Demand For Health Services Rising In Afghanistan, Says UN

The report, titled Drugs in Türkiye 2025, says the Balkan route, which runs from Afghanistan through Iran and Türkiye into Europe, remains the most frequently used corridor for trafficking Afghan-origin opiates. It also highlights southern and northern routes passing through Türkiye as major pathways for drug smuggling.

According to the report, Türkiye’s strategic location places it among the leading countries for seizures of Afghan-origin heroin destined for European markets, the Turkiye Interior Ministry said.

While the report does not specify the total volume of Afghan-origin drugs seized in Türkiye, available data show that more than 15 tonnes of heroin were confiscated in the country between 2022 and 2024.

The report notes that the Taliban’s return to power and their ban on poppy cultivation have reduced cultivation levels and opiate production in Afghanistan. However, it says the country remains the world’s largest supplier of illicit drugs.

According to the report, poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, recorded at 10,800 hectares in 2023, rose by 19 percent in 2024. It adds that continued strict enforcement of the Taliban’s poppy ban could have significant consequences both within Afghanistan and in major global markets for illegal opiates.

The report also identifies Afghanistan, Morocco, Pakistan and Lebanon as major global producers and suppliers of powdered cannabis, and says Afghanistan is a primary source of methamphetamine production and trafficking.

However, it does not provide specific figures on methamphetamine seizures in Türkiye linked to Afghan production.

Türkiye is a major transit country between Asia and Europe, and authorities have repeatedly warned that regional instability and drug production in Afghanistan continue to pose serious challenges for international counter-narcotics efforts.

In a statement issued on Thursday, January 8, the Afghanistan Journalists Center said the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has enforced the ban in Uruzgan province, ordering media outlets to stop publishing images and converting the provincial state television channel into a radio station.

The centre said the move is part of a broader, nationwide expansion of the policy, which now applies officially in 24 provinces. It added that new restrictions have also been imposed on the work of journalists and media organisations in Uruzgan.

According to the statement, Abdul Hai Omari, the Taliban-appointed head of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Uruzgan, instructed local media outlets during a coordination meeting on Wednesday to refrain from taking or publishing images. He cited Article 17 of the ministry’s law and warned that “violators will be considered criminals and will face legal action”.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center said enforcing the ban violates fundamental principles of freedom of expression and free media, warning that it would have serious consequences for journalists and media outlets. The organisation called on the Taliban to ensure an environment in which media can operate freely and without fear.

Under the Taliban’s law on the propagation of virtue, the publication of images of “living beings” is prohibited. In enforcing the rule, the Taliban have suspended the operations of state television channels and other local media outlets in several provinces.

International organisations have repeatedly condemned the ban and urged the Taliban to review the policy and respect freedom of expression in Afghanistan.

The Nation newspaper reported that bilateral trade fell from $1.26 billion in the first half of the 2024–25 fiscal year to $594 million in the same period of 2025–26. An official source told the newspaper the sharp decline was primarily due to the continued shutdown of border crossings between the two countries.

According to the report, Pakistan closed eight border crossing points with Afghanistan following clashes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban on October 11, 2025.

Pakistani exporters are losing an estimated $177 million per month as a result of the prolonged closures, the newspaper said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly said the crossings will remain closed until Afghanistan’s rulers provide credible, written guarantees to prevent militant attacks and take action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

Trade ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated amid rising security tensions, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban of failing to curb militant activity along the border, an allegation the Taliban deny.

Speaking on Thursday at Spain’s 2026 Ambassadors’ Conference in Madrid, Sánchez welcomed a delegation of Afghan women activists attending the annual event. He stressed the importance of giving Afghan women visibility and said that, within the framework of a feminist foreign policy, the world must not forget its responsibility toward them.

Spain’s Ambassadors’ Conference is held each year with the participation of the country’s ambassadors and senior diplomats. On the sidelines of the conference, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, is expected to present a plaque of appreciation to Fawzia Koofi in recognition of her advocacy for Afghan women’s rights.

Sánchez also inaugurated a room at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs named in honour of Afghan women and girls.

Albares said the room was dedicated as a tribute to Afghan women and girls who continue to fight for their rights and freedoms despite severe restrictions imposed by the Taliban.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghan women have faced sweeping curbs on education, employment and public life, prompting repeated condemnation from governments and rights groups worldwide.

Ehsan Niro told Afghanistan International that the Taliban were responsible for the killing of a commander known as Yousuf in Khwaja Du Koh district of Jowzjan province.

Niro said Yousuf was killed on Wednesday night, January 7, while returning home from a wedding ceremony.

Yousuf had served as a local commander in the former Afghan government’s public uprising forces and was a loyal supporter of Abdul Rashid Dostum, the leader of the National Islamic Movement Party of Afghanistan. He had taken part in numerous security operations before the Taliban returned to power, according to the spokesperson.

Niro said Yousuf fled to Iran after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 but was deported two months ago and returned to his home district. Upon his return, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban, he said.

According to Niro, Yousuf was released from Taliban custody about two weeks ago after mediation by local elders and the payment of 800,000 afghanis as bail.

The killing follows a similar incident last year. On July 22, Ezzatullah, another commander affiliated with the National Islamic Movement Party, was shot dead by gunmen near his home in Sar-e Pol province, one day after being deported from Iran.

An investigative report by Afghanistan International has found that numerous former Afghan government military personnel have been killed after being deported from Iran. The report also documents cases in which former soldiers were subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in Taliban custody.

Taliban officials have not commented on the latest killing.