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UN says leaving Afghanistan would be ‘heartbreaking’
The United Nations is ready to take the “heartbreaking” decision to pull out of Afghanistan in May if it can’t persuade the Taliban to let local women work for the organization, the head of the U.N. Development Program said.
U.N. officials are negotiating with the Afghan government in the hope that it will make exceptions to an edict this month barring local women from U.N. work, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner told The Associated Press.
“It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and reevaluating its ability to operate there,” Steiner said. “But it’s not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.”
The UNDP said Tuesday that it “reaffirms its long-standing commitment to stay and deliver for the people of Afghanistan.” Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the United Nations continues “to push back on this counterproductive, to say the least, edict by the authorities.”
The IEA have allowed Afghan women to engage in some work, Steiner said, and a U.N. report released Tuesday shows that the country desperately needs more women working, with its economy flailing.
The IEA takeover has been accompanied by some very modest signs of economic recovery. There has been some increase in exports, some exchange rate stabilization and less inflation. But gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services produced within Afghanistan’s borders, is expected to be outstripped by population growth, meaning that per capita income will decline from $359 in 2022 to $345 in 2024, the report says.
Some of those economic problems are due to IEA policies keeping most women out of the workplace, Steiner said. Those economic problems mean more need in the country, but the U.N. has decided that human rights are non-negotiable and it will reduce its presence in May if the IEA does not relent.
“I think there is no other way of putting it than heartbreaking,” Steiner said in Monday’s interview. “I mean, if I were to imagine the U.N. family not being in Afghanistan today, I have before me these images of millions of young girls, young boys, fathers, mothers, who essentially will not have enough to eat.”
The Islamic Emirate’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has held talks with Bjørn Johansen, Norway’s newly appointed Special Representative for Afghanistan, focusing on political and regional developments.
In the meeting, Johansen said Norway maintains historic ties with Afghanistan and has consistently sought to play a constructive role in supporting stability in the country, Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
He noted what he described as noticeable progress in Afghanistan in areas including security, counter-narcotics efforts, and other sectors, adding that further cooperation should be expanded through the normalization of relations with the international community.
Muttaqi, welcomed Norway’s continued engagement and cooperation with the Islamic Emirate, saying that the current stability in Afghanistan should be utilized effectively. He also emphasized that progress made by the Afghan authorities could help broaden future cooperation.
The Government of Slovenia has contributed €200,000 to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to support humanitarian work in Afghanistan, focusing on reproductive health and protection services for women and girls.
According to UNFPA, the funding will help expand access to essential maternal and reproductive health care across the country, particularly in areas where services remain limited and humanitarian needs are high.
UNFPA said the support will be used to reach vulnerable women and girls with life-saving health assistance and protection services as part of its ongoing response in Afghanistan.
The contribution comes as international aid agencies continue efforts to sustain basic health services amid ongoing economic and humanitarian challenges in the country.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has rejected recent accusations by Pakistani officials claiming that attacks inside Pakistan were planned from Afghan territory, describing the allegations as “baseless.”
Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, said Afghanistan believes regional issues should be addressed through dialogue, mutual respect, and genuine cooperation rather than accusations, emotional rhetoric, or threats.
He reaffirmed that Afghan territory would not be used against any country and stressed that no group or individual would be allowed to carry out activities that threaten regional peace and stability.
The remarks came after Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry reportedly summoned Afghanistan’s Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad on Monday and handed over a formal protest note regarding an attack on a police post in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistani authorities alleged that the attack had been planned from inside Afghanistan.
According to reports, the explosion occurred on Saturday evening in the Fathkhel area of Bannu, killing 15 police officers and injuring four others, including one civilian.
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