Daily Evacuation Brief | May 20, 2023

May 20, 2023

JOURNALIST ALI LATIFI REPORTEDLY RELEASED – Well-known media personality Ali Latifi was arrested shortly after leaving the residence of the former President, Hashmat Ghani. Eyewitnesses say the Taliban charged him with consuming alcohol and possibly being drunk. The journalist was released shortly after the incident occurred and released a tweet that said everything was a misunderstanding and that he had been treated well.
PAKISTANI POLICE SEARCH FORMER PM’S HOME – After conflicting reports suggested ousted PM Khan had turned police away from his residence, the search was confirmed to have taken place and was led by the Police Commissioner of Lahore. The Police contingent was forced to obtain a search warrant after the initial visit to the Zaman Park residence. The search was focused on arresting 30-40 PTI party members who stand accused of arson and vandalism of military bases in last week’s violent demonstrations. It seems that no arrests were made but Khan’s associates were handed a list of over two thousand names of people who were wanted for questioning. Khan has been portraying the protests as a ‘conspiracy’ and has challenged the government to prove that PTI took part. An extension of bail has been granted in his highest-profile case and he will be free until the 2nd of June. The former PM sought medical care for stomach pain early on Saturday morning.
IRAN AND TALIBAN TRADE BARBS AND LEVY THREATS OVER HELMAND RIVER DISPUTE – Taliban officials criticized remarks made by the President of Iran over the water rights case that has caused decades of tension between the two countries. In a statement, the Taliban said the President’s remarks were inappropriate and cautioned its neighbor to refrain from using incendiary remarks in the future. After the remarks, Iran’s envoy in Kabul (Kazemi Qomi) demanded that a delegation be allowed to visit the Helmand River and assess its flow. He said the visit should take place within 30 days. Iran’s President had hinted at retaliatory acts if the Taliban do not honor the 1973 accord. Farmers and livestock growers in Sistan and Baluchistan Provinces say the water levels are insufficient to plant crops and water their animals. It is not clear what actions Iran could take if it determines the agreement is being violated.
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WARNS UKRAINE THE US COULD ABANDON IT LIKE IT DID IN AFGHANISTAN – Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister made remarks in an interview reminding Ukraine’s leaders of the US’s short attention span when it came to international causes. The FM specifically brought up the Afghanistan and Egyptian cases to make his point.
LAND REFORM PROGRAM IN TAKHAR RESULTS IN ANOTHER CLASH – Locals in the Khaja Bahauddin District challenged the Taliban officials who were attempting to seize land from citizens and pass it to nomads (Naqileen). The land in question was considered valuable grazing property. The Taliban were acting on an order from Kabul to redistribute 1,000 acres to the Naqileen. The locals reputedly used farm implements to threaten the Taliban officials and drive them away. The incident is said to have taken place on Thursday and locals expect the Taliban to return in force and continue the process.

NEXT 24 HOURS

NO THREATS RECEIVED

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

IRAN

The regime executed 3 condemned protestors that had garnered significant international attention. Several cities reported demonstrations after the news of the executions was shared.
Leaked documents contend that an interview between a German news outlet (Der Spiegel) and a reputed former militant was actually a staged event.
Naval leaders from the US, UK, and France transited the Strait of Hormuz in a show of solidarity against Iran’s recent maritime activities in the Persian Gulf.

PAKISTAN

The leader of the PTI party’s minority group, Jai Parkash, announced that he was quitting the party over the violence that took place during the previous week. He is the second high-ranking PTI leader to have left.
Yesterday, the Federal Shariah Court revoked some elements of the Transgender Act. The repeals targeted the rights granted under the act for transgender women to occupy spaces where biological women congregate. Inheritance laws were also repealed but details were not available.
A suicide bomber targeted a pro-Army rally in Balochistan that was led by Sirajul Haq. The attack was caught on camera by a drone flying overhead. Casualty figures were not immediately available.

SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS

UN and Afghanistan: ‘an uneasy balance’

By Tanya Goudsouzian - Le Monde diplomatique

A two-day UN conference in Doha concluded on 2 May with no sign that the global community was inching closer to formal recognition of the Taliban. Hosted by UN Secretary General António Guterres, the closed-door meetings brought together envoys from various nations in a bid to unify the international community’s stances on human rights, governance, counterterrorism and anti-drug efforts in Afghanistan. Afghan women and exiled opposition figures feared that these talks would kick off a process of ‘constructive engagement’ and mark the start of a roadmap toward formal recognition of the Taliban’s rule. Yet, if the conference did not pave the way for recognition, Guterres himself did not rule out the eventuality.

AFGHAN NEWS

Islamic Emirate Reacts to Remarks of Iranian President

By Mohammad Farshad Daryosh - TOLO News

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that Iran President Embrahim Raisi’s remarks regarding the Helmand water treaty will affect the political relations between…

Activists say life for LGBTQ+ Afghans has become unbearable under Taliban rule

By Javeria - LGBTQ Nation

On May 4th, 2022, Sultan Popal*, a 32-year-old gay Afghan man became a victim of a string of violent attacks against the country’s…

‘No one feels safe’: The Taliban promised to provide security to Afghans. New data shows threat from ISIS is growing

By CNN

Qasim received a call in late March that his brother, an employee with Afghanistan’s Taliban government, had been seriously injured in a suicide…

REGIONAL NEWS

IEA: We consider Iran’s repeated demands for water and inappropriate remarks as harmful

By Ariana News

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in a statement in response to the recent warning of Iran’s president about the country’s water…

Chinese, Central Asian Leaders Discuss Trade, Energy and Economic Development

By Nizamuddin Rezahi - Khaama Press

China is hosting a summit in the northern city of Xi’an this week in which leaders of Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan…

INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN

Can the Belt and Road Initiative Succeed in Afghanistan?

By Sudha Ramachandran - The Jamestown Foundation

At a trilateral meeting in Islamabad on May 9, the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into Afghanistan and…