Over 15,000 Afghan families expelled from Pakistan in 6 days

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Khaama: The de facto administration has announced that in the past six days, from the first of November until the 6th, approximately 15,270 families have returned to the country via the Torkham border crossing. The Pakistani Ministry of Interior issued a warning to undocumented migrants, stating that if they do not leave Pakistan by the specified date, they would face deportation, and their properties and businesses would be confiscated. The Pakistani government claims that Afghan nationals have been involved in terrorist attacks, while the Taliban administration rejects the allegations. Pakistani authorities have stated that over 1.7 million undocumented Afghan migrants will be deported. Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghanistan wins Asian Open Taekwondo Championship

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Ariana: Afghanistan won the 5th COMBAXX Asian Open Taekwondo Championship after clinching two gold medals along with two silver medals on Sunday in Pakistan. Mohsen Rezaei and Ali Akbar Amiri both won gold while Omid Sahak and Hekmatullah Zain each won silver. According to the Afghanistan Taekwondo Federation the team topped the scoreboard, securing overall first place in the championships. Click here to read more (external link).

More Afghan Sports News

Prominent Afghan Youtuber’s Attempts to Whitewash the Taliban

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8am: The Taliban possesses several official and well-known YouTubers who are engaged in whitewashing this group. Although Humayun Afghan is not an official and public supporter of the Taliban, in some cases, following the YouTubers of the Taliban, he promotes in favor of the Taliban. It is not clear if he is doing this to gain the support of the Taliban or if he believes wholeheartedly in what he presents on his YouTube to whitewash the Taliban. He always emphasizes that security is ensured under the Taliban rule and people commute freely without fear of theft, asking the interviewees to repeat the same words. Looking at the issue critically, the truth is that most of the insecurities in the former regime were rooted in the Taliban’s actions. This group committed suicide, explosions, and assassinations, without differentiating between civilians and military. Click here to read more (external link).

Homa, a Protesting Woman, Commits Suicide After Release from Taliban Prison in Mazar-i-Sharif

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8am: Homa, a passionate protester against Taliban restrictions, was apprehended by the Taliban intelligence agency during a checkpoint inspection in the city’s seventh district of Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday, October 30th. She remained in their custody for three days. Throughout their more than two years of control in Afghanistan, the Taliban have consistently suppressed, arrested, and tortured female protesters. There have been documented instances of sexual assaults on women in their prisons as well. Click here to read more (external link).

Ahead of Match, Afghan Cricketer Challenges Australia on Its Past Policy

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Naveen-Ul-Haq

Tolo News: Prior to the Afghanistan-Australia match on Tuesday, Afghan cricketer Naveen-Ul-Haq questioned Cricket Australia if they prioritize human rights or two points in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Cricket Australia canceled its three match ODI series with Afghanistan in January this year to criticize restrictions imposed on Afghan women and girls. On Instagram, Naveen-Ul-Haq has challenged the Australian Cricket board about whether they will stand on their previous position. Click here to read more (external link).

UN: Opium Cultivation in Afghanistan Plunges By 95%

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 5, 2023

ISLAMABAD — The United Nations said Sunday the Taliban’s ban on drugs in Afghanistan has resulted in a 95% drop in Afghan cultivation of opium poppies, used to make morphine and heroin.

The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime documented the “near-total-contraction” of the Afghan opiate economy in its latest annual survey of Afghan opium poppy cultivation.

The UNODC estimates Afghan farmers have lost more than $1 billion in income from opium sales due to the sharp decline, which could lead to dire economic and humanitarian consequences for the impoverished country.

The Taliban government banned poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, then the world’s largest heroin producer, in April of last year.

“Opium cultivation fell across all parts of the country, from 233,000 hectares to just 10,800 hectares in 2023. The decrease has led to a corresponding 95 per cent drop in the supply of opium, from 6,200 tons in 2022 to just 333 tons in 2023,” according to the UNODC survey. “Farmers’ income from selling the 2023 opium harvest to traders fell by more than 92 per cent from an estimated US$1,360 million for the 2022 harvest to US$110 million in 2023,” it said.

Many farmers turned to cultivating wheat instead, with an overall increase of 160,000 hectares in cereal cultivation across the Afghan provinces of Farah, Helmand, Kandahar, and Nangarhar.

“Though wheat cultivation may alleviate food insecurity to some extent, the crop generates much less income than opium – farmers in the four provinces lost around US$ 1 billion in potential income in 2023 by switching to wheat,” the report said.

The U.N. research found, citing data on drug seizures, that Afghan traders are selling off opium inventories from previous record harvests to weather the shortfall this year. It said heroin processing has decreased, which may lead to reduced international trafficking and use in Western markets.

It noted that the value of opium exports until now has often surpassed the value of Afghanistan’s legally exported goods and services. The report stressed the need for urgently assisting rural communities, including alternative development support to build an opium-free future for Afghans.

“This presents a real opportunity to build towards long-term results against the illicit opium market and the damage it causes both locally and globally,” said Ghada Waly, the UNODC executive director.

“Today, Afghanistan’s people need urgent humanitarian assistance to meet their most immediate needs, to absorb the shock of lost income, and to save lives,” she added. “And over the coming months, Afghanistan is in dire need of strong investment in sustainable livelihoods to provide Afghan farmers with opportunities away from opium.”

Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, noted in her accompanying remarks that nearly 80% of the population depend on agriculture in a country that already faces acute water scarcity challenges.

“Sustainable alternative development efforts must be oriented towards drought-resistant agricultural activities and the effective protection and use of resources,” she said.

The report warned that the reduction in opium poppies could spur the emergence of harmful alternatives, such as fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The UNODC reported last September that Afghanistan is turning into the world’s fastest-growing maker of methamphetamine, citing increased seizures of the synthetic drug and reduced poppy cultivation.

The Taliban reclaimed power from an American-backed government in August 2021, nearly two decades after a U.S.-led international military alliance ousted them from power for harboring the al-Qaida terrorist network blamed for the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Poppy cultivation and opiate production soared to record levels in the years that followed the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan, even though the United States was the largest donor for the counternarcotics program in the country, with nearly $9 billion in appropriations until December 2021.

U.S. officials, in talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar last July, praised the reduction in illicit drug production. A post-meeting statement said Washington “took note of reporting indicating that the Taliban’s ban on opium poppy cultivation resulted in a significant decrease in cultivation during the most recent growing season.”

However, donor countries have not yet decided whether to aid the Taliban’s war on drugs, citing human rights concerns and sweeping restrictions the hardline rulers have placed on Afghan women.

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Taliban Prohibit Treatment of Male and Female Patients in Same Building in Ghazni Province

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8am: Sources from Ghazni province informed Hasht-e Subh Daily on Sunday, November 5th, that healthcare facilities in the province are no longer allowed to admit male and female patients in the same building under the orders of the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. According to the directive, male and female patients must now receive treatment in separate buildings. This directive comes at a time when most healthcare centers, especially hospitals in the province, are facing a shortage of buildings and lack suitable spaces to accommodate patients. Click here to read more (external link).

Complaints Of Abuse Grow As Pakistan Ramps Up Afghan Expulsions

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RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal
RFE/RL’s Radio Azad
November 4, 2023

Pakistan opened more border centers on November 3 to hasten the return of tens of thousands of undocumented Afghans, two days after the deadline to leave or face expulsion expired.

But as Pakistan accelerates the forced deportations, many Afghans with valid visas and documents issued by Islamabad to legally remain in the country have complained of being arbitrarily detained, pressured for bribes, or harassed to leave the country.

Some of them were deported or were among the more than 200,000 Afghans who left the country since October 3, when Islamabad announced that undocumented foreigners would have to leave voluntarily by November 1 or face arrests and forced deportations.

“When we show our cards to the police, they say these are not valid and we must leave immediately,” said Shah Wali, an Afghan refugee in the southern Pakistani seaport city of Karachi.

Wali holds a Proof of Registration (PoR) card, which makes his stay in Pakistan legal.

But the young man said he had not worked for months because of police harassment and has paid more than $30 in bribes to the police twice to avoid detention.

Zabiullah, another young Afghan man in Karachi, said he has paid some $300 to police in bribes after they detained him three times.

“I have the PoR card, but they didn’t pay any attention to it and were only interested in robbing and harassing us,” he told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.

According to the United Nations, some 1.4 million Afghan refugees have PoR cards. Over 880,000 more have valid visas.

Pakistan’s interior minister, Sarfaraz Bugti, said on October 3 that some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan had no legal documents to stay.

On October 31, Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar said Afghans with valid documents to remain in Pakistan will not be expelled.

“We are not expelling one person among those Afghans,” he told journalists.

But Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund accused Islamabad of extensive abuses.

“Why are you demolishing their properties, ruining their business, snatching their money, motorcycles and cars?” he asked in a televised speech on November 3. “It is 100 percent against all principles. Come and talk face to face.”

Meanwhile, more reports of the abuse of Afghans in Pakistan are emerging.

A video obtained by Radio Azadi on November 2 shows about a dozen Afghan men detained at a police station in Islamabad. Some of them showed their documents to prove that they were in the country legally. But they were still rounded up and imprisoned.

Abdul Majeed, a relative of two detained Afghan boys, spoke while holding the identity cards of their father outside a police station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.

“The policemen are acting arbitrarily. It is their will that whoever comes in their sight will be caught.,” he said.

Some Pakistani politicians, activists, and human rights campaigners accuse Islamabad of abusing the Afghans to coerce them to leave.

On November 3, a citywide shutdown was observed in Quetta.

Predominantly secular Pashtun political groups — the Awami National Party, the National Democratic Movement, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, and the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party — called for the strike to protest the forced expulsions of Afghans.

With reporting by Reuters and the AFP and contributions from Abubakar Siddique

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.

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