Education Activist Fahim Azimi Released From Taliban Prison, Says Amnesty International
Fahim Azimi, an education activist, has been released from Taliban custody after 11 months, Amnesty International said.
Fahim Azimi, an education activist, has been released from Taliban custody after 11 months, Amnesty International said.
The organisation said that Fahim Azimi should not have been imprisoned for defending the right to education. The Taliban had arrested Azimi on charges of "helping the girls of the robotics team leave" and organising protests.
Amnesty International announced the release of the education activist on Thursday.
The Taliban has not yet commented on the release of Fahim Azimi.
Azimi, along with fellow education activist Sediqullah Afghan, was arbitrarily arrested by the Taliban on October 17, 2022, at their office in the Karte 4 district of Kabul. Sediqullah Afghan was released on April 9 of this year during a Taliban amnesty marking Eid al-Adha.
Over the past year, human rights organisations have called for the release of this girls' education activist from the Taliban's prison.
Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad called the claim of Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House Foreign Relations Committee, about his responsibility for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, unsubstantiated.
Khalilzad acknowledged that the final stage of the withdrawal was a disaster, but stressed that the main reason was a lack of intelligence.
According to Khalilzad, US officials did not anticipate that the Afghan government would simply collapse or that its military would be fundamentally disintegrated before US troops leave.
Michael McCaul has previously blamed 15 US officials, including Zalmay Khalilzad, for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. He mentioned President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, the secretaries of defence and foreign affairs, and Zalmay Khalilzad.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for the Afghan peace talks, wrote on Wednesday night, in response to Michael McCaul's remarks on social media platform X that he had not commented on the Taliban's adherence to their commitments and respect for basic human rights.
Zalmay Khalilzad said that the Doha agreement had nothing to do with human rights and instead focused on a safe military withdrawal, preventing the Taliban from attacking US forces and preventing terrorists from using Afghan soil against the United States.
He clarified that President Biden decided not to make the US withdrawal from Afghanistan conditional on an intra-Afghan political agreement, and he feared that with the prolongation of intra-Afghan negotiations, the Taliban's attacks against US forces would resume.
McCall claimed that Zalmay Khalilzad had assured that the Taliban would abide by their commitments and respect human rights.
However, Khalilzad emphasises in his statement that he did not make any comments about the Taliban's adherence to their human rights obligations during his tenure.
"When I was asked in various congressional committees whether I trusted the Taliban to fulfil their commitments on military issues and terrorism, I replied that we were talking about international relations, an arena where no one could be trusted, especially the Taliban," he wrote.
Zalmay Khalilzad also wrote that the peace talks were not a matter of trust, and that the agreement that was negotiated was based on conditions, not trust. He added that the agreement makes the fulfilment of US commitments conditional on the Taliban fulfilling their commitments, and this issue must be continuously evaluated and confirmed.
US House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said that the Doha agreement between Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban was a slap in the face to the Afghan government. He called the agreement a mistake by Zalmay Khalilzad, which had a negative impact on the morale of the previous Afghan government, adding that Khalilzad "negotiated with the Taliban and left out the Afghan government”.
More than 20 countries supported the decision of Germany, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands to prosecute the Taliban at the International Court of Justice.
These countries announced that they condemn human rights violations in Afghanistan, especially gender discrimination against women and girls by the Taliban.
The countries said that they do not politically recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate leaders, according to the Associated Press.
Recently, the foreign ministers of Germany, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands have warned that if the situation of Afghan women and girls does not change, they will file a complaint against the Taliban with the International Court of Justice. The four countries stressed that the violation of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan must stop.
In a statement on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the four countries condemned the gross and systematic violations of human rights in Afghanistan, especially gender discrimination against women.
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that more than 20 countries have now backed the plan.
At the same time, Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, called on other countries around the world to declare their support for the legal measures taken by these four countries.
"The announcement by Germany, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands may be the beginning of a path to justice for the Taliban's gross human rights violations against Afghan women and girls," Abbasi said.
Referring to her country's recent action against the Taliban along with the Netherlands, Germany and Australia, the Canadian Foreign Minister said, "We will not rest until justice is served and Afghan women achieve freedom."
Mélanie Joly added that the Taliban has consistently violated international law. On Thursday, Canada's foreign minister wrote on social media platform X that the Taliban has forced Afghan women and girls to remain silent.
Joly added that Canada firmly supports the women and girls of Afghanistan.
The foreign ministers of Germany, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands issued a strongly worded statement on Wednesday condemning the gross and systematic violations of human rights in Afghanistan, particularly gender discrimination against women. They threatened the Taliban with legal action.
The statement, published in New York on Wednesday, said that the Taliban's decrees and restrictions have systematically removed Afghan women and girls from public life.
They have warned that the Taliban must be held accountable for gross and systematic human rights violations and non-compliance with Afghanistan's international obligations.
According to them, Afghanistan is responsible under international law for violating its numerous obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands have officially announced to the Taliban that they are "obliged to put an end to these violations," citing the convention.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has been ratified by 189 countries, making it one of the most popular human rights treaties of the United Nations.
Afghanistan joined the convention in 2003.
The foreign ministers of the four countries also emphasised on joint action against the Taliban's policies towards women in separate statements after the publication of this announcement.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko announced that the process of removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups "will not be fast”.
He explained that removing the Taliban from Russia's list of terrorist groups requires changes in the country's laws.
In an interview with Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Rudenko said, "This process is not fast, because it requires changes in Russian laws."
At the same time, he added, "Russia, like some other countries, is ready to expand cooperation with the Taliban."
According to him, this cooperation is not possible without removing the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups.
In the interview, the text of which was published on Thursday, Rudenko said, "The Taliban movement is in power in Afghanistan and it is an objective reality that must be taken into account."
Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special representative for Afghanistan affairs, announced in June 2024 that the proposal to remove the Taliban's name from the list of terrorist organisations in Russia has been communicated to Vladimir Putin for a final decision. Zamir Kabulov said that there are still issues about the Taliban and a decision will be made after they are resolved.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters during a visit to Tashkent on May 29, 2024, that how to establish relations with the Taliban is a different question, but we must have a relationship with them somehow.
Putin referred to consultations with regional partners, including in Central Asia, on relations with the Taliban, saying, "We take into account the views of each of our partners and friends and will coordinate on this issue."
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister announced that the sixth Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan will be held in October this year.
Andrey Rudenko said that the Taliban is also expected to be invited to the meeting. The previous meeting of the Moscow format was held on September 29, 2023, in Kazan.
The exact date of the sixth Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan has not yet been announced.
However, according to RIA Novosti, quoting Andrey Rudenko, the meeting will be held in Moscow in October.
Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov visited the Taliban's Foreign Ministry in September and met with Amir Khan Muttaqi and invited representatives of the group to participate in the upcoming Moscow Format meeting.
In addition to Russia, representatives of India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Taliban were present.
None of these countries recognise the Taliban, but they do have diplomatic relations with the group.
