Amu: Afghanistan’s national beach soccer team suffered a heavy 14–0 loss to Iran in its second match of the 2025 AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup, held Sunday afternoon in Thailand. The match marked Afghanistan’s second consecutive defeat in the tournament. In its opening game, the team fell 7–1 to the United Arab Emirates. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Sports News
Sirajuddin Haqqani
Khaama: Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting Interior Minister under the Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan, continues to draw international attention as signs of evolving U.S. policy emerge. Sources close to the Haqqani network have told Afghan outlet Tolo News that the reward designations on key figures of the group have been lifted by the U.S. government. According to these sources, Sirajuddin Haqqani, along with Abdul Aziz Haqqani and Yahya Haqqani, are no longer included on the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice list. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned on World Water Day that climate change threatens Afghanistan’s glaciers. Reports from United Nations agencies indicate that Afghanistan is facing severe climate change challenges. Click here to read more (external link).
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Afghanistan International: Several Afghan opposition leaders used Nowruz to urge unity and resistance against the Taliban. They called for an end to “tyranny and oppression” and pledged to work towards a democratic and inclusive government. Abdul Rashid Dostum, former vice president and leader of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, said in his Nowruz message that “the patience of the people has run out.” He added that national and international efforts to confront the Taliban are underway and that “strategic plans” are being prepared. Click here to read more (external link).
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Amu: Afghanistan’s national football team suffered a 2-0 defeat against Thailand in an international friendly on Friday evening, as part of its preparations for the upcoming qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The friendly was seen as a key warm-up fixture ahead of Afghanistan’s first official qualifier match, scheduled for March 25 (5 Hamal in the Afghan calendar), when they will face Myanmar. Click here to read more (external link).
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By Abubakar Siddique and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
March 21, 2025
Millions of Afghans in Iran face an uncertain future as Tehran prepares to implement sweeping restrictions that will cut off access to health care, education, housing, and other essential services for undocumented immigrants.
The new policy, set to take effect on March 21, has left many Afghans grappling with impossible choices between a hostile host country and an unstable homeland.
For Rasheed, an Afghan immigrant living in Iran, the consequences of these policies have already hit home.
Rasheed recently returned to Afghanistan after doctors in Iran refused to treat his elderly mother for her heart disease.
“I was told to return to Afghanistan because Afghans were not supposed to get any treatment here,” Rasheed recalled of his conversation with an official at a government hospital in Tehran.
“My mother’s condition was rapidly deteriorating, which prompted me to return to my country,” he told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. Rasheed requested that his real name be withheld to protect his identity.
In Karaj, a city near Tehran, Ehsan Zia, another Afghan immigrant, is devastated that his two teenage daughters can no longer attend school.
“Our hopes have been dashed,” he told Radio Azadi. “Even here, my daughters are being deprived of education.”
Zia moved to Iran three years ago after the Taliban banned teenage girls from attending school following their return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Despite having a legal visa to stay in Iran, Zia says he has been unable to enroll his daughters in school due to bureaucratic obstacles and shifting policies.
Who Will Be Affected By The New Policy?
Earlier this month, the Center for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants’ Affairs (CAFIA) at Iran’s Interior Ministry announced six categories of Afghans who will remain eligible for key services under the new rules.
These include Afghans registered as refugees, those with valid visas or work permits, former employees of the Western-backed Afghan government that was toppled by the Taliban, and families with school-going children who apply for visas.
Tehran has already deported more than 2 million Afghans over the past two years as part of a campaign targeting undocumented immigrants.
Nader Yarahmadi, head of CAFIA, defended the government’s move, telling the semiofficial ISNA news agency that “there is no obstacle to returning [to Afghanistan] due to the relative stability and declared policies of the current Afghan government.”
The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that that some 4 million Afghans live in Iran, including more than 2 million undocumented migrants. Figures cited by Iranian officials and media vary widely, with some claiming that 8 million Afghans reside in Iran.
Risking Tensions With The Taliban
The crackdown on undocumented Afghans has coincided with rising anti-Afghan sentiment in Iran. Impoverished Afghan migrants are often scapegoated for crimes, insecurity, and unemployment. Such views have fueled mob violence against Afghans as well as mass arrests and brutal treatment by Iranian police and border security forces.
“Cutting off basic services to migrants will disrupt the labor market and drive more people into the underground economy,” said Graeme Smith, senior Afghanistan analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.
Afghan migrants make up a significant portion of Iran’s labor force in agriculture and construction — sectors that could suffer if undocumented workers are expelled en masse.
Smith also warned that Tehran’s policies could worsen tensions between Iran and Afghanistan. The Taliban government has already clashed with neighboring Pakistan over its treatment of Afghan refugees.
“The Taliban may feel provoked to respond, for example, with restrictions on water sharing,” Smith said, referring to a long-standing dispute over water rights.
Experts argue that Tehran’s approach could backfire, both economically and geopolitically. An isolated and heavily sanctioned Iran needs stable relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban government to expand trade ties, maintain border security, and build a more integrated regional economy.
“Not only will this cause suffering for the Afghans affected,” Smith noted, “but it’s a self-defeating policy for Tehran.”
Ariana: Afghanistan has ranked last out of 147 countries in the 2025 edition of the World Happiness Report released Thursday. Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the eighth consecutive year. Denmark, Iceland and Sweden followed Finland in the ranking. According to the new World Happiness Report, Afghanistan lost approximately 2.7 points from 2013 to 2025. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban militants (file photo)
Afghanistan International: Rawadari, a human rights organisation, has exposed widespread violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. In its latest report, the group accuses the Taliban of deliberately denying minorities access to government services, infrastructure projects, and humanitarian aid. In Badakhshan, no infrastructure projects have been carried out in Ismaili-majority areas, with aid primarily directed to Taliban-controlled regions such as Warduj district. Similarly, in Daikundi, development projects are selectively allocated based on ethnic criteria, while in Bamiyan, Hazara-majority areas have been deprived of humanitarian assistance. Click here to read more (external link).