Taliban Ban Foreign Journalists on Misreporting Charge

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Akmal Dawi
VOA News
October 13, 2022

After imposing a series of restrictions on Afghan journalists, including mandatory face masks for female television anchors, the Taliban now appear to be targeting foreign journalists they deem biased and critical of their governance.

In the latest move, Taliban authorities banned Stefanie Glinski, a freelance journalist, from returning to Afghanistan. Glinski had covered Afghanistan for various international media outlets over the past four years and recently reported on the desire of some Afghan women to flee Taliban rule.

“The Taliban contacted me regarding my work. I was told that ‘relevant [Taliban] departments have a few concerns’ & that they want ‘details.’ I was also accused of making allegations when I had clearly stated that it’s others making these allegations; I was simply reporting,” Glinski wrote on her verified Twitter account on October 10.

Glinski said the Taliban sought information, via WhatsApp, about her sources, but she refused, fearing doing so would put her contacts at jeopardy and compromise her journalistic integrity.

“They told me that the government will be holding all sides accountable from now onwards, and anyone found breaking the law or unable to substantiate reports […] will be dealt with according to the law, which includes cancellation of visas & non-entry to Afghanistan,” Glinski said on Twitter.

VOA reached out to Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid and foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi for comment, but neither answered his phone.

Lynne O’Donnell, a columnist for Foreign Policy magazine who was briefly detained by the Taliban in July, says she was “threatened, abused, detained, interrogated and forced to make false confessions, on Twitter & on video.”

Speaking to VOA, O’Donnell condemned the Taliban as “liars, fantasists, murderers, drug dealers, and terrorists.”

“Why would they want the truth of their method of staying in power through violence, arbitrary detention, torture and killing with impunity to be revealed to the world by journalists with integrity when their biggest aspiration is to gain the diplomatic recognition that would give them legitimacy?” she asked.

Rejecting O’Donnell’s allegations, Taliban authorities have accused her of openly supporting anti-Taliban forces and “falsifying reports of mass violations” by Taliban forces.

In August, the Taliban also detained a Pakistani journalist working for an Indian channel when he was seen filming the site of a U.S. drone strike in Kabul where al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed.

An Indian journalist who did not want to be named told VOA she was fearful of the Taliban’s new vetting and security procedures and had therefore delayed her return to Afghanistan.

Not surprising, no coincidence

“If visas have been stopped or withdrawn, it’s hardly surprising,” said Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist and author who was detained for 11 days by the Taliban in 2001 for illegally entering Afghanistan.

She said many countries, including the United States, deny visas to journalists suspected of biased reporting. U.S. officials have occasionally barred entry to journalists in recent years, such as a Yemeni journalist who was denied entry for a Pulitzer Prize ceremony in 2019.

Ridley said she recently visited Afghanistan without facing any restrictions.

“I managed to get access to all key ministers, and a main focus of my last trip was interviewing ordinary Afghan women who had never been given the chance to voice their opinions or views, ever,” she told VOA.

The Taliban are widely condemned for their restrictions on women’s education, livelihood and rights, but some Taliban officials, including high-profile Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, have sat for exclusive interviews with foreign female journalists.

Most foreign media outlets left Afghanistan immediately after the Taliban seized power last year. An exodus of Afghan journalists has ensued as hundreds of Afghan media personnel have left the country over the past year.

At least 215 of the country’s 540 media outlets have closed because of financial, social and political problems since last year, according to Reporters Without Borders.

“Two female foreign journalists have been targeted [by the Taliban], and we don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Pauline Adès-Mével, editor in chief of Reporters Without Borders, told VOA. “We consider it a big problem.”

Holding power to account

Backed by foreign donors, Afghanistan had a vibrant media landscape and progressive press laws prior to the return of the Taliban to power last year.

While Taliban officials say they are committed to a free press within the boundaries of Islam, independent observers point to their actions in limiting media freedoms and the many restrictions the Taliban have imposed on journalists.

As access to facts becomes more difficult in Afghanistan, rumors and misinformation often distort descriptions of actual events in the country.

“Access to information is [a] basic and internationally recognized right of every human being, and that doesn’t exempt Afghanistan,” said Adès-Mével. She said an information blackout will not serve the Taliban.

From O’Donnell’s perspective, journalists should hold groups like the Taliban accountable for their actions.

“Those who are not doing that are not doing their job,” she said.

 

Taliban Orders Male Teachers, Students To Sign Pledge To Observe Shari’a Law

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By Omid Zahirmal
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
October 13, 2022

The Taliban has ordered male teachers and high-school students in the southern province of Kandahar to sign a written pledge that they will adhere to the militant group’s extremist interpretation of Islamic Shari’a law.

That includes following the Taliban’s strict dress code for men, including growing a beard, wearing a turban or Islamic cap, and donning the “pirhan tumban,” the traditional baggy shirt and pants common in rural Afghanistan.

Failure to sign or adhere to the pledge, which RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi obtained a copy of, can lead to students being expelled from school or teachers losing their jobs, according to locals.

“I…son of…promise that I will follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad and all the principals of Shari’a law,” reads the one-page document that was distributed to high schools in Kandahar by the Taliban’s provincial education department earlier this month.

Sunnah is the Islamic concept of following the actions, teachings, and sayings of Muhammad. The Koran and Sunnah are the basis of Shari’a law.

The Taliban’s order for male teachers and students in the ninth grade and above to sign the pledge has been widely criticized. “This is an irrational step and must be strongly discouraged,” a high-school student in Kandahar, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution, told Radio Azadi. “I want the Taliban to stop curbing our freedoms.”

“They should stop imposing such extremist ideas,” another high-school student in the province, who said he was forced to sign the pledge, told Radio Azadi.

Another student told Radio Azadi that the Taliban was “very tough” on those who refuse to sign the pledge or violate it, without offering more details.

The Taliban’s provincial education department in Kandahar and the Education Ministry spokesman in Kabul did not respond to Radio Azadi’s requests for comment.

The pledge is the latest attempt by the Taliban to police the appearances of Afghan men and women in public.

Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban has ordered male government employees to grow beards and wear traditional attire or risk being fired. In some areas, men have been forced to attend prayers.

In some parts of Afghanistan, the Taliban has banned Western-style clothing and haircuts.

The militants have also imposed strict gender segregation in schools, universities, hospitals, government offices, and public transport. Couples who eat out in restaurants are often questioned and harassed by the Taliban’s notorious morality police.

In September, Finance Ministry employees were subjected to a test that gauged their knowledge of Islam. Sources told Radio Azadi that the ministry handed out booklets that outlined the Taliban’s take on Islam and then quizzed employees to make sure their beliefs were in line with the requirements. Employees who failed the test were fired.

In June, the Taliban attempted to regulate how Afghan bodybuilders can train and participate in training and competitions. Bodybuilders criticized the Taliban for ordering them to cover up during competitions and even while training in gyms.

Women have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s attempts to police Afghans’ appearances. The Taliban has enforced strict dress and behavioral codes that require women to cover their faces and restricts their rights to move freely, work, or receive an education.

Many of the Taliban’s orders and restrictions are reminiscent of the group’s first stint in power from 1996-2001, when its regime deprived Afghans of their most basic rights.

Written by Abubakar Siddique based on reporting by Omid Zahirmal of RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi

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.

Taliban Commander Severs Ties with Group over ‘Ethnicist’ Policies

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Khaama: Qari Salahuddin Ayubi, an Uzbek commander of the Taliban, has severed ties with the Taliban group in objection to what he refers to as “ethnicist policies, and monopoly of power.” The disaffected Taliban commander has reportedly left Kabul, the Afghan capital, and is now at his base in Faryab province in northern Afghanistan, BBC reported. Salahuddin Ayubi, according to the BBC report, has brought up the issues for the Taliban to realize “inclusive governance, women’s full access to education, and cessation of forced usurpation of people’s lands.” Click here to read more (external link).

Another Panjshiri Resident Shot Dead by Taliban in Kabul

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8am: Sources report that the Taliban group arrested another Panjshiri resident in Kabul and then shot him dead. The body of the victim whose name was Abdul Hamid was found by his family members at a hospital in Kabul on Wednesday, according to sources. The Taliban had reportedly arrested the victim 11 days ago in Kabul’s Kolola Poshta area. Click here to read more (external link).

Related

Taliban Urge US to Review New Sanctions, Calling Them Hurdle in Furthering Ties

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
October 12, 2022

ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban government Wednesday criticized new U.S. sanctions against some of its leaders as an “impediment to the development” of ties between the two countries.

The reaction comes a day after the United States announced a new visa restriction policy as punishment for current or former Taliban leaders and others “believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, repressing” Afghan women and girls through restrictive policies and violence.

“Such decisions can adversely affect bilateral relations,” a Taliban foreign ministry statement said. “All disputes should be resolved through diplomatic channels and decisions that do not serve the interest of the two sides should be reviewed,” it added.

The statement questioned the timing of the U.S. decision, saying it was announced after talks last week in Doha involving high-level officials of the two countries where “almost all important issues” were discussed in detail.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in unveiling the sanctions on Tuesday, said that immediate family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions.

Blinken called on other governments to join Washington in taking similar actions to collectively send a message to the Taliban that only a government that represents all Afghans and respects their human rights could be considered legitimate.

“As a grim example, for more than a year, Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls are systemically barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade, with no return date in sight,” he said.

“Despite public assurances that it would respect the human rights of all Afghans, the Taliban has issued and enforced a series of policies or edicts that effectively bar women and girls in Afghanistan from full participation in public life, including access to secondary education and work in most industries,” Blinken said.

The Taliban regained control of the country in August 2021 when U.S.-led international forces withdrew after 20 years of war with the then-insurgents.

The hardline group has since barred girls from returning to secondary schools across most of Afghanistan but women are allowed to attend public and private universities.

Foreign governments have not yet recognized the new government in Afghanistan over human rights and terrorism-related concerns.

The Taliban defend their policies, saying they are in line with Afghan culture and Islamic injunctions. They also say the male-only government represents all Afghan groups and dismiss allegations of human rights abuses as Western media propaganda against the Islamist group.

While peace has returned to much of the war-torn South Asian nation over the past year, Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, known as ISIS-K, has stepped up terrorist attacks against members of the minority Shi’ite community and the Taliban, killing hundreds of people.

A powerful suicide bomb blast ripped through a packed school in the Afghan capital late last month, as students were preparing for university entry exams.

The United Nations says the bombing killed 53 people, mostly young women and girls, and injured scores of others.

Related

Taliban Receives Fourth Aid Package Worth $40 Million in Cash

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8am: In a newsletter, the Central Bank of Afghanistan under Taliban control said Wednesday it had received another cash package of 40 million dollars from the international community which was deposited in a commercial bank. Over the past ten days, this is the fourth package of 40 million dollars that reaches Kabul. Other packages worth 40 million dollars also arrived in Kabul on the 11th, 12th and 19th of this month. Click here to read more (external link).

Related

Chinese investment promises to Afghanistan meant to be broken?

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ANI: Afghanistan’s economy is already in shambles. The international community has not recognized the Taliban-led government in power. Afghanistan’s overseas funds are also frozen. Under these circumstances, Chinese investment is a ray of hope for the Taliban. However, promising is one thing and actually investing in the country is another. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan cricket plunged into crisis as ICC funds-flow hits snags

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Espncricinfo: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is staring at a financial crisis, with ICC funds not able to reach the board after July 2021. Since the Taliban’s return to political power in August 2021, international sanctions have made it increasingly difficult to send money into the country. ESPNcricinfo understands that while the ACB has completed pending payments to players at all levels as well as the coaching staff, it will be able to pay only 30% of the salaries to employees and other staff working in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Says Human Rights Violations in Afghanistan are ‘Rumors’

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Khaama: Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy prime minister of the Taliban, stated during a meeting with Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, that human rights violations in Afghanistan are mere “Facebook rumors.” The UN special rapporteur on the situation of Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, whose mandate was extended for another 12 months, visited the Taliban Deputy Prime Minister on Tuesday, October 11. Click here to read more (external link).