Russia to Cooperate With Taliban on Counterterrorism, Organised Crime & Drug Trafficking

The organisation warned that these numbers will increase if aid funding is reduced.

The WHO stated that an additional $352 million is needed to address serious risks, bringing the total required budget to $423 million for the years 2024 and 2025.

Due to a severe budget shortfall, the WHO reported that 428 fixed and mobile health centres were closed in Afghanistan in 2023. The closure of these health centres has had a devastating impact on access to healthcare for more than three million people, including over 600,000 children under five and more than 240,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Currently, 310 health centres across Afghanistan are facing challenges due to a lack of funds.

Afghan citizens are struggling with infectious diseases, recent droughts, and floods, leading to food shortages and malnutrition. Women and children are among the most vulnerable groups.

The WHO also warned that the ban on education for girls in schools and universities will further deteriorate the situation for women in Afghanistan.

On Sunday, Gabriel wrote in an article for Bild newspaper that Germany should secure guarantees from the Taliban that deported refugees will not be tortured or killed.

Following an attack by an Afghan refugee in Mannheim, which resulted in the death of a police officer and injuries to five others, the German Chancellor stated that dangerous criminals and terrorists have no place in Germany.

Gabriel emphasised that negotiations with the Taliban are necessary to make the deportation of criminals to Afghanistan mandatory. He suggested providing economic aid to countries in exchange for accepting deported refugees.

Previously, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry had expressed readiness to negotiate with Germany regarding the deportation of refugees. The ministry stated that refugees should not be deported to regional countries.

Some German politicians, considering the Taliban's control in Afghanistan and the lack of diplomatic relations with Kabul, have called for discussions with regional countries, including Pakistan, about the deportation of Afghan refugees.

Gabriel also highlighted that an alliance has emerged between anti-Semitic neo-Nazis and anti-freedom and anti-democracy Islamists that must be confronted. He noted that the German Chancellor has a significant opportunity to break the existing taboo and legally facilitate the deportation of dangerous criminals from Germany.

Due to laws and humanitarian considerations, the German government cannot deport rejected asylum seekers accused of crimes. However, right-wing parties argue that these refugees should be deported under any circumstances.

Currently, the deportation of Afghan refugees from Germany, even those who have committed crimes, has been halted due to the Taliban's rule. Some political factions in Germany have expressed concern that any negotiations and dialogue with the Taliban would legitimise the group.

After completing their mission, these forces returned to their service location.

The report stated that the Badri suicide unit inspected the weapons and personnel previously stationed along the border and provided recommendations to the officials there. National Television in Kandahar also released an image of this suicide unit.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan border, known as the Durand Line, spans tens of kilometres between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kandahar province.
Last year, the Taliban announced the construction of 605 kilometres of road and 130 new outposts to strengthen security in this province.

Taliban and Pakistani forces have repeatedly clashed over construction at border crossings. The Taliban have stated that they are securing Afghanistan's borders to prevent threats to neighbouring countries.

The ministry stated that 324 Afghans were expelled from Pakistan and 1,773 from Iran. According to the ministry, women and children were among these refugees.

The expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan has significantly increased in recent months, with hundreds of Afghans being deported daily from these two countries.

Officials in Pakistan and Iran have claimed that they are deporting Afghans without valid residency documents back to Afghanistan. However, some returned refugees have reported that they were forced to return despite having legal residency documents.

Many Afghans were forced to leave their country and migrate to Iran and Pakistan following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. Some of these refugees sought refuge in Pakistan and Iran at the request of Western countries to process their immigration cases.

It is reported that among the refugees being returned from Iran and Pakistan to Afghanistan, there are some former government employees and military personnel who fled the country out of fear of Taliban retribution.

He added that an additional 20,000 tons of crude oil will be put up for bidding on Sunday.

In a post on the X social media platform, this Taliban official claimed that this is the first time 150,000 tons of crude oil have been sold in Afghanistan within two weeks. Previously, the Taliban's Ministry of Mines and Petroleum had stated that Afghanistan, with a daily requirement of 50,000 barrels of oil, currently imports almost all of its needed fuel from neighbouring countries such as Iran and Uzbekistan.

However, in December of last year, Bloomberg reported that China’s Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. had tripled its crude oil production in Afghanistan. According to the Taliban, the drilling of new wells will generate approximately USD 500 million in annual revenue for the group's government.

Under the terms of the contract, the Chinese company will invest $150 million in the first year and $540 million over the next three years to explore five oil and gas blocks covering an area of 4,500 square kilometres in northern Afghanistan.