Afghanistan women’s team gets funding from the International Cricket Council

April 14, 2025
Associated Press
April 13, 2025

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Afghan women cricketers will finally get high-level support in a bid to rejoin international competition after the sport’s world governing body created a taskforce to coordinate direct funding, elite coaching and facilities for displaced players.

Dozens of players from Afghanistan’s national women’s team relocated to Australia after the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021 and enforced bans on women’s sports. The players have been seeking official support ever since.

The International Cricket Council released a statement late Sunday saying it reached an agreement with the sport’s national associations in Australia, India and England to support the displaced Afghan women’s players.

ICC chairman Jay Shah said his organization is “deeply committed to fostering inclusivity and ensuring every cricketer has the opportunity to shine, regardless of their circumstances.”

Since leaving Afghanistan many of the women cricketers have been based in the Australian capital and in Melbourne and playing for club teams in local competitions.

Firooza Amiri said ahead of that exhibition match in January that her team “represents millions of women in Afghanistan who are denied their rights.”

Amiri fled her home country with her family and first traveled to Pakistan before being evacuated to Australia.

Under Taliban rule, the Afghanistan Cricket Board cannot field a national women’s team because the country’s laws forbid women from playing sport, studying and medical education, moves that have been criticized by world groups including the International Criminal Court.

Afghanistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council and a condition of that status should require it to have a women’s national team.

England and Australia have refused to participate in direct series against Afghanistan in protest, but continue to play against the Afghan men in ICC events.

It was the Afghanistan men’s historic run to the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup last year that sparked the women’s team members to again approach the ICC about funding.

The group first approached the ICC in 2023, asking for support for a refugee team based in Australia to rejoin international cricket.

 

Afghanistan women’s team gets funding from the International Cricket Council
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The Taliban leader says executions are part of Islam

April 14, 2025

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

April 13, 2025

The Taliban leader said executions were part of Islam, days after four men were killed by gunfire in Afghanistan after they were convicted of murder.

The executions took place in sports stadiums Friday, the highest number known to have been carried out in one day since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Rights groups and the U.N. condemned the killings.

Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has previously rejected the need for Western laws in Afghanistan.

In an audio clip released Sunday by the Taliban’s chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X, Akhundzada said: “We must carry out disciplinary measures, perform prayers and acts of worship. We must enter Islam completely. Islam is not just limited to a few rituals; it is a comprehensive system of all divine commands.”

Not a single command of Islam should be left unfulfilled, he told a seminar of Hajj instructors during a 45-minute speech in southern Kandahar province.

Afghanistan’s Supreme Court earlier ruled that the four men were guilty of murder. A death sentence was handed down after families of the alleged victims refused to grant the men amnesty.

Akhundzada’s comments come as the Taliban seek greater engagement with the international community, most recently the West.

The United States last month lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government.

The Taliban have freed four Americans from custody this year, describing these releases as the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan.

The Taliban leader says executions are part of Islam
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Taliban morality enforcers arrest men for having the wrong hairstyle or skipping mosque, UN says

April 14, 2025
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 10, 2025

The Taliban morality police in Afghanistan have detained men and their barbers over hairstyles and others for missing prayers at mosques during the holy month of Ramadan, a U.N. report said Thursday, six months after laws regulating people’s conduct came into effect.

The Vice and Virtue Ministry published laws last August covering many aspects everyday life in Afghanistan, including public transport, music, shaving and celebrations. Most notably, the ministry issued a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public.

That same month, a top U.N. official warned the laws provided a “distressing vision” for the country’s future by adding to existing employment, education, and dress code restrictions on women and girls. Taliban officials have rejected U.N. concerns about the morality laws.

Thursday’s report, from the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, said in the first 6 months of the laws’ implementation, over half of detentions made under it concerned “either men not having the compliant beard length or hairstyle, or barbers providing non-compliant beard trimming or haircuts.”

 

Taliban morality enforcers arrest men for having the wrong hairstyle or skipping mosque, UN says
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Pakistan gives 5-Day Deadline for Afghan Refugees in South Waziristan

April 14, 2025
Khaama Press

Pakistan has given Afghan migrants in South Waziristan a five-day deadline to register with police for identification and security purposes.

As the deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan continues, police authorities in South Waziristan have issued a five-day deadline for Afghan migrants in the province to register their information at local police stations.

According to South Waziristan police officials, this measure aims to identify undocumented migrants and ensure law and order in the area. The registration drive is seen as part of broader efforts to manage migrant populations more effectively.

Asif Bahadur, the head of South Waziristan Police, told Dawn News Agency that the registration process is expected to be completed within five days. He emphasized that registering Afghan migrants is essential not only for identification purposes but also for maintaining regional security.

He urged migrants to visit police centers and submit the necessary documentation, warning that those who fail to comply will face legal consequences. “Anyone who does not register will be arrested, and legal action will be taken,” he stated.

Bahadur added that the process would help prevent illegal activities and improve the overall security environment for local residents. His announcement comes amid Pakistan’s ongoing campaign to identify and deport undocumented Afghan nationals.

This move is widely viewed as an attempt by Pakistani authorities to accelerate the identification and deportation of migrants lacking valid documentation. The order has sparked anxiety among Afghan migrant communities in South Waziristan, many of whom fear detention or forced return.

Human rights groups have raised concerns about the treatment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, urging authorities to adhere to international protection standards. As the five-day deadline approaches, the future of many Afghan families in South Waziristan remains uncertain, highlighting the urgent need for regional dialogue and humanitarian support.

Pakistan gives 5-Day Deadline for Afghan Refugees in South Waziristan
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Muttaqi: Mistreatment of Migrants Harms Kabul-Islamabad Relations

April 14, 2025
Bibi Amina Hakimi
TOLOnews’ Reporter
14 April 2025
In this meeting, Muttaqi described the mistreatment of Afghan migrants as alarming and damaging to the relations between the two countries.

Amid the intensified deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan, Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate, met with Obaidur Rahman Nizamani, acting ambassador of Pakistan in Kabul.

In this meeting, Muttaqi described the mistreatment of Afghan migrants as alarming and damaging to the relations between the two countries.

Zia Ahmad Takal, head of public relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “The Foreign Minister, expressing his regret over the forced deportation of Afghan migrants and the inappropriate conduct of certain Pakistani institutions, called the current mistreatment provocative and detrimental to bilateral relations, and demanded that the situation be rectified.”

Meanwhile, several political analysts said that Pakistan is using the migrant issue as a tool to exert political pressure on the caretaker government and that sustained dialogue between Kabul and Islamabad could provide a solution to the crisis.

Abdul Sadiq Hamidzoy, a political analyst, said: “This action by Pakistan increases hatred, and it is neither in Pakistan’s interest, nor Afghanistan’s, nor that of the migrants who face numerous challenges upon their return.”

Najib-ur-Rahman Shumal, another political analyst, stated: “Under various pretexts, Pakistan’s military regime has pressured Afghan migrants and expelled tens of thousands of them through beatings, imprisonment, humiliation, and insults. These actions have sparked international reactions and drawn criticism from the global community.”

On the other hand, some Afghan migrants residing in Pakistan complain about their living conditions and report facing mounting pressure and restrictions.

Atiqullah Mansour, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “Some children and youth have been unable to complete their education, and Afghans who have conducted business in Pakistan for years are now unable to transfer their transactions and economic activities in this short period.”

Shabana, another Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “Pakistan has made a final decision to send Afghan migrants back to Afghanistan, regardless of whether they hold ACC or PoR cards. Although there is a slight easing in the attitude of the Pakistani police, it remains a major challenge for migrants to transfer their assets and business dealings in such a short time.”

This comes as, since the beginning of April, Pakistan has escalated the deportation process of Afghan migrants. According to local officials in Nangarhar, approximately 40,000 Afghan migrants have been forcibly deported from Pakistan in the past 16 days.

Muttaqi: Mistreatment of Migrants Harms Kabul-Islamabad Relations
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‘We Have No Homes’: Afghan Migrants Face Harsh Reality After Deportation

April 14, 2025
Shabnam Amini
Tolo News
14 April 2025

 

Several migrants deported through the Torkham crossing say they not only have no homes to live in, but they also do not own any land on which to build one.

With the increasing wave of returning Afghan migrants from neighboring countries—particularly Pakistan—many repatriated families are facing a serious challenge: the lack of shelter.

Several migrants deported through the Torkham crossing say they not only have no homes to live in, but they also do not own any land on which to build one. They are urgently calling on the caretaker government to address their plight.

Bakhtiar, a deported migrant from Pakistan, said: “All our harvests and cattle were lost. These problems began when they raided us. My son, Biyarzada, was also arrested, and even those who were at home were taken away.”

Mohammad Nabi, another deported migrant from Pakistan, said: “We ask that job opportunities be created for us. We have no homes, no land. All our belongings are left outside. There are no jobs, and no one has created employment for us. But our most urgent need is shelter.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Urban Development reports that dozens of residential townships have been established across the country for returning migrants.

Kamal Afghan, the spokesperson for the ministry, said that so far, 60 townships have been prepared nationwide for deported migrants.

“The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, which leads the Permanent Housing Committee, has so far prepared 60 residential townships across the country for forcibly deported migrants, and our provincial teams are still working on developing additional townships,” the spokesperson stated.

At the same time, the World Food Programme (WFP), in a report, noted the increase in deportations of Afghan migrants from Pakistan, predicting that 1.6 million people will be returned from Pakistan and some from Iran in the near future.

The agency said that the suspension of US humanitarian aid and the increase in returns have worsened Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.

According to WFP’s report: “Pakistan and Iran have increased efforts to repatriate undocumented Afghan nationals, with over 2.7 million returned since August 2021. The return of Afghan nationals has intensified in 2025, with thousands being deported or choosing to return due to Pakistan’s crackdown on undocumented refugees, putting pressure on host communities and services, particularly in border provinces.”

Juma Khan Pouya, a migrant rights activist, emphasized: “Providing services such as psychological counseling, financial assistance, transport, and other basic services and facilities is the responsibility of international organizations—particularly humanitarian aid agencies—and these must be made available to Afghan migrants.”

In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent announced that from April 1st to 7th of this year, a total of 1,825 families—comprising 12,775 individuals—returned to the country through the Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings.

‘We Have No Homes’: Afghan Migrants Face Harsh Reality After Deportation
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Trump Will End Temporary Protections for Afghans and Cameroonians

April 12, 2025

By Hamed Aleaziz

The New York Times

Reporting from Washington

More than 10,000 people will be put on track for deportation in May and June as a result of the Department of Homeland Security’s action.

The Trump administration will end temporary protections for more than 10,000 people from Afghanistan and Cameroon, putting them on track for deportation in May and June, Department of Homeland Security officials said on Friday.

Many of the Afghans affected by the decision had been allowed into the United States after the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from their country in 2021. Now, the Trump administration could send them back to a country under Taliban rule.

The Afghans and Cameroonians had been living in the United States legally under Temporary Protected Status, which is meant to shield migrants from being returned to countries facing conflict or natural disasters. People who have the protected status are also allowed to work in the United States.

The Trump administration has targeted T.P.S. as part of its broad crackdown on immigration. Trump officials say the program is being used improperly, to allow people to stay in the United States indefinitely. Already this year, the administration has tried to cut off Venezuelans from T.P.S. and shortened the time that Haitians can have the protections.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, head of Global Refuge, a refugee resettlement organization, said sending immigrants back to Afghanistan was “unconscionable.”

“For Afghan women and girls, ending these humanitarian protections means ending access to opportunity, freedom, and safety,” Ms. Vignarajah said. “Forcing them back to Taliban rule, where they face systemic oppression and gender-based violence, would be an utterly unconscionable stain on our nation’s reputation.”

The effort could face legal challenges. Earlier this month, Judge Edward M. Chen, a federal court judge in San Francisco, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending T.P.S. for Venezuelans.

In his decision, Mr. Chen said the Trump administration’s efforts threatened to “inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States.”

Lawyers in the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision on Venezuela said they would be examining the latest move by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary.

“We will closely examine the terminations to determine whether the government complied with the T.P.S. statute in determining Afghanistan and Cameroon are now safe to accept returns of their nationals as required by the T.P.S. statute,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, who runs the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at U.C.L.A. and is an attorney in the case challenging the Trump administration decision to end T.P.S. for Venezuelans.

The Biden administration first protected migrants from Afghanistan in 2022, following the collapse of the government there and the takeover by the Taliban. In 2023, they extended those protections, saying that there was a “serious threat posed by ongoing armed conflict; lack of access to food, clean water and health care; and destroyed infrastructure, internal displacement and economic instability.”

The Biden administration also extended protections for people from Cameroon in 2023, citing continued conflict in the country. Ms. Noem terminated it earlier this week.

Gustavo Torres, the executive director of Casa de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy organization, said in a statement that Cameroonian nationals were unable to return and reside safely in their country because of an armed conflict. “The ongoing violence, human rights violations, and humanitarian crises in Cameroon continue to place its citizens at severe risk,” he said.

More than 9,000 Afghans and 3,000 Cameroonians had T.P.S. as of late last year, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Julia Gelatt, an immigration expert at the Migration Policy Institute, said the move would have far-reaching effects in the Afghan community.

“Revoking T.P.S. for Afghans would be a stark reversal in the country’s treatment of Afghan allies who fought and worked alongside the U.S. government. Most Afghans in the U.S. have strong asylum cases based on their U.S. affiliation. This is even more true for Afghan women,” she said. “Revoking their T.P.S. will push thousands of Afghans into our backlogged asylum system — if they can find a lawyer with capacity to support their application.”

Hamed Aleaziz covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy.

Trump Will End Temporary Protections for Afghans and Cameroonians
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Pakistan Repeats Terrorism Claims Amid Strained Ties with Afghanistan

April 12, 2025
TOLOnews
TV Network
12 April 2025

He said that efforts to improve relations are ongoing, but security concerns and the presence of terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan remain major challenges.

As tensions rise between Kabul and Islamabad, Shafqat Ali Khan, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has emphasized that terrorism continues to be the main obstacle in the relationship between the two countries.

In a press briefing, he said that efforts to improve relations are ongoing, but security concerns and the presence of terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan remain major challenges.

Shafqat Ali Khan told reporters: “We have been reiterating that it remains an important bilateral relationship for Pakistan, we are neighbors bound by layers of history, culture, language. We have been trying to improve relations but the major roadblock, of course, remains the security situation and the sanctuaries enjoyed by terrorists. Recently, the Special Representative’s visit to Kabul was very successful.”

Previously, Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s former special envoy for Afghanistan, had described the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the primary obstacle in bilateral relations during a session in Islamabad, emphasizing that this issue must be resolved. He warned that if not addressed, all agreements between the two countries could be canceled.

Gul Mohammaddin Mohammadi, a political analyst, said regarding the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan: “These two countries are neighbors. They need to solve their problems through dialogue and avoid creating further hardship for the people living on both sides of the Durand Line.”

Janat Faheem Chakari, another analyst, said: “TTP is not an Afghan phenomenon. It originated within Pakistan. The Pakistani government should listen to its own people, who want a government based on Islamic Sharia.”

In addition to Pakistan’s repeated claims about Afghan territory being used against it, the forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan is also a major issue that has further strained relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

Pakistan Repeats Terrorism Claims Amid Strained Ties with Afghanistan
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Trump officials end ‘temporary protected status’ for Afghans, Cameroonians

April 12, 2025
Al Jazeera
Published On 12 Apr 2025

More than 14,600 Afghans and 7,900 Cameroonians are legally in the US under the programme which grants temporary safety from conflict and instability.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the decision, which will affect approximately 14,600 Afghans and 7,900 Cameroonians.

Those individuals were able to live in the US under a designation called “temporary protected status” or TPS.

The US government typically offers TPS to individuals already in the US for whom it may be unsafe to return, at least in the short term, due to conflict, natural disaster or other circumstances.

But the Trump administration has attempted to sever TPS protections for multiple nationalities since taking office in January, as part of a broader crackdown on immigration, both legal and otherwise.

In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer met the criteria for TPS.

But critics point out that fighting has raged in Cameroon between the government and separatists since 2017.

Refugee groups quickly condemned the move. Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president of the nonprofit Global Refuge, called the revocation of the TPS for Afghans “a morally indefensible betrayal”. She warned they could face persecution if returned to Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan today is still reeling from Taliban rule, economic collapse, and humanitarian disaster,” she said in a statement. “Nothing about that reality has changed.”

While the US evacuated more than 82,000 Afghans to the US, the vast majority were granted temporary “parole” or other legal statuses based on their direct work with the US government.

Still, the end of TPS would still affect a significant portion of that total group. Their TPS status will end in May.

Veterans groups and politicians on both sides of the political spectrum have called for more legal avenues for Afghans to seek safety in the US, particularly if they worked alongside US troops or the US-backed government.

Meanwhile, US lawmakers earlier this month urged the Trump administration to extend the status for Cameroonians, who face civilian attacks in their home country. They are now set to lose that protection in June.

“The country’s worsening security situation, combined with its ongoing humanitarian cries and human rights abuses, makes return impossible for Cameroonian nationals,” the lawmakers wrote.

Cameroon has seen clashes between Anglophone separatists and Francophone security forces that have resulted in extrajudicial killings, attacks on civilians and widespread displacement.

The Trump administration has moved to close several avenues to temporarily stay in the US, arguing it was “restoring the rule of law”.

But many of the moves target immigration categories established under Trump’s predecessor and political rival, former President Joe Biden.

Trump has also sought to pursue a campaign of “mass deportation” during his second term. Removing legal protections from immigrants allows the government to potentially remove them from the country.

This is not the first time Trump has targeted TPS, though. During his first term, from 2017 to 2021, he tried to end most TPS enrollment but was thwarted by federal courts.

During his second term, Trump reembarked on a similar push. In February, he sought to strip nearly 300,000 Venezuelans of their TPS.

But in late March, a US district judge blocked his attempt, saying that his government’s characterisation of the migrants as criminals “smacks of racism”.

Trump has also moved to nix the humanitarian parole programme that granted legal status to more than 500,000 Haitians, Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans under Biden.

On Thursday, however, a federal judge blocked Trump from ending the programme, which would have stripped nearly half a million people of their legal status.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
Trump officials end ‘temporary protected status’ for Afghans, Cameroonians
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Thousands of Afghans in the U.S. at Risk of Deportation After Losing Legal Protection

April 12, 2025

 

WASHINGTON, April 11 — In a move raising deep concern among Afghan communities in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of Afghanistan, leaving thousands at risk of deportation in the coming weeks.

The decision, announced by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, concludes the protection previously granted to approximately 14,600 Afghan nationals who have lived in the U.S. under TPS since 2022. The protection had been extended due to the ongoing conflict, economic instability, and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

TPS is a legal provision that allows individuals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to live and work temporarily in the U.S. without fear of removal. The Biden administration had last renewed Afghanistan’s TPS designation in September 2023, citing unsafe conditions for return. That designation was set to expire in May 2025.

Secretary Noem’s announcement, however, asserts that Afghanistan no longer meets the statutory requirements for continued designation under the TPS program. The department plans to issue a formal notice explaining the rationale behind the decision in the coming days.

The development has alarmed human rights groups, refugee advocates, and Afghan American communities, who argue that the situation in Afghanistan remains dire. The country continues to face widespread poverty, food insecurity, restrictions on women’s rights, and political repression under Taliban rule.

“Ending TPS for Afghans is not only premature but deeply troubling,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President of Global Refuge. “Conditions in Afghanistan have not improved—they remain dangerous and unstable. This decision risks returning vulnerable individuals to a place where their safety and freedoms cannot be guaranteed.”

Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, more than 80,000 Afghans have been evacuated, many through emergency parole programs. Some have since adjusted their status through asylum or Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), but a large number remain under TPS as their only legal protection from deportation.

Advocacy groups have also expressed concern over recent reports of Afghan parolees receiving notices to leave the country within days after their parole was revoked. DHS has acknowledged using its discretionary authority in some cases but has not clarified how many Afghans are affected.

The removal of TPS for Afghans comes as part of a broader rollback of humanitarian immigration protections by the Trump administration, which took office earlier this year. The administration has framed the move as part of efforts to “restore the rule of law,” though critics say it targets vulnerable populations and undermines U.S. commitments to its wartime allies.

Legal challenges to the decision are possible. Earlier this year, a federal judge blocked the administration’s attempt to end TPS for Venezuelans, citing a lack of evidence and potential political bias.

For now, Afghan families under TPS are left in legal limbo, uncertain about their future in a country many have come to call home.

Thousands of Afghans in the U.S. at Risk of Deportation After Losing Legal Protection
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