Women in Afghanistan reacted angrily on Sunday when the Taliban issued a decree asking women to cover themselves completely in public, including their faces, or stay home, claiming that the policy would essentially cage them. Afghanistan’s supreme leader and Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada approved the order on Saturday in a move that threatens to push … Read more
The Taliban imposed some of the tightest restrictions on Afghan women since seizing control on Saturday, requiring them to cover themselves completely in public, preferably with the customary burqa. The militants took back control of the country in August last year, promising a softer rule than their previous stint in power between 1996 and 2001, … Read more
At least nine people were killed in two bomb blasts aboard separate minibuses in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday, authorities said, a week after a devastating explosion rocked a Shiite mosque in the northern city. Since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan last August, the number of violent public attacks has decreased, but the Sunni Islamic … Read more
Germany has relocated hundreds of Afghans from temporary government accommodation to make room for Ukrainian refugees. Approximately 630,000 Afghans have applied for asylum in the EU over the last decade, with Germany taking some of the biggest refugee numbers in Europe. According to the German authorities, the evictions in Berlin are taking place because Afghan … Read more
Several deaths have been feared after bombs rocked a boys’ faculty in a Shiite Hazara neighbourhood of the Afghan capital on Tuesday, police said, with social media displaying grisly pix of useless and wounded at the scene. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran advised AFP that improvised explosive devices have been located outside the Abdul Rahim … Read more
Kabul: Several people were killed in an explosion that rocked an Afghan high school in the west of Kabul on Tuesday. Shia Hazara, an ethnic and religious minority frequently targeted by Sunni terrorist groups, including ISIS, is prevalent in the neighborhood. Kabul commander’s spokesman Khalid Zadran: “Three blasts have taken place … in a high … Read more
Abdul Razzaq Rafief “treated the prisoners cruelly and dishonourably and arbitrarily deprived them of their liberty,” judge Els Kole told The Hague regional court, adding “these are war crimes”. Rafief, 76, played a leading role in the abuse of prisoners at the Pul-e-Charkhi jail between 1983-88 “where he had effective command and control”, the judge … Read more
The Taliban’s top commander announced a ban on poppy growing in Afghanistan on Sunday, saying that the hardline Islamist regime would punish farmers who planted the crop. Afghanistan is the world’s largest grower of poppies, the source of sap that is processed into heroin, and its output and exports have skyrocketed in recent years. “All … Read more
PESHAWAR: An Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber who killed 64 people at a Shia mosque in northwest Pakistan last week was an Afghan exile who returned home to train for the attack, police said Wednesday. There have been warnings Afghanistan could become a recruiting ground and staging post for militants since the Taliban returned to … Read more
KANDAHAR – A 40-year-old widow, Almasi, who used to ask for alms on the streets in Afghanistan’s Kandahar city, has bagged a job in a bakery established to create job opportunities for the needy, especially women like her. “Since I began working here and earning money, I’ve been very happy,” Almasi said. Women in Kandahar, … Read more
LAHORE: The exports of hand-knotted carpets are on the decline due to the dearth of skilled workforce, expensive raw materials and higher cost of doing business. The indifferent attitude of successive governments had also played a key role in the downfall of the carpet industry, which was once vibrant and attracted buyers from across the … Read more
Kabul – A decision by the White House to retain half of the $7 billion in frozen Afghan funds held in the United States has been denounced as unfair by observers. Under an executive order signed by US President Joe Biden said the holdings will be split, with half going ultimately to the victims of … Read more
Angelina Jolie wants her fans and followers to be aware of the condition of young girls in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, so she shared a poignant letter from one of them. Jolie, who is well-known for her humanitarian activities, took to Instagram on Saturday to share a touching letter from a young Afghan woman who had written … Read more
ZARANJ, Afghanistan – Police in the western Nimroz province have arrested seven persons on the charge of involvement in criminal activities, said a news release of the Informational and Culture Department of the province Tuesday. The arrested persons, according to the news release, were involved in a variety of criminal activities ranging from armed robbery … Read more
QADIS – Survivors of twin earthquakes in Afghanistan were waiting on January 19 for aid to arrive after spending their second night exposed to sub-zero temperatures following tremors that killed dozens of people and wrecked homes. Rescuers continued to comb through debris in search of survivors from the quakes on January 17, which jolted Qadis … Read more
JALALABAD, Afghanistan – The Taliban promised to bring peace, but fear reigns above all in the eastern city of Jalalabad, hit by Islamic State group attacks and reprisals, and with corpses appearing mysteriously in rivers. In the evening, the inhabitants of the trade hub in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province hurry home before night falls and the … Read more
KABUL – About 1,000 displaced and needy Afghan families received relief assistance in the capital Kabul on Tuesday as the Taliban-led caretaker government and aid agencies redoubled efforts to help destitute families in winter, authorities said on Tuesday. “About 1,000 families received assistance packages which included food and non-food items as well as kitchenware and … Read more
KABUL – A delegation of the Afghan caretaker government on Friday left for neighboring Turkmenistan for talks on different issues, deputy spokesperson of the Taliban caretaker government confirmed. “At the invitation of Turkmenistan, a senior delegation led by Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Mottaqi left for Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan on Friday morning,” Bilal Karimi … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a US-proposed resolution to help humanitarian aid reach desperate Afghans, while seeking to keep funds out of Taliban hands. The resolution, a first step by the UN after months of wrangling over how to avert a humanitarian catastrophe amid economic meltdown in Afghanistan, was welcomed by … Read more
KABUL: At a Kabul market, coal is arriving by the tonne as the winter cold sets in. Even as prices rise, Afghans have a few options but to burn it for heat, creating some of the world’s most dangerous air. “Pollution causes serious respiratory diseases … All Afghans know what coal does,” customer Amanullah Daudzai, dressed … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: A UN agency has warned that Afghanistan’s banking system is on the verge of collapse because of consumers’ inability to repay loans, fewer deposits, and other liquidity problems, leading to a social crisis in an already fragile economy. “Afghanistan’s financial and bank payment systems are in disarray. The bank-run problem must be resolved … Read more
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Monday exempted the sales tax on the import of fruits from Afghanistan. In this regard, the revenue board issued an SRO 1501 (I)/2021 to implement the decision. According to the notification, the government has decided to exempt the whole sales tax on the import of edible fruits … Read more
JALALABAD, Afghanistan: At least three people were killed and 15 wounded Friday by a blast at a mosque in Afghanistan’s restive Nangarhar province, a hotbed of Islamic State activity, officials said. The blast — for which no group has yet claimed responsibility — underscores one of the many challenges facing the new Taliban regime in … Read more
SYDNEY: Australia on Friday postponed its first-ever cricket Test against Afghanistan, after the country’s ruling Taliban regime effectively banned women from playing the sport. Australia’s cricketing authorities said that after consultation with “relevant stakeholders” they decided the men’s Test, to be played in Hobart this month, would not go ahead as planned. After the Taliban ousted Afghanistan’s elected … Read more
VELIKA KLADUSA: Huddled around cooking fires as winter looms in Bosnia, refugees are risking beatings and humiliation from Croatian police in the desperate hope of a new life in the European Union. Largely from Afghanistan, many of them have endured months or years of flight from war and poverty, only to be met by Croatian … Read more
KABUL: The Taliban struck several journalists to prevent media coverage of a women’s rights protest in Kabul on Thursday. A group of about 20 women marched from near the ministry of education to the ministry of finance in the Afghan capital. Wearing colourful headscarves they chanted slogans including: “Don’t politicise education”, as traffic drove by … Read more
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s interim Foreign Minister, has declared that anyone who engages in divisive politics will be abandoned. On Sunday, the Afghan Ministry of Commerce made the announcement at a ceremony in Kabul. When speaking on the Afghan war, Muttaqi stated that the Afghan people are completely responsible for bringing peace to the country. … Read more
ISLAMABAD: President SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry Iftikhar Ali Malik Sunday disclosed that Pakistan has offered 100 scholarships to Afghan students besides despatching Rs 100 million relief goods to Afghanistan. Talking to a delegation of donors and philanthropists led by Mian Muhammad Saeed Deraywalay, President Anjuman-I-Arain Pakistan, he said valiant people of Afghanistan were … Read more
