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Afghan civilian killed in blast in S. province
TIRIN KOT, Afghanistan, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- An Afghan civilian was killed and one was wounded Wednesday in a blast in the country 's southern province of Uruzgan, police said.
"A civilian car touched off a pressure-plate bomb or Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along a road in Garmab Manda area in provincial capital in mid-day and the explosion killed a civilian injured another," police spokesman Farid Ayel told Xinhua, blaming Taliban insurgents for placing the IED in the province 370 km south of capital Kabul.
Conflict and Taliban-led violence claimed the lives of 2,754 civilians in 2012, a 12 percent drop compared with 2011, according to a UN report released in Kabul on Tuesday.
Out of total deaths, up to 868 were killed in IED blasts across the country last year, according to the report.
The UN report attributed 81 percent of the casualties to the attacks of Taliban and other armed groups opposing the government, another 8 percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO- led forces and 11 percent were unattributed.
Roadside bomb kills 2 Afghan police, wounds 1
ASSADABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Two personnel of Afghan Border Police Force were killed and another sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck a police van in Kunar province, 185 km east of Kabul on Wednesday, a local official said.
"A mine planted by militants on a road in Narai district, struck a vehicle of Border Police Force at 09:00 a.m. local time today as a result two personnel were killed and another sustained injuries," border police officer Ayub Hussainkhil told Xinhua.
Taliban militants who have been fighting the government and largely relying on suicide and roadside bombings have yet to claim responsibility.
6 IEDs defused in eastern Afghanistan: coalition
KABUL, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops defused six Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in eastern Afghan provinces within 24 hours, said the NATO-led coalition forces on Wednesday.
The home-made IEDs were neutralized in Khost, Ghazni, Paktya and Logar provinces, the coalition's Regional Command-East (RC- East) said in a press release, adding that the joint forces detained five suspected insurgents in operations in Logar and Nangarhar provinces within the same period of time.
The operations in RC-East are still ongoing, it added.
The IEDs used in making suicide jackets and roadside bombs has proved a challenge for Afghan and some 100,000 NATO-led forces in the insurgency-hit country, as they are simple but difficult to be detected. Taliban insurgents often attack security forces with IEDs but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.
A total of 2,754 Afghan civilians were killed and 4,805 injured in conflict-related violence in 2012, a 12 percent decrease in overall civilian casualties compared with 2011, according to a UN report released in capital Kabul on Tuesday.
Out of total fatalities, up to 868 were killed and 1,663 were wounded in some 782 IED blasts across the country, according to the report.
The UN report attributed 81 percent of the civilian deaths to the attacks of Taliban insurgents and other armed groups opposing the Afghan government, another eight percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO-led forces and 11 percent were unattributed.
UN notes a sharp increase in US drone strikes in Afghanistan
By Meena Haseeb - 20 Feb 2013, 9:02 am Khaama Press
United Nations Assistance mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) following a report announced US drone strikes in Afghanistan rose sharply last year with 506 weapons were released by drones in 2012, compared with 294 the previous year.
The increase was a sign that drones are taking a greater role as Americans try to streamline the fight against insurgents while preparing to withdraw combat forces in less than two years.
According to UNAMA five incidents resulted in casualties with 16 civilians killed and three wounded, up from just one incident in 2011.
The US air force central command also recorded an increase, giving the numbers of weapons released by drones as 243 in 2009, 277 in 2010, 294 in 2011 and 494 in 2012, The Associated Press reported.
In the meantime Peter Singer of the Washington-based Brookings Institution noted that the drone program in Afghanistan is run by the Pentagon, and therefore is more transparent than the CIA drone counter-terrorism program in Pakistan.
The U.N. figures were released as part of its annual report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Overall, the full-year toll of civilian deaths in 2012 declined to 2,754, a 12 percent decrease from 3,131 in the same period a year earlier. It was the first time in six years that the civilian death toll dropped.
5 factors for peace in Afghanistan
Given that Afghanistan has been in a state of war for nearly 35 years, only a broad-based reconciliation can resolve the fighting. Peace talks are a vital part of that process. Here are five factors necessary to achieving a sustainable peace in Afghanistan.
Christian Science Monitor By Edward Girardet February 19, 2013
1. All Afghans must be represented
All Afghans need to be represented in peace talks, whether those participants be the government, insurgent fronts, or credible political and religious leaders. Equally crucial are respected civil society actors, who are emerging as a significant third group.
There is also a whole generation of young Afghans – 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25 – whose aspirations have little to do with the former jihadists, the Taliban, or the warlords. They should have a say.
2. Peace talks must be Afghan-led and US-backed
The talks must be Afghan-led and sincerely backed by the United States and its allies. Islamabad should not be granted excessive dominance. While trade routes and border disputes are often cited as reasons for allowing Pakistan such influence, this neighbor is not the only outside link for Afghanistan. Iran and the Central Asian republics also offer viable commercial routes to Europe, Russia, and beyond.
3. Talks must be transparent
The talks have to be transparent. No secret deals. As anyone who has worked in Afghanistan knows only too well, grassroots Afghans believe they have been badly duped by the donor countries starting with the top-down Bonn talks at the end of 2001.
Then came the Emergency Loya Jirgha (Grand Assembly) in July 2002, when the Americans shattered public confidence by involving the discredited warlords, some responsible for war crimes. Even more disastrous, Washington sidelined Zahir Shah, the aging former king and only figurehead leader capable of rallying Afghans behind a genuine recovery process.
The same thing happened during the 1980s when Pakistan’s ISI (intelligence agency) undermined the ex-monarch in favor of hard-line extremists now fighting the coalition forces.
4. Talks should be overseen by a neutral, non-NATO country
Reconciliation efforts should be overseen – at least initially – by a neutral, non-NATO country. A recent roundtable on Afghanistan organized by SwissPeace and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy proposed Switzerland as a possible venue. The Swiss are ready to step in. Traditional Afghan mediation institutions should then take over without outside meddling.
5. West cannot abandon Afghanistan
And finally, even with the pullout of most foreign troops by the end of 2014, the West cannot simply abandon Afghanistan. It did so once before following the Red Army withdrawal in 1988, with horrendous consequences, notably a brutal civil war and the rise of the Taliban.
This time, the West, particularly the US, needs to persist with long-term development and investment. This does not mean wasting billions more dollars, but rather focusing on “smart” recovery initiatives. Given its natural resources plus exceptional cultural and eco-tourism potential, Afghanistan could have a good future.
For all this to happen, however, the West needs to be serious about wanting a credible peace. It also means acting in the interests of ordinary Afghans.
Edward Girardet is author of “Killing the Cranes: A Reporter’s Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan” and “Afghanistan: The Soviet War.” He is also editor of “The Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan and the Region.”
16 Afghan militants lay down arms in N. province
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Up to 16 Taliban militants renounced violence and joined the government- initiated peace and reconciliation process in the northern Afghan province of Balkh on Wednesday, police said.
"A total of 16 Taliban, including their commander Amir Gul, give up fighting and joined the peace process Wednesday," the deputy provincial police chief Abdul Rizaq Qadri told Xinhua.
The former militants were active in Dihdadi district, the police official said, adding they also handed over 14 rounds of weapons to security authorities during a welcoming ceremony held in Mazar-i-Sharif earlier in the day.
With the former insurgents' surrender, peace and stability would be further strengthened in the province 305 km north of capital Kabul, he said.
The Afghan government set up a 70-member High Peace Council in the summer of 2010 to encourage Taliban to disarm and give up militancy against the government.
Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have not made any comment yet.
Over 83,000 Afghan refugees repatriated from Pakistan in 2012: UNHCR
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that over 83,000 Afghan refugees were repatriated from Pakistan in 2012, which is its largest return operation in the world.
Last year's figures saw a 60 percent increase in the numbers of returning compared to 2011 when 52,000 Afghans returned home from Pakistan, the UNHCR said Wednesday.
There are 1.65 million registered Afghans currently living in Pakistan. Since 2002, UNHCR's voluntary repatriation program has assisted more than 3.8 million Afghan refugees to return home.
"UNHCR has supported the Government of Pakistan and provided hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance to refugees hosted on the sovereign territory of Pakistan over the past three decades, " said Neill Wright, UNHCR's Representative in Pakistan.
He added that "continuing the long tradition of hospitality by the people of Pakistan, the government continues to respect the fundamental principle that repatriation must be voluntary and with dignity, and that no refugee will be forced back."
In order to facilitate the returning refugees amid harsh winter conditions, UNHCR enhanced the return package and provided returning families with additional assistance, including free transportation from the Voluntary Repatriation Centres in Pakistan to the Encashment Centres inside Afghanistan, as well as non-food items in November and December 2012.
This assistance package was in addition to the 150 U.S. dollars cash grant ordinarily provided to returning families, a UNHCR statement said.
The Afghan war that started in 1979 displaced millions of people in the aftermath of the violent events, many took refuge in Pakistan, Iran and several other countries.
India, U.S., Afghanistan hold vice-ministerial meeting on Afghan situation
NEW DELHI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- India, the United States and Afghanistan have held a vice-ministerial level trilateral meeting in the Indian capital on the situation in the country and on how to launch development projects, reported local daily The Tribune Wednesday.
Y.K. Sinha, additional secretary in charge of Afghanistan of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake, led their respective delegations to Tuesday's meeting.
The fight against terrorism and violent extremism and regional trade and investment were also among the topics of their discussion, said the newspaper.
Sinha told the media that this meeting provided useful opportunity to state views on broad based subjects which are critical for transition and transformation underway in Afghanistan as the NATO is ready to pull out by 2014.
He added that India, U.S. and Afghanistan share the common vision for a peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan.
Taliban targeting Afghan women and government workers, UN report finds
Civilian casualty numbers fall for first time in six years but insurgents and Nato still inflicting 'unacceptable' toll on populace
Guardian.co.uk By Golnar Motevalli Tuesday 19 February 2013
Kabul - The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan has decreased for the first time in six years, said the UN, but targeted killings by insurgents – particularly of women, girls and government employees – increased dramatically.
In its annual report on the protection of ¬civilians in armed conflict, the UN recorded 2,754 Afghan civilians being killed in 2012, a decrease of 12% compared with 2011, and 4,805 being injured, a slight rise.
Improvised explosive devices laid by insurgents were responsible for 81% of casualties, with a 9% rise in the number of civilians killed or injured by IEDs.
"The decrease in civilian casualties [the UN] documented in 2012 is very much welcome. Yet the human cost of the conflict remains unacceptable," said Jan Kubis, the UN envoy to Afghanistan.
The overall decline was attributed in part to one of the worst winters on record impeding fighting. Fewer suicide bomb attacks and a fall in the number of air strikes also helped ease 2012's death toll.
But the report showed a 20% increase in the number of women and girls killed or injured. Deliberate targeting by the Taliban and other insurgents also tripled in 2012, said the UN. Most were hit while in their homes or working in fields.
Of the 854 female casualties, 504 were a result of insurgent attacks, while foreign and Afghan troops were responsible for 155 deaths and injuries. Tragically, however, more than 200 female casualties were unattributable and could only be explained by the UN as a result of "the explosive remnants of war".
Afghans responded to the findings with a mixture of positivity and caution. "I think there is a sense that our own forces are doing more work" said Farzad Samandari, a 20-year-old student from Kabul. "It seems Afghan forces are far more willing to sacrifice themselves for their own country against insurgents, which is important – that's something you cannot really expect from foreign forces."
Elsewhere, some Afghans were less moved by the news that fewer civilians had been killed, and more concerned about the impact of armed groups on security, reflecting another of the report's findings.
The UN warned about the sanctioned use of local militias and their recruitment to the Afghan Local Police, particularly in the north and north-east of the country. The ALP is a localised militia-based force whose training was suspended by US forces in September owing to a dramatic rise in the number of inside attacks carried out by recruits.
According to the UN, the use of the ALP "unintentionally contributed to expand and solidify the power of armed groups" in the north.
"The Americans are paying too much heed to the Afghan Local Police, this what the Soviets did, it didn't work under them and it won't work for the foreign forces," said Wahid Ahmadi, a university student in Takhar city."In the northern provinces, where the government has little control, when there is an operation, no journalist or member of civil society is able to access or witness what happens."
He added that he believed the UN was not properly counting civilian deaths by Afghan and foreign forces.
The north saw some of the worst targeted assassinations by insurgents of government employees, a tactic which also spiked, the report said, resulting in a dramatic 700% increase in the number of civilian casualties attributed to this type of violence in 2012.
The report cited two particular attacks in northern Afghanistan that targeted government officials but resulted in the additional loss of life and injury of civilian bystanders.
By contrast the number of Afghan civilians killed by Nato-led and Afghan security forces dropped by nearly 40%. This figure may reduce anger at the alliance after it was chastised by President Hamid Karzai for carrying out an air strike in south-east Kunar province last week that killed 10 civilians.
The incident led Karzai to introduce a new decree, enforced on Monday, banning the Afghan military from requesting aerial support from Nato-led forces. The commander of international forces in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, has agreed to the decree and maintained that the order will not prevent foreign troops from operating effectively.
The International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said it supported the UN figures. "Much work has already been done by Isaf in reviewing our tactical directives and operational procedures. We will aggressively work with the [Afghan forces] to enhance their civilian casualty mitigation efforts," Isaf spokeswoman in Kabul, Erin O. Stattel, said via email.
Unsurprisingly air strikes were the main cause of civilian casualties by foreign forces in 2012, but they killed 42% fewer civilians compared with 2011. Overall, air strikes in 2012 killed 126 civilians, including 51 children.
A spokesman for the Taliban dismissed the report, calling it "a vehicle of propaganda against" the group. "We don't accept this report, this is a biased report. You cannot find a single operation by the Taliban in which civilians have been killed We are raising a Jihad for the sake and for the freedom of the Afghan people," Zabiullah Mujahed told the Guardian.
The UN also said it had identified a shift in the Taliban's public relations efforts. The group's promotion of insider attacks on foreign troops and the pin-pointing of military targets, the report said, showed "a heightened awareness" by Taliban leadership of a need to publicly demonstrate that it wants to protect Afghan civilians, support the peace process and win "hearts and minds".
General Struck a Delicate Balance On Troop Levels for the Afghan War
Wall Street Journal By ADAM ENTOUS February 19, 2013
WASHINGTON - From the start of his tour as the top U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization commander in Afghanistan in July 2011, Gen. John Allen sought to strike a delicate balance that had eluded his predecessors—fighting for troop levels he thought he would need without crossing a White House eager to pull troops out.
Two of Gen. Allen's predecessors, Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Gen. David McKiernan, saw their careers cut short in part because of friction over war strategy and troop levels, and aides to Gen. Allen said he sought to avoid a similar drama.
When he took the helm in Kabul, Gen. Allen, like many of his fellow commanders, was wary of the speedy withdrawals advocated by top White House officials, according to his advisers at the time.
But during his 19-month tour, Gen. Allen shifted toward the White House's direction, though it is unclear how much of a choice he had.
After President Barack Obama announced he would end a troop surge in September, Gen. Allen made clear to lawmakers who visited him in Kabul that he preferred to delay further reductions until the end of 2013, in part to give U.S. forces the strength to mount a major campaign along Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan. He also privately backed proposals to maintain a post-2014 military presence in Afghanistan with as many as 15,000 troops, according to officials.
In both cases, in the face of White House pushback, Gen. Allen came around and backed steeper cuts.
Aides said he came to support the cuts because the mission had changed—from leading combat operations to advising Afghan security forces in those operations—and because of what Gen. Allen saw as better-than-expected progress in training and fielding Afghan army units.
In one of his last acts as commander, Gen. Allen embraced Mr. Obama's decision, announced in his State of the Union address, to pull 34,000 more troops out of Afghanistan over the next year, a number that was larger than many commanders in the field had initially expected.
But in a nod to Gen. Allen's concerns about pulling out too quickly, the White House agreed to his recommendation to delay pulling out most of those troops until the end of the year and early 2014.
Mr. Obama hasn't yet said how many American troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014. But, at the White House's request, the Pentagon drew up options that call for keeping around 3,000, 6,000 or 9,000 troops there—well below the levels initially advocated by Gen. Allen and other commanders.
Write to Adam Entous at adam.entous@wsj.com
Top Member of Taliban in Pakistan Is Captured
New York Times By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and JAWAD SUKHANYAR February 19, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghanistan authorities have captured a senior member of the Pakistan Taliban in a stretch of mountains near the frontier between the two countries, Afghan and Pakistani officials said on Tuesday. One Afghan official said the militant, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, had been arrested after American airstrikes, some carried out via drones, had flushed him out of a more remote haven.
Although Mr. Muhammad, picked up over the weekend, had lost much of his standing in the Pakistan Taliban over the past few years, his arrest was likely to please Pakistani officials and further improve the already warming relations between Kabul and Islamabad. “This is big news,” a senior Pakistani security official said.
Afghan officials, including members of the intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, said its agents, aided by Afghan Army special forces, had captured Mr. Muhammad on Sunday along with four other militants in the Mohmand Dara District of Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan. The district borders Pakistan.
A member of the Pakistan Taliban, formally known as the Tehrik-i-Taliban, also said he had heard of Mr. Muhammad’s capture, and that the news was spreading quickly among the many militant factions that make up the Islamist movement.
Shukrullah Durani, the governor of Mohmand Dara, said the five men had been carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, hand grenades, a pistol and a radio when caught about 4:30 p.m. They were driving a white Toyota Corolla — one of Afghanistan’s most common cars, and thus a low-profile way to travel — and were passing through the village of Hazarnaw, he said, adding that authorities had been tracking the men for some time. Except for the district governor, Afghan and Pakistani officials spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the political delicacy of the case.
Pakistani officials have in the past year often complained that Afghan and American authorities were doing little to capture the wanted militant leader. To the dismay of Washington, they repeatedly sought to draw equivalence between his case and longstanding accusations that Islamabad let the Afghan Taliban use Pakistan as a rear base.
Mr. Muhammad, believed to be in his 40s, fled to Afghanistan in 2010 after an offensive by Pakistan’s military on his stronghold in the Bajaur tribal agency. He was at the time a deputy leader of the Pakistan Taliban, an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban movement.
Mr. Muhammad continued to attack Pakistani forces in Bajaur after taking refuge in the isolated valleys of Kunar and Nuristan Provinces in northeastern Afghanistan, prompting Pakistani complaints of American and Afghan inaction.
At the same time, though, he fell out with the leadership of the Pakistan Taliban after trying to open peace talks. But in recent months, as the Pakistan Taliban have made limited overtures toward holding such talks, colleagues have appeared to welcome Mr. Muhammad back.
Afghan officials have long denied that Mr. Muhammad operated from their territory. Intelligence officials in Kabul said that he had been caught on Sunday while crossing into Afghanistan, and they suggested that he had lacked a base of operations on the Afghan side of the border.
But another official, an intelligence agent who works in northeastern Afghanistan, said Mr. Muhammad’s trail had been picked up in recent days because he had been trying to flee Kunar Province. Mr. Muhammad felt there were too many airstrikes by the American-led coalition there, the intelligence official said. Many were carried out by drones, and Mr. Muhammad, knowing the effectiveness of drone attacks targeting Islamist militants in Pakistan’s border areas, feared that the Americans had been hunting him.
American officials offered no comment on Mr. Muhammad’s capture, referring questions to the Afghanistan government.
Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan; Sharifullah Sahak from Kabul; and an employee of The New York Times from Asadabad, Afghanistan.
U.S. Gen. John Allen to retire, end pursuit of NATO commander job
CNN By Chris Lawrence and Tom Cohen February 20, 2013
Washington - Gen. John Allen, the former leader of coalition forces in Afghanistan who was nominated to become supreme allied commander of NATO, is retiring instead of continuing to pursue the post, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday.
Allen informed Obama that he will leave the service rather than move forward with the nomination, which requires Senate confirmation, a White House statement said.
"I met with General John Allen and accepted his request to retire from the military so that he can address health issues within his family," Obama said.
In a statement later Tuesday, Allen said his reasons for retiring were personal.
"While I won't go into the details, my primary concern is for the health of my wife, who has sacrificed so much for so long. For more than 35 years, my beloved Kathy has devotedly stood beside me and enabled me to serve my country.
"It is profoundly sobering to consider how much of that time I have spent away from her and our two precious daughters. It is now my turn to stand beside them, to be there for them when they need me most," he said.
Allen, a Marine Corps general, was the top coalition commander in Afghanistan for nearly two years. He relinquished that command earlier this month after planning the end of the mission's combat operations.
However, Allen was caught up in a scandal over embarrassing e-mails with Tampa socialite Jill Kelley that came to the public's attention during the same investigation that brought down former CIA Director David Petraeus.
CNN previously reported that Defense Department officials said there was inappropriate language in those e-mails, but no evidence of an affair between Allen and Kelley.
Allen's nomination for the NATO commander post was put on hold while the Pentagon's inspector general looked into the issue.
He was cleared of wrongdoing after several months and the White House initially indicated Obama would proceed with the nomination.
On Tuesday, Obama called the general one of America's finest military leaders.
Allen "presided over the significant growth in the size and capability of Afghan National Security Forces, the further degradation of al Qaeda and their extremist allies, and the ongoing transition to Afghan security responsibility across the country," Obama said in the statement.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement on Tuesday that Allen's leadership in Afghanistan "will be long remembered as pivotal" to the mission.
"The strategy he developed and implemented has put us on the right path towards completing this mission, with Afghan forces now on track to step into the lead for security nationwide this spring and to assume full security responsibility by the end of next year," Panetta said.
Panetta, who also is stepping down, previously acknowledged that Allen has "been under a tremendous amount of pressure," and advised him to take his time in deciding whether to continue pursuing the NATO commander position.
In July 2011, Allen succeeded Petraeus to inherit the largest-ever NATO force in Afghanistan and spent 19 months directing his forces against Taliban insurgents and preparing for the first phases of a hand-over of provincial security to local and national forces.
About 150,000 ISAF members were deployed at that time, including just under 100,000 U.S. troops. There are 66,000 U.S. service members currently deployed to the region, and Obama announced last week his intention to bring home 34,000 of them within a year.
Less than a month after he assumed command, the United States suffered its deadliest single attack of the Afghan war when insurgents downed a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Wardak province, killing 30 U.S. service members. The toll included 22 Navy SEALs.
Allen later faced additional diplomatic crises that followed controversial incidents that included the accidental burning of Qurans by U.S. service members, U.S. airstrikes that resulted in civilian deaths and the killing of 16 civilians in a massacre allegedly carried out by a U.S. service member.
An uptick in "green-on-blue" attacks -- in which Afghan forces or trainees turn their weapons against U.S. counterparts -- is also believed to have hampered the training of Afghan forces and contributed to increased public discontent at home over American deployment to the region.
A graduate of Georgetown University and the National War College, Allen also drew distinction for his counterinsurgency work in Iraq, particularly in the country's volatile Anbar province in 2008, where he helped isolate a growing insurgency.
CNN's Joe Sterling contributed to this report.
U.S. Backs Afghan Elections: U.S. State Department
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Tuesday, 19 February 2013
The United States will be the biggest contributor in the upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan, a U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday.
"The United States backs independent Afghan elections in accordance with the Afghan constitution. Independent elections are critical for Afghanistan's future," said Karen Decker, the senior civilian representative for the coalition's Regional Command-East. "The United States will do everything we can to support free and fair elections."
Speaking at a conference held in Kapisa province, the envoy pointed out that Afghanistan would not be left unaccompanied after 2014. The United States is committed to equipping the local security forces and developing Afghanistan's economy.
Kapisa's provincial governor, Mehrabuddin Safi, said operations to clear out insurgents will be carried out in the districts of Tagab and Alasai just ahead of the elections.
"There are security challenges in districts of Tagab and Alasai. We are preparing to have military operations before the presidential elections and have security forces ready to help with the groundwork for the elections."
Officials did not provide details on when the operations will start.
Transparent Elections to Lead Afghanistan Towards Stability
TOLOnews.com By Sameer Rasa Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Afghanistan will fall to insecurity and instability if the presidential elections are held with fraud, said Zalmai Rasool, the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
On a visit with Balkh's governor Atta Mohammad Noor in Mazar e Sharif, alongside parliament representatives, Rasool said that the government is attempting to hold a transparent presidential election in 2014.
"If the election is transparent and a democratic political transition can occur, then I assure you that Afghanistan will move towards improvement and stability - otherwise we will face big problems in the future," said Rasool.
The minister denied any secret negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban, pointing to the fact that the Qatar office is still not open.
Peaceful negotiations will continue with the Taliban only if they accept Afghanistan's constitution, added Rasool.
"First, we will negotiate with those Taliban who want peace. Second, they should respect Afghanistan's constitution - which is a big achievement in the country. Last, they should lay down their arms," said Rasool. "And then, we will welcome them as Afghan citizens to come and participate in the election."
Governor Noor agreed, saying he welcomes peaceful negotiations with Taliban but added that the terms of the negotiations should be clearly defined.
"There should be a clear mechanisms and rules about the Taliban who join the peace process," said Noor. "For example, how can they be effective in the peace process? Can they persuade others to join in the process? What about the issue of them going back and joining the opposing group. There must be clear and effective mechanisms at play."
Australia Pledges $100 Million to Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com Tuesday, 19 February 2013
The Australian defense minister Stephen Smith met President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Monday, pledging $100 million in annual aid to Afghanistan beyond 2014, Karzai's office said.
"President Hamid Karzai met Mr Stephen Smith, the Australian Defence Minister last night at the president place and discussed over the co-operation between the two countries after 2014, security transition and peace process," it said in a statement Tuesday.
According to the presidential office, Smith told Karzai that the security transition from Australian troops to local security forces "is continuing successfully" in Uruzgan province.
"We will withdraw our troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2013. But we will continue the training of the Afghan security forces," Smith was quoted as saying.
Smith pledged $100 million annually to the Afghan National Security Forces after 2014 when they will take responsibility for Afghanistan's total security.
Australia has around 1,094 soldiers in Afghanistan, most of whom are based in southern Uruzgan province. Thirty-nine of its soldiers have died in the Afghan war since the start of the Isaf mission.
Etisalat Granted 4G Licence in Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com By Jawed Stanikzai Tuesday, 19 February 2013
After signing an agreement with the Afghan government on Tuesday, Etisalat Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates or UAE based telecommunications service provider, will launch the country's first trial 4G network.
The announcement comes just one year after Etisalat Afghanistan obtained their 3G license.
"The trial of 4G technology in Afghanistan is an important event for us," said Ahmad Hussaini, head of Etisalat Afghanistan. "The 4G services enable GSM users to have access to fast internet on their mobile phones, connect to live video calls, exchange video, music and photos."
The 4G service is five time faster and better than Etisalat's 3G technology, added Hussaini.
However, the vast majority of Afghans - only 4 percent according to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology - do not have access to internet services, particularly those people living in remote provinces.
There are currently five private telecom companies operating in Afghanistan.
Etisalat Afghanistan, part of the UAE-based Etisalat Group, also operates in Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
TIRIN KOT, Afghanistan, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- An Afghan civilian was killed and one was wounded Wednesday in a blast in the country 's southern province of Uruzgan, police said.
"A civilian car touched off a pressure-plate bomb or Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along a road in Garmab Manda area in provincial capital in mid-day and the explosion killed a civilian injured another," police spokesman Farid Ayel told Xinhua, blaming Taliban insurgents for placing the IED in the province 370 km south of capital Kabul.
Conflict and Taliban-led violence claimed the lives of 2,754 civilians in 2012, a 12 percent drop compared with 2011, according to a UN report released in Kabul on Tuesday.
Out of total deaths, up to 868 were killed in IED blasts across the country last year, according to the report.
The UN report attributed 81 percent of the casualties to the attacks of Taliban and other armed groups opposing the government, another 8 percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO- led forces and 11 percent were unattributed.
Roadside bomb kills 2 Afghan police, wounds 1
ASSADABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Two personnel of Afghan Border Police Force were killed and another sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck a police van in Kunar province, 185 km east of Kabul on Wednesday, a local official said.
"A mine planted by militants on a road in Narai district, struck a vehicle of Border Police Force at 09:00 a.m. local time today as a result two personnel were killed and another sustained injuries," border police officer Ayub Hussainkhil told Xinhua.
Taliban militants who have been fighting the government and largely relying on suicide and roadside bombings have yet to claim responsibility.
6 IEDs defused in eastern Afghanistan: coalition
KABUL, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops defused six Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in eastern Afghan provinces within 24 hours, said the NATO-led coalition forces on Wednesday.
The home-made IEDs were neutralized in Khost, Ghazni, Paktya and Logar provinces, the coalition's Regional Command-East (RC- East) said in a press release, adding that the joint forces detained five suspected insurgents in operations in Logar and Nangarhar provinces within the same period of time.
The operations in RC-East are still ongoing, it added.
The IEDs used in making suicide jackets and roadside bombs has proved a challenge for Afghan and some 100,000 NATO-led forces in the insurgency-hit country, as they are simple but difficult to be detected. Taliban insurgents often attack security forces with IEDs but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.
A total of 2,754 Afghan civilians were killed and 4,805 injured in conflict-related violence in 2012, a 12 percent decrease in overall civilian casualties compared with 2011, according to a UN report released in capital Kabul on Tuesday.
Out of total fatalities, up to 868 were killed and 1,663 were wounded in some 782 IED blasts across the country, according to the report.
The UN report attributed 81 percent of the civilian deaths to the attacks of Taliban insurgents and other armed groups opposing the Afghan government, another eight percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO-led forces and 11 percent were unattributed.
UN notes a sharp increase in US drone strikes in Afghanistan
By Meena Haseeb - 20 Feb 2013, 9:02 am Khaama Press
United Nations Assistance mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) following a report announced US drone strikes in Afghanistan rose sharply last year with 506 weapons were released by drones in 2012, compared with 294 the previous year.
The increase was a sign that drones are taking a greater role as Americans try to streamline the fight against insurgents while preparing to withdraw combat forces in less than two years.
According to UNAMA five incidents resulted in casualties with 16 civilians killed and three wounded, up from just one incident in 2011.
The US air force central command also recorded an increase, giving the numbers of weapons released by drones as 243 in 2009, 277 in 2010, 294 in 2011 and 494 in 2012, The Associated Press reported.
In the meantime Peter Singer of the Washington-based Brookings Institution noted that the drone program in Afghanistan is run by the Pentagon, and therefore is more transparent than the CIA drone counter-terrorism program in Pakistan.
The U.N. figures were released as part of its annual report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Overall, the full-year toll of civilian deaths in 2012 declined to 2,754, a 12 percent decrease from 3,131 in the same period a year earlier. It was the first time in six years that the civilian death toll dropped.
5 factors for peace in Afghanistan
Given that Afghanistan has been in a state of war for nearly 35 years, only a broad-based reconciliation can resolve the fighting. Peace talks are a vital part of that process. Here are five factors necessary to achieving a sustainable peace in Afghanistan.
Christian Science Monitor By Edward Girardet February 19, 2013
1. All Afghans must be represented
All Afghans need to be represented in peace talks, whether those participants be the government, insurgent fronts, or credible political and religious leaders. Equally crucial are respected civil society actors, who are emerging as a significant third group.
There is also a whole generation of young Afghans – 60 percent of the population is under the age of 25 – whose aspirations have little to do with the former jihadists, the Taliban, or the warlords. They should have a say.
2. Peace talks must be Afghan-led and US-backed
The talks must be Afghan-led and sincerely backed by the United States and its allies. Islamabad should not be granted excessive dominance. While trade routes and border disputes are often cited as reasons for allowing Pakistan such influence, this neighbor is not the only outside link for Afghanistan. Iran and the Central Asian republics also offer viable commercial routes to Europe, Russia, and beyond.
3. Talks must be transparent
The talks have to be transparent. No secret deals. As anyone who has worked in Afghanistan knows only too well, grassroots Afghans believe they have been badly duped by the donor countries starting with the top-down Bonn talks at the end of 2001.
Then came the Emergency Loya Jirgha (Grand Assembly) in July 2002, when the Americans shattered public confidence by involving the discredited warlords, some responsible for war crimes. Even more disastrous, Washington sidelined Zahir Shah, the aging former king and only figurehead leader capable of rallying Afghans behind a genuine recovery process.
The same thing happened during the 1980s when Pakistan’s ISI (intelligence agency) undermined the ex-monarch in favor of hard-line extremists now fighting the coalition forces.
4. Talks should be overseen by a neutral, non-NATO country
Reconciliation efforts should be overseen – at least initially – by a neutral, non-NATO country. A recent roundtable on Afghanistan organized by SwissPeace and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy proposed Switzerland as a possible venue. The Swiss are ready to step in. Traditional Afghan mediation institutions should then take over without outside meddling.
5. West cannot abandon Afghanistan
And finally, even with the pullout of most foreign troops by the end of 2014, the West cannot simply abandon Afghanistan. It did so once before following the Red Army withdrawal in 1988, with horrendous consequences, notably a brutal civil war and the rise of the Taliban.
This time, the West, particularly the US, needs to persist with long-term development and investment. This does not mean wasting billions more dollars, but rather focusing on “smart” recovery initiatives. Given its natural resources plus exceptional cultural and eco-tourism potential, Afghanistan could have a good future.
For all this to happen, however, the West needs to be serious about wanting a credible peace. It also means acting in the interests of ordinary Afghans.
Edward Girardet is author of “Killing the Cranes: A Reporter’s Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan” and “Afghanistan: The Soviet War.” He is also editor of “The Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan and the Region.”
16 Afghan militants lay down arms in N. province
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Up to 16 Taliban militants renounced violence and joined the government- initiated peace and reconciliation process in the northern Afghan province of Balkh on Wednesday, police said.
"A total of 16 Taliban, including their commander Amir Gul, give up fighting and joined the peace process Wednesday," the deputy provincial police chief Abdul Rizaq Qadri told Xinhua.
The former militants were active in Dihdadi district, the police official said, adding they also handed over 14 rounds of weapons to security authorities during a welcoming ceremony held in Mazar-i-Sharif earlier in the day.
With the former insurgents' surrender, peace and stability would be further strengthened in the province 305 km north of capital Kabul, he said.
The Afghan government set up a 70-member High Peace Council in the summer of 2010 to encourage Taliban to disarm and give up militancy against the government.
Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have not made any comment yet.
Over 83,000 Afghan refugees repatriated from Pakistan in 2012: UNHCR
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that over 83,000 Afghan refugees were repatriated from Pakistan in 2012, which is its largest return operation in the world.
Last year's figures saw a 60 percent increase in the numbers of returning compared to 2011 when 52,000 Afghans returned home from Pakistan, the UNHCR said Wednesday.
There are 1.65 million registered Afghans currently living in Pakistan. Since 2002, UNHCR's voluntary repatriation program has assisted more than 3.8 million Afghan refugees to return home.
"UNHCR has supported the Government of Pakistan and provided hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance to refugees hosted on the sovereign territory of Pakistan over the past three decades, " said Neill Wright, UNHCR's Representative in Pakistan.
He added that "continuing the long tradition of hospitality by the people of Pakistan, the government continues to respect the fundamental principle that repatriation must be voluntary and with dignity, and that no refugee will be forced back."
In order to facilitate the returning refugees amid harsh winter conditions, UNHCR enhanced the return package and provided returning families with additional assistance, including free transportation from the Voluntary Repatriation Centres in Pakistan to the Encashment Centres inside Afghanistan, as well as non-food items in November and December 2012.
This assistance package was in addition to the 150 U.S. dollars cash grant ordinarily provided to returning families, a UNHCR statement said.
The Afghan war that started in 1979 displaced millions of people in the aftermath of the violent events, many took refuge in Pakistan, Iran and several other countries.
India, U.S., Afghanistan hold vice-ministerial meeting on Afghan situation
NEW DELHI, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- India, the United States and Afghanistan have held a vice-ministerial level trilateral meeting in the Indian capital on the situation in the country and on how to launch development projects, reported local daily The Tribune Wednesday.
Y.K. Sinha, additional secretary in charge of Afghanistan of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake, led their respective delegations to Tuesday's meeting.
The fight against terrorism and violent extremism and regional trade and investment were also among the topics of their discussion, said the newspaper.
Sinha told the media that this meeting provided useful opportunity to state views on broad based subjects which are critical for transition and transformation underway in Afghanistan as the NATO is ready to pull out by 2014.
He added that India, U.S. and Afghanistan share the common vision for a peaceful, stable, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan.
Taliban targeting Afghan women and government workers, UN report finds
Civilian casualty numbers fall for first time in six years but insurgents and Nato still inflicting 'unacceptable' toll on populace
Guardian.co.uk By Golnar Motevalli Tuesday 19 February 2013
Kabul - The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan has decreased for the first time in six years, said the UN, but targeted killings by insurgents – particularly of women, girls and government employees – increased dramatically.
In its annual report on the protection of ¬civilians in armed conflict, the UN recorded 2,754 Afghan civilians being killed in 2012, a decrease of 12% compared with 2011, and 4,805 being injured, a slight rise.
Improvised explosive devices laid by insurgents were responsible for 81% of casualties, with a 9% rise in the number of civilians killed or injured by IEDs.
"The decrease in civilian casualties [the UN] documented in 2012 is very much welcome. Yet the human cost of the conflict remains unacceptable," said Jan Kubis, the UN envoy to Afghanistan.
The overall decline was attributed in part to one of the worst winters on record impeding fighting. Fewer suicide bomb attacks and a fall in the number of air strikes also helped ease 2012's death toll.
But the report showed a 20% increase in the number of women and girls killed or injured. Deliberate targeting by the Taliban and other insurgents also tripled in 2012, said the UN. Most were hit while in their homes or working in fields.
Of the 854 female casualties, 504 were a result of insurgent attacks, while foreign and Afghan troops were responsible for 155 deaths and injuries. Tragically, however, more than 200 female casualties were unattributable and could only be explained by the UN as a result of "the explosive remnants of war".
Afghans responded to the findings with a mixture of positivity and caution. "I think there is a sense that our own forces are doing more work" said Farzad Samandari, a 20-year-old student from Kabul. "It seems Afghan forces are far more willing to sacrifice themselves for their own country against insurgents, which is important – that's something you cannot really expect from foreign forces."
Elsewhere, some Afghans were less moved by the news that fewer civilians had been killed, and more concerned about the impact of armed groups on security, reflecting another of the report's findings.
The UN warned about the sanctioned use of local militias and their recruitment to the Afghan Local Police, particularly in the north and north-east of the country. The ALP is a localised militia-based force whose training was suspended by US forces in September owing to a dramatic rise in the number of inside attacks carried out by recruits.
According to the UN, the use of the ALP "unintentionally contributed to expand and solidify the power of armed groups" in the north.
"The Americans are paying too much heed to the Afghan Local Police, this what the Soviets did, it didn't work under them and it won't work for the foreign forces," said Wahid Ahmadi, a university student in Takhar city."In the northern provinces, where the government has little control, when there is an operation, no journalist or member of civil society is able to access or witness what happens."
He added that he believed the UN was not properly counting civilian deaths by Afghan and foreign forces.
The north saw some of the worst targeted assassinations by insurgents of government employees, a tactic which also spiked, the report said, resulting in a dramatic 700% increase in the number of civilian casualties attributed to this type of violence in 2012.
The report cited two particular attacks in northern Afghanistan that targeted government officials but resulted in the additional loss of life and injury of civilian bystanders.
By contrast the number of Afghan civilians killed by Nato-led and Afghan security forces dropped by nearly 40%. This figure may reduce anger at the alliance after it was chastised by President Hamid Karzai for carrying out an air strike in south-east Kunar province last week that killed 10 civilians.
The incident led Karzai to introduce a new decree, enforced on Monday, banning the Afghan military from requesting aerial support from Nato-led forces. The commander of international forces in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, has agreed to the decree and maintained that the order will not prevent foreign troops from operating effectively.
The International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said it supported the UN figures. "Much work has already been done by Isaf in reviewing our tactical directives and operational procedures. We will aggressively work with the [Afghan forces] to enhance their civilian casualty mitigation efforts," Isaf spokeswoman in Kabul, Erin O. Stattel, said via email.
Unsurprisingly air strikes were the main cause of civilian casualties by foreign forces in 2012, but they killed 42% fewer civilians compared with 2011. Overall, air strikes in 2012 killed 126 civilians, including 51 children.
A spokesman for the Taliban dismissed the report, calling it "a vehicle of propaganda against" the group. "We don't accept this report, this is a biased report. You cannot find a single operation by the Taliban in which civilians have been killed We are raising a Jihad for the sake and for the freedom of the Afghan people," Zabiullah Mujahed told the Guardian.
The UN also said it had identified a shift in the Taliban's public relations efforts. The group's promotion of insider attacks on foreign troops and the pin-pointing of military targets, the report said, showed "a heightened awareness" by Taliban leadership of a need to publicly demonstrate that it wants to protect Afghan civilians, support the peace process and win "hearts and minds".
General Struck a Delicate Balance On Troop Levels for the Afghan War
Wall Street Journal By ADAM ENTOUS February 19, 2013
WASHINGTON - From the start of his tour as the top U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization commander in Afghanistan in July 2011, Gen. John Allen sought to strike a delicate balance that had eluded his predecessors—fighting for troop levels he thought he would need without crossing a White House eager to pull troops out.
Two of Gen. Allen's predecessors, Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Gen. David McKiernan, saw their careers cut short in part because of friction over war strategy and troop levels, and aides to Gen. Allen said he sought to avoid a similar drama.
When he took the helm in Kabul, Gen. Allen, like many of his fellow commanders, was wary of the speedy withdrawals advocated by top White House officials, according to his advisers at the time.
But during his 19-month tour, Gen. Allen shifted toward the White House's direction, though it is unclear how much of a choice he had.
After President Barack Obama announced he would end a troop surge in September, Gen. Allen made clear to lawmakers who visited him in Kabul that he preferred to delay further reductions until the end of 2013, in part to give U.S. forces the strength to mount a major campaign along Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan. He also privately backed proposals to maintain a post-2014 military presence in Afghanistan with as many as 15,000 troops, according to officials.
In both cases, in the face of White House pushback, Gen. Allen came around and backed steeper cuts.
Aides said he came to support the cuts because the mission had changed—from leading combat operations to advising Afghan security forces in those operations—and because of what Gen. Allen saw as better-than-expected progress in training and fielding Afghan army units.
In one of his last acts as commander, Gen. Allen embraced Mr. Obama's decision, announced in his State of the Union address, to pull 34,000 more troops out of Afghanistan over the next year, a number that was larger than many commanders in the field had initially expected.
But in a nod to Gen. Allen's concerns about pulling out too quickly, the White House agreed to his recommendation to delay pulling out most of those troops until the end of the year and early 2014.
Mr. Obama hasn't yet said how many American troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014. But, at the White House's request, the Pentagon drew up options that call for keeping around 3,000, 6,000 or 9,000 troops there—well below the levels initially advocated by Gen. Allen and other commanders.
Write to Adam Entous at adam.entous@wsj.com
Top Member of Taliban in Pakistan Is Captured
New York Times By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and JAWAD SUKHANYAR February 19, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghanistan authorities have captured a senior member of the Pakistan Taliban in a stretch of mountains near the frontier between the two countries, Afghan and Pakistani officials said on Tuesday. One Afghan official said the militant, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad, had been arrested after American airstrikes, some carried out via drones, had flushed him out of a more remote haven.
Although Mr. Muhammad, picked up over the weekend, had lost much of his standing in the Pakistan Taliban over the past few years, his arrest was likely to please Pakistani officials and further improve the already warming relations between Kabul and Islamabad. “This is big news,” a senior Pakistani security official said.
Afghan officials, including members of the intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, said its agents, aided by Afghan Army special forces, had captured Mr. Muhammad on Sunday along with four other militants in the Mohmand Dara District of Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan. The district borders Pakistan.
A member of the Pakistan Taliban, formally known as the Tehrik-i-Taliban, also said he had heard of Mr. Muhammad’s capture, and that the news was spreading quickly among the many militant factions that make up the Islamist movement.
Shukrullah Durani, the governor of Mohmand Dara, said the five men had been carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, hand grenades, a pistol and a radio when caught about 4:30 p.m. They were driving a white Toyota Corolla — one of Afghanistan’s most common cars, and thus a low-profile way to travel — and were passing through the village of Hazarnaw, he said, adding that authorities had been tracking the men for some time. Except for the district governor, Afghan and Pakistani officials spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the political delicacy of the case.
Pakistani officials have in the past year often complained that Afghan and American authorities were doing little to capture the wanted militant leader. To the dismay of Washington, they repeatedly sought to draw equivalence between his case and longstanding accusations that Islamabad let the Afghan Taliban use Pakistan as a rear base.
Mr. Muhammad, believed to be in his 40s, fled to Afghanistan in 2010 after an offensive by Pakistan’s military on his stronghold in the Bajaur tribal agency. He was at the time a deputy leader of the Pakistan Taliban, an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban movement.
Mr. Muhammad continued to attack Pakistani forces in Bajaur after taking refuge in the isolated valleys of Kunar and Nuristan Provinces in northeastern Afghanistan, prompting Pakistani complaints of American and Afghan inaction.
At the same time, though, he fell out with the leadership of the Pakistan Taliban after trying to open peace talks. But in recent months, as the Pakistan Taliban have made limited overtures toward holding such talks, colleagues have appeared to welcome Mr. Muhammad back.
Afghan officials have long denied that Mr. Muhammad operated from their territory. Intelligence officials in Kabul said that he had been caught on Sunday while crossing into Afghanistan, and they suggested that he had lacked a base of operations on the Afghan side of the border.
But another official, an intelligence agent who works in northeastern Afghanistan, said Mr. Muhammad’s trail had been picked up in recent days because he had been trying to flee Kunar Province. Mr. Muhammad felt there were too many airstrikes by the American-led coalition there, the intelligence official said. Many were carried out by drones, and Mr. Muhammad, knowing the effectiveness of drone attacks targeting Islamist militants in Pakistan’s border areas, feared that the Americans had been hunting him.
American officials offered no comment on Mr. Muhammad’s capture, referring questions to the Afghanistan government.
Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan; Sharifullah Sahak from Kabul; and an employee of The New York Times from Asadabad, Afghanistan.
U.S. Gen. John Allen to retire, end pursuit of NATO commander job
CNN By Chris Lawrence and Tom Cohen February 20, 2013
Washington - Gen. John Allen, the former leader of coalition forces in Afghanistan who was nominated to become supreme allied commander of NATO, is retiring instead of continuing to pursue the post, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday.
Allen informed Obama that he will leave the service rather than move forward with the nomination, which requires Senate confirmation, a White House statement said.
"I met with General John Allen and accepted his request to retire from the military so that he can address health issues within his family," Obama said.
In a statement later Tuesday, Allen said his reasons for retiring were personal.
"While I won't go into the details, my primary concern is for the health of my wife, who has sacrificed so much for so long. For more than 35 years, my beloved Kathy has devotedly stood beside me and enabled me to serve my country.
"It is profoundly sobering to consider how much of that time I have spent away from her and our two precious daughters. It is now my turn to stand beside them, to be there for them when they need me most," he said.
Allen, a Marine Corps general, was the top coalition commander in Afghanistan for nearly two years. He relinquished that command earlier this month after planning the end of the mission's combat operations.
However, Allen was caught up in a scandal over embarrassing e-mails with Tampa socialite Jill Kelley that came to the public's attention during the same investigation that brought down former CIA Director David Petraeus.
CNN previously reported that Defense Department officials said there was inappropriate language in those e-mails, but no evidence of an affair between Allen and Kelley.
Allen's nomination for the NATO commander post was put on hold while the Pentagon's inspector general looked into the issue.
He was cleared of wrongdoing after several months and the White House initially indicated Obama would proceed with the nomination.
On Tuesday, Obama called the general one of America's finest military leaders.
Allen "presided over the significant growth in the size and capability of Afghan National Security Forces, the further degradation of al Qaeda and their extremist allies, and the ongoing transition to Afghan security responsibility across the country," Obama said in the statement.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement on Tuesday that Allen's leadership in Afghanistan "will be long remembered as pivotal" to the mission.
"The strategy he developed and implemented has put us on the right path towards completing this mission, with Afghan forces now on track to step into the lead for security nationwide this spring and to assume full security responsibility by the end of next year," Panetta said.
Panetta, who also is stepping down, previously acknowledged that Allen has "been under a tremendous amount of pressure," and advised him to take his time in deciding whether to continue pursuing the NATO commander position.
In July 2011, Allen succeeded Petraeus to inherit the largest-ever NATO force in Afghanistan and spent 19 months directing his forces against Taliban insurgents and preparing for the first phases of a hand-over of provincial security to local and national forces.
About 150,000 ISAF members were deployed at that time, including just under 100,000 U.S. troops. There are 66,000 U.S. service members currently deployed to the region, and Obama announced last week his intention to bring home 34,000 of them within a year.
Less than a month after he assumed command, the United States suffered its deadliest single attack of the Afghan war when insurgents downed a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Wardak province, killing 30 U.S. service members. The toll included 22 Navy SEALs.
Allen later faced additional diplomatic crises that followed controversial incidents that included the accidental burning of Qurans by U.S. service members, U.S. airstrikes that resulted in civilian deaths and the killing of 16 civilians in a massacre allegedly carried out by a U.S. service member.
An uptick in "green-on-blue" attacks -- in which Afghan forces or trainees turn their weapons against U.S. counterparts -- is also believed to have hampered the training of Afghan forces and contributed to increased public discontent at home over American deployment to the region.
A graduate of Georgetown University and the National War College, Allen also drew distinction for his counterinsurgency work in Iraq, particularly in the country's volatile Anbar province in 2008, where he helped isolate a growing insurgency.
CNN's Joe Sterling contributed to this report.
U.S. Backs Afghan Elections: U.S. State Department
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Tuesday, 19 February 2013
The United States will be the biggest contributor in the upcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan, a U.S. State Department official said on Tuesday.
"The United States backs independent Afghan elections in accordance with the Afghan constitution. Independent elections are critical for Afghanistan's future," said Karen Decker, the senior civilian representative for the coalition's Regional Command-East. "The United States will do everything we can to support free and fair elections."
Speaking at a conference held in Kapisa province, the envoy pointed out that Afghanistan would not be left unaccompanied after 2014. The United States is committed to equipping the local security forces and developing Afghanistan's economy.
Kapisa's provincial governor, Mehrabuddin Safi, said operations to clear out insurgents will be carried out in the districts of Tagab and Alasai just ahead of the elections.
"There are security challenges in districts of Tagab and Alasai. We are preparing to have military operations before the presidential elections and have security forces ready to help with the groundwork for the elections."
Officials did not provide details on when the operations will start.
Transparent Elections to Lead Afghanistan Towards Stability
TOLOnews.com By Sameer Rasa Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Afghanistan will fall to insecurity and instability if the presidential elections are held with fraud, said Zalmai Rasool, the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
On a visit with Balkh's governor Atta Mohammad Noor in Mazar e Sharif, alongside parliament representatives, Rasool said that the government is attempting to hold a transparent presidential election in 2014.
"If the election is transparent and a democratic political transition can occur, then I assure you that Afghanistan will move towards improvement and stability - otherwise we will face big problems in the future," said Rasool.
The minister denied any secret negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban, pointing to the fact that the Qatar office is still not open.
Peaceful negotiations will continue with the Taliban only if they accept Afghanistan's constitution, added Rasool.
"First, we will negotiate with those Taliban who want peace. Second, they should respect Afghanistan's constitution - which is a big achievement in the country. Last, they should lay down their arms," said Rasool. "And then, we will welcome them as Afghan citizens to come and participate in the election."
Governor Noor agreed, saying he welcomes peaceful negotiations with Taliban but added that the terms of the negotiations should be clearly defined.
"There should be a clear mechanisms and rules about the Taliban who join the peace process," said Noor. "For example, how can they be effective in the peace process? Can they persuade others to join in the process? What about the issue of them going back and joining the opposing group. There must be clear and effective mechanisms at play."
Australia Pledges $100 Million to Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com Tuesday, 19 February 2013
The Australian defense minister Stephen Smith met President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Monday, pledging $100 million in annual aid to Afghanistan beyond 2014, Karzai's office said.
"President Hamid Karzai met Mr Stephen Smith, the Australian Defence Minister last night at the president place and discussed over the co-operation between the two countries after 2014, security transition and peace process," it said in a statement Tuesday.
According to the presidential office, Smith told Karzai that the security transition from Australian troops to local security forces "is continuing successfully" in Uruzgan province.
"We will withdraw our troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2013. But we will continue the training of the Afghan security forces," Smith was quoted as saying.
Smith pledged $100 million annually to the Afghan National Security Forces after 2014 when they will take responsibility for Afghanistan's total security.
Australia has around 1,094 soldiers in Afghanistan, most of whom are based in southern Uruzgan province. Thirty-nine of its soldiers have died in the Afghan war since the start of the Isaf mission.
Etisalat Granted 4G Licence in Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com By Jawed Stanikzai Tuesday, 19 February 2013
After signing an agreement with the Afghan government on Tuesday, Etisalat Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates or UAE based telecommunications service provider, will launch the country's first trial 4G network.
The announcement comes just one year after Etisalat Afghanistan obtained their 3G license.
"The trial of 4G technology in Afghanistan is an important event for us," said Ahmad Hussaini, head of Etisalat Afghanistan. "The 4G services enable GSM users to have access to fast internet on their mobile phones, connect to live video calls, exchange video, music and photos."
The 4G service is five time faster and better than Etisalat's 3G technology, added Hussaini.
However, the vast majority of Afghans - only 4 percent according to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology - do not have access to internet services, particularly those people living in remote provinces.
There are currently five private telecom companies operating in Afghanistan.
Etisalat Afghanistan, part of the UAE-based Etisalat Group, also operates in Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com