THE HAGUE: Safe in Europe after escaping from Kabul, an Afghan woman judge describes how she was hunted by men she had once jailed, now freed by the Taliban fighters who took over the country.
“Four or five Taliban members came and asked people in my house: ‘Where is this woman judge?’ These were people who I had put in jail,” she told Reuters in an interview from an undisclosed location, asking not to be identified.
Afghanistan has around 250 women judges. A few were able to flee in recent weeks, but most were left behind and are still trying to get out, said international colleagues and activists who have formed networks working around the clock to help them escape.
The militants, who swept into power last month as the United States withdrew its troops, banned women from most work when they last ruled the country 20 years ago.
At a news conference shortly after they seized Kabul on Aug. 15, a Taliban spokesman said women’s rights would be protected in accordance with Islamic law. They would also be allowed to work across important sectors of society, he said.
Western powers have said they are prepared to engage with the Taliban but want to see action — not just promises — to safeguard human rights.
Women who work in justice have been high profile targets before. Two women Supreme Court justices were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in January. A Taliban spokesman said at the time that the group was not involved.
Now, the Taliban have released prisoners across the country, which “really put the lives of women judges in danger,” the Afghan judge said.
She has been in touch with colleagues back home: “Their messages are of fear and complete terror. They tell me if they do not get rescued their lives are in direct danger.”
She escaped with the help of a collective of human rights volunteers and foreign colleagues at the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ).
In addition to the judges, there are around a thousand other women human rights defenders who could also be in the Taliban’s cross hairs, said Horia Mosadiq, an Afghan human rights activist.
Freed prisoners “are calling with death threats to women judges, women prosecutors and women police officers, saying ‘we will come after you’,” she said.
British Justice Minister Robert Buckland said last week London had evacuated nine women judges and was working to provide safe passage for more of the “very vulnerable people.”
“A lot of these judges were responsible for administering the rule of law and quite rightly they are fearful about the consequences that could now face them with the rise of the Taliban,” he said.
But several human rights and legal activists involved in the effort to rescue women judges and rights defenders said Western countries did not make their evacuation enough of a priority in the chaos after Kabul fell.
“Governments had zero interest in evacuating people that were not their own nationals,” said Sarah Kay, a Belfast-based human rights lawyer and member of the Atlas Women network of international lawyers.
She is working with an online group of volunteer veterans known as the “digital Dunkirk,” named for the World War Two evacuation of British troops from Nazi-occupied France. It has helped hundreds of people escape with the help of chat groups and personal contacts.
At the IAWJ, a team of six foreign judges has also been coordinating information, lobbying governments and arranging evacuations.
“The responsibility that we bear is almost unbearable at the moment because we are one of the few people taking responsibility for this group,” one of the effort’s leaders, Patricia Whalen, an American judge who helped train Afghan female judges in a 10-year program, told Reuters.
“I am furious about that. None of us should be in this position.”
Hunted by the men they jailed, Afghanistan’s women judges seek escape
https://arab.news/5vqgr
Hunted by the men they jailed, Afghanistan’s women judges seek escape
- "Four or five Taliban members came and asked people in my house: 'Where is this woman judge?' These were people who I had put in jail," an Afghan woman judge told Reuters
- Two women Supreme Court justices were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in January, as a Taliban spokesman at the time denied involvement
Philippines’ Catholics welcome new pope with hope
- About 80 percent of Philippines’ 110 million population are Catholics
- Before his election, Pope Leo XIV had made several visits to the Philippines
MANILA: Filipinos joined Catholics around the world on Sunday to welcome the newly elected leader of their church, expressing hope and optimism for the papacy of Pope Leo XIV.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday. The 69-year-old is the first North American pope and had spent more than two decades as a missionary in Peru.
Pope Leo follows in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who died on April 21 after a series of health issues. He was 88 years old.
In the Philippines, home to about 85 million Catholics, devotees who had closely followed the conclave to elect a new pope rejoiced at the outcome.
“He feels like the kind of leader the Catholic Church needs right now — someone who will continue the work Pope Francis started, especially in fighting for the rights of migrants and calling for peace by stopping the current wars,” Kris Crismundo, a church choir member from Bulacan province, told Arab News.
“It’s clear that he's someone with a heart for service, compassion, and unity, which are exactly the qualities the world needs more of today … I look forward to seeing where his leadership takes us.”
The Philippines is one of only two majority Christian countries in Asia, along with tiny East Timor.
With nearly 80 percent of the population belonging to the Catholic Church, many in the country have a special affection for their religious leader.
During a 2015 visit, Pope Francis drew a record crowd of more than six million people at a historic mass in Manila. When he died, masses were held throughout the archipelagic country in his honor.
“I have loved Pope Francis, but we have to accept God’s divine plan. A new pope is always a fresh start, and can give hope to all,” Manila-based journalist Karen Ow-Yong told Arab News.
She sees Pope Leo’s background in Peru as a “glimpse of what his papacy” will look like.
“We hope for a modern-day Pope who can relate and address modern-day challenges facing Catholics,” she said. “I wish for the new pope to be the light that shines on the darkest issues of humanity today, as well as to push for transparency and accountability, especially in issues and controversies involving the church.”
Jaime Laude, a journalist and former seminarian from Antique province, highlighted similarities between Pope Leo and his predecessor.
“Just like the late pontiff, he's been deeply immersed with the marginalized people in society like those in the Philippines, especially in Latin America where for decades he’s been assigned,” Laude said.
“I, for one, have high hopes that the new pontiff will further strengthen the Catholic faith in all of us Roman Catholic believers … also hoping that his advocacies through faith and teachings will promote world peace.”
Many Filipinos were aware that Pope Leo was no stranger to the Philippines, because he has visited over the years, according to reports from local media.
Angeline Patricia Fae, an analyst in Manila, is hoping to see a continuation of Pope Francis’s papacy.
“I hope that the new Pope Leo XIV will continue what Pope Francis preached and embodied: a church that is welcoming and accepting,” she told Arab News.
“I pray for a fruitful rule and as well for his well-being. God bless.”
Other Filipinos are hopeful that the new pope will bridge divisions in an increasingly chaotic world.
“I wish the holy father to be a prophet of dialogue in our divided world,” Ted Tuvera, a Filipino theologian and candidate for priesthood, said.
“Instead of seeing the ‘other’ as ‘others,’ may we see and meet them as neighbors.”
Monsi Alfonso Serrano, who is based in Manila, believes that Pope Leo’s election will neutralize the divisions created by US President Donald Trump.
“The name of Cardinal Robert Prevost didn’t surface as a potential pontiff … This is how God works; mysterious and beyond human comprehension,” Serrano said.
“The pope’s first address was a call for building bridges since Trump has been enjoying driving wedges between different countries in the world … The world needs a pope that calls to build bridges instead of walls.”
Pope Leo XIV appeals for ‘no more war’ in first Sunday message
- Pope Leo calls for ‘authentic’ peace in Ukraine
- Pontiff appeals for Gaza ceasefire, release of Israeli hostages
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV appealed to the world’s major powers for “no more war” in his first Sunday message to crowds in St. Peter’s Square since his election as pontiff.
The new pope, elected on May 8, called for an “authentic and lasting peace” in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of all Israeli hostages held by militant group Hamas.
Leo also welcomed the recent fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan, negotiated overnight, and said he was praying to God to grant the world the “miracle of peace.”
“No more war!” the pope said, repeating a frequent call of the late Pope Francis and noting the recent 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in which some 60 million people were killed.
Leo said today’s world was living through “the dramatic scenario of a Third World War being fought piecemeal,” again repeating a phrase coined by Francis.
The new pope said he carries in his heart the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine.”
Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the bloody three-year war, Leo appealed for negotiations to reach an “authentic, just and lasting peace.”
The pope also said he was “profoundly saddened” by the war in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid and release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
Leo said he was glad to hear of the recent India-Pakistan ceasefire and hoped negotiations would lead to a lasting accord between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
He added: “But there are so many other conflicts in the world!“
US-BORN POPE SPEAKS ITALIAN TO CROWD
Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, is the first US-born pontiff and was a relative unknown on the world stage before his election.
He previously served for decades as a missionary in Peru before first becoming a cardinal to take up a senior Vatican role two years ago.
Leo’s first Sunday address to tens of thousands in the square coincided with a previously planned pilgrimage to Rome by marching bands from around the world.
Minutes before the pope addressed the crowd, bands marched up the broad boulevard leading to the Vatican playing songs such as Y.M.C.A. by the Village People, the theme from the film Rocky, and music by John Philip Sousa, who composed the marching classic “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
The crowd, estimated at more than 100,000 by Italian authorities, was also entertained by bands from Italy, Mexico and other parts of Latin America who came to Rome for the ongoing Catholic Holy Year.
Leo gave his address on Sunday in fluent Italian.
In all of his appearances since his election, Leo has not made any mention of the country of his birth, angering some US conservative commentators.
India and Pakistan ceasefire shaken by overnight border fighting in disputed Kashmir region
- Residents and officials in the disputed Kashmir region say there was overnight border fighting between Pakistani and Indian troops
- As part of the ceasefire, agreed a day earlier, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all firing and military action on land, in the air and at sea
- They accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal hours later
ISLAMABAD: A ceasefire to end the conflict between India and Pakistan was shaken by overnight border fighting in the disputed Kashmir region.
People on both sides of the Line of Control, which divides the territory, reported heavy exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops. The fighting subsided by Sunday morning.
The two countries agreed to a truce a day earlier after talks to defuse the most serious military confrontation between them in decades following a gun massacre of tourists that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge.
As part of the ceasefire, the nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to immediately stop all firing and military action on land, in the air and at sea. They accused each other of repeatedly violating the deal just hours later.
Drones were spotted Saturday night over Indian-controlled Kashmir and the western state of Gujarat according to Indian officials.
In the Poonch area of Indian-controlled Kashmir, people said the intense shelling from the past few days had traumatized them.
“Most people ran as shells were being fired,” said college student Sosan Zehra who returned home Sunday. “It was completely chaotic.”
In Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’s Neelum Valley, which is three kilometers from the Line of Control, people said there were exchanges of fire and heavy shelling after the ceasefire began.
Resident Mohammad Zahid said: “We were happy about the announcement but, once again, the situation feels uncertain.”
US President Donald Trump was the first to post about the deal, announcing it on his Truth Social platform. Indian and Pakistani officials confirmed the news shortly after.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Sunday with top government and military officials.
India, unlike Pakistan, has not said anything about Trump or the US since the deal was announced. Nor has India acknowledged anyone beyond its military contact with the Pakistanis.
Both armies have engaged in daily fighting since Wednesday along the rugged and mountainous Line of Control, which is marked by razor wire coils, watchtowers and bunkers that snake across foothills populated by villages, tangled bushes and forests.
They have routinely blamed the other for starting the skirmishes while insisting they were only retaliating.
India and Pakistan’s two top military officials are due to speak again on Monday.
Putin’s proposed Ukraine talks ‘not enough’: Macron
PRZEMYSL: President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, after Kyiv and its European allies called for a 30-day ceasefire, is “not enough,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday.
“An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition,” Macron told reporters as he stepped off a train in the Polish city of Przemysl on his return from a trip to Ukraine, adding that Putin was “looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time.”
Western allies have repeatedly accused Putin of delaying tactics with regards to any potential bid to end the conflict in Ukraine, which has dragged on since February 2022.
Asked if this was another such example, Macron replied: “Yes, it is.”
Macron visited Kyiv on Saturday with the leaders of Germany, Britain and Poland, with the four of them and President Volodymyr Zelensky calling for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting on Monday.
Macron warned that Russia would face “massive sanctions” if it did not comply.
The United States and other countries back the proposal, the leaders said.
Speaking at the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Putin proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul in the coming days but did not address the 30-day ceasefire proposal.
“It’s a way of not answering... of showing that he is committed while also trying to maintain ambiguity in the eyes of the Americans,” Macron said.
“We need to stand firm with the Americans and say that the ceasefire is unconditional and then we can discuss the rest,” he added.
Macron also said that Putin’s proposal was “unacceptable for the Ukrainians because they cannot accept parallel discussions while they continue to be bombed.”
He also cast doubt on whether Zelensky would agree to talks in Istanbul given the “complicated” Russian-Ukrainian negotiations held there shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump says will increase trade 'substantially' with India, Pakistan
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said late Saturday he would increase trade "substantially" with India and Pakistan.
"I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations," he posted on TruthSocial after the arch-rivals agreed to a ceasefire after days of deadly fighting.
However, since the ceasefire was announced, both sides have traded accusations of truce violations.
