8am: According to local sources, the Taliban arrested 15 tribal elders in the Jalriz district of Maidan Wardak after nomads claimed to have lost their sheep in the area in recent years. The same sources confirmed that the arrested elders have been imprisoned in the district center for two days as of Thursday, May 11. Reportedly, the nomads allege that several of their sheep went missing from the area years ago and are now demanding compensation from the local residents. In response to the situation, the Taliban have warned the people that they will not release the detainees until compensation is paid. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan To Tour Bangladesh In Two Phases
Khaama: Bangladesh will play a two-part multi-format series against Afghanistan after both boards agreed to host the final Test before Eid al Adha. The white ball series will also be played before the Eid holiday. The development has been verified by Jalal Yunus, chairman of the operations committee for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Even though the schedule is still being finalized, sources indicate that the first Test will start on June 14. Click here to read more (external link).
More money for Taliban: Fresh batch of 40 mln USD in cash
Xinhua: A fresh batch of 40 million U.S. dollars in cash as humanitarian aid reached war-torn Afghanistan on Thursday, said a statement of Da Afghanistan Bank, the country’s central bank. Click here to read more (externa link).
Taliban Infighting Turns Deadly: One Killed and Two Injured in Bamiyan Clash
8am: According to reliable local sources in Bamiyan province, an intra-group clash in the Panjab district resulted in the death of one Taliban fighter and injuries to two others. The clash occurred on Wednesday, May 10, in the center of the district, between fighters of the Taliban. Mullah Abdullah Sarhadi, the Taliban governor in Bamiyan, went to the area to control the situation after the incident, according to one of the sources. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News in Dari – May 11, 2023
Taliban Release 4 Journalists Detained for Entertainment Shows
Roshan Noorzai
VOA News
May 10, 2023
WASHINGTON — The Taliban released four Afghan journalists on Wednesday after detaining them for two days in the southeastern province of Khost.
Sakhi Sarwar Miakhil, editor in chief of Gharghasht TV; Pamir Andish, editor in chief of Cheenar Radio; Abdul Rahman Ashna of Nan FM, and Mohammaduddin Shah Khiali, editor in chief of Wolas Ghag Radio were released by the Taliban, according to a statement by the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee.
AJSC stated that these journalists were detained Monday by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice after they were summoned for “a seminar.”
“Officials at the Directorate of the Promotion of Virtue (of the Taliban) in Khost Province told the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee that the editors of the mentioned outlets were summoned for a reform seminar,” added AJSC’s statement.
A local journalist with knowledge of the case who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal told VOA that the journalists were detained for the entertainment shows that were aired in April for the Eid celebration that marked the end of Ramadan.
“It was because in some of the shows [for Eid], music was played. There were entertainment shows, possibly with female voices,” the journalist said.
The Taliban banned on-air music and entertainment programs after seizing power in August 2021.
Journalists in some provinces have told VOA that the Taliban barred them from airing female voices.
Gul Mohammad Graan, president of the Afghan chapter of the South Asian Association of Reporters Club and Journalists Forum, told VOA that the absence of a clear media policy by the Taliban has created “confusion” among the journalists.
“They do not know what to air and what not to,” he added.
Graan said the disorder is also the result of an “interference” of different agencies of the Taliban’s government.
“Although the [Taliban’s] current government stresses that without the Ministry of Information and Culture, no government agency has the right to interfere in the media affairs, the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and the Intelligence in the capital and provinces are imposing their own restrictions on media,” he said.
Graan said the Taliban announced last year that the media law under the former government is in effect until a new media law comes into force, but “this is not the case.”
In February 2022, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that the Mass Media Law of Afghanistan “is still enforceable.”
Sumaya Walizada, a spokesperson for the Afghanistan Journalists Center, told VOA that according to Afghanistan’s mass media law, the government “should not interfere in the operation of free media.”
Beh Lih Yi, Asia program director at the Committee to Protect Journalists, called on the Taliban “to immediately end the arbitrary arrests of Afghan journalists.”
She told VOA that journalists in Afghanistan “have been detained simply for doing their job.”
“We are concerned,” she said, adding that there are still two Afghan journalists in the Taliban’s detention, and “we call on their immediate release.”
Waheed Faizi and Shahnaz Nafees from VOA’s Afghan Service contributed to this report. This story originated in VOA’s Afghan Service.
Taliban’s Order For Taxi Drivers To Change Color Of Vehicles Sparks Anger In Afghanistan
By Nargis Momand Hasanzai and Abubakar Siddique
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
May 10, 2023
Rahmat has seen his income as a taxi driver plummet since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, which triggered an economic collapse.
The militant group’s restrictions on women’s freedom of movement further reduced his pool of customers.
Now, Rahmat is facing another financial hit after the Taliban ordered all taxi drivers to change the color of their vehicles from yellow to turquoise.
“There is no business, and I have no means to comply with this latest order,” Rahmat, who lives in Kabul, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “I cannot burden my customers with higher fares, which they cannot pay.”
Hamidullah, another taxi driver in the Afghan capital, said he could not afford to pay for a paint job, which he said would cost around $300, a large sum for many Afghans.
“How can I pay that much money when I’m worried about how to feed my family,” he told Radio Azadi. “If the Taliban want us to repaint our taxis, they should pay for it.”
The Taliban has said the move is aimed at combating crime, which is rife across Afghanistan. Vehicles posing as taxis have been used in kidnappings and robberies in recent years.
“If we have a specific color for all taxis, it will help eliminate the cases of kidnapping, other crimes, and insecurity,” Mohammad Nabi Omari, the Taliban’s deputy interior minister, told journalists in Kabul on May 9.
The Taliban’s decision also appears to be an attempt to regulate the taxi industry in Afghanistan. Many taxi drivers do not have permits and avoid paying taxes. To earn additional income, some Afghans use their private cars as taxis, often picking up passengers on busy intersections.
Omari said all taxis will need to undergo a technical inspection, after which the owners will be issued a new operating license.
‘Laughable’
Afghans have criticized the Taliban for focusing on trivial issues while avoiding more pressing problems, including high unemployment and acute hunger.
The country is suffering from a major humanitarian crisis aggravated by the Taliban takeover in August 2021, and has been identified as a “hunger hotspot” by the United Nations.
Since the Taliban seized power, around 1 million people have lost their jobs and nearly 90 percent of those employed earn less than $1.90 a day, according to the International Red Cross.
“This is laughable because the yellow color is universally associated with taxis,” said Arash, a Kabul resident. “This is not needed. People and taxi drivers cannot afford it. The Taliban should focus on delivering services so people’s lives can improve.”
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who tracks the Taliban, said the move is “ill-thought-out and surreal.”
The Taliban’s choice of color is likely inspired by Qatar, where cabs are turquoise. The militant group operates a political office in the tiny Gulf state.
“They are apparently following the example of Qatar, which is one of the world’s richest countries, while Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world,” said Yousafzai.
Taliban officials have not said what penalties, if any, await taxi drivers who violate the new order.
But Yousafzai said the new rules will likely be “another revenue stream for the Taliban as they arrest taxi drivers and impound their vehicles.”
The Taliban has imposed a number of decrees that have provoked anger and bewilderment.
In April, the Taliban closed video-game parlors and shops selling foreign movies, TV shows, and music in the western Afghan city of Herat. The group had earlier closed sheesha cafes and restaurants run by women in the city.
In November, the Taliban banned Afghan women from entering public bathhouses and parks as well as gyms in Kabul.
Earlier that month, the militants prohibited the sale of animal testicles, saying the practice of consuming the delicacy is un-Islamic.
Retail stores, meanwhile, have been required to cover or cut off the heads of mannequins. The Taliban believes statues and images of the human form are forbidden under Islam.
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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Tolo News in Dari – May 10, 2023
Female UN Employees In Afghanistan Are Being Harassed, Detained: Report
Khaama: The U.N. has accused the de facto authorities of detaining, harassing, and imposing “severe” restrictions on the movements of its female employees working with the Agency in the country. “This is the most recent in a series of discriminatory – and unlawful – measures implemented by the de facto authorities to severely restrict women and girls’ participation in most areas of public and daily life in Afghanistan,” According to a U.N. report on the country’s human rights condition in south Asia. Click here to read more (external link).
The Economist’s Attempt to Whitewash the Taliban; Is the West Recognizing the Taliban?
Taliban (file photo)
8am: The London edition of The Economist recently published a report on the Taliban‘s governance method in comparison to the previous government, with the intention of using usual media measures to improve the Taliban‘s reputation. The Western media has been gradually attempting to portray the Taliban in a more positive light, and this report discusses the issue in detail. The report begins with the statement: “For twenty years, the United States and its allies have killed thousands and squandered about two trillion dollars in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from taking power. Despite this, it appears that the country‘s situation is largely not as bad as it has been made out to be.” Click here to read more (external link).