Tolo News: The former head of the Afghanistan Cricket Board has reportedly been detained but security officials have yet to confirm or otherwise comment on his arrest. Videos went viral on social media showing that security forces prevented Fazli from going to the compound of the ACB. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – July 4, 2022
Two Dead After Gunmen Fire On Vehicle Carrying Taliban Forces In Herat
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
July 4, 2022
At least two people were killed after unknown gunmen attacked a vehicle being used by the Taliban’s Defense Ministry in the western Afghan city of Herat, local officials said.
Another 20 were wounded in the attacks, a hospital source told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.
The vehicle was carrying employees of the Taliban’s 207th Al-Farooq military corps.
Some local media reported four buses were attacked in different parts of the city but the provincial security officials confirmed only one attack.
A Taliban official told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi two men riding an auto rickshaw carried out the attack. He said one of them was killed while the other attacker managed to flee the scene.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
With reporting dpa and Tolonews
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 Turns Shiite Mosques, Religious Schools and Schools into Military Bases in Deserted Balkhab District
8am: Sources in the Balkhab district of Sar-e-Pul province have confirmed that the Taliban have moved their reserve forces inside the villages. These fighters use Shiite Hazara mosques, religious schools, schools and even health centers as their military bases. According to the sources, the Taliban have deployed an estimated 1,000 fighters in the villages of “Khorma Takht”, “Tajri” and “Al-Darz” in Balkhab in order to prevent possible attacks by Mawlawi Mehdi and his loyal fighters. In this connection, a videotape has gone viral on social media, where Taliban fighters in Balkhab are playing music from the loudspeakers of Hussainiyas/Shiite mosques, and they are having fun inside it with smiling faces. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Attack on a Taliban Base in Kapisa Leaves 3 Dead and 5 Injured
8am: Local sources have confirmed an attack on a Taliban camp on the outskirts of Kapisa province. The attack took place in the middle of Saturday night (July 2nd) in the Qazikhel area in the first district of Kapisa province, according to sources. The Afghanistan Liberation Front claims to have carried out the assault. This anti-Taliban military group published a video, claiming that as a result of this attack, 3 Taliban members have been killed and 5 others were wounded. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – June 3, 2022
Relief Workers Express Concerns Over Child Casualties After Taliban Take Charge in Balkhab
8am: Relief workers who have voluntarily gone to the remote mountains to help the displaced people of Balkhab for the past four days express their concern over the loss of more children. Those who have visited the Hazar chashma, Dozdan chashma, Sarsalakh, Abqol, Gandaji, Sokhta, Zardsang, Pitab and Pudina villages in the Yekawlang district of central Bamiyan province, say that displaced people in these areas have many problems, including lack of food supplies, shelter, clothes, blankets, and other basic facilities. Click here to read more (external link).
Export volume of Afghan pine nuts drops off
Ariana: Exports of pine nuts from Afghanistan have declined in recent months as trade routes remain closed, traders say. Traders in Khost said that the pine nuts could spoil if shipments remain in warehouses for too long. Click here to read more (external link).
Provincial Secretary Takes Lead During Governor’s Absence in Samangan, Deputy Governor Not Trusted
Taliban fighters (file photo)
8am: Local sources in Samangan report that the acting Taliban governor in this province illegally appoints his secretary as the caretaker of the province instead of the deputy governor in his absence. Sources add that this behavior of the Taliban governor shows his distrust towards the non-Pashtun Taliban-affiliated members in Samangan province. Click here to read more (external link).
Tightly Controlled Afghan Assembly Closes With Call For Nations To Recognize Taliban Government
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
July 2, 2022
The grand meeting in Kabul of more than 4,000 male clerics and tribal leaders ended on July 2 with a declaration of support for Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and calls on the international community to recognize the country’s as-of-yet unrecognized government.
The three-day “grand assembly of ulema,” or religious scholars, was a tightly controlled event where women were banned and delegates were hand-picked by the Taliban. Ethnic and religious minorities were excluded.
The religious scholars ended the meeting with a pledge of allegiance to the hard-line fundamentalist group’s reclusive supreme leader, Mawlawi Haibuatullah Akhundzada.
Akhundzada, who addressed the gathering on July 1 in a surprise appearance, heads the Taliban government that took control of Afghanistan after U.S.-led international troops withdrew in August 2021.
Cleric Mujib-ul Rahman Ansari said an 11-point declaration released at the end of the gathering calls on countries around the world, the United Nations, Islamic organizations, and others to recognize a Taliban-led Afghanistan.
It urged the removal of all sanctions imposed since the Taliban takeover and the freeing up of Afghan assets that have been frozen abroad.
“Interact positively, lift all sanctions on Afghanistan, unfreeze the assets of the Afghan people, and support our nation,” the declaration stated.
The United States and most of the international community have shunned the Taliban and its unrecognized government, demanding greater inclusivity and respect for minority and women’s rights.
Under the Taliban, girls have been barred from secondary schools while women have been fired from government jobs, prevented from traveling alone, and ordered to wear clothing that covers everything but their faces.
The final declaration did not address the issue of schooling for girls. However, it did call on the government to pay “special attention” to religious and modern education, as well as “the rights of minorities, children, women, and the entire nation, according to Islamic holy law.”
At the end of the gathering, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, a Taliban co-founder, insisted on the mandatory wearing of full hijabs by women in the country and said laws regarding it would be implemented throughout the country.
The international isolation of the Taliban has contributed to the collapse of the Afghan economy and a massive humanitarian crises, with food shortages being reported throughout the country.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP