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Afghanistan faces severe medicine shortage amid Forex restrictions
Afghanistan is now faced with medicine shortage due to disrupted border crossings and limited operation of banks.
Almost all medicine in Afghanistan is imported from neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey.
However, the border crossings between Afghanistan and its neighbors were disrupted in the lead-up to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) takeover, and normal operations are yet to resume.
Worse still, wholesalers have been unable to complete transactions due to the limited operation of banks.
“Yes, since the takeover, banks are closed [for international transactions]. As the banks are closed, we can’t transfer payments to suppliers. If we don’t transfer money to the suppliers legally, they will not be able to deliver us the medicine and prices will definitely rise. When demand is high, and supply is low, the prices naturally go up. We are facing a shortage in supply of essential medicine,” said Rohullah Alokozay, President of GPS Pharma, Reuters reported.
Officials said the number of visitors at government hospitals has increased since the change of regime. The good news is that international donors have increased their focus towards government hospitals.
“In fact, we have even more visiting patients. Fortunately, we got more attention from UNICEF and the WHO, especially, towards our hospital which is a children’s hospital. They didn’t have enough focus in the last few years, but in the last month they increased our medical supply,” said Noor ul Haq Yousufzai, president of Indira Gandhi Institute for Children’s Health.
In fact, the government hospitals didn’t have enough medical facilities in the past three to four years due to lengthy procurement processes and the problem of corruption.
Government hospitals were not able to provide medicines to patients despite the continued funding in the previous regime.
“On one hand, prices have increased, while on the other hand, the people have become poorer. This has affected the doctors, patients and the society. Even in the former regime, patients used to buy their medicine at the market. We used to prescribe the medicine. Patients were not provided even with a single pill from the hospital,” said Dr. M. Fayaz Safi, Head of Medical Doctors’ Association in Afghanistan.
Many of the problems in the health sector have been left over from the previous regime. Wahid Majrooh, former acting minister of public health in the previous government said the former Afghan authorities had tried to solve the issues in coordination with stakeholders, but efforts were unsuccessful.
“And it led us to having few or no supplies, and most of our health facilities including essential medicine, fuel, oxygen, staff salary. We have been trying to work with different stakeholders to see if we can fulfil the urgent needs, but we haven’t been able to do it successfully,” said Majrooh.
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Afghanistan says Pakistani military post destroyed near Spin Boldak
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense says a Pakistani military post near Spin Boldak was targeted and destroyed after Pakistani forces opened fire toward Afghanistan.
Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said in a post on X that Afghan forces suffered no casualties or damage in the clash.
Khwarazmi also rejected claims made by the Pakistani side about the incident, describing them as “propaganda.”
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Mujahid: Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to evade Mecca Pact responsibilities
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on Afghanistan to divert attention from its domestic problems and to evade responsibilities under the “Mecca Pact.”
Speaking at a religious seminary in Kandahar, Mujahid said Pakistan was facing political and economic challenges at home and was using attacks on Afghanistan to shift public attention away from protests and its internal problems.
“Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighboring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,” he said.
Mujahid also criticized Pakistan’s political situation, claiming that political space had been restricted and that freedoms guaranteed under the country’s laws were not being allowed.
He said Pakistan’s economic problems had also increased significantly and accused the country of seeking to distract the public from those problems by engaging in conflict with Afghanistan.
Mujahid further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of putting the Pakistani people at risk through what he described as its “false position.”
He warned that the Islamic Emirate would give an “appropriate response” to what he called the Pakistani military regime’s “bullying.”
His remarks followed Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Thursday, which Afghan authorities said killed four civilians.
The strikes came three days after attacks on Kunar and Paktika provinces, in which Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed.
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Kabul rejects U.S. claim that meth seized in Pakistan was of Afghan origin
Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi has rejected a U.S. claim that 463 kilograms of synthetic drugs seized in Pakistan were of Afghan origin, calling the attribution “unfounded and politically motivated.”
Balkhi said the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should investigate the origin of the seized drugs in Pakistan rather than attributing them to Afghanistan.
“The attribution by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad of the synthetic drugs bound for Sri Lanka and intercepted in Pakistan through joint U.S.-Pakistani efforts as ‘Afghan-origin’ is an unfounded and politically motivated allegation,” Balkhi said.
He said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed an absolute ban on the production, trafficking and use of all types of narcotics in Afghanistan.
Balkhi also claimed that following the ban in Afghanistan, the cultivation, production and trafficking of narcotics have increased “on the other side of the Durand Line.”
He further argued that Afghanistan does not have the capacity to produce synthetic drugs and said crossing points along the Durand Line have been completely closed to all movement for nearly a year.
His remarks came after the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said U.S. and Pakistani anti-narcotics authorities had seized 463 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $21 million and bound for Sri Lanka.
The embassy said the operation led to multiple arrests and highlighted ongoing U.S. cooperation and training with Pakistani authorities to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks.
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