Pakistani religious scholars declared that banning girls’ education in Afghanistan has no religious basis, urging the Kabul administration to immediately reopen schools for female students.
A group of Pakistani religious scholars under the “Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam” umbrella criticized the Kabul administration on Monday for denying girls access to education. The meeting was held in Karachi and presided over by Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
In a statement issued after the gathering, the clerics stressed that “depriving girls of education has no justification in Islam” and urged the Kabul administration to immediately reopen schools and educational institutions to female students. They emphasized that education for both men and women is a “religious obligation,” warning that ongoing restrictions harm Afghanistan society, future generations, and the country’s international standing.
The clerics also condemned the use of Afghanistan territory for launching attacks against Pakistan and called for resolving disputes through dialogue. They denounced armed militancy and TTP activities inside Pakistan, describing them as both legally and religiously unacceptable. Maulana Fazlur Rehman added that regional tensions should be addressed through negotiations and restraint rather than military action.
Since returning to power, the Kabul administration has banned girls from attending schools beyond grade six, as well as universities and higher education institutions. This policy has drawn condemnation from Afghanistan citizens, the broader Islamic community, and the international community, all of whom have repeatedly called for the reinstatement of women’s educational rights.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) maintains a presence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, complicating relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has accused Taliban authorities of providing safe haven to TTP militants, a claim denied by the Kabul administration but partially confirmed by UN reports.
Pakistani scholars highlighted that continued restrictions on female education in Afghanistan violate Islamic principles and urged immediate corrective measures. They also emphasized the moral and social obligations of the Kabul administration to safeguard the rights of girls and women.
The clerics’ statement came amid heightened regional tensions following Pakistani military operations in Afghanistan border areas in recent months. These operations, intended to target TTP militants, have escalated cross-border clashes and strained bilateral relations.
Political parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also urged both Pakistan and the Kabul administration to resume dialogue to resolve tensions and reopen border crossings, stressing the importance of trade and cross-border cooperation for regional stability.
Pakistani Clerics Say Banning Girls’ Education Has No Religious Justification
Nearly half of Afghanistan’s population will need humanitarian assistance in 2025, the Red Cross said, warning that conflict, poverty, climate shocks and mass returns are worsening conditions.
Afghanistan remains gripped by one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises, with nearly half of its population expected to depend on aid in 2025, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.
In a report released on Monday, the ICRC said about 22.9 million people will need humanitarian assistance next year, reflecting the deepening impact of decades of war, economic collapse and recurring natural disasters.
The organisation said widespread unemployment, the erosion of livelihoods and limited access to healthcare have sharply worsened living conditions, particularly in rural and conflict-affected areas.
According to the report, the crisis is hitting the most vulnerable hardest, including malnourished children, elderly people, persons with disabilities, female-headed households and daily wage labourers.
Climate-related shocks such as earthquakes, droughts and floods are compounding the emergency, while the large-scale return of migrants from Pakistan and Iran is placing additional strain on fragile communities.
The ICRC said the influx of returnees is increasing pressure on essential services, including healthcare, water supply, food systems and shelter, especially in border provinces already struggling to cope.
In response, the ICRC said it is expanding emergency relief, healthcare support, livelihood assistance, mine victim services, water and electricity projects, prison programmes and aid for displaced people and returnees, while urging sustained international support.
Red Cross Says Nearly Half of Afghanistan’s Population Is Needing Aid in 2025
The Pakistan Awami Workers Party, during the meeting, called for the reopening of trade routes and the resumption of commerce with Afghanistan.
A two-day meeting of opposition parties in Pakistan and several political figures was held in Islamabad from December 20 to 21.
In a 13-point resolution issued at the end of the conference, participants expressed concern over rising tensions between Kabul and Islamabad and called for the improvement of relations with Afghanistan.
The deputy leader of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami party, Liaqat Baloch, also voiced concern over the worsening ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, emphasizing the need for stronger bilateral relations.
He stated: “Relations with Afghanistan are deteriorating. The growing distance between Afghanistan and Pakistan has become dangerously concerning for our future, and this is a matter for the government. If relations between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan are improved, the path to political and economic stability will become clearer.”
The Pakistan Awami Workers Party, during the meeting, called for the reopening of trade routes and the resumption of commerce with Afghanistan.
A member of the party said: “I urge the government and ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to play their part in reopening all closed trade routes between Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
Several former security officials from tribal regions criticized Pakistan’s approach toward Afghanistan and expressed concern over the continuation of current policies.
Mahmood Shah, former security chief of the tribal areas, remarked: “I believe it was a major mistake to engage in a conflict with Afghanistan as part of the western front. Furthermore, the internal situation of the country is also alarming, we are collapsing from within.”
The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, stressed the need to implement the decisions of the “Aman Jirga” (Peace Assembly) regarding ties with Afghanistan. He warned that secretive decisions by the central government on sensitive issues could fuel public dissatisfaction.
Afridi emphasized: “In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Aman Jirga, it was recommended that all stakeholders, from the provincial government to parliament and tribal elders, be consulted, and that decisions be made collectively to achieve positive results. This country cannot move forward with such practices. People are growing more hostile toward institutions, which leads to their weakening and greater public discontent.”
Previously, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had insisted during the “Aman Jirga” that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have a direct impact on the province, and therefore, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be included in dialogue processes with Afghanistan.
Pakistani Opposition Parties Urge Improved Ties with Afghanistan
In remarks to TOLOnews, the Japanese diplomat emphasized that Japan supports the Doha process and actively participates in it.
The Japanese ambassador in Kabul stated the Doha process is effective in addressing Afghanistan’s issues due to its inclusivity.
In remarks to TOLOnews, the Japanese diplomat emphasized that Japan supports the Doha process and actively participates in it.
Kenichi Masamoto said: “In my view, no other process is as effective as the Doha process. Japan will continue its active participation. The process includes a broad range of participants, and the current Afghan government is also part of it.”
The ambassador added that the ultimate goal of the political track of the Doha process is to reintegrate Afghanistan into the international community, a goal he described as very important for both the global community and the current Afghan government.
Masamoto stated that Japan, understanding the significance of the Doha meetings on Afghanistan, is working with other countries on building trust in specific areas.
He said: “The ultimate goal of the political track is the reintegration of Afghanistan into the international community. This is a very important objective for the Afghan people, the current authorities, and the global community, including neighboring countries. At present, we are working on building trust in specific areas.”
Several political analysts also described the participation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the Doha meetings, and the role of the process in reintegrating Afghanistan into the global community, as significant.
Political analyst Moein Gul Samkanai said: “We currently have two major platforms for discussions on Afghanistan: the Doha meetings and the Moscow format. It is essential that we participate in both.”
The third round of the Doha meeting on Afghanistan was held on July 4, 2024, with the participation of special representatives from over 25 countries and a delegation led by Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However, the date for the fourth round of Doha has yet to be announced.
Japan Backs Doha Process as Key Path for Afghanistan’s Global Reintegration
Others who were residing in Iran illegally reported being detained and deported.
The worsening economic crisis in Iran has led to a rise in the number of Afghan migrants leaving the country.
In recent months, thousands of Afghan migrants have departed Iran, citing rising prices and the devaluation of the Iranian currency as their main reasons for leaving.
One returning migrant said: “I came to Iran, but the job situation was not satisfying. With the Iranian currency losing value, staying no longer makes sense. I’m returning to Afghanistan to open my own shop.”
Another migrant added: “The Iranian currency has drastically dropped. I can barely make $300 a month, and by the end, there’s nothing left.”
Others who were residing in Iran illegally reported being detained and deported.
A deported migrant shared: “I had no legal documents. My children didn’t either. They were arrested while working.”
Iranian officials have cited economic pressures and security concerns as the main reasons for the increased deportations of Afghan migrants.
They have stated that up to 800,000 more individuals could be deported in the coming months.
Abdul Zuhor Mudaber, an economic expert, commented: “Some of these returning migrants possess valuable skills and expertise. They could contribute to the workforce, so their local businesses should be supported.”
According to recent reports, the value of Iran’s national currency has dropped by 32 to 33 percent since the beginning of the current year, leading to an unprecedented rise in inflation over the past nine months.
Statistics also show that over six million Afghan nationals are currently in Iran. Of this number, around 1.6 million have been deported since the start of this solar year (1404).
Economic Crisis in Iran Forces Thousands of Afghans to Return Home
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar urged the world to expand economic ties instead of imposing sanctions, as Afghanistan faces a deepening economic crisis, high unemployment, widespread poverty, and restrictions on women’s education.
Taliban deputy prime minister for economic affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Saturday urged regional and global countries to expand economic ties with Afghanistan, calling for engagement rather than sanctions and political pressure.
According to a statement issued by Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, Baradar made the remarks while inaugurating a commercial market in Balkh province, presenting trade and investment as key pillars of economic recovery.
Baradar said a stable and economically resilient Afghanistan would not threaten other nations, arguing that closer regional cooperation could contribute to shared prosperity and strengthen cross-border connectivity.
He said the Taliban administration supports broad-based economic and political engagement at regional and international levels, including transit trade, infrastructure development and private-sector investment.
The comments come as Afghanistan’s main trade routes with Pakistan have remained largely closed for more than two months following rising tensions between the Taliban and Islamabad, disrupting imports, exports and supply chains.
Baradar has previously warned that Afghanistan could block imports of Pakistani goods, including medicines, a move economists say could worsen shortages and push prices higher in domestic markets.
Afghanistan is meanwhile grappling with a deep humanitarian and economic crisis. United Nations agencies estimate that more than half of the population depends on aid, while poverty has surged since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Aid groups say unemployment affects as much as 75% of the workforce, with the collapse of foreign aid, banking restrictions and limited investment leaving millions struggling to secure food, healthcare and basic services.
The economic hardship is compounded by sweeping social restrictions, including bans on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade, exclusion of women from universities and limits on female employment, policies Western governments cite as major barriers to restoring normal economic relations.
Diplomats and analysts say sustained sanctions relief and foreign investment are unlikely unless the Taliban ease education and social restrictions, warning that continued isolation risks deepening Afghanistan’s economic collapse and humanitarian emergency.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Urges World to Expand Economic Ties Instead of Sanctions
Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai urged authorities to reopen schools and universities to girls, saying education beyond sixth grade is essential for Afghanistan’s future.
Hamid Karzai urged Afghanistan’s rulers to reopen schools and universities to girls, saying education was essential for the country’s future and long-term self-reliance.
In a post on X on Saturday, Decemebr 20, Karzai said knowledge and learning were the foundations of progress and dignity in any society, adding that Afghanistan could not develop while denying education to half its population.
He said the country urgently needed trained professionals, including doctors, engineers, economists and specialists in other fields, warning that continued restrictions would weaken national capacity and economic recovery.
Karzai’s comments came as the academic year ends and students prepare for the nationwide university entrance exam, known as the Kankor, from which girls remain excluded.
Girls in Afghanistan have been barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade and from universities since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, making Afghanistan the only country where such sweeping education bans are in place.
The restrictions have drawn sustained criticism from the United Nations, human rights groups and Western governments, which say the policy deepens poverty, isolates Afghanistan internationally and undermines prospects for stability.
Taliban officials say the bans are temporary and linked to their interpretation of Islamic law, but no timeline has been given for reopening schools, leaving millions of Afghan girls without access to formal education.
Karzai urges reopening of schools and universities for girls in Afghanistan
Once-stalwart GOP backers of programs for Afghans who helped the war effort are hedging their support after the Nov. 26 National Guard shooting.
Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have long come together around supporting Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan. Not anymore.
The November shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan who’d been granted asylum in the U.S. has rendered the once-popular cause a taboo topic in Republican circles.
Until the shooting, GOP lawmakers had mostly worked to protect programs to aid Afghans seeking asylum from the larger Trump administration crackdown on foreign nationals in the United States. Now once-stalwart backers of programs for these Afghans are hedging their support and calling for changes to the vetting process. Some of those making the biggest reversals face voters in 2026.
“I’m sympathetic, obviously, to people who have helped America in the war effort, but all that support was predicated upon a rigorous vetting process, which I don’t have confidence in,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Cornyn, who faces two formidable primary challengers this year, helped write a 2021 law that updated the Special Immigrant Visa category for Afghans who helped the United States during the two decades America spent fighting Taliban insurgents in the country.
Asked his current stance on the SIV program, Cornyn said, “I don’t have any confidence in it” in light of the vetting issues.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who has previously backed the resettlement of Afghan allies and condemned the Biden administration for inaction in helping Afghans, is also focusing on the need for reforms.
“We can be grateful President Trump is taking decisive action to strengthen vetting and prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again,” said Blackburn, who is retiring from the Senate and running for Tennessee governor, in a speech on the Senate floor.
It’s a stunning reversal of fortunes for the effort to help Afghans who aided the U.S., coming just weeks ahead of the end-of-year deadline for Congress to extend the deadline for Afghans to apply for Special Immigrant Visas. And it comes as advocates warn that there is an insufficient number of visas for the number of applicants waiting to enter the United States.
The U.S. admitted nearly 200,000 Afghan nationals in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Officials who served in the Biden administration have maintained that the U.S. did adequately vet and screen those who were admitted and that only a small number have encountered legal trouble since then.
Thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. military and their families still wait at military bases and refugee camps around the world for a small number of SIVs. Military personnel at U.S. bases overseas typically conducted initial vetting of Afghans.
Republican leaders, said one congressional staffer, have “poisoned the Afghan allies conversation” even as a small bipartisan group of lawmakers tries to keep the efforts to help Afghans alive.
“Republicans want this debate to die,” the staffer added. The individual, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations about the legislation.
Shawn VanDiver, head of a nonprofit called AfghanEvac that advocates for programs to help Afghans who aided the U.S., said he was shocked by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to ax the provision reestablishing State’s Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts from the NDAA.
“Speaker Johnson has been good on this” previously, VanDiver said. “We expected the president to turn this into a circus … This is the president using a terrible tragedy to turn prejudice into policy.”
The plight of Afghans who helped U.S. forces has been one of few issues to unite Democrats and Republicans in Washington, even as Congress became more polarized. Congressional Democrats and Republicans joined forces during the Biden administration to increase the number of Special Immigrant Visas available to Afghans following the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of the country. Legislation to provide Afghans with a path to U.S. citizenship or permanent residency has also enjoyed bipartisan co-sponsorships, though it has not become law.
Since the Nov. 26 shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members, which killed one service member and critically injured another, there’s been little appetite in Congress to increase the number of visas — let alone increase the legal pathways to citizenship — for Afghans.
The shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, served in an Afghan military unit with ties to the CIA. Lakanwal was admitted to the United States under Biden, and the Trump administration approved his asylum claim in April. While investigators have not disclosed any motive for the attack, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he was “radicalized” in the United States. Republicans have seized on the issue to renew their attacks on the resettlement of Afghan refugees and the security screening process.
It has also become politically dangerous for Republicans up for reelection in the midterms to voice any support for the Afghan visa programs.
“When a senator from Texas takes 11 votes to support mass amnesty and then votes to accelerate Afghan SIV pathways, it doesn’t signal America First. It signals a bid for clout among Washington insiders,” Hunt’s campaign said in a statement.
Democrats and some Republicans have asked for caution. While the Biden administration’s process was criticized in a 2022 Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report, which found that federal officials “did not always have critical data” to properly vet Afghan refugees, they argue that thorough vetting still occurs.
“Individuals are already vetted through numerous interagency databases including through the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Counterterrorism Center,” a group of House Democrats led by Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) wrote in a Thursday letter to Trump and Noem.
Democrats are particularly incensed about the removal of the CARE office provision from the NDAA. That office, eliminated during a July overhaul of the State Department, was a hub across the U.S. government to process visas for, and manage the relocation and integration of, Afghans allowed into the United States.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the original legislation to reauthorize State’s CARE office, said her Republican colleagues are turning their backs on Afghans.
“My colleagues need to grow a spine and stop letting Stephen Miller do their jobs, or else they will go down in history as betraying the very Afghans we promised we would never leave behind,” she said, referring to the Trump adviser who is seen as the main architect of the president’s immigration policy.
Johnson’s move dashed hopes that any legislation to help Afghans who supported the U.S. war effort could advance in this Congress.
“That was everyone’s hopes and dreams on this issue,” said a second congressional staffer. “It was literally authorizing the CARE office at State. If that’s dead, you can extrapolate that nothing more substantive on this is ever going to pass.”
Lawmakers have until Dec. 31 to decide whether to extend the SIV program. About 35,000 Afghans are approved to enter the United States, but fewer than 7,000 SIVs remain to be allocated, based on the numbers Congress authorized in previous years.
In the past, when the number of visas has come close to running out, Congress has increased the cap.
Another bipartisan bill, the Afghan Adjustment Act, would create a pathway for Afghans to obtain permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship. That bill already faced headwinds during both the Trump and Biden administrations given political opposition to immigration.
VanDiver said he wants lawmakers to use a discharge petition to bring the CARE office legislation and other bills to help Afghans to a vote in the House without Johnson’s approval. It is unclear whether such a petition will materialize before Congress adjourns for the holidays.
The Republican co-sponsors of the legislation to reestablish the CARE office have not commented on its removal from the NDAA. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)’s office did not respond to a request for comment about whether the New York Republican still supported the Enduring Welcome Act.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) still backs the legislation — but he’s not running for reelection.
“The creed of the military is no man left behind,” McCaul said in an AfghanEvac video. ”And we promised them that we would protect them and yet we failed in that duty, in my judgment.”
Republicans drop support for Afghan wartime allies after National Guard shooting
Some Republicans in Congress are splitting from the Trump administration over its crackdown on legal immigration from Afghanistan, especially for those migrants who helped U.S. war efforts there.
Over the past year, the U.S. has paused visa and other programs for Afghan nationals, among others. Those already in the country have also been stripped of temporary permission to stay.
Further immigration restrictions followed after an Afghan national was charged in the deadly shooting of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C., last month.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, N.C., cautioned against a “knee-jerk reaction” that could block a number of Afghans with valid cases for temporary or permanent immigration status from coming to the U.S.
“One thing we’ve forgotten is how important that is for our special operators,” Tillis said, referencing examples of his own constituents with deep attachments to Afghans abroad. “It puts them in a more dangerous spot if we lose sight of that.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also worried about the impact on Afghans from the cuts.
“There are Afghan citizens who acted as guards, drivers, interpreters, cooks for our troops,” Collins said. “I’ve talked to veterans who have been very concerned about the safety of Afghans who have helped us. So I think the answer is more intensive and careful vetting than occurred during the Biden administration.”
The GOP divisions come as President Trump spent the bulk of his 2024 presidential campaign vowing to launch the largest deportation effort in American history.
Afghan soldiers who assisted U.S. troops have, in the past, enjoyed bipartisan support for their immigration cases.
Meanwhile, Trump has promoted the idea that only some people are welcome in the U.S.
“I’ve also announced a permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries,” Trump said last week at an event in Pennsylvania.
Policy changes throughout the year
On his first day in office, Trump paused the refugee resettlement program, effectively stranding thousands of people already approved to come to the U.S.
This included Afghans who had helped U.S. troops, immigration advocates said. Afghanistan was one of the top countries sending refugees to the U.S. in fiscal year 2024, according to Ho
The refugee program has since been significantly scaled back, and the target demographic for entrants is now white South Africans, according to the administration.
In June, Trump added Afghanistan to a list of 19 countries for which travel to the U.S. would be restricted.
And after the attack on National Guard members in D.C. around Thanksgiving, the Trump administration paused processing asylum cases, green cards and other immigration services for those from the countries listed in June’s travel ban. It also paused processing all visas specifically for Afghans.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged in connection with the shooting, was admitted to the U.S. in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program. He was then granted asylum earlier this year under the Trump administration.
“This animal would’ve never been here if not for Joe Biden’s dangerous policies which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country and harm the American people,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in response to a request for comment about the Republican divisions.
It is not clear what could have been uncovered through additional vetting before Lakanwal arrived to the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the suspect could have been radicalized after coming to the U.S. At the same time, advocates have long criticized agencies such as the CIA and DHS for failing to provide resources, including for mental health, for Afghan soldiers transitioning to life in America after experiencing harrowing violence.
Questions about Congress’s role
Immigrant advocacy groups accuse lawmakers of ceding their power to the president when it comes to immigration policy.
“Instead of asserting its constitutional role, Congress has allowed itself to be sidelined, failing to provide meaningful oversight,” Shawn VanDiver, the founder of the organization AfghanEvac, which advocates for Afghans who worked with U.S. troops, said during a press conference. “Failing to modernize the asylum, refugee, or [special immigrant visa] systems. The vacuum they have left is being filled with fear-mongering, not facts; politics, not policy.”
Congress this year has passed very few immigration-related bills, mostly focusing on funding the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement efforts. Many other legislative efforts to facilitate or reform immigration processes have been at a standstill.
But some Republicans are happy to leave immigration in the administration’s hands.
“Primarily, that’s an executive branch issue,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who sits on the Homeland Security Committee, said about the vetting process of Afghans and other immigrants.
“Our staff are not the ones that are actually doing the vetting. The vetting process does exist and is out there. It’s just a matter of its execution at this point.”
Republican leaders also appear aligned with the Trump administration on the topic.
“Republican leadership tanked months of bipartisan work,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., who introduced the provision, said in a statement. “It is truly shameful that my Republican colleagues, some of whom served in Afghanistan and uniquely understand the debt we owe our allies, have once again put blind loyalty to Trump over American principles and obligations.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told NPR that one solution to the question of Afghan vetting would be to pass the “Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act,” which provides a pathway for Afghans to apply for legal permanent residency, following additional vetting, and is supported by senators of both parties. The bill was introduced in August, but has not seen a committee vote.
“I’d like to see the bill that I sponsored, which would have increased vetting on anybody applying here, to take effect before we make another decision,” Cassidy said.
Still, enthusiasm to tackle anything immigration-related in this Congress is low.
John Cornyn, R-Texas, has in the past supported measures for special immigrant visas for Afghan military interpreters and translators. But he told NPR that now is not the right time to restart that conversation, without elaborating on his reasons.
“It’s premature to talk about that,” Cornyn said.
Republicans are divided on Afghan immigrant policy after the National Guard shooting
Over 17 million people in Afghanistan face severe food insecurity this winter, with malnutrition rising sharply, as WFP warns urgent humanitarian assistance is critically needed.
The World Food Programme has warned that more than 17 million Afghans are facing severe food insecurity as winter approaches, marking a sharp deterioration from last year’s conditions.
According to WFP’s latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report released Tuesday, acute hunger has worsened nationwide, placing three million more people at risk compared with the previous year.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) highlighted that nearly four million Afghanistan children are at risk of acute malnutrition, stressing that access to healthcare and nutritional support remains critically low. Similarly, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that returning migrants face extreme poverty and food shortages, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.
The agency estimates that nearly four million Afghan children will suffer from acute malnutrition during the coming winter, warning that untreated cases could lead to a rise in child deaths.
John Ayliff, WFP’s country director in Afghanistan, said the organisation has repeatedly warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis, adding that new data confirms those fears as mortality risks increase.
Multiple shocks are compounding the crisis, including prolonged drought affecting half the country, economic collapse, job losses, recent earthquakes, and the forced return of over 2.5 million migrants from Iran and Pakistan.
Despite soaring needs, humanitarian funding for Afghanistan is declining. WFP says it urgently requires $468 million to deliver life-saving food assistance to six million of the country’s most vulnerable people through the harsh winter ahead.
Over 17 Million in Afghanistan Face Severe Hunger as Winter Approaches, Warns WFP
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
