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Afghan women's rights law outrages Canadians
Wed Apr 1, 6:57 pm ET
OTTAWA (AFP) – Canadian lawmakers said Wednesday they are outraged by Afghan legislation that reportedly restricts the rights of minority Shia women, and want it repealed.
Afghan 'anti-women law' attacked
Wednesday, 1 April 2009 18:27 UK BBC News
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been urged by the UN and Western aid agencies to abolish a new law that they say legalises rape within marriage.
Taliban say U.S. reconciliation offer "lunatic"
By Sayed Salahuddin April 1, 2009
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents rejected on Wednesday a U.S. offer of "honorable reconciliation" as a "lunatic idea" and said the withdrawal of foreign troops was the only way to end the war in Afghanistan.
Suicide bombers attack government building
Kandahar, 1 April (AKI) - Four suicide bombers dressed in army uniforms and armed with rifles attacked a government building in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday.
Eleven killed in Afghan provincial council attack
April 1, 2009, 11:57 pm
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A group of suicide bombers raided a provincial council building in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar Wednesday and killed 11 people, the Interior Ministry said.
Brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai escapes as suicide attackers kill 17
Tom Coghlan in Kabul Times Online - Apr 01 9:40 AM
An attack by Taleban suicide bombers and gunmen in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar yesterday left 17 people dead and almost killed the brother of President Karzai.
Blast kills Mayor in E Afghanistan
Xinhua April 1, 2009
Mayor of Khost city, capital of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, was killed Tuesday afternoon while his car hit roadside mines in the suburb of the city, officials said.
Many killed in 'US drone attack'
Wednesday, 1 April 2009 BBC News
A missile fired by a suspected US drone has killed at least 10 people in Pakistan, close to the Afghan border, eyewitnesses say.
Pakistan braces for more attacks
By Syed Saleem Shahzad Asia Times Online April 1, 2009
KARACHI - A day after militants stormed a police academy in the eastern city of Lahore, security officials on Tuesday were still trying to make sense of conflicting details of the brazen operation.
U.S., Iran officials meet at conference on Afghanistan
Los Angeles Times By Paul Richter April 1, 2009
The meeting in The Hague between envoy Richard Holbrooke and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Akhundzadeh is the Obama administration's biggest overture yet to Tehran.
Afghanistan commanders expect spike in violence
by Bronwen Roberts Wed Apr 1, 1:07 am ET
KABUL (AFP) – Military chiefs in Afghanistan say that they are expecting a spike in violence as international forces, encouraged by a US boost in troop numbers, move into the spring fighting season.
US Lawmakers Assess Challenges in Afghanistan
Voice of America By Dan Robinson 01 April 2009
Members of Congress have heard from foreign affairs experts about challenges the United States faces in carrying out President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Sarkozy rules out more troops for Afghanistan
April 1, 2009, 7:43 pm
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday ruled out sending more troops to Afghanistan , days before a NATO summit in France is due to discuss the alliance's Afghan strategy.
China pledges $75 mln in aid for Afghanistan
Xinhua www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-01
China announced on Tuesday that it would provide 75 million U.S. dollars of aid to Afghanistan in the next five years.
Australian Special Forces Kill Taliban Commander in Afghanistan
Bloomberg By Michael Heath April 1, 2009
Australian special forces killed a senior Taliban insurgent involved in organizing suicide attacks and training foreign fighters in Afghanistan, the Department of Defence said today.
Militants give bloody show of strength
Asia Times Online By Syed Saleem Shahzad March 31, 2009
KARACHI - Up to 20 suspected al-Qaeda-led militants, wearing police uniforms, stormed a police training camp in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday morning, killing at least 70 men and injuring scores more.
Pak wrong to think India gaining control in Afghanistan: McCain
PTI - Apr 1, 2009 - Washington
The ruling establishments in Pakistan wrongly believes that India is increasingly gaining control in Afghanistan, Senator John McCain has said. "India is very interesting, in my view, because there is a view in Pakistan
Turkey hopes to boost Afghan, Pakistan security ties
Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:17am EDT
ANKARA, March 31 (Reuters) - NATO member Turkey hopes to boost cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the fight against al Qaeda and Taliban militants when the presidents of the two countries meet in Ankara on Wednesday, officials said.
“I welcome the Supreme Court decision but freeness, fairness and transparency of elections need to be ensured” Dr. Ashraf Ghani
March 31, 2009 Press Release Office of Dr. Ashraf Ghani
Affirming Supreme Court's latest decision dated March 29 to extend the terms of office of the President and his deputies until August 20, Dr. Ashraf Ghani – a presidential candidate, addresses the nation through an open letter.
Afghan cricketers defy the odds
By Alex Capstick Wednesday, 1 April 2009 BBC News
The Afghanistan cricket team's remarkable quest for a place in the World Cup has entered its final leg.
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Afghan women's rights law outrages Canadians
Wed Apr 1, 6:57 pm ET
OTTAWA (AFP) – Canadian lawmakers said Wednesday they are outraged by Afghan legislation that reportedly restricts the rights of minority Shia women, and want it repealed.
"This is antithetical to our mission in Afghanistan," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told public broadcaster CBC ahead of G20 talks in London, adding Kabul would face "considerable pressure" to nix it.
The Afghan family law reportedly makes it illegal for a woman to refuse sex with her husband, or to leave home without spousal permission and denies her custody of their children after a divorce.
It has cast a shadow over an international summit on Afghanistan in The Hague, where US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is said to have upbraided Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the law.
"We're deeply troubled by it," Harper said in a CBC interview. "And I don't think we're by any means alone."
"Making progress on human rights for women is a significant component of the international engagement in Afghanistan. It's a significant change we want to see from the bad old days of the Taliban," he said.
"I think President Karzai and those other actors who may be supporting this policy will find themselves under considerable pressure," Harper said.
Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, meanwhile, said he would put "direct" pressure on his Afghan counterparts to abandon the legislation at this week's NATO summit.
"That's unacceptable. Period," he said. "We're fighting for values that include equality and women's rights. This sort of legislation won't fly."
Canada has some 2,800 troops in southern Afghanistan as part of a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force routing insurgents, and has pledged more than one billion dollars in aid to the war-torn country.
Since the start of its mission in 2002, 116 soldiers, a senior diplomat and two aid workers have been killed in Afghanistan.
Earlier, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said in the House of Commons: "We are concerned with the provisions in this law as we see them."
"And we are calling unequivocally upon the government in Afghanistan to make sure they live up to their international treaty obligations for human rights, especially human rights for women."
Opposition leaders meanwhile described the law as an "attack" on women and expressed "outrage on behalf of Afghan women."
Afghanistan's current constitution guarantees women's equal rights, but also allows a separate Shia family law based on religious traditions.
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Afghan 'anti-women law' attacked
Wednesday, 1 April 2009 18:27 UK BBC News
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been urged by the UN and Western aid agencies to abolish a new law that they say legalises rape within marriage.
They say that the law - signed by the president last month - limits the rights of women from the Shia minority.
A UN spokeswoman in Kabul told the BBC that it was seriously concerned about the potential impact of the law.
Aides to President Karzai insist that the new law has been introduced to provide more protection for Shia women.
'Disastrous'
But human rights activists say that the new law reverses many of the freedoms won by Afghan women in the seven years since the Taleban were driven from power.
They say it removes the right of women to refuse their husbands sex, unless they are ill.
Women will also need to get permission from their husbands if they want to leave their homes, unless there is an emergency.
Soraya Sobhrang from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission campaigned against the law. She has criticised long-standing Western silence over the issue which she said had been "disastrous for women's rights in Afghanistan".
"This law legalises all violence which happens against women in Afghanistan," she told the BBC. "They will lose their rights we have in our constitution."
The law covers members of Afghanistan's Shia minority, who make up 10% of the population.
It was rushed through parliament in February and has now been approved by President Hamid Karzai.
But the BBC's Mark Dummett in Kabul says that the final version has not yet been made public, and the president has not yet commented on it.
The law was backed by influential Shia clerics, and Shia political parties.
Defenders of the law say it is an improvement on the customary laws which normally decide family matters.
But critics like Member of Parliament Fawzia Koofi have accused the president of playing for votes.
"We have elections coming up in the summer and President Karzai's dependency on these fundamentalist groups is growing - and also he wants to have the support of the extremist Shia groups."
A separate family law for the Sunni majority is now also being drawn up. Activists fear that this too might be used to roll back Afghan women's hard-won freedoms.
A spokeswoman for the UN Development Fund for Women (Unifem) in Kabul told the BBC a "studied approach" is now required to determine the exact content of the new law.
"Unifem-Afghanistan remains seriously concerned about the potential impact of this law on the women of Afghanistan," the spokeswoman said.
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Taliban say U.S. reconciliation offer "lunatic"
By Sayed Salahuddin April 1, 2009
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents rejected on Wednesday a U.S. offer of "honorable reconciliation" as a "lunatic idea" and said the withdrawal of foreign troops was the only way to end the war in Afghanistan.
With the Afghan conflict now in its eighth year, NATO-led forces and the Taliban are locked in a bloody stalemate with violence set to rise further this year as more U.S. troops arrive and seek to contain the insurgency ahead of August elections.
President Barack Obama is redoubling U.S. efforts with more troops, more diplomatic effort and more economic assistance, but he has also already spoken of the need for an "exit strategy."
If the U.S. plan fails to show results, analysts say, time is on the Taliban side.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an international conference on Afghanistan on Tuesday that those members of the Taliban who abandoned extremism must be granted an "honorable form of reconciliation."
"This matter was also raised in the past," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, referring to comments by Obama last month who spoke of reaching out to moderate Taliban.
"They have to go and find the moderate Taliban, their leader and speak to them. This is a lunatic idea," Mujahid said by telephone from an unknown location.
The 21,000 extra U.S. troops ordered by Obama to join the 70,000 foreign soldiers now fighting insurgents in Afghanistan showed the United States wanted the war to continue, Mujahid said, and the Taliban would keep fighting till they left.
"There is no other way. We want our freedom and respect for our independence," Mujahid said.
Swiftly ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001 for harboring al Qaeda after the September 11 attacks, the Taliban regrouped and have steadily spread their attacks from their traditional support base in the south and east to areas closer to the capital.
STALEMATE
NATO commanders admit that mainly British, Canadian and Dutch troops are locked in a stalemate in the south, unable to stop insurgent roadside and suicide bomb attacks without the active support of the population, while Taliban militants are incapable of overcoming Western troops in head-on battle.
Most of the new U.S. troops will be deployed in the south in an effort to break that stalemate, but while U.S. commanders say their forces, mainly in the east, are making progress against the insurgency, violence has risen steadily there too.
As Obama unveiled his new strategy he focused on the fight against al Qaeda and not allowing Afghanistan to again become a base for Osama bin Laden's group to attack the United States.
By doing so, Obama effectively changed the measure of success in Afghanistan from the Bush administration's goal of also defeating the Taliban and installing Western-style democracy.
Despite the Taliban's harsh rhetoric against foreign troops, the Islamist movement says it does not need al Qaeda support and has also toned down its criticism of the Afghan government.
The shifting stances offer a glimpse of what a possible peace deal may entail: Taliban repudiation of al Qaeda in return for a pledge to withdraw foreign troops.
But while moderate former Taliban officials have been involved in Saudi-sponsored talks to explore ways of opening dialogue with the insurgents, the Taliban are unlikely to engage in negotiations as long as they feel they are winning the war.
Strong indigenous security forces are a key to success in counter-insurgency, U.S. military doctrine states, and Obama said his new strategy would increase efforts to train Afghan forces and bring the Afghan army and police up to strength by 2011.
That date also coincides with the time by which, diplomats say, the Obama administration is likely to want to see results in Afghanistan -- a year before the next U.S. presidential election.
The Taliban meanwhile, do not have to win the war, analysts say. All they have to do is survive and wait for their opponents to lose the will to keep fighting.
(Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Jerry Norton)
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Suicide bombers attack government building
Kandahar, 1 April (AKI) - Four suicide bombers dressed in army uniforms and armed with rifles attacked a government building in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday. The initial death toll was 10 people, including the four bombers, while 16 other people were were reported to have been injured.
In a coordinated attack, the suicide bombers struck shortly after one of them detonated a car laden with explosives outside the offices of the consultative provincial council, as members of the council were holding a meeting with local elders.
Two of the bombers were shot dead by police officers before they could detonate their explosives. However, a third militant managed to detonate his explosives, killing himself.
Five of the victims were civilians and one was a police officer, said Afghanistan interior ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary. No militant group initially claimed responsibility for the attack.
Afghan and NATO-led troops have cordoned off the area. Kandahar, a former Taliban stronghold is Afghanistan's third largest city.
The latest attack come as thousands of new US troops are due to arrive in the country.
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Eleven killed in Afghan provincial council attack
April 1, 2009, 11:57 pm
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A group of suicide bombers raided a provincial council building in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar Wednesday and killed 11 people, the Interior Ministry said.
One bomber blew himself up at the gate of the building, killing the guard, while three more suicide attackers managed to get inside the building and started firing at people, the Interior Ministry said in a statement issued in Kabul .
Police swiftly moved into the compound and shot dead two of the would-be bombers, but a third succeeded in blowing up the explosives attached to his body, the statement added.
"As a result of this blast, seven civilians and three police were martyred," the Interior Ministry said.
Kandahar's education chief and the province's deputy head of the health department were among the dead, Ahmad Wali Karzai, the council head and a brother of President Hamid Karzai , told reporters in Kandahar .
The attackers were dressed in Afghan army uniforms, witnesses said. Sixteen people, including members of the council, were wounded, officials added.
A Taliban commander, Mullah Hayat Khan, told Reuters the austere Islamist group was behind the attack, adding "our aim was to inflict maximum losses on Afghan police and security forces."
Violence has reached its bloodiest level since the Taliban's removal in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, raising fears Afghanistan could slide back into anarchy despite increasing numbers of foreign forces.
Earlier in the day, the Afghan interior ministry said U.S. and Afghan forces had killed 30 Taliban fighters, including a local commander, in an operation in neighbouring Helmand on Tuesday.
The interior ministry statement said another 20 militants were wounded in the operation. It did not say whether the police or U.S.-led forces had suffered any casualties in the raid and gave no further details.
The raid in Helmand came a day after a similar number of insurgents were killed in a joint operation in neighbouring Uruzgan province, according to the interior ministry.
The Taliban have yet to comment on either incident. They routinely reject reports of high casualties as propaganda.
Taliban militants are mostly active in south and east Afghanistan but have managed to increase the size and scope of their attacks towards the capital, Kabul , since last year.
The growing violence has prompted some Western politicians to warn that Afghanistan may slide back into anarchy despite the presence of more than 70,000 foreign troops.
To combat Taliban advances, Washington plans to send an extra 17,000 troops, as well as 4,000 trainers for Afghan security forces, ahead of elections in August.
(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Jerry Norton)
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Brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai escapes as suicide attackers kill 17
Tom Coghlan in Kabul Times Online - Apr 01 9:40 AM
An attack by Taleban suicide bombers and gunmen in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar yesterday left 17 people dead and almost killed the brother of President Karzai.
In the latest terrorist attack in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and using a tactic that is becoming increasingly common, the four-man team of bombers dressed in Afghan army uniform blasted their way into the offices of the Kandahar provincial council, an elected local government body that is headed by Ahmad Wali Karzai, the brother of the President.
Local officials told The Times that seven civilians and several provincial officials were killed. Six police officers also died before the police and bodyguards of the politicians who were inside the building were able to kill the attackers. Another 16 people were injured, according to officials from the Public Health Ministry in Kandahar.
Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taleban, has admitted responsibility for the attack.
Local officials said that a Toyota Land Cruiser was used to ram the gates of the building in a fortified area of the city and exploded. Three gunmen wearing explosives vests stormed the building and a gunbattle ensued.
“In the exchange of fire, two of the suicide attackers were shot and killed,” said Zmarai Bashiry, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry. “The remaining attacker detonated his explosives.”
Haji Agha Lalai, one of the councillors who was inside the building, said that the gates were blown off as the attack began. “Then some people — I don’t know if they were the terrorists — entered the building and started firing in the hall,” he said. “Our bodyguards fired back. Another explosion occurred. It was like one of them blew himself up as our bodyguards fired at them.” The attack mirrored that by another squad of gunmen and suicide bombers who stormed a government ministry in Kabul in February, killing 20 people.
The brother of the President said that the dead in the Kandahar attack included the provincial education director, the deputy provincial health director and five bodyguards. Ahmad Wali Karzai has been accused frequently by Western diplomats of involvement in smuggling drugs. He wields enormous power in the south of the country.
Hours earlier, the Taleban killed a senior pro-government cleric in the city as he returned from praying in a mosque near his home. Qari Sayed Ahmad is the fourth cleric to be killed in the city in the past two months.
In neighbouring Helmand province, US special forces and Afghan security forces reported the deaths of 30 Taleban fighters, including a local commander, in an overnight operation near to the Kajaki Dam. Another 20 militants were reported injured.
A string of attacks and bloody battles in recent days comes after two weeks of relative calm in the south, a lull that was attributed by Western officials to the arrival of the opium poppy harvesting season. The harvest is expected to continue for two weeks.
In the first three months of the year, 75 Nato troops died in Afghanistan, compared with 40 in the first three months of last year, according to CNN. Reflecting the difference in the two conflicts in recent months, 43 Western soldiers have died in Iraq so far this year.
During a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington yesterday, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, General David Petraeus, said that militants were gaining in strength in Afghanistan but promised that they would be fought “relentlessly and aggressively” by the expanding US forces.
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Blast kills Mayor in E Afghanistan
Xinhua April 1, 2009
Mayor of Khost city, capital of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, was killed Tuesday afternoon while his car hit roadside mines in the suburb of the city, officials said.
Abdul Najib Mangal, the director of Health Department in Khost, told Xinhua that it occurred at around 5:15 p.m. local time (1245 GMT) when the car of Mayor Sahi Amirullah was struck by mines planted in advanced outside Khost city.
"Mr. Amirullah was killed in the blast and six others also got injured including two nephews of the Mayor," Mangal said.
Meanwhile, police on the spot confirmed the death of the Khost Mayor as well.
No group or individuals have yet to claim responsibility for the attack targeting Mayor while Taliban militants vowed to intensify assaults on government officials and international troops in the shape of roadside bombing and suicide bombing.
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Many killed in 'US drone attack'
Wednesday, 1 April 2009 BBC News
A missile fired by a suspected US drone has killed at least 10 people in Pakistan, close to the Afghan border, eyewitnesses say.
The missile hit a house in Orakzai tribal area. Residents and local journalists said the house had been converted into a Taleban camp.
The Taleban have cordoned off the entire area, they said.
Last week, US President Barack Obama said his government would consult Pakistan on drone attacks.
'Retaliation'
Officials said the targets were Taleban and al-Qaeda members who have found safe havens in tribal areas near the Afghan border.
Residents in the area say that the missile struck a house being used by the Taleban which was completely destroyed.
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says that the strike is the first drone attack in Orakzai and is another sign that the US is expanding the zones of attack.
Residents said that Taleban militants immediately cordoned off the area and took away the bodies of the dead.
There have been more than 35 US strikes since August - killing about 340 people - and most have landed in the North and South Waziristan tribal regions. South Waziristan is the stronghold of Pakistani Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
On Tuesday, Mehsud claimed responsibility for Monday's deadly attack on a police academy in Lahore saying it was in retaliation against US drone attacks.
He said the attacks would continue "until the Pakistan government stops supporting the Americans".
Our correspondent says that the Orakzai tribal region is the base for Zulfiqar Mehsud, Baitullah Mehsud's main deputy.
He uses the area to carry out operations in the nearby Khyber tribal region.
His militants are primarily responsible for disrupting and destroying Nato convoys carrying supplies into Afghanistan through the Khyber pass.
Pakistan has been publicly critical of drone attacks, arguing that they kill civilians and fuel support for militants like the Mehsuds.
The latest strike comes as Afghanistan's interior ministry said that at least 10 people were killed just across the border in a suicide attack on the headquarters of the provincial council in Kandahar.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, to discuss ways to combat Islamic extremists in both countries in talks hosted by the Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, in Ankara on Wednesday.
Afghan officials have previously said that insurgent attacks inside Afghanistan are planned in Pakistan.
Relations have improved since President Zardari came to power but Turkey's role as a broker could further improve ties.
The US military routinely does not confirm drone attacks but the armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are believed to be the only forces capable of deploying drones in the region.
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Pakistan braces for more attacks
By Syed Saleem Shahzad Asia Times Online April 1, 2009
KARACHI - A day after militants stormed a police academy in the eastern city of Lahore, security officials on Tuesday were still trying to make sense of conflicting details of the brazen operation. But on one issue there is consensus - more attacks are expected on high-profile targets, such as military installations, jails, the presidency and even parliament.
A group of militants once associated with the Harkat-e-Jihad-i-Islami and the Lashkar-e-Taiba - groups with strong roots to the struggle over divided Kashmir - a few days ago traveled to Lahore from a militant camp in the North Waziristan town of Razmak, a year-round hill station situated at the crossroads of North Waziristan and South Waziristan on the Afghanistan border.
According to militant contacts who spoke to Asia Times Online, after surveying a few potential targets, the militants selected the police training center for the attack on Monday morning. Several of the main gunmen were dressed in police uniforms, backed by juniors to provide them with cover.
After killing a number of cadets and taking many others hostage, the lead militants slipped away from the scene, leaving behind a few men to keep the shootout with security forces going, which they did for eight hours. The fugitives most likely went to southern Punjab cities, such as Multan.
These are the bare facts, all others, including the number of cadet casualties - anywhere from eight to 60 - the number of militants and how many of them were killed or captured remain guesswork.
Pakistani security forces claim to have killed four militants and captured four. But the Deputy Inspector General Operations (Punjab), Mushtaq Sukhaira, officially confirmed the arrest of only one person. He was named only as Hijratullah, an Afghan national from Paktika province, and was caught with a few grenades and a dagger. He is said to have been living in North Waziristan and does not speak Pakistani Urdu or Punjabi languages. In light of statements made by some cadets, intelligence agencies maintain that some of the militants came from Pakistani Punjab and spoke three languages - Urdu, Punjabi and Seraiki. (Seraiki is spoken in southern Punjab.)
Hijratullah is being held at a secret location for interrogation by a Pakistani joint investigation team comprising the Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence and Inter-Services Intelligence.
On Tuesday, according to a Reuters report, the chief of the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan), Baitullah Mehsud, claimed responsibility for Monday's attack. "Yes, we have carried out this attack," Mehsud is reported to have said. He is based in South Waziristan and is traditionally anti-Pakistan. He added that the attack was "in retaliation for the continued [Predator] drone strikes by the US in collaboration with Pakistan on our people" and that the attacks would continue "until the Pakistan government stops supporting the Americans".
Militant blowback
The latest attack, and most likely the one on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier this month, mark ominous muscle-flexing by Pakistan's "original" jihadis, mostly Punjabis trained by the military in the 1990s as the first line of defense for the country, especially in Kashmir.
After the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, they stayed neutral, only joining the Taliban's fight against foreign forces in Afghanistan in 2004, helping with training and logistics. During the Pakistani military's operations in the tribal areas over the past few years, they kept out of the fight. (See 'Pain has become the remedy' Asia Times Online, November 14, 2007.)
In a critical phase of the "war on terror", for the first time these militants are fully operational and are turning their attention to operations inside Pakistan. The top military brains at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the garrison city twinned with the capital Islamabad, are acutely aware of what these highly trained and dedicated militants are capable of: they cut their teeth in operations inside India and in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Dealing with the problem is another matter. To start with, unprecedented pressure from the United States has forced Pakistan to sever communication with the militants.
US Central Command chief General David Petraeus, speaking on US television on Monday, reiterated that the US military was putting additional focus on rooting out ties between Pakistan's intelligence services and the Taliban. He continued, "The US military will reserve the right of last resort to take out threats inside Pakistan, but it would prefer to enable the Pakistani military to do the job itself."
After the attack on the Sri Lankan team, Pakistani military officials met with Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the chief of the Jamaatut Dawa, which is linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi. They asked the men, both of whom are under house arrest, to use their influence to get the militants to agree to a ceasefire.
But Saeed and Lakhvi said they no longer had influence, and that if they ventured into North Waziristan it was most likely they would be captured or killed by the militants as they were now seen as Islamabad's proxies.
"This is an attack on Pakistan. There are two choices: to either let the Taliban take over your country or to fight it out," said Rehman Malik, Pakistan's Interior ministry chief.
But this new breed of "renegade" militants, broken free from their former masters, poses a formidable new threat, and the authorities are braced for more attacks sooner rather than later.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.
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U.S., Iran officials meet at conference on Afghanistan
Los Angeles Times By Paul Richter April 1, 2009
The meeting in The Hague between envoy Richard Holbrooke and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Akhundzadeh is the Obama administration's biggest overture yet to Tehran.
Reporting from The Hague -- A senior U.S. official met with an Iranian diplomat during an international conference here Tuesday, marking the Obama administration's biggest overture so far to the Islamic Republic.
Richard C. Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, had a "brief but cordial" meeting with the official, said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who led the delegation.
The encounter with the deputy foreign minister, during a conference on Afghanistan, was the administration's first face-to-face meeting with Iranian officials and represents an early move in President Obama's effort to reestablish dialogue after 30 years of hostility.
Clinton told reporters that Iran's participation at the meeting marked "a promising sign that there will be future cooperation" between Iran and other world powers on how to deal with the deepening problems in Afghanistan.
Tehran has expressed ambivalence about the overtures, and had kept U.S. officials guessing as to whether it would attend the conference, which brought together 83 countries.
Afterward, the deputy foreign minister, Mahdi Akhundzadeh, denied that any negotiations with U.S. officials had taken place. "It is neither on our agenda nor have we any plans to negotiate with the Americans," he was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying.
Nonetheless, the private meeting appeared to suggest that Tehran at least wants to continue exploring what Washington has to offer.
Holbrooke and Akhundzadeh "agreed to keep in touch," Clinton said. She also passed along an unsigned diplomatic letter to Akhundzadeh asking Tehran to do what it could to bring about the return of three Americans from Iran. The three are private investigator Robert Levinson, freelance journalist Roxana Saberi and student Esha Momeni.
Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared in March 2007 during a trip to Iran, where he was investigating a smuggling case. Saberi, who worked in television and radio, was arrested Jan. 31 and charged with working without a permit. Momeni, a graduate student at Cal State Northridge, was arrested in October while researching the Iranian women's rights movement.
The letter asks Iran "to use all its facilities to determine the whereabouts and ensure the quick and safe return of Robert Levinson, and grant the release of Roxana Saberi, and permission to travel for Roxana Saberi and Esha Momeni."
The U.S. letter appeared intended in part to counter concerns that the administration might go too far to placate Iran. U.S. lawmakers, Israelis and officials with Persian Gulf countries are among those who have expressed concern.
The Afghanistan conference produced declarations of support for the international mission there, but also acknowledgments of the difficulty of the task.
Kai Eide, the top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan, warned that world powers shouldn't be overcome by a "doom-and-gloom atmosphere."
In public comments at the conference, the Iranian diplomat objected to U.S. plans to send an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan.
"The presence of foreign forces has not improved things in the country, and it seems that an increase in the number of foreign forces will prove ineffective too," Akhundzadeh said.
At the same time, he said Iran was concerned about a vast flow of Afghan narcotics. Iran "has always been suffering from instability and insecurity in Afghanistan," he said.
A senior State Department official, who declined to be identified, citing the sensitivity of the closed discussions, said that although Iran expressed some grievances with the U.S., its tone was warmer than it has been in the past.
The high-visibility encounter also appeared to be another sign of the ambitions of Holbrooke, a veteran diplomat who was Clinton's chief foreign policy advisor during her presidential campaign and who appears to be widening the scope of his diplomatic activities.
Several other administration officials have duties related to Iran, including William Burns, the State Department's No. 3 official, and Dennis Ross, a senior advisor.
paul.richter@latimes.com
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Afghanistan commanders expect spike in violence
by Bronwen Roberts Wed Apr 1, 1:07 am ET
KABUL (AFP) – Military chiefs in Afghanistan say that they are expecting a spike in violence as international forces, encouraged by a US boost in troop numbers, move into the spring fighting season.
US President Barack Obama has announced an extra 21,000 US troops together with a new strategy to tackle Islamic extremism in this region, for which he will seek support from his European allies at this week's NATO summit.
The reinforcements will be a "game changer," the Dutch commander of 23,000 NATO troops in the restive south, Major General Mart de Kruif, told reporters here.
It would enable the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to expand its operations and increase the pressure on insurgent leaders, the drugs trade, and bomb-making cells, he said.
That will likely lead to a "significant spike in incidents" as the rebels react, he cautioned, but would sow the seeds for a significant improvement -- next year.
The problem up to now, ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Richard Blanchette told AFP, was that there were simply not enough soldiers to capture and hold insurgent areas in the south.
"You just run out of troops," the Canadian said, adding that reinforcements due to start deploying from late spring had created a "positive mood."
"We will see more incidents occur because we will go into areas where until now they had safe-havens and they did their smuggling and violent acts."
Last year's violence was the worst since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001 following the September 11 attacks in the United States by Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda group.
The invasion drove the Taliban from power in Kabul, but they and Al-Qaeda, whom they were sheltering, have since been able to regroup, locking down and harassing tens of thousands of international troops here.
Around 4,000 of the extra US troops will work on training Afghan security forces so they can take on a larger role in the bloody fight against Taliban and other insurgents.
The other 17,000 will boost NATO-led forces in the south, where insurgents are tied into a lucrative narcotics trade.
Those are on top of nearly 70,000 foreign troops from 42 countries serving under NATO or US command.
So far this year, 77 foreign soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan, most of them in attacks, according to the icasualties.org website that tracks the conflicts here and in Iraq.
Its figure for the whole of last year was 294.
Improvised explosive devices account for 65-70 percent of casualties to the force but claim four to five times as many Afghan civilians, Blanchette said.
Security forces are targeting the networks that make the devices. "In that we are making progress."
IEDs are "absolutely now the weapon of choice by the insurgency," De Kruif agreed, and a highlight of planning for the new US troops is that there would be enough armoured vehicles to better protect them.
Blanchette said the situation was complicated by a difficulty in precisely defining the Taliban, who include a hardcore, religious segment as well guns for hire.
"We know that a lot of them are farmer by day, fighter by night," he said, "and this is making it very difficult for any specific operations to clear an area completely."
International forces also have to overcome Taliban propaganda and an often sceptical public alienated by civilian casualties caused by the military.
Winning the participation of the "huge mass" of Afghans who do not support the insurgents is vital to the "three-pillar" counter-insurgency strategy of building security, governance and development, Blanchette added.
This week's summit is expected to renew international commitment to Kabul, despite concern in some nations over the mounting financial and human cost.
Obama's pledge to ramp up the civilian effort here has been praised. While Washington has dropped appeals for more soldiers from Europe, he is likely to call at the summit for civilian expertise.
The political commitment outweighed the troops crunch facing the military, Blanchette said.
"The challenges are huge but at the same time the will of the international community is quite huge," he said.
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US Lawmakers Assess Challenges in Afghanistan
Voice of America By Dan Robinson 01 April 2009
Members of Congress have heard from foreign affairs experts about challenges the United States faces in carrying out President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. A House of Representatives National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee discussed the stakes for countries in the region and the role they could play in helping to encourage stability in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In announcing his new strategy for Afghanistan last week, President Obama underscored the importance of regional cooperation, and the need to include such countries as China, India, Russia and others.
House subcommittee chairman Democrat John Tierney said the importance of outside influences where Afghanistan and Pakistan are concerned cannot be under-emphasized.
"Unless all regional actors are engaged with and ultimately view a stable Afghanistan and Pakistan as being in their own best interests, these neighbors will continue to exert behind the scenes pressure and up front material support to their Afghan proxies," said John Tierney. "It's hoped that one day these regional actors will not only withhold from playing harmful roles but will in fact play positive and constructive ones."
From China and Russia, to Central Asian states, and Pakistan and India, witnesses agreed on the need for regional cooperation.
Where India and Pakistan are concerned the picture is complex, involving longstanding rivalries and Pakistani suspicions about Indian intentions in Afghanistan.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlain says one challenge facing the Obama administration is to persuade Pakistan and India that old rivalries should be set aside to confront one common enemy.
"The fact, if we are all very honest with ourselves, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the United States are all facing the same enemy in this region, and that enemy is al-Qaida and the al-Qaida-like terrorist networks that are attacking both us, the far enemy, and the local governments, the near enemy," said Wendy Chamberlain.
Chamberlain warns against placing conditions on economic assistance to Pakistan, saying the U.S. must demonstrate to the people of Pakistan that it will not abandon them.
Lisa Curtis, with The Heritage Foundation, says increasing U.S. aid to Pakistan, as proposed in legislation sponsored by Senator John Kerry, must balance strengthening moderate forces with ending Pakistani links to extremists.
She says U.S. efforts in Afghanistan must also take into account continuing Pakistani concerns about its regional influence vis a vis India, and longer-term Indian influence in Afghanistan.
"I think it is India's interest to ensure that its involvement in Afghanistan is transparent to Pakistan and the U.S. has a role to play in ensuring this," said Lisa Curtis. "We of course should address forthrightly Pakistan's concerns but at the same time dismiss any accusations that are unfounded."
Deepa Ollapally, of George Washington University's Sigur Center for Asian Studies, says the Obama administration's plan for Afghanistan, involving a new contact group including India, will have a beneficial effect.
"The current strategy which has been to allow Pakistan veto power over India's involvement in formulating regional solutions to the Afghan crisis is not working, and frankly it rewards Pakistan for its behavior so far," said Deepa Ollapally.
On China's role in Afghanistan, Sean Roberts of George Washington University's International Development Studies Program says Beijing's focus will remain focused on economic interests, and stability could only be of help in that respect.
As for Russia, Roberts says Moscow could play a critically important role in a regional approach on Afghanistan but can be expected to look out for its own interests.
"While Russia is interested in preventing Chechen separatists from obtaining support and refuge in Afghanistan, it also retains serious issues of wounded pride in connection with the Soviet failure to develop Afghanistan in the 1970's and 1980's," said Sean Roberts. "In this context, Russia may not be too happy to see the U.S. succeed where it has failed. Furthermore Russia is extremely suspicious of U.S. interests in central Asia and it tends to view U.S. engagement in Afghanistan as part of a larger campaign to get a foothold in the region."
Roberts says Russia could undermine U.S. influence, citing what he called Russian pressure on Kyrgyzstan to close a key air base to U.S forces, and would also exercise influence in the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization dealing with Central Asian security.
Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment's Middle East Program, says U.S. engagement with Iran on Afghanistan would bring little cost but potentially big benefits.
Sadjadpour suggests the Obama administration could achieve more by separating the most sensitive issues in the U.S.-Iranian relationship, such as Iran's nuclear program and its support for terrorist groups, from the question of cooperation on Afghanistan:
"In the short-term I don't think anyone has any illusions we are going to reach a compromise with Iran on their support Hezbollah, on their support for Hamas, or I think in the short-term certainly no one has any illusions there is going to be a any breakthroughs on the nuclear issue," said Karim Sadjadpour. "I don't think this should preclude U.S.-Iran cooperation in Afghanistan, on the contrary I think trying to build confidence on Afghanistan could well have a positive effect on those other issues."
Sadjapour says the United States and Iran have important overlapping interests in Afghanistan, including combating the narcotics trade and preventing a return to power of the Taliban.
On Afghanistan, and other issues, he says the best course for the Obama administration would be to encourage Iranian cooperation as a responsible stakeholder in the region.
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Sarkozy rules out more troops for Afghanistan
April 1, 2009, 7:43 pm
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday ruled out sending more troops to Afghanistan , days before a NATO summit in France is due to discuss the alliance's Afghan strategy.
"We will send no other reinforcements," Sarkozy told Europe 1 radio in an interview, confirming previous remarks by Defence Minister Herve Morin.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy and James Mackenzie)
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China pledges $75 mln in aid for Afghanistan
Xinhua www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-01
China announced on Tuesday that it would provide 75 million U.S. dollars of aid to Afghanistan in the next five years.
The pledge was announced by China's Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Dawei at an international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague.
Wu said China will continue to provide assistance in areas like capacity building at the request of the Afghan government and will continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to take part in Afghan reconstruction.
He also stressed the need to fight terrorism and to support the Aug. 20 presidential elections.
"The Chinese side strongly supports the endeavor to combat terrorism in all manifestations. At the same time, we maintain that counter-terrorism efforts should be made to address both the symptoms and the root causes, and particularly to avoid civilian casualties. Efforts should be made to eliminate the hotbed of terrorism through peaceful development," Wu told the conference.
He said China supports efforts to strengthen capacity building in Afghanistan and hopes that the Afghan government and army can assume, at an early date, the responsibility of maintaining their own national security and stability.
To ensure smooth elections in August is an important task facing Afghanistan, said Wu. It also constitutes a key precondition to political stability and peaceful reconstruction of the country, he added.
"We call on the international community to provide financial and security assistance and create favorable conditions for steady and smooth elections," he said.
He noted that Afghanistan needs continued attention and assistance from the international community, and that it is the responsibility of all parties to act in coordination at both the international and regional levels.
China hopes the United Nations will continue to play a leading role in coordinating international assistance efforts for Afghanistan. China, as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, favors an active role of the organization in Afghanistan, he said.
Editor: Mu Xuequan
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Australian Special Forces Kill Taliban Commander in Afghanistan
Bloomberg By Michael Heath April 1, 2009
Australian special forces killed a senior Taliban insurgent involved in organizing suicide attacks and training foreign fighters in Afghanistan, the Department of Defence said today.
Mullah Abdul Bari coordinated bomb attacks on international and Afghan forces in the southern province of Uruzgan, the department said in a statement. Bari was killed in a recent operation by Australian and Afghan National Army troops, it said, without elaborating.
“His weapons of choice were roadside bombs and suicide bombers, and his death means that Taliban insurgents operating in the region have lost one of their key facilitators,” Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans said.
Australia has about 1,100 soldiers under NATO command in Afghanistan, the most of any non-alliance member, and has said it is prepared to increase its troop presence if other countries with forces there do so. President Barack Obama is sending 17,000 extra U.S. soldiers and 4,000 military trainers to bolster international forces in Afghanistan and the South Asian nation's army.
Civilian deaths in the Afghan conflict hit a record level last year. The increase came as the Islamist movement stepped up its offensive against Afghan troops and about 70,000 international soldiers deployed in the country in a bid to topple President Hamid Karzai's government.
The announcement of Bari's death came two days after an opinion poll was published showing two-thirds of Australian voters oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan. The survey was conducted last week after two Australian soldiers were killed, bringing the nation's death toll in Afghanistan to 10.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, during a visit to Washington last week to meet with Obama, acknowledged that the war was becoming “increasingly unpopular” in Australia and elsewhere.
“But the bottom line is this: It's the right place to be,” he said in a March 25 interview on the PBS television show “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.” Australian troops will remain in Afghanistan “for the long haul,” Rudd said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net.
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Militants give bloody show of strength
Asia Times Online By Syed Saleem Shahzad March 31, 2009
KARACHI - Up to 20 suspected al-Qaeda-led militants, wearing police uniforms, stormed a police training camp in the eastern city of Lahore on Monday morning, killing at least 70 men and injuring scores more. The heavily armed gunmen then took hundreds of cadets hostage, who were still being held after more than six hours.
Militants sources confirmed to Asia Times Online that the raid was the first major operation of the new nexus comprising al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and Punjabi militants. They are angered by the agreement between Pakistan and the United States to hunt for top al-Qaeda and Taliban figures, as well as Pakistani militants, inside Pakistan.
The attack perfectly underscores the words of United States President Barack Obama, who on Friday, in outlining a new strategy for Afghanistan, stressed that containing militancy in Pakistan would be a focal point in the implementation of the initiative.
Reacting to Monday's attack, unlike with previous incidents in which foreign agencies were blamed, Pakistani defense analysts admitted that home-grown militants trained in the Afghan jihad were responsible.
Much of Obama's new strategy for "increasingly perilous" Afghanistan focuses on Pakistan, which will have US economic aid tripled to US$1.5 billion annually. But while Pakistan is seen as the key to eliminating the leadership of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Islamabad has been warned that the offer of aid is not unconditional. After years of mixed results, the US is no longer prepared to offer a "blank check".
In his speech outlining the new strategy - which will see an extra 4,000 US troops deployed to train the Afghan army - Obama declared the opening of a new front (Pakistan) in the post-September 11, 2001, US-led war in Afghanistan.
Top-level Pakistani intelligence quarters confirmed to Asia Times Online that this was agreed on during the recent visit to Washington by Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani and also when the US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA's) director Leon Panetta's visited Islamabad. At these meetings, all possible targets were discussed, with specifications and a modus operandi finalized.
It is in reaction to this agreement that Monday's attack in Lahore took place, illustrating in blood how difficult it will be to contain the problem of militancy. This has a direct bearing on Afghanistan as militants use Pakistan as a base for operations across the border.
In Washington, the most important aspect of the new strategy is to contain the Taliban's central command, which operates on both sides of the border. All other steps, including the deployment of 17,000 additional troops to bring the US force to 65,000, are peripheral.
The rationale of the strategy is based on the fact that following the US invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, the Taliban's command structure was destroyed. Despite having several hundred thousand fighters, the Taliban rank and file were rendered ineffective, apart from sporadic attacks in Gardez province in April 2002 and at a few other places.
The insurgency, which lacked resources and leadership, was thus not a serious threat for the coalition troops in Afghanistan until towards the end of 2003. US intelligence also managed to woo several top leaders of the former Taliban regime. These included commander Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi, former foreign minister Abdul Wakeel Mutawakil and former deputy interior minister and a commander, Abdul Razzaq, who later returned to the Taliban.
It was estimated that after the parliamentary elections of 2005, Taliban leader Mullah Omar and his close colleagues and al-Qaeda would be alienated and Washington would be able to strike deals with the "moderate" Taliban who had gained representation in parliament against Mullah Omar's orders. With a pro-Western government in place, a time frame could then be set for the US's exit.
However, several events took place which the US blamed on Pakistan - and even presented Islamabad evidence to this effect. These derailed the American plans.
On the fateful evening of April 19, 2003, the Hezb-e-Islami (HIA) leadership congregated in Shamshatoo camp in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan. The HIA is an Islamic organization with its roots in the anti-Soviet jihad of the 1980s.
The chief of the then-military wing of the HIA, Khalid Farooqui, now a member of parliament in Afghanistan, announced that a jihad would be waged against foreign troops in Afghanistan. The CIA presented photographs of the meeting to Pakistani authorities and complained that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence had facilitated the whole show. One picture showed HIA leader Qutubuddin Hilal at the meeting. According to Pakistan, he was under house arrest at his Peshawar residence.
Proof was also presented of the opening of HIA offices in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi and in Quetta, the capital of Balochinstan province. These were to recruit Afghan youths from the refugee camps to fight in Afghanistan.
However, the biggest American complaint was about the base of legendary Afghan mujahideen leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, in Dande Darpa Khail in the North Waziristan tribal area on the border with Afghanistan. The Americans rightly felt that one day his camp would play a decisive role in the Taliban-led insurgency. They were dead right. In 2006, Mullah Omar appointed Haqqani his deputy and central military commander and the wily fighter was pivotal in helping the Taliban regroup, culminating in their successful spring offensive in 2006.
The Obama administration now wants to revisit the days when the Taliban were effectively without a clear leadership. The additional troops aim to clear the Taliban's sanctuaries in Logar and Wardak provinces around Kabul. But the real goal is to shoot down the Taliban's command and control structures, which would, as before, force the Taliban fighters to melt into the population.
Washington apparently believes this campaign will take a few years, but that signs of success could emerge from this year if the plan is strictly implemented. This is where Pakistan comes in, and Obama's concern that the country get fully behind the US.
During his meetings with US officials, Kiani was briefed that intelligence-sharing needed to be of the highest level, including on all suspects, whether Afghans or Pakistanis. At the top of the list are anti-Pakistan tribal warlord Baitullah Mehsud, Sirajuddin Haqqani - Jalaluddin's son, Mullah Omar and other senior Taliban figures, such as Mullah Bradar, Mullah Abdul Razzaq and Mullah Hasan Rahmani.
Last week, a CIA Predator drone attacked Makeen, the native town and headquarters of Mehsud in North Waziristan. Subsequently, the US placed a US$5 million ransom on his head - the first time it has done this for a Pakistani national. This happened even though Mehsud renounced violence against the Pakistani security forces after the Swat peace agreement this month. He instead will focus on foreign forces in Afghanistan. The attack on Mehsud's headquarters broke the ceasefire and a new wave of suicide attacks on the security forces has played havoc in North-West Frontier Province in the past few days.
Monday's assault on the police training camp extends the battlefield into urban areas.
On the trail of Mullah Omar
Apart from top al-Qaeda leaders, the big fish remain Mullah Omar, the biggest Taliban commander in southwestern Afghanistan, Mullah Bradar, and other Taliban leaders of the Kandahar clan. This clan hails from the region stretching from the Pakistani province of Balochistan to the Afghan provinces of Helmand, Orzgan, Kandahar and Zabul.
Their termination would likely mean the end of the Taliban movement and the beginning of an era in which Washington believes that a Western-friendly Afghan government with deep roots in the southern Afghan Pashtun tribes would emerge.
Intelligence-sharing between Pakistan and the US has resulted in the areas of Noshki, Loralai, Zhob and Pashin in Pakistan being identified as places where the Taliban's command council meets. The precise nature of the Intelligence-sharing is not known, but it could be similar to what Pakistan has applied in the tribal areas.
Militant sources have told Asia Times Online of the case of Asmatullah Wazir, who was an assistant political agent in North Waziristan, that is, Islamabad's man. He was abducted by the Taliban from the town of Mir Ali last December and grilled on the state's spying network in the tribal area.
Asmatullah gave 50 names of people who were receiving money on the instructions of military quarters from Islamabad. According to the militants, Asmatullah maintained that this proxy network in North Waziristan informed Pakistan about any specific al-Qaeda person, and that information was shared with the CIA. Drones would then be launched into action. In this case, the Taliban killed all of the informers, mostly Afghans, and Asmatullah was released in January.
In a similar manner, Pakistan is likely to try to infiltrate the tribal areas in Balochistan province, where a new hunt for militants is to be launched.
But nagging doubts remain over Pakistan's commitment to this plan, despite Obama's specific caution that any aid the country receives will be based on performance. Should the Taliban be successfully "decapitated", beyond the US, it would mean a victory for countries such as India, Iran and Russia, with Pakistan being sidelined in its own strategic back yard.
A recent incident underscores the US's concerns. With Pakistan's assistance, a drone attack helped eliminate several top Arab al-Qaeda militants, but when it came to cooperation on some Taliban leaders, the Pakistanis were found wanting.
On the CIA's insistence, Pakistan shared intelligence on Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin and drones were deployed in Dande Darpa Khail, with repeated attacks in a single day. Several women and children of the Haqqani family were killed. But the CIA later complained that on the day the intelligence was shared, both Jalaluddin and Sirajuddin were in Peshawar, and another son, Nasiruddin, was in Karachi.
A complicating factor is the phenomenon of the neo-Taliban - a new generation of Afghans and Pakistanis, Pashtun and non-Pashtun Taliban imbibed with al-Qaeda's ideology. Three years ago they were so few in number they did not warrant discussion. Now they number about 100,000, if not more.
In principle, there is now agreement between Pakistan and the US to eliminate all terror, irrespective of nationality. This is why Mehsud was targeted. A new operation by the Pakistani military is also planned in Mohmand Agency.
However, the neo-Taliban's leadership is well beyond Mehsud, meaning that even if the Taliban leadership in southwestern Afghanistan were contained, the neo-Taliban would remain a big factor.
Further, after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, dozens of Arabs moved to Iraq and fueled the al-Qaeda-led insurgency. The US succeeded in alienating al-Qaeda, after which many Arabs moved to Pakistan's tribal areas. This trend was first observed in the last months of 2008, and is expected to continue.
In sum, the Obama administration analyzed the situation in the perspective of the US success in the few years following 2001, as well as the success against al-Qaeda in Iraq from 2007-2008.
The neo-Taliban, with their ability to stage suicide attacks at will, are the most underestimated factor in this whole game, which means that the fight is far from over: witness Monday's carnage in Lahore.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.
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Pak wrong to think India gaining control in Afghanistan: McCain
PTI - Apr 1, 2009 - Washington
The ruling establishments in Pakistan wrongly believes that India is increasingly gaining control in Afghanistan, Senator John McCain has said. "India is very interesting, in my view, because there is a view in Pakistan that the Indians are taking control of the economy and forging close alliances with Afghanistan," McCain said at a seminar on "The Path to Success in Afghanistan" organized by the Foreign Policy Initiative, a Washington-based think tank yesterday.
"I don't think that's true, but there is that belief, and part of it is based on this deep-seated animosity that exists between Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.
This, McCain said reminds him that, still, if you ask the majority of the Pakistani people and military, they would probably say that the greater threat to their security is still India, as opposed to Afghanistan, which then makes understandable some of their lack of movement of troops, lack of efforts - significant efforts to assert - reassert control in certain parts of the border areas.
So the relation among Afghan neighbours are complex, he added.
"But I think that if we begin to succeed in Afghanistan and restore control and then all of the things that follow that, then I think their neighbours will behave in a more responsible fashion," he said. PTI .
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Turkey hopes to boost Afghan, Pakistan security ties
Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:17am EDT
ANKARA, March 31 (Reuters) - NATO member Turkey hopes to boost cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the fight against al Qaeda and Taliban militants when the presidents of the two countries meet in Ankara on Wednesday, officials said.
Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to stop militants crossing the border to carry out deadly attacks, but ties between Kabul and Islamabad have started to improve after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari came to power last year.
Military and intelligence chiefs of Pakistan and Afghanistan will also attend the talks hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Zardari, Turkish officials said.
The talks were expected to focus on border security and intelligence sharing.
"The only way to improve the security situation in these countries is to get the military to cooperate and understand each other, and we believe we can help here," a Turkish diplomat, who declined to be named, told Reuters. "Improving just civilian ties are not enough."
Officials from around the world were in The Hague on Tuesday for a U.N.-backed conference on Afghanistan in which the United States was appealing for international support to defeat militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Predominantly Muslim Turkey has long-standing ties with Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has hosted two high-level meetings between the two neighbours in the past.
The chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence would be among those attending Wednesday's talks, a Turkish government source said.
"In the summit, ideas will be exchanged on regional security, Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and reflections of these relations in the region, and common projects aiming to contribute to stability, security and welfare of the region," the Turkish president's office said in a statement.
NATO says increased cooperation between Kabul and Islamabad has resulted in a drop of cross-border insurgent infiltration.
More than 70,000 U.S. and NATO troops are in Afghanistan battling a growing insurgency by the Taliban movement, which is also spreading its influence in Pakistan through the porous mountain border between the two countries.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday announced a new strategy which will combine extra troops, funds for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a renewed focus on targeting al Qaeda militants on the Afghan/Pakistan border. Obama was due to visit Turkey April 6-7 for bilateral talks.
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“I welcome the Supreme Court decision but freeness, fairness and transparency of elections need to be ensured” Dr. Ashraf Ghani
March 31, 2009 Press Release Office of Dr. Ashraf Ghani
Affirming Supreme Court's latest decision dated March 29 to extend the terms of office of the President and his deputies until August 20, Dr. Ashraf Ghani – a presidential candidate, addresses the nation through an open letter. The following are the details of his statement released on March 31, 2009:
My People,
Considering the political and security interests of the country, the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on the 29th of March announced its opinion to extend the term of office of the President and his deputies until August 20, 2009.
As there is no political consensus on an alternative and the Constitution provides no explicit provision for dealing with the current situation, the Supreme Court had to remove uncertainty. Considering the national interests of the country and consistent with my previous stance on the need for stability, I welcome this decision. Upholding the rule of law, however, requires that a level playing field is created for the forthcoming election. It is, therefore, imperative that government resources are not misused or abused in favor of the incumbent's campaign efforts. Citizens of Afghanistan, civil society organizations, political parties and presidential candidates will need assurance that the government will not exploit its power to support the campaign of a particular candidate. I recommend the following steps to complement the decision of the Supreme Court:
1. A national consensus should be reached among representatives from the three branches of the state – executive, legislators and judiciary – representatives of civil society, women, the Ulama [religious leaders], the youth, representatives of political parties, journalists, business people and presidential candidates. A mechanism, in accordance to the electoral law, should be designed and a commitment made to ensure that none of the candidates misuse government facilities and staff to benefit their presidential campaigns. This should include vehicles, money, equipment by government (cabinet members), members of parliament (MPs), provincial and district governors, police chiefs and all governmental organizations in the capital, provincial and district levels.
2. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) should make a commitment to provide equal facilities and resources to all candidates and guarantee the transparency, impartiality and neutrality of all electoral institutions. To prevent interference of governmental organizations, a joint commission of the representatives of civil society organizations, political parties, candidates, UNAMA and the international community should be formed. This joint commission should be appointed by the Special Representative of Secretary General (SRSG) of the UN in coordination with the Afghan Parliament, political parties and civil society organizations.
3. There should be a clear commitment to ensure that elections shall take place on August 20, 2009. To deal with unexpected national emergencies a mechanism for joint decision-making should be developed.
4. The President should make a commitment to consult with the Parliament, political parties and civil society organizations on issues of national interest during the period that his authority has been extended.
5. To avoid the use of developmental resources for campaigning, programs (such as the social outreach effort) that can be misused to strengthen the position of a certain candidate should be suspended temporarily for the extended period or brought under the authority of a commission of civil society.
6. The President and key members of the government should not be allowed to use government resources to travel to provinces and districts or pay for the expenses of their campaign personnel through government resources and facilities. The joint commission recommended in section two should monitor compliance with this provision of the law.
My People,
Believing in our Islamic values and trusting in the abilities of our brothers and sisters, I am confident that together we will overcome the current crisis of governance and secure the future for our people. Achieving our goal of a stable and prosperous Afghanistan requires commitment to building an effective state, a dynamic economy, and a united nation that can make every Afghan a stakeholder in the system. We have to build a system where we the people and we alone can decide on our future destiny through participation in free and fair elections. Inshallah!
Dr. Ashraf Ghani
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Afghan cricketers defy the odds
By Alex Capstick Wednesday, 1 April 2009 BBC News
The Afghanistan cricket team's remarkable quest for a place in the World Cup has entered its final leg.
They are in South Africa for a crucial qualifying tournament - their first match is against Denmark on Wednesday.
Afghanistan began their pursuit of a coveted 2011 World Cup place as a member of the lowest-ranked group of cricket-playing nations.
If they do win a place in the tournament it would be an unrivalled cricketing achievement.
Expectations surpassed
Never before has a team qualified for the World Cup finals from such a position.
The journey has involved tournament victories on the English Channel Island of Jersey, in Tanzania and then Argentina.
Afghanistan have already surpassed all expectations.
Over the next 19 days in South Africa they will try to become one of four countries from outside the major cricket powers to qualify for the next World Cup finals.
Afghanistan have been preparing for the event in neighbouring Pakistan.
They simply do not have the resources in their war-ravaged homeland.
Coach Kabir Khan said that despite the lack of infrastructure, the team's success overseas had inspired youngsters back home to take up the sport.
"They want to play it no matter what's happening over there," he said.
Mr Khan said that several of the bigger provinces in Afghanistan are involved in cricket and there are more than 200 registered clubs.
Welcome distraction
"The problem is facilities, there are not enough facilities over there. For the facilities they bank on either Pakistan, India or Sri Lanka and things are getting tighter over there as well so obviously you don't know what's going to happen in the future."
An appearance in cricket's showpiece event, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Australia, India and England, would no doubt provide the development of the game in Afghanistan with a major boost.
It would also be a welcome distraction from the country's difficulties.
But getting there is going to be tough. Other teams with much more experience are favoured to finish above them. Once again, in order to progress, Afghanistan will have to upset the odds.
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