LAST 24 HOURS
IRAN CONTINUES TO RAISE STAKES OVER WATER RIGHTS – Iranian leaders have proposed non-diplomatic options to effectively ‘punish’ the Taliban regime for violations it sees in the Helmand Treaty. Iran is planning to send a survey team to Afghanistan to check on water levels in reservoirs that feed the Helmand River. However, the Iranian regime has publicly criticized Taliban claims that it was living up to its commitments under the treaty and have referenced satellite imagery that suggests Afghanistan has been impeding the flow of water and impinged on Iran’s rights. One of the newly proposed measures that was raised in the Iranian Parliament would be the forced closure of the Taliban’s embassy in Tehran. Other commercial penalties are also being considered. Relations between the two countries have always been difficult but the rhetoric coming out of Tehran has changed in recent months with Iranian officials taking a harder line with Kabul/Kandahar. The water issue is particularly dangerous because the drought-affected regions in Iran constitute a domestic issue that Ministers and elected officials have to deal with from Iranian citizens.
TALIBAN LOOKING FOR SECRET MEETINGS OF WOMEN GROUPS IN THE COUNTRY – Another letter purportedly from the Ministry of the Interior, is circulating on social media accounts. In the letter, the Ministry informs the Taliban security apparatus that many ‘underground’ women’s groups were conducting secret meetings. The letter directs Taliban security forces to identify these groups and report the information to Kabul. Apparently, the activity has been ongoing for the past three months.
FLOODING TRAGEDY KILLS MANY – While several Provinces have reported severe flooding in the wake of heavy rains across Pakistan and Afghanistan, Maidan Wardak appeared to be particularly hard hit, and emergency managers in the Province reported over 20 deaths so far and a similar number of people are missing. Pakistan officials have reported over 30 deaths, nearly 80 injured, and at least 40 are missing. Rains are expected to continue in the region until Wednesday.
2 FOREIGNERS REPORTEDLY ABDUCTED IN KABUL – Few details are available about reports that 2 foreign nationals were abducted late on Friday or early Saturday in Kabul. The nationalities of the 2 individuals have not yet been released but a source in Kabul said they were working for an international aid agency. Taliban security forces were alerted and are searching in multiple neighborhoods around the city. No group has claimed credit for the purported abductions. While ISIS-K has not yet claimed credit, there are concerns they are responsible for this event and that it may be the threat the Taliban was referencing in the lead-up to Muharram.
PAKISTAN POLICE WARN CITIZENS AND FOREIGN NATIONALS NOT TO SUBMIT TO SEARCHES BY THOSE NOT WEARING OFFICIAL UNIFORMS – A continuing problem in Pakistan (and around the world) happens when criminals attempt to impersonate legitimate law enforcement and will stop pedestrians or vehicles and ‘search’ them. Commonly, criminals will perpetrate these crimes in areas where police are not active. They will conduct the searches and in many cases, they will say that a law has been broken and will confiscate things like cell phones, money, and identity documents as ‘evidence’. Responding to a possible uptick in these types of crimes, the Ministry of the Interior in Pakistan is telling people that it does not conduct searches using people not wearing uniforms and encourages people to report any suspicious attempts by calling 15. It is important to note that Pakistani Police have been conducting more searches in differing locations in response to security concerns related to Muharram.
NEXT 24 HOURS
TALIBAN SEARCH FOR ABDUCTED FOREIGNERS COULD TURN VIOLENT IN KABUL – If, as some fear, ISIS-K was responsible for the kidnapping of the 2 aid workers there is a strong possibility that violence will ensue. While many kidnappings in the country are not political and are focused more on eliciting a bribe for the release of people, those instances typically do not involve foreign nationals. If ISIS-K is responsible, we assess that a negotiated return of the captives will be unlikely and the terrorist group will have conducted the necessary planning to capitalize on the international media attention that will almost certainly follow this developing situation. The Taliban have not shown restraint in previous engagements with ISIS-K and local commanders have likely been pressured to recover the abducted personnel quickly. Considering the amount of time that has elapsed since ISIS-K conducted a major operation, they have likely prepared their forces
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Several police officers were reportedly killed in Sistan-Baluchestan Province on Saturday when unknown gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have broken off negotiations with Saudi Arabia over a dispute over who will pay civil servants in a possible post-conflict Yemen.
Doubling down on the threat of enforcement of the hijab, Qassem Rezaei, said the crime will be considered under sedition laws.
PAKISTAN
The Prime Minister reiterated that those who participated in attacks against military installations during the May riots will be tried in military courts.
Former PM, Imran Khan, missed a court appearance on Saturday in the Toshakhana corruption case. His absence has irked the presiding judge.
Cellular phone service in parts of Karachi will remain suspended until 29 July due to a request by the Ministry of the Interior who was concerned about possible threats.
SPOTLIGHT OPINION
The unpalatable necessity of engaging with the Taliban
By Dnyanesh Kamat - Asia Times
A distinguished human-rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Seraj, 75, resides in Afghanistan and is executive director of the Afghan Women Skills Development Center and manages domestic-violence shelters for women and children. And yet she has called for dialogue with the regime as her country is mired in a humanitarian crisis.
AFGHAN NEWS
31 Killed, 74 Wounded in Floods in Past 72 Hours: Ministry
By Najeeb Ahmad Najeeb - TOLO News
At least 31 people have been killed, 74 have been injured and 41 others have disappeared in flooding within the 72 hours, said the spokesman for the State Ministry for…
Clerics call for lifting of restrictions on Muharram commemorations
By Milad Sayar - AMU TV
Amid preparations to celebrate Muharram, which commenced on July 18 and will culminate on July 28 with Ashura day—a significant day of mourning and…
Ultimate Goal is to Use Afghan Trust Fund to Recapitalize DABS: Mehrabi
By Bibi Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
Shah Mohammad Mehrabi, Central Bank supreme council member and board member of the Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland, said that as a…
REGIONAL NEWS
Iranian Lawmaker Suggests Closing Taliban Embassy Over Water Dispute
By Iran International
Amid tensions with Afghanistan over water, an Iranian lawmaker has suggested “non-diplomatic ways” to exert pressure on the Taliban, such as closing its Tehran…
Turkey to Issue Passports for Newborn Afghans: MoFA
By Bakhtar News Agency
The process of issuing passports for newborn Afghan babies living in Turkey commenced at the General Consulate of Afghanistan in Istanbul, as a result of…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Scholarships helped Afghan students find homes on university campuses in the US
By The Hindustan Times
As the Taliban swept back into power in Afghanistan, in the summer of 2021, Fahima Sultani and her fellow university students tried for days to get into…
US Made U-Turn in Fundamental Position Toward Afghanistan: Report
By Mujeeb Rahman Awrang Stanikzai - TOLO News
The Peace Research Institute Oslo said that the US had made a U-turn in its fundamental position regarding Afghanistan, from seeing the…
THE DAILY WTF
Administrative Corruption Eliminated, Transparency Restored Under IEA Admin: Hanafi
By Bakhtar News Agency
Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Mawlavi Abdul Salam Hanafi, in a meeting with the chief of the Supreme Audit Office, said that administrative corruption has…
“Telling everyone that you are conducting non-stop audits and then failing to release the results of said audits is not transparency. That is actually called non-transparency.” TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 85.68 AFN (as of 24 JUL 2023)