Life is Unbearable for Afghan Women & Girls, Says WFP

The EU Special Representative for Afghanistan addressed a meeting which was held aimed at examining the "regional impact of Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover” at the EU parliament.

Niklasson stressed that many people question the survival of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

He added that during his recent trip to Kabul and in his meetings with regional actors he has learned that fewer people see the Taliban as the only reality in Afghanistan, compared to six months back.

Niklasson added that many still see the Taliban as the most important part of Afghan society, certainly as the most important actor, but many believe that in a few years, the prospect of change exists.

The EU Special Representative added that regional actors prioritise the fight against terrorism over women's rights, which he said has been problematic.

The heads of the three Taliban government bodies signed a memorandum of understanding on electronic revenue collection on Tuesday.

Faqir Mohammad Ziad, head of the Taliban Statistics and Information Authority, said that the digital collection of revenues will create more transparency and facilitate the Afghan citizens’ access to the system.

He asked the Taliban Central Bank to encourage private banks to introduce the online banking system for their customers.

Taliban officials said that the revenues of most government offices have been collected electronically.

Iran is one of the few countries whose embassy continued to operate after the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Taliban enjoys close relations with Tehran and Taliban officials have continuously visited the country in the past one year. However, sometimes border tensions have arisen between the Taliban and Iranian border guards.

The Taliban reign in Afghanistan has caused many countries, especially the Central Asian states, and Afghanistan's neighbours, to worry about threats that could emerge from Afghanistan.

Several countries have so far cautioned that the presence of foreign terrorist groups in Afghanistan will endanger regional stability.

However, earlier reports of the massive export of Afghan coal to Pakistan and its sale "in Pakistani rupees instead of US dollars" had provoked protests among Afghanistan’s citizens.

Pakistani media reported in July that Pakistan has started importing Afghan coal. The hike in imports from Afghanistan to Pakistan during the 1st quarter of this year is also due to an increase in procurement of coal from Afghanistan by Pakistan, which has shown an increase of 484 percent during the first quarter of 2022-23, after the government of Pakistan allowed use of Afghan coal in power generation.

As per Pakistani media reports, in the month of September 2022, imports from Afghanistan to Pakistan have increased by 58% from $79.12 million to $125.36 million as compared to the month of September last year. Whereas in the 1st Quarter of FY 23, imports from Afghanistan have increased by 67% from $151.19 million to $252.82 million as compared to previous FY same period.

According to Afghanistan International sources, the registration of Afghan immigrants with a history of serving in the Afghan security and defense forces has been going on in Iran wherein they have been pledged to be granted Russian citizenship and a good salary, if they go to fight in Ukraine.

A Taliban official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Afghanistan International, that Iran has built a base for these former Afghan security forces members in Mashhad city and the group has credible documents of it.

According to the Taliban official, the group is worried that the Islamic Republic will use these forces in the future against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

After the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021, thousands of Afghan citizens have immigrated to Iran, most of whom have been former Afghan security forces.

Iran has a history of using Afghan refugees in the Syrian war against ISIS and other groups.