Azadi Briefing

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

I'm Mustafa Sarwar, a senior news editor 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

At least 120 Afghans were residing in Sudan when war erupted in the African country last month.

Forty-nine Afghans have been evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia, from where they returned to Afghanistan on May 5, according to the Taliban.

Several dozen Afghans, including students and workers, remain trapped in Sudan, where clashes between warring generals have killed hundreds and uprooted hundreds of thousands of people.

Why It's Important: Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled the country to escape repression and the devastating economic and humanitarian crises.

Many Afghans who have returned in recent days to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan face an uncertain fate, including Mirwais Hamidi, who ran a restaurant in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

"About a year ago, I moved to Sudan and opened a restaurant there,” he told Radio Azadi. “Five other [Afghans] were working there until the war broke out and we had to leave that country.”

Khaled was studying medicine at the International University of Africa in Khartoum. “Unfortunately, the war is still going on,” he told Radio Azadi. “I hope to be able to return to continue my studies."

What's Next: The Taliban-led government's ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Radio Azadi that efforts were under way to evacuate the remaining Afghans trapped in Sudan. But he said some Afghans are unwilling to leave Sudan.

The Taliban remains unrecognized by any country in the world, possibly complicating efforts to swiftly evacuate Afghans.

Mohammad Mossadegh, an Afghan who studied in Sudan, said he is in contact with several families and students who are still there. "Afghans who remained in Sudan are in good condition and were transferred to safe areas," he told Radio Azadi.

The Week's Best Stories

The Taliban has ordered all taxi drivers in Afghanistan to change the color of their vehicles from yellow to turquoise. The decision has angered taxi drivers and residents, who say the move is unnecessary, considering the more significant issues the country is facing.

A blacksmith in Kabul is building solar heaters as an affordable and environmentally friendly alternative to using fuels in poverty-stricken Afghanistan. Parabola-shaped solar heaters have grown in popularity as the country grapples with a chronic energy crisis.

What To Keep An Eye On

The United Nations has recently called on the Taliban to end corporal punishment in Afghanistan, including public executions, floggings, and stoning.

In a May 8 report, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that "in the last six months alone, 274 men, 58 women, and two boys have been publicly flogged."

UNAMA said "corporal punishment is a violation of the [UN] Convention Against Torture & must cease."

The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said that "in the event of a conflict between international human rights law and Islamic law, the government is obliged to follow Islamic law."

Two days after the UNAMA report was released, a man and woman were public flogged in the northern province of Parwan, a local member of the Taliban told Radio Azadi.

Why It's Important: The Taliban has reintroduced corporal punishments in recent months, including the public flogging of men and women for crimes including theft, eloping from home, and committing adultery.

Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has ordered the group's courts to employ strict interpretations of Shari'a law, which prescribes punishment such as stoning, execution, amputation, and public lashings. The Taliban handed down similar punishments during its previous rule.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Mustafa Sarwar

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 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 Taliban has intensified its crackdown on independent reporters and media outlets in Afghanistan, where the militant group has stamped out any form of dissent.

An Afghan media watchdog said cases of arbitrary arrests and detention, threats, and intimidation of journalists rose by around 60 percent in the past year.

In its annual report issued on May 3, the Afghanistan Journalist Center said it documented 213 human rights violations against media personnel in the past year. During that time, one journalist was killed and 21 wounded in attacks targeting media workers.

"Taliban intelligence has made our working environment terrifying," a female Afghan journalist, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, told Radio Azadi. "Journalists face torture and detentions daily, which shows the real state of press freedom in our country."

Afghan media advocacy group NAI said around half of Afghanistan's estimated 600 media outlets have closed since the Taliban seized power in 2021. Around two-thirds of reporters have lost their jobs in that time, according to NAI.

Female media workers have been disproportionately affected. The Taliban's restrictions on women's right to work has left many women journalists unable to carry out their jobs.

Why It's Important: Since seizing power, the Taliban has waged a brutal crackdown on dissent that has targeted human rights defenders, women activists, intellectuals, and journalists.

The clampdown appears to have intensified in recent months, with the United Nations highlighting the "concerning number of civil society activists and media workers have been detained since early 2023."

They include journalists Khairullah Parhar and Mortaza Behboudi.

"Journalists are being forced to make editorial decisions based on fear, not public interest. It's sadly part of a wider trend of declining freedom of expression and access to information," said Roza Otunbaeva, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan.

What's Next: The Taliban appears likely to further restrict the freedom of the press in Afghanistan as part of a wider rolling back of basic rights.

Despite promising to allow free media upon seizing power, the Taliban has issued decrees intended to protect its government from "disrespectful" criticism by the media.

The militants have also issued "11 rules for journalists" that prohibit the publication or broadcasting of reports that are "contrary to Islam," and which discourage reporting of news that has not been confirmed by Taliban officials.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban has announced that it will build a nearly 1,500-kilometer-long railway line connecting three major Afghan cities.

The Taliban's chief spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the railway line would connect the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif with the southern city of Kandahar via the western city of Herat.

Mujahid said the Taliban would fund the ambitious project through domestic revenues.

Why It's Important: The project underscores the Taliban's ambitions to transform Afghanistan into a trading hub connecting Central Asia to South Asia.

But it is doubtful whether the Taliban government has the finances and technical expertise to complete the multibillion-dollar project on its own.

There is also little indication that neighboring or regional powers are willing or able to step in to help the Taliban, whose government remains unrecognized and is under international sanctions.

The Taliban has gone ahead with a giant canal project in northern Afghanistan that has provoked controversy in the region. Meanwhile, its attempts to attract Chinese investment in the mining sector have yet to bear fruit.

That's all from me for now.

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.