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Baby handed to US soldiers in Kabul evacuation chaos still missing

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Reuters

A two-month old baby handed over to US soldiers during the chaotic withdrawal process in Kabul in August is still missing.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters, the baby’s father Mirza Ali Ahmadi said it was a split second decision to hand baby Sohail to the soldier over a high fence near the gates of the airport as he feared the infant might get crushed in the chaos.

After handing over Sohail, it took the rest of the family more than a half hour to get to the other side of the airport fence.

Once they were inside, Sohail was nowhere to be found.

Mirza Ali, who said he worked as a security guard at the U.S embassy for 10 years, began desperately asking every official he encountered about his baby’s whereabouts, Reuters reported.

He said a military commander told him the airport was too dangerous for a baby and that he might have been taken to a special area for children. But when they got there it was empty.

“He walked with me all around the airport to search everywhere,” Mirza Ali said in an interview through a translator. He said he never got the commander’s name, as he didn’t speak English and was relying on Afghan colleagues from the embassy to help communicate.

Three days went by.

“I spoke to maybe more than 20 people,” he said. “Every officer – military or civilian – I came across I was asking about my baby.”

He said one of the civilian officials he spoke to told him Sohail might have been evacuated by himself. “They said ‘we don’t have resources to keep the baby here.'”

Mirza Ali, 35, Suraya, 32, and their four other children, were put on an evacuation flight to Qatar and then to Germany and eventually landed in the United States.

The family is now at Fort Bliss in Texas with other Afghan refugees waiting to be resettled somewhere in the United States.

Mirza Ali said he saw other families handing their babies over the Kabul airport fence to soldiers at the same time.

Mirza Ali said every person he comes across – aid workers, U.S. officials – he tells them about Sohail. “Everyone promises they will do their best, but they are just promises,” he said.

An Afghan refugee support group created a “Missing Baby” sign with Sohail’s picture on it and are circulating it among their networks in the hopes that someone will recognize him, Reuters reported.

A U.S. government official familiar with the situation said the case had been flagged for all the agencies involved, including the U.S. bases and overseas locations. The child was last seen being handed to a U.S. soldier during the chaos at the Kabul airport but “unfortunately no one can find the child,” the official said.

A State Department spokesperson said the government is working with international partners and the international community “to explore every avenue to locate the child, which includes an international amber alert that was issued through the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”

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Japan announces MEXT scholarships for Afghan students for 2027 academic year

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The Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan has announced scholarship opportunities for Afghan students under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Program for the 2027 academic year.

According to the embassy, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan is offering scholarships for graduate-level study at Japanese universities under the research student category, including both regular and non-regular students.

Interested and eligible applicants can download the application guidelines and forms from the official Study in Japan website and are advised to carefully review all requirements before applying.

Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria and have prepared all required documents must submit their applications by 25 May 2026. The embassy said late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted.

The first screening process will include a written examination in Kabul on 18 June 2026, followed by interviews scheduled for July 2026 (date to be confirmed).

The Embassy of Japan noted that the Aga Khan Foundation Afghanistan will assist in collecting applications and facilitating written examinations, but will not be involved in the selection process.

It further emphasized that the selection will be conducted independently by the embassy and the Japanese government, based on academic merit, quality of application documents, and performance in written and interview examinations, without consideration of religious, linguistic, or ethnic background.

The scholarship program is fully funded and free of charge. The embassy warned applicants to remain cautious against scams, stressing that no financial contributions are required at any stage of the application process.

 

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New township to provide over 1,000 land plots for returnees in Logar

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Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, has launched the distribution of more than 1,000 residential land plots for returning migrants in Logar province.

During a visit to Logar, Hanafi inaugurated a new township and said the initiative aims to support Afghan returnees by providing them with housing opportunities and improving settlement conditions.

He called for speeding up the process of distributing residential plots designated for migrants, stressing the importance of timely implementation.

“We inaugurated this township today, which includes more than 1,000 plots. These plots will be distributed to migrants. In addition, other townships will also be constructed soon,” he said.

Hanafi also noted that over the past three years, more than five million Afghan migrants have returned from neighboring countries, adding that efforts are underway to provide them with essential services and support their reintegration.

 
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Pakistan ambassador urges Afghan authorities to act against militant threats

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Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, has urged the Afghan authorities to take concrete action against militant threats that Islamabad says originate from Afghan soil.

Speaking at an event at the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul marking the first anniversary of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos against India, Nizamani reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to maintaining “brotherly ties” with Afghanistan.

The ambassador also highlighted Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in reducing tensions between Iran and the United States, saying Islamabad’s initiatives reflected its commitment to regional and global peace.

During the ceremony, Nizamani reaffirmed Pakistan’s determination to defend itself against any aggression.

“Pakistan’s desire for peace must never be mistaken for weakness,” the ambassador said, calling for heightened vigilance against regional threats.

Pakistani officials have consistently claimed that militants use Afghan soil to attack Pakistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has denied this claim and said that Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s security failures.

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