Azadi Briefing

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

I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

In a major blow to Afghanistan’s Taliban government, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) claimed credit for killing its refugee affairs minister.

On December 11, Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani was killed in a suicide bombing inside the ministry building in Kabul, which claimed the lives of at least five more people.

Haqqani, in his 60s, was the uncle of the Taliban's interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani. He is the most senior Taliban figure killed by IS-K since the Islamist group returned to power in August 2021.

In 2011, the United States designated him a global terrorist and offered a $5 million bounty for help in capturing him.

Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani was the younger brother of the late Jalaluddin Haqqani, a leading anti-Soviet mujahidin commander in the 1980s who joined the Taliban in the 1990s. But his extended family and its loyalists are known as the Haqqani Network, once a brutal Taliban military wing.

Why It’s Important: The killing negates Taliban claims that its harsh crackdown against the IS-K has eliminated the ultraradical transnational jihadist group from Afghanistan.

It is a significant blow to the powerful Haqqani Network, which dominates the Taliban government’s internal security apparatus. Its members lead the Interior Ministry and the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), which has led the Taliban’s crackdown against IS-K.

“The murder proves IS-K’s small presence in Afghanistan is dangerous,” said Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator.

He said Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani’s killing would further isolate Sirajuddin Haqqani, who relied on his uncle to express sensitive views.

“His absence may create a leadership void,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Potentially weakening [the Haqqani Network’s] influence and internal cohesion.”

Yousafzai believes that senior Taliban figures will now limit their public dealings, which will further alienate ordinary Afghans from the Taliban government.

What's Next: In retaliation for the killing, the Taliban government is likely to launch a new campaign against the IS-K, which will disproportionality target Afghanistan’s tiny Salafist community for providing some of the group’s fighters.

The IS-K, however, will be encouraged by the killing and will continue to attack the Taliban, as well as religious and sectarian minorities in Afghanistan, to undermine its rule.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban government has welcomed the initial approval of a proposed Russian law that will pave the way toward removing the extremist group from the Kremlin’s list of terrorist organizations.

“The step represents a great development and is meant to remove obstacles in enhancing bilateral relations,” said Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry, on December 11.

Moscow has engaged with the Taliban after its return to power in 2021. But it has been slow in delivering on repeated promises to take the group off its list of terrorist organizations.

Moscow has eagerly courted the Taliban after the Islamist State-Khorasan (IS-K) claimed credit for attacking a concert hall near Moscow. At least 145 people were killed in the attack in March.

The move comes months after Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Taliban "a trusted ally" in fighting terrorism in July.

Why It's Important: Like other regional powers, Moscow is keen on engaging the Taliban to prevent itself from terrorist threats emanating from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

It has consistently dangled the Taliban delisting and recognition of its government as a carrot to encourage the internationally unrecognized Taliban administration to cooperate on its security concerns.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

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. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

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

I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm watching in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

Iran wants to repatriate some 1,000 prisoners to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to serve their sentences there.

"They are costing a lot to the public purse," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmial Baqaei said of Tehran's motive in seeking to return prisoners to Afghanistan.

The comments follow a visit by Iranian government officials to Kabul last week. Deputy Justice Minister Askar Jalalian met with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Khalil ur-Rahman Haqqani, the refugee affairs minister.

The Taliban government has demanded that Tehran hand over all Afghan convicts after Iran Human Rights, a nongovernmental watchdog, said Tehran had so far this year executed 49 Afghans as part of an accelerating trend of executing Afghans since the Taliban's return to power three years ago.

Tehran, however, only wants to hand over Afghans convicted of drug trafficking during the next two months. The transfers will only take place with the prisoners' consent.

Why It's Important: Reports of wrongful convictions and arrests of Afghans have been on the rise as Iran seeks to expel millions of Afghans it says live in the country.

During the past year, many Afghans have complained of harassment, intimidation, discrimination, and violence at the hands of Iranian authorities in a harsh crackdown.

According to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), Tehran deported more than 550,000 Afghan migrants during the first nine months of this year, from among the estimated 4 million that live in the country.

After the return of the Taliban to power following the collapse of the pro-Western Afghan republic in August 2021, millions of Afghans have sought shelter and jobs in Iran.

International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Iran of using the death penalty "as a tool of fear" to target "ethnic minorities and political dissidents."

Iran, a leading global executioner, has executed at least 651 people during the first 10 months of this year.

HRW Iran researcher Nahid Naghshbandi said the Iranian courts "are a tool of systematic repression and hand out death sentences indiscriminately, leaving legal protections meaningless."

What's Next: It is not clear whether the Taliban government will honor sentences by Iranian courts or will free Afghan prisoners once they return to the country.

The Taliban justice system and human rights record do not inspire confidence in the extremist group's capacity to look after the rights of Afghans at home or abroad.

What To Keep An Eye On

Residents of the Afghan capital complain that with the onset of winter, power cuts have made their lives miserable.

In many parts of the crowded city, residents only have electricity for a few hours a day.

"We are miserable because there is no electricity, wood, coal, or gas," Latifa, a resident of the Qala Zaman Khan district in Kabul, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

Firewood and coal cost upwards of $100 for a week's supply, which is out of reach for most impoverished residents.

Afghanistan imports most of its electricity from neighboring Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan. This costs the cash-strapped Taliban government $220 million annually.

The Taliban government struggles to collect electricity bills and relies on aggressive power cuts during low electricity supplies in winter.

Why It's Important: Three years after the Taliban's return to power, it has done little to improve electricity supply in the country.

Without investments, aid, and a comprehensive energy policy, Afghanistan relies on expansive energy imports instead of diversifying to green energy sources to tap into the country's abundant wind and sunlight.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

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. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

The Azadi Briefing will next appear on December 13.