UN Says Nearly Half of Afghanistan's Population Lives Below Poverty Line

The data indicates that citizens from Syria, Eritrea, and Afghanistan were the top three nationalities receiving Swedish citizenship in the first six months of the current year.

According to a report by Schengen News on Tuesday, the highest number of citizenships was granted in April, with 6,694 people, while the lowest was in June, with 4,775 people.

Three years ago, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, implementing strict laws that drastically altered the lives of millions. These changes prompted many people to leave the country in search of safety and a better future, migrating to various countries.

During his appearance before the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament, Momeni emphasised that obstructing the border is the solution to halt the influx of migrants.

On Tuesday, he outlined his plans during the committee session.

The committee spokesperson quoted Momeni as saying, "Afghan migrants need to be organised, and his solution for this issue is to obstruct the border." He added that plans will be developed to implement this strategy.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had previously stressed on the importance of obstructing the Afghan border during his election campaign.

Following the collapse of the previous Afghan government, millions of Afghan citizens have migrated to neighbouring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan.

The currently serving Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi has stated that approximately five million Afghans are living in Iran.

Jerry Dunleavy criticised the committee for not sufficiently addressing the deaths of 13 US soldiers in Kabul.

The ISIS suicide attack on the Abbey Gate of Kabul Airport on August 26, 2021, resulted in the deaths of at least 182 people, including 169 Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers.

The attack occurred while US forces were in the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Dunleavy criticised Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, for failing to hold the Biden administration accountable for the attack despite a Republican majority in the Congress and the discovery of evidence.

Dunleavy believes that the Biden administration is responsible for the "horrific" events related to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and their "dangerous global fallout”.

In his resignation letter, Dunleavy accused McCaul and his team of failing to fulfil their duty to investigate the Biden administration's failures, particularly regarding the Abbey Gate explosion.

In explaining his resignation on X social media platform, Dunleavy stated that McCaul and the House Foreign Affairs Committee failed to meet their promises to the families of the soldiers killed at Kabul Airport, known as the "Gold Star” families.

Dunleavy, who has been involved in the investigation, said he could no longer be part of the process due to his conscience, which would not allow him to remain silent.

He also criticised the lack of serious questioning of witnesses, including Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation. Dunleavy believes Khalilzad was not honest in his explanations regarding the Taliban.

Dunleavy added that mishandling Khalilzad in the investigation of the US withdrawal has sent a misleading message to other involved parties. According to Dunleavy, Khalilzad was clearly unsuccessful in his dealings with the Taliban.

Although Dunleavy is not a member of Congress, he was the senior investigator for the House Foreign Affairs Committee regarding the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and has authored a book on the subject.

On Monday, Trump criticised the current US President Joe Biden's policies toward the Taliban during a public conversation on X Spaces. The Republican presidential candidate for the upcoming US election called the transfer of Afghanistan's funds to the Taliban the greatest folly in US history.

Trump was apparently referring to Afghanistan's assets in the US, which are currently held in a Swiss bank under the supervision of the Afghanistan Trust Fund and are not accessible to the Taliban.

He has previously claimed that the Biden administration left behind US military equipment worth approximately $85 billion in Afghanistan, which has since fallen into the hands of the Taliban.

At the Republican National Convention, where Trump officially accepted the party's nomination for the election, he stated that the Taliban has become the world's largest dealer of US weapons by selling these arms.

The former US president did not specify which countries or groups the Taliban is allegedly selling the weapons to. However, there have been previous reports of US weapons from the Afghan National Army and Security Forces being spotted in Pakistan, Kashmir, and even Palestine.

US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021 following the signing of the Doha Agreement. This agreement was signed by Trump's administration with the Taliban but was implemented during Biden's presidency.

Qani stated that during this confrontation, a woman and two children were killed due to gunfire from the Pakistani border guards.

On Monday night, he wrote on X social media platform that the clash occurred at noon in Torkham after Pakistani border forces opened fire on Taliban border forces.

Qani did not provide an explanation for the cause of the clash. However, earlier, the Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported, citing Taliban officials, that Taliban members were working on expanding a security post near the border when Pakistani forces opened fire.

Meanwhile, local sources told Afghanistan International on Monday that following the clash between Taliban and Pakistani border forces in the Momand Dara district of Nangarhar, "a woman and her three sons were killed”.

Apparently, they lost their lives after a mortar hit their home in this district.