Daily Evacuation Brief | December 16, 2022
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LAST 24 HOURS
SECOND PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN BORDER CLASH IN A WEEK AT SPIN BOLDAK – Shelling across the border near Spin-Boldak Chaman gate was reported yesterday. It is not clear who initiated the incident, but Pakistan officials claim the Taliban began firing mortars at both the Killi Sheikh Alam and Changaiz security posts on the Pakistan side after Pakistani engineers were attempting to repair a damaged fence. The Taliban told TOLO News that Pakistan had initiated hostilities and fired artillery shells at their positions. Officials from the hospital who received the casualties on the Pakistan side said that 1 non-combatant was killed and 16 others were injured. There has been no word about casualties on the Afghan side. It is not clear if the border crossing has been closed as a result of the indirect fire exchange. An observer on the Pakistan side said that several of the commercial vehicles that were waiting to cross began making the long trip to the Torkham crossing. We advise at-risk Afghans who may be traveling to the Southern border to reconsider their travel plans as this is the second exchange of fire this week and we assess the potential for further conflict to be high.
DECISION ON TALIBAN UN SEAT PUSHED – The Taliban’s seat at the United Nations in New York will go unfilled. The body announced it has pushed the decision to accept the IEA as a legitimate member to a later date. Both Afghanistan and Myanmar’s military junta were included in yesterday’s decision.
PRESIDENT OF TAJIKISTAN VISITS PAKISTAN – President Rahmon met with Prime Minister Sharif to discuss several issues and coordinate policies regarding their troubled neighbor. Both reiterated their calls for the formation of an actual inclusive government as the only acceptable path forward. A source in Pakistan claimed the Tajikistan President traveled with several military leaders and they had joined the US CENTCOM Commander and the new Pakistan Military Chief in Rawalpindi for security-related discussions.
POWER DISTRIBUTION FROM TURKMENISTAN TO HERAT RESTORED – A temporary engineering fix has reconnected the Turkmen power export lines to Herat. The work was completed by DABS and the repairs are expected to last through the Winter months. A more permanent repair is scheduled in the Spring.
US COMMANDER VISITS PAKISTAN’S NEW MILITARY CHIEF IN RAWALPINDI – US General Erik Kurilla, Commander of US Central Command, visited General Asim Munir in Rawalpindi. The two discussed mutually beneficial areas of interest and Afghanistan was said to have been the main topic of conversation.
POSSIBLE TALIBAN DESSERTIONS – Unsubstantiated reports of a mass-desertion event in Helmand are coming in. Apparently, several hundred Taliban fighters of the 215th Maiwand Corps have packed up their arms and left the camp. They took their vehicles with them and both video and photographic evidence have been provided showing a large convoy staging at the Corp’s garrison in Helmand. The crux of the problem seems to be the poor treatment of the Kandahari units. The incident marks one of the largest schisms to have occurred and, if the information is true, illustrates the internal issues facing the IEA.
NEXT 24 HOURS
SPIN BOLDAK-CHAMAN, MORE VIOLENCE EXPECTED – More flare-ups are expected at the border crossing. A running dialogue between the two countries is searching for a peaceful solution to the situation but sources close to the discussions say the two nations are at an impasse over repairs to the Durand Line. The sources also complained that instructions from Kandahar are at odds with instructions coming from Kabul and negotiators don’t know which policy to push. Several international observers restated their opinions that Pakistan was too hasty in reopening the crossing after the attack earlier in the week.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Reports coming out of the country suggest the largely student-led protestors are now being joined by thousands of workers.
Israel’s leader told reporters that the protests have changed the US’s approach to any nuclear deal with Iran.
Ministers for Industry and Commerce have informed the Supreme Leader that the resumption of major manufacturing is impossible with the ongoing protests.
PAKISTAN
The government is looking for candidates to take over the country’s intelligence service (ISI). The process is sure to draw criticism from many of the ant-regime parties.
The government intends to subsidize fuel for the next two weeks in an attempt to ameliorate the financial duress of citizens.
SPOTLIGHT HISTORY
By Lynzy Billings - ProPublica
On a December night in 2018, Mahzala was jolted awake by a shuddering wave of noise that rattled her family’s small mud house. A trio of helicopters, so unfamiliar that she had no word for them, rapidly descended, kicking up clouds of dust that shimmered in their blinding lights. Men wearing desert camouflage and black masks flooded into the house, corralling her two sons and forcing them out the door.
AFGHAN NEWS
The Taliban Higher Education Minister Who Is Against Female Education
By Abubakar Siddique - RFE
A former governor and military commander, Nadim has vowed to root out all forms of the modern secular education that thrived…
IEA not allowed into United Nations for now
By Ariana News
A decision on whether the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) administration and the Myanmar junta can send a United Nations ambassador to…
300 Fighters in Taliban’s 215th Maiwand Corps Deserted Military Service
By 8AM Media
On Thursday (December 15th), local sources confirmed to Hasht-e Subh that the Taliban commanders in Helmand treated the Kandahari Taliban in a humiliating manner, which…
REGIONAL NEWS
One dead as fresh clashes erupt between Afghan, Pakistani border forces
By Gul Yousafzai - Reuters
Clashes erupted once again between the border forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan near the key Chaman-Spin Boldak…
Inclusive government in Afghanistan key to regional stability
By Ariana News
At a meeting in Islamabad this week, Pakistan and Tajikistan leaders discussed regional and international issues and said it was important to…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Probe launched into claims of unlawful killings by UK soldiers in Afghanistan
By LBC
Bereaved families have welcomed the ‘unprecedented’ inquiry into alleged unlawful activity by British soldiers in…
By European Union
With additional €5 million support from the European Union, HealthNet TPO prolongs and expands its programme in addressing mental health and…
THE DAILY WTF
Afghanistan: 20,000 displaced people evicted from makeshift camps in freezing temperatures
By The NRC
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) calls on the Taliban authorities to halt further evictions of internally displaced people (IDPs) from settlements…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 87.40 AFN (as of 16 DEC 2022)