Daily Evacuation Brief | December 28, 2023
LAST 24 HOURS
UNICEF: NO SIGN OF GIRLS’ SCHOOLS REOPENING – UNICEF released a report on the status of its efforts in Afghanistan and said that there were no indications that the Taliban regime intends to reopen secondary school education for women and girls. According to UNESCO statistics, 1.1 million girls over the age of 12 have been denied an education and 2.5 million have ceased attending school. The Taliban continues to hint that it is working on a curriculum for girls to return to the classrooms but even Taliban apologists are waking up to the reality that such statements are merely lies spread by an imposed regime that lacks credibility.
TALIBAN IN HERAT REPUTEDLY ‘TAXING’ AID PROVIDED TO FAMILIES – An aid organization in the Kushk-i-Rubat Sangi District has reportedly provided cash relief to 13,580 Afghans. Local eyewitnesses say that Taliban members routinely visit the recipients of the aid and demand a 3,000 Afghani payment. There are also reports that some municipal leaders in the District have helped themselves to some of the aid. The Taliban 2.0 had made bold proclamations about fighting corruption but many observers say the system now is as bad as it ever was, without any real option for redress.
IRGC REPORTEDLY RECRUITING AFGHANS – Several anti-regime Iranian news outlets have reported on a story about the Quds Forces actively recruiting Afghans to aid in the struggle against Israel. Journalists say the Unit 400 detachment is responsible for assessing Afghan recruits and it is not clear what pay is being promised for this service. The Taliban issued strict guidance to Afghans to avoid engaging in jihad in foreign places but there have been persistent rumors that some Afghans have traveled to Iran to join the fighting in the region.
CHINA REMONSTRATES INDIA OVER ‘DOUBLE STANDARDS’ REGARDING TERRORISM – A spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry said States that take the fight against terrorism seriously could not engage in ‘double standards’. The statement came after a reporter raised the question of India’s purported support for terror groups in Pakistan. The claims of Indian support surfaced after a Commander of the Baloch National Army laid down his weapons and spoke at length about foreign support for terror operations in Pakistan. Beijing appears to have taken the former Commander at his word. New Delhi has yet to formulate a response to the slight.
NEXT 24 HOURS
NO THREATS REPORTED
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Both Iran and Russia finalized their agreement to stop using US dollars for trade agreements and will now accept only local currencies.
Some new laws in US states go into effect in January that will further prohibit companies and individuals from investing in Iran.
The funeral for the IRGC General, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Syria was held in Iraq. Tehran has vowed to undertake revenge for his killing.
PAKISTAN
The former Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was released from detention in Rawalpindi and immediately rearrested on charges of affiliation with a political party engaged in anti-state activities.
Pakistan’s national airlines lost two more employees after two men failed to report back to work while awaiting their return flight in Toronto, Canada. Nine PIA employees have ‘slipped away’ while in Canada throughout 2023.
The Supreme Court chose not to hear a plea from former PM Khan in the Toshakana case. One of the Justices informed reporters that a suspension of the verdict in the corruption case would not negate the five-year ban that prohibits him from running.
SPOTLIGHT GENDER
The Suffering Of Women And Girls Under Taliban Rule
By Ali Khan Bangash - EurAsia Review
The world watches in collective despair as the plight of women and girls in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. With the international community largely echoing sentiments of concern but demonstrating limited action, it’s high time we shift from mere lip service to tangible intervention.
AFGHAN NEWS
Haqqani says regime faces ‘no immediate external threat’
By Milad Sayar - AMU TV
On the 44th anniversary of the former Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, Taliban’s acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani stated that their regime faces no immediate external…
Head of Educational Development at Kabul Medical University Killed
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
According to reports from media outlets, Abdul Ghafar Hamdard, who served as the head of the Medical Education Development Section at Kabul University of Medical Sciences, was murdered…
Taliban Closes Education Ministry Department, Creating Uncertainty For Thousands
By RFE
The Taliban's hard-line Islamist government in Afghanistan has eliminated the Monitoring and Evaluation Department in the Education Ministry, a move that…
REGIONAL NEWS
Afghanistan and Tajikistan finalize electricity purchase agreement
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
Hekmatullah Maiwand, spokesperson for the Breshna Company, wrote on his social media platform X on Wednesday, that the electricity purchase agreement between…
Pakistan Expelled Several Asylum Seekers Waiting For US Visas: Activists
By TOLO News
A group in Pakistan that defends the rights of Afghan immigrants told TOLOnews that about 140 immigrants who were awaiting visas from…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
'Afghanistan Future Thought Forum' Held in Istanbul
By Hadia Ziaei - TOLO News
Sultan Barakat, the founding director of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies of Doha said that the 8th Afghanistan Future Thought Forum (AFTF) was…
Marking Soviet Invasion, Kabul Asks World to Not Interfere in Affairs
By Fatema Adeeb - TOLO News
The Islamic Emirate asked the international community to interact with the current government and refrain from interfering in the…
THE DAILY WTF
Taliban supreme leader's existence remains a mystery
By Khudai Noor Nasar - Nikkei Asia
In the 29 months since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the militant group's leader, has neither been photographed in public nor…
“True.” TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 70.09 AFN (as of 28 DEC 2023)