Daily Evacuation Brief | December 13, 2022
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LAST 24 HOURS
KABUL HOTEL ATTACK – A hotel popular with Chinese nationals in the Shar-e Naw neighborhood of Kabul came under attack by three unidentified gunmen Monday at approximately 1430hrs local time. A nearby Italian-run emergency hospital said they had received 21 victims from the attack and that 3 of them had arrived deceased. The Taliban claimed to have killed the 3 assailants and stated that only 2 people were slightly wounded when they jumped from a window to escape the gunmen. China’s envoy met with the Taliban Foreign Ministry shortly after the attack and called on the regime to increase the security of the Chinese Embassy in Kabul.
SPIN BOLDAK-CHAMAN REOPENS – Surprisingly, the border crossing at Spin Boldak-Chaman reopened today with both commercial and civilian traffic passing in either direction. The Pakistan Minister of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that the issue had been resolved with Taliban officials but gave few details on what agreement had been released. Recently arrived reinforcements continue to be stationed on both sides of the border and the Pakistani air force continues to conduct flights along its side of the border. There are rumors the Commander of Taliban forces at the crossing has been recalled to Kabul for an inquiry but this information has not been substantiated. The Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a statement claiming the Taliban had apologized for the incident.
DETAINED WOMEN RIGHTS ACTIVIST RELEASED IN KABUL – Unconfirmed reports are circulating on social media about the release of Zarifa Yaqubi, a prominent women’s rights activist in Kabul yesterday.
WEAPONS SEIZED IN BALKH FROM FORMER AFGHAN ARMY PERSONNEL – Taliban forces announced they had seized ‘many’ small arms from former Afghan military personnel in Balkh Province on Monday. A source with the Resistance said the seizure was a farce and the weapons put on display by the Police were Taliban weapons used to ‘put on a show’ for the local populace and to show Kabul they were doing their jobs. There have been rumors circulating all year that these public displays are nothing more than theater and some in the Ministry of Defense have taken to calling the ruse “The Antique Road Show” after a popular BBC program. They say the weapons are transported around the country and placed on tables to generate positive press.
JOMHOR NEWS AGENCY CLOSED – After thirteen years of reporting, the media outlet, based in Kabul, announced it was closing operations in Afghanistan. Representatives of the outlet claimed numerous threats had been received by phone and text that put their employees at risk. Jomhor had amassed a sizable following and now joins the list of nearly three hundred journalism organizations to have shuttered operations in the past year.
NEXT 24 HOURS
SECURITY OPERATIONS TO CONTINUE IN KABUL – Residents can expect continued heightened security in Kabul and a security corridor is being considered that will run from the diplomatic quarter to the airport to facilitate the evacuation of some foreigners from the country. Several teams of GDI agents were seen in Police Districts 4 and 5 and a noticeable increase in the number of security vehicles patrolling around foreign embassies has been reported.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
A second condemned protestor was executed in Northern Iran on Monday. The man was hung from a crane in the city of Mashad.
Teachers and professors across the country have been dismissed from their positions in a mass firing event. Observers say it was related to the regime’s belief that students were being encouraged to protest in schools and campuses.
Saudi Arabia signaled its willingness to strike Iran should reports of the development of a nuclear weapon prove to be true.
PAKISTAN
Pakistani news outlets have published leaks about the Saudi Arabian economic aid package that is said to be in the billions of dollars.
Ousted PM Khan renewed his calls for snap elections. He claims it is the only solution to the economic crisis facing the country.
Pakistan reopened the Spin Boldak-Chaman border crossing, despite the cross-border fracas that occurred earlier.
TAJIKISTAN
Respected journalist, Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva, was sentenced to serve twenty-one years in prison for allegedly inciting citizens in the Gorno-Badakhshan region to overthrow the government earlier this year. The punishment is expected to draw criticism from international circles.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
By Fazelminallah Qazizai - New Lines Magazine
On a summer evening earlier this year, I sat talking with a Taliban commander in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan valley, a region that has become a crucible for the militant group’s claim to have moderated its ideology and style of governance. Bamiyan lies in the heart of the central Hazarajat region, considered home to the Hazara, an ethnic group of Turkic-Mongolic origin with a rich cultural history. After the collapse of President Ashraf Ghani’s government in 2021, Bamiyan fell under the rule of the reborn “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” as the Taliban refers to the country. The Taliban, most of whom are of Pashtun ethnicity, are now grappling with the monumental task of governing an ethnic group with whom they have deep cultural differences, as well as a history of violence and mistrust. How they handle this challenge may well decide the future of their regime in Afghanistan.
AFGHAN NEWS
By News 18
Armed men opened fire inside a hotel in central Kabul that housed some Chinese citizens in the latest violence in Afghanistan as Taliban tries to stabilise after…
Stanekzai tells China’s envoy ensuring security for diplomats is a ‘priority’
By Ariana News
The meeting took place on Sunday, and Stanikzai told Wang that ensuring the security of political representatives in Afghanistan is one of the…
Chaos and confusion after Taliban orders exams for Afghan girls kept out of school
By Inida Today
Chaos and confusion prevailed as school girls, banned from attending classes, were suddenly asked to take their…
REGIONAL NEWS
By WION News
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement on Twitter demanded that "the Afghan Interim government should ensure that…
Iran conducts second execution linked to protests
By Nathan Morley - The Vatican News
Reports from Iran suggest that Majidreza Rahnavard was hanged in public early on…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
A desperate road trip to remind America about its Afghan allies
By Abigail Hauslohner - Stars and Stripes
"I'm only alive talking to you today," Army veteran Matt Zeller explained to the two-term Republican's staffer…
'No Alternative' for Dialogue With Kabul: Norwegian FM
By Imran Danish - TOLO News
She made the remarks at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2022: Afghanistan - Finding a Way Forward…
THE DAILY WTF
By Ben Nesbit - CTV News
Abdullah Hamdard, who worked as an interpreter and ambulance driver for the Canadians in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2011, says the…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 87.20 AFN (as of 13 DEC 2022)