Displaying items by tag: Afghanistan

As the Taliban secures its grip on Afghanistan, UN Security Council officials are warning that the militant group is reliant on drug trafficking as its primary sources of financing, and opium poppy production has increased significantly. They also said the problem of production of poppy-based drugs and methamphetamine was ‘unaddressed’ by the Afghan peace process, even though it remains the Taliban’s largest single source of income. Opium has a destabilising and corrupting effect within Afghanistan and contributes significantly to the narcotics challenges facing the wider international community. Taliban financing is also sourced by other criminal activities including extortion, kidnapping for ransom, mineral exploitation, and revenues from tax collection in areas under their control or influence. The UN office of drugs and crime estimates that taxes collected from drug farmers alone were about $14.5 million, while another $46 to $98 million comes in from heroin manufacturing and trafficking.

Incredibly, many believe Afghanistan has the second-fastest growing church in the world, next to Iran. There are reports of Afghan Christians choosing to stay and share the gospel, saying, ‘we don’t care, we’re here because we love this nation, we love our people, and we’re going to share the gospel regardless, even if it means losing our lives.’ In one village that was taken over a few weeks ago, the Christians started sharing Bible stories with the Taliban, some of whom have been studying the Bible and praying. They haven’t made a confession of faith yet but seem very interested. The fearless nature of these believers reminds us of those in the Book of Revelation: ‘They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives unto death.’ We are seeing this in real time.

The past twenty years in Afghanistan’s history have seen the birth of a Spirit-filled Church. God has been anointing Christians to grow in maturity and numbers. In twenty years thousands of Muslims have converted to Christianity. Linguists have translated the Bible into various languages, and missionaries have taken God’s Word to unreached people groups. Many believe that this mission work and evangelism have been preparing and strengthening the nation for the years ahead in what looks to be a new season. In 2021 the world has become aware, like never before, of the number of Christians in Afghanistan and now, sadly, the danger they are in. This has led to mighty waves of much-needed prayer and financial support being released for our Afghan brothers and sisters, at a time when they desperately need it. See also the praise article ‘Bold Afghan Christians share gospel with Taliban’.

Shortly after UK armed forces minister James Heappey had warned of an imminent terror attack, and had called on those queuing outside Kabul airport to move to safety, two explosions rocked the area on 26 August, leaving a number of casualties and throwing evacuation efforts into more turmoil, days before President Joe Biden's deadline for the USA to leave the country. At least 13 people including children were killed and many others were injured in what Taliban sources described as a suicide attack. Defence secretary Ben Wallace said a ‘better option’ for fleeing Afghans would be to travel across the land border. Christian charity CARE said that the current situation in Afghanistan is a recipe for a human trafficking disaster. Afghan women, fearful of life under new political leadership and aware of attacks on their rights, will want to escape oppression and may, in desperation, turn to illegal means of leaving the country. Many who are promised a better life will end up falling into modern slavery, whether that means commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, or domestic servitude. See

Airbnb is offering free housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees globally and is seeking more assistance from hosts who rent their property through the accommodation-sharing company. Samaritan's Purse, the Christian humanitarian group led by Franklin Graham, is responding to the situation in Afghanistan by partnering with other organisations to get men, women, and children out of the country. They are sponsoring flights which have carried hundreds to safety. Open Doors say Afghanistan is the second most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian, after North Korea. Most Afghan Christians are converted from Islam. Pray for God to protect the thousands of Christians in hiding in Afghanistan. Ask God to provide permanent accommodation and living costs for Christians recently rescued from Afghanistan into neighbouring and distant countries. Ask Him to provide the fearful and anxious with peace of mind as they settle into completely unfamiliar environments and possibly need to learn a new language.

The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) has thousands of fighters in its Panjshir valley stronghold but wants to pursue negotiations with the Taliban before fighting. Amrullah Saleh, who was vice-president before being ousted by the Taliban, is now in Panjshir. The region successfully fought off Soviet forces in the ten-year Soviet-Afghan war and the Taliban in the 1990s. The NRF forces are led by Sandhurst-trained Ahmad Massoud, with many local resistance forces and US-trained ex-Afghan soldiers joining them. The mountainous valley, known for its natural defenses, has never been under Taliban control, partly thanks to Massoud's father, a notorious guerilla warrior. The NRF believes that for lasting peace it must address the underlying problems of a country made up of ethnic minorities, none of which is a majority. The NRF's ultimate goal is a decentralised form of governance in the country.

Women, girls and minorities considered most at risk in Afghanistan will be prioritised in the proposed resettling of 20,000 refugees (5,000 this year) in the UK. Boris Johnson said Britain owed a ‘debt of gratitude to all those who have worked with us to make Afghanistan a better place over the last twenty years. Many of them, particularly women, are now in urgent need of our help. Home secretary Priti Patel said, ‘I want to ensure that as a nation we do everything possible to provide support to the most vulnerable fleeing Afghanistan so they can start a new life in safety in the UK.’ Christian MP Ian Paisley Jr has asked for all British missionaries to be returned from Afghanistan. He said, ‘There are 228 missionaries currently under sentence of death who need to be taken out of Afghanistan, as well as tens of thousands of others.’ See

Afghan students offered scholarships by the UK government to study here from September will not be able to take up their places this year as the British embassy could not finish paperwork in time. One student said, ‘When we really need it, you are taking it away. I don't believe it will be deferred for a year. If you cannot make it this year, how can you make it next year?’. See Archbishop Justin Welby said, ‘The tragic failures we are witnessing in Afghanistan and their devastating impact on men, women and children demand prayer and urgent humanitarian action’. Kitty Chevallier, a British charity worker, said she felt immensely lucky to have escaped on an evacuation flight but it is tragic that some of her Afghan friends are still stuck in the country’. Pray for Afghans whose chances of leaving are small and who have so much more to lose.

Previously midwife Nooria regularly discussed treatments for locals with male doctors at the clinic she works in. But now male and female meetings are prohibited by orders of the Taliban. When she goes out she has to wear a burqa, and a male has to accompany her. Men are not allowed to shave their beards - the Taliban says this is against Islam. Barbers are prohibited from giving foreign-style haircuts. Everyone is frightened. The Taliban have taken up positions in most villages. Locals can't escape them. Armed fighters walk through the streets morning and evening, knocking on doors and demanding food. A group within the Taliban, called Amri bil Marof (order the good), is imposing a two-strike rule. First a warning, second a punishment - public humiliations, prison, beatings, lashes.

Two days after the Taliban captured Kabul, Iran's foreign ministry said its embassy continues its normal operations. Its consulate in Herat, close to the Iranian border, also remains fully operational. Iran's embassy is among a handful of foreign missions still open, including the embassies of Russia, China and Pakistan. All have signalled possible recognition of an emerging Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. In the midst of the withdrawal of American and foreign troops from Afghanistan, Tehran hosted Taliban and government delegations in an effort to be a key player in the political scene. Iranian officials and state-funded media face accusations of attempting to ‘canonise the Taliban’. The move is not welcomed by the Iranian public or pro-reform papers. Iran's social media is inundated with messages of solidarity with the ‘betrayed’ Afghan people. Individual Iranians are volunteering to adopt abandoned Afghan children.