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Ten years of Afghan economic growth, reversed in just 12 months: UNDP
A year on from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan takeover in Kabul, Afghanistan is gripped by “cascading crises”, including a crippled economy that humanitarian aid alone cannot address, according to a new report from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Wednesday.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently said that the Afghan economy has suffered a catastrophic fall in the last year, projecting that up to 97 percent of the population may be at risk of sinking below the poverty line by next year, unless a response to the country’s political and economic crises is urgently launched.
Kanni Wignaraja, the director of UNDP for Asia-Pacific said Wednesday that in less than a year, Afghanistan’s 10-year economic gains have been lost.
UNDP report said that the already-declining regular economy, as opposed to the black market, lost nearly $5 billion after August 2021 and is reversing “in 12 months what had taken 10 years to accumulate.”
Wignaraja has added that one in five children is at risk of acute malnutrition, especially in southern Afghanistan.
However, IEA’s Ministry of Economy said that if the world wanted Afghanistan to get out of the bad economic situation, it should cooperate with Afghanistan in establishing economic infrastructure.
Based on the UN report, by the middle of 2022 in Afghanistan, nearly 700,000 jobs, which were mostly occupied by women, have vanished.
“Nearly 700,000 jobs have vanished, said UNDP, further threatening a population reeling from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, drought, and war in Ukraine.”
“The Afghan people have been relentlessly subjected to extremely difficult circumstances. They have survived numerous challenges in the last 40 years and shown enormous resilience”, the report added.
Although the Islamic Emirate has not reacted to this UN report so far, it had previously called the statistics provided by international relief organizations far from reality.
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Pakistan to repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghans awaiting US resettlement
Authorities will also share verified data of the affected individuals with relevant departments to support implementation.
Pakistan will repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghan nationals currently awaiting resettlement in the United States, The Nation reported, citing official sources.
The move affects 19,973 Afghans living across Pakistan.
A federal directive will instruct provincial chief secretaries and police chiefs in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Islamabad Capital Territory to begin the repatriation process immediately.
Authorities will also share verified data of the affected individuals with relevant departments to support implementation.
Following the Islamic Emirate’s return to power in 2021, more than 100,000 Afghans fled to Pakistan, many of whom had worked with the US and UK governments, international organizations, or aid agencies.
Thousands have remained stranded in Pakistan for over four years while awaiting US resettlement clearance.
Prospects for relocation have dimmed amid a suspension of case processing by the US administration, according to The Nation.
Under Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), all Afghan nationals still awaiting US relocation will now be returned to Afghanistan.
Terrorist activities continue to be observed along Afghanistan borders and along the India–Pakistan–Afghanistan corridor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Monday.
Speaking to Russia-based media outlet TV BRICS, Lavrov pointed to ongoing concerns in the Middle East, including its Asian regions.
He highlighted the importance of collaboration with India at the United Nations to advance a global counter-terrorism convention.
Lavrov stated that while the draft convention has already been prepared, consensus on its adoption has not yet been reached.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about militant threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed the concerns saying that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against any country.
Noorullah Noori, Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, held a phone conversation with Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, to discuss bilateral border cooperation.
According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening border collaboration, with a particular focus on the ongoing renovation and updating of border markers. They also agreed to accelerate joint technical and legal meetings to enhance coordination.
As part of the agreement, the next meeting of senior border officials from Afghanistan and Iran is scheduled to take place in Iran in 1405 (2026–2027).
Tahawol: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Failure of Towards Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Regional Problems, Opportunities, and Challenges discussed
Pakistan to repatriate nearly 20,000 Afghans awaiting US resettlement
Terrorist activities observed along Afghanistan borders, says Lavrov
Afghan border minister holds phone talks with Iran’s deputy foreign minister
Afghanistan–China joint market opens in Kabul
Pakistan approves re-export of stranded Afghan transit trade cargo
ATN secures broadcast rights to Carabao Cup semis across Afghanistan
Pakistan army orders evacuation of Tirah Valley, fears of mass displacement grow
Afghan traders sign deal to import pharmaceuticals from Bangladesh
Tahawol: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Failure of Towards Afghanistan discussed
Saar: Regional Problems, Opportunities, and Challenges discussed
Saar: Afghanistan’s relations and opportunities with regional countries
Tahawol: Kabul’s response to Pakistan’s new accusation discussed
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