Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Afghanistan

U.S.-Taliban Engagement Deepens as Haqqani Figures Quietly Shift Off Sanctions Radar

2025-03-23

[KhaamaPress] Sirajuddin Haqqani

...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
, the acting Interior Minister under the Taliban
Taliban

...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
-led administration in Afghanistan, continues to draw international attention as signs of evolving U.S. policy emerge. Sources close to the Haqqani network
...a branch of the Afghan Taliban that was based in Pakistain. The network is a family business founded by the late Jalaluddin Haqqani...
have told Afghan outlet Tolo News that the reward designations on key figures of the group have been lifted by the U.S. government. According to these sources, Sirajuddin Haqqani, along with Abdul Aziz Haqqani and Yahya Haqqani, are no longer included on the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice list.

This development follows a period of growing engagement between the United States and the de facto Afghan authorities. Earlier this month, a U.S. delegation visited Kabul for the first time since 2021, reportedly focusing on the release of American detainees. One of those detainees, George Glezmann, was subsequently freed after over two years in jug and returned to the United States.

Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, told Afghan media that while the return of detained Americans was the top priority of the visit, broader and longer-term issues were also discussed with Taliban officials. She did not elaborate on those discussions, citing political sensitivity.

While Sirajuddin Haqqani’s profile has indeed been removed from the State Department’s Rewards for Justice website, his name remains listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted database with no visible changes to his profile or the reward amount. This contrast has raised questions about the exact nature of the changes, and whether they reflect a shift in designation or are part of a phased diplomatic strategy.

Symbolically, anti-U.S. slogans once painted on the walls of the former U.S. Embassy in Kabul have reportedly been removed. This act, though subtle, aligns with a growing trend of more moderate and engagement-focused messaging from the current leadership.

At the regional level, India has also confirmed its ongoing engagement with the Taliban government. On March 20, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated that New Delhi had chosen to engage with those in control in Afghanistan, driven by humanitarian imperatives. India has provided large-scale food aid, COVID-19 vaccines, and development assistance since August 2021, and Indian envoys have met with top Taliban officials in recent months.

India’s approach mirrors a broader recalibration of regional strategy. As the U.S. looks to stabilize its influence in South Asia, some analysts suggest that India may become a more active partner in shaping regional outcomes, while traditional players such as Pakistain—closely aligned with China—may find their roles shifting in the evolving landscape.

Although there is no official confirmation from U.S. authorities regarding a change in Haqqani’s legal designation, the combination of recent diplomatic activity, removals from key sanctions lists, and a shift in regional posture point to a growing willingness by international actors to engage in measured, pragmatic dialogue with the Afghan leadership.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Did Team Trump Get the Wrong Abbey Gate Bad Guy?

2025-03-07

[PJMedia] During President Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, he announced that with the help of American intelligence agencies and Pakistain, the planner of the Abbey Gate terrorist attack in Afghanistan was being brought to America at that moment to "face the swift sword of American justice."

It was an exhilarating moment. The news may have prompted a small feeling of "closure" among the families of the 13 American service members who died in that Afghanistan calamity on Joe The Big Guy Biden
Joe <q>The Big Guy</q> Biden

...46th president of the U.S. I'm not working for you. Don't be such a horse's ass....
's watch.

But the Paks may have handed over the wrong guy. They say that Mohammad Sharifullah is "a commander of the ISIS (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP) [and was] an Afghan national captured in an operation conducted in the Pakistain-Afghanistan border
...also known as Pashtunistan, home of ignorance, poverty, and automatic weapons...
region." The Pak Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump in a statement for "appreciating Pakistain’s role and support in counterterrorism efforts across the region."

But, could it be that the Paks, who hid the late Osama bin Laden
...... who has left the building......
from the Americans for years, engaged in yet another subterfuge to stick it to us? Of course the Paks could have done that.

A former CIA "targeter" whose job was to find bad guys in Afghanistan says whoever told the Trump team that this Mohammad guy was the shot-caller for the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
is lying to them.

Someone is lying to you @realDonaldTrump

Here are the names responsible below for Abbey Gate. The attack had two joint Masterminds, Sirajuddin Haqqani and Sanaullah Ghafari.

This is like when we picked up a fake mastermind for the 2012 Benghazi attacks, Ahmed Abu Khatallah.… https://t.co/qfEGAuMaO6 pic.twitter.com/W5sgFU3I4e
— Sarah Adams (@TPASarah) March 5, 2025

Adams, who now works for the Defense Department, uses open source materials and sometimes calls her old contacts in Afghanistan to run down leads while looking for bad guys and connecting the dots for articles and books.

She thinks a different person was the actual shot-caller for a suicide kaboom at Abbey Gate at the Kabul Airport in those frantic days before the U.S. ignominiously bugged out.

The man who helped plan the attack, Adams believes, is Hafiz Haqqani, of the notorious Haqqani terror network, and who has connections to Al Qaeda's one-time number-two bad guy, Ayman Al Zawahiri
...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...>
. In fact, Adams believes the man who told the boom jacket-wearing terrorist the precise place to detonate his bomb for maximum U.S. casualties is Zawahiri's son-in-law.

Here’s a hard truth:

Hafiz Haqqani—the terrorist on the ground at Abbey Gate who told the suicide bomber he was in the best position to kill the most U.S. soldiers and to detonate—is the son-in-law of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Yes, you read that right. He’s a Zawahiri and a…
— Sarah Adams (@TPASarah) March 5, 2025

First, you have to understand what Adams believes is the leadership apparatus of the Taliban. She believes the Taliban is wholly infused by Al Qaeda. Adams says the families have intermarried. She says three of the top leaders of the Taliban have the last name of Bin Laden.

Adams is the first to point out that the United States bankrolls the Taliban — and by extension Al Qaeda and the Bin Laden family — $40 to $80 million per week.

As I reported previously, USAID money was used for a lot of the payoff to the terrorists.

Adams's claims were verified in a February congressional hearing.

Adams isn't new to finding ~~bandidos~~ Death Eaters who try to hide. She's written a recent work about the Abbey Gate terror plot called "HKIA: Know Thy Enemy."

She also found all the planners of the Benghazi terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2012, and wrote about them in her book, "Benghazi: Know Thy Enemy."

Remember that Secretary of State Crooked Hillary Clinton
...former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as The Thing That Wouldn't Go Away. Politix is not one of her talents, but it's something she keeps trying to do...
, Jake Sullivan, and Obama aide Susan Rice told Americans that the Benghazi attack was a misunderstanding that grew out of a movie no one watched — for which the movie maker was tossed in the calaboose
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
in America by President Obama. But Adams wouldn't rest until she tracked down every one of the ~~bandidos~~ Death Eaters who killed her CIA compatriots and America's Ambassador to Libya.

After last night's announcement, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.com that the FBI and American intelligence worked to get their hands on the planner.

But Patel need only remember his own frustrations as a DOJ investigator involved for a time in the Benghazi prosecution to inform this latest case. In his book, "Government Gangsters," Patel was frustrated that "when it came to Benghazi, the B.O. regime, the F.B.I. and the D.O.J. wanted to seem tough on terrorism, so they kept minimal prosecutions open and brought up big-sounding charges that we couldn’t support."

And before he became the nominee to head the FBI, Patel told the Shawn Ryan show that the top brass "went and got basically the wrong guy [involved in Benghazi]. And then we prosecuted that wrong guy. Not that he wasn’t a part of it. He just wasn’t like the top tier of guys I would have gone after. And they screwed up the prosecution because they didn’t listen to us."

🚨BREAKING NEWS: The masterminds behind the Abbey Gate attack are Sirajuddin Haqqani and Sanaullah Ghafari. So why was a fake mastermind detained and extradited to the U.S.—and who is telling our American President @realdonaldtrump it was someone else?

If you haven’t read our… pic.twitter.com/JCM8nOi0Z6
— Sarah Adams (@TPASarah) March 5, 2025

Patel, more than most, understands that he'd better get the right guy targeted and act accordingly.

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 Minister Haqqani Came to Meeting with Shoigu in Sandals and Socks

2024-11-27

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Whatever is the proper attire for an Islamo-tyrant these days?
[Regnum] Afghan official Sirajuddin Haqqani, representing the ruling Taliban group in Afghanistan (the organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities), came to a meeting with Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu wearing sandals over socks. The photo was published on November 25 by the Alemarah portal.
At least it wasn't white after Labor Day
Haqqani was dressed in traditional Pashtun attire, with a turban on his head and brown sandals over dark blue socks.
Guess if the Saudis can wear bedsheets...
Shoigu arrived at the meeting wearing a classic suit and black shoes.

During the negotiations, Shoigu informed the Afghan side that the Russian government is in the final stages of removing the Taliban from the list of banned organizations.

For his part, Haqqani assessed the visit of the Russian delegation to Afghanistan as a positive and significant gesture. He expressed hope that the visit would further strengthen bilateral relations in various areas.

As reported by the Regnum news agency, during his trip to Afghanistan, Shoigu stated that Moscow is ready to intensify cooperation with Kabul across the entire spectrum of areas. Russian investors and state enterprises are interested in developing cooperation in the mining industry, transport and agriculture.

On November 26, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that lifting the Taliban's terrorist status would help develop contacts with the Afghan leadership. He recalled that the Taliban are the force holding power in the republic.

More from regnum.ru
A bill has been submitted to the State Duma to remove the Taliban's terrorist status

A bill has been submitted to the State Duma that would allow the Taliban movement (the organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activity) to be excluded from the Russian list of terrorist organizations. The document was posted in the database of the legislative support system on November 25.

According to the text of the bill, it will be possible to temporarily lift the ban on the activities of an organization recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation if there is factual information that it has ceased to promote, justify, or support terrorism or commit crimes.

The ban on activities will be lifted by a court decision. The Prosecutor General of Russia or his deputy will be able to file a corresponding application. It is separately emphasized that the status of a banned organization can be returned if it resumes terrorist activities.

As reported by the Regnum news agency, on November 25, during a visit to Afghanistan, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergei Shoigu indicated Russia's readiness to exclude the Taliban from the "black list" of terrorists. He also announced the country's intention to intensify bilateral cooperation with Afghanistan to strengthen political and economic ties in the near future.

On October 4, member of the board of the Russian Foreign Ministry and former Russian ambassador to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov stated that the decision to exclude the Taliban movement from the list of terrorist organizations was made at the highest level, but legal procedures must be followed.

On May 27, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Justice reported to the country's president, Vladimir Putin, that the Taliban movement could be excluded from the list of terrorist organizations.

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

CHR - New Intel: Sources Report Terrorists in Afghanistan Taking A Page From October 7 Playbook

2024-10-29

[CatherineHerridgeReports] "The system is blinking red," a former special operator said. "No one wants to be in the room when the Afghanistan grenade goes off."

The new reporting underscores concern that terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, are strengthening their foothold in Afghanistan.

DEEP DIVE
Vice President and now Presidential candidate Kamala Harris once boasted that when President Biden made the final call to pull US troops from Afghanistan she was the last person in the room.

Three years later, a recent UN report left no doubt Al Qaeda is building out its infrastructure in Afghanistan.

The UN monitoring team found, "Al-Qaida cells are operating in multiple Afghan provinces, mainly in the south-east of the country." And "While the Taliban have done much to constrain the activities of Al-Qaida and their affiliates...its reorganization and training activities, as well as new travel into Afghanistan, indicate that the group still uses Afghanistan as a permissive haven under the Taliban, raising questions about Al-Qaida’s intent."

Credible sources now describe footage that suggests small terrorist cells, primarily Al Qaeda, training with ultralights and paragliders in Afghanistan. The sources describe the terrorists as "taking a page from the October 7 playbook" by mirroring the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) of the 2023 Hamas attack which killed more than 1200 people in Israel.

The raw intelligence and reports also describe operatives trained to build light aircraft and drones from "off the shelf" materials available in large home improvement stores. As described, the idea is not to export equipment from Afghanistan, but to build it once an operative is inserted near the target. These small cells apparently have cooperation from the Taliban who, in some cases, monitor training sessions.

The reporting comes through credible sources and I draw no conclusions about potential contact between al Qaeda and Hamas. As described, the most innocuous analysis is the footage was designed to boost morale among fighters and for fundraising.

Another intelligence stream details that in recent months an Al Qaeda operative traveled from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia for financing, tasked with developing a weaponized drone capability for use against the US or its interests overseas.

That said, I understand the reporting has been shared at senior levels of the Defense Department, Homeland Security and likely CIA. They have the ability to investigate, to assess the credibility of the reports, and most importantly, they have a duty to warn.

My contacts say there is a sense of urgency among field agents and officers who are aware of the raw intelligence, but there is a "head in the sand" attitude at more senior levels. Multiple sources explained, "No one wants to turn over the Afghanistan rock."

The presence of these camps, and the threats they pose are amplified by the American military hardware that the Biden administration abandoned in Afghanistan. In 2021, reporters were told and the public was reassured that the equipment would fall into disrepair.

This has proven false. Images shared with our team from multiple sectors in Afghanistan suggest every level of the armed forces from police to military are leveraging our ballistic helmets, gloves, boots, optics, body armor and weapons.

By summer, as I pulled the threads on the Afghanistan story, the warnings became more alarming. NGOs and other groups who work with the US-based Afghan community voiced some of the deepest concerns. They were, understandably, reluctant to go on the record, fearing retaliation from the administration.

Intelligence is like a mosaic. Slowly the pieces fall into place. It is a partial picture at best, but it suggests a landscape that is beginning to mirror pre-9/11 Afghanistan. Twenty-three years ago, the safe haven in Afghanistan afforded al Qaeda the freedom to train, to recruit and to raise money for the 2001 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.

On Saturday, seeking comment, our team emailed the media contact for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which has oversight for the US intelligence community. When there was no response, and with the Sunday afternoon deadline approaching, we re-upped our questions adding the Defense Department, Homeland Security and CIA.

The DoD duty officer and a CIA spokesperson responded. Both said they could look into our query Monday. Our questions focus on intelligence community efforts to determine credibility of the intel, risk to national security and briefings to congressional committees with oversight, including armed services and intelligence.

One of the most famous chapters in the 9/11 Commission Report is called, "The System was Blinking Red." It contains the painful chronology and missed opportunities to disrupt the 9/11 hijackers in the summer of 2001.

"As (CIA Director) Tenet told us, ’The system was blinking red in the Summer of 2001.’ Officials were alerted across the world. Many were doing everything they possibly could to respond to the threats. Yet no one working on these late leads in the Summer of 2001 connected the case in his or her in-box to the threat reports agitating senior officials and being briefed to the President.."

Twenty-three years later, the warnings are there. Political sensitivities should not hinder efforts to acknowledge and disrupt emerging threats in Afghanistan.

The article below, published in 8am (Hasht-e Subh Daily), has been sitting, half-edited, for a while because I’ve been too busy with life to finish the job — and at roughly 3000 words it was easy to push off to later. But it relates to Joe of the Jungle’s submission so it’s time to share under his headline, even without doing all the work I intended. The acquisition was triggered by a Media Line piece linked by Grom the Reflective in September in comments:

Hamza bin Laden’s return: Al-Qaida’s revival in Afghanistan sparks global terror fears: Terror group leader's survival and resurgence could signify al-Qaida’s most significant revival since the Iraq War, leading to worry across the world.

Herewith the opening of the piece — the rest can be read at the link.

The Taliban Host Terrorist Groups: Four New Settlements Built for Al-Qaeda and TTP
30.June 2024
The Hasht-e Subh Daily has obtained information indicating that the Taliban are constructing a well-equipped base with residential houses for the al-Qaeda network in the Malekuddin area of Nawa district, Ghazni province. Additionally, they are building three settlements for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the Dasht-e Bagh-e Attar area of Qarabagh district, Dasht-e Kabuli area of Waghaz district, and Kotal-e Rouza on the outskirts of Ghazni city. These settlements, in addition to residential houses, also include large religious schools and equipped dormitories, with some nearing completion.

Simultaneously, TTP members have chosen specific areas in Ghazni for relocating their families, with plans to move there soon. One of the TTP factions relocating to Ghazni is led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a TTP commander who has carried out extensive attacks against the Pakistani military. Furthermore, the findings of this report indicate that Haji Furqan (Uighur), a commander of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and a senior member of al-Qaeda, is residing in a guesthouse of Sirajuddin Haqqani in the Sherpur area of Kabul.

The findings from the Hasht-e Subh Daily in Ghazni province show that the Taliban are engaged in constructing four residential settlements with large religious schools and other security measures for the relocation of al-Qaeda and TTP members. According to the report, the construction of some of these settlements and religious schools in Ghazni is nearing completion. Information suggests that a settlement with a Madrasa in the Nawa district of Ghazni is being built for al-Qaeda, while the other three settlements are exclusively for TTP members and will soon be operational. The report also indicates that alongside the residential settlements, the Taliban have constructed large religious school buildings with all amenities, funded by the Haqqani network.

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

Taliban graduates over 150 from ‘Jihadist School’ in Panjshir for first time

2024-01-09

[KhaamaPress] Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
officials claim that "for the first time," 152 religious scholars and Hafiz have graduated from a jihadist school in Panjshir.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of the Taliban, in a veiled reference posted on the social media platform, mentioned that Panjshir was the same province where the group’s opponents were once active.

Panjshir was the last province to fall to the Taliban in 2021. It is known as a traditional stronghold of armed forces opposing the Taliban.

The National Resistance® Front of Afghanistan, which declared its presence in Panjshir in August 2021 after the escape of former President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money...
, has continued its guerilla attacks against the Taliban in various Afghan provinces.
However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
a recent report on the group’s military activities in the past six months indicates a decrease in their operations in Panjshir.

After gaining full control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban has embarked on establishing religious schools and mosques across the country.

Last year in April, the Taliban announced the establishment of a "Jihadist School" in the Anaba district of Panjshir. At that time, the group stated its intention to enrol a thousand "religious students" in this school.

Link

India-Pakistan

Pakistan to 'ascertain facts' on Afghan minister using its passport

2023-12-08

[GEO.TV] Pakistain said Thursday it will first ascertain facts before issuing a comment on a report that claims that Afghanistan’s acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani

...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
possessed a Pak passport until recently.

In her weekly press briefing, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said: "I have seen the report on the use of a Pak passport by the Afghan minister. The matter will be answered after [ascertaining] the facts."

A report published in The News today revealed that Haqqani was issued a Pak passport for five years which he used to travel abroad, particularly to Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
for negotiations with the United States for the signing of the Doha Agreement that resulted in the latter's exit from Afghanistan.

The publication, via the interior ministry officials, learnt that these passports were issued from different cities of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, and Sindh.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Big Shirley was still trying to snatch Nunzio bald-headed. She was already halfway there...
two passport officials involved in issuing Haqqani's passport have been arrested, one of whom had retired from service by the time the action was initiated against him.

The issue around the minister using the Pak passport comes at a time when Pakistain continues to repatriate illegal foreigners, most of whom are undocumented Afghan ~~migrants~~ colonists.

Baloch also briefed the presser about brass hats from the United States visiting Pakistain this week.

"The focus of these visits is not only Afghanistan. These visits are related to the multifaceted aspects of Pakistain-US relations," she said, adding that Pakistain has decided to talk to America.

Link

Afghanistan

At least 10 Taliban members killed in attacks, Front Freedom claims

2023-11-28

[AMUtv] The Freedom Front, an anti-Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
military movement, claimed it conducted four attacks attacks on Taliban targets on Friday. The front said that at least 10 Taliban members were killed and nine were maimed.

The assaults occurred in Kabul, Parwan, and Takhar provinces. Early Friday, fighters attacked a Taliban checkpoint in Parwan’s Bagram district, killing three and wounding two, the group reported.

In Kabul’s Kote Sangi area Friday evening, another attack left four Taliban dead, including a commander, and three maimed. The Front also cited an attack in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi, claiming two Taliban deaths and three injuries.

Furthermore, the front asserted a Taliban commander’s death on the Taloqan-Kunduz route, with another individual injured.

Contradicting these claims, the Taliban acknowledged only the Kote Sangi incident, attributing the blast to a hand grenade on a water reservoir by unknown men. Kabul’s Taliban security spokesperson, Khalid Zadran, insisted no one was harmed.

Link

Afghanistan

Sirajuddin Haqqani in Panjshir Stresses Trust-Building

2023-09-30

Trust? An interesting concept, under the circumstances.

[ToloNews] The acting Interior Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani

...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
, called for trust-building between the people and the interim government.

Playing Good Talib/Bad Talib.

His visit to Panjshir was the first since the Islamic Emirate came to power.
Then he did a "Trust Fall" and nobody caught him. So he had everyone in the room executed
"Such meetings will be normal among us so I will feel he is my brother. Then the challenges and problems which exist among us, will solve themselves," he said.

Haqqani in a visit to Panjshir told the gathering that the doors for the leader of Panjshir are opened based on a "guarantee by the people of Panjshir."

Haqqani said that the people of Panjshir should not consider themselves strangers and that they will be provided with all Sharia rights.

"You have remained very loyal to your leaders. For your people's sake (people of Panjshir) and because of your people's guarantee, all doors have been opened for them (out-of-country leaders of Panjshir)," he said.

Some of the participants talked about the negative impacts of the 20-year presence of western countries in Afghanistan.

"We have sustained severe damages from our politicians who made us victims. They have ignited fighting among us," said Qiamuddin Hanif, head of the Ulema council for Panjshir.

"In more than 20 years, malicious propagandashas been injected into the minds of people by the enemies of the Islamic government," said Rohullah Rohani, a religious holy man.

Link

Afghanistan

IEA has more than 400,000 security forces: deputy PM

2023-08-20

[ArianaNews] Abdulsalam Hanafi, the administrative deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, on Saturday, claimed that the IEA has more than 400,000 security force members between the ministries of defense and interior and the intelligence agency.

Golly.

Hanafi revealed this during a ceremony to celebrate the 104th anniversary of Afghanistan’s independence from Britannia.

He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate wants healthy relations with all the countries of the region, but does not allow interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

"We do not want to interfere in the internal affairs of any country. Of course, respect and relationships come from both sides. If someone intervenes, then we consider it our right to reciprocate," Hanafi said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's gun out of his hand......
the Acting Minister of National Defense Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said the Islamic Emirate will not allow Afghanistan to suffer war and insecurity again. He expressed hope that peace and stability and the ruling system in the country will last.

Deputy PM for Political Affairs Abdul Kabir reiterated that the world has no choice but to interact with the Islamic Emirate.

"The politics of the world is moving in a positive direction. The world is now trying to extend the hand of interaction towards the Islamic Emirate because the world understands that there is no other solution without interacting with the Islamic Emirate. The security of the world and the region depends on the security of Afghanistan. If the world wants Afghanistan to be safe and not get harmed by Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate has done it and can do it," Kabir said.

In the meantime, the Acting Minister of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani

...son of Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, still titular head of the Haqqani Network....
said that the Islamic Emirate has adhered to the commitments it made in Doha, but the world is creating problems for Afghans with various excuses.

"The world should no longer abuse and coerce the Afghans, but opt for healthy interaction," he said.

The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs also criticized the British post-colonial government and said that the one who made sacrifices in order to gain freedom did not gain power. He said that Afghanistan was headed towards faithlessness, and although it was apparently free, it was still intellectually under the influence of outsiders.

Link

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