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Herat gets the keys to 89 new schools
The construction of 89 schools in Herat province, under the umbrella of the National Citizenship Charter project of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, has been completed – providing thousands of students with access to proper education facilities.
Mohammad Nader, the head of the development council for Ghorian district in Herat, has welcomed the completion of the project and said this means village children are not learning outdoors.
“The students of villages studied outside for six years in an unfavorable environment, but with the construction of these schools the people’s problems were solved.”
In addition to the newly completed schools in Herat, a further 117 planned. These are being built by the AQRA project in 19 districts of the province.
Of the total 206 schools, 89 have already been built, 62 are under construction and another 55 are in the planning stage.
At the inauguration of the new academic year, President Ashraf Ghani vowed to increase teachers’ salaries, to hire over 11,000 additional teachers, and to build 1,800 new schools across the country.
According to Ghani, at least one million children will attend school this year.
Afghanistan’s education system has been devastated by more than three decades of sustained conflict and for many of the country’s children, completing primary school remains a distant dream – especially in rural areas and for girls.
In the poorest and remote areas of the country, enrolment levels vary extensively and girls still lack equal access.
An estimated 3.7 million children are out-of-school in Afghanistan – 60 percent of them are girls, UNICEF reports.
The underlying reasons for low girls’ enrolment is insecurity and traditional norms and practices related to girls’ and women’s role in the society. But in some parts of the country, a shortage of schools and insufficient transportation are the main obstacles to education – a long walk to school means fewer children go.
According to UNICEF, geographical barriers, especially in mountainous areas, also make it hard for children to reach the classroom while the socio-political and humanitarian crises that Afghanistan faces critically affect a fragile education system.
Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and landslides also exacerbate the situation for all children.
A high-ranking Uzbek delegation comprising government officials and private sector representatives from the Republic of Karakalpakstan arrived in Kabul on Saturday to discuss the expansion of trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan.
The delegation is headed by Amanbay Orinbayev, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Karakalpakstan.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the delegation is expected to hold talks with Nooruddin Azizi, the Minister of Industry and Commerce, focusing on strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations.
The ministry said the visiting delegation will also participate in trade connectivity meetings and business-to-business sessions aimed at enhancing commercial cooperation between the two sides.
As part of the visit, the Uzbek delegation is also scheduled to travel to Balkh province, where members will attend additional trade meetings and inaugurate an exhibition showcasing Uzbekistan’s domestic products.
Hamid Karzai, former president of Afghanistan, has expressed concern over recent developments along the Durand Line, saying Pakistan has increased military and economic pressure on villages and residents living near the line.
In a statement, Karzai said the apparent purpose of these pressures is to push residents of Durand Line areas to seek help from Pakistani institutions for resolving security and other local issues.
He added that, amid this situation, some tribal elders from both sides of the Durand Line recently signed documents described as “peace agreements,” which were later officially welcomed by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Karzai, these developments amount to an effort by Pakistan to legitimize the Durand Line and represent an action against Afghanistan’s national sovereignty.
The former Afghan president also urged the relevant Afghan authorities to provide the public with a clear explanation regarding the recent agreements and developments along the Durand Line.
Latest News
SAARC failure pushes Pakistan toward trilateral ties with Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh: Dar
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has said that the failure of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is pushing Pakistan toward exploring trilateral cooperation frameworks involving Afghanistan, China, and Bangladesh.
Speaking at the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) Conference in Lahore on Friday, Dar said SAARC has “unfortunately not been able to kick off,” limiting regional economic integration and cooperation.
He said Pakistan is now looking at alternative regional arrangements to strengthen economic connectivity and trade, including trilateral formats such as China–Pakistan–Afghanistan and China–Pakistan–Bangladesh.
Dar stressed that South Asia cannot remain in “isolation,” noting that the region, home to nearly two billion people, is missing significant economic opportunities due to weak cooperation among neighbouring countries.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985 to promote economic and regional integration among South Asian countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The organisation was designed to encourage cooperation in areas such as trade, development, education, and cultural exchange. However, in recent years, SAARC’s effectiveness has been significantly limited due to political tensions between member states, particularly between India and Pakistan, leading to stalled summits and reduced regional engagement.
As a result, regional economic cooperation in South Asia has largely remained underdeveloped compared to other regional blocs around the world.
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