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IEA’s Chargé d’affaires meets with Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan
Sardar Ahmad Shakib, Chargé d'affaires of Afghanistan Embassy in Pakistan, met on Friday with Asif Ali Khan Durrani, Islamabad's new special representative for Afghanistan affairs.
The meeting took place at Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, the Afghan embassy in Islamabad tweeted.
The Afghan Embassy tweeted that Shakib expressed his satisfaction at the meeting and said that with the appointment of Durrani, the existing problems between the two countries will be solved and bilateral relations will expand further.
The Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad quoted Durrani as saying that during his mission, he will work in coordination with the Embassy of Afghanistan and other relevant institutions to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
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Khalilzad says Stanikzai’s call for policy change is a ‘promising development’
On Monday, Khalilzad welcomed his stance and said Stanikzai is an important IEA official, who played a key role in the Doha negotiations.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special envoy for Afghanistan, said Monday that the deputy foreign minister Shir Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai’s remarks on the violation of women’s rights was a “promising development”.
On Saturday, Stanikzai criticized the ban on education of women and girls and appealed to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) leader to scrap the ban on education for women.
“We call on the leadership again to open the doors of education,” he said.
He called the exclusion of girls from education an "injustice" on the part of the Islamic Emirate against 20 million of the 40 million people in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at a religious school in Khost, Stanikzai said that the Islamic Emirate’s stance was not in accordance with Sharia.
He said: "Today we are doing injustice to 20 million of the 40 million people. Will we not rise on the Day of Judgment paralyzed and having denied all rights? The right of inheritance is not given to girls. The right to choose a husband is not given.
“We get girls married in Baad practice. We don't allow education. We don't allow them to go to the mosque. The doors of the universities and schools are closed. We don't even let them go to madrassa. Are we acting in accordance with the Sharia?”
“Another issue is that the whole world has a problem with us on this issue. They criticize us about it. But the path we have taken is a matter of our own liking, not the Sharia,” he said.
It is not the first time he has said that women and girls deserve to have an education. He made similar remarks in September 2022, a year after schools closed for girls and months and before the introduction of a university ban.
But the latest comments marked his first call for a change in policy and a direct appeal to the Islamic Emirate’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Stanikzai is a senior member of the IEA and headed up peace talks in Doha, Qatar, prior to the collapse of the former government.
As special envoy for Afghanistan, Khalilzad was lead negotiator during these talks.
On Monday, Khalilzad welcomed his stance and said Stanikzai is an important IEA official, who played a key role in the Doha negotiations.
He asked other Afghan religious scholars and leaders of the Islamic Emirate who privately oppose the ban on girls' education to make their opposition public.
He also emphasized that schools and universities should be reopened by the beginning of the new solar year, in late March.
Khalilzad also welcomed the positions of Muslim scholars at the recent Islamabad International Conference which focused on girls education in Muslim societies.
It was at this conference that scholars said a ban on women’s education was against the teaching of Islam.
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ILT20: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders defeat Gulf Giants by 37 runs
It was a tough outing for the Giants batters as they lost both openers in the powerplay
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders clinched their second victory of the DP World ILT20 Season 3, defeating the Gulf Giants by 37 runs at a packed Dubai International Stadium on Sunday evening.
Despite Aayan Afzal Khan’s shrewd four-wicket haul for just 16 runs, which set a new record for the best figures by a UAE player in DP World ILT20 history, the Knight Riders posted 176/9, buoyed by Michael Pepper’s half-century.
Ibrar Ahmad, Jason Holder and Ali Khan each bagged two wickets to keep the Giants at bay.
It was a tough outing for the Giants batters as they lost both openers in the powerplay. Adam Lyth was scalped by David Willey in the first over, while skipper James Vince who looked in good form, miscued off Ibrar Ahmad for 14 runs in the fourth over.
At 40/2 by the end of the powerplay, the Giants were falling well behind the equation. The innings unraveled further as Jordan Cox departed for 10 runs and Ibrahim Zadran was bowled by Sunil Narine after he had worked hard for 24 runs in 22 balls.
At the ten-over mark, the Giants were wobbling at 62/4. The onus was on Gerhard Erasmus and Shimron Hetmyer to steer another run chase but it was not to be. Hetmyer had made 20 runs in 15 balls before he holed out to Sunil Narine off Super Sub Ali Khan. Jason Holder then removed Gerhard Erasmus after the Namibian had accumulated 24 runs in 23 balls to leave the score at 96/6 in 14.1 overs
The target proved too steep as Holder claimed his second wicket through Mark Adair for 19 runs as the Giants finished proceedings at 139/8.
In the first innings, an exciting powerplay for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders treated the fans to runs and wickets, finishing the phase at 60/2. Kyle Mayers and Andries Gous took the initiative racing to 19 and 17 runs respectively, in 12 balls each. The assault was halted when Tymal Mills castled Kyle Mayers in the fourth over and Gous was caught behind off Wahidullah Zadran in the fifth over.
Coming at number four, Michael Pepper took flight early in the innings, creaming Mark Adair for three consecutive boundaries. Pepper went on to log a 31-ball fifty including six fours and a six. Along with the support of Joe Clarke, the pair built a 50-run partnership in 33 balls.
It looked like the Knight Riders were on track for a massive total until Aayan Afzal Khan turned the tide, returning enviable figures of 4 for 16 – the best figures for a UAE player in the DP World ILT20 (the previous record holder was Zuhaib Zuhair with 4 for 22 for Gulf Giants against Sharjah Warriorz in 2024).
Aayan opened his account when he cleaned up Joe Clarke for 24 runs in the 11th over. He followed it up with the wickets of Alishan Sharafu, Andrew Russell and Sunil Narine, of whom only Andre Russell made it to double figures with 12 runs. At the end of Aayan’s spell, the Knight Riders were at 131/6 in 15 overs.
In the death overs, Pepper was caught behind off Mark Adair for 57 runs, while Laurie Evans, Jason Holder and David Willey made small contributions. Blessing Muzarabani snatched two wickets in Evans and Holder as the Knight Riders finished proceedings at 176/9.
Player of the Match, Michael Pepper said: "When I went in, when the ball was hard, it came on nicely. Not too much bounce in the wicket. Through the innings, it got slower and slower and started turning a little bit more. There is a lot of instinct that goes in, waiting for your areas and then going from there. We have a long batting order; everyone can hit it out of the ground, but it still must be the batters that score runs”
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders captain, Sunil Narine said: "We were always thinking two steps ahead and there were more hands on deck. We could have gone closer to 200 after our start. Losing wickets in clusters denied us and that is something we can work on moving ahead. Our batting depth, it is a good problem. You have players batting down the order who might be playing higher otherwise. The guys are willing, and it is about them trying to make the best of whatever position they get."
Monday’s match
Dubai Capitals will take on Desert Vipers on Monday, January 20, at the Dubai International Stadium at 7pm.
The match will be broadcast live across Afghanistan by Ariana Television.
A pre-match program will start at t live on Ariana Television from 7pm. The pre-match show will start at 6.30pm Kabul time.
The full broadcasting schedule is as below:
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Denial of girls’ right to education in Afghanistan is ‘intolerable’: NRC chief
The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, on Saturday criticized the restrictions on girls and women's education in Afghanistan, saying that it is “intolerable.”
After visiting a carpet weaving center in Herat province, Egeland lamented that girls who were deprived of education beyond primary school are now forced to weave carpets.
“It is an intolerable denial of fundamental human rights,” he said on X.
Egeland also expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, saying that the world has ignored the crisis.
He noted that 22 million people in Afghanistan need humanitarian assistance and with that, Pakistan has sent back 800,000 refugees and Iran plans to deport two million.
Egeland also said that donors are surprisingly slow to fund projects supporting Afghan female entrepreneurs.
Restrictions on female education in Afghanistan have been repeatedly criticized by foreign governments and even some in the Islamic Emirate.
Political deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, recently said that the restrictions are not according to Sharia, as it is claimed.
"I ask the leaders of the Emirate to open the door of knowledge," Stanikzai said at a ceremony in Khost province. “There is no excuse for this, nor should there be one. In the time of the Prophet (pbuh), the door of knowledge was open to men and women. Half of the knowledge is narrated from Bibi Ayesha (RA). Similarly, there were prophet’s companions who taught other companions. There were blessed women who were teachers of great mujtahids. They acquired knowledge from them. If women were in trouble or men were in trouble, they would ask Bibi Ayesha. That's because she was a scholar."
"Today we are doing injustice to 20 million of the 40 million people. Will we not rise on the Day of Judgment paralyzed and having denied all rights? The right of inheritance is not given to girls. The right to choose a husband is not given. We get girls married in Baad practice. We don't allow education. We don't allow them to go to the mosque. The doors of the universities and schools are closed. We don't even let them go to madrassa. Are we acting in accordance with the Sharia?
“Another issue is that the whole world has a problem with us on this issue. They criticize us about it. But the path we have taken is a matter of our own liking, not the Sharia.”
Baad is a method of settlement and compensation whereby a female from a criminal's family is given to the victim's family as a servant or a bride.
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