Expectations of Pakistan from the Taliban

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Taliban leader Mullah Baradar with Pakistan’s former ISI Chief Faiz Hameed

8am: Pakistan is renowned for its founding and backing of the Taliban, having more sway over the group than other countries in the region and the West. This influence is derived from the leverage Pakistan has in its relationship with the Taliban. Many of the Taliban’s leaders and officials who were trained in Pakistan have homes and businesses there. In addition to the political, technical, and educational support they have received from the Pakistani army and intelligence for many years, the Taliban have strong ties with certain non-governmental organizations in Pakistan, including extremist parties, religious conservatives, and schools. These connections provide the Taliban with financial aid, weapons, and combat strength. Click here to read more (external link).

The Treaty of Hirmand Water Division; Are the Disputes Serious?

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8am: The question here is whether the current conflict over Hirmand water is serious? And do the threats from Iranian officials and lower-ranking Taliban fighters signal the seriousness of the conflict? – The answer to the two questions above is “no.” Engaging in a military conflict is not beneficial for either Iran or the Taliban. It appears that verbal tensions and issuing warnings also serve domestic consumption for both sides. Although an Iranian military commander stated that the Taliban group is smaller than the one they attacked, the reality is that Iran, considering its internal problems such as inflation, labor protests, the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, the JCPOA, the nuclear energy issue, the shadow of ISIS in its neighborhood, and its similarities to the Taliban, does not see a reason to attack and lacks the capacity to do so. The warning about water is also issued to manage public opinion in Iran and quell the protests of the people of Sistan and Baluchestan. Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghanistan Reports Third Polio Case Of 2023

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Khaama: Afghanistan reported the third case of the poliovirus of 2023 as the health authorities detected it in Nangarhar province.  A new polio case from the Nazyan district of Nangarhar province has also been reported, affecting a 30-month-old male child. With this, there have been three confirmed polio cases in the nation so far this year, all of which are from the province of Nangarhar. Click here to read more (external link).

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Taliban Guidelines for Women’s Work ‘Nearly Complete’

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Akmal Dawi
VOA News
May 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — Months after banning Afghan women from work for the United Nations and other aid agencies, Taliban authorities have told aid workers that new guidelines allowing women to return to humanitarian work are almost complete.

“Taliban leaders in Kandahar said ‘guidelines’ that will allow women back to work & resume girls’ education are ‘nearly completed,’” Jon Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), tweeted on Wednesday after meeting Taliban officials in their stronghold in southern Afghanistan.

The Taliban have not said when the new rules will go into effect. It is also unclear whether the new guidelines will permit women to return to jobs in public service.

A Taliban official who met Egeland said aid agencies should expand their operations because “corruption and insecurity have been completely terminated” in Afghanistan.

Immediately after seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban fired almost all female government employees except in the health and education sectors. No woman serves in the Taliban’s interim cabinet.

The Islamist leadership has also closed secondary schools for girls for nearly two years, though it has said the ban is temporary and will be lifted after new guidelines are completed.

Until the new guidelines are announced, some female aid workers could return to work under an interim solution.

“We have initial agreement of looking for interim solutions so that our brave professional female colleagues can come back to work,” Egeland said in a video adding that the NRC would not work with male-only staff.

Since the ban on women’s work, the NRC has downgraded its activities in Afghanistan by 40%, Egeland said.

Huge funding gaps

In addition to sparking widespread international condemnation, the ban on women’s work has also adversely affected humanitarian operations in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, the U.N. warned about “huge funding gaps” disrupting critical aid work in the country.

To assist over 28 million vulnerable Afghans, some of whom face starvation, the U.N. has asked donors for $4.6 billion this year. As of May 24, less than 8% of the appeal ($353 million) has been fulfilled.

The United States has contributed about $35 million to the appeal this year, second only to Japan’s $61 million contribution. Last year, the United States was the largest donor to the Afghanistan appeal and gave over $1.2 billion.

Earlier this year, Thomas West, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, warned that aid to Afghanistan would be reduced for various reasons.

In response to global criticism of their misogynistic policies, Taliban officials insist their denial of women’s basic rights is an internal Afghanistan matter and that it should not be “politicized” to cut off aid to the country.

Afghanistan Restarts Direct Flights to China After 3 Years

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
May 24, 2023

ISLAMABAD — The Taliban have announced the resumption of direct flights between Afghanistan and China after a gap of three years, saying it would help boost bilateral economic and political relations.

The first weekly passenger flight of the national flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines left Kabul on Wednesday for Urumqi, the capital of the western Chinese border province of Xinjiang. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the air operation in early 2020.

The Taliban deputy minister for transport and civil aviation, Ghulam Jilani Wafa, hailed the resumption of the air service while addressing reporters at the airport in the Afghan capital.

“These flights would directly impact enhancing economic, political, and commercial ties between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and China,” Wafa said, using the official title for the Taliban’s unrecognized government.

No country, including China, has recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, mainly over human rights concerns and restrictions imposed on women’s access to education and work.

China has stepped up engagements with its conflict-ravaged neighbor since the Taliban reclaimed power in August 2021, when all United States-led Western troops closed out their involvement in the Afghan war and departed the country after almost two decades.

On Tuesday, the Chinese ambassador to Kabul, Wang Yu, told Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi that Beijing “has maintained normal relations with Afghanistan and is willing to strengthen it.”

Muttaqi’s office said the Chinese diplomat promised his country would facilitate increased Afghan exports to China and expedite “preliminary work” on the Mes Ainak mines, which contain Afghanistan’s largest copper deposits.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has said it hopes for Chinese investment in the site, which is about 40 kilometers southeast of the Afghan capital.

In April, the ministry reportedly talked with a Chinese company about a potential $10 billion deal to extract lithium but offered no further details. The South Asian nation has an estimated untapped mineral deposit of about $1 trillion, including iron ore, copper, lithium, gold, gemstones, and hydrocarbon resources.

In January, Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar and Wang jointly announced a contract with a Chinese company to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin in the northern provinces of Afghanistan over the next 25 years.

The deal would bring about $540 million in Chinese investment and would create an estimated 3,000 jobs, according to Taliban officials. China reportedly will build a refinery in Afghanistan to process the oil.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attended a trilateral dialogue with the Taliban and Pakistan in Islamabad earlier in May, and he agreed to extend Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative to Afghanistan.

Islamabad has received billions of dollars in Chinese investment, building major economic infrastructure projects, such as roads, power plants, and ports. The collaboration — the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC — is the BRI’s flagship project. Both countries say they are set to link it to Afghanistan to promote regional connectivity.

The Chinese foreign ministry recently released an 11-point policy statement regarding Afghanistan. It emphasized the need for the Taliban to ensure “moderate and prudent” governance in Afghanistan through an “open and inclusive” political structure, while urging the international community to enhance engagement with Kabul.

The statement also expressed hope the de facto Afghan authorities would fulfill their “commitment in earnest” to effectively combat terrorism.

In exchange for its economic outreach, China primarily seeks assurances from the Taliban to prevent the spread of extremism from Afghanistan into Xinjiang and beyond and ensure the security of Chinese nationals.

Beijing has long alleged that extremists linked to the anti-China East Turkestan Islamic Movement use sanctuaries on Afghan soil to wage cross-border terrorism.

China’s deepening engagement with Afghanistan apparently stems from its interest in mineral extractions and to further its own influence in the broader region.

Taliban Continue Their War on Education – School Is in for the Taliban’s New Model Army

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Taliban militants (file photo)

FP: Extremist curriculum is teaching children how to hate, not how to think. School in Afghanistan is mostly Kalashnikovs, suicide bombings, and the Quran. That’s the Taliban recipe for education. While Afghanistan’s ban of women and girls from public life, and especially the classroom, is a big part of the Taliban’s evisceration of freedom since they retook power almost two years ago, an even bigger problem than the girls who can’t go to school is the boys who do. Click here to read more (external link).

Bodies Of Migrants Who Died In Bulgaria Returned To Afghanistan, Taliban Says

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By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
May 24, 2024

Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled Foreign Ministry says the bodies of 18 Afghan migrants who died of suffocation while attempting to cross into Bulgaria have been transferred to Kabul. The bodies were returned on the morning of May 24, Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for the ministry, said on Twitter. The 18 Afghans were discovered lifeless on February 17 in an abandoned truck close to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Seven suspected smugglers were arrested by Bulgarian authorities. Takal said the Taliban has paid for the repatriation. The bodies have been returned to their families, Takal said.

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.

Devastating Floods Strike Maidan Wardak and Ghor, Leaving a Trail of Financial Ruin

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8am: The Office of Natural Disasters, under the management of the Taliban in Maidan Wardak Province, has announced that a recent flood in the province has caused significant financial damage to the people. In a press release issued today (Wednesday, May 24th), the office reported the occurrence of floods in several districts of Maidan Wardak province. According to the press release, heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding have resulted in the destruction of 30 residential houses in the city center and the Jalriz district of Maidan Wardak Province. Additionally, 200 hectares of agricultural land have been washed away. Click here to read more (external link).

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