Pakistan to import coal from Afghanistan in rupees

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Ariana: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the import of coal from Afghanistan in rupees instead of US dollars, saying the move will help the country save precious foreign exchange. Sharif on Monday chaired a meeting on improving the transportation system of coal imported from Afghanistan in the country, the Express Tribune reported. “The coal imported from Afghanistan in rupee terms will not only generate cheap electricity but also help save the country’s precious foreign exchange,” Sharif said. Click here to read more (external link).

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What do we already know about anti-Taliban fronts in Afghanistan?

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Aamaj: After the collapse of republic and Taliban’s takeover in past ten months, different anti-Taliban fronts with various structures formed across the country. Gradually, after the formation of the National Resistance Front [NRF] led by Ahmad Massoud other fronts as Freedom Corps, Freedom Front of Afghanistan, Liberation Front of Afghanistan and guerrilla fighters of Ata Mohammad Noor appeared one after another. This report discusses the anti-Taliban fronts across the country. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban MoD Says Clashes in Balkhab Have Ended

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Tolo News: Following reports of clashes between the Islamic Emirate forces and Commander Mawlawi Mahdi in Balkhab district of Sar-e-Pul, the MoD stated that the dispute has ended. Meanwhile, in a meeting with Shia clerics and elders of Balkhab, 2nd Deputy PM Abdul Salam Hanafi stressed the importance of preventing civilian casualties in Balkhab. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN special rapporteur for Afghanistan human rights reacted to the clashes in Balkhab and called for the prevention of civilian casualties. The clashes in Balkhab faced reactions from international human rights organizations. “Amnesty International is gravely concerned by reports of summary executions and harm to civilians in Balkhab district of Sari-Pul province,” Amnesty International said on Twitter.  “The parties to the conflict are obliged to fully observe laws of war in all hostilities and avoid harming civilians and civilian objects.”  Click here to read more (external link).

Cholera cases rising in Takhar

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Ariana: Cholera and diarrhea cases are rising among children and adults in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province, local officials said. Abdul Qahar Ahadi, provincial health director, said that more than 20,000 patients suffering from various diseases visited public health facilities during the past two months, which is unprecedented. Takhar’s main hospital meanwhile said that most of the visitors were treated for cholera and diarrhea. Click here to read more (external link).

70% of Nuristan Schools Lack Buildings

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Tolo News: Nuristan’s department of education said that 70 percent of schools in this province do not have buildings, and they must temporarily use tents at these schools to solve this problem. According to the officials of the department, there are 214 schools in the province, of which only 60 have buildings. According to official figures, there are presently 36,000 students enrolled in 214 schools in the province of Nuristan, 16,000 of them are female, but female students above sixth grade are still not allowed to attend schools in this province. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Kidnaps 25 Civilians As NRF Carries Out an Offensive Against Its Forces in Kapisa

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8am: The National Resistance Front (NRF) has announced that it has carried out an offensive on a Taliban base in Kapisa province. A senior member of the front told Hasht-e Subh on Monday (June 27th) that the assault took place on Sunday night (June 26th) in the village of Kalalan in the first district of Kapisa province. According to the source, 5 Taliban members have been killed and another was wounded in the attack. Meanwhile, local sources in Kapisa say that after the incident, the Taliban launched a house-to-house search throughout the province, asking weapons and interrogating residents. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Begins Second Round of House-to-House Search Operations in Karte Parwan Area, Kabul City

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Taliban fighters (file photo)

8am: On June 18, 2022, the Taliban group had launched house-to-house search operations in Khair Khana area, 15th district in Kabul during which they had reportedly arrested about 150 Panjshiri youths. Now, it is reported that the Taliban have resumed a second round of house-to-house search operations after this area in Karte Parwan, 2nd district of Kabul. Click here to read more (external link).

At Least 155 Children Killed In Afghan Earthquake, Says UN

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
June 27, 2022

The earthquake that hit southeastern Afghanistan last week has killed at least 155 children, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordination organization, the OCHA, said in an update on June 26.

The OCHA said that another 250 children were injured in the magnitude 6 quake that struck the mountainous villages in the Paktika and Khost provinces near the country’s border with Pakistan, flattening homes and triggering landslides.

Most of the children died in Paktika’s hard-hit Giyan district, which remains a scene of life in ruins, days after the quake.

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have put the total death toll from the quake at 1,150, with hundreds more injured.

The UN has offered a lower estimate of 770, although it has warned that the figure could still rise.

Another 65 children have reportedly been orphaned or left unaccompanied as a result of the disaster, the OCHA added.

The earthquake has highlighted even more the weaknesses of Afghanistan’s hard-line government and its isolation over human rights abuses since the Taliban swept to power after U.S.-led international troops withdrew from the country and the UN-backed Afghan government collapsed in August.

The UN children’s agency said on June 27 that it was working to reunite children that had been separated from their families in the chaos of the quake.

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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WHO Boosts Surveillance Amid Disease Outbreak Risk in Quake-Hit Parts of Afghanistan

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
June 26, 2022

ISLAMABAD — The World Health Organization said Sunday it was stepping up surveillance of infectious diseases in earthquake-hit areas of Afghanistan following warnings by local authorities that thousands of survivors are at risk of disease.

Afghan officials reported at least 1,150 people were killed, many more were injured, and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed in Wednesday’s powerful quake.

The calamity caused most of the destruction in the southeastern Afghan provinces of Paktika and Khost, some of the poorest and remotest mountainous areas near the Pakistani border, which lack the infrastructure to withstand disasters of this scale.

“The people are extremely needy for food and clean water,” Afghan health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said Sunday. He added that officials had managed medicines for now but handling those who had lost their homes would be a challenge.

“We ask the international community, humanitarian organizations to help us… for food and medicine. The survivor might catch diseases because they don’t have proper houses and shelters for living.”

The WHO said in a statement that its response, and that of all health partners on the ground, is to treat the injured, save lives and minimize the risk of disease in the aftermath of this tragedy.

“WHO is increasing surveillance of infectious diseases such as acute watery diarrhea, measles, and COVID-19 by deploying disease surveillance and control officers and distributing medicines and supplies to health facilities in anticipation of an increase in cases.”

The statement noted that Afghanistan is one of the two remaining polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Pakistan, and polio staff are also contributing to relief efforts and supporting surveillance for other infectious diseases.

“The earthquake was yet another tragic reminder of the various risks facing the Afghan people and how critical that Afghanistan should not become another forgotten emergency by the global community,” said Luo Dapeng, the WHO representative in the war-torn country.

Hundreds of families were reportedly living in the open across several worst-affected districts. Those living in non-damaged and partially damaged buildings have also reportedly resorted to staying out in the open out of fear that there may be further tremors, according to U.N. officials.

The deadly earthquake is a major test for Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban rulers, who seized power last August, but have not been granted formal recognition by the global community due to concerns about human rights, including those of women.

The United Nations and several neighboring countries have rushed aid to the devasted Afghan districts. But helping thousands of victims remains a challenge for foreign countries because of the suspension of aid and the imposition of financial as well as banking-sector sanctions on Taliban-governed Afghanistan.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Saturday urged Washington to roll back the sanctions and unfreeze billions of dollars in Afghan foreign assets, mostly held in the United States, to help aid groups smoothly bring in much needed assistance to quake victims.

Hours after Muttaqi’s statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated while speaking to reporters Saturday that the administration was working to resolve the issue through a series of processes.

“We are urgently working to address complicated questions about the use of these funds to ensure they benefit the people of Afghanistan and not the Taliban,” she said.

She added that the Biden administration was not going to wait to help the people of Afghanistan recover and rebuild from their devastating earthquake. “USAID and our partner humanitarian organizations are already providing immediate assistance on the ground where it’s needed the most.”

President Joe Biden issued an executive order in February that was aimed at freeing up half the $7 billion in frozen Afghan central bank assets on U.S. soil. The money would be used to benefit the Afghan people while the rest would be held for its possible use in terrorism-related lawsuits against the Taliban.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

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