Herat Elders Call on Politicians to Return, Resolve Disputes Peacefully

December 12, 2025 Current News Articles

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11 Dec 2025

Some participants also called on the Islamic Emirate to facilitate the return and dialogue of political groups.

Dozens of tribal elders and religious scholars gathered in Herat, calling on Afghan politicians and opponents of the Islamic Emirate to return to the country and resolve their differences through dialogue.

They stated that Afghanistan is in a critical situation and that it is the responsibility of all parties to address the country’s challenges through peaceful means.

Khalil Ahmad Shahidzada, a tribal elder, said: “To ensure security and prevent the country from slipping back into conflict, war, or unrest that could pave the way for foreign interference, Afghans must resolve their problems through dialogue and mutual understanding.”

Abdul Hadi Wasiqi, a religious scholar, added: “Let us come together as Muslims, Afghans, and compatriots, open our arms with kindness, embrace one another as brothers, and with determination, engage in dialogue to resolve the problems of this nation.”

Some participants also called on the Islamic Emirate to facilitate the return and dialogue of political groups.

They emphasized that all challenges must be resolved through dialogue and peaceful approaches.

Sayed Ahmad Qatali, a religious scholar, said: “It is best to use this final opportunity, to come and live in harmony with the Islamic Emirate and rescue Afghanistan from the suffering and displacement that our people are enduring beyond the borders.”

Meanwhile, these elders and scholars condemned Pakistan’s recent attacks on Afghan territory.

They stated that Pakistan’s violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty is against international law and urged the Islamic Emirate to prevent further military aggression by Pakistan.

Ghulam Habib Hashimi, a tribal elder, said: “This situation is unacceptable to the Afghan people. We call on the international community, especially the United Nations, to stop Pakistan’s hostile attacks.”

This comes as these tribal elders and religious scholars call for the return of former politicians and officials while, over the past four years, hundreds of former officials have already returned to the country following invitations from the Commission for Contact with Afghan Personalities.

Islamic Emirate Welcomes Positive Signals from UN Security Council Session

December 12, 2025 Current News Articles

Bibi Amina Hakimi

TOLOnews’ Reporter

11 December 2025

She said that with the Security Council’s support, the UN can continue building and strengthening engagement with the Islamic Emirate.

The United Nations Security Council held a session late last night to discuss Afghanistan.

In the meeting, the acting head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called on member states to help address the root causes of Afghanistan’s humanitarian, economic, and human rights crises.

She said that with the Security Council’s support, the UN can continue building and strengthening engagement with the Islamic Emirate.

Georgette Gagnon, acting head of UNAMA, stated: “With the Council’s support, we can continue to build bridges of engagement and work towards our common vision of an Afghanistan at peace, reintegrated into the global community and where the human rights of all Afghans are realized and respected.”

Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said: “Maintaining engagement between the international community and Afghanistan’s current government is more essential than ever, and dialogue with the Islamic Emirate must be strengthened to help improve the situation.”

Representatives from India and Russia said that punitive policies against the Islamic Emirate over the past four and a half years have yielded no tangible benefits for the Afghan people and have only prolonged the current state of affairs.

India’s representative, Parvathaneni Harish, emphasized: “For years, India has been a strong advocate of peace and stability in Afghanistan. Coordinated regional and international cooperation on key issues concerning Afghanistan is paramount, as is strongly engaging relevant parties for promoting peace, stability and development in the country.”

Russia’s envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, said: “Russia has consistently stressed the need to craft a viable comprehensive approach on Afghanistan. This approach needs to be rooted in an objective analysis and a balanced assessment of the situation in the country. This is an imperative.”

Meanwhile, countries like the United States and the United Kingdom used the session to criticize restrictions imposed on women in Afghanistan.

Elise Stefanik, the U.S. representative, said: “People of Afghanistan continue to endure significant hardships including human rights abuses, poverty, unemployment, limited access to basic services, and unconscionable restrictions on women’s rights. The Taliban are responsible for these hardships and suffering because of the policy.”

The UK’s representative said: “Over the four years of the Taliban’s rule, repression has intensified. Over a hundred edicts have systematically eroded the rights of Afghan women and girls. Girls cannot attend school after the age of 12, and for more than three months, the Taliban has banned women from working at UN offices.”

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomed the positive engagement approach expressed by some countries during the session. Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, also criticized the stance of certain countries, emphasizing that negative positions will yield no results.

Fitrat said: “We appreciate that some countries have stressed positive engagement with Afghanistan this is a constructive step and the only path toward building trust. Afghanistan wants positive engagement with all countries. Those that continue to hold unrealistic positions should adopt more pragmatic approaches. Negative posturing in the past has brought no results.”

Representatives from China, Russia, and UNAMA also expressed concern over recent tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, urging the normalization of relations between the two countries.

Between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a Trade War With No End in Sight

December 10, 2025 Current News Articles

By Elian Peltier and Zia ur-Rehman

Reporting from Peshawar, in western Pakistan, and near the busiest border crossing with Afghanistan

The New York Times

Dec. 9, 2025

One of Peshawar’s largest markets in western Pakistan once bustled with thousands of Afghan-owned shops and carts, selling everything from deep-fried khajoor pastries to kitchen items and cricket gear.

But business has been cut by half, according to business owners, and the market’s alleys have become so sparse that shoppers can walk freely along its stalls without elbowing through crowds. And aid shipments urgently needed in Afghanistan are piling up at Pakistani ports.

“Afghans are afraid of going outside,” said Hameed Ullah Ayaz, an Afghan owner of 12 bakeries in Peshawar.

Amid the deepest erosion of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan in decades, the Pakistani government has cut off cross-border trade. It is aiming to punish the Taliban administration for failing to rein in affiliated militants who attack Pakistan and find refuge on the other side of the border.

The suspension of trade is hurting millions of farmers, traders and members of close-knit communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan as trucks full of coal, cement, pomegranates, cotton, medicines and other goods worth $2 billion in bilateral trade last year have not crossed in nearly two months.

Afghanistan has scrambled to shift trade routes. Yet Pakistan, with its market of 250 million consumers and the land access it offers to India, has been vital to a beleaguered Afghan economy, which has already been hit this year by aid cuts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, two deadly earthquakes and the forced return of more than 2.5 million Afghans from neighboring countries.

Near Peshawar and along the nearby road that runs through the border, hundreds of container-laden trucks and trailers have sat idle since Oct. 11. Some have been pushed off the road onto the dusty ground. Border guards have barred most crossings, except for Afghan nationals leaving Pakistan.

“When they stopped us here, it was still summer,” Abdul Wakeel, an Afghan driver, said on a recent afternoon as he sipped tea on a threadbare carpet at the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Now winter is right upon us.”

Pakistan accuses the Taliban government in Afghanistan of supporting a resurgent insurgency that has killed hundreds of Pakistani security forces in recent years and that struck its capital last month. The Taliban administration has denied supporting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as Pakistani Taliban or T.T.P., and claims that the violence faced by Pakistan is its own problem.

Pakistan has responded by expelling more than a million Afghans this year and carrying out airstrikes on Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and in Kandahar, where the Taliban’s leader lives. Dozens of soldiers from both armies were killed in cross-border clashes this fall.

A cease-fire declared in October hangs by a thread. Mediation efforts by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have yielded no result. And the trade war seems to have no end in sight as both governments have geared up for more hostilities.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have repeatedly closed their border since the Taliban reclaimed power in 2021. But Shahid Hussain, a Pakistani representative of traders with more than two decades of experience with Afghanistan, said he had never witnessed such prolonged volatility.

“The Taliban are indicating that things aren’t going to get better anytime soon with Pakistan, and the Pakistani military won’t let up on this,” said Azeema Cheema, the founding director of Verso Consulting, an Islamabad-based research firm. “There doesn’t seem to be any path.”

Trade representatives and economic analysts say both sides are shooting themselves in the foot with a trade war.

Until this fall, Afghanistan used to rely on Pakistan for more than 40 percent of its exports. Pakistan-imported cement fueled a construction boom in Kabul and other cities, while medicine coming from its larger neighbor filled its pharmacy shelves.

More than half of Afghanistan’s 42 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, yet containers full of aid have been blocked at the border or in Pakistan’s largest port.

Pakistan is facing a rising poverty rate of 25 percent, its highest in nearly a decade.

“The two are hypocrites,” said Syed Naqeeb Badshah, the president of a lobbying group representing Afghan traders in Pakistan.

Nowhere has the effect of the trade suspension been felt harder than in border areas and places like Peshawar, which was a major hub on the old Silk Road and is now a bustling city of two million people with a sizable Afghan population, about 30 miles from Afghanistan.

Afghan shop and cart owners running most of the 7,000 businesses in the Afghan Board Market have reported considerable losses, Mr. Badshah said. Affluent Afghan traders have been withdrawing funds from Pakistani banks out of fear of Pakistan’s expulsion drive. Pakistani business partners have grown wary of doing business with them as they also fear that Afghans might be forced to leave.

“We’re caught in between the politics of two countries,” Mr. Badshah said from his office overlooking the market.

On the other side of the border, Afghan farmers have lost their main business destination. In the southeastern province of Kandahar, they were about to export months of harvest, including Afghanistan’s famed pomegranates.

Abdullah Khan, a farmer, said that he was sending his fruits at a discounted price to Afghan cities instead, and that he did not know how he would pay back the $15,000 he borrowed to rent three orchards this year.

“We are neighbors, we understand each other’s languages and almost have the same culture,” Mr. Khan said. “But we suffer losses every time there is tension between the governments.”

The Taliban administration has been seeking new business routes: India announced last month that it would launch air cargo services with Afghanistan “very soon,” and Afghanistan’s and Iran’s chamber of commerces signed a trade agreement last month to boost bilateral exchanges.

The World Bank said in a recent report that Afghan exports had increased by 13 percent from September to October as Afghan traders had managed to redirect shipments through Iran and Central Asia.

Taliban officials have instructed Afghan traders to stop doing business with Pakistan within three months. Mr. Badshah, the president of the trade group, called the order unrealistic.

Mr. Ayaz, the Afghan businessman, who employs more than 100 Pakistani workers in his 12 bakeries in Peshawar, said a diplomat from the Afghan Consulate had urged him to move to Afghanistan during a recent impromptu visit to his factory. He would receive free land and housing in Afghanistan, the consulate employee told him.

“The guys wouldn’t be able to pay for half of it,” Mr. Ayaz, 41, said about the Taliban administration and the assets he had accumulated in 20 years of business in Pakistan.

Like many Afghans, Mr. Ayaz, who was born in Pakistan and has spent his life there, faces deportation as the Pakistani authorities have stopped renewing visas and urged all Afghans to move out.

“If I’m deported, I will go back with dignity,” Mr. Ayaz said as two of his sons and his Pakistani associate listened to him in silence.

But as he walked through the high-ceilinged rooms of his factory where Pakistani employees prepared soft sandwich bread and creamy cakes on a recent evening, he said, “I don’t know what will happen to them.”

Wasim Sajjad contributed reporting from Peshawar, and Taimoor Shah from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Elian Peltier is an international correspondent for The Times, covering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Saudi Delegation to Visit Afghanistan, Pakistan for Further Talks

December 9, 2025 Current News Articles

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UNAMA: Mission Serves as Bridge Between Int’l Community, Islamic Emirate

December 9, 2025 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

8 Dec 2025

The UN official added that human rights, particularly the situation of women and girls, is a key part of the mission’s responsibilities.

Georgette Gagnon, the Acting Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated the organization functions as a bridge between the international community and the current government in Afghanistan.

In an interview with TOLOnews, Gagnon emphasized that the UN is working to help reintegrate Afghanistan into the international community and to ensure the country remains committed to its global obligations.

She said that based on the mandate given to UNAMA by the UN Security Council, the mission acts as a bridge between the international community and the current authorities in Afghanistan. According to her, the mandate also includes highlighting the situation of the Afghan people. Emphasizing that the UNAMA’s efforts are focused on helping Afghanistan rejoin the international system and uphold its commitments.

The UN official added that human rights, particularly the situation of women and girls, is a key part of the mission’s responsibilities.

She stated that the organization is working with the Afghan people and other agencies to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian aid.

She added: “We work to promote human rights, address the situation of women and girls, and ensure that all those in need of humanitarian assistance receive it. International organizations and UNAMA are collaborating on this. Overall, we are working inside Afghanistan with various communities to help improve the conditions of families, society, and the country as a whole.”

Her remarks on reintegrating Afghanistan into the international community and adhering to global commitments come as the spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate previously stated that the UN mission had not been able to provide effective political representation in the country.

Sayed Muqadam Amin, a political affairs analyst, commented: “Although UNAMA has not been very successful during its years of operation in Afghanistan, the country now needs such efforts, and if UNAMA chooses to act, it can be effective in this area.”

UNAMA was established in 2002 by the UN Security Council at the request of the then-Afghan government.

Its current mandate has been extended until March 17, 2026.

UN Warns Up to 30% of Staff in Afghanistan Women-Led Organisations Could Be Laid Off

December 9, 2025 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

December 8, 2025

The United Nations warned that up to 30% of staff in Afghanistan’s women-led organisations could be laid off due to severe funding shortages.

UN Women has warned that women-led organisations in Afghanistan may be forced to lay off up to 30 percent of their female employees due to severe funding cuts, raising fears of an even deeper humanitarian and protection crisis for women and girls.

In a statement posted Monday on X as part of the global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the agency said these organisations form the “backbone” of Afghanistan’s support network for women and girls, providing legal aid, safe spaces, counselling, and access to basic services.

The UN added that many women-led civil society groups are now operating with sharply reduced budgets. Earlier assessments showed that these organisations have already lost around one-fifth of their funding since the Taliban returned to power.

The warning comes at a time when access to services for women has sharply deteriorated. With previous protection systems dismantled and civil society restricted, millions of Afghan women and girls now have nowhere to turn for help, UN Women said.

Humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan continue to worsen. OCHA warned on Monday, December 8 that more than 17 million people are expected to face hunger and severe humanitarian need in 2026, driven by economic collapse, drought, displacement and shrinking aid supplies.

The situation has further deteriorated due to Taliban restrictions banning Afghan women from working with the United Nations and aid agencies in most provinces for nearly three months, a policy that has severely limited humanitarian access to vulnerable families.

At the same time, the return of displaced Afghans has intensified pressure on already strained services. Iranian media reported that more than 1.8 million Afghan migrants were deported or forced to return from Iran this year alone, with thousands more returning from Pakistan.

UN agencies and rights groups warn that without urgent funding and the reinstatement of women’s participation in humanitarian work, millions of Afghanistan women and girls risk becoming “invisible, unprotected, and unreachable.”

Humanitarian organisations are calling on the international community to restore funding, protect frontline Afghanistan women-led groups, and ensure that aid operations remain inclusive and gender-responsive despite escalating restrictions.

Pakistan’s army chief has warned Kabul to choose between maintaining relations with Islamabad or continuing alleged support for the Pakistani Taliban, amid rising tensions.

December 9, 2025 Current News Articles

Khaama Press

December 9, 2025

Pakistan has issued a sharp warning to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, urging them to choose between maintaining relations with Islamabad or continuing support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The Associated Press reported on Monday, December 8, that Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, made the remarks during a meeting with military officers in Rawalpindi. He said the Taliban must decide whether they will support the TTP, which he described as responsible for a surge in deadly attacks, or preserve ties with Pakistan.

Munir’s warning comes amid growing security concerns, as Pakistan accuses the Taliban of allowing TTP fighters to operate freely from Afghanistan soil. He previously alleged that the Taliban were backing militants linked to India, a claim Kabul has strongly rejected.

The army chief stressed that Pakistan “will not allow cross-border terrorism” to threaten its security or stability. He added that recent attacks linked to the TTP had crossed what Pakistan considers an acceptable threshold.

Relations between Islamabad and the Kabul have deteriorated sharply in recent months, with both sides exchanging accusations over support for militant groups and responsibility for cross-border violence. The dispute has raised new concerns among regional powers about worsening instability along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier.

A Qatar-mediated ceasefire in October briefly eased tensions, but subsequent talks in Istanbul failed to produce progress. Analysts say the stalled negotiations and hardened rhetoric indicate further deterioration in bilateral ties.

India Condemns Pakistan’s Attacks On Afghanistan That Killed Civilians

December 9, 2025 Current News Articles

India on Monday condemned Pakistan’s fresh attacks on Afghanistan that killed several civilians.

Fresh clashes between the two sides erupted less than two months after both sealed a ceasefire pact to end weeks of fighting.

“We have seen reports of border clashes in which several Afghan civilians have been killed,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.

“We condemn such attacks on innocent Afghan people. India strongly supports the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan,” he said.

A spokesperson of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan said Pakistan initiated the attacks and that Kabul was “forced to respond”.

The border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan began in early October, following a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul.

Afghanistan strongly responded to the attack, following which the conflict escalated.

The hostilities erupted while Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was visiting India. The clashes were the worst since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

The two sides entered into a ceasefire agreement on October 19, following talks brokered by Qatar and Turkiye.

CM Afridi: Torkham Closure Deepens Migrant, Driver Hardship

December 8, 2025 Current News Articles

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7 Dec 2025

UN Security Council to Hold Meeting on Afghanistan Amid Growing Rights Concerns

December 8, 2025 Current News Articles

By Fidel Rahmati

Khaama Press

December 7, 2025

The UN Security Council will meet this week to review Afghanistan’s worsening rights situation and humanitarian crisis, amid growing international concern.

The United Nations Security Council will convene a new session on Afghanistan this week as international concern mounts over human rights restrictions and worsening humanitarian conditions.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Sunday that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 10. The agenda has not yet been fully disclosed.

Diplomats expect the session to address political developments, humanitarian access, and human rights conditions under Taliban rule. Aid groups say millions across the country remain dependent on emergency support, with funding gaps threatening critical relief efforts.

The meeting comes as the UN and international observers express renewed alarm over restrictions on Afghanistan women. UN Women noted last week that Afghan women employees have been barred from entering UN offices in the country for more than three months.

“The bans must be lifted,” the agency said, warning the limitations hinder life-saving assistance and violate fundamental human rights obligations.

Rights groups and Western governments have repeatedly urged the Taliban to reverse policies restricting education, employment, and public participation for women and girls. The Taliban maintain the measures are temporary and aligned with their interpretation of Islamic principles.

The UN is expected to brief member states on the humanitarian situation, ongoing engagement with Taliban authorities, and the status of aid delivery amid shrinking operational space.

Analysts say the meeting may set the tone for future international policy on Afghanistan, including sanctions, recognition debates, and humanitarian funding ahead of next year’s aid cycle.

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