2 people, 11 injured in Afghanistan last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Delegations from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Iran arrived in Kabul last week, when the interim government said airspace violation by Pakistan was being investigated.

Also last week, UNESCO said that 2.5 million Afghan girls were deprived of education and the US and the UK announced 330 million dollars in aid to Afghanistan.

Last week’s major events

• Delegations from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Iran arrive in Kabul
• Special ceremony marks third anniversary of IEA return
• Afghan officials ask world to choose interaction with Kabul
• Mujahid: Investigating Afghan airspace violation by Pakistani jets
• UNESCO: 2.5 million Afghan girls deprived of education
• US, UK give Afghanistan $330 million in aid

Casualties

Last week, two people were killed and eleven others were injured in separate incidents of violence in Afghanistan.

One civilian was killed and nearly a dozen more were injured when a landmine blast ripped through a passenger van in Dasht Barchi area of Kabul city last week.

Daesh or ISIS has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Also, last week, a security official was arrested after he shot and killed a young man named Hamid Jalal Pashtun in Karte Naw area. The Ministry of Interior said the suspect would be produced before a military court.

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

In the previous week, according to sources, five people had been killed and three others injured in separate incidents of violence across the country.

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

IEA third year in power

On August 14, the third anniversary of the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan was celebrated.

Government officials, addressing ceremonies marking the day, emphasized on doing away with all kinds of prejudice. They asked the international community to choose the path of interaction and cooperation with Afghanistan.

They said Afghanistan desired positive relations and balanced politics and would not allow Afghanistan to be turned into a field of negative competition between world powers.

Delegations from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Iran

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Afghanistan said delegations from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan participated in a tripartite meeting in Kabul and discussed economic and trade relations.

The meeting also conferred on development of transport and logistics sector and solid minerals available in Afghanistan.

The participants talked about discoveries in geological and hydrocarbon areas with abundant mineral resources and establishing a cement production project with a capacity of one million tons in the north of Afghanistan.

On Saturday, Uzbekistan prime minister arrived in Kabul with a high level delegation. Officials said the delegation will inaugurate an exhibition of Uzbekistan’s products in Kabul.

Last week, some Iranian investors during a meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said they were willing to invest in the extraction and processing of iron ore and solar power generation in Afghanistan.

They also showed their interest to invest in the expansion of railway networks, the creation of standard industrial factories and the construction of a special industrial zone between the two countries.

Human rights and girls’ education

Last week, the United Nations Scientific, Cultural and Educational Organization (UNESCO) said the authorities in Afghanistan have “deliberately deprived” 1.4 million girls of schooling since they reclaimed power three years ago, putting at risk the future of an entire generation.

The UNESCO report said that access to primary education had “also fallen sharply,” with 1.1 million fewer Afghan girls and boys attending school.

It added that Afghanistan had only 5.7 million girls and boys in primary school in 2022, compared with 6.8 million in 2019.

In addition, US  State Department Deputy spokesman Vedant Patel called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to substantially improve their human rights record before any normalizations of relations.

He told at press briefing that to date no country had publicly announced that it recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.

However, interim governent officials have said again and again that the rights of all Afghans are protected in the framework of Sharia law in the country.

They say girls are barred from high schools and universities until the conditions are met.

Mujahid: Afghan airspace violation being probed

According to unconfirmed reports Pakistani fighter jets entered Afghanistan’s airspace in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces.

In this regard, Zabihullah Mujahid said last week that the caretaker government was investigating the issue and if something like that had happened, it would be seriously prevented.

Mujahid asserted no country, including Pakistan, had the right to violate Afghanistan’s airspace.

Also, Acting Minister of Defense Maulvi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid said that efforts were being made to defend the country’s airspace.

Humanitarian aid

Last week, the World Food Program said that the United States and the United Kingdom had contributed 330 million dollars in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.