Hunger Is Spreading Rapidly Across Afghanistan, Says WFP

“We must do all we can to ensure no US money is going to the Taliban,” Risch said in a post on X.

He said the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee will take up the issue at its first working session of 2026, scheduled for January 29.

Risch, a senior conservative figure in the US Senate, plays a prominent role on the foreign relations committee.

Concerns about US funds reaching the Taliban have been raised repeatedly by lawmakers. In 2024, Tim Burchett, a member of the US House of Representatives, said in a formal memo that allowing even a single cent of US taxpayer money to reach the Taliban or other terrorist groups would be unacceptable.

The conference, titled Future Outlook: Political System, Social Justice, Sustainable Development, and Afghanistan’s Position in the Region and the World, aims to assess the country’s current situation and explore possible scenarios for the years ahead.

Organisers said the gathering is intended to create space for dialogue and academic reflection on Afghanistan’s political system, social justice, sustainable development, and its regional and global role.

Masoud Tarashtawal, one of the organisers, told Afghanistan International that the main objective is to provide an in-depth, academic and expert analysis of the most pressing challenges and prospects facing Afghanistan. He said he hoped the outcomes would serve as a reference point for future state-building and nation-building efforts.

Tarashtawal stressed that decisions about Afghanistan’s future must be shaped through dialogue and acceptance of differing views. He said the expression of the people’s will through elections is fundamental and that, without elections and a constitution, it is not possible to speak of a functioning state.

He added that a proposed plan for Afghanistan’s future would be presented at the conclusion of the conference, noting that imported models had failed to resolve the country’s challenges in the past and that any new approach must be grounded in Afghanistan’s realities.

Also addressing the conference, Mohammad Asif Zaeefi, head of the Afghanistan Trust and Stability movement, said the main purpose of the meeting was to reach a shared understanding of past failures, assess the current situation and chart a course for Afghanistan’s future.

The group also said that they arrested two people on suspicion of attempting to smuggle the equipment out of the country.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the ministry said at least 286 military cameras were discovered during an operation in Nimruz and were being transported in a passenger vehicle intended to cross into Iran.

The ministry said two suspects were detained in connection with the alleged smuggling attempt. Following preliminary investigations, the suspects were handed over to the Nimruz Counterterrorism Directorate for further questioning.

The Taliban did not provide additional details about the origin of the cameras or their intended use.

According to sources within the Taliban Ministry of Finance, the Taliban plan to permanently dismiss these women and replace them with male members of their families.

Several female employees of the Ministry of Finance told Afghanistan International on Thursday, that after the ban on women’s employment was imposed, they had continued to receive a monthly payment of 5,000 afghanis. They said authorities have now decided to remove them from their posts entirely.

The women criticised the decision, warning that female breadwinners would face severe economic hardship if the payments are cut.

Sources said the move is part of a broader plan by the Taliban to eliminate positions previously allocated to women within the ministry and fill them with male staff.

The Taliban Ministry of Finance has not issued an official comment on the reported decision.

Last year, the ministry confirmed it was paying a monthly stipend of 5,000 afghanis to some female employees who had been forced to remain at home following restrictions on women’s employment.

He said that Pakistan’s enemies are supporting the Pakistani Taliban through Afghan territory.

Speaking on Friday at a meeting with religious scholars, Sharif said Pakistan’s long-standing wound of terrorism had reopened and that hostile forces were aiding the TTP via the Afghan Taliban.

He said that while Afghan Taliban representatives deny links with the TTP in direct talks, Islamabad possesses solid and documented evidence showing that resources and facilities are being provided to the group through Afghanistan.

Sharif described the alleged alliance between the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban as one of the most alarming consequences of the current situation, adding that just as Pakistan defeated militants in 2018, it would confront them again.

Referring to the armed forces, the prime minister said Pakistan’s military had consolidated its position as a major regional power and had delivered what he called a historic lesson to India last year. He also stressed the need for national unity and internal cohesion to address Pakistan’s security challenges.

The Afghan Taliban have consistently denied cooperating with the TTP. After clashes between the two sides and the failure of several rounds of talks mediated by Doha, Istanbul and Saudi Arabia, Taliban leaders, under pressure from those countries, said at a meeting in Kabul that they oppose the use of Afghan soil by foreign militants to attack other countries, without explicitly naming Pakistan.

Taliban spokesmen have also said individuals they describe as Waziristani migrants have been relocated from border areas to other parts of Afghanistan. The group denies an organised TTP presence in the country, describing the individuals as Pakistani migrants.

Pakistani officials, however, have repeatedly said such measures are insufficient and have called on the Afghan Taliban to provide clear, written guarantees to prevent militant attacks against Pakistan.