[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- SUICIDE BOMBER NEUTRALIZED BEFORE HE COULD TARGET A BANK IN BADAKHSHAN – Taliban security forces identified a suicide bomber who appeared to be attempting to infiltrate a crowd of people standing outside of a bank in Faizabad on Friday. The Taliban forces took quick action and fired on the man before he could reach the crowd. It was not clear if the explosive device strapped to his body detonated. Some minor casualties were reported but the nature of their injuries and what may have caused them were not available. No group has yet claimed credit for the attack.
- MINISTER OF DEFENSE AGAIN APPEARS TO BREAK WITH THE SUPREME LEADER IN REMARKS – Mullah Yaqoob, acting Minister of Defence, in a speech to a graduating class of police officers told the cadets “...not to blindly obey anyone…”. Observers say the speech is clearly directed at the Supreme Leader and others of the old guard. Both the Minister of Defense and the Minister of the Interior have styled themselves as the moderates among the senior leadership and a public schism has come to light after the gender bans were implemented.
- KYRGYZSTAN IS SENDING A DELEGATION TO ASSESS THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN AFTER PLEA FROM KYRGYZ FOR HELP – A video made by ethnic Kyrgyz living in Afghanistan went viral in Kyrgyzstan and the government has responded by ordering a humanitarian assistance team to go to Afghanistan and make an assessment of the conditions. The video that was circulated widely across Kyrgyzstan claimed the situation was dire and requested help in returning to Kyrgyzstan. Taliban officials were alarmed by the video and reportedly sent a note to Kyrgyz leaders, saying they would investigate the claims and help the ethnic Kyrgyz find solutions to their problems. The communique apparently had no effect.
- WOMEN’S REVOLUTION MOVEMENT LAUNCHED IN KABUL – A group of women activists launched a campaign focused on promoting basic human rights for all in Afghanistan. The impetus for the movement has been the injustices leveled against women in particular. No arrests were reported after the press conference but a source in the Ministry of the Interior claimed that female GDI agents attended the event and a list of names had been compiled.
- TORKHAM GATE FULLY REOPENED – Both Afghan and Pakistan officials announced the border has been reopened for all traffic. The gates reopened at 0600hrs local time and both trucks and pedestrians began moving across. A backlog of over 1,000 trucks was reported on the Pakistan side and locals said it would take a few days to pass them all.
- PAKISTAN’S AUSTERITY PLAN COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS – Reports surfaced on Saturday that Pakistan’s Accountant General had been ordered to suspend payments for an indeterminate amount of time while the Government grapples with several austerity measures. There are fears that some of the suspended payments include salaries. The government has attempted to stamp out the rumors but they persist in local media.
NEXT 24 HOURS
- PAKISTAN THREATENS AFGHANISTAN WITH ACTIONS ON ITS SOIL IF TTP ATTACKS CONTINUE FROM AFGHAN BASES – Further details have emerged from the high-level Afghanistan-Pakistan talks in Kabul. Apparently, the meetings went badly and threats were traded between both sides. A Turkish media outlet reported that the Pakistani delegation had informed their counterparts they expected them to halt a suspected Spring Offensive that could begin in the next few days. The Taliban responded by saying Pakistan had allowed the US to launch the drone that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahir and repeated the denial that the TTP has a foothold in Afghanistan. At-risk Afghans living/traveling along the border should remain aware that any TTP actions could provoke a strong Pakistani response.
- WOMEN’S MOVEMENT LEADERS COULD FACE QUESTIONING/DETENTION – After a group of women activists publicly launched the Afghanistan Women’s Revolution in Kabul, those in attendance and/or who supported the social media announcements could be visited by police or Ministry of the Interior agents.
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