An Afghan-American attorney, Mary Kabir-Seraj Bischoping, has been named deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan and will oversee Washington’s foreign policy on Afghanistan under the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the US State Department.

Previously, US engagement on Afghanistan was led by Thomas West, former Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Rina Amiri, who served as Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights.

Bischoping, 33, is a descendant of the Barakzai royal dynasty, which ruled Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978 and is the great-granddaughter of King Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya Tarzi. Her grandmother was Latifa Kabir Seraj, one of Afghanistan’s first female journalists.

Bischoping, is her married name, which comes from her German-American husband. She was born and raised in California.

According to a biography released by the University of Virginia, Bischoping’s family fled Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Her parents completed their education in Europe before settling in Southern California.

Bischoping earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2016 and later received her Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Virginia School of Law. She is fluent in English, Persian and German.

Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Bischoping joined the Office of the Legal Adviser at the State Department. In 2023, she was appointed Senior Counsel to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she led Republican-led oversight investigations into the Afghanistan withdrawal and advised on regional strategy.

Prior to her Congressional role, Bischoping served as a legal adviser at the State Department, clerked for Judge Kent A. Jordan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and worked at major law firms including Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York.

Her appointment to this high-level diplomatic post reflects a combination of legal expertise, policy experience, and a personal understanding of Afghanistan’s complex history—positioning her to play a key role in shaping future U.S. engagement with the region.

The Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov has invited the Acting Minister of Energy and Water of the Islamic Emirate, Abdul Latif Mansoor, to attend the upcoming Kazan Economic Forum, scheduled to be held in May this year.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, Acting Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor accepted the invitation and in return urged Russian-state owned companies and private businesses to invest in Afghanistan’s water and energy projects, particularly the project aimed at transferring water from Panjshir province to Kabul.

Mansoor also expressed his appreciation for Russia’s recent decision to remove the Islamic Emirate from its list of banned organizations.

The Russian government officially delisted the Islamic Emirate as a banned group a few days ago — a move that experts believe will pave the way for expanded cooperation between Kabul and Moscow across various sectors.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, in collaboration with the United Nations in Afghanistan (UNAMA) met Monday to discuss challenges relating to refugees and internally displaced Afghans.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, international organizations and other relevant ministries attended the meeting, while the Minister of Refugees and Repatriations Maulawi Abdul Kabir was also present.

Addressing the meeting he emphasized the critical need for assistance to both refugees and displaced families.

Kabir also highlighted the profound impact of decades of conflict in the country which resulted in millions of Afghans being either displaced or leaving the country.

He also condemned the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and said such actions and the treatment of these individuals has impacted relations between the two countries.

Kabir called on the international community to increase assistance by providing necessary resources for the refugees including the building of shelters for affected individuals.

Representatives from UNAMA and other UN agencies shared their insights with participants and noted their continued commitment to supporting refugee-related issues.

The deputy head of UNAMA, Indrika Ratwatte, said in turn that since 2023, over 800,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Pakistan.

He said, since then, the UN and other agencies have spent a combined $183 million on humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. He also said the UN was committed to continue assisting Afghans.

Representatives from various ministries, including Public Health, Economy, Agriculture, Education, Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Urban Development and Housing, Labor and Social Affairs Ministries and the Afghan Red Crescent, National Disaster Management and National Statistics and Information Authorities, also presented their collaborative plans to enhance service delivery for Afghan refugees.

Dealing with hundreds of thousands of return refugees from Pakistan has become a priority for both the Islamic Emirate government and foreign aid agencies.

Tens of thousands of Afghans have been crossing back into Afghanistan since Pakistan ramped up its campaign on April 1 to deport them.

Many of these refugees have lived in Pakistan for decades – some for more than 40 years. Many have no where to go once in the country and have had to leave everything behind – including homes, businesses, livestock and possessions.