The United Nations and research organisation REACH warned in a new assessment published on Thursday, 27 August, that persistent hunger, displacement and drought are severely threatening the mental health of people in Afghanistan.
According to the report, 21.9 million people in Afghanistan are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
The analytical assessment, republished on the UN humanitarian website ReliefWeb, says 45 per cent of Afghanistan’s population is facing a severe humanitarian crisis in 2026.
Severe food insecurity is a major factor. An estimated 17.4 million people are expected to face acute hunger, including 4.7 million in emergency conditions, more than twice the number recorded last year.
At the same time, drought linked to the La Niña weather phenomenon has severely affected 12 provinces and directly impacted 3.4 million people.
La Niña is a climate phenomenon whose effects on Afghanistan include sharply reduced snowfall and rainfall and unusually high temperatures during winter and spring. The resulting depletion of groundwater and reduced river flows have intensified drought and directly harmed agriculture, livestock and access to drinking water.
Mental Health Risks for Vulnerable Groups
Mental health and psychosocial support analysts said repeated shocks caused by loss of income, displacement and severe restrictions on women and girls have placed unprecedented psychological pressure on Afghan society.
Children, women, people with disabilities, older people and displaced communities are experiencing the highest levels of psychological vulnerability under these conditions.
Pressure From Returnees and Unexploded Ordnance
Another factor increasing pressure is the unprecedented return of more than 2.61 million Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan during 2025 alone, placing additional strain on basic services and host communities.
The danger from unexploded ordnance also remains significant, with an average of 50 people killed or wounded every month in Afghanistan by explosive remnants.
According to the report, humanitarian organisations plan to assist 17.5 million of the most vulnerable people in 2026 with a budget of $1.71 billion.
The planned assistance includes food, shelter, healthcare, drinking water and mental health and psychosocial support.
Two former prisoners from Herat Central Prison told Afghanistan International that severe overcrowding, delays in food distribution and difficulty accessing water and basic necessities are among the prison’s main problems.
They also said they met prisoners who claimed they had been tortured in Taliban detention facilities to extract confessions before being transferred to the central prison.
The accounts of the two sources are based on what they personally observed while imprisoned.
Overcrowded Rooms
The former prisoners said Herat Central Prison does not have the capacity to accommodate nearly 3,000 inmates, resulting in severe overcrowding. In some rooms, between 60 and 100 prisoners are held together.
One former prisoner said the prison mosque was the only area with more open space. They said sick prisoners, elderly people, people with disabilities and those who had recently undergone surgery were also kept in the same overcrowded conditions.
The Taliban said in September last year that more than 2,700 people, including 350 women and 100 children, were being held in Herat prison. According to the group, prisoners have access to educational programmes and health services supported by international organisations.
Delays in Food Distribution and Difficulty Accessing Water
One former prisoner said lunch was usually distributed between 2 pm and 3 pm, while the evening meal also sometimes arrived late.
According to him, many prisoners were forced to buy cake, biscuits and other food from the prison shop between meals. He said the situation was more difficult for sick and elderly prisoners and those who had no money.
The source also said that each room had a prisoner known as the “room chief” who was responsible for distributing rations, and that in some cases not all the bread allocated to prisoners was handed out. He said some of the leftover bread was later sold.
One of the former prisoners said access to water was also difficult. He said empty water bottles were collected, preventing prisoners from storing water in them. As a result, those who could afford it had to repeatedly buy bottled water.
Prisoners Forced to Buy Slippers Repeatedly
According to the two former prisoners, bringing shoes or slippers into the prison from outside is either prohibited or heavily restricted because footwear has repeatedly been used to smuggle and conceal drugs, both under the former government and during Taliban rule.
They said prisoners therefore had to buy prison-issued slippers from the prison shop for 80 afghanis a pair, while the same slippers cost around 30 to 50 afghanis in the market.
Allegations of Torture to Extract Confessions
One former prisoner said he encountered inmates who claimed they had been tortured at Taliban security facilities before being transferred to the central prison.
According to him, some said they had been hung upside down by their feet inside wells.
The source said complaints about mistreatment by Taliban officers were more common among people accused of theft. He added that one prisoner accused of theft told him officers had repeatedly pushed his head under water during interrogation.
The human rights organisation Rawadari interviewed 34 former prisoners, including seven women, in June 2025. All said they had experienced physical or psychological torture, while 32 reported physical torture. Denial of medical treatment, lack of access to lawyers and inadequate food were also among their complaints.
The European Union Agency for Asylum has also said human rights organisations do not have access to detention facilities in Afghanistan. It has cited overcrowding, prolonged pre-trial detention and lack of legal assistance for vulnerable prisoners.
The former prisoners called for an independent investigation into the allegations. They said access to water, food, medical treatment, human dignity and fair legal procedures should be protected for all prisoners regardless of the accusations or crimes against them.
One of the two former prisoners said vocational and technical training was one positive feature of Herat Central Prison, allowing inmates to learn professional skills.
He said prisoners could learn a wide range of trades if they wished.
Prisoners can reportedly receive training in 12 different professions.
Herat has Afghanistan’s third-largest prison after Pul-e Charkhi and Bagram in Kabul.
Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban’s administrative deputy prime minister, visited Herat prison on 10 August.
A Taliban statement said he reviewed food distribution, health services, detention conditions and efforts to address prisoners’ problems, and instructed officials to respect prisoners’ rights. Prison authorities also promised to improve services.
A Chinese Prisoner
One former prisoner said a Chinese man is also being held at Herat prison. The inmates reportedly do not know his real name and call him “Johnson”.
According to the source, his case is a civil dispute in which an Afghan citizen claims the man owes him money.
Peng Jin Wei, a Chinese national, gemstone trader and mining businessman in Afghanistan, was tried and imprisoned in Herat last year following a complaint by his business partner.
His wife said in October 2025 that he remained in prison.
One of the former prisoners said the Chinese national lacked basic facilities and had access to only one book translated from Persian into Chinese.
Taalatbek Masadykov, secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, has voiced concern over the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, saying the first weapons and equipment will be delivered to Dushanbe this autumn.
He said Russia would play the leading role in supplying the equipment.
Masadykov said any security incident along the border would have consequences beyond Tajikistan, potentially affecting all CSTO members and other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
He said CSTO members had agreed on a list of lethal and non-lethal weapons and equipment needed by Tajikistan. The supplies will be delivered under an interstate targeted programme aimed at strengthening the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border.
According to Masadykov, Russia is taking the leading role in supplying weapons and equipment to Tajikistan and, despite its own difficult circumstances, has shown readiness to assist Tajikistan and other CSTO members.
The CSTO secretary-general stressed that the border must be strengthened as quickly as possible because any security problem in the area could affect other member states.
He also said that during a recent visit to the region, at the invitation of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, he travelled with the commander of Tajikistan’s border forces along more than 700 kilometres of the roughly 1,300-kilometre border with Afghanistan.
Masadykov said Tajik border forces were working to secure the area but lacked sufficient resources.
The CSTO Collective Security Council was close to approving a five-year programme to strengthen the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border in November 2024. Implementation of the programme began last year.
Since November 2025, several attacks have been carried out from Afghan territory into Tajikistan. Civilians, including Chinese nationals, as well as Tajik border guards have been killed or wounded in the incidents.
Tajik authorities have also said weapons and drugs were seized from attackers and that some of the assailants were killed.
Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, along the Tajik border, has seen an increase in armed clashes in recent months.
In recent weeks, Taliban forces and the Afghanistan Freedom Front have clashed several times in Zebak district. In Yaftal, fighters from the Sepahiyan -e Mihan Front briefly took control of the district centre before withdrawing, after which the Taliban deployed additional forces to the area.
Nusay district has also seen tensions and fighting between Taliban forces and men affiliated with Juma Khan Fateh, a local Taliban commander.
Alongside the activities of armed Taliban opponents, the presence of regional extremist groups in Afghanistan remains a security concern for Central Asian countries.
Islamic State Khorasan Province is also active in Afghanistan, and regional governments have repeatedly expressed concern about threats posed by armed groups operating from Afghan territory.
However, in his interview with TASS, Masadykov did not directly link the planned delivery of weapons and equipment to Tajikistan with the recent fighting in Badakhshan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says the Afghan Taliban could be considered an Indian proxy if it does not act in its own interests and instead serves what Islamabad describes as India’s efforts to destabilise Pakistan.
Tahir Andrabi, spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing on Thursday, 27 August, that if Taliban activities were carried out at the direction of a neighbouring country to promote terrorism in Pakistan, Islamabad would be compelled to describe the Taliban administration as a proxy.
Responding to remarks by Asim Iftikhar, Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations, who had said that the Taliban government itself is a proxy, Andrabi said that when their activities are carried out at the direction of a particular neighbouring country to promote terrorism in Pakistan, unfortunately Pakistan is compelled to call them a proxy, because in doing so they are not acting in their own interests.
He claimed that Islamabad was aware of Indian involvement in terrorist activities against Pakistan originating from Afghan territory and said Pakistan had evidence to support the allegation.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman added that the Taliban administration must prevent Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Baloch Liberation Army from using Afghan territory against Pakistan.
Andrabi stressed that Islamabad remained ready for dialogue with Kabul but said any bilateral mechanism must lead to tangible and verifiable action on counter-terrorism and border management, and that verbal assurances were not enough.
According to him, Pakistan wants written and verifiable guarantees from the Taliban to ensure that Afghan territory is not used for terrorist activities against Pakistan.
Pakistan was previously one of the main supporters of the Afghan Taliban, and critics of the group had described it in the years before its return to power as a Pakistani proxy in Afghanistan. The Taliban has consistently rejected claims that it was dependent on Islamabad.
Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, relations between Kabul and Islamabad have become increasingly tense, particularly over the activities of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban of allowing the TTP to operate from Afghan territory. The Taliban rejects the allegation and, in turn, accuses Pakistan of supporting armed opponents of its rule.
According to a document obtained by Afghanistan International, the Taliban Communications Ministry has ordered Afghan Telecom and several private firms to halt all fibre-optic expansion, repair and infrastructure work until further notice.
The letter, issued by the ministry’s Fibre Optic Development Directorate, bans the expansion and development of the fibre-optic network, as well as relocation, rerouting, construction of new routes, connections, installation, maintenance, repairs and other related activities “until further notice”.
Telecommunications companies have been instructed to refrain from carrying out any work involving their fibre-optic internet networks.
The Taliban Communications Ministry has also asked the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority, or ATRA, and provincial telecommunications departments to monitor implementation of the order. It said companies that violate the directive would face “appropriate action”.
The letter was sent to several telecommunications companies, including Afghan Wireless, Roshan, Etisalat, Afghan Telecom and other firms operating fibre-optic networks.
The decision comes as the expansion of high-speed internet in Afghanistan has already faced restrictions.
Wider Restrictions on Fibre Expansion
The new letter is part of a series of recent Taliban measures restricting fibre-optic internet.
Earlier, ATRA, the Taliban-controlled telecommunications regulator, halted the connection of new fibre-optic lines to homes in Kabul in June.
Afghanistan International previously reported, citing sources at Afghan Telecom and internet companies, that fibre-optic expansion and cabling work in Kabul had been suspended until further notice.
In an email, Afghan Telecom told companies not to carry out excavation or other related work until new instructions were issued.
The fibre-optic network is a major part of Afghanistan’s telecommunications infrastructure and was developed during the previous government.
A significant portion of Afghanistan’s international internet capacity enters the country through fibre-optic and microwave links from Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Mobile networks also ultimately rely on this infrastructure for international connectivity.
Possible Impact on the Internet Market
Telecommunications experts say the Taliban’s latest decision could negatively affect internet network capacity and speeds, as well as future investment by telecommunications companies.
In 2022, Afghanistan issued its first licences for fibre-to-the-home, or FTTH, internet services, after which fibre-optic connections gradually began reaching residential customers.
However, in September 2025, the Taliban banned the use of fibre-optic internet in Balkh, and the restriction was later extended to several other provinces. In some cases, local Taliban officials said the move was aimed at “preventing vice”.
On 29 September last year, the Taliban shut down fibre-optic and telecommunications networks across Afghanistan. The blackout disrupted banks, customs offices and operations at Kabul’s Sarai Shahzada currency market, while some flights were also cancelled. Services were restored about 48 hours later.
The latest Communications Ministry letter does not order an immediate nationwide internet shutdown, but it suspends fibre-optic expansion, construction, relocation, maintenance and repair work for an indefinite period.
The Taliban Communications Ministry has not yet explained the reasons for issuing the new directive.
US President Donald Trump has again criticised the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan under Joe Biden, saying the disastrous operation allowed the Taliban to free thousands of terrorists and violent criminals from Bagram prison.
In a statement marking the anniversary of the deaths of 13 US service members in the 2021 terrorist attack at Kabul airport, Trump blamed what he called the sheer incompetence of Joe Biden and the Democrats.
He said the way the withdrawal was managed left US troops exposed and gave the Taliban an opportunity to release dangerous prisoners from Bagram.
The US president also referred to his meetings with the families of those killed in the attack, saying the Democratic Party had neglected them. He said that after returning to the White House, his administration had fulfilled a promise by capturing the main planner of the terrorist attack.
Trump described the incident as one of the greatest disasters in US history and said Washington remained committed to ensuring that such failures were not repeated.
The suicide bombing at Kabul airport on 26 August 2021 was one of the deadliest days of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. At the time, thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals were trying to leave the country through the emergency evacuation operation following the Taliban’s return to Kabul.
Islamic State Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack. In addition to the deaths of 13 US service members, more than 160 Afghans were killed.
Bagram Air Base, which for years had served as the main centre of US military and intelligence operations in Afghanistan, was abruptly evacuated by American forces several weeks before the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.
After the Taliban took control of the base, the gates of Bagram prison were opened and thousands of prisoners, including senior members of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Islamic State, escaped from the detention facility. The incident later became a major focus of Republican criticism of the withdrawal.
Trump’s renewed criticism of the Afghanistan withdrawal comes as the Biden administration’s handling of the end of the 20-year US war has continued to face strong domestic and international criticism.
Critics describe the withdrawal as rushed and lacking adequate security planning, while its defenders argue that maintaining a military presence in Afghanistan would have carried even greater human and financial costs.