Daily Evacuation Brief | October 17, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
BOMBINGS IN KABUL – 2 additional blasts were reported on Sunday in North and West Kabul neighborhoods which are heavily populated by Tajik and Hazara people respectively. The blasts were reputedly small and are thought to have been magnetic mines that were attached to vehicles. No information has been received about casualties and/or the intended targets. Again, no group has claimed credit for these attacks and the silence seems to indicate a shift in strategy for terror groups operating in Afghanistan to avoid attribution. Whether the shift is significant or not remains to be seen.
NEW PASSPORT DIRECTOR APPOINTED – Sources indicate that as a result of a large-scale investigation into the illegal sale of passports, visas, and national ID cards, the former Director of the Passports Division was dismissed and may be under investigation and a new Director, Maulvi Abdul Karim Hasib was appointed in his place. The passport system has proven to be a lucrative black market business in Afghanistan and several European and international law enforcement agencies are reputedly delving into the processes. Afghans living in other countries and/or traveling on their Afghan passports may experience additional scrutiny at screening checkpoints.
EARTHQUAKE STRIKES PAKTIKA PROVINCE - An earthquake has been reported in Paktika on Sunday and initial reports suggest it was near the epicenter of the June earthquake that caused significant damage and loss of life. There are scattered reports of casualties but no definitive information was available at this time. Curiously, the earthquake has not been plotted on international monitoring sites as of publication.
TALIBAN TO INVESTIGATE DETENTIONS IN PANJSHIR – The Taliban released a statement through their affiliated news channel, Bakhtar News, that they had formed a 6 person panel to investigate the reported arrests and detentions that have been reported in Panjshir since the Spring. Few Afghanistan observers believe the panel will investigate in an unbiased manner. Multiple reports have suggested that as many as 6,000 non-combatants in Panjshir are currently being held in different locations.
NEXT 24 HOURS
BADAKHSHAN FIGHTING TO SPREAD – Sources from both the NRF and Taliban have opined the fighting seen there in the last twenty-four hours has the potential to spread to other Districts over the coming week. One source close to the Resistance shared photos of new rifles being unpacked from shipping crates and claimed the Resistance had received several shipments of new weapons over the past three weeks. The origin of the weapons has not been confirmed but the source said they likely came through the Pamir region.
SPOTLIGHT CULTURE
A Thematic Study of Contemporary Poetry in Afghanistan
By Sayed Mozaffari - The Swedish Pen
The fundamental purpose of this article is to explore contemporary poetry in Afghanistan. On a personal level, I think, in the past few centuries, the dominant theme of poetry in Afghanistan has been political and ideological, and I will try to examine this poetry in depth from that angle. It is not my intention to give an ordinary or general meaning to political poetry. In my opinion, political poetry is a method of expression in encountering the power of politics that rules the country. Now whether it is the poetry in conjuncture with the politics and thus is informed by that power, or a kind of poetry that is shaped by that power, or whether it has been intermixed with the dragon of the politics and the emerald green of our literature, in the last few centuries.
AFGHAN NEWS
Ex-Leaders in Virtual Meeting Not Acceptable to Afghans: Islamic Emirate
By Banafsha Binesh - TOLO News
The Islamic Emirate in reaction to a recent Zoom meeting of former Afghan politicians said that the participants…
Taliban Establishes Commission to Investigate Detainees Northern Afghanistan
By Saqalain Eqbal - Khaama Press
The Taliban-controlled media reported that the Taliban has established a six-member commission to investigate the cases of the people that…
UN Envoy Otunbaeva Meets With Taliban Officials To Discuss Aid, Girls' Education
By Radio Free Europe
The United Nations' new special representative for Afghanistan Roza Otunbaeva has met with high-ranked officials of the Taliban-led government…
REGIONAL NEWS
Mujahid Mentions Issue of Girls' Schools at a Gathering in Turkey
By Asma Saayin - TOLO News
At a gathering of the Union of Scholars and Madrasas (İttihad'ul Ulema) in Turkey, the spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said that schools for…
Taliban Prevents Bulk Cash Smuggling from Afghanistan to Iran
By Saqalain Eqbal - Khaama Press
According to a statement from the Defense Ministry of the Taliban administration, released on Sunday, October 16, the Taliban forces have…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
One year later, Afghan refugees still aren’t guaranteed stability in the U.S.
By Alexandra Martinez - Prism Reports
“An Afghan Adjustment Act would be a clear and quicker pathway to get our green card, and it will help a lot of Afghans…
The US’ Betrayal To European Allies – OpEd
By Sarah Neumann - Eurasia Review
However, in spite of evacuation from Vietnam in which the United States was able to take more than 130 thousand Vietnamese aid and…
THE DAILY WTF
Thousands of terrorists, suicide bombers being trained in Afghanistan: Tajikistan Prez at CICA
By ANI
Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan claimed that thousands of terrorists and suicide bombers are being trained…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 86.48 AFN (as of 17 OCT 2022)