More Than One Million Added To Afghanistan’s Poor Under Taliban Rule, Says UN

Speaking on Thursday, May 14, at the 21st meeting of security council secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Shoigu stressed the need to counter terrorism and drug trafficking threats linked to Afghanistan.

He claimed the Taliban are engaged in armed conflict with Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).

Shoigu said Russian Security Council data indicates ISIS currently has around 3,000 members in Afghanistan. He added that the group carried out 12 major terrorist attacks in 2025, killing 40 military personnel and 25 civilians, while injuring more than 50 others.

The Russian official also warned of an increasing influx of Uyghur, Tajik and Uzbek militants from Syria into Afghanistan, involving groups formerly linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

He said Taliban security agencies had increased monitoring of radical groups entering Afghanistan but added that the Taliban were still unable to fully control some Islamist militants operating in the country.

Shoigu also claimed Taliban authorities had made significant efforts to combat drug trafficking. According to him, opium poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan have fallen by 90 per cent since the Taliban returned to power.

However, he said production of synthetic narcotics, including methamphetamine, had increased, with more than 30 tones seized along Afghanistan’s borders with neighbouring countries in 2025.

He added that around four million people in Afghanistan remain involved in cultivating narcotic crops because of severe economic conditions.

During the meeting, Shoigu also said Western countries had frozen around $590 billion in assets belonging to Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Libya and Afghanistan.

He added that world leaders would likely reconsider the safety of keeping national reserves in Western countries.

According to Russia’s TASS, Shoigu made the remarks during a meeting with President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov,and security council secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

He said participants should exchange views on global and regional crises with a direct impact on security, including the ongoing instability in Afghanistan, alongside the conflicts in Ukraine and the war involving Iran.

Shoigu said he intended to discuss a number of practical initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperation in this area.

He said he believed these initiatives would strengthen the organisation’s international standing and demonstrate that member states follow an independent foreign policy.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which includes countries surrounding Afghanistan, has repeatedly warned in recent years about the consequences of insecurity and the activities of extremist groups in the country.

The European Union said in a post on X on Thursday, May 14, that it remained concerned about the situation of Afghan citizens, referring to a recent report by the United Nations Development Programme on the country’s humanitarian challenges.

The UNDP report said an unprecedented return of refugees, drought and declining aid had pushed Afghanistan deeper into crisis.

The report, published on May 13, stated that around 28 million people in Afghanistan were living in poverty in 2025 and that more than 80 per cent of households were in debt.

Over the past four years, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s work and girls’ education, showing no sign of easing those measures.

Three Kabul residents told Afghanistan International that after the explosions, the sound of warplanes and drones patrolling the skies above the city could be heard.

One resident said: “At around 3:25am, we heard gunfire followed by an explosion.” Another source also confirmed that “two powerful explosions” had occurred.

As of publication, Taliban authorities had not commented on the incident, and the exact cause of the explosions or any possible casualties and damage remained unclear.

According to the commission, the discussion took place during a meeting with the head of inspection at the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

The commission said the Taliban promised cooperation and a “serious follow-up” on the matter, adding that officials had pledged to share the results of their investigation and any actions taken.

Afghanistan International reported on Monday, May 11, that Taliban morality officers had subjected Ayatollah Sharifi to “physical and insulting treatment” in Kabul.

Local sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban morality officers transferred the Shia cleric to Kabul’s District 18 police station and physically assaulted him.

According to the sources, the Taliban mistreated Sharifi because he had officiated the marriage of a couple before their wedding ceremony took place.

The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has not officially commented on the meeting with the Shia Commission or the reports concerning the treatment of the cleric.

The Taliban have consistently claimed that the rights of all ethnic and religious groups in Afghanistan are protected under “Islamic law”, though international organisations and human rights groups have repeatedly challenged those claims.

Over the past five years, the Taliban have repeatedly detained, pressured and harassed Shia clerics and community elders for various reasons.