1TV: Women are more vulnerable to the illness as the number of women who suffer from mental illness is double than that of men, said Wahidillah Mayar, a spokesman for health ministry. According to psychologists, there are 120 types of mental disorders, but Afghans suffer mostly from anxiety and stress. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – July 16, 2019
A Possible Peace Deal Will Not Impact Elections: Ghani
Ashraf Ghani
Tolo News: Ghani says “emirates was never accepted by the people of Afghanistan” and that “it was imposed by force”. President Ashraf Ghani says that a possible peace deal – which will potentially take place in the coming weeks – will not impact the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled for September 28. “We need to differentiate the peace that will impact the elections. It is the peace between the Afghan government and Taliban, not peace between US and Taliban. As I said it is series of linkages,” Ghani said in an interview with Turkey’s TRT aired on Tuesday. Click here to read more (external link).
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Afghan Radio Station Shuts Down, Citing Taliban Threats Over Female Employees
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 16, 2019
The head of a private radio station in eastern Afghanistan says it was shut down after numerous threats from a Taliban commander in the area who objected to women being employed at the station, while a local official said that a private dispute was behind the incident.
Ramez Azimi, director of the Samaa station in the city of Ghazni, the capital of eastern Ghazni Province, says he received phone calls as well as written warnings purportedly from the Taliban commander.
Several districts in Ghazni are controlled by the Taliban.
Azimi says the Taliban threatened them because three of the station’s 16 employees are women.
He said the threats had forced him to suspend broadcasts.
A spokesman for Ghazni’s provincial governor, Aref Noori, told RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan on July 16 that the individual who had threatened the radio station has been detained.
He suggested that there hadn’t been any threats or warnings from the Taliban.
“After receiving a complaint from the [managers] of the radio station, we arrested the individual who had made threats through telephone calls three days ago,” Noori said, adding that the individual remains in detention.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, also denied the militants had threatened Samaa.
Under the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, women were denied the right to education and work.
The Taliban has recently said it is committed to upholding women’s rights under Islam, including the right to education, work, health, inheritance, and choosing one’s husband.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan, AP and Reuters
Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Khalilzad Thinks U.S. Can Leave ‘Very Positive Legacy’ in Afghanistan
Khalilzad
Michael Hughes: U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has shamelessly suggested that if he can help broker a ceasefire and ensure women are involved in intra-Afghan peace talks U.S. involvement in Afghanistan should be seen as a net benefit. This is quite audacious coming from a man who about 17 years ago single-handedly destroyed any chances for peace in Afghanistan. Moreover, today the country – women especially – would be much better off if the United States had never intervened in Afghan affairs in the first place. Click here to read more.
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – July 15, 2019
Afghanistan: how to widen access to justice
The Conversation: Getting justice in Afghanistan is a complicated business. Two main justice systems – state laws based on the civil law tradition and Islamic jurisprudence – combine with non-state institutions, such as traditional village jirgas (circles) or shuras (councils), to resolve local disputes and deal with offences. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan’s Forests Are Turning a Profit for the Islamic State
ISIS members in Afghanistan – photo by PBS
FP: Wood smuggling is big business for the terrorist group. Small numbers of fighters for the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, the Afghan branch of the militant group, have been in Kunar since 2015. But the group’s new stronghold is in Kunar’s deep forests, inheriting a booming wood industry previously controlled by the Taliban that is now generating a growing income for Islamic State militants. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Insurgents Capture 20 Villages in Baghlan
Ariana: The Taliban insurgents occupied the Yaram Olia area, which has over 20 villages, of the Jolga district in Baghlan province without any clashes on Monday. Mohamad Sarwar Akbari, district governor of the Jolga district, confirms the fall of the area by the Taliban and stresses that more forces from the central Baghlan are needed in addition to the district’s police to jointly prevent the Taliban’s progress in the district. Click here to read more (external link).
Over 590 Civilians Killed In Afghanistan In Three Months
Tolo News: New figures by Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) indicate that 596 civilians were killed and 1,892 others were wounded in clashes between government forces and the Taliban and other attacks by militants in Afghanistan since the beginning of the current solar year which coincides with March 21, 2019. The CEO of the AIHRC, Musa Mahmoodi, told TOLOnews that 733 of the victims are children who have either been killed or wounded in the conflicts during the period. “Unfortunately, measures were not taken to reduce the number of civilian casualties,” he said. “In some areas, we saw a sharp rise among vulnerable victims.” Click here to read more (external link).
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