Damage to Chabahar Port threatens key trade route for Afghanistan

·

A ship at Chabahar Port (file photo, Press TV)

Amu: Indian media reported that the US strikes damaged the port’s vessel traffic control tower early Thursday, dealing a setback to India’s long-term strategy of using Chabahar to access Afghanistan and Central Asia without relying on Pakistani territory. Since India invested in the port in 2016, Chabahar has become a strategic transit hub linking India with Afghanistan and the broader region. Click here to read more (external link).

Plundered Amid Poverty: Badakhshan’s Farmland Vanishes for the Price of Gold

·

8am: Several residents of Badakhshan province are complaining about the sale of agricultural land to mining companies and the seizure of parts of this land by individuals and companies linked to the Taliban. They say that many people, driven by poverty and economic hardship, are forced to sell their farmland without considering the long-term consequences for livelihoods, the environment, and food security. Click here to read more (external link).

Former Afghan Deputy Speaker Extradited to US to Face Drug and Weapons Charge

·

Zahir Qadir

Khaama: Abdul Zahir Qadeer, a former Afghan general and first deputy speaker of the country’s lower house of parliament, has been extradited from Kenya to the United States to face federal charges over an alleged scheme to traffic large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine and supply military-grade weapons, U.S. prosecutors said. He is the son of Haji Abdul Qadeer, a senior member of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance and one of the first vice presidents of Afghanistan’s post-2001 transitional administration. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban declares war on smartphones

·

NPR: Across Afghanistan, smartphones have become part of a fragile support system. Families use them to consult doctors remotely, arrange transport to distant clinics, send photos of wounds and symptoms, ask relatives for money, document abuse and reach schooling that is no longer available in person to many girls and women. That fragile network is now under threat. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan to Begin Deportation of Around 20,000 Afghans From Peshawar

·

Khaama: Pakistani authorities have finalized preparations for a new phase of deportations that could see around 20,000 Afghan nationals returned from the northwestern city of Peshawar to Afghanistan, according to a report by The Express Tribune, as Islamabad continues its nationwide campaign against undocumented foreigners. The Express Tribune reported on Friday, July 10, that authorities in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province have completed preparations for a phased deportation operation targeting Afghan nationals without valid legal documents or with expired residency permits. The newspaper said police, district authorities, and security agencies have finalized operational plans in coordination with the federal government. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan says militants are crossing from Afghanistan to carry out attacks

·

Shehbaz Sharif

Amu: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that militant groups are crossing into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Afghanistan to carry out attacks, as senior Pakistani officials renewed pressure on the Taliban over a worsening security dispute between the neighboring countries. Speaking during a visit to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, Sharif said militants were entering Pakistan from Afghanistan in groups and carrying out attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He also accused India of providing financial and military support to militant groups targeting Pakistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Related