15 killed, 16 wounded in Afghanistan last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Last week, the caretaker government desired positive relations with with the world, saying it did not want Afghanistan to become the scene of global rivalries.

Last weeks’ major events:

• Officials: Want good relations with the world, expect the same
• Muttaqi: Never want Afghansitan to become the arena of international competition
• Haqqani: Pakistan should solve its issue internally
• Potzel: UNAMA strives to bring assistance to Afghanistan
• Al Habtoor Group: Hundreds of female students barred from travelling to UAE

Casualities

Last week, 15 people were killed and 16 others injured in various incidents of violence across the country.

Security forces killed four kidnappers in a clash in the Paghman district of Kabul. Two people were killed and a third injured in a magnetic bomb blasted attacked to a three-wheeler.

Unidentified gunmen killed the head of the 6^th police district of Mazar-i-Sharif, an 18-year-old boy in Parwan, one man in Faryab and another in Laghman. Female youtuber Hora Sadat was killed in Kabul.

Local officials say man killed his niece and a villager over having an illicit relationship in Nangarhar.

A brother killed his sister in Ghazni while one person was put to death and another wounded in a clash over land ownership in Badghis. At least 14 people were injured in a similar incident in Nangarhar.

Note: These figures are based on reports reaching Pajhwok Afghan News. Some incidents may have gone unreported or sources could have provided incorrect numbers.

In the previous week, 14 people had been killed and 15 others injured in different incidents across the country.

Ties with the world

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi insists the current government is incsluvie and includes representatives of all communities. The world has failed to define what it calls a broad-based government in Afghansitan, he argues.

“By adopting a balanced policy, we no longer want Afghanistan to be the scene of a turf wars between great powers. Instead, we seek good political and economic relations with the whole world,” he remarked.

At the same time, Sirajuddin Haqqani, acting minister of interior, wants the world to interact with IEA and put an end to the ongoing punishment of Afghans. The world should not assert its power on Afghans anymore, but should have a positive interaction.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, in a meeting with UN’s Deputy Special Representative Marcus Potzelsadi, said the caretaker government desired to open a new chapter in diplomatic relations with the world.

The deputy FM said the level of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan had been reduced to zero and rehabilitation of drug addicts launched.

Serious measures were being taken against drug dealers, Stanikzai said, calling the initiative a joint obligation of the caretaker government and the global fraternity.

He also urged the UN delegation to continue supporting farmers by providing an alternative to poppy cultivation, and removing banking restrictions.

Potzel acknowledged efforts by IEA and said UNAMA was striving to create a basis for international cooperation. He pledged to work together with the interim government.

Human rights, education for girls

UN Humanitrian Aid Coordinator for Afghanistan Daniel Andres said 30 humanitarian workers had been killed in the past two years in Afghanistan.

He added “We also take a moment to recoganise those humanitarian workers who have lost their lives or were injured, abducted, arrested or held in captivity in the line of duty, this included the 30 aid workers killed during the last two years. Many of them were polio vaccinators or deminers”

However, the Ministry of Interior rejected the claims as baseless and said the IEA had ensured security for embassies in Afghansitan, UN offices and other organisations.

UNAMA says about 800 cases of violence have been recorded against individuals affiliated with the former government, but the Islamic Emirate spurned the allegations as groundless.

In its report, the UN mission claimed since the IEA takeover on August 15, 2021, at least 800 instances of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and ill-treatment and enforced disappearance had been carried out against individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces.

But Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for IEA, called the UNAMA report ‘baseless. He said amnesty had been implemented without any discrimination.

According to reports, a number of human and civil rights activists asked the UN and a number of countries in an open letter to strive for the release of Matiullah Wesa.

Meanwhile, former president Hamid Karzai once against asked the Islamic Emirate to repoen schools for girls above the sixth grade.

The Al Habtoor Group chairman says IEA security forces have barred female students from travelling to the United Arab Emirates for studies, but the caretaker government has not yet reacted to the claim.

Al Habtoor Group is one of the leading commercial companies in the UAE, operating in areas of car services, real estate, education and publishing. It has provided scholarships for about 100 Afghan girls.

The head of the group, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, tweeted on Wednesday: “Am unable to express the disappointment I feel now as the female Afghan students, whom I had provided an educational scholarship in collaboration with the @uniofdubai presented by Dr. Eesa Al Bastaki @ebastaki …”

UN secretary-general’s associate spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino said the interim Afghan government’s move to stop Afghan girls from travelling to the UAE for education would have its impact individually and on the whole country.

But the IEA has not yet commented on the group’s tweet.

Ties with Pakistan

Pakistani authorities have recently claimed Afghans are involved in incidents of insecurity in that country. But the caretaker government called the assertion baseless and said Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for its insecurity.

Acting Minister of Interior, Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, said if Pakistan wanted to resolve its problems with Afghanistan by force, relations between the two countries would definitely be damaged. He believed Pakistan should solve the issue internally.

Also, Muttaqi said in a meeting with a Pakistani delegation Pakistan and Afghanistan were brother countries. Their relations were based on good neighbourliness and shared interests.

Referring to issues between the two countries, Muttaqi suggested the causes of these problems should be addressed instead of making problems public through media outlets.

Referring to violence and incidents of insecurity in Pakistan, Sohail Mahmood said: “We hope that existing issues would be resolved through understanding.”

Humanitarian assistance

Last week, India provided 200 tonnes of medicines and medical items to Afghanistan.

The World Health Organization says 125 million US dollars are needed to provide health services in Afghanistan by the end of this year. If this budget is not determined, eight million people in Afghanistan will go without health services.

sa/mud