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Aid agency chief: IEA says guidelines on female NGO staff resuming work close to finalization

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The head of a major international aid agency said Tuesday that key Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan officials told him in meetings that they are close to finalizing guidelines that will allow Afghan women to resume working for nongovernmental organizations.

But they were unable to give a timeline or details when pressed, he said.

The IEA last December barred Afghan women from working at NGOs, allegedly because they were not wearing the hijab correctly and were not observing gender segregation rules.

In April, they said this ban extended to U.N. offices and agencies in Afghanistan. There are exemptions in some sectors like health care and education, AP reported.

Days before the NGO order came into effect, the IEA barred women from universities, having already stopped girls from going to school beyond sixth grade. Last November, women were banned from public spaces, including parks.

In January, the IEA said they were working on guidelines for women to return to work at NGOs. They previously said they were working on guidelines so that girls and young women could return to education but these have yet to materialize.

Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, is visiting Afghanistan for the second time in five months to persuade the country’s IEA rulers to reverse the ban on the organization’s female staff.

Egeland met the Kandahar deputy governor, Maulvi Hayatullah Mubarak, who he described as having “direct contact with and links” to the IEA’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who ordered the education and NGO bans. He also met the head of Kandahar’s Economy Directorate, Mawlawi Abdul Salam Baryali.

“The authorities in Kandahar have a special position since the emir (Akhundzada) sits in Kandahar,” he told The Associated Press. “Whatever agreement we can get in Kandahar can have a national impact. These guidelines are close to being finalized and should soon be put into effect, that is what was conveyed.”

Egeland said he pressed the officials for a timeline and clarity on the word “soon” but they didn’t elaborate.

He was told the IEA couldn’t guarantee anything as everything needed to be put to the supreme leadership. They also told him they had been working on the NGO matter for months and that most issues have been resolved.

The guidelines are likely to cover dress codes, gender segregation in the workplace, and a chaperone for travel. Egeland warned that it would not be a lifting of the ban if the guidelines went beyond that.

The Norwegian Refugee Council stands to lose 40% of its funding for Afghanistan because of the bans on female employment and education, he said.

He said the potential loss meant a 40% drop in the number of people reached.

The agency has also laid off 220 of its 1,500 workforce and closed five offices. But it retains male and female Afghan staff who are unable to work because of the bans. The agency is not deploying male-only teams.

“I believe their promises,” he said of the IEA. “But I can only accept the facts.”

Abdul Rahman Habib, a spokesman for the Economy Ministry, said it was too early to talk about the NGO guidelines.

“If it comes from another source we are not responsible for it,” he said. “We are the only source for confirmation. When the time is right we will announce it officially.”

The IEA have repeatedly told senior humanitarian officials visiting Afghanistan since December that the NGO restrictions are temporary suspensions, not a ban.

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Maldives recalls envoy to Pakistan over meeting with Afghanistan envoy

The island nation’s foreign ministry said the much publicized meeting had not been sanctioned by the government

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The Maldives government has recalled its top diplomat in Pakistan after he had an unauthorized meeting with an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan envoy in Islamabad. 

The island nation’s foreign ministry said the much publicized meeting between the Maldives High Commissioner Mohamed Thoha and IEA envoy Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb on Friday had not been sanctioned by the government.

Maldives media reported that the foreign ministry stated: “Consequently, appropriate action has been taken by the government of Maldives.” 

Thoha’s name has also been removed from the website of the Maldives mission in Islamabad, and an official source told AFP that he had been recalled.

Since regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, no country has yet officially recognized the government.

However, the IEA has been making inroads into the diplomatic arena and has official missions now stationed in a number of regional countries. 

 

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Afghanistan exported more than 2,500 tons of pine nuts in 1402

Afghan pine nut is mostly exported to China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

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The Ministry of Industry and Commerce says that in the past solar year (1402) more than 2,500 tons of pine nuts worth $27 million were exported to neighboring countries and beyond.

Afghan pine nut is mostly exported to China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

“The total weight of black pine nut exports during 1402 was 2,523 tons and the value was $27 million, mostly to China, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States, Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, and other countries,” said Abdul Salam Javad Akhundzada, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Officials in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock say that since last year, pine nut production has increased in the country and they have also expanded artificial forests to harvest more pine nuts.

“In order to revive pine nut forests, according to last year's development budget, pine trees have been planted on approximately 1,500 hectares of land.
There used to be pine trees on these lands, but they were cut down or destroyed in a fire,” said Misbahuddin Mustain, the spokesperson of the Ministries of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

Experts say that currently China buys most of Afghanistan's pint nuts, but the government must find new markets so that it can be sold at a better price.

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IEA says deportation of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries has intensified

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A committee of the High Commission for Addressing the Problems of Migrants said the process of forced expulsion of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries has intensified.

However, members of the committee emphasized, in their meeting with the Prime Minister's administrative deputy, that they have managed the resettlement of the returnees well in cooperation with relevant institutions.

In the meeting, Abdul Salam Hanafi, the administrative deputy prime minister, said that as winter approaches, committees should seek to ensure that the returnees will not face problems.

Experts say that the refugee hosting countries should treat Afghan migrants according to international laws, and take into account the current conditions of the country.

“To reduce immigration and increase economic stability, creating employment opportunities, increasing investment, giving various types of loans to people and issuing securities can be effective,” said Asifa Stanikzai, a migration expert.

Iranian officials have said that they deport 3,000 Afghan immigrants from the country every day and they plan to deport two million Afghan immigrants by the end of this year.

Forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan has been a serious challenge in the last three years, but according to experts, the Islamic Emirate has been able to manage the process to some extent.

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