China can contribute to Afghan development: Taliban spokesman
In dealing with the Taliban, an increasingly powerful China may be able to leverage the fact that unlike Russia and the United States, it has not fought in Afghanistan.
JAN 17: Previously, the blue tick indicated "active, notable, and authentic accounts of public interest" verified by Twitter, and could not be purchased.
But now, users can buy them through the new Twitter Blue service.
At least t
In a move that can further tarnish the image of the Taliban in the international arena, the group banned the use of photos of women on storefronts in Kabul city.
In a move that can further tarnish the image of the Taliban in the international arena, the group banned the use of photos of women on storefronts in Kabul city.
KABUL, Sept. 21 : The Taliban said on Tuesday Afghan girls will be allowed to return to school "as soon as possible", after their movement faced shock and fury over their effective exclusion of women and girls from public life.
The hardliners' spokesman meanwhile announced the remaining members of Afghanistan's new all-male government, weeks after the militants seized Kabul in an offensive that shocked the world.
The Taliban were notorious for their brutal, oppressive rule from 1996 to 2001, when women were largely barred from work and school, including being banned from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a male relative.
One month after seizing power and pledging a softer version of their previous regime, the Islamists have incrementally stripped away at Afghans' freedoms.
During the weekend, the education ministry issued a diktat ordering male teachers and students back to secondary school -- but made no mention of the country's women educators and girl pupils.
At a press conference in Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said of the return of girls to school: "We are finalising things... it will happen as soon as possible."
He added that "a safe learning environment" needed to be established beforehand.
- No female ministers -
The Taliban announced their new leadership earlier in September, drawn up exclusively from loyalist ranks. Announcing the final line-up on Tuesday, Mujahid made no reference to the now closed women's affairs ministry. No female ministers were named.
The Taliban now face the colossal task of ruling Afghanistan, an aid-dependent country whose economic troubles have only deepened since the Islamists seized power and outside funding was frozen.
Many government employees have not been paid for months, with food prices soaring. "We have the funds but need time to get the process working," Mujahid said.
The Taliban have also slashed women's access to work, with officials previously telling them to stay at home for their own security until segregation under the group's restrictive interpretation of sharia law can be implemented.
While the country's new rulers have not issued a formal policy outright banning women from working, directives by individual officials have amounted to their exclusion from the workplace.
The acting mayor of the capital Kabul has said any municipal jobs currently held by women would be filled by men.
Although still marginalised, Afghan women have fought for and gained basic rights in the past 20 years, becoming lawmakers, judges, pilots and police officers, though mostly limited to large cities.
Under the ousted US-backed government, hundreds of thousands of women entered the workforce -- with many becoming their families' sole breadwinners after becoming widowed, or when their husbands were maimed during decades of conflict.
"We request the world to continue their humanitarian aid to Afghans. The people of Afghanistan still need assistance and cooperation from the world," said Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of the new Taliban government.
KABUL, September 15: Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of the new Taliban government, on Tuesday urged the international community to continue providing assistance to the Afghan people.
"We request the world to continue their humanitarian aid to Afghans. The people of Afghanistan still need assistance and cooperation from the world," Muttaqi told reporters.
"We appeal from all countries, which were involved in assisting Afghans in fields of education, health, refugees, and the struggle against the drought, to continue their support in the mentioned fields," he said.
They should not combine the "humanitarian issues with the political issues," he said.
He also urged all foreign aid workers who left Afghanistan before the Taliban's takeover of the capital Kabul on Aug. 15 or in recent weeks to return to the country.
"There is no war and clashes in Afghanistan. All Afghans and foreigners holding legal documents who left Afghanistan, can return without any fears. They can restart their operations in every field and provide services. Security and safety will be ensured for all aid workers," he said.
After the takeover, the Taliban said Tuesday it intends to form an inclusive government in Afghanistan and does not want to have any internal or external enemies.
BEIJING, Aug 19: The Taliban on Wednesday met with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai as the group is seeking to form a new government in the war-torn country.
The meeting between the Taliban and the former Afghan leader came after Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani left the country following the Taliban's takeover of most parts of the country, including the capital city of Kabul, on Sunday.
After the takeover, the Taliban said Tuesday it intends to form an inclusive government in Afghanistan and does not want to have any internal or external enemies.
Karzai, president from 2001 to 2014, has been leading efforts to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan, according to media reports.
On Wednesday night, Ghani claimed that he "was forced to leave Kabul and decided to leave my country in order to prevent bloodshed."
Ghani made the statement during a live Facebook broadcast from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which confirmed on Wednesday that it has welcomed Ghani and his family into the country "on humanitarian grounds."
"If I had stayed, I would be witnessing bloodshed in Kabul," Ghani said.
He also made a rebuttal of accusations saying he left Afghanistan hastily, stressing that "those who think that I fled should not judge if they don't know all the details."
The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid (C, rear) attends a press conference in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on Aug. 17, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)
Since the U.S. troops started to pull out of Afghanistan on May 1, the Taliban has been advancing quickly on the battlefield. During the past two weeks, the group has captured most of Afghanistan's territories.
The fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan has aroused deep concerns in the international community.
On Wednesday, various countries voiced their call for restraint and peace in the war-battered country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi agreed on the importance of establishing peace and stability in Afghanistan in a telephone call.
"Much attention was paid to the events unfolding in Afghanistan. Willingness to contribute to the establishment of peace and stability in this country was expressed," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey welcomes the "moderate" statements made by the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan.
"We have already stated that we can receive the leaders of the Taliban. We maintain this attitude today. We also welcome the moderate statements made by the Taliban leaders," Erdogan said during a televised interview.
Turkey is open to cooperation for the peace of the Afghan people, the well-being of the Turkish compatriots living in Afghanistan, and protection of Turkey's interests, he said.
Meanwhile, in the face of mounting criticism, U.S. President Joe Biden has been defending his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, the president said that the U.S. military could extend its mission in Afghanistan beyond Aug. 31 to evacuate Americans on the ground.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 13 : United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on Taliban militants to immediately halt their offensive against government forces and return to the negotiating table in good faith, in the interest of Afghanistan, and its people.
The top UN official told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that humanitarian needs were "growing by the hour" and the country largely spinning out of control.
"Even for a country that has tragically known generations of conflict, Afghanistan is in the throes of yet another chaotic and desperate chapter -- an incredible tragedy for its long-suffering people," he said, noting that more than 1,000 people have been killed or injured from indiscriminate attacks against civilians, notably in Helmand, Kandahar and Herat provinces, in just the past month.
The UN chief noted the fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces for control of cities and towns, was "causing tremendous harm."
"At least 241,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes ... Hospitals are overflowing. Food and medical supplies are dwindling. Roads, bridges, schools, clinics and other critical infrastructure are being destroyed," he added.
"Continued urban conflict will mean continued carnage," he said, with civilians inevitably paying the highest price.
"I call on all parties to take heed of the conflict's heavy toll and its devastating impact on civilians. They all must do more to protect civilians."
Guterres said he was "deeply disturbed" by reports of the Taliban imposing severe restrictions on human rights in the areas under their control, particularly targeting women and journalists.
"It is particularly horrifying and heartbreaking to see reports of the hard-won rights of Afghan girls and women being ripped away from them," he continued.
The UN chief called on the international community, to make clear to the Taliban that seizing power through military force, was "a losing proposition. That can only lead to prolonged civil war, or to the complete isolation of Afghanistan."
The secretary-general said there was still potential for stalled intra-Afghan talks taking place in Doha, Qatar, supported by the region and the wider international community, which could lead to a negotiated settlement.
"Only an Afghan-led negotiated political settlement can ensure peace," he added, declaring that the world body was determined to contribute to a peace deal, "promote the rights of all Afghans and provide life-saving humanitarian help to the ever increasing numbers of civilians in need."
1631441921_1200.jpeg)
