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 highlights our reporting on the devastation caused by the floods in Afghanistan, an Afghan woman accusing a Taliban official of rape, and the militants holding their first film festival.

Rising Pakistan Taliban Extortion

I report on the growing The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, extortion campaign in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

The TTP began raising money in this way to increase its control in the region after hundreds of its militants returned there amid a standstill in peace talks with Islamabad.

"The TTP is demanding extortion from everyone they think can pay," Jamshid Khan, a businessman in Peshawar, told me after paying a big shakedown to the militants. "Most, if not all, wealthy individuals have paid it already."

Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistan security expert at the University of London, sees Islamabad as unwilling to go after the militants without Western funding.

"What will start in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not end in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," she warned. "It will extend all over the country."

Defiant Afghans Demand Girls' Education

RFE/RL's Radio Azadi reports on why Afghan elders, schoolgirls, and parents defy the Taliban by protesting the recent closure of schools for teenage girls in Paktia.

Their activism on the ground and online proves wrong the Taliban claim that Afghans don't want their teenage daughters to get an education.

"We are 100 percent in favor of opening schools," said Aminullah, a father of three teenage daughters who would go to the eighth, ninth, and 12th grades if schools were open. "We want the girls to have a better future."

Matiullah Wisa, an Afghan education activist, said people are disappointed by the school closures in Paktia.

"People expect schools from the government," he said. "It's an unfair decision. People are left in the dark."

(Read the charticle by Giovana Faria showing the dramatically curtailed rights of Afghan women and girls a year into the Taliban's rule)

Exiled Afghan Journalists In Limbo

Majeed Babar reports on the nearly 200 exiled Afghan journalists in Pakistan whose lives are in limbo as they see little prospects of finding a permanent home despite promises by Western governments and nongovernmental organizations.

"You work to tell the truth only to face death threats and find there is no one to protect us," said Nasrin Shirzad, who fled to Pakistan after the Taliban takeover.

The 42-year-old mother of three covered sensitive issues often clashing with the Taliban's hard-line views. She has so far been unsuccessful in convincing Western embassies that she needs asylum abroad.

"I don't know where to go," Sodaba Nasiry, a young journalist with the former Afghan parliament's television channel, told us.

Her e-mails and applications to the global press freedom watchdogs and the German, French, Italian, and Canadian embassies have so far not given her any hopes of settling abroad.

No Relief In Turkey

Radio Azadi reports on the plight of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey, which has deported nearly 43,000 Afghans this year.

Ankara has ignored international calls to protect Afghans fleeing Taliban persecution and the economic collapse in their country.

"I see Afghans being rounded up every day and sent back to Afghanistan," said Faridoon, 39, who made a perilous journey to Istanbul through Iran with his four children.

"I worry about myself and my family," he said of the constant fear he lives under. "One day they will force us to leave, too."

Taliban's Faith Test

The Taliban's Finance Ministry is testing whether its employees have extensive knowledge of Islam to qualify as good Muslims entitled to keep their jobs.

All ministry employees are required to take the test outlined in a 10-page booklet. It addresses 53 topics ranging from testing an employee's knowledge of the five pillars of the Islamic faith to recognizing the signs that judgment day is imminent.

"When there is a lot of sin on Earth [and] when people disobey their parents," are two of the options listed to answer the question: "What are the signs of Judgment Day?"

That's all from me this week.

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.​

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 highlights our reporting on the devastation caused by the floods in Afghanistan, an Afghan woman accusing a Taliban official of rape, and the militants holding their first film festival.

Floods Ravage Impoverished Afghanistan

I report on the recent flash floods in Afghanistan that have killed hundreds of people and devastated swathes of eastern and southern Afghanistan. The natural disaster has aggravated the major economic and humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

"Our house was swept away by the raging floods," said Mira Jan, a farmer from Nangarhar who lost his home, crops, and livestock in the floods. "We were only able to save ourselves and our children. We have nothing to live off now."

According to the United Nations' humanitarian coordination organization, OCHA, the floods have so far killed over 250 people and damaged 34,000 hectares of agricultural land. More than 7,500 livestock were also killed. Coinciding with the summer harvest season, the floods have ruined the livelihoods of thousands of destitute farmers.

"Critical civilian infrastructure, including roads and bridges, have also been either damaged or destroyed, cutting people off from areas and restricting access to markets," said OCHA's deputy head, Katherine Carey.

She says that with 75 percent of the country's rural population dependent on farming, the loss of farmland, crops, and livestock will cloud the economic prospects of millions.

Taliban's Abuse Of Women In The Spotlight

Radio Azadi reports on a young Afghan woman alleging that a Taliban official beat, raped, and forcibly married her.

Saeed Khosty, a former Taliban spokesman, has denied the accusations. But rights groups say the allegations are part of a wider trend of Taliban officials and fighters allegedly abusing, sexually assaulting, and forcibly marrying young Afghan women and girls.

"We don't know how widespread these abuses are against the Afghan women, but we know that violence against women and girls is carried out with complete impunity," Heather Barr, associate director of the women's rights division at Human Rights Watch, told us.

Film Festival Or 'Propaganda'?

Radio Azadi reports on the Taliban organizing a film festival in Kabul.

The militant group banned film during its first stint in power in the 1990s. Now, it will screen dozens of fiction and documentary films in several cinemas later this month.

But critics have accused the Taliban of using film as a new propaganda tool. Since returning to power, the Taliban has cracked down on the independent press and the film industry, forcing hundreds of journalists and filmmakers to flee their homeland.

"Filmmaking will become another avenue to whitewash the Taliban and will be used as a propaganda tool," Sahra Karimi, the former head of the Afghan Film Directorate, told us.

Afghan Refugees Decry Turkish, Iranian Treatment

Radio Azadi reports on the mistreatment of Afghan migrants and refugees by security forces in Iran and Turkey.

"The Turkish forces beat us so badly that some of us had broken limbs, while others lost their lives," said Sardar Wali Aryubi, who was recently deported back to Afghanistan.

In a report this week, Amnesty International accused Turkish and Iranian border guards of violently pushing back Afghans seeking safety in their countries.

The watchdog documented the killing of 11 Afghans by the Iranian forces and three by Turkish troops.

U.S. Says Taliban Will Pay For Rights Violations

In an interview, Rob Berschinski, a special assistant to U.S. President Joe Biden, said that the Taliban will face financial consequences for its human rights abuses in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has been accused of carrying out hundreds of human rights violations in Afghanistan since seizing power, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture. The militant group has specifically targeted those associated with the ousted government, human rights defenders, and journalists, according to the UN.

In his first broadcast interview since his appointment last year, Berschinski said, "We're going to hold [the Taliban] to their word" on the human rights pledges made during talks on the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

That's all from me this week.

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.

Note: The next edition of the Gandhara Briefing will be issued on September 23.