13 civilians killed in Pakistani Kashmir in 12 hours, says disaster authority
More than 50 people were also injured in the region, the authority said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan, both of who rule Kashmir in part, have escalated since India struck "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan on Wednesday.
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Associated Press
9 hours ago
- Associated Press
The Taliban deny using force to divert international aid in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban on Thursday denied using force to divert international aid in Afghanistan, responding to a U.S. watchdog report that said authorities used 'every means at their disposal, including force,' to ensure that aid goes where they want it to. The 118-page report, published a day earlier by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said the Taliban use their regulatory power to determine which NGOs may operate, and under what conditions. The report added that the Taliban block and redirect aid to ensure it benefits Pashtun communities over minority Hazara or Tajik groups, and that they refuse to allow NGOs to operate unless they hire Taliban-affiliated businesses, NGOs, and individuals. Until recently, the U.S. was the largest donor to Afghanistan. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump stopped foreign aid to the country because, according to officials, the money was benefiting the Taliban. Last year, the United States provided 43% of all international humanitarian funding to Afghanistan. The watchdog report, based on interviews with 90 current and former officials, including at the U.N. and from the U.S., also found that an employee at an Afghan NGO was killed for exposing the diversion of food aid to Taliban military training camps. 'The Taliban may manipulate exchange rates and rig currency auctions of imported U.S. dollars for profit,' the report stated. It added that the Taliban may 'also collude with senior U.N. officials to demand kickbacks from U.N. vendors.' A 2023 United States Institute of Peace report found that the Taliban had 'infiltrated and influenced' most U.N-managed assistance programs.' A spokesperson for the Economy Ministry, which oversees foreign and domestic NGOs, rejected the report's findings, claiming that humanitarian aid from international organizations was provided directly by domestic and foreign organizations through U.N. offices, without the intervention of Taliban institutions. 'We strive to create the necessary facilities for aid organizations to promote economic growth and reduce poverty,' said the spokesperson, Abdul Rahman Habib, adding that 'We support the transparent activities of domestic and foreign organizations and monitor their projects.' The U.N. mission in Afghanistan told The Associated Press in a statement that the report highlighted the 'extremely complex operating environment' for aid delivery in Afghanistan, including attempts at interference and restrictions from authorities. It also addressed the report's 'kickback' allegations. 'We take extremely seriously any allegations of malpractice and corruption, either by United Nations officials or implementing partners, and ensure these are promptly investigated,' the statement said. 'We encourage anyone in possession of any evidence of aid diversion, misuse, misconduct, fraud, and abuse to immediately report such information through the established, formal, and confidential reporting channels so that these can be investigated.' The Taliban refuse to cooperate with women A USAID official told the watchdog in 2023 that the Taliban refused to register women-led NGOs, prevented them from opening bank accounts, refused to authorize women-focused projects, demanded that women on boards of directors be replaced with men, and threatened to close organizations that failed to comply with their policies. In that same year, the report said, even two high-ranking female U.N. officials — the U.N. deputy secretary general and the executive director of U.N. Women — 'were told they should not be on public site visits without male chaperones, specifically, a husband, father, or brother.' The U.N. said last week that dozens of female Afghan staff had received death threats. The threats come against a backdrop of severe restrictions placed on women since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The Taliban denied such threats had been made or that it was possible to make them. The Taliban barred Afghan women from working at domestic and foreign NGOs in December 2022, extending this ban to the U.N. six months later, and then threatening to shut down agencies and groups still employing women. Some women have nonetheless remained in key sectors, such as health care and urgent humanitarian assistance, areas where aid agencies report a great need. Aid agencies say more than half of Afghanistan's population — roughly 23 million people — need humanitarian assistance. The crisis stems from decades of conflict, including the 20-year U.S. war with the Taliban, as well as entrenched poverty and climate shocks.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
At least 33 feared dead after flash flood devastates remote Himalayan village
At least 33 people were feared dead after a flash flood triggered by sudden heavy rain devastated a remote village in the restive Himalayan region of Kashmir. Nearly 200 people were also missing after the disaster struck Chasoti village, a pitstop on a popular Hindu pilgrimage route in Kishtwar district, Reuters quoted government officials as saying. Chishoti is where pilgrims leave their vehicles and set out on foot to the Machail Mata temple, located at an elevation of 2,800m. 'The news is grim and accurate, verified information from the area hit by the cloudburst is slow in arriving,' Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said. Federal deputy minister for science and technology, Jitendra Singh, said the flood was triggered by a cloudburst and "could result in substantial casualties". He said rescue teams were finding it hard to reach the village due to bad weather. The flood washed away a road and the weather wasn't helicopter-worthy, he said. Susheel Kumar Sharma, a government official, said villagers and local public workers recovered bodies of seven people from a stream and rescued nearly 60 people. Mr Sharma said many people were still missing as the flood swept away dozens of vehicles and motorbikes. TV footage showed pilgrims crying in fear as floodwaters inundated the village. Villagers said the flood also washed away makeshift shops and community kitchens set up for the pilgrims. Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, the top administrator of Kashmir appointed by New Delhi, offered condolences for the loss of life in the disaster and said he had directed personnel from India's military, paramilitary, police and disaster management agencies to strengthen rescue and relief operations. Narendra Modi said "the situation is being monitored closely". "Rescue and relief operations are underway. Every possible assistance will be provided to those in need," the prime minister said on X. A cloudburst, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, is an intense downpour of over 100mm of rain in just an hour that can trigger floods and landslides, especially in mountainous areas. Cloudbursts are increasingly common in India's Himalayan regions, which are prone to flash floods and landslides.
Associated Press
15 hours ago
- Associated Press
Militant attacks on Pakistani police kill 5 and injure 8 officers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A series of attacks against Pakistani police by militants left five officers dead and eight wounded in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said. There were four attacks with three resulting in officer casualties Thursday, police said. Most died or were injured in a single attack in the Upper Dir district when armed men ambushed a police van early Thursday. Three officers died and seven were injured during the routine patrol, police official Ismail Khan said. In the Peshawar suburb of Hassan Khel, armed men opened fire on a police station with automatic weapons. One officer died and another was wounded in an exchange of fire, Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Qasim Ali Khan said. Two other overnight attacks came at police checkpoints in the Lajbok area of the Lower Dir district, where a police constable was killed, and in the Bannu district, where there were no casualties reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assaults and it was not immediately known if they were connected. The attacks coincided with a security operation to fight militants in the province's Bajaur district. There was no formal announcement of the offensive's launch in Bajaur, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban. Local government administrator Saeed Ullah said it was not a large-scale operation and only insurgent hideouts were targeted to avoid hurting or killing civilians, but the operation has displaced at least 100,000 people and there have been civilian casualties, including deaths. On Thursday, hundreds of people carried black flags and staged a sit-in to protest the killing of a mother and her two children in the district's Inayat Kili area, who died when a mortar struck their home. Authorities are registering displaced families from the Mamund area and setting up camps in public schools and sports complexes. People also have received food and relief packages, Bajaur government official Saeed Khan said. Between 500 and 800 militants are hiding in Bajaur, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
