16 killed, 27 injured in Afghanistan violence last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some domestic and foreign sources once again insisted on the opening of education centers for girls last week, when the Islamic Emirate expressed its readiness to interact with the world to address common concerns, saying the regime was committed to all Sharia rights of the nation.

Last week’s major events

• Abdul Rahman Fida appointed as new consul general in Dubai
• Kabul says will continue to interact with the world to address common concerns
• Various domestic, foreign sources once again demand opening of education centers for girls
• Sirajuddin Haqqani: Islamic Emirate committed to all Islamic rights of people
• Another $40 million humanitarian aid arrives in Afghanistan
• Sweden pledges $7.4 million in aid to Afghanistan

Casualties

Sixteen people, including two journalists, were killed and 27 others were injured in various incidents of violence in different parts of the country last week.

A bomb blast ripped through an event honoring journalists at the Tabyan Cultural Center in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province.

Security officials said a security guard of the center was killed and eight people, including five journalists, were injured in the Saturday’s attack. But some media support organizations put the toll at two dead and 18 injured, all journalists.

Balkh police said a security guard of the Tabyan Cultural Center was killed in the explosion, but the Afghanistan Journalists’ Center said tow journalists were killed and 18 others wounded in the attack claimed by Daesh or Islamic State.

The center identified the deceased as Afghan Ghag ‘Awa’ news agency reporter Hussain Naderi and his colleague Akmal Nazari.

Daesh in a statement on its Amaq news agency said the attack against journalists was caused by a “parcel bomb that Daesh fighters managed to place and detonate” at the event held at a cultural center in Mazar-i-Sharif.

“The blast targeted a rally held inside a Shiite center to reward several journalists working in agencies involved in the war and instigation against IS,” the statement said.

The bombing occurred two days after a suicide bomber killed the governor of Balkh province, Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, in an attack also claimed by Daish, marking one of the highest-level attacks since the Taliban stormed back to power in 2021.

On Saturday, Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said many Daesh affiliates, who he called “Khawarij” were killed during operations on three hideouts in Mazar-i-Sharif last night. He said one security personnel was injured during the raids and weapons and ammunition were seized.

Earlier in the week, unknown gunmen killed a man in Kandahar, a former policeman in Kunar and a young man in Parwan. The bodies of a child in Faryab, a woman in Badghis and a young man in Kandahar were found during the week.

Three people were killed and six children were injured due to blasts caused by an old rocket warhead and an old mine in Kandahar and Logar. A person killed his wife in Ghor and a person was killed in Farah as a result of enmity.

In southeastern Khost province, a drug addict killed his son and daughter and injured another son and mother in Gurbuz district.

After the incident, police reached the area and tried to arrest the shooter, but he also fired at the security forces. According to police, the accused was killed. However, it remained unknown if he was killed in retaliatory firing by police or he shot himself dead.

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

In the previous week, 23 people were killed and a dozen others were injured in various incidents of violence nationwide.

Before the regime change in August 2021, hundreds of civilians, security forces and insurgents would get killed and wounded in the conflict.

Sending diplomat to UAE, insisting on interaction

Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed Abdul Rahman Fida as new consul general of Afghanistan in Dubai, officially removing the representative of the previous government.

Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani met a delegation of scholars from the United Arab Emirates in Kabul. He thanked the UAE for handing over the Afghan consulate in Dubai to the Islamic Emirate and said that interaction with Afghanistan was in the interest of neighbors, the region and the world.

In late February, the caretaker government appointed new diplomats to the Afghan embassy in Tehran and the consulate general in Istanbul.

Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Afghanistan was ready to continue interacting with the international community in order to reach common concerns within the limits of its  sovereignty, national interests and the teachings of the holy religion of Islam.

The UN Security Council last week extended UNAMA’s mandate in Afghanistan for another year, a decision praised by the caretaker government.

The government said UN activities were useful for strengthening Afghanistan’s diplomatic relations with the world.

Global meetings and emphasis on girls’ education

OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha, addressing a meeting of the group foreign ministers, said a delegation of scholars would be sent to Afghanistan for talks on women’s education and work in accordance with Islamic principles with the Taliban authorities.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a meeting of the UN committee on Status of Women, that women and girls in Afghanistan were marginalized and needed international support.

In addition, some members of the British Parliament also asked the international community to discuss the opening of girls’ schools with the Islamic Emirate.

Last week, Qatari assistant foreign minister Lolwah Al-Khater spoke with US special envoy for Afghan girls, women and human rights Rina Amiri about taking practical steps to open girls’ schools in Afghanistan.

Also, former president Hamid Karzai has insisted on the opening of girls’ schools in a conversation with the European Union’s Chargé d’affaires in Kabul.

Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said in a meeting with a delegation of scholars from the United Arab Emirates in Kabul that Islam had made Sharia education mandatory for men and women, and that the Islamic Emirate was committed to all Sharia rights of the nation.

Continuity of aid

Last week, as part of the international community’s continued humanitarian assistance, another package of 40 million US dollars arrived in Kabul.

Two days ago, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Sweden had announced $7.4 million assistance to Afghanistan.

UNOCHA tweeted: “With the new contribution of $7.4M, #Sweden is demonstrating its solidarity with the Afghan people, commitment to supporting emergency life-saving response & to assist the most vulnerable people in need in #Afghanistan.”

Earlier, the UN agency had tweeted that 28.3 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan in 2023.

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