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The devastating June 22 earthquake that struck in eastern Afghanistan intensified the ongoing humanitarian crisis the Afghan people have endured for too long. U.S.-funded partners on the ground responded rapidly with medical care, and President Biden directed an assessment of additional needs in the wake of the natural disaster. In response, the United States will provide nearly $55 million in additional immediate humanitarian assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development to urgently reach those most affected by the natural disaster. This new funding brings total U.S. humanitarian assistance to over $774 million in the last year.

This additional disaster relief assistance will reach people affected by the earthquake with critical relief items: shelter materials; pots for cooking; jerry cans to collect and store water; blankets; solar lamps; clothes, and other household items. Assistance will be provided for water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies to prevent waterborne disease outbreak in the aftermath of this natural disaster. The funding will also support other high need areas throughout the country.

The United States has an enduring commitment to the people of Afghanistan, and we welcome and encourage support from our international partners in this time of great need.

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Assistance for Afghanistan to Respond to June 22 Earthquake - United States Department of State - Department of State

By ANI

KABUL: Taliban is again making headlines for its cryptic practices the latest being a Talibani commander using a military helicopter to take his newlywed bride home, media reported citing sources.

According to local sources in Logar province, the commander allegedly flew his newlywed bride from Logar to Khost province, in eastern Afghanistan, using a military helicopter.

As per Afghanistan's local media, Khaama Press, the Talibani figure was referred to as a commander of the Haqqani branch of the Taliban on social media. The sources claimed that he resides in Khost and that his wife's residence is in the Barki Barak district of Logar in the east of Afghanistan.

Providing further details of the situation, the sources said that the commander flew his wife on Saturday, to the Shah Mazar region of the Barki Barak district of Logar province. The wife of the Taliban commander was seen being transported in a military helicopter.

In a video that went viral on social media, the commander is seen landing near a house. Furthermore, it is claimed that this commander gave his father-in-law 1,200,000 Afghanis as dowry in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage, as per the media portal.

However, defending the commander, the Taliban's deputy spokesperson, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, argued that the allegations are false. He further termed the commentary on the commander as "propaganda of the enemy". He added that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan dismisses the allegation of a military helicopter being used by the Talibani commander.

People on social media registered their protest over the viral video that was circulated on social media. It incited outrage among the public. People condemned the action and said that it is a blatant misuse of public property.

This occurred after the Taliban have been in control for almost a year, but the group has notably failed to establish a government and gain domestic legitimacy and international recognition.

Taliban is also infamous for its crackdown on women's rights. The list of Taliban violations of the rights of women and girls is long and growing, said Heather Barr, Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), as she raised growing concerns about the violation of the rights in the country.

When the Taliban announced in May that women and girls should not leave their homes unless necessary and should do so only with their whole bodies including their faces covered, only a few were surprised. Others, who lived through the last period of Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, were not.

"Some diplomats and other Afghanistan watchers who listened to Taliban leaders promise during negotiations and at their news conference two days after seizing the capital that they would respect all women's rights this time, including their freedom of movement and access to employment and education," Barr had said.

She said Afghan women's rights activists warned all along that the Taliban's promises to respect women's rights were false. Afghan rights activists warned in the days after the Taliban took the capital, Kabul, on August 15, 2021, that the group would intensify their crackdown on women." The list of Taliban violations of the rights of women and girls is long and growing," the high-ranking HRW official said.

Since the Taliban takeover, there have been many statements condemning their abuses from an impressive range of international and regional organizations and countries. What there has not been, however, is a clear plan for how the countries condemning Taliban abuses will work together to defend the rights of Afghan women and girls and pressure the Taliban to end these abuses.

Continued here:
Afghanistan: Taliban commander takes home his newly-wed bride in military helicopter - The New Indian Express

Jeffrey Beri, founder of No Dogs Left Behind, pets Papo, who arrived in Canada on June 24, at his sanctuary in Toronto, on June 29. Papo who was too young to transport earlier this year, was one of 10 mixed-breed street dogs from Afghanistan to have arrived at the sanctuary.Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press

A mixed-breed street dog named Papo chased toys and rolled around in the sun on a recent clear day at an east Toronto dog sanctuary.

Its a change of pace for Papo after a long journey from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to Canada, where she arrived last month along with 10 other dogs who were evacuated from the country by the animal welfare group No Dogs Left Behind.

Group spokesman Jeffrey Beri said the organization has brought hundreds of dogs and cats from Kabul to Canada since January, after the animals were left behind when U.S. troops withdrew from the country last summer.

I hope that they get the love and attention that they so well deserve, Mr. Beri said of the Afghan dogs new lives in Canada.

The final 10 dogs to arrive were either too young or not strong enough to travel on the initial flight in January. The organization now aims to get them fostered and adopted to new homes as quickly as possible, once they are rehabilitated and vetted.

When dogs first arrive to the No Dogs Left Behind safehouse, Beri said theyre often traumatized and must begin a process of rehabilitation to trust humans again.

Consistency and routine are important factors for the dogs rehabilitation, he said. Rescue dogs at the sanctuary have very strict schedules for eating, going outside, having their shelters cleaned and socializing with other dogs.

It was a complicated journey for the animals. After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention banned the importation of dogs to the U.S. from countries it considers to be high risk for dog rabies, including Afghanistan, Mr. Beri said it became more difficult for the dogs to be brought to safety.

In January, Mr. Beri said he spent two weeks in Afghanistan assessing dogs in the care of Kabul Small Animal Rescue. He then loaded them into a private cargo plane and accompanied the animals on the trip to begin their new lives in Canada.

At the end, the Afghans gave free passage out for the dogs, I do commend them for that, he said.

Back in Toronto, Mr. Beri recalled an emotional family reunion at the animal sanctuary this week when the father of Papos three puppies arrived days after the three young dogs.

We were all crying, said Mr. Beri. Hes here, hes free, he couldnt be happier to see Papo and Papo couldnt be happier to see him.

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Excerpt from:
Rescued Afghanistan dogs arrive at Toronto sanctuary - The Globe and Mail

Mohammad Roshan has lost 18 members of his family.

He said he believes one body is still trapped beneath the bricks and mud of where his home once stood in rural Afghanistan.

Last week a powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 1,000 people in eastern Afghanistan and its lasting effect are clear to see when you arrive.

Looking back at the ruins, Mohammad breaks down in front of us - he has no words to describe how it feels to lose everything.

"If we find them then we will bury them. But it's no difference if they're buried in the graveyard or here. That's a graveyard and so is my home now."

It's not an easy journey to get to the province of Paktika, let alone the most isolated and devastated village in the Bermal district.

In Schwegi China, more than 50 people were killed, entire families wiped out, livelihoods totally destroyed - but assistance is in short supply.

Mohammad takes us to his new home, a tent with the most basic facilities. On the bed lies his sister with a broken leg, she still hasn't had a visit from a doctor and is in a lot of pain.

It's a rarity women are allowed to speak to us but she wants people to hear what she endured.

Bibi Hawwa told us: "When the earthquake struck I didn't know what was happening, I was completely unconscious. When I came round I was shouting for my brother and father and asking why they weren't coming to get me out.

"I had no idea what the situation was like outside."

Very little aid is trickling through to this village, its remoteness is the main reason it was one of the last areas to receive any help.

The communication here is poor, there are no health facilities in surrounding areas and above all else the routes to get here are incredibly tough.

Aid agencies haven't yet found a safe landing zone for helicopters and so all survivors can do is watch as vital support flies past.

But what's more poignant here than anything, is the smell. It's one that will stick with you for quite a while, particularly when you know what it's of.

Bodies remain in the rubble, impossible to reach without proper help.

All but a few homes in this village have been flattened. The earthquake has cut off water supplies here which is making basic living even tougher.

We're approached by Habibullah who wants to show us the destructive impact this earthquake has had on his home and on his life. Villagers tell me his house was one of the nicest in the area and that he'd spent a lot of money and time building it. He's now calling for help to rebuild it.

"We can't live in these tents forever. The government should help us financially so we can rebuild our homes. You can see all my belongings are gone and under the rubble.

"They should rebuild our homes for us, if they can't then at least give us the money so we can rebuild it ourselves."

Our interview with Habibullah is disrupted by the arrival of a male doctor. Habibullah himself needs medical attention, as do many others in the village. They rush to get the help they need.

What's worrying though, it's only men and boys who are being treated. A young man races down the hill carrying seven-year-old Mohammad. He broke his leg in the earthquake and needs medical attention.

As he's having his dressing changed and wounds tended to, the doctor tells us Mohammad is an orphan - he lost his whole family in a flash when the quake shook this country. His physical pain will eventually ease, but the grief of losing the rest of his family will live with this boy forever.

Read more:Will this disaster bring the Taliban back to the international table?People call for help amid devastation and trickle of aid

In the neighbouring village of Lawara there is more stable, continued support. International aid agencies have managed to set up bases to assist those who've lost everything.

Medecins Sans Frontieres was one of the first responders on the ground. Dr Taufeeq has been here for almost a week now and is seeing new patients every day.

"You can see in the surrounding areas there are no health facilities in this area. The routes are very difficult and also communication is not very good, they're the reasons why news about this area was very late."

He adds: "Right now there is a need for trauma care so we have set up a trauma unit here. We're seeing more and more infected wounds as well."

Home upon home has been completely wiped out - this is a village now just made up of tents and mounds of rubble.

Some day though the aid agencies will have to pull out - but leaving is no option for those who survived this crushing earthquake. They face many months, perhaps years literally having to rebuild their broken lives.

Continue reading here:
'My home is a graveyard now': The aftermath of Afghanistan's deadly earthquake - Sky News

The first public appearance by Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of Afghanistans Taliban regime, has given no room for hope that those who have taken charge of that benighted country will change for the better. Akhundzada, who was at one time even rumoured to be dead, made his first trip outside Kandahar for a two-day meeting of Taliban clerics in Kabul last week. In recent weeks, the Taliban, faced with factionalism and internal divisions, have responded by going into default mode, and women have been the first target. New restrictions on their movement have been imposed, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel for girls who want to go to school. Any expectations that this conference may come up with a way forward were belied. A resolution adopted at the end of the two-day all-male conference had only vague references to respect to the rights of women and to the need for religious and modern education. The meeting was closed to the media, but Akhundzadas speech was publicly broadcast. A hardliner in the Taliban system, he made no concessions to the demands both by Afghans and the international community that the regime must become inclusive of minorities and, more urgently, allow girls to go to school.

The rule by Taliban is not a normal arrangement. The armed group, whose luminaries include several designated terrorists, took power by force, and is determined to impose its extremist views on the people of the country. The overturning of the moderate progress in education and gender rights made over the last two decades is one thing. It has shown no sign of accommodation towards non-Pashtun, non-Sunni minority communities in Afghanistan. And it has given every sign of being in touch with the big transnational terror group, al Qaeda, and cross-border terror groups, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Yet, this regime in Kabul wants international recognition as a legitimate government of Afghanistan and wants the worlds assistance to tide over its difficulties, including a devastating earthquake that caused large-scale destruction. Akhundzada and the Taliban must realise that just as the world is rushing to help with humanitarian assistance for this natural disaster, it can hardly stand by and watch a Taliban-made disaster unfold.

It is good that India, which re-opened its embassy in Kabul with a small team of security and other officials at the end of June, made a strong pitch for the rights of Afghan women at the Geneva conference even as it called attention to Delhis dispatch of relief material in two special aircraft for survivors of the quake.

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Taliban regime in Afghanistan seeks international recognition while continuing to belie all expectations of moderation in power - The Indian Express