Connect with us

Latest News

Deputy UN chief pushes for women’s rights during visit to Kandahar

Published

on

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammad expressed alarm to Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials in Kandahar over the situation of women's rights in Afghanistan, the United Nations said on Friday.

Mohammad finished a four-day visit to Afghanistan on Friday, after also meeting IEA officials in the capital Kabul. This comes after IEA banned most female aid workers from working and stopped women and girls from attending high school and university, Reuters reported.

"My message was very clear: while we recognize the important exemptions made, these restrictions present Afghan women and girls with a future that confines them in their own homes, violating their rights and depriving the communities of their services," Mohammad said in a statement.

In Kandahar - home to the IEA's supreme spiritual leader who has the final say on major decisions - Mohammad met with Deputy Governor Hayatullah Mubarak.

He told her that the IEA wanted a strong relationship with the world, the removal of sanctions on its leaders and to be able to send an ambassador to the UN, said the Kandahar information office.

The UN General Assembly last month postponed for the second time a decision on whether the IEA can send an ambassador to New York. Dozens of IEA leaders are also subject to UN sanctions.

No government has formally recognized the IEA since it seized power in August 2021.

"Right now, Afghanistan is isolating itself, in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis and one of the most vulnerable nations on earth to climate change," Mohammad said.

Latest News

Pakistan to force thousands of Afghan refugees out of Islamabad

Pakistan has told them to move to other regions in the country, primarily Rawalpindi, because of the embassies and refugee agencies based there

Published

on

Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in Islamabad, waiting to be resettled in third countries, have been ordered by the Pakistan government to move out of the capital by March 31.

The Pakistan government has told them to move to other regions in the country, primarily Rawalpindi, because of the embassies and refugee agencies based there.

The UN refugees and migration agencies have however expressed their concern over the decision, including Pakistan’s threats to deport thousands of Afghan refugees unless they are resettled quickly in the United States and elsewhere.

About 20,000 Afghans were approved for resettlement in the US but were left in limbo after President Donald Trump paused US refugee programs last month.

A spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, Shafqat Ali Khan, recently said that nearly 80,000 Afghan refugees had left Pakistan for other countries, and that about 40,000 who had applied for resettlement elsewhere were still in Pakistan.

Trump’s three-month suspension on taking in refugees took effect on January 27; the Trump administration has given no indication of whether resettlement will eventually resume.

Pakistan has forced hundreds of thousands of other Afghans — migrants who entered legally or otherwise, and even some who arrived in Pakistan for resettlement to Western countries — back to their home country because of rising tensions with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Pakistan accuses the IEA of harboring Pakistani militants who conduct cross-border attacks.

The Islamic Emirate has however repeatedly rejected the claims and says they will not allow any individual or group to use Afghanistan soil to plan or carry out attacks on another country.

 

Continue Reading

Latest News

Afghanistan-Iran ties ‘expanded significantly’ since IEA takeover: Naeem

Published

on

Mohammad Naeem, Afghanistan’s deputy foreign minister for financial and administrative affairs, said on Sunday that since the Islamic Emirate took over Afghanistan in 2021, relations between Kabul and Tehran have expanded significantly.

Speaking at an event in Kabul to mark the 46th anniversary of the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Naeem emphasized that the level of bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, security and cultural fields has also increased.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants to expand and strengthen relations with neighboring countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, and emphasizes the continuation and deepening of relations in the political, cultural, security and economic fields,” Naeem said.

Iran’s acting ambassador in Kabul, Ali Reza Bekdeli, also pointed out the expansion of relations between the two countries in light of mutual cooperation. He said Tehran is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in various fields, especially in the fight against terrorism and drugs.

“Fighting terrorism and extremism is another important area for cooperation between the two countries of Iran and Afghanistan. Currently, the two countries are cooperating with each other to combat various forms of terrorism."

At the ceremony, officials from the two countries also touched on the developments in the Middle East.

They condemned Israel’s attacks on Palestinians and called for Islamic countries to unite in support of the Palestinian people.

Continue Reading

Latest News

UNICEF chief in Afghanistan reiterates every child’s right to a healthy life

Published

on

During his recent visit to Helmand province and a refugee camp, Dr Tajuddin Avila, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, emphasized the importance of every child’s right to a healthy life and announced UNICEF’s efforts to improve the nutrition and health status of children in the country.

Referring to the difficult living conditions of children, he emphasized that every child has the right to start a healthy life and to receive the necessary support.

UNICEF is implementing several programs to reduce malnutrition and improve the health status of children in Afghanistan and is trying to respond to the basic needs of this vulnerable group.

In December, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) warned that the number of malnourished children in Afghanistan is expected to reach 3.5 million by 2025.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Ariana News. All rights reserved!