July 20, 2000

The Taliban: Engagement or Confrontation? US Senate - Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Hearing, July 20, 2000. Testimonies courtesy of: US Dept. of State for Hon. Karl Inderfurth, Hon. Peter Tomsen, Mr. Hamed Karzai and Dr. Zieba Shorish-Shamley For text click here

UN's Afghan chief fails to lift ban on working women
KABUL, July 20 (AFP) - Several "tense days of discussion" with leaders of the fundamentalist Taliban regime here failed to secure the lifting of a ban on working women, the UN's coordinator for Afghanistan Eric de Mul said Thursday.

Talks on easing Afghan restrictions on women fail
KABUL, July 20 (Reuters) - The United Nations has made no progress in talks aimed at persuading Afghanistan's ruling Taleban to lift a ban on women working for aid agencies, U.N. negotiator Erick de Mul said on Thursday.

Taliban attack on Balkh repulsed
ISLAMABAD (NNI): Afghan opposition northern alliance has claimed repulsing Taliban's offensive on its positions in northern Afghan province of Balkh, reports Radio Tehran.

EU fears Taliban may not accept Loya Jirga
By Raja Zulfikar - The News International (Pak.) - 7/20/2000
ISLAMABAD: The European Union (EU) is not averse to a settlement of the Afghan conflict through the process of Loya Jirga but it does not hope an immediate breakthrough and fears the Taliban may not accept the proposal.

Zahir Shah team satisfied with talks in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD (NNI): Dr. Zalmay Rasool the head of the Rome-based office of the former Afghan monarch Zahir Shah has termed his talks with Pakistani officials on Afghan traditional Loya Jirga as satisfactory.

Ex-Afghan King team, UN envoy discusses 'Loya Jirga'
ISLAMABAD (NNI): A delegation of the former Afghan King Zahir Shah Wednesday held talks with the UN Secretary General Personal Representative to Afghanistan Francesc Vendrell and discussed with him the 'Loya Jirga' process to find out

Pakistan Approves Overland Exports to Afghanistan, C Asia
PESHAWAR, July 18 Asia Pulse - North West Frontier Province Minister for Industries, Owais Ahmed Ghani says Islamabad, after due consultation with Kabul, has allowed land-route exports to Afghanistan and Central Asian States.

Taliban official who shaved players' heads is arrested
By AMIR SHAH
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An official who detained visiting Pakistani soccer players and shaved their heads because he was offended by their exposed legs has been fired and arrested, Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia said Wednesday.

Congressmen urge Clinton to lift sanctions against India -
PTI (Washington, July 19)
SEVERAL US Congressmen have urged President Bill Clinton to lift all remaining sanctions against India before Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit and embrace New Delhi not only as a political and economic ally but also as a military

Beijing summit: straws in the wind - DAWN Editorial 7/20/00
PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing earlier this week will stand out as a landmark in global politics of the new century. The meeting of minds between the leaders of an ex-superpower and an emerging big power has profound implications

Pakistan clerics threaten to cut ``obscene'' cable tv
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - An alliance of Pakistani fundamentalist Islamic groups Wednesday gave the military-led government until Sunday to ban cable television in the northwestern city of Peshawar or they would cut the cables.

Thousands pledge loyalty to Taliban
From Our Islamabad Correspondent - Gulf News 7/19/00
Thousands of residents at Dog Darra in district Deer Bala in the NWFP have pledged allegiance to follow the Taliban and vowed they will not allow the police to interfere in their affairs and not move Pakistani courts to settle any disputes.

Please do not compromise Pakistan’s self-respect
Frontier Post (Pak.) Editorial - 7/20/00
Fortunate is the Taliban regime in Kabul. It has Pakistan to serve as friend, supporter, protector, supplier, servant and what not? Undemanding, selfless and abjectly obedient. But who is for Pakistan? The answer is none

PAKISTAN'S ECONOMIC REVIVAL AND AN AFGHAN PEACE
AHMED RASHID IN ISLAMABAD.
NEWS ANALYSIS : PAK FOREIGN POLICY - 4. The Nation (Pakistan) - 7/20/00
Pakistan's economic crisis is a result of decades of bad management, poor planning, self interest and corruption by a small ruling elite and the lack of will to establish both a tax paying and a production culture. In recent

Tenacity under Afghan burqas
In Afghanistan's Taliban-resistant northeast corner, women create their own
jobs and schools.
Lucian Kim - Special to The Christian Science Monitor - 7/19/00
TALOQAN, AFGHANISTAN
"It's not hard to teach them. They respect their teachers," says Sultana Parast, a recent highschool graduate who is an instructor of religion and Arabic in an exclusive girls' school here. With their burqas hanging in the