Taliban opponents lack strong leadership and foreign support: SIGAR
Khaama: Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, known as SIGAR, has written in a new report that anti-Taliban groups do not have foreign support and strong leadership. However, SIGAR stated that resistance groups have taken responsibility for 43 attacks against the Taliban in the past three months. The report by the United States Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction states that Afghan people’s fatigue from war and retaliatory actions by the Taliban are two other major reasons for the lack of escalation in anti-Taliban attacks. It also quoted the UN report stating that the Afghan Freedom Front continued its guerrilla attacks in cities and villages. Additionally, it was quoted that the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, led by Ahmad Massoud, did not launch any attacks in Panjshir, its traditional base. A resident of Panjshir told SIGAR that due to pressures imposed by the Taliban on the people of Panjshir, the resistance front is currently not operating in this province. Click here to read more (external link).
Hostility Grows Between Kandahari Taliban & Fasihuddin’s Forces, Reports AGT
Qari Fasihuddin
Afghanistan International: The Afghanistan Green Trend (AGT), led by Amrullah Saleh, has reported that hostility between the Kandahari Taliban and the forces of Fasihuddin Fitrat, the group’s Chief of Army Staff, in Badakhshan, is growing. The AGT also suggested that the Kandahari Taliban, who now control Badakhshan, have started disarming the local Taliban and imposing strict measures on them. According to the report, the Badakhshani Taliban, who have close ties with Fasihuddin, feel marginalised in their own province. This report coincides with protests in Darayim district in Badakhshan, where residents demonstrated against what they called “oppression and tyranny by non-Badakhshani Taliban”. Reports indicate that, following these protests, the Taliban fired shots, resulting in at least one fatality. Click here to read more (external link).
Protesters Condemn Taliban Members’ Invasion Of Privacy In Badakhshan
Afghanistan International: In video clips sent to Afghanistan International, protesters can be heard accusing the Taliban of invading people’s privacy and “assaulting women”. One protester accused the Taliban of disrespecting the “honour, religion, and privacy” of the people. The protesters accused the Taliban of demolishing property and oppressing locals. Click here to read more (external link).
No Evidence of Reduction in Drug Production in Afghanistan, Says Iranian Official
Afghanistan International: Mohammad Reza Kazemi, Iran’s Deputy Head of the Drug Control Headquarters, said that there is still no documented evidence of a reduction in drug production in Afghanistan. Kazemi pointed out that the activities of smugglers in the region indicate that there hasn’t been any significant decrease in drug production. In April 2022, the Taliban banned poppy cultivation as well as its production, consumption, purchase, and sale. In a decree attributed to Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the group, it was announced that anyone engaging in poppy cultivation would have their land destroyed and face consequences. However, regional countries continue to report seizure of drugs originating from Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Aino Mina and Khorasan secure 2-1 wins in Friday’s ACL matches
Ariana: Aino Mina defeated Adalat Farah 2-1 in the 27th match of Afghanistan Champions League (ACL) in Kabul on Friday. In the other game of the day, Khorasan Faryab beat Jawanan Wahedi with the same result. In Saturday’s matches, Sarsabz Yashlar will face Khadim at 1:00 p.m. and Sorkh Poshan Khafi will face Istiqlal Kabul at 3:30 p.m. The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television. Click here to read more (external link).
UN observes reduction in Taliban’s enforcement of hijab on Afghan women
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
May 2, 2024
A new United Nations report suggested Thursday that the hardline Taliban government in Afghanistan has eased its drive to enforce an Islamic dress code or hijab on women.
However, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, noted in its quarterly report that violations of human rights at large continued under the Taliban regime.
The Taliban have mandated that Afghan women wear what is termed as the “sharia hijab” in public, covering their faces entirely or only showing their eyes. The operations to enforce the dress code are carried out by the group’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
While UNAMA continued to receive reports of the enforcement of the hijab instruction by the Taliban ministry, the report said that “such incidents significantly decreased after January 2024 with the cessation of the large-scale enforcement actions which took place between December 2023 and January 2024.”
On January 11, the UNAMA raised the alarm over numerous cases of girls and women across Afghanistan, some held incommunicado, being detained, and others reportedly ill-treated for alleged non-compliance with the hijab. Taliban authorities at the time dismissed U.N. concerns as “incorrect” and “propaganda.”
Thursday’s UNAMA report noted that the new school year in Afghanistan commenced without the presence of girls in high schools due to the Taliban’s continued ban on girls’ education beyond grade six.
“An invitation to attend a ceremony in Kabul marking the commencement of the new academic year, issued to media by the de facto Ministry of Education, specifically instructed women journalists not to attend, citing a “lack of proper place[s]” for women,” the report said.
The UNAMA reported that journalists and media workers continue to operate in a challenging environment in Afghanistan, with the media facing a range of restrictions imposed by the Taliban and the risk of arbitrary detention in the course of their work.
Taliban authorities carried out three public executions of individuals sentenced to death on murder charges, the report said. Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, they have publicly executed five murder convicts despite U.N. calls for halting the practice.
“The de facto authorities also continue to implement judicial corporal punishment in public, with such punishments taking place in at least one province each week,” the UNAMA said.
The Taliban have publicly flogged hundreds of men and women in sports stadiums in the presence of thousands of onlookers. The victims were convicted of offenses such as theft, robbery, adultery, and other “moral crimes” by Taliban courts.
Afghan women have also been barred from many public and private workplaces, including the United Nations.
Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has defended his governance, saying it is strictly in line with local culture and Islamic law. He has dismissed international criticism of his policies and strict interpretation of Islamic law as an interference in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.
The international community has refused to recognize the Taliban government primarily over its harsh treatment of Afghan women.
Islamic State group said to be recruiting greater numbers in Afghanistan
ISIS Militants
Stars and Stripes: ISIS-K is taking advantage of poor economic conditions and instability in Afghanistan that came after the Taliban seized the country from the U.S.-backed government in 2021, said Kamran Bokhari, senior director of the Eurasian Security and Prosperity program at the Washington-based New Lines Institute. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – May 2, 2024
Religious Minorities Face Harassment in Afghanistan, Reports USCIRF
Taliban militants (file photo)
Afghanistan International: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated that religious minorities in Afghanistan face threats from terrorist groups such as ISIS, as well as harassment and persecution from the Taliban. The commission’s report specifically mentions that Shias, Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians are individuals whose religious freedom has been violated. In its annual report, the USCIRF states that religious freedom in Afghanistan has deteriorated under the Taliban rule. The USCIRF states that in February 2023, a Taliban governor in Badakhshan issued a letter prohibiting marriages between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Click here to read more (external link).