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IOM warns of drought and famine after a relatively dry winter
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that Afghanistan could face drought and famine this year and that 17 million people could be at risk of facing hunger.
Nick Bishop, an emergency response officer in Afghanistan, said this was due to reduced levels of snow and rain this winter across the country.
Bishop suggested that a humanitarian response plan must be put in place.
“Afghanistan’s agriculture is heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture and snowmelt… so the humanitarian response plan for this year is suggesting that as many as 17 million Afghans – about 42 percent of the total population – will be impacted by drought and famine,” Bishop said.
The IOM stated that in 2020 the organization has recorded its largest-ever return for undocumented Afghan migrants, with almost a million returnees.
“That is almost double the previous year,” the IOM said.
Besides the returnees, thousands of internally displaced people, due to ongoing conflicts in large parts of the country, are struggling with unemployment.
Bishop said the situation of Afghans struggling with unemployment could get even worse given the shortage of rain and snow in Afghanistan in the past few months.
“Peace negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan officials have stalled. Violence across the country is on the rise and experts predict a possible drought on the way,” the IOM said in the statement.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that Joe Biden administration left about $80 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan, which was a “catastrophic error.”
Vance made the remarks during a visit to a military base in Greenland.
He also said the Biden administration’s “catastrophic error” led to the deaths of 13 US soldiers in an attack during the evacuation at Kabul airport in August 2021.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump also criticized the abandonment of military equipment in Afghanistan and called for its return.
The Islamic Emirate, however, has said that the weapons left by the US in Afghanistan belong to the Afghans and will not be returned.
The Supreme Court announced on Saturday that based on the ruling of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate, 2,463 prisoners have been pardoned and released on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
The court said in a statement that the prison terms of another 3,152 prisoners have been reduced.
Eid in Afghanistan will be celebrated on Sunday or Monday, depending on the moon sighting.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs on Saturday announced that feasibility studies of dams in four provinces of the country will begin this solar year.
The Economic Commission, led by Deputy PM Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in its recent meeting decided to include the survey and feasibility projects of Grumby Dam in Maidan Wardak, Qara Tiri Dam in Balkh, Shana Nari Dam in Kandahar, and Wuch Nari Dam in Paktia in the budget for the fiscal year 1404.
In the meeting, the issues of construction of the Kandahar bypass highway, construction of Arghistan Dam, 90 km of electricity line from Kabul to Jalalabad, and completion of Sheikh Misri substation in Jalalabad were also discussed, and it was decided that the Ministry of Finance will allocate the revenues obtained from the Ganda Kotal lead and zinc mine in Yakawlang district of Bamyan province to these projects.
The Economic Commission meeting also approved a plan for the private sector’s investment in a 40 megawatts solar power generation project in the Hesar Shahi Industrial Park in Nangarhar province. According the plan, the private sector will invest $50.69 million in the project.
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