Recent statistics from the European Union's asylum agency reveal that Afghan citizens continue to be the largest group of asylum seekers in Europe. According to this data, out of every 10 Afghan citizens applying for asylum in EU member countries, four choose Germany as their destination. The report indicates that the number of asylum applications in Germany has decreased compared to last year, placing the country fourth among EU nations in terms of the number of asylum requests, alongside Norway and Switzerland. The report states that in the first six months of this year, over 51,000 asylum applications were registered in Germany, reflecting a 27% decrease compared to the same period last year. During this time, Afghan citizens accounted for 37% of all asylum applications in Germany. Citizens from Turkey and Syria made up 9% of the total applications, respectively. In the first half of this year, France, Italy, and Spain recorded the highest number of asylum applications. Hungary, Slovakia, and Lithuania had the lowest numbers of applications. According to the EU asylum agency's statistics, from January to the end of June 2026, a total of over 321,000 asylum applications were registered in EU countries, Norway, and Switzerland. This figure was 399,000 during the same period last year. These statistics include both first-time and repeat applications. With 37,419 applications filed, Afghan citizens have been the largest group of asylum seekers in the EU, Norway, and Switzerland. France is also one of the main destinations for Afghan refugees, with more than one-fifth of Afghan applicants registering their asylum requests in this country.

Himish Falconer, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, emphasized the necessity of standing against policies and restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan after meeting with the Afghan women's cricket team of refugees. Mr. Falconer shared images from this meeting on his X account, expressing his pleasure at reuniting with the Afghan women's cricket team, their visit to the UK Parliament building, and witnessing their skills on the cricket field. He further stressed that the enthusiasm and motivation of these players serve as a reminder that the international community must stand against the "horrific" treatment of women and girls by the current government in Afghanistan. The published images show the Deputy Foreign Minister of the UK playing cricket with the Afghan women's cricket team. The Afghan refugee women's cricket team has entered the UK at the invitation of the England and Wales Cricket Board to participate in exhibition matches. Members of this team also met with Charles III, the King of the United Kingdom, on July 24. The British royal family stated after that meeting that women and girls in Afghanistan have been deprived of their right to sports and are facing extensive restrictions in education, employment, and public participation. The Afghan women's cricket team was established in 2010; however, after the return of the interim government to power, it lost its official status as a national team. Most players from this team have left Afghanistan, and some are now living in Australia.

International media reports that Nasibe Daytabar, an advocate for migrant rights and human rights defender, has been nominated by the "Environmental Party" in the electoral district of Stockholm to enter the Swedish Parliament. Ms. Daytabar was elected to the city council of "Yrfala" in the 2022 elections and is now striving to enter Parliament. Nasibe has studied human rights up to the master's level and has been active in the fields of human rights, migration, and social integration, particularly addressing migrant issues in Sweden since 2011. The Swedish parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on September 13 of this year. It is worth mentioning that Nasibe Daytabar was born in Afghanistan and completed part of her higher education in Iran. She then migrated to Europe and, after obtaining Swedish citizenship, became involved in social and political activities. While Nasibe Daytabar is nominated for entry into the Swedish Parliament, the interim government inside Afghanistan has deprived women and girls of education, work, and political participation. Afghan women migrants in other communities are reaching important political positions, reflecting their individual capabilities and successful integration. Recently, Elahe Ahrar, an Afghan-American woman, has independently been nominated for the U.S. Congress from Virginia's 7th electoral district for the House of Representatives.

A recent report from the United Nations Women’s Section indicates that Afghanistan remains among the countries with no available data on the presence of women in its political structures. The UN Women’s Section published a report titled "Women in Politics 2026," which examines the status of women's participation in the political power structures of 190 countries. Afghanistan is categorized alongside Guinea and Myanmar in the section labeled "exceptional circumstances or lack of accessible data." According to the findings of this report, while the global average of women's representation in parliaments reaches 27.4%, Afghanistan, due to the absence of an active parliament and the lack of official information, has not been ranked in the global standings for women's presence in legislative bodies. In this ranking, Rwanda holds the top position, with 63.8% of parliamentary seats allocated to women. Cuba follows with 57.2%, and Nicaragua comes next with 55%. The report also reveals that Afghanistan has been removed from the list of countries regarding women's representation in government cabinets, alongside North Korea and Myanmar, as there is no accessible information about women's presence in their cabinets. Before the return of the interim government to power in 2021, women held approximately 27% of the seats in Afghanistan's House of Representatives, equivalent to 68 seats out of a total of 250 designated for women according to the constitution. However, women are now excluded from all formal political decision-making structures. Additionally, this report shows that globally, women's presence in the highest political offices remains limited; only 10.6% of countries have a female head of state, and 10.9% have a female prime minister. Meanwhile, women’s rights experts have repeatedly warned that the complete exclusion of women from political power structures has made Afghanistan one of the few countries in the world where women have no official role in political decision-making processes and public representation; a situation that has significantly widened the gap between this country and global trends in women's political participation.

The Afghanistan Media Support Organization (AMSO) has announced that dozens of Afghan journalists and media workers residing in Pakistan are facing the threat of forced expulsion following the decision by the country's Ministry of Interior to detain and expel undocumented foreign nationals. In a statement, the organization expressed its deep concern regarding the Ministry of Interior's decision to detain and forcibly expel undocumented migrants. It emphasized that currently, dozens of journalists, media workers from Afghanistan, and their family members who have sought refuge in Pakistan due to serious security threats are facing widespread difficulties in extending their visas and residency, putting them at risk of detention and forced expulsion. The Afghanistan Media Support Organization further urged the Pakistani government to exempt Afghan journalists, media staff, and their families from the forced detention and expulsion program, taking humanitarian considerations into account. The organization stated that the expulsion of journalists from Pakistan seriously endangers their lives under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. The statement noted that freedom of expression, as per Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is considered a fundamental right of every individual. AMSO also called on the responsible authorities in Pakistan to provide necessary facilities for the extension of visas and residency for journalists awaiting transfer to third countries. Additionally, the organization urged relevant UN agencies to expedite the process of transferring journalists from Pakistan to a safe country. This comes as, following the return of the caretaker government in Afghanistan, hundreds of journalists and media workers have fled to Pakistan, seeking to move to a third and safer country. Previously, Reporters Without Borders had also reported that some Afghan journalists who sought refuge in Pakistan after the current government came to power have been detained amid rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, facing the threat of deportation back to Afghanistan. For over a year now, Pakistan has accelerated the expulsion of undocumented migrants from the country.