Taliban Coercion in Charikar City: Residents Unable to Afford 20-Year Municipal Cleaning Fee
8am: Some residents of Charikar City, the capital of Parwan province, say that the Taliban have set a one-week deadline for them to pay the 20-year Municipal Cleaning Fee arrears of the city. The Taliban have warned the residents of Charikar that if they do not pay this amount within a week, their homes will be sealed. According to the residents, the Taliban demand the “Municipal Cleaning Fee” based on house valuation from the people. However, the residents of Charikar say that due to the poor economic situation in the country, they are unable to pay this amount of money. They accuse the Taliban of “coercion” and emphasize that this group has multiplied the Cleaning Fee. On the other hand, some legal experts say that with the Taliban’s resurgence, Afghanistan’s legal system has been “halted” and no legitimate legal action is being taken. According to them, the Taliban’s actions, which are carried out in the absence of an official constitutional legality, are more of “autocracy and obscurantism” than legal legitimacy. Click here to read more (external link).
Pakistan’s Ex-PM Khan Sentenced To 10 Years Over US-Related State Secrets
Imran Khan
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
January 30, 2024
ISLAMABAD — A special court in Pakistan sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 10 years in prison Tuesday on charges that while in office, he made public state secrets involving the United States.
Khan’s former foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, was also given a 10-year jail term in the lawsuit stemming from a classified cable, internally known as a cipher.
Khan claimed the diplomatic cable had documented the U.S. role in the toppling of his government with the help of the military to punish him for pushing Pakistan to have a foreign policy free of American influence. Washington and the Pakistan military denied the accusations.
The 71-year-old former Pakistani prime minister, who was ousted from power in April 2022 by an opposition alliance, has rejected the cipher trial as politically motivated and manufactured by the country’s powerful military.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party decried the court ruling as “a complete mockery and disregard of the law” in a trial “with no access to media or public.” The party said its legal team “will challenge the decision in a higher court” and “hopefully will get this sentence suspended.”
The single-judge tribunal conducted the trial inside a high-security prison near Islamabad, with no access to foreign and most mainstream Pakistani media representatives.
Tuesday’s conviction under the Official Secrets Act comes ahead of parliamentary elections in Pakistan, which are scheduled for Feb. 8.
The cipher was sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington in March 2022, a month before a parliamentary vote of no-confidence removed Khan from power.
The ousted Pakistani leader has maintained that the U.S. in the cipher had encouraged the military to orchestrate the vote, and he was obligated to share the cipher’s contents with his voters to expose the foreign “conspiracy” against his government.
Khan has been in jail since August after being convicted on controversial corruption charges and sentenced to three years. He was subsequently disqualified from contesting an election for five years in line with the election laws that bar convicts from standing.
The cricket hero-turned-politician denies any wrongdoing, accusing the military of orchestrating nearly 200 charges against him, ranging from rioting and corruption to terrorism since his ouster.
Khan swept to power in 2018 when his PTI won the 2018 parliamentary elections, but he developed differences with the military over key appointments and foreign policy matters that critics blame for his removal from office.
The military has directly ruled Pakistan for more than three decades, and generals have been constantly accused of playing a role in making or dislodging elected governments during most of the remainder of the 77 years of Pakistani independence..
The security institution denies it interferes in political matters, but its former chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, admitted in a nationally televised speech just days before his retirement in November 2022 that the military had been meddling in politics for the past 70 years.
A government crackdown backed by the military has detained scores of PTI leaders in recent months, forcing many others to quit the party or join anti-Khan political forces. The party is also banned from holding election rallies, and mainstream media cannot air Khan’s name.
Despite the crackdown, recent public opinion polls showed Khan is the most popular politician in Pakistan, and the PTI is the largest national political party.
Afghanistan’s Taliban Host Multilateral Huddle To Promote Regional Cooperation
Muttaqi
By Ayaz Gul
VOA News
January 29, 2024
ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s fundamentalist Taliban hosted their first international meeting Monday since returning to power in Kabul, saying it is aimed at promoting economic connectivity and cooperation with regional countries on “common challenges.”
Special representatives and ambassadors from neighboring and regional countries, including China, Russia and Iran, attended the gathering in the Afghan capital titled Afghanistan Regional Cooperation Initiative.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the inaugural session that “regional security remains of grave importance” for his government, known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan or IEA. His office released the English translation of his local language speech.
Muttaqi explained that the meeting had been convened to develop a “region-centric narrative” to enhance cooperation “for a positive and constructive engagement between Afghanistan and regional countries to tackle existing and potential threats.”
The Taliban reclaimed power in August 2021 when the United States-led Western troops withdrew from the country after their involvement in the Afghan war for nearly 20 years.
However, the international community has not recognized the de facto Afghan government mainly over its restrictions on women’s access to education and work.
The United Nations has also refused to give Afghanistan’s seat at the world body to the Taliban until they ease their restrictions on Afghan women’s freedom of movement and work and govern the country through an inclusive political setup representing all Afghan ethnicities.
The Taliban have defended their administration and policies as aligned with Afghan culture and Islamic law, rejecting calls for reforms as an interference in the country’s internal affairs.
“I would like to take this opportunity to put across to you a clear message: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan respects others’ interests, choices, government structures, and development models and, in return, expects others to respect Afghanistan’s interests and government and development choices and models,” Muttaqi said Monday.
“Therefore, our choices shall be respected. Instead of proposing governance models and pointing fingers at the (Afghan ruling) system, it is better to engage in mutual interests,” the Taliban foreign minister said.
He urged delegates to convey the “ground realities of today’s Afghanistan” to the United Nations meeting scheduled for next month in Qatar in hopes of fostering a “constructive engagement” and “acceptable approach” for his country.
The two-day conference in Qatar’s capital, Doha, will open on February 18. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene the meeting with member states, regional organizations, and special Afghanistan representatives.
“The objective of the meeting is to discuss how to approach increasing international engagement in a coherent, coordinated, and structured manner, including through consideration of the recommendations of the independent assessment on Afghanistan,” said Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric while speaking to reporters in New York last week.
The U.N.-mandated assessment determined that “international engagement is not working,” nor does it “serve the humanitarian, economic, political or social needs of the Afghan people.”
The Doha meeting is also expected to discuss the appointment of a U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan in accordance with the assessment’s recommendations.
On Monday, Muttaqi reiterated Kabul’s opposition to appointing a U.N. special envoy, saying the world body already maintains its presence in Afghanistan and his administration is ready to engage with international stakeholders on all issues. He cautioned that previous “externally imposed” solutions and interventions led to instability in his conflict-torn South Asian nation.
The U.N.-authorized assessment has linked the recognition of the Taliban government to compliance with Afghanistan’s international treaty obligations and commitments and the immediate removal of sweeping curbs on women’s rights to education and employment opportunities.
Tolo News in Dari – January 29, 2024
Polio vaccination campaign kicks off in 21 provinces
Child getting polio drops (file photo)
Ariana: A polio vaccination campaign has been launched in 21 provinces and will reach more than 7.5 million children under the age of five, the Ministry of Public Health said. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world that still record cases of the virus on a regular basis. However, so far this year, Afghanistan has not recorded a single case. Health officials said that in 2023, six positive cases of polio were registered in the country. Click here to read more (external link).
Kim Jong Un’s ‘Infidel’ Hairstyle A Fashion Sin Under New Taliban Rules
By Michael Scollon
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
January 28, 2024
Afghan men have limited options when visiting the barbershop if they do not want to be accused of walking away looking like a trendy Westerner or a North Korean dictator.
No haircuts that make them look like an “infidel.” No trimmed eyebrows. And no shaved faces or beards shorter than the optimal length.
Any of those styles are considered a fashion sin, according to a new six-point list of rules for barbers issued by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
The issuance of the directives, initially denied by the ministry, were confirmed by a regional ministry official in the western province of Herat this week.
Azizul Rahman Mohajer said on January 23 that certain haircuts were too similar to what the “infidels in the West or North Korea” have.
Some among the younger generation in Afghanistan try to follow these styles, Mohajer said, prompting the delivery of the new rules for barbers to follow.
“If the style is according to our principles there is no problem,” he said, stressing that if customers ask for trendy hairstyles or to have their beards cut, barbers should refuse them.
The directives appeared to single out hairstyles that might resemble that of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un — whose head is shaved on the sides and back, and topped with longer hair in a nod to the cut donned by his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, the founder of communist North Korea.
They were also reminiscent of orders issued under the previous Taliban government in power from 1996 to 2001, including “foreign haircuts” styled after the side-shaved, long-on-top hairdo popularized by American actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the film Titanic. Anything resembling the “Beatles cut,” the iconic mop top worn by John, Paul, George, and Ringo during the British band’s 1960s Beatlemania era, was also banned.
The latest rules say that beards should be no shorter than “one strand” and that men’s eyebrows should not be trimmed. Barbers were also told not to have music playing in their shops, or to have any images that might advertise undesirable styles on display.
It was not clear if the new rules applied only in Herat or across the country.
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has outlawed music and made clear that it considers the shaving or cutting of beards to be a violation of its strict interpretation of Islamic law and values.
Afghan barbers who spoke to RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi expressed incredulity at the latest rules, with some questioning how the styles coming under scrutiny could be in violation of Islamic law and saying the order would harm their business.
“If you trim your beard…or wear Western-style clothes, how does that make you a nonbeliever?” asked one barber who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. “It doesn’t make any difference.”
“The Koran says that cleanliness is part of the faith, but that is not the case here,” a youth from Herat Province who also spoke on condition of anonymity told Radio Azadi. “We understand that wearing a [long] beard is preferred, but it is not a sin [not to have one].”
Policing Appearances
The new rules for barbers are the latest attempt by the Taliban to police the appearances of Afghan men and women.
Since regaining power, the Taliban has ordered male government employees to grow beards and wear traditional attire or risk being fired. In some areas, men have been forced to attend prayers.
In some parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban has banned Western-style clothing, including jeans and suits.
The extremist group has also ordered male teachers and high-school students in some provinces to grow a beard, wear a turban or Islamic cap, and don the “pirhan tumban,” the traditional baggy shirt and pants that is common in rural Afghanistan.
The militants have also imposed strict gender segregation in schools, universities, hospitals, government offices, and public transport.
Women have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s attempts to police Afghans’ appearances. The hard-line Islamist group has enforced strict dress and behavioral codes that require women to cover from head to toe and severely restricts their rights to move freely, work, or receive an education.
The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has frequently issued orders it has said are intended to help Afghans stay in compliance with what the Taliban considers Islamic law.
Written by Michael Scollon based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Pakistani Army allegedly facilitating ISIS fighters’ entry into Afghanistan: The Sunday Guardian
Khaama: A British newspaper, known as “The Sunday Guardian,” has reported, citing informed sources, that the Pakistani army is allegedly facilitating the movement of ISIS-Khorasan branch militants into Afghanistan. According to the report published on Sunday, it is claimed that the Pakistani military is assisting members of the ISIS-Khorasan branch in crossing the border and entering Afghanistan. Last week, when the Pakistani army attempted to help ISIS members cross the border, they clashed with Afghan Taliban border guards, leading the ISIS fighters to retreat towards the Pakistani side. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News in Dari – January 28, 2024
Pakistanis Protesting Arrest Of Pashtun Rights Activist Detained
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal
January 28, 2024
Police in the Pakistani city of Lahore have detained several members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) who were protesting the continuing detention of group leader Manzoor Pashteen, who has campaigned for the country’s Pashtun minority. The movement has pressed since 2018 for the rights of Pakistan’s estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns, many of whom live near the Afghan border. It has attracted tens of thousands of people to public rallies in recent years to denounce the powerful Pakistani Army’s heavy-handed tactics in its fight against the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups.