Afghanistan: 61 suffered casualties last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 26 people were killed and 35 others wounded last week while different sources once again stressed the reopening of schools for girls above sixth grade and the formation of an inclusive government.

• • Zamir Kabulov: Russia likely to recognise new Afghan government
  • Putin’s spokesman says Taliban recognition not on agenda
  • UNAMA, India, and Pakistan emphasise inclusive government formation
  • Different sources insist on reopening of girls’ schools
  • Some sources express grave concern at rights situation in Afghanistan
  • Mujahid: Claims of rights violations in Afghanistan baseless

• 61 suffered casualties in Afghanistan last week.

Casualties

Last week, 26 people were killed and 35 more wounded. Reports say one person was killed and 10 more wounded as a result of an explosion in the Imam Sahib district of northern Kunduz province.

Local sources say unidentified gunmen attacked technical staff of the Mazar-i-Sharif airport, killing two people and wounding six more.

Meanwhile, security officials say three robbers were killed and one security officer wounded in Mazar-i-Sharif.

According to reports, eight Daesh rebels including their commander were killed during an operation by security forces in northern Takhar province.

In Helmand, one individual was killed and three others were wounded in a blast triggered by an unexploded shell.

Officials say four people were killed as a result of an explosion in the Butkhak area of Kabul. A Daesh commander was killed during an operation in Kabul. A child was killed in a blast in Badakhshan while three people were injured in in an explosion in Kunduz province last week.

Based on media reports, one individual was killed and four others were wounded in a sticky bomb blast in Kunar province, where four members of a family were injured in a grenade attack.

Reports show that unidentified gunmen killed one person each in Daikundi, Jawzjan, Ghor, and Paktia provinces. One individual was injured in Paktia.

Local sources say the body of a midwife was found in central Uruzgan province.

During the week before last week, 15 people were killed and four others injured.

Before the regime change last year, hundreds of people would be killed and injured on a weekly basis in the country.

Kabul-Moscow ties

President Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said in an interview with a state TV channel that Russia is likely to recognise the caretaker Taliban government.

Russia’s Ambassador Dmitry Zarov said his country wanted to strengthen its diplomatic mission in Afghanistan. The Russian embassy in Kabul announced exempting Afghan exports from a tariff.

The caretaker government — which has not been recognised yet by any country– welcomed Kabulov’s remarks, saying it wanted a formal interaction with the Russian Federation and a dialogue between Afghanistan and the international community should start.

However, some media outlets quoted Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that the issue of recognising the Taliban administration in Afghanistan was not on the agenda for now.

Emphasis on inclusive government

Foreign ministers of Iran and Pakistan, at a meeting in Tehran, expressed concern over instability in Afghanistan. They also underlined the importance of an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons said in her farewell statement: “I leave convinced, however, that the best hope lies in an engagement strategy that demonstrates to the de facto authorities that a system that excludes women, minorities and talented people will not endure, and that at the same time it is possible to construct a polity that is both inclusive and Islamic.”

Cncerns at women education and rights

At the beginning of education year in Afghanistan in March, the interim government stopped girls attending secondary and high schools and said a strategy was being worked out. Based on that strategy, secondary and high schools would reopen.

Lyons said last week: “My heart breaks in particular for the millions of Afghan girls who are denied their right to education, and the many Afghan women full of talent who are being told to stay at home instead of using those talents to rebuild a society that now experiences far less conflict but in some ways as much fear as before.”

Eureapond Union Special Representative for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson wrote last week on his Twitter handle: “Pleased to host Special Representatives and Envoys for Afghanistan from EU Member States in Brussels. We were joined by external experts including on human rights and on the economy.”

He added: “Concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation, notably for women, girls and ethnic groups, the lack of political inclusivity, and the inability of the Taliban to adopt and implement coherent policies in line with commitments to the Afghan people. The EU stands by its commitment to support the Afghan people.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, addressing the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, said Afghanistan was currently facing a deep economic and humanitarian crisis.

She added the situation in Afghanistan was critical and that one million and one hundred thousand girls had been deprived of education due to the closure of girls’ schools above the sixth grade by the caretaker government.

Girls’ secondary and high schools are yet to reopen, though the caretaker government had promised at the beginning of the current academic year to let girls return to classes.

Qatar envoy in Geneva Talal Alnama also stressed that Afghan women should have access to education.

In Badghis province, some religious scholars said girls, just likeboys, reserved samed the right to modern education besides religious education.

Afghanistan’s Special Representative in Geneva Naseer Ahmad Andesha said the international community’s engagement efforts stood stall due to Taliban’s polices.

He said the international community’s belief in the Islamci Emirate had been undermined due to the deteriorating rights situation and isolation of women.

But Islamic Emirate spokesmn Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the allegations of human rights violation in Afghanistan.

“People’s rights were more protected at this time than in the past. Earlier, people were faced with unfortunate incidents, killing and other unpleasant situations,” he said.

Continuation of aid

Last week, Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Bahadur Aminyan said his country was ready to invest in Afghanistan’s power sector.

China’s second largest company China Power also promised investment in Afghanistan’s water and power sector. The pledge came during a meeting between the China Power head and an Afghan diplomat in Beijing.

The World Bank announced $150 million in life-saving assistance to Afghanistan last week, whiel WFP distributed cash aid to 7,000 families in Ghor province.

sa/nh/mud

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