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U.N. readies for more displaced Afghans after troop withdrawal
The United Nations is preparing for a likely further displacement of civilians in Afghanistan after U.S. and international troops leave the country in September, U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi told Reuters on Monday.
Violence has been rising as foreign forces begin withdrawing and efforts to broker a peace settlement between the Afghan government and insurgent Taliban have slowed.
Grandi pointed to a deadly attack last week on an international demining organization in northern Afghanistan, which killed 10 people.
"This is a tragic indicator of the type of violence that may be resurfacing in Afghanistan and with the withdrawal of the international troops this is possibly or likely going to become worse," Grandi said.
"Therefore we are doing contingency planning inside the country for further displacement, in the neighboring countries in case people might cross borders," he said, without offering details of those plans.
There are currently some 2.5 million registered refugees from Afghanistan globally, while another 4.8 million have been displaced within the country, according to the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, which Grandi heads.
After 20 years, the United States has started a withdrawal of its remaining 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and aims to be completely out of the country by Sept. 11. Around 7,000 non-U.S. forces from mainly NATO countries - along with Australia, New Zealand and Georgia - are also planning to leave by Sept. 11.
Grandi said strong international support was needed for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
"It's political action that should substitute conflict but, of course, the risk (of further displacement) is there and we need to be prepared," he added.
U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001 for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
"What's needed is a high level of economic support for Afghanistan humanitarian assistance to maximize the chance the Afghan authorities have to stabilize the situation," U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock told Reuters on Monday.
"There's been very good and constructive outreach from the Biden administration, from the White House down, and we have actually had very productive discussions with them on that," added Lowcock, who steps down from his role this month.
Earlier this month, the United States announced more than $266 million in new humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, bringing to nearly $3.9 billion the total amount of such aid it has provided since 2002.
Some 18.4 million people, almost half the country's population, need humanitarian help, according to the United, Nations, which has appealed for $1.3 billion in funding for 2021. So far it has only received about 23% of that.
Lowcock said that until a few years ago there had been a lot of international attention in Afghanistan. That has "dissipated and weakened and that is a sort of problem when it comes to drawing attention to the needs of Afghanistan and getting support for them."
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Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House’s Sullivan says
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding that he was briefing President-elect Donald Trump's team on the risk, Reuters reported.
Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after Israel's assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran's conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.
"It's no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, 'Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear doctrine'," Sullivan said.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on Iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief, read the report.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
"It's a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It's a risk that I'm personally briefing the incoming team on," Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with U.S. ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hardline Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran's oil industry.
Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran's "weakened state."
"Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran's nuclear ambitions for the long term," he said.
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Saudi Arabia reopens embassy in Afghanistan
In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organisation.
Saudi Arabia has resumed its diplomatic operations in Kabul, reopening its embassy on Sunday.
"Based on the desire of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided to resume the activities of the mission of the Kingdom in Kabul starting on December 22," the embassy posted on social media site X.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi recently met with Saudi representatives, expressing a desire to expand bilateral relations. Saudi officials reaffirmed their commitment to providing humanitarian aid and strengthening collaboration in various fields.
In November 2021, Saudi Arabia said it was resuming consular services in Afghanistan. It also provides humanitarian aid in the country through its KSRelief organisation.
Saudi Arabia was one of only three countries, the others being Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, that recognised the first IEA government which came to power in 1996 and was overthrown by the United States invasion of 2001.
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Human traffickers should be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison: IEA leader
The Leader of the Islamic Emirate has issued a decree instructing the Ministry of Interior Affairs to prevent human trafficking and to arrest and refer culprits to military courts.
The decree containing six articles says that that military courts should sentence human traffickers to one year in prison for the first time, two years if repeated for the second time and three years if repeated for the third time.
The ministries of Hajj, information, telecommunications, borders, propagation of virtue, as well as religious scholars are asked to inform the public about the dangers and adverse consequences of travelling through smuggling routes.
The decree comes as the rate of migration has increased following the political change in Afghanistan in 2021.
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