Taliban Reshuffles District Officials Across Badakhshan After Yaftal Attack

OCHA said on Monday, 20 July, that millions of mothers in Afghanistan continue striving to protect the health and future of their children despite the risk of malnutrition.

The agency stressed that supporting these mothers and children is essential to prevent the malnutrition crisis from worsening.

It added that investing in malnutrition prevention and treatment programmes would not only save lives, but also reduce healthcare costs, strengthen the economy and help break the cycle of malnutrition for future generations.

According to UN estimates, 3.7 million children under the age of five in Afghanistan are at risk this year.

Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières aka Doctors Without Borders said the number of children with severe malnutrition admitted to its supported treatment centres in southern Afghanistan during the first four months of this year was more than 30 per cent higher than the average for the same period over the previous three years.

The organisation said cuts in international aid were among the factors worsening Afghanistan’s malnutrition crisis.

In response, officials from the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation asked the Taliban central bank to provide the necessary facilities to expand support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Taliban central bank said on Monday, 20 July, that its deputy governor, Sediqullah Khalid, met Dirk Joseph Thyssen, deputy head of the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation, in Kabul.

According to the bank’s statement, the two sides discussed facilitating small guarantees, increasing grants and expanding technical cooperation.

The central bank said the meeting also focused on effective measures to improve citizens’ access to small and medium-sized financing.

The Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation is a non-profit development organisation established to support Afghanistan’s private sector. Its main role is to provide credit guarantees to banks and financial institutions so that micro, small and medium-sized businesses can more easily access loans.

Thyssen asked the Taliban central bank to provide the necessary facilities to expand financing for small and medium-sized institutions.

He also called for greater technical cooperation between the central bank and financial institutions, the implementation of joint programmes and the signing of memorandums of understanding to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation does not lend directly to individuals or companies. Instead, it provides guarantees to banks so they can offer loans to businesses.

The foundation was established in 2014 with support from the German government, building on a programme launched in 2004 with backing from Germany and the United States to improve Afghan businesses’ access to bank credit.

The Taliban central bank said both sides stressed the importance of continued cooperation to expand financial inclusion, support the private sector and further strengthen Afghanistan’s financial and banking sectors.

Terje Watterdal, country director of the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee, said at a meeting in Kabul on Sunday, 19 July, that more action was needed to support people with disabilities and that their dignity and human rights must be fully respected.

Watterdal said efforts should focus on the abilities and talents of people with disabilities rather than their limitations.

Referring to the consequences of decades of war in Afghanistan, he said serving the population, particularly people with disabilities, was a shared responsibility.

The meeting on supporting education for people with disabilities was held in Kabul on Sunday with representatives from several national and international organisations and institutions supporting people with disabilities.

Taliban officials said the meeting aimed to create educational opportunities for people with disabilities, improve the quality of technical and vocational training, explore ways to empower them and strengthen cooperation.

Mawlawi Ghulam Saeed Ehsas, deputy head of the Taliban’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority, said providing educational opportunities for all sections of society, especially people with disabilities, was one of the authority’s main priorities.

According to figures from the Taliban-run authority, the number of special education centres in Afghanistan has reached 36.

The authority says the expansion of these centres has enabled more people with disabilities to access technical and vocational training.

The Norwegian Afghanistan Committee is a non-governmental aid organisation that has worked in Afghanistan since 1980.

It operates in areas including health services, education, support for people with disabilities, rural development and humanitarian assistance. The organisation has previously said it provides services according to humanitarian principles and without political considerations.

Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest numbers of people with disabilities because of more than four decades of war.

According to UN estimates, about 1.5 million people in the country live with significant disabilities.

International organisations say remnants of war, including landmines and unexploded ordnance, along with disease, road accidents and limited access to healthcare, are among the main causes of disability in Afghanistan.

The Helmand governor’s press office said on Sunday, 19 July, that the seized consignments included 5,722kg of medicines for human use and 1,160kg of agricultural medicines.

The Taliban did not specify which country the medicines had been imported from. Local Taliban officials said the consignments were destroyed following a court order.

A large part of formal trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been suspended for about a year. As a result, some people have tried to move essential goods between the two countries through smuggling routes.

The continued closure of border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan has also led to higher prices for some goods in both countries.

According to the sources, Mohammad Ali Tofan, a former security forces member, was killed by unidentified gunmen on Thursday evening.

The body of Qadir Ali Rafat, a tribal elder in Ghazni, was also found after he had been missing for 24 hours. Sources said his body showed signs of torture and injuries.

Local residents said Tofan had no personal dispute with anyone. After the fall of the former government, he remained in Afghanistan, trusting Taliban’s declaration of a general amnesty.

According to available information, Taliban intelligence detained him about two years ago on suspicion of cooperating with the National Resistance Front.

He spent time in Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul and Bagram prison in Parwan. He was released about five months ago, returned to Shahristan district in Daikundi and worked in farming and agriculture.

He had six children, the eldest of whom is a 27-year-old son.

In a separate incident, local sources in Ghazni said Rafat, a tribal elder from Qarabagh district, left his home by motorcycle on Thursday morning, July 16, heading towards the Aliabad Tamaki market and then disappeared.

According to the sources, local residents found his body after searching for him for 24 hours.

The attackers reportedly tortured him before killing him.

The motives and perpetrators behind the two killings remain unknown. The Taliban have not commented on the two incidents.