LAST 24 HOURS
CHINA EXPLAINS POSITION REGARDING TALIBAN – The Taliban flooded state press outlets yesterday with news that China had formally recognized its ambassador to Beijing. China poured some cold water on the celebrations by reiterating that it had not recognized the Taliban regime and urged Kabul/Kandahar to adopt more inclusive policies or it would not receive full diplomatic recognition. China has several pending multi-billion dollar economic projects lined up in Afghanistan and is also concerned about several anti-China terror organizations known to be sheltering in Afghanistan so it is not surprising Beijing would acquiesce to accrediting Kabul’s emissary, Assadullah Bilal Karimi. The news will likely dampen the celebrations and it is unclear if other nations will follow suit.
TALIBAN MAKE COUNTER-DEMAND OF PAKISTAN – An outlet in Pakistan said a request was received by the caretaker regime to formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government in the country. In exchange, the Taliban said it would take ‘decisive action’ against the TTP and its affiliates. A source in Pakistan said that the offer was the fourth made since late 2022 and it was not clear what the government would do. Another source in Europe said that other nations reported receiving a new round of requests for recognition and attributed the activity to the decision in Beijing to formally accept the letter of accreditation for the new Taliban Ambassador. The source seemed to think that the status quo would prevail and that recognition would not be forthcoming.
IRANIAN BORDER TOWNS BECOMING MORE DANGEROUS FOR AFGHANS – Afghan and Iranian youth groups clashed for a second time in Meybod and an Afghan teenager was placed in critical condition. Last Thursday, an Iranian youth (Amir-Reza Aghaei) was killed in a similar incident and his companion was injured and remains in critical condition. On Friday, locals demonstrated in the town and asked Tehran to deport the Afghans living in Meybod (approximately 12,000 Afghans are estimated to live there). Afghans have reported similar incidents and a definite anti-Afghan mood in many of the frontier towns and cities that have grown over the course of 2023. Several have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan citing the ‘ugly mood’ of the Iranian public as their primary motivation.
NEXT 24 HOURS
NO THREATS REPORTED
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
The Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi, plans to visit Russia on Thursday as the two nations recently announced a pact to ‘combat US sanctions’.
Iran again formally rejected claims that it was supporting the Houthis and challenged those in the international community who have criticized Tehran to ‘prove it’.
The Director of the FBI invoked Iran and China to attempt to justify a renewal of a controversial spying program (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act).
PAKISTAN
Proceedings in the anti-terrorism case against former PM Imran Khan and his Vice Chairman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi was adjourned yesterday until 11 December.
Pakistan’s weather service is warning of heavy fog and potentially dangerous smog in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and upper Sindh today as a concentration of cold and dry weather is expected to remain in the area.
An Army soldier was killed in a clash with unidentified terrorists in South Waziristan yesterday. The incident occurred in the Sararogha area.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
The effects of war, displacement, and trauma on child development
By Livia Hazer & Gustaf Gredeback - Nature
The number of people experiencing peace (i.e., lack of war or armed conflicts) in the world has been steadily decreasing over the last 15 years (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2022). With ongoing wars in Syria, Ethiopia, South-Sudan, and Yemen, a long history of conflict in Afghanistan, and the recent war in Ukraine, more than 100 million people around the world have been forcefully displaced (UNHCR, 2021b, 2021c). This number is expected to double by 2050 due to global warming and a lack of resources (Clement et al., 2021). Children are heavily over-represented among the world’s refugees (1/3 of global population, 1/2 of all refugees; UNICEF, 2022) and one in six children in the world live in conflict zones (452 million; Save the Children, 2021). However, there is a striking discrepancy between the importance of understanding the effects of war-related experiences on child development and the availability of data (Burgund Isakov et al., 2022). In this paper, we review the psychological literature that focuses on refugee children and youth (age 0–18 years). The selected age group is particularly vulnerable to stress due to their ongoing cognitive, sociocognitive, and neurological development. It is well-documented that early life stress (ELS) puts children at risk of non-optimal development, which can have prolonged effects on life outcomes (Barrett et al., 2019; Del Giudice et al., 2011; Nelson and Gabard-Durnam, 2020; Samara et al., 2020; Tu et al., 2021). However, this literature is, to a large extent, based on Western Educated Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD; Henrich et al., 2010) samples and family trauma (e.g., violence, neglect, or low socioeconomic status [SES]). An up-to-date review of how children’s psychological development is affected by war-related traumatic events is currently missing (Hall et al., 2022).
AFGHAN NEWS
Malala: Taliban rule ‘made girlhood illegal’
By Gulf Times
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said yesterday that Taliban rule in Afghanistan has made “girlhood illegal”, as she called for gender apartheid to be…
World Bank to Resume Projects in Afghanistan: Ministry
By Bibi Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
The Ministry of Finance said that the World Bank will resume around 45 incomplete projects in…
Afghan Insurgent Groups Step Up Attacks, Political Campaign Against Taliban
By Akmal Dawi - VOA
Two Afghan insurgent groups, made up mainly of former government and military officials, claim to have killed at least 50 Taliban officials and soldiers during…
REGIONAL NEWS
China seeks a more ‘inclusive’ Taliban
By Alex Willemuns & Adile Ablet - RFA
Beijing has urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government to adopt more “inclusive” and “moderate” policies in order to receive full diplomatic…
US official holds meeting in Pakistan to discuss Afghan deportation plan
By ANI
A senior US Administration official dealing with refugees and migration, Julieta Valls Noyes, held a meeting with foreign secretary Cyrus Qazi and Pakistan’s…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Vienna meeting ‘develops’ roadmap to address Afghanistan’s crisis
By Siyar Sirat - AMU TV
Participants of the third Vienna meeting, concluding on Tuesday, said they have developed a roadmap aimed at overcoming Afghanistan’s current crisis and instigating positive and…
Australia Warns Citizens About Travel to Afghanistan
By Mitra Majeedy - TOLO News
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has extended a warning to its citizens against travel to Afghanistan due to…
THE DAILY WTF
Pakistan Official: US Did Not Oppose Deportation of Afghans in Country Illegally
By Ayaz Gul - VOA
Pakistani officials said Tuesday that the United States did not object to Islamabad’s deportation of Afghan nationals who are illegally residing in the…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 69.35 AFN (as of 6 DEC 2023)