Taliban - The African Mirror

Sep

2021

Taliban name new Afghan government, interior minister on U.S. sanctions list

THE Taliban has named Mullah Hasan Akhund, an associate of the movement's late founder Mullah Omar, as the head of Afghanistan's new government, with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the movement's political office, as deputy. Sarajuddin Haqqani, son of the founder of the Haqqani network, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, will be the new interior minister, the Taliban's main spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Mullah Omar, has been named as defence minister. All the appointments are in an acting capacity, Mujahid told a news conference in…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Kabul diary: A gay Afghan tries to flee the Taliban

LGBT+

THE Taliban are expected to announce a new government in Afghanistan on Friday, two weeks after the Islamist militia seized control of Kabul. The militants have promised a softer brand of rule than the radical form of sharia law they enforced from 1996 until 2001 when they were ousted by U.S.-led forces but concern is growing for LGBT+ Afghans, some of whom are on the run fearing death. Even before the Taliban takeover, LGBT+ people said it was too dangerous to live openly in Afghanistan. But under the Taliban's extreme interpretation of Islam, LGBT+ Afghans say they could be punished with death,…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

After messy pullout, Blinken to intensify Afghanistan diplomacy in Qatar, Germany

WORLD

HUMEYA PAMUK A week after declaring America's "new chapter" of engagement with Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will aim to form a united front with allies this week on how to tackle the Taliban and ensure continued support for U.S. bid to help evacuate Americans and at-risk Afghans who remained behind. In a trip to Qatar and Germany, Blinken will be overlapping with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who is also departing for a wider Gulf visit covering Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. The visit by the top two U.S. national security officials comes as the Biden administration…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban, opposition battle for Panjshir Valley, Pakistan spy chief flies to Kabul

WORLD

TALIBAN and opposition forces were fighting on Saturday for control of the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, the last province in Afghanistan holding out against the Islamist group, according to reports. Taliban sources said its fighters had taken the valley, although the resistance denied it had fallen. The Taliban have so far issued no public declaration that they had taken the valley, which resisted their rule when they were last in power in Kabul from 1996 to 2001. The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, which groups opposition forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said Taliban forces reached the Darband…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Journalists in hiding to IPS: silencing women journalists, is silencing the voice of Afghan women

MEDIA FREEDOM

ZOFEEN EBRAHIM “IF I fall into the hands of the Taliban, not only me but my family will be killed,” said AB, 23*, who worked as a broadcast journalist for the past seven years and is a well-known face on the television screen. Speaking on WhatsApp from her hideout in a city close to the capital Kabul, she said the Taliban came looking for her and were asking about her whereabouts from her neighbours, who, in turn, warned her family. “The Taliban have started house-to-house search and when they could not find me, left a warning with our neighbours to…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Rebels hold out in Afghan valley as Taliban set up government in Kabul

WORLD

TALIBAN forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud fought in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, more than two weeks after the Islamist militia seized power, as Taliban leaders in the capital Kabul worked on forming a government. Panjshir is the last Afghan province resisting rule by the Taliban, whose overthrow of the Western-backed government as U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew after 20 years has left the country in chaos. Each side said it had inflicted heavy casualties. "We started operations after negotiation with the local armed group failed," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban confront Afghan economy in turmoil, humanitarian crisis

WORLD

AFGHANISTAN’S new Taliban rulers struggled to keep the country functioning on Wednesday after the final withdrawal of U.S. forces, with foreign donors alarmed about an impending humanitarian crisis. Two weeks since the Taliban's sweep into the capital Kabul brought a chaotic end to 20 years of warfare, the Islamist militant group has yet to name a new government or reveal how they intend to govern. In an administrative vacuum, prices have soared and crowds have gathered at banks to withdraw cash. While heavily-armed fighters have imposed control on Kabul, Taliban officials were grappling with keeping banks, hospitals and government machinery…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Taliban hail victory with gunfire after last U.S. troops leave Afghanistan

WORLD

CELEBRATORY gunfire resounded across the Afghan capital as the Taliban took control of the airport following the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, marking the end of a 20-year war that left the Islamist group stronger than it was in 2001. Shaky video footage distributed by the Taliban showed fighters entering the airport after the last U.S. troops flew out on a C-17 aircraft a minute before midnight, ending a hasty and humiliating exit for Washington and its NATO allies. "It is a historical day and a historical moment," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference at the airport…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

U.N. says Afghan war has entered ‘deadlier and more destructive phase’

WORLD

MICHELLE NICHOLS THE U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan on Friday questioned the Taliban's commitment to a political settlement, telling the U.N. Security Council the war has entered a "deadlier and more destructive phase" with more than 1,000 civilians killed in the past month during a Taliban offensive. "A party that was genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties, because it would understand that the process of reconciliation will be more challenging, the more blood is shed," Deborah Lyons said. The Taliban has stepped up its campaign to defeat the U.S.-backed government since April as…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

As Taliban advance, Afghan businesswomen fear return of ‘dark era’

WORLD

SHADI KHAN SAIF AS the Taliban rapidly advance across Afghanistan, designer Marzia Hafizi is worried about the survival of her fashion business and of the gains women have made in the last 20 years. Hafizi, 29, opened her clothing store Lora in the capital Kabul in 2018, fulfilling a long-held dream of becoming a businesswoman in her conservative, male-dominated country - an unthinkable feat during Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001. "If the Taliban come back to power and impose their old, dark mentality, I might be forced to leave," Hafizi said, over whirring machines as men and women tailors…