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Some Taliban prisoners released by Pakistan are back in battle, officials fear
Washington Post By Richard Leiby and Kevin Sieff Sunday, February 10, 2013
KABUL - Pakistan’s release late last year of several imprisoned Taliban officials and fighters, which it advertised as a good-faith effort to help bring peace to Afghanistan, is now prompting questions about whether the gesture has yielded anything but potential new dangers for NATO and Afghan troops.
American, Afghan and Pakistani officials say they believe some of the freed Islamist movement members have rejoined their colleagues waging war against Western troops and the coalition-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
With its long-standing links to Afghan Taliban insurgents, Pakistan has a vital role in nudging them to the table as the United States winds down its involvement in the 11-year war in Afghanistan. But Pakistan’s handling of the prisoner release once again subverted the trust of the Afghans, who were supposed to receive the captives and keep tabs on them to lower the risk of any returning to terrorist havens in Pakistan.
The whereabouts and even the number of ex-prisoners have remained murky since their release in two batches in mid-November and late December by Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, the ¬Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, as part of a road map drawn up by the Afghan High Peace Council to build the militants’ confidence.
Despite an earlier agreement, the ISI failed to consult with the council when it set many of the captives free. On Friday, however, the Pakistani government pledged to coordinate future Taliban releases with the council, in a belated admission that it had blindsided the Afghans.
The U.S. military is keenly interested in the former captives’ whereabouts and is trying to track down any who have returned to the Taliban in Afghanistan — and wants to identify those participating in the reconciliation process so they won’t be targeted.
‘Back to their old ways’
“It’s all a black hole,” one U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
A Pakistani security official confirmed that 18 men were freed and described them as junior to mid-level members of the Islamic movement, including field commanders and foot soldiers.
“Some have gone back to their old ways, with their old friends,” said the official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The original deal, presented in Islamabad by peace council head Salahuddin Rabbani and backed by Washington, envisioned the prisoners being handed over to Afghanistan or a third country. Instead, most of the released Taliban members rejoined their families in Pakistan, in cities including Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi, to recover from years in detention, according to residents and a Taliban spokesman.
The most senior of the captives, Noruddin Toorabi, the ailing former justice minister in the Taliban government, has promoted himself as a spokesman for the collective prisoners. But, like others set free, he will have to be anointed by Taliban chief Mohammad Omar to be allowed a role in any prospective peace talks.
The ISI spurned a specific request by Rabbani to free the most important prisoner: Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy leader under Omar taken captive in 2010.
Afghan officials considered Baradar’s release a crucial olive branch to Omar to nudge along a mediated end to the war — but, said the Pakistani security official, “Baradar isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
Rabbani, in an interview, acknowledged that questions remain about the ability of any Taliban representatives to negotiate on behalf of a group that he says is splintered. But he said he remains an optimist.
“You can’t convince everyone in the opposition to join the peace process,” he said, “but if you can convince a large majority, the level of violence will come down.”
Part of the Afghan government’s goal in giving Pakistan a key role in brokering any deal was to allay enmities between the ever-suspicious neighbors. The idea was to cement their common interest in averting a civil war in Afghanistan after the United States pulls out its combat troops at the end of 2014.
It hasn’t worked out exactly that way, given the friction over the prisoner releases including the fact that the peace council got only two of the four specific prisoners it asked for.
The motives of the ISI in releasing hand-picked captives remains unclear, and probably deliberately so, analysts said: Was it to help the peace process, as claimed, or to keep its Taliban proxies on the field to assure Pakistan’s influence in any future Afghan government?
Unclear effect
“This is not for Afghanistan, it’s for Pakistan’s game,” said Wahid Mujda, a former Taliban government official who closely monitors peace overtures.
Mujda said he doubted the releases would have any impact on negotiations because “the important people are still in jail,” including Baradar.
Omar, who headed the Taliban regime during its five-year rule, has conditioned negotiations on the release of five Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo Bay and a permanent withdrawal of all foreign troops.
Meanwhile, the Taliban continues to assert that it will never negotiate with Karzai, whom it considers an illegitimate leader and U.S. puppet.
This week, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid scoffed at talks in London held by Karzai, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and British Prime Minister David Cameron aimed at bringing the Taliban to the table. In a statement, Mujahid said previous contacts with “counterfeit and ineffective individuals and circles” had led nowhere — a glancing repudiation of the prisoner releases.
Omar Samad, a former diplomat under Karzai, said the prisoners’ release has not resulted in any progress toward resumption of talks, which are already bogged down by competing interests and rival back-channel negotiations among several countries including the United States, which has angered Karzai by making separate overtures to the Taliban.
“Different agendas are playing out,” Samad said. “And the clock is ticking.”
Sieff reported from Kabul.
High Peace Council Welcomes Pakistan's Taliban Release Plan
TOLOnews.com Saturday, 09 February 2013
The Afghan High Peace Council (HPC) on Saturday welcomed Pakistan's decision to give a formal role to the Afghan government in the release of the remaining Taliban prisoners amid concerns that those being released are returning to the insurgency.
The Pakistani government will consult the Afghan High Peace Council through a new coordination mechanism being set up before setting more Taliban prisoners free.
"We would send lists of Taliban prisoners that we intend to release to the Afghan High Peace Council which would comment on the names in those lists," Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday, Dawn News reported.
The HPC said the move is a strong step towards more cooperation between the two countries.
"Releasing the Afghan Taliban prisoners from Pakistan upon an agreement with the High Peace Council is a strong positive action for the peace talks," HPC member Mawlawi Shahzada Shahed told TOLOnews Saturday.
"It will have a positive effect, and it serves the need for more cooperative peace programmes between countries in the region and the international community," Shahed added.
The decision comes after Pakistani and Afghan leaders met during a trilateral summit in London last week.
The meeting, led by British Prime Minister David Cameron, began with a dinner Sunday evening with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and continued Monday.
They were joined by foreign ministers, chiefs of defence staff, chiefs of intelligence, the Afghan national security adviser and the chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council.
It was the third round of discussions since Cameron instigated the trilateral process last year, but it was the first time that foreign ministers, military leaders and intelligence chiefs are attending.
Pakistan has so far released 26 Taliban prisoners in at least two batches. Those released included some high-profile Afghan commanders and political leadership of the Taliban regime, according to reports.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 7:15pm to reflect the views of the Afghan High Peace Council. The original story was titled "Pakistan to Consult Afghans Before Freeing Taliban Prisoners"
Afghan FM warns on reckless freedom of Taliban prisoners
By Sajad - 10 Feb 2013, 8:01 pm Khaama Press
The foreign ministry of Afghanistan on Sunday warned that the Taliban prisoners who have been released from the Pakistani jails remains a threat unless their fate has not been specified.
Afghan foreign officials also emphasized that Pakistan should release only those Taliban prisoners who are able to play a vital role in Afghan peace talks and are verified by Afghan high peace council.
Foreign minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul on Sunday said Afghanistan agreed with Pakistan and United Kingdom during the recent tripartite talks that the Taliban prisoners should be released in coordination with the Afghan peace council.
Rassoul further told reporters that the fate of the Taliban militants who have been released from the Pakistani jails should be specified.
He warned that the freed Taliban prisoners could pose a threat unless the Afghan government does not know regarding their whereabouts.
“We said that the Taliban prisoners should be freed after consulting with the Afghan high peace council since only Afghan peace officials are authorized to continue with the peace talks and can verify Taliban prisoners role in Afghan peace talks. We have expressed our concerns with them and warned that Taliban prisoners freedom could pose a major threat without peace council’s coordination.” Zalmai Rassoul said.
However Dr. Zalmai Rassoul did not disclose further information on how the freed Taliban militants could pose a threat but deputy Pakistani foreign minister on Friday said they have handed over a list of the Taliban detainees to Afghan high peace council who are due to be released from the jails.
Pakistan has released around 20 Taliban militants from its jails during the recent months however there are no reports regarding their fate and whereabouts after their freedom so far.
In the meantime a joint summit of Pakistani and Afghan clerics was due to be organized last month however the summit was reportedly not organized due to lack of interest by Pakistani officials.
But Afghan foreign minister said the summit will be organized next month and a delegation of the Afghan high peace council will visit Pakistan on Sunday.
Efforts to include Pakistan in Afghan peace process comes amid continued talks between the two nations to sign a long term strategic cooperation agreement but Afghan foreign minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul said that Afghanistan must become confident that no threat is posed to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Islamabad remains committed to honestly cooperate with Kabul before signing the pact.
ISAF Command Change in Afghanistan Emphasizes Progress
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 10, 2013
ISLAMABAD — U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford took charge of the NATO-led military mission in Afghanistan at a change of command ceremony in Kabul Sunday. In an emotional speech during the transfer, outgoing U.S. commander General John Allen said he believes “Afghanistan will never again be a safe haven to terrorists” because of the gains the country has made with the help of international partners.
The change of command ceremony took place at the Kabul headquarters of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and was attended by foreign and top Afghan officials.
General Joseph Dunford assured outgoing commander General John Allen that the coalition will remain focused on accomplishing its Afghan mission.
“I will endeavor to continue the momentum of the campaign and support the people of Afghanistan as they seize the opportunity for a brighter future," said Dunford. " Today we are saying good-by to our great commander and we change the command. But today is not about change, it is about continuity. What is not changed is the will of this coalition.”
General Dunford is expected to be the last commander of the coalition established to counter the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, now in its 11th year. The American commander will oversee the withdrawal of most foreign troops from the country by December of 2014, when NATO’s combat mission ends.
Earlier, the outgoing commander, General Allen, in his speech expressed optimism that the achievements Afghanistan has made in the past decade have put the nation on a road to progress. He underlined the role of Afghan security forces in sustaining the gains as they are expected to take over security responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the middle of this year.
“This (Taliban) insurgency will be defeated overtime by the legitimate and well-trained Afghan forces that are emerging today…Afghan forces defending Afghan people and enabling the government of this country to serve its citizens, this is victory," said Allen. "This is what winning looks like.”
Referring to proxy wars neighboring and regional countries have been staging in Afghanistan, General Allen stated the war-ravaged nation is no longer the place for those rivalries.
“I believe that in ten years Afghanistan will never again be the place between empires caught in the grindstone of international politics," said Allen. "And I believe that Afghanistan will never again be a safe haven to terrorists that will oppress the precious people of this country and be the scourge and the plague of the world.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai did not attend Sunday’s ceremony despite receiving an official invitation.
Afghanistan, Pakistan Seek A Fatwa Against Suicide Attacks
NPR By Sean Carberry February 09, 2013
The Muhammad Mustafa mosque sits in a fairly well-off part of Kabul where government employees and some high-ranking officials live. Muhammad Ehsan Saiqal, a moderate, 54-year-old Muslim who welcomes girls into his Quran classes, is the imam. The slight, gray-bearded cleric preaches against suicide bombings.
"Islam doesn't permit suicide attacks," he says. "If someone kills any Muslim without any cause, under Shariah law [Islamic law] it means that he kills the whole Muslim world."
For the past decade or so, suicide bombings have become a standard tactic for Islamist militants in Afghanistan and its neighbor Pakistan. In an effort to stem these deadly bombings, the Afghan government convinced its neighbor to convene a joint council of religious scholars to issue a fatwa, or Islamic decree, banning suicide attacks.
But so far, the two countries have spent more time arguing about the conference rather than organizing it.
Saiqal supports the proposed conference of senior Islamic scholars, or ulema, to deal with the issue.
"Of course it will be very effective because ulema have proficiency in Islam," he says. "They have reliable and rational explanations that will decrease the level of suicide attacks."
That's if the conference actually takes place.
Can They Move Forward?
"The Afghan government has been trying since long to mobilize the ulema against some tactics that the Taliban use," says Borhan Osman, a researcher with the Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul.
Osman says that while the Afghan and Pakistani governments agreed to go ahead with the conference, they have yet to agree on the details, notably which religious leaders should be invited.
But even if they do sort out the table-setting issues and move forward with the conference, people like Jawed Kohistani, head of the Afghan Freedom and Democracy Movement, have doubts about what it could achieve.
"The Taliban have internal structures to keep people isolated from the media," Kohistani says. "So many Taliban won't hear about the conference."
Plus, Osman says, the Taliban have convened their own ulema councils over the years to rule that suicide bombings are acceptable.
"They've killed many ulema in Pakistan and Afghanistan because they were against suicide attacks," he says.
But even though the Taliban might not be swayed, says Kohistani, Afghanistan and Pakistan must sort out their differences and hold the conference because it will pay off in the long run.
"The message will reach the people in the region," he says, "and it will prevent young people from joining terrorist organizations."
Wounded Afghan spy chief returns to Afghanistan in 2 weeks
By Ghanizada - 10 Feb 2013, 11:41 am Khaama Press
According to Afghan government officials, wounded Afghan spy chief – head of the national directorate of security (NDS) Asadullah Khalid will return back to Afghanistan from United States in at least two time.
A governmental source speaking on the condition of anonymity said the last operation of Asadullah Khalid will be done on Tuesday this week.
The source further added that Mr. Khalid will return to Afghanistan after his medical operation was done.
A suicide bomber posing as a Taliban peace emissary seriously injured Afghanistan’s intelligence chief in December last year. He targeted inside one of the agency’s guesthouses in Kabul’s central Taimani neighborhood
Khalid was taken to intelligence hospital in capital Kabul after the attack and was later transferred to coalition forces hospital in Bagram airfield.
He was later taken to United States for further treatment.
Mr. Khalid has been active in backing anti-Taliban uprisings in insurgent-held areas of eastern Afghanistan, and often accused the Pakistani intelligence services of fomenting the insurgency.
The elusive road to peace in Afghanistan
The absence of the US and the Taliban from the meeting at Chequers exposed a big gap in dealing with a far more complex conflict than what the world has seen for long
Gulf News By Farhan Bokhari, Special to Gulf News February 10, 2013
A high-profile gathering in the past week in London, to debate a route to peace in Afghanistan, was quickly followed by a cause for disappointment.
While Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and their British host, Prime Minister David Cameron, resolved to redouble their activities for peace in Afghanistan, following a meeting at Chequers, the British prime minister’s country residence, the Taliban immediately played down the meeting as a non-event.
For now, confusion surrounds prospects for a half sensible end-game in Afghanistan. Indeed, the key problem is driven mainly by the two main foes in the conflict — the Taliban and the US, to sit down and discuss a settlement.
Towards this end in the same week, news from Washington was hardly encouraging. John Brennan, President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), yet again publicly defended the US use of pilot-less drones for attacks in the border regions of Pakistan.
The policy, which has become controversial, given the number of innocent casualties over the years, comes as a stark reminder of the gap between the US and other players in the region.
For Pakistan, the use of drones not only violates the country’s sovereignty, which has only weakened under Zardari’s watch — given the slide in political, economic and security conditions that has taken place since he came to office.
More vitally, the continued US use of drones will likely keep Pakistan in a corner and simply make it unable to vigorously push a reconciliation plan while the attacks carry on.
Similarly, Karzai’s ability to speak for Afghanistan, as the US heads towards a draw-down of troops by December 2014, is quite unclear. He continues to preside over a state which must qualify among the world’s most dysfunctional ones. Following more than three decades of conflict, beginning with the 1979 military intervention by the former Soviet Union, the scars of war on Afghanistan’s body and soul are clearly visible.
In the past decade, since the US led the war following the 9/11 terror attacks on America, the bulk of the military effort has gone in to fuel the military conflict rather than tackling some of its root causes. Ahead of an expected US departure from Afghanistan, there is little evidence of much by way of signs of a vigorous rejuvenation of the Afghan economy.
Consequently, for at least a generation of young Afghan men, settling disputes and pressing for their rights remain possible only through the barrel of a gun. Going forward, there is hardly much that the US-led western coalition is either willing or able to do for changing what indeed appears to be a bleak outlook for the Afghan economy.
Yet, what indeed is a credible peace process is involving the key players. Without an active US participation across the negotiating table from the Taliban, there is little likely movement that will take place to even begin changing the powerful reality of conflict-ridden Afghanistan.
The absence of the US and the Taliban from the meeting at Chequers exposed a big gap in dealing with a far more complex conflict than what the world has seen for long.
The Taliban, with its ability to face up to the world’s best-equipped and technologically most sophisticated military coalition, has clearly demonstrated the ability to sustain themselves. Though a rag-tag force, the Taliban has hugely benefitted from a ground situation where their ability to blend into the local population remains largely intact.
Consequently, the periodic attacks on high-profile and key targets in Afghanistan by the Taliban and their allies says much about the direction that the Afghan war has taken.
While Cameron cannot be faulted for hosting the Chequers meeting in support of a good cause, Britain itself is clearly on a reverse mode from Afghanistan. Without the confirmed determination of any country to stay the course, making a difference to the way the Afghan conflict eventually gets settled will remain largely uncertain.
Faced with difficult odds, it is important for US President Barack Obama to agree to negotiate directly with the Taliban. In doing so, Washington will need to deepen a partnership with Pakistan’s military-led security establishment.
Given the mounting controversies surrounding Zardari, any move to enlist him as a player will likely backfire at a time when his ability to deal with the many challenges surrounding his own country remains in serious doubt.
Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.
Afghan gov't forces kill 11 Taliban militants
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Afghan government forces during operations against Taliban militants in Marja district of Helmand province 555 km south of Kabul eliminated nearly a dozen Taliban fighters on Sunday, a local official asserted.
"Afghan police in coordination with the units of national army launched operations against Taliban rebels in Marja district today morning and so far 11 armed rebels have been killed," Wilad Hakimi, the police chief of Marja district, told Xinhua.
The operation, he said, would continue for next two days to ensure law and order there in Marja district.
The Taliban militants have yet to make comment.
Afghan Uncertainty About Future 'My Biggest Concern': Gen. Allen
TOLOnews.com By Lotfullah Najafizada Saturday, 09 February 2013
General John Allen, the outgoing chief US commander in Afghanistan, on Saturday said that the uncertainty of the Afghan people about their future is his biggest concern as he leaves after 19 months leading the military forces fighting insurgency in Afghanistan.
Speaking to TOLOnews on his last day in the country, the US Marine General said the Afghans' lack of confidence in their future stems from the ongoing conflict and the government's failure to tackle corruption and build capacity.
"My biggest concern? It is uncertainty," he replied when asked what concerns he leaves behind.
"There is uncertainty right now because we are still in a conflict. And yes, there is uncertainty because we haven't achieved all we would like to achieve in terms of governmental capacity and countering corruption," he added.
However, Allen encouraged the country to look at the progress that has been made.
"The Afghan people need to take stock of how far they have come in the last 11 years. The difference between 2001 and 2013 is so dramatic it's almost breathtaking. But that only is the beginning in my mind of where Afghanistan can go."
Allen has commanded the US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan since mid-2011 in a mission that he described as his greatest moment in his life and one he was proud to be part of.
"To be associated in any way with an outcome that can improve [Afghans'] lives and give Afghanistan a hope has been a great honour for me," he said.
"And yes, there have been challenges. I believe the campaign in and of itself has made great accomplishments in terms of moving Afghanistan towards a more secure and ultimately a stable society. Within that period of time there has been occasions where I have gone to see families, where I have gone to see the president, I have spoken with leaders in your government during some of those difficult times and I have apologised to the Afghan people for our actions. None of those actions were ever undertaken intentionally, where we have inflicted harm, where we have created tragedy," he added.
Allen is scheduled to hand over command of over 100,000-strong US and Isaf forces to his replacement Gen Joseph Dunford Sunday morning in the Isaf headquarters in Kabul.
Allen praised the progress of the Afghan National Security Force in becoming a permanent fixture in the security of Afghanistan saying he is confident that they will be able to protect the country during the presidential elections in 2014 when they will be even more prepared for combat operations.
"Multiple threat streams are coming at Kabul every single day – 365 days a year. That the fact there aren't attacks every single day is a direct reason and a derivative of the fact that the Afghan National Security Forces are in fact doing their job so well. Now, there is the old saying that we have to be right every time; they only have to be right once," Allen said.
"I think the Taliban recognise that they're going to need to determine whether this Afghan National Security Force has credibility. So we should anticipate the Taliban are going to come at the Afghan National Security Forces. I absolutely believe that they can handle it. They handled it last year, they are handling now and they are getting better every day."
Allen said he believes Pakistan is recognising Afghanistan's growing military capacity and the benefits of a "constructive military to military relationship".
After several trips to meet with the Pakistani army chief Gen Parviz Ashfaq Keyani, Allen said the conversations have increasingly been about shared capabilities "ultimately to reduce the terrorists threat along the border to the benefit of both countries".
"I believe that Pakistan ultimately sees that Afghanistan has the potential of being a secure and stable country with a democratically elected government, it sits on the top of trillions of dollars of natural resources. I believe that Pakistan sees that it's in its national interests to be of some value, ultimately, to facilitate the stability in Afghanistan," he said.
Leading Pakistani cleric in Doha as Afghan Taliban get ready to open office
Gulf Times By Zia Khan/Staff Reporter 10/02/2013
A leading Pakistani cleric known for his close links with the Afghan Taliban has arrived in Qatar amid reports the group is about to open a political liaison office in Doha to begin negotiations aimed at seeking an end to the decade-long bloodshed in Afghanistan.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman is accompanied by some of the parliamentarians from Pakistan’s tribal areas where Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by Hakimullah Mehsud, has its base.
A spokesman for Maulana’s Jamiat Ulamae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party confirmed to Gulf Times he had landed in Qatar yesterday but there wasn’t any official word either from Pakistan’s foreign ministry in Islamabad or the country’s embassy in Doha.
“He is in Doha and will be there for the next three days,” said Maulana Amjad Khan, the information secretary for the party, speaking by phone from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Haji Munir Khan Orakzai, a member of Pakistan National Assembly (the lower house of parliament), is part of the delegation travelling with the Sunni cleric who runs several religious seminaries across the country.
“We are here and going to meet the Pakistani community and some Qatari officials in the next couple of days,” he said without giving any further details.
Reports in Pakistani television channels suggested the visit was part of the government’s efforts to reach out to members of Afghan Taliban, representatives of which are already in Doha to hold preliminary talks about opening the political office.
But Maulana Amjad said the visit had nothing to do with the Doha initiative being pushed by US President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai. “It is a trip on the invitation of the Pakistani community. Nothing else,” said the spokesman.
Maulana, who heads a powerful parliamentary committee on Kashmir, sometimes visits countries outside Pakistan in his official capacity. “This, however, is a private tour,” said Amjad Khan.
Maulana Fazl is from the dominant Deobandi school of thought, the same ideology both Pakistan and Afghan Taliban believe in.
He is among three mainstream Pakistani political leaders whom the TTP has chosen to be guarantors in its latest offer for peace talks with the country’s military.
The JUI leader said he is ready to play the role of mediator between the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban dominant in parts of the tribal areas for almost a decade now.
According to earlier reports, including one in this newspaper, negotiators from the Afghan militia have already returned to Doha to open a fresh round of dialogue with the US and the Kabul administration several months after a previous initiative stalled in March last year.
Tayeb Agha, a close aide and former secretary to Mullah Omer, and Maulvi Shahabuddin Delawar, the Taliban envoy to Riyadh during their rule, are said to be among the negotiators currently in the city.
The previous round of talks - between the Taliban and the US bypassing Karzai administration - were deadlocked after Washington refused to release the militia’s detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba where they face terrorism charges.
Karzai Backs UN Statement on Child War Deaths
TOLOnews.com Saturday, 09 February 2013
The Afghan president's spokesman on Saturday supported claims from a United Nations' committee that negligence in US military tactics had resulted in the deaths of "hundreds" of Afghan children over a four year period.
The Geneva-based UN Committee for the Rights of the Child Geneva – which operates independently of the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (Unama) – stated its concern last week over insufficient measures taken by US military to protect children in Afghanistan's conflict and that "members of the armed forces responsible for the killings of children have not always been held accountable".
The Committee said it was alarmed by reports that hundreds of children had died in US attacks and airstrikes due to a "reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force."
A day after the US military rejected the claims, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi supported the UN statement in a press release on the president's website.
"One of the controversial issues, which has always stoked tension in relations between Kabul and Washington is the issue of civilian casualties arising from Isaf military ops in the country," Faizi was quoted saying in the release.
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Saturday said it could not refute or support the UN claims, but it did confirm that its own statistics show an increase in child deaths in the first six months of this Persian year compared to the same period last year.
"We cannot dismiss or confirm this United Nations report. Our inspections show that children casualties in conflicts are increased, and we are worried about this situation," said Abdullah Abed, head of the AIHRC's Children Rights Support division.
AIHRC statistics show that in the first six months of this Persian year (March to August 2012) around 136 children were killed in war-induce violence while another 685 were injured.
This is a 14.5 percent increase compared to the same period last Persian year (Mar to Aug 2011). However, it is important to note that the statistics only reflect the total number of children killed regardless of whether the deaths are perpertrated by insurgent violence or by security forces.
The US military on Friday rejected the UN committee's claims as "categorically unfounded".
In a statement released by the International Security Assistance Force, which the US military leads, it said the reports were unsubstantiated and cited figures from Unama showing that most civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan were caused by insurgents.
Furthermore, it said Isaf reduced civilian casualties by 49 percent in 2012 from 2011, and the number of children killed or wounded in Isaf air operations had dropped by nearly 40 percent.
It said that to minimise the risk of civilian casualties both Isaf and US forces "employ detailed systems of technical, tactical and procedural checks and balances before employing all weapons in Afghanistan... [and] take precautions to employ force only when necessary, and in a proportional manner."
However, it acknowledged that civilian casualties do occur. "In each case Isaf and US military officials make every effort to meet with the families of those we have harmed and to express our condolences personally," the statement said.
In April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that 110 children were killed and 68 were injured in 2011 during Afghan airstrikes conducted by pro-government forces, led by the US - double the child casualties from a year earlier.
Attorney General to Investigate Samangan Govt Dispute
TOLOnews.com By Arif Musawi Saturday, 09 February 2013
Northern Samangan province's council chief Dr Ziauddin Zia has been put on notice after the provincial governor sent a letter to the local attorney general to investigate reports that Dr Zia physically abused at least one government employee.
Samangan's governor Khairullah Anosh on Saturday said Dr Zia misused his position in connection with some issues in the province, saying he beat two local government staff.
Dr Zia denies the report.
The head of Samangan's Public Works Department Engineer Zia, who goes by one name, claims he was beaten by the head of the provincial council.
"A delegation came from the Senate to Samangan province and we were busy for the inauguration of the university's road when the head of the provincial council called me to come to his office. When I went there he beat me without any reason," Eng. Zia told TOLOnews Friday.
Dr Zia admitted that he called the engineer Zia to his office and accused him of not fulfilling his responsibilities, but he never beat him.
"He is a good guy but he does not have good management skills and he is weak in his work, so I just called him [to the office] to advise and instruct him in his work," Dr Zia responded.
The provincial governor also said that Dr Zia had disagreed with the appointment of an official in Samangan Municipal Council and had acted inappropriately.
"That person [in the Municipal Council] brought his appointment letter from the central government and he is now doing his job. But the head of provincial council sent his five bodyguards to arrest him, and now the case is before the judicial organs," Anosh said.
But Dr Zia refuted the second accusation.
"The governor is a weak person and is also a sick person. He is an ineffective leader for the government and for Samangan province," Dr Zia said.
Residents of the provincial capital Aibak spoke out on Friday in a gathering and called on the governor and the head of provincial council to end their dispute.
"We do not want such disagreements," one of the residents told TOLOnews. "We are sick of this issue," he added.
The residents expressed their concern that if such disagreements continue, partisan and ethnic violence will increase in the province.
Local Powerbrokers Behind Illegal Mining: Govt
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Saturday, 09 February 2013
Illegal excavation of Afghanistan's mines is happening countrywide backed by local companies and officials in positions of power, the Office of the Administrative Affairs said Saturday.
Head of the Office's Monitoring and Evaluation Authority Sayed Ihsanuddin Taheri said that in northern Balkh province alone there have been 12 companies with no existing contracts excavating mines in the province since last summer.
"Alborz Company, Karim Sharifi Company, Aria Pamir North Company are at least three firms which are doing work arbitrarily. These three are some of the 12 companies that have been excavating mines and taking gems from Balkh province since the first of Saratan this year (late June 2012)," Taheri said.
A list of other provinces with sites being illegally mined includes Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Panjshir, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Ghazni, Bamiyan, Kandahar, Helmand, and Herat.
At least 12 places in Kabul believed to have some 700 gem stone mines, three gem stone mines in Panjshir including an emerald mine, and four mines in Badakhshsan are all known locations where illegal excavations are continuing, Taheri said.
The official said it was known that the illegal activities were supported by powerful local figures who help smuggle the gems and other mined materials out of the country.
Decree 45, issued by President Hamid Karzai, says that companies and individuals who are found to have carried out illegal excavations will be provided to the media once it is prepared by Ministry of Mines; however, no such list has been compiled yet.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
Washington Post By Richard Leiby and Kevin Sieff Sunday, February 10, 2013
KABUL - Pakistan’s release late last year of several imprisoned Taliban officials and fighters, which it advertised as a good-faith effort to help bring peace to Afghanistan, is now prompting questions about whether the gesture has yielded anything but potential new dangers for NATO and Afghan troops.
American, Afghan and Pakistani officials say they believe some of the freed Islamist movement members have rejoined their colleagues waging war against Western troops and the coalition-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
With its long-standing links to Afghan Taliban insurgents, Pakistan has a vital role in nudging them to the table as the United States winds down its involvement in the 11-year war in Afghanistan. But Pakistan’s handling of the prisoner release once again subverted the trust of the Afghans, who were supposed to receive the captives and keep tabs on them to lower the risk of any returning to terrorist havens in Pakistan.
The whereabouts and even the number of ex-prisoners have remained murky since their release in two batches in mid-November and late December by Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, the ¬Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, as part of a road map drawn up by the Afghan High Peace Council to build the militants’ confidence.
Despite an earlier agreement, the ISI failed to consult with the council when it set many of the captives free. On Friday, however, the Pakistani government pledged to coordinate future Taliban releases with the council, in a belated admission that it had blindsided the Afghans.
The U.S. military is keenly interested in the former captives’ whereabouts and is trying to track down any who have returned to the Taliban in Afghanistan — and wants to identify those participating in the reconciliation process so they won’t be targeted.
‘Back to their old ways’
“It’s all a black hole,” one U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
A Pakistani security official confirmed that 18 men were freed and described them as junior to mid-level members of the Islamic movement, including field commanders and foot soldiers.
“Some have gone back to their old ways, with their old friends,” said the official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The original deal, presented in Islamabad by peace council head Salahuddin Rabbani and backed by Washington, envisioned the prisoners being handed over to Afghanistan or a third country. Instead, most of the released Taliban members rejoined their families in Pakistan, in cities including Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi, to recover from years in detention, according to residents and a Taliban spokesman.
The most senior of the captives, Noruddin Toorabi, the ailing former justice minister in the Taliban government, has promoted himself as a spokesman for the collective prisoners. But, like others set free, he will have to be anointed by Taliban chief Mohammad Omar to be allowed a role in any prospective peace talks.
The ISI spurned a specific request by Rabbani to free the most important prisoner: Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy leader under Omar taken captive in 2010.
Afghan officials considered Baradar’s release a crucial olive branch to Omar to nudge along a mediated end to the war — but, said the Pakistani security official, “Baradar isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
Rabbani, in an interview, acknowledged that questions remain about the ability of any Taliban representatives to negotiate on behalf of a group that he says is splintered. But he said he remains an optimist.
“You can’t convince everyone in the opposition to join the peace process,” he said, “but if you can convince a large majority, the level of violence will come down.”
Part of the Afghan government’s goal in giving Pakistan a key role in brokering any deal was to allay enmities between the ever-suspicious neighbors. The idea was to cement their common interest in averting a civil war in Afghanistan after the United States pulls out its combat troops at the end of 2014.
It hasn’t worked out exactly that way, given the friction over the prisoner releases including the fact that the peace council got only two of the four specific prisoners it asked for.
The motives of the ISI in releasing hand-picked captives remains unclear, and probably deliberately so, analysts said: Was it to help the peace process, as claimed, or to keep its Taliban proxies on the field to assure Pakistan’s influence in any future Afghan government?
Unclear effect
“This is not for Afghanistan, it’s for Pakistan’s game,” said Wahid Mujda, a former Taliban government official who closely monitors peace overtures.
Mujda said he doubted the releases would have any impact on negotiations because “the important people are still in jail,” including Baradar.
Omar, who headed the Taliban regime during its five-year rule, has conditioned negotiations on the release of five Taliban leaders held at Guantanamo Bay and a permanent withdrawal of all foreign troops.
Meanwhile, the Taliban continues to assert that it will never negotiate with Karzai, whom it considers an illegitimate leader and U.S. puppet.
This week, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid scoffed at talks in London held by Karzai, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and British Prime Minister David Cameron aimed at bringing the Taliban to the table. In a statement, Mujahid said previous contacts with “counterfeit and ineffective individuals and circles” had led nowhere — a glancing repudiation of the prisoner releases.
Omar Samad, a former diplomat under Karzai, said the prisoners’ release has not resulted in any progress toward resumption of talks, which are already bogged down by competing interests and rival back-channel negotiations among several countries including the United States, which has angered Karzai by making separate overtures to the Taliban.
“Different agendas are playing out,” Samad said. “And the clock is ticking.”
Sieff reported from Kabul.
High Peace Council Welcomes Pakistan's Taliban Release Plan
TOLOnews.com Saturday, 09 February 2013
The Afghan High Peace Council (HPC) on Saturday welcomed Pakistan's decision to give a formal role to the Afghan government in the release of the remaining Taliban prisoners amid concerns that those being released are returning to the insurgency.
The Pakistani government will consult the Afghan High Peace Council through a new coordination mechanism being set up before setting more Taliban prisoners free.
"We would send lists of Taliban prisoners that we intend to release to the Afghan High Peace Council which would comment on the names in those lists," Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday, Dawn News reported.
The HPC said the move is a strong step towards more cooperation between the two countries.
"Releasing the Afghan Taliban prisoners from Pakistan upon an agreement with the High Peace Council is a strong positive action for the peace talks," HPC member Mawlawi Shahzada Shahed told TOLOnews Saturday.
"It will have a positive effect, and it serves the need for more cooperative peace programmes between countries in the region and the international community," Shahed added.
The decision comes after Pakistani and Afghan leaders met during a trilateral summit in London last week.
The meeting, led by British Prime Minister David Cameron, began with a dinner Sunday evening with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and continued Monday.
They were joined by foreign ministers, chiefs of defence staff, chiefs of intelligence, the Afghan national security adviser and the chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council.
It was the third round of discussions since Cameron instigated the trilateral process last year, but it was the first time that foreign ministers, military leaders and intelligence chiefs are attending.
Pakistan has so far released 26 Taliban prisoners in at least two batches. Those released included some high-profile Afghan commanders and political leadership of the Taliban regime, according to reports.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 7:15pm to reflect the views of the Afghan High Peace Council. The original story was titled "Pakistan to Consult Afghans Before Freeing Taliban Prisoners"
Afghan FM warns on reckless freedom of Taliban prisoners
By Sajad - 10 Feb 2013, 8:01 pm Khaama Press
The foreign ministry of Afghanistan on Sunday warned that the Taliban prisoners who have been released from the Pakistani jails remains a threat unless their fate has not been specified.
Afghan foreign officials also emphasized that Pakistan should release only those Taliban prisoners who are able to play a vital role in Afghan peace talks and are verified by Afghan high peace council.
Foreign minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul on Sunday said Afghanistan agreed with Pakistan and United Kingdom during the recent tripartite talks that the Taliban prisoners should be released in coordination with the Afghan peace council.
Rassoul further told reporters that the fate of the Taliban militants who have been released from the Pakistani jails should be specified.
He warned that the freed Taliban prisoners could pose a threat unless the Afghan government does not know regarding their whereabouts.
“We said that the Taliban prisoners should be freed after consulting with the Afghan high peace council since only Afghan peace officials are authorized to continue with the peace talks and can verify Taliban prisoners role in Afghan peace talks. We have expressed our concerns with them and warned that Taliban prisoners freedom could pose a major threat without peace council’s coordination.” Zalmai Rassoul said.
However Dr. Zalmai Rassoul did not disclose further information on how the freed Taliban militants could pose a threat but deputy Pakistani foreign minister on Friday said they have handed over a list of the Taliban detainees to Afghan high peace council who are due to be released from the jails.
Pakistan has released around 20 Taliban militants from its jails during the recent months however there are no reports regarding their fate and whereabouts after their freedom so far.
In the meantime a joint summit of Pakistani and Afghan clerics was due to be organized last month however the summit was reportedly not organized due to lack of interest by Pakistani officials.
But Afghan foreign minister said the summit will be organized next month and a delegation of the Afghan high peace council will visit Pakistan on Sunday.
Efforts to include Pakistan in Afghan peace process comes amid continued talks between the two nations to sign a long term strategic cooperation agreement but Afghan foreign minister Dr. Zalmai Rassoul said that Afghanistan must become confident that no threat is posed to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Islamabad remains committed to honestly cooperate with Kabul before signing the pact.
ISAF Command Change in Afghanistan Emphasizes Progress
Ayaz Gul VOA News February 10, 2013
ISLAMABAD — U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford took charge of the NATO-led military mission in Afghanistan at a change of command ceremony in Kabul Sunday. In an emotional speech during the transfer, outgoing U.S. commander General John Allen said he believes “Afghanistan will never again be a safe haven to terrorists” because of the gains the country has made with the help of international partners.
The change of command ceremony took place at the Kabul headquarters of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and was attended by foreign and top Afghan officials.
General Joseph Dunford assured outgoing commander General John Allen that the coalition will remain focused on accomplishing its Afghan mission.
“I will endeavor to continue the momentum of the campaign and support the people of Afghanistan as they seize the opportunity for a brighter future," said Dunford. " Today we are saying good-by to our great commander and we change the command. But today is not about change, it is about continuity. What is not changed is the will of this coalition.”
General Dunford is expected to be the last commander of the coalition established to counter the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, now in its 11th year. The American commander will oversee the withdrawal of most foreign troops from the country by December of 2014, when NATO’s combat mission ends.
Earlier, the outgoing commander, General Allen, in his speech expressed optimism that the achievements Afghanistan has made in the past decade have put the nation on a road to progress. He underlined the role of Afghan security forces in sustaining the gains as they are expected to take over security responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the middle of this year.
“This (Taliban) insurgency will be defeated overtime by the legitimate and well-trained Afghan forces that are emerging today…Afghan forces defending Afghan people and enabling the government of this country to serve its citizens, this is victory," said Allen. "This is what winning looks like.”
Referring to proxy wars neighboring and regional countries have been staging in Afghanistan, General Allen stated the war-ravaged nation is no longer the place for those rivalries.
“I believe that in ten years Afghanistan will never again be the place between empires caught in the grindstone of international politics," said Allen. "And I believe that Afghanistan will never again be a safe haven to terrorists that will oppress the precious people of this country and be the scourge and the plague of the world.”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai did not attend Sunday’s ceremony despite receiving an official invitation.
Afghanistan, Pakistan Seek A Fatwa Against Suicide Attacks
NPR By Sean Carberry February 09, 2013
The Muhammad Mustafa mosque sits in a fairly well-off part of Kabul where government employees and some high-ranking officials live. Muhammad Ehsan Saiqal, a moderate, 54-year-old Muslim who welcomes girls into his Quran classes, is the imam. The slight, gray-bearded cleric preaches against suicide bombings.
"Islam doesn't permit suicide attacks," he says. "If someone kills any Muslim without any cause, under Shariah law [Islamic law] it means that he kills the whole Muslim world."
For the past decade or so, suicide bombings have become a standard tactic for Islamist militants in Afghanistan and its neighbor Pakistan. In an effort to stem these deadly bombings, the Afghan government convinced its neighbor to convene a joint council of religious scholars to issue a fatwa, or Islamic decree, banning suicide attacks.
But so far, the two countries have spent more time arguing about the conference rather than organizing it.
Saiqal supports the proposed conference of senior Islamic scholars, or ulema, to deal with the issue.
"Of course it will be very effective because ulema have proficiency in Islam," he says. "They have reliable and rational explanations that will decrease the level of suicide attacks."
That's if the conference actually takes place.
Can They Move Forward?
"The Afghan government has been trying since long to mobilize the ulema against some tactics that the Taliban use," says Borhan Osman, a researcher with the Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul.
Osman says that while the Afghan and Pakistani governments agreed to go ahead with the conference, they have yet to agree on the details, notably which religious leaders should be invited.
But even if they do sort out the table-setting issues and move forward with the conference, people like Jawed Kohistani, head of the Afghan Freedom and Democracy Movement, have doubts about what it could achieve.
"The Taliban have internal structures to keep people isolated from the media," Kohistani says. "So many Taliban won't hear about the conference."
Plus, Osman says, the Taliban have convened their own ulema councils over the years to rule that suicide bombings are acceptable.
"They've killed many ulema in Pakistan and Afghanistan because they were against suicide attacks," he says.
But even though the Taliban might not be swayed, says Kohistani, Afghanistan and Pakistan must sort out their differences and hold the conference because it will pay off in the long run.
"The message will reach the people in the region," he says, "and it will prevent young people from joining terrorist organizations."
Wounded Afghan spy chief returns to Afghanistan in 2 weeks
By Ghanizada - 10 Feb 2013, 11:41 am Khaama Press
According to Afghan government officials, wounded Afghan spy chief – head of the national directorate of security (NDS) Asadullah Khalid will return back to Afghanistan from United States in at least two time.
A governmental source speaking on the condition of anonymity said the last operation of Asadullah Khalid will be done on Tuesday this week.
The source further added that Mr. Khalid will return to Afghanistan after his medical operation was done.
A suicide bomber posing as a Taliban peace emissary seriously injured Afghanistan’s intelligence chief in December last year. He targeted inside one of the agency’s guesthouses in Kabul’s central Taimani neighborhood
Khalid was taken to intelligence hospital in capital Kabul after the attack and was later transferred to coalition forces hospital in Bagram airfield.
He was later taken to United States for further treatment.
Mr. Khalid has been active in backing anti-Taliban uprisings in insurgent-held areas of eastern Afghanistan, and often accused the Pakistani intelligence services of fomenting the insurgency.
The elusive road to peace in Afghanistan
The absence of the US and the Taliban from the meeting at Chequers exposed a big gap in dealing with a far more complex conflict than what the world has seen for long
Gulf News By Farhan Bokhari, Special to Gulf News February 10, 2013
A high-profile gathering in the past week in London, to debate a route to peace in Afghanistan, was quickly followed by a cause for disappointment.
While Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and their British host, Prime Minister David Cameron, resolved to redouble their activities for peace in Afghanistan, following a meeting at Chequers, the British prime minister’s country residence, the Taliban immediately played down the meeting as a non-event.
For now, confusion surrounds prospects for a half sensible end-game in Afghanistan. Indeed, the key problem is driven mainly by the two main foes in the conflict — the Taliban and the US, to sit down and discuss a settlement.
Towards this end in the same week, news from Washington was hardly encouraging. John Brennan, President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), yet again publicly defended the US use of pilot-less drones for attacks in the border regions of Pakistan.
The policy, which has become controversial, given the number of innocent casualties over the years, comes as a stark reminder of the gap between the US and other players in the region.
For Pakistan, the use of drones not only violates the country’s sovereignty, which has only weakened under Zardari’s watch — given the slide in political, economic and security conditions that has taken place since he came to office.
More vitally, the continued US use of drones will likely keep Pakistan in a corner and simply make it unable to vigorously push a reconciliation plan while the attacks carry on.
Similarly, Karzai’s ability to speak for Afghanistan, as the US heads towards a draw-down of troops by December 2014, is quite unclear. He continues to preside over a state which must qualify among the world’s most dysfunctional ones. Following more than three decades of conflict, beginning with the 1979 military intervention by the former Soviet Union, the scars of war on Afghanistan’s body and soul are clearly visible.
In the past decade, since the US led the war following the 9/11 terror attacks on America, the bulk of the military effort has gone in to fuel the military conflict rather than tackling some of its root causes. Ahead of an expected US departure from Afghanistan, there is little evidence of much by way of signs of a vigorous rejuvenation of the Afghan economy.
Consequently, for at least a generation of young Afghan men, settling disputes and pressing for their rights remain possible only through the barrel of a gun. Going forward, there is hardly much that the US-led western coalition is either willing or able to do for changing what indeed appears to be a bleak outlook for the Afghan economy.
Yet, what indeed is a credible peace process is involving the key players. Without an active US participation across the negotiating table from the Taliban, there is little likely movement that will take place to even begin changing the powerful reality of conflict-ridden Afghanistan.
The absence of the US and the Taliban from the meeting at Chequers exposed a big gap in dealing with a far more complex conflict than what the world has seen for long.
The Taliban, with its ability to face up to the world’s best-equipped and technologically most sophisticated military coalition, has clearly demonstrated the ability to sustain themselves. Though a rag-tag force, the Taliban has hugely benefitted from a ground situation where their ability to blend into the local population remains largely intact.
Consequently, the periodic attacks on high-profile and key targets in Afghanistan by the Taliban and their allies says much about the direction that the Afghan war has taken.
While Cameron cannot be faulted for hosting the Chequers meeting in support of a good cause, Britain itself is clearly on a reverse mode from Afghanistan. Without the confirmed determination of any country to stay the course, making a difference to the way the Afghan conflict eventually gets settled will remain largely uncertain.
Faced with difficult odds, it is important for US President Barack Obama to agree to negotiate directly with the Taliban. In doing so, Washington will need to deepen a partnership with Pakistan’s military-led security establishment.
Given the mounting controversies surrounding Zardari, any move to enlist him as a player will likely backfire at a time when his ability to deal with the many challenges surrounding his own country remains in serious doubt.
Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.
Afghan gov't forces kill 11 Taliban militants
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Afghan government forces during operations against Taliban militants in Marja district of Helmand province 555 km south of Kabul eliminated nearly a dozen Taliban fighters on Sunday, a local official asserted.
"Afghan police in coordination with the units of national army launched operations against Taliban rebels in Marja district today morning and so far 11 armed rebels have been killed," Wilad Hakimi, the police chief of Marja district, told Xinhua.
The operation, he said, would continue for next two days to ensure law and order there in Marja district.
The Taliban militants have yet to make comment.
Afghan Uncertainty About Future 'My Biggest Concern': Gen. Allen
TOLOnews.com By Lotfullah Najafizada Saturday, 09 February 2013
General John Allen, the outgoing chief US commander in Afghanistan, on Saturday said that the uncertainty of the Afghan people about their future is his biggest concern as he leaves after 19 months leading the military forces fighting insurgency in Afghanistan.
Speaking to TOLOnews on his last day in the country, the US Marine General said the Afghans' lack of confidence in their future stems from the ongoing conflict and the government's failure to tackle corruption and build capacity.
"My biggest concern? It is uncertainty," he replied when asked what concerns he leaves behind.
"There is uncertainty right now because we are still in a conflict. And yes, there is uncertainty because we haven't achieved all we would like to achieve in terms of governmental capacity and countering corruption," he added.
However, Allen encouraged the country to look at the progress that has been made.
"The Afghan people need to take stock of how far they have come in the last 11 years. The difference between 2001 and 2013 is so dramatic it's almost breathtaking. But that only is the beginning in my mind of where Afghanistan can go."
Allen has commanded the US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan since mid-2011 in a mission that he described as his greatest moment in his life and one he was proud to be part of.
"To be associated in any way with an outcome that can improve [Afghans'] lives and give Afghanistan a hope has been a great honour for me," he said.
"And yes, there have been challenges. I believe the campaign in and of itself has made great accomplishments in terms of moving Afghanistan towards a more secure and ultimately a stable society. Within that period of time there has been occasions where I have gone to see families, where I have gone to see the president, I have spoken with leaders in your government during some of those difficult times and I have apologised to the Afghan people for our actions. None of those actions were ever undertaken intentionally, where we have inflicted harm, where we have created tragedy," he added.
Allen is scheduled to hand over command of over 100,000-strong US and Isaf forces to his replacement Gen Joseph Dunford Sunday morning in the Isaf headquarters in Kabul.
Allen praised the progress of the Afghan National Security Force in becoming a permanent fixture in the security of Afghanistan saying he is confident that they will be able to protect the country during the presidential elections in 2014 when they will be even more prepared for combat operations.
"Multiple threat streams are coming at Kabul every single day – 365 days a year. That the fact there aren't attacks every single day is a direct reason and a derivative of the fact that the Afghan National Security Forces are in fact doing their job so well. Now, there is the old saying that we have to be right every time; they only have to be right once," Allen said.
"I think the Taliban recognise that they're going to need to determine whether this Afghan National Security Force has credibility. So we should anticipate the Taliban are going to come at the Afghan National Security Forces. I absolutely believe that they can handle it. They handled it last year, they are handling now and they are getting better every day."
Allen said he believes Pakistan is recognising Afghanistan's growing military capacity and the benefits of a "constructive military to military relationship".
After several trips to meet with the Pakistani army chief Gen Parviz Ashfaq Keyani, Allen said the conversations have increasingly been about shared capabilities "ultimately to reduce the terrorists threat along the border to the benefit of both countries".
"I believe that Pakistan ultimately sees that Afghanistan has the potential of being a secure and stable country with a democratically elected government, it sits on the top of trillions of dollars of natural resources. I believe that Pakistan sees that it's in its national interests to be of some value, ultimately, to facilitate the stability in Afghanistan," he said.
Leading Pakistani cleric in Doha as Afghan Taliban get ready to open office
Gulf Times By Zia Khan/Staff Reporter 10/02/2013
A leading Pakistani cleric known for his close links with the Afghan Taliban has arrived in Qatar amid reports the group is about to open a political liaison office in Doha to begin negotiations aimed at seeking an end to the decade-long bloodshed in Afghanistan.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman is accompanied by some of the parliamentarians from Pakistan’s tribal areas where Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), led by Hakimullah Mehsud, has its base.
A spokesman for Maulana’s Jamiat Ulamae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party confirmed to Gulf Times he had landed in Qatar yesterday but there wasn’t any official word either from Pakistan’s foreign ministry in Islamabad or the country’s embassy in Doha.
“He is in Doha and will be there for the next three days,” said Maulana Amjad Khan, the information secretary for the party, speaking by phone from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
Haji Munir Khan Orakzai, a member of Pakistan National Assembly (the lower house of parliament), is part of the delegation travelling with the Sunni cleric who runs several religious seminaries across the country.
“We are here and going to meet the Pakistani community and some Qatari officials in the next couple of days,” he said without giving any further details.
Reports in Pakistani television channels suggested the visit was part of the government’s efforts to reach out to members of Afghan Taliban, representatives of which are already in Doha to hold preliminary talks about opening the political office.
But Maulana Amjad said the visit had nothing to do with the Doha initiative being pushed by US President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai. “It is a trip on the invitation of the Pakistani community. Nothing else,” said the spokesman.
Maulana, who heads a powerful parliamentary committee on Kashmir, sometimes visits countries outside Pakistan in his official capacity. “This, however, is a private tour,” said Amjad Khan.
Maulana Fazl is from the dominant Deobandi school of thought, the same ideology both Pakistan and Afghan Taliban believe in.
He is among three mainstream Pakistani political leaders whom the TTP has chosen to be guarantors in its latest offer for peace talks with the country’s military.
The JUI leader said he is ready to play the role of mediator between the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban dominant in parts of the tribal areas for almost a decade now.
According to earlier reports, including one in this newspaper, negotiators from the Afghan militia have already returned to Doha to open a fresh round of dialogue with the US and the Kabul administration several months after a previous initiative stalled in March last year.
Tayeb Agha, a close aide and former secretary to Mullah Omer, and Maulvi Shahabuddin Delawar, the Taliban envoy to Riyadh during their rule, are said to be among the negotiators currently in the city.
The previous round of talks - between the Taliban and the US bypassing Karzai administration - were deadlocked after Washington refused to release the militia’s detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba where they face terrorism charges.
Karzai Backs UN Statement on Child War Deaths
TOLOnews.com Saturday, 09 February 2013
The Afghan president's spokesman on Saturday supported claims from a United Nations' committee that negligence in US military tactics had resulted in the deaths of "hundreds" of Afghan children over a four year period.
The Geneva-based UN Committee for the Rights of the Child Geneva – which operates independently of the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (Unama) – stated its concern last week over insufficient measures taken by US military to protect children in Afghanistan's conflict and that "members of the armed forces responsible for the killings of children have not always been held accountable".
The Committee said it was alarmed by reports that hundreds of children had died in US attacks and airstrikes due to a "reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force."
A day after the US military rejected the claims, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi supported the UN statement in a press release on the president's website.
"One of the controversial issues, which has always stoked tension in relations between Kabul and Washington is the issue of civilian casualties arising from Isaf military ops in the country," Faizi was quoted saying in the release.
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Saturday said it could not refute or support the UN claims, but it did confirm that its own statistics show an increase in child deaths in the first six months of this Persian year compared to the same period last year.
"We cannot dismiss or confirm this United Nations report. Our inspections show that children casualties in conflicts are increased, and we are worried about this situation," said Abdullah Abed, head of the AIHRC's Children Rights Support division.
AIHRC statistics show that in the first six months of this Persian year (March to August 2012) around 136 children were killed in war-induce violence while another 685 were injured.
This is a 14.5 percent increase compared to the same period last Persian year (Mar to Aug 2011). However, it is important to note that the statistics only reflect the total number of children killed regardless of whether the deaths are perpertrated by insurgent violence or by security forces.
The US military on Friday rejected the UN committee's claims as "categorically unfounded".
In a statement released by the International Security Assistance Force, which the US military leads, it said the reports were unsubstantiated and cited figures from Unama showing that most civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan were caused by insurgents.
Furthermore, it said Isaf reduced civilian casualties by 49 percent in 2012 from 2011, and the number of children killed or wounded in Isaf air operations had dropped by nearly 40 percent.
It said that to minimise the risk of civilian casualties both Isaf and US forces "employ detailed systems of technical, tactical and procedural checks and balances before employing all weapons in Afghanistan... [and] take precautions to employ force only when necessary, and in a proportional manner."
However, it acknowledged that civilian casualties do occur. "In each case Isaf and US military officials make every effort to meet with the families of those we have harmed and to express our condolences personally," the statement said.
In April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that 110 children were killed and 68 were injured in 2011 during Afghan airstrikes conducted by pro-government forces, led by the US - double the child casualties from a year earlier.
Attorney General to Investigate Samangan Govt Dispute
TOLOnews.com By Arif Musawi Saturday, 09 February 2013
Northern Samangan province's council chief Dr Ziauddin Zia has been put on notice after the provincial governor sent a letter to the local attorney general to investigate reports that Dr Zia physically abused at least one government employee.
Samangan's governor Khairullah Anosh on Saturday said Dr Zia misused his position in connection with some issues in the province, saying he beat two local government staff.
Dr Zia denies the report.
The head of Samangan's Public Works Department Engineer Zia, who goes by one name, claims he was beaten by the head of the provincial council.
"A delegation came from the Senate to Samangan province and we were busy for the inauguration of the university's road when the head of the provincial council called me to come to his office. When I went there he beat me without any reason," Eng. Zia told TOLOnews Friday.
Dr Zia admitted that he called the engineer Zia to his office and accused him of not fulfilling his responsibilities, but he never beat him.
"He is a good guy but he does not have good management skills and he is weak in his work, so I just called him [to the office] to advise and instruct him in his work," Dr Zia responded.
The provincial governor also said that Dr Zia had disagreed with the appointment of an official in Samangan Municipal Council and had acted inappropriately.
"That person [in the Municipal Council] brought his appointment letter from the central government and he is now doing his job. But the head of provincial council sent his five bodyguards to arrest him, and now the case is before the judicial organs," Anosh said.
But Dr Zia refuted the second accusation.
"The governor is a weak person and is also a sick person. He is an ineffective leader for the government and for Samangan province," Dr Zia said.
Residents of the provincial capital Aibak spoke out on Friday in a gathering and called on the governor and the head of provincial council to end their dispute.
"We do not want such disagreements," one of the residents told TOLOnews. "We are sick of this issue," he added.
The residents expressed their concern that if such disagreements continue, partisan and ethnic violence will increase in the province.
Local Powerbrokers Behind Illegal Mining: Govt
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Saturday, 09 February 2013
Illegal excavation of Afghanistan's mines is happening countrywide backed by local companies and officials in positions of power, the Office of the Administrative Affairs said Saturday.
Head of the Office's Monitoring and Evaluation Authority Sayed Ihsanuddin Taheri said that in northern Balkh province alone there have been 12 companies with no existing contracts excavating mines in the province since last summer.
"Alborz Company, Karim Sharifi Company, Aria Pamir North Company are at least three firms which are doing work arbitrarily. These three are some of the 12 companies that have been excavating mines and taking gems from Balkh province since the first of Saratan this year (late June 2012)," Taheri said.
A list of other provinces with sites being illegally mined includes Kabul, Kapisa, Parwan, Panjshir, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Ghazni, Bamiyan, Kandahar, Helmand, and Herat.
At least 12 places in Kabul believed to have some 700 gem stone mines, three gem stone mines in Panjshir including an emerald mine, and four mines in Badakhshsan are all known locations where illegal excavations are continuing, Taheri said.
The official said it was known that the illegal activities were supported by powerful local figures who help smuggle the gems and other mined materials out of the country.
Decree 45, issued by President Hamid Karzai, says that companies and individuals who are found to have carried out illegal excavations will be provided to the media once it is prepared by Ministry of Mines; however, no such list has been compiled yet.
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