A shortage of medical staff, particularly female specialists, has become a serious problem in southern Afghanistan. Afghanistan International found no female specialists in Helmand, Zabul or Uruzgan, and only three in Kandahar.
Leaders of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states have called for an inclusive government in Afghanistan involving all ethnic and political groups, saying it is the only path to lasting peace in the country.
The Afghanistan United Front says it carried out at least 43 operations against the Taliban in 14 provinces over the past month, claiming 74 Taliban members were killed and 35 others wounded.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit that peace and stability in Eurasia are closely linked to Afghanistan, adding that India will continue providing development assistance to Afghans.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has released a report on victims of armed conflict, documenting 40,000 civilian deaths and more than 77,000 injuries between January 2009 and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
The Taliban administration in Kandahar said on Monday that Governor Mullah Shirin, a close associate of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s leader, had ordered police commanders in 11 districts to tighten security and increase patrols.
The European Union said on Monday, 31 August, that it has allocated €15 million in partnership with the World Food Programme to strengthen livelihoods and improve the resilience of people in Afghanistan.
Pakistani media report that the prolonged closure of crossings with Afghanistan has hurt Pakistan’s trade, agriculture, poultry industry and exports, while leaving large numbers of people on both sides of the border without work.
The Afghanistan Freedom Front says its forces clashed with the Taliban in Zebak district of Badakhshan on Sunday night, 30 August, after Taliban fighters attacked one of its positions.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit opened in Bishkek on Monday, 31 August, with Afghanistan-related concerns over security, terrorism and drug trafficking expected to feature. The Taliban was again not invited.
Nearly two weeks after Juma Khan Fateh, a Taliban dissident commander, surrendered and one phase of tensions in Badakhshan ended, the province is entering a new period of deeper internal Taliban divisions and defiance of orders from Kandahar.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Financial Times that he would fully welcome US investment in Afghanistan, including in mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi says the group’s government wants to normalise relations with the United States and has urged Washington to abandon what he described as a confrontational approach towards the Taliban.
Three anti-Taliban fronts carried out at least 50 attacks across Afghanistan over the past month. The Freedom Front, United Front and National Resistance Front claim the attacks left dozens dead and wounded.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said in a speech marking the country’s 35th independence anniversary that Tashkent would continue its constructive and resolute policy towards Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has rejected concerns raised by the CSTO secretary-general over the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, saying intelligence circles of some hostile countries may be spreading false information.
German media reported that a three-member Taliban delegation arrived in Berlin on Wednesday on a confidential visit. Germany’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the trip, saying it was linked to plans for further deportations of Afghan nationals.
A new US poll shows that a majority of Americans support protecting and admitting Afghans who worked alongside US forces. Support rose from 52 per cent to 72 per cent after voters learned more about their role during the US mission.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of choosing to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks rather than focusing on eliminating terrorism.
Iran has invited Mawlawi Habibullah Hessam, a senior National Resistance Front member, and Jawad Salehi, a member of Afghanistan’s Shia Ulema Council, to a meeting of the Supreme Council of the World Assembly of Islamic Awakening in Tehran.
The UK government has updated information on Sirajuddin Haqqani, leader of the Haqqani Network, and his father, former network leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, in its Afghanistan sanctions list.