Daily Evacuation Brief | September 8, 2023

Sep 08, 2023

1 TALIBAN BORDER GUARD KILLED IN WEDNESDAY’S TORKHAM CLASHES – Taliban authorities said that 1 border security member had been killed and 2 others were wounded in the gun battle that erupted on Wednesday at the border crossing. Pakistani authorities added that at least 4 Afghan children who had been acting as porters at the crossing had also been killed and 4 Pakistani nationals had been wounded. The Taliban claim that Pakistani border forces initiated the melee and several eyewitness accounts in the press seem to support this contention. The crossing remained closed for the second day after the events and both sides were negotiating to reopen the commercial transit point.
SITUATION IN CHITRAL REMAINS CONFUSED – Rumors continue to swirl on social media and in the press about the developments in North Waziristan’s Chitral after a large-scale attack by TTP militants on Pakistani security forces manning two outposts reputedly repulsed an attack. Many pro-TTP accounts contend that nearly 100 Pakistani soldiers/police have been taken prisoner and several towns have been ‘liberated’. Several photos of men in Pakistani Army uniforms who appear to be in restraints have surfaced on many websites. Pakistani reports claim that a major search operation is underway to try and capture those members of the TTP who were attempting to recross back into Afghanistan. A few videos were shared on social media that purportedly were taken in Chitral yesterday and depicted a TTP commander (Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud) calling on his followers to fight the Pakistani military.
AHMAD MASSOUD ADDRESSES THE UK PARLIAMENT, WARNS WORLD OF THREAT OF TERRORISM – The leader of the National Resistance Front and son of noted leader Ahmad Shah Massoud addressed members of the UK parliament on the anniversary of his father’s murder. He warned those in attendance that Afghanistan has become a sanctuary for both international and regional terrorist groups.
TALIBAN CLAIM TO HAVE ARRESTED A JAMIAT-E ISLAMI COMMANDER IN BADAKHSHAN – Local sources reported the news that Taliban security personnel raided the house of Sayed Abdul Hamd yesterday evening and placed him under arrest. Hamd is reputedly a senior commander of the ethnically Tajik group.
INTERNATIONAL EVACUATION EFFORTS RAMPING UP – Pakistan announced it had accepted an offer from Canada to evacuate as many as 6,000 Afghans who were living in the country. It appears Canada intends to resettle these people by the end of the year. France recently received several Afghan women and is being pressed to accept more under a program that would offer asylum to females from Afghanistan based on the policies the Taliban have implemented which curtail their human rights.

NEXT 24 HOURS

NO THREATS REPORTED

REGIONAL ROUNDUP

IRAN

2 policemen were killed by masked gunmen in Sistan-Baluchistan Province. No group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
A US court ordered a Greek shipping company to pay $2.4M for transporting illicit Iranian oil shipments.
The Iranian legal system has rejected claims made by Iranian Nazila Maroufian that she was sexually assaulted during her most recent arrest.

PAKISTAN

A suicide bomber prematurely detonated his device while attempting to target a security vehicle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa yesterday. The bomber was killed in the attack but no other casualties were reported.
The family of a young girl who was found dead in the UK and who subsequently fled to Pakistan released a video from hiding where the mother claimed they were willing to cooperate with UK police but feared torture by the Pakistani authorities. The family remains at large despite a massive search effort.
The Rupee made gains against other currencies and recovered significantly against the US dollar. However, there are concerns that regulators will not be able to prevent currency speculators from manipulating exchange rates.

SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS

Taliban 2.0: Stronger or Moving Towards Fragmentation?

By Shivam Shekhawat - Observer Research Foundation

Two years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the debates around whether the group remains intact or has become divided have surfaced once again. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Kabul in August 2021, there were speculations that the country could be going into a civil war or the Taliban would eventually come to a split. This brief analyses the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s resurgence in Kabul and weighs in on the ongoing debates about the group’s internal divisions. CLICK HERE to download the full report.

AFGHAN NEWS

MoI Recruits 74,000 people in Military, Civil Sectors

By TOLO News

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said that by the order of the Islamic Emirate's Leader, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, 74,000 people in the military and…

No plan to halt operation in Afghanistan: ICRC

By Sharifa Sultani - Pajhwok Afghan News

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has pledged to continue operation in Afghanistan saying 32,000 structures, artificial limbs and wheelchairs…

Mujahid Says There is No 'General Restriction' on Karzai

By Fatema Adeeb - TOLO News

The Islamic Emirate’s Spokesman denied restrictions on the former Afghan President Hamid Karzai but stressed that Karzai’s meetings should be through…

REGIONAL NEWS

Pakistan-Afghanistan border closed for second day amid clashes

By Pramod Thomas - Eastern Eye

PAKISTAN’s main border crossing with Afghanistan was closed for a second day on Thursday (7), leading to a build-up of trucks laden with goods, after clashes between…