LAST 24 HOURS
REPORTS FROM KHOST PROVINCE, TALIBAN FLAGS REMOVED FROM BUILDINGS – Some scattered reports began circulating on social media that cellular communications were down in Khost and that several Taliban administrative buildings were no longer flying the IEA flag. We don’t quite know what to make of these reports and will need additional information before making an assessment.
DRONES ARE IN THE SKIES OVER AFGHANISTAN NEARLY EVERY DAY – Buried in the list of grievances the Minister of Defense, Mullah Yaqoob read off in a recent interview was a curious statement about Afghanistan’s airspace. He demanded that the US stop violating Afghanistan’s airspace and subsequently called on Pakistan to disallow any country the use of its airspace to enter Afghanistan. While reports of drones operating in the skies over Afghanistan have been a constant since the Taliban took the reigns of power, it has faded from public attention. It is doubtful the Taliban know who is operating the drones in its skies. After the failed ISIS-K rocket attacks into both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in 2022, there were reports that both Uzbek, Tajik and even Russian drones were conducting surveillance and reconnaissance along the border and over the Northern Provinces. A few reports indicated Chinese drones had been spotted over Badakhshan in mid-2022 as well. Obviously, the US has continued to operate in Afghan airspace and will likely continue to do so. There has been no reporting about any attempt to interdict drone flights so it is likely the Taliban do not possess the technology/weaponry to do so at this point in time.
ANOTHER MEMORANDUM ATTRIBUTED TO THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR CIRCULATED – A memorandum purportedly issued by the Ministry of the Interior has appeared on social media and warns Taliban security officials that former government employees are now joining terrorist groups. The memorandum concludes by ordering Intelligence and security officers to focus on apprehending these individuals over a twenty-day period. It is important to note that many of the documents shared on social media have turned out to be forgeries.
IRANIAN MEDIA OUTLETS SAY THE FOREIGN MINISTRY HAS BARRED AFGHANS FROM WORKING IN KERMANSHAH PROVINCE – While the information has not been verified by the Ministry in Tehran, the report has circulated on three television channels in Iran. It was not clear if the ban on work may also indicate that a potential deportation operation could follow. At-risk Afghans in the Province should continue to monitor news reports about the situation.
NEXT 24 HOURS
SECURITY CHECKPOINT INSPECTIONS IN KABUL VERY SPECIFIC – Reports indicate that both individual and vehicular security inspections in and around Kabul have been more thorough than in previous months. We assess this increased activity is likely due to the Muharram observance period and the associated threat of an ISIS-K attack.
YESTERDAY’S RAINS IN PAKISTAN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE UNTIL 26 JULY – Several urban areas are dealing with significant flooding as a new storm system hit Pakistan on Saturday and is expected to continue until Wednesday. While the heaviest downpours are expected in the North and Central portions of the country, emergency managers are warning that flooding along all major rivers should be expected. Adding to the threat, India is expected to begin emptying several dams that are at capacity which will exacerbate the danger. On the plus side, temperatures which had been scorchingly hot have moderated due to the wind and precipitation. Low-lying areas in cities and along major waterways will be dangerous for the better part of the coming week and should be avoided. Likewise, travel in and around the country will be risky.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Iran has called for an urgent meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the desecration of the Quran in Sweden and elsewhere. The regime informed Sweden that it would not accept a new Ambassador until action is taken against those accused of desecrating the holy book.
Recent reports from around the country suggest the enforcement of the hijab law is not particularly successful. While some early arrests were reported, there have been many videos showing average citizens accosting the patrols when they attempt to stop an unveiled woman.
Mohammad Hossein Dadkan, a former Iranian football player and past President of Iran’s Football Federation recently stated the country had now become ‘an Islamic North Korea’.
PAKISTAN
Another patient who had been exposed to the Congo-Crimea virus has died in Quetta. Doctors in Balochistan said that at least 9 others in the Province are known to be infected.
The Federal Investigation Agency has identified 4 foreign board members of a mobile app finance company that was responsible for defrauding customers. The scam came to light after a Pakistani citizen committed suicide due to threats of extortion from the company.
The government approved an increase in the price of electricity that is proving unpopular with citizens who are already dealing with rampant inflation. The increases were a stipulation in the IMF loan agreement.
SPOTLIGHT GENDER
The Daily Hustle: Women take to street peddling to feed their families
By Sayed Asadullah Sadat & Roxanna Shapour - AAN
After the Taleban came to power in August 2021, the flow of international funds into the country that helped prop up the economy declined precipitously, and a significant number of people lost their jobs. Women, facing new legal restrictions on work from the Islamic Emirate, have been hit disproportionately hard by unemployment. With few options available to them, an increasing number of women, especially widows and single heads of household, have taken to selling goods from handcarts in an effort to earn a living. AAN’s Sayed Asadullah Sadat has heard from three female street vendors. Their arresting accounts of how the lack of paid work or forced unemployment, driven by the Emirate’s mounting restrictions on women working outside the home, have pushed them into joining the ranks of their male counterparts as street pedlars in Kabul.
AFGHAN NEWS
How Afghan women secretly learn judo — over WhatsApp
By Nils Adler - Al Jazeera
In a sprawling underground martial arts training centre in the Haugerud neighbourhood in Norway’s capital, Oslo, Qudsia Khalili steps onto…
The Azadi Briefing: The Taliban's War On Music
By Frud Bezhan - RFE
The Taliban this week burned scores of musical instruments it claimed to have recently seized across…
Mohammad Yaqoob blames US for IEA’s lack of recognition
By Ariana News
Acting Minister of Defense Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has fulfilled the conditions for recognition, but…
REGIONAL NEWS
Taliban Rejects Iran’s Claim About Moving Daesh Leaders to Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told ISNA News Agency, “It is not a secret to anyone that the leaders of Daesh and the…
Kabul again asked to dismantle TTP, ETIM safe havens
By Ali Hussain - Business Recorder
The Foreign Office on Friday urged the Afghan interim government of Taliban to adhere to the commitments that it has made to…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan exports pomegranate juice to US for the first time: IEA
By Ariana News
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said on Saturday that Afghanistan has for the first time exported pomegranate juice from Herat province to…
Afghan Adjustment Act will allow families like mine to find stability, opportunity in America
By Afzal Afzali - The Hill
Currently, my family is here in the United States under Humanitarian Parole, which allows noncitizens to enter the country without…
THE DAILY WTF
IEA’s justice minister says time will come for IEA to ‘impose sanctions on others’
By Ariana News
Acting Minister of Justice Abdul Hakeem Sharei said in response to being sanctioned by the European Union, that the time will come for…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 85.68 AFN (as of 23 JUL 2023)