 |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serving you since 1998 | ||||||||||||
|
|
Britain delivers turbine in Afghan rebel stronghold
By Luke Baker
KAJAKI DAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - British troops backed by special forces completed one of the largest logistical operations of the 7-year Afghan conflict on Tuesday, delivering a 200-tonne turbine to a remote Taliban-dominated region.
Afghan FM: Reports on sending Russian police trainers baseless
People's Daily - Sep 02 3:16 AM
Afghanistan Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the reports of some media on sending Russian trainers to train Afghan police were "groundless".
Seven civilians died in US missile strike: coalition
KABUL (AFP) - The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said Tuesday that its investigation into a controversial missile strike thought to have killed 90 civilians had found that only seven non-combatants died.
Cameron plans troops leave change
Tuesday, 2 September 2008 13:40 UK BBC News
David Cameron has proposed changes to boost the amount of family leave British troops fighting overseas have.
Australian troops held Taliban suspects in dog pen
By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press Writer
SYDNEY, Australia - Australian special forces in Afghanistan detained four suspected Taliban militants captured in April in pens sometimes used to hold dogs, the defense minister said Tuesday.
AFGHANISTAN: Flood abatement efforts yield mixed results
02 Sep 2008 13:23:24 GMT
KABUL, 2 September 2008 (IRIN) - Government efforts to reduce flood risks and damage in vulnerable communities have yielded mixed results.
Selling the Taliban
Wall Street Journal By JOANNA NATHAN FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE September 2, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - In the West, assumptions about Afghanistan too often seem premised on the idea that the Taliban are "men in caves," raising questions about why thousands of international troops cannot quickly defeat them.
Pakistan makes millions from Afghan rugs
www.quqnoos.com Written by Zabiullah Jhanmal Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Carpets shipped to Paksitan account for 90% of neighbour's rug profits
MORE than two million square metres of carpet are produced every year in Afghanistan, with more than half this number exported to neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.
7 Taliban militants detained in E Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2008-09-01 19:35:05
KABUL, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Coalition forces have detained seven militants in operations targeting Taliban IED (Improvised Explosive Device) networks in eastern Afghan province of Khost, said a Coalition statement released here on Monday.
GLOBAL AIR TO TRANSPORT 30,000 AFGHANISTAN HAJ PILGIRMS
Bernama - Wednesday, September 3KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Global Air under Global Industries Inc Sdn Bhd has secured a contract worth US$29.55 million (RM97.52 million) from the Government of Afghanistan to transport 30,000 of its Haj pilgrims.
German Prosecutors Probe Killing of Afghan Civilians, FTD Says
By Karin Matussek
Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors in Potsdam, Germany, are investigating the killing of three civilians at a checkpoint in Afghanistan by German forces, Financial Times Deutschland reported.
Ways forward in Afghanistan
Military intervention into Pakistan may succeed, but ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban requires strategic soft power
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday September 02 2008
Ambassador Ludin's suggestion to extend the scope of the military intervention into Pakistan is at best a partial solution to a complex problem. The suggested offensive, if targeted well, would sever one of the lifelines
In Afghanistan, Rape Victims Begin To Break The Silence
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Czech Republic By Farangis Najibullah September 01, 2008
Sobbing and barely able to speak, a teenage girl from Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province describes the horror of being gang-raped at gunpoint.
Pakistani elders vow to protect vital Khyber Pass
By Ibrahim Shinwari Tuesday, September 2, 2008; 6:19 AM
LANDIKOTAL, Pakistan (Reuters) - Ethnic Pashtun tribal elders in Pakistan have promised to ensure security for supplies trucked through the Khyber Pass bound for foreign forces in Afghanistan, a government official said on Tuesday.
Factory workers take up Taliban arms
www.quqnoos.com Written by Parwiz Shamal Monday, 01 September 2008
Jobless workers join the insurgents in the troubled south, factory head says
China urges Pakistan to rescue missing engineers
Tue Sep 2, 7:08 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - China on Tuesday urged Pakistan to rescue two Chinese engineers who went missing near the Afghan border, after Taliban militants claimed responsibility for kidnapping them.
Afghan, Iranian arrested for Canada student rape
Tue Sep 2, 7:39 AM ET
LILLE, France (AFP) - French police have arrested an Afghan suspected people-smuggler and an Iranian migrant suspected of raping a Canadian journalism student in the northern port of Calais, officials said Tuesday.
Kabulis say Ramadan has inflated prices
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Monday, 01 September 2008
Cost of food and gas has shot up as the holy month kicks off
KABUL residents have complained about soaring food and gas prices as the holiest month in the country’s calendar kicks off.
Back to Top
Britain delivers turbine in Afghan rebel stronghold
By Luke Baker
KAJAKI DAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - British troops backed by special forces completed one of the largest logistical operations of the 7-year Afghan conflict on Tuesday, delivering a 200-tonne turbine to a remote Taliban-dominated region.
The huge turbine, which promises to deliver power across south Afghanistan once running, was carried by a 100-vehicle convoy that inched its way across Taliban territory for five days to reach a hydroelectric dam on the Kajaki reservoir.
It faced frequent attacks during the journey, soldiers accompanying it said, with an estimated 250 Taliban killed along the way as the sensitive load, flanked by helicopters and heavy armour, snaked 160 km (100 miles) north from Kandahar.
Engineers who carved a route through dry rivers and mountain passes said it was the largest clearance operation undertaken by British forces since World War Two. To keep it secret, media were barred from reporting on the mission until it was complete.
"It was a huge achievement," said Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Wilson, the commanding officer of the 23 Engineer Regiment. "It was carried out through some of the most heavily mined areas of Afghanistan."
U.S. and British special forces teams were dropped ahead of the convoy to sweep through villages along the treacherous Helmand river valley, "sanitising" Taliban strongholds to allow the convoy safe passage, military sources said.
While medics had prepared for casualties, commanders said there was only one wounded among the British, American, Canadian and Australian troops who took part in the operation -- a British soldier was crushed when a trailer collapsed on him.
On Tuesday, British opposition leader David Cameron arrived in the Helmand region on a private visit to meet troops of the 2 Para, military sources said. The 2 Paras have suffered heavy casualties in recent months.
PERILOUS
The British military, which took the lead for the final, perilous stages to deliver the turbine, said it had involved around 5,000 troops, a fleet of helicopters, and French and U.S. fighter jets used to target known Taliban hideouts.
"As a template for the rest of this country, it's shown that when we want to, at a time and a place of our choosing, we can overmatch the Taliban, no question," said Lieutenant-Colonel James Learmont of 7 Para Royal Horse Artillery.
In order to win over villagers in some areas, British forces held meetings with locals to negotiate the convoy's passage, and paid $25,000 in compensation to one community for disruption.
The Taliban had agreed to maintain a ceasefire in some areas but violated the deal, British commanders said.
The Chinese-made turbine will be installed as part of a project funded by the American development agency USAID to increase the output of the Kajaki power plant.
Chinese engineers already on the ground will install the equipment, which will boost the capacity of the plant, built in 1975, to three turbines with an output of 51 MegaWatts. Around 1.8 million Afghans are expected to benefit from the project.
"The opposition said it would never happen but it did," said Lieutenant-Colonel Rufus MacNeil. "If you want a mark in the sand for Afghan reconstruction, then this is it."
The scale and complexity of the operation has given those serving under the 75,000-strong, NATO-led force in Afghanistan an opportunity to boast about cooperation at a time when critics say the coalition lacks strength and coherence.
The turbine, split into seven sections each weighing between 22 and 30 tonnes, was flown on Russian transport aircraft into Kandahar, once a Taliban stronghold in the south and now the headquarters for Canadian operations.
It was then put on giant trucks and began its voyage late last Wednesday, travelling at barely 3 km an hour under a heavy Canadian, British and U.S. military escort, flanked by helicopter gunships and a large troop presence.
(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Paul Tait)
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan FM: Reports on sending Russian police trainers baseless
People's Daily - Sep 02 3:16 AM
Afghanistan Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the reports of some media on sending Russian trainers to train Afghan police were "groundless".
"The reports that Russia has agreed to send 226 officers to train Afghan police are groundless and Foreign Ministry rejects it," a statement released here by foreign ministry said.
Some Afghan newspapers citing Times of London have reported that Russian president in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tajikistan last week agreed to help Afghanistan in providing training to its police.
However, Afghan foreign ministry in the statement added that talks between the Security and Cooperation Organization of Europe and Russia over giving training to Afghan Border Police and Counter Narcotics Police are going on.
The Untied States and Germany currently have lead role in giving training to Afghan National Police in the war-torn nation.
President Hamid Karzai who met his Russian counterpart at SCO summit in Dushanbe last week invited him to visit Afghanistan and the Russian president, according to Afghan foreign ministry accepted the invitation in principal.
Source:Xinhua
Back to Top
Back to Top
Seven civilians died in US missile strike: coalition
KABUL (AFP) - The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said Tuesday that its investigation into a controversial missile strike thought to have killed 90 civilians had found that only seven non-combatants died.
The force went further and defended its decision to strike a target in the western province of Herat last month, saying a known Taliban commander was in the area.
A government commission that investigated the incident has said that 90 civilians including 60 children were killed in air strikes by the US-led force in the village of Azizabad on August 22.
The United Nations which also investigated the incident backed the Afghan government's figures. But the coalition took issue with that account, citing its new report.
"The investigation found that 30-35 Taliban militants were killed including evidence suggesting a known Taliban commander, Mullah Sadiq, was among them," it said.
"In addition, five to seven civilians were killed," the force said.
The report said that the US-led troops, who were backed by Afghan security forces, had come under fire before calling in jet fighters in a "justified" response.
"The intensity of the enemy fire justified use of well-aimed small-arms fire and close-air support to defend the combined force," the coalition statement said.
The US military has offered to investigate the incident with the Afghan government and the United Nations.
The US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai has demanded a review of rules regulating the presence of international forces following the Herat incident, which he strongly condemned.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Cameron plans troops leave change
Tuesday, 2 September 2008 13:40 UK BBC News
David Cameron has proposed changes to boost the amount of family leave British troops fighting overseas have.
The Conservative leader, visiting Afghanistan, said rest periods should start when troops arrive home - and not include days spent travelling.
Speaking in Helmand province, he said: "I think this is fair for our troops."
During his third visit to the country as Tory leader, Mr Cameron also said Afghanistan had seen "progress" and was the number one foreign policy priority.
'Lost leave'
He said there were still concerns, such as a shortage of helicopters and the unwillingness of some Nato countries to play their full part.
The issue of "lost leave" was raised by the Conservative Party's commission into the "military covenant", chaired by author Frederick Forsyth, earlier this year.
Mr Cameron, accompanied by shadow foreign secretary William Hague, has now accepted its recommendation.
He said: "Today when our servicemen and women end their duties in the heat and dust of Afghanistan or Iraq, their leave starts not when they arrive home but often after several days delay in trying to get home.
"Under our plans, the leave clock would not start ticking until they arrive back on British soil. This is a common sense idea that will make a big difference to the lives of our brave troops and their families."
Visiting the British base at Sangin, which houses the biggest battle group of around 1,300 troops, Mr Cameron said: "You've got the support of everyone back home. I think if we weren't here the Taleban would come back and the terrorist training camps would start again."
Mr Cameron insisted the campaign was in Britain's "direct interest", adding that there was clearly a "huge task" for UK and Nato forces in Afghanistan.
But he added: "There's also a lot that we (politicians) have got to do."
He insisted troops needed more "recognition" and to be properly supplied with equipment.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Australian troops held Taliban suspects in dog pen
By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press Writer
SYDNEY, Australia - Australian special forces in Afghanistan detained four suspected Taliban militants captured in April in pens sometimes used to hold dogs, the defense minister said Tuesday.
Many Muslims consider dogs impure and the head of Australia's main Islamic group strongly criticized the actions of the special forces. Afghanistan's ambassador to Australia Amanullah Jayhoon said the reports were troubling but stopped short of criticizing the soldiers.
Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon defended the special forces, saying the detainees arrested on April 29 were held in the most secure place available before they were transported to a detention center in the town of Tarin Kowt in southern Uruzgan province. He confirmed the four suspected insurgents were held for 24 hours in a compound occasionally used to house dogs.
"Our people were patrolling far away from our main base in Tarin Kowt near one of our forward operating bases. They did detain people suspected of the worst and most atrocious acts. And they detained them in the most practical way available to them at the time," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Fitzgibbon said it was misleading to characterize the holding facility as a dog pen.
"They were in a compound I've had described to me as a walled compound which I'm sure is used for a variety of purposes," he told ABC. "I'm advised that the compound is from time to time used to hold dogs, yes. Dogs are a very important part of our operations there."
The revelation follows complaints by an Afghan soldier about mistreatment of the detainees, who were held following a battle with Taliban fighters. An Australian defense inquiry last week found that medical evidence and witness statements did not support allegations of abuse.
"It is quite appalling that the Australian soldiers are in any way caught up in the inhumane treatment of human beings — irrespective of who they are," said Ikebal Patel, head of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. "I think it's quite despicable that something like that could happen and that the Australians are party to it."
But the Australian admission may not stir such a negative reaction in Afghanistan, where people are less averse to dogs than in many other Muslim countries. Afghans are accustomed to seeing dogs on the street and dog fighting is a popular pastime in the country.
"It is a matter of concern because ... it provides propaganda for the Taliban, and at the same time it is not good to treat a human being inhumanely," said the Afghan ambassador Jayhoon. "(But) we have not launched any formal protest."
The Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman and the provincial police chief in Uruzgan, where Australian troops operate, said they had not heard of the allegations. There are 1,000 Australian troops in Afghanistan.
Brig. Brian Dawson, a defense department spokesman, said one of the four detainees was released the following day after it was decided he was not a threat. The three others were handed over to Dutch authorities who manage the Tarin Kowt facility. Dawson said he did not know the detainees' current whereabouts or status.
Bob Brown, leader of Australia's opposition Greens party, criticized the Australian troops.
"For Australia to find itself keeping prisoners in dog kennels, dog pens — even overnight — is a big mistake," he told reporters in Canberra.
__
Associated Press reporter Amir Shah in Kabul contributed to this report.
Back to Top
Back to Top
AFGHANISTAN: Flood abatement efforts yield mixed results
02 Sep 2008 13:23:24 GMT
KABUL, 2 September 2008 (IRIN) - Government efforts to reduce flood risks and damage in vulnerable communities have yielded mixed results.
Flash floods killed about 400 people and destroyed hundreds of houses in different parts of the country in 2007, according to the Afghanistan National Disasters Management Authority (ANDMA).
In a bid to reduce the risks of seasonal floods in 2008, the Afghan government has spent about US$1.5million on thousands of gabion boxes.
Gabions are large metal boxes/cages which can be filled with stone and/or gravel and placed on river banks and other locations to work as flood-resistant walls. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabion for more from Wikipedia.)
"We distributed 90,000 gabion boxes to [all] 34 provinces from March to June 2008," Naseer Ahmad Popal, head of the social protection unit at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), told IRIN.
Positive outcomes
Local people in Behsood District of Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan, said gabion boxes had helped defend their houses and land against flooding on several occasions this year.
"In the past rain often turned into floods and the water destroyed our homes and land, but this year, owing to these gabions, we have not experienced flooding so far," said Abdul Manan, a famer in Behsood.
Behsood District officials said gabion boxes had been effectively positioned, thus creating strong flood-resistance capacity.
Poor outcomes
However, several locals in another vulnerable province, Daykundi, central Afghanistan, did not rate their effectiveness, citing reasons for their alleged failure.
"The gabions placed here are too weak to stop floodwater," said Golam Sakhi, a resident of Nili, the provincial capital of Daykundi.
"We have received too few gabion boxes and therefore they have not been useful," said another man, Hassan Ali.
The MRRD conceded that there were shortcomings in terms of the manner in which they had been deployed in some areas.
"In some cases gabions have been placed in the wrong location and in other cases they have been set up incorrectly," said the MRRD's Popal.
More measures needed
Despite the use of gabion boxes, over 90 people have lost their lives and dozens of houses have been damaged in the several instances of flash floods over the past five months, ANDMA reported.
"Certainly gabions alone cannot impede floodwater everywhere and at all times. There is a need for other measures to mitigate flood risks and also to build flood-resistance capacity," Mohammad Aslam Seyas, deputy director of ANDMA, told IRIN.
Owing to steady deforestation over the past 30 years, the country has lost much of its natural flood-resistance.
According to Seyas, the planting of trees in flood-prone areas, the construction of flood-resistant walls alongside rivers, encouraging people to move out of highly vulnerable locations, and improved water management efforts are some of ANDMA's recommendations for protecting communities against flood risks.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Selling the Taliban
Wall Street Journal By JOANNA NATHAN FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE September 2, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - In the West, assumptions about Afghanistan too often seem premised on the idea that the Taliban are "men in caves," raising questions about why thousands of international troops cannot quickly defeat them.
However, an insurgency is at its heart a battle of wills and staying power, not of military might. Insurgents in Afghanistan appreciate this and have created a sophisticated propaganda operation that both targets what is seen as weakening support back in foreign capitals and seeks to mold perceptions among the Afghan population.
This is no small-scale operation. The efforts include a Web site, Al Emarah, which is updated several times a day in five languages. The English may often be laughable -- with reference to gourds (guards), a "poppet" (puppet) government and "spatial fours" (special forces) -- but it does the job. The Web site mocks government weakness and highlights every perceived foreign misstep to tap a deep vein of nationalism in Afghanistan -- and to raise questions back in foreign capitals about the role of their forces.
For the local audience there are also magazines in Arabic and Pashto, DVDs showing gruesome beheadings and Taliban attacks, and audio cassettes of nationalist chants -- also available as ringtones. Much of this material apparently is produced across the border in Pakistan in the name of the former regime, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, or by supporters and sympathizers. All of it seeks to tap historic patriotism and fuel often legitimate grievances in Afghanistan. Journalists can reach Taliban spokesmen for a fiery quote day and night, in stark contrast to their government and international counterparts.
All in all, the Taliban are successfully driving the news agenda and creating a perception of a movement far stronger and more omnipresent than it really is. Taliban atrocities often go unreported in areas they have made off-limits to independent verification. And their methods to control the message go beyond those of your typical press office: Community leaders and journalists who might speak up are cowed with threats or worse.
While the Taliban use their media operation to highlight civilian casualties caused by foreign forces, they also deliberately target civilians -- as with the recent murder of three Western women aid workers and their Afghan colleague just an hour from Kabul. Much less reported internationally are the Afghans who work for international NGOs or the government in rural areas and who often face roadblocks where they are checked for any sign of working with foreigners.
One journalist from an insurgency-hit province, whom I recently met, has moved to Kabul because of the relentless pressure. Among other incidents, he says some pupils he interviewed at the opening of a new government school were killed soon afterward for taking part in the event.
The Taliban realize that they will never win head-on engagements with the international forces, but also that they do not have to. A new emphasis on spectacular attacks in 2008, such as the June jailbreak in Kandahar and an assault on Kabul's only five-star hotel in January, has won global headlines and aims to erode international consensus on the need to stay the course. There is talk on the streets of Afghanistan's "worst ever military defeat," with images circulating of local soldiers fleeing April's three-man attack on a military parade attended by President Hamid Karzai and foreign and local dignitaries.
To combat the Taliban, international forces -- and even more importantly the Afghan administration -- need to be much more responsive and proactive in getting their messages out. Highlighting the Taliban's brutality will undercut its claims to legitimacy.
The corollary to this would be enhancing the government's legitimacy, particularly through support of Afghan institutions and security forces. International troops are essential to create a security umbrella for such developments to take place. However, the current focus on increasing troop numbers is meaningless if there is not a strategic plan in which building local capacity is the priority. Most Afghans are still far more fearful of what would happen should foreign troops leave than if they stay, but there are limits to their patience. Enhanced Afghan institutions taking the lead would help negate the Taliban's relentlessly xenophobic campaign.
The Afghan government still needs to prove that this is an administration worth fighting for. It should tackle the current culture of impunity in cases of corruption and abuses by members of the administration. The international community, too, must foster accountability in its actions. With Guantanamo having entered the folk culture of Afghanistan, appearing in poems and songs and undercutting claims about the rule of law, arbitrary detentions by Afghan and foreign forces alike must stop. Much greater transparency and accountability is also needed in cases where there are civilian deaths.
Propaganda may be powerful, but it can be countered by both better communications and, ultimately, with deeds on the ground.
Ms. Nathan is senior adviser in Kabul for the International Crisis Group.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistan makes millions from Afghan rugs
www.quqnoos.com Written by Zabiullah Jhanmal Tuesday, 02 September 2008
Carpets shipped to Paksitan account for 90% of neighbour's rug profits
MORE than two million square metres of carpet are produced every year in Afghanistan, with more than half this number exported to neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.
Some businessmen have said that a lack of facilities and problems with transportation force carpet dealers to export their rugs to Pakistan.
From there, they are shipped to other countries in Europe and America.
The Organisation for Afghan Exports (OAE), while refusing to criticise the export of rugs to Pakistan, said Afghanistan’s neighbour earned about $240m per year from exporting rugs, 90% of which come from Afghanistan.
Sulaiman Fatemi, the head of OAE, said: "Afghan rugs are the highest quality in the world. We have a lot of problems in the field of processing, but still in Afghanistan the most income is obtained from rug exports."
Abudul Qadir Qandeel, one of the carpet-sellers, said: "We have problems in transportation, and we ask the government to help us in this field and to provide us with quick and easy transit."
Salahuddeen a rug businessman said: "The loans in carpet selling are very low. At the moment we need a lot of money to make people busy
"We have told the government about this many times but no action has been taken."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Mines and Industries anticipates that if the current varriers to trade are removed, Afghanistan would earn $2 billion every year from the export of rugs, marble, and fresh and dry fruits.
Back to Top
Back to Top
7 Taliban militants detained in E Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2008-09-01 19:35:05
KABUL, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Coalition forces have detained seven militants in operations targeting Taliban IED (Improvised Explosive Device) networks in eastern Afghan province of Khost, said a Coalition statement released here on Monday.
The Coalition forces on Sunday arrested a militant leader and two of his subordinates responsible for the construction, emplacement and facilitation of IED attacks during an operation in the Mando Zayi district of Khost province, the statement said.
"A cache of AK-47s, IED making materials and military equipment was found during a subsequent search of the area," it said.
While in the Tani district, Coalition forces on Monday searched the compound of an individual with ties to senior Haqqani network commanders capturing four militants who planed and coordinated attacks against the government, it added.
Afghanistan has witnessed the surge of Taliban attacks on international and Afghan troops during past months when the anti-government militants continue to demonstrate their strength through suicide and roadside bombings.
Escalating insurgency and violent incidents have left over 3,200 people dead with over 800 civilians since January this year in the country.
Back to Top
Back to Top
GLOBAL AIR TO TRANSPORT 30,000 AFGHANISTAN HAJ PILGIRMS
Bernama - Wednesday, September 3KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Global Air under Global Industries Inc Sdn Bhd has secured a contract worth US$29.55 million (RM97.52 million) from the Government of Afghanistan to transport 30,000 of its Haj pilgrims.
Afghanistan is the second country to sign with Global Air after Thailand for the air transportation of Haj pilgrims for 2008.
The maiden flight from Kabul is expected to be on Oct 31 using two Boeing 747s and one Boeing 767.
With the signing of the contract, a new era has begun for Global Air to establish itself in the Middle East, the company said in a statement.
Global Air has initiated negotiation with few well known Middle Eastern parties to establish direct flights based in Dubai into countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Oman and Kuwait by early next year. --BERNAMA
Back to Top
Back to Top
German Prosecutors Probe Killing of Afghan Civilians, FTD Says
By Karin Matussek
Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors in Potsdam, Germany, are investigating the killing of three civilians at a checkpoint in Afghanistan by German forces, Financial Times Deutschland reported.
Prosecutors will investigate whether soldiers should be prosecuted for manslaughter or whether they acted in self defense, FTD said, citing Christoph Lange, a prosecutor in Potsdam.
An Afghan woman and two children were killed during the incident on Aug. 28, the newspaper said. FTD didn't identify the soldiers under investigation.
To contact the reporter on this story: Karin Matussek in Berlin at kmatussek@bloomberg.net
Back to Top
Back to Top
Ways forward in Afghanistan
Military intervention into Pakistan may succeed, but ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban requires strategic soft power
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday September 02 2008
Ambassador Ludin's suggestion to extend the scope of the military intervention into Pakistan is at best a partial solution to a complex problem. The suggested offensive, if targeted well, would sever one of the lifelines of the Taliban, who are receiving strategic guidance, intelligence and the use of a safe corridor to access global funding and manpower through Pakistan. However, it fails to deal with a variety of other groups of Taliban within Afghanistan and the larger discontent and loss of confidence in the international presence and the Afghan government.
Therefore, any military offensive to eliminate the Taliban would be a failure unless accompanied by softer efforts aiming to create a strong and inclusive Afghan democracy and making the Taliban an ideologically unattractive alternative.
The level of confidence on the Afghan government and the international presence in the country has been steadily declining over last few years. The Afghan government needs to attempt to recreate that sense of optimism and trust that it enjoyed during the first few post-Taliban years.
In addition, the Afghan government must deal with the issue of the civilian causalities as a matter of priority. It must reach a concrete deal with the ISAF and the US forces on responsible and targeted air raids, while ensuring that an open and timed plan of bringing these anti Taliban offensives into the domain of the Afghan National Army (ANA) is in place. This would require true commitment from the international community as so far, despite absorbing the largest share of money going into Afghanistan, the Afghan army is not fully prepared or equipped for major combat.
Another bone of contention is the international presence itself in Afghanistan. The forthcoming American and Afghan elections would be a would be a good time to pause, reflect and plan next steps including reflection on what the aims of the west are in Afghanistan. No matter what the aim is, it needs to be timed: the US cannot stay on the Afghan soil forever looking for Osama bin Ladin and the country cannot be allowed to turn into a protectorate under the disguise of development. Agreeing a timed exit plan for the international community would be the biggest sign of the strength of the Afghan government and would restore a large proportion of trust into it.
The Afghan government has been complacent in not dealing with widespread corruption and the Afghan public have to resort to bribes to receive even the most basic services and goods – without them, the police won't undertake a cases and driving licences are not issued. Even what university you go to depends on how much money you can part with… The solution is not in raising public sector pay or slogans. The solution is in setting an example. The Afghan government must curb big corruption first. A no-tolerance policy and a number of big arrests would at least put across the message that the government does not condone corruption.
The country's government should also work towards opening up the democratic processes further. At the moment, all the elected members of the government are very Kabul-centric and some law makers cannot even travel to their constituencies due to insecurity. This undermines the strength of democracy and distances it from the rural Afghan majority. Extending democratic office so that the provincial governors are elected would be a good way of taking democracy to the doorsteps of those living outside Kabul. This would also make democracy accessible to the politically minded individuals who might otherwise be attracted by the Taliban.
If the government enjoyed the confidence of its people, it would have an upper hand in negotiating with moderate elements of the Taliban. This of course does not mean a power-sharing deal. However, it does mean some compromises for the Afghan government; for instance removing some non-controversial figures of the Taliban from wanted lists, allowing disarmed Taliban to join the democratic processes and providing an amnesty and alternative employment opportunities for disarmed foot soldiers. This has been going on for a while, but in a haphazard way, since the fall of the Taliban; it is now time to bring the issue into serious consideration.
A range of practical questions, of course, remain … is President Karzai the best person to lead such reforms? Is there a need for another loya jirga? And should the Afghan elections happen while people's confidence is so low? However, the fact remains the people, both of Afghanistan and Pakistan, are largely traditional and ill-educated, hence are open to manipulation. These people were ignored once in 1990s and Taliban rule came about; let's not repeat the mistake. The solution is complex and a combination of militarily targeting those that turn these people into militants, while creating alternative ideologies to attract these people away from militancy.
Back to Top
Back to Top
In Afghanistan, Rape Victims Begin To Break The Silence
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, Czech Republic By Farangis Najibullah September 01, 2008
Sobbing and barely able to speak, a teenage girl from Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province describes the horror of being gang-raped at gunpoint.
“They raped me for three days and nights. I felt like I was going crazy," she said. "They forced me to drink alcohol. I couldn’t get up. They had guns, knives. They were so cruel and brutal. I screamed and cried, but they didn’t care.”
Many others in Afghanistan have undergone similar ordeals. But the true numbers are not known, because victims and their families usually prefer to remain silent, fearing a lifetime of disgrace in their conservative society.
In recent months, however, some victims’ families have begun to break the silence, and their calls for justice have prompted President Hamid Karzai to acknowledge the problem.
Sheila Samimi, a member of the Afghan Women’s Network (ANW) -- a group that brings together dozens of women's organizations -- tells RFE/RL that in just the first three months of this year, there were 112 reported rape cases involving girls under the age of 17. Most of the reported cases have taken place in Afghanistan's northern provinces, including Sari Pol, Jowzjan, and Takhar. According to Samimi, there are thousands more such cases across Afghanistan, where “raped women, girls, and even boys have chosen to keep it secret.”
The victims' silence is driven not only by fear of disgrace, but also because in many cases, the assailants are powerful and well-connected people with ties to armed groups or government officials, according to Afghan rights activists.
But as victims begin to come forward, private television channels have publicized their stories through programs about adolescent girls and their families suffering the after-effects of rape.
In one testimony, the parents of one 11-year-old girl who was raped by five armed men in Sari Pol Province said the entire family wanted to commit suicide because they “were not able to protect their child.”
After this interview and others were broadcast on television and posted on feminist websites, Karzai met with two rape victims and their relatives. Karzai promised to crack down on rape and bring assailants to justice -- “to face the country’s most severe punishment,” meaning the death penalty.
High-Level Attention
In Sari Pol, five officials, including the chief of security and high-ranking police officers, were sacked shortly after Karzai’s statement in early August.
In Takhar Province, police arrested six men, including border guard officers, in connection with the rape of the teenage girl.
ANW representatives recently met with Afghan Vice President Ahmad Zia Masood to ask the government to punish offenders and find ways to prevent the crime.
Following the ANW initiative, Afghan state television has started to air weekly programs about rape and other crimes against women. Program producers usually invite police officers, high-ranking authorities, and community leaders to take part in the discussion.
Samimi said the ANW has started a nationwide campaign to put pressure on the authorities not to allow offenders to go free.
Many religious leaders and imams have also agreed to participate in the campaign and address the issue in their sermons. At the same time, the ANW is seeking to raise women’s awareness about their rights. “We tell them to go to the police instead of suffering in silence,” Samimi said.
But the campaign has yet to make an impact on some institutions. “In Sari Pol Province, a family member of a local parliamentarian raped a 12-year-old girl,” Samimi said. “But he walks free because the police wouldn’t dare to arrest him.”
“Afghanistan doesn’t yet have a proper police system. It’s a country coming out of war and there are many problems in such countries," Samimi said. "We don’t have the rule of law and therefore the [lawmaker] doesn’t allow the court to try his son. He has power and influence, and he threatened the victim’s family that if they complained, there would be consequences.”
In some other cases, jailed rapists simply bribe their way out of prison. And victims’ families worry that assailants could take retribution against the victim for her testimony.
Samimi says such incidents are threatening the rights that Afghan women have won after the fall of the hard-line Taliban. “Some people say the Taliban wouldn’t allow girls to go to school or work, but at least under the Taliban, girls wouldn’t be raped with impunity,” she said.
A very young girl from Jowzjan Province recently came to the local police station along with her mother. She accused a neighbor of raping her and pleaded with the police to punish him.
“What he did to me was wicked," she told Radio Free Afghanistan from the police station. "I want the government to kill this man. But the government doesn’t listen to me.”
Women's’ rights activists hope that this young girl and others like her can eventually find justice and feel secure that the government will protect them.
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan contributed to this report
Back to Top
Back to Top
Pakistani elders vow to protect vital Khyber Pass
By Ibrahim Shinwari Tuesday, September 2, 2008; 6:19 AM
LANDIKOTAL, Pakistan (Reuters) - Ethnic Pashtun tribal elders in Pakistan have promised to ensure security for supplies trucked through the Khyber Pass bound for foreign forces in Afghanistan, a government official said on Tuesday.
The Khyber Pass is a vital artery for supplies for U.S. and other foreign forces in landlocked Afghanistan and militants have been attacking trucks and tankers carrying military equipment and fuel.
According to transport companies, more than 20 trucks hauling containers and a dozen oil-tankers have been attacked in the region since June and some drivers have been kidnapped and killed.
Tahab Khan, a senior government official in the Khyber region, said elders had signed an agreement with authorities on Monday to ensure the safety of supplies.
"They will not only be responsible for security but also take strict action against violators," Khan told Reuters.
Elders traditionally wield power in Pashtun society although militants have killed several hundred of them since Pakistan joined the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism and tried to root out foreign al Qaeda militants and subdue their Pakistani allies.
The Khyber Pass is the one of two land routes for supplies going to Afghanistan from Pakistan and its main port of Karachi. The other border crossing is at the southwestern town of Chaman.
Security forces conducted an offensive in the Khyber region at the end of June to push militants back from the outskirts of the main northwestern city of Peshawar.
Later, the military went on the offensive in two other regions, Bajaur, which is also on the Afghan border to the north of Khyber, and the Swat Valley, in North West Frontier Province.
"ON THE RUN"
The Interior Ministry said this week more than 550 militants out of about 3,000, including foreigners, in Bajaur had been killed in the offensive and a military spokesman said the militants had been pushed out.
"They are on the run, security forces have made substantial gains," said the spokesman, Major-General Athar Abbas.
A government official in Khar, the main town in Bajaur, said 10 children and two women were killed on Monday when paramilitary troops fired mortar bombs at militants.
Abbas said the incident was being investigated.
The government has suspended military operations in the northwest for the fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Monday evening, but said its forces would respond if attacked.
The fighting in the northwest has displaced about 250,000 people, most of whom are staying with friends and relatives, but many have started returning home since the government announced it was suspending military operations, government officials said.
In the gas-rich southwestern province of Baluchistan, autonomy-seeking rebels announced they were suspending their attacks to give the government time to address their grievances and stop military operations against them.
Baluch nationalist rebels, who have no links with the Islamist Taliban, have for decades been waging a low-level insurgency for autonomy and a greater share of the revenue from the province's natural resources.
They have regularly attacked gas industry infrastructure, transport links and security posts.
The coalition government led by the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has pledged to address grievances in Baluchistan, Pakistan's poorest province, and to hold talks with the insurgents.
(Additional reporting by Mian Saeed-ur-Rehman in Bajaur and Gul Yousafzai in Quetta; Writing by Kamran Haider; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Back to Top
Back to Top
Factory workers take up Taliban arms
www.quqnoos.com Written by Parwiz Shamal Monday, 01 September 2008
Jobless workers join the insurgents in the troubled south, factory head says
A LARGE number of jobless factory workers have joined the Taliban in the southern province of Kandahar, the head of the factory said.
More than 2,000 men were employed by the textile factory, but now only 30 workers remain to guard the disused building, which was forced to close because of the ongoing insurgency in the south.
Head of the factory, Muhammad Muhsin, said: "The factory workers were sacked. We know that most of the workers have now joined the Taliban or have turned into criminals."
Some of the former factory workers have blamed the government for failing to create job opportunities for the people.
One of the citizens in Kandahar said: "The government can rehabilitate the factory and can rescue the people from unemployment, if it wants."
Another citizen said: "The government gives no money to re-build the factory. About 5,000 people would have jobs if the factory started functioning."
Back to Top
Back to Top
China urges Pakistan to rescue missing engineers
Tue Sep 2, 7:08 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - China on Tuesday urged Pakistan to rescue two Chinese engineers who went missing near the Afghan border, after Taliban militants claimed responsibility for kidnapping them.
"We have requested that Pakistan rescue the two missing staff and ensure their safety," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.
"The Chinese government attaches great importance to this."
Pakistani Taliban militants said Tuesday they had kidnapped the two Chinese telecoms engineers and their entourage and would soon issue a list of demands.
The engineers went missing along with their local driver and a security guard on Friday in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border where they had been checking an installation, Chinese and Pakistani authorities said earlier.
Jiang refused to comment on the Taliban's claims of responsibility.
Islamic militants have been known in the past to target Chinese workers in Pakistan. China is one of Islamabad's closest allies as well as its largest arms supplier.
In October 2004, Islamic militants led by a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner, Abdullah Mehsud, kidnapped two Chinese engineers working on a multi-million dollar hydroelectric dam project in the South Waziristan tribal area.
One of the hostages died in a botched rescue bid.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan, Iranian arrested for Canada student rape
Tue Sep 2, 7:39 AM ET
LILLE, France (AFP) - French police have arrested an Afghan suspected people-smuggler and an Iranian migrant suspected of raping a Canadian journalism student in the northern port of Calais, officials said Tuesday.
Both men were arrested on Sunday in the Calais region and police were checking their fingerprints and DNA against those of the woman's attacker, said an official close to the investigation.
The rape victim, a student at a London journalism school in her early 30s, has also helped police draw identikit pictures of the suspect.
Around 100 migrants have been questioned by police since last Tuesday's attack, which took place as the woman photographed migrants at a makeshift camp nicknamed "The Jungle", in a wood near the ferry port of Calais.
Claiming he wanted to show her something, the attacker led her away from the group and into one of the shelters where he raped and beat her. The attack only ended when another migrant approached the shack.
Prosecutors were expected to open a rape investigation on Tuesday, according to the deputy prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, Philippe Muller.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Kabulis say Ramadan has inflated prices
www.quqnoos.com Written by Abdullah Anwari Monday, 01 September 2008
Cost of food and gas has shot up as the holy month kicks off
KABUL residents have complained about soaring food and gas prices as the holiest month in the country’s calendar kicks off.
Kabulis say the price of one kilogram of gas was Afg63 the day before Ramadan but that now the price has gone up to Afg70.
A 50kg sack of flour that was being sold for Afg1,800 on Sunday, is now being sold for Afg1,950.
Kabulis have urged the government to control the prices of food and other basic goods.
Back to Top
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).