Tag: Afghan

  • India prioritise Hindus and Sikhs for ‘Afghan emergency visas’

    India prioritise Hindus and Sikhs for ‘Afghan emergency visas’

    India’s government said on Tuesday that it would prioritize taking in Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan — a move that drew comparisons to a controversial 2019 citizenship law, enacted under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that differentiates against Muslims, reported New York Times.

    The country’s home ministry said it would introduce “emergency visas” to allow Afghans to stay in India for six months. 

    However, it did not say whether Muslims, who make up the majority of those seeking to leave Afghanistan as the Taliban take over, would also be considered.

    “We are in constant touch with the Sikh and Hindu community leaders in Kabul,” S. Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, said on Twitter. “Their welfare will get our priority attention.”

    For its part, Pakistan’s leadership has stopped short of hailing the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.

    “When you adopt someone’s culture, you believe it to be superior and you end up becoming a slave to it,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday in a veiled reference to the United States and Western culture. “In Afghanistan, they have broken the shackles of slavery,” Mr. Khan said at an appearance in Islamabad, “but the slavery of the mind does not break away.”

  • ‘Don’t want women to be victims, they should be in govt’: Taliban

    ‘Don’t want women to be victims, they should be in govt’: Taliban

    The Taliban declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join its government, reported Al-Jazeera.

    “A general amnesty has been declared for all, so you should start your routine life with full confidence,” said a statement from the Taliban. 

    Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, said, “The Islamic Emirate doesn’t want women to be victims, they should be in government structure according to Shariah law.”

    Enamullah’s statement represents the first comments on governance from a federal level across the country.

    Enamullah further added, “The structure of government is not fully clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all sides should join.”

    Samangani remained vague on other details, however, implying people already knew the rules of the Islamic law the Taliban expected them to follow.

    “Our people are Muslims and we are not here to force them to Islam,” he said.

    Meanwhile, United States (US) President Joe Biden blamed the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan on Afghan political leaders who fled the country and the unwillingness of the US-trained Afghan army to fight the militant group.

    In his speech, Biden said that the US troops could not defend a nation whose leaders “gave up and fled”, as did Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

    “I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I have learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House.

  • Afghan girl shoots down two Taliban militants who killed her parents

    Afghan girl shoots down two Taliban militants who killed her parents

    An Afghan girl has shot down two Taliban militants who killed her parents and wounded several others with the AK-47 rifle

    The militants had captured the family home in the village of Griwa because the girl’s father supported the government.

    They had dragged the father and mother from the home before murdering them, local officials in Ghor province said.

    The girl, Qamar Gul, aged between 14 and 16, had taken the family’s AK-47 rifle and killed the two of the killers. The group denies any of its fighters died.

    Later, more militants came to attack the house but villagers and government troops fought them off.

    The girl and her younger brother were shifted to a safe place by security forces, Mohamed Aref Aber, spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.

    Photos of Gul went viral on social media where people praised her for her bravery.

    https://twitter.com/Indian46899293/status/1285511798594998272?s=20