[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS- WHO IS KILLING FORMER MEMBERS OF THE PASSPORT DIRECTORATE – A former employee of the Directorate was killed by unidentified gunmen in Farah Province on Saturday. His death marks the 6th former or current Directorate employee to have been murdered in Afghanistan over the past ten days. Only 2 of the murders have been reported on in the press while the other 4 were reported by sources from two separate ministries. A source with the police said the men may have been targeted for participating in a conspiracy to sell several hundred passports to desperate Afghans which were never delivered. The source said they had no leads on the identities of those who may be responsible for the killings but suggested it is likely a centralized program, due to the time span of the killings. Several high-profile former Afghan leaders were reputedly bilked in the scam and may have hired an armed criminal group to exact revenge.
- CENTRAL BANK SAYS REPORTS THAT CASH AID HAS BEEN HALTED ARE NOT TRUE – Responding to several international media reports which stated the US and others had suspended the cash delivery of economic aid to Afghanistan, leaders of the Da Afghanistan Bank said the reports are false. They called on the media to verify such reports in the future as false reporting has a negative impact on the valuation of the Afghani. It is not clear if the aid shipments had resumed but many analysts are expecting disruption to begin as part of a US-led economic sanction package in retaliation for the recent gender decrees from Kandahar. Shah Mehrabi, a former member of the Bank’s supreme council told TOLO News on Sunday that aid shipments had been halted in mid-December. The situation remains unclear.
- PAKISTAN PLANNING ON DEPORTING THE AFGHANS FREED FROM THE PRISONS IN SINDH PROVINCE – Over 500 recently released Afghans in Sindh Province are expected to face deportation in the next two weeks. Pakistan chose to release the detained subjects after an outcry from several international organizations over the conditions the Afghans were subjected to while in confinement. It is thought that several hundred remain confined and await decisions on their cases.
- TURKISH AUTHORITIES ARREST 2 ISIS OPERATIVES FOR PLOTTING A TERROR ATTACK IN ISTANBUL – The men were captured on December 31 but little was said about the operation until yesterday when Turkish authorities announced the men were ISIS operatives and one had come from Tajikistan, the other hailed from Uzbekistan. The Tajik national was detained and is reputedly an explosives expert while the Uzbek will be deported. A media outlet that claimed access to the investigation said the militants were receiving their instructions from Afghanistan.
- HEAVY SNOW AND RAIN HAS DISRUPTED GROUND TRANSPORT – A major storm system brought rain and snow to roughly half the Provinces in the country and closed several roads. It is believed that hundreds of motorists have been stranded in separate locations. The Salang Pass was closed to truck traffic.
CONFLICT TRACKER
Kapisa: Just after midnight a small detachment of NRF troops struck the Taliban base in Hesa Aul district. 2 Talibs were reportedly killed and 3 others were injured.
NEXT 24 HOURS
POSSIBLE SECURITY OPERATION IN BAGHLAN – Unconfirmed reports of an arrest of a senior Baghlan Resistance Commander in Sar-e-Pul Province have sparked fears that a security operation was ramping up and focused on Resistance forces in Baghlan Province. Detachments of GDI agents were said to be traveling to the Province to reinforce the local GDI offices. The identity of the Commander has not yet been revealed but a source in the Ministry of the Interior claimed that his phone was captured intact and contained a wealth of information about the Resistance in the Province. No further information was provided. At-risk Afghans in Baghlan should be prepared for potential conflict in the coming days and are advised to avoid sudden Taliban concentrations of vehicles and/or fighters.