Central Bank Has Maintained Stability of Currency: Mehrabi

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Tolo News: “The Central Bank of Afghanistan has successfully utilized monetary policy tools to maintain price stability and reduce volatility in the exchange rate. Compared to other currencies, the Afghani has remained relatively stable.” One dollar was exchanged for around 89 afghani on Sunday in Kabul markets. “One of the main reasons that we witness the packages of $30 and $40 millions is that the Western countries want to maintain the shortage of the dollar and this issue caused the dollar to be stable,” said Seyar Qureshi, an economist. Click here to read more (external link).

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4.5 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Afghanistan

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Khaama: An earthquake of magnitude 4.5 hit Afghanistan on Sunday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). “Earthquake of Magnitude: 4.5, Occurred on 12-03-2023, 04:03 PM (GMT +4:30) Kabul Time, Lat: 36.53 & Long: 71, Depth: 151.0 km, GFZ reported on Sunday. The quake struck at a depth of 71 kilometres, at a latitude of 36.53 and a longitude of 71. The earthquake struck the Yamgan district of Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Bomb Blast in Northern Afghanistan Kills 1, Wounds 5 Journalists

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
March 11, 2023

ISLAMABAD — A bomb blast tore through a Shiite cultural center in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province Saturday, killing a security guard and wounding at least eight people.

A local police spokesman, Mohammad Asif Waziri, told VOA the blast had targeted a ceremony honoring the Afghan media in the provincial capital, Mazar-i-Sharif. He said that five journalists and three children were among those injured.

Provincial officials and religious clerics were also among the guests at the event.

Abdul Nafi Takor, the Taliban-led Interior Affairs Ministry spokesman in the Afghan capital, Kabul, said a planted explosive device caused the blast.

“I heard a big bang … then there was chaos as everyone was trying to find a way to escape,” Afghan journalist Atif Arian, wounded in the blast, told Agence France-Presse.

“Some journalists are seriously wounded,” Arian added.

A mainstream Afghan TV channel, TOLOnews, reported one of its journalists was among the victims.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) demanded the Taliban quickly investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Targeting journalists during an event to honor reporters is a despicable and cowardly act. Brave Afghan journalists are already reporting in extremely challenging circumstances.,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.

The CPJ lists Afghanistan among the countries with the worst records of prosecuting murderers of journalists.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack. It comes two days after a suicide bomber killed the Balkh governor, Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, at his office in Mazar-i-Sharif, along with two other people.

The Islamic State terror group’s Afghan branch, known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, took responsibility for Thursday’s bombing and vowed to carry out more attacks against Taliban officials.

Muzammil is the second-most senior official killed since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 as the United States and NATO troops departed the country after two decades of war.

A car bombing in December killed the Taliban police chief of northeastern Badakhshan province in an attack claimed by IS-K.

The Balkh governor’s assassination came a week after the Taliban announced the death of the IS-K intelligence and military chief in a counterterrorism raid in Kabul.

The Taliban takeover has almost ended years of war-related casualties in Afghanistan, but IS-K has stepped up its attacks in the country, posing the de facto authorities’ most significant security challenge.

Muzammil had served as the governor of the eastern Nangarhar province and supervised operations against IS-K operatives there before moving to Balkh last year. IS-K launched its operations in Afghanistan in 2015 from bases in Nangarhar and has since expanded the violence to other provinces.

Afghan Freedom Front Claims Responsibility for Kabul’s Explosion

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Khaama: Afghan Freedom Front claimed responsibility for an attack on Friday late evening in Kabul that killed three and wounded four members of the Taliban, the group stated.  The Freedom Front, which is said to be made up of members of the security forces of the previous government of Afghanistan, on Friday claimed in a statement the responsibility of the attack in the “Spin Kelly” intersection in the fifth district of Kabul city. Click here to read more (external link).

Pashtun Leadership Dispute: How Mullahs Outmaneuvered the Khans

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Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada

8am: This article seeks to explain the war between Khans and Mullahs for control of the Pashtun tribes’ leadership, as well as the internal and external factors that contributed to the Mullahs’ success. It is suggested that the Mullahs, who now occupy the positions of the Khans, are performing those roles with soldiers, living off the people, and lending the Shah, who is currently veiled as “Amir al-Momineen,” political legitimacy.  Click here to read more (external link).

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Over 500 People Graduate from Jihadist Schools in Afghanistan

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Khaama: Bakhtar News Agency has reported that 300 people in Helmand, 160 in Laghman, and 50 others in northern Sar-e-Pol province have graduated from religious schools. Following the collapse of the previous government, the Taliban-run Administration has focused on establishing Jihadist schools across Afghanistan. Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the de facto authorities have imposed restrictions on the rights of women and girls to attend education and work, which prompted worldwide criticism. Instead of easing or removing the gender-based bans, the group emphasizes establishing more and more Madrasas (religious schools) across the country. Click here to read more (external link).

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Charity holds mass wedding for 60 couples in Kabul

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Ariana: As many as 60 couples have tied the knot in a mass wedding arranged by a charity foundation at a cost of more than three million afghanis in Kabul. Organizers said they wanted to avoid extravagant spending that often happens in wedding ceremonies and to fight bad traditions. “We gave a dowry of around 55,000 [AFN] for each couple, and today the wedding ceremonies of 59 families are held here,” said Mukhtar Ahmad, an organizer of the ceremony. “In total, about 33,00000 [AFN] have been spent on these weddings.” Click here to read more (external link).