Azadi Briefing

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The United Nations has announced that it is reviewing its operations in Afghanistan, and told all staff to remain at home, after the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for the world body.

The hundreds of Afghan women employed by the UN are critical in delivering life-saving aid in Afghanistan, where millions are at risk of starvation.

In its statement on April 11, the UN said the Taliban’s ban has forced it to make an "appalling choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold."

The UN added that “any negative consequences of this crisis for the Afghan people” is the responsibility of the Taliban.

In response, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called the ban an “internal issue” and blamed the devastating humanitarian crisis on international “sanctions and pressure.”

“Considering the emergency situation in Afghanistan, it is necessary for the member countries of the United Nations to resolve the problem of frozen Afghan assets, banking, travel bans, and other restrictions as soon as possible so that Afghanistan can progress in economic, political and security areas,” he said.

Why It's Important: The Taliban appears to be using the issue of women’s rights as a bargaining chip to gain concessions from the international community.

When the Taliban seized power in 2021, foreign governments immediately cut development funding to Afghanistan and imposed tough sanctions on the new government.

Since then, the Taliban’s repression of women, including severe restrictions on female education and employment, has further isolated its government. The militant group remains unrecognized by any country.

In December, the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for local and foreign NGOs, a move that disrupted critical assistance to millions of Afghans. On April 4, the Taliban expanded the ban to include the UN, further interrupting aid.

What's Next: The Taliban seems to be gambling with the lives of over 28 million people, or two-thirds of the population, who need life-saving assistance to survive.

The UN has suggested that it could suspend its operations in Afghanistan if the Taliban maintains its ban, a move that is likely to have disastrous consequences.

The Taliban’s ban also appears to have contributed to international donors, mostly Western nations, already reducing funding to aid organizations.

The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) has warned that it will have to cut assistance to 9 million people in Afghanistan if it does not immediately receive additional funding.

The Week's Best Stories

In the latest instance of extreme restrictions on leisure activities in Afghanistan, Taliban authorities have closed video-game parlors and shops selling foreign movies, TV shows, and music in the western Afghan city of Herat. The group had earlier closed sheesha cafes and restaurants run by women in the city.

The Taliban has not been recognized by any country since forcibly seizing power in Afghanistan. But the militant group has tried to boost its legitimacy by gaining control of Afghan diplomatic missions abroad. Many Afghan embassies and consulates around the world are still run by diplomats appointed by the previous Western-backed government in Kabul.

What To Keep An Eye On

Deadly clashes erupted between Taliban fighters and members of the Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF), an armed resistance group, in the northern province of Parwan this week.

The Taliban claimed to have killed eight AFF fighters, including two commanders, Basir Andrabi and Akmal Amiri. The AFF has not confirmed the death of Amiri.

In a statement on April 13, the AFF alleged that the Taliban had launched a crackdown in the capital, Kabul, and the provinces of Parwan, Panjshir, and Kapisa against civilians suspected of having ties with the resistance group. The AFF also alleged that the Taliban prevented people from attending the funerals of the slain fighters.

Local sources told Radio Azadi that the Taliban had raided dozens of houses.

Why It's Important: A handful of small armed groups, mostly comprised of members of Afghanistan’s former armed forces, have opposed Taliban rule in different regions of the country. But they remain weak and have no sanctuary or outside help, experts have said.

The Taliban has been accused of using brute force to quell the groups, including the alleged killing and torture of resistance fighters and the detention and beating of civilians.

The Taliban’s hard-line government has led to the emergence of new resistance groups, including the AFF. The Taliban has refused to share power or grant fundamental rights to citizens. And with the militant group stamping out any kind of dissent, there appears to be little room for peaceful opposition to its rule.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Frud Bezhan, regional desk editor for Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The United Nation’s World Food Program (WFP) has warned that it is just “days away” from cutting assistance to 9 million people in Afghanistan if it does not immediately receive funding. The WFP delivers food, cash, and other assistance in emergencies.

“We urgently need $93 million to assist 13 million people in April and $800 million for the next six months,” the WFP said in a tweet on March 29.

Hsiao-Wei Lee, country director for WFP Afghanistan, said that “catastrophic hunger knocks on Afghanistan’s doors and unless humanitarian support is sustained, hundreds of thousands more Afghans will need assistance to survive.”

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 worsened an already major humanitarian crisis and triggered an economic meltdown. Foreign governments immediately cut development funding and imposed sanctions on the new government.

For the past 20 months, multibillion-dollar aid packages have prevented a widespread famine. In 2022, the WFP received around $1.7 billion from international donors, including the United States and European nations. But donors have reduced funding this year, rekindling fears of a famine.

Why It's Important: Aid groups have repeatedly warned that emergencies in Ukraine, Turkey, and Syria, challenging global economic conditions, and the Taliban’s ban on women working for NGOs could lead to a drop in donor funding for Afghanistan.

The WFP’s stark comments are one of the first tangible signs of foreign governments and institutions pulling back from Afghanistan.

Aid groups now face the worst-case scenario in Afghanistan: reducing or ending food assistance to the estimated 20 million Afghans -- or around half of the population -- who are "acutely food insecure."

What's Next: It is unclear if the WFP, which is funded entirely by donations, will be able to raise the funds it needs to continue its life-saving assistance in Afghanistan.

If it does not, there could be catastrophic consequences for Afghans, 6 million of whom are already on the verge of starvation.

The Week's Best Stories

Matiullah Wesa, a widely known and respected campaigner for education in Afghanistan, was beaten and arrested by the Taliban in Kabul on March 27. His arrest on unknown charges has sparked an international outcry and highlighted the Taliban's intensifying crackdown on educators and dissent.

U.S. forces left a trove of weapons behind when they withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. Some of those arms have turned up in neighboring Pakistan, where they have been used by armed groups. Experts say the Pakistani Taliban and ethnic Baluch separatist groups have obtained M16 machine guns and M4 assault rifles, night-vision goggles, and military communication gear.

Former Afghan university student Farzana Haidari operates a sewing machine in Ghor Province. She had nearly completed her degree in Persian language and literature when the Taliban banned education for women. Since seizing power, the regime has broken its pledges to allow education access and professional careers for females.

What To Keep An Eye On

At least 10 people have been killed and nearly 100 injured by heavy rain and flash floods that have struck Afghanistan, the Taliban-run National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on March 30. Spokesman Shafiullah Rahimi said around 1,000 homes have been destroyed.

The areas most affected have been the northern provinces of Parwan and Balkh, as well as the southern province of Uruzgan.

"The floods are a calamity. It’s a disaster,” Sufi Faqir, a farmer in Parwan, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi, adding that his fields were destroyed.

Gholam Dastagir, a shopkeeper in the provincial capital, Charikar, told Radio Azadi that his shop was flooded and his goods ruined. “Now, we don’t have any money to buy food,” he said.

The NDMA has warned of snowfall and more heavy rain in the coming days.

Why It's Important: Scores of Afghans die every year from floods and torrential downpours, particularly in impoverished rural areas where poorly built homes are often at risk of collapse.

Decades of conflict, coupled with environmental degradation and insufficient investment in disaster risk reduction, have contributed to the increasing vulnerability of Afghans to natural disasters, according to the UN.

Recent floods and earthquakes are likely to aggravate the country’s humanitarian and economic crises.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan said that “aid agencies are assessing the impact and providing aid where needed” following the latest floods. But it added that “limited funding is constraining their ability to scale up” aid to those affected by the floods.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org.

Note: There will be no Azadi Briefing on April 7.

Until next time,

Frud Bezhan

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.