Fierce Clashes Between Taliban and NRF in Chal District, Takhar

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8am: Local sources in Takhar report the intense clashes between the Taliban and the National Resistance Front (NRF) forces in this province. The clashes started on Monday night in Sayad village of Chal district and are still reportedly escalating. Recently, clashes between the two sides have escalated in Takhar province. In another report, four Taliban fighters were killed and injured two days ago following the attack of NRF forces in Khwaja Ghar district of this province. Click here to read more (external link).

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‘No Information on Whereabouts’ of Former Afghan Official Detained by Taliban, Says Family Member

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Taliban fighters (file photo)

VOA News
September 27, 2022

WASHINGTON — The family of a former Afghan official who was allegedly detained by the Taliban in Kabul last month says that they have “no information on his whereabouts.”

Ahmad Shah Habibi accused the Taliban of detaining his brother Mahmood Shah Habibi, former deputy chief of Afghanistan’s Aviation Authority, in the Shash Darak area of Kabul on August 10.

“The Taliban, who were wearing civilian clothes, detained Mohammad Shah Habibi in front of his house in the Shash Darak area. … Later, they broke the gate, forced their way into the house, and took some documents, books and a laptop computer.”

The Taliban’s representative did not respond to VOA’s request for comment about the alleged disappearance and whether Habibi had been detained.

“No [Taliban government] agency has given us any information on his whereabouts. They have not let us meet him. And they have not told us why he was taken into custody,” said Ahmad Shah Habibi, who lives in the U.S.

He added that the armed men who detained Habibi introduced themselves to the family as “Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate,” a name used by the Taliban for their forces.

Habibi, a U.S. citizen, was working as a consultant for the Asia Consultancy Group (ACG), a Kabul-based telecommunication company.

A spokesperson for the State Department told VOA that they are “monitoring the situation but have no further comment at this time.”

“U.S. citizens should not travel to Afghanistan due to civil unrest, armed conflict, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping,” said the spokesperson in an email Monday.

In August 2021, the United States and its NATO allies completely withdrew from the country after almost two decades of war with the Taliban, paving the way for the resurgent Islamist group to seize power.

Last week, the Taliban released Mark Frerichs, a U.S. citizen, in exchange for a Taliban drug lord, Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said that after being in captivity for 31 months in Afghanistan, Frerichs release was “the culmination of years of tireless work by dedicated public servants across our government and other partner governments.”

He added that his government “continues to prioritize the safe return of all Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, and we will not stop until they are reunited with their families.”

The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett expressed his concerns earlier this month about the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

He added that the U.N. received numerous reports of civilians being subjected to house-to-house searches and what appeared to be collective punishment.

“I am particularly concerned that former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and other officials of the former government remain subject to ongoing arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, despite the amnesty declared by the Taliban,” Bennett said.

Bennett said those committing these crimes appear to be acting with impunity and are creating an atmosphere of terror.

Afghans Deported From Turkey Report Abuse

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Tolo News: A number of Afghans who were recently sent back from Turkey accused the Turkish military of human rights violations and mistreatment.  Zekrullah is one of the Afghan migrants sent back to Afghanistan by Turkish police.  “I was at work, suddenly police came and took 50 people and me. We spent one week at camp, and after one week they deported us to Kabul,” said Zekrullah, a deportee.  There were some other refugees with Zekrullah that have been deported to Kabul.  Click here to read more (external link).

Support For Afghan Resistance A No-Brainer – Analysis

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Luke Coffey via Arab News: Firstly, allocate a percentage of the frozen assets of the central bank of Afghanistan to the resistance front to support and fund its activities. The US currently holds about $7 billion of these frozen funds. American policymakers should explore legal ways to divert some of them to the group’s political office. Washington’s partners should follow suit. Secondly, the international community should establish contacts with the organization’s political wing in Tajikistan. High-level contact with members of the leadership will help policymakers to learn more about the group, its goals and its needs. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban’s New Rule: Men, Women Not Allowed to Run Media Programs Jointly

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8am: Sources in the visual media based in Kabul told Hasht-e Subh on Monday (September 26th) that the Taliban have imposed new restrictions on the presenters of TV programs. Based on reports, the Taliban have recently told the managers of media outlets that male and female presenters will not be able to run joint programs from now on. The Taliban have told the director of visual media in Kabul that the women’s interviews will be recorded and published with their faces covered. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan: US to provide $327 million in aid

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Blinken

Economic Times: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that Washington would be providing Afghanistan with $327 million in much-needed aid. The aid comes as the country’s humanitarian crisis has continued for more than one year since the Taliban took over. Blinken issued a statement Friday last week announcing the additional $327 million in aid the US will be providing to further support humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

As Poverty Tightens Its Grip on Afghanistan, Around 9,000 Street Beggars Rounded Up by Taliban in Kabul

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8am: At least 8,582 people who were begging in Kabul city have been rounded up by the Taliban in more than a month. The committee for collecting beggars, headed by Mullah Baradar, the economic deputy of the Taliban’s Prime Minister, published these statistics on Monday (September 26th). These statistics, recorded since the beginning of collecting street beggars between August 14 to September 26, show that women constitute the largest number of street beggars in Kabul with 5,871 individuals. Click here to read more (external link).

China Wooed Taliban With Investment Promises That Haven’t Panned Out

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Bloomberg: Experts who follow the country say that after two decades of warfare, the Taliban haven’t managed to transition from insurgents to rulers. The government is run largely based on orders from spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, who rules from the Taliban birthplace in the Kandahar region bordering Pakistan. All of that is also giving China pause, said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK. Click here to read more (external link).

Mass grave containing remains of 12 people uncovered in Afghanistan: Taliban

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AFP: A mass grave containing the remains of 12 people has been uncovered in Afghanistan, Taliban officials said on Monday. The grave was found by villagers over the past few days in the town of Spin Boldak, bordering Pakistan, a site of fierce fighting between former Afghan government forces and Taliban fighters before the Taliban seized power last year. Click here to read more (external link).