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Pakistan Calls For Conference On Resettlement Of Afghan Refugees In Western Countries

Nov 20, 2024, 09:03 GMT+0

Mohammad Abbas Khan, Pakistan's chief commissioner for refugees, said on Tuesday that an international conference should be held to increase the acceptance of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan by Western countries.

Khan said that Western countries should expedite the process of accepting Afghan applicants waiting in Pakistan.

According to the Dawn newspaper, Khan said that the conference will discuss challenges such as the voluntary return of refugees to Afghanistan and their resettlement in third countries.

He said that a trilateral meeting with the Taliban and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be held soon to discuss the challenges of Afghan refugees.

Khan stated that about 600,000 Afghan applicants have now registered with the UNHCR in Pakistan for resettlement in Western countries.

Criticising the low admission of Afghan refugees this year, the Pakistani official said that the quota of applicants registered with the United Nations for resettlement this year was only 8,000.

Pointing to Afghanistan's fragile and limited infrastructure for the return of Afghan refugees to the country, he said that the reintegration of Afghan citizens into their country has become a challenging proposition.

The Pakistani official clarified that Afghanistan's capacity to absorb returning refugees is very limited.

According to statistics, the first round of deportations of Afghan refugees began in October last year, when about 600,000 Afghan refugees were deported from Pakistan.

The United Nations also reported earlier that 1.3 million Afghan refugees are currently living in Pakistan with POR cards, which was recently renewed by the Pakistani government for another year.

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Taliban Publicly Flogs Woman For 'Moral Corruption' In Khost

Nov 19, 2024, 17:15 GMT+0

The Taliban's Supreme Court announced that the group had flogged a woman in front of the public on charges of "moral corruption" in Bak district of Khost province.

The court added that it sentenced the woman to 39 lashes and five months in prison.

On Tuesday, November 19, the Taliban's Supreme Court wrote in a statement that the woman's flogging sentence was carried out by the primary court of Bak district of Khost province in the presence of Taliban officials and local residents. The Taliban has not commented on the woman's charges.

In the past week, the Taliban has flogged at least 16 people in Ghazni, Nangarhar, Baghlan, and Paktika provinces on various charges.

Human rights organisations consider corporal punishment such as flogging and the death penalty to be a violation of basic human rights principles and contrary to human dignity.

Recently, the Taliban in Paktia province executed a person accused of murder at the Gardez Stadium in front of people.

Over 500,000 Visas Issued To Afghans Annually, Says Adviser To Iran's Interior Minister

Nov 19, 2024, 15:33 GMT+0

Nader Yarahmadi, an adviser to Iran's interior minister, said that the Islamic Republic issues more than 500,000 visas annually to Afghan citizens.

Emphasising on the deportation of migrants from Iran, he said that some Afghans "have quasi-legal documents that are considered inadmissible".

Yarahmadi is an adviser to the Minister of Interior and the head of the Centre for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs of the Ministry.

In a meeting with the governor of Bushehr on Tuesday, he said that Afghan immigrants who have quasi-legal documents will be identified and deported from Iran.

The official did not elaborate on the "quasi-legal evidence”.

The Islamic Republic deports undocumented immigrants. The country has also deported Afghans with Iranian passports and visas, and this process is still ongoing.

He claimed that Afghan immigrants who enter Iran with visas have the necessary services.

The head of the Centre for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs of the Iranian Ministry of Interior said that the number of Afghan nationals and immigrants in Iran exceeds the population of a number of countries combined.

Nader Yarahmadi added that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pays $5 for each citizen, which he said is insignificant compared to the services the refugees get from the Islamic Republic.

Taliban Publicly Flogs Woman In Baghlan

Nov 19, 2024, 14:17 GMT+0

The Taliban's Supreme Court announced that the group had flogged a woman in Baghlan on charges of "procuring" in front of the public.

The Taliban did not elaborate on the accusation, but the term "pimp" (to procure) refers to a person who mediates between two people to have sex outside of marriage.

The Taliban's Supreme Court said in a statement on Tuesday, November 19, that the woman was sentenced to six months in prison and 30 lashes.

The Taliban said that the court sentence was carried out on Monday, November 18, in the presence of local officials of the group and local people.

Despite international condemnation, the Taliban's Supreme Court announces corporal punishment almost daily.

Human rights organisations say that the Taliban's judicial system is not standardised and that defendants do not have access to due process such as a lawyer.

Didn't Think Women's Rights Would Be Trampled On So Easily, Says Malala Yousafzai

Nov 19, 2024, 12:56 GMT+0

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai criticised the Taliban's harsh laws against Afghan women, stating that she never imagined that women's rights would be trampled on so easily.

In the shadow of these Taliban directives, "women lost everything", Malala said.

According to international organisations, the Taliban has enacted at least 70 decrees and laws that directly target women's rights.

The Taliban's Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice completely excludes women from the public sphere. According to this law, women's voices in the public sphere are "awrah”.

A number of international organisations, especially Amnesty International, the Office of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and some countries, have called the situation in Afghanistan a "clear example of gender apartheid”.

Malala told the BBC's English service about the Taliban's rules, "These laws are so extreme that no one can consider them rational. Many girls find themselves in a very desperate and depressed situation, where there is no way out for them. The future looks very bleak for them."

Malala Yousafzai co-produced the film "Bread and Roses", which narrates the lives of three Afghan women under the Taliban's rule.

The documentary, directed by Afghan director Sahra Mani and in collaboration with American actress Jennifer Lawrence, deals with the stories of Afghan women's resistance.

"This film is not just about the lives of three women, but about 20 million Afghan girls and women whose stories are rarely shown," Malala said about the film.

The documentary tells the story of the lives of Zohra, a dentist who was forced to leave her profession; Taranoom, a human rights activist who fled to the border, and Sharifa, a civil servant who lost her job and financial independence.

The three women in the film no longer live in Afghanistan, but Malala and Sahra Mani hope the documentary will raise global awareness of what the remaining women in the country endure.

Sahra Mani said, "Bread is a symbol of freedom, that is, providing for one's livelihood and supporting one's family. We say in our language, "He who gives you bread also commands you." Therefore, when you find your bread, it means that you have your own choice."

Malala and the film's production team hope that this work will convey the message of Afghan women's resistance to the world and create an incentive to further support their rights.

Pakistan Shares 'Convincing Evidence' With China On Terrorist Presence In Afghanistan

Nov 19, 2024, 12:03 GMT+0

Pakistani media reported that Islamabad had shared "convincing evidence" about the sanctuaries of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terror groups on Afghan soil with China's special envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong.

Xiaoyong held talks with Pakistani Foreign Ministry officials in Islamabad on Monday.

Pakistani authorities have provided Xiaoyong with information about the use of Afghan soil by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates, the Express Tribune reported.

The information also includes new evidence of how Taliban-controlled Afghanistan threatens regional peace and stability.

China's special envoy for Afghanistan travelled to Pakistan just days after Russia's special envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov visited Islamabad to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan.

In a statement issued by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, it was stated that the Chinese special envoy met with Deputy Foreign Minister Amna Baloch. According to the statement, he also held detailed consultations with Pakistan's Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan and West Asian Affairs Ahmed Naseem Warraich.

The Foreign Ministry statement said, "The two sides exchanged views on relations with Afghanistan. They stressed on the vital role of neighbouring countries for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan."

According to the Express Tribune, sources said that Pakistan briefed the Chinese envoy on the current situation in Afghanistan and how the country's territory is being used by terrorist groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups.

Sources said officials in Islamabad shared convincing evidence with the Chinese diplomat about terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghan territory that pose a threat to Pakistan's security.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused the ruling Taliban of harbouring the TTP and other insurgent groups opposed to Islamabad, and in some cases elements within the Taliban have facilitated TTP attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban have repeatedly denied the accusations and have said that they will not allow any group to use Afghan soil.