LAST 24 HOURS
BALKH GOVERNOR KILLED IN SUICIDE BOMBING – Initial reports indicate that the Provincial Governor, Mohammad Dawood Muzammil was killed when a suicide bomber gained access to his second-floor office and detonated an explosive vest. Another unidentified man was killed and 7 others are said to have been wounded in the brazen attack. Taliban Police and the spokesman were puzzled about how the bomber could have gotten to the Governor’s office without being stopped. Several hours after the attack, ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attack on their official website. However, secondary reports say that it was not a suicide bomber but rather, someone from a Resistance group had successfully smuggled an explosive device into the building and placed it near a meeting room. It is not clear what actually transpired. The Governor’s death is believed to be the highest-ranking Taliban leader killed since the Taliban came to power. He was also said to be a personal favorite of the Supreme Leader. Taliban officials announced an investigation had begun. The attack comes after a Taliban security operation in Mazar-i-Sharif resulted in the deaths of 8 unidentified men.
MORE HAZARAS FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES IN SAR-E-PUL – A Hazara community in the Al Badr District was reputedly forced to leave their homes on Monday and Tuesday. The District is one of those newly created in the past two months. The evictions were said to have been orchestrated after a claim against the land the Hazaras were living on had been made by a Pashtun man. In addition to the forced evictions, a Taliban court has ordered the former landowners to pay a 36 million afghani fine to the man.
CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS CALL FOR THE RELEASE OF ACTIVISTS WHO WERE ARRESTED FOR PROTESTING ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – While it is not clear how many women activists have been arrested, a prominent gender rights campaigner in Ghor, Habiba Sharifi, and her father were arrested at their home after protesting outside of the Provincial Governor’s office on Wednesday.
UN LAUNCHES NEW $4.6 BILLION DOLLAR APPEAL FOR AFGHANISTAN – Notwithstanding the recent threat by the head of UNAMA to cut funding to the country, the United Nations issued a call for donor states to pledge more money in anticipation of severe financial and food security issues on the horizon.
NEXT 24 HOURS
BALKH PROVINCE SECURITY SWEEPS EXPECTED – In response to the bomb attack at the Provincial Government office, Taliban security forces are planning a major security operation in Mazar-i-Sharif that is expected to take three days. A source said that no information had been received about potential terror or Resistance safe houses, but that Police leaders had developed a search plan to cover the entirety of the city. At-risk Afghans living in Mazar-i-Sharif should expect home/apartment searches over the coming days and security around all Taliban facilities will be increased.
POSSIBLE PTI RESPONSE TO NEW CHARGES AGAINST KHAN IN PAKISTAN – While the former Prime Minister did not appear in court again on Thursday, the government levied additional charges against him under the anti-terrorism act. Some social media sites affiliated with the PM’s party have called for renewed protests. While the recent protests took place in Lahore, party acolytes are now asking for protests in Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, and Karachi. If protests occur, they are expected to turn violent and the police seem to be in no mood for sparing the rod. There are rumors that some among the PTI faithful have called for the burning of all police stations in Lahore as a sign of protest and to honor the only fatality from the clashes, Ali Bilal. At-risk Afghans sheltering in Pakistan should take care to avoid any protests or large police congregations while the threat of clashes remains. In addition, at-risk Afghans in Peshawar should remain cognizant of the recent directive by the counter-terrorism department about an imminent large-scale attack by the TTP directed specifically against the police.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Belgium held talks with the regime to discuss a prisoner swap for a Belgian aid worker who was sentenced to 40 years in prison and a public lashing.
The US announced sanctions against several Iranian banking operations that had been set up to work around financial sanctions.
An American jailed in Iran was permitted to conduct an interview with CNN and he called on President Biden to intercede on his behalf.
PAKISTAN
Pakistan’s foreign reserve accounts rose to $4.3 billion dollars as the government diverted some funding to shore up the account.
The Pakistani Army announced it had concluded an operation against ‘terrorists’ in North Waziristan. They claim to have killed 9 terrorists in the operation.
The government has yet to commit to sending representatives to India for the upcoming SCO security conference.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Pakistan’s Alarming Rise in Terrorism Is Fueled by Afghanistan
By Muhammad Nawaz Khan - The Diplomat
Since the Afghan Taliban reclaimed power in Kabul, there has been a gradual increase in insecurity in Pakistan, with a rise of terrorist acts. 2022 witnessed 27 percent more terrorist acts as compared to 2021, and the lethality continued to intensify, as is evident from the Police Lines mosque suicide bombing in Peshawar. Thanks largely to that attack, January 2023 was also one of the bloodiest months on record for Pakistan, with 134 people killed and 254 injured in at least 44 terrorists incidents across the country. Across the border in Afghanistan, attacks have also targeted Pakistan’s interests, including an attack on Pakistan’s mission in Kabul in December 2022.
AFGHAN NEWS
Senior Taliban governor killed after suicide bomber forces their way into his office
By Rachel Hagen - Mirror
“Two people, including Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, the governor of Balkh, have been killed in an explosion this morning,” a local police spokesperson…
By Rio Times
On this March 8, International Women’s Day, Afghans suffered the hypocrisy of the United Nations (UN), which believed the Taliban regime would not violate…
Afghanistan coffers swell as Taleban taxman collects
By Kuwait Times
A dusty logjam of trucks inches across a rut in the mountains splitting Pakistan and Afghanistan, teeming with a cargo of fruit and coal-and paying the Taleban authorities for…
REGIONAL NEWS
Pakistan Police Books Imran Khan on Charges of Murder, Terrorism
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
The police in Lahore on Thursday booked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and 400 others on the charges of murder and terrorism following a clash with police that…
Iran Calls for Inclusive Govt in Afghanistan
By TOLO News
The Foreign Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said that Tehran does not recognize the Afghan interim government but will…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Liberals to amend terror laws that block aid workers from Afghanistan
By Dylan Robertson - National Observer
The Trudeau government is expected to introduce legislation today to alter terrorism provisions of the Criminal Code that have blocked Canadian humanitarians from…
Remains of Migrants Drowned in Italy to Be Repatriated: Afghan Embassy
By Mitra Majeedy - TOLO News
The Afghanistan embassy in Italy said in a statement that 48 dead bodies of Afghan migrants who lost their lives in a shipwreck off the…
THE DAILY WTF
Efforts to mark Int’l Women’s Day suppressed in some Middle East countries - analysis
By Seth J. Frantzman - The Jerusalem Post
Women have suffered the erosion of their rights in Middle Eastern and nearby countries in recent years, particularly in…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 88.04 AFN (as of 10 MAR 2023)