Afghanistan Financial News

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has hit the brakes on green card processing for certain refugees and asylees, citing the need for “additional screening and vetting”. This unexpected move leaves thousands of applicants in legal limbo, adding uncertainty to the lives of those who sought safety in the U.S. after fleeing persecution. The directive, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), impacts individuals who were already approved for entry as refugees and those granted asylum by U.S. immigration courts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Pakistan has stepped up to play a useful role in mediating between the United States and Iran in attempting to bring the latest West Asian war to an end. It should not surprise us that the Pakistani establishment, which has a culture of geopolitical risk-taking, has turned adversity into an opportunity.Not only does the continuation of the war mean economic disaster, there is a real chance that Pakistani armed forces can be summoned to a war that they do not want to fight.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.President Trump says he is weighing whether to reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed in Germany. If he goes ahead, it would reshape the military presence that has allowed America to project power in Europe, the Middle East and beyond.Trump’s remarks came amid a spat with German Chancellor Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who told a group of students that the U.S.

₹600 per kg to ₹1,000 per kg, premium Mamra almonds from Iran up about 25% to ₹3,500 per kg, and prunes in some cases doubling from ₹500 per kg to ₹1,000 per kg. Pistachio prices have risen from ₹2,000 per kg to ₹2,800 per kg in the past month.Overall, he said, imported dry fruit prices have increased between 15% and 100%, depending on availability and sourcing constraints.India sources a wide range of dry fruits globally, with Iran and Afghanistan among the key suppliers of pistachios, figs, raisins, apricots, dates and premium Mamra almonds.

Beneath the stated justifications of any war in history—righteous causes, nuclear threats, regime changes—the bedrock truth is the same. Conflict is and has always been a quest for resources. The Iran war is merely the latest chapter.

Even as the US-Israel war on Iran has put the world on edge, another flare-up closer home is threatening regional stability. As Kabul has reported, at least 400 people were killed in an airstrike by Pakistan that struck a hospital in Afghanistan.

These are sombre times for the world. The big conflict in West Asia is giving everyone the jitters. For readers of a business paper, the main questions would be related to its impact on markets.

New Delhi: Basmati rice exporters will meet officials of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) this week to assess the fallout of escalating tensions in West Asia, as shipping disruptions and rising freight and insurance costs threaten India’s nearly $6 billion basmati trade in FY25, as per people in the know.The move comes amid growing uncertainty over consignments bound for the Gulf region, which accounts for nearly 60-70% of India’s basmati exports. Exporters said that while the immediate damage is still being assessed, several shipments are either stuck in transit or held up at ports, raising concerns over delayed payments and contractual risks if the conflict is prolonged.“Exports have come to a standstill in some corridors.

There’s a full fledged war going on between once-close neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan. The two have been trading deadly shelling and mortar fire across their border, with Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif saying on Friday that his country’s patience had “run out” and declaring “open war” on its neighbour.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The U.S. military has deployed scores of combat aircraft across the Middle East and will soon have a second aircraft carrier within range of Iran if President Trump gives the order to strike.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India is working on a playbook to operate the Chabahar port in Iran after the US waiver on sanctions against Tehran ends in March, said two people aware of New Delhi’s stance to balance its ties with its longtime Persian Gulf trade partner and the world’s largest economy. As the geopolitical situation eases and if sanctions on infrastructure are lifted, India would look at ways to remain engaged and operate the terminal given its strategic significance, said the first person quoted earlier, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : The air in Davos this year was thick with trepidation. It wasn’t just anxiety about the global economy that weighed on those gathered at the World Economic Forum.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. OTTAWA–Canada and the Trump administration are locked in a war of words over Prime Minister Mark Carney’s bid to chart a new model for smaller powers to fight back against the U.S.’s aggressive use of its economic and military might. In the past week, Carney has resolved a trade dispute with America’s biggest strategic competitor, China, and delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland urging smaller powers to unite against economic coercion from the world’s great powers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump’s speech at Davos was meant to be a bellwether for the trans-Atlantic relationship, particularly Nato, with his handling of Greenland closely watched. After the speech, it appears Nato has survived, but barely.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. BERLIN—The rift between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland is making the trans-Atlantic alliance vulnerable to a Russian attack on NATO territory, one of Germany’s highest ranking officers warned.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump has announced fresh tariff threats, this time targeting any country doing business with Iran with a 25% tariff. For India, the immediate trade risk is limited, given its minimal imports from Iran.

One, draconian limits on refugees: Admissions had grown under Joe Biden, swamping US support systems.On Trump’s first day in office, he pivoted to the other extreme with an executive order that shut the Refugee Admissions Program, leaving thousands of refugees stranded, including those with applications in process. The new admission rate is just 7,500.Trump has decried immigrants from what he calls ‘Third World’ countries and been vocal about a preference for White immigrants.

India’s exports are heavily dependent on the US, and are currently under threat due to high tariffs. But hidden in numbers is another simple story: the region that could boost Indian exports is not across the Pacific, but across its borders.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Work permits issued to immigrants who have applied for asylum or a range of other humanitarian programs will now be valid for 18 months rather than five years, under a new policy announced Thursday by the Trump administration. By forcing immigrants to renew their work permits more often, the government will have more opportunities to re-vet them, said Joe Edlow, director of U.S.

It's the latest phase of a nationwide crackdown launched in October 2023 to expel foreigners living in Pakistan illegally, mostly Afghans. The campaign has drawn fire from rights groups, the Taliban government, and the U.N. Arrests and deportations were due to begin April 1 but were pushed back to April 10 because of the Eid al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramadan, according to government documents seen by The Associated Press. About 845,000 Afghans have left Pakistan over the past 18 months, figures from the International Organization for Migration show. Pakistan says 3 million Afghans remain. Of these, 1,344,584 hold Proof of Registration cards, while 807,402 have Afghan Citizen Cards. There are a further 1 million Afghans who are in the country illegally because they have no paperwork.

conflicts in the Indo-Mediterranean. In Afghanistan the Taliban has completely taken over the country and has launched a diplomatic offensive to gain international acceptance. However, they have disenfranchised the female population banning women from working and studying. Female Afghan citizens find themselves locked in their houses, at the mercy of a regime which gives them no rights, not to mention religious minorities who have left the country. It is not much better in Pakistan, Afghan refugees are being deported to the clutches of the Taliban in the middle of a harsh winter, as the world is distracted from the conflicts of the day. Violence against minority Hindu’s, Christians andAhmadiyya’s is on the rise as Pakistan veers from one political crisis to another. Similar horrifying stories are being told after a regime change in Bangladesh recently saw Nobel Laureate Mohamed Yunus replace elected leader Shiekh Hasina in Dhaka. Hindus, Buddhists, Christians are being singled out and targeted, their businesses destroyed, their leaders arrested on trumped up charges. From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, the story repeats itself in Syria where Muslim brotherhood inspired HTS replaced the gruesome Assad regime. Minorities including Kurds, Alawites, Shi’a don’t accept the new regime’s impositions finding themselves dealing with a new government that they fear will be more brutal than the one it replaced. Apart from religious and ethnic minorities it is the vulnerable groups, the women and children that suffer the most from these radical groups seizing power.