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Tens of thousands of children in Afghanistan affected by ongoing flash floods
Tens of thousands of children in Afghanistan remain affected by ongoing flash floods, especially in the north and west, the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said Monday.
Unusually heavy seasonal rains have been wreaking havoc on multiple parts of the country, killing hundreds of people and destroying property and crops.
The U.N. food agency, WFP, has warned that many survivors are unable to make a living.
UNICEF said the extreme weather has all of the hallmarks of an intensifying climate crisis, with some of the affected areas having experienced drought last year.
The World Food Program said the exceptionally heavy rains in Afghanistan killed more than 300 people and destroyed thousands of houses in May, mostly in the northern province of Baghlan.
Survivors have been left with no homes, no land, and no source of livelihood, WFP said.
UNICEF said in a statement Monday that tens of thousands of children remain affected by ongoing floods.
“The international community must redouble efforts and investments to support communities to alleviate and adapt to the impact of climate change on children,” said Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan.
At the same time, “UNICEF and the humanitarian community must prepare ourselves for a new reality of climate-related disasters,” Oyewale said.
Afghanistan ranks 15th out of 163 nations in the Children’s Climate Risk Index. This means that not only are climate and environmental shocks and stresses prominent in the country, but children are particularly vulnerable to their effects compared with elsewhere in the world.
Last week, the private group Save the Children said about 6.5 million children in Afghanistan are forecast to experience crisis levels of hunger in 2024.
Nearly three out of 10 Afghan children will face crisis or emergency levels of hunger this year as the country feels the immediate impact of floods, the long-term effects of drought, and the return of Afghans from neighboring Pakistan and Iran, the group said in a report.
More than 557,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023, after Pakistan began cracking down on foreigners it alleges are in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans.
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IEA leaders contact Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express condolences over Sheikh Idris’s death
According to a statement issued by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (JUI-F), senior leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) contacted JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express condolences following the killing of prominent religious scholar Sheikh Muhammad Idris in Charsadda.
The statement said that the callers included Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Interior Minister Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.
According to JUI-F media cell, the Afghan leadership expressed sorrow over Sheikh Idris’s death and prayed for his elevated status. They also strongly condemned his killing and said they share the grief of the bereaved family and religious community.
The statement further added that the Islamic Emirate expressed solidarity with JUI-F, religious scholars, and students, and said that the people of Afghanistan share the grief of the Pakistani people over the incident.
Sheikh Idris, a senior member of JUI-F was shot dead by armed motorcyclists in the Utmanzai area of Charsadda on May 5, while he was traveling to a madressah. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hundreds of former U.S. officials are calling on Washington to cancel a reported plan to relocate Afghan refugees from Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In an open letter addressed to the U.S. State Department, more than 600 former civilian and military officials, along with around 100 organizations, urged the administration to stop the proposed transfer. The letter was sent to Marco Rubio.
The signatories argue that the Afghan nationals in question were brought to Qatar by the United States to complete legal immigration procedures after undergoing extensive security vetting. The letter states that while the individuals were cleared for resettlement in the United States, they are now being considered for relocation to Congo, a country for which they were never screened.
“Those individuals were vetted and approved for the United States, not for the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the letter reads.
According to the report, more than 1,100 Afghan allies and their family members are currently being held at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar under U.S. supervision. Around 800 of them have already completed all security checks and received authorization to travel to the United States. More than half are women and children, and many have remained in transit limbo for over 15 months.
The situation has drawn criticism from former officials and policy observers, who describe the proposed relocation as a betrayal of Afghan allies who supported U.S. missions and risked their lives during the war in Afghanistan. Critics also warn that the move could damage U.S. credibility with future partners.
Several members of the U.S. Congress had previously expressed opposition to the proposal, cautioning that it could significantly undermine trust in the United States among its allies.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special envoy for Afghanistan, has said that no country should interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, stressing that it is up to Afghans themselves to bring about any change in their country.
In a post on X, Durrani said Afghans should be “left to their own devices” and that they would eventually “find the way out” of their challenges.
However, he warned that instability inside Afghanistan could have negative consequences for neighbouring countries, adding that Afghan leaders and their supporters should take responsibility to address such risks.
Durrani described his remarks as a simple expression of goodwill and best wishes for the Afghan people and their future.
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