LAST 24 HOURS
TTP COMMANDER REPORTEDLY KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN – Badshah Khan, a senior Commander of the TTP and a confidant of the leader of the TTP was killed in an IED blast in Paktia Province, Afghanistan yesterday. Few details are known about the incident but Khan has long been wanted in Pakistan for several terrorist attacks targeting police and military forces. A source in Kabul said the Taliban are concerned that Pakistan may be behind the assassination and that it signals that more cross-border actions could be in the offing. In addition, the source said that some in the Ministry of the Interior are concerned that TTP loyalists in Afghanistan may read the assassination as a sign the Taliban was ‘offering up’ TTP targets to appease Islamabad. The source said that either proposition puts Kabul/Kandahar in a difficult position.
TORKHAM SAGA DRAGS ON – The Torkham border crossing has now been closed for a week and commercial traffic is being turned back on the Pakistani side. Many trucks laden with durable goods remain backed up in the hopes the crossing will reopen. It is not clear if negotiations are continuing between Islamabad and Kabul. Nor is it clear how much longer the impasse will continue.
WOMEN ACTIVISTS IN GERMANY END HUNGER STRIKE – Several Afghan women who had launched a 12-day hunger strike to protest the Taliban regime’s policies regarding women have announced they had concluded the strike. The group intends to continue resisting the regime through other methods. The women decided to quit the campaign after friends, family, and supporters requested they do so.
SETTLEMENT NEAR IN CASE ABOUT AFGHAN ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE US – A US District Judge in Northern California could approve a massive settlement that will affect approximately 20,000 asylum seekers from Afghanistan who came to the US under the auspices of the Operation Allies Welcome program. Once approved, the settlement will force the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Service to adjudicate applications that have been languishing over a scheduled period. More information about the deal can be found HERE.
NEXT 24 HOURS
NO THREATS REPORTED
REGIONAL ROUNDUP
IRAN
Lawyers demonstrated yesterday to protest recent judicial reforms which, they say, will place barriers in front of those who focus on human rights. They demanded safeguards be put in place for those who choose to work on human rights cases.
The head of Israeli intelligence, David Barnea spoke at length about threats it perceives from Iran (directly) and Russia (indirectly). He warned both states that Israel would not hesitate to take unilateral action if necessary.
Iraq announced it would begin moving Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups away from the joint border. Tehran has long accused the groups of fomenting the Mahsa Amini protests.
PAKISTAN
Police have recovered 5 children of the UK fugitives Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool, and Faisal Malik who stand accused of the murder of Sharif’s 10-year-old daughter Sara in the UK. The adults have not been taken into custody.
The nationwide anti-crime operation has continued and roughly 100 criminals were arrested over the last two days across the country. Authorities say they have focused on various segments of the criminal underworld and have been particularly successful in nabbing narco-traffickers and street gangs.
The Ministry of Law and Justice approved a plan to hold former PM Khan’s trial in the Cipher Case in Attock jail. The move conflicts with a verdict from Islamabad’s High Court which says it will decide on the venue for the trial.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
Helping The Afghan Allies America Left Behind
By Luke Coffey - the Hudson Institute
In February 2020, President Donald Trump agreed to a deal with the Taliban that would have seen the phased withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan by May 2021. This agreement served as the starting point that eventually led to the Afghan government’s collapse and the Taliban’s return to power. In January 2021, President Joe Biden entered office. Instead of canceling the flawed agreement with the Taliban—something that was in his power to do—he merely delayed America’s withdrawal date from May to September. By July, almost all US and international forces had left. On August 15, the Taliban took Kabul. By September 11, 2021, the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Taliban controlled more of Afghanistan than it did on September 11, 2001.
AFGHAN NEWS
Four kidnappers killed in Kabul operation
By Ariana News
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s interior ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qane says four kidnappers were killed on…
Afghan women thrive in entrepreneurship amid restrictions and challenges
By Fidel Rahmati - Khaama Press
Despite the ban on girls’ education, Husna Raoufi, nearing the completion of her journalism and public communications studies at Kabul University, did not give…
Afghanistan: Central Bank to ban use of Pakistani currency soon
By ANI
The Central Bank of Afghanistan has initiated the promotion of the Afghani currency in the country’s southwestern region since last week and is likely to ban the use of…
REGIONAL NEWS
Torkham border crossing at standstill as hundreds of trucks, travellers suffer
By The Express Tribune
The Pakistan side of the border -- usually bustling with pedestrian and truck traffic -- was abandoned on Monday, with markets and offices shut…
Iranian Media Reveals Concern Over Taliban Threat
By Iran International
Jomhouri-e Eslami newspaper wrote of the critical need to address the issue, highlighting the risks posed to both the eastern regions of Iran and the…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Saudis, Taliban Follow Different Paths on Women's Work, Education
By Akmal Dawi - VOA
Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia are known for their Shariah-based legal systems and authoritarian ways of…
On eve of 9/11 Anniversary, U.S. officials continue to downplay Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan
By Bill Roggio - FDD/Long War Journal
On the eve of the 22nd anniversary of Al Qaeda’s deadly attacks on New York and Washington, American intelligence officials further minimized the terror group’s safe haven in…
THE DAILY WTF
What is the U.S. Government Position on the Taliban?
By Jason Criss Howk - Clearance Jobs
The people of Afghanistan live under the brutal rule of an internationally illegal regime that has no legitimacy from the…
“^ following” TAD Staff
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 80.40 AFN (as of 13 SEP 2023)
