Afghan women who fled Taliban to study abroad face imminent return after USAID cuts

Yogita Limaye

South Asia and Afghanistan correspondent

BBC News

8 March 2025

More than 80 Afghan women who fled the Taliban to pursue higher education in Oman now face imminent return back to Afghanistan, following the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to foreign aid programmes.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), their scholarships were abruptly terminated after a funding freeze ordered by President Donald Trump when he returned to office in January.

“It was heart-breaking,” one student told the BBC, speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals. “Everyone was shocked and crying. We’ve been told we will be sent back within two weeks.”

Since regaining power nearly four years ago, the Taliban has imposed draconian restrictions on women, including banning them from universities.

The Trump administration’s aid freeze has faced legal roadblocks, but thousands of humanitarian programmes around the world have already been terminated as the White House dismantles USAID and cuts tens of billions of dollars in spending.

The students in Oman say preparations are under way to return them to Afghanistan, and have appealed to the international community to “intervene urgently”.

The BBC has seen emails sent to the 82 students informing them that their scholarships have been “discontinued” due to the termination of the programme and USAID funding.

The emails – which acknowledge the news will be “profoundly disappointing and unsettling” – refer to travel arrangements back to Afghanistan, which caused alarm among the students.

“We need immediate protection, financial assistance and resettlement opportunities to a safe country where we can continue our education,” one told the BBC.

The USAID website’s media contact page remains offline. The BBC has contacted the US State Department for comment.

The Afghan women, now facing a forced return from Oman, had been pursuing graduate and post-graduate courses under the Women’s Scholarship Endowment (WSE), a USAID programme which began in 2018.

It provided scholarships for Afghan women to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the disciplines banned for women by the Taliban.

Just over a week ago, the students were told their scholarships had been terminated.

“It’s like everything has been taken away from me,” another student told the BBC. “It was the worst moment. I’m under extreme stress right now.”

These women, mostly aged in their 20s, qualified for scholarships in 2021 before the Taliban seized Afghanistan. Many continued their studies in Afghan universities until December 2022, when the Taliban banned higher education for women.

After 18 months in limbo, they said they fled to Pakistan last September.

USAID then facilitated their visas to Oman, where they arrived between October and November 2024.

“If we are sent back, we will face severe consequences. It would mean losing all our dreams,” a student said. “We won’t be able to study and our families might force us to get married. Many of us could also be at personal risk due to our past affiliations and activism.”

The Taliban has cracked down on women protesting for education and work, with many activists beaten, detained and threatened.

Women in Afghanistan describe themselves as “dead bodies moving around” under the regime’s brutal policies.

The Taliban government says it has been trying to resolve the issue of women’s education, but has also defended its supreme leader’s diktats, saying they are “in accordance with Islamic Sharia law”.

“Afghanistan is experiencing gender apartheid, with women systematically excluded from basic rights, including education,” a student said.

She and her friends in Oman had managed to escape that fate, as the scholarships were supposed to fund their education until 2028.

“When we came here, our sponsors told us to not go back to Afghanistan till 2028 for vacations or to visit our families because it’s not safe for us. And now they’re telling us to go,” a student said.

Last month, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly blamed the situation for Afghan women on the US military’s withdrawal from the country under the Democrats, telling the Washington Post: “Afghan women are suffering because Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal allowed the Taliban to impose mediaeval Sharia law policies.”

The decision to slash American aid funding has come under the Trump administration, and been implemented by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

And these women face a grim future, urgently seeking a lifeline before time runs out.

Additional reporting by Aakriti Thapar

Afghan women who fled Taliban to study abroad face imminent return after USAID cuts
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UNESCO gives voice to Afghan girls and women and calls for their rights to be restored

UNESCO

“We have no right to education, no right to work, no right to even exist freely. They are removing us from society.” One woman in Afghanistan gives voice to what many Afghan women and girls are feeling: for them, life has become unbearable, limited to the four walls they live in. 

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, education has been forbidden to girls aged over 12. As a result of this ban, Afghanistan is now the only country in the world where girls do not have the right to attend secondary school. 

To date, these restrictions have affected around 1.5 million Afghan girls. According to new UNESCO data, if the ban continues until 2030, over 4 million girls will be affected. 

Disturbingly, this regression follows decades of progress. After an ambitious international campaign coordinated by UNESCO, the number of girls enrolled in primary school rose from nearly zero in 2001 to 2.5 million in 2021. By this date, 30% of Afghan girls and women could also read and write – compared to just 17% two decades earlier. 

Today, these advances are at an end, with the current restrictions wreaking disastrous consequences. Punitive salary cuts and irregular salary payments for female educators have led to a shortage of qualified teachers; a lack of equipment and facilities have taken their toll on education services. This decline in the quality of education has gone hand in hand with considerable learning losses. 

Even more concerningly, the restrictions are taking a toll on women and girls’ mental health. According to Afghan journalist Diba Akbari, “If women were studying, schools and universities were closed to them. Work was closed to them. Today, these women are all prisoners and struggling with mental health problems.”

Alternative learning methods

In this bleak context, alternative learning methods have offered a glimmer of hope. For the past three and a half years, UNESCO has provided financial support and training to Afghan media outlets, enabling educational programmes to be broadcast to an estimated audience of 17 million Afghans. 

We have established community-based literacy classes in several provinces, partnered with overseas universities offering online courses and supported educational programmes via radio and television.

One of these media outlets is Begum TV in Paris, along with its Kabul-based radio station, Radio Begum. Created by women for women, Radio Begum offers on-air-schooling, mental health support and financial literacy classes, reaching an audience of around 5.9 million – nearly two-thirds women – in 19 provinces.

However, in February 2025, Radio Begum was taken off air, after its offices were raided by Taliban officials. This closure caused widespread consternation, as one of Afghan women’s few remaining lifelines to the outside world was cut off. As underlined by one woman, “There is no more voice for us in Afghanistan.”

On International Women’s Day, UNESCO is seeking to change this situation, by ensuring the voices of Afghan girls and women are heard. It is organizing an international conference for women journalists, musicians and artists to call for the unconditional restoration of the right to education for Afghan girls and women. 

The event aims to shed light on the dire situation of Afghan women and girls, to honour and amplify their voices and to discuss ways in which the international community could support their education.Participants include street artist Shamsia Hassani, who will produce a piece of artwork for the occasion. Ms Hassani’s works portray Afghan women in a different light – brave, resilient and ambitious. As she says: “The woman that I use in my work… she’s alone… she’s facing a lot of problems. But she still is strong.” 

This is the key takeaway: Afghan girls and women are not weak, and they have a powerful message for the world. In the words of one defiant girl, “It is true that you have closed the gates of schools and universities, but you can never close our minds.”

UNESCO gives voice to Afghan girls and women and calls for their rights to be restored
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He Was Once a Covert Taliban Operative. Now He’s the Friendly Taxman.

Abdul Qahar Ghorbandi, head of Afghanistan’s Taxpayers Services Directorate, has the hard job of raising money in an impoverished country hobbled by international sanctions.

He is the Taxman of Kabul, a bearded, black-turbaned Talib with a genial manner and the calculating mind of a computer-savvy accountant.

As director of the Taliban’s Taxpayers Services Directorate, Abdul Qahar Ghorbandi has the unenviable task of raising revenue for the government of a wretchedly poor, isolated nation.

From his perch behind an enormous desk next to a black and white Taliban flag, Mr. Ghorbandi rides herd on hundreds of Afghan taxpayers each weekday. He makes sure they arrive with income documentation and leave with a fistful of tax forms to fill out.

Teachers, money changers, truckers, wedding planners, grocers and others trudge the worn hallways of the imposing tax building, discussing their taxes with Talibs pecking away at computer terminals.

U.S. aid, drastically reduced since 2021, could be eliminated entirely under President Trump’s budget cuts. That aid has gone to the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations working in Afghanistan, not directly to the Taliban government.

With the Taliban now in power, former guerrilla fighters must function as bureaucrats. In the 280-person tax department, they work alongside employees inherited from the U.S.-backed government that the Taliban overthrew.

“At the same table we have people with turbans, with beards, next to people with suits,” said Mohammad Walid Haqmal, spokesman for the Ministry of Finance.

Mr. Ghorbandi, who said he had a master’s degree in computer science, presides over a tax administration computer system converted from English into Pashto and Dari. He has hired IT experts to modernize the department.

He has also tried to instill a culture of transparency, he said as he took a break for a lunch of beef kebabs and rice. His employees are not permitted to handle cash. Taxpayers take their forms to a government-run bank and pay taxes there.

When he is not at his desk signing reams of documents delivered by aides hustling in and out, he said, he visits different sections of his department, asking taxpayers how he could make the process faster.

Although many well-connected Afghans once avoided paying taxes, Mr. Ghorbandi stressed that even as the government Taxman, he was not exempt. He said he paid 30,000 afghanis a month, or a little over $400.

However open and efficient, it is still a tax office, though, and not every taxpayer leaves satisfied.

Shamsurahman Shams, who showed up one day late last year, had a beef with the Taxman. He said the two private schools he helped run had not turned a profit the past three years — and he carried a plastic folder stuffed with documents to prove it. Yet he had been assessed 500,000 afghanis, or about $7,350, in taxes.

He engaged in a spirited but civil discussion with a department employee, showing the man his documents. There was no resolution. He was told to return later to resume negotiations.

During the war, the Taliban ran a lucrative tax system that levied customs duties, trucking fees and local taxes in areas they controlled. They also earned millions by imposing 10 percent taxes — “ushar” in Islam — on poppy farmers, though they have since banned poppy production.

In 2023, the Taliban government collected about $3 billion in taxes, customs and fees, or 15.5 percent of gross domestic product. (The comparable rate in the United States was 25.2 percent). The biggest source for the Taliban was so-called nontax revenue — customs duties, mining revenues, telecom licenses, airport charges, and fees for national ID cards, passports and visas, the World Bank reported. That revenue, for the first half of last year, increased 27 percent compared with the same period the previous year.

Half of government revenues were spent on security and the military last year, and just 26 percent on social programs — most of that on education for boys, according to international observers.

Merchants with earnings over that amount are taxed at just 0.3 percent — a rate that American conservatives would surely appreciate.

There are no cash penalties or interest fees for taxpayers who do not pony up on time. But scofflaws can lose their business licenses and access to the banking system.

“We are human,” Mr. Ghorbandi said. “We don’t want to put burdens on our people.”

He and Mr. Haqmal, the Finance Ministry spokesman, said the ultimate goal was to eliminate all income taxes.

Another direct order from Sheikh Haibatullah has been the shredding of women’s rights and broader restrictions on civil liberties for all Afghans. Women are prohibited from traveling any significant distance without a male relative and are obligated to cover their entire bodies and faces in public. The sound of a woman’s voice outside her home is banned.

A striking feature of the tax department’s 15 sections in Kabul is the sight of female taxpayers in rooms crammed with men.

Lida Ismaeli, who operates a private school, sat next to a bearded Talib as he reviewed her tax status on a computer. She said no one had complained that she spoke with a male employee about her taxes with no male relative present.

“The system is better now — it’s more fair,” she said.

Down a darkened hallway, Mohammad Taqi Irfani, a money changer, huddled over a computer screen with a tax employee. Mr. Irfani seemed resigned to his assessed tax payment of 73,500 afghanis, or about $1,080, on his annual earnings.

He said he did not enjoy paying taxes — who does? — but his tax burden was clearly explained to him, and his business accounts were not questioned. Under the American-backed government, he said, tax collectors came to his office and demanded bribes to lower his tax assessment.

“They were in it just to make money for themselves,” he said. “So far under this government, no one has ever asked me for a bribe.”

Safiullah Padshah and Yaqoob Akbary contributed reporting.

David Zucchino is a contributing writer for The New York Times

He Was Once a Covert Taliban Operative. Now He’s the Friendly Taxman.
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UNHCR Representative: Do Not Forget Afghanistan, Situation Will Worsen

His remarks come as the United States, previously the largest donor, has suspended its aid to several countries, including Afghanistan.

Arafat Jamal, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan, has called on the world not to forget Afghanistan.

Speaking to TOLOnews, the UNHCR representative stressed that given Afghanistan’s strategic position in the region, abandoning the country would lead to challenges such as mass migration and regional instability.

Arafat Jamal stated: “Stay with the people of Afghanistan. Whatever you think of the policies or other political situations, the people need you to stay there. If you abandon Afghanistan now, it may turn for the worse, people may start to leave and we will have instability in a very important region in Asia, so don’t leave us alone.”

His remarks come as the United States, previously the largest donor, has suspended its aid to several countries, including Afghanistan. However, Jamal emphasized that now is not the time to abandon Afghanistan.

The UNHCR representative in Afghanistan added: “Don’t forget Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a strategically important country. Historically it has been at the center of trade routes and of civilizations. There has been so much effort on Afghanistan—some of it positive, much of it negative. Now is not the time to disappoint Afghanistan.”

“Afghanistan has been engaged in war for 40 or 45 years. Its citizens have migrated in the past and continue to do so. Therefore, the United Nations, as a global organization, and its agencies must strengthen their coordination with the world on this issue,” Hewad Zazai, a political analyst, told TOLOnews.

A few weeks ago, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Afghanistan also urged the world to support Afghanistan, assist millions of people, and prevent a larger crisis in the country.

UNHCR Representative: Do Not Forget Afghanistan, Situation Will Worsen
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Efforts Ongoing to Reopen Torkham Crossing

Meanwhile, the closure of the Torkham crossing by Pakistan has now entered its eighteenth day.

After Sunday’s (yesterday’s) unsuccessful negotiations to reopen the Torkham crossing, efforts to initiate new discussions are ongoing.

Younus Mohmand, the first deputy of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, stated that recent meetings with Pakistani representatives have yielded no agreement. However, efforts continue to start new talks and invite officials from Pakistan’s chambers of commerce to Afghanistan.

According to Mohmand, this time the goal is to have Pakistani trade officials travel to Afghanistan and continue discussions on the matter.

Younus Mohmand told TOLOnews: “If possible, in the next meeting, they will come to Afghanistan, and another meeting will be held at the border. We will share our two- or three-day report with provincial officials and with the governor to get their permission.”

Meanwhile, the closure of the Torkham crossing by Pakistan has now entered its eighteenth day.

According to Mohmand, the continued closure of Torkham causes daily losses of over three million dollars for traders on both sides.

“On the Pakistani side, at the zero point between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a jirga (council) was held, and Pakistanis made three requests, which their elders shared with Afghan elders. However, no action has been taken so far to determine whether Pakistan’s demands will be accepted to reopen the gate,” Zalmai Azimi, one of the traders, told TOLOnews.

Some analysts believe Pakistan uses crossing closures as a tool to pressure Afghanistan’s interim government.

“The closure of Torkham puts economic pressure on the people of Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Pakistan. In such circumstances, economic and trade matters should remain entirely separate from politics,” said Fazl Rahman Oria, a political analyst.

“Pakistan aims to gradually exert pressure on Afghanistan to gain political and geopolitical advantages,” said Moeen Gul Samkanai, another political analyst.

Eighteen days ago, when Islamic Emirate forces were constructing facilities on this side of the hypothetical Durand Line, Pakistan closed the Torkham crossing to all movement. This led to clashes between the two sides at Torkham.

Efforts Ongoing to Reopen Torkham Crossing
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Pakistan orders documented Afghan migrants to leave

By Sarah Zaman

Voice of America

March 07, 2025

Pakistan ordered all documented Afghan migrants on Friday to leave the country by March 31 or risk deportation.

The directive was issued a day after the Afghan Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation Affairs urged Pakistan to slow down the expulsion of Afghans.

Pakistan launched the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Program in October 2023, after a dramatic rise in violence that Islamabad blamed on militants operating from Afghanistan.

Friday’s order called on those with Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs) to leave the country in the next three weeks, saying deportation of documented migrants would begin April 1.

“In continuation of the government’s decision to repatriate all illegal foreigners, national leadership has now decided to also repatriate ACC holders,” the ministry said in a brief press release. “All illegal foreigners and ACC holders are advised to leave the country voluntarily before 31 March 2025; thereafter, deportation will commence with effect from 1 April 2025.”

This affects nearly 900,000 documented Afghan economic migrants residing in Pakistan.

According to data from the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) released Friday, more than 842,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since the expulsion drive began, including more than 40,000 deportees.

“It is highlighted that sufficient time has already been granted for their dignified return,” the Pakistani interior ministry said.

In late January, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government approved a plan to repatriate ACC holders but did not specify a date.

Pakistan ranks second among countries most affected by terrorism, according to the Global Terrorism Index released this week.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, emerged as the fastest-growing terrorist group in 2024, almost doubling the number of deaths attributed to it in 2023.

Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to TTP militants, and Islamabad alleges Afghan nationals are involved in terror attacks claimed by the TTP and its offshoots.

Friday’s directive to expel documented Afghan migrants followed Tuesday’s twin suicide bombing of a military compound in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that killed 18, including five soldiers. The Pakistani military said that Afghan nationals were among the 16 militants killed in the attack and that it was orchestrated from Afghanistan.

The Afghan Taliban denied Islamabad’s accusations.

Arrests and detention

Since the start of 2025, the UNHCR has recorded an uptick in the arrest and detention of Afghans, especially undocumented and ACC holders in the capital region, where it recorded 45 times more arrests than in January and February of 2024.

The trend follows a November 2024 order by Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, calling on Afghans to leave the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and its neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi by the end of that year.

In the first two months of this year, more than 2,600 Afghans were arrested across Pakistan. Nearly 2,300 were undocumented or ACC holders, according to the UNHCR. Close to 1,200 were arrested in Islamabad and nearby areas.

In January, Pakistan deported 1,000 Afghans. Of those, more than 800, who included women and children, were rounded up from the capital and Rawalpindi.

The Pakistani advocacy group Joint Action Committee for Refugees raised alarm Friday, claiming that authorities had rounded up more than 200 Afghans in the capital and nearby cities. The rights organization called the action a violation of a recent court order that restrained authorities from harassing refugees, and it urged authorities to act according to the law.

“It is emphasized that no one will be maltreated during the repatriation process,” the interior ministry said. “Arrangements for food and health care for returning foreigners have also been put in place.”

The order for documented Afghans to leave takes place as Torkham, the busiest border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, remains closed after intense shelling from both sides in recent days.

Pakistan orders documented Afghan migrants to leave
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Global Support Voiced for Afghan Women on Women’s Day

The UN Women in Afghanistan said that investing in Afghan women is investing in Afghanistan’s future.

Coinciding with March 8, International Women’s Day, international organizations have emphasized the need to support Afghan women and restore their rights.

The UN Women in Afghanistan said that investing in Afghan women is investing in Afghanistan’s future.

In a message on International Women’s Day, the organization also emphasized that Afghan women continue to fight for their rights despite immense challenges.

Meanwhile the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) emphasized the restoration of Afghan women’s and girls’ rights on International Women’s Day, stating that it amplifies their voices to the world.

Referring to the educational restrictions imposed on Afghan girls, the organization noted that approximately 1.5 million girls have been deprived of education so far.

According to new UNESCO data, if the ban continues until 2030, over 4 million girls will be affected.

UNESCO said that this “concerning regression” has undone decades of progress in women’s and girls’ education.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that investing in women in the agricultural sector strengthens communities, reduces hunger, and secures Afghanistan’s future.

On International Women’s Day, the organization wrote on X: “We celebrate Afghan women in agriculture who drive food security, economic growth and the fight against hunger.”

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) also announced that on International Women’s Day, we celebrate Afghan women’s bold resistance.

This organization, in a statement, said that despite grave hardships, Afghan women have taken their fate into their own hands.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) wrote on X that UNICEF Afghanistan and partners are “committed to standing with Afghan women and girls – today and every day It will stand by Afghan women on this day and beyond.”

Indrika Ratwatte, the deputy special representative of the United Nations in Afghanistan, stated that the organization stands in unwavering solidarity with Afghan women and girls.

She clarified that this means investing in their resilience, empowerment, and leadership, amplifying their voices, and advocating for their rights.

March 8th marks International Women’s Day, which is celebrated in many countries around the world as a symbol of women’s struggle for equal rights with men.

International Women’s Day is considered “Working Women’s Day”, and its celebration honors the struggles of women for equality and justice, as well as the sacrifices they have made along the way.

Global Support Voiced for Afghan Women on Women’s Day
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Afghanistan’s Economy Grew by 2.7% in 2024: UN Sec-Gen Report

Economic expert Abdul Zahoor Madber stressed that for Afghanistan to achieve a stable economy, it must properly manage its natural and human resources.

The United Nations reported that despite economic and political challenges, Afghanistan’s economy experienced a 2.7% growth in 2024.

This report, which examined economic and humanitarian issues—including the water shortage crisis, trade conditions, and humanitarian needs for 2025—also emphasized Afghanistan’s economic fragility and instability.

The report, from UN Secretary-General António Guterres and covering the period from November 2024 to the end of January 2025, said: “The state of the economy remains unsettled and fragile, owing to policy uncertainty, financial isolation, continuing restrictions on women’s economic participation, trade imbalances and weak public investment, which are hindering development. Most households struggled to meet basic needs, as unemployment and poverty remain widespread.”

Economic expert Abdul Zahoor Madber stressed that for Afghanistan to achieve a stable economy, it must properly manage its natural and human resources.

“Afghanistan has renewable natural resources, and if they are managed correctly, sustainable economic growth can be achieved, reducing dependence on humanitarian aid,” Madber said.

“Strengthening infrastructure, ensuring regional stability, expanding economic relations with neighboring and global countries, and creating job opportunities for vulnerable groups play a crucial role in establishing Afghanistan’s economic stability,” said another economic expert, Qutbuddin Yaqubi.

In response to this report, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Economy stated that the country’s 2.7% economic growth was achieved based on domestic capacities and that the Islamic Emirate is working to ensure economic stability through major projects.

“If sanctions and restrictions did not exist, Afghanistan’s economic growth would be much higher. Nevertheless, we are striving to boost economic growth and gradually reduce poverty through large-scale economic and job-creating projects like TAPI and CASA-1000,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy.

According to the UN Secretary-General’s forecast, in 2025, around 22.9 million people in Afghanistan will require humanitarian assistance due to food insecurity, malnutrition, climate change, and economic instability.

Additionally, the UN’s quarterly report states that last year, $3.6 billion was requested for humanitarian aid to support the people of Afghanistan, but only 47% (equivalent to $1.45 billion) was provided by international partners.

Afghanistan’s Economy Grew by 2.7% in 2024: UN Sec-Gen Report
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Suspect in Kabul airport bombing during 2021 Afghanistan pullout appears in court

Associated Press

A suspected participant in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan arrived in the US on Wednesday to face criminal charges in connection with the attack.

Mohammad Sharifullah was taken into custody over the weekend and admitted during an FBI interrogation to being a member of the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan and to his role in the August 2021 suicide bombing and other attacks, according to US officials.

Donald Trump announced the arrest during his Tuesday night address to Congress, telling the audience that he was “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.”

Senior Pakistani intelligence officers on Wednesday confirmed the arrest and said Sharifullah, also known as Jafar, had been captured in the country’s restive south-west Balochistan province near the border with Afghanistan after multiple operations had failed to seize him.

Sharifullah is charged in federal court in Virginia with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, resulting in death. In court on Wednesday, he wore a light-blue jail jumpsuit and listened through headphones as an interpreter translated the proceedings. His public defender declined to comment after his court appearance, which ended with him being taken away for holding at least until a detention hearing set for Monday.

The Abbey gate bombing, in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country amid the withdrawal by US forces from the country, occurred in August 2021 when a suicide bomber attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport. In addition to 13 US service members, about 170 Afghans were killed in the attack, which triggered widespread congressional criticism and undermined public confidence in the Biden administration’s handling of the conclusion of the war.

According to an FBI affidavit filed as part of the case, Sharifullah admitted under questioning to having joined the Afghanistan-based Islamic State-Khorasan, also known as Isis-K, in 2016. He told investigators that he had been in prison from 2019 until about two weeks before the bombing, at which point he was contacted by another Isis-K member about helping in the attack, the affidavit said.

He was given a motorcycle, funds for a cellphone and a Sim card, as well as instructions for communicating via social media during the attack operation, prosecutors said. He admitted to participating in the Abbey gate attack by scouting a route to the airport for the bomber and communicating to other members of the militant group that the path was clear.

Sharifullah said he had been instructed to leave the area and later learned that the bombing had been done by an Isis-K operative he had met while jailed, the affidavit said.

The bomber was identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, an Islamic State militant who had been in an Afghan prison but was released by the Taliban as the group took control of the country that summer.

During his FBI interrogation, Sharifullah also said he had shared firearms and weapons instructions before a March 2024 attack at a Moscow concert hall that was also carried out by Isis-K and killed scores of people, authorities said.

Sharifullah was arrested in 2019 by the US-backed Afghan government at the time but escaped from prison on 15 August 2021, as the Taliban took Kabul.

The Pakistani officials said Sharifullah had planned the bombing from behind bars with other senior militant figures. They said he had remained on the run in the border areas of Balochistan until his arrest through a joint intelligence-sharing operation between Pakistan and the US.

Suspect in Kabul airport bombing during 2021 Afghanistan pullout appears in court
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Trump’s New Travel Ban May Soon Bar Afghans and Pakistanis: Reuters

Khaama Press

Reuters, citing its sources, reported that a new directive from U.S. President Donald Trump may prevent Afghan and Pakistani nationals from entering the United States. The news agency stated on Thursday, March 6, that the restriction could come into effect as early as next week, barring Afghan citizens from traveling to the U.S.

The restriction is expected to target countries with majority Muslim populations, and other nations may also be added to the list. During Trump’s first term as president, he implemented a similar travel ban targeting citizens from Muslim-majority countries, which was later overturned by President Joe Biden.

The new ban could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who have been approved for resettlement or granted special immigrant visas. This move will particularly impact those who have been waiting for resettlement and are hoping to reunite with their families in the U.S.

Trump has instructed two of his cabinet ministers to present a list of countries that could face partial or full travel suspensions to the U.S. by March 12. Afghanistan is expected to be included in this list, facing a complete travel ban for its citizens.

The U.S. Department of State, which handles the resettlement of Afghan nationals, is reportedly working to ensure that those who have already been approved for special immigration visas (SIV) are exempted from this travel ban. Currently, around 200,000 Afghan nationals with approved visas or applications are stranded in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The new policy raises concerns for thousands of vulnerable Afghan refugees and immigrants who are at risk of being unable to escape the volatile situation in their home country. As the political and humanitarian situation continues to evolve, both Afghan citizens and the international community are watching closely for any updates regarding this new travel restriction.

Trump’s New Travel Ban May Soon Bar Afghans and Pakistanis: Reuters
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