Asia
War devastated Afghans deserves mercy
Author: Shamim Shaid
The Afghans, who on the grounds of fear for their lives, left the country after the empowering of Taliban in mid-August 2021, are still forced to stumble across the world especially in neighboring countries, including Pakistan. Still hundreds of families, mostly women and children, are waiting for their turn to land in any Western European country.
Though a large number of people, after the Taliban’s second takeover of Kabul succeeded in slipping to Europe, US, Central Asian countries and the Middle East. And thousands of others due to the proximity of geographical location had moved to Iran and Pakistan. By the way, there are not many differences in policies of Iran and Pakistan in terms of continuing the war and conflict and cropping up obstacles in return for peace and stability in Afghanistan, but in terms of providing shelter to refugees and treating them, the approaches of both the neighbors are in contrast.
Afghans in Pakistan and Iran
People of almost all areas and regions of Pakistan having origin either from Afghanistan or belong to Afghan tribes scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent, therefore they are having blood relations and sympathies with the Afghans irrespective of policies of ruling corridors if Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Not only people from all four provinces across the country, but even the dwellers of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan also cannot remain silent on the abuse of Afghan refugees or residents by state institutions. While in Iran, the policies are different for the Afghans even since the days of civil conflict and former Soviet Union invasions.
The abuses of Afghans in neighboring countries, especially in Islamic Republic of Iran will be mentioned in the dark chapters of history. For this reason, after the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, majority people from Afghanistan came to Pakistan and a limited number of them, fortunately or unluckily, have reached Western countries. Unfortunately, in the sense that most of them escaped and detached from their loved ones and their motherland and – bad luck in the sense that those who have a luxurious and possessive lifestyle in Afghanistan will now be counted among the immigrants in alien lands or countries. However, Almighty Allah gifted these people with survival at the time when thousands were either made hostages or eliminated in fake encounters by Taliban. But still the majority are in wait and facing miseries in hotels and apartments at Islamabad, Peshawar and other places throughout Pakistan.
No one can deny political victimization of civilians
Majority of Afghans who are stranded at scattered areas of Pakistan were either directly remaining occupants of important offices in government, semi government, diplomatic missions, foreign funded non government organizations and other lucrative jobs. On such grounds, their lives had to be at danger after Taliban takeover, therefore, their act of rushing to neighboring countries could be appreciated and deserve support and encouragement on humanitarian grounds. No one can deny the political victimization of civilians at the hands of the Taliban in some parts throughout Afghanistan. According to the United Nations and other international organizations, during one year, the Taliban officials allegedly killed around 3,000 people on political grounds, while forcing hundreds of women into marriages with self-styled commanders and Amirs.
Besides others, the Taliban regime has shuttered women’s schools and deprived them of their legitimate right to education. After the occupation of Kabul by the Taliban, the majority of people who are willing or waiting to move to Pakistan and go to other countries are women and children. Many of them are staying with their close relatives or friends or in rented houses at Islamabad, Peshawar and other cities.
During frequent visits to a few hotels in Islamabad, it was observed that a large number of boys and girls are among those waiting for their turns of flying to foreign countries. Inside hotels in Islamabad and other rented apartments, these people are confined to small rooms day and night. There is no friendly situation for these unfortunates who are victims of imposed wars and hostilities in their motherland.
Full support to the Taliban
Ironically, despite not recognizing the Taliban regime, the US lead allies are extending every sort of support to the Taliban government. Irrespective of US apparent anger against the Taliban regime, compared to 90’s, now the present Emirate Islami is powerful in Afghanistan. All US led allies are fully cooperating with the Taliban government. These allies are completely silent spectators to the ongoing inhumane treatment of people in Afghanistan. While many regional countries, including Pakistan and Iran, have adopted policies beneficial for the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
Whatever is reaction but it is crystal clear that the one time powerful and United Afghanistan has been made crippled due to imposed wars and hostilities. As a result of these imposed wars and hostilities, the Afghan society is ahead with destruction and erosions. Afghanistan is no longer a threat to any country for the next one century. But the Afghans living in exile would emerge as problematic for the host countries in near future.
Afghans not pose threat to anyone
The criminal silence on the current situation in Afghanistan and the treatment of Afghans in foreign countries including neighboring countries should be broken now. The people of Afghanistan, who have been fighting for almost six decades, can no longer pose any threat to any neighboring or regional country. The Afghans as a nation now deserve sympathies and mercies in the wake of stock of miseries, hardship and even threats to their survival both in and outside of Afghanistan.
The article was originally written by Shamim Shaid, and translated to English from Urdu.
Translator:
Beijing said it had conducted law enforcement patrols in waters east of Taiwan in response to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to launch talks on maritime boundary delimitation.
According to a statement from the China Coast Guard, a flotilla led by the vessel Daishan carried out law enforcement patrols “in accordance with the law” on Monday.
China Coast Guard spokesperson Jiang Lue said the operation was “a necessary action” in response to Japan and the Philippines “unilaterally announcing the start of negotiations on maritime delimitation in waters east of China’s Taiwan Island.”
“Such an announcement seriously infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty and its maritime rights and interests,” Jiang said.
“We urge Japan and the Philippines to immediately cease all illegal actions that violate China’s sovereignty and rights,” he added.
Jiang also said the coast guard would continue strengthening its control and management of the relevant waters and that China would take concrete measures to “resolutely safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
The United States and most of its allies, including Japan and the Philippines, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state and acknowledge it as part of China. The United Nations has also adopted resolutions reflecting this position. However, Washington continues to provide arms to Taiwan as part of its broader efforts to counter China and encourages its allies to do the same.
Following a summit in Tokyo between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the two countries said in a joint statement issued on Thursday that they had agreed to begin “formal negotiations” to delimit their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves.
Beijing condemned the planned talks as “completely illegal and invalid” and swiftly lodged formal diplomatic protests with both Tokyo and Manila.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday: “The so-called delimitation negotiations are entirely illegal, invalid and void. They will have no impact whatsoever on China’s claims or on China’s exercise of its legitimate rights in the area east of Taiwan Island.”
The latest escalation comes at a time when relations between Beijing and both Tokyo and Manila are already strained. Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States, while China remains engaged in separate territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
As US attention and resources have increasingly shifted toward the war involving Iran, and as the White House has made the Western Hemisphere a strategic priority, Japan and the Philippines have stepped up diplomatic engagement in the region commonly referred to as the Indo-Pacific.
That effort has included building closer security and defence ties with other countries, prompting Beijing to accuse them of encouraging bloc confrontation in the region.
Japan and the Philippines do not share a maritime boundary. However, their seabed claims could overlap because both countries seek to extend their legal continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles, equivalent to 370 kilometres or 230 miles.
The overlapping area lies east of Taiwan, southwest of Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and north of the Philippines’ Batanes Islands.
Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China’s highest-ranking state-affiliated think tank, said Taiwan’s EEZ and continental shelf are part of the area under discussion.
“These are China’s rights and are not something that the two sides can negotiate among themselves,” Yang said.
In an interview published on Sunday by Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, before the China Coast Guard announced the patrols, Yang said Beijing would take “historic and unprecedented” countermeasures against Tokyo and Manila.
“Since they are negotiating in a three-party overlapping zone, we can also take further steps to advance our jurisdiction in the waters east of Taiwan,” Yang said.
“If the other side insists on reckless and destructive actions, we will inevitably introduce new countermeasures.”
Yang described the waters east of Taiwan as a vital maritime area for the island’s economic activities.
“If these waters are divided between Japan and the Philippines, that would clearly harm the interests of the people living on Taiwan Island,” he added.
As artificial intelligence reshapes industrial structures in Japan and South Korea, stock market rankings are being redrawn. SoftBank Group has overtaken Toyota Motor to become Japan’s most valuable listed company.
SoftBank shares have surged as the global artificial intelligence rally gathers momentum, lifting the technology conglomerate’s market capitalisation above that of Toyota for the first time in more than two decades.
The shift reflects a broader reordering of Japan’s equity market. Automakers, alongside banks, steelmakers, energy companies and other traditional heavy industries, are losing ground to chipmakers and companies linked to artificial intelligence.
SoftBank shares jumped 14% on Monday, reaching a new record high. The company’s market value climbed to 48 trillion yen, or $301 billion, making it the most valuable company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Toyota had long held the top position, with a market capitalisation of approximately 45 trillion yen. The last time SoftBank surpassed Toyota was in March 2000, at the peak of the dot-com bubble.
SoftBank’s rapid rise has been driven by strong earnings performance and its substantial investment in ChatGPT developer OpenAI.
The Japanese company reported net profit of 1.82 trillion yen, or $11.4 billion, for the first three months of 2026, 3.5 times higher than in the same period a year earlier. The group is also increasing its investment in OpenAI, completing a $10 billion investment in April and committing to invest an additional $20 billion later this year. Total investment is expected to reach roughly $65 billion.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI plans to file for an initial public offering and aims to list in the United States as early as September. Some media reports suggest the company could seek to raise $60 billion through the offering, potentially valuing it at more than $1 trillion. Such a transaction could become the largest initial public offering in history.
Investors expect the IPO to significantly boost SoftBank’s investment gains. Those expectations have helped drive the technology group’s share price higher. SoftBank shares have risen about 127% since early April.
The company is also planning to invest up to 14 trillion yen in the construction of data centres in France.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Beijing, where the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and oversaw the signing of multiple cooperation agreements. Xi also awarded Vucic the Friendship Medal of the People’s Republic of China.
The meeting between Xi Jinping and Aleksandar Vucic began with an official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The two leaders then proceeded to formal talks. Xi said China and Serbia had achieved “positive results” since jointly launching the construction of a “China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era” in 2024.
Xi said the partnership had not only benefited the two peoples but had also set an example for international relations.
The Chinese president described relations between China and Serbia as an “iron friendship” based on deep historical ties and mutual trust.
Calling on both sides to strengthen exchanges, deepen practical cooperation and continue supporting each other on issues concerning their core interests, Xi also said the two countries should align their development strategies and advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. In this context, he pointed to transport, energy and infrastructure projects.
Xi also called for expanding cooperation in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green energy and advanced manufacturing.
Aleksandar Vucic congratulated China on the start of implementation of its 15th Five-Year Plan. Vucic also expressed confidence in China’s future development under Xi Jinping’s leadership.
The Serbian president said Belgrade attached great importance to relations with China and firmly supported Beijing on issues concerning China’s core interests.
Vucic thanked Chinese companies for their contributions to Serbia’s economic development and infrastructure construction.
Saying the two countries had made notable progress since establishing their comprehensive strategic partnership, Vucic added that cooperation had expanded across numerous sectors.
The Serbian president also praised China’s role in international affairs, saying Beijing approached smaller countries on the basis of equality and respect and defended international law.
Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements covering politics, trade, science and technology, education, legal affairs and culture.
The two sides also issued joint statements on steadily advancing the construction of a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era and jointly supporting the implementation of four global initiatives.
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