Daily Evacuation Brief | July 22, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
The hashtag #bantaliban is trending on Twitter and other popular social media sites after Facebook banned official Taliban feeds and the Bakhtar News Agency page. Apparently, an unidentified senior Taliban official has called for those participating in the campaign to be killed. It is unclear if the threat was serious.
The cholera outbreak in Afghanistan has affected over 10,000 people so far, but some sources within the medical NGO community claim the total of those who are suffering from the disease is likely much higher. Most say the official Taliban figures that have been circulated are significantly underreporting people living in rural communities. Uzbekistan is taking the outbreak seriously and recently implemented health controls at the border. Tajikistan and Iran are expected to follow suit soon. Treatment efforts are focused in areas where medical facilities already exist; the problem worrying the health care community is supporting rural areas with a lack of access and no ability to travel.
Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob visited eastern Afghanistan to speak with Taliban security personnel stationed along the Durand line. In remarks, he warned Pakistan about making overt threats and once again rejected the demand of recognizing the Durand line as the official border. Sources within the Ministry of Defense claim the trip was scheduled to occur while Pakistan is conducting operations against the Baloch Liberation Army with the intention of sending a message to Islamabad that air strikes or cross border operations would be met with resistance.
At the Central Asian States leaders meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon made statements that Afghanistan is on a downward trajectory and the security situation inside the country is not settled. He was discussing the Taliban’s persecution of ethnic Tajiks when the broadcast was suddenly cut off. The program later resumed with the Turkmeni leader making remarks.
Zealous Minister of Vice and Virtue Khalid Hanafi announced on a visit to Paktia Province that, “The Interior ministry will not biometric those whose hair is not according to Sharia”. Consequently, those attempting to obtain a tazkira or passport may be turned away unless they are observing hair and beard styles in line with Taliban edicts. We are attempting to determine what requirements are in place to obtain a national identity card or a passport and will report back when the specifications are clear.
The United Nations announced that al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is alive and living in Afghanistan. The UN monitoring team went further and stated that he is becoming more active in his communications.
NEXT 24 HOURS
According to sources familiar with the situation, an impasse appears to have developed between Pakistan and the Taliban over the issuance of visas. A week after the Taliban effectively doubled the price of exported coal to Pakistan, the Pakistani government is said to be considering implementing a retaliatory measure which would remove several categories of visas for Afghanistan citizens and significantly raise the costs of each visa while reducing the type and number of people who could apply. Initial reports indicate that only 1-year commercial visas may be applied for while within Pakistan if these measures are allowed to take effect. Our analysis indicates this action is intended to bring the Taliban back to the bargaining table to secure better pricing for Afghanistan coal. We have not verified this information and are in the process of confirming it’s accuracy. However, at-risk Afghans and organizations involved in the resettlement effort should be aware of the potential impacts of both increased cost and reduced quotas that may soon affect operations.
The Central Bank intends to auction off another $13 million USD to stabilize the Afghani.
SPOTLIGHT HISTORICAL REVIEW
Beyond Good and Evil: The Sources of US Strategy in Post-Invasion Afghanistan
By Luke Seminara – E International Relations
Across two decades, the War in Afghanistan lost its moral purpose. The US went from taking the battle to the terrorists to propping up a dysfunctional Afghan regime in the face of an ever-resilient Taliban insurgency. In this paper, I shall analyze the roots of this nation-building struggle, namely the Bush administration’s grand strategy after toppling the Taliban in late 2001. My timeframe of interest is from the Bonn Conference of December that year, wherein the US and its Afghan partners agreed to pursue a democratic political order, to that order’s ostensible realization with Hamid Karzai’s election to the Afghan presidency in October 2004. The US ultimately embraced primacy, although said strategy came about through a complex interaction of perceptual, bureaucratic, and threat environment-related factors. In particular, post-9/11 anxieties and post-invasion hubris among top decision-makers led to a forceful yet open-ended mission with lofty and vague objectives. The result was reactive, bottom-up policymaking by officials in the field, resulting in expanding commitments with no coherent plan.
Our readers can download a PDF of this research HERE
AFGHAN NEWS
Afghan Passport Ranks Last in the Henley Passport Index
By Saqalain Eqbal – Khaama Press
Japan tops the list of countries, allowing its citizens to enter 193 countries without a visa or visa upon arrival, according to the…
Islamic Emirate React to UNAMA’s Human Rights Report
By Farshad Daryosh – TOLO News
The acting Minister of Vice and Virtue accused the US and the international community of interfering in the affairs of…
Afghanistan: Taliban arrest politician
By ANI
Sayed Javad Hosseini, leader of the Afghan Justice and Development Party was arrested by the Taliban in his…
REGIONAL NEWS
Afghanistan, Pakistan to launch bus services
By S. Muddasir Ali Shah – Pajhwok Afghan News
The agreement came at talks between the two countries during a three-day visit of a Pakistani delegation led by Secretary Commerce Muhammad…
Torkham, Spin Boldak crossings to stay open 24/7
By S. Muddasir Ali Shah – Pajhwok Afghan News
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed on keeping Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings open round the clock, officials…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Journalist says Taliban forced her to retract accurate reports
By Dominick Mastrangelo – The Hill
A journalist who worked in Afghanistan is sharing about her experience reporting in the country under the Taliban, describing threats of…
US 'Urgently Working' to Address Concerns About Frozen Funds: Price
By Madina Morwat – TOLO News
A spokesman for the US Department of State, Ned Price, said that the US is “urgently working to address concerns about the use of the…
THE DAILY WTF
Our actions to correct people won’t change: MoVPV
By Sahil Mangal
The Ministry of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (MoVPV) says its actions to correct people will not be sacrificed…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 90.26 AFN (as of 22 JUL 2022)