5 killed, as many wounded in Afghansitan last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Last week, a delegation of Afghans living abroad visited Kabul and held talks with government officials.

Different global institutions resented the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan. Additionally, Washington stressed respect for Afghan women’s rights.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) insists the rights of women are fully respected in light of Islamic teachings.

Also last week, Tehran said IEA’s political opponents living in Iran did not have permission for political activities.

Last week’s key events:

• 1,745 Afghan refugees expelled from Pakistan
• Global institutions resent forced deportation of Afghans
• IEA: Prepared to support returning Afghans
• Washington: IEA should respect women’s right
• Hanafi: No one is allowed to violate women’s right
• Murtazawi: Anti-IEA activities in Iran not allowed
• Delegation of Afghans living abroad visits Kabul

Last week, five people were killed and as many wounded across Afghanistan in various incidents.

According to reports, a young man was killed and an elder injured in a hand grenade blast. In Kandahar, one person was killed and two others were wounded as an unexploded mortar shell went off.

Local officials said one person was killed and two others were wounded as a result of a family clash. In Kapisa province, two women were gunned down due to a family feud.

Note: Casualty figures here are based on Pajhwok Afghan News reports. There is a possibility that some incidents may have gone unreported or sources could have provided wrong figures.

During the previous week, 16 people had been killed and six others injured in different incidents nationwide.

Before the regime change in Afghanistan in August 2021, hundreds of civilians and security personnel would be killed and injured every week.

Expulsion of refguees from Pakistan

In the second phase of repatriation, which started on April 15, about 800,000 Afghan refugees face the risk of deportation from the neighbouring country.

The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation says 1,745 Afghan refugees were expelled from Pakistan last week.

With the initiation of the second phase of repatriation from Pakistan, Medicines Sans Frontier (MSF) expressed its deep concern for the rights and welfare deportees.

MSF said in a statement the Afghans were being sent back to their homeland in harsh conditions.It noted most of refugees were returning to a country where people were already struggling with widespread poverty and inadequate health services.

Save the Children said most children from Afghan families deported from Pakistan did not have access to adequate shelter, education, and food.

The United Nations said in a recent report that due to the large number of refugees returning to Afghanistan from neighbouring countries, it was necessary to provide assistance to the country.

Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, spokesman for MoRR, told mediapeople: “The fresh deadline for refuguees’ deportaion from Pakistan is not official yet, the situation in the nighbouring country is normal and the return of any family to Afghanistan is a normal process.”

He said IEA had urged Pakistan to work on a joint mechanism and arrive at an agreement on the situation of Afghan refguees.

Women’s rights

The US Department of State’s deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said equal rights for women and girls in Afghanistan were a fundamental principle of Washington’s policy towards Kabul.

Patel added: “Equal rights for Afghan women and girls continue to be a key tenant of our Afghanistan policy and we continue to reiterate regularly through relevant channels with the Taliban that their self-stated goal of legitimacy can only be achieved –and likely of being impossible to achieve if half of the population is being left out of participating in its society, participating in its economy, and it continues to be a key factor of our approach to Afghanistan policy and it’s something that we’ll continue to work towards.”

For its part, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly said it respects women’s rights in the framework of Shariah. It has also promised reforming and resuming the education process for girls.

Minister of Vice and Virtue Sheikh Mohammad Khalid Hanifi, in a meeting with the delegation Afghans livimg abroad, said no one was allowed to violate women’s right.

The delegation, which came to Kabul, said the main purpose of their talks with IEA was to open the door to education for girls and establish a social system and a professional government in the country and to address economic problems.

IEA rivals’ activities in Iran

Iranian Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan Syed Hassan Murtazavi met Deputy Prime Minister Maulvi Abdul Kabir.

Hailing the IEA political policy on recent international events, Murtazavi and Maulvi Abdul Kabir discussed the promotion of Kabul-Tehran ties.

Murtazavi said IEA’s political opponents living in Iran lived a refugee life and did not have permission for political activities.

Kabir welcomed the Iranian envoy and termed Tehran’s response to the Israeli attack as the legitimate right of Tehran.

He lauded Iran’s cooperation with Afghanistan and stressed the expansion of the Tehran-Kabul relationship. He said IEA wanted cordial ties with the neighboring countries.

sa/mud

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