10 people killed, 15 injured in Afghanistan last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Human Rights Watch (HRW) has asked Pakistani government to end police abuses and deportation threats to Afghan refugees as the settlements of Afghan refugees were demolished in Islamabad.

However, the Islamic Emirate asked neighboring countries to help Afghan refugees, behave well with them and improve interaction with Afghanistan.

Last week’s major events

• HRW asks Pakistan to end police violence against refugees
• Houses of Afghans demolished in Islamabad
• Mullah Baradar urges neighbors to improve ties with Kabul
• Zamir Kabulov to IEA: Prove pledges with world in practice
• Yaqub Mujahid: We will cut off hands hindering key projects
• IEA says Bennett not presented facts about Afghanistan

Casualties

Last week, 10 people were killed and 15 others were injured in various incidents of violence across the country.

A suicide attacker blew up himself inside Imam Zaman mosque of Shiites in northern Baghlan province, killing seven worshipers and injuring 15 others.

Local officials said a man killed his wife and another person.

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

In the previous week, according to sources, five people had been killed and as many others injured in various incidents across the country.

Before the regime change in August 2021, hundreds of civilians, insurgents and security would get killed and maimed every week.

Plight of Afghans in Pakistan

Pakistani police have launched a crackdown on Afghan refugees since last three weeks, arresting more than 1000 refugees, including about 400 people having legal stay documents.

However, those with legal stay documents were released.

The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said as the crackdown on Afghans continued, four bodies of Afghan refugees were found in hospitals and other places.

Pakistan’s official news agency APP reported last week that the country’s interim government had decided to evict 1.1 million foreigners, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans.

The acting government had claimed these foreigners were involved in fueling insecurity in Pakistan.

Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had rejected the involvement of Afghan refugees in Pakistan’s security problems and had said the treatment of refugees in Pakistan was unacceptable, asking Islamabad to reconsider its plan to evict refugees.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has asked Pakistani government to end police abuses and deportation threats to Afghan refugees in the country and work with the UNHRC to resume the registration of Afghan asylum seekers.

“The Pakistani government should avoid recreating in 2023 the conditions that pressured Afghan refugees to leave Pakistan in 2016. It should end police abuses and deportation threats and work with UNHCR to resume registrations of Afghan asylum seekers, the rights body on its Twitter handle wrote.

The rights organization had said police violence against Afghan refugees had increased following Pakistan’s decision to evict illegal foreigners.

UNHCR official Subir Mohammad Ibrahim had assured Afghan officials of raising the issue of Afghan refugees in Geneva.

The Republican Movement of Afghanistan has said Pakistan’s actions against Afghan refugees are in conflict with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the accepted conventions, agreements and treaties on immigration.

Also Awami National Party leader Amil Wali Khan had said if Afghan refugees had no right to live in Pakistan, Kashmiri and Indian refugees should follow suit.

To address issues of Afghans returning from Pakistan in an effective and swift manner, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has ordered the formation of a special commission.

The Presidential Palace wrote on its X handle that based on guidance from Supreme Leader Maulvi Hibatullah Akhundza, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund.

Relevant ministers attended the meeting that conferred on problems of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

The meeting formed a special commission to address the issues of the returnees coming back from the neighbouring country in an appropriate and timely manner.

Additionally, the reception office at the Kabul International Airport has been inaugurated after being repaired to welcome Afghan refugees returning to the country.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) wrote on its Facebook page that the reception area was inaugurated by Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) officials.

The reception office had sustained damages and had been inactive since the American troops left the country, but it was repaired by MoRR and IOM and is ready to provide services.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai has said Pakistan is trying to mount political and economic pressure on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) by deporting refugees.

Stanikzai made the remarks at the inaugural ceremony for the second phase of the Qush Tepa canal in northern Balkh province on Wednesday.

He said: “This action is against protocols and agreements signed among Afghanistan, Pakistan and UNHCR.  Afghans can return to their country whenever they want. But they shouldn’t be sent back by force.”

He urged the international community and the UN to participate in the reconstruction of the war-devastated country.

Traders in Nangarhar and Kandahar provinces last week said Pakistan had illegally increased taxes on their transit goods.

Last week, houses of a number of Afghan refugees were demolished on the outskirts of Islamabad.

Interaction with caretaker government

Deputy prime minister for economic affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has asked neighboring countries to improve relations and interaction with Afghanistan.

While Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov had said the caretaker government of Afghanistan should comply with the demands of the international community, especially the establishment of an inclusive government and respect for human rights if it wanted recognition.

However, Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid insists the current government is inclusive and asks the world not to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

The Islamic Emirate has expressed concern about a joint declaration of Russia and Uzbekistan about peace and stability in Afghanistan, saying peace and stability has been ensured in the country.

It asked Russia and Uzbekistan to interact with the current government instead of worrying about peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Will cut off hands hindering national projects: Yaqub

Defence Minister Maulvi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid has said they will cut off evil hands that hinder Qush Tepa canal and other projects of national importance.

He issued the stern warning at the opening ceremony for the second phase of the Qush Tepa canal in northern Balkh province on Wednesday.

Yaqub said: “The Ministry of Defence and the Islamic Army were behind the implementation of such big projects and will support them with all their strength, ensure their security and remove existing obstacles.”

They would chop off the hands that impeded vital national schemes, which were being implemented for the development of Afghanistan, he said.

Such projects, already assessed, would not harm neighbouring countries and there should be no confusion about them, the acting defence minister insisted.

Mujahid said the water flowing from the Amu River into the Qush Tepa Canal was less than Afghanistan’s share and did not encroach on the rights of other countries.

IEA response to Bennett’s mission extension

The UN Human Rights Council has extended special rapporteur Richard Bennett’s mandate on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan.

But Zabihullah Mujahid said Bennett had been unsuccessful in his mission. He said Bennett would not incorporate what he saw and heard in Afghanistan in his reports to the United Nations and would prefer rumors in his reports.

In April 2022, Bennett was appointed as the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council for Afghanistan.

Continuity of aid

The European Union has donated 100 tons of medicine and medical equipment to Afghanistan.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says nine million farmers in Afghanistan will receive improved quality seeds, chemical fertilizers, agricultural equipment and water this year.

Japan has promised to provide Afghanistan with 10 million dollars for women’s economic empowerment.

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