Azadi Briefing

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

I'm Mustafa Sarwar, a senior news editor 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 Pakistani authorities have arrested hundreds of Afghans in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby city of Rawalpindi in recent weeks for allegedly living in the country illegally.

But Afghan migrants who spoke to Radio Azadi said many of the Afghans targeted had valid documents and were unlawfully arrested.

"I've been arrested by the police, and even though I have UNHCR documents, they won't accept them," Arzoo Ahmadi, an Afghan migrant who was briefly detained in Pakistan, told Radio Azadi.

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan said around 250 Afghans have been arrested in recent weeks. It is unclear how many have been freed or deported.

The Taliban also called on Islamabad to "cease the arrest of Afghan refugees," warning that the detentions could "adversely impact bilateral relations."

Why It's Important: The arrests appear to be part of a broader crackdown on the millions of Afghan refugees and migrants residing in Pakistan.

Late last year, Pakistani law enforcement arrested around 1,500 Afghan refugees and migrants, including women and children, in the southeastern province of Sindh. Some were later freed, while others were deported.

The authorities said the Afghan nationals in Sindh were charged with violating the Foreigners Act, a Pakistani law amended in 2016 that empowers authorities to deport foreigners lacking proper documentation. Courts can also fine or imprison foreigners for violating the law.

Islamabad warned foreigners that they would be deported or imprisoned for up to three years if they failed to renew their visas by the end of 2022.

Over 600,000 Afghans have fled to Pakistan since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, joining the several million Afghan refugees and migrants already residing in the country for decades.

Some of the new arrivals have remained in Pakistan because of delays in getting visas to Western nations. Most have said they cannot afford the hundreds of dollars needed to renew their Pakistani visas.

Moniza Kakar, a local attorney assisting Afghan refugees in Sindh, said the Pakistani police are stepping up their arrests of Afghans. "Even now, there are more than 200 Afghan prisoners in Sindh prisons," she recently told Radio Azadi.

What's Next: Despite repeated calls by the Taliban, Pakistan has continued to arrest Afghans in recent days. Islamabad has also been criticized by international NGOs for its treatment of Afghans fleeing Taliban persecution and a devastating humanitarian crisis.

Observers have said Pakistan is using the issue of Afghan refugees to put pressure on the Taliban. Islamabad has repeatedly called on the Taliban to expel the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an extremist group that is based in Afghanistan. The group has intensified its cross-border attacks on Pakistani security forces since the Afghan Taliban gained power.

The Week's Best Stories

Deadly attacks targeting Taliban officials in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan Province have left residents fearful of even stepping out to go to the mosque. The fresh attacks have raised questions about the Taliban's ability to impose its authority and the potential for Afghanistan's northeast to become a recruiting ground for the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group.

Zhwandoon TV is the latest independent media outlet to come under pressure in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has tried to stamp out any form of dissent. The owner of the private Pashto-language station recently accused the militant group of trying to close down the channel. The Taliban has intensified its crackdown on independent reporters and media outlets over the past year, according to Afghan media watchdogs.

What To Keep An Eye On

An Iranian official in the holy Shi'ite city of Qom has said members of Iran's sizeable community of Afghan refugees and migrants risk being deported if they fail to comply with the country’s hijab law.

Ali Akbar Zarei, an immigration official in Qom, told state TV on June 13 that Afghan nationals would first receive a warning. Repeat offenders, he said, would be cut off from "all social services” and could be forced to leave the country.

Why It's Important: The Iranian authorities have intensified their efforts to enforce the hijab law as more women flout the law.

Iranian women have been emboldened by the monthslong antiestablishment protests that erupted in September following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini soon after she was arrested by Iran’s morality police for improperly wearing the head scarf.

Afghans in Iran told Radio Azadi that scores of their compatriots were arrested for participating in the nationwide protests.

Afghan refugees and migrants have come under growing pressure in Iran after last month’s deadly border clashes between Iranian border guards and Taliban fighters.

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

Until next time,

Mustafa Sarwar

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an 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 Taliban appears to have sharply reduced opium cultivation in Afghanistan, the world's largest producer of the illicit drug.

In April 2022, the militant group banned the cultivation, production, and trafficking of all illicit narcotics.

Annual opium cultivation has dropped by as much as 80 percent compared to last year, according to new research by David Mansfield, a leading expert on Afghanistan's drugs trade who worked with Alcis, a British firm specializing in satellite analysis.

Mansfield said the Taliban had "exceeded expectations and reduced poppy cultivation to levels not seen since 2001," when the militant group was ousted from power by the U.S.-led invasion.

Around 80 percent of the opium produced in Afghanistan comes from the southern province of Helmand. Mansfield said satellite imagery appeared to show that in Helmand "poppy cultivation has fallen from more than 120,000 hectares in 2022 to less than 1,000 hectares in 2023."

Why It's Important: Ending Afghanistan's status as one of the world's biggest producers of narcotics has been a priority for neighboring countries and the international community for years.

After 2001, the United States spent some $8 billion in a bid to eradicate the opium trade in Afghanistan. Washington destroyed poppy fields, offered alternative crops to farmers, conducted air strikes, and raided suspected labs. But the strategy largely failed.

For years, the Taliban earned hundreds of millions of dollars from taxing poppy farmers and trafficking narcotics to neighboring countries, from where they ended up in Europe and North America, experts have said.

Since regaining power, the Taliban appears to be succeeding where foreign powers have failed. In 2000, during its first stint in power, the Taliban implemented a similar ban.

Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, tweeted that reports documenting a significant decrease in poppy cultivation "are credible and important."

Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a tweet criticized West for praising a group he said, "actively oppress Afghan women and girls, execute them in public, take Americans hostage, provide terrorist safe havens to Al-Qaeda, and are not recognized as a legitimate government by the United States." It appears that he later deleted the tweet.

What's Next: The complete eradication of the drug industry in Afghanistan still appears to be far off.

Even as opium production appears to have decreased, Afghanistan has become a major supplier of crystal meth in recent years.

The militant group is likely to face intense pushback from poppy farmers in southern Afghanistan if it fails to provide them with alternative livelihoods and crops. The Taliban's cash-strapped and isolated government could lose popularity in a region of Afghanistan that has historically provided most of its leaders and fighters.

The Week's Best Stories

International donors and aid agencies have suspended their operations in three provinces in Afghanistan after accusing the Taliban of attempting to divert or manipulate aid distribution. The move has deprived hundreds of thousands of people of crucial assistance as the country grapples with the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

China and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers appear keen on deepening their relationship, with the sides expanding trade links and pushing for deeper cooperation on security. But experts say the relationship is limited and largely transactional.

What To Keep An Eye On

In a new report, global rights watchdog Amnesty International accused the Taliban of committing the war crime of collective punishment against civilians in Afghanistan's northern province of Panjshir.

Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, Panjshir has been the scene of low-level resistance to the militant group.

Amnesty's June 8 report said that the Taliban had targeted civilians with torture and unlawful killings, while it subjected detained members of the National Resistance Front to extrajudicial executions.

Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's secretary-general, said the Taliban engaged in extrajudicial killings, torture, hostage-taking, unlawful detention, and torching of civilian homes. "This conduct in sum amounts to collective punishment -- in itself, a war crime," she said.

Why It's Important: Amnesty's report, which is based on interviews with victims and witnesses in Panjshir and an analysis of open-source material, is yet another example of the grave human rights abuses allegedly committed by the Taliban.

The Taliban is unlikely to act on the recommendations of the report, which called on the hard-line group to investigate the alleged abuses and prosecute and punish the perpetrators.

The Taliban is likely to continue using brute force to silence its opponents and critics, including members of the former government and security forces, activists, journalists, and those from religious minorities.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.