[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- THREE MONTHS AFTER ANNOUNCING A LARGE-SCALE AFGHAN REFUGEE INITIATIVE, GERMANY HAS YET TO RECEIVE PEOPLE – After making several public announcements about the new program in the Fall of 2022, German authorities were forced to admit that no Afghans had yet been processed under the new program. At the time of the announcement, Germany had successfully transported nearly 1,000 Afghan refugees a month but things have slowed to a crawl since October 2022. It is not clear when a resumption is expected.
- GREAT BRITAIN ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO AFGHAN REFUGEE PROGRAM – Parliament announced a few changes to the UK immigration routes for Afghan nationals. The changes have added special immigration provisions for Afghan civilians who the government had employed. Scroll down to the International News section to find the article and a link to the report.
- UZBEKISTAN POWER EXPORTS HAVE YET TO RESUME – Several cities, including the capital, remain without power as another technical issue appears to have caused a delay in the resumption of electricity transmissions from Uzbekistan. Residents in Kabul expressed their outrage over the lack of current and have lost the means to communicate as cellular services have been affected as well.
- JUST OVER A YEAR AFTER JAILS WERE EMPTIED, THE TALIBAN HAVE FILLED THEM BACK UP – Most of Afghanistan’s jails were emptied after the Taliban swept back into power in 2021. However, Taliban officials have been busy filling them back up in the intervening period. The Taliban claim to be holding 14,000 prisoners across its jail system and has said that nearly 30,000 were confined at one point in 2022. They say that most are not political prisoners and are being held for crimes punishable under Sharia law. Conditions in jails are a concern to human rights organizations. The suspension of aid is thought to have worsened the plight of many prisoners. ICRC and UNAMA do have periodic access to the facilities.
- SEVERAL PROTESTS STAGED IN CITIES TO PROTEST BURNING OF QURAN IN SWEDEN – Several thousand people took part in the protests aimed at criticizing Sweden’s failure to act when a far-right Danish politician publicly burned the Muslim holy book outside of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Demonstrations in Logar, Kunar, and Uruzgan provinces drew roughly 3,000 protestors to city centers. Sweden has come under fire from many in the international community for failing to ban the act.
NEXT 24 HOURS
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING ON AFGHANISTAN TODAY – The meeting will include a briefing from several UN officials who have just returned from Afghanistan. The report is expected to be negative. While no resolutions are on the table, it is believed that a tougher line is being sought from many on the council with the Taliban and discussions may hint at additional steps to isolate the group. |