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Afghanistan: President Seeks Peace With a Militant Commander STRATFOR The war in Afghanistan grinds on, but President Ashraf Ghani has made progress on a significant peace deal. On Feb. 3, the U.N. Security Council fulfilled Ghani's request to lift an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo on Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... The Threat America Is Neglecting in AfghanistanThe National Interest Online What does the return of warlord Hekmatyar mean for Afghanistan?Deutsche Welle UN lifts sanctions against Gulbuddin HekmatyarAljazeera.com all 94 news articles »

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Afghanistan: President Seeks Peace With a Militant Commander - STRATFOR

Conservative traditions are holding back progress in Afghanistans southeastern provinceof Zabul, according to speakers at an IWPR-organised debate.

The event, held in the provincial capital of Qalat city on January 23, 2017, heard that human rights and gender equality were particularly affected by such practices.

Tribal leader Abdul Wali Wali said, Many time-worn cultural traditions are common in Zabul province; for example, the payment of high dowries, child marriages, not taking women in labour to hospital to give birth and other similar problems.

Due to the old, unpleasant traditions, people in Zabul face poverty and other difficulties, he continued. Adhering to these customs mean that people dont obey and respect the laws of the country, and instead do whatever they want.

Mohammad Hakim, head of legal affairs at Zabul police headquarters, said a lack of education was mostly to blame.

Due to the high rate of illiteracy, old and detested traditions still dominate and serve to distract government attention. The state is busy solving these individual issues rather than working on the wider problems people face.

The effect on gender rights was particularly grievous, he added.

Many women are deprived of education in Zabul province, so they fall victim to these abhorrent customs, Hakim continued.

Local activist Zarmina Pathan agreed, adding, The main reason behind the illiteracy and poverty of Zabul people are these long-standing, horrible traditions.

Social development was nearly impossible under these conditions, she continued.

Due to a lack of education and public awareness, these traditions still dictate life in Zabul province. That means women are stuck at home and have to remain there.

She added, It doesnt mean that a woman is immoral if she leaves her house. It means that she is lifting herself out of poverty by finding work and earning money to support her children.

As for child marriage, domestic abuse and other rights violations, Pathan continued, Violence against women is unacceptable. Islam and our rich culture do not permit us to use violent against others, especially against women.

Mohammad Naeem Storai, broadcasting manager of Zabul Melli Radio TV, said that local people needed to take responsibility for driving change themselves.

When we complain about the activities of our government, we should also look at our own actions; to what extent are we obeying and respecting the law of the land, and what are we doing to benefit our country? We are living in a land where no one respects regulations and our people think they are above the law, and this causes more and more problems.

Storai added, If Afghans start respecting each others rights, then it will be easy to eradicate old traditions and it will prepare the ground for starting afresh.

This report was produced under IWPRs Promoting Human Rights and Good Governance in Afghanistan initiative, funded by the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan.

Originally posted here:
Afghanistan: Conservative Traditions Limiting Progress - Institute for War and Peace Reporting

By Sayed Salahuddin By Sayed Salahuddin February 5

KABUL A string of avalanches and snowstorms killed scores of people in Afghanistan in the past two days, blocking key roads across the country and canceling all flights at Kabuls airport, officials said Sunday.

About 50 people died on Sunday in avalanches in one village in the rugged and remote province of Nurestan, its governor, Hafiz Abdul Qayoum, told Radio Liberty.

There were reports of deaths in Parwan province, to the north of Kabul; in Badakhshan province, in the northeast; and in several other parts of the country. The total number of dead was about 100, the minister for national disaster management, Wais Ahmad Barmak, told reporters.

His deputy, Mohammad Aslam, said that scores of houses were destroyed or damaged by the disaster.

We have to complete an assessment of the situation and send emergency aid where we can as soon as possible, Aslam said by phone.

The inaccessibility of some mountainous areas and the closure of many roads linking scores of villages with provincial capitals were obstructing the delivery of aid to areas where it was badly needed, he said.

Dozens of cars and buses were stranded for hours along one highway west of Kabul while heavy snow fell, measuring a yard and a half in some places. The Salang Tunnel, which links Kabul with the northern region, was closed, witnesses and officials said.

Ice and snow shut Kabuls airport. The power supply was also interrupted in some areas of the capital.

Despite the loss of so many lives, the snowfall was welcomed by many across Afghanistan, which is suffering from years of drought and acute water shortages.

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100 dead as heavy snow burdens Afghanistan - Washington Post

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Avalanches in Afghanistan triggered by heavy snowfall across the country have killed at least 119 people in recent days, officials said on Monday.

Wais Ahmad Barmak, the state minister for disaster management and humanitarian affairs, said that at least 89 people have been injured and 190 homes destroyed by avalanches in multiple provinces. Those figures were expected to rise as rescue teams made their way through snow-blocked roads to afflicted areas.

Many of the most recent fatalities come from Nuristan province, near the Pakistani border, where two villages were buried in snow. Barmaks spokesman Omer Mohammadi said rescue teams have so far recovered 48 bodies from those villages and that more than 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of farmland have been destroyed.

Mohammadi said it would take some time to establish a clear picture of the full extent of the damage.

This will take days for us to clean up all roads covered with snow in different provinces, he said.

On Sunday, Afghanistans government declared a public holiday due to the heavy snowfall across the country.

The United Nations has offered its assistance.

I commend the efforts of the Afghan government that has quickly mobilized to respond to the disaster, said U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan Mark Bowden in a statement. The U.N. system stands ready to fully support the Afghan government in responding.

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Afghan official: Avalanches in Afghanistan kill at least 119 - The Denver Post

The number of children killed in Afghanistan's conflict rose by 25 percent in 2016, according to the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan.

The 2016 Annual Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Afghanistan, released on Monday, documents an overall 3 percent rise in civilian casualties both deaths and injuries from the previous year.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan attributed the disproportionate spike in child casualties in 2016 mainly to a 66 percent increase in casualties from leftover or discarded munitions. The report states that 923 children in Afghanistan were killed in 2016, a 25 percent increase from the previous year. The number of children injured rose by about 23 percent. Overall it was the highest number of casualties among children ever recorded in a single year by UNAMA.

"Conflict-related violence exacted a heavy toll on Afghanistan in 2016, with an overall deterioration in civilian protection and the highest-total civilian casualties recorded since 2009, when UNAMA began systematic documentation of civilian casualties," the report stated.

It says that between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2016, the mission documented 11,418 civilian casualties 3,498 deaths and 7,920 wounded. That marked a 2 percent decrease in civilian deaths and a 6 percent increase in civilians wounded, amounting to an overall 3 percent increase in casualties compared to 2015.

"This appalling conflict destroys lives and tears communities apart in every corner of Afghanistan," the report quoted Tadamichi Yamamoto, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, as saying. "Real protection of civilians requires commitment and demonstrated concrete actions to protect civilians from harm and for parties to the conflict to ensure accountability for indiscriminate and deliberate acts of civilian harm."

Associated Press

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Record number of children killed in Afghanistan in 2016, UN says - Chicago Tribune