Uzbekistan Railways has launched a new multimodal transport corridor linking China to Afghanistan through Central Asia, in a move aimed at improving regional trade efficiency and reducing transit times, Uzbek media reported on Wednesday.
The route will carry containerised cargo by rail from China through the Altynkol border station in Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, before shipments are transferred to trucks and transported via Turkmenistan to Herat in western Afghanistan.
The corridor spans approximately 7,400 kilometres, with an average delivery time of around 30 days, according to the reports, offering an alternative to longer and more complex routes.
Previously, much of the cargo moving between China and Afghanistan was shipped by sea to Iran’s Bandar Abbas port before being transported overland, a process that often increased transit time and costs.
The new route is expected to streamline logistics by combining rail and road transport across Central Asia, potentially boosting trade flows into Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan has expanded economic engagement with Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, focusing on trade, transport, and energy links despite the country’s political isolation.
Landlocked Afghanistan relies heavily on regional transit routes for imports, making alternative corridors through Central Asia critical for maintaining supply chains and reducing dependence on maritime routes through neighboring countries.
New rail-road corridor links China to Afghanistan via Uzbekistan
A blast caused by unexploded ordnance killed one person and injured three others in Afghanistan’s Parwan province, Taliban police said, highlighting the continued threat posed by leftover munitions.
The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon in Bagram district when a 20-year-old man attempted to open a piece of unexploded ammunition, according to a statement from local Taliban authorities.
The man was killed in the explosion, while two girls and one boy were injured and transferred to the provincial hospital in Parwan, where they are receiving treatment.
Afghanistan remains heavily contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance left over from decades of conflict, with civilians — particularly children, frequently among the victims.
According to data released by Taliban disaster management authorities, at least 96 people were killed and 328 injured in the past year due to explosions caused by mines and unexploded munitions.
The agency said that between April 2025 and March 2026, a total of 225 such incidents were recorded, resulting in 474 casualties, including 321 children and 153 adults.
Unexploded ordnance continues to pose a major humanitarian risk across Afghanistan, especially in rural and previously contested areas where remnants of war remain buried or exposed. Limited awareness and economic hardship often lead civilians to handle such ordinance, increasing the likelihood of deadly incidents.
Provinces such as Kunar, Farah, Nangarhar, Herat and Kandahar have reported some of the highest numbers of such incidents, reflecting the widespread nature of the threat across the country.
Unexploded ordnance blast kills one, injures three in Parwan
They consider education essential for Afghanistan’s progress and therefore urge the Islamic Emirate to allow girls to return to classrooms.
A number of girls deprived of education in the country have once again called for the reopening of schools above the sixth grade so that, as they say, they can achieve their dreams.
Hosai and Masouma are among the girls left out of education who study together. These two friends are 10th-grade students who still hope for the reopening of schools.
Masouma said: “We have repeatedly expressed our demand, and once again I say that the wish of all girls is for schools to reopen so that we can achieve the dreams we have.”
They consider education essential for Afghanistan’s progress and therefore urge the Islamic Emirate to allow girls to return to classrooms.
Hosai, another student, said: “In every society, the foundation of a family is a woman and a girl. When a girl cannot study and does not receive proper education and upbringing, how can she raise a healthy child for society in the future?”
Meanwhile, UNICEF, which has repeatedly warned about the consequences of banning girls from schools, now reports that educational packages have been provided to more than four million schoolchildren in Afghanistan. UNICEF says every child deserves a safe learning environment and the necessary tools to build their future.
Daniel Timme, Chief of Communications for UNICEF Afghanistan, added: “Last year, we were able to report some important achievements in education. For example, we provided educational materials to 4 million children, trained more than 8,000 female teachers, and rebuilt 232 schools. We should also not forget education in emergencies. However, there is still much work ahead, and I would like to highlight two major challenges in education: learning poverty and the secondary education crisis. Learning poverty means that 90 percent of ten-year-old children in Afghanistan are unable to read simple texts or perform basic math calculations.”
This comes as more than forty days have passed since the start of the new academic year in Afghanistan, and so far the Islamic Emirate has said nothing about girls’ education.
Afghan Girls Renew Call for Reopening of Secondary Schools
Meanwhile, the High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Problems has criticized the way Afghan migrants are being deported from Pakistan.
A number of Afghan migrants residing in Pakistan say that Pakistani authorities have asked them to demolish their homes and return to Afghanistan.
The Afghan migrants told TOLOnews, in recent weeks some families have been forced to destroy their shelters, an action that has left them facing severe economic conditions and psychological pressure.
Imran, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “I live in Pakistan; this is my home. We went through many problems in this house and built it, but now we were forced to destroy it. An order has been issued by Pakistan to return to our country.”
Malik Mujahid, another Afghan migrant in Pakistan, added: “This is my house, which I built with great passion. We were born in this house. I demolished this house with my own hands, and it was an order from the Pakistani government to destroy our homes and return to our country.”
Meanwhile, the High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Problems has criticized the way Afghan migrants are being deported from Pakistan.
According to a statement from the commission, Pakistan delays returning migrants for days on the other side of the Torkham crossing under various pretexts.
Part of the statement reads: “Unfortunately, migrants returning to Afghanistan via Torkham are delayed for days on the Pakistani side for various reasons, while women, children, and the elderly are with them and face other problems, remaining stranded on the roads without a clear fate.”
Mohammad Khan Talebi Mohammadzai, a migrant rights activist, told TOLOnews: “The forced deportation of Afghan migrants from host countries, including Pakistan, has created many problems for migrants. In this regard, the Pakistani government should respect the rights of migrants residing in this country and not subject them to forced deportation.”
Finally, organizations supporting Afghan migrants have consistently described their situation in Pakistan as concerning—conditions that require immediate attention and humane solutions from relevant organizations.
Afghan Migrants in Pakistan Forced to Demolish Homes Amid Deportation
Mujahid calls on countries, like Russia, to independently establish good relations with Afghanistan, without considering pressure from powerful countries.
More than four and a half years have passed, and so far, except for Russia, no country has recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate told TOLOnews that the reason is that some countries are not yet ready to engage with Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid calls on countries, like Russia, to independently establish good relations with Afghanistan, without considering pressure from powerful countries.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, said: “We want other countries to also be independent in their calculations and decisions, and decide to establish good relations with Afghanistan.”
In part of his remarks, Mujahid, without naming any country, said that the intelligence agencies of some countries share incorrect information with the region and the world to create concerns about Afghanistan’s security, while according to him, this information belongs to the period before the Islamic Emirate returned to power in Afghanistan.
He insists that currently, there is no active armed group in Afghanistan that poses a threat to the world.
Zabihullah Mujahid said: “Before the Emirate, during the previous administration in Kabul and the presence of the United States, it had been predicted that there were 20 groups in Afghanistan, and they had even included the Islamic Party of Afghanistan among them.”
He also emphasized the presence of Islamic Emirate representatives in regional and international meetings, adding that participation in meetings can respond to concerns and properly reject baseless propaganda.
Mujahid adds that the Islamic Emirate’s policy in the war between Iran and the United States is neutral, and it has called for an end to the war.
Mujahid Calls on Nations to Recognize Afghanistan Without External Pressure
The United Nations has warned that declining humanitarian funding, driven in part by rising global conflicts and increased defense spending, is significantly slowing mine clearance operations in Afghanistan.
UN officials said the shortage of funds has directly affected efforts to remove landmines and unexploded ordnance, with devastating consequences for civilians. On average, one child is killed every day in Afghanistan due to explosive remnants of war.
Kazumi Ogawa, head of the UN mine action programme, said shifting national budgets toward military spending has reduced support for humanitarian initiatives.
“We are seeing the impact on the ground. In Afghanistan, one child is killed every day,” Ogawa said.
Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily contaminated countries in the world with landmines and unexploded remnants of war.
Experts warn that the continued presence of these hazards not only endangers lives but also hinders reconstruction, agriculture, and broader development efforts.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Yousuf Hamad, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority, said 474 people were killed or injured in landmine explosions over the past year. He added that more than 1,000 square kilometres of land remain contaminated, placing at least seven million people at risk.
Currently, 155 demining teams are operating under 10 programmes across 23 provinces and 82 districts. However, officials say reduced international support is limiting their ability to expand operations.
Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that around 50 people are killed or injured each month by unexploded ordnance, with nearly 80 percent of victims being children.
UN warns funding cuts are slowing mine clearance efforts in Afghanistan
The incident is the latest test of a fragile ceasefire agreed between the two countries last month.
Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has accused neighbouring Pakistan of killing three civilians in a cross-border attack, which Kabul has condemned as a “war crime”.
The incident on Monday marked the latest test of a fragile ceasefire between the two countries, brokered by China in April, following months of cross-border fighting that left hundreds dead and injured.
Afghanistan’s deputy government spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said on X that 14 others were injured in the attack. He accused Islamabad of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, a health centre, and mosques in Dangam, Kunar province, which lies along the border with Pakistan.
Islamabad has dismissed the allegations. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting suggested Kabul may have staged the destruction, saying in a post on X that images released by Afghanistan showed damage inconsistent with artillery strikes. It said the incident could be part of a “propaganda effort” to discredit Pakistan, following cross-border attacks in March and April that killed nine people and that Islamabad blamed on its neighbour.
The rise in tensions comes as one person was killed late on Monday in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border, when security forces foiled a suicide attack at a checkpoint.
Several others were injured as security personnel opened fire on the attacker’s car, which was packed with explosives and heading towards a military post. The vehicle exploded before reaching its target.
Director of the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) Muhammad Amir Rana told Al Jazeera that Pakistan faces multiple challenges in carrying out cross-border attacks.
“Precision is a real problem for Pakistan when it comes to its cross-border strikes. Effective and foolproof intelligence is the critical missing link – without it, controlling collateral damage becomes the central challenge. What we are also seeing is that Pakistan’s security situation has worsened considerably since the war on Iran began on February 28,” he said.
Rana added he was not hopeful of a diplomatic breakthrough anytime soon.
“Pakistan’s diplomatic capital is growing and it is not willing to offer any concessions to Kabul, while the Afghan side is asking why it should concede anything,” he said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of harbouring Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a Pakistani offshoot of the Afghan Taliban that is waging an armed rebellion against the government. Kabul denies the accusation.
Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of killing three civilians in ‘war crime’
Nasimi’s father and brother were killed by the Taliban; her brother shot in 2018 because the family’s eldest son Mohammad had worked as a translator for American forces during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Since then, the family had received threats and lived cautiously. When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, they knew they had to leave.
On 20 January 2025, a week before Nasimi’s planned departure from Qatar – where she and her family had been evacuated to by the US – President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee processing. Even though the family had been vetted and cleared for travel, the trip was cancelled overnight.
Now the family are among 1,100 Afghans, at least 700 of them women and children, who were evacuated by the US for resettlement. Stranded in Qatar, they now face the prospect of being sent to another war-torn nation: the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last month it was confirmed that the Trump administration was in talks to send the Afghans who had assisted US forces to the DRC, instead of the US resettlement they had been promised.
Nasimi’s family say they will not go to the DRC, a country they know nothing about, far from their family in Colorado, without an Afghan community, and where they do not speak the language. While returning home would put the family in grave danger, they say it is “better to die in Afghanistan than to go there”.
Like many others, Nasimi arrived in Qatar with her family in December 2024, shortly after giving birth to her fourth child. What they were told would be a brief stopover at As-Sayliyah camp has stretched into almost a year-and-a-half in limbo.
“People are going crazy here,” Nasimi says of the conditions in Qatar. “There is constant fear. Women have had premature births because of the trauma and uncertainty, and there have even been suicide attempts.”
Conditions in the camp have further deteriorated since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. “We heard missiles overhead, and fragments from intercepted ones hitting our roof,” Nasimi says. People were terrified that being in a US facility could make them a potential Iranian target.
Zahra’s father, who was an officer in the Afghan armed forces while the US was still in the country. Photograph: Handout
The As-Sayliyah camp had been used as a transit facility to process and clear families before resettlement, and was not designed to house them for months on end. Families live in containers inside a hangar, sharing toilet and kitchen facilities, with no proper schooling for children and no permission to leave.
The camp is ‘hell’ and ‘a prison’, says Zahra. Photograph: Handout
Zahra Muhib arrived in Qatar as a 13-year-old, days before Trump took office. Her family meant to stay for a couple of days. Now 15, Zahra has already celebrated a second birthday in the camp, a place she describes as “hell”, and “a prison”.
Her parents served as officers in the Afghan armed forces while the US was in the country. But when the Taliban returned to power in 2021, several of their former colleagues were detained and never heard from again. The family relocated, but continued to receive threats. Finally, they were offered resettlement in the US under the P1 visa scheme.
Zahra had begun to hope and dream again, she says: of school, even university, and of a life she would be creating herself.
She now lives in a small container with her parents and 11-year-old brother. “I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety here, and I’m taking medication now. I barely sleep at night, and have developed a skin rash I can’t get rid of,” she says. “When I was finally allowed to go to the hospital with my dad, they put GPS trackers on us to ensure we wouldn’t escape.”
Zahra says she would go to the DRC if forced. “Going home is not an option because it’s not safe, so I’d go anywhere,” she says, adding that she is “tired of the uncertainty”.
Zahra says she spends most of her time alone and has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Photograph: Handout
While some informal classes had taken place in the camp, there was no structured education, Zahra says, and she spends most of her time alone, withdrawn. “I’ve been out of education for four years because of the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education,” she says. “Four years filled with sadness. I love all countries, but there’s no good education in the DRC, no good healthcare. My life has been on hold since the Taliban came and I don’t think I can start dreaming big in the DRC.”
Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of AfghanEvac, an NGO supporting Afghans who worked with American forces and helping them get to the US, says the government is failing to uphold its commitments to those who stood by it for two decades. “The only right solution is to bring them to America,” he says.
Sending families – and children such as Zahra – to the DRC raises serious concerns, he says.
Zahra says she and her father were fitted with GPS trackers when they went to hospital. Photograph: Handout
“The DRC is in active conflict, and is already hosting over 600,000 refugees. It lacks the infrastructure, legal protections, or community support necessary for resettlement.”
The state department is also offering residents at As-Sayliyah financial incentives to return to Afghanistan and forfeit their chance to come to the US: $4,500 for the main applicant and $1,200 for each family member, VanDiver says.
But Zahra’s mother, Samargul, 34, says that going back to Afghanistan isn’t an option. The family also cannot seek refuge elsewhere: “Because we have an open immigration case with the US, no other country would even consider accepting us,” Zahra says.
“These families have risked their lives for the US. Sending them to the DRC is a huge injustice and not a fair, viable option,” a source familiar with the situation, who asked to remain anonymous, says. “The state department under the Trump administration is desperate to get rid of this issue. Another 150,000 Afghans with links to the US are still stuck in Afghanistan and Pakistan and await processing,” the source adds.
Speaking by phone from Colorado, Nasimi’s brother Mohammad, 37, who arrived in the US in 2013, later served in the US army with deployments to the Middle East and is now a police officer, says he had started working for the US in Afghanistan to financially support his family. Since his brother’s killing in 2018 and continued Taliban threats, he had tried everything to bring them to safety.
In 2024, he finally managed to get his four sisters and mother to the US, but Nasimi, her husband and four children remained stranded abroad.
“I want Americans to know that their government has broken its promise,” he says.
For Zahra, the feeling is an all-consuming sadness. “I’m stuck here. My dreams are shattered. I don’t dare to dream again.”
*Name has been changed
They were hunted by the Taliban for helping the US. Now, Trump wants to send these families to the DRC
The split outcome was a stumble for the Justice Department in its effort to hold the defendant, Mohammad Sharifullah, responsible for the attack outside Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The bombing killed 13 American troops and more than 150 Afghans.
The terrorist group known as Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K — a foe of the Taliban and the United States alike — took responsibility for the attack. The jury unanimously agreed that Mr. Sharifullah was a member of ISIS-K, convicting him of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
But the jury deadlocked on whether there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt that his support for the group had resulted in death. Essentially, some jurors did not believe the evidence was sufficient to blame the Abbey Gate attack on him.
The material support conspiracy conviction, by itself, carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Had the jury found that Mr. Sharifullah’s actions had resulted in death, he would have been eligible for a life sentence.
The Abbey Gate attack became a symbol of the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in the opening months of the Biden administration. A bomber walked into a crowd of civilians thronging an entrance to the airport in the hope of fleeing the country during the Taliban’s takeover, then detonated an explosive hidden under his clothing.
Pakistani security forces arrested Mr. Sharifullah near the Afghan border in early 2025. U.S. officials have said that the Central Intelligence Agency provided information about his location. President Trump trumpeted the arrest during his first address to a joint session of Congress during his second term.
“Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “Tonight I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.”
After his transfer to American custody, Mr. Sharifullah told F.B.I. agents that he was not only a member of ISIS-K, but that he had also assisted in several terrorist attacks, including scouting the attacker’s route to the Kabul airport. But his defense lawyers later disavowed that confession, saying it was false and coerced by his fear of Pakistani security forces.
The prosecution’s case that Mr. Sharifullah was specifically involved in the Abbey Gate attack rested heavily on his own confession. Judge Anthony J. Trenga, of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, instructed the jury that they could not convict based on a confession if it was not corroborated by other evidence.
Early Wednesday afternoon, the head juror sent the judge a note saying that there was unanimous agreement on the charge of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS-K, but that they were at an impasse on whether Mr. Sharifullah’s actions had specifically contributed to the deadly attack.
“We are, and have been for some time, deadlocked,” the note said, adding: “An unanimous verdict will not be reached.”
Seamus Hughes contributed reporting.
Charlie Savage writes about national security and legal policy for The Times.
Jury Delivers Mixed Verdict in Case of Afghan Charged in 2021 Kabul Attack
A rights group warned closing Afghanistan embassies abroad could limit services, weaken advocacy and deepen humanitarian and political challenges for vulnerable citizens.
A coalition of human rights activists warned that closing or weakening Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions abroad could have serious humanitarian and political consequences, particularly for vulnerable communities relying on consular support.
In a statement, the group said reports about a possible closure of Afghanistan’s embassy in Australia are concerning and could restrict access to essential services for Afghan nationals.
It added that shutting such missions could unintentionally strengthen the narrative of the Taliban by reducing alternative representation of Afghan citizens internationally and limiting advocacy efforts.
Diplomatic missions have become key support hubs for Afghans overseas, especially women, civil society actors and migrants, providing documentation, legal assistance and a channel for raising concerns.
Since 2021, several Afghanistan embassies have faced uncertainty over funding and recognition, with some scaling down operations or closing, further reducing access to services for diaspora communities.
The group urged host countries to reconsider such decisions, warning that closures could weaken the voice of Afghans abroad and worsen existing humanitarian and human rights challenges.
Activists voice concern over Afghanistan embassy shutdowns abroad
The United Nations says aid workers are still in a “race against time” to remove rubble and rebuild after the devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan last month, killing at least 2,200 people and cutting off remote areas.
The 6.0-magnitude quake on Aug. 31 was shallow, destroying or causing extensive damage to low-rise buildings in the mountainous region. It hit late at night, and homes — mostly made of mud, wood, or rocks — collapsed instantly, becoming death traps.
Satellite data shows that about 40,500 truckloads of debris still needs to be cleared from affected areas in several provinces, the United Nations Development Program said Wednesday. Entire communities have been upended and families are sleeping in the open, it added.
The quake’s epicenter was in remote and rugged Kunar province, challenging rescue and relief efforts by the Taliban government and humanitarian groups. Authorities deployed helicopters or airdropped army commandos to evacuate survivors. Aid workers walked for hours on foot to reach isolated communities.
“This is a race against time,” said Devanand Ramiah, from the UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. “Debris removal and reconstruction operations must start safely and swiftly.”
People’s main demands were the reconstruction of houses and water supplies, according to a spokesman for a Taliban government committee tasked with helping survivors, Zia ur Rahman Speenghar.
People were getting assistance in cash, food, tents, beds, and other necessities, Speenghar said Thursday. Three new roads were under construction in the Dewagal Valley, and roads would be built to areas where there previously were none.
“Various countries and organizations have offered assistance in the construction of houses but that takes time. After the second round of assistance, work will begin on the third round, which is considering what kind of houses can be built here,” the spokesman said.
Afghanistan is facing a “perfect storm” of crises, including natural disasters like the recent earthquake, said Roza Otunbayeva, who leads the U.N. mission to the country.
Afghanistan Peace Campaign
