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Without work and food, hundreds flee to Pakistan and Iran daily
A main bus terminal in Kabul is nowadays crowded as many residents of the city try to find their way out of Afghanistan into some neighboring countries.
Bus drivers at the Paitakht Bus Terminal said many families were trying to leave Kabul each day, but many could not afford the bus fare to destinations near the border cities.
“There are many families traveling (out of here) these says days. Most of them travel from here to Mazar-i-Sharif, and then many of them cross the border to Iran from Mazar-i-Sharif,” said bus driver Sahil.
Underlining the economic pressures building on Afghanistan’s new Islamic Emirate government, prices for staples like flour, fuel and rice have risen and long queues are still forming outside banks as they strictly ration withdrawals.
Some humanitarian aid has started to arrive and limited trade has returned across land borders with Pakistan, but a severe cash shortage is crippling day-to-day economic activity and decades of war have left much infrastructure in tatters.
Foreign aid payments, which accounted for 40% of Afghanistan’s gross domestic product, have all but stopped as the West considers how to deal with the IEA that, until August, led an insurgency against the U.S.-backed government.
Abdullah, one Kabul resident hoping to leave, said: “We will leave for Pakistan or Iran because we don’t have work here. We work the whole day for a single bite of bread. What else can we do? We have brought these items at home and have brought them here to sell, since there is no money and no work.”
This comes amid a continuing economic crisis including a severe cash shortage in the heavily dollarized country.
With dollar shipments to Afghanistan having been stopped and with sanctions against the IEA in place, thousands of government employees have not been paid and work has dried up especially as banks have a strict weekly withdrawal limit.
Members of a Russia-led security bloc that includes some countries adjacent or close to Afghanistan meanwhile have no plans to host Afghan refugees, bloc member Kazakhstan said last week.
The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) includes three Central Asian nations – Tajikistan, which has a lengthy border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan – as well as several more remote former Soviet republics.
At a heads-of-state meeting of the bloc in Tajikistan on Thursday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “supported the joint CSTO position that the placement of Afghan refugees or foreign military bases on our countries’ territories is unacceptable”, his office said in a statement.
Two more Central Asian nations, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, border Afghanistan but are not CSTO members. However, Uzbekistan has also said it would only allow short-term transit of refugees by planes to third countries.
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Bayat Foundation donates hundreds of tents to earthquake victims in Samangan
As part of its ongoing humanitarian assistance, Bayat Foundation has distributed hundreds of tents to families affected by the earthquake in the Khulm and Feroz Nakhchir districts of Samangan province.
Officials from the foundation said their humanitarian efforts will continue and that more affected families will receive assistance.
Hujatullah Noori, a representative of Bayat Foundation, said: “Today, Bayat Foundation is distributing 100 tents to the victims of the recent earthquake in Khulm and Feroz Nakhchir districts of Samangan.”
Currently, the most urgent needs of those affected by the earthquake are shelter, house reconstruction, food, and medicine—assistance that victims emphasize is essential.
One victim said: “Our life has been devastated. We thank the Bayat Foundation for standing with us and bringing us tents.”
Another added: “The earthquake destroyed our entire house. We are asking for more help. We hope the Bayat Foundation continues its support and helps rebuild people’s homes.”
Local officials in Khulm district also welcomed the Bayat Foundation’s humanitarian assistance, describing its role in supporting disaster victims and reducing poverty as significant.
According to the Khulm district governor, the recent earthquake completely destroyed 200 residential houses and partially damaged more than 1,000 others in the district. The quake also left nine people dead and 60 injured.
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Pakistan urges Islamic Emirate to relocate TTP to Afghanistan, sources say
Sources in Turkey have told Ariana News that the Afghan delegation at the Istanbul talks shared its views with the mediators, but the Pakistani side raised certain demands that have no connection to Afghanistan.
According to the sources, the Islamabad delegation asked Afghanistan to relocate the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group from Pakistan into Afghanistan.
The sources added that it is weird that, on one hand, Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering TTP members within its territory, yet on the other hand, it is itself requesting the transfer of such groups like the TTP into Afghanistan.
The sources emphasized that Afghanistan never wishes to create a major problem for itself under pressure.
According to the sources, the legitimate demands of the Islamic Emirate that Pakistan’s territory and airspace not be used by other country or by Daesh against Afghanistan — have not been accepted by Islamabad.
This comes as Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Tahir Andrabi said that a new round of talks with the Islamic Emirate began yesterday in Istanbul, during which the Pakistani delegation presented its evidence-based demands to the mediators with the aim of ending militant attacks.
Andrabi said at a press conference on Friday that the mediators are currently holding discussions with IEA regarding Pakistan’s demands.
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IEA ambassador in Moscow discusses role of ICC with Russian representative
Gul Hassan Hassan, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate to Russia, met with Ilya Rogachev, the Special Representative of the President of Russia for International Criminal and Legal Cooperation, to discuss the role and position of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
According to a statement released by the Afghan Embassy in Moscow, the two sides exchanged views on issues related to the International Criminal Court, including its activities, status, and role as an international institution.
The statement added that the recent decisions of the ICC were also reviewed during the meeting.
It has been reported that Anton Lavrov, Head of the Afghanistan Department in the Second Asian Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was also present at the meeting.
This meeting comes after the Islamic Emirate previously announced the cancellation of Afghanistan’s membership in the Court, stating that history has shown the ICC acts based on political motives rather than the principles of justice and fairness.
ICC is an independent judicial body established to address serious international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The Court operates under the Rome Statute and its jurisdiction applies only to countries that have accepted this statute.
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