Political analysts say that CSTO member states view their own national stability and interests as directly tied to the situation in Afghanistan.
Foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Afghanistan in its pursuit of peace and stability, according to a joint statement.
The organization, in a released communiqué, said it is ready to cooperate and engage in international efforts for Afghanistan’s development in coordination with the United Nations, and urged the global community to increase humanitarian aid to the Afghan people.
Part of the statement reads: “We reaffirm our intention to support Afghanistan in becoming a peaceful and stable country, and our readiness to take part in international efforts for its development under the central coordinating role of the United Nations.”
“We call on the international community to increase humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people,” it added.
Shamsur Rahman Ahmadzai, an economic analyst, said: “They help all countries of the world in any situation. We too can use these funds or aid from different UN agencies for economic growth.”
Political analysts say that CSTO member states view their own national stability and interests as directly tied to the situation in Afghanistan.
Sayed Ebadullah Sadeq, a political analyst, said: “CSTO countries have an important role in Afghanistan’s peace and security, and they must fulfill it properly. Given Afghanistan’s central location, these countries, along with China, India, Pakistan, and Iran can strengthen their economic, political, trade, and transit ties through coordination with Afghanistan.”
Fazal Rahman Oria, another political analyst, said: “If Afghanistan enjoys lasting peace and stability, development will follow, and this will also help bring progress and stability to Central Asian countries.”
Meanwhile, on June 19 of this year, the President of Kyrgyzstan had also stressed the importance of close and continuous monitoring of the situation in Afghanistan during a meeting of CSTO Security Council Secretaries, describing it as key to ensuring regional peace and security.
The Islamic Emirate has also consistently stated its commitment to maintaining lasting stability in the country.
CSTO States Pledge Support for Peace and Stability in Afghanistan
The talks addressed key issues such as alternative livelihoods, treatment for drug addiction, and development of the private sector and banking systems.
As Afghanistan navigates ongoing economic and social challenges, Doha has hosted a two-day series of technical working group meetings focused on fostering international cooperation and sustainable recovery. The meetings, initiated by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), brought together representatives of the de facto authorities, various countries, and international organizations, concluding today in Qatar.
The sessions were part of a broader UN-led effort to establish a more coherent, coordinated, and structured engagement with Afghanistan’s authorities, following the recommendations of the Independent Assessment submitted to the UN Security Council. The agenda focused on two priority areas: supporting the private sector and combating narcotics.
UNAMA described the meetings as a platform to review progress made so far and to outline actionable steps for the future.
Gul Mohammad Din Mohammadi, a political analyst, said: “Representatives from various ministries of the Islamic Emirate participated in the Doha meetings. The discussions covered several areas, including counter-narcotics, health, and poverty reduction. We hope the Doha meetings lead to sustained support for Afghanistan.”
Delegations from the Ministries of Economy, Commerce, Public Health, Agriculture, Interior, Foreign Affairs, and the Central Bank also attended the two-day sessions in Doha to present practical solutions.
The talks addressed key issues such as alternative livelihoods, treatment for drug addiction, and development of the private sector and banking systems.
Zia Ahmad Takal, Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “This delegation is engaging with representatives of various countries and international organizations to explore potential cooperation in drug prevention and control, alternative livelihoods, addiction treatment, and development of the private and banking sectors.”
Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of the board of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “Afghanistan’s private sector, including the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, is striving to work with the UN, the international community, and Qatar to implement economic plans and objectives for the benefit of the Afghan people. These efforts are being executed through UNAMA and UNDP. We are also working to be actively involved in this process.”
An informal session was also held on the sidelines, where special envoys and ambassadors from Pakistan, China, and Russia discussed Afghanistan’s situation and reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening regional cooperation.
UN-Led Doha Talks Focus on Afghan Economy and Drug Control
“We see families arriving with barely anything — often just the clothes on their backs,” said Najib Ghiasi.
He’s on the staff of the Afghan charity Aseel, and he’s speaking about Afghan refugees in Pakistan who lived there for years, even decades — and are now being removed from their homes by police and sent back to the border.
Ghiasi told NPR that a refugee named Mausera spoke to one of his colleagues at Aseel and shared video of the interview. She told Aseel that interviewer that she had lived with her two grandchildren and worked as a cleaner in Pakistan to support them and that – her son had been was killed years ago and her husband abandoned her long before.
Deportations are occurring from Iran as well. The two countries had been home to 3.5 million Afghan refugees. There have been waves of returnees over the last few years, said Sherine Ibrahim, the Afghanistan country director for the International Rescue Committee. But this year, Iran and Pakistan have stepped up the deportations.
A U.N. report released on Thursday says that 71,000 Afghan refugees from the two countries were deported just from June 1 to June 15, adding to millions who have been deported or left since 2023. Ghiasi says he and his colleagues spent much of early June at the Torkham crossing and counted some 5,000 families arriving every day.
This past week has also seen the largest number of returnees in a single day — 30,607, according to Ibrahim.
In videos shared by Aseel, the border crossing is a sea of humanity: Men, women and children packed into trucks, vans and small cars. Some of the women were clutching newborn babies. People sat atop piles of meager belongings, some of which are bundled in bedsheets.
Ghiasi said the forced deportations are hardest on children, who “understand that something terrible is happening, but they don’t fully grasp why they are being removed from the only homes they’ve ever known.” And perhaps the only homes their parents have ever known, he said. “Most of the deportees have lived in Pakistan for over three decades. A large majority of them have nowhere to go and no place to call home upon return.”
The reasons for the waves of deportations aren’t fully clear. Representatives of the two country governments did not respond to an NPR request for comments.
One explanation is that the governments want to remove those immigrants who do not have proper documentation.
On June 7, Fatemeh Mohajerani, an Iranian government spokesperson, told local media: “The government differentiates between legal and illegal residents. The decision is that those with valid legal documents will be allowed to stay in accordance with the law, while those without legal documents may leave.”
The deportations reflect a growing anti-immigrant sentiment worldwide, says Teresa Casale, executive director of Mina’s List, a human rights organization working on resettlement and advocacy for Afghan women refugees. And the U.S. crackdown on immigrants under Trump makes it more difficult if not impossible for Afghan refugees in other countries to resettle in the United States.
And the Afghan refugees in Pakistan have no real rights to protect them. “It’s so unfortunate that Pakistan is not a signatory to any kind of international refugee protocols or conventions, so obtaining legal status for refugees there is virtually impossible,” Casale added.
“In the worst-case scenario, more than three million people could be forced to return to Afghanistan by the end of 2025,” said Jacopo Caridi, country director of Norwegian Refugee Council in Afghanistan.
A bad time to go back
One thing is clear to advocates: The timing couldn’t be worse.
Afghans are returning to a country suffering a humanitarian crisis, which has grown more dire since the Taliban seized power more than three years ago.
“Afghanistan is a humanitarian crisis unto itself,” says Ibrahim of the IRC. “There are 23 million people in need.”
In February and March, other major aid donors, including the U.K., also announced they were curtailing their foreign aid budgets, forcing charities to curtail their activities in Afghanistan, which is among the world’s most reliant countries on international donors. This year, foreign donors have only pledged 20% of what humanitarian groups say they need to offer basic services to Afghanistan, according to Caridi.
Then in early April, all U.S. humanitarian aid to Afghanistan was eliminated. The canceled contracts totaled $280 million with the World Food Programme, $24 million with the United Nations Population Fund and $257 million with other nongovernmental organizations.
What returnees face
Needs will not be met, says Ibrahim: “The surge of numbers means that very few people are going to be getting the immediate support that they need.”
Many of the returnees are women on their own. She says: “I’ve met women who’ve said to me, I’ve been separated from my family. I have nowhere to go. I can’t walk around Afghanistan or travel to a community of origin because I don’t have a mahram, which is the male companion — a blood relative who is a male.”
As families return to Afghanistan, aid workers say they expect to see a rise in child labor. Many of the deported families are headed by women — the Taliban does not allow them to work in most professions so “families rely on children to earn a living,” said Safi Nurzai, who also works at the Afghan aid group As
Ruchi Kumar is a journalist who reports on conflict, politics, development and culture in India and Afghanistan.
Hard to imagine a worse time to deport Afghan refugees, human rights advocates say
Pakistan is reviewing the extension of the Afghan migrant deportation deadline, providing more time for migrants to manage personal affairs before return.
Pakistani officials have announced that the government is considering extending the deadline for the forced return of 1.4 million Afghan migrants who are legally residing in Pakistan. This decision comes as the June 30 deadline approaches, and the extension is aimed at providing more time for individuals to manage personal affairs, such as selling property and ending business activities before their orderly return to Afghanistan.
The proposal was prepared last week and presented to the cabinet for approval. A final decision on the matter is expected to be made during the upcoming cabinet meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday. This extension is seen as a way to ensure a more organized and smoother return process for the migrants.
According to reports, approximately 1.4 million Afghan migrants in Pakistan hold legal registration cards, while 800,000 others have Afghan citizenship cards. An additional one million are considered illegal migrants, and their forced repatriation has drawn widespread criticism.
The mass return of Afghan migrants has sparked intense criticism from international organizations. The United Nations and human rights groups have expressed concerns about the treatment of migrants, particularly the arbitrary arrests and forced expulsions. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 256,000 people returned to Afghanistan from Iran in July alone, adding pressure to Afghanistan’s already fragile systems.
The IOM has raised alarms that Afghanistan lacks the capacity to handle such a large number of returnees, with local systems facing imminent collapse. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has also warned that the extensive returns could destabilize Afghanistan further, as the country’s infrastructure is already under significant strain.
The growing number of returnees, coupled with warnings from international organizations, highlights the need for urgent international support. Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure may struggle to accommodate these migrants without substantial aid, raising serious humanitarian concerns.
The situation requires coordinated efforts between Pakistan and Afghanistan, alongside international intervention, to ensure the safe return of migrants. Without effective diplomatic solutions and aid, both countries face increasing challenges, with potential long-term repercussions for regional stability.
Pakistan reviewing extension of Afghan migrant deportation deadline
In recent days, reports have emerged of two young people committing suicide in the provinces of Nangarhar and Kandahar.
Drug addiction, domestic violence, and unemployment are cited as the primary causes of such incidents.
One of the victims, Abdul Haq, a resident of Chaparhar district in Nangarhar, hanged himself at home a few days ago, leaving behind two orphaned children.
Family members say he suffered from mental illness in addition to drug addiction and had been hospitalized multiple times.
Abdul Haq’s father, Noorurrahman, said: “He was addicted to drugs. When I realized it, he had already left home twice, but I brought him back. I brought him back a third time as well and took him to the hospital where he received treatment. However, after returning home, he left again.”
His brother, Samiullah, said: “Two days had passed since he hanged himself before the neighbors informed us. We went and brought back his body, arranged for his shroud, coffin, and burial.”
According to official statistics, on the 17th of Jawza (solar calendar), a young man named Abdullah Abid in Uruzgan, and on the 7th of Saratan, a young man named Fida Mohammad in Kandahar, committed suicide due to economic and mental pressures.
On the same date in Jawza, in Barmal district of Paktika province, a young man named Allah Noor and his fiancée also committed suicide because they couldn’t afford the dowry.
Some religious scholars consider suicide a forbidden act in Islam, while medical experts highlight psychological treatment as a key method in preventing suicidal behavior.
Abdulrahman, a religious scholar in Nangarhar, said: “The Prophet’s sayings clearly prohibit suicide. Anyone who commits suicide is held accountable in this world and in the hereafter.”
Dr. Amir Pamir, a physician in Nangarhar, said: “Mental illness and sudden psychological pressures lead many young people to take their own lives. The best way to prevent this is to raise awareness among youth and teach them resilience in the face of challenges.”
According to official figures, in 2024, 72 suicide cases have been recorded in Khost province alone.
Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, also stated that 150,000 individuals have returned via the Islam Qala crossing just this month.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported the return of 5,000 unaccompanied children from Iran to Afghanistan through the Islam Qala border.
Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, also stated that 150,000 individuals have returned via the Islam Qala crossing just this month.
He said: “In the month of June only, 150,000 returns have been recorded across the border in Islam Qala. 25% of these are children, many of whom are families, female-headed households, and in a very, very difficult situation. For us as UNICEF, we’ve seen more than 5,000 separated and unaccompanied children, and that comes with all the vulnerability of exploitation, abuse, and the lives that these children could be subjected to. Together with other partners on the ground at the reception center in Islam Qala, we are providing critical vaccination services.”
Poverty and economic hardship, along with other factors, have pushed Afghan children and teenagers to neighboring countries, especially Iran.
In Iran, these children and teenagers are often forced to work to survive, far from their families. Now, among the deportees from Iran, there are children who have crossed back into Afghanistan alone via the Islam Qala border.
Murtaza, one of the deportees from Iran, said: “We studied up to sixth grade here, then stopped and went to Iran. We were deported again. Our hope is that the work and economic situation improves so we can continue our education in our own country.”
Nazeer Ahmad, another deportee, said: “During the five years we spent in Iran, we were harassed a lot. Along the way and in different places, they mistreated us and took extra money from us.”
This comes with only seven days remaining before Iran’s deadline for the departure of Afghan migrants from its territory.
UNICEF Reports Return of 5,000 Unaccompanied Afghan Children from Iran
Following the official ban on poppy cultivation by the interim government, the level of cultivation has significantly decreased.
The third meeting of the Counter-Narcotics Working Group and the second meeting of the Private Sector Working Group were held today (Monday, 30 June) in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Representatives from the Islamic Emirate, various countries, and international organizations attended the meeting. The goal of these discussions is to find solutions to mitigate the negative impacts of the poppy cultivation ban and to support Afghanistan’s economy.
Political analyst Saleem Paigir stated: “I wish all the decisions made during the third Doha meeting would be implemented; however, the topics addressed today are a promising start for the Afghan people. We can count on the international community and the United Nations to fulfill the commitments they make to the people of Afghanistan.”
Economic analyst Abdul Nasir Reshtia said: “The stronger the private sector becomes, the more employment opportunities it can create. Banking restrictions must also be lifted so that the private sector can engage effectively in international trade. Unfortunately, current restrictions have caused significant challenges.”
Following the official ban on poppy cultivation by the interim government, the level of cultivation has significantly decreased. However, new challenges have emerged, including unemployment, livelihood crises, and the expansion of illegal markets. The United Nations is now using the Doha Working Group process to address these issues.
Military affairs analyst Sadiq Shinwari said: “The decrees of the Islamic Emirate regarding the ban on poppy and narcotics must be strictly enforced. At the same time, international support for helping farmers must be considered.”
The third Doha meeting, which was held a year ago in Qatar, also focused on supporting the private sector and combating narcotics.
In the latest round of the Doha process, representatives from 25 countries, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations are in attendance.
Global Efforts Pledged in Doha to Support Afghanistan’s Economy
Afghans who have been deported from Iran gather at the Islam Qala border crossing in western Afghanistan.
More than 700,000 Afghan migrants have returned from Iran so far this year, including 256,000 in June alone, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Monday, warning of immense pressures on Afghanistan’s overstretched support systems.
Ninety-nine per cent of the returnees were undocumented, and 70 per cent were forcibly returned, with a steep rise in families being deported – a shift from earlier months, when most returnees were single young men, according to the UN agency.
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The rise follows a March decision by the Iranian Government requiring all undocumented Afghans to leave the country.
Conditions deteriorated further after the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, which caused the daily refugees crossings to skyrocket from about 5,000 to nearly 30,000, according to Arafat Jamal, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) representative in Afghanistan.
“They are coming in buses and sometimes five buses arrive at one time with families and others and the people are let out of the bus and they are simply bewildered, disoriented, and tired and hungry as well,” he told UN News, describing the scene at a border crossing.
“This has been exacerbated by the war, but I must say it has been part of an underlying trend that we have seen of returns from Iran, some of which are voluntary, but a large portion were also deportations.”
Strain on aid efforts
Afghanistan, already grappling with economic collapse and chronic humanitarian crisis, is unprepared to absorb such large-scale returns.
The 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan calls for $2.42 billion in funding, but only 22.2 per cent has been secured to date.
“The scale of returns is deeply alarming and demands a stronger and more immediate international response,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope, “Afghanistan cannot manage this alone.”
Meanwhile, UNHCR alongside partners is working to address the urgent needs of those arriving – food, water, shelter, protection. However its programmes are also under severe strain due to limited funding.
The agency had to drastically reduce its cash assistance to returnee families at the border from $2,000 per family to just $156.
“We are not able to help enough women, and we are also hurting local communities,” added Mr. Jamal.
Some relief, but not enough
In response to growing crisis, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated $1.7 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to support drought-affected families in Faryab Province.
The funds will provide cash assistance to some 8,000 families in the region, where over a third of the rural population is already facing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity.
“Acting ahead of predicted hazards to prevent or reduce humanitarian impacts on communities is more important than ever,” said Isabelle Moussard Carlsen, Head of OCHA Afghanistan, adding “when humanitarian action globally and in Afghanistan is underfunded…we must make the most of every dollar.”
Afghanistan: Surging returns from Iran overwhelm fragile support systems, UN agencies warn
The Islamic Emirate rejected remarks made by the Chief of Pakistan’s Army Staff claiming that India is using Afghan territory to operate against Pakistan.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, stressed that the caretaker government, based on its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, does not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against any country.
Fitrat said: “Currently, there is no threat to anyone, and such concerns suggesting that one party is being nurtured against another are baseless. The Islamic Emirate adheres to a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and does not permit the use of Afghan soil to create insecurity, especially against neighboring countries. These concerns are therefore groundless. That said, we emphasize that relations with Pakistan are important to us and must be based on mutual interests. We seek good relations with both countries and observe a neutral, non-interventionist policy in foreign affairs.”
This statement follows recent remarks by Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, who claimed that Indian-backed groups are operating against Pakistan from Afghan territory.
Speaking in Islamabad, Munir referred to Afghanistan as an Islamic and brotherly country and stated that Pakistan seeks peaceful relations with Afghanistan but expects Kabul to prevent the activities of Indian proxy elements.
He said: “We ask only one thing: do not give space to India’s terrorist proxies — Fitna al-Hind and Fitna al-Khawarij.”
Mohammad Zalmai Afghan Yar, a political analyst, responded by saying: “Our lack of confrontation with India does not mean we oppose Pakistan. We hope the other side will stop repeating accusations and engage with Afghanistan based on shared interests.”
On another note, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US Special Representative for Afghan Peace, said in response to a question on Pakistan that no country should use terrorism as a political tool.
In an interview with an Indian media outlet, he said: “No country, whether in the region or globally, should use terrorism as an instrument for advancing political agendas. Even Pakistan itself has suffered from terrorism. Therefore, this situation must come to an end.”
Despite a recent improvement in diplomatic relations between Islamabad and Kabul, Pakistan’s recurring concerns and accusations about the use of Afghan soil against its interests remain persistent.
Islamic Emirate Denies Pakistan Claim of India Using Afghan Territory
The city council has agreed to accept 124 Afghan refugees during 2025/26
Birmingham City Council has agreed to accept 124 new Afghan refugees into the city – a move its leader called a “moral duty”.
The Labour run local authority said it was willing to accommodate the refugees during 2025/26, as part of the government’s Afghan Relocation Programme (ARP) to rehouse Afghan citizens who have worked for or with the UK Government in Afghanistan.
Councillor Robert Alden, the council’s Conservative leader, said the opposition party should focus on housing the people already in need within the city.
But at a meeting on Tuesday, councillor John Cotton said participation in the scheme was not about feeling “warm and fuzzy” but “playing our role as a global city”.
According to a council report, eligible individuals of the ARP scheme face particular hardship as they either furthered British interest in Afghanistan in their professional roles or have a documented record of standing up for European values.
Alden argued that welcoming more refugees could place a “strain” on the city’s housing situation.
He said: “The city has changed since 2021 [the year the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan] – the council is now bankrupt.
“There are tens of thousands of people on the council’s waiting list for housing, there are thousands of families in temporary accommodation, people who are already here who cannot get housed properly.”
“This report doesn’t really reflect the fact that actually that will be placing a further strain on those issues in the city.”
The Birmingham Conservative Group later posted on X, that the council “should focus on housing Birmingham residents”.
The council said in the report that it had successfully supported the successful integration of 148 Afghan families in the past with “little impact” on public services or finances.
It also said relatively low rates of hate crimes had been reported by resettled families in the city.
Cotton defended the council’s plans during the meeting.
“I think it’s very clear we have a moral duty to participate,” he said. “It isn’t about feeling warm and fuzzy.
“We welcomed people to this city for many generations,” he added.
The council’s cabinet approved the continued use of private sector housing and Local Authority Housing Fund properties to meet the housing needs of families arriving under the ARP.
It said this would help manage the risks associated with additional pressures on housing and homelessness services.
City’s ‘moral duty’ to accept more Afghan refugees
The United Nations says aid workers are still in a “race against time” to remove rubble and rebuild after the devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan last month, killing at least 2,200 people and cutting off remote areas.
The 6.0-magnitude quake on Aug. 31 was shallow, destroying or causing extensive damage to low-rise buildings in the mountainous region. It hit late at night, and homes — mostly made of mud, wood, or rocks — collapsed instantly, becoming death traps.
Satellite data shows that about 40,500 truckloads of debris still needs to be cleared from affected areas in several provinces, the United Nations Development Program said Wednesday. Entire communities have been upended and families are sleeping in the open, it added.
The quake’s epicenter was in remote and rugged Kunar province, challenging rescue and relief efforts by the Taliban government and humanitarian groups. Authorities deployed helicopters or airdropped army commandos to evacuate survivors. Aid workers walked for hours on foot to reach isolated communities.
“This is a race against time,” said Devanand Ramiah, from the UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. “Debris removal and reconstruction operations must start safely and swiftly.”
People’s main demands were the reconstruction of houses and water supplies, according to a spokesman for a Taliban government committee tasked with helping survivors, Zia ur Rahman Speenghar.
People were getting assistance in cash, food, tents, beds, and other necessities, Speenghar said Thursday. Three new roads were under construction in the Dewagal Valley, and roads would be built to areas where there previously were none.
“Various countries and organizations have offered assistance in the construction of houses but that takes time. After the second round of assistance, work will begin on the third round, which is considering what kind of houses can be built here,” the spokesman said.
Afghanistan is facing a “perfect storm” of crises, including natural disasters like the recent earthquake, said Roza Otunbayeva, who leads the U.N. mission to the country.
Afghanistan Peace Campaign
UNHCR/Faramarz Barzin