UN Denies Travel Exemption For Taliban FM Ahead Of Pakistan Visit

Tokayev made the remarks during a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who arrived in Kazakhstan on Sunday, 3 August. The two leaders participated in a signing ceremony to formalise the establishment of a UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan, based in Almaty.

According to a statement from the Kazakh presidency, Tokayev said the opening of the centre highlights the region’s increasing strategic importance and marks a significant step in Kazakhstan’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations.

He stressed Kazakhstan’s ongoing support for the Afghan people, which includes humanitarian aid, education initiatives, trade facilitation, and food security programmes. He also noted that trade between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan has been steadily rising.

“We believe that peace and development in Afghanistan must go hand in hand. Human dignity and international law are inseparable and must guide all efforts towards lasting stability,” he added.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the new regional centre, Guterres echoed Tokayev’s remarks, stating that Afghanistan is an integral part of Central Asia’s future. He emphasised the urgency of the country’s humanitarian and economic crisis and said the Afghan people “deserve a better future.”

He added that the new centre could play a critical role in supporting sustainable development in Afghanistan, provided it prioritises universal values and the fundamental principles of human rights.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on 4 March 2025 to establish the regional centre in Almaty. The centre is tasked with coordinating development efforts, providing technical assistance, and implementing projects related to poverty reduction, healthcare, education, climate resilience, economic development, and water resource management across Central Asia and Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan is our Muslim neighbour. Relations with them must improve, and all matters should be resolved through discussion,” Khan wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

Currently imprisoned, Khan also used the platform to urge Pakistanis to rise up on 5 August, describing the country’s political situation as worse than during the colonial era. He compared the planned mobilisation to the significance of Pakistan’s Independence Day on 14 August 1947.

Khan further called on Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to oppose any military operations in the province, including in the tribal areas. He warned against actions that could destabilise the region, which borders Afghanistan and has historically been affected by militancy and conflict.

In a statement issued this week, the agency said it requires $216 million in 2025 to meet the needs of returning Afghans but has so far received only 28 per cent of the required funding. As a result, UNHCR has significantly reduced its assistance in areas such as shelter, livelihoods, and cash support.

According to UNHCR, more than 2 million Afghans have returned to the country this year, either voluntarily or through forced deportations, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in a nation already reeling from economic collapse, conflict, and widespread displacement.

“The scale of returns is placing immense pressure on already overstretched resources,” the agency said, noting that nearly half of Afghanistan’s population now depends on humanitarian aid.

UNHCR also reiterated earlier warnings about the risks facing returning refugees, particularly women and girls. The agency said that many returnees have reported “disturbing accounts of restrictions, harassment, and discrimination” since arriving back in Afghanistan.

The situation remains critical as deportations continue from neighbouring countries and humanitarian actors struggle to meet basic needs in the face of persistent funding shortfalls.

According to sources in Kunar, the transfers began approximately a month ago and were coordinated by a special Taliban committee in cooperation with TTP. The families were reportedly moved using military vehicles from the districts of Khas Kunar, Marawara, Dara-i-Pech (Mano Gai area), Sirkanay, and Dangam.

Residents of Khas Kunar confirmed that many of the relocated families originated from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, particularly the Bajaur and Mohmand tribal areas. One tribal elder said that around 25 TTP-affiliated families who had been living in the Wali and Shali valleys of Khas Kunar have now been transferred. However, the families of two senior TTP officials, Mullah Haidar, a financial chief, and Qari Kamran, an intelligence operative, remain in the district.

Local residents alleged that TTP officials have been collecting ushr (an Islamic tax) and financial contributions from the community. In Sirkanay’s Shungari Valley, residents confirmed the presence of TTP families, stating that while they once operated discreetly, they now move openly with weapons and vehicles.

Some relocated families, initially moved from Khost and Paktika to Ghazni, have reportedly returned due to a lack of adequate facilities in their new locations.

Earlier this year, Afghanistan International reported that dozens of TTP families had been secretly moved from the “Gulan” camp in Khost, surrounding villages, Ismail Khel district, and parts of Paktika to refugee camps in Ghazni. According to sources at the time, the Taliban provided each family member with a $40 monthly allowance, along with transportation costs and funds for basic household goods.

Under an agreement between the Taliban and TTP, relocated families were not to be photographed, registered for biometrics, or documented in any official capacity. One source involved in the process said the families agreed to move on the condition of confidentiality and continued financial support.

TTP fighters were also offered relocation options in Logar, Maidan Wardak, Kunduz, and Baghlan provinces, where Mehsud and Waziri tribal members reside, but declined, citing concerns that moving farther from the border would complicate access to military supplies.

In Ghazni, a local source said that only families of ordinary fighters have been moved to Qarabagh district, while the families of senior commanders are living in Kabul and other major cities.

Neither the Taliban administration nor TTP has issued any public comment on the reported relocations.

The men, identified as 36-year-old Zia and 33-year-old Sayed Naser, are currently detained in Connecticut and San Diego, respectively. According to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Zia is under investigation for a “serious criminal allegation” and has been deemed a “risk to national security.”

However, their attorneys told The Washington Post that both men have extensive documentation, including military records, letters of recommendation, contracts, and immigration approvals, proving their cooperation with US forces in Afghanistan and their eligibility for protection under the US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and asylum programmes.

Zia worked as an interpreter and cultural adviser for the US military from 2005 to 2009. After fleeing to Pakistan with his family in 2021, he applied for an SIV, which was approved by the US State Department in April 2024. Residing in Connecticut and nearing the final stage of obtaining his green card, Zia was arrested on 16 July and issued an immediate deportation order.

Sayed Naser, who worked as an interpreter between 2011 and 2013 before founding a logistics firm contracting with US forces, fled Afghanistan after the Taliban targeted his family. His brother was killed and his father arrested after militants failed to locate him following an attack on a family wedding in 2021. Naser travelled through Iran and Brazil before reaching Mexico, and in July 2024 was granted entry to the US on a humanitarian visa. He was arrested during his first asylum hearing in June this year.

The Department of Homeland Security claims there is no evidence that Naser worked with US forces. His attorney disputes this, stating that extensive records proving his service have been submitted.

Matt Zeller, a US Army veteran and long-time advocate for Afghan allies, criticised the arrests: “The Trump administration knows what’s going to happen to these folks. They’re not stupid. They understand that the Taliban is going to kill them when they get back to Afghanistan.”

Andrew Sullivan, another US Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, called the detentions “another betrayal” by a government that has also ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans.

Jill Marie Bussey, director of legal affairs at Global Refuge, said the crackdown on Afghan migrants is part of a broader immigration directive by the Trump administration, which reportedly mandates that immigration enforcement agencies detain at least 3,000 individuals per day.

A White House spokesperson defended the administration’s immigration policies, saying its top priority is “arresting and removing the dangerous, violent, illegal criminal aliens that Joe Biden let flood across our southern border, of which there are many.”

Advocates have warned that deporting individuals like Zia and Naser could be tantamount to handing them a death sentence under Taliban rule.