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Pakistan agrees to reconsider mining Afghan border
Canada tells Pakistan fence, don't mine Afghan border
Governors oppose border fencing
Afghanistan: UN rejects landmines along border
Pakistan to work with world for peace in Afghanistan: Musharraf
De-mining agency sweeps out 17 percent of mine-fisted lands in Afghanistan
NATO troops kill an Afghan civilian
British troops winning conflict with the Taliban, commander says
Tackling the Taleban in the cold
Afghanistan going to plan - Hoon
Civilian aid helps Afghan war effort
Canada's new government invests in Afghanistan's minefield clearance and community-led development
Indian Director of 'Kabul Express' Apologizes to Afghan's Hazaras
Kabul Express DVDs Flood Afghanistan
Commanders seek more forces in Afghanistan
Kabul municipality removes venders from city
Dostum accused for insecurity in Jawzjan, Faryab
Pakistani traders to get special cards
Taliban threaten to kill kidnapped engineers
Pakistan releases Afghan cleric
Pakistan agrees to reconsider mining Afghan border
January 9, 2007
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan's foreign minister said the country would look at other options before going ahead with a plan to mine its border with Afghanistan, after talks with his Canadian counterpart.
Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said Pakistan would look at alternative ways to block militants crossing from Pakistan to fight in Afghanistan's worsening insurgency.
"Before we finalise we will definitely give due consideration as the objective of Pakistan and Canada is same, that is, to make sure that the unwanted movement is controlled," said Kasuri at a joint press conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay.
"We will be very happy to receive suggestions from Canada."
Pakistan, which is not a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty against the use of landmines, came up with the proposal after a spate of allegations from Afghanistan about the infiltration of militants.
MacKay, who also met with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf after flying in from Afghanistan late Monday, opposes the proposal.
Kasuri said Canada would send "experts who will make concrete suggestions to us."
"We have also tasked the Pakistan army to come forward with suggestions," he added.
MacKay said Pakistan could learn from Canada's experience of managing a large border with the United States.
Musharraf "has agreed to explore some other options" on how to manage movement of people and stem activities of the Taliban," he said.
"I am very pleased that the president signalled that he would be open to this discussion and to perhaps having a working group that would focus on the subject matter," MacKay said.
During a visit to southern Afghanistan's troubled city of Kandahar on Monday, MacKay said he would tell Musharraf that mining of the border with Afghanistan was unacceptable.
"I do not accept the use of landmines," MacKay told reporters in the southern province of Kandahar, where about 2,500 Canadian soldiers are facing some of the worst violence of the Taliban-led insurgency.
A global treaty against the use of mines was agreed in Ottawa in 1997.
The accord has been ratified by more than 150 countries but Pakistan is one of 40 countries, including the United States, that have not signed up.
Pakistan said last month it would mine and fence part of the rugged 2,500-kilometre (1,500-mile) border.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the United Nations have also rejected the plan, which has prompted at least two demonstrations Sunday in areas of Afghanistan along the border.
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Canada tells Pakistan fence, don't mine Afghan border
Tue Jan 9, 7:55 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Despite suffering some of the heaviest casualties among NATO forces in Afghanistan, Canada on Tuesday opposed a Pakistani proposal to lay landmines near the Afghan border, but supported fencing to stop Taliban fighters crossing back and forth.
Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in Islamabad that Canada was unwilling to compromise its support for an international protocol to restrain the use of landmines.
He said a better solution lay with fencing, augmented with border patrols, aerial surveillance and increased use of technology.
"Fencing, I think, is part of that solution, particularly in high traffic areas, and there have been experiences with fencing that have been very effective," MacKay told a joint news conference with his Pakistani counterpart.
A day earlier in Afghanistan, MacKay said he would speak "bluntly" to Pakistani leaders about the need to do more to stop Taliban crossing the border to fight Afghan and NATO forces.
But, there were no harsh words in public from MacKay, after his meetings with President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Kasuri. Instead,he talked about the need to find solutions together rather than casting blame.
"Nobody in the international community, in my view, would indicate with any degree of fairness that it's Pakistan's problem alone," MacKay said.
Canada has more than 2,000 troops serving with NATO peacekeepers in Afghanistan, and most of them are based in Kandahar, one of the southern provinces where fighting has been most intense.
Thirty-six Canadian soldiers were killed last year, and the Canadian media has been highly critical of Pakistan's efforts to rein in Taliban fighters.
But, Afghanistan and its allies say the Taliban are still orchestrating their insurgency from Pakistani sanctuaries, although hundreds of Pakistani troops have been killed fighting al Qaeda and Taliban guerrillas in the Waziristan tribal agencies since late 2003.
"We are quite fed up of allegations of this nature," Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said.
Kasuri welcomed Canada's offer of help to devise of system of border security that would avoid laying minefields.
Afghanistan opposes fencing and mining as the frontier is disputed and it argues that such steps would penalize tribal communities that straddle both sides of the border.
Last year, was the most violent in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces ousted a Taliban government in 2001. More than 4,000 people, including 170 foreign troops were killed on 2006.
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Governors oppose border fencing
Javid Hamim/Hashmi/Zabulai
KABUL, Jan 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Governors of the nine provinces, sharing border with Pakistan, have rejected the fencing and mining proposal and said the step would divide the people and tribes straddling the border instead of proving helpful in discouraging cross-border infiltration of terrorists.
They believed any unilateral effort on part of the Pakistani government might jeopardise relations between the two countries as well as sabotage the efforts to convene the Peace Jirga agreed upon between President Karzai and his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf in Washington in September last.
Instead of erecting the fence and dividing the people living alongside the Durand Line, Pakistan should destroy sanctuaries and training camps of terrorists on the other side of the divide, suggested the governors.
Shalizai Didar, Governor of the eastern Kunar province, believed to be the hideout of fugitive Taliban and al-Qaeda elements, said people on both sides of the border were against the fencing and mining.
He said the road leading to Chitral had been blocked due to the recent snowfall and hundreds of Chitralis were using the Kunar route to reach the Mohmand Agency and other parts of Pakistan's NWFP.
Governor of the neighbouring Nuristan province Tamim Nuristani said people in Pakistan's Chitral and the Nuristan province had blood relations with each other.
How could they accept the fencing and mining of the border when they did not recognise the Durand Line, he questioned.
Nuristani also referred to the problems existing between the United States and Mexico and said they did not ponder such a proposal like mining and fencing.
Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai said the issue would come under discussion in the upcoming Peace Jirga. Sherzai said the provincial government had the same stance as adopted by the central government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, Governor of the restive Helmand province Asadullah Wafa said the decision to fence the border would create negative effects on convening of the Peace Jirga.
Governor of the neighbouring Zabul province Dilbar Jan Arman said the decision was reflective of the double standard used by the Pakistani government vis--vis Afghanistan. The fencing would divide families and tribes like Achakzai, Baloch, Kakar, Gurbaz, Noorzai and Shamalzai.
Speaking on the issue, Asadullah Khalid, Governor of Kandahar province, bordering the Balochistan province of Pakistan, said the neighbouring country wanted to sabotage the Peace Jirga.
He said the Afghan government had conducted a lot of homework, but the Pakistani government was trying to postpone the Jirga by using one pretext or another.
Dr Akram Khpalwak, Governor of the southeastern Paktika province, said terrorism could only be rooted by striking at its roots. He said Pakistan should stop harbouring terrorists instead of fencing the border.
Governor of the neighbouring Khost province Arsala Jamal said mining or fencing the border was no solution to the problem. At the same time, it was violation of the Geneva Convention and would also endanger the lives of innocent people.
Rahmatullah Rahmat, Governor of Paktia, also termed the mining proposal a pretext used by the Pakistani government to postpone the Peace Jirga.
He said people and tribes straddling the border were opposed to the Pakistan decision and thousands of people staged protest demonstration in the Aryub Zazai district of the province the other day.
The mining proposal was first floated by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf last year. However, Afghanistan did not agree.
About a fortnight back, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry announced that they would go for the mining and fencing with or without Afghanistan. The announcement created uproar in the Afghan media and the government instantly rejected it, saying the step would divide the people living on the two sides of the border.
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Afghanistan: UN rejects landmines along border
KABUL, 9 January (IRIN) - The United Nations has rejected Pakistan's decision to fence and mine the border with Afghanistan to prevent cross-border militancy.
The UN's call follows a similar rejection by the Afghan government of the Pakistani plan to plant landmines and build a fence in 'selected places' along its 2,400 km border with Afghanistan.
"We regret the decision of the government of Pakistan to proceed with the laying of landmines and we call upon both governments to strengthen their commitment to cooperative solutions to the security problems that this region faces," Chris Alexander, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, said on Monday in the capital, Kabul.
Alexander said fencing would not help security in Afghanistan.
"In fact, the UN and most countries of the world are convinced that laying landmines is a very serous threat to the security of the population that live near the places where the mines are laid," he maintained.
There has been mounting pressure from the international community on the Pakistani government to do more to prevent the infiltration of Taliban militants, who are believed to be hiding along the porous border.
The Taliban, ousted by the US-led coalition in late 2001, are waging a deadly insurgency against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai, analysts say.
"I don't think it will put an end to the ongoing violence or the cross-border infiltration of Taliban to Afghanistan," Qasim Akhqar, a local analyst, told IRIN.
Afghan officials have repeatedly blamed some elements of the Pakistani government for supporting and providing sanctuary to Taliban militants but the government has denied the allegations and said it has deployed 80,000 troops along the border with Afghanistan to curb the growing Talibanisation and militancy.
The decision taken in December has also prompted demonstrations along the border in east and south-eastern Afghanistan, where mainly Pashtoon, the majority ethnic group, live. Millions of Pashtoon live on both sides of the border.
"Pakistan doesn't want to stop Taliban infiltration but wants to divide our tribe and our nation, which is unacceptable to us," Ghazi Nawaz Tanai, a Pashtoon tribal leader in southeastern Khost province, told IRIN.
"Pakistan should stop those who train, finance, and provide arms to the terrorists inside its government."
A global treaty against the use of mines was agreed in Ottawa in 1997; the accord has been ratified by more than 150 countries but Pakistan is one of 40 countries, including the United States, that have not signed up.
More than 4,000 people, including 1,000 civilians, lost their lives in 2006 in several suicide bombings and fighting between the government, NATO troops and the Taliban, mainly in the south of the country, which borders Pakistan.
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Pakistan to work with world for peace in Afghanistan: Musharraf
People's Daily Online
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf Tuesday underlined Pakistan's commitment to work with international partners to promote the shared objective of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
Musharraf made the remarks in talks with visiting Canadian Foreign Minister Peter Gordon MacKay, according to a statement released by the Pakistani foreign ministry.
There was an exchange of views on bilateral relations and the situation in Afghanistan, said the statement, adding that Musharraf said that securing the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was a joint responsibility of all sides.
"The president outlined Pakistan's perspective on various aspects of the Afghanistan situation," it said.
Musharraf noted that Pakistan and Canada enjoyed friendly and long-standing relations. He underlined the importance of building an expanded and broad-based relationship characterized by growing cooperation in diverse fields.
He laid a particular emphasis on deepening economic, trade and investment ties.
"The importance of expanding cooperation in the fields of education and science and technology was also affirmed," said the statement.
MacKay extended an invitation from the Canadian governor general to Musharraf to visit Canada, the statement said.
Musharraf accepted the invitation. He paid a visit to Canada in Sept. 2003, it added.
Source: Xinhua
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De-mining agency sweeps out 17 percent of mine-fisted lands in Afghanistan
KABUL, Jan 9, 2007 (Xinhua) - A leading de-mining agency, the Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (MAPA), had cleared 17 percent of contaminated lands throughout the war-ravaged Afghanistan last year, a report released by the agency said Tuesday.
"The current data shows that the MAPA cleared more than 126 million square meters of contaminated land from January through November 2006. This represents more than 17 percent of all the contaminated land thought to exist in Afghanistan," the report added.
The aim of the project, the report said, is to see an Afghanistan free from the threat of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).
With having 8,000 employees across the post-Taliban nation, the MAPA had destroyed 12,877 anti-personnel mines, 476 anti-tank mines and more than 700,000 pieces of UXO in 2006.
MAPA's clearance and mine risk education efforts have resulted in a 55 percent decrease in the number of Afghans killed or injured by mines or UXO to about 60 per month during 2006 from an average of 138 Afghans just five years ago.
Clearing mines and UXO is important for Afghanistan which needs reconstruction to revive its national institutions.
The MAPA has also been sweeping out mines and UXO from a corridor stretching from Kabul to Uzbekistan that will be the site of a major power line which will bring electricity to the Kabul city and neighboring areas, the report said.
Millions of mines had been planted by the troops of former Soviet Union and Afghan factions over the past three decades of war and civil strife and their clearance according to experts would take several years to come.
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NATO troops kill an Afghan civilian
(AFP) 9 January 2007 via Khaleej Times
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan civilian working for the NATO-led force was killed by alliance troops on Tuesday after approaching their convoy in his vehicle at high speed, a NATO statement said.
The troops initially fired a warning shot at the vehicle in Urgun district in eastern Paktika province, before shooting the man to death, the statement said. The victim worked at a military base in Urgun, it said.
An investigation into the shooting was launched, the alliance said.
NATO said last week that it killed too many Afghan civilians during fighting last year, but that the Western alliance was working to change that in 2007.
Afghanistan last year went through its most violent period since the ouster of the Taliban militia from power in 2001. Some 4,000 people were killed in 2006.
President Hamid Karzai has pleaded with foreign forces to use maximum caution following the deaths of dozens of civilians during operations by foreign troops. These deaths undermine his authority among the people.
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British troops winning conflict with the Taliban, commander says
Tue Jan 9, 1:58 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - British troops are inflicting heavy losses on a resurgent Taliban militia while "making great progress in winning the hearts and minds" of the people of Afghanistan, a British commander said.
Brigadier Jerry Thomas, the commander of the UK task force in Afghanistan, said the situation in the southern province of Helmand had improved "markedly" since September when a television documentary aired Monday night was filmed.
With harrowing footage showing bullets buzzing troops and the filmmaker, the documentary shown on Channel 4 television follows British and Afghan troops as they struggle to regain control of the key town of Garmsir.
The documentary also shows British troops gathering corn found in a nearby field because of supply problems.
"Since then (September), British forces have moved into new areas throughout the province, including Garmsir, and made real improvements to security," Thomas said in a statement distributed by the Ministry of Defence.
"We have inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban, denied them freedom of movement, and made great progress in winning the hearts and minds of the local people," he said in response to the documentary.
"This remains a very challenging mission, but we are winning," he said.
Thomas said that only last week Royal Marines "engaged and destroyed a Taliban training camp" in northeast Helmand, which will allow contractors to carry out repairs to a hydro-electric dam in Kajaki.
The facility will produce electricity for 1.8 million people in the south of Afghanistan "who until now have had none," he said.
"This success would not have been possible unless our forces were properly equipped and supplied," Thomas said.
"To be clear, I have not asked for additional helicopters and the supply system is working well, with no soldiers or marines running out of food," he said.
"It is the nature of the conflict that they do not take more supplies than they need to carry; but we have an extraordinary resupply system in place to ensure that they do not run out," he said.
Britain has about 5,600 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led reconstruction and security force, most of them in rugged and remote Helmand province.
Forty-four British troops have been killed in Afghanistan since US-led forces toppled the Taliban regime in 2001.
Around 120 foreign soldiers have been killed in action in the country this year, which has seen the worst Taliban-linked violence since the extremists were driven from power.
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Tackling the Taleban in the cold
By Dan Isaacs BBC News, Kandahar Tuesday, 9 January 2007
The landscape is bleak, and at night a biting January wind cuts through the mountains, whipping down onto the Kandahar plain.
This is the season when Taleban fighters dissolve into villages and the hills. Not until the spring weather sets in is the insurgency expected to resume with any real strength.
During this lull in military operations, the tactic being adopted by Nato, with the newly-trained Afghan security forces, is to drive a wedge between the hard-core Taleban and those paid to fight, but are less ideologically committed to the cause.
The battle is seen very much in economic terms. Give young men and women in villages the opportunity to earn a better living perhaps farming, or training with the Afghan police force, and the temptation to take up the Taleban cause will be reduced.
As the planting season approaches in the next couple of months, that theme extends to persuading local farmers not to plant the opium poppy, a major source of revenue for the Taleban.
It's a two-edged approach, explains Squadron Leader David Marsh, spokesman for Nato's southern regional command in Kandahar. From there NATO has a military offensive against the Taleban, and in particular its leadership, while at the same time building bridges within local communities.
The current military offensive in the Panjwayi and Zhari districts of Kandahar, known as Operation Baaz Tsuka, is being undertaken with these themes very much in mind.
Canadian core
At the core of the NATO military operation in Kandahar are some 2,500 Canadian troops. They are operating in districts that have seen some of the fiercest conflicts last year.
Canada's foreign minister, Peter Mackay donned his flak jacket and flew by military helicopter on Monday to see not only Canada's battlefield forces, but also some of the development projects being supported by the Canadians.
The easing of the Taleban offensive in the winter months, has given the Canadians and other Nato forces the opportunity to do what they came here for, to ensure an umbrella of stability to enable meaningful development assistance to reach ordinary Afghan people.
Mr Mackay made the most of this opportunity, announcing additional support to the Afghan police force, training, equipment and salaries.
At a time when public support for continued troop presence in Afghanistan is wavering across Nato countries, such diplomatic displays are seen as crucial, not least in winning the hearts and minds of the electorate back home.
Uncertainty
It's a time of uncertainty. Nato commanders are confident that they've broken the back of the insurgency in southern Afghanistan, and yet they talk of "re-infiltration" of Taleban fighters back into areas they've previously claimed to have "subdued".
One of the key areas of concern is the extent to which the Taleban are able to move across the porous mountain border with Pakistan.
The Afghan government has repeatedly expressed frustration with its neighbour's lack of commitment in tackling what it describes as "safe havens" within Pakistan's lawless tribal areas; allowing the Taleban to regroup, train new recruits and finance their operations.
Pakistan has proposed erecting a fence and laying land mines along vulnerable stretches of the border, a plan which has appalled the Afghans, all too aware of the threat that poses to the Pashtun tribes that straddle the border, whilst doing little, the Afghan government argues, to crack down on Taleban operations within Pakistan.
Only with the arrival of the warmer weather, will it be possible to measure the success of Nato's current carrot and stick strategy within Afghanistan, against the threats from Taleban leaders to re-ignite the insurgency.
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Afghanistan going to plan - Hoon
Tuesday, 9 January 2007, 17:10 GMT BBC News
Foreign office minister Geoff Hoon has responded to claims British forces in Afghanistan are "overstretched" and said the mission is going as planned.
Mr Hoon, defence secretary in the 2001 invasion, said the resistance curently being faced in the south had been anticipated and "always...planned for".
Tory MP Sir John Stanley had told MPs in a Westminster debate that UK troops were "more than pulling their weight".
But, he said, they were undermanned and lacked vital equipment.
Sir John, who visited Afghanistan six weeks ago with two other members of the Commons foreign affairs committee, told MPs during the Westminster Hall debate that Britain was "right" to be in the country.
"We are right to have removed the Taleban, we are right to be there, but we have got to do more in terms of deploying resources there to make certain we win on security grounds and we have got to be prepared to be there for the long haul."
'Thinly spread'
And he warned: "Unless we get on top, satisfactorily, of the security situation in Afghanistan we are not going to be able to achieve long-term stability for that country."
British, American and Canadian forces were "more than pulling their weight", he told MPs.
But Nato forces were too "thinly spread" in the south, putting them in "constant vulnerability of finding themselves significantly outnumbered" by Taleban fighters.
He called on the government to exert more pressure on other Nato countries deployed in Afghanistan to lift their restrictions on sending troops to the south of the country.
But he also criticised UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who he said had failed to deliver on his promise to give British troops all the equipment they wanted.
"There is little doubt that the present government's reductions of the size of the British army and an insufficiency of operational aircraft, particularly helicopters, is producing profound overstretch, as between Iraq and Afghanistan," said Sir John.
Corruption
There were too many troops in Iraq, in the context of what they could realistically achieve, and not enough in Afghanistan, he added.
He also called for greater efforts to fight corruption in the Afghanistan government.
"There is very serious, and I think it would not be no exaggeration to say, all-pervasisve corruption within the Afghanistan government," Sir John told MPs.
Labour MP Paul Flynn also highlighted "endemic corruption" in the Afghan government, with the exception, he said, of president Hamid Karzai.
He called on British troops to be withdrawn from Helmand province, in the south of the country, as they faced an "unattainable" mission.
Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said the coalition's aim of handing control over to the Afghan police and army by 2010 was "vastly over-optimistic".
'Key institutions'
In reply, Mr Hoon said MPs were being too pessimistic about progress in Afghanistan and he praised the way Afghans had "effectively rebuilt their nation from scratch" since 2001.
The "key state institutions are now in place" the economy was growing rapidly, five million children, 37% of them girls, were in school and "much of Afghanistan is at peace", Mr Hoon told MPs, but he conceded "challenges remain".
"We cannot win in Afghanistan through military action alone.
"There is a need to extend the rule of law and the writ of the democratically elected Afghan authorities across those parts of the country where there are still challenges.
"The Afghan government wants and needs to take responsibility for the security of its country and its people as soon as it can.
"But until a new Afhgan national army and a reformed Afghan national police force have been trained and equipped and are fully deployed, international forces will need to remain in Afghanistan."
'Major challenge'
Asked if there were enough troops in Afghanistan, the Europe minister insisted military operations were going to plan.
"We always anticipated that the resistance, particularly of the criminal and terrorist elements in the south, would be one of the most difficult problems, so it is not surprising that we are facing those kinds of attacks in the south.
"That was always anticipated and it was always planned for."
But he conceded corruption in the country's government "remains a major challenge".
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Civilian aid helps Afghan war effort
The Gazette editorial - Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Critics of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan keep saying military combat power will not win the battle for the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. That's correct, and it is encouraging to see that our government is working on the reconstruction part of the package as well.
Fundamentally, we should all remember that nothing will make Afghans really welcome the presence of thousands of foreigners, many of them armed with heavy weapons, wandering around the country. In that sense, there's no real chance of winning hearts and minds.
But consider a news report from the eastern city of Khost, where a roadside bomb Sunday killed newborn twins, their mother, and her mother. The same day in Helmand province, motorcycle-borne shooters killed a school principal. It is evident from such stories that the Taliban are not interested in hearts and minds, but only in making the country ungovernable.
Such terror tactics can intimidate the population into abject servility to fanatics - that has happened before in Afghanistan. The whole world has a stake in making sure that it doesn't happen again.
Part of the response to such tactics involves firepower. Part does not. So it is good to know that this week, while Canadian soldiers continue operations, this country is also emphasizing aid to the civil power and the population. One Canadian cabinet minister announced $10 million to help pay Afghan police salaries. Another announced $1.4 million for a literacy program and $350,000 for obstetric care. Last week, another announced a gift of 560 wheelchairs for a country with no shortage of maimed men, women and children.
"Rebuilding" the country is pointless, not to say impossible, except behind a strong shield of military and security protection. Canada and other Western countries involved in Afghanistan need to make the two kinds of effort in parallel. In small ways and in big ones, that's what is happening now.
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Canada's new government invests in Afghanistan's minefield clearance and community-led development
Press Release - CIDA Jan 9 2007
The Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages, today announced that Canada will provide $8.8 million dollars for demining activities in Kandahar Province and across Aghanistan as well as $1.9 million dollars to promote community-led development in Kandahar Province. The Minister made the announcement during a visit to CFB Valcartier.
"Today, Canada's New Government is investing in two important programs that strengthen reconstruction in Afghanistan and ensure the Afghan people can live safely and prosper in a democratic and free environment," said Minister Verner. "We are investing in clearing land mines and unexploded ordnance (UXOR) to open up more land for agriculture, pasture and housing. And our investment in the creation of 12 new democratically-elected Community Development Councils will lead communities to establish shelter, electricity, roads, drainage and sewers, and improve water and waste management services."
Canada's contribution will support activities undertaken by the United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan (UNMACA) across the country, including minefield survey and clearance, stockpile destruction, mine risk education, victim assistance and capacity building and co-ordination. The objective of the UNMACA and the Government of Afghanistan is to reduce by 70 percent the land area contaminated by mines and UXOR - estimated at 720 million square metres - by the end of 2010. Over the past 17 years, more than one billion square metres of land has been cleared of mines and UXOR in Afghanistan.
A portion of Canada's funding, $3.8 million dollars, will support Operation Hamkari ("hamkari" being the Dari word for assistance and partnership) in the Kandahar districts of Panjwai and Zherai. Over a 12-month period, approximately 2.9 million square metres of contaminated land will be cleared, and 27,000 Afghans in the districts, including children and youth, will be educated about the dangers of mines and UXOR. Awareness and advocacy activities will also be undertaken to ensure social opportunities and equal rights for landmine survivors and people with disabilities.
In a separate initiative, Canada will contribute $1.9 million to UN-HABITAT's activities in Kandahar City. Working with the Afghanistan Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, UN-HABITAT will establish 12 new democratically-elected Community Development Councils (CDCs). It will work with these and existing CDCs within Kandahar city to empower communities to implement their own neighbourhood development projects. Some 6,000 households will benefit from this project which seeks to rebuild neighbourhoods destroyed by the conflict in Kandahar. The project will rehabilitate local infrastructure including shelter, electricity, roads, drainage and sewers, while also improving services such as water, health and sanitation, and waste management. In addition, infrastructure upgrades will create jobs.
Today's announcement is part of Canada's total contribution of nearly $1 billion over 10 years aimed at reconstruction, reducing poverty and strengthening Afghanistan's governance, all of which are key elements in stabilizing the country and the region.
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Indian Director of 'Kabul Express' Apologizes to Afghan's Hazaras
RFE/RL 01/09/2007 - Kabir Khan, the director of the Indian-made film "Kabul Express," has apologized to the Hazaras in Afghanistan for comments in his movie that he claims are not part of his original production, Kabul-based Tolu Television reported on January 6.
Afghanistan's Ministry of Information and Culture on January 3 criticized "humiliating scenes" in the film "Kabul Express" and decided to ban it in Afghanistan for offensive language toward one of Afghanistan's tribes.
Khan said the pirate copies of the film on sale in Kabul are not authentic, charging that they were imported from Pakistan. "I have heard that the film 'Kabul Express' hurt my Afghan brothers... I will soon send real copies of this film to Afghanistan and you will not see the names of any tribes in it.
If you still feel uncomfortable watching it, I apologize to the Hazara tribe," Khan said. The Pakistani Embassy in Kabul has rejected charges that the pirate copies of "Kabul Express" in Afghanistan came from Pakistan.
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Kabul Express DVDs Flood Afghanistan
Himalayan Times, Nepal
In spite of an official ban on Kabul Express in Afghanistan, the video market of Hindi movies in Kabul is flooded with videos of the Bollywood film and it is witnessing huge demand among the Afghans.
Agency reports say rentals of Kabul Express videos have registered a sharp increase as compared to other Bollywood stuff thanks to high demand among the Afghans. The demand has shot up especially in the past few days in the wake of the government's decision to ban the movie in the country.
The Afghan Government has decided to ban the film as parts of it were "deemed offensive" to one of Afghanistan's ethnic minorities. Kabul Express is all about a journey by three journalists through the war-ravaged country. The government fears certain derogatory remarks in the Kabir Khan film about Shia Hazaras might offend the minority community.
Four days after the Afghan government banned the film's screening in the country, the rental for the movie has shot up to 30 Afghanis as against 10 Aghanis for other films in the local market, the reports said. The price of a DVD of the film has jumped from 50 Afghanis ($1) to 100 Afghanis, but people said getting hold of copies was no problem.
Afghan citizens say when it was easy to grow and buy opium in the country, it was 'ludicrous' to believe that the sale of a film can be stopped. Some also pointed out the official curb on public screenings is meaningless as Afghanistan does not have many cinemas and as the film is yet to be released in the country.
The Hazaras, who form only about 15 per cent of the population, are generally poor, and have traditionally suffered social discrimination. The ban helped to take the sting out of fiery speeches condemning the film and seeking its ban that were made at a meeting at Khatimulanbiah mosque in Dashtbarchi locality here, where many Hazaras live.
Popular Afghan filmstar Hanif Hum Ghum plays a prominent role in the movie, which also casts Bollywood stars John Abraham and Arshad Warsi.
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Commanders seek more forces in Afghanistan
David Wood, Baltimore Sun | January 8, 2007
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Taliban forces, shattered and ejected from Afghanistan by the US military five years ago, are poised for a major offensive against US troops and undermanned NATO forces. This has prompted US commanders here to issue an urgent appeal for a new US Marine Corps battalion to reinforce the American positions.
NATO's 30,000 troops in Afghanistan are supposed to have taken responsibility for security operations. But Taliban attacks have risen sharply, and senior US officers here describe the NATO operation as weak, hobbled by a shortage of manpower and equipment, and by restrictions put on the troops by their capitals.
The accelerating war here and the critical need for troops complicate the crumbling security picture across the region -- from Afghanistan, where the United States chose to strike back after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, to Iraq, where US troops, in almost four years of fighting, have been unable to establish basic security and quell a bloody sectarian war.
President Bush is expected to announce this week the dispatch of thousands of additional troops to Iraq as a stopgap measure. Such an order, Pentagon officials say, would strain the Army and Marine Corps as they man both wars.
A US Army battalion fighting in a critical area of eastern Afghanistan is due to be withdrawn within weeks to deploy to Iraq.
Army Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata and other US commanders say that will happen as the Taliban is expected to unleash a campaign to cut the vital road between Kabul and Kandahar.
The official said the Taliban intend to seize Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, where the group was organized in the 1990s. "We anticipate significant events there next spring," Tata said.
At stake, in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is the key US strategic imperative of preventing Al Qaeda and Taliban forces from establishing terrorist havens, as Afghanistan was in the late 1990s when Al Qaeda launched operations to bomb US embassies and warships, and eventually hatched the Sept. 11 plot.
"This could be a pivotal year" for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said General James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, after a series of recent briefings here. "I don't think they see that they are near defeat or anything. I just think they sense they are vulnerable to inroads being made" against what had been a relatively stable country.
Despite the presence of about 30,000 NATO troops -- roughly 10 percent short of what its member nations had pledged to provide -- Taliban attacks on US, allied, and Afghan forces more than tripled in the past year, from 1,632 in 2005 to 5,388 in 2006, US officials say.
Suicide bomb attacks increased from 18 in 2005 to 116 in 2006. Direct-fire attacks also more than tripled, from three per day in 2005 to more than 10 per day in 2006.
With NATO unable or unwilling to stem the rising violence, the Taliban are pressing their advantage.
Rather than withdrawing to regroup over the winter, intelligence officials and combat commanders said, the Taliban forces -- clad in new cold-weather boots and fleece jackets -- are fighting through the bitter cold months.
"It is bleak," said Colonel Chris Haas, commander of the Joint Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan.
Conway said US commanders understand that the Afghan war is an "economy of force" operation, a military term for a mission that is given minimal resources because it is a secondary priority, in this case behind Iraq. Nevertheless, Conway said, he favored dispatching a Marine battalion here.
The Taliban are also building up forces in southern Afghanistan. US special forces teams have found logistics bases and a field hospital for as many as 900 Taliban fighters in the area of Lashkar Gah.
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Kabul municipality removes venders from city
KABUL, Jan 8 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Kabul municipality Monday removed about 1700 vendors and pushcart owners from Froshgah area of this capital.
Nisar Ahmad Habibi, an official at the municipality, told Pajhwok Afghan News they had specified Qua-i-Markaz area of this city for the vendors and all pushcart owners. He urged the vendors to shift their businesses to this part of the city. He said their staff would continue anti-encroachment drive for several days.
He said over 35,000 vendors were working in the Kabul city. He urged police to help the municipality in this regard. Habibi said:" I hope policemen would not again allow vendors to return to these parts of the city."
Col Zalmai Oriakhel, deputy Kabul police chief, told this news agency: "We are ready to help and cooperate with the municipality in this field." Mayor of the Kabul Municipality Rohullah Aman said few days promised shifting the vendors to specific location to clean the city with cooperation of the local policemen in a week. However, the vendors have opposed the officials decision.
Fazil Ahmad, 22, a pushcart owner in Froshgah of Kabul city said" The officials dont let the poor to earn a square meal, we dont know where to go, the municipality specifies places away form city." The authorities should activate the factories and provide them with suitable jobs before taking such decisions.
Zarghona Salihi
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Dostum accused for insecurity in Jawzjan, Faryab
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Jan 08 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Rivals have accused General Abdul Rashid Dostum for causing insecurity and distributing weapons amongst his followers in Jawzjan and Faryab provinces.
However, officials of the Junbish-i-Mili have denied the accusations by saying this was a hatched conspiracy of the neighbouring country particularly Pakistan against Abdul Rashid Dostum.
Mohammad Akbar Bai, head of the Turkmen Tribal Council of Afghanistan, in an interview with Pajhwok Afghan News said Gen Dostum had recently distributed 2,000 guns in the northern provinces to his supporters in Jozjan and Faryab provinces to prepare them for another clash.
He claimed Dostum had deployed 500 soldiers in front of his guest house which was illegal. Bai said: "Gen Dostum misused his power in northern provinces and destroyed Uzbek and ethnic Turkmen."
He accused Junbish former leader for killing Uzbek and Turkmen leaders. Bai demanded Dostum should be brought to justice. A day later hundreds of Junbish supporters demonstrated in Sheberghan against the council and destroyed its office and some of its vehicles.
The marchers were chanting slogans in support of Dostum and demanded Akbar Bai should apologize for his allegations. According to sources, Bai was a staunch supporter of Gen Dostum and even favoured him in election campaign.
Gen Malik, the president of Liberty party and a rival of Gen Dostum, said people always opposed Dostum but he used various means such as democracy and constitution to seek his fortune.
He told Pajhwok Afghan News opposition of Turkmen council was not for national but personal interest, as according the constitution every one has the right to establish a party, council and association which protects national unity and integrity of the country.
Gen Malik said: As peace is restoring to the country and the process of disarmament improves Gen Dostum loses his value in the nation
Denying the accusations against Gen Dostum an official Mohammad Hamyoon Khiri said Gen Dostum had no weapons and militia. Considering the claims as conspiracy against Dostum, he said: Junbish is only a political party, not military!
Kinjee Kaargar, an official of Junbish considered foreign hand particularly Pakistan in such conspiracies. He said Akbar Bai could never represent Uzbek and Turkmen tribes. He said: We will never let any one accusing us with such baseless accusations
Analysts have showed concern over the situation and considered such points may cause cracks in Junbish leaders.
Abdullah Farooq, a political analyst in the northern provinces said: We have seen several such conflicts between opposition leaders. And they split when they do not see interest in being together
Najibullah, a resident of Sheberghan said: We are not affiliated to Dostam or Akbar Bai or Malik, we want peace in our country, but they destroy our lives for their personal objectives
Mohammad Noman, 25, a vendor in the city showed concern over the situation and said: Akbar Bai office was burnt down, tomorrow he may do similar act and can create law and order situation. We ask the government to punish those who are criminals
Interior Minister Zerar Ahmad Muqbil asked justice ministry to dissolve Junbish and Liberty parties due to their clashes in Faryab provinces last summer.
Ahmad Naeem Qaderi
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Pakistani traders to get special cards
KANDAHAR CITY, Jan 8 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The government of Pakistan has decided to issue special computerised cards to traders who cross the Chaman border on daily basis for business purposes.
The proposed step is part of the security measures to discourage infiltration of terrorists and Taliban into Afghanistan from the Pakistani side.
Officials of the Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) said some 6,000 Pakistani traders, based in the border twon of Chaman, would get the computerised cards on Wednesday.
Hussain Shah, a senior NADRA official, told Pajhwok Afghan News the step was being taken to prevent infiltration of miscreants into Afghanistan from Pakistan.
However, local people criticised the step and said it would create problems for them. Haji Mohammad Naeem, resident of Chaman, told this news agency tribals living on the two sides of the border had family relations with people living on the other side of the border. "The decision will affect those people."
Issuing computerised cards or mining and fencing the border would not solve the problem of cross-border infiltration by militants, said Haji Naeem.
Mohammad Sharif, a schoolteacher in Quetta, believes issuing cards to Pakistani traders by the government of Pakistan would not stop terrorists from entering Afghanistan. Rather, it would create problems for common people.
Bashir Ahmad Nadim
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Taliban threaten to kill kidnapped engineers
GHAZNI CITY, Jan 8 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Captors of the five engineers kidnapped last month have warned of killing them if the government failed to set free five Taliban prisoners.
The hostages, who are employees of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), were kidnapped by Taliban in mid-December while coming from the southeastern Paktika province to Kabul.
Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, Mulla Naseer Kakar, a Taliban commander in Ghazni, said they would kill the engineers if the government did not release their five men.
He said names of the five Taliban prisoners had already been communicated to the government. Without mentioning names of the prisoners, he said they had been jailed in Kabul under the local authorities.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, on the other hand, said fate of the kidnapped engineers would be decided by their high command. About the death threat by the low-level commander, Ahmadi said no decision had so far been taken in this regard.
Ghazni police chief Abdul Ghafar Safi said he did not know about the progress in talks with the kidnappers. However, he added, an extensive operation was underway in Andar district to rescue the hostages.
Contacted for comments, Interior Ministry spokesman in Kabul Zmaray Bashari said the government would not strike a deal with 'criminals' and would continue efforts for the recovery of the abducted engineers.
Sher Ahmad
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Pakistan releases Afghan cleric
PESHAWAR/JALALABAD, Jan 8 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Pakistan has released a religious scholar from prison and handed him over to Afghan officials.
Pakistani authorities have released Maulvi Mushtaq after he completed his nine months in jail. Mushtaq, hailing from Kot district of the eastern Nangarhar province, has links with a jihadi faction Hezb-i-Islami (Hikmatyar) and was living in Khyber agency for the last twenty years. He was also a prayer leader in a village.
Mohammad Qasim son of Mushtaq told Pajhwok Afghan News that Pakistani InterServices Intelligence had detained his father for alleged links with Al-Qaeda and Taliban. He said: "We are neither Al-Qaeda and had nor any link with Taliban, we have our own business and my father is a prayer leader."
He said his father was freed a month back, but was again detained by the security officials and imprisoned him. He said Pakistani officials handed over his father while handcuffed to Afghan officials at Torkham.
Amjid Khan, an official at Khyber agency, told this news agency they had nabbed Mushtaq soon after his release. He said this time they freed and handed him over to Afghan officials at Torkham.
Qahar Bacha, an official at Torkham border, also confirmed that Pakistani authorities had delivered Maulvi Mushtaq to Afghan officials. He said they had sent Maulvi Musthaq to Kot district.
Janullah Hashimzada/Abdul Mueed Hashmi
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