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Afghan, Taliban Officials Discuss Country's Future
VOA News December 20, 2012
Afghan officials are meeting with the Taliban and other militant groups to discuss the country's future as NATO forces prepare for a 2014 withdrawal.
France is hosting the two-day closed-door session which begins on Thursday near Paris.
The meeting marks the first time that Taliban officials, senior leaders of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance and members of the country's High Peace Council have held face-to-face talks on the country's future.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai set up the Peace Council in 2010 in a bid to start dialogue with Taliban militants and persuade them to end violence and join the political reconciliation process.
In a Wednesday news conference, Karzai said his country had a "desire for peace" and supported "all real and honest steps taken for peace."
The meeting comes on the heels of France ending its combat mission in Afghanistan. The country, on Tuesday, withdrew its remaining 500 combat troops from a province northeast of the capital, Kabul.
Hizb-e-Islami representative Ghairat Baheer says his militant group and the Taliban are attending the meeting in France because they admire the French government's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
He said as long as there is a foreign troop presence in Afghanistan, "there would not be any peaceful solution to the conflict."
France had been the fifth-largest contributor to the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, President Karzai, on Thursday, said he welcomed an announcement from Britain that it would be pulling out nearly half of its troops next year.
Britain currently has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, the second largest force after the United States.
In another development on Thursday, Afghan coalition forces said they killed a Taliban leader, named Mahjur, and another insurgent, during a security operation, on Wednesday, in Kunar province.
In a Thursday statement, the coalition said Mahjur had planned attacks against Afghan government officials and coalition forces.
Seven Killed By A Roadside Bomb
December 20, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A roadside bomb has killed two police officers and five civilians in southwestern Afghanistan.
Officials say the casualties occurred when a roadside bomb targeted a police truck in Zaranj, the capital of southwestern Nimroz Province on December 19.
Muhammad Sarwar Subat, the governor of Nimroz, says the blast hit the vehicle as it headed to a court hearing in Zaranj.
He says the bomb was planted by "enemies of the state."
Officials use the term to describe the Taliban and their hard-line allies who often use roadside bombs.
The casualties of Afghan police and military are increasing as they take control of security in the country before the planned withdrawal of NATO combat troops in 2014.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP
The pursuit of an Afghan peace deal
Financial Timmes By Victor Mallet and Farhan Bokhari December 19, 2012
Powers agree on the need to end the war
The Pakistanis say it is the belligerent Americans who have changed their stance. The US and the Afghan government insist Pakistan has shifted. But all now agree on the need for a deal to end the war in Afghanistan. Only the Taliban militants fighting there remain to be convinced.
Plans to withdraw the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in 2014 have persuaded western governments of the need for a settlement.
“We are not going to win militarily,” says one western policy maker involved in preparations for talks. “The insurgents are also not going to win ... There is on all sides a recognition that some sort of dialogue needs to be started. The prize is so big and so valuable that it justifies every effort.”
The aim is to leave a modicum of stability in the nation where Osama bin Laden planned the attacks of September 11 2001, provoking the US-led overthrow of the Taliban that year.
Pakistan – which with the US spawned the Taliban by hosting the Mujahideen fighters in their successful war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s – denies it can “deliver” the Taliban but accepts that it can be a “facilitator”.
Outraged by a Nato air attack a year ago that killed 24 of its troops on the Afghan border, Pakistan for six months denied the US use of the supply route between the port of Karachi and the Afghan hinterland. But relations have improved and the route has reopened, raising the chances that Nato will be able to extract much of its $60bn of equipment by land.
Neither the structure nor the venue of any negotiations has been established, although one possibility is a revival of the Qatar process, under which secret but fruitless talks between the US and the Taliban began two years ago.
Pakistan, concerned about Islamic extremism, is eager to promote a deal and avoid the violence in Afghanistan that followed the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. To that end it is freeing Afghan Taliban militants so they can take part in talks with the Afghan government. Exploratory meetings involving Taliban and Afghan officials are due to begin near Paris today.
“It’s the reality of 2014 dawning on everyone, creating a compelling rationale for [Pakistan, the US and Afghanistan] to co-operate,” says Maleeha Lodhi, an analyst and former Pakistani ambassador to the US.
“It’s in Pakistan’s interest to see 2014 not become another 1989 ... For the Americans it would be an embarrassment. For Pakistan it would be a disaster.”
U.S. Army Seeks Death Penalty For Soldier Over Afghan Killings
December 19, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Military prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in southern Afghanistan in March.
Robert Bales faces 16 counts, including charges of premeditated murder, over the killings.
Prosecutors say the 39-year-old soldier left his base in Kandahar Province on March 11 to commit the killings.
Nine of his victims were children.
No date has been set for his court-martial.
There was no immediate comment from Bales' lawyers to the announcement on December 19.
But his defense team has argued that outside experts needed to determine whether Bales, who served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The March killings drew such angry protests that the U.S. military temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan.
Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
Explainer: Why Polio Remains Endemic In Afghanistan, Pakistan, And Nigeria
By Frud Bezhan December 20, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A global multibillion dollar immunization campaign over the past few decades has made most of the world polio-free. But in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria the crippling disease remains endemic.
Despite a coordinated United Nations polio-prevention drive in all three countries, dozens of children become paralyzed and ultimately die from the highly infectious disease every year.
Political unrest, poor health infrastructure, and government negligence are among the reasons for the failure. But the cause analysts cite most often is opposition from religious militant groups.
In all three countries, the most afflicted regions are those where the government's reach is weakest and the presence of Islamic militants is strongest. From the remote, mountainous villages along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to towns across northern Nigeria, insurgents have kidnapped, beaten, and assassinated vaccinators in a bid to stop local antipolio initiatives.
In justifying their resistance to the polio-prevention campaign, Taliban factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- as well as Nigerian militant groups like Boko Haram -- have claimed polio vaccinations are "un-Islamic" and an attempt to thwart the will of God.
'A Western Plot'
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, Taliban factions have also called vaccinations a Western plot to sterilize Muslim populations. Hard-line clerics in Nigeria’s Kano state have issued similar warnings, saying the drugs distributed by the UN were laced with chemicals to make African girls infertile.
Polio vaccines used in the three countries are made in laboratories worldwide, including in the United States, making them a source of resentment for insurgents. Pakistani militant groups like the Tehreek-i-Taliban claim the vaccinations are made out of pig fat or have traces of alcohol, both of which are banned under Islam.
Some Islamic clerics have even issued fatwas saying that any person who became paralyzed or died from polio would be given the status of a "martyr" for refusing to be duped by a western conspiracy.
Insurgents also claim polio vaccinators are spies.
In Pakistan, such beliefs gained particular credence after it emerged that the CIA used a fake vaccination team headed by a Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, to collect information about Osama bin Laden.
In Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, local Taliban leaders have also issued a fatwa banning polio vaccinations until the United States ceases drone strikes in the area.
Spate Of Violence
In enforcing these bans, militants have killed scores of foreign and local humanitarian aid workers. In the past week, gunmen in Pakistan killed eight polio vaccination workers. In Afghanistan on December 1, gunmen killed a 20-year-old Afghan woman who distributed polio vaccinations in the eastern Kapisa Province.
This spate of violence has coincided with growing cases of polio in Afghanistan and Nigeria -- and threatens to stifle recent progress toward defeating the disease in Pakistan.
In Afghanistan, an polio-prevention campaign involving thousands of volunteers and a number of international agencies almost wiped out the deadly disease in 2010.
The Afghan government registered only 25 polio cases that year, but that figure tripled to 76 last year. Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the Taliban, demanding that they allow teams of vaccinators to administer antipolio drops to children in areas under their control.
Meanwhile, the cancellation of the immunization programs in Pakistan on December 19 due to the recent violence threatens to reverse recent gains toward eradicating polio in that country. Some 56 polio paralysis cases where reported in Pakistan this year, down from 190 cases in 2011.
In Nigeria, attempts by Islamic extremists to ban a United Nations immunization campaign have resulted in the infection returning to eight previously polio-free countries in Africa, according to the UN. Last year, Nigeria recorded 43 cases of polio, compared to just 25 cases the year before.
Power shortages hamper development
JALALABAD, 20 December 2012 (IRIN) - A lack of regular electricity in Nangahar Province in eastern Afghanistan is undermining reconstruction efforts and pushing families back into poverty, say business leaders in the provincial capital, Jalalabad.
The city stands on a vital trade route with neighbouring Pakistan and until a few years ago had factories and workshops producing soap, plastic household goods, marble stones, salt, cloth, pots and a variety of other goods.
A recent survey by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Afghan Chamber of Commerce revealed 30 factories and workshops in the city have closed in the past few years because of a lack of power.
“There were 115 factories in 2011 but today there are 85 and if there is no electricity it could be reduced more,” Mohammed Qasam Yusufy, the local representative of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce, told IRIN.
“About 600 people have been left jobless by factories shutting down only this year,” he added citing electricity problems as the major cause.
Almost half the country’s external trade passes through the province, according to the Chamber of Commerce - including 70 percent of NATO supplies.
But provincial government officials say insecurity has delayed a planned power connection to Kabul’s Naghlo hydroelectric plant, which was due to provide 32 megawatts (MW) to the city, six of which to the Shikh Misry Industrial Park.
The proposed link has been undermined by insecurity in Uzbin District, Kabul Province, according to Muheburahman Mohmand, the provincial representative of Da Afghanistan Breshna Shirakat (DABS), the national power company.
“Only a few days ago, the enemy of our people destroyed an electricity pylon in Spir Kondy area of Uzbin District. We have shared our worries with the Afghan ministries of interior and defence but never received any positive answer,” he said.
“All the work is done, only a 1,000-metre-long power line has to be connected to the water dam to have power here in this province.”
The UN has identified energy as a major cross-cutting issue: “Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive. Development is not possible without energy, and sustainable development is not possible without sustainable energy,” says the UN 2011 Sustainable Energy for All initiative.
Sardar Khan owns a factory in Jalalabad making plastic pipes, which cost him US$200,000 to set up. He employed 50 people but after two years of operation he has been forced to close: “The biggest challenge is power.” Using diesel generators makes his pipes far too expensive.
The lack of power has stalled an industrial sector with the potential to lift thousands of Afghans out of poverty. Shikh Misry Industrial Park was part of Jalalabad’s vision to launch its economy, but since being set up in 2006 it has yet to welcome a functioning factory.
Corruption
Jalalabad currently gets all its electricity from the Nangarhar 14 MW hydroelectric dam built by Russian and Afghan engineers in 1965. But civil wars and conflict have affected the maintenance of the facility, leaving only two of the three turbines to some extent operational.
The electricity is used to provide power to government offices and 4,000 houses, but can only supply a limited number of factories.
“It has been three years officials say power from Naghlo is coming. If they were bringing this power on a donkey it would have arrived here,” said Ali Ahmad, a resident of Majbor Abad village, who works as a security guard.
Last year he got his electricity from a fuel-powered generator which was used for 10 hours a day to power two fans and two light-bulbs. It cost US$40 a month - nearly half his salary.
“I do not know whether I pay for food, clothes and other household goods or pay for power. People who know officials or bribe officials have 24-hour power in their houses while my children got sick because of extreme heat.”
An official responsible for power distribution in Nangarhar Province said in one case power supplied to a government office was being delivered to 60 other buildings illegally. He estimated around 30 percent of electricity is lost in this way.
Meanwhile, off-grid solutions may help families in remote parts of the province that would have to wait decades for any possibility of a connection to the national grid. Eleven micro-hydro plants with a combined capacity of 125 kilowatts are being built in the province by the Energy for Rural Development in Afghanistan project at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation. It is hoped they will provide a power supply to 1,845 families at a cost of around US$600,000.
Putin urges CSTO to draft program of actions over Afghanistan
MOSCOW, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) should work out a pattern of practical actions in Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
"The algorithm of practical actions in Afghanistan is needed in order to minimize the possible risks for the CSTO countries," Putin told the CSTO summit, warning of possible security threats for CSTO countries due to NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.
"The CSTO plans to create in the Eurasian region an efficient network of partnership to counter security threats," he said.
Founded in 2002, the CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance which include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.
In 2014, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan endorsed by the UN Security Council is slated to withdraw from that country where they have been deployed since December 2001.
China urges international community to respect Afghanistan's political independence
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese diplomat to the UN on Wednesday urged the international community to respect the sovereignty and political independence of Afghanistan when the country holds a planned presidential election in 2014.
Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the call while addressing an open meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.
Wang said that the presidential election in 2014 is a key element in the Afghan political process. China welcomes the time framework of the election defined by the Afghan government.
The United Nations has rich electoral expertise and experiences. China welcomes the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) providing electoral assistance to Afghanistan as required by the government, said Wang.
The realization of lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is still faced with challenges. China welcomes the efforts made by Afghanistan in strengthening the capacity of its security forces and gradually shouldering the responsibility of maintaining national security and stability, the Chinese envoy noted.
"Under current circumstances, the transfer of security responsibilities should be conducted in a gradual and orderly way in order to safeguard the general stability of the situation in Afghanistan," Wang said.
China also supports the implementation of the Kabul Communique to promote the national reconciliation process led by the Afghan government, he added.
Only by realizing prosperity and development of Afghanistan can the foundation be laid for the lasting peace and security in the war-torn country, Wang said.
"China supports the efforts made by the Afghan government in growing economy, increasing jobs and improving people's life," he said. "We hope that the international community can honor their aid assistance to Afghanistan, respect the development priority identified by the Afghan government independently. The key now is to help alleviate the food shortage in some parts of Afghanistan."
What Pakistan Seeks in Afghanistan
by FPA Administrator on December 20th, 2012 Foreign Policy Blogs By Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, Middle East Institute Scholar-In-Residence
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
Washington and Kabul have welcomed increased Pakistani cooperation in finding a political solution to the Afghan conflict. Pakistan’s willingness to release 18 Taliban-held prisoners with the promise of more is seen as demonstrating a significant change in Pakistan’s approach to a settlement. But in reality Pakistan has for some time been trying to coax the Taliban to join a coalition government in Kabul. A power-sharing arrangement would go far in confronting what Pakistan perceives as acute security threats arising from an unsettled Afghanistan: a military encirclement by India and an outcome in the Afghan conflict that promotes the forces of extremism in Pakistan.
So why has Pakistan until now appeared reluctant to facilitate negotiations with the Taliban? Simply put, it has needed to be confident that its prime security interests would be satisfied in a negotiated peace. Standing in the way of such assurance has been Afghanistan’s depiction of its neighbor as almost solely responsible for sustaining the insurgency, as well as an absence of trust between the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban leaderships. The first impediment has eased as the Kabul government, acting through its High Peace Council, has come to the realization that a peace agreement cannot be achieved without the inclusion of Pakistan in the negotiating process. Moreover, if the two countries can agree on the contours of a political settlement, it could open a second negotiating track alongside bilateral talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, thus possibly precluding the Americans striking a deal that prioritized U.S. interests.
Before Pakistan can throw its full weight behind negotiations it needs to be certain of having Taliban interlocutors of its own choosing. It is often assumed that because Pakistan offers sanctuary to Mullah Omar’s mainline Taliban, the Haqqani network, and Gulbudeen’s Hekmatyar’s Hizb–e-Islami that its intelligence agencies exercise strong leverage with these groups. In reality, the Taliban have always resisted and resented being dictated to by Pakistan. Their aims as well as strategies are often at odds. Heavy pressure on the Taliban stands the risk of having the Taliban align with Pakistan’s Islamic militants in opposing the state. There is also reluctance to alienate the Taliban while they still figure in Pakistan’s contingency plans in the event of a disintegrating Afghanistan.
While Pakistan may still value the Taliban as its ethnic Pashtun proxy in Afghanistan, it has shed any illusion that a strategy based on promoting Pashtun dominance can bring about a deferential, stable Afghanistan. This is not the political landscape of the 1990s when a largely indifferent world watched the Taliban progressively roll over hated warlords and put their Islamic stamp on an anarchic country. Today’s Afghanistan has many more powerful domestic stakeholders who will resist a takeover and a far more concerned international community. If there is to be a political settlement in Afghanistan and civil war averted then it must be inclusive of the major Afghan power centers. But getting the Taliban’s traditional adversaries to accept that it is safe to cohabit a political system with the Taliban will take a major selling job for Pakistan and far-reaching compromises by the Taliban. The Pakistanis’ failure to date to get the Taliban leadership to yield on key constitutional issues or break ties to Al Qaeda suggests that a more flexible approach to negotiations will not come from Pakistan’s pressure but when the Taliban’s core leadership is ready to change.
Without a negotiated peace, Pakistan has reason to fear its being drawn into a costly and dangerous proxy conflict should Iran, Russia and India again back those forces resisting the Taliban. Pakistan faces the prospect that millions of Afghans will again seek refuge in Pakistan, thus putting enormous strain on a country now even less able to receive them. This time around Pakistan is not anxious to see the Taliban score an outright victory in Afghanistan, whether militarily or politically. The Pakistani military has concluded that it would be only a matter of time before the Taliban join with Pakistan’s Islamic militants in trying to impose a Sharia state. The optimal outcome for Pakistan, its strategists have reasoned, would be having the Taliban included in a coalition government where they could check Indian influence and immersed in the politics of Afghanistan, diverting them from pursuing any broader Islamic ambitions.
Recent diplomatic activity notwithstanding, the prospects for a compromise agreement any time soon remain dim. There is no hurting stalemate. The Taliban fight a relative low cost insurgency where a few high profile attacks are all that is needed to give the impression that the Taliban are relentless adversaries, probably impossible to defeat. Simple logic says to hold on until the presidential election when disputed results could cause the prevailing political system to lose legitimacy. Still more compelling is the case for waiting until it becomes clear as to whether the Afghan security forces can fight with any effectiveness or can even keep from breaking up once most foreign forces have departed.
If there is anything that might entice the Taliban’s leadership into peace negotiations, it is the kind of proposals that the High Peace Council has recently carried to Islamabad for Pakistan’s endorsement. Its terms would seem to offer the Taliban an opportunity to take effective control of Afghanistan’s south and east in exchange for joining the country’s political process. Pakistan may be initially attracted to the idea of a Pashtun buffer zone at its border or see a settlement as undermining its own insurgency. But Pakistan seems short sighted; were the Taliban to assume power in the Pashtun heartland, Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan would effectively disappear and the foundations would be laid for the creation of a Pashtunistan. So while Pakistan continues to search for a political outcome to the Afghan conflict, it may get far more than it bargained for.
China urges international community to respect Afghanistan's political independence
Xinhua Dec. 19, 2012
UNITED NATIONS - A senior Chinese diplomat to the UN on Wednesday urged the international community to respect the sovereignty and political independence of Afghanistan when the country holds a planned presidential election in 2014.
Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the call while addressing an open meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.
Wang said that the presidential election in 2014 is a key element in the Afghan political process. China welcomes the time framework of the election defined by the Afghan government.
The United Nations has rich electoral expertise and experiences. China welcomes the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) providing electoral assistance to Afghanistan as required by the government, said Wang.
The realization of lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is still faced with challenges. China welcomes the efforts made by Afghanistan in strengthening the capacity of its security forces and gradually shouldering the responsibility of maintaining national security and stability, the Chinese envoy noted.
"Under current circumstances, the transfer of security responsibilities should be conducted in a gradual and orderly way in order to safeguard the general stability of the situation in Afghanistan," Wang said.
China also supports the implementation of the Kabul Communique to promote the national reconciliation process led by the Afghan government, he added.
Only by realizing prosperity and development of Afghanistan can the foundation be laid for the lasting peace and security in the war-torn country, Wang said.
"China supports the efforts made by the Afghan government in growing economy, increasing jobs and improving people's life," he said. "We hope that the international community can honor their aid assistance to Afghanistan, respect the development priority identified by the Afghan government independently. The key now is to help alleviate the food shortage in some parts of Afghanistan."
Ministry of Finance Warns Afghan Companies Over Tax Evasion
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Wednesday, 19 December 2012
The Ministry of Finance has threatened legal action against a number of small and medium security, communications, printing and airline companies that have evaded taxes "for several years."
The ministry did not disclose the offending companies, but it warned that they would be prosecuted and their names made public if they failed to pay all their taxes before the end of the Afghan fiscal year, coinciding with mid-January 2013.
The ministry spokesman added that the number of tax-evading companies has decreased since last year, but he emphasized that more companies should pay their taxes in a timely manner. The government has recently taken a hard line against offending companies.
"Some local companies in the media, printing press, air, security, and telecom sectors that have not cleared their accounts for a few years now. Their licenses have been seized and their penalties are increasing," said Spokesman Waheed Tawhidi.
"They should resolve their problem with the government and pay their taxes. Their names will be made public if they don't pay their taxes," he added.
Tawhidi said the ministry is willing to work with companies to facilitate a gradual payment of their back taxes.
The government is largely dependent on foreign aid for the vast majority of its budget expenditures. With the so-called security and economic transition underway, Afghanistan is attempting to boost government revenues and reduce its aid-dependency.
Cracking down on tax-evading foreign and domestic corporations and boosting customs taxes have been the cornerstones of the government's policy.
The Ministry of Finance has reported improved revenues over the past couple of years, but the revenues are a fraction of government expenditure.
Lawmakers Approve Formation of Provincial Affairs Ministry
TOLOnews.com By Saleha Soadat Wednesday, 19 December 2012
The Wolesi Jirga approved a bill Wednesday to create a provincial affairs ministry, upgrading the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) for the purpose.
The move increases parliament's oversight powers, supplanting a presidentially appointed independent organ with a ministerial body that is answerable to the legislature.
"The formation of a ministry is to monitor the activities of local officials and prevent their disobedience," Ghazni MP Mohammad Aref Rahmani said.
Several MPs, however, opposed the decision and said that the appointment of provincial governors is the authority of President Karzai, which could be curbed if this ministry is created.
"According to laws, the president is authorized to appoint the provincial governors. Upgrading the IDLG to a ministry is meaningless," Kabul MP Shukria Barekzai said.
Under the current structure, the IDLG recommends appointments of governors, mayors and other local officials for the president to approve.
The draft law will now go to the Senate, where one-third of the members are appointed by the president. To become law, the bill will need to be signed by the president, who is expected to show reservations about the move.
Afghan Company Suffers Major Loss After Attack on Foreign Contractor
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Wednesday, 19 December 2012
An Afghan fruit juice company has suffered an estimated $10 million loss after Monday's car bomb in eastern Kabul province targeting a nearby foreign military contractor, Afghan Industries Association officials said Tuesday.
The officials said that more than 120 people working for the company are now unemployed, calling attacks like these a major blow to the improvement of the country's fledgling industrial sector.
Association officials said they had previously discussed their concerns about security at the industrial park, but the government had not done enough to safeguard the companies.
"We urge the government officials to pay serious attention towards the industrial park in Kabul. The Association has decided to shut all the companies if the problems are not considered seriously," threatened Association head Abdul Jabar Safi.
The Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) went one step ahead and demanded the expulsion of foreign troops and contractors, frequently targeted by insurgents, from around the industrial park.
"Our own [Afghan] industrialist has suffered a $10 million loss, while the president asks others to invest in Afghanistan. How can we stand on our own feet if the government is not supporting investors?" Deputy Chief Executive Officer of ACCI Khan Jan Alokozay said.
"We are concerned about the future," Alokozay added.
Afghan traders and investors have often blamed the government for not supporting the private sector.
A car full of explosives detonated at the compound of the US-run Contrack International on Monday, killing one and wouding 15 others, including two foreign nationals.
Afghan Media Watchdog Urges Gov't. to Support Journalists
TOLOnews.com By Azem Arash Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Afghan media watchdog Nai urged the Afghan government to support reporters in order to help sustain the progress made in free speech over the past decade.
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, Nai head Sediqullah Tawhid said that freedom of speech is one of the major achievements of the Afghan government since its inception.
He urged the government to protect reporters from torture, murder and physical violence - common threats Afghan journalists face.
"We have witnessed multiple cases of violence against reporters in the country in the last decade. Threats, murder and beatings are the main challenges facing Afghan journalists. We urge the government to support reporters," Tawhidi said.
He blamed high-ranking government officials, local warlords and insurgents for violence against reporters.
"Taliban and local warlords have been involved in the abduction and murder of journalists; government officials have also committed violence against them," he added.
Despite vast improvements in the media sector, insecurity, censorship and lack of access to necessary information continue to be the main challenges.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
VOA News December 20, 2012
Afghan officials are meeting with the Taliban and other militant groups to discuss the country's future as NATO forces prepare for a 2014 withdrawal.
France is hosting the two-day closed-door session which begins on Thursday near Paris.
The meeting marks the first time that Taliban officials, senior leaders of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance and members of the country's High Peace Council have held face-to-face talks on the country's future.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai set up the Peace Council in 2010 in a bid to start dialogue with Taliban militants and persuade them to end violence and join the political reconciliation process.
In a Wednesday news conference, Karzai said his country had a "desire for peace" and supported "all real and honest steps taken for peace."
The meeting comes on the heels of France ending its combat mission in Afghanistan. The country, on Tuesday, withdrew its remaining 500 combat troops from a province northeast of the capital, Kabul.
Hizb-e-Islami representative Ghairat Baheer says his militant group and the Taliban are attending the meeting in France because they admire the French government's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.
He said as long as there is a foreign troop presence in Afghanistan, "there would not be any peaceful solution to the conflict."
France had been the fifth-largest contributor to the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, President Karzai, on Thursday, said he welcomed an announcement from Britain that it would be pulling out nearly half of its troops next year.
Britain currently has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan, the second largest force after the United States.
In another development on Thursday, Afghan coalition forces said they killed a Taliban leader, named Mahjur, and another insurgent, during a security operation, on Wednesday, in Kunar province.
In a Thursday statement, the coalition said Mahjur had planned attacks against Afghan government officials and coalition forces.
Seven Killed By A Roadside Bomb
December 20, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A roadside bomb has killed two police officers and five civilians in southwestern Afghanistan.
Officials say the casualties occurred when a roadside bomb targeted a police truck in Zaranj, the capital of southwestern Nimroz Province on December 19.
Muhammad Sarwar Subat, the governor of Nimroz, says the blast hit the vehicle as it headed to a court hearing in Zaranj.
He says the bomb was planted by "enemies of the state."
Officials use the term to describe the Taliban and their hard-line allies who often use roadside bombs.
The casualties of Afghan police and military are increasing as they take control of security in the country before the planned withdrawal of NATO combat troops in 2014.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP
The pursuit of an Afghan peace deal
Financial Timmes By Victor Mallet and Farhan Bokhari December 19, 2012
Powers agree on the need to end the war
The Pakistanis say it is the belligerent Americans who have changed their stance. The US and the Afghan government insist Pakistan has shifted. But all now agree on the need for a deal to end the war in Afghanistan. Only the Taliban militants fighting there remain to be convinced.
Plans to withdraw the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in 2014 have persuaded western governments of the need for a settlement.
“We are not going to win militarily,” says one western policy maker involved in preparations for talks. “The insurgents are also not going to win ... There is on all sides a recognition that some sort of dialogue needs to be started. The prize is so big and so valuable that it justifies every effort.”
The aim is to leave a modicum of stability in the nation where Osama bin Laden planned the attacks of September 11 2001, provoking the US-led overthrow of the Taliban that year.
Pakistan – which with the US spawned the Taliban by hosting the Mujahideen fighters in their successful war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s – denies it can “deliver” the Taliban but accepts that it can be a “facilitator”.
Outraged by a Nato air attack a year ago that killed 24 of its troops on the Afghan border, Pakistan for six months denied the US use of the supply route between the port of Karachi and the Afghan hinterland. But relations have improved and the route has reopened, raising the chances that Nato will be able to extract much of its $60bn of equipment by land.
Neither the structure nor the venue of any negotiations has been established, although one possibility is a revival of the Qatar process, under which secret but fruitless talks between the US and the Taliban began two years ago.
Pakistan, concerned about Islamic extremism, is eager to promote a deal and avoid the violence in Afghanistan that followed the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. To that end it is freeing Afghan Taliban militants so they can take part in talks with the Afghan government. Exploratory meetings involving Taliban and Afghan officials are due to begin near Paris today.
“It’s the reality of 2014 dawning on everyone, creating a compelling rationale for [Pakistan, the US and Afghanistan] to co-operate,” says Maleeha Lodhi, an analyst and former Pakistani ambassador to the US.
“It’s in Pakistan’s interest to see 2014 not become another 1989 ... For the Americans it would be an embarrassment. For Pakistan it would be a disaster.”
U.S. Army Seeks Death Penalty For Soldier Over Afghan Killings
December 19, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Military prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in southern Afghanistan in March.
Robert Bales faces 16 counts, including charges of premeditated murder, over the killings.
Prosecutors say the 39-year-old soldier left his base in Kandahar Province on March 11 to commit the killings.
Nine of his victims were children.
No date has been set for his court-martial.
There was no immediate comment from Bales' lawyers to the announcement on December 19.
But his defense team has argued that outside experts needed to determine whether Bales, who served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The March killings drew such angry protests that the U.S. military temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan.
Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
Explainer: Why Polio Remains Endemic In Afghanistan, Pakistan, And Nigeria
By Frud Bezhan December 20, 2012 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A global multibillion dollar immunization campaign over the past few decades has made most of the world polio-free. But in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria the crippling disease remains endemic.
Despite a coordinated United Nations polio-prevention drive in all three countries, dozens of children become paralyzed and ultimately die from the highly infectious disease every year.
Political unrest, poor health infrastructure, and government negligence are among the reasons for the failure. But the cause analysts cite most often is opposition from religious militant groups.
In all three countries, the most afflicted regions are those where the government's reach is weakest and the presence of Islamic militants is strongest. From the remote, mountainous villages along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to towns across northern Nigeria, insurgents have kidnapped, beaten, and assassinated vaccinators in a bid to stop local antipolio initiatives.
In justifying their resistance to the polio-prevention campaign, Taliban factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- as well as Nigerian militant groups like Boko Haram -- have claimed polio vaccinations are "un-Islamic" and an attempt to thwart the will of God.
'A Western Plot'
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, Taliban factions have also called vaccinations a Western plot to sterilize Muslim populations. Hard-line clerics in Nigeria’s Kano state have issued similar warnings, saying the drugs distributed by the UN were laced with chemicals to make African girls infertile.
Polio vaccines used in the three countries are made in laboratories worldwide, including in the United States, making them a source of resentment for insurgents. Pakistani militant groups like the Tehreek-i-Taliban claim the vaccinations are made out of pig fat or have traces of alcohol, both of which are banned under Islam.
Some Islamic clerics have even issued fatwas saying that any person who became paralyzed or died from polio would be given the status of a "martyr" for refusing to be duped by a western conspiracy.
Insurgents also claim polio vaccinators are spies.
In Pakistan, such beliefs gained particular credence after it emerged that the CIA used a fake vaccination team headed by a Pakistani doctor, Shakil Afridi, to collect information about Osama bin Laden.
In Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, local Taliban leaders have also issued a fatwa banning polio vaccinations until the United States ceases drone strikes in the area.
Spate Of Violence
In enforcing these bans, militants have killed scores of foreign and local humanitarian aid workers. In the past week, gunmen in Pakistan killed eight polio vaccination workers. In Afghanistan on December 1, gunmen killed a 20-year-old Afghan woman who distributed polio vaccinations in the eastern Kapisa Province.
This spate of violence has coincided with growing cases of polio in Afghanistan and Nigeria -- and threatens to stifle recent progress toward defeating the disease in Pakistan.
In Afghanistan, an polio-prevention campaign involving thousands of volunteers and a number of international agencies almost wiped out the deadly disease in 2010.
The Afghan government registered only 25 polio cases that year, but that figure tripled to 76 last year. Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the Taliban, demanding that they allow teams of vaccinators to administer antipolio drops to children in areas under their control.
Meanwhile, the cancellation of the immunization programs in Pakistan on December 19 due to the recent violence threatens to reverse recent gains toward eradicating polio in that country. Some 56 polio paralysis cases where reported in Pakistan this year, down from 190 cases in 2011.
In Nigeria, attempts by Islamic extremists to ban a United Nations immunization campaign have resulted in the infection returning to eight previously polio-free countries in Africa, according to the UN. Last year, Nigeria recorded 43 cases of polio, compared to just 25 cases the year before.
Power shortages hamper development
JALALABAD, 20 December 2012 (IRIN) - A lack of regular electricity in Nangahar Province in eastern Afghanistan is undermining reconstruction efforts and pushing families back into poverty, say business leaders in the provincial capital, Jalalabad.
The city stands on a vital trade route with neighbouring Pakistan and until a few years ago had factories and workshops producing soap, plastic household goods, marble stones, salt, cloth, pots and a variety of other goods.
A recent survey by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Afghan Chamber of Commerce revealed 30 factories and workshops in the city have closed in the past few years because of a lack of power.
“There were 115 factories in 2011 but today there are 85 and if there is no electricity it could be reduced more,” Mohammed Qasam Yusufy, the local representative of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce, told IRIN.
“About 600 people have been left jobless by factories shutting down only this year,” he added citing electricity problems as the major cause.
Almost half the country’s external trade passes through the province, according to the Chamber of Commerce - including 70 percent of NATO supplies.
But provincial government officials say insecurity has delayed a planned power connection to Kabul’s Naghlo hydroelectric plant, which was due to provide 32 megawatts (MW) to the city, six of which to the Shikh Misry Industrial Park.
The proposed link has been undermined by insecurity in Uzbin District, Kabul Province, according to Muheburahman Mohmand, the provincial representative of Da Afghanistan Breshna Shirakat (DABS), the national power company.
“Only a few days ago, the enemy of our people destroyed an electricity pylon in Spir Kondy area of Uzbin District. We have shared our worries with the Afghan ministries of interior and defence but never received any positive answer,” he said.
“All the work is done, only a 1,000-metre-long power line has to be connected to the water dam to have power here in this province.”
The UN has identified energy as a major cross-cutting issue: “Energy is the golden thread that connects economic growth, increased social equity, and an environment that allows the world to thrive. Development is not possible without energy, and sustainable development is not possible without sustainable energy,” says the UN 2011 Sustainable Energy for All initiative.
Sardar Khan owns a factory in Jalalabad making plastic pipes, which cost him US$200,000 to set up. He employed 50 people but after two years of operation he has been forced to close: “The biggest challenge is power.” Using diesel generators makes his pipes far too expensive.
The lack of power has stalled an industrial sector with the potential to lift thousands of Afghans out of poverty. Shikh Misry Industrial Park was part of Jalalabad’s vision to launch its economy, but since being set up in 2006 it has yet to welcome a functioning factory.
Corruption
Jalalabad currently gets all its electricity from the Nangarhar 14 MW hydroelectric dam built by Russian and Afghan engineers in 1965. But civil wars and conflict have affected the maintenance of the facility, leaving only two of the three turbines to some extent operational.
The electricity is used to provide power to government offices and 4,000 houses, but can only supply a limited number of factories.
“It has been three years officials say power from Naghlo is coming. If they were bringing this power on a donkey it would have arrived here,” said Ali Ahmad, a resident of Majbor Abad village, who works as a security guard.
Last year he got his electricity from a fuel-powered generator which was used for 10 hours a day to power two fans and two light-bulbs. It cost US$40 a month - nearly half his salary.
“I do not know whether I pay for food, clothes and other household goods or pay for power. People who know officials or bribe officials have 24-hour power in their houses while my children got sick because of extreme heat.”
An official responsible for power distribution in Nangarhar Province said in one case power supplied to a government office was being delivered to 60 other buildings illegally. He estimated around 30 percent of electricity is lost in this way.
Meanwhile, off-grid solutions may help families in remote parts of the province that would have to wait decades for any possibility of a connection to the national grid. Eleven micro-hydro plants with a combined capacity of 125 kilowatts are being built in the province by the Energy for Rural Development in Afghanistan project at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation. It is hoped they will provide a power supply to 1,845 families at a cost of around US$600,000.
Putin urges CSTO to draft program of actions over Afghanistan
MOSCOW, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) should work out a pattern of practical actions in Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
"The algorithm of practical actions in Afghanistan is needed in order to minimize the possible risks for the CSTO countries," Putin told the CSTO summit, warning of possible security threats for CSTO countries due to NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.
"The CSTO plans to create in the Eurasian region an efficient network of partnership to counter security threats," he said.
Founded in 2002, the CSTO is an intergovernmental military alliance which include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.
In 2014, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan endorsed by the UN Security Council is slated to withdraw from that country where they have been deployed since December 2001.
China urges international community to respect Afghanistan's political independence
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese diplomat to the UN on Wednesday urged the international community to respect the sovereignty and political independence of Afghanistan when the country holds a planned presidential election in 2014.
Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the call while addressing an open meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.
Wang said that the presidential election in 2014 is a key element in the Afghan political process. China welcomes the time framework of the election defined by the Afghan government.
The United Nations has rich electoral expertise and experiences. China welcomes the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) providing electoral assistance to Afghanistan as required by the government, said Wang.
The realization of lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is still faced with challenges. China welcomes the efforts made by Afghanistan in strengthening the capacity of its security forces and gradually shouldering the responsibility of maintaining national security and stability, the Chinese envoy noted.
"Under current circumstances, the transfer of security responsibilities should be conducted in a gradual and orderly way in order to safeguard the general stability of the situation in Afghanistan," Wang said.
China also supports the implementation of the Kabul Communique to promote the national reconciliation process led by the Afghan government, he added.
Only by realizing prosperity and development of Afghanistan can the foundation be laid for the lasting peace and security in the war-torn country, Wang said.
"China supports the efforts made by the Afghan government in growing economy, increasing jobs and improving people's life," he said. "We hope that the international community can honor their aid assistance to Afghanistan, respect the development priority identified by the Afghan government independently. The key now is to help alleviate the food shortage in some parts of Afghanistan."
What Pakistan Seeks in Afghanistan
by FPA Administrator on December 20th, 2012 Foreign Policy Blogs By Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, Middle East Institute Scholar-In-Residence
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
Washington and Kabul have welcomed increased Pakistani cooperation in finding a political solution to the Afghan conflict. Pakistan’s willingness to release 18 Taliban-held prisoners with the promise of more is seen as demonstrating a significant change in Pakistan’s approach to a settlement. But in reality Pakistan has for some time been trying to coax the Taliban to join a coalition government in Kabul. A power-sharing arrangement would go far in confronting what Pakistan perceives as acute security threats arising from an unsettled Afghanistan: a military encirclement by India and an outcome in the Afghan conflict that promotes the forces of extremism in Pakistan.
So why has Pakistan until now appeared reluctant to facilitate negotiations with the Taliban? Simply put, it has needed to be confident that its prime security interests would be satisfied in a negotiated peace. Standing in the way of such assurance has been Afghanistan’s depiction of its neighbor as almost solely responsible for sustaining the insurgency, as well as an absence of trust between the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban leaderships. The first impediment has eased as the Kabul government, acting through its High Peace Council, has come to the realization that a peace agreement cannot be achieved without the inclusion of Pakistan in the negotiating process. Moreover, if the two countries can agree on the contours of a political settlement, it could open a second negotiating track alongside bilateral talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, thus possibly precluding the Americans striking a deal that prioritized U.S. interests.
Before Pakistan can throw its full weight behind negotiations it needs to be certain of having Taliban interlocutors of its own choosing. It is often assumed that because Pakistan offers sanctuary to Mullah Omar’s mainline Taliban, the Haqqani network, and Gulbudeen’s Hekmatyar’s Hizb–e-Islami that its intelligence agencies exercise strong leverage with these groups. In reality, the Taliban have always resisted and resented being dictated to by Pakistan. Their aims as well as strategies are often at odds. Heavy pressure on the Taliban stands the risk of having the Taliban align with Pakistan’s Islamic militants in opposing the state. There is also reluctance to alienate the Taliban while they still figure in Pakistan’s contingency plans in the event of a disintegrating Afghanistan.
While Pakistan may still value the Taliban as its ethnic Pashtun proxy in Afghanistan, it has shed any illusion that a strategy based on promoting Pashtun dominance can bring about a deferential, stable Afghanistan. This is not the political landscape of the 1990s when a largely indifferent world watched the Taliban progressively roll over hated warlords and put their Islamic stamp on an anarchic country. Today’s Afghanistan has many more powerful domestic stakeholders who will resist a takeover and a far more concerned international community. If there is to be a political settlement in Afghanistan and civil war averted then it must be inclusive of the major Afghan power centers. But getting the Taliban’s traditional adversaries to accept that it is safe to cohabit a political system with the Taliban will take a major selling job for Pakistan and far-reaching compromises by the Taliban. The Pakistanis’ failure to date to get the Taliban leadership to yield on key constitutional issues or break ties to Al Qaeda suggests that a more flexible approach to negotiations will not come from Pakistan’s pressure but when the Taliban’s core leadership is ready to change.
Without a negotiated peace, Pakistan has reason to fear its being drawn into a costly and dangerous proxy conflict should Iran, Russia and India again back those forces resisting the Taliban. Pakistan faces the prospect that millions of Afghans will again seek refuge in Pakistan, thus putting enormous strain on a country now even less able to receive them. This time around Pakistan is not anxious to see the Taliban score an outright victory in Afghanistan, whether militarily or politically. The Pakistani military has concluded that it would be only a matter of time before the Taliban join with Pakistan’s Islamic militants in trying to impose a Sharia state. The optimal outcome for Pakistan, its strategists have reasoned, would be having the Taliban included in a coalition government where they could check Indian influence and immersed in the politics of Afghanistan, diverting them from pursuing any broader Islamic ambitions.
Recent diplomatic activity notwithstanding, the prospects for a compromise agreement any time soon remain dim. There is no hurting stalemate. The Taliban fight a relative low cost insurgency where a few high profile attacks are all that is needed to give the impression that the Taliban are relentless adversaries, probably impossible to defeat. Simple logic says to hold on until the presidential election when disputed results could cause the prevailing political system to lose legitimacy. Still more compelling is the case for waiting until it becomes clear as to whether the Afghan security forces can fight with any effectiveness or can even keep from breaking up once most foreign forces have departed.
If there is anything that might entice the Taliban’s leadership into peace negotiations, it is the kind of proposals that the High Peace Council has recently carried to Islamabad for Pakistan’s endorsement. Its terms would seem to offer the Taliban an opportunity to take effective control of Afghanistan’s south and east in exchange for joining the country’s political process. Pakistan may be initially attracted to the idea of a Pashtun buffer zone at its border or see a settlement as undermining its own insurgency. But Pakistan seems short sighted; were the Taliban to assume power in the Pashtun heartland, Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan would effectively disappear and the foundations would be laid for the creation of a Pashtunistan. So while Pakistan continues to search for a political outcome to the Afghan conflict, it may get far more than it bargained for.
China urges international community to respect Afghanistan's political independence
Xinhua Dec. 19, 2012
UNITED NATIONS - A senior Chinese diplomat to the UN on Wednesday urged the international community to respect the sovereignty and political independence of Afghanistan when the country holds a planned presidential election in 2014.
Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the call while addressing an open meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.
Wang said that the presidential election in 2014 is a key element in the Afghan political process. China welcomes the time framework of the election defined by the Afghan government.
The United Nations has rich electoral expertise and experiences. China welcomes the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) providing electoral assistance to Afghanistan as required by the government, said Wang.
The realization of lasting peace and security in Afghanistan is still faced with challenges. China welcomes the efforts made by Afghanistan in strengthening the capacity of its security forces and gradually shouldering the responsibility of maintaining national security and stability, the Chinese envoy noted.
"Under current circumstances, the transfer of security responsibilities should be conducted in a gradual and orderly way in order to safeguard the general stability of the situation in Afghanistan," Wang said.
China also supports the implementation of the Kabul Communique to promote the national reconciliation process led by the Afghan government, he added.
Only by realizing prosperity and development of Afghanistan can the foundation be laid for the lasting peace and security in the war-torn country, Wang said.
"China supports the efforts made by the Afghan government in growing economy, increasing jobs and improving people's life," he said. "We hope that the international community can honor their aid assistance to Afghanistan, respect the development priority identified by the Afghan government independently. The key now is to help alleviate the food shortage in some parts of Afghanistan."
Ministry of Finance Warns Afghan Companies Over Tax Evasion
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Wednesday, 19 December 2012
The Ministry of Finance has threatened legal action against a number of small and medium security, communications, printing and airline companies that have evaded taxes "for several years."
The ministry did not disclose the offending companies, but it warned that they would be prosecuted and their names made public if they failed to pay all their taxes before the end of the Afghan fiscal year, coinciding with mid-January 2013.
The ministry spokesman added that the number of tax-evading companies has decreased since last year, but he emphasized that more companies should pay their taxes in a timely manner. The government has recently taken a hard line against offending companies.
"Some local companies in the media, printing press, air, security, and telecom sectors that have not cleared their accounts for a few years now. Their licenses have been seized and their penalties are increasing," said Spokesman Waheed Tawhidi.
"They should resolve their problem with the government and pay their taxes. Their names will be made public if they don't pay their taxes," he added.
Tawhidi said the ministry is willing to work with companies to facilitate a gradual payment of their back taxes.
The government is largely dependent on foreign aid for the vast majority of its budget expenditures. With the so-called security and economic transition underway, Afghanistan is attempting to boost government revenues and reduce its aid-dependency.
Cracking down on tax-evading foreign and domestic corporations and boosting customs taxes have been the cornerstones of the government's policy.
The Ministry of Finance has reported improved revenues over the past couple of years, but the revenues are a fraction of government expenditure.
Lawmakers Approve Formation of Provincial Affairs Ministry
TOLOnews.com By Saleha Soadat Wednesday, 19 December 2012
The Wolesi Jirga approved a bill Wednesday to create a provincial affairs ministry, upgrading the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) for the purpose.
The move increases parliament's oversight powers, supplanting a presidentially appointed independent organ with a ministerial body that is answerable to the legislature.
"The formation of a ministry is to monitor the activities of local officials and prevent their disobedience," Ghazni MP Mohammad Aref Rahmani said.
Several MPs, however, opposed the decision and said that the appointment of provincial governors is the authority of President Karzai, which could be curbed if this ministry is created.
"According to laws, the president is authorized to appoint the provincial governors. Upgrading the IDLG to a ministry is meaningless," Kabul MP Shukria Barekzai said.
Under the current structure, the IDLG recommends appointments of governors, mayors and other local officials for the president to approve.
The draft law will now go to the Senate, where one-third of the members are appointed by the president. To become law, the bill will need to be signed by the president, who is expected to show reservations about the move.
Afghan Company Suffers Major Loss After Attack on Foreign Contractor
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Wednesday, 19 December 2012
An Afghan fruit juice company has suffered an estimated $10 million loss after Monday's car bomb in eastern Kabul province targeting a nearby foreign military contractor, Afghan Industries Association officials said Tuesday.
The officials said that more than 120 people working for the company are now unemployed, calling attacks like these a major blow to the improvement of the country's fledgling industrial sector.
Association officials said they had previously discussed their concerns about security at the industrial park, but the government had not done enough to safeguard the companies.
"We urge the government officials to pay serious attention towards the industrial park in Kabul. The Association has decided to shut all the companies if the problems are not considered seriously," threatened Association head Abdul Jabar Safi.
The Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) went one step ahead and demanded the expulsion of foreign troops and contractors, frequently targeted by insurgents, from around the industrial park.
"Our own [Afghan] industrialist has suffered a $10 million loss, while the president asks others to invest in Afghanistan. How can we stand on our own feet if the government is not supporting investors?" Deputy Chief Executive Officer of ACCI Khan Jan Alokozay said.
"We are concerned about the future," Alokozay added.
Afghan traders and investors have often blamed the government for not supporting the private sector.
A car full of explosives detonated at the compound of the US-run Contrack International on Monday, killing one and wouding 15 others, including two foreign nationals.
Afghan Media Watchdog Urges Gov't. to Support Journalists
TOLOnews.com By Azem Arash Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Afghan media watchdog Nai urged the Afghan government to support reporters in order to help sustain the progress made in free speech over the past decade.
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, Nai head Sediqullah Tawhid said that freedom of speech is one of the major achievements of the Afghan government since its inception.
He urged the government to protect reporters from torture, murder and physical violence - common threats Afghan journalists face.
"We have witnessed multiple cases of violence against reporters in the country in the last decade. Threats, murder and beatings are the main challenges facing Afghan journalists. We urge the government to support reporters," Tawhidi said.
He blamed high-ranking government officials, local warlords and insurgents for violence against reporters.
"Taliban and local warlords have been involved in the abduction and murder of journalists; government officials have also committed violence against them," he added.
Despite vast improvements in the media sector, insecurity, censorship and lack of access to necessary information continue to be the main challenges.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com