LAST 24 HOURS
NEXT FLASHPOINT FOR PAKISTAN COULD BE 15 MAY – After ousted Prime Minister, Imran Khan was released from the Islamabad High Court on Friday, he announced that he had received protective status until 15 May. The bench went on to grant protection from arrest until 17 May for any cases that had been/would be lodged against him after 9 May. Some sporadic clashes between PTI protestors and police were reported on Friday but the majority of the chaos had subsided. Police units in Karachi and Punjab carried out arrests on Friday night of those who were said to have been responsible for some of the buildings being set on fire over the last three days. The PTI says that over 40 people were killed while the government’s official death toll stands at 12. The military forces are still deployed in Islamabad, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is believed they will remain on the streets until the middle of next week when Khan faces his next legal test.
AFGHAN WOMEN’S PROTESTS ALLIANCE ACCUSE UN OF COMPLICITY WITH THE TALIBAN – The group released a statement on Friday that called for a stronger stance in dealings with the Taliban. The group went on to accuse the UN of acceding to the Taliban’s demands and setting a precedence that runs counter to its own published values. Previously, the Alliance has called for a suspension of all UN activities until the restrictions on women were lifted by the Taliban.
HUNDREDS OF AFGHANS RETURN FROM PAKISTAN – Over 800 Afghans reportedly passed through the Spin Boldak crossing this past week. Most said they were fleeing the situation in Pakistan and some complained that Pakistanis had threatened and harassed them when the protests broke out. The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation made calls to the international community to help support those who had returned.
HAQQANI CRITICIZED IN KANDAHAR FOR RECENT COMMENTS – A source familiar with the situation in Kandahar says the Supreme Leader’s counselors were livid after the Minister of the Interior’s remarks at a ceremony making the death of Mullah Omar Mujahid on Thursday. A closed-door meeting reputedly took place (the Supreme Leader was not present at the meeting) where strategies to ‘contain’ the Minister were discussed. The source could not speculate on what (if any) decisions were taken by the group but stressed that the level of animosity towards the Minister is extremely high and that he is being accused of derailing the Supreme Leaders’ national plan.
NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTAN PROTESTS: QUIET REIGNS FOR THE MOMENT – While some of the PTI protestors who had traveled to Islamabad to support the former PM have been witnessed leaving the city, several large camps remain. Sources in Islamabad say they have been ordered to stay by the acting PTI party leadership until next week when the former PM is expected to be arraigned in court and could face another arrest. Several thousand PTI party members/leaders remain in custody and there are concerns among the security forces that protestors may try to storm the jails and prisons to try and free them. While we welcome the calm, at-risk Afghans are encouraged to remain vigilant and be ready to seek immediate shelter should tensions flare up over the weekend.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Iranian naval forces seized another oil tanker on Friday in the Strait of Hormuz. The US Navy announced that it was strengthening its presence in the Gulf in response to the recent aggressive acts.
The regime released 2 French citizens on Friday who were imprisoned for spying and collusion against national security.
Iranian-backed militias in Syria have begun a recruitment effort and are promising conscripts $70 per month for signing up.
PAKISTAN
Former PM, Imran Khan, was released yesterday and has been granted bail and will be protected from arrest until 15 May.
The cabinet rejected a call to declare a state of emergency in the country on Friday. Critics said it was a political decision meant to downplay the crisis in the international press.
Leading tech experts say the government’s shutdown of internet and cellular services during the PTI protests created an anti-government backlash and did little to staunch the flow of propaganda from PTI activists.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Post-withdrawal, no “over-the-horizon” strikes in Afghanistan
By Meghann Myers - Military Times
Sales believes the “robust over-the-horizon” talk during summer 2021 was essentially lip service meant to ease the minds of the American public, as they watched 20 years of U.S. investment in Afghan security crumble on their television screens.
AFGHAN NEWS
Qatar’s PM meets Taliban officials in first high-level visit to Afghanistan
By AMU TV
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Kandahar province in the south of Afghanistan and met with Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the acting Prime Minister in…
Taliban kills four farmers over poppy fields destruction in Badakhshan province
By Kabul Now
A dispute over the destruction of poppy farms in the northeastern Darayim district in Badakhshan province has left at least four farmers dead and five…
Afghans Evacuated From Sudan Face Uncertain Fate Under Taliban
By Mustafa Sarwar - RFE
Forty-nine Afghans have been evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia, from where they returned to Afghanistan on May 5, according to…
With its economy in meltdown and malnutrition rising, now Afghanistan is hit by swarms of locusts
By Arpan Rai - The Independent
Locust infestation could wipe out 25 per cent of Afghanistan’s wheat crop this year as 875,000 children slip into…
REGIONAL NEWS
Afghans In Pakistan ‘Concerned’ About Their Safety Amid Violent Protests
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
Afghan nationals in Pakistan said they have been fearing for the past three days and avoiding going outdoors due to the violence that erupted in…
Pakistan: 4 killed in terrorist attack on FC Camp in Balochistan
By ANI
Two terrorists and two soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack on a Frontier Constabulary (FC) camp in Balochistan’s Muslim Bagh town…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
By Olivia Bowden - CBC
Mominzada, 28, and her husband Hashmatullah arrived in Canada from Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover in late August…
Can Online Education, Work Bypass Taliban Barriers for Afghan Women?
By Akmal Dawi - VOA
As the pandemic-related remote work model fades in most parts of the world, women in Afghanistan have found the practice a potential…
THE DAILY WTF
Guy Ritchie: ‘Morally reprehensible’ to deport Afghan heroes who fought alongside British forces
By Holly Bancroft - The Independent
Hollywood director Guy Ritchie says it is “morally reprehensible” that Afghans who supported British and Nato troops in…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 88.04 AFN (as of 13 MAY 2023)