Shelter Crisis Deepens as Afghan Returnees Increase

January 17, 2026 Current News Articles

Bibi Amina Hakimi

TOLOnews’ Reporter

17 Jan 2026

Officials from the Islamic Emirate say efforts are underway to address this issue, with land distribution continuing in several provinces.

With the growing number of Afghan refugees returning to the country, securing shelter has become a serious challenge for many of them.

Officials from the Islamic Emirate say efforts are underway to address this issue, with land distribution continuing in several provinces. According to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, over 3,000 plots of land have been distributed so far to forcibly deported returnees.

He stated: “So far, 3,046 plots of land have been distributed in various provinces among returnees who were forcibly expelled. The distribution process is ongoing. Also, under the directive of the esteemed Amir al-Mu’minin, emergency aid for returnees has accelerated, including food, non-food items, and cash assistance.”

At the same time, the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing announced that the Joint Permanent Committee for the Resettlement of Migrants has distributed land to over 2,800 families in Kunar, Laghman, Maidan Wardak, Kandahar, Kunduz, Paktia, and Bamyan. Land distribution for another 5,000 families has also begun in Nangarhar.

Kamal Afghan, the ministry’s spokesperson, said: “The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has launched land distribution step-by-step in all provinces, and the program will, God willing, expand to ensure fair distribution of plots to all returnees.”

Meanwhile, some returnees from Pakistan say the lack of shelter and basic living necessities is a major difficulty. They are calling for faster land distribution and provision of essential services.

Yar Mohammad, a returnee, said: “Now I’m going to Baghlan, but I have nothing there. We sold everything we had just to pay rent. We ask the Islamic Emirate to help us with land and food distribution.”

Another returnee, Sher Mohammad, added: “Our request from the government is to give us blankets and cash aid because it’s cold here and we’re struggling.”

According to statistics, nearly seven million Afghans have returned from various countries since the return of the Islamic Emirate to power, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive planning to resettle and support them sustainably.

Pakistan Detains Over 130,000 Afghans in Five Months, UN Finds

January 17, 2026 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

17 Jan 2026

A Refuge for Afghan Music Is at Risk of Falling Silent

January 17, 2026 Current News Articles

By Elian Peltier

Reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan

The New York Times

Jan. 17, 2026

Peshawar is a haven for Afghan artists who fled from the Taliban, which has banned music. A new policy of deportations by Pakistan threatens this community of exiles.

The Pakistani city of Peshawar once offered refuge to generations of Afghans, including musicians who preserved their country’s rich tradition of songs and ballads beyond the Taliban’s reach.

But the rhythms that resonate in wedding halls, concert stages and apartment blocks are falling silent, as the Pakistani government pursues a wave of expulsions that has already forced out a million Afghans since last year.

The musicians are part of a community of Afghan artists that has flourished over decades, and that also includes carpet weavers and dancers. Pakistan provided a haven for millions of Afghans fleeing war and political instability, first from Soviet invaders in the 1980s and later from the Taliban, who first seized power in the 1990s.

The Taliban have banned music, persecuted artists and burned or smashed instruments, both in the 1990s and since reclaiming power in 2021.

Since 2023, the Pakistani authorities have publicly accused the Taliban government of supporting insurgents targeting Pakistan, and in retaliation have declared millions of Afghans illegal — including those who fled after the Taliban takeover.

“I cannot bring them to Afghanistan because the Taliban will torch them,” Mr. Zamri said about his 2,000 cassette tapes, half of which bowed the crumbling wooden shelves of his shop. Mr. Zamri, who is 52 and fled Afghanistan in the 1980s, said he had already hidden the other half of his collection — a private archive of recordings dating back to the 1950s.

He did not know what might happen to them if he were sent back to Afghanistan.

Exiled Afghan artists have also kept Afghan music alive in other neighboring countries, in Europe and in the United States. But nowhere have musicians flourished across as many generations as in Pakistan, and in Peshawar in particular.

The first wave of emigration, in the 1980s, brought artists like Qamar Gula, one of Afghanistan’s most famous female singers. Exiled Afghan musicians, mostly from the Pashto community, also recorded songs of resistance against the 1979 Soviet invasion on cassette tapes that were smuggled back across the border to bolster the mujahedeen fighting the Red Army.

As Afghanistan plunged into civil war in the 1990s, more artists arrived in Pakistan, performing to the rhythm of tabla drums and rubab, an instrument like a lute. Among them was Homayoun Sakhi, a rubab master who fled to Peshawar as a teenager and later performed in concert halls across the United States, Europe and Asia.

Local Pakistani artists and fellow Afghan musicians have accommodated the newcomers. Tiny apartments became makeshift talent agencies visited by Pakistanis seeking to hire Afghan bands for weddings. Recording studios provided professional equipment to cultural icons like Sadiq Fitrat Nashenas, a star from a golden era for Afghan music before the Soviets came.

By the early 2000s, Peshawar was home to more than 500 Afghan musicians, according to local news reports.

The second Taliban takeover, in 2021, pushed a new generation of Afghan artists to Peshawar. Now, their songs are promoted on TikTok and YouTube.

Baryali Wali, a Pashto singer, hid his instruments in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, and fled across the border a month after the Taliban seized power in 2021. He has not been back since and missed his daughter’s wedding last summer.

Mr. Wali said he feared that the collective soul of Afghan music would vanish if artists were expelled to Afghanistan. “There are Afghan musicians in exile across the world, but it’s important to have a group component like we have here,” he said in a recording studio in Peshawar.

Expulsions and forced returns have increased in Peshawar and its surrounding province in recent weeks, according to data collected by the International Organization for Migration. “We’re all keeping our heads low now,” Mr. Wali said.

On a recent evening at Mafkoora, the cultural center, the singer Saidullah Wafa performed a tune of longing. “This is my beloved country, this is my life, this is my Afghanistan,” he sang to the notes of two acolytes playing the drums and rubab.

The band played one last song — a jab at the Taliban — before packing up their instruments. “With the Taliban over there or the police here, we feel the same fear,” Mr. Wafa said.

When one of the musicians, Ikram Shinwari, tried to flee Afghanistan in 2021 with his harmonium, the Taliban ordered him to destroy it with his own hands, he said.

Ahmad Sarmast, the exiled founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, said that since reclaiming power, the Taliban had gradually imposed repressive cultural policies similar to those of their first era of rule.

“Now Afghanistan might be the only silent nation in the world,” he said.

Wasim Sajjad and Zia ur-Rehman contributed reporting.

Elian Peltier is an international correspondent for The Times, covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghanistan Faces Triple Crisis of Drought, Mass Returns and Funding Shortfalls, UN Says

January 17, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

January 17, 2026

The United Nations said Afghanistan is facing a triple crisis driven by drought, returning migrants and funding shortfalls, worsening food insecurity and limiting access to health and basic services.

Afghanistan is facing a convergence of three major crises, drought, mass migrant returns and shrinking global aid, that are pushing millions toward severe hardship, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official has warned.

Andrika Ratwatte, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, said prolonged drought has hit around 70% of Afghans who depend on agriculture, sharply undermining food security across the country.

He said the return of about 2.5 million migrants from Iran and Pakistan, combined with a wider global funding crunch, has further strained already fragile communities and aid operations.

Afghanistan remains heavily dependent on international assistance after decades of conflict and economic collapse, with humanitarian agencies struggling to maintain basic services amid falling donor contributions.

Restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment have also weakened household resilience, limiting families’ ability to cope with economic shocks and rising food prices.

Ratwatte said only 37% of the UN’s humanitarian funding appeal for Afghanistan has been met, forcing the closure of 400 health facilities and 300 nutrition centres nationwide.

Those closures have cut off healthcare for more than three million people and nutrition support for at least 80,000 children, breastfeeding mothers and other vulnerable groups, he said.

The UN official stressed that programmes covering health, education, social protection and livelihoods are “life-saving” and must be preserved or expanded, particularly for women and girls who make up half the population.

In a separate assessment, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Afghanistan will remain among the world’s largest humanitarian crises in 2026, citing food insecurity, climate shocks, migrant returns and systemic exclusion of women.

UN agencies estimate that 21.9 million Afghans, about 45% of the population, will require humanitarian assistance in 2026, warning that without urgent funding increases, conditions could deteriorate further.

UN Rights Envoy Urges Release of Detained Journalist and Female Sports Coach in Afghanistan

January 17, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

January 17, 2026

The UN human rights rapporteur for Afghanistan called for the immediate release of a journalist and a female sports coach detained by authorities.

The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, has called for the immediate release of two women detained in separate incidents in northern and western Afghanistan.

In a post on X on Saturday, Bennett said he was deeply concerned about the arrest of a female journalist in Kunduz and a female taekwondo coach in Herat, urging Taliban to ensure their safety.

Local sources reported that Nazera Rashidi, a journalist based in Kunduz, was detained on January, 10 by intelligence forces. Authorities later confirmed her arrest, claiming she and four other women were being held in connection with a criminal case.

In a separate incident, Khadija Ahmadzada, a women’s taekwondo coach in Herat’s Jebrail district, was detained last week by officials enforcing moral conduct regulations, according to local residents.

Bennett said the detentions reflect a broader pattern of intimidation and repression targeting women professionals, journalists and civil society figures across the country.

International rights groups say arrests are often carried out without due process, leaving families uninformed and detainees without access to legal representation.

The incidents come amid mounting restrictions on women’s participation in public life, including bans on education, employment and sports.

The United Nations and foreign governments have repeatedly warned that continued rights violations risk further isolating Afghanistan diplomatically and worsening its humanitarian and economic crises.

Putin Reaffirms Afghanistan’s Regional Role, Highlights Ties with Kabul

January 16, 2026 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

16 Jan 2026

He made these remarks during a credential ceremony for ambassadors from 30 countries, including Afghanistan, at the Kremlin.

As the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expands its diplomatic engagement with the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again emphasized Afghanistan’s role in regional dynamics in his latest remarks.

Putin stated that Afghanistan holds observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and that cooperation between Moscow and Kabul has significantly expanded in recent years.

“Afghanistan has observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” President Putin said. “In recent years, cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan has grown rapidly, which has been facilitated by Russia’s decision last year to officially recognize the authorities of this country.”

He made these remarks during a credential ceremony for ambassadors from 30 countries, including Afghanistan, at the Kremlin.

Putin expressed Russia’s interest in seeing Afghanistan as a united, independent country free from war, terrorism, and drug trafficking.

“We are sincerely interested in seeing Afghanistan as a united, independent, and peaceful country, free from war, terrorism, and drug trafficking,” he added.

During the same event, Gul Hassan Hassan, the Islamic Emirate’s ambassador to Russia, formally presented his credentials to President Putin.

According to a statement from the Islamic Emirate’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following the ceremony at the Kremlin, the ambassador held a separate meeting with the Russian president, during which they discussed the importance of strengthening bilateral ties and continuing cooperation.

The statement reads: “After presenting his credentials, in a separate meeting, the Afghan ambassador thanked the Russian president for his remarks and conveyed the goodwill messages of the Amir al-Mu’mineen, the Prime Minister, and the Foreign Minister. Both sides emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral relations and continuing cooperation.”

Russia remains the only country to officially recognize the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since its return to power four years ago, an acknowledgment not yet extended by any other country.

Afghanistan’s Mineral Resources Seen as Key to Economic Self-Sufficiency

January 16, 2026 Current News Articles

Liluma Qadiry

Tolo News

16 Jan 2026

UN Says Hunger in Afghanistan Forcing Families to Sell Girls Into Early Marriage

January 16, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

January 16, 2026

The United Nations warned that worsening hunger in Afghanistan is driving desperate coping measures, as unemployment, poverty and funding cuts deepen the humanitarian crisis.

The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan warned that worsening malnutrition is pushing families into desperate measures, including selling young girls into early marriage to afford food.

John Ayliff, WFP’s country director for Afghanistan, said the deepening hunger crisis is having severe consequences for women and girls, adding that the situation has been largely overlooked by the international community.

He said UN estimates show that five million women and children are expected to suffer from malnutrition over the next 12 months, with nearly four million children requiring urgent treatment.

United Nations data show Afghanistan’s economy remains near collapse, with around 75% of the population unemployed and more than 90% living below the poverty line.

UN agencies said in a report released on Wednesday that poverty levels have deepened nationwide, while restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment have further reduced household incomes.

Ayliff said funding cuts have forced nutrition clinics to shut down, warning that children with severe malnutrition will die if treatment is unavailable.

International aid groups have linked the crisis to earlier reports from western Afghanistan, including Herat, where families previously sold daughters into marriage as food shortages intensified.

The International Rescue Committee has also warned that reduced U.S. funding has cut humanitarian access in Afghanistan by nearly two-thirds, worsening hunger conditions.

Ayliff said WFP staff increasingly witness children pulled out of school and sent to work, calling it “shocking” when families are told aid agencies no longer have funds to help.

UN officials warn that without urgent funding and policy relief, Afghanistan’s hunger crisis will continue to drive irreversible social harm, with women and children bearing the heaviest cost.

Over 5.2 Million Return to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan in 2025, Aid Groups Warn

January 16, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

January 16, 2026

More than 5.2 million people returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan in 2025, worsening humanitarian pressures, aid agencies said, urging increased international support.

More than 5.2 million people returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan between January and November 2025, sharply worsening the country’s already fragile humanitarian situation, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said.

Citing humanitarian agencies and the International Organization for Migration, the IFRC said over 3.6 million people returned from Iran, including about 1.2 million who were forcibly deported, while more than 804,000 returned from Pakistan.

The pace of returns increased significantly after April, coinciding with tougher enforcement measures in both countries, and continued despite harsh winter conditions that typically slow cross-border movement.

Aid agencies warned that the scale and speed of returns are overwhelming Afghanistan’s limited reception capacity and placing additional strain on host communities already facing poverty and food insecurity.

Pakistan launched the second phase of its crackdown on undocumented foreigners in April 2025, initially targeting undocumented Afghans and later extending the policy to holders of Afghan citizen cards and registration certificates.

Iran accounted for nearly two-thirds of all returns in 2025, driven by stricter residency controls and economic pressure, with most returnees entering Afghanistan through Islam Qala in Herat and Milak–Zaranj in Nimroz.

Humanitarian agencies said many returnees arrived with minimal belongings, while women, children, unaccompanied minors and people with special protection needs face heightened risks due to limited access to shelter, healthcare and jobs.

They also raised concerns about reports of arbitrary deportations, including of registered refugees and asylum seekers, warning such practices may violate international protection standards.

Aid groups say Afghanistan, already struggling with widespread poverty and food shortages, is ill-equipped to absorb millions of returnees without urgent international support.

They urged donors to increase funding and protection measures, warning that continued mass returns without proper reintegration support could fuel further instability and new waves of displacement.

Hunger Threatens Nearly 5 Million in Afghanistan

January 15, 2026 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

January 15, 2026

The International Committee of the Red Cross says 4.7 million people in Afghanistan are facing hunger, with assessments revealing the depth of the crisis.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a new report that 4.7 million people in Afghanistan are facing hunger, with recent assessments revealing the depth of the food crisis in several hard-hit areas.

The ICRC warned that 17 million people nationwide are in urgent need of humanitarian food assistance, underscoring the scale of food insecurity across the country amid prolonged economic collapse.

In response, the organisation said it has expanded emergency food support in the provinces of Bamyan, Kunar and Herat, targeting the most vulnerable households during the harsh winter period.

Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is driven by a collapsed economy, with around 75% unemployment nationwide and nearly 90% of the population living below the poverty line, according to international estimates, severely limiting families’ ability to buy food.

Years of conflict, international isolation, frozen assets and declining aid flows have compounded economic hardship, while droughts and natural disasters continue to erode livelihoods in rural and urban areas alike.

The ICRC said 95% of people surveyed showed poor food consumption, reporting severe coping measures such as borrowing money and delaying medical care, while malnutrition rates among infants and young children remain alarmingly high.

The report warned that about 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in 2026, while 3.7 million children under five are already affected, including one-third with severe acute malnutrition.

ICRC Afghanistan chief Lisa Owen said acute hunger remains a persistent challenge, warning that deep funding shortages are forcing cuts to lifesaving programmes, pushing millions closer to starvation unless urgent international support increases.

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