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US Senate Committee Chair says troops withdrawal might be reconsidered
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said Tuesday that the US deadline, May 1, for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan may have to be reconsidered as the Taliban are not abiding by all of their commitments under the Doha deal.
“I am very concerned about the viability of the peace process in Afghanistan,” Menendez said.
Reuters reported Menendez stated that he believes the Taliban is “clearly not abiding” by all of the commitments it made in the US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha in February last year.
Currently, there are about 2,500 US soldiers in Afghanistan.
“If the Taliban are confirmed as not meeting their commitments, which I personally believe they’re not, then we may have to reconsider the May 1 deadline,” Menendez said.
This comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed a new peace plan last week.
In a letter to Afghan leaders and the Taliban, Blinken suggested the establishment of a transitional government. It has since emerged that according to the plan, the Taliban would be given a 50 percent representation in the proposed system.
The proposal was however met by mixed reactions among Afghan officials.
First Vice President Amrullah Saleh stated that Afghanistan will never accept demands that could jeopardize the people’s right to vote.
He said the letter “shameful” and that he will “resist it”.
“Let me be clear I will not sign it,” Saleh said.
He also stated that the people of Afghanistan will not accept what he called a “forced and imposed peace on the people of Afghanistan”.
“One of the articles is to form a supreme council for the enforcement of Sharia [law]. In the county where we have several scholars like Imam Abu Hanifa; now two people who graduated from Haqqania School will hand over a certificate of Islam to us. I will never sign at the bottom of that shameful document,” said Saleh.
“We have the right not to hang the fate of 35 million people on someone else’s schedule,” he said adding that “Americans and their Western allies have every right to decide the fate of 2,500 U.S. and a few thousand NATO troops now stationed in our country.”
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has officially ratified the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
The agreement was first signed on 10 June 2025 during the Tashkent International Investment Forum by Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Laziz Kudratov and Afghanistan’s Minister Nuriddin Azizi, Uzbekistan Daily reported.
The PTA eliminates tariffs on 14 categories of goods, simplifies the issuance of phytosanitary permits for Afghan agricultural products, and introduces additional support measures for Uzbek exporters.
In February 2026, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev held online talks with Azizi to accelerate the agreement’s entry into force, advance investment projects, and promote industrial cooperation. A new joint business forum is planned to take place in Kabul after the conclusion of Ramadan.
The agreement is expected to strengthen bilateral trade, boost economic ties, and create new opportunities for Afghan businesses and exporters.
A senior official from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says many Afghans living in Iran are facing increasingly difficult decisions as insecurity and economic hardship deepen across the region.
Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR representative in Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that Afghans in Iran are caught between two difficult realities: remaining in Iran amid growing instability and economic strain, or returning to Afghanistan where many also face uncertainty and insecurity.
“At the moment, it seems to be more of a preemptive move,” Jamal said, referring to Afghans leaving Iran. “People are describing bombs falling around them. There is a great deal of fear, but they are also describing a dysfunctional economy.”
According to Jamal, approximately 110,000 Afghans have returned from Iran so far this year, many driven by fear of escalating conflict and deteriorating living conditions.
“For these people there are no good choices,” he said. “They are fleeing one war only to come to another,” Jamal added, referring to ongoing cross-border tensions and military activity involving Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The UNHCR official noted that the current wave of returns follows an already unprecedented movement of people.
In 2025, around 2.8 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan, making it the largest refugee return movement in the world that year.
Humanitarian agencies warn that Afghanistan is struggling to absorb such large numbers of returnees, particularly as the country faces widespread poverty, limited employment opportunities, and reduced international aid.
Jamal also cautioned that the United Nations currently lacks sufficient funding to maintain long-term assistance programs for returning refugees.
Without additional financial support, aid organizations may struggle to provide housing, food, and basic services to the growing number of returnees arriving in Afghanistan.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, held a telephone conversation with Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Oman’s Foreign Minister.
During the call, the two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Oman, as well as recent developments in the region.
Both sides described the latest developments in the Middle East as concerning and condemned the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, as well as the expansion of the conflict to other countries in the region.
They also discussed the recent situation between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this context, Afghanistan’s foreign minister outlined the Afghan government’s position regarding Pakistan’s incursions and the Islamic Emirate’s reciprocal defensive measures.
At the end of the conversation, both sides emphasized the importance of diplomacy in addressing regional challenges and stressed that disputes should be resolved through dialogue.
Uzbekistan ratifies preferential trade agreement with Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s white-ball series against Sri Lanka postponed
Afghan refugees in Iran face ‘impossible choices,’ UNHCR official warns
Afghanistan and Oman foreign minister discuss regional developments in phone call
As many as 150 US troops wounded so far in Iran war: report
Pakistani military jet downed in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad, pilot captured alive
Afghan Air Force conducts airstrikes in Islamabad, other cities
IEA releases three Pakistani soldiers to mark Ramadan
Afghanistan’s Chief of Armed Forces underscores readiness and equipment for national defense
Afghanistan welcomes investment and technology partnerships with India
Tahawol: Demands to end Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict reviewed
Saar: Resolving Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions discussed
Tahawol: International Reactions to Iran’s Newly Appointed Leader
Saar: UN Security Council Meeting on Afghanistan discussed
Tahawol: Iran’s war with America and Israel discussed
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