8am: According to local sources, on Tuesday, April 18, the three former soldiers were killed by the Taliban while on their way to the mosque in Gholam-Darah, Huran-Shahr, and the center of Arghanjkhwa district. The sources identify the killed soldiers as Qari Sami, Haji Aidi, and Emadudin. Reportedly, Haji Aidi was a member of the former People’s Uprising Forces in Badakhshan, while Qari Sami and Emad al-Din were members of the previous government’s army. Click here to read more (external link).
Top UN Official Proposes Meeting to Discuss Recognition of Taliban
Amina Mohammed
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 18, 2023
ISLAMABAD — The United Nations deputy secretary-general said Monday that the organization plans to arrange a conference in the coming days to discuss granting recognition to Afghanistan’s Taliban, stressing the need for engagement with the fundamentalist authorities.
Amina Mohammed’s remarks come as the reclusive Taliban chief, Hibatullah Akhundzada, renewed his resolve Tuesday to achieve his goal of “the religious and moral reform of the [Afghan] society” through the vigorous implementation of Islamic law, or Shariah.
Mohammed told an audience at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs that the international meeting would bring envoys for Afghanistan from around the world to the table, among others.
“What we are hoping is that we’ll gather them now in another two weeks in the region, and they will have that first meeting of envoys across the board — the region and internationally — with the secretary-general for the first time,” she said.
“And out of that, we hope that we’ll find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition [of the Taliban], a principled recognition,” Mohammed said. “Is it possible? I don’t know. [But] that discussion has to happen. The Taliban clearly want recognition, and that’s the leverage we have.”
The top U.N. official visited Afghanistan in January and discussed with Taliban leaders the sweeping curbs the fundamentalist authorities have imposed on women’s freedom of work and movement since taking control of the strife-torn nation.
The restrictions have effectively blocked women and girls’ access to work and education beyond 6th grade across the country. Afghan female staff have been banned from working for the U.N. and nongovernmental aid groups.
Mohammed said the Taliban maintain they have enacted several laws to deter gender-based violence and to give more inheritance rights to women, among others, besides eliminating corruption in Afghanistan.
“But I don’t have any engagement that the international community will allow me to have to know whether they are implementing it or not,” she said.
Mohammed said engagement with the Taliban would help to hold them accountable for their actions. “We cannot allow that they continue to get worse, which is what happens when you don’t engage,” she said.
She noted that the Taliban are becoming stronger because neighboring countries are engaging with them economically to ensure Afghanistan does not plunge into chaos and implode from within.
“There are trade surpluses with Afghanistan today. There’s the banking system that’s put in place for Afghanistan today, and we still say there are sanctions. So, we either engage and pull them to the right side, or we don’t and see where it drifts. We must dine with the devil with [a] long spoon,” she said.
Mohammed said the U.N. told its Afghan female staff to work from home while it negotiates with the Taliban for the removal of the ban on women. She added that female employees could work from home and earn a salary.
“Please treat the Taliban like COVID. We don’t know what they’re going to do or how they’re going to react. … But I know three or four [women] are picked up, and maybe I wouldn’t see them again. I am not going to risk any one Afghan woman to people we know are unpredictable,” she said.
Mohammed did not share further details about the date or venue of the proposed envoys’ conference.
Former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted Tuesday that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will host the meeting in Doha, Qatar, on May 1.
Khalilzad wrote that Guterres and the envoys “should have a session with the Taliban during their deliberations” to develop a “roadmap” that must address the issue of Afghan women’s education and employment.
The Taliban waged a deadly insurgency for almost two decades. They reclaimed power in August 2021 from the then-internationally backed Afghan government as the United States and NATO troops withdrew.
The international community has refused to give the Taliban legitimacy, citing human rights concerns, particularly the restrictions on women.
In his statement Tuesday in connection with the three-day Eid al-Fitr festival later this week, Akhundzada lauded “reforms” in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover.
“Significant reform measures have been taken in culture, education, economy, media and other fields, and the bad intellectual and moral effects of the 20-year occupation are about to finish,” he said.
The Taliban chief referred to the U.S.-led Western military intervention in Afghanistan and its former Afghan allied government in Kabul. Akhundzada has rejected calls for lifting bans on women, saying it is an internal Afghan matter and should be respected by all sides.
The Taliban takeover prompted Washington and other Western nations to suspend economic aid to Afghanistan, impose financial and banking sector sanctions, and strictly enforce long-running curbs on the Taliban to press them to ease restrictions on women and combat terrorism.
Billions of dollars in Afghan central bank foreign reserves have also been blocked. However international humanitarian aid has continued to flow into the country.
The international restrictions have pushed the Afghan economy to the brink and exacerbated humanitarian conditions in a country where the U.N. estimates that more than 28 million people — two-thirds of the population — require urgent aid.
A study released Tuesday by the U.N. Development Program warned that the Taliban edicts restricting the rights of women and girls would worsen Afghanistan’s economy and may also affect the level of aid inflows.
“The development of Afghanistan is the responsibility of Afghans. We should not rely on others. Rather, with courage and enthusiasm, we should build this country and provide all possible conveniences to the people,” Akhundzada said in his Eid message.
UN to Leave Afghanistan in May Following Stricter Taliban Rules
Khaama: The U.N. says that if it cannot convince the Taliban to permit local women to work for the organization, it is ready to make the “heartbreaking” decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. Earlier this month, the U.N. local female aid workers were banned while the Taliban authorities reacted to the organization’s decision, referring to it as an “internal issue.” Since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021, the group has issued a more suppressive policy regarding women and girls, depriving women of all their fundamental rights, said the organization on Women’s Day. Click here to read more (external link).
Other UN related News
Ban on Narcotics Sales Was Never Implemented
8am: The inhabitants of Nimroz asserted that, under the vigilant observation of the Taliban, thousands of kilograms of drugs are smuggled out of the province daily to neighboring countries, particularly Iran. They alleged that Toyota vehicles and catapults are utilized to transport tens of kilograms of opium across the Iranian border. The Taliban do not impede the transfer of these materials to neighboring countries if they are remunerated. Click here to read more (external link).
Center Offers Hope And Healing For Female Afghan Refugees In Tajikistan
For Afghan women struggling with the pressures of living in Tajikistan as refugees, the Ariana Learning Center is a source of hope and healing. Located in the city of Vahdat, some 20 kilometers east of the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, the center offers computer, language, and art training while providing psychological counseling. The UNHCR, the United Nations’ refugee agency, says most of the 7,000 refugees in Tajikistan are Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban took power in 2021.
Tolo News in Dari – April 18, 2023
Taliban Forces Displaced from Northern Afghanistan to Southern Regions
Khurasani
8am: During the years of military confrontation with the security forces of the previous regimes, the Taliban were able to secure the assistance of several Uzbek, Tajik, and Hazara leaders in certain areas, including the north of Afghanistan. These local leaders, who were familiar with the territory of the northern provinces, made a significant contribution to the Taliban’s progress and the capture of cities and districts. However, since the fall of the Republic, the Taliban have been increasingly driving away non-Pashtun leaders with unique ideologies. Among the most famous non-Pashtun leaders who were subsequently dispatched to the southern provinces were Salahuddin Ayoubi, Makhdoom Alam Rabbani, and Abdul Hamid Khorasani. Reports suggest that these commanders, who are currently serving in the ranks of the Taliban in the southern provinces of the country, do not have the authority to carry out their tasks and are essentially exiled troops. Furthermore, some people who spoke out about “rights” had to face campaigns from their old colleagues and were removed from power. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Supreme Leader Issues Eid-ul Fitr Message
Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada
Khaama: The de facto regime of Afghanistan’s supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhudzada on Tuesday released an Eid-ul Fitr message and asked the people of Afghanistan to be thankful for “peace and Islamic Sharia System.” Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada said, “Significant reform measures have been taken in culture, education, economy, media and other fields, and the bad intellectual and moral effects of the 20-year occupation are about to finish.” Meanwhile, he said about providing education and training to all children. “Extending education and training to the whole country and providing good training to all children is one of the responsibilities of the Islamic Emirate, and effective plans for further development are also worked on,” he said. However, since the de facto government took control of power in August 2021, girls were banned from education beyond primary school. In addition, last year, in December, females were banned from going to university. Click here to read more (external link).
Deadly Landslide on Main Road Connecting Pakistan and Afghanistan
VOA News
April 18, 2023
At least two people are dead after a landslide buried dozens of trucks on the main road between Pakistan and Afghanistan Tuesday.
More than 20 trucks were buried in the disaster, which struck at the border crossing on the Khyber Pass, a major point of trade between the South Asian nations. Several people were also injured.
Officials said a heavy rain storm overnight could have triggered the landslide.
Close Associate of Taliban Governor in Herat Province Allegedly Kidnaps Shepherd and 100 Sheep
8am: Sources spoke to Hasht-e Subh on Monday, April 17, stating that the incident occurred in the areas of Gul-chah and Chah-Takhta in the Kushk Robat Sangi and Gholran districts of Herat province. According to the sources, nearly 30 armed militants from the Taliban governor’s associates launched a nighttime attack on the shepherd and his herd in the mentioned areas, hitting several of them and tying up their hands and feet. It is worth noting that the Taliban have been accused of looting people’s property and assets in other provinces before. Click here to read more (external link).