Taliban’s plans to curtail access to Facebook in Afghanistan alarm critics

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 9, 2024

Media freedom advocates are expressing alarm over the Taliban’s proposal to restrict or completely ban access to Facebook in Afghanistan and have urged the fundamentalist rulers to reconsider the move.

Najibullah Haqqani, minister of telecommunications and Information, announced last week on a local TV news channel that he has finalized a proposal to limit access to the social media platform, pending approval by the Taliban.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, has urged the Taliban not to move ahead on a measure that it said would “further impede the free flow of information in Afghanistan.”

In a statement issued on Monday, the U.S.-based advocate of media freedom highlighted Facebook’s widespread use by Afghan news outlets to disseminate news and information in the country.

“Social media platforms, including Facebook, have helped to fill a void left by the decline of the Afghan media industry since the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover and the ensuing crackdown on press freedom,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.

“The proposed ban highlights the worsening censorship by the Taliban,” she added.

The CPJ statement quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as telling the U.S.-based watchdog that “Facebook will not be banned, but restrictions will be imposed on it.”

Taliban officials themselves heavily rely on social media platforms, including Facebook and X, to announce policy statements and propagate the return of so-called economic, security and political stability to Afghanistan.

Since regaining control of the war-ravaged country nearly three years ago, the Taliban have detained journalists, shut down Afghan news websites and restricted access to foreign media outlets, including VOA. Activists say the restrictions have severely curtailed press freedom in Afghanistan.

In February, the Taliban governor of the southern province of Kandahar ordered his staff and security forces not to allow photographs or videos during their formal or informal meetings.

Later that month, the Taliban minister for the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice warned media representatives at a meeting in the capital, Kabul, of the possibility of a ban on female journalists and guests if they did not comply with a strict dress code, requiring that only their eyes be visible during broadcasts.

Afghanistan’s Eid Struggle: Unemployment Depletes Citizens’ Purchasing Power, Leaves Tables Bare

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8am: As Eid al-Fitr approaches in Afghanistan, many families find themselves without bread on their tables and facing severe unemployment that threatens their livelihoods. Blistering poverty, along with political and economic crises, has pushed them to the brink of despair. For most, purchasing power has dwindled, with little sign of the joyous celebrations of past holidays. The Taliban’s inability to control food prices and their failure to provide social and welfare services have heightened desperation among the populace to meet basic needs. Mass deprivation of women from employment and the disappearance of institutions that once offered income have left people destitute, their Eid tables empty. Economic experts argue that persistent unemployment and a lack of job opportunities in a bankrupt economy have contributed to this decline in purchasing power. They highlight non-payment of salaries to workers and women’s unemployment as factors further diminishing people’s purchasing power. Click here to read more (external link).

Shrouded in Darkness: ‘I’m Forced to Close My Art Gallery’

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8am: It’s evening, and the last rays of sunlight, casting an orange hue across the canvas of paintings that have now changed their colors and mood, are spreading. Sitting amidst a multitude of paintings, she gazes sorrowfully at her artistic creations. On one hand, she worries about the darkening sky, and on the other, she despairs at the paintings that do not bear any Islamic inscriptions—works deemed un-Islamic by the Taliban, who label their creators as infidels and subject them to trial. Following the Taliban’s latest decision to impose restrictions on educational centers and art galleries where girls above the sixth grade are not allowed, Tamanna, the artist, has become disillusioned with continuing her artistic endeavors. She is striving to close her last source of income and abandon the dream she has lived her whole life. Click here to read more (external link).

Babar Azam says Pakistan’s World Cup loss to Afghanistan was ‘very painful’

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Ariana: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam has said that his nation’s defeat against Afghanistan in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 was “very painful.” “That match was very painful for me because losing to Afghanistan in a World Cup was a different kind of thing,” Babar said in a podcast, A Sports reported. “So, that day was a hard day for me. I couldn’t sleep that day. It [defeat] hit me hard in the heart.” Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the ICC World Cup 2023. The eight-wicket victory marked Afghanistan’s first over Pakistan in ODIs. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Afghan Sports News

Anti-polio gains threatened by returning migrants, 200,000 unvaccinated children in Afghanistan

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 8, 2024

ISLAMABAD — The World Health Organization said Monday that the recent return of about 600,000 undocumented migrants from Pakistan to Afghanistan and an estimated 200,000 unvaccinated children in southern Afghan regions are a threat to regional gains against polio.

In its latest assessment of the disease’s international spread, WHO said that both neighboring countries had made significant progress in interrupting the transmission of the two surviving genetic clusters of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in the region.

Pakistan and Afghanistan, the last two nations where the crippling virus is still found, have reported two and zero cases of polio infections, respectively, this year.

However, the WHO assessment said that the recent large-scale displacement of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan had “increased the risk of cross-border poliovirus spread, as well as [the] spread within both countries.” It cautioned that “any setback in Afghanistan poses a risk to the [polio] program in Pakistan due to high population movement.”

The report stated that coordinated efforts were being made to “manage and mitigate” the risk through vaccination at border crossing points between the two countries.

WHO said vaccination coverage in southern Afghan provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul and Nimruz has improved “but remains suboptimal, with an estimated 200,000 children who remain unreached.” The large pool of unvaccinated children “constitutes a major risk,” it said.

The report stressed that house-to-house immunizations of children are comparatively effective, but some parts of Afghanistan “still only allow site-to-site or mosque-to-mosque vaccinations.”

It appreciated the Taliban government’s commitment to the global goal of eradicating polio in Afghanistan. WHO noted and praised the increased use of Afghan female health care workers in campaigns and strongly encouraged the implementation of house-to-house campaigns where feasible.

The fundamentalist Taliban have banned women from many public and private sector workplaces, but the health sector is mostly exempted from the restrictions.

Amrullah Saleh to Elon Musk: Hope my account isn’t denied blue tick due to Pakistan pressure

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Amrullah Saleh

Khaama: Former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh says that X formerly known as Twitter has rejected his request for a blue tick verification symbol for his account on this platform. Saleh wrote to Elon Musk, stating that while members of “Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban” have obtained blue ticks, it’s likely that X does not provide him with the real account verification due to pressure from Pakistan. Mr. Saleh publicly requested a blue tick on Sunday, April 7th, on the social media platform X. He stated that he has more than one million followers but has so far been unable to obtain the X blue tick. Click here to read more (external link).

The Taliban Supreme Leader’s Eid Message Reveals Deep Internal Divisions

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Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada

8am: In his Eid al-Fitr message, Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban, has urged members of the group to avoid internal disagreements and discord similar to that of the past mujahideen. This comes amidst recent reports indicating Akhundzada’s efforts to consolidate his power, with some members reportedly defying his directives. Earlier, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), citing its sources, noted that mid-level Taliban commanders maintain close ties with senior leaders, often bypassing Akhundzada’s commands. Akhundzada exclusively addresses men in his message, overlooking women entirely. He underscores an increase in the activities of the Taliban’s Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and mosque imams, urging clerics to “reform” people. However, some citizens perceive the Taliban supreme leader’s message as a denial of citizens’ rights and as hostage-taking. Conversely, some argue that Akhundzada has refrained from declaring “global jihad” following scrutiny of unmanned aerial vehicles and is advocating for better relations with the world. They contend that the Taliban’s security assurances are “lies” and that the group has harbored dozens of regional terrorist organizations in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

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