Taliban Announces End of Attack on Chinese Guest House in Kabul

Earlier, Reuters reported that gunmen had opened fire inside a building in Kabul where several foreigners have been living.

The Chinese embassy in Kabul has not commented on the attack so far.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted witnesses as saying that the sound of an explosion and shooting was heard near a famous Chinese guest house in Kabul.

"The explosion was very strong and then, there was a lot of gunfire," the witness told AFP.

There are no reports about the casualties of this attack and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The US diplomat stressed that she has engaged with several Afghan human rights activists on Friday. According to Decker, these human rights defenders are championing access to education, the right to work, and the protection of Afghanistan’s diverse population, and they are the bravest people she has known.

The US embassy’s statement about human rights in Afghanistan comes when the United Nations is celebrating the annual International Human Rights Day on December 10.

Many of the basic rights of Afghan people, especially girls and women, are being violated by the Taliban restrictions on an everyday basis.

On this year’s Human Rights Day (December 10), the UN also asked Taliban to live up to the commitments listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which Afghanistan is a signatory.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and those who assume to govern have an immense responsibility as duty-bearers to each and every man, woman and child,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.

The UN statement noted that despite announcing a general amnesty for former government officials and security force members and despite promising a more lenient approach towards women and girls in Afghanistan, there has been a marked deterioration of the population’s enjoyment of their basic human rights and freedoms.

UN added that the Taliban is responsible and accountable for the deteriorating situation because have limited dissent by cracking down on protests and curbing media freedoms.

The global organisation also reiterated their call for the release of Zafira Yaqobi and four other women’s right activists who remain in Taliban custody despite being in jail for more than one month now after their arrests in Kabul on 3 November.

The United Nations also stated that corporal punishments such as public floggings constitute a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and urged for abolishing the death penalty.

After their return to power in August 2021, the Taliban imposed severe restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan.

The group has deprived Afghan women and girls of many of their rights. Among others, the Taliban has closed down secondary and high schools for Afghan girls and have restricted women’s presence at amusement parks, stadiums, and women's bathrooms.

The Taliban has also ordered that Afghan women can’t travel alone and should be accompanied by a male relative. On the other hand, the Taliban dismissed a large number of women working in government institutions and many women lost their jobs due to the strict policies of the group in the private sector.

Afghan women have repeatedly protested against the strict laws of the Taliban for more than a year, but they have faced repression, detention, and torture by the group.

Despite the pressures from human rights organisations, the Taliban has not stopped their strict rule against women in Afghanistan.

The Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul was shot at from a building adjacent to the embassy on December 2, however, he was not injured. ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, Pakistani officials said that they were investigating the attack.

Hours after the attack, the Taliban had announced the arrest of a suspect from a building near the Pakistani embassy.

This attack was met with many domestic and international reactions.

Soon after the attack, the Pakistani embassy announced that it will continue to operate in Kabul.