India Narrative

Afghanistan’s rulers, the Taliban, have designed a new formula , which apparently conforms to their puritan religious norms, of educating boys and girls. Girls will go to university on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday while boys will attend classes on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. In a bizarre decree  the Taliban Ministry of Higher Education has announced the allocation of specific days in a week for male and female students to attend universities separately, similar to an odd and even formula. According to the new timetable for the universities, three days of the week are allocated for all-female students during which no boy will be attending classes while the remaining three days will be given to boys with no female  presence. Based on this decision, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday are allocated for girls and Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday for boys. And this pilot project will be implemented first at Kabul University and Kabul Polytechnic University, reported Khama press. “With the new a

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan continues to receive widespread international condemnation, including from the Islamic world, for reneging on its promise to let Afghan girls return to school. Earlier this week, the Taliban administration had announced the reopening of all schools in the country, including those just for girls, on March 21 - the first day of the Afghan New Year.   However, as thousands of secondary-school girls around the country turned up at their school for the first time in seven months on Wednesday, they were sent back home by the hardcore fundamentalists, thus contradicting their public assurances to the Afghan people and to the international community. Mawlawi Aziz Ahmad Ryan, Director of Publications and spokesman for the Ministry of Education, said that schools for girls from the sixth grade and above will remain closed until further notice. "After compiling a comprehensive plan in this field in accordance with Islamic law and Afghan culture and tradition

While the world is focused on dealing with the crisis in Ukraine, China is trying its best to gain control over the vast minerals of Afghanistan. Beijing has had its eye on the country’s vast mineral resources ever since the Taliban took over last year and Chinese companies are discussing mining rights and research access with the Kabul regime. “Chinese mining companies have been scouting opportunities to access Afghanistan’s  lithium & copper deposits. Chinese mining industry representatives met with Taliban officials to discuss mining rights and research access to such minerals,” says Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in its latest report. According to the report, Afghanistan’s s lithium deposits could be among the largest in the world, rivaling those of Bolivia. Although Afghanistan has vast mineral resources, most projects in extractive activities require a 5 to 10 years lead time, and will require significant improvements in security and a more i

The unfolding situation in Afghanistan will have wider ramifications to the Central Asia region, particularly the possible growth in international terrorism and drug trafficking emanating from the Afghan territory, India told the Security Council during a debate on the United Nations' partnership with the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in New York, earlier today. Russia had made the meeting as one of the flagship events of its UNSC Presidency this month with its Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin chairing the debate. It was also addressed by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, representatives of the CSTO member states besides several other countries. Putting up a united front with the Central Asia partners, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador T S Tirumurti during his remarks stated expectations of the international community that Afghan soil should not be used for sheltering, train

  The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as Pakistan Taliban, killed two policemen guarding polio teams in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-west Pakistan over the weekend. Another policeman was wounded even as the polio workers escaped unharmed. The attacks began as soon as the one-month-long ceasefire ended between the TTP and the Imran Khan government. The TTP militants identify themselves closely with the Taliban militants in neighbouring Afghanistan and advocate for an Islamic rule in Pakistan—in a manner resembling Afghanistan. Soon after the Kabul takeover by Taliban in August, the TTP began its attacks on the Pakistani Army and security forces.  Aseefa B Zardari, polio ambassador and daughter of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, tweeted about the attacks. In a series of tweets, she said: “The cowardly TTP have taken responsibility for the attack on health workers and police. They are attacking those who are trying to protect our children from disease. Now t