Al Jazeera: The doctrine of ‘sovereign immunity’ is being used to insulate state violence from legal liability. What better illustration of the perversities of “justice” under colonial modernity, than the grotesquely disparate treatment of Afghanistan versus the Vatican when it comes to exacting recompense for international crimes. Click here to read more (external link).
Suicide Attack on a Mosque in Kunduz Leaves 40 Casualties and 50 Others Injured
8am: Local sources in Kunduz province have confirmed that a suicide bomber blew up himself inside a mosque in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province. According to sources, at least 40 prayers have been killed and more than 50 others injured. Click here to read more (external link).
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‘Life destroyed’: Afghan civilians describe alleged border raids
Al Jazeera: “It is not surprising that the Taliban cannot secure Afghanistan’s borders,” Ibrahimi said, pointing out that while cross-border attacks from Pakistan are not new, the Taliban lack the political and military will to hold Pakistan responsible. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Bans TikTok, Popular Video Game In Afghanistan
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
April 21, 2022
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have banned the social media application TikTok and popular online game PUBG, saying the move is aimed to protect younger generations from a bad influence.
Spokesman Inamullah Samangani tweeted that the Taliban government on April 21 instructed the Communications and Information Technology Ministry to restrict access to the two digital platforms, as well as instructing it to close all channels that broadcast what he called immoral programs.
“The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is required to block PUBG games and an application called TikTok, which misleads the younger generation,” Samangani tweeted.
“Likewise, it must prevent as much as possible the publication of any channel that publishes immoral material and programs.”
Chinese-owned TikTok, a global short-video platform popular with younger audiences, has been criticized for what some experts said was a negative impact on children and young adults’ mental health due to the risk of addiction and its potential for bullying and enabling sexual predators.
PUBG: Battlegrounds, or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, is a player-versus-player online shooter game developed by South Korean gaming company Krafton. PUBG allows up to 100 players to engage in what is known as a battle royale — a type of large-scale last-man-standing video deathmatch.
Experts say it would be difficult to completely bar the applications in Afghanistan because they can still be accessed via proxy applications and virtual private networks.
The Taliban returned to power in August following a blitz offensive across Afghanistan amid the hasty withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the war-wracked country.
The militant group promised a softer version of the harsh Islamist rule that characterized its first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, when any form of entertainment was banned and punished severely.
But many restrictions, especially on women’s rights to education, have still been imposed by the Taliban rulers since they seized control of the country last year.
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.
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – April 21, 2022
Roadside Mine Kills 4 Taliban Members in Nangarhar
8am: Local sources in Nangarhar province have confirmed that as a result of a roadside mine in Khogyani district, four Taliban rebels are killed and another injured. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Click here to read more (external link).
Begging has increased in Kabul
Tolo News: Analysts said the main reason for the increase in the number of beggars is the rise in poverty in the country that occurred after the political changes last August. “Households’ economic situation are moving toward absolute poverty, and the level of poverty is increasing,” said Shakir Yaghoubi, an analyst. Click here to read more (external link).
IS Claims Deadly Shi’ite Mosque Bombing In Northern Afghanistan; Several Dead In Other Attacks
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
April 21, 2022
A series of explosions killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more in Afghanistan on April 21.
An explosion at a Shi’ite mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif killed at least 11 people, said Zia Zendani, spokesman for the provincial health authority in the city, adding that 32 more people were wounded in the blast.
Zabihullah Nourani, the Taliban’s director of intelligence and culture in Balkh, put the death toll at 25.
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack.
“The soldiers of the caliphate managed to get a booby-trapped bag” inside the mosque, detonating it from afar after it was packed with worshippers, the group said in a statement on its Telegram channel.
Separately, at least four people were killed and 18 wounded in a blast in the northern city of Kunduz, according to a police official.
Provincial police spokesman Obaidullah Abedi said the blast was caused by a bicycle bomb targeting a vehicle carrying mechanics working for a Taliban military unit.
Earlier on April 21, a roadside blast in Kabul injured at least two children, the fifth explosion this week in the Afghan capital.
No group claimed responsibility for the Kunduz and Kabul attacks, which came during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and two days after explosions tore through a high school in a predominantly Shi’ite Hazara area in western Kabul, killing at least six.
The Shi’ite religious minority is frequently targeted by Sunni militant groups, including IS.
Richard Bennett, the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan on human rights, condemned the blasts.
“Today more explosions rocked Afghanistan…systematic targeted attacks on crowded schools and mosques calls for immediate investigation, accountability and end to human rights violations,” he said in a tweet.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa, and Tolo News
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.
Related
Afghanistan Regains Its Crown as Terror Central
FP: The Taliban’s jihadi friends are back to threaten global security. Click here to read more (external link).
Concerns Mount Over Malnourished Children in Afghanistan
Tolo News: Following global concern about the poor economic situation in Afghanistan, Save the Children in a recent report said that Afghanistan is facing its worst food crisis, with 5 million children on the brink of starvation. According to the organization, about two in three children in Afghanistan – or 12 million – whose families depend on farming to survive, are struggling to get enough to eat daily due to the country’s worst drought in decades and are facing forecasts of below-average rains this wet season. Click here to read more (external link).