Cyber-attack on MoD-linked contractor exposes data of Afghans in resettlement scheme

 and agencies

A contractor linked to the UK Ministry of Defence has been hit by a cyber-attack, exposing personal data linked to Afghan resettlement efforts. It is the latest in a series of breaches involving the private information of Afghan refugees.

The breach at Inflite The Jet Centre Ltd, a company that provides ground services for flights linked to the UK’s defence ministry and the Cabinet Office, has exposed the personal data of up to 3,700 people, including Afghans seeking refuge as part of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

All the individuals affected by the breach flew into London Stansted airport between January and March 2024.

The leak may have also released the information of civil servants, soldiers on routine exercises and journalists.

In a statement on its website, Inflite The Jet Centre Ltd confirmed that a data breach had occurred involving “access to a limited number of company emails”.

The company said the incident had been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office, and that it was working with the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre on its investigation.

“We believe the scope of the incident was limited to email accounts only, however, as a precautionary measure, we have contacted our key stakeholders whose data may have been affected during the period of January to March 2024”, the statement said.

It isn’t yet clear who carried out the cyber-attack on the company’s databases but a message was sent to the affected people warning them of the breach.

A government spokesperson said: “We were recently notified that a third-party sub-contractor to a supplier experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorised access to a small number of its emails that contained basic personal information.

“We take data security extremely seriously and are going above and beyond our legal duties in informing all potentially affected individuals.

“The incident has not posed any threat to individuals’ safety, nor compromised any government systems.”

The data is not believed to have been leaked to the dark web or made public.

In February 2022, a separate breach by a defence official disclosed the personal data of 18,714 Afghans who had worked with British forces. The UK high court granted a superinjunction to the Conservative government in 2023 to suppress information related to the breach, for which the Labour defence secretary, John Healey, later issued an apology.

Cyber-attack on MoD-linked contractor exposes data of Afghans in resettlement scheme
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U.S. Issues Travel Warning for Citizens on Afghanistan

The U.S. State Department has strongly advised citizens against traveling to Afghanistan, citing a heightened risk of arbitrary detention.

The U.S. Department of State has issued a strong advisory urging American citizens to avoid traveling to Afghanistan, citing heightened risks to their safety and security.

In a statement released on Tuesday, August 19, the Consular Section of the State Department emphasized that travelers should remain aware of the dangers and make informed decisions before considering any trip to the country.

The advisory explained that Washington uses a “Risk Indicator D” to identify countries where U.S. citizens face a high threat of unlawful or arbitrary detention. Afghanistan, it said, ranks at the top of this list due to its severe risks.

Alongside Afghanistan, the warning also applies to several other countries, including Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela, where similar risks of detention and harassment exist.

This latest warning follows earlier incidents in which Taliban authorities detained American citizens who had traveled to Afghanistan, adding to Washington’s concerns over the safety of its nationals in the country.

By placing Afghanistan at the top of its risk list, the U.S. government has reinforced its call for citizens to reconsider any plans to travel there. The advisory reflects the broader U.S. policy of caution regarding travel to regions marked by instability, authoritarian rule, and threats to foreign nationals.

U.S. Issues Travel Warning for Citizens on Afghanistan
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Mes Aynak Copper Mine Contract Extended for More 15 Years with Chinese Firm

The ministry emphasized that with this extension, all core conditions of the contract remain unchanged.

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum announced that the contract for the exploration and extraction of the Mes Aynak copper mine in Mohammad Agha district of Logar province has been extended for another 15 years.

This project was handed over to the Chinese company MCC 17 years ago, but significant progress in its extraction has yet to be made. Insecurity, the country’s past political situation, concerns over the destruction of historical artifacts at the mining site, and a lack of infrastructure such as electricity and railways have been cited as key reasons for the project’s delays.

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum told TOLOnews that to enable more effective and efficient copper extraction, the contract has been extended for 15 more years, increasing the total duration to 45 years.

Ministry spokesperson Homayoun Afghan stated: “Unfortunately, in the past 15 years under the previous administration, no work was done due to various issues. After the Islamic Emirate came to power, negotiations were held with the company to resume operations. To ensure proper survey and development of this mine in accordance with established principles and conditions, an additional 15 years has been granted by the Ministry.”

The ministry emphasized that with this extension, all core conditions of the contract remain unchanged.

These conditions include:

Establishing copper processing factories inside Afghanistan
Prioritizing Afghan labor
Protecting historical artifacts at the mining site
According to the spokesperson, multiple practical steps will be launched at the site this year.

He added: “Last year, the company started part of the practical work. One component was the extension of a road measuring 8.9 kilometers, which is now nearly complete. Surveys and studies have also been conducted in several areas, along with power generation assessments, which are now being implemented. Overall, most of last year’s planned activities have been completed, and we hope that this year, operations will advance more effectively.”

Key commitments in the Mes Aynak copper mine contract, signed in 2008, include:

Establishing smelting and copper processing plants in Afghanistan
Building a railway line
Establishing electricity generation facilities
Job creation and training for Afghan labor
Adhering to environmental standards and preventing environmental damage
Protecting and relocating existing historical artifacts at the mine site
Paying royalties and revenues to the Afghan government

Although the contractor had previously promised to begin project implementation this year, the project has faced widespread criticism in Afghanistan over the years due to delays by the Chinese side.

Economic experts believe that extending the contract could offer the company a fresh opportunity to fulfill its commitments and stop treating this national asset arbitrarily.

Mir Shaker Yaqubi, an economic analyst, stated: “Efforts should be made to engage with the Chinese side and their investors so they pursue the Mes Aynak project with greater financial, technical, and operational seriousness. The MCC company should no longer be allowed to delay, obstruct, or neglect the terms of the contract. This issue can be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy, and active economic negotiations.”

According to geological studies, the Mes Aynak mine, considered one of the largest copper deposits in the region, holds reserves of 12 million tons and, if extracted properly, could turn Afghanistan into a significant global copper exporter.

Mes Aynak Copper Mine Contract Extended for More 15 Years with Chinese Firm
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Veterans’ voices shape a report on the Afghanistan War’s lessons and impact

Julie Carr Smyth and Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos

The Independent (UK)
Tuesday 19 August 2025
U.S. veterans of the war in Afghanistan are telling a commission reviewing decisions on the 20-year conflict that their experience was not only hell, but also confounding, demoralizing and at times humiliating

The bipartisan Afghanistan War Commission aims to reflect such veterans’ experiences in a report due to Congress next year, which will analyze key strategic, diplomatic, military and operational decisions made between June 2001 and the chaotic withdrawal in August 2021.

The group released its second interim report on Tuesday, drawing no conclusions yet but identifying themes emerging from thousands of pages of government documents; some 160 interviews with cabinet-level officials, military commanders, diplomats, Afghan and Pakistani leaders and others; and forums with veterans like one recently held at a national Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Columbus, Ohio.

“What can we learn from the Afghanistan War?” asked an Aug. 12 discussion session with four of the commission’s 16 members. What they got was two straight hours of dozens of veterans’ personal stories — not one glowingly positive, and most saturated in frustration and disappointment.

“I think the best way to describe that experience was awful,” said Marine veteran Brittany Dymond, who served in Afghanistan in 2012.

Navy veteran Florence Welch said the 2021 withdrawal made her ashamed she ever served there.

“It turned us into a Vietnam, a Vietnam that none of us worked for,” she said.

Members of Congress, some driven by having served in the war, created the independent commission several months after the withdrawal, after an assessment by the Democratic administration of then-President Joe Biden faulted the actions of President Donald Trump’s first administration for constraining U.S. options. A Republican review, in turn, blamed Biden. Views of the events remain divided, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered yet another review this spring.

The commission wants to understand the bigger picture of a conflict that spanned four presidential administrations and cost more than 2,400 American lives, said Co-Chair Dr. Colin Jackson.

“So we’re interested in looking hard at the end of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan, but we’re equally interested in understanding the beginning, the middle and the end,” he said in an interview in Columbus.

Co-chair Shamila Chaudhary said the panel is also exploring more sweeping questions.

“So our work is not just about what the U.S. did in Afghanistan but what the U.S. should be doing in any country where it deems it has a national security interest,” she said. “And not just should it be there, but how it should behave, what values does it guide itself by, and how does it engage with individuals who are very different from themselves.”

Jackson said one of the commission’s priorities is making sure the final report, due in August 2026, isn’t “unrecognizable to any veteran of the Afghanistan conflict.”

Dymond told commissioners a big problem was the mission.

“You cannot exert a democratic agenda, which is our foreign policy, you cannot do that on a culture of people who are not bought into your ideology,” she said. “What else do we expect the outcome to be? And so we had two decades of service members lost and maimed because we’re trying to change an ideology that they didn’t ask for.”

The experience left eight-year Army veteran Steve Orf demoralized. He said he didn’t go there “to beat a bad guy.”

“Those of us who served generally wanted to believe that we were helping to improve the world, and we carried with us the hopes, values, and principles of the United States — values and principles that also seem to have been casualties of this war,” he told commissioners. “For many of us, faith with our leaders is broken and trust in our country is broken.”

Tuesday’s report identifies emerging themes of the review to include strategic drift, interagency incoherence, and whether the war inside Afghanistan and the counterterrorism war beyond were pursuing the same aims or at cross purposes.

It also details difficulties the commission has encountered getting key documents. According to the report, the Biden administration initially denied the commission’s requests for White House materials on the implementation of the February 2020 peace agreement Trump signed with the Taliban, called the Doha Agreement, and on the handling of the withdrawal, citing executive confidentiality concerns.

The transition to Trump’s second term brought further delays and complications, but since the commission has pressed the urgency of its mission with the new administration, critical intelligence and documents have now begun to flow, the report says.

Veterans’ voices shape a report on the Afghanistan War’s lessons and impact
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UNAMA Chief Warns of Crisis From Mass Deportation of Afghan Refugees

By Fidel Rahmati

 

UNAMA chief Roza Otunbayeva warned that mass deportation of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan could trigger a humanitarian crisis, straining Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure and impoverished population.

Roza Otunbayeva, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), has warned that the large-scale return of Afghan refugees could have catastrophic consequences without urgent global support.

During a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing on Monday, August 18, she said returnees face exhaustion, psychological trauma, and an uncertain future.

Otunbayeva stressed that women and children are particularly at risk, with very limited access to food, shelter, healthcare, and other basic services.

She warned that the return of 1.3 million Afghans in 2025 would place immense pressure on Afghanistan’s already fragile infrastructure and resources.

Currently, more than 70 percent of Afghans live in poverty, further complicating the prospects for reintegration of returnees into local communities.

Otunbayeva urged the international community, humanitarian organizations, and the Taliban not to remain passive in the face of what she described as an unfolding humanitarian crisis.

Her warning comes as both Iran and Pakistan intensify deportations of Afghan migrants, adding to Afghanistan’s economic hardships and increasing instability across the country.

UNAMA Chief Warns of Crisis From Mass Deportation of Afghan Refugees
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Afghanistan’s Climate Crisis Displaces Nearly 400,000 in 2025

 

Afghanistan faces worsening climate disasters, with droughts and floods displacing nearly 400,000 people this year. Over five million have been affected, deepening the country’s humanitarian crisis.

Afghanistan is experiencing increasing displacement as droughts, flash floods, and other climate change impacts continue to devastate communities, according to a recent report by Agence France-Presse.

Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, the country has struggled with recurring environmental disasters that have driven thousands from their homes and disrupted livelihoods nationwide.

The United Nations says more than five million Afghans have been affected by climate-related events so far this year, with nearly 400,000 people forced into displacement.

Many Afghans live in fragile mud houses and depend heavily on farming and livestock, leaving them especially exposed to changing weather patterns and environmental shocks.

Water shortages are adding to the crisis, with some villages in Bamiyan reporting severe difficulty in accessing safe drinking water, according to local accounts.

While Taliban officials have announced new water management projects, they also insist that drought relief should be “left to God,” casting doubt on their capacity to address the crisis.

UNICEF has previously warned that nearly one-third of Afghanistan people lack access to clean water, underscoring how climate change, poor infrastructure, and weak governance are driving a deepening humanitarian emergency.

Afghanistan’s Climate Crisis Displaces Nearly 400,000 in 2025
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Fazlur Rehman: Forced Deportation of Afghans Hurts Kabul–Islamabad Ties

He warned that the Pakistani government must categorize Afghan refugees and refrain from deporting Afghan investors and students.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman added: “The issue of deporting Afghan refugees has been raised. The process of forced deportations has already begun, and this has affected Afghanistan–Pakistan relations. Even before the Taliban government, during the presidencies of Ashraf Ghani and Hamid Karzai, this issue was discussed. At that time, a high-level meeting was held in which we were asked to categorize Afghan refugees. There were Afghans who had invested in Pakistan and had money in banks; if they withdrew their money, banks would collapse. So, we had to consider the interests of our own country as well.”

Some deported refugees have complained about mistreatment by Pakistani authorities and are urging the Islamic Emirate to pay attention to their situation.

Zainullah, one of the deported Afghans, said: “One of the main reasons for leaving Pakistan was government harassment. There were many problems. Even going to the city was difficult. Refugees were always blamed for every issue. That’s why we left and came to Afghanistan.”

Another deportee, Safiullah, said: “We ask the Islamic Emirate to provide education opportunities for the newly returned refugees.”

Political analysts believe the refugee issue has become a tool of political pressure in the region, and the Islamic Emirate must find a solution through serious dialogue to prevent further harm.

Political analyst Mohammad Aslam Danishmal stated: “The refugee issue is being used as pressure by Iran and Pakistan. It is clear that migration happens due to deprivations. First, those factors inside the country must be eliminated, and afterward discussions with neighboring countries should take place through diplomatic channels.”

This comes after the Pakistani government announced that holders of PoR (Proof of Registration) cards only have until September 1 to leave the country. The decision has heightened concerns among thousands of Afghan families, leaving them facing an uncertain future.

Fazlur Rehman: Forced Deportation of Afghans Hurts Kabul–Islamabad Ties
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After 1,400 Days, Afghan Girls Remain Locked Out of Schools

Education experts believe this deprivation has not only crushed the hopes of thousands of girls but also cast a dark shadow over the country’s future.

With the Islamic Emirate marking its fourth year in power in Afghanistan, schools above the sixth grade remain closed for girls.

Sana and Basira, both 11th-grade students and sisters, have been confined to their home since the day schools were shut to girls.

Although more than 1,400 days have passed since this decision, their passion for learning is still alive.

Sana said: “I was very excited because only one year was left, and I told myself, God willing, I will go to university. I was trying very hard, and besides school, I was also attending courses so I could go to university, become a doctor, and serve people. But after staying at home, overthinking started, illnesses and anxieties appeared, and our minds fell behind.”

Another student, Basira, added: “At least open the doors for those who wear hijab! If you want to be strict, hold those accountable whom you think are not following the rules, but don’t keep us deprived. Please open the schools so that we can have a bright future and be a proud nation.”

Their plea is shared by thousands of Afghan girls who have been deprived of education over these years. Several other students also insist that schools must reopen this year.

Bushra, another student, said: “It has been four years we have been waiting. In this fifth year, schools should finally open for us. Our hopes are gone, our dreams are dead. We are just sitting at home, with no courage left.”

Similarly, Hanifa expressed: “Our request from the Islamic Emirate is to open the schools for us. This waiting has gone on long enough.”

Education experts believe this deprivation has not only crushed the hopes of thousands of girls but also cast a dark shadow over the country’s future.

According to them, a nation’s human capital develops through education, and depriving girls of schooling means losing half of society’s potential for progress.

University professor Janat Faheem Chakari said: “If schools and universities remain closed to girls, our society will suffer greatly. It will cause serious damage from religious, social, and moral perspectives. Our request from the Islamic Emirate is to open the doors of education for girls as soon as possible, because without knowledge, we will reach nowhere.”

This comes after the Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, told TOLOnews that efforts are underway to find a precise religious justification for girls’ education.

After 1,400 Days, Afghan Girls Remain Locked Out of Schools
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Afghan Women Still Barred from Education and Work, UN Says

According to UN findings, half of female employees in civil society organizations have lost their jobs this year due to reduced funding.

The UN Special Representative for Women in Afghanistan has said that four years into the current rule, women remain excluded from government structures as well as the right to education and work.

Susan Ferguson stressed that the continuation of this situation is harmful not only to women but to Afghanistan as a whole. She stated: “Regarding education and employment, women and girls are still barred from attending secondary schools, universities, and most jobs. This has destroyed the future of an entire generation of young Afghan girls. The exclusion of women not only harms them personally, but also damages families, communities, and the country as a whole.”

According to UN findings, half of female employees in civil society organizations have lost their jobs this year due to reduced funding. Ferguson emphasized that Afghan women and girls are bearing the heaviest burden of declining international aid.

She added: “Half of female staff in civil society organizations have lost their jobs due to funding cuts. More than one-third of these organizations reported that if the current situation continues, their ability to reach women and girls will be severely reduced, limited, or completely halted.”

The UN stressed that despite ongoing challenges, it remains committed to investing in organizations, businesses, and ensuring women’s participation in international dialogues to safeguard their rights.

Women’s rights activist Faryal Sayedzada told TOLOnews: “The deprivation of Afghan girls and women from education will have negative consequences and will harm Afghanistan in the years to come. We hope that with the start of the new academic year, the Afghan government will prepare a procedure that allows Afghan girls to continue their education.”

Human rights issues especially women’s right to education and employment remain key points of contention between the international community and Afghanistan’s interim government, frequently debated over the past four years.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan recently said that work is underway on this matter in order to obtain proper Sharia approval.

Afghan Women Still Barred from Education and Work, UN Says
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Pakistan Army Chief Urges Kabul to End Policies Destabilizing Pakistan

By Fidel Rahmati

Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir urged Kabul to halt destabilizing policies, warning that cross-border unrest endangers Pakistani citizens and regional stability amid ongoing security tensions.

Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Asim Munir, has called on the Taliban to stop policies that destabilize Pakistan, warning the group is accountable for the blood of Pakistani citizens.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Saturday, August 16, Munir underlined Islamabad’s concerns about cross-border militancy and the Taliban’s alleged role in fueling unrest inside Pakistan.

He also addressed Pakistan’s foreign relations, stressing that Islamabad will maintain balanced ties with both China and the United States, and will not sacrifice one friendship for another.

Turning to India, Munir accused New Delhi of attempting to destabilize Pakistan through proxy groups and claimed Indian intelligence activity has increased following setbacks in recent conflicts between the two countries.

On global affairs, Munir said Pakistan supports U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine, adding that Islamabad was the first to endorse Donald Trump’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

His remarks come as tensions persist along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with Islamabad repeatedly accusing the Taliban of providing safe havens and support to militant groups targeting Pakistan.

Analysts warn that without tangible cooperation from the Taliban, cross-border violence will likely escalate further, threatening regional stability and complicating Pakistan’s delicate diplomatic balancing with global powers.

Pakistan Army Chief Urges Kabul to End Policies Destabilizing Pakistan
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