Hurriyat, a Taliban-affiliated media outlet, reported on Saturday that dissident Taliban commander Juma Khan Fateh had returned to Darwaz after pledging loyalty to the Taliban administration.
He had travelled to Faizabad for talks under guarantees provided by Taliban army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat.
No details of the talks or any agreement between the two sides have been released. However, Hurriyat Radio quoted Badakhshan Taliban governor Mohammad Ismail Ghaznavi as describing Fateh as a “committed and loyal” member of the Taliban who would remain with the group.
A video published by Hurriyat shows Fateh boarding a helicopter and bidding farewell to armed Taliban members. This came a day after the outlet dismissed reports of his transfer to Badakhshan’s provincial capital as “rumours” and “baseless”.
Fateh recently travelled to Faizabad under guarantees from Taliban army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat to discuss his disputes with the Taliban leadership. Sources say the disagreements centred on local appointments, efforts to disarm fighters loyal to him and the management of Badakhshan’s gold mines.
The Taliban’s order to prevent illegal gold mining has directly affected Fateh’s economic interests. The group has also sought to disarm his loyalists who do not hold official positions within the Taliban structure.
Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada had previously removed Fateh from his post as deputy governor of Zabul and planned to appoint him to a government position outside Badakhshan.
However, according to information obtained by Afghanistan International, Fateh rejected those proposals and refused to accept a post outside Badakhshan.
Sources said one of the positions offered to him was to head a Taliban intelligence department in Kabul, but Fateh also declined that role.
Dissident Taliban Commander Returns To Darwaz After Renewing Loyalty
Pakistani authorities have finalized preparations for a new phase of deportations that could see around 20,000 Afghan nationals returned from the northwestern city of Peshawar to Afghanistan, according to a report by The Express Tribune, as Islamabad continues its nationwide campaign against undocumented foreigners.
The Express Tribune reported on Friday, July 10, that authorities in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province have completed preparations for a phased deportation operation targeting Afghan nationals without valid legal documents or with expired residency permits. The newspaper said police, district authorities, and security agencies have finalized operational plans in coordination with the federal government.
According to the report, police and security agencies in Peshawar have prepared lists of Afghan nationals expected to be included in the operation. Federal authorities are also expected to assist provincial officials in carrying out the deportation process.
The newspaper reported that the operation is expected to begin after the conclusion of the ongoing nationwide polio vaccination campaign, although Pakistani authorities have not announced an official start date.
Under the reported plan, Afghan families from different parts of Peshawar will first be transferred to the Nasir Bagh transit center, where officials will complete registration, identity verification, and administrative procedures before transporting them to the Torkham border crossing for return to Afghanistan.
According to The Express Tribune, authorities have collected information on Afghan residents living in several areas of Peshawar, including Afghan Colony, Nasir Bagh, Chamkani, Charsadda Road, Ring Road, and Board Bazaar. Officials have also reportedly compiled a separate list of Afghan nationals employed in markets, factories, workshops, and other commercial establishments as part of the preparations.
Pakistan launched its nationwide campaign to deport undocumented foreign nationals in October 2023, saying the policy is intended to enforce immigration laws, improve border management, and address security concerns. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have returned or been deported to Afghanistan through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings, according to Pakistani authorities and United Nations agencies.
The deportation campaign has drawn repeated concern from the United Nations, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and human rights organizations. They have warned that many Afghans being returned face severe humanitarian conditions, limited access to livelihoods, and potential protection risks, particularly women, girls, journalists, former government employees, and others considered vulnerable under Taliban rule.
Pakistan has hosted one of the world’s largest Afghan refugee populations for more than four decades. Many Afghans fled to Pakistan following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, while others remain in the country awaiting resettlement to third countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, and other nations.
Humanitarian agencies have urged Pakistan to ensure that any returns are voluntary, safe, and carried out in accordance with international law, particularly for individuals who may have international protection needs. They have also called on the international community to expand resettlement pathways and increase support for Afghans who remain displaced.
Pakistan to Begin Deportation of Around 20,000 Afghans From Peshawar
Turkish authorities detained 19,574 Afghan migrants during the first six months of 2026, making Afghans the largest group of undocumented migrants apprehended in the country, according to newly released government migration data.
Turkey’s Directorate of Migration Management said authorities detained 19,574 Afghan nationals between January and June 2026, the highest number among all nationalities recorded during the period, underscoring the continued scale of Afghan migration into and through Turkey.
According to the agency, nearly 70,000 undocumented migrants from various countries were apprehended nationwide during the first half of the year as part of ongoing immigration enforcement operations. The figures were published in the agency’s latest migration statistics.
After Afghan nationals, the largest groups of detained migrants were citizens of Syria, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan and Yemen, reflecting Turkey’s role as a major transit and destination country for people fleeing conflict, economic hardship and political instability.
The migration authority said those detained were found to be residing in Turkey without valid residence permits or other required immigration documents. It did not specify how many had been deported, transferred to removal centers or released pending immigration proceedings.
Authorities also reported detaining more than 6,000 people on suspicion of involvement in migrant smuggling during the same six-month period, saying investigations and border enforcement operations remain ongoing.
Turkey has intensified efforts in recent years to curb irregular migration through increased border surveillance, police raids, and cooperation between security agencies and the coast guard. Officials say the operations are intended to enforce immigration laws, combat human smuggling networks and strengthen border security.
The country remains one of the principal transit routes for migrants attempting to reach Europe from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Afghan nationals have consistently ranked among the largest groups of undocumented migrants intercepted by Turkish authorities.
According to the United Nations, Turkey deported more than 13,000 Afghan nationals during the first five months of 2026. Humanitarian organizations, including the UN refugee agency and rights groups, have repeatedly raised concerns over the forced return of Afghans, warning that many face humanitarian hardship, insecurity and limited access to basic services after returning to Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have continued to leave the country, citing economic collapse, unemployment, restrictions on women and girls, and fears of persecution. Many have sought refuge in neighboring countries or attempted to travel onward to Europe through Iran and Turkey.
Turkish authorities maintain that deportations are conducted in accordance with national immigration laws and international obligations. However, refugee advocates have urged governments to ensure that returns are voluntary, safe and consistent with international protection standards, particularly for people who may face persecution or other serious risks upon return.
Turkey Detains Nearly 20,000 Afghan Migrants in First Half of 2026
The meeting also covered visa issuance, trade challenges, and ways to boost bilateral trade.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday hosted the fourth meeting of the India-Afghanistan Joint Coordination Committee in New Delhi.
The meeting was co-chaired by Shuaib Baryalai, Director General of the First Political Division at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran at India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
According to Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the two sides reviewed all aspects of bilateral relations, including cooperation in humanitarian assistance, development partnerships, food security, healthcare, capacity building, education, sports and regional connectivity.
The meeting also covered visa issuance, challenges facing bilateral trade, and ways to strengthen exports and imports between Kabul and New Delhi.
India has not formally recognized the Islamic Emirate. However, it has previously announced plans to reopen its embassy in Kabul, a move that has yet to materialize.
Maiwand Jarat, a political analyst, said: “The closer Afghanistan becomes economically with a major power like India, the more it will help reduce the country’s international isolation and encourage other countries to expand their political engagement with Afghanistan.”
India has also accepted several diplomats appointed by the Islamic Emirate, including Noor Ahmad Noor as the acting head of Afghanistan’s embassy in New Delhi and Ekramuddin Kamil at Afghanistan’s consulate in Mumbai.
India, Afghanistan Hold Fourth Joint Foreign Office Consultations
It has now been 1,756 days since girls above the sixth grade were barred from attending school.
Following the announcement of this year’s university entrance exam (Kankor) results, calls to reopen schools for girls who have been deprived of education have once again intensified.
It has now been 1,756 days since girls above the sixth grade were barred from attending school.
Seventeen-year-old Beheshta, although saddened by the loss of educational opportunities and being kept out of school, says that she and thousands of other girls remain hopeful that schools will reopen and they will be able to return to their classrooms.
“I am certain that if we had been allowed to participate, one of us would have ranked first, second, or third. But for the past five years, schools and universities have been closed to us, and none of us has been able to make progress,” Beheshta, a student, said.
Another student said: “I am also a citizen of Afghanistan, just like the boys. Why don’t I have the right to education while a boy does?”
Referring to the fifth consecutive year in which girls have been excluded from the Kankor exam, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said that preventing Afghan women and girls from taking the exam is sad and wrong and that the time has come to allow them to return to schools and universities.
“It is sad and wrong that girls and young women are not allowed to take the exam. The time has come for the Taliban leader to allow girls and young women to return to public middle and high schools, as well as public universities,” Khalilzad said.
Earlier, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai also expressed concern over the exclusion of women and girls from the Kankor exam and called for the reopening of schools and universities to them.
The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on reopening schools for girls.
Meanwhile, migration experts warn that implementing the decision could create new challenges for thousands of Afghan families.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior announced in a statement that, effective today (Friday, July 10), all Afghan nationals residing in the country without a valid visa will be subject to immediate arrest.
The directive instructs provincial authorities, local administrations, police, and other relevant agencies to implement the order in a coordinated and effective manner.
Kamaluddin, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “We ask the Pakistani government to revise its policy toward Afghan migrants. It should resume the visa issuance process, which has been suspended, and issue visas to Afghans through legal channels.”
Meanwhile, migration experts warn that implementing the decision could create new challenges for thousands of Afghan families.
Mohammad Jamal Muslim, a migrant rights activist, said: “By using its migration policy, Pakistan has placed migrants who are living there simply to survive under serious pressure. If the Islamic Emirate, international organizations, and human rights groups do not take action to address this situation, the crisis could become one of the most bitter chapters in relations between the two countries.”
A number of analysts also stress that the issue of migrants should not be turned into a political tool and that their return should be carried out in accordance with international principles—voluntarily, safely, and with full respect for human dignity.
Hemayatullah Ahmadi, a political analyst, said: “The international community and the United Nations should respond responsibly to Pakistan’s decision. Pakistan has, at different times, used Afghan migrants as a tool of political pressure against successive governments in Afghanistan.”
Earlier, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that approximately 2.5 million Afghan migrants are expected to return to Afghanistan by the end of the current calendar year.
Pakistan Orders Immediate Arrest of Undocumented Afghan Nationals
NEW YORK (AP) — A former Afghan general who also served in his nation’s National Assembly was extradited to the U.S. on Friday to face drug charges, authorities said.
Abdul Zahir Qadeer, 52, of Afghanistan, appeared in Manhattan federal court and was ordered detained until trial, federal prosecutors said in a release.
Qadeer was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 15 before his extradition to face charges that he conspired to import heroin and methamphetamine, along with related firearms offenses.
Authorities said he previously served as a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force and as first deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s House of the People.
It was unclear who is representing him on the U.S. charges, which if he is convicted carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described Qadeer as a large-scale international narcotics and military-grade weapons trafficker.
“In an attempt to traffic massive amounts of poison and weaponry — including heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers — Qadeer allegedly sold a two-kilogram test shipment to a buyer, which was delivered in South Africa,” Clayton said in a release.
The prosecutor said the buyer was actually working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a release that Qadeer was “purporting to be a political leader in Afghanistan” while leading a criminal enterprise dealing in dangerous and addictive narcotics.
Former Afghan general and politician is extradited to US to face drug charges
Farzana, 40, is a midwife who covers 10 villages in Moqor district of Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. Until recently, worried mothers often sent her photos of newborns with rashes, swelling or skin infections so she could decide who needed help most urgently.
But since the Taliban began enforcing a ban on smartphones that took effect in June, Farzana says she has stopped using her smartphone out of fear. She can now only be reached through a regular phone line — a more costly option in a country where people rely heavily on WhatsApp for calls, messages, photos and urgent coordination.
“I cannot be everywhere at once,” said Farzana, who like many Afghans goes by one name. “Sometimes a photo or a message helps me understand whether a mother or newborn needs urgent help.”
Across Afghanistan, smartphones have become part of a fragile support system. Families use them to consult doctors remotely, arrange transport to distant clinics, send photos of wounds and symptoms, ask relatives for money, document abuse and reach schooling that is no longer available in person to many girls and women. That fragile network is now under threat.
Smashed and confiscated
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have ordered government employees, judges, police and members of the military to stop using smartphones under a directive that took effect June 16. The order threatens violators with confiscation, destruction of their devices and punishment (which are not specified).
The use of what are known as feature phones — with calling and texting options but no touch screen and no photo or recording capabilities — is permitted.
The ban does not yet apply to private phone ownership by ordinary Afghan civilians. But in some provinces, restrictions have already moved beyond government offices and into hospitals, schools and universities, raising fears that the policy could become an early test for broader limits on public smartphone use.
The restrictions began as a verbal order from Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and were later formalized in a military court directive circulated to court heads, police commanders and intelligence chiefs across the country’s eight administrative zones. The directive says anyone caught using a smartphone will have the device smashed and face “legal and sharia punishment.” Exemptions require a written decree from Akhundzada himself. A separate court order covers “all officials of the military and civilian institutions, including judges.”
The Taliban have also created monitoring lists recording employees’ names, positions, workplaces, mobile carriers and phone numbers. Security officials have instructed members to destroy their own smartphones and submit proof on a designated form.
One government employee in Herat, who requested that NPR not use his name for fear of retaliation by the Taliban, says phone restrictions had quietly been in place in his office for months before the June order took effect nationally. When he and his colleagues resisted, he said, officials confiscated and smashed their phones.
A possible trigger for the ban
The timing of the order followed protests in Herat in early June, after Taliban forces arrested women and girls accused of “improper hijab” — not meeting the dress code of covering the face and body in the prescribed manner and not wearing makeup. Witnesses said Taliban forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing at least one person. Video of the shooting spread online before the Taliban could contain it.
The Taliban administration did not respond to a request for comment.
The restrictions have reached deeply into education, where phones are not only tools for communication but also part of how students study, save lessons, contact teachers and stay connected to their families.
In Kandahar province, an 18-year-old madrassa student named Baryalai, who requested we only use his first name because he fears retaliation from the Taliban, said the change at his school was total. “Now there’s a complete ban,” he said. “No one brings smartphones anymore.”
Others see the policy very differently.
How schools are responding
At Kabul University, the leadership council ordered a complete smartphone ban for professors, staff and students effective June 21. The decision was announced at an academic council meeting where members were not permitted to ask questions. At Herat University, notices posted at the entrance warn that no one may enter with a smartphone, and the restriction extends into student dormitories, where Wi-Fi service has also been suspended. In Baghlan province, students carrying smartphones have been turned away at the university gate.
A student at Kabul University said the restriction has also made it harder for students to remain in touch with their families during emergencies. He asked that his name not be used because he has been targeted by the Taliban before and is afraid he would face retaliation for speaking out if they could identify him. His family lives in Badakhshan province, he said, and after a security incident involving students on July 4, his mother was terrified because she could not easily reach him.
“She was so worried,” he said. “If something happens, our families need to know whether we are safe. Without our phones, we are cut off from them.”
For many students, a phone is a classroom and a library. They use it to photograph lessons written on the board, receive assignments, download books, search for academic materials, use dictionaries and contact instructors outside class. For girls and women barred from secondary school and university, it can be one of the last ways to keep studying privately.
In Kandahar, the provincial Education Department said its own ban on students and teachers was rooted in a “sharia perspective” and warned that smartphones risked “the destruction of the future generation.” The Taliban’s higher education minister has called smartphones “one of the three main enemies of Muslims” and last October restricted their use on university premises to only the most senior administrators.
What could be lost
For many Afghans, however, the phone is not destroying their future. It may be one of the few tools they still have to protect it.
That is especially true in healthcare, where distance, poverty and Taliban restrictions already make treatment difficult. Afghanistan’s health system is under severe strain, with many hospitals and clinics facing shortages of staff, medicine and funding. Patients in rural provinces often travel for hours, sometimes across several districts or provinces, to receive treatment. For women, the barriers are even greater. Taliban restrictions on movement, education and employment have limited women’s access to care and threatened the future pipeline of female doctors, nurses and midwives.
In that environment, a phone can narrow the distance between a patient and help. A pregnant woman can call relatives to arrange transport. A mother can ask a midwife whether her newborn needs urgent care. A patient can send a photo of an injury before deciding whether to make a costly trip to a hospital. A health worker can consult colleagues through messaging apps.
For Farzana, those messages are part of daily work. They help her decide when a situation cannot wait.
“The ban makes it hard to attend to every woman in every village,” she said.
Faraidon Farzad, 29, grew up in a village in Malistan district of Ghazni province, where reaching a doctor was never simple. Now pursuing a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence, he has developed a system that analyzes smartphone photos of wounds for signs of infection — redness, discoloration and changes in tissue — that could help flag when a patient needs medical attention.
“Mobile phones are widely available, affordable and easy to use,” he said. “In many areas, especially rural communities, people may not have quick access to specialists, but they often have access to a smartphone. A mobile-based tool could provide early guidance and encourage patients to consult healthcare professionals sooner.”
Farzad’s project is not ready for broad use. But it shows what mobile technology could make possible in a country where access to medical care is already fragile.
Esmat Khan Amiri, 26, from Daykundi province, used his phone for a different kind of health-related action. After his father was repeatedly brought to an operating room at a hospital in Kandahar and turned back without surgery, Amiri posted a video describing the ordeal.
“I did not have power, money, or connections, but I had a phone,” he said. “I wanted people to know what was happening.”
The video spread on social media, and Amiri said the resulting pressure led the hospital to finally operate on his father.
Giving voice
“A smartphone is not only a tool for entertainment or communication,” Amiri said. “For people who are ignored, silenced, or discriminated against, it can become a voice.”
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, phone footage has repeatedly captured images the government could not control: protests, arrests, public punishments and complaints from inside hospitals. The same device that helps families seek medical advice can also expose mistreatment.
That visibility is part of what makes smartphones threatening to the Taliban. They allow information to move beyond official control — from a village, a classroom or a hospital ward to the wider public.
For Afghans who have few other ways to demand help, that matters. A phone can connect a mother to a midwife, a student to a lesson, a patient to a doctor or a family to an audience when institutions ignore them.
Now, as the Taliban moves to restrict smartphones, one of the country’s most popular tools has become one of its most contested.
Fatima Faizi is a journalist based in New York. She previously reported for The New York Times in Afghanistan, and her work focuses on human rights, women, education and the impact of Taliban rule on daily life.
New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): India and Afghanistan took stock of the bilateral ties during the 4th round of India-Afghanistan Joint Committee Meeting, here in the national capital on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
India also reassured its continued commitment towards supporting the development of Afghanistan.
As per the MEA, the two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including cooperation in the fields of humanitarian assistance, development partnership, food security, healthcare, capacity building, education, sports, trade, visa and connectivity.
The meeting was co-chaired by M. Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs of India, and Shuaib Baryalai, Director General, First Political Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan.
“The Indian side reiterated its continued commitment to supporting the welfare and development needs of the Afghan people. The Afghan side appreciated India’s sustained support and cooperation across various sectors,” the statement said.
It added, “Both sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining regular consultations and agreed to remain in close contact. The next round of the Joint Committee Meeting will be held at a mutually convenient time.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Afghan delegation also met MoS External Affairs Pabitra Margherita here in the national capital.
In a post on X, Margherita said, “The discussions focused on India-Afghanistan bilateral relations, including ongoing cooperation for the welfare and development of the Afghan people.”
Afghanistan’s Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Mawlawi Ataullah Omari, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, last week at the press briefing in the national capital, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had reiterated India’s assistance to Afghanistan. He said, “We have an ongoing humanitarian assistance cooperation. We have been sending them medicines… and also been offering development projects which can bring benefit to the lives of people there.”
India also doubled down on Pakistan for its support to cross-border terrorism and strongly condemned the airstrikes that happened from Pakistan into Afghanistan, in which several civilian lives, including women and children, were lost. (ANI)
India-Afghanistan review wide-ranging ties as New Delhi reiterates support to welfare, development
A German newspaper has reported that several Afghan nationals without criminal convictions are being held in immigration detention pending deportation, raising questions about whether some recent cases align with Germany’s stated policy of primarily deporting individuals convicted of serious crimes or considered threats to public security.
The German daily taz reported that at least five Afghan nationals with no criminal records are currently being held in deportation detention facilities across Germany. According to the newspaper, the findings are based on its own investigation into recent detention cases involving Afghan migrants.
The report said the detainees are facing deportation despite having no known criminal convictions. Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior had not publicly commented on the newspaper’s findings at the time of publication.
According to taz, several of the detainees are being held in the southern state of Bavaria, while another Afghan national is being detained in Hesse. The newspaper also reported that a sixth Afghan man, who had been awaiting deportation in Lower Saxony, was temporarily released after refugee support organizations intervened on his behalf.
The newspaper said two of the six individuals had previously returned to Germany under the European Union’s Dublin Regulation, which determines which member state is responsible for examining an asylum application. The remaining four were reportedly detained by Germany’s Federal Police after re-entering the country.
German authorities have maintained that the country’s deportation policy remains focused on individuals who have committed serious criminal offenses or who are regarded as threats to public security. Officials have repeatedly said deportations to Afghanistan are intended primarily for people convicted of violent or sexual crimes, major drug-related offenses, or those classified as security risks.
Germany resumed deportations of Afghan nationals in 2024 after suspending removals following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The policy shift followed months of political debate over migration and public security, with the German government arguing that deportations would be limited to offenders posing significant risks.
The first deportation flight under the renewed policy departed in August 2024, when 28 Afghan nationals were returned with logistical assistance from Qatar. German authorities have since carried out additional deportation flights, with media reports indicating that approximately 215 Afghan nationals have been deported under the resumed policy.
Human rights organizations and refugee advocacy groups have repeatedly expressed concern about returning Afghans to a country where the humanitarian and human rights situation remains difficult. United Nations agencies have continued to warn of widespread economic hardship, restrictions on fundamental rights, and ongoing protection concerns for many Afghans, particularly women, former government employees, journalists, and civil society activists.
The taz investigation said several recent detention cases appear inconsistent with Germany’s publicly stated deportation policy because the individuals concerned reportedly have no criminal convictions.
Germany Plans to Deport Afghans Without Criminal Records
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
