Afghanistan Roundup: Afghan prisoners, Japanese health aid, plane crash
193 Afghan prisoners released from Iran
The Afghan government announced that 193 Afghan citizens imprisoned in Iran were released from Al-Ghadir prison in Zahedan, a city in the central district of Iran. The prisoners were handed over to the Afghan embassy in Iran. The Taliban administration reported the release of 99 Afghan citizens from Sindh province, Pakistan, while the process of deporting Afghan migrants lacking legal documents continues, local media Khaam Press reported.
$7 million health aid from Japan
Japan has pledged to provide $7 million to Afghanistan in collaboration with the World Health Organization to enhance its capacity to respond to infectious diseases. The budget will be used to support health facilities in Afghanistan, including the Japan-Afghanistan Leprosy Hospital and the National Tuberculosis Hospital in Kabul. Over 76,000 individuals are expected to benefit from the project, local media Pajhwok Afghan News reports.
Plane crash kills 3 former Afghan air force members
Three former Afghan Air Force members who were refugees in the United States were killed in a plane crash after the aircraft they were in collided with power lines in Oregon, USA. The pilot of the plane was Mohammad Hossein Mousavi and the passengers were Mohammad Bashir Safdari, and Ali Jan Firdousi, according to American news network KOIN. The plane was carrying Afghan citizens who worked with the support barrels for Afghans in Beaverton.
$1 billion in trade
The Afghan National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) reported that Afghanistan traded nearly one billion dollars with neighbouring countries in the Asian region in the past month, with $227 million coming from exports, mainly to India, Pakistan, China, Iran, and the UAE. "In the month of Aqrab of the current year (Solar year), $227.1 million worth of exports were made and $681.5 million worth of imports were made. These exports were mostly sent to Pakistan, India and China, while the imports were to Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Iran,” a spokesperson for the NSIA is quoted by Afghan news agency Tolo News.
Distribution of health supplies
Medical officials have reported that $835,000 worth of medical equipment and related items, including ambulances, motorcycles, office cabinets, and laboratory equipment, were distributed to health centres in the Helmand province, the south of Afghanistan with financial support from the Asian Development Bank and UNICEF, Afghan state media Bakhtar News Agency reported.
