The militant Islamist Taliban have banned all protests in Afghanistan. The Interior Ministry’s first official statement after the formation of the interim government under Mullah Mohammed Hassan Akhund stated that under no circumstances should anyone try to organize protests at the moment. Serious prosecution is threatened in the event of violations. The reason given by the Taliban was that some people had disrupted public order and harassed people in the past few days.
At the same time, the Taliban set the conditions for future protests. Organizers must therefore obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Justice. The reason for the demonstration, the location, the time and the slogans must be reported to the justice and security authorities at least 24 hours in advance.
Abused journalists
The Taliban had used violence to suppress demonstrations in the past few days. They also banned media coverage of the protests. On Wednesday there had been at least two rallies by women in the capital, Kabul, as seen on videos on social media. Taliban arrested reporters again. They severely abused at least two journalists.
The Taliban’s hopes for economic aid from China to rebuild Afghanistan soon may be disappointed. Although the People’s Republic has promised emergency humanitarian aid and vaccines against the corona pandemic worth the equivalent of 26 million euros, experts consider it unrealistic that Beijing will invest massively quickly. This is despite the fact that the value of natural resources in Afghanistan is estimated at one trillion dollars. Not only is there a lack of the necessary infrastructure, but above all the necessary security.
Even earlier, when the situation was relatively stable, there was no major investment by China. Two big projects didn’t get off to a good start at the time. In 2008, for example, a company from China received an estimated three billion US dollars for the development of one of the world’s largest copper deposits in Mes Aynak. And in 2011 a Chinese company wanted to develop the oil fields on the border river Amu Darya. But nothing happened.
“That’s why I think that China will not invest a lot right now, when there is not only potential, but actual instability in almost all areas in Afghanistan,” said Professor Shi Yinhong from the University of Beijing.
Evacuation flight
According to a report by the Washington Post yesterday, the Taliban authorities allowed a total of 211 dual Afghan citizens to leave Afghanistan. The newspaper reported, citing diplomats in Kabul, that including citizens of Germany, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Ukraine. The rescue flight would be the first since the withdrawal of international troops and the end of the evacuations and should take place yesterday.
