2 In 3 Afghan Provinces Hit By Drought, Says UN

Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said enemies of Pakistan were present in Afghanistan and plotting to destabilise the country, urging the Muslim world and the international community to take Islamabad’s concerns seriously.

He said the Pakistani public and armed forces would stand together against what he described as a wave of terrorism and would defeat it again, as in the past.

Ashrafi made the remarks in response to a series of militant attacks attributed to the Baloch Liberation Army.

The group carried out a series of coordinated assaults across multiple cities in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Saturday, according to officials and media reports.

Ashrafi said the Taliban’s interim administration in Afghanistan was supporting militants instead of eliminating them and had taken no effective action. He called the situation unacceptable and urged what he described as responsible figures in Afghanistan to address the issue.

He also said the people of Pakistan stood alongside their armed forces and that both the Pakistani Taliban and the Baloch Liberation Army would be defeated.

The violence followed an earlier attack on the Jaffar Express train on the Quetta–Peshawar route in March 2025 and is considered one of the largest actions by Baloch separatists in recent years.

According to Agence France-Presse, armed attackers using firearms and hand grenades carried out nearly a dozen coordinated assaults early Saturday in southern Pakistan, targeting a high-security prison, police posts and paramilitary facilities.

According to the report, cannabis accounts for 46 percent of drug use among Afghan men, followed by opium at 19 percent, K-tablets at 11 percent and methamphetamine, also known as crystal meth, at 7 percent.

In the report published Sunday, UNODC said patterns of drug use in Afghanistan continue to be dominated by traditional narcotics, while the use of synthetic drugs and the misuse of opioid medicines are also increasing.

The findings form the third and final volume of the National Drug Use Survey in Afghanistan, prepared by UNODC with support from the United Nations Development Programme.

The report said that for many users, the cost of obtaining drugs exceeds their daily income.

The assessment comes as the Taliban have repeatedly claimed they have eliminated drug cultivation, production and trafficking in Afghanistan and reduced them to near zero. The United Nations has previously confirmed a decline in drug cultivation but said the use of synthetic drugs has increased by about 50 percent.

In April 2022, the Taliban announced a ban on the cultivation, purchase and sale of poppy under a decree attributed to their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.

UN Flags Gaps in Treatment Services

While Taliban authorities regularly report on efforts to treat people with drug addiction, the United Nations says serious gaps remain in the availability, access, quality and gender coverage of treatment services.

UNODC said nearly two-thirds of treatment centres in Afghanistan provide services only to men. Just 17.1 percent of centres are dedicated to women, and in the 32 provinces surveyed, only slightly more than one-third offer services for women.

The United Nations has previously estimated there are about 4 million drug users in Afghanistan, including women, who make up around 35 percent of users.

The report also pointed to shortages of trained specialists and infrastructure for treating people with drug addiction.

The Taliban periodically publish figures saying addicts have been discharged from treatment centres after recovery.

The UN report said many people struggling with addiction link continued drug use to poverty, unemployment and severe economic pressure.

The Taliban have banned drug cultivation and trafficking and have rounded up people with addiction. Reports indicate that many resume drug use after leaving treatment centres.

According to reports, some people have been forced into treatment without consent or psychological counselling, with allegations of harsh conditions, food deprivation and a lack of specialised services. Taliban officials have not yet commented on the latest UN findings.

Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban’s minister of higher education, made the remarks while addressing a graduation ceremony for students at a religious school in Paktia province. He said all laws and rulings issued by the Taliban administration are “religious and Islamic”.

His comments come amid widespread reactions to the Taliban’s new penal code.

Critics say the code is among the group’s latest efforts to institutionalise its preferred judicial system, which they warn could expand discrimination, repression and human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Nadeem, however, said the code is based on “Islamic law and Quranic rulings”. He added that anyone who questions the code could ask a mosque imam whether the law is rooted in Hanafi jurisprudence and the Quran.

Under the penal code, the Taliban describe their opponents as “rebels” and provide for the death penalty in such cases. The code also includes references to “slaves” in several provisions, which critics say amounts to recognition of slavery under Taliban rule. Articles 4 and 15 of the code address issues related to slavery and associated rights.

He said the long shared border between the two countries allows traffickers to “sometimes take advantage”.

Tajik border authorities said on January 30 that they had clashed with a group of armed individuals along the border with Afghanistan. Tajik officials said the men were smugglers and that three of them were killed in the confrontation.

Speaking to Afghanistan’s state-run Radio and Television, which is under Taliban control, Mujahid said the Taliban is trying to address border issues and prevent drug trafficking.

He added that the Taliban authorities and Tajikistan are “coordinated” and that smuggling would be prevented in the future.

Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said several weapons were seized from the smugglers in the recent clash, along with four bags containing 73 packages of hashish and opium.

Shida Mohammad Abdali, who was appointed by Afghanistan’s former government, said he was leaving Tokyo “with deep sadness” and was proud to have kept the national flag flying over the embassy until the final moment.

The embassy had continued to operate under diplomats appointed by the previous Afghan administration. It recently announced it would suspend activities following consultations with Japan’s foreign ministry.

According to the embassy, all political, economic, cultural and consular activities of the Afghan mission in Tokyo will be halted from January 31 until further notice.

Abdali expressed hope that the national flag would continue to fly at the embassy until a legitimate Afghan representative is appointed.

Some ambassadors and diplomats from Afghanistan’s former government have refused to cooperate with the Taliban or hand over diplomatic missions to the current authorities.

Japan is among countries that maintain engagement with the Taliban while continuing to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. Japan’s embassy in Kabul remains operational, but Tokyo has not recognised the Taliban administration or transferred control of Afghanistan’s embassy to the group.