Ashraf Ghani
The American Conservative: The official report on Biden’s Afghanistan disaster places the blame squarely on the U.S. government. The final report of the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) confirms what most of us already knew: The collapse of the Afghan army and government was mostly our fault… SIGAR found that the single most important factor in the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces’ (ANDSF) collapse in August 2021 was the decision by two U.S. presidents to withdraw U.S. military and contractors from Afghanistan, while Afghan forces remained unable to sustain themselves. One former U.S. commander in Afghanistan told SIGAR, “We built that army to run on contractor support. Without it, it can’t function. When the contractors pulled out, it was like we pulled all the sticks out of the Jenga pile and expected it to stay up.”… The other factor that contributed to the demise of the Afghan army was the last-minute wholesale restructuring of Afghanistan’s security institutions. In 2021, amid rapidly deteriorating security, President Ghani reshuffled most of his security officials, often replacing them with fellow ethnic Pashtuns. These leadership changes were part of a broader pattern of politicization and ethnicization (in favor of hometown Pashtuns) of the security sector. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: In Ghazni, some women, and girls strongly criticize the Taliban for their dual standards towards local women, and foreign women visiting the province. They assert that the Taliban consistently tightened their strict restrictions on women in Ghazni province, while foreign women freely move around different parts of the province without any prohibitions, enjoying full freedom. According to them, the Taliban employ a double standard policy to whitewash and gain global legitimacy, while, in their view, all women within the “Islamic system territory” should have equal rights. 
Ariana: Afghanistan Under-19 cricket team defeated hosts South Africa by 47 runs in the tri-nation tournament on Sunday. The U-19 tri-series in South Africa began on Friday when India defeated Afghanistan by 6 wickets. The next match of the series will be between India and South Africa on Tuesday. 
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. 
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. 