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UNHCR chief calls for immediate mobilization of unconditional aid
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi called for greater international cooperation to solve multiple crises at the opening of the 72nd session of the Executive Committee including that of urgent humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
He said, “millions of Afghans have been uprooted for more than 40 years, and recent developments have created new challenges.”
“You have heard me (and many others in the aid community) say that large-scale, unconditional humanitarian assistance must be mobilized now, immediately.
“Failure to urgently implement these solutions – and we’re talking of weeks, not much longer – will aggravate the crisis,” he said.
Grandi stated that despite always being “very prudent in making predictions regarding population movements, I believe that such a deterioration will almost inevitably cause large internal and possibly external displacement.”
Grandi, who visited Kabul last month, told The Associated Press in an interview three weeks ago that the international community and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) need to find a way to deal with each other for the sake of stabilizing Afghanistan.
“The international community will have to balance pragmatism, the need to keep Afghanistan stable and viable, and the political considerations that would mean supporting a government led by the Taliban (IEA),” said Grandi.
He also stated a compromise is urgently needed to avoid an economic meltdown that could cause violence and chaos that would ignite a mass exodus. A collapse of the already fragile Afghan economy would engulf Afghanistan’s neighbors and ripple across the world, he said.
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IFRC reports over half of Afghanistan’s population needs urgent humanitarian aid
Afghanistan ranks among the most vulnerable countries globally to climate change and disaster risks
The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has reported that Afghanistan continues to face prolonged and complex humanitarian crises.
IFRC said in a report published on Tuesday, that about 23.7 million people, more than half of Afghanistan’s population, are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
According to the IFRC, natural disasters, the growing impact of climate change, population displacement, economic challenges, and food insecurity are the main factors contributing to Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Afghanistan ranks among the most vulnerable countries globally to climate change and disaster risks.
The country is also prone to earthquakes, with nearly 400 tremors recorded in the last three years, including significant quakes, such as the 6.3 magnitude in Herat Province in October last year.
The compounding effects of disasters in the country have exacerbated the already fragile situation in Afghanistan, the IFRC’s report read.
These successive disasters have pushed more Afghans into poverty and heightened their vulnerability.
In addition, Afghanistan’s economic crisis is widespread, with more than half of households experiencing an economic shock.
The country’s economy is heavily dependent on foreign aid and remittances, which have declined significantly since the political change in 2021.
This has resulted in high levels of unemployment, challenging people’s coping mechanisms and thwarting the already fragile economy’s ability to adapt to shocks, the report read.
The IFRC said more than 85 percent of the country’s population is now living below the poverty line.
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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
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.
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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