Taliban – Advent Cable Network Nigeria

Taliban Tells Afghan TV Stations To Stop Airing Shows With Women Actors

ACNN NEWS — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 20:21:38 +0000

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities on Sunday issued a new ”religious guideline” that called on the country’s television channels to stop showing dramas and soap operas featuring women actors.

In the first such directive to Afghan media issued by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Taliban also called on women television journalists to wear Islamic hijabs while presenting their reports.

And the ministry asked the channels not to air films or programmes in which the Prophet Mohammed or other revered figures are shown.

It called for banning films or programmes that were against Islamic and Afghan values.

”These are not rules but a religious guideline’,” ministry spokesman Hakif Mohajir told AFP.

The new directive was widely circulated late Sunday on social media networks.

Despite insisting they will rule more moderately this time around, the Taliban have already introduced rules for what women can wear at university, and beaten and harassed several Afghan journalists despite promising to uphold press freedoms.

The Taliban’s guideline for TV networks comes after two decades of explosive growth for independent Afghan media under the Western-backed governments that ruled the country until August 15, when the Islamists regained power.

Dozens of television channels and radio stations were set up with Western assistance and private investment soon after the Taliban were toppled in 2001.

During the past 20 years, Afghan television channels offered a wide range of programmes — from an ”American Idol” style singing competition to music videos, along with several Turkish and Indian soap operas.

When the Islamists previously ruled from 1996 to 2001, there was no Afghan media to speak of — they banned television, movies, and most other forms of entertainment, deeming it immoral.

People caught watching television faced punishment, including having their set smashed. Ownership of a video player could lead to public lashing.

There was only one radio station, Voice of Sharia, that broadcasts propaganda and Islamic programming.

AFP

Taliban Has Accused The US Of Violating Doha Agreement

ACNN ADMIN — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 09:09:36 +0000

The Taliban has accused the United States of violating the peace deal the two signed in 2020, for keeping its new interior minister Sirrajudin Haqqani on the US terror list.

The new minister, who is part of the Haqqani Network, had been accused of attacks on US forces in Afghanistan during the 20 years of war. The US has a $5m bounty for Haqqani. He also remains on a United Nations terror list.

Several other members of the group, including the acting Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, are blacklisted internationally.

“Pentagon officials have remarked that some cabinet members of the Islamic Emirate or family members of the late Haqqani Sahib are on the US blacklists and still targets,” said a statement from the ministry of foreign affairs late on Wednesday.

“The Islamic Emirate considers this a clear violation of the Doha Agreement which is neither in the interest of the United States or Afghanistan,” the statement said, referring to the agreement signed in the Qatari capital.

The deal paved the way for the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces in return for a guarantee from the Taliban not to allow groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL to operate on Afghan soil. The US forces withdrew just before an August 31 deadline in what turned out to be a chaotic exercise, ending America’s longest war.

The US-Taliban deal excluded the West-backed Afghan government led by former President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country after Taliban fighters swept through the country last month with little resistance from government forces.

Taliban’s statement comes after the US had in the wake of the deal pledged to remove Taliban members from international sanctions.

Reporting from Kabul, Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis said the statement follows Pentagon officials commenting to the media that members of the Haqqani family are still legitimate targets and remain on US blacklists.

“The Taliban are saying this is very provocative, condemning it, saying that members of the Haqqani family must be removed from the US sanctions lists immediately. They say they will continue to demand that,” said Bellis.

“A number of Haqqani family are part of the government and they are very disappointed. They say they wanted positive relations with the US. And they are very disappointed to see some of their highest leaders remaining as legitimate targets.”

“It will be very interesting to see what the US response to this statement will be,” she added.

Ahead of the Taliban’s announcement of its new cabinet this week, another member of the network and leading Taliban figure, Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, was put in charge of security for Kabul.

Many Afghans are sceptical that a leader of the Haqqani Network, known to be the most brutal and violent group associated with the Taliban, could bring security to Afghanistan after years of war and violence – especially as reports of house-to-house searches and violence allegedly committed by the Taliban continue to pour in, including in Kabul.

The Taliban has denied that they are carrying out reprisals and said its members are disciplined.

Fahim Sadat, head of the International Relations department at Kabul-based Kardan University, said both the US and the Taliban were invoking the Doha Agreement to serve their separate interests.

“The reality is that the sanctions list is one of the only viable leverages of the international community which can be used against the Taliban for any concession,” Sadat told Al Jazeera from the Spanish city of Barcelona.

Protests banned

Meanwhile, the Taliban have cracked down on protests in the country, saying protests without prior approval will be banned.

“Protests have been key news this week. A couple of days ago, there was a large peaceful protests but then as the demonstrators came closer to the presidential palace, people were detained, including journalists,” said Bellis.

“Some journalists were separated in prison cells and lashed. The Taliban has since come out banning protests. They said they will allow them in certain conditions,” she added explaining that they have to be pre-approved by the government.

Several demonstrations have popped across Afghanistan in recent days.

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Kabul chanting and calling for “freedom”, a day after resistance leader Ahmad Massoud called for an “uprising” against Taliban rule.

The demonstrations – which ranged in size from several hundred to a few dozen – were dispersed by Taliban fighters firing into the air, protesters told Al Jazeera at the time.

Journalists also said they had been prohibited from filming, with TOLONews, the country’s biggest network, saying at least one of their cameramen was detained for filming the protests.

On Thursday, protest organisers cancelled rallies in Kabul after the Taliban effectively banned demonstrations, the AFP news agency reported.

Source: Aljazeera

US Drone Strike Killed ‘ISIS-K Planner’ In Afghanistan, Pentagon Says

ACNN ADMIN — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 17:11:57 +0000

The United States military has carried out a drone strike against an alleged ISIS-K “planner” following a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 13 American soldiers and at least 70 Afghans.

“U.S. military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner,” U.S. Central Command Spokesman Captain Bill Urban told Fox News on Friday. “The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties.”

Fox News has confirmed that the drone hit a vehicle carrying an ISIS-K leader who was believed to be “carrying out future attacks.”

It’s not clear if the planner was involved in the suicide attack at the Kabul airport Thursday, which killed 13 U.S. service members and wounded 20 others.

The ISIS-K planner was also traveling with an “associate,” Fox News understands.

The drone strike took place a few hours ago near the border with Pakistan, the official said.

The strike comes the day after a suicide bombing, for which ISIS-K claimed responsibility, rocked the outside perimeter of the Kabul airport to which thousands of Americans and Afghans have been flocking in order to evacuate Afghanistan.

President Biden is being attacked from all sides after the deaths of at least 13 American service members Thursday in an ISIS-K terrorist bombing at the Kabul airport, with calls for his impeachment and resignation from some.

The outrage over the American deaths Thursday was compounded by news that the U.S. gave the Taliban the names of Americans and Afghan allies it wanted to evacuate.

The political crisis for Biden follows a foreign policy crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban swept into power as American troops withdrew from the country on Biden’s orders. Even Democrats are criticizing the president’s actions. Prior to yesterday’s bombings, images out of Afghanistan contributed to plunging approval ratings for the president.

“Although it is clear to me that we could not continue to put American service members in danger for an unwinnable war, I also believe that the evacuation process appears to have been egregiously mishandled,” Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., tweeted Thursday. “In order to move forward, we need answers and accountability regarding the cascading failures that led us to this moment.”

Critics argue Biden should have left some troops in Afghanistan to keep the brutal Taliban regime from coming into power, or that he should have more strategically handled the drawdown to prevent frantic and deadly evacuations. The White House counters that the withdrawal would be messy no matter what and that the airlift out of the country has saved many lives. According to the White House, 12,500 people were evacuated from Kabul between 3 a.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday, including 8,500 on U.S. military flights.

Source: Foxnews

Taliban In Kabul – Christian Persecution Will Rise – Release International Warns

ACNN ADMIN — Sat, 21 Aug 2021 21:04:15 +0000

As the Taliban tighten their grip on Afghanistan, Release International warns attacks on Christians are likely to rise across the region.

‘Pray for Christians in Afghanistan and in the region,’ says Paul Robinson, CEO of Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world. ‘The Taliban’s swift advance can only embolden extremists. Pakistan especially may be impacted by the new mood of militancy – which will be bad news for Christians across the region.’

Afghanistan’s major cities have fallen like dominoes before the Taliban, in the drive by the militants to create an Islamic emirate.

One church leader in Afghanistan said Christians were living in great fear. Some who worked for the government now face reprisals, and any identified as Christians could be killed. Christians risk betrayal, even from their own family members.

A Christian contact of one Release International partner describes the situation as ‘dire.’ Says ‘Micah’: ‘Our brothers and sisters in Christ are telling us how afraid they are. In the areas that the Taliban now control girls are not allowed to go to school and women are not allowed to leave their homes without a male companion.’

The church in Afghanistan already faced sharp persecution, even before the Taliban advance. That church is invisible and must operate underground in this land where Muslims who change their faith are breaking the law and considered to have betrayed their communities.

To be exposed as a Christian risks being charged with apostasy, which is punishable by death or imprisonment. There have also been honour killings of Christians by their families.

Violent

In the past, foreign Christian workers have been murdered and many have long since left the country. Many secret believers are now fleeing the Taliban, whose version of Islam is even more violent and extreme. But many Christians are poor and cannot afford to leave. They will be left behind.

One of the communities worst affected by the Taliban is the Shia Hazara minority, which has been especially responsive to the Christian message.

In May 2021, the Taliban bombed the Sayed Ul-Shuhada High School in Kabul, killing at least 85, mainly schoolgirls. The previous year the Taliban staged a shooting at a maternity clinic, killing women, children and babies.

The Taliban are pledged to prevent what they see as the westernization of women. It was the Pakistan Taliban who shot 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai for going to school and telling the world about it in a blog.

Pakistan

Thousands of Afghans, including Christians, are seeking refuge in neighbouring Pakistan. But the Taliban are growing in influence there, too.

Some observers say Pakistan has provided a safe haven for the Taliban and has supplied them with weapons and finance. Before the Afghan president fled, he accused Pakistan of permitting thousands of jihadi fighters to cross its border to support the Taliban.

That tacit support could yet rebound on Pakistan. The surge in the Taliban has given Pakistan’s militants a new boldness. Release partners warn it could lead to the destabilization of the north-west of the country.

The extremist Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or Pakistan Taliban) is calling for the overthrow of the state. Another extreme Islamist faction, Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), also called for the government to be brought down after Christian Asia Bibi was acquitted of blasphemy.

The TLP campaigned for Asia Bibi’s death, along with the assassination of the Supreme Court judges who confirmed her innocence. It’s widely believed that to appease the TLP, the Pakistan government delayed Asia Bibi’s departure from the country.

Despite the international outcry, the government refused to repeal Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws, which are used to settle scores and target disproportionate numbers of Christians. Release International continues to call for the blasphemy laws to be abolished.

Supporting Christians

Release International is working with partners to support the church as it faces extreme persecution.

Release partners are providing radio broadcasts and follow-up to train new believers. They broadcast programmes in the local languages of Dari and Pashtun. And while those partners call for prayer, they say: ‘Into this darkness, our ministry is bringing a daily message of hope, life and comfort.’

They are also producing Christian literature and digital discipleship material.

‘This is one real ray of hope,’ says Paul Robinson of Release. ‘Radio can be picked up everywhere – including in Pakistan, where many of the Christians are seeking refuge. The same is true of social media.’

A huge investment in recent years in Internet infrastructure will further aid the spread of Christian teaching, and the great strides in educating Afghan women also points to hope for the future.

‘In places like Afghanistan the church has had to learn to operate much as the early Church in the Book of Acts – under continual threat of persecution. But today the church is better resourced and equipped to handle that challenge than ever before,’ adds Paul Robinson.

Through its international network of missions, Release International is active in some 25 countries around the world, supporting pastors, Christian prisoners and their families; supplying Christian literature and Bibles, and working for justice.

Source: Anglican.ink

Taliban Takeover Is World’s Failure, Says UK Defence Secretary

ACNN ADMIN — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 15:55:23 +0000

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is a “failure of the international community”, Britain’s Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Monday, assessing that the West’s intervention was a job only half-done.

“All of us know that Afghanistan is not finished. It’s an unfinished problem for the world and the world needs to help it,” he told BBC television.

The former British Army officer last week said US President Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had secured a “rotten deal” with the Islamist militants that allowed their return.

He maintained the 20-year intervention by US-led forces in Afghanistan “wasn’t a waste, it wasn’t for nothing” but accused Western powers of being short-sighted in policy matters.

“If it’s a failure, it’s a failure of the international community to not realise that you don’t fix things overnight,” he said.

“I’m afraid when you deal with a country like Afghanistan, that is 1,000 years of history effectively and civil war, you manage its problems and you might have to manage it for 100 years.

“It’s not something that you just rock in, rock out, and expect something to be fixed.”

Wallace also said there had been “a failure to recognise that military might on its own” could not completely resolve the situation in Afghanistan.

“Half the mission on its own… was entirely successful,” he said, pointing to the removal of the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the death of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, which made the world safer.

But “that doesn’t mean that the next 20 years are going to be the same”, he added, echoing concerns about the impact of the hardline group’s resurgence on world security.

Britain last month withdrew the majority of its 750 remaining troops in Afghanistan, but last week announced that 600 soldiers would return to help with repatriation.

Wallace told Sky News 370 embassy staff and British citizens were flown out on Saturday and Sunday, with 782 Afghans scheduled to leave in the next 24 to 36 hours.

Officials are aiming to evacuate 1,200 to 1,500 people from Afghanistan a day, he added.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain would help some 3,000 nationals to leave.

Senior politicians and military top brass have strongly criticised the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan.

Parliament has been recalled on Wednesday to discuss the situation, including asylum and support for Afghan nationals who have fled.

Source: NewSpot