From Foreign Waters

  Since the Taliban came to power in 2021, women have lost many freedoms. Secondary education was one of the first to go, and late last year, the Taliban banned women from attending university. Many universities and education institutes have developed online courses and offered scholarships to Afghan women who wish to continue their education. Since the university ban was implemented, thousands of new students have applied for distance learning programs from the U.S.-based University of the People and U.K.-based Future Learn. In Gallup's 2022 World Poll, 15% of Afghans said they had access to the internet. This figure has remained stable since 2016. Afghans are unable to access the internet due to a lack of reliable electricity and IT infrastructure. Despite a low of 2% in 2021, Afghan men are reported to have access by 25% by 2022, compared with 6% for women. These figures have remained relatively stable in recent years despite a low of 2% in 2021. 'Digital freedom is not fo...

  Afghanistan's finance ministry under the Taliban government has prepared a draft national budget. For the first time in two decades, the national budget is funded without foreign aid support. Afghanistan ’s Law students and lawyers are filing reports with JURIST about Afghanistan’s situation after the Taliban takeover. JURIST is a legal news website in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh. A Staff Reporter for JURIST in Kabul reported on recent statements made by Taliban officials about the forthcoming national budget. The National budget will be entirely based on domestic revenues. Reportedly, it will not rely on any foreign aid. According to Jurist, since the Taliban took power in August, most foreign aid has been suspended from the country. Many western countries also blocked access to billions of dollars in Afghanistan’s foreign exchange assets after the Taliban takeover. Ahmad Wali Haqmal on the national budget Finance ministry spokesman Ahmad Wali Haqma...

  China is establishing their first diplomatic contract with the military group of Kaul. It is aimed at pushing forward its ambitious project the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) . This comes at an unfortunate time when world leaders are torn between diplomatic and difficult dealings with Afghanistan given the takeover of the country by the Taliban.    Officials mentioned that in a bid to push the CPEC, China is exploring opportunities to exploit Pakistan to enter the war-torn country. Wang Yu, who is the Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan, go ahead to meet Abdul Salam Hanafi, who is the deputy head of the Taliban political office in Qatar. Both the officials talked about effective communication and implementing consultations to those who need it at the moment.    WangWenbin , who is the spokesperson from China’s Foreign Ministry added that China respects the Afghan people's independent decision on their own future and destiny, and supports the impl...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden discussed the security situation in Afghanistan on Tuesday over a telephone call. They also agreed to hold a virtual G7 Summit next week with other allied leaders.   Following the Taliban took control of Kabul; the first international counterpart that President Biden spoke to is UK PM Boris Johnson.   The two-nation leaders "talked about the necessity for continued close coordination among partners and democratic leaders over Afghanistan policy going ahead, including ways the international community can give in the form of humanitarian assistance and support for displaced people and other helpless Afghans," the White House stated.   The White House said the US and British leaders consented to hold a virtual G7 meeting one week from now "to talk about a common approach and strategy to help the situation and people of Afghanistan."   On Tuesday, the United States and Western partners conti...

The deputy leader of the Afghan Taliban said that the movement would soon sign an agreement with the United States to reduce violence for seven days, adding that the movement’s leaders were “fully committed” to respect the “historic” agreement. "Today, we stand on the threshold of a peace agreement with the United States, it’s not a small achievement," wrote Serageldin Haqqani in an opinion piece in the New York Times, in the first important public statement by a prominent movement leader on the agreement to reduce violence for a week. The initial agreement reached during negotiations between representatives of the United States and the Taliban may lead to the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan. "Achieving the agreement with all its capabilities and ensuring its success and gaining a lasting peace will depend on the United States strictly respecting all its obligations," Haqqani, who also leads the Haqqani network that has links to Pakista...