Amu: Major border crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan remained closed for a 13th consecutive day, disrupting trade and leaving hundreds of travelers stranded on both sides of the border, amid rising tensions between the two sides. According to Khan Jan Alokozai, a senior official at the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, five key commercial border points have been shut down, halting the daily movement of nearly 2,000 trucks, including those carrying perishable goods. Click here to read more (external link).
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Amu: Taliban have effectively dismantled media freedom in Afghanistan since seizing power in August 2021, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday, citing systematic surveillance, censorship, arbitrary detentions and torture of journalists, with women in the media bearing the brunt of the crackdown. The 2025 report, based on dozens of interviews with journalists in Afghanistan and in exile, outlines a media landscape hollowed out by repression. Many outlets have shut down, thousands of journalists have fled, and those who remain face daily threats of arrest, violence or professional bans. Those in exile are now under threat of forced return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. “Taliban officials increasingly compel Afghan journalists to produce ‘safe,’ pre-approved stories, and they punish those who step out of line with arbitrary detention and torture,” said Fereshta Abbasi, HRW’s Afghanistan researcher. “While all Afghan journalists have been affected, women journalists have been among the hardest hit.” 
Ariana: Iran has launched a new work visa program aimed at regulating foreign labor and reducing illegal migration, with a particular focus on Afghan workers. According to state news agency IRNA, the initiative officially began on October 1 and allows Iranian employers to hire Afghan nationals through a streamlined application process coordinated with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior. The program marks a major shift in Iran’s approach to managing its large Afghan migrant population—many of whom currently live and work in the country without legal status.