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Peace won’t be found in silence or fear, says AIHRC chair
One year ago today – February 28 – Afghans were buoyed by the signing of the US-Taliban agreement in Doha, which they hoped would bring peace. Instead, today, a year later, targeted killings have spiked leaving thousands of civil society activists, government officials, journalists and even doctors fearing for their lives.
Shaharzad Akbar, the chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), wrote in an op-ed piece, published in the Washington Post, that “every night, I lie awake wondering who will be next. I think of a colleague whose teenage son checks his car every morning for magnetic bombs. A husband saying goodbye to his wife as she leaves for work, wondering if today will be the day she is killed on her way to the office.”
She said that a year after the deal was signed, instead of ushering in peace “one of the most tangible changes has been an increase in targeted killings, mostly unclaimed, that have created an environment of terror and fear.
“There were nearly three times the number of such attacks in 2020 compared with 2019; the casualties include the deaths of 11 human rights defenders and media workers in the past five months,” she wrote.
Akbar pointed out that some of Afghanistan’s most important gains, its activists, community leaders and scholars, are being silenced at a time when, after the US-Taliban deal, Afghans had hoped for a reduction in violence and for inclusive intra-Afghan negotiations.
“While the Taliban denies involvement in most targeted attacks, it benefits from the environment of fear and hopelessness around the peace process and the lack of critical voices demanding an inclusive peace.
“This reign of terror for Afghan civilians must end in order for a real peace process to begin,” Akbar wrote.
She also pointed out that as the United States reviews its Afghanistan policy, it still has leverage — including the existing UN sanctions on the Taliban, the Taliban’s desire for international recognition and legitimacy, and the presence of international forces in Afghanistan — to help stop these attacks and encourage a ceasefire and an inclusive peace process.
She stated that her AIHRC colleagues know what it is to feel terror as the organization has lost three of its staff members in the past 18 months.
Akbar pointed out that these high levels of violence are forcing families to flee the country.
“Every day I hear of another friend, journalist, academic, women’s rights activist or businessperson leaving the country. Their departures are creating an absence that will take another generation to fill. Those who can’t leave feel silenced by fear and have little chance of influencing the peace process,” she wrote.
Akbar also noted that it has been years since the last mass demonstration by Afghans – “for fear of attacks”.
She also said that following the recent wave of assassinations, public debate has closed down, even in the virtual sphere. “This is even more true beyond Kabul, in rural areas where conflict has been the most savage.”
Akbar stated that while US President Joe Biden’s team has signaled that it will withdraw its last troops as per the agreement with the Taliban, if the group reduces violence. she said: “This is welcome but not enough. Even with overall violence levels down, targeted killings are silencing the voices needed to build pressure for peace.”
“The United States does not want Afghanistan to collapse into a catastrophic civil war as soon as it withdraws, after 20 years of assistance. But the narrow focus of the US-Taliban deal ignored the wider needs of the peace process, including the importance of civic space and the protection of civilians. This approach should be urgently reconsidered in Biden’s review,” she said.
Akbar stated that public participation is not a bonus that is “nice to have” but rather an inclusive process that builds momentum for peace and boosts the credibility of the process.
Bringing traditional and nontraditional civil society voices to the table from across Afghanistan will bring a sense of urgency and bottom-up pressure on the parties.
She also stated that public participation can best be guaranteed through a ceasefire and that the US and its allies should utilize their leverage with both sides and the region to continue to push for an interim and immediate ceasefire that will create an opportunity for national engagement.
“An immediate end to targeted killings, a ceasefire and the restoration of civic space will allow for broader inclusion in the talks, reviving hope and confidence in the process,” she said.
Akbar stated that the US can encourage the Taliban and the Afghan government to create this enabling environment for peace. Afghans could then force hope back onto the table.
“We will not find peace in silence and fear,” Akbar stated.
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1402: Afghanistan fails to gain international recognition
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) spent this past solar year – 1402 – trying to gain international recognition and take up its seat in the United Nations.
Due to certain policies, and restrictions against Afghan women and girls, the international community has not only imposed sanctions on the government but has also worked to isolate the IEA.
Western consensus has been that the IEA needs to revise some policies including those relating to human and women’s rights.
But in addition to these problems, the Islamic Emirate made progress in diplomatic relations with some countries in 1402 – China being the first to send an official ambassador to Kabul. In turn, Beijing followed suit by welcoming the IEA’s ambassador.
Some Afghan embassies, however, that are still run by diplomats appointed by the previous government, slowly started forging ties with the IEA – including the Netherlands and Spain.
Over the past year, diplomats aligned with the Islamic Emirate also took control of the Afghan embassy and consulates in India.
In 1402, Turkmenistan removed the name of the Islamic Emirate from the list of sanctions and terrorist groups in that country.
In the meantime, Iran, Afghanistan’s western neighbor, became embroiled in a spat with the IEA over the issue of water rights from the Helmand River.
Relations with Pakistan also soured somewhat, as Islamabad has accused the IEA of letting Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) hideout in the country.
These tensions came to a head when Islamabad implemented the process of forced deportation of more than one million Afghan immigrants.
But analysts believe that the neighboring countries and the region have not been able to agree on a specific policy for interaction with the Islamic Emirate.
According to them, the realization of this agreement requires the implementation of conditions set by these countries and the international community, including the formation of an inclusive government, and respect for the rights of women and girls; and ethnic and religious minorities by the Islamic Emirate.
This year, the IEA’s cabinet remained a caretaker government, although dozens of former former government officials and politicians continued to return home.
However, the Islamic Emirate considers the year 1402 as full of achievements and emphasizes that in this year, progress has been made in all fields, especially in terms of expanding relations with other countries.
However, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate considers the lack of global legitimacy to be driven by a few countries – countries which influence the UN.
The Islamic Emirate currently has 38 active diplomatic missions in countries. In addition, Azerbaijan recently said it wants to open an embassy in Kabul.
Experts say however, 1403 will be a telling year, in terms of whether the IEA is recognized as the legitimate government or not.
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Dozens of needy families in west Kabul receive Bayat’s Ramadan aid
Dozens of needy families in the western suburbs of Kabul have been given much needed food aid for Ramadan by Bayat Foundation.
Foundation officials said the campaign is conducted during the holy month of Ramadan in order to help those in need.
The aid packages include essential food items such as flour and oil.
Residents in the west of Kabul, who received the packages, welcomed Bayat Foundation’s initiative but appealed for more assistance from other organizations.
Bayat Foundation is considered to be a key charitable organization in the country and has done valuable work in the past twenty years. The foundation has assisted victims of natural disasters, implemented public benefit projects, and helped the needy in different seasons.
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1402, a difficult year for Afghan women and girls
As this solar year, 1402 draws to a close, the suspension of high school and higher education for girls continues, despite repeated calls to the Afghan government to reconsider this decision.
This year, Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials repeatedly said they plan to reopen schools above grade 6, and universities, to girls – once plans were finalized. However, nothing has come of this.
In many meetings, both in Afghanistan and outside the country, repeated requests were made to the IEA to provide education for everyone – and some officials of the Islamic Emirate even expressed their dissatisfaction over the decision.
Representatives of the United Nations and countries of the world have repeatedly emphasized that the right to education should be given to women and girls, but these requests were not accepted by the Islamic Emirate.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: “Supporting the rights of women and girls is a central part of our foreign policy. Over the past three years, we have put forward concrete strategies, policies and programs to support women and girls around the world. It’s not just rhetoric, it’s action.”
Spokespersons of the Islamic Emirate said many times in interviews with the media that schools and universities for girls would reopen. However, they did not say when the wait for girls would end.
Now, almost three years after schools, above grade 6, were closed to girls, the hope is that in the new academic year there will be changes in the policy of the Islamic Emirate and the school bell will ring with a good news for girls.
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