Daily Evacuation Brief | June 19, 2023
LAST 24 HOURS
TTP COMMANDER REPORTEDLY KILLED IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA ON SUNDAY – Pakistani counter-terrorism units, acting on fresh intelligence delivered on Saturday, ambushed the TTP Commander, Zafar Khan and two of his senior advisors in an operation on Sunday morning. Khan had reportedly moved across the border from Nangarhar, Afghanistan on or around 22 May. His activities were tracked by Pakistan’s intelligence services who were waiting for Khan to stop in a location for a few days which would give operatives time to raid his safe house. The action took place in the Dara Adam Khel region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and sources said the operation started late on Saturday night but the fighting took place just after midnight local time on Sunday. Zafar was a wanted terrorist who had operated freely in Afghanistan for some time. He was considered to be a warlord who profited off of several kidnapping/ransom schemes and often chose to extort local coal mining operations. The two advisors who were killed with Khan are Hasan Khan and ‘Anas’ (aka Ali and an Afghan citizen). Both advisors had been implicated in several terrorist attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
TOP COMMANDER OF BALOCHISTAN LIBERATION FRONT (BLF) REPORTEDLY KILLED IN ‘NEIGHBORING COUNTRY’ – Nawaz Ali Rind, the leader of the BLF was reportedly killed in an internal power dispute in an unidentified neighboring country on either Saturday or Sunday. Rind has led the group since 2014 but was reportedly being challenged by underlings about strategies the BLF had pursued in 2022. The BLF was thought to be a founding member of the BRAS organization which is a confederation of Balochistan separatist organizations. Pakistani security forces have scored a number of successes against members of BRAS after arresting the Baloch National Army leader, Gulzar Imam Shambay in April 2023. Shambay apparently had a change of heart after his arrest and repented publicly for his participation in several terrorist attacks. It is believed that Shambay’s cooperation has been responsible for many of the counter-terrorism successes in Pakistan’s restive Province.
ISRAEL CLAIMS US WEAPONS LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN SHOWING UP IN GAZA – An Israeli military commander told a journalist from Newsweek that light weapons the US left behind have been spotted in the possession of militants in the Gaza Strip. While several reports of similar instances have come from India, Pakistan, and Iran, this development represents the farthest known migration of illicit arms from Afghanistan yet.
FARDA TV REPORTER ARRESTED UPON RETURN TO AFGHANISTAN – Raza Shahir, a well-known reporter from Farda TV was reportedly detained by Taliban security forces as he journeyed between Herat and Kabul. The reporter had returned from Iran after his Iranian visa had expired and it is rumored he was attempting to get a new visa for either Iran or Pakistan when he was detained.
NEXT 24 HOURS
NO THREATS REPORTED
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Israel’s Prime Minister seems to have done an about-face and criticized an impending deal with Iran over its nuclear program and the lifting of some sanctions. The PM had previously told Israeli citizens that the deal was something he could live with.
Iranian border forces engaged in a moderate battle with ‘terrorists’ along its border with Pakistan on Sunday. The regime said that 1 militant was killed and others were injured before being forced to flee back to Pakistan.
Russia announced that the 4 July 2023 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will focus primarily on the admittance of Iran as a full member. Iran has been an observer in the organization for 15 years.
PAKISTAN
Pakistani police announced they had arrested Talha Shahzaib, a suspected human trafficker who had profited from sending some of those who died when a Greek vessel capsized in the Adriatic Sea last week. Another 10 suspects are also in custody.
Former PM, Imran Khan and his sister have been summoned to appear before the Anti-Corruption Establishment in Punjab today. The two face accusations of corruption over a land deal.
Russia poured cold water on rumors it would provide crude oil to Pakistan under discounted prices. Discussions over a barter deal between the two countries are continuing.
SPOTLIGHT OPINION
By Bhopinder Singh - The Statesman
The TTP phenomenon, besides thriving in tribal areas and populace with co-ethnicity and accompanying sensibilities, are aided immeasurably via their social media outreach that is preying on the failed state imperative, socio-economic morass and sheer desperation that has consumed the Pakistani narrative and its discredited establishment. The Pakistani socio-economic distress is here to stay and that makes it fertile territory for the TTP agenda to extend beyond the invisible and unrecognised Durand Line
AFGHAN NEWS
Haqqani stresses need for transparency in Interior Ministry
By Ariana News
Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani has called on ministry officials to ensure all work processes are…
Selective WhatsApp ban on hardliners hits Taliban's functioning in Afghanistan
By Mukul Sharma - WION News
The workings of Afghanistan's Taliban government have been reportedly curtailed due to ban on WhatsApp accounts operated by hardline operators as part…
Awareness Campaign for Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Launched
By Hadia Ziaei - TOLO News
The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock launched a campaign for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever ahead of Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday which is…
Kabul Residents Face Problems Obtaining Pakistani Visas
By Bibi Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
The residents of Kabul complained about the existing challenges with the issuance of visas to Pakistan, saying that they are unable to receive their visas despite…
REGIONAL NEWS
TTP commander among three terrorists killed in Dara Adam Khel IBO
By Zarmeen Zehra - GEO News
Security forces gunned down a most wanted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander among three terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in Dara Adam Khel area…
Taliban says ready to solve Iran concerns over water rights
By MEHR News Agency
In a meeting with the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Abdul Kabir called for the resumption of the activities of the international…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
After escaping the Taliban, hundreds of Afghans languish in Albania in a prolonged US visa process
By Llazar Semini - ABC News
Almost two years since he fled Afghanistan to escape the Taliban takeover, Firooz Mashoof is still haunted by the memory of his last day in Kabul — the bus that took him…
World Bank: Afghanistan Low on 'Women, Business and Law Scores'
By Mitra Majeedy - TOLO News
The World Bank in its recent report of “Women, Business and the Law 2023” placed Afghanistan among 11 economies with the…
THE DAILY WTF
Ground Paved for Investment Opportunities in the Country: Hanafi
By Bakhtar News Agency
Deputy Prime Minister for administrative affairs, Mawlavi Abdul Salam Hanafi, met with Mohammad Yunus Mohmand, the head of the chambers of commerce, and Haji Khanjan Alkozi, a…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 85.80 AFN (as of 19 JUN 2023)