Daily Evacuation Brief | November 15, 2023
LAST 24 HOURS
STORY OF AN AMERICAN AID WORKER HELD BY TALIBAN FOR OVER A YEAR LEAKS OUT – On Tuesday, the wife of an American aid worker (Ryan Corbett) testified before the US Congress and revealed that he had been taken prisoner by the Taliban over 15 months ago. Corbett was detained while visiting Afghanistan in 2022 and the US State Department has been quietly working to gain his release. The negotiations apparently stalled after the Taliban made demands that a former aide to Osama bin Laden, Muhammad Rahim, be ‘swapped’ in exchange. Observers say the Taliban demand is likely unfeasible and that an exchange appears unlikely. Corbett is reportedly in ill health and is said to be housed in the infamous Prison 69 in Kabul where other foreigners are kept.
MANY GIRLS’ SCHOOLS IN HERAT CLOSED BY TALIBAN – It is not clear how many facilities have been closed but reports yesterday confirmed that the Taliban had ordered any school that employed male teachers to train girls to be closed. The order was created by the Ministry of Public Prosperity and Prohibition which is headed by a lackey of the supreme leader whom sources say is desperately trying to get attention from Kandahar. The schools that have been closed have been told they can reopen after female teachers can be found to fill the positions.
US SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL TELLS CONGRESS TALIBAN PROBABLY BENEFITTING FROM US AID SENT TO THE COUNTRY – John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan admitted that some aid is being given to the Taliban but could not estimate how much was being stolen. Mr. Sopko also said that some United Nations agencies operating in Afghanistan were being forced to pay the Taliban to provide security for their offices and to escort aid relief convoys.
PAKISTAN SENATOR ACCUSES OWN BORDER SECURITY FORCES OF TAKING BRIBES FROM AFGHANS ENTERING PAKISTAN – Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan spoke at a Senate hearing yesterday and revealed the practice has been taking place since the Taliban came to power in Kabul and estimates that each Afghan was forced to pay 100,000 Pakistani rupees to enter the country (more than $300.00). Several interviews with Afghans who had recently been deported found that Pakistani border officials were seizing property and cash from Afghans who were being forced out of the country. The Pakistan parliament held hearings earlier in 2023 about the problem on the border but no concrete action appears to have been taken.
STUDENTS GRANTED FOREIGN SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY COME UNDER SCRUTINY – The Minister of Higher Education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, has ordered a review of foreign scholarships awarded to Afghan students to study abroad. According to the Hasht-E Subh Daily news outlet, the Minister has quietly ordered his staff to delay and hinder the educational opportunities afforded to the students over fears that students return with ideas that are in conflict with the Taliban’s outdated brand of deobandist thought. The issue is currently affecting about 500 potential students (all male) who have received invitations to study in Russia. According to the report in Hasht-E Subh, there are rumors that all scholarships for studying abroad may be canceled in the near future.
TALIBAN EFFORTS TO CALM SITUATION IN BADAKHSHAN UNFRUITFUL – A source in Kabul said that a team of Taliban personnel who had been recently dispatched to the Province of Badakhshan had met with little success in resolving disputes between ethnic factions among the Taliban posted there and were unsuccessful in calling a meeting with representatives of at least two terror groups known to be sheltering in the Province (ETIM and an Uyghur Nationalist group). The team was ordered to stay in Fayzabad until Kabul could discuss the matter further and provide additional instructions. The source said that when the report from the team came in, there was gunfire heard in the background but could not say what might have taken place.
NEXT 24 HOURS
MODERATE EARTHQUAKE REPORTED ALONG TAJIK BORDER WITH AFGHANISTAN – A 5.3 magnitude quake struck South of Ashkasham, Afghanistan was reported by international geology monitoring stations very early on Wednesday morning. There were no reports of casualties or damage as of publication time. At-risk Afghans living in or traveling through the area are advised to make inquiries before entering the affected zone.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
A document that purportedly came from a seized Hamas computer in Gaza claims to illustrate Iranian support for training Hamas personnel on technical issues such as engineering, physics, and technology.
The US extended a waiver that allows Iraq to pay Iran for electricity for another 120 days. Us officials said the funds would be monitored and could only be used to pay for humanitarian aid.
3 men were executed in Sistan-Baluchistan Province yesterday by the regime. The three were political prisoners and had been charged with conspiring with Jaish ul-Adl (Sunni extremist group).
PAKISTAN
Recently returned former PM, Nawaz Sharif, continued to consolidate his party for the upcoming elections and the party (Pakistan Muslim League-N) announced that over 30 prominent political actors had now joined its ranks.
The Pakistan Rupee continued its downward slide as it fell for a 16th straight session as the IMF review continued. Traders dumped the currency in favor of dollars throughout the day.
An Indian anti-terrorism investigation has fingered 3 Pakistani men, one of whom is reputedly employed by Pakistan’s national intelligence service, for suspicious transactions conducted online.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
An Iranian Reversal on Afghan Refugees
By Shanthie Mariet D’Souza - The Diplomat
Along the 582-mile Iran-Afghanistan border, there are at least three legal border crossings and several unmonitored points of ingress and egress. Since the August 2021 seizure of power by the Taliban, these crossings have been used by millions of Afghans to exit into Iran. While most of these journeys have been to avoid persecution at the Taliban’s hand, poverty and a lack of employment opportunities amid a grinding economic crisis in Afghanistan have pushed even more Afghans into Iran.
AFGHAN NEWS
Taliban shuts girls’ training centers in Herat, citing concerns over male teachers
By AMU TV
The closure was confirmed by the head of the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Prosperity and Prohibition of Prohibition, who attributed the decision to the involvement of male…
Repatriated Afghan girls face bleak futures
By Wisal Yousafzai - The Express Tribune
As schoolchildren across the country eagerly await growing up and pursuing their dream careers, Afghan girls deported back home to life under the…
By Keith Griffith - The Daily Mail
Ryan Corbett, 40, was captured last year while visiting Afghanistan, where he had lived with his family as an aid worker for nearly a decade, but his plight was not publicly disclosed until…
REGIONAL NEWS
Taliban-Iran relations: A two-year overview of visits, rifts and diplomacy
By Milad Sayar - AMU TV
In the last year, interactions between Taliban and Iranian officials have surpassed those with any other country during the…
Pakistan will not expel Afghan refugees holding legal documents: Bugti
By Ariana News
Pakistan Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti rejected reports of mistreatment of Afghan migrants by the…
Afghan, Pakistan Ministers Discuss Stranded Transit Goods in Karachi
By Habib Rahman Qooyash - TOLO News
Authorities of the Islamic Emirate said that they have begun negotiations with Pakistani officials to find solutions for the stranded transit goods of…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
UN Chief Guterres' Recommendations for Afghanistan's Future
By TOLO News
The UN Secretary-General in his independent assessment of the situation of Afghanistan said that needs of Afghans should be addressed, and a roadmap should…
By Katya Witney - Wisden
As Feroza Afghan watched the Afghanistan men’s team secure an unprecedented four victories in the 2023 World Cup, her jubilation was tinged with sadness at…
THE DAILY WTF
Afghans Must Compete with World in Science
By Bakhtar News Agency
Today is the age of knowledge, and all Afghans are obliged to impart Islamic and modern education to their children…
‘He forgot to add - male children.’ TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 73.47 AFN (as of 15 NOV 2023)