Russia has criticized Western countries over their policies toward Afghans who left the country following the withdrawal of foreign forces in August 2021, accusing them of tightening asylum rules while increasing deportations.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, made the remarks in response to questions about the policies of the United States, Britain and Germany toward Afghan nationals.
Zakharova said Western countries had tightened rules on issuing documents and granting asylum after facing difficulties in accommodating Afghans, while simultaneously stepping up deportations.
She said the policy particularly affected former officials and military personnel of the previous Afghan government, who could face forced returns to Afghanistan.
Zakharova also referred to reports that some European Union countries had allowed diplomats of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to issue documents for Afghan nationals subject to readmission.
She said the process of removing Afghan refugees who were once considered partners by Western countries had accelerated.
Zakharova also raised concerns about the planned closure of Qatar’s Al-Sailiya camp, where more than 1,000 Afghans who worked with US forces are reportedly housed at a former US military base.
She said the United States had been unwilling to accept some of its former Afghan partners and was instead negotiating their resettlement in African countries.
Zakharova accused Western governments of adopting an inconsistent approach by criticizing IEA officials over alleged human rights violations while at the same time deporting Afghan nationals to Afghanistan.
Her comments come amid continuing debate in Western countries over the status of Afghan asylum seekers, former government officials and people who worked with foreign forces following the 2021 withdrawal.
Russia accuses West of double standards over deportation of Afghans
Italian diplomat Nicola Bellomo has begun his tenure as the new Chargé d’Affaires of the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan, succeeding Slovenian diplomat Veronika Bošković Pohar.
Bellomo said Monday on X that he had started the new assignment with “great pride,” saying he would represent the interests and values of the European Union in Afghanistan. His appointment was first announced by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in June, when Bellomo was nominated for the position.
Before taking up the Afghanistan post, Bellomo served as head of the Pan-African Affairs Division at the European External Action Service (EEAS). He previously served as the EU ambassador to Rwanda and held other diplomatic positions within the EU’s foreign policy service.
The EU Delegation in Afghanistan works on political engagement, humanitarian assistance, development cooperation and coordination with international partners. The delegation says its presence in Kabul is intended to facilitate assistance to the Afghan people, coordinate operations and support EU engagement on Afghanistan.
Bellomo has already appeared in recent EU activities in Afghanistan. In September, he described EU support for a €5 million initiative with the Food and Agriculture Organization aimed at strengthening agricultural resilience, supporting agribusinesses and creating livelihood opportunities for vulnerable Afghan communities.
The change in EU leadership comes as the bloc maintains diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan while continuing to work through its delegation in Kabul. The EU’s engagement includes humanitarian and development assistance, while its dealings with the de facto authorities remain separate from formal recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government.
Italian Diplomat Nicola Bellomo Begins Work as EU’s New Chargé d’Affaires in Afghanistan
Afghan returnees from Pakistan were nearly three times more likely than those returning from Iran to receive multipurpose cash assistance, according to a new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The IOM’s Afghanistan Returnee Resilience Report, published on September 28, examined the situation of returnees several months after their arrival in Afghanistan. The report found that 69 percent of returnees from Pakistan received multipurpose cash assistance, compared with 24 percent of those returning from Iran.
The report said returnees received various forms of assistance at border points, including cash, healthcare, food and SIM cards. Of the 1.93 million Afghans who returned from Iran and Pakistan between July and December 2025, 38 percent received cash assistance, according to the assessment.
The IOM report did not specify the amount of cash distributed during the period under review. Under an earlier IOM integrated assistance programme for returnees in 2024, however, families received a multipurpose cash grant of $140, alongside an average transportation allowance of $20 per person.
Food, shelter and livelihoods remain major concerns
Despite assistance at the border, returnees continue to face significant challenges after settling in Afghanistan. The IOM found that food was the most frequently reported immediate and longer-term need, with 69 percent of returnees reporting difficulties meeting their food needs.
Shelter was another major concern. About 67 percent of returnees needed assistance to secure safe housing, while 77 percent were living in temporary shelters and 51 percent said they lacked sufficient space for their families.
Livelihood opportunities were also limited. The report identified employment and income-generation as a major need for 56 percent of returnees. Only 5 percent had productive assets that could generate income, while 54 percent said their income during the 30 days before the interview was insufficient to meet basic needs.
The assessment was based on interviews with 1,547 returnees, including 888 who had returned from Pakistan and 659 from Iran. IOM assessed their circumstances roughly nine to 15 months after their return.
Despite economic difficulties and limited access to services, 75 percent of respondents said they did not intend to leave their current location during the following six months. Six percent said they planned to leave Afghanistan, while 5 percent intended to move elsewhere inside the country. Thirteen percent were uncertain about their plans.
The figures differed between families and individual returnees. About 76 percent of families said they did not plan to relocate, compared with 69 percent of individual returnees. Sixteen percent of individual returnees said they intended to leave Afghanistan again, compared with 4 percent of those returning with families.
Nearly 6.5 million Afghans returned from Iran and Pakistan since 2023
IOM says 6,473,978 Afghans returned from Iran and Pakistan between September 15, 2023, and August 31, 2026. During the second half of 2025 alone, 1,931,418 people returned, including 1,138,374 from Iran and 793,044 from Pakistan.
Among those returning during the period covered by the report, 48 percent were women and 52 percent were men, while children under 18 accounted for 58 percent of the total.
The scale of the return movement has placed additional pressure on Afghanistan’s already fragile humanitarian and economic systems. The UN’s 2026 Response Plan for Afghan Returnees estimated that nearly 2.7 million Afghans could return between April and December 2026 and called for $529.2 million to support emergency assistance and longer-term reintegration in high-priority areas.
IOM has said its response includes border screening and registration, food, temporary accommodation, health and psychosocial support, protection services and transportation assistance, with more than 324,000 returnees from Iran and Pakistan reached during the first half of 2026.
IOM: Returnees From Pakistan Receive Three Times More Aid Than Those From Iran
Pakistan’s Express Tribune has reported that relations between Islamabad and the Taliban have reached a stage where a diplomatic reset is becoming increasingly difficult.
A senior Pakistani official involved in Afghanistan policy told the newspaper that relations between the two neighbours were likely to become even more strained.
“We have, I think, reached a point of no return,” the official said.
The report, written by journalist Kamran Yousaf, said that despite recent efforts by Türkiye and Qatar to reduce tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, Pakistani officials believe the relationship could deteriorate further.
“We know the Taliban so well. They are not going to mend their ways,” the unnamed Pakistani official told the Express Tribune.
The official added that the Taliban’s measures to address Pakistan’s security concerns “are not enough and are cosmetic in nature.”
According to the report, the head of Türkiye’s intelligence service travelled to Kabul and Islamabad as part of regional efforts to ease tensions. However, the diplomatic initiative collapsed before it could gain traction.
The newspaper reported that a day after Turkish and Qatari officials held meetings in Kabul, a deadly attack targeted the police lines in Kohat, with one of the suicide attackers identified as an Afghan national.
Pakistani officials cited the attack as evidence of the continued presence of terrorist groups on Afghan territory, and Pakistan subsequently carried out strikes inside Afghanistan.
The Express Tribune reported that the Taliban responded by sending rudimentary drones towards Pakistan, which Pakistani officials said were neutralised before causing casualties or significant damage.
Pakistan then launched further strikes against drone storage facilities and launch sites at around 10 locations in Afghanistan, including one target in Kandahar.
The report also said the Turkish delegation had expected to meet Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada in Kandahar, but that he instead deputed a member of his staff to meet the delegation. The move was not well received by the Turkish side.
The report further noted that some Pakistani officials believe the growing rift could change perceptions among anti-Taliban groups. For years, some of these groups had viewed Pakistan as still somehow aligned with the Taliban. As tensions deepen, that perception may shift.
“If the Taliban regime’s writ is challenged further, it won’t be a surprise,” the official said.
Ties With Taliban At ‘Point Of No Return’, Says Pakistani Official
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan said on Sunday that its forces killed 28 fighters and captured 32 others, including alleged members of the Islamic State group said to have crossed from neighboring Pakistan.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have increased in recent days, with cross-border fighting and Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory adding to longstanding disputes over militant activity along their border.
Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said in a post on X that the fighters were killed or captured on Saturday in Kamdesh district in the northeastern province of Nuristan. It alleged that several IS-affiliated groups had been sent from Pakistan with the support of Pakistani authorities “with the aim of carrying out acts of subversion and creating insecurity.”
Afghanistan does not recognize its frontier with Pakistan as an international border. The countries share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) boundary known as the Durand Line.
kistan rejects Afghanistan’s accusations
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information rejected the allegations as “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth.” In a post on X, it said Pakistan “categorically rejects” claims that its security forces or intelligence agencies were involved in clashes in Nuristan or elsewhere in Afghanistan. It also denied recruiting or training former Afghan security personnel or facilitating IS or other militants.
The ministry said Afghanistan had provided no evidence to support its allegations, including identities, documents, communications or forensic material. It dismissed a video circulating on social media as showing only a few unarmed people and described it as part of a “pre-planned video shoot” by Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
Pakistan said the presence and activities of militant groups in Afghanistan had been documented in reports by the United Nations and other international organizations. It accused Kabul of trying to “manufacture a Pakistani connection” to obscure what it described as the continued presence of militants in Afghanistan.
Islamabad says its forces killed scores of militants
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military said Sunday that its forces had killed more than 71 militants during multiple operations in southwestern Balochistan province over the previous 96 hours. The military said the operations targeted hideouts of groups it refers to as Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan, terms used by Islamabad for Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban and members of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA.
Pakistan frequently accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, to operate from Afghan territory and carry out attacks inside Pakistan. The TTP is separate from Afghanistan’s Taliban but is allied with it. Kabul denies providing the group a safe haven and has rejected Pakistan’s accusations.
The latest hostilities followed Pakistani airstrikes Monday on sites in eastern Afghanistan that Pakistan described as militant hideouts. Pakistan said the strikes killed 28 militants, while Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed, a toll confirmed by the United Nations.
“According to available information, Pakistani intelligence agencies had brought them to Pakistan under the promise that arrangements would be made for them to obtain asylum in foreign countries and receive high salaries,” the ministry said.
It alleged that the men were instead taken to camps established by Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies, given brief military training and sent back into Afghanistan to create insecurity in parts of Nuristan, which borders Pakistan’s northern Chitral district.
The ministry called on “all young people and former military personnel who have been deceived by Pakistani intelligence agencies” not to become further victims of what it described as enemy conspiracies.
Ahmed reported from Islamabad.
Afghanistan says 28 fighters killed, 32 captured after crossing from Pakistan
He said many of these returns are taking place under difficult humanitarian conditions and, in some cases, are not entirely voluntary.
As the number of Afghans returning from countries in the region increases, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says return to Afghanistan should not mark the end of the process, but rather the beginning of efforts to ensure a safe and dignified life for returnees.
Barham Salih, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told the UN Security Council that the number of Afghans returning to the country is expected to reach nearly eight million by the end of this year.
He said many of these returns are taking place under difficult humanitarian conditions and, in some cases, are not entirely voluntary.
Barham Salih, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “By the end of this year, we expect nearly eight million Afghans to be returned to their areas, admittedly many in adverse circumstances, not entirely voluntary. Many returned amid a severe humanitarian situation and significant restrictions, especially on the rights of women and girls, to communities already struggling with poverty, limited services, and few economic opportunities.”
Pakistan, which has hosted millions of Afghans for more than four decades, also called at the meeting for greater international attention to the burden borne by refugee-hosting countries.
Nabeel Munir, Pakistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, said: “We have hosted millions of Afghans for over four decades, extending support and hospitality despite significant economic and security challenges. Our experience demonstrates both the importance of international solidarity and the limits of expecting host countries to shoulder protracted refugee situations.”
Meanwhile, Panama’s foreign minister and Colombia’s representative stressed at the meeting that return should mean more than simply crossing a border; conditions should allow people to remain in their homes after returning without being forced to flee again.
They cited Afghanistan, along with Ukraine, Syria, Sudan and Myanmar, as examples of protracted displacement crises.
Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez, Panama’s foreign minister, said: “Returning home means being able to stay there and continue one’s life. We see this situation in Ukraine, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan.”
Colombia’s representative said: “Some of these processes have led to positive results. This is particularly true in Syria, where millions have returned. And in the case of Afghanistan, this shows us that people ultimately want to return home.”
Afghanistan has faced a large wave of returning citizens from countries in the region over the past three years. The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman previously said during a program in Kabul that nearly two million Afghan migrants had returned from Pakistan, Iran and Türkiye over the past year.
Barham Salih: Afghan Returns to Reach 8 Million by Year-End
Mukhtar Tileuberdi stressed that humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan remains essential.
Kazakhstan’s foreign minister told the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly that Afghanistan’s long-term stability is inextricably linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
He expressed support for pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step engagement by the international community with Afghanistan, saying the United Nations should play a central role in the process.
Mukhtar Tileuberdi stressed that humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan remains essential.
Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, said: “Humanitarian assistance remains essential, but aid alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency. Kazakhstan supports pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.”
Meanwhile, Sweden’s foreign minister raised the situation of Afghan women and girls in terms of their rights and freedoms, saying that women in both Sweden and Afghanistan had the right to vote in 1919, but that, in her view, the situation regarding women’s freedoms in the two countries is very different today.
Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden’s foreign minister, said: “This is a painful reminder that progress is never irreversible. Rights once gained can be lost. Freedoms do not defend themselves. It is our responsibility to protect them for women and girls.”
Pakistan’s prime minister, in his address, linked his country’s security situation to Afghanistan and claimed that groups including the TTP and BLA operate from Afghan soil against Pakistan.
He called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to fulfill its international commitments and ensure that Afghan territory is not used against Pakistan or any other country.
Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, said: “The Afghan authorities must fulfill their international obligations and take verifiable and decisive action to ensure that Afghan soil is no longer used against Pakistan or any other country.”
Although the Islamic Emirate has not recently commented on these remarks, it has previously rejected similar allegations by Pakistani officials and has repeatedly said that Afghanistan’s territory will not be used against any country.
Latest news Bamyan Handicrafts Market Weaker Than Last Year Warning messageThe subscription service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. By #TOLOnews, TODAY – 5:35 PM Afghanistan Afghanistan at UNGA: Engagement, Regional Stability and Women’s Rights
Mukhtar Tileuberdi stressed that humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan remains essential.
Kazakhstan’s foreign minister told the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly that Afghanistan’s long-term stability is inextricably linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
He expressed support for pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step engagement by the international community with Afghanistan, saying the United Nations should play a central role in the process.
Mukhtar Tileuberdi stressed that humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan remains essential.
Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Kazakhstan’s foreign minister, said: “Humanitarian assistance remains essential, but aid alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency. Kazakhstan supports pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.”
Meanwhile, Sweden’s foreign minister raised the situation of Afghan women and girls in terms of their rights and freedoms, saying that women in both Sweden and Afghanistan had the right to vote in 1919, but that, in her view, the situation regarding women’s freedoms in the two countries is very different today.
Maria Malmer Stenergard, Sweden’s foreign minister, said: “This is a painful reminder that progress is never irreversible. Rights once gained can be lost. Freedoms do not defend themselves. It is our responsibility to protect them for women and girls.”
Pakistan’s prime minister, in his address, linked his country’s security situation to Afghanistan and claimed that groups including the TTP and BLA operate from Afghan soil against Pakistan.
He called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to fulfill its international commitments and ensure that Afghan territory is not used against Pakistan or any other country.
Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, said: “The Afghan authorities must fulfill their international obligations and take verifiable and decisive action to ensure that Afghan soil is no longer used against Pakistan or any other country.”
Although the Islamic Emirate has not recently commented on these remarks, it has previously rejected similar allegations by Pakistani officials and has repeatedly said that Afghanistan’s territory will not be used against any country.
Afghanistan at UNGA: Engagement, Regional Stability and Women’s Rights
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) said on Saturday that it was fighting Taliban forces in Kamdesh district of Nuristan and claimed to have captured several checkpoints. A Taliban-linked outlet also confirmed clashes in the area.
In a statement issued on Saturday, 26 September, the Afghanistan Freedom Front said fighting had begun that morning in parts of Kamdesh district and was continuing.
A resident of Kamdesh also reported hearing fighting in the area.
According to the AFF, Taliban forces launched an attack on its positions early on Saturday using drones. The group said its commandos targeted several Taliban drones before launching a counter-attack.
The Front claimed that its forces captured several Taliban checkpoints during the counter-attack and that Taliban fighters withdrew from the Arandu area and parts of Kamdesh district towards Nari district in neighbouring Kunar province.
Meanwhile, HIJAZ Persian, a Taliban-linked media outlet, reported that what it described as a plot in Kamdesh district of Nuristan had been foiled.
Without providing details about the armed group involved in the clashes, the outlet claimed that dozens of its members had been killed, wounded or detained during the fighting.
The Taliban has not yet officially commented on the clashes.
Afghanistan International is currently unable to independently verify the claims made by either side regarding casualties or territorial advances.
AFF, Taliban Forces Clash In Nuristan’s Kamdesh District
Analysts, however, say Pakistan is attempting through its attacks on Afghanistan to conceal its domestic problems and failures before the international community.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, strongly criticized Pakistan’s current policies toward the world and neighboring countries during a speech at the Hamadia religious school in Aino Mina, Kandahar, accusing the country of destabilizing the region.
Mujahid said Pakistan is carrying out attacks on Afghanistan in an effort to withdraw from the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement,” portray itself as being at war with Afghanistan, and divert public attention from its domestic problems.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said: “Pakistan recently signed the Mecca pact, and Saudi Arabia has also asked Pakistan to fulfill its commitments. Pakistan shamelessly attacked Afghanistan after claiming just a day earlier that Afghanistan had carried out drone attacks on Pakistan, while these claims are completely baseless. Through such attacks, Pakistan wants to extricate itself from the Mecca pact and portray itself to the world as being engaged in a war in Afghanistan.”
Mujahid stressed that the Islamic Emirate does not support opponents of any country and said an appropriate response would be given to attacks by Pakistani forces.
Mujahid added: “We do not support the opponents of any country. If we did, the situation would be different now. Pakistan’s claim that the TTP is present in Afghanistan was also proven baseless by its recent attacks, as those attacks targeted civilian facilities. But we will certainly respond.”
Meanwhile, religious scholars have criticized what they describe as the silence of Islamic countries, Pakistani religious scholars and the Pakistani people over Pakistan’s attacks on Afghan territory.
Sheikh Abdul Hadi Hammad, head of the Hamadia Islamic Foundation in Kandahar, said: “My complaint is with Pakistan’s religious scholars and people: why do they remain silent in the face of their oppressive system, which is attacking a defenseless country? We are also disappointed with Islamic countries for remaining silent over Pakistan’s attacks while quickly reacting to events in other parts of the world.”
Analysts, however, say Pakistan is attempting through its attacks on Afghanistan to conceal its domestic problems and failures before the international community.
Bilal Fatimi, a political analyst, said: “Through such actions, Pakistan wants to divert attention from its domestic failures and the commitments it has made to the international community.”
Sayed Haroon Hashemi, a political analyst, said: “Pakistan will become further isolated as a result of such actions, but attacks on Afghanistan will come at a heavy cost for Pakistan.”
In recent days, Pakistan has carried out attacks on several areas of Afghanistan, including Paktia, Khost and Kandahar, killing four civilians.
The Islamic Emirate has said it will respond to the attacks at an appropriate time.
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
