[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
- IRAN MAY FOLLOW PAKISTAN’S LEAD AND BEGIN DEPORTING AFGHAN REFUGEES – Iran’s Interior Ministry spoke in a press conference yesterday and said that Tehran was planning to implement stricter policies to deal with illegal migrants in the country. He said the plan involved deporting those residing in Iran without the necessary documents or papers back to their countries of origin. The Minister echoed sentiments that have been published in Iranian media outlets for the past several months that suggest the foreigners represent a serious security threat. Pakistan’s caretaker government announced on Monday that it was making plans to deport approximately 1.1 million Afghan refugees who are thought to be in the country illegally. A source in Kabul said that the Taliban leadership is divided over how to respond to the stated intentions of its neighbors. Those in Kandahar appear to be supportive of bringing Afghans home while Kabul is concerned about the impact it would have on the economy. The source said an unidentified Taliban minister stated “Those others (Kandahar) keep their heads only in the Quran while we must deal with the actual reports.” The source said there were fears in Kabul that many of those who would be forcibly returned would ‘march directly into the arms of the Resistance or Daesh’ and that they would be fighting them in less than a year.
- TALIBAN PUSHES BACK AGAINST CRITICISM FROM NEIGHBORS – The Deputy Foreign Minister hit back at Afghanistan’s neighbors over the continued claims it was harboring terrorists and said that such criticisms were ‘baseless’ and would only harm bilateral relations in the future. The Deputy Foreign Minister called on Iran and Pakistan to stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of Afghan citizens in their countries and to treat Afghan citizens according to internationally accepted standards for refugees.
- AFGHAN SCHOOLGIRLS PEN OPEN LETTERS TO LEADERS OF FRANCE, CANADA – A group of schoolgirls wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada and to the President of France asking for assistance in ‘saving’ them from the situation in Afghanistan. Paris and Ottawa have yet to respond to the petition.
- GDI REPORTEDLY CLOSES DOWN ANOTHER RADIO STATION IN DAIKUNDI – Agents from the local General Directorate of Intelligence in Daikundi have reportedly arrested the station manager for Radio Nasim. It is not clear what charges have been made against him but eyewitnesses say the station offices have been closed and a Taliban security detachment has been placed in front of the building.
NEXT 24 HOURS
INCLEMENT WEATHER FORECASTED FOR NORTHEAST/CENTRAL EASTERN PROVINCES – Heavy rain, snowfall, and thunderstorms have been predicted for these portions of the country, and emergency managers are warning local communities of the potential for flash flooding. |