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03 May 2013
FEATURE STORY
Afghan Government Faces Cash Crunch
BUSINESS
No articles featured today
NATION
Afghan Border Forces On Alert
A Border Clash Stirs Emotions in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s Corruption, and America’s Too
Taliban Take Away 33 Local and National Police in Faryab
The vicious cycle of insecurity in Afghanistan
Taliban told to distance itself from al-Qaida before it opens Qatar office
Afghanistan's Karzai Urges Closure of Guantanamo
TJCG Calls for Trial of War Criminals in Afghanistan
Afghan spy chief Asadullah Khalid back in U.S. for medical care
Lack of Punishment Fuels Corruption In Afghanistan
Look on the bright side: There’s a roaring heroin trade in Afghanistan, and it's all thanks to us
Reported channeling of CIA money to Afghanistan causing concerns among Afghans
Turkham Border Gate Reopened
Afghan interpreters in legal bid for UK settlement
James Dobbins Appointed New US Special Envoy For Afghanistan, Pakistan
Press Freedom Key to Credible Elections in Afghanistan
Explainer: What Lies Behind Latest Afghan-Pakistani Tensions?
Afghan Media: Free Agents or Obedient Servants?
Unknown Men Kill Counter-Terrorism Official in Herat
Afghan Rockers Kabul Dreams Spread a Message of Hope
Nato Air Strike Kills Eight Taliban Insurgents
Afghan police kill 59 Taliban militants in 24 hours
PRESS RELEASES
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FEATURE STORY
Afghan Government Faces Cash Crunch
New York Times
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG
May 2, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan
The Afghan government is supposed to cover less than half its own bills this year, yet achieving even that modest goal is proving an unexpected challenge, Afghan and Western officials said.
A confidential assessment of Afghan finances by the International Monetary Fund said the potentially severe cash crunch was caused by widespread tax evasion abetted by government officials, the increasing theft of customs revenues by provincial governors and softening economic growth.
The I.M.F. assessment, which has not been publicly released but was described by American and European diplomats who were recently briefed on its findings, estimated that Afghan revenue in the first quarter of the year was roughly 20 percent to 30 percent short of an informal target the fund had set for the government.
After a decade of steadily growing tax and customs revenue, the budget shortfall has caught Afghanistan’s international backers by surprise. Diplomats portrayed it as an unwelcome reminder that the Afghan government remains weak and corrupt — and years away from being able to pay its own expenses.
If the trend is not reversed, diplomats said, the Afghan government will be unable to pay salaries by midsummer, though Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal disputed that assessment. He put the shortfall at no more than 20 percent.
No one here expects the Afghan government to actually run out of money. It is supposed to cover about 40 percent of its nonsecurity spending this year, projected to total roughly $5 billion, and it could raise money by cracking down on tax evaders or imposing new fees for services.
As a last resort, international donors could always fill the gap. They already pay nearly the entire cost of Afghanistan’s police force and army, and have agreed to cover roughly 60 percent of the government’s other spending this year.
For now, fear of instability still trumps the desire for good governance among Western donors, and aid commitments are likely to hold through the end of the NATO combat mission in 2014, diplomats said.
But the looming cash crunch comes at a delicate time. Kabul is negotiating a long-term security deal with the United States and is looking for other Western countries to make good on aid pledges that amount to tens of billions of dollars after 2014.
Smaller countries with little or no military commitment here are especially likely to reassess their aid spending at that point, diplomats said.
If Afghan officials “don’t have the confidence in their own country to find a way to pay for it themselves, then why should we?” said a European diplomat from one of those smaller countries. The diplomat and others spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering Afghan officials.
For President Hamid Karzai, who has been pushing for greater control of Afghanistan’s affairs, the revenue problem strikes at a more fundamental issue: a country that cannot pay for itself is not its own master.
“Let us be honest,” Bernard Bajolet, the recently departed French ambassador, said at a farewell cocktail party. “Sovereignty won’t be effective as long as Afghanistan won’t be fully self-reliant financially.”
Afghanistan, to be sure, has made huge economic strides since 2001, and the signs of growing prosperity abound. Dozens of international flights a week arrive in Kabul, late-model cars crowd the congested streets of the capital, and cellphones have largely replaced the hand-held satellite phones that just over a decade ago were the sole way to make a call.
But the country will nonetheless need billions in financial aid through 2032 to cover its nonsecurity spending, never mind to pay for its army and police force, according to another I.M.F. review that was released in February.
American and European officials rarely speak of horizons that long. The current aid pledges for nonsecurity spending, which are contingent on the Afghan government combating corruption, run only through 2016 — it is 2018 for security spending — with only vague assurances of what will come afterward.
“I’m not sure that Mr. Karzai or Mr. Zakhilwal should be walking into a bank with promises, not if Afghans aren’t going to pay,” said another European official who deals with financial matters. “This matters to us.”
Mr. Zakhilwal, the finance minister, said he was confident the government would get its finances in order. In an e-mail, he attributed the shortfall largely to a shift in the start of the Afghan fiscal year to Dec. 21 from March 21, which resulted in people overpaying taxes last year.
The shifting fiscal year also accounts for why Afghan and European officials are measuring revenue against a target rather than comparing the numbers with the same quarter from previous years.
Slowing economic growth contributed to the revenue shortfall as well, Mr. Zakhilwal said, blaming the international news media for offering a “negative analysis” of what will happen after 2014.
That coverage, reflected in the Afghan news media, “has caused nervousness and has affected trade and business activities,” he said.
American and European officials said the shifting fiscal year and weakening confidence are certainly part of the problem.
But the economy grew by 12 percent last year, and many Afghans who should be paying large tax bills, especially wealthy businessmen, are closely linked to senior officials and political figures. An American official described them as the “untouchables,” saying they rarely pay their full tax bill.
The presidential election slated for next April further complicates matters. Cracking down on tax evasion is that much tougher in an election year; the business elite, for instance, finances campaigns.
Then there are customs revenues, which account for about half of Afghan government revenues. They “are declining, not increasing, due to the diversion of part of them,” said Mr. Bajolet, the former French ambassador. He did not elaborate.
But American and European officials said it was because of election year political jockeying. Some governors of provinces with lucrative border crossings are positioning themselves for presidential runs, and others are looking to help finance top contenders, they said. Customs revenues are an easy way to fill their war chests.
In his e-mail, Mr. Zakhilwal tacitly acknowledged the corruption, and called the revenue numbers a “blessing in disguise” that has allowed him to take politically perilous corrective measures.
He said 34 customs officials have been replaced “with more reputable, reform-minded and serious individuals. This is the biggest change in any single Afghan ministry in the past 12 years.”
He also said Finance Ministry officials were under orders to more strictly enforce tax and customs rules, and the cabinet decided last month to fire any official caught abetting tax evasion or stealing customs duties.
A senior official has yet to be fired.
Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting.
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BUSINESS
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NATION
Afghan Border Forces On Alert
TOLOnews.com
By Abdul Wali Arian
Thursday, 02 May 2013
Afghan Ministry of Interior on Thursday said that more forces have been stationed on the border with Pakistan and the forces are on standby.
The Ministry of Interior warns that if Pakistan’s military violation continues in the border area, Afghan security forces will strongly react against them.
Meanwhile, Kandahar police officials say that security forces in border areas with Pakistan are ready to respond to any threats and clash with Pakistani military.
Afghanistan border areas have been a shelling point of Pakistan’s artillery and even air attacks but at the height of the cable strained relations with Islamabad, Pakistani forces have attacked on border police checkpoints in Goshta District of Nangarhar province.
The attack has faced retaliation by Afghan border police with the mandate of Ministry of Interior on Wednesday night.
“This confrontation started when Pakistani military attacked on border police checkpoints and the border police responded to them strongly,” Sediq Sediqi spokesperson of Ministry of Interior told TOLOnews.
“We believe the Pakistani forces will continue their violation, and if they make any attempt to attack on Afghanistan, police forces will respond to them strongly and currently border police forces are stationed in Goshta district,” he added.
On the other hand Kandahar border security officials declared their preparations against any kind of attack by Pakistani military.
“Border police are on standby in all border districts,” Kandahar police commander General Abdul Razaq told TOLOnews.
Some Afghan parties expressed appreciation to the stance that the Afghan forces have taken to defend the territorial integrity of their country.
“We appreciate this brave action, and believe that Pakistan and Afghanistan should solve these tensions via dialogue,” Member of Rights and Justice party Abbas Naweyan told TOLOnews.
Confronting of Afghan border police with Pakistani forces have followed appreciation by Afghan citizens inside and outside the country.
Afghans on Facebook and Twitter also praised the bravery of Afghan security forces to defend territorial integrity of Afghanistan.
“This is one of big responsibilities of the government to defend territorial integrity and national reputation of Afghanistan,” President Karzai’s brother Mahmood Karzai told TOLOnews.
In the mean time, some Afghan border military officials claimed to have killed at least seven Pakistani soldiers in the clash which took place between Afghan and Pakistan Border Forces late Wednesday night in Goshta district of eastern Nangarhar province
One Afghan border police was killed and three others wounded, officials added.
“In this clash between Afghan and Pakistani border police, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed,” Afghanistan’s eastern border police commander said.
“During the clash, one Afghan border police was killed and three others wounded,” Deputy Governor Mohammad Hanif Girdiwal told TOLOnews.
Meanwhile, member of Internal Security Committee of Parliament Mohammad Naeem Lalai Hamidzai, Shakiba Hashimi and deputy head of NDS for Operation Dr Yasin Zia visited the area.
“Pakistan military moved forward 45km and the government had neglected in this regard,” Naeem Lalai said.
Afghanistan has the longest border with Pakistan and this border has always been full of risk for the security of the country. Alongside terrorists’ infiltration from Pakistan into Afghanistan, Pakistan’s military have also been problematic for Afghanistan.
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A Border Clash Stirs Emotions in Afghanistan
New York Times
By ROD NORDLAND
May 2, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan
Afghan forces claimed on Thursday that they had overrun and destroyed a Pakistani-held border crossing in a remote area, an event that provoked a spontaneous outpouring of nationalist sentiment here, sending thousands of students into the streets to demonstrate and setting off lively debate on social networking sites.
A funeral for Qasim Khan, an Afghan border policeman who was the only confirmed victim of the clash, turned into a patriotic rally. An ambulance pressed into service as a hearse to carry Mr. Khan’s body from Jalalabad to his home village in rural Nangarhar Province was strewn with flowers, and mourners declared a victory over Pakistan. Nearly 200 miles away in Gardez, a city in Paktia Province, Mr. Khan was hailed as a national hero by marching crowds of students who beat drums and chanted anti-Pakistan slogans.
A Facebook page was started by Afghan supporters to campaign for Mr. Khan to be posthumously awarded the rank of general.
A spokesman for the Afghan Border Police unit in eastern Nangarhar Province said troops from the unit burned the post at the border crossing in fighting that began Wednesday night and finished early Thursday morning. They also took back five Afghan police posts that had been occupied by Pakistani forces, he said. Afghan officials have said Pakistan built the crossing without Afghan approval, and it was one of several that President Hamid Karzai had publicly complained about last month.
The border police spokesman, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with his agency’s policy, said there were unconfirmed reports that nine Pakistani militiamen had been killed in the clash, which took place in the Goshta district.
However, Pakistani government officials said only two of their frontier constabulary officers were wounded in what a Foreign Ministry statement described as an “unprovoked firing incident” started by the Afghans, to which the Pakistani side reacted with “maximum restraint.” An Afghan member of Parliament from the Goshta district, Friadon Momand, said he had heard that the border crossing had not been destroyed and was still operating.
“We are not the aggressors, they are the ones provoking and fanning these clashes,” said Maj. Gen. Gul Nabi Ahmadzia, the Afghan Border Police commander in charge of the operation. “While we are waiting for our politicians to take action and decide what to do, we showed that Afghans are not incapable of protecting their country.”
Whoever was to blame, the operation aroused an unusual degree of reaction, especially among young Afghans, in contrast to their apathy over actions by their army and police forces in clashes with Afghan insurgents.
“An Afghan Border Police officer died last night fighting Pakistanis,” read a Facebook post attributed to Sohrab Sharifi. “Afghans enraged and showed emotions. But now eight Afghan local policemen killed by (Sons of Pakistan) Taliban, all will remain silent.”
Mr. Sharifi was referring to reports that eight Afghan Local Police officers were killed on Thursday morning by a roadside bomb that blew up as their truck passed by in the village of Pashtunabad in Logar Province.
Abdul Wali Wakil, the chairman of the Logar Provincial Council, said the officers had just graduated from a training program run by American Special Forces soldiers and had just been brought by the Americans to their assignment in the area.
“I have personally warned the provincial governor and provincial police chief about the potential threat in the area, but they ignored my advice,” he said.
The governor of Logar, Arsala Jamal, said the area of that attack was normally under full government control. “However, there are some individuals who are creating some minor problems for us every now and then,” he said.
In an unrelated episode in western Afghanistan, another Afghan Local Police unit was attacked by the Taliban, and 18 policemen were captured and taken prisoner in the Ghormach district of Faryab Province, according to Ajmal Wardak, the deputy commander of the 209th Afghan National Army Corps, which is responsible for the area.
The attack took place Tuesday but was not reported until Thursday. Another official in Faryab, Rahmatullah Turkistani, head of the provincial council, said he understood that 40 local policemen had been captured by the insurgents.
The border clash in Nangarhar Province comes after months of complaints by Afghan authorities about cross-border shelling and control of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In addition, Afghan political leaders, including Mr. Karzai, have greatly stepped up their anti-Pakistan talk lately, blaming their neighbor for supporting insurgents and hindering efforts at peace talks.
On Facebook and Twitter, many Afghans called for further demonstrations after Friday Prayer.
The border clash came a day after the reopening of the major crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, at Torkham on the Grand Trunk Road between Kabul and Peshawar. It had been closed for two days after a fistfight between Afghan and Pakistani border guards over the Pakistanis’ refusal to let an Afghan woman enter without a visa.
Pakistan closed the crossing for two days until the Afghans apologized. According to Col. Enayatullah Abdullah, an Afghan Border Police official at Torkham, four Afghan patients died waiting at the crossing to go to hospitals in Pakistan.
Mr. Karzai has repeatedly raised the long-festering issue of the Durand Line, which forms the border between the two countries and was established by the British. The line divides traditionally Pashtun tribal areas on both sides of the border; Pashtuns are Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group, and they predominate among the Taliban insurgents.
Sangar Rahimi contributed reporting from Kabul; an Afghan employee of The New York Times from Jalalabad, Afghanistan; and Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Afghanistan’s Corruption, and America’s Too
Bloomberg
By Fouad Ajami
May 3, 2013
In the unforgiving Afghan landscape, we have learned that you can’t buy a warlord. You can only rent one. We owe this education to our man in Kabul, President Hamid Karzai.
For more than a decade, it has been recently confirmed, U.S. dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags have been delivered every month or so to Karzai’s office. “We called it ‘ghost money,’” Khalil Roman, who served as the Afghan president’s deputy chief of staff from 2002 until 2005, told the New York Times. “It came in secret, and it left in secret.”
In the theory of imperialism, we would venture into the Hindu Kush and reform its ways. It would, instead, be the other way around: The U.S. took to the ways of “the East,” and baksheesh is the order of the day. We do business by the rules of the warlords.
Almost three years ago, Karzai proudly let us know that we weren’t his sole benefactor. “They do give us bags of money -- yes, yes, it is done, we are grateful to the Iranians for this.” Give the man his due; he has never whispered sweet things in our ears about “transparency,” and he hasn’t bothered retaining a Washington lobbying firm that would tutor him on what he should say to -- and about -- his American patrons.
America had struck into his country, and could find no way out. Two presidents -- George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- paid court to him even as they knew that the thing was a sham, even as the cables of their envoys told of a voracious group of bandit chieftains who were keen to keep the foreign powers in place while they proclaimed their attachment to the sovereignty of their own country.
Without Shame
There was no Afghanistan to speak of, yet we indulged the fantasy of a country learning to make its way in the world. We held out the promise of Afghan security forces “in the lead” before too long.
Deep down, we knew that these forces are certain to melt away when the foreign protection is withdrawn. We looked away as Karzai, as recently as a few weeks ago, accused his American protectors of colluding with the Taliban against his country.
A rogue ally was on the loose: The man needed American help as he railed against the Americans. He was without shame, that ally. Corruption was a way of life in his country, but truth be told, the American largesse, and the eagerness to accommodate the warlords, fed this culture of corruption. We were snookered at the bazaar. We had driven up the strategic rent of those Afghan mountains.
Bush and Obama had both declared the centrality of Afghanistan to the war on terrorism. Obama had upped the ante and memorably described the Afghanistan War as the good war of necessity. We had to pay for the privilege of having access to that real estate.
A man who saw through the sordid reality of Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, described the role of the U.S. special envoy there as pouring water into a bucket with holes in it. He was sidelined and mocked in Obama’s councils. Holbrooke, who died in 2010 and who had his first tutorial about doomed causes back in the Vietnam War, had sinned by saying some inconvenient truths about Afghanistan.
The French ambassador to Afghanistan, Bernard Bajolet, recently gave a blunt assessment of the state of things in Afghanistan. He was leaving for an assignment at home, and it was obvious that he had pined to describe what he had seen. The venture in Afghanistan wasn’t destined for success.
“I still cannot understand how we, the international community, and the Afghan government have managed to arrive at a situation in which everything is coming together in 2014 -- elections, new president, economic transition, military transition and all this -- whereas the negotiations for the peace process have not really started,” Bajolet said.
Longest War
The Afghan leaders should “take more visible and obvious ownership” of their army, he said. “We should be lucid: A country that depends almost entirely on the international community for the salaries of its soldiers and policemen, for most of its investments and partly on it for its current civil expenditure, cannot really be independent.”
Some 90 percent of the Afghan budget is provided by American taxpayers: No wonder Karzai rails against us with such abandon.
This war -- need we repeat the customary mantra, America’s longest war -- must be deemed unique in the annals of warfare. No great passion attends it. It has very few, if any, defenders, and no great wrath is aimed at it. The set date, the year 2014, for all the transitions that will take place there, for a “responsible” close to this war, was a convenient two years removed from the last U.S. presidential election. The war wasn’t debated, the incumbent didn’t proclaim ownership of that war, and his Republican rivals offered no challenge to the strategy of oblivion and drift.
There ought to be a law in the affairs of nations: Wars can’t be waged against the background of popular indifference. Wars and their justice, and the way they are fought, must be debated and argued about. We mark time in the Hindu Kush --there are no gains on that horizon.
(Fouad Ajami is a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the author of “The Syrian Rebellion.” The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this article: Fouad Ajami at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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Taliban Take Away 33 Local and National Police in Faryab
TOLOnews.com
By Saleha Soadat
Thursday, 02 May 2013
Taliban insurgents captured and took away 28 local police and 5 national police in northern Faryab province on Wednesday evening, local officials said.
The northern Faryab province parliamentarians said that these local police forces went missing after a clash with the Taliban in Ghurmach district of the province.
The Taliban launched an attack on four check posts of local police in Ghurmach district where 33 local and national police were taken away by insurgents.
They added that both sides have suffered casualties as a result of the clashes but the exact figure is not clear.
“During the clashes, Taliban took away 28 local police and 5 national police in Ghurmach district, local officials as well confirmed the reports,” MP Rangina Kargar said.
Meanwhile, Faryab’s Governor Mohammadullah Baktash confirms that a number of police forces have vanished from the area but he does not tell about the exact number of the forces.
“A number of the police officers have disappeared, it is unclear if they previously compromised with the Taliban or their ammunition finished,” Baktash said.
The parliamentarians said that clash is still going on in the area but the Ministry of Interior rejected the claims.
“I don’t confirm the continuation of clashes. Based on the reports, the police retaliated to Taliban’s attack. We have casualties but the figure is still unclear,” the Ministry of Interior’s Spokesman Sediq Sediqi told TOLOnews.
It comes as the recruitment process of local police was criticised in the country but the officials of police training centre in Kabul assured on the ability of police forces, especially the local police.
“National police training is going forward based on high standards in order to strongly fight against the insurgents. Afghan security forces can defend their country in any condition,” Head of Police Training Centre Abdul Basir said.
“We have been training the Afghan national police for years. We started the phase of training directly, and then we had the phase of training the trainers. After that we did the phase of monitoring, so we are about to leave the country in the hands of the Afghans which is the right thing to do. In my opinion, the training has been carried on professionally, so I am sure that Afghan police will be able to handle whatever situation with highest skills,” Italian Trainer at Police Training Centre Alexander de.Ferary told TOlOnews.
It comes as parliamentarians warned that insecurity may spread in all northern parts of Afghanistan.
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The vicious cycle of insecurity in Afghanistan
Foreign Policy (blog)
By M. Ashraf Haidari
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Almost twelve years have passed since the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, but peace remains elusive. Four interlocking challenges with internal, regional, transnational, and international dimensions impede Afghanistan's stabilization and reconstruction. Each challenge facing Afghanistan feeds off the others, and together they have engendered a vicious circle that is destabilizing the country.
First, Afghanistan is an underdeveloped country and much of its infrastructure has been destroyed by conflict. Its new state institutions lack the basic capacity and resources to administer their mandates. These structural problems are compounded by the country's expanding population, 70% of which is illiterate and demand jobs that do not exist. Taken together, abject poverty, a lack of basic services, and a demographic explosion significantly contribute to instability in Afghanistan.
Second, it is clear that the Taliban leadership continues to receive protection from the Pakistani military and intelligence establishments. It stands to reason that without an external sanctuary, sustainable funding, weapons supplies, and intelligence support in Pakistan, the Taliban would be unable to reconsolidate its control over Afghanistan. Since 2003, the Taliban and its affiliated networks have gradually expanded their influence in the ungoverned southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan, launching daily terrorist attacks that have injured and killed thousands of innocent civilians.
Third, Afghanistan is vulnerable to transnational security threats, stemming in particular from the narcotics trade and terrorism stand. These security threats feed into and are fed by Afghanistan's internal and regional challenges. Rife poverty and weak governance, for example, are as much responsible for mass drug production in Afghanistan as is the global demand for narcotics; this is not to mention the alliance between the Taliban and drug traffickers, who exploit Afghanistan's vulnerable population to destabilize the country.
Fourth, although the diversity of nations present in Afghanistan demonstrates international goodwill and consensus for supporting the country, each contributing nation has pursued its own aid strategies, effectively bypassing coordination with each other and the Afghan government. Hence, a lack of strategic coordination across international military and civilian efforts to ensure aid effectiveness has so far crippled the Afghan state and left it with no capacity or resources to deliver basic services to its people.
It is important to note, however, that in the face of the aforementioned complex challenges, Afghanistan and its international partners have a number of significant advantages, which must be fully harnessed to regain the momentum necessary to achieve peace in the country.
Foremost among these is Afghanistan's key, untapped asset: its people, who make up one of the youngest, most energetic, and most forward-looking nations in the world. They should be supported in acquiring higher education in technical fields, and their energy and skills must be harnessed to exploit Afghanistan's vast natural resources, worth more than one trillion dollars, to help the country develop a productive economy.
Secondly, Afghanistan's vital location should help it serve as a regional trade and transit hub for easy movement of goods and natural resources to meet the rising energy demands of India and China. Indeed, without this realization and utilization of Afghanistan as the heart of the New Silk Road, achieving regional economic integration will remain impossible. The recent India-China dialogue on how to protect their shared long-term interests in Afghanistan is a welcome development. The more these key regional players, including Russia and Turkey, get constructively involved in Afghanistan through investment in the country's virgin markets, the less space for the region's peace spoilers, whether state or non-state actors, to destabilize the country.
Finally, Afghanistan's friends and allies have gone through the learning curve, and gained invaluable experience in assisting Afghanistan effectively. Together, they have made many mistakes and learned many lessons over the past 12 years, which should be used as a strategic opportunity to avoid more of the same, and to do the right thing henceforth.
In line with the agreed-upon objectives of the 2010 Kabul Conference, which were re-affirmed in the Tokyo Conference last year, Afghanistan's nation-partners should align 80% of their aid with the goals of the country's national priority programs, while channeling at least 50% of their assistance through the Afghan national budget. This is the best way to prevent further waste of taxpayers' financial assistance, which have largely bypassed the targeted beneficiaries.
This means a firm re-commitment to bottom-up and top-down institutional capacity building in the Afghan state so that Afghans increasingly initiate, design, and implement reconstruction projects on their own. Meanwhile, the Afghan national security forces must be equipped with the necessary capabilities -- including capacity for logistics and equipment maintenance as well as adequate ground and air firepower -- to execute independent operations against conventional and unconventional enemies. This way, they will gradually relieve international forces of the duty Afghans consider to be theirs - to defend Afghanistan now and beyond 2014. On the whole, these vital efforts will help ensure the irreversibility of the transition process currently underway.
The Afghan people have placed much hope and trust in the strategic partnership agreements the Afghan government has signed with the United States, India, and other allies to help address the above security challenges confronting Afghanistan. But this long-term and necessary task cannot be accomplished by any one party alone. Every state in the region and beyond has a stake in the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan, knowing that the effects of terrorism and insecurity in one country can easily spill over to affect the rest in a globalized world. Thus, with Afghans leading the way forward, the burden of securing Afghanistan must be shared by the whole international community, both to ensure durable stability in the country and to maintain global peace and security.
M. Ashraf Haidari is the deputy chief of mission of the Afghan Embassy in India. He formerly served as Afghanistan's deputy assistant national security adviser, as well as deputy chief of mission of the Afghan Embassy in the United States.
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Taliban told to distance itself from al-Qaida before it opens Qatar office
Qatari goverment lays down conditions for Doha base with backing of Afghanistan and US
Guardian.co.uk,
By Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
Thursday 2 May 2013
The Taliban has been told to issue a declaration distancing itself from al-Qaida and committing itself to peace talks before it can open a political office in Qatar, according to diplomatic sources.
The conditions have been laid down by the Qatari government with the backing of Kabul and the US. They would involve making an unambiguous public break with global jihadism and promising to use the office in the capital city of Doha as a base for negotiations with the US and the Afghan government, rather than as the seat of a government in exile or for fundraising.
At a three-way meeting outside Brussels last week – attended by Afghan president Hamid Karzai – the US secretary of state, John Kerry, asked Pakistan's army commander, General Ashfaq Kayani, to demonstrate his stated support for peace talks by putting pressure on the Pakistan-based Taliban to make the declaration.
David Cameron made the same appeal to Kayani at Chequers in February, hoping to build on the general's public statements that Pakistan saw the continuing insurgency not as a hedge against Indian influence, but as a direct threat to its own national interests.
But the Pakistani delegation told British officials that Islamabad's influence over the Taliban was far from absolute. The government is said to fear an outcome in which the Taliban fragments, with moderate elements returning to Afghanistan and extremists staying behind in Pakistan.
The Taliban sent representatives to Doha last year with the aim of pursuing talks with the US, but the peace process stalled over a failure to agree terms for the release of five Afghan insurgent commanders held at Guantánamo Bay.
President Barack Obama's restated commitment this week to close the prison camp has revived hopes that releases could be back on the table, but it is far from clear whether the Taliban would accept conditions it rejected last year, including the pledge that the prisoners released would stay in Doha, under Qatari supervision.
Michael Semple, a former EU envoy in Afghanistan with long experience of dialogue with the Taliban, said: "The consequence of Taliban grandstanding has been to leave their comrades in Guantánamo for another year. Ultimately, Taliban supporters will have to make a decision whether they are ready to engage in a political track or not."
Semple, now at the Carr Centre for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School, pointed out that the start of a new fighting season in Afghanistan illustrated the fact that there were still powerful voices in the Taliban opposed to talks, either because they still believed a military victory was possible once Nato withdraws combat troops by the end of next year or because they thought conditions would be more favourable for their bargaining position next year. "The ball is now in the Taliban court on whether to pursue a political process," he said.
"If they decide not to, the onus will be on them to explain it to the young men who risk getting blown up in the new fighting season. The excuse before was they were fighting to end foreign occupation. Now they are being told to risk their lives so their leaders can become ministers.".
However, there are signs the Taliban leadership remains interested in keeping the dialogue going. It sent two senior representatives to off-the-record international meetings at Chantilly, outside Paris. The chief delegate at the latest such gathering in December, Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, began the meeting by publicly insisting his movement would not negotiate with the Karzai government, which it portrays as a western puppet – but he did speak informally in Chantilly to Massoom Stanekzai, appointed by Karzai as the head of the secretariat of a council to pursue talks.
Official Taliban statements now accept girls' rights to education and women's right to work. Furthermore, diplomats say Tayyab Agha, a Mullah Omar confidant who took part in exploratory talks with American officials last year, has remained in Doha as part of a Taliban negotiating team, despite reports he had been forced out by Taliban hawks for failing to secure the release of the Guantánamo five.
Alex Strick van Linschoten, the co-author of several books on the Taliban, said: "Even if nothing concrete comes out of these talks, it's still immensely valuable to keep up this regular interaction and have an open line of communication."
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Afghanistan's Karzai Urges Closure of Guantanamo
Associated Press
By JAN M. OLSEN
May 2, 2013
COPENHAGEN, Denmark
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pressed for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison as President Barack Obama mulls a renewed push before a reluctant U.S. Congress.
"I have from the very beginning been a very strong supporter for the closing down of the Guantanamo prison," Karzai told reporters during a brief visit to Denmark.
Obama's goal of closing down the prison at the U.S. naval base in Cuba has eluded him since he took office. In his first week, Obama signed an executive order for its closure, but Congress has used its budgetary power to block detainees from being moved to the United States.
Karzai said that Afghanistan had asked the U.S. administration for the release of Afghan prisoners being held in Guantanamo.
"We have been in contact with the U.S. for a couple of years about their release," Karzai said, but did not elaborate.
Karzai was speaking after a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt on the third leg of a regional visit that also took him to Finland and Estonia.
In Copenhagen, Karzai laid a wreath at a war memorial commemorating soldiers killed in action, including more than 40 Danish troops who lost their lives in Afghanistan since Denmark first contributed soldiers to the NATO-led mission in 2001.
Denmark's military force is situated mainly in the volatile southern Helmand province but is scheduled to pull out of combat operations in August, leaving 300 soldiers to train Afghan forces.
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TJCG Calls for Trial of War Criminals in Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com
By Shakela Abrahimkhil
Thursday, 02 May 2013
The Transitional Justice Coordination Group (TJCG ) on Thursday asked government for trial of war criminals in Afghanistan.
The transitional Justice Coordination Group criticised celebration of 7 and 8 of Sawr (solar month) in the country adding that the days were the beginning of disaster in Afghanistan.
The group said that war criminals should be tried and be prevented from being part of the power in Afghanistan.
The group believes that the culture of impunity, strengthening of the power of human rights violators and the silence of government have paved the way for war criminals to remain safe in Afghanistan.
“We call these days ( 7 and 8 Saur) as disaster days in the history of Afghanistan, both days were disastrous, millions of our fellow compatriots were killed, displaced and the people faced miseries, Afghans’ homes were looted and unforgettable disaster occurred, some by Communists and some by people who misused Islam to come to the power ,” a Member of Transitional Justice Coordination Group Younos Akhtar said.
Afghan people are believed to have witnessed major crimes against humanity in their country. The group also warned the Taliban that group cannot come to power by killing innocent people.
According to the group, Afghans hate the Taliban and the hatred is growing every day.
“Taliban should know that they cannot come to power by misusing Afghans’ names and honours, and by killings, suicide attacks, stoning women and cutting off people’s body parts,” the Member of Transitional Justice Coordination Group Ajmal Balochzada said.
Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission is said to have documented all the crimes in “conflict drawing “ report but the government is against its release, and that is believed to be one of the reasons why those accused of war crimes and human rights violations have not been brought to justice in the last 11 years.
Meanwhile, the existence of mass graves is seen as a sign of human rights violation and war crimes in the country.
“We see that there are mass graves discovered in several corners of Afghanistan where innocent people were buried,” a Member of Transitional Justice Coordination Group Mohammad Ashraf Bakhtiari said.
The Transitional Justice Coordination Group has asked the Afghan government and international community and international criminal court to try all war criminals including the Taliban and make sure that transitional justice is implemented in Afghanistan.
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Afghan spy chief Asadullah Khalid back in U.S. for medical care
McClatchy Foreign Staff
By Jay Price and Jonathan S. Landay
02/05/2013
KABUL, Afghanistan
When Afghanistan’s top spy came home April 2 after nearly four months of treatment at a U.S. military hospital for wounds from a Taliban assassination attempt, it was to lavish greetings that included roadside billboards and banners.
When he left this week for more surgery in Washington, D.C., intelligence chief Asadullah Khalid went so quietly hardly anyone in the government knew he was gone.
"I am not aware of that," Haji Fahim, the chief spokesman for Khalid’s own agency, the National Directorate of Security, said Thursday.
"I have not heard that," echoed Adela Raz, a deputy to President Hamid Karzai’s chief spokesman.
But a U.S. official, who declined to be further identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Khalid had returned to the United States for further treatment of his wounds after his condition deteriorated. He declined to say where Khalid is being treated.
A Khalid deputy, also speaking only on the condition of anonymity, told a Kabul TV station that Khalid indeed had returned to the United States on Monday.
Afghanistan surely needs heroes now, with the public’s confidence buffeted by seemingly endless charges of corruption among its leaders and the uncertainty of 2014, which will bring the end of the U.S.-led coalition’s combat mission and an election to replace Karzai.
Khalid’s absence – and the scramble to succeed him, should he not be able to return – is likely to hamstring progress on a wide range of issues in which the Afghan intelligence agency and its chief play huge roles, from conflict with Pakistan over border security and Taliban havens in that country to the nascent peace process with the Taliban, which is considered crucial to U.S. plans to withdraw.
Khalid is a close Karzai friend who’s built a reputation as an outspoken and ruthless hunter of the Taliban and a fierce critic of alleged Pakistani military support for the insurgents. But he’s also been accused of involvement in drug trafficking and torturing prisoners.
"Defender of the Country! You came in and stand tall once again to defend your beloved country. The country welcomes you and looks forward to seeing your feet stand strong once again," said one billboard, placed in a central Kabul square by a civil society group from Herat province.
Not only did Khalid get a hero’s welcome when he returned, Karzai also held his job open for him, even though that meant leaving the national spy agency leaderless for months in the midst of a crucial period of transition as Afghans move to take the full lead for their own security.
The security situation is rapidly getting even more complicated: Not only did the Taliban recently announce the start of their annual spring offensive, but relations also are worsening with neighboring Pakistan, where keeping tabs on Afghan insurgent sanctuaries is one of Khalid’s major tasks.
The tensions between the neighbors are being fueled by a series of border disputes, which erupted Wednesday night in a firefight between Afghan and Pakistani forces on the frontier between eastern Nangarhar province’s Goshta district and Pakistan’s Mohmand tribal agency.
The clash lasted several hours, with one member of the Afghan border police reported killed and at least two wounded.
Karzai had criticized Pakistan last month for building a border post at the location without consulting Afghanistan, which has never recognized the frontier drawn by the subcontinent’s former British colonial rulers.
Khalid was nearly killed at an intelligence agency guesthouse in Kabul in December when a suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden in his underwear. The bomber was pretending to be a peace envoy from the Taliban. Karzai charged that the attack was planned in Pakistan, which denied the allegation.
Karzai, while on a diplomatic trip to Washington in January, made a point of visiting Khalid at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The spy chief is highly regarded by the Obama administration, despite the unsavory allegations against him, and other visitors included President Barack Obama and then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Landay reported from Washington. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Twitter: @jayinkabul, @JonathanLanday
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Lack of Punishment Fuels Corruption In Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com
By Mursal Mansouri
Thursday, 02 May 2013
Afghan Minister of Economy Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal told at ceremony that was held for apparition of governors in Kabul on Thursday that a lack of reward and punishment widened corruption in the country.
Economy minister considers absence of the rule of law as the main barrier ahead of development in the country and added that International Community’s assistance has been wasted so far.
“If there is a fight against any kind of corruption it the country, we will have a free and glorious Afghanistan,” Afghan Economy Minister, Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, said.
Meanwhile, Karzai’s brother, Mahmood Karzai, expressed his concern over the country’s security situation and said that less attention has been paid to enforce law in country.
“One of the main challenges is security; in my view the security is going failed and we must find a solution, Mahmood Karzai said.
On the other hand a number of governors and parliament members considered existence of corruption shameful and they are emphasising on elimination of corruption in the country.
The governors and representatives believe that regular monitoring is effective in supervision of government functions.
“Afghanistan is in the lead of corrupt countries in the world which is very shameful for Afghan people,” MP Nadir Khan Katawazi said.
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Look on the bright side: There’s a roaring heroin trade in Afghanistan, and it's all thanks to us
It just goes to show that, even in the most difficult circumstances, with a popular product and thoughtful marketing, there are always business opportunities
The Independent
By Mark Steel
Thursday 2 May 2013
At last, amid all the bleak news that comes from Afghanistan, there’s a success story to justify the British and American presence there.
Because one of the main aims of Western intervention in foreign affairs is to establish the sort of small-business, entrepreneurial spirit that can rescue a struggling economy. And according to the United Nations, there’s been another 18 per cent growth in the heroin trade, in just the past year.
It goes to show that, even in the most difficult circumstances, with a popular product and thoughtful marketing, there are always business opportunities for those with a flair for entrepreneurial vision. At the time of the initial invasion in 2001, Tony Blair insisted that one of the reasons for occupying Afghanistan was because “the Taliban are causing the deaths of young British people who buy their drugs on the streets”. But clearly some people misunderstood what Blair meant. They were saying that the Afghan heroin trade wasn’t fulfilling its potential, and with the right management they could treble it.
It will probably turn out Blair is getting £4m a year to sit on an advisory board to help them maximise growth. Spokesmen from companies with names like Kwik-Fix Global will appear on the business section of Sky News, explaining how their quarterly report reveals a 35 per cent rise in dividends, boasting about surveys that show that the Afghan brand earns positive feedback with 95 per cent of junkies, and hinting at diversification into other markets such as its own brand of needles so customers can enjoy the full Afghan warlord poppy experience.
Maybe the plan is that, by the time British troops leave, every district of Afghanistan has a thriving garden centre, where couples from Helmand province can potter around on a Sunday, arguing about which seeds will produce the most effective skag and enquiring about how to set up a poppy rockery.
Then there’ll be an Afghan Gardeners’ Question Time, with the audience asking: “This year, my poppy window-box became susceptible to mildew around springtime, so the opium was disappointingly soggy and hard to burn in the spoon. Has the panel any suggestions for how to prevent a recurrence?”
It could be claimed that the growth in heroin production would be even greater if the occupying forces hadn’t been in the country. But this would be to deny them the credit they’re due. Because it was also revealed this week that the office of Afghan leader Harmid Karzai has been regularly receiving envelopes stuffed with cash from the CIA, for the past 11 years. The New York Times reported that the money has come in “backpacks, suitcases and plastic bags”.
The allegations are denied by a Foreign Ministry spokesman, but Karzai explained the purpose of these payments was to “secure the support of those leaders who have been loyal”. One of the other reasons for the invasion, you may recall, was to stamp out corruption. That makes sense, because you can’t stamp out corruption without the support of honest, reliable officials, and you can’t expect them to stay honest and reliable for nothing so it makes sense to hand them envelopes stuffed with cash every couple of weeks.
The people the money has been handed to are local warlords, who won’t stay loyal unless they’re also allowed to carry on their legitimate business of growing poppies, so it all completes a neat business circle. To make it seem even more like a typical business arrangement, some of them have complained that the amount that the local farmers receive for their poppies is only 1 per cent of the eventual market value. You’d think that at least our Government would insist on an ethical poppy policy, encouraging dealers to pay a decent price so they could stand behind the bins on a council estate wearing a sticker saying “All our smack is Fairtrade”, next to a picture of a smiling warlord.
Once you add in the other reasons for occupying the place, the scale of the occupation’s success becomes even clearer. There was the Taliban’s “appalling record on human rights”, whereas Saudi Arabia, with which we’ve just concluded a £15bn arms deal, is just a constant hubbub of feminist this and lesbian that.
It is so liberal that it’s the only country where women get no extra penalty if they’re caught drinking and driving, as they get put in jail for either so they might as well do both at the same time. And the invasion was supposed to stop Afghanistan being a centre for al-Qa’ida, which has gone exceedingly well. Because now Afghanistan is only one place for the militant Islamist organisation, as they’ve grown in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Mali, and a variety of places where they didn’t exist before. Once they’ve taken control of Dorset County Council, I suppose the job will be complete.
When British and US forces first occupied Kabul in 2001, there was jubilation from those who’d supported the invasion, especially those who saw it as a humanitarian policy. Some day soon, I suppose they’ll accept it hasn’t all gone to plan as much as they thought. Or they might stick it out, following the Government’s line that we’re leaving because we’ve done an excellent job, and now the Afghans we’ve been giving stuffed envelopes to have learned enough from us that they can carry on from here.
If only Napoleon had thought of this tactic. He could have said: “Right, it’s all gone very well, but, if you Russians don’t mind, we’ve got other stuff to get on with, so you’re jolly well going to have to get on without us. Bye then, thanks for having us.”
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Reported channeling of CIA money to Afghanistan causing concerns among Afghans
Xinhua
By Abdul Haleem
May 3, 2013
KABUL
The report that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has secretly channeled money to the Afghanistan government has caused concerns among Afghans who believed that this is against the national interest of the country.
"The act of giving money by the CIA, if true, is illegal since this could influence the government into giving concessions to a foreign power," said Kabul University professor and political analyst Faizullah Jalal.
Jalal told Xinhua that the CIA fund, which he termed as "ghost money", promotes the culture of corruption and could be used to buy the loyalty of lawmakers, ministers and other influential figures in Afghan society.
In its issue of April 28, the influential U.S. newspaper, The New York Times, claimed that the CIA has handed over millions of U. S. dollars to the Afghanistan government for more than a decade now.
According to the report, the money had been packed in suitcases and dropped off every month at a designated government center.
The money may be used to beef up the Afghan security apparatus in the fight against the Taliban and other armed insurgents in the country.
However, Jalal said the CIA funds could also be used for other purposes aside from strengthening security facilities, such as in bribing warlords, opposition politicians and even the Taliban in order to get their support for some controversial measures such as the proposed security pact with the United States.
The Karzai government and the United States are now crafting a security pact that would allow limited American military presence in the country after the pullout of the NATO-led foreign forces from Afghanistan next year.
According to Jalal, it is not the first time that Afghanistan has received cash from a foreign intelligence organization. Providing cash to the Kabul government by British intelligence agency MI6 has also been reported by British newspaper the Guardian.
Karzai has acknowledged receiving money from the Islamic Republic of Iran but insisted that this was spent for palace expenditures.
Zalmaik Zabuli, a member of Mushrano Jirga, the upper house of the Afghan Parliament, said that President Karzai "should at least tell the nation where the CIA funds have been spent."
In their editorials, Afghan newspapers on Tuesday also called on the government to level up with the people on where the CIA money went.
"Afghan leaders need to remain committed to their constitutional and moral obligations and safeguard the national interests of Afghanistan," the English daily The Afghanistan Express said in its editorial.
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Turkham Border Gate Reopened
TOLOnews.com
Thursday, 02 May 2013
Pakistani Border Police reopened the Turkham border gate on Thursday after an apology from Afghan authorities.
Pakistani officials say the Turkham border was closed after an Afghan border police insulted a Pakistani border police.
According to Pakistani officials, Afghan authorities apologised for the misbehavior of the Afghan police towards the Pakistani border police, and that the border was reopened.
Meanwhile, Pakistan border officials added that its borders with Afghanistan will be closed from 10th to 12th of this month, as Pakistan is to hold parliamentary elections on May 11th, and the border will be closed for security reasons.
Crossing from both sides of the border will be forbidden during the mentioned period and the Afghans should not try to travel to Pakistan, officials said.
It comes after Pakistani police closed the Torkham border crossing into Pakistan in eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday and set a deadline for Afghans.
Pakistan’s border police said that within the next three days they will not allow any Afghans even those who bear refugee documents, to enter Pakistan without passport.
Meanwhile, a number of Afghan residents called on the government to solve the problem with the Pakistan government.
Pakistani border police said that only Afghans holding passports can enter Pakistan and those Afghan refugees who are living in Pakistan must be issued passports within three days, otherwise they will not be allowed to enter Pakistan if they leave.
Previously four Afghans died after the Pakistani police closed the Torkham border.
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Afghan interpreters in legal bid for UK settlement
BBC News
By Caroline Wyatt Defence correspondent
3 May 2013
Lawyers for three Afghan interpreters who worked for British forces are starting legal action to try to win them the right to settle in the UK.
They have issued a High Court claim for a judicial review of the government's decision not to treat them in the same way as interpreters in Iraq.
The Iraqis were given the right to resettle in the UK after the war.
Prime Minister David Cameron says officials are drawing up "generous" options for the Afghan interpreters.
Many of the 500 or so interpreters employed by the Ministry of Defence in Afghanistan say they have received serious threats to their lives, while some have already fled to the UK to claim asylum.
Several have told the BBC of their worries about what will happen once British troops leave.
On Wednesday, Mr Cameron told the BBC that he had asked officials to draw up an offer to encourage the interpreters to stay at home and rebuild their country.
This is despite Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg having argued that the UK should help the Afghan interpreters to move and be offered asylum if necessary.
In hiding
From the very start of the campaign in Helmand, interpreters have played an essential role in a rural areas where few speak English, not only to translate the language, but also to bridge the cultural divide.
Often, it is Afghan interpreters who realise first that a patrol is in danger, and almost all say that they have faced specific threats from the Taliban - and even, in some cases, from Afghan police or officials, some of whom regard them as "spies" for foreign forces.
Mohammed worked as an interpreter for British forces in Helmand from 2006 until he was injured by a Taliban bomb.
"I was receiving intimidation threats, by phone and in person, and it came to a point where I had to make a decision and flee my country," he said.
"It was not an easy thing, to leave my family behind," he said.
Mohammed admits that he still fears for his family, some of whom he says are now living in hiding in Afghanistan.
In June 2011, Mohammed fled to the UK to claim asylum.
After a legal battle highlighted in the Times newspaper, he was allowed to stay.
Immense bravery
He is now one of the three Afghan interpreters named in the legal action being brought by solicitors Leigh Day.
The law firm claims they should be given the same rights that the UK gave to its interpreters in Iraq - either one-off financial assistance or exceptional indefinite leave to remain in the UK with help to relocate, or the opportunity to resettle through the UK's Gateway programme run in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Rosa Curling is the solicitor at Leigh Day representing the interpreters.
"We are talking about a finite number of individuals, with their dependents," she says.
"We're talking about recognising the risk and the immense bravery they showed for the British government and British forces abroad, and we have to realise they are in danger directly because of that work.
"And we must provide them with a proper resettlement package."
Several leading military figures have also called on the government to offer the Afghan interpreters the same deal as the Iraqis.
Many of them believe the UK owes its Afghan interpreters a debt of honour.
They include Lord Ashdown, Liberal Democrat peer and a former Royal Marine, who said: "The principle is established. We did it in Iraq, because these people stood shoulder to shoulder with us.
"We recognised that in Iraq, so how can we not do so in Afghanistan? Our forces could not do their job without them. So let them come back here. Relocation is the right thing for those who want it."
The government is expected to announce its plans within weeks.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Defence says: "People who have put their life on the line for the United Kingdom will not be abandoned.
"We take our responsibility for all members of staff very seriously and have put in place measures to reduce the risks they face... We follow an agreed cross-government policy for considering cases of intimidation or injury on a case by case basis."
Campaigners also hope that they can sway the government with a petition on behalf of Afghan interpreters due to be handed in to the government later.
Several other countries who have fought in Afghanistan, including the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, have already put in place schemes to offer at least some of their interpreters asylum, although there are quotas or other caveats.
The UK coalition government - in particular the prime minister and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, though not the Liberal Democrats - is thought to favour offering incentives for Afghan interpreters to stay at home, rather than a blanket offer of asylum.
It has, however, made clear that individuals deemed to be in danger will always be able to apply for asylum.
But, as Lord Ashdown points out, if interpreters' lives really are under threat, they may flee their country with no financial guarantees rather than remain and take the risk.
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James Dobbins Appointed New US Special Envoy For Afghanistan, Pakistan
TOLOnews.com
Thursday, 02 May 2013
There are some unconfirmed reports that James Dobbins has been appointed as new US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This American diplomat is 69 years old and has previously worked as US Ambassador to European Union, Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs and many other state in charges.
Mr Dobbins is currently Head of International and Security Policy of Rand Association.
As comes as last year Mark Grossman former representative of US in Afghanistan and Pakistan resigned from his post.
Mr Grossman was assigned for this position after death of Richard Holbrooke and he was in charge of talks during the two years of his mission.
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Press Freedom Key to Credible Elections in Afghanistan
Khaama Press
By Sajad
02 May 2013
On the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) calls on all political stakeholders in the country to join hands in securing freedom of the press and the right of expression that have been one of the main achievements of the past decade in Afghanistan.
This year, as Afghanistan prepares for the presidential elections of 2014, press freedom, security of journalists, the right to obtain information and the right to expression will be among the most meaningful channels to a democratic and transparent leadership transition.
Although World Press Freedom Day has only been celebrated since 1993, it has much deeper roots in the United Nations: Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
“Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of Expression in All Media” is the theme for the 2013 World Press Freedom Day.
Although Afghanistan has made remarkable achievements in the field of media, Afghan journalists are still facing daily threats, intimidation and arrests that undermine their ability to operate professionally. Over the past 45 days alone, the Afghan media watchdog, NAI, has reported 16 cases of violence against journalists. Two of these cases were armed violence, one claimed by anti-Government forces and the other by unknown elements.
“Amongst other checks and balances, a vibrant media, with vigorous debate and balanced coverage can help to a greater extent with the transparency and accountability necessary for true democratic participation,” says Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan.
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Explainer: What Lies Behind Latest Afghan-Pakistani Tensions?
RFE/RL
By Frud Bezhan
Friday, May 03, 2013
May 02, 2013 Afghanistan's ties with its neighbor Pakistan have become severely strained lately, with both sides engaging in a war of words and cross-border violence.
At the forefront of those tensions is a long-standing dispute over the demarcation of their contested border.
The latest controversy involves a border outpost, a checkpoint, and other installations recently built by Pakistan. The facilities were constructed along the edge of Goshta district, which is located in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar Province.
Kabul has demanded that Islamabad remove the installations, saying they encroach on Afghan territory. Pakistan counters that its new fortifications are on its side of the border.
The controversial border posts have rekindled the thorny issue of the Durand Line, a border agreed to by the British and Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan in the late 19th century.
READ NEXT: Afghan, Pakistani Troops Clash At Disputed Border
Pakistan, which shed its status as part of British India more than 65 years ago, considers the line to be an international border, as does the majority of the international community. But Afghanistan has never recognized the porous frontier, which cuts through the ethnic Pashtun heartland.
The simmering tensions boiled over on May 2, when Afghan border police in Goshta district opened fire and destroyed parts of the newly built installations. Afghan forces said they had noticed Pakistani troops starting additional work on the outpost, despite recent agreements to halt construction.
An Afghan border guard was reportedly killed and three others injured during a six-hour clash with Pakistani troops. Pakistani authorities said that two of its security personnel were wounded in the skirmish.
Blame Game
Each side has blamed the other for sparking the incident, which took place along a crucial battleground in the fight against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants that operate on both sides of the border.
In April, Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordered Afghan troops to "take immediate measures" to remove the installations near Goshta district. Karzai has maintained that activities by either side along the Durand Line must be approved by both countries. An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman has claimed that the post is up to 30 kilometers inside Afghan territory. He has suggested that "all options" are open in Kabul to ensure the installations are removed.
Karzai has directed his Foreign, Interior, and Defense ministries to ask for clarification from the U.S.-led coalition for "assisting and supporting Pakistan to build these installations," according to a statement from the president's office.
Abdul Karim Khurram, the president's chief of staff, revealed on April 29 that Karzai has sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama to seek his help in retaking nearly a dozen border posts the Afghan president's office believes Pakistani forces have unjustly occupied in the past decade.
Khurram said Karzai, who sent the letter on April 15, accused the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) of handing military posts it had built along the border over to Pakistani forces.
"When ISAF and coalition troops arrived in Afghanistan, they took these check posts and centers," the BBC and "Afghanistan Times" quoted Khurram as saying. "[The ISAF] paved the way for the Pakistani military to occupy these posts after they evacuated the posts. It shows some U.S. interference on the issue. Considering the U.S.-Afghan long-term strategic pact, Karzai sent a letter to Obama."
Mass Protests
The dispute in Nangarhar has led to mass protests against Pakistan. For the last few weeks, the streets of the provincial capital, Jalalabad, have been lined with demonstrators chanting anti-Pakistan slogans and demanding military action by the Afghan government.
Protesters have also demanded that Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai, whom they have accused of treason, be dismissed immediately. The calls came after lawmakers said Sherzai failed to inform them of Pakistan's activity along the border and accused him of not doing enough to stop the construction of border installations.
In retaliation, Pakistan on April 30 closed its border crossing with Afghanistan along the highway linking Kabul and Islamabad. A Pakistani border official said the closure was ordered because an Afghan border guard fought with a Pakistani official.
That came a day after Islamabad tightened entry requirements in connection with Pakistan's May 11 general elections, ordering that only Afghans with valid documents be allowed to cross into Pakistan. Before the measure, crossing the border without travel documents was routine.
Afghan claims that Pakistan is trying to thwart efforts to begin reconciliation talks with the Taliban have also fueled souring relations.
Afghanistan has grown increasingly frustrated with Pakistan, saying Islamabad is not fulfilling its promises regarding the peace process. Kabul has suggested that Islamabad is seeking to keep Afghanistan unstable until foreign combat forces leave at the end of 2014.
Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of providing sanctuary to Afghan insurgents on its soil. Pakistan denies this and says that Pakistani Taliban routinely seek shelter on the Afghan side of the border.
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Afghan Media: Free Agents or Obedient Servants?
Experts offer sharply opposing views on progress since 2001.
IWPR
By Mina Habib, Hafizullah Gardesh
2 May 13
Afghanistan
A diverse and free media environment is often cited as one of the major achievements of post-2001 Afghanistan, but some local commentators say that is far from the whole truth.
To mark World Press Freedom Day, May 3, IWPR asked working journalists and media-watchers in Afghanistan for their view on how Abdul Qahar Jawad, who lectures in journalism at Kabul University, is among the optimists.
“Whenever we hear from the media that some individual is involved in seizing land, taking bribes or violating human rights – regardless of what impact the report has – it’s clear evidence that free speech exists,” he said. “Such things would have been impossible under past governments.”
Since the Taleban administration was ousted in 2001, Afghanistan has seen a boom in broadcast and print media. The country now has 53 television channels, 15 radio stations and hundreds of print publications. As Jawad pointed out, freedom of expression is enshrined in the Afghan constitution.
“Compared with previous periods, freedom of speech and media has undergone a 100 per cent improvement,” Abdul Hamid Mobarez, chairman of the National Union Journalists,told IWPR, adding that “by world standards, though, we face many problems”.
Mobarez sees the biggest single achievement of the last decade as the elimination of state monopoly ownership.
“In terms of quality and quantity, our media are fairly unique in this region,” he told IWPR. “Neighbouring countries can’t compete with us in that regard.”
After the “decade of democracy” from 1964 to 1973, press freedom was squeezed out of existence. The last Soviet-backed leader, President Najibullah, allowed some independent media to start up, but those tentative steps were swept away in the civil war that followed the mujahedin takeover in 1992. The Taleban, in power in Kabul from 1996, even cut out the one state-run TV station, leaving their Voice of Shariah radio as the sole broadcaster.
“Under that regime, it was considered a sin to take photographs,” recalled Danesh Karokhel, director of the Pajhwok news agency. By contrast, he said, the changes following 2001 allowed the media to develop into a real force that helped make the public much more politically and socially aware.
“We can therefore conclude that this has been a great opportunity for us, and that media freedom in Afghanistan is in good shape,” he said.
Mobarez acknowledges that multiple challenges remain, chief among them the failure to institutionalise a “culture of democracy” in Afghanistan. Government officials are frequently uncooperative, and reporters face security threats not just from the Taleban but also from their own side and from the international forces operating in the country.
The Nai – Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan group says 39 journalists have been killed since 2001, and 1,000 more injured, assaulted or imprisoned.
Abdol Mojib Khelwatgar, executive director of the Nai group, says the government has failed to live up to its own commitments.
“Freedom of speech is a coin – on one side there’s the right to freely comment, criticise and make suggestions; the reverse is that the government and state have to assume their responsibilities. Unfortunately, that reverse face of the coin hasn’t been in evidence in the last 11 years”.
Nabi Asir, who reports for Deutsche Welle radio from northern Afghanistan, said the “gift” of freedom of expression came with too many strings attached.
“Freedom of speech and media was never institutionalised because the external forces which back the warlords and the national and local strongmen imposed on people by force of arms have given them monopoly control over free speech,” he said. “Freedom of speech has been held hostage over the past 11 years, and it still is. Journalists and media outlets enjoy freedom of speech as long as they don’t say anything against the interests of these powerful individuals and thieves. If they do, there will be no freedom for them.”
Writer and journalist Mohammad Hassan Wolosmal went further in his criticism.
“I would question whether a country under occupation can claim to have freedom. The media are occupied in the same way as our country is occupied by the United States. They are controlled by western countries, by Pakistan or Iran, by domestic political parties, factions and strongmen.”
He continued, “Every media outlet is a political project created by somebody. Let’s consider the extent to which the media’s activities have converged with our national interests or with the interests of others. That kind of assessment will tell us whether or not we have freedom of speech and media. The actual number of media outlets is irrelevant.”
Funding is at the heart of this debate. With limited opportunities for advertising revenues, media businesses tend to rely on foreign donors or wealthy private benefactors. Either entails the risk of accusations of bias. (See Lean Times for Afghan Journalism.)
“Any media outlet that receives money from others cannot claim to be free,” asserted political analyst Abdul Ghaful Lewal, who believes self-sufficiency is a basic precondition for editorial independence.
Lewal blames poor journalistic standards for the failure to turn many outlets into viable commercial entities.
“Anarchy has come to reign, in the name of free speech. The media became so critical that their role was devalued. The people in power became immunised against all the criticism, so that it doesn’t touch them any more,” he said. “Many journalists began working for outsiders as paid employees. The public lost faith in the media, and people’s faith, historic and cultural values were misused. The lack of transparency in media funding also made people mistrustful.”
Despite sharing some of his colleagues’ criticisms, Khelwatgar says things could be a lot worse.
“If – God forbid – the media stop operating in Afghanistan even for just one day,” he said, “there will be a tenfold increase in the crimes committed by the Taleban, by the bully-boys, and by those who lie like coiled serpents in the bosom of state and nation, just waiting to drink more of the people’s blood.”
Mina Habib is an IWPR-trained reporter in Kabul. Hafizullah Gardesh is IWPR's Afghanistan editor.
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Unknown Men Kill Counter-Terrorism Official in Herat
TOLOnews.com
Thursday, 02 May 2013
The deputy of Counter-terrorism section of Shendand District Police was killed by unknown men on Wednesday afternoon in Herat, local officials said on Thursday.
Provincial governor's spokesman Mohyihuddin Noori said that the deputy counter-terrorism chief of Shendand district and a police officer were shot dead while they were on patrol in the centre of the district .
He added that the attackers have escaped from the area.
Local officials have started investigation on the incident, according to the provincial spokesman.
The incident took place while the security forces in Shindand District were destroying poppy cultivation fields in the district.
It comes as in a separate incident the High Peace Council Chief of Helmand Shah Wali Khan and two of his bodyguards were killed in a Taliban ambush in southern Helmand province early Wednesday.
The incident took place at about 10:00am in Yakhcha area of Gereshk district while Shah Wali Khan was travelling in the district to join a meeting with the residents to discuss about the fifth phase of security transition, provincial governor's spokesman Mohammad Omar Zhuwak said.
Four other of his bodyguards were injured in the attack.
Moalem Shah Wali Khan was also a tribal elder in Nawa district of the province and recently worked as the provincial chief of High Peace council.
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Afghan Rockers Kabul Dreams Spread a Message of Hope
The Diplomat
By Sanjay Kumar
May 2, 2013
Sulyman Qardash, a stylish young musician from Kabul, sits in the sprawling lawn of Esteqlal Lyceum, engaged in animated discussion with friends. The topic is an event planned for that evening, one that will bring to fruition a dream Qardash has been chasing since his teens. Because on this day, Qardash and his rock band, Kabul Dreams, would be releasing their first album.
This is more than just a personal victory for Qardash; it is a significant step for Afghanistan. Kabul Dreams are considered to be the first rock band to emerge in the nation following the Taliban’s rule, during which music was banned. The release of their album is a testament to the sweeping changes that have occurred since 2002, giving voice to Afghan youths and their hope for change.
Formed in 2008, the band was the idea of Sulyman, who studied music in Uzbekistan, where his family migrated after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 1996. At a time when art and music were punishable offences in his homeland, the young Sulyman was exploring punk and grunge music in Tashkent. In 2008 he met Siddique Ahmed, a bass player, and Mujtaba Habibi, a drummer, and together they formed a band. Within a year they were ready to give their first international performance at India’s South Asian Bands Festival.
Each of the members of Kabul Dreams spent the Taliban era outside Afghanistan, with Ahmed living in Pakistan and Habibi in Iran. Coming from different ethnic groups – Uzbek, Tajik and Pashtu – their idea was not only to create a rock band but to work towards the idea of a united Afghanistan where all ethnic groups could live in harmony.
Initially, the fledgling band faced problems of resources and logistics, not to mention resistance from many who had never seen a rock performance in Kabul. Today, it represents a new generation of Afghans who see in the band a modern face of their country.
In 2011, Kabul Dreams organized the first street concert at Shar-E-Now, the capital’s main street. The performance took locals by surprise and the experiment generated publicity for the band.
Hossai, a 25-year-old Afghan girl working with an international aid agency in Kabul, came to the Esteqlal Lyceum to witness the album launch. “This is a great thing to happen in Afghanistan,” she told The Diplomat. “It will motivate young people. This is a sign of a positive change and I hope this will be sustained.”
Sulyman also believes that the ascent of Kabul Dreams is an important milestone for the war torn country. “Art can bring a huge change in our society,” he told The Diplomat. “You would be impressed by the energy and passion youth have towards music. You cannot solve the problems through force or war. Music helps people to understand the value of life and enjoy every minute of it.”
The young Afghans who gathered in the main auditorium of the French cultural center the evening of the album launch relished the performance, which was unlike anything Kabul had seen for long time. For an outsider like me it was a treat to see fans clapping, whistling and swaying to the beat.
But when the buzz wears off, will this become a regular phenomenon in Afghanistan? In particular, can this joy extend beyond 2014 when most foreign troops are scheduled to leave the country?
According to Sulyman, the outside world exaggerates this fear. They forget that the bulwark of modern Afghanistan is its educated, tech savvy youth. There is no way history is going to repeat itself,” he said. “Now people can differentiate between who is a real enemy and who is actually trying to build this country and wants to bring positive changes to their lives.”
Kabul Dreams are not the only voice representing the new generation either. The nation’s first female rapper, 23-year-old Soosan Firooz, made her debut with a song that speaks directly to other Afghans who have shared the painful experience of living in exile as refugees. Her lyrics narrate the agony of the past and hope for the future.
Some lyrics by Kabul Dreams also lament past tragedies, alongside criticizing present realities of corruption and mismanagement in Kabul. Yet, perhaps more importantly, the band also presents a vision of hope for the future.
Upon leaving the auditorium after the show and entering the streets of Kabul, you wonder which one is the real Afghanistan: The hopeful one that was on display at the Esteqlal Lyceum or the media’s vision of a place plagued with unending violence and uncertainty. This contradiction lies at the heart of modern Afghanistan.
But one thing is certain: A new country is gradually asserting itself and breaking free from the old.
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Nato Air Strike Kills Eight Taliban Insurgents
TOLOnews.com
Thursday, 02 May 2013
At least Eight Taliban insurgents including a Taliban commander and two Iranian citizens were killed in a Nato Air strike in Farah province on Wednesday, officials said.
Farah province Media Centre in a statement said that these insurgents were killed on Wednesday night 1:00am in an air strike carried out by foreign forces in Posht Rod Distict in Dehe Ashiq village of Farah province.
The insurgents were targeted while they wanted to explode a truck full of explosives in Bala Bolak district of Farah province
Meanwhile, an Arab insurgent was killed in Wigal district of Nooristan province on Wednesday in a drone attack by foreign forces.
Nooristan provincial governor Tamim Nooristani said that this man was involved in several insurgent attacks against Afghan and Nato forces.
Wigal district is one of the insecure areas in the province where insurgents frequently target the local security forces.
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Afghan police kill 59 Taliban militants in 24 hours
Xinhua
May 2, 2013
Units of Afghan national police have killed nearly five dozen Taliban militants across the conflict- ridden country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Thursday.
"Afghan police backed by the national army and NATO-led troops have killed 59 Taliban militants over the past 24 hours," the statement contended.
During the operations which conducted in Kandahar, Zabul, Kapisa, Paktia, Helmand, Ghazni and Pakitka provinces, eight militants were injured and 17 others arrested, the statement added.
However, it did not say if there were any casualties on security forces. Taliban militants who launched their spring offensive codenamed "Khalid Bin Waleed" on April 28 are yet to make comment.
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