Taliban Release 4 Journalists Detained for Entertainment Shows

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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

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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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Female UN Employees In Afghanistan Are Being Harassed, Detained: Report

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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?

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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).

Local company secures contract to mine lead and zinc in Bamiyan

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Ariana: A mining contract for the extraction of lead and zinc in the province of Bamiyan has been signed between the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) and the Afghan Durrani Mine Extraction Company, according to a statement published by the ministry. The lead and zinc mines are in the Gandeh Kotal area of Yakawlang district of Bamiyan province. Click here to read more (external link).

Canada on Track to Host Largest Afghan Resettlement Program

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Akmal Dawi
VOA News
May 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — The government of Canada says it is determined to reach its target of admitting at least 40,000 Afghan refugees by the end of the year.

More than 30,600 Afghans have been resettled in Canada since August 2021 when Ottawa announced it would admit thousands of Afghans whose lives could be at risk under the new Taliban regime.

Canada “is firm in its commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals by the end of 2023, which remains one of the largest programs in the world,” a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told VOA.

Among those resettled, over 10,000 are individuals who worked for Canadian agencies and programs in Afghanistan while more than 16,000, particularly women and civil society activists, have been admitted under humanitarian considerations.

More than 18,000 applications are still under review by Canadian and international nongovernment organizations and the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for resettlement in the next several months.

Resettlement operations are executed via chartered and commercial flights from Afghanistan and third-party countries.

“The current situation is complex and the challenges are extraordinary,” the spokesperson said. “How quickly any Afghan arrives in Canada once their application is approved depends on a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, and often directly relate to where Afghans are located.

“There are significant challenges chartering flights in some regions and each country sets its own entry and exit requirements and determines when and if these requirements are changed,” the spokesperson said.

While Canada has no diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, a network of Canadian visa officers across the world are tasked with processing applications expeditiously to achieve the target by the end of the year.

Canada’s government allocated more than $80 million to fund its Afghan program in the 2022-2023 financial year, according to IRCC, which has a total annual budget of nearly $3 billion, a portion of which is also used to support various resettlement programs.

Women

Half of the Afghan refugees taken by Canada are women who are admitted primarily because of the Taliban’s systemic denial of basic rights for women.

Human rights groups say Afghanistan is suffering a gender apartheid under the hardline Islamist regime.

Women leaders, religious and ethnic minorities, journalists and LGBTI individuals are prioritized under Canada’s humanitarian resettlement program, which only accepts applicants referred by UNHCR and two European human rights organizations.

“It would actually be helpful if it was just women generally,” Lauryn Oates, executive director of a nongovernmental organization Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, told VOA.

“All women are at risk in Afghanistan,” Oates said, adding that Canada and other countries that admit Afghan refugees should accept women “on the basis of gender alone.”

The United States and European countries have also taken tens of thousands of Afghan refugees over the past 20 months.

In the immediate aftermath of the Taliban’s return to power, the U.S. military evacuated more than 124,000 individuals from Afghanistan. More than 77,000 of those evacuees were admitted into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons and offered a two-year entry parole, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A DHS spokesperson did not answer questions about the gender-based breakdown of the Afghans given paroled entry into the United States.

“For the average Afghan woman, there are no pathways to resettle to the U.S.,” Devon Cone, a women’s rights advocate at Refugees International, told VOA.

Cone said the U.S. Department of State’s P-1 and P-2 resettlement programs for Afghans do not specifically target women.

Managed through the U.S. Refugees Admission Program, the P-1 offers resettlement pathways for any individual of any nationality with compelling protection needs, while the P-2 program is for “qualified Afghans” who worked for U.S. agencies in Afghanistan.

“Even though these P-1 and P-2 programs exist, they are not really functioning, especially in places like Pakistan,” said Cone. “There are very few options for Afghan women at risk to resettle to the U.S. and the options that do exist are not working.”

Addressing a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee in March, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he is “personally committed to keeping our promises to those who stood by us in Afghanistan.”

“The efficient processing and ultimate resettlement of these individuals continues apace and remains among the administration’s highest priorities,” a State Department spokesperson said.

VOA immigration reporter Aline Barros contributed to this report.

 

Missile Attack on Taliban Governor’s Office in Kapisa Province, Leaves Three Fighters Dead

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8am: The attack took place around 1:00 am on Tuesday, May 9, in the city of Mahmood Raqi, Kapisa’s center. Although the locals are not saying anything about the perpetrators and casualties of the attack, the Freedom Front has claimed responsibility for the event. In a statement, the Freedom Front claimed that as a result of the attack at least three Taliban fighters were killed and four others were wounded. Click here to read more (external link).

Tajikistan Calls For ‘Security Belt’ Around Afghanistan Over Drug Smuggling

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By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service
May 9, 2023

Tajikistan has asked member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to establish an independent agency to combat drug trafficking from Afghanistan. Foreign Affairs Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin says he also told a high-level meeting of officials from the SCO last week in India that it was important to establish a “safety belt” around Afghanistan. The proposal comes days after a Tajik soldier was killed in a clash between government forces and smugglers in Badakhshan Province. Tajikistan shares more than 1,300 kilometers of border with Afghanistan, a major producer of drugs.

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.