The Guardian (UK): Musicians had hoped to keep their art alive after fleeing Taliban but now face crackdown on refugees. Ajmal Haikalzada, 44, first became a refugee when his artist father left Afghanistan for Pakistan during the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s. In 2001, then a musician, he returned, singing and performing across the country of his birth after the US toppled the Taliban. Two decades later, he fled once again as the Taliban took over Kabul. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Open Fire at Wedding Convoy for Playing Music in Afghanistan’s Jaghuri District
8am: Taliban forces in the Jaghuri district of Ghazni province opened fire on a wedding party convoy on Thursday afternoon (July 14th). According to the source, the incident occurred on the outskirts of the district center. Taliban fighters apparently opened fire on the wedding entourage because they were playing music. Traditionally, during the wedding parties, the groom’s relatives travel the distance between the bride and the groom’s houses to accompany the bride. The groom’s companions dance and play music, according to their tradition. Click here to read more (external link).
Amnesty International calls for urgent probe into alleged war crimes by UK’s SAS
Ariana: Amnesty International on Wednesday described the BBC’s findings of alleged war crimes by UK Special Forces in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011 as horrific and called for an urgent investigation. “The BBC’s reporting outlines unlawful killings, including deliberate killing of individuals after they were detained, targeting of civilians and fabricating evidence to justify the killing of unarmed men, pointing to potential war crimes having been committed.” Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan, Pakistan Rank Lowest In Gender-Gap Index
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 13, 2022
Afghanistan and Pakistan are at the bottom of the global gender gap index for 2022, dragged down by the lack of opportunities for women in the conservative, male-dominated societies.
The World Economic Forum, in a report released on July 13, says the two countries are joined by Iran in the bottom five countries in the global ranking, which measures economic participation, educational attainment, health, and political survival of women.
Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is last of 146 countries in the index, while neighboring Pakistan is just one place better at 145th, the report says. Iran is 143rd.
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran are joined by the conflict-riddled African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad at the bottom of the list.
Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden top the list.
Moldova (16) and Albania (18) ranked among the top 20.
Overall, the report says, “Gender parity is not recovering.”
“It will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap. As crises are compounding, women’s workforce outcomes are suffering and the risk of global gender parity backsliding further intensifies.”
Based on reporting by dpa
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.
Amnesty International calls for urgent probe into alleged war crimes by UK’s SAS
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
Abubakar Siddique
July 13, 2022
Suleiman and his family have been living in hiding for months, constantly moving from place to place for fear of Taliban retribution.
His family has been on the run since his elder brother, a former member of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, was killed soon after the Taliban toppled the Western-backed Afghan government and seized power in August 2021.
Human rights groups have accused the Taliban of carrying out widespread revenge killings, enforced disappearances, and torture of former Afghan officials, security officers, and individuals who cooperated with the departed U.S.-led military presence in Afghanistan. That is despite the Taliban announcing a blanket amnesty when it took Kabul on August 15.
“We are still facing many threats,” Suleiman, who did not reveal his real name for security reasons, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.
“People [in the Taliban-led government] describe officials and soldiers of the former Afghan government as supporters of a corrupt system,” he added. “Sometimes, they call us infidels.”
The Taliban has denied killing Suleiman’s 35-year-old brother, who was slain in eastern Afghanistan in October. The militant group told Suleiman that “unknown persons” had killed his sibling and “that they cannot do anything about it.”
‘Threatening Calls’
Suleiman’s family is not alone. The families of thousands of Afghans affiliated with the toppled internationally backed government in Kabul and former security forces live in constant fear.
Tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans were evacuated during the chaotic U.S.-led evacuation in August. But thousands of others, including former members of the security forces, civil servants, and those who assisted the U.S.-led war, remain stranded.
“I’m facing constant security threats that force me to constantly change my residence,” a former senior Interior Ministry official told Radio Azadi.
The Western-trained former official, who requested that his name be withheld to protect his identity, said he initially offered his services to the new Taliban authorities. “But I was told that there is no place for me in the new government,” he said. Since then, he has taken shelter in a remote district to avoid being identified.
Hamid, who served as an officer in the Afghan National Army for around 15 years, changes his location every month. “I received numerous threatening calls,” Hamid, who did not want to use his real name for safety reasons, told Radio Azadi. “They had accessed the databases of various government departments and found my personal information.”
Hamid said the callers knew where he lived and where his children went to school.
Promise Of ‘Amnesty’
The Taliban has repeatedly said that it is committed to the general amnesty it announced. “They can live freely in their homes and travel around the country,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Radio Azadi. “No one is allowed to threaten anyone.”
But international rights groups say the Taliban has carried out scores of revenge killings since seizing power.
Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, says her organization has independently documented and confirmed more than 100 cases of killings, enforced disappearances, harassment, and beatings of former security officers.
“Incidents have continued throughout the country despite denials from the central authorities and their promise of ‘amnesty,'” she told RFE/RL.
Gossman said those “especially” targeted by the Taliban were former members of the National Directorate of Security, the main intelligence agency, the Afghan Local Police , a U.S.-trained and -armed force of pro-government village militias, and the Afghan National Police.
A seven-month investigation by The New York Times found that nearly 500 former government workers and members of the security forces were killed or forcibly disappeared during the Taliban’s first six months in power.
Gossman says the Taliban has issued blanket denials without carrying out credible investigations. She says many of the revenge killings have been carried out with the knowledge or tacit approval of senior Taliban commanders.
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
Two Young Men Shot Dead in Ghazni Province
8am: Unknown armed men shot dead two young individuals last night in the center of Ghazni province while they were on the way home, local sources reported Thursday. The residents of Ghazni have accused the Taliban of not being able to provide security, saying that the patrols of armed men and thieves have increased in the province. Click here to read more (external link).
Plane Arrives In Netherlands With 181 Afghan Refugees From Pakistan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 13, 2022
A plane has arrived in the Netherlands with a 181 Afghans who had fled their war-torn country, the Dutch government said on July 13.
The refugees on the flight from Pakistan were the latest group of Afghans to fly to safety following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year after the pullout of Western troops.
Most of the group left Afghanistan by crossing the land border into Pakistan, where Dutch diplomats and the International Organization for Migration helped them reach the capital, Islamabad.
Pakistani authorities allowed the Afghans, who did not have valid travel documents, into the South Asian nation so they could travel on to the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has pledged to evacuate Afghans who assisted Dutch diplomats and military personnel before the Taliban seized power.
The Dutch government said on July 13 that it hopes to evacuate “as many eligible people as possible” from Afghanistan who are able to make it to Pakistan.
The Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry said earlier this year that it had brought 1,801 Afghans to the Netherlands since late August 2021.
Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
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.
30 Civilians Kidnapped by Taliban in Baghlan’s Khost District
8am: Local sources told Hasht-e Subh that after Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban’s defense minister, criticized the members of this group for disobeying the orders of their commanders in Baghlan province, the Taliban have now deployed hundreds of their reserved forces to the Khost district of Baghlan province. Sources in Khost district said on Wednesday (July 13th) that Taliban forces have started beating, torturing and kidnapping locals. Click here to read more (external link).
Report Alleges British Soldiers Committed War Crimes in Afghanistan
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
July 12, 2022
ISLAMABAD — Rights defenders are demanding an urgent inquiry into reported allegations that British special forces executed dozens of detainees and unarmed men in suspicious circumstances during anti-insurgency operations in Afghanistan a decade ago.
A BBC investigation, citing newly obtained military documents, alleged Tuesday that 54 people were unlawfully killed in the southern Afghan province of Helmand by a single unit of the Special Air Service (SAS), a special forces unit of the British army.
The broadcaster said its four-year inquiry also found “evidence suggesting the former head of the special forces failed to pass on evidence to a murder inquiry.”
The alleged war crimes reportedly occurred between 2010 and 2011 when British troops were still fighting Taliban insurgents alongside allies in the South Asian nation.
Unarmed Afghans were routinely shot to death “in cold blood” by SAS troops during nighttime raids, and weapons were planted on them to justify the crimes, the report said.
In a statement, Amnesty International called for an “effective and transparent” investigation into the allegations made against U.K. special forces.
Amnesty’s South Asia researcher, Zaman Sultani, said the BBC findings are “horrifying and clearly depict an alarming level of impunity and lack of accountability of U.K. troops who operated in Afghanistan.”
“The suggestion that there’s been a high-level cover-up compounds the moral outrage and suggests an unwillingness on the part of the U.K. to pursue independent and effective investigations into the allegations.”
In response to the report, Shaharzad Akbar, former head of the now-defunct Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), denounced what she said was a “culture of impunity and lack of accountability” in her country for decades.
“There was little transparency & no accountability for abuses by the international forces,” Akbar tweeted. “It is still not late for transparency, accountability & reparations,” she said.
The British Ministry of Defense said the report “jumps to unjustified conclusions from allegations that have already been fully investigated.” It said in a statement that two independent investigations have looked into the conduct of British forces in Afghanistan and that neither found sufficient evidence to prosecute.
“Insinuating otherwise is irresponsible, incorrect, and puts our brave Armed Forces personnel at risk both in the field and reputationally,” the ministry said, adding it stands open to considering any new evidence.
British forces were deployed to Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led international coalition after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States that Washington said were plotted in Afghanistan by al-Qaida terrorists who were harbored by the then-Taliban government.
The BBC investigation focused on one six-month deployment by an SAS squadron that operated in Helmand from late 2010. It said the unit carried out “kill or capture” raids to detain Taliban commanders and disrupt bomb-making networks.
Opposition lawmaker John Healey described the allegations as “deeply disturbing,” and urged Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to explain to parliament what action he would take to verify the claims.
The final British forces and their NATO allies withdrew from Afghanistan last August, days before the Taliban insurgents retook control of the country.
The Taliban captured Kabul on August 15 and now governs Afghanistan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Taliban Order in Parwan: “Wearing Hats Is Mandatory for Students in Schools”
8am: Local sources in Parwan Province told Hasht-e Subh on Wednesday (July 13th) that the Taliban have also ordered students not to come to school wearing official uniforms. According to the new order of the Taliban, if pupils enter classrooms without hats, they will be prevented by the teachers. Click here to read more (external link).