Since the launch of the new Afghan visa module in April 2025, more than 500 visas, including over 200 medical visas, have been issued in the last four months, Indian media reported citing a senior Health Ministry official on Thursday.

India has also approved and implemented several key healthcare infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, including the construction of five maternity and health clinics in the provinces of Paktia, Khost and Paktika, a 30-bed hospital in Kabul, and the construction or upgradation of major facilities such as an Oncology Centre, Trauma Centre, Diagnostic Centre and Thalassemia Centre in Kabul, The Hindu newspaper reported. Additional proposals for health sector support are currently under active consideration.

On Thursday, India reaffirmed its continued commitment to supporting Afghanistan’s health sector and humanitarian needs during a meeting held between Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda and Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health Noor Jalal Jalali.

During the meeting, both sides reviewed ongoing health cooperation and discussed avenues to further strengthen collaboration in healthcare infrastructure, medical supplies and capacity building.

The Union Minister underlined that guided by India’s long-standing people-centric approach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always emphasised that India’s engagement with Afghanistan should remain focused on welfare, capacity building and access to critical healthcare services.

Nadda added that India’s assistance to Afghanistan remains guided by humanitarian considerations and the long-standing bonds between the peoples of the two countries.

“India has supplied 327 tonnes of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan over the past four years. Cancer medicines and one CT scan machine, as requested by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, are ready for dispatch and will be delivered by the end of this month. Proposals from the Afghan side for a radiotherapy machine and additional medical supplies are also being processed,” he said.

The meeting also discussed capacity-building initiatives. India is working on modalities to send a team of senior Indian doctors to Afghanistan to organise a medical camp and provide training to Afghan doctors.

“At the meeting, India has reiterated its commitment to providing free treatment in India to Afghan patients suffering from emergency and serious ailments, and to facilitating medical visas,” said an Indian Health Ministry official.

Sixty-one members of the U.S. Congress have urged the Trump administration to reverse its decision to halt immigration processing for Afghan nationals, warning that the move unfairly targets Afghan nationals following a deadly shooting involving two National Guard members.

In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said the incident should not be used to vilify Afghans who are legally seeking entry into the United States. They stressed that Afghan applicants undergo extensive vetting involving multiple U.S. security agencies.

The letter criticized the suspension of Special Immigrant Visa processing, the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan, and broader travel and asylum restrictions, warning that such policies endanger Afghan allies who supported U.S. forces during the war.

 “Exploiting this tragedy to sow division and inflame fear will not make America safer. Abandoning those who made the courageous choice to stand beside us signals to those we may need as allies in the future that we cannot be trusted to honor our commitments. That is a mistake we cannot afford,” the group said.

The U.S. admitted nearly 200,000 Afghan nationals in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. military and their families still wait at military bases and refugee camps around the world for a small number of SIVs.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 struck Afghanistan on Friday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The quake occurred at 10:09 local time at a depth of 35 km, USGS said.

Its epicentre was 25 kilometres from Nahrin district of Baghlan province in north Afghanistan.