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UN rights office urges Pakistan to halt Afghan deportations

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As November 1 deadline approaches, the Of­­fice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday called on the Pakistani government to “suspend forcible returns of Afghan nationals before it is too late to avoid a human rights catastrophe”.

“We call on them to continue providing protection to those in need and ensure that any fut­ure returns are safe, dignified and voluntary, and fully consistent with int­ernational law,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Sha­­mdasani said in a statement.

“We believe many of those facing deportation will be at grave risk of human rights violations if returned to Afghanistan, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, cruel and other inhuman treatment, spokesperson said.

She said, “We are extremely alarmed by Pakistan’s announcement that it plans to deport ‘undocumented’ foreign nationals remaining in the country after Nov 1, a measure that will disproportionately imp­act more than 1.4 million undocumented Afghans who remain in Pakistan.”

There are more than two million undocumented Afghans living in Pakistan, with at least 600,000 of them leaving Afghanistan after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) takeover in August 2021.

“Those at particular risk are civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, former government officials and security force members, and of course women and girls as a whole, who, as a result of the abhorrent policies currently in place in Afghanistan, are banned from secondary and tertiary education, working in many sectors and other aspects of daily and public life,” she said.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organisa­tion for Migration (IOM) have already documented a sharp increase in returns to Afghanistan since the deadline was announced on Oct 3. A recent flash report by UNHCR and IOM placed the number of Afghans who left Pakistan in the month up to Oct 15 at 59,780 individuals.

Seventy-­eight per cent of those returning cited the fear of arrest as the reason for leaving Pakistan.

The spokesperson stated that deportations without individualised determinations of personal circumstances, including any mass deportations, would amount to refoulement in violation of international human rights law, in particular the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, to which Pakistan is a state party, and of international refugee law.

And as winter approaches, any mass deportations are bound to deepen the dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as it grapples with the devastating impact of a series of earthquakes that struck Herat province this month, leaving at least 1,400 people dead and 1,800 injured, as per official figures, spokesperson said.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human­itarian Affairs, close to 30 million people currently need relief assistance in Afghanistan, out of a population of 43 million, and 3.3 million are internally displaced.

“We remind the de facto authorities of the international human rights obligations that continue to bind Afghan­istan as a state and their obligations to protect, promote and fulfil human rights.” OHCHR spokesperson said.

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High-level Uzbek delegation arrives in Kabul to boost bilateral trade

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A high-level government–private sector delegation from Uzbekistan, led by Shukhrat Abdullazakov, Governor of Namangan Province, arrived in Kabul to enhance trade between the two countries and promote investment in Afghanistan.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Industry, the delegation, which includes deputy governors and more than 30 of Uzbekistan’s top businesspeople and investors, will meet with officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and participate in conferences and trade meetings.

The delegation will also travel to Balkh, meet with local officials, and hold business meetings with members of the private sector.

Additionally, the delegation will inaugurate an exhibition of Uzbek products and goods in Mazar-i-Sharif.

This visit follows the trip of Erkinjon Turdimov, Governor of Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya Province, and his accompanying delegation, and is based on meetings between Nuruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Islamic Emirate, and senior Uzbek officials.

Other governors from Uzbekistan are also expected to visit Afghanistan to further expand bilateral trade and economic relations.

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Herat Chamber of Commerce donates 15 million AFN to the people of Iran

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The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment announced on Saturday that national traders, jointly through the chamber, have provided approximately 15 million AFN in aid to the people of Iran.

The chamber stated that this aid package was delivered to the Iranian Consulate in Herat. It added that the assistance was intended to express solidarity with families affected by the war.

Mohammad Younes Qazizadeh, head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “Today we have presented 15 million AFN to the dear people of Iran through the Herat provincial authorities and the Iranian Consulate, and this aid will continue.”

Meanwhile, officials at the Iranian Consulate in Herat emphasized that Afghanistan and Iran always stand together and fully understand each other’s difficulties.

The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment also highlighted that the people of Iran have consistently supported the people of Afghanistan during various crises, and their cooperation in different sectors has reached families affected in the country.

Officials of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment stressed that the process of private-sector humanitarian aid to the affected people of Iran will continue.

Following attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, many people in the country have been affected and harmed.

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Severe floods in Badghis leave five dead

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Local officials in Badghis have reported that heavy rainfall from midnight until Saturday morning claimed the lives of five people in the province.

According to officials, three people died in Qadis district, while two others, including a three-year-old child, lost their lives in Dara-e-Bum district.

The Badghis Department for Disaster Management stated that the floods not only caused fatalities but also inflicted significant financial losses on local residents and destroyed agricultural land.

However, complete information on the extent of damage and casualties is not yet available. Staff from various government departments have been dispatched to affected areas to conduct preliminary surveys.

Meanwhile, heavy rains and floods in western Afghanistan temporarily blocked the Herat–Kandahar Highway.

According to Mohammad Israil Sayar, head of the Disaster Management Department in Farah province, recent rainfall has caused the Farah River to swell significantly. He added that the situation has now returned to normal, and traffic along the highway has resumed.

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