LAST 24 HOURS
IRAN MAY FOLLOW PAKISTAN’S LEAD AND BEGIN DEPORTING AFGHAN REFUGEES – Iran’s Interior Ministry spoke in a press conference yesterday and said that Tehran was planning to implement stricter policies to deal with illegal migrants in the country. He said the plan involved deporting those residing in Iran without the necessary documents or papers back to their countries of origin. The Minister echoed sentiments that have been published in Iranian media outlets for the past several months that suggest the foreigners represent a serious security threat. Pakistan’s caretaker government announced on Monday that it was making plans to deport approximately 1.1 million Afghan refugees who are thought to be in the country illegally. A source in Kabul said that the Taliban leadership is divided over how to respond to the stated intentions of its neighbors. Those in Kandahar appear to be supportive of bringing Afghans home while Kabul is concerned about the impact it would have on the economy. The source said an unidentified Taliban minister stated “Those others (Kandahar) keep their heads only in the Quran while we must deal with the actual reports.” The source said there were fears in Kabul that many of those who would be forcibly returned would ‘march directly into the arms of the Resistance or Daesh’ and that they would be fighting them in less than a year.
TALIBAN PUSHES BACK AGAINST CRITICISM FROM NEIGHBORS – The Deputy Foreign Minister hit back at Afghanistan’s neighbors over the continued claims it was harboring terrorists and said that such criticisms were ‘baseless’ and would only harm bilateral relations in the future. The Deputy Foreign Minister called on Iran and Pakistan to stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of Afghan citizens in their countries and to treat Afghan citizens according to internationally accepted standards for refugees.
AFGHAN SCHOOLGIRLS PEN OPEN LETTERS TO LEADERS OF FRANCE, CANADA – A group of schoolgirls wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada and to the President of France asking for assistance in ‘saving’ them from the situation in Afghanistan. Paris and Ottawa have yet to respond to the petition.
GDI REPORTEDLY CLOSES DOWN ANOTHER RADIO STATION IN DAIKUNDI – Agents from the local General Directorate of Intelligence in Daikundi have reportedly arrested the station manager for Radio Nasim. It is not clear what charges have been made against him but eyewitnesses say the station offices have been closed and a Taliban security detachment has been placed in front of the building.
NEXT 24 HOURS
INCLEMENT WEATHER FORECASTED FOR NORTHEAST/CENTRAL EASTERN PROVINCES – Heavy rain, snowfall, and thunderstorms have been predicted for these portions of the country, and emergency managers are warning local communities of the potential for flash flooding.
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Ukraine says it is ready to strike against drone production facilities in Russia, Iran, and Syria. A source in Tehran says the government is taking the threat seriously but could not determine what steps may be taken to thwart any strikes.
After weeks of veiled threats and hinting that Iraq was not serious about disarming Kurdish militants along Iran’s border, Tehran now says it is confident that all threats in the region have been cleared.
China has pushed back hard against US sanctions against companies it believes are illegally facilitating Iran’s Shaheed drone production.
PAKISTAN
At least 7 people were killed and a similar number injured when a rocket motor exploded in a house in the Kandhkot district. Police fear the rocket was being smuggled as part of an illicit arms deal and are investigating.
The acting PM arrived in Saudi Arabia for two days of meetings and to perform Umrah.
Turkey donated a naval corvette to the Pakistan Navy as part of the MILGEM Project. The project is a joint development and testing program for weapons between Turkey and Pakistan.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
The Biden Administration Is Dangerously Downplaying the Global Terrorism Threat
By Charles Lister - Foreign Policy
In a series of interviews earlier this month timed to coincide with the 22-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, senior U.S. counterterrorism officials provided, in the words of Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, “what amounted to an obituary” for al Qaeda in its original Afghan heartlands. National Counterterrorism Center Director Christy Abizaid said al Qaeda “is at its historical nadir … and its revival is unlikely,” having “lost target access, leadership talent, group cohesion, rank-and-file commitment, and an accommodating local environment.” Another senior official described the remaining forces as “a nursing home for AQ seniors.” To all extents and purposes, the media reporting that resulted sounded like a proclamation of victory—and in one case, the Taliban were even singled out as an integral “partner” in this achievement.
AFGHAN NEWS
Taliban: 200 Anti-Pakistan Militants Arrested in Afghanistan
By Ayaz Gul - VOA
Afghanistan's Taliban says it has captured 200 suspected militants for staging deadly cross-border attacks against Pakistan and has…
Women’s rights activist Zholia Parsi arrested in Kabul, sources confirm
By Siyar Sirat - AMU TV
According to sources, Parsi was arrested from her home in Kabul and some of their belongings, including mobile phones and a number of documents, were taken…
IEA sets out new guidelines for YouTubers in Afghanistan
By Ariana News
Mahajer Farahi, deputy minister of publications of the ministry of information and culture (MoIC), says guidelines have been drawn up to…
REGIONAL NEWS
Iranian minister: Illegal migrants to be extradited
By Iran Front Page
Iran says it will follow a stricter agenda to extradite illegal foreign migrants, a vast majority of them Afghans, to their home countries and will make the…
Pakistan warns against threat posed by TTP terrorists to Afghan neighbours
By Daily Times
A top Pakistani diplomat has warned that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) could emerge as an umbrella organization for the terrorist groups in Afghanistan once…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Brazil Alters Reception Policy for Afghans and Wants to Stop Being a Route to the USA
By Mayara Paixao - Folha De Sao Paulo
The Brazilian government has announced a change in the humanitarian reception policy for Afghans on the grounds that Brazil has established itself as a…
Exiled Afghan Professors Say No Return Without Women In Universities
By Khujasta Kabiri - RFE
The Taliban's education minister, Neda Mohammad Nadim, announced this week that the group had "sent different delegations to various countries…
THE DAILY WTF
Taliban dismisses women’s education and work discussions at UNSC, labels them ‘internal issues’
By AMU TV
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Taliban dismissed the focus on women’s education and work during the United Nations Security Council meeting, referring to these issues as “minor internal matters.”
“Minor internal matters. We will have to remember that one.” TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 78.19 AFN (as of 28 SEP 2023)