Page 5 - Afghanistan

6 killed, 17 injured in Pakistan's Balochistan as Afghan forces open fire

At least six Pakistani nationals were killed and 17 others injured on Sunday when Afghan border troops resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate fire across the border into Balochistan's Chaman district, the army said. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the military, heavy weapons including artillery and mortars were used in the firing by Afghan forces. The Afghan Border Forces opened unprovoked and indiscriminate fire of heavy weapons including artillery and mortar onto the civilian population, it said in a statement. Six Pakistani civilians were killed and 17 others injured in the firing, it said. The injured have been shifted to a local hospital, and the police have cordoned off the area, according to Samaa TV. Pakistan's border forces have responded through retaliatory firing, the statement said. The Pakistan government has approached Afghan authorities in Kabul to highlight the severity of the situation and demanded strict action to av

Afghan girls allowed to take high school graduation exams, says Taliban

Afghan girls will be allowed to take their high school graduation exams this week, an official and documents from the Taliban government indicated Tuesday even though they have been banned from classrooms since the former insurgents took over the country last year. According to two documents from the Taliban ministry of education, obtained by The Associated Press, the decision applies to 31 out of Afghanistan's 34 provinces where the winter school break starts in late December. Ehsanullah Kitab, head of the Kabul education department, said the exams would take place on Wednesday. He provided no other details and it was not clear how many teenage girls would be able to take the exam. One of the documents, from the Kabul education department, said the exams would last from 10 am to 1 pm. A second document, signed by Habibullah Agha, the education minister who took office in September, said the tests would be held in 31 Afghan provinces. The three excluded provinces Kandahar, Helmand

Roadside bomb kills 6 people in north Afghanistan, says Taliban official

A roadside bomb went off near a bus with government employees during rush hour on Tuesday morning in northern Afghanistan, killing six people, a Taliban official said. Mohammad Asif Waziri, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the police chief in Balkh province, said the bombing in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital, also wounded seven people. The bomb was placed inside a cart by the side of the road and detonated when a bus belonging to the Hiaratan gas and petroleum department was taking employees to work. Separately, at least six people were wounded when a bomb exploded at the money exchange market in the city of Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, according to Abdul Basir Zabuli, a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the provincial police chief. Zabuli said the bomb was planted near the market and that the wounded were in stable condition, according to a hospital report. An investigation was underway, he added. No one claimed responsibility for the bombings i

6 killed as roadside bomb goes off in North Afghanistan: Taliban official

A roadside bomb went off near a bus with government employees during rush hour on Tuesday morning in northern Afghanistan, killing six people, a Taliban official said. Mohammad Asif Waziri, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the police chief in Balkh province, said the bombing in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital, also wounded seven people. The bomb was placed inside a cart by the side of the road and detonated when a bus belonging to the Hiaratan gas and petroleum department was taking employees to work. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province and a rival of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban has increased its attacks since Taliban takeover in 2021. Images posted on social media from the scene show a damaged bus and another vehicle, along with several carts and fruit stalls lying scattered by the roadside following the explosion. The bus was later towed away.

Terrorist networks in Afghanistan a matter of concern: NSA Ajit Doval

India's National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval in a conference termed the existence of terrorist networks in Afghanistan as a matter of concern

India and Germany ink mobility pact, discuss key global challenges

India and Germany on Monday inked a mobility partnership pact and held comprehensive discussions on key global challenges including the Ukraine conflict, the situation in Afghanistan and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. At a media briefing after talks with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the mobility pact will make it easier for people to study, do research and work in each other's country and is a strong signal for a more contemporary bilateral partnership. Jaishankar also strongly defended India's import of crude oil from Russia and noted that it is largely driven by market forces. From February to November, European Union has imported more fossil fuel from Russia than the next 10 countries combined, he said in a sharp retort to a question on why India has been procuring crude oil from Russia. The German foreign minister arrived here this morning on a two-day visit to discuss ways to further expand bilateral ...

Around 28 million Afghans will need humanitarian assistance in 2023: UN

A UN agency stated that Afghanistan continues to face one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with 28.3 million people expected to require aid in the upcoming year

Pak summons Afghan diplomat to convey anguish over attack on envoy in Kabul

Pakistan has summoned Afghanistan's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad and conveyed to him its deep concern over the attack on the country's Head of Mission in Kabul, it emerged on Saturday. Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani survived an attack on Pakistan's embassy in Kabul on Friday, drawing immediate condemnation and a demand for a probe from Islamabad. Nizamani was targeted by unidentified gunmen while taking a walk in the embassy compound. His guard was critically injured in the attack. The Pakistan Foreign Office said in a late-night statement that the Afghan diplomat was summoned on Friday evening and conveyed Pakistan's grave concern over the serious incident in which, thankfully, the Head of Mission remained unhurt but the guard was seriously wounded. The Charge d'Affaires was conveyed that security and protection of Pakistan's diplomatic Missions and personnel was the responsibility of the Afghan Interim Government and that this incident was an extremely serious security lapse, it ...

10 killed in bombing of religious school in north Afghanistan: Taliban

A Taliban official says at least 10 students were killed Wednesday when a bomb blast hit a religious school in northern Afghanistan. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor says several others were wounded in the blast at the madrassa in Aybak, capital of the northern Samangan province. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State group has been waging a campaign of violence that escalated since the Taliban took power in August 2021. IS has carried out bombings targeting in particular Afghanistan's Shiite Muslim minority but has also targeted Sunni mosques and madrassas, especially ones connected to the Taliban. The Taliban and the Islamic State group both adhere to a hard-line ideology but are bitter rivals.

Taliban becoming more defiant, embracing policies of the past: US envoy

Taliban are becoming more defiant in embracing the policies of the past, US special envoy Rina Amiri has said, condemning the reports of public flogging in eastern Logar province, amid the growing concern over the human rights situation in Afghanistan."This is both appalling and a dangerous sign that the Taliban are becoming more defiant in showing the world that they are embracing the policies of the past. It didn't end up well before & it will once again take the country on a perilous path," US envoy Amiri said in a tweet.Media reports on Thursday said that three women and eleven men, who were charged with moral crimes were publicly flogged in Logar province."Fourteen people, including three women were lashed in the presence of scholars, authorities and people ... for different sins including adultery, robbery and other forms of corruption in a football stadium in Logar (province)," the Supreme Court said on Twitter, as quoted by Reuters.Earlier this month, Taliban supreme ...

Norway Foreign Ministry donates 220 m Kroner for civilians in Afghanistan

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Norway in a statement has announced a donation of 220 million Norwegian Kroner to the United Nations and the World Bank

19 people lashed in northeast province for adultery, theft: Afghan official

Nineteen people in northeastern Afghanistan were lashed for adultery, theft and running away from home, a Supreme Court official said Sunday. The announcement underscored the Taliban's intention of sticking to their strict interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia. It appeared to be the first official confirmation that lashings and floggings are being meted out in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. During their previous rule in the late 1990s, the group carried out public executions, floggings and stoning of those convicted of crimes in Taliban courts. After they overran Afghanistan last year, the Taliban initially promised to be more moderate and allow for women's and minority rights. Instead, they have restricted rights and freedoms, including a ban on girl's education beyond the sixth grade. On Thursday, a Taliban spokesman said they are committed to implementing all Sharia laws. A Supreme Court official, Abdul Rahim Rashid, said 10 men and nine women were

India voices concern over humanitarian situation in Afghanistan at UNSC

India on Thursday voiced concern over the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, as it reaffirmed its unwavering commitment towards helping the people of the war-torn country

Afghan Taliban group will continue to stick to strict Islamic law: Official

The Taliban will stick to their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, a spokesman said on Thursday, underscoring the group's intention to continue hard-line policies implemented since they took over the country more than a year ago. During their previous years in power in the late 1990s, the Taliban carried out public executions, floggings, and stoning of those convicted of crimes in Taliban courts. After they overran Afghanistan in August 2021 as American and NATO forces were in the last weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war, the Taliban initially promised to be more moderate and allow for women's and minority rights. Instead, they have cracked down heavier on rights and freedoms. Women are banned from parks, funfairs, gyms, and most forms of employment. They are ordered to cover themselves from head to toe. Girls are forbidden from going to school beyond sixth grade. There are also clampdowns on music and the media. According to Taliban spokes

India attends Moscow format of talks on Afghanistan to eradicate terrorism

India and several other countries on Wednesday called for creating a "truly inclusive" government in Kabul and eradicating terrorism from Afghan soil during their deliberations on the situation in that country under the Moscow format of consultations. The Russian foreign ministry said the fourth meeting under the framework of the Moscow format of talks was attended by special representatives and senior officials from Russia, India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Russian foreign ministry said the participants expressed a consolidated demand for the "complete unfreezing" of Afghanistan's assets by Washington. "They resolutely urged the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries that were part of the 20-year-long military presence in Afghanistan, to compensate the Afghans for the damage done during this period," it said. It said representatives of Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey were

UN voices concern over reports of further curbs on rights of Afghan women

aliban prohibited Afghan women from visiting all public parks in the country. Taliban spokesperson said they have also banned women's public bathhouses as they are contrary to the sharia law.

Pak-Afghan border shut for 2nd day as unprovoked firing escalates tension

The Pakistan-Afghanistan border remained closed for the second consecutive day as tensions ran high between the two countries after unprovoked firing

Taliban leader orders Islamic Sharia law punishments across Afghanistan

"Carefully examine the files of thieves, kidnappers and seditionists," Mujahid quoted the Taliban leader as saying.

EU condemns fresh Taliban restrictions on women in public parks, gyms

The European Union has condemned the additional restrictions on women's freedom of movement, including the rules that barred women from entering public parks and gyms

Taliban supreme leader orders judges for full enforcement of Islamic law

Taliban supreme leader Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada's directive came amid a growing concern over the human rights situation in Afghanistan