Taliban Must Not Receive American Taxpayers’ Funds, Says US Congresswoman

Currently, more than 3,000 Afghan refugees who have received German admission are in Pakistan.

Germany has come under fire in recent months for its slow process of accepting Afghans. Human rights groups say that the country's bureaucratic delays have put vulnerable people at risk.

However, the German government says that it is in close contact with Pakistani authorities and is constantly working to support eligible refugees.

The German government, through the German Association for International Cooperation (GIZ), houses and finances eligible asylum seekers in guest houses in Pakistan.

On December 31, 2024, Pakistani security forces detained six Afghan asylum seekers who had been accepted by Germany, including a former local employee of the German government, and deported them to Afghanistan. However, two of them were able to return to Islamabad with German support.

The German Foreign Ministry announced that Pakistan's deportation of Afghan refugees "is a matter of concern to the federal government".

The Foreign Ministry added that the German embassy in Islamabad is in close contact with Pakistani authorities to facilitate the speedy return of the deportees to Pakistan.

The ministry stressed that people who are currently undergoing asylum procedures in Germany or other countries are not the target of these deportations.

The German Foreign Ministry also announced that all people under the care of the German government in Pakistan will receive letters of support from the German embassy in Islamabad to prevent their arrest and deportation.

After the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August 2021, more than 36,000 Afghans, mainly local employees, have been resettled in Germany, and about 3,000 others are currently in Germany to process their asylum cases.

Nazary called on Trump to consider the National Resistance Front as a partner of the United States in the fight against terrorism.

Nazary, the head of foreign relations of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, said in an interview with the National Journal that after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, the US government no longer has accurate information about the situation inside Afghanistan. Nazary said that thousands of foreign fighters are currently operating under the banner of various terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

He also added that the National Resistance Front needs strong allies to fight terrorism in Afghanistan.

He added that the NRF has a close relationship with some key officials of the Donald Trump administration and stressed that these officials will reconsider Afghanistan in the new US administration.

The NRF official named to-be National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Senator Marco Rubio, the new US secretary of state, as officials who better understand Afghanistan's issues and monitor the current situation in the country. He said that the officials could change US policy toward Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Taliban officials have said that they are ready to expand relations with the United States after Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, had previously said that Trump was "bold and serious" and that the Taliban wanted to establish relations with him.

According to the centre's data, flour worth $80 million was delivered to Afghanistan in 2024, which is twice as much as in 2023.

In 2023, the Russian Grain Market Information website announced that the country's flour exports to Afghanistan have increased 20 times since mid-2021.

At the same time, Agroexport said that grain production, including flour, in Afghanistan has been severely affected by war and political instability.

According to the centre, Afghanistan's domestic production is unable to meet the needs of the country's population and is dependent on food imports, including flour.

They have called for the formation of a committee led by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to oversee the Taliban's policies.

In this open letter, Afghan women protesters have expressed regret over the silence of these countries in the face of the restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan.

The letter reads, "Your silence as leaders of Islamic countries is very painful. It sends the message that the suffering of Afghan women is not a priority and that our cries for help do not deserve your attention. But this is not the Islam we know."

The letter refers to the deprivation of women and girls from education, work, travel, and other restrictions, and emphasises that these restrictions are imposed by the Taliban under the name of "Islamic Sharia".

"We call on the leaders and members of the Islamic Ummah of the world to stand with us and uphold the principles of justice, fairness and compassion that define our common faith," the letter said.

In the letter, the protesting women stressed that leaders of Islamic countries should use their influence to condemn the Taliban's actions against women and encourage the group to respect the rights of women and girls.

"Strengthen the teachings of Islam, which promote justice, science and the protection of all people, regardless of gender, and provide resources, opportunities and facilities for women and their families seeking safety and justice," the letter said.

Afghan women have also stressed that engagement with the Taliban must be guaranteed to lift restrictions on women and girls and ensure their participation in diplomatic negotiations.

The letter comes as a conference titled "Girls' Education in Muslim Societies" is scheduled to be held in Pakistan on Saturday and Sunday, January 11 and 12, with the participation of more than 40 Islamic countries.

Diplomatic sources, however, told Afghanistan International that the Taliban would not participate in the meeting.

The court has ordered Pakistani authorities to refrain from deporting the artists until their asylum claims are processed.

The Associated Press on Friday, January 10, quoted Mumtaz Ahmad, a lawyer who has followed up on the cases of 150 Afghan artists, as saying that the court ruling is the first of its kind. According to him, these people had been living in an uncertain situation in Pakistan since 2023.

These artists are among about half a million people who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.

According to the court ruling, Pakistan is obliged to decide on the applications of 150 Afghan musicians and singers within the next two months, Mumtaz Ahmad said. Also, these artists have the right to register themselves with the United Nations Refugee Agency and receive refugee status.

Hashmat Ali, an Afghan singer, told The Associated Press, "I am very happy and grateful to the court. I hope that I will not face harassment and forced deportation now," he said, adding that Afghan singers and musicians would not be safe if they were deported to Afghanistan.

Pakistan, like many countries in the world, has not yet recognised the Taliban. According to the Associated Press, the country has deported more than 800,000 undocumented Afghans to Afghanistan in the past 18 months.

The Taliban has declared playing, listening to music, and producing it as "haram". The group has arrested and tortured some musicians during their three-year rule of Afghanistan.