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UN in Afghanistan ‘concerned’ about new morality law
The text has worrying impacts on religious freedoms by ignoring the full diversity of Afghanistan’s religious communities, and places more restrictions that will impact the work of journalists and media, UNAMA stated.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Sunday it is concerned by the promotion of a morality law by the Islamic Emirate this week that had wide-ranging and far-reaching restrictions on personal conduct and one that provides morality police with broad powers of enforcement.
This week the Islamic Emirate announced the ratification of a “Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice”, with 35 articles detailing significant restrictions on the Afghan population with arbitrary and potentially severe enforcement mechanisms, UNAMA said in a statement.
“It is a distressing vision for Afghanistan’s future, where moral inspectors have discretionary powers to threaten and detain anyone based on broad and sometimes vague lists of infractions,” said Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNAMA.
“It extends the already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, with even the sound of a female voice outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation,” she said.
The text has worrying impacts on religious freedoms by ignoring the full diversity of Afghanistan’s religious communities, and places more restrictions that will impact the work of journalists and media, UNAMA stated.
“After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than being threatened or jailed if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one,” Otunbayeva said.
“The international community has been seeking, in good faith, to constructively engage with the de facto authorities. The world wants to see Afghanistan on the path of peace and prosperity, where all Afghans have a stake in their future, are citizens with rights and not just subjects to be disciplined. Further restricting the rights of the Afghan people and holding them in constant fear will make achieving this goal even harder,” Otunbayeva said.
UNAMA stated it is studying the newly ratified law and its implications for the Afghan people, as well as its potential impact on United Nations and other vital humanitarian assistance for the country.
UNAMA is also seeking clarification from the Islamic Emirate on a number of articles and on plans for enforcement.
Based on its initial review, two articles in the law do constitute positive steps, namely outlawing the mistreatment of orphans as well as “prohibiting the practice of Bacha Bazi, a pedophilic practice of using young boys for personal entertainment and sexual abuse,” the statement read.
UNAMA however said it reiterates that Afghanistan as a state remains party to seven key international human rights instruments. “Security Council Resolution 2681 (2023) also called on the Taliban (IEA) to swiftly reverse the policies and practices that restrict the enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the statement read.
On Wednesday, the ministry of justice announced that Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), had approved a law on the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice.
The law has four chapters and 35 articles, Barakatullah Rasouli, a spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, said.
He said that the law regulates the affairs of the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and duties and powers of Muhtasibs (inspectors/morality police).
However, the Islamic Emirate does not always consider UNAMA’s reactions and reports to be accurate.
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India sends over 63,000 vaccine doses to boost Afghanistan’s public health system
New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.
India has reinforced its support for Afghanistan’s public health sector with the delivery of a new batch of essential vaccines to Kabul.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi has supplied 63,734 doses of influenza and meningitis vaccines to Afghan health authorities as part of its ongoing humanitarian assistance program.
Afghan health officials noted that the vaccines will be integrated into national preventive healthcare efforts and will help curb seasonal illnesses while reducing the risk of meningitis outbreaks, especially during periods of heightened vulnerability.
They said the shipment arrives at a time when Afghanistan’s medical resources remain under significant strain.
India has served as a key health partner to Afghanistan in recent years, providing medical supplies, essential medicines, and several rounds of vaccines to help strengthen the country’s healthcare infrastructure.
New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.
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Deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics travels to Uzbekistan
Abdul Rahman Munir, the Deputy Minister for Counter-Narcotics at the Ministry of Interior, traveled to Uzbekistan this afternoon along with his accompanying delegation.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the purpose of the trip is to participate in a meeting of member countries of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Drugs (CARICC).
The statement added that the meeting will be held on December 5 of this year in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
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Imran Khan accuses Army Chief of ‘igniting’ Pakistan–Afghanistan tensions
In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has accused Army Chief Asim Munir of deliberately “igniting tensions” with Afghanistan, calling his policies “disastrous” for Pakistan.
The 73-year-old former cricketer, who has been imprisoned since 2023, issued the remarks through his official account on the social media platform X. His statement was shared a day after his sister, Uzma Khan, met him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail following “special permission” granted by the government led by Shehbaz Sharif.
In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”
He further alleged that the army chief’s actions were motivated by a desire to please Western governments, saying Munir had “deliberately ignited tensions with Afghanistan so he could be seen internationally as a so-called ‘mujahid’.”
The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf added that he had long opposed “drone attacks and military operations against our own people,” arguing such tactics would only worsen militancy. Khan claimed Munir first “threatened Afghans,” then oversaw the expulsion of refugees and the launching of drone strikes, the consequences of which he said were now visible in rising violence.
Khan also launched a personal attack on the army chief, calling him “mentally unstable” and accusing him of presiding over the “collapse of the Constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”
He alleged that, on Munir’s orders, he and his wife had been imprisoned on fabricated charges and subjected to “the worst form of psychological torture.”
Khan said he had been held in solitary confinement for four weeks, with no human contact and without basic entitlements provided under the jail manual. He added that despite court directions, access to political colleagues, lawyers and family members had been blocked.
Referring to an incident involving another sister, Noreen Niazi, he said she was “dragged on the road” while trying to meet him.
Khan praised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for choosing “resistance over compromise” and urged him to “continue to play on the front foot.” He added that those threatening to impose governor’s rule in the province should “do it today rather than tomorrow and then watch what happens.”
An undeclared ban on meetings with Khan had fuelled speculation about his health. After visiting him, Uzma Khan said he was “perfectly fine” physically but was being subjected to “mental torture” in solitary confinement.
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