Sweden Committee for Afghanistan suspends some operations after Taliban order

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, a major humanitarian organisation, has paused some of its operations, it said on Wednesday, after a Taliban order halting Swedish activities in the country, Reuters reports.

The Taliban administration last week said all activities by Sweden in Afghanistan must stop in response to the burning of a Quran in Stockholm last month, but it was not clear which institutions the order would apply to.

“Some activities of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), have been paused,” the aid group said in a statement, after seeking discussion with the Taliban administration.

Thousands of Afghan staff work for the organisation throughout the country in health, education and rural development, and treated 2.5 million patients in its health clinics last year.

SCA did not elaborate on how many of its operations had been paused and said it was seeking approvals to resume operations as soon as possible.

The Taliban-run Economy Ministry, which administers non-governmental organisations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Afghanistan’s aid sector has already been severely hampered by a series of restrictions, including on female aid workers. Funding reductions for a United Nations-led annual humanitarian plan suggests donor countries are pulling back on financial support.

READ: Taliban halt Sweden activities in Afghanistan after Quran burning