Bonus Read: “Back Into Afghanistan,” by Gerald F. Hyman (Foreign Affairs).
Top Afghan election official resigns
On Saturday, Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani, the head of Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC), resigned (RFE/RL). A spokesman for the IEC stated that Nuristani had resigned in the “national interest.” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accepted the resignation. Nuristani had repeatedly criticized government interference in the election, and his resignation has raised concerns regarding the effort to organize Parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 15.
Afghan parliament suffers rocket attack
On Monday, three rockets were fired at the new Afghan Parliament building with one falling inside the building (Pajhwok, TOLO News). The lower house was in session during the attack. The rocket strike caused no casualties. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the strike.
Chief Justice’s father kidnapped
On Monday, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, announced that the 90-year-old father of Syed Yousuf Halim, the chief justice of Afghanistan’s supreme court, had been kidnapped (Pajhwok). The spokesman stated that Syed Hassan, the father of the chief justice, had been kidnapped last week on his way home from the mosque.