[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS- NEW DECREES FOCUSED ON COUNTERING CORRUPTION AND NEPOTISM IN REGIME – The Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, issued several orders to quell charges of corruption and nepotism in the regime. The issues had been raised by religious leaders in several of the Loya Jirgas over the past months. The first decree prohibits nepotism within the regime and orders those who were hired by a relative to a government position, to be removed immediately. The second decree bars Taliban officials from directly/indirectly bidding on government contracts. Those who are currently profiting from business dealings with the regime are ordered to divest their interests immediately.
- TALIBAN OFFICIAL MURDERED IN JAWZJAN PROVINCE – The Taliban’s Director of Hajj and Religion in the Aqcha District was set upon by a group of unidentified knife-wielding men and killed in the Kharabat area of the District. Several online sources reported the information and it is not clear what motivated the attack.
- SEVERAL MEN ARRESTED IN JAWZJAN PROVINCE, TALIBAN CLAIM THEY ARE ISIS-K, OTHERS SAY THEY ARE NOT – Perhaps reinforcing concerns over labeling anyone opposed to the regime as either an ISIS-K or NRF member, photos of 7 men have been circulating widely on pro-Taliban social media accounts which claim to depict the arrest of several ISIS-K members in Jawzjan Province. Many in the analyst community were quick to point out that those in the photos were actually members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir sect.
- UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN STATEMENT CONDEMNS TALIBAN STANCE ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS – The European Union and over seventy countries signed a document condemning the ban on education for women and say it will contribute to more gender-based violence and child marriages. The statement went on to say the ban on women working on humanitarian projects could cost lives and will hurt the stability of the country. Albania authored the statement. China, Russia, Iran, and others refused to sign the document.
- SOME CONCERNED TALIBAN ARE USING ISIS-K SECURITY OPERATIONS AS COVER FOR ACTIONS AGAINST NON-TERROR GROUPS – Several Resistance groups have called into question the recent security operation in Balkh Province and are saying those the Taliban targeted were not members of ISIS. Such accusations have been voiced before, but seem to be ramping up in 2023. Throughout 2022, isolated killings and/or the massacres of civilians in Panjshir and other Northern Provinces were attributed to vendettas and (in the Taliban’s view) counter-insurgency operations. If these suspicions prove to be credible, it would be a troubling development in an already messy situation. Sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claim the fault lies with the international community for praising the Taliban’s counter-ISIS stance. They say it has incentivized the regime to falsely label any action taken against group(s) as counter-terrorism operations.
NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTAN RALLY POSTPONED UNTIL WEDNESDAY – Former Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that a planned rally for Sunday would be moved to Wednesday and would take place at the Minar-i-Pakistan venue. The location is symbolic as it is where he first launched his campaigns in 2013. The mass arrests of PTI party members over the last three weeks are expected to take center stage at the rally as well as condemnation for the treatment Khan and his family have received. The former Prime Minister says the rally will be used as a referendum on the state of the country. Tensions remain high between Khan’s supporters and police in many cities and violence could erupt at any time.