Officials from the Union of Pharmaceutical Factories report that since the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate, investment in Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical sector has surged to $300 million.

Ahmad Saeed Shams, the union's head, highlighted that 980 different medicines are now produced domestically, with this number steadily increasing.

Shams further stated that Afghanistan has achieved self-sufficiency in 15 key medicines. However, some union members have urged the government to foster further growth in the pharmaceutical industry, emphasizing the need for measures to curb market monopolies and promote medicine production and export.

“Afghanistan should aim for complete self-sufficiency in pharmaceuticals and begin exporting to other countries,” said Kamaluddin Kakar, a union member.

Meanwhile, Abdulsalam Jawad Akhundzadah, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, affirmed the ministry's commitment to supporting domestic production and investment.

He encouraged investors to share any challenges they face, assuring that the ministry provides full support to both local and foreign investors looking to invest in Afghanistan.

Private sector representatives also called on government institutions to prioritize domestic products in public contracts to help stimulate further growth in the country’s production and investment sectors.

An Afghan man accused of attempting to smuggle large shipments of heroin into the United States to benefit the Islamic Emirate and Haqqani Network has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.

Haji Abdul Satar Abdul Manaf, 59, also known as Haji Abdul Sattar Barakzai, was convicted in August after a two-week jury trial, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

In June 2012. the Treasury Department sanctioned Manaf for storing or moving money for the Islamic Emirate.

Beginning in at least January 2018, Manaf attempted to import large quantities of heroin into the United States and paid the IEA and Haqqani Network to support his drug trafficking.

In August 2018, Manaf sold a 10-kilogram shipment of heroin in Afghanistan to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, believing the heroin would be transported to the United States. Manaf claimed he had paid the Islamic Emirate to facilitate the heroin’s

production and said they would guard future shipments.

Manaf also attempted to transfer thousands of dollars of narcotics proceeds through his money-remitting business to individuals he believed were Haqqani Network operatives.

The US Justice Department also said that Manaf sought to silence a witness. While awaiting trial in New York, he directed his family members in Afghanistan to kidnap and threaten a DEA source who had testified against him.

In addition to his 30-year prison sentence, Manaf was ordered to forfeit the proceeds of his crimes and will serve five years of supervised release following his imprisonment.

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, attended a mourning ceremony on Saturday in honor of the martyred Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani, held in the Garda Serai district of Paktia province, according to a statement from the Deputy Prime Minister's office.

During the ceremony, Baradar offered prayers for the soul of Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani, lauding him as “a steadfast mujahid and true servant of the people."

He further expressed that the loss of Khalil Haqqani is "an irreplaceable blow to the Islamic Emirate."

Khalil Haqqani was martyred in a bombing on Wednesday at the Ministry of Refugees in Kabul.