Polio Vaccination Campaign Starts In 14 Provinces Of Afghanistan
The polio vaccination campaign for children started on October 23 in 14 provinces of Afghanistan.
The polio vaccination campaign for children started on October 23 in 14 provinces of Afghanistan.
Children under the age of five will be vaccinated in Kunduz, Takhar, Baghlan, Parwan, Kapisa, Kabul, Kunar, Nuristan, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Ghazni provinces.
Residents of these provinces have been urged to vaccinate their children so that this disease can be eradicated in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are two countries in the world that have not yet succeeded in eradicating polio.
Earlier, health officials in Afghanistan had warned that this disease is increasing rapidly in the country.
According to these officials, this year at least six positive cases of polio have been registered in Nangarhar province.
Following the mistreatment of Afghan refugees in Iran, Afghanistan International has received a video clip which shows an Afghan immigrant being subjected to sexual violence and torture.
In the video, the individual’s hands have been tied behind his back and there is blood oozing from his head and face, while a man uses a sharp object on his face.
The video clip also shows that the perpetrator injures the man with a sharp object. Profanity and racial insults are used repeatedly during the video.
The video was recorded by an individual who subjected the refugee to severe torture and stripped them of their clothing.
The exact time of when the recording had been made is not clear; however, Afghanistan International's investigation indicates that this video had not been previously shared on social media.
During the conversations, it has been explicitly mentioned that the video was recorded in "Iran”. Nevertheless, the video has been captured at night, and no signs are visible to help identify its exact location.
This 2-minute and 14-second video clip features a middle-aged Afghan migrant man being forced into confessing to a sexual relationship with an Iranian woman.
The Afghan immigrant talks about the sexual relationship under pressure, but it is not clear whether it is true, or it has been with the consent of both parties.
After the takeover of power by the Taliban, millions of Afghan citizens have been displaced and many of them sought refuge in neighbouring countries, including Pakistan and Iran.
Recently, many inside Iran criticised the presence of Afghan immigrants in Iran, resulting in incidents of violent reactions towards Afghan refugees.
On October 6, Afghanistan International received another video clip that showed a group of people attacking Afghan immigrants' houses with stones and sticks in Eqbaliyeh city of Qazvin province.
Following the release of this video on Afghanistan International TV, the Iranian police announced the arrest of 19 people for allegedly attacking Afghan refugees’ homes in Eqbaliyeh city.
Sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistani police officials have started house-to-house search operations of Afghan immigrants at night and transfer them to prison.
These operations are taking place after Pakistan has decided to deport Afghan refugees who do not have legal documentation.
An Afghan migrant in the city of Karachi told Afghanistan International that Pakistani police officials enter houses of Afghan immigrants in the middle of the night without prior notice.
According to him, the purpose of house-to-house search operations is to identify Afghan refugees.
Afghanistan International has also received a video of one such night raid by the Pakistani police at an Afghan immigrant’s house in Karachi.
Pakistan has announced that 1.7 million Afghan immigrants live in Pakistan without legal documentation.
Afghan immigrants in Pakistan said that the new policy of the Pakistani government towards refugees and immigrants has made life difficult for them.
The government of Pakistan has given all the immigrants it considers "illegal" until November 1 to leave the country.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said in a press conference in Islamabad last week that Afghans have been involved in terrorist attacks in various areas of Pakistan.
Pakistan's interior minister has emphasised that the property of illegal immigrants in the country will be confiscated after the deadline for departure is over.
International organisations and human rights groups have criticised the Taliban’s deportation of Afghans. United Nations human rights experts have urged Pakistan to refrain from deporting Afghans.
The Taliban has also asked Pakistan to reconsider its decision about Afghan refugees. Earlier, Mullah Yaqoob, Taliban’s Defence Minister, called Pakistan's treatment of Afghan immigrants as "barbaric" and said that the deportation of Afghan immigrants harms the relations between the two countries.
Despite these widespread criticisms, Pakistan has deported thousands of Afghans so far. In the latest case, the Ministry of Refugees of the Taliban announced on Saturday, the return of 6,450 Afghan refugees from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
The European Union (EU) announced on Saturday that it has allocated 9.9 million euros to support elementary schools in Afghanistan.
The donation will be sent to the World Food Programme (WFP) to support approximately two million girls and boys in elementary schools in Afghanistan.
According to the EU statement, with this funding, the WFP will be able to provide snacks for nearly 900,000 boys and more than 850,000 girls in elementary schools.
The aid will support elementary school students in Nangarhar, Ghor, Jowzjan, Nuristan, and Farah provinces during the next two years.
WFP will distribute biscuits, cookie rolls, dried fruit and nuts, and bread to these students during the summer break.
On Saturday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced the return of 6,450 Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
In a statement, the group stated that these refugees entered Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing on October 19 and 20.
The Taliban said that the refugees who returned to Afghanistan include 1,062 families and have been referred to the International Organisation for Migration for assistance.
The Pakistani government has asked 1.7 million migrants and refugees without legal documentation to leave the country by November 1. In the past few months, Islamabad police have detained and forcibly deported thousands of Afghans for not having official residency documents.
The UK Foreign Office warned its citizens about the dangers of travelling to Afghanistan and asked them not to travel to this country.
In a statement on Friday, the UK Foreign Office wrote, "Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Afghanistan."
The statement specifically warned of the risk of "terrorist attacks" around religious sites throughout Afghanistan as well as airports.
While the Taliban have been talking about providing security across Afghanistan for more than two years, the British Foreign Office’s statement stated that the security situation in Afghanistan is unstable.
It also warned about the risk of arrest and detention of British nationals in Afghanistan. The statement added that the British government may not be aware of the detention of its citizens, and as there are significant challenges in communication and consular services, detainees may not be able to contact their relatives and the period of detention may be very long.
Over the last two years, the Taliban has arrested dozens of foreign citizens, including American, British and French nationals.
Detainees in Taliban prisons can hardly contact their family members or have access to a lawyer.
Previously, international human rights organisations have said that the principles of fair trial are not observed in Taliban detention centres and courts. Access to a fair trial is more difficult for Afghan citizens who are imprisoned in Taliban prisons than foreigners.
The statement of the British Foreign Office states that there is no British consular official in Afghanistan and the ability of the ministry to provide consular assistance is severely limited.
It added, "If you are a British national already resident in Afghanistan, you should carefully consider the risk to your safety and security from staying there. The situation could change quickly and without warning."