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Secretary General of NRC calls on IEA to scrap female worker ban

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The head of a major aid group that suspended work in Afghanistan after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) banned female NGO workers said on Thursday he would write to the administration’s senior figures in Kandahar and ask them to change the policy, Reuters reported. 

Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said it was crucial to engage with the leadership in the southern city, home to the IEA’s supreme leader, Hebatullah Akhundzada.

“The letter I’m drafting will say: We know you, we worked in … areas controlled by the Taliban (IEA) for many years. You know us,” said Egeland.

“You know that our female staff have always used the hijab. They’ve had … a male chaperone on longer travel. Your people are suffering because of your ban on female workers.”

The IEA last month ordered all local and foreign aid groups to stop letting female staff work until further notice.

It said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had not adhered to the IEA’s interpretation of the Islamic dress code.

Many NGOs suspended operations in response, saying they needed female workers to reach women in the conservative country.

Egeland, who visited the capital Kabul this week, said officials there had told him they were in favor of women working at NGOs, but that the order had come from Kandahar. Spokespeople for the IEA administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Egeland said he had arranged meetings in Kandahar with the Ulema Council, made up of religious scholars, and the provincial governor, as it was not possible for foreign humanitarian agencies to meet directly with Akhundzada, Reuters reported.

But after bad weather halted flights, he said he would write instead and try to arrange online meetings.

He said he welcomed some signs of flexibility in health and others areas, where some female and male workers worked alongside each other. But he called for a full reversal of the ban.

“Our male staff cannot go to widows, single mothers and their children, to all of the vulnerable female groups here and thereby were prevented from doing all work,” he said.

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High-level Uzbek delegation arrives in Kabul to boost bilateral trade

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A high-level government–private sector delegation from Uzbekistan, led by Shukhrat Abdullazakov, Governor of Namangan Province, arrived in Kabul to enhance trade between the two countries and promote investment in Afghanistan.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Industry, the delegation, which includes deputy governors and more than 30 of Uzbekistan’s top businesspeople and investors, will meet with officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and participate in conferences and trade meetings.

The delegation will also travel to Balkh, meet with local officials, and hold business meetings with members of the private sector.

Additionally, the delegation will inaugurate an exhibition of Uzbek products and goods in Mazar-i-Sharif.

This visit follows the trip of Erkinjon Turdimov, Governor of Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya Province, and his accompanying delegation, and is based on meetings between Nuruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Islamic Emirate, and senior Uzbek officials.

Other governors from Uzbekistan are also expected to visit Afghanistan to further expand bilateral trade and economic relations.

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Herat Chamber of Commerce donates 15 million AFN to the people of Iran

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The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment announced on Saturday that national traders, jointly through the chamber, have provided approximately 15 million AFN in aid to the people of Iran.

The chamber stated that this aid package was delivered to the Iranian Consulate in Herat. It added that the assistance was intended to express solidarity with families affected by the war.

Mohammad Younes Qazizadeh, head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “Today we have presented 15 million AFN to the dear people of Iran through the Herat provincial authorities and the Iranian Consulate, and this aid will continue.”

Meanwhile, officials at the Iranian Consulate in Herat emphasized that Afghanistan and Iran always stand together and fully understand each other’s difficulties.

The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment also highlighted that the people of Iran have consistently supported the people of Afghanistan during various crises, and their cooperation in different sectors has reached families affected in the country.

Officials of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment stressed that the process of private-sector humanitarian aid to the affected people of Iran will continue.

Following attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, many people in the country have been affected and harmed.

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Severe floods in Badghis leave five dead

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Local officials in Badghis have reported that heavy rainfall from midnight until Saturday morning claimed the lives of five people in the province.

According to officials, three people died in Qadis district, while two others, including a three-year-old child, lost their lives in Dara-e-Bum district.

The Badghis Department for Disaster Management stated that the floods not only caused fatalities but also inflicted significant financial losses on local residents and destroyed agricultural land.

However, complete information on the extent of damage and casualties is not yet available. Staff from various government departments have been dispatched to affected areas to conduct preliminary surveys.

Meanwhile, heavy rains and floods in western Afghanistan temporarily blocked the Herat–Kandahar Highway.

According to Mohammad Israil Sayar, head of the Disaster Management Department in Farah province, recent rainfall has caused the Farah River to swell significantly. He added that the situation has now returned to normal, and traffic along the highway has resumed.

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