[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS- SUPREME COURT IN PAKISTAN ORDERS FORMER PRIME MINISTER TO BE RELEASED – Imran Khan left the courtroom on Thursday under heavy guard and was transported to a Police command facility at Police Lines yesterday. The court mandated that he stay in a guest house at the police facility ‘for his own protection’. The 3 Justices on the bench ruled his arrest had not been lawfully carried out. The government denounced the ruling and swore to rearrest him on a number of charges related to both the corruption case he has been dealing with as well as charges related to the violence that took place over the last several days. The protests died down on Thursday but Police officials said that over 2,000 PTI followers were arrested and approximately 10 were killed with another 400 or so injured in the chaos. Many in the regime (including some opposition party members) have called for some of the Justices to resign their posts. Critics have argued the government has failed to wage an effective legal campaign and the court’s decisions must be respected. Khan is due back in Islamabad’s High Court today and several thousand PTI members have gathered near the Judicial Complex and are facing off against Police and Military units.
- CASH SHIPMENTS RESUME TO AFGHANISTAN – The Da Afghanistan Bank confirmed that another $40 million in economic aid had been received on Thursday. The shipments were said to have been interrupted since the ban on female humanitarian aid workers was put in place. Several US lawmakers have voiced concerns over a recent inspector general report and testimony that suggested the funds could be finding their way into Taliban coffers.
- DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER CAUTIONS NEIGHBORS TO STAY OUT OF AFGHANISTAN’S INTERNAL AFFAIRS – Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi, Deputy Prime Minister, made remarks at a remembrance event for Mullah Omar which were directed at Afghanistan’s neighbors, warning them to not meddle in internal matters. A source in Kabul says that Kandahar has been concerned by remarks made at several regional meetings on Afghanistan by representatives of Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan about the situation in the country. The source went on to say that leaders in Kandahar are pushing the Taliban Ministers to blunt criticisms about inclusive political representation in the country recently. If true, it confirms many of the statements made recently by other senior Taliban leaders which claim the Taliban is already inclusive and representative of the ethnic groups in the country.
- HAQQANI SPEAKS OUT AGAIN AGAINST THE ‘OLD GUARD’ – The Minister of the Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani, used his time at a ceremony marking the death of the founder of the Islamic Emirate (Mullah Omar Mujahid) to take a few shots at the leadership in Kandahar. In his remarks, he criticized the lack of ethnic voices within the Taliban leadership which has been widely interpreted as a rebuke of the Supreme Leader and his inner circle to consolidate power in Pashtun hands.
NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTAN COULE ERUPT AGAIN BASED ON TODAY’S COURT APPEARANCE BY THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER – The current regime has vowed to rearrest former PM, Imran Khan, and has filed additional charges against him for inciting the violence that took place over the last three days. Khan is scheduled to appear before the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court appears to have washed its hands of him when they told him on Thursday that he would have to abide by the High Court’s rulings. Many of the PTI protestors remain camped in Islamabad and they are expected to station themselves around the Judicial Complex in the event the government tries to arrest the former PM again. At-risk Afghans should be aware that the protests could reignite quickly and the situation remains volatile.
Daily Evacuation Brief | May 11, 2023
[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- PAKISTAN CHAOS CONTINUES – Protests continued across the country throughout the night and clashes between security forces and protestors continued throughout the night. There have been casualties reported but information has been difficult to verify due to the government curbing internet and cellular usage. At this point, any casualty figures would be mere speculation and irresponsible to print. Further arrests of the PTI leadership have been made and these have served to inflame the party followers. The party leader, Fawad Chaudhry was arrested last night in front of the Supreme Court. The Army has been called into areas where the protestors have congregated and tear gas is being used to attempt to disperse the rioters. Multiple buildings and vehicles have been set alight in cities across the country and private security companies have hired additional security to guard their offices and warehouses. Social media has been blocked but some people continue to post by using VPNs. There are rumors that some Afghans have taken part in the protests but these rumors have not been verified. PTI protestors attacked the current Prime Minister’s residence in Lahore and threw Molotov cocktails inside the residence and burned a nearby police checkpoint and several vehicles in the area before being chased off by a reinforcing column of police. A source in Rawalpindi claimed the security forces have successfully blocked PTI reinforcements from uniting in a central location. The source said that the number of protestors who successfully made it into Islamabad and Rawalpindi was far lower than initially expected.
- ‘FAKE NEWS’ IN PAKISTAN RIOTS ESCALATING RIOTS – The spread of fake news and AI-generated photos, some of which depict former Prime Minister Khan being hanged and shot, are circulating on social media. According to a source with a European cybersecurity firm, the bulk of the misleading information is coming from China and India. In one instance, a photo of a severely wounded Imran Khan shared on Twitter had been retweeted nearly 800,000 times in a matter of hours. A source in Islamabad said that Police have questioned some protestors who had made their way past police and near the US Embassy and were told they had received a message on Telegram telling them that the Embassy was planning to evacuate the current Prime Minister from the rooftop. An apartment building that houses mainly teachers from a school district in Southern Rawalpindi was evacuated when the owner of the building spotted a fake threat to burn the building by a supposed ISIS/DAESH Facebook account.
- CHINESE CITIZENS TARGETED IN TERRORIST ATTACK IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN – According to Pakistani Police, 2 unidentified terrorists attempted to kill Chinese workers at the Dawood Jetty. 1 suspect was killed and 1 escaped in the unsuccessful attack. 1 Pakistani police constable was wounded in the engagement.
- POWER DISRUPTIONS IN KABUL – A problem with a relay station in Baghlan Province has caused power outages in some neighborhoods of Kabul. It is not clear how big the problem is but workers arrived yesterday evening to attempt a repair.
CONFLICT TRACKER
Kabul: An unidentified Resistance group attacked a Taliban unit in the 7th Police District during the early morning hours on Wednesday. 3 Taliban were reportedly killed and 2 more were wounded in the attack.
Kapisa:The NRF reportedly reportedly hit a Taliban checkpoint in an undisclosed location in the province, claiming to have killed 6 Taliban in the attack while wounding 4 others.
Takhar: The NRF claim they killed Taliban District Intelligence Chief Qari Nabi in an attack in the capital city on Wednesday.
NEXT 24-HOURS
SITUATION IN PAKISTAN TO CONTINUE – The situation in the country shows no signs of slowing down over the next twenty-four hours. Several thousand PTI party reinforcements arrived on the outskirts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi overnight and seem to have established corridors to get into the city. Some expect the former Prime Minister’s wife will be arrested today and tomorrow, further inflaming the situation. A source in Islamabad said that a decision to cut power across the city was being considered as a means of halting the mayhem but was being considered only as a last resort. The source said a new set of rules of engagement was prepared on Wednesday night that would be issued to Army units should the situation worsen but the specifics were not available. While nothing has been confirmed about Afghans participating in the riots, the stories circulating on the internet and by word of mouth add an extra layer of risk for at-risk Afghans staying in Pakistan. Even with the government's prohibition on Internet and cellular communications, we have confirmed that many in Pakistan still have access and are able to communicate. We continue to recommend Afghans shelter in place and wait for the situation to become clearer before venturing out.