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DABS signs contract to purchase electricity from Uzbekistan for 2025

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Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) has announced that a contract for the purchase of electricity from Uzbekistan has been signed for the year 2025.

This agreement was signed following a visit by an Islamic Emirate delegation, led by DABS CEO Abdul Bari Omari to Tashkent, where they engaged in discussions with Uzbek officials.

“The General Director of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, along with a delegation, traveled to Uzbekistan and signed the electricity purchase agreement for 2025 during a meeting with officials from the Uzbek electricity sector,” said DABS spokesman Hekmatullah Maiwandi.

Meanwhile, some investors have urged IEA to engage with Uzbekistan regarding the 500-kilovolt electricity project and to ensure the swift completion of this project.

Once completed, the project is expected to alleviate some of the electricity shortages in the country.

Tajikistan agreement

Late last month, Tajikistan’s national electric power company, Barqi Tojik, and DABS signed a similar agreement, which will see Tajikistan supply Afghanistan with power through 2025.

The signing ceremony was attended by Mahmadumar Asozoda, General Director of Barqi Tojik, Omar.

According to Barqi Tojik’s press secretary, Kurbon Ahmadzoda, the agreement is expected to be extended annually until 2028.

However, the electricity export will reportedly be limited to the summer months, from May to September, and will be dependent on the availability of electricity within Tajikistan’s domestic market, Tajik media reported at the time.

Powering a future

Afghanistan currently produces only 20% of its energy needs, while 80% of its electricity is imported from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.

The Islamic Emirate has however made it a priority to encourage domestic production of power since regaining control in August 2021.

Omar has met with potential investors on numerous occasions and has encouraged them to invest in the sector.

One such meeting was held in August with officials from Bayat Power.

Bayat Power is Afghanistan’s largest private Electric Power Production and Development Company and owns and operates Bayat Power-1, the first in a new generation of Gas to Electricity power generation plants.

Bayat Power is hoping to start work soon on Phase 2 of Bayat Power-1 in northern Jawzjan province in order to increase electricity production output for Afghanistan.

Mohammad Shoaib Sahibzada, the technical head of Bayat Power, has said that once Phase 2 is complete, electricity production will increase from 40 to 100 megawatts.

Sahibzada said Bayat Power’s natural gas to electricity generation project will eventually produce up to 250 megawatts of electricity once Phase 3 is complete.

Bayat Power has produced over one billion kilowatt hours of electricity in just under five years after starting commercial operations in late 2019.

Sahibzada said that over the past five years, the company has also worked on capacity building of its technical employees.

Leading the way

Bayat Power is the first private company in 40 years to produce electricity from natural gas in the country and the multi-million dollar plant uses Siemens Energy’s SGT-A45 mobile gas turbine for its economic efficiency, flexible deployment, and power density.

Currently providing electricity to hundreds of thousands of end-users and generating more than 300 million kWh annually, the project was structured as an innovative public-private partnership between Bayat Power, Siemens Energy, and Afghanistan government entities such as the

Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the Ministry of Energy and Water, and the General Directorate of Afghan Gas Corporation Company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), and international partners.

The Bayat Group is the largest private investor in Afghanistan and Bayat Power is currently the only gas-powered plant in the country.

The Siemens Energy’s SGT-A45 mobile gas turbine used by the company is the only one in operation in the world.

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Over 2.13 million Afghan refugees repatriated from Pakistan

Officials say over 150,000 individuals were returned from Punjab alone, where enforcement efforts are being led by the Punjab Home Department’s Foreign National Security Cell.

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More than 2.13 million Afghan nationals have been repatriated from Pakistan to Afghanistan as part of an ongoing campaign targeting undocumented foreign residents, according to Pakistani authorities cited by local media.

Officials say over 150,000 individuals were returned from Punjab alone, where enforcement efforts are being led by the Punjab Home Department’s Foreign National Security Cell. The campaign includes inspections of thousands of residential areas and hundreds of markets, resulting in numerous detentions and legal cases against Afghan nationals found without valid documentation.

The repatriation process comes amid heightened tensions along key border crossings between the two countries. Hundreds of migrants have recently been sent back via the Chaman crossing, particularly during disruptions at other transit points.

The Torkham crossing—a major gateway for cross-border movement—has faced repeated closures. Although it briefly reopened, local officials in Nangarhar Province report that it was shut again after only a few hours. Authorities in Pakistan have not provided a clear explanation for the latest closure.

According to Sediqullah Quraishi, head of Nangarhar’s Information Department, the crossing was opened temporarily on Thursday before being closed again without official clarification.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Afghan migrants remain in temporary holding centers across Punjab, where they are undergoing registration and processing ahead of their return to Afghanistan. The large-scale repatriation effort continues to raise humanitarian and logistical concerns, particularly as border access remains unpredictable.

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Human Rights Watch calls Pakistani airstrike on Kabul rehab center ‘unlawful’

Patricia Gossman, senior associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said available evidence suggests the strike hit a well-known civilian medical facility.

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Human Rights Watch has condemned a recent Pakistani airstrike on a rehabilitation facility in Kabul, calling it “unlawful” and warning it could amount to a war crime.

The strike, which reportedly took place on March 16, targeted the Omid Drug Rehabilitation Center, located within the former Camp Phoenix complex in eastern Kabul. According to international agencies, at least 143 people were killed and more than 250 others injured, most of them patients undergoing treatment.

Patricia Gossman, senior associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said available evidence suggests the strike hit a well-known civilian medical facility.

“The available evidence indicates that the Pakistani airstrike against a well-known Kabul medical facility killing dozens of patients was unlawful,” she said, adding that authorities must determine why the site was targeted and who should be held accountable.

An employee of the center told the organization that three buildings were struck, including a dining hall, a residential building housing hundreds of patients, and a guard post. At the time of the attack, more than 1,000 patients were reportedly at the facility, many gathered to break their fast during Ramadan.

Human Rights Watch said satellite imagery and visual evidence show extensive destruction across the compound, with multiple structures either destroyed or severely damaged. The organization added that it found no indication the facility was being used for military purposes.

Under international humanitarian law, medical facilities are afforded special protection. The group stressed that attacks failing to distinguish between civilian and military targets, or those causing disproportionate civilian harm, may constitute serious violations of the laws of war.

Human Rights Watch has called on Pakistan to carry out a prompt, impartial investigation and ensure accountability if violations are confirmed.

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Torkham crossing closes again hours after brief reopening

Officials say the reason for the sudden closure has not been clearly communicated by authorities in Pakistan.

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Torkham closed

The key border crossing at Torkham crossing has once again been shut down, just hours after it was temporarily reopened, according to local officials in Nangarhar province.

Sediqullah Quraishi, head of information at the provincial Department of Information and Culture, said that on Thursday the Pakistani side allowed the crossing to open briefly to Afghan migrants. However, the crossing was closed again shortly afterward, leaving many travelers stranded.

Officials say the reason for the sudden closure has not been clearly communicated by authorities in Pakistan.

The Torkham crossing serves as one of the most important transit points between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Its repeated closures have caused significant disruption, particularly for migrants, traders, and families who rely on cross-border movement.

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