May 21, 2001

India slams Taliban decree imposing dress code for Hindus
Monday May 21, 11:27 PM
NEW DELHI, May 21 (AFP) - India on Monday denounced as "discriminatory" a decree issued by Afghanistan's ruling Taliban which imposes a separate mandatory dress code on Hindus living in the Muslim country.

U.N. gives first food handout in Afghan refugee camp
By Tahir Ikram
ISLAMABAD, May 21 (Reuters) - The World Food Programme (WFP) began distributing emergency aid for the first time on Monday to tens of thousands Afghan refugees at a squalid makeshift

Pakistan to screen Afghan refugees
BBC
Officials in Pakistan say that they will begin screening Afghan refugees living in camps outside the north-western city of Peshawar next month, and deport those who are found to be illegal immigrants.

Taliban minister's entry to Pakistan refused due to UN curbs: Sattar
 Islamabad, May 21, IRNA -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar Monday said that refusing entry to a Taliban minister is in line with UN sanctions that include restrictions on foreign travel by their officials.

EU officials to visit Afghan opposition
BBC
Three European Union officials will travel to opposition-held areas of Afghanistan on Tuesday for talks with opposition leaders.

Film on outsider's journey into Afghanistan wins award at Cannes
CANNES, May 20 (AFP) - "Kandahar", a film about an Afghan-born Canadian woman's journey back into her troubled homeland, won the Ecumenical Jury's prize Sunday on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.

"Kandahar" recounts Afghan horrors
By Deborah Young
CANNES (Variety) - Mohsen Makhmalbaf, one of the most influential directors in Iran today and patriarch to a family of award-winning filmers, began his career with strongly themed social films like

Iran arms 55 villages to fight armed Afghan bandits
Mashhad, Iran, May 21, IRNA -- Iran has armed 55 villages and 25 nomad districts along the border with Turkmenistan in northeastern country in a bid to confront armed Afghan bandits, officials said Monday.

Eight Afghan refugees die in Pakistan road accident
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, May 20 (AFP) - Eight Afghan refugees we re killed and 12 others were wounded when a mini-bus fell into a ditch near a checkpost on the Pakistan-Afghan border Sunday, police said.

Afghan Loya Jirga
Noorullah Khan - The News/Jang Opinion - 5/21/01
Observing the salient features of Afghan society, the traditional Afghan Loya Jirga comes in the first row. This traditional political institution has been alive since the ancient Aryan period; afterwards it was

Rocca's recipe
The Nation editorial
US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca, during her Senate confirmation hearing, has hinted at easing sanctions against India and Pakistan, though she has also indicated that the 'democracy