Afghanistan News September 24, 2005

September 24, 2005

Afghanistan gunbattle leaves 10 militants, soldier dead
September 23, 2005
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Ten insurgents and an Afghan soldier were killed in an operation to arrest a top Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan, a governor and the US military said.

A soldier from the US-led coalition that has been in Afghanistan since the force helped remove the Taliban from power in late 2001 was also wounded in the operation Thursday in Uruzgan province, the US military said on Friday.

Coalition and Afghan troops came under attack by up to 20 "enemy firing small arms, heavy machine guns, mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades," the US military said in a statement.

"Coalition and US close air support and US attack helicopters arrived at the scene, blasting enemy positions killing 10 enemy combatants," it said.

Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammed Khan told AFP the operation was launched after a tip-off that the man considered a military chief of the Taliban, Dadullah, was hiding out in the province's Charchino district.

"We had reports that Dadullah was hiding in the area and we launched an operation but we faced Taliban resistance and the fighting broke out," he said.

"There might have been over 10 Taliban killed but we have at least four bodies with us," he said.

A purported spokesman for the Taliban said six of the group's fighters were killed. Abdul Latif Hakimi also claimed that eight US and 10 Afghan soldiers were killed but the US and Afghan armies said only one Afghan had died.

They would not confirm the nationality of the coalition soldier wounded in the clash.

Australia's defence department said earlier Friday that an Australian special forces soldier was wounded in an operation in Afghanistan in which an Afghan soldier was killed.

In a statement released in Australia, the department did not say when or where the clash took place but said the soldier was already back on duty.

Australia deployed 190 Special Air Service troops to Afghanistan this month ahead of the September 18 parliamentary elections, the first in the war-shattered country in more than 30 years.

Thursday's battle, in a known hotbed of militants from the ousted Taliban, was the first major clash since the election, which the insurgents had vowed to to disrupt.

About nine people were killed in various attacks around polling day, including a French soldier and several militants, but there was no major attack. The final results of the vote are expected late next month.

A top US general has warned that the Taliban's failure to derail the election did not mean the fundamentalist Islamist fighters were a spent force.

"I'm not ready to sign up to the fact that Taliban are crumbling," General Jason Kamiya, second in command of the 20,000 strong US-led coalition, told reporters.

"There still will be an enemy insurgency next spring (around March next year)," he said.

This year has seen the worst militant-related violence in Afghanistan since the Taliban were toppled. More than 1,000 people killed have been killed, including 50 US troops, the most since the coalition arrived in 2001.

Afghan Taliban commander said surrounded
September 23, 2005
KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. and Afghan forces have surrounded a Taliban commander in a central province, an Afghan official said on Friday, after fighting in which the U.S. military said 10 insurgents and an Afghan soldier were killed.

Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammad Khan said Afghan and U.S. forces launched an operation on Thursday after learning that senior Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah was in the area.

"We have information that Dadullah has come and is here. Fighting is going on," Khan said.

The U.S. military said 10 Taliban had been killed in the fighting in Uruzgan province. An Afghan soldier was killed and a U.S. soldier wounded.

But a U.S. spokesman said he had no information about a Taliban commander being surrounded.

U.S. air support, including attack helicopters, had been involved in the battle against insurgents using heavy machineguns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, he said.

(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom)

Afghan capital rocketed, no casualties
Sat Sep 24, 5:03 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - Unknown attackers fired four rockets on a rural suburb of the Afghan capital Kabul but there were no casualties, the interior ministry said.

The rockets landed in a village which is not far from a compound where electoral workers have been counting the ballots of last weekend's parliamentary elections, interior ministry spokesman M. Yousuf Stanizai said on Saturday.

"Last (Friday) night four rockets were fired which landed in Deh Sabz village -- there were no casualties," Stanizai said.

He ruled out the ballot counting center in Pul-i-Charkhi district, east of Kabul, as the target of the attack.

Stanizai did not blame the attack on any particular group but said: "Obviously it was the work of the enemies of Afghanistan's peace and stability."

Similar attacks have been blamed on the remnants of the Taliban whose ultra-conservative regime was ousted by a US invasion in late 2001 since when the militia has continued to attack government targets.

Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in more than 30 years last weekend without any major violence despite Taliban threats to disrupt the vote.

A NATO-led peacekeeping force of some 10,000 soldiers is deployed in Kabul and some northern cities to maintain security. The peacekeepers were not aware of the rocket attack.

A separate 20,000-strong coalition force under the leadership of the United States is hunting remnants of the Taliban mainly in country's south and east.

'Taleban' storm Afghanistan jail
Saturday, 24 September 2005, 10:57 GMT 11:57 UK BBC News
Taleban insurgents have stormed a prison and police HQ near the eastern Afghan city of Khost, leaving one inmate dead, Afghan officials say.

The attack took place in the early hours of Saturday in Ali Sher district. One policeman was injured.

Provincial police chief, Mohammad Auyub, told the BBC some of the attackers spoke Arabic and Urdu.

Afghanistan says Pakistan does not do enough to stop rebels crossing the border, an accusation Pakistan denies.

Elections

The insurgents attacked with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades.

An arms depot inside the prison was blown up before the rebels fled across the border with Pakistan, Mr Auyub said.

"We couldn't find them despite a search," he said.

Provincial deputy intelligence director, Naqeebullah Asmati, said the prison could not call the capital for help as communications were down.

Mr Auyub said an insurgent was killed overnight in another operation in Ali Sher district.

The violence comes barely a week after parliamentary elections which the Taleban had vowed to disrupt but which passed off relatively peacefully.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have traded accusations over border raids, with both saying the other side is not doing enough for security.

More than 1,000 people have died in militant-related violence in Afghanistan this year.

Roadside Bomb Wounds 2 GIs in Afghanistan
Saturday September 24, 2:29 PM AP
A roadside bomb wounded two U.S. soldiers on patrol in southern Afghanistan, the military said Saturday.

The attack happened Friday near Kandahar city, a former Taliban stronghold. About eight militants fired at the patrol after the bomb exploded, the statement said.

Three rebels were captured.

The attack came shortly after U.S. and Afghan forces backed by helicopter gunships killed 14 suspected Taliban fighters in central Uruzgan. The clashes were the heaviest since landmark parliamentary elections went off without major disruption a week ago. One Afghan soldier died and a U.S. soldier was wounded.

It was the first time U.S.-led forces used air power since President Hamid Karzai questioned the need for airstrikes.

The spate of violence followed warnings by a top U.S. general that the hard-line Taliban's insurgency was likely to continue well into next year after a winter respite. ADVERTISEMENT

Durand Line not an issue: FO
Daily Times (Pakistan) / September 23, 2005
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday that there was no issue with Afghanistan over the Durand Line.

“The existing internationally recognised border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was established in 1921,” said Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Naeem Khan. “This border is not subject to any controversy.”

NWFP Governor Khalil ur Rehman on Wednesday had called for a renewal of the Durand Line agreement, which he said had expired. “The official time of the Durand Line has expired, and I asked President Pervez Musharraf to take steps for its renewal,” Khalil ur Rehman had told media representatives at the Governor House on Tuesday.

According to the US State Department’s Office of Geography and Global Issues, “Recurrent claims that (the) Durand Treaty expired in 1993 are unfounded. There are cartographic depictions of boundary conflict with each other, but the treaty is clear.” A State Department official said that when the rumours of the treaty’s expiration first surfaced, the US government contacted the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to verify the claim, but was told in categorical terms that the treaty contained no expiration provision and, as such, was in place. nni

Nato-controlled Afghan regions record huge increase in opium production
By Justin Huggler in Kabul / The Independent (UK) / Published: 23 September 2005
Massive increases in drug production have been recorded in regions of Afghanistan where Nato is operating, just as the country counts votes from its first parliamentary elections.

A report from the UN office on drugs and crime recorded an overall decline in the area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan from about 131,000 hectares in 2004 to 104,000 hectares in 2005.

But the document says that the figures mask massive regional differences, with opium production increasing 106 per cent in the north of the country, 98 per cent in the west and 30 per cent in the south. The report is an embarrassment to Washington and London as they claim stability and progress in Afghanistan.

"The strongest increases were in the north and west where Nato is operating," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN office on drugs and crime. "This needs to be brought to the attention of Nato."

Two western military operations are present in Afghanistan. The US-led coalition, which entered the country after the September 11 attacks of 2001, is on a mission to eradicate the remnants of the Taliban in Operation Enduring Freedom. Since December 2003, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been increasing its presence by establishing so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) in the north and west.

The UN document shows a 334 per cent increase in production in the region of Balkh, despite the presence of a PRT at Mazar-e-Sharif. The picture is similar in the west with a 348 per cent rise in Farah where ISAF is also present. Meanwhile officials are alarmed at the 162 per cent rise in Kandahar.

Speaking in Brussels after meetings with EU and Nato officials, Mr Costa said: "It looks like the country is dedicating some of its best agricultural land to the cultivation of opium. Is it a coincidence or is it because they feel that they are less threatened by ISAF?"

A Nato spokesman said: "We are aware of the problem and reducing the cultivation of poppy will be an effort of the international community."

Massive increases in drug production have been recorded in regions of Afghanistan where Nato is operating, just as the country counts votes from its first parliamentary elections.

A report from the UN office on drugs and crime recorded an overall decline in the area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan from about 131,000 hectares in 2004 to 104,000 hectares in 2005.

But the document says that the figures mask massive regional differences, with opium production increasing 106 per cent in the north of the country, 98 per cent in the west and 30 per cent in the south. The report is an embarrassment to Washington and London as they claim stability and progress in Afghanistan.

"The strongest increases were in the north and west where Nato is operating," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN office on drugs and crime. "This needs to be brought to the attention of Nato."

Two western military operations are present in Afghanistan. The US-led coalition, which entered the country after the September 11 attacks of 2001, is on a mission to eradicate the remnants of the Taliban in Operation Enduring Freedom. Since December 2003, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been increasing its presence by establishing so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) in the north and west.

The UN document shows a 334 per cent increase in production in the region of Balkh, despite the presence of a PRT at Mazar-e-Sharif. The picture is similar in the west with a 348 per cent rise in Farah where ISAF is also present. Meanwhile officials are alarmed at the 162 per cent rise in Kandahar.

Speaking in Brussels after meetings with EU and Nato officials, Mr Costa said: "It looks like the country is dedicating some of its best agricultural land to the cultivation of opium. Is it a coincidence or is it because they feel that they are less threatened by ISAF?"

A Nato spokesman said: "We are aware of the problem and reducing the cultivation of poppy will be an effort of the international community."

U.S.: Afghan Army Not Ready to Take Over
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 23, 4:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON -     Afghanistan's army is not ready to take control of the country's south, despite reported successes that coalition forces are having against the insurgency there, the U.S. commander in the south said Friday.

"The Afghan national army is a work in progress," said Army Col. Kevin Owens, who is leading the force in the southern sector. He said that while the Afghan army is motivated and courageous, the command and control systems, along with their maintenance and logistical operations still need improvement. He could not put a timeline on when they will be ready.

Owens commented after Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said airstrikes are no longer effective and there is not as great a need for foreign military operations there. But     President Bush said Thursday that the 18,000 U.S. troops serving in the country have not yet finished their mission.

Speaking from southern Afghanistan to reporters in the     Pentagon, Owens said there are about 800 Taliban insurgents left in remote sections of southern Afghanistan where they have been able to hide. While he acknowledged there has been more violence in the region in recent months, he said it has been due to attacks by his forces.

"We have had more contact with the enemy, we've certainly destroyed more enemy combatants in the last six months, but again, it is on our terms," he said. "We have put them on their heels. I believe the enemy is reeling from our recent operations."

He said the ongoing operations and the recent successful Afghanistan elections have eroded the enemy's ability to launch coordinated attacks, and have lessened their contact with the Afghan population.

Ballot boxes sealed as Afghan vote complaints begin
September 23, 2005
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Election officials said they had quarantined several boxes of votes cast in Afghanistan's landmark parliamentary poll last weekend to investigate complaints of rigging.

Candidates in the southern city of Kandahar, the stronghold of the former Taliban regime, alleged some boxes had been stuffed with ballots after polling booths closed, and that some men used women's voting cards to vote twice.

The September 18 election for a new national assembly and provincial councils was the first in Afghanistan after more than 30 years, during most of which the country was at war.

The ballot boxes were sealed until the complaints could be investigated, election official Abdul Qahir Wasifi told AFP.

"We have a number of boxes in quarantine and later on it will be known if these complaints were true or not," said Wasifi, from the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) that organised the poll.

One candidate in Kandahar, Abdul Nasah Himat, said a "massive number of men used the registration cards of women to double vote."

"Some JEMB employees also had numerous registration cards... and cast numerous ballots behind the walls after the closure of the polling station," said Himat, who was standing for a seat in the national assembly.

In some cases ink used to mark voters' fingers to stop them from voting twice had come off easily, he said. A similar complaint marred last year's presidential vote that elected Hamid Karzai.

A candidate for the Kandahar provincial council, Bismillah Afghan, also alleged election officials had "cast multiple votes themselves".

In the town of Spin Boldak near Kandahar thousands of women's votes were cast by male family members and "some boxes were stuffed with ballots after the voting site was officially closed," he told AFP.

The Electoral Complaints Commission was receiving complaints but did not yet have details of them, commissioner Grant Kippen said.

"A lot of them right now pertain to election day incidents. We are just getting reports in of numbers and it is very preliminary at this time," Kippen told AFP.

Another election official said corruption was rife in Afghanistan and it was clear some of this had spilled over into the election.

In some cases though it appeared candidates were making complaints to discredit their opponents, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The main body of observers, Free and Fair Elections in Afghanistan, said Tuesday it had noted some intimidation on election day, mostly in Kandahar.

Its complete assessment would only be finalised later this month, it said.

The final results of the election are not expected until late October.

Afghan election raises the bar
By Ahmed Rashid / BBC News / Thursday, 22 September 2005
Guest journalist and writer Ahmed Rashid reflects in his latest column for the BBC News website on Sunday's parliamentary and provincial elections in Afghanistan.

Imagine standing in an election in which candidates have no idea of their role, responsibility or powers once they are elected.

That was the case for the thousands of Afghan candidates - one quarter of them women - who stood for 430 seats on the 34 provincial councils because the election law was only published three weeks ago.

So it was not surprising that ahead of the polls, the law had not been read by most candidates.

But despite the chaos, the elections were still a historic milestone, the culmination of the political process inaugurated by the Bonn agreement signed in December 2001 between the victorious Afghan factions who helped the West defeat the Taleban.

Heroic efforts

Every major step - a new constitution, presidential elections - has been monitored by the United Nations and endorsed by the international community giving it unparalleled legitimacy.

Despite the glitches Afghans, better known for street fighting than street politics, have taken to elections like ducks to water.

Their enthusiasm was palpable. The countryside was festooned with posters of the 6,000 candidates, and even attacks by the Taleban - killing ordinary civilians for carrying voter ID cards - did not deter the population.

Stories of individual electoral heroism are just as moving as the sacrifices made by the Afghans whilst fighting the former Soviet Union in the 1980s or the Taleban in the 1990s.

Hundreds of women bravely defied custom to stand and campaign in a predominantly male environment.

However public expectations from the elections were also running high - far too high given the lack of resources available. The days after the elections will bring enormous uncertainty as to the future of this country.

Off the radar

Afghanistan, once home to al-Qaeda and now home to a resurgent Taleban movement and heroin production that provides 87% of the world market should have remained top of the international agenda but it has not.

For two years the crisis in Iraq has sucked the oxygen out of Afghanistan. Now Hurricane Katrina has only added to the loss of attention and resources.

The West's commitment of resources and military manpower to protect this fledgling democracy, which is still the third poorest and least developed country in the world has been far too little.

Now it appears to many Afghans that with a job just half done, the West is now seeking an exit door.

Recently US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld let it be known that he wanted to pull out up to a quarter of the 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan over the next six months.

The American drawdown would supposedly be filled by Nato which maintains a separate 11,000-strong peace keeping force in the country, while the Americans do the fighting.

The American and Nato commands are supposed to merge next spring, but major Nato countries such as France and Germany are refusing to carry out combat or counter insurgency operations against the Taleban under a merged command.

"Over time it would be nice if Nato developed counterinsurgency capabilities, which don't exist at the moment," a heavily sarcastic Mr Rumsfeld told a recent Nato meeting in Berlin.

Karzai's problem

Increasingly worried as to who would maintain the peace next year President Hamid Karzai urged that after the elections, "the international community should not immediately think Afghanistan's work has been done and its over", and just go home.

Afghanistan still needs to be protected by the West and given more money.

Four years after 11 September not a single new power station has been built and rebuilding the major road arteries has just begun.

Ask any Afghan why he voted and his reply invariably is he is that four years on he is still hoping for change and to see the benefits of the end of the Taleban regime.

However Mr Karzai has also failed to generate the spirit of nation building.

After winning presidential elections last October he was supposed to deal toughly with warlords, drug dealers and criminals.

Instead in order to shore up his own position he has refused to move against them, despite overwhelming evidence that that is what the public wants.

Not a single warlord or drugs dealer has faced a trial or sentencing.

A fledgling army, police, justice system and bureaucracy is being trained at Western expense, but President Karzai's immediate team offers little example in the way of sacrifice and service that could inspire these institutions or the nation.

Those candidates who do get elected are likely to be angry and frustrated. The new parliament, rather than being a venue for discussing development goals, could become an overheated venue for anti-Karzai criticism.

Mr Karzai still has the time and public goodwill to rediscover the vision he had for his nation in the aftermath of the Taleban defeat.

Ultimately only a renewed Western commitment rather than withdrawal will give the Afghans the confidence to tackle their horrendous list of problems and encourage them to push ahead with nation building.

Observers complain low-efficiency, blank ballots destruction in west Afghanistan
HERAT, Afghanistan, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- As one of the three provinces of Afghanistan started ballot-counting from Tuesday, the western Herat province at the same time received many complaints about the low-efficiency and the way to deal with the blank ballotin counting process.

"As the observer of the election, each of us only has two hours to oversee the counting work in a day, but sometimes the workers just sit there without doing anything because of the absence of one of the unit members. After two hours, we sometimes couldn't see many useful working," Gulab Shah, representative of a Wolesi Jirga (Lower House) candidate told Xinhua Thursday.

There are 46 counting units, nine persons in each, responsible for counting the ballots collected from 15 districts of Herat, and the two shifts of counting workers work from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.. "The two hours is too limited for me, especially when most of the time has been wasted in waiting for all the unit members to be present," he added.

"There is another serious problem about the blank ballots. From what we saw these days, the empty ballots haven't been stamped to be invalid or destroyed, but put aside. It's easy for someone to misuse these ballots for some candidates," Gulab said.

He said he and some other observers have put forward the issue to the election center, but some officials from there said they accepted the issue, but would deal with that after the counting work when it's useless to do that.

"At the same time, we found out some of the observers involved in the counting work, and some of the supervisors are the relatives of some candidates. These affairs will influence the equality and fairness of the counting work," Gulab continued to complain.

About 425,000 people in this western province voted for the parliamentary and provincial councils elections on Sept. 18, accounts for about 50 percent of the registered voters. According to the senior count officer of Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) in Herat Williams Diederil, about 1,200 staff attended the counting work in the province.

As the first-ever parliamentary election of Afghanistan after more than three decades, it has attracted more than 6 million people to vote on Sept. 18. The counting work began from Sept. 20,and will last for 16 days before the preliminary result comes out, and the final result is expected to be ready on Oct. 22.

Afghan youngest female candidate strives for youth rights
HERAT, Afghanistan, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) by Xu Qun -- "Although facing challenges from the male candidates and traditional idea, I will not feel regret of running for the parliament member," Qaida Afif,a 26-year-old girl, told Xinhua Thursday in her home in Afghan western province of Herat.

As the youngest female candidate in her hometown and the country, her posters and slogan "choose the right person, choose the good life"in the city as well as her experience and motive tostand for election have attracted many people.

"I have the intention to run for the election. I am an independent candidate, and my emphasis is on the rights and prosperity of the youth as I have seen many cases showing that the young boys and girls always remain weak in decision-making no matter on their study, marriage or family affairs,"the short but confident girl said.

After finishing the 12th grade three years ago, Qaida opened a beauty shop. Her family is very liberal which gave her freedom to decide on her future. Although there is no government official in her family, her father encouraged her to run for the parliament, and all her family members also supported her both mentally and financially.

"I have one sister and one brother who are living abroad. Both of them and my father gave me some money for campaigning," Qaida said with a smile of happiness on her face.

During the one-month campaign period, she often went to villages to call for support. "The villagers welcomed me very warmly and many young boys and girls were in particular interested in my speech and expressed their support to me," she said.

In a conservative Muslim country, a young girl faces unimaginable difficulties to run for the parliament. "My posters on the wall were always removed by other persons, and we have to keep sticking more to let more people know me. Besides, when I delivered the speech in a vehicle driving around the city, many people even pointed at me and said it's a shame that a girl not stays at home but does this kind of things in the street," she said.

"Usually the candidates make their campaign in some mosques where women are forbidden. But I got the permission to enter and deliver the speech because of the identity of being a candidate. So besides mosques, I have to go to some other public places to make more women know my idea," she added.

The most important thing for the country is to achieve the utter unity and solidarity, she said, adding "I will do my best to develop education of Afghanistan if I can be elected, since education is one of the basic and most important elements for the development of the country."

There are 104 observers in Qaida's province, most of them volunteers, to help oversee a fair process of the election.

Qaida is very confident about winning the election, "I am 95 percent confident about winning the election. I think many young voters will vote for me because I am on their behalf," she said.

Popular Afghan Singer Gunned Down
23 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- An Afghan official said today that unknown assailants killed a popular local singer and six other people in northern Afghanistan.

Provincial Governor Guma Khan Hamdard says the bodies of Qorban Nazar and six of his friends were found in the Chemtal District of Jawsjan Province on 22 September.

Hamdard said they were all shot. He said the motive for the killings is unclear, but that it did not appear to be theft. (AP)

Afghanistan: RFE/RL Speaks With Country’s First Woman Governor
By Golnaz Esfandiari
The Afghan province of Bamiyan is well known for having a female governor -- the first and only one in Afghanistan. Habiba Sorabi, a former women’s affairs minister, was appointed by President Hamid Karzai as governor about six months ago. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Sorabi says her appointment has had some positive effects on the situation of women in the province. She also talks about plans to reconstruct the Bamiyan Buddhas and the country’s recent parliamentary polls.

Bamiyan, 23 September 2005(RFE/RL) -- Most of Habiba Sorabi’s subordinates are men -- an unusual situation in a country where women enjoy very few rights and men are the main decision makers. But Sorabi’s colleagues say they don’t mind and see it as a great opportunity for Bamiyan and its people.

“The presence of Sorabi as the first female governor of Bamiyan is a unique opportunity for the people of Bamiyan to show that they are willing to cooperate with a woman and contribute to her success," said Ahmad Fouladi, a Sorabi adviser. "It can also get the attention of the international community. It’s a good opportunity and I hope that the work will be successful because the success of the governor can prove that women can also be in executive positions, and it can be a good example for women.”

Sorabi told RFE/RL that her appointment has helped ease some restrictions imposed on women.

“One night I was in Band-e Amir and had a friendly meeting with some of the women who had come there," Sorabi said. "It was very interesting for me because they spoke very openly and frankly about their problems. And what really touched me is that they told me that they used not to even be allowed to go out for worship or other things. But now when they ask something, men do not oppose it, they say since we have a female governor, you are also allowed to go out. I realized that some women are using this opportunity very positively.”

Battling Illiteracy

Bamiyan is a war-ravaged, mountainous province in central Afghanistan, where poverty is widespread. Sorabi -- a pharmacist by profession -- says that in addition to poverty, illiteracy is a major problem for women in the province.

“For example, it is very difficult to find educated women whom we can hire for different positions in government offices," Sorabi said. "There are only two schools in Bamiyan; the one for girls has classes only up to the ninth grade. This shows that the level of literacy in Bamiyan [among women] is very low.”

But Sorabi is determined to improve the lot of women and raise their status by creating schools to train female teachers. She says this will create jobs for women and also enable them to educate girls and ensure them a better future.

However, Sorabi says her main priority is to preserve the historical and archeological heritage and identity of Bamiyan, the site of the two giants Buddha statues that were blown up by the Taliban regime in 2001.

Bamiyan's Archeological Heritage

“The city of Bamiyan has many precious historical and archeological sites and in the past there has been a lot of cases of transgressions out of ignorance -- deliberately or not deliberately," she said. "Now I want to pay special attention to this issue so that the historical sites are well preserved and we will have a city master plan that will preserve the sites and at the same time provide good living conditions for people.”

As for the statues, she says there are plans for rebuilding just one. The other destroyed Buddha statue will be kept as it is now, as a reminder of the destructive act committed by the Taliban.

Building roads is Sorabi’s other priority. She says many of Bamiyan’s problems -- including poverty and lack of access to health and education facilities -- are connected with the issue of accessibility.

Unable To Vote

Sorabi, 48, made international headlines when she was appointed as the governor of Bamiyan. This week her name appeared on the front page of most of Kabul’s newspapers because she could not vote during the key 18 September legislative elections because her registration card was deemed valid only for Kabul.

Sorabi says it was unfortunate she could not cast her vote, but she adds that others could and the elections were a success.

“It went very well," Sorabi said. "The elections were held freely. Whoever wanted to could participate. But one problem was the low level of women’s awareness; they did not know whom to vote for. Unfortunately, candidates could take advantage of it. I went to the polling stations and saw that women did not know the difference between the parliament and local councils.”

And what do women in Bamiyan think about Sorabi governing their province?

Khadija Bahari, 26, is a candidate for parliament. She tells RFE/RL that Sorabi’s appointment is a good sign.

“I’m very happy that Mrs. Sorabi -- a woman - is the governor of Bamiyan," Bahari said. "The majority of people have to a great extent accepted her. This is a move that opens doors for women.”

But, as Sorabi says, it’s only just a start.

Afghan Press Monitor
No 160, 22 Sep 05 - published by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Kidnapped journalists escape in Nuristan
(The Kabul Times) Three journalists kidnapped on September 14 in the eastern province of Nuristan managed to escape from their unidentified kidnapperson the night of September 21. Mohammad Taqi Siraji, Abdul Baseer Seerat and Mohammad Jawad, who were in the area working on a documentary film, were abducted by unknown men. "About 12 armed men held us in a mountainous area for this period," said one of the escapees. "We managed to escape when our captors were sleeping." At about the same time, a female election candidate, Hawa Alam Nuristani, was attacked in the province.

(The Kabul Times is a state-run newspaper published in English every other day.)

Two people killed in Zabul mine blast

(Arman-e-Milli) Two civilians were killed in the Nawbahar district of the southern province of Zabul by a roadside mine explosion on September 21. A security official said the Taleban had planted the mine before the September 18 to disrupt the process. As a group of people was walking in the area, one man stepped on the mine, killing himself and one other person. Zabul is one of the southern provinces where Taleban have stepped up their offensive this year.

(Arman-e-Milli is an independent daily run by a group of journalists.)

Armed group surrenders weapons in Jowzjan

(Anis) A group of armed men have handed in their guns voluntarily to disarmament officials in the northern province of Jowzjan. At least 65 militia members have surrendered their weapons voluntarily in the past week. Disarmament commission officials in Jowzjan told the state-run Bakhtar news agency that the weapons included Kalashnikovs, missiles and artillery.

(Anis is a state-run daily mostly in Dari.)

Junbesh commander accused of exploiting children

(Cheragh) A militia commander with the Junbesh-e-Milli movement loyal to General Abdul Rashid Dostam has been accused of using forced child labour. According to locals in the Pashtunkot area of the northern province of Faryab, over 40 children and old people have been forced to work on land belonging to commander Ghulam Qadir Rahmani. One man, Haqbiridi, 55, said the commander not only forced people to work for nothing, but also made villagers pay him a heavy tax - one tenth of their harvest. Rahmani countered the accusation by saying he had defended local people for the past 25 years, so he had the right to get them to work for him for no pay. The commander has refused to join the nationwide disarmament and demobilisation process, says he will not lay down his weapons unless his opponents, General Malik and Gul Pahlawan, do the same.

(Cheragh is an independent daily run by the Development and Democracy Association.)

Candidate's bodyguards accused of assault

(Erada) Bodyguards working for parliamentary candidate Jamil Karzai beat up Kabul municipality staff as they were trying to take his posters off a building after the election had finished, eyewitnesses said. Mir Ali Asghar Akbarzada, a reporter for the Aina programme on state TV, witnessed the incident and told a local news agency that Karzai's bodyguards also broke his camera. He said, "I demanded to talk to Jamil Karzai, but his guards wouldn't let me see him. If the police hadn't arrived on time, they would have broken my other camera, which contained shots of the scene".

(Erada is an independent daily run by the Afghan Media Resource Centre.)

French ambassador presents credentials

(Hewad) President Hamed Karzai has accepted the credentials of the new french ambassador [Regis Koetschet] at the presidential palace. According to the state-run Bakhtar news agency, the new envoy said Paris and Kabul had historically enjoyed good relations, and he hoped to improve them further.

(Hewad is a state-run daily mostly in Dari.)

Afghanistan, Turkmenistan To Improve Joint Border Control
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
22 September 2005 - Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on Thursday agreed to improve joint control of their shared border, which stretches across a major route for drug smugglers.

A document signed by both sides also reaffirmed that the two countries have no territorial claims against each other, Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry said. The accord came at the end of two days of talks in the Turkmen capital.

Turkmenistan, an isolated, gas-rich Central Asian nation ruled by autocratic President Saparmurat Niyazov, shares 860 kilometers (535 miles) of border with Afghanistan.

Afghanistan remains the world's largest opium producer, and Central Asia is one of the main smuggling routes for illegal Afghan drugs. That transit is taking an increasing toll on the region through rising addiction and diseases transmitted by needle-sharing.

Putting steel into Karzai
The Economist 09/22/2005 - A relatively peaceful vote, but Afghanistan's future is still not secure
ONCE again, Afghanistan has confounded the doom-mongers. The parliamentary and provincial elections held on September 18th were violent, with 19 polling stations attacked by Taliban insurgents and a dozen people killed. Intimidation and fraud were evident, compounded by a confusing voting system, whereby each candidate stood as an independent. But this was much less chaos than had been predicted; local elections in Pakistan last month were bloodier. And if turnout was down on Afghanistan's uplifting presidential vote last year, at around 50%, it nonetheless bespoke strong support for democracy and for accountable governance. As a milestone on Afghanistan's post-conflict journey, this should be celebrated, but cautiously—for the promised recovery lies further ahead than ruination lies behind.

To the long list of Afghanistan's dysfunctional institutions may soon be added its parliament. By preventing its being organised around political parties, President Hamid Karzai sought to ensure a weak opposition to his strong executive. At first squint, this might look wise: preaching national unity, Mr Karzai has done heroic service. Yet it makes Afghanistan too reliant on one good man, who risks assassination daily, and whose weak strategic vision the ploy typifies. In future elections, the chance of a single seat in an ineffectual parliament will surely fail to persuade warlords to give up their guns.

In this election, as another example of Mr Karzai's weakness, few were obliged to give them up: of 207 "commander-candidates" identified before the poll, merely 32 were disqualified. This was woeful, it disgusted many Afghans, and Mr Karzai is to blame. Before the vote, he received assurances from the two foreign armies in Afghanistan—an American-led coalition fighting the Taliban, and a NATO-led peacekeeping force—that hell-raising from disqualified candidates would be robustly dealt with. He must now undo the harm his weakness has done, and ensure that no elected candidate, or other official, maintains a militia.

To persuade Mr Karzai to do this, his allies must add steel to their assurances. Even as America pledged to secure the poll, it plotted to withdraw several thousand troops next year. Amid the usual squawking from Germany and France over the ideal role for NATO troops, it was uncertain whether America's European allies would fill the breach as it would like. They must do so. There is more at stake than bolder leadership from Mr Karzai. There are the fights against the Taliban and al-Qaeda and against the Afghan drug dealers who supply 90% of the world's opium. And there is the future of multilateral state-building and, it could be argued, of NATO itself.

Ultimately, however, no western power can end the insurgency raging in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where over 1,000 people have been killed this year, including 77 Americans. That will take years, by bringing greater prosperity to these desolate regions, after first instituting badly-needed economic reforms at the centre. But an eastern power, Pakistan, could reduce the killing. Money sent from Pakistan, as well as sanctuary there for the Taliban leadership, underlies the insurgency's vigour. Pakistan's claim to be unable to police its rugged border no longer rings true: a good portion, adjoining its tribal areas, is now mostly controlled. So should the rest be, and Pakistan must arrest its old friends, the Taliban leaders. Failing this, it will seem more than hapless in the ongoing violence. It will seem complicit.

"Afghan refugee returns from Iran top 4.2 mln"
Saturday, September 24, 2005 - IranMania.com
LONDON, September 24 (IranMania) - The number of Afghan exiles returning home from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran since the fall of the Taliban has topped 4 mln and 200 thousand, the UN refugee agency said, according to AFP.

Total returns so far this year stand at 415,000, said Ron Redmond, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Most of the refugees, 3.5 mln, have gone back to Afghanistan under a UNHCR aid programme which provides them with grants of almost 50 dollars for travel and other expenses, tools and help to rebuild their homes.

The programme, launched shortly after Afghanistan's hardline Islamic Taliban were ousted by US-led forces in 2001, is the biggest ever run by the Almost three million Afghans have returned from Pakistan, with a recent sharp increase triggered by the decision of the government there to close many refugee camps on security grounds, Redmond noted.

That has put the UNHCR's operations under pressure, as the agency tries to resettle the Afghans in their home areas before winter sets in, amid continued risk of violence, he said.

"Many of the families are returning to areas where there has been limited development due to the security situation," he told reporters.

"There are also a large number of people who left Afghanistan 25 years ago and who face all sorts of challenges in reintegrating into their former communities."

Millions of Afghans fled their conflict-ravaged homeland after the Soviet invasion of 1979 and the bitter civil war which followed the Red Army's departure a decade later.

Many of those going home were born in exile.

Around three million Afghans still live in Pakistan, according to a census there earlier this year, the UNHCR said.

Most of the rest of the refugees have gone home from Iran. An estimated 900,000 still live there.

"There is no place for secularism in Afghanistan"
Qanooni - Asia Times 09/21/2005 By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The opposition face of Afghanistan
KABUL - The national resistance to the decade-long occupation of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union in the 1980s is a source of national pride for the country.
In the chaotic years after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, the victorious mujahideen (holy warriors) fought a bloody civil war as they vied with one another to fill the political vacuum. This contributed directly to the rise of the Taliban and their seizure of Kabul in 1996.

When the Taliban fled in the face of the US-led invasion in late 2001, mujahideen leaders once again rose to prominence as interim (now elected) President Hamid Karzai struggled to establish his writ beyond the capital.

One of these is Yunus Qanooni, Karzai's chief rival in last year's presidential elections and a candidate in the weekend's parliamentary elections. Qanooni, a former education and interior minister under Karzai, has substantial support within the Panjsher Valley in the north of the country. Like slain Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Masoud, Qanooni is an ethnic Tajik Panjshiri. He fought beside Masoud against both the Soviets and the Taliban. He also served as Masoud's personal spokesman, as well as one of his senior military and political advisers.
When Masoud was assassinated by al-Qaeda operatives days before September 11 in 2001, Qanooni effectively took control of the militias Masoud had commanded. In the past four years he has smartly turned the former armed bands into effective political activists, and their presence was highly visible across Kabul in the elections.

Qanooni is not particularly popular with the US-led forces in Afghanistan as he now opposes Karzai, but he has positioned himself as an indispensable feature of Afghan politics, whether he holds office or not.

In a rare interview with the foreign media, Qanooni spoke to Asia Times Online. Asia Times Online: What is the future of the mujahideen in the new parliamentary politics of Afghanistan?
Yunus Qanooni: The mujahideen's importance cannot be down-played. They were important and they will remain important. Nobody can reject them. That's why they are contesting the polls and they will form a dominant presence in the upcoming parliament. [The results of Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in more than three decades will not be known until early October.]

ATol: The West is skeptical of the mujahideen, will it tolerate their heavy mandate in parliament, and their role in decision-making?

YQ: The West does not have a choice. They have to respect public opinion. The West is only concerned about peace and stability in Afghanistan. Only the mujahideen can ensure that.
ATol: Is the future of Afghanistan secular or Islamic?

YQ: Afghanistan is a Muslim country, with a 99% Muslim population. There is no place for secularism in Afghanistan. Our official religion is Islam and no system will be acceptable other than Islam. However, let me make clear here that the Taliban's concepts of Islam are not acceptable. Islam is a progressive and tolerant religion. Moderate and tolerant Islam is the future of Afghanistan and the international community should not be concerned on that because an Islamic welfare state of Afghanistan would not pose any threat to anybody, nor have any agenda against anybody.

ATol: People in Kabul seem to be concerned about the dearth of human resources in Afghanistan. Who will run the system?

YQ: I do not agree with this notion. We have qualified Afghans all over the world who can serve their nation and country. The same people also came to Afghanistan after the collapse of the Taliban, but due to the wrong handling of the incumbent Afghan government, they went back. At the same time, I would also like to mention that the government wrongly projects the literacy rate in the country. It is more than it projects. If the future government keeps upright policies, qualified people will return and definitely serve Afghanistan.

ATol: The Karzai government has announced a general amnesty for all Taliban. Is there any chance for people like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar? [ Hekmatyar heads the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) . Hekmatyar is a legendary mujahideen figure who fought against the occupying Soviets in the 1980s and became premier in 1993. He remains active in the Taliban-led insurgency.]

YQ: I disagree with the Karzai government's dialogue policy with the Taliban. As a result of this wrong policy, violence and terrorism is encouraged in Afghanistan. I do not see any chance that the government will achieve any success with this policy. The Taliban have only exploited this chance and the number of their attacks has intensified. I tell you, the Taliban have a rigid ideology and they will not compromise on that until their ideology gets recognition in the government, and they will not give up their fight against the government.

As far as ordinary Taliban are concerned, we have no problem with them, but there should not be any compromise with their leadership. As far as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is concerned, I do not see any chance of an amnesty for him as his policies are in contrast with the present government and the coalition forces.

ATol: But Hekmatyar's HIA is likely to call the shots in the parliament as 25% of the candidates came from this party, even though some leading figures claim that they have left it.
YQ: I disagree that the HIA will get any significant representation in parliament. Nonetheless, the real authority is public opinion. It's up to them whom they elect and whom they do not.
ATol: Warlordism is a problem in Afghanistan. Why it is not controllable?

YQ: This problem has not really been identified - who is a warlord and who is not? There is no absolute definition when one talks about warlordism in Afghanistan. When it suits, they are given government offices and they are not blamed as warlords, but when political differences emerge, they are blamed for warlordism. The same with terrorism in southern and southeastern Afghanistan. This does not mean that the Taliban are strong in those areas, it means that the government strategy is weak. There is a strong presence of the national army, police and coalition forces, and despite that, if violence is not controlled, it means that the government's strategy is flawed.

ATol: What share does Pakistan have in the insurgency in Afghanistan?

YQ: Pakistan supports the Taliban. However, it is neither in the national interest of Pakistan nor of Afghanistan. Both countries should take care of each other's interests and should have a policy of friendship.

ATol: Do you have any specific idea of how and where Pakistan supports the Taliban?

YQ: To me this is not important. The important thing is that the Taliban are working against the interests of Afghanistan and they are getting support from Pakistan.

ATol: Afghanistan has become a narco-state. Who is responsible? [See Opium gold unites US friends and foes, Asia Times Online, September 3]

YQ: The narco trade is an international problem. A full syndicate is involved in this trade. Therefore, a coherent joint international strategy is required. There should be a security belt all around Afghanistan on all borders of Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Tajikistan. Zones should be earmarked where Interpol's role should be ensured. The Afghan government is responsible for not taking this problem seriously. It has not devised any effective policy to combat this crime. When I was minister of interior for six months, I devised a policy for a security belt all around the borders so that narco trafficking could be stopped. Ironically, later on that policy was not implemented.

Lawmaker says international help needed to strengthen Afghanistan after recent elections
09/22/2005
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Afghanistan needs international help to keep its postelection government from dissolving into corrupt factions and to help regular Afghans keep faith in democracy, the senior House foreign affairs lawmaker said Thursday.

Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, told a hearing on U.S. Afghanistan policy that disappointing voter turnout during Sunday's legislative elections, 20 percent below the presidential vote in October, might have been a symptom of Afghan disenchantment with the democratic process.

Hyde said failure by the world to help fight the country's huge problem of illegal drug production and smuggling, insurgency by the formerly ruling Taliban militia and citizen apathy would "undermine the credibility of the democratic process."

The State Department's Afghanistan coordinator, Maureen Quinn, said the elections were "calm, orderly and secure" despite huge logistical and procedural obstacles, which included almost 6,000 candidates and 142 tons of ballots distributed by airplanes, helicopters, trucks, horses and donkeys.

Still, she said "urgent steps" are needed to keep Afghans safe and the government free of corruption.

Rep. Tom Lantos of California, the committee's top Democrat, criticized NATO for what he considered a weak presence in Afghanistan. He said that South Asian country is "one of the great potential success stories in the civilized world, which still hangs in the balance because NATO is so timid, pathetic and unwilling to step up."

Peter Rodman, an international security affairs official at the Defense Department, said certain NATO countries were helping in Afghanistan, while others "don't go to the latrine without voting in parliament. This is not helpful."

He did not say which countries he meant. Lantos also asked Rodman to evaluate comments made Tuesday by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who challenged the need for major foreign military operations in his country.

"Was this a momentary lapse of realism?" Lantos asked. "What was behind this incredibly puzzling and, to some of us, disconnected statement from reality?"
Rodman said he wasn't sure what Karzai was thinking. "We see this as, the fight is still on, and he knows that," Rodman said. "Operationally, our relationship with them is good."

Speaking at the Pentagon, President Bush said 18,000 U.S. troops serving in the Afghan campaign have not yet finished their mission. "The international community is helping Afghanistan become a lasting democracy," he told reporters after getting a military briefing on the global war on terrorism.

Karzai had said that in tackling the militants, foreign governments should instead "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases" -- a veiled reference to support that Taliban insurgents allegedly get in neighboring Pakistan.

PIA beat Afghan cricket team by 16 runs
Saturday, September 24, 2005 Daily Times
KARACHI: The visiting Afghan cricket team lost its opening match against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by 16 runs at the National Stadium here on Friday. Though Afghan cricketers put up some good fight but they could not match the experience of PIA who had the services of Test cricketers Asif Mujtuba and Ghulam Ali.

Batting first, PIA made 208 for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 50 overs. Ghulam Ali played a breezy knock of 60 to help his team past 200 mark. Abdullah Shah (43), Asif Mujtuba (33) and Zaeem Ghazanfar (21) were the other scorers. Left arm medium fast bowler Shahboor Zadran captured three wickets for 25. Leg spinners Muhammad Sajid and Naved Saleh grabbed two wickets each.

Chasing a target of 209 in 45 overs, Afghan team was bowled out for 192. Badshah Hussain faced the PIA attack with determination and made 49 with the help of four boundaries and one six. Captain Khaliqdad Noori scored 40 off 48 balls. He hit two fours and one six. Sher Mohammad scored 28. Mehmood Hamid bagged three wickets for 23 and Zaeem Ghazanfar captured two. Afghan team will play a day and night match against AO Cricket Club at Asghar Ali Shah Stadium on Saturday (today).

Outside view: Afghanistan's future
By Pyotr Goncharov Outside View Commentator Published September 22, 2005
MOSCOW -- What future awaits Afghanistan after last Sunday's parliamentary elections? Will the new parliament facilitate or block reforms? Afghanistan's major donors are waiting for the outcome of the elections with natural apprehensions -- in accordance with the Bonn agreements they have been investing heavily into the nation's liberal and democratic reforms, and its effort to build a new economy, army and government structure. It is clear that the new government will be akin to the new parliament.

Until now the Karzai team has been making a good effort in reforming Afghanistan, with considerable assistance from the United States and the West. Will the new government be loyal to Karzai if Islamists get a majority in parliament? The answer to this question is worrying the United States and other Western nations because an Islamic conservative parliament is bound to block democratic reforms.
Is this concern justified? Let's turn to the results of the elections. The military-political lineup has not changed much. The armed opposition is represented by the same old guys -- warlords of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Islami) led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, isolated groups of the Taliban, and al-Qaida guerrillas.

Pro-government forces continue to be confidently led by the prominent Mojahed leaders Burhanuddin) Rabbani, (Mohammad Yunos) Qanuni, and (Abdul Rasul) Sayaf who are competing for the speaker's seat. Technocrats and intellectuals are the main supporters of the ongoing reforms, but they are too weak and isolated to offer serious resistance to the mujahedin.

Independent political expert Ahmad Shah Obaid, who ran in the elections as an independent candidate, thinks that the technocrats will rank third in parliament after the regional elite and warlords: "These are not our elections. The intellectuals are obviously weak in Afghanistan. Karzai will have to face opposition from the warlords who are likely to have the biggest number of seats in parliament. It remains to be seen how tough the opposition will be on the president's domestic and foreign policies, the last being even more important."

Many experts believe, however, that there is no need to dramatize the situation. Karzai is ready for this turn of events. In a recent interview with a Western newspaper he reminded the United States and other Western nations that they themselves had brought the mujahedin to life in order to fight the communist regime. In other words, Karzai called on the donor countries to treat a potential opposition as a reality of today's Afghanistan.

Much will depend on who will lead the opposition in parliament. Most experts think that prominent Afghan politician Yunus Qanuni has the best chances. He represented Afghanistan at the Bonn conference in 2001, and was the minister of the interior in the transitional government. Qanuni has already set up a bloc of a dozen parties, and may well become the parliament's speaker.

Experts believe that the Qanuni-led opposition will be generally mild. It will be adamant only on major issues, such as the distribution of key portfolios (defense, interior, foreign affairs, finances), or the presence of the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition forces on Afghan territory. This is an old "headache" for the mujahedin, and they will demand that Karzai sets a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. military bases from Afghanistan.

The parliament, or Jirga (council of local authorities), has traditionally played an important role in the political and social life of Afghanistan. Major Afghan politicians and experts believe that the restoration of this institution, which was destroyed more than 30 years ago, will be instrumental in removing political tensions.

Pyotr Goncharov is a political commentator for the RIA Novosti news agency. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti.

Five major items’ exports to Kabul decline
ISLAMABAD - The Dawn, Sept 21: Pakistan’s export of five major commodities — rice, construction materials, sanitary wares, electronic goods and sugar — to Afghanistan declined during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year, over the same period last year.

Official data available with Dawn showed that only a few items, mainly cement, paints and varnishes, mild steel products, fruits and vegetables, milk and pulses, recorded a growth in exports to Kabul during the period under review.

However, the value of total exports to Afghanistan increased by 32.8pc to Rs11.380bn during the July-Aug period, as against Rs8.568bn in the same months last year.

It is believed that Indian products are penetrating in the Afghanistan market because of their competitiveness and quality. Moreover, the Indian officials posted in Afghanistan were also promoting their products by giving more facilities to their exporters.

The product-wise analysis showed that Pakistan’s exports of rice declined by 5.7pc to Rs317.881m during July-August, as against Rs337.136m last year; sugar decreased by 58.9pc to Rs204.170m against Rs497.504m; sanitary wares declined by 50.6pc to Rs6.699m against Rs13.562m; and construction materials dipped by 24.3pc to Rs156.801m against Rs207.308m.

No single electronic item was exported to Afghanistan during the first two months of the current fiscal year, as against the export of Rs30.801m worth of electronic goods exported during the same period last year.

The export of wheat and flour to Afghanistan increased by 19.7pc during the July-Aug period to Rs1.136 billion against Rs949.295m during the same period last year; ghee increased by 7.8pc to Rs924.622m against Rs857.651m; cement by 45.2pc to Rs974.338m against Rs670.819m; paints and varnishes by 69.8pc to Rs325.011m against Rs191.361m; and mild steel products increased by 49.7pc to Rs715.433m against Rs477.84m.

The export of electric goods to Afghanistan during the first two months of this fiscal year increased by 156.5pc to Rs166.179m against Rs64.769m; medicines by sevenpc to Rs113.342m against Rs105.881m; other grains and pulses by 749.6pc to Rs27.683m against Rs3.258m; fruits and vegetables by 110.5pc to Rs118.736m against Rs56.405m; and milk and cereals increased by 65.4pc to Rs197.573m against Rs119.406m.