Ariana: Afghanistan is preparing to participate in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Thailand 2024™ which will be held from April 17 to 28. Afghanistan national futsal team is in Group D and will play three matches. Click here to read more (external link).
US Selective Outrage Over Use of Child Soldiers in Afghanistan
Linda Thomas Greenfield
Michael Hughes: The US this week raised concerns at the UN about the recruitment and deployment of child soldiers in Afghanistan, a serious criminal activity the Taliban must cease and be held accountable for. However, officials in Washington often suffer from amnesia, forgetting that the U.S. government waived restrictions related to using children in combat to arm the regimes in Kabul before the Taliban takeover.
In remarks at a UN Security Council event on Children and Armed Conflict on Wednesday, April 3, U.S. ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield found it deplorable that “young boys have been recruited as child soldiers” in Afghanistan. The U.S. envoy urged the council and the world that not another second of delay was acceptable as poor children were being used as proverbial cannon fodder.
Taliban sentence 3 Afghans to lengthy terms, flogging for political activism
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 4, 2024
ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban rulers Thursday sentenced two people to 15 years each for engaging in political activity, while a third person was flogged 30 times and jailed for similar charges.
The de facto government in Kabul, yet to be formally recognized by the international community, has banned all political parties and activities nationwide, deeming them as unIslamic.
The Taliban Supreme Court said in a statement that Thursday’s judicial actions were carried out in the southern province of Kandahar. Without further details, it said a fourth individual was sentenced to eight months for “moral corruption.”
The reclusive Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, lives and governs the country from Kandahar, which is known as the birthplace and political base of his fundamentalist group.
“There is no Sharia basis for political parties to operate in the country. They do not serve the national interest, nor does the nation appreciate them,” Abdul Hakim Sharaee, the Taliban minister of justice, said while announcing the ban on political activities last year.
Until the Taliban seized power in August 2021, around 70 major and small political parties were formally registered with the ministry.
Akhundzada is governing the impoverished, war-ravaged South Asian nation through his strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia. He has banned girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade and forbidden most Afghan women from public and private workplaces.
The Taliban have carried out flogging of hundreds of men and women in sports stadiums in the presence of onlookers for what they call “moral crimes” such as adultery, running away from home, and robbery. Several convicted murderers have also been executed publicly.
Late last month, Akhundzada said he was determined to enforce the Islamic criminal justice system across Afghanistan, including the public stoning of women for adultery. The United Nations decried his announcement as disturbing.
The U.N. and other global monitors have consistently criticized worsening human rights conditions after the Taliban takeover, demanding that they reverse their restrictions on women and civil liberty.
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan as the United States and NATO withdrew all their troops in August 2021 after nearly two decades of war with Taliban insurgents.
Exiled Afghan journalist shot, injured in Pakistan
VOA News
April 4, 2024
An exiled Afghan journalist was shot in Pakistan on Wednesday, prompting calls from press freedom groups for the Pakistani government to investigate the incident.
Ahmad Hanayesh was shot on Wednesday evening by two gunmen on a motorcycle when he was returning home in the capital Islamabad, according to the press freedom group the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.
The journalist was taken to a hospital for surgery on his foot and treatment for a non-life threatening head injury. It’s currently unclear who targeted the reporter and whether the motive was related to his work. Pakistani police said that they are looking into the incident, according to media reports.
Hanayesh, who is also known by his birth name Abdul Aleem Saqib, owned two radio stations in northern Afghanistan before he fled to Pakistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021. He also reported for the Afghan Service of VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
CPJ called for the Pakistani government to launch an investigation into the attack.
“The assault on Ahmad Hanayesh requires a thorough investigation by Pakistani authorities, who must ensure that the culprits are held to account,” Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director, said in a statement.
“It is imperative for Pakistan to safeguard the hundreds of Afghan journalists who have sought refuge within its borders, out of fear for their lives, because of the Taliban’s crackdown on media freedom,” he added in the statement.
The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders estimated in 2023 that more than 200 Afghan journalists have fled to neighboring Pakistan.
Press freedom groups consider Pakistan to be quite dangerous for journalists, especially those who report critically on the Pakistani government and military. Since 1992, CPJ has documented 64 journalists who were killed in the country over their work. In many of the cases, no one has been held accountable.
560 killed and injured in mine explosion across Afghanistan in 2023
Deminer (file photo)
Khaama: The de facto administration stated that in 2023, 560 individuals lost their lives or were injured in mine explosions across the country. Nuruddin Rustam Khel, the head of the Mine Clearance Department at the Ministry of State for Disaster Management, said during a ceremony commemorating the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action in Kabul that in 2023, 174 individuals, including women and children, lost their lives due to mine explosions and unexploded ordnance in the country. He stated that during the past year, 90 square kilometers of land in 119 districts of the country have been cleared of mine and unexploded ordnance threats. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – April 4, 2024
Why is Russia Striving to Remove the Taliban from the List of Terrorist Organizations?
8am: Russians believe that the Taliban group is a more reliable ally than the West in the fight against ISIS. This perception stems from decades of geopolitical competition between Russia and Western countries and a longstanding game initiated by America, using Islamist hardline groups to undermine its global rivals, especially the former Soviet Union. The continuation of this rivalry, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, has led to such distrust between the two sides that now Russians consider the Taliban a more trustworthy partner than the West in the “war on terror” and, therefore, seek to engage more with this group. Click here to read more (external link).
Month of Ramadan: Escalating Presence of Beggars in Cities
8am: The Taliban regime in the past one or two years has attempted to gather beggars and prevent their roaming in the streets and markets. However, the main issue is that without addressing the root cause of the problem, it is impossible to combat this social issue through coercion and force. Currently, poverty and destitution have become pervasive and distressing, affecting the lives of many individuals, from seventy-year-old men to seven-year-old children. Without tackling poverty, it is impossible to address the phenomenon of begging and find a solution. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
UN sounds alarm on shortage of Afghan humanitarian aid
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 3, 2024
ISLAMABAD — The United Nations has warned that delivering life-saving aid to millions of people in Afghanistan could be “severely impeded” as donors have given only 6% of the humanitarian funding appeal for 2024.
Indrika Ratwatte, the humanitarian coordinator for the impoverished country, has urged the international community to redouble its commitment and increase financial support for the Afghan people.
According to a U.N. statement released on Tuesday, Ratwatte expressed “deep concern” over the current funding levels and noted that the U.N. had secured just $290 million of the $3.06 billion requirements.
“Such a significant gap between existing needs and available funding will severely impede the delivery of life-saving assistance,” the statement said.
U.N. agencies estimate that more than half of the population in Afghanistan needs humanitarian assistance, citing frequent natural disasters and years of war. They caution that the lack of donor funding is aggravating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The return of the fundamentalist Taliban to power in 2021 has compounded challenges facing humanitarian operations in the country.
De facto Afghan authorities have banned many women from public and private workplaces, including the United Nations, and forbidden teenage girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban have rejected persistent international calls to reverse curbs on women, saying their governance is aligned with Afghan culture and Islamic principles.
Critics blame Taliban restrictions for contributing to the humanitarian crisis and discouraging foreign donors.
The World Food Program stopped food assistance for 10 million Afghans in 2023 because of a massive funding shortfall.
The Taliban have dismissed claims their misogynistic policies are jeopardizing the flow of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, alleging donors are politicizing the aid.
“We don’t need their assistance. Spare us from their [foreigners’] harm,” Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a recent social media-hosted seminar.
Tolo News in Dari – April 3, 2024