Drug addicts (file photo)
BBC News: When the Taliban were in power in the 1990s, they all but stamped out poppy cultivation. But the drugs trade became a major source of income for them throughout their 20-year insurgency. Now the Taliban say they have ordered an end to the poppy trade and are trying to enforce this policy. But according to the UN, cultivation increased by 32% in 2022 compared to 2021. Click here to read more (external link).
Zabihullah Mujahid
Khaama: The Daesh group’s activities in Afghanistan have been reduced, and the organization is being dismantled, said Zabihullah Mujahid, a senior spokesperson of the interim government. In an interview with state-run TV RTA, Mujahid stressed that some countries are attempting to exaggerate and take advantage of the false propaganda about Daesh’s threats in Afghanistan. “Some countries accuse Daesh of their activities or claim Daesh has increased activity and is a threat to the world after six months; we deny this propaganda,” stated Mujahid. Click here to read more (external link).
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8am: Local sources in Panjshir province report that Taliban have exploded the boys’ high school building “Dahan-Riyot” in the Khinj district of this province. Sources told Hasht-e Subh that Taliban destroyed the school with a mine explosion around 9:00 am on Monday. The school, which had 700 students in the past, was a Taliban military base. According to sources, Taliban blew up the school due to repeated demands from residents to open it for students. According to reports, Taliban fighters used the desks and chairs of these schools as firewood during the past two winters. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: Afghanistan Under-19 Cricket Team defeated Sri Lanka in a two-match One Day International series in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on Sunday. Cricket Board officials said that Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets. Earlier, Afghanistan’s Under-19 Cricket Team also played three T20I matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: In a society where poverty and hunger are at their peak, and people struggle to meet their basic needs, why should the hijab be a priority? Do the Taliban inhabit a different world and not know the country‘s problems? Reports indicate that since the Taliban‘s return, prostitution has increased and spread throughout the country, which is a natural and expected consequence. Prostitution increases in societies where people struggle to meet their basic needs. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: The Intelligence Department has announced the arrest of one of the perpetrators involved in several deadly attacks in the Balkh province of Afghanistan, including the assassination of Mohammad Dawood Muzamal, governor of Balkh, on Sunday. The department aired the “confessions” of a young person saying he was involved in at least five attacks, including the governor of Balkh, Tebyan centre and several Shiite centres in Mazar-e-Sharif. It is unknown under what conditions the accused person confessed; however, according to the released video by the Taliban intelligence, several wounds on his face show he was beaten and then confessed. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: Sources told Hast-e Subh that on Saturday, March 12, Taliban closed all internet cafes in this province. The Taliban’s Directorate for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat has labeled internet cafes a waste of young people’s time and a cause of their misguidedness. The recent restrictions imposed by Taliban in Herat have caused nearly a thousand people to lose their jobs. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: The earthquake of magnitude 4.3 jolted Afghanistan’s Faizabad capital city of Badakhshan province on Sunday, according to the National Center for Seismology of India (NCS). The earthquake’s epicentre was Ishkashim town, Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan and the tremor was felt around 3:33 pm local time with a depth of 130 km. This is the third earthquake within five days that occurred in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).