Afghanistan least peaceful country in the world, says IEP; Taliban calls report "unjust"

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

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.