[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- TORKHAM GATE CLASHES – A clash was reported at Torkham gate early yesterday morning. Although details are not clear, it appears that 1 Pakistani Frontier Corps soldier was wounded and evacuated to a local hospital. There has been no word on further casualties. At this time, it is not clear what led to the gunfight and both sides blame the other for initiating hostilities. There has also been conflicting information about the status of the crossing with some saying it is open to non-commercial traffic while others say it is closed to all traffic. Talks had reportedly begun shortly after the fighting to reopen the portal but a decision had yet to be announced.
- PARWAN MEDIA OUTLETS MUST NOW CLEAR NEWS WITH TALIBAN MOUTHPIECE – Local provincial leaders have reputedly issued an order that all news content from the few remaining journalism outlets in the Province must be cleared through the Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency. The order was read out by the Deputy Governor on Monday and is said to have come from the Taliban’s Ministry of Information and Culture. It is not clear if this will be a nationwide policy.
- IRAN’S CONSULATE IN HERAT SAYS 200,000 VISAS ISSUED AND COUNTING – The Consul of Iran’s facility in Herat says his staff has issued approximately 200,000 visas over the past 11 months. Local sources say the wait for an Iranian visa is normally less than a week.
- TALIBAN ENVOY FORMALLY RECOGNIZED IN TEHRAN, DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF ENDS – An Afghan diplomatic source told AMU TV that the Afghan Embassy in Tehran would be handed over to the Taliban’s designated envoy, Mohammad Afzal Haqqani soon. An internal diplomatic squabble had broken out between Ambassador Soleimani and Haqqani. Initially, the Iranian Foreign Ministry refused to accept Haqqani’s accreditation letter but told Soleimani recently that he should hand over the embassy to Haqqani on Sunday. Iran has yet to recognize the Taliban officially but has followed the precedent set by Russia, China, and Pakistan with regard to relations with Afghanistan.
- PAKISTAN CONFIRMS ONE OF TWO ISIS OPERATIVES ARRESTED IN KARACHI IS A FORMER AFGHAN ARMY COMMANDO – Two suspected ISIS militants were arrested in a security operation in Karachi. Pakistani police say both had Afghan identity cards and one had been a former member of the Afghan Commandos. Neither are suspected of any involvement in terror operations within Pakistan but were acting as logistical facilitators for ISIS-K in Afghanistan. Numerous security sweeps have been launched in Pakistan in the wake of two deadly attacks targeting police.
CONFLICT TRACKER
Panjshir: An NRF sniper killed a Taliban Red Unit Commander in the Shotol district. Mullah Ezat Kandahari was killed while reputedly attempting to reconnoiter an approach to an NRF stronghold. NRF sources have stated that reconnaissance efforts by the Taliban had increased over the past two weeks.
NEXT 24 HOURS
TORKHAM MAY REOPEN TO LIMITED TRAFFIC – Negotiations between the Taliban and Pakistani border security forces had progressed by yesterday evening and a source with the Taliban border forces believed the gate would reopen today but may have strict limitations on what types of traffic would be allowed to pass through the border crossing. Negotiations were expected to continue today. |