Young Social Activist Dies Under Taliban Torture in Kabul City

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Taliban fighters (file photo)

8am: Local sources have confirmed the tragic death of a young social activist who succumbed to torture while in a Taliban prison. The sources, speaking to Hasht-e Subh on Tuesday, October 17th, verified that the victim was Matiullah Fathzada, who passed away due to his injuries two days prior while in Taliban custody. It is noteworthy that since their resurgence to power, the Taliban have detained, imprisoned, and in some cases, executed hundreds of residents from northern provinces, particularly Panjshir province. Click here to read more (external link).

US Senator Calls to Cut Funding to Afghanistan

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Rand Paul

Tolo News: A US senator has criticized the process of sending money to Afghanistan under the Islamic Emirate. The Senator says that he has suggested legislation preventing US money flowing into Afghanistan. “I have introduced legislation to stop all funds from going to Taliban controlled Afghanistan. And will do so again this week!” reads the X post of Rand Paul. Click here to read more (external link).

IOC to monitor support for women’s cricket in Afghanistan ahead of LA 2028

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Ariana: Will the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allow the Afghanistan men’s cricket team to participate at the 2028 Los Angeles Games in the absence of a women’s team? IOC president Thomas Bach has said the governing body will continue to “monitor very closely” how much access and support women receive to play sport in the country. The Afghanistan question was put to Bach on Monday at a media briefing in Mumbai, immediately after IOC members voted in favor of T20 cricket featuring at the LA Games in five years, ESPNCricinfo.com reported. Afghanistan are the only Full Member country to not have a women’s cricket team, despite it being a key criteria for ICC membership. Click here to read more (external link).

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ISIS Resembles the Taliban

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8am: Now that the Taliban is the dominant force in Afghanistan, ISIS-K is playing the role that the Taliban once played against the Western-backed government: an archenemy that focuses more on violence and rabid terrorism than anything else, to challenge the opponent with complete ruthlessness. In this way, the Taliban, being widely criticized due to the bad management of the Zanda-Jan district tragedy, are under more pressure due to their inability to provide security for the Shia worshipers in Baghlan Province. That is when they always present global security as one of their achievements to the people of Afghanistan and the world. Most importantly, ISIS-K now challenges the Taliban’s boast of “providing national security” and while it quenches its thirst for anti-Shia by killing Shiites, it increases the Shia community’s anger towards the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).

Conflict Erupts Between Taliban Factions in Ghor Province

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8am: Sources from the region stated on Monday evening, October 16th, that the Tajik and Pashtun factions within the Taliban engaged in a confrontation within the security command area of the group in Ghor province. According to the sources, tensions between the Tajik and Pashtun factions escalated from verbal exchanges at the entrance gate of the Ghor security command to a physical altercation. Recently, in a clash between Pashtun and Tajik factions of the Taliban in the village of Masjid-e Safid in the Baharak district of Takhar province, five Pashtun Taliban fighters were killed, and two other members of the group were injured as a result of the conflict. Click here to read more (external link).

World has abandoned Afghanistan, says country’s last women’s minister

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Al Jazeera: The international community’s response to Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis is “confused” and requires a wholesale rethink, according to Hasina Safi, the former and last minister for women’s affairs in Afghanistan. Now a leading women’s rights advocate, Safi told Al Jazeera in a recent interview in Belfast that many in the war-torn country now ruled by the Taliban feel “abandoned” and “forgotten”. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Women Demand The Release Of Activists From Taliban Detention

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
October 16, 2023

In separate protests in Afghanistan and Germany, Afghan women rights activists have demanded the Taliban release two activists detained last month under unknown circumstances.

Nearly a dozen women activists in the northeastern province of Takhar on October 15 called on the Taliban to release women’s rights activists Neda Parwani and Zholya Parsi, whose detention on September 19 prompted a rebuke of the Taliban rulers by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for a spate of “arbitrary arrests and detentions.”

“We demand their release and [call on the international community] to recognize [the Taliban’s policies toward women] as gender apartheid,” said Parisa Mubarez, one of the activists in Takhar.

In addition to Parwani and Parsi’s arrests, reports suggest the Taliban has also detained Parsi’s son and husband.

They are among the hundreds of Afghan women detained by the Taliban since it returned to power in the wake of the final withdrawal of the U.S.-led international troops in August 2021.

Since then, the hard-line Islamist group has banned women from education, employment, and public life with few exceptions. These policies are rooted in the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Women opposing or protesting the Taliban’s restrictive policies have faced its wrath.

“There is no information about whether these detained activists have access to health care and legal services,” Monse Mubarez, another of the women’s rights activists, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi on October 15.

“We are more worried about Zholya because even the place of her detention is unknown,” she added.

Meanwhile, a hunger strike by Tamana Zaryab Paryani and other Afghan activists entered its 17th day in the German city of Cologne.

The group on October 15 also demanded the release of Afghan activists and pleaded with the international community to declare the Taliban’s policies as gender apartheid.

“As a last resort, we are fighting through this sit-in protest,” said Zarmina Paryani, a sister of Tamana Zaryab Paryani. “This is a fight against the silence of human rights organizations.”

Paryani launched a similar protest last month, which garnered some support from activists.

In the past two years, the Taliban has detained hundreds of women’s rights activists, human rights campaigners, academics, and journalists.

In addition to Parwani and Zholya, the Taliban is currently holding journalist Morteza Behbodhi, Rasul Parsi, an academic, and education activist Matiullah Wesa.

On September 29, UNAMA expressed concern over the arrests and detentions of other individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion.

“Ongoing arrests and detentions of individuals simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion is deeply troubling and contrary to Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations,” UNAMA said.

Written by Abubakar Siddique based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi

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.

Afghanistan National Football Team expels coach ahead of crucial Mongolia match

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Khaama: As reported, the Afghanistan national football team has taken the surprising step of expelling their coach, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, while they are in the midst of preparations for a crucial match against Mongolia, scheduled to kick off in just a few hours. Farshad Noor, the team captain, Faisal Shaiq, and Noor Hussain claim that most national team players do not accept the coach, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, as the national team’s head coach. They do not want him to sit on the team’s bench and lead them in tomorrow’s crucial match. Click here to read more (external link).

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