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Norwegian aid group says thousands of Afghans crossing into Iran daily
As many as 4,000-5,000 Afghans have been crossing into Iran daily since the collapse of the former government in August and hundreds of thousands more are expected to arrive in the coming winter, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Wednesday.
The aid group said as many as 300,000 Afghans have crossed the border since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took control.
The NRC called for more international support for Iran, which is grappling with a deep economic crisis of its own.
“Iran cannot be expected to host so many Afghans with so little support from the international community,” NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said in a statement.
“There must be an immediate scale up of aid both inside Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries like Iran, before the deadly winter cold.”
The abrupt end to international support and the freezing of Afghan central bank assets held abroad has pushed the country close to economic collapse, raising fears of a refugee crisis similar to the 2015 exodus from Syria that shook Europe.
Iran and Pakistan together house about 90% of the five million Afghans displaced outside their country, although not all of these are counted as refugees.
“We commend Iran for welcoming and hosting millions of displaced Afghans for the past four decades. But now the international community must step up to support Afghanistan’s neighbours,” Egeland said.
UN agencies say as many as 22.8 million people – more than half of Afghanistan’s 39 million population – are facing acute food insecurity, compared to 14 million just two months ago.
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
IEA urges World Bank to resume work on 7,000 incomplete projects
Ten people killed by floods in Helmand
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UN envoy meets Indian foreign minister to discuss Afghanistan
Traffic accident leaves one dead, four injured in Herat
ATN secures TV and digital rights to broadcast IPL 2024 in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan and India play out goalless draw in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Dead body of Quran-burner found in Norway
ATN secures rights to produce, broadcast second season of KPL
Tahawol: China’s call for inclusive government in Afghanistan
Saar: UN’s report on poverty in Afghanistan discussed
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