Tag: taliban afghanistan

Taliban’s Treatment of Women May Be Crime Against Humanity: Un Experts

The exclusion of Afghan women and girls from parks and gyms as well as schools and universities may amount to a crime against humanity, a group of UN experts said on Friday.

Geneva: The Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women and girls, including their exclusion from parks and gyms as well as schools and universities, may amount to a crime against humanity, a group of UN experts said on Friday.

The assessment by the UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan Richard Bennett and nine other UN experts says the treatment of women and girls may amount to “gender persecution” under the Rome Statute to which Afghanistan is a party.

Responding to the assessment, Taliban foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said: “The current collective punishment of innocent Afghans by the UN sanctions regime all in the name of women rights and equality amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The UN experts said in a statement that women’s confinement to their homes was “tantamount to imprisonment”, adding that it was likely to lead to increased levels of domestic violence and mental health problems. The experts cited the arrest this month of female activist Zarifa Yaqobi and four male colleagues.

They remain in detention, the experts said.

The Taliban took over from a Western-backed government in August 2021. They say they respect women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

Western governments have said the Taliban needs to reverse its course on women’s rights, including their U-turn on signals they would open girls’ high schools, for any path towards formal recognition of the Taliban government.

Separately, a spokesperson for the UN human rights office called for the Taliban authorities to immediately halt the use of public floggings in Afghanistan.

Ravina Shamdasani said the office had documented numerous such incidents this month, including a woman and a man lashed 39 times each for spending time alone together outside of marriage.

Balkhi said the Taliban administration considered the statement by the United Nations and others by Western officials were “an insult towards Islam and violation of international principals.”

MEA Announces Visit of Senior Indian Diplomat to Kabul – First Since Taliban Takeover

‘A team led by Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs, is currently on a visit to Kabul to oversee the delivery operations of our humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.’

New Delhi: For the first time since the fall of Kabul, India has announced an ongoing visit of a senior diplomat to meet with members of the Taliban government, purportedly to discuss humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged and drought-stricken country.

India had withdrawn its diplomatic presence from the Afghan capital following the fall of the Afghan republic and the Taliban capturing the entire country in a military blitzkrieg in August 2021.

There has been public contact with the Taliban leadership a couple of times in other countries, but this was the first announced visit of an Indian official to Afghanistan.

“A team led by Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs, is currently on a visit to Kabul to oversee the delivery operations of our humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan,” said an MEA press note on Thursday.

India had been among the handful of countries that had taken a hardline stance on contacts with the Taliban during talks with the US and erstwhile Afghan government. However, after the Taliban returned to power, India softened its stance with meetings taking place in Doha and Moscow.

The Indian government had also announced that it would send 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan, reeling under severe economic pressure due to financial sanctions against the Taliban and the drought situation in Afghanistan.

It has become a valuable initiative to continue to have contacts with the Taliban, as demonstrated by the visit of the MEA official. “In this connection, the Indian team will meet the senior members of the Taliban, and hold discussions on India’s humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan,” said the MEA press communique. 

So far, India has dispatched around 20,000 metric tonnes of wheat, which has been transported through Pakistani territory. It had also delivered COVID-19 vaccines to Afghanistan, as well as to Iran – to vaccinate Afghan refugees.

 As with other humanitarian aid of medicines and COVID-19 vaccines, India announced that consignments were not handed over to the Taliban government for distribution, but to UN agencies like World Health Organization and World Food Programme, as well as the Indira Gandhi Children Hospital in Kabul.

“India’s development and humanitarian assistance has received a wide spread appreciation across the entire spectrum of Afghan society,” claimed the MEA press release.

It added that the MEA team would meet with the members of the international organisations and also visit various places where Indian projects are being implemented.

It added that India’s approach to Afghanistan would be guided by long-standing “historical and civilisational ties with the Afghan people”.

Afghan Opposition Confirms Meet With Taliban in Iran, but Claim No Breakthrough Yet

The National Resistance Front’s statement claimed that the Taliban did not make any concessions on either an inclusive government or citizenship values.

New Delhi: The Afghan opposition group on Tuesday confirmed that discussions were held between the Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and top leaders of the National Resistance Front (NRF) in Iran, but asserted that there was no breakthrough.

On Monday, the Taliban had posted a video of Muttaqi telling reporters about a meeting with the opposition leaders. “We met commander Ismail Khan and Ahmad Massoud, and other Afghans in Iran, and assured them that anyone can come to Afghanistan and live without any concerns. It’s home to all, and we do not create insecurity or other problems for anyone. Everyone can come freely and live,” the acting foreign minister said.

The NRF took an entire day to confirm the meeting with a statement on Tuesday afternoon. It was the first meeting between the two sides since the Afghan republic collapsed and the Taliban walked into Kabul on August 15 last year.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the NRF asserted that the meeting was in response to “repeated demands” from the Taliban and the Iranian government. The statement added that the NRF delegation was led by Ismail Khan, former minister and governor of Herat province. Khan had been taken into custody when the Taliban conquered Herat, but the former warlord escaped and settled in Mashhad in Iran.

Notably, there was no mention of NRF leader Ahmad Massoud in the statement, even though the Taliban had claimed his presence

The statement stated that the NRF had raised the issue of inclusive government as the right of Afghan people, including the role of women.

Further, it appreciated Iran for stating the only way for international recognition of the Taliban government would be to form an inclusive government.

However, the NRF statement claimed that the Taliban did not make any concessions on either an inclusive government or citizenship values. The meeting ended without any agreement, it asserted.

There was no mention if there would be any additional meetings.

While the Taliban does not face any military threat from the opposition, it has been under pressure from several countries in the region to bring more acceptable faces to its government, which UN-sanctioned hardliners currently dominate. If Massoud or a couple of other top opposition leaders return to Afghanistan and join the regime, it would effectively make the NRF defunct.

Until now, there has been no substantive move towards recognition of the Taliban regime by the international community, which has significantly hampered the restoration of banking channels. None of the major diplomatic missions abroad, except for Islamabad, are under the direct control of the Taliban.

As informed observers, it would not be easy for the Taliban and the Afghan opposition to find a meeting ground, as there were influential voices within both sides who advocated no compromise.

G-20 Agree on Aid for Afghanistan Without Recognising Taliban, Modi Bats for ‘Immediate’ Supply 

Italian prime minister Mario Draghi hosted an ‘extraordinary leaders’ summit’ to discuss the looming humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan

New Delhi: With Afghanistan hurtling towards a humanitarian catastrophe, major global economies agreed on Tuesday, October 12, to jointly back the United Nations in sending urgently required assistance without formal recognition of the Taliban. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the war-ravaged country should receive an “immediate and unhindered” relief supply from the international community.

On Tuesday, Italian prime minister Mario Draghi hosted an ‘extraordinary leaders’ summit’ to discuss the looming humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control over the entire country on August 15.

Following the collapse of the Afghan republic and the Taliban walking into the capital, the United States had frozen access to over $9 billion of international reserve funds. The International Monetary Fund had also suspended the distribution of $400 million in currency reserves.

With the Taliban scrambling for measures to deal with the capital shortage, the Afghan economy is on its knees and the banking system is near collapse. Thousands of government employees have not been given their salaries, which has, in turn, paralysed all economic activity.

The Taliban has been seeking humanitarian aid urgently but asserted that it should not be conditional.

The closed-door virtual meeting on Tuesday was touted by G-20 chair Italy as the first multilateral response to the developing Afghanistan crisis.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the G20 Extraordinary Summit on Afghanistan, via video conferencing, in New Delhi, Tuesday, October 12, 2021. Photo: PTI via PIB

The Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping – both key backers of the Taliban – skipped the special summit. Russia is holding its own conference on Afghanistan on October 20, with Iran announcing a similar initiative with Afghanistan’s neighbours.

At the end of the hour-long G-20 conference, Italian PM Draghi told reporters that there was a consensus to tackle the humanitarian emergency. 

“Nearly everyone agrees that we need the take a unified stance vis-à-vis the goal that we have set ourselves…There is a general mandate for the UN to coordinate the reply and mandate that will allow UN to take the direct action,” he said. Similarly, he added that Kabul airport would also have to be operationalised to ensure supplies can be brought in safely.

The White House statement on the summit said that the leaders “reaffirmed their collective commitment to provide humanitarian assistance directly to the Afghan people through independent international organisations”. In the same sentence, there was reiteration about commitment to promoting “fundamental human rights for all Afghans, including women, girls, and members of minority groups”.

In the post-summit press conference, Draghi also said that addressing the humanitarian crisis would require contacts with the Taliban. “There is no alternative to having contact with them…that does not imply recognition. For recognition, Taliban will be judged by what their deeds are, not words”.

He also asserted that the Taliban government was “not really inclusive” and women’s rights were “going back 20 years”.

“Recognition by most of the G-20 countries means progress has been made along the lines of the words and commitment made by the Taliban a few days ago,” said Draghi.

He acknowledged that the “near term” priority was to save “whatever is left of the banking system. “If it (banking system) collapses, it will be very difficult to provide humanitarian aid. So both go hand in hand”.

In his four-minute-long speech, Modi underlined “the need for the international community to ensure that Afghanistan has immediate and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance”, as per a media release from the Prime Ministers’ office.

At an UN-backed donor conference last month, India had also called for a “non-discriminatory distribution of humanitarian assistance across all sections of the Afghan society”. India has not announced any new aid contribution towards Afghanistan, with the expectation that it would do so “as the picture becomes clear in respect of the legitimate concerns”.

During the G-20 conference, Modi also reiterated India’s support for an “inclusive administration in Afghanistan, which includes women and minorities”. He also supported the role of the UN and called on the G-20 to recommit to the “message contained in UN Security Council Resolution 2593 on Afghanistan”.

“The Prime Minister called on the international community to forge a unified international response without which it would be difficult to bring about the desired change in Afghanistan’s situation,” said the press note.

The Italian G-20 chair also said that the leaders agreed that Afghanistan should not become a haven for terrorism. Modi also underlined this point while calling for strengthening the joint fight against “the nexus of radicalisation, terrorism and the smuggling of drugs and arms in the region”.

Mussoorie’s Afghanistan Connection Goes Back Almost 200 Years

The Raj used it as a place for exile and talks.

For 200 years of its brief existence, Mussoorie has been host to the rulers of Afghanistan.

These include those who have either been interned or exiled from their homes to these backwaters of the hills. Our list begins with Emir Dost Mohammed Khan, the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War, who was housed in Bala Hisar in 1840.

Amir Dost Mohammed Khan. Photo: Chandigarh Museum.

Emir Dost Mohammed Khan had been brought to be kept safely in Dehradun by the British. However he was keen to go up to the nearby Himalayan foothills where game was plentiful and he could while away the hours pursuing his favourite hobby. This arrangement suited the British rulers, for all they had to do was ensure his security. Consequently, the seven mile long bridle-path bristled with troops. No one could sneak in and no one could sneak out. Two years later, he was restored to the throne in Kabul, but by then he had introduced the aromatic basmati rice (baas and maati or ‘scent of the earth’) from his home in Kunar, Afghanistan to the Doon valley.

In that very area, 40-odd years later, the Allen Memorial School was built.

In the spring of 1880, the 50-acre Bellevue estate, beyond the Mussoorie Library, housed another Emir of Afghanistan, Mohammed Yaqub Khan, a grandson of Dost Mohammed, and his entourage. They had travelled outside Jalalabad to sign the Treaty of Gandamak, whereby he ceded his territory to British control, famously saying: ‘I would rather work as your servant, cut grass and tend your garden than be the ruler of Afghanistan.’

He left behind his son Sher Ali on the throne as the Emir. It was Sher Ali’s refusal to accept a British Mission in Kabul that sowed the seed for the second Anglo-Afghan war.

Also read: The Afghan Story in the History of Indian Geopolitics

Walking around the looming ruins, the fallen columns of stone, I think of a 30-something-year-old, dressed in shimmering white (if you ignore the gold tassels dangling from his epaulettes) chafing at the bit. It is true that while he was granted access to the hot spots, there was always an escort or a detail of troopers trailing after him. They were the finest pick of the Northumberland Fusiliers (or the 5th Foot) led by J.C. Fisher, a British Political Officer.

Emir of Afghanistan, Mohammed Yaqub Khan, at the signing of the Treaty of Gandamak. Photo: Author provided/Ganesh Saili

Fisher could not figure out his charge’s habit of suddenly spurring his pony into a gallop, without any warning to his companions. These bursts of speed became more and more frequent but the officer dismissed it as a mere quirk.

Till one fine day when the import of what was happening hit him when he stopped at the fork in the road near the old Library to chit-chat with a friend. To his abject horror, he saw his charge hightailing it at a gallop down the road to Rajpur and perhaps to freedom. A whirlwind pursuit ensued, involving the taking of many a precarious shortcut, but eventually Fisher managed to block the escaper, thus avoiding what might have been the biggest blot on his hitherto unblemished career.

Bala Hisar were Emir Dost Mohammad was interned. Photo: Author provided/Ganesh Saili

On his return, a detailed report of the incident was submitted to the Governor-General.

‘Don’t hurt one hair on his head,’ came the laconic reply. And that was that. Orders were orders that had to be obeyed.

Towards the end of the 1960s, the delicate blue-and-white Cantonese tiles, brought all the way from China to decorate the colonial verandahs of the Bellevue mansion, had begun to chip where vandals had tried to pry them loose for mementos. In a fit of pique, the owners, living in Calcutta, decided to demolish the building.

Also read | The Travails of Afghanistan: A Contemporary History

Standing a moment on this wind-swept spur, I wonder if the Emir Yaqub Khan, his sirdars and risaldars had dreamt of their mountain home in the sun-singed Hindu Kush. Had they heard the muffled sounds of a caravan of wizened traders shuffling along on rock strewn paths through the Hindu Kush? While wintering in the warmer climes of Dehradun, where he had built for himself a smaller replica of Bala Hisar on East Canal Road – that is where final release from human bondage came in November 1923.

His lockdown had lasted 43 years.

It must have broken his heart when in 1920 he was not even an invitee to the Third Anglo-Afghan Conference underway at Mussoorie’s Savoy Hotel. Another Afghan King, the diminutive Amanullah Khan signed the treaty.

There are two pictures that were taken by the famous photographer Julien Rust with his large-format camera to mark the solemn occasion. In one (header image above) there are seven Afghan leaders and four British officers gathered outside the steps of the Motilal Nehru block. The other (below) was taken the next day inside the ballroom with the Afghan flag draped alongside the Union Jack over the balcony.

The Indo Afghan Conference 1930 in the ballroom of the Savoy Hotel in Mussoorie. Photo: Julien Rust/Author provided

Later on the Afghan King commemorated the occasion by building the Masjid-a-Amania off the Mall Road. You will find it next to the Press Club in Library Bazaar.

What must it have been like for all of them, to be torn away from their home cultures, from the familiar, and be left to weave a forlorn tapestry of memories all on their own?

At the end of the day, it is evident that the “Sceptre and crown must tumble down and in the dust be equal made with the poor crooked scythe and spade.”

Ganesh Saili was born and grew up in the hills. He is the author of two dozen books, some translated into 20 languages.

Quad Announces New Partnership on Regional Infrastructure, Keeps Focus On COVID Vaccines

Though China was not mentioned by name, references to a “free and open” Indo-Pacific was perceived to be a challenge to Beijing’s ambitions.

New Delhi: Even as China propounded that the ‘clique’ will be a short-lived one, the ‘Quad’ leaders agreed to push ahead on their initiative to distribute over one billion vaccines in Asia while adding a new partnership on regional infrastructure and STEM fellowships in US institutions.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga and Australian PM Scott Morrison for the first-ever in-person Quad leaders’ summit. The four leaders agreed to meet on an annual basis from now on.

China was not named in public remarks and bilateral documents but repeated reference to a “free and open” Indo-Pacific was perceived, as always, to be a challenge to Beijing’s ambitions in the Indian Ocean.

Ahead of the summit, the Chinese foreign ministry had been dismissive. “China always believes that any regional cooperation mechanism should not target or harm the interests of a third party. A closed, exclusive clique targeting other countries runs counter to the trend of the times and the aspirations of regional countries. It will find no support and is doomed to fail,” said spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Friday.

The four leaders had met virtually six months ago in March 2021, when they agreed to manufacture one billion doses by 2022 for distribution in Asia by ramping up India’s manufacturing capacity.

Two weeks after the virtual summit, India suspended exports of COVID-19 vaccines as the number of cases went up steadily and immunisation rates remained low. A devastating second wave hit the country over April and May, bringing India to its knees as it looked for assistance from abroad.

In the run-up to the Quad summit, India announced last week that it would restart vaccine exports from October. This was “appreciated” by the other quad leaders and mentioned in the joint statement.

According to the joint statement, India’s Biological E limited will manufacture one billion doses by 2022.

So far, 79 million out of the 1.2 billion doses – around 6.5% – have been delivered, the Quad announced.

Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters after the summit meeting that Modi informed his counterpart that Biological E would be ready to export eight million doses of Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine by the end of October.

Quad members, including India, would contribute towards the funding of the vaccine distribution.

The Indian prime minister also proposed a “common travelling protocol”, which would allow for mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccine certificates. The Indian PM had already raised this during the global COVID-19 summit. It is being proposed amidst concerns in New Delhi that Indian nationals are facing roadblocks in international travel.

As per official sources, the Quad Leaders’ Summit had four themes – COVID-19 response; climate change; tech and cyber security; and Afghanistan and regional security. Besides the opening remarks, the rest of the summit was held behind closed doors, and a previously negotiated joint statement was released at the end.

Notable among the new initiatives announced was the launching of a new Quad infrastructure partnership. While Shringla dismissed questions that it was an answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, giving an alternative to regional infrastructure building had been high on the agenda.

The joint statement said that the Quad members would meet regularly to coordinate efforts to “map the region’s infrastructure needs, and coordinate on regional needs and opportunities”. “We will cooperate to provide technical assistance, empowering regional partners with evaluative tools, and will promote sustainable infrastructure development,” it added.

Besides, the Quad also talked of “open, fair, and transparent lending practices in line with international rules and standards for major creditor countries, including on debt sustainability and accountability, and call on all creditors to adhere to these rules and standards”.

Besides, they agree to start cyberspace cooperation to combat cyber threats and to look for new collaboration opportunities in space, including sharing of satellite data.

“In space, we will identify new collaboration opportunities and share satellite data for peaceful purposes such as monitoring climate change, disaster response and preparedness, sustainable uses of oceans and marine resources, and on responding to challenges in shared domains. We will also consult on rules, norms, guidelines and principles for ensuring the sustainable use of outer space,” said the joint statement.

The Quad also announced a new fellowship initiative, funded by private companies, that will allow 100 students from the four countries to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses in US institutions.

They also decided to map the “supply chain of critical technologies and materials, including semiconductors, and affirm our positive commitment to resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains of critical technologies, recognising the importance of government support measures and policies that are transparent and market-oriented”.

Starting with biotechnology, the Quad also announced that they would monitor trends in critical and emerging technologies of the future and identify related opportunities for cooperation. “We are also launching today Quad Principles on Technology Design, Development, Governance, and Use that we hope will guide not only the region but the world towards responsible, open, high-standards innovation”.

The ‘practical’ steps announced by the Quad is strictly in the non-security field, but the rationale for the four countries gathering together, as reiterated in the joint statement, was to enforce their strategic vision of the Indo-Pacific.

“Together, we recommit to promoting the free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. We stand for the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity of states”.

US President Joe Biden listens as India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a ‘Quad nations’ meeting in the White House, US, September 24, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein

There was also a reiteration of support for the adherence to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) “to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas”. China had rejected the jurisdiction of an Arbitral Tribunal appointed under UNCLOS, which gave an order on the overlapping maritime claims between Beijing and Manila. Incidentally, Quad member US has still not ratified the UNCLOS due to opposition from Congress.

Reiterating ASEAN centrality, the four leaders welcomed the 2021 EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. There has been a rift between the US and Europe after the newly-launched trilateral partnership led to France losing its $90 billion submarine deal with Australia.

In their opening remarks, three of the four leaders emphasised the democratic credentials of the Quad members.

“This group meeting of democratic partners who share a world view and have a common vision for the future, coming together to take on key challenges of our age, from COVID to climate to emerging technologies,” said Biden.

Describing the Quad as a “force for global good”, Modi stated that it was “based on shared democratic values”.

Australian Prime Minister Morrison said that the member states were “liberal democracies that believe in a world order that favours freedom”. “The Quad is about demonstrating how democracies such as ours, as you said, Mr President, can get things done that can deal with the big challenges that we face in a very complex and changing world”.

Japan’s Suga stated that the four countries share “fundamental values” but didn’t mention democracy by name.

Afghanistan and Taliban

With Afghanistan as a separate theme in the summit, the joint statement devoted substantial space to the situation in the war-ravaged country. In between the two Quad summits, the Afghan political leadership had changed dramatically, with President Ashraf Ghani having fled the country and the Taliban firmly in control after a blitzkrieg military conquest.

“We reaffirm that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts, and reiterate the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan,” said the joint statement. It also called for the countries to deepen counter-terrorism and humanitarian assistance in line with UN Security Council resolution 2593.

The Quad also called on the Taliban to provide safe passage for any persons wishing to leave Afghanistan and ensuring human rights for all Afghans, including women, children and minorities.

India’s top diplomat Shringla had told Indian reporters in Washington that the leaders had noted that the “ruling dispensation did not appear to be an inclusive one”, with barely any representation from ethnic minorities and women.

FILE PHOTO: Afghan women’s rights defenders and civil activists protest to call on the Taliban for the preservation of their achievements and education, in front of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan September 3, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Stringer

However, the joint statement strikingly had no mention of the need for an “inclusive” government in Afghanistan.

Shringla also asserted that there was “very careful consideration” given to the support of “certain hard-line elements in that country, including terrorist groups by [a] certain neighbour of Afghanistan”.

“I think there was there was a clear concern expressed in that regard on Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan,” he claimed.

In line with the Indian position, the Quad joint statement denounced “the use of terrorist proxies and emphasised the importance of denying any logistical, financial or military support to terrorist groups which could be used to launch or plan terror attacks including cross-border attacks”.

Shringla felt that it was often overlooked that while Pakistan keeps “projecting itself as a facilitator whereas, it has really been in many senses an instigator of some of the problems that we’re dealing with, in our neighbourhood and beyond”.

Taliban Say Women Allowed to Study in Universities But Makes Gender Segregation Mandatory

The issue of women’s education has been one of the central questions facing the Taliban.

Women in Afghanistan will be allowed to study in universities as the country seeks to rebuild after decades of war but gender-segregation and Islamic dress code will be mandatory, the Taliban’s new Higher Education minister said on Sunday.

The minister, Abdul Baqi Haqqani, said the new Taliban government, named last week, would “start building the country on what exists today” and did not want to turn the clock back 20 years to when the movement was last in power.

He said female students would be taught by women wherever possible and classrooms would remain separated, in accordance with the movement’s interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

“Thanks to God we have a high number of women teachers. We will not face any problems in this. All efforts will be made to find and provide women teachers for female students,” he told a news conference in Kabul.

The issue of women’s education has been one of the central questions facing the Taliban as they seek to persuade the world that they have changed since the harsh fundamentalist rule they imposed in the 1990s when women were largely banned from studying or working outside the home.

Taliban officials have said women will be able to study and work in accordance with sharia law and local cultural traditions but strict dress rules will apply. Haqqani said hijab religious veils would be mandatory for all female students but did not specify if this meant headscarves or compulsory face coverings.

On Saturday, a group, apparently made up of women students in black robes that covered them completely from head to foot, demonstrated in Kabul in support of the rules on dress and separate classrooms.

Haqqani said where no women teachers were available special measures would be adopted to ensure separation.

“When there is really a need, men can also teach (women) but in accordance with sharia, they should observe the veil,” he said. Classrooms would be curtained off to divide male and female students where necessary and teaching could also be done through streaming or closed circuit TV.

Classrooms divided by curtains have already been seen in many places since the Western-backed government collapse and the Taliban seized Kabul last month.

Haqqani told reporters that gender segregation would be enforced across Afghanistan and all subjects taught at colleges would also be reviewed in the coming months.

Watch | Legacy of the 9/11 Attacks and the Global ‘War on Terror’

Happymon Jacob discusses the implications of US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the return of the Taliban and increasing Chinese influence in the region.

In this episode, Happymon Jacob discusses the legacy of the 9/11 attacks on its 20th anniversary with professor C. Raja Mohan (director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore), Tamanna Salikuddin (director of South Asia Programs at the United States Institute of Peace), and Max Rodenbeck (South Asia bureau chief, The Economist). They discuss the implications of the attacks and the war on terror on the global balance of power and regional geopolitics. The discussion looks into the implications of US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the return of the Taliban and increasing Chinese influence in the region. The future of the US-led liberal international order after two decades of 9/11 and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is debated, and what it means for human rights, humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect is discussed.

After Taliban Takeover, BRICS Prioritises Preventing Afghanistan From Becoming a Terror Hub

While the meeting took place less than a month after the Taliban had retaken Afghanistan, the joint statement expressed concern about developments but did not refer to the insurgent group by name.

New Delhi: The bloc of five emerging countries, known collectively as BRICS, called for an “inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue”, even as they underlined the need to prevent the use of Afghanistan’s territory as a launchpad for terror groups.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met virtually for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the summit as India currently holds the rotating annual chair of the grouping.

While the meeting took place less than a month after the Taliban had retaken Afghanistan, the joint statement expressed concern about developments but did not refer to the insurgent group by name.

Among the five BRICS members, Russia and China have fostered close ties with the Taliban in recent years. Their primary concern has been that terror groups like Daesh and ETIM, which could spread to Central Asia and Xinjiang, should not find fertile ground in the new Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

India has concerns that increased activities of Pakistan-based terror groups in Afghanistan could lead to increased terrorism in Kashmir. India did not have formal contact with the Taliban till the Afghan republic was in existence, which changed last month after the Indian ambassador in Qatar Deepak Mittal met representatives of the Taliban at the latter’s request.

“We underscore the priority of fighting terrorism, including preventing attempts by terrorist organisations to use Afghan territory as terrorist sanctuary and to carry out attacks against other countries, as well as drug trade within Afghanistan,” said the joint statement.

In a separate section, BRICS leaders also committed to combating “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and terrorism financing networks and safe havens”. The leaders also adopted the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Action.

The BRICS leaders also condemned the terror attack at Hamid Karzai Kabul international airport, claimed by the Islamic State’s Khorasan chapter. The twin bombs went off amidst hundreds of Afghans and foreign nationals desperate to be evacuated after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

While not naming any group, BRICS leaders “call for refraining from violence and settling the situation by peaceful means”.

“We stress the need to contribute to fostering an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue so as to ensure stability, civil peace, law and order in the country,” added the statement.

The Taliban had committed to having an “inclusive” government, but it announced an all-male caretaker government on Tuesday night. The 33-member cabinet has only two Tajiks and one Uzbek, while the rest are from the majority Pashtun community.

The BRICS leaders also underlined the “need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of women, children and minorities”.

As mentioned earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin was the only BRICS leader to mention Afghanistan in their public remarks.

Blaming the US, he claimed that the Afghan crisis was a “direct consequence of irresponsible attempts to impose alien values ​​from the outside, the desire to build so-called democratic structures by methods of socio-political engineering, without taking into account either the historical or national characteristics of other peoples, ignoring their traditions”.

While Russia had previously always advocated for the quick withdrawal of US forces, Putin said that Washington has now abandoned Afghanistan to the world community to “disentangle the consequence”.

In his opening remarks, Modi recounted the initiatives taken by India during this year ranging from a collective document on reforming multilateral systems to an agreement on remote sensing constellation.

With cases of COVID-19 soaring again across the world, the joint statement also devoted several paragraphs to many of the sensitive political issues which have arisen from the pandemic.

On the subject of the study of the origin of the coronavirus, the BRICS said that they supported an investigation that was “science-based inclusive of broad expertise, transparent, and timely processes” and “free from politicisation or interference”.

In July, China had rejected the World Health Organisation’s plan for a second phase of its investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, including a further probe into the theory that the virus could have escaped from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan.

Besides, two of the BRICS members – India and South Africa – had initiated a proposal at the World Trade Organisation last year calling for a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines.

In his opening remarks, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also sought support for the initiative from the other BRICS leaders.

However, the joint statement only said that the leaders “note” the ongoing discussions related to the topic in the Geneva-based multilateral body. “We also stress the importance of science-based, and objective assessment of the safety, and efficacy of vaccines by regulators throughout the world,” it stated.

Taliban Celebrate ‘Complete Independence’ as Last US Troops Leave Afghanistan

As the US troops departed, they destroyed more than 70 aircraft, dozens of armoured vehicles and disabled air defences that had thwarted an attempted Islamic State rocket attack on the eve of the US departure.

Celebratory gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the airport before dawn on Tuesday following the withdrawal of the last US troops, ending 20 years of war that left the Islamic militia stronger than it was in 2001.

Shaky video footage distributed by the Taliban showed fighters entering the airport after the last US troops took off a minute before midnight, marking the end of a hasty and humiliating exit for Washington and its NATO allies.

“The last US soldier has left Kabul airport and our country gained complete independence,” Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf said, according to Al Jazeera TV.

The US Army shared an image taken with night-vision optics of the last US soldier to step aboard the final evacuation flight out of Kabul – Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.

US Army Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, steps on board a C-17 transport plane as the last US service member to leave Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 30, 2021 in a photograph taken using night vision optics. Photo: XVIII Airborne Corps/Handout via Reuters

America’s longest war took the lives of nearly 2,500 US troops and an estimated 240,000 Afghans, and cost some $2 trillion.

Although it succeeded in driving the Taliban from power and stopped Afghanistan being used as a base by al Qaeda to attack the United States, it ended with the hardline Islamic militants controlling more of the country than they ever did during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001.

Those years were marked by the brutal enforcement of the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, and the world is now watching to see whether it forms a more moderate and inclusive government in the months ahead.

Thousands of Afghans have already fled fearing Taliban reprisals. A massive but chaotic airlift by the United States and its allies over the past two weeks succeeded in evacuating more than 123,000 people from Kabul, but tens of thousands who helped Western countries during the war were left behind.

A contingent of Americans, estimated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as under 200 and possibly closer to 100, wanted to leave but were unable to get on the last flights.

General Frank McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command, told a Pentagon briefing that the chief US diplomat in Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, was on the last C-17 flight out.

“There’s a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. But I think if we’d stayed another 10 days, we wouldn’t have gotten everybody out,” McKenzie told reporters.

As the US troops departed, they destroyed more than 70 aircraft, dozens of armoured vehicles and disabled air defences that had thwarted an attempted Islamic State rocket attack on the eve of the US departure.

“National disgrace”

President Joe Biden, in a statement, defended his decision to stick to a Tuesday deadline for withdrawing US forces. He said the world would hold the Taliban to their commitment to allow safe passage for those who want to leave Afghanistan.

“Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended,” said Biden, who thanked the US military for carrying out the dangerous evacuation. He plans to address the American people on Tuesday afternoon.

Biden has said the United States long ago achieved the objectives it set in ousting the Taliban in 2001 for harbouring al Qaeda militants who masterminded the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The president has drawn heavy criticism from Republicans and some of his fellow Democrats for his handling of Afghanistan since the Taliban took over Kabul earlier this month after a lightning advance and the collapse of the US-backed government.

Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the US withdrawal a “national disgrace” that was “the direct result of President Biden’s cowardice and incompetence.”

But Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse tweeted: “Bravo to our diplomats, military, and intelligence agencies. An airlift of 120,000 people in that dangerous and tumultuous situation is something no one else could do.”

Blinken said the United States was prepared to work with the new Taliban government if it does not carry out reprisals against opponents in the country.

“The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our position is any legitimacy and support will have to be earned,” he said.

The Taliban must revive a war-shattered economy without being able to count on the billions of dollars in foreign aid that flowed to the previous ruling elite and fed systemic corruption.

The population outside the cities is facing what UN officials have called a catastrophic humanitarian situation worsened by a severe drought.

A Taliban official in Kabul said the group wants people to lead an Islamic way of life and get rid of all foreign influences.

“Our culture has become toxic, we see Russian and American influence everywhere, even in the food we eat. That is something people should realise and make necessary changes. This will take time but will happen,” he said.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Stephen Coates; Editing by Lincoln Feast & Simon Cameron-Moore)