Ariana: An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted Afghanistan on Wednesday, the National Center for Seismology reported. The tremors were felt at 08:54pm, at a depth of 146 km. There are no reports of any casualties or collateral damage due to the quake. Tremors were also felt in the neighbouring areas of Pakistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Environmental News
By Akmal Dawi
VOA News
March 13, 2024
The United States’ program to resettle former Afghan interpreters and contractors could come to an abrupt end in a few months as the number of available Special Immigrant Visas dwindles.
Activists are urging Congress to authorize additional visas, known as SIVs, with less than 8,000 remaining amid a backlog of over 120,000 applications.
“If more visas are not authorized, the program will likely run out of visas by the end of summer, which could be a death knell for the program,” said Andrew Sullivan, director of advocacy at No One Left Behind, an organization advocating for Iraqi and Afghan SIV beneficiaries.
The U.S. has ramped up SIV processing, issuing a record 39,000 SIVs in 2023. Still, demand far outstrips supply.
Last year, the U.S. Department of State asked Congress to authorize additional SIVs. The proposal received support from some lawmakers. In July, Senator Jeanne Shaheen celebrated a “landmark victory” when an amendment authorizing 20,000 new SIVs was included in the State Department’s appropriations bill.
However, it remains unclear whether the SIVs will be included in the final version of the bill, which must be approved by both the House and the Senate by March 22 to avoid a partial government shutdown.
“For two decades, the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan relied on trusted Afghan allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops. We promised to protect them — just as they did for us; yet we are at grave risk of leaving behind many of our allies as the Taliban continue to hunt for them. We need to do more to help them and keep our promise — that’s why I secured an additional 20,000 SIVs in the bipartisan Senate-passed appropriations bill and I’ll continue fighting to get those visas included in the final package,” Shaheen told VOA in a written statement.
VOA sought comment from House Speaker Mike Johnson but has received no response.
“We are nearing the annual cap,” State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller warned last week. “We need statutory approval to raise the cap.”
Some 2½ years after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, evacuations of former contractors continue amid fears of Taliban reprisals.
Taliban de facto authorities say their prescribed general amnesty protects former U.S. collaborators from harm.
“Anyone who questions the Taliban’s brutality is wrong,” Sullivan told VOA. “We have documented over 200 targeted reprisal killings by the Taliban.”
Since 2008, the U.S. has awarded nearly 120,000 SIVs to Afghans.
Afghanistan left out
Since the 2021 withdrawal, the U.S. government has largely excluded Afghanistan from its policy priorities. Washington refuses to recognize the Taliban regime, but also withholds support for opposition groups.
President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last week did not include any reference to Afghanistan, a topic that previously featured prominently in U.S. policy discussions.
As Biden spoke, one man shouted, “Abbey Gate, Abbey Gate,” referring to the entrance to the Kabul airport, where in August 2021 a massive explosion claimed the lives of more than 100 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel.
Biden “may try to turn the page on Afghanistan after his incompetence cost American lives, but NOT ON MY WATCH,” Brian Mast, a member of Congress who served in Afghanistan as an army bomb disposal expert, wrote on X.
Republican lawmakers often criticize Biden’s handling of the chaotic withdrawal. However, some activists fault the Republican-led House for inaction on the Afghan Adjustment Act, which seeks to offer legal paths to permanent residency for tens of thousands of Afghans admitted to the U.S. in 2021 and 2022 for humanitarian reasons.
Khaama: The World Bank says Afghanistan’s exports dropped 5% to $140.5 million from last January. According to this World Bank report, recently published under the title “Afghanistan Economic Update,” the country’s exports were $148.1 million in January of the previous year. However, the World Bank report states that Afghanistan’s imports have increased by 37% compared to January last year, rising from $600 million in January of the previous year to $830 million in January 2024, thereby increasing the trade deficit. Click here to read more (external link).
The Guardian (UK): The Afghanistan inquiry is getting into gear at the Royal Courts of Justice. Led by the judge Charles Haddon-Cave, this public inquiry was convened to investigate about 80 killings allegedly committed by the SAS in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. Proceedings took a dramatic turn last month when the minister for veterans’ affairs, Johnny Mercer, gave evidence. It was astonishing to watch. Mercer stated that he had heard from “trusted sources” shocking accounts of serial murder and attempted cover-ups by SAS personnel in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: According to initial reports from the Provincial Disaster Management Directorate, 60 people died, 34 people were injured, 1,645 houses were destroyed and 177,911 livestock were lost as a result of snowfall, rain and cold weather. A number of affected families say that they have not received any help, while they have lost all their possessions in the recent floods. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: In the 3rd and final ODI of the series, Afghanistan beat Ireland by 117 runs, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, on Monday and win the ODI Series 2-0. The two teams now play three T20Is at the same venue, starting Friday, 15 March. Click here to read more (external link).
By Faiza Ibrahimi and Sana Kakar
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
March 12, 2024
Ramadan is usually a time of compassion, charity, and celebration.
But the Islamic holy month has been overshadowed in Afghanistan, the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, by rising hunger, poverty, and joblessness.
As some in the Muslim world break their fast with nightly feasts, millions of Afghans are desperately trying to stave off starvation in a country where many survive on only bread and water.
“We have nothing to eat during iftar,” said Maria, a mother of three who lives in Kabul, referring to the nightly, fast-breaking meal served after sundown throughout the month of Ramadan.
Maria, whose husband is a drug addict, is the sole breadwinner of the family. But the Taliban, which seized power in 2021, has barred most women from working outside their homes.
“We won’t be able to celebrate Eid either,” she said, referring to Eid al-Fitar, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan, which began on March 11 this year.
Abdul Qadir is one of the more than 500,000 Afghan refugees and migrants expelled from neighboring Pakistan since October. Unable to feed his family, he said he cannot observe Ramadan this year.
“It’s impossible to fast when you have nothing to eat [in the evening],” said Qadir, who lives in the eastern province of Laghman. “The economy is absolutely zero. There’s no work.”
Multiple Crises
Ramadan has coincided with a devastating humanitarian and economic crisis in Afghanistan.
Around 24 million people — out of a population of around 40 million — will need life-saving humanitarian support this year, the United Nations said on March 10.
The World Food Program said around 4 million Afghans are acutely malnourished, including over 3 million children under the age of 5.
In a report issued on March 10, the World Bank said Afghanistan was experiencing deflation amid weak economic activity. It also reported a significant decline in Afghanistan’s exports and depreciation of the national currency.
The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 triggered an economic collapse and worsened a major humanitarian crisis. Western donors abruptly cut off assistance and the Taliban government was hit by international sanctions.
Aid groups have continued their humanitarian operations, although major cuts in international funding have restricted their activities.
The Taliban government, which remains unrecognized and under sanctions by the international community, appears unable to address the crises.
Natural disasters like earthquakes and droughts as well as the influx of over 1 million Afghan refugees from neighboring countries recently have further aggravated the already dire humanitarian situation in the war-torn country.
‘I Have Nothing’
Many Afghans are scaling back or even skipping Ramadan altogether this year due to their increasing financial restraints. “Like everyone I know, we suffer enormous economic pressures,” said Mursal, a civil servant under the previous Western-backed Afghan government who is now unemployed.
“I can’t cope with the expectations and demands of Ramadan,” added Mursal, who lives with her family in Kabul.
Nida Ahmadi, a female teacher in the northern province of Parwan, says she took out a loan in order to be able to fully observe Ramadan.
“But even that is not enough,” said Ahmadi, whose monthly salary of around $200 is not enough for her family of seven.
“When I go to the market, I wonder what to buy with the little money I have,” she said.
Written by Abubakar Siddique based on reporting by Faiza Ibrahimi and Sana Kakar of RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
Firstpost: The dire economic situation in Afghanistan, exacerbated by the recent Taliban takeover and ongoing poverty affecting half the population, has driven many like Sharif, a former livestock keeper, to turn to mining for survival. Click here to read more (external link).