Azadi Briefing

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

I'm Malali Bashir, senior editor for women’s programs 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 banned the cultivation, production, and trafficking of all illicit narcotics in April 2022.

But opium markets continue to operate as usual in many areas, including in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, where most of the country’s opium is produced, according to locals who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

Syed Najibullah Ahmadi, a former Afghan anti-narcotics official, said drug traffickers amassed large “strategic stockpiles” of opium ahead of the ban and are now “selling it at many times the price.”

Experts have said that the Taliban has taxed narcotics producers and been involved in the trafficking of narcotics to neighboring countries, from where they end up in Europe and North America.

The Taliban has asserted that it has significantly reduced opium production, a claim that has been backed by some experts. Even as opium production appears to have decreased, Afghanistan has become a major supplier of other narcotics, including crystal meth.

Why It's Important: The continuing sale and trafficking of narcotics has raised questions about the Taliban’s commitment to stamp out drugs in the impoverished country.

Ending Afghanistan's status as one of the world's biggest producers of narcotics has long been a priority for the international community.

In a statement on July 31, the U.S. State Department said Washington had “registered serious concerns regarding continuing trafficking and sale of processed opiates and synthetic drugs” in talks with Taliban officials.

What's Next: The Taliban is likely to face increasing pushback from poppy farmers in Afghanistan as it fails to provide them with alternative livelihoods and crops.

"We used to grow poppies and use that money to provide for our needs,” said a farmer in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, who spoke to Radio Azadi on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “If you destroy our crops, then you have to give us wheat, fertilizer, or money, so that we can continue to live.”

The Week's Best Stories

Draconian Decrees: The Taliban's Restrictions In Afghanistan

Since seizing power two years ago, the Taliban has imposed restrictions on every aspect of Afghans’ lives, including their appearances, freedom of movement, the right to work or study, and access to entertainment and uncensored information.

The Taliban’s notorious religious police have enforced the new laws, often violently, in many areas. Those who violate the Taliban’s morality laws can be subject to public floggings, jail, or even death.

Islam Does Not Ban Girls' Education. So Why Does The Taliban?

Afghanistan is the only country in the world where teenage girls are not allowed to go to school, even though girls and women have a right to education under Islam. So why has the Taliban -- a militant Islamist group -- banned girls from attending school after sixth grade? Part of the answer lies in the Taliban's interpretation of Islam, experts say.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban has announced that it has registered more than 100 madrasahs, or religious schools, across Afghanistan.

Zar Mohammad Haqqani, a Taliban official, said 124 madrasahs were granted permission to operate, while another 30 were likely to be registered soon.

An unknown number of unregistered madrasahs are believed to be operating in the country.

Why It's Important: Since the Taliban takeover, there has been a surge in the number of madrasahs in the country. The militants have vowed to build a vast network of madrasahs across the country's 34 provinces.

The move is seen as part of efforts to root out all forms of the modern secular education that thrived in Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban's first regime.

The Taliban-run madrasahs promote extremist religious instruction, raising fears that it could radicalize a new generation of Afghans.

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,

Malali Bashir

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe for free 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 with 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

Erstwhile allies Pakistan and Afghanistan's hard-line Islamist rulers continue to spar over the Taliban's alleged support to militants fighting Islamabad.

"It is the responsibility of the security and intelligence agencies of Pakistan to carry out their duties properly and not to blame Afghanistan," chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on August 9

His statement was an apparent response to an August 7 speech by General Asim Munir. The head of Pakistan's powerful military said Islamabad was concerned "over sanctuaries available to banned outfits and the liberty of action they enjoy on Afghan soil," vowing that his country will dismantle terrorist organizations.

"The involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents in Pakistan is detrimental to regional peace," Munir said.

On August 6, Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob called on his fighters to obey a recent decree by their supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, which forbids them from engaging in jihad outside Afghanistan.

"If mujahedin (Taliban forces) continue to fight despite orders from the emir to stop, then it is not jihad but rather hostility," Yaqoob said.

The decree is part of the Taliban's response to Islamabad's accusations that Afghan fighters are involved in attacks on Pakistani forces by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other jihadist groups who shelter inside Afghanistan.

Why It's Important: The public bickering indicates that Islamabad now sees Taliban-ruled Afghanistan as a major security threat after abandoning efforts to end the TTP's insurgency through peace talks brokered by the Afghan Taliban.

Since the Taliban returned to power, partially enabled by Pakistani support for its two-decade-long insurgency, the TTP dramatically escalated its attacks on Pakistani forces.

Islamabad's efforts to end the violence by offering concessions to the group in talks mediated by the Taliban backfired as the TTP violence turned into an expanding insurgency. The group is trying to regain control of large swathes of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province bordering Afghanistan.

But under Munir's leadership, the Pakistani military is pressuring the Afghan Taliban to rein in the TTP because of its close organizational and ideological alliance with its Afghan hosts.

What's Next: There are no signs that the TTP is stepping back from its violent campaign against Pakistan.

With elections looming, Pakistan will be governed by an interim caretaker government in the near future.

The continuation or increase in Pakistani Taliban violence will prompt Munir to exert more pressure on the Afghan Taliban in this sensitive period, further tearing apart the two former allies.

What To Keep An Eye On

Humanitarian aid groups operating in Afghanistan warn about the dangerous consequences of severe funding shortfalls as they grapple with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The UN estimates that nearly 30 million Afghans out of a population of 40 million need humanitarian assistance as they struggle with the consequences of a collapsing economy.

Afghanistan is still reeling from the loss of development and financial aid after donors stopped funding one of the world's most aid-dependent countries following the Taliban's return to power two years ago.

"We need some $110 million immediately to store food for the winter for nearly 3 million people," said Wahidullah Amani, a spokesman for the World Food Program in Afghanistan.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), a U.S. NGO, expressed concern over diminishing funds to respond to Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis.

The IRC says that only 23 percent of the $4.6 billion humanitarian appeal has been funded this year. By the same time last year, 40 percent of the previous plan was funded.

Why It's Important: This is a vital issue, as the Taliban's cash-strapped, unrecognized government is unlikely to fund humanitarian operations or pull an economic miracle.

Western donors are unlikely to shower aid on Afghanistan in a world struggling with multiple humanitarian crises because of the Taliban's harsh policies and extensive human rights abuses.

This will expose more of the most vulnerable Afghans to extreme hardship in the near future.

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.