LAST 24 HOURS
FEMALE LED PROTESTS AGAINST UNIVERSITY BAN DISPERSED – Taliban security forces used another heavy-handed approach to breaking up the protests with beatings and some reports suggested vehicle-mounted water cannons were used to disperse crowds. Several arrests have been reported across the country. Condemnation against the policy has been nearly universal. Further protests are being planned and are expected to be met with violence. Several Pakistani and Indian news sites have quoted sources who say the Taliban leadership fears national protests on the scale of those in Iran and has quietly empowered local Taliban officials to put down protests swiftly.
DOWRIES ILLEGAL IN HELMAND – Officials in the Province have stated that dowries are considered illegal and those caught either giving or receiving them will be referred for prosecution. It is believed that several other Provinces are weighing similar measures to do away with the practice. It is currently unknown if anyone has been charged at this time and what punishments might be in the offing for a conviction.
REGIONAL ECONOMIC PROJECTS BEING RECONSIDERED – Several governments in the region who had been considering major commercial projects in the region have scheduled meetings over the next few weeks to reassess the plans in the wake of the ban on women’s University studies. A source in a country with a major project on the books has stated that the ban gives his country the ‘camouflage’ it needed to potentially back out of a deal. The source went on to say that sentiment among his country’s leaders had turned against the Taliban in its current form and that he wouldn’t be surprised to see several high-profile projects put on hold or canceled.
PAKISTAN CRACKS DOWN ON US DOLLAR SMUGGLING TO AFGHANISTAN – Several shipments of US dollars that had been packed inside crates of oranges have been interdicted since Pakistani officials were made aware of the scope of the problem last month. A recent report commissioned by the government stated that over 100 seizures have been made, totaling $4.2 million dollars. It was not clear if all the seizures involved US currency or other foreign currencies. Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to stop the practice and a local source near Torkham Gate said that vehicle inspections have taken longer over the past month as a result.
NEXT 24 HOURS
RUMORS OF A COUP – Unverified reports have arrived that claim a coup may be underway in Kandahar. The unsubstantiated reports state that Mullah Yaqoub (Minister of Defense) and/or Sirajuddin Haqqani (Minister of the Interior) have or will attempt to oust the Supreme Leader and his group of advisors. Also, (reportedly) involved in the discussions were Mullah Baradar and Mullah Hasan Akhund. Apparently, the group has styled itself as the ‘moderate’ faction of the Taliban and feels compelled to take action after the stupendously inept edict barring women from attending Universities. There have been no reports of fighting and this information is not verified at this time. However, there is potential for either localized or widespread violence should such an action take place. Should inter-Taliban fighting begin, at-risk Afghans should immediately seek shelter and be prepared to stay in their homes. Coups are typically not protracted affairs, but we do not know how loyalties are divided among the Taliban at this point. It is also important to note that terrorist groups may seek to capitalize on the confusion and chaos of an internal dispute to launch potential attacks against religious or ethnic targets. Again, this information has yet to be verified and may simply be a rumor.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Mossad released a report claiming knowledge of a major increase in the arms trade between Iran and Russia expected in the next four months.
The Foreign Minister, while attending a conference in Iraq, stated the regime was ready to sign a conditional nuclear agreement.
Protestors launched new demonstrations to coincide with the Yalda Festival.
PAKISTAN
An Army spokesman said that one of the Commandos who participated in the raid on the Bannu facility had succumbed to his wounds.
Pakistan reportedly withdrew some of the troops it had stationed near Chaman after the cross-border incidents. It is believed nearly 1,000 troops were reassigned to another Province.
SPOTLIGHT GENDER/MIGRATION
The Trap: A Journey from Afghanistan to Europe
By Sara Perria - Inter-Press Service
Maliha looks confident in a café in Athens as she tells the story of her journey from Afghanistan to Europe. But as she starts recounting how a smuggler assaulted her in Turkey two years ago, she pauses, looking the other way and fiddling with her loose hair.
AFGHAN NEWS
Taliban Violently Disperses Women's Protest Against University Ban
By RFE
Taliban security forces have used violence and arrested several people as they dispersed a protest by Afghan women against a ruling that…
Fears ISIS fighters are securing Afghan passports and changing identities
By Nicky Harley - The National UK
Counter-terrorism experts have raised concerns about the difficulty of tracking ISIS fighters in the future after reports some of them are changing their…
IEA’s minister of higher education outlines reasons for women’s education ban
By Ariana News
In an interview with Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan-run RTA on Thursday night, the minister of higher education Neda Mohammad Nadeem said there were a number of…
REGIONAL NEWS
Pakistan’s foreign minister tells IEA banned TTP is Pakistan’s ‘red line’
By Ariana News
“The Afghan Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) have been told that our (Pakistan and Afghanistan) ties will not remain fine if the TTP is not stopped…
Middle East nations speak out against IEA’s decision to ban women from university
By Ariana News
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday the ban was “neither Islamic nor…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
US Mulls Isolation of Taliban Over Education Ban Without Hurting Aid for Afghans
By Ayaz Gul - VOA
The United States is exploring additional measures to be imposed on Afghanistan’s Taliban to further isolate them for their “appallingly bad” decision to…
Taliban treatment of Afghan women may be ‘crime against humanity’: G7
By Al Arabiya
“Taliban policies designed to erase women from public life will have consequences for how our countries engage with…
THE DAILY WTF
Afghanistan staunchly defends university ban on women, as US warns of costs
By The New Daily
Discussing the matter for the first time in public, Nida Mohammad Nadim said the ban issued earlier this week was necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities and…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 87.21 AFN (as of 23 DEC 2022)