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World Bank freezes Afghan projects after IEA bans girls from high school

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(Last Updated On: March 30, 2022)

The World Bank has put four projects in Afghanistan worth $600 million on hold amid concerns over a decision by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to ban girls from returning to public high schools, the bank said.

The projects, to be funded under the revamped Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, were being readied for implementation by United Nations agencies to support projects in agriculture, education, health, and livelihoods, Reuters reported.

But the bank’s guidance requires all ARTF-financed activities to support access to – and equity of services for – women and girls in Afghanistan, the bank said, citing its deep concerns over the IEA’s ban on girls attending high school, read the report.

As a result, the bank said, the four projects will be presented to ARTF donors for approval only “when the World Bank and international partners have a better understanding of the situation and confidence that the goals of the projects can be met.”

It was not immediately clear when that could occur, Reuters reported.

U.S. officials last week cancelled planned meetings in Doha with the IEA over the decision to keep girls out of secondary school.

According to Reuters the executive board of the World Bank on March 1 approved a plan to use more than $1 billion from the ARTF fund to finance urgently needed education, agriculture, health and family programs that would bypass sanctioned Islamic Emirate authorities and disburse the money through U.N. agencies and aid groups.

The ARTF was frozen in August when the IEA took power as U.S.-led international troops departed after 20 years of war.

Foreign governments also ended financial aid comprising over 70% of government expenditures, accelerating the country’s economic collapse, Reuters reported.

When it agreed to free up ARTF funds for new projects to be implemented by UN agencies, the World Bank had stipulated that it expected a “strong focus on ensuring that girls and women participate and benefit from the support.”

The IEA has unraveled gains in rights made by women during the last two decades, including restricting them from working and limiting their travel unless accompanied by a close male relative. Most girls were also barred from going to school beyond seventh grade.

But IEA leaders had said all girls would be allowed to return to classrooms later this month, Reuters reported.

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Pakistan rejects IEA’s allegations of Daesh using its territory against Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: May 10, 2024)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan on Thursday rejected the statements of the Islamic Emirate regarding the use of Pakistan’s soil against Afghanistan by Daesh, calling the remarks as “unwarranted and irresponsible.”

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a press conference that instead of such statements, the Afghan authorities should take effective action against all terror groups, based in Afghanistan.

Earlier, the Pakistan Army claimed that last month’s suicide attack that killed five Chinese nationals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been planned in Afghanistan and had been carried out by an Afghan.

In reaction, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan, Inayatullah Khwarazmi, said that in an area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is under the security of the Pakistan Army, the killing of Chinese nationals is either the weakness of the security institutions or their cooperation with the attackers.

He also said: “We have cases where the Daesh entered Afghanistan from Pakistan, and Pakistani soil was used against our soil, and the attacks are planned in that country.”

Pakistan has repeatedly claimed that Afghan soil is being used in attacks against Pakistan, but this was the first time the Islamic Emirate accused Pakistan of not preventing Daesh from entering Afghanistan.

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Afghans will have a good future under the shadow of Islamic system: Haqqani

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(Last Updated On: May 10, 2024)

Acting Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani has said in a meeting with the European Union envoy in Kabul that Afghans will have a good future in peace and under the shadow of the Islamic system.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior on Friday, Haqqani, in his meeting with Raffaella Iodice, the European Union’s Chargé d’affaires to Afghanistan, said that Afghans will work hard, endure hardships and will be on the path of progress.

The EU envoy expressed her hope for continued peace and a better future for Afghans, according to the statement.

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Kabir urges Panjshiris to encourage their sons in exile to return home

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(Last Updated On: May 9, 2024)

Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy prime minister, urged Panjshir residents to encourage their sons living in neighboring countries to return home as the Islamic Emirate has no enmity with anyone.

At a gathering in Panjshir, attended by senior IEA officials, Kabir said that there is currently no space for ethnic and linguistic discrimination as well as hypocrisy in Afghanistan.

He stressed that all Afghans should work together for the construction, development and prosperity of the country.

According to him, IEA’s political and commercial relations with the world are secure and the government is committed to the development and reconstruction of Afghanistan and is doing its best to gain self-sufficiency.

At this gathering, the IEA’s minister of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, said that illegal acts in the country have reached zero and that Daesh does not exist in the country. He also said the people of Panjshir will not be deceived by biased people.

“Currently, there is no corruptor and there is no Daesh fighter in Afghanistan, and no one can provide proof [of their existence]. We are one nation. Our religion and beliefs are one,” said Hanafi.

Some residents of Panjshir also said that they support the Islamic Emirate and will share their challenges with the authorities.

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