Afghanistan Is Fastest-Growing Maker of Methamphetamine, UN Says

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AP: Afghanistan is the world’s fastest-growing maker of methamphetamine, a report from the United Nations drug agency said Sunday. The country is also a major opium producer and heroin source, even though the Taliban declared a war on narcotics after they returned to power in August 2021. Click here to read more (external link).

Gathering Held in Kabul By Hemophilia Illness Patients

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Tolo News: Patients who are suffering from hemophilia disease and their family members held a gathering in capital Kabul to protest lack of sufficient blood factors (proteins in blood that contribute to clotting) in the country as they are facing severe challenges. Some of the patients expressed concerns over the suspension of assistance of the aid organizations, saying that the assistance provided by the aid organizations should not be politicized. Click here to read more (external link).

Biden Apathy Amid Afghan Exit Chaos on Full Display in New Book

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Joe Biden

Michael Hughes: President Joe Biden’s lack of empathy for the people of Afghanistan comes through in vivid detail in a new book by The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer. From annoyance over Hillary Clinton trying to save Afghan women to his disappearance to Camp David when advisers awaited an evacuation order, the book provides a scathing indictment of Biden’s incompetence and moral failings amid the fall of Kabul. Click here to read more.

22nd Anniversary Of Ahmad Shah Massoud’s Assassination Marked

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Ahmad Shah Massoud

Tolo News: Saturday, September 9, (18 Sunbula) is the 22nd anniversary of the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud, Jihadi commander. Ahmad Shah Massoud was killed on this day in an explosion in Khajwa Bahawuddin district of Takhar. The High Council for National Reconciliation’s former chairman Abdullah Abdullah and former president Hamid Karzai issued public messages on X social media platform marking the day. “Ahmad Shah Massoud was a great mujahid and patriot of our country who fought an unforgettable battle for the independence and freedom of Afghanistan up until his martyrdom,” Karzai said. Click here to read more (external link).

Hazara Reparations Saga Continues: Nawur District Residents Forced to Pay Five Million Afghanis to Kuchi Nomads

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A Kuchi camp (file photo)

8am: Following the Taliban’s coercion of Hazara people to pay reparations to the Kuchis (nomads), residents of three villages in Nawur District, Ghazni Province, are now compelled to pay five million Afghanis each. This decision was made based on the claims of a Kuchi individual who alleges that ten years ago, 230 of his sheep went missing in the border areas of Nawur and Jaghatu districts, and the residents of these three villages were involved in the incident. Subsequently, the Taliban arrested and tortured 17 individuals from these villages. Sources report that the Taliban have been holding these individuals in humid places, subjecting them to daily beatings. Now, the residents are forced by the Taliban to pay five million Afghanis to the Kuchi individuals to resolve this issue. It is worth noting that Hazara communities have previously been coerced into paying substantial reparations to Kuchis through various means of intimidation. Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghanistan loses millions as Torkham crossing remains closed for 3rd day

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Ariana: Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) says the closure of Torkham crossing into Pakistan has cost the economy millions of afghanis (AFN) over the past three days. The closure of the border came at a crucial time specifically for exporters of fresh produce, especially fruit. The ACCI said the longer the trucks sit at the closed crossing the more produce perishes. “This is not the first time that we are treated like this at the border. We request the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan to find a solution to this issue,” said Khanjan Alkozi, a member of the ACCI. Click here to read more (external link).

Two Years Under Taliban Rule: How Many More?

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8am: The Taliban are heavily influenced by Pashtunwali (a Pashtun code of conduct) that considers Pashtuns as the supreme race and women as the property of men, ignoring their rights. They are also greatly influenced by Deobandi, a radical version of political Islam that considers other religions heresy subject to eradication. These two factors hinder the Taliban from reconciling with Afghan society and limit their ability to establish relations with transnational actors. Click here to read more (external link).

Rights Group Claims Taliban Committing Gender Persecution Against Afghan Women, Girls

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VOA News
September 8, 2023

Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday it “has concluded” that Afghanistan’s Taliban is committing the crime against humanity of gender persecution against Afghanistan’s women and girls.

Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, it has been widely reported that the group has sought to deny women and girls basic human rights and to remove them from public life.

According to Afghanistan Under the Taliban: The Crime Against Humanity of Gender Persecution, Taliban bans on Afghanistan’s females include restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, and association; restrictions on employment; restrictions on dress; bans on education; and arbitrary arrests and violations of the right to liberty.

Crimes against humanity can be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court, the report says, but they can also be prosecuted in “ad hoc international courts that have jurisdiction, the domestic courts of the country where the crimes took place, and in other countries’ courts in which the principle of universal jurisdiction applies.”

Human Rights Watch is urging the Taliban to dismantle all forms of repression and discrimination that result in the denial of the basic human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

The organization is not alone in its criticism of the Taliban, earlier this year, a report from the United Nations Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on Afghanistan said the country’s rulers may be “responsible for gender apartheid,” exacerbating the plight of women and girls under its austere version of law.

The Taliban has accused the United Nations and Western institutions of spreading “propaganda” against their administration, arguing that Islamic laws are being implemented in Afghanistan and that any opposition is a problem with Islam.

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