8am: With the fall of the previous government and the return of the Taliban group to power, the pace of holding international conferences on Afghanistan has accelerated. These conferences have aimed to attempt better engagement with the Taliban. If the world did not intend to engage with the Taliban, it would not have devoted all its efforts to holding conferences that have mostly been fruitless. Many of these conferences have been regional, with regional countries and Afghanistan’s neighbors participating, discussing the transition from a purely Taliban regime to a mixed system. Some conferences have been international, with major world powers from the East and West, including the United Nations, coming together to negotiate a way out of the current impasse in Afghanistan. Representatives from Afghanistan, sometimes from the Taliban and sometimes from anti-Taliban forces, have attended these conferences. However, some conferences have been held in the absence of both sides. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghan national futsal player Hossaini joins Saudi Arabia’s Al Tai FC
Ariana: Hamid Reza Hossaini, an Afghanistan national futsal player, has joined Saudi Arabia’s Al Tai FC team. Hossaini, who has played in the Under 20 team and the national team, will join Al Tai FC in the second half of Saudi’s Futsal Premier League. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Sports News
Iran to block border with Afghanistan with concrete wall
Khaama: The ambassador and special representative of Iran for Afghanistan stated that it is planned for the border blockade of that country with Afghanistan to be in the form of a concrete wall. Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s special representative for Afghanistan, in an interview with the Iranian news agency ISNA regarding the issue of physical blockade of the border between Iran and Afghanistan, said that studies are underway on how to physically block the border. This Iranian diplomat reminded us that the border blockade with Afghanistan is not solely due to preventing the entry of illegal immigrants and combating human and drug trafficking, etc. He said, “Considering that the enemies of the people are seeking to strike us in various ways, including through the mobilization of proxy terrorist forces, we are not necessarily confronted with the demarcated borders of the two countries but with various terrorist elements at the border, which are supported by major powers that currently use both soft and hard power simultaneously to strike at us; therefore, we must take our border security and control more seriously.” Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – February 28, 2024
Taliban Detain Four Individuals in Rokha District, Panjshir Province
8am: The Hasht-e Subh Daily received confirmation on Wednesday, February 28, that the Taliban conducted the detentions in the past week, targeting residents from the villages of Dor-Khil and Marashthan in Rokha district. The apprehended individuals were subsequently transported to Kabul. Among the three detainees whose identities have been disclosed are Rahmatullah, Atiqullah, and Rouhullah, while the fourth individual remains unidentified. The motive behind the detention remains unclear at this point. However, since their resurgence in the region, the Taliban have consistently detained numerous Panjshir residents, subjecting them to imprisonment, and, in some instances, execution. Click here to read more (external link).
Pervasive Executions: Taliban’s Vendetta in the Guise of ‘Qisas’
8am: Last Thursday, the Taliban’s Supreme Court announced that they had executed two individuals publicly on charges of murder at the Ghazni football stadium. The public execution of these two individuals, witnessed by thousands, has provoked widespread domestic and international reactions. However, findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicate that the public execution of one of these two individuals in Ghazni was carried out for revenge. Sources suggest that this person was executed by the Taliban court for killing a Taliban militant seven years ago, who attempted to sexually assault the wife of his brother. Sources state that Sayed Jamal, thereafter, killed a Taliban militant who had gone to his brother’s house at night and attempted to sexually assault his brother’s wife. A resident of Sayedabad district, Maidan Wardak province, confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the incident of the militant’s killing by Sayed Jamal dates back to seven years ago. According to this local source, when a Taliban militant attempted to assault Sayed Jamal’s brother’s wife, Sayed Jamal attacked him with a knife and killed him. Click here to read more (external link).
IEA rebuffs Russia’s claim of terrorists in Afghanistan being ‘a threat to Central Asia’
Ariana: In a meeting with senior military officials, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called Afghanistan the “biggest threat” to the countries of Central Asia and said that the situation in Central Asia is still complicated. He said in the last year, the number of Daesh fighters in Afghanistan has increased by 15 percent. Shoigu added that Daesh seeks to spread extremist ideas in Central Asia and tries to carry out subversive activities along the southern borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and it must be stopped. About two weeks ago, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev claimed that there are at least 20 terrorist organizations and more than 23,000 fighters in Afghanistan and that the United States is responsible for the current difficult situation in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
US Announces Tech, Academic Opportunities to Empower Afghan Women
Blinken
Akmal Dawi
VOA News
February 27, 2024
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced new partnership programs designed to empower Afghan women in the face of Taliban suppression of women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a meeting of the U.S.-founded group called the Afghan Women Economic Resilience Summit (AWERS), Blinken said Microsoft and LinkedIn will provide virtual training and certifications for Afghan girls worldwide, helping them gain valuable skills and connect with potential employers.
Additionally, he said, U.S. academic institutions will offer scholarships to Afghan women and girls who have resettled in the U.S. over the last two years. The State Department did not give details on which schools are involved with the program.
Established in 2022, AWERS aims to empower Afghan women both inside and outside their homeland.
“We are investing in skills, training, jobs, and female entrepreneurs,” Blinken told the State Department gathering in Washington. “This mission is more important than ever.”
Erosion of women’s rights
The announcement comes as the United Nations has reported a systematic dismantling of Afghan women’s rights over the past two years.
Human rights groups accuse the Taliban of imposing “gender apartheid” by systematically erasing women from public life.
The Taliban reject such criticism, insisting their policies uphold Islamic and traditional Afghan values.
Blinken did not say if the U.S. will resume its flagship Fulbright program for Afghanistan, which remains paused since the Taliban seized power in 2021.
Restrictions ‘suffocating Afghanistan’s potential’
With the Taliban’s rampant persecution of women’s rights activists, it is unclear how the AWERS programs will reach women inside Afghanistan.
“The Taliban’s restrictions are suffocating Afghanistan’s potential,” Blinken said, adding that the absence of women in the workforce is slashing more than $1 billion from the nation’s economy.
Despite the Taliban’s desire for international recognition, Washington maintains that restoring women’s rights is a core requirement for normalizing relations.
Taliban sets sights on making Afghanistan a global cricketing power
WP: During the Taliban’s first stint in power in the 1990s, its disdain for many sports meant that Kabul’s main stadium drew some of its biggest crowds on the days it was used for public executions. But since seizing control in Kabul a second time in 2021, the Taliban has turned to making Afghanistan into a global cricketing power, with ambitious plans for a state-of-the-art cricket stadium that could host international matches… Cricket’s appeal to the Taliban may be partly rooted in the sport’s long-standing popularity in ethnic Pashtun communities, where the Taliban has traditionally drawn its strongest support. Click here to read more (external link).
Canada rejects IEA request to take over Afghanistan embassy in Ottawa
Ariana: Ottawa has rebuffed the Islamic Emirate’s [Taliban] attempt to take control of Afghanistan’s embassy and consulates in Canada, local media reported on Monday. The government, in fact, did not even respond to the IEA’s 2022 letter, said Global Affairs Canada spokesman Jason Kung, Ottawa Citizen reported. “Canada does not recognize the Taliban (IEA) as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, and will never do so,” said Marilyne Guèvremont, another Global Affairs official. “Canada will not receive or accredit any foreign representative appointed by the Taliban (IEA), or develop formal relations with the Taliban de-facto authorities (IEA).” Click here to read more (external link).