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Daily Evacuation Brief February 4, 2023
 [AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- RUMOR OF BAN ON SUNNI-SHIITE MARRIAGES IN BADAKHSHAN DENIED – Early reports had suggested the District Governor in Nasi had issued a proclamation banning marriages between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. The Taliban head of Information and Culture said the ban was fake and that a letter circulating on social media was a forgery.
- TALIBAN SUPPORTER ATTACKED IN TURKEY BY ENRAGED AFGHAN REFUGEES – Dr. Harif Mokhtar, a prominent supporter of the Taliban regime, was reputedly attacked and beaten by a group of Afghan refugees. Mokhtar’s son confirmed the attack and posted on his personal Twitter account that the attack was carried out by supporters of the Resistance. It is believed the attack took place in Istanbul but efforts are being made to find out additional information.
- PAKISTANI TROOPS CONDUCT RAID IN NORTH WAZIRISTAN, KILL TWO MILITANTS – The Pakistani Army conducted the raid on a suspected militant hideout in the district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday. The ensuing shootout was short and the 2 militants were killed by gunfire. While the Pakistani forces have not released the identities of the militants and did not say which terror group with which they were affiliated, they did say the two were implicated in previous attacks against security forces. The incident took place very close to the Afghanistan border. No additional information was available.
- KABUL-GHOR HIGHWAY CLOSED DUE TO SNOW – Travelers have been stopped from both directions as work crews attempt to clear heavy snow from the route. Some reports indicate that as many as 25 vehicles were stranded along the route when the conditions reduced visibility and the vehicles drove off the road into deeper snow. Rescue crews have been on-site to assist.
- ISIS-K REMAINS INACTIVE IN AFGHANISTAN – The ISIS propaganda weekly, Al-Naba, published its most recent addition on ISIS social media outlets, and for the third week, no actions were proclaimed in Afghanistan. The lack of activity has security officials fretting that a major attack is in the works while Taliban leaders continue to say the threat from ISIS-K has been eliminated in some areas and will soon be eradicated throughout the country.
- SUPREME LEADER SAYS INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE A MINOR NUISANCE AND WILL NOT FORCE DEVIATION FROM HIS POLICIES FOR FEMALES – In a meeting with military commanders in Kandahar on Friday, Hibatullah Akhunzada said he remains resolute in adhering to his Deobandi beliefs and that global pressures would not force a change. He went on to say that trust between his regime and the world had decreased significantly. Sources say the Minister of Defense was notably absent from the meeting.
- HEKMATYAR UNDER THREAT FROM THE TALIBAN – It has been reported that the political party of Golbaduddin Hekmatyar, Hizb-e-Islami has been banned by the Taliban. It is not clear if the ban is a temporary measure, for security reasons, or a permanent ban. It has been rumored for some time that Hekmatyar had fallen out of favor and many viewed his increasingly critical sermons against the Taliban as seditious.
NEXT 24 HOURS
HOUSE SEARCHES LIKELY TO BEGIN AGAIN IN KABUL – As previously reported, Taliban security forces stood down their search efforts on Friday in observance of prayers. However, operations are expected to pick back up today with a focus on completing ongoing searches in Police Districts 11 and 15. Other Districts may also see activity today. At-risk Afghans are reminded to try and remain calm should a search party arrive at their residence and keep documents and money hidden while also ensuring any items that may be evidence of links to the former regime are not on open display in their homes.
ALERT
Alert 032, 3 Feb 2023 — (SECURITY THREAT) Several reports have come in over the previous 24 hours of searches being conducted in Islamabad, Pakistan. Local sources say that Pakistani police have come to apartment buildings and dwellings where Afghan refugees reside and have reputedly taken the male head of household away with them. The men were taken to local police stations and held until a bribe was paid, at which time [the men] were released. So far, twenty cases had been reported and the epicenter of the searches was in the Barakahu area of Islamabad (Northeast side of the city). However, it could be taking place elsewhere. Of the twenty cases reported, all had valid passports and visas as this was made known to the Police who had come to the apartments. We assess this situation is likely a localized incident and involves an illicit scheme to collect bribes. Several media outlets in Pakistan have picked up on the story and it is running rampant on social media. Some of the men were released without a bribe being paid and the timing of their release we did seemed to coincide with the media uproar. To our knowledge, this did not result in any legitimate arrests and we have heard that all those who were picked up have been released. However, we have only had contact with those involved in the twenty cases. (TAD STAFF)
Posted by: trailing wife 2023-02-04 |
