126% Rise in Drug-Related Executions in Iran in First 6 Months of 2023

The aid organisation added that 3.2 million people are acutely malnourished, including 3.2 million children younger than 5 years old in the country.

The report highlighted that this is because a 30-35 percent wheat deficit is expected for 2023 following the third consecutive drought year in Afghanistan, especially as the western provinces are likely to still experience below-average harvests.

It also added into account that the ongoing locust outbreak in northern Afghanistan has threatened to destroy a quarter of this year’s wheat harvest – up to 1.2 million mt, worth US$480 million.

It stated that it needs US$1.2 billion to sustain operations through the winter.

It also added that 28.8 million people – two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population – require multi-sectoral humanitarian assistance in 2023.

The report has been formed after the visit of WFP Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau between 11 and 15 June to witness operations, engage with key stakeholders, and advocate for urgent resources to meet critical funding gaps.

The organisation added that it had reached 15.4 million people since the beginning of 2023; however, since April it has had to cut eight million people from its emergency response caseload due to critical funding shortfalls.

Afghanistan is among the countries with the highest prevalence of insufficient food consumption globally.

The report in summary added that hunger in Afghanistan is primarily driven by the economic crisis which has gripped the country since August 2021 after Taliban’s takeover, compounded by decades of conflict, climate shocks, and severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls to work and pursue higher education.

According to a UNAMA statement, the document outlines the priorities of the UN in support of the Afghan people.

The UN agency stressed that the strategic framework articulates the organisation’s approach to addressing basic human needs in Afghanistan, prioritising the needs and rights of those most vulnerable, including women and girls, internally displaced persons, refugees, and ethnic and religious minorities.

UNAMA added that the strategic framework was developed in close consultation with UN member states, partners, and stakeholders.

Based on the UN Strategic Framework, UN agencies will focus on economic opportunities and resilient livelihoods, sustained essential services, social cohesion, inclusion, gender equality, human rights, and the rule of law.

According to the 74-page document, there will be a special focus on the delivery of principled assistance in response to the increasingly restrictive environment facing all Afghans, in particular women and girls.

According to the organisation, whether the UN can fully implement this framework will depend on actions by the Taliban and the support of donors.

It is India’s first ever chairmanship of the SCO which it assumed at the Samarkand meeting in September 2022.

According to Indian media outlets, Afghanistan is one of India’s priorities to be discussed at the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting.

The heads of state of China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran will speak during this virtual meeting.

The fight against extremism and terrorism, regional security, economy, respect for sovereignty, and territorial integrity are among the issues that will be discussed in tomorrow's meeting.

Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, said earlier that terrorism, arms trafficking, drugs, and the spread of extremist ideology from Afghanistan threaten the SCO member countries.

On Saturday, Nabil said that Biden shed light on the true nature of the Taliban as the Wagner Group of the United States in the region.

The new statements of the US President about the absence of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and the US-Taliban cooperation to fight this terror network have been met with wide-ranging reactions among the Afghan political spectrum.

Ali Maisam Nazary, the Head of Foreign Relations of the National Resistance Front (NRF) led by Ahmad Massoud, reacted to the US President’s statement on Al-Qaeda and said that international terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS maintain an active presence in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, he warned that the international community's current negligence concerning terrorism threat to global security will lead to future regrets.

However, the Taliban's foreign ministry welcomed the statement of US President Joe Biden, who said that Al-Qaeda is no longer present in Afghanistan.

The ministry said that Joe Biden's statements “arise from understanding the truth" and contradict the recent report of the United Nations Security Council regarding the presence of terror groups in Afghanistan.

On Friday, the US president during a press conference said that Al-Qaeda is no longer present in Afghanistan and added that earlier he had said “he would get help from the Taliban” to destroy the terror group.

In an interview with Afghanistan International, Ahady said that Afghanistan's assets have been transferred to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) which provides five percent profit annually.

According to the former finance minister of Afghanistan, over $100 million in profit has been obtained during 2022. Ahady added that if this fund would be kept in the BIS, it will earn more than one hundred million dollars annually.

Ahady said that the Taliban can use the Swiss-based trust fund for printing Afghani banknotes and passports, but the group has not made such requests yet.

He also said that Afghanistan is a member of organisations such as the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank and should pay membership fees to these organisations.

Ahady added that the Taliban paid the membership fees for Afghanistan last year, however, the group has not paid these fees for 2023. He said that in return for paying the membership fees, these organisations will provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

Ahady added that if the Taliban does not agree to pay the membership fee of international organisations, the Swiss-based trust fund may pay these fees.

The supervisory member of the ‘Fund for the Afghan People’ added that the frozen reserves of Afghanistan in Switzerland are not used for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. According to him, this will be spent only for some necessary purposes related to government spending. However, he stressed that the trust fund will not provide money directly to the Taliban and will pay related organisations for projects that are "for the benefit of the people".

In September 2022, the United States announced that it would transfer 3.5 billion dollars of the reserves of the Central Bank of Afghanistan to a trust fund in Switzerland to be used to help the Afghan economy.

The Taliban have repeatedly demanded that Afghanistan's Central Bank reserves must be given to the group.