90 Percent Of Afghan Households Faced Economic Shocks In 2024, Says UNDP

In an interview with the Russian radio station Komsomolskaya Pravda, Kabulov described Afghanistan as a strategic transit corridor connecting northern Eurasia, including Russia, to southern Asia, enhancing its value as a geopolitical bridge.

Kabulov stressed that normalising relations with the Taliban was essential for promoting Russia’s regional interests. However, he noted that formal engagement remains constrained by legal barriers, particularly the Taliban’s continued designation as a terrorist organisation in Russia.

That designation was officially suspended on 17 April, when Russia’s Supreme Court approved a request from the Prosecutor General’s Office to lift the ban on the Taliban’s activities. Supreme Court Judge Oleg Nefedov confirmed the ruling would take effect immediately.

Kabulov emphasised that full legal recognition of the Taliban is necessary to enable Russian governmental bodies, private companies, and NGOs to sign valid contracts and engage in official dealings with Afghanistan. He did not elaborate on the next steps in the recognition process.

Reflecting on historical ties, Kabulov said that during the Soviet era, commercial exchanges with Afghanistan were virtually non-existent, limited mostly to humanitarian and development aid. In contrast, he argued, Russia now sees strategic incentives to engage more substantively with Afghanistan.

According to Kabulov, a stable governing authority in Kabul is vital for containing terrorism and other cross-border threats that could affect Russia and its allies. Still, he warned that the Taliban cannot maintain power indefinitely through coercion alone. He underscored the need to address Afghanistan’s deep socioeconomic challenges and to prioritise national development, particularly efforts to meet basic human needs such as food security.

According to the commission, 3105 migrants were returned from Pakistan and 1873 from Iran. The deportations took place via multiple border crossings, including Torkham, Spin Boldak, Bahramcha, Angoor Ada, Pul-e-Abrisham, and Islam Qala.

Upon arrival, the returnees reportedly received a combined total of 7 million Afghanis in assistance. The Taliban also stated that 666 of the returnees were transferred from Kabul to various provinces, including Ghazni, Balkh, Jowzjan, Baghlan, Takhar, Kunduz, Logar, Paktia, and Paktika.

The large-scale deportations come amid growing concerns over the treatment and welfare of Afghan migrants in neighbouring countries. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently reported that more than 250000 Afghans were returned from Pakistan and Iran during the month of April alone.

The agency has warned that many of those forced to return are now facing dire conditions, with a significant proportion being women and girls, who remain especially vulnerable under Afghanistan’s current socio-political climate.

Abdulhaq Emad, head of copyright at the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture said that the content of these books deemed inconsistent with Islamic Sharia, national unity, or the group’s ideological principles.

Emad made the announcement during a conference in Kabul on Wednesday. He stated that the Taliban have actively prohibited the publication, sale, and distribution of books considered incompatible with their regime.

Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban have significantly tightened censorship across Afghanistan’s publishing sector, resulting in the withdrawal of thousands of books from circulation. Titles covering political theory, philosophy, law, and social issues have been among the most targeted.

In addition to suppressing independent publications, the Taliban have also banned several university textbooks, further restricting academic freedom and access to diverse sources of knowledge within higher education institutions.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two sides explored ways to strengthen political and economic ties between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Their discussions also covered diplomatic engagement and the advancement of joint initiatives, particularly the TAPI pipeline, which is designed to transport Turkmen natural gas through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.

Muttaqi characterised relations between the two nations as “stronger than ever” and stated that the current regional environment is conducive to expanding bilateral cooperation. He reaffirmed the Taliban’s commitment to major regional development projects.

According to the ministry’s statement, Foreign Minister Meredov welcomed recent developments related to the TAPI project and outlined Turkmenistan’s plans to enhance cooperation in areas such as railway construction, trade, and regional transit. He also pledged to ease visa procedures for Afghan traders in the near future.

Both foreign ministers agreed to maintain high-level consultations aimed at accelerating implementation of the TAPI pipeline, expanding rail connectivity, enhancing electricity transmission, and deepening overall economic cooperation.

The announcement was made in a statement to Afghanistan International on Wednesday, though officials declined to disclose the level or nature of these engagements.

This development follows a recent visit to Kabul by a high-level delegation led by Adam Boehler, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and a close adviser to President Donald Trump. During the visit, Boehler met with senior Taliban officials, after which an American hostage was subsequently released.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously acknowledged that the Taliban has, over the past three years, cooperated with the United States in intelligence sharing and efforts to combat ISIS.

Despite this cooperation, Washington remains deeply concerned about advanced military equipment left behind during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. President Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of reclaiming Bagram Air Base, once one of the largest US military installations in the region.

In a separate development, the US State Department recently suspended humanitarian aid to the World Food Programme in Afghanistan. Officials cited concerns that the aid was being diverted to the Taliban, referring to the group as “terrorist Taliban” in a sharply worded statement.