Repair, Reconstruction Work of Bagram Airfield Starts, Announces Taliban

Bagram airfield, which is located in Parwan province, was the main military base of the US-led forces for the past 20 years.

The Taliban's Ministry of Defense said that before leaving Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, American forces had destroyed all the facilities of the Bagram airfield.

Bagram airfield has three large hangars, a control tower, several support buildings, and 130,000 square meters of flight space.

George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump were the three US presidents, who have visited Bagram airfield in the last two decades.

Pak Foreign Minister, US Special Representative Discuss Engagement with Taliban

Sep 21, 2022, 11:04 GMT+1

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in a meeting with Tom West, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, has called for continued international interaction with the Taliban.

In the meeting, West, however, has expressed "grave concerns" about the violation of the fundamental freedom of Afghans by the Taliban.

According to a statement released by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, Zardari told West in New York that "a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is a priority for Pakistan”.

The statement said that Pakistan's Foreign Minister emphasised on Pakistan's efforts to facilitate a regional consensus on Afghanistan.

Both sides have also stressed on providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan said in this meeting that failure to address humanitarian issues and poverty in Afghanistan can lead to a mass migration of refugees from Afghanistan.

The US special representative for Afghanistan Tom West on Twitter said that during the meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Minister, he discussed joint efforts to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

West added that during this meeting, he expressed his deep concern about the violation of the basic rights and freedoms of Afghan citizens by the Taliban.

The US Special Representative has also stressed on the fact that the Taliban must fulfil its commitments to not harbour terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

Taliban’s New Minister of Education is Illiterate, Says Group’s Senior Official

Sep 21, 2022, 10:06 GMT+1

Taliban’s newly-appointed Minister of Education, Mawlawi Habibullah Agha has not received a formal education, said a senior Taliban official. The official said that Agha's appointment is a "setback" to the efforts of some Taliban leaders to reopen girls' schools in Afghanistan.

A senior Taliban official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Afghanistan International that the group's new education minister has not even received basic education. The high-ranking Taliban official added, "The appointment [of Habibullah Agha] is a setback for some Taliban leaders who have made little efforts to reopen girls' secondary schools."

The Taliban on Wednesday announced a list of Cabinet and senior government appointments by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of this group.

According to the decree, Mawlawi Habibullah Agha, the head of the provincial ulema council of Kandahar, has been appointed as the acting minister of education of the Taliban.

Nurullah Monib, who was the Taliban's Minister of Education, has now been appointed as the head of the Taliban's Dar al-Afta.

After the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban on August 15, 2021, the group ordered closure of secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan.

Don’t Let Afghanistan Be Graveyard of Our Dreams, Says Afghan Girls Robotics Team Leader

Sep 20, 2022, 12:14 GMT+1

Somaya Faruqi, head of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, urged world leaders to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a graveyard for girls’ dreams. Faruqi, who addressed the UN General Assembly on Sunday, added that the Taliban have closed schools for millions of Afghan girls.

The head of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team stressed that there is no prospect for reopening of schools for girls in Afghanistan.

She said that girls in Afghanistan are facing an uncertain future and added, "The Taliban will completely remove our existence from society. Thousands of more girls may never be able to go back to school. Many of them are already married."

Addressing world leaders, she said that if these leaders think that Afghan girls deserve education, they should not let her and other girls become "victims of international policies".

In late 2021, when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, they prevented Afghan girls from returning to high schools across Afghanistan.

Noorullah Munir, the Acting Minister of Education of the group, however, recently claimed that Afghans don’t want to educate their girls when they turn 16.

Taliban Stops Operation of Cafes in Western Kabul, Beat Customers

Sep 20, 2022, 11:00 GMT+1

Local sources from western Kabul reported that the Police District (PD) 18 of the Taliban stopped operations of all the cafes in the Dashte Barchi area on Sunday. The sources confirmed that during the sealing of these cafes, Taliban members beat up the customers too.

According to reports, at least 10 cafes in the PD 18 have been sealed.

During the past several years, cafes have become the main hub for youth in Kabul and other major Afghan cities to connect.

In many cases, cultural programmes, book review sessions, and book readings have been held at these cafes.

With the takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021, many cultural centers, cafes, and small businesses ceased to operate in Kabul and other cities across Afghanistan.

Afghan Women Announce Support for Iranian People’s Protests

Sep 20, 2022, 10:08 GMT+1

A group of Afghan women supported the Iranian people's protests and said that soon "the rule of brothers, fathers, and husbands will end”. These women added that they have suffered the same pain which Iranian women are going through.

These Afghan women protested against the killing of Mehsa Amini, an Iranian woman who had died, after being tortured by the morality police in Iran.

A statement published on social media in support of Iranian women includes a list of Afghan female activists.

The statement stressed that Afghan women’s suffering isn’t different from the suffering of thousands of other Iranian women who have always fought against one of the leaders of the Islamic republic and have been repressed in the most severe ways possible.

These women have said that with the slogan, "death to the Taliban, whether in Kabul or in Tehran", they declared their solidarity with the women of Iran.

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