AFGHANISTAN WEEKLY UPDATE ( 23rd Dec - 29th Dec)

23 December 2024

Wes Moore, the current governor of Maryland, has received the Bronze Star for his military service in Afghanistan.
Abdul Salam Hanafi, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, met with the Uzbek Ambassador to Kabul Aibek Arif Usmanov on Monday.
Ajmal Omar Shinwari, spokesman for the former government’s armed forces, says that in more than three years of Taliban rule, more than 3,400 security and defence forces of the former government were killed in heinous and mysterious ways, and more than 8,000 others were imprisoned and tortured.
In a statement on Monday, the Taliban described Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks about Sultan Mahmud Ghazni as “insulting.”
The Taliban’s deputy foreign minister for politics called for the group to expand its trade and political relations with China, Russia, and Iran in a meeting in Kabul.
The Taliban-controlled National Television announced in a statement that it would bid for a project to install transmitters for the National Radio and Radio Saada Sharia in Kabul and the provinces.
Referring to the Taliban leader’s pessimism about the Haqqani network’s relations, the former EU deputy in Afghanistan does not rule out the involvement of Haibatullah’s entourage in the assassination of Khalil Haqqani.
A spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that the return of Afghan refugees from Iran must be voluntary.
The Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency has reported the installation of 350 security cameras in parts of Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province.
Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has welcomed the reopening of the Saudi Arabian embassy and the start of this country’s diplomatic activities in Kabul.
The Taliban Supreme Court says that three people have been flogged in Kabul and Paktika provinces on charges of theft and “forgery.”
Local sources in Kandahar say that Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada is trying to stop the activities of foreign institutions throughout Afghanistan.
Local sources in Herat say that the Taliban have arrested a young man upon his return from Iran for criticising the group on social media.
After Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif called Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni a “thief and plunderer,” the Taliban called the remarks “arrogant.”
A spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said any return must be voluntary, citing the Islamic Republic’s recent decision to expel two million Afghan refugees from Iran.
The Taliban Supreme Court announced that the group’s primary courts in the Pashtunkot districts of Faryab, Janikhel of Paktika, and Kabul had flogged four people, including a woman, on charges of “running away from home, theft, and forgery.”
The Halash Human Rights Organization reported that two Afghan migrants lost their lives following a landmine explosion in the Kalgan border area, Saravan County, Iran.

24 December 2024

The Taliban Ministry of Defense has condemned and called Pakistani airstrikes on parts of the Barmal district of Paktika province a blatant aggression.
Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan affairs, has travelled to Kabul as the head of his country’s delegation to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Mohammad Sadiq Khan, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, continued his meetings with Taliban officials and met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the group’s acting foreign minister, and emphasized regional security.
The Taliban Ministry of Industry and Trade announced a meeting between officials of the ministry and Turkish investors, saying that during the meeting, Turkish investors expressed their desire to produce raw materials for carpets and rugs in Afghanistan.
Local sources in Nangarhar have reported that the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in the province have been suspended.
The Taliban have announced the signing of a cement production project worth $145 million with a private company and have announced that they have signed a cement production project with the SACO Afghan company worth $145 million.
Local sources in Nangarhar say that the Taliban have forcibly summoned athletes from different parts of the province and held a seminar on religious education and thought formation for them.
Mike Lawler, a Republican member of the US Congress, says that the Biden administration’s foreign policy has “left the world in a worse state, starting with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
Nasir Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan’s representative to the United Nations, in response to the remarks of Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister for politics, said that your hostility towards women has defamed the culture of the Afghan people and the religion of Islam.
The National Resistance Front has claimed to have killed a Taliban fighter in an attack on Kabul. According to the statement, two other Taliban fighters were also wounded in the attack.
Pakistan’s newly appointed special envoy to Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, has announced his visit to Kabul.
With the beginning of the winter season in Afghanistan, the World Food Program has announced that the organization can reach six million people in need this season.
Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, and Sirajuddin Haqqani, Taliban Interior Minister, have emphasized the urgent resolution of security and political problems between the two countries.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says it has signed a cement production project with Saco Afghan Company worth $145 million.
The National Resistance Front has claimed that it has killed 42 Taliban fighters and wounded 29 others in the past month.
Sources in Nangarhar say that the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in the province have been suspended.
The Taliban Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates has announced the release of 53 Afghan citizens from Pakistani prisons.
The International Organization for Migration office in Afghanistan has announced a $1.5 million donation from Japan to support returning refugees.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Continuing the Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls, the group has banned girls above the sixth grade from attending educational courses in Herat.
Local sources in Nangarhar say that unknown gunmen wounded two employees of the Indian consulate in the province and killed their bodyguard.
The Taliban Ministry of Public Works has announced that the main route of the Salang Pass has been reopened to traffic.
The Italian Embassy in Afghanistan has announced that the country has donated 4.5 million euros to the Afghan Humanitarian Fund.
Karen Decker, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Embassy in Afghanistan, said that the ban on women working in non-governmental organizations has deepened the current crisis.
While reports have been published over the past three years about the killing and arrest of former government soldiers by the Taliban, the group’s political deputy prime minister has claimed that these individuals are living in complete security in the country.
Local sources in Nangarhar say that the Taliban Education Department in the province has banned photography and filming at graduation ceremonies at religious schools and Dar-e-Hifazas.
Simultaneously with the visit of Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, local sources in Paktika say that unidentified aircraft targeted the Barmal district of the province with airstrikes.
After airstrikes on the Barmal district of Paktika province, local sources in Khost say that Pakistani aircraft also bombed parts of the province.
An Iranian human rights organization has reported that Khalil Brahui, a Baloch citizen of the country, has been deported to Afghanistan after being arrested.
Local sources in Paktika say that following airstrikes on the Barmal district of the province, 15 bodies, including women and children, have been pulled from the rubble so far and a village has been destroyed.

25 December 2024

Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations European Headquarters in Geneva, has said in response to Pakistan’s attack on Paktika that Islamabad has resorted to “coercive diplomacy” against the Taliban.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has announced that it has distributed improved wheat to more than five million Afghans in 2024.
Following Pakistan’s airstrikes on Pakistani Taliban bases in Paktika, Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US representative for Afghan peace, said in response to the attacks: “The Taliban will probably not leave Pakistan’s attacks unanswered.”
Following widespread reactions to Pakistan’s airstrikes on Paktika, Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former Taliban ambassador to Islamabad, condemned the attacks and called them barbaric. Former President Hamid Karzai has also accused Pakistan of adopting a wrong policy to foster extremism.
The Taliban’s National Statistics and Information Office has reported recording the entry and exit of hundreds of foreign citizens within a month.
The National Resistance Front has claimed to have killed two Taliban fighters in an attack on the Taliban in Farah province.
Taliban sources in Nimroz say that the use of smartphones has been banned for special forces fighters in the province.
Zalmay Khalilzad, former US representative for Afghanistan, said in response to the Pakistani army’s airstrikes on Paktika that the Taliban will probably not leave this attack unanswered.
Several civil society and human rights activists have called for the immediate and unconditional release of Hamed Qarlaq, a social activist of Uzbek origin, from Taliban custody.
Sources in Kandahar say the Taliban have asked international organizations to stop their activities and hand over ongoing projects to local non-governmental organizations.
Haibatullah Akhundzada, the absent Taliban leader, has called students of jihadi schools the original children of Afghanistan.
Local sources in Paktika say that the number of civilian casualties has reached 18 following Pakistani airstrikes in the Barmal district of the province.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Afghanistan says it has distributed improved wheat for 5.88 million tons in 2024.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has strongly condemned Pakistan’s airstrikes on Paktika province, calling it a clear violation of the country’s territory.
Local sources in Paktika say that so far no aid has reached the victims of Pakistani airstrikes in the province.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, has confirmed the killing of 46 people as a result of Pakistani airstrikes in the Barmal district of Paktika province.
The Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency has reported that 127 refugee families from Iran and Pakistan have returned to the country in the past 24 hours.
Local sources in Kunar say that a girl and a boy have been shot dead in the province on charges of having an extramarital affair.
Following Pakistan’s airstrikes on Paktika province, the Taliban Foreign Ministry has summoned that country’s ambassador, Abdul Rahman Nizamani.
Local Taliban officials in Nimroz claim to have prevented the smuggling of 209 kilograms of drugs into the province.
Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, in a conversation with Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy to the Taliban Prime Minister, said that Islamabad is committed to ensuring security for the country.
Local sources in Takhar reported the release of Hamed Qarlaq, a social activist, from a Taliban prison in the province.
Local sources say that the Taliban shot dead a man in Kabul two nights ago who was an employee of the National Directorate of Security of the previous government.
The Taliban Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates says that 44 Afghans have been released from Pakistani prisons and returned to the country.
Nasir Ahmad Faiq, the acting representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, has described Pakistan’s airstrikes on the Barmal district of Paktika province as a clear violation of international law.
UNICEF announced on Wednesday that it has provided 1.5 million Afghans with access to water through 1,300 water supply systems in the past three years.
Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva said in response to Pakistan’s attack on Paktika that Islamabad has resorted to “coercive diplomacy” against the Taliban.
Freedom of Expression House strongly condemned the Taliban’s attempt to change the nature of national television and turn it into “Radio Sharia.”
Reacting to the Pakistani airstrikes on Paktika, Jawad Sargar, a spokesman for Taliban intelligence, said that Punjab has been separated from the rest of Pakistan and that the possibility of Pakistan’s disintegration is stronger than ever.
The Taliban’s deputy political prime minister warned in response to Pakistani airstrikes on Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan that they would not hesitate to defend Afghans.

26 December 2024

Taliban Minister of Commerce Nooruddin Azizi announced an agreement with Kazakhstan to increase trade levels in a press conference in Kabul on Thursday, January 26.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday that Islamabad attaches importance to diplomacy with the Afghan Taliban, in response to the country’s airstrikes in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military said a senior army officer and 13 TTP members were killed in separate clashes between security forces and insurgents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province that has seen a surge in fighting between security forces and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in recent months.
Following Pakistan’s deadly attacks on Paktika and the country’s authorities claim that they targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) bases in the province, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has denied the group’s presence in Afghanistan and warned that it will take harsh revenge on Pakistan.
Following widespread reactions to Pakistan’s airstrikes on Paktika, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan, called it a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and warned of the risk of war in the region.
During his visit to Kabul, the Deputy Minister of Trade of Kazakhstan met with the Deputy Director of the Taliban Railway Administration and discussed the development of cooperation and his country’s investment in Afghan development projects.
Two days after Pakistan’s deadly attack in Paktika, the country’s Foreign Ministry officially confirmed the airstrike in Paktika.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has announced that it has vaccinated 6.8 million livestock across Afghanistan this year.
Following widespread reactions to the recent Pakistani attack in Paktika, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, has claimed that Afghans will not forget the invasion of their territory. https://ufuqnews.com/archives/249170
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has issued a statement announcing that it killed two Taliban fighters in an attack on a public road in Farah province.
At the same time as countries and former officials of the country have widely criticized the performance of the Taliban government, the group once again emphasized that they will not accept “orders from any party.”
Coinciding with the 45th anniversary of the former Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban condemned the event and called the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan “honourable.” The Taliban have also stressed that future generations must resist any aggression.
The National Resistance Front has announced that it has killed two members of the Taliban in two separate attacks in Farah and Badghis provinces.
In response to the Taliban’s decision to change the Afghan National Television to “Radio Sharia,” the Freedom of Expression House has announced that the group is trying to silence the voice of the media and eliminate cultural diversity and information in the country.
Local sources in Nimroz say that a man and a woman have been arrested by the Taliban in the province on charges of running away from home.
Alireza Bekdeli, Iran’s ambassador to Afghanistan, in a meeting with Eskandar Momeni, the country’s Interior Minister, emphasized strengthening relations with the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior.
Sources say the Taliban have not allowed Kabul University students to film their graduation ceremony.
The Taliban Ministry of Public Health claims that construction of public hospitals has begun in 318 districts of the country.
Local sources complain about “direct interference” by Taliban members in the implementation of development projects in Parwan province.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban Foreign Minister, says that Pakistani airstrikes on Paktika province have targeted Waziristan refugees.
Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada has said in a new ruling that there are “defects” in the ceremony of tying the headscarf to school students and that this ceremony causes them to abandon prayers.
The human rights organization “Hengao” has reported that Iran has executed two people, including an Afghan citizen.
The Afghan Journalists Center has reported in its annual report that 181 cases of media rights violations by the Taliban were recorded in 2024.
Local sources say that Mullah Shirin Akhund, the Taliban governor in Kandahar, met with several poets and writers in the province and asked them to present a “positive view” of the Taliban to the people.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says it has received reports of at least 20 children being killed in Pakistani airstrikes in the Barmal district of Paktika province.

27 December 2024

The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement that Uzbekistan had promised to provide soil testing equipment to the group. According to the statement, Uzbekistan would also train 200 Afghan specialists in agriculture.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says it created short-term jobs for 147,000 Afghans through cash-for-work programs in 2024. The organization said it contributed $14.5 million to Afghanistan’s rural economy this year.
The Russian Security Service announced on Friday, July 7, that it had prevented a terrorist attack by the Afghanistan-based ISIS Khorasan branch near the Russian Interior Ministry in Moscow.
Three days after Pakistan’s airstrikes on Paktika, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif called on the Taliban administration to adopt a firm policy against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The World Health Organization says it has provided health services to more than 154,000 people across Afghanistan as of November 2024. The organization said it has covered 106 health centres in 19 provinces in collaboration with five non-governmental organizations.
Following a Pakistani airstrike in Paktika that killed dozens, Pakistani military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a press conference on Friday that the life of a Pakistani was more important than the whole of Afghanistan.
Reporters Without Borders announced that the trial of seven employees of the private Arezo TV station, accused of having links to exiled media outlets and broadcasting a series, will be held on Saturday, January 26.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry announced a phone call between Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Asad Hassan Shaibani. In the statement, the Syrian Foreign Minister stressed the need to strengthen relations between the peoples of the two countries.
Senior expert Najm Sethi said in a television program that the attack on Paktika was carried out in coordination with the Haqqani network and that the Taliban’s response to the attack was weak.
Local sources in Takhar say that the Taliban have banned residents of the province from holding wedding ceremonies in wedding halls in Taloqan city.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Taliban, in a conversation with Asad Hassan Al-Shaibani, the new foreign minister of Syria, called for the establishment of diplomatic relations with this country.
Local sources say that people under the name of “unknown gunmen, but dressed as Taliban,” shot and killed an officer of the Ministry of Interior of the former government in Parwan.
Local sources in Daikundi say that the Taliban’s Directorate for Promoting Good and Preventing Evil in this province has ordered local media and journalists to “propaganda” in favour of the group.
Taliban officials and local sources in Laghman say that five people were killed and six others were injured as a result of two traffic incidents in the province.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, has expressed regret in response to Pakistani airstrikes in the Barmal district of Paktika province.
Reliable sources say that the Taliban have begun the process of collecting information about their members who were imprisoned by the previous government.
Local sources in Nimroz say that the Taliban’s Directorate for Encouraging Good and Forbidding Evil in this province has summoned sports club officials and imposed restrictions on them.
Local sources in Nangarhar say that the Taliban in this province did not allow youth to hold demonstrations against Pakistan.
Local sources in Paktia reported a clash between the Taliban and Pakistani soldiers in the province.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif says the Taliban should adopt a firm policy against the TTP and Islamabad will not tolerate double standards.

28 December 2024

The Taliban’s Defense Ministry confirmed the fighting on the Pakistani border. It said it had attacked “centres and hideouts of evil elements and their supporters” who were planning and organizing attacks in Afghanistan.
Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, says Afghanistan deserves better than being ruled by the Taliban and bombed by its neighbours.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the temporary suspension of the activities of terrorist organizations in the country. According to the law, Russian judicial and legal institutions are allowed to temporarily and conditionally remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist groups.
Former Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali likened the Taliban’s claims of retaliatory attacks against Pakistan and Pakistan’s counterattacks to computer games and called them unrealistic.
Geo News, citing Pakistani officials, reported that the Taliban suffered casualties in fighting with Pakistani border guards and abandoned six border posts.
Inayatullah Khawarizmi, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense, says the group does not consider Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be part of Pakistan.
A Pakistani border official told AFP that a Pakistani soldier was killed and seven others were wounded in clashes with the Taliban in the Kurram border area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Mohsin Dawar, leader of the National Democratic Movement of Pakistan, says that Pakistan has questioned the independence of the Taliban by carrying out airstrikes in Paktika.
The Afghan Liberation Front has claimed to have killed two Taliban fighters in an attack on the Taliban in Kunduz.
Local sources in Nangarhar report that a resident of the province was killed as a result of a shooting by Iranian border guards.
Local sources in Balkh say that the Taliban have ordered their fighters in the “209 Al-Fath” camp to prepare their weapons.
Local sources in Nimroz say that a man and a woman have been arrested by the Taliban in the province on charges of running away from home.
Local sources in Khost and Paktia provinces say that clashes are ongoing between Taliban fighters and Pakistani forces along the supposed Durand Line.
The Pakistani army says that the Taliban’s relations with Pakistan have been “seditious” and have not been formed based on the right choices.
The UN Security Council has called for the Taliban to repeal the Amr Bi Maruf law and order the closure of health institutes for girls.
Local sources in Sar-e-Pul say that a clash between Taliban fighters over land has left two dead and six wounded.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense says it has attacked targets in the Durand border areas and Pakistani military bases.
Khalid Zadran, spokesman for the Taliban security command in Kabul, confirmed the explosion in the city and said that four people were injured as a result.
Local sources in Kunduz say that the Taliban have started inspecting people and the area after last night’s explosion in the first security area of the city.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Taliban Ministry of Interior Affairs and claimed to have killed 10 fighters of the group in the incident.
Over the past 24 hours, five people have been killed and 24 others injured in traffic incidents in Maidan Wardak, Bamyan, Herat, and Nangarhar provinces.
Continuing his orders, Haibatullah Akhundzada, the absent Taliban leader, has ordered citizens to remove the windows of their houses from their neighbours’ faces or to build walls.
Local sources in Panjshir say that the Taliban have arrested a resident of the province after he was expelled from Iran.
Several residents of Khost and Paktika provinces demonstrated in response to Pakistani airstrikes.
Continuing the Taliban’s restrictions, the group’s Ministry of Economy has once again ordered “non-Emirati” institutions to prevent women from continuing to work in these institutions.

29 December 2024

Following yesterday’s clashes between Taliban fighters and Pakistani border guards, the country’s media reported the killing of eight Taliban fighters. The Taliban also claimed to have killed 20 Pakistani troops, but Pakistan has only confirmed the killing of one soldier.
News sources have reported the killing of 26 Pakistani soldiers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, saying that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targeted a military camp in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with a car bomb, killing 26 soldiers.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says it provided agricultural training to 19,500 Afghans in 2024.
The Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported that 115 refugee families from Iran and Pakistan have returned to Afghanistan in the past 24 hours.
The Pakistani military says the process of building a security fence along the country’s border with Afghanistan is 98 per cent complete.
The Taliban security command in Kunduz announced the arrest of four men and two women on charges of “theft and moral corruption.”
The spokesman for the Taliban Ministry of Encouraging Good and Forbidding Evil has criticized the lack of public praise for the ministry in the field of women’s rights. He wrote that we serve women, but no one praises us.
Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s deputy foreign minister for politics, met with the Azerbaijani ambassador in Kabul on Sunday to offer condolences over the crash of the country’s plane.
Referring to the new attack by the Resistance Front on Taliban forces in Kabul, US Representative Tim Burchett sarcastically said that the Secretary of State had recently said that there was no resistance to the Taliban.
The acting Afghan representative to the United Nations called the Taliban’s renewed order to ban women from working in domestic and foreign NGOs “a clear symbol of hostility towards the Afghan people.”
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, expressed his condolences over the passing of Rafaela Iodice, the former EU charge d’affaires in Afghanistan, and said that her commitment to the rights and dignity of Afghan women was an inspiring and lasting example.
Local sources in Kandahar say that after the attack on Khalilur Rahman Haqqani, security meetings between Taliban officials and the group’s security institutions in the province have increased intending to strengthen security measures.
Local sources in Nimroz say that four young men were arrested by the Taliban in the province.
Local sources say that Mohammad Qasim Khalid, the Taliban governor for Nimroz, has held a meeting with representatives of foreign institutions in the western zone, including OCHA.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced that four thousand children from Afghanistan, Syria, and Morocco have sought refuge in Bulgaria in 2024 and need assistance.
Pakistani media reported that eight Taliban fighters were killed following a Taliban attack on border posts on the hypothetical Durand Line.
Russia has expressed concern about the border conflict between the Taliban and Pakistani forces and called for resolving tensions through dialogue.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has claimed that it killed one Taliban fighter and wounded two others following an attack on the group in Herat province.
Asif Durrani, former Pakistani representative to Afghanistan, says that the TTP is their red line and that the Afghan Taliban should learn a lesson from the recent airstrikes.
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