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04-10-2021
By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies
KABUL/ KOHDAMAN/ ISLAMABAD: Children are dying of starvation in Afghanistan, local and international sources said Saturday, following warnings that a million youngsters there could face life-threatening malnutrition by the end of the year.
In Ghor, one of the affected provinces, at least 17 children among those who made it to hospital have died from malnutrition in the last six months, the province’s public health director Mullah Mohammad Ahmadi tol media.
Almost 300 have been treated for the effects of hunger.
Hundreds of children are at risk of starvation in central parts of the country, he said.
A spokesman for the United Nations children’s agency in Afghanistan said he could not confirm the number of deaths in Ghor but feared “a lot of children are paying the ultimate price”.
UNICEF’s Salam Al-Janabi said the agency’s monitoring network had been disrupted and was relying on anecdotal reports, but “we are very painfully aware that this is something we are on the brink of, or in the middle of”.
Since the Taliban swept to power in mid-August, Afghanistan has plunged deeper into an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The effects of drought, soaring food prices and job losses have been compounded by international aid and financing all but grinding to a halt.
The UN has warned that by the end of the year one million children under the age of five in Afghanistan are expected to need treatment for life-threatening “acute severe malnutrition”, while another 3.3 million will be suffering from acute malnutrition.
Meanwhile, an explosion outside a mosque in the Afghan capital killed at least two people on Sunday, senior Taliban officials said.
The blast struck near the entrance of the large Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter, adding that “a number of civilians” died.
A spokesman from the interior ministry, Qari Sayed Khosti, told media: “Our initial information shows two civilians were killed and three wounded in the blast.”
A prayer ceremony for Mujahid’s mother, who died last week, was being held at the mosque on Sunday afternoon, the spokesman had written on social media on Saturday, adding “all people and friends are invited to attend”.
Ahmadullah, a shopkeeper nearby, told media: “I heard the sound of an explosion near the Eid Gah Mosque followed by guns firing.
“Just ahead of the blast the Taliban had blocked the road to hold a prayer ceremony for Zabihullah Mujahid’s mother in the Eid Gah Mosque.”
A journalist in two locations in the capital also heard the blast and shooting.
Ambulances carrying the wounded were seen rushing towards Kabul’s Emergency Hospital in the Shahr-e Naw area.
The hospital said on Twitter that four patients were being treated.
Medical staff waited outside, a journalist saw, as people arrived in blood-stained clothes
Earlier, Taliban supporters and senior figures held their first mass rally outside Kabul on Sunday, in a show of strength as they consolidate their rule of Afghanistan.
No foreign government has yet recognized the former rebels’ rule, but their hold on power within the country is all but unchallenged seven weeks after they took the capital.
Earlier protests against the Taliban’s “interim government” many led by women – have dwindled since a ban on unauthorized demonstrations, but Sunday’s official victory gathering in Kohdaman township in the hilly outskirts of the capital was attended by 1,500 men and boys.
“This is the day we waited for,” said Khalil Haqqani, the new minister for refugees who in 2011 was named as a designated terrorist by the United States with a $5 million bounty on his head. He is a prominent leader of the Haqqani militant network founded by his brother Jalaluddin.
“We have achieved our goal, but it requires protection,” he said, with his rifle leaning against the lectern, boasting that the country has a “bright future” despite being shunned by international donors.
“My advice to the world is that they leave Afghanistan to Afghanistan.”
Flanked by Taliban fighters in combat gear carrying assault rifles, leading Taliban officials and commanders addressed an audience sat in rows of chairs under awnings, celebrating victory over the United States.
One speaker urged the crowd to “respect elders” because they were the “mujahids who fought against the Soviets” in the 1980s.
‘America is defeated’
The United States, Europe and other powers that were major donors to the overthrown Afghan regime have warned they will not recognize the Taliban government unless it becomes more inclusive.
Afghanistan’s neighbor Pakistan has urged the world to engage with the Taliban while stopping short of itself recognizing the new regime.
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who will be in Islamabad next week, has pressed for an inclusive government in Kabul, and said Washington looks to “Pakistan to play a critical role in enabling that outcome.”
At the rally, a procession of fighters carrying flags and weapons including rocket launchers paraded around the crowd, while unarmed supporters waved homemade posters.
Tribal elders watched cross-legged from the side of the stage.
As people arrived, music honoring the Taliban’s victories echoed around the site as dozens of heavily armed fighters in military combat fatigues stood guard.
“America is defeated, impossible, impossible – but possible!” one song said.
At the turn-off towards the township, about 10 armed fighters lined the road beneath a large banner honoring a deceased Taliban commander and professing the “support of the people of Kohdaman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the action of liberating the country”.
Women’s protests
Hundreds women turned out for Saturday’s rally, the Taliban have been loath to allow similar gatherings by those opposed to their rule.
Last Thursday, the Taliban violently cracked down on a small women’s rights demonstration in eastern Kabul, firing shots into the air to disperse protesters.
Gunmen then forced back the protesters as they tried to continue with the demonstration.
Isolated anti-Taliban rallies with women at the forefront were staged in cities around the country after the group seized power, including in the western city of Herat where two people were shot dead but protests have dwindled since the government issued an order banning demonstrations that did not have prior authorization, warning of “severe legal action” for violators.
The handful that have gone ahead have been criticized as carefully orchestrated publicity stunts, including a rally at a Kabul university where hundreds of fully veiled women professed support for the new regime.
Furthermore, Pakistan on Sunday sent 13 more trucks of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan via the Torkham border.
According to a statement by the Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum, which made arrangements for the food trucks to be sent, 174 tons worth of flour, rice, and pulses were sent to the country.
The aid was handed over by PACF’s Habibullah Khan to Afghan Deputy Minister for Refugee Affairs Arsalah Khan at the Torkham border crossing point.
A handing over ceremony was also held which featured brief remarks by Habibullah Khan regarding the aid.
According to the statement, Afghan officials in charge of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Molvi Sherzad, Police Chief Jalalabad Mohammad Nizami, and in charge of the Afghan Torkham Border S Ghaziullah Hashmi were also in attendance.
“Afghanistan counterparts gratefully accepted the aid and prayed for better relationships with each other in future,” the statement said.
Later, Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan shared images of the trucks and provided a breakdown of the aid sent.
According to the ambassador, the 174 tons included 140 tons of flour, 16 tons of sugar and 18 tons of rice.
Today’s consignment follows one sent on Saturday when eight truckloads of humanitarian aid were sent to Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum.
The aid, which included flour, rice, and pulses, was handed over by Landi Kotal Assistant Commissioner Akber Iftikhar to the Torkham border crossing in charge, Ghaziullah Hashmi, the statement said.
“Afghanistan counterparts gratefully accepted the aid and prayed for better relationships with each other in [the] future,” the forum’s statement said.
The Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum via the Ghulam Khan border on Friday, too, handed over four trucks carrying 70 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
The trucks were carrying flour, sugar, rice, oil, and pulses. Ameer of Khost received the aid from Assistant Commissioner of Miranshah.
It bears mentioning here that besides sending aid to Afghanistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan and other government officials have time and again urged the international community to engage with the Taliban-led government to avert a possible humanitarian crisis in the country.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Red Crescent has pledged aid to Afghanistan via Pakistan to feed internally displaced people in need amid turmoil following the Taliban’s takeover, the organization head said Friday.
Half a million people have been displaced in Afghanistan in recent months, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, a number which would grow if health services, schools, and the economy break down.
Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik said the shipment of food would be sent from Pakistan towards Kabul on Saturday and provide for 16,000 people for a month.
“There is a serious food crisis right now. Public order needs to be provided for local production,” he told Reuters by telephone, citing a halt in international trade, drought and a decline in international aid as reasons for the problem.
On the other hand, domestic flights have started at the airport and the facility is ready for international flights to resume normal activity.
The airport received some flights from Qatar, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirate in recent days.
The spokesperson for Afghanistan’s civil aviation authority, Mohammad Naeem Salehi, said the department has written to neighboring countries and the international community asking them to resume flights at the airport.
“Technically, there is no problem ahead of international flights. We are looking to find answers from neighboring countries about whether they will start flights to Kabul airport or not. Currently, domestic flights are continuing,” Salehi said.
In the meantime, dozens of Afghans who obtained Iran and Pakistan visas, complained that ticket prices have severely climbed recently in Kabul.
“People own passports and visas. But tickets are not available. If they are available, the price is very high,” a resident said.
Owners of some tourism companies in the capital confirmed that prices for air travel have increased in Kabul.
“Prices for international flights have increased. The price of Pakistan tickets was $150 to 200 and now they have climbed to $1,200 dollars,” said Masoud Bina, head of the Afghanistan tourism companies union.
The civil aviation authority added that the airport has had over ten international flights carrying mostly aid to Afghanistan from Qatar, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Killing continues
At least four people were killed in a targeted attack in eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday evening, officials said, with one source saying a child was among those killed.
Local officials confirmed the attack and said it occurred in District 3 of Jalalabad city, the provincial center of the province.
According to the officials, those killed were two civilians and two force members of the Islamic Emirate.
According to a source, a child was among those killed.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
This attack follows an explosion on Friday in Charikar city, the provincial center of Parwan province, north of Kabul.
Bilal Karimi, a deputy head under Zabihullah Mujahid, said the explosion targeted a vehicle of the Islamic Emirate force members.
According to Karimi, after the explosion, new forces arrived at the scene and started a search operation during which a hideout of Daesh fighters was discovered.
Karimi said a few of the Daesh fighters present at the hideout were killed and a few others were arrested.
He also said three to five members of the Islamic Emirate forces were injured in an explosion that happened during the search operation.
