Latest News
UN agency urges Pakistan to halt expelling Afghans during winter
The U.N. refugee agency on Wednesday urged Pakistan to halt deportation of undocumented Afghan refugees during the harsh winter season, as police continued to search homes and expel Afghanis who had not already left, Reuters reported.
Islamabad last month announced it would expel over a million undocumented refugees, mostly Afghans, amid a row with Kabul over charges that it harbours anti-Pakistan militants.
According to Reuters over 370,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan since Oct. 1.
“UNHCR is calling upon the government of Pakistan to halt these mass numbers of returns during this harsh season of winter because the cold in Afghanistan is really deadly and it can take lives,” the agency’s regional spokesman, Babar Baloch, told Reuters TV in an interview.
“We’re talking about desperate women, children and men being on the move, leaving Pakistan in droves,” he said.
The agency has said the Afghans’ return should be voluntary and that Pakistan should identify vulnerable individuals who need international protection.
Pakistan is home to over 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom are undocumented. Many came after the Islamic Emirate retook Afghanistan in 2021, and a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion, read the report.
Pakistani police have been searching door to door in refugees settlements for those who have not left voluntarily, beginning with the port city of Karachi, where hundreds of thousands of Afghans live. Anyone remaining may be forcefully expelled.
Thousands of Afghans have gone underground in Pakistan to avoid deportation, fearing for their lives if they return to IEA-ruled Afghanistan following the hasty and chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led western forces in 2021, Reuters reported.
Islamabad has thus far not entertained calls by international organizations and refugee agencies to reconsider its deportation plans.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has admitted a petition filed by rights activists seeking to halt the deportation, which is yet to be taken up for a hearing, a court order issued on Wednesday said.
Latest News
Tornadoes strike US South, killing 33 people amid rising risk
In Arkansas, three deaths occurred, the state’s Department of Emergency Management said, adding that there were 32 injuries.
Tornadoes killed at least 33 people across several states in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast on Saturday night, with at least 12 fatalities reported in Missouri, CNN reported.
More than 500 homes, a church and grocery store in Butler County were destroyed and a mobile home park had been “totally destroyed,” Robbie Myers, the director of emergency management for Missouri’s Butler County said.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves posted on X that six deaths had been reported in the state.
According to preliminary assessments, 29 people were injured statewide and 21 counties sustained storm damage, Reeves said.
In Arkansas, three deaths occurred, the state’s Department of Emergency Management said, adding that there were 32 injuries.
Twenty-six tornadoes were reported but not confirmed to have touched down late on Friday night and early on Saturday as a low-pressure system drove powerful thunderstorms across parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri, said David Roth, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
Latest News
UN Security Council to vote on extension of UNAMA mission in Afghanistan
The council said in a report that if approved, the mandate would extend the UNAMA mission for another year without changing its mandate and priorities.
The UN Security Council announced it is scheduled to vote on Monday 17 March on a draft resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, for another year.
The council said in a report that if approved, the mandate would extend the UNAMA mission for another year without changing its mandate and priorities.
According to the report, the draft mandate specified for UNAMA, for another year, include human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, women, peace and security, the economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, terrorism, drug trafficking, small arms, internally displaced persons and refugees, and the effects of natural disasters.
The UN Security Council said that all 15 permanent and non-permanent members of the council are expected to support it.
This comes after the Islamic Emirate recently called the UNAMA mission in Afghanistan a “failure.”
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, accused UNAMA of providing “negative and inaccurate” reports on the situation in Afghanistan.
Mujahid said that UNAMA’s reports had created a “negative mindset” towards Afghanistan within the UN.
Tahawol: Efforts for peace in Ukraine discussed
Saar: US air strikes on Yemen’s Houthis discussed
Afghanistan records trade volume of $292 million via air corridors in 1403 solar year
Muttaqi: IEA won’t fight against one country to satisfy another
Separatist suicide attack in southwestern Pakistan kills at least five
Afghanistan transports 3.2 million metric tons via railways this year: Ministry
Ex-Pakistan captain says Rashid is greater than legendary cricketer Wasim Akram
Next German chancellor: We need to learn from experience in Afghanistan
Trump says aid in exchange for return of US military hardware in Afghanistan
Bavuma wary of Afghanistan challenge in Champions Trophy
Tahawol: Efforts for peace in Ukraine discussed
Saar: US air strikes on Yemen’s Houthis discussed
Tahawol: Reactions to expulsion of South African ambassador from US
Saar: Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan border agreement discussed
Saar: Ukraine’s proposal for ceasefire with Russia
-
Latest News5 days agoKabul Airport bombing suspect not a top-level planner of deadly attack: FBI
-
Latest News3 days agoMoRRD signs deal for Wakhan road construction
-
World5 days agoIran’s President to Trump: I will not negotiate, ‘do whatever the hell you want’
-
Latest News5 days agoIndia says ‘special’ ties have been foundation of engagement with Afghanistan
-
Regional4 days agoPakistan military ends train standoff, says 21 hostages and four troops killed
-
International Sports4 days agoBayern’s Harry Kane sets his sights on lifting FIFA Club World Cup trophy
-
Sport5 days agoCricket Ireland cancels Afghanistan series for ‘financial reasons’
-
Latest News4 days agoPakistan Army claims Balochistan train attack orchestrated from Afghanistan