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Govt says Taliban destroyed 260 office buildings in 106 districts
The chairman of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) Nader Nadery said Thursday a study has found that the Taliban has destroyed or set fire to 260 government buildings in 106 districts in recent weeks.
This comes amid heightened tension across the country as the Taliban continue to seize districts.
Addressing an event on Thursday, Nadery said the findings show that the Taliban has plundered equipment and property belonging to public institutions.
“Taliban have proposed a three month ceasefire but in return they want the release their 7,000 prisoners and the removal of their leaders’ names from the UN blacklist, which is a heavy demand by them,” Nadery said.
The survey findings are as follows:
1. Plunder of equipment and property of public institutions
“In 82 districts the rate of equipment looted was reported to be 100% in 18 districts; between 70% and 90% in 14 districts; from 50% to 60% and in 35 districts up to 50%.”
2. Displacement of thousands of public service workers
“Nearly 4,000 public service workers have been affected by the Taliban’s takeover of the districts, and many have fled their areas to provincial capitals due to poor security conditions and high threats against them.”
3. Deprivation of basic government services to millions of citizens
“More than 13 million Afghans have been deprived of basic government services and development projects such as rebuilding water supply networks, roads, retaining walls, building schools, building bridges, digging wells, building hospitals, building cold storages and other projects.”
4. 50,000 civil servants affected
“More than 50,000 civil servants are … unable to attend their duties.
5. In the Taliban-controlled districts of Takhar province alone, 112 development projects planned for this year have been completely stopped.
6. Restrictions on women health care providers
In a small number of the districts under their control, the Taliban have allowed female employees working in the health service sector to travel to work on condition they wear a full hijab and have a legal Mahram (relative to accompany them).
7. In the Taliban-controlled districts of Paktia province, only women working as midwives have been allowed to continue working and need to wear a full hijab and have a Mahram.
Nadery said attacking and injuring civilians and civilian facilities is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law.
A cessation of hostilities and a political agreement for a common future for all Afghans is the way to prevent these crimes from continuing, he said. The continuation of the war makes the Afghans losers.
On the other hand, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said in response to Nadery’s remarks that the claims were untrue.
Mujahid said in a voice message to the media that the Taliban was providing better security than government.
This comes after a substantial spike in violence has been recorded across the country since the US and NATO troops started withdrawing.
In the past few weeks, the Taliban has seized dozens of districts, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing their homes.
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Mullah Baradar discusses creation of railway with Kazakh deputy PM
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs has met with Erik Zhumangarin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, and discussed the establishment of a railway network from Kazakhstan to Pakistan through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, the deputy PM’s office said in a statement.
During the meeting, Baradar emphasized the need to sign agreements to solve the banking problems of traders from both countries, the creation of Afghan-Kazakh joint companies, and the facilitation of visas for Afghan traders.
According to the statement, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said that the Kazakh government intends to establish a joint chamber of industry and commerce and a joint trade and labor group between the two countries, and is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in the sectors of e-governance, industry, higher education, education, health, and banking.
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Iran, Pakistan leaders raise concerns over ‘terrorist groups’ in Afghanistan
Following a two-day official visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a joint statement emphasizing the need to further expand commercial and economic cooperation and transform the common border of the two countries from a “border of peace” to “border of prosperity”.
The two leaders also strongly condemned aggressions and crimes of Israel in Gaza, and demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged people of Gaza.
Numerous other issues were also discussed but on the topic of Afghanistan, they jointly declared their commitment to the development of Afghanistan as a peaceful, united, independent country free from the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking.
According to the statement the two countries pointed out that the existence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan is a serious threat to the security of the region and the world.
The two sides stressed their desire to strengthen cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism and ensuring security and creating a united front against terrorism.
They also discussed the importance of coordinating regional and international efforts to ensure security and stability in the region.
“While respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, the two sides recognized that increasing participation of all strata of Afghans in basic decision-making will lead to the strengthening of peace and stability in this country,” the statement read.
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Over 1,000 Afghan refugees forced out of Pakistan in one day
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) says over 1,000 Afghan migrants were forcibly returned from Pakistan on Tuesday through Spin Boldak border crossing in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry stated that based on information provided by the Spin Boldak Kandahar border command, these returnees comprised 191 families, totalling 998 people.
In addition, three migrants released from Pakistani prisons were also returned, according to the statement.
The statement added that after registering the returnees, the refugees were referred to the offices of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Each family received 10,000 afghanis – paid to them by the Islamic Emirate.
In another statement, the ministry said that 2,783 migrants living in Iran voluntarily and forcibly returned to the country during this week.
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