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suspected Taliban killed, 4 detained in southern Afghanistan
Bombing, gunbattle raise Afghan toll
More than 30 killed in Afghanistan violence
More diplomats for Afghanistan
Welcome to Taleban country
Indian foreign minister meets Afghan president
Afghanistan promises adequate security for Indians
Iran a source of tension in Afghanistan's western Herat
Commission being formed to promote national unity
AFGHANISTAN: Girls and women traded for opium debts
New Zealand Assures NATO On Commitment To Afghan Mission
Lavrov's visit to Afghanistan cancelled due to bad weather
NATO force not admitting to killing of Pakistan soldier
Afghanistan top opium producer - Russian border guard chief
Russia to provide military-technological support to Afghanistan
Afghan Archaeologist Discusses Bamiyan Site
ADB fund for Pak, Afghanistan to buy electricity from Central Asia
Commons defence committee fact-finding in Afghanistan
Most Italians want to withdraw troops form Afghanistan
Afghans determined to rebuild, no matter the obstacles
Taliban want to transfer terrorist camps into Afghanistan
Pajhwok launches photo service
Pul-i-Charkhi superintendent replaced
Ludin new ambassador to Norway
142 handed over to Kabul
Afghan woman fights warlords in Sundance spotlight
Afghan beauty with a cause
suspected Taliban killed, 4 detained in southern Afghanistan
Wed Jan 24, 6:28 AM By By Noor Khan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan police clashed with suspected Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, killings three fighters and detaining four, a police official said.
The militants were killed and captured between the provinces of Kandahar and Uruzgan, where nine border policemen were killed in a militant ambush on Tuesday, said Matiullah Khan, an officer with border police.
Afghan and NATO-led forces also battled suspected militants for nearly five hours in Uruzgan province on Tuesday, leaving 12 Taliban and nine policemen dead, Uruzgan's police chief, Gen. Mohammad Qasem, said. Four militants and 10 Afghan troops also were wounded, he said.
The southern clashes came after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of labourers outside a U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing as many as 10 people in the deadliest suicide attack in four months.
The suicide bomber struck as hundreds of Afghan workers lined up to enter the base, known as Camp Salerno, outside the city of Khost, said provincial Gov. Jamal Arsalah, who visited the scene shortly after the explosion.
Meanwhile, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan warlord whose fighters operate in eastern Afghanistan's mountains alongside the Taliban and al-Qaida, said the U.S. faces a Soviet-style humiliation in the country.
In a recording obtained by The Associated Press in Pakistan, Hekmatyar also accused Washington of fomenting conflict among Afghan ethnic groups on a scale comparable with the strife in Iraq.
"Everyone knows that the American aggressors are faced with defeat in every part of the country," Hekmatyar said. "They were unable to achieve their goals by bombing innocent Afghans, their villages and homes. They are preparing to leave like the Soviet troops."
The 24-minute recording, the third from Hekmatyar to surface this month, was undated. It was unclear where it was recorded
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Bombing, gunbattle raise Afghan toll
Attacker strikes near US base
By Fisnik Abrashi, Associated Press | January 24, 2007 via Boston Globe
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan and NATO forces killed 12 militants in a five-hour gunbattle yesterday, hours after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of laborers waiting outside a US military base in eastern Afghanistan, killing as many as 10 people, officials said.
Also yesterday, a Taliban ambush killed nine police in the south.
The suicide bomber struck as hundreds of Afghan workers lined up to enter the base, known as Camp Salerno, outside the city of Khost, said provincial Governor Jamal Arsalah.
Arsalah, who saw the aftermath of the explosion, said 10 men were killed and 14 injured. However, the NATO-led force, which includes the US base, said eight Afghans, including two policemen, were killed and five wounded. No US or NATO troops were injured in the blast.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said the attacker detonated an explosives-filled vest when he reached the point where people entering the base are searched. Arsalah said concrete barriers that protect the base helped prevent a heavier toll.
Suicide attacks have become more frequent as Taliban militants have intensified their insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign troops backing them. According to US military figures, there were 139 suicide attacks during 2006, up from 27 in 2005.
Yesterday's was the deadliest since Sept. 30, when an attacker killed 12 people outside the gates of the Interior Ministry in Kabul.
Khost is a former Al Qaeda stronghold on the mountainous Pakistani border. Afghan and Western officials say insurgents use the tribal areas of neighboring Pakistan as sanctuaries from where they organize and launch operations in Afghanistan.
However, Pakistan argues that only remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda remain on its side of the border and complains that it gets too little recognition for deploying thousands of troops in the border region.
Underscoring the unease, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said it summoned the US and British ambassadors to protest the killing of a Pakistani soldier and wounding of two others by coalition forces near the Afghan border yesterday.
The US Embassy in Islamabad said Ambassador Ryan Crocker met with a senior ministry official to discuss the attack.
"The ambassador expressed deep regret for the loss of life of a Pakistani soldier and the wounding of two others` ," an embassy statement said.
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More than 30 killed in Afghanistan violence
by Emranullah Arif Tue Jan 23, 2:06 PM ET
KHOST, Afghanistan (AFP) - More than 30 people were killed in Taliban-linked violence in Afghanistan, including 10 Afghans caught up in a suicide blast among labourers queuing for work at a NATO base.
The suicide attack, similar to scores carried out by the extremist Taliban movement that is waging a vicious insurgency backed by the Al-Qaeda terror network, was the deadliest of a handful of suicide blasts this year.
The bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body while he was standing in a crowd of people waiting to pass security checks to enter an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base near the eastern city of Khost.
"As a result 10 of our compatriots were martyred and 14 others were wounded, may their souls rest in peace," the interior ministry, which handles police matters, said in a statement.
Eight of the dead were manual labourers employed on the base and two were guards from a private security company, ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.
Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Moqbil said the "brutal and cowardly" attack was carried out by "mercenaries loyal to foreigners".
This is a likely reference to the Taliban, whom Afghan officials allege are directed, indoctrinated and equipped by extremist circles in neighbouring Pakistan.
President Hamid Karzai was "saddened by the incident and has ordered the provincial governor to help the affected families," his spokesman, Karim Rahimi, told a media briefing.
Rahimi said the dead were "innocent civilian labourers who had come to work to feed their families."
There were no ISAF casualties, spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Angela Billings said in Kabul, confirming the blast.
Foreign troops cordoned off the area about a kilometre (over half a mile) from the blast site and did not allow anyone to enter, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
The Taliban reportedly claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, a hallmark of the insurgency that kicked off when the hardline Islamic movement was driven from power by US-led forces in 2001.
In mid-June a bomb on a bus that was taking workers into a base in the southern city of Kandahar killed 10 Afghans, including five interpreters, a cleaner and a driver.
There were nearly 140 suicide attacks in the country last year, up from 27 in 2005, according to US officials.
ISAF said it recorded nearly 120 suicide blasts last year. They killed nearly 200 civilians, 54 Afghan security force members and 19 ISAF troops.
In other violence Tuesday, police said Taliban ambushed a two-vehicle convoy of highway police in the southern province of Uruzgan, sparking fierce fighting.
"The result was that nine police were killed. The casualties on the Taliban side are not known," Uruzgan police chief General Mohammad Qasim told AFP.
In a separate incident in Uruzgan, fighting erupted when Afghan security forces and foreign troops launched an operation against insurgents in the Khas Uruzgan district, Qasim said.
"As a result 12 Taliban were killed -- their bodies are at the site. Two police were martyred and 10 others, including the district police chief, were wounded," he said.
A Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, confirmed the fighting.
Last year was the deadliest in the insurgency in Afghanistan. Around 4,000 people were killed, according to official figures, with most of the dead rebel fighters.
The number of attacks has eased over winter but some military officials have warned there may be an increase as the weather warms, while the Taliban has pledged to launch a spring offensive.
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More diplomats for Afghanistan
Frank Gardner Security Correspondent, BBC News Tuesday, 23 January 2007, 21:51 GMT
The government is to send up to 35 extra diplomatic staff to Afghanistan, the BBC has learned.
The deployment will make the country one of the Foreign Office's biggest overseas postings.
Whitehall sources said the move is an attempt to prevent the country suffering the same level of chaos and violence as Iraq.
Officials said staff will focus on tackling drug production and corruption as well as building institutions.
Currently there are between 50 and 100 UK-based diplomats in Afghanistan, including counter-narcotics specialists.
The new staff are expected to be deployed to the British Embassy in Kabul and to Lashkar Garh in the south over the coming months.
Opium production
Foreign Office officials say the priorities will be to combat corruption, help build government institutions in the south and to tackle the production of opium.
The newly enlarged embassy staff will be headed by one of Britain's highest profile diplomats, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who is currently ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
A fluent Arabist, he was previously ambassador in Tel Aviv where he learnt to speak Hebrew.
The increased diplomatic presence comes at a time when Taleban insurgents are proving to be a more resilient and dangerous enemy than many in the West had expected.
In April, Britain will take over command of Nato forces in the south from the Canadians, giving British commanders overall responsibility for some of the most violent provinces in Afghanistan.
Mission
There are currently close to 6,000 British troops in the country, mostly deployed in the southern province of Helmand.
The British government had hoped that its mission in Afghanistan would be primarily aimed at stabilisation and humanitarian assistance.
Only last year the defence secretary at the time, John Reid, was quoted as saying that it would be good if British forces could complete their mission in the south without a shot being fired in anger.
But the Taleban have done exactly what they said they would: resist what they see as a foreign army of occupation.
Using bases and popular tribal support on the Pakistani side of the border the resurgent Taleban have been able to mount frequent attacks on Nato forces despite suffering heavy casualties themselves.
Difficult battle
They have carried out a campaign of intimidation in parts of the south and east, warning the local population not to cooperate with the elected government of President Hamid Karzai.
They have also burned down dozens of schools, threatened aid workers and killed Afghan school teachers.
Although British and Nato forces have been winning almost every fire fight at the tactical level, partly thanks to their ability to call in close air support, their battle to win over Afghan hearts and minds has not been going so well.
Many of the clashes result in the wholesale destruction of local property and some civilian loss of life.
Nato forces have also not been helped by a return to widespread corruption and banditry in rural areas, an endemic problem which helped usher in the reign of the Taleban with their draconian punishments in the 1990s.
The Taleban have also been vigorous in spreading their message to the Afghan population in the south and east that they are here to stay while Nato's presence will only be temporary.
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Welcome to Taleban country
By Haroon Rashid BBC News, Mir Ali Tuesday, 23 January 2007, 18:36 GMT
A red truck comes to a screeching halt next to our vehicle.
Its heavily-tinted windows are lowered to reveal an interior packed with more men than can possibly fit in a vehicle that size.
All have beards and long hair. Another bunch is huddled against each other in the open back of the four-wheel drive.
"Wait for us here. We will come back," the young driver issues us with a curt order.
Seconds later he is gone - bewildered tribesmen in the main bazaar try to make sense of what is going on.
Welcome to Mir Ali, a small town in Pakistan's restive tribal area of North Waziristan often frequented by local pro-Taleban militants.
'Judge for yourself'
Our hosts are Baitullah Mehsud's group, their leader a local equivalent of Mullah Muhammad Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taleban.
Baitullah is believed to head the pro-Taleban militants in the half of South Waziristan dominated by the Mehsud tribe.
He is generally referred to as ameer (chief) sahib and his influence, it seems, spreads far beyond the Mehsud territory.
The militants return after a while. "Ameer sahib sends his greetings too," they inform us, asking the small media group to follow them.
Baitullah had invited a group of journalists to visit the site in South Waziristan bombed by the Pakistani military last week. The army says the place was an al-Qaeda hideout.
Pakistan's military and the local tribesmen agree that the early morning operation took out eight people and injured several others. But they strongly disagree on who the victims were.
The government says they were foreign terrorists, while the militants say they were innocent local wood-cutters.
"Our ameer wants you to see the truth and judge for yourself," says Zulfiqar Mehsud, the youngish leader of the militants packed in the vehicle.
"We want you to see the injustice Pakistan is doing to us."
'War booty'
In this mountainous region - where the tribes people used to enjoy virtual autonomy - Pakistani security forces fought fierce battles with local militants until a peace deal in September last year.
Since the controversial deal, militants seem to have tightened their hold on the region. They say they can now move around freely.
The paramilitary forces and local police are only to be seen in their posts. There is no visible patrolling on the streets.
We dutifully followed the militants on a road heading south from Mir Ali.
Our vehicle zigzagged over a bumpy road through dry plains and green valleys. I asked and was allowed to switch over to the militants' truck.
They were travelling with two rocket launchers, a heavy machine gun and an AK-47 assault rifle each with no dearth of ammunition. Two bags full of ammunition and hand grenades hung from the back of the front seats.
One of the militants pulled out an American AK-47. "It's war booty. We seized it in Afghanistan," he said proudly.
Looking around, I felt I could have been in an arms depot.
"We've to carry all this stuff around all the time. You know the situation. Anything can happen any time," explained an older-looking militant called Malaka by his colleagues.
Another militant, Khan Sher, sitting next to me had been shot in the leg in Afghanistan. He was operated upon but still had a limp. Not that it seemed to affect his active participation in militant activities.
The atmosphere in the vehicle was a bit stiff and hostile in the beginning but we all relaxed after a brief chat in Pashto.
On the way, they stopped to demonstrate their firing skills. We were also offered the chance to try our hands at a heavy machine gun.
The next stop was for afternoon prayers on the bank of a stream. Everyone had to pray.
Under a heavily overcast sky, the noise of a spy drone broke the silence as the prayers ended. "An American drone," Zulfiqar Mehsud told us.
Back on the road, the militants put on a cassette with nothing but noise and screeches on it. They claimed it helped avoid detection by American spy planes.
The small speaker on the vehicle's roof was deafening and we immediately requested that the cassette be stopped. It was replaced with Pashto chants eulogising jihad and cursing infidels.
'Revenge'
The three-vehicle convoy arrived three hours later at Kot Kalay, a small hamlet of high mud houses perched on a hilltop in South Waziristan. Journalists were taken to the main mosque to see the waiting relatives of the people who had died in the attack.
All of them, in the presence of the militants, described the attack as cruel.
"We don't demand any compensation or anything. They have killed innocent people, we will not spare them. We will take revenge," said an agitated Mir Shah Azam Khan, whose 16-year-old son was among the dead.
After a cup of extremely sweet tea, we headed for the site of the raid. In the barren landscape around, the compounds that the Pakistan army had bombed were the only settlements.
Three of the five houses stood on a hill surrounded by higher mountains on all sides - a scene typical of tribal territory.
Local traders told us that only wood-cutters working in the surrounding forests used to spend nights in these high-walled compounds.
The remains of an unexploded 500-pound missile and other bombs were shown to the media. Body parts of the dead were also on display.
Some reports suggest the raid was conducted on the basis of information that a senior al-Qaeda leader Abu Nasser, and some other foreigners, were present in the village.
He is reported to have been wounded but still managed to escape. No official confirmation was available.
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Indian foreign minister meets Afghan president
Wed Jan 24, 1:22 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - India's foreign minister has met President Hamid Karzai to formally invite Afghanistan into a South Asian grouping after witnessing the signing of a 100-million-dollar agreement on building government.
Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Karzai at the presidential palace for talks the Afghan foreign ministry said would also cover the "fight against terrorism" and the reconstruction of war-battered Afghanistan.
He told reporters, after earlier meeting his Afghan counterpart Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, that one of the main aims of his visit was to invite Karzai to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting in New Delhi in March.
India has also said it would invite Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to the conference. Karzai and Musharraf have been at loggerheads over Taliban violence, accusing the other of not doing enough against extremist militants along their porous border.
SAARC -- which also groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka -- will officially admit Afghanistan as a member at the Delhi meeting.
Mukherjee earlier witnessed the signing with the United Nations Development Program of a memorandum of understanding for a 100.08-million-dollar grant from India for capacity building in the fledgling Afghan government.
This takes Indian aid to Afghanistan since the collapse of the ultra-Islamic Taliban regime in 2001 to 750 million dollars, the minister said.
In a veiled reference to India's archrival Pakistan, Spanta said the "good relations" between Afghanistan and India "are not harming any one and are for the benefit of strengthening of the South Asian and Central Asian countries."
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Afghanistan promises adequate security for Indians
AJAY KAUL, KABUL, JAN 24 (PTI) Outlook India
Afghanistan has taken adequate measures to ensure security of Indians working in that country and promised to do more in view of New Delhi's concern on their safety.
This was conveyed to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee by Afghanistan leaders during his two-day visit here which concluded today.
The assurance was given when Mukherjee raised the issue of the safety of thousands of Indians due to persisting threats from Taliban.
Taliban militia have abducted and killed two Indians during the last one year and demanded that all reconstruction projects being pursued by India in the war-ravaged country be wound up.
Thousands of Indians are working in reconstruction projects in Afghanistan launched after toppling of Taliban regime in 2002 and several of them have received threats from terrorists.
New Delhi's concerns are heightened due to resurgence of Taliban over the last few months.
Noting that Afghanistan is also worried over Taliban's re-emergence, Mukherjee told journalists accompanying him that there was need to curb activities of the militia which is operating from "border areas".
He underlined that Taliban is the main hindrance in the path of reconstruction and development of war-torn country and implied that international forces, including NATO, needed to do more to crush the fundamentalist militia.
"If development process (in Afghanistan) has to succeed, the re-emergence of Taliban and its activities should be checked," said the External Affairs Minister who discussed the issue with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta yesterday.
Mukherjee asserted that India remains committed to assisting Afghanistan in its reconstruction and development and in this regard had raised the amount of aid from USD 650 million to USD 750 million.
Addressing a gathering of Indians here last evening, he said each one of them was New Delhi's "ambassador" engaged in "strategic task" of building relations between the two countries and their efforts will go a long way in further revitalising the strong ties.
Referring to problems posed by Taliban, he said the militia's launching infrastructure and support is based in Afghanistan's border, an inference to Pakistan.
The problem of cross-border figured prominently in Mukherjee's discussions with Afghan leaders, with both sides agreeing that it was affecting peace and security in the region.
"We shared the need for maintaining peace and security in the region. The main problem to it is cross-border terrorism of which both India and Afghanistan are victims," the minister said.
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Iran a source of tension in Afghanistan's western Herat
by Sylvie Briand Wed Jan 24, 2:28 AM ET
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) - The influence of Iran is a source of tension between Shiites and Sunnis that recently exploded into deadly violence in Afghanistan's western city of Herat, residents say.
It is even seeing some Shiites lean towards the hardline Taliban movement waging an insurgency that occasionally shatters the city's calm, some say.
Herat, 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the Iranian border, has long been under Persian influence: even today most women prefer the chador to the burqa, the markets are filled with Iranian products, and mosques are financed by Tehran.
From private schools and roads to hospitals, "Iran has indeed poured millions of dollars into several major projects in this region and in Kabul," says Herat governor Sayyed Hussein Anwari.
The head of the local assembly, Rafiq Shahir, says the Shiite neighbour favours the city's Shiites.
"The Sunnis are very unhappy with this situation," he says.
The "support of Iran for the Shiite Hazaras, who are becoming more and more numerous in Herat, is helping the emergence of the Taliban," he says of the religious movement that was violently anti-Shiite during its 1996-2001 rule.
Tensions between the city's Shiites, who make up about 20 percent of Afghanistan's population, and Sunnis burst into the open a year ago, leaving five dead when clashes erupted during the Shiite religious procession of Ashura.
But Anwari, the governor, rejects suggestions that Iran's involvement is creating disharmony.
"There is nothing which allows one to think that the Iranians are behind the violence here as some would say," says the Shiite from the ethnic Hazara minority.
Provincial police chief Sahfiq Fazli concedes though that ethnic tensions fostered during Afghanistan's more than two decades of war are a "more important problem here than the activities of the Taliban".
Shahir says the situation plays to the interests of Iran and its adversary the United States, which has about 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, he says.
"The Iranians are not interested in seeing the Americans succeed in Afghanistan," he says.
At the same time, "for the Americans, it is preferable to have in Afghanistan a conflict between Sunnis and Shiites, like in Iraq, than to see these groups unite against the foreign troops".
Afghanistan has always been in the centre of the "Great Game" tussles between regional powers -- Iran, Russia, Pakistan, India and the United States -- who have been looking at best to protect their interestes at worst to settle scores on the Afghan battle field, Shahir notes.
The Taliban were supported by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, two US allies, while its opposition, the Northern Alliance, received help from India, Iran and Russia.
Today all eyes are on Islamabad, accused by Kabul of supporting the resurgent Taliban, but the Iranians are far from standing idly by.
A top aide to the British commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan is facing trial in Britain on charges of passing sensitive information to "the enemy" -- believed to be Iran.
One of the leaders of the Sunni community in Herat, Mullah Farouq Hosseini, believes firmly that "the Iranians and their Shiite allies want to destroy us through their propaganda in the media.
"We will fight all those who want to destroy our faith," vows this young man who still harbours resentment towards the country where he spent long years as a refugee.
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Commission being formed to promote national unity
KABUL, Jan 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The lower house of the parliament on Wednesday approved formation of a commission to do away with ethnic and racial prejudices and promote national unity in the society.
Formation of the body named as National Reconciliation Commission was approved after a drawn-out debate in the parliament.
Mohammad Younus Qanuni, Speaker of the House, told the MPs that establishment of the commission was vital for removing the widespread ethnic and linguistic differences, which are considered to be the legacy of the war era.
Stressing the need for promoting national unity, Qanuni said: "We've no other option but to promote national unity to ensure peace and stability in the country."
Members of the parliament, soon after the approval, decided to prepare a draft policy to chalk out the focal duties and responsibilities of the proposed commission. They will also point out elements and ethnicities that needed the reconciliation.
Taking the floor, former jihadi leader and MP from Kabul Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf urged the need for reconciliation with those who were up in arms against the government. His statement was apparently meant a dialogue with the Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami of former premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
Some of the MPs lashed out at the report released by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accusing some leaders of involving in human rights violations. The report was issued about one and a half month back. At that time, the parliament was not in session.
Expressing his anger at the report, MP from the central Panjshir province Saleh Mohammad Registani argued why the rights group did not name the Americans in its report for their "war crimes" in Iraq, Israel and Palestine.
Makia Monir
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AFGHANISTAN: Girls and women traded for opium debts
HELMAND PROVINCE, 23 January 2007 (IRIN) - On 4 November 2006, Nasima, 25, a member of a local women's council, grabbed the AK-47 from the policeman guarding the council meeting in the Grishk district of southern Helmand province and killed herself.
She had had enough of the daily beatings by her husband. Like many other women in Helmand, Nasima was given away by her family in 2005. Her father owed a huge amount to an opium dealer and, unable to return the money or provide the quantity of opium he had promised, he offered his daughter to the smuggler, who already had a wife and four children. Under Islamic law and in many Muslim countries a man is allowed up to four wives.
"Nasima was enduring a bitter life in the family. The family members and her husband considered her as an extra burden," Gulalai, head of the local women's council in Grishk district, told IRIN.
Nasima's case is just one of hundreds of such incidents where women are traded for debts. Most go unreported in the troubled southern provinces, where most of the opium in Afghanistan is produced. The practice is also reported in other provinces, particularly the east and the north, but the stakes are higher in the south, the heartland for drug trading.
In another case in the Marja district of Helmand, 18-year-old Saliha considers herself lucky to be living a relatively peaceful life. "I was 13 when my father married me off to a 20-year-old man, whose father had given a loan to my parents and they were unable to return the amount or the quantity of opium," Saliha said.
She says she is fortunate to be the first wife and only wife for her husband, who is only seven years older and not double her age, which is common in this part of the country.
Qais Bawari, acting head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) for the southern region, based in Kandahar, said they received 69 cases of self-immolation and murders from Helmand and Kandahar provinces in 2006 alone. He said several were related to marriages in exchange for drugs. "Unfortunately many of the cases of violence against women go unreported and a very small proportion is reported to us," Bawari said.
He said people were reluctant to report cases regarding domestic violence against women for fear of reprisals.
Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the opium available in the world today. Human rights activists say local drug dealers pay in advance to farmers for their poppy yield but they often end up giving their daughters to the drug traffickers when they fail to harvest the expected yield.
The sale of opium is banned in Afghanistan - but since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the crop has re-emerged as a profitable trade. Despite government efforts and international pressure, poppy farmers are reluctant to give up their crop in return for a less lucrative alternative in a country where poverty is rife.
Afghanistan and its female population are at the bottom of the global poverty scale. The country is the fourth lowest in the world for living standards and third lowest in gender disparities, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated in August 2006.
Ahmad Shah Mirdad, legal analyst with AIHRC in Kabul, criticised central government for doing little to stem the growing problems faced by women in the country.
"Stronger efforts are needed to battle these awful and discriminatory practices in our communities," Mirdad said.
Some say the status of women has not changed much since the ousting of the Taliban, which enforced strict rules on the movement of women and curtailed their rights. Head of the women's affairs department in Helmand, Fawzia Ulomi, said more than 20 women and girls had committed suicide over the past 10 months - most of them had been handed over to dealers instead of drugs, or to settle family disputes.
Cases of violence are generally kept secret in rural areas but if the victim or family chooses to complain, tribal Jirgas or local councils are convened to resolve it. Such cases were rarely referred to the women's affairs department or other concerned authorities, Ulomi said.
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New Zealand Assures NATO On Commitment To Afghan Mission
BRUSSELS (AP)--New Zealand's Defense Minister Phil Goff assured the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that his country is committed to the alliance's mission in Afghanistan and is considering extending the participation of its around 140 soldiers and police officers beyond the scheduled end of the deployment in September.
Goff Tuesday made his first visit to NATO headquarters since October when New Zealand placed its troops in Afghanistan under the command of the alliance's 32, 000-strong force.
In his role as trade minister, Goff also had talks across town at European Union headquarters on the need to revive stalled world trade talks. Failure could cause "permanent damage" to the World Trade Organization, he warned in a telephone interview after the talks.
NATO officials praised the role of the New Zealand troops based in the central province of Bamiyan for combining their security role with reconstruction work to help the economy and efforts to build up the local police.
"Security is necessary for development, but development is equally necessary for security," Goff told The Associated Press. "If we can make people's lives better, that provides the greatest prospect of winning hearts and minds."
At a summit meeting in November, NATO leaders stressed the need to dovetail the military mission in Afghanistan with civilian efforts to build up the economy. They also agreed to increase cooperation with Asia Pacific democracies such as New Zealand, Australia and Japan on Afghanistan and other regional security issues.
"The way in which NATO is thinking about Afghanistan is very much similar to the way we look at it," Goff said.
New Zealand has had troops in Bamiyan since 2003, but they were previously under the command of a separate U.S.-led operation in Afghanistan. They are due to stay until September, but Goff said he would propose an extension. He was confident the cabinet would agree given the "positive role" played by the troops.
Goff said he was encouraged by the "more constructive mood" among U.S. and European Union trade officials on efforts to secure a compromise on a new global trade deal.
"They are certainly moving in the right direction," he said, adding that talks among trade ministers in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos this weekend should maintain the "forward momentum" on farm subsidies and other issues which have long held up progress.
Talks were suspended last summer as two rich regions -the U.S. and the E.U. - and powerful emerging economies like Brazil and India rowed over farm subsidies.
Key players are now signaling that they are ready in Davos to see if they can push ahead with a deal intended to give more opportunities to developing nations.
However, time is running out. U.S. negotiators lose their right to strike a deal this summer and must go to Congress to ask for a new mandate. Goff warned that failure risked jeopardizing the future of the whole multilateral trading system set up under the WTO.
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Lavrov's visit to Afghanistan cancelled due to bad weather
Jan 24 2007 11:50AM
NEW DELHI. Jan 24 (Interfax) - A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Afghanistan has been cancelled because Kabul airport has been closed due to bad weather, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"A one-day working visit to Afghanistan by Sergei Lavrov, planned for January 24, has been cancelled because the airport in the Afghan capital is not receiving planes due to the extremely bad weather," the ministry said.
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NATO force not admitting to killing of Pakistan soldier
Wed Jan 24, 6:04 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - The NATO-led force in Afghanistan said it would not accept responsibility, pending an investigation, for an incident in which a Pakistani soldier was killed and two wounded in cross-border fire.
Islamabad summoned the British and US ambassadors on Tuesday to lodge a "strong protest" following the incident on Monday.
"We deeply regret what happened but until we have the investigation that should not be read as saying we did it," NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters.
"We are not assuming responsibility for this incident. That is a job for the investigation."
Pakistan says foreign troops stationed on the Afghan side of the border fired upon a Pakistan checkpoint in the troubled North Waziristan tribal district.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force admits it carried out an air strike in the same area but says it was against insurgents moving towards the Pakistan border after a rocket attack on a base in Afghanistan.
Clearing up confusion over such matters would be expedited by an Afghan, ISAF and Pakistan intelligence centre to formally open in Kabul on Thursday, ISAF spokesman Brigadier Richard Nugee told reporters.
The Joint Intelligence Operations Centre comprises six intelligence agents from each of the three militaries.
"Sharing intelligence on case by case basis has been happening for some time. By formally opening the centre, what we are doing is making that more efficient and more effective for the people of Afghanistan."
In an example of this intelligence sharing, ISAF commander General David Richards has told media that Pakistan played a key role in the December 19 killing of top Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani.
Pakistan authorities had told the Afghan side that Osmani, described as a close associate of Osama bin Laden, was heading across the border after his two brothers were arrested.
He was killed in a US airstrike, becoming the highest-ranked Taliban leader the coalition has killed since US forces deployed to Afghanistan to topple the hardline regime in 2001.
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Afghanistan top opium producer - Russian border guard chief
Jan 24 2007 3:24PM
MOSCOW. Jan 24 (Interfax) - Afghanistan remains the world leader in terms of the amount of land under opium poppy cultivation, which has more than doubled in the past four years, Federal Security Service (FSB) Border Service chief Vladimir Pronichev said at the Federation Council on Wednesday.
According to UN estimates, opium poppy in Afghanistan was planted on 165,000 hectares in 2006, compared to 74,000 hectares in 2002, he said.
"The basic route for harvested Afghan opium runs through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Up to 65% of opium and up to 80% of heroin are shipped from Afghanistan via this route," he said.
Drug trafficking proceeds are a primary source of financing for terrorist organizations, Pronichev said.
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Russia to provide military-technological support to Afghanistan
Jan 24 2007 12:25PM
NEW DELHI. Jan 24 (Interfax) - Russia is determined to provide military-technological support to Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov has said.
"Taking into account the continued escalation of tensions in Afghanistan, we intend to continue to provide assistance to that country, including in the military-technological area. [This will be done] primarily to help the new Afghan army to improve its combat preparedness and equipment and ensure its ability to protect the state's interests on its own," Losyukov told Interfax on Wednesday.
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Afghan Archaeologist Discusses Bamiyan Site
By Ken Bullock, Special to the Planet Berkeley Daily Planet - Jan 23 8:56 AM
Zemaryalai Tarzi, internationally recognized as the senior Afghan archaeologist, will speak and answer questions on recent finds at Bamiyan and the crisis of looting and vandalism for archaeology in Afghanistan in "A Stop on the Silk Route," 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 101 (Archaeological Research Faculty), 2251 College Ave. (behind Boalt Hall).
The event is cosponsored by the Near Eastern Studies Department, the American Institute of Archaeology and the Association for the Protection of Afghan Archaeology (APAA), Tarzi's own organization. Admission is free. A reception will follow the talk.
Tarzi went to France on a scholarship at age 20 to study at Strasbourg, where he now teaches, dividing his time between the university and fieldwork in Bamiyan during the summer. He was an associate of Daniel Schlumberger, the director of the French delegation of archaeology to Afghanistan, at a time when France had an exclusive contract with the (then) Kingdom of Afghanistan for excavation and research.
Tarzi directed the Archaeological Institute in Kabul and edited the national journal for archaeology, and specialized in the conservation of historical monuments, particularly mosques and Buddhist temples. He established the outdoor museum at Hadda, site of one of the largest Buddhist temples in Central Asia, and wrote his thesis on the art and architecture of the famous caves at Bamiyan. Afghani archaeology was coming into its own, scientifically, carrying on its own research and partnering with international teams.
Then came the Soviet invasion of 1979.
"My father was forced to flee to Pakistan, hidden in a double-decker trunk, with my step-brother disguised as a girl," said Nadia Tarzi, cofounder with her father of the APAA.
Tarzi (who will translate for her father, lecturing in French) described the genesis of their project to protect and promote Afghan archaeology: "I grew up in Strasbourg, where my father came, after his escape. I knew he was an archaeologist, in the way another kid might know her father's a dentist or accountant. I didn't really understand what he did."
"One day in 1994," she continued, "He received an express packet from a colleague still in Afghanistan. His whole demeanor changed; he opened the envelope and became sad. When I asked why, he finally picked up a book, showed me a picture in it of a beautiful niche with reliefs of waves in an aquatic scene with statues standing around, Buddha fighting demons from the Gandhara period-then said, 'Here's what it looks like today,' showing me the photos he'd received, which looked to me like piles of mud. I started crying. I understood my father's passion."
After the Taliban blew up the giant statues of Buddha in the Bamiyan Valley in 2001 ("and it took them four days to destroy them because of the steel reinforcements my father helped put in"), Tarzi suggested to her father that they co-found an organization to educate the general public, both Afghani and Western, about the "5,000-year-old cultural heritage-even before Buddhism, before Islam-of Afghanistan, the diversity of cultures that have flourished there," to support further efforts in research and recovery of antiquities "and to give some sense of national awareness and pride to the Afghan people, who have such a task in rebuilding their country."
Father and daughter founded the APAA in 2002. Tarzi returned to his native country after the defeat of the Taliban to teach and do fieldwork, dividing his time with teaching in Strasbourg. With the support of President Karzai and of the first female governor of Bamiyan, work goes on, on several different levels.
"There's been 20 years of rampant, relentless looting," Tarzi said. "It's important to get archaeologists to the sites before the looters and the dealers to at least document what's there. Bamiyan is secure, and the population supportive, but elsewhere the Taliban is again on the rise, and there's a debate whether or not to even continue excavations."
Educational work has been carried on in Afghanistan and in the Bay Area.
"The first schools I visited were in the Berkeley-Oakland area," said Tarzi, who lives in Marin. "One class even put on a play about what they learned. In Bamiyan, we hope to teach the children to make pottery, then show them museum pieces in the same style. My own daughter taught me that. I call it art with a heart."
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ADB fund for Pak, Afghanistan to buy electricity from Central Asia
New Kerala - Jan 24 1:09 AM
Islamabad, Jan 24: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a three million dollar technical assistance grant to Pakistan and Afghanistan for facilitating the export of 1,000 megawatts of electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to overcome their growing energy shortages.
The fund will be utilised for conducting a feasibility study on the project, including assessment of power, availability and demand in the countries, possible transmission routes, economic and financial costs, and environmental and social safeguard assessments.
The bank's Multi-Country Working Group will deal with the financial and technical aspects of the proposed project, the ADB said in a statement.
According to the Dawn, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islamic Development Bank and World Bank along with bilateral and private sector stakeholders are also participating and assisting the Multi-Country Working Group in the proposed project.
FC Kawawaki, an ADB Senior Investment Specialist said the Multi-Country Working Group has already taken important steps towards regional cooperation in power trade.
There was considerable scope for expansion of regional cooperation especially in the power sector, and this project marked the beginning of the process to bring the demand and supply sides together, he said.
He added that Pakistan and Afghanistan had also requested the World Bank to provide technical assistance on the commercial assessment of the study, which together with the ADB's assistance, will be utilized by all the four countries to study the project.
--- ANI
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Commons defence committee fact-finding in Afghanistan
MURRAY BREWSTER Canadian Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Parliamentarians, wearing flak jackets and helmets, stepped off a military transport Tuesday looking as though they were ready for battle, but theirs will be the battle of the briefing room.
Eight members of the all-party Commons defence committee, charged with examining Canada's role in this war-torn country, are not expected to meet any local Afghan officials or set foot off Kandahar Airfield to view reconstruction projects.
Their assessment of the Conservative government's deepening involvement in this nasty guerrilla war, which could shape party positions in an anticipated spring election, will largely be based on a barrage of prearranged briefings and PowerPoint presentations from Canadian military and government officials.
They will, however, tour various facilities at the NATO base, including a recreational boardwalk, a cement factory, a newly installed banking machine and the hangout of soldiers - dubbed Canada House.
"We're not going to see much, but maybe that will change," New Democrat defence critic Dawn Black said of the itinerary.
Ms. Black, whose party has called for Canadian troops to be withdrawn from fighting militant Taliban forces, has asked to meet with Afghan officials.
"It's not on the itinerary, but we'll see," she said as she wrestled to get out of her bulletproof vest. "I've got a number of questions to ask them."
Among the questions she hopes to ask is whether Canadians are "truly making a difference for the lives of the men and women in Afghanistan" - something her party has doubts about. In the Commons, the NDP have repeated accused the Conservative of being more interested in fighting a war than the humanitarian side of the mission.
Not allowing the committee outside the airfield was a decision of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, said Brig.-Gen Tim Grant, commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
"The movements of the party, the limitations on where they can go, have been directed by the minister," he said.
While not expected to travel in convoys along the sometimes treacherous highways of Kandahar, other visiting dignitaries have been shuttled to different locations by U.S. helicopter, but Gen. Grant said that, given the pace of operations, there isn't a lot of air transport to go around.
The military said it would try to find some helicopter time with the U.S., Dutch or British forces.
"If they could see the (reconstruction) projects, it would be an added bonus," Gen. Grant said. "There's no doubt about that."
The general conceded that security was a concern, but he refused to elaborate on the arrangements, suggesting that reporters direct those questions to the minister's office.
The restrictions come at the same time as NATO commanders boast about the relative calm in Kandahar province following last fall's Canadian-led offensive to dislodge militant fighters from arid farmland west of Kandahar.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Ujjal Dossanjh accused Mr. O'Connor of trying to hamstring the committee.
"I believe it's highly improper for a minister of the Crown to interfere with the travel of the committee," he said later in the day as MPs shook hands with soldiers and presented gift at the recreation centre.
"The minister has ordered the general not to let us go out of the wire because of safety reasons. I thought that was the kind of decision that one makes on an operational basis. The general makes that decision. What does the minister know about safety sitting in Ottawa?"
Mr. Dossanjh said he is also concerned that no meetings were scheduled with Afghan authorities.
"It would be important to talk to the Afghans, yes, absolutely," he said.
Gen. Grant said he would try to accommodate the request to meet Afghan officials but cautioned that many of them were out of the area.
Even though the NDP has taken an unpopular stand among the military, Ms. Black said she is not anticipating a hostile reaction from soldiers, who have privately and on Internet message boards taken to calling her party leader Taliban Jack (Layton).
Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant, who is eager to meet Petawawa, Ont.-based troops, many of whom are her constituents, was asked whether Ms. Black's attendance was going to make things uncomfortable.
"She's on the committee," Ms. Gallant said with a smile and a shrug.
Gen. Grant said military officials hope to show the committee that Canadian troops are doing a wonderful job in Afghanistan, trying to help the country get back on its feet.
"When they leave I hope they have a very clear idea of the contribution we are making," he said.
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Most Italians want to withdraw troops form Afghanistan
People's Daily Online, China
The majority of Italians are in favor of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, according to a new poll published on Tuesday.
Some 56 percent of those interviewed in the poll said they wanted Italian forces to be pulled out of the central Asian country. The percentage was even higher, 64 percent, among people who voted for Prodi's center-left alliance last year.
The poll, carried out by IPR Marketing for the La Repubblica newspaper's website, highlighted a political problem that the premier has been grappling with in recent days.
Three pacifist allies, the Communist Refoundation Party, the Italian Communists' Party and the Greens, have been pressuring Prodi to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Prodi held a meeting on Sunday evening with the three parties. He emerged confirming the troop presence but promising not to send in more soldiers.
Almost 2,000 Italian troops are serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led ISAF peacekeeping mission there.
The IPR poll found that 48 percent of center-right opposition voters favored continuing the mission while 45 percent wanted a pullout.
Source: Xinhua
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Afghans determined to rebuild, no matter the obstacles
Source: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 23 Jan 2007
UNICEF's External Relations Officer Roshan Khadivi offers personal reflections on the progress she has seen for children in Afghanistan since her first assignment there more than five years ago.
KABUL, Afghanistan, 23 January 2007 - Prior to my first trip to Afghanistan in 2001, I remember a time when the horrible pictures of group killings of people in Kabul football stadiums reached the rest of the world. News reports spoke of oppressive restrictions and daily torture of innocent people. Worldwide, many wondered how things would turn out here.
I came to this country in late 2001 on a short assessment mission, followed by a two-year assignment in 2002. I have been back in Afghanistan for about month, and this most recent visit has been a real opportunity to see how things have changed.
Progress on the ground
Kabul is still one of the main hubs for the journalists. There are the many regulars and then there are the 'firefighters' - reporters who come and go on three-day visits. The stories that seem to get the most media coverage are those about security in the southern and eastern parts of the country.
There is no doubt about the security and access problems here, but there also has been significant progress on the ground. Somehow, stories of these extraordinary works hardly make it to the main news bulletins around the globe.
For example, more than 4.89 million children in Afghanistan, including even those in remote villages, attend 1,782 literacy centres - astounding for a country where just few years ago, education was banned and any progress for youth seemed unattainable.
Education strengthens communities
My friends who live outside Afghanistan always seem amazed when I talk about UNICEF's support of literacy courses for women in Kandahar Province, where over 4,000 individuals will learn basic writing and reading skills and gain access to vocational training this year alone.
This is because to outsiders, Kandahar is a place spoken of direly on the evening news, a place filled with insurgents. They have no idea that despite the efforts of those who try to intimidate people through the burning of schools or attacks on civilians, communities are more than eager to send their children to school or attend literacy classes in order to improve their lives.
The universal saying that it is easy to destroy something but always takes much longer to repair it applies very much in this case - especially with so many years of war and destruction of infrastructure and morale.
Afghans know from real experience that war and fear do not work. They have seen destruction on a daily basis and have experienced the pain of losing loved ones. They know that when a community becomes strong by educating itself, negative forces can no longer use fear or violence to stop them.
Extraordinary changes
From what I have seen, despite the daily economic challenges, people in Afghanistan are more determined than ever to move forward. They know that by educating their children they are building a foundation for a country that is based on progress and peace, not the destruction of the past.
In 2007, with support from local communities, UNICEF staff members are planning to immunize Afghan children against polio in hitherto inaccessible areas. They plan to reach out to ensure that over 400,000 girls be will enrolled in schools. They aim to improve the quality of education, in part through the building of 200 cost-effective schools around the country. In addition, over 62,500 women of all ages will be enrolled in literacy courses.
Extraordinary things do and will continue to take place in this country.
Since my first visit to Afghanistan, extraordinary changes have taken place - this despite the attacks of those who fear peace and progress for a country whose children are as deserving as those in the rest of the world.
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Taliban want to transfer terrorist camps into Afghanistan
KABUL, Jan 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Minister for Education Hanif Atmar Monday said Taliban wanted to transfer terrorists' camps from Pakistan into Afghanistan.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said they would launch military action against the Taliban schools if the militants wanted to materialise their announcement. Abdul Hai Mutmain, chief spokesman for Taliban, the other day announced they would build schools in southern provinces. Atmar said announcement of constructing schools was a glaring contrast in words and deeds of the Taliban as they were burning the already constructed schools and wanted to built new ones.
Pointing to a madrassa in Bajaur agency, he said Pakistan government had mounted pressure on Taliban for closing their madrassas in Pakistan thus the militants wanted to transfer their schools into Afghanistan.
The minister said neither the people would send their children to these schools and nor they would allow Taliban to construct schools in their regions. Recalling the burning of schools by Taliban, he questioned: "If Taliban really want to build schools, why the militants have burnt 183 schools and have shut others 396 schools in south?"
Atmar said local councils had been formed in different parts of the country to guard the schools against militants. He said local councils had helped in defending 80 per cent of schools from torching by Taliban.
However, Taliban said presence of foreign forces was the reason for schools closure and their burning. Earlier, a statement from Taliban said the Taliban-era curriculum would be taught in these schools. Taliban spokesman Abdul Hai Mutmain told Pajhwok Afghan News they were going to implement the programme in areas under "their control."
Zainab Muhammadi
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Pajhwok launches photo service
KABUL, Jan 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Pajhwok Afghan News, the first independent news agency of Afghanistan, has launched its photo service on Monday.
Director of PAN Abdul Aziz Danish Karokhel cut the ribbon to formally launch the photo service of this premier Afghan news agency.
Speaking on the occasion, Karokhel hoped the photo service would prove another step in promotion of the nascent media in Afghanistan.
The photo-service team of PAN is consisting of six staffers; two male and four female. They included Nilab Habibi, Safia Saifi, Mumtaz Hussain, Emal Hashimi, Huma Jamshid and Zahra Najwa.
Najib Khelwatgar
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Pul-i-Charkhi superintendent replaced
KABUL, Jan 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Major General Shah Amirpur has been appointed as new superintendent of the Pul-i-Charkhi prison to replace Qais Fasihi.
This was told by head of prisons Major General Abdul Salam Bakhshi while talking to Pajhwok Afghan News on Monday.
The new commander has been appointed two weeks after suspension of Fasihi under the directives of the Attorney General Abdul Jabbar Sabit.
Before taking charge of duty at the Pul-i-Charkhi prison, the 43-year-old Amirpur was serving as jail superintendent in the western province of Herat.
Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, the new superintendent said that he would try to run the affairs of the prison in efficient manner. He said punishing prisoners in lock-up were against the human rights.
Inmates at the Pul-i-Charkhi jail had started hunger strike against the mistreatment of jail officials, following which high-scale investigations were ordered into their complaints which culminated at the suspension of the former jail superintendent.
Habib Rahman Ibrahimi
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Ludin new ambassador to Norway
KABUL, Jan 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Former chief of staff of President Hamid Karzai's office Javid Ludin has been appointed as Afghan ambassador to Norway.
On his return from Egypt, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta in a press conference on Monday announced the appointment of two ambassadors.
Spanta said Ludin was a hardworking and brave person who proved successful in difficult conditions. He told Pajhwok Afghan News: "We wanted Ludin to work with his full potential with our ministry, but demand of the situation was something else."
The minister dubbed Ludin a successful diplomat for Afghanistan. Ludin resigned as head of the chief of staff of President Karzai's office on January 20. Though Spanta would not name of the ambassadors. He said the newly appointed ambassadors were qualified people.
He said Indian foreign minister would visit Kabul tomorrow (Tuesday) while Russian foreign minister would visit Kabul on Wednesday to discuss mutual relations. Spanta also pointed to the increase in the revenue of the foreign ministry. He said: "Income of the ministry was illegally used in all Afghan embassies abroad, but now we want to evaluate the amount."
Spanta also spoke about his forthcoming visit to Brussles and his first trip to Germany. He said he would highlight the meddling of Pakistan in Afghanistan affairs in Brussels and would defend Afghanistan stance on Pak-Afghan relations. He said increasing of the NATO troops depended upon the NATO, but he would insist on long term strategies for Afghanistan. The minister said the source and supporters of terrorism should be destroyed.
Lialuma Sadid
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142 handed over to Kabul
By Our Staff Correspondent Dawn (Pakistan)
QUETTA, Jan 23: Pakistan on Tuesday handed over 142 Afghan nationals to Afghanistan. According to official sources, law-enforcement agencies had arrested the persons from Turbat, Chaman and other areas of Balochistan for having entered into Pakistan without legal documents.
They were tried under the Foreigner Act and awarded sentence by the courts. On completion of sentence they were handed over to the Afghan border authorities.
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Afghan woman fights warlords in Sundance spotlight
by James Joseph Tue Jan 23, 11:44 AM ET
PARK CITY, United States (AFP) - The true story of an Afghan woman's fight against drug barons, warlords and her election to a seat in parliament is winning admirers at the Sundance Film Festival.
"Enemies of Happiness," from Danish director Eva Mulvad, chronicles the trials of Malalai Joya, who enraged delegates at a 2003 tribal council in Afghanistan by stating that warlords responsible for years of civil war should be punished.
Since then Joya has been subjected to regular death threats as she seeks to bring to justice the men she says are to blame for ruining her homeland.
Mulvad said she sought to bring another side of Afghanistan to people's attention.
"Usually we hear a lot stories about the bombs, terrorists and military issues and this film is totally another way of looking upon everyday life in a war zone," Mulvad told AFP.
"It brings you a feeling of hope, of energy. And to me at least I think it's important that we (hear) stories that we can relate to in a human way. So that we don't think that Afghanistan is a totally crazy war zone."
Mulvad's film begins with Joya's impassioned speech against corruption to the Afghan Grand Council of tribal leaders in 2003, to lay the foundation for democracy in the new Afghanistan.
"She stands up and talks very radically against the warlords and they just shout at her and throw her out of the meeting," says Mulvad.
"She is very strong, very powerful and the story is like a fairy tale. She is a young woman really raising her voice against the powerful men in Afghanistan," said Mulvad.
When Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in September 2005 Joya was one of the candidates vying for a seat in the assembly.
She campaigns in the remote desert province of Farah where living conditions are among the worst in the country.
"When she stands up in the Great Assembly and talks against the warlords she also changes her life radically because she makes herself a target for a lot of people who want to kill her," Mulvad said.
"Up to now there have been four attempts on her life and it's still going on today -- she lives under cover. She moves from house to house."
Although Mulvad says Joya's story inspires hope, the film offers a grim portrait of an Afghanistan riddled with corruption, poverty, hostility and instability.
"Malalai Joya is sitting in the parliament today with a lot of the people who were responsible for crimes in Afghanistan during the last decades and there have been no trials and they are still in power," Mulvad said.
"It is very difficult to build a democracy with that kind of conflict in parliament. When Malalai Joya's microphone is turned off, they are throwing bottles of water at her."
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Afghan beauty with a cause
Hindu, India
Back in 2003, Vida Samadzai (Vida Sam for short) shocked her native country by appearing in the Miss Earth beauty pageant in Manila wearing a little red two-piece swimsuit. The Taliban mullahs, the supreme court of the country and the Minister for Women's Affairs of Afghanistan condemned her, and large sections of the male-dominated Afghan society disowned her. But, Vida had made her point, earned a `beauty for a cause' title and grabbed global attention. Death threats followed.
By participating in the pageant, she believes that she sent out the message that Afghan women are talented, intelligent and beautiful. She also highlighted the violation of women's rights in her native country. Already a co-founder of the United States-based Afghan Women's Organisation, the then 23-year-old Kabuli girl had entered the pageant to highlight the organisation's cause. She was the first Afghan woman to have participated in an international beauty contest in three decades. At that time, Vida was a graduate student at California State University, Fullerton.
An American citizen (she went to the U.S. in 1996), Vida is now in Kochi to promote the February 17 Miss Kerala pageant.
"I am here to encourage Kerala girls to participate in the pageant," she told journalists on Tuesday. "It's fun." She advises young women to pursue their passions and dreams with determination.
She has been travelling to India frequently during the past eight months for a movie. She says Afghans have an abiding love for India. (Afghans love Hindi films so much that most Bollywood actors are household names in the country.)
In the U.S., Vida is a model, actress and a self-appointed cultural ambassador of Afghanistan. "I want to make a difference in the lives of my fellow Afghans and, more specifically, the women of Afghanistan," Vida says on her website. She raised funds for the Afghan children orphaned by American invasion and the years of civil war preceding it.
But Vida defends the American invasion. Asked how could she defend the invasion that has killed tens of thousands of Afghan people, she says that it has freed the country from the Taliban cruelties.
"The women can now go to school and work." However, she is critical of the American invasion of Iraq and the execution of Saddam Hussein.
She feels that Islam has been greatly misunderstood across the world.
"It's sad that Islam has been identified with terrorists. In spite of the Taliban, Islam was as nice as any other religion was."
Her website notes that, growing up in Kabul, she had seen very basic human rights of women being constantly violated. "As an Afghan woman I look at the problem not as religious fanaticism, but the supremacy of ignorance and lack of tolerance," the website adds.
K.P.M. Basheer
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