Ghulam Omar Qargha via brookings.edu: Historically, there has been a noticeable divide in Afghanistan between rural and urban communities and how they view schooling and education. Generally, students of the madrasa system (who tend to be from rural communities) have sounded the alarm that schools are a mechanism to undermine religious and cultural identities, while urban elites have championed schooling as a force of modernization and economic prosperity. The Taliban’s closing of girls’ secondary schools is the latest example of how education—and girls’ schooling, in particular—has become a proxy for larger socio-cultural, political, religious, and economic conflicts related to balancing traditional and modernist aspirations. Click here to read more (external link).
British Atrocities in Afghanistan
Bella Caledonia: American soldiers committed horrendous atrocities in these areas, ranging from systematic rape and sexual assault to massacres of civilians. Australian soldiers also committed similar atrocities, such as tying up children and slitting their throats. British soldiers also committed atrocities in these areas, most of which are simply not known, because the findings of the British government’s official inquiry into these atrocities, Operation Northmoor, have been classified. This article will focus on the information that is currently available about how British soldiers abused and murdered Afghan children in 2011 and 2012. Click here to read more (external link).
Measles outbreak strains Afghanistan’s weak health system
The New Humanitarian: Poor vaccine coverage coupled with widespread economic hardship in the wake of the Taliban takeover have created the perfect conditions for the virus to thrive. “The poor economical situation, the drought, the [lower] income of families faced with hunger, and fund cutting, job loss… all this is deteriorating the situation,” Hemat said. Click here to read more (external link).
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – June 21, 2022
A Civilian Killed by Taliban in Panjshir
8am: Sources in Panjshir province say the Taliban arrested a civilian and then shot him dead. The incident took place on Tuesday morning (June 21th) in Pawat village, Khenj district. According to sources, the victim’s name was Faizullah and he was busy digging in the so-called Emerald Mountains. Faizullah was first detained and then shot on the roadside by Taliban forces as he was walking from the mountains to his house. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban’s 203rd Mansouri Corps in Paktia Bombed by Unknown Drone, Sources Say
8am: A reliable source confirmed to Hasht-e Subh that an unidentified drone had bombed the 203rd Mansouri corps of the Taliban in Paktia province. The source said that the incident took place around 10:00 AM on Monday (June 20th). According to the source, the drone was patrolling when it was met with a reaction from Taliban troops. The aerial fighter also started firing on the Taliban, but no casualties have been reported yet. Unidentified drones have reportedly been patrolling areas in Logar province as well in the past month. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan, Iran reach agreement over Helmand Water Treaty: Taliban
ANI: Water of the Helmand River will be shared with Iran based on the Helmand Water treaty signed in 1973 between the two countries, reported Tolo News. The 1973 treaty between Afghanistan and Iran states that Kabul will share the water from Helmand River with Tehran at the rate of 26 cubic meters of water per second, or 850 million cubic meters per annum. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Liberation Front Attacks Taliban Forces in Kapisa, Leaving 3 Taliban Killed and 4 Wounded
8am: Sources say gunmen have carried out an assault on a Taliban base in Kapisa province. According to sources, the attack took place on Monday night (June 20th) on Taliban forces in a neighborhood called Zaghgir, on the outskirts of the provincial capital. The National Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for the attack. Click here to read more (external link).
ACB announces Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 schedule
Ariana: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced Monday fixtures for the eighth edition of the Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) 2022, which is scheduled to be held from July 18 to August 5 in Kabul. Eight star national players will be retained by their SCL teams, including Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran. Click here to read more (external link).
What’s at stake as UN Taliban travel ban waiver set to expire?
Al Jazeera: The Trump-backed waiver allows sanctioned Taliban leaders to travel abroad for negotiations. Writing on The Hill website in May, Annie Pforzheimer, a former acting US deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan, said the continued exemption “represents the creeping normalisation of international relations with a regime that overthrew a constitutional republic and an official ally of the US, has murdered our allies and stolen the rights of its people and – most relevant in this case – is still openly cooperating with other terrorists”. Click here to read more (external link).