Taliban Condemned for Arresting Outspoken Afghan Professor

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Faizullah Jalal

Ayaz Gul
VOA News
January 8, 2022

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan on Saturday arrested an outspoken critic of the government, drawing strong calls for his immediate release from civil society activists.

Family members said Faizullah Jalal, a professor of law and political science, was seized by security forces from his residence in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

“As I confirm this disturbing news, I ask for the immediate release of my father, Professor Faizuallah Jalal,” tweeted Hasina Jalal, the daughter of the detained professor.

In a statement late Saturday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the arrest of Jalal, accusing him of inciting people to violence against the government through his social media posts.

Afghan television channels quoted a security source as confirming Jalal was being interrogated by the Taliban intelligence agency for leveling allegations against government departments.

“[The] Taliban never have tolerated criticism or free speech. He should be released immediately,” Patricia Gossman, the associate Asia director for Human Rights Watch, wrote on Twitter.

“Why & based on what legal ground? Arbitrary arrests for expressing one’s views/analysis is counterproductive & a step in the wrong direction … in any society,” Omar Samad, former Afghan diplomat and senior fellow at Washington’s Atlantic Council asked in his tweeted reaction.

“Amnesty International condemns the arrest of Professor Faizullah Jalal, Kabul university lecturer, for exercising his freedom of expression and criticizing the Taliban on a TV show. We call on the Taliban authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him,” tweeted the global rights defender.

Rights curtailed

Critics say the Islamic group’s return to power in Afghanistan last August has resulted in increasingly curtailed freedoms of all citizens, particularly those of women and girls.

Except for those working in a few sectors, most women have been instructed to stay at home until laws and procedures related to women are put in place — more than four months after the Taliban seized control of the country. Millions of girls above grade six across many Afghan provinces are unable to attend school.

The Taliban’s ministry for Islamic guidance has instructed taxi drivers to carry only those female passengers who wear a headscarf or Islamic hijab and are accompanied by a male relative if they travel more than 72 kilometers.

The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which enforces the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam, has banned Afghan women from driving and has ordered local TV channels to stop showing entertainment programs featuring actresses. Women television news anchors are required to wear hijabs while on the air.

This week, the ministry spokesman confirmed they had placed posters on cafes and shops around Kabul instructing women to wear hijabs.

“If someone does not follow it, it does not mean she will be punished or beaten, it’s just encouragement for Muslim women to follow Sharia law,” Sadeq Akif Muhajir told Agence France-Presse Friday.

The United States and allied nations withdrew their remaining troops from Afghanistan on August 30, and the Taliban have since consolidated their control of the country. The international community has refused to recognize the new Kabul government until the Taliban ensure respect for the human rights of all Afghans and allow women to fully participate in public life.

Washington has frozen billions of dollars in Afghanistan’s foreign cash reserves since the Taliban takeover, while most foreign financial assistance has been suspended, bringing the economy of the aid-dependent country to the brink of collapse.

The punitive measures have increased humanitarian needs in the South Asian nation to unprecedented levels amid United Nations warnings that estimated 24 million Afghans will need relief assistance this year, with many likely to be acutely food insecure by March. The humanitarian crisis stems from years of war, poverty and a prolonged drought.

Pakistan Issues Identity Cards to More Than a Million Afghan Refugees

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Lisa Schlein
VOA News
January 8, 2022

GENEVA — Pakistan has concluded a months-long campaign to register Afghan refugees and issue them identity cards that will protect and safeguard their interests.

The government-run campaign, supported by the U.N. refugee agency, began in mid-April. The registration drive has updated the data of some 1.4 million Afghan refugees. This is the first large-scale effort to verify the status of refugees in Pakistan in the last 10 years.

UNHCR spokesman, Babar Baloch says the refugees are given so-called smart identity cards that legitimize their status and facilitate their access to humanitarian aid and other benefits.

“The new identity cards are an essential protection tool for Afghan refugees and give them the faster and safer access to health and education facilities and to financial services as well,” Baloch said. “This drive also provided an opportunity for Afghan refugees to flag any specific protection needs for vulnerabilities.”

The UNHCR reports more than 300,000 Afghans have fled to Pakistan since the Taliban took over their country in August. Their situation is precarious as most have entered the country illegally and may be liable for deportation.

The United Nations warns Afghanistan is becoming one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. It notes 24.4 million people, more than half of the population, need life-saving humanitarian assistance. It says more than 9 million Afghans are displaced within the country, with little prospect of returning soon to the homes they fled.

Baloch says more than 40 verification sites were set up across Pakistan during the registration drive last year. He says mobile registration vans sought out Afghan refugees living in remote areas.

He says a mass information campaign also was carried out to explain the purpose of the campaign to Afghan refugees. He says this effort has paid off with large numbers participating.

“Among them, there were 200,000 children under the age of five who were registered by their refugee parents,” Baloch said. “More than 700,000 new smart identity cards have also been issued to date. The remaining cards will be printed and distributed in early 2022. These cards are valid until 30th of June 2023.”

Baloch says the campaign is part of a wider effort to assist and protect Afghan refugees. Gathering more detailed information about the refugees, he says will enable the government and aid agencies to better tailor assistance to them.

In addition, he says it will facilitate support for those refugees who decide to return home, when conditions in Afghanistan allow.

Fears for life of Afghan doctor in hiding from Taliban

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BBC: A charity worker trying to help a doctor flee Afghanistan says he fears for the man’s life. Nich Woolf from Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, met the man while working in Afghanistan and says he and his family are in danger from the Taliban.  He has written to the Prime Minister for help in allowing the man to come to England through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).  “Every day that goes by the risk gets greater and greater,” said Mr Woolf.  Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban stop Afghan women using bathhouses in northern provinces

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The Guardian (UK): The Taliban sparked outrage this week by announcing that women in northern Afghanistan would no longer be allowed to use communal bathhouses. The use of bathhouses, or hammams, is an ancient tradition that remains for many people the only chance for a warm wash during the country’s bitterly cold winters. Click here to read more (external link).

Tensions Along Durand Line Intensify: Pakistan’s NSA to Visit Kabul

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Durand Line

8am: Pakistan’s National Security Adviser, Moeed Yusuf is scheduled to visit Kabul as tensions along Durand Line intensify. The decision was made during a meeting of the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Center chaired by Asad Qaisar, National Assembly Speaker of Pakistan on Thursday, the statement said. Click here to read more (external link).

TAPI Pipeline Remains Incomplete After 3 Decades

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A map of the proposed route of TAPI by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (image from Wikipedia)

Tolo News: The major gas pipeline project known as TAPI– for Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India–has yet to be completed despite being “in progress” for the past three decades. During this time Afghanistan has seen the collapse and establishment of various governments. TAPI is considered one of the major development projects in the region. Click here to read more (external link).