UN Experts Urge Pakistan To Avoid Associating Afghan Refugees With Terrorism

Rostami reported that his second wife and child, returning from Iran, were apprehended by the Taliban in Nimroz province and subsequently moved to Takhar. He stated that his family resides in Darqad district, Takhar, and he escaped to Iran fearing for his safety following the Taliban's ascension to power.

Despite the Taliban's declaration of a general amnesty and urging of government officials to return to Afghanistan with assurance of safety, Rostami recounted the recent arrest of 12 family members, including his children, on Tuesday, followed by the abduction of four more relatives on Wednesday.

He revealed that after the Taliban's takeover, he fled to Iran with his second wife. Rostami expressed concerns about the Taliban's intentions to force his wife, a Tajikistan national, into marriage with a Taliban commander, despite their lawful marriage.

Rostami, who served as an internal security officer in the Takhar Police Command, claimed that the Taliban have repeatedly searched his house, destroyed his property whilst searching for weapons, and severely beat his teenage daughter, resulting in injuries to her hand and face requiring urgent medical attention.

He has called upon the United Nations and human rights organisations to investigate and address this grave situation.

These sources indicate that the Taliban has been urging Pakistani Taliban leaders to cease their attacks in Pakistan.

Confirmations of these arrests, including some key Pakistani Taliban leaders, have come from both Afghan Taliban insiders and members of the Pakistani Taliban. The apprehensions have occurred in Kabul, Nangarhar, and Kunar recently.

The individuals detained are on Pakistan's most-wanted list, implicated in an assault on a Punjab Air Force training centre, a claim made by Pakistan. Tehreek Jihad Pakistan, an armed faction, took responsibility for this attack.

Afghanistan International Pashto sources revealed the capture of Azhar, Musa, Zishan, and Toor Mullah, key Pakistani Taliban figures, by the Afghan Taliban on the Jalalabad-Kabul highway. Local sources in Kunar also reported the Taliban's detention of five significant TTP leaders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Malakand division three days prior.

A TTP leader expressed to Afghanistan International their challenging situation, noting the commencement of their members' arrests. The Afghan Taliban's intelligence head, Abdul Haq Wathiq, reportedly asked TTP leader Mufti Noor Wali to halt the group's assaults in Pakistan. This also includes a call to stop suicide bombings, with Pakistan alleging Afghan Taliban involvement in such attacks and providing evidence to support this claim.

Sources suggest that due to Pakistan's intense pressure, the TTP was compelled to form a new group, Tehreek Jihad Pakistan, to continue its attacks in Pakistan under a different name. Pakistan asserts this new group is an offshoot of the TTP.

Pakistan has also urged the Afghan Taliban to extradite one of the TTP’s senior leaders Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Pakistani officials warn of retaliatory strikes against the TTP in Afghanistan if terrorist attacks increase in Pakistan.

The TTP, an armed entity, has cooperated with the Afghan Taliban against various forces in Afghanistan for two decades and pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban leader. Neither the Pakistani government nor the Afghan Taliban have officially addressed these developments.

Experts believe that targeting the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan could lead to their opposition to the Afghan Taliban, complicating control efforts. They suggest the Afghan Taliban's efforts to arrest TTP militants are motivated by a desire to avoid conflict in Pakistan and prevent Pakistan from bolstering ISIS in Afghanistan.

In a new report, HRW added that the changes in the education system have led to increased fears about attending school, falling attendance, and a loss of hope for the future.

The report, “‘Schools are Failing Boys Too’: The Taliban’s Impact on Boys’ Education in Afghanistan,” asked governments and UN agencies to urge the Taliban to end their discriminatory ban on girls’ education and to stop violating boys’ rights to quality education.

The report highlighted some of the Taliban policies and practices that are jeopardising education for Afghan boys, including the dismissal of female teachers, increased use of corporal punishment, and regressive changes to the curriculum.

“The Taliban are causing irreversible damage to the Afghan education system for boys as well as girls,” said Sahar Fetrat, assistant women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “By harming the whole school system in the country, they risk creating a lost generation deprived of a quality education.”

The research for the report was conducted remotely by interviewing 22 boys in grades 8 to 12, as well as five parents of boys in the same grade range in Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Farah, Parwan, Bamiyan, Nangarhar, and Daikundi provinces between June and August 2022 and March and April 2023, by HRW.

The report stated that boys and parents described a disturbing spike in the use of corporal punishment, including officials beating boys before the whole school for haircut or clothing infractions or for having a mobile phone. Corporal punishment of children in schools is a violation of their human rights, Human Rights Watch said.

HRW emphasised that the Taliban has eliminated subjects including arts, sports, English, and civic education, causing a decline in educational quality.

Another aspect of education which has been stressed upon in the report is that boys are increasingly struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems in a country where mental health services are sparse.

The report added that the Taliban’s systematic discrimination against women and girls—of which the ban on girls and women studying is only one aspect—is also having harmful effects on boys, including by teaching them harmful gender norms and putting greater pressure on them be the sole financial providers for their families.

Reports from Pakistani media indicate that the closure occurred following a disagreement with Taliban forces over the placement of a new sign at the crossing's entrance. This disagreement led to the Pakistani border officials shutting down the crossing.

Taliban representatives have also confirmed the closure, attributing it to Pakistan. A statement from the Taliban governor's press office in Nangarhar, citing Ismatullah Yaqoob, the Taliban commissioner in Torkham, noted that Pakistani border guards attempted to erect an additional gate next to the existing one, ostensibly to mount a sign on what they claimed as the "presumed line" the previous night.

This Taliban official mentioned that their group obstructed the sign installation, resulting in the subsequent closure of the crossing by Pakistani guards.

Pakistani authorities, however, have yet to officially acknowledge this border closure.

Wenbin said on Tuesday that the recognition of the Taliban government requires the implementation of "political reforms” by the group.

He added that before the Taliban government is fully recognised diplomatically, it must improve domestic security and relations with its neighbours.

Beijing does not recognise the government of the Taliban, but it has maintained diplomatic relations with the group.

Wang Wenbin said that China hopes that the Taliban will pay more attention to the expectations of the international community, create an open and inclusive political structure, and adopt moderate and stable domestic and foreign policies so that they can integrate into the international community at the right time.

He also said that China has asked the Taliban to resolutely fight terrorism and live in harmony with all countries in the world, especially neighbouring countries, and integrate with the international community as soon as possible.

In response to the question of whether China now recognises the Taliban government, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China has always believed that Afghanistan should not be excluded from the international community.

However, since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, no country has recognised the group's rule.