Afghanistan News April 23, 2005

April 23, 2005

Taliban Says U.S. Forces Won't Find Radio Station
Washington, 22 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Taliban spokesman Hakimi told AIP on 21 April that U.S. forces based in Afghanistan will not be able to locate the Shari'ah Zhagh (Voice of Shari'ah) broadcast station.

"[For one thing], Shari'ah Zhagh is a mobile station. [For another], it broadcasts programs at dawn and sunset. No one can detect the station's frequencies during these times," Hakimi added.

According to Hakimi more such radio stations will begin operating in other areas of Afghanistan and broadcast in local languages such as Uzbek and Turkmen.

Using the former name given to Radio Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, the neo-Taliban began limited broadcasts in the Kandahar area on 18 April.

Afghan Government Not Concerned with Taleban Radio
By VOA News
The Afghan government says it is not concerned about the recently launched clandestine Taleban radio station that is broadcasting anti-U.S. and anti-government propaganda.

A presidential spokesman says since the Afghan people suffered enough under the ousted Taleban regime, the propaganda is not expected to have an impact.

He also said he does not believe the Taleban remnants can continue such activities for long because the government intends to bring them to justice sooner rather than later.

A U.S. military spokeswoman in Kabul says it is up to the Afghan government how it wants to deal with the broadcasts. But she said the area targeted by the broadcasts will definitely be under U.S. military surveillance.

Farmer clash with soldiers over poppy eradication
Pajhwok Afghan News 04/21/2005 By Sayed Zabuli
KABUL/KANDAHAR - Farah provincial security officials say that two persons were killed and another three injured in a clash between Afghan National Army soldiers and poppy farmers on Wednesday.

Security chief Col Mohamed Rasool told Pajhwok Afghan News that the clash broke out when the soldiers were stopped from destroying the poppy fields by the farmers. "Residents were stoning a soldier and wanted to grab his weapon, when the soldiers opened defensive fire."

According to him two residents of the area were killed and another three including an Afghan National Army soldier injured in the incident. Col. Mohammed Rasool said the situation was calm in the region and that investigations are on.

The Interior Ministry press office has also confirmed the incident in Farah.

Afghan boy leads Coalition forces to weapons, drug cache
April 22, 2005 Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs)
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – An Afghan boy whose father received treatment from a visiting U.S. military medical team last week turned a cache of ammunition and drugs over to Coalition forces Thursday.

The boy led Afghan National Army and Coalition forces to a house in a village 10 kilometers away from Ghazni. The ANA approached the house’s owner who claimed he had no weapons inside. Afghan and Coalition forces searched the dwelling and discovered a cache of 13 rocket-propelled grenades, a Russian-manufactured machine gun, a mortar round, several improvised-explosive-device components, plastic explosives, numerous rounds of ammunition and two bags of opium.

In addition to the munitions and drugs, a number of documents pertaining to Taliban operations were recovered.

“The fact that these insurgents would store these dangerous munitions and drugs so close to an area where children live and play only highlights that fact that they don’t care who is hurt, or worse, killed, in their struggle against the people of Afghanistan,” said Brig. Gen. James G. Champion, Combined Joint Task Force-76 deputy commanding general (operations).

Afghans account for more then 50 percent of all munitions turned into Coalition forces and for more then 90 percent of all improvised explosive devices discovered.

“This is an excellent example of ordinary Afghan people standing up for themselves and their families to tell the insurgents, ‘We’re tired of living with terror and we’re going to do something about it,’” Champion said.

“Events like this are happening more often across the country of Afghanistan as the Taliban loyalists and foreign fighters find they have less and less support from everyday Afghan citizens,” he continued. “The fact that a child was able to come forward with this information only reinforces the message that what little support the insurgents once enjoyed in Afghanistan is slipping away more and more every day.”

Medical assistance visits are conducted throughout many of the smaller villages of Afghanistan and typically treat a wide variety of illnesses and injuries ranging from amputation-related pain to follow-on burn treatment to cold and flu symptoms.

The explosive portions of the cache were taken to a nearby forward operating base for destruction. Afghan and Coalition forces destroyed the drugs.

Important trade route construction started in Eastern province
Pajhwok Afghan News 04/21/2005 By Danish Karokhel and Ilyas Wahdat
KABUL – Construction of a road building project from Said Karam district in the eastern province of Paktia to the Afghan-Pakistan border was inaugurated on Wednesday, the head of the department of information and culture of Paktia told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The official, Deen Mohammed Darwish, said the 70.3 km-long road would connect Gardez to the Dand Patan district at a cost of $1.67 million funded by the World Bank. The 9 meter-wide road will be constructed by an Afghan-Korean construction company in six months. The road will be reinforced by 3,300 meters of wall as protection against floods. Paktia governor Hakim Taniwal formally inaugurated the project on Wednesday.

The road will link four districts Sayed Karam, Ahmed Khel, Samkani and Dand Patan districts of Paktiya province Ghulam Nabi Farahi, an official of the commerce ministry said "it is a great step for trade and investment for Afghanistan." This is a transit road and will help to import goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan and from Afghanistan to Central Asia.

The head of United Nations Office of Project Services (UNOPS) in southeastern zone Abdul Qayum Argushi says that the road will be constructed in three phases. The first two phases will be completed in six months but the last phase of tarring will be completed later and is not included in the project cost. Argushi told Pajhwok that another 20 km long road to Sayed Karam district from Gardez city would also be rehabilitated.

Fear of Hepatitis outbreak in Khogiani
Pajhwok Afghan News 04/21/2005 By Ezatullah Zawab
JALALABAD - Residents of Khogiani District in eastern Nangarhar province claim nearly 100 people have contracted Hepatitis and 10 have died of the disease in recent weeks, but provincial health officials deny these claims.

Habib Rahman a resident of the area who had the list of the patients who contracted the disease in Jalalabad, told Pajhwok Afghan News that almost 10 died and 100 are still suffering from the disease.

"And people can't afford to take their sick to Pakistan or Jalalabad for treatment", he added.

Dr.Safiullah working at the Hewad Laboratory told Pajhwok hepatitis can become an epidemic and easily spread from person to person.

"The virus of the disease is spread through contaminated blood, soiled syringes and operating instruments used by doctors", he added.

However, Dr. Fazal Mohammad Ibrahim the head of Nangarhar health department denied these claims and said there was no case of hepatitis in the province.

"Hepatitis can be diagnosed only though testing at a central laboratory in Jalalabad, therefore it can only be a rumor", he added.

He also said he went to the area one week ago but no one complained about the disease to him.

Noor Agha a resident of Khogiani District told Pajhwok Afghan News that eight people died of Hepatitis in his village Kambo.

But Dr. Mohammad Ayob Shinwari the deputy of the health department told Pajhwok Afghan News there is no sign of the disease in the area.

"We have sent teams to inspect the area for the disease and if it is true we will help them", he added.

Dr Safiullah said the disease is easily treated with a course of vaccinations.

Afghan Battles Heat Up in Spring
Los Angeles Times 04/22/05 Halima Kazem
KABUL — U.S. troops fired artillery and called in airstrikes as they battled Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters this week, another sign that spring weather might bring stepped-up attacks against American forces.

The fighting occurred late Tuesday as militants fired four rockets at the U.S. military base near the southeastern city of Khowst. The clash left at least 12 insurgents dead. There were no American casualties, the military said.

"They shot at us with rockets and we responded with artillery, fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft," Army Maj. J.R. Mendoza said in a statement. "We were able to see the launching point of the rockets and we brought everything we had to bear on it."

The military said two 500-pound bombs, 10 rockets and hundreds of artillery shells were fired at the rebels. "We are on the border of Pakistan, and the rockets could have easily been fired from there. We could see more of these types of attacks," a security official from Khowst province said.

Tuesday's clash was preceded by fighting in Zabol province on Monday that left 17 rebels dead. Last week, U.S. forces reportedly killed a dozen militants near the city of Khowst.

Over the weekend, Army Lt. Gen. David W. Barno, commander of the 17,000-strong U.S. force in Afghanistan, warned that militants might launch a large-scale attack in the coming months.

Such a surge in violence may be tied in part to the warm spring weather, which has allowed militants to leave the mountain hide-outs they use during the freezing winter.

Another sign Taliban and Al Qaeda remnants could be reorganizing was the recent announcement the Taliban had started a pirate radio station airing commentaries condemning the Afghan government.

Shariat Shagh, or the Voice of Islamic Law, reportedly has been on the air in several southern provinces, including Kandahar, the group's stronghold when it ruled the country.

"We have all heard that the radio is broadcasting for two hours a day, but no one I know has actually heard the station on the air," said Khalid Pashtun, a spokesman for Kandahar's governor.

Officials in the province say the announcement may be part of a publicity effort as the rebels try to rebuild support in southern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, two former Taliban leaders returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan, taking up Afghan President Hamid Karzai's offer of amnesty.

The pair — identified by the Associated Press as Mohammed Nazim, a former governor, and Akhtar Mohammed, a former police chief — swore allegiance to the Afghan government during a ceremony in Helmand province.

Rice Ordered Release of German Sent to Afghan Prison in Error
By DAVID JOHNSTON April 23, 2005 The New York Times
ASHINGTON, April 22 - A German citizen detained for five months in an Afghan prison was released in May 2004 on direct orders from Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser, after she learned the man had been mistakenly identified as a terror suspect, government officials said Friday.

The officials, who confirmed an account of Ms. Rice's decision that was first reported by NBC News, said that when Khaled el-Masri was taken from a bus on the Serbian-Macedonian border on Dec. 31, 2003, the Macedonian and the American authorities believed he was a member of Al Qaeda who had trained at one of Osama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan.

But within several months they concluded he was the victim of mistaken identity, the officials said. His name was similar to a Qaeda suspect on an international watch list of possible terrorist operatives, they said.

By then, Mr. Masri, 41, a car salesman who lives in Ulm, Germany, had been flown on a C.I.A.-chartered plane to the prison under a secret American program of transferring terror suspects from country to country for interrogation, officials said. At the prison in Kabul, Mr. Masri said, he was shackled, beaten, photographed nude and injected with drugs by interrogators who pressed him to reveal ties to Al Qaeda.

For reasons that are unclear, he remained for months at a prison known locally as the "Salt Pit." The case reached Ms. Rice in May 2004, officials said, and twice, over several weeks, she ordered him immediately freed. He was released in Albania on May 29, 2004.

The American officials acknowledged Friday that the detention had been a serious mistake and that he had been held too long after American officials realized their error.

In an interview on Friday, Mr. Masri said that he was gratified that "the truth has finally come out" and that he expected an apology. "I hope that America will in the future respect the rights of people," he said.

The disclosure of the decision to free Mr. Masri shed new light on the transfer of suspected Qaeda operatives around the world. Until now, it was believed that the transfers were carried out by the C.I.A. under presidential directives issued after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Ms. Rice's involvement suggests that the White House may have played a more hands-on role than was previously known. The officials who discussed the matter on Friday suggested that she had intervened as needed, but would not describe the extent to which national security officials at the White House were in charge.

In January, Mr. Masri's account of his ordeal was the subject of an article in The New York Times. At the time, officials at the C.I.A. and F.B.I. would not confirm or deny the details of his case, although they acknowledged that they had been contacted by the German authorities investigating his allegations of mistreatment.

Don Van Natta contributed reporting from London for this article, and Souad Mekhennet from Frankfurt.

Afghan officers complete counterintelligence course
April 22, 2005 Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs)
By U.S. Army Master Sgt. D. Keith Johnson Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan Public Affairs
KABUL, Afghanistan – Officers assigned to the Afghan National Army’s new Counterintelligence Directorate have completed a six-month course in the fundamentals of counterintelligence operations for their country’s new army.

The training, planned and conducted by the Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan, started with the basics. According to U.S. Army Capt. Jay Iannacito, lead mentor to the ANA’s CI directorate, the OMC-A trainers “had to come up with some fundamentals” since a few of the basics that would be considered intuitive for U.S. troops, such as security-classification levels, were initially lacking.

Given that the officers of the CI directorate will quickly require appropriate clearance levels to gain access to classified information, the instruction initially focused on personnel security and security-classification levels for information and documents.

The CI directorate, led by Col. Abdul Ghuyar, has four sub-directorates: Special Operations, CI Analysis, Personnel Security and Foreign Disclosure.

Ghuyar was pleased with the results of the course, calling it “very positive training. It really helped our officers upgrade their professionalism in the intelligence field. It has been very helpful to them.”

The classes expanded as the training progressed and the students showed an increased understanding of the course material. Starting with a single two-hour session per week, it soon increased to two three-hour sessions.

While counterintelligence and personnel security may sound exciting and bring to mind images of James Bond movies, according to Iannacito their foundation begins with the simple task of learning to conduct intelligence interviews.

Interview techniques integrated into the training included how to conduct walk-in interviews, source interviews, and subject interviews.

“It’s a little bit different on a background investigation where someone has committed a national security crime,” explained Iannacito, “than it is for a background investigation when you’re just trying to find out if someone is trustworthy and reliable.”

The ANA’s CI directorate is similar in structure to the U.S. Army’s model, but there are a few major differences. While most of the sub-directorates within ANA CI typically fall under CI in the U.S. Army, some do not.

That was a challenge, according to Iannacito. “Foreign disclosure and leadership protection are not part of CI in the U.S. Army,” he said. “So we had to go to outside sources to get the support we were lacking in those areas.”

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Tuan Nguyen, the foreign disclosure officer for Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan, assisted in that part of the training. Presenting a class on cover sheets and document marking, Nguyen’s instruction prepared the officers to work with classified documents and to know what cover sheets are required.

The training was as rewarding for Iannacito as it was for the ANA officers. “What was fantastic about working with the ANA officers is that the ‘light bulb’ would come on every day,” said Iannacito. “I would explain something and they would get it and put it in place.”

More important to Ghuyar was what the knowledge meant to the future security of Afghanistan.

”When the professionalism of our officers is increased, they can fulfill the missions that are given to them,” said Ghuyar. “The lessons they have learned in this training will help our officers to get information about Al Qaeda and use that information for the destruction of those elements.”

Afghan army sends 1st liaison to OMC-A
April 22, 2005 Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs)
By U.S. Army Lt. Col. Frederick Rice Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan Public Affairs
KABUL, Afghanistan – For the first time since the Office of Military Cooperation–Afghanistan assumed its mission to reconstruct Afghanistan’s security and defense sectors, an officer from the Afghan National Army has been assigned liaison duties to work alongside his U.S. and Coalition counterparts at OMC-A headquarters.

Lt. Col. Mohammad Ibrahim, a logistics officer assigned to the ANA’s new Logistics Command, will spend every other day working in OMC-A’s Defense Resource Sector directorate to assist with ANA equipment resourcing and logistics issues.

“We recognized that a communications gap existed between the ANA logistics community and our own logistics operations,” said U.S. Army Col. John Dolac, DRS director at OMC-A. “Establishing the LNO position will help to fill that void.”

According to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Wooten, the DRS logistics plans chief, Ibrahim has already made an impact in his short time here. When recently faced with a difficult issue involving ANA vehicle deliveries, “Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim knew immediately how to handle the problem. Using his Afghan logistics contacts, he made a few phone calls, contacted the right person and the issue was solved,” said Wooten. “It also helped that he speaks the local language.”

Language skills – he is proficient in English in addition to the Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto – are only a small part of what Ibrahim brings with him to OMC-A. With over 19 years of service in the military, he has a thorough understanding of Afghan logistics and maintenance operations.

“He was hand-picked by the ANA (for this assignment) because of his background,” said U.S. Army Maj. Scott Stewart, a DRS logistics planner. “We are very lucky to have him working with us.”

In late June, Ibrahim and three other senior members of the ANA Logistics Command are set to travel to the United States to get a first-hand look at how the U.S. military conducts logistics operations. They will visit various logistics depots and supply centers and also tour Army Materiel Command headquarters at Ft. Belvoir, Va.

“Since the ANA is starting their logistics system from scratch, the visit will be an excellent opportunity for them to see how an established logistics command operates,” said Wooten, who will accompany the ANA officers to the States.

Ibrahim is looking forward to the upcoming visit. “The trip is a great opportunity for me to gain experience that I will bring back to my country,” he said.

When the group returns to Afghanistan, they will be well-prepared to apply their experiences to management of the ANA’s Logistics Command.

Dolac is certain that Ibrahim’s assignment at OMC-A will produce positive, long-term results. “Having a logistics liaison officer here at OMC-A,” said Dolac, “will certainly pay dividends in the long run. It definitely improves our ability to manage operations together with the ANA to meet their logistics needs.”

Japanese government extends naval mission in support of U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan
April 22, 2005 Associated Press
Japan's Cabinet on Friday extended its naval mission providing logistical support to the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan by six months.

The current mission, which had been scheduled to end May 1, was extended through Nov. 1, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda.

Japan's navy has provided fuel for coalition warships in the region since November 2001. Friday's decision was the seventh time the half-year mandate has been renewed.

"There is still much work to be done to eradicate terrorism. So long as there is work remaining, we must keep going," Defense Minister Yoshinori Ono said at a televised news conference.

He suggested the government may even extend the mission past November, saying officials should consider drafting a new law permitting the deployment because the current one would limit the ship's involvement to November.

The dispatch to the Arabian Sea was the first in a series of decisions by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that have tested the limits of Japan's pacifist constitution since he took office in April 2001.

Koizumi has also sent about 1,000 Japanese military personnel to Iraq and surrounding areas for humanitarian projects in support of the U.S.-led mission there.

Forces search for foreigners in North Waziristan
* Make no arrests or seize weapons - Two killed in bomb blast
By Iqbal Khattak / Daily Times (Pakistan) / April 22, 2005
PESHAWAR: Paramilitary forces and tribal police, backed by army commandos, searched suspected houses for foreign terrorists in North Waziristan but made no arrests or seized any weapons, a military official said on Thursday.

However, Online news agency, while quoting South Waziristan Assistant Political Agent Mohammad Jamil, reported that the forces had arrested eight suspects but there was no foreigner among them.

The official told Daily Times that around four suspected houses were searched in Edderkhel village near Mir Ali town after intelligence agencies tipped off security forces about the presence of foreign terrorists linked to Al Qaeda.

“The search operation was peaceful,” Pakistan Army Brigadier Shahjehan told Daily Times. “We got a tip-off and a search operation was ordered in early hours of Thursday,” he said but gave no details.

Sources in Mir Ali said that around 400 army commandos and paramilitary Frontier Constabulary personnel surrounded the suspected houses at around 3:00am on Thursday but the occupants declined to allow the search of their houses demanding female personnel to lead the search.

The search operation came a day after Lieutenant General Safdar Hussain, the commander of around 70,000 troops in tribal areas, criticised his American counterpart in Afghanistan for pressing Pakistan to launch a military operation against terrorists in North Waziristan.

A tribal source said similar search operations were expected in the Khushkey, Mosaki and Yasukhel areas because the government had sent letters to tribes to look out for militants in their areas.

“You should kick out suspected people from your areas, otherwise, an operation will be launched and if any suspect was found, the tribe concerned will be punished,” the source quoted a letter from the government as telling the tribes.

Hectic military and political activities took place in Miranshah, the regional headquarters of North Waziristan, on Thursday. General Officer Commanding Peshawar Major General Akram Sahi addressed a tribal jirga while army reinforcements to the area were seen. Sahi told the jirga of the Janikhel sub-tribe that they should keep eyes on militants in their areas. “You people can take action against them on your own and if you need the army’s support we will provide it,” the Peshawar GOC told the tribal elders in Miranshah.

Janikhel elders and clerics assured the military official that they would not allow militants in their areas. They asked the army to inform them as soon as it got any report about the presence of militants in their areas. “We will take action against unwanted people,” the tribal elders assured Sahi.

Witnesses said fresh troops were reaching the Khederkhel area from Bannu while helicopters were flying over North Waziristan and people were expecting an operation. A military convoy was seen moving towards the Datakhel area from Miranshah.

Two killed in explosion: Two children were killed and one man was seriously injured when a bomb exploded in the Nurali tehsil of North Waziristan on Thursday, BBC radio reported. The toy-bomb went off when the children attempted to pick it in a field, killing Asmatullah and Inamullah. A man, Wali Ayaz, was injured in the incident, the radio reported.

Herat University construction suspended due to lack of funds
Pajhwok Afghan News 04/22/2005 By Khalid Khorsand
HERAT - Shortage of funds has halted the construction of the new Herat university campus, leaving students and faculty frustrated. Despite official assurances that the work would be resumed soon there is no clear indicator of when that will be. The construction of the university was brought to a halt a month ago due to the lack of resources after completion of only 20% of the construction work.

Since the university has no campus, different faculties and departments of the university are scattered in different parts of the city. The university has 3700 students and 40% of the students are women.

Professor Abdul Ruf Mukhlis the director of the university said that the construction of the university could be completed within a year whenever the higher education ministry sent them the necessary funds.

Meanwhile officials of the ministry of higher education ministry say that money for resumption of the construction will be made available after checking and evaluation of the construction already completed so far.

Mukhlis said $40 million was needed for the construction of the university in a 50 acre area. He said at present students had to study in different faculties in rented locations many of then hundreds and thousands of meters apart. He said the finished campus would have 10 faculties, central library, mosque, gymnasium, two hostels for the students and a central laboratory.

The foundation of the new campus was laid two year ago after the then interim government passed a decree in the cabinet.

Meanwhile, Professor Masood, director of planning in the ministry of higher education told Pajhwok Afghan News that a delegation of engineers had been sent from the ministry of urban development for checking the ongoing construction and attempts were being made to restart the construction soon.

He added, "The ministry of higher education has not stopped the construction of Heart University and we will try to give part of the loan from World Bank. The World Bank loan is $40 million and it is for six universities in Afghanistan including Herat University and we will give part of this fund so that the construction of the university can start."

He added that they have not yet got this money but they will try to start the construction work of university with the ministry's own budget.

Students of the university are angry about the halt to the construction of the university. Mansura who is 22 years old and a third year student of law faculty claimed" International aid is used like water in Kabul and important projects like Herat University are left incomplete."

Malalai a fourth year student of journalism said," If Ismail Khan was here the construction of the university would have been completed."

EU snub draws Pakistani protest
BBC 4/21/05
Islamabad has lodged a strong protest after the European Parliament refused to meet a hardline Islamist included in a Pakistani Senate delegation. The foreign ministry in Islamabad summoned the EU and Belgian ambassadors to deliver the protest.

The EU parliament had said it would not meet an individual who did not meet its "ideals of democracy and equality". The senator, Maulana Sami ul-Haq, also says he was held for questioning for three hours at Brussels airport. Mr ul-Haq also heads a seminary in Pakistan that has been called the "University of Jihad".

Pakistan's minister of state for foreign affairs, Khusro Bakhtiyar, told the country's lower house of parliament of the protest. The house then unanimously passed a resolution condemning the "undiplomatic treatment" afforded the eight-strong Senate delegation by the European Parliament.

Opposition religious party leaders said the EU's attitude showed that Pakistan's foreign policy was a failure. Mr ul-Haq told the Associated Press he was detained on arrival at Brussels airport on Wednesday.

"I was told by the authorities that I could not go along with other members and I would have to stay for some discussions at the airport. "They told me that they had received instruction from their interior minister that I should not be allowed in."

Mr ul-Haq said he was allowed to rejoin his party after three hours. The EU said it would receive the Senate delegation without Mr ul-Haq, but the delegation declined. It is now in Germany.

British Labour MEP, Neena Gill, leader of the EU parliament's South Asia inter-parliamentary committee, said on Wednesday: "While we have members who represent all shades of the political spectrum, we are all working within the framework of a fully functioning democracy. "We cannot condone therefore individuals who place themselves outside these parameters, for they represent everything we stand against."

Mr ul-Haq is part of the hardline Islamist alliance that forms a strong bloc in Pakistan's parliament. The BBC's Haroon Rashid visited his seminary in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province in 2003.

Our correspondent witnessed the graduation of 600 students pledged to fighting a jihad, or holy war, against enemies of their religion. The convocation was full of slogans in support of Afghanistan's ousted Taleban regime, al-Qaeda's leader Osama Bin Laden and jihad, he reported. Mr ul-Haq's advice for the Pakistani and Afghan students was to wage holy war until the "evil force" is defeated.

Afghanistan: women play a key role in improving lives
Source: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 07 Apr 2005
Women are playing an important part in helping their fellow Afghans overcome decades of conflict, while trying to create new opportunities and improved services in the country. A series of portraits focuses on the women trying to put the country back on its feet.

Supporting Kabul's ambulance service

One clear result of the protracted conflict in Afghanistan is the destruction of the infrastructure in towns and cities. Basic services that are taken for granted in many countries are either severely degraded or now non-existent in Afghanistan.

Even as the conflict continues in parts of the country, however, work is underway to restore essential services. The ICRC, the Afghan Red Crescent and other National Societies are making a valuable contribution to the restoration of essential services in Kabul.

The Norwegian Red Cross Society (Norcross) has undertaken to re-create an ambulance service in the city, having recently concluded a USD 1.2 million reconstruction of the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, the only orthopaedic referral hospital in Afghanistan.

The Kabul Ambulance Service, the city's only functioning ambulance service, has been established as a free-of-charge service for the whole population.

A staff of 103, including a driver and nurse for each of the Service's 13 ambulances have been trained to operate from one base station and four sub-stations in Kabul. Staff are trained in two basic courses dealing with medical emergencies and special driver training, and they then receive annual refresher courses.

Karen Bjornestad, the NorCross program manager and emergency medical trainer for the ambulance service explains.

"Our key national staff are excellent, well trained and very motivated, and we hope that this will enable the standards of the Service to be maintained as the Service is taken over by the Ministry of Public Health."

The ambulance service has cooperation agreements with both the traffic police and fire brigade for disaster preparedness and a memorandum of understanding exists with international organizations in Kabul for the use of medical facilities in the case of a major incident that causes mass casualties.

Six of the ambulance service staff are female and, of these, two are ambulance nurses working at the call centre. Karen would like to see more female nursing staff at work with the Ambulance Service.

"Because the ambulance service is on 24 hour duty for patients it is necessary to have crews ready to respond at any time. But it is not easy to get families to agree to female nurses working in our depots or in the ambulances with male drivers. This is a challenge to be overcome in the future."