Taliban militant (file photo)
8am: The Taliban’s treatment of applicants has consistently been inhumane and devoid of dignity. Taliban fighters, who have lived for years in mountainous areas away from human societies, lack the understanding of establishing communication with people and managing them. What these fighters have learned is warmongering in the harsh mountain fields. Now that some of these fighters have assumed non-military roles and others are armed, none of them know how to interact with the people. Humiliating and torturing the population is a common practice observed among all members of the Taliban. When dealing with people who want to exercise their basic rights in exchange for payment, they resort to whipping and gun butts. They have failed to learn how to communicate with people and, if unable to manage an office, understand that it is not the fault of the people. Before the Taliban came to power, the passport distribution process was quite normal, and any applicant could easily obtain their passport within two to three working days. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Iran’s Yazd Air has launched a new route between Tehran and Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Balkh province. According to the Iranian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, flights started on Saturday. The consulate also said that other Iranian airlines are expected to start flying to Afghanistan. Earlier this month, Afghanistan’s ministry of transport and civil aviation announced that Air Arabia has started flying to Kabul. 
8am: In a disturbing incident reported by local sources in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, an elderly and mentally ill man was shot and killed by Taliban fighters on Sunday morning, January 21. The incident occurred in the Chawk-e Alkozai area, situated in the second district of Mazar-i-Sharif. According to eyewitnesses, the Taliban accused the victim of insulting their group, leading to his execution by gunfire. The tragic incident highlights the ongoing concerns surrounding human rights violations in areas under Taliban control. 
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NIKKEI Asia: Afghan women say they are afraid to leave their homes, after the Taliban began intensifying its wide-ranging crackdown on hijab-wearing and making arrests across the country at the start of the year. Kabul resident Farkhunda, 27, told Nikkei Asia that since she and four others were arrested, her sister has been too scared to even attend classes at a religious seminary. “As you know, there is a complete ban on girls’ education in schools and universities and one of my sisters was attending a religious seminary. After our arrest, she refused to go there too,” Farkhunda said. 
8am: Applicants are risking their lives to obtain passports at a time when, according to global assessments, Afghanistan’s passport was recognized as the “most worthless passport” in the world in 2023. Most people view the sacrifice of people with their lives for the world’s most worthless passport as a sign of dissatisfaction with the Taliban. They emphasize that the citizens of the country are suffering from the oppression of the Taliban, who are incapable of providing even the most basic government services and lack the wisdom and knowledge to do so.