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Afghanistan among the ‘worst of the worst’ in violating religious freedom: US panel
Afghanistan should join a list of the “worst of the worst” violators of religious freedom, a U.S. advisory body is recommending to the State Department.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said in its annual report issued Monday, that religious minorities have “faced harassment, detention and even death due to their faith or beliefs” since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) came into power in August last year.
It also cited attacks on religious minorities by ISIS in Afghanistan, which is an enemy of the IEA.
Afghanistan is among 15 nations that the commission says should be on the State Department’s list of “countries of particular concern.” The commission, in its report summary, defined these as governments as the “worst of the worst” in tolerating or engaging in “systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
The commission, created in 1998 under the International Religious Freedom Act, makes nonbinding policy recommendations to the administration and Congress. The State Department has adopted some but not all of its recommendations in the past.
In the new report, the commission recommends maintaining 10 countries currently on the State Department list, including China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
It also recommends adding four more in addition to Afghanistan — India, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam. The commission criticized the Biden administration for removing Nigeria from the list last year.
The report said that in Afghanistan, many minority Jewish, Hindu and Sikh residents have fled the country after the IEA returned to power. It said many members of other religious minorities, such as Ahmadiyya Muslims, Baha’is and Christian converts are worshipping in secret for fear of persecution.
Several deadly attacks on Hazaras, Shiite minority, have been attributed to the ISIS-K (Daesh) which is hostile to the IEA and proven to be a security challenge.
The report said non-Muslim Afghans comprised a tiny fraction of the population. It said 99.7% of Afghans are Muslim, most of them Sunni Muslims, with about 10% to 15% Shiite Muslims.
“The Taliban (IEA), while they promised they would form an inclusive government, promising they would be a different kind of government, their actions have proven otherwise,” commission Chair Nadine Maenza said in an interview. She said that even members of the Sunni majority who don’t share the IEA interpretation of Islamic law are being required to conform to strict dress codes and other measures.
Following the killing of eight Pakistani security forces in an explosion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, said Islamabad is likely to blame Afghanistan, a move he warned could further escalate tensions and increase the risk of real conflict between the two countries.
Khalilzad said on X late Friday: “It is heart-breaking to watch old patterns that led to nothing but grief in the past, continuously replay again and again. It will not lead anywhere good. And the tragic irony is that an “alternative future” is absolutely within reach and would be so much better for both countries and all of their people: an economic partnership between Afghanistan and Pakistan that would bring prosperity to both.”
He reiterated his long-standing call for a negotiated solution, proposing a new agreement between the two countries under which neither side would allow its territory to be used by individuals or groups to threaten the other’s security, with oversight from a trusted third party.
Khalilzad urged both sides to reconsider their approach, saying Pakistan and Afghanistan are on a “tragic trajectory” and must make a bold shift.
He also expressed condolences to the families of the Pakistani soldiers killed in the attack.
Richard Lindsay, the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, has expressed concern over the arrest of three journalists by the Islamic Emirate, urging authorities to ensure press freedom and due process.
“Concerned by reports that 3 journalists have been detained in Afghanistan without clear charges, as well as reports of assaults and property seizures. We urge transparency, due process, and respect for rights. Journalists must be able to work without fear,” said Lindsay on X.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also voiced strong concern over the detention, calling on the Islamic Emirate to clarify the charges against the journalists and ensure accountability in the handling of the case.
A 20-year-old Afghan migrant has been arrested in Germany over the alleged sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl inside a school toilet in the city of Koblenz.
According to prosecutors, the incident occurred on April 28 after the suspect and another man allegedly entered the school premises. Investigators say the suspect cornered the girl in the restroom while a second 19-year-old man allegedly restrained her during the attack.
The girl reportedly told her older sister about the incident two days later. Her family then located the suspect at a nearby residence and informed police.
German authorities arrested the suspect on May 4. He remains in pre-trial detention and has been charged with committing sexual acts against a child on school grounds.
The Koblenz prosecutor’s office confirmed the suspect’s Afghan nationality to German broadcaster SWR. Prosecutors also stated that the man had previously been under investigation in another alleged sexual offence case. He had earlier been fined for possessing a blank-firing pistol without a licence.
Police said the second suspect is still being investigated as a suspected accomplice and remains at large.
Authorities have not yet clarified how the two men allegedly gained access to the school property.
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