LAST 24 HOURS
A SECOND TTP COMMANDER FOUND DEAD IN AFGHANISTAN – Safullah Babuji, a Pakistani national and reputed leader in the TTP was found lifeless in a water canal in the Bati Kot District of Nangarhar Province yesterday. He is the second TTP leader to have been killed in Eastern Afghanistan over the past three days. The circumstances around his death have not yet been confirmed. Babuji was thought to be a confidant of the TTP Deputy Commander, Amir Mufti Mazlom. Taliban officials have not provided any information regarding either death. No further information was available.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS MEET WITH UNAMA IN KABUL – In a meeting on Friday, UNAMA officials heard from local and national gender rights leaders. The leaders asked for UNAMA’s assistance with opening channels of communication with the Taliban regime. The meetings are held each Friday and over one hundred women participate each week.
DISTRICT GOVERNOR DETAINED BY TALIBAN IN PANJSHIR – Mawlavi Humayun is the Governor of Annaba District and was said to have been arrested two days ago by GDI agents. Sources with the Ministry of the Interior say he was responsible for stealing humanitarian assistance and possibly selling weapons. Panjshiris have long claimed he has persecuted people in the Province based on their ethnicity. No further information was available.
NEXT 24 HOURS
TAJIKISTAN TO CLOSE BORDER CROSSINGS TEMPORARILY – Sources indicated Tajikistan may close the border crossings with Afghanistan while a new computer system is installed and additional security cameras are put in place. The sources say the closing will only affect non-commercial traffic and should only last two days.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Governors (US, France, Germany, and the UK) have released a resolution that censures Iran and demands the country clear up issues concerning radioactive materials found in unauthorized locations.
Protestors attempted to burn down the former Supreme Leader’s house (Khomeini).
Police fired at protestors who were demonstrating near Tehran’s metro station. Video of the incident is circulating widely on social media. Other videos showed protestors (mainly women) being beaten and dragged away at the metro station.
PAKISTAN
The Government announced the new Military Chief would be appointed next week.
Security forces claim to have killed 2 Balochistan Liberation Movement militants in the Province.
A suicide bomber killed 2 people at a peace committee office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. 3 others were said to be injured. No further information was available.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
By David Price - CounterPunch
Obviously, many anthropologists spoke out in the post-9/11 world, warning that US military plans in Afghanistan could not work as promised, and rather than spending my 15-minutes just chanting “we told you so” it’s worth considering a few ways that military and intelligence agencies tried to harness anthropology for these campaigns, and why this didn’t work. Because US politicians, the public, and perhaps to a lesser extent the military, have not publicly taken stock in what went so wrong with this war, it is worth considering how false promises that counterinsurgency (COIN in military-speak) would bring American victories added to this mess.
AFGHAN NEWS
UNAMA asks Taliban to explain rationale behind detention of women activists in Kabul
By ANI
Amid ongoing restrictions on women in Afghanistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan…
More planes are returning to Afghan skies – making money for the Taliban in the process
By Arpan Rai - The Independent
Around 80-100 flights, including international airlines, are going in and out of Afghanistan’s airspace, each making about £593 for the hardline…
University Students Complain of Lack of Teachers
By Asma Sayin - TOLO News
“We don’t have good lecturers in universities and that is one of the biggest problems,” said Mohammad Reza…
REGIONAL NEWS
Price of Goods May Rise as Spin Boldak Crossing Remains Closed: Traders
By Bibi Amina Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
The Chamber of Commerce and Investment said that the closing of the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing may increase the price of…
Uzbek Foriegn Minister Calls for Intl Efforts to Prevent Afghan Isolation
By Imran Danish - TOLO News
The foreign minister of Uzbekistan, Vladimir Norov, at a European Union - Central Asia meeting that was held on Thursday in…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Terror Groups Pose Limited Threat to US, Assessments Find
By Jeff Seldin - VOA
Some of the more dire predictions about the boost terror groups in Afghanistan would get from the sudden U.S. withdrawal have not…
Norway increases support for civilians in Afghanistan
By Government of Norway
‘I am deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan. Norway is now providing NOK 220 million to the…
THE DAILY WTF
Women in Afghanistan ‘banned from watching World Cup in public’
By Josh Layton - Metro UK
‘Many of the stadiums are not operating and women will not be able to watch the World Cup in public spaces as they did…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 88.59 AFN (as of 19 NOV 2022)