Khaama: The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced that tomorrow, the national cricket teams of Afghanistan and India will face each other in their first T20 match. The national cricket teams of Afghanistan and India will hold their inaugural T20 match on Thursday, January 11th at 6:00 PM Afghan time in Malerkotla, Punjab. According to the schedule, Afghanistan and India will play three T20 matches on January 11th, the second game on Sunday, January 14th, and the third match on Wednesday, January 17th. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – January 10, 2024
Air Arabia begins flights to Kabul International Airport
Khaama: The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has officially announced that Air Arabia Airlines successfully conducted its inaugural flight to Kabul International Airport on Wednesday. Air Arabia Airlines is scheduled to operate a daily flight connecting Sharjah and Kabul, enhancing connectivity between the two cities. Click here to read more (external link).
Tajik Militant Commander Under Taliban Wanted In Dushanbe Vanishes In Afghanistan
Mohammad Sharipov (aka Mahdi Arsalon)
By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service
January 9, 2024
Tajik militant Muhammad Sharifov (aka Mahdi Arsalon), who is wanted in Dushanbe on terrorism charges, disappeared in Afghanistan months ago, his relatives and friends said on January 8. After taking over Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban rulers appointed Sharifov, 30, to oversee districts along the Tajik-Afghan border. Fighters of the Ansarullah group were placed under his command. Tajikistan then expressed concerns over the presence of Ansarullah, which consists mostly of Tajiks who are not loyal to the Tajik government, close to the mutual border. The Taliban later moved Ansarullah fighters to other sites, apparently to ease tensions with Dushanbe. Click here to read more (external link).
U.S. Watchdog Tells Congress No ‘Specific’ Controls In Place For Afghan Assistance
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
January 9, 2024
The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) says there are no specific controls in place to ensure funds headed to the war-torn country are not diverted to or misused by the Taliban militants who seized control amid the departure of international troops in August 2021.
In a response to a Congressional request for a report on the Switzerland-based Afghan Fund, SIGAR said in a letter late on January 8 that many questions remain about the situation and its $3.5 billion in funds.
SIGAR said the purpose of the Afghan Fund was to “receive, protect, preserve, and disburse” the assets it holds through Afghanistan’s central bank “for the benefit of the Afghan people.”
Decisions regarding the disbursement of funds require a unanimous vote of the board of trustees, it added, noting that more than a year after being created, the fund had made no disbursements “for activities intended to benefit the Afghan people.”
“Although the fund’s unanimous vote requirement could help prevent the fund from engaging in risky activity, there are currently no controls in place that specifically address the issue of Taliban diversion,” SIGAR said.
The de facto Taliban government remains largely unrecognized by the international community and has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, particularly against women and girls. It has barred women from working for assistance organizations and has restricted the ability of such organizations to work in the education sector.
A SIGAR quarterly report in October 2023 warned the “the Taliban have effectively infiltrated and influenced most UN-managed assistance programming,” raising fears among U.S. lawmakers that the Afghan Fund could suffer a similar fate.
SIGAR said in its letter to Congress that the U.S. Treasury and the State Department will not support transferring the funds back to the central bank, the Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), in Kabul until it “implements adequate anti-money laundering and countering-terrorist-financing controls.”
“The DAB must also demonstrate its independence from political influence and interference, submit to monitoring by a ‘reputable’ third party, and undergo a third-party needs assessment,” it added.
Amid its international isolation because of the Taliban rulers and a severe drought, Afghanistan is teetering on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report on January 8.
“An estimated 23.7 million people — more than half of Afghanistan’s population — will require humanitarian assistance to survive in 2024 as the country continues to reel from decades of war and grapple with climate-induced crises, recurrent natural disasters, entrenched poverty, and barriers to women’s participation in public life,” the report said.
It added that more than $3 billion in “life-saving assistance” will be required in 2024 to avert the crisis.
Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Pakistan Finds a New Scapegoat
Foreign Affairs: How Islamabad’s Expulsions of Afghans Could Backfire—and Help the Taliban… Although Pakistan has reason to be angry with its Afghan Taliban allies, the country’s terror problem is the direct result of its military’s decision to differentiate between the “good” Afghan Taliban and the “bad” Pakistani Taliban, overlooking their inextricable connections. The policy aimed to secure strategic depth in Pakistan’s western neighbor, but it has demonstrably failed. The TTP ’s access to safe havens in Afghanistan ties the military’s hands, as does Pakistan’s acute economic crisis, the lack of the same public backing that helped legitimize the 2014 offensive against the TTP, and the absence of American political and financial support that Pakistan enjoyed in the years following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
ISIS Militants Assassinate Taliban Fighter in Nangarhar Province
8am: Local sources in Nangarhar have confirmed the killing of a Taliban fighter named “Kamardin” by ISIS militants. The incident occurred on Monday night, January 8th, at Kamardin’s residence in the Waygal area of the Dara-e Noor district. The victim, a member of the Taliban, had returned to his home in Dara-e Noor for personal reasons when he was ambushed by ISIS militants. According to the sources, not only did the militants carry out the attack, but they also seized the weapons belonging to Kamardin. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Security News
Tolo News in Dari – January 9, 2024
Hijab guidelines issued amid ongoing girls’ detention in Afghanistan
Khaama: After the detention of several girls by the authorities of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on charges of “ban hijab” in the outskirts of Kabul, a recent announcement based on the observance of the hijab guidelines in the eighteenth district of Kabul has been issued. According to the announcement released by the officials of the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice following a meeting with the school principals in the eighteenth district of Kabul, the ministry detains girls who do not consider what is called by the Taliban as an Islamic dress code.
According to the announcement, the following clothing items are considered unacceptable:
- Skirts that are too short and above the knee.
- Very small headscarves that do not cover the hair.
- Tight and prominent pants worn with short skirts.
ACB revises sanctions for three Afghan national cricket players
Ariana: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has made changes to the sanctions imposed on three national players – Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, and Naveen Ul Haq – after conducting a thorough investigation. These amended sanctions now allow the players to receive central contracts and participate in franchise leagues, but with a strong condition: they must fully commit to national duties and prioritize the interests of the ACB. Click here to read more (external link).
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