Afghanistan news and discussions

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caltrek
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Afghanistan's Economic and Food Crises
by John Sifton
October 9, 2021

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021 ... ood-crises

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) The Taliban's cruelties are horrendous, but withholding international support and maintaining blanket sanctions will only hurt the long-suffering Afghan people.

Afghanistan's humanitarian situation is spiraling into catastrophe.

Millions of Afghans are now facing severe economic stress and food insecurity in the wake of the Taliban's August takeover, set off by widespread lost income, cash shortages, and rising food costs. Officials with the UN and several foreign governments are warning of an economic collapse and risks of worsening acute malnutrition and outright famine.

Surveys by the World Food Program (WFP) reveal over nine in ten Afghan families have insufficient food for daily consumption, half stating they have run out of food at least once in the last two weeks. One in three Afghans is already acutely hungry. Other United Nations reports warn that over 1 million more children could face acute malnutrition in the coming year.

One main cause of the crisis is that governments in August stopped payments from the World Bank-administered Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, previously used to pay salaries to millions of civil servants, doctors, nurses, teachers, and other essential workers. Afghanistan's health and education systems, among other sectors, are collapsing. Millions of Afghan families have lost their incomes.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
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Taliban says US will provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan
Source: AP

By KATHY GANNON
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.S. has agreed to provide humanitarian aid to a desperately poor Afghanistan on the brink of an economic disaster, while refusing to give political recognition to the country’s new Taliban rulers, the Taliban said Sunday.

The statement came at the end of the first direct talks between the former foes since the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops at the end of August.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. on the weekend meeting.

The Taliban said the talks held in Doha, Qatar, “went well,” with Washington freeing up humanitarian aid to Afghanistan after agreeing not to link such assistance to formal recognition of the Taliban.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan- ... 6251b02bc6
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caltrek
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U.S. Spokesperson Comments on Meeting with Senior Taliban Representatives in Doha


https://www.state.gov/u-s-delegation-me ... s-in-doha/
(U.S. Department of Stare) The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:

On October 9 and 10, an interagency delegation traveled to Doha, Qatar to meet with senior Taliban representatives. The U.S. delegation focused on security and terrorism concerns and safe passage for U.S. citizens, other foreign nationals and our Afghan partners, as well as on human rights, including the meaningful participation of women and girls in all aspects of Afghan society. The two sides also discussed the United States’ provision of robust humanitarian assistance, directly to the Afghan people. The discussions were candid and professional with the U.S. delegation reiterating that the Taliban will be judged on its actions, not only its words.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/ ... bul-hotels:
(Al Jazeera) The Taliban said the US had agreed to send aid to Afghanistan, though the US said the issue had only been discussed, and that any assistance would go to the Afghan people and not the Taliban government.
Don't mourn, organize.

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caltrek
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Afghanistan has often been referred to as the grave yard of empires. The British, the Soviets, and the U.S. have all failed to impose their respective forms of imperialism upon that country. A back to basics kind of approach to understanding that country is very much in order. Not to enable further imperialist adventures through exploitation of divisions with that society, but to simply let Afghanistan be Afghanistan. After that goal is reached, then perhaps progress can be made on such issues as women's rights and protection of the rights of ethnic minorities.

How Ethnic and Religious Divides in Afghanistan are Contributing to Violence Against Minorities
by Abdulkader Sinno
October 25, 2021

https://theconversation.com/how-ethnic- ... ies-168059

Extract:
(The Conversation) Ethnicity and religion are key to understanding the politics and conflicts of today’s Afghanistan. My research on Afghan affairs can explain how they have created fault lines that have influenced Afghanistan’s politics since 1978.

Afghanistan’s four largest ethnic groups

The largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, estimated at around 45% of the population and mostly concentrated in the south and east of the country, are the Sunni Muslim Pashtun.
….
The second-largest ethnic group in Afghanistan are the Tajiks, a term that refers to ethnic Tajiks as well as to other Sunni Muslim Persian speakers. The Tajiks, who constitute some 30% of the Afghan population and are mostly concentrated in the northeast and west, have generally been accepted by Pashtuns as part of the fabric of life in Afghanistan, perhaps because of their common adherence to Sunni Islam.

The third-largest Sunni Muslim group are the Uzbeks and the closely related Turkmen in the north of the country, who form around 10% of the population.

The Hazara – around 15% of the Afghan population – traditionally lived in the rough mountainous terrain in the center of Afghanistan, an area in which they historically sought shelter from Pashtun tribesmen who disapproved of their adherence to the Shiite sect of Islam. The Hazara have historically been some of the poorest and most marginalized people in Afghanistan.
Don't mourn, organize.

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Yuli Ban
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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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Yuli Ban
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Women have been banned from appearing in television dramas in Afghanistan under new rules imposed by the Taliban government.

Female journalists and presenters have also been ordered to wear headscarves on screen, although the guidelines do not say which type of covering to use.

Reporters say some of the rules are vague and subject to interpretation.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August and many fear they are gradually imposing harsh restrictions.

The militant Islamist group, which took control following the departure of US and allied forces, almost immediately instructed girls and young women to stay home from school.

During their previous rule in the 1990s, women were barred from education and the workplace.

The latest set of Taliban guidelines, which have been issued to Afghan television channels, features eight new rules.

They include the banning of films considered against the principles of Sharia - or Islamic - law and Afghan values, while footage of men exposing intimate parts of the body is prohibited.

Comedy and entertainment shows that insult religion or may be considered offensive to Afghans are also forbidden.

The Taliban have insisted that foreign films promoting foreign cultural values should not be broadcast.

Afghan television channels show mostly foreign dramas with lead female characters.

A member of an organisation that represents journalists in Afghanistan, Hujjatullah Mujaddedi, said the announcement of new restrictions was unexpected.

He told the BBC that some of the rules were not practical and that if implemented, broadcasters may be forced to close.

The Taliban's earlier decision to order girls and young women to stay home from school made Afghanistan the only country in the world to bar half its population from getting an education.

The mayor of the capital, Kabul, also told female municipal employees to stay home unless their jobs could not be filled by a man.

The Taliban claim that their restrictions on women working and girls studying are "temporary" and only in place to ensure all workplaces and learning environments are "safe" for them.
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weatheriscool
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The Taliban executed scores of Afghan security forces members after surrender, HRW report alleges
Source: CNN

(CNN)The Taliban executed dozens of members of the Afghan security forces after they surrendered following the militants' seizure of Afghanistan in late summer, new research released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday alleges.

The HRW report detailed "the summary execution or enforced disappearance" of 47 former members of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), including military personnel, police, intelligence service members and paramilitary militia, who had surrendered to or were apprehended by Taliban forces between August 15 and October 31.

HRW says the report is based on a total of 67 interviews, including 40 in-person interviews with witnesses, relatives and friends of victims, and Taliban fighters. Some people were granted anonymity by HRW for their report. In some cases, families report stories of people who simply disappeared.

The findings of the investigation would make a mockery of the Taliban's previous claims to the international community that it would lead a more inclusive government than it did two decades ago. Its leaders had promised a reprieve for those who collaborated with US forces during the American presence in the country.


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/30/asia/afg ... index.html
weatheriscool
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Taliban-run government dissolves Afghan election commissions
Source: AP
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban dissolved Afghanistan’s two election commissions as well as the state ministries for peace and parliamentarian affairs, an official said Sunday.

Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government, said the country’s Independent Election Commission and Electoral Complaint Commission have been dissolved.

He called them “unnecessary institutes for the current situation in Afghanistan.” He said if there is a need for the commissions in the future, the Taliban government can revive them.

The international community is waiting before extending formal recognition to Afghanistan’s new rulers. They are wary the Taliban could impose a similarly harsh regime as when they were in power 20 years ago — despite their assurances to the contrary.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan- ... 156b631b0a
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Yuli Ban
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Taliban authorities in Afghanistan on Sunday gave new guidance to taxi drivers, advising them against taking fares from women who do not follow a strict Islamic dress code by wearing the hijab, or Islamic headscarf.

The Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice also told drivers they should not take women who wish to travel more than 72 kilometers (45 miles) without a male relative as a chaperone.

Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq Akif confirmed the authenticity of the advisory, which was issued in a pamphlet.

The ministry's advisory also urges drivers, presumably male, to grow long beards and break for prayer. In addition, the pamphlet says they should refrain from playing music, which the Taliban deem to be un-Islamic, in their vehicles.
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weatheriscool
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White House announces $308M in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan
Source: The Hill
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced plans to send an additional $308 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan as the country nears economic collapse five months after the Taliban takeover.

The White House also noted that the administration is sending 4.3 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses to the country.

Last month, the Treasury Department moved to ease restrictions on some humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan that allows the U.S. government as well as international and humanitarian organizations to distribute more aid to the country without running afoul of sanctions on the Taliban and the Haqqani network, both of which are designated terrorist organizations.

The action was intended to help pay Afghan teacher salaries and support other development projects directly benefiting the Afghan people.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administra ... fghanistan

dumber than crap
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