Daily Evacuation Brief | December 18, 2023

ABBREVIATED DEB

Dec 18, 2023

PAKISTAN WAITS FOR RESPONSE FROM KABUL ABOUT THE USE OF US WEAPONS IN TERROR ATTACKS – Several recent seizures of arms and equipment have turned up US-made M4 and M16 rifles and the accompanying ancillary equipment/ammunition in Pakistan’s border regions. Pakistani security forces have also collected a fair amount of weaponry after it has concluded counter-terrorism operations which also appears to have originated from Afghanistan (both US and other foreign-sourced weapons). Pakistan has shared the photos, serial numbers, and other incriminating information with the Taliban but has yet to receive a response other than the standard denials that Afghanistan plays any part in the problems in Pakistan. Pakistani authorities are doing a much better job of providing evidence to both the Taliban and the international community that TTP and other terror groups continue to use Afghanistan as a safe haven in its struggle with Islamabad.
REPORTS FROM AFGHAN REFUGEES IN PAKISTAN INDICATE THAT POLICE BRIBERY IS AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH – The deportation operation seems to have created a situation that has empowered some Pakistani police officers to extract bribes from Afghans residing in the country. While this problem has existed for some time, reports from at-risk Afghans sheltering in Pakistan since the announcement of the hated deportation program suggest that bribes are now asked for more frequently and across a wider swath of the refugee population than had previously been the case. Even Afghans who are legally entitled to reside in the country are frequently targeted for a ‘gift’ and if nothing is paid, they threaten their victims with detention. The Interior Ministry chose to make some early examples of corrupt police who had ‘confiscated’ the personal property of Afghans but now seem powerless to control the uptick in cash bribery that is taking place in Afghan neighborhoods. Apparently, complaints were raised with the Taliban’s diplomatic personnel in Islamabad but it is not clear if the complaints have been communicated to the regime in Islamabad.
TALIBAN FOREIGN MINISTER ADMITS THAT RESISTANCE OPERATIONS ARE BECOMING A PROBLEM – Amir Khan Muttaqi, in a recent visit to Herat spoke with reporters about several issues and admitted that anti-Taliban operations by Resistance groups posed a problem for security in the region and across the country. He stressed that the international community has vowed not to provide support to these groups. A source in Kabul said that a committee had been formed in late November to tackle the problem posed by the Resistance and that several options were being considered. The source said that a proposal from the TTP to ‘deal with the Resistance’ was discussed but that nothing would likely come of the offer as it would be too polarizing for the Taliban.

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