Iran Dispatches Doctors To Imam Khomeini Hospital in Bamiyan

Aug 18, 2023, 15:42 GMT+1

Hassan Mortazavi, Iran’s deputy ambassador in Kabul, visited Bamiyan city and announced that Iranian doctors will be dispatched to the “120-bed Imam Khomeini" hospital in the province.

Mortazavi held talks with Abdullah Sarhadi, the Taliban governor, in Bamiyan province.

According to the statement of the Taliban governor's office in Bamiyan, during the meeting on Thursday, Mortazavi emphasised that the Islamic Republic will send doctors and specialists to the Iranian-built hospital in Bamiyan. He said that this hospital will provide services not only to the citizens of Bamiyan, but also to the patients of the other provinces of Afghanistan.

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196 Terrorists Killed & Arrested In 8 Months In Iran, Says Islamic Republic Intel Agency

Aug 18, 2023, 13:30 GMT+1

The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic announced that 196 "Takfiri terrorists" had been killed or arrested between October 2022 and July 2023.

According to the Iranian intelligence ministry, these arrests took place in the period between the two terrorist attacks on the Shah Cheragh shrine.

The ministry added that during this period, "terrorists " made several attempts to attack religious places in Iran.

On October 26, 2022, terrorists attacked Shah Cheragh shrine due to which 13 people died and another 25 were left wounded. ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Islamic Republic arrested 26 people who, according to the authorities, were citizens of "Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan” in connection with last year’s attack.

Earlier, the judiciary of the Islamic Republic also executed two Afghan citizens who had been accused of organising the attack on Shah Cheragh.

Eight months after the first attack on Shah Cheragh, another attack targeted the shrine in which at least two people were killed and seven people were injured.

Iranian authorities have said that about twenty people, including the main perpetrator of the shooting, have been arrested.

Earlier, Tasnim news agency reported that Rahmatullah Nowrozov, the shooter of the recent Shah Cheragh attack, was trained by ISIS in Afghanistan.

Afghan Healthcare Sector Crumbling, Says WHO As It Appeals For More Donors

Aug 18, 2023, 12:04 GMT+1

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in a new statement has announced that Afghanistan’s health sector is facing significant barriers to delivering holistic services to the Afghan people.

It urged the international community to unite with WHO to help tackle the ongoing humanitarian health crisis in Afghanistan.

The new Alert issued by WHO on Friday underscores the crucial importance of ramping up investment in healthcare services provision in Afghanistan, particularly in the underserved areas where the healthcare infrastructure is severely under-resourced and remain vulnerable due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The global healthcare body added that the revised Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023 reveals an alarming increase in the number of people in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

As per the plan, at least 28.8 million people in Afghanistan require immediate assistance, up from 18.4 million prior to August 2021.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said, "The situation in Afghanistan is grave, and the lack of resources and funding to support health workers and facilities is putting countless lives at risk. Women and children are suffering the most. I call on donors to give generously so that we can continue our life-saving work”.

Dr Luo Dapeng, WHO Representative to Afghanistan, also expressed concern about the underfunding of the health system and emphasised the need for immediate action, while also taking the opportunity to extend his appreciation to partners.

WHO added that without sufficient funding, eight million people in Afghanistan will lose access to essential and potentially lifesaving health assistance, and 450,000 patients will have little to no access to life-saving trauma care services, including blood transfusions and referrals.

Afghanistan Freedom Front Attacks Taliban Outpost in Parwan, Kills 5

Aug 18, 2023, 10:30 GMT+1

Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) announced that the front’s fighters have killed five Taliban members and wounded three others in an attack on a Taliban outpost in the Bagram district of Parwan province.

AFF added that this attack took place on Thursday night in the "Sar-e Joy Rabat" area of the Bagram district.

Afghanistan Freedom Front has said that armed clashes with the Taliban continued for about an hour and its fighters used "light and heavy weapons".

The front has published a video clip of this operation on its X account too.

AFF stressed that its fighters ambushed Taliban forces dispatched from the Bagram airfield too, but there are no details about the casualties inflicted on the Taliban.

The front said that its forces were not harmed in this attack.

The Taliban have not yet commented on this attack of the Afghanistan Freedom Front.

AFF has increased its attacks on Taliban targets in recent weeks in northern provinces and the capital, Kabul.

Taliban’s Intelligence Agency Detains Afghan State Broadcaster’s Employee In Kabul

Aug 18, 2023, 09:44 GMT+1

Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) detained Ziaul Haq, an employee of Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), on Thursday.

Sources told Afghanistan International that Haq had been detained for broadcasting an advertisement related to cricket matches which featured a woman.

Ziaul Haq had been the head of evaluation of RTA and had continued working for the TV Station after the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Local sources said that the Taliban officials detained him on Thursday at the entrance of RTA which is located in Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul. According to a source, Ziaul Haq was beaten up by the Taliban officials when he was detained.

Sources added that the Taliban officials also threatened the staff at the RTA news department for broadcasting women’s comments during a live televised news conference. It has been said that the broadcast of images of a woman who did not cover her face during the press conference provoked the anger of the Taliban’s intelligence agency.

Officials of RTA, which is under the control of the Taliban, did not respond to Afghanistan International on the issue of the detention of the TV station’s employee.

RTA is a state broadcaster which is now controlled by the Taliban after the group’s takeover of Afghanistan.

Taliban Detained Journalists in Six Provinces, Says United Nations

Aug 17, 2023, 15:13 GMT+1

With an increase in the detention of Afghan journalists by the Taliban, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) announced that the group has detained media workers in six provinces in the past ten days.

Earlier, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had also announced the detention of nine journalists by the Taliban in the last 10 days.

On Thursday, UNAMA added that the organisation seeks to remind the Taliban of their “obligations under international law to respect, uphold and promote rights to freedom of opinion and expression”.

The UN agency also mentioned the rights of all those in custody, including the right to meet with their families, access to a lawyer, and be informed of the charges against them.

Without providing the details about media workers’ detention, UNAMA stressed that Mortaza Behboudi, an Afghan French journalist, and Matiullah Wesa, an activist for girls' education, are being held by the Taliban too.

During the last two years, the Taliban has widely suppressed the media and arrested and tortured journalists.

According to the recent report by "Afghan Witness", a UK-based group, at least 98 journalists and media workers have been detained by the Taliban in the last two years.

Nai, an organisation supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, on Friday, announced that the Taliban have detained five journalists in the past week.

On August 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on the Taliban to end the "relentless campaign" of suppression and intimidation of the media in Afghanistan.

According to CPJ, the Taliban has continued "censorship, beatings, and arbitrary detentions of journalists" in the last two years in Afghanistan.