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The risk of armed conflict remains low; however, the declining economic situation continues to drive criminality.The de-facto authorities carried out door to door search operations in February, including at NGO compounds,in a claimed attempt to seek out criminal activity.

Public universities reopened in February for both male and female students. The Ministry of Education alsoannounced that girls will be returning to secondary schools at the end of March, after more than six months of girlsbeing forced out of school.

8 polio health workers were killed at the end of February in Kunduz and Takhar provinces, forcing thesuspension of the vaccination campaign in these provinces. This suspension leaves thousands of childrenunprotected and exposed to a life-threatening disease.

Two thirds of the population are resorting to crisis-level coping strategies to feed themselves, like skipping mealsand pulling children out of school to work. An estimated 1 million children are engaged in child labour currently.

$1 billion is set to be released from the ARTF to UN and INGO agencies to fund education agriculture, healthand family programs in Afghanistan. $280m was already released from this fund to WFP and UNICEF at the endof 2021. At the beginning of February, the US also announced the release of half of Afghanistans $7billionfrozen assets. The other half will remain available pending legal litigation related to 9/11 victims.

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Save the Children's Response in Afghanistan - Afghanistan - ReliefWeb

Goldberg's op ed piece from March 7 was interesting and a worthwhile read but I must take issue with his slamming of President Joe for the Afghanistan fiasco. Goldberg and most every other pundit and arm chair expert have piled on to President Joe over his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I contend that it is grossly unfair and inaccurate to pin all the blame on Biden. Over 20 years, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, billions of taxpayer dollars poured into arming and training the Afghan military. Many precious American lives were lost defending Afghanistan. And yet the Afghan armed forces melted like snow in spring when the going got tough. If Afghans refuse to fight for their own country and countrymen -- why should another American tax dollar be spent or another precious American life be lost fighting for them? Also I contend that countless mistakes were made over the 20 years that contributed to the debacle. Shouldering Biden with all the blame is both unfair and inaccurate.

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.

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Letter: exit from afghanistan | Letters to the Editor - Arizona Daily Star

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza, who is on official visit to Germany and Switzerland, called on Chief of the Defence Forces, Germany General Eberhard ZORN.

According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), matters of bilateral professional interest including further strengthening of security and defence cooperation between the two countries were discussed in the meeting.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to work together for peace, security and stability in the region particularly in Afghanistan.

Chairman JCSC during his visit of Germany also visited German Infantry School at Hammelburg and Center for Internal Leadership at Kolbenz where he was briefed about the mandate and curriculum of the institutes.

Later, General Nadeem Raza visited Switzerland where he called on Chief of Swiss Armed Forces Lieutenant General Thomas SUSSLI.

Chairman JCSC reviewed the full gamut of bilateral defence relations and exchanged views on global and regional security environment and enhanced military and defence cooperation between the two Armed Forces.

Chairman JCSC also visited Geneva Center for Security Policy. GCSP is an international foundation that provides executive education and training in comprehensive international peace and security policy.

During the visit of the center, General Nadeem Raza highlighted the security perspective of Pakistan on geo-strategic situation of the region with emphasis on Afghanistan.He emphasized upon the need for reconciliation within Afghanistan for regional peace and security.

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Pakistan, Germany vow to work together for peace, security in Afghanistan - The Nation

The latest news worldwide is the horrendous refugee crisis in Ukraine caused by the Russian attack. More than a million refugees have shiftedto neighbouring countries for protection and a way out of the invasion. With long queues on the roads and commotion in traffic paths leading out of Ukraine, the people are in a total frenzy, desperate to leave their own country. And the ones who have no friends or family to take care of are being kept in reception centers with basic amenities keeping them secure and alive. Some of the places Ukrainians are shifting to the most are Poland, Hungary, Romania, Russia itself, Slovakia and Moldova.

Countries like Poland and Hungary have welcomed the Ukrainian refugees with the warmest regards and open arms; Poland in particular has been accepting a massive amount of refugees. As Zbigniew Rau had mentioned, Poland has embraced all asylum seekers without discrimination, as the Ukrainian crisis has threatened the security of the entire European continent. It is mainly women and children migrating to Poland after waiting for 24 hours, and since it is difficult to gather all the documents during wartime, only birth certificates for the children, passports, and medical reports are required for travel. But the Polish government has conveyed to the European Union that it requires more resources and financial aid to harbor the raging number of refugees.

The refugee policy of the European Union (EU) bears a strong root in the firm history associated with it. According to Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the asylum policy of the EU originates from the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees". The Policy is mainly regulated by the CEAS - Common European Asylum System, and due to the ongoing refugee crisis, it was last reformed in 2014.

The EU policy is predominantly enacted to grant refugee status and protection to international migrants by law. After assessing the process of a refugee by the CEAS, they are lawfully granted international protection. But with adequate awareness about the risks of returning to their home country for the refugee status in the other country. If the council or the Member States do not find the conditions for seeking asylum to be valid, they will be termed illegal economic migrants."

The EU has previously been criticised for its aversion to accepting refugees during the Syrian and Afghanistan crisis, the behavior contrasting withthe current acceptance during the Ukrainian crisis. It can be fairly well understood that there is a racial and geopolitical motive behind it as Ukraine, being a neighboring country, bears the right to enter the union and be accepted. Racially, Syrian and Afghani refugees are stereotypically perceived as violent and undermined since history, which persists today.

As it is known that there is still gender discrimination existing during a refugee crisis, the most prominent issues faced by women in the EU are sexual violence and harassment, and discrimination and violence against women refugees. The EU has brought forth certain changes that ensure their socio-economic rights, abolition of violence, and equal space in various areas.

During the Taliban invasion, Afghan women had migrated to the US with the hope of surviving, away from the orthodox universe the Taliban had unabashedly created back in their home. But even with resources in the United States, the Afghan women kept facing issues firstly to cope with their shyness stemming from their conservative roots to speak out loud about their needs relating to personal hygiene and sanitation. And even when they managed to fight their coyness, the resources were not always abundant. Not to forget, the tedious and intricate documentation process may not always be grasped by the Afghan women refugees when a majority of them had been excluded from the right to education and awareness.

It is no secret that women face a more challenging time surviving in the everyday world, unfairly so. So it can only be understood that it is worse for them during a life-threatening crisis when they are most vulnerable. But the problems persist, especially during a tumultuous refugee crisis.

In accordance with the UNHCR, the requisite fundamental rights of the women refugees are access to education and employment, rights against gender-based violence, access to resources and healthcare, freedom of expression, and right to life.

Naresh M. Gehi, Esq. is an Indo-US Lawyer and the Director of Gehis Immigration and International Legal Services based in Mumbai, India and is an expert in complex Immigration strategies, M&As (expansion, take-overs), foreign investments, optimization of tax benefits, cross-border investment and tax issues. Currently, he is the chief advisor to the President of Suriname and he has been representing eminent Indians and U.S. individuals in their international immigration & legal matters. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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From Ukraine to Afghanistan, Women War Refugees Have to Struggle Twice as Hard for Basics - News18

Russian President Vladimir Putin could be feeling trapped and despite his public statements, he can't just pretend that everything is going OK in Ukraine, where his troops have so far failed to capture the capital, Kyiv, said Jack Barsky, a former KGB agent and the author of "Deep Undercover: My Secret Life and Tangled Alliances as a KGB Spy in America."

Born Albrecht Dittrich in East Germany and recruited by the KGB to spy on the U.S. during the Cold War, Barsky stayed in the U.S. after the fall of the Soviet Union and worked with U.S. intelligence after he was exposed as a former sleeper agent.

Barsky told CBS News' Lana Zak that the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was a formative moment for Putin, who was then a mid-level KGB officer. As protesters gathered outside the office where he was stationed in Dresden, in East Germany, Putin was told Moscow was silent.

Putin "went from being a member of the most powerful organization, living the good life in East Germany, to somebody who was completely helpless, defending that position. I think that left a deep impression on him and it motivated him to rebuild not necessarily the Soviet Union, but greater Russia. This is what he is after," Barsky said.

Barsky told CBS News that in other wars, Putin sought to escalate the conflict and if the pattern holds, will go after more civilian targets.

"He doesn't really care as much for the suffering of the Russian people. He's lashing out against his own people," Barsky said.

The Russian leader has "a tight grip on power," Barksy said. "As long as he satisfies his inner circle the folks that are directly supporting him he doesn't have much to fear."

While a military revolt could be a potential long-term scenario, Barsky said, right now "he is very well protected."

"Assuming that he can survive this, assuming there isn't a sort of coup against him so long term, he'll be in trouble if this keeps going like this, if more soldiers keep dying. He'll have an Afghanistan on his hands," said Barsky. Soviet troops entered Afghanistan in late 1979, toppling the Afghan leader and kicking off a nearly decade-long conflict with the mujahideen. "And as you know, Afghanistan was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and Ukraine may become the beginning of the end of Putin as a dictator."

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Former KGB spy Jack Barsky offers insights on what Putin wants - CBS News