Afghanistan
Will Central Asia Host U.S. Military Forces Once Again?
Some recent media reports suggest the U.S. military will seek to reposition some of its troops in Central Asia after its big decision to withdraw from Afghanistan after nearly two decades in the country.
The New York Times reported on April 15 that U.S. officials had been in contact with Kazakh, Uzbek, and Tajik authorities about the possibility of using bases in the region.
And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in tweets that he had spoken on April 22 with the Uzbek and Kazakh foreign ministers, though it's not known if they discussed the possible use of military bases by U.S. or other NATO troops.
If such a deal was made between Washington and Central Asian countries, it would not be the first time the region hosted U.S. and other NATO troops.
The last time Western troops used bases in Central Asia -- beginning in 2001 and lasting until 2014 -- it did not end so smoothly.
But there are still several good reasons for U.S. and NATO officials to talk to Central Asian countries about trying it again.
Been There Before
Shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda on the United States, Washington contacted officials in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to talk about a role for Central Asia in the upcoming U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan.
There were several reasons for the Central Asian governments to eagerly agree to help out.
With the exception of Turkmenistan, the other four countries had watched with growing concern as fighters from the fundamentalist Taliban movement swept from southeastern Afghanistan toward their countries.
Taliban forces reached the river town of Hairaton, just across the Amu-Darya from Uzbekistan, in August 1998. One month later they were in Sher Khan Bandar, just across the Pyanj River from Tajikistan.
There was also broad international support for the looming U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, and the United States had been helpful to Central Asia throughout the 1990s.
The United States was, for example, among the first countries to recognize the independence of the five Central Asian states (in December 1991) and to establish diplomatic ties with them.
Washington's support for their sovereignty reassured the new governments that they were not solely bound to Moscow.
Also, with the exception of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon (known as Rahmonov until 2007), the Central Asian presidents were granted official visits to Washington in the 1990s. (Rahmon has still not had an official visit).
Furthermore, the United States was also the largest donor of humanitarian aid to Tajikistan during that country’s 1992-1997 civil war.
So the new Central Asian countries saw an opportunity for positive publicity with U.S. ties and, at the same time, concluded that cooperating with the United States and its Western allies could rid them of what they saw as a serious threat to the region -- Islamist fighters in Afghanistan.
The Situation Before 9/11
Security had become a big concern for Central Asia ever since the Taliban appeared on the region’s doorstep.
Turkmenistan abided by its policy of neutrality and managed to engage with various Afghan factions -- including the Taliban -- without committing to them or incurring their ire.
But Tajikistan and Uzbekistan supported formations under the command of their ethnic kin: the ethnic Tajik Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Masud and the ethnic Uzbek Afghan commander Abdul Rashid Dostum, respectively.
The Taliban even complained to the United Nations in March 1997 -- about one year after it took Kabul -- about rival Afghan military factions receiving help from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, including the Tajik government allowing Masud to base warplanes in the southern Tajik city of Kulob.
The Tajik and Uzbek governments' active support of the Taliban’s opponents left open the possibility of the Islamist group or their followers attacking those countries.
When the Taliban captured Kabul in September 1996, there was a unity among Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan that has seldom been seen.
A common foe -- the Taliban and its Islamist ideology -- had brought them together.
By the summer of 2001, the Taliban controlled some 95 percent of Afghanistan.
That made the Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Uzbek governments amiable to allowing the United States and its allies to use their territory, including military bases, to wage a campaign against the Taliban and their terrorist friends.
U.S. forces deployed to the Khanabad base in Uzbekistan, the Bishkek airport in Kyrgyzstan, and briefly the airfield in Kulob, Tajikistan -- the same base where Masud had moved his warplanes.
NATO allies were also stationed in Central Asia.
Germany used a base near Termez, Uzbekistan, and French troops used the airfield outside the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
The new cooperation paid off almost immediately.
Notorious Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) leader Namangani was killed in a U.S. bombing raid in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz Province in November 2001 and the IMU – a Central Asia terrorist group allied to the Taliban -- was also shattered, its remnants fleeing to tribal areas in Pakistan.
Central Asia’s southern borders were secure -- at least for the time being.
But the conflict inside Afghanistan continued and after an initial lull, it became apparent the Taliban had regrouped and that fighting would not stop anytime soon.
The duration of the stay of troops from the United States and its allies at Central Asian bases started to become an issue, certainly for Russia, which grudgingly supported the Central Asian governments’ initial involvement in the U.S.-led campaign.
China was also increasingly wary of a U.S. and NATO presence near its western border, albeit in relatively small numbers.
Time To Say Goodbye
On March 24, 2005, Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev was ousted in a popular uprising.
Seen as the latest of the so-called “colored revolutions” in the former Soviet space -- following Georgia in 2003 and Ukraine in 2004 -- it was a most unwelcome development for the authoritarian Central Asian leaders.
Akaev had been Kyrgyzstan’s president since independence in 1991, just like the presidents in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (Tajikistan's Rahmon came to power in 1992).
Then, when a peaceful protest in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon was infiltrated by an armed group and turned into an uprising in May 2005, Uzbek authorities used extreme force to restore order and ensure Uzbekistan would not be the next country to have a colored revolution.
Hundreds are believed to have been killed.
Governments in the United States and Europe harshly condemned the disproportionate use of force on protesters and demanded an independent international investigation.
The Uzbek government responded by telling the United States to remove its troops from the Khanabad base.
During a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in early July 2005, fellow SCO members China and Russia supported Uzbekistan’s position and helped draft a final statement that said it was necessary for "members of the anti-terrorist coalition" in Afghanistan to set a timeline for the withdrawal of their militaries from bases in SCO member countries.
U.S troops were out of Uzbekistan before the end of 2005, though German troops remained at Termez.
NATO’s use of the Dushanbe airport gradually decreased and the last of its forces left in 2014.
The U.S. base at the Bishkek airport had become a regular source of criticism from various Kyrgyz politicians and, with heavy Russian influence, it also closed in 2014.
U.S. troops had been based at Bishkek's Manas air base from 2002 until 2014 and were there for two revolutions and some horrifying interethnic violence in June 2010.
The Kremlin became angry with Akaev's successor, Kurmanbek Bakiev, because of his promise to Moscow in 2009 to close down the U.S. base in exchange for Russian financial assistance.
Bakiev then renegotiated the cost of leasing the base with the United States, enraging Moscow.
Bakiev was chased from office in 2010, and U.S. troops remained for four more years. But that experience in Kyrgyzstan -- and very strong opposition from Moscow -- might be why the U.S. officials in The New York Times report did not mention Kyrgyzstan as a possible location to “reposition forces.”
Current Situation Heats Up
In the last decade, as foreign forces have decreased their numbers in Afghanistan and handed over responsibility for security to Kabul, fighting has again spread throughout the country.
The areas south of the Central Asian border were relatively calm for more than 10 years after the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan began, but for the last seven or eight years the security situation has deteriorated across the northern part of the country.
There are districts in northern Afghanistan that border Turkmenistan and Tajikistan under partial or total control of the Taliban while militants from other groups roam the area.
That makes the Central Asian countries that share a border with Afghanistan nervous about security.
Afghan security forces in the north regularly report capturing or killing Tajik and Uzbek nationals in the Badakhshan, Takhar, and Kunduz provinces that border Tajikistan, and in the Balkh Province bordering Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. They also fight Uzbek nationals in the Jowzjan, Faryab and Badghis provinces bordering Turkmenistan.
Another group active in northern Afghanistan is a group that Kabul calls Jundallah.
And then there is the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISK), a branch of the terrorist Islamic State -- known best for creating a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.
The numbers of ISK fighters are unknown, but Russian officials frequently give estimates.
Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Igor Lyakin-Frolov said on February 20, 2019, there were up to 3,000 ISK fighters in northern Afghanistan.
Tajik General Rajabali Rahmonali said just days later that there were some 16,700 total militants in the area, of which 6,370 could be described as foreign mercenaries.
The head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, Aleksandr Bortnikov, said in May 2019 there were some 5,000 members of terrorist groups “in northern Afghanistan, along the borders of CIS countries."
Meanwhile, in December 2019, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Rashid Nurgaliev, said there were between 3,500 to 10,000 ISK fighters in Afghanistan.
Why U.S. Bases May Still Make Sense
Looking across the border from Central Asia into Afghanistan today, the situation does not look much different than it did in the late 1990s.
The Taliban are back in some areas along the border with the Central Asian countries, but more importantly for the Tajik and Uzbek governments, some of their citizens are again in terrorist groups in northern Afghanistan.
This time the Central Asian governments are engaging with the Taliban in the hope that a peace deal can be mediated, but likely also with the hope that even if peace cannot be achieved, an understanding can be reached so that Central Asia’s domestic terrorists cannot use Afghanistan as a base for trying to create instability inside Central Asia.
Allowing the United States to temporarily use their bases could be justified if part of the aim of these bases is to help neutralize Central Asian extremist groups in northern Afghanistan, even if that reasoning is not entirely accepted by the Taliban.
Russia has bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and even China has a small base in the remote mountains of the far eastern part of Tajikistan where the Tajik, Chinese, and Afghan borders meet. Both countries conduct counternarcotics raids with Tajik forces into Afghanistan.
But their role and support for Tajikistan’s southern border is of a defensive nature against large groups and even with all the money and equipment Moscow, Beijing, and others have given Tajikistan, small groups still cross from Afghanistan.
The U.S. bases being considered seem to be for military support of Afghan government forces’ operations against groups such as Jamaat Ansarullah, the Islamic Jihad Union, whatever is left of the IMU, and the ISK, all of which could threaten Central Asian stability.
Some have noted Tajikistan, if it agrees to allow the United States to use a base, would be the first country to simultaneously host Russian, Chinese, and U.S. bases.
But eyebrows were previously raised when Kyrgyzstan hosted a U.S. and Russian base at the same time -- and when Tajikistan hosted both a Russian and a NATO base.
Uzbekistan does not have a Russian military base and is not a member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) -- as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are.
Uzbekistan is counting on bilateral military agreements if the country faces a security threat and hosting U.S. troops could provide some extra insurance for keeping Central Asian militants based in Afghanistan at bay. It also helps Tashkent continue to delay a decision about joining the CSTO.
The United States and its allies helping the Afghans fight the Taliban would like to have military bases in countries neighboring Afghanistan, as opposed to redeploying to sites further away, such as in the Middle East.
Of course Iran is not an option and Pakistan a very unlikely one.
That leaves Central Asia as the ideal choice.
None of Afghanistan’s neighbors or the countries that have been helping the Afghan government for the last 20 years want the sort of instability that broke out in Iraq after the United States and its allies withdrew from that country to occur in Afghanistan, as it could potentially spill over the borders.
There is one other very good reason why some U.S. and other foreign forces will need to be in Central Asia.
In 2008, as relations between the United States and Pakistan grew increasingly tense, Washington and its allies established the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), bringing nonlethal supplies from Europe through Russia and Central Asia to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine led to Moscow cancelling agreements on the transit of ISAF supplies through its territory in 2015.
But the NDN continues to operate by bringing cargo through Georgia and Azerbaijan across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan and further to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
The network not only brings supplies to Afghanistan, it also was a major route for bringing foreign military equipment out of Afghanistan once the drawdown began almost a decade ago.
The NDN will continue to be used by foreign forces as they continue their withdrawal -- due to be completed on September 11 -- and presumably will still bring other supplies to Afghanistan to support the current government as long as it is in power.
More News
The Azadi Briefing: Iran To Deport Afghan Prisoners
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.
I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.
The Key Issue
Iran wants to repatriate some 1,000 prisoners to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to serve their sentences there.
"They are costing a lot to the public purse," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmial Baqaei said of Tehran's motive in seeking to return prisoners to Afghanistan.
The comments follow a visit by Iranian government officials to Kabul last week. Deputy Justice Minister Askar Jalalian met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani, the refugee affairs minister.
The Taliban government has demanded that Tehran hand over all Afghan convicts after Iran Human Rights, a nongovernmental watchdog, said Tehran had so far this year executed 49 Afghans as part of an accelerating trend of executing Afghans since the Taliban's return to power three years ago.
Tehran, however, only wants to hand over Afghans convicted of drug trafficking during the next two months. The transfers will only take place with the prisoners' consent.
Why It's Important: Reports of wrongful convictions and arrests of Afghans have been on the rise as Iran seeks to expel millions of Afghans it says live in the country.
During the past year, many Afghans have complained of harassment, intimidation, discrimination, and violence at the hands of Iranian authorities in a harsh crackdown.
According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), Tehran deported more than 550,000 Afghan migrants during the first nine months of this year, from among the estimated 4 million that live in the country.
After the return of the Taliban to power following the collapse of the pro-Western Afghan republic in August 2021, millions of Afghans have sought shelter and jobs in Iran.
International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Iran of using the death penalty "as a tool of fear" to target "ethnic minorities and political dissidents."
Iran, a leading global executioner, has executed at least 651 people during the first 10 months of this year.
HRW Iran researcher Nahid Naghshbandi said the Iranian courts "are a tool of systematic repression and hand out death sentences indiscriminately, leaving legal protections meaningless."
What's Next: It is not clear whether the Taliban government will honor sentences by Iranian courts or will free Afghan prisoners once they return to the country.
The Taliban justice system and human rights record do not inspire confidence in the extremist group's capacity to look after the rights of Afghans at home or abroad.
What To Keep An Eye On
Residents of the Afghan capital complain that with the onset of winter, power cuts have made their lives miserable.
In many parts of the crowded city, residents only have electricity for a few hours a day.
"We are miserable because there is no electricity, wood, coal, or gas," Latifa, a resident of the Qala Zaman Khan district in Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.
Firewood and coal cost upwards of $100 for a week's supply, which is out of reach for most impoverished residents.
Afghanistan imports most of its electricity from neighboring Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan. This costs the cash-strapped Taliban government $220 million annually.
The Taliban government struggles to collect electricity bills and relies on aggressive power cuts during low electricity supplies in winter.
Why It's Important: Three years after the Taliban's return to power, it has done little to improve electricity supply in the country.
Without investments, aid, and a comprehensive energy policy, Afghanistan relies on expansive energy imports instead of diversifying to green energy sources to tap into the country's abundant wind and sunlight.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
Until next time,
Abubakar Siddique
If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
The Azadi Briefing will next appear on December 13.
Iran Using Executions To Suppress Ethnic Minorities, Rights Group Says
Iranian authorities are using executions as "a tool of fear," particularly directed at ethnic minorities, dissidents, and foreign nationals, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on November 20.
The rights watchdog highlighted a recent surge in capital punishment sentences against these groups, noting that the verdicts are handed down amid rampant violations of due process.
According to Iran Human Rights group, in the first 10 months of this year, at least 651 people were executed in Iran -- 166 people in October alone.
HRW noted the case of Kurdish political prisoner Varisheh Moradi, sentenced to death by Iran’s revolutionary court in Tehran on November 10 on the charge of “armed rebellion against the state."
Moradi, a member of the Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan, was arrested in the city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province in August last year and kept for five months in solitary confinement in the infamous Evin prison where she was tortured. Her family has not been allowed to visit her since May, the group said.
Moradi was not allowed to defend herself, and the judge did not permit her lawyers to present a defense, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported.
“Iranian authorities use the death penalty as a tool of fear, particularly targeting ethnic minorities and political dissidents after unfair trials,” said HRW's Nahid Naghshbandi. “This brutal tactic aims to suppress any opposition to an autocratic government through intimidation,” she said.
Five other Kurdish men were sentenced to death in recent weeks on charges of “espionage for Israel," HRW said.
Four Arab prisoners from Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, are at risk of imminent execution, after being sentenced to death by a revolutionary court with two other individuals for their alleged involvement in the killings of two Basij members, a law enforcement officer, and a soldier.
The four -- Ali Majdam, Moein Khonafri, Mohammadreza Moghadam, and Adnan Gheibshavi (Musavi) -- were arrested in 2017 and 2018, according to human rights groups.
Afghan citizens in Iran have been targeted, in particular, by death sentences, HRW noted, adding that according to human rights groups, at least 49 Afghan nationals have been executed in Iran this year, 13 in the past month alone.
“Iran’s revolutionary courts are a tool of systematic repression that violate citizens’ fundamental rights and hand out death sentences indiscriminately, leaving legal protections meaningless,” Naghshbandi said.
“The international community should categorically condemn this alarming trend and pressure Iranian authorities to halt these executions,” she added.
Mai Sato, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, has also voiced concern about the "alarming" increase in the number of executions.
"In August 2024 alone, at least 93 people were executed, with nearly half in relation to drug offences," Sato said on November 1.
- By RFE/RL
Afghan Teen Wins Children's Peace Prize For Work Advocating For Girls' Rights
Nila Ibrahimi, an Afghan teenager living in Canada, has been awarded the prestigious International Children's Peace Prize for her efforts in advocating for the rights of girls in her native country. "The young change-maker's courageous efforts to advocate for the rights of Afghan girls has seen her recognized as a true inspiration, offering a message of hope for other young people around the world," the Amsterdam-based organizers said on November 19. Following the return to power of the repressive Taliban extremist group in 2021, the 17-year-old fled the country with her family, first to Pakistan, then to Canada, where she lives now. The Taliban has been assailed by international groups and Western leaders for human rights abuses, especially against girls and women.
- By RFE/RL
Afghan Teacher, Imprisoned Tajik Lawyer Win Prestigious Rights Award
Zholya Parsi, a women's rights activist in Afghanistan, and imprisoned Tajik lawyer Manuchehr Kholiqnazarov have been declared co-winners of the prestigious Martin Ennals Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize for human rights.
"Two outstanding human rights defenders who have made it their life mission to protect human rights in Afghanistan and in Tajikistan will receive the Martin Ennals Award 2024 on November 21" in Geneva as the award marks its 30th anniversary, organizers said on November 19.
The two "have shown exceptional courage and determination to bring human rights at the forefront despite evolving in deeply repressive environments," the group said.
It is not clear if Parsi would be allowed to travel to the award ceremony, while Kholiqnazarov remains imprisoned in his home country, serving a 16-year sentence.
The jury consisted of 10 leading human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Parsi, a teach from Kabul, founded the Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women (SMAW) to protest the return of policies and practices against women's rights and fundamental freedoms following the extremist Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
The movement quickly grew in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan and now has 180 members and has mobilized communities to resist the Taliban’s policies and practices, organizers said.
Parsi was arrested in the street by armed Taliban members in September 2023 and detained along with her son.
"She was released after three months of torture and ill-treatment under their custody, which further strengthened her resolve to resist Taliban oppression and repression," award organizers said.
Since returning to power, the Taliban has been assailed by international groups and Western nations -- which have not yet officially recognized the extremist group as legitimate rulers -- for human rights violations, especially those against women and girls.
Kholiqnazarov is director of the Lawyers Association of Pamir, one of the few civil society organizations active in Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan region.
After mass protests erupted in the region in November 2021 following the extrajudicial killing of Khorugh district resident Gulbiddin Ziyobekov, Kholiqnazarov joined the Commission 44 organization in which members of law enforcement agencies and local civil society representatives joined to investigate the reasons behind the unrest.
But in May 2022, the Tajik authorities renewed their crackdown on protests in the region, leading to the arrest of Kholiqnazarov and a dozen other members of Commission 44.
In December 2022, the Supreme Court sentenced Kholiqnazarov to 16 years in prison after finding him guilty of being part of a criminal organization and of participating in the activities of a banned organization engaged in extremist activities.
Kholiqnazarov pleaded not guilty to the charges.
"We are very proud to honor these two exceptional laureates," said Hans Thoolen, chair of the Martin Ennals Award Jury, said.
Attack From Afghanistan Kills Chinese National In Tajikistan, Sources Say
One Chinese national was killed and five others, four of them Chinese, were injured in a cross-border attack in Tajikistan's Zarbuzi Gorge, two sources close to a Tajik investigation told RFE/RL's Tajik Service on November 18.
The incident, which occurred in the southeastern Shamsiddin Shohin district, bordering Afghanistan, has not yet been officially addressed by the Tajik authorities.
According to the sources, the attack was carried out by armed individuals who crossed the border from Afghanistan. It remains unclear whether the attackers were criminals possibly involved in drug trafficking, a crime that is common in the area, or members of a militant group.
"Among the five injured, four are Chinese nationals and one is a local resident. All have been hospitalized in the Shamsiddin Shohin district," one of the sources said.
The Chinese nationals were reportedly working at a gold mine in the Zarbuzi Gorge. The attack marks the first known incident resulting in the death of a Chinese national in the volatile region.
The Shamsiddin Shohin district shares a porous border with Afghanistan that is often crossed by smugglers and militant groups.
Although the Taliban has assured neighboring countries that Afghan territory will not serve as a base for terrorist activities, Tajik authorities have been on high alert in recent years.
The deadly attack underscores persistent security concerns along Tajikistan's southern frontier.
In August 2023, Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security reported killing three members of the banned Ansarullah militant group and seizing weapons in a separate cross-border operation.
These incidents highlight the ongoing threats posed by instability in Afghanistan, despite regional efforts to secure the border.
Afghanistan, One Of The World's Most Vulnerable Countries To Climate Change
As the annual UN climate conference (COP29) takes place in Baku, RFE/RL presents exclusive coverage of environmental issues that are often underreported from regions that are often overlooked.
One of the world’s poorest countries, Afghanistan is also among the leading nations affected by climate change.
Decades of war and environmental degradation have made Afghanistan the fourth most vulnerable country in the world to the impacts of climate change.
Rising temperatures have exacerbated the frequency and severity of natural disasters, including droughts, floods, and landslides, experts say.
Deadly natural disasters in recent years have, in turn, aggravated the devastating humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan, where millions are at risk of starvation.
Climate change presents unique challenges to Afghanistan’s population of some 40 million, experts say, with around 80 percent of its people dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods.
The collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban’s seizure of power in 2021 has complicated Afghanistan’s ability to deal with the climate change crisis.
In the wake of the Taliban takeover, international donors immediately halted billions in development aid. International humanitarian assistance, meanwhile, has sharply receded in recent years, partly due to the extremist group’s dismal human rights record.
A Taliban delegation is participating as an observer at the UN Climate Conference in Baku. But the Taliban’s cash-strapped and unrecognized government is unlikely to attract the international assistance needed for Afghanistan to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Afghanistan contributes little to global emissions but has experienced rapid temperature rises. Since 1950, its mean temperature has risen 1.8 degrees Celsius, higher than the global average of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Rising temperatures have “wreaked havoc on agriculture and the agricultural value chain -- the country’s economic backbone,” according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
WATCH: Grappling with the most expensive electricity prices in South Asia, many Pakistanis are going off-grid and turning to low-cost solar panels from China. But the shift to solar risks creating a new fiscal crisis for the government.
Floods in the spring and summer killed more than 300 Afghans, displaced more than 20,000, and destroyed thousands of homes and hectares of farmland. The UNDP estimates that the floods caused more than $400 million in annual economic losses.
Afghanistan is a major source of fresh water for its neighbors. But climate change has rapidly increased water scarcity by decimating the country's hydrological infrastructure.
UNICEF, the UN's children's agency, estimates that eight out of every 10 Afghans no longer have access to safe drinking water.
More than 64 percent of Afghanistan's population is dealing with drought, pushing an increasing number of Afghans into food insecurity, according to the UN.
Data by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also shows that “climate change is increasingly a trigger for internal displacement as well as migration out of Afghanistan.”
The Azadi Briefing: COP29 Highlights Afghanistan's Climate Woes
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.
I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.
The Key Issue
A delegation of Taliban officials is attending the UN climate talks in Baku for the first time since returning to power three years ago.
The unrecognized Taliban government was not invited to the previous three COP meetings in Britain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, despite Afghanistan’s status as one of the nations most vulnerable to the ravages of climate change.
The head of the Taliban’s National Environmental Protection Agency, Matuil Haq Khalis, is seeking international support to mitigate the worst impacts of frequent extreme weather events.
“At COP29, we ask global leaders to respect the challenges faced by vulnerable populations about climate change and climate justice,” he said.
Why It's Important: According to the Inform Risk Index, a global risk assessment of humanitarian crises, Afghanistan is the fourth most at-risk country for a crisis due to climate change.
Despite being one of the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases, Afghanistan is already undergoing rapid climate change.
According to the UN, the country’s mean annual temperature has risen by 1.8 degrees Celsius, “thus intensifying glacier and snow melt, which provide water to rivers during summer.”
With freshwater resources shrinking dramatically, the UN's children's agency, UNICEF, estimates that eight out of every 10 Afghans now drink unsafe water.
In 2022, 64 percent of households reported drought as “the most frequent shock.” Most of the country’s 34 provinces now regularly experience drought, floods, or heavy rainfall.
In spring and summer this year, flash floods killed hundreds and displaced thousands in northern Afghan provinces. Climate change has now overtaken conflict as the leading cause of displacement in the war-ravaged country.
Irregular and severe weather patterns now threaten agriculture and animal husbandry -- the primary sources of livelihood in the Afghan countryside.
What's Next: Without a marked improvement in governance and international recognition, the Taliban is unlikely to partner with the international community to address Afghanistan's looming climate disaster.
The Islamist group’s human rights record and mounting restrictions on women and aid groups already hamper the diminishing humanitarian assistance it receives.
Unfortunately, this approach will deprive some of the most vulnerable Afghan communities from receiving much-needed climate adaptation and mitigation projects.
What To Keep An Eye On
In the latest instance of capital punishment, the Taliban publicly executed an Afghan man at a sports stadium.
On November 13, Muhammad Ayaz Asad was shot dead in the southeastern city of Gardaz. A Taliban court had sentenced him for killing Saif-ul-Qatal, another Afghan man, with a Kalashnikov rifle.
He was killed after the victim’s family refused to accept “diyat,” an Islamic concept in which the victim’s family can pardon the murderer for blood money.
The execution at the hands of the victim's family is part of "qisas," or retributive Islamic punishment for alleged violent crimes.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said executions carried out in public “are contrary to Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations and must cease.”
It called on the Taliban to establish an “immediate moratorium on all executions with a view to abolition of the death penalty.”
Why It's Important: Taliban leaders consider capital and corporal punishment a crucial part of their commitment to impose Islamic Shari’a law.
The extremist group has defied international criticism and domestic disapproval by carrying out these punishments publicly.
Such punishments are likely to continue and grow under Taliban rule, even while Afghans see them as part of Taliban oppression.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.
Until next time,
Abubakar Siddique
If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
Taliban Carries Out Sixth Public Execution Since Returning To Power
The Taliban on November 13 executed a man convicted of murder in a sports stadium -- the sixth public execution since the radical Islamist group returned to power in 2022.
The execution was carried with a gun fired by a member of the victim's family in the city of Gardez, the capital of the eastern Paktia Province.
The practice of "qisas," or retributive Islamic punishments, which can include public killings at the hands of victims' families, were a trademark of the Taliban's first stint in power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
The Taliban's Supreme Court said in a statement on X that a "murderer was sentenced to retaliation punishment," naming the condemned as Muhammad Ayaz Asad.
Media reports said Ayaz Asad was executed with three bullets to his chest.
The statement said Asad, a native of Paktia's Mirzak district, had killed a man named Saif-ul-Qatal using a Kalashnikov rifle. It was not clear whether Ayaz Asad had pleaded guilty or innocent to the charges.
The death sentence was approved by the Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada following "careful consideration" by three Taliban military courts, it said.
Senior members of the Taliban government, including acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, attended the execution.
Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terrorist group considered one of Afghanistan's most violent factions.
The Taliban has revived the practice of "qisas" since the extremist group's return to power in August 2022 following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from the war-wracked country after more than two decades.
In February, three men were executed publicly.
Two, Syed Jamaluddin and Gul Khan, were shot dead inside a soccer stadium in the southeastern province of Ghazni.
At a separate execution, an unidentified man shot Nazar Mohammad inside a sports stadium in the northern province of Jawzjan. The shooter was said to be avenging the death of his brother, Khal Mohammad, two years earlier.
Such practices have been condemned by Afghans and the international community, while experts have questioned their validity under Islamic law, saying they are mainly meant to instill fear.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the executions "are contrary to Afghanistan's international human rights obligations, and must cease."
"UNAMA urges Afghanistan's de facto authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on all executions with a view to abolition of the death penalty. We also call for respect for due process and fair trial rights, in particular access to legal representation," the agency said in a post on X.
Turkey Deports 325 Afghan Nationals In 48 Hours
Turkish authorities deported 325 Afghan migrants over the past two days, the Taliban's Refugees and Repatriations Ministry said on November 10. According to the ministry, the International Organization for Migration will provide the equivalent of 150 euros to each of the deported migrants. In recent months, Turkey has intensified raids to detain and expel Afghan migrants, most of them undocumented. About 600 Afghan nationals were detained in police raids in Istanbul in September and were transferred to detention centers. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, click here.
- By AP
Taliban To Attend UN Climate Conference For First Time
The Taliban will attend a UN climate conference for the first time since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the country's national environment agency said on November 10. The conference, known as COP29, begins on November 11 in Azerbaijan and is one of the most important multilateral talks to include the Taliban, who do not have official international recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. The National Environmental Protection Agency wrote on X that a technical delegation had gone to Baku to participate. Matiul Haq Khalis, the agency’s head, said the delegation would use the conference to strengthen cooperation with the international community on environmental protection and climate change, share Afghanistan’s needs regarding access to existing financial mechanisms related to climate change, and discuss adaptation and mitigation efforts.
- By AFP
Afghan Women Not Barred From Speaking To Each Other, Says Taliban
Women in Afghanistan are not forbidden from speaking to one another, the Taliban government's morality ministry told AFP on November 9, denying recent media reports of a ban. Afghan media based outside the country and international outlets have in recent weeks reported a ban on women hearing other women's voices, based on an audio recording of the head of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, about rules of prayer. Ministry spokesman Saiful Islam Khyber said the reports were "brainless" and "illogical," in a voice recording confirmed by AFP.
The Azadi Briefing: What Will Trump's Election Victory Mean For Afghanistan?
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.
I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.
The Key Issue
The unrecognized Taliban government in Afghanistan said it wants to open a “new chapter” with the United States following Donald Trump’s victory in the November 5 presidential election.
In a statement, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped the “upcoming U.S. administration will take realistic steps to foster tangible progress in the relationship between the two countries.”
During his first stint in power from 2017 to 2021, the Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban that paved the way for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
The agreement ended America’s longest-ever war. But critics said the accord led to the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and the Taliban’s return to power.
During the campaign, Trump defended the 2020 accord as a “very good agreement.” But he blamed President Joe Biden for the deadly and chaotic U.S. military withdrawal in 2021.
Why It's Important: Trump’s return to the White House is likely to have repercussions for Afghanistan, where the world’s largest humanitarian crisis is unfolding.
The United States is the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to the country, having provided around $3 billion since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. There has been a major drop in donor funding over the past two years.
“The sharp decline in humanitarian funding seems likely to worsen under a Trump presidency,” said Graeme Smith, senior Afghanistan analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.
Hameed Hakimi of Chatham House, a London-based think tank, said Trump could place conditions on U.S. aid, a move that would “increase the financial and humanitarian vulnerability of the Afghan people.”
Experts said it is unlikely that the incoming Trump administration would reverse current U.S. policy by arming anti-Taliban groups inside Afghanistan or recognizing the Taliban’s government.
“The Republicans will do everything possible to keep Afghanistan out of the headlines,” said Smith.
What's Next: Afghanistan is unlikely to be a priority for the Trump administration.
But a major attack on the United States or its allies emanating from Afghan soil could change that.
What To Keep An Eye On
An Indian diplomat traveled to Kabul for talks with senior Taliban officials on November 4-5.
The Taliban’s defense and foreign ministers held meetings with JP Singh, who oversees the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division of India’s External Affairs Ministry.
“Both sides declared their common desire” to expand bilateral relations, mainly in humanitarian cooperation, said a statement by the Taliban’s Defense Ministry.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the two sides also discussed “how the Chabahar Port can be used for imports and exports.”
Over the past two decades, India has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing Iran’s southeastern Chabahar Port and built a highway linking it to western Afghanistan.
In March, the Taliban announced that it would invest around $35 million in Chabahar Port, a move aimed at decreasing landlocked Afghanistan's dependence on neighboring Pakistan.
Relations between the Taliban and Pakistan, longtime allies, have deteriorated sharply in recent years.
Why It's Important: Singh’s visit to Afghanistan signals New Delhi’s interest in developing relations with the Taliban.
India was a key backer of the Western-backed Afghan government. But since the Taliban’s return to power, it has signaled a willingness to cooperate with the extremist group.
The Taliban’s tense relations with Pakistan has offered India an opportunity to boost its influence in Kabul.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
Until next time,
Abubakar Siddique
If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
In Kabul, Residents Say Trump's Return Could Bring Peace Or War To Afghanistan
Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, two Kabul residents expressed their views on Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election. While one said he hoped his return to power would bring peace and security to Afghanistan, another said Trump's suggestion he might seek to retake Baghram Airport could spell war.
China In Eurasia Briefing: What A Trump Win Means For China
Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China's resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.
I'm RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here's what I'm following right now.
Xi's Upside And Downside
Former President Donald Trump has declared victory in the U.S. election against Vice President Kamala Harris.
It's an outcome that will have implications far beyond the United States, so here's what another Trump administration could look like for China.
Finding Perspective: Beijing and Washington are the world's two largest economies and another Trump term will have a major impact on where the relationship between the two rival powers goes.
There is something of a consensus in Washington when it comes to Beijing, with a focus on constraining China's continued rise on the world stage.
Trump's previous term saw a trade war, with him slapping tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of Chinese goods and launching a global campaign against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
Four years of President Joe Biden, meanwhile, saw him adopt a more measured tone than Trump, but his administration also targeted Chinese tech industries with investment and export controls, as well as tariffs on items like Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
Despite that overlap, there are still important differences in the short and long term for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The View On Trump: If Harris represented a more predictable approach and a more traditional U.S. foreign policy, Trump is the ultimate wild card for Beijing.
The former president has threatened upwards of 60 percent tariffs on all imports from China and has spoken openly of his desire to ramp up another trade war. None of that is good for Beijing as it grapples with a slowing economy and weighs how to use a potential fiscal stimulus.
But that short-term pain comes with potential long-term upside for Xi.
Chinese analysts have sometimes seen Trump's divisiveness at home and his "America First" brand of foreign policy as a net gain for Beijing as it tries to overtake Washington on the global stage.
That could look more appealing on the horizon if Trump, who has questioned traditional U.S. alliances, strains relations with U.S. partners in Europe and Asia and leaves diplomatic openings for Beijing.
Analysts saw Harris as looking to continue Biden's emphasis on building a network of allies and partners to constrain China, something that Philip Gordon, her national-security adviser, said in May, before Biden dropped out of the race, was an American advantage against Beijing and other potential U.S. adversaries.
"We're in a favorable position to win this geopolitical competition, to the degree it's Russia and China and other autocracies aligning against us.... It's why the president and the vice president have invested so much time in those alliances."
Yes, But: Trump has said that he wants to quickly push for the end of the war in Ukraine and has said that Taiwan isn't paying Washington enough money for the U.S. government's support, but the upside for Beijing isn't so straightforward.
While Trump bringing an end to the war in Ukraine -- if possible -- could embolden Beijing to act on Taiwan in the future, it could also free up Washington to devote more resources to the Indo-Pacific to more directly challenge China.
Why It Matters: Regardless of who would have won the U.S. election, Beijing expected little improvement in its tense ties with Washington.
Trump's victory now comes at a pivotal time for both countries, especially as Xi looks to turn China into an alternative center of global power.
Xi believes that the West -- and particularly the United States -- is in decline, and he remarked to Russian President Vladimir Putin last year that we are now living in a period of great historical change the likes of which we have "not seen in 100 years."
Kevin Rudd, Australia's ambassador to Washington who has met Xi several times, says that these views reflect how Chinese policymakers see the United States' trajectory and that Xi "sees the forces of history moving decisively in China's direction."
In his second term, Trump will be in a pivotal position to prove Xi right or wrong.
Three More Stories From Eurasia
1. Kazakhstan Inks Billions In New Deals
Kazakhstan signed eight commercial agreements worth $2.5 billion with Chinese companies on November 4.
The Details: The agreements were signed during a visit to Shanghai by Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
The agreements support a broader strategy by Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and Xi to double trade turnover, which reached a record $41 billion last year, the Kazakh prime minister's press service said in a statement.
At an investment roundtable, Bektenov emphasized the potential for joint projects and industrial cooperation. Major Chinese firms also outlined plans to enhance operations in Kazakhstan, including energy initiatives and localized vehicle production.
There are already around 5,000 joint ventures between the two countries.
2. Slovakia's Fico Goes To Beijing
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited Beijing for a multiday state visit where he signed a strategic partnership agreement and backed Chinese diplomacy around the war in Ukraine.
What You Need To Know: Fico met with Xi on November 1 and said afterward that China's position on the war in Ukraine "is fair, objective, and constructive" and that Bratislava was ready to join a proposal promoted by Brazil and China to resolve the war.
Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejecting the plan, Fico said Slovakia was willing to join other countries that China says have positively received it "and work with China to contribute to promoting a political solution to the crisis," according to a Chinese government statement.
Fico, who has criticized EU policies on Ukraine and has opposed sanctions on Russia, said Slovakia was "very keen on China's diplomatic efforts dedicated to regulating the conflict in Ukraine and have exchanged our attitudes on this fundamental issue."
3. More China-Afghan Deals
The Taliban's embassy in Beijing has announced the inauguration and operational launch of a new freight railway line connecting China and Afghanistan.
What It Means: It's another headline pointing toward warming ties between Beijing and the Taliban. Last week, China announced that it will offer the Taliban tariff-free access to its vast construction, energy, and consumer sectors.
But the devil is in the details. This rail line is not a direct connection from China to Afghanistan and instead crosses through Tajikistan and Uzbekistan before stopping in northern Afghanistan.
According to the statement, the first journey of the freight train to the Hairatan port has commenced, with an initial shipment of 50 containers expected to reach its destination within 20 days of its departure.
As with the ground-breaking ceremony for the giant Mes Aynak copper mine in July, the moves are important optics for a cash-trapped and largely isolated Taliban, but are likely to take years to truly develop into something concrete.
Beijing still has lingering security questions about Afghanistan and is hesitant about having too many direct connections between it and China.
A similar dynamic unfolded earlier this year when the Taliban announced a new road through the Wakhan Corridor leading to the border with China.
Despite the announcement of the completion of the project, however, a road link with China remains far from suitable for meaningful cross-border trade and there is little Chinese custom infrastructure at the border.
Across The Supercontinent
From Taipei to Kyiv via Vilnius: Taiwan signed an agreement with Lithuania on October 30 to donate $5 million to recovery efforts in Ukraine.
The funds will go to education, veteran rehabilitation, and safety training in explosives and hazardous materials.
Railway Collapse: The Serbian minister of construction, transport, and infrastructure resigned on November 5 following the collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station that killed 14 people and left three injured, RFE/RL's Balkan Service reports.
Protests continue in Serbia and the role of Chinese and Hungarian companies involved in the construction of the station have also been in the spotlight. Serbian officials have said that while a Chinese consortium was involved in the station, it did not work on the roof that later collapsed.
Still, with the construction contracts kept secret -- a clause often requested by Chinese firms -- calls for greater transparency around the project are growing.
Finland's New Tightrope: Finnish President Alexander Stubb wrapped up a state visit to China last week where he met with Xi.
Stubb told Xi that North Korean activities with Russia were an escalation and provocation in a message delivered on behalf of NATO and the European Union.
One Thing To Watch
A survey conducted ahead of the U.S. election by pollsters at National Taiwan University in Taipei found that 56 percent of Taiwanese preferred Harris as the next U.S. president compared to only 16 percent for Trump. Twenty-three percent of those polled said they didn't have an opinion.
Winning over Trump -- who has spoken about reevaluating some tenets of Washington's traditional line towards Taiwan -- will be key for the self-governing island.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.
Until next time,
Reid Standish
If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.
Gas Fire Kills At Least 6 In Afghan Capital
A fire erupted at a gas distribution company in Kabul, killing at least six people, officials said. Noorullah Ansar, a Taliban-appointed official with the Afghan capital’s Disaster Management and Fire Department, said the blaze, which erupted in the Paghman district on the evening of November 2, also injured at least nine others. Other reports said the casualty toll could reach into the dozens.
Afghan Journalists Fear Losing 'Last Remaining' Freedoms
Barna’s working day begins early in the morning, hours before she enters her office at a private media outlet in Kabul’s trendy Karte-e Char area.
Barna, a 26-year-old Afghan reporter whose name has been changed for security reasons, says she carefully chooses stories to pitch to her editors via WhatsApp messages while she is still riding on a packed minibus in an hour-long journey to work.
“By the time I reach the Pol-e Sorkh crossroad, which is about 15 minutes from the office, the editors and I go through several topics to make sure we pick a story that is important and interesting but at the same time is safe enough not to anger the authorities,” Barna says in describing her daily work.
“We have many red lines. We have to avoid certain topics, and we have to tone down our criticism in order to survive under the Taliban,” she told RFE/RL by phone from Kabul. “Our work and lives are full of restrictions and the government continues to impose even more.”
Afghan journalists fear that they will soon lose what Barna described as their “last remaining freedoms” after the hard-line, Taliban-led government recently banned the publication of human and animal images as part of new “morality laws.” Unveiled in August, the laws also say that a woman’s voice should not be heard in public.
Several Afghan provinces -- including Kandahar, Helmand, and Takhar -- shut down most television stations to comply with the ban.
Television channels in these provinces have effectively been turned into radio stations, leaving dozens of cameramen, photographers, video editors, and others out of work. The radio stations, meanwhile, were prohibited from airing a woman’s voice.
Afghan media reported last week that all other television networks in the country have been given two months to follow suit. But a high-ranking government source denied those reports on October 29.
The source told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi that authorities will “address the issues that some visual media outlets are facing in some provinces,” but did not elaborate.
A cameraman in Takhar who lost his job because of the ban said the latest restrictions on the media will plunge Afghanistan into the dark ages.
“It feels like we live in a backward society that does not care about progress and development,” the cameraman told Radio Azadi, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Media without photography and video is like a body without a head.”
Another Afghan journalist condemned the ban as “irrational” and “extremist” and said the government would not be able to implement the policy throughout the country.
A 27-year-old reporter in Kabul said Afghan media “would lose thousands of media workers” if the Taliban tries to enforce the ban.
“Many will lose their jobs, and many others will leave the industry because our work will become meaningless,” the reporter told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity. “How can you keep your audiences with male-only radio reports with no video and no music?”
Thousands of Afghan journalists have left Afghanistan since the ultraconservative Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
According to press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), of the 10,870 men and women working in Afghan media at the beginning of August 2021, only 4,360 were still working in the industry in December of that year. During that period, of the 2,490 female journalists, just 410 were still in their jobs.
At least 141 journalists have been detained or imprisoned under Taliban rule, RSF reported in August, but added that no media workers were imprisoned at the time of its report.
“The biggest problem is that we don’t have anywhere to complain,” the Kabul-based reporter said. “Who do you complain to when the culprit behind your problems is the government itself and it doesn’t care about the criticism from the international community or public opinion?”
Dream Versus Reality
In Kabul, Barna and her colleagues haven’t yet been told to comply with the new “morality laws,” but the staff -- like most journalists across the country -- are bracing themselves for it. Barna says her female friends working in radio and TV are fearing the worst.
“Women journalists are already the hardest hit, and we stand to lose more,” she said. “Most Taliban officials refuse to speak to female reporters, so we must ask our male colleagues to get comments from officials for our reports.”
Barna says officials from the Vice and Virtue Ministry have installed security cameras at her workplace and pay random visits to ensure female workers don’t breach the strict Islamic dress code.
The latest constraints on Afghan media workers come amid the backdrop of grinding poverty and unemployment in the country.
Several journalists working for Afghan-owned media outlets in Kabul told RFE/RL they earn between 40 to 70 percent less in comparison to the wages they received before the Taliban came to power.
Due to a lack of funds, many media outlets have eliminated benefits such as shuttle buses and free or subsidized lunches for their employees.
Barna earns the equivalent of $150 a month, roughly half of the salary she made before August 2021.
“I dream of having enough money and freedom again to go to coffee shops in Pol-e Sorkh with my colleagues, as we used to do,” she said.
Many coffee shops along the bustling Pol-e Sorkh Road -- once popular with Kabul’s young people -- have been closed or turned into so-called family restaurants.
“But for the time being, my main concern is not to lose the last remaining freedoms we have, such as being able to work in the media, speak to people, and watch a TV report,” Barna said.
Wider Region
The situation of the media has deteriorated in other neighboring countries in recent years, with many independent journalists and bloggers languishing behind bars for their criticism of authoritarian governments.
Uzbek blogger Shohida Salomova has been placed in a psychiatric hospital after she reported that the son-in-law of President Shavkat Mirziyoev had purchased “20 expensive houses" in a wealthy Tashkent neighborhood.
In Tajikistan, independent journalists who criticize government policies often face long-term prison sentences on trumped-up charges with trials being held behind closed doors.
In Turkmenistan, independent media are nonexistent, while several journalists have paid the ultimate price for their work. Among them was 35-year-old former RFE/RL reporter Hudaiberdy Allashov, who died earlier this year after a long illness that his supporters say was brought on by pressure from the government due to his work.
Allashov had been jailed, beaten, and tortured with electric shocks, according to police sources. No one has been brought to justice.
Soltan Achilova, one of the few remaining independent reporters in Turkmenistan, says authorities not only put pressure on her but also target her relatives, friends, and anyone who gives her an interview or a comment.
She says security services have bugged her phone, often hack her e-mail account and personal computer, and follow her “everywhere.” She has been physically attacked several times and once strip-searched at the airport.
“When I call someone, security agents contact that person immediately and threaten them with dismissal from work. If that person doesn’t have a job, the agents threaten their relatives with dismissal and even imprisonment,” Achilova, 74, told RFE/RL on October 27.
Despite the ever-tightening space to operate, Achilova is not giving up her profession, saying that without reporters society will become a dark, silent place.
The Azadi Briefing: Taliban Detains Afghan Political Commentator
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.
I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.
The Key Issue
The unrecognized Taliban government in Afghanistan has detained a political commentator and former university lecturer.
Jawed Mohmand was detained by Taliban intelligence agents outside his home in the capital, Kabul, on October 19, his family said.
A relative of Mohmand, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that he was "not faring well psychologically" in detention.
The Taliban has not revealed the reason for his detention. But his arrest came soon after the Taliban barred him from appearing as a guest on private Afghan television stations.
Mohmand was not known for his criticism of the Taliban and appeared at times to support the extremist group's policies.
Why It's Important: Mohmand's detention is part of the Taliban's crackdown on dissent.
The hard-line Islamist group has arrested and jailed scores of academics, political commentators, teachers, journalists, and activists since seizing power in 2021.
Last month, the Taliban detained Jawed Kohistani, a well-known political and military analyst, for over two weeks.
Shahrazad Akbar, executive director of the Rawadari rights organization, told Radio Azadi that the Taliban was creating a society "where no one dares to criticize its repressive policies" because the group "does not believe that rulers should be accountable to the people."
What's Next: The Taliban's crackdown on dissent is likely to continue.
Journalists, activists, and academics who criticize the extremist group are likely to be targeted.
The Taliban has further stamped out free speech in recent months. In September, the group imposed new restrictions on Afghan broadcasters, banning live broadcasts of political shows and on-air criticism of its policies.
What To Keep An Eye On
The Taliban has said that two Afghans were killed in a shooting incident in Iran earlier this month.
Local reports and rights groups said Iranian border guards fired on and killed Afghan migrants seeking to cross into Iran from Pakistan on October 13. Iranian officials have denied the incident took place.
Hamdullah Fitrat, a Taliban spokesman, said the group's investigation found that "explosions and gunfire" targeted Afghan migrants, some of whom were wounded.
The United Nations and international rights groups have demanded a full investigation into the deadly incident.
Why It's Important: Iran has been the main destination for Afghans fleeing Taliban rule.
Many Afghans in Iran, who number several million, have complained of increasing violence and harassment at the hands of the Iranian authorities.
The Islamic republic has deported over 1 million Afghans in the past year.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
Until next time,
Abubakar Siddique
If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
- By Satar Furogh and
- Ahmad Hanayish
This Afghan Family Is Surviving On Leftovers From Neighbors
Gul Hotak and her family survive on just one meal per day -- often leftovers from neighbors.
Hotak is the sole breadwinner for her family of four. Her husband is sick and cannot work. She cleans people's houses in exchange for food.
"My neighbors sometimes give us what little food they have cooked," Hotak, who lives in Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.
"I wash clothes for others, and they give me dry bread or whatever leftovers they have from the night before. That's how we're getting by," added Hotak, who has two young daughters.
Hotak and her family are among the millions of people in Afghanistan -- the world's largest humanitarian crisis -- who are going hungry.
Around 70 percent of Afghanistan's population of some 40 million people do not have enough to eat, according to the United Nations.
Women and children are bearing the brunt of the hunger crisis in Afghanistan, where poverty and unemployment have soared since the Taliban seized power in 2021.
The militant group has severely curtailed women's rights, including barring many women from working outside their homes.
Women who are unmarried or do not have a male guardian, or mahram, face even tougher restrictions. Many face obstacles to accessing humanitarian aid.
'I'm Losing My Mind'
Zainab and her five children often do not know where their next meal will come from.
The 32-year-old used to work as a cook. But she lost her job after the Taliban takeover. Her husband, an addict, disappeared several years ago, leaving her to fend for their children alone.
"Sometimes we don't even have dry bread to eat, and my children go to bed hungry," Zainab, who lives in the Afghan capital, told Radio Azadi.
"My kids had only dry bread and tea tonight," she added. "I'm hungry right now. My head hurts a lot. I prayed and cried, asking God to solve our problems. I feel like I'm losing my mind."
Simin is also the sole breadwinner for her family of five.
The 42-year-old said she does not have enough money to buy even the most basic food items.
"I went to my sister's house because I didn't have any onions or potatoes," she told Radio Azadi. "She gave me a few onions and some money to buy potatoes from the shop."
Simin has not been able to pay her rent for months, and her landlord has issued her an eviction notice.
"Our landlord has given us 10 days to leave the house," she said. "I'm at a loss as to what to do. I'm so tired of life."
'Staggering' Malnutrition
Women and children are the most affected by the hunger crisis in Afghanistan.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said on October 17 that clinics in the country were recording "alarming" cases of acute child malnutrition.
"The scale of malnutrition in our country is staggering," said Mohammad Nabi Burhan, secretary-general of the Afghan Red Crescent Society.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) has warned that it is only able to help half of the around 12 million Afghans who need humanitarian assistance.
That is due to the "severe shortage" of international funding, Ziauddin Safi, a WFP spokesman in Afghanistan, told Radio Azadi. "We cannot help more people."
The Azadi Briefing: UN Complains Of Growing Taliban Interference In Aid Operations
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.
I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.
The Key Issue
A new UN report says the Taliban is increasingly interfering in international aid operations in Afghanistan.
On October 22, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said aid agencies recorded more than 170 incidents of interference in September, which led to the suspension of 83 humanitarian projects.
The incidents in September represent a 31 percent increase compared to the previous month and a 66 percent rise compared to the same period last year, the OCHA said.
The OCHA said the Taliban detained or arrested nine aid workers and closed three facilities in September. The extremist group has also restricted the movement of aid and humanitarian workers.
“Interference in humanitarian activities, violence against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities” were the most common incidents, said the report.
Why It’s Important: The Taliban appears keen to regulate and control international aid projects in Afghanistan, the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The militant group’s interference in humanitarian projects is likely to impede the delivery of aid to millions of Afghans.
“What is troubling is when this interference actually obstructs aid from getting to Afghans who desperately need it,” said Ashley Jackson, the co-founder of the Center on Armed Groups.
Jackson said most aid organizations operating in Afghanistan are good at negotiating with the Taliban to ensure that they can function. But she said that “most aid workers will tell you that it is onerous and takes significant time and resources.”
What's Next: The Taliban is likely to continue to press for more control over aid operations.
But its interference and restrictions could prompt Western donors to cut their funding to international aid projects in Afghanistan.
The UN is already scrambling to attract funding for its $3 billion annul humanitarian appeal this year.
What To Keep An Eye On
Kazakhstan has signed a memorandum of understanding with the unrecognized Taliban government to increase bilateral trade to $3 billion annually.
The Taliban’s Commerce Minister, Nooruddin Azizi, and Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin signed the agreement on October 22.
Under the deal, Astana will build railway lines in Afghanistan linking Central Asia to Afghanistan’s southern and eastern regions, which border Pakistan.
Kazakhstan wants to eventually use Pakistani ports for exporting goods to the Middle East. It also wants Afghanistan’s trade with China to transit through its territory.
Astana will export new and used cars, grains, and wheat flour to Afghanistan while importing fresh and dried fruits.
Why It's Important: Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries have sought to expand their relations with the Taliban government, which is not recognized by any country in the world.
Many Central Asian states appear interested in developing economic ties. They are also worried about security threats emanating from Afghanistan, where dozens of extremist groups operate.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
Until next time,
Abubakar Siddique
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Pakistani Taliban Kills 10 Police Near Afghan Border
Ten members of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) were killed and three others were wounded in a militant attack early on October 25 in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, security sources told RFE/RL. Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, chief minister of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, confirmed the attack in a statement, without mentioning the number of deaths. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), a radical Islamist group that has been a U.S.-designated terrorist organization since 2010, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by a large group of gunmen, according to police sources. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here.
Explosion In Kabul Kills 2, Injures Several Others, Says Taliban Source
At least two people were killed and several wounded on October 23 in Kabul in a blast near a government office where ID cards are issued, a Taliban source told RFE/RL.
The source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said the blast occurred when a man holding a plastic bag wanted to go to the ID office and the bag exploded. The man, who was injured, has been detained, said the source.
“Two people were martyred, and several others were injured," the source said. "It appears that someone was carrying explosive materials with him and it exploded against him.”
A video that was posted on the X account of Afghanistan International showed that the explosion took place near street vendors in the area where the ID office is located.
A statement issued by Kabul’s Emergency Surgical Center said 11 people were injured in the explosion, but did not mention any fatalities. The emergency hospital has not returned a call from RFE/RL to request more information, including whether there were any deaths.
The statement said the explosion occurred at around 2 p.m. local time in the Pamir Cinema district.
Stefano Gennaro Smirnov, deputy director at the Emergency Surgical Center said the injured included a 3-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old boy. One of the injured is in critical condition, Smirnov said in a statement.
He said the explosion occurred at a secondhand clothing market as customers crowded to enter when it opened.
“This is the Pamir Cinema neighborhood, one of the most densely populated in Kabul. Many of those affected by this attack will be living in conditions of severe poverty,” he said in the statement.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the incident. But the Khorasan branch of Islamic State (IS-K) claimed responsibility for similar attacks in Kabul and elsewhere since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
Taliban Searches Houses In Kabul After Rocket Attack Claimed By Freedom Front
The Taliban conducted house-to-house searches in at least two districts of Kabul on October 22, local sources quoted by RFE/RL said.
A resident of the Khair Khana district in Kabul, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFE/RL that the Taliban carried out the searches in Khair Khana and another district of the capital known as 315.
Other media outlets have also reported on the searches, but the Taliban has not commented yet.
This searches come after at least two rockets were fired at Kabul Airport on October 19.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front, an anti-Taliban group, claimed responsibility for firing the rockets and said the Taliban had suffered "severe casualties and financial losses."
The Afghanistan Freedom Front claimed the attack on the military section of Kabul airport began with the launch of several rockets and was followed by an assault by its soldiers.
While a Taliban source confirmed the rocket attack on Kabul airport to RFE/RL, no comment was made regarding the claim of responsibility by the Afghanistan Freedom Front.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front linked the house-to-house searches in Kabul to its recent attack and said two Taliban members were killed in a fresh attack by its forces on a Taliban intelligence vehicle in the Qalacha district of Kabul on October 22.
Radio Azadi could not independently verify the claim.
- By Amos Chapple
'The Taliban Likes Facebook': Why The 'Photo Ban' In Afghanistan Won't Work
A photojournalist who worked in Afghanistan during the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule says the reinstated group's new ban on images of living things is unfeasible today.
In the 1990s, the Afghan photojournalist, who asked to remain anonymous due to his continued links to the country, recalls that “photos were completely prohibited. The Taliban banned it. Even if there was a press conference or something, they said, ‘You cannot take pictures.’”
But during the first Taliban era, in which punishments could be severe for even minor transgressions, taking photos of people was still a regular, risky occurrence for the photojournalist, along with a small number of his fellow Afghans working for Western news agencies.
“We had small cameras, and when we went to do stories we would just go somewhere where there was no more Taliban, and we would take one or two shots, then quickly leave," he says. "It was like a 'stolen picture.'"
During the first Taliban era, he says, the handful of local photojournalists “had to process our film using chemicals. It was very complicated.”
Today, however, “everyone has a phone; it’s digital.”
Additionally, the veteran photojournalist says, “The Taliban themselves like to see Facebook. They have WhatsApp It will be very, very difficult to stop it" since the new generation of Taliban "grew up with the Internet."
The photographer says he was detained several times for taking photos during the Taliban's first rule. One of his colleagues was imprisoned overnight after photographing a man who turned out to be a foreign extremist from an Arab state who leaped up to detain the photographer and took him to the Taliban's "vice and virtue" police.
Some within the Taliban leadership apparently turned a blind eye to the ban on imagery showing living things during the 1990s.
“My pictures were printed many times in a Pakistani newspaper, and the following day the newspaper would be sent from Pakistan to [the Pakistani Embassy in] Kabul,” the photojournalist says. "The Taliban could have called me and asked, ‘Why did you take a picture?’ But this never happened."
But, he adds, “on the ground, it was absolutely not allowed to take photos.”
For ordinary people, indulging in illicit entertainment through the 1990s was a commonplace, if nerve-wracking, experience.
"People would watch TV and listen to music cassettes, but very secretly. They were sitting in the basement or somewhere and completely closing the window," he recalls.
The photojournalist says the second iteration of Taliban rule has been relatively lenient compared to the first, but "little by little, the smell -- the bad smell -- is returning," and referenced the recent shutdown of television stations in northern Afghanistan for screening images of people.
The Taliban leadership in the group's founding city of Kandahar is "very extremist," he says, though some have undoubtedly been changed by what they have seen of prosperity in the outside world -- something the Taliban's first generation of leadership never experienced.
"These Taliban in the past few years have been in Qatar, Iran, Pakistan, India, and they have seen how beautiful the world outside Afghanistan is. When [Taliban founder] Mullah Omar took power [in 1996], they came straight from the madrasahs and took Kabul, but after the civil war it was completely destroyed -- no TVs, no nothing."
This time, the photojournalist says, "the Taliban were handed a beautiful Kabul with construction, beautiful cars, restaurants, buildings. Everything is so superior to what the previous Taliban saw."
Afghanistan, The Only Country Where Images Of Living Things Are Banned
The Taliban’s repressive policies and extremist interpretation of Islam has turned Afghanistan into a pariah state.
In 2021, Afghanistan became the only country in the world to ban teenage girls from going to school.
Now, the country has become the first to outlaw any depictions of living things, including humans and animals.
“This decision is absurd and unbelievable,” said Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who tracks the Taliban.
Under Islam, idolatry is a sin, and the worship of idols is banned. Under its radical interpretation, the Taliban has cut off the heads of mannequins, prohibited the sale of dolls, and covered or taken down statues in recent years.
Now, the Taliban has expanded the ban on idolatry to include the “production and watching of videos and photos of living things on computers and mobile phones.” The ban is limited to images of things with souls -- meaning people and animals.
“At the core of it is a desire to replicate the initial [Taliban] emirate of the 1990s,” said Obaidullah Baheer, visiting fellow at the South Asia Center at the London School of Economics.
During its brutal rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban also outlawed any depiction of living things, including television and photography, deeming them un-Islamic. The hard-line Islamist group publicly destroyed television sets and video cassettes.
The Taliban also destroyed thousands of historical artefacts, most of them Buddha statues, that it deemed un-Islamic or idolatrous.
Its regime horrified the world in 2001 when it used antiaircraft artillery, anti-tank mines, dynamite, and other explosives to destroy two giant Buddha statues from the 6th century.
After the Taliban regime was toppled from power in the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the group used images and photos in their propaganda. They also maintained a website and a presence on social media.
Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban has run the state broadcaster and allowed some TV stations to continue operating, albeit with severe restrictions. Senior Taliban officials maintain social-media accounts, and upload videos and photos of their meetings and foreign visits.
Baheer says the Taliban’s ban on images of living things “seems to be a very tricky path to take” given the Taliban’s own widespread use of photography and television.
Concerns Over Press Freedom
The Taliban’s ban on the publication of images of living beings has sparked concerns about the impact it will have on Afghan media and press freedom.
The Taliban has already waged a brutal crackdown on dissent, including beating, detaining, and jailing dozens of journalists. The group has also forcibly shut down independent media outlets and prohibited virtually any critical reporting about its unrecognized government.
In recent days, Taliban run-media outlets have stopped showing images of living things in some provinces to comply with the new ban. Some TV stations have resorted to audio-only broadcasts.
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said on October 14 that it is gradually implementing the ban.
Yousafzai said the ban will have wide-ranging ramifications for the media and Afghans’ access to information and entertainment. “It will turn Afghanistan into a vast prison,” he said.
"We thought that animals in Afghanistan have more freedom than women,” Fariba, a reporter in Kabul, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, referring to the Taliban’s severe restrictions on women’s rights. “But the Taliban has no mercy even for animals.”
Heshmat Wajdani, spokesperson for the Federation of Afghan Journalists in Exile, said the move is detrimental to press freedom. “It amounts to erasing the media and freedom of expression in Afghanistan," he said.
Thousands Rally For Peace In Northwestern Pakistani City (Video)
Thousands of demonstrators held a peaceful protest in the troubled northwestern Pakistani city of Bannu. The October 21 rally, organized by civil society groups, called for an end to Pakistani Taliban attacks and a heavy-handed security crackdown in the region, which lies near the border with Afghanistan. Bannu has been the scene of several major Taliban attacks this year.
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