[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- AFGHAN EMBASSY IN INDIA DRAMA CONTINUES – The situation at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi has yet to be resolved and an internal power struggle has continued between legacy diplomats from the old regime and an envoy that has claimed he represents the Taliban. Ambassador Farid Mamundzay was appointed to the position by former President Ashraf Ghani and continued serving Afghan citizens in India after the Taliban came to power. Qadir Shah, formerly a mid-level diplomat on Mamundzay’s staff but who was said to be writing the Taliban and requesting to be appointed in Mamundzay’s stead has given the Indian Ministry of External Affairs his letters of accreditation from the Taliban. For its part, the Indian government has said the internal issues of the embassy need to be solved by the embassy and that they would consider the matter an internal one.
- IRAN CLAIMS IT IS MAKING HEADWAY IN NEGOTIATIONS OVER WATER RIGHTS WITH THE TALIBAN – While details on what was achieved in the recent round of talks between the two countries have not been shared, Iran’s Foreign Minister said in a statement to reporters that progress was made and the negotiations were proceeding fairly. The talks are being followed closely after a flare-up at the border resulted in several deaths. On a regional level, other countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are monitoring the talks as Afghanistan gets closer to completing the Qosh Tepa canal project that is expected to divert a significant portion of water from the Amu Darya River which forms the border between Afghanistan and the two Northern neighbors. Both countries have stated concerns that the completion of the Qosh Tepa will be a point of contention in the future.
- EUROPEAN UNION AND CENTRAL ASIA SUMMIT ON AFGHANISTAN CONCLUDES – The summit was the second meeting between the two bodies and a similar result was issued from the meeting whereby all parties again voiced concerns about the potential for exported terrorism from Afghanistan, the ban on women working in humanitarian sectors, the ban on females in education, and the lack of inclusive representation in the government.
- SENIOR TALIBAN COMMANDER VISITS BORDER AREA IN NIMROZ – The 215th Corps Commander, Alhaji Mullah Sharafuddin Taqi, was in Nimroz on Wednesday and Thursday to visit Taliban security forces that have been deployed along the border after the clashes with Iranian troops took place. Taqi visited two of the border checkpoints and held sessions with local commanders and civil leaders to discuss concerns about future potential conflicts. No incidents were reported during his visit.
NEXT 24 HOURS
POSSIBLE SECOND SECURITY OPERATION IN NANGARHAR PLANNED – A source in Kabul said that information gleaned from four cellphones recovered from the site of a raid that resulted in the death of an ISIS-K leader and his associate has convinced Taliban intelligence officials that two additional ISIS-K safe houses are located in the Province and that at least one of them was occupied by members of the terrorist group. The source could not provide locations of the possible impending actions but said that GDI agents were staging near the previous raid site in preparation for more raids. At-risk Afghans in the Province should be prepared to see clash(s) in the near future. |