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EU special envoy warns of ‘harsh winter ahead’ for Afghans

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Wrapping up a five-day visit to Afghanistan, the EU’s special envoy Tomas Niklasson said on Monday more humanitarian assistance is needed to get Afghans through the harsh winter ahead.

In a statement issued Monday night, Niklasson said: “Despite generous donations by taxpayers and governments, including 300M euros by the European Union, the UN humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan remains grossly underfunded.”

He called on other countries, “including China, Russia and the OIC, to step up their support significantly.”

He also said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) “throughout the country must refrain from attempts to interfere in or control the delivery of humanitarian assistance while instead ensuring humanitarian access and full respect for International Humanitarian Law.”

Niklasson said: “There is a need to stabilize the economy and provide opportunities for Afghan men and women to employment.”

He noted that UN sanctions against individual members of the IEA were playing a role and that “despite efforts by the UNSC and by the United States to give assurances to international banks and companies to allow for legal financial transactions with Afghanistan there is a tendency among international financial institutions to over-comply with the sanctions, which makes it difficult to transfer money into or out of Afghanistan.”

In addition, foreign currency reserves of the Afghan Central Bank remain frozen abroad, he said adding that the EU was however contributing to solutions by providing assistance.

He said more than 300 million euros has been provided to address basic needs in education and health and to provide livelihoods. Since August last year, the EU has provided more than 600 million euros to the people of Afghanistan, he said.

However he urged the IEA to focus on the economic crisis and to create an enabling environment for greater investment.

“In the short term they could look favorably on proposals made by the UN to facilitate the access of Afghan companies to foreign currency through a humanitarian exchange facility.

“They could take concrete steps to reassure Afghans and the international community about the independence of the Afghan Central Bank and its capacity to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

“They could provide legal clarity and a functioning court system. They could promote job opportunities for women rather than restricting their ability to work,” he said.

He said the IEA should ensure schools open throughout the country for boys and girls, young women and men adding that if “if secondary schools remain closed for girls, and with limited enrolment for boys, there will soon not be any students who can enroll for higher education. And a few years later there will not be the engineers, accountants, architects, teachers, midwives, nurses and doctors to build and sustain a future Afghanistan.”

Niklasson said the EU remains committed to keeping Afghanistan on the international agenda but while Afghanistan may be the Heart of Asia, it will not always be the central focus of the world.

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India sends over 63,000 vaccine doses to boost Afghanistan’s public health system

New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.

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India has reinforced its support for Afghanistan’s public health sector with the delivery of a new batch of essential vaccines to Kabul.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi has supplied 63,734 doses of influenza and meningitis vaccines to Afghan health authorities as part of its ongoing humanitarian assistance program.

Afghan health officials noted that the vaccines will be integrated into national preventive healthcare efforts and will help curb seasonal illnesses while reducing the risk of meningitis outbreaks, especially during periods of heightened vulnerability.

They said the shipment arrives at a time when Afghanistan’s medical resources remain under significant strain.

India has served as a key health partner to Afghanistan in recent years, providing medical supplies, essential medicines, and several rounds of vaccines to help strengthen the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

New Delhi has reiterated that it remains committed to supporting the Afghan people through sustained humanitarian and medical assistance.

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Deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics travels to Uzbekistan

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Abdul Rahman Munir, the Deputy Minister for Counter-Narcotics at the Ministry of Interior, traveled to Uzbekistan this afternoon along with his accompanying delegation.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the purpose of the trip is to participate in a meeting of member countries of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Drugs (CARICC).

The statement added that the meeting will be held on December 5 of this year in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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Imran Khan accuses Army Chief of ‘igniting’ Pakistan–Afghanistan tensions

In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”

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Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has accused Army Chief Asim Munir of deliberately “igniting tensions” with Afghanistan, calling his policies “disastrous” for Pakistan.

The 73-year-old former cricketer, who has been imprisoned since 2023, issued the remarks through his official account on the social media platform X. His statement was shared a day after his sister, Uzma Khan, met him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail following “special permission” granted by the government led by Shehbaz Sharif.

In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”

He further alleged that the army chief’s actions were motivated by a desire to please Western governments, saying Munir had “deliberately ignited tensions with Afghanistan so he could be seen internationally as a so-called ‘mujahid’.”

The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf added that he had long opposed “drone attacks and military operations against our own people,” arguing such tactics would only worsen militancy. Khan claimed Munir first “threatened Afghans,” then oversaw the expulsion of refugees and the launching of drone strikes, the consequences of which he said were now visible in rising violence.

Khan also launched a personal attack on the army chief, calling him “mentally unstable” and accusing him of presiding over the “collapse of the Constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”

He alleged that, on Munir’s orders, he and his wife had been imprisoned on fabricated charges and subjected to “the worst form of psychological torture.”

Khan said he had been held in solitary confinement for four weeks, with no human contact and without basic entitlements provided under the jail manual. He added that despite court directions, access to political colleagues, lawyers and family members had been blocked.

Referring to an incident involving another sister, Noreen Niazi, he said she was “dragged on the road” while trying to meet him.

Khan praised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for choosing “resistance over compromise” and urged him to “continue to play on the front foot.” He added that those threatening to impose governor’s rule in the province should “do it today rather than tomorrow and then watch what happens.”

An undeclared ban on meetings with Khan had fuelled speculation about his health. After visiting him, Uzma Khan said he was “perfectly fine” physically but was being subjected to “mental torture” in solitary confinement.

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