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Karzai Orders Probe Into Prison Torture Allegations
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 22, 2013
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has assigned a team to investigate claims by the United Nations that prisoners in government custody were being tortured and abused.
A presidential office statement on January 22 said the delegation will "fully investigate the claims of torture, mistreatment, death threats, and sexual abuse" in detention facilities.
The statement said the delegation should report back to Karzai within two weeks "so that follow-up measures can be taken."
In a report issued on January 20, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that "torture persists and remains a serious concern in numerous detention facilities across Afghanistan."
The report said that such practices continue despite efforts by the United Nations and international forces during the past year.
Afghan authorities have denied the UN report's claims.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL, AP, and dpa
Afghan Officials Differ Over Torture Use in Prisons
TOLOnews.com By Shakeela Ahbrimkhil Monday, 21 January 2013
Afghan officials are divided over a report claiming systemic torture is used in Afghanistan's prisons, with some accepting the findings of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (Unama) report while others emphatically deny it.
Musa Mahmoodi, head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, accepted the conclusions in the report released late Sunday night.
"We confirm the torture in Afghan detention centers," he said in an interview with TOLOnews. "The government should prevent such acts."
However, the Ministry of Interior and National Directorate of Security (NDS), both of which have authority over prisons and detainees, rejected the report.
"The Ministry of Interior dismisses the allegation of mistreatment, systematic torture, beating with pipes or cables, forced confessions, hanging and other types of torture mentioned in the report. We are ready to investigate about all the above allegations together with Unama," Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Rahman Rahman said at a press conference in Kabul.
Acting NDS chief suggested prisoners had lied about their treatment to Unama investigators.
"Because an intelligence war is going on in the country, they [the enemy] want to pressure security forces and the spy agencies in any opportunity they get. Those prisoners who complained to Unama have been trained by the foreign spy agencies that are deceiving both the Unama and security organs," NDS acting chief Gen. Hasamuddin said at the same conference.
Unama said in its findings that torture in Afghan prisons continues to be widespread despite its recommendations to end the practices in a similar report in 2011.
The report claimed authorities are still torturing prisoners, such as hanging them by their wrists and beating them with cables, despite a year having passed since it first documented the abuse and the Afghan government promised reform.
More than half of the 635 detainees interviewed by Unama investigators were ill-treated or tortured particularly in 34 facilities of the Afghan National Police and the NDS between October 2011 and October 2012, the report said.
Furthermore, there were instances where Afghan authorities tried to hide the mistreatment from UN monitors and have refused to prosecute those suspected of torturing, the report said.
After the last report, Nato-led forces refused to transfer prisoners for a time and the practice diminished, Unama said. But once they resumed the transfers and decreased inspections, torture quickly returned to earlier levels.
"Torture cannot be addressed by training, inspections and directives alone," Georgette Gagnon, Unama head of human rights said in a press statement, adding that the Afghan government had done little to follow up its promises.
Gen. John Allen, the commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, said that his staff had written letters to Afghan ministers requesting investigations into more than 80 separate allegations of detainee abuse in the past 18 months.
"To date, Afghan officials have acted in only one instance," Allen said in the letter. That action amounted to the official in question being transferred to a different prison, not fired.
Nato has renewed its decision not to transfer detainees.
"We assess the Unama information as credible information and based on this information we reacted appropriately in suspending the handover of detainees to those certain facilities," Gen. Gunter Katz, spokesman for the Nato-led Isaf said Monday.
The European Union also reacted with a statement saying it welcomes efforts to monitor detention centres and publish reports to ensure human rights are upheld.
"The EU is deeply concerned by the findings about mistreatment of detainees in detention facilities detailed in the UN report released today. Torture and ill-treatment are among the most serious violations of human rights and human dignity," it said.
Taliban attacks in Afghan capital show insurgents' determination to keep fighting
The Associated Press By Amir Shah And Patrick Quinn 21/01/2013
KABUL - Taliban suicide bombers carried out a brazen attack in the Afghan capital on Monday, the second in less than a week and a sign that insurgents are determined to keep fighting despite recent overtures of peace from the U.S. and Afghan government.
The nine-hour assault on the traffic police headquarters, which sent heavy black smoke rising over Kabul, was the second such attack in the heart of the snow-covered capital in six days.
It came a week after the Afghan and American presidents agreed that the Taliban should open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar to facilitate possible reconciliation with the hardline Islamic group. And it occurred just days after Pakistan announced it would release more Taliban detainees to help jumpstart the fragile peace process.
The pre-dawn attack began with two Taliban suicide bombers blowing themselves up at the gates of the police headquarters. Three heavily armed militants, also wearing explosive vests, then stormed the compound, authorities said.
About 90 minutes later, a car packed with explosives blew up near the gate. Such secondary explosive devices often are rigged to timers and designed to kill people responding to the attack.
The three militants who entered the compound battled Afghan security forces for nine hours. Three policemen were killed, said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi. Four traffic policemen and 10 civilians were wounded, he said.
Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi said two suicide bombers died at the gate when they detonated their explosive vests, another blew himself up inside the building and two more were shot and killed by security forces before they managed to detonate their suicide vests.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, which he said targeted a police training facility "run by foreign military forces."
The traffic police headquarters is not heavily guarded, though it is located on a square leading to the parliament and close to a zoo. It also is adjacent to the Afghan Border Police headquarters and a police training facility — possibly the insurgents' primary target. The traffic police facility, usually teeming with civilians seeking driver's licenses and vehicle registrations, was nearly empty when the attack began before the morning rush hour.
The Interior Ministry said many of the civilians were injured by the powerful car bomb. Some were in their homes and hit by shattered pieces of glass.
About two hours after the fighting ended, residents ventured out of their homes and shopkeepers arrived at the scene to see if their stores had been damaged. Two photo shops where people had driver's license pictures taken were nearly reduced to rubble. The explosions created a crater in the cement wall of the traffic police compound. Broken glass littered the street. One man shovelled shards into a wheelbarrow outside his damaged shop.
"We just stayed inside, waiting for it to end," said Fida Mohammad, who works at the Finance Ministry and lives just a few houses from the scene.
He said he was awakened by the explosions and car bombing. He and his family were not hurt, but a woman from a neighbouring house was hit by a stray bullet, he said.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said that during the fight a number of large explosions could be heard inside and around the building, along with heavy gunfire.
On Wednesday, six Taliban suicide bombers attacked the gates of the Afghan intelligence service in downtown Kabul, killing one guard and wounding dozens. That operation bore several similarities to Monday's attack, including the use of a secondary car bomb placed outside the government compound.
The attacks occurred despite the Afghan government's push to get the Taliban to the negotiating table and as President Hamid Karzai and the U.S. negotiate for a quicker pullout of American forces.
After a meeting with Karzai earlier this month in Washington, President Barack Obama said the U.S.-led military coalition would hand over the lead for security around the country to Afghan forces this spring — months ahead of schedule. Obama also said he agreed with Karzai that the Taliban should open a political office in Qatar to facilitate peace talks.
Moreover, Pakistan, a powerbroker in the region, said last week that it plans to release more Afghan militant detainees before international troops finish their drawdown in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. Islamabad made the announcement after talks with Afghan and U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan is thought to be holding more than 100 Taliban prisoners and has so far released 26.
Kabul has pressed hard for Pakistan to release Afghan detainees, with some officials saying that they hope the released Taliban can serve as intermediaries to help prospective talks gain traction. But Washington is worried that some of the detainees might rejoin the fight if released.
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Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Heidi Vogt contributed to this report.
Karzai insists on practical steps for Washington agreements
By Sadaf Shinwari - January 22 2013, 9:44 am Khaama Press
Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with David Pearce, the acting special representative of the United States to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday afternoon.
According to a statement released by Afghan presidential palace media office, “Issues of mutual interest discussed in the meeting included President Karzai’s recent visit to the US, which was described as very productive. Other topic of discussion was the peace process and the Qatar Office.”
The source further added, “President Karzai once again thanked the US for the warm hospitality it extended to the Afghan delegation and noted that it was important that the US now puts into practice the agreements reached in Washington, in particular the full transfer of Bagram prison to Afghan authority and any delay, otherwise, may raise suspicion among the people of Afghanistan.”
“On the issue of Qatar Office to be opened for peace talks with the Taliban, President Karzai once again underlined Afghan government’s position that: those Taliban who take part in the peace negotiations must prove their credibility and hold verifiable authorization of the Taliban leadership”, the statement added.
The statement issued by presidential palace also added, “The President also added that there must be clear and written understanding among Afghanistan, the US and Qatar on the opening of the Office and the follow up arrangements for the peace process.”
President Karzai made it clear that only the High Peace Council can represent the people of Afghanistan at the peace talks, as it was authorized by the Peace Jirga and created by the will of the Afghan people.
Prince Harry's assertion that he killed Taliban in Afghan combat draws intense coverage in UK
By The Associated Press
LONDON - Prince Harry's assertion that he has killed Taliban fighters while deployed in Afghanistan is drawing intense media coverage in Britain and sparking concerns about possible reprisals.
The Daily Mirror ran a page-one headline "Royal Sensation Harry: I Killed Taliban" on Tuesday along with a photo of a macho-looking Harry in combat gear and designer shades.
Other newspapers ran similar gung-ho stories about the prince's military exploits.
His comments were made during a 20-week deployment as a gunner in a British Apache helicopter that has just come to an end. The interview was released for publication Monday night after the 28-year-old Harry was safely out of Afghanistan.
Former officer Charles Hayman, who edits a yearbook on British forces, said the comments may raise the already high threat level against Harry.
British Prince Harry Ends Deployment In Afghanistan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 22, 2013
Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, is on his way back home after his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.
He said while in Afghanistan that he had shot at Taliban insurgents as a co-pilot gunner in an Apache attack helicopter.
"If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game, I suppose," Harry was quoted as saying in "The Guardian" newspaper. "Take a life to save a life...the squadron's been out here. Everyone's fired a certain amount."
Harry also spoke about a Taliban attack on a camp in the southern province of Helmand, which happened on his birthday in September.
He said about 15 soldiers were involved in the attack on the base in the middle of Afghanistan.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Despite a Whiff of Unpleasant Exaggeration, a City’s Pollution Is Real
New York Times By ROD NORDLAND January 21, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan- It has long been a given that the air pollution in this city gets horrific: on average even worse than Beijing’s infamous haze, by one measure.
For nearly as long, there has been the widespread belief by foreign troops and officials here that — let’s be blunt here — feces are a part of the problem.
Canadian soldiers were even warned about it in predeployment briefings, which cited reports that one test had found that as many as 30 percent of air samples contained fecal particles. The Canadians were worried enough that the government ordered a formal investigation, officials say.
“I’ve heard that story for 40 years,” said Andrew Scanlon, the head of the United Nations Environment Program here, who dismissed it as an urban legend. “I think the need by diplomats for danger-pay raises is what has kept reports of fecal matter danger very high.”
He wryly added: “It’s a very compelling story.”
The supposed threat does have a certain logic.
In Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, a city built for half a million people, the wartime population has swollen to five million. Only 5 percent of Kabul’s homes are connected to actual sewerage systems, while most household waste flows straight into open roadside drains. Often their effluvia do not make it far enough to join the floating hypodermic needles and assorted muck of the Kabul River. Thanks to decades of drought, the stuff dries out and becomes part of this place’s ubiquitous dust.
Plus, most homes are heated with a bukhara, the Afghan version of a multifuel stove — and one of the most commonly used fuels is dried animal dung, much cheaper than wood chips or logs.
Kabul, a municipal official declared in 2007, “has the highest level of fecal matter in the atmosphere in the world,” according to a Reuters article that year.
However plausible that claim may sound, it just is not backed up by scientific evidence. No one has been able to find, for instance, the original air-sampling studies on which various reports have based the 30 percent fecal figures.
“It’s just not true,” said Kabul’s mayor, Mohammad Yunus Nawandish. “Kabul air is not as polluted with human feces as they say.”
When the United Nations Environment Program did a study that included air sampling, in 2008, it found plenty to worry about, but mostly what would be expected of a traffic-congested city: a lot of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides. Plus a very high concentration of particulates, known in the trade as PM 10 — which means particles smaller than 10 microns, small enough to penetrate deeply into the lungs, and an important indicator of air pollution — but no specific fecal bits.
A study by the Asian Development Bank and the Afghan government’s environment agency in 2007 similarly found the atmosphere thick with the usual suspects in any city, especially in an underdeveloped country where fuel quality is very poor, but it made no mention of flying feces — although toxic levels of cadmium were noted.
In fact, when the Canadians investigated the matter in response to their worried soldiers, the investigators said that some fecal matter in the air was normal — even in Canada. Some of it could just be bird and flying-insect droppings.
While Kabul might have more because of open sewers and burning dung, that still was not a problem for two reasons: ultraviolet radiation from the sun kills most microbes, and even those that might survive in airborne fecal matter are not the type to invade the body by air; they are the type more likely to infect victims through the mouth or skin.
The investigators were also unable to find the original studies that supposedly found such high levels of fecal matter in the air. “I’d like to point out that I have a vested interest in this,” said a Canadian colonel who was among the debunkers, quoted by Canada’s National Post. “I’m breathing this air, too.”
Kabul may not have an aerial fecal problem, but it is far from off the hook on air pollution. “Any kind of pollution is a problem,” the mayor said.
Kabul’s geography is a big part of that: the city sits on a 6,000-foot-high plateau that looks like the bottom of a bowl, encircled by much taller mountains. The result is atmospheric inversions during fall and winter that trap airborne pollutants.
Dust in dry places like Kabul is a major pollutant. It is not unusual to see police officers and pedestrians here wearing face masks as protection.
Mayor Nawandish was not sure how his city shapes up compared with others in overall pollution. But he said its PM 10 count two years ago was 250 micrograms per cubic meter of air, and this year it has dropped to 190 micrograms. “That’s because we paved a lot of roads and we planted a lot of trees, and those two initiatives brought down pollution a lot,” he said.
Beijing, for comparison, on a bad day has a PM 10 count of 250, and it averages 121; the average across the world is roughly 71, according to World Health Organization statistics.
So Kabul, with an average of 190, is worse than the Chinese capital based on PM 10 count alone. (Researchers, however, say there are other pollutants in Beijing’s air that add to its specific danger.)
It is a deadly serious problem for Afghanistan’s capital. The Asian Development Bank report calculated that such a level of air pollution — even without feces on the fly — would result in 600,000 additional asthma attacks annually and lead to an “excess annual mortality” of 2,287 in Kabul.
That means that Kabul’s atmosphere is more than twice as big a killer of civilians as the war; civilian casualties in the conflict that same year were 1,400 — in the entire country.
4 local Taliban leaders arrested in Afghanistan
KABUL, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have arrested four Taliban local leaders in separate operations, the coalition forces said Tuesday.
"An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader in Lashkar Gah district, Helmand province, today," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release.
The leader controlled improvised explosive device (IED) operations. Insurgents under his control constructed and emplaced IEDs and had recently begun using magnetic IEDs to target Afghan army vehicles in the province 555 km south of capital Kabul, it said without disclosing the name of the man.
He also was responsible for directing insurgent attacks against coalition forces, the release reads.
In neighboring Kandahar province, 450 km south of Kabul, the joint forces captured two leaders in Maiwand and Spin Boldak Districts Tuesday morning, according to the release.
Kandahar and Helmand province has long been a stronghold for insurgent groups despite several military operations by U.S. troops and Afghan security forces over the past couple of years.
In addition, a Haqqani weapons facilitator was destined in Pul- e Alam district, Logar province, 60 km south of Kabul earlier in the day.
"During the operation, the security force seized weapons, ammunition and 300,000 Afghani (5,800 U.S. dollars)," it added.
As a Taliban-linked group of militants, the Haqqani network mostly operates in eastern provinces and Kabul, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces.
The Taliban insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency since its regime was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, has yet to make comments.
Afghan forces and some 100,000 coalition troops have intensified cleanup operations against militants throughout the country recently. However, the insurgents responded by carrying out suicide bombings and organizing IED blasts.
On Monday, three unarmed traffic policemen were killed and 12 others including eight civilians were wounded when Taliban launched a suicide coordinated attack against Traffic Police Headquarters in Kabul, sparking a nine-hour fighting that also left all five attackers dead.
Afghanistan: 17 winter deaths in camps highlight government protection failure
21 January 2013 Amnesty International
At least 17 people, including 11 children, have died mostly from the cold in Afghanistan’s displacement settlements in early January, highlighting the desperate and immediate need for improved aid delivery during the bitter cold winter months, Amnesty International said.
According to information Amnesty International has received, the deaths occurred in camps and settlements in Kabul and Herat provinces. Community leaders there criticized the Afghan government and international aid agencies for inconsistent and inadequate levels of assistance.
“These deaths were a preventable tragedy that unfortunately shows the inadequate co-ordination of winter assistance to hundreds of thousands of people living in displacement camps across the country,” said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.
“The fact that children and the elderly are among the dead highlights the need to protect those groups that are most vulnerable to the harsh winter conditions. Priority must be given to those most at risk during the winter months, such as children, the elderly, people with disabilities and those needing medical care, including pregnant women.”
The previous 2011/12 winter was unusually cold in Afghanistan, and more than 100 people, mostly children, died in displacement camps as a result of the harsh winter conditions.
Amnesty International and other NGOs have repeatedly made calls to the Afghan government and the international community to avoid a repeat of last year’s tragic deaths, including in an open letter on 19 October 2012, signed by 30 NGOs.
Amnesty International spoke to representatives for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a settlement in Balkh district in northern Balkh province, from the Maslakh IDP settlement in western Herat province and from several settlements in Kabul. The camps together house thousands of IDPs.
IDP representatives from Balkh province reported that they had not received any kind of aid supplies despite repeated requests to the government and international agencies.
They spoke of extremely harsh cold weather conditions, with heavy snowfall and a lack of both protection from the elements and enough food to eat.
The deaths all occurred in the first two weeks of January – four in Herat and 13 in Kabul.
In Herat, assistance reached refugees returning to Afghanistan from abroad, but aid to those internally displaced was apparently blocked after pressure from the Herat provincial governor’s office. The local authorities there are said to be concerned that offering aid to IDPs will encourage them to stay in camps permanently instead of returning to their home provinces.
“These deaths show the urgent need to protect all IDPs, to improve coordination and assistance, and to identify areas where IDPs find themselves without assistance. Aid has been unevenly distributed across the country, meaning that those displaced in outlying provinces like Balkh and some Herat IDPs are suffering disproportionately,” said Truscott.
IDP community leaders also said that no food supplies were included in the winter assistance packs, while fuel supplies provided were not enough to last the winter. With few jobs or other sources of income available, displaced families often lack the resources to buy sufficient food and fuel.
Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan with one of the highest internally displaced populations in the world, estimated to be 450,000, according to UNHCR- but the actual number is likely to be much higher.
The Afghan government is working on a much-needed comprehensive policy for IDPs that should recognize their protection and humanitarian needs, but efforts to assist and protect IDPs cannot wait – particularly over the winter.
“There is a desperate need to act now to prevent further deaths this winter. This should include effective coordination between the government and agencies, and the timely provision of emergency winter supplies – like blankets, warm clothes, tarpaulins, clothing, stoves, water, fuel and food,” said Truscott. “Afghanistan and its donor partners should remember that safeguarding lives in these settlements is an obligation under international law.”
In February 2012, Amnesty International released the report Fleeing war, finding misery: The plight of the internally displaced in Afghanistan on the desperate conditions facing Afghanistan’s half a million internally displaced.
128 policemen complete 3-month training in S. Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 120 policemen after completion of three-month training course received certificates and commissioned to the National Police Force in Kandahar province 450 km south of Kabul on Tuesday.
"Today 128 policemen graduated from a three-month training course in Kandahar province and will be deployed in Kandahar and Zabul provinces," commander of Police Training center in the southern region, Nasrullah Zarifi said in his address at the graduation ceremony.
With giving training to the national police and deploying them to different parts of the country, the law and order will be further improved, he said.
The strength of Afghan police has reached to more than 150,000. Afghanistan would have 350,000-storng national security forces including police and army to ensure security after the pullout of NATO-led troops from the country in 2014.
Afghan withdrawal may prompt more to seek asylum
By chief political correspondent Simon Cullen Tue Jan 22, 2013 ABC Australia
The withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan could prompt an increase in the number of Afghans seeking refuge around the world, including in Australia, according to a new report by the global consultancy group STATT.
Australian forces are due to hand over control for security in Uruzgan province to local authorities by the end of this year, ahead of the 2014 withdrawal of coalition troops.
The report by STATT, which lists AusAID as a recent donor, warns that any protracted conflict caused by the transition of power in Afghanistan will likely cause "mass displacement" of people.
It says those living in the central regions of Afghanistan who become affected by any violence will "orient" themselves to Kabul, Iran and Australia.
However, the report notes that traditional western destinations for Afghans seeking long-term relocation have become less welcoming in recent years, in part because of their financial support for the international military intervention.
"The international commitment to development and security in Afghanistan has contributed to Western destinations' willingness to prevent asylum-seeking, their inclination to decide that Afghans are not refugees and their domestic latitude to enforce returns," the STATT report states.
According to STATT, the increasingly restrictive asylum policies in western nations have prompted an "ironic price spiral".
"Development money from foreign donors has increased the number of Afghans who can afford to subvert those donors' border controls in order to claim asylum or live illegally there," the report states.
The report also suggests that Afghanistan's "elites" are likely to pursue family visas through relatives in Europe, Australia and North America.
According to the analysis by STATT, any medium-term problems in Afghanistan will present challenges to the international refugee system, adding that it would be wise to undertake contingency planning.
Of the 35,729 asylum applications made globally by Afghans in 2011, more than 93 per cent were made to European countries.
However, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there was a 59 per cent increase in the number of Afghans who applied for asylum in Australia during the first half of 2012 compared with corresponding period in 2011.
So far this year, the Australian Government says five asylum seeker boats have been intercepted by authorities, although it is unclear where the passengers originally came from.
Fewer boats traditionally arrive in Australian waters over the summer monsoon season.
You Thought Your Commute Was Bad? Welcome to Kabul
Jan 22, 2013 7:39am ABC News
KABUL, Afghanistan – Donkeys. Crater-sized potholes. Burqa-clad street squatters. Unpredictable street closures. Pickup trucks filled with heavily armed guards and mercenaries. Monster-truck size armored convoys. And a construction season that never ends.
Oh, and the threat of IED’s and suicide attacks.
Welcome to just another ordinary commute in Kabul.
It’s perhaps the most jarring feature of a city that’s survived 30 years of war. When you come to Kabul, there are a lot of things you expect to see: Walled compounds, security guards, helicopters flying overheard.
What you don’t expect is the traffic. I’m not talking ordinary, exit-at-the-next-turnpike traffic. I’m talking sprawling, bumper-to-donkey-to-cart traffic that snarls for hours. With no working traffic lights and even fewer stop signs, Kabul is a veritable nightmare for getting around. A 10 kilometer commute can often take longer than two hours, even longer if there’s just been a snowfall.
Even roads in the supposedly nicest areas of the city – the places where Afghan warlords have built ridiculously monstrous supersize-me gated mansions – feature potholes so deep they resemble shallow graves.
Getting to your destination typically means weaving through a sea of wooden carts, cyclists, beggars, phone card dealers, and other drivers who pass so close if they roll down the window, they’d be close enough to light your cigarette.
And if you asked them, they probably would.
In a city where might rules the road, where the only traffic rule is that whoever has the most guns in their vehicle gets to go wherever they want, Kabul’s army of traffic cops is cleared out-gunned. First, because most don’t carry guns. And second, because most drivers have never had any formalized, structured training on the rules of the road.
The end result: Drivers will often drive the wrong way directly into oncoming traffic, and the police are powerless to stop it.
Kabul Insurgent Attack Shows Security Weakness: MOI
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Monday, 21 January 2013
The Ministry of Interior has admitted that the storming of Kabul Traffic Department's headquarters by insurgents has revealed the deficiencies of security and intelligence organisations.
A five-man attack launched in the early hours of Monday morning gripped Kabul until the afternoon as the insurgents held off security forces for more than eight hours while attempting to launch explosives from the traffic department windows.
Senior Deputy Minister of Security Affairs Abdul Rahman Rahman acknowledged that the scale of the attack calls into question the capacity of Afghanistan's intelligence bodies and security measures.
"We accept that we have some deficiencies in our intelligence organisations," Abdul Rahman Rahman said at a press conference.
All the more concerning is that Kabul city boasts tougher security with numerous police checkpoints aimed at preventing the transfer of weapons, but Monday's attack was the second in less than a week where insurgents proved to be heavily armed with guns and explosives.
Six armed insurgents launched an attack on the National Directorate of Security (NDS) office in Kabul's Sedarat Square last Wednesday.
Both attacks used car bombs to force a way through walled compounds.
NDS acting chief Hassamudin, who only goes by one name, backed the spy agency's work.
"Our work and information-gathering will continue but unfortunately some incidents like today's will happen," he told reporters.
The concerns for security are important ahead of the planned handover of the whole country to Afghan forces from the Nato forces by the end of 2014.
Nato special forces were involved in bringing an end to today's attack but last Wednesday NDS guards managed to repel the attackers in less than 30 minutes.
Govt Adviser Seeks 'Justice' Over Tolo TV Show
TOLOnews.com By Azim Arash Monday, 21 January 2013
An adviser at the Ministry of Finance has asked justice organs to follow up Tolo TV comedy show which he claims humiliated him in one of its sketches Wednesday night.
Sayed Hamed Daqiq, who is unable to walk, said at a press conference in Kabul that the weekly Tolo TV* show Zang-e Khatar (Danger Bell) ridiculed him in its skit about a man who worked as a high-ranking government advisor but who could neither walk nor use his arms and who had to be carried everywhere.
"I urge the government to follow this up through the justice organs," he said Monday. "This is not only a humiliation for me and also for all those who are disabled in the country."
Mustafa Mastoor, Deputy Minister of Finance, joined Daqiq in calling for an explanation from Tolo TV and the producers of Zang-e Khatar.
"We want the Tolo TV officials and the Zange Khatar colleagues to explain this. If this was a mistake made by them then they should confess," Mastoor said.
Tolo TV Editor-in-Chief Sediq Ahmadzada dismissed the claims saying said that show was not humiliating to anyone but that it will not do the same skit in the future.
"I dismiss the claims from the Finance Ministry officials," he said.
"Our position is very clear that we did not humiliate anyone or any organs in the past but we will not do the same in the future either. Zange Khatar is an entertaining programme," he added.
AISA Pledges Industrial Parks for Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Monday, 21 January 2013
The Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) plans to build four industrial parks across Afghanistan by the end of 2013, AISA chief Wafiullah Eftekhar said Monday.
The industrial parks will ease the problems faced by Afghan and foreign investors in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat provinces, he said.
"Our priority is to build an industrial park in the Kamari area of Kabul because most of the Afghan and foreign investors are seeking lands for their investments. We want to accelerate the process to build four industrial parks across Afghanistan," Eftekhar said.
Kamari, in the suburbs of Kabul, covers more than 3000 acres of land.
The investors have welcomed the decision saying that it will boost investments and will increase employment opportunities to thousands of the people in the country.
"If these parks are built across Afghanistan, it will help the investors to start soon. It also improves the economy and provides employment opportunities to the people," head of Industrial Parks Abdul Jabar Safi said.
According to AISA, the land for the parks will also be distributed to those currently investing in rental properties.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 22, 2013
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has assigned a team to investigate claims by the United Nations that prisoners in government custody were being tortured and abused.
A presidential office statement on January 22 said the delegation will "fully investigate the claims of torture, mistreatment, death threats, and sexual abuse" in detention facilities.
The statement said the delegation should report back to Karzai within two weeks "so that follow-up measures can be taken."
In a report issued on January 20, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that "torture persists and remains a serious concern in numerous detention facilities across Afghanistan."
The report said that such practices continue despite efforts by the United Nations and international forces during the past year.
Afghan authorities have denied the UN report's claims.
Based on reporting by RFE/RL, AP, and dpa
Afghan Officials Differ Over Torture Use in Prisons
TOLOnews.com By Shakeela Ahbrimkhil Monday, 21 January 2013
Afghan officials are divided over a report claiming systemic torture is used in Afghanistan's prisons, with some accepting the findings of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (Unama) report while others emphatically deny it.
Musa Mahmoodi, head of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, accepted the conclusions in the report released late Sunday night.
"We confirm the torture in Afghan detention centers," he said in an interview with TOLOnews. "The government should prevent such acts."
However, the Ministry of Interior and National Directorate of Security (NDS), both of which have authority over prisons and detainees, rejected the report.
"The Ministry of Interior dismisses the allegation of mistreatment, systematic torture, beating with pipes or cables, forced confessions, hanging and other types of torture mentioned in the report. We are ready to investigate about all the above allegations together with Unama," Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Rahman Rahman said at a press conference in Kabul.
Acting NDS chief suggested prisoners had lied about their treatment to Unama investigators.
"Because an intelligence war is going on in the country, they [the enemy] want to pressure security forces and the spy agencies in any opportunity they get. Those prisoners who complained to Unama have been trained by the foreign spy agencies that are deceiving both the Unama and security organs," NDS acting chief Gen. Hasamuddin said at the same conference.
Unama said in its findings that torture in Afghan prisons continues to be widespread despite its recommendations to end the practices in a similar report in 2011.
The report claimed authorities are still torturing prisoners, such as hanging them by their wrists and beating them with cables, despite a year having passed since it first documented the abuse and the Afghan government promised reform.
More than half of the 635 detainees interviewed by Unama investigators were ill-treated or tortured particularly in 34 facilities of the Afghan National Police and the NDS between October 2011 and October 2012, the report said.
Furthermore, there were instances where Afghan authorities tried to hide the mistreatment from UN monitors and have refused to prosecute those suspected of torturing, the report said.
After the last report, Nato-led forces refused to transfer prisoners for a time and the practice diminished, Unama said. But once they resumed the transfers and decreased inspections, torture quickly returned to earlier levels.
"Torture cannot be addressed by training, inspections and directives alone," Georgette Gagnon, Unama head of human rights said in a press statement, adding that the Afghan government had done little to follow up its promises.
Gen. John Allen, the commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, said that his staff had written letters to Afghan ministers requesting investigations into more than 80 separate allegations of detainee abuse in the past 18 months.
"To date, Afghan officials have acted in only one instance," Allen said in the letter. That action amounted to the official in question being transferred to a different prison, not fired.
Nato has renewed its decision not to transfer detainees.
"We assess the Unama information as credible information and based on this information we reacted appropriately in suspending the handover of detainees to those certain facilities," Gen. Gunter Katz, spokesman for the Nato-led Isaf said Monday.
The European Union also reacted with a statement saying it welcomes efforts to monitor detention centres and publish reports to ensure human rights are upheld.
"The EU is deeply concerned by the findings about mistreatment of detainees in detention facilities detailed in the UN report released today. Torture and ill-treatment are among the most serious violations of human rights and human dignity," it said.
Taliban attacks in Afghan capital show insurgents' determination to keep fighting
The Associated Press By Amir Shah And Patrick Quinn 21/01/2013
KABUL - Taliban suicide bombers carried out a brazen attack in the Afghan capital on Monday, the second in less than a week and a sign that insurgents are determined to keep fighting despite recent overtures of peace from the U.S. and Afghan government.
The nine-hour assault on the traffic police headquarters, which sent heavy black smoke rising over Kabul, was the second such attack in the heart of the snow-covered capital in six days.
It came a week after the Afghan and American presidents agreed that the Taliban should open a political office in the Gulf state of Qatar to facilitate possible reconciliation with the hardline Islamic group. And it occurred just days after Pakistan announced it would release more Taliban detainees to help jumpstart the fragile peace process.
The pre-dawn attack began with two Taliban suicide bombers blowing themselves up at the gates of the police headquarters. Three heavily armed militants, also wearing explosive vests, then stormed the compound, authorities said.
About 90 minutes later, a car packed with explosives blew up near the gate. Such secondary explosive devices often are rigged to timers and designed to kill people responding to the attack.
The three militants who entered the compound battled Afghan security forces for nine hours. Three policemen were killed, said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi. Four traffic policemen and 10 civilians were wounded, he said.
Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi said two suicide bombers died at the gate when they detonated their explosive vests, another blew himself up inside the building and two more were shot and killed by security forces before they managed to detonate their suicide vests.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, which he said targeted a police training facility "run by foreign military forces."
The traffic police headquarters is not heavily guarded, though it is located on a square leading to the parliament and close to a zoo. It also is adjacent to the Afghan Border Police headquarters and a police training facility — possibly the insurgents' primary target. The traffic police facility, usually teeming with civilians seeking driver's licenses and vehicle registrations, was nearly empty when the attack began before the morning rush hour.
The Interior Ministry said many of the civilians were injured by the powerful car bomb. Some were in their homes and hit by shattered pieces of glass.
About two hours after the fighting ended, residents ventured out of their homes and shopkeepers arrived at the scene to see if their stores had been damaged. Two photo shops where people had driver's license pictures taken were nearly reduced to rubble. The explosions created a crater in the cement wall of the traffic police compound. Broken glass littered the street. One man shovelled shards into a wheelbarrow outside his damaged shop.
"We just stayed inside, waiting for it to end," said Fida Mohammad, who works at the Finance Ministry and lives just a few houses from the scene.
He said he was awakened by the explosions and car bombing. He and his family were not hurt, but a woman from a neighbouring house was hit by a stray bullet, he said.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said that during the fight a number of large explosions could be heard inside and around the building, along with heavy gunfire.
On Wednesday, six Taliban suicide bombers attacked the gates of the Afghan intelligence service in downtown Kabul, killing one guard and wounding dozens. That operation bore several similarities to Monday's attack, including the use of a secondary car bomb placed outside the government compound.
The attacks occurred despite the Afghan government's push to get the Taliban to the negotiating table and as President Hamid Karzai and the U.S. negotiate for a quicker pullout of American forces.
After a meeting with Karzai earlier this month in Washington, President Barack Obama said the U.S.-led military coalition would hand over the lead for security around the country to Afghan forces this spring — months ahead of schedule. Obama also said he agreed with Karzai that the Taliban should open a political office in Qatar to facilitate peace talks.
Moreover, Pakistan, a powerbroker in the region, said last week that it plans to release more Afghan militant detainees before international troops finish their drawdown in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. Islamabad made the announcement after talks with Afghan and U.S. officials in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Pakistan is thought to be holding more than 100 Taliban prisoners and has so far released 26.
Kabul has pressed hard for Pakistan to release Afghan detainees, with some officials saying that they hope the released Taliban can serve as intermediaries to help prospective talks gain traction. But Washington is worried that some of the detainees might rejoin the fight if released.
___
Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Heidi Vogt contributed to this report.
Karzai insists on practical steps for Washington agreements
By Sadaf Shinwari - January 22 2013, 9:44 am Khaama Press
Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with David Pearce, the acting special representative of the United States to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday afternoon.
According to a statement released by Afghan presidential palace media office, “Issues of mutual interest discussed in the meeting included President Karzai’s recent visit to the US, which was described as very productive. Other topic of discussion was the peace process and the Qatar Office.”
The source further added, “President Karzai once again thanked the US for the warm hospitality it extended to the Afghan delegation and noted that it was important that the US now puts into practice the agreements reached in Washington, in particular the full transfer of Bagram prison to Afghan authority and any delay, otherwise, may raise suspicion among the people of Afghanistan.”
“On the issue of Qatar Office to be opened for peace talks with the Taliban, President Karzai once again underlined Afghan government’s position that: those Taliban who take part in the peace negotiations must prove their credibility and hold verifiable authorization of the Taliban leadership”, the statement added.
The statement issued by presidential palace also added, “The President also added that there must be clear and written understanding among Afghanistan, the US and Qatar on the opening of the Office and the follow up arrangements for the peace process.”
President Karzai made it clear that only the High Peace Council can represent the people of Afghanistan at the peace talks, as it was authorized by the Peace Jirga and created by the will of the Afghan people.
Prince Harry's assertion that he killed Taliban in Afghan combat draws intense coverage in UK
By The Associated Press
LONDON - Prince Harry's assertion that he has killed Taliban fighters while deployed in Afghanistan is drawing intense media coverage in Britain and sparking concerns about possible reprisals.
The Daily Mirror ran a page-one headline "Royal Sensation Harry: I Killed Taliban" on Tuesday along with a photo of a macho-looking Harry in combat gear and designer shades.
Other newspapers ran similar gung-ho stories about the prince's military exploits.
His comments were made during a 20-week deployment as a gunner in a British Apache helicopter that has just come to an end. The interview was released for publication Monday night after the 28-year-old Harry was safely out of Afghanistan.
Former officer Charles Hayman, who edits a yearbook on British forces, said the comments may raise the already high threat level against Harry.
British Prince Harry Ends Deployment In Afghanistan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 22, 2013
Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, is on his way back home after his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.
He said while in Afghanistan that he had shot at Taliban insurgents as a co-pilot gunner in an Apache attack helicopter.
"If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game, I suppose," Harry was quoted as saying in "The Guardian" newspaper. "Take a life to save a life...the squadron's been out here. Everyone's fired a certain amount."
Harry also spoke about a Taliban attack on a camp in the southern province of Helmand, which happened on his birthday in September.
He said about 15 soldiers were involved in the attack on the base in the middle of Afghanistan.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Despite a Whiff of Unpleasant Exaggeration, a City’s Pollution Is Real
New York Times By ROD NORDLAND January 21, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan- It has long been a given that the air pollution in this city gets horrific: on average even worse than Beijing’s infamous haze, by one measure.
For nearly as long, there has been the widespread belief by foreign troops and officials here that — let’s be blunt here — feces are a part of the problem.
Canadian soldiers were even warned about it in predeployment briefings, which cited reports that one test had found that as many as 30 percent of air samples contained fecal particles. The Canadians were worried enough that the government ordered a formal investigation, officials say.
“I’ve heard that story for 40 years,” said Andrew Scanlon, the head of the United Nations Environment Program here, who dismissed it as an urban legend. “I think the need by diplomats for danger-pay raises is what has kept reports of fecal matter danger very high.”
He wryly added: “It’s a very compelling story.”
The supposed threat does have a certain logic.
In Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, a city built for half a million people, the wartime population has swollen to five million. Only 5 percent of Kabul’s homes are connected to actual sewerage systems, while most household waste flows straight into open roadside drains. Often their effluvia do not make it far enough to join the floating hypodermic needles and assorted muck of the Kabul River. Thanks to decades of drought, the stuff dries out and becomes part of this place’s ubiquitous dust.
Plus, most homes are heated with a bukhara, the Afghan version of a multifuel stove — and one of the most commonly used fuels is dried animal dung, much cheaper than wood chips or logs.
Kabul, a municipal official declared in 2007, “has the highest level of fecal matter in the atmosphere in the world,” according to a Reuters article that year.
However plausible that claim may sound, it just is not backed up by scientific evidence. No one has been able to find, for instance, the original air-sampling studies on which various reports have based the 30 percent fecal figures.
“It’s just not true,” said Kabul’s mayor, Mohammad Yunus Nawandish. “Kabul air is not as polluted with human feces as they say.”
When the United Nations Environment Program did a study that included air sampling, in 2008, it found plenty to worry about, but mostly what would be expected of a traffic-congested city: a lot of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides. Plus a very high concentration of particulates, known in the trade as PM 10 — which means particles smaller than 10 microns, small enough to penetrate deeply into the lungs, and an important indicator of air pollution — but no specific fecal bits.
A study by the Asian Development Bank and the Afghan government’s environment agency in 2007 similarly found the atmosphere thick with the usual suspects in any city, especially in an underdeveloped country where fuel quality is very poor, but it made no mention of flying feces — although toxic levels of cadmium were noted.
In fact, when the Canadians investigated the matter in response to their worried soldiers, the investigators said that some fecal matter in the air was normal — even in Canada. Some of it could just be bird and flying-insect droppings.
While Kabul might have more because of open sewers and burning dung, that still was not a problem for two reasons: ultraviolet radiation from the sun kills most microbes, and even those that might survive in airborne fecal matter are not the type to invade the body by air; they are the type more likely to infect victims through the mouth or skin.
The investigators were also unable to find the original studies that supposedly found such high levels of fecal matter in the air. “I’d like to point out that I have a vested interest in this,” said a Canadian colonel who was among the debunkers, quoted by Canada’s National Post. “I’m breathing this air, too.”
Kabul may not have an aerial fecal problem, but it is far from off the hook on air pollution. “Any kind of pollution is a problem,” the mayor said.
Kabul’s geography is a big part of that: the city sits on a 6,000-foot-high plateau that looks like the bottom of a bowl, encircled by much taller mountains. The result is atmospheric inversions during fall and winter that trap airborne pollutants.
Dust in dry places like Kabul is a major pollutant. It is not unusual to see police officers and pedestrians here wearing face masks as protection.
Mayor Nawandish was not sure how his city shapes up compared with others in overall pollution. But he said its PM 10 count two years ago was 250 micrograms per cubic meter of air, and this year it has dropped to 190 micrograms. “That’s because we paved a lot of roads and we planted a lot of trees, and those two initiatives brought down pollution a lot,” he said.
Beijing, for comparison, on a bad day has a PM 10 count of 250, and it averages 121; the average across the world is roughly 71, according to World Health Organization statistics.
So Kabul, with an average of 190, is worse than the Chinese capital based on PM 10 count alone. (Researchers, however, say there are other pollutants in Beijing’s air that add to its specific danger.)
It is a deadly serious problem for Afghanistan’s capital. The Asian Development Bank report calculated that such a level of air pollution — even without feces on the fly — would result in 600,000 additional asthma attacks annually and lead to an “excess annual mortality” of 2,287 in Kabul.
That means that Kabul’s atmosphere is more than twice as big a killer of civilians as the war; civilian casualties in the conflict that same year were 1,400 — in the entire country.
4 local Taliban leaders arrested in Afghanistan
KABUL, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have arrested four Taliban local leaders in separate operations, the coalition forces said Tuesday.
"An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader in Lashkar Gah district, Helmand province, today," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release.
The leader controlled improvised explosive device (IED) operations. Insurgents under his control constructed and emplaced IEDs and had recently begun using magnetic IEDs to target Afghan army vehicles in the province 555 km south of capital Kabul, it said without disclosing the name of the man.
He also was responsible for directing insurgent attacks against coalition forces, the release reads.
In neighboring Kandahar province, 450 km south of Kabul, the joint forces captured two leaders in Maiwand and Spin Boldak Districts Tuesday morning, according to the release.
Kandahar and Helmand province has long been a stronghold for insurgent groups despite several military operations by U.S. troops and Afghan security forces over the past couple of years.
In addition, a Haqqani weapons facilitator was destined in Pul- e Alam district, Logar province, 60 km south of Kabul earlier in the day.
"During the operation, the security force seized weapons, ammunition and 300,000 Afghani (5,800 U.S. dollars)," it added.
As a Taliban-linked group of militants, the Haqqani network mostly operates in eastern provinces and Kabul, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces.
The Taliban insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency since its regime was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, has yet to make comments.
Afghan forces and some 100,000 coalition troops have intensified cleanup operations against militants throughout the country recently. However, the insurgents responded by carrying out suicide bombings and organizing IED blasts.
On Monday, three unarmed traffic policemen were killed and 12 others including eight civilians were wounded when Taliban launched a suicide coordinated attack against Traffic Police Headquarters in Kabul, sparking a nine-hour fighting that also left all five attackers dead.
Afghanistan: 17 winter deaths in camps highlight government protection failure
21 January 2013 Amnesty International
At least 17 people, including 11 children, have died mostly from the cold in Afghanistan’s displacement settlements in early January, highlighting the desperate and immediate need for improved aid delivery during the bitter cold winter months, Amnesty International said.
According to information Amnesty International has received, the deaths occurred in camps and settlements in Kabul and Herat provinces. Community leaders there criticized the Afghan government and international aid agencies for inconsistent and inadequate levels of assistance.
“These deaths were a preventable tragedy that unfortunately shows the inadequate co-ordination of winter assistance to hundreds of thousands of people living in displacement camps across the country,” said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.
“The fact that children and the elderly are among the dead highlights the need to protect those groups that are most vulnerable to the harsh winter conditions. Priority must be given to those most at risk during the winter months, such as children, the elderly, people with disabilities and those needing medical care, including pregnant women.”
The previous 2011/12 winter was unusually cold in Afghanistan, and more than 100 people, mostly children, died in displacement camps as a result of the harsh winter conditions.
Amnesty International and other NGOs have repeatedly made calls to the Afghan government and the international community to avoid a repeat of last year’s tragic deaths, including in an open letter on 19 October 2012, signed by 30 NGOs.
Amnesty International spoke to representatives for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a settlement in Balkh district in northern Balkh province, from the Maslakh IDP settlement in western Herat province and from several settlements in Kabul. The camps together house thousands of IDPs.
IDP representatives from Balkh province reported that they had not received any kind of aid supplies despite repeated requests to the government and international agencies.
They spoke of extremely harsh cold weather conditions, with heavy snowfall and a lack of both protection from the elements and enough food to eat.
The deaths all occurred in the first two weeks of January – four in Herat and 13 in Kabul.
In Herat, assistance reached refugees returning to Afghanistan from abroad, but aid to those internally displaced was apparently blocked after pressure from the Herat provincial governor’s office. The local authorities there are said to be concerned that offering aid to IDPs will encourage them to stay in camps permanently instead of returning to their home provinces.
“These deaths show the urgent need to protect all IDPs, to improve coordination and assistance, and to identify areas where IDPs find themselves without assistance. Aid has been unevenly distributed across the country, meaning that those displaced in outlying provinces like Balkh and some Herat IDPs are suffering disproportionately,” said Truscott.
IDP community leaders also said that no food supplies were included in the winter assistance packs, while fuel supplies provided were not enough to last the winter. With few jobs or other sources of income available, displaced families often lack the resources to buy sufficient food and fuel.
Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan with one of the highest internally displaced populations in the world, estimated to be 450,000, according to UNHCR- but the actual number is likely to be much higher.
The Afghan government is working on a much-needed comprehensive policy for IDPs that should recognize their protection and humanitarian needs, but efforts to assist and protect IDPs cannot wait – particularly over the winter.
“There is a desperate need to act now to prevent further deaths this winter. This should include effective coordination between the government and agencies, and the timely provision of emergency winter supplies – like blankets, warm clothes, tarpaulins, clothing, stoves, water, fuel and food,” said Truscott. “Afghanistan and its donor partners should remember that safeguarding lives in these settlements is an obligation under international law.”
In February 2012, Amnesty International released the report Fleeing war, finding misery: The plight of the internally displaced in Afghanistan on the desperate conditions facing Afghanistan’s half a million internally displaced.
128 policemen complete 3-month training in S. Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- More than 120 policemen after completion of three-month training course received certificates and commissioned to the National Police Force in Kandahar province 450 km south of Kabul on Tuesday.
"Today 128 policemen graduated from a three-month training course in Kandahar province and will be deployed in Kandahar and Zabul provinces," commander of Police Training center in the southern region, Nasrullah Zarifi said in his address at the graduation ceremony.
With giving training to the national police and deploying them to different parts of the country, the law and order will be further improved, he said.
The strength of Afghan police has reached to more than 150,000. Afghanistan would have 350,000-storng national security forces including police and army to ensure security after the pullout of NATO-led troops from the country in 2014.
Afghan withdrawal may prompt more to seek asylum
By chief political correspondent Simon Cullen Tue Jan 22, 2013 ABC Australia
The withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan could prompt an increase in the number of Afghans seeking refuge around the world, including in Australia, according to a new report by the global consultancy group STATT.
Australian forces are due to hand over control for security in Uruzgan province to local authorities by the end of this year, ahead of the 2014 withdrawal of coalition troops.
The report by STATT, which lists AusAID as a recent donor, warns that any protracted conflict caused by the transition of power in Afghanistan will likely cause "mass displacement" of people.
It says those living in the central regions of Afghanistan who become affected by any violence will "orient" themselves to Kabul, Iran and Australia.
However, the report notes that traditional western destinations for Afghans seeking long-term relocation have become less welcoming in recent years, in part because of their financial support for the international military intervention.
"The international commitment to development and security in Afghanistan has contributed to Western destinations' willingness to prevent asylum-seeking, their inclination to decide that Afghans are not refugees and their domestic latitude to enforce returns," the STATT report states.
According to STATT, the increasingly restrictive asylum policies in western nations have prompted an "ironic price spiral".
"Development money from foreign donors has increased the number of Afghans who can afford to subvert those donors' border controls in order to claim asylum or live illegally there," the report states.
The report also suggests that Afghanistan's "elites" are likely to pursue family visas through relatives in Europe, Australia and North America.
According to the analysis by STATT, any medium-term problems in Afghanistan will present challenges to the international refugee system, adding that it would be wise to undertake contingency planning.
Of the 35,729 asylum applications made globally by Afghans in 2011, more than 93 per cent were made to European countries.
However, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there was a 59 per cent increase in the number of Afghans who applied for asylum in Australia during the first half of 2012 compared with corresponding period in 2011.
So far this year, the Australian Government says five asylum seeker boats have been intercepted by authorities, although it is unclear where the passengers originally came from.
Fewer boats traditionally arrive in Australian waters over the summer monsoon season.
You Thought Your Commute Was Bad? Welcome to Kabul
Jan 22, 2013 7:39am ABC News
KABUL, Afghanistan – Donkeys. Crater-sized potholes. Burqa-clad street squatters. Unpredictable street closures. Pickup trucks filled with heavily armed guards and mercenaries. Monster-truck size armored convoys. And a construction season that never ends.
Oh, and the threat of IED’s and suicide attacks.
Welcome to just another ordinary commute in Kabul.
It’s perhaps the most jarring feature of a city that’s survived 30 years of war. When you come to Kabul, there are a lot of things you expect to see: Walled compounds, security guards, helicopters flying overheard.
What you don’t expect is the traffic. I’m not talking ordinary, exit-at-the-next-turnpike traffic. I’m talking sprawling, bumper-to-donkey-to-cart traffic that snarls for hours. With no working traffic lights and even fewer stop signs, Kabul is a veritable nightmare for getting around. A 10 kilometer commute can often take longer than two hours, even longer if there’s just been a snowfall.
Even roads in the supposedly nicest areas of the city – the places where Afghan warlords have built ridiculously monstrous supersize-me gated mansions – feature potholes so deep they resemble shallow graves.
Getting to your destination typically means weaving through a sea of wooden carts, cyclists, beggars, phone card dealers, and other drivers who pass so close if they roll down the window, they’d be close enough to light your cigarette.
And if you asked them, they probably would.
In a city where might rules the road, where the only traffic rule is that whoever has the most guns in their vehicle gets to go wherever they want, Kabul’s army of traffic cops is cleared out-gunned. First, because most don’t carry guns. And second, because most drivers have never had any formalized, structured training on the rules of the road.
The end result: Drivers will often drive the wrong way directly into oncoming traffic, and the police are powerless to stop it.
Kabul Insurgent Attack Shows Security Weakness: MOI
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Monday, 21 January 2013
The Ministry of Interior has admitted that the storming of Kabul Traffic Department's headquarters by insurgents has revealed the deficiencies of security and intelligence organisations.
A five-man attack launched in the early hours of Monday morning gripped Kabul until the afternoon as the insurgents held off security forces for more than eight hours while attempting to launch explosives from the traffic department windows.
Senior Deputy Minister of Security Affairs Abdul Rahman Rahman acknowledged that the scale of the attack calls into question the capacity of Afghanistan's intelligence bodies and security measures.
"We accept that we have some deficiencies in our intelligence organisations," Abdul Rahman Rahman said at a press conference.
All the more concerning is that Kabul city boasts tougher security with numerous police checkpoints aimed at preventing the transfer of weapons, but Monday's attack was the second in less than a week where insurgents proved to be heavily armed with guns and explosives.
Six armed insurgents launched an attack on the National Directorate of Security (NDS) office in Kabul's Sedarat Square last Wednesday.
Both attacks used car bombs to force a way through walled compounds.
NDS acting chief Hassamudin, who only goes by one name, backed the spy agency's work.
"Our work and information-gathering will continue but unfortunately some incidents like today's will happen," he told reporters.
The concerns for security are important ahead of the planned handover of the whole country to Afghan forces from the Nato forces by the end of 2014.
Nato special forces were involved in bringing an end to today's attack but last Wednesday NDS guards managed to repel the attackers in less than 30 minutes.
Govt Adviser Seeks 'Justice' Over Tolo TV Show
TOLOnews.com By Azim Arash Monday, 21 January 2013
An adviser at the Ministry of Finance has asked justice organs to follow up Tolo TV comedy show which he claims humiliated him in one of its sketches Wednesday night.
Sayed Hamed Daqiq, who is unable to walk, said at a press conference in Kabul that the weekly Tolo TV* show Zang-e Khatar (Danger Bell) ridiculed him in its skit about a man who worked as a high-ranking government advisor but who could neither walk nor use his arms and who had to be carried everywhere.
"I urge the government to follow this up through the justice organs," he said Monday. "This is not only a humiliation for me and also for all those who are disabled in the country."
Mustafa Mastoor, Deputy Minister of Finance, joined Daqiq in calling for an explanation from Tolo TV and the producers of Zang-e Khatar.
"We want the Tolo TV officials and the Zange Khatar colleagues to explain this. If this was a mistake made by them then they should confess," Mastoor said.
Tolo TV Editor-in-Chief Sediq Ahmadzada dismissed the claims saying said that show was not humiliating to anyone but that it will not do the same skit in the future.
"I dismiss the claims from the Finance Ministry officials," he said.
"Our position is very clear that we did not humiliate anyone or any organs in the past but we will not do the same in the future either. Zange Khatar is an entertaining programme," he added.
AISA Pledges Industrial Parks for Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Monday, 21 January 2013
The Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) plans to build four industrial parks across Afghanistan by the end of 2013, AISA chief Wafiullah Eftekhar said Monday.
The industrial parks will ease the problems faced by Afghan and foreign investors in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat provinces, he said.
"Our priority is to build an industrial park in the Kamari area of Kabul because most of the Afghan and foreign investors are seeking lands for their investments. We want to accelerate the process to build four industrial parks across Afghanistan," Eftekhar said.
Kamari, in the suburbs of Kabul, covers more than 3000 acres of land.
The investors have welcomed the decision saying that it will boost investments and will increase employment opportunities to thousands of the people in the country.
"If these parks are built across Afghanistan, it will help the investors to start soon. It also improves the economy and provides employment opportunities to the people," head of Industrial Parks Abdul Jabar Safi said.
According to AISA, the land for the parks will also be distributed to those currently investing in rental properties.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com