Page 19 - Afghanistan

Disturbing health crisis among women in Afghan prisons: UN report

According to the survey, the majority of jailed women in Afghanistan express concerns about their children's future and the impact on their families

Online violence against Afghan women surged this year due to curbs: Report

The London-based Afghan Witness Organisation published the results of their most recent study on the rise in online violence against campaigners for women's rights on Monday

Over 4 ,00,000 Afghans return home from Pak following crackdown on migrants

More than 400,000 Afghans returned to their home country following the ongoing crackdown on illegal foreigners in the country, Pakistani authorities said Monday. Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesperson of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, confirmed the number and told The Associated Press that the majority have been using the border crossings of Torkham and Spin Boldak to return home. An estimated 1.7 million Afghans had been living in Pakistan when authorities announced its nationwide crackdown, saying that anyone without proper documents had to leave the country by October 31 or else get arrested. However, Pakistani officials said the other 1.4 million Afghans registered as refugees need not worry as only people without proper documentation were sought after. In the 1980s, millions of Afghans fled to neighboring Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of their country. The numbers witnessed a spike after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan also introduced

Saffron traders in Afghanistan urge for more facilities in exports, visas

Annual saffron exhibitions, according to Nabil, are intended to promote saffron production in the province of Herat and strengthen the status and worth of Herat saffron

Pak's KPK govt to launch eviction operation against illegal Afghans: Report

Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a major operation to evict thousands of illegal Afghans from the provincial capital Peshawar, a senior official said on Saturday. The move by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government came amid the ongoing deportation of illegal Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan. The crackdown has so far forced about 340,000 Afghans in recent weeks to leave Pakistan after spending years in the neighbouring country. "The KPK Provincial Government has decided to launch a grand operation for the eviction of illegal Afghans from this northwestern city of Peshawar," said the official. Pakistan's caretaker government has previously said security concerns were behind the deportation order. Islamabad has claimed that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 of the 24 major terrorist attacks that have taken place in the country this year. However, the Taliban-led government in Kabul has rejected Pakistan's claim. On Friday, a joint meeting of Deput

Taliban min attends meet in Pak despite tensions over expulsions of Afghans

A Cabinet minister from Afghanistan's Taliban-led government attended a trade meeting in Pakistan despite tensions over the expulsion of Afghans living in the country illegally, officials said Wednesday. Around 300,000 Afghans have returned home since last month, when Pakistan launched a nationwide crackdown on undocumented foreigners. The crackdown mainly affects about 1.7 million Afghans who fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of their country and after the Taliban takeover in 2021. The Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan has denounced the crackdown. However, this week the Taliban government sent Commerce and Industry Minister Nooruddin Azizi to Islamabad for a meeting of commerce and trade ministers from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. Aziz met separately with Pakistani officials to discuss trade issues and the expulsion of Afghans. In a statement on X, previously known as Twitter, the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said the three sides agreed to expand trade, .

Nearly 400,000 refugees returned to Afghanistan from Pak in past two months

The Afghan nationals, who are currently detained in Pakistan, raised concerns about their situation. Afghan nationals said that they are facing severe challenges, TOLO News reported

Over 3,000 migrants return to Afghanistan from Turkey in last 20 days

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has provided monetary support to 3,083 of these persons, with a total aid of 36,996,000 Afghanis, reported Khaama Press

Satisfaction level of Afghan women for freedom lowest in world: Survey

As per the Gallup survey, 17 per cent of women in Afghanistan said that they are treated with respect. The survey also stated that women in Afghanistan live in suffering

Taliban criticises Pak's decision to deport Afghan immigrants from country

Kharoti, in an interview with TOLO News, added that Pakistan should treat Afghan immigrants responsibly and allow them to return to the country of their own volition

Half of Afghanistan's population lives below poverty line: World Bank

World Bank Senior Economist Silvia Redaelli said: "We see that in terms of monetary poverty, we still have half of the population that in 2023 is consuming below the poverty line."

Pak decides not to back Taliban after it fails to rein in TTP group: Report

In a major policy shift, Pakistan has decided not to support the Afghan Taliban's case at the international level or extend any other assistance following Kabul's failure to neutralise the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group, according to a media report on Thursday. At the same time, Islamabad will no longer extend any special privileges to the interim Afghan Taliban government in a move that suggests a deterioration in relations between the two neighbours, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban and is also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007. Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan. Pakistan had hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives, but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining ties with ...

World Cup 2023: Mad Max Miracle as one-legged Glenn' puts up 'Big Show'

Batting on one leg, Glenn Maxwell used his bat like a butcher's blade and produced an astonishing double century to singlehandedly lift Australia into another World Cup semi-final with a three-wicket win over Afghanistan here on Tuesday. Chasing a target of 292, everyone at the Wankhede Stadium rubbed their eyes in disbelief as Australia slumped to 91 for 7 in 18.3 overs and staring at an annihilation. But Maxwell had other ideas. With some slice of luck, he launched into an over-eager Afghan attack, smashing an unbeaten 201 off 128 balls with the help of 21 fours and 10 sixes to end the game in 46.5 overs. With 12 points and a match left, Australia joined India (16 points) and South Africa (12 points) in the last four stage while 11 incredibly talented Afghanistan cricketers, who had almost ensured that their fairy tale story don't reach its epilogue, found themselves on the wrong side of the result. History will judge if the knock at Wankhede, in terms of match situation, could b

Terror cases in Pak up 60% since Taliban took over Afghanistan: PM Kakar

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said on Wednesday that terror attacks in Pakistan rose 60 per cent and suicide bombings by 500 per cent after the Taliban came to power in neighbouring Afghanistan, lamenting at Kabul's failure to stop the use of its soil for terrorism. The hardline Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 bringing to an end the government in Kabul when the army, trained and equipped by the US and allies, melted away with a speed that surprised even the rebels. "After the establishment of the interim Afghan government in August 2021, we had a strong hope that there would be long-term peace in Afghanistan. [] Strict action would be taken against Pakistan-opposing groups, especially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and they would absolutely not be allowed to use Afghan soil against Pakistan," Kakar said at a press conference in Islamabad. "But unfortunately, after the establishment of the interim Afghan govt, there has been a 60 per cent ...

Pak deports over 6,500 more Afghans; total toll reaches 170,000: Official

More than 6,500 Afghan nationals left Pakistan through the Torkham border on Sunday, taking the total number of repatriated Afghans to over 1,70,000, border officials said on Monday. The voluntary evacuation has been going on since the government gave an ultimatum to all unregistered foreign nationals to leave Pakistan by November 1 after which action would be taken against them according to law. A total of 1,74,358 Afghan nationals left for Afghanistan since September 17, adding that voluntary repatriation was still underway, but the number was dropping with each passing day, the Dawn newspaper reported, quoting officials. "There was a huge number of illegal immigrants at the border crossing soon after the deadline expired. It is now coming down, an official involved in processing voluntary repatriation of Afghan nationals said. According to official data, 6,584 Afghans, including women and children, exited Pakistan on Sunday. On Saturday, 209 deportees from different prisons acr

Afghan farmers lose income of more than $1 bn after Taliban banned poppy

Afghan farmers have lost income of more than USD 1 billion from opium sales after the Taliban outlawed poppy cultivation, according to a report from the UN drugs agency published on Sunday. Afghanistan was the world's biggest opium producer and a major source for heroin in Europe and Asia when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. They pledged to wipe out the country's drug cultivation industry and imposed a formal ban in April 2022, dealing a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of farmers and day labourers who relied on proceeds from the crop to survive. Opium cultivation crashed by 95 per cent after the ban, the report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said. Until 2023, the value of Afghanistan's opiate exports frequently outstripped the value of its legal exports. UN officials said the strong contraction of the opium economy is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the country as opiate exports before the ban accounted for between 9-14 per cent of the national .

Afghan PM appeals Pakistan to not 'expel Afghans in an undignified manner'

"If their (Pakistan) reason is to expel undocumented migrants only, then why are they humiliating the refugees, stealing their property, and destroying their houses?" he added

World Cup: Afghanistan keep semis hopes alive with 7-wicket win over Dutch

Afghanistan captain Shahidi dedicated the win over the Dutch to refugees in Pakistan, saying There are a lot of our refugee people in struggle; we all are watching their videos and we feel their pain.

Taliban asks nations hosting Afghan refugees not to forcefully deport them

The Taliban spokesperson said Afghans have been forced to migrate to various countries due to the wars over the past 45 years in Afghanistan

UN, int'l community urged to condemn, halt Pakistan deportation of Afghans

The United States, the United Nations and the international community have urged by an Indian diaspora body to condemn and halt deportation of over a million Afghans from Pakistan, and appealed to the IMF to stop its financial aid to Islamabad. Condemning Pakistan's decision in this regard, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) said this is illegal and the international norms. "The Islamic Republic of Pakistan's planned forced deportation of Afghan refugees, who had fled under duress from the brutal Taliban rule, is not only illegal under international law but could also trigger a massive humanitarian crisis," said Khanderao Kand, chief of policy and strategy at FIIDS. "It was always known since the times of Osama Bin Laden that Pakistan worked very closely with the Taliban as it's proxy to have a grip over Afghanistan. Now Pakistan seems frustrated at its weakening control over the Taliban, he said. FIIDS said that Pak is trying to do the exact things to Afg