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UNAMA calls for urgent action by IEA to stop torture of detainees

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The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to urgently take steps to establish a stronger legal aid framework, and to stop torture of detainees.

In a report issued on Wednesday, UNAMA said it has documented more than 1,600 cases of human rights violations committed by authorities in Afghanistan during arrests and detentions of people, and urged the IEA to stop torture and protect the rights of detainees.

Nearly 50% of the violations consisted of “torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” the report stated.

The report by the mission’s Human Rights Service covered 19 months — from January 2022 until the end of July 2023 — with cases documented across 29 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. It said 11% of the cases involved women.

UNAMA said the torture aimed at extracting confessions and other information included beatings, suffocation, suspension from the ceiling and electric shocks.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement issued with the report that “the personal accounts of beatings, electric shocks, water torture, and numerous other forms of cruel and degrading treatment, along with threats made against individuals and their families, are harrowing.”

“This report suggests that torture is also used as a tool — in lieu of effective investigations. I urge all concerned de facto authorities to put in place concrete measures to halt these abuses and hold perpetrators accountable,” he said.

UNAMA did however acknowledge some steps taken by the IEA to monitor places of detention and investigate allegations of abuse.

“Although there have been some encouraging signs in terms of leadership directives as well as an openness among many de facto officials to engage constructively with UNAMA, and allow visits to prisons, these documented cases highlight the need for urgent, accelerated action by all,” Roza Otunbayeva, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan and head of the mission, said in a statement.

The report said of the torture and other degrading treatment that 259 instances involved physical suffering and 207 involved mental suffering.

UNAMA said it believes that ill-treatment of individuals in custody is widely underreported and that the figures in the report represent only a snapshot of violations of people in detention across Afghanistan.

The report said 44% of the interviewees were civilians with no particular affiliation, 21% were former government or security personnel, 16% were members of civic organizations or human rights groups, 9% were members of armed groups and 8% were journalists and media workers. The remainder were “family members of persons of interest.”

In a response included in the report, the IEA’s Foreign Ministry said government agencies have taken steps to improve the human rights situation of detainees, and that Islamic law, or Shariah, prohibits torture.

The ministry however questioned some of the report’s data. The Ministry of Interior said it has identified only 21 cases of human rights violations.

The IEA stated that the Office of Prison Administration is an independent civil organ that has been established to keep and
protect detainees. The office is “fully aware” of the importance of “the Islamic and human rights of detainees, is focused on respecting the rights of detainees and preventing violation of their basic rights.”

“Hence, the Office of Prison Administration has no role in the persecution and torture of individuals aimed at obtaining forced confessions. It is evident that managing detention centers in most countries is a challenging task and entails dissatisfaction, protests, and riots. So, adopting disciplinary measures is sometimes inevitable. But this administration has never allowed prison officials to torture or physically deal with prisoners.”

 

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Khalilzad warns Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions likely to worsen after fresh airstrikes

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Former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has warned that the latest Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan and recent violence inside Pakistan are part of a wider crisis, saying he sees no indication that the situation is about to change.

In a post on X on Thursday, Khalilzad described the Pakistani airstrikes that have killed Afghan civilians and the increasing use of force against civilians in Pakistan as “interconnected tragedies,” implying both effected by Pakistan’s establishment.

“Unfortunately, I do not see any signs of change,” Khalilzad said, adding that current indicators suggested the use of force against Pakistanis would “likely get worse” in the coming days.

His comments came after Pakistan carried out a new wave of airstrikes inside Afghanistan overnight Thursday, saying it had targeted 10 locations used to launch and store drones.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were conducted in response to drones launched from Afghan territory a day earlier and described them as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate.”

Afghan officials said the strikes killed four civilians. The attacks reportedly hit locations including Kandahar, Khost and Paktia provinces. Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate authorities have denied launching the drones cited by Pakistan and have condemned the strikes.

The latest attacks follow Pakistani airstrikes earlier this week in Kunar and Paktika. Pakistan said those operations killed 28 militants, while the United Nations confirmed that three Afghan civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed, with four others injured.

The renewed airstrikes come amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Kabul and Islamabad. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from its territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan.

Afghan authorities reject the allegations and say militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue.

Khalilzad has previously called for a change in Pakistan’s strategy toward both its internal security problems and Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan summons Pakistani chargé d’affaires over latest airstrikes

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Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires to Kabul and lodged a strong protest against the violation of Afghan airspace and Pakistani military airstrikes on several Afghan provinces.

The ministry handed the Pakistani diplomat a formal protest note following the attacks on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Wednesday night, which reportedly caused civilian casualties.

The Islamic Emirate strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and contrary to Islamic, international, humanitarian and good-neighborly principles.

The ministry also rejected what it called baseless claims that Afghan territory was being used as a source of Pakistan’s recent security incidents.

It said using such claims to justify military action was an attempt to distort facts, mislead public opinion and conceal Pakistan’s internal failures.

The Islamic Emirate further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of avoiding commitments made to regional countries and warned that such actions could further escalate tensions in the region.

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Museum dedicated to preserving ‘Jihadi’ artefacts opens in Kandahar

The museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.

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A museum dedicated to preserving what Afghan authorities describe as “Jihadi artefacts” has officially opened in Kandahar, with officials saying more than 100 items have so far been collected for display.

Mufti Mohammad Tahir Ahmad, Director General for the Preservation of Jihadi Artefacts at the Ministry of Information and Culture, attended the inauguration ceremony alongside Qari Ahmadullah Saeed Khosti, Director of Registration for Jihadi Artefacts and Documents.

Mufti Inamullah Samangani, head of the Kandahar Information and Culture Department, and officials from several government departments also attended the ceremony.

According to the official responsible for preserving the artefacts in Kandahar, the museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.

The collection includes weapons that officials say were captured from British, Soviet and US forces, as well as personal belongings and other items associated with people killed during Afghanistan’s conflicts over the past two decades.

Officials said efforts to collect additional artefacts would continue in order to expand the museum’s collection.

The museum is now open to visitors, according to the officials.

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