Former Jihadi Commander Killed in Takhar
Local sources told Afghanistan International that Abdul Ghafar Saber, one of the former Jihadi commanders, was assassinated on Monday, in Rostaq district of Takhar province.
Local sources told Afghanistan International that Abdul Ghafar Saber, one of the former Jihadi commanders, was assassinated on Monday, in Rostaq district of Takhar province.
Saber's relatives have also confirmed his death.
So far, the motive behind his murder is not clear.
A source said that he was one of the companions and commanders of Piram Qol Ziaee and was probably killed due to personal enmity.
On the other hand, in the past two years, commanders and former security forces members have also been killed in the same way, which was attributed to revenge killing of Taliban members.
Thomas West, US Special Representative for Afghanistan, describes Taliban's fight against ISIS-K as serious.
During a speech at the Stimson Center on Tuesday, West said that the Taliban have killed at least eight ISIS-K commanders in Afghanistan in the past two years and that ISIS-K attacks on civilians, especially members of Hazara ethnic group, have decreased.
He added that he does not want to "exaggerate" the impact of the Taliban crackdown on ISIS-K activities, but ISIS-K attacks on civilians are not as often as before.
A day after the anniversary of the September 11 attack in 2001 by Al-Qaeda, the US representative delivered a speech at this center regarding the withdrawal of US forces and its impact on Afghanistan.
According to West, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is now a security threat in the region.
Pakistan has accused the Afghan Taliban of not being able to control the Pakistani militia staying in Afghanistan. The sharp increase in terrorist attacks in Pakistan has been attributed to the activities of TTP and their freedom of action in Afghanistan following the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.
So far, Washington has not taken a position regarding Islamabad's requests to the Taliban to prevent the infiltration and attacks of Pakistani militia. Also, in the past two years, Washington has not seriously criticised the Taliban's relationship with the TTP and other militant groups, which are considered a threat by the regional countries.
Lotte Knudsen, Head of Delegation of the EU to the UN, said that to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan, an inclusive political process with the participation of all Afghans, including women and ethnic and religious minorities, is necessary.
Knudsen also asked the Taliban to end human rights violations.
At the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday, she called on the Taliban to erode policies that lead to the exclusion of women from the social, economic and civil spheres.
Knudsen stressed that ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan depends on an inclusive political process with the participation of all Afghans, including women, ethnic and religious minorities, as well as the LGBT community.
Knudsen also called for the accountability of the group regarding repeated violations of human rights "necessary".
The international community and regional countries have always asked the Taliban to agree to the formation of an inclusive government, but the Taliban has not yet complied to the international demands.
The United Nations Human Rights Council started its 54th session on Monday. A major part of the speeches on the first day of this summit had been devoted to the situation in Afghanistan.
Volker Türk, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, said that despite the Taliban's announced general amnesty, extra-judicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests have resumed in Afghanistan.
Türk added that the UN continues documenting human rights violations against former employees and security forces members of the previous Afghan government.
On Monday, the UN official at the meeting of the Human Rights Council said that since the takeover of Kabul, Taliban has imposed a systematic assault on the people that violates human rights and freedoms of people, especially women and girls.
Referring to the prohibition of education for women and girls, he described the Taliban’s oppression against women and girls as "cruel".
According to Türk, the Taliban's increasing restrictions on women and girls’ fundamental freedoms, confines them “to the four walls of their homes”.
He added that women and girls' disobedience to the Taliban rules leads to arbitrary arrest, harassment, and even physical violence.
Türk also said that in the past two years of the Taliban’s rule, laws and institutions that once had been supplying protection for human rights, have been systematically eroded.
According to him, the laws that previously protected women from violence or enabled a good environment for the media, are now suspended.
Türk added that the Taliban have resumed corporal punishment and public executions. “There are ongoing reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and ill-treatment as well as arbitrary arrests and detentions,” he said.
He stated that in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, rights of accused people are being violated due to failure to maintain procedural safeguards and the absence of a criminal justice system.
He said that the Taliban has appointed bodies to monitor prisons and the judicial process, but so far it has not been seen how these institutions work.
In his speech at the Human Rights Council, Türk addressed Taliban’s repressive actions toward the media too.
He said that the Taliban's restrictions on the media represented a "targeted attack" on freedom of expression and opinion.
This UN official said that journalists in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan are being prohibited from publishing content that is against the Taliban's religious interpretation.
He also pointed to the banning of foreign films and covering female presenter’s faces on television.
According to him, the Taliban's restrictions have caused many media outlets to halt operations. Civil society faces similar restrictions, he said.
He added that with arbitrary arrests, the Taliban uses it as a tool to silence “dissents and free speech”.
The United Nations Human Rights Council started its 54th session on Monday. A major part of the speeches on the first day of this summit had been devoted to the situation in Afghanistan.
Nicholas Kay, former British ambassador to Afghanistan, said that the Taliban regime will not last long because Afghans do not see themselves living under the group’s rule.
In an interview with Afghanistan International, Kay said that Afghanistan will witness another tumultuous change.
On Monday, Kay mentioned the reasons which portray how vulnerable, fragile and isolated the Taliban is.
He said that before the Taliban assumes that they will remain in power forever, they should look at history, the Afghan people and other regional stakeholders.
This former British ambassador pointed to the history of Afghanistan over the last fifty years which has experienced at least seven different regimes.
He said that this historical evidence shows that Afghanistan is about to witness another tumultuous change.
Kay pointed to the political isolation of the Taliban by the international community; internal differences among the group; tense relations with neighbouring countries, especially Pakistan; severe decline in international aid and the lack of an inclusive government, which, according to him, has alarmed the group.
This former British official said that so far, no country has recognised the Taliban and the group is vulnerable due to the international isolation.
He said that the weaknesses of the Taliban can lead to an uprising and rebellion inside Afghanistan.
Security sources in Pakistan said that Padshah Khan Mehsud, one of the senior commanders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had been injured in an attack in Afghanistan on Sunday.
Mehsud is believed to be the TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud's "right-hand man" and confidant.
However, Afghanistan International's sources did not mention who targeted Mehsud.
So far, there is no information about his health condition.
TTP has not officially confirmed or denied attack on Mehsud or his injury.