[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- SECOND PAKISTAN/AFGHANISTAN BORDER CLASH IN A WEEK AT SPIN BOLDAK – Shelling across the border near Spin-Boldak Chaman gate was reported yesterday. It is not clear who initiated the incident, but Pakistan officials claim the Taliban began firing mortars at both the Killi Sheikh Alam and Changaiz security posts on the Pakistan side after Pakistani engineers were attempting to repair a damaged fence. The Taliban told TOLO News that Pakistan had initiated hostilities and fired artillery shells at their positions. Officials from the hospital who received the casualties on the Pakistan side said that 1 non-combatant was killed and 16 others were injured. There has been no word about casualties on the Afghan side. It is not clear if the border crossing has been closed as a result of the indirect fire exchange. An observer on the Pakistan side said that several of the commercial vehicles that were waiting to cross began making the long trip to the Torkham crossing. We advise at-risk Afghans who may be traveling to the Southern border to reconsider their travel plans as this is the second exchange of fire this week and we assess the potential for further conflict to be high.
- DECISION ON TALIBAN UN SEAT PUSHED – The Taliban’s seat at the United Nations in New York will go unfilled. The body announced it has pushed the decision to accept the IEA as a legitimate member to a later date. Both Afghanistan and Myanmar’s military junta were included in yesterday’s decision.
- PRESIDENT OF TAJIKISTAN VISITS PAKISTAN – President Rahmon met with Prime Minister Sharif to discuss several issues and coordinate policies regarding their troubled neighbor. Both reiterated their calls for the formation of an actual inclusive government as the only acceptable path forward. A source in Pakistan claimed the Tajikistan President traveled with several military leaders and they had joined the US CENTCOM Commander and the new Pakistan Military Chief in Rawalpindi for security-related discussions.
- POWER DISTRIBUTION FROM TURKMENISTAN TO HERAT RESTORED – A temporary engineering fix has reconnected the Turkmen power export lines to Herat. The work was completed by DABS and the repairs are expected to last through the Winter months. A more permanent repair is scheduled in the Spring.
- US COMMANDER VISITS PAKISTAN’S NEW MILITARY CHIEF IN RAWALPINDI – US General Erik Kurilla, Commander of US Central Command, visited General Asim Munir in Rawalpindi. The two discussed mutually beneficial areas of interest and Afghanistan was said to have been the main topic of conversation.
- POSSIBLE TALIBAN DESERTIONS – Unsubstantiated reports of a mass-desertion event in Helmand are coming in. Apparently, several hundred Taliban fighters of the 215th Maiwand Corps have packed up their arms and left the camp. They took their vehicles with them and both video and photographic evidence have been provided showing a large convoy staging at the Corp’s garrison in Helmand. The crux of the problem seems to be the poor treatment of the Kandahari units. The incident marks one of the largest schisms to have occurred and, if the information is true, illustrates the internal issues facing the IEA.
CONFLICT TRACKER
Spin Boldak: Afghanistan and Pakistan exchanged mortar and artillery fire that killed one non-combatant and injured 16 others on the Pakistan side. No information about casualties on the Afghanistan side of the border was a available.
NEXT 24 HOURS
SPIN BOLDAK-CHAMAN, MORE VIOLENCE EXPECTED – More flare-ups are expected at the border crossing. A running dialogue between the two countries is searching for a peaceful solution to the situation but sources close to the discussions say the two nations are at an impasse over repairs to the Durand Line. The sources also complained that instructions from Kandahar are at odds with instructions coming from Kabul and negotiators don’t know which policy to push. Several international observers restated their opinions that Pakistan was too hasty in reopening the crossing after the attack earlier in the week. |