First Deputy Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, Sediqullah Khalid, on Saturday met with Jeffrey Grieco, President of the Afghanistan-US Chamber of Commerce, and discussed strengthening the private sector, increasing trade, expanding mutual banking relations, and fostering joint cooperation, DAB said in a statement. During the meeting, DAB quoted Grieco, who stated that over the past three years, he has witnessed […]

Iran’s diplomatic mission in Kabul has called for strengthened border services and infrastructure to support Afghan migrants amid mass deportations and growing pressure on transit routes. According to an official statement released Saturday, Hassan Bigdeli, the head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Kabul, and Seyed Ali Marhamati, Iran’s consul general in Herat, met with senior officials in Iran’s Khorasan Razavi […]

The United Nations Refugee Agency said it is witnessing a sharp surge in Afghan returns from Iran under increasingly difficult conditions, warning that the massive scale of returns risks further destabilizing an already fragile Afghanistan. Since March 20, when the Iranian government implemented a return deadline, more than 640,000 Afghans have returned across the border — 366,000 of them deported, […]

Marking World Refugee Day, the European Union renewed its commitment to supporting millions of displaced Afghans across Afghanistan and neighboring countries, including Iran, Pakistan and parts of Central Asia. In a statement posted Friday, the EU mission in Afghanistan said it was providing aid to refugees, returnees and internally displaced people (IDPs), with a focus on protection, education and sustainable […]

Taliban counternarcotics units have withdrawn from the Khash district of Badakhshan Province following two days of local protests against the destruction of poppy fields, according to residents and local sources. Sources told Amu TV that the demonstrations erupted after Taliban forces began eradicating poppy crops in the remote district, prompting pushback from farmers who rely on the cultivation of opium […]

A dramatic shortfall in international funding has left nearly 23 million Afghans — nearly half the country’s population — in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said on Wednesday, warning that hard-won humanitarian progress is now at risk of unraveling. According to OCHA, an estimated 22.9 million people — including 5.7 […]

Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, in his Eid al-Adha sermon, delivered Saturday in Kandahar, from which only an audio recording was released, warned that disunity, disobedience and internal power struggles could bring down the Taliban’s rule. According to the 45-minute audio posted by the Taliban’s chief spokesman, Akhundzada cautioned that the Taliban rule would face collapse if its members failed […]

The two top diplomats expressed mutual optimism that the remaining formalities would be completed soon, allowing for the full normalization of diplomatic representation. In a significant diplomatic development, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, held a telephonic conversation with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, to discuss the elevation of diplomatic […]

Russia has accused Western powers of re-engaging in Afghanistan’s affairs after retreating in August 2021, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warning of the risks posed by any potential return of NATO’s military presence in the region. Speaking at a press conference during his visit to Uzbekistan, Lavrov said: “We’ve observed that the West is actively attempting to re-enter the Afghan […]

Since regaining control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have been attempting to transform themselves from an insurgent group into a governing entity. Central to this transition is their ambitious plan to leverage Afghanistan’s geostrategic location at the intersection of Central and South Asia to become a regional connectivity hub. Investments in infrastructure projects aimed at reviving the country’s […]