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Human Rights Watch urges IEA to release detained UN, NGO staff
Human Rights Watch in a statement on Wednesday called for the release of two UN staffers and six NGO workers in Afghanistan.
HRW said that six male staff working with the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation (WCLRF) had been “forcibly disappeared” from the NGO’s Kabul office last month. The NGO has been involved in aid programmes and advocacy on women’s and children’s rights, HRW said.
In a separate incident, Human Rights Watch also called for the release of two Afghan staff members of the UN’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), who were detained by IEA officials in the western city of Herat on Sunday.
The IEA’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told Reuters that he was “trying to gather details” about the recent detentions, but had “not received final clarity.”
The UN confirmed the detention of two of its staffers earlier this week. “UNAMA has not been informed of the charges against them and has not been permitted to visit them,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said in a briefing on Wednesday.
Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan Researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that the detentions of UNAMA staff threatened the UN’s “ability to deliver lifesaving aid.”
As the UN’s political mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA is involved in human rights monitoring and data gathering. Its reports have frequently been criticised by the IEA government in the past.
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Afghanistan received more than $11 billion in humanitarian aid over the past five years
Afghanistan has received more than $11 billion in humanitarian assistance since the Islamic Emirate returned to power in August 2021, according to United Nations figures cited by the BBC.
Despite the substantial aid, the gap between humanitarian needs and available funding remains wide, with the United Nations warning that millions of Afghans continue to require assistance.
The decline in international funding, a growing number of people in need and the return of millions of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries have added pressure to the country’s humanitarian situation.
Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis deepened following the collapse of the previous government in August 2021. The depreciation of the national currency, the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs and reductions in some international support programs further strained the economy and living conditions.
UN data shows that Afghanistan received about $5.2 billion in humanitarian assistance in 2021, followed by around $3.8 billion in 2022 and nearly $2 billion in 2023.
For 2024 and 2025, the United Nations appealed for more than $3 billion to address humanitarian needs in Afghanistan. However, funding fell short of the amounts requested.
The assistance has largely been directed toward food, healthcare, support for returnees and other urgent humanitarian needs.
The United Nations continues to classify Afghanistan as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, stressing that sustained international support remains essential for millions of Afghans who continue to need assistance.
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Afghanistan expresses condolences over deadly Indonesia earthquake
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has expressed deep sorrow over a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia, killing at least 53 people and forcing around 5,000 others to evacuate.
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Flores Island and surrounding areas on Saturday, blocking roads and triggering landslides, Indonesian authorities said.
In a statement, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed its sympathy and condolences to the government and people of Indonesia over the casualties caused by the earthquake.
It also wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the incident.
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Afghan commerce minister meets Uzbek deputy prime minister in Termez
Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, met with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Jamshed Khojaev in the city of Termez to discuss expanding economic cooperation and joint investment.
The meeting, held on Saturday at the Termez Trade Center, focused on cooperation in the electricity, mining and agriculture sectors, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement.
Uzbek officials expressed interest in investing in various sectors in Afghanistan. The Afghan delegation welcomed the interest and emphasized its readiness to create the necessary conditions for expanding economic cooperation and joint investment.
Mohammad Yousuf Wafa, governor of Balkh, and Abdul Ghaffar Bahr, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tashkent, also attended the meeting.
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