LAST 24 HOURS
TORKHAM CLOSED TO ALL LACKING PASSPORT/VISA – Yesterday, border officials confirmed a rumor that the long-standing agreement between the two countries that allows medical patients to cross into Pakistan for treatment has been suspended for anyone not in possession of a valid passport and visa. Considering the difficulty in obtaining a passport from the eternally plagued and corrupt passport directorate in Afghanistan and the similarly afflicted Pakistan visa process, the new order will almost certainly result in a lack of medical care for those most in need. While many are blaming Pakistan for the issue, there are several cases where Afghans who were not seeking care simply paid a bribe to the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan to receive a letter of approval. Yesterday, the head of the Passport Directorate in Parwan Province was arrested on corruption charges for taking bribes to expedite passport deliveries.
MORE ARRESTS OF OUTLAWED GROUP IN BADAKHSHAN – Members of the banned group Hizb ut Tahrir have reportedly been rounded up after rumors they were planning a demonstration in the Provincial Capital were received by Taliban security forces stationed in Faizabad. Approximately 50 of the group were previously arrested in the Province and sources now say that close to 100 are being held by the Taliban.
POWER SHORTAGES COULD WORSEN – A recent 50% cut in imported electricity from Uzbekistan has caused serious problems for citizens and businesses and now the national power company is warning that the cuts could deepen during the upcoming winter months. Uzbekistan reportedly cut the export of power to Afghanistan by as much as half in November. It said it needed the time to repair and modernize the transmission grid. The reduction was projected to last for seven to twelve days. Weeks later, full importation has yet to resume and citizens are voicing concerns as the weather turns cold.
ACTIVIST HUSNA SADAT’S DEATH RAISES QUESTIONS – The media activist reportedly threw herself from the fourth story of a building in Police District 10 after having been visited by a Taliban security detachment. Neighbors reputedly called the police after hearing loud music coming from her rooms. Her parents spoke about mental health issues the activist was facing on a pro-Taliban YouTube channel but other friends and colleagues have questioned the official narrative that both she and her husband were intoxicated and have chosen to blame the Taliban for her death. The case is certainly mysterious and it is unclear what may have transpired under the unpredictable rule in the country.
NEXT 24 HOURS
NO THREATS REPORTED
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Reports surfaced that a young Afghan man was killed in Tehran sometime in late November and that his body had suffered ‘extreme violence’. The incident is said to be under investigation.
Iran’s Chief of Defense is in Iraq to discuss matters of joint concern to both countries. The visit is being billed as a means of strengthening ties between the two nation’s militaries.
Iran has objected to the US’s latest report on global terrorism and especially the manner in which its proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and elsewhere as ‘terrorist groups’. Tehran continues to paint these groups as national freedom fighters and legitimate military wings of political movements.
PAKISTAN
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on passengers in a bus in Gilgit Baltistan, killing at least 8 and wounding nearly 30 people.
Gohar Ali Khan was elected as the leader of former PM Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). The former PM’s barrister ran unopposed.
A Pakistan International Airlines aircraft was forced to conduct an emergency landing in Karachi after an engine caught fire on an international flight shortly after takeoff. No injuries were reported but the incident appears to confirm rumors that the cash-strapped airlines may be taking maintenance ‘shortcuts’ with the fleet.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Pressure Tactic has little results
By Georgi Asatrian - Modern Diplomacy
Political and diplomatic processes regarding the unrecognized Islamic Emirate continue to evolve. On the eve, two solid conferences were held in Islamabad and Dushanbe, and the Afghan issue became one of the main topics. Besides, international and regional diplomats and Track II diplomacy or “back-channel diplomacy” representatives expressed statements that sounded like messages to the Taliban in one way or another. However, as the practice of recent years shows, criticism and pressure tactics against the leaders of the emirate do not work. At least neither diplomatic nor economic mechanisms have worked so far. In this context, there are two ways of dealing with the Taliban. The first is to continue the ongoing policy of diplomatic dance, pressure, and economic sanctions, expecting the regime to softly transform. This is a carrot-and-stick tactic. Fulfilling particular conditions for regime reforms, the Taliban will receive certain concessions from the international community in finance, including unfreezing Afghan sovereign holdings in Western banks and maybe negotiations on the recognition of the state in the long run. The second strategy is just being discussed on the sidelines, but it is still far from a real plan. It’s too early to mention it, but there may even be some plans for more drastic actions on the part of some regional forces.
AFGHAN NEWS
Families of victims of armed attack in Herat demand justice
By Ariana News
The families of the victims of Friday’s armed attack in Herat have demanded the arrest of the perpetrators of the incident which…
Kabul Rejects US Report on Al-Qaeda, Daesh in Afghanistan
By Mitra Majeedy - TOLO News
The Islamic Emirate rejects the US State Department's 2022 annual terrorism report about the activity of al-Qaeda and Daesh elements in Afghanistan, which…
IEA Islamizing Afghanistan’s banking system
By Ariana News
A delegation chaired by Hedayatullah Badri, acting governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, participated in a two-day conference titled…
REGIONAL NEWS
Kabul’s disappointing response to TTP action: Pakistan
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
On Friday, the Foreign Office expressed disappointment with the Afghan Taliban’s response to Islamabad’s demands for action against terrorist groups…
As Afghan diplomats spar over embassy, India draws red lines
By Shubhajit Roy - The Indian Express
With Afghanistan’s Consuls General in Mumbai and Hyderabad declaring they will keep the Afghan embassy in New Delhi open and functional — its closure…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
EU commits €142.8 million in aid to Afghanistan
By AMU TV
The European Commission has greenlit a new funding package of €142.8 million to fortify basic services and sustain livelihoods for individuals in…
Qatar's Permanent Representative to UN chairs joint meeting of Group of Friends of Afghanistan
By The Peninsula
Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations HE Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani chaired, alongside Their Excellencies the Permanent Representatives of the…
THE DAILY WTF
Afghanistan is in the hands of clerics and they know the national interests well: Haqqani
By Ariana News
Acting Minister of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani has said in a meeting with a delegation of the International Union of Muslim Scholars that Afghanistan is…
"We have enough problems with the education of men, and in those affairs no one asks us about that." -- Qari Mullah Din Muhammad Hanif, Taliban Cleric and self-proclaimed genius.
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 69.82 AFN (as of 3 DEC 2023)