Page 11 - Afghanistan

Afghan community in India demands more consular staff, assistance from MEA

A lone former diplomat, who has continued to stay in India, has somehow kept the Afghan Mission/Consulates running

Donald Trump picks Afghanistan vet Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor

The person familiar requested anonymity to discuss the selection. Waltz's congressional office did not immediately respond to requests for comment

Taliban appoints Ikramuddin Kamil as acting consul in Mumbai Afghan mission

The Taliban regime has appointed Ikramuddin Kamil as the acting consul in the Afghan mission in Mumbai, Afghan media has reported. It is the first such appointment made by the Taliban set up to any Afghan mission in India. There was no immediate comment from the Indian side on the appointment that came. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan has announced the appointment of Kamil as the acting consul in Mumbai, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources. "He is currently in Mumbai, where he is fulfilling his duties as a diplomat representing the Islamic Emirate," it said. The appointment is part of Kabul's efforts to strengthen diplomatic ties with India and enhance its presence abroad, the media outlet said. Kamil holds a PhD degree in international law and previously served as the deputy director in the department of security cooperation and border affairs in the foreign ministry, it said. He is expected to facilitate consular

Afghanistan attends UN climate talks for first time since Taliban's return

Afghanistan's first delegation at United Nations climate talks since the Taliban's return to power in 2021 has arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan on Monday in a bid to garner support for climate action in the climate-vulnerable nation. Matuil Haq Khalis, who's head of the country's environment protection agency, told The Associated Press that Afghanistan is among the worst affected nations by climate change and needs the world's support to deal with extreme weather like erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts and flash floods. All the countries must join hands and tackle the problem of climate change, said Khalis, speaking through a translator. Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with a recent assessment by climate experts ranking it the sixth most climate vulnerable country in the world. In March this year, northern Afghanistan was hit by heavy rains resulting in flash floods, killing over 300 people. Climate scientists have found that extreme rainfall has gotten 25 pe

Govt official meets Afghan minister, offers use of Chabahar Port for trade

In a significant move, an Indian delegation met Afghanistan's acting Defence Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob and offered the use of Chabahar Port in Iran to businesses in his country, and also discussed extending humanitarian assistance to Kabul. The delegation was led by J P Singh, the Joint Secretary of the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the External Affairs Ministry. During a weekly media briefing here, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said that apart from Mohammad Yaqoob, the delegation also met with former President Hamid Karzai and other senior ministers, along with the heads of UN agencies. "They had discussions on India's humanitarian assistance, also how the Chabahar Port can be utilised by the business community in Afghanistan for transactions and for export and import and any other thing that they would like to do," Jaiswal said in response to a question. India does not recognise the Taliban regime that has been ruling Afghanistan since 2021. I

Afghan women banned from hearing other women's voices in new Taliban rule

Taliban's latest decree further limits women's freedom by barring them from reciting prayers aloud, even in the presence of other women

China may offer Taliban tariff-free trade to get closer to its resources

Selling Afghanistan's lithium, copper and iron deposits to the world's biggest commodities buyer would help Taliban prop up their ailing economy, which United Nations says has 'basically collapsed'

Pakistan logs 40th polio case in 2024: Why it fails to curb this endemic?

An infectious disease, Polio can cause crippling paralysis among young children. It has been virtually eradicated from the world, except for Pakistan and Afghanistan

Brics Summit: PM Modi, Iran Prez discuss Chabahar Port, West Asia conflict

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iran's President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian discussed regional connectivity and West Asia conflict. PM Modi also extended a formal invitation to Pezeshkian to visit India

Vistara flight denied Afghan airspace after bomb scare, returns to Delhi

When Afghan airspace officials were notified of the 'non-specific' bomb threat, they refused permission for the Vistara flight to pass through

Survivors grapple with aid cuts, Taliban a year after massive Afghan quake

People had just seconds to flee their homes when the terrifying sound of earth cracking open reverberated across western Afghanistan's Herat province. Nobody knows for sure how many people died in a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Oct 7, 2023, or in the strong aftershocks that followed. The Taliban government estimated that at least 4,000 perished. The UN gave a far lower figure of about 1,500. Survivors stopped counting, exhausted after digging through dirt to save their loved ones or bury them. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory. It was also another major challenge for the Taliban since they seized power in 2021, a test of their readiness to lead a country beset by economic hardship, isolation, devastation from decades of war, and vulnerability to shocks like earthquakes and climate change. At that time, the government really cooperated in transporting patients and the dead, said Ismatullah Rahmani, from the quake's epicenter in Zinda Jan ...

At least 25 killed in days of clashes between Shiites, Sunni Muslims in Pak

At least 25 people have been killed in days of clashes between armed Shiites and Sunni Muslims over a lingering land dispute in northwest Pakistan, officials said. The clashes which started over the weekend in Kurram, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan continued on Wednesday. Officials said dozens of people from both sides have been wounded since Saturday. Kurram has been a scene of sectarian violence in recent years. Authorities said they were trying to prevent the land dispute from turning into sectarian violence in the restive northwest, where extremist groups from the two sides have a strong presence. Barrister Saif Ali, a spokesman for the provincial government, said authorities with the help of tribal elders were trying to defuse tension and both sides had agreed to a cease-fire following peace talks in Kurram. Shiite Muslims make up about 15 per cent of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of

'Cats freer than Afghan women': Meryl Streep calls for global action at UN

Hollywood actor Meryl Streep's remarks come in the wake of the Taliban's latest set of restrictive laws, which were introduced in late August

Pak protests after Afghan diplomats remain seated during national anthem

Pakistan on Tuesday conveyed their strong protest to the Afghanistan authorities over the disrespect to the country's national anthem by Afghan diplomats who continued to remain seated when it was being played at an event. The disrespect of the host country's national anthem is against diplomatic norms, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement. "This act of Acting Consul General of Afghanistan is reprehensible. We are conveying our strong protest to the Afghan authorities both in Islamabad and Kabul, she said. The Peshawar-based Afghan Consul General Mohibullah Shakir and his deputy remained seated on their seats when the Pakistan national anthem was being played at the event held in connection with the 12th Rabi ul Awal, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. The Afghan diplomats were invited by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Afghan Consulate Peshawar issued a clarification, saying th

Taliban suspends polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, says UN

The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the U.N. said Monday. Afghanistan is one of two countries in which the spread of the potentially fatal, paralyzing disease has never been stopped. The other is Pakistan. News of the suspension was relayed to U.N. agencies right before the September immunization campaign was due to start. No reason was given for the suspension, and no one from the Taliban-controlled government was immediately available for comment. A top official from the World Health Organization said it was aware of discussions to move away from house-to-house vaccinations and instead have immunizations in places like mosques. The WHO has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year, all but two in the south of the country. That's up from six cases in 2023. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is aware of the recent policy discussions on shifting from house-to-house polio vaccination campaigns to site-to-site vaccination in parts of ..

Gunmen kill 14 people in Afghanistan's Shiite-majority area; 6 wounded

Gunmen killed 14 people in a Shiite-majority area in central Afghanistan, the Taliban said on Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country this year. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility before the Taliban acknowledged the shootings, which took place Thursday and targeted people as they travelled between the Shiite-majority provinces of Ghor and Daikundi. A machine gun was used in the assault, the IS group said. It gave a higher death toll than the Taliban.

5.8-magnitude earthquake jolts Pakistan, tremors felt in Delhi NCR

Delhi earthquake: After Afghanistan, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken Pakistan. Tremors felt in many Northern regions of India, including Delhi NCR

GOP gives highest honour on 13 troops killed during Afghan withdrawal

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday posthumously presented Congress' highest honour the Congressional Gold Medal to 13 US service members who were killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the politics of a presidential election swirled around the event. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the legislation to honour the 13 US troops, who were killed along with more than 170 Afghans in a suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate at Kabul's Airport in August 2021. President Joe Biden signed the legislation in December 2021. On Tuesday, the top Republican and Democratic leaders for both the House and Senate spoke at a somber ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, hailing the lives and sacrifices of the service members. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the lawmakers gathered to ensure the sacrifices of all our servicemembers were not in vain. We must care for them and their families and defend the values of freedom and democracy they so nobly fought for,

Afghanistan's Norway embassy is closing this week: Statement from mission

Afghanistan's Norway embassy is closing, the country's second diplomatic mission to announce closure this week. The move comes months after the Taliban said they no longer recognise diplomatic missions set up by the former, Western-backed government, including the one in Norway. In a statement on the social media platform X, the embassy announced the closure would take place on Thursday. The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, like many other political and consular missions of Afghanistan, will continue its activities with the values of human rights, pluralism and peace, despite the many difficulties and limited resources, the embassy statement said. The embassy premises would be handed over to Norway's Foreign Ministry, according to the statement in Dari. The UK government said on Monday that the London embassy would close on September 27, following the dismissal of its staff by the Taliban authorities in Kabul. Britain does not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate

US Congress honours 13 troops killed during Afghanistan withdrawal

House Speaker Mike Johnson is hosting a ceremony Tuesday to posthumously present Congress' highest honour the Congressional Gold Medal to 13 US service members who were killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the politics of a presidential election swirl around the event. Both Democrats and Republicans supported the legislation to honour the 13 US troops, who were killed along with more than 170 Afghans in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near Kabul's Airport in August 2021. President Joe Biden signed the legislation in December 2021. The top Republican and Democratic leaders for both the House and Senate are expected to speak at Tuesday's ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. The event is taking place against the backdrop of a bitter back and forth over who is to blame for the rushed and deadly evacuation from Kabul. Johnson scheduled the ceremony just hours before the first debate between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. House Republicans