Daily Evacuation Brief | February 24, 2023
LAST 24 HOURS
TORKHAM OPENS BRIEFLY THEN PAKISTAN CLOSED DOWN ITS SIDE – The Taliban opened its side of Torkham on Thursday morning to much fanfare and celebrations by many a concerned truck driver. However, Pakistani officials soon chose to close its side of the border after a mad rush of trucks that had been lined up for days during the closure. The official reason given by the director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan joint Chamber of Commerce was attributed to “...administrative issues.” It is not clear how long the closure will last and several eyewitnesses claimed the closure was simply being used as an excuse by border security officials to extract higher bribes from commercial transporters.
.SENIOR KASHMIRI ISIS-K COMMANDER REPORTEDLY KILLED IN KUNAR PROVINCE – Ejaz Amin Ahangar (aka Abu Osman Al-Kashmiri) was thought to be a senior ISIS-K Commander who was responsible for several suicide attacks in Kabul and Jalalabad. Sources say he was killed by the Taliban in a potential set-up operation and his body was discovered in Kunar on Tuesday.
2 BOMBINGS IN AFGHANISTAN – Sources stated the attacks were likely planned to coincide with the visit of a Pakistan delegation and were meant to embarrass the Taliban in front of their guests. Details about the bombings can be found in the Conflict Tracker.
PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN TERRORISM SUMMIT IN KABUL YIELDS RESULTS – A senior delegation visit by Pakistani leaders with their Taliban counterparts has produced at least a tentative agreement to cooperate on counter-terrorism operations. It is not clear if the Taliban committed to putting pressure on the TTP to halt attacks in Pakistan. A source close to the discussion claimed the TTP question was the primary point of the talks and the Taliban did not provide a concrete assurance that it would confront the TTP. The source went on to say the Pakistani delegates were concerned about a large TTP offensive planned for 1 March. Interestingly, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kabul traveled with the delegation. Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani survived an attempted assassination in Kabul on 2 December. The ambassador did not remain in Kabul and returned to Pakistan with the delegation.
RESISTANCE GROUPS CALL FOR MORE DIRECT ACTION AGAINST THE TALIBAN – The Afghanistan Liberation Movement began a coordinated social media campaign on Thursday, calling on Resistance forces to concentrate attacks in Kabul. Analysts believe the Spring Campaign season will likely commence in the first week of March and there have been scattered reports that the Resistance groups are coordinating much more closely than in 2022. There are also rumors that new weapons and ammunition stocks were received by some of the groups over the winter months.
NEXT 24 HOURS
EARTHQUAKES MAY HAVE DAMAGED LARGE MOUNTAIN DAM IN PAMIR – After a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, engineers and emergency officials are concerned the quake could cause the dam to fail. The floodplain below the dam is estimated to hold approximately 400,000 people (Afghans and Tajiks). Engineers and emergency management personnel were sent to assess the damage but the earthquake also caused several landslides and avalanches which hindered their arrival. No alert has been issued to evacuate the valleys in the floodplain and the extent of the damage to the dam is currently unknown.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Iran’s Minister for Sport was killed in a helicopter crash in Kerman province. Several others were injured in the accident.
Canada announced it was planning to introduce a simplified work permit process for Iranians.
Several Iranian politicians have begun voicing open criticism directed at the regime. Some have called for President Raisi to resign.
PAKISTAN
The Foreign Office announced it would be closing several diplomatic facilities around the globe as an austerity measure. Information was being prepared to post on its website so Pakistani citizens could still access services while living abroad.
India accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists and providing safe havens.
The Rupee rose against the dollar after China announced a massive loan to Pakistan.
SPOTLIGHT INSIGHT
The West Lives On in the Taliban’s Afghanistan
By David Oks - Palladium
It was almost midnight in Kabul. I was in a Turkish-style café on the top floor of Afghanistan’s only shopping mall with a few young Afghans, waiting for green tea and rice pudding. My Afghan friends were chatting loudly, in a fluid blend of Pashto and English. I, only half-understanding them, was puffing away at a cigarette while I watched Terminator: Dark Fate subtitled in Persian on the television above us. A few tables away, some Talibs were talking quietly and occasionally glancing over at the other patrons smoking hookah and thumbing their phones.
AFGHAN NEWS
6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Afghanistan and Tajikistan
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Tajikistan, followed by an aftershock measuring 5.0 magnitude and another earthquake…
Senior Taliban cmdr. killed in Kabul bomb explosion
By MEHR News Agency
Informed sources in Kabul reported that a senior Taliban commander was killed in an explosion in Kabul on…
Afghanistan: Blast targets Taliban vehicle in Takhar; at least four wounded
By AMU TV
An explosion targeted a Taliban vehicle in the city of Taluqan, the center of Takhar province, at around 5:10 pm on Thursday, sources said, adding that at least four people, including…
Passport department to reopen next week
By Ariana News
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) general director of the passport department said on Thursday that the process of issuing…
REGIONAL NEWS
Pakistan-Afghan border crossing shut after brief reopening
By The Peninsula
Peshawar: Pakistan shut down a key border crossing with Afghanistan just hours after it was reopened on Thursday, officials said, the latest twist in the controversial closure of the Torkham junction…
Helicoper Carrying Iran’s Sports Minister Crashes; One Dead, 12 Injured
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
Local authorities said a helicopter with Iranian Sports Minister Hamid Sajjadi crashed in the city of Baft, in the southern Province of…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Withdrawal of international aid from Afghanistan disproportionately harms women and girls: NGO
By Heather Guzman - ABC News
Many aid organizations withdrew their funding to Afghanistan after the Taliban implemented several regressive policies on Afghan women's human rights in…
THE DAILY WTF
Bodies of five armed robbers hanged in public in Herat
By Siyar Sirat - AMU TV
According to the sources, the bodies of three people were hanged in Jebriel district in Herat on Tuesday, Feb. 21, after they were killed during an…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 88.87 AFN (as of 23 FEB 2023)