Japanese Organisation To Resume Leprosy Treatment In Afghanistan After 15 Years

The governors held talks with Mohammad Nabi Omari, Deputy Minister of Interior, and Zainullah Aaber, chief of staff of Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. During the meetings, the governors presented reports on their respective provinces and briefed officials on local governance activities.

Photographs published by the Interior Ministry showed the presence of Sher Ahmad Haqqani, Governor of Laghman; Mustafa Azizullah, Deputy Governor of Nangarhar; and Mohammad Edrees Anwari, Governor of Parwan.

All appointments within the Taliban administration are made by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. However, recent reports suggest growing dissatisfaction within the ranks, particularly from Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, over what is perceived as excessive centralisation of decision-making power in Kandahar.

According to the report, 65 percent of households were directly affected, marking a 35 percent increase compared to 2023. The UN agency warns that Afghanistan is sliding further into severe economic distress, with growing inequalities disproportionately impacting women and rural communities.

The European Union delegation in Kabul echoed these concerns, noting that restrictions on women and girls imposed between 2024 and 2026 are projected to cost the Afghan economy more than $920 million.

The UNDP assessment found that nine out of ten households have lost key productive assets, sources of income, and access to employment opportunities. Many families have been forced to reduce daily consumption and cut essential expenses, significantly weakening their resilience to future shocks.

Despite these challenges, Afghanistan recorded its first positive gross domestic product (GDP) growth since 2019, with a modest 2.7 percent increase between 2023 and 2024. However, the UNDP cautioned that this recovery is fragile. The country’s trade deficit grew sharply, reaching $6.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2024, up from $5.1 billion during the same period in 2023.

The report attributed the widening deficit to declining domestic production and limited job creation, underlining Afghanistan’s continued reliance on imports and foreign aid.

It further noted that 75 percent of the population faced livelihood insecurity in 2024, a six percent rise from the previous year. Rural areas, home to 71 percent of Afghans, remain critically underserved, with limited access to healthcare, sanitation, and sustainable economic opportunities.

The report also highlighted deteriorating conditions in housing, healthcare, and access to basic goods, compounded by economic and climate-related shocks.

Women-led households, rural populations, and internally displaced persons were identified as the most affected groups, having suffered the greatest drops in income and spending. The ongoing restrictions on women’s education and employment continue to deepen gender inequality, pushing Afghan women further into poverty and social exclusion.

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.