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UN distributes ‘winterization’ kits to Afghans in need
A video released by the United Nations on Tuesday showed UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) distributing so-called 'winterization kits' to families living in camps in Herat province.
The video taken on January 4 shows UNICEF distributing the kits to vulnerable families with pregnant women, families with children with disabilities, female headed households, and others, Reuters reported.
"The kits are part of UNICEF's emergency response to keep vulnerable children, mothers and families protected during the harsh winter in Afghanistan," a statement read.
The UN winterization campaign comes as the Biden administration on Tuesday said it plans to donate an extra $308 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, bringing total U.S. aid for the impoverished country and Afghan refugees in the region to nearly $782 million since October.
The Unites States is also providing one million additional coronavirus vaccine doses to Afghanistan, bringing the total to 4.3 million doses, the White House said.
The assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will be channeled through independent humanitarian organizations to provide shelter, health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation and hygiene services, the government said.
The United Nations says nearly 23 million people - about 55-percent of the population - are facing extreme levels of hunger, with nearly 9 million at risk of famine as winter takes hold.
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Afghanistan carries out retaliatory attack against Pakistan
The Ministry of National Defense said on Saturday it has attacked "centers and hideouts of evil elements and their supporters" across the Durand Line.
"Several points across the hypothetical line including centers and hideouts of evil elements and their supporters from where attacks were organized in Afghanistan were attacked in revenge from the southeast of the country," the ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, sources said that retaliatory attacks across the Durand Line began last night from Alisher district of Khost province and Dand Patan district of Paktia province and continued until morning.
According to sources, light and heavy weapons were used in the clashes.
Earlier, Pakistan launched airstrikes in Paktika's Barmal district on Tuesday, killing and wounding dozens of people.
The Ministry of National Defense of Afghanistan had warned that the attacks would not go unanswered.
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Syria is ‘more strategically important’ to US than Afghanistan: Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy for Afghanistan peace, said that he had urged senior officials in the Joe Biden administration to take a more active approach toward Syria.
According to a report by the New York Times published on Friday, Khalilzad said the Biden administration made a mistake by refraining from having more direct contact with the Islamic Emirate after it came to power in 2021.
He said the recent meeting of the US delegation with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new Syrian ruler, in Damascus was a positive step.
“Not that prematurely engaging doesn’t have risks,” Khalilzad said. “But I think there is an element of timing, of shaping things.” He added that Syria is “more strategically important” to the United States than Afghanistan, making the task more urgent.
Meanwhile, Khalilzad on Friday reiterated that the Doha Agreement states that a new government in Afghanistan would be determined by negotiations and dialogue between the IEA and other Afghan sides.
"The Doha Agreement did not define the nature of Afghan political systam, but it clearly stated that a new government would be determined by negotiations and dialogue between the Taliban and other Afghan sides," Khalilzad said on X. "The challenge for Afghans, Taliban and others, is how to deliver on this commitment, given current realities."
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Pakistan’s forced repatriation of Afghan refugees has fueled hatred: Imran Khan
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the forced deportation of Afghan refugees, which was intended to reduce terrorism, has actually created hatred that is detrimental to regional peace.
Speaking to reporters in Adiala Jail, Khan criticized Pakistan's recent airstrikes on Afghanistan and said that this is the second time Pakistan is bombing Afghanistan.
He also criticized that Bilawal Bhutto did not visit Afghanistan even once when he was the Pakistani foreign minister, while this should have been a priority.
Imran Khan recalled that he had told the then Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa not to replace the head of the intelligence agency, General Faiz Hamid, because the situation in Afghanistan would be very different after the withdrawal of American forces, but he did not accept this only to extend his term, which led to an increase in terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
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