Kabul: Opening Ceremony Held for ARCS Special Week

Sunday, October 18, 2026

The opening ceremony of the ARCS Special Week was held with the participation of Sheikh-ul-Hadith Shahabuddin Delawar, General President of the ARCS, Vice President Hafiz Azizur Rahman, Alhaj Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, Sheikh-ul-Hadith Noorul Haq Anwar, Director General of the Administrative Office, several cabinet members, and representatives of the ICRC, the IFRC, and other international partners in Afghanistan.

At the beginning of the ceremony, ARCS Vice President Hafiz Azizur Rahman welcomed the participants and spoke about the importance of Special Week. He said the week provides an important opportunity to mobilize donations to support poor families, families without guardians, and people affected by natural disasters. He emphasized the importance of expanding humanitarian services and strengthening trust between the public and the ARCS.

A message of support from the Prime Minister’s Office was then read by Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat. The message praised the humanitarian activities of the ARCS and called on wealthy individuals, traders, industrialists, and religious scholars to channel their contributions through the Society to ensure that assistance reaches families in need. It also urged ARCS staff and volunteers to carry out their duties with sincerity and integrity.

Alhaj Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, said that supporting people in need is not the responsibility of a single organization alone, adding that wealthy individuals, traders, and industrialists also have a responsibility to contribute. He highlighted the ARCS’s services to people affected by natural disasters and its support for children with congenital heart defects. He stressed the need for continued support to sustain and expand these services.

Johannes Brouwer, Head of the ICRC Delegation in Afghanistan, described the launch of the ARCS Special Week and the signing of a partnership agreement between the two organizations for 2027–2029 as important steps towards strengthening cooperation. He praised the efforts of ARCS staff and volunteers and reaffirmed their shared commitment to supporting humanitarian activities over the next three years.

Marie Manrique, Acting Head of the IFRC Delegation in Afghanistan, also thanked ARCS staff and volunteers for their service. She particularly commended volunteers for reaching remote and hard-to-access areas and emphasized the importance of upholding the humanitarian principles of neutrality and independence and respecting human dignity when delivering assistance.

Sheikh-ul-Hadith Noorul Haq Anwar, Director General of the Administrative Office, referred to the difficulties faced by people affected by recent hardships and natural disasters, as well as returning refugees. He said cooperation between domestic and international charitable organizations was essential to meeting their needs and praised the valuable services provided by the ARCS in this regard.

Mullah Abdul Latif Mansoor, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, praised the ARCS for assisting people affected by natural disasters and emphasized the importance of supporting the Society through Special Week.

Alhaj Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, Head of the National Disaster Management Authority, described the ARCS as an independent and neutral humanitarian organization. He said the Society provides assistance based on need to returning refugees, patients in need, families lacking adequate support, and people affected by disasters. He also stressed the importance of coordination among relevant institutions during emergencies.

Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, said that the ARCS had consistently responded to people’s needs under different circumstances and continued to assist those affected by hardship. He thanked domestic and international charitable organizations for supporting the Society’s humanitarian services and called for greater support to strengthen these activities.

Mr. Hanafi also urged wealthy citizens to increase their contributions as winter approaches, helping families in need and ensuring that the challenges faced by vulnerable people during the cold winter months are not overlooked.

ARCS General President Sheikh-ul-Hadith Shahabuddin Delawar provided an overview of the Society’s activities and services. He said the ARCS delivers humanitarian assistance to people in need through its regional offices and branches across the country’s seven regional zones and 34 provinces.

He added that the Society provides essential assistance to vulnerable women and children at its residential care centers and offers vocational training programmes to help them become self-reliant. He also outlined the Society’s services for people with mental health conditions and its treatment programmes for children with congenital heart disease.

Mr. Delawar said that, during the current year, the ARCS had distributed assistance worth 1.8 billion Afghanis to people in need, those affected by disasters, and returning refugees. He expressed his gratitude to the ICRC, the IFRC, and other international partners for their cooperation and support.

He emphasized the importance of accountability, transparency, and preventing corruption in the distribution of humanitarian assistance. He said that betraying the trust placed in humanitarian aid amounted to violating the rights of people in need.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the ARCS and the ICRC in Afghanistan signed a partnership agreement covering the next three years.

Opening ceremonies for Special Week were also held at the ARCS’s seven regional zones and their respective branches.