Azadi Briefing

​Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, a new RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I’m Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. Here’s what I’ve been tracking and what I’m keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group carried out a deadly gun and bomb attack on a Chinese-owned hotel in central Kabul on December 12. The Taliban said it killed all three attackers, and that two foreign nationals were lightly wounded.

Beijing contradicted the Taliban by saying that at least five Chinese hotel guests were injured in the assault. More than 30 Chinese citizens were in the hotel at the time of the attack, according to a leading Chinese businessman in Afghanistan. The Emergency Hospital in Kabul said it had received three dead bodies and 18 wounded.

Why It’s Important: The assault on the Kabul Longan Hotel was the first major attack on Chinese interests in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power last year.

The attack has helped shed light on Beijing’s growing business activities in Afghanistan, which have largely gone under the radar. China has been one of the few countries in the world willing to trade with the Taliban government, which has not been recognized by any country. Chinese nationals have become the largest expatriate community in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. It has become common to see representatives of Chinese state-owned companies visiting ministries and holding talks with Taliban officials.

IS-K’s attack on the Chinese-owned hotel in Kabul comes after assaults on the Russian and Pakistani embassies in recent months. China, Russia, and Pakistan are among the few countries that have maintained a diplomatic mission in Kabul. They are also among the Taliban’s key political and economic partners.

Observers have said that IS-K’s attacks could be an attempt to undermine the Taliban’s ties with Beijing, Moscow, and Islamabad and scuttle efforts by the Kabul authorities to attract international trade and investment. IS-K appears to have achieved its immediate goal. Following the hotel attack, Beijing advised its citizens to leave Afghanistan “as soon as possible.” The move could see an exodus of Chinese expats.

What’s Next: IS-K militants have posed a direct threat to the Taliban’s rule and legitimacy. In the past 16 months, IS-K has staged deadly, high-profile attacks that have undermined Afghanistan’s new rulers. The extremist group is likely to continue attacking the interests of the Taliban and its key foreign allies in Afghanistan.

The Week’s Best Stories

Taliban Higher Education Minister Nida Mohammad Nadim has sparked a flurry of controversies since his appointment in October. The hard-line cleric has described female education as un-Islamic and against Afghan values. Observers told RFE/RL that Nadim’s appointment and rise within the Taliban suggest that the militant group is planning to impose a blanket ban on female education.

Mohammad Sherzad keeps thousands of scorpions on his "farm" north of Kabul. Scorpion venom can be used in various medical products and is the most expensive liquid in the world. In this Radio Azadi video, Sherzad said tat the closure of Western embassies since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has made exporting more difficult.

What To Keep An Eye On

Pakistani security forces and Taliban fighters clashed near the key Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing on December 15. Islamabad said at least one Pakistani civilian was killed and over a dozen wounded.

Cross-border shelling and gunfire killed at least six Pakistani civilians and a Taliban fighter on December 11 near the same crossing, which connects Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar with Pakistan’s Balochistan Province. In November, the border crossing was closed for a week after a Taliban fighter shot a Pakistani border guard.

Why It’s Important: The clashes reflect the growing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan, who are longtime allies. The alliance, which dates back to the emergence of the Taliban in the mid-1990s, has come under increasing strain as their interests have diverged.

In recent months, Pakistan has accused the Taliban of harboring the leaders of the Pakistani Taliban, which has waged a 15-year insurgency against Islamabad. The Taliban has hit back by accusing Islamabad of permitting its air space to be used by U.S. drones to strike targets in Afghanistan.

Observers have said that the Taliban is also playing to a domestic audience by trying to show that they are not Pakistani proxies, an accusation that many Afghans have leveled against the militants.

Analysts say that Pakistan and the Taliban have incentives to cooperate despite their differences, citing the large trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan. But, so far, that has failed to curb the constant border clashes and war of words.

That’s all from me for now. Don’t forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

I encourage you to visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique
Twitter: @sid_abu

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Welcome to Gandhara's weekly newsletter. This briefing brings you the best of our reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

If you're new to the newsletter or haven't subscribed yet, you can do so here.

This week's Gandhara Briefing brings you our reporting on Afghans preparing for another brutal winter under Taliban rule, rising malnutrition among Afghan children, and Pakistan ranking first in a new index measuring Chinese influence.

Second Winter Under The Taliban

RFE/RL's Radio Azadi and I report about Afghans bracing for another brutal winter under Taliban rule. With hunger rising and food and energy prices surging, aid groups warn that many Afghans face a choice between buying firewood to warm themselves or food to feed themselves.

A growing number of Afghans have been forced to sell their possessions to survive through the winter in the mountainous country where temperatures can plunge below -25 degrees Celsius.

"I sold our carpets and kitchen utensils to buy food and fuel for the winter," said Mahmood, a father of five who lives in Parwan.

Afghanistan is already one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Aid groups warn that the situation is set to further deteriorate this winter. The UN estimates that more than 28 million Afghans, or two-thirds of the country's population of 39 million, now require humanitarian assistance. That is a 16 percent increase from last year.

"Severity levels remain at unprecedented levels, with 6 million people [in Afghanistan] a step away from famine," said Tapiwa Gomo, a spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Growing Chinese Footprint In Pakistan

Reid Standish writes about Pakistan ranking first in a new database measuring Beijing's influence around the world.

The China Index, launched by Taiwan-based research organization Doublethink Labs, says Pakistan's links to and dependency on Beijing in terms of foreign and domestic policy, technology, and the economy makes it particularly susceptible to Chinese influence.

"One can only hope that this will encourage Pakistanis to debate the pros and cons of the relationship and what it could mean for the future," said Shahzeb Jillani, a veteran journalist who helped compile research on Pakistan used for the database.

The South Asian country is home to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a centerpiece of Beijing's globe-spanning Belt and Road Initiative in which Chinese entities have funded and built hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of infrastructure projects in the last decade.

But many projects under the CPEC have run into problems or been scrapped due to financial and political concerns.

Starving Afghan Children

Radio Azadi reports on the sharp rise in malnutrition among Afghan children. In this video, the service visits a hospital in Kandahar, where around 240 undernourished children were admitted in November alone.

They are among the 875,000 Afghan children the United Nations deems to be at risk of severe acute malnutrition.

"It is because of hunger. No one can guess this child is 10 months old," said Zarmeena, whose daughter is being treated at Mirwais Hospital.

Mohammad Sediq, who administers the hospital, says mounting poverty brings hundreds of starving children to the hospital each month.

"Many people are jobless," he said. "When there are no jobs, there is no income."

Taliban Ban Hits Businesses

Radio Azadi reports on the financial impact of the Taliban banning women from entering public parks and funfairs.

"We have lost more than 80 percent of our customers," said Habibullah Zazi, the owner of a large private amusement park in Kabul.

Zazi said over 100 people working in restaurants or food stalls inside his park have lost their jobs.

Restaurants around Qargha Lake, a popular picnic spot in western Kabul, are also feeling the impact of the ban. "I could not pay the staff, rent, and electricity bills," said the owner of one restaurant, which closed last month.

That's all from me this week.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so here. I encourage you to visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook..

You can always reach us at gandhara@rferl.org.