Shafqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia, announced that for the first time, Pakistani commercial products will be sent to Central Asia via Afghanistan. Khan told TASS news agency that Pakistan's products will reach Central Asia within 35 days.
He has not provided details about the share of Afghanistan in the transfer of goods from Pakistan to Central Asia.
Earlier, Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister of Trade, and Investment of Pakistan had said that Islamabad plans to become a commercial hub by sending goods to the region through Afghanistan.
According to the Pakistani media, after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the obstacles to Pakistan's trade with Central Asia have been removed.
The National Union of Journalists in France (SNJ) urged Paris to speed up its efforts to "evacuate Afghan journalists". SNJ added that in comparison to other European countries, the French government’s support for Afghan journalists has not been enough.
The National Union of Journalists in France held a meeting on October 12-14 in Paris. SNJ has sent a proposal to the French government and urged authorities to remain faithful to their commitments regarding the evacuation of Afghan journalists.
They have emphasised that France should take immediate action to deal with the current situation of Afghan journalists.
SNJ stressed that Afghan journalists are in a dire situation and while in hiding, they constantly change their safe houses.
According to SNJ, so far, 64 Afghan journalists have entered France, and 30 others have been relocated to Germany and Canada.
The National Union of Journalists in France added that over 174 Afghan journalists are waiting for their relocation from Pakistan and 81 others are in Iran.
SNJ reported that the visa appointments of journalists with the French embassy in Tehran have been cancelled in recent days.
SNJ has criticised the process of evacuation of Afghan journalists by France and stressed that the process of obtaining visa from a third country makes it in contradiction with the commitment of French President, Emmanuel Macron, to support Afghan journalists.
Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy for Afghanistan, Hugo Shorter, said that his country does not support Afghans who seek to bring political change through violence. Shorter added that the UK continues “pragmatic engagement with the Taliban”.
The UK Charge d’Affaires for Afghanistan reacted to a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin who had said that western intelligence services, primarily American and British, fuel the formations opposing the Taliban, and stressed that these efforts are aimed at shelling the borders of Central Asian countries.
Shorter called Putin’s statement “classic disinformation” and that the UK supports stability, human rights, and good governance in Afghanistan.
Earlier, the Russian president had also emphasised that they had to prevent the return of civil war in Afghanistan. Putin added that he was aware of the dangers in the country and maintains necessary contacts with the Taliban leadership.
Meanwhile, Tomas Niklasson, the European Union's Special Representative for Afghanistan, had also said that he agreed with Putin for the first time that civil war in Afghanistan is not in the interest of the people of Afghanistan and Central Asia.
This year’s Global Hunger Index (GHI) brings us face to face with a grim reality. Afghanistan ranks 109th on the Global Hunger Index 2022 of 121 countries ranked. With a score of 29.9 on the Global Hunger Index, Afghanistan has been ranked behind all south Asian countries.
More than a year after foreign forces withdrew and the Taliban took power across the whole of Afghanistan, the country’s economy has withered and development aid and assets are still largely frozen, leaving the country facing its most serious risk of famine in 20 years. The past 12 months have seen Afghanistan’s fragile economy crumble, jobs disappear, livelihoods vanish, and climate shocks destroy homes and livelihoods.
GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators – undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, child mortality. While undernourishment represents the share of the population with insufficient caloric intake, child stunting indicates the share of children under age five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition. Child wasting reflects acute undernutrition in children under age five with low weight for their height.
For 15 countries -- including Guinea, Mozambique, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria -- ranks could not be determined owing to lack of data, the report said.
A higher score in the index implies a worsening hunger situation, whereas zero is the best score – indicating no hunger. The GHI assigns the scores in five severity levels – low (9.9 or less), moderate (10.0-19.9), serious (20.0-34.9), alarming (35.0-49.9) and extremely alarming (50 or higher).
The latest index was published jointly on 13 October by international humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide and Germany's Welthungerhilfe – one of the largest private aid organisations in the world.
Afghanistan (109th), India (107th) and Pakistan (99th) are the bottom three countries in South Asia.
The GHI found that South Asia has the world's highest levels of child stunting (low body weight to height) and child wasting (malnourished or emaciated) while south Saharan countries in Africa have the highest levels of undernourishment and child mortality rates.
Afghanistan National Movement for Peace and Justice (ANMPJ) is the latest political group that announced its formation on Saturday. The ANMPJ claims to have brought together hundreds of Afghan political figures from all ethnicities and political backgrounds.
Several officials of the previous government including former foreign minister, Hanif Atmar, and former intelligence chief Masoom Stanekzai are among the founders of the Afghanistan National Movement for Peace and Justice.
There are many other political groups that have formed over the past year. The Supreme Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan is another prominent group.
Former Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor; former vice-president Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum; Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq; anti-Taliban Jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf; former speaker of Afghan Lower House of Parliament Mir Rahman Rahmani; former Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani; jihadi leader Ismail Khan and some other political figures of Afghanistan are some members of the group.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) believes that there are doubts on whether there will be white cane day activities, a day marked around the world to advocate for the rights of people with vision impairments, in Afghanistan this year.
HRW stated that with many human rights issues in the country, protections for people with disabilities have weakened.
There are 4.4 million Afghans with disabilities who are stranded in the country with limited access to services, or have fled as refugees to other countries.
"People with disabilities in Afghanistan face discrimination, limited services, and a lack of a legislative or institutional framework to ensure their fundamental rights," HRW said in its report.
Afghanistan first celebrated White Cane Safety Day in 2011.
In Afghanistan, Rahyab, an organisation of people with disabilities that has been providing education and rehabilitation for people with visual disabilities, started promoting the White Cane Day celebration to advocate for the rights of people with vision impairments.