Phase 1 of Qush Tepa Canal is complete
108 km long, 100 m wide and 8 m deep
Two railway and highway bridges
~$180 million spent, all from domestic revenue, despite economic crisis
Design, engineering and construction done by Afghans
Takeaway: Afghans are taking ownership
Earthquake in Herat, Afghanistan
2053 killed
1240 injured
1320 houses destroyed
One of the most devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan’s recent history
Please donate generously to aid organizations on the ground
Inflation in Afghanistan has dropped to a negative 0.95%. It was 18.3% in July 2022.
Also, the Afghani currency appreciated by
3.8% against the US dollar
2% against the Euro
0.5% against the Indian rupee
20.6% against the Pakistani rupee, and
41.2% against Iranian toman
Kabul-Kandahar highway
Qush Tepa canal
Salang tunnel road
Investments in mining and energy
Funding the national budget and salaries of 950K civil and military personnel
Afghans (gov+private sector) did all this without foreign support whilst under sanctions. Unprecedented!
2 trillion dollars spent
85,000 bombs dropped
100s of thousands killed
Lands poisoned, children got sick, environment destroyed for generations
No investigations or accountability
Not on the agenda of any forum
Now, punishment with economic coercion
Afghanistan's total exports for Jan - May 2023 reached US$ 0.73 billion - a 9% rise compared to the same period in 2022
Top exports:
Vegetables and Fruits 54%
Coal 24%
Textiles 16%
Total imports stood at US$ 3.1 billion, a 36% growth
Top imports:
Food 25%
Oil and Gas 20%
Pakistan gets ready to deport 1.7 million Afghan refugees with force and violence
94% of Afghans live below the poverty line, struggling with economic crisis & sanctions
Afghan refugees have businesses and properties in Pakistan but can only carry $250 per family when leaving
۳۵ میلیونه ډالر پکار دي چې په کابل او ۱۵ ولایاتو کې برښنا ۲۴ ساعته شي
د ترکمنستان څخه راغلی ۵۰۰ kV لین او سب سټیشنونو کار ۸۰٪ تکمیل شوی. مواد او تجهیزات یې ګودامونو کې پراته دي
دا پاتي کار اته میاشتو کې افغاني شرکتونه تکمیلولای شي
برښنا شرکت او امارت دوه کاله ضایع کړل
Question for researchers:
The US/ NATO spent $9 billion and conducted 100s of airstrikes to stop drug production in Afghanistan. On the contrary, Afghanistan became the biggest global narcotics supplier and produced 5 million local drug addicts.
Why?
After 14 months of tendering and contract negotiation, the Supreme Leader of IEA finally approved five mega mining contracts that could potentially revive the mining sector.
Contracts awarded to JVs of Afghan, Iranian, Turkish and British companies. 200+ companies submitted EOIs.
ADB approved $400 million and EU released €140 million in humanitarian aid for AFG
30% of this sum vanishes in admin fee. Rest is spent on food and logistics
Why don’t complete unfinished electricity, transport, and irrigation projects that can revive and sustain the economy?
Afghani currency steadily regained its value against the USD, reverting back to the pre-15 Aug 2021 rate. It peaked in Dec 2021 at AFN107. It dropped today to AFN81.2.
This is an impressive reversal of events by taming inflation and preventing further depreciation of Afghani.
WHO and ICRC will stop supporting 55 hospitals in Afghanistan due to a lack of funding.
What message does this send to ordinary Afghans?
Funds were available when the $2 trillion war was ongoing. Healthcare funds cease when the war ends.
IC is losing grip on its narrative.
Afghanistan cricket team dedicated tonight’s win against England to the people of Herat, Farah, and Badghis, who were affected by multiple devastating earthquakes in the last few days.
CEO of TAPI Pipeline Company (TPCL) met with Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar in Kabul today. He said phase one of the pipeline construction would commence soon. This includes extending the gas pipeline by 150 KM in Afghanistan, allowing gas offtake in Herat city.
This massive urban development project (Kabul New City) was supposed to start in 2012. Master Plan was approved in 2009. But lack of political will, red tape, corruption, and failure to prevent land grabbing have delayed the project by 11 years.
It seems it’s finally started.
Construction gets underway on New Kabul housing project
Practical work on the New Kabul project got underway on Thursday in the presence of high-ranking Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials.
#ArianaNews
#Afghanistan
#NewKabulProject
International community:
“We have no choice but to stop funding hospitals of Afghanistan because the Taliban suppressed women's rights”
Taliban:
“They don’t care about Afghan women unless we adopt their ideology and values. Nothing is for free. They want dominance”
The punishment and looting of vulnerable Afghan refugees is a deliberate attempt by the Pakistani establishment to divert attention and blame from the worsening economic crisis, security failures, and political engineering in Pakistan. For how long?
How many resignations turned in during the 20-year-long war
Hospitals, wedding ceremonies and funerals were mercilessly bombed. 100s of thousands of civilians killed
Massive corruption and failures
Calls for engagement are stifled. Warmongers still crave brutality & violence
After 14 months of tendering and contract negotiation, the Supreme Leader of IEA finally approved five mega mining contracts that could potentially revive the mining sector.
Contracts awarded to JVs of Afghan, Iranian, Turkish and British companies. 200+ companies submitted EOIs.
Afghanistan cricket team dedicated tonight’s historic win against Pakistan to the Afghan refugees who are being deported by Pakistan back to the country in times of economic hardship and sanctions.
DABS payments for import power annually:
Uzbekistan - $110 million
Turkmenistan - $60 million
Tajikistan - $80 million
Iran - $60 million
DABS says it reduced total losses by 6% (from 32% down to 26%) last year. If true, it’s unprecedented in the last 30 years.
Significant development regarding the Mes Ayank copper mine. MJAM - the Chinese side indicated to MoMP that they are willing to switch from open-pit mining to underground. This will expedite the project while allowing IEA to relocate the Buddhist archaeological site and artifacts
Ministry of Economy’s report on NGOs in Afghanistan:
Registered NGOs: 2393
International NGOs: 272
NGOs obtained licenses last year: 376
NGOs dissolved last year: 216
Ongoing projects: 1340
Total contract value of projects: $1.6 billion
International staff issued visa: 1198
عبدالرحمن بن عوف رض به دا دعاء ډیره ویله:
اللَّهُمَّ قِنِي شُحَّ نَفْسِي - یا الله، ما د خپل حرص او خودغرضۍ څخه وساته.
هغه د شتمنو صحابه و څخه وو، خو مال او دولت سره یې داسې مینه نه درلوده، چې د حق او باطل ترمنځ تفکیک ونشي کولای.
ومن يوق شح نفسه فأولئك هم المفلحون
UNICEF and NSIA released the Afghanistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) for 2022-23.
62.5% of household heads are unlettered
88.6% of mothers have no education
5.1% of households own a computer
1% of women use computers, the highest in Kabul, 2.4%
I once suggested to an Afghan friend who received graduate degrees from the UK and the US to read Orientalism by Edward Said. Perhaps that could help him analyze the situation in Afghanistan more critically. He got irritated and said even Edward Said would bomb savages in AFG.
Vague reporting by the Ministry of Public Works.
The ministry inaugurated the Salang Road and Kabul-Kandahar Highway twice due to issues with contractors and red tape.
Five lots of the highway were awarded in return for mines, but unclear which mines and on what conditions.
Many of us have long sounded the alarm of the water crisis in Kabul. It may soon become a catastrophe if underground water is not recharged, Shatoot dam, and other solutions are not implemented.
The ruthless water extraction in the last 20 years has exacerbated the crisis.
1/2:
The people of Kabul are facing a severe water crisis. In this area of district 4, the water level has dropped from 10 meters to 150 meters. I see hundreds of people near my residence every day at the water intake point. This is a very stressful situation. In
Poor annual report presented by MoMP. It was a copy paste from last year.
No updates on revenue
No progress on Mes Aynak copper mine and TAPI gas pipeline
Tendering for Ghorian iron ore in Herat and Zinc-Lead deposits in Ghor started last year, but still no contract award
On World Environment Day, the Head of NEPA said at a conference in Kabul that the international community halted 32 climate adaptation and green projects worth $826 million. Afghanistan is one of the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases while the most vulnerable to climate change.
Good to see a response from American diplomats to points raised by
@FatimaGailani
. Yesterday, a top UK diplomat met with the foreign minister of IEA in Kabul. European diplomats frequently visit Kabul and stay engaged. Wars and invasions have been tried for 40 years.
Insightful discussion between
@awsanzar
and
@jalalayn
on Afghanistan’s past, present, and future. Highly recommended for Western audiences and policymakers.
Professor Wael Hallaq at Columbia University:
"Colonialism and Orientalism worked not only hand and hand, rather they are part of the same organ. They are literally two wheels spinning within the same machine."
It’s been 18 months, and the Taliban are still debating the legality and permissibility of pension payments to 150,000 retired Afghan civil servants. MoF allocated AFN4 billion in the previous FY budget and 8 billion in the current budget; however, SL is yet to approve pensions.
It highlights concerns made by senior army officers in emails from the time, including a warning that “there appears to be a casual disregard for life”.
One of the elite British soldiers is believed to have “personally killed” 35 Afghans.
That’s more than the Marshal Plan aid that rebuilt Western Europe.
In contrast, the U.S. left behind a fragile and war-torn Afghanistan with 4 million drug addicts and a 90% poverty rate. The taxpayers’ money only benefited the military-industrial complex and Afghan warlords.
Interesting. Foreign Affairs Minister, while speaking at the Diplomacy Institute's graduation ceremony, welcomed and appreciated recent remarks by
@Tobias_Ellwood
and President Biden about Afghanistan.
As we approach August, IEA started Government Accountability Program, where ministries will present their annual reports to the public. This August will mark two years of the Taliban’s return to power. As a precursor, it’s worthwhile to watch Salam Zaeef’s interview with ToloNews
Lecturing PM Modi on human rights would backfire. Far better to ally with India’s society itself, expanding ties with its businesses, press, NGOs, cultural groups and others.
My take:
Human rights, freedom of expression, and democracy can be compromised and tailored when necessary by both parties for strategic and economic interests. When certain countries violate UN Security Council resolutions, it's not a matter of concern if it has economic benefits.
After spending billions of dollars under the pretext of improving the lives of Afghan women, only a small fraction benefited. Now, majority of them are being starved. How does the international community justify the reduction of aid for vulnerable women?
Across
#Afghanistan
,
@WFP
is the last lifeline for the most vulnerable families, including widows & women-lead households.
Due to lack of funding,
#WFP
had to reduce rations & cut 8 million people from assistance this year.
WFP urgently needs US$1 billion to continue operations.
This perplexing dichotomy will have to be answered by historians:
The U.S. used force and trillions of dollars to impose democracy in certain countries while aiding dictators to erode democracies elsewhere. As a result, most countries are turning to be authoritarian.
"Washington was directly complicit."
Author
@shadihamid
looks back on the military coup in Egypt 10 years ago this month and says the Obama administration gave "what amounted to a green light" to overthrow the country's first democratically elected government.
Many pundits and Afghanistan "Experts" are looking for the root causes of the US/ NATO failure in Afghanistan and the republic's fall. Here is one apparent root cause that many want to conveniently overlook.
It highlights concerns made by senior army officers in emails from the time, including a warning that “there appears to be a casual disregard for life”.
One of the elite British soldiers is believed to have “personally killed” 35 Afghans.
People in the only “thriving democracy in the Middle East” just realized that their government is dismantling democracy. Perhaps it was not threatened by the 70-year-long occupation and the expansion of illegal settlements.
“We are going into a civil war now.”
Former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert says the country faces civil war as huge protests have flooded the streets in Israel over judicial overhaul.
“In Doha,
@US4AfghanPeace
and
@SE_AfghanWGH
will meet with a delegation of Taliban representatives and technocratic professionals from key Afghan ministries to discuss critical interests in Afghanistan.”
Important points raised by
@MoeedNj
on how countries conveniently cherry-pick issues of human rights, democracy, and freedom of expression when they best suit their strategic interests.
Minister and 34 Provincial Directors of Education met with the IEA’s Supreme Leader in Kandahar today. It’s been 620+ days since the Taliban prevented female students from attending secondary schools in Afghanistan. The SL seems to have curbed internal dissenting voices as well.
د پوهنې وزارت مشرتابه او د ۳۴ ولایتونو د پوهنې رئیسانو له عالیقدر امیرالمؤمنین حفظه الله سره وکتل
دپوهنې وزارت سرپرست وزیر الحاج مولوي حبیب الله آغا او ورسره د ۳۴ ولایتونو دپوهنې رئیسانو په کندهار ولایت کې له عالیقدرامیرالمؤمنین شیخ الحدیث هبة الله آخندزاده حفظه الله سره وکتل...
#Herat_Earthquake_Appeal
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To add, the U.S. naively tried to establish democracy, eradicate narcotics, empower women, and protect human rights by partnering with notorious and corrupt Afghan warlords who undermined ‘nation-building’. The Americans thought they couldn’t win the war without the warlords.
🇺🇸🇦🇫THREAD:
Perhaps the most consistent feature of US policy and rhethoric regarding Afghanistan since 2001 was extreme hostility to so-called "nation-building".
Bizarrely, even after it all went wrong, many Americans blame the failure on too much "nation-building."
1/🧵
Large market vs democracy and freedom of expression.
The trade off and compromise is reaching a point that large markets gets a preferential treatment and ironically justified by governments and corporations.
Former Twitter CEO
@Jack
Dorsey in an interview to
@esaagar
@krystalball
on Breaking Points talks about Worlds Largest Democracy,
“India for example, India is one of the country which had many requests around farmers protests, around particular journalists which were critical of
ګیمونه، پورن او جنسي غریزې اشباع، ټول هغه عوامل دي چې دماغو کې ډوپومین رامنځته کوي او انسان د لذت او خوشحالۍ احساس کوي.
که چیرته ورسره احتیاط ونشي، دا په اعتیاد بدلیږي. د حیرانتیا خبره دا ده چې حکومتونه او ستر نړیوال شرکتونه پدې عواقبو پوهیږي، خو مخه یې نه نیسي.
۲/۲
It was great to be back in Kabul this week for my first visit as 🇬🇧 Chargé d’Affaires for
#Afghanistan
. My visit demonstrated the UK's commitment to supporting a positive future for all Afghans, including women and girls. A thread🧵1/7
Yet another protest by retired government employees in Kabul yesterday. Mullah Yaqoob, in his interview, acknowledged the delay and said it's a big problem but above my pay grade. The issue has been tussling between Darul Ifta and the Supreme Leader for months.
It’s been 18 months, and the Taliban are still debating the legality and permissibility of pension payments to 150,000 retired Afghan civil servants. MoF allocated AFN4 billion in the previous FY budget and 8 billion in the current budget; however, SL is yet to approve pensions.
Repeat offender @ dailyphilosopher posts six 'Rumi quotes,' all six of which are fake, and the author of quote
#3
even commented pointing that out!
These pages are negligent and irresponsible.