US not providing direct support to Taliban: White House

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Kirby

Khaama: On Thursday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby stated that the United States is not extending any form of direct support to the Taliban, whether diplomatically, economically, or otherwise. This includes diplomatic assistance, economic aid, or any other means of backing. Kirby’s declaration underscores the administration’s stance amid ongoing concerns and scrutiny regarding the U.S.’s engagement with the Taliban in the wake of recent geopolitical shifts. Kirby’s statement came as a response to reporters’ inquiries regarding a U.S. senator’s proposal to delay U.S. contributions to the UN for aid to Afghanistan. The senator raised concerns over allegations that such aid may inadvertently benefit the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Expand Madrasas, May Never Reopen Girls’ Secondary Schools

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Akmal Dawi
VOA News
March 14, 2024

An Afghan education official says Taliban authorities may permanently close girls’ secondary schools, promoting religious schools known as madrasas as an alternative.

The Taliban shut down girls’ secondary schools in 2022, citing “religious and cultural” concerns.

Taliban officials defend the ban, insisting they are working to create a suitable educational environment for older female students.

“Schools may never be reopened the way they were under the occupation,” an official at Afghanistan’s Education Ministry told VOA on Tuesday, referring to the 2001-2021 U.S. military presence in the country.

“Principally, there is no difference between a school and a madrasa,” the official said, asking for anonymity because the Taliban have banned their members from speaking to VOA.

“If the purpose is education, it can be attained as much in madrasas as in schools, so there should be no insistence only on schools.”

Religious studies rather than diverse subjects

However, the U.N. and human rights activists worry that madrasas, focused on religious studies, cannot fully replace traditional schools that deal with diverse subjects.

“I am concerned that the quality of education in these institutions does not adequately prepare girls or boys for higher-level education and professional training to join an effective workforce in the future,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a report to the Security Council this month.

While girls’ secondary schools have remained closed for about two years, the United Nations has reported a surge in newly registered madrasas across the country.

The U.N. reported over 7,000 registered madrasas in Afghanistan, with roughly 380 designated for girls.

There are no age restrictions for girls attending the seminaries, Taliban officials have confirmed.

“Recruitment of madrasa teachers continued following the promulgation in July 2023 of the Taliban leader’s decree mandating the recruitment of 100,000 new madrasa teachers by the end of 2023,” Guterres said in his report.

‘Gender apartheid’

Pashtana Dorani, a U.S.-based Afghan women’s education activist, said the Taliban have already replaced schools with religious seminaries.

“They have created their own system,” Dorani told VOA, expressing concerns about potentially extremist teachings in madrasas.

The Taliban are widely accused of enforcing a “gender-apartheid” aimed at erasing women from most public spheres.

In addition to educational restrictions, Afghan women are banned from most jobs and even entry to some public places like parks and sport centers.

Last year, the all-male Taliban cabinet barred women’s beauty parlors.

Male Taliban officials say their policies are aligned with the aspirations of all Afghans.

“Far-reaching consequences”

Last year, education ended for more than 330,000 Afghan girls as they passed grade six exams. They joined more than 3.7 million girls who are banned from secondary schooling, according to aid agencies.

“This short-sighted decision has far-reaching consequences,” Salam Al-Janabi, a spokesperson for the U.N. Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, said to VOA.

Already plagued by some of the worst maternal health indicators, Afghanistan is heading toward far worse public health crises because of the Taliban’s educational restrictions, experts warn.

Keeping girls out of schools causes $500 million in economic losses for Afghanistan annually, UNICEF calculates.

“For the sake of the children and for the sake of the country’s economy, health system and security for years to come,” said Al-Janabi, “we urge the de facto authority to allow all children, at all levels of schooling, to resume learning immediately.”

23rd Anniversary of the Destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas: Historical Artifacts Are Plundered

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Destroyed Buddha Statue

8am: Twenty-three years ago, the Taliban destroyed two large Buddha statues in Bamyan province. The taller statue, named Salsaal, standing at 53 meters, and the smaller one, Shahmama, at 35 meters, were carved into the mountains between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD with a distinctive style. Mullah Omar, the former Taliban supreme leader, ordered the destruction of these statues on February 26, 2001, and the group blew them up from March 9 to 11 of the same year. Simultaneously, under Mullah Omar’s orders, sculptures and artifacts from the Buddhist era in various parts of Afghanistan, including hundreds of ancient artifacts in the National Museum of Afghanistan, were also destroyed. In the past two years, during which the Taliban has once again gained control over Afghanistan, some cultural activists and residents of Bamyan have criticized vandalism, destruction, and unauthorized excavations in the historical sites of Bamyan by the Taliban. According to them, these acts of vandalism are carried out by Taliban fighters. Click here to read more (external link).

America Can’t Isolate the Taliban

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Foreign Affairs: Two and a half years into Taliban rule, however, the United States has little to show for this approach. For one thing, the Taliban appear to be unmoved by global shaming, in particular when it comes to what they deem domestic affairs, such as the question of girls’ access to higher education and women’s right to work. Instead, Taliban leaders have portrayed international pressure as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty, framing calls by Western leaders to uphold international norms as the latest episode in a long history of interference and intervention. As the Taliban have become more established in power, moreover, they have doubled down on a posture of resistance. As a result, rather than moderate their policies, they have pressed forward with further restrictions on women and social norms. Click here to read more (external link).

Earthquake of magnitude 5.3 jolts Afghanistan

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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

Advocates Call on Congress to Avert End of Afghan Special Visa Program

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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.

World Bank Report: Afghanistan’s trade deficit widens

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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).

What the explosive testimony of a minister reveals about Britain’s war in Afghanistan – and its rogue special forces

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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).