Afghanistan News

Iran, Pakistan vow to help establish peace, stability in Afghanistan

Iran’s foreign minister has highlighted the need to support regional initiatives within the framework of neighboring countries to help resolve challenges facing Afghanistan.

UN cautions Afghanistan meth trade increases as Taliban clamps down on heroin

Methamphetamine trafficking in and around Afghanistan has surged in recent years, even as the Taliban have curbed heroin trafficking since taking power, according to a United Nations report on Sunday.

Rights groups denounce Taliban’s new curbs on women

Human rights groups have condemned the Taliban’s latest restrictions on Afghan women’s education and movements. The ruling Taliban administration has recently barred women from visiting one of Afghanistan’s most popular national parks and stopped them from leaving for the United Arab Emirates to study on academic scholarships.

Taliban ban dozens of Afghan female students from boarding flight to Dubai

Members of the Taliban government have prevented 100 female Afghan students who were given a scholarship to study at the University of Dubai from boarding their flight to the UAE.

UN envoy calls on ICC to prosecute Taliban’s gender discrimination

The United Nations global education envoy urged the International Criminal Court to prosecute gender discrimination in Afghanistan by the Taliban rulers.

UN rights experts denounce idea of ‘reformed’ Taliban

More than 30 independent UN human rights experts have called for the international community to recommit to support the people of Afghanistan. They made the call in a statement issued on Monday marking two years since the Taliban took power.

UN warns 21mn in Afghanistan facing severe cuts in relief due to funding gaps

The United Nations humanitarians warn of critical aid funding gaps for more than 21 million people in Afghanistan, saying that some relief has already been trimmed.

Taliban urge foreign envoys to resume activity in Afghanistan

Acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with ambassadors and special representatives from several countries based in Qatar and called on them to reopen their embassies in Kabul.

UN says forced to cut food aid to millions globally over funding crisis

The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments and assistance to millions of people in several countries — including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen — because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations plummet by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels, a top official has confirmed.

US and Taliban officials to meet in Qatar to discuss security and human rights

US officials are set to meet with representatives of the Taliban and "technocratic professionals" from Afghan ministries during a visit to Qatar's Doha this week, the State Department has said. Both sides will discuss security, narcotics  and women's rights.

Dozens killed, missing in flash flooding in Afghanistan and Pakistan

At least 31 people have been killed and dozens more are missing due to heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, more than a dozen people died as heavy rains and landslides hit neighbouring Pakistan.

Taliban bans women’s beauty salons in Afghanistan

The Taliban has issued a one-month closure notice to all beauty salons in Afghanistan, in the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of women and girls in the country.

Ex-Iran envoy: Chances of world recognition of Taliban diminishing

Iran’s former ambassador to Afghanistan has said chances of the international community recognizing the Taliban are diminishing.

UN says over 1,000 Afghan civilians killed since Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

More than 1,000 civilians were killed and nearly 2,700 others wounded in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021, a UN report says.

UN envoy says Afghan women ban makes Taliban recognition “nearly impossible”

The United Nations envoy to Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has said that it will be “nearly impossible” for the international community to recognize the Taliban government as long as restrictions on women and girls remain in place in the war-ravaged country.

UN expert says Taliban treatment of women could be ‘gender apartheid’

A United Nations expert has stated that the treatment of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban could amount to “gender apartheid” as their rights continue to be undermined by the governing authorities. The Taliban have accused the UN of “spreading propaganda against the Islamic Emirate”.

Taliban reject UN report calling Afghan government ‘exclusionary’ and ‘repressive’

The Taliban have condemned as “baseless and biased” a United Nations Security Council report that branded the ruling Afghan administration “highly “exclusionary” and “repressive”.

Blast hits memorial ceremony in Afghanistan, many killed and injured

A bomb explosion ripped through a memorial ceremony for the deputy governor of Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan Province, a Taliban official has confirmed. A health official has said at least 15 people were killed and 50 others were injured in the blast.

Car bomb kills Afghan provincial official

The deputy governor of Badakhshan Province in northern Afghanistan was killed in a car bomb attack on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the province has confirmed. The region’s police chief was killed in a similar attack claimed by an affiliate of Daesh group months ago.

Australian veteran loses defamation lawsuit over Afghan war crimes

An Australian court has found that war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery, probably killed unarmed civilians in Afghanistan. According to media reports, Roberts-Smith, now 44, had murdered at least six unarmed Afghan civilians when he was a member of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) in Afghanistan.

Source says Qatar PM, Taliban chief hold secret talks on Afghanistan

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani held secret talks with leader of the Taliban Haibatullah Akhunzada this month on resolving the ruling Taliban's tension with the international community, a source briefed on the meeting has revealed.

UN says acute food insecurity to deteriorate in several countries, including Afghanistan and Yemen within months

Severe food shortage is likely to grow in 18 "hunger hotspots" in 22 countries further in 2023, according to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme published on Monday.

China, Afghanistan, Pakistan FMs promise to pursue anti-terror cooperation as political ties deepen

Foreign ministers of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan  have, in a meeting in Islamabad, pledged to further strengthen trilateral cooperation in security and counterterrorism.

China says ready for further cooperation with Pakistan on Afghan issue

Beijing is ready to strengthen coordination with Pakistan on the Afghan issue in order to promote the peace and reconstruction process in the war-torn country, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has said.

UN chief says ‘not right time’ to engage with Taliban

An international conference on Afghanistan organised by the United Nations has ended in Qatar's Doha with no formal acknowledgment of the Taliban. At the end of the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was not the right time for him to directly engage with the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.

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