AFF Claims Responsibility For Targetting Taliban Outpost In Mazar-e-Sharif

Oct 21, 2023, 09:36 GMT+1

The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) claimed responsibility for the Friday evening explosion at the Taliban outpost in Mazar-e-Sharif city.

AFF said that three members of the Taliban had been killed and five others were injured after the explosion at the group’s outpost in police district 7 of Mazar-e-Sharif.

In a statement, AFF stated that following the incident, the Taliban blocked access to the incident site and retrieved their dead bodies and injured personnel from the area.

Residents of Mazar-e-Sharif said that two explosions were heard in the city on Friday evening October 20.

The Taliban have not commented on these explosions so far.

A video clip that reached Afghanistan International shows moments after the explosion in PD7 of Mazar-e-Sharif.

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Taliban Asks Pakistan To Reconsider Decision to Deport Afghan Refugees

Oct 20, 2023, 14:43 GMT+1

Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, said that Islamabad's decision to deport Afghan immigrants creates rifts between the people of the two countries.

During a meeting with Obaidur Rahman Nizamani, Charge d’Affaires of Pakistani embassy in Kabul, Hanafi asked Islamabad to reconsider the deportation of Afghan immigrants.

In a statement, the Taliban added that Hanafi’s meeting with Nizamani was focused on the situation of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan.

Pakistan has asked all immigrants without legal documentation to leave the country by the end of October.

Based on the Pakistani authorities, more than 51,000 Afghans have been deported since the deadline for the deportation of illegal immigrants was announced.

Hanafi also demanded the release of children, women, and patients who had been detained and imprisoned by Pakistani forces at the borders.

Pakistan Deports Over 3,000 Afghan Refugees In Single Day

Oct 20, 2023, 13:27 GMT+1

Radio Pakistan reported that 3,248 Afghan refugees were deported to Afghanistan. According to Pakistani officials, more than 51,000 Afghans have been deported since the announcement of the deadline for deportation of illegal immigrants.

Jan Achakzai, caretaker Minister for Information and Public Relations for Balochistan province, said that the efforts of the Pakistani government to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants have gained momentum.

He stressed that the deadline of November 1 not only applies to Afghan refugees but also to all illegal immigrants living in the province.

Earlier, Sarfraz Bugti, interior minister of the interim government of Pakistan, warned that the country will not compromise on this decision after the deadline.

Meanwhile, Express Tribune also reported that the special branch has been given the task of identifying illegal immigrants living across Balochistan.

Pakistani officials said that so far more than a thousand Afghan families have been returned to Afghanistan through the Chaman border.

Kyrgyzstan Sends Medical Aid To Pamir Region of Afghanistan

Oct 20, 2023, 11:56 GMT+1

Kyrgyz media outlets reported that the country has dispatched a two-tonne humanitarian aid shipment, including medicine, to both Little and Great Pamir region of Afghanistan.

Sadyr Japarov, the president of Kyrgyzstan, ordered the delivery of humanitarian aid to residents of Pamir region.

Kyrgyz News Agency 24 reported that a number of medical workers had also been dispatched to the area. They examined and provided assistance to 600 local residents.

According to the report, Kyrgyz veterinary specialists vaccinated hundreds of animals, including 700 cows in Pamir, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

In addition, Kyrgyzstan held a training course for the prevention of various diseases in the Pamir region.

These measures were taken after the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry last year had said that Kyrgyz people residing in the Pamir region of Afghanistan were facing dire living conditions and falling ill to an unidentified virus.

At the same time, Radio-Television Afghanistan, controlled by the Taliban, reported that in two weeks, Pamir residents were infected with an unknown disease and 21 people had died.

One of the residents of the Great Pamir region said that they have no facilities and that the residents have to walk for three or four days to reach a medical center.

The Pamir region, which is divided into two parts, the Little Pamir and Great Pamir, is located in Wakhan, Badakhshan province, in the northeast of Afghanistan.

After the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan’s concern regarding the well-being of Kyrgyz residents in Afghanistan increased.

2 New Polio Cases Registered In Herat

Oct 20, 2023, 10:20 GMT+1

The healthcare team of a charitable foundation in Herat, providing assistance to earthquake victims in western Afghanistan, has reported two new cases of polio.

The Foundation of Nisar Ahmad Faizi Ghoryani said on Thursday that these two cases of polio were registered in the Jibrail area of Herat city.

On X social media platform, Ghoryani wrote that these two polio-affected children have been transferred to the capital of Herat.

Previously, "Polio Free", a global organisation committed to eradicating polio had warned about the rapid spread of polio cases in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries that have not been able to eradicate polio.

US Asks Afghanistan’s Neighbours To Accept Afghan Refugees

Oct 20, 2023, 09:16 GMT+1

On Thursday, the US State Department urged Afghanistan's neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, to allow Afghan migrants to seek international protection. It urged the countries to deal with the migrants according to international laws.

Pakistan has set a deadline for more than one million Afghan immigrants without legal documentations to leave the country in 10 days. Meanwhile, Iranian Interior Minister has also said that "illegal" Afghan immigrants should leave Iran.

While the Iranian authorities are addressing the challenges posed by Afghan immigrants, there has also been a concerning surge in anti-Afghan sentiments within the country. As per reports, incidents of violence against Afghan immigrants have occurred in Qazvin province.

Mattew Miller, spokesperson for the US State Department, said, “We strongly encourage Afghanistan’s neighbours, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection, and to coordinate with international humanitarian organisations such as UNHCR and IOM to provide humanitarian assistance."