Expulsion of Afghan Migrants from Pakistan: Taliban Resettling Majority in the Northern Provinces

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Taliban militants dancing (file photo)

8am: Nearly three thousand expelled Afghan migrant families from Pakistan have relocated to the provinces of Jawzjan, Faryab, Sar-e Pol, and Samangan. According to sources, as per the Taliban’s directives, 1,300 families have moved to Jawzjan, 1,100 to Faryab, 410 to Sar-e Pol, and another 50 to Samangan. Residents of these provinces claim that the majority of these migrant families are related to members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and inhabitants of the “Shamshato Refugee Camp” affiliated with the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA).

A resident of the Mardyan district in Jawzjan province remarks, “The migrants who have recently arrived here from Pakistan cannot speak Persian and Uzbek.”

However, a former government security official states that the initial rule of the Taliban over Afghanistan suffered a blow in the northern and northeastern provinces of the country. Now, the group aims to alter the demographic makeup in the north to secure its continued governance.

Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Enforce New Restrictions on Wedding Celebrations in Samangan: No Cameras, No Music

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8am: Local sources disclosed that the directive was issued during a meeting between Mullah Habibullah Hamas and wedding hall owners at the department’s headquarters on Sunday, November 19. Acting on the verbal guidance of Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban’s Minister of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the directive explicitly prohibits women from participating in photography and videography at wedding ceremonies. According to the announcement, the use of music at wedding ceremonies is strictly forbidden, and dancing and other festivities are not allowed. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghan Taliban Official’s Puzzling European Visit Stirs Controversy

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 18, 2023

ISLAMABAD — Germany confirmed Saturday that it has launched an investigation into an alleged unauthorized trip to the country by a senior member of Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban regime.

The controversy erupted after Abdul Bari Omar, head of the Taliban-led food and medicine authority, appeared at a mosque in Cologne on Thursday, addressing an audience largely made up of Afghan expatriates.

The German Interior Ministry, on the X social media platform, condemned the appearance of Omar as “completely unacceptable,” saying Taliban members have no place in the country. It urgently sought clarification from the organizers, the Turkish-Islamic Union, or DITIB, on how the appearance came about.

“Nobody is allowed to offer radical Islamists a platform in Germany. The Taliban are responsible for massive human rights violations,” the ministry wrote. “The responsible authorities are investigating the case intensively.”

‘We are shocked’

The DITIB distanced itself from the event, saying it had only rented the space to a Cologne-based Afghan cultural association for a religious gathering and did not know the Taliban official had been invited.

“We are shocked by this incident,” the DITIB said in a Friday statement, insisting it “learned from the press” that the speaker was a Taliban representative.

“Contrary to contractual agreement, this turned into a political event to which a speaker unknown to us was invited,” it said. This constituted a “blatant breach of contract,” and the association has been banned from the premises, it added.

On Friday, the German foreign ministry said its official data shows that none of the country’s visa offices had issued a visa to Omar, nor was it informed about his visit. The ministry stressed in a statement posted on X that Germany does not recognize the Taliban government.

“As long as the Taliban in Afghanistan blatantly tramples on human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, there will be no normalization with the Taliban regime,” the ministry added.

Chief Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Friday the presence of Omar in Germany by tweeting pictures from the controversial Thursday event.

“He encouraged the Afghan participants to return to the country and use their capital to contribute to the reconstruction and development of the country, telling them security has returned to the country,” Mujahid wrote.

The DITIB is reportedly the largest Sunni Muslim organization in Germany and is linked to the Turkish government.

Separately, the Dutch health and sports minister apologized Saturday for having his picture taken with Omar while both attended the Second World Local Production Forum in the Hague from November 6 to 8.

Ernst Kuipers wrote on X that he stands for human rights, particularly women’s rights, and does not want to associate himself with what he denounced as the “terrible” Taliban regime.

“I didn’t know who this person was at the time. This was a mistake, and it should not have happened, and I regret it,” he said. “We are investigating how this person was present at this conference.”

The hard-line Taliban reclaimed power in August 2021, when U.S.-led Western troops chaotically withdrew after nearly two decades of involvement in the Afghan war.

No foreign country has recognized the male-only Taliban regime mainly because it bans female education beyond the sixth grade in Afghanistan and bars women from most public and private sector workplaces, including the United Nations.

De facto Afghan authorities justify their governance, saying it is aligned with Afghan culture and Islamic law. They have rejected international criticism of the Taliban government and calls for removing sweeping restrictions on women.

Pakistan to deport illegal Afghan refugees by January: Official

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Khaama: Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai stated on Friday that Pakistan’s interim government plans to deport all illegal Afghan refugees by January next year. “The caretaker government is trying to deport all illegal Afghan immigrants by January. After that, the government would announce a time frame for repatriating the remaining Afghan immigrants,” Achakzai said at a press conference in Quetta. Click here to read more (external link).

Related

Afghanistan’s economy on brink of collapse: USIP

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Ariana: The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) said in a report published on Friday that Afghanistan’s economy is on the verge of collapse. USIP said that most Afghan families are facing difficulties to meet their basic needs. Increasing return of migrants, restricting women’s work, and banning poppy cultivation without providing alternative crops for farmers are among key factors mentioned in the report as the reason for the deterioration of Afghanistan’s economic situation. Click here to read more (external link).

Open Letter from Former Government Military Personnel to the U.S. Congress: Support for an Alternative to the Taliban Regime

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8am: In an open letter, more than five thousand former government military personnel implore the United States Congress to support the goal of “a gradual end to the death of Afghan citizens, especially women and former military personnel,” instead of endorsing the self-proclaimed Taliban regime, which claims to represent the will of the people. They appeal to the U.S. Congress to exert pressure on the Taliban for the “immediate release of former military personnel from Taliban prisons, cessation of massacres, detentions, and their torture.” Click here to read more (external link).

Biden Administration Points Finger at International Partners for Taliban Diverting U.S. Aid

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Michael Hughes: The U.S. State Department shrugged its collective shoulders, so to speak, and seemed to say “not my problem” when pressed on the Taliban siphoning large portions of American humanitarian aid. Instead of taking any responsibility, the U.S. suggested international aid organizations should be blamed for getting ripped off by the radical movement.

On the one hand, to be fair, it seems impossible to avoid the Taliban meddling in aid deliveries. Yet, the bigger problem is that not a single senior U.S. official has thought twice about revising Washington’s approach to the situation. Keep the spigot open and let God sort it all out, the de facto strategy seems to be.

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U.S. Government’s Interaction with the Taliban Aggravates Human Rights Violations

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8am: The relationship between the United States and the Taliban group which is becoming more intricate with each passing day has gone through a U-turn. The Taliban, historically labeled as a terrorist group and an enemy of the United States, has now been unofficially elevated to the level of a government by Washington and has gained the status of an ally of the United States, with some describing this group as the “Wagner” of the United States. In the final years of the republic regime, Donald Trump’s government put forward the narrative of “Taliban change” and promoted it in such a way that even some politicians who were against the Taliban in the previous government believed in it, seeking to communicate with this group. The executive director of the project to whitewash the Taliban, Zalmay Khalilzad, was serving as the special representative of the Donald Trump administration for Afghanistan’s reconciliation, signing the Doha agreement between the United States and the Taliban group on behalf of the United States. As per this agreement, the Taliban’s “Jihad” with foreign forces ended and turned to continue against the people of Afghanistan. At that time, Khalilzad spoke in such a way that the non-Taliban parties in Afghanistan’s politics would believe in the change of the Taliban, and on the other hand, the anti-Taliban forces would lose their fighting spirit or at least lose their belief in winning against this group. That situation contributed to the military victory of the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).