Xinhua: A total of 300 people mostly children have been affected by pertussis, or whooping cough, in Afghanistan’s southern Zabul province, and two children have died of the disease, Abdul Hakim Hakimi, the provincial public health director, said Tuesday. Click here to read more (external link).
Children Pay The Price Of Afghan War In Limbs And Lives
Rashid, 13, lost both his legs in an accident involving an unexploded shell in the Khogyani district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province. His six siblings were also injured. The Taliban says more than 120 people a month are killed or maimed in accidents involving unexploded ordinance.
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – November 29, 2022
More money to Taliban: Cash Assistance to Afghanistan Leaps to $1.673 Billion
Khaama: The Central Bank of Afghanistan stated on Tuesday that a new package of $40 million had arrived in Kabul, taking the total amount of cash assistance from the international community to Afghanistan since the installation of the country’s new administration to $1.673 billion. Despite the arrival of the packages poverty, hunger, and unemployment remain at all-time highs in Afghanistan, magnified by natural disasters that exacerbate the country’s people to experience one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Click here to read more (external link).
Pakistan’s New Army Chief Takes Charge Of Military
Munir
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal
November 29, 2022
Pakistan’s new military chief, General Asim Munir, took command of the country’s armed forces on November 29 from General Javed Bajwa at a ceremony held in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
One of the key challenges faced by Munir, who is a former head of the military’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), will be how to respond to the latest threat from the banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The TTP on November 28 called off a cease-fire agreed in May during talks with Islamabad and military officials in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and ordered its fighters to launch attacks across the country.
The TTP are a separate group but are allies of the Afghan Taliban, who returned to power more than a year ago as the United States and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the war-torn country.
The army wields huge influence in Pakistan, governing the country for half of its 75-year history, and many see the military chief as the de facto ruler.
The change in military command comes days after Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif named Munir to replace Bajwa.
Opposition leader Imran Khan, whose government was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April, accused Sharif and Bajwa of being behind the ouster under a U.S. plot, a charge the prime minister, the United States, and the military have denied.
Khan, who was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt earlier this month, has reversed his position on his demand for snap elections and vowed that his party would be victorious in a vote scheduled for next year.
Munir’s stance on the lingering political feud was unclear.
With reporting by dawn.com and AP
Copyright (c) 2022. 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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Pakistani Taliban Announces End Of Cease-Fire, Orders Attacks
TTP Flag
By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal
November 28, 2022
The banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has called off a cease-fire agreed with the government and ordered its fighters to launch attacks across the country.
The announcement from the TTP on November 28 came hours after the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said it would send a high-level delegation to Kabul.
The TTP said in a statement that the attacks were ordered following the Pakistani security agencies’ anti-Taliban operations in Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts in northwestern Pakistan.
There has been no comment from the government, the military, or the regional government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province on the TTP statement.
In its announcement of the delegation’s visit to Kabul, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry on November 28 said Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar would head the delegation to discuss regional security with Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government.
Other issues to be discussed include cooperation in the areas of education, trade and investment, regional connectivity, and people-to-people contacts, the statement said.
The truce between the Pakistani government and the TTP was agreed in June after Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government took a prominent role in brokering peace talks. The TTP follows the same hard-line interpretation of Sunni Islam as their Afghan counterparts, but it has a different organizational setup.
Pakistani authorities held several rounds of negotiations with the TTP, but made little progress, and the TTP continued its attacks on Pakistani security personnel and government officials.
The TTP did not deny breaking the cease-fire, and its self-proclaimed spokesman regularly claimed responsibility for the attacks, including one on November 16 that killed six policemen in the Lakki Marwat district near the Waziristan region. The TTP said the policemen were plotting a raid on their base in the area.
The military has been patrolling the area since November 26 using helicopter gunships to shell TTP hideouts in an attempt to root out the militants.
The TTP statement on November 28 claimed it had shown “continued patience so that the negotiation process is not sabotaged.” It added that the army and intelligence agencies continued their attacks, “so now our retaliatory attacks will also start across the country.”
With reporting by AFP and dpa
Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Afghanistan Qualify Directly For 2023 ODI World Cup
AFP: Afghanistan have gained direct qualification to next year’s 50-over World Cup after their abandoned second one-day international against Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council said. The Afghans and the hosts took five Super League points each in Pallekele on Sunday, keeping the visitors in seventh place in the table and guaranteeing them at least eighth position. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – November 28, 2022
High-Level Pakistani Delegation to Arrive in Kabul on Tuesday
Tolo News: A high-level delegation from Pakistan led by Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar is set to visit Afghanistan on Tuesday, the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The delegation will hold political dialogue with the Afghan Interim Government, the statement reads. The visit comes amid tension along the Durand Line between the forces of the Islamic Emirate and the Pakistani military. Click here to read more (external link).
Herat to get specialized hospital for patients with blood disorders
Ariana: Health officials in Herat province say a three-story Hematology Hospital will be built in the province to treat patients with blood disorders including leukemia. According to the officials, the construction of this project has been made possible by donors including a charity organization, businessmen and investors. Click here to read more (external link).
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