Daily Evacuation Brief | December 27, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
TALIBAN POLICE CHIEF KILLED IN ISIS-K BOMB ATTACK IN BADAKHSHAN – Abdullah Abu Omar, the regional police chief, and 2 of his bodyguards were killed when his vehicle was targeted by a roadside bomb blast on Monday. The blast occurred near the police headquarters in Faizabad. Taliban authorities claimed that 4 individuals had been arrested in connection with the bombing. Omar is considered to be the highest-ranking Taliban official to have been killed since the Taliban took power in the country. ISIS-K claimed credit for the attack while an NRF spokesman attributed the incident to inter-Taliban conflict. Sources at the Ministry of the Interior said the report had shocked several ministry leaders as reinforcements had been dispatched to Faizabad over the previous three months and several security upgrades had been made to Taliban administrative offices in the city.
40 TALIBAN LEADERS SEND LETTER TO SUPREME LEADER ASKING TO REVERSE BAN ON WOMEN’S EDUCATION – Several influential Taliban leaders have sent a letter to Mullah Haibatullah Ankhundzada in Kandahar, asking him to consider reversing bans on the following:
Allow women to pursue University educations
Allow women to work
Allow girls to attend schools from grades 7-12
A source close to the advisory group of the Supreme Leader claims Hibatullah dismissed the letter and reportedly claimed the Taliban leaders were being influenced by ‘foreign elements’. Several reports have been received stating that Pakistan’s intelligence service (the ISI) has been involved in mediating some sort of settlement between the Kabul and Kandahar camps and we assess that this cooperation is what Hibatullah is referring to. As the war of words continues to escalate and Hibatullah and his advisors remain entrenched in their beliefs, it seems likely the two most powerful Ministers (Yaqoub and Haqqani) will be forced to take action.
KABUL RESIDENTS SAY POWER OUTAGES CONTINUE – While a new power importation agreement with Turkmenistan is in the works, residents of the capital continue to bemoan the daily blackouts they face. The power distribution lines from Uzbekistan continue to frustrate the national power company (Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat - DABS) and a 50% reduction has been noted since November. Both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have stated publicly that power exports would be curbed to satisfy unanticipated domestic demand. However, it is not clear if these statements are affecting exports to Afghanistan. Currently, DABS says it is supplying 3 hours of power per day and 3 hours at night to residential customers while factories receive 10 hours. Local residents dispute these numbers though. The Turkmen power deal is not expected to impact Afghanistan until well into 2023.
NEXT 24 HOURS
MORE PAKISTAN AIRCRAFT/DRONES REPORTED OVER DURAND LINE – While drones have been filmed flying along the border in the vicinity of the Durand Line since the artillery exchanges earlier this month, manned aircraft have not been reported. Over the last twenty-four hours, several sorties were made by Pakistani fighter/bomber aircraft. The planes reportedly made their flights well inside Pakistan’s territory and a source in the Pakistani Army could not elaborate on if the flights were intended to elicit a response from the Taliban or the TTP.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
The regime appears to be doubling down on the head scarf rule and their chief prosecutor has reiterated that the regime will punish those women who do not follow the ‘law’.
Several European officials called on their citizens in Iran to depart as soon as possible. This is the third call for expatriates to leave the county in the last two weeks.
The regime released a state-sponsored VIDEO purportedly showing what would happen to Israel should the country be provoked.
PAKISTAN
The United States has implemented travel restrictions to Pakistan and several other countries appear to be following suit with Saudi Arabia announcing similar restrictions in the last 24 hours.
New calls in the government were made to curb the smuggling of US dollars to Afghanistan.
Imran Khan summoned members of his political party to its headquarters in Islamabad on 28 December. They are expected to finalize plans to resign from parliament soon thereafter.
SPOTLIGHT OPINION
Emerging Security Challenges For Pakistan – OpEd
By Sheraz Wahid - EurAsia News
Since coming to power, the Taliban have guaranteed the international community that they will stick to global standards and the particulars of the 2020 Doha Arrangement, under which they gave guarantees of not permitting any “International terrorist groups or individuals,” including the Islamic Territory of Khorasan (ISKP) and al-Qaeda, to utilize Afghan soil against the South Asian countries particularly Pakistan and different nations. Similar affirmations were given to the adjoining nations independently through two-sided gatherings and arrangements. Be that as it may, a May 2022 letter by the Chair of the Security Council Committee Established pursuant to Resolution 1988 (2011) addressed to the Leader of the UN Security Council highlighted the inconsistencies in the Taliban’s confirmations and activities. For example, joints between al-Qaeda and the Taliban are either unblemished or have extended throughout the course of recent years.
AFGHAN NEWS
Badakhshan Police Chief killed in a blast
By Ariana News
“Mawlawi Abdulhaq Abu Omar, and two of his guards were killed killed in an explosion near the provincial police command headquarters in…
'If we cannot continue to work with women in Afghanistan, we cannot do our job'
By RFI
The acting head of the United Nations' mission to Afghanistan told the Taliban administration's acting economy minister to reverse a decision to ban female…
Clashes Between Taliban and NRF Forces in Baghlan’s Andarab Leave Dozens Dead and Wounded
By 8AM News
Local sources confirmed on Monday that the clashes between the Taliban and National Resistance Front (NRF) forces started last night following a Taliban campaign launched in…
REGIONAL NEWS
IEA foreign minister urges Iran to release Afghan prisoners
By Ariana News
Muttaqi made the request in a meeting with Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s special envoy and newly-appointed acting…
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan intensifies attacks creating chaos
By ANI
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) with its supporters has attacked defense establishments in Pakistan 148 times within a…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Fifth aid group suspends Afghan work after Taliban ban on women staff
By Al Arabiya
Christian Aid on Monday became the fifth foreign aid group to suspend operations in Afghanistan after the country's Taliban rulers…
UAE's UN ambassador condemns Taliban's ban on female aid workers
By The National
Lana Nusseibeh, who serves as Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation as well as permanent representative of the UAE to the…
THE DAILY WTF
Potzel Urges Western States To Resume Diplomatic Missions in Kabul
By Fatema Adeeb - TOLO News
The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Markus Potzel has said that his “appeal would be for more Western states to be represented here…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 88.46 AFN (as of 27 DEC 2022)