Media Report Suggests Taliban Jammed Afghan TV Station 'With Iran's Help'

In the last week, the group has blocked broadcasts of Afghan International TV (AITV) into the country, denying people the last outlet to uncensored information. The jamming began on September 5 in what the channel called “a blatant violation of the free flow of information and a direct assault on press freedom”.

A ground station inside Afghanistan is sending the disruptive signals back to AITV’s broadcasting satellite, violating international regulations established by the International Telecommunication Union.

As per some sources at Iran International, the London-based sister channel of the station, who spoke to the media outlet, disclosed that a month before the incident the Taliban had “acquired the equipment and expertise for orbital jamming, with the intention of using it against us”.

“We do not have information on where or how the Taliban acquired the knowledge and technology, but we know that the Iranian regime supports the Taliban, and as mentioned earlier, Iran has the necessary expertise,” the source said.

Previously Iran International itself had experienced satellite jamming during the Mahsa Amini protests from 2022 to 2023, from a ground station in Karaj near Tehran.

AITV was launched on the day the Taliban took over the country on August 15, 2021 and soon became the most watched channel for news for its extensive coverage. Since then the station has been seen as a crucial outlet for reliable, unbiased news for the Afghan people following the extremists' victory.

But in May this year the Taliban banned people from co-operating with it with the Ministry of Information saying that “participating in discussions and facilitating the broadcast of this media outlet in public places is prohibited”.

“The Taliban's jamming of our satellite signal is a desperate attempt to silence the voice of the Afghan people,” said the station’s executive editor Harun Najafizada.

He added that it was part of a “systemic campaign to suppress independent media” as the Taliban fears “a well-informed populace” while it keeps its grip on power with censorship and propaganda.

The US State Department also condemned the action stating that the country had “regressed into one of the most restrictive environments for journalists”.

Previously Iran International itself had experienced satellite jamming during the Mahsa Amini protests from 2022 to 2023, from a ground station in Karaj near Tehran.

“The Taliban's jamming of our satellite signal is a desperate attempt to silence the voice of the Afghan people,” said the station’s executive editor Harun Najafizada.

The US State Department also condemned the action stating that the country had “regressed into one of the most restrictive environments for journalists”.

Don’t Just Look At Security Issues, Expand Trade, Says Taliban’s Foreign Minister

Sep 17, 2024, 09:22 GMT+1

During a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Kabul, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister called on neighbouring countries and the region not to look at Afghanistan solely from a security perspective.

Muttaqi stressed that countries should work on expanding economic cooperation with the Taliban instead of focusing on security issues.
The Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted ambassadors and representatives of foreign countries and organisations in Kabul on Monday.

Muttaqi stated at the meeting, "A bilateral or multilateral view of issues from a security perspective alone is not the solution, and such an attitude destroys common economic opportunities."

Muttaqi is referring to the concerns that the countries of the region have about militant and terrorist groups on Afghan soil. These groups are mainly a threat to Central Asian countries, China and Pakistan. The Taliban has ignored the request of these countries to expel terrorist groups from Afghan territory.

Pakistan claims that Afghan soil is being used against the country's security and stability. Pakistani officials have repeatedly called on the Taliban to stop attacks by the TTP and hand over the group's leaders to Islamabad.

The Taliban's foreign minister said that "realistic, logical and practical steps must be taken to ensure security and stability," without elaborating on these steps.

Muttaqi called on the countries of the region to work together to secure legitimate interests, put aside minor issues, and focus on expanding economic cooperation.

In part of his speech, he said that the Taliban government is working on opening embassies outside the region and providing transparent and standard consular services to the people.

He also stressed that the Taliban prioritises relations with Arab countries.

Recently, the Taliban's relations with the United Arab Emirates have expanded.

45,000 Afghans Sought Asylum In Europe This Year

Sep 16, 2024, 18:04 GMT+1

The European Union Agency for Asylum reported on Monday that 45,000 Afghans have applied for asylum in European countries in the first half of 2024.

According to the report, Afghans were the second largest group of asylum seekers in Europe after Syrians.

The organisation's report, published on Monday, said that 513,000 people had applied for asylum in European countries till the end of July.

The EU refugee agency wrote that this figure was stable compared to the first six months of 2023, but there were some changes at the local level.

During this period, 71,000 Syrian citizens have applied for asylum in various European countries, as the largest group of asylum seekers.

According to the report, Afghans submitted the most asylum applications to Germany, Greece, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, and other countries, respectively.

According to the report, the number of Afghans seeking asylum in European countries has decreased by 18% compared to the same period in 2023.

The report also emphasised that the acceptance rate of Afghans in EU member states was about 65 percent.

Recently, immigration policies in many European countries have been tightened in their refusal to accept migrants with the aim of reducing illegal arrivals.

Taliban Publicly Flogs Nearly 40 People In One Month

Sep 16, 2024, 15:45 GMT+1

The Taliban's Supreme Court has reported the flogging of at least 37 people, including women, from mid-August to mid-September.

The Taliban have convicted the men on charges such as running away from home, theft, blasphemy, extramarital sex, and same-sex relations.

The Taliban's Supreme Court announces the execution of the flogging sentences of the defendants in various provinces a few days a week.

According to statements published on the court's X social media account, the Taliban have flogged people in Maidan Wardak, Khost, Bamyan, Parwan, Ghazni, Helmand, Zabul, and Kabul provinces for more than a month.

The majority of the court's statements stated that the people were flogged in front of the public and local officials of the group.
The Taliban's implementation of corporal punishment has been criticised by human rights organisations.

The Taliban, however, has ignored calls to stop corporal punishment of citizens, and the group's officials have consistently emphasised on the implementation of the "Hudud Sharia law”.
Human rights organisations say that the Taliban's judicial system is completely substandard and that defendants are deprived of due process, such as the right to a lawyer.

In addition, during more than three years of the Taliban's rule, documented reports of Taliban members violating the group's laws, such as extramarital sex and same-sex relations, have been published, but the Taliban have not yet announced their prosecution in any case.

Taliban Suspends Polio Vaccination Campaign in Afghanistan

Sep 16, 2024, 14:09 GMT+1

The Taliban on Monday suspended a polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported, citing the United Nations.

The reason for the suspension of the campaign has not yet been announced, and Taliban officials have not publicly commented on the matter.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries in the world which have not been able to stop the spread of this deadly and paralysing disease among children.

A senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official told The Associated Press that he is aware of discussions about changing the approach from door-to-door vaccination to vaccination in places such as mosques.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has so far confirmed 18 cases of polio in Afghanistan this year. Except for two cases, all of them have been reported in the south of the country. This figure shows an increase compared to six cases in 2023.

Trump’s Assassination: Suspected Gunman Wanted to “Take Afghan Troops to Ukraine”

Sep 16, 2024, 12:38 GMT+1

The New York Times has reported that Trump assassination suspect Ryan Wesley Routh said last year that he was looking to recruit former Afghan troops to fight in Ukraine.

"We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country," Routh had said.

On Sunday, media outlets reported a shooting near Trump's residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
Police officials said that the gunman was among the bushes near the golf course when Secret Service agents spotted the barrel of his rifle.

Police officials identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh and said that he was stopped and taken into custody while he was fleeing.

The New York Times reported that Roth, 58, gave an interview to the newspaper in March last year and said that he was looking to recruit troops from the former Afghan government for the war in Ukraine.

He had said that he was planning to illegally transfer Afghan troops from Iran and Pakistan to Ukraine.

Routh claimed that dozens of Afghan soldiers have expressed interest in fighting in Ukraine.

It is unclear how successful Ryan Routh's efforts to recruit Afghan troops have been, but a former Afghan government soldier in Iran told the New York Times that he had been contacted about the matter and that if going to Ukraine meant the end of his illegal stay in Iran, he wanted to go to war.

Ryan Routh himself spent a few months in Ukraine in 2022. Roth had said he was willing to fight in Ukraine and be killed.

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