Winter Relief Flight for Thousands of Afghans Lands in Kabul

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Lisa Schlein
VOA News
November 2, 2021

GENEVA — A plane chartered by the U.N. refugee agency carrying desperately needed winter relief for thousands of displaced people landed in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Tuesday.

This is the first of three mercy flights scheduled to take off from UNHCR’s warehouse in Dubai for Kabul this week. The planeload of 33 tons of winterization kits will be distributed to thousands of families living under precarious conditions.

Conflict and insecurity have displaced 3.5 million Afghans inside the country, including some 700,000 newly displaced this year. U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo says her agency aims to aid half a million of this large number of displaced.

She says aid is prioritized based on needs and vulnerabilities. She says the UNHCR is rushing to provide critical aid to the Afghans before the rigors of winter set in and access is cut off.

“Already, they are feeling the onset of the cold, with temperatures dipping to even zero degrees Celsius overnight,” Mantoo said. “So, quite cold. People have very rudimentary or basic setup, especially those that have just been displaced. It is quite critical, and that is why there is an urgency to get this winter assistance in. In the highlands and the upper parts of the country, we are expecting even more temperatures to zip even more.”

Mantoo says the winter relief supplies include emergency shelter kits, items to improve tent insulation against the cold and heat resistant protection to enable the installation of a stove. She says humanitarian aid, including food rations, blankets, kitchen sets and solar panels, also are being distributed.

“We are using land, sea and air routes to bring humanitarian relief into Afghanistan and other countries in the region so we can respond to increasing needs,” Mantoo said. “Further relief supplies have also been prepositioned in Termez, Uzbekistan, ready to be trucked into Afghanistan as needed.”

The UNHCR is appealing for greater international support. It says more resources are urgently needed as it scales up its humanitarian response to reach all who will need help to survive the harsh winter ahead.

So far, the agency’s $388 million appeal remains 42% underfunded.

Taliban Say Islamic State Gunmen Stormed Kabul Military Hospital

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 2, 2021

ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Taliban say militants linked to a regional affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province, carried out Tuesday’s assault on the country’s main military hospital in Kabul.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the raid on the capital’s Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan area had killed at least seven people and wounded five others. Among the dead were a child, three women and three Taliban security guards, he added.

Witnesses and security guards reported the attack began with a powerful explosion at the entrance to the 400-bed hospital before a second bomb exploded inside the sprawling facility.

Mujahid said five assailants then tried to storm the main building apparently to target doctors and patients but Taliban special forces swiftly engaged them and thwarted the attempt.

The ensuing gunfight lasted “15-minutes and killed all Daesh militants,” Mujahid said, using a local name for IS-Khorasan. “No one was hurt inside the hospital.”

The terrorist group did not immediately respond to accusations that it was behind the attack.

IS-Khorasan has intensified attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August. The violence has mainly targeted Taliban fighters and members of the minority Shi’ite community, killing and injuring hundreds of people.

Islamic State militants stormed the military hospital in 2017 and killed more than two dozen people. The Taliban also had targeted the facility while waging a deadly insurgency against the Western-backed Afghan government and U.S.-led foreign troops.

The US did more to radicalise Afghanistan than Osama bin Laden

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Osama bin Laden

Al Jazeera: Today, the conditions in Afghanistan check every box on the radicalisation checklist: Afghans have suffered trauma and violence. They feel betrayed by an external force that allegedly came to “help” them, but ended up leaving them worse off. They live in economic deprivation with one million children at risk of starvation. They also have very limited educational opportunities – millions of Afghan children are unable to go to school and have little hope for the future. Click here to read more (external link).

Three People Killed in Separate Incidents in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province

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8am: Local sources in Nangarhar province confirmed that three people, including a cleric, have been killed in three separate incidents in the provincial capital. It is worth noting that after the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the number of criminal incidents and suspected serial killings has increased unprecedently in the eastern province of Nangarhar. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan Reopens Major Border Crossing To Afghanistan

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 2, 2021

One of the main border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan has reopened after being closed for almost a month, allowing the passage of thousands of commuters and hundreds of trucks.

The Chaman crossing is an important transit hub for trucks moving fruit and produce exports from the area of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

Its closure had been a serious hit to farmers unable to get their produce to market. Half of Pakistan’s $2.5 billion worth of annual exports to Afghanistan also passes through Chaman.

The reopening of the border point comes as a relief to the Taliban-led government as Afghanistan’s cash-strapped economy has few legitimate sources of foreign revenue besides customs revenues from the border posts.

Thousands of people including women and children crossed into Pakistan on the first day of reopening, according to Hazrat Ali, a local official in Chaman.

Nearly 200 trucks carrying food, medicines, and other supplies crossed the border into Afghanistan, local exporter Imran Kakar said.

Trucks carrying pomegranates, one of Afghanistan’s main exports, have started arriving in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s province of Balochistan, Pakistani media reported.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa

Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Militants Storm Main Afghan Military Hospital in Kabul

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 2, 2021

ISLAMABAD — A group of gunmen, reportedly including suicide bombers, assaulted Afghanistan’s main military hospital in Kabul Tuesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding many more.

A Taliban security official confirmed the casualties on condition of anonymity.

A spokesman for the Taliban government said the assault began with a powerful explosion at the entrance to the hospital in the Afghan capital’s Wazir Akbar Khan area. A second bomb went off inside the facility, said Bilal Karimi.

Taliban forces engaged the assailants in a gun battle that killed four of them while one was captured alive to end the siege at the Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan hospital, Karimi told VOA. He said investigations were underway to determine the circumstances that led to the attack and promised to share further information later. There were no claims of responsibility for the attack.

The official Afghan news agency quoted witnesses as saying “Daesh” was behind the raid. The agency used a local name for the regional affiliate of the Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province. It gave no further details.

A spokesman for the Taliban government said the assault began with a powerful explosion at the entrance to the hospital in the Afghan capital’s Wazir Akbar Khan area. A second bomb went off inside the facility, said Bilal Karimi. He promised to share more details later.

Taliban forces were reportedly battling the assailants inside the Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan hospital. The extent of the casualties was not known immediately nor were there any claims of responsibility for the attack.

There has been an uptick in attacks in Afghanistan by IS-Khorasan since the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August. The violence has mainly targeted Taliban fighters and members of the minority Shi’ite community, killing and injuring hundreds of people.

Islamic State militants stormed the military hospital in 2017 and killed more than two dozen people. The Taliban also had targeted the facility while waging a deadly insurgency against the Western-backed Afghan government and U.S.-led foreign troops.

Our Top 10 vinyl albums to listen to

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The Afghan music scene has gone silent under the Taliban rule and things will never be the same. But the human spirit finds ways, so we look back to our favorite albums to listen to. 

We’re delighted to know that most of our favorite artists have released albums on vinyl thanks to the accessibility of affordable vinyl pressing and if you are interested to learn everything about custom vinyl pressing, there are vinyl record pressing companies where artists can make as few as 50 copies.

Here are our top 10 favorite albums to listen to:

#1 TIME CHOSE US – SONGS OF THE WARRIORS OF THE INTERNATIONALISTS

 – SOVIET AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS 

The album is a compilation album of songs by different Afghan artists that were chosen by war veterans from the Soviet-Afghanistan war. The entire compilation album had four separate vinyl pressings for its four-part album with 6-7 tracks per side.

#2 RAGAS AND TALAS – RAVI SHANKAR

The 4-tracked album was pressed on 180 grams black audiophile vinyl. It is housed by a white-vellum dust sleeve and a vinyl jacket with the artist playing with his instrument gracing it.

#3 AHMAD ZAHIR HIP 70s AFGHAN BEATS

Ahmad Zahir’s “Hip 70’s Afghan Beats!” is a 9-tracked album pressed on black vinyl record. It’s an album with rock, folk, world, and country music mixed with pop, prog, and psychedelic styles. And just like most albums on this list, the vinyl record is housed inside a vinyl jacket printed with a photo of the artist doing something, this time it’s singing.

#4 SONGS OF OUR MOTHERS – KEFAYA AND ELAHA SAROOR

Songs Of Our Mothers is an album by singer Elaha Soroor and acclaimed duo producer Kefaya. The album is one that showcases spiritual jazz, dub, Indian music and electronica as they take listeners through Afghan folk music with a vibrant and fresh feel. It is a collection of folks songs that are traditionally performed by Afghan women which tells Elaha’s stories of joy, pain, and perseverance. The album of Afghan women resilience was pressed on orange custom vinyl records that are housed on tribal-designed vinyl jackets.

#5 CHANTS OF INDIA – RAVI SHANKAR

In celebration of Ravi Shankar’s Centennial, Dark Horse Records re-released Shankar’s 1997 album, “Chants of India”. It was produced by his old friend and Dark Horse founder, George Harrison. The re-released album had a custom vinyl pressing with the album’s tracks pressed on red custom vinyl records. They were put inside printed vinyl record sleeves and blue- themed vinyl jackets.

#6 IN CONCERT – PANDIT HARI PRASAD CHAURASIA

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is an Indian classical flutist that worked for tons of Indian classical music legends for this album. He also collaborated with John Mclaughlin, Jan Garbarek, and Zakir Hussain that showed a very inspiring fusion of East and West classical music. The black vinyl records were housed inside a white vinyl jacket printed with a black and white Chaurasia playing his flute.

#7 CALL OF THE VALLEY BY PANDIT HARI PRASAD CHAURASIA, BRIJ BHUSHAN KABRA AND SHIVKUMAR SHARMA

The 1976 classical album, “Call of the Valley”, is an album by the flutist, Chaurasia, the guitarist, Kabra, and the santoor player, Sharma. The album tracks focus on a day in the life of an Indian shepherd. It is an album worth buying that people love to recommend.

#8  Classical Vocal Album –  Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan’s Classical Vocal Album was released on June 13 1988 and had a vinyl pressing for it. The album, with all its three tracks, is pressed on black vinyl records and is housed by a single printed vinyl jacket graced with the artist’s face and string instrument. 

#9 AT ITS BEST – SHREYA GHOSHAL

The award-winning Indian playback artist, Shreya Ghoshal, released a compilation album in September of 2018. The album is composed of 10 soundtracks from different films she had sung for that were pressed on a single 12 inch vinyl record with 5 tracks each for side A and B.

#10 MAGIC MOMENTS – ASHA BHOSLE 

The Indian singer, Asha Bhosle, was best known for being a playback singer in Hindi cinema, however, she has a wider repertoire than just that. She has been in the industry for around six decades and has already done playback singing for probably a thousand Bollywood films. The album “Magic Moments” with all fourteen tracks of it are pressed on 12 inch black vinyl records. It is a compilation album of the artist’s Hindi soundtracks.

CONCLUSION:

Listening to music is so much more enjoyable when it’s played on vinyl. No wonder vinyl has made a major comeback lately.

Which of these albums do you like the most and would you buy them on vinyl?