Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iran's water crisis at tipping point in threat to Islamic regime's stability

2025-03-31

[Jpost] Iran expert Dr. Sharona Mazalian Levi says prolonged water outages, empty reservoirs, and crop failures may be a recipe for social unrest.

"Iran is drying up," Dr. Sharona Mazalian Levi from The Alliance Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University affirmed, painting a grim picture of what she described as one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing the Islamic Republic today.

"Iran is facing an unprecedented water crisis that threatens the nation’s stability," Mazalian Levi said. She explained that multiple factors have converged to create this critical situation, with several major provinces now reaching what she deemed "a tipping point."

According to Mazalian Levi, the Iranian Energy Ministry declared last week that the provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Razavi Khorasan, and Yazd are facing a severe water crisis. She highlighted the alarming state of the Karaj Dam, which supplies water to millions in Tehran and the surrounding areas.

"The Karaj Dam is now at only 6% of its capacity," she noted, referencing reports from Tasnim news agency that 94% of the reservoir is empty. "This isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s a potential catalyst for civil unrest and disorder that could lead to national instability."

Two of the main catalysts for the crisis are what Mazalian Levi named "poor management of the water sector," as well as a population growth of more than 250% in only 50 years. "This includes over-extraction from natural water sources and aquifers to the point of depletion," she added.

However, Mazalian Levi traced the origins of the crisis further back in history. According to the researcher, following the 1979 revolution, Iran found itself internationally isolated and was forced to develop an autarkic economic system. Religious leaders, including then-supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini, encouraged citizens to embrace farming and agriculture as a way of life, drawing from texts regarding the Prophet Muhammad himself.

"This agricultural push significantly increased water usage at a time when the country was still relying on outdated and inefficient irrigation technologies," she explained. "Simultaneously, Iran experienced tremendous population growth, from approximately 37 million on the eve of the revolution to around 90 million today."

Mazalian Levi also pointed out that the influx of millions of undocumented Afghani migrants has further strained resources, creating an exponential rise in demand for water. Urban migration has compounded the problem, with rural residents moving to major cities like Tehran, Mashhad, and Karaj, placing even greater pressure on urban water supplies.

"The most important river in Afghanistan, the Helmand, flows into Iran," Mazalian Levi explained.

"According to a 1973 agreement, the Afghans pledged to transfer around 820 million cubic meters of water to neighboring Iran yearly (with an option to lower the quantities in case of water scarcity). However, recently, the Afghan government violated the agreement and blocked the flow to the Islamic Republic, which intensified the already tense relations between the Shi’ite and Sunni neighbors," the Iran expert added.

No doubt the Talibs considered that agreement a kind of hudna, or else it was something the previous government agreed to, to which the Talibs could not possibly consider themselves bound… at any rate, as the clearly superior variety of the Master Religion, they necessarily do whatever they think to get away with.

...The consequences of these developments are being felt across Iranian society. Mazalian Levi described a dire situation where authorities deliberately cut off water supply lines, often for extended periods and without prior notice.

"People are left with murky water and even mud coming out of their taps," she said, citing video evidence from the city of Ahvaz. "Water tankers are being dispatched across the country, medical teams find themselves preparing for surgery without water, and household activities are disrupted without warning."

...The agricultural sector has been hit particularly hard. Farmers are being forced to abandon water-intensive crops like wheat and rice in favor of varieties more suited to drought conditions. Many are giving up farming altogether and migrating to cities in search of alternative employment.

"Crop variety is shrinking, and the country’s food security is being undermined," Mazalian Levi warned. "There are real shortages of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, and oils, leading to rising food prices and increased dependence on imported food."

This dependence is especially problematic given the hyperinflation Iran has experienced in recent years, making imported food prices increasingly volatile and unaffordable for many Iranians.
In short. Iran's rulers are desperate - which makes them very dangerous.

Link

Afghanistan

The removal of the Taliban from the list of terrorists does not suit everyone

2024-12-14

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Semenov

[REGNUM] At a meeting on Tuesday, December 10, the State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill that provides for the possibility of excluding the Taliban movement (an organization under UN sanctions for terrorist activity) from the list of organizations banned in Russia.

The authors of the draft law (No. 778 284-8) were a group of parliamentarians, including senators Andrei Klishas, Andrei Yatskin and Yuri Fedorov, as well as deputies Vasily Piskarev, Andrei Lugovoy and Dmitry Vyalkin.

According to the draft law, “the ban on the activities of an organization included in the single federal list of organizations, including foreign and international organizations recognized as terrorist in accordance with Russian legislation, may be temporarily suspended by a decision of a Russian court based on an application by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or his deputy, if there is factual information that such an organization, after being included in the said list, has ceased carrying out activities aimed at promoting, justifying and supporting terrorism.”

Earlier, on November 25, the Afghan portal "Alemara" reported on the negotiations between the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu in Afghanistan with the Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund. Shoigu emphasized Russia's readiness to develop bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan, pointing to plans to exclude the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) from Russia's blacklist in order to strengthen political and economic ties.

Akhund, who oversees economic issues in the Taliban-formed government, noted that Afghanistan intends to “play a key role in strengthening the North-South Economic Corridor, as well as economic ties in the region.”

At the moment, it has become obvious that all concerns about the hypothetical expansion of the Taliban into neighboring countries have remained at the level of conjecture and speculation. The Taliban movement has demonstrated in practice that it intends to build good-neighborly relations with all its neighbors.

In addition, the Taliban have demonstrated that they are willing to take into account the interests of the minorities living in the country. This is especially noticeable with regard to the local Shia Hazaras, who have been given the opportunity to openly practice their version of Islam, build mosques and hold holidays, including in Kabul, while representatives of the Hazaras have received various positions in the IEA administration.

For Moscow, the positive attitude of the Afghan government towards Russia itself and its approaches to international affairs, including its approach to the CIS, certainly plays a role.

Afghans look with hope at the confrontation between Russia and the collective West, with the hope that Russia “ will be able to withstand this onslaught, this pressure, and will be able to achieve a revision of this unipolar world order.”

Therefore, it can be said that the Taliban have passed the probationary period that Moscow set for them regarding their exclusion from the terrorist lists.

The Taliban's continued "terrorist" status has slowed down the development of bilateral contacts between Moscow and Kabul. This has an impact on trade relations and makes it difficult for entrepreneurs who want to do business with Afghanistan to do so, due to concerns, even if hypothetical, of being prosecuted for justifying or financing terrorism.

ATTACK ON HAQQANI AMID RUSSIAN INITIATIVES
However, it is obvious that the prospect of removing the Taliban from the terrorist list and their rapprochement with Russia does not suit everyone.

This also applies to external forces hostile to Afghanistan and Russia, which have tried to show that the IAE's merits in the fight against terrorism are exaggerated, and that the Taliban are not fulfilling their obligations to suppress the activities of the ISIS (an organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation) Khorasan Velayat (ISIS-Kh) (an organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation).

It was precisely the achievements in the fight against this cell that were noted as an important indicator that the Taliban itself is not a terrorist force, but rather a counter-terrorist force.

But on Wednesday, the day after the Duma vote, a suicide bombing in Kabul killed Khalil Haqqani, the Taliban's acting minister for refugees and repatriation. He was a high-ranking member of the influential Haqqani family.

The incident marked the first killing of a serving minister since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021. Experts say the attack is a "declaration of war" by ISIS-K against the Haqqani family, but both external and internal opponents may be behind it.

This attack on the Haqqani family, against the backdrop of Russian initiatives, can also be seen as a challenge to the reformist wing of the Taliban led by this clan, which is behind many of the initiatives to get closer to Moscow.

The family's most influential representative, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, also held talks with Sergei Shoigu at the end of November.

Initially the most radical in the Taliban movement in matters of war and resorting to prohibited methods of waging it, Haqqani after its end turned out to be the most moderate in terms of state-building. It is with him that hopes are associated for a change in the internal policy of the Taliban.

It was Haqqani who was behind the amnesty of many members of the previous administration and tried to prevent reprisals.

His supporters also opposed the ban on female education.

In fact, because of Haqqani's position, a compromise system has essentially emerged in the country, where the so-called "Kandahar clique" from Emir Akhunzada's entourage is pushing forward more and more restrictive laws, but which, due to Haqqani's opposition to them, end up not being laws, but rather some kind of non-binding recommendations. Or loopholes appear in each of them, as in the issues of female education and employment, when in fact women can study in private schools for a fee or in religious schools for free, but the latter also provide for secular education.

Finally, the Haqqanists, unlike the Kandaharis, adhere to a more global agenda and, as noted by Russian observers who have been in contact with them, “like to talk” about multipolarity, which is why they more openly express their hopes for Russia’s success in the SVO.

SUCCESSES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM
However, despite the ongoing terrorist attacks, the Taliban's success in the fight against terrorism is hard to doubt. In fact, this became an important factor in the recognition of the Taliban and the removal of terrorist labels from the movement.

It is significant that the Americans, who spent 20 years trying to eradicate Osama bin Laden's brainchild in Afghanistan, were forced to acknowledge this success. But as soon as they left, the Taliban themselves solved this problem.

In particular, as Christie Abizaid, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, stated on September 11, 2023, is in its historical decline in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and its revival is unlikely.”

The Taliban, despite the ongoing terrorist threat and isolated attacks, have been able to suppress ISIS-K activity in Afghanistan. After a significant increase in its activity due to the security vacuum created in parts of the country by the US withdrawal, the Taliban have changed this dynamic by denying the terrorists control over certain territories they were able to acquire by following the Americans fleeing the country.

Their activities were hit and their activity significantly reduced, which was noted in the relevant reports of international structures.

It is emphasized that the Taliban were able to conduct a successful campaign against ISIS-K and eliminated most of the sleeper cells that were ready to continue terrorist attacks in Afghan cities. After a surge in terrorist attacks in the first months after the Taliban came to power, their number is beginning to decline as a result of counter-terrorism measures by the IEA security structures.

In particular, in 2022–2023, the number of terrorist attacks and other attacks by ISIS-K has significantly decreased. If in the first year of the Taliban rule (2021–2022) there were 314 attacks and assaults, then in 2022–2023 there were only 69, that is, fewer than during any period of the group’s activity in Afghanistan since its emergence.

The Taliban's fight against ISIS is systemic and consistent, Khorasan itself is turning into a virtual province, and its connection with Afghanistan and the territory of Greater Khorasan is becoming more conditional, as stated in the UN report of January 2024.

As ISIS* researcher Aaron Zelin notes : “ Unlike most past cases of jihadist external operations, where basing was critical, a paradox occurred in which the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate effectively undermined much of the local capacity of the Khorasan Province in Afghanistan.”

At the same time, the main threat of ISIS-K now comes not from Afghans, but from citizens of Tajikistan. Rather, the reverse process of Tajiks moving to Afghanistan to participate in terrorist activities there is observed. Other citizens of the republic are drawn into ISIS-K activities through its cells in Iran and Turkey.

FIGHT AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING
Countering drug trafficking is another area where the Taliban have demonstrated success in their activities, which has also become an argument for removing the terrorist label from the movement.

The Taliban have already imposed a total ban on drug production and use in Afghanistan. They continue their campaign against the illegal drug industry, arresting drug addicts and drug dealers, and destroying opium poppy and cannabis fields. This has already led to a significant drop in production, but it also has a downside, hitting poor rural residents particularly hard.

In particular, the UN estimates that the cessation of opium poppy cultivation has affected the lives of almost seven million people.

According to a 2023 UN report, poppy cultivation in southern Afghanistan has declined by more than 80% as a result of Taliban campaigns to stop its use in opium production. For example, poppy cultivation in Helmand province has declined by 99%.

In November 2023, a UN report showed that poppy cultivation had declined by more than 95% across Afghanistan, stripping the country of its status as the world's largest opium producer.

Many farmers have switched to growing wheat or cotton, but they struggle to make ends meet. Developing agriculture will require more irrigation systems, cold storage facilities, and better roads. The Taliban does not have the budget to develop such infrastructure. Perhaps establishing economic ties with neighbors after sanctions are lifted will help to partially solve this problem.

Overall, the Taliban have managed to stabilize the economy somewhat. Afghanistan's foreign trade has fallen since they seized power. However, despite the decline in imports, most of the country's income now comes from taxes.

As experts note, the Afghan economy is no longer in a state of free fall and appears to be frozen in a precarious equilibrium, albeit at its lowest level.

Modest positive trends include lower inflation, exchange rate stability, some recovery in imports, more than a doubling of exports, stability or a slight increase in labor demand, and stable wages.

Link

Afghanistan

Afghan Digest: Week of October 21-27

2024-11-10

It seem that while we weren’t working, the Afghan Digest went from daily to irregularly weekly reports. Here are a few highlights — go to the link to read the rest.
The Afghan Digest archive can be explored here, for those who don’t want to wait for me to get around to working up another post in a few weeks or months — or you can work up a post yourself, dear Reader, and then we all can enjoy the result. ;-)

SECURITY AND CONFLICT
House to House Searches Kabul – Beginning on Monday, various sources confirmed that the Taliban conducted house-to-house searches in Kabul's PD 4, PD 11, and PD 17. The Taliban stated that they were looking for ISKP members, criminals, and narcotics. Locals reported that the Taliban prevented any filming during the searches. The areas selected suggest the searches may be targeting individuals suspected of sympathizing with resistance fighters.

House to House Searches in Nimroz – This week, the Taliban began conducting house-to-house searches in several provinces, including Nimroz, which has sparked strong reactions from residents. In Khang district, protests erupted after Taliban forces entered a home occupied solely by women and children, leading to the detention of at least 50 protesters, some of whom were reportedly beaten. The Taliban claimed these searches aimed to target drug dealers.

Taliban Fire on Protestors in Ghor – On Saturday, in Feroz Koh, Ghor province, at least six people were injured when Taliban forces opened fire on protesters who were opposing body searches conducted on local women. Demonstrators had gathered to demand an end to these invasive searches, highlighting mounting public anger over the Taliban’s treatment of women. Witnesses described a tense atmosphere as the Taliban used firearms to disperse the crowd, underscoring the growing unrest with their restrictive policies and prompting similar protests across Afghanistan.

IS Attack in Ghor – On October 20, Taliban forces clashed with ISIS fighters in the Nurkoh area of Ghor province. The fighting, which lasted several hours, involved both light and heavy weaponry. The Taliban later claimed they attacked an ISIS hideout, killing two members, although they did not disclose any of their own casualties. Photos circulated online of Engineer Saifullah, a Taliban fighter killed in the clash. Taliban officials allege that ISIS in Ghor operates from Balochistan, Pakistan, where it recruits and trains fighters. ISIS activity has increased in central and western Afghanistan, complicating Taliban efforts to maintain security and targeting civilians in areas beyond Taliban control.

Explosion in Pamir Cinema Market – On Wednesday, an explosion occurred around 2:00 p.m. local time in the Pamir Cinema area of Kabul, targeting the crowded Lailami Market, known for selling second-hand clothes. The blast killed one child and injured 11 people, including a three-year-old girl, a four-year-old boy, a sixteen-year-old boy, two women, and six men, one of whom is in critical condition. The attack struck one of Kabul's most densely populated and impoverished neighborhoods. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
Further Bans on Women's Voices – Taliban minister Khalid Hanafi recently declared it forbidden for adult women in Afghanistan to let their voices be heard by other adult women, specifically prohibiting them from reciting the Quran or performing the Takbir aloud. This new directive, which is part of broader restrictions on women’s rights, mandates full-body covering, including the face. Hanafi’s comments have sparked significant backlash from Afghan women, who are advocating for their rights against what many see as increasingly oppressive Taliban policies. It remains unclear how this extreme directive will be enforced or if it is an official policy.

Political Analyst Detained – On October 19, Jawed Momand, a university professor and political analyst, was detained by Taliban intelligence agents in Kabul's Karte Naw district. The Taliban have not provided any statement regarding his detention.

Women Prevented from Riding Buses Without Masks – The Taliban’s vice and virtue police in Kabul have barred women and girls from boarding city buses if they are not wearing masks, according to multiple local sources.

Retirees Protest unpaid Pensions – On Saturday, retirees in Kabul protested three years of unpaid pensions, blocking the street leading to the Ministry of Finance. The Taliban dissolved the pension system and cut retiree salaries, exacerbating economic hardships for many. During the protest, one retiree was arrested, underscoring the widespread discontent amid ongoing financial struggles.

Floggings – On Monday, a man and a woman were flogged in Logar province, with similar punishments meted out in Bamiyan the same day. On Wednesday, 17 people were flogged in Khost, followed by the flogging of one man in Kabul on Thursday and one individual in Faryab on Sunday.

INTERNAL POLITICS
Acting Minister Of Education Statement on Jihadi Madrassas – The Taliban's acting minister for higher education, Neda Mohammad Nadim, emphasized the role of jihadi madrasas in maintaining the jihadist mindset in Afghanistan. In the past 40 days, 16 new madrasas have been established across 10 provinces at a cost of 54 million Afghanis. Afghanistan now has 21,000 madrasas, surpassing the 18,000 schools in the country. Critics, including Afghan citizens and international observers, express concerns that this increase could promote extremism and radicalization, further destabilizing the nation.

Dissent on Banning Living Images – TTaliban officials in Kabul, including Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Acting Defense Minister Yaqoob Mujahid, and three Acting Deputy Prime Ministers, oppose Mullah Hibatullah’s ban on broadcasting images of living beings. They argue that the law undermines the Taliban's interests, particularly in media and diplomacy. The Haqqani network, which manages propaganda centers, also criticizes the restrictions. Despite Mullah Hibatullah’s orders, enforcement has been inconsistent, with some officials permitting audio recordings and defying full implementation.

Saleh Statement on Doha Process – On Friday, former Vice President Amrullah Saleh claimed that the Doha process, backed by NATO, effectively constituted a coup against Afghanistan’s Republic. He argued that it was a carefully orchestrated effort to sideline Ashraf Ghani and destabilize the government. Saleh asserted that many Afghan political leaders supported anti-republicanism, viewing it as a means of securing personal gain, under the assumption that the U.S. would integrate the Taliban into the government. Instead, he contended, this strategy resulted in national disgrace and authoritarian rule.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
NYT Publishes Interview with Haqqani – On Thursday, the New York Times published an interview with Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's acting interior minister and a wanted terrorist. In the interview, Haqqani portrays himself as a dissident within the Taliban and attempts to present himself as a diplomat. He has a $10 million bounty on his head from the U.S. for orchestrating terrorist attacks against international forces, Afghan officials, and civilians.

CSTO Approves Plan to Strengthen Afghan-Tajik Border – On Saturday, Imangali Tasmagambetov, secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), announced plans to enhance Tajikistan's border security with Afghanistan at an upcoming CSTO meeting in Astana. The draft plan has been reviewed and agreed upon by CSTO member states. The organization has expressed ongoing concerns about the potential spread of extremism from Afghanistan to Central Asia over the past three years. Representatives from over 40 countries recently warned that rising extremism and radical teachings could lead to catastrophic consequences.

OCHA report on Projects in Afghanistan – The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that in September 2024, 83 humanitarian projects were temporarily suspended due to 173 incidents, 98% of which were attributed to Taliban interference. This marks a 66% increase from last year. The incidents involved disruptions to operations, violence against staff, and movement restrictions. The Taliban also imposed illegal taxes, seized aid, delayed document processing, and enforced strict regulations on female staff, threatening the safety of humanitarian workers.

Afghan Consulate in Germany to Close – On Thursday, Germany requested that Afghanistan’s ambassador in Berlin and its consul in Bonn step down, refusing to accept Taliban-appointed representatives. However, technical staff will continue to provide consular services at the embassy and consulate, according to a diplomatic source. The German government maintains its position against recognizing Taliban officials.

BRICS Statement on Afghanistan – At the Kazan summit on Thursday, BRICS leaders, including those from China and Russia, urged the Taliban to lift the ban on girls' and women's education. They emphasized the need to respect the fundamental rights of Afghan citizens, including women and ethnic groups, and called for immediate humanitarian aid. The leaders also stressed the importance of taking action against terrorism in Afghanistan and highlighted the role of regional platforms in addressing the country’s challenges. BRICS reaffirmed its support for a peaceful, independent Afghanistan.

Afghan Representative Speaks at UN – On Wednesday, Nasir Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan's acting representative to the UN, urged the international community to take decisive action regarding Afghanistan’s crisis. Speaking to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, he emphasized the Taliban’s oppressive policies, particularly gender apartheid, and called for its criminalization under international law. Faiq highlighted the Taliban’s focus on extremism in education and the erosion of fundamental rights, especially for women and girls.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
Ban on Living Images and TV Station Shutdowns – Television stations in Badghis province have ceased operations following a Taliban directive banning live images, according to the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC). Both state-run and private TV stations are now limited to written and audio content. The ban, enforced under the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law, extends to other provinces, posing a significant threat to press freedom. On Thursday, sources reported that the Taliban have expanded the ban on broadcasting images of living beings to at least 10 provinces, including Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Kunar, Khost, Takhar, Badghis, Panjshir, and Laghman.

400 Books Banned in Kabul – The Taliban have banned 400 books in libraries across Kabul, mandating their removal if they conflict with Taliban principles, according to local librarians. The ban targets works related to Shia Islam, democracy, political freedoms, civil rights, art, and prominent figures such as Ahmad Shah Massoud. Librarians report that the Taliban have already begun collecting these titles and promoting works deemed acceptable by the regime. Booksellers fear financial losses and potential crackdowns as enforcement is expected to intensify starting in November.

MISCELLANEOUS
Report on Afghan Migration – Between July and September 2024, 786,769 Afghan citizens left Afghanistan while 973,696 returned, according to the IOM. The report, Mobility Dynamics at Afghanistan’s Borders, highlights migration driven by economic opportunities, healthcare access, family visits, and safety concerns. Nearly six million Afghans now reside in Iran and Pakistan, with 3.75 million in Iran and 2.05 million in Pakistan, making Afghans the world’s largest refugee population, surpassing Syrians. The full report can be accessed here

Lack of Electricity at Mes Aynak – Afghanistan’s Aynak copper mine faces setbacks due to unreliable electricity, according to the Chinese company Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC). During a recent meeting, MCC emphasized that insufficient power could hinder progress on the project, despite a $2.5 billion investment agreement. Persistent delays, mainly due to security concerns, have stalled significant work on the mine, which holds one of the world’s largest untapped copper reserves.

Link

Afghanistan

WHO confirms 85 polio cases in Afghanistan this year

2024-10-31

[KhaamaPress] The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a new environmental case of polio
...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set. Currently the disease is only found in Pakistain and Afghanistain...
in Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province, Afghanistan.

According to the WHO’s latest report, the new polio sample was identified in Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand province.

With this new case, the number of positive environmental polio cases in Afghanistan this year has increased to 85.

Notably, at least three cases of polio were detected alone in October in the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

The polio virus has been eradicated globally, except in Afghanistan and Pakistain.

Currently, Pakistain has the highest number of recorded polio cases.

The increasing number of polio cases in Afghanistan highlights the urgent need for effective vaccination campaigns, which face mounting challenges due to the restrictions imposed by the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
Women healthcare workers, who are crucial to the success of these campaigns, face significant limitations and increasing pressure in the country.

The recent restrictions on female employees have significantly hindered efforts to reach vulnerable populations, particularly children.

The international community continues to urge the Taliban to lift these barriers to ensure successful polio eradication and safeguard the health of future generations in Afghanistan.

Link

Afghanistan

Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things

2024-10-15

Unexpectedly. I thought they'd do that much sooner.

[GEO.TV] Afghanistan's Taliban
Taliban

...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
morality ministry pledged Monday to implement a law banning news media from publishing images of all living things, with journalists told the rule will be gradually enforced.

It comes after the Taliban government recently announced legislation formalising formalising implementation of Shariah law.

"The law applies to all Afghanistan [...] and it will be implemented gradually," the front man for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) Saiful Islam Khyber told AFP, adding that officials would work to persuade people that images of living things are against Islamic law.

"Coercion has no place in the implementation of the law," he said.

"It's only advice, and convincing people these things are really contrary to sharia (law) and must be avoided."

The new law detailed several rules for news media, including banning the publication of images of all living things and ordering outlets not to show disrespect towards the religion, or contradict Shariah law.

Aspects of the new law have not yet been strictly enforced, including advice to the general public not to take or look at images of living things on phones and other devices.

Taliban officials continue to regularly post photos of people on social media and Afghan journalists have told AFP they received assurances from authorities after the law was announced that they would be able to continue their work.

The information ministry did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

"Until now, regarding the articles of the law related to media, there are ongoing efforts in many provinces to implement it but that has not started in all provinces," Khyber said.

He added "work has started" in the southern Taliban stronghold of Kandahar and the neighbouring Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province, as well as northern Takhar.

Before the recent law was announced, Taliban officials in Kandahar were banned from taking photos and videos of living things but the rule did not include news media.

"Now it applies to everyone," Khyber said.

Link

Afghanistan

Taliban Oppression: 80 Arrested, 38 Executed in One Month

2024-09-29

[8am] Despite their promises of a general amnesty, the Taliban
Taliban

...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
continue to arrest former military personnel and civilians. In September 2024, they arrested around 81 people across 18 provinces and executed more than 25 individuals in 13 provinces. Some of these killings have been attributed to unidentified gangs. Among those executed, 14 were killed by 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....
— Khorasan Province (ISKP) at the Daykundi-Ghor border. The victims included former military personnel and civilians, accused of various offenses. The Taliban detained individuals for spreading critical content, being affiliated with anti-Taliban fronts, shaving their beards, or having ties to ISKP or the "Hizbut Tahrir
...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate...
" group. These figures, based on reports from the Hasht-e Subh Daily, suggest that due to widespread repression and censorship, the actual number of executions and imprisonments may be higher.

In September 2024, 25 people were executed in Takhar, Ghor, Ghazni, Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
, Faryab, Daykundi, Khost, Badakhshan, Nuristan, Laghman
...Afghan province with a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for Laghman.The city of Mihtarlam serves as the bucolic capital of the province. The population is half Pashtun, the remainder Tadjik and Pashai. It had a repution for great wealth until it was conquered in the tenth century by Abu Mansur Sabuktigin.

He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing the idol-temples, he established Islam in them, He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolatrous and gratifying the Musulmans. After wounding and killing beyond all measure, his hands and those of his friends became cold in counting the value of the plundered property.

After that it was mostly notable for the production of dirt, rocks, and holy men...
, and Balkh provinces. Of these, around 15 killings were attributed to unidentified gangs, but sources and relatives of the victims accused the Taliban of being responsible. Additionally, 13 Hazara
...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets...
s from Daykundi were executed near the Ghor border, along with a Sunni resident from Ghor who was passing through the area. ISKP grabbed credit for the attack.

Last week, the Taliban shot six people in Takhar province and displayed their bodies in a market in the Baharak district center. Local sources reported that the Taliban left the bodies on public display in "Qayoom Bazaar" in Baharak district on Friday, September 20, for several hours. The group did not provide details about the victims’ identities, but sources claimed that the Taliban executed them on charges of theft.

Before these six executions, the Taliban killed Amanullah, a former local police commander of the previous government, in Rustaq district, Takhar province. Sources stated that the Taliban shot Amanullah, the leader of former local uprisings, in the village of Sarjoy as he was returning home.

The Taliban’s campaign of civilian killings continues, with reports of them brutally murdering a student in Ghor province. Sources say Kamaluddin Nizami, an accounting student at a university in Shiraz, Iran, had returned to Ferozkoh, the capital of Ghor, for the holidays. Taliban intelligence tortured him for three days before killing him.

In Badakhshan province, sources report that the Taliban’s head of education in Ishkashim district killed a teacher. The victim, Wali Mohammad Mosamim, taught mathematics and was about to be appointed as the district’s head of education. However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
a Taliban official killed him in his office, according to sources.

Since the Taliban’s takeover, extrajudicial, serial, and mysterious killings have surged. After many of these incidents, sources and victims’ relatives often accuse the Taliban, though the group frequently blames unidentified gangs while also claiming they have established nationwide security.

In the past month alone, three individuals were killed in Ghor, a former military member in Babaji district, Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province, a former security officer in Faryab province, a man and a woman in Shahristan district, Daykundi province, a young man in Mandol district, Nuristan province, another young man in Faryab province, the head of the previous government’s Directorate of Transportation in Nangarhar province, a student in Khost province
... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name...
, a teacher in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, a man in Rashidan district, Ghazni province, a young man in Laghman province, and a driver in Kunduz. The Taliban attribute these attacks to unidentified gangs, but sources accuse the Taliban of being responsible for most of these killings.

ARRESTS OF FORMER MILITARY PERSONNEL AND CIVILIANS BY THE TALIBAN
The Taliban have arrested a former military officer in Baghlan province, two former security forces members in Kabul, and one other individual in Nangarhar province. While the group offers no explanation for these arrests, sources close to the detainees report that the Taliban frequently target former military personnel, often accusing them of being involved in anti-Taliban activities as part of their broader Dire Revenge against those who once opposed them.

In addition to former security forces, the Taliban have arrested civilians and former ~~babus~~ government employees on various charges. Over the past month, they have detained around 65 individuals for reasons ranging from alleged collaboration with the National Resistance® Front of Afghanistan to shaving their beards, clashing with nomads, publishing satirical content, and criticizing the Taliban. Many detainees were coerced into making confessions. The Taliban have also arrested some of their own members on charges of affiliation with Islamic State — Khorasan Province (ISKP), as well as members of the "Hizbut Tahrir" group.

Reports show these arrests took place in Kabul, Takhar, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, Panjshir, and Baghlan, and the whereabouts of many detainees remain unknown. Sources confirm that the families of those arrested are unaware of their relatives’ locations, and the Taliban have provided no further information. It has been reported multiple times that the Taliban arrest individuals on various pretexts, demanding money or weapons for their release.

In recent weeks, the Taliban have detained three civilians in Baghlan, four in Takhar, 25 in Ghazni, 17 in Panjshir, 15 in Badghis, and three in Herat. Although the Taliban regime employed some of these individuals after being hired during the previous government, the group has given no reasons for the arrests, which appear arbitrary. Sources claim many detainees have been tortured and coerced into making confessions.

INTERNAL PURGES AND ALLEGATIONS OF ISKP AFFILIATION
The Taliban are grappling with severe internal divisions, leading to multiple festivities among their commanders and fighters across various provinces. These confrontations have escalated into the use of both light and heavy weapons. Amid rising tensions, the Taliban have arrested several of their fighters in some provinces, accusing them of belonging to the Islamic State — Khorasan Province (ISKP).

On Saturday, September 14, sources informed Hasht-e Subh Daily that the Taliban arrested seven of their members on charges of collaborating with ISKP. According to these sources, the arrests targeted individuals within the Taliban’s military ranks, reflecting the group’s ongoing concerns about ISKP infiltrators in their ranks.

Taliban intelligence forces also arrested Amirjan Fouladi, a former military officer, in Bamyan province and transferred him to an undisclosed location. Fouladi’s family has not been informed of his whereabouts. Sources indicate he had recently served as the "Plan and Operations Manager" for the Taliban police command.

For over three years, the Taliban have openly supported commanders and fighters accused of crimes. When a video leaked showing a Taliban commander in Takhar province committing sexual assault, the group arrested the person who filmed the incident, not the perpetrator.

In addition, members of "Hizbut Tahrir," who previously collaborated with the Taliban before their rise to power, have also faced arrests. On Thursday, August 22, Taliban intelligence in Takhar province detained several members of the group in Kalafgan district, rejecting mediation attempts by local elders. The Taliban had previously arrested other members of this ideological group.

Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind...
the UN Secretary-General recently presented a quarterly report on Afghanistan to the UN Security Council, revealing that between May 14 and July 31, 2,127 security incidents were recorded, marking a 53 percent increase from last year. The report also highlighted the ongoing torture, arrests, and killings of former military personnel, despite the Taliban’s promise of general amnesty. The arrest and killing of former government military personnel continue unchecked.

Link

Afghanistan

'The people who control the country.' How Afghanistan has changed under the Taliban

2024-05-31

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Semeov

Russia is determined to normalize relations, and will say anything to do so. Count up the fictions as you read, dearReader.

[REGNUM] The problems of Afghanistan are known, but the real power there lies with the Taliban movement and this cannot be ignored, Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the press following his visit to Uzbekistan on May 28.

“There are problems in Afghanistan, they are undeniable, everyone is well aware of them. The question of how to build relationships with the current government is another question. But we have to build it somehow, these are the people who control the country, control the territory of the country. They are the power in Afghanistan today,” the Russian President said.

A day earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also made it clear that Russia is going to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorists, on which it is still included.

“Kazakhstan recently made a decision, which we are also going to make, to remove them from the list of terrorist organizations. Moreover, the UN Security Council did not declare the Taliban as a terrorist organization.

It only takes one veto, or the threat of one.

There are, in my opinion, 12–15 specific characters on the list of terrorists,” Lavrov told reporters.

Initially, the Taliban came under international sanctions and were included in terrorist lists not so much because of their own actions, but because of their support for other terrorist organizations. For example, Al-Qaeda, whose representatives received asylum in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda is still there, as are all their little buddies. And ISIS-K is one of the leading exporters of jihad among the ISIS franchises. Some of these have connections, and have been causing trouble, in Russia.

Of course, the Taliban was and remains a fundamentalist movement, but both now and during the period of the first Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA - the Taliban state) distanced itself from obvious terrorist activities.

The Taliban, unlike Al-Qaeda and ISIS, have never advocated the dismantling of the world order and “global jihad.”

But they support — and intermarry with — those who do. Tomaytoes, tomahtoes.

During their first statehood in the 1990s, they maintained diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan. Neighboring Turkmenistan was then close to recognizing them.

At the moment, it has also become obvious that all concerns about the hypothetical expansion of the Taliban into neighboring countries have remained at the level of speculation and speculation. The Taliban movement has demonstrated in practice that it intends to build good neighborly relations with all its neighbors.

They’e still at the consolidation phase, and can’t afford external wars as well as the internal ones.

For Moscow, of course, the positive attitude of the Afghan authorities towards Russia itself and its approaches to international affairs also plays a role.

As political scientist and orientalist Mir-Ali Askerov, who recently returned from Afghanistan, told IA Regnum, “there has never been a situation in which, when you say that you are from Russia, it causes some kind of negativity, that is, it either causes at least something neutral, positive, or strictly positive attitude. The Afghans express their gratitude for the fact that you visited their country and, in general, offer their help there in every possible way.”

I assume Mr. Askerov is male.

Askerov emphasized that Afghans look with hope at the confrontation between Russia and the collective West, with the hope that Russia “will be able to withstand this onslaught, this pressure and will be able to achieve a revision of this monopolar world order.”

No doubt.

YOU CAN WALK AT NIGHT
As Russian officials have rightly noted, the Taliban are making good progress in nation-building.

Although the country has serious economic problems and terrorist groups continue to operate, the risk of political and economic collapse is assessed as minimal, and the country has also managed to overcome crime and make the lives of citizens safer.

According to Askerov, the crime situation has become much better than during the reign of Ashraf Ghani and the Americans, and during that period he also had the opportunity to visit Afghanistan.

“ You can now walk around Kabul at night, during the day, at any time of the day and in any area, it is absolutely safe. The only problem is pickpockets, but this is only a problem of large markets,” said the orientalist.

Again, Mr. Askerov is not female.

At the same time, security is ensured in a much “softer” way than during the American occupation.

“Of course, there are many guards and checkpoints in the city, but they do not create the impression of a police state, as during the American presence with rough searches and searches of everyone. On the streets you can also see employees of the ministry of “commanding what is good and prohibiting what is bad” (morality police), but they act unobtrusively, politely and rather try to explain or explain something rather than prohibit and detain, so this does not cause any rejection or conflicts,” Askerov noted.

No, no, perish the thought.

At the same time, he said, some problems remain, despite the optimism of Afghans:

“The population perceives current changes positively and looks to the future with hope. But, of course, Afghans live poorly, and even the wealthiest live very modestly by our standards; economic problems have not gone away.”

Nevertheless, the Taliban still managed to somewhat stabilize the economy.

Afghanistan's foreign trade fell after they seized power. However, despite the decline in imports, most of the country's income now comes from taxes.

As experts note, the Afghan economy is no longer in a state of free fall and appears to be frozen in a precarious balance, albeit at the lowest level.

Modest positive trends include lower inflation, exchange rate stability, some recovery in imports, a more than doubling of exports,

…opium and heroin, right?

stable or slightly increased labor demand and continued wage levels.

Of course, the problem of Afghan drug trafficking remains.

Opium and heroin, yes.

However, it arose long before the Taliban came to power and was “chronic” for this country.

The Taliban took control of it during their first tenure, and never let go.

Nevertheless, the IEA leadership is making efforts to limit the production of opiates.

Thus, according to a 2023 UN report, poppy cultivation in southern Afghanistan fell by more than 80% as a result of Taliban campaigns to stop its use in opium production. For example, the decline in poppy cultivation in Helmand province has dropped by 99%.

In November 2023, a UN report found that throughout Afghanistan, poppy cultivation had fallen by more than 95%, depriving the country of its status as the world's largest opium producer.

The warehouses were full to bursting. No point in producing more until that supply is used up and the price increases.

Although Iran does not agree with such optimistic assessments, since, according to Iranian officials, supplies of opium and heroin from Afghanistan to their country continued in large volumes.

See?

The Taliban have also made progress in dialogue and taking into account the interests of ethno-confessional minorities living in the country, primarily the Shiite Hazaras, who were able to gain access to some leadership positions, which may indicate the movement’s readiness to follow the path of forming an inclusive government.

Tokens to shut up the rubes.

However, problems remain with the Uzbek and Tajik minorities, who are dissatisfied with the fact that their representatives, not associated with the Taliban, are still not represented in the IEA power structures.

"RED TROOPS"
An important factor in recognizing the Taliban and removing terrorist labels from the movement is its success in suppressing the activity and presence of international terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

It is significant that the Americans, who spent 20 years trying to eradicate the brainchild of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, were forced to recognize this success. But as soon as they left, the Taliban themselves solved this problem.

In particular, as Christy Abizaid, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, stated on September 11, 2023, "al-Qaeda is in its historic decline in Afghanistan and Pakistan and its resurgence is unlikely."

She also cited declassified data that the group had "lost access to targets, leadership talent, group cohesion, grassroots commitment, and supportive local environment." She said the terrorist organization's ability to threaten from Afghanistan " is at its lowest level" since it moved there in 1998.

The Taliban were also able to suppress the activity of ISIS and its local affiliate ISIS-K in Afghanistan.

Within Afghanistan, anyway. Or perhaps just reports of their activities. But not abroad.

After a significant increase in their activity, due to the security vacuum created in some parts of the country after the US withdrawal, the Taliban changed this dynamic, depriving the terrorists of control over certain territories that they were able to acquire by following the Americans fleeing the country.

Their activities were dealt a blow, and activity over the past year has decreased significantly, which was noted in the relevant reports of international structures.

It is noted that the Taliban were able to conduct a successful campaign against ISIS-X and eliminated most of the sleeper cells that were ready to continue terrorist attacks in Afghan cities. After a surge in the number of terrorist attacks in the first months after the Taliban came to power, their number begins to decline as a result of counter-terrorism measures by the IEA security structures.

In particular, in 2022–2023. the number of terrorist attacks and other attacks by ISIS-X has decreased significantly. If in the first year of Taliban rule (2021-2022) there were 314 attacks and assaults, then in 2022-2023. only 69 - that is, less than during any period of activity of the group in Afghanistan since its inception.

The Taliban’s fight against ISIS is systematic and consistent; for this purpose, special counter-terrorism forces have been created in Afghanistan that can effectively counter it.

This counter-terrorism unit is called "Red Squad", or "Sara Kheta" in Pashto.

... also known as Red Unit, Red Brigade, Blood Unit, Danger Group, and Taliban Special Forces Unit. The Taliban’s special forces/shock troops unit was first deployed in Sangin town in Helmand province in 2016, then claimed a victory against ISIS-Khurasan in 2018. They were most active in Kunduz, Baghlan, and Faryab Provinces.

It is divided into several battalions of 300–350 men, selected by field commanders from among the fighters based on their discipline, dedication and skills. Each battalion operates in a separate province, but within the Red Squad there is also a battalion-sized group of the most trained elite forces known as Badri 313.

The Badri 313 Battalion was trained by the Haqqani network and based at Salahaddin Ayyubi Military Operations Academy. There is evidence it was at one point al Qaeda's military arm in Pakistan, with members gleaned from the Taliban and Pakistan’s pet jihadi groups including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Jundallah, used for nasty attacks on the Pakistani army under the leadership of Ilyas Kashmiri (until 2011) followed by Shah Sahib.

In emergency situations, units work together to cover a multi-province area.

It was the “Red Detachments” that defeated the ISIS in the province of Nangarhar, which was a stronghold of terrorists. After which part of the “Red Detachment” battalions was transferred to the province of Kunar, which was soon also cleared of ISIS militants.

Of course, it is too early to talk about a complete victory over ISIS in Afghanistan.

But a significant decrease in terrorist activity allows the Taliban movement to establish economic ties with foreign partners and organize business trips to this country.

Therefore, Russia, acting proactively, can economically enter Afghanistan before others, officially recognizing the Taliban movement as the legitimate Afghan government.

Before this, there were many factors that forced our entrepreneurs to act with caution in Afghanistan, including the fear of persecution for justifying and financing terrorism.

By removing the Taliban from the terrorist lists, Moscow can speed up the implementation of economic projects in Afghanistan and begin absolutely legal, not “gray” investments.

Link

Afghanistan

Explosion rocks a New Kabul Bank branch in Kandahar, injuring 8

2024-03-22

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

[Regnum] An explosion occurred on March 21 at a branch of New Kabul Bank in the Afghan city of Kandahar. Eight people were injured, crisis24 portal reported. garda.com.

The department is located near the city police building.

According to the police, the explosion was aimed at people who came to the bank to collect their salaries. All of them are members of the Taliban (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation).

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

As Regnum reported, in early February, an explosion occurred near the headquarters of a political party in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. Eight people died.

The incident occurred the day before the parliamentary elections.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

American general says the Russian military should not be underestimated

2024-03-02

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George

…that poor man. His boyhood must have been hell…

said that the Russian military has made great progress during the Ukrainian conflict and should not be underestimated. The American Military Watch Magazine wrote about this.

“You can’t underestimate your opponent. You shouldn’t start with this,” the publication quotes George as saying.

He also noted the Russian military's ability to adapt and its progress in drones and electronic warfare.

In addition, according to the military man, Russia has succeeded in developing its industrial base.

As Regnum reported, former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter said that the Russian Armed Forces have deprived Ukrainian troops of the ability to effectively use unmanned aerial vehicles, while continuing to destroy drone operators. He emphasized that the Russian military was able to adapt as quickly as possible to the massive use of drones by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Earlier, Ukrainian Armed Forces Colonel Ivan Pavlenko said that Russia’s mass production and use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the special military operation zone has become a great threat to Ukrainian troops. It is noted that Ukraine is significantly behind the Russian Federation in terms of the effectiveness of electronic warfare systems, which has led to an even greater inability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to resist Russian UAVs.

Link

Afghanistan

Resurgent al-Qaida training camps latest black eye from Biden Afghanistan withdrawal

2024-02-25

[JustTheNews] UN report claims al-Qaida now has eight training camps in Taliban-controlled country.

Two reports released just days apart are providing stark new evidence of the lasting consequences of President Joe Biden’s bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan and his administration’s dealings with the Taliban ever since.

The United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team reported late last month that the terrorist group al-Qaida, though weakened from its heyday in the early 2000s, has reconstituted as many as eight training camps and five religious training schools known as madrassas on Afghan soil under the Taliban’s rule while also increasing its propaganda operations and recruitment.

“The relationship between the Taliban and Al-Qaida remains close, and the latter maintains a holding pattern in Afghanistan under Taliban patronage,” the report stated bluntly. “Regional States assess that the presence of Al-Qaida senior figures in the country has not changed and that the group continues to pose a threat in the region, and potentially beyond.”

You can read the full report here.

While the UN report blamed the Taliban for its hosting of al-Qaida, the Biden administration continued to send massive humanitarian dollars to the Afghan regime, in many cases through the UN and global charities, according to a separate report from an American watchdog.

John Sopko, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, reported a few days after the UN report was issued that the United States accounted for all but $300 million of the $2.9 billion in humanitarian aid sent to the Taliban since the withdrawal of American troops in August 2021. Most of it, he noted, came in cash.

“The U.S. is the largest international donor, having provided about $2.6 billion in funding for the UN, other PIOs, and NGOs operating in Afghanistan since August 2021,” the report noted. “More than $1.7 billion of that funding came from State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support humanitarian activities.”

You can read Sopko's report here.

Experts said the flow of cash to help the Taliban while it allows al-Qaida to flourish sends a dangerous message to bad actors, and much of it is routed through the very UN that issued the report.

“America is the biggest funder of this thing. So the United States taxpayer is disproportionately on the hook paying for these activities,” former Deputy National Security Adviser Victoria Coates said recently.

And coupled with the billions in high-tech weaponry Biden left behind in Afghanistan, the dynamic is creating heartburn in Congress.

“This administration has a history of giving money to terrorist organizations, abandoning $80 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan so the Taliban can run around with our M4s and our Blackhawks, and all of our equipment. They have an American last agenda,” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told the Just the News, No Noise television show last week.

The Taliban, of course, claims it does not harbor al-Qaida and that the UN report was “propaganda.”

"There is no one related to al Qaeda in Afghanistan, nor does the Islamic Emirate allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against others," the Taliban said in a statement.

But U.S. officials told Just the News they have significant intelligence of al-Qaida’s presence and reconstitution inside Afghanistan since the Taliban overthrew the democratically elected government as U.S. troops were withdrawing in 2021.

They noted that when U.S. drones killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2022, he was living inside a Taliban Cabinet member’s guest house in Kabul’s diplomatic district.

U.S. officials added they are concerned by al-Qaida’s resilience, especially since American intelligence efforts have less visibility inside Afghanistan since the bungled withdrawal.

The UN report, culled from intelligence from its various member nations, said that while al-Qaida does not have the capability to command and conduct long-range terror attacks like 9/11 right now, it is clearly showing signs of expansion and regional reach after years of diminishment from the Bush to the Trump years.

“Al-Qaida was reported to have established up to eight new training camps in Afghanistan, including four in Ghazni, Laghman, Parwan and Uruzgan Provinces, with a new base to stockpile weaponry in the Panjshir Valley,” the report said. “Some camps might be temporary.

“Five Al-Qaida madrasas operate in Laghman, Kunar, Nangarhar, Nuristan and Parwan Provinces,” it added. “The group maintains safe houses to facilitate the movement between Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Provinces of Herat, Farah and Helmand, with additional safe house locations in Kabul.”

Equally troubling, the Islamic State terrorist group is also showing resiliency in several regions of the world, particularly Afghanistan, the UN warned.

“Member States assessed that, despite the recent loss of territory, casualties, and high attrition among senior and mid-tier leadership figures, ISIL-K continued to pose a major threat in Afghanistan and the region,” it noted.

Link

Afghanistan

ISIS claims responsibility for attack on civilians in Kabul

2024-01-08

[KhaamaPress] According to reports, ISIS-Khurasan has grabbed credit for the attack on civilians at the "Qala-e-Nazir Station" west of Kabul, which resulted in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to 14 others.

Khalid Zadran, the spokesperson for the Kabul police, confirmed that the earth-shattering kaboom occurred around 6:00 PM on Saturday night, in the vicinity of the sixth security district of Kabul city at the "Qala-e-Nazir Station." He stated that the attack involved a mini-bus vehicle, resulting in two deaths and 20 injuries.

In a statement, the Khurasan branch of ISIS claimed that 20 individuals were killed in this explosion.

Previously, in the aftermath of a bombing attack on a city bus in the Dasht-e-Barchi area,

...the West Kabul neighbourhood where the Hazaras live. They get massacred regularly, as both the Taliban and ISIS-K consider them heretics...

seven people were killed, and 20 others were maimed.

ISIS-K claimed that one, too.

It’s worth noting that the ISIS Khurasan branch has previously taken responsibility for deadly attacks against followers of the Shia community in Afghanistan at public places, including clubs, schools, mosques, educational centers, and hospitals.

Since the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
assumed control of Afghanistan, ensuring security has been a significant challenge for the group. Unfortunately, terrorist attacks continue to occur in the country, resulting in the loss of innocent civilian lives.

The Taliban’s efforts to establish stability and security in Afghanistan have faced ongoing obstacles, and these attacks underline the difficulties they encounter in maintaining peace and order in the region.

An earlier Khaama Press article on the subject clarifies the location:

An explosion in western Kabul left two dead and fourteen wounded on Saturday evening. Khaled Zadran, the spokesperson for Kabul police, confirmed an explosion in the “Dasht-e Barchi” area of Kabul city. He stated that in this explosion, two people were killed, and fourteen others were injured.

Mr. Zadran did not specify the nature of this explosion but mentioned that it targeted a mini-bus vehicle.

Local sources report that this explosion occurred around 6:30 near Qala-e Nazar.

No individual or organization has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Link

Afghanistan

Daily Evacuation Brief October 2 - 3, 2023

2023-10-03

[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS

TALIBAN INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT REPORTEDLY HACKED – According to several online anti-Taliban outlets, the General Directorate of Intelligence in the Ministry of the Interior has been hacked and a steady stream of documents is already being leaked online. One of the outlets on X (formerly Twitter), called @TalibLeaks began releasing some of the official-looking correspondence between Taliban agencies yesterday. The group says they have hundreds of communication documents and plans to begin circulating them on Telegram soon. A source in Kabul says the hack was extensive and the Minister for the Interior has directed the GDI to use ‘misinformation’ to attempt to control the damage that may be coming. The source said that some of the leaks include documents in both Pashto and Chinese that detail security discussions between Chinese advisors and the Ministry of the Interior. It is thought that these documents could be embarrassing to China. Some of the leaked documents put on display show a heavy reliance on written communication by GDI agents and there is speculation that the agency lacks personnel who are familiar with technology.

FORMER AFGHAN ARMY SPECIAL FORCES REPUTEDLY READY TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL RESISTANCE FRONT – A video circulating on social media that has been attributed to the leadership of the remaining elements of the Afghan Special Forces under the Republic states that remnants of the organization have joined the NRF and will operate in Kandahar, Helmand, Ghazni, and Maidan Wardak. Estimates of the troop strength available in the country vary widely from a few hundred to well over one thousand. If this information is true, it represents a definite increase in the capabilities available to the NRF and likely a morale boost as well.

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED YOUTH PROGRAM WILL ONLY FOCUS ON MALES – A new program that is being bandied about by the Ministry of Information and Culture promises to ‘reform’ how the youth of Afghanistan can negotiate the difficult economic situation in the country. However, a source in Kabul says the program will only be offered to males and will primarily focus on orienting youth to approach their professional careers with an ‘Islamic mindset’. The man in charge of the program, Deputy Minister of Youth Mohammad Yunus Rashed reportedly has no record of academic or business experience. The source said the program is akin to the ‘religious training’ provided to Taliban military recruits which consumes roughly 80% of a Taliban recruit's basic training. Rashed has caged the program as a means of repairing the damage done to Afghanistan’s youth during the 19-year occupation by foreign troops.

CONFLICT TRACKER

Kunduz A relatively new resistance group, the Basij National Front, announced it has launched an ambush of a Taliban convoy in the Ali Abad district. The BNF claims to have killed 1 Tqliban fighter and wounded an additional 2 fighters in the action.

NEXT 24 HOURS

POSSIBLE TROUBLE BREWING IN BAMYAN – Several reports have surfaced that indicate the ‘nomads’ who have been resettled in the Province have continued to threaten the Hazara population and recently cut down several trees near a school in the Vers District and then threatened Hazara leaders who attempted to intervene with threats of violence. Previous clashes have been reported between Hazara communities and Kuchi tribesmen since mid-2022. The Taliban have intermittently intervened on both sides of these disputes and have sometimes found themselves being threatened by one side or the other. While no direct threat has been received in Bamyan, recent history dictates taking a cautious approach and at-risk Afghans residing in the District should take care to avoid potential hotspots between these groups.

Daily Evacuation Brief | October 2, 2023

[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS

DISSECTING THE TALIBAN FOREIGN MINISTER’S STATEMENT AT THE MOSCOW FORMAT – At the conclusion of the Moscow Format meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs Muttaqi read out a statement to the attendees which attempted to address concerns that have continued to be raised about the de facto regime’s governance over 2022-23. The statement paints a very heroic picture of the Taliban’s quest to assume leadership of the country. Some of the criticisms leveled at the US and international community are completely valid but several of the claims he makes are questionable. While not absolving Russia from blame during the Soviet occupation, Muttaqi chose to focus on the last twenty years as the main culprit behind Afghanistan’s weakened state. It is important to note that many of the chief concerns voiced by other states in attendance at the meeting were not directly addressed. We felt it would be valuable to list the issues that Muttaqi specifically chose to bring up:

Security is Restored - This point has been debated by analysts and observers virtually from the day the Taliban took power. While the regime enjoyed a brief honeymoon period events over the last two years do not seem to indicate that citizens feel a sense of security. Likewise, neighbor states have never deviated from assertions that the security situation in Afghanistan is a major concern.

Open to Investment - This point is strongly related to the first, but we agree that the Taliban have attempted to foster an ‘investment friendly’ environment. Provided one is a male.

Eradicating the Drug Trade - While poppy cultivation has certainly been curtailed, it is not clear how effective the Taliban’s anti-narcotics operations have been. Neighboring states (Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, et al) have continued to intercept sizable drug shipments that were said to have emanated from within Afghanistan. A new report suggests that methamphetamine production has now supplanted opium and is being sent across borders in increasing quantities.

Foreign Engagement Increasing - Muttaqi claimed that political and diplomatic engagement has increased substantially over the previous two years. He emphasized that regional states have been instrumental in this regard. China’s appointment of a new ambassador was trotted out and held up as a model for other countries to follow. Muttaqi gives the impression that his Ministry is somehow responsible for achieving this ‘quasi’ recognition. However, the record clearly shows that most of the diplomatic engagement with neighbors and others has been prompted by crisis situations. The Taliban regime remains an outlier in the international community and clearly does not have a seat at the table among regional states.

Tourists, Journalists, Diplomats, and Aid Workers Freely Roam Afghanistan - This is another point that is hard to evaluate. There have been constant assertions from the Taliban that tourists have begun coming to the country in the tens of thousands but it is difficult to substantiate these claims. Most reports from those who have visited/worked in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule are not encouraging and suggest that very few are able to ‘roam freely’ in the country.

POLICE ROUND UP APPROXIMATELY 800 AFGHANS IN ISLAMABAD – In an unprecedented operation, Pakistani police began a major roundup of Afghan citizens in Islamabad that netted approximately 800 people. According to news reports, more than half of the Afghans who were brought in were determined to possess legal documentation and were allowed to go free. Roughly 370 lacked passports and were said to be marked for deportation. The police operations were reported in the following neighborhoods: Bahara Kahu, Tarlai, Meherabadaiyan, Golra, and Kalani Shams. There are conflicting reports from many of those who were arrested over what documents were checked to verify legal status in Pakistan. Most said that the possession of a valid passport was enough to gain their release. However, others said they had their visas scrutinized. We have confirmed that some of those picked up in the operation were released with expired visas and were told by police that new applications would need to be made or they could be deported. We are waiting for additional information from sources and contacts in Pakistan to determine if this activity will continue and for clarity on what Pakistani authorities are looking for with regard to ‘legal’ status.

MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION SAYS MEN AND WOMEN NOT EQUAL – During a conference at Baghlan University, the acting Minister, Neda Mohammad Nadim, said “A male is the ruler, he has the authority, he must be obeyed, and the woman must accept his word.” While the Minister has attempted to portray himself as a sometimes moderate, his words clearly enunciate the Deobandist school of thought so prevalent among the Taliban’s senior leadership ranks. Some leaders from the former regime used the Minister’s words to cast doubt on previous remarks that ‘a curriculum for female students’ was in development.

NEXT 24 HOURS

PAKISTAN ROUNDUPS – We are advising all at-risk Afghans in Pakistan to avoid going out of their residences for the next few days. It is not currently clear how long, or how widespread this new policy will be enforced. We encourage evacuating groups to maintain contact with their people in Afghanistan on a daily basis if at all possible. If one does have to leave a residence, they should make sure others know where they are going and carry their documents with them (digital photos at a minimum).

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More