China’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, on Friday met with the head of the Department of Strategic Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Sharaf Rahimi.

Yue Xiaoyong said on X that the two sides had a very good talk on cooperation to help Afghanistan's reconstruction.

Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that during the meeting, the sides underscored the significance of fostering an open dialogue, deepening cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels, and sustaining the exchange of views and experiences to promote regional peace and sustainable development.

The consultations were held in a traditionally friendly and constructive atmosphere, with both sides expressing mutual interest in further developing bilateral relations in these areas, according to the statement.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday extended for 14 months the mandate of the team monitoring sanctions against the Islamic Emirate.

Unanimously adopting resolution 2763 (2024), the 15-member organ decided that the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team will continue to support the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988 (2011) - a subsidiary body overseeing the implementation of sanctions regime on the IEA. It also directed the Monitoring Team to gather information on instances of non-compliance with measures, that include the freezing of funds and assets, prevention of travel and supply or transfer of arms and related equipment - established by resolution 2255 (2015) - and to facilitate capacity-building upon Member States' request.

"With today's adoption, the Security Council has affirmed the continuing importance of the 1988 sanctions regime to supporting peace and stability in Afghanistan," stressed the representative of the United States, which led negotiations on the text. He underscored the essential role of the Monitoring Team's reporting in assessing the IEA's actions and conditions for humanitarian assistance. "The Monitoring Team's work is particularly salient given the Taliban's (IEA) increasing restrictions on the rights of women, girls and persons belonging to minority groups," he said, expressing concern over the IEA's recent reported decision to suspend women and girls' access to medical education.

While welcoming the unanimous adoption, China's delegate stressed that the 1988 sanctions regime was established to combat terrorism and is not an appropriate platform for addressing human rights issues. 

Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) says it has collected over 7 billion Afghanis worth of worn-out banknotes over the past year from markets across the country.

DAB officials have urged citizens to exercise greater care in handling the Afghan currency during daily transactions. They emphasized that the protection of banknotes is essential for preserving the value and usability of the national currency.

The bank has committed to further enhancing this process by continuing to collect old banknotes and injecting new, high-quality Afghanis into circulation.

“Da Afghanistan Bank is dedicated to ensuring the convenience of citizens in all financial and banking matters. The collection of worn-out banknotes from the markets is an ongoing process, and over the past year, we have successfully gathered more than 7 billion Afghanis in worn-out currency,” said Hasibullah Noori, DAB spokesperson.

In some provinces, residents have reported facing difficulties in their daily transactions due to the prevalence of worn-out money, which has led to concerns over the circulation of damaged or unusable currency.

The Sarai Shahzada Money Exchange Dealers Association acknowledged the efforts of the central bank in collecting the majority of worn-out banknotes from the money market and replacing them with newly issued currency.

DAB officials reiterated that the process of collecting and replacing worn-out currency will continue, and urged the public to take greater care in protecting the physical integrity of Afghan banknotes

It is worth mentioning that the initiative is part of the bank’s ongoing efforts to maintain the integrity and stability of the Afghan currency.