Kabul Fires Eight Drones at Pakistan, Islamabad Says

September 24, 2026
Khaama Press

Pakistan’s military has shot down eight drones that allegedly entered its airspace from Afghanistan near the Torkham border crossing and the northwestern city of Kohat, according to Pakistani security sources, marking the latest escalation in worsening tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.

Security officials claimed that four drones were intercepted near Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, while another four were destroyed in mountainous areas near Kohat after crossing into Pakistani territory. Pakistan said its air defense systems detected and neutralized the drones before they reached their intended targets.

Pakistani authorities claimed the drones were launched from Afghanistan territory and described the incident as another example of cross-border security threats originating from areas under Taliban control. Officials said the armed forces and the Pakistan Air Force responded immediately after the drones violated Pakistani airspace.

Pakistan’s military has not released photographs, video footage, or technical details identifying the drones, and Reuters said it could not independently verify Islamabad’s claims. Taliban authorities in Afghanistan had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.

The reported drone interceptions come amid months of escalating hostilities between Pakistan and the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan. Earlier this year, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry claimed it had carried out strikes on targets inside Pakistan, while Islamabad said it intercepted Afghan drones and accused Kabul of allowing militant groups to operate from its territory.

Relations between the two neighbors have deteriorated sharply in 2026 after Pakistan accused the Taliban government of failing to curb Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups blamed for attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban has repeatedly rejected the accusations, insisting that it does not allow Afghanistan territory to be used to threaten other countries.

The latest incident follows a series of cross-border military exchanges around Torkham and other frontier areas, underscoring growing security concerns along the 2,600-kilometer Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Despite diplomatic efforts, including mediation by regional actors, violence and mutual accusations have continued to strain ties between Islamabad and Kabul.

Pakistani officials said no casualties or property damage were reported from the drone incident. Authorities said investigations are continuing into the origin and intended targets of the drones.

Kabul Fires Eight Drones at Pakistan, Islamabad Says
read more

OIC Contact Group Discusses Afghanistan on Sidelines of UN General Assembly

September 24, 2026
TOLOnews
TV Network
24 Sept. 2026

Pakistan’s foreign minister also described continued attention to the situation in Afghanistan as important.

A meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Contact Group on Afghanistan was held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed at the meeting that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation should, through effective coordination and genuine dialogue, continue to keep Afghanistan high on the international agenda.

Referring to Qatar’s hosting of meetings under the Doha process, Al-Khulaifi said his country is also ready to host the fourth meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “Al-Khulaifi also referred to the third meeting of the Working Group on Counter-Narcotics and the second meeting of the Working Group on the Private Sector, which were held on the 9th and 10th of Saratan this year, and said Qatar looks forward to the fourth meeting of special envoys.”

The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation also reiterated the organization’s commitment to supporting the people of Afghanistan, adding that its approach is based on engagement and practical cooperation with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities.

The OIC said in a statement: “Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, reiterated the organization’s commitment to supporting the people of Afghanistan and said the OIC’s approach is based on engagement and practical cooperation with Afghanistan’s de facto authorities—an approach that, according to him, should serve the interests of the Afghan people and ensure the continuation of humanitarian activities.”

Pakistan’s foreign minister also described continued attention to the situation in Afghanistan as important, adding that expanding cooperation with Afghanistan is conditional on a change in the current approach of the country’s de facto authorities.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said: “As members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, regional partners and neighbors, we can help Afghanistan integrate with the international community; however, the Taliban must first take the necessary steps to create a conducive environment.”

Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister said at the OIC Contact Group meeting on Afghanistan that by expanding cooperation in trade, transit and energy, Afghanistan has the potential to become a regional connectivity hub.

Yalchin Rafiyev also expressed support at the meeting for the efforts of the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan.

A statement from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “At the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan, support was expressed for the group’s efforts, and Afghanistan’s potential to become a regional connectivity hub through expanded cooperation in trade, transportation and energy was emphasized.”

The first meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan was held on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

OIC Contact Group Discusses Afghanistan on Sidelines of UN General Assembly
read more

Pakistani officials say Afghan Taliban shelled Pakistan’s border posts. Kabul denies the attack

September 23, 2026
By RIAZ KHAN and MUNIR AHMED

Associated Press

September 23, 2026

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban forces shelled Pakistani border posts overnight after Pakistani troops foiled what they described as a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants, local Pakistani officials said Wednesday.

The spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied any attacks by the Afghan Taliban forces.

The conflicting statements came just days after Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Islamabad said were militant hideouts, an escalation between Kabul and Islamabad that threatens mediation efforts by regional powers.

Separately, Pakistani security forces neutralized eight rudimentary drones, which Islamabad said were launched by the Afghan Taliban, before they could enter the northwestern city of Kohat and the border town of Torkham. All the drones were shot down and caused no damage, authorities said, adding the action underscored Pakistan’s round-the-clock vigilance and readiness.

This week’s airstrikes ended several weeks of relative calm following months of cross-border hostilities. Also, earlier this month, Pakistani security forces killed 15 militants attempting to cross into the country from Afghanistan.

According to four local Pakistani officials, the militants’ infiltration attempt focused on areas near Afghan border posts in Paktia and Nangarhar provinces, allegedly with support from the Afghan Taliban forces.

The officials referred to the militants as Fitna-ul-Khawarij, a term Islamabad uses for the Pakistani Taliban, a group that is separate but allied with the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militants to operate from its territory and carry out attacks across the border, an accusation that Kabul denies.

After Pakistani troops thwarted the infiltration attempt, Afghan Taliban forces allegedly fired mortars and other heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts, the four officials said. Pakistani forces responded with artillery fire, targeting Taliban border posts, mortar sites, and defensive positions.

The officials said Afghan Taliban forces subsequently abandoned several positions and suffered casualties. The four officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media about the latest flare-up.

The accounts could not be independently verified. The latest escalations threaten mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to broker a lasting peace between Kabul and Islamabad.

In Monday’s airstrikes, Pakistan’s Information Ministry said 28 militants were killed, while Afghan authorities said at least three civilians died and four others were wounded. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan confirmed the civilian casualties and Kabul formally protested the attack.

On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed concern about what he said was the presence of more than two dozen anti-Pakistani militant groups in Afghanistan.

Monday’s Pakistani airstrikes followed a shootout with militants in Hangu, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, that killed six Pakistani security personnel. Days earlier, a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the nearby city of Kohat.

Eight gunmen then stormed the compound, triggering a 20-hour gunbattle that killed at least 21 people, most of them police officers. No group had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Pakistani authorities blamed the violence on the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups. The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have stepped up their attacks on Pakistani security forces, boosted by the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

 

Pakistani officials say Afghan Taliban shelled Pakistan’s border posts. Kabul denies the attack
read more

Support for Afghan Women and Girls Emphasized at UN Sideline Meeting

September 23, 2026
Tolo News
23 Sept. 2026

Participants at the meeting emphasized continued support for Afghan women and girls and the importance of their participation in processes related to the country’s future.

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stressed the importance of a comprehensive and coherent approach by the international community in its engagement with Afghanistan. He said human rights should be part of discussions on humanitarian assistance and other issues related to Afghanistan.

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “A comprehensive human rights perspective must be an integral part of these discussions. Human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, must be placed firmly at the center of these discussions.”

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy for Women and Girls emphasized the role of women in processes related to peace, stability and development in Afghanistan, saying that women’s perspectives must be taken into account in decisions concerning the country’s future.

Baroness Harriet Harman, the UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls, said: “Afghan women and girls must be able to participate actively in decisions that shape Afghanistan’s future and their own. Any sustainable path toward peace, stability and international engagement must include the participation, leadership and perspectives of Afghan women.”

Diego Martínez Belío, Spain’s State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, said: “We also feel that the resolve of the international community is weakening. We will do everything we can to maintain these two dimensions of our policy—a policy that is the right one for Afghanistan and Afghan women.”

Ireland’s foreign minister also emphasized the importance of continuing cooperation with trusted organizations in Afghanistan, saying that assistance should reach people in need directly.

Helen McEntee, Ireland’s foreign minister, said: “Afghanistan is also facing a humanitarian crisis. Millions of people in Afghanistan are facing and living through this humanitarian crisis. Therefore, we must ensure that we can continue our support.”

Although the Islamic Emirate has not recently commented on this meeting, it has previously said that women’s rights are guaranteed within the framework of Islamic principles.

Support for Afghan Women and Girls Emphasized at UN Sideline Meeting
read more

Malala Urges World Leaders Not to Abandon Afghan Women at UN General Assembly

September 22, 2026
Khaama Press

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has urged world leaders not to abandon Afghanistan’s women and girls, calling for urgent international action to end what she described as the Taliban’s “gender apartheid” and hold the group accountable for systematic discrimination.

Speaking at a high-level event titled “Women and Girls in Afghanistan: Five Years of Resistance, Solidarity and the Pursuit of Accountability” on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Yousafzai said Afghan women have continued to resist despite being erased from public life.

“Five years of Taliban rule have stolen the future of an entire generation of Afghan girls,” Yousafzai said, warning that millions of girls have been denied education, employment and basic freedoms since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

Yousafzai said she has met Afghan girls who continue studying in secret underground schools despite the Taliban’s ban on secondary and university education for women. She described their determination as evidence that Afghan women “have not surrendered” despite years of restrictions.

She called on governments attending the UN General Assembly to place the rights of Afghan women and girls at the center of international engagement with Afghanistan. She urged states to formally recognize the Taliban’s treatment of women as gender apartheid, a term increasingly used by Afghan activists and human rights organizations to describe institutionalized discrimination based on gender.

The Taliban have barred girls from secondary schools and universities, prohibited many women from working for NGOs and the United Nations, and imposed extensive restrictions on women’s movement, dress and participation in public life. The United Nations has repeatedly said the measures amount to unprecedented violations of women’s rights.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and senior UN officials have also warned that excluding women and girls from education and public life is deepening Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crisis, while isolating the country internationally.

International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have renewed calls for governments to pursue accountability mechanisms against Taliban officials responsible for policies targeting women and girls. Several countries have also supported efforts to advance the recognition of gender apartheid under international law.

Yousafzai said the international community should not normalize relations with the Taliban without measurable improvements in women’s rights. She stressed that Afghan women “deserve freedom, dignity and equal opportunities,” and called for sustained diplomatic pressure until discriminatory policies are reversed.

The event at the United Nations brought together Afghan women activists, diplomats and human rights advocates to mark five years since the Taliban’s return to power and discuss international accountability for ongoing restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan.

Malala Urges World Leaders Not to Abandon Afghan Women at UN General Assembly
read more

Pakistan says airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 28 militants; Kabul reports 3 civilians killed

September 22, 2026
MUNIR AHMED and ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN
September 21, 2026

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani fighter jets on Monday struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Pakistani officials described as suspected militant hideouts. Pakistan said 28 militants were killed, while authorities in Kabul reported at least three civilian deaths.

The strikes near the countries’ shared border marked a renewed escalation in tensions, raising the prospect of further cross-border hostilities. They also threatened to complicate mediation efforts by regional powers, including China.

The strikes came after Pakistan warned that it could target militants inside Afghanistan following two deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces near the border in recent days.

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, known by its acronym UNAMA, said in a social media post on X that it had confirmed that “at least three civilians, including a man, a woman and a girl, were killed and four injured in apparent airstrikes” in Afghanistan’s Kunar province in the early hours of Monday.

UNAMA said it had documented over 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan from cross-border violence so far this year.

“We reiterate our call for respect for international humanitarian law to prevent civilian casualties,” it added.

Escalating tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Pakistan’s Information Ministry said security forces conducted a planned, intelligence-driven ground operation in the northwest following a series of militant attacks in the country. The operation was followed by “calibrated airstrikes against the hideouts and safe havens of terrorist organizations responsible for these attacks.”

The ministry said in a post on X that the airstrikes killed 28 militants along the Afghan border. Afghanistan’s government said the strikes killed three civilians and wounded four others — a toll confirmed by the UN.

Militant attacks targeting Pakistan’s police and security forces have surged in recent years. The escalation follows months of military action. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory.

Authorities in Islamabad have blamed the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups for most of the violence. The Pakistani Taliban are separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban that returned to power in 2021.

Afghanistan vows to respond

Afghan government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid condemned the airstrikes in a post on X and said there would be a response.

“We condemn this aggression and oppression, regarding it as a repetition of such crimes. Pakistani military circles have once again committed such a crime to divert attention from their country’s security failures,” he wrote. “The Afghans will give a fitting response to this, God willing.”

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul and lodged a formal protest about the strikes.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regards these attacks as a clear violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemns them in the strongest terms,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Islamic Emirate once again categorically rejects allegations that recent security incidents in Pakistan originate from Afghan soil.”

Afghan deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the strikes occurred around 3 a.m. in Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal district of Paktika province. Citing preliminary information, Fitrat said a local resident’s home was struck, killing three family members and wounding four other relatives.

Fitrat said strikes in the Rakhah and Tor Kundi areas of Barmal destroyed a shop and an unoccupied house, but caused no casualties.

Attacks come after days of violence

The strikes came a day after six Pakistani security personnel, including two army officers, were killed in a shootout with militants in Hangu, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

On Friday, a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the Pakistani city of Kohat. Eight gunmen stormed offices, setting off a 20-hour gunbattle during which at least 21 people, most of them police officers, were killed and more than 100 were wounded, Pakistani officials said.

Pakistan calls on Kabul to dismantle militant sanctuaries

Pakistan’s Information Ministry warned on Saturday that the country could strike militants inside Afghanistan in response to attacks on Pakistan. It blamed the Kohat attack on militants allegedly based in Afghanistan and accused the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering and supporting groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan.

Afghanistan has long denied Pakistan’s claims that it provides shelter or support to militants.

“Pakistan has both the will and the capability to eliminate terrorist threats wherever they are,” the ministry said. It also called on Kabul to take “credible, verifiable and sustained measures” to dismantle what Pakistan describes as militant sanctuaries and recruitment and training networks in Afghanistan.

No group had claimed responsibility for the attacks in Kohat or Hangu by the time of Monday’s strikes. Suspicion fell on the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which has intensified attacks on police and other security forces in Pakistan in recent years.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of sheltering TTP leaders and allowing militants to launch cross-border attacks. Afghanistan’s government denies the allegations.

Afghan reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.

Pakistan says airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 28 militants; Kabul reports 3 civilians killed
read more

Over 635,000 Afghan Migrants Forcibly Returned from Iran, Pakistan

September 22, 2026
Mursaleen Muwahid
Multilingual Journalist & Social Media Editor
21 Sept. 2026

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate says a specific mechanism has been established at the country’s border crossings to assist deportees.

Since the beginning of the current solar year 1405, more than 635,000 Afghan migrants have been forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan, a figure that reflects continued pressure on Afghan migrants in the two countries.

Some of those deported say they were not given enough time to collect their belongings and that meeting their basic needs has become one of their main concerns after returning to Afghanistan.

Zakir, a deported migrant, said: “They would not let us live there. They even threatened to demolish our homes.”

For families returning to Afghanistan after years of living abroad, starting life again is not easy. Migration experts say employment, shelter and access to services are among their most pressing needs.

Mohammad Khan Talibi Mohammadzai, a migrant rights activist, said: “The large-scale return of Afghan migrants without proper planning puts additional pressure on Afghanistan’s labor market, housing and public services. The Afghan government must immediately establish a joint mechanism among the relevant institutions for the registration, settlement, employment and reintegration of returnees.”

In Kabul, some residents are calling on host countries to treat Afghan migrants appropriately and manage their return in a way that respects their rights and human dignity.

Mohammad Halim, a Kabul resident, said: “Our request to Pakistan is that, considering the situation in Afghanistan, migrants should be returned to Afghanistan in an orderly manner.”

Elham, a Kabul resident, said: “We ask Iran and Pakistan to postpone the return of Afghan migrants until the end of winter.”

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate says a specific mechanism has been established at the country’s border crossings to assist deportees.

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said: “Around 94,000 families have been forcibly returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan since the beginning of the current solar year.”

As the deportation of Afghans from neighboring countries continues, providing shelter and livelihood opportunities for hundreds of thousands of returnees remains among the challenges facing the Afghan government.

Over 635,000 Afghan Migrants Forcibly Returned from Iran, Pakistan
read more

Islamic Emirate: We Will Respond to Pakistan’s Attacks on Paktika, Kunar

September 22, 2026
TOLOnews
TV Network
21 Sept. 2026

According to confirmed figures, three people were killed and four others injured in the latest airstrikes by Pakistani forces.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, reacting to Pakistan’s attacks on Paktika and Kunar provinces, has stressed that it will respond appropriately.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said Pakistan’s military establishment had once again targeted Afghan civilians in an attempt to divert public attention from security failures inside Pakistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said: “We condemn this aggression and injustice and consider it a repetition of crimes. Pakistan’s military establishment, in an attempt to divert attention from security failures inside its own country, has once again committed such an act. Afghans will respond appropriately to this aggression.”

Meanwhile, former President Hamid Karzai also strongly condemned Pakistan’s airstrikes on parts of Kunar and Paktika provinces, describing them as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

Karzai said Pakistan’s current security challenges are the result of the country’s misguided policies toward Afghanistan and called on Pakistani authorities to reconsider their policies.

A post on former President Hamid Karzai’s X account stated: “The former president considers Pakistan’s current security problems to be the result of that country’s misguided policies toward Afghanistan and has called on Pakistan to reconsider its policies and pursue a path of good neighborliness, good relations and civilized engagement with Afghanistan.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also confirmed that three civilians were affected by Pakistani airstrikes early Monday and reiterated the need to protect civilians.

UNAMA said in a statement: “So far in 2026, UNAMA has documented over 1,100 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan from cross-border armed violence. We reiterate our call for respect for international humanitarian law to prevent civilian casualties.”

However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, while confirming that Pakistan carried out attacks on parts of Paktika and Kunar provinces early Monday, claimed that the strikes caused no collateral damage and that what it described as “terrorists” were targeted.

According to confirmed figures, three people were killed and four others injured in the latest airstrikes by Pakistani forces.

Islamic Emirate: We Will Respond to Pakistan’s Attacks on Paktika, Kunar
read more

Pakistan Conducts Overnight Airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika

September 21, 2026
Khaama Press

Pakistani military aircraft carried out overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Kunar and Paktika early Monday, killing at least three civilians and injuring several others, according to officials, in the latest escalation of cross-border tensions between the two neighboring countries.

Taliban officials said Pakistani fighter jets struck residential areas in Nurgal district of Kunar Province at about 2:30 a.m., targeting a house in Patan village. Authorities said three civilians were killed and several others were wounded in the strike.

A second wave of airstrikes reportedly hit Barmal district in Paktika Province around 4:00 a.m. Taliban-affiliated media said a vacant shop in the Tor Kandi area and an abandoned house in the Rakha area were destroyed, with no casualties reported from those locations.

Pakistan’s military had not publicly commented on the reported airstrikes as of Monday.

The strikes come as Pakistan has intensified military operations against armed groups following a surge in deadly attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan says Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it refers to as “Fitna al-Khawarij,” operates from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, an allegation the Kabul administration has repeatedly denied.

A day before the reported airstrikes, Pakistan’s military said six soldiers, including two officers, were killed during a fierce clash with militants in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistani authorities have also linked recent attacks in Kohat to militants they say originated from Afghanistan.

Cross-border airstrikes have become a recurring source of friction since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Islamabad has previously conducted strikes in Afghanistan’s eastern border provinces, saying it targets militant infrastructure used by the TTP and affiliated groups.

Taliban officials have condemned previous Pakistani airstrikes as violations of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and have accused Islamabad of targeting civilians instead of militant hideouts. Pakistan, however, maintains that it acts in self-defense against groups responsible for attacks on its territory.

The latest strikes are likely to deepen already strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad, as both sides continue to exchange accusations over border security and the presence of militant groups along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier.

Pakistan Conducts Overnight Airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika
read more

Afghanistan’s UN Seat Remains Unresolved as General Assembly Nears

September 21, 2026
TOLOnews
TV Network
21 Sept. 2026

The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, attended by world leaders, is set to begin in New York in two days.

The assembly comes as the dispute over Afghanistan’s permanent seat at the United Nations between the Islamic Emirate and the UN enters its sixth year, with the fate of the seat still unresolved.

Omar Mukhtar Nikzad, a university lecturer, said: “Regarding the existing conditions, both sides, the international community and the Islamic Emirate, need to reach an understanding. Progress needs to be made by both sides so that Afghanistan can once again return to the international community.”

The formation of an inclusive government, counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts, and respect for human rights are among the international community’s key conditions regarding the legitimacy of the current government. In turn, the Islamic Emirate has called for the removal of sanctions, the release of Afghanistan’s frozen assets, and the handover of Afghanistan’s permanent UN seat to the current government.

The two sides have so far failed to reach an agreement on these demands.

Political analyst Hewad Zazi said: “These demands raised by both sides, the international community and the Islamic Emirate, require constructive dialogue and consultation so that the concerns of both sides can be addressed. These challenges can only be resolved through dialogue and understanding, not pressure. The Islamic Emirate also needs to respond positively to some of these demands so that the narrative created by the international community regarding human rights in Afghanistan can come to an end.”

In addition to uncertainty over Afghanistan’s permanent seat at the United Nations, the country has also lost its voting rights for the third consecutive year due to unpaid annual membership contributions.

The outstanding amount is now estimated at more than $900,000. Before 2021, these contributions were paid by the previous republic government.

Afghanistan’s UN Seat Remains Unresolved as General Assembly Nears
read more

Recent Posts