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February 12, 2007 


Karzai bids for peace in furore with London
Christina Lamb, Kabul The Sunday Times February 11, 2007
THE Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, will meet Tony Blair in London this week in an attempt to repair relations with Britain which one diplomat described as “in total tatters”.

The row has meant British officials have been unable to get meetings in the president’s office even though the UK is Afghanistan’s second biggest aid donor, spending £250m a year, as well as having 5,500 troops engaged in heavy fighting in the south.

Some of Karzai’s closest advisers have accused Britain of conspiring with Pakistan to hand over southern Afghanistan. The deputy head of mission at the British embassy was in such a heated argument with the president that it was feared he would be expelled. Karzai’s chief of staff, Jawed Ludin, was forced to resign after his attempts to defend Britain led to accusations that he was a British spy.

The row centres on the continued violence in Helmand province, where British troops are based, and London’s refusal to acknowledge publicly Pakistan’s role in supporting the Taliban. Karzai accuses Britain of “compromising” with Islamabad because of its need for cooperation from Pakistan’s security services to infiltrate terrorist groups involving British Muslims.

“I understand that Britain has a long friendship with Pakistan and that its relationship with Pakistan is different from that of other countries because of its domestic concerns,” Karzai told The Sunday Times. “But that compromise will not bring an end to terrorism in Britain.

“It’s from this part of the world [Pakistan] that training takes place, and inspiration and motivation. So for British security, simply foiling incidents in London is not the only way,” he added.

“The important thing is to find the source of it. Otherwise you’ll continue to suffer as you have with the London bombs. By ignoring what is happening in Pakistan, you can never defeat terrorism.”

One of his national security advisers accused Britain of turning a blind eye to Pakistani infiltration of southern Afghanistan as revenge for its defeats in the first and second Anglo-Afghan Wars in the 19th century.

US officials confirm that Pakistan has moved border posts at least a mile into Afghan territory.

“Quite frankly, we find all this offensive,” said a British official. “Not only are we the second biggest donor here, but we have lost 42 men in the past year.” The row first erupted in October over an agreement by which British troops withdrew from the key Helmand town of Musa Qala after tribal elders promised to keep out the Taliban. The truce followed months of fighting in which eight British soldiers were killed.

Karzai was furious about the deal, which was also criticised by the Americans. It came just after Pakistan agreed to withdraw its forces from town centres in the tribal area of North Waziristan where many Al-Qaeda members are believed to be hiding.

“I was very upset,” Karzai said. “People suspected there was a deal being made and deal-making is what Afghans hate.”

British officials counter that Karzai had forced them into what they call “the tethered goat policy” of putting troops into platoon houses in towns in northern Helmand where they were besieged. “He kept insisting our forces went into towns like Musa Qala to defend them when we did not have enough troops,” said one.

There were further differences when Karzai began criticising Nato bombing, saying mistakes were being made and too many lives taken. Whitehall was then outraged in December when Karzai sacked the British-backed governor of Helmand, Engineer Mohammad Daoud.

The relationship broke down at the start of this year when the United States accused Pakistan of allowing Taliban to operate from its soil. This has left Britain isolated.

Before US General Dan McNeill took over command of Nato forces in Afghanistan from the British last Sunday, he flew to Islamabad to show President Pervez Musharraf video footage of armed men crossing the border into Afghanistan in front of Pakistani border guards.

“I very much support the American stand,” said Karzai. “It always helps to speak the truth. Unless we do that we won’t find a solution.

“Afghanistan suffered for many years precisely because some countries, particularly during the war against the Soviets, looked at Afghanistan through the perspective of Pakistan. Afghanistan itself didn’t matter. Afghans were cannon fodder in the fight against the Soviets and when the Soviets left we were abandoned completely to the designs of our neigh-bours. We all saw the consequences of that policy — the destruction of the Twin Towers.

“We hope that Britain will look at Afghanistan as Afghanistan and not make the same mistake of looking from the perspective of other countries. If they can do that we’ll be great friends.” So concerned is Whitehall that it has decided to beef up the embassy in Kabul by sending one of its top ambassadors, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, currently in Saudi Arabia. The embassy will be reinforced, with 12 extra diplomats in Kabul and five in Helmand.

Karzai will meet Blair and then Prince Charles on Wednesday before flying on to Rome for a conference. “I believe Mr Blair is a good friend of Afghanistan and I will talk to him about all these issues,” he said.

But referring to Britain’s three wars with Afghanistan, he continued: “Britain is a very old country and has a lot of experience in this part of the world. Britain and Afghanistan have a particular history and I hope our judgments are not being blurred by that.”
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Hundreds of Taliban massing to attack dam: official
By Saeed Ali Achakzai
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - At least 700 Taliban fighters have crossed from Pakistan into  Afghanistan to reinforce guerrillas attacking a key dam, a major source of electricity and irrigation, a provincial governor said on Monday.

"We have got confirmed reports that they are Pakistani, Uzbek and Chechen nationals and have sneaked in," Helmand Governor Asadullah Wafa told Reuters by telephone.

The Kajaki dam has seen major fighting in recent weeks between the Taliban and  NATO forces, mainly British and Dutch.

NATO-led troops have been conducting operations in the area for several months to allow reconstruction on the dam and the power transmission lines to boost output, after fighting halted refurbishment last year.

A spokesman for the NATO-led force confirmed rebel movements in the dam area, including across the border, but could not confirm the governor's numbers or any other details.

Built by the Soviets in 1953, the dam irrigates about 142,000 hectares (285,000 acres) of farmland and two hydroelectic plants built by the United States in 1975 have a capacity of 33 megawatts. A third plant is planned, which would almost double that capacity by 2009.

NATO, U.S. and Taliban commanders warn a major offensive will come in spring when the snows melt in a few months, after the bloodiest year since the hardline Islamists were ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001.

PAKISTAN BACKS TALIBAN - GOVERNOR
More than 4,000 people died in fighting last year.

Wafa said the Taliban fighters were brought in by local commanders for a joint operation with al Qaeda.

"They are planning to destroy the Kajaki dam," he said, accusing Pakistan's military intelligence agency, ISI, of providing training and logistical support for the guerrillas.

"Pakistan is supporting the Taliban in order for them to keep fighting on in Afghanistan. They don't want Afghanistan's development and reconstruction," he said.

Pakistan denies continuing to support the Taliban, its former protege, but Afghan officials say it still does. The United States says the guerrillas benefit from safe havens in Pakistan and support from fellow Pashtun tribes, but also rejects charges Islamabad officially supports the resurgent rebels.

Wafa's comments came as Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Pakistan and met President Pervez Musharraf briefly on his way home from NATO talks in Spain in which Afghanistan and calls for more foreign troops features prominently.

"We talked about the importance of seizing the offensive this spring to deal the Taliban and al Qaeda a strategic set-back," Gates told reporters afterwards.

He also said the United States would not repeat the mistake of letting extremists take control of Afghanistan.

"After the Soviets left the United States made a mistake. We neglected Afghanistan and extremism took control of that country," Gates told a news conference at the Chaklala military air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

"The United States paid a price for that on Sept 11, 2001. We won't make that mistake again."

Several Taliban fighters were also killed on Monday in an attack targeting a senior guerrilla leader closely linked to the Islamist movement's fugitive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement.

It did not name the leader, nor say he was caught in the operation by U.S.-led troops.

The militants were killed near the town of Greshk in Helmand, a Taliban bastion and the main drug producing region of Afghanistan, the world's largest producer of heroin.

(Additional reporting by Kristin Roberts in Rawalpindi and Sayed Salhuddin in Kabul)
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US vows not to abandon Afghanistan
by Danny Kemp
CHAKLALA AIR BASE, Pakistan (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates pledged not to repeat the "mistake" of neglecting  Afghanistan and allowing Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists to take over.

After meeting President Pervez Musharraf of neighbouring Pakistan to discuss a spring offensive against the resurgent Taliban on the mountainous 1,500-mile (2,500-kilometre) frontier, he said US commitment to the country was long-term.

"My first visits to Pakistan were over 20 years ago and we were in contact with our mutual efforts to help Afghanistan drive the Soviet troops from the country," Gates told a news conference at a military airbase here on Monday.

"After the Soviets left, the US made a mistake. We neglected Afghanistan and extremists took control of this country -- and the United States had the result of that on September 11, 2001," he said.

"We will not make that mistake again. We are in it for the long term."

The Taliban rose to power after the Soviet withdrawal in the late 1980s but were toppled in 2001 by US-led forces for sheltering Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, blamed for the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington which killed nearly 3,000 people.

General Musharraf has come under renewed pressure from allies to crack down on militants crossing the border into Afghanistan amid a renewed Taliban insurgency that claimed 4,000 lives last year, mostly those of rebels.

After meeting Musharraf at his army office in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad, Gates stressed the importance of cooperation between Pakistan, Afghan and foreign forces.

He said the Pakistani leader -- who on February 2 admitted some overstretched border guards had let militants across -- had been meeting with his military commanders to see how to improve their border security.

"We discussed the coming spring military activity on the border and the measures that the Afghans and the  NATO alliance and the US and Pakistan are working on together," Gates told reporters.

"There is a mutual interest in improving our effectiveness and improving our cooperation and understanding so that we have a real opportunity this spring," he said.

Gates deflected questions about whether Musharraf was under pressure from the western allies to succeed, saying that he had thanked him "for Pakistan's help in the war on terror."

He added: "Pakistan is clearly a very strong ally of the United States on this."

Asked whether he had received assurances from Musharraf, Gates said: "What we really focussed on was not getting assurances and making demands but rather on how we can work together better to be more effective in efforts on the border to stop the Taliban and stop Al-Qaeda."

The defence secretary said the United States would also play a role in "improving understanding" between the Pakistani and Afghan governments, who are at loggerheads over who is responsible for the Taliban menace.

The governor of Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand said Sunday that hundreds of foreign Al-Qaeda fighters had infiltrated his province from Pakistan and were behind regular attacks there.

Gates said the United States was grateful to Musharraf for cracking down on extremism in his own country, which has been rocked by a recent wave of attacks blamed on pro-Taliban militants.

Gates arrived here from Europe, where he appealed to Washington's allies to contribute more troops, equipment and support personnel for the 35,000-strong NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

US military officials have complained that Pakistani border forces were turning a blind eye to the cross-border rebel movements and also criticised a peace deal between Islamabad and militants in the North Waziristan tribal area.

But Musharraf recently said security along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border was the joint responsibility of all the forces nearby, and Pakistan could not win the fight against militancy on its own.
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Ignoring Afghanistan in the 1980s, a blunder, says Gates
By ANI Monday February 12, 02:55 PM
Islamabad, Feb.12 (ANI): U S Defence Secretary Robert Gates admitted on Monday that the U.S. decision to abandon its operations in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of Russian troops in the late 1980s was a blunder.

Addressing a press conference after meeting President Pervez Musharraf, Gates said such blunders would not be repeated and every effort would be made by the American troops to neutralise a resurgent Taliban once the winter season is over.

Praising Pakistan's role in the war on terror, Gates said that the US valued the sacrifices made by Islamabad in the past five-and-a-half years to make the global war on terror a success.

He also confirmed that he had discussed the South Waziristan peace accord with President Musharraf, and the latter had told him that the situation would soon be under control.

He said that the return of Afghan refugees to their homes depended upon peace and better job opportunities in Afghanistan. Every effort would be made to prevent these refugees from getting involved in fresh acts of extremism on their return home, if and when it materialises.

Gates, US envoy to Pakistan Ryan C Crocker and Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal were present at the meeting with President Musharraf.

Gates is scheduled to head for Kabul this afternoon for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other members of the Afghan leadership. He may also take time out to visit and interact with American troops based in Afghanistan.

The US is presently commanding NATO forces in the war-ravaged country. (ANI)
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U.S. defense chief, in Pakistan, offers support on policing Afghan border
By Thom Shanker  February 12, 2007 International Herald Tribune, France
ISLAMABAD: Defense Secretary Robert Gates made an unannounced trip to Pakistan on Monday for talks with one of America's most complicated partners. He offered strong words of support for the government, even as he urged it to do more to halt the flow of Taliban fighters into Afghanistan.

Gates volunteered the help of the United States in easing a war of words between Afghanistan and Pakistan over border areas inside Pakistan that are being used as safe havens for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters.

After meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, Gates told reporters he was flying back to Washington reassured that Pakistan would work more strenuously to halt insurgents from crossing the border to attack U.S., NATO and Afghan troops.

"If we weren't concerned about what was happening along the border, I wouldn't be here," Gates said.

Gates flew to Islamabad for a one- hour meeting with Musharraf in Rawalpindi. He had spent the weekend in Munich at a security conference.

Today in Asia - Pacific
 Philippine military, with U.S. help, checks rebels North Korean nuclear talks could see another day U.S. defense chief, in Pakistan, offers support on policing Afghan borderSenior American officials said the effort emphasized Washington's support for an oft-criticized ally who assists the Bush administration's counterterrorism efforts but has been unable to halt Islamic radicals from using the country as a base.

Gates and Musharraf discussed plans by NATO and Afghan forces to launch a spring offensive against the Taliban, which normally mounts a fresh round of attacks with the first thaw. Asked about reports that American troops in Afghanistan had been shelling Taliban positions across the border in Pakistan, Gates did not respond specifically, but said, "Our operations are coordinated with the Pakistanis."

A former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Gates said he first visited Pakistan 20 years ago in an effort to support anti-Soviet guerrillas in Afghanistan. After the Soviet forces were routed, Gates said, the United States erred by neglecting the region, allowing extremists to take over. The result, he said, was the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, planned by Al Qaeda leaders under Taliban protection in Afghanistan.

"We will not make that mistake again," Gates said. "We are here for the long haul."

Gates said the Pakistani president acknowledged difficulties in enforcing a peace deal reached late last year with tribal militia in North Waziristan, a semiautonomous tribal area straddling the border with Afghanistan. Musharraf has said the pact has been a partial success and was being enforced more successfully now, but critics say the truce allowed the Taliban to consolidate forces, rest and retrain.

Pakistani officials have argued that the responsibility for securing the border should be shared with the United States, NATO and Afghan forces across the frontier. But the cross-border movements by insurgent fighters have prompted accusations back and forth over who bears culpability for allowing the Taliban to have revived.

The discussions between American and Pakistani officials are expected to continue over coming weeks, as a range of senior Bush administration and military officials are expected to make quiet trips to Pakistan.

American officials who specialize in Pakistan say the nation's problems in tackling extremists along the border, both Taliban and home-grown, stem from both politics and capability.

Should Musharraf move aggressively to quash Islamic radicals in his nation, he risks fomenting internal unrest, which could be a serious matter in a nation with nuclear weapons. Washington understands these risks, these officials said. At the same time, they said, Pakistan's security services have divided loyalties, and even some disciplined units lack adequate equipment and training.

Afghan fighting flares up

Gun battles and ambushes in southern Afghanistan have left at least six Taliban fighters and five Afghan policemen dead, while the U.S.-led coalition said Monday that several other Taliban fighters died during an assault targeting a senior Taliban leader, The Associated Press reported from Kabul.

In Uruzgan Province, NATO forces and Afghan police officers and soldiers battled suspected Taliban militants for five hours near the town of Tirin Kot late Sunday, said Qayum Qayumi, the provincial governor's spokesman.

Six Taliban fighters and three policemen were killed, while another 12 suspected Taliban were arrested and several guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers were recovered, he said.

Two policemen died and a third was wounded in neighboring Zabul Province when suspected Taliban militants ambushed a police vehicle Sunday night, said Ghulam Jalali, a highway police commander. One policeman and one Taliban fighter were wounded in a gun battle, he said.

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Several Taliban, five policemen killed in Afghan clashes
Mon Feb 12, 4:29 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - Afghan and international troops killed several Taliban fighters in a hunt for a top militant leader as officials reported six more rebels and five policemen died in separate fighting.

A battle erupted in the southern province of Helmand when rebel fighters fired a rocket-propelled grenade at Afghan and coalition troops looking for a militant with ties to Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar, the coalition said.

An assessment of damage from the early morning battle near the town of Gereshk had not yet determined how many "terrorists" were killed, the US-led force said in a statement on Monday.

It did not say if the targeted man, whose name is unknown, was among the dead.

He had also been linked with Mohammad Osmani, who was killed in Helmand in December. Osmani was the highest-ranked Taliban leader the coalition has killed since US forces deployed to  Afghanistan to topple the hardline regime in 2001.

The Afghan and coalition assault was based on "substantial information", the statement said. An Afghan soldier was wounded when a vehicle overturned.

Helmand, where most of a British deployment of more than 5,000 troops is based, has seen a jump in insurgency-linked violence in the past weeks.

Taliban fighters are holding the town of Musa Qala which they captured nearly a fortnight ago. There have also been several deadly clashes in the adjoining Sangeen and Kajaki districts in the past days.

Helmand governor Assadullah Wafa said Sunday that about 700 foreign militants, whom he linked to Al-Qaeda, had infiltrated the province.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, claimed Monday that there were "thousands of Taliban" in Helmand. Foreign military officials downplayed the claims.

There were also clashes in the southern provinces of Uruzgan and Zabul, Afghan officials said.

Six Taliban were killed and a dozen arrested late Sunday after a battle near Tirin Kot, the Uruzgan capital, provincial spokesman Abdul Qayoom Qayomi told AFP. Three policemen were killed and four wounded, he said.

And in adjoining Zabul, Taliban attacked a police convoy and killed two of the policemen. One wounded Taliban was arrested and two more suspects were also apprehended nearby, highway police commander Ghulam Jailani Khan told AFP.

A district governor in the eastern province of Nangarhar said meanwhile that a roadside bomb struck a US convoy Monday, wounding an American soldier.

Suspects were arrested afterwards, said Haji Zalmai Khan, governor of Khogyani district which is on the border with Pakistan.

Militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda allegedly cross from camps in the semi-autonomous tribal areas of Pakistan to carry out attacks in Afghanistan as part an insurgency that was its bloodiest in 2006 with this year expected to be equally severe.

The number of cross-border attacks has soared since Pakistan struck a deal with tribal leaders in September not to go after Taliban fighters so long as they stay peacefully inside Pakistan.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates was in Pakistan Monday for talks with President Pervez Musharraf amid a US push to line up support for a decisive spring offensive against the Taliban.
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AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN SAYS COMMANDER SAFE AFTER NATO AIR STRIKE
Kabul, 12 Feb. (AKI) - The Taliban has said that its leader in the southern Afghan province of Helmand is safe and sound following an air strike carried out by NATO forces targeting him. The spokesperson for the Taliban told the Arabic language television channel al-Jazeera, that during an attack carried out by US forces in the area of Greshk, some 35 kilometres north of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, four Taliban fighters were killed. However the Taliban leader in that area Mullah Abdel Hanan, is believed to be alive.

On Monday morning, coalition forces in Afghanistan announced that they had killed many Taliban fighters in an operation in the south of the country against Mullah Abdel Hanan, the Taliban commander said to be close to Mullah Omar, the fugitive leader of the Islamist movement.

In the interview with al-Jazeera, Taliban spokesperson, Yusuf Ahmad, said that the Taliban had on Monday morning "fought off an attack launched by the army of the Afghan government in the province of Helmand and that they had captured 30 of their soldiers."

"We foiled an attempt by the Afghan soldiers to take control of the southern part of Helmand," he said adding that a "government unit had penetrated the village of Washir."

The spokesperson said that the village was still in Taliban hands, and that at the beginning of February their fighters also managed to rake control of the village of Musa Qala, another town in the south of Helmand.

The Taliban spokesperson also threatened the Afghan and NATO forces present in the country and that they would thwart the expected military offensive in spring.
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U.S. launches artillery into Pakistan
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer Sun Feb 11, 1:57 PM ET
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Asserting a right to self-defense, American forces in eastern  Afghanistan have launched artillery rounds into Pakistan to strike Taliban fighters who attack remote U.S. outposts, the commander of U.S. forces in the region said Sunday.

The skirmishes are politically sensitive because Pakistan's government, regarded by the Bush administration as an important ally against Islamic extremists, has denied that it allows U.S. forces to strike inside its territory.

The use of the largely ungoverned Waziristan area of Pakistan as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters has become a greater irritant between Washington and Islamabad since Pakistan put in place a peace agreement there in September that was intended to stop cross-border incursions.

Army Col. John W. Nicholson, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said in an Associated Press interview that rather than halt such incursions, the peace deal has led to a substantial increase.

Pakistani border forces, which had been active in stopping Taliban incursions into Afghanistan as recently as last spring, stopped offensive actions against them once the peace deal took effect, he said.

"That did relax some of the pressure on the enemy," Nicholson said.

The Pakistan army's top spokesman said Sunday that coalition forces operating in Afghanistan are not allowed to fire into Pakistani territory, but acknowledged that artillery fire from the coalition had landed inside Pakistan in recent days. Pakistan also plans to seek "clarification" about Nicholson's comments.

Members of Nicholson's brigade, which is based at Fort Drum, N.Y., recently were told that instead of going home this month after a yearlong tour, they will stay for an extra four months, until June.

Nicholson told the Army's vice chief of staff, Gen. Richard Cody, that this news hit soldiers and their families hard, but that they are now adjusting well. Cody is traveling in Afghanistan.

The brigade of about 3,500 soldiers is being kept in Afghanistan because senior commanders decided they needed more forces to deal with an anticipated Taliban offensive this spring. The offensive is expected to focus not only on eastern Afghanistan but also the south, where the traditional Taliban stronghold of Kandahar is seen as a prized target.  NATO forces operate in that area.

Nicholson described the fighting along the border, particularly in Afghanistan's Paktika and Khost provinces, as intense. In some cases, he said, the Taliban have crossed the border at night, using wire cutters to breach the perimeter of small U.S. outposts, "trying to get hand grenades into our bunkers."

"I mean we're talking World War I type of stuff," Nicholson said. "These are some very sharp, intense fights" initiated by an enemy he described as resilient and undeterred by superior U.S. firepower.

"They'll keep coming back," he said.

When Taliban forces on the Pakistan side of the border fire on U.S. outposts on the Afghan side, the Americans are equipped to quickly pinpoint the launch location using radar and then strike back with artillery, he said.

"We do not allow the enemy to fire with impunity on our soldiers, and we have the inherent right of self defense," he said, speaking by video teleconference from his headquarters at Jalalabad air field. "Even if those fires are coming from across the border (in Pakistan), we have the right to defense ourselves, and we exercise that right." He added later, "We do fire missions across the border."

Nicholson responded to questions from an AP reporter after the commander spoke by video teleconference with Cody.

Cody had planned to fly to Jalalabad to meet with Nicholson and other commanders but poor weather forced him to remain at Bagram, the main American air base in Afghanistan.

Nicholson told Cody that U.S. forces have made important strides this winter in persuading local Afghans to side with the U.S.-backed government and to be less accommodating to the Taliban. The Taliban have been resurgent in some parts of the country after being driven from power by U.S. forces in 2001.

Nicholson's area of responsibility includes the border provinces from Nuristan to Paktika. He said his forces are not required to get approval from Pakistan before responding to an attack. But he emphasized that efforts are made to warn Pakistani government forces along the border to clear the intended target area before U.S. artillery is launched.

"We make every effort to communicate with the Pakistan military," he said, Nicholson said the computers used to target U.S. artillery are programmed with the map coordinates of Pakistani border posts.

"If a fire mission is being called that would impact on a Pakistan border post, we typically will not shoot — we will not shoot that mission," he said.

The United States has given radios to Pakistan border posts so they can communicate with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, he said. If U.S. troops are unable to contact them directly before launching an artillery assault, an illumination round is fired first as a means of warning the Pakistanis that high explosives will follow.

The Pakistani army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, told the AP by telephone in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, "Pakistan would not allow any coalition forces to violate the international border. This is the understanding between us and the coalition forces."

He added, "In case of any target inside Pakistani territory, the intelligence would be passed on to us and we would take action. This is the policy and we strictly adhere to the policy and we would not allow any violation of Pakistani border."
___

Associated Press writer Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
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EU will send mission to train Afghan police
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The  European Union agreed on Monday to send a mission to help train local police in  Afghanistan, whose government is struggling with an Islamist insurgency.

"The mission will work toward an Afghan police force...that respects human rights and operates within the framework of the rule of law," the bloc's 27 foreign ministers said in a statement.

Brussels diplomats have said more than 150 police officers and about 60 experts are likely to take part in the mission which, according to the statement, will help "address the issue of police reform at central, regional and provincial level."

The estimated cost of the mission will be about 40 million euros ($51.84 million) for this year.

So far, Germany has been helping train Afghan police, using about 40 experts.

NATO has been pressing the EU to do more in Afghanistan as the alliance seeks find more troops for its force, which is facing stubborn resistance from Taliban insurgents.

NATO commanders have in the past forecast the imminent end of the insurgency. However, more than 4,000 people were killed in violence in 2006, the bloodiest year since U.S.-led forces drove out the Taliban government in 2001.
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Canadian Forces probe wounding of Afghan soldier
Monday, February 12, 2007 | 7:48 AM ET CBC News
The Canadian Forces are investigating an incident in which one of their own shot and wounded an Afghan soldier Monday morning.

The shooting occurred when a Canadian convoy and a group of Afghan military vehicles crossed paths along a highway in Kandahar at about 7 a.m., the Canadian military said.

The lead Afghan vehicle apparently approached the Canadians too closely and didn't stop, said Lt.-Cmdr. Kris Phillips, a spokesman for the Canadian Forces.
(CBC) A Canadian vehicle had broken down and troops had set up a defensive perimeter around it. While repairs were being done, an Afghan National Army convoy approached.

"At that time, for whatever reason, it appears shots were fired by the Canadians at the ANA convoy," said Lt.-Cmdr. Kris Phillips.

The lead vehicle in the Afghan convoy apparently approached too closely, Phillips said, and may not have heeded signals to stop, prompting a Canadian soldier to open fire using a mounted machine gun.

"The vehicle was hit and the driver of that vehicle was injured," said Phillips, a spokesman for the International Security Force in Afghanistan.

Phillips said the driver was taken to hospital and reports from the Afghan army suggest he was not seriously wounded by the burst of fire, but suffered injuries to his arm.

Angry responses came from the Afghan soldiers, but "cooler heads prevailed" after interpreters helped the soldiers communicate, Phillips said.

Canadian troops are in the process of rotating troops through Afghanistan. Whether this was a case of a new soldier overreacting will be part of a Canadian Forces investigation into the matter, Phillips said.

The shooting incident comes as the Senate defence committee is set to present a harsh report on Monday that includes an 11-point strategy on how to improve Canada's mission in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan vows more action on drugs
KABUL (AFP) -  Afghanistan, the world's leading opium producer, vowed to take "strong action" against the drug and said it had made a start by destroying thousands of hectares (acres) of poppy fields this year.

Around 1,500 drug traffickers had been arrested since May 2005 when Afghanistan's first-ever drugs court was opened, Deputy Interior Minister General Mohammad Daud Daud said at the opening of a new court building.

The court has investigated 740 cases and convicted 326 people for offences such as selling or transporting opium and heroin, officials said.

"The government is serious and we will take strong action," Daud said on Monday. "There will be significant reduction."

"We have made very important progress. At the beginning of 2006 we had not yet started the (eradication) campaign but this year 4,250 hectares (10,500 acres) of poppy lands have been already destroyed," he said.

However a September 2006 report by Daud's ministry and the  United Nations showed that about 14 percent of the roughly 15,000 hectares of poppy fields eradicated last year had already been destroyed in the first two months.

About 165,000 hectares of opium were cultivated last year, a 59 percent jump on the previous year and a record high, the report showed, despite British- and US-funded programmes costing millions of dollars.

Afghanistan now produces more than 90 percent of the world's opium.

Critics say the government is not doing enough to fight its opium trade, which supplies Europe, the Middle East and Asia with heroin and supports a Taliban insurgency that is fiercest in the main drug production areas.

The chief of investigations in the drugs court said it was aiming for the top levels of the drugs trade.

"We are continually building intelligence and prosecuting crimes, which will enable us to bring down the highest echelons of the drug trafficking networks," Noor Mohammed said.
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America is doped up in Colombia for a bad trip in Afghanistan
Simon Jenkins The Sunday Times (UK) February 11, 2007
Last week Nato defence ministers met in Seville to review the coming spring offensive in Afghanistan. It was like Great War generals dining in Versailles to discuss the trenches. The new Nato commander, US General John Craddock, asked for 2,000 more troops. Just one more push and the Taliban would be defeated, the Afghan army readied to fight, the opium dealers arrested and more aid committed to reconstruction. It was as simple as that. Anyone for paella?

How does this strategy look from the other place in the world where it is being tried, Colombia? This month Washington is redeploying one of its star diplomats, William Wood, from Bogota to Kabul with the enthusiastic blessing of the Pentagon. Wood has been overseeing Plan Colombia, President Clinton’s eight-year effort to fight the cocaine cartels and left-wing insurgents and make Latin America safe for pro-Americanism.

Wood will be joining the new US Nato commander in Kabul, General Dan McNeill, and reversing the allegedly feeble policies of the outgoing British commander, General David Richards. The fourfold increase in violence over the past year is attributed by the Americans to an excess of soft hearts and minds. Wood will want to beef up poppy eradication to starve the insurgency of revenue.

Colombia is undeniably a country which, six years ago, faced disaster. Main roads were blocked by mafiosi and kidnappings and massacres were endemic. Drug lords, revolutionaries and right-wing paramilitaries fought for control of a trade that supplied 90% of America’s cocaine. The Cali and Medellin cartels offered to finance public services and pay off Colombia’s foreign debt in return for quasi-recognition by Bogota. This admirably capitalist innovation — de facto legalising supply — was too much for the Americans.

Instead Washington pumped $600m a year into Colombia’s army and police, enabling the central government to reestablish a measure of command over its own country. An independent, Alvaro Uribe, was elected president in 2002 and hurled men and money at security. The murder rate fell by a third and kidnappings by two thirds. Most of Colombia is now as safe as anywhere in Latin America. Uribe was reelected last year with 62% of the vote in a fair election.

Uribe cannot stem the cocaine trade. Crop-spraying shifts production into Bolivia, Peru and the Amazon jungle, where mile upon mile of virgin forest is lost to coca each year, an ecological disaster that is a direct result of western drugs policy. As long as prohibition sustains a lucrative market for narcotics, countries such as Colombia will supply it. Traditional coca-growing nations on the Andean spine will have their politics and economics blighted by criminality. Growth will be stifled and governments left vulnerable to left-wing rebellion. The war on drugs is the stupidest war on earth.

The best that elected leaders such as Uribe can hope for is to establish a desperate equilibrium: drug suppliers kept relatively nonviolent while right-wing vigilantes are half-tolerated to counterbalance left-wing guerrillas. The only test is survival and as long as Uribe survives America smiles. On an increasingly rabid antiAmerican continent he is one sure ally.

Cut to Afghanistan. Here, too, the West is intervening in a narco-economy that is destabilising a pro-western government. Here, too, quantities of aid have been dedicated to security yet have fed corruption. Here, too, intervention has boosted drug production and stacked the cards against law and order. This year’s Afghan poppy crop is predicted to be the largest on record. European demand has boosted the price paid for Afghan poppies to nine times that of wheat. At this differential a policy of crop substitution is absurd.

Afghanistan is not Colombia. Here the West is not using a local government to implement its drugs and counter-insurgency policy. Some 40,000 Nato troops from more than 30 different countries are gathered in Kabul. Since many of them refuse to fight, the city has become a holiday camp for the world’s military elite. Outside the capital, military occupation acts as a recruiting sergeant for insurgency, leaving Nato bases constantly on the defensive. The war in Afghanistan is proving that an enemy can be held at bay but only at vast expense in money and casualties. It will not be defeated.

The British policy of occupying small towns to win hearts and minds has been a bloody failure. It was wisely replaced last autumn with deals struck with local power brokers, the so-called Musa Qala and Helmand protocols. Up to $5m is handed over to any warlord who can claim provincial control, accepting the pragmatism of the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who on January 29 even called for negotiation with the Taliban. The local British commander, Brigadier Jerry Thomas, was explicit in seeking to “empower local people to use traditional tribal structures . . . to find an Afghan solution to an Afghan problem”. In truth, there is no other conceivable way to disengage from this mess. A similar “endgame” is being pursued by the new American commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, in securing safe areas policed by local militias.

Now the Americans wish to reverse British realpolitik. To them what Afghanistan needs is a taste of Colombia and Ambassador Wood.

Musa Qala must be reoccupied and poppy-spraying must commence. This defies the view of western intelligence in Kabul which has been convinced that America’s heavy-handed tactics and addiction to aerial bombardment have cost the West five years in Afghanistan. Local commanders are equally opposed to the opium eradication that obsesses the defence ministry in London and the Foreign Office’s Kim Howells. Apart from the futility of trying to spray so vast an area as Helmand, drug lords are the only counterweight to the Taliban. Poisoning Afghanistan’s staple crop and contaminating fields and water supply will push up the price of opium and further breed hatred of the occupation. It is madness.

In Colombia the Americans achieved a sort of equilibrium because local politics was left to police the narco-economy. In Afghanistan Karzai is treated as an American puppet whose authority outside Kabul depends entirely on occupying forces. There is no way that provincial Afghanistan will be pacified by Nato and left to Karzai’s army. Afghan troops (like the Iraqis) will not fight local militias. Training them to do so is pointless as they merely switch sides when the occupiers depart. Ask the few journalists brave enough to visit the battlefields of Helmand and the Pakistan border.

In Colombia the central government enjoyed sufficient democratic legitimacy for its army to drive insurgents into the jungle and induce the drug lords and paramilitaries to surrender (some of) their guns and power, albeit at a heavy cost in justice and human rights. Afghanistan has never enjoyed such central authority, except briefly under the Taliban. It will not do so under the guns of 30 occupying powers. The south of the country craves security and gets only bombs and bullets and is increasingly inclined to the iron rule of the Taliban. Since any prospective Karzai/Taliban coalition is unlikely to please the Tajiks and other tribes of the north, all western meddling will achieve is to set Afghanistan on the road back to the 1990s.

Having visited both Afghanistan and Colombia, I have no doubt that those countries’ miseries start and end in narcotics. With an almighty and bloodthirsty effort, the production of cocaine in Colombia and opium in Afghanistan might possibly be displaced, but only to other benighted countries. What would be the point? As long as rich countries consume these substances in massive quantities it is hypocritical to lay waste the poor countries producing them and thus make them poorer.

Punishing supply is not a “parallel” policy to curbing demand, as economically illiterate policy makers pretend. Demand is never curbed by limiting supply, since supply responds to price. It just will not work.

Hence pretending to victory in Colombia is no different from staving off defeat in Afghanistan. Both are cruel expiations of western narco-guilt. The difference is that in Afghanistan intervention has led us into an unwinnable war. 
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Helmand 'seeing insurgent surge' 
By Alastair Leithead BBC News, Kabul  Sunday, 11 February 2007, 15:42 GMT 
The governor of Helmand province in Afghanistan says up to 700 insurgents have crossed over from Pakistan and are preparing to fight British forces.
Haji Asadullah Wafa, who has been in his job just a few weeks, told the BBC foreign fighters were among them.

He said their intention was to disturb a major dam project being protected by British troops.

The UK taskforce in Helmand said it was aware of reports that insurgents had moved into the Sangin area.

A spokesman said it was nothing unusual and if it became necessary they would strike at a time of their choosing.

Drugs trade
There has been much talk of a spring offensive but the Helmand governor has given the biggest indication yet that hundreds of insurgents are preparing to fight British troops in southern Afghanistan.

He said the 700, including Arabs, Chechens and Pakistani Taleban had crossed into Helmand from Pakistan and had moved to Sangin, the centre of the drugs trade where British forces faced some of the heaviest fighting last summer.
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Send more money, personnel to Afghanistan, says Senate report
Monday, February 12, 2007 | 7:25 AM ET CBC News
Canada must send more personnel to Afghanistan and increase development funding, says a Senate defence committee report to be published Monday.

The report will recommend Canada send additional police and military trainers to Kandahar to help boost the country's fledgling army and police force.

It recommends Ottawa provide millions more in development aid for the military until aid groups can set up in the wartorn region.

The defence committee report also criticizes NATO countries for failing to provide enough military support to Canadian troops, who, along with the Americans, British and Dutch, are working in the volatile southern region.

Canadian and NATO leaders have repeatedly called on member countries to send more troops to the country to help battle Taliban militants and their supporters.

Members of the Senate defence committee visited the more than 2,000 Canadian soldiers serving in the Kandahar region last December.

Since the mission started in 2002, 44 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.
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Taliban Stepping Up Attacks in Afghanistan
By CARLOTTA GALL February 11, 2007
KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 10 — Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks in southern Afghanistan in recent days, killing four Afghan policemen in an ambush on Friday night and aiming at NATO troops with the second suicide bombing in a week in what seems to be the opening of the fighting season, officials said Saturday.

Go to Complete Coverage » The suicide bomber smashed his car into a NATO military convoy north of Kandahar on Saturday morning, killing himself but not hurting anyone else, said the province police chief, Asmatullah Alizay. Another bomber attacked a military convoy in the same place on Feb. 4.

Taliban insurgents have also appeared again in the troubled southern district of Panjwai, ambushing a police patrol on Friday night and killing four policemen and wounding two more. NATO troops mounted two heavy combat operations last year to clear insurgents from the area and have tried to establish security by boosting the local police forces.

NATO forces also fought Taliban forces for several hours in the next-door province of Helmand, where they have been trying to clear the area around the Kajaki dam to allow engineers in for a renovation project, one of the United States government’s largest development efforts in the country.

Taliban forces who overran the town of Musa Qala last week were also preparing for a fight if government or NATO troops moved against them, a resident from the town said in a telephone interview. The resident, Amir Jan, 32, who has a clothes shop in the town but has fled along with other townspeople who feared renewed fighting, said that the Taliban were promising more heavy fighting this year against foreign forces in Afghanistan and were vowing to seize control of more towns.

The fighters said they were loyal to the fugitive Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, and were under his orders to fight, Mr. Jan said. Although their local leader, Mullah Abdul Ghafoor, was killed in a NATO airstrike on Feb. 4, his deputy, whom Mr. Jan did not name, was in charge and vowing to take revenge for Mullah Ghafoor’s death.
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Afghanistan truckers driving between life and death
By Can Merey Feb 12, 2007, 8:56 GMT ChronicleHerald.ca, Canada
Kabul - When Khan Aga powers up his Mercedes diesel truck and leaves Kabul for southern Afghanistan, he doesn't know if he will ever see his wife and eight children again.

Aga's constant companion in the driver's cabin is fear, and it's not because of gruelling traffic or the nature of his freight. The chilled foodstuffs he carries are hardly contraband or controversial, but his employer is: The 37-year-old trucker supplies foreign military camps in Afghanistan and has, therefore, become a rolling target for militants.

Aga has done this job for one year, and nobody in their right mind would dare ask him if he enjoys his work, but it brings in higher pay than other Afghan truck drivers earn to support his large family.

The truck he drives is owned by an Afghan company earning hard US dollars from the purchase orders of its military clients. Its sides are emblazoned with 'Kuehltransporte Sebastian Beisl,' but instead of driving for the German chilled freight company, it is now commissioned by NATO and US-led coalition forces.

The only adornment in Aga's driver's cabin is a bunch of blue plastic flowers. The bumpers and side mirrors are decorated with colourful pieces of fabric in the style of the Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group and the main source of new Taliban recruits in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

However, this somewhat pathetic camouflage is not very successful. Chilled transports are expensive and, therefore, are likely commissioned by foreigners. Taliban rebels are well aware of that.

Aga has been attacked three times, and three of the colleagues he had gotten to know have been murdered. Many more who he hadn't ever met have also been killed.

The last time Aga's truck was fired on by militants was three months ago on the 'death route' between Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and the northern city of Ghasni.

Despite suffering two flat tires, Aga hit the gas while the truck of his colleague behind him was going up in flames.

'I didn't stop,' he said.

Another time, in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, the rebels shot at him but missed him by a hair.

Then again, half a year ago, Aga's luck seemed to have left him.

He was driving a delivery for the US military in the western province of Farah as a Taliban pickup forced him to stop. The rebels set his truck on fire and blindfolded Aga before they transferred him to an unknown place.

'One of them pinned my head down, the other my legs,' Aga recalled while putting a cigarette between his rotten teeth. 'A third one beat me with an iron tube.'

Aga is still on medication because of that assault and proves it by pulling out a yellow box of painkillers from his worn-out anorak.

The lesson the Taliban intended to deliver after they relieved him of his money and his cell phone and released him still blindfolded was clear: They didn't want him to work for the foreign 'invaders' again. But Aga ignored their warning.

'I have no other choice because I have to support a large family,' he said.

Whoever drives for the foreign troops can earn about 300 dollars per month, three times the average salary of an Afghan truck driver.

'Every other trucker I know is afraid, but no one wants to quit their job,' Aga said.

It is not only a dangerous but also a lonely kind of work. During emergencies, nobody will be there to help.

'I trust in Allah and keep driving,' Aga said.

He will soon be on his way to Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. His destination will be the encampment of the German NATO contingent.

'It's a safe route,' he said. 'I can even stop at the roadside and drink some tea.'

But only one day after his arrival back in Kabul, he will once again drive southward - on the 'death route' to Kandahar.
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Pakistan to free 293 detained Afghan pilgrims: Afghan diplomat
Islamabad, Feb 12, IRNA
Pakistan has decided to release some 293 Afghan pilgrims who had been arrested on charges of traveling to Saudi Arabia on fake Pakistani passports, an Afghan diplomat said on Sunday.

"I have received a written order from Pakistan's Interior Ministry that the first group of detained Afghan hujjajs will be freed on Monday, Afghan Counsel General in Karachi Muktader Feruz Anfar said.

He said that a total of 96 women and 197 male pilgrims will be handed over to Afghan authorities and will later be deported to Afghanistan.

More than 600 Afghan hujjajs have been arrested in recent weeks on charges of performing the hajj on fake Pakistani passports.

The counsel general said that a group of 23 Afghan nationals, who are detained under the foreign act, will also be freed on Monday.

All freed men and women pilgrims will be handed over to Afghan authorities at 9 am and will later be sent home through the Chaman border, he said.

Muktader Feruz said that efforts are underway to secure the release of all remaining Afghan pilgrims.
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Afghan pilgrims to be deported
Khaleej Times - Feb 11 8:15 PM
KARACHI — The government has decided to deport more than 950 Afghan pilgrims who travelled on fake Pakistani travel documents, Immigration officials said yesterday.

These Afghanis including more than 50 women were arrested on arrival from Saudi Arabia after performing Haj at the Karachi International Airport and cases registered against them for travelling on forged Pakistani passports. Presently the Aghans were locked in Passport Cells in city.
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Ministry's precautionary measures against bird flu
KABUL, Feb 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Ministry of Public Health has warned people to avoid touching dead birds ahead of the migratory season of birds from other parts of the world to Afghanistan.

The warning was issued ahead of the spring season during which migratory birds, from other parts, especially the Central Asian countries, come to Afghanistan.

Speaking at a news conference here on Saturday, the ministry's spokesman Dr Abdullah Fahim said migratory birds might contain the H5n1 strain and touching a dead bird could cause the spread of the virus to humans.

Fahim said the warning was just a precautionary measure to inform people about any possible danger. He said migratory birds from areas where the virus still existed, was an easy source of the transfer of the disease.

He particularly expressed concern over transmission of the virus from the neighbouring Pakistan, where he said two H5N1 positive cases had been found in Rawalpindi and Mansehra areas of that country.
Zarghona Salehi
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Pakistani "spies" handed over to officials at Torkham
ISLAMABAD, Feb 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Two Pakistani nationals arrested on charges of espionage last year, have been handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Torkham border crossing.

Gulsim Khan, a Pakistani official, told Pajhwok Afghan News the two people were handed over to them on Friday. He said they had been sent to Islamabad, capital of that country, for further investigations.

Zarshid Afridi, another Pakistani official at Torkham, said the two people, Khurshid, son of Said Mohammad, resident of Mansehra, and Khalil, son of Ghous Mohammad, resident of Lahore, were arrested by Afghan officials on espionage charges last year.

He said they had crossed the border in search of job. They had nothing to do with spying. He added the two would be questioned to ascertain the reason for their entering Afghanistan.

With the recent diplomatic stand-off between Afghanistan and Pakistan, authorities on both sides of the 2,640-kilometre border had started scrutiny of citizens illegally cross into each other's countries.

Pakhton Sahar
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US' law makers for use of micro-herbicide on poppy plants
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Expressing concern over the increase in poppy cultivation in the country over the previous two years, several US law makers believe use of micro-herbicide is the only solution to the problem, which they argue is providing finances for terrorism.

As part of the global fight against the increasing menace of drugs around the world, micro-herbicide was developed in a laboratory in Uzbekistan a few years back. Scientists from several countries joined the effort to prepare the micro-herbicide.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), micro-herbicide is a natural pathogen of opium plant. It can be used very effectively against only the opium plant by poisoning the ground. However, this poisoning remains ineffective for other plants, says scientists associated with the research.

Antonio Maria Costa of the UNODC had told the Congressional in 2006 that while the micro-herbicide had no adverse impact on fertility of the soil and other plants in the first year, its long term effect was still not proven.

It is probably for this reason the long term impact of micro-herbicide on fertility of the soil is not fully known that the Afghanistan government has so far disapproved its use.

Despite allocating $12 million for its research, the United States, too, is reluctant to favour its use. "Are you going to spend that $12 million to find out if micro-herbicides are a possible tool against the opium production in Afghanistan," asked Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher at a Congressional hearing this week while addressing the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

However, Rice said: "I'll get back to you on the specifics about micro-herbicides and what we are doing in terms of research. I will say that there are always questions about what one can do in the use of certain kinds of herbicides worldwide in terms of crop, even illicit crop. And there are environmental issues that have to be examined."

Rohrabacher expressed the fear that the amount was not being used for this particular research because of some fanatic opposition to it.
Lalith K. Jha
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briefing by Adrian Edwards, Spokesperson for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and UN agencies in Afghanistan
Source: United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Date: 12 Feb 2007 Talking Points

Just before we start there are a few things coming up over the next weeks. We are expecting to see the executive director of United Nations Office for Drug and Crimes (UNODC) Mr. Maria Costa here this Spring. We also expect to see a representative from the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs here in the coming days. There is a busy schedule and as soon as we have dates on these we will obviously let you all know.

Afghanistan Compact on track after Berlin JCMB meeting

Since the Berlin meeting of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board at this beginning of this month there has been little opportunity to talk to you about progress with the Afghanistan Compact and Afghan National Development Strategy, and what to expect now.

The Compact is still new. Officially it is a year old on March 21 this year, after which it has four more years to run. The Berlin meeting looked at what is working, what is not, and where adjustments are needed. 2006 presented a higher than expected level of insecurity, and so a key question surrounding this meeting, and picked up by some of the international press, was whether things are still on track.

Overall there was in UNAMA's opinion a very encouraging level of commitment both from the international partners represented, and from the Afghan Government itself towards getting the necessary work done. Eight of the Compact's early benchmarks have now been achieved, with the JCMB allowing time extensions of between four and nine months in a further three cases (drafting and endorsement of mineral regulations, a labor market study, and liquidation of state owned banks that have not been re-licensed). There is substantial work ahead but the Compact and the Afghan National Development Strategy remain, in our view, the right tools for the job.

A main aim of this meeting was to look at substantive ways to accelerate implementation of the Compact through a more effective and strengthened JCMB. UNAMA stressed the need to address more aggressively the challenges Afghanistan is facing, especially improving the security sector and building strong institutions for rule of law and human rights. Stabilization of Afghanistan is something we are all working towards in 2007 and it is clearly key to the stability of the entire region.

Specifically: The meeting backed Afghan ownership of security, reconstruction and development efforts; It admitted Spain as its 23rd member; It looked at creating more jobs by improving the quality of development spending through the budget; With reforms of the Ministry of Interior, the meeting looked at ensuring merit-based selection, training, and better supply of equipment. There was also a renewed commitment to DIAG, which is crucial for the government to have a monopoly on the use of force; It also looked at speeding the passage of legislation; And it discussed the upcoming elections, including streamlining the elections calendar to allow for elections to be held simultaneously.

No room for let up in Afghanistan's economy

As you may know an International Monetary Fund staff team was in Kabul earlier this winter to conduct the first review under the IMF's poverty reduction and growth facility.

The initial assessment is that Afghanistan's main economic indicators are positive and programme performance during the first half of the 2006/7-year is generally satisfactory.

GDP growth is now expected to be in the region of 8 percent for the year, which although lower than in previous years is still seen as pretty good. Last year saw a 9 percent drop in cereal output as a result of drought, but this was offset by strong activity in construction and services. If these trends continue and there is a rebound in agriculture in the coming year growth is likely to reach 12 percent falling to around 10 percent after that.

Inflation is down, year-on-year. The consumer price index for Kabul declined to about 5.4 percent by September 2006, as a slower increase in rent prices largely offset a faster rise in food and energy prices. "National" year-on-year inflation, which covers Kabul and five other cities, was 5.2 percent in September.

Domestic revenue continued to grow, exceeding the first half target of 10.6 billion Afghanis, and the exchange rate is stable.

Despite these positive indicators the IMF says there's no room for complacency. It is highlighting a need for continued determined action on the reform agenda, including addressing limited job opportunities, poverty and facilitating private sector development.

For journalists interested in following the economy and the business environment in Afghanistan the mission's findings are available on the IMF website www.imf.org/external/country/AFG/index.htm. In addition the World Bank is tomorrow releasing its Doing Business in South Asia 2007 report. The report will be available from 9am Washington time and 1830 Kabul time at the http://www.doingbusiness.org/southasia website.

MRRD Activities in Kandahar

As you may already know a number of Government-led development initiatives are underway this spring in southern Afghanistan, with Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development Mohammed Ehsan Zia mid-way through a programme of visits aimed at spurring progress.

MRRD tells us that the Minister is back in Kandahar this week to look at new projects, including the construction of new clinics; schools; roads and the rebuilding of destroyed homes.

This is part of an ongoing development effort by the MRRD and its partners in Kandahar and will directly improve the lives of the rural communities in the province.

The Ministry is taking advantage of the improved security situation and has recently deployed over 35 staff to the province to push forward the implementation of projects. 5,800 internally-displaced people are also currently being supported by the MRRD in Kandahar.

Some 653 projects have been identified by communities, and so far 135 have been signed. Around 50 more will be looked at this week.

UNAMA builds Government Capacity in Kunduz

UNAMA's office in Kunduz has completed a series of workshops for Government officials, members of parliament, and civil society players aimed at putting local people at the heart of decision-making concerning new development projects in their communities.

With these workshops the Provincial Development Programme has been finalized and is now awaiting the approval of the Provincial Development Committee.

Training of this kind is being provided so that people understand, among other things, how they can go about applying for and obtaining financial support to start new projects.

Participants included Provincial Directors of Government departments, Provincial Council members, all Districts Managers, journalists, civil society and community elders, UN agencies, other members of the International Community, and local international non-Governmental organisations.

The workshops also included sessions on the Afghanistan Compact, Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Seven Children die in Bagram District in Parwan

A team from the Ministry of Public Health supported by WHO has identified a serious outbreak of acute respiratory infection which has resulted in the deaths of seven children in Bagram district of Parwan.

The children came from three villages - Qala Jala, Bag Dara and Naz Dara, which are about fifty kilometres from the centre of Parwan. These areas are covered by a clinic.

WHO has sent medical supplies and is supporting the investigation to identify the cause of death. Over one hundred patients have so far been treated during the course of this specific investigation.

The investigation will continue and the health of children will be monitored. The Ministry of Public Health and WHO will also continue their health education outreach to help prevent future deaths from acute respiratory infection.

Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is one of the leading causes of mortality in children under five years of age in developing countries. It is responsible for an estimated 1.9 million deaths annually.

Question and Answers:

Question (Radio Free Europe): Do you have an update report from Musa Qala district? Have people been displaced from their homes? Are you concerned about casualties if Afghan security forces start a military operation there?

Spokesman: As of a couple of hours ago, I was informed that the door is still open on the negotiations that Governor Wafa is leading with the elders and others there. So for the moment the focus is on trying to find a negotiated solution. Also, from the reports that we are hearing life in Musa Qala itself is at present relatively normal in terms of shops being open and so forth. The most immediate concern for the United Nations is humanitarian -- the needs of people who have left Musa Qala. The information that we have at the moment is that around 500-600 families have fled. Governor Wafa has been talking about initiatives to help displaced people and I suspect the Government will also be talking about this in the coming days. As always, UN agencies are supporting and ready to support any humanitarian needs that arise.

Question: You mentioned the possibility of civilian casualties if the Nato and Afghan forces launch an attack.

Spokesman: We'll have to see where this goes. Let's hope that a peaceful solution can be found. I am not sure you need me to reiterate our position on the need to avoid civilian casualties. This is a duty that is stated in international law and everyone has an obligation to do so [protect civilians from harm] in conflict situations.

Question (Radio Killid) [translated from Dari]: The question is about Musa Qala. At a press briefing yesterday, the Ministry of Interior said that the Taliban believes that if the Government forces do not enter Musa Qala they will be ready to surrender and hand over Musa Qala peacefully to the elders. However, on the other hand, MoI, MoD, Nato and Isaf are preparing to attack Musa Qala. What is the UN's position on this?

Spokesman: As I said, my understanding as of this morning is that negotiations are continuing and the focus is on whether these negotiations will yield results. Clearly if negotiations fail, we are moving into the realm of military operations, but let's wait and see.

Question (Good Morning Afghanistan) [translated from Dari]: UNAMA's position has always been that the Taliban should retreat peacefully from Musa Qala. If the Taliban retreat peacefully, where should they go? What is your view on this?

Spokesman: A peaceful solution is preferable to conflict. The key thing to remember in the context of Afghanistan is that solutions have to accord with the Constitution. As for the Taliban themselves, you would have to ask individual members in Musa Qala and sitting in the surrounding area where they come from. Some Taliban as you know come from this country. With any peaceful solution, all we are looking for is for people to return to their homes and get on with rebuilding this country. Clearly we think that rebuilding Afghanistan and creating progress here is a far more productive endeavour than fighting.

Question (BBC): You just mentioned that people fighting in Musa Qala come from inside Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Mr Wafa, the Governor of Helmand expressed to many media yesterday saying that right now there are several hundred fighters that have come from Pakistan and they are made up of many different nationalities. Some of them are Saudi Arabian, Arabs and Chechens and others. Do you have any information about this and what is UNAMA stance on neighbouring Pakistan, which is accused by Wafa of assisting foreign fighters to enter Afghanistan?

Spokesman: First of all, let me make quite clear, UNAMA does not know where individual members of the Taliban or others who are currently in Musa Qala come from. What we do know is that the conflict in Afghanistan has its roots in this country and in the region. We continue to believe that combating a problem like this requires a cooperative effort on the part of all, not just Afghanistan, but the surrounding region and the international community.

Question: Again, the question relates to the negotiations in Musa Qala. Yesterday's comment by the former Taliban Foreign Minister who requested that President Karzai should negotiate with the Taliban to avoid bloodshed in Afghanistan. What is UNAMA's position on this?

Spokesman: It is exactly as I've said. We are open to any solutions that might achieve a peaceful end to the situation here. Stabilisation is a goal for everyone working in Afghanistan. But, the key point again, is that everything has to be in accordance with the Constitution that Afghanistan has created for itself.

Question: Do the talks include Hekmatyar, Haqqani, Mullah Omar and other top Taliban leaders or not?

Spokesman: I think you're in danger of jumping ahead of the game here. What we're saying is that at the end of the day fighting will have to stop in Afghanistan and there will have to be peace. Any way forward on peace has to be on the basis of the Constitution and I think that's as clear as I can possibly make it.

Question: We as journalists and we are in contact with the people, very often the question they frequently ask us is why the list human rights violators are not displayed every month in the media? What is UNAMA's position in disclosing these names?

Spokesman: I think you know that UNAMA was involved in a mapping report, which I think you are referring to from a couple of years ago? That was based on open source material, which you yourselves have written about, as well as others – that information is in the public domain. There is considerable information around about human violations from Afghanistan's past in a number of documents and reports that are easily available. In our view, and this is an element of the Government's Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and Justice, it is important that debate on can start, can flourish, and is encouraged in Afghanistan on the very difficult question of how to deal with the past. From experience in other countries we know that discussion of these issues can be painful. But we recognise that discussion, whether it is in Parliament, whether it is in the NGO community and civil society, whether it's in the press, wherever it is – we recognise that it is part of the process of working towards healing. On your specific proposal, I don't think that's something that UN can particularly comment upon. But anything that helps to foster debate in a healthy manner would probably be welcome.

Thank you.
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