Daily Evacuation Brief | October 22, 2022
Daily Evacuation Brief | October 22, 2022
LAST 24 HOURS
TALIBAN LAUNCHES COUNTER-ISIS OPERATION IN KABUL – Taliban security forces descended on a suspected ISIS-K safe house located in the 8th Police District of Kabul and were met with rocket fire and small arms that began at approximately 2100hrs Local and continued well into the night. A source in the Ministry of the Interior said the Taliban had extracted information from a laptop owned by the ISIS-K media chief earlier in the week and had been keeping the house and its occupants under surveillance. It is not known how many terrorists were/are in the house and if any casualties had been taken by either side. It is possible, the ISIS-K cell targeted in this raid was planning an attack on Hazara neighborhoods in Western Kabul. Reports of an impending attack had been circulating on social media since early Friday morning.
WEAPONS CACHE SEIZED IN BAGHLAN – General Directorate of Intelligence agents raided a home in Pul-i-Khumri on a tip from a Taliban sympathizer. They recovered several weapons and ammunition but no arrests have been made and it is thought the occupants of the home were unaware the weapons were being stored there.
PAKISTAN POLITICAL TENSIONS RISE – With the announcement of former Prime Minister Khan’s ban on running for reelection, the political temperature in the country is rising once again. His party’s popularity and gains in the recent National Assembly elections suggest he will not quit the field without a fight. Several protests were held over the previous week in a bid to highlight election fraud and the poor economic conditions in the country. Khan compared the situation to Sri Lanka which recently suffered a coup and is in economic/political freefall. The situation merits continued attention as popular protests could spill over into xenophobic attacks against refugees in the country.
3 GIRLS REPORTEDLY KILLED IN EXPLOSION IN BAGHDIS – A Chinese news site reported that 3 girls had been killed in a blast in Bagdhis Province. No further information was provided and we have not yet confirmed the incident happened.
NEXT 24 HOURS
FIGHTING IN BADAKHSHAN AND BAGHLAN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE – The Taliban claim to have amassed nearly 8,000 fighters in the Province over the past three weeks. Some analysts believe it is in preparation for an ‘end of season’ campaign by the NRF to attempt to take the Province and illustrate to the world the Taliban’s inability to control a strategic section of the country that borders Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan. Both the Resistance and the Taliban have shifted forces into the Province over the past several weeks. Other analysts simply see the Badakhshan campaign as a means to take pressure off of Panjshir before the coming Winter. Regardless of the motive, fighting may intensify and the casualties reported over the past four days are abnormally high. At-risk Afghans are warned to be cautious about travel in either Province for the time being.
POSSIBLE NRF OPERATION IN TAKHAR – Late reporting indicated NRF forces may have attacked a Taliban Command Post Dasht-e-Qala district of the Province. Travel in and around the area may be hazardous and at-risk Afghans are encouraged to remain alert.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Afghanistan Under the Taliban: Findings on the Current Situation
By Barnett R. Rubin - Stimson Center
Taliban representatives show pride and confidence that they have, as they see it, defeated the U.S. The resultant sense of their own power makes them even more resistant to external influence than before. According to Taliban representatives, the current interim or acting (sarparast) government also has major achievements to its credit: ending over four decades of war; overseeing a massive improvement in security; and establishing stable, centralized power over the entire territory of Afghanistan for the first time in over 40 years. The first two are true in the sense that the U.S. withdrew its forces, the armed forces of the previous government collapsed, and the Taliban captured power, so that violence resulting from either insurgency or counter-insurgency ceased.
AFGHAN NEWS
Mujahid Says West Preventing Islamic Emirate’s Recognition
By Imran Danish - TOLO News
In an interview with the Turkish "Ilke News Agency," Zabiullah Mujahid said that some Muslim and regional countries are unwilling to…
MoIC working to reduce fuel price for coming winter
By Ariana News
The officials at Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) say that they are trying to give a share to the private sector in the transfer and…
Afghan Health Organization Concerned by Lack of Female Doctors
By Hadiya Ziaye - TOLO News
The Association of Obstetric Gynecology expressed concern about the lack of female medical doctors specialized in gynecology and…
REGIONAL NEWS
Pakistan Election Commission Disqualifies Imran Khan from Holding Public Office
By Arif Ahmadi - Khaama Press
This came days after Khan’s Pakistan Tahreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party managed to secure six out of eight National Assembly seats…
Rising Militancy and Afghanistan’s attitude
By Akbar Jan Marwat - Pakistan Today
In the backdrop of increasing militancy in the Ex-tribal regions and Malakand division; a massive and successful protest was held in…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
UAE Envoy at UN: Not Allowing Afghan Girls to Attend School 'Unacceptable'
By Asma Saayin - TOLO News
While speaking at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security on Thursday, Nusseibeh said that it was "unacceptable" that girls in…
Passports and visas for Russia issued to 365 Afghan scholarship students
By Ariana News
Ehsanullah Rasouli, one of the scholarship students said he appreciated the efforts of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to organize the scholarships through…
THE DAILY WTF
Letter from Afghanistan, after fleeing to Iran: it is not safe to be a woman or an artist
By Sadaf Danish - The Art Newspaper
My goal was to paint on the walls of the city and defend the rights of…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 87.20 AFN (as of 22 OCT 2022)