8am: Tajikistan shares a border of over 1,300 kilometers with Afghanistan, specifically with the provinces of Badakhshan, Takhar, and Kunduz. The shared border with Afghanistan has raised concerns for Tajikistan, which have been further amplified by the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, particularly their plans to relocate the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) to the northeast of Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – June 28, 2023
Muted Eid Celebrations In Afghanistan As Economic Crisis Worsens
RFE/RL: As Muslims around the world prepare to celebrate Eid al-Adha, many Afghanis are struggling to afford basic necessities amid a deepening economic crisis and Western sanctions. Click here to view photos (external link).
Amid Growing Unemployment in Afghanistan, Taliban Baradar Calls it ‘Foreign Propaganda’
Baradar
Khaama: Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Afghanistan Abdul Ghani Baradar on Wednesday on the occasion of Eid al-Adha prayer said there is enough work in Afghanistan, adding foreigners fuel the rumor of unemployment. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghan Deportees Complain of Mistreatment By Turkish Military
Tolo News: Afghan migrants who have been deported by Turkey complained of mistreatment by Turkish border forces, claiming that they were beaten and tortured after they were arrested. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban’s Brutality Unveiled: Farmer Slain in Kabul for Refusing to Pay Tithe
8am: Local sources in Kabul have reported that the Taliban have slain a farmer in the Char Asyab district due to his failure to pay the tithe, and they injured his brother in the process. According to sources on Tuesday, June 27th, the farmer was identified as Ajmal. The incident occurred last night, and in response, local residents of the Kabul-Logar highway blocked the road for two hours in protest. Tithing refers to a form of religious tax collected by the Taliban without undergoing any formal scrutiny. Considering themselves as the founders of an Islamic government, the Taliban perceive one-tenth of individuals’ income as their rightful share. Click here to read more (external link).
Life under Taliban Rule
The Taliban’s Unsustainable War on Drugs
The Diplomat: The humongous trade is run by regional and multinational cartels with complex and elaborate illicit networks across the region. Politicians, security force personnel, and even the Taliban have been part of this symbiotic nexus, profiteering enormous amounts of money. Amid the anti-poppy measures of the Taliban, a record amount of Afghan drugs moved by Pakistani and Iranian cartels, almost 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine, were recovered in India in May 2023. Drugs sourced from Afghanistan continue to reach the African continent, Sri Lanka, Australia, and European countries. It will be simply unimaginable that all the stakeholders will bring shutters down on this trade without a fight. The Taliban, once a willing participant in the entire drug trade, lack the wherewithal to dismantle such a mammoth network. Click here to read more (external link).
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UN: Islamic State-Led Violence Kills 1,000 Civilians in Taliban-Run Afghanistan
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
June 27, 2023
ISLAMABAD — The United Nations said Tuesday that bombings and other militant violence in Afghanistan had killed more than 1,000 civilians since the Taliban regained control of the country nearly two years ago.
The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan recorded 3,774 civilian casualties, including 1,095 deaths, between August 15, 2021, and May of this year. The report said 92 women and 287 children are among the dead.
Most of the deaths, 701, were caused by “indiscriminate” improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, attacks in populated areas, including places of worship, schools, and markets.
UNAMA said that a regional Islamic State affiliate, Islamic State Khorasan, or IS-K, was responsible for most IED attacks, including suicide bombings. It noted a significant increase in the number of attacks by the terrorist group since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul.
“Of particular concern is the apparent increase in the lethality of suicide attacks since August 15, 2021, with fewer incidents causing a higher number of civilian casualties in that period,” the report said.
More than 1,700 Afghan civilian deaths and injuries were attributed to attacks claimed by IS-K.
The chief of UNAMA’s human rights service condemned the attacks on civilians as “reprehensible” and called for ending them immediately.
“It is critical that the de facto authorities uphold their obligation to protect the right to life by carrying out independent, impartial, prompt, thorough, effective, credible, and transparent investigations into IED attacks affecting civilians,” Fiona Frazer said.
UNAMA said Monday that Taliban authorities continue to prevent journalists from covering mass casualty IED attacks, saying it recorded many instances of “arbitrary arrest and detention, ill-treatment, and excessive use of force” deployed against media workers covering such incidents.
The mission said that Taliban authorities do release information on incidents of violence but “casualty figures are often inaccurate and unrealistic.”
The Taliban maintain their counterterrorism operations have significantly degraded the IS-K presence in Afghanistan, killing its key commanders in recent months.
The Taliban waged a deadly insurgency and reclaimed power as the United States and its NATO allies withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending their two-decade-long occupation.
UNAMA documented more than 3,000 civilian deaths in 2020 and 1,659 fatalities in the first half of 2021 alone, blaming the then-insurgent Taliban and other anti-government armed groups for causing most of those casualties.
Tolo News in Dari – June 27, 2023
Eid al-Adha in the Shadow of the Taliban: Citizens Unable to Afford Sacrifices and New Clothes
Taliban fighters (file photo)
8am: The citizens of the country have been severely affected by increased poverty under the control of the Taliban. About two years ago, Herati traditional clothes enjoyed a thriving market, and citizens, particularly young people, would purchase them for special occasions such as Eid. However, traditional cloth sellers, this year are witnessing a decline in the market, as citizens, including the youth, are not buying clothes for Eid. Click here to read more (external link).
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