Taliban’s Ministry of Interior Website Hacked
A group of hackers, Afghanistan Cyber Army, claimed that they had “hacked and destroyed” the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior website on Tuesday night, in a message sent to Afghanistan International.
A group of hackers, Afghanistan Cyber Army, claimed that they had “hacked and destroyed” the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior website on Tuesday night, in a message sent to Afghanistan International.
The website had become unavailable hours after the group posted another claim of having hacked into the website of Taliban’s Ministry of Defense for the second time.
There is not much information about this group, however, their logo shows that it may be a supporter of the former government of Afghanistan.
The Taliban had previously denied the hacking of the Ministry of Defense website and managed to get it running on Sunday, but the website is inaccessible again.
A hacker group on Tuesday claimed to have hacked into the website of Taliban’s Ministry of Defense for the second time. Sources, who spoke on behalf of the hacker group, told Afghanistan International that they have hacked the website again and destroyed it.
The hacker group, Cyber Army of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, had hacked into the Taliban’s MoD website on July 8. The hackers claim that after the fall of the previous government of Afghanistan, many government websites, including the website of the office of the president, were unavailable. However, some websites of the former government are still accessible and operated by the Taliban.
The hacker group had then warned the Taliban, "Wherever you go, we are in hiding. Whether you are in Quetta or Kabul! Wait for us."
The website and domain had earlier been used by the Ministry of Defense of the Afghan republic government. Over the last 12 years, these websites were considered as the main sources of information of the previous government of Afghanistan and contained a part of the archives of the last 20 years.
The Taliban have not commented on the issue yet.
Afghan Women Advocacy Group called on humanitarian organizations to provide immediate assistance to the people who got displaced due to armed clashes in Balkhab district of Sar-e-Pul; Andarab district of Baghlan and Panjshir province.
The group asked United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Committee of Red Crescent (ICRC) and other humanitarian organizations to ensure that aid reaches the vulnerable people timely.
The group added, “We, the women of Afghanistan, are seriously concerned about the inaction of the international agencies regarding Afghans who have been displaced as a result of the Taliban attacks in Balkhab, Andarab and Panjshir”.
The group said that “disturbing war crimes” are being committed by the Taliban against civilians in these districts and provinces and as well as reports of armed conflict which has already displaced thousands of families, including large numbers of women and children.
On Thursday, July 7, OCHA had announced that at least 27,000 people have been displaced as the result of recent clashes in Balkhab district of Afghanistan. As of now, there is no recorded data regarding the number of people who have been displaced in Panjshir and Andarab district of Baghlan province.
The group, however, appreciated the efforts and rapid response of the international aid organizations for the people affected by the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan. They added that there would have been a humanitarian catastrophe, if not for the generous and timely assistance of these aid organizations.
Afghan women activists are members of the Afghan Women Advocacy Group, which has been raising their voice against Taliban’s violations of women and human rights in Afghanistan, ever since the Taliban took over Kabul
Students, including boys and girls, participated in a reading competition in Jaghori district of Ghazni province during Eid al-Adha. The competition was aimed at spreading knowledge and inculcating the culture of reading books in the district.
According to a video of the event published on YouTube, three people will be selected as the winners of the competition.
Jaghori is one of the largest districts in Ghazni province. Many book reading competitions have been held here before.
The competition has been held at a time when it has been more than 297 days since the Taliban has prevented the reopening of secondary schools for girls in Afghanistan.
Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defense minister, is allegedly miffed about the rifts in the ranks of Taliban. In an audio message, which has been leaked on social media, Yaqoob expresses dissatisfaction regarding removal of the Taliban flag in Khost district of Baghlan province.
Yaqoob can be heard as saying, "In Khawash valley of Khost wa Farang district, some rebels came, removed the flag and there was a rumour that they have taken this area from the Mujahideen [Taliban]. The Mujahideen had themselves evacuated the area and no one was present there." Yaqoob complained that the fighters of this group had assured the "elders" that they were present on the field, but ground realities prove the contrary.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) had announced on Thursday, July 7, that the group had "liberated Suchi Bala and Suchi Pain in Khost district of Baghlan province from the Taliban and inflicted heavy casualties on the group”. At the same time, a video was published on social media in which the Taliban flag was removed by armed men. The National Resistance Front said on its official website that “the Taliban fled from these areas and the forces of the National Resistance Front had been relocated there”.
Yaqoob can then be heard as urging Taliban fighters to "obey" their duties properly and fulfil their responsibilities.
A new wave of pressure against civilians
Meanwhile, along with the release of Mullah Yaqoob's audio file on social media and following the removal of the Taliban flag in two areas of Suchi Bala and Suchi Bain of Khost district, a wave of arrests and new pressures by the group against civilians in this district has been launched.
One day after the Taliban flag was removed, the Taliban arrested a group of men from Khost district.
Local sources from Khost district confirmed that the Taliban "arbitrarily arrested" 12 men from the district on Friday.
In another incident, local sources confirmed that Ziaul Haq Raid, a former local employee of the Ministry of Finance in this district, was shot after three days of torture in a Taliban prison. The body of the young man was handed over to his family on Saturday, July 9.
On Monday morning, the Taliban shot dead a civilian named Sayed Aman Osmani in Suchi Bala village of Khost district.
Local sources in Ghor province said that Taliban arrested Abdul Hai Khatibi, former Ghor province governor’s spokesperson, on Sunday. According to the sources, Khatibi was arrested along with another person from his house.
Taliban has not yet commented on the issue.
Abdul Hai Khatibi had served as the spokesperson for the Ghor province governor for several years and had retired recently.
Taliban had announced general amnesty for former government employees when they took power in Kabul in 2021. However, according to reports by human rights organizations, hundreds of employees in the former government, especially security officials, have been murdered or have disappeared.
