Biden Administration Points Finger at International Partners for Taliban Diverting U.S. Aid

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Michael Hughes: The U.S. State Department shrugged its collective shoulders, so to speak, and seemed to say “not my problem” when pressed on the Taliban siphoning large portions of American humanitarian aid. Instead of taking any responsibility, the U.S. suggested international aid organizations should be blamed for getting ripped off by the radical movement.

On the one hand, to be fair, it seems impossible to avoid the Taliban meddling in aid deliveries. Yet, the bigger problem is that not a single senior U.S. official has thought twice about revising Washington’s approach to the situation. Keep the spigot open and let God sort it all out, the de facto strategy seems to be.

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U.S. Government’s Interaction with the Taliban Aggravates Human Rights Violations

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8am: The relationship between the United States and the Taliban group which is becoming more intricate with each passing day has gone through a U-turn. The Taliban, historically labeled as a terrorist group and an enemy of the United States, has now been unofficially elevated to the level of a government by Washington and has gained the status of an ally of the United States, with some describing this group as the “Wagner” of the United States. In the final years of the republic regime, Donald Trump’s government put forward the narrative of “Taliban change” and promoted it in such a way that even some politicians who were against the Taliban in the previous government believed in it, seeking to communicate with this group. The executive director of the project to whitewash the Taliban, Zalmay Khalilzad, was serving as the special representative of the Donald Trump administration for Afghanistan’s reconciliation, signing the Doha agreement between the United States and the Taliban group on behalf of the United States. As per this agreement, the Taliban’s “Jihad” with foreign forces ended and turned to continue against the people of Afghanistan. At that time, Khalilzad spoke in such a way that the non-Taliban parties in Afghanistan’s politics would believe in the change of the Taliban, and on the other hand, the anti-Taliban forces would lose their fighting spirit or at least lose their belief in winning against this group. That situation contributed to the military victory of the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).

Qatar cruises past Afghanistan in co-qualifiers for 2026 World Cup and 2027 AFC Cup

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Doha News: With a FIFA ranking of 154, Afghanistan has a scarce chance of reaching the 2026 qualification. Qatar’s Al-Annabi kicked off a decisive win against Afghanistan on Thursday, defeating the team 8-1 at the co-qualifiers match for the 2026 World Cup edition and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan’s Acting UN Representative Demands Release Of Women’s Rights Activist

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
November 17, 2023

The acting head of the Afghan UN mission has requested the release of Afghan dissident Parisa Azada. Naseer Ahmed Faiq said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the detention of Azada by the Taliban is an act against Islamic and cultural values, as well as the fundamentals of human rights and freedom. His post on November 16 strongly condemned the arrest and demanded Azada’s immediate release, as well as the release of other women and human rights defenders. The Taliban arrested Azada, a member of the Women’s Movement for Justice and Freedom, last week in Kabul.

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Australian who blew whistle on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan pleads guilty

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Ariana: David McBride, a former army lawyer who revealed information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, has pleaded guilty to leaking classified information. David McBride was due to face trial next week, but changed his plea after a legal ruling scuppered his defence, BBC reported. McBride said he felt a moral duty to speak up after his internal complaints were ignored. A landmark inquiry later found evidence that Australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans during the war. Click here to read more (external link).

Hosting Afghans a Huge Burden, Pakistani President Says

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Sarah Zaman
VOA News
November 16, 2023

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani President Arif Alvi said his country has carried a huge burden in hosting Afghans for nearly four decades.

In an exclusive interview with VOA Urdu, Alvi defended Islamabad’s decision to expel Afghans living in Pakistan without proper documents.

He said giving refuge to citizens of the neighboring country had deeply affected his own country’s economy and culture.

“I think that it’s a huge burden for Pakistan. We have given refuge to 3.5 million people for 30, 40 years. They are our Afghan, Muslim brothers, and this deeply impacted our economy, our livelihood. Because when all of these people got jobs, Pakistan’s workforce is 80 to 100 million, and out of those, 3.5 million are Afghans.”

Pakistan is a country of over 240 million people. While the South Asian nation has struggled financially for years, it has a large undocumented or untaxed economy that Afghans also participate in as business owners, traders and laborers.

“It is said that the Kalashnikov culture here increased with the presence of Afghans,” Alvi said, referring to the mass inflow of weapons into Pakistan in the aftermath of the Soviet war in Afghanistan nearly three decades ago.

Pakistan hosts over 4 million Afghans of which roughly 1.7 million lack legal documents to stay. According to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, the country is currently hosting around 1.4 million legally registered Afghan refugees and nearly 900,000 as documented economic migrants.

There is also a sizeable population of Afghans born in Pakistan to parents who fled war or poverty in the last four decades. However, many lack proper documents.

Citing security concerns, Pakistan in early October ordered people of all nationalities residing illegally in the country to leave voluntarily or face a crackdown after November 1. Since then, over 300,000 Afghans have left the country voluntarily, while a small fraction has been deported.

Alvi, who serves a largely ceremonial post, complained that the international community had not provided Pakistan with sufficient support to host one of the world’s largest refugee populations.

“The world makes promises to cooperate when refugees arrive, but nobody has given any cooperation,” he said.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, nearly 700,000 Afghans arrived in Pakistan seeking refuge. Thousands among them are awaiting resettlement abroad.

In this time, Pakistan has also seen a dramatic rise in terror attacks. Islamabad accuses Afghan Taliban of providing a haven to the banned militant outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, responsible for many of the attacks.

The de facto rulers in Kabul deny the charge and say Pakistan is blaming them for its internal “failure.”

Islamabad also claims that Afghan citizens were involved in 14 out of 24 terror attacks in recent months.

When asked if the push to expel Afghans was a retaliatory move against the Taliban’s alleged inaction against cross-border terrorism, Alvi called the two issues a “concurrent problem.”

“Pakistan is repeatedly telling the Afghan Taliban to not let infiltration [of terrorists] happen from their side. [That] the anti-state players should not act against us sitting on your side,” he said.

Alvi said he did not know why the Taliban have not alleviated Pakistan’s concerns but noted that military and diplomatic channels of communication are open.

VOA Urdu’s Ali Furqan contributed to this report.

Other Pakistan-Afghanistan News

Taliban’s Suspicious Housing Developments Unfold in Ghazni

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8am: Local sources in Ghazni report that the Taliban have initiated the construction of four townships in the central areas and districts of Nawa, Qarabagh, and Waghaz in this province. According to sources, the construction of these townships began six months ago. The most substantial of these townships, currently undergoing rapid development, is situated in the Nawa district of the province, receiving direct financial support from the Haqqani network. Concurrently, a township is being constructed in the center of Ghazni province, involving the forceful seizure of portions of land for the project, including sections of the Teachers’ Township. Sources in the Qarabagh district also claim that hundreds of acres of Hazara-owned lands in this district have been seized by the Taliban for the construction of a township. Additionally, another township is under construction in the Waghaz district for undisclosed purposes.

Nevertheless, sources have claimed that migrants, primarily families of members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), will be relocated to these townships. They assert that the simultaneous mass expulsion of migrants from Pakistan and the prior readiness of the Taliban for their relocation appear suspicious. However, the Taliban have not provided details regarding these claims.

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Suicide attack in Nangarhar kills one, injures another

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Khaama: Local officials in Nangarhar province report that as a result of an explosion involving explosive materials in the vicinity of this province, one person has lost their life, and another individual has been injured. Abdul Basir Zabuli, the spokesperson for the Nangarhar provincial administration, has said in a statement that this incident occurred on Thursday near the Naghark Bridge in the Surkh Rod district of Nangarhar province. According to Mr. Zabuli, this incident occurred precisely at a moment when explosive materials had been transported within the body of an unidentified individual and detonated. Click here to read more (external link).