Serving you since 1998
October 2008 :   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 31

October 6, 2008 

Taliban, Afghan officials met in Saudi Arabia
By JASON STRAZIUSO Associated Press October 6, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban representatives met with Afghan government officials last month in Saudi Arabia, a former high-level Taliban ambassador said Monday, but he denied the meeting could be construed as peace talks.

Afghans start registering voters for 2009 polls
By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 6, 3:14 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan began registering voters Monday for next year's presidential polls, an election likely to be the most dangerous and challenging since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001.

Karzai's brother denies links to drug trade
By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press Mon Oct 6, 5:35 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai's brother denied Monday that he has ever been involved in Afghanistan's heroin trade, and accused U.S. officials of fabricating allegations to harm the president.

U.S. to allies: Fight in Afghanistan or write check
By Kristin Roberts / October 6, 2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has asked Japan and NATO allies who have refused to send troops to Afghanistan to pay the estimated $17 billion needed to build up the Afghan army

Strong quake hits Afghanistan
October 6, 2008
KABUL (AFP) - A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit central Afghanistan Monday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

AFGHANISTAN: Influx of Pakistani refugees could spark crisis - ministry official
KABUL, 6 October 2008 (IRIN) - Any increase in the flow of refugees from northwestern Pakistan into eastern parts of Afghanistan could lead to a humanitarian crisis unless international aid organisations deliver

Pakistan: IDPs to seek refuge at former Afghan camp
PESHAWAR, 6 October 2008 (IRIN) - "There is so much sadness here," said Muhammad Hussain.

Pakistan tells Afghan refugees to quit battle zone
By Sahibzada Bahauddin October 6, 2008
KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have begun expelling Afghan refugees from a tribal region that has become the main battleground between troops and fighters linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda, officials said on Monday.

Pakistan troops kill six Taliban near Afghan border: officials
Mon Oct 6, 1:28 AM ET
KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) - At least six Taliban insurgents were killed as Pakistani troops pounded suspected militant hideouts in the troubled tribal district of Bajaur on the Afghan border, officials said.

Iranians cautioned about travelling to Iraq, Afghanistan
Tehran, Oct 6, IRNA
Iran cautioned its citizens on Monday about travelling to Iraq and Afghanistan due to the critical health conditions in the two countries now facing cholera epidemic.

Afghans disillusioned seven years after invasion
by Bronwen Roberts Sun Oct 5, 10:13 PM ET
KABUL (AFP) - Seven years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, many Afghans have grown increasingly jaded with the changes brought by the removal of the Taliban.

In slip up, Palin calls Afghanistan “our neighboring country”
Reuters Jason Szep October 5th, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin called Afghanistan “our neighboring country” on Sunday in a speech that could revive questions over her tendency to stumble into linguistic knots.

Afghanistan: Over 200,000 people to receive aid
6 Oct 2008 09:07:06 GMT
Source: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - Switzerland
Geneva/Kabul (ICRC) – Hundreds of thousands of Afghans may have to leave their homes this winter because of drought, insecurity and rising food prices in the north of the country, the International Committee

In Poverty and Strife, Women Test Limits
The New York Times By CARLOTTA GALL October 5, 2008
BAMIAN, Afghanistan - Far away from the Taliban insurgency, in this most peaceful corner of Afghanistan, a quiet revolution is gaining pace.

Murdered official's family demand state protection
www.quqnoos.com Written by Tamim Hamid Sunday, 05 October 2008
Head of attorney's office in province close to Kabul was killed on his way home
THE FAMILY of a government official killed by militants in Maidan Wardak province last week have demanded government protection against future attacks.
Back to Top
Taliban, Afghan officials met in Saudi Arabia
By JASON STRAZIUSO Associated Press October 6, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban representatives met with Afghan government officials last month in Saudi Arabia, a former high-level Taliban ambassador said Monday, but he denied the meeting could be construed as peace talks.

Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, said he was invited by Saudi King Abdullah to share Iftar — the meal that breaks the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Taliban representatives, Afghan government officials and a representative for the powerful warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar were also at the meal, he said.

"This is not new, it's a kind of a guest celebration," Zaeef told The Associated Press, adding that they did not discuss any issue involving Afghanistan with Abdullah.

Zaeef, who spent almost four years in the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said none of the representatives from the Taliban or Hekmatyar's group was authorized to carry out peace talks.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi denied Monday that any peace talks had taken place.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai last week said he has repeatedly asked Saudi Arabia's king to facilitate peace talks with the Taliban. Karzai said Afghan officials have traveled to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in hopes of ending the country's six-year conflict but that so far there have been no negotiations.

A spokesman for Karzai's office could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Karzai's government has long encouraged militants to lay down arms and accept Afghanistan's constitution. The Taliban leadership has largely rebuffed peace overtures.

Zaeef said former Afghan Supreme Court Chief Justice Fazel Hadi Shinwari was among the government representatives present at the Iftar. He also said Bismillah Khan, Afghan army chief of general staff, was in Saudi Arabia, though it wasn't clear if he was part of the group that met with Abdullah.

Saudi Arabia is a leader of the Sunni Muslim world and the home of Islam's two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. It was one of a handful of countries that recognized the strictly Islamic Taliban as rulers of Afghanistan in the 1990s.

Even after the Taliban's ouster by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, Saudi Arabia kept doors open for Taliban members to make the annual hajj, or Muslim pilgrimage.

While al-Qaida leader Osama bin-Laden, a Saudi, has frequently railed against the U.S.-allied kingdom, his sympathizers among the Afghan Taliban have been muted in their criticism.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghans start registering voters for 2009 polls
By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 6, 3:14 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan began registering voters Monday for next year's presidential polls, an election likely to be the most dangerous and challenging since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001.

The Islamist militant movement, which has regained control of large swathes of the country, said it will not participate — and warned other Afghans not to.

Still, officials hope to register millions of new voters for the fall 2009 polls, said Zekria Barakzai, spokesman for the Independent Election Commission.

President Hamid Karzai is seeking a second term, and elections will also be held for 34 provincial assemblies.

Violence is likely to disrupt the process from the start, particularly in Afghanistan's south and east, where the militants are strongest and travel is difficult.

Violence across the country is up about 30 percent this year compared with 2007. More U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan this year than in any other year since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Already, some voter registration equipment has not been able to reach remote district centers in central Ghazni province, where the Taliban have growing sway. Authorities may use helicopters to transport the equipment, Barakzai said.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said Afghans should not "waste their time" by registering or going to vote.

"It is clear that it will be fraudulent and this is all the work of the United States," Ahmadi told The Associated Press by phone from an undisclosed location.

Afghanistan has already conducted two sets of elections since 2001.

Presidential elections were held in 2004 and parliamentary elections took place in 2005. Taliban militants did not disrupt either of those polls.

The cost for both of those elections was $359 million, Barakzai said.

Voter registration will take place in four phases and should end by February, he said.

Some 12.6 million people in a country of some 30 million were registered for the previous elections.

Afghan officials will be assisted by the United Nations and NATO-led troops in organizing the poll and ensuring security.
___

Associated Press writer Rahim Faiez in Kabul contributed to this report.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Karzai's brother denies links to drug trade
By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press Mon Oct 6, 5:35 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai's brother denied Monday that he has ever been involved in Afghanistan's heroin trade, and accused U.S. officials of fabricating allegations to harm the president.

Ahmed Wali Karzai said no one has ever been able to prove that he is involved in drugs.

The issue was revived over the weekend after The New York Times reported that two unnamed U.S. officials said the White House believes Wali Karzai is involved in heroin trafficking.

Wali Karzai said U.S. officials are trying to put political pressure on President Karzai for two reasons: to deflect attention from civilian casualties caused by U.S. military actions and force Karzai's government to release a prisoner the U.S. wants to talk to.

"Whenever there is a problem between the Afghan president and the international community I have been used as a punching bag," said Wali Karzai, who called a news conference in Kandahar on Monday to address the Times article.

"I challenge everyone in the international community and in Afghanistan that they are welcome to take me to court. ... If they can prove (allegations), I am ready to serve any kind of justice," Wali Karzai told The Associated Press by phone after the news conference.

Wali Karzai is chairman of the provincial council in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.

Afghanistan produces over 90 percent of the world's opium, the raw ingredient for making heroin. Its market value is in the billions of dollars. Most of the drugs are produced in the south, where the insurgency is the most violent.

The Times reported that the White House and counter-narcotics officials believe the president's brother is involved in the lucrative trade, which has corrosive effects on the government and also provides funds for the insurgency.

The officials who accused the president's brother in the Times article spoke on condition of anonymity.

Wali Karzai suggested the U.S. officials were retaliating against President Karzai because of his criticism of civilian casualties caused by recent U.S. military operations and his calls to regulate the presence of American and other foreign troops in the country.

On Aug. 22, American special forces launched an operation in Herat province that killed 90 civilians and was based on false information, according to Afghan officials.

Shortly after the attack, Karzai ordered a review of whether the U.S. and NATO should be allowed to use airstrikes or carry out raids in villages. He also called for an updated "status of forces" agreement between the Afghan government and foreign militaries. That review has not yet been completed.

___

Associated Press reporter Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
Back to Top
Back to Top
U.S. to allies: Fight in Afghanistan or write check
By Kristin Roberts / October 6, 2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has asked Japan and NATO allies who have refused to send troops to Afghanistan to pay the estimated $17 billion needed to build up the Afghan army, according to U.S. defense officials.

The push to quickly increase the size of Afghanistan's army and spread the cost of the initiative underscores the financial and military strain the war has placed on the United States and NATO members, many also operating in Iraq and elsewhere.

"The faster we get the (Afghan army) to the size and strength they need to be, the less they depend on us for providing security, and God knows we operate far more expensively than the Afghan national security forces do," said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

"At a minimum it's going to cost $17 billion. That's a hefty price-tag and someone's got to pay it," Morrell said.

"This may be one of those cases where countries that have had a reluctance to contribute forces, in particular combat forces, may be able to take part in this mission through a financial contribution to the development of the Afghan National Army."

The new Pentagon push to share costs more widely reflects a realization among U.S. officials that some allies simply will not put troops into the war despite heavy pressure from Washington - something Europe has been telling the United States for more than a year.

But it also threatens to create just the type of two-tiered NATO alliance that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned against early this year.

FIGHT, OR WRITE A CHECK

Gates in February said NATO risked a split between allies willing to "fight and die" and those who were not.

Morrell last week cast it as "those who fight and those who write checks."

The NATO mission in Afghanistan will be discussed later this week at a meeting in Budapest. It will be the last NATO meeting of defense ministers during the Bush administration and Gates, who has repeatedly and publicly chided allies for two years to put more resources into the war, is expected to press the issue of cost sharing.

The meeting comes as the Bush administration conducts a comprehensive review of its strategy in Afghanistan, where security has steadily deteriorated despite a doubling of foreign troops over two years. Britain's commander in Afghanistan, in fact, has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won.

U.S. officials said NATO was not conducting any parallel review, although the senior commander has just submitted an updated and secret list of troop and equipment requirements.

The United States has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan. About 22,000 are part of NATO's force of nearly 48,000 troops. The United States contributes the most troops by far among allies, followed by Britain with about 8,000.

Commanders say they still need three more brigades, or about 10,000 to 12,000 troops. Those troops will most likely come from the United States next year, Morrell said.

The Afghan army plans to double in size to 134,000 soldiers over five years at a cost of $17 billion to $20 billion, according to estimates from U.S. officials.

The United States has already approached Japan about paying part of that bill. But Morrell said the request was made to Japan's previous government, whose prime minister abruptly resigned in September, and that the request may have to be made again to the new government in Tokyo.

He did not say what other countries were asked to pay.

(Editing by Anthony Boadle)
Back to Top
Back to Top
Strong quake hits Afghanistan
October 6, 2008
KABUL (AFP) - A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit central Afghanistan Monday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake struck about 68 kilometres (42 miles) southeast of the capital Kabul at 3:26am local time (2256 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

It was 35 kilometres deep, the centre said.

Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush mountain range that is near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, where seismic activity is high.

In neighbouring Pakistan, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in October 2005 killed more than 73,000 people.
Back to Top
Back to Top
AFGHANISTAN: Influx of Pakistani refugees could spark crisis - ministry official
KABUL, 6 October 2008 (IRIN) - Any increase in the flow of refugees from northwestern Pakistan into eastern parts of Afghanistan could lead to a humanitarian crisis unless international aid organisations deliver urgent assistance, a senior official at Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Returnees Affairs (MoRRA) has said.

"We are deeply concerned about insecurity in the Tribal Areas [of Pakistan] and the influx of Pakistani refugees into Afghanistan," Abdul Qader Ahadi, deputy minister in the MoRRA, told IRIN in Kabul on 5 October.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said over 3,900 families (about 20,000 individuals) had abandoned their homes in the Bajaur Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and sought refuge in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar over the past few weeks.

The Afghan government's warning echoes similar concerns raised by others.

"The continued fighting in southern Afghanistan and the more recent conflict in northern Pakistan are creating a very dangerous situation in the region for civilians trying to find refuge. With the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, there is an expectation that even more civilians will leave their homes to avoid the fighting," Amnesty International said in a statement on 3 October [http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/pakistanafghanistan-thousands-displaced-civilians-border-area-have-right].

Afghan refugees in FATA?

Armed clashes between Pakistani security forces and Islamist militants associated with the Taliban in FATA and elsewhere in Pakistan have affected local people and Afghan refugees living there, aid agencies said.

In a bid to clear the FATA of Islamist insurgents, the Pakistani government on 3 October reportedly called on Afghan refugees living in the Bajaur border region to vacate the area within three days.

Nader Farhad, a spokesman for the UNHCR in Kabul, said there were no confirmed reports of "registered Afghan refugees" living in the volatile Tribal Areas.

"UNHCR does not have access to the Tribal Areas and we are not aware of registered Afghan refugees there," Farhad told IRIN, adding that refugee camps in FATA were closed down in 2005 at the request of the Pakistani government.

"We have requested the Pakistani authorities to ensure that registered refugees who may still live in the FATA are not forced to return to Afghanistan," Farhad said, adding that the option to relocate elsewhere in Pakistan must be made available to refugees.

Both MoRRA and the UNHCR said any unregistered Afghans living in the FATA might be deemed eligible for forced deportation.

Humanitarian response

Afghan government bodies and several aid organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, have delivered food and non-food assistance to some Pakistani refugees in Kunar Province, the MoRRA said. No figures were available.

The UNHCR said it had distributed non-food items such as plastic sheets, blankets, jerry cans and lanterns to families and was coordinating aid activities for the Pakistani refugees.

"We know those refugees need more assistance but we don't have adequate resources to respond," MoRRA's Ahadi said.

There were also no preparations in hand to avert a humanitarian crisis if more people flee in future, Ahadi added.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistan: IDPs to seek refuge at former Afghan camp
PESHAWAR, 6 October 2008 (IRIN) - "There is so much sadness here," said Muhammad Hussain.

He is one of the 600 or so internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the conflict-hit Bajaur tribal agency on the Pakistan-Afghan border about to be moved to the nearby Kacha Garhi refugee camp, where the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) aims to house up to 60,000 people.

The move, reportedly supported by the Pakistan government, represents the first large-scale effort to meet the needs of IDPs.

Set up in the 1980s to house Afghan refugees escaping the forces of the former Soviet Union, the site has accommodated tens of thousands of people over the years, but is now about to be used for locals.

Mohammad Siddiq from the Afghan Refugee Commission said: "Schools for the children and community kitchens are also to be established here."

Earlier this year the process of vacating the camp began, and in August the provincial government asked the 100,000 or so Afghan refugees at the sprawling settlement to move out.

Pakistan's autonomous Human Rights Commission (HRCP) in September put the number of people displaced by conflict in Bajaur, Swat, Waziristan and other northern areas at 700,000.

Warning

The UNHCR and other humanitarian bodies have warned that the number of IDPs from Bajaur and other conflict-hit northern areas could grow during the coming weeks.

Around 40 families have already moved to the area, where they spent Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim month of fasting.

"It was no Eid for us. We can't go to our villages in Bajaur because of the fighting, but here we lack even clean clothes or the peace of mind to mark Eid," said Hussain.

More families, based at makeshift camps around Bajaur, are to be moved to Kacha Garhi in the days ahead. Siddiq said the IDPs would "remain here for an initial period of four months". The period would be extended if required, depending on the situation in Bajaur.

Many families from Bajaur are visiting relatives in other areas for Eid, but are expected to seek accommodation at Kacha Garhi afterwards.

"It is not in our nature to be dependent on others or become a burden. We are presently living with my uncle, but we will try to find our own accommodation or else move to a camp after Eid, said Azizuddin Khan, 42, from Bajaur.

A skilled plumber, he is seeking work to pay for his rent. "The cost of even a single room is very steep here in the big city. But my family of seven would prefer to live even in a meagre place of our own, than in a camp, living on charity," he said.

The number of IDPs in Pakistan has been rising steadily as a result of the conflict in the north, according to aid agencies, and military operations against militants are still going on.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistan tells Afghan refugees to quit battle zone
By Sahibzada Bahauddin October 6, 2008
KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have begun expelling Afghan refugees from a tribal region that has become the main battleground between troops and fighters linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda, officials said on Monday.

"They have to go. There will be no concession," Safirullah Wazir, the government's top administrator in Bajaur, told Reuters.

"We have reports of their links with militants and their involvement in terrorist activities."

Troops, backed by fighter planes and helicopter gunships, have killed more than 1,000 fighters in the Bajaur region since early August.

A Pakistani general last month described Bajaur as a new "center of gravity" for militancy and said that if the security forces prevailed two-thirds of the militant problem in the region could be eradicated.

Afghan refugees were ordered last Thursday to leave the area within days or face a crackdown.

Around 200 Afghans from 30 families had left so far, but Wazir said 30,000 remained in the region.

Residents said those leaving were mainly choosing to move to neighboring tribal regions rather than return to Afghanistan.

Afghans settled in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal lands during the 1980s and 1990s to escape the Soviet occupation and subsequent civil war in the their homeland.

Many Afghans criticized the government for uprooting them.

"We aren't Taliban. It's cruelty the way we're being sent. said Abdul Khaliq, an Afghan cloth merchant in Khar.

"How do I wind up my business?"

Some tribesmen, however, were glad to see the back of the Afghans.

"They should have taken this step long before because whenever we tried to take action against militants these refugees supported them and sheltered them," gray-bearded Mohammad Sher, a tribal elder, told Reuters in Khar, the main town in Bajaur.

Violence has surged in Pakistan in the last year, and militancy has spread over most parts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

On Sunday night, militants fired two rockets at the residence of chief minister of NWFP, two days after the head of his anti-Taliban ethnic Pashtun nationalist party escaped a suicide attack.

Pakistan is under mounting pressure from United States to do more to crush militants in the tribal regions.

Frustrated by the relentless Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, U.S. forces have carried out eight missile strikes and one ground assault on militants in Pakistan since the start of last month.

On Friday, a pilotless drone aircraft launched a missile attack on a pro-Taliban militants house in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing 20 people, including Arab fighters.

(Additional reporting Mian Saeed-ur-Rehman; Writing Kamran Haider; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Sanjeev Miglani)
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistan troops kill six Taliban near Afghan border: officials
Mon Oct 6, 1:28 AM ET
KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) - At least six Taliban insurgents were killed as Pakistani troops pounded suspected militant hideouts in the troubled tribal district of Bajaur on the Afghan border, officials said.

The operation was launched late Saturday, targeting militants in Rashakai and Tang Khata towns in Bajaur, a hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants, a security official said.

"The exchange of fire continued until dawn and we have reports that six militants were killed," the official said, requesting anonymity.

The two places, close to the troubled Afghan province of Khost, were considered militant strongholds in Bajaur, where Pakistani forces launched a major offensive in August.

Separately local tribesmen supporting a government assault against militants in the region killed three Taliban insurgents on Saturday, officials said.

The clash erupted when armed men from the Salarzai tribe torched seven houses belonging to Taliban militants or their supporters in Ghandai town, they said.

Elsewhere in Bajaur, a bomb exploded Sunday near the house of a former lawmaker in the town of Pashk, injuring five people, officials said.

The lawmaker, Shahabuddin Khan, was not hurt in the attack. Khan is one of several tribal elders who say they have formed a force of thousands to fight the rebels in the area.

Pakistan's army said last week it had killed 1,000 militants including Al-Qaeda's operational commander in the region, Egyptian Abu Saeed Al-Masri, since early August.

The military also admitted that the fighting in Bajaur was some of the heaviest since Pakistan joined the US-led "war on terror" in 2001.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Iranians cautioned about travelling to Iraq, Afghanistan
Tehran, Oct 6, IRNA
Iran cautioned its citizens on Monday about travelling to Iraq and Afghanistan due to the critical health conditions in the two countries now facing cholera epidemic.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi, proposed Iranian citizens to take into account due to health considerations if they are to visit Iraq and Afghanistan as the two western and eastern neighboring states of Iran were hit by the fatal epidemic.

Qashqavi said that the occupation troops were responsible for spread of the "heat rending disease" in the two war-ravaged countries.

"Occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan by foreign forces has neither helped the two nations improve their living conditions nor their health situation," said the spokesman while speaking to reporters during his weekly press conference.

Qashqavi added that cholera epidemic in Iraq and Afghanistan was "another negative impact of the presence of occupation forces" in the two countries.

He voiced Tehran's readiness as a neighboring and friendly country to Baghdad and Kabul to share its valuable experiences with the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan to improve the health condition of the two nations.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghans disillusioned seven years after invasion
by Bronwen Roberts Sun Oct 5, 10:13 PM ET
KABUL (AFP) - Seven years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, many Afghans have grown increasingly jaded with the changes brought by the removal of the Taliban.

Abdul Latif, selling blocks of ice from a wooden cart on a ragged Kabul street, says he cherishes the "freedom" brought by the ouster of the extremist Taliban regime on October 7, 2001.

But today, "everything is so expensive," laments the 46-year-old who has spent half his life as a fighter in Afghanistan's nearly three decades of war.

Under a dusty umbrella, Latif sells blocks of ice for between 50 and five afghani (one dollar and 10 cents) in a city that only has a few hours of electricity a day and where most people get their water from wells.

His is the kind of hard life endured by most in this destitute nation of roughly 26 million people.

Across the road, kite-seller Zelgai says the spiralling cost of living overshadows his concern about deteriorating security as the Taliban fight back.

"If you have 10,000 afs now you could spend it in 15 days. Before it could last two months," he says, referring to the 1996-2001 Taliban era.

"Inside Kabul it is a little secure but there is no work and no money," he adds, sitting cross-legged in a stall packed with paper kites and reels of string.

Of the post-Taliban reconstruction drive that has cost the international community billions of dollars, he says: "In Afghanistan everyone is rebuilding their pockets, not rebuilding the country."

The past seven years have seen millions of children enrolled in school, roads and clinics built, elections held, a constitution and parliament in place.

But security is elusive despite the presence of 60-70,000 international troops, with deadly militant attacks, crime and corruption undercutting the efforts of the government and its international partners.

"The first days after the foreign forces forced out the Taliban, security was getting better and people were hopeful that political issues and reconstruction would improve," says shopkeeper Sayyed Ahmad in the southwestern province of Farah.

"Unfortunately in the years after that the situation has become worse... officials made lots of baseless promises which they did not fulfill."

Aid is "stolen" at all levels and President Hamid Karzai has turned the government into a "family business", the 53-year-old alleges.

Authorities erred by alienating and angering "Afghan Taliban" -- as opposed to the more hardline rebels said to be influenced by Al-Qaeda -- instead of winning them over to the new system.

Of the foreign troops still searching for the leaders of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, he asks: "How could they drag Saddam Hussein out from the ground and kill him and secure Iraq but not be able to capture Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden?"

In the central province of Ghazni -- where Taliban activity has soared over the past two years -- material seller Noorullah says that under the Taliban he could save money, but now he can just afford to feed his family.

"Seven years ago all of us were so happy because we all were so tired of war. But every year that has passed the situation has become worse -- there is no security or work, prices are doubled," the 32-year-old says.

"Taliban can freely come into the villages and there are robbers along the roads... people are afraid of the police."

Noorullah says he voted in the first presidential election in 2004 with eagerness. "But I will not take part in the next one. If I do, I will not give my vote to Karzai."

Grocery shop owner Fazil Ahmad, in the relatively prosperous western city of Herat, says his country has been hijacked by hundreds of militias involved in crime and Afghans filling their own pockets with aid money and acting in the interests of their tribes.

His village has a new bridge, a clinic and a school, he says. But prices have jumped as jobs are hard to come by.

Also, "During the Taliban there was no robbery, kidnapping and murder, but now they have increased.

"Since the foreigners have come, life has become more difficult," he says.
Back to Top
Back to Top
In slip up, Palin calls Afghanistan “our neighboring country”
Reuters Jason Szep October 5th, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin called Afghanistan “our neighboring country” on Sunday in a speech that could revive questions over her tendency to stumble into linguistic knots.

Three days after a mostly gaffe-free debate performance, the Alaska governor fumbled during a speech in which she praised U.S. soldiers for “fighting terrorism and protecting us and our democratic values”.

“They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan,” she told several hundred supporters at a fundraising event in San Francisco.

The gaffe could add fuel to comedians and late-night talk show hosts who have seized on her linguistic infelicities to portray her as someone not to be taken seriously.

Later in a speech in Omaha, Neb., Palin poked a little fun at herself when talking about one comedian in particular — actress Tina Fey whose dead-on impression of Palin’s looks, voice and body language has been a hit.

Fey, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Palin, has parodied her as a rambling, perky politician unfamiliar with world issues for three straight weeks on the comedy show “Saturday Night Live”.

“I was just trying to give Tina Fey more material — job security for Saturday Night Live,” Palin said.

The skits have become a sensation since an awkward interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric in which Palin failed to coherently express her views about Russia, the U.S. government’s $700 billion financial bailout package, and the newspapers or magazines she reads.

In recent days, the 44-year-old self-described “hockey mom” has described the Couric interview as “less than successful”, and apologized to crowds of supporters for her shaky performance, saying she was “annoyed” and “impatient” because she wanted to talk about other issues like energy independence.

Palin’s opponent, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, has also committed high-profile gaffes, including claiming in a recent interview that President Franklin D. Roosevelt calmed fears in a TV address at the beginning of the Great Depression. There was no TV in 1929 — Roosevelt wasn’t president at the time.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghanistan: Over 200,000 people to receive aid
6 Oct 2008 09:07:06 GMT
Source: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - Switzerland
Geneva/Kabul (ICRC) – Hundreds of thousands of Afghans may have to leave their homes this winter because of drought, insecurity and rising food prices in the north of the country, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned today.

The organization said it was working with the Afghan Red Crescent Society to meet the needs of 280,000 people (40,000 families) in eight districts of the northern and north-western provinces of Kunduz, Balkh, Faryab and Badghis by distributing around 5,000 metric tonnes (500 truckloads) of food.

One villager from Dashte Archi district in Kunduz province said that the current drought is so severe that "from the 100 sers planted, we could not even harvest 25 sers" (one ser is equal to seven kilograms).

Some of the villagers went through with the harvest only to obtain fodder for their livestock.

''If we don’t get food to these people quickly, they might be forced to leave their homes in the dead of winter," said Franz Rauchenstein, the head of the ICRC delegation in Afghanistan.

Afghan Red Crescent Society volunteers will deliver food parcels containing rice, beans, ghee, salt, white sugar and tea in two rounds to people living in the most affected areas.

The beneficiaries were chosen on the basis of need by the Society’s survey teams.

The first distribution will take place before the onset of winter, the second in early 2009.

"Our volunteers are doing an extraordinary job.

They find it very rewarding to be able to help people and relieve some of their anxiety about the approach of winter," said Fatima Gailani, the president of the Afghan Red Crescent.

The ICRC is an impartial, neutral and independent organization.

It has been helping the war wounded and people displaced by armed conflict or natural disasters in Afghanistan since 1987.

It delivers its humanitarian aid in the country in cooperation with the Afghan Red Crescent Society, which has a grassroots network of over 20,000 volunteers.

In 2007 the Afghan Red Crescent Society provided food and other assistance to more than 500,000 families, and health services to around one million individuals.

The Society carries out its humanitarian work in all provinces of the country.

For further information, please contact: Graziella Leite Piccolo, ICRC Kabul, tel.

+93700 282 719 Carla Haddad Mardini, ICRC Geneva, tel.

+41 22 730 24 05 or +41 79 217 32 26
Back to Top
Back to Top
In Poverty and Strife, Women Test Limits
The New York Times By CARLOTTA GALL October 5, 2008
BAMIAN, Afghanistan - Far away from the Taliban insurgency, in this most peaceful corner of Afghanistan, a quiet revolution is gaining pace.

Women are driving cars — a rarity in Afghanistan — working in public offices and police stations, and sitting on local councils. There is even a female governor, the first and only one in Afghanistan.

In many ways this province, Bamian, is unique. A half-dozen years of relative peace in this part of the country since the fall of the Taliban and a lessening of lawlessness and disorder have allowed women to push the boundaries here.

Most of the people in Bamian are ethnic Hazaras, Shiite Muslims who are in any case more open than most Afghans to the idea of women working outside the home.

But the changes in women’s lives here are also an enormous step for Afghanistan as a whole. And they may point the way to broader possibilities for women, eventually, if peace can be secured in this very conservative Muslim society, which has been dominated by militia commanders and warlords during the last 30 years of war.

In a country with low rankings on many indicators of social progress, women and girls are the most disadvantaged.

More than 80 percent of Afghan women are illiterate. Women’s life expectancy is only 45 years, lower than that of men, mostly because of the very high rates of death during pregnancy. Forced marriage and under-age marriage are common for girls, and only 13 percent of girls complete primary school, compared with 32 percent of boys.

The cult of war left women particularly vulnerable. For years now they have been the victims of abduction and rape. Hundreds of thousands were left war widows, mired in desperate poverty. Particularly in the last years of Taliban rule, even widows, who had no one to provide for them, were not allowed to work or leave the home unaccompanied by a male relative.

Fear of armed militiamen left women afraid even to walk in front of the police station in the town of Bamian, recalled Nahida Rezai, 25, the first woman to join the police force here. “And I came right into the police station,” she said, admitting to some fears.

At the beginning, she had some problems. “I received some threats by telephone,” she said. “But now I am working as a police officer, I think nothing can deter me.”

Nekbakht, 20, joined the police force, too, and now helps her father, a casual laborer, support the family. They live in a single room tucked into the cliff face of Bamian valley, where homeless refugees have found shelter in caves inhabited centuries ago by Buddhist pilgrims.

“It was very difficult to find a job,” she said. “We had economic problems, and with the high prices life was difficult. Finally, I decided if I could not find another job, I should go into the police.” After joining nine months ago, she likes the job so much she says she is encouraging other women to join, too.

Indeed, growing economic hardship has helped drive some women to join the work force or to take other bold steps as they try to help their families cope with a severe drought, rising food prices and unemployment.

That was the case for Zeinab Husseini, 19. Her father, with seven daughters and no sons, says he had little choice when he needed a second driver to help at home.

“I like driving,” she said, seated at the wheel of her family’s minibus. “I was interested from childhood to learn to drive and to buy a car. I was the first woman in Bamian to drive.”

But over all, it is the return to relative peace here that has allowed for women’s progress, said the governor, Habiba Sarabi, a doctor and educator who ran underground literacy classes during the Taliban regime.

“If the general situation improves, it can improve the situation for women,” she said. She pushed to have policewomen so they could handle women’s cases, and there are now 14 women on the force, she said.

Some of the changes in Bamian have been echoed in more conservative parts of Afghanistan. But even the success stories sometimes end up showing the continuing dangers for women who take jobs to improve their lot. In Kandahar Province, one of the most noted female police officials in the country, Capt. Malalai Kakar, was gunned down on her way to work on Sept. 28.

In Bamian Province, Mrs. Sarabi, 52, has been the driving force behind women’s progress in public life. Her appointment by President Hamid Karzai three years ago as governor of Bamian was a bold move when jihadi leaders were still so powerful in the towns and countryside.

Some opponents are still agitating for her removal, Mrs. Sarabi said. “It is not only because they are against women,” she said, “but they do not want to lose power, so they make trouble for the governor.”

The people of Bamian say they accepted a woman as governor in the hope that an English-speaking, development-oriented technocrat like Mrs. Sarabi would deliver jobs and prosperity.

In fact, the success of women’s Community Development Councils here has caught the attention of the World Bank, which has been a major donor to the programs and is looking to develop them further. Around the country there are 17,000 such councils, which choose local development projects and could be expanded to work on district and regional levels, said the bank’s president, Robert B. Zoellick, who visited Bamian this year.

“They are very effective,” he said of the councils in a recent interview. “People feel they have an influence in the future.”

The quiet work being done by women on the councils and in other jobs has helped turn things around for many in Bamian.

Najiba, 48, is a woman in Yakowlang District who lost her husband in the notorious massacre by Taliban forces there in the winter of 2000-1.

The Taliban fighters came on horseback, forcing the villagers and townspeople to flee in the night, leaving everything behind. Their shops and homes were set on fire while they sought refuge in the mountains.

After the American intervention in Afghanistan and the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, they returned home to nothing, not even a roof over their heads.

“I just had one skirt, and I was always patching it,” Najiba said.

As the government began development programs in the provinces, Najiba was elected head of a newly formed women’s development council, representing her village and the neighboring village. Its job was to plan how to spend a government development grant.

The men’s council decided the area needed a road, and flood barriers to save the farming land near the river. The women’s council wanted instead to buy livestock for each family, traditionally the women’s domain in Afghan households, to improve the food supply for families.

The men won that debate. “We did not get the farming project,” Najiba said. “We are still suggesting it was valuable; we are trying to work on our projects so we don’t have to depend on the men.”

The women got their way with the next project: solar panels to provide light to groups of four houses. That project has opened up all sorts of ideas, for computers, televisions and educational and election programs, she said.

Women have participated in literacy and tailoring training programs, too. Najiba laughed as she explained: “We have changed our way of life. Now I have lots of skirts.”

She added, “It all comes down to the council.”

Now, women are taking courses run by nongovernmental organizations, getting educated and learning ways to improve their family incomes. Most important, the women have won over the men, she said.

“Their minds have changed,” Najiba said. “They want to share decisions, not too far, but they want to give us some share.”
Back to Top
Back to Top
Murdered official's family demand state protection
www.quqnoos.com Written by Tamim Hamid Sunday, 05 October 2008
Head of attorney's office in province close to Kabul was killed on his way home

THE FAMILY of a government official killed by militants in Maidan Wardak province last week have demanded government protection against future attacks.

Mohammad Muhsin Fidia, head of the attorney-general’s office in the province’s Chakh district was kidnapped and then killed by the Taliban while on his way to Kabul.

His wife and three sons now live in a rented house in the capital.

His wife, who urged the government to protect her and her family from militant attacks, said her husband had gone to Maidan Wardak to collect his salary and was on his way back to the capital when he was killed.

Mohammad Fidia’s sisters said their brother had worked in the province for the last five years.

His eldest son, aged eight, has been counting the days since his father left home, the family said.

Fidia was murdered days after the Taliban leadership council in Quetta, headed by Mullah Omar, announced it would not harm civilians during Eid.
Back to Top

 Back to News Archirves of 2008
 
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).