1 Afghanistan

Afghanistan – Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 23 January 2014

Information on the Taliban and activities and relations with Pakistan. Information on Taliban tortures.

Information on the Taliban relations with Pakistan.

A document released through the US National Security Archive states:

“A collection of newly-declassified documents published today detail U.S. concern over Pakistan's relationship with the Taliban during the seven-year period leading up to 9-11. This new release comes just days after Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, acknowledged that, "There is no doubt Afghan militants are supported from Pakistan soil." While Musharraf admitted the Taliban were being sheltered in the lawless frontier border regions, the declassified U.S. documents released today clearly illustrate that the Taliban was directly funded, armed and advised by Islamabad itself.” (National Security Archive (14 August 2007) Pakistan: "The Taliban's Godfather"?)

A Human Rights Watch report published in 2001, in a section titled “Pakistan’s Support of the Taliban”, states:

“The Pakistan government has repeatedly denied that it provides any military support to the Taliban in its diplomacy regarding its extensive operations in Afghanistan.82 Of all the foreign powers involved in efforts to sustain and manipulate the ongoing fighting, Pakistan is distinguished both by the sweep of its objectives and the scale of its efforts, which include soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban’s virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, recruiting skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions apparently directly providing combat support.” (Human Rights Watch (July 2001) Crisis of Impunity: The Role of Pakistan, Russia, and Iran in Fueling the Civil War, p.23)

A EurasiaNet article states:

“Things are different in Pakistan, however. There, the Taliban have been strategically tolerated for years. In his recent assessment, Gen. McChrystal noted that the insurgency in Afghanistan is "clearly supported from Pakistan. Senior leaders of the major Afghan insurgent groups are based in Pakistan, are linked with al Qaeda and other violent extremist groups, and are reportedly aided by some elements of Pakistan's ISI [intelligence services]." The frequent peace deals that Pakistan signed with various local Taliban groups between 2004 and 2008 offers several examples of accommodating the Taliban. Senior Pakistani officials termed those deals as 'a local solution to a local problem.' In February 2009, for instance, Pakistan and the Taliban

entered into a peace agreement in the Swat Valley. But the United States, NATO, and Afghanistan strongly objected to it. Officials in Kabul believed the peace deal would enable the Taliban and al Qaeda to rest and reequip in order to carry out new operations in Afghanistan. As expected, security did begin deteriorating in both countries, soon after the February peace deal. So far, Pakistan's sweeping military operations to retake the lost ground from the Taliban have helped precipitate a humanitarian crisis, featuring the large- scale displacement of civilians in the North-West Frontier Province. This has alienated the border region's most impoverished tribes, among whom al Qaeda has heavily recruited desperate and illiterate youth to carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan. At the same time, Pakistan's conventional operations have proven inept against an unconventional, elusive enemy. These operations have either displaced Taliban fighters to new areas in Pakistan or pushed them over into Afghanistan.” (EurasiaNet (13 October 2009) Afghanistan: Rethinking the Af-Pak Strategy)

A submission to the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in a section titled “Disagregrating Pakistan's Militant Market”, states:

“Afghan Taliban: While the Afghan Taliban operate in Afghanistan, they enjoy sanctuary in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK, formerly known as the Northwest Frontier Province), and key cities in the Pakistani heartland (e.g. Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta). The Afghan Taliban emerged from Deobandi madaris (p. madrassah) in Pakistan and retain their nearly exclusive ethnic Pasthun and Deobandi sectarian orientation.” (US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (24 May 2011) Al Qaeda, the Taliban & Other Extremist Groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Excerpt: Lashkar-e- Taiba beyond Bin Laden: Enduring Challenges for the Region and the International Community))

A Voice of America News report states:

“A leaked report allegedly authored by officials in the international coalition in Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of secretly assisting the Taliban. According to the report seen by The Times newspaper and British Broadcasting Corporation, Pakistan's military spy agency, the ISI, is supporting the Afghan Taliban, and the insurgents believe victory is inevitable once NATO troops leave in 2014. The classified document reportedly was compiled from information learned in the interrogations of 4,000 captured Taliban and al- Qaida operatives.” (Voice of America News (1 February 2012) Leaked NATO Report: Pakistan Helping Afghan Taliban)

The Summary of a document published by the UK Parliament House of Commons Library, in a paragraph headed “Will Pakistan's political and security establishment deliver?”, states:

"Large parts of the Pakistani establishment remain hostile to the very concept of 'AfPak', feeling unfairly stigmatised by it. They believe that the crisis in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and beyond results from what is happening in Afghanistan, rather than the other way around. Many also question whether Pakistan's political and security establishment can genuinely be persuaded to cease 'hedging its bets' through supporting the Afghan Taliban when it remains so anxious about growing Indian influence in

Afghanistan. Moves earlier this year against important Afghan Taliban figures may have helped to strengthen the standing of the Pakistan Government in some quarters, but many believe that the wave of detentions was primarily intended to demonstrate Pakistan's essential role in future peace negotiations at a moment when it feared being by-passed. The establishment's attitude towards the Pakistan Taliban and other militant groups has undoubtedly hardened in recent years, but still not to the point where it has decided that the price of a 'war to the finish' is one worth paying. Delivering a 'knock-out blow' is likely to prove beyond the Pakistani military, which has long been geared up mainly to fight an inter-state war with India. The current Pakistan Government, led by President Asif Zardari, is, like its Afghan counterpart, weak and beleaguered. Finally, while Pakistani public opinion appears to have shifted in favour of more assertive action against the country's home- grown militants, it is fickle. There is a deep strain of anti-Americanism that could easily trump other considerations again.” (UK Parliament House of Commons Library (22 June 2010) The 'AfPak policy' and the Pashtuns)

In a section titled “Prospects” (section 5.2, paragraph headed “Will Pakistan's political and security establishment deliver?”), states:

“There also remain unanswered questions about the attitude of the Pakistani political and security establishment. Doubts remain about the motivation behind the wave of detentions of senior Afghan Taliban figures that took place earlier this year, some of whom were soon released, with some arguing that it was to demonstrate Pakistan's essential role in future peace negotiations and avert danger of being by-passed as a mediator in favour of Saudi Arabia, as briefly seemed on the cards. Richard Holbrooke has declared himself ‘agnostic’ about whether the detentions meant that Pakistan had broken decisively with the Afghan Taliban. US officials have been reported as saying that the arrest of Mullah Baradar in February had been accidental’ and US officials have had limited access to him. There have even been claims in Pakistan that Baradar is a CIA agent. Few expect Afghanistan's extradition request to be acceded to. Former UN envoy in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, has accused the Pakistani authorities of acting as 'spoilers' of the negotiations which he and, separately, the Afghan Government had begun with the Afghan Taliban in 2009. Another analyst has claimed that the Pakistani security services are now establishing a more reliable (from their point of view) Afghan Taliban leadership but one less inclined towards negotiations. A recent report claimed that observers continue to underestimate the degree to which the Pakistani political and security establishment is still providing support to the Afghan Taliban and that a number of members of the Quetta Shura are ISI representatives.” (ibid)

A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report states:

“A former Afghan official says pressure is mounting on Pakistan to end its support for extremist groups who were reportedly involved in last week's assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reports. Ali Ahmad Jalali, an Afghan-American professor at the United States National Defense University in Washington, told RFE/RL on September 23 that recent comments by Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, have added to the pressure on Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to sever ties with extremist groups such as the Haqqani network. 'The U.S. has issued

its strongest statement yet to Pakistan's ISI on its ties with the Taliban and Haqqani groups,' said Jalali, who served as Afghan defense and interior minister from 2003-2005. ‘It is a clear message to Pakistan that it can no longer continue its current strategy in Afghanistan.’” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (26 September 2011) Ex-Afghan Minister: Pressure On ISI To End Ties With Terror Groups)

A Pajhwok Afghan News report states:

“Some of the Taliban representatives manning their political office in Qatar have links to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Afghanistan’s former spy chief claimed on Sunday. A 10-member team of the insurgent movement, including Maulvi Syed Tayeb Agha, Qazi Din Mohammad, Zahid Ahmadzai, Dr. Mohammad Naeem Wardak, Sohail Shaheen, Sher Mohammad Abbas and Nek Mohammad, recently left for Doha. Amarullah Saleh, ex-head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), told reporters in Kabul the Taliban negotiators had spent the last 12 years living in Pakistan. During the period, he said, none of them had met Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.” (Pajhwok Afghan News (23 June 2013) Some Taliban negotiators have links to ISI: Saleh)

A report published by the US Congressional Research Service, in a section titled “Reconciliation With Militant Leaders” (paragraph headed “Role of Pakistan”), states:

“Pakistan has also become more supportive of the reconciliation process. In February 2012, Pakistani leaders, for the first time, publicly encouraged Taliban leaders to negotiate a settlement to the conflict. Following a mid- November 2012, visit to Pakistan by Rabbani and other High Peace Council members, Pakistan released at least 18 high-ranking Taliban figures who favor reconciliation, and it released another eight in December 2012. Karzai visited Pakistan during August 26-27, 2013 and, ten days later, Pakistan released seven moderate senior Taliban figures. On September 22, 2013, it released from prison the highest profile Taliban figure in detention, Mullah Abdul Ghani Bradar,53 who had been arrested by Pakistan in February 2010, purportedly to halt talks between Bradar and Afghan intermediaries. Bradar reportedly remains under house arrest or close surveillance in Pakistan. Earlier, in August 2012, Pakistan had allowed Afghan officials to hold talks with the incarcerated Bradar. Afghan officials are said to want him to open a Taliban office in Saudi Arabia or Turkey. On the other hand, Pakistani clerics withdrew from participating in a planned joint conference in March 2013 with Afghan clerics. (US Congressional Research Service (23 October 2013) Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, pp.41-42)

The Introduction to a Council on Foreign Relations backgrounder document states:

“Pakistani authorities have long had ties to domestic militant groups that help advance the country's core foreign policy interests, namely in connection with Afghanistan and India. Since Islamabad joined Washington as an ally in the post-9/11 'war on terror,' analysts have accused Pakistan's security and intelligence services of playing a 'double game,' tolerating if not outright aiding militant groups killing NATO troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies these charges. Concerns about Pakistan's commitment to counterterrorism

heightened in May 2011, when U.S. commandos killed al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden at a compound not far from Islamabad. Leadership elements of al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban have made Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal areas their home, where they often work with a wide variety of Islamist insurgent groups like the Haqqani Network. Some groups have used Pakistan as a staging ground for attacks in Afghanistan, while others have pursued domestic targets, including schools and houses of worship, as well as organs of the state.” (Council on Foreign Relations (18 November 2013) Pakistan's New Generation of Terrorists)

A recent Deutsche Welle article states:

“For years, the United States has been demanding that Islamabad launch a military action against the extremist Haqqani Network in its semi-governed region of North Waziristan. The US believes the area is being used by al Qaeda and Taliban operatives as a base to launch attacks on international troops in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan, however, had always refused to comply, telling Washington that the time was not right to start a full-scale offensive against the militants. But it seems Islamabad has finally decided to go after the Islamists. Pakistani jets started to bomb the militant hideouts on Monday, January 20. According to the Pakistani military officials, 40 insurgents, mostly foreign nationals, were killed in these airstrikes. They claim three German citizens with links to al Qaeda were also among the dead. Wali Muhammad, a Pakistani Taliban commander, was also reportedly killed in these strikes.” (Deutsche Welle (23 January 2014) Is Pakistan finally going after the Taliban?)

Information on Taliban tortures.

A report from the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, in a section titled “Understanding Shari`a”, states:

“Implementing Sharià across Afghanistan is a strategic objective of the Taliban. Understanding what it means, and the methods in which it is employed in Afghanistan, is important. The word Sharià in Arabic literally translates to 'the path to follow' and in jurisprudential context means 'ideal Islamic law.' Sharià is both a system of criminal justice and a religious or moral code for Muslims. Although this system is based on principles outlined in both the Qur’an and the hadith, the implementation of Sharià is largely left up to the interpretation of Islamic scholars (which many Taliban senior leaders and commanders claim to be). This has resulted in a diverse practice of Islam, including different schools of thought. The exception is a specific set of punishments for offenses called hudud, or 'limits,' which are considered to be the most serious crimes. These offenses are punishable by specific penalties—including stoning, lashing, or amputation of a limb—and are considered by some Islamic scholars to be immutable.” (Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (23 May 2013) The Significance of Taliban Sharià Courts in Afghanistan)

A TOLO News report states:

“Taliban allegedly whipped a man and woman accused of having an illegal relationship in central Ghor province, officials said on Monday. The incident, said Fazlulhaq Ehsan head of Ghor province provincial council, happened in

Korgin village of Charsadda district on Friday. The Taliban detained the man involved in the illicit relationship, lashing him 27 times in front of the local mosque. Then, the woman was allegedly lashed 40 times in her home. 'A man and woman whom were having an illegal relationship in Korgin village of Charsada district where whipped by the Taliban,' said Ehsan in a phone interview with TOLO news.” (TOLO News (19 February 2013) Taliban Whip Man and Woman in Ghor Province)

An ABC News report states:

“The Taliban beheaded 17 people, including two women, for attending a mixed-gender party where there was music and dancing, Afghan officials reported today. The decapitated bodies were abandoned at a roadside in southern Afghanistan, according to Mullah Sharafuddin, the governor of Kajaki district in Helmand province. All 17 bodies, including those of two women, were decapitated, but it was not clear if they had been shot first.” (ABC News (27 April 2012) Taliban Behead 17 for Singing and Dancing)

A Pajhwok Afghan News report states:

“Five kidnapped Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were found beheaded in northern Jawzjan province, where another man was killed, an official said on Wednesday. An ANA officer and four soldiers were found with their throats cut a day after they were kidnapped by the Taliban on their way home on leave in Khwaja Dokoh district, the town's chief Sayra Shekib told Pajhwok Afghan News. The troops were got down from two cars by militants and kidnapped them on Tuesday and their beheaded bodies were found on Wednesday, he said.” (Pajhwok Afghan News (17 April 2013) 5 ANA troops found with throats cut in Jawzjan)

A Wakht News Agency report states:

“The armed Taliban during an armed clash with the local people beheaded at least 15 residents allegedly staged uprising against them in the western province of Ghor, an official said Sunday. The incident took place in Paswand district of the province, where a civil society activist, Hasan Hakimi told Wakht News Agency that several people have been beheaded by the insurgents and that the clash was still continuing.” (Wakht News Agency (19 May 2013) Taliban beheaded 15 civilians in Ghor)

An article from The Telegraph states:

“The Taliban have beheaded two boys they accused of spying, according to authorities in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. The youngest, aged 10, was known in the area for accepting food from police officers in order to feed his poverty-stricken family and was killed on Sunday. The second boy was aged 16, according to details released by the governor of Kandahar, who condemned the killings as inhuman and un-Islamic. Javed Faisal, his spokesman, said the two had been killed after collecting food from rubbish bins used by the Afghan police and army in the Zhari district, which may have led to suspicions they were spies.” (The Telegraph (10 June 2013) Afghan Taliban 'behead two boys')

A BBC News report states:

“Two cases of forced amputations in Afghanistan's Herat province have served as a grim reminder of Taliban-style justice almost 12 years since the movement was ousted from power. Just over a month ago, Fayz Mohammad and his neighbour Zarin were two ordinary young Afghan men. They held down good jobs as drivers for a local transport company and were happy to be able to feed their families. Now both are in hospital in Herat, recovering from an ordeal which has left them traumatised and worried for their future. In mid-March, 25-year-old Fayz and his younger colleague were enjoying time off duty in their home village in Rabat Sangi district while their trucks were being loaded. On the second night of their stay, Taliban fighters arrived at 03:00 in the morning and abducted them. The men were taken more than 100 miles away to Torghundi, a town on the border with Turkmenistan. 'They kept us for 27 days,' Fayz told the BBC. ‘On the 28th day, at 10 in the morning, they cut off our hand and foot.’” (BBC News (27 April 2013) Summary amputations: Taliban justice in Afghanistan)

A Pajhwok Afghan News report states:

“A Taliban court ordered cutting off a hand and a foot of two men convicted of robbery and cooperating with a security firm in western Herat province, officials said on Saturday. The victims were then taken to a hospital in Torghondai area, a border town of Robat Sangi district, a spokesman for western zone hospitals, Dr. Mohammad Rafique Sherzai, told Pajhwok Afghan News. 'The Taliban detained me about 25 days ago on the charge of cooperating with a security company. Their court ordered cutting my right hand on Friday,' one of the two victims, said on condition of anonymity. The Taliban carried out the amputations in public after Friday prayers, a security official in Robat Sangi district, said, seeking anonymity.” (Pajhwok Afghan News (20 April 2013) Taliban cut off hand, foot of two alleged robbers)

See also Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report which states:

“The Taliban spokesman claims that the two were punished as ‘thieves’ under the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islamic law. He says the verdict was delivered against them by a Shari'a court after they confessed that they had stolen money, motorcycles, and other valuables from Muslims over a lengthy period of time. But Faiz and his relatives tell a different story. Both Faiz and Zarin worked as drivers for a private security company that escorts NATO supply convoys in western Afghanistan. Their relatives see the amputations as punishment and a warning for anyone cooperating with NATO forces. Now both men are recovering at Herat Regional Hospital where Faiz, who has been married for three years, lives with his wife and 18-month-old son. 'The Taliban wanted us to cooperate with them and take explosives inside the company that we worked for and detonate them,' he told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan. 'They asked us more than 20 times, saying that if we did it we would be freed.'” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (24 April 2013) Target Of Taliban Justice Tells Of Brutal Amputations)

A Reuters report states:

“Seven Afghan civilians believed kidnapped by the Taliban last month have been found dead with their hands bound behind their backs and apparently tortured, local officials in the southern province of Zabul said on Wednesday.

The apparent executions may have been punishment for working for Afghan security forces, the officials said, underscoring the growing threat of attack faced by civilians associated with local forces as foreign troops withdraw. ‘They were brutally tortured and then shot dead,’ said Zabul deputy governor Mohammad Jan Rasulyar. ‘Our belief is that the Taliban killed them because they thought they were serving in the Afghan security forces.’” (Reuters (6 November 2013) Bodies of seven kidnapped Afghans found, signs of torture: officials)

A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report states:

“Police in northern Afghanistan have rescued a woman who was sentenced to death by stoning. The woman, named only as Halima from northern Konduz Province, was said to have been condemned by the Taliban to death for cheating on her husband.” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (10 December 2013) Afghan Police Rescue Woman From Death By Stoning)

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research and Information Unit within time constraints. This response is not and does not purport to be conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please read in full all documents referred to.

References:

ABC News (27 April 2012) Taliban Behead 17 for Singing and Dancing http://abcnews.go.com/International/taliban-behead-17-singing- dancing/print?id=17084797 (Accessed 23 January 2014)

BBC News (27 April 2013) Summary amputations: Taliban justice in Afghanistan http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22311036?print=true (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (23 May 2013) The Significance of Taliban Shari`a Courts in Afghanistan http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-significance-of-taliban-sharia-courts-in- afghanistan (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Council on Foreign Relations (18 November 2013) Pakistan's New Generation of Terrorists http://www.cfr.org/pakistan/pakistans-new-generation-terrorists/p15422

Deutsche Welle (23 January 2014) Is Pakistan finally going after the Taliban? http://www.dw.de/is-pakistan-finally-going-after-the-taliban/a-17383037 (Accessed 23 January 2014)

EurasiaNet (13 October 2009) Afghanistan: Rethinking the Af-Pak Strategy http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav101409b.shtml

(Accessed 23 January 2014)

Human Rights Watch (July 2001) Crisis of Impunity: The Role of Pakistan, Russia, and Iran in Fueling the Civil War http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/afghan2/Afghan0701.pdf (Accessed 23 January 2014)

National Security Archive (14 August 2007) Pakistan: "The Taliban's Godfather"? http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB227/ (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Pajhwok Afghan News (23 June 2013) Some Taliban negotiators have links to ISI: Saleh http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/06/23/some-taliban-negotiators-have-links- isi-saleh (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Pajhwok Afghan News (20 April 2013) Taliban cut off hand, foot of two alleged robbers http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/04/20/taliban-cut-hand-foot-two-alleged- robbers (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Pajhwok Afghan News (17 April 2013) 5 ANA troops found with throats cut in Jawzjan http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/04/17/5-ana-troops-found-throats-cut- jawzjan (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (10 December 2013) Afghan Police Rescue Woman From Death By Stoning http://www.rferl.org/articleprintview/25195716.html (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (24 April 2013) Target Of Taliban Justice Tells Of Brutal Amputations http://www.rferl.org/articleprintview/24967374.html (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (26 September 2011) Ex-Afghan Minister: Pressure On ISI To End Ties With Terror Groups http://www.rferl.org/articleprintview/24339896.html (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Reuters (6 November 2013) Bodies of seven kidnapped Afghans found, signs of torture: officials http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/06/us-afghanistan-violence- idUSBRE9A50MV20131106 (Accessed 23 January 2014)

The Telegraph (10 June 2013) Afghan Taliban 'behead two boys' http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10110727/Afgha n-Taliban-behead-two-boys.html (Accessed 23 January 2014)

TOLO News (19 February 2013) Taliban Whip Man and Woman in Ghor Province http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/9503-taliban-whip-man-and-woman- in-ghor-province (Accessed 23 January 2014)

UK Parliament House of Commons Library (22 June 2010) The 'AfPak policy' and the Pashtuns http://www.ein.org.uk/print/members/country-report/afpak-policy-and- pashtuns-0 (Accessed 23 January 2014) This is a subscription database

US Congressional Research Service (23 October 2013) Afghanistan: Post- Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/217488.pdf (Accessed 23 January 2014)

US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (24 May 2011) Al Qaeda, the Taliban & Other Extremist Groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Excerpt: Lashkar-e-Taiba beyond Bin Laden: Enduring Challenges for the Region and the International Community http://www.ein.org.uk/print/members/country-report/al-qaeda-taliban-other- extremist-groups-afghanistan-and-pakistan-excerpt-lash (Accessed 23 January 2014) This is a subscription database

Voice of America (1 February 2012) Leaked NATO Report: Pakistan Helping Afghan Taliban http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/02/01/leaked-nato-report- pakistan-helping-afghan-taliban/ (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Wakht News Agency (19 May 2013) Taliban beheaded 15 civilians in Ghor http://wakht.af/en/index.php/security-and-crime/3915-taliban-beheaded-15- civilians-in-ghor.html?print (Accessed 23 January 2014)

Sources Consulted:

BBC News Combating Terrorism Center Danish Immigration Service Electronic Immigration Network

European Country of Origin Information Network European Asylum Support Office Google Guardian Human Rights Watch Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Institute for War and Peace Reporting Pajhwok Afghan News Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Refugee Documentation Centre Query Database UNHCR Refworld

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