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Watchdog urges unconditional support to protect Afghan women
While donor countries to Afghanistan say they want to keep protecting the human rights of women and girls, a bill introduced in the United States Senate last week raises issues about how requiring the Afghan government to respect rights could potentially lead to cuts in funding for essential services for women and girls.
In an article by Heather Barr, Human Rights Watch Interim Co-Director, Women’s Rights Division, she stated the Protect Women’s and Girls’ Rights in Afghanistan Act would require the US Secretary of State to report twice yearly to Congress on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.
It would continue US support to “preserve the rights” of Afghan women but warns that the US will “refuse to provide economic aid to an Afghan government” that violates these rights, Barr stated.
According to her, the bill follows a November 2020 joint statement by Afghanistan’s main donors, including the US, that laid out the “key elements” that would be taken into account when considering whether to continue their current development and budgetary support to the country.
Among those elements was respect for women’s rights.
Efforts to hold this and any future Afghan government to account are vital, she stated. The Afghan government has a poor track record on women’s rights, including failing to investigate and provide accountability for violence against women, she said.
The Taliban, which controls large parts of the country and could gain a role in the government through a peace deal or military success, retains many of their deeply abusive pre-2001 policies toward women and girls, Barr stated.
But donors should consider how they can respond to government abuses without harming women and girls by cutting essential services.
Over 75 percent of the Afghan government’s budget comes from international donors. Cuts in donor funding to Afghanistan have already damaged women’s access to health care and could imperil girls’ access to education, she said.
Barr stated that with the withdrawal of international troops, donor countries may be eager to cut their support to Afghanistan; punishing the government for rights violations could be a convenient excuse.
But defunding the government should not mean defunding services, she stated.
Nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan have proved they can deliver vital services despite the country’s escalating insecurity, so long as they have sufficient resources.
Countries pulling troops from Afghanistan should make it clear that they will continue to support – and fund – Afghan women and girls, whether or not they can work with the Afghan government, Barr said.
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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
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