Latest News
IEA announces additional appointments to key positions
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) deputy minister of culture and information on Tuesday announced the rest of the interim government’s key appointments including cabinet members.
Addressing a press conference in Kabul, Zabihullah Mujahid said expertise in the respective fields had been taken into account in appointing the acting ministers and other officials.
He said in doing this, the ministries will be strengthened and standardized.
Mujahid said that the following appointments have been made in the Ministries by the order of Ameerul Momineen Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the IEA:
• Haji Nooruddin Azizi has been appointed as acting Minister of Commerce.
• Haji Mohammad Bashir has been appointed as First Deputy Minister of Commerce and Haji Mohammad Azim Sultanzada as Second Deputy Minister
• Qalandar Ibad as acting Minister of Public Health, Abdul Bari Omar and Mohammad Hassan Gheyasi as his acting deputies
• Sadar Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim has been appointed as the Deputy Security Minister for the Ministry of Interior
• Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir acting deputy defence minister
• Engineer Nazar Mohammad Motmaen has been appointed as the acting-head of the National Olympic Committee.
• Engineer Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Omar as the acting Deputy Minister of Power and Energy
• Haji Ghulam Ghaos as the acting Deputy Minister of Counter-Disaster
• Dr. Mohammad Faqir as the acting Head of the Central Statistics Office
• Haji Gul Mohammad as the acting Deputy Minister of Borders
• Gul Zarin Kochi as the second acting Deputy Minister of Borders
• Arsala Khoroti as the acting Deputy Minister of Refugees
• Dr. Lutfullah Khairkhwa as the acting Deputy Minister of Higher Education
• And Engineer Najibullah as the Director of Afghanistan’s Atomic Energy Agency
Mujahid said the government’s planned inauguration ceremony has been canceled as the IEA wants to get ministries and directorates back to work as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, asked by reporters if the cabinet is now inclusive, Mujaid said that representatives of minorities, including Hazaras, have been appointed to official positions.
Citing an example, Mujahid said Mohammad Hassan Gheyasi, the new acting deputy minister for public health is a Hazara.
“Minorities are considered in the cabinet and we are working to make it more inclusive,” Mujahid said.
Mujahid also said that the current cabinet will continue as an interim government for now until the IEA leaders have made their final decision.
On the topic of girls returning to school, Mujahid said: “We are working to complete the procedures so that girls can resume their education.”
On issues involving the health sector, Mujahid said that the visit to Kabul by the World Health Organization’s Director General Tedros Adhanom on Monday had raised hopes that a number of issues in this sector would be addressed and resolved soon.
On the issue of media, Mujahid said: “The media is important and we support the media. There have been some problems in provinces, but these are being addressed.”
In response to a question on the scrapping of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, he said the interim government needs time to address issues around education and work relating to women and that the IEA first needs to ensure the safety of women and girls.
Discussing a number of other issues, he said the IEA was using all diplomatic channels available to have Afghanistan’s frozen assets released. He also said commercial flights into Kabul will resume as soon as the airport’s main radar system has been repaired.
According to him, the radar system was badly damaged when foreign troops withdrew.
On Daesh (ISIS-K) activities, Mujahid said that the group has no physical presence in any part of the country.
“The Daesh (ISIS) that exists in Iraq and Syria does not exist here. Still, some people who may be our own Afghans have adopted the Daesh mentality, which is a phenomenon that the people do not support,” he said but added the IEA would stop “cowardly” attacks.
This comes after Daesh claimed responsibility for a series of bomb blasts that rocked the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan over the weekend.
Sixty-one members of the U.S. Congress have urged the Trump administration to reverse its decision to halt immigration processing for Afghan nationals, warning that the move unfairly targets Afghan nationals following a deadly shooting involving two National Guard members.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said the incident should not be used to vilify Afghans who are legally seeking entry into the United States. They stressed that Afghan applicants undergo extensive vetting involving multiple U.S. security agencies.
The letter criticized the suspension of Special Immigrant Visa processing, the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan, and broader travel and asylum restrictions, warning that such policies endanger Afghan allies who supported U.S. forces during the war.
“Exploiting this tragedy to sow division and inflame fear will not make America safer. Abandoning those who made the courageous choice to stand beside us signals to those we may need as allies in the future that we cannot be trusted to honor our commitments. That is a mistake we cannot afford,” the group said.
The U.S. admitted nearly 200,000 Afghan nationals in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. military and their families still wait at military bases and refugee camps around the world for a small number of SIVs.
An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 struck Afghanistan on Friday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake occurred at 10:09 local time at a depth of 35 km, USGS said.
Its epicentre was 25 kilometres from Nahrin district of Baghlan province in north Afghanistan.
Chairman of U.S. House intelligence committee, Rick Crawford, has criticized the Biden administration’s handling of Afghan admissions to the United States following the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In a statement, Crawford said that alongside large numbers of migrants entering through the U.S. southern border, approximately 190,000 Afghan nationals were granted entry under Operation Allies Welcome after the U.S. military withdrawal. He claimed that many of those admitted lacked proper documentation and, in some cases, were allowed into the country without comprehensive biometric data being collected.
Crawford said that the United States had a duty to protect Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces and institutions during the two-decade conflict. However, he argued that the rapid and poorly coordinated nature of the withdrawal created conditions that overwhelmed existing screening and vetting systems.
“The rushed and poorly planned withdrawal created a perfect storm,” Crawford said, asserting that it compromised the government’s ability to fully assess who was being admitted into the country.
He said that there 18,000 known or suspected terrorists in the U.S.
“Today, I look forward to getting a better understanding of the domestic counterterrorism picture, and hearing how the interagency is working to find, monitor, prosecute, and deport known or suspected terrorists that never should have entered our country to begin with,” he said.
The Biden administration has previously defended Operation Allies Welcome, stating that multiple layers of security screening were conducted in coordination with U.S. intelligence, defense, and homeland security agencies. Nonetheless, the evacuation and resettlement of Afghan nationals remains a contentious political issue, particularly amid broader debates over immigration and border security.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently ordered its diplomats worldwide to stop processing visas for Afghan nationals, effectively suspending the special immigration program for Afghans who helped the United States during its 20-year-long occupation of their home country.
The decision came after a former member of one of Afghanistan’s CIA-backed units was accused of shooting two U.S. National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C.
Dozens of U.S. lawmakers oppose Afghan immigration freeze after Washington shooting
Magnitude 5.3 earthquake strikes Afghanistan – USGS
Chairman of US House intel panel criticizes Afghan evacuation vetting process
EU leaders agree joint borrowing to fund Ukraine, setting aside plan to use Russian frozen assets
Tahawol: Global concerns over migration escalation discussed
Afghanistan U19 cricket team defeats India A U19
Afghanistan economy under pressure as Pakistan shocks reshape trade flows
Gaza death toll tops 70,000, health ministry says
India set to establish pharmaceutical factories in Afghanistan: MoIC
Afghanistan offers tax breaks, free land to attract Indian investors
Tahawol: Global concerns over migration escalation discussed
Saar: Calls for Afghanistan’s balanced, economy-oriented foreign policy discussed
Tahawol: Discussion on regional countries’ meetings on Afghanistan
Saar: Regional efforts to address Afghanistan-Pakistan issues discussed
Tahawol: Officials say interactions must be based on realities
-
Latest News4 days agoGermany speeds up admission of Afghans from Pakistan
-
Sport4 days agoIPL 2026 Auction set for Abu Dhabi with $28.6 million purse at stake
-
Business5 days agoAfghan economy posts second year of growth despite deep structural challenges
-
Latest News4 days agoAfghanistan to establish independent oil and gas authority
-
Sport5 days agoATN to broadcast ‘The Best FIFA Football Awards 2025’
-
Latest News4 days agoUS intelligence chief warns of ‘direct threat’ from suspected terrorists inside the country
-
Latest News3 days agoIEA supreme leader stresses enforcement of Sharia law and sincere public service
-
International Sports4 days agoILT20: Desert Vipers qualify for playoffs with five-wicket win over Dubai Capitals