Politics
Austria deports first Afghan since Taliban seized power, says more to come
VIENNA: Austria deported an Afghan national back to his home country on Tuesday for the first time since the Taliban seized power there four years ago, and the conservative-led coalition government in Vienna said that more would follow soon.
The government has made fighting illegal immigration a top priority, apparently seeking to erode support for the far-right Freedom Party, or FPO, by focusing on one of its core issues.
The three-party ruling coalition of centrist parties took office in March after the FPO won a parliamentary election but failed to form a governing alliance. The FPO has maintained its lead in opinion polls.
“This morning, a man convicted of serious crimes was deported to Kabul — the first deportation to Afghanistan since 2021,” Chancellor Christian Stocker of the conservative Austrian People’s Party wrote on X.
“Austria is thus sending a clear message: zero tolerance for anyone who has forfeited their right to remain by committing criminal offences,” he added.
In July, Austria became the first European Union country to deport a Syrian back to their home country since the civil war there broke out, despite objections by human rights groups that it was too soon to know if it was safe to do so.
Austria has been saying for months that it hopes to resume deportations to Afghanistan despite similar objections.
Amnesty International said in a statement that Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
“Anyone who deports people to a state that commits crimes against its own people is deliberately denying protection and breaking the law,” it said, adding: “This betrayal of human rights must be stopped immediately!”
Syria and Afghanistan are the top countries of origin of asylum-seekers in Austria. The government has said that initially those deported will primarily be criminal offenders.
“The Interior Ministry under Gerhard Karner is preparing further deportations,” Stocker said.
The deportation comes just a day after the European Union said that it has “initiated exploratory contacts” with the Taliban regime to boost deportations of failed asylum seekers.
A majority of EU nations had urged Brussels to reach out to Kabul to boost expulsions.
In a letter initiated by Belgium, 20 EU member states urged the European Commission to take action to enable both voluntary and forced returns of Afghans with no right to stay.
- Afghan nationals convicted of rape given long detention sentences.
- Both Afghan teenagers arrived in Britain last year.
- Govt seeking to stop influx of migrants arriving in small boats.
LONDON: Two teenage Afghan asylum seekers, who had both arrived in Britain alone in the last year, were given long detention sentences on Monday for raping a 15-year-old girl in central England.
The boys, Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal, both aged 17, carried out the attack in a park in Leamington Spa in May after taking the girl, who was very drunk at the time, away from her friends, prosecutors told Warwick Crown Court.
The court was played footage that the highly distressed girl had managed to capture during the attack, in which she could be heard sobbing loudly and screaming: “Please help me … let me go … I want to go home.”
“The day I was raped changed me as a person,” the girl, who said the incident was her first sexual experience, said in a victim statement.
MAJOR POLITICAL ISSUE
Crimes, particularly sexual offences, committed by asylum seekers have become a major political issue in Britain, especially as the government is seeking a solution to stop thousands of migrants arriving in small boats from across the Channel.
Last month, an Afghan national pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, in central England, while an Ethiopian man was jailed in September after being convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman in Epping, north of London.
Both cases sparked large-scale protests, some of which turned violent, and prompted demonstrations across the country at hotels housing asylum seekers. Immigration concerns have also helped to propel the populist Reform UK party to leads in opinion polls.
In an acknowledgement of the public concern, the judge Sylvia de Bertodano ordered that the two teenagers, who pleaded guilty in October, could be named despite being only 17, saying it was in the public interest to do so.
Jahanzeb, who turns 18 at the start of next year, was given detention of 10 years and eight months, while Niazal was sentenced to nine years and 10 months in detention.
Jahanzeb’s lawyer Robert Holt said his client had travelled through Europe alone to get to Britain in January, succeeding on his fourth attempt to cross the Channel on a small boat. He faces automatic deportation after his sentence is completed.
Joshua Radcliffe, the lawyer for Niazal, said he had come alone to Britain last November to escape the Taliban, who had murdered his father, formerly in the Afghan army. He is waiting for a decision on his asylum claim, but the judge said she would recommend his deportation after he served his sentence.
De Bertodano said the two teenagers had betrayed the interests of those who came to Britain fleeing harm.
The Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) brought a vibrant slice of South Asian heritage to Texas this weekend as families from across Dallas–Fort Worth gathered to celebrate Sindhi Cultural Day.
What unfolded inside a packed community hall was more than a cultural programme; it was a reaffirmation of identity for a diaspora thousands of miles away from its ancestral soil.
The event drew notable attendees, including Texas State Representative Salman Bhojani, Farhan Ahmed, Vice Consul at the Consulate of Pakistan in Houston, SANA’s Central Vice President Asghar Pathan, Central General Secretary Asad Shaikh, and several community leaders who added stature to the celebration.
Addressing the audience, Rep Bhojani described Sindh’s culture as “a living symbol of peace, love, and tolerance,” adding that Dallas had paid respect to that legacy by gathering in such large numbers. Vice Consul Farhan Ahmed noted that the Sindhi topi and ajrak are not merely garments but “icons of Pakistan’s cultural identity,” and said that Sindhi Cultural Day strengthens a positive image of Pakistan around the world.
SANA leaders Asghar Pathan and Asad Shaikh emphasised that Sindhis carry their traditions wherever they go, calling it their pride and their inheritance. Other speakers highlighted that Sindh is not just a geographical region but a civilisational idea grounded in human dignity, poetry, music, and centuries of coexistence. Ajrak, topi, literature, and folk arts, they said, are living testaments to a culture that refuses to fade.
The programme was elegantly steered by SANA Dallas President Amir Memon, while Suhail Khaskheli, Sarfaraz Abbasi, Shehryar Arshad, Ghulam Nabi Kalwar, Imran Pirzada, Muhammad Shafi, and Fahad Junejo welcomed guests with traditional ajraks and caps.
Among the attendees were prominent Pakistani American community members, including Barkat Basria, Democratic candidate Attorney Sofia Anwar, and Nadeem Akhtar of Pak Pack Group.
One side of the hall showcased hand-crafted Sindhi arts. On the other hand, children performed with a joy that felt like an emotional bridge between generations. Many attendees remarked that for a moment, Dallas felt like Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Larkana, or Khairpur — places where identity is woven into daily life and where culture is lived, not displayed.
The evening concluded with the traditional “Ho Jamalo” dance, as women, men, youth, and children joined in a circle, celebrating not only the past but the resilience of a culture carried proudly across continents.
Former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan wants to return home to play a match in all three formats before ending his international career, the 38-year-old said.
Considered the greatest cricketer ever produced by Bangladesh, Shakib left the country after the toppling of the Sheikh Hasina-led government last year.
The all-rounder had been a member of parliament for the Awami League led by Hasina, whose 15-year rule as prime minister ended with her fleeing to India following deadly protests.
“I am officially not retired from all formats,” Shakib said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast on Sunday. “This is the first time I’ll be revealing that. My plan is to go back to Bangladesh, play one full series of ODI, Test, and T20, and retire.
“I mean, [I can] retire from all formats in a series … I want to play a whole series and retire. That’s what I want.”
Shakib has not played international cricket since his 71st Test in India last year, after which he announced his retirement from T20 Internationals.
He then requested to play a farewell Test at home in the series against South Africa but the interim government was unable to guarantee his safety due to his political past.
The all-rounder said been playing franchise cricket around the world in the hopes he will be able to play for Bangladesh again.
“I am hopeful. That’s why I’m playing [T20 leagues]. I think it will happen,” he added.
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