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Foreign allies decry ‘savage attacks’ on Afghan civilians
NATO allies and partners in Afghanistan on Monday issued a joint statement condemning the ongoing targeted attacks and assassinations of individuals involved in specific sectors of society.
This comes after almost daily killings of people who appear to have been singled out by insurgents to be assassinated.
Of the dozens of people killed in this way in the past few months are judicial officials and media representatives among others.
Even Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh was targeted but survived the explosion which had singled out his convoy while he was on his way to work early one morning in September.
In Monday’s statement, the EU Delegation, diplomatic missions of the EU Member States, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, Australia, Canada, the NATO Mission to Afghanistan, Norway, the United Kingdom and the US Mission based in Kabul all stated they “strongly condemn the recent targeted and unlawful attacks on representatives of the media, religious leaders and groups, human rights defenders, students, civil society and civilians at large.”
The statement noted that “the Taliban and various terrorist organizations are responsible for the significant majority of civilian casualties in Afghanistan.”
“We consider these not only as savage attacks against Afghan blood, but as an attack on the very peace process in Afghanistan,” the statement read.
All parties to the statement also said they recognize the bravery of Afghanistan’s people, but that they are confident that these attacks will fail in their intent to silence the diversity of opinions.
“It has never mattered more for the people of Afghanistan to feel able to express themselves freely and provide their opinions on the peace talks, as well as engage in the process, to achieve an inclusive and sustainable peace.”
“Upholding the free flow of information and holding the perpetrators accountable will benefit everyone who wishes to live in a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan,” their statement read.
They said they honor all those in Afghanistan who work tirelessly to advance freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
They also specifically stated that the respective missions expect that all parties to the conflict will protect the freedom and the independence of the media and civil society in Afghanistan.
“We reaffirm our commitment to champion the freedom of all the Afghan people. We call for immediate compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
“To this end, we support the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in its efforts to investigate and prosecute those who are targeting these individuals with violence and immediately end the impunity of these killings.”
Latvia has launched a criminal investigation into potential human trafficking after the release of documents related to late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that included references to Latvian model agencies and models, police in the Baltic nation said on Thursday.
The investigation, which also involves Latvia’s prosecutors and its Organised Crime Bureau, will centre on “the possible recruitment of Latvian nationals for sexual exploitation in the United States”, police said in a statement, Reuters reported.
It has asked potential victims to come forward.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called for the investigation after the public broadcaster reported the Epstein documents included passport data and travel details for several Latvian women.
Eriks Neisans, head of the Natalie modelling agency mentioned in the documents, denied any knowledge of wrongdoing to the public broadcaster.
The U.S. Justice Department’s recent release of millions of internal documents related to Epstein has revealed the late financier and sex offender’s ties to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia and business – both before and after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution charges.
Latvia’s neighbour Lithuania has launched its own investigation into human trafficking earlier this week.
Afghan citizens were among the top three nationalities applying for asylum in Russia in 2025, according to new statistics reviewed by TASS. The figures show that 281 Afghan nationals submitted asylum requests during the year, placing Afghanistan in the third-highest position.
The data shows that Syrians ranked second with 3,196 applications. The highest number of requests came from Ukrainian citizens, who filed 3,332 applications in 2025—slightly lower than in previous years but still the largest group overall.
Uzbekistan (176 applicants) and Germany (129) also appeared among the top five nationalities seeking asylum in Russia last year. Overall, 8,220 foreigners applied for temporary asylum in 2025, an increase of 1,341 compared to 2024.
Temporary asylum in Russia grants legal residence, permission to work without a permit, access to medical care under compulsory insurance, travel documents, education opportunities, and financial assistance. It is also considered the first step toward securing a temporary residence permit and eventually Russian citizenship.
Bilal Karimi, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate in Beijing, met on Thursday with Liu Jinsong, head of the Asian Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. The officials discussed political, economic, and commercial relations between the two countries, the activation of the Wakhan corridor, consular affairs, and other related issues.
According to a statement from the Embassy of Afghanistan in China, Karimi praised China’s positive stance toward Afghanistan and considered cooperation between the two countries necessary.
The statement added that Liu and Yue, while respecting Afghanistan’s independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty, also emphasized the continuation of cooperation.
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