Taliban Hiding Statistics Regarding Polio Infection Among Children

Earlier, the Taliban had suspended the polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan in September this year.

Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, the spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Public Health, announced the start of the polio campaign in a video on Monday, October 28, but did not specify in which provinces the campaign will be implemented.

The three-day campaign is expected to vaccinate more than six million children under the age of five.

The spokesperson of the ministry called on scholars and people to cooperate with the vaccination programme staff to eradicate polio.

According to official reports, six positive cases of polio were recorded last year and 22 cases of polio were recorded in Afghanistan this year.

A spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Public Health, however, claimed that no positive cases of polio had been reported in Afghanistan this year.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have so far failed to eradicate polio. Despite the continuing challenge, the Taliban had recently suspended the polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan.

Oybek Usmanov, 62, previously served as Uzbekistan's ambassador to Egypt and Pakistan.

According to Uzbekistan news agencies, the Uzbek diplomat arrived in Kabul on Sunday, October 27.

Osmanov's biography states that he was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan from 2011 to 2012.

The former ambassador of Uzbekistan to Afghanistan was Yadgar Khwaja Shadmanov, who announced the end of his mission in Afghanistan in September this year after 12 years.

Although Uzbekistan does not recognise the Taliban government like other countries, it has established close relations with the group.

Taliban and Uzbekistan officials have welcomed each other many times during the three years of the Taliban's rule.

According to the report, Taliban's Sunni mullahs teach Sunni religious books to children in the predominantly Shia Ismaili district of Shighnan.

Rukhshana Media reported on Monday (October 28), citing its sources, that the Taliban's action is "an attempt to forcibly convert the residents of this district", who are Shia Ismaili.

In October this year, the Taliban's education department in Badakhshan announced the establishment of a madrassa called "Imam Hussain" in the centre of Shighnan district.

Rukhshana media reported that more than 200 male children from the Ismaili sect of the district are studying in this school, and the teachers who were hired from schools outside the district were graduates of Taliban’s madrassas.

Rukhshana Media quoted their source as saying that none of the books taught in this school are common in the Ismaili sect.

Residents of the district said that in Shighnan, a religious school of the Ismaili sect already existed, which provided religious education based on the teachings of this Shia sect of Islam.

Residents of the district also said that the Taliban teach children about jihad, war and extremism in this madrassa.

The Taliban has paid special attention to the extensive establishment of jihadi schools after their return to power in Afghanistan. According to the Taliban government, the group has so far established more than 21,000 religious schools across Afghanistan. Taliban officials consider the establishment of jihadi madrassas important in maintaining the group's influence and power in Afghanistan.

Zhang Ming told Russia's Izvestia newspaper that the formation of an inclusive government is in the interest of Afghanistan.

In the interview, which was published on Monday, October 28, Zhang Ming said, "The issue of Afghanistan is very important from the perspective of ensuring peace, stability and security in the region.

"We would like Afghanistan to become a country free of terrorism, war and drugs, and we hope that in the future, a government will be formed in Afghanistan with the broad participation of representatives of all political, ethnic and religious groups," he added.

According to him, these cases will be in the interest of Afghanistan, the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the entire international community.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which was formed in 2001 by Russia and China, consists of nine members, including Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Afghanistan joined the SCO as an observer member on June 7, 2012, but the Taliban has not been invited to its meetings for the past three years.

According to sources, Taliban officials did not "respond positively" to the concerns of TV officials.

A source told Afghanistan International that the Taliban's Ministry of Information and Culture in Kabul, after the meeting with representatives of television stations and organisations supporting journalists, advised them to meet and discuss the ban on the publication of images of living creatures with senior Taliban officials in Kandahar.

"Last week, a number of officials of private television went to Kandahar in coordination with the Ministry of Information and Culture to discuss the future of television with Taliban leaders," the source said.

The source added that Taliban leaders have not responded positively to the concerns of the private media outlets.

The Taliban's Law for the Promotion of Virtue prohibits the photography and publication of images of living creatures, and a number of television stations have stopped broadcasting due to this restriction.

Another source said that media officials shared their concerns with Taliban leaders during the meeting, and apparently they assured them that televisions would not be blocked. However, media officials said that the ban on the publication of images of living creatures will pave the way for the gradual closure of televisions.

Sources claimed that media officials and organisations supporting journalists want to encourage Taliban leaders in Kandahar, especially Taliban leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, to show flexibility in this regard.
According to the source, one step in this regard is the establishment of a joint commission or committee that will hold talks with various Taliban leaders.

Officials of Afghanistan's private television stations have not yet confirmed the full details of the meeting, but journalists and media workers are deeply concerned about the implementation of the law.