Ariana: Naqibullah Dehqanzada, acting head of the Afghan consulate in Khorog of Tajikistan, stated that the consulate operates under the direct support and supervision of the Islamic Emirate’s [Taliban] foreign ministry. Dehqanzada issued a statement to confirm the Afghan consulate’s connection with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) after the ambassador of the previous government to Tajikistan tore up the appointment of a letter of an IEA’s diplomat in the embassy. Click here to read more (external link).
The ancient villages and historic monuments destroyed in western Afghanistan earthquakes
The Art Newspaper: The Zinda Jan and Injil districts sustained the worst of the damage. Arash Boostani, a project manager for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in Afghanistan, who had visited some of the villages in those districts over the years, says many of them contained ancient vernacular architecture structures that dated back to the Safavid dynasty (16th to 18th century), with even a few surviving elements from the Ilkhanate dynasty (13th and 14th century). The populations had unique traditions of silk harvesting and building methods that had been passed from generation to generation. “There were windmills in this area that were around 600 years old … they are vertical windmills, which are truly one of a kind,” Boostani says. Meanwhile, Masjid-i Jami, a 13th-century Ghurid mosque, which was extended over the centuries under different rulers, now has numerous cracks and parts of its blue-tiled minarets have collapsed. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan’s World Cup success attributed to Ajay Jadeja’s knowledge: Gulbadin Naib
Gulbadin Naib
Khaama: Afghanistan’s World Cup campaign has been greatly bolstered by the presence of former Indian all-rounder Ajay Jadeja. Despite a recent loss to Australia, the team seems poised for a promising run in this World Cup. Gulbadin Naib, who captained Afghanistan to a silver medal in the Asian Games, praised Jadeja’s invaluable contributions to the team’s performance. He highlighted Jadeja’s ability to provide guidance and share his vast cricketing experience with the Afghan players, Times of India reported. Click here to read more (external link).
More Afghan Cricket News
UN Sounds Alarm Over ‘Desperate’ Situation Of Afghans Forced To Return From Pakistan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 9, 2023
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that tens of thousands of Afghans, most of them children, who were forced to leave Pakistan since the start of the month are in a dire humanitarian situation and called for immediate action to alleviate their plight.
The OCHA’s acting Humanitarian Coordinator Daniel Endres said that some 60 percent of a “staggering” 20,000-21,000 people who crossed into Afghanistan at Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings between November 1-4 are children.
“Their condition is desperate, with many having travelled for days, unclear of where to return to and stranded at the border,” Endres was quoted as saying by the OCHA on X, formerly known as Twitter.
More than 300,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan since Islamabad announced the repatriation of undocumented Afghan migrants on October 3. Since the deadline for voluntary returns expired on November 1, Islamabad has begun forcefully deporting Afghans.
Relations between Islamabad and the Taliban in Afghanistan have become more strained due to the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
“Funding is urgently required to provide immediate post-arrival assistance” for those stuck at the border, Endres was quoted as saying.
Islamabad’s move has stirred criticism, prompting a U.S. government watchdog to express concern this week over the forced expulsions.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said it was troubled by reports of increased detentions, violence, and intimidation against Afghan refugee communities in Pakistan.
In a move to deflect the criticism, Pakistan’s acting Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar linked the government’s decision to expel the Afghan refugees and asylum seekers to Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government’s inability to stop extremists.
Kakar told a news conference on November 8 that in the more than two years since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, the number of attacks by Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban or (TTP), has increased.
The Taliban has rejected Pakistan’s accusations, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warning Pakistan not blame the extremist movement for its inability to ensure its security.
Pakistan should solve its domestic issues on its own and not blame Afghanistan for its failures, Mujahid said in response to Kakar’s accusations.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal
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.
Tensions rise as Pakistan seeks Qush Tepa Canal halt amid Afghan Migrant expulsions
Khaama: Abdul Haq Hamad, the former head of media publications supervision, stated in a television debate that Pakistani authorities had explicitly conveyed during an official meeting with Taliban administration leaders that they should “halt operations on the Qush Tepa canal.” According to him, Pakistani authorities are not satisfied with the operation of the Qush Tepa Canal because Afghanistan gains autonomy through this canal by managing its waters. So far, Pakistani authorities have not commented on the claims made by Taliban officials regarding their efforts to stop the Qush Tepa Canal’s operations, and the Taliban has also not provided any details on this matter. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – November 9, 2023
Khorasani, a Taliban Commander, Arrests Two Nephews of Former National Security Chief of Panjshir
8am: Sources in Kabul city report that Abdul Hamid Khorasani, one of the Taliban commanders, has arrested two nephews of Engineer Ali, the former National Security Chief of the previous government in Panjshir. Sources on Monday, May 22, speaking to Hasht-e Subh, state that Khorasani, along with 20 of his fighters, stormed the house of Engineer Ali’s brother in the eleventh district of Kabul six days ago and brutally beat and abducted his 16- and 17-year-old nephews. These two adolescents are named Mohammad Musa and Idris. According to sources’ claims, they have been subjected to severe torture and humiliation, including electric shocks. Click here to read more (external link).
Over 500 deceased Afghan migrants transferred from Iran to Afghanistan in 6 months
Khaama: Abdullah Riyaz, the head of the Migration Affairs Department in Nimruz province, told Tolonews that most of the migrants whose bodies have been transferred to Afghanistan through Nimruz over the past six months have tragically lost their lives in road accidents and while illegally crossing the Iran border. According to him, Afghan migrants have lost their lives in various events, including traffic accidents, while attempting perilous journeys along smuggling routes. Click here to read more (external link).
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Afghan athlete wins gold at World Bodybuilding Championships
Ariana: Afghanistan’s Ali Reza Asahi won gold at the World Bodybuilding Championships in the senior category in Seoul this week. Afghanistan Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (AFBBF) officials said Thursday on social media that Asahi competed in the 90 kg category. Asahi’s gold is the first ever for Afghanistan at these championships that were hosted by South Korea. Click here to read more (external link).
More Afghan Sports News
Pakistan to Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan: Choose Bilateral Ties or Support for Militants
Kakar
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 8, 2023
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar demanded Wednesday that the Taliban government extradite fugitive militants who are sheltering in Afghanistan and plotting terrorist attacks against his country.
Kakar told a nationally televised news conference that his country had experienced “a 60% increase in terror incidents and a 500% rise in suicide bombings” since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul two years ago, killing nearly 2,300 Pakistanis.
He said his government’s crackdown on deporting all undocumented foreigners, primarily 1.7 million Afghans, to their countries of origin stemmed from the sharp increase in nationwide terrorist incidents, and he claimed foreigners without legal status are linked to those “fueling terrorism and instability in Pakistan.”
The prime minister noted that 15 Afghan nationals were among the suicide bombers, while 64 Afghans were killed fighting Pakistani security forces this year. He asserted the bloodshed was being carried out by “Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, terrorists” from their bases in Afghanistan. The Pakistani leader referred to an ideological offshoot and close ally of the Afghan Taliban, commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban.
Kakar said that despite repeated assurances, de facto Afghan authorities failed to halt TTP-led cross-border attacks effectively. “Instead, clear evidence of enabling terrorism [by Afghan Taliban members] also emerged in some instances.” He did not elaborate.
He said Pakistan has persistently shared details and a list of wanted militant leaders with Afghan authorities through high-level multiple official engagements and even asked them “bluntly to choose between Pakistan and the TTP.” But Kabul did not deliver on its counterterrorism pledges, he added.
Chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected Kakar’s allegations, saying his government is not responsible for maintaining peace in Pakistan, nor is it behind the insecurity in the neighboring country.
“They should address their domestic problems instead of blaming Afghanistan for their failure,” Mujahid said in a statement he shared via X, formerly known as Twitter. “The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against Pakistan,” he said, using the Taliban administration’s official title.
Mujahid stated that Kabul “seeks good relations” with Islamabad in line with its policy of “non-interference” in the affairs of other countries and the Pakistani side should not doubt its “sincere intentions.”
Taliban leaders have decried the crackdown on Afghan migrants in Pakistan as “inhumane.” While urging the neighboring country to reverse the plan, Kabul government officials have warned of unspecified consequences.
Kakar said Wednesday that more than 250,000 Afghans had voluntarily returned home since his government began implementing the “repatriation plan” a month ago. He argued that the plan is aligned with Pakistani immigration laws but reassured Afghans awaiting relocation or resettlement in the United States and several other Western nations they would not be evicted.
The U.S.-led Western troops chaotically withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 when the then-insurgent Taliban reclaimed power from an American-backed government. The troop withdrawal also evacuated tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans, including former government officials, human rights defenders, journalists, and women activists.
Late last month, U.S. officials shared with Pakistan a list of 25,000 Afghans who fled the Taliban takeover, fearing retribution and abuses for their association with Western militaries during their presence in the country for almost two decades.
Pakistani officials later said the U.S. had withdrawn the list after Islamabad found it “flawed and incomplete” and promised to resubmit it after addressing the concerns.
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department spokesperson renewed its call for Pakistan and other countries to respect “the principle of non-refoulement” and uphold their respective obligations in treating refugees and asylum-seekers.
“We strongly encourage Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with the appropriate international humanitarian organizations,” said Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson.
The United Nations and other global refugee agencies also have urged Islamabad to suspend the deportation plans, citing an already dire humanitarian crisis in impoverished Afghanistan, where two-thirds of the population needs some kind of assistance after years of conflict and repeated natural disasters.
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