Khaama: Dozens of Afghan migrants in Islamabad on Monday said they have protested for more than three weeks in front of the Society for Human Rights and Prisoners’ Aid (SHARP) Office, however, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has not paid attention to the living conditions of migrants in this country so far. The protestors claim that UNHCR Pakistan has failed to review their immigration cases, as they have not heard back from the UN refugee agency since they sought asylum. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Forces Reportedly Kill Two Islamic State Members In Kabul Raid
AP: Taliban security forces killed two militants from the Islamic State extremist group and detained a third in an overnight raid in the Afghan capital, Kabul, a spokesman for the Taliban administration said on February 27. The regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — known as the Islamic State-Khorasan — is a key rival of the Taliban. The militant group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shi’ite minority. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – February 27, 2023
Iran Hands Over Afghan Embassy in Tehran to Taliban
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
February 27, 2023
ISLAMABAD — Iran has handed the Afghan embassy in Tehran over to the Taliban, becoming the latest country to accept Taliban-appointed diplomats without recognizing their 18-month-old government in Kabul.
The Taliban foreign ministry said Monday that it had dispatched a seven-member team of “experienced diplomats, led by a newly appointed chargé d’affaires” to the Iranian capital to formally assume the charge of Afghanistan’s diplomatic mission there.
The statement described the development as an “important and cooperative step” in bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Iran.
“We believe that with the new appointments, we would witness transparency in the affairs of the embassy as well as expanded relations in various fields between the two Muslim and brotherly countries,” Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said.
Iran joins several neighboring and regional countries to have allowed the Taliban to appoint staff to and manage Afghan diplomatic missions in their respective territories. They include Pakistan, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, Balkhi claimed in written comments to VOA.
He said his ministry had already introduced new diplomats to missions in these countries. Balkhi, identified Tajikistan as the only neighbor of Afghanistan where they have not appointed new diplomats, saying the head of the embassy there “is not cooperative.”
Analysts said the growing threat of terrorism posed by Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, had apparently prompted Tehran to work closely with the Taliban to keep the terrorist group from the Iranian border.
Torek Farhadi, a former Afghan official, and political commentator noted that millions of Afghans had taken refuge in Iran after fleeing the Soviet occupation of their country in the 1980s and subsequent conflicts that engulfed Afghanistan.
“Currently thousands of Afghans cross the border daily to Iran from Afghanistan to migrate to Turkey and Europe, human trafficking is rife,” Farhadi said. “Iran needs good relations with the Taliban… and has turned over the embassy to Taliban representatives as a practical matter to handle day-to-day affairs, without recognizing the [Kabul] regime,” he added.
An Afghan opposition armed group, operating out of Tajikistan, slammed the Iranian government for allowing the Taliban to run the embassy in Tehran.
“The National Resistance Front (NRF) expresses its regret over the taking over of Afghanistan’s prestigious diplomatic mission by a criminal group,” said the group in a statement.
Iran also maintains good ties with the NRF leadership and other prominent Afghans who have taken refuge in the country and elsewhere after fleeing the Taliban takeover.
“The political presence of the Taliban in Iran… is perilous, especially for the millions of refugees who have sought protection in Iran from the fear, threats, and pressure,” the NRF asserted.
Dozens of Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions around the world are open for business but in most cases, the host nations have either refused to hand them over to the Taliban, or Afghan diplomats working there are reportedly unwilling to work with the new Kabul administration.
The international community has not recognized the Taliban since they stormed back to power in August 2021 as the U.S.-led Western troops exited the country after almost 20 years of war.
Foreign governments demand the Taliban keep their promises to respect human rights, give women access to education and work, cut ties with terrorist groups, and form an inclusive government representing all groups in Afghanistan.
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The Taliban’s Guarantor is Now Unhappy
Gailani
8am: …[Sayed Ishaq] Gailani revealed that he had sponsored many Taliban prisoners during the republic and released them without even knowing them. He expressed his opposition to the US presence in Afghanistan and to Ashraf Ghani‘s method of governing. He had hoped that the situation would improve upon his departure from Afghanistan, but after 17 months of Taliban rule, he is disappointed with the current state of affairs. He was adamant that the Taliban has not yet done anything meaningful or practical to promote the progress and development of Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
UN Pressure Unlikely to Change Taliban Approach to Media ‘Threat’
Michael Hughes: Even if the UN successfully intervenes to persuade the Taliban to release a Franco-Afghan reporter held captive in Afghanistan for nearly fifty days, it will not change Kabul’s crackdown because the radical movement understands the power of media.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called upon the UN to take all measures possible to get the Taliban to release Mortaza Behboudi, an Afghan native of the Hazara ethnic minority, a group long-persecuted by the Pashtun-dominated Taliban. Behboudi was seized within 48 hours upon arrival in Afghanistan while seeking press credentials.
Over 500 Patients Seek Mental Health Treatment at Nimroz Provincial Hospital in One Month
8am: Domestic abuse and forced marriages have risen in the nation due to the Taliban‘s limitations on female mobility, the closure of educational institutions, and other regulations. Consequently, women are now experiencing more psychological issues than ever before due to this pressure. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – February 26, 2023
Taliban rejects reports it asked Pakistan for funds to fight TTP
TTP Flag
Ariana: The Express Tribune newspaper in Pakistan reported on Friday that IEA [Taliban] proposed a plan to control TTP and it envisaged disarming TTP fighters and moving them away from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas. The report stated that IEA asked Pakistan to fund the proposal and bear the costs of rehabilitating the TTP. IEA’s spokesman, however, rejected the report, saying it had not made any such request. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Launch House-to-House Search Operations in Nimruz
8am: According to sources cited by Hasht-e Subh, the Taliban has reportedly imposed strict security measures in Zaranj city, including shutting down secondary roads to vehicular traffic, and deploying a significant number of armed personnel in the area. These actions were apparently taken on Sunday. Zaranj residents reported that Taliban militants have entered their residences without any advance notice or warning. Click here to read more (external link).