LAST 24 HOURS
BLAST NEAR CITY PARK (ZOO) AREA OF KABUL – A blast near Park-e Shar was reported yesterday in Kabul. No information about the incident has been released and it is not currently known if the blast was intentional or not. The Taliban immediately closed off access to the area and at least two local hospitals reported receiving casualties from the explosion. An accurate count of the casualties from the incident has not yet been made available.
FEMALE RIGHTS ACTIVIST PARISA AZADA RELEASED FROM PRISON – A young woman who spent nearly a month and a half in detention was released by the Taliban yesterday. Azada is a member of the Afghanistan Women’s Justice Movement and was reportedly arrested on 15 November after visiting a business that prints signs and banners in Kabul. Those close to Azada say that her personal belongings remain with the Taliban and that her family gave Taliban authorities assurances that she would refrain from anti-regime activities in the future.
RUMORED MEETING OF TTP LEADERSHIP IN PAKTIKA PROVINCE – Unconfirmed reports have surfaced of a meeting involving about a dozen of the TTP’s leadership in Barmal, Paktika. Several topics were reputedly discussed during the meeting, including recruitment, funding, and potential strategies to destabilize Pakistan during the upcoming election cycle. This information has yet to be confirmed.
BADAKHSHAN SHAKE-UP CONTINUING – The problems in the far northern Province have continued. Several new leadership postings were announced recently to bring the Province back under control. Kabul has named a new Intelligence Chief for the Province (Mullah Habib al-Rahman Jihadi) and a new Chief of Police (Mullah Azizullah Omar). A source in Kandahar said that Taliban leadership was attempting to ‘purge’ several of the appointed provincial leaders over charges of corruption, insubordination, and smuggling.
UNITED NATIONS APPEALS TO MUSLIM COUNTRIES TO ASSIST EFFORTS TO REPEAL RESTRICTIVE BANS ON WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN – The UN’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Afghanistan is asking Muslim nations for assistance in convincing the Taliban to reverse several decisions that restrict women’s rights in the country. In the past, the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and other Islamic organizations have denounced the Taliban’s policies but the criticism has not resulted in a repeal of the measures.
NEXT 24 HOURS
KABUL RESIDENTS COULD SEE INCREASED SECURITY ACTIVITY – Depending on what comes from the blast reported yesterday, Taliban security forces could become more active over the next forty-eight hours in Kabul. No specific threat has been identified but past instances involving such blasts and the subsequent rapid deployment of Taliban security forces to contain an area have often been followed by house searches and tighter security procedures at checkpoints.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
A regime official admitted that Iran ranks among the world’s worst for wages. Hamid Reza Imam Gholi-Tabar, an official charged with supporting Iran’s workers said his country was second only to Venezuela when it comes to salaries.
A drone attack against a Japanese-owned commercial vessel in the Indian Ocean was blamed on Iran by the United States. Iran vehemently denied the claim yesterday and said the accusation was a tactic to ‘distract’ global attention away from the situation in Gaza.
Tehran vowed to avenge the death of General Seyed Razi Mousavi, an IRGC Commander who was reportedly killed in Syria yesterday during an Israeli air strike. Mousavi’s death raises concerns about the Israel-Hamas conflict spilling over in the region.
PAKISTAN
Iran’s Police Chief calls on Pakistan to increase security efforts to tackle both threats of terrorism and drug trafficking that both countries are trying to deal with.
Results tabulated from the nomination process for the upcoming election show that 11% of the projected candidates will be women.
A tribal elder from the lower area of South Waziristan was killed when an IED detonated as he was traveling by motorcycle to his home. The victim belonged to a family that has long resisted any foreign militants in the region.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Trends In Terrorism: What’s On The Horizon In 2024?
By Colin P. Clarke - EurAsia News
On the morning of October 7, Hamas terrorists breached the border fence between Gaza and Israel under the cover of a withering rocket barrage. Within hours, the Palestinian militant group had killed 1,200 innocent people in Israel, kidnapped over 240, and plunged the region into its most dangerous crisis in decades.
AFGHAN NEWS
50% of Country’s Health Services Substandard: AMC
By TOLO News
Khesraw Yousufzai, head of the monitoring and evaluation department of AMC, said: “The Department of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Afghanistan Medical Council has…
Kabul grapples with escalating power outages, residents face daily struggles
By AMU TV
While Kabul’s electricity is primarily sourced from Central Asia, including the Naghlu, Mahipar, and Sarubi power dams, the winter season exacerbates the…
Polio Immunization Kicks Off in 21 Provinces, Targeting 8.8M Children
By Hadia Zisei - TOLO News
This round of immunization campaign will also cover children under 10, unlike previous drives which only covered those under five…
REGIONAL NEWS
Afghanistan needs to take practical steps to address issues with Iran: FM
By The Tehran Times
He pointed out that Tehran and Kabul have established significant ties in a number of areas and expressed hope that the acting Taliban government in…
Taliban's Hydropower Plans Raise Concerns In Pakistan
By Abubakar Siddique - RFE
Plans by the Afghan Taliban to build a hydroelectric dam on a major river in eastern Afghanistan have raised concerns in…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Seattle group launches secret schools for Afghan girls under Taliban rule
By The Seattle Times
For almost 20 years, the nonprofit had worked to educate Afghan girls, denied education under the first Taliban regime in the…
Afghans Invest $150 Billion Abroad: Azizi
By Bibi Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
The acting Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC), Nooruddin Azizi, said that Afghan investors have invested approximately $150 billion in countries like UAE…
THE DAILY WTF
Families Receiving Benefits Treated the Same: Ministry
By Hadia Zisei - TOLO News
Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Deputy Minister of Martyrs and Disabled in a special interview with TOLOnews said that families of martyrs and disabled persons of both the Islamic Emirate and former government are…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 70.087 AFN (as of 26 DEC 2023)