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Afghanistan: US special forces must leave province
By PATRICK QUINN | Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's president on Sunday ordered all U.S. special forces to leave a strategically important eastern province within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans.
The decision seems to have caught the coalition and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, a separate command, by surprise. Americans have frequently drawn anger from the Afghan public over issues ranging from Qurans burned at a U.S. base to allegations of civilian killings.
"We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to determine the facts surrounding them," the U.S. forces said in a statement.
Also Sunday, a series of attacks in eastern Afghanistan showed insurgents remain on the offensive even as U.S. and other international forces prepare to end their combat mission by the end of 2014.
Suicide bombers targeted Afghanistan's intelligence agency and other security forces in four coordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas in a bloody reminder of the insurgency's reach nearly 12 years into the war.
Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said the decision to order the American special forces to leave Wardak province was taken during a meeting of the National Security Council because of the alleged actions of Afghans who are considered linked to the U.S. special forces.
He said all special forces operations were to cease immediately in the restive province next to Kabul, which is viewed as a gateway to the capital and has been the focus of counterinsurgency efforts in recent years.
The Taliban have staged numerous attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in the province. In August 2011, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 30 American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs, in Wardak. The crash was the single deadliest loss for U.S. forces in the war.
Afghan forces have taken the lead in many such special operations, especially so-called night raids.
"Those Afghans in these armed groups who are working with the U.S. special forces, the defense minister asked for an explanation of who they are," Faizi said. "Those individuals should be handed over to the Afghan side so that we can further investigate."
A statement the security council issued in English said the armed individuals have allegedly been "harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people."
Ceasing all such operations could have a negative impact on the coalition's campaign to go after Taliban leaders and commanders, who are usually the target of such operations.
Faizi said the issue had already been brought up with the coalition.
The U.S. statement said only that the announcement was "an important issue that we intend to fully discuss with our Afghan counterparts. But until we have had a chance to speak with senior Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials about this issue, we are not in a position to comment further."
The brazen assaults, which occurred within a three-hour timespan, were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as U.S. and other foreign troops gradually take a back seat and shift responsibility for security to the government.
The deadliest attack occurred just after sunrise — a suicide car bombing at the gate of the National Directorate of Security compound in Jalalabad, 125 kilometers (78 miles) east of Kabul.
Guards shot and killed the driver but he managed to detonate the explosives-packed vehicle, killing two intelligence agents and wounding three others, according to a statement by the intelligence agency. Provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai confirmed the casualty toll and said the building was damaged in the attack.
A guard also shot and killed a man in an SUV filled with dynamite that was targeting an NDS building on a busy street in Kabul, not far from NATO headquarters. The explosives in the back of the vehicle were defused. Blood stained the driver's seat and the ground where security forces dragged out the would-be attacker.
Shortly before the Jalalabad attack, a suicide attacker detonated a minivan full of explosives at a police checkpoint in Pul-i-Alam on the main highway between Kabul and Logar province. One policeman was killed and two others were wounded, along with a bystander, according to the NDS.
Also in Logar province, which is due south of Kabul, a man wearing a suicide vest was stopped by police as he tried to force his way into the police headquarters for Baraki Barak district, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, the provincial government spokesman. The attacker detonated his vest while being searched, wounding one policeman, according to Darwesh and the NDS.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the Jalalabad attack and two others in the eastern province of Logar in an email to reporters. He did not address the attempted assault in Kabul.
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Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt, Rahim Faiez and Kim Gamel contributed to this report from Kabul.
Afghanistan says U.S. special forces may be behind torture, murder
By Josh Levs, CNN Sun February 24, 2013
(CNN) -- The Afghan government says a group of armed people who may be U.S. special forces is carrying out acts of torture and murder.
The U.S. military says it is investigating.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force must stop all special force operations out of Wardak province, where such horrors have been taking place, and all U.S. special forces must be gone from the province within two weeks, Afghanistan's National Security Council demanded.
At a meeting of the council, chaired by President Hamid Karzai, "it became clear that armed individuals named as U.S. special force stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people," Karzai's office said in a statement. It did not indicate who "named" the group a U.S. special force.
Nine people "disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force," the statement said. And in another incident, a student was taken from his home at night, and his "tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge," the statement said.
It added that the United States rejects any suggestion that its special forces carried out any such operation.
Afghan forces must protect people in the province "by effectively stopping and bringing to justice any groups that enter peoples' homes in the name of special force and who engage in annoying, harassing and murdering innocent people," the statement said.
"We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to determine the facts surrounding them," U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. Until military officials speak with Afghan officials about the issue, "we are not in a position to comment further," the statement added.
"This is an important issue that we intend to fully discuss with our Afghan counterparts."
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Suicide bombers target Afghan security forces
By HEIDI VOGT and RAHIM FAIEZ | Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Suicide bombers targeted Afghanistan's intelligence agency and other security forces in four coordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas on Sunday in a bloody reminder of the insurgency's reach nearly 12 years into the war.
The brazen assaults, which occurred within a three-hour timespan, were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as U.S. and other foreign troops gradually take a back seat and shift responsibility for security to the government.
The deadliest attack occurred just after sunrise — a suicide car bombing at the gate of the National Directorate of Security compound in Jalalabad, 125 kilometers (78 miles) east of Kabul.
Guards shot and killed the driver but he managed to detonate the explosives-packed vehicle, killing two intelligence agents and wounding three others, according to a statement by the intelligence agency. Provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai confirmed the casualty toll and said the building was damaged in the attack.
A guard also shot and killed a man in an SUV filled with dynamite that was targeting an NDS building on a busy street in Kabul, not far from NATO headquarters. The explosives in the back of the vehicle were defused. Blood stained the driver's seat and the ground where security forces dragged out the would-be attacker.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the Jalalabad attack and two others in the eastern province of Logar in an email to reporters. He did not address the attempted assault in Kabul.
Shortly before the Jalalabad attack, a suicide attacker detonated a minivan full of explosives at a police checkpoint in Puli Alam, on the main highway between Kabul and Logar province. One policeman was killed and two others were wounded, along with a bystander, according to the NDS.
Also in Logar province, which is due south of Kabul, a man wearing a suicide vest was stopped by police as he tried to force his way into the police headquarters for the Baraki Barak district, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, the provincial government spokesman. The attacker detonated his vest while being searched, wounding one policeman, according to Darwesh and the NDS.
"Once again the enemies of peace and stability in Afghanistan ... staged coordinated attacks against the Afghan security forces and the Afghan people," the intelligence agency said.
The attacks were a reminder that insurgents are still on the offensive even as U.S. and other international forces prepare to end their combat mission by the end of 2014.
Afghan soldiers and police are easier targets than their NATO allies because their checkpoints and bases are less fortified.
More than 1,200 Afghan soldiers were killed in 2012 compared to more than 550 the previous year, according to data compiled by the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
U.S. troop deaths, meanwhile, declined overall from 404 in 2011 to 295 in 2012.
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Associated Press writer Kim Gamel contributed to this report.
Afghan gov't demands U.S. special forces to evict E. province
KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan government on Sunday demanded the U.S. Special Forces to evict from eastern province of Wardak within two weeks, after a team assigned by President Hamid Karzai found armed individuals called as U.S. Special Force were engaged in "harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people".
"The meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Hamid Karzai on Sunday discussed the security situation in the provinces of Logar and Wardak, the presence of the international forces beyond 2014 and the issue of land seizures in Afghanistan," a statement in Karzai's website said.
"A recent example in the province is an incident in which nine people were disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force and in a separate incident a student was taken away at night from his home, whose tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge,"
However, Americans reject having conducted any such operation and any involvement of their special force in the province 35 km west of capital Kabul, it said.
The Ministry of Defense was assigned to make sure all U.S. special forces are out of the Wardak province within two weeks, the statement noted.
Effective from February 24, 2013 onward, the ISAF has to stop all its special force operations in Wardak province, it added.
The meeting also held an in-depth discussion on the military presence some countries are seeking beyond 2014 in Afghanistan, it said, adding "The meeting decided that any military presence any country may be seeking to retain under the international coalition after 2014 may be allowed only after Afghan government's formal agreement and discretion, to be achieved bilaterally,"
Senior Taliban leader captured in eastern Afghanistan: ISAF
KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior Taliban leader was arrested on Sunday morning in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, the coalition forces said.
"Afghan and coalition forces arrested a senior Taliban leader and three other insurgents during an operation in Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, today," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release.
The detained Taliban commander was believed responsible for coordinating and directing insurgent fighters in the province 120 km east of Afghan capital of Kabul, the release said without revealing the name of the captured man.
"He is also suspected of having maintained direct operational control of a significant number of suicide bombers prepared to carry out attacks against Afghan and coalition forces," it noted.
Earlier Sunday, the Afghan Interior Ministry in a statement said that the Afghan police supporting by army and coalition forces detained a total of 22 armed Taliban insurgents in different provinces within the last 24 hours.
The Afghan security forces in partnership with the NATO-led coalition troops have intensified operations against Taliban and other militant groups recently. But the insurgent groups responded by armed attacks and bombings.
Earlier Sunday, three Afghan security members were killed and four were wounded in two separate suicide car bombings in eastern Nangarhar and neighboring Logar province while the country's security forces killed two suicide bombers and defused their car bomb before targeting a security compound in Kabul.
Karzai government blamed for inefficient political movements
By Jawed Rostapoor - 24 Feb 2013, 8:15 pm Khaama Press
Leader of the National Front — main political opposition coalition of the Afghan government Ahmad Zia Massoud criticized Afghan president Hamid Karzai for creating barriers to form strong political parties in the country.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai was also accused that such steps by him prevents implementation of proper democracy in Afghanistan.
However political analysts and international observers believe that growing corruption in Afghanistan during the recent years was due to lack of strong political parties with proper working agendas.
The observers also believe that majority of the political parties have been formed by specific ethnic groups and do not working agendas that suites the national benefits of Afghanistan.
In the meantime National Front leader Ahmad Zia Massoud blamed president Karzai for supporting conservative and ethnic political parties or organizations and does not believe in modern political institutions that have been formed by the Afghan people.
Despite the Afghan government is blamed for being reckless towards the political parties formation and activities however majority of the Afghan people doubtful regarding the operations of the political parties during the past ten years and have lost their confidence regarding the honesty towards the political leaders and parties due to the lack of specific programs which can create benefits for the national interest of Afghanistan.
On the other majority of the Afghan people are doubtful regarding the formation of political parties and coalitions by former Muajhideen leaders despite these political parties have been formed with a motive of national interest since Afghans have experienced former Mujahideen leaders activities during the civil war.
In the meantime leader of the National Front Ahmad Zia Massoud said democracy can be implemented in Afghanistan by supporting political parties and movement otherwise Afghans can not expect this from the central government.
He said, “The government of Karzai seeks political and economic benefits in conservative institutions which are not welcomed by Afghan people and therefore Afghan officials including president Karzai do not want that a strong party is formed by civil society and Afghan people in a bid to implement democracy in the country.”
The formation of political coalition by various political parties is not something new in Afghanistan specifically during the election period however it has been witnessed that the coalitions formed earlier were disintegrated as president Karzai was getting close to win the presidential election.
Political observers the National Front led by Ahmad Zia Massoud is likely to face the same fate as it has happened in the past.
According to reports over 100 political parties were registered with the justice ministry of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 but majority of the parties do not have members and were formed by a single leader.
Oscar-nominated work puts Afghan teens in the spotlight
CBS News By Carter Evans February 23, 2013
LOS ANGELES - Five pictures are in contention Sunday night at the Academy Awards for best live action short film --and the stars of one of those films is attracting a lot of the Oscar eve buzz. This is the story of two young actors who are a long way from home.
In Afghanistan, the words "lights!" and "action!" usually mean explosions.
But this war-torn country is now the setting for something completely different: an Oscar-nominated film not set with a backdrop of war, but about the national sport of Afghanistan -- buzkashi, a more brutal form of polo.
"Buzkashi Boys" is about two teens dreaming to be star players. But it made star players of the lead actors -- 15-year-old Jawanmard Paiz and 14-year-old Fawad Mohammadi.
"Everybody think that Afghanistan is a demolished country," said Paiz, "a bad country. But that's not the real face of Afghanistan."
American director Sam French shot on location in Kabul, hoping to restore an art form that left in ruins.
"When the Taliban came in," said French, "they burned all the cinemas and the film reels they could find, and they banned cinema."
And with the Taliban still a threat, they know any fame from this movie means they could become at a price.
"Life is very difficult in Afghanistan. Especially to us," said Paiz.
Added French: "These kids are incredibly courageous and they want a better future for themselves, just like the characters in the movie."
Their trip to America is a whirlwind of interviews and appearances -- overwhelming, but in a good way, said Mohammadi. As for what they'll miss when they go back home, he said: "I think we will miss everything here. A lot."
But what they'll miss most is the feeling of freedom. "I could say that here [in America] I am so safe," said Mohammadi.
French acknowledged that the two teens experienced a lot. "When I was 14, I was reading science fiction books in my bedroom and playing on my nice green lawn. All the kids in Afghanistan have grown up too fast."
Reality may still be harsh, but for now, it can wait.
"On the red carpet, everyone says, every photographer says, 'Look at me!' 'Look at me!,'" said Paiz. "It's a dream of every actor to go to [the] Oscars, on [the] red carpet."
Pakistani boycott all but scuttles Kabul conference of Ulemas set in March
by Abdul Haleem
KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The decision by the Pakistani religious scholars not to attend the joint conference of Afghan and Pakistani Ulema, or religious scholars, scheduled for March in Kabul has all but scuttled the all-important meeting that could have advanced the peace process in Afghanistan.
According to media reports, the chief of Pakistani clerics, Mufti Abu Huraira, has sent a letter to Afghan Ulema council last Sunday informing the latter that it will boycott the conference, claiming it was being used as an attempt to target the Taliban.
Another Pakistani religious leader Tahir Ashrafi has also announced that he would not attend such a conference because it might be used to issue a "fatwa" or religious decree against the Taliban.
The Afghan government has endeavored to bring together leading religious scholars from both countries in Kabul to denounce violence and suicide bombings by militant groups against Afghan and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan.
Afghan observers here say that the reason why the Pakistani clerics have refused to directly hit the Taliban despite the latter's role in the resurgence of violence in the region is that many of them had served as tutors for Taliban militants in the past and would never issue a "fatwa" against the insurgents.
The Pakistani Ulema, according to an Afghan observer, have been supporting Taliban-led militancy against Afghan and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.
The Taliban militants have intensified their suicide attacks and roadside bombings inside Afghanistan, making its presence felt especially after the U.S. announced the withdrawal of most of its forces from the country even before 2014.
The Taliban had earlier called on the Pakistani Ulema not to attend the Kabul conference scheduled for March.
"A threat of Taliban is enough to keep away the Pakistani Ulema from the conference," a former Taliban foreign ministry official and political analyst Wahid Mujda said.
He said that with their decision to boycott the Kabul conference, the Pakistani clerics have shown that they are beholden to the Taliban.
"Unfortunately the Council of Pakistani Ulema has been working for the legitimacy of Taliban and its refusal to attend the Ulema conference in Kabul is a clear insult to both Afghanistan government and its religious scholars," Abdul Hafiz Mansoor, an Afghan parliamentarian, said.
To invite Taliban or not casts doubts on holding scholars' confab in Kabul
Xinhua By Muhammad Tahir Feb. 23, 2013
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed to hold a conference of the religious scholars in Kabul in March to forge a united front in the fight against attacks on civilians but a controversy on whether to invite or not the Taliban has now cast doubts over its fate.
Pakistani clerics said that a joint organizing committee had agreed in its meeting in Islamabad on Feb. 12 to extend invitation to the Afghan Taliban but a member of the Afghan delegation rejected the idea in remarks he made in his return to Kabul.
Chairman of the Pakistani Scholars Council, Allama Tahir Ashrafi,said that anti-Taliban statement by member of the Afghan clerics council, Aminullah Muzaffary, and his claim that Taliban will not be invited, is violation of the understanding reached in the Islamabad's meeting.
Ashrafi said in Islamabad on Saturday that Pakistani clerics have now decided not to attend the joint conference in Kabul next month as they have strong apprehensions that the forum could be used against the Taliban.
"The anti-Taliban statement by the Afghan member has forced us to boycott the Kabul conference," Ashrafi said. He asked the Afghan scholars to come up with a new agenda that should also focus on the elusive peace process in the war-torn Afghanistan.
Another Pakistani religious scholar and member of the organizing committee, Mufti Abu Hurraira Mohiuddin, said that another group of Pakistani scholars has also sought clarification from the Afghan side about the reported anti-Taliban remarks by an Afghan member.
Mufti Mohiuddin, head of the "Saut-ul-Islam" or Voice of Islam group, said in Karachi that the organizing committee had decided that the Kabul conference will neither be used against nor in favor of any group or individual.
Maulvi Shehzada Shehzad, the spokesman for the Afghan clerics' council, however disputed claims by Pakistani religious leaders and said that Afghan council has formally invited the Taliban, asking the Pakistani scholars to withdraw their boycott decision.
Maulvi Shehzad said in Kabul that Afghan side is committed to respect the decisions taken in the joint organizing committee's meeting in Islamabad on Feb. 12.
Organizing committees of the two countries had previously agreed in their talks in Islamabad that 500 scholars, 250 from each country,will attend the March meeting and that the conference will not be used to support or attack any group.
The Afghan government, which had first proposed the Pak-Afghan religious scholars conference in November, is now struggling to persuade the Pakistani clerics to attend the meeting in Kabul to discuss a joint stand against the attacks on civilians and come up with a united approach against suicide bombings.
The Karzai government has pinned high hopes on the proposed conference as it wants religious backing for a nascent peace process in the war-torn country.
The Afghan government has also planned to hold an international conference of religious scholars after the Pak-Afghan meet, however,it seems that serious differences over the Taliban invitation and the apprehensions by Pakistani scholars that the forum could be used against the Taliban, have now cast doubts over the holding of the Kabul conference.
Despite demands by Pakistani religious leaders to invite the Taliban to the conference, a spokesman of the Afghan Taliban has already rejected the conference branding it as a "conspiracy" by the United States and Western nations against them. The Taliban has urged the Pakistani scholars to boycott the Kabul conference.
Some analysts are of the view that the Taliban appeal has convinced the Pakistani scholars to stay away from the conference.
The Pakistani government had, on three occasions, officially promised to help in organizing the conference as it is also facing the challenge of violent extremism and the most serious suicide attacks that have already killed innocent people.
The Afghan government is likely to ask Pakistan to convince its religious scholars to review their decision to boycott the conference.
Finance Ministry 'Ignoring' Customs Tax Exemption Decree: Importers
TOLOnews.com By Haseeb Moudoodi Saturday, 23 February 2013
The Ministry of Finance is "ignoring" a decree from the Council of Ministers that waived customs taxes for 3,000 Afghan commercial containers previously stranded in Karachi, the Afghanistan Advisory Board of National Entrepreneurs said Saturday.
Thousands of Afghan commercial containers remained stranded for three months at the Karachi port, forcing Afghan businessmen to pay $50 million in demurrage fees to the Pakistani government. The containers were released about 20 days ago, and Afghanistan's Council of Ministers ordered that these containers be exempt from Afghan customs taxes.
But the exemption isn't being carried out, say Afghan businessmen.
"The Economic Committee of the Council [of Ministers] approved that we are exempt from paying [customs] taxes, but the Finance Ministry is ignoring this approval and has stopped our containers," said Rahmuddin Haji Agha, director of the executive board of the Board of Entrepreneurs.
The Finance Ministry says the exemption goes against Afghanistan's costumes law.
"We act according to the law. Nobody is exempt from paying taxes. If [the Council of Ministers] decided on an exemption, it was probably because of a lack of knowledge," Finance Ministry Adviser Najibullah Manili said.
Meanwhile, over 2000 containers full of foodstuff recently released from Karachi remain stranded at customs check points at Kabul, Kandhar and Nangarhar.
Kabul the Most Insecure Capital City in the World: Ghani
TOLOnews.com By Sharif Amiry Saturday, 23 February 2013
Threats from Al-Qaeda and Hizb-e-Islami have made Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. the most vulnerable capital city in the world, Head of the Transition Coordination Commission Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai said.
"Kabul is the most insecure capital in the world," Ghani said.
As the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul plays a major role in the security and stability of all other parts of the country, but threats from insurgents in Kabul's surrounding provinces have made it the most insecure city, according to Ghani.
Kabul, which is located in the center of Afghanistan, is surrounded by Logar, Wardak, Parwan, Kapisa and Laghman provinces, where insurgents from Al-Qaeeda, Hizb-e-Islami and a host of other insurgent groups have widespread presence.
Security officials from the central province of Logar said that insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Haqqani Network and Hizb-e-Islami are active in the province and the security forces are not strong and well equipped enough to repel these insurgents.
"Insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hizbe-e-Islami and Haqqani Network are active in this province," Logar Police chief Abdul Saboor Nasrati said, adding that Charkh, Baraki Barak and Kharwar districts have witnessed the most insurgent activity.
In Wardak, 48 km west of Kabul, more than 100 insurgent groups remain active.
"101 insurgent groups, including Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, the Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami are active in Wardak province," Wardak Police Chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said.
As foreign forces withdraw and the spring fighting season beings, the activities of insurgents in these areas are expected to escalate.
Cumbersome Procurement Process Could Delay Elections: IEC
TOLOnews.com Saturday, 23 February 2013
The cumbersome procurement procedure and inefficient budget expenditure system are major challenges to holding timely elections, Independent Elections Commission (IEC) Spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said.
Speaking to TOLOnews on Saturday, he emphasized that bureaucracy in the procurement system at the Ministry of Finance and the long bidding process could impede the purchase of the necessary materials ahead of the elections.
"Our main concern is the budgetary processes for procurement. Considering the paperwork at the Ministry of Finance, if they were given budget responsibility, the work of organizing the elections could face serious challenges," Noor told TOLOnews.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance stressed that procurement laws and procedures will be enforced in all government procurements.
"The Finance Ministry cannot ignore the procurement law for elections procurement process. The ministry distributes budgets to all government organs, and there has been no major challenge so far, and there is no need for the Election Commission to worry," Media Adviser to the Ministry of Finance Najibullah Manali told TOLOnews on Saturday.
He went on to urge that the budget for the IEC should be processed through government channels; otherwise, it could challenge the transparency and independence of the process.
"If foreign donors fund the Election Commission directly, the transparency and independence of the process will come under question," he said.
Insecurity, transparency and budgetary issues are considered to be the main challenges the IEC is facing as it sets out to make the 2014 elections possible.
Both the presidential and provincial council elections will require up to $150 million that apparently will be paid by international donors.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
By PATRICK QUINN | Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's president on Sunday ordered all U.S. special forces to leave a strategically important eastern province within two weeks because of allegations that Afghans working with them are torturing and abusing other Afghans.
The decision seems to have caught the coalition and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, a separate command, by surprise. Americans have frequently drawn anger from the Afghan public over issues ranging from Qurans burned at a U.S. base to allegations of civilian killings.
"We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to determine the facts surrounding them," the U.S. forces said in a statement.
Also Sunday, a series of attacks in eastern Afghanistan showed insurgents remain on the offensive even as U.S. and other international forces prepare to end their combat mission by the end of 2014.
Suicide bombers targeted Afghanistan's intelligence agency and other security forces in four coordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas in a bloody reminder of the insurgency's reach nearly 12 years into the war.
Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said the decision to order the American special forces to leave Wardak province was taken during a meeting of the National Security Council because of the alleged actions of Afghans who are considered linked to the U.S. special forces.
He said all special forces operations were to cease immediately in the restive province next to Kabul, which is viewed as a gateway to the capital and has been the focus of counterinsurgency efforts in recent years.
The Taliban have staged numerous attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces in the province. In August 2011, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 30 American troops, mostly elite Navy SEALs, in Wardak. The crash was the single deadliest loss for U.S. forces in the war.
Afghan forces have taken the lead in many such special operations, especially so-called night raids.
"Those Afghans in these armed groups who are working with the U.S. special forces, the defense minister asked for an explanation of who they are," Faizi said. "Those individuals should be handed over to the Afghan side so that we can further investigate."
A statement the security council issued in English said the armed individuals have allegedly been "harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people."
Ceasing all such operations could have a negative impact on the coalition's campaign to go after Taliban leaders and commanders, who are usually the target of such operations.
Faizi said the issue had already been brought up with the coalition.
The U.S. statement said only that the announcement was "an important issue that we intend to fully discuss with our Afghan counterparts. But until we have had a chance to speak with senior Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials about this issue, we are not in a position to comment further."
The brazen assaults, which occurred within a three-hour timespan, were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as U.S. and other foreign troops gradually take a back seat and shift responsibility for security to the government.
The deadliest attack occurred just after sunrise — a suicide car bombing at the gate of the National Directorate of Security compound in Jalalabad, 125 kilometers (78 miles) east of Kabul.
Guards shot and killed the driver but he managed to detonate the explosives-packed vehicle, killing two intelligence agents and wounding three others, according to a statement by the intelligence agency. Provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai confirmed the casualty toll and said the building was damaged in the attack.
A guard also shot and killed a man in an SUV filled with dynamite that was targeting an NDS building on a busy street in Kabul, not far from NATO headquarters. The explosives in the back of the vehicle were defused. Blood stained the driver's seat and the ground where security forces dragged out the would-be attacker.
Shortly before the Jalalabad attack, a suicide attacker detonated a minivan full of explosives at a police checkpoint in Pul-i-Alam on the main highway between Kabul and Logar province. One policeman was killed and two others were wounded, along with a bystander, according to the NDS.
Also in Logar province, which is due south of Kabul, a man wearing a suicide vest was stopped by police as he tried to force his way into the police headquarters for Baraki Barak district, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, the provincial government spokesman. The attacker detonated his vest while being searched, wounding one policeman, according to Darwesh and the NDS.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the Jalalabad attack and two others in the eastern province of Logar in an email to reporters. He did not address the attempted assault in Kabul.
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Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt, Rahim Faiez and Kim Gamel contributed to this report from Kabul.
Afghanistan says U.S. special forces may be behind torture, murder
By Josh Levs, CNN Sun February 24, 2013
(CNN) -- The Afghan government says a group of armed people who may be U.S. special forces is carrying out acts of torture and murder.
The U.S. military says it is investigating.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force must stop all special force operations out of Wardak province, where such horrors have been taking place, and all U.S. special forces must be gone from the province within two weeks, Afghanistan's National Security Council demanded.
At a meeting of the council, chaired by President Hamid Karzai, "it became clear that armed individuals named as U.S. special force stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people," Karzai's office said in a statement. It did not indicate who "named" the group a U.S. special force.
Nine people "disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force," the statement said. And in another incident, a student was taken from his home at night, and his "tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge," the statement said.
It added that the United States rejects any suggestion that its special forces carried out any such operation.
Afghan forces must protect people in the province "by effectively stopping and bringing to justice any groups that enter peoples' homes in the name of special force and who engage in annoying, harassing and murdering innocent people," the statement said.
"We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and go to great lengths to determine the facts surrounding them," U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. Until military officials speak with Afghan officials about the issue, "we are not in a position to comment further," the statement added.
"This is an important issue that we intend to fully discuss with our Afghan counterparts."
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
Suicide bombers target Afghan security forces
By HEIDI VOGT and RAHIM FAIEZ | Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Suicide bombers targeted Afghanistan's intelligence agency and other security forces in four coordinated attacks in the heart of Kabul and outlying areas on Sunday in a bloody reminder of the insurgency's reach nearly 12 years into the war.
The brazen assaults, which occurred within a three-hour timespan, were the latest to strike Afghan forces, who have suffered higher casualties this year as U.S. and other foreign troops gradually take a back seat and shift responsibility for security to the government.
The deadliest attack occurred just after sunrise — a suicide car bombing at the gate of the National Directorate of Security compound in Jalalabad, 125 kilometers (78 miles) east of Kabul.
Guards shot and killed the driver but he managed to detonate the explosives-packed vehicle, killing two intelligence agents and wounding three others, according to a statement by the intelligence agency. Provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai confirmed the casualty toll and said the building was damaged in the attack.
A guard also shot and killed a man in an SUV filled with dynamite that was targeting an NDS building on a busy street in Kabul, not far from NATO headquarters. The explosives in the back of the vehicle were defused. Blood stained the driver's seat and the ground where security forces dragged out the would-be attacker.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the Jalalabad attack and two others in the eastern province of Logar in an email to reporters. He did not address the attempted assault in Kabul.
Shortly before the Jalalabad attack, a suicide attacker detonated a minivan full of explosives at a police checkpoint in Puli Alam, on the main highway between Kabul and Logar province. One policeman was killed and two others were wounded, along with a bystander, according to the NDS.
Also in Logar province, which is due south of Kabul, a man wearing a suicide vest was stopped by police as he tried to force his way into the police headquarters for the Baraki Barak district, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, the provincial government spokesman. The attacker detonated his vest while being searched, wounding one policeman, according to Darwesh and the NDS.
"Once again the enemies of peace and stability in Afghanistan ... staged coordinated attacks against the Afghan security forces and the Afghan people," the intelligence agency said.
The attacks were a reminder that insurgents are still on the offensive even as U.S. and other international forces prepare to end their combat mission by the end of 2014.
Afghan soldiers and police are easier targets than their NATO allies because their checkpoints and bases are less fortified.
More than 1,200 Afghan soldiers were killed in 2012 compared to more than 550 the previous year, according to data compiled by the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
U.S. troop deaths, meanwhile, declined overall from 404 in 2011 to 295 in 2012.
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Associated Press writer Kim Gamel contributed to this report.
Afghan gov't demands U.S. special forces to evict E. province
KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan government on Sunday demanded the U.S. Special Forces to evict from eastern province of Wardak within two weeks, after a team assigned by President Hamid Karzai found armed individuals called as U.S. Special Force were engaged in "harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people".
"The meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Hamid Karzai on Sunday discussed the security situation in the provinces of Logar and Wardak, the presence of the international forces beyond 2014 and the issue of land seizures in Afghanistan," a statement in Karzai's website said.
"A recent example in the province is an incident in which nine people were disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force and in a separate incident a student was taken away at night from his home, whose tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge,"
However, Americans reject having conducted any such operation and any involvement of their special force in the province 35 km west of capital Kabul, it said.
The Ministry of Defense was assigned to make sure all U.S. special forces are out of the Wardak province within two weeks, the statement noted.
Effective from February 24, 2013 onward, the ISAF has to stop all its special force operations in Wardak province, it added.
The meeting also held an in-depth discussion on the military presence some countries are seeking beyond 2014 in Afghanistan, it said, adding "The meeting decided that any military presence any country may be seeking to retain under the international coalition after 2014 may be allowed only after Afghan government's formal agreement and discretion, to be achieved bilaterally,"
Senior Taliban leader captured in eastern Afghanistan: ISAF
KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior Taliban leader was arrested on Sunday morning in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, the coalition forces said.
"Afghan and coalition forces arrested a senior Taliban leader and three other insurgents during an operation in Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, today," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release.
The detained Taliban commander was believed responsible for coordinating and directing insurgent fighters in the province 120 km east of Afghan capital of Kabul, the release said without revealing the name of the captured man.
"He is also suspected of having maintained direct operational control of a significant number of suicide bombers prepared to carry out attacks against Afghan and coalition forces," it noted.
Earlier Sunday, the Afghan Interior Ministry in a statement said that the Afghan police supporting by army and coalition forces detained a total of 22 armed Taliban insurgents in different provinces within the last 24 hours.
The Afghan security forces in partnership with the NATO-led coalition troops have intensified operations against Taliban and other militant groups recently. But the insurgent groups responded by armed attacks and bombings.
Earlier Sunday, three Afghan security members were killed and four were wounded in two separate suicide car bombings in eastern Nangarhar and neighboring Logar province while the country's security forces killed two suicide bombers and defused their car bomb before targeting a security compound in Kabul.
Karzai government blamed for inefficient political movements
By Jawed Rostapoor - 24 Feb 2013, 8:15 pm Khaama Press
Leader of the National Front — main political opposition coalition of the Afghan government Ahmad Zia Massoud criticized Afghan president Hamid Karzai for creating barriers to form strong political parties in the country.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai was also accused that such steps by him prevents implementation of proper democracy in Afghanistan.
However political analysts and international observers believe that growing corruption in Afghanistan during the recent years was due to lack of strong political parties with proper working agendas.
The observers also believe that majority of the political parties have been formed by specific ethnic groups and do not working agendas that suites the national benefits of Afghanistan.
In the meantime National Front leader Ahmad Zia Massoud blamed president Karzai for supporting conservative and ethnic political parties or organizations and does not believe in modern political institutions that have been formed by the Afghan people.
Despite the Afghan government is blamed for being reckless towards the political parties formation and activities however majority of the Afghan people doubtful regarding the operations of the political parties during the past ten years and have lost their confidence regarding the honesty towards the political leaders and parties due to the lack of specific programs which can create benefits for the national interest of Afghanistan.
On the other majority of the Afghan people are doubtful regarding the formation of political parties and coalitions by former Muajhideen leaders despite these political parties have been formed with a motive of national interest since Afghans have experienced former Mujahideen leaders activities during the civil war.
In the meantime leader of the National Front Ahmad Zia Massoud said democracy can be implemented in Afghanistan by supporting political parties and movement otherwise Afghans can not expect this from the central government.
He said, “The government of Karzai seeks political and economic benefits in conservative institutions which are not welcomed by Afghan people and therefore Afghan officials including president Karzai do not want that a strong party is formed by civil society and Afghan people in a bid to implement democracy in the country.”
The formation of political coalition by various political parties is not something new in Afghanistan specifically during the election period however it has been witnessed that the coalitions formed earlier were disintegrated as president Karzai was getting close to win the presidential election.
Political observers the National Front led by Ahmad Zia Massoud is likely to face the same fate as it has happened in the past.
According to reports over 100 political parties were registered with the justice ministry of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 but majority of the parties do not have members and were formed by a single leader.
Oscar-nominated work puts Afghan teens in the spotlight
CBS News By Carter Evans February 23, 2013
LOS ANGELES - Five pictures are in contention Sunday night at the Academy Awards for best live action short film --and the stars of one of those films is attracting a lot of the Oscar eve buzz. This is the story of two young actors who are a long way from home.
In Afghanistan, the words "lights!" and "action!" usually mean explosions.
But this war-torn country is now the setting for something completely different: an Oscar-nominated film not set with a backdrop of war, but about the national sport of Afghanistan -- buzkashi, a more brutal form of polo.
"Buzkashi Boys" is about two teens dreaming to be star players. But it made star players of the lead actors -- 15-year-old Jawanmard Paiz and 14-year-old Fawad Mohammadi.
"Everybody think that Afghanistan is a demolished country," said Paiz, "a bad country. But that's not the real face of Afghanistan."
American director Sam French shot on location in Kabul, hoping to restore an art form that left in ruins.
"When the Taliban came in," said French, "they burned all the cinemas and the film reels they could find, and they banned cinema."
And with the Taliban still a threat, they know any fame from this movie means they could become at a price.
"Life is very difficult in Afghanistan. Especially to us," said Paiz.
Added French: "These kids are incredibly courageous and they want a better future for themselves, just like the characters in the movie."
Their trip to America is a whirlwind of interviews and appearances -- overwhelming, but in a good way, said Mohammadi. As for what they'll miss when they go back home, he said: "I think we will miss everything here. A lot."
But what they'll miss most is the feeling of freedom. "I could say that here [in America] I am so safe," said Mohammadi.
French acknowledged that the two teens experienced a lot. "When I was 14, I was reading science fiction books in my bedroom and playing on my nice green lawn. All the kids in Afghanistan have grown up too fast."
Reality may still be harsh, but for now, it can wait.
"On the red carpet, everyone says, every photographer says, 'Look at me!' 'Look at me!,'" said Paiz. "It's a dream of every actor to go to [the] Oscars, on [the] red carpet."
Pakistani boycott all but scuttles Kabul conference of Ulemas set in March
by Abdul Haleem
KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The decision by the Pakistani religious scholars not to attend the joint conference of Afghan and Pakistani Ulema, or religious scholars, scheduled for March in Kabul has all but scuttled the all-important meeting that could have advanced the peace process in Afghanistan.
According to media reports, the chief of Pakistani clerics, Mufti Abu Huraira, has sent a letter to Afghan Ulema council last Sunday informing the latter that it will boycott the conference, claiming it was being used as an attempt to target the Taliban.
Another Pakistani religious leader Tahir Ashrafi has also announced that he would not attend such a conference because it might be used to issue a "fatwa" or religious decree against the Taliban.
The Afghan government has endeavored to bring together leading religious scholars from both countries in Kabul to denounce violence and suicide bombings by militant groups against Afghan and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan.
Afghan observers here say that the reason why the Pakistani clerics have refused to directly hit the Taliban despite the latter's role in the resurgence of violence in the region is that many of them had served as tutors for Taliban militants in the past and would never issue a "fatwa" against the insurgents.
The Pakistani Ulema, according to an Afghan observer, have been supporting Taliban-led militancy against Afghan and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.
The Taliban militants have intensified their suicide attacks and roadside bombings inside Afghanistan, making its presence felt especially after the U.S. announced the withdrawal of most of its forces from the country even before 2014.
The Taliban had earlier called on the Pakistani Ulema not to attend the Kabul conference scheduled for March.
"A threat of Taliban is enough to keep away the Pakistani Ulema from the conference," a former Taliban foreign ministry official and political analyst Wahid Mujda said.
He said that with their decision to boycott the Kabul conference, the Pakistani clerics have shown that they are beholden to the Taliban.
"Unfortunately the Council of Pakistani Ulema has been working for the legitimacy of Taliban and its refusal to attend the Ulema conference in Kabul is a clear insult to both Afghanistan government and its religious scholars," Abdul Hafiz Mansoor, an Afghan parliamentarian, said.
To invite Taliban or not casts doubts on holding scholars' confab in Kabul
Xinhua By Muhammad Tahir Feb. 23, 2013
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed to hold a conference of the religious scholars in Kabul in March to forge a united front in the fight against attacks on civilians but a controversy on whether to invite or not the Taliban has now cast doubts over its fate.
Pakistani clerics said that a joint organizing committee had agreed in its meeting in Islamabad on Feb. 12 to extend invitation to the Afghan Taliban but a member of the Afghan delegation rejected the idea in remarks he made in his return to Kabul.
Chairman of the Pakistani Scholars Council, Allama Tahir Ashrafi,said that anti-Taliban statement by member of the Afghan clerics council, Aminullah Muzaffary, and his claim that Taliban will not be invited, is violation of the understanding reached in the Islamabad's meeting.
Ashrafi said in Islamabad on Saturday that Pakistani clerics have now decided not to attend the joint conference in Kabul next month as they have strong apprehensions that the forum could be used against the Taliban.
"The anti-Taliban statement by the Afghan member has forced us to boycott the Kabul conference," Ashrafi said. He asked the Afghan scholars to come up with a new agenda that should also focus on the elusive peace process in the war-torn Afghanistan.
Another Pakistani religious scholar and member of the organizing committee, Mufti Abu Hurraira Mohiuddin, said that another group of Pakistani scholars has also sought clarification from the Afghan side about the reported anti-Taliban remarks by an Afghan member.
Mufti Mohiuddin, head of the "Saut-ul-Islam" or Voice of Islam group, said in Karachi that the organizing committee had decided that the Kabul conference will neither be used against nor in favor of any group or individual.
Maulvi Shehzada Shehzad, the spokesman for the Afghan clerics' council, however disputed claims by Pakistani religious leaders and said that Afghan council has formally invited the Taliban, asking the Pakistani scholars to withdraw their boycott decision.
Maulvi Shehzad said in Kabul that Afghan side is committed to respect the decisions taken in the joint organizing committee's meeting in Islamabad on Feb. 12.
Organizing committees of the two countries had previously agreed in their talks in Islamabad that 500 scholars, 250 from each country,will attend the March meeting and that the conference will not be used to support or attack any group.
The Afghan government, which had first proposed the Pak-Afghan religious scholars conference in November, is now struggling to persuade the Pakistani clerics to attend the meeting in Kabul to discuss a joint stand against the attacks on civilians and come up with a united approach against suicide bombings.
The Karzai government has pinned high hopes on the proposed conference as it wants religious backing for a nascent peace process in the war-torn country.
The Afghan government has also planned to hold an international conference of religious scholars after the Pak-Afghan meet, however,it seems that serious differences over the Taliban invitation and the apprehensions by Pakistani scholars that the forum could be used against the Taliban, have now cast doubts over the holding of the Kabul conference.
Despite demands by Pakistani religious leaders to invite the Taliban to the conference, a spokesman of the Afghan Taliban has already rejected the conference branding it as a "conspiracy" by the United States and Western nations against them. The Taliban has urged the Pakistani scholars to boycott the Kabul conference.
Some analysts are of the view that the Taliban appeal has convinced the Pakistani scholars to stay away from the conference.
The Pakistani government had, on three occasions, officially promised to help in organizing the conference as it is also facing the challenge of violent extremism and the most serious suicide attacks that have already killed innocent people.
The Afghan government is likely to ask Pakistan to convince its religious scholars to review their decision to boycott the conference.
Finance Ministry 'Ignoring' Customs Tax Exemption Decree: Importers
TOLOnews.com By Haseeb Moudoodi Saturday, 23 February 2013
The Ministry of Finance is "ignoring" a decree from the Council of Ministers that waived customs taxes for 3,000 Afghan commercial containers previously stranded in Karachi, the Afghanistan Advisory Board of National Entrepreneurs said Saturday.
Thousands of Afghan commercial containers remained stranded for three months at the Karachi port, forcing Afghan businessmen to pay $50 million in demurrage fees to the Pakistani government. The containers were released about 20 days ago, and Afghanistan's Council of Ministers ordered that these containers be exempt from Afghan customs taxes.
But the exemption isn't being carried out, say Afghan businessmen.
"The Economic Committee of the Council [of Ministers] approved that we are exempt from paying [customs] taxes, but the Finance Ministry is ignoring this approval and has stopped our containers," said Rahmuddin Haji Agha, director of the executive board of the Board of Entrepreneurs.
The Finance Ministry says the exemption goes against Afghanistan's costumes law.
"We act according to the law. Nobody is exempt from paying taxes. If [the Council of Ministers] decided on an exemption, it was probably because of a lack of knowledge," Finance Ministry Adviser Najibullah Manili said.
Meanwhile, over 2000 containers full of foodstuff recently released from Karachi remain stranded at customs check points at Kabul, Kandhar and Nangarhar.
Kabul the Most Insecure Capital City in the World: Ghani
TOLOnews.com By Sharif Amiry Saturday, 23 February 2013
Threats from Al-Qaeda and Hizb-e-Islami have made Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. the most vulnerable capital city in the world, Head of the Transition Coordination Commission Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai said.
"Kabul is the most insecure capital in the world," Ghani said.
As the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul plays a major role in the security and stability of all other parts of the country, but threats from insurgents in Kabul's surrounding provinces have made it the most insecure city, according to Ghani.
Kabul, which is located in the center of Afghanistan, is surrounded by Logar, Wardak, Parwan, Kapisa and Laghman provinces, where insurgents from Al-Qaeeda, Hizb-e-Islami and a host of other insurgent groups have widespread presence.
Security officials from the central province of Logar said that insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Haqqani Network and Hizb-e-Islami are active in the province and the security forces are not strong and well equipped enough to repel these insurgents.
"Insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hizbe-e-Islami and Haqqani Network are active in this province," Logar Police chief Abdul Saboor Nasrati said, adding that Charkh, Baraki Barak and Kharwar districts have witnessed the most insurgent activity.
In Wardak, 48 km west of Kabul, more than 100 insurgent groups remain active.
"101 insurgent groups, including Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, the Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami are active in Wardak province," Wardak Police Chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said.
As foreign forces withdraw and the spring fighting season beings, the activities of insurgents in these areas are expected to escalate.
Cumbersome Procurement Process Could Delay Elections: IEC
TOLOnews.com Saturday, 23 February 2013
The cumbersome procurement procedure and inefficient budget expenditure system are major challenges to holding timely elections, Independent Elections Commission (IEC) Spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said.
Speaking to TOLOnews on Saturday, he emphasized that bureaucracy in the procurement system at the Ministry of Finance and the long bidding process could impede the purchase of the necessary materials ahead of the elections.
"Our main concern is the budgetary processes for procurement. Considering the paperwork at the Ministry of Finance, if they were given budget responsibility, the work of organizing the elections could face serious challenges," Noor told TOLOnews.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance stressed that procurement laws and procedures will be enforced in all government procurements.
"The Finance Ministry cannot ignore the procurement law for elections procurement process. The ministry distributes budgets to all government organs, and there has been no major challenge so far, and there is no need for the Election Commission to worry," Media Adviser to the Ministry of Finance Najibullah Manali told TOLOnews on Saturday.
He went on to urge that the budget for the IEC should be processed through government channels; otherwise, it could challenge the transparency and independence of the process.
"If foreign donors fund the Election Commission directly, the transparency and independence of the process will come under question," he said.
Insecurity, transparency and budgetary issues are considered to be the main challenges the IEC is facing as it sets out to make the 2014 elections possible.
Both the presidential and provincial council elections will require up to $150 million that apparently will be paid by international donors.
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