Khaama: Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai stated on Friday that Pakistan’s interim government plans to deport all illegal Afghan refugees by January next year. “The caretaker government is trying to deport all illegal Afghan immigrants by January. After that, the government would announce a time frame for repatriating the remaining Afghan immigrants,” Achakzai said at a press conference in Quetta. Click here to read more (external link).
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Ariana: The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) said in a report published on Friday that Afghanistan’s economy is on the verge of collapse. USIP said that most Afghan families are facing difficulties to meet their basic needs. Increasing return of migrants, restricting women’s work, and banning poppy cultivation without providing alternative crops for farmers are among key factors mentioned in the report as the reason for the deterioration of Afghanistan’s economic situation. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: In an open letter, more than five thousand former government military personnel implore the United States Congress to support the goal of “a gradual end to the death of Afghan citizens, especially women and former military personnel,” instead of endorsing the self-proclaimed Taliban regime, which claims to represent the will of the people. They appeal to the U.S. Congress to exert pressure on the Taliban for the “immediate release of former military personnel from Taliban prisons, cessation of massacres, detentions, and their torture.” Click here to read more (external link).
Michael Hughes: The U.S. State Department shrugged its collective shoulders, so to speak, and seemed to say “not my problem” when pressed on the Taliban siphoning large portions of American humanitarian aid. Instead of taking any responsibility, the U.S. suggested international aid organizations should be blamed for getting ripped off by the radical movement.
On the one hand, to be fair, it seems impossible to avoid the Taliban meddling in aid deliveries. Yet, the bigger problem is that not a single senior U.S. official has thought twice about revising Washington’s approach to the situation. Keep the spigot open and let God sort it all out, the de facto strategy seems to be.
8am: The relationship between the United States and the Taliban group which is becoming more intricate with each passing day has gone through a U-turn. The Taliban, historically labeled as a terrorist group and an enemy of the United States, has now been unofficially elevated to the level of a government by Washington and has gained the status of an ally of the United States, with some describing this group as the “Wagner” of the United States. In the final years of the republic regime, Donald Trump’s government put forward the narrative of “Taliban change” and promoted it in such a way that even some politicians who were against the Taliban in the previous government believed in it, seeking to communicate with this group. The executive director of the project to whitewash the Taliban, Zalmay Khalilzad, was serving as the special representative of the Donald Trump administration for Afghanistan’s reconciliation, signing the Doha agreement between the United States and the Taliban group on behalf of the United States. As per this agreement, the Taliban’s “Jihad” with foreign forces ended and turned to continue against the people of Afghanistan. At that time, Khalilzad spoke in such a way that the non-Taliban parties in Afghanistan’s politics would believe in the change of the Taliban, and on the other hand, the anti-Taliban forces would lose their fighting spirit or at least lose their belief in winning against this group. That situation contributed to the military victory of the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).
Doha News: With a FIFA ranking of 154, Afghanistan has a scarce chance of reaching the 2026 qualification. Qatar’s Al-Annabi kicked off a decisive win against Afghanistan on Thursday, defeating the team 8-1 at the co-qualifiers match for the 2026 World Cup edition and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Click here to read more (external link).
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
November 17, 2023
The acting head of the Afghan UN mission has requested the release of Afghan dissident Parisa Azada. Naseer Ahmed Faiq said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the detention of Azada by the Taliban is an act against Islamic and cultural values, as well as the fundamentals of human rights and freedom. His post on November 16 strongly condemned the arrest and demanded Azada’s immediate release, as well as the release of other women and human rights defenders. The Taliban arrested Azada, a member of the Women’s Movement for Justice and Freedom, last week in Kabul.
Ariana: David McBride, a former army lawyer who revealed information about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, has pleaded guilty to leaking classified information. David McBride was due to face trial next week, but changed his plea after a legal ruling scuppered his defence, BBC reported. McBride said he felt a moral duty to speak up after his internal complaints were ignored. A landmark inquiry later found evidence that Australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans during the war. Click here to read more (external link).