The ruling Taliban-controlled Afghanistan state news agency reported on Monday in a now-deleted article that the United Nations Political Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was working to “facilitate small-scale projects through loan clauses.”
In a separate article, still available on its website, state news agency Bakhtar reported that UNAMA head Roza Otunbayeva said broadly that UNAMA would “support the peasants” with its “resources,” but did not provide further details.
It was not immediately clear why Bahtar News Agency removed the article. The article was removed from Google cache Archived website. The promise to help local farmers with loans, which absolves the Taliban of government responsibility and allows them to fund terrorism and other nefarious activities instead of social services, follows UNAMA's attempt this weekend to condemn the Taliban in response to newly introduced repressive “moral” codes. The UN agency responsible for Afghanistan released a lengthy statement calling a set of new laws that ban women from showing or speaking in public and impose a looser dress code on men “disastrous.”
The United Nations has condemned the Taliban's brutal implementation of Islamic fundamentalism since their return to power in 2021. Sharia The UN funds what it calls humanitarian efforts to ensure that Afghanistan's people are properly clothed, housed, and have access to health care and other services, and while the UN does not formally recognize the Taliban as the Afghan government, it has a fairly inconsistent policy of regularly engaging with Taliban leaders and funding services in the country for which the government is responsible.
Otunbayeva's alleged comments about increasing funding to the Taliban come after she met with the Taliban's “deputy governor” of Kandahar province, Mullah Sadiq Enkelabi, during a visit to Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city.
“We are working with the Central Bank of Afghanistan to promote small-scale projects through loan provisions,” Bakhtar initially quoted Otunbayeva as saying in a conversation with Enkelabi.
“In response, Deputy Governor Enkelabi expressed his gratitude for the UN's support and called on the international community not to make excuses for not investing in Afghanistan,” Bakhtar claimed. “He also called for the implementation of basic projects and further cooperation in areas such as alternative crops and treatment of drug addiction.”
The issue of opium cultivation in Afghanistan has been a challenge for decades as Afghanistan has traditionally been the world's largest producer of opium. Under the rule of the Taliban terrorists, Afghanistan Lost The Taliban transferred ownership to Myanmar in December. Taliban leaders argue that a major obstacle to eradicating opium is that it is one of the most profitable crops for poor local farmers, who need subsidies and other assistance to switch to growing the legal plant.
of Updated In a Bakhtar newspaper report on Otunbayeva's stay in Kandahar, the UN quoted the official as saying that the UN “aims to work with the local government to provide Kandahar's farmers with the resources they need to transition to legal and sustainable crops.”
She said UNAMA was interested in helping Kandahar's farmers transition from poppy cultivation to alternative crops. “We want to work with the local government to provide Kandahar's farmers with the resources they need to transition to legal and sustainable crops,” she said.
— Bakhtar News Agency (@bnaenglish) August 26, 2024
Outside of Bakhtar, relations between the Taliban and UNAMA have appeared far more contentious this week after the agency condemned revisions to Afghanistan's “morality” code. Decrees from the Ministry of Vice and Virtue prohibit women from going out with their faces uncovered “as this may invite temptation” and also prohibit women from speaking in public because “a loud female voice is also considered part of modesty.” The decree apparently leaves open the question of whether it is legal for women to whisper in public, but it does explicitly prohibit “singing, chanting and reciting.”
The act also prohibited men from wearing ties or shaving their faces. Haram “Hairstyle”
“It is a dire vision for Afghanistan's future that morality inspectors have the discretionary power to threaten and detain anyone based on a broad and vague list of offenses,” UNAMA representative Otunbayeva said. statement “This further expands already intolerable restrictions on the rights of Afghan women and girls, where even the sound of a woman's voice being heard outside the home appears to be a moral offense.”
UNAMA said it was “seeking clarification” from the Taliban on how it plans to implement the new law.
The Taliban responded on Tuesday by publicly condemning UNAMA's complaints as “baseless” and a form of “arrogance.”
“All laws, all provisions and clauses are derived from reliable and recognized jurisprudential sources,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
“No one should be worried about the implementation of these Islamic laws. These laws are not a restriction for anyone, no one will be violated and no one will be oppressed,” Mujahid asserted. “These laws will be implemented in a proper manner and their implementation will be accompanied by maximum tolerance.”
“Unnecessary concerns from various quarters will not affect the position of the Islamic Emirate in any way, as we have made countless sacrifices for the implementation of Sharia and we are committed to our holy dream in this regard.” Mujahidism “The nation and the martyrs,” Mujahid concluded.
The UNAMA response follows the Taliban's decision in late August to ban the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, from entering the country. Taliban jihadists denied Bennett a visa and later accused him of engaging in “propaganda” against the Afghan regime.
“Despite repeated calls for Mr. Bennett to remain professional while on the job, his report has been determined to be based on bias and anecdotes that are detrimental to the interests of Afghanistan and its people,” said Abdul Kahr Barki, a spokesman for the Taliban's “foreign ministry.”
