LAST 24 HOURS
UN RENEWS CALL FOR A NATIONAL DIALOGUE IN AFGHANISTAN – Markus Potzel, the Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, made the call in an interview with TOLO News and urged leaders within the Taliban to fulfill pledges made to the international community. He said that the formation of an inclusive government was a paramount precondition for any possibility of international recognition.
CITIZENS DEMAND THAT TALIBAN SECURITY FORCES PERSONNEL WEAR UNIFORMS WHEN ON DUTY – Residents in Paktia Province called on the Taliban leadership to force its personnel to wear uniforms when they are performing official duties. Similar calls have been made in other Provinces over the course of the last year as citizens have found themselves targeted by men who claim they are Taliban security personnel and who demand bribes under threat of arrest. Sources in Kabul have long been worried that low-level ‘entrepreneurs’ among the ranks had turned to these money-making schemes to exploit the situation. Other criminal groups have been accused of setting up fake ‘roadblocks’ and accosting travelers and truck drivers to take bribes. The Taliban made a lot of noise over the purchase and distribution of uniforms for both military and police units but it is not currently known if the clothing has been disseminated across the entirety of the security establishment.
EUROPEAN INTELLIGENCE REPORT FOUND EVIDENCE THAT IRAN WAS LOOKING FOR WMD TECHNOLOGY IN 2022 – A combined effort among European intelligence agencies resulted in a report that found evidence of a concerted effort on the part of Iran to procure technical expertise and/or equipment for both chemical and nuclear weapons. Dutch intelligence released a redacted version of their findings and claimed to have blocked both Russian and Iranian attempts to access information about nuclear technology in the Netherlands. Swedish, German, and Norwegian intelligence agencies provided additional cases where they had interdicted Iranian efforts to procure both nuclear and chemical weapons knowledge.
PAKISTAN’S PURGE OF THE MILITARY CONTINUED – To date, 3 senior military officers have been sacked and administrative action had been taken against 15 other officers (3 major generals and 7 brigadier generals among them) for their perceived roles in the 9 May riots or, for failing to respond to protect soldiers and facilities from the rioters.
NEXT 24 HOURS
EASTERN PROVINCES LIKELY TO RECEIVE MORE RAIN, FLOODING WILL CONTINUE – A new storm system is expected to sweep in from Pakistan along the Eastern border and is expected to bring more rain to the Eastern Provinces. Flooding has killed at least 5 people and injured others in these Provinces from the last system. Pakistan’s Sindh Province is expecting to see significant flooding as well. These storms are precursors to the monsoon season and historically have not posed as significant a threat as they have in 2022 and 2023. At-risk Afghans are advised to avoid travel during the next two to three days.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Israel announced it had seized millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency that was being used by the IRGC Quds Force and Hezbollah. Hamas had previously stopped using Bitcoin in April over concerns that transactions were being tracked.
The Supreme Leader criticized the nation’s judiciary in a rare rebuke targeting corruption among lawyers and judges.
A leaked document that was attributed to a regime-sponsored survey of average citizens in the wake of the protests said that 62% of Iranians believe that protests are the only way they will be able to restore their individual rights.
PAKISTAN
The death toll has continued to climb after torrential rains caused flooding in central Punjab Province. 13 people were killed and 17 injured over the last 24 hours.
A spokesman for the IMF said that recent steps taken by Pakistan are considered meaningful and progress towards fulfilling the requirements for the loan is steadily being met.
ATMs around the country have been emptied in advance of the Eid ul Adha holiday leaving many citizens without the means to pay for family celebrations.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
The Taliban’s Unsustainable War on Drugs
By Shanthie Mariet D’Souza - The Diplomat
According to multiple media reports, Taliban anti-narcotics units have managed to effect a drastic reduction in opium cultivation in Afghanistan. Assisted by armed Taliban soldiers, stick-wielding personnel are hopping from one opium-growing field to another, destroying standing crops in a large number of provinces. Overseen by international media, such operations may have resulted in an almost 80 percent reduction in opium cultivation this year in the country, which not long ago accounted for 85 percent of the world’s opium. Notwithstanding the hope this has generated of significantly reducing the availability of opium in the market, sustaining the tempo may be difficult for the Taliban in the medium to long term.
AFGHAN NEWS
By Kate Clark - Afghanistan Analysts Network
Casualties have plummeted since the takeover, but the threat remains, especially to some communities, from suicide…
Islamic Emirate Leader Orders Release of 2,178 Inmates for Eid
By Abdul Ghafar Azizi - TOLO News
Mohammad Qassim Riaz, deputy head of Helmand's department of Information and Culture, said that…
Results of UNICEF study a reminder of the ‘critical situation in Afghanistan’
By AMU TV
The report, titled “Spotlight on Social Impact in Afghanistan,” which is released every four months, aims to shed light on themes with significant social impact and…
REGIONAL NEWS
Iran says water rights talks with IEA ongoing
By Ariana News
Iran’s Foreign Ministry says talks with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) over Tehran’s water rights from Helmand River are…
A Taliban cmdr. killed in clashes with Pakistan border guards
By MEHR News Agency
According to the report, local sources in Paktika Province, located in Afghanistan, announced that 2 Taliban fighters and 5 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes between…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
UNAMA Releases Report on Impact of IEDs on Civilians in Afghanistan
By Sabria Abdal - TOLO News
The UN Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a report that between 15 August 2021 and 30 May 2023, it has recorded a total of “3,774 civilian casualties…
From Exile, Afghan Journalist Finds Work in Diaspora Media
By Muska Safi - VOA
After fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Mina Akbari is again working as a journalist, reporting for diaspora media from her new home…
THE DAILY WTF
IEA’s measures to improve people’s wellbeing have seen effective results: China
By Ariana News
A series of measures have been taken by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to grow the economy, eliminate corruption, ban drug cultivation and…
“We support these initiatives, now please sign these mining concessions.” Translation provided by TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 86.06 AFN (as of 28 JUN 2023)