Afghanistan
- By Sharifullah Sharfat and
- Ron Synovitz
Taliban Targets Medical Clinics In New Afghan Insurgency Strategy
TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan -- When Sultan Mohammad's wife went into labor in Uruzgan Province last week, the medical clinic in Deh Rawood was not an option -- it had been shut down along with other local clinics by Taliban fighters who control most of the territory outside the provincial capital, Tarin Kowt.
Hoping for help from the southern province's main hospital, the desperate couple set off on an arduous overland journey to the capital. They traveled through the night on jarring dirt roads, across mountains, and through valleys as the pregnant woman's labor pains intensified.
But upon reaching the capital they realized that even in the government stronghold -- and just a few hundred meters from Uruzgan Governor Mohammad Nazir Kharoti's office -- Taliban threats had forced the closure of the Tarin Kowt hospital.
Hospital director Aminullah Tokhi told RFE/RL that all his staff left the facility on September 22 after repeated Taliban threats to "blacklist" and attack those who continued working there.
"When I took my wife to the hospital, they told me it was closed and the doctors were not working," Sultan Mohammad said. "Finally, she gave birth on the side of the road outside the hospital. There were no doctors to help us."
It's a situation that has been repeated across Uruzgan Province during the past two weeks as all medical facilities built with international reconstruction aid in the past 15 years became targets in a new battle tactic by the Taliban.
"The armed militants are making demands," said Health Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Majroh. "They want health facilities [to be built] in areas they control where there aren't any clinics or hospitals yet."
The Taliban also are demanding better equipment and staff at existing clinics as well as the authority to vet surgeons and other medical staff who treat wounded Taliban fighters, Majroh said.
Public Demonstrations
A Taliban statement accused the government of failing to provide adequate medicine or medical equipment at existing facilities across the province.
In areas under Taliban control, militants have stormed into health clinics and taken the keys at gunpoint from medical staff – telling them they cannot work there anymore.
In Tarin Kowt, where Afghan security forces still hold sway, the Taliban issue threats against doctors and nurses to scare them from staffing hospitals and clinics.
Khan Agha Miakhel, director of the Uruzgan health department, said that authorities have been meeting with tribal elders from clans whose youths are Taliban fighters, hoping the elders can mediate an agreement that allows all 58 local clinics across the province to be reopened.
Public demonstrations suggest the provincial government, rather than the Taliban, bears the brunt of the blame from civilians affected by the crisis.
On September 26, the fifth day that Uzugan's main hospital was closed, hundreds of angry Afghans gathered outside the Tarin Kowt facility to protest the government's failure to provide adequate security.
One protester forced his way inside the hospital's intensive-care unit, shouting through a window to describe the situation to demonstrators outside.
"This is the emergency ward and there are no doctors, no surgeons, and no health care workers at all here," he said. "We need answers from the governor. All of us need answers. If the governor cannot protect us, even here in the heart of this city, he should resign."
Mohammad Karim-Karimi, a member of Uruzgan's Provincial Council, told RFE/RL that it is natural for "the common people to hold local authorities responsible" -- the provincial government, health officials, and the hospital administration.
"People will take all of these people to task and seek justice, and they will insist on their right to health care," he said.
Indeed, as anger against the provincial government built on the streets during the September 26 protest, Afghan authorities ordered the hospital to be reopened.
But some hospital staff reportedly were continuing to stay away, slowing medical aid for sick and injured Afghans who have flocked from across the province to Tarin Kowt.
Patients 'Dying' En Route
Miakhel, the provincial health director, admitted to RFE/RL on September 27 that the ongoing threat of a Taliban attack has frightened many people away from Tarin Kowt's hospital.
But Miakhel insisted on September 27 that the hospital had reopened and was "fully functional" with "all doctors" back on duty.
Miakhel also said provincial authorities were continuing to meet with tribal elders on September 27 in an attempt to reach an agreement that would allow the reopening of clinics in districts under Taliban control.
"There is a war going on. People are running here and there, and there are no district clinics that are functioning," complained Noor Mohammad, an elderly Pashtun man from Uruzgan's Choray district.
"Weak patients are dying on their way to this hospital," he said outside the hospital. "I have been trying to help a man who no longer has the strength to speak. He is sick and so weak. There are so many other people who are sick here and there is nowhere else to take them for treatment."
Dad Mohammad, a villager in his mid-20s from the Deh Rawood district, said he paid more than a month's salary -- 6,000 Afghanis (about $90) -- for a driver to transport him and a sick relative one-way across the province to Tarin Kowt.
"He needed surgery, but the doctor refused," he said. "When we asked where we should go, he answered, 'It's up to you.' In fact, we just want our own clinics to open in our own districts."
Naqibullah says he traveled to Tarin Kowt before the hospital closed because he had been shot by a Taliban fighter in a district outside the provincial capital.
"I was admitted to this hospital after the incident," Naqibullah said. "Now they've forced us out because they say the Taliban called and forced them to close the hospital."
"One day, many patients were being operated on," he said. "The next day, they were outside with intravenous fluid bags hanging all over them. Women and elderly people are among the patients forced outside, and the road to Kandahar is not fully functioning. They will die unless they are able to get help."
Bargaining Chip
Holding medical clinics hostage across an entire province as a bargaining chip is a new tactic for Afghanistan's Taliban.
But medical workers have long faced danger in a country where rebuilding health-care clinics was a key element of the international strategy to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Afghans.
Militant attacks on clinics and staff have been increasing since the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO combat forces in 2014.
The World Health Organization says 189 clinics were forced to close during 2016 because of militant threats.
It says more than 2 million people have already been affected in 2017, with more than 200 clinics forced to close so far, at least temporarily, across the country.
Thirteen medical aid workers have been killed by militants since the start of 2017, including foreigners working for the International Red Cross. More than 150 have been injured.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch notes that Afghan security forces have also put medical facilities on the front line by raiding a clinic in Wardak Province in February 2016.
A teenaged patient and aid worker were killed in that attack, which was justified by provincial officials who argued that Taliban fighters were being treated there.
Taliban fighters in September 2016 disguised themselves as doctors to infiltrate Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar city in September 2016 in a failed attempt to assassinate Kandahar's visiting deputy governor. But one patient was killed in that attack.
The deadliest attack on an Afghan hospital in recent years was a U.S. airstrike that killed 42 people in October 2015 in the northern city of Kunduz, which was under the control of the Taliban at the time.
U.S. military officials said the attack was launched because of intelligence reports that Taliban fighters were using the building as a command center.
The Paris-based international aid group that ran the hospital, Doctors Without Borders, denied that Taliban were using the facility as communications center.
Written by RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz in Prague, with reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Sharifullah Sharfat in Tarin Kowt
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- By RFE/RL
US Revokes Temporary Protection For Thousands Of Afghans
The US Department of Homeland Security on May 12 announced an end to temporary protections for some Afghans living in the United States citing improved security and economic conditions in Afghanistan.
"We've reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS (temporary protected status) designation," Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement.
"Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country," she said.
Noem said the TPS designation for Afghanistan would expire on May 20 and the termination would take effect on July 12.
TPS is designed for foreign citizens who cannot return home because of war, natural disasters, or other "extraordinary" conditions.
The statement said Noem determined that, “overall, there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to ongoing-armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions.”
Noem was also quoted in the statement as saying that the termination of TPS is in the national interest of the United States "as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security.”
According to the nonprofit AfghanEvac, some 11,000 Afghans are currently covered by TPS in the United States.
"The decision to terminate TPS for Afghanistan is not rooted in reality -- it's rooted in politics," said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac.
"Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban," VanDiver said in a statement.
"There is no functioning asylum system. There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests, and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities.
"What the administration has done today is betray people who risked their lives for America, built lives here, and believed in our promises."
Former President Joe Biden extended TPS protections for nationals of several countries in January. President Donald Trump has moved to strip TPS protections from citizens of other countries, including Haiti and Venezuela, as part of a broader crackdown on immigration.
With reporting by AFP
Taliban 'Suspends' Chess Playing In Afghanistan Citing Religious, Gambling Concerns
The hard-line Taliban rulers of Afghanistan have "suspended" the holding of chess matches in the country, citing "religious considerations" and claiming it represents a form of "gambling."
A Taliban official on May 11 said a decision will be made on the possible resumption of chess under the auspices of country's sports department, but no time frame was given.
Since returning to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban rulers have imposed a series of restrictions on sports and other cultural events.
They have also regularly been assailed by the world community for more serious human rights violation, including the oppression of women and girls.
Women and girls are banned from sports in Afghanistan, and bodybuilding athletes are not allowed to show their thighs to judges and spectators during competitions.
"Chess in Shari'a [Islamic law] is considered a means of gambling," sports directorate spokesman Atal Mashwani was quoted by AFP as saying.
"There are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess," he said.
He also cited concerns with the national Chess Federation, which he said had "some issues on the leadership level."
"Until these considerations are addressed, the sport of chess is suspended in Afghanistan," he added.
Kheybar Farazi, an adviser to the federation, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that the decision "shocked me immensely."
He said that since the Taliban came to power, the federation is not officially recognized by the sports directorate due to organizational issues and the absence of officials.
Esmail Jamshidi, a former head of the federation, questioned the Taliban's reasoning, telling Radio Azadi that there is "no religious prohibition" against chess.
"If there were, then all Islamic countries -- including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan -- would not have federations for both men and women. Chess is a science, and opposing science is wrong and shameful," he added.
AFP also quoted Azizullah Gulzada, the owner of a Kabul cafe who has hosted informal chess competitions in recent years, as rejecting the suggestion that gambling took place and said chess was allowed in other Muslim-majority countries.
"Young people don't have a lot of activities these days, so many came here," he told AFP.
"They would have a cup of tea and challenge their friends to a game of chess."
With reporting by AFP
Russia, China, India Vying For Influence In Afghanistan As Taliban Seeks Legitimacy
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers were shunned by foreign governments after seizing power in 2021, but recently the hard-line militants have notched up some big wins in their diplomatic efforts to forge international ties.
This week, Indian special envoy Anand Prakash was in Kabul for talks with senior Taliban leaders on boosting political and trade links.
That came after Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov hosted a Taliban delegation in Tashkent to talk about a proposed trans-Afghan rail link.
And last week, in the biggest win of all, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations and agreed that ambassadors would be appointed in Kabul and Moscow.
Nobody has formally recognized the Taliban regime, yet. The militant rulers have been broadly criticized for widespread human rights violations, particularly against women and girls.
But things are moving toward their ultimate goal of acceptance in international circles.
"There's a growing feeling that the great powers are starting to compete among themselves to recognize a terrorist organization," Afghan political analyst Fakhim Kukhdomani told RFE/RL's Current Time.
China became the first country to accept a Taliban-appointed ambassador in January 2024. It has been edging talks forward on infrastructure and investment as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.
What Does Russia Want In Afghanistan?
Russia has also been seeking to develop economic interests in Afghanistan, especially in the mining and energy sectors. It did, in fact, keep its embassy in Kabul open, merely downgrading it in name after the Taliban seized power.
"The Russian intelligence services never cut their contacts with Taliban commanders," said Kukhdomani.
On security, Russia's main interest is about combatting the Islamic State–Khorasan group , which claimed responsibility for the deadly Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in March 2024.
Aleksei Zakharov, at the Observer Research Foundation (OSR), a Delhi-based think tank, also says that Russia is pursuing an economic agenda in Afghanistan.
"Russian and Taliban representatives are expected to sign a contract transitioning 50 million cubic meters of LPG (liquified petroleum gas) at the KazanForum in May 2025," he wrote on April 28.
This would be aimed at markets in South and Southeast Asia.
"However, the capacity of the route through Afghanistan and security issues may ultimately limit the agreement's implementation," added Zakharov.
There may be similar issues facing the above-mentioned rail project seeking to create a transit corridor from Russia through Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to Pakistan.
India-Pakistan Tensions On The Rise
The Taliban's relations with its southern neighbor are strained, as Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It said its army had killed 54 fighters "trying to infiltrate" across the border on April 27.
Pakistan has deported some 100,000 Afghan refugees in recent weeks, accusing them of being linked to terrorism and drug smuggling.
These tensions give an added security dynamic to India's attempts to warm ties, as it faces off with Pakistan following the deadly militant attack in Kashmir on April 22.
"India has keenly monitored the fluctuating relationship between the Taliban and Pakistan," Najib Azad, lecturer in global affairs at Wisconsin University, told RFE/RL on April 29.
"[It is] attempting to fill the void and mitigate the anti-Indian sentiments that Pakistan has fostered within the Taliban," added Azad, who was a spokesman for the pre-Taliban Afghan government.
Do Western Countries Talk To The Taliban?
Western powers have been the most strident in distancing themselves from the Taliban, following the withdrawal of their forces in 2021. They have also been the most outspoken in their criticism of the Taliban's human rights abuses.
But here, too, there's movement.
A British government report in March said it was pursuing a policy of "limited and pragmatic" engagement with Taliban officials via its embassy in Qatar.
The incoming German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has called for direct talks with the Taliban leadership to enable deportations of Afghans. A foreign policy spokesman for his Christian Democrats, Juergen Hardt, told RFE/RL in February "the truth is that they are in power."
"There's also the question of recognition," he added.
"I think there should be a common position of the European Union how to handle that. Not yet, but probably under special circumstances."
US officials have already held direct talks. Last month, they were in Kabul to secure the release of Americans held there. In return, Washington lifted the bounties on three members of the Haqqani network, including the Taliban's interior minister.
"It seems to me that Moscow's final decision to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations was taken after Washington removed the bounties," said Afghan political analyst Fakhim Kukhdomani.
Two Americans were released. But there's a way to go. Several are still detained, while the United States still designates both the Taliban and the Haqqani network as terrorist organizations.
Dangers For The Taliban
Former spokesman Najib Azad says there are also risks for the Taliban as it reaches out for better relations with multiple nations.
"The risk lies in allowing global and regional powers to exploit Afghanistan as a battleground for their rivalries, as has been the case over the past fifty years," said.
"Given the Taliban's inability to maintain a balanced political stance with these powers, they risk becoming a catalyst for renewed instability in the region once again."
- By Firuza Azizi and
- Ray Furlong
Afghans Deported From Pakistan Struggle To Find Schools, Jobs, And Shelter
Dildar Khan says he's spent his entire life in Pakistan but has now been sent "home" to Afghanistan under a scheme that has seen some 100,000 people deported in recent weeks.
Khan has five children between the ages of 2 and 13. "There are two girls and three boys. They were going to school," he told RFE/RL in a phone interview.
But Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have canceled secondary education for girls since they retook power in 2021.
"It is difficult, very difficult. Because it is important that they are educated," added Khan.
The Pakistani authorities announced a mass deportation campaign in March, accusing Afghans of links to drug smuggling and terrorism.
Other deported Afghans who spoke to RFE/RL also voiced concern about the impact it would have on their children.
"Our children are sad they cannot go to school," said Khan Zaman after being forcibly returned to Kabul from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan.
The Save the Children organization said some 50,000 minors were among those deported in the first two weeks of April alone. The charity's country director, Arshad Malik, said "many of these children were born in Pakistan -- Afghanistan is not the country they call home."
Scarce Jobs In Afghanistan
In a report on April 18, the group noted that many deported families also faced problems finding food, shelter, and work.
Dildar Khan worked as a taxi driver in Pakistan but is now unemployed. He and his family are sheltering in a single room in his brother's house in a mountainous area of the Achin district of Nangarhar Province.
"There is no space. We are living like this. There are no jobs," said Khan.
The family was deported on April 20. At the border, they received some $140 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) but Khan said they had now run out of money.
Their possessions are stacked outside his brother's house, exposed to the sun and rain. "Our request is that [someone] can find us work so we can make a life," he said.
Imran, a resident of Nangarhar who has six children, told RFE/RL a similar story of a life destroyed by deportation from Pakistan.
"We used to work there, our lives were going well, our children went to schools, madrasahs. Our expenses were covered," he said.
"But when we came here, there are no jobs, we cannot meet our expenses, we are facing a difficult life."
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated on April 28 that it was "working around the clock to provide emergency assistance."
But, it added, "the needs are rapidly increasing and more resources are urgently needed."
The exodus from Pakistan has mostly passed through the Torkham border crossing, which has seen long lines of trucks heading northwest along the highway to Jalalabad.
"We have no place to stay in Afghanistan," truck driver Ahmad Nabi told RFE/RL. "I wonder how this situation could impact me…. I don't know."
The Pakistani authorities have set varying deadlines for people to leave, depending on their residency status. More than 800,000 Afghans were estimated to be living in Pakistan without papers after fleeing the Taliban takeover in 2021.
But another 1.4 million have papers issued by the UNHCR, and many have been living in Pakistan for decades.
According to UN figures, some 800,000 Afghans were forcibly expelled prior to this new deportation drive, starting in 2023.
The Taliban authorities have criticized the deportations while also saying they are preparing sites to house deportees. But one site near Torkham visited by AFP recently "consisted of nothing more than cleared roads on a rocky plain."
RFE/RL has been unable to operate freely in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power in the country.
As India-Pakistan Tensions Soar, Dozens Of Afghan Insurgents Killed Crossing Border
Pakistani security forces said they killed dozens of militants attempting to cross into the country from Afghanistan, even as its troops separately continued to exchange gunfire with the India military near Kashmir amid skyrocketing tensions in the region.
Islamabad did not directly blame India for the incursion of militants from Afghanistan, but it said the fighters had been sent to carry out terrorist attacks by their "foreign masters."
Some Pakistani officials suggested, without providing evidence, that nuclear-rival India encouraged the insurgents' actions to divert the attention of Pakistan's military from the brewing crisis in Kashmir.
"Such actions by [the insurgents], at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan, clearly implies on whose cues [the fighters are] operating," the Pakistani Army said in a statement.
The military said it killed 71insurgents entering from Afghanistan on April 27 and claimed that intelligence reports indicated the militants were "Khwarij" -- a phrase the government uses for Tehrik-e Taliban, otherwise known as the Pakistani Taliban.
"On the nights of April 25-26 and 26-27, movement of a large group of Khwarij, who were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was detected by the security forces in general area Hassan Khel, North Waziristan district," the military said.
"Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate…; A large cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered."
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters the incident represented the largest number of "terrorists" killed in a single day.
"We had information that the foreign masters of these terrorists are asking them to enter Pakistan as soon as possible" to undertake attacks.
Reuters quoted local police officials on April 28 as saying security forces had detained around 500 people for questioning after a search of some 1,000 houses and forests in a hunt for militants in Indian Kashmir.
What's Behind The New India-Pakistan Escalation?
Tensions have soared in the region between Pakistan and its bitter rival and neighbor India, both nuclear-armed nations.
The latest flareup occurred on April 22 when an attack killed mostly Indian nationals in Indian-controlled Kashmir. India has accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, but the Pakistani government denies it was behind the attack that killed 26 civilians.
New Delhi and Islamabad have since carried out tit-for-tat punishments following the incident, including downgrading diplomatic and trade ties, closing the main border crossing, and revoking visas for each other's nationals.
On April 27, Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged fire near Kashmir's Line of Control for a third night in a row.
The Pakistani government has said it would consider it "an act of war" if India followed through on a threat to block the flow of crucial rivers as punishment for the deadly incident.
The United States on April 27 said it was in touch with India and Pakistan and urged them to seek a "responsible solution" to the crisis.
"This is an evolving situation and we are monitoring developments closely. We have been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels," a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.
In comments to foreign media, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tatar claimed that India blamed Islamabad for the tourist attack to distract Pakistan's security forces from their focus on the tensions on its western borders.
He added that Pakistan had "undeniable evidence" of India's support for the Pakistani Taliban and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which is behind multiple attacks in Balochistan. India has denied the charges.
Balochistan has been the site of an insurgency, with separatists seeking independence from Pakistan.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
After Fleeing The Taliban, Afghan Musicians In Pakistan Fear For Their Future As Deportation Looms
When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, they quickly banned music, declaring it un-Islamic.
Musicians faced threats, raids, and the destruction of their instruments.
“Our homes were searched for what we had there,” says Faiz Muhammad Sakhki, an Afghan musician now living in Peshawar. “Our instruments were broken down, the instruments that we hid at home. Music is our passion, it is our love, and it is our profession.”
Sakhki and fellow musician Baryali Wali are among many Afghans who have sought refuge in Pakistan since the Taliban takeover.
In cities like Peshawar, they have been able to continue performing Afghan music, even as cultural spaces have shrunk elsewhere.
“Here, we can still work playing Afghan music. These possibilities don't exist in the West,” Wali says.
But that fragile lifeline is now under threat.
Since April 1, Pakistan has intensified its deportation of Afghan nationals, with over 50,000 already forced to leave.
For musicians, the stakes are especially high.
Returning to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan would leave them facing an uncertain future and an end to their ability to perform or teach music.
Now, with an uncertain legal status in Pakistan and no clear path forward, these musicians are left in limbo -- unsure how much longer they can remain or whether the rich traditions they carry can survive displacement once again.
They fear that Afghanistan’s musical heritage -- including ancient instruments like the rebab -- is at risk.
“If you take any of these [instruments] away, the whole ensemble is lost,” says Sakhki. “It is already disappearing.”
Discord In Pakistan: Afghan Musicians Who Fled The Taliban Fear Deportation
Afghan musicians were persecuted after the Taliban gained control of their country in 2021 and many fled to Pakistan. Those who remain there have found ways to continue their profession but now that Pakistan has launched a new campaign to deport Afghans, they are worried about their future.
Russia Removes Afghanistan's Taliban From Terror List In Step Toward Recognition
Russia’s Supreme Court removed Afghanistan's militant Taliban rulers from its list of banned terrorist groups in a step toward recognizing the group that seized power in 2021 as international forces withdrew from the war-torn country.
Russian state news agencies said that in its ruling on April 17, the Supreme Court sided with a petition from the Prosecutor-General's Office, a sign the move is a coordinated policy change with support from top legal and political authorities, who designated the Taliban as a terrorist organization more than 20 years ago.
The suspension of the terrorist designation does not amount to full diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government.
Amid poverty and unrest in the country, the Taliban rulers have made moves to open ties with the rest of the world. But Western nations have been reluctant to engage with the extremist group amid complaints of widespread human rights violations, especially against girls and women.
Russia has not officially recognized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, nor has it re-established ambassadorial-level relations. However, the April 17 ruling may lay the legal groundwork for expanded cooperation, investment, and potentially future recognition.
Russia officially banned the Taliban in 2003, aligning itself with international counterterrorism standards and reflecting concerns over jihadist movements in Central Asia and Russia's North Caucasus region.
Still, Russia has been one of the few major powers to keep its embassy in Kabul operational during the Taliban regime.
Russian diplomats, intelligence officials, and even business interests have since engaged with Taliban authorities — especially on regional security, counter-narcotics, and economic cooperation, such as potential mining and energy projects.
Russia Looking To Gain Influence
With Moscow eager to strengthen its influence in Central Asia amid growing competition with the West and China’s expanding footprint, Afghanistan has become a critical piece of the regional chessboard.
The court’s decision may also be linked to Moscow’s concerns about the Islamic State–Khorasan group, which has claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and even within Russia itself — including the deadly Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in March 2024.
Some analysts say Russian officials likely view the Taliban as a lesser evil or even a potential security partner.
The suspension of the ban may spark unease in Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, which has historically viewed the Taliban with deep suspicion.
While some regional governments have engaged with Kabul out of necessity, fears remain about Taliban-inspired radicalization, border security, and cross-border militancy.
In September 2024, Kyrgyzstan removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations, aligning with similar moves by neighboring Kazakhstan earlier that year.
Another Central Asian nation, Uzbekistan, has been at the forefront of engaging with the Taliban, emphasizing economic cooperation and regional connectivity.
China is also cautiously increasing its engagement with the Taliban, including through infrastructure and investment talks under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Public Executions By Taliban Spark Global Outcry
The Taliban carried out public executions of four individuals on April 11 -- the highest single-day number since it returned to power -- prompting a wave of condemnation from groups around the world.
Local Taliban officials confirmed that the individuals — who were accused of murder — were executed in front of crowds gathered in the western provinces of Farah, Nimroz, and Badghis.
Eyewitnesses at one of the sites, who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Azadi on condition of anonymity, said family members of the victims shot the accused.
"Their families offered blood money to spare their relatives' lives, but the victims' relatives refused. People here don't fully understand these issues — this kind of event leaves a serious psychological impact," the person said.
In Nimroz province, the Taliban invited civilians, civil servants, and military personnel to witness the execution at a stadium in Zaranj.
"The man was shot by the victim’s family. Watching this scene was unbearable. No one wants to witness a killing, even if it is declared a divine punishment," said one local resident.
The executions, part of the Taliban’s hardline interpretation of Islamic law, are described by the regime as "qisas," or retributive justice.
Since they seized power in August 2021, the Taliban have resumed corporal punishments and public executions, echoing their repressive rule of the 1990s. So far, at least 10 individuals have been publicly executed.
Rights organizations say these punishments are a clear violation of international law.
They say the use of executions as a public spectacle is not only inhumane but also contributes to a culture of fear and trauma in communities already scarred by decades of war and violence.
In a statement posted on X, Amnesty International condemned the executions, calling them "deplorable."
"Afghanistan: The deplorable public executions of four people in Nimroz, Farah and Badghis in Afghanistan today point to Taliban’s continued alarming abuse of human rights in the country. The Taliban de facto authorities continue to flagrantly flout human rights principles," it said.
"The international community must put pressure on the Taliban to stop this blatant human rights abuse and help ensure international guarantees are upheld in Afghanistan."
The Taliban claim that the executions followed "transparent investigations and justice procedures," but the United Nations and multiple human rights bodies have consistently disputed such assertions, citing the absence of a functioning judicial system and lack of due process in Taliban courts.
"We are appalled by executions of four men in the Badghis, Nimroz and Farah provinces this morning," the United Nations rights office said on X, urging "the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty."
Pakistan's Deportation Drive Sees Mass Exodus Of Afghans Ahead Of Deadline
Thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan have left via the Torkham border crossing as part of Islamabad's large-scale deportation campaign.
The government initially set a March 31 deadline for Afghan nationals to leave voluntarily, but the deadline was extended to April 10. Still, thousands have been forcibly removed since the beginning of the month.
The stepped-up deportation campaign comes as Pakistani authorities charge that "illegal immigrants" pose security concerns and economic challenges.
The Pakistani government has frequently linked Afghan nationals to militant violence and criminal activity -- claims the Taliban-led administration in Kabul firmly denies.
The deportation campaign has sparked strong criticism as authorities move forward with the controversial policy.
Human rights organizations warn that those forced to return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan may face serious dangers including persecution, violence, and extreme economic hardship. Particularly at risk are vulnerable groups such as women, journalists, human rights advocates, and former government employees.
Pakistan's deportation drive targets Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, undocumented migrants, and those who arrived after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan.
There are roughly 800,000 ACC holders and 1.4 million Afghans with Proof of Registration (POR) cards issued by the UN refugee agency. While POR holders are currently exempt from deportation -- at least until their permits expire in June -- ACC holders lack such protection. Their temporary residency in Pakistan is subject to the federal government's discretion, with no assurance of extension beyond official deadlines.
This policy creates complications, as members of the same family may have different legal statuses.
Many of those being forced to leave have never lived in Afghanistan and see Pakistan as their only home.
Pakistan Forcibly Deports Thousands Of Afghan Refugees
Thousands of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan have been forcibly repatriated since Pakistani authorities set an April 10 deadline for those without documents to leave the country. Truckloads of Afghans have crossed the Torkham border from Pakistan into Afghanistan. Many refugees are reluctant to return to the Taliban-controlled country.
For Afghan Refugees In Pakistan, A 'Cruel' Countdown Has Begun
Pakistan’s plan to deport millions of Afghan migrants has drawn sharp criticism as the country begins implementing its controversial policy.
Rights groups warn that many returnees face severe risks in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, including persecution, violence, and economic hardship. Vulnerable individuals such as women, journalists, human rights defenders, and former government officials are particularly at risk.
The government had initially set March 31 as the deadline for Afghan migrants to leave voluntarily or face deportation. However, the deadline was postponed until April 10 due to the Eid al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramadan, officials said.
The delay provides a brief reprieve for tens of thousands of Afghans but does not alter the government’s goal of expelling up to 3 million migrants by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, around 40,000 Afghans in Pakistan await uncertain resettlement to third countries, mostly in the West. Many fled after the Taliban’s 2021 return, fearing retribution due to ties with the United States, NATO, and other Western organizations.
Who Is Being Deported?
The deportation campaign targets Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, undocumented individuals, and those who arrived after the Taliban’s return to power.
There are around 800,000 ACC card holders and 1.4 million Afghans who have been issued Proof of Registration (POR) cards by the UN refugee agency. POR card holders are not yet being deported, Pakistani officials say, as their permits expire in June.
ACC holders are granted temporary permission to reside in Pakistan, but the validity and duration of their stay are determined by the federal government. Unlike POR cardholders, ACC holders do not have guaranteed protections against deportation beyond the government’s specified deadlines.
This poses another problem, as members of the same family can hold different immigration statuses.
That’s the case for Rehmat Khan, a man in his 50s who is facing immediate deportation because he is an ACC card holder, while the other members of his family are POR card holders.
“I don’t know how I can leave my family behind, and I don’t know who will support them when I am deported to Afghanistan,” he told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal.
Rehmat Khan is one of approximately 20,000 Afghans who live in Jalala refugee camp, some 150 kilometers northwest of Islamabad. Residents of the camp have been formally notified to prepare to leave.
Most of the Afghans in the camp are descendants of refugees who migrated to Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Many are in their 30s, meaning they have never lived in Afghanistan and consider Pakistan their home.
The camp functions as a small village, with several schools, houses mostly made of mud, and a makeshift bazaar.
“I am in 11th grade. Sending me back to Afghanistan at this point in the school year will ruin my future,” a student who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons told Radio Mashaal. “There are no educational opportunities there, and I am unfamiliar with the education system. I was born and raised here, and I know this place better than Afghanistan.”
A holding camp to process the relocation of refugees has been established in Landi Kotal in Peshawar, where Frontier Corps paramilitary forces and local police are deployed.
While no refugees are currently housed in the camp, officials expect an influx of families in the coming days as the repatriation process gains momentum.
Rights Groups Alarmed by ‘Cruel’ Deadline
The United Nations has expressed alarm over the plan, warning that some people would be at risk once in Afghanistan.
“We urge Pakistan to continue to provide safety to Afghans at risk, irrespective of their documentation status,” said Philippa Candler, UNHCR's country representative, said in a statement on February 5, when the initial deadline was set.
Amnesty International has also condemned the deportations, calling them a violation of international human rights law.
“The Pakistani government’s unyielding and cruel deadline to remove Afghan refugees shows little respect for international human rights law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement,” Amnesty’s deputy regional director for South Asia, Isabelle Lassee, said on March 26.
She added that portraying Afghan refugees as a threat is “disingenuous” and scapegoats a community that has fled persecution.
Despite mounting criticism, Pakistani officials defend the policy as necessary for national security and resource management.
The Pakistani government has often blamed militant violence and criminal activity on Afghan citizens, allegations rejected by the extremist Taliban-led government in Kabul.
Masses Of Afghans Being Deported From Pakistan Face Angst And Uncertainty
With Pakistan beginning to enforce a deportation deadline that passed on March 31, hundreds of thousands of Afghans who fled the Taliban's takeover in 2021 now face an uncertain future. Other Afghans have lived in Pakistan's Mardan camp for generations, and many have never lived in Afghanistan. Some have established businesses in the camp that they say could never function under a ruined, Taliban-run economy.
Hundreds Of Thousands Of Afghans In Pakistan Brace For Deportations
More than 800,000 Afghans who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover in 2021 live without papers in neighboring Pakistan.
These undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants face a rapidly approaching deportation order issued by Islamabad requiring them to leave the country by March 31.
Another 1.4 million Afghans who are formally registered with the Pakistani government and who hold a Proof of Residence card issued by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) have until June 30 to return to their homeland. Many have lived in Pakistan for decades.
The fate of an additional 40,000 Afghans who are waiting to be resettled to third countries, mostly in the West, is unclear.
Pakistan initially said these at-risk Afghans, a group that includes activists, journalists, and former members of the defunct Western-backed Afghan government and its armed forces, must leave or face deportation by March 31. But a source at the Pakistani Interior Ministry told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that the deadline for them to leave the country has been extended to June 30.
Among this group are some 15,000 Afghans who are waiting to be resettled in the United States, although their status remains unclear after President Donald Trump's administration announced that the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) would be suspended for at least three months starting on January 27.
“We are left in a deep despair,” said Hina, a 25-year-old Afghan woman who lives with her family in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Her family had been cleared for resettlement in the United States and even booked their flights from Islamabad. But now they are in limbo.
“Our dreams of building a safe future [in the United States] have been shattered,” added Hina. “We can’t return to Afghanistan where our lives will be at risk, nor can we build a stable life in Pakistan.”
Growing Fears
Pakistan has already forcibly deported more than 800,000 undocumented Afghans since 2023, when it launched a major crackdown, according to the UN.
The deportees have returned to a country gripped by devastating humanitarian and economic crises, and many have struggled to access shelter, health care, and food and water.
The deportations have coincided with tensions soaring between the unrecognized Taliban government in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Islamabad has accused the Taliban of sheltering Pakistani militants, a claim rejected by the Afghan militant group.
Ahead of the March 31 deadline, Pakistani police conducted night raids and arbitrarily detained and arrested hundreds of Afghan refugees in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby city of Rawalpindi, according to international rights groups.
Videos shared on social media show Pakistani police using loudspeakers to order undocumented Afghans to leave Islamabad.
"The problem is that our children go to school here and we have jobs here,” Obaidullah, an undocumented Afghan refugee living in Peshawar, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “What will we do in Afghanistan?”
Dire Situation
The tens of thousands of Afghans who are awaiting resettlement abroad face a race against time.
Many of them are in a dire financial situation in Pakistan, said Maiwand Alami, who leads an NGO to help Afghan refugees in Islamabad.
“They have sold their homes in Afghanistan, but that money has since run out,” Alami told RFE/RL. “But [their] biggest problem is uncertainty about their immigration cases. Everybody is anxious about it.”
“Afghans in Pakistan are now required to extend their stay every month. It costs 20,000 rupees [about $71] per person which is a lot of money here, especially if you don’t have any income,” Alami said.
The resettlement of Afghans to the West is uncertain amid increasingly anti-migrant sentiment across Europe and the United States.
Trump said the United States “lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans.”
He ordered the suspension of USRAP “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.”
- By RFE/RL
American Woman Freed By Taliban, Second Release Of US Hostage In 8 Days
An American woman has been released by the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan after being detained since February, the second freeing of a US citizen in the past eight days.
In a video posted by US President Donald Trump on March 29, Faye Hall said she had been released by the Taliban after being detained in the war-torn country last month.
"I've never been so proud to be an American citizen," Hall said in the video. "Thank you, Mr President…God bless you."
Trump thanked Hall for the comments and added: "So honored with your words!"
Former U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad first announced the release hours earlier on X, saying it had occurred on March 27. He said she was in the care of the Qatari delegation in Kabul.
"American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home," said Khalilzad, who has been part of a US team seeking the release of hostages held by the Taliban.
The development came a week after George Glezmann, 66, was released from detention in Kabul following the first visit by a senior US official to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in the wake of the withdrawal of international troops in August 2021.
Hall had been detained in February while with a British couple in their 70s, Barbie and Peter Reynolds.
British media said the Reynolds had been operating school projects in Afghanistan for 18 years and had remained in the country despite the Taliban’s return to power.
Reuters quoted a US official as saying Adam Boehler, Washington's special envoy for hostage affairs, had worked with Qatari officials and others to win Hall’s release.
There was no immediate information on the British couple. Their daughter has pleaded for their release, citing health concerns.
Several Americans are still detained in Afghanistan.
Upon his release, Glezmann also thanked Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others who helped free him.
He told Fox News he was abducted in the streets of Kabul and thrown "into a dungeon with no windows no nothing."
Two other Americans held in Afghanistan were exchanged in late January for a Taliban man imprisoned for life in California on drug and terrorism charges.
Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were swapped for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008 and was incarcerated in a US prison.
Aid worker Corbett, 40, and Mahmood Habibi, 37 -- who led the Afghan Aviation Authority under the previous Afghan government -- were detained separately in August 2022.
The world community has not recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan, although some countries -- including Russia, China, and Turkey -- still maintain embassies in Kabul.
Qatar has also maintained direct contact with the Taliban and has helped broker negotiations for the release of US hostages.
Amid poverty and unrest in the country, the Taliban rulers have made moves to open ties with the rest of the world. Western nations are reluctant to engage with the extremist group amid complaints of widespread human rights violations, especially against girls and women.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, Reuters, AFP, and AP
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