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U.S.-Afghanistan Talks Falter Despite Leeway on Detention Facilities
By ALISSA J. RUBIN The New York Times March 4, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — The prospects for a long-term American strategic partnership with Afghanistan appeared to be dimming over the weekend, as negotiations foundered despite a new American willingness to move up the transfer of detention centers to the Afghans to as soon as six months from now, Afghan and American officials said.
The proposed timeline would be a substantial concession from an American negotiation position that even just weeks ago put off a transfer into the indefinite future, basing it on the success of training an Afghan guard force capable of running the complex American detention facilities. However, President Hamid Karzai has stated repeatedly that he wants an immediate transfer of all detainees to Afghan control.
In public statements, Afghan and American officials avoided saying that the talks were dead. But in the past few weeks, statements have taken on an increasingly last-chance tone as outrage over the burning of Korans by American soldiers has appeared to harden the differences between the longtime, if always wary, allies.
The strategic partnership talks have sought to lay out an American commitment to continue aid and support to the Afghan government for the next 10 years. It has been expected that it would be followed by a status-of-forces agreement that would define a potential long-term troop presence in Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal deadline.
In a carefully worded statement, however, the Americans raised for the first time the possibility that there would be no partnership agreement at all.
“We have always said it is more important to get the right agreement than to get an agreement,” said Gavin Sundwall, the American Embassy spokesman in Kabul.
In fact, in past public statements, the Americans said among other things that it was more important “to get the right agreement than a fast agreement,” but they had not publicly raised the possibility that there might not be an agreement at all.
The Afghan government spokesman, Aimal Faizi, declined to discuss whether the talks had been suspended but said Mr. Karzai will meet with Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker on Monday. Mr. Faizi said they would discuss the agreement, including the six-month transfer timeline, which he characterized as an offer that had not been formalized.
“The six months thing is something that we are hearing, but tomorrow’s meeting will decide on this,” Mr. Faizi said. “And whether we do that, the president will decide on whether this will take place. But it hasn’t come to the president officially yet, and hopefully it will and we will see.”
As recently as Thursday, Mr. Karzai, in a telephone call with the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, stressed his position on detention and night raids.
A statement released by the presidential palace after the telephone call stated that Mr. Karzai had emphasized that any agreement must “respect the Afghan national sovereignty — meaning no imprisonment of Afghans by foreign troops and the transfer of all prisons in foreign force authority and the end to the night operations by the foreign forces.”
Mr. Karzai’s insistence on the complete cessation of night raids is another difficulty for the Americans, who have long insisted that they are critical to keeping the insurgency under control. The Americans and Afghans have said publicly that an increasing number of night raids are being done primarily by Afghan forces, but that some are still under American control and will transition more slowly.
Who has the most to gain from a partnership agreement has shifted as talks have dragged on through all of the last year, with the United States decreasingly invested in a deal and the Afghans, in particular elders and political leaders, increasingly convinced that it is essential for the country’s stability.
“The case is that Afghans need it more than the Americans, but the Afghans want it on their terms,” said a Western official in Kabul, who has experience in the country. “The fact is that it would be helpful to the peace talks in some way to make it clear to the Taliban and others that the Americans are here to stay.”
The comments echo a fear expressed by many that if there is no agreement, the Taliban would simply wait out the NATO troop withdrawal and then return to Afghanistan from their havens across the border in Pakistan.
The tension in the talks come as both countries appear to be re-evaluating their relations.
The United States — facing constant criticism from Mr. Karzai, a fractured Afghan political landscape and the increased targeting of its soldiers — appears to be considering other options for bases in the region. And it has sought out alternative ways to confront Al Qaeda’s presence in the Afghan-Pakistani border areas, once a prime element of a long-term relationship.
The Afghans, affronted by the American effort to move ahead on peace talks with the Taliban without the Afghan government’s initial full involvement, have been reaching out to Pakistan and Iran, holding a meeting with them two weeks ago. Both countries are antagonistic to American interests in Afghanistan and oppose any long-term American bases in the country.
Mr. Karzai’s insistence that the United States hand over detainees and detention facilities is popular with the Afghan public. That is both because the United States detains Afghans indefinitely without charge and because there is still a popular image dating from the early years of the war of American detention facilities as abusive places.
However, the challenges to a transfer are enormous, presenting serious security risks both for the Afghan government and American troops. Many of the estimated 3,200 people being detained cannot be tried under Afghan law because the evidence does not meet the legal standards required to be admitted in Afghan courts. Therefore, those people, including some suspected insurgents believed likely to return to the fight if released, would probably have to be released because Afghanistan has no law that allows for indefinite detention for national security reasons.
Further, the Americans have a major interrogation and intelligence operation at the detention facility in Parwan, north of Kabul, and any agreement would have to outline a gradual transition of that capability so that the Afghans, as the Americans do now, could use the intelligence gained to mount raids quickly before suspects moved on.
In addition, the Americans have obligations under international law not to hand over detainees to a country that uses hardship or torture. Afghanistan’s record in its Interior Ministry jails and its intelligence detention centers is not particularly strong, with detainees in a number of sites complaining of beatings, electric shocks and worse, according to a United Nations report released in the fall.
Not yet clear is what happens in the absence of an agreement. It appears that at least for a short period, the Americans could legally continue to run the detention centers and conduct night raids, but the antagonism between the countries over such an approach would most likely only worsen relations.
The partnership and the hoped for residual force of American soldiers in the country are crucial to Afghanistan’s survival, said a former senior government figure.
“Otherwise, it will be back to the civil war of the 1990s,” the official said. “And Afghanistan will not survive.”
Matthew Rosenberg contributed reporting from Washington.
1 killed, 12 wounded in suicide bombing in E. Afghanistan
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 5 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and 12 others were injured Monday afternoon when a suicide bombing rocked Jalalabad city, the provincial capital of eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, a local official said.
"The report we have so far received from hospitals in Jalalabad city is that one person was killed and 12 others were injured in the suicide attack," a spokesman for the provincial government Ahmad Zia Abdulzai told Xinhua.
He said the bomber targeted a unit of Afghan Nationl Police but failed to give more details whether any civilian were killed or injured in the attack, only saying "some civilians were among the injured but details will be released later."
According to a report by private TV channel Tolo News, a suicide bomber targeted a police vehicle parking before the building of provincial national television and radio department at around 03:30 p.m. local time.
The bomber who was killed right on the spot, blew his explosive materials up near a police vehicle, in the area where the provincial governor office is also located, according to local media.
The insurgency-hit Afghanistan has been experiencing roadside bombings and suicide attacks over the past couple of years.
Nine people were killed and 12 others were injured when a suicide car bomb, for which Taliban claimed the responsibility, targeted the Jalalabad's airport on Feb. 27.
Afghan Suicide Attack Kills Two At Koran-Burning NATO Site
March 05, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A suicide bomber in Afghanistan has killed at least two civilians at the U.S. military base where copies of the Koran were controversially burned last month.
Afghan officials say the bomber targeted a vehicle belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force outside gates leading to the Bagram air base.
A NATO spokeswoman said no coalition troops had been injured in the attack.
The Taliban militia has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was "revenge" for the Koran burning.
The burnings of the Muslim holy book at Bagram in February base brought U.S.-Afghan relations to a new low and sparked widespread anti-Western protests that left 30 people dead.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on March 5 described the Koran burning as "unfortunate" but "unintentional."
With Reuters, AFP, and dpa reporting
For some Afghans, suicide bombs best answer to Koran burnings
Reuters By Michael Georgy Sun Mar 4, 2012
KABUL - Matihullah, 24, had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Then news spread that Western soldiers had burned many copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base in Afghanistan.
He gave up his studies and embarked on a new mission in life -- to become a suicide bomber.
"Since the desecration and burnings of holy books of the Koran, I have been burning with the desire of revenge. It is running in my blood," said Matihullah, wearing the traditional white skull cap worn by many Afghans.
"I have two other brothers to take care of our family and I feel very proud to get my revenge."
The desecration of the Korans, which the United described as unintentional, triggered widespread protests in which 30 people were killed. Afghan security forces turned their weapons on American soldiers.
Two senior U.S. officers were shot dead at their desks in the heart of the Interior Ministry by what Afghan security officials said was a police intelligence officer, stunning NATO and the Kabul government.
The incident also raised the possibility that Afghanistan could see more suicide bombings -- one of the Taliban's most effective weapons -- by those who have concluded that is the only way justice can be served.
"I couldn't do any harm to the Americans by protesting and throwing stones," said Matihullah. "I want to put on the suicide vest and blow them apart."
Suicide bombings have become more widespread across the country in recent months, with assailants taking to innovative tactics such as concealing bombs in turbans and using children.
U.S. President Barack Obama apologised for the burnings of the Koran at Bagram air base. But the anger has not subsided.
U.S. officials have said that the Korans were confiscated from prisoners on the base and mistakenly discarded in an incinerator. Afghan labourers found charred remains.
Western insensitivity to Afghanistan's culture and religion may undermine U.S.-led efforts to stabilise one of the world's most turbulent countries before foreign combat troops withdraw at the end of 2014.
The Afghan army chief of staff, General Sher Mohammad Karimi, said in an interview with Reuters that the Taliban had taken advantage of the Koran burning saga and whipped up anti-Western emotions on its radio programmes and website.
"After the crime committed by foreign invaders, burning holy Korans, the number volunteers who want to fight against the enemy have remarkably increased," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters, speaking of the group's efforts to boost infiltration of Afghan security forces.
"We are now busy placing them inside and outside the enemy lines."
President Hamid Karzai's government is hoping to persuade the Taliban to negotiate an end to the war, now in its eleventh year.
Karzai and NATO have launched an ambitious reintegration programme to enable Taliban fighters to renounce violence and join mainstream society.
Abdullah was one of the few Taliban members who agreed, laying down his weapon to give the nascent peace process a chance.
But the Koran-burning episode is likely to set him on a violent path again.
"The Americans disrespected our religion, our holy Koran. This evil act is unforgivable and Jihad is a must for every Muslim right now," he said.
"Anybody who ignores Jihad is not a Muslim. I will be a proud to be martyred in defence of our holy book." (Editing by Nick Macfie)
Foreign troop's hasty withdrawal encourages insurgency in Afghanistan: MP
by Farid Behbud, Chen Xin
KABUL, March 5 (Xinhua) -- As more than 10,000 U.S. troops have already withdrawn from insurgency-hit Afghanistan, a member of parliament said that foreign troops' speedy pullout would encourage Taliban-led insurgency.
"The present situation in Afghanistan is still uncertain, it is critical and not ripe for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops as Afghan security forces are not equipped enough and not capable enough of dealing with terrorist threats all on their own," Harif Rahmani a member of Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of parliament said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
According to the NATO strategy reached at a summit in Lisbon in November 2010, the NATO and U.S. forces will gradually shift to a training, advisory and assistance role with the Afghan military as they complete all combat troops withdrawal by the end of 2014.
"In the case of the foreign troops' hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban militants will return and recapture the country," Rahmani said, adding that "the speedy withdrawal would eventually lead to the collapse of this static government or the return of Taliban and there is no third option."
Senior U.S. military officials announced that the United States hopes to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by mid-2013, more than a year earlier than planned, and will focus instead on a training, advisory and assistance role in the central Asian state, local media reported earlier.
In accordance with a timetable announced by U.S. President Barak in May 2011, a total of 10,000 U.S. troops had left Afghanistan by the end of 2011 while an additional 23,000 will be out by summer this year.
Large parts of Afghanistan have recently been handed back to the Afghan security forces.
Asked about operations of foreign military bases and camps, the representative of Ghazni province said, "I think the presence of international forces and existence of foreign military bases and camps is still critical or else vital across Afghanistan as we still need them for helping local forces and securing the state and preventing the country to be once again the safe haven for terrorism."
In fact, these camps and bases, especially those in the far and bordering provinces, had greatly helped Afghan security forces to curb terrorist activities and they are still benefiting the Afghan people in terms of security and stability, he said.
The Taliban is set to retake control over Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw from the country, according to local media reports based on a leaked NATO document early last month.
The document's findings were based on interrogations of more than 4,000 Taliban and al-Qaida detainees.
The war-weary Afghans worry that the United States and its allies will speed up their troop withdrawal after several insider attacks. Over the past year, dozens of soldiers were killed or injured after Afghan soldiers or gunmen in Afghan army uniform turned their weapons at foreign troops.
Since the beginning of this year, at least seven such incidents took place across the country. Two U.S. service members were shot dead by an Afghan army soldier and a local teacher in southern Kandahar province on Thursday.
The bloodiest one was on Jan. 20 in the country's eastern Kapisa province when an Afghan army soldier shot and killed four French soldiers with NATO-led ISAF and injuring 15 others. Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Meanwhile, other similar attacks left over eight U.S. and NATO soldiers dead since Jan. 1 this year.
"I have fears that if foreign forces leave the county, we would not have this comparatively secure environment and we will lose all achievement that gained in the past 10 years in the field of security, human rights, freedom of media, as well as women rights, " an Afghan youth Ramazan Ali Atahi said.
Baloch training camps closed in Afghanistan: Malik
March 5, 2012 The Hindu
Afghanistan has closed down camps run by Baloch nationalist groups where some 5,000 people were being trained, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik has claimed.
The minister said that the camps had been shut down by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai on requests by the the Pakistan government.
“Karzai acted after Pakistan requested him to stop the activities of the Baloch nationalist groups and the Afghan President had admitted that some of the troubles in Balochistan province were originating from his country,” Mr. Malik contended.
“After we approached the President of Afghanistan with facts and figures, he was kind enough to look into the matter by promising to stop infiltration of miscreants from his side of the border,” Mr. Malik said during an interaction with reporters at the National Press Club on Sunday.
“There were training camps for 5,000 people in Kandahar but they have been dismantled and their operators have moved out of the area,” he said.
The camps were being run while Baloch nationalist leader Brahamdagh Bugti was present in Kabul, he added.
During a recent visit to Islamabad, Mr. Karzai was informed about the infiltration of militants into Balochistan, Mr. Malik said.
“President Karzai had promised to stop the infiltration from Kandahar into Balochistan,” he added.
Afghanistan had formally given an assurance that the infiltration of militants into the Pakistan border town of Chaman would be stopped.
The Afghan government had promised that insurgents would not be allowed to operate in Pakistan from Afghanistan, he said.
“We are monitoring the situation and those playing into the hands of foreign forces to destabilise the country will not be spared,” Mr. Malik said.
At the same time, the government is creating an environment conducive to talks and Baloch leaders who show “respect for the national flag” would be welcomed if they returned to Pakistan, he said.
“If these people want their rights as Pakistani nationals, they will definitely get them,” he said, blaming Brahamdagh Bugti for the deteriorating situation in Balochistan.
Pakistan had requested Mr. Karzai to deport Mr. Bugti, after which he left Afghanistan, Mr. Malik claimed. After Mr. Bugti’s departure from Kabul, the situation in Balochistan was under control, he further claimed.
A total of 135 cases had been registered against Baloch nationalists and a number of them were withdrawn when a special development package for Balochistan was launched.
The process of closing the remaining cases is underway.
The Interior Ministry has written a letter to the Balochistan Chief Secretary to withdraw “politically motivated cases”, Mr. Malik said.
“However, cases filed by private citizens and families of a deceased will have to be settled in court,” he said.
Mr. Malik contended that the phenomenon of “missing persons” -- or Baloch activists detained without charge -- was a serious issue but had been blown out of proportion.
While 6,000 people had been reported as “missing” initially, the Balochistan Chief Minister’s office has now estimated that only 800 were missing, he claimed.
Two judicial commissions were investigating this issue, Mr. Malik said.
Zakaria: Time to get real on Afghanistan
CNN By Fareed Zakaria March 4th, 2012
The controversy over the desecration of copies of the Quran in Afghanistan and the murders of Americans that have followed is, on one level, one moment in a long, complicated war. But it also highlights the difficult and ultimately unsustainable aspect of America's Afghan policy. President Obama wants to draw down troops, but his strategy remains to transition power and authority to an Afghan national army and police force as well as to the government in Kabul, which would run the country and its economy. This is a fantasy. We must recognize that and pursue a more realistic alternative.
The United States tends to enter wars in developing countries with a simple idea - modernize the country, and you will solve the national security problem. An articulation of that approach came from none other than Newt Gingrich during a 2010 speech:
"The fact that we have been in this country for seven, eight years, and that we have not flooded the country with highways, we haven't guaranteed that every Afghan has a cell phone, we haven't undertaken the logical steps towards fundamentally modernizing their society."
Now, assuming that every Afghan got a cell phone and could travel on great highways, here is what would not change: The Afghan national government does not have the support of a large segment of its population, the Pashtuns. The national army is regarded as an army of Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras - the old Northern Alliance that battled the Pashtuns throughout the 1990s. And, simply put, Afghanistan's economy cannot support a large national government with a huge army. (The budget for Afghan security forces today is around $12 billion paid for by the US of course. That is eight times the amount of the government's annual revenue.)
As America has discovered in countless places over the past five decades, there are problems with this nation-building approach. First, it is extremely difficult to modernize a country in a few years. Second, even if this were possible, the fundamental characteristics of that society - its ethnicity, religion, and national and geopolitical orientation - persist despite modernization.
Accepting reality in Afghanistan would not leave America without options. We could have a smaller troop presence; we can pursue robust counterterrorism operations.
The United States could, of course, maintain its current approach, which is to bet on the success of not one but two large nation-building projects. We have to create an effective national government in Kabul that is loved and respected by all Afghans, whatever their ethnicity, and expand the Afghan economy so that a large national army and police force are sustainable for the long run.
To succeed, we would also have to alter Pakistan's basic character, create a civilian-dominated state that could shift the strategic orientation of the Islamabad government so that it shuts down the Taliban sanctuaries and starts fighting the very groups it has created and supported for at least three decades. Does anyone really think this is going to happen?
Nine Nominated Ministers Approved By Afghan Parliament
Bakhtar News Agency T. Rateb March 5, 2012
Kabul (BNA) The Afghan parliament approved the nine nominated ministers in their today’s session. Dr. Suraya Dalil winning 196 votes got the post of Public Health Minister. Amirzai Sangin winning 184 votes got the post of Communication and Technology Minister. Husan Bano Ghazanfar winning 190 votes selected as Minister of Women Affairs. Hassa Abdullahi getting 196 votes became the Urban Minister. Daoud Ali Najafi receiving 176 votes became the Transport and Aviation Minister. Obaidullah Obaid winning 196 votes got the post of Higher Education Minister. Mohammad Ismail Khan winning 176 votes got the post of Water and Energy Minister. Najibullah Awazhang getting 207 votes became the Minister of Public Works, and Wasi Barmak getting 212 votes got the post of Rural Development Minister. In a several days process, the MPs questioned the candidate ministers and the mentioned ministers also explained their working programs of their ministries. 115 “yes” votes was the need of each candidate to get the position. In this round two new ministers are women.
Pakistan Taliban removes deputy head Maulvi Faqir Mohammad
5 March 2012 BBC News
The head of the Pakistani Taliban has removed his deputy commander, the militant group confirmed to the BBC, in a sign of a growing power struggle.
Hakimullah Mehsud demoted Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who was the second-highest ranking Taliban leader, at a Taliban council of leaders on Sunday.
No reason was given but correspondents say the move is the latest sign of a rift within the group.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad has not yet been replaced by another militant commander.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban - known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - told BBC Urdu that he had been removed with immediate effect but that the Taliban leadership was considering appointing him to some other position within the group.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the decision is the latest sign of a growing rift within the Pakistani Taliban that began when its former leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in August 2009.
At that time, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad was one of the contenders for the top post, but had to settle for the position of deputy head because the TTP wanted to keep its leadership within the Waziristan tribal area, their major stronghold.
'Minor' differences
Since then, he has had an uneasy relationship with the central command of the TTP, our correspondent says.
And last year some elements of the TTP accused him of having contacts with the Pakistani government, which he denied. He has previously admitted to the BBC that he had "minor" differences with Taliban leadership.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad led the Taliban in the Bajaur district, in the extreme north of the tribal areas and at some distance from Waziristan.
The volatile Bajaur region is believed to have been home to al-Qaeda leaders such as Ayman al-Zawahiri, and militants loyal to the non-Taliban commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, our correspondent adds.
Afghan Health Sector to Face Major Shut-Down Without Intl Aid: MoPH
TOLOnews.com Sunday, 04 March 2012
If international aid is cut, seventy five percent of health centres in Afghanistan will have to be closed, Acting Minister of Public Health, Suraya Dalil, said on Sunday.
Mrs Dalil made the comments during an address to the Afghan House of Representatives on Sunday.
Speaking about the Ministry of Health programmes for the future, she warned that if international community's aid stops, there would be big challenges ahead, adding that the Ministry is faced with shortage of funds.
"Lack of financial resources is a big threat to the health sector in the country," Mrs Dalil said. She added that lack of financial resources has caused the Ministry to hire non-standards houses for 288 health centres in the country.
Meanwhile, candidate ministers of communication and information technology, Energy and Water, and Transportation and Aviation delivered speeches focusing on their achievements.
It comes as nine Afghan ministries have been administered by Acting Ministers for over two years now.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently introduced nine candidate ministers to the Afghan parliament to get vote of confidence.
A vote is to take place on Monday after all the candidate ministers have explained their programmes to the Afghan parliament.
Concern over Increased Violence Against Women in Balkh
TOLOnews.com Monday, 05 March 2012
The head of the Directorate of Women's Affairs in Balkh province, Friba Majid, said on Sunday that more than 120 incidents of violence against women have been registered in the province.
Violent incidents include forced marriages, rape, beatings and mutilation, she said.
Most of the case that have been registered are ‘beatings of women and baad," Ms Majid said. Baad is a forced marriage to put an end to a tribal disputes.
It comes as the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission last month warned that if the Afghan government does not prevent violence against women, the international community will consider Afghanistan unsuccessful in the field of human rights.
The commission believes that all the advances that have been achieved in the past 10 years will be questioned if the Afghan government does not take the necessary measures to prevent violence against women.
The commission urged the Afghan government to bring those who commit violence against women to justice.
Based on a survey done by the AIHRC, there has been a 51 per cent rise in violence against Afghan women in the first nine months of this Afghan calendar year.
Afghan fiance kills US citizen, nabbed at IGI Airport
The Times of India By Raj Shekhar Mar 5, 2012
NEW DELHI - An Afghan national studying in Russia allegedly stabbed his 21-year-old American fiancee to death at a guesthouse in Jangpura in south Delhi. He was apprehended hours later at IGI Airport on Sunday morning, just as he was about to catch a flight to Afghanistan.
The victim, Paimana Khanjar, 21, a US citizen of Afghan origin on her first visit to India, was found dead by a friend on Saturday night, with a knife in her abdomen. Police called it a crime of passion committed by her fiance - Omid Milad Hussain Khill, an Afghan national living in Russia - after she reportedly wanted to break off the engagement.
Alert Immigration officials identified Omid at the airport after cops had issued a 'lookout circular' on him. Omid had booked himself on an Air India flight to Kabul.
The murder came to light when Paimana's Indian friend, Ridhi (name changed), went to meet her at the guesthouse around 11.30pm on Saturday.
"When I entered her room, I saw blood all over. Heading to the bed, I saw her lying lifeless with a knife in her stomach. I thought her fiance had also been attacked, so I went to look in the kitchen and bathroom but found no one there," she said. Ridhi raised an alarm and called in the guesthouse staff.
Nabbed at IGI moments before great escape
The killer was nabbed within 12 hours of the crime and just minutes before he was to board a flight to Kabul. It would have been a great escape for the American national, but for the swift reaction of Delhi Police and fast thinking by immigration authorities at IGI. And what unfolded was a dramatic sequence of events that led to the arrest of Omid Hussain, hours after he snuffed out the life of the woman he had wanted to marry. A lookout circular was issued to airports across the country, Omid's phone was put on surveillance and all exit points in the city were blocked.
A senior police officer, said, "A lookout circular is used by immigration authorities to check whether a passenger is wanted by police. It can be used at immigration checks at international borders, airports or sea ports. In India, the circular has a performa with identification parameters that help police nab absconding criminals."
Paimana's friend said the murder was planned days in advance. Speaking to TOI, she said: "Last night, Paimana left home after 10pm and her friend wanted to accompany her. But Omid insisted she can join them only after an hour. He was categorical. Don't come before 11.10pm. So the murder was premeditated."
And it didn't take long for cops to identify the killer. Omid was missing from his room, where the murder took place. Additional CP, southeast, Ajay Chaudhry told TOI that investigations were taken up late at night. Teams were quickly formed to execute the strategy. "At first we concentrated on the airport and railway station. Escape routes from the city were monitored and airports were put on alert."
Sources told TOI Omid called his parents and informed them about the incident. "They got worried and told him to return. He went to the airport, bought a ticket for Kabul at the Air India counter and entered the airport. He even had his security checks done and was waiting at the immigration counter when he was spotted," a police officer said.
Police are yet to clarify whether it was pre-planned murder or a crime of passion. They said the accused will be taken on remand and interrogated.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
By ALISSA J. RUBIN The New York Times March 4, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — The prospects for a long-term American strategic partnership with Afghanistan appeared to be dimming over the weekend, as negotiations foundered despite a new American willingness to move up the transfer of detention centers to the Afghans to as soon as six months from now, Afghan and American officials said.
The proposed timeline would be a substantial concession from an American negotiation position that even just weeks ago put off a transfer into the indefinite future, basing it on the success of training an Afghan guard force capable of running the complex American detention facilities. However, President Hamid Karzai has stated repeatedly that he wants an immediate transfer of all detainees to Afghan control.
In public statements, Afghan and American officials avoided saying that the talks were dead. But in the past few weeks, statements have taken on an increasingly last-chance tone as outrage over the burning of Korans by American soldiers has appeared to harden the differences between the longtime, if always wary, allies.
The strategic partnership talks have sought to lay out an American commitment to continue aid and support to the Afghan government for the next 10 years. It has been expected that it would be followed by a status-of-forces agreement that would define a potential long-term troop presence in Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal deadline.
In a carefully worded statement, however, the Americans raised for the first time the possibility that there would be no partnership agreement at all.
“We have always said it is more important to get the right agreement than to get an agreement,” said Gavin Sundwall, the American Embassy spokesman in Kabul.
In fact, in past public statements, the Americans said among other things that it was more important “to get the right agreement than a fast agreement,” but they had not publicly raised the possibility that there might not be an agreement at all.
The Afghan government spokesman, Aimal Faizi, declined to discuss whether the talks had been suspended but said Mr. Karzai will meet with Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker on Monday. Mr. Faizi said they would discuss the agreement, including the six-month transfer timeline, which he characterized as an offer that had not been formalized.
“The six months thing is something that we are hearing, but tomorrow’s meeting will decide on this,” Mr. Faizi said. “And whether we do that, the president will decide on whether this will take place. But it hasn’t come to the president officially yet, and hopefully it will and we will see.”
As recently as Thursday, Mr. Karzai, in a telephone call with the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, stressed his position on detention and night raids.
A statement released by the presidential palace after the telephone call stated that Mr. Karzai had emphasized that any agreement must “respect the Afghan national sovereignty — meaning no imprisonment of Afghans by foreign troops and the transfer of all prisons in foreign force authority and the end to the night operations by the foreign forces.”
Mr. Karzai’s insistence on the complete cessation of night raids is another difficulty for the Americans, who have long insisted that they are critical to keeping the insurgency under control. The Americans and Afghans have said publicly that an increasing number of night raids are being done primarily by Afghan forces, but that some are still under American control and will transition more slowly.
Who has the most to gain from a partnership agreement has shifted as talks have dragged on through all of the last year, with the United States decreasingly invested in a deal and the Afghans, in particular elders and political leaders, increasingly convinced that it is essential for the country’s stability.
“The case is that Afghans need it more than the Americans, but the Afghans want it on their terms,” said a Western official in Kabul, who has experience in the country. “The fact is that it would be helpful to the peace talks in some way to make it clear to the Taliban and others that the Americans are here to stay.”
The comments echo a fear expressed by many that if there is no agreement, the Taliban would simply wait out the NATO troop withdrawal and then return to Afghanistan from their havens across the border in Pakistan.
The tension in the talks come as both countries appear to be re-evaluating their relations.
The United States — facing constant criticism from Mr. Karzai, a fractured Afghan political landscape and the increased targeting of its soldiers — appears to be considering other options for bases in the region. And it has sought out alternative ways to confront Al Qaeda’s presence in the Afghan-Pakistani border areas, once a prime element of a long-term relationship.
The Afghans, affronted by the American effort to move ahead on peace talks with the Taliban without the Afghan government’s initial full involvement, have been reaching out to Pakistan and Iran, holding a meeting with them two weeks ago. Both countries are antagonistic to American interests in Afghanistan and oppose any long-term American bases in the country.
Mr. Karzai’s insistence that the United States hand over detainees and detention facilities is popular with the Afghan public. That is both because the United States detains Afghans indefinitely without charge and because there is still a popular image dating from the early years of the war of American detention facilities as abusive places.
However, the challenges to a transfer are enormous, presenting serious security risks both for the Afghan government and American troops. Many of the estimated 3,200 people being detained cannot be tried under Afghan law because the evidence does not meet the legal standards required to be admitted in Afghan courts. Therefore, those people, including some suspected insurgents believed likely to return to the fight if released, would probably have to be released because Afghanistan has no law that allows for indefinite detention for national security reasons.
Further, the Americans have a major interrogation and intelligence operation at the detention facility in Parwan, north of Kabul, and any agreement would have to outline a gradual transition of that capability so that the Afghans, as the Americans do now, could use the intelligence gained to mount raids quickly before suspects moved on.
In addition, the Americans have obligations under international law not to hand over detainees to a country that uses hardship or torture. Afghanistan’s record in its Interior Ministry jails and its intelligence detention centers is not particularly strong, with detainees in a number of sites complaining of beatings, electric shocks and worse, according to a United Nations report released in the fall.
Not yet clear is what happens in the absence of an agreement. It appears that at least for a short period, the Americans could legally continue to run the detention centers and conduct night raids, but the antagonism between the countries over such an approach would most likely only worsen relations.
The partnership and the hoped for residual force of American soldiers in the country are crucial to Afghanistan’s survival, said a former senior government figure.
“Otherwise, it will be back to the civil war of the 1990s,” the official said. “And Afghanistan will not survive.”
Matthew Rosenberg contributed reporting from Washington.
1 killed, 12 wounded in suicide bombing in E. Afghanistan
JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 5 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and 12 others were injured Monday afternoon when a suicide bombing rocked Jalalabad city, the provincial capital of eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, a local official said.
"The report we have so far received from hospitals in Jalalabad city is that one person was killed and 12 others were injured in the suicide attack," a spokesman for the provincial government Ahmad Zia Abdulzai told Xinhua.
He said the bomber targeted a unit of Afghan Nationl Police but failed to give more details whether any civilian were killed or injured in the attack, only saying "some civilians were among the injured but details will be released later."
According to a report by private TV channel Tolo News, a suicide bomber targeted a police vehicle parking before the building of provincial national television and radio department at around 03:30 p.m. local time.
The bomber who was killed right on the spot, blew his explosive materials up near a police vehicle, in the area where the provincial governor office is also located, according to local media.
The insurgency-hit Afghanistan has been experiencing roadside bombings and suicide attacks over the past couple of years.
Nine people were killed and 12 others were injured when a suicide car bomb, for which Taliban claimed the responsibility, targeted the Jalalabad's airport on Feb. 27.
Afghan Suicide Attack Kills Two At Koran-Burning NATO Site
March 05, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A suicide bomber in Afghanistan has killed at least two civilians at the U.S. military base where copies of the Koran were controversially burned last month.
Afghan officials say the bomber targeted a vehicle belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force outside gates leading to the Bagram air base.
A NATO spokeswoman said no coalition troops had been injured in the attack.
The Taliban militia has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was "revenge" for the Koran burning.
The burnings of the Muslim holy book at Bagram in February base brought U.S.-Afghan relations to a new low and sparked widespread anti-Western protests that left 30 people dead.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on March 5 described the Koran burning as "unfortunate" but "unintentional."
With Reuters, AFP, and dpa reporting
For some Afghans, suicide bombs best answer to Koran burnings
Reuters By Michael Georgy Sun Mar 4, 2012
KABUL - Matihullah, 24, had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Then news spread that Western soldiers had burned many copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base in Afghanistan.
He gave up his studies and embarked on a new mission in life -- to become a suicide bomber.
"Since the desecration and burnings of holy books of the Koran, I have been burning with the desire of revenge. It is running in my blood," said Matihullah, wearing the traditional white skull cap worn by many Afghans.
"I have two other brothers to take care of our family and I feel very proud to get my revenge."
The desecration of the Korans, which the United described as unintentional, triggered widespread protests in which 30 people were killed. Afghan security forces turned their weapons on American soldiers.
Two senior U.S. officers were shot dead at their desks in the heart of the Interior Ministry by what Afghan security officials said was a police intelligence officer, stunning NATO and the Kabul government.
The incident also raised the possibility that Afghanistan could see more suicide bombings -- one of the Taliban's most effective weapons -- by those who have concluded that is the only way justice can be served.
"I couldn't do any harm to the Americans by protesting and throwing stones," said Matihullah. "I want to put on the suicide vest and blow them apart."
Suicide bombings have become more widespread across the country in recent months, with assailants taking to innovative tactics such as concealing bombs in turbans and using children.
U.S. President Barack Obama apologised for the burnings of the Koran at Bagram air base. But the anger has not subsided.
U.S. officials have said that the Korans were confiscated from prisoners on the base and mistakenly discarded in an incinerator. Afghan labourers found charred remains.
Western insensitivity to Afghanistan's culture and religion may undermine U.S.-led efforts to stabilise one of the world's most turbulent countries before foreign combat troops withdraw at the end of 2014.
The Afghan army chief of staff, General Sher Mohammad Karimi, said in an interview with Reuters that the Taliban had taken advantage of the Koran burning saga and whipped up anti-Western emotions on its radio programmes and website.
"After the crime committed by foreign invaders, burning holy Korans, the number volunteers who want to fight against the enemy have remarkably increased," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters, speaking of the group's efforts to boost infiltration of Afghan security forces.
"We are now busy placing them inside and outside the enemy lines."
President Hamid Karzai's government is hoping to persuade the Taliban to negotiate an end to the war, now in its eleventh year.
Karzai and NATO have launched an ambitious reintegration programme to enable Taliban fighters to renounce violence and join mainstream society.
Abdullah was one of the few Taliban members who agreed, laying down his weapon to give the nascent peace process a chance.
But the Koran-burning episode is likely to set him on a violent path again.
"The Americans disrespected our religion, our holy Koran. This evil act is unforgivable and Jihad is a must for every Muslim right now," he said.
"Anybody who ignores Jihad is not a Muslim. I will be a proud to be martyred in defence of our holy book." (Editing by Nick Macfie)
Foreign troop's hasty withdrawal encourages insurgency in Afghanistan: MP
by Farid Behbud, Chen Xin
KABUL, March 5 (Xinhua) -- As more than 10,000 U.S. troops have already withdrawn from insurgency-hit Afghanistan, a member of parliament said that foreign troops' speedy pullout would encourage Taliban-led insurgency.
"The present situation in Afghanistan is still uncertain, it is critical and not ripe for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops as Afghan security forces are not equipped enough and not capable enough of dealing with terrorist threats all on their own," Harif Rahmani a member of Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of parliament said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
According to the NATO strategy reached at a summit in Lisbon in November 2010, the NATO and U.S. forces will gradually shift to a training, advisory and assistance role with the Afghan military as they complete all combat troops withdrawal by the end of 2014.
"In the case of the foreign troops' hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban militants will return and recapture the country," Rahmani said, adding that "the speedy withdrawal would eventually lead to the collapse of this static government or the return of Taliban and there is no third option."
Senior U.S. military officials announced that the United States hopes to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by mid-2013, more than a year earlier than planned, and will focus instead on a training, advisory and assistance role in the central Asian state, local media reported earlier.
In accordance with a timetable announced by U.S. President Barak in May 2011, a total of 10,000 U.S. troops had left Afghanistan by the end of 2011 while an additional 23,000 will be out by summer this year.
Large parts of Afghanistan have recently been handed back to the Afghan security forces.
Asked about operations of foreign military bases and camps, the representative of Ghazni province said, "I think the presence of international forces and existence of foreign military bases and camps is still critical or else vital across Afghanistan as we still need them for helping local forces and securing the state and preventing the country to be once again the safe haven for terrorism."
In fact, these camps and bases, especially those in the far and bordering provinces, had greatly helped Afghan security forces to curb terrorist activities and they are still benefiting the Afghan people in terms of security and stability, he said.
The Taliban is set to retake control over Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw from the country, according to local media reports based on a leaked NATO document early last month.
The document's findings were based on interrogations of more than 4,000 Taliban and al-Qaida detainees.
The war-weary Afghans worry that the United States and its allies will speed up their troop withdrawal after several insider attacks. Over the past year, dozens of soldiers were killed or injured after Afghan soldiers or gunmen in Afghan army uniform turned their weapons at foreign troops.
Since the beginning of this year, at least seven such incidents took place across the country. Two U.S. service members were shot dead by an Afghan army soldier and a local teacher in southern Kandahar province on Thursday.
The bloodiest one was on Jan. 20 in the country's eastern Kapisa province when an Afghan army soldier shot and killed four French soldiers with NATO-led ISAF and injuring 15 others. Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Meanwhile, other similar attacks left over eight U.S. and NATO soldiers dead since Jan. 1 this year.
"I have fears that if foreign forces leave the county, we would not have this comparatively secure environment and we will lose all achievement that gained in the past 10 years in the field of security, human rights, freedom of media, as well as women rights, " an Afghan youth Ramazan Ali Atahi said.
Baloch training camps closed in Afghanistan: Malik
March 5, 2012 The Hindu
Afghanistan has closed down camps run by Baloch nationalist groups where some 5,000 people were being trained, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik has claimed.
The minister said that the camps had been shut down by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai on requests by the the Pakistan government.
“Karzai acted after Pakistan requested him to stop the activities of the Baloch nationalist groups and the Afghan President had admitted that some of the troubles in Balochistan province were originating from his country,” Mr. Malik contended.
“After we approached the President of Afghanistan with facts and figures, he was kind enough to look into the matter by promising to stop infiltration of miscreants from his side of the border,” Mr. Malik said during an interaction with reporters at the National Press Club on Sunday.
“There were training camps for 5,000 people in Kandahar but they have been dismantled and their operators have moved out of the area,” he said.
The camps were being run while Baloch nationalist leader Brahamdagh Bugti was present in Kabul, he added.
During a recent visit to Islamabad, Mr. Karzai was informed about the infiltration of militants into Balochistan, Mr. Malik said.
“President Karzai had promised to stop the infiltration from Kandahar into Balochistan,” he added.
Afghanistan had formally given an assurance that the infiltration of militants into the Pakistan border town of Chaman would be stopped.
The Afghan government had promised that insurgents would not be allowed to operate in Pakistan from Afghanistan, he said.
“We are monitoring the situation and those playing into the hands of foreign forces to destabilise the country will not be spared,” Mr. Malik said.
At the same time, the government is creating an environment conducive to talks and Baloch leaders who show “respect for the national flag” would be welcomed if they returned to Pakistan, he said.
“If these people want their rights as Pakistani nationals, they will definitely get them,” he said, blaming Brahamdagh Bugti for the deteriorating situation in Balochistan.
Pakistan had requested Mr. Karzai to deport Mr. Bugti, after which he left Afghanistan, Mr. Malik claimed. After Mr. Bugti’s departure from Kabul, the situation in Balochistan was under control, he further claimed.
A total of 135 cases had been registered against Baloch nationalists and a number of them were withdrawn when a special development package for Balochistan was launched.
The process of closing the remaining cases is underway.
The Interior Ministry has written a letter to the Balochistan Chief Secretary to withdraw “politically motivated cases”, Mr. Malik said.
“However, cases filed by private citizens and families of a deceased will have to be settled in court,” he said.
Mr. Malik contended that the phenomenon of “missing persons” -- or Baloch activists detained without charge -- was a serious issue but had been blown out of proportion.
While 6,000 people had been reported as “missing” initially, the Balochistan Chief Minister’s office has now estimated that only 800 were missing, he claimed.
Two judicial commissions were investigating this issue, Mr. Malik said.
Zakaria: Time to get real on Afghanistan
CNN By Fareed Zakaria March 4th, 2012
The controversy over the desecration of copies of the Quran in Afghanistan and the murders of Americans that have followed is, on one level, one moment in a long, complicated war. But it also highlights the difficult and ultimately unsustainable aspect of America's Afghan policy. President Obama wants to draw down troops, but his strategy remains to transition power and authority to an Afghan national army and police force as well as to the government in Kabul, which would run the country and its economy. This is a fantasy. We must recognize that and pursue a more realistic alternative.
The United States tends to enter wars in developing countries with a simple idea - modernize the country, and you will solve the national security problem. An articulation of that approach came from none other than Newt Gingrich during a 2010 speech:
"The fact that we have been in this country for seven, eight years, and that we have not flooded the country with highways, we haven't guaranteed that every Afghan has a cell phone, we haven't undertaken the logical steps towards fundamentally modernizing their society."
Now, assuming that every Afghan got a cell phone and could travel on great highways, here is what would not change: The Afghan national government does not have the support of a large segment of its population, the Pashtuns. The national army is regarded as an army of Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras - the old Northern Alliance that battled the Pashtuns throughout the 1990s. And, simply put, Afghanistan's economy cannot support a large national government with a huge army. (The budget for Afghan security forces today is around $12 billion paid for by the US of course. That is eight times the amount of the government's annual revenue.)
As America has discovered in countless places over the past five decades, there are problems with this nation-building approach. First, it is extremely difficult to modernize a country in a few years. Second, even if this were possible, the fundamental characteristics of that society - its ethnicity, religion, and national and geopolitical orientation - persist despite modernization.
Accepting reality in Afghanistan would not leave America without options. We could have a smaller troop presence; we can pursue robust counterterrorism operations.
The United States could, of course, maintain its current approach, which is to bet on the success of not one but two large nation-building projects. We have to create an effective national government in Kabul that is loved and respected by all Afghans, whatever their ethnicity, and expand the Afghan economy so that a large national army and police force are sustainable for the long run.
To succeed, we would also have to alter Pakistan's basic character, create a civilian-dominated state that could shift the strategic orientation of the Islamabad government so that it shuts down the Taliban sanctuaries and starts fighting the very groups it has created and supported for at least three decades. Does anyone really think this is going to happen?
Nine Nominated Ministers Approved By Afghan Parliament
Bakhtar News Agency T. Rateb March 5, 2012
Kabul (BNA) The Afghan parliament approved the nine nominated ministers in their today’s session. Dr. Suraya Dalil winning 196 votes got the post of Public Health Minister. Amirzai Sangin winning 184 votes got the post of Communication and Technology Minister. Husan Bano Ghazanfar winning 190 votes selected as Minister of Women Affairs. Hassa Abdullahi getting 196 votes became the Urban Minister. Daoud Ali Najafi receiving 176 votes became the Transport and Aviation Minister. Obaidullah Obaid winning 196 votes got the post of Higher Education Minister. Mohammad Ismail Khan winning 176 votes got the post of Water and Energy Minister. Najibullah Awazhang getting 207 votes became the Minister of Public Works, and Wasi Barmak getting 212 votes got the post of Rural Development Minister. In a several days process, the MPs questioned the candidate ministers and the mentioned ministers also explained their working programs of their ministries. 115 “yes” votes was the need of each candidate to get the position. In this round two new ministers are women.
Pakistan Taliban removes deputy head Maulvi Faqir Mohammad
5 March 2012 BBC News
The head of the Pakistani Taliban has removed his deputy commander, the militant group confirmed to the BBC, in a sign of a growing power struggle.
Hakimullah Mehsud demoted Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, who was the second-highest ranking Taliban leader, at a Taliban council of leaders on Sunday.
No reason was given but correspondents say the move is the latest sign of a rift within the group.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad has not yet been replaced by another militant commander.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban - known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - told BBC Urdu that he had been removed with immediate effect but that the Taliban leadership was considering appointing him to some other position within the group.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the decision is the latest sign of a growing rift within the Pakistani Taliban that began when its former leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in August 2009.
At that time, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad was one of the contenders for the top post, but had to settle for the position of deputy head because the TTP wanted to keep its leadership within the Waziristan tribal area, their major stronghold.
'Minor' differences
Since then, he has had an uneasy relationship with the central command of the TTP, our correspondent says.
And last year some elements of the TTP accused him of having contacts with the Pakistani government, which he denied. He has previously admitted to the BBC that he had "minor" differences with Taliban leadership.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad led the Taliban in the Bajaur district, in the extreme north of the tribal areas and at some distance from Waziristan.
The volatile Bajaur region is believed to have been home to al-Qaeda leaders such as Ayman al-Zawahiri, and militants loyal to the non-Taliban commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, our correspondent adds.
Afghan Health Sector to Face Major Shut-Down Without Intl Aid: MoPH
TOLOnews.com Sunday, 04 March 2012
If international aid is cut, seventy five percent of health centres in Afghanistan will have to be closed, Acting Minister of Public Health, Suraya Dalil, said on Sunday.
Mrs Dalil made the comments during an address to the Afghan House of Representatives on Sunday.
Speaking about the Ministry of Health programmes for the future, she warned that if international community's aid stops, there would be big challenges ahead, adding that the Ministry is faced with shortage of funds.
"Lack of financial resources is a big threat to the health sector in the country," Mrs Dalil said. She added that lack of financial resources has caused the Ministry to hire non-standards houses for 288 health centres in the country.
Meanwhile, candidate ministers of communication and information technology, Energy and Water, and Transportation and Aviation delivered speeches focusing on their achievements.
It comes as nine Afghan ministries have been administered by Acting Ministers for over two years now.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently introduced nine candidate ministers to the Afghan parliament to get vote of confidence.
A vote is to take place on Monday after all the candidate ministers have explained their programmes to the Afghan parliament.
Concern over Increased Violence Against Women in Balkh
TOLOnews.com Monday, 05 March 2012
The head of the Directorate of Women's Affairs in Balkh province, Friba Majid, said on Sunday that more than 120 incidents of violence against women have been registered in the province.
Violent incidents include forced marriages, rape, beatings and mutilation, she said.
Most of the case that have been registered are ‘beatings of women and baad," Ms Majid said. Baad is a forced marriage to put an end to a tribal disputes.
It comes as the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission last month warned that if the Afghan government does not prevent violence against women, the international community will consider Afghanistan unsuccessful in the field of human rights.
The commission believes that all the advances that have been achieved in the past 10 years will be questioned if the Afghan government does not take the necessary measures to prevent violence against women.
The commission urged the Afghan government to bring those who commit violence against women to justice.
Based on a survey done by the AIHRC, there has been a 51 per cent rise in violence against Afghan women in the first nine months of this Afghan calendar year.
Afghan fiance kills US citizen, nabbed at IGI Airport
The Times of India By Raj Shekhar Mar 5, 2012
NEW DELHI - An Afghan national studying in Russia allegedly stabbed his 21-year-old American fiancee to death at a guesthouse in Jangpura in south Delhi. He was apprehended hours later at IGI Airport on Sunday morning, just as he was about to catch a flight to Afghanistan.
The victim, Paimana Khanjar, 21, a US citizen of Afghan origin on her first visit to India, was found dead by a friend on Saturday night, with a knife in her abdomen. Police called it a crime of passion committed by her fiance - Omid Milad Hussain Khill, an Afghan national living in Russia - after she reportedly wanted to break off the engagement.
Alert Immigration officials identified Omid at the airport after cops had issued a 'lookout circular' on him. Omid had booked himself on an Air India flight to Kabul.
The murder came to light when Paimana's Indian friend, Ridhi (name changed), went to meet her at the guesthouse around 11.30pm on Saturday.
"When I entered her room, I saw blood all over. Heading to the bed, I saw her lying lifeless with a knife in her stomach. I thought her fiance had also been attacked, so I went to look in the kitchen and bathroom but found no one there," she said. Ridhi raised an alarm and called in the guesthouse staff.
Nabbed at IGI moments before great escape
The killer was nabbed within 12 hours of the crime and just minutes before he was to board a flight to Kabul. It would have been a great escape for the American national, but for the swift reaction of Delhi Police and fast thinking by immigration authorities at IGI. And what unfolded was a dramatic sequence of events that led to the arrest of Omid Hussain, hours after he snuffed out the life of the woman he had wanted to marry. A lookout circular was issued to airports across the country, Omid's phone was put on surveillance and all exit points in the city were blocked.
A senior police officer, said, "A lookout circular is used by immigration authorities to check whether a passenger is wanted by police. It can be used at immigration checks at international borders, airports or sea ports. In India, the circular has a performa with identification parameters that help police nab absconding criminals."
Paimana's friend said the murder was planned days in advance. Speaking to TOI, she said: "Last night, Paimana left home after 10pm and her friend wanted to accompany her. But Omid insisted she can join them only after an hour. He was categorical. Don't come before 11.10pm. So the murder was premeditated."
And it didn't take long for cops to identify the killer. Omid was missing from his room, where the murder took place. Additional CP, southeast, Ajay Chaudhry told TOI that investigations were taken up late at night. Teams were quickly formed to execute the strategy. "At first we concentrated on the airport and railway station. Escape routes from the city were monitored and airports were put on alert."
Sources told TOI Omid called his parents and informed them about the incident. "They got worried and told him to return. He went to the airport, bought a ticket for Kabul at the Air India counter and entered the airport. He even had his security checks done and was waiting at the immigration counter when he was spotted," a police officer said.
Police are yet to clarify whether it was pre-planned murder or a crime of passion. They said the accused will be taken on remand and interrogated.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com