Russia's parliament passed a law on Tuesday that would allow courts to suspend bans on groups designated by Moscow as terrorist organisations - paving the way for it to normalise ties with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan annd potentially with the new leadership of Syria.

No country currently recognises the IEA government which regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021.

But Russia has been gradually building ties with the Islamic Emirate, which President Vladimir Putin said in July was now an ally in fighting terrorism.

In addition, the leader of Russia's Muslim region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, called on Monday for the removal of Syrian group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from Moscow's list of banned groups.

HTS spearheaded the toppling of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.

Kadyrov, a close Putin ally, said Russia needed ties to the new Syrian authorities to ensure stability and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Kremlin said this week that Russia was in contact with the new leadership in Syria, where it hopes to retain the use of an airfield and a naval base that give it an important military foothold in the Mediterranean.

Security threat

Moscow sees a major security threat from Islamist militant groups based in a string of countries from Afghanistan to the Middle East, where Russia lost a major ally with the fall of Assad, Reuters reported.

In March, gunmen killed 145 people at a concert hall outside Moscow in an attack claimed by Islamic State.

U.S. officials said they had intelligence indicating it was the Afghan branch of the group, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), that was responsible.

However, the IEA has repeatedly said it is working to wipe out the presence of ISIS-K in Afghanistan.

Russia’s history in Afghanistan

Russia has a complex and bloodstained history in Afghanistan.

Soviet troops invaded the country in December 1979 to prop up a Communist government, but became bogged down in a long war against mujahideen fighters armed by the United States.

Soviet leader at the time, Mikhail Gorbachev, pulled his army out in 1989, by which time some 15,000 Soviet soldiers had been killed.

As part of its ongoing commitment to supporting needy families in winter in Afghanistan, the Bayat Foundation has once again provided essential food aid to hundreds of needy families in Kunduz province.

The Bayat Foundation’s representative in the northeastern zone, Khair Mohammad Saljoqi, explained that the relief packages included flour, rice, and oil, which were distributed to the needy after a thorough survey.

He stated: “The Bayat Charity Foundation continues its annual winter aid distribution [program]. This year, we have prepared winter relief packages for the needy in Kunduz, and today we are witnessing the distribution.”

Meanwhile, recipients have expressed their gratitude for the timely delivery of the relief packages and have called for further assistance from other humanitarian organizations for impoverished families.

One of the aid recipients, expressed his appreciation, saying: "We are very grateful to the Bayat Foundation."

Another recipient said: “We are very happy that the Bayat Foundation has helped the poor people. May God give strength to the Bayat Foundation to continue helping needy families, as it is winter, the weather is cold, and there is no work.”

Additionally, several women, who are the sole breadwinners for their families, shared that they have no food or warm clothing to get them through winter and are in desperate need of such assistance.

They also thanked the Bayat Foundation for their assistance.

Rukhshana, one of the recipients, said: “Please help us. We don’t have a breadwinner at home. I have small children. Traders should help us. We have no firewood, no coal. We thank the Bayat Foundation for helping us.”

The Bayat Foundation is a stalwart in terms of assisting needy people, not only through its winter food aid campaign but also in times of disaster.

Foundation officials have meanwhile stressed that given the growing poverty and worsening hardships people are facing in the country, their winter aid program will continue to be rolled out to other provinces.

A high-ranking delegation from India's Gujarat Chamber of Commerce has expressed interest in importing coal and marble from Afghanistan and investing in Afghanistan's coal mining sector.

The officials expressed interest at a meeting with Ikramuddin Kamil, acting head of the Afghan consulate in Mumbai, India.

Kamil assured them that he would facilitate an online meeting at a technical level with the relevant Afghan institutions in this regard.

He said security is ensured in Afghanistan, corruption does not exist and there are investment opportunities for Indian businessmen.