LAST 24 HOURS
BLAST NEAR MILITARY AIRPORT IN KABUL – 2023 started off with blood after a spokesman for the Interior Ministry confirmed a blast had targeted a security checkpoint that controls access to a neighborhood where senior Taliban officials live. Initial reports state that 8 people were killed and another 10 are seriously injured from the blast. It is not yet clear what method was used to execute the attack (vehicle, suicide vest, planted device, etc) and no group has yet claimed credit.
AFGHANS IN THE US HOLD PROTEST IN FRONT OF WHITE HOUSE – Afghans living in the mid-Atlantic region descended on Washington DC and picketed outside of the White House to protest the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls.
RUSSIAN GAS PLAN HAILED BY TALIBAN OFFICIALS – Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister recently announced they intended to export natural gas to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Details were not presented and some skeptics warned the plan would face serious obstacles as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan have been planning a similar development project but had not invited Russia to the table.
NEW IRANIAN AMBASSADOR ASSUMES DUTIES IN KABUL – Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qoomi became Iran’s top diplomat in Kabul on 1 January.
UN MET WITH TALIBAN LEADER IN KABUL TO DISCUSS GENDER BAN – The Deputy of UNAMA, Markus Potzel, met with Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi to discuss both the ban on women working with UN and NGO aid efforts as well as the ban on women’s attendance at Universities. Potzel’s meeting comes shortly after the acting head of UNAMA had met with the Minister of the Economy and before a planned visit by the UN head of Aid, Martin Griffiths. There has been no word about the progress of the discussions.
NEXT 24 HOURS
TALIBAN DISPATCHES MORE REINFORCEMENTS TO SOUTHERN KANDAHAR – Several columns of armored vehicles were seen arriving in Southern Kandahar. By yesterday evening an estimated 800 additional fighters had arrived at the garrison near Spin Boldak Gate. Today, many are expected to depart to positions along the Durand Line today and the next day. A source in the Ministry of Defense said the deployments are in anticipation of Pakistani actions that will be taken against TTP enclaves in Afghanistan. The second convoy of reinforcements is expected to depart on Wednesday morning.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Several security forces personnel were reportedly killed in different protest locations over the last twenty-four hours.
Regime leaders commemorated the late General Soleimani in Tehran on Sunday. The General was killed by a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020.
PAKISTAN
A terror attack took place in Jammu and Kashmir Sunday evening. Several gunmen opened fire indiscriminately near a Temple on the outskirts of Jammu City. 4 people were killed and 6 are injured.
Police claim to have arrested 5 TTP militants in Punjab Province. They seized explosive vests, weapons, and some banned literature in the raid.
Weapons fired into the air in celebration of the New Year have injured 22 people.
UZBEKISTAN
Afghan officials met with the Energy Minister to discuss recent export cuts to Afghanistan. One of the Taliban delegates to attend the meeting is banned from travel by the United Nations.
The inflation rate was reported to be 12.3% in Uzbekistan at the end of December. However, economists say that inflation on food products was outpacing all other commodities and spelled trouble for the population over the coming year.
SPOTLIGHT OPINION
The TTP Conundrum and the Failed Ceasefire
By Javeria Fareed Qureshi - The Daily Times
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has formally announced to end months-long process of peace talks with the government of Pakistan by ordering their top commanders to launch attacks across the country on Pakistan’s security forces. These peace talks suffered several deadlocks as Pakistan’s government refused to fulfil the TTP’s demands for the reversal of the FATA merger, the release of the TTP’s key operators involved in major terrorist activities in Pakistan, and the withdrawal of Pakistani troops from former tribal areas.
AFGHAN NEWS
Several dead and wounded in blast outside Kabul military airport
By Al Jazeera
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the blast on Sunday left several people dead and wounded, adding that an…
By Bibi Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
Many international organizations, including UN agencies and the World Bank, have issued consecutive reports that highlighted the deepest economic hardship that…
Delegation tasked to resolve Kochies, Hazara tribes grassland dispute
By Jummazada - Pajhwok Afghan News
An acting government delegation has travelled to southern Ghazni province to find permanent solution to the grassland dispute between…
REGIONAL NEWS
Pakistan urges Afghanistan to take action against TTP
By Ariana News
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to take action against…
Pakistani Official: Deporting of Afghans Will Start in January
By Fatema Adeeb - TOLO News
A prison official in Karachi, Pakistan, said they would start deporting Afghan women who had been sentenced for living in the country without…
Efforts underway for release of Afghan refugees from Pakistani prisons: ministry
By Ariana News
Following the reactions to the imprisonment of hundreds of Afghan refugees, including women and children, by the Pakistani government, the…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
US Immigration Paths Available for Afghans and Ukrainians
By Aline Barros - VOA
Here’s a look at the U.S. immigration realities for Afghans and Ukrainians, and the various paths they have used to enter the…
THE DAILY WTF
‘Either Be Taliban’s Wife or His Cow,’ Pro-Taliban Cleric Addresses Women in Faryab
By 8AM Media
In the video footage that sources sent to Hasht-e Subh on Saturday, the cleric is talking about the situation of women in the country and encouraging girls to marry…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 89.21 AFN (as of 2 JAN 2023)