The Afghan women’s rights activist who says the world should talk to the Taliban

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Mahbouba Seraj

NBC News: In August 2021, when U.S.-led forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan and evacuation flights were being overwhelmed by people desperate to leave with them, Mahbouba Seraj decided to stay. Seraj, 75, an Afghan-American women’s rights activist and founder of the nonprofit Afghan Women’s Network, had been in Afghanistan since 2003, when she moved back with a mission to help the country’s women and girls. More than 25 years earlier, Seraj — the niece of the country’s former king — had been forced into exile by Afghanistan’s Communist government, settling in the United States. Click here to read more (external link).

India-Taliban Relations: Presence in Afghanistan Is Vital for Delhi

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8am: India, which was considered one of the friendly countries of the opposition front of this group during the first rule of the Taliban, this time has not even allowed its old friends to stay and seek asylum. Instead, it has reopened its embassy in Taliban-controlled Kabul, albeit in a limited way. Additionally, by applying pressure and imposing restrictions, it has also closed the Afghan embassy in Delhi, so that it will eventually come under the control of the Taliban. This shift in India’s position and opening of a new chapter in its relations with the Taliban is not due to the change of the Taliban but is influenced by the situation of the Taliban opponents in Afghanistan and the general atmosphere of the world in favor of interaction with this group and more importantly, the political-security interests of Delhi. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan Among World’s Most Dangerous Countries for Journalists: RSF

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Tolo News: According to the RSF, Vietnam, Russia and Afghanistan are also among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. “Spying charges are also used against journalists in Afghanistan, where Mortaza Behboudi’s long-awaited release on 18 October 2023 underscored the dangers of journalism under the Taliban, who have been persecuting independent media ever since retaking power in August 2021,” the RSF said. Click here to read more (external link).

National Resistance Front Asserts: Two Taliban Fighters Reportedly Killed in Parwan Province

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8am: The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan alleges that following an offensive by their forces on a Taliban military base in Parwan province, two Taliban fighters were killed, and two others sustained injuries. A credible source, choosing to remain anonymous, provided a videotape to Hasht-e Subh Daily, outlining that the attack transpired on the night of Saturday, December 30th, above a Taliban outpost in the “Pol-e Mullah Habib” region of the Sayed Khil district. Click here to read more (external link).

Tajik and Pakistani nationals were involved in Daesh attacks in Afghanistan: acting defense minister

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Yaqoob

Ariana: Acting Minister of Defense Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid said on Sunday that citizens of other countries, including Tajikistan and Pakistan, were involved in Daesh attacks that happened after the Islamic Emirate seized power in Afghanistan… “This (Daesh) project has no roots and results in Afghanistan. The designers and sponsors of this project should understand this fact. After the Islamic Emirate came to power, all the attacks on mosques, khanqahs, religious scholars and public gatherings in Afghanistan involved foreigners, especially Tajik nationals. Dozens of Tajik citizens have been killed as a result of the operation of our security forces, and dozens more have been captured alive,” Mujahid said. Click here to read more (external link).

Other Security News

Winter Tourism at Band-e-Amir Should Be Supported: Bamiyan Residents

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Tolo News: Sayed Taqi, a cultural activist in Bamiyan said: “Tourists come for skiing, there is volleyball and football. When the water of Band-e-Amir freezes, it becomes very beautiful and people ski, play volleyball and football.” The view of white snow and cold winter air has given Band-e-Amir National Park a fresh and spectacular face. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan Military Reports Killing 5 ‘Terrorists’ Near Afghan Border

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
December 30, 2023

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military said Saturday its forces had raided a “terrorist” hideout in a volatile region bordering Afghanistan and killed five militants in the ensuing shootout.

The “intelligence-based” overnight raid in the militancy-hit North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province also killed a key militant commander involved in attacks on security forces, the army’s media wing said in a statement.

The army did not name the group, but the anti-state Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said its hideout was raided and confirmed the killing of four of its members. The group’s statement, sent to journalists, also claimed inflicting heavy casualties on the raiding military forces.

Parts of the northwestern Pakistani province have experienced almost deadly militant attacks, mainly targeting soldiers and police, with the TTP claiming credit or being blamed for most of the violence.

The provincial counterterrorism department said in its annual report Friday that militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed 185 police officers and wounded 400 other people this year.

The report claimed security forces had also killed 300 militants and captured more than 900 others during the same period.

Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, bordering Afghanistan, has also seen an uptick in attacks carried out by the TTP and ethnic Baluch insurgents this year, killing hundreds of civilians and security forces.

The Pakistani military has reported the death of nearly 300 officers and soldiers in nationwide militant attacks and counterinsurgency operations in 2023 alone. Earlier this month, militants raided an army base and killed at least 23 soldiers in the deadliest attack in Pakistan’s recent history.

Authorities say TTP, listed as a global terrorist group by the United States, and allied groups are plotting the violence from Afghan sanctuaries.

Islamabad maintains that cross-border terrorism in Pakistan has sharply increased since the Islamist Taliban regained power in Afghanistan two years ago.

“While the interim authorities have reported some success in the fight against Daesh [the Islamic State group], the fact is that a number of terrorist groups are living in Afghanistan, evidently under the protection of the Afghan interim government,” Munir Akram, the Pakistani envoy to the United Nations, told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Afghanistan earlier this month.

Akram reiterated Pakistan’s claims that the TTP was launching more deadly and sophisticated attacks against security forces due to the militant group’s acquisition of modern military weapons from “the considerable stocks left behind in Afghanistan” by U.S. and NATO troops.

Washington has repeatedly denied leaving any weapons in Afghanistan during the American military’s withdrawal from the country in August 2021, dismissing such allegations as “farce.”

Taliban authorities reject charges they are sheltering or allowing militants to stage attacks against Pakistan or any other country from Afghan soil.