40 NRF Members Killed, 101 Captured in Panjshir, Claims Taliban

The rights body called for the court’s judges to rule soon looking at the latest submission by the office of the current prosecutor, Karim Khan, filed in favour of launching an investigation, arguing that the Taliban, who now control the country, “are not continuing, cannot continue and will not continue” relevant national justice efforts.

“In the 16 years since the court’s prosecutor first began considering potential cases in Afghanistan, the conflict in Afghanistan has been marked by a laundry list of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity,” it added.

Stating that Afghan people have waited far too long for justice, the HRW said that serious abuses – some of which may amount to crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction – continue in Afghanistan. “In recent months, it has documented extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, and sweeping violations of the rights of women and girls by the Taliban. The ISKP has also escalated attacks against the Hazara and Shia communities,” it said.

In March 2020, following a years-long preliminary inquiry, ICC judges authorized the ICC Office of the Prosecutor to begin an investigation. However, the investigation was paused one month later when the former Afghan government requested to defer to their own investigations.

Citing the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Khan in September 2021 requested permission from the court’s judges to resume an investigation. Nearly a year later, and after a limited process to consider the views of victims, the judges have yet to address the merits of whether an investigation should go forward, said Human Rights Watch.

Bennett, while addressing the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday, had said that the human rights situation in Afghanistan had severely “deteriorated”.

According to Bennett, Afghan citizens have been “trapped in a human rights crisis” under the Taliban rule and stressed that the world seemed powerless in addressing this crisis.

He added that the severe rollback of the rights of women and girls, coupled with the reprisals targeting opponents and critics, and the restrictions on freedom of expression by the Taliban has amounted into “authoritarianism” and urged the international community that “this crisis demanded ongoing attention from the Human Rights Council”.

The UN Special Rapporteur stressed that Afghans are in a difficult situation and were going through turbulent times. He also expressed concerns about Afghan women being deprived of their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 15, 2021.

However, Mujahid said, “the biased report of the United Nations neither mentions nor praises the positive progress of the Taliban”.

The other fighters who had been killed include two sons and a brother of the commander Mohammad Yar, who had been captured by the Taliban after running out of ammunition.

An informed source said that more than four people from Mohammad Yar's forces also lost their lives during the conflict with the Taliban before they were captured.

At the same time, video clips of the arrest of the resistance forces have been circulated on social media, which seems to be related to the arrest of Mohammad Yar and his men.

Mohammad Yar, one of the former commanders of the anti-Soviet Mujahideen, had joined the National Resistance Front (NRF) and had conducted numerous operations against the Taliban in Panjshir province.

Mubariz told Afghanistan International that the residents informed her that the Taliban visited her apartment with her photo in their hands and asked about her whereabouts.

Mubariz is one of the several women protesters who had held demonstrations in Kabul and chanted for "bread, work, freedom" after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.

She and her fellow protesters challenged the Taliban's control over Afghanistan.

Mubariz was also involved in organising the August 13 demonstration in Kabul. After this demonstration, a photo of her facing a Taliban gunman went viral on social media.

She once told Afghanistan International that during the demonstration a Taliban member grabbed her phone and didn’t return it to her.

In recent months, Mubariz has also questioned the Taliban’s rule on Afghanistan and criticised the group’s policies and governance on various TV shows in Kabul.

Mujahid stated that other appointments include the former deputy of Kandahar municipality being appointed as the head of martyrs and representatives of the province, and Hafiz Sediqullah Abid being appointed as the Deputy Minister of Transportation for Financial and Administrative affairs.

Mohammad Yunus Agha has been appointed as the Deputy Minister of Public Works for Financial and Administrative Affairs.

Taliban mostly appoints their own members loyal to the group to government positions. These appointments, however, are usually short-term and the group rotates the same faces from one position to another one.

Most of the people assigned to the technical posts are mullahs and do not have a professional background in government jobs.