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Spring Wish denied as suicide bomber brings down Afghan juice empire
By Michael Georgy
KABUL (Reuters) - When a Taliban suicide bomber killed two people on the edge of the Afghan capital this month, there was another casualty - a global fruit juice business optimistically called "Spring Wish" which provided work for thousands of farmers across the country.
Mustafa Sadiq's empire had been expanding healthily, bringing in badly needed foreign capital, before the attack inflicted the kind of financial loss cash-strapped Afghanistan can ill afford.
The pomegranate juice business was nearly wiped out in the split second it took the militant to detonate explosives in a truck parked near the factory on December 17.
Pieces of shredded metal were scattered everywhere. Chairs were hurled across the office where Sadiq had spent so much time figuring out how to beat the odds against decades of war, instability and hopelessness.
Sadiq was in Dubai drumming up new export deals when an assistant called with the bad news. The call that Sadiq said he did not get is also troubling him.
"So far no officials, for the sake of sympathy, have called us," Sadiq, 40, told Reuters, standing beside a year's supply of juice in containers that were ruined in the attack - nearly $10 million in losses overall.
"In this situation they should have called me and asked what kind of help they could provide. The agriculture, finance, commerce ministries. Nobody so far has visited or called."
The impact of the war, and expectations for the future, are often seen only through the eyes of Western or Afghan soldiers, or officials who point to the progress that has been made.
Sadiq offers another perspective. Some workers told him the bomber triggered the loudest blast they had heard in 30 years.
A Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was followed by a decade of resistance by mujahideen fighters who drove them out. Then warlords carved out fiefdoms and destroyed half of the capital in the civil war that followed.
DIRTY POLITICS
The Taliban took over, were toppled in 2001 and are now raising fears they may return when U.S.-led NATO troops hand over security to Afghan forces in 2014.
But Sadiq does not see the Taliban as the biggest threat to Afghanistan's future. Instead, he says, officials have turned politics into a commercial enterprise driven by corruption.
"Government employees think it's time to fill their pockets and grab whatever they can. That will pave the way for civil war," said Sadiq, as workers feverishly loaded boxes of the little fruit juice left onto a truck, and others worked to rebuild a brick wall.
"You have to struggle, not run away. It is kind of like running away now. They have walls around themselves sitting there and they do not have contact with ordinary Afghans."
His disillusionment is shared by the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
"There is no guarantee for investment in Afghanistan. People are afraid of the government, there is no rule of law. Government officials can do anything they want," the chamber's first vice-chairman, Jan Alokzai, told Reuters.
"President (Hamid) Karzai's words are only on paper and don't have any value."
Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government says it is committed to building up the economy, attracting foreign investment and helping Afghans secure a brighter future. Karzai says it is contracts with foreigners that spread graft.
WISHFUL THINKING?
The government has highlighted 2014 as a year to invest in Afghanistan, which relies heavily on foreign aid, and to take advantage of its cheap labor and land leases.
In each of the 10 years following 2014, the government hopes revenues from oil, natural gas, iron, copper and other mining ventures will generate $4 billion in revenue.
Sadiq spent time in Europe, waiting for an opportunity to return and invest in his homeland. He eventually opened a factory in an industrial park along Kabul's dusty Jalalabad Road in 2008, from where he broke into overseas markets.
Spring Wish, which employed about 1,000 people, was selling produce to the health conscious in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, bringing money into Afghanistan, while anxious Afghans carted $4.5 billion in cash out of the country last year to safety.
But when asked about the maps on a wall identifying parts of Afghanistan which offer opportunities for farmers and businesses like his, Sadiq could only put his head in his hands and cry.
The dark red seeds from Sadiq's fruits were prized in Europe for their antioxidant qualities, and in Japan where many believe they can help fight cancers. He seems most proud of the fact that he helped 40,000 farmers across Afghanistan earn a living.
As Sadiq tries to persuade his staff to keep dreaming big and to rebuild, one question may haunt him for some time. The suicide bomber parked his truck in a lane between his company and a foreign firm.
The Taliban said it attacked an American company next door, but he still wonders whether his factory, which relied on Italian machinery and benefited from U.S. aid programs, was the target. And he acknowledges he is desperate for money from Western donors.
"Around 120 people were working here and this factory was totally destroyed in the suicide attack," said Mohammed Jaw, 28, a general operator for the company. "A number of our workers will lose their jobs and now everyone is concerned about what happens next."
Despite the loss, Sadiq's entrepreneurial and marketing spirit seems intact.
"Have you tried the juice with mulberry flavor?" he asked proudly. "It's really good."
Then a worker brought the moment back to reality. He lifted his cellphone to show a photograph of the suicide bomber's severed head.
(Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Three Afghans dead in new blast at U.S. base in Afghan east
By Elyas Wahdat | Reuters
KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three people in an attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the same base where a suicide bomb attack killed seven CIA employees three years ago.
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the eastern town of Khost, saying they had sent a suicide bomber driving a van packed with explosives to the base.
"The target was those who serve Americans at that base," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Afghanistan's NATO-led force said the bomber did not get into the base nor breach its perimeter. Police said the three dead were Afghans who were outside the base, which is beside a military airport.
The al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, widely regarded as the most dangerous U.S. foe in Afghanistan, is active in Khost province, which is on the Pakistani border.
After more than a decade of war, Taliban insurgents are still able to strike strategic military targets, and launch high-profile attacks in the capital, Kabul, and elsewhere.
Three years ago, an al Qaeda-linked Jordanian double-agent killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer in a suicide bombing at the same base in Khost, known as Forward Operating Base Chapman.
It was the second deadliest attack in CIA history.
Afghan police official General Abdul Qasim Baqizoy, the Khost police chief, said no CIA agents were hurt on Wednesday.
Afghan authorities are scrambling to improve security across the country before the U.S. combat mission ends in 2014.
Besides pressure from the Taliban, U.S.-led NATO forces also face a rising number of so-called insider attacks, in which Afghan forces turn their weapons on Western troops they are supposed to be working with.
On Monday, an Afghan policewoman killed a U.S. police adviser at the Kabul police headquarters, raising troubling questions about the direction of the war.
It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such an attack.
On Tuesday, Afghan officials said the woman has an Iranian passport and moved to Afghanistan 10 years ago. There was no suggestion that Iran was involved in the attack on the American.
Officials suspect she may have been recruited by al Qaeda or the Taliban, and had intended to also kill Afghan police officials.
(Reporting by Elyas Wahdat; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Robert Birsel)
3 insurgents detained in eastern Afghanistan: ISAF
KABUL, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Three insurgents were detained in operations in eastern Afghan provinces, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a press release on Wednesday.
"Afghan and coalition forces detained three insurgents, located one weapons cache and cleared one improvised explosive device (IED) during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours," the ISAF's Regional Command-East (RC-East) said in the release.
The captured insurgents were arrested by the joint forces in Terezayi district, Khost province, 150 km southeast of Afghan capital Kabul, it said.
The IED and the weapons cache were found in Baraki Barak district, Logar province, 60 km south of Kabul, according to the ISAF release.
"Operations in RC-East are ongoing," the release noted.
The Afghan security forces and more than 100,000 NATO-led coalition troops continue to press Taliban insurgents and other militant groups in the country, despite a decrease in violent attacks due to cold weather in an imminent winter in the militancy- hit country.
Earlier on Wednesday, an Afghan policeman and two Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban suicide car bombing near a coalition base in eastern Khost province.
Afghanistan Taliban appears to be softening stance
The militant group in Afghanistan has suffered military setbacks and seems to be more willing to bargain, observers say. Others aren't convinced
By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times December 27, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — Recent pronouncements by the Taliban have raised the possibility that the insurgents may be softening their stance on what a future without U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan might look like.
But even among those who are most optimistic about reviving a stalled peace process, there is hesitation about prospects for reaching a political settlement before the bulk of NATO forces pull out in 2014. And others dismiss the Taliban's overtures as propaganda designed to build the group's political profile among Afghans and the international community.
At informal talks last week in France with Afghan government officials and members of the political opposition, Taliban representatives said the militant group wasn't looking to monopolize power and would be willing to govern with other factions. They also promised to grant rights to women and ethnic minorities, which they have violently repressed.
But there is reason for caution. According to some local and Western accounts, the group is riven by internal power struggles. Preliminary contacts between the United States and the Taliban's political representatives in Qatar met with a backlash from the group's military commanders that helped scuttle that initiative.
The insurgents are well aware of growing calls in the United States for an accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan, and some appear to believe it makes more sense to wait out international troops than to come to the bargaining table.
The Taliban cut off contacts with the U.S. in March, accusing officials of failing to follow through on proposals to hand over several senior insurgents held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier known to be held by the Taliban. The proposed swap had been intended as a confidence-building measure.
President Hamid Karzai's own efforts at establishing a channel with the Taliban have also foundered.
In September 2011, a suicide bomber posing as a Taliban emissary killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former Afghan president and head of the High Peace Council set up by the government to conduct negotiations with the insurgents.
The government appears to have made more progress with recent overtures to Pakistan, which agreed to release at least nine Taliban prisoners who Afghan officials thought could help jump-start the peace process. But government officials would like Pakistan to do more, including using its influence to persuade the Afghan insurgents to begin formal negotiations.
Pakistan has ties to the Taliban that date back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and many experts believe it continues to support the insurgents as a hedge against nuclear archrival India.
Although the Taliban refuses to negotiate with the Afghan government, which it derides as a "puppet" of the United States, it agreed to send two representatives to France to present its views. The envoys read a speech that was later circulated to journalists.
Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a former Taliban envoy who represented the government's High Peace Council at the talks hosted by a French think tank at a secluded chateau near Paris, described the encounter as a "very successful step … toward peace and reconciliation."
"It was the first time in 10 years that the people of Afghanistan from different tribes, different political lines, including the government and opposition, came together around one table and discussed the problems of this country," he said. The views expressed "were not that much different."
He noted that there were two female Afghan parliamentarians among the participants and said there was joking between them and the Taliban representatives about the "excellent progress" made by the group on women's rights, given their willingness to sit at the same table.
The Taliban has suffered military setbacks, particularly in the south of Afghanistan, and U.S. officials have said the pressure is drawing some militants to the bargaining table.
A State Department official had no comment on the contents of the Taliban's speech. But he said, "We support such meetings and discussions among Afghans about the future of Afghanistan, and we will do whatever we can to support a peaceful political settlement."
Gran Hewad of the Afghanistan Analysts Network said the Taliban of today is not the same movement that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
"It's clear that the Taliban is not as popular as they were … or as strong," he said. "This is an opportunity. They are signaling that they are willing to talk, that they want to go forward."
But others aren't convinced that the line taken by the Taliban in France represents a genuine policy shift.
"It's too early to say," said Fazil Sancharaki, a spokesman for the National Coalition of Afghanistan, the party of President Hamid Karzai's main rival in the 2009 elections, Abdullah Abdullah. "On the one side, they are continuing their fighting; on the other side, they are taking part in political talks."
Gen. Atiqullah Baryalai, a former deputy defense minister and prominent member of the Northern Alliance that battled the Taliban in the 1990s, was blunter. "They are playing with words," he said. "It is just propaganda."
Baryalai said he believes the militants are probably buying time until the 2014 Western pullout, when he said they intend to make their move.
The speech delivered by the Taliban's representatives in France reiterated many of the group's long-standing policies. It said that the Taliban's "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" is the nation's "legitimate government" and insisted that all foreign forces leave the country.
It also demanded a new constitution because it said the current one was "written under the shadows of B-52 aircraft."
And it appeared to rule out Taliban participation in a presidential election scheduled for 2014, saying the poll would not be "beneficial for solving the Afghan quandary" because it will be organized under occupation.
Even the pledge to grant rights to women appeared to contain caveats.
"Women in Islam have the right to choose husbands, own property, right to inheritance and right to education and work," the speech said. "The Islamic Emirate will safeguard the rights of women such that their legitimate rights are not violated … and Islamic requirements endangered under the guise of education and work."
The government, for its part, maintains that the Taliban must agree to renounce violence, recognize the constitution, cut ties with foreign terrorists and respect human rights.
"Peace efforts are part of the process," Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said this week. "All these issues can't be resolved in one, two or three meetings. We hope that this process of meetings, consultations and dialogue, which includes all the key Afghan sides, will continue."
alexandra.zavis@latimes.com
Special correspondent Hashmat Baktash contributed to this report.
Afghanistan marks 33rd year of Soviet Union invasion
By Sajad Khaama Press December 26, 2012
Afghanistan marks the 33rd year of Soviet Union invasion in Afghanistan. The former Soviet Union deployed over 25,000 troops equipped with modern military equipment to Afghanistan on 27 December 1979, which sparked aggressive reactions of the Afghan people.
According to reports over 1 million Afghans were killed while around 3 million others were forced to flee Afghanistan to neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s history since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded to prop up a sympathetic government, has been dark and often violent. The Soviet army’s 1989 withdrawal was followed by a civil war and domination by warlords. That in turn gave rise to the Taliban, which seized power shortly before it was toppled by a U.S. invasion in retaliation for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was a costly and, ultimately, pointless war. Historical hindsight has made this evident. However, exactly why the Red Army wound up in direct military conflict, embroiled in a bitter and complicated civil war—some 3,000 kilometres away from Moscow—is a point of historiographical uncertainty. The evidence available suggests that geopolitical calculations were at the top of the Kremlin’s goals.
Afghan analysts believe the invasion by former Soviet Union had negative impacts on political, economical and social affairs of Afghanistan which also paved the way for the intervention of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan.
under cover of an ongoing Soviet military buildup, heavily-armed elements of a Soviet airborne brigade were airlifted into Kabul, Afghanistan, to violently overthrow the regime of President Hafizollah Amin.
On December 27th, 1979, Amin was shot by the Russians and he was replaced by Babrak Karmal. His position as head of the Afghan government depended entirely on the fact that he needed Russian military support to keep him in power. Many Afghan soldiers had deserted to the Mujahideen and the Karmal government needed 85,000 Russian soldiers to keep him in power.
The Mujahideen proved to be a formidable opponent. They were equipped with old rifles but had a knowledge of the mountains around Kabul and the weather conditions that would be encountered there. The Russians resorted to using napalm, poison gas and helicopter gun ships against the Mujahideen – but they experienced exactly the same military scenario the Americans had done in Vietnam.
By 1982, the Mujahideen controlled 75% of Afghanistan despite fighting the might of the world’s second most powerful military power but in the meantime they were at war with itself in Afghanistan with hard line Taliban fighters taking a stronger grip over the whole nation and imposing very strict Muslim law on the Afghanistan population.
Former Afghan Mujahideen leaders also believe that the former Soviet Union invasion which led to communist coup was the starting point of all the tragedies in Afghanistan.
Over 30 years have passed from the Soviet Union invasion however Afghanistan still face major challenges and negative impacts of the incident. There are also concerns that the issues will continue for several years ahead which will create barriers for development in Afghanistan.
Hard feelings on both sides as U.S. winds down its Afghan role
Relations between U.S. and Afghan forces are strained — by suspicion among the Americans and resentment among their counterparts — as the 2014 pullout approaches.
Los Angeles Times By David Zucchino December 25, 2012
SUROBI, Afghanistan - Col. Babagul Aamal is a proud veteran of 28 years in the Afghan National Army. Short and fit, with a thick black beard, he's a leader who blurts out exactly what he's thinking.
"I don't talk politics — I talk facts," Aamal said, wearing a sweater beneath his uniform in his unheated command office on a dusty base 40 miles east of Kabul.
It shames him, Aamal said, that he is not allowed to wear his pistol when he enters the fortified gate of the new American military base next door. Though he's a brigade commander, he's required to stand before an airport-type scanner with his arms raised, almost in surrender.
Yet when Americans visit Aamal's base, they are not searched. They are offered chai tea. And they bring half a dozen soldiers armed with M-16s, so-called Guardian Angels on the lookout for "insider attacks" by Afghan soldiers.
"Afghan generals get searched by low-ranking foreign soldiers," Aamal said. "Our soldiers see this, and they feel insulted."
As American troops shift from combat to advising, the ominous specter of insider attacks has strained the relationship between the two armies.
Sixty-two Western coalition troops have been killed this year in 46 such attacks, leaving many American soldiers deeply suspicious of their erstwhile allies.
At the same time, some Afghan officers and soldiers say they feel abandoned and patronized. After 11 years, they say, certain Americans still don't respect Afghan customs.
Moreover, they complain that the United States is pulling out without providing the weapons and equipment needed to hold off the Taliban.
"The Americans have the weapons, so they go wherever they want. It's like this is their country," the brigade's public affairs officer, Maj. Ghulam Ali, said with a weary shrug.
Officers and soldiers encountered during three days spent with the Afghan army were upbeat and enthusiastic about taking over the fight. But many also said they felt slighted by what they perceive as a chronic lack of resources.
At a desolate battalion base beneath towering snowcapped mountains, Lt. Col. Hussian Hadl sat in his office, shivering in an overcoat and puffing on a cigarette. The electricity was on, but only because Hadl was using precious fuel to run a generator for a visit by an American journalist.
Hadl's 1st Battalion recently took over the base from a French military unit, which had fuel for generators. Hadl said he's been supplied enough fuel to power communications equipment, but not for heat or lights.
His 700 men have 40 Humvees, he said, but half the vehicles are in the shop, awaiting parts. There's barely fuel for 20 of them. The battalion has just three heavy machine guns, he says, and no rounds for its Russian-made mortars.
Inside the chilly officers' mess hall, 1st Lt. Ali Ahmad wolfed down a hot meal of goat and rice. He said the Afghans would like to use traditional Afghan wood stoves, called bukharis, but there are no stovepipes in the French-constructed buildings, and no firewood.
"I'm not worried about the Americans leaving. I'm not worried about the Taliban," Lt. Col. Hadl said. "I'm worried we won't have enough weapons and fuel to fight on our own."
For the 2,700 soldiers in Col. Aamal's 3rd Brigade of the 201st Corps, the fight against the Islamist militants who once ran Afghanistan is largely their own. Aamal described three recent combat operations he said were planned and carried out by his men, with minimal advice from Western forces.
But he also pointed to 27 trucks that sit idle on the base, waiting for replacement batteries. Humvees, parked in a line, need new brake pads. There is not enough fuel for heat. He blames the Afghan Defense Ministry and the coalition forces.
"How can my soldiers perform under these conditions?" Aamal asked. "Some of them can't survive like this, and they just walk away and quit."
Aamal says his relations with the coalition hit a low point under the French, who occupied the adjoining base before the American unit arrived. "Let me be blunt: The French didn't like us," Aamal said.
When three Afghans were badly wounded by a roadside bomb, he said, the French took three hours to provide a medevac helicopter. By then, one of the soldiers had died. The copter flew another of the soldiers to a Kabul military hospital, but Aamal said he was told to transport the third man — and the body of the dead man — by road.
Aamal hopes for a better relationship with his new neighbors, the 2nd Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division. He's met the Americans only a few times, he said, and they seem eager to help.
"But we'll see," he said.
The colonel cited incidents involving U.S. soldiers elsewhere that have enraged Afghans: the slaying of 16 villagers in Kandahar province, for which Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused, and the inadvertent burning of Korans by U.S. soldiers at the Bagram air base.
"These things make Afghan soldiers feel their self-respect has been taken away," Aamal said. "They feel like servants."
The American battalion is part of the first new "security force assistance brigade" assigned to advise Afghan soldiers as the U.S. prepares to remove all combat troops by the end of 2014. Seven more assistance brigades are to arrive in coming months.
A reporter embedded with the Afghans was not permitted by U.S. military authorities to interview members of the 2nd Battalion because he was not embedded with the unit. But because of insider attacks, the reporter was allowed to sleep on the U.S. base at Aamal's request. The colonel said he could not guarantee that his men wouldn't attack the journalist.
"I'm afraid one of my soldiers might do something foolish," Aamal said. "Even I, as an Afghan officer, cannot know what is inside that Afghan soldier's heart and mind."
Three of four soldiers now defending the country are Afghans. By the middle of next year, NATO's International Security Assistance Force expects Afghan forces to take responsibility for the entire nation.
As Afghans take the lead, casualties are increasing. An average of 110 Afghan soldiers and 200 police officers are killed in action each month, a sharp increase from a year ago, according to the Defense Ministry.
As of Sept. 30, ISAF had turned over 330 bases to Afghan security forces. About 250 remain in ISAF hands.
Equipment and supplies are paid for primarily by the U.S. and distributed by the Defense Ministry. Over the years, American officers have said that much of that is stolen or sold by ministry officials, or by field commanders. They have also said Afghan units don't properly conserve fuel and ammunition, and fail to maintain vehicles.
"Logistics is an area where we need to improve our efforts," said Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz, an ISAF spokesman.
Charlie Stadtlander, another spokesman for the coalition forces, said the Afghan army had "made great strides" in logistics. He cited an operation last month in which the army supplied 10,000 troops with fuel for 16 days with no ISAF assistance.
At the same time, the U.S. inspector general for Afghanistan reported this month that the NATO training mission could not account for $201 million in fuel supplied to the Afghan army because NATO officers had shredded fuel purchase documents.
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi, a Defense Ministry spokesman, denied any serious logistics problems, except for shortages of vehicle parts.
Supplies of ISAF materiel will continue through 2013, said James Graybeal, an ISAF spokesman.
"Once initial fielding is complete, it is Afghanistan's responsibility to provide and maintain any additional and replacement equipment," he said.
Aamal, the colonel, is skeptical. "We don't have our own air support, artillery, medevac," he said. "We can't suddenly create these things."
Some of the equipment his brigade is using was provided in the 1980s by Russia, which Aamal served as an Afghan officer. The colonel worries that the Defense Ministry's inability to supply units will force a cut in troop strength from 195,000 to 165,000.
"It's embarrassing to keep asking someone else for your basic needs," he said.
Even so, morale seems reasonably high. The colonel's men appear better disciplined and more professional than Afghan soldiers in other units in the past.
At checkpoints along the crucial Kabul-to-Jalalabad highway, the troops were alert and polite. There were no demands for bribes or searches for valuables.
High above Hadl's base, at an observation site built into the shoulder of a blue-gray escarpment, Pvt. Khair Mohammed manned a lonely guard post. He spends 20 to 30 days on each shift, joined by eight other soldiers.
Mohammed scanned the misty gray mountains for signs of insurgents. They periodically fire rockets at his post, usually without effect.
Mohammed considers himself adequately supplied and fed. Far below, a tiny figure was hiking up the escarpment, a suitcase-sized plastic container of hot food strapped to his back. It was a soldier, making a 40-minute hike, straight up, to deliver lunch.
For firepower, Mohammed had half a dozen magazines of 30 rounds each for his M-16, his only weapon. No matter how well his unit is supplied, or how soon the Americans leave, he said, he's in the middle of a war and can't stop to worry about such things.
"We're ready to fight the enemy, with or without the foreigners," he said. "We're fighting him now, all alone up here."
david.zucchino@latimes.com
Special correspondent Hashmat Baktash contributed to this report.
Taliban representation agreement in Qatar finalized: Rassoul
By Sayed Jawad Khaama Press December 26, 2012
Afghan foreign ministry says agreement for the Taliban representation in Qatar is due to be finalized in a bid to prevent sporadic sessions in other foreign countries with the Taliban group.
Afghan parliament house on Tuesday summoned foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul to breif Afghan lawmakers regarding the Paris conference on Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul told Afghan lawmakers, “We are working to codify the agreement with Qatar and it is almost finalized. This will be the only place outside of Afghanistan to hold talks. All other Afghan related talks will be held inside the Afghan soil.”
He said there will be no need for Berlin or Paris in the future.
Zalmai Rassoul also said currently various nations are following the same practice as of 1990 and are organizing different sessions in order to bring stability in Afghanistan.
He insisted that Afghanistan is an independent country and all related issues to Afghanistan should be discussed within the Afghan soil. “All the issues that we face currently have agreement environment in Afghanistan and there is no need to hold Afghan related talks outside the country. The Afghan government has not invited anyone to Paris but Afghan peace officials were present in the conference”, foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul said.
In the meantime a number of civil society organizations criticized Paris conference which was organized behind closed doors. The organizations warned that Afghan people will not agree with any peace deal that will comprise with the decade old achievements in human rights.
Deputy civil society network and independent human rights of Afghanistan Wazir Ahmad Khurami said, “The civil society of Afghanistan has a precise view and we welcome peace in Afghanistan. Afghans will never agree with any peace deal that will compromise with achievements towards human rights during the past ten years.”
This comes as the Taliban group in Paris conference said they do not agree with the current government and constitution.
Civil society representatives insisted that the agenda for any session related to Afghanistan should not be hidden from the Afghan people and decision regarding the future of Afghanistan should not be taken behind closed doors.
Bona Fides of Taliban Representatives At Paris Meeting Unclear: MoFA
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that there is insufficient information about the backgrounds of the two Taliban representatives at the Paris meeting, and that the Afghan government has not identified which Taliban faction the two represented.
"It is yet not clear which group the two Taliban members were representing," said Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasool. He was called to the Senate to address the body's concerns over the Paris meeting.
"There is no need of holding such meetings outside the country. The meetings for [peace] talks should be held in Afghanistan," said Rasool.
Shahabuddin Delawar and Naeem Wardak represented the Taliban and read a prepared statement that called, among other things, for amendments to the Constitution. The meeting was organized by a French research organization and had the tacit backing of the French government.
During Rasool's questioning, a number of senators criticised the government's foreign policy, especially towards neighboring countries.
"The government has no unified foreign policy, and in most cases there is contradiction in what government officials state," said Senator Gul Ahmad Azami.
"Peace cannot be achieved by begging other countries. Most countries prioritize their own interests," said Senator Belqis Roshan, referring to the government's recent cooperation with Pakistan in the peace negotiations.
"Those who took part in the Paris meeting seek to cover their crimes by changes to the Constitution," she added, criticizing the Taliban demand for the amendment of the Constitution as their plan to seek amnesty for their actions.
Senator Rafiullah Haidari said the Paris meeting was not representative enough and did not have someone representing those who fought in the Afghan jihad.
"Representatives of most factions were not present at the Paris meeting. Those who were present at the meeting did not represent the people and Jihadi parties," Haidari noted.
Pakistan-Afghanistan Trilateral Summit in Turkey: Mild Affair – Analysis
Eurasia Review By Monish Gulati December 25, 2012
Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey, Hamid Karzai the President of Afghanistan, and Asif Ali Zardari, the President of Pakistan, held their seventh Trilateral Summit Meeting in Ankara on 11 and 12 December 2012. The meeting took this high level dialogue, security cooperation and economic development partnership between the three countries, under the ‘Trilateral Ankara Summit Process’, into its seventh year. The trilateral process was launched in April 2007 and subsequent trilateral summits have been hosted by Turkey in December 2008, April 2009, January 2010, December 2010 and November 2011.
Turkey, besides having close cultural relations with the two countries is also a part of the US-led NATO force in Afghanistan and has sought to raise its international standing in recent years by playing host to a series of high-level diplomatic events in the region. The country was even considered as a possible location for the Taliban political office but the Taliban preferred Qatar instead. President Abdullah Gul in a speech at the inauguration of the 63rd U.N. General Assembly had sought support for Turkey’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council saying “Turkey has not been represented at the Council for nearly half a century”.
The Joint Statement adopted at the conclusion of the seventh trilateral summit recognized the importance of the efforts of the High Peace Council of Afghanistan and its chairman Mr. Salahuddin Rabbani in bringing peace to Afghanistan, appreciated the progress achieved in the Istanbul Process for a secure and stable Afghanistan and reaffirmed their commitment to the decisions of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA-V) held in Dushanbe on 27 March 2012, the Regional Conference on Countering Narcotics held in Islamabad on 12 November 2012 and the Economic Cooperation Organization held on 16 October 2012 in Baku. The three leaders also expressed their support for the Istanbul Forum mechanism, which comprises of the apex organizations of the private sectors of the three countries, and is a part of the trilateral summit process. The trilateral summit identified the need to improve cooperation in border management in order to address all cross-border challenges, including terrorism, nar
cotics and human trafficking,
Malala Yusufzai, too found a mention and was wished a speedy recovery. Incidentally, President Zardari arrived at Ankara for the trilateral summit from Paris where he pledged $10m (£8m) for girls’ education at a “Stand Up For Malala” advocacy event at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO in the name of Malala .
A hotline, operational since 09 Dec 2012, has also been established to facilitate communication among the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey “in times of crisis”.
Three points of significance can be identified with respect to the current trilateral summit. The first was the emphasis on improving the transport connectivity among the three partner countries, leading to enhanced inter-modal transport capacity amongst them. Afghanistan agreed to join a railway project that already connects Istanbul, Tehran and Islamabad. The rail link is called the Gül train after the Turkish President Abdullah Gül. The Gul train, formerly known as the ECO train, is an international freight train service between Islamabad and Istanbul via Tehran, Iran. The train which covers 6,500 kilometers in 16 days, was launched on 14th August 2009 on trial basis.
Transportation Minister of Turkey met with his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts during the summit to discuss steps towards more effective use of available transportation links among the three countries. Members appreciated the efforts made by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey to ensure efficient and safe operation of the Istanbul–Tehran–Islamabad container train and the establishment of TOBB International Logistics Management Company for the purpose.
Second, was the signing of the Trilateral Memorandum of Understanding which provides for the establishment of a Trilateral Trade Council, for the promotion of foreign investment, enhancing and diversifying commercial ties and exploring possibilities for cooperation in services sector amongst the three countries. The Trilateral Trade Council will be convened annually or when the parties deem it necessary. Under the framework of the Council, the three governments have agreed to provide the necessary facilities to the businessmen of the three countries to increase trade. The entrepreneurs and organizations of the three countries would also be encouraged to participate in exhibitions, fairs and other promotional activities. The MOU, though signed for a period of one year, would be renewed automatically for successive periods of one year on consent of the three countries.
The third point relates to military cooperation. Military and intelligence chiefs of Afghanistan and Pakistan began attending the trilateral summit for the first time in April 2009. According to Turkish general staff, the three countries agreed to conduct joint military exercises during the tripartite summit meeting in December 2010. The joint military exercise is one of the tangible results of the trilateral summit process. In addition, the trilateral summit seeks to encourage joint military training programmes as a means to improving their inter operability and fostering good relations amongst the armed forces. A joint Special Forces and Natural Disaster Search and Rescue exercise was conducted as an associated event to the Seventh Trilateral from 5-9 November 2012, in Ankara.
Earlier in 2011, 128 soldiers from Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan employing helicopters, tanks and other weapons participated in a trilateral urban warfare exercise in southeastern Istanbul. The military exercise scheduled from March 19 to 26, was staged in an infantry brigade school command in the Tuzla district, about 100 km east from downtown Istanbul. At the 6th Trilateral Summit Pakistan had also got Kabul to agree to let Pakistan impart training to Afghan troops and police inside Afghanistan.
Prior to the start of the seventh Trilateral Summit there were two issues looming prominently over the event. First, was the Taliban attack on Asadullah Khalid, Director of National Security of Afghanistan in Kabul a week earlier. Speaking after the attack, Karzai had stopped short of directly blaming Pakistan but said he knew “for a fact” that the bomber came from Pakistan and that Kabul would seek clarification from Islamabad during meeting in Turkey. The attack was almost identical to the last year’s assassination of the country’s chief peace negotiator, Burhanuddin Rabbani. President Zardari said that the attack on the Afghan spy chief was an effort to prevent the two governments from cooperating. It was decided at the summit that a joint working group comprising relevant agencies of Afghanistan and Pakistan will look into the incident. The attack found mentioned in the summit joint statement.
The second issue was the Afghan sponsored “Peace Process Roadmap to 2015”, a five step plan offered to Pakistan in November this year. The roadmap includes an end to cross-border shelling and the transfer by Pakistan of Taliban prisoners to Afghanistan/ a third country.However, the situation has been complicated by the Taliban’s unwillingness to talk to the Karzai government and they also ruled out the role of Pakistan in solution unless an agreement with the US is first reached. Importantly Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia and Great Britain have a role to play in this roadmap. There indications that Afghanistan and Pakistan would advance the initiative in Turkey. However, the ‘roadmap’ it did not find mention in the summit joint statement nor did any other political solution to the war in Afghanistan.
This article appeared at the South Asia Monitor and reprinted with permission.
'Pak friendly' US Senator Kerry's latest appointment 'good news' for country: Editorial
Islamabad, Dec. 26 (ANI): The replacement of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Senator John Kerry has been welcomed by Pakistan for more reasons than one, according to an editorial in a Pakistani daily.
The editorial in The Express Tribune has stated the following instances that where Sen. Kerry has shown his support for Pakistan- In September this year, when Sen. Rand Paul asked the US Senate to pass his amendment asking for all assistance to be cut off to Pakistan on the question of Dr Shakil Afridi, Sen. Kerry took him on, challenging his contention that Pakistan was not a friend of US and rebuked him for making his remarks without ever once having visited Pakistan, it said.
Earlier in 2011, President Barack Obama sent Senator Kerry to Pakistan to talk to the power centres of Pakistan to break the deadlock in Pak-US relations. As his visit unfolded, the US press noted that "Pakistan is vital to US efforts to combat Islamist militants and to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, where US forces depend on Pakistani supply lines for water, food, fuel and other essentials", it added.
The Pak-US equation dipped perilously after the Bin Laden killing. However, Sen. Kerry became a part of the diplomacy, leading to the reopening of NATO supply routes in 2012. He was seen as a friend of Pakistan and was effective in moderating views on both sides of the quarrel till they were ready to place their relationship on a new footing. He continued to emphasise the Pakistani point of view while putting forward the concerns of the Obama Administration, the editorial said.
He was in Islamabad again in May 2012 asking for a "reset" of Pak-US relations. The US was not yet sure about the option of offering apology for the Bin Laden incident but it was clear that Kerry's diplomacy was unleashed to test the waters in Pakistan before flexibility was adopted on the issue, it further said.
Sen. Kerry's 24-hour visit was meant to soothe Pakistani anger at not being informed about the raid because the US was keeping the situation in Afghanistan on top of its 'endgame' agenda. He gave the first signal for the positive developments that followed, climaxing in American acceptance of Pakistan's concerns about post-withdrawal Afghanistan, the editorial added. (ANI)
Afghan Minister: "Government Close to Announcing New 10-year Tax Holiday for Investments Made Over the Next Two Years"
Press Release: Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce
MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- December 2-4, 2012, In his opening Keynote Address at the "8th Annual U.S. Afghanistan Business Matchmaking Conference 2012", when describing the climate for investment during the critical "transition" period in Afghanistan, the Minster of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan, Dr. Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, stated that, "the government of Afghanistan is close to announcing a new 10-year tax holiday for investments made over the next two years". This anticipated incentive, combined with a liberal regulatory environment and complemented with greatly expanded infrastructure and a growing number of skilled professionals and workers educated or trained abroad or graduated from local institutions, make for enhanced prospects for investment in a promising region of the world for economic growth.
Dr. Ahadi, a former Central Bank Governor and Finance Minister (remarks), went on to say that "a tight monetary policy has ensured that inflation is low and the exchange rate for the national currency, the Afghani, is stable. Thousands of kilometers of new highways, expanding transmission lines and a new railway can support investments in export-oriented sectors including cashmere, marble, carpets, and agriculture as well as development of local industries to replace current imports of refined petroleum products, cement, steel, poultry, edible oils, sugar, dairy products, and light manufactured goods".
U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Raymond 'Ray' LaHood (awaiting remarks) expanded upon the Minister's remarks when he commented on the enormous potential for Afghanistan as transportation, logistics and distribution hub for the vast emerging South and Central Asian market. He reviewed details of the DoT's work in Afghanistan and said his "Department and the Administration are committed to a successful Afghanistan". Secretary LaHood commented on the tremendous improvements in Afghanistan's infrastructure for road, air and rail and the impending increase in regional connectivity as crucial to the future of the country.
The conference focused on ways in which U.S. companies can tap into business opportunities in Afghanistan and the region and realize the value of partnering with Afghan companies and entrepreneurs. The Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC) held the Conference in Washington, D.C. on December 2nd to 4th at the Ronald Reagan Building -- International Trade Center with related evening activities at the JW Marriott Washington, D.C. Hotel directly across the street.
Security is such a big concern for everyone investing in Afghanistan and this issue was addressed head-on by Col. Ret'd. U.S. Army, James Bullion, Director of the DoD Task Force promoting business in Afghanistan (remarks). Bullion stated that "investment in Afghanistan is being held back by perceptions that simply do not reflect the reality of most of the country today". He gave examples of how businessmen and women across the country are building their enterprises apart from, and in spite of, conflict areas. He mentioned that one recognized index of global violence has Afghanistan ranked 119th in the world, "well less than many Central American and African countries". Drawing parallels with Africa, where foreign investment is supporting widespread development, he described support for the extraction of minerals, infusions of international equity for traditional Afghan industries, and establishing entrepreneurship training centers and small business incubators.
Some 400 participants, including businessmen and women, financial organization representatives and government officials, from both the U.S. and Afghanistan, registered for the conference, including were some 100 participants from Afghanistan.
Ms. Holly Vineyard, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, ITA, (awaiting remarks) spoke about the expanding presence of the Department of Commerce (DoC) on the ground in Afghanistan as 'transition' points the way to greater and greater focus on the market economy. The DoC Task force on Afghanistan Reconstruction has been working for years in various sectors of the economy such as carpets, marble, construction and agriculture value chains, they are receiving greater resources to engage in these and other areas of the economy.
Col. Ret'd. U.S. Army, Mr. James Balocki, the Chief of International and Interagency Services of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (awaiting remarks) outlined future developments in Afghanistan. The Corps supports almost a thousand individual construction projects for the NATO military and Afghan security forces, and importantly local development funds support a variety of grass roots projects and an Afghan Infrastructure Fund supports major civil development projects.
Focusing on collaboration among the Government, Military and Business Communities, Mr. Hugh Haworth, a Senior Economics Advisor with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (remarks), indicated how USAID has shifted from large infrastructure projects to training, advising and assisting Afghans to maintain the gains already achieved and allow Afghans themselves to progress into the future. On a national scale, USAID is working with the Afghan power utility to effectively collect revenue covering its costs, completing large-scale hydropower projects and supporting the Ministry of Public Works with systems to maintain roads and public infrastructure. He advised as to how Afghan businesses are shifting from dependence on military and donor contracts to new opportunities with agriculture food chains, telecommunications expansion, and efforts to re-establish Afghanistan as a center of regional trade among other opportunities.
His Excellency Noorullah Delawari, the Governor (PPP), brought back to the Governorship of the Afghan Central Bank by President Karzai in the wake of the Kabul Bank collapse, described how the banking system learned and is now healthier. He outlined the major improvements in regulatory oversight of the banking system and went on to describe how the Afghan Central Bank has maintained a stable Afghan currency and managed liquidity in the local financial market.
Complementing these keynote addresses, expert panels addressed opportunities in agriculture and food processing; telecommunications and information technology, mining and natural resource development; transportation and logistics; construction and infrastructure; culture and tourism; and finally, financing and promoting the Afghan private sector. These panels, including both private sector and government representatives, addressed the practical experiences of Afghan and foreign businesses and investors, new opportunities for U.S. companies, and the Afghan perspective on commercial opportunities. The full Conference Agenda is available on the AACC website.
Opportunities for networking and private discussions were provided by an evening Welcoming Reception, networking breaks between meetings, business luncheons and a Mix & Mingle Dinner and Awards Reception featuring the presentation of the AACC Business of the Year Award to Nadim M. Amin of Afghan Resources Group (ARG); the Performance Excellence and Support for AACC Award to Zamari M. Kamgar of Kam Group; and an Award from the Chairman of Afghanistan's Senate, Fazal Hadi Muslimyar,to AACC President & CEO, Hon. Don Ritter for Building Business and Economic Bridges Between the U.S. and Afghanistan. (Award Speeches)
Highly popular with attendees, one-on-one networking discussions were conducted for some two hours in the afternoons where AACC arranged for individual consultations by attendees with panelists and speakers from relevant businesses, trade associations and government agencies.
An AACC Information and Communications Technology Working Group demonstrated new communications technologies that enable Afghans using high speed satellite connections to get real time support by experts abroad teamed with a translator at a 3rd location.
AACC is deeply grateful for those sponsors who literally made the conference possible with their generous support.
U.S. Military Charity Reaches Out to Afghans In Need
CBS News By Kitty Logan December 25, 2012
At this time of year, there are always plenty of special deliveries to U.S. forces around Afghanistan. But at this coalition air base in the capital Kabul, troops are busy sorting through parcels which are not for them. This is part of the work of Operation Outreach, a military charity. The supplies are donations from Americans for Afghans in need. The Outreach team packs up winter clothing, school supplies, and hygiene items to be handed out to impoverished local people.
"We solicit donations from back home. People send stuff in the mail," says Captain Treone Cooley, President of Operation Outreach. "We make missions ourselves out into the community and we also co-ordinate with people locally that are going out and send stuff out with them. We focus mainly on women and children, but the goal is those that are in need and those who are impacted by the war effort."
Although the project operates all year round, this is a crucial time of year to help the poorest, with temperatures dropping below freezing at night. The Outreach troops make the most of the season of goodwill and ask fellow soldiers to chip in at Christmas market on the base. Within an hour their donation box is full.
Treone and her team load up with goody bags and head out to visit a local day care center. There is a rush of excitement as they arrive with gifts of soft toys and schoolbooks for the children. Their mothers work for a low wage and struggle to afford anything more than essential items. The day care center has few resources, so this is a rare and special treat for the kids.
"I got a pen and a schoolbook,' says nine-year old Medina, who immediately sets about drawing pictures. 'I'm really happy.'
Another Outreach volunteer, Shakia Rose, sits on the floor, surrounded by small children clutching their new toys. She smiles and jokes with the children, who are clearly enjoying making a new friend.
This is also an important opportunity for Americans to play a positive role in the local community -- at a time when trust between Afghans and Americans is being tested following a series of so-called 'insider attacks', in which Afghan troops turn on their international colleagues, this is a positive step.
"If we're out there and we're talking to the people and we're helping them and making even a minor difference in their lives, they're going to remember that," says Shakia. "They're going to remember that they stayed warm, because it was somebody from ISAF that gave them a blanket. They're going to remember that my child didn't die because we were able to provide them medical supplies. So I think it's making a tremendous difference and I think they really know that we're here to help."
The Operation Outreach team has also come up with an economical and innovative solution for local people who cannot afford winter fuel. They use recycled paper from the base to make special "fuel pucks," which can provide heat for up to an hour. Shredded paper is mixed with sawdust and water, compressed by hand in a homemade press and laid out to dry. The troops produce the pucks after they finish normal duty on the base - which means operating in dark, freezing tent with no electricity.
"It can get a little cold in the winter time, but I feel it's good just to help the nation of Afghanistan out, the families," says Technical Sargent Robert Hudson, who is in charge of the fuel puck production. "All of us volunteer our time. This is not our normal duty. We take time out of our personal time."
Once dried, the fuel pucks are donated to the very poorest of the poor. On Christmas morning a group of volunteers take them out to a refugee camp on the outskirts of Kabul. The conditions are shocking. Families live in dilapidated buildings, or in ramshackle shelters surrounded by a sea of mud. They have no electricity, or running water - - and critically, no source of heat, or cooking fuel. Last winter, 17 children froze to death in camps like these. Seemingly unaware of the risks her lifestyle holds, a small girl in bright pink coat and shiny blue scarf smiles and happily chats to the visitors, hopeful that they will brighten her day.
One of the families at the camp makes a small fire from the fuel pucks and puts a kettle on to boil for tea. A small comfort perhaps, amongst their miserable surroundings. But as we leave a woman shouts out for more help. The volunteers vow to return with more supplies.
Whatever they do here, it will never be quite enough to bring these people out of dire poverty.
Ministers, Governors, Deputies Accused of Corruption: Attorney General
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Tuesday, 25 December 2012
The Attorney General's Office said Tuesday that 62 corruption-related cases are currently under investigation, and those implicated include ministers, provincial governors and deputy ministers.
The charges against these officials include misuse of authority, abuse of public property and contract irregularities.
The AGO didn't specify the officials implicated, but said the corruption case against Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal was dropped due to a lack of evidence, although they are investigating other cases in the ministry.
"We received 234 corruption-related cases, out of which 24 were closed due to lack of evidence, 148 were sent to the Supreme Court, and 62 are under investigation," said Sayed Alam Ishaqzai, head of the Afghan Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office.
Electronic IDs Will Reduce Forgery: Official
TOLOnews.com By Haseeb Maudoodi Tuesday, 25 December 2012
With the distribution of new electronic ID cards starting next month, officials emphasized Tuesday that the new cards will reduce forgery.
In an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, head of the Electronic ID Cards Distribution Department of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, Masoom Farhad, stressed that the cards would be difficult for outsiders to duplicate.
"These cards are made of polycarbonate and will be only recognizable by MoI machines, which prevents the neighboring countries from duplicating them," Farhad said, adding that fingerprints, iris scans, number of family members, income data and other necessary information will be encoded on the cards.
According to Farhad, the distribution of electronic ID cards will provide employment opportunities for more than 5,000 people.
He added that it will take at least seven years to distribute ID cards to all the residents of the country, while 80% of Afghans will have their cards in three years.
"We need seven years to distribute electronic ID cards to all the residents of the country, but if the government provides us more resources, we could accomplish the mission possibly in five years," he added.
The whole process, including its technical aspects, will cost $222 million, out of which $101 million will be paid by the Afghan Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, and the remaining $121 million will be covered by the MoI.
Kabul Shopkeepers Claim Property Loss Before Fire
TOLOnews.com By Zabihullah Jhanmal Tuesday, 25 December 2012
The shopkeepers of the recently burnt Kabul market claimed Monday that their shops were robbed ahead of the fire that engulfed about 600 shops.
"The shops and safes were already opened ahead of our arrival. A government delegation should come to the scene and witness everything closely," one of the shopkeepers said.
Other shopkeepers blamed firefighters for the thefts and poor performance in containing the fire.
"I don't know what the firefighters were here for -- they didn't do their job satisfactorily," said another shopkeeper who lost his shop in Sunday's incident.
Store owners also complained of police misbehavior when they prevented shopkeepers from entering their burning shops to secure cash and other valuables from their safes.
Security officials dismissed the allegations of theft and misbehavior.
"We didn't behave badly with the people. The shopkeepers were coming to the shops and opening their safes. Some of them might have left them opened," said Col. Sultan Shinwari, police district 1 chief.
The Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries urged the government to support the shopkeepers who lost their shops and exempt them from income taxes.
Afghanistan Makes Insurance of Commercial Areas Mandatory
TOLOnews.com By Anwar Hashimi Tuesday, 25 December 2012
The Council of Ministers in its last meeting has ordered the mandatory insurance of all commercial centers in the country and directed the Ministry of Finance to oversee that all businesses are ensured within three months.
The decision comes after last week's devastating fire in Kabul's old commercial district that destroyed around 600 shops, inflicting heavy losses to merchants.
The Council has also ordered the Attorney General, the Ministry of Interior, the Kabul Governor and the city municipality to investigate the cause of the fire and draft a prevention plan.
Kabul's currency exchange association chief, Najibullah Akhtari, has expressed worries over the poor electrical wiring in most commercial buildings as a potential risk factor.
Heavy Snow Cuts Access to 10 Badakhshan Districts
TOLOnews.com Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Heavy snowfall has cut road access to more than 10 districts in the northern Badakhshan province, local officials said Tuesday.
The districts include Ashkashim, Sheghnan, Kohistan, Raghistan and Shekay, according to Provincial Spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasikh.
He warned that the food aid sent by the National Disaster Management Authority to these districts before the snowfall is insufficient and called on the government to send more food and supplies to the province.
"If the roads remain blocked the same as last year, the residents of these 10 districts will face major issues," Rasikh warned.
Dozens were killed and several others went missing in avalanches last year.
Shekay District, which borders Tajikistan, was completely swept away.
Badakhshan is one of the country's poorest and most remote regions. Parts of it are shut off by heavy snow for at least six months of the year.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
By Michael Georgy
KABUL (Reuters) - When a Taliban suicide bomber killed two people on the edge of the Afghan capital this month, there was another casualty - a global fruit juice business optimistically called "Spring Wish" which provided work for thousands of farmers across the country.
Mustafa Sadiq's empire had been expanding healthily, bringing in badly needed foreign capital, before the attack inflicted the kind of financial loss cash-strapped Afghanistan can ill afford.
The pomegranate juice business was nearly wiped out in the split second it took the militant to detonate explosives in a truck parked near the factory on December 17.
Pieces of shredded metal were scattered everywhere. Chairs were hurled across the office where Sadiq had spent so much time figuring out how to beat the odds against decades of war, instability and hopelessness.
Sadiq was in Dubai drumming up new export deals when an assistant called with the bad news. The call that Sadiq said he did not get is also troubling him.
"So far no officials, for the sake of sympathy, have called us," Sadiq, 40, told Reuters, standing beside a year's supply of juice in containers that were ruined in the attack - nearly $10 million in losses overall.
"In this situation they should have called me and asked what kind of help they could provide. The agriculture, finance, commerce ministries. Nobody so far has visited or called."
The impact of the war, and expectations for the future, are often seen only through the eyes of Western or Afghan soldiers, or officials who point to the progress that has been made.
Sadiq offers another perspective. Some workers told him the bomber triggered the loudest blast they had heard in 30 years.
A Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was followed by a decade of resistance by mujahideen fighters who drove them out. Then warlords carved out fiefdoms and destroyed half of the capital in the civil war that followed.
DIRTY POLITICS
The Taliban took over, were toppled in 2001 and are now raising fears they may return when U.S.-led NATO troops hand over security to Afghan forces in 2014.
But Sadiq does not see the Taliban as the biggest threat to Afghanistan's future. Instead, he says, officials have turned politics into a commercial enterprise driven by corruption.
"Government employees think it's time to fill their pockets and grab whatever they can. That will pave the way for civil war," said Sadiq, as workers feverishly loaded boxes of the little fruit juice left onto a truck, and others worked to rebuild a brick wall.
"You have to struggle, not run away. It is kind of like running away now. They have walls around themselves sitting there and they do not have contact with ordinary Afghans."
His disillusionment is shared by the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
"There is no guarantee for investment in Afghanistan. People are afraid of the government, there is no rule of law. Government officials can do anything they want," the chamber's first vice-chairman, Jan Alokzai, told Reuters.
"President (Hamid) Karzai's words are only on paper and don't have any value."
Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government says it is committed to building up the economy, attracting foreign investment and helping Afghans secure a brighter future. Karzai says it is contracts with foreigners that spread graft.
WISHFUL THINKING?
The government has highlighted 2014 as a year to invest in Afghanistan, which relies heavily on foreign aid, and to take advantage of its cheap labor and land leases.
In each of the 10 years following 2014, the government hopes revenues from oil, natural gas, iron, copper and other mining ventures will generate $4 billion in revenue.
Sadiq spent time in Europe, waiting for an opportunity to return and invest in his homeland. He eventually opened a factory in an industrial park along Kabul's dusty Jalalabad Road in 2008, from where he broke into overseas markets.
Spring Wish, which employed about 1,000 people, was selling produce to the health conscious in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, bringing money into Afghanistan, while anxious Afghans carted $4.5 billion in cash out of the country last year to safety.
But when asked about the maps on a wall identifying parts of Afghanistan which offer opportunities for farmers and businesses like his, Sadiq could only put his head in his hands and cry.
The dark red seeds from Sadiq's fruits were prized in Europe for their antioxidant qualities, and in Japan where many believe they can help fight cancers. He seems most proud of the fact that he helped 40,000 farmers across Afghanistan earn a living.
As Sadiq tries to persuade his staff to keep dreaming big and to rebuild, one question may haunt him for some time. The suicide bomber parked his truck in a lane between his company and a foreign firm.
The Taliban said it attacked an American company next door, but he still wonders whether his factory, which relied on Italian machinery and benefited from U.S. aid programs, was the target. And he acknowledges he is desperate for money from Western donors.
"Around 120 people were working here and this factory was totally destroyed in the suicide attack," said Mohammed Jaw, 28, a general operator for the company. "A number of our workers will lose their jobs and now everyone is concerned about what happens next."
Despite the loss, Sadiq's entrepreneurial and marketing spirit seems intact.
"Have you tried the juice with mulberry flavor?" he asked proudly. "It's really good."
Then a worker brought the moment back to reality. He lifted his cellphone to show a photograph of the suicide bomber's severed head.
(Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Three Afghans dead in new blast at U.S. base in Afghan east
By Elyas Wahdat | Reuters
KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three people in an attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the same base where a suicide bomb attack killed seven CIA employees three years ago.
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the eastern town of Khost, saying they had sent a suicide bomber driving a van packed with explosives to the base.
"The target was those who serve Americans at that base," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Afghanistan's NATO-led force said the bomber did not get into the base nor breach its perimeter. Police said the three dead were Afghans who were outside the base, which is beside a military airport.
The al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, widely regarded as the most dangerous U.S. foe in Afghanistan, is active in Khost province, which is on the Pakistani border.
After more than a decade of war, Taliban insurgents are still able to strike strategic military targets, and launch high-profile attacks in the capital, Kabul, and elsewhere.
Three years ago, an al Qaeda-linked Jordanian double-agent killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian intelligence officer in a suicide bombing at the same base in Khost, known as Forward Operating Base Chapman.
It was the second deadliest attack in CIA history.
Afghan police official General Abdul Qasim Baqizoy, the Khost police chief, said no CIA agents were hurt on Wednesday.
Afghan authorities are scrambling to improve security across the country before the U.S. combat mission ends in 2014.
Besides pressure from the Taliban, U.S.-led NATO forces also face a rising number of so-called insider attacks, in which Afghan forces turn their weapons on Western troops they are supposed to be working with.
On Monday, an Afghan policewoman killed a U.S. police adviser at the Kabul police headquarters, raising troubling questions about the direction of the war.
It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such an attack.
On Tuesday, Afghan officials said the woman has an Iranian passport and moved to Afghanistan 10 years ago. There was no suggestion that Iran was involved in the attack on the American.
Officials suspect she may have been recruited by al Qaeda or the Taliban, and had intended to also kill Afghan police officials.
(Reporting by Elyas Wahdat; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Robert Birsel)
3 insurgents detained in eastern Afghanistan: ISAF
KABUL, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Three insurgents were detained in operations in eastern Afghan provinces, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a press release on Wednesday.
"Afghan and coalition forces detained three insurgents, located one weapons cache and cleared one improvised explosive device (IED) during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours," the ISAF's Regional Command-East (RC-East) said in the release.
The captured insurgents were arrested by the joint forces in Terezayi district, Khost province, 150 km southeast of Afghan capital Kabul, it said.
The IED and the weapons cache were found in Baraki Barak district, Logar province, 60 km south of Kabul, according to the ISAF release.
"Operations in RC-East are ongoing," the release noted.
The Afghan security forces and more than 100,000 NATO-led coalition troops continue to press Taliban insurgents and other militant groups in the country, despite a decrease in violent attacks due to cold weather in an imminent winter in the militancy- hit country.
Earlier on Wednesday, an Afghan policeman and two Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban suicide car bombing near a coalition base in eastern Khost province.
Afghanistan Taliban appears to be softening stance
The militant group in Afghanistan has suffered military setbacks and seems to be more willing to bargain, observers say. Others aren't convinced
By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times December 27, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — Recent pronouncements by the Taliban have raised the possibility that the insurgents may be softening their stance on what a future without U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan might look like.
But even among those who are most optimistic about reviving a stalled peace process, there is hesitation about prospects for reaching a political settlement before the bulk of NATO forces pull out in 2014. And others dismiss the Taliban's overtures as propaganda designed to build the group's political profile among Afghans and the international community.
At informal talks last week in France with Afghan government officials and members of the political opposition, Taliban representatives said the militant group wasn't looking to monopolize power and would be willing to govern with other factions. They also promised to grant rights to women and ethnic minorities, which they have violently repressed.
But there is reason for caution. According to some local and Western accounts, the group is riven by internal power struggles. Preliminary contacts between the United States and the Taliban's political representatives in Qatar met with a backlash from the group's military commanders that helped scuttle that initiative.
The insurgents are well aware of growing calls in the United States for an accelerated withdrawal from Afghanistan, and some appear to believe it makes more sense to wait out international troops than to come to the bargaining table.
The Taliban cut off contacts with the U.S. in March, accusing officials of failing to follow through on proposals to hand over several senior insurgents held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier known to be held by the Taliban. The proposed swap had been intended as a confidence-building measure.
President Hamid Karzai's own efforts at establishing a channel with the Taliban have also foundered.
In September 2011, a suicide bomber posing as a Taliban emissary killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former Afghan president and head of the High Peace Council set up by the government to conduct negotiations with the insurgents.
The government appears to have made more progress with recent overtures to Pakistan, which agreed to release at least nine Taliban prisoners who Afghan officials thought could help jump-start the peace process. But government officials would like Pakistan to do more, including using its influence to persuade the Afghan insurgents to begin formal negotiations.
Pakistan has ties to the Taliban that date back to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and many experts believe it continues to support the insurgents as a hedge against nuclear archrival India.
Although the Taliban refuses to negotiate with the Afghan government, which it derides as a "puppet" of the United States, it agreed to send two representatives to France to present its views. The envoys read a speech that was later circulated to journalists.
Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a former Taliban envoy who represented the government's High Peace Council at the talks hosted by a French think tank at a secluded chateau near Paris, described the encounter as a "very successful step … toward peace and reconciliation."
"It was the first time in 10 years that the people of Afghanistan from different tribes, different political lines, including the government and opposition, came together around one table and discussed the problems of this country," he said. The views expressed "were not that much different."
He noted that there were two female Afghan parliamentarians among the participants and said there was joking between them and the Taliban representatives about the "excellent progress" made by the group on women's rights, given their willingness to sit at the same table.
The Taliban has suffered military setbacks, particularly in the south of Afghanistan, and U.S. officials have said the pressure is drawing some militants to the bargaining table.
A State Department official had no comment on the contents of the Taliban's speech. But he said, "We support such meetings and discussions among Afghans about the future of Afghanistan, and we will do whatever we can to support a peaceful political settlement."
Gran Hewad of the Afghanistan Analysts Network said the Taliban of today is not the same movement that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
"It's clear that the Taliban is not as popular as they were … or as strong," he said. "This is an opportunity. They are signaling that they are willing to talk, that they want to go forward."
But others aren't convinced that the line taken by the Taliban in France represents a genuine policy shift.
"It's too early to say," said Fazil Sancharaki, a spokesman for the National Coalition of Afghanistan, the party of President Hamid Karzai's main rival in the 2009 elections, Abdullah Abdullah. "On the one side, they are continuing their fighting; on the other side, they are taking part in political talks."
Gen. Atiqullah Baryalai, a former deputy defense minister and prominent member of the Northern Alliance that battled the Taliban in the 1990s, was blunter. "They are playing with words," he said. "It is just propaganda."
Baryalai said he believes the militants are probably buying time until the 2014 Western pullout, when he said they intend to make their move.
The speech delivered by the Taliban's representatives in France reiterated many of the group's long-standing policies. It said that the Taliban's "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" is the nation's "legitimate government" and insisted that all foreign forces leave the country.
It also demanded a new constitution because it said the current one was "written under the shadows of B-52 aircraft."
And it appeared to rule out Taliban participation in a presidential election scheduled for 2014, saying the poll would not be "beneficial for solving the Afghan quandary" because it will be organized under occupation.
Even the pledge to grant rights to women appeared to contain caveats.
"Women in Islam have the right to choose husbands, own property, right to inheritance and right to education and work," the speech said. "The Islamic Emirate will safeguard the rights of women such that their legitimate rights are not violated … and Islamic requirements endangered under the guise of education and work."
The government, for its part, maintains that the Taliban must agree to renounce violence, recognize the constitution, cut ties with foreign terrorists and respect human rights.
"Peace efforts are part of the process," Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said this week. "All these issues can't be resolved in one, two or three meetings. We hope that this process of meetings, consultations and dialogue, which includes all the key Afghan sides, will continue."
alexandra.zavis@latimes.com
Special correspondent Hashmat Baktash contributed to this report.
Afghanistan marks 33rd year of Soviet Union invasion
By Sajad Khaama Press December 26, 2012
Afghanistan marks the 33rd year of Soviet Union invasion in Afghanistan. The former Soviet Union deployed over 25,000 troops equipped with modern military equipment to Afghanistan on 27 December 1979, which sparked aggressive reactions of the Afghan people.
According to reports over 1 million Afghans were killed while around 3 million others were forced to flee Afghanistan to neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s history since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded to prop up a sympathetic government, has been dark and often violent. The Soviet army’s 1989 withdrawal was followed by a civil war and domination by warlords. That in turn gave rise to the Taliban, which seized power shortly before it was toppled by a U.S. invasion in retaliation for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was a costly and, ultimately, pointless war. Historical hindsight has made this evident. However, exactly why the Red Army wound up in direct military conflict, embroiled in a bitter and complicated civil war—some 3,000 kilometres away from Moscow—is a point of historiographical uncertainty. The evidence available suggests that geopolitical calculations were at the top of the Kremlin’s goals.
Afghan analysts believe the invasion by former Soviet Union had negative impacts on political, economical and social affairs of Afghanistan which also paved the way for the intervention of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan.
under cover of an ongoing Soviet military buildup, heavily-armed elements of a Soviet airborne brigade were airlifted into Kabul, Afghanistan, to violently overthrow the regime of President Hafizollah Amin.
On December 27th, 1979, Amin was shot by the Russians and he was replaced by Babrak Karmal. His position as head of the Afghan government depended entirely on the fact that he needed Russian military support to keep him in power. Many Afghan soldiers had deserted to the Mujahideen and the Karmal government needed 85,000 Russian soldiers to keep him in power.
The Mujahideen proved to be a formidable opponent. They were equipped with old rifles but had a knowledge of the mountains around Kabul and the weather conditions that would be encountered there. The Russians resorted to using napalm, poison gas and helicopter gun ships against the Mujahideen – but they experienced exactly the same military scenario the Americans had done in Vietnam.
By 1982, the Mujahideen controlled 75% of Afghanistan despite fighting the might of the world’s second most powerful military power but in the meantime they were at war with itself in Afghanistan with hard line Taliban fighters taking a stronger grip over the whole nation and imposing very strict Muslim law on the Afghanistan population.
Former Afghan Mujahideen leaders also believe that the former Soviet Union invasion which led to communist coup was the starting point of all the tragedies in Afghanistan.
Over 30 years have passed from the Soviet Union invasion however Afghanistan still face major challenges and negative impacts of the incident. There are also concerns that the issues will continue for several years ahead which will create barriers for development in Afghanistan.
Hard feelings on both sides as U.S. winds down its Afghan role
Relations between U.S. and Afghan forces are strained — by suspicion among the Americans and resentment among their counterparts — as the 2014 pullout approaches.
Los Angeles Times By David Zucchino December 25, 2012
SUROBI, Afghanistan - Col. Babagul Aamal is a proud veteran of 28 years in the Afghan National Army. Short and fit, with a thick black beard, he's a leader who blurts out exactly what he's thinking.
"I don't talk politics — I talk facts," Aamal said, wearing a sweater beneath his uniform in his unheated command office on a dusty base 40 miles east of Kabul.
It shames him, Aamal said, that he is not allowed to wear his pistol when he enters the fortified gate of the new American military base next door. Though he's a brigade commander, he's required to stand before an airport-type scanner with his arms raised, almost in surrender.
Yet when Americans visit Aamal's base, they are not searched. They are offered chai tea. And they bring half a dozen soldiers armed with M-16s, so-called Guardian Angels on the lookout for "insider attacks" by Afghan soldiers.
"Afghan generals get searched by low-ranking foreign soldiers," Aamal said. "Our soldiers see this, and they feel insulted."
As American troops shift from combat to advising, the ominous specter of insider attacks has strained the relationship between the two armies.
Sixty-two Western coalition troops have been killed this year in 46 such attacks, leaving many American soldiers deeply suspicious of their erstwhile allies.
At the same time, some Afghan officers and soldiers say they feel abandoned and patronized. After 11 years, they say, certain Americans still don't respect Afghan customs.
Moreover, they complain that the United States is pulling out without providing the weapons and equipment needed to hold off the Taliban.
"The Americans have the weapons, so they go wherever they want. It's like this is their country," the brigade's public affairs officer, Maj. Ghulam Ali, said with a weary shrug.
Officers and soldiers encountered during three days spent with the Afghan army were upbeat and enthusiastic about taking over the fight. But many also said they felt slighted by what they perceive as a chronic lack of resources.
At a desolate battalion base beneath towering snowcapped mountains, Lt. Col. Hussian Hadl sat in his office, shivering in an overcoat and puffing on a cigarette. The electricity was on, but only because Hadl was using precious fuel to run a generator for a visit by an American journalist.
Hadl's 1st Battalion recently took over the base from a French military unit, which had fuel for generators. Hadl said he's been supplied enough fuel to power communications equipment, but not for heat or lights.
His 700 men have 40 Humvees, he said, but half the vehicles are in the shop, awaiting parts. There's barely fuel for 20 of them. The battalion has just three heavy machine guns, he says, and no rounds for its Russian-made mortars.
Inside the chilly officers' mess hall, 1st Lt. Ali Ahmad wolfed down a hot meal of goat and rice. He said the Afghans would like to use traditional Afghan wood stoves, called bukharis, but there are no stovepipes in the French-constructed buildings, and no firewood.
"I'm not worried about the Americans leaving. I'm not worried about the Taliban," Lt. Col. Hadl said. "I'm worried we won't have enough weapons and fuel to fight on our own."
For the 2,700 soldiers in Col. Aamal's 3rd Brigade of the 201st Corps, the fight against the Islamist militants who once ran Afghanistan is largely their own. Aamal described three recent combat operations he said were planned and carried out by his men, with minimal advice from Western forces.
But he also pointed to 27 trucks that sit idle on the base, waiting for replacement batteries. Humvees, parked in a line, need new brake pads. There is not enough fuel for heat. He blames the Afghan Defense Ministry and the coalition forces.
"How can my soldiers perform under these conditions?" Aamal asked. "Some of them can't survive like this, and they just walk away and quit."
Aamal says his relations with the coalition hit a low point under the French, who occupied the adjoining base before the American unit arrived. "Let me be blunt: The French didn't like us," Aamal said.
When three Afghans were badly wounded by a roadside bomb, he said, the French took three hours to provide a medevac helicopter. By then, one of the soldiers had died. The copter flew another of the soldiers to a Kabul military hospital, but Aamal said he was told to transport the third man — and the body of the dead man — by road.
Aamal hopes for a better relationship with his new neighbors, the 2nd Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division. He's met the Americans only a few times, he said, and they seem eager to help.
"But we'll see," he said.
The colonel cited incidents involving U.S. soldiers elsewhere that have enraged Afghans: the slaying of 16 villagers in Kandahar province, for which Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales is accused, and the inadvertent burning of Korans by U.S. soldiers at the Bagram air base.
"These things make Afghan soldiers feel their self-respect has been taken away," Aamal said. "They feel like servants."
The American battalion is part of the first new "security force assistance brigade" assigned to advise Afghan soldiers as the U.S. prepares to remove all combat troops by the end of 2014. Seven more assistance brigades are to arrive in coming months.
A reporter embedded with the Afghans was not permitted by U.S. military authorities to interview members of the 2nd Battalion because he was not embedded with the unit. But because of insider attacks, the reporter was allowed to sleep on the U.S. base at Aamal's request. The colonel said he could not guarantee that his men wouldn't attack the journalist.
"I'm afraid one of my soldiers might do something foolish," Aamal said. "Even I, as an Afghan officer, cannot know what is inside that Afghan soldier's heart and mind."
Three of four soldiers now defending the country are Afghans. By the middle of next year, NATO's International Security Assistance Force expects Afghan forces to take responsibility for the entire nation.
As Afghans take the lead, casualties are increasing. An average of 110 Afghan soldiers and 200 police officers are killed in action each month, a sharp increase from a year ago, according to the Defense Ministry.
As of Sept. 30, ISAF had turned over 330 bases to Afghan security forces. About 250 remain in ISAF hands.
Equipment and supplies are paid for primarily by the U.S. and distributed by the Defense Ministry. Over the years, American officers have said that much of that is stolen or sold by ministry officials, or by field commanders. They have also said Afghan units don't properly conserve fuel and ammunition, and fail to maintain vehicles.
"Logistics is an area where we need to improve our efforts," said Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz, an ISAF spokesman.
Charlie Stadtlander, another spokesman for the coalition forces, said the Afghan army had "made great strides" in logistics. He cited an operation last month in which the army supplied 10,000 troops with fuel for 16 days with no ISAF assistance.
At the same time, the U.S. inspector general for Afghanistan reported this month that the NATO training mission could not account for $201 million in fuel supplied to the Afghan army because NATO officers had shredded fuel purchase documents.
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi, a Defense Ministry spokesman, denied any serious logistics problems, except for shortages of vehicle parts.
Supplies of ISAF materiel will continue through 2013, said James Graybeal, an ISAF spokesman.
"Once initial fielding is complete, it is Afghanistan's responsibility to provide and maintain any additional and replacement equipment," he said.
Aamal, the colonel, is skeptical. "We don't have our own air support, artillery, medevac," he said. "We can't suddenly create these things."
Some of the equipment his brigade is using was provided in the 1980s by Russia, which Aamal served as an Afghan officer. The colonel worries that the Defense Ministry's inability to supply units will force a cut in troop strength from 195,000 to 165,000.
"It's embarrassing to keep asking someone else for your basic needs," he said.
Even so, morale seems reasonably high. The colonel's men appear better disciplined and more professional than Afghan soldiers in other units in the past.
At checkpoints along the crucial Kabul-to-Jalalabad highway, the troops were alert and polite. There were no demands for bribes or searches for valuables.
High above Hadl's base, at an observation site built into the shoulder of a blue-gray escarpment, Pvt. Khair Mohammed manned a lonely guard post. He spends 20 to 30 days on each shift, joined by eight other soldiers.
Mohammed scanned the misty gray mountains for signs of insurgents. They periodically fire rockets at his post, usually without effect.
Mohammed considers himself adequately supplied and fed. Far below, a tiny figure was hiking up the escarpment, a suitcase-sized plastic container of hot food strapped to his back. It was a soldier, making a 40-minute hike, straight up, to deliver lunch.
For firepower, Mohammed had half a dozen magazines of 30 rounds each for his M-16, his only weapon. No matter how well his unit is supplied, or how soon the Americans leave, he said, he's in the middle of a war and can't stop to worry about such things.
"We're ready to fight the enemy, with or without the foreigners," he said. "We're fighting him now, all alone up here."
david.zucchino@latimes.com
Special correspondent Hashmat Baktash contributed to this report.
Taliban representation agreement in Qatar finalized: Rassoul
By Sayed Jawad Khaama Press December 26, 2012
Afghan foreign ministry says agreement for the Taliban representation in Qatar is due to be finalized in a bid to prevent sporadic sessions in other foreign countries with the Taliban group.
Afghan parliament house on Tuesday summoned foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul to breif Afghan lawmakers regarding the Paris conference on Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul told Afghan lawmakers, “We are working to codify the agreement with Qatar and it is almost finalized. This will be the only place outside of Afghanistan to hold talks. All other Afghan related talks will be held inside the Afghan soil.”
He said there will be no need for Berlin or Paris in the future.
Zalmai Rassoul also said currently various nations are following the same practice as of 1990 and are organizing different sessions in order to bring stability in Afghanistan.
He insisted that Afghanistan is an independent country and all related issues to Afghanistan should be discussed within the Afghan soil. “All the issues that we face currently have agreement environment in Afghanistan and there is no need to hold Afghan related talks outside the country. The Afghan government has not invited anyone to Paris but Afghan peace officials were present in the conference”, foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul said.
In the meantime a number of civil society organizations criticized Paris conference which was organized behind closed doors. The organizations warned that Afghan people will not agree with any peace deal that will comprise with the decade old achievements in human rights.
Deputy civil society network and independent human rights of Afghanistan Wazir Ahmad Khurami said, “The civil society of Afghanistan has a precise view and we welcome peace in Afghanistan. Afghans will never agree with any peace deal that will compromise with achievements towards human rights during the past ten years.”
This comes as the Taliban group in Paris conference said they do not agree with the current government and constitution.
Civil society representatives insisted that the agenda for any session related to Afghanistan should not be hidden from the Afghan people and decision regarding the future of Afghanistan should not be taken behind closed doors.
Bona Fides of Taliban Representatives At Paris Meeting Unclear: MoFA
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that there is insufficient information about the backgrounds of the two Taliban representatives at the Paris meeting, and that the Afghan government has not identified which Taliban faction the two represented.
"It is yet not clear which group the two Taliban members were representing," said Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasool. He was called to the Senate to address the body's concerns over the Paris meeting.
"There is no need of holding such meetings outside the country. The meetings for [peace] talks should be held in Afghanistan," said Rasool.
Shahabuddin Delawar and Naeem Wardak represented the Taliban and read a prepared statement that called, among other things, for amendments to the Constitution. The meeting was organized by a French research organization and had the tacit backing of the French government.
During Rasool's questioning, a number of senators criticised the government's foreign policy, especially towards neighboring countries.
"The government has no unified foreign policy, and in most cases there is contradiction in what government officials state," said Senator Gul Ahmad Azami.
"Peace cannot be achieved by begging other countries. Most countries prioritize their own interests," said Senator Belqis Roshan, referring to the government's recent cooperation with Pakistan in the peace negotiations.
"Those who took part in the Paris meeting seek to cover their crimes by changes to the Constitution," she added, criticizing the Taliban demand for the amendment of the Constitution as their plan to seek amnesty for their actions.
Senator Rafiullah Haidari said the Paris meeting was not representative enough and did not have someone representing those who fought in the Afghan jihad.
"Representatives of most factions were not present at the Paris meeting. Those who were present at the meeting did not represent the people and Jihadi parties," Haidari noted.
Pakistan-Afghanistan Trilateral Summit in Turkey: Mild Affair – Analysis
Eurasia Review By Monish Gulati December 25, 2012
Abdullah Gül, President of Turkey, Hamid Karzai the President of Afghanistan, and Asif Ali Zardari, the President of Pakistan, held their seventh Trilateral Summit Meeting in Ankara on 11 and 12 December 2012. The meeting took this high level dialogue, security cooperation and economic development partnership between the three countries, under the ‘Trilateral Ankara Summit Process’, into its seventh year. The trilateral process was launched in April 2007 and subsequent trilateral summits have been hosted by Turkey in December 2008, April 2009, January 2010, December 2010 and November 2011.
Turkey, besides having close cultural relations with the two countries is also a part of the US-led NATO force in Afghanistan and has sought to raise its international standing in recent years by playing host to a series of high-level diplomatic events in the region. The country was even considered as a possible location for the Taliban political office but the Taliban preferred Qatar instead. President Abdullah Gul in a speech at the inauguration of the 63rd U.N. General Assembly had sought support for Turkey’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council saying “Turkey has not been represented at the Council for nearly half a century”.
The Joint Statement adopted at the conclusion of the seventh trilateral summit recognized the importance of the efforts of the High Peace Council of Afghanistan and its chairman Mr. Salahuddin Rabbani in bringing peace to Afghanistan, appreciated the progress achieved in the Istanbul Process for a secure and stable Afghanistan and reaffirmed their commitment to the decisions of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA-V) held in Dushanbe on 27 March 2012, the Regional Conference on Countering Narcotics held in Islamabad on 12 November 2012 and the Economic Cooperation Organization held on 16 October 2012 in Baku. The three leaders also expressed their support for the Istanbul Forum mechanism, which comprises of the apex organizations of the private sectors of the three countries, and is a part of the trilateral summit process. The trilateral summit identified the need to improve cooperation in border management in order to address all cross-border challenges, including terrorism, nar
cotics and human trafficking,
Malala Yusufzai, too found a mention and was wished a speedy recovery. Incidentally, President Zardari arrived at Ankara for the trilateral summit from Paris where he pledged $10m (£8m) for girls’ education at a “Stand Up For Malala” advocacy event at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO in the name of Malala .
A hotline, operational since 09 Dec 2012, has also been established to facilitate communication among the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey “in times of crisis”.
Three points of significance can be identified with respect to the current trilateral summit. The first was the emphasis on improving the transport connectivity among the three partner countries, leading to enhanced inter-modal transport capacity amongst them. Afghanistan agreed to join a railway project that already connects Istanbul, Tehran and Islamabad. The rail link is called the Gül train after the Turkish President Abdullah Gül. The Gul train, formerly known as the ECO train, is an international freight train service between Islamabad and Istanbul via Tehran, Iran. The train which covers 6,500 kilometers in 16 days, was launched on 14th August 2009 on trial basis.
Transportation Minister of Turkey met with his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts during the summit to discuss steps towards more effective use of available transportation links among the three countries. Members appreciated the efforts made by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey to ensure efficient and safe operation of the Istanbul–Tehran–Islamabad container train and the establishment of TOBB International Logistics Management Company for the purpose.
Second, was the signing of the Trilateral Memorandum of Understanding which provides for the establishment of a Trilateral Trade Council, for the promotion of foreign investment, enhancing and diversifying commercial ties and exploring possibilities for cooperation in services sector amongst the three countries. The Trilateral Trade Council will be convened annually or when the parties deem it necessary. Under the framework of the Council, the three governments have agreed to provide the necessary facilities to the businessmen of the three countries to increase trade. The entrepreneurs and organizations of the three countries would also be encouraged to participate in exhibitions, fairs and other promotional activities. The MOU, though signed for a period of one year, would be renewed automatically for successive periods of one year on consent of the three countries.
The third point relates to military cooperation. Military and intelligence chiefs of Afghanistan and Pakistan began attending the trilateral summit for the first time in April 2009. According to Turkish general staff, the three countries agreed to conduct joint military exercises during the tripartite summit meeting in December 2010. The joint military exercise is one of the tangible results of the trilateral summit process. In addition, the trilateral summit seeks to encourage joint military training programmes as a means to improving their inter operability and fostering good relations amongst the armed forces. A joint Special Forces and Natural Disaster Search and Rescue exercise was conducted as an associated event to the Seventh Trilateral from 5-9 November 2012, in Ankara.
Earlier in 2011, 128 soldiers from Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan employing helicopters, tanks and other weapons participated in a trilateral urban warfare exercise in southeastern Istanbul. The military exercise scheduled from March 19 to 26, was staged in an infantry brigade school command in the Tuzla district, about 100 km east from downtown Istanbul. At the 6th Trilateral Summit Pakistan had also got Kabul to agree to let Pakistan impart training to Afghan troops and police inside Afghanistan.
Prior to the start of the seventh Trilateral Summit there were two issues looming prominently over the event. First, was the Taliban attack on Asadullah Khalid, Director of National Security of Afghanistan in Kabul a week earlier. Speaking after the attack, Karzai had stopped short of directly blaming Pakistan but said he knew “for a fact” that the bomber came from Pakistan and that Kabul would seek clarification from Islamabad during meeting in Turkey. The attack was almost identical to the last year’s assassination of the country’s chief peace negotiator, Burhanuddin Rabbani. President Zardari said that the attack on the Afghan spy chief was an effort to prevent the two governments from cooperating. It was decided at the summit that a joint working group comprising relevant agencies of Afghanistan and Pakistan will look into the incident. The attack found mentioned in the summit joint statement.
The second issue was the Afghan sponsored “Peace Process Roadmap to 2015”, a five step plan offered to Pakistan in November this year. The roadmap includes an end to cross-border shelling and the transfer by Pakistan of Taliban prisoners to Afghanistan/ a third country.However, the situation has been complicated by the Taliban’s unwillingness to talk to the Karzai government and they also ruled out the role of Pakistan in solution unless an agreement with the US is first reached. Importantly Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia and Great Britain have a role to play in this roadmap. There indications that Afghanistan and Pakistan would advance the initiative in Turkey. However, the ‘roadmap’ it did not find mention in the summit joint statement nor did any other political solution to the war in Afghanistan.
This article appeared at the South Asia Monitor and reprinted with permission.
'Pak friendly' US Senator Kerry's latest appointment 'good news' for country: Editorial
Islamabad, Dec. 26 (ANI): The replacement of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Senator John Kerry has been welcomed by Pakistan for more reasons than one, according to an editorial in a Pakistani daily.
The editorial in The Express Tribune has stated the following instances that where Sen. Kerry has shown his support for Pakistan- In September this year, when Sen. Rand Paul asked the US Senate to pass his amendment asking for all assistance to be cut off to Pakistan on the question of Dr Shakil Afridi, Sen. Kerry took him on, challenging his contention that Pakistan was not a friend of US and rebuked him for making his remarks without ever once having visited Pakistan, it said.
Earlier in 2011, President Barack Obama sent Senator Kerry to Pakistan to talk to the power centres of Pakistan to break the deadlock in Pak-US relations. As his visit unfolded, the US press noted that "Pakistan is vital to US efforts to combat Islamist militants and to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, where US forces depend on Pakistani supply lines for water, food, fuel and other essentials", it added.
The Pak-US equation dipped perilously after the Bin Laden killing. However, Sen. Kerry became a part of the diplomacy, leading to the reopening of NATO supply routes in 2012. He was seen as a friend of Pakistan and was effective in moderating views on both sides of the quarrel till they were ready to place their relationship on a new footing. He continued to emphasise the Pakistani point of view while putting forward the concerns of the Obama Administration, the editorial said.
He was in Islamabad again in May 2012 asking for a "reset" of Pak-US relations. The US was not yet sure about the option of offering apology for the Bin Laden incident but it was clear that Kerry's diplomacy was unleashed to test the waters in Pakistan before flexibility was adopted on the issue, it further said.
Sen. Kerry's 24-hour visit was meant to soothe Pakistani anger at not being informed about the raid because the US was keeping the situation in Afghanistan on top of its 'endgame' agenda. He gave the first signal for the positive developments that followed, climaxing in American acceptance of Pakistan's concerns about post-withdrawal Afghanistan, the editorial added. (ANI)
Afghan Minister: "Government Close to Announcing New 10-year Tax Holiday for Investments Made Over the Next Two Years"
Press Release: Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce
MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- December 2-4, 2012, In his opening Keynote Address at the "8th Annual U.S. Afghanistan Business Matchmaking Conference 2012", when describing the climate for investment during the critical "transition" period in Afghanistan, the Minster of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan, Dr. Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi, stated that, "the government of Afghanistan is close to announcing a new 10-year tax holiday for investments made over the next two years". This anticipated incentive, combined with a liberal regulatory environment and complemented with greatly expanded infrastructure and a growing number of skilled professionals and workers educated or trained abroad or graduated from local institutions, make for enhanced prospects for investment in a promising region of the world for economic growth.
Dr. Ahadi, a former Central Bank Governor and Finance Minister (remarks), went on to say that "a tight monetary policy has ensured that inflation is low and the exchange rate for the national currency, the Afghani, is stable. Thousands of kilometers of new highways, expanding transmission lines and a new railway can support investments in export-oriented sectors including cashmere, marble, carpets, and agriculture as well as development of local industries to replace current imports of refined petroleum products, cement, steel, poultry, edible oils, sugar, dairy products, and light manufactured goods".
U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Raymond 'Ray' LaHood (awaiting remarks) expanded upon the Minister's remarks when he commented on the enormous potential for Afghanistan as transportation, logistics and distribution hub for the vast emerging South and Central Asian market. He reviewed details of the DoT's work in Afghanistan and said his "Department and the Administration are committed to a successful Afghanistan". Secretary LaHood commented on the tremendous improvements in Afghanistan's infrastructure for road, air and rail and the impending increase in regional connectivity as crucial to the future of the country.
The conference focused on ways in which U.S. companies can tap into business opportunities in Afghanistan and the region and realize the value of partnering with Afghan companies and entrepreneurs. The Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC) held the Conference in Washington, D.C. on December 2nd to 4th at the Ronald Reagan Building -- International Trade Center with related evening activities at the JW Marriott Washington, D.C. Hotel directly across the street.
Security is such a big concern for everyone investing in Afghanistan and this issue was addressed head-on by Col. Ret'd. U.S. Army, James Bullion, Director of the DoD Task Force promoting business in Afghanistan (remarks). Bullion stated that "investment in Afghanistan is being held back by perceptions that simply do not reflect the reality of most of the country today". He gave examples of how businessmen and women across the country are building their enterprises apart from, and in spite of, conflict areas. He mentioned that one recognized index of global violence has Afghanistan ranked 119th in the world, "well less than many Central American and African countries". Drawing parallels with Africa, where foreign investment is supporting widespread development, he described support for the extraction of minerals, infusions of international equity for traditional Afghan industries, and establishing entrepreneurship training centers and small business incubators.
Some 400 participants, including businessmen and women, financial organization representatives and government officials, from both the U.S. and Afghanistan, registered for the conference, including were some 100 participants from Afghanistan.
Ms. Holly Vineyard, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, ITA, (awaiting remarks) spoke about the expanding presence of the Department of Commerce (DoC) on the ground in Afghanistan as 'transition' points the way to greater and greater focus on the market economy. The DoC Task force on Afghanistan Reconstruction has been working for years in various sectors of the economy such as carpets, marble, construction and agriculture value chains, they are receiving greater resources to engage in these and other areas of the economy.
Col. Ret'd. U.S. Army, Mr. James Balocki, the Chief of International and Interagency Services of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (awaiting remarks) outlined future developments in Afghanistan. The Corps supports almost a thousand individual construction projects for the NATO military and Afghan security forces, and importantly local development funds support a variety of grass roots projects and an Afghan Infrastructure Fund supports major civil development projects.
Focusing on collaboration among the Government, Military and Business Communities, Mr. Hugh Haworth, a Senior Economics Advisor with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (remarks), indicated how USAID has shifted from large infrastructure projects to training, advising and assisting Afghans to maintain the gains already achieved and allow Afghans themselves to progress into the future. On a national scale, USAID is working with the Afghan power utility to effectively collect revenue covering its costs, completing large-scale hydropower projects and supporting the Ministry of Public Works with systems to maintain roads and public infrastructure. He advised as to how Afghan businesses are shifting from dependence on military and donor contracts to new opportunities with agriculture food chains, telecommunications expansion, and efforts to re-establish Afghanistan as a center of regional trade among other opportunities.
His Excellency Noorullah Delawari, the Governor (PPP), brought back to the Governorship of the Afghan Central Bank by President Karzai in the wake of the Kabul Bank collapse, described how the banking system learned and is now healthier. He outlined the major improvements in regulatory oversight of the banking system and went on to describe how the Afghan Central Bank has maintained a stable Afghan currency and managed liquidity in the local financial market.
Complementing these keynote addresses, expert panels addressed opportunities in agriculture and food processing; telecommunications and information technology, mining and natural resource development; transportation and logistics; construction and infrastructure; culture and tourism; and finally, financing and promoting the Afghan private sector. These panels, including both private sector and government representatives, addressed the practical experiences of Afghan and foreign businesses and investors, new opportunities for U.S. companies, and the Afghan perspective on commercial opportunities. The full Conference Agenda is available on the AACC website.
Opportunities for networking and private discussions were provided by an evening Welcoming Reception, networking breaks between meetings, business luncheons and a Mix & Mingle Dinner and Awards Reception featuring the presentation of the AACC Business of the Year Award to Nadim M. Amin of Afghan Resources Group (ARG); the Performance Excellence and Support for AACC Award to Zamari M. Kamgar of Kam Group; and an Award from the Chairman of Afghanistan's Senate, Fazal Hadi Muslimyar,to AACC President & CEO, Hon. Don Ritter for Building Business and Economic Bridges Between the U.S. and Afghanistan. (Award Speeches)
Highly popular with attendees, one-on-one networking discussions were conducted for some two hours in the afternoons where AACC arranged for individual consultations by attendees with panelists and speakers from relevant businesses, trade associations and government agencies.
An AACC Information and Communications Technology Working Group demonstrated new communications technologies that enable Afghans using high speed satellite connections to get real time support by experts abroad teamed with a translator at a 3rd location.
AACC is deeply grateful for those sponsors who literally made the conference possible with their generous support.
U.S. Military Charity Reaches Out to Afghans In Need
CBS News By Kitty Logan December 25, 2012
At this time of year, there are always plenty of special deliveries to U.S. forces around Afghanistan. But at this coalition air base in the capital Kabul, troops are busy sorting through parcels which are not for them. This is part of the work of Operation Outreach, a military charity. The supplies are donations from Americans for Afghans in need. The Outreach team packs up winter clothing, school supplies, and hygiene items to be handed out to impoverished local people.
"We solicit donations from back home. People send stuff in the mail," says Captain Treone Cooley, President of Operation Outreach. "We make missions ourselves out into the community and we also co-ordinate with people locally that are going out and send stuff out with them. We focus mainly on women and children, but the goal is those that are in need and those who are impacted by the war effort."
Although the project operates all year round, this is a crucial time of year to help the poorest, with temperatures dropping below freezing at night. The Outreach troops make the most of the season of goodwill and ask fellow soldiers to chip in at Christmas market on the base. Within an hour their donation box is full.
Treone and her team load up with goody bags and head out to visit a local day care center. There is a rush of excitement as they arrive with gifts of soft toys and schoolbooks for the children. Their mothers work for a low wage and struggle to afford anything more than essential items. The day care center has few resources, so this is a rare and special treat for the kids.
"I got a pen and a schoolbook,' says nine-year old Medina, who immediately sets about drawing pictures. 'I'm really happy.'
Another Outreach volunteer, Shakia Rose, sits on the floor, surrounded by small children clutching their new toys. She smiles and jokes with the children, who are clearly enjoying making a new friend.
This is also an important opportunity for Americans to play a positive role in the local community -- at a time when trust between Afghans and Americans is being tested following a series of so-called 'insider attacks', in which Afghan troops turn on their international colleagues, this is a positive step.
"If we're out there and we're talking to the people and we're helping them and making even a minor difference in their lives, they're going to remember that," says Shakia. "They're going to remember that they stayed warm, because it was somebody from ISAF that gave them a blanket. They're going to remember that my child didn't die because we were able to provide them medical supplies. So I think it's making a tremendous difference and I think they really know that we're here to help."
The Operation Outreach team has also come up with an economical and innovative solution for local people who cannot afford winter fuel. They use recycled paper from the base to make special "fuel pucks," which can provide heat for up to an hour. Shredded paper is mixed with sawdust and water, compressed by hand in a homemade press and laid out to dry. The troops produce the pucks after they finish normal duty on the base - which means operating in dark, freezing tent with no electricity.
"It can get a little cold in the winter time, but I feel it's good just to help the nation of Afghanistan out, the families," says Technical Sargent Robert Hudson, who is in charge of the fuel puck production. "All of us volunteer our time. This is not our normal duty. We take time out of our personal time."
Once dried, the fuel pucks are donated to the very poorest of the poor. On Christmas morning a group of volunteers take them out to a refugee camp on the outskirts of Kabul. The conditions are shocking. Families live in dilapidated buildings, or in ramshackle shelters surrounded by a sea of mud. They have no electricity, or running water - - and critically, no source of heat, or cooking fuel. Last winter, 17 children froze to death in camps like these. Seemingly unaware of the risks her lifestyle holds, a small girl in bright pink coat and shiny blue scarf smiles and happily chats to the visitors, hopeful that they will brighten her day.
One of the families at the camp makes a small fire from the fuel pucks and puts a kettle on to boil for tea. A small comfort perhaps, amongst their miserable surroundings. But as we leave a woman shouts out for more help. The volunteers vow to return with more supplies.
Whatever they do here, it will never be quite enough to bring these people out of dire poverty.
Ministers, Governors, Deputies Accused of Corruption: Attorney General
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Tuesday, 25 December 2012
The Attorney General's Office said Tuesday that 62 corruption-related cases are currently under investigation, and those implicated include ministers, provincial governors and deputy ministers.
The charges against these officials include misuse of authority, abuse of public property and contract irregularities.
The AGO didn't specify the officials implicated, but said the corruption case against Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal was dropped due to a lack of evidence, although they are investigating other cases in the ministry.
"We received 234 corruption-related cases, out of which 24 were closed due to lack of evidence, 148 were sent to the Supreme Court, and 62 are under investigation," said Sayed Alam Ishaqzai, head of the Afghan Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office.
Electronic IDs Will Reduce Forgery: Official
TOLOnews.com By Haseeb Maudoodi Tuesday, 25 December 2012
With the distribution of new electronic ID cards starting next month, officials emphasized Tuesday that the new cards will reduce forgery.
In an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, head of the Electronic ID Cards Distribution Department of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, Masoom Farhad, stressed that the cards would be difficult for outsiders to duplicate.
"These cards are made of polycarbonate and will be only recognizable by MoI machines, which prevents the neighboring countries from duplicating them," Farhad said, adding that fingerprints, iris scans, number of family members, income data and other necessary information will be encoded on the cards.
According to Farhad, the distribution of electronic ID cards will provide employment opportunities for more than 5,000 people.
He added that it will take at least seven years to distribute ID cards to all the residents of the country, while 80% of Afghans will have their cards in three years.
"We need seven years to distribute electronic ID cards to all the residents of the country, but if the government provides us more resources, we could accomplish the mission possibly in five years," he added.
The whole process, including its technical aspects, will cost $222 million, out of which $101 million will be paid by the Afghan Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, and the remaining $121 million will be covered by the MoI.
Kabul Shopkeepers Claim Property Loss Before Fire
TOLOnews.com By Zabihullah Jhanmal Tuesday, 25 December 2012
The shopkeepers of the recently burnt Kabul market claimed Monday that their shops were robbed ahead of the fire that engulfed about 600 shops.
"The shops and safes were already opened ahead of our arrival. A government delegation should come to the scene and witness everything closely," one of the shopkeepers said.
Other shopkeepers blamed firefighters for the thefts and poor performance in containing the fire.
"I don't know what the firefighters were here for -- they didn't do their job satisfactorily," said another shopkeeper who lost his shop in Sunday's incident.
Store owners also complained of police misbehavior when they prevented shopkeepers from entering their burning shops to secure cash and other valuables from their safes.
Security officials dismissed the allegations of theft and misbehavior.
"We didn't behave badly with the people. The shopkeepers were coming to the shops and opening their safes. Some of them might have left them opened," said Col. Sultan Shinwari, police district 1 chief.
The Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries urged the government to support the shopkeepers who lost their shops and exempt them from income taxes.
Afghanistan Makes Insurance of Commercial Areas Mandatory
TOLOnews.com By Anwar Hashimi Tuesday, 25 December 2012
The Council of Ministers in its last meeting has ordered the mandatory insurance of all commercial centers in the country and directed the Ministry of Finance to oversee that all businesses are ensured within three months.
The decision comes after last week's devastating fire in Kabul's old commercial district that destroyed around 600 shops, inflicting heavy losses to merchants.
The Council has also ordered the Attorney General, the Ministry of Interior, the Kabul Governor and the city municipality to investigate the cause of the fire and draft a prevention plan.
Kabul's currency exchange association chief, Najibullah Akhtari, has expressed worries over the poor electrical wiring in most commercial buildings as a potential risk factor.
Heavy Snow Cuts Access to 10 Badakhshan Districts
TOLOnews.com Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Heavy snowfall has cut road access to more than 10 districts in the northern Badakhshan province, local officials said Tuesday.
The districts include Ashkashim, Sheghnan, Kohistan, Raghistan and Shekay, according to Provincial Spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasikh.
He warned that the food aid sent by the National Disaster Management Authority to these districts before the snowfall is insufficient and called on the government to send more food and supplies to the province.
"If the roads remain blocked the same as last year, the residents of these 10 districts will face major issues," Rasikh warned.
Dozens were killed and several others went missing in avalanches last year.
Shekay District, which borders Tajikistan, was completely swept away.
Badakhshan is one of the country's poorest and most remote regions. Parts of it are shut off by heavy snow for at least six months of the year.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com