8am: Some residents of Panjshir claim that the Taliban periodically harass the local people, accusing them of possessing weapons and collaborating with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF). They assert that the Taliban detain and imprison “one or two individuals” from the residents of this province and Kabul daily, but most of these incidents are not reported by the media. Furthermore, over the past two years, the Taliban have imposed strict restrictions, making living conditions challenging for the residents of Panjshir province. However, local inhabitants urge the international community and human rights organizations to exert serious pressure on the group to prevent “human rights violations” by the Taliban in the province of Panjshir. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – November 14, 2023
Banning Scholarships: The Taliban Minister Tells Students, ‘You Go as Muslims, Return as Communists’
Nadeem
8am: The Ministry of Higher Education, under Taliban control, has hindered the travel of around 500 male students to Russia. Scholarship recipients for Russian universities report that they have been accepted at various academic levels, and it has taken about six months for their study visas to be issued. However, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the acting head of the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education, is now expressing concerns about the faith of these students, telling them that they are going as Muslims but will return as communists. According to these students, Nadeem has informed them that they “cannot invite others to Islam and must tell the Russians that their religion is false.” The students further claim that this ministry had recently confiscated their passports and academic documents, stating that all students must undergo an ideological examination before being granted permission to travel. They add that the ministry initially conducted belief examinations on the students but has now retracted its stance, referring the matter to Mullah Habibullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the group. Click here to read more (external link).
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Paktika Officials: Gayan Earthquake Victims Still Homeless
Tolo News: Local officials of the Gayan district said that houses have not yet been built for many earthquake victims in the district. According to them, more than 7,000 houses in the district were destroyed in the deadly earthquake of 1401. The residents of Gayan Paktika district want the authorities to pay attention to the construction of roads, health centers, and other parts of their lives in addition to the construction of shelters. Click here to read more (external link).
The Agony of Being a Woman in the Taliban Territory
8am: The latest Gallup poll shows that women’s satisfaction with life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule has decreased from 29% in 2022 to 11% in 2023. As per this survey, the lives of 96% of women and 93% of men in 2023 were characterized in a way that the lowest level is considered “suffering.” What Gallup found exhibits the undeniable reality of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. This group, characterized by misogyny, does not grant women the minor opportunity to break free from the severe restrictions imposed by them. Some women who described their lives in Taliban territory as satisfactory are those who have aligned with the Taliban due to extensive poisonous and wide-ranging propaganda of Islamic extremism, making them accept what they endure as complete Sharia and Islamic principles and rules. These women are more oppressed than other women who at least protest against their conditions and therefore suffer. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News in Dari – November 13, 2023
‘I’m Very Worried’: Former Afghan Soldiers Fear Forced Return To Taliban-Ruled Homeland
By Jawid Hasanzada
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 13, 2023
As Afghans living illegally in Iran and Pakistan come under increased risk of deportation, soldiers who fought against the now-ruling Taliban fear a return to their homeland will mean certain death.
Tens of thousands of former members of the Afghan National Security Forces — which included the former government’s army, special forces, national police, and intelligence service — fled to neighboring countries as the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
There they joined the millions of Afghans who have settled in Pakistan and Iran over the past four decades of war, poverty, and political upheaval in Afghanistan.
In recent weeks, however, Pakistan has made good on its order for 1.7 million Afghans in the country without proper documentation to leave by November 1. The measure has spurred over 300,000 people to return to Afghanistan and has been followed up by police roundups and forced deportations.
Iran, meanwhile, has been taking its own hard line against Afghans living illegally in the country. In recent weeks, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has twice stated that those who lack legal status will be sent back to Afghanistan. The threat affects around 4.5 million Afghans who live in Iran, most of them seeking refuge and temporary work.
Fahim, a former Afghan soldier living in Pakistan, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that he feared deportation and a return to Afghanistan.
“The Pakistani government has taken its measures seriously and our visas have expired,” he said. “We are deportees. There is no guarantee [of safety] from the Islamic Emirate [the Taliban government] for members of the military, and I’m very worried.”
While the Taliban offered a general amnesty to members of the Afghan military, police, and bureaucrats shortly after its return to power, international rights watchdogs and the United Nations have documented widespread cases of retribution — including extrajudicial killings and torture — against those who worked with the former Afghan government.
In a report issued in August, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the Taliban was responsible for at least 218 extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 144 instances of torture and ill-treatment, and 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions of former government officials and members of the armed forces from August 15, 2021, to June 30.
By some accounts, some 30,000 Afghan soldiers fled to Iran to escape the risk of being hunted down by the Taliban.
Fawad, a former Afghan soldier who now lives in Iran, left his homeland due to security concerns. Now he fears the prospect of facing that threat again. “There were threats in Afghanistan,” he said, describing efforts by the Taliban to capture ex-military members. “They came to specific addresses several times to find us.”
Fawad says he and other Afghan soldiers are worried about being deported, saying that “we face a serious threat in Afghanistan.”
Many former Afghan soldiers who remain in Afghanistan live in hiding, regularly moving from place to place, to avoid Taliban detection.
Military officials from the ousted Afghan government have stressed the seriousness of the situation and have called on former allies and the UN to take steps to protect members of the former Afghan security forces.
“One hundred percent, their lives and their families are in danger,” General Farid Ahmadi, a former special-forces commander, told Radio Azadi. “Currently, thousands of their former comrades are in Taliban prisons. There is no news of their fate.”
Many ex-Afghan security personnel accuse Western countries of abandoning them after the Taliban takeover.
Ahmadi said that the “United Nations and the United States and the United Kingdom, who worked with them in the fight against terrorism, should not be indifferent to the fate of [security force members’] families.”
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi’s requests for comment.
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.
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The Afghan National Football Team Heads to Qatar
8am: The Afghan national football team departed from Kabul for Qatar to participate in the second round of preliminary matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Under the management of the Taliban, the Afghanistan Football Federation stated that the national team set off for Qatar on Monday, November 13. Afghanistan is scheduled to compete against the national teams of Qatar, India, and Kuwait in these upcoming competitions. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban’s Shocking Atrocity: Detention and Electric Torture of Religious School Official in Herat
Taliban militant (file photo)
8am: Local sources in Herat report that the Taliban have detained and subjected an official of a religious school, along with his sons, to imprisonment and torture. According to the sources, the Taliban have subjected these individuals to torture, utilizing electric shocks. Click here to read more (external link).
Australian who blew whistle on alleged Afghan war crimes stands trial
Al Jazeera: David McBride, a former army lawyer who revealed information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, could be facing a “life sentence” if found guilty in a trial that starts on Monday. While Australia has established an independent special investigator into alleged war crimes committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan, supporters of McBride point out he is facing a criminal trial before any of the perpetrators of the alleged wrongdoing he helped reveal. McBride’s case is just one of several examples of whistleblowers and journalists in Australia facing consequences for speaking out. Click here to read more (external link).