Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, political deputy prime minister, says the Islamic Emirate is trying to strengthen and develop relations between Afghanistan and countries in the region and strengthen economic and commercial cooperation.

Speaking at an event in Kabul’s Serena Hotel, Abdul Kabir emphasized the need for expansion of trade and regional transit and asked the neighboring countries to remove obstacles currently faced by Afghan traders.

“We call on all countries to remove obstacles and problems for Afghan traders and investors. Creating problems, blocking roads and increasing taxes on Afghan businessmen will damage the economic relations and cooperation between Afghanistan and neighboring countries,” said Kabir.

He added that the IEA is looking for alternative business ways to expand its economic relations with the region.

Nooruddin Azizi, the acting minister of industry and commerce, also addressed the event and said that the IEA provides comprehensive support to traders and has held useful discussions with the Iranian side for the activation of Chabahar Port.

A number of Iranian traders and officials have promised to cooperate with Afghanistan and provide facilities at Chabahar Port.

Officials of the chambers of industry and commerce of Iran, Pakistan, Japan, Turkey and China also participated in this conference.

Afghan officials have seized and destroyed more than 6,000kg of narcotics in Helmand in the past six months. 

The anti-narcotics department of the Helmand police said that the drugs included 400 kilograms of heroin, 452 kilograms of methamphetamine, 537 kilograms of opium.

In addition, 281 people were arrested in connection with the possession and sale of drugs in this time. 

A number of residents of Helmand province called on the police to seriously fight against drugs and prosecute dealers.

According to Helmand police, the operation to clear fields of poppy in Lashkar Gah city and all districts of the province is underway.

Helmand province was once one of the main producers of opium, but poppy farms have since been eradicated almost completely in the province following a blanket ban on narcotics. 

An Afghan man was arrested in Oklahoma for allegedly plotting an election day "terrorist attack," the U.S. Department of Justice said on Tuesday.

The man, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, living in Oklahoma City after entering the U.S. in 2021 on a special immigrant visa, was plotting the attack in the name of Islamic State, according to the indictment. The Special Immigrant Visa program, which admits up to 50 people a year, is available to people who worked with the U.S. armed forces or under chief of mission authority as a translator or interpreter in Iraq or Afghanistan, Reuters reported.

The indictment did not indicate whether Tawhedi worked as translator or interpreter in Afghanistan.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment, read the report.

Tawhedi searched online for information on how to access cameras in the capital, Washington, D.C., and for states that did not require a license to get a firearm, according to the indictment. He also visited the White House and Washington Monument webcameras.

Tawhedi and an underage co-conspirator, who is his brother-in-law, were arrested on Monday after they met with FBI assets to buy two AK-47 rifles and ammunition, Reuters reported.

In his post-arrest interview, Tawhedi said the attack planned to target large gatherings of people, during which he and his co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs.

"We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Last week, in a "homeland threat assessment," the Department of Homeland Security said the U.S. threat environment was expected to remain high in the coming year due to factors including the 2024 election cycle and the war in Gaza.

"Lone offenders and small groups continue to pose the greatest threat. Meanwhile, foreign terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State and al Qaeda maintain their enduring intent to conduct or inspire attacks in the Homeland," the department said in an assessment released on Oct. 2.

The Islamic State militant organization killed and executed thousands of people in the name of its extreme religious interpretation before it was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, Reuters reported.