Do Not Violate Afghanistan’s Airspace, Taliban Tells US

Stressing that millions of Afghans have been deprived of literacy, McPhillips added, "We have an opportunity to increase the literacy rate of Afghans. To educate Afghans, everyone's efforts is needed.”

In a conference held in Kabul and attended by Taliban officials, the UNESCO representative emphasised that a literate population reduces poverty in society.

UNESCO commemorated the International Literacy Day in Kabul even as schools for secondary education for Afghan girls remain closed across Afghanistan.

During the UNESCO conference, Sadruddin Sadr, the director of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ministry of Education of the Taliban, claimed that the group values education. However, he did not comment on the closure of girls’ schools for secondary education.

Sadr claimed that many schools have been destroyed in Afghanistan and asked the international community to support Afghanistan's educational system.

HRW added that it was troubled by the fact that none of the 14 men and 2 women appointed as commissioners are experts on women’s rights, and none are Afghan or from the Afghan diaspora. IT asked the commission to include women in its fold.

HRW stated that the Taliban, after seizing power in August 2021, dismantled the system which had been developed with the US support to respond to gender-based violence. “The dreams of Afghan girls and women have been shattered with the Taliban ban on girls from attending secondary schools and women from most jobs. Women’s and girls’ rights to free movement, association, and expression have been severely curbed,” the report said.

It also accused the US of leaving women and activists out in the cold during the evacuation process. Only 7 to 10 percent of Afghan applicants for US special immigrant visas are women, it stated. The rights watchdog urged the commission to investigate and document the US government’s failure to deliver most of its promises to Afghan women and set out what can still be salvaged to help protect those living under the Taliban’s brutal rule and assist those who managed to flee abroad.

The commission had been created in December 2021 to examine “key strategic, diplomatic, and operational decisions” the US made in Afghanistan, and to develop “lessons learned and recommendations for the way forward”. The Commission’s executive director is not appointed yet, providing an opportunity to seek someone with women’s rights expertise, HRW said.

The health official stressed that around 30 infected people are also being hospitalised on a daily basis.

This health official warned that without support from the Samangan Public Health Directorate, the death toll due to cholera will increase.

Meanwhile, Mullah Mohibullah Bahari, director of the Public Health Directorate in Samangan province, said that a team of health workers along with representatives from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has been dispatched to the district to take samples of drinking water and support the treatment of the local residents.

He added that this team is responsible for informing the people about the dangers of cholera and providing basic medical aid.

Pakistan is due to allocate more than 12.5 billion Pakistani rupees for the scholarship programme.

The Pakistani embassy statement said that so far, Afghan students who have been granted scholarships have studied medicine, engineering, agriculture, and commerce at Pakistani universities.

According to the embassy, more than 30,000 applicants from across Afghanistan are expected to compete for 1,500 scholarships.

The embassy said that students who pass the entrance exam will study in the most prestigious universities in Pakistan.

HRW added that these communities are suffering from constant suicide bombings and other unlawful attacks and haven’t even been provided necessary medical care and other assistance for victims and their families.

HRW emphasised that the Taliban authorities should protect at-risk minorities, including the Hazara and Shia, and ensure their rights to access education and worship without fear. They asked the group to consult with communities at risk and civil society groups to protect civilian institutions vulnerable to attack, including schools, hospitals, places of worship, and other community institutions.

The watchdog group also asked the Taliban to fully comply with international humanitarian law, and appropriately prosecute those responsible for grave abuses.

As per the report released, HRW states that since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Islamic State affiliate has claimed responsibility for 13 attacks against Hazaras and has been linked to at least three more, killing and injuring at least 700 people. The Taliban’s growing crackdown on the media, especially in the provinces, means additional attacks are likely to have gone unreported. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that recent attacks by the group on Shia gatherings in Kabul killed and injured more than 120 people.

“Since the Taliban takeover, ISIS-linked fighters have committed numerous brutal attacks against members of the Hazara community as they go to school, to work, or to pray, without a serious response from the Taliban authorities,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The Taliban have an obligation to protect at-risk communities and assist the victims of attacks and their families.”

In October 2021, the Taliban Interior Ministry spokesperson, Saeed Khosty, said that they would ensure security for religious minorities. However, the Taliban do not appear to have provided increased security in Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, and Kunduz provinces, where attacks have killed hundreds of people since January 2022, HRW said.

“Attacks on Hazara and other religious minorities by the Islamic State of Khorasan Province violate international humanitarian law, which remains applicable in Afghanistan. Deliberate attacks on civilians are war crimes,” stated HRW in the report.

The rights watchdog added that the Taliban’s failure to provide security to at-risk populations and medical and other assistance to survivors and affected families, as well as Taliban policies that violate human rights, particularly those of women and girls, exacerbates the harm these attacks cause.

The report highlighted that attacks have made it difficult, if not impossible, for Hazara and Shia community members to exercise their rights to education, to practice their religion, and to other fundamental freedoms. Many found it difficult to get health care and say they don’t feel safe going out in public. They now avoid social gatherings, public transportation, and other public places.

HRW even called on IS-KP and other armed groups to comply with international humanitarian law, and cease all attacks against civilians and punish commanders responsible for serious abuses.

HRW stressed that there should be adequate support for emergency health care, such as ambulance services and psychosocial (mental health) support along with financial support to survivors of attacks and family members.

Not limiting itself to condemning the attacks, the Rights watchdog also called on global governments engaging with the Taliban to put pressure on the group for better protection of Hazara and Shia communities and encourage and support mechanisms to strengthen accountability for crimes committed in Afghanistan, including against the Hazara and Shia communities.

“All governments should suspend forcible returns to Afghanistan and should look favourably on applications for asylum, and other forms of international protection, for the Hazara and other persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in Afghanistan,” it added.