New Round Of Polio Vaccination Campaign Begins In Afghanistan

According to a statement from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UN delegation, including the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General Roza Otunbayeva, the Under-Secretary-General for Support Operations and a representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), visited the centre on Sunday, December 22.

"Decades of conflict and instability have left many Afghans vulnerable to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, which have led to a widespread drug use crisis affecting a third of families," according to the statement.

"I was deeply touched by the resistance of women and children here," said Roza Otunbayeva. The centre is a testament to the power of hope and international solidarity. Cooperation between different organisations gives women and children the opportunity to heal,” she added.

According to the World Health Organisation, this year, 640 women and children have been admitted to the centre and 602 people have been treated.

The World Health Organisation also announced that in the past two years, 170,000 people have benefited from extensive education and support programmes for the recovery and treatment of people with drug abuse.

Recently, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced that opium production in Afghanistan has increased by 30% in 2024 compared to the previous year.

According to the statistics of this office, contrary to the orders of the Taliban leader, 433 tons of opium were produced in Afghanistan this year.

He claimed that the Red Cross had buried the bodies of the victims. The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, 2021, without a fight, after former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled, and announced a "general amnesty”.

However, reports from international organisations and former officials indicate that the Taliban continued to take revenge on former military personnel.

Saleh wrote on social platfrom X on Sunday that the Taliban shot wounded soldiers in a 400-bed hospital just one day after entering Kabul. He added that a Taliban official, in order to deflect responsibility for the crime, reported the discovery of a container full of bodies to the media.

The opposition figure also claimed that about 1,200 people in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces were killed without trial between 2021 and 2022 by a person named Dr. Bashir, the Taliban's provincial intelligence chief.

Saleh also said that at the same time, the bodies of local soldiers were left in the alleys of Kandahar city. The Taliban discarded the bodies simply because of the stench and the Red Cross buried them, he added.

At the time, there were reports that the Taliban had taken revenge on the Achakzai tribe, which belonged to Gen. Raziq, a well-known Kandahar police commander. According to these reports, hundreds of members of this tribe were killed by the Taliban.

Reliable news and human rights sources have not yet confirmed Saleh's claims about the deaths of wounded soldiers in the 400-bed hospital and the stench of the bodies of former soldiers in Kandahar.

Amrullah Saleh also claimed that the "drafters of the Doha Agreement" prevented media coverage of these events in order to prevent the exposure of these crimes.

Referring to the differences between the Taliban's opponents, he said, "The damage and pain caused by the Taliban's takeover has reached all corners of the country, but its severity is not the same."

Saleh went on to emphasise that Taliban leaders have no place among the people. "If the vote is held tomorrow, many Taliban leaders will not even get enough votes to be members of the provincial councils," he said. “That's why they hate voting and elections. The Taliban's opposition to the elections has no religious basis, but stems from their awareness of the extent of people's hatred of them,” he added.

Gluck said that hundreds of thousands of refugees were returned to Afghanistan last year. She added, "Last year, despite the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees not to return, many migrants were forced to return.”

Gluck said in a video from Islam Qala on Saturday, December 21, "Hundreds of thousands of people have been repatriated to Afghanistan in the past year. Many of them were forced to return despite UNHCR's advice not to return."

Gluck said that since September of this year, the number of returnees from Iran has increased significantly.

The UN official referred to recent statements by Islamic Republic officials that they plan to deport two million undocumented Afghan refugees by the end of this year.

"The position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is that any kind of return must be voluntary and carried out in safety and dignity," she stressed.

The Taliban's police command in Pul-e-Khumri said that the city is "under extensive security coverage". According to the report, security cameras have been installed in different parts of the city.

In April 2024, the Taliban's Interior Ministry had announced that it had started installing security cameras in Pul-e-Khumri.

The Taliban had previously installed security cameras in Kabul and some other cities.

The Taliban's Interior Ministry had previously said that the installation of security cameras in Kabul and other cities is part of the ministry's five-year strategic plan.

Baghlan province has been one of the main centres of armed resistance against the group after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. Former Afghan army commanders who joined the Taliban's military fronts after the collapse of the former government fought against the Taliban for months on end in the foothills of Andarab.

In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), the embassy stated that it will provide “all services to the brotherly people of Afghanistan.”

The embassy had closed on 2 February 2023 due to security concerns. At the time, Reuters reported that Saudi diplomats had left Kabul over fears of terrorist attacks and were relocated to Pakistan.

The Saudi Embassy’s recent statement highlighted the kingdom’s commitment to supporting Afghanistan, saying: “In line with the desire of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, it has been decided that the Saudi Embassy in Kabul will resume its activities from 22 December 2024.”

This development follows the second Doha meeting on Afghanistan, where Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced that Saudi Arabia expressed its intention to reopen its embassy in Kabul. Mujahid emphasised the Taliban’s recognition of Saudi Arabia as an important partner and their commitment to strengthening relations with the kingdom.

Earlier, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister, met with the Saudi ambassador and underlined Afghanistan’s shared cultural, historical, and religious ties with Saudi Arabia. He expressed interest in expanding bilateral relations with Riyadh. In response, the Saudi ambassador reaffirmed the strong historical ties between the two nations and pledged to continue humanitarian aid and collaboration in various fields.