Daily Evacuation Brief | November 2, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
BAGHLAN CLEARING OPERATION – Several sources have said the Taliban were in the process of moving several well-known Al Qaeda militants out of the Province. Observers say the moves did not look forced and the Taliban treated the people with deference. Household goods were packed onto military trucks. A Taliban-affiliated source claimed the moves were being made in anticipation of ICC investigations. There was no information about where the Al Qaeda militants were moving to or why.
AIRPORT AT MAZAR-I-SHARIF WORK IS COMPLETE – Uzbekistan provided significant technical assistance to get the airport back in working order and reports indicate the runways and taxiing venues have all been updated. Power is now supplied to the airport through an extension of the Uzbekistan national power grid.
DAY 5 OF THE LONG MARCH – Ousted Prime Minister Khan made several incendiary remarks during the fifth day of his Long March. Chief among them he claimed the capital police forces would be on his side when he reached Islamabad. Analysts see the claim as sheer bravado and referenced Khan’s attacks on the police after the violence of the march earlier in the year. Regardless, it has some leaders worried and the boundaries of the Red Zone were extended as a result. Leaders of the march have stated the route will change in an attempt to get back on schedule. However, observers say the marchers are unlikely to reach Islamabad on Sunday as originally planned.
TALIBAN SECURITY NEAR AIRPORT BEEFED UP – Several sources reported an increase in the number of security personnel deployed in the vicinity of the airport in Kabul over the last twenty-four hours. Security additions included a rough doubling of stationary guards, additional trucks, and increased security patrols. One source noticed the use of new radios which had not been seen before.
FORMER NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM COACH ARRESTED IN PARWAN – Gholam Mohammad Dastgir, the former head coach of the Afghan men’s football team was confirmed to have been arrested sometime during the previous week in the Jabal al-Siraj District. He is charged with cooperation with the National Resistance Front. The arrest was carried out by intelligence agents of the GDI and he is thought to be in custody in an unidentified prison.
NEXT 24 HOURS
DAY 6 OF THE LONG MARCH – The marchers are hoping to reach Lakhar before nightfall. Security forces are alarmed at the tactic Khan is using during this iteration of the protest. He sends people home at night and then asks them to return in the morning. It is thought he is attempting to avoid the burn-out his followers confronted when they marched in May.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
PAKISTAN
The wife of a journalist murdered in Kenya and for whom the Long March is titularly named has called on the UN to investigate her husband’s killing.
The current Prime Minister is in China to discuss bilateral financial issues.
The Red Zone around Islamabad was pushed out to the Zero Point periphery.
IRAN
Iran has been canvassing other nations at the UN in an attempt to derail the upcoming meetings about human rights violations during the protests.
The government announced intentions of providing ballistic missiles and more drones to Russian forces in Ukraine.
An 8th-grade female student died after being beaten up by security forces for reportedly tearing up a photo of the supreme leader at a protest in Baluchestan Province.
UZBEKISTAN
Uzbek authorities announced they had released more of the protestors who had been arrested during the deadly Karakalpakstan riots.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
The Potential for a U.S.-Uzbekistan Partnership
By Sam Harshbarger - Newlines Institute
Uzbekistan, double-landlocked in the heart of Eurasia, is situated in the middle of waves of geopolitical turmoil. While the country has made strides since 2016 under its current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, toward a more open form of governance and proactive foreign policy, it also is simultaneously grappling with Russia’s reshaping of the security dynamic in the former Soviet Union, the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and the rising ambitions of China. This dynamic has intensified Uzbekistan’s imperative to develop a broad range of partnerships.
AFGHAN NEWS
Burqa-clad women officers ready to join Afghan anti-riot police
By La Prensa Latina
The interior ministry aired a video of police training on Monday, showing female officers wearing head-to-toe black veils lined up in an open group, flashing…
Afghan Private News TV Channel Ceases Operation Due to ‘Pressures’
By Saqalain Eqbal - Khaama Press
On Tuesday, October 30, a source with information on the situation told the media that this news channel had seen ups and downs as a…
Despite Ban, Afghanistan's Opium Harvest Jumps Under Taliban
By RFE
Despite the Taliban's ban on narcotics, Afghanistan's opium cultivation rose by 32 percent in 2022 under the militants'...
REGIONAL NEWS
By PTI
The move to grant citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and not the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) bears…
Uzbekistan may grant prisoners online access to public services
By Asia-Plus
Kun.uz reports that Uzbekistan’s Interior Ministry has published a draft law on amending the internal regulations of penitentiary institutions on
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Former Minister of Justice to Visit Europe Discussing Human Rights Violations
By Saqalain Eqbal - Khaama Press
The former government’s Minister of Justice, Fazal Ahmad Manawi, said that he will visit Europe to meet with…
By Burak Bakdil - Middle East Forum
The Shanghai Five group, which later became the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), was created on April 26, 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on…
THE DAILY WTF
Afghan Banking System Returning to Normal: Central Bank
By Amina Hakimi - TOLO News
Haseebullah Noori, press director of Da Afghanistan Bank (Central Bank), said that the banking sector is out of the crisis…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 87.22 AFN (as of 2 NOV 2022)