State Department Continues to Mislead Public on Failed Afghanistan Withdrawal, Says McCaul

Somaiya Walizada, a member of the jury of AFJC, said that this year the title has been jointly awarded to these three journalists.

Walizada added that the jury selected Yaqubi for the documentary "Mosafer Darya" which tells the story of illegal migration of photographer and filmmaker, Barat Ali Batoor to Australia, who had documented his long journey from Afghanistan to Australia.

Hanif had been selected for the award because of his reports about the earthquake victims of Paktika province and Wafa has been awarded for continuing to pursue journalism despite restrictions imposed by the Taliban.

The Journalist of the Year Award ceremony was held on Wednesday in Brussels.

In a message sent to the award ceremony, Yaqubi said that Afghanistan under the Taliban reign has transformed into a silent country which increases the responsibility of journalists and media outside Afghanistan to continue their professional journalistic work despite challenges regarding access to information inside the country.

The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on journalists and media outlets since August 15, 2021. During this time, many media outlets have shut down and media workers have fled Afghanistan.

Ahmadi said that the Taliban fighters intended to search people’s houses in one of the villages, but they faced resistance from two of the NRF forces.

Local sources confirmed the clash on Tuesday night in Andarab district of Baghlan province to Afghanistan International. However, sources didn’t provide precise information regarding the casualties of the incident.

Ahmadi said that these two members who clashed with the Taliban fighters were brothers and former members of Afghanistan national police and army.

Taliban officials didn’t comment in this regard.

As per the report, UAE authorities have arbitrarily detained between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans for over 15 months in the “Emirates Humanitarian City,” a humanitarian logistics hub in Abu Dhabi.

“Emirati authorities have kept thousands of Afghan asylum seekers locked up for over 15 months in cramped, miserable conditions with no hope of progress on their cases,” said Joey Shea, United Arab Emirates researcher at Human Rights Watch. “After enduring significant trauma fleeing Afghanistan, they are facing further trauma now, after spending well over a year in limbo in the UAE.”

Afghans, staying at the camp who have been interviewed by HRW, reported constraints on their freedom of movement, lack of access to fair and effective refugee status determination and safe and legal pathways for onward movement, lack of adequate access to legal counsel, and inadequate education services for children.

Living conditions have also deteriorated significantly, with detainees describing overcrowding, decay of infrastructure, and insect infestations, the report added.

The Afghans also stated that they are not allowed to freely leave the housing complex and are only permitted essential hospital visits under close supervision by security guards or minders from the camp.

The only other occasion when Afghans are allowed to leave the camp is when authorities took a group to a shopping mall, but they are accompanied and supervised by guards throughout the visit.

The rights organisation stated that the UAE should ensure that Afghans have access to counsel and legal services as many Afghans had been trying to apply for US resettlement but had not had fair and effective refugee status determination or other international protection procedures, or opportunities for onward movement.

The continued detention of the Afghans is unnecessary and arbitrary, Human Rights Watch said.

HRW urged the UAE government to investigate human rights violations that have occurred in Humanitarian City. It asked the UAE authorities to urgently identify and release children, pregnant and nursing women. It also stated that adequate healthcare should be provided to those detained.

It stated that the US government should leverage its influence with UAE authorities to urge the UAE to release detained Afghan evacuees, ensure they all have access to fair and individualized processes for assessing their legal status and protection needs.

In the weeks and months after the Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021, the United States, NATO, UAE, and other governments evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans to locations around the world. The UAE government took thousands of Afghans on private chartered flights to Abu Dhabi, and then transferred them to the Emirates Humanitarian City and Tasameem Workers City (TWC), another housing facility, pending onward movement. While many were later resettled in the US, Canada, and elsewhere, between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans remain arbitrarily detained in the UAE as of early January 2023.

The Institute of Economics and Peace stressed that casualties caused by terrorist attacks in Afghanistan have also decreased by 75 percent.

The Taliban were using terrorist attacks in their war against foreign forces and the previous government. According to the reports of reliable authorities, civilian casualties in the past decade were mainly caused by Taliban terrorist attacks.

Sirajuddin Haqqani admitted in a speech in 2022 in Kandahar that only 1,050 members of the Haqqani network were involved in suicide attacks in the last decade.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for some of the bloody terrorist attacks, including a suicide attack near the Ministry of Interior in 2018. In this attack, more than 100 people were killed and more than 150 people were injured.

Coupled with the above, the Australian think-tank said that ISIS is now the most important threat to the security and safety of the people of Afghanistan.

The "Global Terrorism Index" report of the Australian think tank shows that 22 provinces of Afghanistan witnessed terrorist activities in 2022. Most of the terrorist attacks were mainly conducted by ISIS that took place in Kabul city, and claimed the lives of 217 people.

Noori added that an armed man entered the room where he was being treated and said, "I wish they were all dead."

Noori criticised the Taliban members and said that their comments were tougher to bear than the sound of the explosion which injured him.

Earlier, it was also reported that after the explosion in Mazar-e-Sharif, the Taliban had searched the journalists injured at the scene.

Noori stressed that he has suffered injuries on his leg and his hearing has been damaged in the explosion.

Pajhwok News Agency has not commented on Noori’s criticisms about the explosion and the Taliban’s treatment of him.

Following the explosion, the local Taliban officials said that one person was killed and eight people were injured, but the Tebyan Cultural Center reported three dead and 30 wounded.