Afghanistan

Days After Quake, Afghan Survivors Still Await Aid

Rescue teams struggled Wednesday to reach survivors days after a powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan left more than 1,400 people dead, as access to remote areas remained obstructed. A magnitude-6.0 shallow earthquake hit the mountainous region bordering Pakistan late Sunday, collapsing mud-brick homes on families as they slept. Fearful of ...

Hope Dwindles for Survivors days After Deadly Afghan Quake

Hope faded Wednesday of finding survivors in the rubble of homes devastated by the weekend's powerful earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, as emergency services struggled to reach remote villages. A magnitude-6.0 earthquake hit the mountainous region bordering Pakistan on Sunday, leaving residents huddled in the open air for fear of powerful ...

Earthquake in Afghanistan

A powerful earthquake has struck eastern Afghanistan, leaving hundreds dead and villages destroyed. The Taliban and the UN have launched a major rescue operation in a country already weakened by decades of war and a lack of international aid.

ICC Seeks Arrest of Taliban Leaders over Persecution of Women

The International Criminal Court on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity for persecuting women and girls. Judges said there were "reasonable grounds" to suspect Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani of committing gender-based ...

Mass Influx of Afghans Expelled from Iran Before the July Deadline

Tens of thousands of Afghans streamed over the border from Iran in the days before a return deadline set for Sunday, the United Nations said, sparking an "emergency" situation at border points. In late May, Iran said undocumented Afghans must leave the country by July 6, potentially impacting four million people out of the six million ...

Pakistan Army Kills 30 Militants Trying to Cross from Afghanistan

Pakistan's army said Friday it had killed 30 militants attempting to cross the border from Afghanistan over the last three days, after a suicide attack killed 16 soldiers in the same region. The militants belonged to the Pakistan Taliban or its affiliated groups, the military said in a statement, accusing arch foe India of backing them. "The ...

UN Sees 'Alarming' Surge in Afghan Families Deported from Iran

The UN migration agency on Tuesday voiced concern over a surge in Afghan families deported from Iran, recording a more than two-fold increase in May from the previous month. There was a "sharp rise in the forced return of Afghan nationals" from Iran in May, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. "Particularly ...

Marginalizing Women a Major Curb on Afghan Economy: UNDP

Restrictions on women and girls imposed since the Taliban authorities took power are projected to cost Afghanistan almost six percent of its GDP over two years, the UN development agency country director said on Thursday. Taliban authorities have squeezed women out of education, jobs and public life since 2021, creating what the United Nations ...

Russia Allows Taliban to Have Moscow Ambassador

Russia said Wednesday it will allow the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to have an ambassador in Moscow, in a symbolic move days after it lifted a "terrorist" designation for the militant group. Moscow has taken steps to normalize relations with the Islamist Taliban administration since the group seized power in Afghanistan in 2021 ...

Islamabad Says More Than 100,000 Afghans Left Pakistan in April

More than 100,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in the past three weeks, the interior ministry reported on Tuesday, following Islamabad's announcement of the widespread cancellation of residence permits. Calling Afghans "terrorists and criminals," the Pakistani government launched its mass eviction campaign on April 1. Analysts suggest that the ...

In Kabul, Women Sell Their Hair to Survive Taliban Repression

In Kabul, Afghanistan, after every shower, Fatima carefully collects the hair that has fallen into the bathtub plug and keeps it preciously. When she reaches a few hundred grams, she discreetly sells it, like many Afghan women, to earn a modest income, despite the ban imposed by the Taliban authorities. Before the Taliban returned to power in ...