Speculating the Rationale Behind Turkey’s Decision to Host Mullah Baradar

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Baradar

8am: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban’s Economy, traveled to Turkey on August 7th, leading a delegation. This was his first official trip abroad in his current position, with his previous trip being to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on May 16, 2022. During his visit to Abu Dhabi, he offered his condolences on the passing of Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, although this received little media coverage. However, his trip to Turkey, which was not announced beforehand, garnered significant attention from the media. In light of this, there are several points that can be discussed. Click here to read more (external link).

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Taliban Ban Afghan Political Parties, Citing Sharia Violations

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
August 16, 2023

ISLAMABAD — The Taliban on Wednesday banned all political parties in Afghanistan, stating that such activities are against Islamic law, or Sharia.

The move comes a day after the de facto Afghan leaders marked the second anniversary of returning to power in Kabul.

Abdul Hakim Sharaee, the Taliban minister of justice, announced the ban at a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

“There is no Sharia basis for political parties to operate in the country. They do not serve the national interest, nor does the nation appreciate them,” the minister said without elaborating.

More than 70 major and small political parties were formally registered with the Ministry of Justice until two years ago, when the then-insurgent Taliban reclaimed control of war-ravaged Afghanistan.

The Taliban have since been persistently accused of curbing freedom of association, assembly and expression to suppress critics, allowing only supporters to undertake such activities.

They have since imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law to govern the impoverished South Asian nation, banning girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade and barring most Afghan women from work and public life.

Afghan media is also under attack by the new rulers, forcing scores of news channels and outlets to close and hundreds of journalists to leave the country.

The United Nations and other global monitors have consistently decried worsening human rights conditions in Afghanistan and demanded that the Taliban reverse their restrictions on women and civil liberty.

The Taliban seized power on Aug. 15, 2021, as the United States and NATO withdrew all their troops after 20 years of involvement in the Afghan war.

The insurgent takeover prompted prominent Afghan political party leaders and politicians to flee the country, fearing retribution for their association with the U.S.-backed former government.

Many self-exiled Afghan political leaders have since opposed the new rulers in Kabul and called for armed resistance to dislodge them, but they have not received international backing for their campaign.

Foreign countries have refused to recognize the Taliban as the country’s legitimate rulers for their treatment of Afghan women and for not involving other ethnic and political groups in running the country.

Torek Farhadi, an Afghan political commentator, said the Taliban follow the example of Gulf countries without political parties.

“What is needed is the participation of women and people from all walks of life to participate in a conversation about the country’s future,” Farhadi said.

“As much as it can sound politically incorrect, political parties can create unnecessary divisions in Afghanistan today, and that is the last thing the country needs.”

The U.N. says years of war and prolonged drought have worsened the humanitarian crisis in the country, where two-thirds of the population need aid.

Media Watchdog Calls For ‘Unconditional Release’ Of Afghan Reporters Detained By Taliban

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

International press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called for the release of nine Afghan journalists arbitrarily arrested by Taliban security forces this month.

Antoine Bernard, RSF’s director of advocacy and assistance, said on August 16 that RSF wants the “unconditional release” of all nine Afghan journalists.

“The situation of press freedom in Afghanistan is quite alarming,” he told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “The Taliban government is fully responsible for violating press freedom.”

Bernard said that according to an RSF probe, the Taliban arrested Faqir Mohammad Faqirzai, Jan Agha Saleh, Habib Sarab, Wahdatullah Abdali, Haseeb Hassas, Attaullah Omar, Waheedur Rahman Afghanmal, Parvaiz Sargand, and Shamsullah Omari.

Most of the detained reporters worked for independent Afghan media outlets in remote towns and cities in five Afghan provinces.

RSF says the Taliban is currently holding 12 Afghan journalists, including Morteza Behbodhi. The Afghan-French journalist was arrested on January 7.

The Taliban has claimed that the arrests are unrelated to the reporter’s professional work. Neither Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed nor his deputy, Bilal Karimi, responded to Radio Azadi’s request for comments.

But Zarif Karimi, the Afghan Free Media Support Organization (NAI) head, questioned the Taliban claim.

“It is not possible that nine journalists are under arrest and their detentions have nothing to do with their media work,” he told Azadi.

A relative of Omar, one of the nine detained journalists, called on the Taliban to release him. Omar, a reporter for Tolo News Television in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, was detained on August 13.

“We want him to be freed with dignity,” he told Radio Azadi while requesting anonymity because of security fears. “He is the only breadwinner of his family. His three children are waiting for his release.”

Despite promises to allow press freedom after returning to power, the Taliban has shut down independent radio stations, television studios, and newspapers. Some media outlets have closed after losing funding.

The Taliban’s hard-line government has banned some international broadcasters while some foreign correspondents were denied visas.

The ultraconservative Islamist group has also driven hundreds of Afghan journalists into exile.

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.

Afghan Pilots Wait in Pakistan, Hoping for Resettlement to US

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VOA News
Aline Barros
August 16, 2023

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON — Sitting on the carpet in a small, third-floor apartment of a crowded building on the edge of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, six Afghan men sip traditional green tea as they scroll through messages and videos on their phones. All of them are anxiously awaiting the same thing – an email that will tell them where they stand in their journey to resettlement in the United States.

The men were pilots and engineers in Afghanistan’s military when the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021. Fearing retaliation from those they had fought for years, these pilots, like hundreds of their colleagues, fled the country.

Almost 18 months since their arrival in Pakistan, the men voice frustration as their applications slowly make their way through the complicated U.S. refugee resettlement process.

“Some of my friends got to Europe with help from human traffickers. If I had taken the money that I have spent here, from my savings, for the last 18 months, if I had spent that money on [trafficking] my life would have been better,” said a pilot who asked that we identify him as Hafeezullah, instead of with his real name as he feared for his safety.

“I would have gotten refuge in a European country by now,” the 27-year-old said.

In the first few months of the Taliban’s return to power, the U.S. welcomed nearly 90,000 Afghans who feared for their well-being under the new regime. In early 2022, Washington moved to a second phase in which the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program provides the most straightforward path to Afghans seeking refugee resettlement in the United States.

To qualify, refugees must, on their own, first reach a third country where they can contact the State Department to begin the resettlement process. The pilots chose Pakistan as it provides an easy land route out of Afghanistan, and has diplomatic relations with the U.S., unlike Iran.

The pilots with whom VOA met were recommended for refugee resettlement by some of the American soldiers who trained them during the U.S.-led Afghan war.

After waiting for months, the pilots received their Afghan Referral Record, or ARR, numbers from the Resettlement Support Center in Pakistan. But there is still a long road ahead.

“Case processing can be lengthy (potentially 12-18 months),” says the State Department’s website.

The pilots will go through a pre-screening process at the Resettlement Support Center. This will be followed by an interview conducted by a U.S. immigration officer, multiple security checks, and a medical examination to determine their eligibility for resettlement in the United States.

The time-consuming process is also suffering delays because it is understaffed, partly due to a 2017 Trump administration decision to drastically cut down refugee admissions.

“So, it had to really be recreated from scratch,” said Bill Frelick, the refugee and migrant rights director at Human Rights Watch. “In addition to that, the entire infrastructure which is largely run by non-governmental locations was decimated,” he said.

Despite the Biden administration increasing staffing, nearly a quarter of the positions are still unfilled in the international and refugee affairs division of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. That’s according to a recent report by the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, an autonomous U.S. government auditor.

As cases drag on, patience and money dwindle

During case processing, prospective refugees must be able to support themselves in the third country. For Afghan pilots living in Pakistan on expired visas, finding work is hard. Most of them are jobless and rely on their families back home to borrow money to send them.

An Afghan pilot, who wished to be called Ahmed to protect his identity, told VOA he had run out of the money he gathered by selling his household goods before leaving Afghanistan.

“Now I have started selling my wife’s jewelry”, said the 30-year-old Black Hawk pilot.

Another pilot who requested to be called Tawheed for security reasons said the stress of not knowing what the future held for his two little girls was causing him health problems.

“We [I] have high blood pressure, we [I] have a sugar [diabetes], we [I] have a mentally [mental health] problem, we [I] have depression,” the 32-year-old said.

Despite the uncertainty, the pilots say they cannot go back to Afghanistan as they worry the Taliban will accuse them of spreading “propaganda” against them in Pakistan. Others like Ahmed say the Taliban are looking for them.

“They came and searched my house many times. They took many of my books, because I had many English books. They took some of my [training] awards,” said Ahmed as he pulled up a video on his phone shot by a relative showing armed Taliban guards visiting his home.

Roughly 40 Afghan pilots are in Pakistan, waiting to be moved to the U.S. Seeing little progress in their refugee resettlement cases, the pilots VOA met said they felt abandoned.

“We are unhappy with our American friends who advised us to come here,” said Hafeezullah.

But the Americans who referred the pilots cannot do much. VOA reached out to a few but did not get a response.

VOA reached out to the State Department as well but did not get a response as of publication.

Away from loved ones, with little in their pockets, and not much information on when the next step in their resettlement will come, the pilots are losing patience. Hafeezullah, who said he had joined the air force to serve his country, says he now feels purposeless.

“When I wake up, I have a mind without goals. I see a devastated life with no future,” he said.

Others are trying not to give up hope of making it to the U.S one day.

“We just want from Allah, from God, there should be something good, some hope for the future, for my family, for my daughters,” Tawheed said. “If I see the situation, there is no hope, but Allah, I know will change everything.”

Blast injures two in Afghanistan’s Takhar province

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Khaama: Provincial security officials confirmed the incident. The blast unfolded within the third security district of Taloqan, as said in an official statement by the provincial security officials. This incident followed closely on the heels of another explosion in Khost province two days earlier, resulting in the loss of three lives and seven others wounded due to its significant impact. The victims comprised both Waziristan refugees and Khost residents, illustrating the indiscriminate nature of the incident. Click here to read more (external link).

The False Sense of Security Provided by the Taliban

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Taliban fighters (file photo)

8am: The Taliban is engaging in daily arrests, torture, and assassinations of former military and government personnel, civil activists, journalists, and women who protest. They have imposed severe restrictions on the lives of citizens, effectively waging an ongoing war against the people of Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghans Waiting to Resettle in US Have Priority Under This Program

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Aline Barros
VOA News
August 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Two years ago, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul closed and the U.S. military evacuated more than 100,000 Afghans in a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

A significant number of evacuees who worked for the U.S. government during the war are still going through immigration proceedings to allow them to permanently live in the United States.

For those still waiting in third countries, if they have an immediate family member who has legal U.S. status, that person can petition to have their relative resettle in the U.S.

Others can take advantage of pathways within the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program that allow people to join their immediate relatives in the U.S.

P1, P2, P3

In early August 2022, the State Department announced new priority eligibility under the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program for Afghans who worked for the U.S. government (P1), or worked for U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations or American news organizations (P2), or have immediate family members in the U.S. who are refugees or asylees (P3).

But even if an Afghan evacuee qualifies for these programs, there is no guarantee they will be approved for resettlement to the United States.

“All applicants must pass extensive security checks and complete an interview with a Department of Homeland Security/US Citizenship and Immigration Services officer,” the State Department website says.

U.S. Refugee Admission Program

The USRAP provides a straightforward path to the refugee resettlement process, but first refugees must, on their own, reach a third country where they can contact the State Department to begin the resettlement process.

Applicants are prescreened at one of a handful of Resettlement Support Centers scattered around the world. This is followed by an interview conducted by a U.S. immigration officer, multiple security checks, and a medical examination to determine their eligibility for resettlement in the United States.

The State Department is managing referrals to the refugee program, but there is no direct contact between an applicant and the U.S. government before an applicant leaves Afghanistan.

It can take the department 12-18 months to process an application, the department’s website says, so applicants would need to live in a third country and support themselves and their families until the case processing is complete.

The third priority category offers access to the refugee program for those whose immediate family members have entered the United States as refugees or were given asylum within the past five years.

Family-based paths

A person with refugee or asylee status in the U.S. can seek “follow-to-join benefits” for their spouse or unmarried children younger than 21, who were not previously given refugee status.

Those who have humanitarian parole status, or were initially paroled into the United States and later received Temporary Protected Status, can also file for their spouse and unmarried children under 21 for entry to the United States as refugees.

Or U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can file a petition for certain relatives to immigrate to the United States.

Through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Congress established the family immigration procedures we know today.

The law creates a preference system allowing U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to sponsor immediate relatives, including spouses, unmarried minor children and parents, to immigrate immediately to the U.S. without any numerical limits.

The U.S. citizen or resident files an application that includes a 12-step process within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and State Department.

Once approved, applicants will receive travel documents to resettle in the United States.

The Department of State funds the international transportation of refugees resettled in the United States through a program administered by the International Organization for Migration.

Refugees are expected to pay back their travel expenses, starting six months after they arrive.

They are also assigned to a sponsoring resettlement agency that provides assistance with services such as housing and employment upon the refugee’s arrival in the U.S.

Under U.S. immigration law, those under refugee status may apply for green cards to become permanent residents after one year in the United States. After five years of permanent residency, they can apply for U.S. citizenship.

Blinken Reiterates U.S. Stance On Taliban Ties: Normalization Hinges On Women’s Rights

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Blinken

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
August 15, 2023

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.

Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it’s made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.

“We’ve been very clear with the Taliban — and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear — that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported,” Blinken said.

No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.

The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.

“The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one,” Blinken said. “We ended America’s longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don’t have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die.”

A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban’s two years of rule shameful and worrying.

Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban’s strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.

The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights law.

The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group’s leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.

Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.

“The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review.”

The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi’s questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.

With reporting by AP and AFP

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.

UN Envoy to ICC: Prosecute Taliban for Banning Girls’ Education

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Margaret Besheer
VOA News
August 15, 2023

NEW YORK — The United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education said Tuesday that the International Criminal Court should investigate and pursue charges against the Taliban for their denial of basic rights to Afghan women and girls.

“The legal opinion we have received shows that the denial of education to Afghan girls and employment to Afghan women is gender discrimination, which should count as a crime against humanity, and it should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court,” Special Envoy Gordon Brown told reporters in a video briefing.

Brown, who served as British prime minister from 2007 to 2010, made the announcement on the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.

He said he is in contact with the ICC and has sent court officials the legal opinion. He urged The Hague-based court to investigate and prosecute those responsible.

Brown also urged Muslim nations to send a delegation to Kandahar, Afghanistan, to meet with Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and his close associates to urge them to lift the education and work bans, which have no basis in the Quran or Islam. The supreme leader has shown no sign of reversing the edicts.

“The offer should be made that if schools are reopened under terms that allow girls proper rights and dignity, then the education aid that existed for 20 years that has been cut will now be restored,” Brown said.

Brown echoed other U.N. officials who have said they believe there is a split in thinking within the Taliban regime on restoring education.

“We believe there are many people within the Afghan Education ministry itself, and of course many teachers, who want to get the girls back to school,” he said.

The special envoy offered a five-pronged coordinated approach of applying pressure via the International Criminal Court; sanctioning individuals; sending a Muslim delegation to meet senior leaders; offering education funding; and showing through the continuation of online and underground schools that the regime cannot stop education getting through to its female population.

The Taliban have banned girls from attending schools beyond the sixth grade, blocked female students from accessing university classes, and banned Afghan women from working for the U.N. and other aid groups.

The United Nations has been working to persuade the Taliban to lift many of the 50 edicts, orders and restrictions they have imposed, including the April 5 ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations. About 400 Afghan women work for the organization in the country, and the U.N. has moved them to remote work to try to circumvent the decree.