Political Head of NRF Meets Leaders Of Anti-Taliban Groups

Nov 11, 2024, 16:41 GMT

Abdullah Khanjani, the political head of the National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan, has begun a series of meetings with key leaders of groups opposing the Taliban.

Khanjani met a number of politicians, including Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Rasul Sayyaf, and Atta Mohammad Noor, in Türkiye.

Khanjani is called the second in command of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, whose responsibility is to coordinate the political leaders opposed to the Taliban.

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Islamic Republic of Iran Executes Afghan Citizen

Nov 11, 2024, 14:23 GMT

The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation reported that the Islamic Republic has executed an Afghan prisoner at the Zahedan Central Prison.

The organisation wrote that the prisoner had been sentenced to death by the Islamic Republic's judiciary on drug charges.

The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation wrote in a report that the Islamic Republic authorities carried out the death sentence of Mohammad Nabi, a Baluch citizen of Afghanistan, at the Zahedan Central Prison on the morning of Sunday, November 10.

The human rights organisation added that Mohammad Nabi was 28 years old and a resident of Zabul city. According to Hengaw, he was arrested two years ago on drug-related charges and sentenced to death.

The organisation also announced that he had been transferred to solitary confinement two days ago and had visited his family for the last time.

So far, the Islamic Republic has not officially published a report on the execution of this sentence.

Iran continues to carry out executions of prisoners despite strong opposition from international human rights organisations.

Will Continue To Operate Despite Taliban Disruption, Says Afghan Embassy In Australia

Nov 11, 2024, 13:18 GMT

The Afghan embassy in Australia announced that the Taliban has made efforts to disrupt the consular services of the embassy.

The embassy added that despite the disruptions, it would continue to provide consular services to Afghans living in Australia "with strength and stability”.

The Afghan embassy in Canberra said in a statement on Monday (November 11) that the Taliban continues to harass the Afghan people, even outside Afghanistan's borders, due to their lack of internal and external legitimacy and seek to create new challenges for Afghans living in other countries.

The statement did not explain exactly how the Taliban had disrupted the consular services of the Afghan embassy in Australia. However, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry had previously announced that except for consulates that interact with the ministry, consular documents of other Afghan diplomatic missions are not valid.

The Taliban's Foreign Ministry has not responded to the new statement from the Afghan embassy in Australia.

"We assure our Afghan compatriots in Australia that the consular activities of this embassy will continue without any interruption and that its staff will be vigorously and steadfastly engaged in providing consular services and addressing the concerns of our compatriots," the statement said.

Taliban Publicly Flogs Woman & Man In Ghazni

Nov 11, 2024, 12:23 GMT

The Taliban's Supreme Court announced that the group's primary court in Muqur district of Ghazni province has punished a woman and a man on charges of extramarital affairs.

The court said in the statement that the individuals were sentenced to 39 lashes in public.

On Monday, November 11, the Taliban's Supreme Court wrote that it had sentenced one of these individuals to one year in prison and the other to five years in prison.

The Taliban considers public flogging to be an order of "Islamic law" and continues corporal punishment throughout Afghanistan.

Last week, the group flogged at least 30 men and women in front of the public on various charges in Jawzjan, Paktika, Kabul, Maidan Wardak, Parwan and Nangarhar provinces.

Taliban's Ideology Will Spread Across The Globe, Warns Malala Yousafzai

Nov 11, 2024, 11:26 GMT

Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, has warned that the Taliban's ideology is not limited to Afghanistan, but has also spread across Pakistan and will spread to the rest of the world too.

Yousafzai told the British newspaper The Times that this ideology is spreading because the world is not doing anything about it.

In an interview with the newspaper, Yousafzai stressed that Afghan women are exposed to "gender apartheid" under the Taliban's rule.

"Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are barred from secondary and university education," she said.

Regarding Afghan women's right to work and education, Yousafzai said, "Afghan women need support, they need equal rights, and I say that women's rights are at stake."

"My priority is the right of girls to education and women's right to work, which is at stake in Afghanistan," she added. "If we fail to take steps for women in Afghanistan, we will see a continuation of a severe form of gender discrimination."

In response to a question about the increase in terrorism outside Afghanistan, the women's rights activist said, "The Taliban's ideology is not limited to Afghanistan, it has spread to Pakistan, and we are witnessing this increase in other parts of the world as well."

She warned that the Taliban's "lack of accountability" to countries around the world has caused the group to continue oppression of women without fear of the consequences of its behaviour.

In an interview with Sky News, Yousafzai also criticised the international community's inattention to the situation of Afghan women.

Referring to Donald Trump's victory in the US election, she said, "We need courageous leaders who stand with Afghan women and support their rights."

US Citizen Who Was Formerly Imprisoned By Taliban Sues Group In US Court

Nov 11, 2024, 10:34 GMT

Caitlan Coleman, an American citizen, who was imprisoned by the Taliban and the Haqqani Network for five years, has filed a lawsuit against the Taliban in a court in the US state of Pennsylvania.

The purpose of the complaint is to hold the Haqqani Network and the Taliban accountable as two terrorist groups.

Coleman and her husband, who later separated, were kidnapped by the Taliban in 2012. She was seven months pregnant at the time of her captivity. The family was finally liberated from the Taliban’s captivity by Pakistani forces in October 2017 after a clash in a border area.

Motley Rice Law Firm, representing the Coleman family, filed a lawsuit in a district court in Pennsylvania this week. The company said in a statement Friday (November 8) that the lawsuit filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, addresses alleged acts of international terrorism, assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of severe emotional distress.

The Haqqani Network and the Taliban are both designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organisations by the US government.

Michael Elsner, an attorney with Motley Rice, commented on the psychological and physical effects of the captivity: "Caitlin’s life will never be the same. She will constantly battle the physical and psychological impacts of her captivity. Even worse, her children who were born while being held hostage will endure and carry this trauma with them for the rest of their lives. The atrocities they endured at the hands of the Haqqani Network and the Taliban are unconscionable. We are committed to holding these groups accountable for their actions."

Coleman gave birth to three children during her incarceration.

The lawsuit states that during their five years in captivity, Coleman's family was subjected to severe physical, psychological and social pressure, and in addition to isolation, they were subjected to constant harassment and terror. "The Haqqani Network and the Taliban used the family as a tool to pressure other countries, including the United States," the statement said.

The lawsuit also brings a claim on behalf of Caitlan’s mother, Lynda Coleman, who tirelessly advocated for her daughter and their safe return.

"Nothing is more precious to me than the safe return of my daughter and grandchildren," Linda was quoted as saying in the statement. Years of worry and ignorance were a daily nightmare for me and my family."

As the main plaintiff in the case, Caitlan Coleman stated, “I am seeking what justice I can for the years of normalcy my children and I lost while being held by the Haqqani Network and Taliban. Three of my children were born in captivity and began their lives in those circumstances. It is important to me to stand up and send a message to terrorist forces abroad – holding Americans hostage is terrorism, and it cannot come without consequences. If there are not repercussions for these criminal and abusive actions, this could be seen as an incentive to do this to other Americans in the future. My thoughts are always with those victims that are still being held by terrorist forces around the world.”