IEP: Afghanistan Least Peaceful, Taliban Denies

The Taliban has reacted to the 'Global Peace Index 2022' of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) and called the findings related to Afghanistan "unjust," Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in the 'Global Peace Index 2022' said that Afghanistan is the "least peaceful country in the world for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Yemen, Syria, Russia and South Sudan." All these countries have remained among the ten least peaceful nations for the past three years.

According to IEP, Afghanistan recorded the largest reduction in deaths from armed conflict in 2022 with conflict deaths from almost 43,000 to just more than 4,000, TOLO News reported.

"Afghanistan recorded the fifth largest improvement in peacefulness in the 2023 GPI, however, it remains the least peaceful country in the world. Although violence is still widespread throughout the country, the level of conflict has dropped considerably since the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021, and the subsequent Taliban takeover of the government," it said.

The IEP noted that the perceptions regarding the criminality of Afghan nationals have improved slightly. It said that the number of people who say they felt unsafe walking alone reduced from 84 per cent to 77 per cent, according to TOLO News report.

The Index said that terrorist incidents in Afghanistan reduced by 75 per cent in 2022 and deaths from terrorism reduced by 58 per cent. The IEP stressed that the security situation in Afghanistan remains uncertain "with an escalation in conflict between ISK and the Taliban remaining a strong possibility."

Reacting to the report, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that terrorist incidents have reduced by over 99 per cent in comparison to "what is stated in the report."

"They said that the number of casualties went up. They still say 4,000 civilian casualties -- it is untrue. We may have casualties up to 1,000. There have been some Daesh attacks in the past years or one last year, but (Daesh) is controlled," he said, according to TOLO News report.

Political analyst Andar Khan Ahmad said, "Various terrorist groups can take advantage of the poverty and misery of people and can bring back the proxy war of the world's power to our soil and can make Afghanistan insecure," the report said.

According to the IEP, while the conflict in Ukraine has had wide media coverage, a number of other internal conflicts around the world have recorded substantial declines in deaths, such as in Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria and Somali.

Meanwhile, UN Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that a total of 3,774 civilians faced casualties including 1,095 people were killed from August 15, 2021, to May 30, 2023, and most of them died due to the explosion of Improvise Explosive Devices (IED), Khaama Press reported.

The report, titled "Impact of Improvise Explosive Devices," said that since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, a total of 701 people were killed and 2,113 were wounded due to the IED.

"Three-quarters of these civilian casualties (2,814 civilian casualties: 701 killed, 2,113 wounded) were caused by indiscriminate IED attacks in populated areas, including places of worship, schools and markets," the report said.

The report highlighted that UNAMA recorded 3,774 civilian casualties, which included 1,095 deaths and 2,679 injured between the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021, and May 30 2023. Among them, 233 women (92 killed, 141 wounded) and 866 children (287 killed, 579 wounded), as per the Khaama Press report.

"UNAMA documented at least 2,814 casualties (701 killed, 2,113 wounded) as a result of IEDs from 15 August 2021 - 30 May 2023. Among those killed and wounded were 289 children (75 killed, 214 wounded) and 168 women (64 killed, 104 wounded." The leading causes of civilian harm during this period were deliberate IED attacks (2,814 civilian casualties), explosive remnants of war (639 civilian casualties) and targeted killings (148 civilian casualties).