Daily brief: fake Taliban leader said to be involved in Afghan peace talks

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Fake Taliban

A man involved in talks with the Afghan government purporting to be the Taliban’s number two Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour was reportedly an impostor — a "lowly shopkeeper" from Quetta, Baluchistan, according to Western and Afghan officials (NYT, Post, AP). The impostor was reportedly flown to Kabul on British military aircraft for at least two meetings, is said to have met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and was given "a lot of money" to persuade him to talk part in the talks. 

The man’s true identity is not clear, but some speculate that he was a freelancer seeking personal gain, a Taliban infiltrator, or a dispatch from Pakistan’s intelligence service, which may be seeking to "test the waters, to see what the Afghan government was offering" (NYT, Post). The Taliban’s leadership continues to insist publicly that there are no talks at all.

Safe passage for NGOs

Independent NGOs in Afghanistan are reportedly trying to make safe passage agreements with insurgents in some areas of the country, distancing themselves from the coalition and "betting that a show of neutrality will protect their work" (WSJ). The Taliban are said to be reciprocating, allowing some independent groups to operate and continuing attacks on those affiliated with the coalition.

McClatchy looks at Afghanistan’s parliamentary contest in Ghazni province, where ethnic Pashtuns "stayed home, thanks to intimidation by the Taliban" and the rival Hazaras swept all 11 seats (McClatchy). The vote was on September 18; according to a spokesman for the Independent Election Commission, final results are due tomorrow (AFP).

In recent days, more than 30 insurgents, five civilians, and two coalition service members were killed in clashes in Kunar, Kunduz, Paktia, Herat, Helmand, and other parts of southern Afghanistan (AP).

Drone strikes and blasphemy

A suspected U.S. drone strike was reported yesterday morning in North Waziristan, killing a handful of alleged militants in the 200th such strike in northwest Pakistan since 2004 (AP, CNN, ET, AFP, Daily Times). The Pakistani military has delayed any major operations in North Waziristan for at least six months (ET, Tel).

The governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province Salmaan Taseer, an ally of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, is hopeful that Zardari will pardon Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy over an alleged dispute about whether she could share a water bowl with Muslim coworkers (AP, CNN, NYT). An investigation by Pakistan’s minister for minority affairs, himself a Christian, reportedly shows that Bibi is innocent (AFP). However, top Deobandi and Barelvi leaders have taken the "unprecedented move" of issuing a joint call against Zardari granting Bibi a pardon, citing concerns about "untoward repercussions" (ET).

Rate hikes anger commuters

Cabs between Islamabad and Rawalpindi are reportedly overcharging commuters, which cab companies say is due to expensive gas and passengers say results from a lack of fare regulation (The News). Fares are said to have gone up at least 20 rupees.

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