A diplomatic source told Afghanistan International that Bangladeshi diplomat Rabab Fatima has been appointed the UN secretary-general’s new special representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). She succeeds Roza Otunbayeva.
Roza Otunbayeva’s mandate ended in September last year. During her final briefing to the UN Security Council, she highlighted Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, women’s rights and the country’s urgent needs, while calling for increased assistance and changes to Taliban policies.
The appointment comes after the UN Security Council voted on Monday, 16 June 16, to extend UNAMA’s mandate for another year. The resolution, introduced by China, was adopted unanimously with 15 votes in favour.
Rabab Fatima has previously served as president of the UNICEF Executive Board, president of the UN Women Executive Board and vice-president of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Pakistan’s military spokesman says 42 security personnel and 54 militants were killed in four days of clashes in Balochistan, accusing the Afghan Taliban of sheltering and funding armed groups.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said three major attacks had taken place in Balochistan and Karachi over the previous four days. He blamed the Pakistani Taliban for an attack on a Rangers headquarters in Karachi.
He said four attackers were involved, three of whom were Afghan citizens.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of supporting insurgents, an allegation the Taliban has consistently denied.
According to Chaudhry, the first attack occurred on Saturday evening, 4 July, in Babri, Balochistan. He claimed Pakistani Taliban fighters attacked local residents and that four militants were killed and six others wounded in the ensuing clash.
Pakistan’s military said the second attack targeted a police checkpoint in Ziarat on Monday, 6 July. It said nine Pakistani police officers and 15 militants were killed.
Chaudhry added that the attackers took 18 local police officers hostage while retreating and killed all of them after security forces surrounded the area. He said a total of 27 police officers and 26 militants were killed in the subsequent operation.
Pakistani Taliban Claims Attack on Police Centre in Balochistan
The military spokesman said the third attack took place on Wednesday, 8 July, in the Bela- Winder area, where members of the Baloch Liberation Army attacked a security forces convoy.
According to Chaudhry, 11 Pakistani soldiers and 14 militants were killed in the incident.
The Pakistani official also claimed that the recent attacks in Karachi, Balochistan and other areas were not isolated incidents, but part of a coordinated campaign involving shared leadership and logistical networks.
He also backed the deportation of undocumented Afghan refugees, saying armed groups opposed the policy because it weakened their support networks.
Taliban Agriculture Minister Attaullah Omari met India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, in New Delhi on Wednesday for talks on bilateral relations and development cooperation.
Following the meeting, Margherita said the two sides had held positive discussions on relations between India and Afghanistan.
In a post on X, he said the talks focused on ongoing cooperation for welfare and development of the people of Afghanistan.
Omari arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday at the head of a delegation. The visit is part of the Taliban’s efforts to expand relations with India.
Taliban ministers of foreign affairs, commerce and public health have previously travelled separately to India and met Indian officials.
The visits come as the Taliban’s relations with Pakistan, its former ally, have become severely strained. The two sides have faced serious border and security tensions in recent months.
India has not recognised the Taliban administration, but it has increased its diplomatic and economic presence in Afghanistan.
One year ago, on 8 July 2025, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
The ICC said the two senior Taliban officials were being sought over their alleged role in systematic persecution on gender and political grounds against women, girls and others in Afghanistan.
The warrants were issued on the basis of extensive evidence of systematic policies of gender-based persecution targeting women, girls and opponents.
The ICC said there were reasonable grounds to believe that, from 15 August 2021 onwards, the two senior Taliban officials played a role through decrees, rulings and official policies in systematically depriving women and girls of fundamental rights, including education, work, freedom of movement, expression and belief.
The court said these actions amounted to gender-based persecution and crimes against humanity.
The case was built on reports by human rights organisations, statements from witnesses and victims, media records and official Taliban decrees.
After reviewing the evidence, the court’s prosecutor concluded that Taliban policies were not isolated or local decisions, but an organised and deliberate policy aimed at systematically removing women from public life.
These policies included bans on girls’ education, restrictions on women’s employment, severe limits on freedom of movement, and the suppression of protesters and civil society activists.
As the ultimate decision-maker within the Taliban structure, Hibatullah Akhundzada bears primary responsibility for these policies.
The Taliban immediately rejected the warrants and said it did not recognise the court in The Hague.
By contrast, figures including Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan; Heather Barr, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai; and Afghan activists welcomed the decision and described it as an important step towards justice.
Despite issuing the warrants, the ICC has no enforcement force of its own, and responsibility for carrying them out rests with countries that are parties to the Rome Statute.
To date, the warrants have not been enforced because the Taliban leaders have not left Afghanistan and the group maintains full control over Kandahar.
One year after the warrants were issued, no arrests have been made. However, the warrants remain valid and continue to carry legal and political consequences for the Taliban’s international relations.
Two senior UN officials visiting Afghanistan have urged Western countries to maintain constructive engagement with the country to help prevent renewed instability. They said continued engagement and support could contribute to Afghanistan’s security and stability.
Barham Salih, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Alexander De Croo, head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), made the remarks during a joint visit to Afghanistan, warning that ignoring the country could carry serious risks.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Salih said experience had shown that ignoring Afghanistan is not the right decision.
He said engagement, support and encouragement of sound policies could help preserve security and stability in Afghanistan.
The UN official warned that renewed instability could lead to increased drug trafficking, extremism, organised crime and further waves of migration and displacement, affecting both the region and the wider world.
The two UN officials said the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including the ban on girls’ education beyond primary school and limits on women’s employment, remain among the international community’s biggest concerns.
Salih and De Croo said they had raised these issues with Taliban officials and believed continued engagement could encourage reforms and support the development of a more inclusive system.
The officials stressed that disengagement from Afghanistan could impose greater costs on the international community.
“You cannot ignore Afghanistan. What happens in Afghanistan does not necessarily stay in Afghanistan,” Salih said.
The United Nations believes continued international engagement, targeted assistance and efforts to create economic opportunities can help reduce the country’s crises and prevent renewed instability.
While the two officials emphasised economic opportunities and engagement with the Taliban, several Western countries have adopted a pragmatic approach by maintaining contacts with the group through what they describe as technical discussions.
Other governments and Western lawmakers, however, remain concerned that such engagement could legitimise the Taliban, citing the group’s growing restrictions on women and girls.
Return of Millions of Migrants Adds Pressure
After four decades of conflict, Afghanistan continues to face severe economic and humanitarian challenges.
UN officials said nearly six million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan, since 2023, with another two million expected to return this year.
The large-scale returns have placed additional pressure on local communities already struggling with poverty, limited resources and food insecurity.
De Croo said: “In Afghanistan, crises rarely arrive one at a time. One crisis is almost always layered on top of another.”
Declining Aid and Economic Challenges
The UN officials also warned about the consequences of declining international assistance.
According to the head of UNDP, 422 health centres have closed across Afghanistan over the past year because of funding shortages, leaving more than three million people without access to basic healthcare.
The World Food Programme has also said that funding cuts have limited its ability to assist many children suffering from severe malnutrition.
Decline in Drug Production
Despite the challenges, the UN officials pointed to some areas of progress.
De Croo said security, anti-corruption efforts and the reduction of drug production had improved in some respects.
He said Afghanistan’s illicit drug production, once among the world’s largest sources of opium and heroin, had fallen by around 95 per cent.
However, he warned that without support for farmers and viable alternative crops, there was a risk that poppy cultivation could return.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the head of UNDP arrived in Kabul on Sunday. During their visit, they travelled to Nangarhar and Mazar-e-Sharif, where they met survivors of the recent earthquake, returning migrants and Afghan women.
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to recognise and support Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team. He warned that the players remain in exile and their funding is due to end in August.
Richard Bennett wrote on X on Wednesday that, following FIFA’s support for Afghan women footballers, the International Cricket Council should find a similar solution.
He wrote: “Recognition & sustained support- nothing less.” The UN special rapporteur made the appeal as the ICC’s annual meeting opened in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The four-day meeting, running from Wednesday until Saturday, will discuss key issues including officiating systems and applications for new membership.
Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team was established in 2010 but lost its official national status after the Taliban returned to power. Most of the players fled Afghanistan, and a number of them are now living in Australia.