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

November 8, 2007 

Afghans bury MPs killed in the attack
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
KABUL, Afghanistan - Clerics recited prayers as the flag-draped coffins of five lawmakers and their bodyguards were lowered into the ground Thursday following the country's deadliest-ever suicide attack that killed at least 73 people — most of them schoolchildren.

A sixth lawmaker killed Tuesday in northern Afghanistan is to be buried in southern Helmand province, officials said.

Hundreds of relatives cried and rushed toward the grave as the body of lawmaker Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, spokesman for Afghanistan's largest political opposition group, was lowered into the ground. Local and international dignitaries stood in silence.

Kazimi's supporters at the funeral held banners calling for an international investigation into the blast, suggesting they held the government partly responsible for the deaths. Witnesses also have said that some victims may have been killed or wounded by guards who opened fire after the blast.

Police and army troops were deployed throughout the city as authorities blocked off several of Kabul's streets to traffic, fearing bomb attacks.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday declared three days of mourning. He called the blast a "terrorist attack," but neither Karzai nor any other officials publicly named any suspects, and no group has claimed responsibility.

The Taliban militant movement has denied it had carried out the bombing.

Tuesday's blast took a heavy toll on the young. It struck just as the lawmakers were about to visit a sugar factory in the province of Baghlan, where local schoolchildren, tribal elders and government officials had lined the streets to greet them.

Gen. Abdul Rahman Sayed Khail said that 106 people also were wounded in the blast, and that authorities were investigating whether some of the casualties were caused by the gunfire that erupted after the incident in Baghlan, some 95 miles north of the capital.

Two Afghans have been arrested in connection with the attack. The two had ordered women to leave the blast site before the bombing, raising officials' suspicions, Khail said.

A deputy education minister, Abdul Ghafor Ghazniwal, said students he had visited in Kabul hospitals told him a conservative cleric had urged female students to go home because they should not be out in public.

Dr. Khalil Narmgui, of the Baghlani-jadid hospital, said 62 people had been buried in Baghlan province on Wednesday.

Most of those killed were students, Narmgui said, though he did not have an exact figure. The Ministry of Education confirmed only that at least 18 schoolchildren and five teachers were killed.

Gunfire erupted from security personnel for a short time after the explosion, said Narmgui, who was at the blast site. "I ran into a compound, and when the gunfire stopped, I came out and saw that there were dead bodies everywhere," he said.

Sayed Mohammad Bakir Hashimi, a Shiite cleric in Kabul, said he saw three bullets wounds — one on the chest and two on the hand — on Kazimi's body.

Five people had been treated for bullet wounds in Baghlani-jadid hospital, Narmgui said. Baghlan's governor, Halam Isakzai, said it was "possible" some victims were killed by gunfire.

The attack came amid soaring violence in Afghanistan.

In the country's south, Taliban militants fired rocket-propelled grenades on a police convoy in Zabul province's Shahjoy district on Thursday, killing seven officers, said Gul Mohammad Khan, a police officer.

On Wednesday, U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops killed two insurgents and detained 10 others during an operation to disrupt the movement of Taliban weapons and explosive materials in Qalat district, also in Zabul province, the coalition said.

Violence in Afghanistan this year has been the deadliest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power. More than 5,700 people, mostly militants, have died so far this year in insurgency-related violence, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan lawmakers buried after suicide attack
by Sardar Ahmad
KABUL (AFP) - Five parliamentarians killed in Afghanistan's deadliest suicide blast were buried in a state funeral Thursday attended by around 2,500 people, as demonstrators demanded the arrest of the attackers.

The five MPs and six of their bodyguards were laid to rest at the site of a planned new parliament building on the outskirts of the capital in an emotional ceremony attended by more than 1,000 soldiers and policemen.

Afterwards about 700 of the mourners shouted slogans and waved banners, demanding the arrest of those behind the attack on Tuesday that killed 52 people, many of them children, near the northern town of Pul-i-Khumri.

The country's two vice presidents, cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and foreign diplomats were among the mourners at the funeral which took place in the shadow of Kabul's landmark, bombed-out Darulaman Palace.

The 11 coffins were draped with the national flag and arrived in white ambulances as onlookers wept.

Six parliamentarians were killed in the attack in the northern province of Baghlan; the body of one was sent to his home province.

Among those buried in Kabul was Mustafa Kazimi, a key figure in an opposition alliance made up of former anti-Taliban warlords.

Taliban insurgents, behind a wave of suicide attacks in Afghanistan, and the radical faction of former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar have denied involvement in Tuesday's blast.

The government of Baghlan province has been accused of not providing sufficient security for the VIPs and there have been allegations that some casualties were shot when security forces opened fire after the blast.

Baghlan governor Alam Ishaqzy confirmed that shots were fired into the air, but said it was unclear if anyone was struck.

The deputy head of the main hospital in Baghlan, Zubair Akbari, said none of his patients had bullet wounds.

Health officials said "available" bodies underwent postmortems and were x-rayed after the attack to see if any contained bullets and the results would be handed to an investigating commission set up by President Hamid Karzai.

Speakers at the funeral -- which was held under extreme security for fear of another attack -- blamed Tuesday's bombing on "terrorists" and "the enemies of Afghanistan people," a wide-ranging phrase often used to refer to Taliban.

Amid swirling rumours about who was responsible Burhanuddin Rabbani, leader of Kazimi's opposition group the National Front, called for calm and an end to rumour-mongering.

"We must avoid speculations until it's clear for us who was behind this brutal and inhuman attack," the one-time president said.

Mohammad Younus Qanooni, speaker of the powerful Lower House, praised his dead colleagues as "the honest sons of this soil."

As the funeral wrapped up, a crowd of about 700 men surged towards the graves holding up placards.

"We are here to express our solidarity with our martyrs," said one man, who was carrying a banner that read: "We want the arrest and punishment of those behind this brutal crime."

About 150 university students meanwhile marched through the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif shouting, "Death to tyrants, terrorists and the Taliban."

Protestors accused the government of providing insufficient security and alleged local officials might have been involved.

Karzai, who did not attend the funeral, has ordered a top-level investigation.

It was Afghanistan's worst such attack, claiming more victims than a June suicide bombing that killed 35 people in the heart of Kabul.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan leader unshaken after attack, MacKay says
GRAEME SMITH November 8, 2007 Globe and Mail, Canada
Kabul -- Afghanistan's President seems unshaken by the country's worst suicide bombing since 2001, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said yesterday after a visit to the palace in Kabul.

President Hamid Karzai greeted Mr. MacKay with inquiries about the Canadian politician's recent escape from a Taliban rocket attack, and their meeting continued behind closed doors.

In their talks, the Afghan leader reflected on Tuesday's bombing in a northern province where the death toll rose to 68 yesterday. "My honest assessment of President Karzai's reaction was one of resilience, perseverance, bordering on optimism, as far as his belief in the progress that's been made," Mr. MacKay said afterward.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Many questions over Afghan blast
By Alix Kroeger BBC News, Kabul Wednesday, 7 November 2007
In the northern Afghan city of Baghlan, the immediate shock is over.

Funerals for the schoolchildren killed in the blast have already taken place and the MPs will be buried on Thursday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has spoken of the need to fight extremism.

Forensic investigators are working at the scene.

But questions remain unanswered, among them the most important: who carried out the attack?

The Taleban have categorically denied responsibility. They say such an attack goes against their principles - they do not target civilians.

But so far, suicide bombs in Afghanistan have exclusively been the work of the Taleban and al-Qaeda.

Taleban denial

Even within the Taleban, there are different factions.

One of them is led by the warlord and former mujahideen, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, originally from Baghlan.

His fighters are known to be active in Baghlan province but they, too, have said they were not involved.

Shukria Barakzai, an MP with the opposition Third Line political group, believes the Taleban were responsible.

"No-one else could do it," she says. "Suicide attacks came (to Afghanistan) with them. Even during the Soviet regime, there were no suicide attacks. They are un-Islamic."

There is a good reason why, even if they were involved in the Baghlan bombing, the Taleban would want to distance themselves from it.

When air strikes by Nato and US-led forces kill Afghan civilians, the Taleban uses the deaths to discredit the international military presence here.

For them to cause the deaths of so many civilians would stir up widespread public anger.

But if the Taleban did not do it, who did?

Rival militias

Baghlan province has been relatively unscathed by the insurgency that is wracking the south of the country, but it suffers from other forms of instability.

Private militias operate there. The main road to Baghlan from the south is, like many Afghan roads, a route used by drug traffickers.

"If the Taleban say it was not them, it could be some rival groups or someone inside," says Wadil Sofai, lecturer in law and politics at the University of Kabul.

The governorate of Baghlan changed hands three times last year.

Afghanistan's politics are notoriously factional, but the MPs who died in Baghlan came from all political and ethnic groups.

Abdul Ghafoor Liwal, the director of the Regional Studies Centre of Afghanistan, believes the real target was the authority of the parliament itself.

"The parliament is the symbol of the establishment of the new democracy in Afghanistan," he says.

And Dr Sofai says the bombing has dented confidence in the government: "No family will be ready to send its children to welcome authorities or personalities from now on."

He believes the Afghan government which took power after the fall of the Taleban has failed at a fundamental level. It has been unable to ensure the safety of its citizens or to make important reforms.

"Karzai cannot remove bribery and corruption. He cannot ensure that social justice is there. This government is ineffective. It doesn't have the capacity to lead. There is nothing I can propose to the government to do because it cannot do anything," he says.

Spreading instability

Shukria Barakzai says the Baghlan bombing shows that MPs are a soft target. And she warns that instability in the north will increase.

"People think of the south as unstable, but nowhere is safe. The government must provide more security, not just for MPs, but all the people."

So why was security for the MPs' visit so lax? How could a suicide bomber get so close to the visiting dignitaries?

One MP who was supposed to take part in the delegation but could not go because of illness says it was because the MPs themselves did not request extra security.

But he said the government still had a responsibility to protect its people.

Another puzzling aspect of the Baghlan bombing is the sheer number of people killed, making it the deadliest such attack in Afghanistan's history.

Put bluntly, most suicide bombings here kill only the bombers themselves.

There are still some people who believe, partly because of the devastating death toll, that it was not a suicide bomb at all.

Forensic investigators are now at work in Baghlan, but it will be some time before their findings are released.

Either way, it is a grim reminder that the underlying causes of the violence in Afghanistan have not been resolved, and the instability is likely to worsen still further.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Bush not angry at reluctant NATO allies
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer Wed Nov 7, 6:02 PM ET
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Wednesday he has no problem with some NATO allies refusing to contribute forces to fight alongside the United States and others in Afghanistan's dangerous south.

Bush's statement contradicted repeated and high-profile criticism by officials within his own administration and other countries. It came in an interview previewing this weekend's visit to the president's Texas ranch by Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Germany is among the NATO countries, also including France, Italy and Spain, that have restricted their troops to relatively peaceful areas in Afghanistan's north. The only NATO troops operating in the more violent front-line provinces, where most of the fighting against the Taliban is taking place, are from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Britain. The issue has caused a rift within NATO and caused officials from the participating countries to try to sway the restricted countries to change course.

Just last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a conference of European army leaders, held in Heidelberg, Germany, that some countries' restrictions on how and where their troops can operate have "done real harm" to the Afghan mission.

"In Afghanistan, a handful of allies are paying the price and bearing the burdens," Gates said. "The failure to meet commitments puts the Afghan mission — and with it, the credibility of NATO — at real risk."

Bush took the opposite position when asked about the issue in an interview with German reporters from RTL and n-tv. He said he wouldn't ask Merkel to change her country's position in a way that she is not "comfortable with."

"I understand," he said. "Everybody's parliaments or legislative bodies reacts to the challenges differently. I'm just so pleased that Germany is contributing forces there to help this Afghan democracy. These contributions are meaningful and some countries are able to take on different assignments."

Merkel arrives at Bush's Crawford, Texas, ranch on Friday for a two-day visit. Since taking office in 2005, succeeding Gerhard Schroeder, she has become one of the president's closest European colleagues.

Bush also said he was "absolutely serious" when he said recently that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to "World War III."

That comment has been perceived as part of a larger campaign of escalating rhetoric against Iran by the Bush administration. Bush labeled Tehran's Quds military force as a terrorist group and asked Congress to approve money for the development of a bomb that can destroy hardened concrete bunkers and tunnels deep underground.

Also, Vice President Dick Cheney said the U.S. and other nations are "prepared to impose serious consequences" if Iran continues on its current course and said "we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

The administration has denied increasing speculation that all of this amounts to a march toward war with Iran.

Bush defended the World War III comment.

"The reason I said that is because this is a country that has defied the IAEA" — the International Atomic Energy Agency — "in other words, didn't disclose all their program — have said they want to destroy Israel," he said. "If you want to see World War III, you know, a way to do that is to attack Israel with a nuclear weapon."

He also tried to tamp down the war talk.

"I've committed our troops into harm's way twice, and it's not a pleasant experience because I understand the consequences firsthand," Bush said. "And so I owe it to the American people to say that I've tried to solve this problem diplomatically. And that's exactly what I intend to do. And I believe we can do it, so long as the world works in concert."
Back to Top
Back to Top
MacKay offers condolences as Afghanistan mourns dead
Kelly Cryderman , CanWest News Service; Calgary Herald; with files from Reuters Thursday, November 08, 2007
KABUL -- Afghanistan mourned its dead Wednesday after a massive explosion ripped through a crowd of children, teachers and politicians.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Peter MacKay wrapped up a four-day visit by expressing condolences on behalf of Canadians.

The blast in Baghlan is believed to be Afghanistan's most devastating suicide bombing. The bodies of six parliamentarians were returned to Kabul from the northern province on Wednesday. Dozens of others also perished in the blast, with many different figures still being reported.

Wednesday also marked the beginning of three days of national mourning, with the flag at the presidential palace flying at half-mast.

"In the very miserable incident . . . six of Afghanistan's hard-working, honest members of parliament were martyred, and Afghan people including school teachers, students and children were also martyred, and many were wounded," President Hamid Karzai told a news conference in Kabul.

MacKay met with the Karzai, along with Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and other Afghan officials, Wednesday.

"This is an undeniable tragedy and one that has shocked many, and yet this is not going to deter the Afghan people on their road to a stable, democratic, fully functioning society - one that embraces many of the same set of values that we hold dear in our country," MacKay said.

"We have to steel ourselves to the fact that we're not where we want to be just yet on the security situation, that many challenges still lie ahead."

The blast, in the relatively peaceful north, has shaken public confidence in the ability of the government and the 50,000 foreign troops in the country to provide security more than six years after the Taliban were ousted from power.

The Taliban have carried out more than 130 suicide bombings in Afghanistan so far this year, but the insurgents denied responsibility for Tuesday's attack on visiting parliamentarians as they were being greeted by schoolchildren and elders.

MacKay had his own brush with violence this week as he toured Canadian bases in Kandahar province in the south of the country.

During the early minutes of their official meeting in a marbled room in the palace, Karzai asked MacKay how close he was to a rocket that hit a Canadian forward operating base Tuesday - at the same time the minister toured the camp.

"Close enough," MacKay replied.

"That is very, very bad," Karzai said.

MacKay was unhurt in the attack but four Canadian soldiers were lightly injured. It's not believed that MacKay was a particular target.

"The most important thing . . . was that they missed," MacKay said Wednesday, reflecting on the attack. "I'm not overly concerned about what happened. It's something that soldiers have to deal with on a fairly regular basis."
kcryderman@theherald.canwest.com
Calgary Herald
Back to Top
Back to Top
China condemns suicide bombing in Afghanistan
(Xinhua) 2007-11-08 20:55
China on Thursday strongly condemned a suicide bombing that happened in Afghanistan on Tuesday and expressed condolences to victims.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks on Thursday at a regular press conference.

The suicide bombing was reported to have killed dozens of children and parliamentarians at a sugar factory in Baghlan province north of Kabul.

China also expressed its sympathy to the injured people and the family members of the victims of the bombing, Liu said.

Liu noted that as a friendly neighbor to Afghanistan, China would continue as usual to support the Afghan government's unremitting efforts to crack down on terrorist forces and to safeguard domestic stability.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Security Council slams suicide bombing in Afghanistan
Thu Nov 8, 1:12 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council slammed the "terrorist attack" which killed 52 people, including six lawmakers, in northern Afghanistan and voiced concern at the increasing threat posed by Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists.

"The members of the Council condemned in the strongest terms the suicide attack against a visiting parliamentary delegation that caused numerous deaths" in Baghlan, northern Afghanistan, said a non-binding statement released by Indonesia's UN Ambassador Marty Natalegawa on behalf of the 15-member body.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon Tuesday also slammed what he called a "heinous attack".

Council members also reiterated their concern "at the increasing threat to the local population, national security forces, international military and international assistance efforts posed by the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, illegal armed groups, criminals and those involved in the narcotics trade."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai earlier Wednesday declared three days of national mourning for the victims of Tuesday's mayhem.

The extremist Taliban movement has been behind most of a mounting number of suicide attacks in Afghanistan but denied it was involved in Tuesday's blast.

Taliban insurgents have in the past three years dramatically stepped up their use of suicide bombings in a campaign against Karzai's Western-backed government that Afghan officials say is plotted in Pakistan. Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistan condemns suicide bombing in Afghanistan 
www.chinaview.cn  2007-11-07 23:57:09
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan Wednesday strongly condemned the suicide bombing in the Baghlan province of Afghanistan, in which more than 60 persons including parliamentarians, children and teachers, were killed in the blast at a sugar factory.

"This despicable act of terrorism underlines the need to combat the ever-increasing terrorist danger at national, regional and global levels," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said in a statement.

"We express sympathy with the families of the innocent victims," he said in the statement.
Editor: Yan Liang 
Back to Top
Back to Top
Germany says Afghan attack attempt to strike at reconstruction
BERLIN (AFP) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned Tuesday's suicide attack on a group of Afghan lawmakers which killed 40 people, saying it was an attempt to dissuade those trying to rebuild the country.

""It was supposed to scare off people who have committed themselves to the reconstruction of the country and want to give their country the prospect of a bright future,"" Steinmeier said.

The attack must not discourage the international community from helping Afghanistan, he said.

""The people of Afghanistan are counting on us not to desert them.""

Germany's Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said the attack, the deadliest since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, was an ""abominable and abhorrent crime.""

The minister said the sugar factory in northern Afghanistan where the attack took place had received financial support from Germany and provided work for 2,500 farmers in an attempt to dissuade them from growing poppies for heroin.

The bomber struck in Baghlan in northern Afghanistan, which has seen relatively little of the daily violence in the south of the country which has been shaken by a Taliban insurgency.

About 3,000 German troops are stationed in northern Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Taliban stage a coup of their own
By Syed Saleem Shahzad Asia Times Online / November 8, 2007
KARACHI - While the world's attention focused on the troubles of President General Pervez Musharraf following his declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan at the weekend, the Taliban have launched a coup of their own in Afghanistan and the Pashtun areas of Pakistan.

Pakistani troops had prevented the Taliban from launching their planned post-Ramadan (Muslim holy month) offensive into Afghanistan by invading the Pakistani North Waziristan and South Waziristan tribal areas on October 7.

The Taliban managed to set up a counter engagement by stirring their network in the Swat Valley in North-West Frontier Province, which took the pressure off the Waziristans. The November 4 declaration of an emergency and the preparations before it was enforced distracted the military. As a result, several villages and towns in the Swat Valley, only a drive of four hours from Islamabad, have fallen to the Taliban without a single bullet being fired - fearful Pakistani security forces simply surrendered their weapons.

The Taliban have secured similar successes in the northwestern Afghan province of Farah and the southwestern provinces of Uruzgan and Kandahar, where districts have fallen without much resistance.

A new wave of attacks is expanding the Taliban's grip in the southeastern provinces of Khost and Kunar. And on Tuesday, the Taliban are suspected to have been responsible for the massive suicide attack in northern Baghlan province in which scores of people died, including a number of parliamentarians, most notably Sayed Mustafa Kazimi, the Hazara Shi'ite leader.

Such unexpected offensives have become a hallmark of the Taliban. They surprised many with their successful spring offensive in 2006, when the West had already anticipated their demise.

The Taliban occupied several key districts in the southwest and then as the winter snows closed in - normally a time for the guns to fall silent - they struck ceasefire deals with coalition troops. The aim was that once the weather improved, they would launch a mass uprising and force the surrender of major cities.

However, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) coalition sprung a surprise of its own by breaking the ceasefire agreements and conducting military operations one after the other from December 2006 onwards against the unprepared Taliban.

This forced the Taliban's abrupt retreat from important arteries and effectively ended the dream of a mass uprising this spring. Instead, the Taliban turned more to the use of improvised explosive devices and suicide attacks to irritate the enemy rather than cause serious damage.

NATO was relaxed during the month of Ramadan as Afghans generally don't fight in this period, and with the winter setting in, it was believed that the next Taliban action would only take place next spring.

But the Taliban have taken advantage of Pakistan's political troubles - the Pakistani army is busy saving its political interests in Islamabad - to keep on fighting in what is probably their first real winter offensive.

The fate of the Taliban's offensives in Afghanistan and Pakistan are closely linked with the fate of Musharraf's second coup. He will have to restore the country to normalcy very quickly. If not, the Taliban will go from strength to strength and a vital US-led "war on terror" theater will be closed.

Political shambles

"It is the duty of every citizen, and especially lawyers, to struggle for the supremacy of law, independence of the judiciary and real democracy," lawyer Shaukat Rauf cited Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry as saying in a telephone address to the bar in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Chaudhry is one of thousands of lawyers and opposition members to have been arrested or placed under house arrest since Saturday.

Chaudhry's defiant call illustrates that rolling back the emergency is only a part of the problem - what is wanted is the reinstatement of deposed judges and the full restoration of an independent judiciary.

The imposition of the emergency came as the Supreme Court was about to deliver its verdict on whether Musharraf could run for president while still serving as army chief. Last month, he was reelected by an overwhelming majority in national and provincial assemblies.

The opposition boycotted the polls and asked the Supreme Court to intervene and the judges ordered that official results be withheld until a verdict was reached. It is thought the court planned to rule against Musharraf, hence emergency rule.

Chaudhry has had run-ins with Musharraf before. He was suspended in March for alleged malfeasance (the real reason was the judiciary's opposition to Musharraf's role as army chief). Widespread protests and violence followed, and eventually when the Supreme Court reinstated Chaudhry, the Musharraf regime had little choice but to accept the decision.

Chaudhry might be detained for now, but he has emerged as a formidable foe for Musharraf, and his following is growing by the day.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.
Back to Top
Back to Top
General’s troops routed by zealots imposing Sharia on tourist haven
Zahid Hussain in Islamabad The Times (UK) / November 8, 2007
Dozens of Pakistani security forces policing a former tourist haven surrendered to militants yesterday, raising the stakes in the country’s political crisis. The police officers and troops, outnumbered and demoralised, laid down their arms before hundreds of pro-Taleban extremists who are imposing Islamic law in an area beloved of Western hikers.

The surrender, in the scenic Swat Valley, was deeply symbolic at a time when President Musharraf is pleading for continued Western support as a key regional ally.

General Musharraf argued last week that he was imposing martial law to help the fight against extremists. Yesterday’s cave-in illustrated the limits of Pakistan’s efforts to combat the spread of militancy. And the unwillingness of those in uniform to fight allies of al-Qaeda in northern Pakistan contrasted with the brutal repression by the security forces of lawyers on the streets of the capital.

“The security forces and intelligence agencies are fighting the people instead of the militants,” Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister, said yesterday.

Three main towns have fallen to the followers of Maulana Fazlullah, a radical Islamic cleric, over the past three days. Residents said that heavily armed militants were patrolling the towns of Madayan, Matta and Kwazakhela, which had been favourite destinations for Pakistani and foreign tourists until recently.

They added that the Islamic militia, who called themselves Taleban, had hoisted their flag inscribed with verses from the Koran above government buildings and established Islamic courts. Government officials have fled and police stations are now manned by militants.

Television and music have been banned and barbers ordered not to shave beards. Through an FM radio station, the militants have urged schoolgirls to wear all-covering burkas. They have warned women that their marriages would be annulled if they did not force their husbands to grow beards.

Several development organisations have been forced to close their offices, accused of spreading immorality because they employed women staff. Last week the militia publicly beheaded 12 soldiers.

The region used to attract foreign tourists to its Buddhist heritage and archaeological sites. It is now one of the main centres of al-Qaeda activities, a sign of the growing influence of Islamic radicals in northern Pakistan.

Pakistani security officials said that the militia had the backing of al- Qaeda and included Arab and Uzbek fighters who had set up training camps in the mountains near Kwazakhela, which fell this week. Many members of militant outfits from other parts of the country are also reported to have joined the fighting.

Mr Fazlullah is also a leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), which was banned by General Musharraf in 2002 after it sent more than 10,000 volunteers to fight in Afghanistan against US forces. The cleric, who is also known as Mullah Radio for his fiery speeches delivered from an illegal FM radio station, declared jihad against the Government after Pakistani security forces raided the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, killing a rebel cleric and scores of seminary students.

Pakistani security officials said that the movement presented the most potent threat to national security because it had developed firmly into a satellite of al-Qaeda.
Back to Top
Back to Top
ADB to grant 176 mln usd to fund construction of Afghanistan's Ring Road
11.08.07, 12:41 AM ET  Forbes, NY
MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has signed an agreement with the Afghanistan government to provide a new 176 mln usd grant to complete construction of the Ring Road highway, which loops the country and connects its cities.

The bank said the completion of the Ring Road will be a major achievement for the nation-building effort in Afghanistan adding it is essential for the country's desperately needed economic growth.

The highway will significantly improve accessibility around the country, therefore boosting trade and improving livelihoods, ADB said.

The Ring Road network will cut travel times between the country's northeast and southwest by three to five hours which will lead to significantly lower transport costs, not only domestically but also between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, it added.

With the new grant, ADB has contributed about 600 mln usd for road reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan, U.S. military kill several militants, detain 17 in S Afghanistan
KABUL, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Afghan and the U.S.-led Coalition forces in separate operations against militants in south Afghanistan eliminated several Taliban insurgents and captured 17 others, US military said in statements on Thursday.

In the first operation which took place in Qalat districts of Zabul province Wednesday, two militants were killed and 10 others made captive, said a statement.

The troops in another operation conducted in Jawara area of Uruzgan province also on Wednesday killed several militants and captured seven others, said another statement.

Taliban have yet to make comment.

Militancy and conflicts have claimed the lives of more than 5,600 people so far this year in the war-torn Afghanistan.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Majority supports Norwegian military presence in Afghanistan
The Norway Post - Nov 08 12:05 AM
A majority of Norwegians support the nation's participation in the war in Afghanistan, while at the same time oppose sending more troops to the war-torn nation. This is shown by an opinion poll carried out by Respons for Aftenposten.

The poll shows that 46 per cent of those asked are opposed to sending more Norwegian troops to the ISAF force.
The opposition to Norwegian participation in Afghanistan is greatest among supporters of the Socialist Left (SV), one of the government coalition parties.

Only 18 per cent of SV's voters are positive to Norwegian participation in NATO's operations in Afghanistan. Among the public as a whole, 47 per cent are in favour of Norway's presence.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Japan's Afghan mission part of broad effort: Gates
By Andrew Gray November 8, 2007
TOKYO (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Japan on Thursday to resume a naval mission in support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan that has been stalled by a domestic political controversy.

The Japanese refueling mission was halted this month after government and opposition could not agree to renew it.

Aware of Japanese opposition criticism that it lacks a United Nations mandate, Gates portrayed the Japanese mission as part of a comprehensive international effort.

"This is not really a bilateral matter between the United States and Japan, but rather Japan's contribution to a broad international coalition that is involved in trying to bring freedom, and keep freedom, in Afghanistan," Gates said.

More than 40 countries involved in efforts to stabilize Afghanistan benefited directly or indirectly from Japan's mission, he said after talks with Japanese leaders in Tokyo.

"We are grateful for this international role that Japan has played and we appreciate the efforts of the government to renew the fuelling operation," he said.

Over the six years of the mission, Japan has supplied free fuel and water worth about 22 billion yen ($195 million) to U.S. and other coalition ships patrolling the Indian Ocean for drug runners, gun smugglers and suspected terrorists.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda wants to pass legislation to resume the mission, but opposition Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa has so far refused, arguing a U.N. mandate is needed.

"PERCEIVED AS PASSIVE"
Seeking to build domestic support for the mission, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it was consistent with Japan's national interest and its responsibilities to the international community.

"If the suspension continues for a long time, our position on the war against terror may be perceived as passive," he said at a news conference with Gates. "This would not be to the benefit of our country."

Japanese voters are divided over the mission. The Democrats and their allies have vowed to vote against a new bill in parliament's upper house, where they have a majority and can delay bills.

Faced with that obstacle, parties in the ruling coalition agreed on Thursday to extend the current session of parliament, set to end on November 10, until December 15.

Japanese ships have supplied about 7 percent of the fuel to the U.S.-led coalition in the past few years, Washington says.

While that figure is a small proportion of the total, the United States argues it is still an important contribution to the war on terrorism declared by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks.

U.S. officials said they hoped Gates' visit would help switch the focus away from disputes on individual topics in favor of a broader view of the importance of cooperation between the United States and Japan on security issues.

Gates, who visited China and South Korea earlier this week, had lunch with U.S. military personnel, part of a contingent of some 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan.
($1=112.90 yen)
(Editing by Roger Crabb)
Back to Top
Back to Top
First ever female boxing federation established in Afghanistan
17:08, November 08, 2007 People's Daily
Afghanistan National Olympic Committee for the first time established a female boxing federatrion, Afghanistan Times, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.

Now women are also able to get benefit from this federation and practice the boxing sports.

There are some 20 Afghan girls who are currently practicing in this federation under the training of expert Afghan teachers.

Saber Sharife, a trainer in the federation, said that it is really hopeful for him seeing Afghan girls practicing boxing.

Sharife also asked the government for more support adding that the families should let their daughters join deferent sports.

Shabnam Rahimi is the first student who is really fan of boxing and enthusiastically registered herself in the field of boxing.

Rahimi said that she really likes the boxing adding that many women in other parts of the country do boxing which is the reason behind her involvement in this field.

Compared with other sports event in Afghanistan, boxing is the competitive one which can hopefully earn a medal in the world scale for this war-torn country.
Source: Xinhua
Back to Top
Back to Top
UK 'to stay in Afghanistan until 2010'
AAP via Yahoo!Xtra News - Nov 07 2:43 PM
Britain has begun preparing to extend its military deployment in Afghanistan until 2010, the defence secretary said.

Defence Secretary Des Browne announced a temporary brigade headquarters was being set up to command British forces in Afghanistan from October 2009 - when the current British commitment ends - to April 2010.

Brown said no decision has been made on deploying British troops beyond 2009, but he said the government made it clear its commitment to Afghanistan was long term.

British brigades are deployed to Afghanistan for six months at a time and spend two years planning and training before their deployment - making it necessary to act now, the defence ministry said.

"The precise size and duration of the UK military in Afghanistan will depend on a number of factors, including the ability of the Afghan security forces to take greater responsibility for the security of their own country," Browne told Parliament in written statement.

"However, to ensure that any forces we might deploy are properly prepared and commanded, it is necessary for the brigade headquarters to be established now."

The brigade, to be known as 11 Light Brigade, will be made up of existing units and will be based at Aldershot, southern England.

The 25 Infantry Brigade is currently in Afghanistan and was based in Edinburgh, Scotland, before deploying to Afghanistan a month ago, the ministry said.

Britain has 7,700 troops in Afghanistan as part of a NATO force - most based in the restive southern province of Helmand. Eighty-two British personnel have died in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001, many of them killed in fighting with a resurgent Taliban.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Iran vows to help bring peace to Afghanistan
TEHRAN, Nov 6 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Accused of aiding insurgents in the war-ravaged country, Iran has assured it will do all it can to help restore peace and stability in neighbouring Afghanistan

The assurance was held out by the parliament speaker at a meeting with Afghanistan's ambassador to Iran. Gholam Ali Haddad Adel vowed: "Iran will spare no efforts in establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan."

Speaking to Ambassador Muhammad Yahya Maroufi, the speaker observed the two nations "belong to one culture and civilisation, and our history and culture is so close to each other that any separation is impossible."

A statement for the Majlis Media Department quoted Haddad as saying the problem of illegal drugs in Afghanistan was worrying. The Afghan government should step up efforts to curb the illicit drug trade that posed dangers to both nations, he stressed.

For his part, Yahya Maroufi urged further consolidation of bilateral relations an all-round cooperation between the neighbours. "The Afghans will never forget Iranian help and support," he said.

Extolling Tehran's assistance in the rebuilding of his conflict-wracked country, the ambassador went on to underline close cooperative relations between Afghan and Iranian parliaments.
Back to Top

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