Chinese President Xi Jinping officially received the credentials of the Taliban ambassador to Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping officially received the credentials of the Taliban ambassador to Beijing

    Tuesday, January 30, 2024   No comments

The Afghan Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping officially received the credentials of the Taliban ambassador to Beijing. Mawlawi Assadullah, also known as Bilal Karimi, handed over his credentials along with ambassadors from 41 countries to President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the ministry said in a statement.

President Xi is the first head of state to officially accredit a Taliban ambassador during a special ceremony, and last year, Taliban Prime Minister Hassan Akhund received the newly appointed Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan.

 

No country in the world has officially recognized the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan yet, but ambassadors appointed by the Taliban are actively working in many Asian capitals.

Taliban Ambassador to Chaina, Bilal Karimi

 

The Taliban movement has been criticized by the international community due to the severe restrictions it imposes on women's rights.

 

A Brussels-based research center said on Tuesday that countries in the region need to deal with Afghanistan regarding security and economic issues and urged Western powers to support such efforts or at least refrain from obstructing them.

 

China has maintained good relations with the Taliban since its return to power in August 2021, and Beijing is considered one of Kabul's largest trading partners.

The "Taliban": "we destroyed 18 Iranian border facilities in total"

The "Taliban": "we destroyed 18 Iranian border facilities in total"

    Sunday, May 28, 2023   No comments

Taliban is stil driven by the same supremacist ideology that founded it; that appears to be the conclusion one can draw from the statements of its leaders about the recent clashes at the border with Iran.

A statement issued by the Taliban's Social Communications Department read: "The Iranian Revolutionary Guards carried out terrorist attacks from its huge border posts. Iran has not put up a strong resistance so far. It seems that its army is weak and feminine."

For his part, the leader of the "Taliban" movement, Abdul Hamid Khorasani, stated in a video speech: "Do not test our strength. You are behind the scenes with the Westerners. We are true Muslims. If the sheikhs allow us, we will seize Tehran."

How and why do US-Trained Afghan Troops, ISIS, and Syrian Rebels end up Fighting on either side in Ukraine?

How and why do US-Trained Afghan Troops, ISIS, and Syrian Rebels end up Fighting on either side in Ukraine?

    Monday, February 13, 2023   No comments

In the 1970s and 80s, the US and Saudi Arabia worked together to radicalize, train, and equip fighters in Afghanistan with the hope that these fighters who combine a sectarian zeal and military skill will bring down the Soviet Union. The religious sectarian zeal empowered these fighters to attack the US on September 11, 2001.

Ten years later, in 2011, the US, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia trained and supplied fighters who were trained or inspired by the Afghan rebels to bring down the Syrian government. Russia stepped in in 2015 and reversed the gains made by al-Qaeda and ISIL troops.

Since 2002, the US military and intelligence started to train and arm an elite force in Afghanistan, some 30,000 fighters. Twenty years later, the US pulled out of Afghanistan and left that country in the hands of Taliban, the same government the US dislodged in 2002. Most of these elite Afghani troops were left behind. We are now learning that many of them, about 2/3 of them, are recruited to fight with Russia in Ukraine, the country that has received nearly $100 billion in aid and military equipment to help it fight the Russians.

 Over the twenty years since it invaded Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States has built, equipped, and trained the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. In order to enable these forces to fight the Taliban, which allied with al-Qaeda at the time, Washington spent nearly 90 billion dollars, until there were between 20-30 thousand Afghan special forces as a military elite that the Afghan government was proud of being trained by the Navy Special Forces. American, known as "SEAL", British Air Force Special Forces.

And with the start of implementing its decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in August 2021, Washington tried to transfer these soldiers and officers out of the country on the grounds that they were at risk from the Taliban movement, which took over the reins of government. For this, the United States established a huge air bridge, which was described as the largest operation of its kind in the history of the United States, and through which Washington was able to evacuate about 130,000 Afghans and foreigners from the country. However, the US airlift only transferred a few hundred senior Afghan Special Forces officers, leaving the bulk of them face to face with the advancing Taliban. About 1,000 Afghan special forces were evacuated to the United States, while a few others managed to reach Europe and Turkey, while about 20,000 of them were left behind inside Afghanistan.

Soon, these people changed their loyalties, and some of them fought in the ranks of the opposition groups, such as the National Resistance Front, the anti-Taliban political and military alliance led by Ahmed Shah Massoud, and took the Panjshir Valley as a center for its operations, and even a few of them resorted to fighting in the ranks of the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, While a large number of them fled to neighboring countries, especially Iran and Pakistan, where they are awaiting asylum in a Western country due to their previous close ties to the US alliance.

With thousands of former Afghan soldiers and officers flocking to Iran, many American fears have been raised about transferring their unique knowledge of US army tactics and training to its arch-rival Iran, which poses a major security threat to the United States. It is easy for them to transfer their institutional knowledge of the US military, including the mechanics of collecting sensitive intelligence information, to Iran or other enemies of the United States if they communicate with them. And as stated in a report by Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US Congress, the catastrophe of evacuating Afghans a year and a half ago endangered US intelligence assets, including the Afghan special forces, as “(they) could pose a threat to US security.” If they are coerced or recruited to work with one of Washington's adversaries, including international terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (in Khorasan) or countries such as China, Russia and Iran."

Events quickly proved that the fears of American officials were correct, as it began to become clear in the past few months that the Afghan Special Forces, which previously carried out advanced raids against the Taliban and bore the brunt of the American war on the Islamic movement, some of its men moved to fight on the side of Russia, the enemy. The arch-enemy of the Americans and the West as a whole these days, after hundreds of them received generous offers that included guaranteeing a safe life for them and their families, as well as obtaining Russian citizenship.

These efforts were led by the "Wagner" special combat group close to the Kremlin and made up of mercenaries fighting for Russia, which plays a prominent role in the war against Ukraine. Moscow hopes to draw on the experiences of former Afghan officers, after the battles over the past year showed that the Russian officers did not perform well on the battlefield against the Western-backed Ukrainian resistance. Media sources have confirmed that about a third of the former Afghan Special Forces are already fighting for Russia.

Meanwhile, as reported previously, ISIS fighters have relocted from Syria and Iraq to fight on the side of US supported Ukrainian forces. Recent Associated Press reporting (see AP Photos, below) depicted ISIS Black patches on the unforms of Ukrainian fighters.

  

Saudi Salafi Religious Leaders rebuke Taliban over Women Education Ban

Saudi Salafi Religious Leaders rebuke Taliban over Women Education Ban

    Saturday, December 24, 2022   No comments

 The largest Saudi religious body calls on the Taliban to reverse the ban on girls from university education and affirms that “preventing women from education is not permissible in Islamic law.” The Afghan government orders civil organizations not to allow women to come to work

Today, Saturday, the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars called on the Afghan government to enable Afghan women the right to education in educational institutions, and to reverse its decision to prevent women from doing so, noting that preventing women from education is not permissible in Islamic law.

And the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars stated in a statement today, Saturday, that “Islam, with its tight legislation and its complete constitution, preserves every human being, male and female, his rights,” and lists his duties, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The commission, which is the largest religious body in the Kingdom, affirmed that “Islam, with its rulings and legislation, preserves the legal rights of women completely and undiminished, so women enjoyed, under this true religion, their rights that preserve their humanity and preserve their dignity. diverse science, and participated in the Muslim community throughout history in its renaissance, leadership and prosperity.

The Council of Senior Scholars noted, “At the forefront of the rights that Islam has preserved for women is the right to education, as the legal texts that encourage and encourage learning tend towards women as well as towards men.”

Last Wednesday, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom's surprise and regret at the decision of the Afghan caretaker government, led by the Taliban movement, to prevent Afghan girls from having the right to university education.

Last Tuesday, the Taliban decided to ban university education for women in Afghanistan indefinitely, according to a letter sent by the Ministry of Higher Education to all public and private universities.

The letter, signed by Minister Nada Muhammad Nadeem, said: “I inform you all to implement the aforementioned order to stop female education until further notice.”

The ban on higher education for women comes less than 3 months after thousands of them took university entrance exams across the country.

"Serious complaints have been received regarding non-compliance with the Islamic headscarf and other rules and regulations related to women's work in local and international organisations," the ministry responsible for approving licenses for NGOs operating in Afghanistan said in a letter seen by AFP.

In its letter addressed to international and local non-governmental organizations, the ministry added that “in the event of neglecting the guidance … the organization’s license will be revoked.”

Two non-governmental organizations that spoke to AFP confirmed that they had received the letter from the ministry.

"We are suspending all our activities as of Sunday," a senior official of an international organization involved in humanitarian work in several remote areas of the country told AFP, on condition of anonymity. "We will soon hold a meeting of senior officials from all NGOs to decide how to deal with this issue," he added.

Likewise, another official working for an international non-governmental organization concerned with food distribution said that the ban is “a big blow to female employees.”

"We have a large number of female staff to address concerns about humanitarian assistance to Afghan women," he added, asking, "How do we address their concerns now?"

Dozens of international and local NGOs operate in various sectors in various remote areas of Afghanistan, and many of their employees are women.

In response to the latest decision, the UN Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, said the ban was "a clear violation of humanitarian principles."

SAS unit repeatedly killed Afghan detainees, BBC finds

SAS unit repeatedly killed Afghan detainees, BBC finds

    Tuesday, July 12, 2022   No comments

Today, Tuesday, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) conducted an investigation that published details of it saying that agents of the Special Air Service in Afghanistan (SAS) repeatedly killed detainees and "unarmed" men in suspicious circumstances.

The military reports obtained indicate that one unit may have unlawfully killed 54 people in one round that lasted six months.

The BBC also reported that General Sir Mark Carleton Smith, the former head of the UK's special forces, was aware of the alleged "unlawful" killings, but did not hand the evidence to the Royal Military Police - even after the Royal Military Police launched an investigation. in the killings carried out by members of the Special Forces.

 The BBC also found evidence that the former head of the Special Forces failed to pass evidence to a murder investigation. While the reports received said that more than 12 "kill or capture" raids were carried out in Helmand, Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011.

Personnel who served in Special Forces units stated that they witnessed the SAS killing unarmed people during the night raids.

The reports revealed a "pattern of strikingly similar reports of Afghan men being shot dead because they pulled AK-47s or grenades from behind curtains or other furniture after their arrest."

The report also said that AK-47s were deliberately placed at the scenes of accidents in order to justify the killing of unarmed people. He added, "Many people who served in the Special Forces were competing with each other over which of them had the most killings."

It is noteworthy that such incidents occurred in earlier times, according to the report, and the data indicate that they raise suspicion among officials that what happened in Afghanistan has turned into what he called “a suspicious and suspicious killing pattern”, especially since previous incidents that are very similar have been documented. It was revealed by the British Authority in its report.

The information in the reports shows that officers at the highest levels of the Special Forces were aware of the implementation of "potential unlawful killings", but were unable to report this to the military police, despite the fact that the law requires them to report such crimes.

It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Defense did not comment on what was published by the BBC, while a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said that the British forces "served with courage and professionalism" in Afghanistan to the highest standards.

In the first visit of its kind... the Chinese Foreign Minister arrives in Kabul

In the first visit of its kind... the Chinese Foreign Minister arrives in Kabul

    Thursday, March 24, 2022   No comments

 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Kabul today, according to a Taliban official, a week before Beijing hosts a meeting between Afghanistan's neighbors to discuss ways to help the country after the Taliban seized power.

In the context, a government official, Ahmed Yasir, wrote in a tweet, that "the Chinese Foreign Minister arrived in Kabul to meet officials from the Islamic Emirate."

The minister arrived in Kabul from Islamabad, where he participated, over two days, in a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

It is noteworthy that China shares with Afghanistan a small part of its border, 76 kilometers at a very high altitude, but Beijing has long feared that its neighbor could become a base for separatists and Islamists from the Uighur ethnicity.

Before the Taliban seized power on August 15, Beijing sought to maintain its ties with the hardline Islamic movement, at a time when US and NATO forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan under Taliban, replenishing the military with Taliban fighters

Afghanistan under Taliban, replenishing the military with Taliban fighters

    Sunday, January 09, 2022   No comments

Spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, Enayatullah Khwarizmi, confirmed that so far 80% of the Afghan army has been prepared, and the number of the army is scheduled to reach 100,000 soldiers, including members of the former army, and the priority in the new Afghan army will be for the Mujahideen.

Afghan caretaker foreign minister visits Tehran, Iran

Afghan caretaker foreign minister visits Tehran, Iran

    Sunday, January 09, 2022   No comments

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, met this evening, Sunday, with the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Maulvi Amir Khan Mottaki and his accompanying delegation.

According to Afghan news sources, the Foreign Minister Maulvi Amir Khan Mottaki was quoted as saying that had discussed with Iranian officials trade, oil, transit, politics, the current situation and security issues, which would have good results.

Afghanistan’s Taliban leader Issues a Decree on Rights of Women

Afghanistan’s Taliban leader Issues a Decree on Rights of Women

    Friday, December 03, 2021   No comments

 

Translation of full text:

_____________________

Decree of His Eminence the Commander of the Faithful on Women's Rights

 

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful

Under the direction of the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, all officials, distinguished scholars, and tribal leaders must take serious steps regarding the necessity of observing the following rights for women:

The consent of the adult woman is required in the marriage (when the husband is competent, and there is no fear of corruption or fitnah). No one has the right to compel a woman or force her to marry.

A woman is not property; she is a free and authentic human being, and no one has the right to marry her in exchange for resolving the conflict.

A woman whose husband has died is free to determine her fate after the expiry of her waiting period (four months and ten days or the delivery of a pregnancy), and neither the brother-in-law (the husband’s brother) nor anyone else has the right to marry her against her will, provided that competence is taken into account and that there is no sedition or corruption.

Taking the dowry from the second husband is a legal right for the woman.

A woman whose husband has died has a fixed right (Fard & Ta`sib) to the inheritance of her husband, children, parents, and the rest of her relatives, and no one can prevent her from taking her share in the inheritance.

Whoever has more than one woman under him, he is charged with justice between them and giving each of them their legal rights.

In order to implement the provisions stipulated in the best way, the following government agencies must take the necessary measures in their regard:

 

The Ministry of Hajj and Endowments is charged with guiding scholars and preachers to educate people about women’s rights, not to oppress them, and to give them their rights, in Friday sermons and through awareness programs and preaching councils.

Assigning the Ministry of Culture and Information to publish targeted awareness programs (through targhib & tarhib) about women’s rights, through its various media (written and audio). In order for scholars to be alert and public awareness and education about the legitimate rights of women, it would be easier to deal with matters and prevent injustice.

 

The High Court of the Supreme Court is instructed to direct all courts to register cases relating to women's rights, especially bereaved women, in a fundamental manner, so that they do not despair from obtaining their rights and repel injustice.

The governors of states and directorates shall cooperate with the aforementioned ministries and courts in implementing all the provisions of this decree.

Peace, mercy and blessings of God

The leadership position of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

28/4/1443 AH

12/8/1400 AH

3/12/2021 AD

_____________