Azadi Briefing

Welcome to Gandhara's weekly newsletter. This briefing brings you the best of our reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If you're new to the newsletter or haven't subscribed yet, you can do so here.

This week's Gandhara Briefing brings you insights into the Taliban's alleged persecution of the Achakzai Pashtun tribe, the recruitment of former elite Afghan commandos to join Russia's war in Ukraine, and a secret school for Afghan girls.

NOTE TO READERS: The Gandhara Briefing will next appear on December 2.

Taliban Cracks Down On Universities

RFE/RL's Radio Azadi reports on the Taliban cracking down on Afghan universities, which have become a hotbed of anti-Taliban protests led by female students.

In the latest incident, the Taliban beat up dozens of female students who staged a rally on October 30 outside their university in Badakhshan. The incident came after a group of women were barred from entering the campus because of their appearance.

"The beatings and the discriminatory rules are aimed at preventing us from protesting and silencing the voices of women," said Nahid, one of the women who protested outside Badakhshan University.

"We resisted and kept protesting even after we were beaten," said Nadia, another protesting student. "Ultimately, we overcame the pressure and went to our classes."

Hadia Tooba, a women's rights activist, said that while the "rest of the world is obsessed with development and improving their lives" the Taliban is "preoccupied with the colors of our veils."

Women Barred From Public Parks, Bathhouses

Radio Azadi reports on the Taliban barring women from entering public bathhouses and parks in Kabul.

"What they said -- that women can't go to recreational places and baths -- is ridiculous," said Maria Tutakhil, a Kabul resident. "If another decree is imposed on women, it will be that women cannot even leave the house."

The closure of public bathhouses, which are often frequented by residents who lack hot water or bathing facilities at home, will hit the poor particularly hard.

"Where can a mother and her children take a bath?" asked Hamira Farhangyar, former president of Kabul's Cheragh Medical University.

Failing Afghan Drug Rehab Centers

In this video, Radio Azadi reports on the sharply deteriorating conditions at drug rehabilitation facilities in Afghanistan.

Many rehab centers have closed or are struggling to remain open since international donors cut or reduced funding after the Taliban seized power.

"We have problems providing food, medicines, and clothes for them," said Abdul Nasir Monqaad, the director of a 1,000-bed rehabilitation center in Kabul.

Afghanistan has an estimated 3 million drug addicts, around 10 percent of the population.

The Taliban has rounded up addicts and locked them up for months as a form of treatment.

"I am scared of going to the clinics because they might beat me," said Noor Ali, a drug addict.

Gay Men Face Taliban Persecution

In another video report, two gay men told Radio Azadi that they live in constant fear under Taliban rule and have to meet their partners in secret.

Homosexuality is a taboo topic in Afghanistan, a socially and religiously conservative country. Many consider homosexuality un-Islamic and immoral, and gay men can be imprisoned by the state or killed by their family members in so-called honor killings.

But since the Taliban seized power, members of the gay community say their fears have intensified.

"They brutally torture and even kill us," said one gay man who meets his lover secretly. He says his "blood freezes in his veins" whenever he sees the Taliban.

Crumbling Afghan Currency Notes

Radio Azadi reports on banknotes in Afghanistan falling to pieces. No new banknotes have been issued since the Taliban's takeover.

"Worn-out bank notes cause a lot of problems for business," said one money changer in Kabul. "They create problems between shopkeepers and customers."

This week, Afghanistan received a batch of newly printed afghani notes under a deal with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

That's all from me this week.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so here. I encourage you to visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook..

You can always reach us at gandhara@rferl.org.

Editor's Note: The Gandhara Briefing will not appear the next two weeks but will return on December 2.

Welcome to Gandhara's weekly newsletter. This briefing brings you the best of our reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If you're new to the newsletter or haven't subscribed yet, you can do so here.

This week's Gandhara Briefing brings you insights into the Taliban's alleged persecution of the Achakzai Pashtun tribe, the recruitment of former elite Afghan commandos to join Russia's war in Ukraine, and a secret school for Afghan girls.

Taliban Persecutes Pashtun Tribe

I report on the Taliban's extensive alleged killings and persecution of the Achakzai, a large Pashtun tribe in southern Afghanistan.

Senior Achakzai political leaders told me that the Taliban has engaged in killings, forced disappearances, torture, detentions, displacement, and the seizure of tribe members' property. The community faces retribution for alleged atrocities carried out by the late General Abdul Raziq, an Achakzai and the most prominent anti-Taliban commander in the region.

While the Taliban officially denies it is allowing its members to retaliate against the Achakzai in violation of the general amnesty it issued shortly after retaking power, human rights watchdogs have documented some grave abuses.

"Afghanistan is hell for the supporters of the late General Abdul Raziq," said Akhtar Mohammad Khan Badezai, a former presidential adviser and spokesman for Raziq's family.

Former lawmaker Mohammad Naeem Lalai Hamidzai alleged an estimated 18,000 members of the Afghan security forces that Raziq once led are the primary target of Taliban persecution.

He claimed at least 300 of them, mostly Achakzais, were killed in the initial days of the Taliban takeover in July and August 2021.

"This persecution that began during the Taliban takeover 14 months ago still continues," he told me.

Patricia Gossman, an associate Asia director for Human Rights Watch, sees the Taliban determined to crush any potential resistance.

"They want to punish those who supported him [Raziq] or who might want to revive armed resistance," she said.

Vagner Recruits Former Afghan Commandos

Safiullah Stanikzai interviewed a former Afghan Army general who says Russia's private Vagner paramilitary group is recruiting Western-trained former Afghan special forces to boost the Kremlin's war effort in Ukraine.

General Abdul Raouf Arghandiwal, a former commander of Afghanistan's elite 207 Zafar Army Corps, says some 15 former Afghan commandos have already joined the Russians as mercenaries and many more could be recruited.

"[Vagner's] plan is to recruit 1,000 people in the first phase and 1,000 people in the second phase as a battalion and to gradually continue this process," Arghandiwal said, adding that former Afghan foot soldiers and officers who fled to Iran are being recruited with Iran's help.

In Moscow, Sergei Danilov, deputy director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Center for Middle East Studies, says there's little motivation for the Afghans to put their lives on the line for a foreign country.

"They are trained, but they are not motivated," he said. "They don't pose a threat. Some were able to go to Pakistan -- or even to Iran -- and are now in the region and beyond.... But this is not tens of thousands or even thousands."

Cafés Close After Taliban Hookah Ban

Radio Azadi reports that the ban on hookah or shisha smoking is bankrupting the once-thriving café scene in Herat.

The Taliban considers hookah smoking -- a popular pastime among young Afghan men -- to be "un-Islamic" because of its adverse health effects. But the ban has affected the livelihoods of thousands.

"I will be forced to go to [neighboring] Iran to look for work," said Mohammad Qasim, who used to earn $100 a month working as a waiter at a Herat café.

The Café Owners Association in Herat estimates more than 2,500 people have lost their jobs because of the ban.

"How can I run a café when I have no income?" said Omid, an entrepreneur who had to dismiss seven staff members when he shuttered his establishment.

Not everyone in Herat is upset by the ban, however.

"This ban will prevent the youth from wasting their money and damaging their health," said Nazir Ahmad, a resident of Herat.

Secret School For Afghan Girls

In a video report, we take you to a secret school for teenage girls in an impoverished Kabul neighborhood.

The school is one of many operated by Afghan teachers and activists that aims to help girls from grades seven through 12 continue their studies, which were disrupted after the Taliban closed most secondary schools for girls after seizing power in August 2021.

"We can't forget about our future because of this government," said one of the students at the school. "Whatever happens, we come here secretly to get an education and move toward a better future."

That's all from me this week.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so here. I encourage you to visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook..

You can always reach us at gandhara@rferl.org.