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Violent Extremism in South Asia

Death Toll From Afghanistan Floods Continues to Rise

  • More than 150 people died and 1,500 homes were damaged after floods struck at least a dozen Afghan provinces; relief and rescue efforts are ongoing (TOLO)

Report: Drug Use, Nonexistent Personnel Widespread in Some Afghan Police Forces

  • About half of police in southern Afghanistan use drugs, according to a U.S. government oversight agency’s report that cited Afghan security agencies. Up to 70 percent of police positions in those provinces are held by so-called ghost soldiers who do not exist, the report said (TOLO)

Pakistani, Chinese Officials to Meet With Taliban Leaders About Afghan Peace

  • Pakistan will host talks with the Taliban about peace in Afghanistan today, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced. A meeting with China’s special envoy for Afghanistan will follow. A Taliban spokesperson said the group’s leaders will also discuss movement of people, including refugees (Bloomberg)

Taliban Pick Negotiating Team

  • The Taliban chose twenty negotiators to represent the militant group in intra-Afghan peace talks. The team will have wide-ranging authority, including the ability to sign agreements with the Afghan government (Associated Press)

UN: Millions of Afghans in Need of Aid

  • Sixteen million Afghans, nearly half of the country’s population, are in need of humanitarian aid after the coronavirus pandemic left almost four million without income sources, according to the UN World Food Program (TOLO)

Afghanistan Tells Neighbors Not to Use Taliban as a Proxy

  • The Afghan government warned countries in the region against using the Taliban as a proxy in Afghanistan after a report alleged that Iran paid the group to target U.S. and coalition troops. Iran denied the accusation and said it is committed to Afghan peace. Russia has faced similar allegations (TOLO)

Rockets Strike Afghan Capital

  • At least fourteen rockets reportedly injured seventeen people in Kabul, as the country commemorated its independence day. No group has claimed responsibility for the strikes, which the Ministry of Interior said originated from two moving vehicles (TOLO)

France Asks Afghan Government to Block Taliban Prisoner Release

  • France’s Foreign Ministry said it requested that Afghan officials not free Taliban members convicted of killing French citizens as part of a recent prisoner release deal (TOLO)

Afghanistan Starts Controversial Release of Taliban Prisoners

  • Afghan authorities have freed eighty Taliban prisoners accused of serious crimes, including murder and kidnapping, the country’s National Security Council said today. The release of the prisoners has reportedly raised concerns among countries including Australia, France, and the United States (TOLO)

Afghan Leaders Endorse Prisoner Exchange, Setting Stage for Intra-Afghan Talks

  • Afghan leaders endorsed the release of four hundred Taliban prisoners, and President Ashraf Ghani vowed to sign a decree freeing them. A Taliban spokesperson said the group is prepared to start intra-Afghan peace negotiations within a week of the release, which U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad expects to be completed within days (TOLO)

Afghan Leaders Convene to Decide Fates of Taliban Prisoners

  • Thousands of Afghan leaders gathered in Kabul today to decide whether to release four hundred Taliban prisoners, a move President Ashraf Ghani said could lead to intra-Afghan peace talks within three days. But some legal experts say neither Ghani nor the group of leaders has the power to pardon the prisoners (TOLO)

Pompeo Discusses Talks, Prisoner Swap With Afghan Taliban

  • U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar about intra-Afghan peace talks, and the two agreed the Afghan government should release the remaining Taliban fighters in its custody, according to a Taliban spokesperson. The Afghan government is convening a meeting to decide whether to release four hundred Taliban prisoners accused of serious crimes (TOLO)

Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Attack on Afghan Prison

  • Nearly thirty people died and dozens more were wounded in an attack on a major prison in Jalalabad. Hundreds of prisoners reportedly escaped before being recaptured (TOLO)
  • The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the assault, though Afghan officials said that a Taliban splinter group might have attacked the prison to stymie intra-Afghan peace talks (Washington Post)

Afghan Government Releases Taliban Fighters as Cease-Fire Begins

  • Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered the release of five hundred Taliban prisoners and is considering the release of an additional four hundred prisoners (TOLO)
  • Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesperson announced that it completed the release of one thousand prisoners, fulfilling an obligation under a February deal with the United States. A three-day cease-fire between the government and the Taliban began today (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

U.S. Special Envoy Meets With Afghan Government, Taliban Officials

  • U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is meeting with Afghan government and Taliban officials in Kabul today ahead of a cease-fire between the two sides. The Taliban announced it would release imprisoned government personnel, bringing its total released prisoners to one thousand, by the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha tomorrow (TOLO)

Afghanistan, Taliban Agree on Cease-Fire

  • The Taliban declared a three-day cease-fire, beginning Friday, for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani directed Afghan security forces to reciprocate. The Afghan government, the United States, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) praised the step and urged intra-Afghan peace talks (TOLO)

UN Reports Thousands of Afghan Causalities in 2020

  • A UN report showed that 1,282 Afghan civilians were killed and another 2,176 injured in the first six months of 2020. The figures mark a 13 percent decrease in civilian casualties compared to the same period last year, though deaths and injuries caused by the Taliban and Afghan security forces have not decreased (TOLO)

Civilians Killed in Afghan Air Strike

  • Some forty-five people, including insurgents and civilians, were killed by Afghan military air strikes on a gathering celebrating the release of a Taliban leader. A spokesperson for the U.S. military said the United States was not involved in the attack, which U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad condemned (Washington Post)

Taliban Attacks Kill Thirteen in Kunduz Province

  • Taliban attacks in the Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province today reportedly killed thirteen Afghan security force members and injured ten others (TOLO)

Report: Sixteen Afghan Civilians Killed or Wounded Daily Over Last Six Months

  • An average of sixteen civilians were killed or wounded every day of the last six months, according to a report from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

U.S. Closes Five Bases in Afghanistan

  • The United States shuttered five military bases in Afghanistan as part of a peace deal with the Taliban (TOLO)
  • A wave of violence has continued despite the agreement, with eleven people killed and dozens more injured yesterday in a Taliban attack on an Afghan intelligence agency (Wall Street Journal)

Taliban Launch Attack in Northern Afghanistan

  • The Taliban launched an assault on the Afghan intelligence agency in the northern city of Aybak today. Gunmen stormed the office after detonating a car bomb outside, injuring at least forty people. The number of casualties is unclear (New York Times)

Afghanistan to Release More Taliban Prisoners

  • The Afghan government will release more Taliban prisoners in hopes of starting intra-Afghan peace talks after the militant group submitted a revised list of detainees. The releases are part of a deal negotiated between the Taliban and the United States (Reuters)

Amid Increase in Taliban Attacks, Afghan President Warns of Challenges to Peace Process

  • President Ashraf Ghani warned of “serious challenges” to the Afghan peace process if attacks by the Taliban continue. He said the level of violence was higher than last year despite the preparation for peace talks (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Kabul Hosts Virtual Meeting on Peace Process

  • Kabul is hosting a virtual meeting with representatives of nineteen countries and organizations today to discuss the Afghan peace process. Representatives from the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and others will be present (TOLO)