Serving you since 1998
August 2007 :   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

August 3, 2007 

Taliban offer Kabul talks on hostages
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
GHAZNI, Afghanistan - The Taliban sought guarantees of safety from the U.N. mission in Afghanistan for possible hostage talks with South Korean officials in government-controlled territory, a purported spokesman for the militants said Friday.

In volatile southern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition said it had launched an airstrike on a meeting of top Taliban commanders. Local officials said more than a dozen rebels and civilians had been killed in the strike Thursday a remote area of Baghran district in southern Helmand province. The airstrike was far from the area where the 21 South Korean hostages are believed to be held.

Amnesty International appealed Thursday to the Taliban to free the hostages captured last month, warning the group that holding and killing captives is a war crime.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a purported spokesman for the Taliban, said the militants are ready to negotiate with South Korea's ambassador to Afghanistan in the capital Kabul or elsewhere inside or outside of Afghanistan as long as the U.N. mission guarantees their safety.

"The Taliban are ready to meet them in Kabul, other cities or other country, but only under one condition and that is that the U.N. guarantees their safety," Ahmadi said, speaking from an undisclosed location.

Officials from the U.N. mission in Afghanistan were not immediately available to comment.

The Taliban abducted 23 South Koreans on July 19 in Ghazni province as they traveled by bus from Kabul to Kandahar. They were part of a church group doing volunteer health work in Afghanistan.

The captors have already shot and killed two men in the group. Ahmadi said Thursday the remaining 16 women and five men were still alive, but that two of the women were very sick and could die from illness.

Amnesty said it made the appeal for the hostages' freedom in a phone call to Ahmadi on Thursday.

"Hostage taking and the killing of hostages are war crimes and their perpetrators must be brought to justice," Irene Khan, secretary-general of the London-based group, said in a statement.

Ahmadi told Amnesty "we are trying to resolve this issue ... acceptably," but did not agree to protect the hostages from harm, the statement said.

The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, meanwhile, said it had targeted two Taliban commanders in Thursday's strike. It gave few details and no word of casualties.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the strikes killed three senior Taliban, including the commander for Helmand province, Mullah Rahim. About a dozen other militants were killed, he said.

Ahmadi denied that Mullah Rahim was killed in the airstrike.

An even higher-ranked leader, Dadullah Mansoor, commander of the Taliban for all of southern Afghanistan, was present at the meeting hit by the strike but his fate was not known, Azimi said.

Azimi said the information about Rahim and other militants deaths was based on their intelligence service. His account could not be independently verified.

In apparent reference to the same incident, Mohammad Hussein, the provincial police chief, said several Taliban and civilians were killed in an airstrike in the Shah Ibrahim area of Baghran district on Thursday.

Taliban militants were hanging two local people they accused of spying for the government. Other villagers had come out to watch when the bombs fell, he said.

He said 20 wounded people were brought to the hospital in Helmand's capital of Lashkar Gah. Enayatullah Ghafari, the head of the health department for Helmand province, said the youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy and the oldest a 50-year-old man.

Twelve wounded men were brought to a hospital in the main southern city of Kandahar, said Sharifullah Khan, a doctor there.

Nasibullah, one of the wounded men in Kandahar hospital, said the bombs hit a busy market place. He claimed there were no Taliban in the market at the time.

Hussein said the area where the attack happened is a known Taliban stronghold.

Dadullah succeeded his brother, Mullah Dadullah, as commander of militant operations in southern Afghanistan when Mullah Dadullah was killed in a U.S.-led operation in May.
___
Associated Press writer Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
Back to Top
Back to Top
SKorea hopes US-Afghan summit will help resolve hostage crisis
The Associated Press - Friday, August 3, 2007
SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea expressed hope Friday that an upcoming summit between the United States and Afghanistan would help efforts to win the release of 21 Korean hostages from Taliban captivity.Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to make a weekend visit to the United States to meet U.S. President George W. Bush, with the agenda of their talks expected to include the hostage crisis.

South Korea has asked Washington and Kabul to exercise "flexibility" in handling the crisis, as negotiations to free the captives are deadlocked over the Taliban's demand that insurgent prisoners be freed, including some in U.S. custody.

"The Afghan and U.S. governments ... have a certain level of involvement in this issue," South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-sun said in a regular press briefing. "We have expectations that the two leaders would have sufficient understanding of our position when they hold a summit."

The Taliban insurgents kidnapped 23 South Koreans from a bus in southern Afghanistan on July 19, and have since killed two men as their demand for a prisoner-hostage swap was not met. The captors have threatened to kill more. Cheon declined to comment on whether South Korean negotiators planned face-to-face talks with the Taliban, repeating an earlier remark that the country has been "maintaining direct and indirect contacts" with the captors.

"What we want to tell (the kidnappers), the primary goal of these contacts is to make it clear that there is a limit in our government's ability to address the release of prisoners they demand," he said.

The United States has said it remains in contact with the South Korean and Afghan governments on the issue, repeating its principle of refusing to negotiate with terrorists. That prompted criticism in South Korea that Washington is not doing enough, but the president's office here sought Friday to defuse such remarks.

"The U.S. is providing maximum support in all areas actively," Cheon said. "Our position is that this is not an issue that should lead to anti-Americanism."

Senior South Korean lawmakers are in Washington to ask the U.S. government to soften its no-negotiation stance. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Thursday in Washington that the U.S. maintained contacts with South Korean and Afghan governments, adding "we are all going to do whatever we can to see that these individuals are released unharmed and allowed to go back to their families."
Earlier South Korean efforts — including sending a presidential envoy to Afghanistan — failed to get the Kabul government to respond to Taliban demands, concerned that it could encourage more kidnappings. South Korea's envoy Baek Jong-chun returned home Friday, apologizing for the death of the second hostage during his mission.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistani Leaders Can Influence Taliban
By Emal Pashtunyar Korea Times / Friday, August 3, 2007
KABUL _ As more confusion is added to the hostages crisis with each passing day, many Afghans and some foreigners, who know the history of the Taliban, believe that Pakistan might have a role in the kidnapping, or at least influence the Taliban militants to set free the Korean hostages.

Since their abduction on July 19, the hostage-takers had killed two innocent individuals while the lives of the rest are said to be at stake as long as the

Afghan government is adamant not to release the Taliban prisoners.

Sensing this possible role of Pakistan, the Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon telephoned his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri soon after the kidnapping and discussed with him how to secure the safe release of the hostages.

The second contact between the Pakistani and Korean officials came when Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Kim Joo-seok called the Pakistani opposition leader in the National Assembly and a pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Wednesday.

The third glimpse of Pakistan's possible role came to the fore when Governor of Ghazni province, where the Koreans were seized by the Taliban, told journalists that the Pakistan side was interfering in the issue and this is why they were unable to achieve a solution to the crisis.

Taliban and Pakistan?

It was in 1996 that the hardliner student militia captured Afghanistan's central capital Kabul after seizing several provinces from the mujahideen (holy warriors) leaders.

Pakistan was among only three countries that recognized the Taliban government. The other two countries were Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Since 1996 to 2001, when the Taliban government was toppled as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, the opposition parties in this war-ravaged country as well as the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and the world at large, including the United States, believed that the Taliban were the brainchild of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.

Foundation for that impression were even more strengthened when then Pakistan Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar (a retired army general), who was close confidante of Pakistani premier in 1996 and chairperson of Pakistan's largest political party, Pakistan People's Party, publicly claimed that he had created the Taliban.

Several other leaders, like a retired intelligence chief Gen. Hameed Gual, chief of a religious party, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) Maulana Fazlur Rahman, another religious leader Maulana Samiul Haq and many others also joined the chorus with Naseerullah Babar and started taking credit for themselves by saying that the Taliban were their creation.

However, all those voices suddenly hushed after the attack on the U.S. Trade Center and the overthrow of Taliban government in late 2001 as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Pakistan. Many of those, who supported or financed the Taliban, ended up in Guantanamo (Cuba) or Bagram (Afghanistan) detention facilities of the United States.

Can Pakistan Play Any Role?

Although Taliban have many sympathizers in Pakistan, especially in its Pashtun-dominated settlements and tribal areas, none of the government functionaries have any links with the Taliban. It is because the existing government, led by a military general, who is staunch ally of the United States, is totally against the Taliban.

The existing military-cum-democratic government in Pakistan is averse to the spread of extremism and is fighting a war against al-Qaeda and the remnants of the Taliban in its own tribal areas.

How can such a government in Pakistan, influence the Taliban in Afghanistan when it is waging a war and killing them (the Taliban) on its own territory. It was the incumbent Pakistani government that handed over the Taliban ambassador to Islamabad Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef as well as hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders to the United States.

At the same time, the Taliban will never pay heed to any request from the Pakistani government because they (the Taliban) believe that they are independent and without the influence of any government or state.

When the same question was posed to Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, he said they had nothing to do with Pakistan. ``We are independently fighting for the establishment of an Islamic government. We don't care for Pakistan or any other country in our struggle,'' said the Taliban spokesman, who said they will only obey the order of their leader Mullah Muhammad Omar.

As for some Pakistani religious scholars like Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Maulana Samiul Haq, the Taliban in Afghanistan might be under their influence up to some extent.

The former (Maulana Fazal) is also a political leader who supported the policies of Taliban in Afghanistan and staunchly opposed the invasion of the United States on that country.

As for the latter (Maulana Samiul Haq), he is running a big religious seminary in Pakistan and majority of the Taliban and their leadership got their religious education at his Haqqania Madressah in Akora Khattak city of Pakistan's NWFP province.

This is why, Maulana Samiul Haq might influence the Taliban in the release of the hostages.

As for the allegations of the Afghan governor regarding involvement of Pakistan in the hostage drama, it seems hollow and the voice of a desperate official, who finding no other way out of the crisis, desperately tried to shift the responsibility on the neighboring country.

Afghan and Pakistani officials usually accuse each other of any wrongdoings on their soils and their propaganda war against each other is not new; it is as old as the 56-year history of Pakistan.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan Doctors Hope to Visit Ailing South Korean Hostages
By Kurt Achin -  Seoul  3 August 2007, VOA
Afghan doctors say they may soon get a chance to visit South Korean hostages held by the Taleban in Afghanistan. Two of the surviving 21 hostages are reported to be gravely ill, and South Korean and Afghan officials are struggling to secure their freedom. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

Afghan Doctor Rajia Sharibi said Friday that she and a medical team might be able to offer the hostages professional treatment for the first time since they were kidnapped more than two weeks ago. She says she is ready, as an Afghan woman, to go and treat the hostages as a matter of humanitarian obligation. Sharibi and several colleagues from an Afghan hospital are exchanging messages with Taleban insurgent kidnappers, and say the medical visit might be arranged within the next 24 hours.

A self-described Taleban spokesman is quoted in media reports as saying two of the female hostages could die from serious illnesses they have incurred from the stress and heat of their captivity. The kidnappers have shot to death two of the male hostages, and say more may be executed if Taleban prisoners are not released from Afghan prisons.

Baek Jong-chun, a senior South Korean presidential envoy, returned to Seoul Friday after a week of unsuccessful diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan to secure the hostages' release. Despite Baek's return, South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon ho-seon says efforts to save the hostages continue.

He says the word "negotiations" is not appropriate, saying South Korea prefers to say it is in frequent "contact" with the Taleban. It remains to be seen whether that "contact" will be face to face. The purported Taleban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, has told reporters the insurgents are ready for direct talks.

He says U.S. and Afghan officials have not been "sincere" in dealing with the Taleban. Because of that, he says, the Taleban welcomes direct negotiations with Korean officials. Ahmadi's comments have fueled South Korean media speculation that a direct meeting may take place soon, but so far, no firm plans have been announced.

The Afghan government and its main security partner, the United States, have ruled out releasing any Taleban prisoners in exchange for the hostages, despite pleas for "flexibility" from the South Korean government and public. U.S. officials say refusing concessions to terrorists is a decades-old American policy designed to discourage hostage-taking. Afghan, U.S. and South Korean officials have also ruled out any attempt at a military rescue for the time being.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Taliban, SKorea seek venue for hostage talks
by Mohammad Yaqob Friday, August 3, 2007
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AFP) - South Korean officials and the Taliban struggled Friday to agree on a venue for talks to save the lives of 21 hostages, as the rebels refused to allow Afghan doctors access to the group.

The hardliners said after the latest deadline expired Wednesday they had not killed any more hostages, after already shooting dead two as they waited for direct talks with a South Korean delegation.

Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP there had been new telephone contact Friday with South Korean ambassador Kang Sung-Zu.

"They told us that they are in negotiations with the Afghan and American governments to convince them to free Taliban prisoners in exchange for the South Korean hostages," Ahmadi said.

The release of Taliban prisoners has been the key demand of the extremists, who kidnapped the group of Christian aid workers, most of whom are women, on July 19 as they travelled in the country's insurgency-hit south.

Seoul has however made it clear it cannot guarantee anything.

"The Korean government is not in a position to give a direct answer to the Taliban's demand that its prisoners be swapped for Korean hostages," presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-Seon said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency meanwhile cited "informed sources" saying direct talks between South Korean officials and the Taliban were likely to be held later Friday.

But Ahmadi said there had been no agreement on a venue with the Taliban rejecting a meeting in government-controlled territory.

They would however immediately agree to talks in its areas, in another country or under a UN guarantee of a "safe return" for its negotiators, he said.

The hardliners meanwhile refused to allow an Afghan medical team access to the hostages, most of whom are said to be ill -- two of them seriously.

"Of course we cannot trust them. But we can offer a very simple solution: the government can release two of our prisoners in exchange for the two Koreans who are very sick and we can see for the rest later," Ahmadi said.

The Afghan government has refused to release Taliban fighters for fear of encouraging kidnapping, and after severe criticism from the United States over a similar deal in March that has been blamed for a recent rash of abductions.

Some of the kidnaps have been carried out by criminals.

Seoul has been pressing the United States, a close ally, to help end the ordeal of the hostages, sending eight senior South Korean legislators to Washington Thursday.

Richard Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, told reporters Thursday that "potential military pressures" against the Taliban were among the "many tools" available.

But Seoul has also repeatedly stated its stiff opposition to any attempt to free the hostages by military action. Officials in Kabul have denied reports of a possible military operation.

In yet another international call for the group to be freed, a major Muslim organisation in Indonesia, Din Syamsuddin, on Friday labelled the kidnapping "absolutely unjustifiable" and "in violation of Islamic principles and teaching."

Two dozen Christian pastors and clergymen prayed outside the US embassy in Seoul, urging Washington to accept the Taliban's demands to secure their release.

"The US, which massacred civilians in the name of a war against terrorism. must assume responsibility for the current situation," a statement signed by 96 clergymen said.

A 62-year-old German engineer is also being held, along with four Afghans, by separate militants who are said to have close links to the Taliban. He was seized with another German, who collapsed and was then shot dead.

The abductions highlight growing insecurity in Afghanistan, one of the key battlegrounds in the US-led "war on terror," nearly six years after the United States led the invasion that toppled the Taliban government for sheltering Al-Qaeda.
Back to Top
Back to Top
South Korea tells Taliban it has limited influence
By Jon Herskovitz Friday, August 3, 2007
SEOUL (Reuters) - The South Korean government has told Taliban insurgents holding 21 Koreans there is a limit to what it can do to resolve the hostage stand-off that has stretched into a third week, an official said on Friday.

There has been some contact with the Taliban, and a South Korean delegation arrived on Thursday in the Afghan province where the Koreans are held hostage to try to hold direct talks with the kidnappers.

"Through our contacts, our foremost goal is to make it clear that there is a limit as to what our government can do to meet their demands of releasing the prisoners," presidential spokesman Chun Ho-sun told reporters.

In Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesman said the group had another contact on Friday with the Koreans by phone and indicated readiness to hold talks in or outside the country.

But the spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said the insurgents needed United Nations security guarantees should the Koreans want negotiations to be held outside Taliban-controlled areas.

Speaking to Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location, Yousuf said he did not know the Korean team's response.

Earlier, he had said the Taliban preferred to hold the negotiations in an area they control, and vouched for the safety of the Korean delegates.

He also said the group would deliberate over an offer by a team of private Afghan doctors who have volunteered to treat the remaining hostages, two of whom are reported to be seriously ill.

The Taliban have killed two of their male hostages, accusing the Afghan government of not negotiating in good faith and ignoring their demand to release rebel prisoners. The remaining hostages include 18 women.

The Taliban have repeatedly threatened to kill the rest if their demands are not met.

Separately, eight South Korean lawmakers met State Department officials in Washington on Thursday to seek help.

"We have confirmed the complete support and sympathy for the Korean hostages who are going through great distress," lawmaker Park Jin told reporters after the meeting.

The South Korean government has called for "flexibility," a comment analysts say is directed at the United States to sway the Afghan government to strike a deal with the kidnappers.

There have been calls among many left-leaning politicians for the United States to use its influence to resolve the issue but Washington has stood firm in its refusal to make concessions with groups, such as the Taliban, it considers terrorists.

Others in South Korea have warned such pressure could strain ties.

"We assess the United States is actively cooperating by all its means as best as it can. This is not a matter that should lead to anti-U.S. problems," the presidential spokesman said.

(With additional reporting by Jessica Kim in Seoul, Paul Eckert in Washington, and Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul)
Back to Top
Back to Top
Musharraf, Karzai to open jirga in Kabul
Daily Times (Pakistan)
ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will inaugurate the Pak-Afghan Jirga Commission’s meeting on August 8 in Kabul, Daily Times learnt here on Wednesday.

Seven hundred members of the commission from both the countries will participate in this first ever meeting. The meeting will deliberate on the ways and means to end terrorism in Afghanistan and tribal areas of Pakistan.
Sources said that the three-day meeting, which would continue till August 10, would also discuss border security and improvement in bilateral relations. Promotion of people-to-people contacts would also come under discussion.

Sources said that after inauguration of the meeting the commission members would be divided into different committees, who would forward their recommendations to the main jirga where the decisions would be taken. The commission members would also constitute a permanent commission, which would monitor the status of the implementation of the decisions taken in the meeting, said the sources.

Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao will head the 350-member Pakistani delegation. Pir Syed Said Ahmad Gilani, Afghan jirga commission’s chairman, will lead the Afghan members.
Governor NWFP Lt-Gen (r) Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, Governor Balochistan Owais Ahmad Khan Ghani, federal ministers Dr Ghazi Ghulab Jamal and Yar Muhammad Rind, former bureaucrats Sahibzada Imtiaz, Khalid Aziz, 17 members of the Parliament from tribal areas, notables and clerics from NWFP and tribal areas will also be the part of the Pakistani delegation, said the sources.

According to the sources, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, was also invited to participate in the jirga meeting being held in Kabul, but he declined the invitation due to his engagements here.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Tribesmen get visas for Pak-Afghan jirga
Daily Times (Pakistan)
PESHAWAR: Pakistani tribesmen nominated for the joint Pak-Afghan peace jirga starting on August 9 in Kabul visited the Afghan consulate on Thursday to receive travel documents required for a visit to Afghanistan.

“Are you a jirga member?” an Afghan guard asked a tribesman from North Waziristan while welcoming him to the consulate. Afghan diplomats were seen enthusiastic while dealing with jirga members.
Despite strong pessimism that the Pak-Afghan jirga cannot succeed without the participation of the Taliban, Pakistan’s delegation members and Afghan consulate staff looked hopeful.

“Inshallah, the jirga will deliver the desired results,” a jirga member from North Waziristan told Daily Times at the consulate where special arrangements were made to issue visas to tribesmen. The Interior Ministry has directed all passport offices in the NWFP to prepare passports for jirga members on a priority basis.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pak tells US, UK to plan exit strategy from Afghanistan
London, Aug.3 (ANI): Pakistan has urged both Britain and America to prepare an exit strategy from Afghanistan, even as NATO force fatalities in that country continue to rise.

According to The Telegraph, a senior Foreign Office official has said that the NATO is equally responsible for the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and suggested that NATO reviews its tactics after precipitating a series of blunders, which led to a large numbers of civilians being killed.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has asked the NATO to consider holding talks with Taliban leaders.

"They should take a holistic approach - the military is an essential component, but it has to be coupled with a political process and development," he said.

Kasuri said that Britain in particular should know the limitations of a purely military approach in Afghanistan.

In recent weeks Pakistani and US officials have been embroiled in an angry row sparked by an American intelligence report that claimed that al-Qa'eda had begun regrouping in Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan.

Relations between the US and Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror, have also been soured by the refusal of a US counter-terror official to rule out military strikes in Pakistan.

Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential contender, threatened to launch US military strikes against al-Qa'eda on Pakistani soil if he were elected president.

Kasuri accused Obama of "trying to advance a political career by indulging in inflammatory rhetoric".

The diplomatic rift with America has also widened since President Bush said that a peace agreement signed between pro-Taliban tribesmen and the Pakistan government in North Waziristan had been a "failure".

A peace jirga or council of Afghan and Pakistani tribal leaders and politicians is due to be held next week in Kabul in an attempt to resolve differences between the Hamid Karzai Government and Pakistan.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistan criticizes Obama on comments
By MUNIR AHMAD Associated Press Fri Aug 3, 6:02 AM ET
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan criticized U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday for saying that, if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes against terrorists hiding in this Islamic country.

Top Pakistan officials said Obama's comment was irresponsible and likely made for political gain in the race for the Democratic nomination.

"It's a very irresponsible statement, that's all I can say," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khusheed Kasuri told AP Television News. "As the election campaign in America is heating up we would not like American candidates to fight their elections and contest elections at our expense."

Also Friday, a senior Pakistani official condemned another presidential hopeful, Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo, for saying the best way he could think of to deter a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. would be to threaten to retaliate by bombing the holiest Islamic sites of Mecca and Medina.

Obama said in a speech Wednesday that as president he would order military action against terrorists in Pakistan's tribal region bordering Afghanistan if intelligence warranted it. The comment provoked anger in Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its war on terror.

Many analysts believe that top Taliban and al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden, are hiding in the region after escaping the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has come under growing pressure from Washington to do more to tackle the alleged al-Qaida havens in Pakistan. The Bush administration has not ruled out military strikes, but still stresses the importance of cooperating with Pakistan.

"There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again," Obama said. "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will."

The Associated Press of Pakistan reported Friday that Musharraf was asked at a dinner at Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's house on Thursday about the potential of U.S. military operations in Pakistan. Musharraf told guests that Pakistan was "fully capable" of tackling terrorists in the country and did not need foreign assistance.

Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said no foreign forces would be allowed to enter Pakistan, and called Obama irresponsible.

"I think those who make such statements are not aware of our contribution" in the fight on terrorism, he said.

Pakistan used to be a main backer of the Taliban, but it threw its support behind Washington following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Since then, Pakistan has deployed about 90,000 troops in its tribal regions, mostly in lawless North and South Waziristan, and has lost hundreds of troops in fighting with militants there.

But a controversial strategy to make peace with militants and use tribesmen to police Waziristan has fueled U.S. fears that al-Qaida has been given space to regroup.

In Pakistan's national assembly on Friday, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan said he would bring on a debate next week on recent criticism of Pakistan from several quarters in the U.S., including Tancredo's remarks.

It was a matter of "grave concern that U.S. presidential candidates are using unethical and immoral tactics against Islam and Pakistan to win their election," Afghan said.

Tancredo told about 30 people at a town hall meeting in Osceola, Iowa, on Tuesday that he believes that a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. could be imminent and that the U.S. needs to hurry up and think of a way to stop it.

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina. Because that's the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they otherwise might do," he said.
Back to Top
Back to Top
US will not hesitate to hit Qaeda targets in Pak territory: Burns
ANI -  08/03/2007
Washington - The US will not hesitate to hit Qaeda targets in Pakistan, the country's Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, has said.

'If we had perfect knowledge about the location of al Qaeda, and we felt that we could give the terrorist outfit a severe blow by US military action; then of course, we wouldn't hesitate,' Burns said.

He also said that Washington wants Pakistan to defeat al Qaeda in the battlefield, and will not hesitate to send American troops to demolish terrorist bases in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan to achieve this.

'We would prefer the Pakistan Government to take it to the al Qaeda and defeat them in the battlefield,' Burns told C-Span Television.

'The US has an enormous stake in what happens in Pakistan, because that's where the al Qaeda is, that's where the Taliban leadership is, in Quetta,' he said.

In a detailed review of US policy towards Pakistan, Burns observed that al Qaeda had built a safe haven in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), while the Taliban leadership operated from bases in and around Quetta.

Burns said Pakistan should take two immediate steps to fight terrorists: 'First, they have got to take stronger military measure in Balochistan against the Taliban and in Waziristan against the al Qaeda to defeat those groups inside Pakistan.'

Second, the Pakistan Government should take stronger measures to stop its banks from laundering money for al Qaeda and other terrorist outfits.

US policy, Burns said, favours a democratic change in Pakistan, and wants a government that is friendly to Washington, and is a 'judicious custodian of the country's nuclear weapons.'

Burns justified the linking of US aid to Pakistan's performance in the fight against terror, and added that as a friend Washington had the right to expect Islamabad to fight terrorists who attacked America on September 11, 2001.

He also supported the new anti-terror law, which required the US President to certify on a six-month basis Pakistan's sincerity in fighting terrorist groups.

Burns said the US did not question Musharraf's will to fight terrorists, and wanted Pakistan Government to be more effective in fighting the terrorist groups.

He acknowledged that the Musharraf regime has not taken kindly to some of the criticism from Washington over the past fortnight, but 'we believe we have to speak plainly'.
Back to Top
Back to Top
U.S.-Afghanistan: Bush-Karzai Summit To Address Insurgency, Opium, Iran
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
WASHINGTON, August 3, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- When Afghan President Hamid Karzai meets with U.S. President George W. Bush on August 5 and 6, the two leaders are expected to discuss a strategy for increasing Karzai's control over his country.

Richard Boucher, the U.S. undersecretary of state for South and Central Asia, told reporters on August 2 that the planning session at the Camp David retreat outside Washington will address how best to confront the resurgent Taliban, and may also include Iran's role in Afghanistan.

Boucher said the Taliban remains the most serious problem Afghanistan faces. But he stressed that the fundamentalist Muslim group is facing problems of its own.

The Taliban has "turned more and more to pure terror tactics," but has been "unable to take towns and territory," Boucher said.

Since the spring of 2006, the Taliban has been trying to make a comeback in Afghanistan, but this summer they've found it harder to point to much success. "They've been unable to take towns and territory," Boucher said. "They have been, in this year, unable to concentrate forces even to the extent they did last year, and to try to achieve military objectives."

Those failures have led the Taliban to adopt more drastic methods, Boucher said. "Unfortunately they have turned more and more to pure terror tactics: tactics of bombings, tactics of kidnappings, as we have seen," he said.

Those tactics aren't helping the Taliban's cause, and are in fact alienating the local population, Boucher said.

Signs of Progress

In the meantime, Boucher noted that Karzai's government has had the help of NATO forces and the political and economic backing of the United States to improve the lives of most Afghan citizens.

"We have to remember that in five years, we built roads and highways, brought down infant mortality rates, put 5 million kids in school," Boucher said. "Enormous strides have been made.... The legitimate economy has achieved very healthy growth rates, and Afghanistan is in a much better position now than it ever was before as a nation. In addition, the government of Afghanistan is in a much better position as a government."

Boucher said Karzai has very ably responded to the Taliban's capture of 23 South Koreans on July 19, two of whom have since been murdered.

Karzai was criticized earlier this year for releasing imprisoned militants in exchange for the Taliban's freeing an Italian hostage. In the current case, he has refused to give in to similar demands for the release of Taliban prisoners. Instead, Karzai has been working with South Korean officials in an effort to find a suitable meeting place for negotiations with the militants.

One reporter asked if Karzai might be embarrassed if the Taliban killed yet another of the hostages during his visit to Camp David. Boucher replied that the Afghan leader is not responsible for what he called "a reprehensible act of an outlaw group." The Afghan government, he said, is doing all it can to ensure the safe release of the hostages. "But the pressure needs to be on the Taliban," he added.

Boucher said there is a wide range of pressures that can be brought against the Taliban to release the South Koreans. He said they include ordinary Afghan citizens speaking out against the kidnapping, as well as stronger measures -- perhaps even military action.

Poppies And Iran

Boucher addressed another of Afghanistan's problems -- the continued cultivation of opium poppies, which is expected to remain robust this year. But Boucher stressed that the location of Afghanistan's poppy crops has changed in recent years, and is increasingly concentrated in areas with a strong insurgent presence.

"The tie between insecurity and poppy production is more and more clear," he said. "Where the government has established governing mechanisms and [has] been in control, in fact poppy production is going down." That means that the number of poppy-free provinces is expected to jump from six to at least 12, he said.

Boucher said Bush and Karzai are likely to discuss a number of issues affecting relations between Afghanistan and Iran.

Shortly after U.S.-led forces deposed the Taliban in 2001, Iran -- Afghanistan's western neighbor -- didn't meddle in Afghanistan's affairs. More recently, however, Iran has begun to interfere.

The U.S.-Afghan summit is expected to address questions about Iranian influence in Afghan politics, and signs that Iranian weapons have made their way into Afghanistan. Iran's expulsion of Afghan refugees is also likely to be on the agenda.

Boucher also said that the United States is investing around $10 billion in Afghan reconstruction, development, governance and security projects this year. Next year, however, that figure probably will be cut by more than half, to $4.7 billion.

That doesn't mean the Bush administration is less committed to Afghanistan, Boucher said. In the basic U.S. budget, he said, the amount for both years is roughly the same. He explained that the additional money for this year came from extraordinary "supplemental" spending that was added after the budget was passed.
Back to Top
Back to Top
U.S. strikes Taliban in Afghanistan
Associated Press Fri Aug 3, 3:46 AM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in southern Afghanistan targeted Taliban commanders, and Afghan officials reported Friday that a number of militants and civilians had been killed or wounded.

The airstrikes targeted two Taliban commanders during a meeting in a remote area of Baghran district in Helmand province on Thursday, the coalition said in a statement.

"During a sizable meeting of senior Taliban commanders, coalition forces employed precision-guided munitions on their location after ensuring there were no innocent Afghans in the surrounding area," it said.

The statement gave no details of casualties.

In apparent reference to the same incident, Mohammad Hussein, the provincial police chief, said that several Taliban and civilians were killed in an airstrike in the Shah Ibrahim area of Baghran district on Thursday.

Taliban militants were hanging two local people accused of spying for the government. Other villagers had come out to watch when the bombs fell, he said.

He said 20 wounded people were brought to the hospital in Helmand's capital of Lashkar Gah.

Enayatullah Ghafari, the head of the health department for Helmand province, said that the youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy while the oldest was a 50-year-old man. The rest are aged between 22 and 40, he said.
Back to Top
Back to Top
20 civilians said hurt in US air strike
Fri Aug 3, 5:08 AM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - At least 20 civilians were wounded and many others feared killed in an air strike by US-led forces on a Taliban-controlled district in southern Afghanistan, local police said.

The US-led coalition forces said they had conducted a "precision air strike" against two notorious Taliban commanders who were meeting in a remote area of the Baghran district of Helmand province.

But provincial police chief Mohammad Hussain Andiwal, citing wounded in a hospital, said a large number of people had gathered to watch the Taliban's public execution of two criminals when they were bombed.

"One of the wounded told me that people had gathered to watch the public hanging of two men when the aerial bombing took place," Andiwal said.

"So far 20 wounded civilians have been brought to the hospital in the capital Lashkar Gah. We fear many more casualties," he said.

The US-led coalition said in a statement however that there were no civilians in the area and they had "actionable intelligence" that two provincial-level Taliban commanders had been there.

"During a sizable meeting of senior Taliban commanders, coalition forces employed precision guided munitions on their location after ensuring there were no innocent Afghans in the surrounding area," the statement said.

The Afghan government could not independently confirm the details of the incident since they have no presence in the district, which has been controlled by the Taliban for more than a year.

A man named Abdullah Jan, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, told AFP by telephone that around 150 civilians watching the Taliban's public execution of men accused of murder were killed or wounded in the air strike.

It was not possible to immediately verify his account, as local sources sometimes exaggerate accounts of civilian casualties.

The Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, claimed there had been no public execution -- a common practice when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001. He said the crowd had gathered at a shrine.

Police said they were trying to ascertain the number of civilians killed and wounded by interviewing those in the hospital.

Roughly 300 civilians have been killed in operations by the 50,000-strong NATO and US-led forces in Afghanistan, according to figures used by the United Nations.

The losses have caused public outrage and drawn emotional criticism from President Hamid Karzai.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghans check reports of civilian bombing deaths
By Abdul Qodous Fri Aug 3, 6:01 AM ET
LASHKAR GHA, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan authorities were checking on Friday reported heavy civilian casualties after air strikes by Western forces in the southern province of Helmand.

At least 20 wounded civilians were brought to a main hospital in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, Helmand's police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal said.

"I can confirm there were heavy bombardments," Andiwal told Reuters by phone. "We have heard of heavy casualties too and have sent a team to investigate this."

A provincial lawmaker in Kabul, Mohammad Anwar, also received reports of high civilian casualties.

In the Lashkar Gah hospital, Shokhi Khan, a relative of one of the wounded, said several hundred civilians were killed or wounded in the strikes.

He said people had gathered for picnics and to go to a shrine in Baghran district north of Lashkar Gah on Thursday when the raids started.

A group of wounded civilians were also brought to a hospital in neighboring Kandahar. Journalists were barred from filming or talking to them inside the wards.

But several family members of victims talked to journalists and gave accounts similar to Khan's.

One, Haji Hakim Jan, a 27 year-old barefooted man, said he lost four of his brothers.

"I had another brother of mine and an eight year old sister wounded in the bombing," Jan said, adding that the deaths would alienate civilians from Western troops and make people join the Taliban insurgents.

Both NATO and the U.S.-led coalition forces operate in Helmand, a long-time bastion for Taliban guerrillas.

The U.S. military said in a statement late on Thursday that coalition forces conducted a precision air strike against two "notorious Taliban commanders" conducting a leadership meeting in a remote area of the Baghran district on Thursday.

The statement said the fate of the pair was unknown.

Some residents and an official said the bombings occurred as a huge crowd of people had gathered to watch a public execution by Taliban fighters.

A Taliban spokesman said there was no public execution and those killed were all civilians attending a ceremony at a shrine.

There was no independent verification of the reported accounts from either side.

If confirmed, the deaths would be the highest civilian casualties caused in a single air raid by foreign troops since the overthrow of the Taliban government in 2001.

More than 350 civilians have already been killed in operations by foreign forces this year in Afghanistan, according to government officials and aid workers.

Civilian deaths are a sensitive issue for President Hamid Karzai and the foreign forces fighting the Taliban and their allies.

Already facing criticism over perceived lack of development, rampant corruption and crime, growing insecurity and a booming drugs trade, Karzai has warned civilian deaths would have dire consequences for his government and the presence of foreign troops.

Separately on Thursday, one soldier with the coalition force was killed when a roadside bomb hit a coalition convoy in the eastern province of Nuristan, a media coordinator for the force said, adding three more soldiers were wounded in the blast.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Sayed Salahuddin in KABUL and Ismail Sameem in KANDAHAR
Back to Top
Back to Top
Agreement on Afghan repatriation from Pakistan extended three years
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 2 August (UNHCR) – The governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UN Refugee Agency today extended the tripartite agreement governing the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghans from Pakistan for another three years.

The tripartite agreement provides the legal and operational framework for the voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Pakistan. To date, more than 3 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan under the voluntary repatriation programme since 2002. There are approximately 2.05 million registered Afghans remaining in Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins, Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees; Mohammad Akbar Akbar, the acting Afghan Minister for Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR); and Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) in Pakistan.

"I am delighted at the spirit of cooperation in which Afghanistan and Pakistan have been discussing this issue and have renewed the Agreement," Cheng-Hopkins said in welcoming the agreement. "By doing so, they have again recognized and have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to the principles of voluntary, gradual and sustainable returns that are enshrined in the agreement."

She is currently on a 10 day mission in the region. In the past few days, she has been visiting Afghanistan where more than 4 million Afghans have returned home so far. After her visit to Pakistan, she will go onto Iran.

"I am very grateful for the exceptional generosity that has been shown by Pakistan in hosting Afghan refugees, many of whom have stayed for more than two decades," said Akbar. "However, the road to reconstruction, security and peace is a long one, hence the importance of this agreement on voluntary and gradual returns."

A tripartite commission formed under the agreement meets three times a year to discuss and review issues related to the stay of Afghans in Pakistan and their voluntary repatriation to Afghanistan.

Rind, Pakistan's minister for SAFRON, stressed that Pakistan has remained a generous host for Afghans for over 25 Years. "The government and people of Pakistan now feel it is about time that Afghan refugees repatriate to their homeland in dignity and with honour to play an important and pivotal role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan," he said. The minister called on the international community to honour their commitments for the reconstruction of Afghanistan to ensure sustainable repatriation, and share the burden with Pakistan for hosting Afghans.

"In terms of conditions (for returning Afghans) back home, I think we all know after years, when you have decades of war and neglect, obviously infrastructure has gone down and there are very few chances for people to make a livelihood," Cheng-Hopkins said at a subsequent news conference.

"These things, take a long long time. As we all know development are not a miracle that happens overnight. It takes long investments, long dedicated periods of time," the UNHCR assistant high commissioner said. "But I am hopeful we are seeing the beginning of it. Certainly the government of Afghanistan, the UN, the donor community, everybody is geared in that direction – to invest in reintegration for returnees."
By Babar Baloch in Islamabad
Back to Top
Back to Top
Official: withdrawal of S Korean troops from Afghanistan to be conducted as schedule 
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Presidential Envoy for the hostage issue in Afghanistan said Friday that the withdrawal of South Korean troops from Afghanistan would be implemented by the end of this year as scheduled.

Baek Jong-chun, who returned from Afghanistan without apparent progress in the solution of the hostage issue in Afghanistan, told reporters upon his arrival to the Inch eon International Airport that South Korea will not change its schedule of the pullout of its troops despite the Afghan kidnappers demand an immediate withdrawal.

Baek said the South Korean government is still determined to do its utmost to secure the release of the hostages through direct contacts with the Taliban.

"I met with Afghanistan's president and key cabinet ministers in Kabul and obtained their agreement to do their best for the swift release of the Korean hostages," said Baek, who is also the chief secretary to President Roh Moo-hyun for foreign and security policy.

"I'll disclose more details later. I want the media to approach the hostage crisis more carefully as many lives are at stake," he said.

On the way back to South Korean, Baek paid a brief visit to Pakistan and met with officials there. But Baek didn't give any comments on his visit to Pakistan. South Korea's Presidential Office said Thursday that Baek visited Pakistan was aimed at seeking Pakistan's cooperation in the hostage issue.

Baek left for Kabul on July 26 and left there on Aug. 1.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistan: 'Economic Development' Needed To Fight Taliban
August 3, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Philip H. Gordon is a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy with the Washington-based Brookings Institution who has authored numerous books or articles on counterterrorism and security in the broader Middle East. He spoke recently with RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Abubakar Siddique about U.S.-Pakistani relations. Gordon described Islamabad's results against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda as "mixed," and argued that "economic development and modernization" are the best weapon against extremism.

RFE/RL: You advocate more economic and humanitarian aid for Pakistan. Why?

Philip H. Gordon: I think, in the long run, it's really economic development and modernization that are going to help with the problem of extremism. I think in the United States right now -- especially with the talk of Al-Qaeda reorganizing and extremism growing -- there's a temptation to want to deal with these issues with military force. And I think that there is a real risk that that would backfire and alienate the populations of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and I think that in the long run it's not the right approach.

RFE/RL: The U.S. Congress in late July passed legislation that would tie all U.S. aid to Pakistani efforts against Al-Qaeda and Taliban, and also its effort to promote democracy and reduce poverty and corruption. Do you think that this legislation will have a similar effect to that of the Pressler amendment targeting Pakistan's nuclear-weapons program in 1992, when Pakistan was sanctioned up to its eyeballs?

Gordon: That, of course, was very unpopular in Pakistan and that caused a lot of resentment in Pakistan -- and, I might add, didn't really deal with the problem because Pakistan pursued its nuclear program anyway. And I worry that this could have a similar effect in alienating the Pakistani population, in impeding Pakistan's development, and yet not actually getting the government to take the measures that the United States wants it to do.

RFE/RL: How do you respond to other experts who point to the dismal performance that Musharraf has shown in curbing Al-Qaeda and Taliban?

Gordon: I agree with those critics who say that Pakistani action in those areas has been mixed. I think, on one hand, there is a sign that Pakistan is helping -- a number of the so-called high-value detainees that the United States has captured have been captured in Pakistan [and] Pakistan has deployed soldiers and lost some of them in battles with extremists. So there is some sign that Pakistan is helping. There are also signs that it is not, and that Taliban from Afghanistan get refuge in Pakistan and that Pakistan's efforts are not 100 percent. But the question is whether cutting off American aid to Pakistan would lead to the sort of whole-hearted successful effort that the United States, understandably, would like to see. I'm not sure that it would, and I fear that it could backfire.

RFE/RL: What would be the likely fallout of U.S. military strikes inside Pakistan against Al-Qaeda? Senior administration officials have been talking about such actions for some time now.

Gordon: The National Intelligence Estimate [in July] suggested that Al-Qaeda is reorganizing along the border and in some places in Pakistan. And the [Bush] administration has said that nothing is ruled out, including strikes on actionable targets. And that has led to a lot of speculation about what the United States might do. I think if there really were clear and obvious targets -- of people training and plotting to attack the United States in a terrorist attack -- inevitably the United States would act and should act. That's what any country would do if it were able to prevent a horrific attack on its soil.

But I am concerned that we don't have such clear and obvious targets, and I think we shouldn't underestimate the negative results that would come in Pakistan if the United States started undertaking military strikes without the authorization of the Pakistani government in Pakistan. So I would much prefer -- to the extent possible -- that Pakistanis deal with this problem that, I should add and stress, they are also opposed to.

A vast majority of Pakistanis don't want extremist elements in Pakistan, don't want to support terrorism, and would want to fight it. And I would rather see the United States working with them than undertaking attacks that could lead to a backlash in Pakistan against the United States and make things worse.

RFE/RL: How real do you think the Al-Qaeda central regrouping is in Pakistan and how big a threat is it to international security -- U.S. security in particular?

Gordon: I do think it's real and I do think it's a threat. There seems to be no doubt that some of the [Al-Qaeda] leadership has found sanctuary in these ungoverned areas, and it's a good place to hide. I think, though, it can be exaggerated in this notion that there is some organized multinational Al-Qaeda movement that is directed in a centralized way from big camps in Pakistan. I don't think there is much evidence of that.

I think rather that what we call "Al-Qaeda" covers a whole range of different smaller groups -- some acting on their own, some acting in part with training and direction from Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan, and some perhaps acting more directly. So I think it's very complicated, but [the] bottom line [is], yes, it's a problem, it's a threat, and it's a serious one.

RFE/RL: Hearing news about the U.S. wanting to arm Persian Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, where do you see Pakistani-U.S. cooperation going vis-a-vis Iran?

Gordon: It is fair to see the recent proposal to sell large amounts of weapons to the Gulf states in the context of Iranian influence or in the context of containing Iranian influence in the region. I think also that the Bush administration initially hoped that it could pressure these [Gulf] regimes to move in a more democratic direction. The reality is it knows that it's not going to happen anytime soon and it needs to have good security relations.

I really haven't heard Pakistan mentioned in that context. It is true that good military relations with Pakistan might help in containing the threat from Iran. But at the same time, it's linked to the other issue of Pakistani efforts on Al-Qaeda. The more Pakistani cooperation you see on efforts to contain Al-Qaeda, the more enthusiastic the United States would be about weapons sales and military cooperation. But if on the other hand, it appears that Pakistani military establishment is not prepared to fully move against Al-Qaeda, it would be a hard sell to the Congress to authorize military sales so long as that's the perception.

RFE/RL: Why do you think the United States has largely failed to reconcile Musharraf and Karzai, while it has been successful in kind of de-escalating the tensions between India and Pakistan, which are supposed to be archrivals?

Gordon: I think the United States is doing what it can and trying. The reality is that when you have such insecurity, leaders -- and it's true of Musharraf or Karzai -- want to blame somebody else for it. And as Karzai gets in trouble at home for insecurity in his country, it is very tempting for him to say that the problem lies on the other side of the border because Pakistan isn't doing enough. That similar dynamic, I think, applies on the Pakistani side, where Pakistan doesn't want any blame for that and says, "No, if there are Taliban fighting against NATO and against Karzai, they are Taliban on the other side." And Musharraf doesn't want to take the blame, and he doesn't want to alienate his Pashtun population by cracking down too hard.

So I think it's easy for them -- when things aren't going well, and the rise in violence suggests they're not -- to blame the other side rather than work together on the issue. That's clearly an important concern of the United States, to get them to stop blaming each other and start working together on it.

RFE/RL: Why do you think United States has failed precisely on this issue to convince Pakistan to give up what some say are its Taliban proxies in Afghanistan?

Gordon: I think a lot of Americans are very frustrated with Pakistan's apparent unwillingness to do that. My understanding is that Pakistan has always seen the idea of having a sort of "client" in Afghanistan -- dependent on it -- as an important part of its overall strategy. And given the ongoing tensions with India -- even though things are better than they have been in the past -- but given the perceived threat from India, and especially with the U.S.-Indian cooperation flourishing, some in Pakistan are reluctant to see Afghanistan develop in a direction that it would be very close to the United States -- and even, frankly, close to India -- and Pakistan would feel encircled if it didn't have a friend or client in Afghanistan. So that -- plus the ethnic element, where there are obvious links, ethnic and historical, between especially Pashtuns on both sides of the border -- there is a tendency in parts of Pakistan to see the Taliban at least as people who are going to defend Pashtun interests in both places.


So if you put these both things together, then you can understand, a little bit, why Pakistan is not willing to cut off the Taliban. I say you "understand" that; it seems to me a sort of analytical explanation. But I think a lot of Americans are appropriately frustrated with that -- because in the long run, Pakistan's interests really are to have a stable, democratic Afghanistan on one side and a stable, democratic India on the other. And with that, I think that Pakistan could ensure its security and its development and its growth and its prosperity -- but I think it's hard for some in Pakistan to see it that way.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghanistan: Reports of kidnapping of Indian denied
August 03, 2007 18:47 IST rediff.com - Aug 03 6:24 AM
Authorities in Kabul on Friday said that no Indian has been kidnapped by the Taliban, maintaining that all Indians working in a power project in north Afghanistan were safe.

Reacting to reports by Chinese news agency Xinhua, sources in the Indian Embassy in Kabul said the headcount of Indians working in the Power Grid Corporation of India project in Puli Khumri, 220 km north of Kabul, showed no one was missing.

They said they had ascertained this fact from several sources.

Sources close to the Afghanistan president also said that no report of any Indian being kidnapped in any part of the country had been received.

Earlier, Xinhua, quoting an unnamed Taliban commander, had said that an Indian engineer working at a power project in Puli Khumri in Baghlan province had been kidnapped on Thursday.

He claimed that the engineer, whom he did not name, has been brought to the central Ghazni province, where 23 South Koreans were abducted on July 19.

However, the police chief in Baghlan and officials in Ghazni said they did not hear of the alleged abduction, the agency had said.

Taliban militants have been frequently carrying out kidnappings in Afghanistan for the past two years, and some hostages were also killed by them, including two South Koreans who were murdered recently.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Japan assures US of Afghanistan commitment
by Harumi Ozawa Friday, August 3, 2007
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan assured the United States on Friday that it planned to maintain logistical support to US forces in Afghanistan despite an election victory by the opposition, which wants to end the mission.

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said on a visit here that any decision by Japan to withdraw its ships, which provide fuel and other support to coalition forces in Afghanistan, would harm the US-led "war on terror."

Japan has been officially pacifist since World War II, making its military operations controversial at home.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said he told Negroponte, who was stopping in Tokyo on his way back from a regional meeting in Manila, that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition government supported the mission.

"I told him that the mission is the basis for showing that Japan is playing the role the world expects of us and that Prime Minister Abe is making efforts to seek the understanding of opposition parties," Shiozaki told reporters.

The centre-left opposition won control of the upper house of parliament Sunday in a major election defeat for Abe, who has been hit hard by a raft of domestic scandals.

Opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa vowed to use the foothold in power to oppose an extension of the Indian Ocean operations, which are set to expire on November 1.

"In our view it would be harmful to international interest as a whole if they are to be interrupted," Negroponte said after meeting Shiozaki, Defence Minister Yuriko Koike and other top officials.

"There is concern on our part if these refueling operations by Japan were to stop," he said. "This is not a bilateral issue between the United States and Japan. This is an issue that affects an interest of the international community as a whole."

"To interrupt those refueling operations could negatively affect -- and probably would negatively affect -- our efforts to prevent terrorism and prevent the passage of undesirable products and people through the area," he said.

US Ambassador Thomas Schieffer asked for clarification on the opposition's views and earlier this week voiced concern that he had not been able to meet with Ozawa.

Schieffer told reporters Friday that he planned to meet with Ozawa next week.

Abe's coalition still enjoys a large majority in the upper house of parliament, which was not at stake in Sunday's vote, and can override the opposition-led upper house.

Ozawa's Democratic Party has accused Abe and his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi of being too close to US President George W. Bush, saying Japan should instead channel international cooperation through the United Nations.

Shiozaki criticised the stance taken by the opposition.

"A total of 24 Japanese nationals died in the terrorist attacks of September 11 (2001) and Japan has since then conducted refuelling operations as part of the international fight against terrorism," Shiozaki said.

"Mr Ozawa is saying he opposes the mission. I don't understand what his ideas are."

The Indian Ocean mission was groundbreaking at the time. Japan later also deployed troops to Iraq, its first mission since World War II to a country where fighting was underway.

Japan withdrew the troops from Iraq last year but continues to fly goods and personnel into the country on behalf of the US-led coalition and United Nations.

The Japanese parliament extended the Iraq mission, which the opposition is also against, just ahead of the election.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Russia may agree to cancel Afghanistan debt
MOSCOW, August 2 (RIA Novosti) - An agreement on cancelling Afghanistan's $11 billion Soviet-era debt to Russia may be signed on August 6, a source in the Russian Finance Ministry said Thursday.

"Afghanistan's finance minister will visit Russia on August 6 to sign an agreement," the source said.

Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said in April at a session of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank that the sides would be able to sign an agreement on a large debt write-off.

Russia is expected to forgive 80-90% of Afghanistan's debt under agreements reached through the Paris Club of Creditor Nations in July, 2006.

Afghanistan's debt to the former Soviet Union, of which Russia is the legal successor state, was accrued largely from the delivery of Soviet weaponry to the country.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Bush expresses his thanks for Canada's efforts in Afghanistan
Harper initiates a phone call to the White House in advance of hosting leaders' summit in Quebec
August 01, 2007 - LES WHITTINGTON, TORONTO STAR, OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA–U.S. President George W. Bush expressed appreciation to Prime Minister Stephen Harper yesterday for Canada's efforts in the war in Afghanistan, the White House said.

"The president thanked the Prime Minister for Canada's steadfast support for the people of Afghanistan," Tony Snow, a presidential spokesperson, told reporters during a briefing on a telephone call between the two leaders.

The handling of Ottawa's military mission in Afghanistan is likely to be one of the thorny topics when Harper and his Conservative colleagues gather in Charlottetown today for a three-day caucus retreat.
Canadians are sharply divided in their support for the mission, and it is seen by many observers as a potential problem for the Tories in the run-up to an election that could come within the next year.

No one was available from Harper's office to inform the media of the details of the 20-minute call initiated by Harper yesterday morning. Instead, the PMO issued by email a three-sentence summary of the exchange between Harper and Bush. It made no mention of Afghanistan.

Yesterday's high-level chat was held in advance of the leaders' summit in Montebello, Que., on Aug. 20 and 21, where Harper will play host to Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon for private talks.
The summit, which will focus on efforts to streamline trade and post-9/11 security measures, is expected to attract thousands of protesters concerned about the Bush-led war in Iraq and what some see as a clandestine move toward closer continental integration.

Snow said Bush and Harper yesterday "briefly touched upon other issues related to the Western Hemisphere, including the importance of supporting President (Alvaro) Uribe of Colombia with approval of the free trade agreement with Colombia."

During a mid-July trip to Colombia, Harper stressed the importance of a free-trade deal between Canada and Colombia despite that country's record of human rights abuses and the fact that Uribe's government has been linked to paramilitary death squads.

"They also reviewed a range of bilateral issues including the situation with softwood lumber and implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative," Snow told reporters in Washington.

Canada has expressed concerns that the tougher border identification requirements under the travel initiative pose a threat to the Canadian economy.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Arrangements for Pak-Afghan peace jirga put in place
KABUL, August 1 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Requisite security and logistical measures had been put in place for an upcoming Afghanistan-Pakistan peace forum, a minister said here on Wednesday.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Farooq Wardak, who is also head of the Regional Peace Jirga Secretariat, hoped the much-awaited meeting would help resolve divisive issues between the neighbours.

After a closed-door meeting with legislators here, he told journalists a governmental commission led by Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was busy exploring ways and means of ensuring foolproof security for the three-day session.

Participants will deliberate on improved bilateral relations, factors fuelling terrorism and militancy, devising a bilateral mechanism to jointly fight the scourge and denying sanctuary to militants and extremists on both sides of the border.

Cooperation in curbing poppy cultivation, promoting confidence-building measures (CBMs) including interaction between political representatives of the two countries and formation of a group tasked with implanting decisions of the jirga are also on the agenda.

Wardak tended to parry the query if Taliban could attend the meeting, slated to begin in Kabul from August 9. The minister said in ambiguous terms Taliban being an Afghan group had the right to endorse or oppose government policies.

Hundreds of politicians, intellectuals, tribal elders, clerics and media professionals from both sides would take part in the jirga, said Wardak, who appeared optimistic about its outcome.

But some opposition members, referring to deep-seated differences between the estranged neighbours, view the peace forum as a futile exercise. Mustafa Kazmi, spokesman for the Afghanistan National Front (ANF), scorned the jirga as a fruitless pursuit.

"Personally, Im pretty pessimistic about the jirga measuring up to the Afghan nation's expectations. Afghanistan is unlikely to reap any tangible gains from it," the ANP spokesman opined.
Back to Top

 Back to News Archirves of 2007
 
Disclaimer: This news site is mostly a compilation of publicly accessible articles on the Web in the form of a link or saved news item. The news articles and commentaries/editorials are protected under international copyright laws. All credit goes to the original respective source(s).