18 casualties recorded in Afghanistan last week

KBAUL (Pajhwok): Last week, more than seven million dollars assistance was pledged to Afghanistan, a two-day conference held in Doha and the US slapped a ban on two officials of IEA — a decision slammed by the caretaker government in Kabul

Last week’s events:

• Different statements by Pakistan on KP attack.
• Hekmatyar: US asked IEA to form inclusive govt.
• Two-day meeting on girls’ education held in Doha
• UN: Afghanistan’s security improved, but humanitarian crisis remains.
• IEA: Human rights being respected within Islamic framework.
• US slaps ban on UEA officials; Mujahid says pressure tactics won’t work..
• More than $7m assistance announced for Afghanistan.

Casualities

At least seven people were killed and 11 others injured in separate incidents of violence across the country last week.

One armed robber was killed in the Yaftal-i-Payeen district of Badakhsan in a clash with security forces. Two other robbers were killed in a similar incident in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Meanwhile, local officials said a moneychanger had been killed and one suspect detained in Faryab. Three people lost their lives and eight others were wounded as a result of an explosion of an old mortar shell and three others, including a woman, were injured due to fight between two families in the same province.

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

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

Pakistan’s statement about recent attacks in KP

Last week, more than 20 Pakistan Army soldiers were killed after a group of heavily armed militants stormed a security check-post in the Daraban area of Dera Ismail Khan district.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Islamabad had summoned the Afghan envoy and told him that Kabul should fully investigate the recent attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to the Kilid Group, the Ministry of Foreign Affiars of Pakistan claimed the attack was carried out by the TTP, which itself claimed responsibility for the assault.

IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the national Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) measures must be taken inside Pakistan to prevent such incidents.

He said the area where the attack happened was hundreds of kilometres away from Afghanistan and was under the control of Pakistani security.

Mujahid said linking every problem to another country was not a solution.

The IEA has repeatedly proised the use of Afghan soil forces will not be allowed against a third country.

Pakistan’s former foreign minister and leader of the People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, blamed some officials for ongoing insecurity in the country and said: “We have rendered many sacrifices to end terrorism, but some wrong decisions have poured cold water on it.”

Reaction to Hekmatyar’s remarks

HIA leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, at an online meeting with his supporters, said: “It is said the US has changed its tone and stance on the Taliban and has asked IEA to form an inclusive government in line with the Doha Agreement. The US has has even even handed to the Taliban a list of conditions. If these conditions are not met, the US will support Taliban’s opponents.”

Referring to Hekmatyar’s remarks, the IEA spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X: “The claim that IEA had been given a list by the US for the formation of an inclusive government is untrue. The IEA has never promised anybody the formation of such type of government. Hekmatyar Sahib’s remarks in this regard are far from true …”

Subsequently, some people released on their social media a letter from an intelligence agency regarding the disarming of Hekmatyar. But both IEA and HIA called the letter fake.

Doha conference on girls’ education

Last week, the Doha Forum 2023 discussed the state of education in Afghanistan and the need for providing infrastructure and resources to strengthen the significant sector.

In a session entitled “Education for Her, Progress for All, participants underlined the imperative of reconstruction of education for women in Afghanistan.

Speakers stressed the role of relevant governmental and international organisations in that regard and the importance of providing global financial mechanisms for supporting education in Afghanistan.

In a related context, the speakers discussed the different types of education that could be followed in Afghanistan, including school, home, or remote education through the Internet. They called for strengthening international support to invest in these spaces and sectors, pursue appropriate and safer opportunities to ensure girls’ education, and develop the education sector in general in Afghanistan.

Despite improvements in the security situation as a result of a reduction in armed violence after August 2021, the human rights situation in Afghanistan remains dire, says UNAMA.

“I would like to remind the de facto authorities that Afghanistan as a state remains party to international human rights treaties that are an essential part of international law and in which Afghanistan has had an historic role,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan and UNAMA head.

Afghan officials have said nothing about UNAMA’s statement, but earlier, the caretaker government denied the reports of human rights violations in Afghanistan and said that human rights were observed in the framework of Islamic Sharia in the country.

US ban on IEA officials, Mujahid’s remarks

The US Department of Treasury slapped a ban on Sheikh Fariduddin Mahmood and Sheikh Mohammad Khalid Hanifi.

Sheikh Fariduddin is currently serving as the director of the Academy of Sciences and Sheikh Mohammad Khalid Hanafi as the acting minister of vice and virtue.

Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for IEA, slammed the ban as a futile exercise. According to him, despite having a history of taking such unsuccessful measures, the US should not repeat failed experiences.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Vice and Virtue says they are implementing Islamic orders for the sake of Allah, not IEA, and imposing any restrictions cannot move them from their goals.

Sheikh Mohamamd Faqir Mohammadi, deputy minister of vice and virtue, told a gathering in Kabul last week that observing Islamic hijab and other orders were commands of Allah that must be implemented. Imposing restrictions could not move IEA from its path.

Continuation of humanitarian aid

The United Nations says Cyprus has contributed €98,000 to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF).

Britin announced £5.5m assistance for landmine clearance in Afghanistan, The UK Embassy worte on X: “Britin continues to support HALO’s work in Afghanistan, where our £5.5m of funding has already supported the clearance of over 375 football pitches’ worth of land for safe use by Afghan communities.”

The UN Emergency Children Fund (UNICEF) appealed for $1.4 billion to meet the humanitarian and basic needs of 19.4 million people in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, 23.3 million people, including 12.6 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024, mainly due to the residual impacts of a protracted conflict, extreme climate shocks and the country’s severe economic decline, which is characterised by high unemployment and a fragile recovery, the statement said.

sa/mud

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