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Taliban Splinters as ISIS Makes Inroads in Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban is struggling to maintain a unified facade amid reports of splits within the group and some of the militants fighting each other in the east of the country.

According to two commanders within the Taliban — which has been fighting an insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign forces since being toppled by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 — and two Afghan intelligence officers, the group has splintered into at least three parts.

The groups roughly are those still loyal to the original Taliban, others fighting under the name of ISIS and those who want to lay down arms and join the peace process with the Afghan government, a Taliban commander told NBC News on condition of anonymity. (Read More)

–NBC News, by FAZUL RAHIM , MUJEEB AHMED and MUSHTAQ YUSUFZAI
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Afghanistan officials sanctioned murder, torture and rape, says report

Kandahar’s police chief Abdul Razziq was praised by Kabul and Washington despite claims of extrajudicial killings, according to the Human Rights Watch report. Photograph: Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images

Human Rights Watch accuses high-ranking officials of allowing extrajudicial killings and brutal practices to flourish after fall of Taliban

Top Afghan officials have presided over murders, abduction, and other abuses with the tacit backing of their government and its western allies, Human Rights Watch says in a new report.

A grim account of deaths, robbery, rapes and extrajudicial killings, Today We Shall All Die, details a culture of impunity that the rights group says flourished after the fall of the Taliban, driven by the desire for immediate control of security at almost any price.

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via Afghanistan | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1FRB8NO

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Hostility over ID card for Afghan refugee on 1984 National Geographic cover

Sharbat Gula’s photograph on her Pakistani national ID card. As an Afghan refugee she is officially not entitled to hold such a document.

Three decades after she became an icon, an ID card mugshot of Sharbat Gula has become a symbol of Pakistani hostility towards refugees from Afghanistan

In 1984 a photo of a green-eyed girl staring out of the front cover of National Geographic became an icon of the plight of Afghan refugees forced by war into Pakistani refugee camps.

Three decades on and a new picture of Sharbat Gula, this time a cheap mugshot of a middle-aged woman, has come to symbolise the hostility many Pakistanis feel towards people they believe have outstayed their welcome.

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via Afghanistan | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1BcFobJ

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Foreign soap, drama serials leave negative impact on children

This was a regular complaint by conservatives in Afghanistan when I was there.  It is very interesting–social reform, especially regarding women’s’ rights, by observation of India soaps. These same politicians are now using a universal appeal for censorship–it allegedly hurts children. –BB
By Mohammad Haroon on 21 February 2015
KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): Foreign soap operas, broadcasted by Afghan television channels are leaving negative psychological impact on behavior of children, the residents of southeastern Khost province said.Afghanistan television channels are continuously broadcasting Indian, Turkish and… read more
via Pajhwok Afghan News (English) http://ift.tt/1AYuuHZ
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Afghan civilian deaths hit record high

Insurgents, government forces and international troops all contribute to highest total in five years since records began

Last year was the deadliest on record for civilians in Afghanistan, the UN said in a report on Wednesday, with more civilians killed in 2014 than since the agency began compiling figures in 2009. While Nato has ended its combat mission, and Barack Obama has declared that America’s longest war is ending responsibly, fighting in the country is intensifying.

“In communities across Afghanistan, increased ground fighting among parties to the conflict and more IED attacks exacted a heavy toll on Afghan civilians,” said the top UN envoy, Nicholas Haysom.

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via Afghanistan | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1Ak5QxW