Afghan physicist named lifetime member of Royal Society of Canada as Afghan students, IDPs and rights defenders face mounting crises

Taher Sharan, an Afghan physicist and researcher who served from 2018 to 2021 as head of Afghanistan’s Atomic Energy High Commission, has been selected as a lifetime member of the Royal Society of Canada. The society described Sharan in its official introduction as a scientist with outstanding achievements in theoretical physics research, scientific leadership and public service. He is one of only three physicists chosen for membership in 2026, and his formal induction will take place in November in Ottawa.

Sharan told the BBC that the honour is a victory for the Afghan refugee community and that he dedicates the recognition to the people of Afghanistan, particularly women and girls. His selection offers a high-profile example of Afghan professional achievement overseas even as many Afghans at home face severe restrictions and humanitarian need.

Those needs were underscored this week after authorities in Pakistan ordered that Afghan students be barred from medical and dentistry faculties. The directive from Pakistan’s medical and dental council instructed public and private universities and medical institutions to prevent Afghan students from enrolling and to begin a process of removing Afghan students already present in medical programmes. The council’s order is expected to affect roughly 800 Afghan medical students.

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the decision as "د ژورې اندېښنې وړ" and called on Islamabad to rescind the directive immediately. Karzai argued that educational and scientific cooperation should not be a casualty of political differences between neighbouring countries and described the education of Afghan youth as a humanitarian and developmental issue that must be kept separate from regional tensions. The Taliban government’s spokesperson, ذبیح‌الله مجاهد, also denounced the Pakistani move as "غیربشري" and "د خواشینۍ وړ" and said the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education is ready to absorb Afghan students who are forced to leave Pakistan.

Reports released this week paint an even broader picture of vulnerability. A study by REACH, published on Wednesday, found that approximately 3.1 million Afghans were internally displaced in 2025 due to poverty, unemployment, food insecurity and drought. The report says the drivers of displacement have shifted since the peak of conflict-related movement in 2021, when roughly 5.5 million people were displaced; economic hardships and natural hazards such as droughts, floods and earthquakes are now major factors. REACH also reported that between April and December 2025 around 675,000 people left Afghanistan because of climatic conditions, and many families remain unable to return to their places of origin because of economic barriers.

At the same time, the Halo Trust — a prominent demining organisation — warned that a global drop in international funding has put vital mine-clearance operations under threat in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The Halo Trust’s report on cluster munitions and explosive remnants notes that these weapons continued to kill and maim civilians in 2025; last year their remnants were responsible for the deaths of more than a thousand civilians worldwide, and 87 percent of recorded casualties were civilians, many of them children. Cluster munitions present a particular long-term danger because a significant proportion of their submunitions fail to detonate on impact and can explode years later when disturbed in fields, roads, forests or near schools.

Human Rights Watch added to the catalogue of concerns with a public statement on Wednesday saying that during the past five years under Taliban rule, women and girls in Afghanistan have been systematically deprived of their rights. The rights group said journalists and activists are also facing harassment and persecution. In a video message circulated through OX network, the organisation’s Afghanistan official فرشته عباسي urged that the UN mandate for investigators be extended, that a new accountability mechanism be funded, and that forced returns of refugees to Afghanistan be halted. She said victims of abuses and their families have long awaited truth, justice and reparations.

International humanitarian organisations have also sounded alarms about the state of services in Afghanistan. The International Rescue Committee’s UK head, فلورا الکسندر, after a recent visit to Kabul, warned that millions need humanitarian assistance and that the country’s health system is on the brink of collapse. The International Committee of the Red Cross has similarly cautioned that Afghanistan faces a drinking-water crisis, with millions lacking access to safe water.

The week’s developments highlight a stark contrast: Afghan professionals achieving recognition on the global stage while, at the same time, millions of Afghans confront displacement, restricted rights, shrinking humanitarian access and the ongoing dangers posed by explosive remnants of war. International and regional policy choices — from funding for mine action to decisions on student admissions and refugee returns — will shape whether those most affected see meaningful relief and protection in the months ahead.