8am: Following the increase of house-to-house search operations in Samangan province, the residents of the province say that the Taliban rebels are checking people’s cell phones too. According to residents, the Taliban do not care about people’s privacy and search their homes and mobile phones without a court order. “We have private contents in our mobiles and Taliban do not care and respect this value,” residents added. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan: In a quiet valley the Taliban face armed resistance
BBC News: Small groups of guerrillas, hidden away on mountain tops, led by soldiers from the former Afghan army, have been launching ambushes and engaging in clashes with the Taliban. In Panjshir, however, anti-Taliban fighters managed to shoot down a military helicopter and capture those on board. Elsewhere in Baghlan Province, resistance fighters have recently filmed themselves pulling down a Taliban flag from a military post. When the BBC travelled to the Andarab valley in June, however, the Taliban appeared in firm control of the territory. Over the past two decades, intrusive raids and allegations of the killing of innocent civilians by Afghan and international forces helped fuel the Taliban’s popularity in parts of the country where they already had a presence and a degree of support. Now, they are accused of using those same counter-insurgency tactics, whilst there appears to be little sense of accountability. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – July 27, 2022
‘Death In Slow Motion’: Amnesty Report Documents Taliban’s ‘Suffocating Crackdown’ On Women, Girls
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 27, 2022
A “suffocating” Taliban crackdown on human rights is destroying the lives of Afghan women and girls,’ Amnesty International has warned.
Since returning to power almost one year ago, the radical group has systematically violated women’s and girls’ rights to education, work, and free movement, Amnesty International said in a report published on July 26.
The international community has refused to recognize the Taliban’s rule, demanding it respect human rights and show tolerance for other groups. The United States and its allies have cut off billions in development funds and froze billions in Afghan national assets.
Despite initially attempting to present itself as a more moderate force compared to its first stint in power in 1996-2001, the Taliban formed an all-male government and banned girls from attending school from seventh grade, imposed all-covering dress that leaves only the eyes visible, and restricted women’s access to work.
Amnesty said the Taliban has also decimated protections for those facing domestic violence, detained women and girls for minor violations, and triggered a surge in child marriages.
The report — titled Death In Slow Motion: Women and Girls Under Taliban Rule — also documented how women who peacefully protested the increasingly oppressive rules have been threatened, arrested, detained, tortured, and forcibly disappeared.
“Less than one year after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, their draconian policies are depriving millions of women and girls of their right to lead safe, free, and fulfilling lives,” said Amnesty’s Agnes Callamard.
“Taken together, these policies form a system of repression that discriminates against women and girls in almost every aspect of their lives,” the report said. “This suffocating crackdown against Afghanistan’s female population is increasing day by day.”
The report comprises the results of a nine-month investigation conducted from September 2021 to June 2022 and included a visit to Afghanistan by the group’s researchers back in March. They interviewed 90 women and 11 girls between 14 and 74 years old across the country.
Among them were women detained for protesting who described torture at the hands of Taliban guards, including beatings and threats of death.
One woman told Amnesty that guards beat her and other women on the breasts and between the legs “so that we couldn’t show the world.” She said one told her, “I can kill you right now, and no one would say anything.”
Amnesty said Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian crisis has deprived women and girls of education and job prospects. The report documented cases of forced marriages of women and girls to Taliban members — under pressure by the Taliban member or by the women’s families.
Amnesty urged the international community to take action to protect Afghan women and girls.
“If the international community fails to act, it will be abandoning women and girls in Afghanistan, and undermining human rights everywhere,” Callamard said.
With reporting by 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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After decades of opposing the Taliban, India may be forming a relationship with them
NPR: The Taliban are hoping that the Indians would increase their supplies of wheat to the country. And over the medium term, the Taliban seem to be interested in India reviving its development projects in Afghanistan. India built a lot of hospitals, so the Taliban appear to be interested in India reviving some of those activities as well. Click here to read more (external link).
Tashkent conference calls for inclusive government in Afghanistan
Ariana: Formation of a government on the basis of “broad representation” was emphasized in an international conference on Afghanistan that was held in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Tuesday. Ensuring women’s rights and access of Afghan girls to receive a full school education was also emphasized, according to a statement released by the hosts. Click here to read more (external link).
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Flash Floods Leave Financial Losses in Bamyan and Daikundi Provinces
8am: According to sources in Daikundi, this natural disaster has hit Khadir and Mir Amoor districts and some central parts of this province. The residents of Daikundi said that tens of acres of agricultural land and water supply canals are destroyed as a result of this incident. Click here to read more (external link).
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Tolo News in Dari – July 26, 2022
Blast kills 2 children, injures 10 in Afghanistan’s Zabul province
QALAT, Afghanistan, July 26 (Xinhua) — At least two children were killed and 10 others wounded when an explosive device left over from past wars went off in the country’s southern Zabul province on Tuesday, a local official said. “A group of children found a toy-like object in Mizan district at around noon today and began playing with when the device exploded, killing two on the spot and injuring 10 others,” the official told Xinhua but declined to be named. Click here to read more (external link).
Condition of prisoners in Taliban prisons
8am: Since August 2021, the Taliban group has imprisoned thousands of citizens of the country for various pretexts. Most of these prisoners are former government affiliates (security employees, army soldiers and national police). Many civilians, particularly youths have been arrested on charges of collaborating with the National Resistance Front (NRF) and armed groups fighting against this terror group. Relatives of prisoners imprisoned in Taliban intelligence detention centers complain about the “extremely painful situation” of the prisoners. According to them, the prison cells are so overcrowded with no facilities, adding that Taliban has set a schedule on sleeping time for the prisoners as all the prisoners cannot be placed to sleep at the same time. In addition, the prisoners are being tortured and severely beaten by the jailors three times a day. Click here to read more (external link).