AFP: In Afghanistan, Corollas are virtually ubiquitous. Corollas flooded Afghanistan after the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of the USSR — before which Moscow’s state-owned Lada brand dominated the market. They have had a background role in national history ever since. Click here to read more (external link).
Is Dutch Disease Coming to Afghanistan?
The National Interest: Left with a weak economy, the Taliban have become dependent on coal mining to sustain their coffers. This bodes ill for the country’s long-term economic future. In an exclusive interview on a state-owned TV in 2022, Shahabuddin Dilawar, the acting minister of mines and petroleum, explained that Afghanistan has millions of tons of coal reserves in different provinces and that around 130–144 million Afs are generated every week as domestic revenue. For the cash-strapped Taliban, coal mining thus presents an essential economic lifeline. However, given the chronic dearth of capital and labor in other sectors of the Afghan economy—such as manufacturing, education, agriculture, and the public sectors—over-reliance on natural resources, particularly coal mining, could lead Afghanistan to suffer from the infamous Dutch Disease. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – May 5, 2023
Taliban Commander Imprisoned on Adultery Charges Released
8am: Mawlawi Abdul Ghani Haqbeen, Director of Counter-Terrorism of Spin Boldak Security Command in Spin-Boldak, Qandahar, and a close associate of Mawlawi Mohammad Yosuf, the former governor of Qandahar and current acting governor of Balkh province, was released on Thursday, May 4. Haqbeen, due to his familial relationship with the former governor of Qandahar, was being held in a private prison, and his case had caused significant disagreements among Taliban leaders in Qandahar. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan records significant drop in polio cases: WHO
Ariana: The World Health Organization announced that last year (2022), two children were left disabled due to polio in Afghanistan. This figure is the lowest number of polio cases recorded in Afghanistan. The World Health Organization in a tweet on Thursday said that “with vaccination, polio cases will reach zero and Afghanistan will be free of this disease.” Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries that have not succeeded in eradicating polio in their countries. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Fighter Runs Over and Kills Child with Ranger in Badghis Province
8am: According to sources speaking to Hasht-e Subh, the incident occurred on Wednesday, May 3, near the market in the Jund district of Badghis province. The Ranger vehicle was reportedly affiliated with the security forces under Taliban command in the Jund district. The victim of the incident was a boy between the ages of 8 and 10. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban destroys poppy fields leaving Afghan farmers with no income
Farmers in southern Afghanistan say they are dismayed at the destruction of their poppy farms by the Taliban government since it assumed control of Afghanistan in 2021. Once a lucrative crop, farmers made a fortune under the former government backed by the West, but the Taliban enforced a strict ban in 2023 to avoid the production of narcotics like heroin. Former poppy farmers say, however, that they have been left with no source of income.
Related
SIGAR Reports: ‘Taliban Interference in Aid Delivery’
Tolo News: The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said that there were 133 access incident reports in January 2023. The report said that the US State Department told SIGAR, “Taliban interference in aid operations—including attempts to influence beneficiary selection and staff recruitment, and pressuring organizations to share sensitive data, such as beneficiary information—has contributed to a decline in humanitarian access.” Click here to read more (external link).
Militant Attacks Kill 6 Pakistani Troops, 7 School Teachers Near Afghanistan’s Border
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
May 4, 2023
ISLAMABAD — Authorities in Pakistan said Thursday that clashes with militants and a suspected sectarian-based shooting incident in areas abutting Afghanistan had killed at least 13 people, including six soldiers.
A military statement said Pakistani troops had engaged a “terrorists’ location” in the North Waziristan border district, killing three and wounding two others in the ensuing shootout.
“However, during an intense exchange of fire, six brave soldiers, having fought gallantly, embraced shahadat [martyrdom],” the statement said without further details.
The banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the violence. The militant group, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, said security forces had tried to conduct a raid against TTP members in the area but were ambushed in the process, leaving seven of them dead.
It was not possible to immediately verify the militant claim from independent sources, although the Waziristan region served as a TTP stronghold until a few years ago.
Separately, police and hospital officials in another district, Kurram, on the Afghan border, said unknown gunmen had stormed a school and killed seven teachers, mostly members of the minority Shi’ite community.
No group immediately took responsibility for the shooting incident in the district center, Parachinar. The Pakistani region has long suffered from sectarian tensions between majority Sunni and minority Shi’ite communities.
Surge in TTP attacks
The TTP carries out almost daily attacks against security forces in North Waziristan and surrounding districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
The Pakistani Taliban is an offshoot and close ally of Afghanistan’s ruling fundamentalist Taliban. Pakistan maintains fugitive TTP leaders have long taken refuge on the Afghan side and direct cross-border terrorism from there.
The 2021 Taliban takeover of the neighboring conflict-torn country has seen a dramatic surge in TTP attacks in Pakistan, straining bilateral ties with Afghanistan.
Islamabad says the TTP has enjoyed greater operational freedom and intensified cross-border terrorism since the Taliban seized power in Kabul.
Thursday’s violence comes a day before Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is scheduled to visit Islamabad for talks with Pakistani officials on bilateral politics, trade and matters related to regional stability.
The surge in TTP attacks will likely figure high in the meetings amid repeated demands for Kabul to rein in TTP activities on Afghan soil. The Pakistani Taliban is designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
Muttaqi’s government denies allowing any group to use Afghan soil against any country, including Pakistan.
During his stay in Islamabad, the Taliban foreign minister will also participate in a new round of dialogue involving Afghanistan, China and Pakistan. Muttaqi’s office in Kabul said he would discuss “regional stability and connectivity” with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Related
Tolo News in Dari – May 4, 2023