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Official: NATO killed too many civilians
Twenty insurgents killed in Afghanistan: officials
Pakistan PM to visit Afghanistan amid border row
Pakistan begins fencing on its border with Afghanistan
Selective fencing on Pak-Afghan border to help improve law, order on both side: PM
Fencing, mining of Pak-Afghan border a conspiracy against Pushtoons: Asfandyar Wali
Sherpao optimistic about PM visit to Afghanistan
Pakistan, Afghanistan to promote, strengthen relations in media
Refugee school torched in eastern Afghanistan
Taliban claim capturing Washir district
11 die of severe cold in Logar
New Croatian contingent to join ISAF mission in Afghanistan
Threatened and snubbed: 50,000 students banned from school in Ghazni
Balkh to get advanced custom office
Govt to launch major reconstruction plan in lawless areas
Solve our land problem, or we leave domicile: warn Kuchis
Money changing old system still popular in Afghanistan
Canadian radio station to hit Afghan airwaves
Pakistan Lifts Ban on Afghan Tolo TV
Pakistan: Afghan registration deadline extended until 19 January
FBI: Guantanamo interrogator squatted over Koran
Rare British India documents surface
Official: NATO killed too many civilians
By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer
KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO said Wednesday that it killed too many Afghan civilians during fighting last year against resurgent Taliban militants, but that the Western alliance was working to change that in 2007.
The acknowledgment came one day after President Hamid Karzai's latest plea for foreign forces to use maximum caution following the deaths of two civilians, reportedly involving NATO troops.
"The single thing that we have done wrong and we are striving extremely hard to improve on (in 2007) is killing innocent civilians," Brig. Richard E. Nugee, the chief spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, told a news conference.
Nugee said the alliance has been reviewing for several weeks measures to reduce the number of civilian casualties, without elaborating.
NATO forces were accused of killing dozens of civilians last year in airstrikes, battles and other shootings, prompting Karzai to issue several pleas for international forces to use greater caution in their operations.
Still, Nugee said NATO forces had killed far fewer civilians than the Taliban, which launched a record number of roadside and suicide bombs last year.
"There is absolutely no comparison to be made," he said. "The Taliban are killing significant numbers of their own people and showing no remorse at all."
Militants launched 117 suicide attacks in 2006, about a sixfold increase over 2005, killing 206 Afghan civilians, 54 Afghan security personnel and 18 NATO soldiers, according to NATO numbers.
Karzai, in a statement Tuesday, expressed "deep regret" over the deaths of two civilians in Nangarhar province a few days earlier. The Afghan Interior Ministry had said foreign troops were involved, although NATO spokesman Maj. Dominic Whyte said no NATO or U.S.-led coalition soldiers were responsible.
"Once again, I urge the Afghan and international forces to ensure greater coordination between themselves and to practice maximum caution during their anti-terrorist operations so that civilians are not harmed," Karzai said.
Karzai last month broke down in tears during a speech in which he recounted stories of children maimed by bombings.
"We can't prevent the terrorists from coming from Pakistan, and we can't prevent the coalition from bombing the terrorists, and our children are dying because of this," he said.
NATO airstrikes in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province in October reportedly killed dozens of civilians, including 20 members of one family, according to Afghan authorities.
A joint Afghan-NATO investigation into the incident has never been released. The New York Times has reported previously that the investigation found that 31 civilians were killed.
Nugee said that commanders have looked at the report "in very fine detail."
"While it has not come out publicly, it has made quite an impact on this headquarters," he said.
After the October incident, Human Rights Watch said NATO wasn't doing enough to prevent civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
Sam Zarifi, the group's Asia research director, said NATO "should reconsider the use of highly destructive but hard-to-target weaponry in areas where there is a clear risk of considerable civilian casualties," referring to aerial bombs and missiles that can easily miss their target.
The human rights group also criticized the Taliban and other insurgents for placing civilians at risk "by using populated areas to launch attacks on NATO and Afghan government forces."
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Twenty insurgents killed in Afghanistan: officials
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Afghan and foreign troops killed 20 rebels, including two commanders, in operations against militants in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
Seventeen, including the commanders, were killed in the southern province of Helmand in a three-day operation that wrapped up Monday and involved Afghan and NATO-led troops, interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP on Wednesday.
About 4,500 British troops are in Helmand serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
An ISAF spokesman in the capital, Kabul, confirmed there had been "sporadic incidents" in the area, but could not confirm the interior ministry's death toll.
Provincial police chief, general Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhail, said two Taliban pickup trucks were destroyed in the operation in and around the province's Kajaki district.
British troops make up the second-largest contingent in the 37-nation ISAF, after the United States.
The separate US-led coalition focused on counterterrorism operations said its troops had called in an air strike on Monday against insurgents seen planting improvised bombs in Uruzgan province, also in the south.
Three were killed, it said. Uruzgan is the base of most of the 2,200 Dutch troops in ISAF.
The onset of winter has seen a drop in Taliban-linked violence, which soared to new heights last year. Most of the unrest was in the south, the heartland of the militia that was in government from 1996 to 2001.
The fighting killed about 4,000 people in 2006 -- most of them rebels.
ISAF said Wednesday that the past year had been difficult, but the force had ended it on a strong note.
"No one is pretending it has been an easy year," spokesman Mark Laity told reporters. "We have had many difficulties, many challenges. But we have ended the year strongly and successfully."
"The insurgency has had a very, very bad year," Laity said, adding: "If they launch the same kind of attacks this year as they did last year, the same thing will happen, which is they will take very, very heavy casualties."
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Pakistan PM to visit Afghanistan amid border row
Wed Jan 3, 8:36 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will visit Afghanistan for talks with President Hamid Karzai amid a row over Pakistan's decision to fence and mine their joint border, the foreign ministry said.
Aziz, who is visiting Afghanistan on Karzai's invitation, would "review all aspects of bilateral relations", the ministry's spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a briefing Wednesday.
"We attach great importance to our relationship and interaction with Afghanistan. These contacts are helpful in addressing challenges that our two countries face," Aslam said.
The visit comes on Thursday amid tensions between the two key allies in the US-led war on terror. Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to crack down on Taliban militants crossing from its side of the border.
Pakistan last month announced that it had tasked its army to work out the logistical details for fencing and mining parts of the rugged 2,500-kilometre (1,500-mile) frontier.
The decision is likely to figure in Aziz's meeting with Karzai, who has said he would use "every method" to stop mines being planted on the border.
Karzai has said mines would prevent families and tribes straddling the border from moving across it.
Aziz told a press conference in the southern port city of Karachi Wednesday that Pakistan would go ahead with its plans to mine and fence the border at selective points.
"We will go ahead with selective fencing and mine," Aziz said.
The decision to fence and mine the frontier had been taken to check cross-border movement of extremists, he said.
"Afghanistan has taken a different position over the issue but it has been taken keeping in view our national interest and security," he said.
Pakistan is among some 40 countries that are not signatories to a 1997 treaty against the use of landmines.
Taliban-linked unrest soared in Afghanistan in 2006 and Karzai last month for the first time publicly accused Islamabad of backing the Islamists, adding that Pakistan wanted to turn Afghans into "slaves".
Islamabad has denied the allegations, which have soured relations between the neighbours. Pakistan said it had deployed 80,000 troops along the border to hunt down Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.
Some 4,000 people -- including 1,000 civilians, but mostly rebels -- died last year in insurgency-related unrest, making 2006 Afghanistan's bloodiest year since the fall of the Taliban five years ago.
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Pakistan begins fencing on its border with Afghanistan
Islamabad, Jan.3 (ANI): The Pakistan Army has started fencing and mining work at Pakistan-Afghanistan border; and is in the process of identifying specific areas, said Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam on Wednesday.
Aslam said the entire border would not be covered with barbed wire and the Pakistan Army would identify the specific areas that were experiencing repeated and increased turbulence.
"Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are singular in nature, and the prime minister's visit would consolidate these bilateral relations," Aslam said, adding that both governments would be giving thought to the challenges before them during the visit.
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Selective fencing on Pak-Afghan border to help improve law, order on both side: PM
Wednesday, 03 January 2007
KARACHI, Jan. 3 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here Wednesday that the objective of selective fencing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is to check the movement of elements who create law and order problem. The fencing is mainly to be done at points where there is higher movement, he told a news conference at the Governor House.
He however stressed that there will be no problem for those crossing the border legitimately.
Fencing will improve the situation and talks in this regard are being held with the Afghan government, he said.
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Fencing, mining of Pak-Afghan border a conspiracy against Pushtoons: Asfandyar Wali
SWABI, Jan 3 (Online): Rejecting the Pakistan's decision to erecting bar and mining of the Pak-Afghan border, President Awami National Party (ANP), Asfandyar Wali Khan has termed it a conspiracy to divide about 35 million Pushtoons living on both sides of the border.
Talking to delegations here in Charsadda, Asfandyar Wali Khan said that fencing and mining is not the solution for the elimination of scourge of terrorism and it is also rejected by Karzai government.
Asfandyar Wali underscored that the fencing and mining decision would further create complexity between the two countries as about 35 million Pushtoons live on both sides of the border.
ANP leader opined that the Durand Line agreement expired in 1993 and Pakistan cannot pressurize Karzai government to recognize that agreement.
Condemning the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain on Eid day, Asfandyar Wali termed it humiliation for all human beings, adding that world community should raise their voice against that act.
Commenting on the current political situation, Asfandyar Wali said that ANP would participate in the upcoming elections with its full force.
Asfandyar Wali while expressing his views regarding Kala Bagh Dam, categorically stated that the anti Pashtoon project has been closed forever.
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Sherpao optimistic about PM visit to Afghanistan
International News Network, Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has said that Prime Minister's visit to Afghanistan would yield positive results in improving relations between the two countries.
Talking to newsmen after condoling with Mustansar Javed, Secretary General South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) on death of his father Wednesday, the Interior Minister said that besides other, issues related to security, terrorism, fencing and mining on Pak-Afghan border would be discussed between officials of both the countries.
The Federal Minister on the occasion said that Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan as it is vital for security in the region, adding that Pakistan would provide all possible cooperation in this regard.
In response to a question, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that the Interior Ministry would issue visas to tourists from SAARC countries according to new visa policy, however, visas to Indian tourists would be issued according to government's policy.
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Pakistan, Afghanistan to promote, strengthen relations in media
Wednesday, 03 January 2007
KABUL, Jan 3 (APP): Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday decided to promote and strengthen their relations in media through exchange of delegations and extending technical assistance in this vital field.This was agreed during a meeting of Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Muhammad Ali Durrani and Afghan Minister for Information and Culture, Abdul Karim Khuram.
After the meeting, Muhammad Ali Durrani while talking to the media persons said that both the countries and people enjoy close and cordial relations.
He said the two countries having various similarities including the religion and culture enjoy historic, deep rooted and strong relations.
The Information Minister said that Pakistan will extend its full support and help to increase the efficiency of Afghan TV and their news organization to further strengthen the brotherly relations.
Durrani said both the countries will continue their cooperation to ensure progress, prosperity and peace in the region.
The Afghan Information Minister giving the details of the meeting said that the two sides discussed ways to further promote cooperation in the fields of media, tourism and culture.
He said the exchange of media delegations between the two countries will further promote and strengthen the bilateral relations.
He invited the Pakistani media to visit Afghanistan for observing the pace of reconstruction and development in his country.
The Afghan Minister termed the meeting as very positive and expressed the hope that it would help further improve technical cooperation between the two countries in the field of media, specially the television.
via The Pakistan Link
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Refugee school torched in eastern Afghanistan
Wed Jan 3, 2:54 AM ET
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AFP) - Insurgents torched a newly-built school for refugee children in eastern Afghanistan, officials said, in the first such attack in 2007 blamed on Taliban militants.
There was a spate of similar attacks last year on schools and teachers that were mostly blamed on Taliban rebels conducting an insurgency to overthrow the government and expel foreign troops trying to bring stability.
The school set alight Monday night in the eastern province of Nangarhar near the border with Pakistan was made up of tents from the UN children's fund, UNICEF, provincial spokesman Hazrat Hussain said on Tuesday.
"Five tents of a new UNICEF-built school were burned down last night in Behsud district," he told AFP.
Hussain blamed the attack on the "enemies of Afghanistan", a term often used by Afghan officials to refer to the Taliban movement ousted from government in late 2001.
Gul Pacha Khalizay, the deputy education director of the province, said about 200 boys and girls from a nearby refugee camp used the primary school.
Thousands of Afghans who fled into Pakistan during the country's decades of war have filtered back since the fall of the hardline Taliban, which denied girls an education and allowed the school system to fall into ruin.
The British-based charity Oxfam said in November there had been a five-fold increase in enrolments since the Taliban fell but more than half of children -- about seven million -- were still not in school.
Education minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar said in August that suspected Taliban had killed at least 41 teachers and students in Afghanistan in the previous 12 months and security concerns forced 208 schools to close.
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Taliban claim capturing Washir district
KABUL, Jan 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Taliban have claimed capturing Washir district in the southern Helmand province from the government, however provincial officials have rejected the claim.
Taliban's spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Tuesday their forces captured Washir district during a hard attack overnight. He further said the police and army forces positioned in the district headquarters fled their positions without any resistance.
However, Helmand police chief Nabi Jan Mulakhel, police turned down the claims.
The interior ministry's press officers also said government forces were still present in the centre of Washir district and that the claim by the Taliban was not true.
Just a month back, the district chief of the district Abdul Sattar Khan was killed in a suicide attack inside the governor house in provincial capital, Lashkargah.
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11 die of severe cold in Logar
PUL-E-ALAM, Jan 02, 2007 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Eleven people have lost their lives due to severe cold in Kharwar district of the central Logar province.
The victims were seven children and four elderly people who died on Monday.
Dr Muhamad Zarif of the public health department in Logar said the 11 people died by cold and they could not be transferred to medical centres existing in the area since snow covered all the ways.
Asadullah, a provincial police official, said severe wave of cold followed by heavy snowfall has caused serious problems for local residents in the area. He said the 11 people died of the chilly weather contributed by a shortage of medicines and food as ways linking Kharwar district to other town have been blocked by snow.
He warned if medicines and food were not supplied to the area, whose roads have been cut off since a week, many people would lose their lives.
Niamantullah, a taxi driver from Kharwar district says he has been forced to stay in the provincial capital, Pul-e-Alam, since eight days after the ways were blocked. He lamented the government has taken no action so far to clear the roads from snow.
The provincial health official Dr Zarif said three health facilities were operating in Kharwar and there did existed some medicines, but patients could not reach to it since all ways have been covered with snow, making it impossibly to drive or walk.
Head of the public health department Abdul Ahmad Haqbin said work on clearing the ways from snow has started recently.
Shahpur Arab
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New Croatian contingent to join ISAF mission in Afghanistan
International News Network, Pakistan
VARAZDI: A new 69-strong Croatian contingent would fly to Afghanistan in 10 days to join the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said reports from Croatia on Tuesday.
The send-off ceremony was held in the military barracks in the Croatian northern city of Varazdin for the contingent, the Croatian news agency HINA reported.
"Our soldiers are successful in that job, many of them have experience from the war and they are among those with the best equipment. Thanks to their ability and the know-how there have been no serious consequences so far," said General Josip Lucic, envoy of Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.
The task of the Croatian troops in Afghanistan was to maintain peace in that country, said Lucic, who is the chief-of-staff of the Croatian Armed Forces.
Assistant Defense Minister Igor Pokaz said that currently 147 Croatians were deployed in three areas of Afghanistan, and his country was planning to raise the number to more than 200.
Under the 2001 Bonn Treaty, the ISAF is deployed to help the Afghan government to create safe conditions for the reconstruction of the war-torn Asian country. Croatian contingents have been engaged in ISAF since February 2003. Apart from the military component, Croatian diplomats and police officers also joined the mission in January 2005.
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Threatened and snubbed: 50,000 students banned from school in Ghazni
GHAZNI CITY, Jan 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Insecurity and intimidation by gunmen kept some 50,000 school-age children away from continuing their education during the past year in the southern province of Ghazni, officials say.
During the past academic year, most of the schools in Gelan and Nawa districts were closed and teachers and students were asked to stay home even some were threatened to death if they ignored the warning.
The provincial education department officials say the number of school-going students in the two districts is about 15,000.
In Moqur, Qarabagh, Andar, Waghaz and Khogyani districts, only girl schools were closed after threats were received from armed groups, said the officials.
Mohammad Shafiq Hemat, an official of education department in Ghazni, said the number of girl students in the five mentioned districts is approximately 11,000.
He told Pajhwok Afghan News that in some districts, namely in Awband, Gero and Zanakhan, there were no girls schools at all and there was still little interest to send females to education due to due to lack of security.
Hemat said that 13 schools had been put on fire by unknown gunmen in last three years around Ghazni.
Shamsullah, chief of education department in Gelan district, said they had held talks with the gunmen opposing schools through local elders, but to no avail.
A student of Agho Jan high school in Gelan district said that no one can go to school due to fear from the anti-government militants.
Agho Jan high schools was set on fire early last year and the students and teachers were threatened not to attend the classes.
Qara Bagh district faced similar problems during 2006 in terms of schools. Education department chief of the district was shot dead by Taliban fighters in middle of the year.
Totaling number of the students who left schools due to threats and fear of the gunmen, Hemat calculated that up to 50,000 children were deprived of continuing their education in 2006.
In addition to the gunmen closing schools for girls, religious scholars in the area also put restrictions on female education.
Mawlawi Abdul Malik, an Islamic scholar in Qarabagh district, says Islamic Sharia had no problem with education of women if adult girls go to school in veils separate from boys. If this condition is kept, there is no opposition from Islamic point of view, said Malik.
Members of the parliament from the provincial constituency of Ghazni have also complained that education in Ghazni is not balanced and blame government officials for making lack of security as an excuse in remote areas.
Niaz Mohammad Amiri, MP from Ghazni and a religious scholar told this news agency that they had talked to the education department officials in Ghazni to find out that the authorities were just turning a blind eye to the problem citing various excuses.
However, Muhammad Seddiq Patman, deputy education minister said it was the people's responsibility, not of the government, to protect public properties, like schools and hospitals.
He noted that education for children can be ensured only with cooperation of local people in maintaining of security. He took the blame to local residents for allowing militants to operate in their areas freely and prevent their children from schools.
Jawid Alami, Ghazni provincial governor spokesman said that the security was the only problem for schools in remote areas, adding that the government was making every effort to bolster the situation by launching reconstruction and development projects in the affected areas.
Many point finger at the Taliban when they say 'gunmen' threaten people from going to school. But, the movement's spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi says they are not against school and education at all. He said if some schools were burnt or closed in some areas that should not be attributed to the Taliban. He said it was very easy for the government officials to take responsible for bad acts people who are absent from the stage.
Sher Ahmad Haidar
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Balkh to get advanced custom office
MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Jan 2 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Construction work on a new custom office to be in accordance with international standards will begin in Hairatan dry port in northern Afghanistan soon, officials said Tuesday.
Muhammad Shirin Afzali, head of the Balkh custom department, said the new custom office would be equipped with developed labs and machines that could prevent the businessmen from importing expired and poor quality items to the country.
Shifting from the provincial capital, Mazar-i-Sharif, the new office will be constructed on the port as to make custom affairs easy for traders, said Afzali.
Finance ministry is funding construction work the new custom office. It is not clear when the work will be completed.
Hairatan, one of the important dry ports of Afghanistan on the border with Uzbekistan, is 85 kilometers away from Mazar-i-sharif.
Other important of the landlocked country are Shir Khan Bandar in the neighboring Kunduz province, Torghondi port in the western Herat province in proximity with Turkmenistan, Islam-Qala with Iran, Spin Boldak and Torkham with Pakistan.
Muhammad Ismail one of the traders in Balkh province, while lauding the government project, said: "It is good for us to have modern customs, so traders wont face any troubles in their business transactions."
Old machines and poor level of checking of goods caused them face a lot of delay and waste of time in Mazar-i-Sharif custom, he complained.
Most important goods imported through Hairatan dry port included petroleum, gas, foodstuff and clothes while a lot of goods such as fruits and other Afghan manufactures are being exported to Central Asian countries via this dry port.
Ahmad Naeem Qadri
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Govt to launch major reconstruction plan in lawless areas
KABUL, Jan 02, 2007 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The government considers a new initiative to bring stability in the lawless areas by allocating $76 millions for reconstruction projects in all districts located near the border with Pakistan.
The 600 projects in 88 border districts will focus on rebuilding of infrastructural facilities for local people.
Zalmay Hewadmal, cultural advisor to President Hamid Karzai, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Tuesday target mostly the most volatile areas in 12 provinces to the south, southeast, southwest and east.
He said President Karzai has given instruction to focus in the initiative on these remote and backward areas.
Residents in the border districts in the south and east, living far from cities, mostly go to Pakistan for treatment of their patients and meeting other basic needs.
Hewadmal said: "The move was aimed to assure Afghans in the farthest parts of the country that they are citizens of Afghanistan and the government was committed to provide living facilities for them."
The presidential advisor said it was important to win support of the people near the border with Pakistan in order to convince them not allow militants cross from their areas and launch attacks on government targets.
About funding, Hewadmal said money from the governmental budget as well as from foreign donors will provide financial backing for the projects.
Analysts say this is one of the biggest projects of the government for winning minds and hearts of people who still have some sort of sympathy with Taliban fighters.
Zubair Babakarkhel
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Solve our land problem, or we leave domicile: warn Kuchis
Abdul Majid Arif
KHOST CITY, Jan 01, 2007 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Tired of long-standing land dispute with local tribes, Kuchi nomads in the southeastern Khost province have asked the government and the United Nations to solve their problem or find residence for them in other countries.
On Saturday, Kuchi representatives said 10 of their men were killed, 15 were wounded and nine were taken hostage in clashes with Babakarkhel tribe over a desert surrounded by mounts in Baak district. The dispute has claimed 30 lives so far from both the sides.
Haji Nader Khan, a Kuchi elder, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Monday they convened a meeting today in Sabrai district to ask President Hamid Karzai and the UN to solve their land problem or send them abroad.
"We are ready to give up our Afghan nationality and go to any other country," said Mirajgai, another Kuchi man.
If none of the two options are provided, then the nomads in Baak district will migrate to Pakistan, said Mirajgai.
The Saturday night fighting, Kuchis say, forced 2,7000 families to flee to other areas from Baak. The nomads blame Babakarkhel tribesmen for triggering the fight.
However, Naseem Khan, a representative of Babakarkhel said Kuchis first opened fire, but he admitted capturing some nomads, including a woman, as he did confirm burning of some homes of Kuchis during the fighting.
Regarding casualties to the tribal men, Naseem said four people were killed and several were wounded on their side as result of skirmishes Saturday night and Sunday morning.
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Money changing old system still popular in Afghanistan
Abdul Qadir Munsif
KABUL, Jan 1 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Though 14 banks are operative in country, but still thousands of people may be seen busy in currency exchange of million dollars in Shahzada Sarai.
Famous for its 50 years history, the centre has got national and international reputation and Da Afghanistan Bank also confirm currency rate from this centre.
Amin Jan Khosti, a money changer, told Pajhwok Afghan News as due to long wars there were no arrangements for Banking system, then money changers were the only means for currency transfer or exchange.
He said there were about 300 money changing shops in the centre, about 100 of these dealers were doing business of money delivery. He said the dealers often do business of $8 million on the daily basis. Mohammad Isa Tarab, deputy head of Da Afghanistan Bank, said they were giving permission to two types of money changers, the one who could business of delivery but the other could not do this dealing.
He said the dealers who were doing work of money delivery should deposit 0.1 million afghanis in Afghanistan bank as guarantee.
Khosti, 48, who has worked for 21 years in Shahzada Sarai said large number of people are coming to the centre for exchanging or delivery of money.
He said: "We are doing business through telephone, fax and e-mail that may be done in minute while banks take much time therefore, people come to us for dealings."
To a question that black money may also be sent through this way, Khosti said: "This is possible, but we have no information about this, intelligence should know about this."
He said they charged the customer with minor commission and the ratio of fee was depending upon the place where it might be sent. He said: "We take commission from 0.2 per cent to 2 per cent." Khosti said they were paying 10,000 afghanis tax to the government.
He said the money changers and officials of the Ministry of Finance according to a guess fix the tax. According to government rules, the money dealers have been divided into 25 groups, who are paying from 20,000 afghanis to 0.7 million afghanis keeping in view their income.
The people who were sending money through money changers in the past are still sticking to this old style. Mohammad Sharif, 50, a resident of Logar said: "Our other villagers also send money through money changers, we are not used with banking system."
Amin Jan Khosti, said a ten-member of police was guarding the market, but still the money changers did not fell themselves safe out of the Sarai. He said: "We take a policeman along whenever we have to go out of the Sarai." He said over 20 money changers had been killed in the last 14 years by unidentified gunmen and over 100 had been looted.
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Canadian radio station to hit Afghan airwaves
Wed. Jan. 3 2007 8:51 AM ET Associated Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The Canadian military will begin radio broadcasts in Kandahar this week, but forget about comparisons with the movie Good Morning Vietnam.
In the movie, actor Robin Williams played an irreverent disc jockey with American armed forces radio who used his unorthodox style to boost morale among American troops.
Canada's RANA-FM, on the other hand, will specifically target Afghan residents, primarily those between the ages of 15 and 25.
"(We) want to give them pretty much a progressive station that plays a lot of music and promotes the Afghan way of life," said Capt. Robin Thibault, 32, of Montreal.
"It allows us to demystify what we're trying to do and accomplish in their area and help us to explain to people, better, who we are."
The station, 88.5 on the radio dial, is scheduled to hit the airwaves Jan. 6 and will also provide the commander of Joint Task Force Afghanistan, Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, a means to talk to the people of Kandahar, although officials insist the station will not be a propaganda tool.
It will play mostly Bollywood and modern Afghan music and would be considered "on the edge" by Afghan standards. And in a bit of a twist, the radio station itself is located in an unidentified city in Canada.
"We have Canadian-Afghan presenters, mostly true-Pashto speakers so they'll be recognizable to the people of Kandahar city," he said.
"We're located in Canada but linked into Afghanistan by satellite and basically we just rebroadcast the transmission," said Thibault.
The station will also provide public affairs programming dealing with international sporting events and include features on Afghans living in other countries. Basing the radio station in Canada is simply part of security measures.
"The station is safe back home. It's because of the security threat that we're facing right now. The reason we didn't have the station here to begin with is because of the security aspect," said Thibault, who notes BBC Pashto already broadcasts into Afghanistan from London along with Voice of America, which comes from Washington, D.C.
"As you know, I think it was in April or May that an interpreters' bus was blown up on the way to Kandahar Airfield and that's what we're trying to prevent," he said.
The 300-watt radio station will have limited reach by Canadian standards but should be strong enough to hit all of Kandahar city since it is "half the size of west island of Montreal but with a greater populace."
The call letters, RANA, is a Pashtun-Dari word that means light.
"Our slogan is 'Light in your life,' " he said.
"We want to be a factual, unbiased radio station so we need to be credible, . . . we cannot be western or push western views or values," Thibault said.
If the commander of the Canadian task force wants to address the people of Kandahar, it would be part of public affairs programming and with the use of a translator.
RANA-FM is not competing with any local radio stations and will not sell advertisements, aiming instead for a target audience that nobody else has hit before.
But by offering what the military calls progressive messages, modern music and a pipeline for the Canadian views, it is bound to attract the attention of the Taliban. And that is something Thibault acknowledges.
"Once the people start to take sides and the Taliban realize people are not taking their side then chances are the Taliban are going to be very upset by what we're trying to do," he said.
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Pakistan Lifts Ban on Afghan Tolo TV
Text of report by Afghan independent Tolo TV on 2 January
Tolo TV has once again been granted permission to resume broadcasting through Pakistani cable networks. The Pakistani authorities banned Tolo TV cable broadcasts two months ago.
A number of analysts and the Foreign Ministry spokesman had then described the ban on Tolo TV broadcasts as against international media laws and the freedom of speech.
[Correspondent] The permission for the resumption of Tolo TV cable broadcasts in Pakistan comes after Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri visited Kabul three weeks ago. He had then expressed unawareness about the ban but promised to speak to his country's minister of information about it.
Tolo TV has been broadcasting for over three years. The Pakistani authorities have banned the channel's cable broadcasts in that country several times.
A number of cultural activists and analysts believe that Tolo TV is a new phenomenon in the Afghan visual media, adding that the channel has shown remarkable creativity in producing new programmes. They believe that the ban on Tolo is against international media laws.
Source: BBC Monitoring Media
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Pakistan: Afghan registration deadline extended until 19 January
ISLAMABAD, 29 December (IRIN) - Following a heavy turnout, Pakistani authorities on Friday announced they would be extending a nationwide Afghan registration campaign for another three weeks to register as many eligible Afghans as possible.
The US $6 million exercise, which began on 15 October, was scheduled to conclude by the end of December, which will now continue until 19 January.
The drive is aimed at providing millions of Afghan refugees living in the country with official identification for a three-year period validating their stay in exile.
"After an initial slow start due to logistical and technical problems on our end, the pace of [Afghan] registration has now accelerated to the point that today, we are registering over 25,000 Afghans per day across the country. In response to this increased output, we have decided to [further] continue this [registration], to provide Afghans a final opportunity to get registered," Sajid Hussain Chattha, Secretary of the Ministry of State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
The ongoing registration exercise is a follow-up to a comprehensive Afghan census conducted in Pakistan in February and March 2005, which found that more than 3 million Afghans had still been living in the country. Only Afghans counted in last year's census can take part in the current registration effort.
Since the campaign started in mid-October, over 1.3 million Afghans have registered with Pakistani authorities. Some 48 percent of those who registered are females, whereas another 51 percent are under the age of 14.
Registered Afghans above five years of age receive Proof of Registration (POR) cards, recognising the bearers as Afghan citizens temporarily living in Pakistan. Children under five are listed on their mother's card.
Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is conducting the exercise, using fingerprint biometrics and photos to record information through fixed and mobile registration centres across the country with the support of the government's Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR) and the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
While a photo was mandatory for registering Afghan citizens, the condition has been relaxed for females where they found it against their culture. Some 35 percent of registered Afghan women have been issued with 'Proof of Registration' cards without photographs.
The photo requirement has also been removed for children under five years of age in order to speed up the registration process.
This first-ever official documentation of Afghans in exile seeks to profile the Afghan population in Pakistan in an effort to search for durable solutions, according to UNHCR officials.
The registration will be suspended temporarily for four-days on account of the upcoming Eid holidays starting on 31 December, but will resume on 4 January.
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FBI: Guantanamo interrogator squatted over Koran
By James Vicini January 3, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI agents at Guantanamo saw a military interrogator squat over the Koran in order to anger a prisoner and observed a detainee whose head was wrapped in duct tape, according to recently released FBI documents from a 2004 internal inquiry.
The documents stemmed from a survey of nearly 500 FBI employees who were asked if they saw any aggressive interview techniques, interrogations or mistreatment of prisoners at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. More than 25 incidents were reported.
The 244 pages of documents were released on the FBI's Web site on Tuesday and were turned over to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of its lawsuit.
"The FBI believes this or substantially similar information has already been released in this litigation," the agency said.
In one incident in October of 2002, a detainee was put in a plywood hut, where interrogators yelled and screamed at him, according to the documents. One military interrogator squatted over the Koran which "incensed" the prisoner, the document said.
The Pentagon has said the population of the prison now stands at approximately 395 inmates. Most were captured during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.
Another day, an FBI employee was taken to an interrogation room and saw a detainee with a full beard whose head was wrapped in duct tape.
In another incident, a civilian contractor asked an FBI special agent to see a detainee who was gagged with duct tape that covered much of his head. The contractor said the prisoner had been chanting the Koran nonstop, according to the documents.
The FBI said the survey found no evidence that its employees mistreated detainees. An FBI spokesman said the information from the survey has been turned over the Defense Department's inspector general.
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Rare British India documents surface
By Alastair Lawson BBC News / Wednesday, 3 January 2007
Documents and papers shown to the BBC by a relation of the commander of British troops during the 1897 siege of Malakand - in what is now Pakistan's North West Frontier Province - provide a fascinating new insight into the struggle for South Asia.
The papers belong to Ben Tottenham, a relation by marriage of William Hope Meiklejohn, who commanded British and Indian troops at the Malakand garrison, which was besieged by thousands of tribesmen for 10 days before it was successfully relieved.
Colonel Meiklejohn's four-year-old daughter, Meg - Mr Tottenham's mother-in-law - was in the garrison throughout the siege in the scorching heat of the high summer of 1897. She would almost certainly have been killed by the tribesmen - not renowned for taking prisoners - if it had fallen.
The tribesmen were led by Mullah Mastun, known by the British as the "Mad Mullah of Malakand". He roused them against British rule and decreed that it was their duty under Islam to remove foreigners from what was then India.
Among the rare mementos seen by the BBC are photos and pictures of Malakand and the surrounding area in 1897 as well as letters and telegrams sent by Col Meiklejohn to his wife.
"We are attacked by fanatics almost every night," wrote Col Meiklejohn in one of his daily letters to his wife.
But even though he was responsible for the fort and the surrounding military outposts, he still found time to reassure her that their young daughter was safe and well.
But it was Meg's nanny who was responsible for writing to Mrs Meiklejohn about their daughter's safety.
"My dear Mrs Meiklejohn, just a line in a hurry to let you know that Miss Meggie is quite well, covered in prickly heat... But do not worry a bit about your dear baby girl, you must know that we are quite safe," the letter said.
"In retrospect, her nanny may have understated the seriousness of the situation," Mr Tottenham told the BBC News website.
"These papers provide a fascinating personal and first-hand insight into events on the ground at the time.
"They are a historian's dream, and show that the forefathers of the Taleban were every bit as ruthless as they are today."
'Feud and strife'
According to one history book - Frontier Ablaze by Michael Barthorp - Col Meiklejohn found himself facing "wave after wave of close-packed tribesmen who flooded out of the darkness, scrambling over defences and yelling and screaming while their war-drums thundered to encourage them".
The attackers were urged into action by their mullahs who promised the delights of paradise for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Among those who wrote about the siege was a young Winston Churchill, whose description of it shows that in some ways little has changed for British troops today in similar terrain not far away across the border in Afghanistan.
Then as now, British troops faced a determined enemy described by Churchill as people who "fight without passion and kill without loss of temper".
"The inhabitants of these wild but wealthy valleys are of many tribes, but of similar character and condition. Except at times of sowing and harvest, feud and strife prevail," he wrote in an account of the siege.
"The strong aboriginal propensity to kill, inherent in all human beings, has in these valleys been preserved in unexampled strength and vigour."
Brave assailants
The tribesmen - who were able riflemen - attacked the garrison almost every night, but on each occasion were repelled by the "skilled musketry" of British and Indian troops.
"The Mad Mullah himself had been wounded - contrary to earlier assertions that he was invulnerable - and another influential mullah was killed," historian Michael Barthorp wrote.
"These losses, together with their own heavy casualties, caused the tribesmen to lose heart.
"Over successive nights of heavy fighting, the British army and its Indian battalions stood their ground successfully against thousands of fanatically brave assailants who did not count the cost."
Eventually the tribesmen were forced to withdraw and Malakand and "Miss Meggie" were saved.
But Col Meiklejohn's duties were not over.
Promoted to brigadier as a result of his action in Malakand, his next duty was to relieve the garrison's outposts at Chakdara - which was under sustained attack by tribesmen.
These two victories for British and Indian troops were not without cost - several officers and soldiers were killed.
"No-one knew, though many were wise after the event, that these tribesmen were as well armed as our troops, and that they proved to be brave and formidable adversaries," Churchill wrote.
"Never despise your enemy is an old lesson but it has to be learnt afresh, year after year, by every nation that is warlike and brave."
It was a principle put into practice in 1897 by Col Meiklejohn and it is a principle that is no doubt equally relevant to British troops today.
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