FP Journalist Accuses Taliban of Harassment, Says They Threaten to Cancel Her Visa

In the #StopHazaraGenocide campaign, Twitter users have widely criticised the Taliban for failing to protect the Hazara people from targeted terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Many Twitter users who are a part of the campaign believed elements from the Taliban have been involved in the targeted killings of the Hazaras.

However, the #UnitedAfghanistan campaign on Twitter has been widely backed by Taliban members and supporters.

These users have often used the #UnitedAfghanistan hashtag and tweeted with pictures of the Taliban leaders.

It seems that the Taliban officials and their supporters view the #StopHazaraGenocide campaign as ethnic-centered and have launched the #UnitedAfghanistan as a parallel campaign on Twitter.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted with the #UnitedAfghanistan hashtag and has written that "unity is the secret of our every victory".

Without referring to the #StopHazaraGenocide campaign and targeted killings of the Hazara people in Afghanistan, Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of the Economy of the Taliban, who is an ethnic Hazara, has written on Twitter that "the enemies and their domestic agents have failed in achieving their goal, which is blowing ethnic rifts".

The report also said that 26% of girls are showing signs of depression as compared with 16% of boys as revealed in the research. It added that one year since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, an economic crisis, crippling drought and new restrictions have shattered girls’ lives, excluding them from society and leaving them hungry, with a quarter showing signs of depression.

The report, titled Breaking point: Life for children one year since the Taliban takeover, shows that 97% of families are struggling to provide enough food for their children, and that girls are eating less than boys.

Chris Nyamandi, Save the Children Country Director in Afghanistan, said, “Life is dire for children in Afghanistan, one year since the Taliban took control. Children are going to bed hungry night after night. They’re exhausted and wasting away, unable to play and study like they used to. They’re spending their days toiling in brick factories, collecting rubbish and cleaning homes instead of going to school. Girls are bearing the brunt of the deteriorating situation. They’re missing more meals, suffering from isolation and emotional distress and are staying home while boys go to school. This is a humanitarian crisis, but also a child rights catastrophe.”

As per Save the Children, nine in 10 girls said that their meals had reduced in the past year and that they worry because they’re losing weight and have no energy to study, play and work. It added that the crisis is also taking a dangerous toll on girls’ mental and psychosocial wellbeing.

Girls interviewed by Save the Children expressed disappointment and anger over the fact they can no longer go to school and said they felt hopeless about their future because they don’t have the rights and freedoms they had previously.

Save the Children director added that the solution lies in the corridors of power and in the offices of our global political leaders.

In an interview with Arab News, the former national security adviser emphasised that even figures among the Taliban believe that their regime cannot last long with their current governance style. He added that these figures are ready to cooperate with the international community.

Mohib stated that people have grown more disillusioned under the rule of the Taliban. He said that popular mobilisation will be formed against the group.

The former national security adviser called the protests against the Taliban, especially the women's protests, as signs of values and achievements that have been garnered under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan governments.

FORUM-ASIA also urged the international community to push to stop the systematic persecution of the Hazaras and other ethnic and religious groups in Afghanistan.

It called on all global states to facilitate the resettlement of members of the most vulnerable groups and those in urgent need of protection.

It called on the international community to abide by the principles of the Genocide Convention and under the United Nations doctrine of Responsibility to Protect, recognise the historical and systemic persecution of Hazaras that could constitute genocide.

The organisation also urged all stakeholders to take concrete steps that would put an end to the persecution of ethno-religious groups in Afghanistan.

It also called for all international community to establish an accountability and protection mechanism that documents and investigates the gross violations of human rights, including but not limited to the massacre of ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Hazaras in Afghanistan.

This statement comes against the backdrop of a suicide attack on Kaj Education Center in Dasht-e-Barchi West Kabul on 30 September, wherein 53 civilians were killed and among them at least 46 young girls were the victims.

The statement also highlighted that dozens of Afghan women in Herat and Bamiyan protested against the systematic killings of Hazaras and the continued restrictions on women. However, the Taliban reportedly oppressed protestors with violence and harassed the families of victims in Kabul.

According to the former Pakistan intelligence chief, the survival of Ghani's government for many years was a miracle.

The former head of ISI had previously predicted that Ashraf Ghani will not play any role in the future of Afghanistan.

Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, before the Taliban had even entered Kabul and the International forces withdrawal was underway.

Afghanistan International's full interview with Asad Durrani will be aired on October 12, 2022.