quality of health care,” it said.
“International donors are locked in a waiting game to see whether the withdrawal of foreign troops will result in the Taliban gaining greater control of the country,” Heather Barr, interim co-director of women’s rights at HRW, said in a statement.
“But this is no excuse for cutting funds for essential services that aid groups have managed to deliver in insecure and Taliban-controlled areas.”
Over the past two decades, the Afghan government has relied on international-donor funding for essential services.
But HRW said this support has been falling for years and “will likely continue to do so, perhaps precipitously” following President Joe Biden’s announcement in April that the United States will withdraw all of its forces from Afghanistan by September 11. NATO has said it will follow the same timetable.
In 2013, member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee contributed $141 million to health and population assistance in Afghanistan, HRW noted, 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.
For its 39-page report, titled “I Would Like Four Kids — If We Stay Alive”: Women’s Access to Health Care in Afghanistan, HRW said it had interviewed 56 people in Afghanistan in March and April, including 34 women and 18 other Afghans working in the health sector.
Among the barriers Afghans face in obtaining health care, it cited a lack of funds for hospitals, which meant that they are charging for supplies that previously were free, and the fact that many patients cannot afford transportation to a health facility that may be far away.
Afghan women and girls “struggle to get even the most basic information about health and family planning,” according to the report, while “there is an unmet need for modern forms of contraception, and prenatal and postnatal care is often unavailable.”
“Modern cancer and fertility treatment and mental health care are largely unavailable. Routine preventive care such as pap smears and mammograms are almost unheard of; and a large proportion of births are still unattended by a professional.”
In addition, women “face risky pregnancies because of lack of care” and undergo procedures that “could be done more safely with more modern techniques,” leading to “very high” maternal and infant mortality.
HRW urged donors to “prioritize meeting the urgent needs of Afghans, including those of women and girls for health care.”
And the United States and other countries with troops in Afghanistan should “not use political and security developments to justify disengaging when the need for international assistance is greater than ever,” it said.
Barr insisted that international funding for the health system “is a life-and-death issue — and whenever cuts are made women will die.”
Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
Afghanistan: 293 New Cases of COVID-19, 9 Deaths Reported
Tolo News: On Thursday, the Ministry of Public Health reported 293 new positive cases of COVID-19 out of 2,185 samples tested in the last 24 hours. The ministry reported that the cumulative total of known COVID-19 cases is 61,455, the total number of reported deaths is 2,673, and the total number of recoveries is 53,961. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Health News
U.S. Intelligence Report Warns That Taliban Likely Would ‘Roll Back’ Afghan Women’s Rights
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
May 5, 2021
U.S. intelligence agencies warn in an unclassified report released on May 4 that gains in women’s rights in Afghanistan made in the last two decades will be at risk after U.S. troops withdraw.
“The Taliban remains broadly consistent in its restrictive approach to women’s rights and would roll back much of the past two decades of progress if the group regains national power,” said the report by the National Intelligence Council, the U.S. intelligence community’s top analytical body.
It is the latest warning of the consequences of the troop withdrawal now under way and expected to be complete by September under a new deadline set by U.S. President Joe Biden.
Biden last month announced his decision to withdraw the last 2,500 U.S. troops by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that prompted the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. NATO allies agreed that foreign troops under the alliance’s command will also withdraw, fueling fears of a civil war that could topple the government and return the Taliban to power.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on May 2 that there would possibly be “some really dramatic, bad possible outcomes” for Afghan forces after U.S. and NATO troops leave and they are left to counter the Taliban on their own. But he added: “We frankly don’t know yet.”
During the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule, women were barred from education and largely confined to their homes. In public they were required to fully cover their bodies and faces and were barred from leaving home without a male relative. They could be stoned for committing “moral offenses.”
U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said on April 27 that hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to Afghanistan could be slashed if a Taliban-dominated government did not respect human rights, especially women’s rights.
Some U.S. senators have said they would oppose aid if the rights of Afghan women and girls are not protected after U.S. troops go home.
The Taliban last month issued a statement promising that women could “serve their society in the education, business, health, and social fields while maintaining correct Islamic hijab,” referring to the Arabic word for veil.
But the report released on May 4 underscores skepticism of those pledges.
It says the Taliban’s desires for foreign aid and legitimacy “might marginally moderate its conduct over time,” but “in the early days of reestablishing its Emirate, the Taliban probably would focus on extending control on its own terms.”
It also points out that the Taliban has seen “minimal leadership turnover, maintains inflexible negotiating positions, and enforces strict social constraints in areas that it already controls.”
Progress in women’s rights, including their roles in the legislature and as doctors and lawyers, “probably owes more to external pressure than domestic support, suggesting it would be at risk after coalition withdrawal,” the report says.
It adds that the prevalence of cell phones in the country could potentially increase the world’s awareness of “extreme Taliban behavior” and there could be heightened international attention on the Taliban’s activities in the aftermath of the war.
With reporting by Reuters and AP
Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
Baghlan’s Burka district falls to the Taliban
Ariana: Local officials confirmed Wednesday that Burka district in Baghlan province has fallen to the Taliban. Officials said the district fell on Tuesday night. According to the sources the civilian and military leadership of the district retreated to neighbouring Nahrin district. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Mujahideen Ready to Fight if Taliban Reject Peace: Massoud
Massoud
Tolo News: Ahmad Massoud, the son of Afghanistan’s National Hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, on Wednesday said that the Afghan mujahideen are ready for a military confrontation with the Taliban if the group does not abide by its commitments to peace. Massoud’s warning follows media reports weeks ago that men are taking up arms in Takhar, Baghlan, Daikundi and Baghlan provinces. Click here to read more (external link).
Threatening of media by Taliban, NDS shocking: watchdog
1TV: Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Twitter claimed that some media outlets have been disseminating NDS propaganda and are not maintaining impartiality. He warned of actions if this continues. Meanwhile, NDS chief Zia Siraj, speaking in a closed-door session of parliament, said that some TV stations spreading propaganda benefiting the Taliban is shocking and will not be tolerated. Click here to read (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – May 5, 2021
Deadly Blast Targets Health Workers In Kabul
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
May 5, 2021
A roadside bomb targeted a minibus carrying medical workers in the Afghan capital on May 5, killing one person, Kabul police and officials said.
Three medics were wounded and taken to hospitals, said Kabul police chief spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz.
The health workers were heading to their office in the central province of Panjshir, said Abdul Ghafoor Popalzai, governor of the Kalakan district, where the incident occurred.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, and Faramarz said police were investigating.
The attack comes as U.S. troops have officially begun leaving the country. The pullout, which must be completed by September 11 at the latest, comes amid an emboldened Taliban, which now controls or holds sway over half of Afghanistan.
U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on May 2 that there would possibly be “some really dramatic, bad possible outcomes” for Afghan forces after U.S. and NATO troops leave and they are left to counter the Taliban on their own. “We frankly don’t know yet,” he said.
Based on reporting by AP and TOLOnews.com