LAST 24 HOURS
MOD CONFIRMS THAT ALL TALIBAN MILITARY FORCES HAVE BEEN ISSUED UNIFORMS, FAILURE TO WEAR THEM WILL BE PUNISHED – A chief complaint by citizens, since the Taliban took the reigns of power, has been the difficulty in recognizing legitimate military and police personnel. Since the coalition forces left, criminal networks seized on the confusion and chaos to set up scams by impersonating Taliban personnel and coercing citizens to extort money and bribes. Fake checkpoints on roadways and illegitimate home searches were common ploys used in these schemes and few dared to question the people carrying them out. Some Resistance forces and ISIS-K were thought to have taken advantage of the situation to collect intelligence and/or launch operations. The Ministry of Defense stated yesterday that all Taliban personnel under its purview had now been issued uniforms and those who fail to wear them will be punished.
NEW NATO REPORT APPEARS TO CONFIRM RUMORS ABOUT WEAPONS/EQUIPMENT TRANSFERS TO ISIS-K – India, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan have long been raising the alarm about US and NATO weapons showing up in their jurisdictions. The recent (17th) report of the UN Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Daesh) quoted several reports from regional member states that confirmed ISIS was receiving weapons from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda, the TTP, and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (aka Turkistan Islamic Party). The report went on to detail efforts by ISIS-K to develop more robust weapons and bomb-making/delivery systems. The report also contradicted Taliban statements concerning the strength of ISIS-K in Afghanistan and estimates suggest that currently there are 4,000-6,000 ISIS-K affiliates operating in the country. It is important to note that these figures include family members of the terrorists.
6 AFGHAN MEN AMONG THOSE DROWNED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO CROSS FROM FRANCE TO THE UK – Yesterday morning, a boat carrying mainly Afghan and Sudanese refugees capsized near the French port of Calais. British and French maritime units responded to the emergency and rescued 49 people. Currently, 2 people are still reported missing. All 6 Afghan men who drowned were believed to be in their 30s and their identities were not known at the time of publication.
MAKING GOOD ON THREATS OF PUNISHMENT FOR ‘SORCERERS AND WITCHES’, MAN IS SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON IN JAWZJAN – A spokesman for the Ministry of Vice and Virtue said that a Jadugar (sorcerer/witch) had been found guilty of violating Shari’ah law and will serve eight years in prison. The Ministry had issued a statement earlier in the week to Provincial and District administrators to prosecute those who practice animist beliefs.
AFGHAN MAN TAKES GOLD AT TAEKWONDO CHAMPIONSHIPS – Ali Akbar Amiri won the gold medal at the 2023 Chuncheon Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships by defeating his Nigerian opponent in the 87kg weight class. His victory is a first for an Afghan Taekwondo athlete at the prestigious international competition. Notably, the Afghan team did not have any female athletes participate.
NEXT 24 HOURS
NO THREATS REPORTED
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
The Governor of the Central Bank said that Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea had been released under a controversial prisoner exchange deal with the US. The funds (~$6bn) are destined to be deposited in six Iranian banks in Qatar.
Rumors of a draft ‘mini-nuclear deal’ between the US and Iran precipitated condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday.
Both the European Union and the United States have warned maritime cargo companies of the dangers of straying into Iran’s territorial waters.
PAKISTAN
Pakistan has named Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as the caretaker PM through the upcoming election cycle. The Senator is in his early 50s and hails from Balochistan. It is thought he will be tested early as elections are likely to be delayed until February 2024.
Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department announced it had rounded up 21 suspected terrorists in an operation across Punjab Province. The majority of those arrested are said to belong to the TTP and ISIS-K. Arms, ammunition, and explosives were also seized.
The Islamabad High Court has ordered prison administrators at Attock Jail to allow Imran Khan’s family and friends to schedule visits.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Two Years Of Repression: Mapping Taliban Violence Targeting Civilians in Afghanistan
By ACLED & Afghan Peace Watch
On 17 August 2021, two days after the fall of Kabul, the Taliban held a press conference promising amnesty for former government officials, respect for women’s rights, and freedom of the press.1 Nearly two years later, it is clear that the Taliban has upheld none of these promises, instead conducting a violent campaign of repression. Since the takeover, the Taliban has targeted former government and security officials, carried out collective punishments in areas where anti-Taliban groups have emerged, and imposed ultraconservative societal restrictions – especially on women and journalists – aimed at maintaining control. ACLED records over 1,000 incidents of violence targeting civilians by the Taliban between the fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021 and 30 June 2023, accounting for 62% of all attacks on civilians in the country. This places the Taliban regime in Afghanistan2 among the world’s top government or de facto state perpetrators of violence targeting civilians domestically since August 2021, behind only the military junta in Myanmar.
AFGHAN NEWS
Taliban Urged to Free Jailed Afghan Journalists, Stop Media Crackdown
By Ayaz Gul - VOA
Media freedom defenders have called on Afghanistan's Taliban authorities to immediately release at least nine journalists currently in prison for their work and stop…
Taliban confirms imprisonment of 16 foreign nationals in Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
In the government’s accountability program, Habibullah Badr, the Military Deputy of the Office of Prisons Administration, revealed five women among the foreign prisoners in…
By Afghan Witness
On June 28, 2023, social media users circulated images allegedly showing the bodies of two former Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) and their family members who had…
REGIONAL NEWS
Pakistanis call for resumption of talks with Taliban on TTP
By AMU TV
Attending a Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) consultation in Islamabad on Friday, participating academics, politicians, journalists, religious scholars and other experts said negotiations were…
Mullah Baradar urges Afghan investors in Turkey to help rebuild the country
By Ariana News
Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said at a conference organized by Afghan investors living in Turkey, that they should return home…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
By Chloe Louise & Peter Allen - Daily Mail
Six Afghans died and two others were missing at sea after small boats packed with UK-bound migrants, including children, sank in the…
How Asian American organizations are helping Afghan and Ukrainian refugees
By Samson Zhang - Stars and Stripes
A week before Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022, Violetta Shcherbachuk’s father let out the family’s dog, a German shepherd named Shaman, to play…
THE DAILY WTF
By The Telegraph
The 17th report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL (Da’esh) to international peace and security said that UN member states remained concerned about…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 84.13 AFN (as of 13 AUG 2023)
