Sirajuddin Haqqani
Khaama: With the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the circumstances became further more challenging for the Hazara community. Like every other ethnic group including Tajik, Uzbek, and Turkmen, Hazaras have been excluded from participating in key government positions. Click here to read more (external link).
The Guardian (UK): Several thousand Afghans who helped British forces before the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 remain stranded and at risk from the Taliban because of failures of the government’s settlement schemes, according to a damning report by MPs. The defence select committee’s report urged the government to set out what action it is taking to ensure safe passage to the UK for at least 4,600 Afghans, including interpreters and contractors, who worked for UK forces. Click here to read more (external link).
Yaqoob
Khaama: Research findings of the Brookings Institution of the United States indicate that Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada is an irreconcilable leader, whereas Mullah Yaqoob is a pragmatic person, and it is easier to engage with him for the West. It is also highlighted that the National Resistance Front’s (NRF) military resistance does not pose any immediate threats to the country’s ruling regime. She further adds that the three senior Taliban leaders including Mullah Yaqoob, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Mullah Baradar are not united and do not trust each other. Therefore, it is difficult for them to bring most of the Taliban commanders with them. Click here to read more (external link).
Bloomberg: The local affiliate of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, is attempting to “undermine the relationship between the Taliban and member states in the region,” according to United Nations report on the group’s activities. The report is expected to be discussed later Thursday at United Nations Security Council in New York. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson announced that Pakistan would not be attending the summit of regional stakeholders regarding Afghanistan, which is planned to take place this week in Moscow, Russia. The two-day conference of national security advisers of regional states, which started on Wednesday, brought officials from India, China, Iran and Central Asian states. Click here to read more (externa link).
8am: Khushal Nabizada, Khalid’s brother, posted on his Facebook page an update confirming his brother’s death, saying that his body had been delivered today. “Naser Khalid was imprisoned three days ago in Kabul for reasons that are still unclear. Khalid is survived by a child, according to sources. Born and raised in Parwan province, Naser Khalid has been working as a psychologist and civil society activist. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Ariana: “A cash of 40 million US dollars in humanitarian aid has arrived in Kabul yesterday and has been handed over to a commercial bank in Kabul,” the central bank tweeted. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: Dutch geologist Frank Hoogerbeets predicted the Turkey-Syria earthquake three days in advance; now, he is saying there may be a big earthquake in Afghanistan soon. The earthquake epicentre will be in Afghanistan, goes through Pakistan and India and ends in the Indian Ocean. He tweeted a video on his Twitter and predicted a magnitude 7.8 earthquake as bad news for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
February 8, 2023
ISLAMABAD — Authorities in Pakistan said Wednesday a pre-dawn counterterrorism military operation in a turbulent northwestern district had killed 12 insurgents linked to an extremist banned group, which allegedly operates out of Afghan sanctuaries.
The military identified the slain men as “terrorists” from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban, an offshoot and ally of Afghanistan’s ruling Islamist Taliban.
The army statement noted its “intelligence tentacles” had enabled security forces to intercept and eliminate the TTP insurgents in Lakki Marwat, a violence-hit district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border province.
“Weapons, ammunition, and Afghan currency were also recovered from the terrorists during the operation,” the statement said.
The anti-terror military action comes amid a spate of TTP attacks in Pakistan in recent weeks that has killed hundreds of people, including security forces, and strained Islamabad’s otherwise friendly ties with the Taliban regime in Kabul.
The central spokesman for the Afghan Taliban has again rejected allegations that cross-border terrorism in Pakistan is emanating from his country.
“The Islamic Emirate is making all possible efforts to counter activities on Afghan soil that could be detrimental to others,” Zabihullah Mujahid told VOA by phone, using the official title for the Taliban administration in Kabul.
However, Mujahid urged Pakistani authorities to desist from “swiftly” pointing fingers at his country for domestic acts of terrorism even before thoroughly investigating such incidents.
“We seek peace and security in both countries. We have seen the destruction wars caused in Afghanistan and we don’t want anyone, including Pakistan, to suffer from it,” he said.
“Pakistan is a close neighbor, a friendly and brotherly country. It is an important relationship for us, and we would never want to spoil it.”
Mujahid added his administration would welcome Pakistani officials if they intended to visit Afghanistan for counterterrorism discussions and cooperation.
Last week, a powerful bomb blast at a mosque in the highly secured police headquarters in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed nearly 100 people and injured many more. The victims were mostly security forces.
TTP denied its involvement in the bombing, but Pakistani officials blamed the group and renewed calls for Kabul to rein in the insurgents, further straining bilateral relations.
The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021 as the United States and NATO allies withdrew from the country after two decades of war with the then-insurgent Taliban. The hardline group has since imposed harsh Islamic laws based on its own interpretation of Islam to govern the country, barring women from work and education.
The Pakistani Taliban, designated as a global terrorist organization by the United States, has long been waging terrorism in Pakistan. The violence has killed thousands of people, including civilians and security forces.
TTP seeks to establish a Taliban-style Islamic Shariah-compliant state in Pakistan through violence. Pakistani officials and religious scholars reject the campaign as anti-Islam and an illegitimate armed struggle against the country.
Recent United Nations assessments have suggested the return of the Taliban to power in Kabul emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.
There are some 4,000 TTP fighters based in Afghan areas bordering Pakistan, and they make up the largest group of foreign fighters in the conflict-torn country, according to the U.N.
“The Pakistan Taliban has been scaling up its attacks over the last few years, mostly targeting security forces in rural areas near the border,” Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington told VOA.
Kugelman said the growing terror threat was not good news for Pakistani leaders’ efforts to tackle a severe economic crisis and a lingering political turmoil in the country
The violence, Kugelman said, “will deepen pressure on the state to launch a new counterterrorism offensive that has been resisted so far due to economic stress and a preference for talks with the militants,” he said earlier this week in a written response, commenting on the wake of rising TTP attacks. “Even if those talks are essentially dead in the water,” he said.