Rashid Khan
WION: All-rounder Rashid Khan is reconsidering playing in the Big Bash League (BBL) after Cricket Australia (CA) indefinitely postponed the T20I series with Afghanistan last month. Rashid said he was ‘hurt’ by CA’s decision and that him playing in Australia’s premier T20 franchise tournament was undermining his teammates. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: A recent U.S. military review has revealed that the perpetrator behind the bombing outside Kabul airport in August 2021, which resulted in the deaths of 170 Afghans and 13 American service members, was an Islamic State operative. He had previously been detained in a coalition facility in Afghanistan but was released by the Taliban, marking the first identification of his involvement. Despite claims from certain service members present at the airport on that fateful day, who asserted they had identified the suicide bomber and were instructed not to intervene, a review determined they had targeted the wrong individual. Consequently, the strike was deemed unpreventable. Click here to read more (external link).
Hekmatyar
Ariana: Former Jihadi leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has criticized the United States for patrolling Afghanistan’s airspace with drones. Hekmatyar said in a speech Tuesday that any form of American presence in Afghanistan is unacceptable. “Afghanistan’s airspace is under occupation. Expressing this issue is our religious responsibility. We have sacrificed the most for freedom. We do not accept any presence of America. We do not accept any kind of foreign rule,” he said. Click here to read more (external link).
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Afghanistan International: On Sunday, the National Resistance Front (NRF) announced that in an attack by its forces on a Taliban vehicle, two members of the group had been killed, and two others were injured. The Front stated that the attack took place in the fourth police district of Kabul city. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Resistance News
8am: Local sources report that individuals affiliated with Mawlawi Jalal, the Taliban commander in Samangan province fatally stabbed a man in Balkh Province. Hasht-e Subh Daily confirms that the victim, named Meftah, was killed on Sunday, April 14, in the vicinity of the first district of Mazar-e Sharif City. Meftah, who ran a shop in Aybak, the capital of Samangan Province, had gone to Balkh to “purchase goods.” Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban fighters (file photo)
Afghanistan International: Led by Amrullah Saleh, former Vice-President of Afghanistan, Afghanistan’s Green Trend (AGT) has disclosed substantial discrepancies in the Taliban’s military roster, highlighting the prevalence of “ghost soldiers” within their ranks. AGT’s recent publication reveals that out of the reported 173,000 personnel in the Taliban’s military forces, approximately 100,000 are classified as ghost soldiers. These ghost members are fictitious entities whose names appear in official records to illicitly claim additional benefits like salaries and food supplies, a practice rooted in systemic corruption. Additionally, AGT’s intelligence unit has accessed employment records for over 50,000 staff members of the Taliban’s Ministry of Defence, revealing that approximately 93 percent belong to the Pashtun ethnic group. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Islamabad is expected to start the second phase of forced deportations of Afghan refugees from Monday, April 15. According to reports this phase will also include the deportation of Afghans who have residency permits. This will apply to refugees who have ACC documents, Afghan citizenship card, and POR or certificate of registration with the government of Pakistan. Officials have said this applies to about 850,000 Afghans – many of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades. Click here to read more (external link).
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Afridun Amu, Afghanistan’s first surfer (file photo)
Tolo News: Afridun Amu is a well-known Afghan surfer who enters international competitions in Asia and elsewhere. His interest in surfing sparked at the age of 20, leading him to represent Afghanistan at the World Championships in 2017, a passion he actively pursues to this day. Afridun Amu, who currently lives in Portugal, is preparing for the Asian Championship competitions in 2024, which will be hosted by the Maldives in August. Click here to read more (external link).
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