Amu: More than 5,300 children in Afghanistan are currently living with thalassemia, a life-threatening inherited blood disorder, the Taliban’s deputy minister of public health said Thursday at a public health event in Kabul. Thalassemia is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to produce hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Children born with severe forms of the disease often require lifelong blood transfusions and specialized care. Without proper treatment, thalassemia can lead to serious complications, including organ damage and early death. The condition is more prevalent in parts of South Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Detain Three Journalists In Takhar, Subject Them To Torture
Afghanistan International: The Taliban have detained three journalists in Takhar province, with local sources alleging they were subjected to torture while in custody. The detainees include Sayed Munir Hadaf, director of Tasweer Weekly and head of the National Journalists’ Union of Takhar; Asadullah Timur, a local reporter; and Nasratullah Ebrahimi, a journalist with Ariana News. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – May 7, 2025
Many Afghans living in the U.S. fear being tortured or killed if they get deported
NPR: Roughly 200,000 Afghan immigrants and refugees came to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021. That includes about 10,000 in Greater Houston. While some of them have since received green cards or even U.S. citizenship, many have more tenuous legal status, such as humanitarian parole or temporary protected status (TPS). Click here to read more (external link).
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Khalilzad warns: India-Pakistan clash highlights perils of supporting terrorism
Khalilzad
Khaama: Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. envoy for Afghanistan, has issued a stern warning in response to the recent conflict between India and Pakistan. He emphasized that supporting terrorism leads to catastrophic consequences. Khalilzad’s comments appear to indirectly address Islamabad’s alleged policies that have been linked to supporting militant groups in the region. Click here to read more (external link).
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Taliban Deploy Additional Forces To Badakhshan Following Clashes With Locals
Afghanistan International: The Taliban have deployed additional forces to Argo district in Badakhshan province amid growing unrest and protests by local residents. Sources report that more than 30 people have been arrested by the group as tensions escalate. Residents of Argo have expressed growing discontent over the Taliban’s poppy eradication campaign, which they say has been conducted without providing alternative livelihoods. Protesters also cited the exclusion of locals from decision-making processes and harsh treatment by “non-local” Taliban fighters as causes of unrest. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – May 6, 2025
Detainees In Ghor Say Taliban Denying Them Food, Water
Afghanistan International: According to the detainees, many have been held without formal charges or legal proceedings for between 10 and 15 days. In a video obtained by Afghanistan International, the detainees allege that they are being held in inhumane conditions crammed into a small room and denied access to food and water. Several sources have alleged that the Taliban used the poppy eradication campaign as a pretext to detain individuals critical of the group or opposed to its members. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan is Pakistan’s Strategic Quigmire, Says Shashi Tharoor
Khaama: Former UN official Shashi Tharoor says Pakistan’s influence over the Taliban has sharply declined, turning Afghanistan into a strategic quagmire. or decades, Pakistan provided financial and logistical support to the Taliban, seeing them as a means to establish “strategic depth” in Afghanistan and to exert influence in the region, particularly against India. However, Tharoor argues that, as is often the case with the “monsters” one creates, Pakistan’s control over the Taliban has faltered, with the group moving further from Islamabad’s influence. Click here to read more (external link).
More Pakistan-Afghanistan News
Taliban Rule and the Grip of Poverty: Nearly 70% of the Population Unemployed
8am: Several citizens have complained about the growing unemployment, expanding poverty, and lack of job opportunities in Afghanistan. They argue that despite the Taliban’s claims of creating employment opportunities, their downsizing of government structures has not only failed to generate jobs but has also deprived people of their livelihoods. These citizens further state that favoritism, nepotism, and the dominance of Taliban loyalists have marginalized individuals who do not share the Taliban’s ideology or lack connections. Click here to read more (external link).