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Afghan refugees in UAE protest for third day, call for US resettlement
Afghan refugees held in the United Arab Emirates for months since fleeing Afghanistan last year protested for a third day on Friday, calling for resettlement in the United States.
The demonstrations by hundreds of Afghans began on Wednesday at the center where they are being housed as months of frustrations with what refugees say is a lack of communication over the resettlement process boiled over.
A protester told Reuters by phone more refugees had joined the demonstration on Friday, a day after a U.S. official visited the center and told them it could take years for applications to be processed.
The official added that many refugees, however, were unlikely to ever be resettled in the United States, according to the protester.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed several Afghans had taken part in peaceful demonstrations and that U.S. government officials had met with Afghans this week to discuss their concerns with the resettlement process.
The spokesperson said U.S. screening and vetting of vulnerable Afghans is continuing and that “safe and orderly” travel to the United States will be facilitated for those who qualify.
Among the Afghans, advocates say, are those who had worked with the U.S. government and military. There are also those who had fought in the Afghan forces before the U.S.-led withdrawal last August when the Western-backed government collapsed and the hardline Islamist movement took over the country.
Ahmad Mohibi, an advocate who has helped Afghans evacuate and who is in contact with several refugees in the UAE, said the Afghans planned to continue peaceful protests.
The refugees, he said, were appreciative of the care the UAE has provided them but were exasperated by the uncertainty over how much longer they would have to remain in what they say are prison-like conditions at the Abu Dhabi center.
The Emirati government has not commented on the protests.
The UAE agreed with Washington and other Western countries last year to temporarily house Afghan nationals evacuated from Afghanistan as they made their way to a third country.
It is unclear how many Afghans refugees are being housed in the UAE, though demonstrators and advocates estimate there are 12,000 temporarily living at two locations in Abu Dhabi.
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UNESCO: 2.4 million Afghan girls denied education since 2021
UNESCO estimates that the ban could force around 600,000 Afghan women out of the workforce by 2066 and cause $9.6 billion in lost income. It could also increase the risk of early marriage.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Tuesday around 2.4 million Afghan girls have been denied secondary education since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) returned to power in 2021.
In a statement on Tuesday, UNESCO said Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are officially barred from secondary and higher education.
The organization warned that the restrictions could increase poverty, reduce employment opportunities and cause long-term damage to Afghanistan’s future.
UNESCO estimates that the ban could force around 600,000 Afghan women out of the workforce by 2066 and cause $9.6 billion in lost income. It could also increase the risk of early marriage.
Girls’ secondary schools were closed in March 2022, followed by a ban on women attending universities in December of the same year. The IEA initially described the restrictions as temporary, but they remain in place.
UNESCO also warned that the restrictions could worsen Afghanistan’s shortage of female teachers. It estimates the country could face a shortage of more than 11,000 qualified female teachers by 2030.
The organization said more than 90% of 10-year-old children in Afghanistan cannot read a simple text, while the national literacy rate is around 37%.
Nearly half of the country’s schools also lack adequate access to water, sanitation or heating, UNESCO said.
According to the report, around three million people returned to Afghanistan in 2025, putting further pressure on the education system. Since 2021, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters have also forced around 1,000 schools to close.
Russia’s Power Machines Company is interested in investing in the rehabilitation and modernization of Afghanistan’s power plants, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) said on Tuesday.
DABS Chief Executive Officer Abdul Haq Hamkar discussed the potential investment with technical officials from Power Machines, with talks focusing on rehabilitating existing power plants, modernizing equipment and expanding power-generation capacity.
According to DABS, Hamkar said the company would cooperate in facilitating preliminary technical assessments of Afghanistan’s power plants and in exploring investment opportunities in the sector.
Denis Rudakov, head of Power Machines’ commercial department, said the Russian company plans to conduct preliminary technical assessments of existing power plants in Afghanistan.
Based on the findings, Power Machines will prepare proposals for rehabilitating facilities, modernizing equipment and increasing electricity-generation capacity, DABS said.
Afghanistan currently has several operational power plants, while efforts are underway to increase their generation capacity and upgrade their equipment, according to DABS.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), on Tuesday denied that IEA authorities detained Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman the US claims disappeared in Kabul four years ago.
“We have no information about Mahmood Shah Habibi. He is not with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. If he were, this issue would have been resolved long ago,” Mujahid said.
His remarks came a day after the FBI marked the fourth anniversary of Habibi’s disappearance and renewed its appeal for information about his whereabouts.
According to the FBI, Habibi disappeared near his home in Kabul on August 10, 2022. At the time, he was working as a consultant for Asia Consultancy Group, a Kabul-based telecommunications company. He had previously served as Afghanistan’s director of civil aviation.
The FBI has alleged that Habibi was detained by the IEA’s General Directorate of Intelligence.
The FBI has continued its investigation and in 2025 released a missing-persons poster for Habibi. The U.S. State Department has also offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his location, recovery and return.
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