The construction of the Silk Road Highway in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor has been fully completed after five years of work, officials in Badakhshan province said.

Amanullah Chehra, head of Rural Rehabilitation and Development in Badakhshan, said the 121.13-kilometre road begins in the Barghil area and stretches to Bzai Gonbad near the Chinese border.

According to officials, the road is between 7 and 10 metres wide and includes three major bridges, each measuring approximately 20 to 22 metres in length. Numerous smaller drainage structures have also been built along the route to facilitate the flow of water.

The road is expected to be officially opened for use in the near future, potentially improving connectivity through the remote Wakhan Corridor.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Afghanistan has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Afghan people and strengthening the international response to the country’s humanitarian and development needs.

The group met in New York on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the latest humanitarian and development situation in Afghanistan and ways to strengthen international support.

OIC Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to the Afghan people, highlighting an approach based on engagement and practical cooperation with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities.

He said such engagement should serve the interests of the Afghan people while helping ensure the continuity of humanitarian assistance.

The OIC Secretary-General also highlighted the organization’s work through its mission and field office in Kabul, particularly in the areas of girls’ education, healthcare and social cohesion.

The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face significant humanitarian and development challenges, with international organisations and aid agencies calling for sustained support for the Afghan population.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence has identified 97 million previously undisclosed documents, some of which could be relevant to an inquiry into allegations that British special forces unlawfully killed people in Afghanistan.

The discovery could further delay the inquiry, which was established in 2023 and had initially aimed to produce an interim report within 18 months. Nearly four years later, it has yet to publish findings.

According to a letter from MoD lawyers published on the inquiry’s website, the ministry informed the inquiry this month that the documents were part of a large dataset that it had expected would largely contain material outside the inquiry’s scope.

Inquiry chair Charles Haddon-Cave described the late discovery of potentially relevant material as “troubling and regrettable”.

He warned that unless the material is identified and managed quickly, it could delay the inquiry’s work, which he said is already well advanced.

The inquiry was launched after a BBC investigation reported allegations that members of the elite Special Air Service killed 54 people in Afghanistan in suspicious circumstances during the war more than a decade ago.

Haddon-Cave said a hearing scheduled for Friday would seek assurances from the Ministry of Defence that any relevant material would be identified and disclosed quickly and that a similar situation would not happen again.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment ahead of Friday’s hearing.