Kabul (TIP): Three major international aid groups on December 25 suspended their operations in Afghanistan following a decision by the country’s Taliban rulers to ban women from working at non-governmental organisations. Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE said they cannot effectively reach children, women and men in desperate need in Afghanistan without the women in their workforces.

The three NGOs provide healthcare, education, child protection and nutrition services and support amid plummeting humanitarian conditions. The NGO ban was introduced a day earlier.

The US warned that the NGO ban will disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions. The Taliban takeover sent Afghanistan’s economy into a tailspin and transformed the country, driving millions into poverty and hunger. — AP