Daily Evacuation Brief | October 9, 2023
LAST 24 HOURS
HERAT PROVINCE EARTHQUAKES – The death toll from the deadly quakes that struck the Province has now risen to approximately 2,500 and at least 6 villages have been completely leveled. Disaster workers are attempting to survey the damage and work with local leaders to try and locate survivors buried under the rubble. Regional actors and international organizations are mobilizing aid packages to attempt to alleviate the suffering of those who were affected by the quakes. Several calls for emergency funding have been made and appear to be receiving donor support over the last twenty-four hours.
UNITED NATIONS AND OTHERS CRITICIZE PAKISTAN’S CARETAKER REGIME OVER NEW DRACONIAN AFGHAN POLICY – On Saturday, the United Nations clearly expressed concerns over the implementation of the deportation program for Afghan refugees and warned that the caretaker regime could be investigated for human rights abuses should the program continue. Several high-profile Pakistani citizens have expressed outrage at the policies and the leader of the Jamiat Ulema Council, Maulana Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, attacked Pakistan’s police forces and said they were attacking the Afghan refugees ‘like wolves’. For its part, the caretaker regime continues to support its decision and the Minister of Information and Broadcasting said in an interview on Saturday that no country should permit the stay of illegal immigrants and that Pakistan must protect its citizens first and foremost.
SINDHI ADBI SANGAT PROTESTS IN KARACHI TO PROTEST AFGHAN REFUGEES PRESENCE – A protest took place yesterday in the streets of Karachi by the group to call authorities attention to the lawlessness that has struck the Province recently and to specifically address the recent killing of Fatima Phururo and kidnappings of children. The protest clearly targeted Afghan refugees and sought to blame them for the recent rise in criminality and terrorism. Ramzan Memon led the protest, Information Secretary of the group and several other influential cultural figures attended. No violence ensued during the protests but the vitriolic language used by the group’s leaders illustrated the current wave of xenophobia that appears to be sweeping across the country.
ALL EYES ON IRAN AFTER ISRAEL ATTACK – An international effort to provide conclusive evidence of Iran’s involvement in the terror attacks on Israel is underway. A Wall Street Journal report on Sunday seemed to implicate Iran as a primary instigator and facilitator of the attacks but has only been confirmed by an anonymous source in the US government to date. Regardless, there seems to be little debate over whether Iran had a hand in the operation. The real question that seems to be on everyone’s mind is whether Iran will find itself in a shooting war over the incident and, if so, with whom? Tehran has become increasingly belligerent in recent months and many point to the normalizing of relations between Riyadh and Tehran as the catalyst for a fresh round of grandiose claims and a clear desire to take a leading role in Middle Eastern affairs. In addition, its close ties to Moscow and entry into BRICS and other organizations that have long shunned its inclusion may have given the leaders a sense of outsized importance on the global stage. It has also fostered poor relations with neighboring states such as Azerbaijan and Iraq and its domestic challenges are significant. One does not need a Ph.D. in international affairs to see the situation as extremely dangerous.
NEXT 24 HOURS
IMRAN KHAN’S TRIAL IN THE CIPHER CASE BEGINS TODAY – A hearing on the former Prime Minister’s bail plea will be taken up in the Islamabad High Court. The court ruled last Wednesday that the case would be heard in ‘open court’ but that portions of the hearings would be private as it would be potentially detrimental to Pakistan’s relations with other countries to broadcast some of the sensitive material. While there is no evidence that the former PM’s party followers intend to take any action, there still could be the possibility of police and demonstrator clashes.
BAD WEATHER IN FORECAST FOR NORTHEASTERN AFGHANISTAN – Rain and snowfall are in the forecast for the Northeastern Provinces of Afghanistan for the next thirty-six hours as a weather system moves through the region. Emergency managers are warning residents to prepare for flash flooding and say that some roads in the area will likely be affected. Travel is being discouraged for the next two days.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Additional rumors that Iran’s IRGC has dispatched senior leaders to both Gaza and Lebanon are circulating on social media. Iran has refuted the claims.
Leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah told the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that Iran helped Hamas to plan the attack on Israel. The sources said that IRGC officers in Beirut met with 4 militant groups for months in the lead up to the attacks.
The US has ordered a US aircraft carrier battle group back into the Eastern Meditteranean as tensions rise and a large scale ground response is expected from Israel in the Gaza Strip.
PAKISTAN
Many of the Pakistani daily news sites appear to have shown support for the Hamas terror attacks in Israel. Much of the support came in the form of editorials.
An independent economic research group analyzed the costs attributed to a recent government shutdown of the internet and said the figure amounted to roughly 57% of the daily GDP of the country. Many have called the research ‘eye opening’.
Pakistan’s security forces exchanged fire with militants in North Waziristan on Sunday and claim to have killed Azeem Ullah Ghazi in the gun battle that took place near Razmak.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Kafka in Cuba: A dossier of reports looking at the Afghan experience in Guantanamo
By Afghanistan Analysts Network
AAN has followed the travails of the Afghans held by the United States at its prison camp at Guantanamo Bay on the island of Cuba for over a decade, prompted first by the cases of the five Taleban who were released in exchange for US serviceman Bowe Bergdahl in 2014, and later focussing on the last eight Afghans held there. This dossier is published as the very last Afghan at Guantanamo, Muhammad Rahim, awaits the latest decision of the Periodic Review Board, the body which reviews detentions in Guantanamo – to find out if it has decided to keep him locked up or release him. Rahim, picked up by the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI, in 2007 and handed over to the CIA, which tortured him at a black site in Afghanistan before rendering him to Guantanamo, is also the last known person to have been taken to the prison camp. This dossier, compiled by AAN senior analyst, Kate Clark, brings together all our reports from 2012 to 2023.
AFGHAN NEWS
Afghanistan quake: Afghans dig out bodies with bare hands as toll exceeds 2500
By TRT World
The death toll from strong earthquakes that shook western Afghanistan has risen to over 2500, a Taliban government spokesman…
WFP initiates efforts to aid 70,000 earthquake-affected individuals
By AMU TV
In the aftermath of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Herat province in western Afghanistan on October 7, the World Food Program (WFP) issued a statement on…
22 Years On, Remembering US-Led Coalition Attack on Afghanistan
By Naweed Samedi - TOLO News
America stated that the aim of the attack was to fight and overthrow the organizers of the 9/11 attacks on their…
REGIONAL NEWS
Returning of Afghan refugees continue through Torkham border
By The Pakistan Observer
Afghan refugees are returning to Afghanistan through Torkham border and in the last four days around two hundred Afghan migrant families left for their…
Afghanistan’s ambassador Shakib meets UNHCR’s new envoy in Pakistan
By Ariana News
The chargés d’affaires of Afghanistan’s embassy in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shakib, met with Philippa Candler, the new head of UNHCR Pakistan, to…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Taliban Suspend Consular Services At Afghan Embassies In London And Vienna
By Outlook India
The Taliban are suspending consular services at two Afghan embassies, London and Vienna, over their lack of transparency and cooperation with authorities in Kabul, a…
UN warns Pakistan that forcibly deporting Afghans could lead to human rights violations
By Roger McKenzie - The Morning Star
The United Nations warned Pakistani authorities on Saturday that forcibly deporting Afghan migrants could lead to severe…
THE DAILY WTF
Hamas possibly used US weapons from Afghanistan, Ukraine in Israel attacks: Congresswoman
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
On Monday, U.S. Congresswoman Margorie Taylor Greene suggested that Hamas may have employed American weapons, supplied initially to Afghanistan and Ukraine, in their…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 75.79 AFN (as of 9 OCT 2023)