afghanistan

Pakistan's Foreign Minister and deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar (4R) shakes hands with Afghan government officials upon his arrival in Kabul. Photo: Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AFP.

Pakistan foreign minister arrives in Kabul as Afghan deportations rise

Some of the 800,000 Afghans facing deportation were born in Pakistan or lived there for decades

April 19, 2025| AFP
Zahra Joya said she was "rushed" onto a flight back to London by the police. Photo: Joya Zahra/X.

Journalist and TIME Magazine Woman of the Year denied entry to Malta

Zahra Joya said she was refused entry after being invited to conference on Afghan women's rights

January 27, 2025| James Cummings
Afghan boys selling balloons sit in a vehicle after being detained by security personnel from the ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on the grounds stating the balloons had faces resembling living beings.

Taliban leader bans windows overlooking women's areas 

New buildings should not have windows through which it is possible to see 'the courtyard, kitchen, neighbour's well and other places usually used by women'

December 29, 2024| AFP
Taliban members of the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stand guard at a checkpoint along a road on the outskirts of Herat province, Afghanistan.

Afghan media to be banned from publishing images of all living things

Journalists summoned by the morality police

October 14, 2024| AFP
Images posted on social media on August 27, show Afghan women residing outside the country chanting anti-Taliban slogans and singing to protest. Photo: AFP

Afghan women filmed singing in protest of ban on their voices

Activists post videos raising their fists or tearing photos of the Taliban supreme leader

August 28, 2024| AFP
Afghan men sell Taliban flags along a street on the eve of third anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Taliban celebrate three years since takeover of Afghanistan

Taliban forces seized the capital Kabul on August 15, 2021, after the US-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile.

August 14, 2024| AFP
Afghanistan is blessed with beautiful nature. Photos: Rosanne Zammit

‘I’m alive, but I’m dead here’: life under the Taliban

Amid Afghanistan's natural beauty lie the sad stories of a nation made miserable under Taliban rule

August 7, 2024| Rosanne Zammit
Whistleblower David McBride speaking at an event in aid of Julian Assange in February. Photo: David McBride/Facebook

Australian ex-army lawyer sentenced to five years for Afghan war leaks 

David McBride leaked information that alleged Australian troops killed unarmed men and children in Afghanistan

May 14, 2024| AFP
An Afghan man with a burqa-clad woman and a child walk along the Kokcha River in Fayzabad. Photo:AFP

Afghan women struggle under male guardian rules 

Under the Taliban's rule, women are barred from going on long trips or entering a government building if they are not accompanied by a man

May 10, 2024| AFP
An Iranian man watches the news on his phone in a street in Tehran, on January 18 2024. Pakistan launched deadly strikes on January 18 against militant targets in Iran in apparent retaliation for Iranian air raids on its territory. Photo: AFP

Calls for calm after Iran, Pakistan trade strikes on militants

Afghanistan says violence between its neighbours 'alarming'

January 18, 2024| AFP
Afghan construction labourers work on a road in the Sara-e-Shamali area in Kabul. Photo: AFP

The changing face of Kabul: Safer, more sombre

Ambitious programme to improve life in the city launched

November 30, 2023| AFP
The Molla Omer mosque in Kabul. Photo: AFP

'Here our prayers are heard': Kabul unveils Dome of the Rock replica

Dome tops mosque modelled on shrine in Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem

October 29, 2023| AFP
Afghan residents clear debris from a damaged house after earthquake in Sarbuland village of Zendeh Jan district of Herat province.

Death toll from Afghan quakes doubles to more than 2,000 

'Houses turned into sand'

October 8, 2023| AFP
The EU hopes the funds will help meet some of the women's basic needs. Photo: Shutterstock

EU releases €140 million in frozen funds for Afghanistan

The EU confirmed that aid is reaching Afghan girls and women

September 20, 2023| AFP
This handout photograph released by the Afghanistan's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice shows a pile of musical instruments and equipment being set on fire by the members of Taliban.

Taliban create bonfire of 'immoral' music equipment   

'Promoting music causes moral corruption and playing it will cause the youth to go astray' - Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue

July 30, 2023| AFP
Afghan children carry their belongings following flash floods in the Khair Abad area in Ghazni province on July 23, 2023. The death toll from overnight flash floods caused by torrential rain in central Afghanistan has risen to 26. Photo: AFP

Toll in Afghanistan flash floods jumps to 26 killed, 40 missing

Extensive damage to property and farmland

July 23, 2023| AFP
Khalida Popal fought Taliban oppression to realise her dream of playing football.

Interview: ‘They threw stones at me just because I was playing football’

Former Afghanistan women's captain speaks about her experience

July 16, 2023| Valhmor Camilleri
Deena Rahimi, a twelfth grade student from a secondary school, reads a book at her residence in Kabul . (AFP file photo)

Afghan Taliban order women's beauty parlours to shut 

It is the latest curb to squeeze women out of public life

July 4, 2023| AFP
A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of the August 26 twin suicide bombs, which killed scores of people including 13 US troops, at Kabul airport on August 27, 2021.

Taliban kill IS 'mastermind' of Kabul airport attack: White House

The airport attack had killed 170 Afghans and 13 US troops

April 26, 2023| AFP
People gather outside following an earthquake in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 21, 2023. Photo: AFP

At least 12 killed in Afghanistan-Pakistan quake measuring 6.5 on Richter scale

It lasted more than 30 seconds and was felt from central Asia to New Delhi

March 22, 2023| AFP
Listing countries from Afghanistan and Iran to the United States and Russia, Volker Turk warned that discrimination and racism were virulent threats. Photo: AFP

Racism, discrimination pose 'virulent threat': UN rights chief

Volker Turk voiced alarm over magnitude of discrimination against women and girls

March 7, 2023| AFP
Male students attend their computer science class after the universities were reopened in Kabul on March 6, 2023. Photo: AFP

Afghan universities reopen, but women still barred

Women removed from government jobs, paid a fraction of their former salary

March 6, 2023| AFP
A Taliban member stands guard in front of the rubble of a suspected Islamic State hideout following an operation against Islamic State.

Taliban kill top Islamic State commander planning Afghanistan attacks

He planned attacks against diplomatic missions in Afghanistan's capital

February 28, 2023| AFP
Migrants in transit, mostly from Afghanistan, lie wrapped in jackets and blankets because of the cold, in a tent near the railway station in Rijeka, on the Adriatic coast in western Croatia. Photo: AFP

EU asylum claims soar to seven-year high

Nearly one million asylum claims were lodged in 2022

February 22, 2023| AFP
Flowers are placed on the names of victims of the 9/11 terror attack in the North Tower Memorial Pool during the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 11, 2022 in New York City. Photo: AFP

US judge rules 9/11 victims cannot seize Afghan central bank funds

'The Taliban must pay for the Taliban's liability in the 9/11 attacks'

February 22, 2023| AFP
Afghan vendors selling roses wait for customers along the flower street on the occasion of Valentine’s Day in the Shar-e-Naw area of Kabul on February 14, 2023. Photo: Wakil Kohsar / AFP

Kabul florists heartbroken over Taliban Valentine’s Day ban

In famed Flower Street, shops were full of heart-shaped garlands and red stuffed animals, but hopelessly empty of customers

February 14, 2023| AFP
The Taliban has banned education for women and girls in Afghanistan. Photo: Shutterstock.

Malta condemns Taliban ban on education for women and girls in Afghanistan

Malta stands with all Afghans, Ian Borg says

December 29, 2022| James Cummings
Afghan petitioners gather in the civil court office at the Ghazni Court of Appeal. Photo: AFP

Eye-for-an-eye sharia justice returns to Afghan courts

How sharia justice is being administered

December 28, 2022| AFP
Afghan female university students stop by Taliban security personnel stand next to a university in Kabul on December 21, 2022. Photo: AFP

Turkey urges Taliban to reverse university ban for women

Armed guards are stopping Afghan women from entering universities

December 22, 2022| AFP
Afghan female university students stop by Taliban security personnel stand next to a private university in Kabul on December 21, 2022. Photo: AFP

Armed guards stop Afghan women entering universities after Taliban ban

The Taliban had promised a softer rule when they seized power last year

December 21, 2022| AFP