MORE FIGHTING ERUPTS IN NIMRUZ – A home that purportedly housed an ISIS-K cell operating in Zaranj was targeted on Sunday morning by Taliban security forces. The clash lasted between 30-60 minutes and both heavy and light weapons were employed. 2 suspected ISIS-K fighters were killed and 1 was taken prisoner by the Taliban. Unlike earlier clashes, local sources indicated those targeted were indeed members of ISIS-K.
PASSPORT DIRECTORATE SAYS IT IS WORKING TO MAKE DISTRIBUTION EASIER – Noorullah Patman, a spokesman for the new Directorate, says the goal is to increase the daily quota of passports being issued to 15,000. Currently, the Directorate says it is issuing 8-10,000 passports per day. The Directorate also says it has assisted in the arrests of over 200 people who were fraudulently issuing passports in a corrupt scheme (these arrests have been verified by sources familiar with the situation). One of the main concerns voiced by those applying for passports is the limited number of banks authorized to accept payment for travel documents. The lines are extremely long for the process and the Directorate spokesman said they are working to authorize select private banks to process the payments.
HERAT BANS FOREIGN FILMS AND MUSIC FROM BEING SOLD – The Ministry of Vice and Virtue announced that non-Islamic materials can no longer be sold in shops across the Province. Aziz Rahman Mahajar, the head of the Ministry in the Province claimed that much of the banned material violated the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam and was no longer allowed to be sold. The ban has been in effect for 11 days and shopkeepers have reported heavy financial losses as a result of the ban.
MASS ENROLLMENT OF TALIBAN APPROVED – The Minister for Education and Prime Minister has approved a plan that allows Taliban fighters who have fought as mujahadeen over the last two decades to be enrolled in the 12th grade of local schools. First, they must pass an exam and once they pass, they will be admitted to the 12th-grade classes at local high schools and can complete their studies. Upon graduation, they will receive the 12th-grade certificate required to continue their education or apply for government positions.
GALLUP POLL OF MUSLIM COUNTRIES SHOWS MOST ARE SKEPTICAL OF US INTENTIONS – A survey implemented by Gallup was distributed in 13 Muslim countries. The poll sought to ascertain people’s perception of US intentions to encourage democracies in countries around the world. Majorities of those surveyed in 11 of the 13 countries expressed skepticism. Only 14% of those surveyed in Afghanistan believe the US truly supported democracy in the country.
CONFLICT TRACKER Nimruz: Taliban security forces besieged a suspected ISIS hideout in Zaranj on Sunday morning. The fighting lasted for approximately an hour. 2 ISIS-K terrorists were killed and 1 was captured. No additional casualties were reported.
NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTAN’S COUNTER-TERRORISM OPERATIONS APPEAR TO BE REAL – Major counter-terror operations were launched across many of the Provinces in the country since the announcement of the new ‘all-agency’ approach. A source in Rawalpindi says the Army and Police have been given more latitude to conduct operations without approval from the intelligence service (ISI). The source said the week ahead is likely to see several operations in North/South Waziristan and Baluchistan. A source in Islamabad says that private polling of citizens in areas most affected by terror groups is overwhelmingly supportive of the new initiative. At-risk Afghans residing in Pakistan do not seem to be the focal point for these operations but should continue to remain situationally aware and follow social media groups made up of the diaspora and expatriate communities. These groups often have accurate and timely reporting on potential threats and have been helpful in alerting at-risk Afghans to potential threats.
CRACKS APPEAR IN THE NRF – Unconfirmed rumors began circulating last week about possible dissatisfaction in the ranks with Ahmad Massoud’s leadership of the largest Resistance group. Some say he is subjected to constant criticism by many senior leaders from the previous regime who are living in exile over his youth and relative inexperience with strategy and tactics. Apparently, this criticism may have seeped into the NRF rank and file. It is not clear if these sentiments are widely shared or only held by those who may have loyalties to the exiled leaders.
Regardless, several online news sources claim the group’s spokesperson, Sibghatullah Ahmadi, was asked to resign on Saturday and that he no longer represents the organization. We assess that the rumors concerning a potential loss of confidence in the leadership do not express the sentiment of the majority of the NRF fighters. However, based on the numerous posts of support that have emerged online, we do believe there are factions who do question the current status quo.
UNIFORM RULES RELEASED BY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FEED HOPES FOR FEMALE STUDENTS – The recently released draft that outlines the uniform requirements for students attending schools included dress codes for both boys and girls. Local news outlets say that sources familiar with the situation are confident that girls will be allowed to go to school eventually and that is why the codes were included. The report has been circulated widely on social media and is fueling hopes that a reversal of the bans could be in the works.
AFGHAN MAN BREAKS INTO THE PAKISTANI PM’S HOME, IS ARRESTED – Reputedly, an Afghan citizen has been arrested and turned over to the Counter Terrorism Directorate after being apprehended in Prime Minister Sharif’s residence on Saturday. Security officials responsible for protecting the Prime Minister were attempting to determine how the man gained entry to the premises. It is not clear what the man’s intentions were and he is currently being questioned in an undisclosed location.
2 PAKISTANI SOLDIERS KILLED IN IED BLAST IN KP – The incident occurred in the Bara Tehsil District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday. The IED was triggered as the patrol vehicle passed its location. A response team arrived shortly after the blast but no arrests were made and no group claimed credit for the attack.
NEXT 24 HOURS
COUNTER-TERRORISM OPERATIONS PLANNED FOR 2 PROVINCES IN PAKISTAN TODAY – Pakistan’s Security Forces are prepared to launch counter-terrorism operations in both North Waziristan and Baluchistan in the next twenty-four hours. Surveillance and intelligence sources have reputedly identified two houses in each Province that are suspected of housing militants of TTP (Waziristan) and BLM (Baluchistan). We assess the threat to at-risk Afghans in Pakistan from these templated operations to be low.
BOMB BLAST REPORTED BY IRANIAN MEDIA DEEMED ‘FAKE NEWS’ – The Mehr News Agency referenced a report, purportedly made by The Kabul Times on its Telegram channel, about a massive blast at the Grand Mosque in Kandahar. The report went on to say that several senior Taliban figures were in the Mosque when the blast struck. The reports have since been discredited and eyewitnesses in Kandahar say no such event took place.
PAKISTAN’S NEW ANTI-TERROR OFFENSIVE HAS BEGUN – Pakistan’s National Security Committee announced it had launched a comprehensive counter-terror operation that involves nearly every sector of the federal government. The goal is to rid the country of terror groups. Many in the government have blamed a soft-touch approach with TTP that was reputedly spearheaded by the intelligence services for the chaos that has crippled the country. Based on the press release, it appears that security forces have been ordered to adopt a much more aggressive approach to dealing with militant groups. A primary focus of the new strategy will be to break the bond that has formed between Baluchistan separatists and the TTP.
THE ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION WEIGHS IN ON FEMALE WORKERS BAN – Leaders of the OIC called on the Taliban to take a fresh look at the ban on female aid workers. The OIC said the ban is counterproductive and will have negative effects on the citizens of Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON ‘BLAME GAME’ IN FULL SWING – First the Republican-led House launched an inquiry into the US’s involvement in Afghanistan. Now, the Biden administration has released a report that claims to have determined what led up to the disastrous departure of US and partner forces. Both of these efforts are heavily influenced by politics and both are attempting to simultaneously deflect/assign blame. While other nations have announced similar efforts to try and understand what mistakes were made, they lack the back-alley switchblade panache of the US political circus the world is currently witnessing. Ultimately, the accusations and counter-accusations are likely to be unproductive and certainly won’t help those at-risk Afghans who are struggling to survive. One would hope that these US ‘leaders’ could put the knives away and focus on ameliorating the problems for those they called allies for nearly 20 years.
CONFLICT TRACKER Parwan: Taliban security forces from Police District 1 conducted a raid on a suspected ISIS-K building near Shhrak-e Mu’alimin in Charikar City. 1 ISIS-K terrorist was reportedly killed in the operation. 3 women and 7 children were reportedly detained.
NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTAN’S NEW STRATEGY AGAINST TERROR TO BEGIN – While we have no specific details about potential counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan, we assume the government would not have made the announcement without having an operation or two prepared to launch. We do not assess any direct threat to at-risk Afghans sheltering in Pakistan but feel obliged to mention that operations are likely.
[AlAhram] At least 44 people were killed by Islamic hard boyz in multiple attacks in northern Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... , the government said Saturday.
Jihadis attacked Kourakou and Tondobi villages in Seno province, said Lt. Col. P.F Rodolphe Sorgho, governor of the Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... in a statement. Sorgho called the attacks on Thursday and Friday "despicable and barbaric" and said the government was stabilizing the area. He called on people to remain calm.
The West African nation has been overrun by jihadi violence linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems... group that's killed thousands and displaced 2 million people over six years. Fighting has frustrated and divided a once peaceful population, leading to two military coups last year with each junta leader vowing to stem the attacks.
But the violence is intensifying and spreading as jihadis blockade villages, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from moving freely.
In February, the Islamic State group grabbed credit for killing more than 70 soldiers, wounding dozens and taking five hostage, in an ambush on a military convoy in the north. A few weeks before that, jihadis killed at least 32 people, including soldiers and civilians, in multiple attacks across the country.
The violence has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the country's history, forcing one in five citizens —some 4.7 million people — to be in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
[South African Defense Web] It’s a long way from Mafikeng in South Africa’s North West to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including the North Oicha and Bwanasura districts, where 10 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion finds itself at present as an active component of the MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) and its quick reaction forces (QRFs).
To boost morale and ensure all is well on their front, the men and women from Mafikeng were visited by FIB Commander, Brigadier General Enoch Ntonya and his staff officers, calling on the Erengeti permanent operating base and Maya Moya temporary operating base.
The purpose of the visit, RSA Battalion (RSABATT) public information officer Lieutenant Rammilane Letsoalo reports, was to hear of challenges in conducting operations against armed insurgent groups as well as ensuring the necessary support for continued operations at the current level. Ntonya, himself an experienced DRC hand, engaged with troops at both bases and spoke from operational experience when motivating the South Africans to keep up with the standard of work shown in three months of deployment to date.
"I want to commend you and your commanders for your timeless efforts with continuous robust day and night patrols you have been conducting, especially Operation Utwala IV. On your level you might not see the far-reaching good implications of the good work you are doing, just keep it up," is how he is reported verbatim by the South African military communication officer.
In addition to soldiering, the men and women of 10 SAI also do their bit for civil/military relations by way of quick impact projects to win the hearts and minds of the local populace.
The SANDF is rotating troops in DRC and last month concluded the force preparation Exercise Madulo at the Entabeni training area in Limpopo, used to simulate jungle warfare.
The SANDF has elements deployed with the FIB in eastern DRC, with the QRF in Goma and with the Composite Helicopter Unit (CHU) supporting the MONUSCO peacekeeping mission.
Earlier this year, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise revealed the DRC deployment cost R801 million in 2019; R637 million in 2020; R691 million in 2021and R674 million in 2022.
Protecting civilians & consolidating peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo
MONUSCO took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation – the United Nations Organization Mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) – on 1 July 2010. It was done in accordance with Security Council resolution 1925 of 28 May to reflect the new phase reached in the country.
The new mission has been authorized to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate relating, among other things, to the protection of civilians, humanitarian personnel and human rights defenders under imminent threat of physical violence and to support the Government of the DRC in its stabilization and peace consolidation efforts.
[AlAhram] Around 20 people have been killed in an attack in eastern DR Congo, with sources blaming rebels affiliated with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems... jihadist group.
"The enemy ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) ambushed farmers at around 4 pm (1400 GMT) on Friday near the village of Enebula," local civil society leader Patrick Mukohe told AFP by phone.
Mukohe said he had counted 21 bodies of men and women at the site of the killing, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of the town of Oicha, in North Kivu province.
Jules Kambale, who works in the Oicha hospital morgue, said it had received 19 bodies.
Charles Ehuta Omeanga, the regional military administrator, confirmed the attack, which he attributed to "ADF terrorists", but said he was not in a position to give a definitive toll.
The ADF, originally hard boyz in Uganda, gained a foothold in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... in the 1990s and has since been accused of killing thousands of civilians, becoming the deadliest of scores of outlawed forces in the deeply troubled region.
Since 2019, some ADF attacks in eastern DRC have been claimed by the Islamic State, which describes the group as its local offshoot, the Islamic State Central Africa Province.
In a video shared on social media, and authenticated by Mukohe, a crowd surrounds the body of a man tied to a wooden frame, his throat slit.
When the bodies of victims arrived at the Oicha morgue, some youths tried to block the nearby national road in protest.
They were quickly dispersed by the police who, according to one civil society source, fired bullets in the process.
"The situation here is catastrophic," the source said.
On Thursday, the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... mission in the country, MONUSCO, said that more than 30 people had been killed by the ADF in neighbouring Ituri province earlier in the week.
Last month, the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for information concerning ADF leader Seka Musa Baluku.
[Shafaq News] Canada's Trade Minister Mary Ng condemned on Saturday a hate crime at mosque saying the incident, which an Islamic society said had apparently involved an attempt to tear a copy of the Moslem holy book, had no place in Canadian society.
The Islamic Society of Markham (ISM) said in a statement an individual had come into the mosque in Markham, 30 km north of Toronto, on Thursday and apparently torn a Koran, ranted at worshippers, and then tried to ram them with his vehicle.
"Deeply disturbed to hear of the violent mostly peaceful hate crimes and racist behaviour at the Islamic Society of Markham," Ng said in a post on Twitter.
The question naturally becomes whether this was actually a vicious outsider or the much more common faked incident by a member of the congregation.
She did not give details of the incident but said: "This violence and Islamophobia ...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do... has no place in our communities."
Moslems see any attempt to damage a Koran as blasphemous because they consider the Islamic holy book to be the literal word of God.
The incident comes during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when worshippers throng to mosques. Thousands of people attend the mosque at Markham, the society said.
The National Council of Canadian Moslems said in a post on Twitter it was "greatly distressed" by the incident.
Police say a man is in jug after a suspected hate-motivated incident in which he allegedly drove a vehicle directly toward a worshipper at a Markham mosque, yelled threats, and uttered racial slurs.
A release issued by York Regional Police Sunday said Toronto resident Sharan Karunakaran, 28, was located and arrested shortly after midnight on Friday.
On Thursday, officers responded to a call for a disturbance at a mosque on Denison Street, the release states. Witnesses reported that a male suspect, now alleged to be Karunakaran, had attended the mosque in a vehicle and drove directly at one of the worshippers, yelling threats and religious slurs. The suspect drove dangerously in the parking lot before leaving the property, police said.
Karunakaran has been charged with one count of uttering threats, one count of assault with a weapon, and one count of dangerous driving. The charges have not been proven in court.
The accused was held for a bail hearing. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 11 in Newmarket, Ont.
A name search ofthe miscreant yielded this possible motivation:
Sharan KARUNAKARAN, 28, of Toronto, has been charged with a hate-motivated attack on a Mosque in Markham, Ontario.
[Dawn] Security forces have killed two snuffies in separate shootouts during operations in Wazoo, the military’s media wing said on Sunday.
The blurb from the Inter Services Public Relations said that on Saturday a "fire exchange took place between own troops and snuffies in general area Razmak, North Waziristan district. Own troops effectively engaged the terrorist’s location. Resultantly, one terrorist was sent to hell."
It added that weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the slain terrorist.
The ISPR said that in another "fierce encounter" in South Waziristan district’s general area of Karama, "own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, killing one terrorist".
"However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... during intense exchange of fire, Naik Fazal Janan (age 32 years, resident of Hangu district ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them... ) having fought gallantly, embraced martyrdom."
The ISPR added that sanitisation of the area was being carried out to eliminate any other snuffies found in the area.
"Pakistain’s security forces are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve," the blurb reads.
TWO TERRORISTS KILLED, ONE ARRESTED IN BALOCHISTAN’S MACH
A separate blurb said that from Friday onwards an intelligence-based operation was initiated to intercept a terrorist group operating in Balochistan’s general area of Mach, west of Sibi, which was linked with targeting civilians in the area besides harassing coal mine owners to extort money from them.
"Based on credible information, multiple ambushes have been laid along different routes in the area frequented by snuffies for last two days. Resultantly, a party of three snuffies has been intercepted while moving towards their hideout. On being blocked, they opened fire on the security forces.
"During ensuing exchange of fire, two snuffies were sent to hell while another has been apprehended; a cache of arms and ammunition has also been recovered," the ISPR said.
It added that a clearance operation was under way in the area to nab their remaining accomplices.
"Pakistain Army, in step with the nation, remains determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan."
An intruder was killed and two others were apprehended as army said to have foiled an infiltration bid on intervening Saturday and Sunday night along Line of Control in Poonch district.
"On 08 April 2023 at approx 2215 hours, own alert troops deployed on the Line of Control in the Poonch Sector observed a suspicious movement of a group (three individuals) close to the Line of Control and at around midnight the group, crossed the Line of Control and started infiltrating on to own side", said a spokesperson of defence ministry in a statement as reported by GNS.
"Own alert troops kept the movement of the infiltrating group under continuous observation and approximately at 0200 hours as the group approached the fence, the alert Indian Army troops deployed on the fence challenged the infiltrators", the statement read.
"The intruders started to run away but were engaged by firing, in which one intruder was rubbed out, while the other two managed to run into the jungle taking advantage of the thick foliage and rocky outcrop. The area was immediately cordoned to prevent their escape across the Line of Control."
The search operation, as per the statement, was launched at first light wherein the dead body of one intruder was recovered at the encounter site. "As the search progressed in the jungle, one intruder was apprehended alive in maimed condition. In the subsequent search the third intruder was also apprehended alive."
"In the search operation so far three bags with fourteen packets of Narcotics weighing approx 17 kgs, Pakistain currency, some documents, and eatables have been recovered."
"During preliminary questioning the two intruders who have been apprehended alive, have claimed that they (all three) are residents of Pakistain Occupied Jammu & Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... (POJK) and belong to Maidan Mohalla, village Chanjal", reads the statement.
"Indian Army troops have by their quick action thus prevented a major infiltration bid of a narco-terror group which had the potential of disturbing the peace in Poonch & Rajouri Districts through its nefarious designs", said the statement.
[Dawn] Pakistain Rangers Sindh on Sunday claimed to have arrested two suspects belonging to the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... Pakistain (TTP) and involved in an extortion racket and assassinations in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... A blurb said that a joint operation was conducted with Karachi police, which resulted in the arrest of two suspects "belonging to the TTP" who were allegedly involved in extortion and assassinations in the city’s Saddar, Manghopir and Banaras areas.
The statement said a trader had submitted a complaint that he was receiving calls demanding extortion money from different Afghan and Pak phone numbers.
It said that the suspects, identified as Abdul Qadir and Muhammad Kamal Khan, were involved in extortion and assassinations at the directives of TTP "terrorist officer" Khan alias Arshad residing in Afghanistan.
The suspects’ gang used to share the numbers of local traders in Karachi with Khan alias Arshad and used to receive the extortion money before sending it to the neighbouring country. It said that they would "kill or injure" those who refused to pay the extortion money.
"According to initial investigations, the suspects have confessed to sharing the numbers of five local traders, sending extortion slips and killing two traders for refusing to hand over the extortion money," the statement said, adding that raids were being conducted to arrest the suspects’ accomplices.
The statement further said that the two suspects had been handed over to the police for further investigations.
[Reuters] TEL AVIV, April 7 (Reuters) - An Italian tourist was killed and five other tourists were wounded in a Tel Aviv car ramming attack on Friday, Israeli and Italian officials said.
An Israeli security source identified the assailant as an Israeli Arab from the town of Kafr Qassem.
A police officer who was nearby arrived at the scene to find several people wounded and an overturned car near a popular Tel Aviv promenade. The officer "neutralized" the driver when he tried to pull a gun, police said.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] Six civilians were killed when a mine planted by militants exploded in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, the Sham radio station reported on April 9.
The incident occurred near the border between the provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. Residents were engaged in collecting truffles, which in Syria grow in arid desert zones where terrorist groups still remain.
As REGNUM reported, Israeli Air Force fighters attacked the military complex of the Syrian army on April 9. In Tel Aviv, this was explained by the response to a missile strike from Syria.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[South African Defense Web] It’s a long way from Mafikeng in South Africa’s North West to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, including the North Oicha and Bwanasura districts, where 10 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion finds itself at present as an active component of the MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) and its quick reaction forces (QRFs).
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka 
Nothing much has changed since 12 Feb 1965.
...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do...
Wazoo
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
