Daily Evacuation Brief | April 17, 2023
LAST 24 HOURS
HEKMATYAR MAY BE UNDER HOUSE ARREST – A few reports are beginning to arrive suggesting that Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb-e-Islami party, was placed under house arrest by the supreme leader. He is also reputedly banned from making any public statements or political action. This information has not been confirmed yet and a local source said security around his home and party headquarters appeared to be unchanged. It is not clear what would have provoked the supreme leader to take such actions. We are waiting on additional information.
DISTURBING REPORT FROM PAKISTAN CLAIMS EVIDENCE OF AFGHAN/PAKISTAN COOPERATION IN ANTI-POLICE ATTACKS – The Express Tribune has issued a report that is said to have originated from a senior Pakistani Intelligence official says that between 35%-50% of those participating in terrorist acts in Pakistan are Afghan citizens. The report went on to say that over the past three months, 51 militants killed in clashes were Afghans. Their source reputedly said that diplomatic notes are flying between Islamabad and Kabul. Our analysis indicates that Pakistan is using such leaks to build a case for eventual cross-border operations.
MORE RAIN AND SNOW PREDICTED – A strong storm system is expected to cause heavy rains and snowfall across the Central and Eastern portions of Afghanistan. Some Provinces have already reported rain and there is concern that flooding will wipe out four major bridges which were undergoing repairs from the previous flooding. Flooding is expected to affect communities and roadways as early as Monday afternoon.
DIRECTORATE IN CHARGE OF NGOS IN AFGHANISTAN MAY SUSPEND EDUCATION IN SELECT PROVINCES – A letter shared on social media is being attributed to the ‘Directorate of Coordination of Projects, NGOs, and Funding’ which is ordering the education departments in Kandahar and Helmand to suspend classes of all education centers until further notice. The letter has yet to be verified and the reason for any potential suspension was not provided.
RESISTANCE UNITS REPORTEDLY RECEIVING RECRUITS AFTER THE DEATH OF AKMAL AMIR – Sources with two prominent Resistance forces say they have taken on several recruits after the 10 April operation that resulted in the death of Commander Amir and 11 of his fighters. One of the sources says that no recruiting call had been communicated to people and that the recruits actively sought out contacts to join the struggle. It is not clear how many new recruits have volunteered so far.
PAKISTAN PLANS TO RELEASE REMAINING AFGHANS DETAINED IN PAKISTAN BEFORE EID – In a conversation between both Foreign Ministers, a deal was purportedly struck for Pakistan to release Afghans who have been imprisoned by the end of Ramadan. It is not clear if the deal can be achieved in such a short amount of time.
NEXT 24 HOURS
POTENTIAL FLOODING RISK WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS – With this new round of storms, flooding will likely paralyze transport across much of Central, Eastern, and Northern Afghanistan. At-risk Afghans should consider delaying any potential travel plans if at all possible.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
A court has sentenced a military officer who commanded an air defense battery that is said to have downed the Ukraine International Airlines Flight in January 2020. Additional personnel were also sentenced for the incident. Critics say they are scapegoats and that orders to down the aircraft came from much higher.
The son of the former Shah of Iran announced he intended to visit Israel in an attempt to encourage a lessening of tensions between the two nations.
Iran has formally asked the government of Denmark to discipline a member of parliament for his anti-Islamic actions and words.
PAKISTAN
A counter-crime operation in Katcha continued for the 8th day on Sunday and is said to have netted big results for the Pakistani Police. A count of arrests has not yet been provided but at least seven criminal hideouts have been raided in the operation.
The Interior Minister quashed hopes that Punjabi elections would be conducted in May. He said the elections will take place at the end of the year.
The IMF loan continues its banishment in limbo as an outstanding $6 billion dollars has yet to be secured by either nation-states or international banks. Without the loan, most economists believe the country will default in June or July.
SPOTLIGHT HISTORICAL COMPARISON
By Kate Clark - Afghanistan Analysts Network
Anyone who lived in Afghanistan during the first Islamic Emirate will find the current stand-off between the Taleban and NGOs – and now the United Nations – over the issue of women working familiar. There is the same clashing of principles: the Emirate’s position that women must largely be kept inside the home to avoid the risk of social disorder and sin, and the humanitarians’ that the equitable and effective delivery of aid is impossible without female workers. The choices on the humanitarian side also feel familiar, and all unattractive: comply, boycott or fudge. AAN’s Kate Clark has spoken to people who were working in the humanitarian sector in Afghanistan in the 1990s, and who continue to follow Afghanistan, to get their insights into the similarities and differences – and what, possibly, might help.
AFGHAN NEWS
Afghanistan Freedom Front Confirms Death of its Senior Commander
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
Akmal Ameer, a former commander of the Afghan Special Forces, and his seven companions were killed during a clash with the Taliban in…
Covid-19 Cases Rise in Kabul: Afghan-Japan Hospital
By Hadia Ziaei - TOLO News
Out of 213 samples, at least 70 tested positive for Covid-19 one last week, an official at the Afghan-Japan hospital…
Afghan Currency Value Rises Against US Dollar
By TOLO News
The price of Afghani currency has increased significantly for the first time in nearly two…
REGIONAL NEWS
Kazakhstan to Reopen Afghan Embassy, Consulate: Mullah Baradar
By Mohammad Farshad Daryosh - TOLO News
The first deputy of the prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said that Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan's deputy prime minister and Minister of Trade and Integration, pledged to reopen the…
Pakistan to Send Its Ambassador Back to Afghanistan
By Ayaz Gul - Voice of America
Pakistan has decided to send its ambassador back to Afghanistan this week, more than four months after he was pulled out because of a failed attempt on his life in Kabul by…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
West Meets Members of Afghan Business Council in UAE
By TOLO News
The Afghan Business Council in the UAE met with US special envoy Thomas West in Dubai to discuss issues facing Afghan businesspeople, including the…
Karzai and US special envoy discuss latest situation in Afghanistan
By AMU TV
Former president Hamid Karzai had a phone conversation with the US special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West on Saturday about the ongoing crisis in…
THE DAILY WTF
Salang Tragedy: Taliban Refuse to Deliver War Victims’ Bodies to Families, Freedom Front Reports
By 8AM Media
According to the Freedom Front of Afghanistan, the Taliban have not yet handed over the bodies of their forces to their families, five days after the end of the conflict in the…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 86.35 AFN (as of 17 APR 2023)