Daikundi
8am: “From now on, do not shave your beards, and put on a hat or a turban, and the females must wear hijab,” according to a statement issued by the Daikundi Department of Education. If the employees disobey the order, they will be dealt with legally, the statement stressed. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
January 19, 2022
A Taliban commander and three other people were killed when a man opened fire on a vehicle in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar Province, a local Taliban official said on January 19.
The incident occurred in the Narang district of Kunar, the Taliban director of information and culture in the province, Mawlawi Najibullah, told the media.
Another nine people were wounded, Najibullah said, adding that the attacker had escaped to a civilian house and when the owner had denied him shelter, he killed him too.
The attacker was detained after being wounded and police are investigating the case, he said.
A local elder put the number of dead at six, including four Taliban members.
The elder said the attacker had switched allegiance from the Taliban to the Islamic State (IS) group in the past.
“He opened fire on the car with a machine gun,” the elder said.
IS, which is active in eastern Afghanistan, has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August.
The Taliban and IS have been fighting each other since the latter emerged in Afghanistan in early 2015.
Based on reporting by dpa and Etleaks.com
Dam in Afghanistan (file photo)
Ariana: Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Special Representative of the President for Afghanistan’s Affairs, meanwhile told Tasnim news: “I express my appreciation for the fulfillment of the promise made by the esteemed IEA [Taliban] officials to release Water right of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Kamal Khan Dam.” Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Afghanistan’s national Under-19 team were on form on Tuesday night when they took on Papua New Guinea in the West Indies in their first match of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2022. With a massive victory against their Group C opponents, the Afghan team, which won by 135 runs, will now be hoping to build a winning run in the tournament. Click here to read more (external link).
Kirby
Ariana: Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on Tuesday the US government was still dealing with the issue of Afghan helicopters parked in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan but indicated the aircraft would not be returned to Afghanistan. Addressing a press conference, Kirby said: “We’re still working out the — the disposition of — of those helicopters. “I think it’s safe to assume that they will not be sent into Afghanistan to be at — to be used by the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan). Click here to read more (external link).
8am: Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, people have heard less about the Covid-19 casualties. Upon their arrival in Kabul, Taliban officials announced: “with the rise of the Mujahideen, the coronavirus has been eradicated in the country.” But that does not seem to be the case, and some countries around the world are shocked by the mutation of a new type of coronavirus. However, people are concerned that, in addition to poverty and unemployment, the fourth wave of the coronavirus will knock on their door as an unwanted guest. Click here to read more (external link).
Mullah Hassan Akhund
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
January 19, 2022
The Taliban’s acting prime minister asked the global community Wednesday to grant legitimacy to Afghanistan’s new government, insisting it has met all conditions required for the official recognition.
Mohammad Hassan Akhund spoke at a conference in Kabul where his interim administration convened to discuss massive economic upheavals facing the country since the Taliban seized power last August. The event was also attended by United Nations officials.
“I call especially on Islamic countries to not wait for others and take the lead in officially recognizing our Islamic Emirate,” Akhund said.
This would help expedite efforts aimed at addressing dire economic and humanitarian problems facing Afghanistan, he argued.
No country has yet recognized the new government, which the Taliban officially refer to as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Foreign governments are watching to see how the ultra-conservative group will govern the country this time around.
Akhund blamed the current economic crisis on international sanctions and the freezing of roughly $9.5 billion in Afghanistan’s foreign cash reserves by Western nations led by the United States.
Deborah Lyons, the head of the U.N. mission in Kabul, told the conference the global body was working to “revitalize” the Afghan economy and “fundamentally” address the economic problems.
“The economic crisis is not the only problem facing Afghanistan. But it is one of the most urgent and above all is one where action is possible and must be taken quickly by all of us,” Lyons said.
She praised some of the steps the Taliban administration has taken to contain economic deterioration.
“Foremost among these is the adoption recently of a national budget that, for the first time, is totally financed by national revenues and not dependent on any donor grants,” Lyons noted. “In addition, revenue generation has been growing, despite the economic slowdown, in large part because of efforts to address corruption.”
Lyons, however, stressed the importance of women’s participation in economic activities, saying stable societies and economic progress require inclusion, respect for human rights and equality among all citizens.
Other senior Taliban Cabinet members also addressed Wednesday’s conference and called for ending international economic sanctions.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the Taliban government was seeking to establish close economic relations with international partners.
“Humanitarian aid is the short-term solution to economic problems but what is needed to solve problems in the long run is the implementation of infrastructure projects,” Muttaqi said.
“I again avail this opportunity to call on the United States of America to unfreeze the assets of Afghanistan’s Central Bank and to remove all impediments for relief organizations and Afghans in money transfers to Afghanistan,” the foreign minister added.
Taliban officials said representatives of 20 foreign nations attended the conference, while dozens more participated virtually.
Since the Taliban took over the government five months ago, the suspension of most international development funding to aid-dependent Afghanistan, the imposition of financial restrictions and long-running terrorism-related sanctions on Taliban leaders, have led to a breakdown in many basic services, including electricity, health services and education.
Inflation is rampant, and the price of ordinary goods is beyond the reach of most Afghans.
Under the previous Taliban government from 1996 to 2001, women were excluded from public life, girls’ education was banned, human rights abuses were rampant, and transnational terrorists were active on Afghan soil, triggering international sanctions and the diplomatic isolation of the country.
Although Taliban leaders have pledged to govern the country differently, they have not yet allowed most women to return to public sector jobs. While schoolboys were allowed to resume classes in September, secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan have mostly remained shuttered.
Women are not allowed to travel beyond 72 kilometers without a male relative and taxi drivers are ordered to refuse a ride to women not wearing an Islamic hijab or veil.
The International Labour Organization said Wednesday in a new report that Afghanistan had lost more than half-a-million jobs since the Taliban took control of the country. That number could rise to more than 900,000 by the middle of this year, the report said. The ILO noted women were hit hardest, estimating that female employment dropped by 16% in July, August and September.
8am: Local sources in Panjshir province say a Taliban Ranger vehicle was targeted by a magnetic mine in the province. In an interview with Hasht-e Subh, Sibghatullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Resistance Front, claimed that seven Taliban members had been killed and several others wounded in the blast. Click here to read more (external link).