Humanitarian Situation In Afghanistan Remains Dire, Says Russia

No Taliban official attended the former emir’s official funeral on Sunday, an absence that prompted speculation about a possible cooling of relations between the two sides.

The Taliban Foreign Ministry announced Muttaqi’s visit to Doha in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Muttaqi offered his condolences to Qatar’s current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, over the death of former emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

During the visit, Muttaqi also held talks with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister; Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani, deputy prime minister and defence minister; and Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, minister of state at the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

The World Health Organization published its weekly polio report on Wednesday, July 15. According to the report, Afghanistan has recorded 11 polio cases since the beginning of 2026.

The United Nations said two of the new cases were detected in Nangarhar province, one in Helmand and another in Herat.

The report also shows that Pakistan has recorded fewer polio cases than Afghanistan this year.

Since the start of 2026, Pakistan has reported three polio cases, while Afghanistan’s total is nearly four times higher.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus has not been completely eradicated.

Despite vaccination campaigns in both countries, the WHO’s latest figures show that Afghanistan has recorded more infections this year.

Experts have cited Taliban restrictions on vaccination campaigns, including the ban on door-to-door vaccinations in many areas, as factors increasing the risk of the virus spreading in Afghanistan.

Official figures show that 21 polio cases were reported in Afghanistan last year, compared with 31 in Pakistan.

According to a statement from the Taliban governor’s office in Nangarhar, Iran’s consul general in Jalalabad also attended the meeting. The two sides discussed strengthening cooperation between local authorities in Nangarhar and Iran.

The talks covered trade facilitation, cooperation in agriculture and healthcare, educational programmes, academic scholarships and capacity-building for local government staff.

Several Nangarhar provincial officials, including heads of local government departments, also attended the meeting.

Nangarhar is considered one of Afghanistan’s key provinces for regional economic ties because of its strategic location along major trade routes in the east of the country. In recent years, Iran has sought to expand its political and economic relations with Afghanistan across a range of sectors.

With trade ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan disrupted, Iran has become Afghanistan’s leading economic partner under Taliban rule.

Informed sources in Ghor said on Wednesday that Taliban intelligence officers had arrested at least six people from their homes in the village of Atus Sofla and others from their workplaces in Firozkoh, the provincial capital.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Taliban forces arrived in military vehicles, raided the homes of those detained and took them into custody.

The Afghanistan Green Trend also said in a statement that Taliban intelligence had arrested dozens of young people in Ghor, particularly in Firozkoh, on suspicion of belonging to the movement’s Green Unit. It warned that those detained could face physical and psychological torture.

According to the sources, the Afghanistan Green Trend had previously carried out a rocket attack on a Taliban checkpoint in Dawlat Yar district of Ghor. They said those responsible escaped, after which the Taliban began arresting former members of the Green Trend instead.

On July 8, Afghanistan Green Trend, led by former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, released a video claiming responsibility for an attack on Taliban forces in the market area of Dawlat Yar district.

One source said about 20 local elders visited the office of the Taliban governor on Wednesday to demand the detainees’ release. According to the source, local Taliban officials claimed they were unaware of the arrests.

A resident of Ghor said at least three of those detained had worked for the former Afghan government in the departments of agriculture and livestock, labour and social affairs, and the National Bank. He said they were arrested at their workplaces.

The Taliban has not officially commented on the arrests.

Sources said the detainees had been taken to an unknown location, and their families had received no information about their whereabouts or condition.

In its statement, the Afghanistan Green Trend said it was monitoring what it described as Taliban crime, but it did not confirm whether those arrested were members of the movement.

The Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group and the Humanitarian Access Working Group published the report on Wednesday, examining the impact of Taliban restrictions on women working in aid organisations.

The findings are based on a survey of 122 humanitarian organisations operating across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. The report identifies funding cuts, the dismissal of female staff, tighter operational restrictions and acceptance of Taliban conditions for women’s employment as its main findings.

It shows that the highest levels of restrictions on humanitarian organisations and female staff were reported in a handful of provinces.

Herat reported the highest rate at 36%, followed by Kabul with 31%, Nangarhar with 22%, Kandahar with 20% and Kunar with 17%.

The report presents the findings of the fifteenth round of the Gender in Humanitarian Action and Humanitarian Access Working Group survey.

It found that 56 percent of organisations had dismissed Afghan female employees because of funding cuts, while 46 percent said women could no longer attend offices as they had previously.

The report highlights that the education and health sectors have been most affected by restrictions preventing women from working. It also found that 45 percent of organisations were still trying to continue operations with both female and male staff.

Some 16% of women employed by aid organisations are now working from home following Taliban restrictions, while 61% of organisations said female staff required a male guardian to accompany them on work-related travel.

The Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group is a humanitarian coordination mechanism bringing together the United Nations, international and national NGOs, and other humanitarian organisations in Afghanistan.

The Humanitarian Access Working Group coordinates issues related to humanitarian access among the UN, NGOs and other humanitarian actors.

According to the survey, 49% of organisations said their female staff had experienced increased anxiety and security concerns because of Taliban restrictions on movement and dress.

Some organisations also reported that women were being stopped by officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice while travelling to work.

Earlier, UN Women warned that cuts in international aid were pushing organisations supporting women in crisis-affected countries, including Afghanistan, to the brink of closure.