The Guardian (UK): Child marriage is not new to south Asia. But while the practice across the region has been declining, the Taliban takeover reversed that trend in Afghanistan. Shabnam*, a midwife, says: “Since the new government came to power, the number of child mothers has increased dramatically. In the past, perhaps only two child mothers visited the hospital each month, most of whom were from illiterate families. But now, literate and illiterate families marry off their daughters at a young age.” Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Detains More Than 10 In Ghor Over Alleged Opposition Ties, Say Sources
Amrullah Saleh
Afghanistan International: Sources told Afghanistan International that Taliban intelligence has detained 13 young men in Ghor province over the past two days. The group accused them of links to Afghanistan Green Trend, the political movement led by former Afghan vice-president Amrullah Saleh. Informed sources in Ghor said on Wednesday that Taliban intelligence officers had arrested at least six people from their homes in the village of Atus Sofla and others from their workplaces in Firozkoh, the provincial capital. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – July 15, 2026
WHO Confirms Four New Polio Cases In Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: The World Health Organization has confirmed four new polio cases in three Afghan provinces over the past week, bringing the country’s total since the start of 2026 to 11. The United Nations said two of the new cases were detected in Nangarhar province, one in Helmand and another in Herat. The report also shows that Pakistan has recorded fewer polio cases than Afghanistan this year. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Health News
Amo Sharks win third straight Shpageeza Cricket League title
Amu: The Amo Sharks won their third consecutive Shpageeza Cricket League title on Wednesday, defeating the Speenghar Tigers by seven wickets in the final with a commanding all-round performance. The victory completed a hat trick of Shpageeza Cricket League championships for the Amo Sharks, cementing their status as the dominant team in Afghanistan’s premier domestic Twenty20 competition. Click here to read more (external link).
UK Inquiry Hears SAS Troops Dropped Afghan Detainees From Forklifts ‘For Fun’
Khaama: Britain’s public inquiry into alleged war crimes by the Special Air Service (SAS) has heard evidence that Afghan detainees were allegedly thrown from raised forklifts “for fun,” as investigators continue examining claims of unlawful killings and abuse by British special forces during the Afghanistan conflict. Previous hearings have heard allegations that some SAS personnel maintained unofficial “kill lists” and carried out night raids in which unarmed Afghan civilians were allegedly executed, including individuals reportedly shot while inside their homes. The inquiry has also examined claims that operational reports were altered to justify fatal shootings. Click here to read more (external link).
More
Rights Group Calls For Full Inquiry Into Afghan’s Death In ICE Custody
Afghanistan International: Human Rights Watch has called for transparency and accountability over the death of Afghan asylum seeker Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal in US immigration detention, urging authorities to release his full autopsy report. Alyssa Kellman of Human Rights Watch said the death of Paktiawal highlighted the need for transparency and accountability in US immigration detention facilities. Paktiawal, a 41-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who served alongside US forces in Afghanistan for about a decade, died on March 14, less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas. US authorities said he died following what they described as an allergic reaction. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – July 14, 2026
The Taliban’s war on education: ‘Nobody talks about what is happening to the boys’
The Guardian (UK): Students are required to attend religious lectures and pray in public every day, sometimes for two hours at a time, says Hashmat. The lectures are about Islam, conduct and obedience. They are not optional. In some cases, he says, they are held during time that would otherwise be used for regular academic courses. “I am missing my actual classes to sit in a lecture about obeying. That is what they [the Taliban] think education is for. Everyone talks about the girls who were banned, but nobody talks about what is happening to the boys who were allowed to stay.” Click here to read more (external link).
Afghans Under Pressure Again In New Pakistani Deportation Drive
By Daud Khattak
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 13, 2026
Thousands of Afghan families, fearing an uncertain future, have begun pouring into Afghanistan amid a fresh push from Pakistan against what officials describe a “crackdown” on undocumented aliens.
Islamabad had set the July 10 deadline for what the authorities call “undocumented” Afghans to leave the country.
The move comes amid a broader push by authorities around the world who have been pushing Afghans who fled their country to return home.
In Pakistan alone, more than 2.5 million Afghans have been deported since October 2023, the year when Islamabad announced the deportation policy.
“An average 400 to 600 families are crossing the Torkham border daily,” said Islam Badshah, a volunteer from the Jamrud region in Pakistan’s Khyber tribal district, who provides free food, medicines and other basic items to the departing families.
Torkham is the main crossing point between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Badshah, who collects donations from locals to continue his welfare work, says a majority of the families hold UN-issued registration cards, but Pakistani authorities say only Afghans with valid-stay visas such as student, business, or visits in their passports will be allowed to stay.
Afghans Being Sent Home
Zia Rahman was among the hundreds of families who have arrived at the Hamza Baba Transit Center for Afghan refugees near the border on July 13.
With his family awaiting clearance from the authorities to cross the border, Rahman told RFE/RL that he and his elder brothers were born in Pakistan and are being forced to a country they don’t know.
“Neither my children, nor those of my brothers ever visited Afghanistan,” he said. “We are heading to an uncertain future — how to get jobs and if our children will be able to attend schools?”the 36-year-old said.
Millions of Afghans around the world are being either directly forced to return by states where they have been residing, or have felt compelled to do so because of threats, harassment, and intimidation.
But the situation is most acute in Pakistan.
Decades of conflict in Afghanistan have forced millions of Afghans to take refuge in Pakistan. Islamabad had estimated 1.5 million registered Afghans living in Pakistan before 2021. Another half a million plus fled the country to take refuge in Pakistan following the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021.
Pakistan and the Taliban were undeclared allies for decades but relations between the two started deteriorating in 2021 with Islamabad accusing Kabul of hosting the Pakistani Taliban, who carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban deny the Pakistani allegations by saying that they would not allow anyone to use the Afghan soil against any other country.
In October 2025, Pakistan carried out air strikes inside Afghanistan triggering bloody border clashes that resulted in numerous casualties and damages to infrastructure on both sides. Pakistan closed all the borders with Afghanistan besides intensifying the deportation of Afghans.
Recently, Pakistan has invalidated the Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) and Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. Earlier, the two documents were recognized as a permission for Afghans’ legal stay in Pakistan. However, Pakistani authorities recently invalidated all other documents except a valid visa to stay in Pakistan.
Humanitarian Crisis
The mass deportations also have created a humanitarian crisis in parts of Afghanistan, overwhelming local infrastructure and leaving returnees vulnerable.
A majority of the departing Afghans say they have wrapped up their businesses and sold their properties on throw-away prices to avoid arrests during police raids, which have become more frequent since July 10.
In the Board Bazaar in Peshawar, one of the largest hubs for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, some 5,000 businesses such as bakeries, dry fruits, clothes and shoe outlets, pulse with shoppers.
But these days, police patrols compete with shoppers, forcing retailers to find novel ways to avoid arrest.
“We’ve hired locals to avoid arrests during police raids,” said one shop owner who wished not to be named for fear of an action by the authorities.
“Whenever there is a police raid, we skip out and hand over the business to the local. This saves us as well as our business…but this may not continue for a longer period.”
Another entrepreneur, Zakir Ayaz, whose family runs a well-established business in Peshawar, says police raids have become routine since July 10.
“My family migrated to Pakistan at the beginning of the Afghan jihad 40 years ago. We established our business over 25 years,” Ayaz, who occasionally visits Afghanistan but wants to stay in Pakistan, said.
“Now, we’ve got to wrap it up with no future in sight.”
Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
More Afghan Refugee/Migrant News
- Turkey Detains 20 Undocumented Afghans, Arrests Three Suspected Migrant Smugglers
- Former Afghan Colleagues of Britain Demand Fair Review of Resettlement Cases