Sharif Calls for International Pressure on Kabul Amid Afghanistan Terror Threats

December 12, 2025
Khaama Press

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has urged the international community to pressure Kabul, warning of escalating terrorism threats originating from Afghanistan.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has urged the international community to pressure the Taliban to fulfill their commitments on counterterrorism, warning of a growing terrorism threat emanating from Afghanistan. He made the remarks on Friday at the “Peace and Confidence” conference in Turkmenistan.

Sharif emphasized that the Taliban must be held accountable for failing to control extremist groups operating from Afghanistan territory. According to Geo News, he stressed that the peaceful resolution of conflicts remains the cornerstone of Islamabad’s foreign policy.

The Prime Minister’s statements come amid rising tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban, as cross-border attacks continue to target Pakistani civilians and security forces.

In recent weeks, Taliban officials claimed that Afghan religious scholars have ruled military operations by Afghans in other countries as impermissible. Despite these claims, attacks originating from Afghanistan persist, prompting Islamabad to call for stronger Taliban enforcement of their counterterrorism commitments.

The regional threat was further highlighted when at least five Chinese nationals were killed and five others injured in attacks along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border over the past two weeks. Reuters reported that these incidents illustrate how Afghanistan-based violence can spill across borders, affecting neighboring countries.

Experts argue that international pressure on the Taliban is essential to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for extremist groups. Without accountability, promises of counterterrorism by the Taliban are likely to remain largely symbolic.

Sharif Calls for International Pressure on Kabul Amid Afghanistan Terror Threats
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US Says 2,000 Afghan Evacuees Flagged for Suspected Extremist Links

December 12, 2025
Khaama Press

A senior U.S. official told Congress that about 2,000 Afghan evacuees were allegedly flagged for possible extremist links, though no confirmed ties were established.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official has informed Congress that thousands of individuals flagged for potential extremist links have entered the United States in recent years, including a limited number among Afghans evacuated after the fall of Kabul. Joe Kent, director of the U.S. Government’s Counterterrorism Center, briefed the House Homeland Security Committee and raised concerns about gaps in screening during the 2021 evacuation.

Kent said the center’s assessment estimates that around 18,000 suspected individuals arrived in the country during the Biden administration, a number he described as reflective of broader strains on the U.S. immigration and border system. Several U.S. media outlets have reported that Republican lawmakers view these figures as evidence of weakened oversight.

He added that among the nearly 88,000 Afghans brought to the United States following the collapse of Kabul, roughly 2,000 showed signs of possible associations with extremist groups. While noting that such indicators do not necessarily confirm operational ties, Kent said some of the individuals were believed to have links to groups including ISIS and al-Qaeda.

Kent argued that the administration had not only failed to block certain individuals from entering, but in some cases had unintentionally facilitated their arrival due to the chaotic nature of the evacuation. He referenced the shooting by Rahmanullah Lakanwal in Washington, D.C., which led to the death of a National Guard member and renewed public attention to resettlement vetting procedures. Following that incident, several arrests involving Afghan refugees gained increased media focus, with Republican lawmakers calling the cases signs of screening failures.

The discussion has since become a central political issue in Washington, especially as election debates intensify. U.S. counterterrorism officials say the pattern of threats has evolved, warning that contemporary risks are more likely to come from lone, isolated actors rather than large-scale coordinated attacks similar to those of September 11.

Meanwhile, congressional scrutiny of Afghan resettlement reflects broader national concerns over migration, security, and border management. Analysts caution, however, that isolated incidents should not overshadow the extensive screening process most evacuees passed through nor the generally successful integration of the vast majority who fled Taliban rule.

Critics quoted by outlets including the Washington Post and NPR argue that these claims exaggerate isolated cases for political effect, noting that most Afghan evacuees passed rigorous multi-agency vetting and that broader allegations of systemic failure are not supported by verified security findings.

US Says 2,000 Afghan Evacuees Flagged for Suspected Extremist Links
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Afghan polio survivor’s sock factory provides hope by employing disabled workers

December 12, 2025

By OMID HAQJOO

Associated Press

December 12, 2025

HERAT, Afghanistan (AP) — In a tiny room in the center of Herat, Afghanistan’s westernmost city, Shahabuddin uses his hands to propel himself along the floor to a freshly-made pile of socks waiting to be sorted and packaged.

A double amputee since a roadside bomb took both his legs a decade ago, when Afghanistan was mired in conflict between U.S.-led forces and Taliban insurgents, the 36-year-old father of four had struggled to find work. Unemployed for the last decade, he had been forced to rely on relatives for his family’s survival.

But a new sock production workshop in Herat employing only disabled workers has given him new hope.

“I became disabled due to the explosion. Both my legs were amputated,” Shahabuddin, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, said during a brief pause in his work in early December. “Now I work here in a sock factory, and I am very happy that I have been given a job here.”

The workshop is the brainchild of Mohammad Amiri, 35, a former grocery shop worker who started the business about a month ago. Amiri, himself disabled by childhood polio, wanted to create jobs and help provide income for other people with disabilities, particularly as many of them were injured during the conflict and have no other means of income.

He teamed up with another polio survivor to start the sock factory with a workforce of men disabled either through traumatic injuries or because of congenital issues or other reasons. They make four types of socks: long and short, for winter and summer.

“The factory, which is funded and supported by people with disabilities, began operations last month and currently employs around 50 people with disabilities,” Amiri said. “They are busy in the production, packaging and sale of socks in the city.”

A combination of decades of conflict, a weak health care system and struggling economy have contributed to high levels of disability in Afghanistan. Data from a 2019 Model Disability Survey conducted by The Asia Foundation nonprofit organization indicates that nearly 25% of adults live with a mild disability, while 40% have moderate and about 14% have severe disabilities.

“These figures compel us to act with greater urgency and commitment,” the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a statement released on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3, quoting the same figures. “Persons with disabilities must not be treated as an afterthought; they must be fully integrated into every stage of planning, decision-making, and service delivery.”

Meanwhile, Afghanistan is one of only two countries — along with neighboring Pakistan — where wild poliovirus remains endemic. The infectious disease can cause flu-like symptoms, but can also cause severe reactions, including paralysis, disability and death.

The Afghan Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs says 189,635 disabled people across the country are registered and receiving financial support from the government.

Amiri said his business faces serious competition from cheap imports of textiles, and expressed the hope that the government would stop imports from abroad. He has hopes of getting a contract to provide the Afghan security forces with socks, and wants to expand his workforce to 2,000 people.

His current employees include former refugees who have recently returned to Afghanistan after spending years abroad.

One such man is Mohammad Arif Jafari, 40, an economics graduate and polio survivor who lived in Iran for years. Returning to Afghanistan has been hard, he said.

“I suffered a lot due to unemployment. But fortunately, now I produce several types of socks,” he said while selling his wares from a stall on the streets of Herat. “I am happy that I am working here and earning an income.”

Afghan polio survivor’s sock factory provides hope by employing disabled workers
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US agents increasingly arresting Afghan asylum seekers, lawyers say: ‘A huge chilling effect’

December 12, 2025

Amir – an asylum seeker who came to the US via Mexico in 2024 – was driving home from his English class in Bloomington, Indiana just after noon on Monday, when he was pulled over by an unmarked police vehicle. Minutes later, the asylum seeker from Afghanistan was cuffed and driven to a detention center.

In New York, another Afghan asylum seeker was detained after complying with a request from immigration authorities to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. In northern California – home to one of the largest Afghan immigrant communities in the US – attorneys said nearly two dozen Afghan asylum seekers had been arrested – either out in the community, or at check-ins over the past two weeks.

Most of the Afghan asylum seekers who’ve been detained had requested asylum at the US-Mexico border over the last two years, attorneys said. Others have entered under Operation Allies Welcome – a Biden-era program to help resettle Afghans fleeing the Taliban following the US’s withdrawal of the US from their country in 2021. Many had been granted humanitarian parole – a temporary legal status that allowed them to live and work in the US while their asylum claims were processed.

The recent arrests “have created a huge chilling effect,” said Shala Gafary, managing director of the Afghan Legal Assistance program at Human Rights First. “People just don’t feel safe to leave their home. People are asking all the time what the process is for going to Canada, or going to another country.”

In the two weeks after an Afghan man was accused of shooting two national guard members, the Trump administration announced major policy changes – radically restricting legal pathways to immigration by pausing asylum decisions for nearly 1.5m people, and halting the processing of applications for green cards, citizenship, or asylum from immigrants from 19 countries.

Despite these policy changes, asylum seekers with removal orders making a case to remain in the US in the justice department immigration courts are still entitled to hearings.

But, in recent weeks, ICE appears to be increasingly arresting Afghans awaiting hearings – forcing them to remain detained until their cases are decided.

Many of those arrested had been complying with requirements to check in with ICE regularly, or wear electronic monitoring devices, attorneys said, and did not have any criminal histories, their attorneys said.

“Clients have expressed to me that they’re feeling deeply unsettled and very fearful of what may happen to them next,” said Elora Mukherjee, director of Columbia Law School’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, whose Afghan client – an Afghan asylum seeker – was detained after complying with a request to report to ICE offices in New York City.

“Without any notice or warning, he was cuffed. He was completely shocked and didn’t understand what was happening. And then for some period of time, we didn’t know where he was. His family didn’t know where he was.”

Eventually, Mukherjee said, she was able to figure out he’d been transferred to a detention facility in New Jersey. Neither she nor her client have received any explanation as to why he was arrested, she said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.

Amir, who was arrested in Bloomington, hasn’t been told why he was arrested either, his brother-in-law Shamsullah said. “The big question for our family is: for what reason was he arrested? He didn’t have a speeding ticket, anything.” The Guardian is not using their full names in order to protect their privacy and safety.

Rearview camera footage from Amir’s car, reviewed by the Guardian, captured three agents wearing FBI vests approaching his vehicle from behind. “You don’t have lawful status to be here. Your visa expired,” an agent told him.

Amir, who was in the car with his mother-in-law, repeatedly asked the agents if he could call his lawyer. “I’m going to let you call them,” one agent told him, before they cuffed his hands behind his back. He wasn’t allowed to call his lawyer on the way, nor was he able to speak with his wife. An agent took his mother-in-law, who couldn’t drive, back to her home.

Amir, who had spoken with the Guardian last week prior to his detention, had fled Afghanistan – where he had been detained by the Taliban due to his family ties to the former government – a year and a half ago. He entered the US via the southern border, using the now defunct CBP One app to schedule an appointment with an immigration officer, and was granted humanitarian parole. He applied for asylum in December last year.

After receiving his work permits in the US, the former electrical engineer had been working in a cafeteria by day and as ride-share driver in the evenings. He had been wearing an ankle monitor as required by ICE.

His detention came as a shock to his family and for the broader Afghan community in Bloomington. “People call me and they ask me: what should we do, what happened?” Shamsullah said. “I tell them I don’t know. I don’t know what we should do.” Amir’s wife, who is pregnant, has been especially struggling, he added.

If he were to return to Afghanistan, the family fears, Amir would be immediately detained. The family is also part of the Hazara Shia minority in Afghanistan, a group that has faced escalating violence and persecution since 2021. “There is no safe place for us in Afghanistan,” Amir told the Guardian last week. “The Taliban without any reason, they arrest people and they kill people.”

Attorneys said they were often at a loss for what to tell clients, many who have fled political prosecution, torture and threats on their lives in Afghanistan after the Taliban retook the country in 2021. “They are afraid, even though they have complied with every provision of US law, even though they have extremely strong cases and we have extensive documentation of their past persecution, whether through medical evaluations or mental health evaluations or photographs of their scars and their burns and other harms that they’ve experienced.”

Attorneys told the Guardian they are still unclear on how various policy changes will play out, if the administration will try to terminate the legal status for Afghans with humanitarian parole, or how long the pause on processing various immigration petitions will last.

“The honest answer is, I do not know, and the administration has not indicated what’s going to happen to those cases,” said Gregory Chen is Senior Director of Government Relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). “The administration has used terms such as indefinite pause, which is, of course, a contradictory oxymoron.”

The arrests and other policy changes have sparked panic, said Wahida Noorzad, an immigration attorney in the Bay Area who has seen two clients arrested and detained at the California City detention center, in the high desert east of Los Angeles. A third Afghan client was detained four weeks ago, prior to the shooting on 26 November.

Noorzad – who herself is Afghan American – said she has started receiving calls from across the region and the US, because she is one of the few immigration attorneys who speaks Dari. “I have many clients that are Afghan in the court system. I don’t know if they’re all going to be picked up,” she said.

Already, she added, it is proving challenging for her to help detained clients who have been transferred to the major ICE detention facility in California city, more than 5 hours drive away from her offices in the Bay Area. It’s also unclear when her detained clients will receive court dates to challenge their detention, and assess their asylum claims, given that about 90 immigration judges have been fired this year and a ballooning immigration court backlong.

For individual attorneys like Noorzad, filing federal habeas corpus petitions to challenge clients’ detention is also logistically challenging and prohibitively expensive.

“I still try to give my clients hope that they’ll hopefully win their cases eventually,” she said. “Because they are really in danger. Nobody leaves home unless they are really fearful.”

US agents increasingly arresting Afghan asylum seekers, lawyers say: ‘A huge chilling effect’
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ICE arrests of Afghans are on the rise in the wake of National Guard attack, immigration lawyers say

December 12, 2025

By SAHAR AKBARZAI, MARTHA BELLISLE, REBECCA SANTANA and JULIE WATSON

Associated Press
December 9, 2025

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — On a recent afternoon, Giselle Garcia, a volunteer who has been helping an Afghan family resettle, drove the father to a check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She warned him and his family to prepare for the worst.

The moment the father stepped into the ICE office in California’s capital city, he was arrested.

Coming just days after the shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan national suspect, federal authorities have carried out increased arrests of Afghans in the U.S., immigration lawyers say as Afghans both in and outside the country have come under intense scrutiny by immigration officials.

Garcia said the family she helped had reported to all their appointments and were following all legal requirements.

“He was trying to be strong for his wife and kids in the car, but the anxiety and fear were palpable,” she said. “His wife was trying to hold back tears, but I could see her in the rearview mirror silently crying.”

They had fled Afghanistan under threat by the Taliban because the wife’s father had assisted the U.S. military, and they had asked for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, Garcia said. She is not identifying him or his family for fear other members could be arrested.

Afghan men arrested in wake of shooting

Since the Nov. 26 Guard shooting, The Associated Press has tracked roughly two dozen arrests of Afghan immigrants, most of which happened in Northern California. In Sacramento, home to one of the nation’s largest Afghan communities, volunteers monitoring ICE activities say they witnessed at least nine arrests at the federal building last week after Afghan men received calls to check in there.

Many of those detained had requested asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border in the last two years. Others were among the 76,000 Afghans brought to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome, created by former President Joe Biden’s administration after the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. from their country.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Dec. 1 that the Trump administration is “actively reexamining” all the Afghan nationals who entered the U.S. during Biden’s administration.

The AP couldn’t independently determine each of the Afghans’ immigration statuses or the reasons put forward by authorities for their arrests. In one case, the man had been arrested twice on suspicion of domestic violence, according to the government.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland, said in an email that the agency “has been going full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and criminal illegal aliens that came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs and working to get the criminals and public safety threats OUT of our country.”

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan suspect in the shooting, was granted asylum earlier this year, according to advocate group #AfghanEvac.

Critics say Afghans paying price for one bad actor

Since the shooting, the U.S. government introduced sweeping immigration changes, including pausing asylum applications and requiring increased vetting for immigrants from certain countries. The administration also took steps specifically targeted at Afghans, including pausing all their immigration-related applications and visas for Afghans who closely helped the war effort.

Those who work with Afghans say the stepped-up enforcement amounts to the collective punishment of a population, many of whom risked their lives to protect U.S. troops.

“Not to discount the horrific killing that happened, but that was one bad actor who should be prosecuted by the full extent of the law,” Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, whose California district includes Sacramento, said of Lakanwal. “A lot of these people kept our troops safe and served side by side with our soldiers for two decades in Afghanistan.”

Cuffed after reporting to ICE

In Sacramento, Afghan men arrived one by one to the ICE office Dec. 1 after being asked to immediately report there, drawing the attention of volunteers who have been at the federal building for more than six months to monitor ICE activities and alert immigrants.

As each man entered the office, agents handcuffed them, said Garcia, a volunteer with NorCal Resist.

“What we saw on Monday was an influx of Afghan immigrants called randomly starting at 6 a.m. and asked to do a check-in and report immediately,” Garcia said. “Most of these Afghan men already had ankle monitors on them.”

Her organization’s volunteers witnessed ICE arrest six Afghans that day.

Arrests and cancellations cause fear

In Des Moines, Iowa, Ann Naffier, with the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, said her Afghan client was detained Dec. 2 on the way to work by agents who called him a “terrorist.” He was held for two hours before he was released with an apology.

Wahida Noorzad is an immigration attorney in Northern California who has two Afghan clients who were arrested last week by ICE. Both entered the U.S. in recent years through the southern border. One used the app set up by the Biden administration to make an appointment to request asylum at the border.

Noorzad felt both had strong cases to eventually be granted asylum in the U.S. She also said she found no criminal records for them.

Spojmie Nasiri, another immigration attorney in Northern California, said she’s received numerous calls from worried Afghans, including a man who called her terrified as agents stood outside his home. He put her on speaker phone so she could tell them that her client was a U.S. citizen.

Iqbal Wafa, an Afghan immigration consultant in Sacramento, said officials told his client when he went to his appointment last week that interviews for Afghans are canceled, and he observed interviews for other Afghan immigrants were canceled as well inside the federal building in Sacramento.

His client, who asked to be identified only by his last name, Mohammadi, out of fear his comments could affect the safety of relatives in Afghanistan, said he came to the U.S. with his family in 2017 after working as a security guard for both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering and the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan for 12 years. He said he watched last week as other people who weren’t Afghans went into their interviews before learning his was canceled.

“I started thinking, ‘I haven’t done anything,’” Mohammadi said. He said he felt betrayed after the hard work that led up to the interview for U.S. citizenship. “What will happen to our futures?”

Rohullah R., 30, wondered the same. He worked at an animal shelter in Kabul, Afghanistan, and came to the U.S. in 2024 after being sponsored by a New York animal welfare organization. He did not want his last name used out of fear it would harm his case. He said the pause on his green card application process has “created a lot of challenges” and for many Afghans like him their “spirit is down.”

A family left crying

Garcia said she listened through the wall of the waiting room at the ICE office and heard agents handcuff the father of the family she was helping.

“I’m screaming his rights through the wall so he could hear me. ‘Remain silent! Please don’t sign anything!’” she said. She left after security approached.

When she walked out of the building without him, she said his wife broke down sobbing.

Their daughter tried to console her, telling her, “Mommy, don’t cry. Everything will be OK when daddy comes.”

Bellisle reported from Seattle, Watson reported from San Diego and Santana reported from Washington.

ICE arrests of Afghans are on the rise in the wake of National Guard attack, immigration lawyers say
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Germany drops promise to resettle hundreds of Afghans

December 12, 2025
 

The 640 people in Pakistan awaiting resettlement – many of whom worked for the German military during the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan – will no longer be taken in, as Merz’s government axes two programmes introduced by its centre-left-led predecessor.

Merz‪ has taken a harder line on migration to fend off a stiff challenge from the far right.

The people awaiting evacuation would receive notice from Germany in the coming days “that there is no longer any political interest in their being admitted”, an interior ministry spokesperson said.

Rights groups called the reversal a betrayal that defied several court rulings. They warned that the Afghans risked “persecution, abuse and death” if they were returned.

Karl Kopp, the head of the German NGO Pro Asyl, criticised the government’s decision as “ice cold”. He added: “The previous government promised to take these people in for one reason only: they had fought for women’s rights, human rights and freedom in Afghanistan.”

The people affected were now in acute danger and at risk of falling into the hands of the Islamist Taliban regime, he said. “For the new government, this shameful treatment of people in mortal danger is a declaration of moral bankruptcy.”

After the Taliban’s return to power four years ago, Germany’s then centre-left-led government launched programmes offering refuge to “especially endangered people” including local staff who had worked for the German military or government ministries, as well as rights activists and journalists.

Until April 2025, before Merz took office in May, about 4,000 local staff and 15,000 of their family members had been resettled in Germany, according to official data.

Since then, a few hundred Afghans have been evacuated from Pakistan but the current government has largely moved to phase out that policy, offering money to those who renounce their right to be resettled. The interior ministry said last month only 62 people had taken up the offer.

Up to 1,800 Afghans approved for relocation to Germany have been stranded in Pakistan for months, NGOs say.

The interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has spearheaded many of the government’s toughest measures to block new arrivals.

He has concluded that only Afghanswith a “legally binding” promise should remain eligible for resettlement. The interior ministry said this would cover only 90 of the 220 local staff still awaiting evacuation.

A former local police training officer and father of four told the daily Frankfurter Rundschau that he had waited two years to enter Germany and was shocked by the decision. “In a single moment, all my hopes and dreams of a normal life were shattered,” he was quoted as saying.

The military affairs reporter Thomas Wiegold said the about-face could have long-term consequences for any future missions abroad. “German soldiers can only fervently hope that they will never, ever, ever again be dependent on local support anywhere,” he wrote on Bluesky.

More than 250 NGOs issued an open letter this week criticising the government for failing to honour Berlin’s promises to Afghans left in limbo, 70% of whom, they noted, are women and children.

Groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and religious organisations called on the government to evacuate all 1,800 people before the end of the year – the deadline announced by the Pakistani government for them to leave.

Last year, Germany resumed deportations to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, with the then chancellor, Olaf Scholz, promising a more aggressive approach to removals of those with a criminal record.

Several such flights have taken place under the current government, even as the foreign ministry warns of widespread human rights violations in Afghanistan, including “torture, extrajudicial killings, corporal punishment and public executions”.

Germany drops promise to resettle hundreds of Afghans
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Iran Warns UN That Lack of Inclusive Government Could Ignite New Conflict in Afghanistan

December 12, 2025
Khaama Press

Iran told the UN Security Council that Afghanistan risks renewed instability and conflict unless a genuinely inclusive government is formed to bridge deepening political divisions.

Iran has warned that rising tensions in Afghanistan are linked to the absence of an inclusive government, cautioning that renewed conflict could emerge if political gaps remain unresolved. Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, issued the warning during a UN Security Council session on Wednesday.

Reports indicated that Iran has recently mobilised several opposition groups and is expected to increase pressure on Kabul to engage in dialogue with these factions. Tehran is also preparing to host a regional meeting aimed at addressing the escalating tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Iravani noted that Afghanistan’s instability directly affects Iran due to their long shared border and the presence of millions of Afghan migrants living inside the country. According to Iravani, these factors make developments in Afghanistan an immediate security and humanitarian concern for Tehran.

Iravani described practical and meaningful engagement with Afghanistan’s current rulers as a strategic necessity rather than a policy choice. He argued that constructive interaction is essential for managing risks, reducing long-term costs, and preventing future crises.

Despite this, the Iranian envoy expressed strong concern over the deteriorating human rights situation, particularly the continued limitations on women and girls. He said the restrictions on education, employment, and public participation contradict Islamic teachings and basic human dignity.

Calling for urgent action, Iravani urged the authorities in Kabul to lift these restrictions immediately. He stressed that political flexibility is needed to open the path toward broader participation.

He concluded that forming an inclusive and representative government is critical for achieving lasting peace, preventing renewed conflict, avoiding large refugee flows, ensuring security, improving Afghanistan’s economic conditions, and upholding human rights, especially those of women and girls.

Iran Warns UN That Lack of Inclusive Government Could Ignite New Conflict in Afghanistan
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1.7 Million Children at Risk of Death in Afghanistan: Tom Fletcher

December 12, 2025
Khaama Press

 

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warns that 1.7 million children in Afghanistan face deadly malnutrition amid severe winter conditions, funding shortfalls, and stalled aid deliveries.

The UN has warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where 1.7 million children are at risk of death due to severe malnutrition. Tom Fletcher, UN Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, described the situation as “shocking” during a Security Council briefing on Wednesday, December 10.

Fletcher said food insecurity has worsened this winter, with many life-saving food distributions suspended. He added that 1.1 million children have been denied access to vital aid, leaving them extremely vulnerable.

He reported that 303 nutrition service centres have been forced to close due to funding shortfalls, further limiting access to emergency care for malnourished children. Fletcher emphasized that lifting restrictions on women and girls is critical to maintaining aid operations.

The UN official also condemned Taliban prohibitions on women working in UN offices, calling them “unacceptable” and warning that the restrictions disrupt essential humanitarian services. He urged the international community to provide additional funding to sustain aid programmes.

According to recent reports by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most food-insecure countries, with millions facing acute malnutrition and inadequate access to healthcare.

Humanitarian agencies say that without urgent international support, the coming months could see a significant increase in child mortality and widespread suffering among vulnerable populations.

Security Council members highlighted the need for coordinated action to ensure that aid reaches those most in need, stressing that the protection of women workers and access for humanitarian staff are essential for delivering life-saving assistance.

1.7 Million Children at Risk of Death in Afghanistan: Tom Fletcher
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Moscow Warns of Deepening Rift Between Islamabad and Kabul

December 12, 2025
Khaama Press

 

Russia has expressed serious concern over escalating tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, urging both sides to resolve differences diplomatically to prevent further regional instability and conflict.

Russia has voiced deep concern over rising tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban, urging both sides to settle their differences through diplomatic means. Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert Khorev said Moscow is monitoring the situation closely and hopes it does not escalate further.

In a press briefing at the Russian Embassy in Islamabad, Khorev said Russia is ready to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation with both Islamabad and Kabul. He emphasized that terrorism is a shared threat affecting Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, and the wider region, making coordinated action essential.

The ambassador pointed to the deadly border clashes of October 2025, the worst since the Taliban returned to power, as a key moment that heightened regional alarm. He stressed that preventing another confrontation is in the interest of all neighboring states.

Khorev also reiterated Moscow’s willingness to mediate between the Taliban and Pakistan, noting that Russia supports all efforts aimed at stabilizing South Asia. He highlighted Iran’s recent diplomatic push, including its initiative to convene a regional summit to address the deteriorating Pakistan-Taliban relationship.

Regional observers say the repeated collapse of talks has deepened concerns among key players such as Russia, Iran, Qatar, and Turkey, all of whom fear that further deterioration could fuel greater instability across South Asia. Their involvement reflects the urgency of preventing another round of border violence.

With both Islamabad and Kabul holding firm to uncompromising positions, diplomats warn that renewed clashes remain a real possibility. Russia’s latest call for dialogue underscores growing fears that unresolved tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban could spill over, threatening regional security.

Moscow Warns of Deepening Rift Between Islamabad and Kabul
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Center for Freedom of Expression: Journalists’ Situation in Afghanistan Remains Alarming

December 12, 2025
Khaama Press

The Freedom of Expression Center warns that journalists in Afghanistan face increasing threats, censorship, and harassment, putting press freedom and independent reporting at serious risk.

On Human Rights Day, the Center for Freedom of Expression warned that journalists and media defenders in Afghanistan face worsening repression and restricted civil liberties.

The report highlighted arbitrary arrests, threats, and detention of journalists, with many held without trial, legal support, or family contact under current administration.

Self-censorship, organized media censorship, and the silencing of independent outlets are preventing citizens from accessing information and undermining freedom of expression.

Women journalists are disproportionately affected, barred from work, education, and social participation, reflecting systematic discrimination within Afghanistan’s media and public spheres.

Afghan journalists in neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan, face insecurity, homelessness, and limited protection, worsened by rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The report noted that at least 15 TV networks were shut down over the past year, severely weakening visual media and public information access.

The Center called on the international community to provide protection and support for Afghanistan journalists, emphasizing that continued repression threatens democracy, transparency, and human rights in Afghanistan.

Center for Freedom of Expression: Journalists’ Situation in Afghanistan Remains Alarming
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