Afghans Without Criminal Records Face Deportation From Germany, Says German Media

Kazakhstan Today reported that Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin met Mohammad Ismail Ghazanfar, chairman of Afghanistan’s Ghazanfar Bank, on Wednesday to discuss expanding banking and trade cooperation.

During the meeting, Zhumangarin said reliable banking infrastructure is essential to increasing bilateral trade and ensuring regular, uninterrupted payments between companies in both countries.

According to the report, two Kazakh banks currently maintain correspondent banking relationships with Afghan banks.

Cross-border payments between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan reached nearly $300 million in 2025, marking a 26 per cent increase compared with the previous year. Payments for goods and services also increased fivefold over the same period.

Trade between the two countries reached $342.4 million during the first four months of 2026, 2.3 times higher than in the same period last year. Of that amount, $338.5 million consisted of Kazakhstan’s exports to Afghanistan.

Higher exports of wheat, flour, sunflower oil and other goods were among the main factors driving the growth in bilateral trade.

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).

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.

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.

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.