Daily Evacuation Brief | September 3, 2022
Discover more from The Afghan Digest
LAST 24 HOURS
NEW US REFUGEE POLICY RESPONSE — The US government’s shift in Afghan resettlement priorities has caused significant consternation among at-risk Afghans and their sponsoring organizations who had applied for Humanitarian Parole cases. Lawmakers in Washington, DC are questioning the new priorities and are criticizing the administration for closing the door on Humanitarian Parolees. However, it remains unlikely that the policy will be reversed.
18 KILLED IN MOSQUE BLAST — A suicide bomber detonated a device at Guzargah Mosque in Herat during Friday prayers, According to local officials, 18 were killed and 21 more were injured. Among the dead was prominent pro-Taliban cleric Mawlawi Mujib Rahman Ansari. No group has claimed the attack yet.
A massive security presence has been reported in Herat following the horrific suicide attack. Clearly, the Taliban’s anti-terrorist operation in the city did not succeed in neutralizing the ISIS-K threat, despite their recent success in neutralizing 3 purported ISIS-K members. Residents should expect a protracted investigation that will likely involve house-to-house searches and restrictions on pedestrian and vehicular travel.
CALM AT BORDER — No further reports of violence have been received on the Pakistan—Afghanistan border. The lack of fighting has soothed fears of a potential escalation of the conflict.
EVICTIONS IN PANJSHIR — Evictions continue to be reported in select villages in Panjshir after a deadline came and went for locals to identify NRF collaborators. At least twelve families are known to have been forcibly removed from their homes by the Taliban with the number expected to climb over the weekend.
NEXT 24 HOURS
Residents in Herat and Kabul should expect police and intelligence searches in select areas of the cities as a result of terror-related attacks.
SPOTLIGHT ANALYSIS
By Gil Barndollar & Jason Dempsey – The Atlantic
A T-shirt that was popular with veterans for much of America’s nearly 20-year war in Afghanistan showed a helicopter in flight with the caption We Were Winning When I Left. U.S. generals seem to be the only ones who didn’t get the joke. On the first anniversary of our botched withdrawal, the military leaders most responsible for America’s disastrous outcome in Afghanistan have continued to loudly insist that the war was winnable when they were in charge, and that responsibility for the debacle must lie with someone else.
AFGHAN NEWS
Top Taliban Cleric Among 18 Killed in Afghan Mosque Bombing
By Ayaz Gul – VOA
A suicide bomber struck a packed mosque in western Afghanistan Friday, killing at least 18 worshippers, including a prominent cleric loyal to…
59% of Afghans Dependent on Intl Aid: IOM
By Tamim Shahir – TOLO News
Since the Islamic Emirate swept into power, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said “an estimated 24.4 million people…
Islamic Emirate Rejects USIP Report Claiming Terrorists in Afghanistan
By TOLO News
The Islamic Emirate denied the assessment of the US Institute of Peace that says the “Taliban” has continued “to harbor a range of terrorist groups that…
REGIONAL NEWS
No Qatar-Taliban discussions on Afghanistan security: official
By Asmahan Qarijouli – Doha News
There are currently no agreements being discussed between Qatar and the interim Afghan administration on cooperation in security and…
You Can’t Choose Your Neighbors: The Taliban’s Testy Regional Relationships
By Scott Worden – USIP
One year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, its relations with its neighbors remain tepid as the region comes to grips with the reality that they now own a…
INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELATING TO AFGHANISTAN
Khalilzad Urges US, Islamic Emirate to Pursue Doha Agreement
By Farshad Daryosh – TOLO News
The former US special envoy for Afghanistan’s reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, urged Washington and the Islamic Emirate to…
"We're Destroying the IT. Have a Nice Sunday"
By Spiegel International
Documents are burned, computers mutilated and 15 Mercedes SUVs are destroyed with a forklift: The fall of Kabul caught the Germans by surprise – and politicians in…
THE DAILY WTF
By Zack Kopplin & Margaux Benn – OCCRP
When OCCRP reported that former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had granted access to a company, part-owned by his brother, the rights to buy illegally…
Afghani to the Dollar: $1 – 88.17 AFN (as of 3 SEP 2022)