Survey shows over 80 percent of Afghans have ‘No sympathy’ for Taliban

Afghans continue to lose sympathy for the armed opposition groups, 82 percent indicating that they have “no sympathy” for the Taliban, according to a new survey released by The Asia Foundation on Tuesday.

The foundation’s survey – which is based on face-to-face interviews with 15,012 people from all major and most minor ethnic groups in 34 provinces – shows that 79 percent of Afghans in northwest identify the Taliban as the biggest threat to local security while in east 57 percent see Daesh/ISIS as the biggest threat to local security.

The survey which was conducted in July 2018, indicates the optimism about country’s direction has remained unchanged (33%) despite the nation’s challenges to maintain security against the Taliban insurgency and the growing presence of ISIS/Daesh while 61 percent more said the country is moving towards the wrong direction.

According to the survey, insecurity is the most frequently cited reason for pessimism, followed by unemployment, bad economy and high prices.

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Kabul In ‘Deep Silence’ Following Militant Attacks

The city of Kabul was covered with a deep silence with residents worried about their safety, following two attacks carried out by at least seven suicide attackers in two separate parts of the city.

The first attack was carried out at the PD13 Police Headquarters’ building in Dasht-e-Barchi area, while the second happened about an hour later at the PD10 Police Headquarters’ compound in Shahr-e-Naw in downtown Kabul.

The first attack ended after a few hours when two attackers were killed by police force members. However, the second attack was still ongoing by Wednesday evening.

Many roads were closed to traffic and places which normally were busy, seemed empty.
This time two parts of Kabul city were attacked. Some residents said they are worried about their lives when they go out of the home.

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Over 70 Percent Of Afghans Pessimistic About Peace Talks: Survey

More than 70 percent of people in Afghanistan are not optimistic about peace talks between government and the Taliban.

Based on a survey conducted by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) in 15 provinces, more than 70 percent of those interviewed believe that peace talks between government and the Taliban will fail.

“70.6 percent of the interviewed people said peace talks in Afghanistan have been a failure all the while,” said Ghulam Reza Ebrahimi, a member of the AISS.

Based on the survey, most people are also concerned that human rights and women’s rights will be compromised in the talks. The survey shows that people are also concerned about transparency of the talks.

“62 percent of the interviewees said that women can play an important role in bringing peace and 60 percent believed the situation would deteriorate for women after peace with the Taliban,” said Ali Karimi, another member of the AISS.

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79% Afghans ready to participate in parliamentary polls

Twenty-six percent people of 16 districts in six of Afghanistan’s eight zones are unaware about district council elections, a new survey has found.

The poll conducted by the Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) cited various reasons including people’s distrust on election bodies, insecurity and unawareness about district council elections for the prolonged delay in holding the vote.

The watchdog interviewed 147 people including tribal elders, government officials, civil society activists, members of rural development councils, provincial council members, private enterprises, women’s rights groups, youth and women in six months from August 1, 2015 to January 1, 2016 as part of the survey.

The survey said 33 percent of those interviews knew about district council elections, but 41 of them had little information, while 26 percent had no information.

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