Afghanistan News March 9, 2006

March 9, 2006

Fighting in Afghanistan Leaves Two Dead
AP via Yahoo! News
KABUL, Afghanistan - Suspected Taliban rebels hiding in a walled compound battled with security forces in eastern Afghanistan, and a militant and a woman were killed, officials said Thursday.

A U.S. warplane bombed the building after several hours of fighting with Afghan ground forces Wednesday, said Nangahar province police spokesman Ghafor Khan. A U.S. military spokesman, Sgt. J.C. Woodring, said he could not confirm this.

The body of the woman as well as a wounded child were found in a house near the site of the battle in Nangahar's Chaparhar district, Khan said. Both were believed to have been hit by bullets fired by the militants, he said.

Several insurgents who were hiding in the compound are believed to have fled before it was bombed, the police spokesman said. The body of the one dead militant was found in the house along with several weapons and detonators for bombs.

Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan in the past year as Taliban rebels have stepped up attacks.

Musharraf calls on Afghanistan to bolster border security amid row
Thu Mar 9, 1:27 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has called on Afghanistan to bolster its border security amid a row between Washington's two "war on terror" allies over cross-border infiltration.

Musharraf discussed the border security issue during a meeting in Islamabad with General John Abizaid, commander of the US Central Command, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Wednesday.

Musharraf emphasised the need for "bolstering security measures on the Afghan side of the border," it said.

"Matters pertaining to intelligence sharing, ways to further intensify efforts in intelligence sharing and speedy exchange of information were also discussed," it added.

Musharraf said over 80,000 troops deployed along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan have "effectively checked the cross-border infiltration and destroyed several sanctuaries through targeted operations against militants".

It cited the US Centcom chief as saying that Pakistan has done "more than any other country to combating terrorism".

Abizaid's visit comes amid an intensifying war of words between Pakistan and Afghanistan following US President George W. Bush's visit to the two countries last week.

Kabul has stepped up calls for Islamabad to clamp down on Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgents who it says launch attacks in Afghanistan from hideouts across the border in Pakistan. Musharraf has rejected the charges.

The US Centcom chief also met with Pakistan's vice chief of army staff, General Ahsan Hyat, and discussed ways to further increase cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, APP said.

Abizaid begun his two-day visit to Pakistan on Tuesday. He last visited the country in October after the devastating earthquake which killed more than 73,000 people.

Pakistan is a key ally in the US "war on terror" and the armed forces of the two countries are hunting Al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants in the region.

Islamabad provided key logistical and intelligence support for US operations in Afghanistan that led to the ousting of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Pakistan says it killed 140 pro-Taliban insurgents in a tribal area in fighting that started on Saturday.

Musharraf wants more security on Afghan border
Thursday, March 09, 2006 Daily Times
* President urges Afghanistan to provide intelligence more quickly
* Says Afghan accusations hurt counter-terror coordination
By Rana Qaisar
ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday told US Central Command (Centcom) chief General John P Abizaid that there was an urgent need to reinforce security on the Afghan side of the border to stop “miscreants” sneaking into Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Sources told Daily Times that the president presented the Centcom chief with evidence that infiltration was taking place from Afghanistan. “Documentary evidence to prove the Afghan government’s accusations wrong was also presented to the US Centcom chief,” the sources said, referring to recent accusations by Kabul that Islamabad is responsible for instability and trouble in Afghanistan.

The president said such accusations were harmful as they would not help improve anti-terror coordination, the sources said. He also rejected the Afghan government’s claim that infiltration was taking place from Pakistan.

The sources said the president also informed the US Centcom chief about the involvement of foreigners in creating trouble in Balochistan.

“The president stressed the need to bolster security measures on the Afghan side of the border,” an official statement said. The president also underlined the need for “greater coordination and sharing of actionable intelligence” in real time to achieve the desired objectives, it said.

Abizaid is in Pakistan to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul to defuse the escalating tension between the two frontline US allies in the war against terrorism. Musharraf and Abizaid also discussed cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in the war against terrorism, ways to intensify efforts in intelligence-sharing and speedy exchange of information, the official statement said.

Referring to the successes Pakistan has achieved in the anti-terror war, President Musharraf said that over 80,000 troops deployed on the border with Afghanistan had effectively checked cross-border infiltration and destroyed several sanctuaries through targeted operations against the militants.

“Pakistan has done more than any other country to combat terrorism and (Abizaid) referred to the sacrifices rendered by Pakistani security forces in operations against terrorists in the border region,” the official statement said. Abizaid said Pakistan was playing a critical role to fight terrorism and promote peace in the region and the world at large in weeding out the menace of terrorism.

The US Centcom chief also visited General Headquarters (GHQ) and met with Vice Chief of Army Staff General Ahsan Hayat.

Pakistan offers tribes help, warns on militants
Thu Mar 9, 4:36 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has promised tribal areas along the Afghan border special help with development but said foreign Islamic militants had to be expelled, state-run media reported.

The semi-autonomous tribal lands are Pakistan's front line in its war on terrorism and fighting between security forces and militants there has killed more than 120 people since Saturday.

Musharraf met a delegation of tribal elders on Wednesday and held out the prospect of development of their long-neglected areas, but said action against militants would go on, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency said.

"The government would make available additional funds to set the tribal areas on the track of fast-paced development and bring them on a par with rest of the country," the news agency quoted Musharraf as telling the leaders.

"The president said that there is an elaborate reconstruction and development plan for the tribal region that envisages boosting agriculture, irrigation, livestock and industry."

Musharraf also proposed so-called reconstruction opportunity zones where companies would be exempt from export duty, it said.

The proposals came after U.S.     President George W. Bush visited Pakistan last week and spoke of such zones in remote areas where manufactured goods would get duty-free U.S. access. Bush said these would help defeat terrorism.

Musharraf stressed that foreign militants would have to be flushed out and local people helping them dealt with sternly, APP quoted the governor of North West Frontier Province, Khalilur Rehman, who attended the talks, as saying.

Many al Qaeda militants fled to the rugged tribal areas after U.S. and Afghan opposition forces ousted the Taliban in     Afghanistan 2001.

They were given refuge by sympathizers among ethnic Pashtun clans and since 2004 hundreds of people have died in attempts by Pakistani security forces to dislodge them.

The tribal areas cover about 27,220 square km (10,500 sq miles) of mountainous territory and are home to about six million people, most of them Pashtuns. Few of Pakistan's federal laws apply and outside interference is deeply resented.

Many tribesmen sympathize with the Taliban and al Qaeda leaders     Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding in the region.

On Thursday, security forces and militants traded sporadic fire around Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, for a sixth day, a political official said.

Two paramilitary troops were killed in an attack on their checkpost but there was no information about militant casualties, said an intelligence officer who declined to be identified.

Two soldiers killed in attack by militants in Pakistan near Afghan border
(AP) 9 March 2006 via Khaleej Times
MIR ALI, Pakistan - Tribal militants launched rockets on a military post on Thursday in a volatile Pakistani region near the Afghan border, killing two paramilitary soldiers and wounding another, a security official said.

The attack happened before dawn on the outskirts of Miran Ali, a town in North Waziristan where military raids have killed an estimated 100 pro-Taleban fighters in the past week, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

The attack sparked a two-hour gunbattle in the village of Anghar, the official said.

The assault on the base in Anghar - located on the edge of Miran Shah, the region’s main town - brought the toll of soldiers killed in the recent violence to eight.

It came a day after a delegation of elders urged President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to end military operations and give them a chance to pacify tribesmen who have accused the military of killing innocent people.

Musharraf’s spokesman, Gen. Shaukat Sultan, said the president had promised to consider the proposal and sought the elders’ help in evicting foreign militants and their local supporters from the region. The elders promised “full support.”

Fighting broke out in Miran Shah and other towns in North Waziristan on Saturday, when militant tribesmen attacked security forces and took over government buildings in response to an earlier army assault on a suspected Al Qaeda camp at a border village.

The army said 45 militants, including foreigners, were killed in the attack but the tribesmen - many of them students of local Islamic schools, or madrassas - say civilians were killed.

Although heavy clashes have subsided since the weekend, militants on Tuesday ambushed the convoy of North Waziristan’s top administrator, and shot dead one of his bodyguards. Security forces returned fire and killed four attackers, said the administrator, Syed Zaheerul Islam.

Dozens of residents fled the area, fearing more fighting.

In a statement Wednesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch appealed to both Pakistan’s government and Taleban militants to ensure “that civilians are not deliberately targeted and that necessary precautions are taken to avoid civilian casualties.”

Thousands of residents have been displaced by the recent fighting, mostly centered in Miran Shah, which remained under curfew Wednesday.

The fighting marks a dangerous turn in Pakistan’s efforts to crack down on Islamic militants along the Afghan border, where militants of Al Qaeda and the former Taleban regime in Afghanistan are believed to seek sanctuary with sympathetic local tribesmen. It’s the first time in two years of operations that serious fighting has spread from remote villages to towns.

Pakistan’s army has estimated that more than 100 militants and six security forces have died in the fighting since Saturday, but has yet to give an exact count. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf had said prior to the attack that he would consider demands from tribal chiefs to end military operations in the region, where gun battles have killed an estimated 100 pro-Taleban fighters since the weekend.

Pakistan Ponders Creation of Rozs in Afghan Border Areas
Thursday March 9, 3:53 PM
RAWALPINDI, March 9 Asia Pulse - Pakistan is pondering the creation of Reconstruction Opportunities Zones (ROZs) in the semi-autonomous belt near the Pak-Afghan border to speed up the socio-economic uplift of tribesmen in the area.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf Wednesday said his government was working on a comprehensive reconstruction and development plan for boosting agriculture, irrigation, livestock and industry in the tribal region.

At a meeting with a delegation of tribal elders, assured foreign forces would not be allowed to conduct operations against terrorists in the strategically important tribal region. He assured Pakistani security forces alone were responsible for cracking down on insurgents in the country.

Meanwhile, a top advisor to the prime minister on economic affairs fleshed out the plan in a chat with media-people: "The factories in the ROZs - to be exempt from duties - will be allowed to export their products to the vast US markets. This will help promote long-term strategic links between the two countries."

Dr. Ashfaq Hasan said the ROZs would not only lead to the establishment of new factories in the border areas, they would also prompt relocation of old industrial units set up elsewhere in the region.

The prime ministerial advisor, hoping for an industrial revolution in the tribal belt, added: "The project, besides spurring economic activity, will generate jobs for Pakistanis and Afghans and pave the ground for improvement in other areas such as the communication system, roads, health and education."
(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Australia's PM Howard Visits Afghanistan
Thursday, 9 March 2006, 9:06 pm Press Release: Australian Government Visit To Afghanistan
Following my visit to Iraq, I have made a brief stopover in Afghanistan to visit Australian Defence Force personnel deployed on Operation Slipper.

Our forces in Afghanistan are a key part of our contribution to the international coalition fighting terrorism. In 2001, they were instrumental in helping remove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.

Our aim now is to assist Coalition forces eliminate residual Taliban and Al Qaeda resistance to Afghanistan’s democratically elected government and help rebuild the country.

The role of the current Special Forces Task Group (SFTG) is to conduct special missions in support of security and reconstruction efforts.

Our personnel are highly regarded by their Coalition colleagues. Australia can be very proud of their achievements fighting anti-coalition militia.

Approximately 200 highly trained troops work closely with Coalition forces and the Afghan National Army, operating in difficult conditions, against a fanatical adversary.

Their efforts are vital for Afghanistan’s stability and are at the forefront of our contribution to military operations against terrorism.

The SFTG comprises elements from the Special Air Service Regiment, Commandos, Incident Response Regiment, logistic personnel and the lead elements of a 110 person aviation element of two Chinook helicopters which is due to arrive in Afghanistan soon and be operational by late March.

Later this year, Australia will deploy a reconstruction task force as part of the Netherlands-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).

Final details about the timing and composition of the PRT deployment are yet to be determined.

Construction at Kandahar Airfield looks to future
Boardwalk, runway extensions in the works at growing base
Stars and Stripes By Kent Harris Mideast edition, Monday, March 6, 2006
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — So what if the nearest ocean is hundreds of miles away?

That doesn’t mean coalition troops and civilians stationed at the largest military base in southern Afghanistan can’t enjoy a (sometimes bouncy) walk on the boardwalk, and grab some American fast food while they’re at it.

The wooden structure, located near the geographic center of the base, was a pet project of Lt. Col. Jim Hardy, the recently departed base operations commander.

There used to be a smaller version between the office complex commonly referred to as the “Taliban’s Last Stand” and the base exchange.

In several respects, the partially completed boardwalk serves an example of the state of construction on the airfield: It’s in use, though it’s still not complete; it’s somewhat temporary in nature, but geared toward the future; and it’s designed to serve a number of purposes.

“It’s just waiting for some material and available labor,” Master Sgt. Arnold Torres, a base engineer with the department of public works, said. “Mainly available labor. There’s a lot of stuff going on around here.”

Stores on the outer edge of the boardwalk include trailers for Subway, Pizza Hut and Burger King, an AT&T phone center and a handful of embroidery, alteration and gift shops.

Row after row of metallic housing units fill the spaces near the boardwalk. American and Romanian troops live in most of the units, which feature common bathrooms and showers with potable water. Although the units are designed to house thousands, there are still thousands living in tents to the south and west. That’s due to an influx of Canadian and British troops that’s boosted the base population to about 8,500. More troops, especially from the Netherlands, are expected to push the numbers up by another 1,000 in a few months.

That’s put a strain on the three dining facilities on base.

“The length of time you have to stand in the chow hall line has been getting longer,” Hardy said before leaving. “And we knew it would.”

He said the main dining area, composed of a series of heavy tents, is getting old and needs to be replaced. Both the Canadian and British forces have talked about building a larger facility to replace it, he said.

Near one of the tents, a pair of large metallic buildings serve as a social center, especially at night. One has weights and exercise equipment. The other houses what’s probably the best array of morale, welfare and recreation activities in the theater. There are large-screen televisions for video games, pool tables, music rooms, a movie theater, a coffee shop and a couple cabinets full of books.

A little further on from that are the base’s sewer ponds. The smell carries with the wind. A new water treatment facility should be up and running this month. Hardy said an expanded facility — likely requiring an investment by coalition partners — could eliminate the sewer ponds entirely.

The international air terminal, a longtime landmark, has been separated from the rest of the base by a long line of concrete blocks that Torres said people have nicknamed “The Great Wall.” That’s allowed some civilian use of the terminal and runway. About 3,500 local nationals used it to travel to Mecca for the hajj in December.

As for the runway itself, work is under way to lengthen it and widen it. That would allow more traffic and other types of aircraft to operate out of the base. NATO and individual members also plan various ramp projects and other improvements in the coming months.

Hardy had hoped to have at least one road paved on base by the time he left, but he said drainage still needed to be improved and sidewalks installed before that could happen. As it stands, the only dedicated spaces for foot traffic on base are in between the tents and buildings. And, of course, the boardwalk.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister: "Taliban fighters are active on Pakistani soil"
Asharq Alawsat, UK 03/08/2006 By Omar Farouk
Islamabad, Asharq Al-Awsat- Taliban fighters are active on Pakistani soil and action was required to deal with the threat they posed, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said on Tuesday.

In an interview with Asharq al Awsat, Abdullah indicated “the common” enemy should be confronted. He denied accusations that his country was in any way involved in the fighting currently taking place in Waziristan, in Pakistan.

The minister added that his government had provided Islamabad with detailed information about Taliban forces and leaders living in border regions and the two countries had agreed to share intelligence on the location of al Qaeda militants and Taliban fighters.

Al Qaeda no longer had any bases in Afghanistan but that there were a few groups related to it that continued to carry out suicide bombings inside Afghanistan, Abdullah said.

About the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the foreign minister said it was important not to speculate about his location but expressed his confidence “we will capture him one day.”

He added that the Hamid Karzai government was working to develop its relations with all countries in the region, including India and Pakistan. “Our relationship with India is very important. Increase the scope of our relations with Pakistan, India and Iran and other regional countries is a priority.”

He refused to compare between the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, as it was wrong to describe the presence of foreign troops on Afghan soil as occupation. “The presence of international forces in Afghanistan helped my people to re-build the country.”

Afghan MPs blast Musharraf's remarks
Pajhwok 03/07/2006
KABUL - Afghanistan's parliament Monday termed Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf critical remarks of his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai as insult to the entire Afghan nation and meddling in country internal affairs.

The Wolesi Jirga (Lower House) of the parliament in a statement said Musharraf's blast of Afghanistan's government would harm national interest of both the countries when they were close in fight against terror.

The statement also said the words used by Musharraf were far from diplomatic language and were tantamount to insulting Afghan nation. The parliament urged Musharraf to respect international rules of diplomacy, neighbourhood and joint interests, avoiding recurrence of such 'irresponsible' remarks in the future.

"We must not ignore such remarks harming dignity and reputation of the people of Afghanistan," the parliament speaker Yunus Qanuni said.

Addressing a press conference on Monday Foreign Minister Dr Abdullah Abdullah said the two countries should try to smoothen their relations. Pakistan had already admitted existence of training camps for militants on its soil, he added.

He said the list handed over to Pakistan comprising both old and fresh information. President Musharraf in an interview with American CNN TV said that President Hamid Karzai was "totally oblivious of what is happening in his own country."

"I am really surprised and shocked why they have disclosed the intelligence information to the media," Musharraf told CNN. "We've already gone through this list. Two-thirds of it is months old, and it is outdated, and there is nothing," he said, "What there was, the telephone numbers that they are talking of, two-thirds of them are dead numbers, and even the CIA knows about it, because we are sharing all this information with them."

"The location that they are talking of Mullah Omar is nonsense. There's nobody there," Musharraf said. He also accused Karzai of "waiting for a presidential visit to hand me over this list" an apparent reference to President Bush's visit to both nations this past week.

Afghan university chancellor tipped as candidate for top U.N. job
Thursday March 9, 6:51 PM
(Kyodo) _ The chancellor of Kabul University has been tipped as a possible candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as secretary general of the United Nations, an official said Thursday.
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former Afghan finance minister, "is a possible candidate" to replace Annan, whose second five-year term as U.N. chief ends this year, Kabul University official Sima Ghani said.

The chancellor, who is now in the United States for a medical checkup, has been informally notified by the Office of the U.N. secretary general of his possible nomination, but he has not replied yet, the official said.

Ashraf Ghani, born in 1949, has a doctorate from Columbia University and served as Afghanistan's finance minister during the transitional government from 2002 to 2004.

He was recognized as the best finance minister in Asia in 2003 by emerging markets. During his tenure, he carried out a series of extensive reforms, including the issuance of a new currency.

He has also worked as a special adviser to the United Nations on Afghanistan-related affairs and to the World Bank.

The news of his possible candidacy comes at a time when Asian countries are pushing to ensure the top U.N. post is filled by a candidate from Asia.

Asia has so far put forward Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka, a former U.N. undersecretary general for disarmament affairs, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon as candidates.

Czech troops in Afghanistan to get armoured rovers
Prague Daily Monitor - Mar 08 11:04 PM
Prague, March 8 (CTK) - Czech troops in Afghanistan will receive a dozen of new Land Rover Defenders, protected against attacks, this month, the Defence Ministry´s press department told CTK today.

The Land Rovers will be transported to the location together with the new Czech contingent that will remain in Afghanistan for six months.

"The vehicle fully meet the needs of foreign mission members," the ministry said.

The new rover should protect its crew against shots from 7.62 millionm automatic rifles and splinters from blasts.

There is an enormous number of mines in Afghanistan after several wars were waged there since the 1970s. As for mines, it is considered the most dangerous country in the world.

Ten rovers will go to the reconnaissance unit deployed in southeast Afghanistan, while bomb disposal experts at Kabul airport will get two.

The Czech military has recently sent five armoured Land Rovers to the Iraq mission, further are to be sent to Kosovo. The military has some 20 new rovers that, according to unofficial information, cost about 2 million crowns each. The new type should gradually replace older types of Land Rovers and Russian UAZs. The military appreciated the UAZ in rough terrain very much, but the vehicle´s equipment and protection are insufficient and it is very difficult to get spare parts for them at foreign missions.

(USD1=24.152 crowns)

Sexual violence, abortion in the spotlight on International Women's Day
Wed Mar 8, 3:56 AM ET
HONG KONG (AFP) - Campaigners have marked International Women's Day by vowing to fight sexual violence and discrimination in Asia as the United States remains locked in debate about abortion rights.

While marches and debates were planned in countries still struggling for gender equality, the event looked set to pass largely unnoticed in nations where women have already made strides in politics, business and the home.

In Afghanistan, still slowly clawing its way to normality after years of civil war capped by five years of Taliban rule, activists were to launch a project to assess the extent of sexual violence against women.

President Hamid Karzai was also to order the release of a number of female prisoners. Women in Afghanistan can still be jailed for actions such as adultery and running away from forced marriages.

In neighbouring Pakistan, a woman whose gang rape on the orders of a tribal council triggered an international outcry was to lead a women's rights rally.

"The day will be momentous as it will bring together, for the first time, men and women in an area globally marked for gender discrimination and cruelty towards women," Mukhtaran Mai told AFP.

Organisers said they expected up to 5,000 people to attend the rally in the conservative central city of Multan.

Mai's rape -- a punishment for her brother's alleged love affair -- and her quest to bring her rapists to justice has garnered extensive international attention, much to the embarrassment of Pakistani authorities.

The issue also came to the fore in Indonesia, where Women's Day coincided with a study being released showing that reported cases of violence against women jumped by 45 percent last year, the Jakarta Post reported.

In the United States a debate was raging on abortion rights, two days after the governor of South Dakota launched a legal challenge that could overturn a landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling that made abortion lawful.

The decision has drawn outrage from pro-abortion rights groups, who have vowed to use all legal means possible to stop a change in the law.

In Australia and New Zealand, where women hold at least a quarter of the seats in parliament, there were no major events planned but campaigners warned that the fight for full equality was not yet won.

Despite New Zealand's impressive leadership roll-call of a female prime minister and chief executive of the country's largest listed company, glaring disparities in pay and under-representation in the boardroom persist.

Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward warned that unless the government did more to help women juggle the demands of a career and family, the economy would suffer.

There were no major events scheduled in conservative Japan, a day after more than 10,000 people rallied in Tokyo against proposals to allow women and their descendants to ascend the throne of the world's oldest monarchy.

Few of the women out shopping on a sunny spring day in the chic Ginza district appeared to have even heard of the event.

In China, where men still dominate Chinese politics despite rules and quotas aimed at increasing the number of women in government, women were given half a day off work.

Some 500 sex workers, unions, farmers and the poor meanwhile marched against Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangkok, saying he was a poor role model for children.

In neighbouring Vietnam florists were doing brisk business, with children and husbands following tradition to give their mothers and wives flowers, despite state media suggesting that one bouquet a year was not enough.

North Korea took the opportunity to urge women to rally around dictator Kim Jong-Il by having more children.

"The women should give birth to many children and rear them to be dependable men and women," Rodong Sinmun, the communist party newspaper and mouthpiece, said in an editorial.

Report on the status of Afghan women
KHORSHIED SAMAD - Special to Globe and Mail Update - Web-exclusive comment on Int. Women’s Day

Four years after the U.S.-led coalition and Afghan resistance overthrew the Taliban, Afghanistan is still stumbling on the path to peace and stability. But glimmers of hope do exist. The brightest developments include the inauguration of the new Afghan parliament in December, and the political involvement of Afghan women in rebuilding their country.

Afghanistan's new constitution guarantees women equal rights and a quarter of the parliamentary and provincial council seats. Many women have become more socially and politically involved in their daily lives. Millions of women and girls have returned to work and school. Now that the burka is no longer a rights issue, some women have abandoned the head-to-toe public veiling that was mandatory under the oppressive regime.

Under the Taliban, women couldn't travel without a male relative and were whipped in the street for showing as much as an ankle. They were forbidden to work, go to school, or receive any form of education. They lived in overshadowing fear, though many secretly continued to study and go to underground schools.

Afghan women have started to become actively involved in the political arena of their country, demanding increased representation in government and legislatures. Out of the 5,800 registered candidates who participated in the historic parliamentary elections last fall, 565 were women. Women are guaranteed 68 of the 249 parliamentary seats and 26 of the 102 seats reserved for the senate, or upper house. In January, an Afghan woman was voted one of the deputy speakers for the parliament. Clearly, in some sectors of society progress is being made.

But, while a dynamic private sector is giving rise to a new middle class, poverty is still pervasive in Afghanistan. About 53 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line on less than a dollar a day. Life expectancy is around 45 years and one out of five children dies before the age of five, with about 1,600 of every 100,000 mothers dying in childbirth or because of related complications. Only 13 per cent of Afghans have access to safe drinking water, 12 per cent to adequate sanitation, and six per cent to electricity. Last year was also one of the bloodiest years since the fall of the Taliban, with at least 1,600 people killed in conflict-related violence due to an increase in insurgent attacks and insecurity in the southeastern parts of the country.

If there is any bit of light against the darkness that surrounds security and the economy, it comes in an important area: education. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), around 5-million children were studying in schools during 2005, an increase of more than a million from 2004. However, about 1.2-million primary-school-age girls are still not studying, according to the same UN study. This is primarily due to cultural restrictions, fear and ignorance. Hundreds of girls' schools were targeted by the Taliban last year, many of them burnt to the ground during night attacks. The militants have recently targeted teachers, killing a school headmaster earlier this year.

Education remains one of the most crucial areas in need of improvement because Afghanistan's population is 70 per cent illiterate. In the rural areas, illiteracy runs up to 96 per cent for Afghan women. These numbers are of epidemic proportions and need serious attention from the Afghan government and international community. Though many new schools are being built all over the country, the country faces a dire shortage of teachers and administrators. Without an increase in teaching capacity and changes in cultural stigma toward girls attending school, the situation will be slow to improve.

The human rights picture in 2005 was mixed. Despite more girls going to school, and significant participation of women in the landmark parliamentary elections, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission cautioned that serious violations of human rights continued in the country. Last year, at least 100 women set themselves on fire to escape family problems and forced marriages. Around 80 cases of forced marriages and 199 cases of physical torture and beating had also been registered with the commission.

Many women have found work in the past few years. But about 2.5 million - many of them widowed during the past quarter century of war - are in "desperate need of skills to help them find employment," according to the Ministry of Women's Affairs. There have been some successes, but women are still very much second- and third-class citizens, especially in some remote areas. Without education and economic opportunities, these women have a very limited future.

While the political status of women and girls has improved in Afghanistan, overall progress has been uneven. The volatile security situation and traditional cultural norms continue to limit women's and girl's roles in public life and deny them the full enjoyment of their rights. The needs for reconstruction and strengthening of human capacity, especially in education and health care, will require the sustained attention and support of the international community for many more years to come.

Khorshied Samad, the former Kabul bureau chief for Fox News, is married to the Afghan ambassador to Canada.

UNHCR to assist Afghan refugees intending to leave Iran
Mashhad, Khorassan Razavi Prov, March 7, IRNA Iran-UNHCR-Afghans
Representative of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Alessandro Bolzoni said here Monday that the body would give assistance only to Afghan refugees who intend to return to Afghanistan.

At a meeting with this northeastern province's officials, Bolzoni said that Afghan refugees would be assisted in seeking a brighter future by the international community, and stressed that Iran has played a major role so far to this end.

Bolzoni is currently here to participate in the 9th Tripartite Commission session that is to be held here on Wednesday attended by representatives of Iran, Afghanistan and the UNHCR, the three parties involved in the voluntary repatriation program for Afghan refugees.

The official called for a change in Tehran-UNHCR policies to speed up repatriation of all Afghan refugees to their homeland within the framework of the tripartite agreement signed by Iran, Afghanistan and UNHCR in 2002 as well as facilitate their voluntary repatriation after taking refuge in Iran for decades.

Bolzoni, moreover, said that the UNHCR's latest decision to stop the aid which it had been giving to Iran on the program was aimed at speeding up the process of repatriating Afghan refugees to their homeland.

According to the official, the decision was made during the last Tripartite Commission meeting on the joint voluntary repatriation program held in Geneva following the UNHCR's annual Executive Committee session in October.

The decision would play a key role in accelerating the repatriation process of displaced Afghans from Iran, Bolzoni stressed.

Meanwhile, the province's governor-genral, Mohammad-Javad Mohammadi-Zadeh, who was among those who attended the meeting, said that most Afghan refugees have been living in Khorassan Razavi province.

He warned that their continued stay in the country would cause further problems in terms of security, health and efforts to curtail drug trafficking, particularly in this northeastern province.

The official stressed that Iran was ready to launch further economic and cultural development projects in Afghanistan in line with efforts to speed up the return of Afghan refugees to their homeland.

Iran hosts 9th Tripartite Commission meeting on joint program for repatriation of Afghan refugees
Tehran, March 9, IRNA Iran-Afghanistan-Tripartite Commission
Representatives from the governments of the Islamic Republics of Iran and Afghanistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held their 9th tripartite meeting on the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees Wednesday in Mashhad.

Following the high-level talks, the parties agreed to extend the Tripartite Agreement of the Joint Programme for the Voluntary Repatriation of Afghan Refugees in Iran until March 20, 2007.

The meeting was chaired by Advisor to the Iranian Interior Minister and Director General of the Bureau for Alien and Foreign Immigrant Affairs Ahmad Hosseini.

Afghan Deputy Minister for Refugees and Repatriation Mohammad Naeem Ghiaci led the Afghan delegation.

UNHCR was represented by Sten A Bronee, the agency's
representative in Iran, together with Jaques Mouchet, who heads the UNHCR delegation from Afghanistan.

"We have a very demanding task in our hands to ensure the gradual and sustainable return of Afghan refugees to their homeland. It is particularly challenging now as we have already seen the mass return of 1.4 million refugees since the beginning of the repatriation programme in 2002," said UNHCR's country representative Sten A Bronee.

With the signing of the Tripartite Agreement's extension, the parties agreed to renew efforts to remove obstacles to repatriation and to enhance cooperation and regional coordination.

The parties noted the international community's commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan as reflected by the recent London conference and the Afghanistan Compact.

They expressed the hope that this would contribute to the return and reintegration prospects of the remaining Afghan refugee population in Iran.

"It will be crucial to ensure continued understanding in Iran and Afghanistan of the difficulties Afghans face in making the decision to return home," added Bronee.

The parties, in the meeting, reaffirmed their commitment to the voluntary and gradual nature of repatriation. They stressed the need for continued financial support by the international community to the reconstruction in Afghanistan, to the voluntary repatriation program and to assistance for the refugees remaining in Iran pending their return.

UNHCR said that it will continue its longstanding efforts to assist the government of Islamic Republic of Iran in facilitating the voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees.

Since the first tripartite meeting was held in Kabul in April 2002, close to 1.4 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan from Iran.

According to the recent registration exercise undertaken by the government of Iran, over 900,000 Afghan refugees still live in Iran.

"Reaching our joint objectives will require the continued close cooperation, innovation, and goodwill of all three parties," said Sten A Bronee, the UNHCR's representative in Iran.

Canada-led PRT to fund $1m projects in Kandahar
KANDAHAR CITY, Mar 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Canada-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Thursday said it would fund several small projects costing one million dollars in Kandahar City and rural areas.

PRT head Maj. Jolie informed Pajhwok Afghan News the schemes, with different timescales, would be executed in this provincial capital city and some Kandahar villages to provide residents with basic services.

Meanwhile, the provincial council urged the PRT to consider suggestions of local elders before embarking on the uplift schemes.

Officials of the civil-military team should ask people about their priorities ahead of launching work on the projects they wanted to implement, observed Ahmad Wali, chairman of the council.

Past schemes carried out by non-governmental organisations, without consulting the locals, had failed to yield the desired results, argued Wali, who stressed new uplift plans should benefit people.

Jolie promised they would meet government authorities, provincial council members and tribal elders to seek their opinion on the areas' pressing needs and then implement the projects accordingly.

Powell lauds Canada's mission in Afghanistan
Friendship with U.S. strong despite Iraq: exclusive interview
Peter Goodspeed National Post Canada.com, Canada Thursday, March 09, 2006
As soldier and statesman, now sitting on the sidelines, former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell has been following Canada's growing debate over sending troops to Afghanistan.

"I think it was very proper and appropriate for Canada to lend its support to the effort in Afghanistan," he told the Post this week in an exclusive interview.

"It doesn't have anywhere near the controversy that Iraq had. But this truly was a place where terrorists had found a home. Surely everybody should be proud, Canadians should be proud, of what we have been able to do in Afghanistan. "This terrible regime has been eliminated," he added, referring to the former rulers, the Taliban. "But the work is not yet done and we need the presence of coalition forces to keep the job going forward."

In the past four years, 10 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan. Public pressure has been growing for a parliamentary debate over the deployment of 2,200 troops to Kandahar, in the volatile south.

"Kandahar is a difficult place, but I have confidence in the Canadian Forces," Gen. Powell said. "I have worked with them many times over the years and admire their skill and competence and courage."

"But you know, they are a military force and unfortunately there will be times when you have to take some casualties in the accomplishment of a mission. We mourn the loss or injury of anyone. But that is one of the things you have to be prepared for and expect when you take on a mission such as that.

"I hope Canadians will understand that and remain steadfast and supportive of their troops in Kandahar."

The son of Jamaican immigrants who grew up on the tough streets of New York's South Bronx, Gen. Powell served in the U.S. Army for 35 years, becoming the youngest general and the first black to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As a soldier, he earned a reputation as a reluctant warrior and developed a vision of warfare, known as the "Powell Doctrine," that argues military action should be used only as a last resort and only if there is a clear risk to national security.

Throughout his career, Gen. Powell insisted when his country goes to war, the force it uses should be overwhelming.

"You go to win, and you go to win decisively," he argued.

After spending four years as secretary of state during which he was the chief U.S. spokesman justifying the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Gen. Powell is working the public speaking circuit, specializing in talks on "leadership" and "taking charge."

Inevitably, he comments on current events and revisits a career in which his hard-edged charm and honesty made him the ultimate Washington insider.

On Wednesday, he will share the stage at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall with Frank McKenna, the former Canadian ambassador in Washington, in a public forum on Canadian-American Relations.

"I'm pleased to say that I have been involved in Canadian affairs, at a very senior level, for almost 25 years," Gen. Powell said.

"Back in the early Reagan days, I worked with Cap [Caspar] Weinberger, when he was secretary of defence, and got to know Canadian officials on the defence side. Then, during the Reagan years, I was national security advisor to president [Ronald] Reagan during the heydays of Brian Mulroney and the two Irishmen swapping jokes with each other.

"I was in many of those meetings and got to know many Canadian figures at the time, not only prime minister Mulroney, with whom I've kept a friendship up ever since. I just talked to him a few weeks ago."

Like most Canadian and U.S. diplomats, Gen. Powell lauds the economic relationship between the two countries and mentions the "open border that we all so proudly talk about," but he also admits relations have been rocky, especially since Canada refused to back the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

"Even though it was a source of disappointment and we shouldn't paper it over, we have to remember that there are much stronger bonds and ties that keep us together," he said.

"So, even though disappointments will come along, as one of my commanders once told me when I was a young officer still learning and was mad about something and fussing, he said: 'Well you know, Colin, the best thing about a disappointment is you'll get over it.' "

"In any relationship between two sovereign nations, you should not expect unanimity," he added. "You have to move on and get over disappointments and work to find new areas of co-operation.

"I've been through shakes and shingles. I've been through potato problems, maple syrup issues. I've been through problems with the Northwest Passage and, fortunately, I don't have to deal with the softwood lumber problem any more. But all the others, I've had something to do with over the years. And what was interesting is that almost all of them were of an economic nature. But when you consider the size of our trading relationship, it's such that you should anticipate that there will be economic disagreements from time to time.

"What we have to do is work our way through them. I've never feared the relationship would be broken."

Gen. Powell can't say as much for Iraq.

He fears the situation there may be spinning toward civil war and insists Iraq's leaders have to act quickly to stop their country plunging further into chaos.

"I think anybody looking at it would have to say that [civil war] is a danger. But I don't think it rises to a civil war. What we really need now is for Iraqi political leaders to finish their debate and get through the squabbling that has taken place and put a government in place.

"It has to be a government that represents all of the different interests and parties and religions and ethnicities of Iraq or it will be most unfortunate."

He warns there may be a danger in building up Iraq's defence and security forces, without also creating a strong central government that represents all Iraqis. Otherwise, the newly created armed forces could become part of a sectarian militia.

"It hasn't been very encouraging in the last few weeks," Gen. Powell said. "But we've got to get through this quickly and put in place a government that people can look to to undercut the source of the insurgency before it turns into more than just an insurgency."

He argues that most of the problems facing the United States in Iraq right now stem from a failure to follow the "Powell Doctrine" on the use of force immediately after the invasion.

"I don't think we had enough troops on the ground at that time. I don't think we imposed our political will or our military power sufficiently to nip the insurgency in the bud, as it was getting started, or to essentially stabilize the country in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Baghdad and the total collapse of the government."

After he retired as secretary of state, Gen. Powell told television interviewer Barbara Walters his famous United Nations speech in which he argued the U.S. case for war in Iraq may have tarnished his reputation.

"Of course it will. It's a blot," he said in the interview. "I'm the one who presented it on behalf of the United States to the world and it will always be part of my record. It was painful. It's painful now."

Since then, Gen. Powell's former chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired army colonel, has also lashed out publicly at the "cabal," led by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, which he claimed manipulated intelligence to make the case for war in Iraq.

Gen. Powell refuses to discuss the controversy.

"[Col. Wilkerson] speaks for himself and I speak for myself. And the history books will determine what is going to be said about things that happened two or three years ago. I had the ear of the President [George W. Bush]. I gave him strong advice.

"But the point was reached when he felt we couldn't let it linger any longer. Now, what debates took place internally and whether it was fair fighting or not -- we all had a chance to talk to the President and the President is the one who makes these decisions."

"I don't worry too much about rearview mirrors," he added. "Because you can't change anything. The only use I have for regret is that I learn something from it. I always look at a failure or something that should have happened differently solely from the context of what have I learned from this. Not how could I have done it differently. Because I can't go back and do things differently.

"Use your front windscreen, not your rearview mirror."

Global National's Kevin Newman hosts an evening with Colin

Tim Hortons to open coffee shop in Afghanistan
Wed Mar 8, 6:27 PM ET
TORONTO (Reuters) - Tim Hortons, the Canadian coffee-shop icon known for its addictive Timbits donuts, is heading into a war zone to serve the country's troops a taste of home.

The coffee-shop chain, Canada's largest, announced on Wednesday that a Tim Hortons store will open at the Kandahar airfield in Afghanistan within the next few months.

Tim Hortons plans to convert a trailer normally used during renovations of its coffee shops and ship it to the Canadian military in Afghanistan. It will be staffed by the military unit responsible for troop morale.

"We are extremely proud to be able to bring a little taste of home to our troops stationed in Kandahar," said Tim Hortons Chief Executive Paul House.

Earlier this year, Canada assumed control of a NATO mission in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. It has around 2,300 troops in the country.

"I'm delighted to hear this news," General Rick Hillier, Chief of the Defense Staff, said in a statement.

"Opening a Tim Hortons to serve our troops in Afghanistan strengthens an already superb relationship between two great Canadian institutions."

Tim Hortons, now owned by Wendy's International Inc. has plans for a public offering. It will seek to offer up to 29 million shares at between C$21 and C$23 per share. It plans to list on both the New York and Toronto stock exchanges.

It has more than 2,600 locations in Canada and more than 290 in the United States.