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Karzai Sacks Afghan Attorney-General After Presidency Bid
Abdul Jabar Sabit Reuters / July 16, 2008
KABUL -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has fired the attorney-general after the country's top prosecutor announced he intended to run for the presidency in elections next year.
Afghan attorney general is sacked
Wednesday, 16 July 2008 12:57 UK BBC News
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has dismissed his attorney general after the latter announced he would run for the presidency in elections next year.
Sabit says he plans to run for president
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Attorney-general vows to contest next year's presidential elections
Attorney-General Abdul Jabbar Sabit has announced that he plans to run in next year’s presidential election.
Afghanistan to look into Pakistan nuclear dumping claims
Wed Jul 16, 9:23 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - President Hamid Karzai has appointed a team of experts to investigate allegations that Pakistan had dumped nuclear waste in southern Afghanistan, his office said Wednesday.
US abandons Afghan outpost where 9 troops died
By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 16, 2:34 PM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. troops abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine of their comrades this week, officials said Wednesday, in another sign of the struggle facing foreign and Afghan security
Afghan NATO force hits targets inside Pakistan
KABUL, July 16 (Reuters) - NATO forces in Afghanistan attacked targets inside Pakistan with artillery and attack helicopters after coming under rocket fire from across the border, the alliance said on Wednesday.
Afghan air strikes kill nine civilians
July 16, 2008
KABUL (AFP) — Afghan authorities said Wednesday air strikes against extremist rebels in southwestern Afghanistan had killed four women and five children as well as several insurgents.
Obama, McCain wage political war over Afghanistan
by Stephen Collinson July 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Barack Obama's camp branded Republican rival John McCain's Afghanistan plans as "surreal" on Wednesday in a sharp new twist to a crucial political struggle over US war strategy and foreign policy.
German kidnapped in Afghanistan may have been killed: police
July 16, 2008
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) - A German national kidnapped in western Afghanistan seven months ago may have been killed after a ransom was not paid, police said Wednesday.
A US commander in Afghanistan asks for more armored vehicles
July 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A senior US commander has asked for hundreds more mine-resistant armored vehicles to equip US troops in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.
Pakistan Says Afghanistan Creating `Artificial Crisis' in Ties
Bloomberg By Paul Tighe July 16, 2008
Pakistan said Afghanistan is creating an ``artificial crisis'' in relations between the neighboring countries and rejected accusations its security forces were behind recent attacks on Afghan territory.
``Such baseless accusations serve no purpose
Taliban control more of Kandahar: analysis
The Globe and Mail GRAEME SMITH From Wednesday's Globe and Mail July 15, 2008
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN-More districts of Kandahar are controlled by the Taliban than by the Afghan government, according to a U.S. assessment that casts doubt on Canada's upbeat view of the war.
Secret service arrest Pakistani 'bomb plotter'
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Man accused of plotting suicide attacks in Kabul is captured by NDS
(PAN) Security forces have arrested a man accused of plotting to carry out a suicide attack in the capital Kabul.
AFGHANISTAN: Food prices fuelling sex work in north?
MAZAR-I-SHARRIF, 16 July 2008 (IRIN) - High food prices, drought, unemployment and lack of socio-economic opportunities are pushing some women and young girls in northern Afghanistan into commercial sex work
Afghanistan accuses Pakistani intelligence of aiding cross-border terrorism
The heightened political tensions between the two allies in the war on terror has prompted US presidential hopefuls to focus on improving Afghanistan strategy.
By Huma Yusuf The Christian Science Monitor - Jul 16 7:59 AM
Afghanistan's relationship with Pakistan is becoming increasingly strained, with the country threatening Tuesday to boycott a series of upcoming meetings about economic cooperation and coordinated assistance across the border
Transcript Of President Karzai's Interview With Radio Free Afghanistan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 14, 2008
Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan in Kabul on July 12 about the country's foreign policy challenges. The following are excerpts from a transcript of the president's interview
Afghans want a peace deal, and force cannot provide it
The Guardian By Conor Foley in Kabul 07/15/2008
Talk of winning the war is fantasy land. It will take dialogue with the Taliban to pave the way for a political solution
The rules of the road are aggressive in Kabul's notorious traffic, so I was surprised when my driver began giving way to oncoming cars. Up ahead I saw a flat-backed Toyota with tinted windows and armed guards in the back and realised
Taliban murder seven civilian 'spies'
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Men dragged from their cars on a main highway and shot, police say
(PAN) The Taliban have shot dead seven Afghan civilians for working with the government and other organisations, police said.
Police arrest more officials over wheat theft
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Head of department arrested for role in the theft of 40 tonnes of wheat
POLICE have arrested the head of Kunduz’s agriculture department for stealing 40 tonnes of wheat destined for famine-struck families in the northern province.
'Thieves dressed as police mug officers'
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Eyewitnesses say men stole police weapons after breaking into foreigner's car
(PAN) Thieves dressed in police uniform have attacked two policemen and stolen their weapons after smashing in the windows of a foreigner’s car in Kabul, eye-witnesses said.
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Karzai Sacks Afghan Attorney-General After Presidency Bid
Abdul Jabar Sabit Reuters / July 16, 2008
KABUL -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has fired the attorney-general after the country's top prosecutor announced he intended to run for the presidency in elections next year.
Abdul Jabar Sabit, a U.S.-trained lawyer, had returned from exile in 2002, months after U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban government.
He was appointed attorney-general and announced a war against the endemic corruption in Afghanistan as his top priority. But his efforts have largely been unsuccessful.
The presidential palace said Sabit's political bid was in contradiction with his official duties.
Karzai, who has ruled Afghanistan since the Taliban's fall and won the presidency in 2004 elections, has strongly hinted that he would again run for office.
Karzai has attracted stern criticism at home and among some of his Western allies for relying and accommodating factional leaders in his government. Some of them led armed groups that helped U.S.-led forces in the toppling radical Islamist government.
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Afghan attorney general is sacked
Wednesday, 16 July 2008 12:57 UK BBC News
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has dismissed his attorney general after the latter announced he would run for the presidency in elections next year.
Mr Karzai said the post of attorney general needed to be free from "political influences".
But Mr Sabet said his removal was unconstitutional. He said Mr Karzai knew he would not be able to compete with him in the presidential election.
The dismissal comes amid rumours of a government reshuffle in Afghanistan.
'Forced to leave'
"Attorney general is one of the key positions in Afghanistan's government, and it should be impartial and make decisions freely without any political interference or personal interest," a presidential statement said.
"[Mr Sabet's] announcement to run in the next presidential election means he has resigned from his current post."
However, Mr Sabet insisted at a news conference that he had not resigned and was "forced to leave the office", the Associated Press news agency reported.
He said Mr Karzai was "afraid" of his candidacy.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says Mr Sabet is a controversial figure known for his anti-corruption drive across the country - a stance that made him some powerful enemies.
He also faced criticism after failing to prosecute a prominent warlord over kidnap allegations despite saying that he would pursue the case, our correspondent says.
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Sabit says he plans to run for president
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Attorney-general vows to contest next year's presidential elections
Attorney-General Abdul Jabbar Sabit has announced that he plans to run in next year’s presidential election.
In an interview with the Pajhwok news agency, the 63-year-old said his likely shot at the presidency would not clash with his duties to the current president, Hamid Karzai.
"I am not interested in the post of president: I only want to serve my nation and this is a very effective means through which I can serve Afghans," Sabit said.
The attorney-general, who has held his current post for the last two years, said he hoped Afghans would register their confidence in him by voting for him in the election if he runs.
When he first took up his post as attorney-general, Sabit vowed to wage war on corruption, a promise many believe he has failed to keep.
Others criticise him for letting General Dostum off the hook. The former militia commander was alleged to have beaten up his former campaign manager.
Sabit promised to carry out a thorough investigation into the allegations but, despite threatening to arrest Dostum, the matter was pushed under the carpet and forgotten.
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in 2009. Member of Parliament Ramzan Bashardost, the deputy minister of information and culture, Halim Tanvir, Masauda Jalal and Dr Farooq Najrabi have also announced their desire to contest the election.
President Hamid Karzai has also said he will run for a second term.
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Afghanistan to look into Pakistan nuclear dumping claims
Wed Jul 16, 9:23 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - President Hamid Karzai has appointed a team of experts to investigate allegations that Pakistan had dumped nuclear waste in southern Afghanistan, his office said Wednesday.
In April, an Afghan minister told the BBC that his government had evidence Pakistan had buried its nuclear waste in the southern Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar during the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.
But the minister for parliamentary affairs, Farouk Wardak, later denied he had said this. Pakistan has also rejected the claim.
Karzai however has now set up, through presidential decree, a team of experts to investigate "rumours" of nuclear dumping, a statement from his office said.
"The delegation is assigned to thoroughly investigate the possible burying of nuclear waste using scientific, technical and residents' observations in suspected areas," it said.
The team was comprised of experts, security forces and intelligence agents, the decree said.
Relations between the neighbours are at a new low after Karzai directly accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of having a hand in a wave of bloody attacks, notably the suicide bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul last week.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday condemned Afghanistan's president for the remarks, saying they "will hamper the development process in the region."
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US abandons Afghan outpost where 9 troops died
By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 16, 2:34 PM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. troops abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine of their comrades this week, officials said Wednesday, in another sign of the struggle facing foreign and Afghan security forces strung out along the mountainous border.
Elsewhere in the frontier region, NATO launched artillery and helicopter strikes in Pakistan after coming under insurgent rocket fire, officials said.
The violence is another indication of the growing strength of the Taliban-led insurgency, especially in Afghanistan's east, where the outpost near the village of Wanat was breached by militants on Sunday. Nine Americans were killed in the deadliest incident for U.S. forces in three years.
On Tuesday, the insurgents drove out the handful of police left behind to defend government offices in the village, but 50 more officers were deployed Wednesday and soon regained control, senior provincial police official Ghoolam Farouq said.
The militants retreated into the mountains, and village elders negotiated a truce between the two sides, Farouq said.
Omar Sami, spokesman for the Nuristan provincial governor, said American and Afghan soldiers left the base Tuesday.
NATO confirmed that the post, which lies amid precipitous mountains close to the Pakistan border, had been vacated while insisting that international and Afghan troops will "retain a strong presence in that area with patrolling and other means."
In Washington, Pentagon leaders said Wednesday they are looking for ways to send additional troops to Afghanistan this year, signaling an acceleration in what had been plans to shift forces there no earlier than next year.
"I think that we are clearly working very hard to see if there are opportunities to send additional forces sooner rather than later," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Pentagon reporters. But, he added that no final decisions or recommendations have been made.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who recently returned from meetings with commanders in Afghanistan, said they clearly want more troops.
"It's a tougher fight, it's a more complex fight, and they need more troops to have the long-term impact that we all want to have there," said Mullen, who also met last week with Pakistani leaders.
The Pentagon has been wrestling with how to provide what they say is a much needed military buildup in Afghanistan, while they still have 150,000 troops in Iraq.
The retreat from the eastern outpost will be considered a victory by the insurgents, and comes after a spate of security setbacks for President Hamid Karzai's government, including a spectacular Taliban jail break in the southern Kandahar province in June that freed about 900 inmates, and a spike in attacks alongside the border with Pakistan.
In response, Karzai has stepped up his rhetoric against neighboring Pakistan, whose lawless tribal areas adjacent to Afghanistan serve as sanctuaries for al-Qaida and other militants.
Karzai blames the attacks — including suicide bombings and cross-border raids — on Pakistan's intelligence service, alleging they are behind the insurgency in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies the charge saying Karzai is trying to create "an artificial crisis" to deflect attention from his own failings.
The accusations have pitched relations between these key U.S. allies to their lowest point since U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
In other violence reported Wednesday, the U.S.-led coalition said eight civilians were killed when it called in airstrikes after one of its patrols came under attack in the country's west. The issue of civilian casualties has caused friction between the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO troops, and has weakened the popularity of the Western-backed Karzai.
In a separate statement, the coalition said another airstrike killed several militants after they attacked a joint U.S. and Afghan patrol in Kandahar province's Shah Wali district on Tuesday.
The governor of Kandahar said eight militants were killed during an operation in the southern province's Khakrez district in the past two days. A regional Taliban commander, Mullah Mahmoud, who controlled about 250 fighters, was among those killed, a NATO statement said.
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Associated Press writers Amir Shah in Kabul and Noor Khan in Kandahar and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report. Back to Top
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Afghan NATO force hits targets inside Pakistan
KABUL, July 16 (Reuters) - NATO forces in Afghanistan attacked targets inside Pakistan with artillery and attack helicopters after coming under rocket fire from across the border, the alliance said on Wednesday.
Tension is high along the border with a sharp rise in attacks in eastern Afghanistan coming from inside Pakistan that Afghan and NATO officials blame on de-facto ceasefires between the Pakistani military and militants in its lawless tribal belt.
ISAF forces "received multiple rocket attacks from militants inside Pakistan, July 15," the force said in a statement.
"The troops identified a (compound) as the point of origin of the attacks and responded in self-defence with a combination of fires from attack helicopters and artillery into Pakistan."
It was not clear when ISAF troops launched the strikes and spokesmen for the force were not immediately available for comment. Most ISAF troops in eastern Afghanistan are American. ISAF and the Pakistani military "coordinated their operation closely from the outset. The Pakistani military agreed to assist and search the area if the border firing continued".
(Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by David Fogarty)
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Afghan air strikes kill nine civilians
July 16, 2008
KABUL (AFP) — Afghan authorities said Wednesday air strikes against extremist rebels in southwestern Afghanistan had killed four women and five children as well as several insurgents.
A "big number" of rebels were killed in other operations while three more civilians died in militant bombings, they said, with violence linked to an insurgency led by the hardline Taliban surging in recent weeks.
International troops said they were looking into allegations that civilians were killed in the volatile Bakwa district of southwestern Farah province.
"The bombing started Tuesday morning," deputy provincial governor Mohammad Younus Rasouli told AFP. "One bomb struck a civilian home which killed four women, four young girls and a boy."
Provincial police chief Khalilullah Rahmani gave the same information citing people from the area, which has seen a build-up of Taliban in recent years and is involved in opium production.
US Lieutenant Nathan Perry confirmed to AFP that air strikes were used against rebels in the area overnight.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and US-led coalition are also investigating official reports that 64 civilians were killed in strikes in northeastern Afghanistan early this month.
The governor of the southern province of Kandahar said meanwhile that a two-day operation in Panjwayi had killed several militants and captured more.
"A big number of enemy, most of them Pakistani nationals, have been killed," governor Assadullah Khalid told reporters.
ISAF said it conducted air strikes against militant leaders in Kandahar after a tip-off from Afghan intelligence and added that several insurgent leaders were killed. It was not clear if it was the same incident referred to by Khalid.
Afghanistan has this month seen some of its deadliest militant attacks since the launch of an insurgency after the Taliban were removed from government in late 2001.
They included a suicide bombing at the Indian embassy in Kabul, which killed about 60 people, and an attack on an ISAF outpost Sunday that killed nine US soldiers.
The international forces have in turn unleashed a series of operations that they say have killed dozens of rebels countrywide.
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Obama, McCain wage political war over Afghanistan
by Stephen Collinson July 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Barack Obama's camp branded Republican rival John McCain's Afghanistan plans as "surreal" on Wednesday in a sharp new twist to a crucial political struggle over US war strategy and foreign policy.
McCain's camp fired back that his Democratic White House foe was making policy blindly before even visiting Afghanistan, seizing on polls showing lingering concerns about Obama as a potential US commander-in-chief.
"Yesterday, John McCain woke up and discovered Afghanistan, his speech was surreal," Obama foreign policy advisor Susan Rice said, referring to a McCain rebuttal of the Illinois senator's plans for Iraq and Afghanistan.
"He has no credible plans for either conflict and its resolution, Rice said on a conference call.
"He wants to stay indefinitely at high troops levels in Iraq, regardless of the situation. At the same time, he says he wants to surge in Afghanistan without reducing our presence in Iraq."
"The whole thing is utterly illogical."
The Obama camp branded McCain a flip-flopper for calling on Tuesday for three extra combat brigades to be sent to Afghanistan, after earlier saying more troops were not necessarily the answer to worsening security conditions.
McCain did not say where those troops would come from, though his campaign first appeared to indicate that improving security in Iraq would free up some soldiers.
Later, the McCain camp suggested that some of the troops should be made up of extra NATO forces, as well as US troops.
"The self professed candidate of straight talk and nearly three decades of Washington experience has an interesting timeline in just over a week in talking about Afghanistan," said Obama communications chief Robert Gibbs.
The McCain campaign pre-empted the Obama attacks with its own broadside against the Illinois senator, who is expected to soon travel to Afghanistan and Iraq. Details of the trip have not been released for security reasons.
"By committing to a policy for the war in Afghanistan before he visits the country and meets with our commanders ... Barack Obama has shown he views foreign policy through a lens of ideology rather than through looking at facts," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.
"Americans are tired of that brand of leadership, and are ready for a leader that will be prepared and put country first," Bounds said in a comment that also appeared to be critical of President George W. Bush's leadership style.
The McCain campaign also hit Obama on his failure to hold a hearing under his chairmanship of a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee with oversight of Afghan and European policy.
Democratic Senate Foreign Relations chairman, and Obama ally, Senator Joseph Biden, has however said that he insisted any panel discussions on the crucial issue of Afghanistan were held at full committee level.
In a major foreign policy address on Tuesday, Obama reiterated his promise to get most US combat troops out of Iraq within 16 months, and to focus on Al-Qaeda havens in Pakistan and worsening conditions in Afghanistan.
"As should have been apparent to President (George W.) Bush and Senator McCain -- the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was," Obama said in his speech.
"Al-Qaeda has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia," Obama said.
"We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president I won't," he said.
McCain accused Obama of being "wrong" about the US troop surge strategy in Iraq and said he was guilty of idle bluster on Pakistan policy.
"Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq," McCain said, though added that the "status quo" in Afghanistan was not acceptable.
Recent polls showing Obama leading the overall race by high single figures but reveal a McCain advantage on national security.
In a Washington Post/ABC News survey 50 percent of voters said they trusted Arizona Senator McCain to lead better in a foreign policy crisis, against 41 percent for Obama.
Eighty-two percent of those surveyed in a CBS/New York Times poll said McCain, a former navy pilot, would be an effective commander-in-chief, while only 62 percent felt Obama would be effective.
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German kidnapped in Afghanistan may have been killed: police
July 16, 2008
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) - A German national kidnapped in western Afghanistan seven months ago may have been killed after a ransom was not paid, police said Wednesday.
The unknown abductors had demanded 50,000 dollars for the release of 42-year-old carpenter Harald Kleber, who was abducted in Herat province in mid-December.
"Based on some information we have received from intelligence sources, the German national has been killed because the ransom they demanded was not paid," said the police commander for western Afghanistan, Akramudin Yawar.
"Police are investigating to find his body and see if this is true."
The foreign ministry representative in the city of Herat, Homayon Kamgar, said there had been security reports that Kleber was dead.
The city's intelligence authorities were meeting Wednesday over the kidnapping on Monday of two Turkish nationals working for a construction company, and could not immediately be reached to confirm the police information.
Kleber had worked for a humanitarian organisation in Herat between 2003 and 2004, and then stayed on in the country.
Authorities said about two months ago that Kleber, who had married an Afghan woman, was ill.
A German prosecutor said in December that an arrest warrant had been issued for Kleber over allegations of computer fraud in his native country.
There have been numerous abductions for ransom in Herat, located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the border with Iran and one of the most prosperous cities in Afghanistan.
Late last year, businessmen and professionals went on strike in the city for several days to protest a surge in abductions.
Kidnapping is also a threat in other parts of the country, with criminal gangs as well as Taliban-linked insurgents most often responsible.
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A US commander in Afghanistan asks for more armored vehicles
July 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A senior US commander has asked for hundreds more mine-resistant armored vehicles to equip US troops in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.
The request comes amid growing concern over intensifying insurgent violence in Afghanistan, where nine US troops were killed Sunday when their combat outpost was overrun, the deadliest attack on US forces since 2005.
Major General Jeffrey Schloesser, the commander of the 101st Airborne Division, made the request for Mine Resistant Armor Protected (MRAP) vehicles to Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.
"Even more than we begin to consider more additional troops coming in, I think he desires more than he has," Morrell said.
"As I recall, he requires double the number he has now," he added.
Pentagon officials said there are currently 800 of the wheeled armored vehicles in Afghanistan.
Their high chassis and V-shaped hulls have proved far more effective in blunting roadside explosions than other armored vehicles.
US commanders in Afghanistan also have been pressing for three more US combat brigades, or about 10,000 troops, but Morrell said that requirement was unlikely to be filled this year.
"We're coming up on the end of the fighting season so that probably is not something that can happen until the next fighting season," he told reporters.
As of Monday, there were 36,000 US troops in Afghanistan, a country larger in area and population than Iraq, where there are currently 150,000 US troops.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has he expects a significant increase int he size of the US force in Afghanistan next year, but military leaders have linked it to a drawdown in US forces in Iraq.
Still, Morrell said Mullen "has made it very clear to commanders that they should not be bashful about speaking up if they need more forces than they currrently have."
"They have done so and they are doing their best to figure out what the ... ability is to accomodate," he said.
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Pakistan Says Afghanistan Creating `Artificial Crisis' in Ties
Bloomberg By Paul Tighe July 16, 2008
Pakistan said Afghanistan is creating an ``artificial crisis'' in relations between the neighboring countries and rejected accusations its security forces were behind recent attacks on Afghan territory.
``Such baseless accusations serve no purpose other than vitiating the bilateral atmosphere,'' the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad said yesterday, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan. The need for a credible partnership in the fight against terrorism should transcend point scoring, it said.
The Afghan government yesterday suspended meetings covering border controls after President Hamid Karzai earlier this week accused Pakistan's intelligence service of being behind attacks by militants.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have blamed each other for failing to stop al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters crossing the 2,430- kilometer (1,510-mile) border they share. Tensions increased after Pakistan's new government took office in April and began talks with militant groups in the tribal region, a move the U.S. and NATO said led to increased attacks in Afghanistan by fighters based in Pakistan.
``Pakistan hopes that Afghanistan will do some rethinking and desist from such provocative statements and initiation of a blame game,'' the Foreign Ministry said, according to APP.
The suspension of regional meetings ``on such flimsy grounds ignores the importance of economic cooperation'' and has implications for security as well, it said.
Afghan Ministers
Afghanistan's Council of Ministers two days ago approved a resolution accusing Pakistani intelligence of interfering in Afghan affairs and being behind a failed attempt to kill Karzai during a military parade in Kabul in April, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported at the time.
Karzai last month threatened to send troops across the border to attack Taliban fighters. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi responded by calling on Afghanistan to refrain from making ``irresponsible, threatening statements.''
Pakistan and Afghanistan held a Grand Jirga of tribal leaders in Kabul last August, attended by Karzai and President Pervez Musharraf. The meeting set up a 50-member committee aimed at improving border security.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's government took office after opposition parties defeated supporters of Musharraf in February's elections. Musharraf, a key ally of the U.S. in the fight against terrorism, deployed more than 100,000 soldiers in Federally Administered Tribal Areas to combat al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.
Terrorist Attacks
Terrorist incidents in eastern Afghanistan were 50 percent higher in April than the same month in 2007, according to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Twenty-eight coalition soldiers were killed in June in the deadliest month for the force in Afghanistan since the conflict began there in 2001, the U.S. Defense Department said earlier this month.
The U.S. has given Pakistan $10 billion in mostly military aid since Sept. 11, 2001, with the aim of securing the nuclear-armed country against al-Qaeda.
Pakistan will accept a U.S. Senate proposal that would triple development assistance and link military aid to efforts to fight terrorism, Husain Haqqani, the ambassador in Washington, said yesterday in a telephone interview.
``We would have preferred if the bill had no conditionality on security assistance,'' Haqqani said. ``But the conditions that have been laid are conditions we can live with.''
The bill proposes spending $1.5 billion a year for at least five years on development projects such as schools, roads and clinics intended to reduce the influence of terrorists. In exchange, the U.S. would make military aid conditional on ``concerted efforts'' to defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Regional Development
Gilani's government says it is combating extremism through the selective use of force and a strategy of economic and political development in the tribal regions.
Musharraf's administration signed accords with tribal leaders in North and South Waziristan in 2004 and 2006, under which they agreed to expel non-Pakistani gunmen from the region. The U.S. government says such agreements led to the Taliban stepping up their operations.
Militants in the Mohmand tribal area established permanent courts to administer Islamic law, the BBC reported yesterday, citing a spokesman for the local Taliban known as Dr. Asad. The area has been divided into four judicial districts and Taliban forces said it demonstrates how the authority of the federal and provincial governments is diminishing, the BBC reported.
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net
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Taliban control more of Kandahar: analysis
The Globe and Mail GRAEME SMITH From Wednesday's Globe and Mail July 15, 2008
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN-More districts of Kandahar are controlled by the Taliban than by the Afghan government, according to a U.S. assessment that casts doubt on Canada's upbeat view of the war.
A detailed analysis by U.S. security officials shows that foreign troops and their local allies hold sway over the core, highly populated districts of Kandahar, but the zone of government control remains a small part of the vast territory assigned to Canadian responsibility two years ago.
The assessment divides Kandahar's districts into four categories: contested, Taliban controlled, locally controlled, and government controlled. Only four of 16 districts were classified as government controlled. The Taliban were described as controlling six districts.
The rest are held by local tribes or warlords, or they are battlefields with nobody clearly dominating.
The study was completed in January, but the findings were made available only recently to The Globe and Mail as the claims of progress by Canadian officials have increasingly contrasted with U.S. leaders' statements of concern about Afghanistan.
The months since the completion of the analysis have brought few signs of improvement in Kandahar's security, with a rising number of Taliban attacks, more than 100 people killed in the country's worst bombing since 2001, and a spectacular jailbreak that freed hundreds of suspected insurgents last month.
Other assessments of the province have been even more pessimistic: Over the past two years, the United Nations' periodically updated security maps have shown encroaching areas of “extreme risk” filling large swaths of the countryside described as government controlled in the U.S. assessment.
Canadian military officials have consistently offered a more optimistic view of security in Kandahar. General Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff, told reporters recently that violence in the province this year is not significantly above last year's levels.
He also said Canada's presence in the districts is expanding geographically.
Lieutenant-General Michel Gauthier reiterated the same message through a spokesman Tuesday, returning to an assertion he originally made on Saturday when he said the military's count of “significant acts, enemy-initiated direct attacks, IED attacks [bombings], and so on, all of those incidents combined,” had increased only 3 or 4 per cent in June, 2008, as compared with June, 2007.
Gen. Natynczyk also said his troops have concentrated on protecting the major population centres in the province, and the U.S. assessment supports his statement. The districts listed as government-controlled – Kandahar city, Arghandab, Spin Boldak and Daman – are among the most heavily populated. Other areas listed as contested, Zhari and Panjwai districts, also contain large populations and have been the focus of Canada's most intense military effort.
At the same time, Canada's regular troops have abandoned positions in the north of the province over the past two years, including Ghorak district centre, about 70 kilometres northwest of Kandahar city; Forward Operating Base Martello, about 100 kilometres north of Kandahar city; and Gumbad Platoon House, about 80 kilometres north of Kandahar city.
These outposts were located in districts now listed as Taliban-controlled in the U.S. assessment.
Many other provinces also suffer from a strong Taliban presence according to the analysis, which found insurgents controlling or contesting roughly 130 of 398 districts assessed across the country.
Most of the districts heavily influenced by the insurgency were located in the south and east, but the study also found that the militants had gained a foothold in areas near Kabul, such as Wardak and Logar provinces.
The idea that security has deteriorated in Afghanistan is not unique to U.S. analysts; it is now the mainstream view among most observers of the war. Equally mainstream is the belief that withdrawing foreign troops would cause a disaster on a vastly greater scale, and many experts are calling for more international forces.
The new head of Canada's military also suggested more troops are necessary for Kandahar during his recent visit.
“The Kandahar area is a huge area, and we could take all the troops we could get,” Gen. Natynczyk said.
But the general declined to say how many troops are needed, or articulate why the situation is serious enough to require extra soldiers.
His American counterparts have been more outspoken, as the monthly death toll among U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan surpassed the toll in Iraq this summer.
“I am, and have been for some time now, deeply troubled by the increasing violence there,” U.S. Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters recently.
Gen. Natynczyk spoke about Adm. Mullen's comments in his meeting with reporters over the weekend, but dismissed them as inapplicable to Kandahar; the American general was referring to increased violence in the eastern provinces as a result of fighters infiltrating from Pakistan, he said, and also new activity in Helmand province caused by the recent deployment of U.S. Marines.
“I've been linking in with my American counterparts and their assessments in terms of their view of the increase in activity this year, and indeed I looked at what Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs has indicated, and he was pretty specific with regard to observations of increased activity being their additional troops in the south,” he said.
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Secret service arrest Pakistani 'bomb plotter'
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Man accused of plotting suicide attacks in Kabul is captured by NDS
(PAN) Security forces have arrested a man accused of plotting to carry out a suicide attack in the capital Kabul.
The intelligence service said its agents arrested a Pakistani man from the North West Frontier Province on Monday.
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) said the man was linked to the Paksitani Taliban and was a student at a madrassa, where he learned how to carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan.
Muhammad Rezwan was sent to Kabul by Nasib Gul and Mulla Ghani (both Pakistani nationals), the NDS said in a statement.
Rizwan entered Kabul with Nasib Gul who, the NDS said, is married to an ISAF female solider who converted to Islam.
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AFGHANISTAN: Food prices fuelling sex work in north?
MAZAR-I-SHARRIF, 16 July 2008 (IRIN) - High food prices, drought, unemployment and lack of socio-economic opportunities are pushing some women and young girls in northern Afghanistan into commercial sex work, women's rights activists and several affected women told IRIN.
"I have no way of feeding my children other than by doing this disgusting job," said 27-year-old Nasima (not her real name), a commercial sex worker in Balkh Province.
Clad in a blue 'burqa', Najiba, a sex worker in Mazar-i-Sharrif, the provincial capital of Balkh Province, said she had been pushed into sex work after food prices started rising dramatically in November 2007.
"I am a widow and I have to feed my five children. I am illiterate and no one will give me a job. I hate to be a prostitute but if I stop doing this job my children will starve to death," Najiba told IRIN.
Most women who turn to sex work are illiterate widows who lack professional skills to find alternative employment, according to Malalai Usmani, head of a local women's rights non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Balkh.
"Extreme poverty and the obligation to feed their dependents have increased prostitution among women," Usmani said.
Severe penalties
In Afghanistan sexual relations between a man and a woman outside marriage are considered a serious crime and offenders can face death penalty and/or a lengthy prison sentence, depending on their marital status and other circumstances.
Every year hundreds of female sex workers are sent to prison for allegedly having "unlawful sexual relationships", according to women's rights activists such as Usmani.
"This [sex work] is an abhorrent deed and an appalling crime. We encourage and help security forces to arrest and punish women involved in prostitution," said Fariba Majid, director of the Women's Affairs Department in Balkh Province.
Majid acknowledged that many female sex workers have no other option, but warned that the country's Islamic laws and conservative culture meant prostitution was "unacceptable".
Sex workers are also exposed to stigma and discrimination. "We cannot live in one place for long," said a middle-aged sex worker who refused to be identified. "We move as soon as local people become suspicious of us."
"People will spit on us and no one will interact with us if they know about our work," she added.
Poor HIV/AIDS awareness
Afghanistan launched its first ever national HIV/AIDS control programme in 2003. At least 436 HIV/AIDS cases have been confirmed over the past five years, according to the Ministry of Public Health.
Health specialists warn that sex workers, intravenous drug users, truck drivers and other vulnerable groups have very little knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases and preventive measures.
At least three female sex workers interviewed by IRIN said they paid no attention to HIV, and had not used condoms to avoid infection and/or the spread of the virus.
"I don't know about HIV/AIDS," said a female sex worker who preferred anonymity. "I have not seen any of my clients using a condom."
Saif-ur-Rehman, director of the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme in Kabul, said there was a widespread lack of awareness about sexually transmitted diseases and HIV among commercial sex workers.
"We will launch a project to boost awareness and introduce preventive measures among sex workers hopefully in September [2008]," Rehman told IRIN, adding that the distribution of free condoms would be part of the project. "It's a very sensitive project and we will try to avoid misconceptions that it supports or encourages prostitution in Afghanistan."
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Afghanistan accuses Pakistani intelligence of aiding cross-border terrorism
The heightened political tensions between the two allies in the war on terror has prompted US presidential hopefuls to focus on improving Afghanistan strategy.
By Huma Yusuf The Christian Science Monitor - Jul 16 7:59 AM
Afghanistan's relationship with Pakistan is becoming increasingly strained, with the country threatening Tuesday to boycott a series of upcoming meetings about economic cooperation and coordinated assistance across the border and the cabinet issuing a statement that faulted Pakistan for being the "biggest exporter of terrorism and extremism to the world."
The heightened political stress, in a region where US bases have come under attack and militant activity has increased steadily since May, prompted presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain to address their plans for the war in Afghanistan during separate talks on foreign policy.
The boycott warning follows accusations by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the Pakistani intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), has been masterminding terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, reports CBS News.
The cabinet implicated Pakistan's spy agency in a string of recent attacks, including the Kandahar jailbreak, the beheading of Afghans in the Bajaur and Waziristan provinces of Pakistan, a recent suicide blast in Uruzghan province and the deadly bombing at the Indian embassy in Kabul.
Karzai's ministers warned that unless Pakistan's leaders verifiably [rein in] the spy agency, upcoming talks scheduled between the two countries on assistance along the border region and economic cooperation will be postponed.
The Afghan allegations appear to have more traction in the wake of a report published last month by the RAND Corp, a US-based think tank, and funded by the US Defense Department. According to CNN, the report states that the ISI has been training and supporting insurgents in Afghanistan.
The study, "Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan," found that some active and former officials in Pakistan's intelligence service and the Frontier Corps – a Pakistani paramilitary force deployed along the Afghan border – provided direct assistance to Taliban militants and helped secure medical care for wounded fighters.
It said NATO officials have uncovered several instances of Pakistani intelligence agents providing information to Taliban fighters, even "tipping off Taliban forces about the location and movement of Afghan and coalition forces, which undermined several U.S. and NATO anti-Taliban military operations."
Pakistan is facing the heat on many diplomatic fronts. In the wake of the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, a meeting of the heads of the federal investigation agencies of India and Pakistan scheduled for this week has been canceled, according to Dawn, the leading Pakistani English-language daily.
But the Pakistan government has denied these allegations, arguing that Afghan lawmakers have no evidence to back up their claims. On Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani chided Mr. Karzai for implicating Pakistan in a series of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, according to Reuters.
As a result of this verbal standoff, the focus of US politicians has turned from the war in Iraq to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Their renewed interest in the region is explained by an observation in the RAND report that the US will face "crippling, long-term consequences" if the militant presence in Pakistan is not eradicated.
Moreover, after an ambush on a US outpost in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday that killed nine US troops, there are increasing concerns about the US military's ability to contain Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan, reports the Associated Press.
Violence has been increasing in Afghanistan, and many people are questioning the operation, wondering whether the Taliban-led insurgency is gaining, rather than losing, momentum seven years after the fundamentalist Islamic regime was ousted by a U.S.-led invasion.
The BBC reported Wednesday that US and Afghan troops have abandoned the village where the attack took place Sunday.
A statement said the outpost had been temporary and that "regular patrols" in the area would be maintained.
Afghan police are continuing to fight insurgents after the pullout on Tuesday, local officials say.
The attack caused the biggest American loss of life in battle in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001.
US President Bush on Tuesday said the movement of militants from Pakistan to Afghanistan was a matter of concern and that the White House would investigate Mr. Karzai's allegations against the ISI, reports The News, a Pakistani English-language daily. Mr. Bush also emphasized that the US, Afghanistan, and Pakistan must cooperate against their common enemy in the war on terror.
The worsening situation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border also led presidential hopefuls to prioritize the war in Afghanistan during speeches on proposed foreign-policy initiatives and the war in Iraq. Speaking in Albuquerque, N.M., Senator McCain suggested that the US military learn from its successes in Iraq and increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. He also indicated that, as president, he would appoint a special Afghanistan "czar" to coordinate policy there. He was, however, reluctant to elaborate on his plans for tackling the militant threat in Pakistan, saying that he would "not telegraph what his strategy would be as commander in chief toward this sensitive diplomatic and military problem," according to the New York-based The Sun.
For his part, Senator Obama has advocated for increasing troop numbers in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, reports The New York Times.
In a series of interviews, statements, advertisements and speeches over the past week, Mr. Obama has been laying out a broad vision of America's role in the world in an Obama presidency in which he has emphasized the application of soft power – the use of diplomacy and economic aid – over the use of force. And he has spoken of reducing American combat forces in Iraq and adding as many as 10,000 more troops to battle al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
While the US considers an increased military presence in Pakistan, local observers are concerned that international intervention will undermine national security and sovereignty. In an opinion piece in The News, a defense analyst writes:
Our foreign minister insists that we cannot refer to US attacks against our territory as "unfriendly" while the prime minister tries to justify US threats against Pakistan by saying they fear another 9/11 attack on the US mainland. What about Pakistani fears of an impending US attack and its repercussions? Why is [Prime Minister] Gilani silent on that count?
Is the prime minister going to also justify a US military attack against us in the [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] region as a response to US fears? As it is, he has still not accepted the fact that the US has been attacking our territory as and when it has seen fit. The only reality is that they may now opt for a more large scale operation inside of Pakistan which may require their ground forces to come in and stay for some time.
According to The Christian Science Monitor, observers argue that international intervention is required along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border because the Pakistan Army and the new coalition government remain unclear as to how to handle the challenge posed by the militant presence in the country.
As the militancy growing out from Pakistan's tribal region trickles across the border into Afghanistan and also hits back home in major cities, military strategists and the new government are hard pressed to find easy answers on how to address it....
[The] government, says Talat Masood, a security analyst and a retired lieutenant general in the Pakistan Army, "is shying away from making any hard decisions." The Army, he says, is not being given clear instructions or a mandate from the government, which seems to lack direction in the face of a multifaceted challenge. "There seems to be no coordination between the different security agencies, and they will not succeed out there without a coordinated effort," he says.
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Transcript Of President Karzai's Interview With Radio Free Afghanistan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 14, 2008
Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan in Kabul on July 12 about the country's foreign policy challenges. The following are excerpts from a transcript of the president's interview, which was conducted by RFA director Akbar Ayazi.
RFE/RL: Are you satisfied with the overall situation now in Afghanistan, and if not, why?
Hamid Karzai: I am satisfied with some developments in Afghanistan, but I am wary of some of the problems. I am very happy that once again Afghanistan has become a home to all of the Afghans. And Afghans of all stripes can return and live in this home. I'm very happy that the people of Afghanistan have created their own new constitution. And the foundations for the new institutions have been laid.
I'm happy that roads are being built across Afghanistan. In our history, we've never had as many roads as the number built in the last four or five years. And many more are still being built. [We have made progress] in education and health care. In particular, the health-care conditions for our children are improving. We had a very high infant mortality rate. In Afghanistan, newborn children often would die very young. But now, every year at least 85,000 new born lives are saved -- and they have a chance to grow and live a normal life. So all of these things make me happy.
In addition, Afghanistan's flag now flies across the world and Afghanistan participates in global forums with dignity and honor. In the past, Afghanistan was not represented at such forums, or other people would manipulate its representation. Afghanistan now has a national treasure, and its national wealth is growing.
Despite all of these successes, we still haven't achieved what Afghans desire most, which is establishing security across the country. We have had successes against terrorism. But our struggle against terrorism is not over yet. In some cases, our neighbors are still able to continue with their cruel interference into Afghan affairs -- though Afghanistan has once again been recognized [as an independent country] and its flag flies as a symbol of an independent nation. But still, the interference goes on. Still, our children are hostages to these foreign agendas and are being used against their homeland. So these are the issues of primary concern to us. And we are striving hard to correct it.
RFE/RL: But Mr. President, as you said earlier, if foreign interference continues, then the achievements you outlined are not sustainable.
Karzai: We have to move ahead. What we cannot do is to stop our progress because of internal weaknesses or foreign interference. We cannot stop our journey. We have to stay on the path we have chosen. But there are a lot of hindrances. And we will continue to confront obstacles on this journey.
We have to continue to reach our destiny. Our destiny is to try and take Afghanistan to a point where it stands equal to other countries that are self-sufficient and live with dignity and honor. We will not leave this path. And I have no doubt that we will complete this journey. We will suffer and endure casualties and pain. But we must endure all of this and continue moving.
RFE/RL: You have pointed toward foreign interference, and most of it is usually attributed to Pakistan and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). People hope that with the change of the government in Pakistan, the situation in Afghanistan and the region will improve. But now, we are seeing that the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and similar conditions are prevailing across the border inside Pakistan. So what is the problem now?
Karzai: We have very good friendly relations with the new, democratically elected government in Pakistan. We always had very good, friendly relations with the Pakistani people. The Afghan nation will never forget the good things that the Pakistanis did for us during the long years of jihad [against the Soviet occupation] and when we were refugees in Pakistan. So we will always be grateful for their help and hospitality.
But in the meantime, there are people inside Pakistan -- in Pakistan's intelligence services and its military -- who for whatever reason do not want a stable and prosperous Afghanistan that has good, friendly relations with its neighbors. I hope that the current administration in Pakistan -- its respected prime minister -- are able to control these elements so that both countries can be at peace.
RFE/RL: Mr. President, as you described the interference by Pakistani intelligence and military -- some analysts say that they are doing it in order to make Afghanistan accept the Durand Line as an international border between the two countries. What is your opinion about this?
Karzai: This is an old issue. And Pakistan has been trying to do this during the past 60 years. When we began our jihad [against the Soviets in the early 1980s], Pakistan tried to weaken Afghanistan. They promoted elements [within the Afghan anti-Soviet resistance] that would work toward weakening Afghanistan. Unfortunately, some Afghan elements -- undoubtedly some Taliban leaders among them -- were trained in a way that they will help in achieving this Pakistani objective.
Governments can never resolve the Durand Line issue because it is an issue between two peoples. [The demarcation of this line] was an historical injustice, as it divided Afghanistan. Those Afghans who remain on the other side of the Durand Line never recognized this line [as a border]. And similarly, people on this side of the line also didn't recognize it. During the past 110 years -- or even longer than that -- the Afghan nation never recognized this line. So no government will be able to recognize it as a border on its own. So only the peoples on both sides of the line can decide whether to accept or reject it.
Therefore, the efforts of the Pakistani military and intelligence services to strong-arm Afghanistan into accepting this line [as an international border] by indulging in conspiracies will never be possible. First, no government will ever agree to doing so without the consent of the nation. Second, if any Afghan government or president does it on his own, then he has to face the wrath of the nation. So this is a futile attempt. The better way is that we should have friendship and promote fraternity. It will be better to become good neighbors. Afghanistan would never wish to see Pakistan weakened. We want friendship and fraternity between Pakistan and Afghanistan. But Afghanistan would never accept being weakened as a result of [Pakistan's backing of] the Taliban and other similar elements. We want friendship and fraternity. And people on both sides of the line can help us in reaching an amicable solution. Conspiracy, bombings, suicide attacks by the Taliban, and the sabotage of Afghan economic and political life can never impose a solution upon us. This will only further aggravate the situation.
RFE/RL: Security, survival, and self-help are important for any government. Pakistan might be able to promote instability in Afghanistan by undermining these pillars. But what must the Afghan government do to improve security, survival and self-help?
Karzai: The Afghan government has been trying to strengthen its institutions -- and to develop its economy, to promote patriotism. No country needs patriotism more than Afghanistan does because nobody in the world has endured as much suffering as Afghanistan. Over the past the 30 years, Afghanistan has been on the receiving end of [machinations] by regional powers. It was destroyed. Its school were bombed and its children were being killed. And it was humiliating.
But luckily, Afghanistan has a people that has collectively confronted foreign interference and has prevented this land from being wiped out altogether. Now this land needs development. And it is only possible through patriotism and by engaging in effective measures. So the secret of our development lies in creating and strengthening our national institutions and rebuilding our economy. And by also engaging in human development -- by promoting education and health care, and the welfare of our future generations. That's why schools in Afghanistan -- our teachers and clerics -- are being targeted. The most important asset of any nation is its educated citizens. So that is why it is very important for us to educate our children -- so we can stand on our own feet and nobody is able to undermine Afghanistan.
RFE/RL: Mr. President, you might be aware of the problems between one of our big neighbors -- Iran -- and the West, particularly the United States of America. Recently, the U.S. and Israel, in particular, have threatened to attack Iran because of its nuclear program. So what steps have you taken to prevent the negative fallout upon Afghanistan of such issues.
Karzai: Yes. We are always aware of these dangers. Since the early days of the transitional government [established in December 2001], Afghanistan has been lucky to be able to balance its relations with various competing powers. We have always deliberated with the American and Iranian governments. In some instances we have even been intermediaries between the two. We thank Iran for its understanding, and assistance to Afghanistan.
Similarly we are very grateful for the U.S. approach toward Afghanistan as it is our major ally and principal donor. We are also thankful that they have been accommodating, and have encouraged our bilateral relations with Iran as it is one of our most important neighbors.
I hope that the same level of understanding continues to prevail in both countries and Afghanistan never turns into a battleground for competing interests of any states. Afghanistan would never like that its soil be used against another country. And Afghanistan would like to remain Iran's good friend as a neighbor as we share a common language and religion. Similarly, Afghanistan wholeheartedly wants to remain a friend, ally and partner of America because this is in Afghanistan's best interest.
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Afghans want a peace deal, and force cannot provide it
The Guardian By Conor Foley in Kabul 07/15/2008
Talk of winning the war is fantasy land. It will take dialogue with the Taliban to pave the way for a political solution
The rules of the road are aggressive in Kabul's notorious traffic, so I was surprised when my driver began giving way to oncoming cars. Up ahead I saw a flat-backed Toyota with tinted windows and armed guards in the back and realised that he was trying to put as many cars between us and it as possible.
A couple of days earlier a massive suicide bomb had struck the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital, killing 41 people, injuring 150 and shattering the windows of our office, a justice and legal support organisation, a few streets away. In the aftermath of the blast, jittery US troops fired on a car, which had driven too close to them, killing at least one person. While it is easy to understand the context of these shootings, they are part of a worrying trend.
The day before the embassy attack, US forces bombed a wedding party, killing 47 civilians, including the bride and 38 other women and children. Another military strike in the same region killed 22, most of whom are also believed to have been civilians. The US apologised for the first incident, but has so far refused to do so for the second. I had been visiting a friend and former colleague, Mirwais Ahmadzai, who now heads up the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission eastern region, where the killings occurred, and listened to his anger and frustration as he took statements from the victims and witnesses.
It was the culmination of one of Afghanistan's bloodiest weeks which, according to the Red Cross, saw 250 people killed or injured. Last month also saw a new record for the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan, 42, which surpassed that of Iraq for the first time. Clearly the repeated claims of western politicians - and credulous journalists - that we are "winning the war" in Afghanistan bear almost no relation to reality. The US suffered one of its heaviest blows on Sunday when nine troops were killed in a Taliban attack in the eastern region. Another 24 people were killed in a suicide bombing. To view this conflict solely in terms of statistics and military clashes, however, is to miss the point about what is actually happening here at the moment.
The international military presence has been expanding rapidly in Afghanistan, doubling from 10,000 to 20,000 in 2006 and trebling to almost 60,000 this year. More troops mean more targets and so, crudely put, the spike in the soldiers' death rate is not surprising. What is more significant is that this massive increase in firepower has not decisively changed the terms of the military engagement. The Taliban still effectively controls a vast swath of the south of the country where government and international forces can only venture out of their heavily reinforced bases with air support. However, the Taliban's attempts to spread the insurgency to non-Pashtu areas have largely failed. There is a stalemate which cannot be broken by military means.
The issue of civilian deaths has crystallised anger towards the international community over a much broader set of issues. It is not difficult to see signs of progress since I was working here four years ago. Kabul is experiencing a property boom and the vast increase in the number of international staff has driven up rents beyond those of London. New shopping malls and wedding halls are springing up, causing a huge increase in domestic investment - much of it no doubt fuelled by the opium economy.
The boom has brought jobs and prosperity to some, but it remains largely confined to a small area of central Kabul which increasingly resembles Baghdad's "green zone". Even here the "trickle down" effect has been uneven, meaning a driver working for an international organisation can earn 10 times more than a teacher working for the government. For all the talk of "building local capacity", the main effect of our international intervention seems to have been precisely the opposite.
Few outside Kabul are benefiting at all from this largesse, which in turn fuels resentment towards the government and its foreign backers. Opinion polls still show majority support for the international military presence, but they also show an increasing number believe peace can only be achieved through dialogue.
No one seriously thinks that the Taliban are going to roll back into Kabul in their white Toyotas. But even President Karzai has offered them an amnesty and places in his government if they lay down their arms and accept the constitution. They continue to demand the withdrawal of all foreign forces as a precondition to any negotiations. That is never going to happen, and so the stalemate continues. But the bigger question now is what sort of a country are we actually fighting to achieve?
This dilemma goes back to the decisions, taken after the ousting of the Taliban at the end of 2001, to co-opt rather than challenge the motley alliance of warlords and gangsters who had formed part of the Northern Alliance. Many have now entrenched their position in a government permeated by corruption and criminality. Commanders have transformed their militias into private security companies, and combine racketeering with their official business. While the conflict with the Taliban continues, neither Karzai nor his US allies will dare to move against them; and one of the reasons why Afghan civil society is so keen on a peace deal is that it could finally create the space for the real political battles that lie ahead.
• Conor Foley is a humanitarian aid worker. His book The Thin Blue Line: How Humanitarianism Went to War is published in September
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Taliban murder seven civilian 'spies'
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Men dragged from their cars on a main highway and shot, police say
(PAN) The Taliban have shot dead seven Afghan civilians for working with the government and other organisations, police said.
The men and women were dragged from cars, buses and taxis on the main road between Kabul and Kandahar in the southern province of Ghazni, said police.
The province is three hours drive from Kabul. The seven men were shot in the neighbouring province of Zabul.
A spokesman for the Taliban said militants had killed 15 "spies of the government" captured on the road in the alst three days.
The militants also shot dead two women on Sunday for running a prostitution racket for American troops in the area.
NATO strongly denied that its troops were paying for prostitutes in Ghazni.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the executions.
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Police arrest more officials over wheat theft
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Head of department arrested for role in the theft of 40 tonnes of wheat
POLICE have arrested the head of Kunduz’s agriculture department for stealing 40 tonnes of wheat destined for famine-struck families in the northern province.
Abdul Aziz Nikzad, along with the secretary for the deputy governor of Kunduz, were arrested earlier this week, the head of the Kunduz attorney’s office, Hafizullah Khaliqyar, said.
Khaliqyar said the wheat was part of 200 tons of food given by the government and the United Nations to families hit hard by severe drought in the north.
Eight days ago, police arrested three officials from the department of agriculture.
A police oifficer said at the time: "These three people were arrested red handed when they were trying to take out 800 sacks of wheat from the agriculture and animal husbandry department in the province."
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'Thieves dressed as police mug officers'
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Eyewitnesses say men stole police weapons after breaking into foreigner's car
(PAN) Thieves dressed in police uniform have attacked two policemen and stolen their weapons after smashing in the windows of a foreigner’s car in Kabul, eye-witnesses said.
Security officials deny the theft took place but one eyewitness, Ajmal, who owns a nearby shop, said four men jumped out of a Corolla, broke into a Surf and made off with money on Monday in the central Charahi Shirpor area of the city.
The men were disguised as police officers and managed to disarm two policemen who were sitting in their police vehicle nearby, Ajmal said.
Tariq, another eyewitness, said the thieves escaped along a road near the Emergency Hospital.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior denied the report.
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