Daily Evacuation Brief | February 4, 2023

Feb 04, 2023

RUMOR OF BAN ON SUNNI-SHIITE MARRIAGES IN BADAKHSHAN DENIED – Early reports had suggested the District Governor in Nasi had issued a proclamation banning marriages between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. The Taliban head of Information and Culture said the ban was fake and that a letter circulating on social media was a forgery.
TALIBAN SUPPORTER ATTACKED IN TURKEY BY ENRAGED AFGHAN REFUGEES – Dr. Harif Mokhtar, a prominent supporter of the Taliban regime, was reputedly attacked and beaten by a group of Afghan refugees. Mokhtar’s son confirmed the attack and posted on his personal Twitter account that the attack was carried out by supporters of the Resistance. It is believed the attack took place in Istanbul but efforts are being made to find out additional information.
PAKISTANI TROOPS CONDUCT RAID IN NORTH WAZIRISTAN, KILL TWO MILITANTS – The Pakistani Army conducted the raid on a suspected militant hideout in the district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday. The ensuing shootout was short and the 2 militants were killed by gunfire. While the Pakistani forces have not released the identities of the militants and did not say which terror group with which they were affiliated, they did say the two were implicated in previous attacks against security forces. The incident took place very close to the Afghanistan border. No additional information was available.
KABUL-GHOR HIGHWAY CLOSED DUE TO SNOW – Travelers have been stopped from both directions as work crews attempt to clear heavy snow from the route. Some reports indicate that as many as 25 vehicles were stranded along the route when the conditions reduced visibility and the vehicles drove off the road into deeper snow. Rescue crews have been on-site to assist.
ISIS-K REMAINS INACTIVE IN AFGHANISTAN – The ISIS propaganda weekly, Al-Naba, published its most recent addition on ISIS social media outlets, and for the third week, no actions were proclaimed in Afghanistan. The lack of activity has security officials fretting that a major attack is in the works while Taliban leaders continue to say the threat from ISIS-K has been eliminated in some areas and will soon be eradicated throughout the country.
SUPREME LEADER SAYS INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE A MINOR NUISANCE AND WILL NOT FORCE DEVIATION FROM HIS POLICIES FOR FEMALES – In a meeting with military commanders in Kandahar on Friday, Hibatullah Akhunzada said he remains resolute in adhering to his Deobandi beliefs and that global pressures would not force a change. He went on to say that trust between his regime and the world had decreased significantly. Sources say the Minister of Defense was notably absent from the meeting.
HEKMATYAR UNDER THREAT FROM THE TALIBAN – It has been reported that the political party of Golbaduddin Hekmatyar, Hizb-e-Islami has been banned by the Taliban. It is not clear if the ban is a temporary measure, for security reasons, or a permanent ban. It has been rumored for some time that Hekmatyar had fallen out of favor and many viewed his increasingly critical sermons against the Taliban as seditious.

NEXT 24 HOURS

HOUSE SEARCHES LIKELY TO BEGIN AGAIN IN KABUL – As previously reported, Taliban security forces stood down their search efforts on Friday in observance of prayers. However, operations are expected to pick back up today with a focus on completing ongoing searches in Police Districts 11 and 15. Other Districts may also see activity today. At-risk Afghans are reminded to try and remain calm should a search party arrive at their residence and keep documents and money hidden while also ensuring any items that may be evidence of links to the former regime are not on open display in their homes.

ALERTS

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

IRAN

Iranian media outlets have begun releasing antisemitic cartoons that suggest the leader of Azerbaijan is a puppet of Israel.
An internal dispute has risen between the Supreme Leader and his hand-picked President, Ebrahim Raisi. The budget that was presented at the end of January seems to have caused the friction.
Protestors burned banners commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 revolution in Tehran and other cities.

PAKISTAN

Pakistan will attend a meeting in Moscow that has been called to discuss Afghanistan security matters. It is not clear if any substantive steps will come from the meeting.
The IMF stipulations for a proposed $6.5 billion dollar bailout package have been released and have not been received well in Islamabad. The Pakistani Prime Minister bashed the conditional deal that would raise taxes and do away with subsidies before the elections in October.
The investigation into the recent Mosque suicide bombing continues and police say DNA samples helped identify a woman who is suspected of assisting in the attack.

UZBEKISTAN

The situation with rail transport to Afghanistan became clearer after details of the agreement inked in December have come to light. Apparently, the halt came about due to arguments over the number of Uzbek rail technicians who would be authorized to manage the line in Afghanistan. Neither side seems willing to budge on the issue.

SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS

Central Bank Immunity, Afghanistan, and Judgments Against the Taliban

By Ingrid (Wuerth) Brunk - Lawfare

This article focuses on the other half—the approximately $3.5 billion in Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) assets that U.S. victims of terrorist attacks seek to satisfy judgments that they hold, not against Afghanistan, but against the Taliban. The case is currently pending in the Southern District of New York. For reasons described in part by the U.S. government, Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, amici briefs, and myself, the statutory argument advanced by the judgment creditors is not convincing.

AFGHAN NEWS

Afghanistan: single women and widows are struggling to find their next meal under Taliban restrictions

By Nitya Rao - The Conversation

Jamila*, a widow living in Herat, lost her husband in a suicide attack about eight years…

The Azadi Briefing: Taliban Doubles Down On University Ban On Afghan Women

By Mustafa Sarwar - RFE

The Taliban warned private universities in Afghanistan on January 28 that female students were banned from…

Taliban detains professor who protested ban on women’s education

By Al Jazeera

Mashal’s aide Farid Ahmad Fazli told AFP news agency that the academic was “mercilessly beaten” and taken away in a very disrespectful manner by…

REGIONAL NEWS

Pakistani Troops Kill Two Militants in Raid Near Afghanistan Border

By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press

According to the Pakistani military, two rebels were killed during a raid on a terrorist hideout in a former Taliban stronghold on…

INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN

There is no Option to Recognize the Taliban Regime: EU Special Envoy for Afghanistan

By Nizamuddin Rezahi - Khaama Press

In his visit to Pakistan, Tomas Niklasson met with Pakistani officials and agreed on the continuation of regional and international community’s cooperation for…