Taliban’s Treatment of Women Is Concerning, Says Washington

The border was reinstated on Tuesday, facilitating the entry of the first Afghan commercial truck into Pakistan. Local sources have shared images depicting this inaugural crossing.

Previously, Pakistani authorities had implemented a visa requirement for Afghan lorry drivers at the Torkham border. This policy led to many drivers being unable to cross due to the absence of visas and passports, effectively preventing their entry into Pakistan.

In response to Pakistan's visa policy, the Taliban introduced a prohibition on Pakistani commercial lorries entering Afghanistan. This reciprocal action halted commercial activities at this critical border crossing, resulting in significant financial losses for exporters on both sides.

Recent reports indicate ongoing discussions between the Taliban and Pakistani authorities regarding the reopening of the Torkham border, although the details of these negotiations have not been disclosed.

Pakistani news sources have reported a meeting between a delegation from the Taliban, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce, and Pakistani officials at the Pakistani embassy in Kabul. Following these discussions, Pakistan decided to lift the visa requirement for Afghan lorry drivers until 31 March, leading to the reopening of the border.

Taliban officials have recently confirmed the reopening of the Torkham border crossing.

According to their statement, these individuals participated in "terrorist activities" against security forces and civilians.

However, it is unclear which group these individuals had been affiliated with.

Pakistan army says that it has seized weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the terrorists.

Following the takeover of power by the Taliban in August 2021, Pakistan has witnessed an unprecedented surge of violence in the country.

In the first week of 2024, the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies reported a 17 percent rise in armed attacks in Pakistan in 2023.

The institute said that 78 percent of the attacks were carried out by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ISIS, and Baloch separatists.

Mujahid, in a social media post on the X network, noted that medical teams had provided the necessary first aid to these individuals.

Mujahid had earlier confirmed finding a downed Russian airplane in the Kuf Ab district of Badakhshan province, affirming that the pilot and three passengers survived the crash.

Furthermore, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, quoting a source within the Russian aviation authority, suggested that strong winds or a fuel shortage could have been factors leading to the crash. The source highlighted the presence of strong headwinds on Saturday, which might have played a role in the incident.

Russia Today (RT) shared details about the passengers on the missing aircraft in Badakhshan. The plane was reportedly carrying a Russian couple returning from a vacation in Thailand. The illness of one of the passengers necessitated their early return to Russia.

UNAMA published a report on Monday about the situation of human rights in Afghanistan covering October to December 2023. In its report, UNAMA also mentioned that a Taliban ombudsman told an unmarried woman at a health centre that she would lose her job if she did not get married.

As per UNAMA, Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice officials said that it is not appropriate for unmarried women to work.

In the report released on Monday, covering the final three months of 2023, UNAMA has reported mass dismissal of women from their jobs by the Taliban in many provinces.

The report states that on October 22, in Nangarhar province, Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice banned nearly 400 women from working in a pine nut processing factory, while the men were allowed to continue their work.

UNAMA wrote that no reason has been provided for the ban.

On November 22, in Balkh province, a power plant under the control of the Taliban fired 200 women for financial reasons, but “none of the male employees faced the same action”.

Violence against Hazaras and Shias

This UN organisation also announced that in the last three months of 2023, an explosion in Baghlan, two explosions in Kabul and three targeted assassinations in Herat targeted the Hazaras and Shia community of Afghanistan.

UNAMA stated that in these attacks, at least 49 people were killed, and 88 others were injured.

On October 13, in Pul-e-Khumri city of Baghlan, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives among Shia worshipers in a mosque, killing 21 people and injuring 30 others.

On October 26, an explosion of an IED inside a sports club in Dashte Barchi area killed eight people and injured 35 others.

On November 7, an explosion targeted a passenger bus again in Dashte Barchi, killing 11 and injuring 21.

ISIS-Khorasan claimed responsibility for all three attacks and stated that members of the Shia community were targeted.

Chain assassinations of Shia clerics in Herat

UNAMA’s report stated that in the last three months of 2023, a series of targeted killings of Shia religious scholars were carried out in Jibreal area of Herat city.

On October 22, a Shiite cleric was shot dead. On November 23, two Shia clerics were shot dead; and on December 1, six people (including two Shia religious scholars) were killed and two others got wounded.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for these attacks in Herat and the perpetrators remain unidentified.

They called for a cessation of violence against Hazaras and advocated for women's rights in the country.

Following the repeated and violent attacks of ISIS on Hazaras in western Kabul over the past weeks, concerns within the Hazara community, both inside and outside Afghanistan, have heightened regarding the potential "genocide" of this ethnic and religious group.

At the same time, following the prohibition of work and education for women, the Taliban arrested several girls for not observing the hijab required by the group which faced with strong internal and external reactions.

Most of those detained were Hazara girls in Kabul and Daikundi provinces, which heightened concerns both within and beyond Afghanistan.

On Sunday, demonstrators in multiple German cities, including Berlin and Frankfurt, rallied against the situation of women in Afghanistan, chanting "Hijab is an excuse, the elimination of women is the aim”. They specifically condemned the Taliban's detention of girls.

In Berlin, protesters gathered in front of the German parliament and asked the world to take action to prevent the mass killing of Hazaras and discrimination against women in Afghanistan.

Germany has not yet agreed to the request of Afghan women activists in this country to recognise gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

In Rome, the capital of Italy, demonstrators denounced the "Hazara Massacre" as the "longest genocide in history" and expressed their protest. They were specifically referencing to the 19th-century massacre and suppression of the Hazaras by Abdul Rahman Khan.

During the marches protesting against the "genocide of the Hazaras" in European cities, individuals from various Afghan ethnic groups participated. A protester expressed solidarity, during a gathering of Afghans in Strasbourg city of France, stating, "As a Pashtun girl, I stand by my Hazara compatriots.”

Afghan citizens residing in Stockholm, Sweden, organised demonstrations, and considered the situation of women in Afghanistan as an example of "gender apartheid" and the targeted killings of Hazaras as a example of a “genocide”. The protesters called upon the international community to condition aid to Afghanistan on the guarantee of women's rights and the cessation of the "genocide of the Hazaras" in the country.

Members of the "Afghanistan Women's Movement for Justice" in Kabul have shared a video with Afghanistan International, saying that people from all ethnicities in Afghanistan stand united in defending the Hazaras “against genocide”.

Additionally, a group of women in Kabul, through a video, emphasised that the Taliban's nature encompasses a combination of "gender apartheid," "genocide of Hazaras," and “ethnic and linguistic oppression”.

In Tehran, a group of women activists conveyed a similar sentiment in a video. Meanwhile, Afghan women in Islamabad, Pakistan, voiced concerns that the Taliban has taken Afghan women hostage.

The Taliban attributes the violent attacks on Hazaras and Shias in Afghanistan to ISIS and ISIS also claims responsibilities of these attacks. The Taliban has committed to enhancing security measures to safeguard Shia and Hazara citizens.