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Conflict with Pakistan deepens challenges for Afghan women, report finds
The findings underline the importance of sustained humanitarian engagement to address the evolving needs of communities affected by the conflict.
A new Gender Alert by humanitarian partners, including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, highlights the growing impact of recent Afghanistan–Pakistan hostilities on women and girls across the country.
The report, developed by the Operational Gender Coordination Group with input from women’s organisations and aid workers, draws on field assessments conducted amid ongoing security constraints. It finds that cross-border airstrikes and clashes since late February have affected at least ten provinces, including Kabul, Khost and Nangarhar.
Women and girls account for more than half of those affected — part of an estimated 90,000 people impacted overall. Many families, including those previously displaced by the 2025 earthquake, have faced renewed displacement and economic strain.
Loss of income has emerged as a key concern, with many women reporting difficulties sustaining livelihoods due to insecurity and limited access to markets and supplies. Women also identified food, shelter and healthcare as priority needs, alongside concerns around safety and dignity.
Access to essential services has become more challenging in some areas. Assessments indicate that women face barriers to healthcare due to movement constraints, limited availability of female staff and logistical challenges. Humanitarian access is also uneven, with some communities reporting difficulties in receiving aid.
Food insecurity is increasing, with households adopting coping strategies such as reducing food intake. At the same time, concerns about safety have led many women to limit movement, affecting access to services, markets and daily activities.
The report also notes growing psychosocial stress, with women describing heightened anxiety and uncertainty amid the ongoing situation. Access to mental health support remains limited, particularly in affected and remote areas.
Humanitarian agencies are calling for continued support to ensure women and girls can access assistance, including targeted aid, improved service delivery and greater inclusion of women in response efforts.
The findings underline the importance of sustained humanitarian engagement to address the evolving needs of communities affected by the conflict.
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Four members of one family killed in Helmand in Pakistan airstrike
The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.
Four members of a family were killed and seven others wounded in an airstrike in Safar area of Garmser district in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, according to local reports.
The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.
The bodies of those killed and the wounded were transported by helicopter to Ghazni province for burial and medical treatment, according to the reports.
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UNAMA acting chief visits Islam Qala border to assess support for returnees
UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.
Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s acting head, visited western Afghanistan, including the Islam Qala border crossing, to see firsthand UN efforts to support millions of Afghans returning from neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
Earlier this year, the UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.
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Trump: Unlike Afghanistan, US took all equipment from Iraq
Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday compared the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq with the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying military equipment had been left behind in Afghanistan, while US forces leaving Iraq took their equipment with them.
Speaking at a White House event, Trump referred to the final departure of US-led coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, which marked the end of the US military mission against Daesh in Iraq.
“I said, take a little longer. Take everyone. We left all of the equipment, if you remember, in Afghanistan. Everything was left behind,” Trump said.
“I said, ‘I want every screw taken. If there’s a screw lying on the ground, take it. If we have a canvas tent, take it.’ We took everything,” he added.
He also mentioned the August 2021 attack at Kabul airport that killed 13 US soldiers.
Trump said he had become acquainted with the families of the US service members killed in the attack and also highlighted those who were seriously wounded.
“What happened to those—to their children should never have been allowed to happen,” he said, adding that 48 wounded service members were severely injured and “never get mentioned.”
Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.
The US military announced on Wednesday that its forces and equipment had completed an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base, formally ending Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The US-led mission began in 2014 to fight Daesh after the group seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The US is continuing its counter-Daesh mission in Syria from a headquarters in Jordan.
Trump said the US had entered Iraq to fight the Islamic State and that the group no longer controlled a territorial “caliphate.”
“We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home indeed,” he said.
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