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Karzai calls on Afghan troops to clean up own act
By KIMBERLY DOZIER | Associated Press – Wed, Mar 6, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan president on Wednesday called on his security forces to end incidents of torture and abuse of the Afghan people, a shift from past speeches that have solely blamed NATO troops for the violations in the country.
In an address to parliament, Hamid Karzai said Afghan forces are also violating their own people's rights, making it harder for him to raise the issue when abuses are carried out by foreigners.
"It's not forgivable ... Our Afghan people are not safe in their houses," because of Afghan troops' treatment, he said. "Why should I blame foreigners?"
The Afghan leader said he did not initially want to believe reports that his own security forces had tortured prisoners, for instance, but that now he was calling on Afghan forces to respect human rights.
An Afghan government investigation last month found widespread cases of abuse at government-run prisons, backing up the results of a U.N. investigation that Karzai had initially repudiated.
Karzai's speech is likely to be welcomed by diplomats who have called on him to acknowledge his own troops' responsibility for incidents of abuse.
But with the remarks, the Afghan leader also made a veiled reference to his recent calls for the withdrawal of U.S. special operations forces from Wardak province, neighboring Kabul, because of alleged incidents of abuse by U.S. and Afghan forces there. U.S. officials have said they are investigating the allegations.
Karzai also called on the Afghan Taliban to acknowledge his offer to open negotiations with them through an official Taliban office, which is due to open in Qatar. The senior Taliban leadership has not responded to the offer.
And in a possibly troubling statement for the international community, Karzai criticized the cost of the last presidential elections, saying that paying for international advisers and enablers drove up the price of each vote to between $30 and $40.
He said elections next time around should be run solely by the Afghans, calling into question whether his government would welcome international monitoring. The last round of elections was widely criticized for incidents of fraud.
"Our election must be an Afghan-led election without the interference of foreigners," Karzai said, adding that although the law prohibits him from running for another term, he wants to ensure a free and fair election.
"A good election would bring to Afghanistan more stability and prosperity," he said.
The progress of Afghan forces, however, has been uneven.
A weekend attack on an army convoy in Badakshan province killed 16 soldiers, according to Abdul Marouf Rassekh, a spokesman for the province's governor. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Then on Sunday, Afghan forces thwarted an attempted jailbreak by rioting prisoners at the central jail in Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, according to the chief of Afghan prison system, Gen. Amir Mohammad Jamshid.
Jamshid said his forces disrupted a complex plot in which Taliban fighters planned to launch suicide attacks outside as rioters attacked guards inside the jail.
The rioting prisoners managed to take three guards hostage and at one point controlled large portions of the jail, but when a group of prisoners freed two of the guards, vicious infighting ensued among the rioters and several were injured, Jamshid said.
Late Tuesday night, Afghan security forces managed to retake most of the prison and freed the final guard through negotiations, he said. A small group of prisoners was still in a standoff with the police in one section of the prison Wednesday, demanding improved conditions, including weekly visits by family members and more freedom of movement within the prison, Jamshid said.
Staff at a nearby hospital said nearly a dozen people — mostly prisoners but also some Afghan security forces — were being treated for injuries sustained during the riot. The medical staff spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential medical records.
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Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report from Kabul.
US to equip Afghan army with drone capabilities: Gen. Mattis
By Meena Haseeb - 07 Mar 2013, 3:17 pm Khaama Press
A top US military general on Wednesday said Afghan national security forces will be equipped with drone capabilities in a bid to keep a watch on the tough terrain along its eastern border with Pakistan.
Gen James Mattis, the commander of US Central Command, told members of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, “The Afghans do not have that capability yet. It’s one of the enablers that we are trying to build into them before we leave.”
He said, “The long-term view is that we will continue this so long as we are there, and we will transition this capability, standing it up inside the Afghan forces so when we leave, they have the ability to keep an eye on that border area.”
“I’ve operated in many areas around the world, and I’ve never had more difficult military terrain to operate in than along that border.” the US General said while referring to the difficult terrain along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.
In the meantime US Congressman Ron Barber expressed concerns regarding the ability of US and its NATO allies to target terrorists including Haqqani Network on Pak-Afghan border.
Gen. Mattis was responding to Ron Barber’s question which focused on any possible long-term plan for American unmanned reconnaissance after the planned drawdown of American troops.
The US Congressman also questioned the capacities of the Afghan national security force have for unmanned aerial platforms to target terrorists’ networks.
British PM announce £10m fund for Afghanistan mining program
By Ghanizada - 07 Mar 2013, 11:09 am Khaama Press
British Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed to fund £10m to help exploit Afghanistan’s huge natural resources program, BBC reported.
According to reports around $1-3tn worth of gold, gems, iron ore, and oil and gas lies underground in Afghanistan.
While speaking during an event at Downing Street British PM David Cameron announced that the fund will be granted to ministry of mines of Afghanistan in a three year program to support Afghan natural exploitation.
This comes as there have been growing concerns regarding corruption for awarding mining contracts in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Particular criticisms were raised over the Afghan government after the exploitation project of Ainak Copper mine was awarded to a Chinese company which has a duration of 30-years.
Amid growing rumours of bribery and kick-backs, Britains new support is reportedly aimed at improving the process in a bid to bring better regulation and more transparency for future Afghan mining concessions.
Prime Minister David Cameron said United Kingdom had already played “a huge and honourable role” in stabilising Afghanistan, but that the country needed “prosperity, growth, jobs, investment and wealth”.
The announcement by David Cameron was welcomed by mining companies in United Kingdom.
Afghan Women Rally For Rights In Kabul
By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan March 7, 2013
KABUL -- Hundreds of women have taken to the streets of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on the eve of International Women's Day in a government-sponsored rally.
The demonstrators held posters demanding more rights for women in Afghan society, denouncing domestic violence against women, and calling for a greater political, economic, and social role for women.
The march was organized by nongovernmental organizations and Afghanistan's Ministry for Women's Affairs.
Similar rallies were held in other Afghan cities and towns.
International Women's Day is marked on March 8 every year.
The United Nations has declared the theme of this year's International Women's Day "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women."
Herat Hosting First Women's Film Festival
March 7, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
The western city of Herat is hosting Afghanistan’s first international women’s film festival.
The event is being held from March 7-9 as part of celebrations marking International Women’s Day.
The festival is being organized jointly by the Arman Shahr Foundation and the Roya Film House, in cooperation with 40 other national and international organizations.
Khalida Khursand, a member of the organizing committee, is quoted by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as saying supporters hope “to encourage women in filmmaking, promote a culture of film watching, and to contribute to the welfare of women in Afghanistan through art.”
The festival will not award any prizes this year.
Organizers said around 100 film submissions were received, around 40 of them produced by Afghans.
Downing St backs Afghan mining projects
Financial Times By Michael Kavanagh March 6, 2013
The UK government has thrown its weight behind attempts to draw investment from London-based institutions to back a range of mining and oil and gas projects in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK’s Department for International Development would provide a three-year programme of support to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines costing £10m aimed at helping the country develop its mineral and hydrocarbon sector.
London-listed Dragon Oil, which holds interests in neighbouring Turkmenistan, is among early-stage investors in the country. Last December it announced its participation in a consortium including Kuwait Energy and TPAO of Turkey that plans to explore for oil and gas in the Afghan-Tajik basin of northern Afghanistan. The consortium expects to complete negotiations with the Ministry of Mines early this year.
Afghan Gold and Minerals – backed by City of London banker Ian Hannam, former BHP chief executive Chip Goodyear and Jan Kulczyk, the Polish billionaire – also emerged in December as the preferred bidder for the Balkbab copper exploration licence close to Kabul, which is one of three gold and copper exploration licences put out for tender.
Mr Cameron, speaking at a forum for investors at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, described Afghanistan as a “country blessed with extraordinary mineral wealth”. But while he said Norway and Chile had exploited their natural resources well, he pointed to Liberia and other African countries as examples of places that had been blighted by their mineral wealth.
“We must make sure this mineral wealth is a blessing and not a curse for Afghanistan,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, Wahidullah Shahrani, Afghanistan’s Minister of Mines, said: “Afghanistan is a vast mineral-rich country but one that is essentially under-explored.”
Progress in developing Afghanistan’s moribund natural resource sector is a key aim of World Bank officials, who believe the likely royalties and taxes that could be generated from mining and oil deposits estimated to be worth up to $3tn will be key to establishing financial stability in the country following the withdrawal of Nato troops by the end of 2014.
But they have also warned of the need for full transparency on the licensing of mines and oil and gas blocks. Justine Greening, the UK’s development secretary, said it was essential that tax receipts flowed back to health and education projects to prevent a backlash against foreign companies investing in the country.
The US government funded a wave of airborne gravitational and magnetic surveying during 2006 and 2008, criss-crossing the war-torn country that was aimed at building on Soviet-era geological data to identify likely locations for mineral and hydrocarbon deposits.
But attempts to launch large scale developments have been hampered by the security situation. Metallurgical Corp of China, which was granted a licence in 2008 over the Mes Aynak copper deposit in the country, was recently forced to evacuate Chinese workers after attacks on the site.
The Taliban Peacemakers
In a dramatic reversal, the Afghan insurgents now want to make friends with the U.S. By Ron Moreau and Sami Yousafzai.
The Daily Beast By Ron Moreau, Sami Yousafzai Mar 6, 2013
Nearly one year after announcing it was “suspending all dialogue” with the U.S. over its “ever-changing position,” the Taliban seem keen to enter into preliminary peace talks once again. The Taliban’s sudden desire to reopen talks with the U.S., and perhaps even with the government of President Hamid Karzai, whom the insurgency has consistently denounced as an unrepresentative American puppet, represents a sudden and dramatic U-turn. Over the past month a number of high-ranking Taliban officials have been traveling between their Pakistani safe haven in Quetta and the Gulf state of Qatar, the scene of the previous talks, apparently in an effort to set up shop and to rekindle the dialogue. “Our leaders are now regularly running between Qatar and Quetta,” says Zabihullah, a Taliban political operative whose information has proved reliable in the past.
Amir Khan Motaqi, the important head of the insurgency’s propaganda office recently made the trip, and reported back to Quetta. Abdul Wasi, the former deputy head of the Taliban’s Red Crescent Society, who was released from an Afghan jail one year ago, arrived in Qatar last month in order to set up a permanent office for negotiations. Several Taliban officials who are now in Qatar living in guesthouses are in the process of moving into apartments and houses. Some are bringing their families.
According to two high-ranking Taliban, the family of deceased Defense Minister Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, who died in Pakistani captivity nearly three years ago, is being moved from Karachi to Qatar, along with the family of former insurgent spokesman Ustad Yasir, who is still imprisoned in Pakistan, in an effort to begin building a small Taliban-friendly community in Qatar and receive released insurgent prisoners.
All this recent traffic between Quetta and Qatar, with Pakistan’s approval and assistance, shows that the growing Taliban delegation is no longer isolated from the leadership council in Quetta as it was in the past. Over the past two years, timely communication between the negotiating team in Qatar and the ruling shura, or council, in Quetta was practically nonexistent.
Not anymore.
“The communication gap between Quetta and Qatar has been removed,” says a former senior Taliban minister. “Now the Taliban can confidently set up an office and keep in touch with and receive instructions from the shura.” Pakistan, which at first was lukewarm about the Taliban’s Qatar office and the peace talks there, is now cautiously supportive and is issuing visas and travel documents to the Taliban officials visiting Qatar. “Pakistan keeps a close watch on the Taliban’s travels between Quetta and Qatar but seems happy with the idea of a Taliban office in Qatar now,” says a high-ranking member of the Taliban’s Quetta shura. “If Pakistan allows the Taliban and other Afghan groups to talk together freely, then peace in Afghanistan is a real possibility,” adds another ranking insurgent official who declines to be quoted by name.
“The Taliban does not want to lose the opportunity to improve relations with the international community.”
The insurgency’s political leadership is making this political and ideological about-face with some trepidation. It dares not move too quickly on the peace front for fear of alienating more hardline military commanders who are skeptical of any peace talks, especially as long as American and NATO forces remain in Afghanistan. Previously the Taliban had demanded a total foreign-troop withdrawal before any substantive talks could begin. As a result of its changed position, the Taliban has delayed issuing a new statement regarding the establishment of the Qatar office and a resumption of the talks, fearing it could alienate these senior commanders. The senior military leaders appear to be split. One powerful commander, Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, according to one ranking Taliban, “has positive thoughts about peace.” But the position of the insurgency’s most powerful, hardline commander, Abdul Qayyum Zakir, is said to be unclear. Worried about a split among the top military commanders, the insurgency’s political leadership simply can’t agree on the wording of a new communiqué. Indeed, a strong backlash by angry commanders could once again jeopardize the establishment of the Qatar office and the talks. “If someone militarily strong suddenly rises up and says no to peace and insists that jihad is the only answer for years to come, then we could have problems,” says Zabihullah.
Not only are some commanders leery of peace, so are many fighters in the field. Although tired of combat, many are still doggedly committed to the fight and would feel that their sacrifices in blood are being betrayed by the Qatar dialogue. “We have to be sensitive and reach out to each Taliban to explain and convince them of the necessity of the talks,” says a former high-ranking Taliban diplomat. “If we don’t, we could suffer a revolt and even some serious defections to the government.”
To get the commanders and fighters in the field on board, several Taliban officials say they will explain in a widespread propaganda effort that the negotiations will not only be between the insurgency and the Americans, and perhaps even the Karzai regime, but among all Afghans, including their former foes in the Northern Alliance militia grouping, the anti-Taliban union that is largely composed of ethnic minorities. These officials say Karzai’s representatives have told them that any talks between Kabul and the insurgency can only include the Taliban and the government’s High Peace Council, the organization Karzai appointed to make contact and negotiate with the rebels, and not other Afghans. That, these insurgent officials say, is unacceptable. “We want to talk to everyone in Afghanistan, including the Northern Alliance and representatives of all ethnic groups,” says the Quetta council member.
Another reason the insurgency is pursuing the talks is that it does not want to remain a pariah, an outcast from the international community as it was when Mullah Mohammed Omar was in power until late 2001. With a Qatar office, the Taliban hope that it will be able to more easily reach out not only to the U.S. and Afghans but to other nations in the Gulf, in Europe, and even to former foes such as Iran and Russia. “The Taliban does not want to lose the opportunity to improve relations with the international community,” says Zabihullah. “We can’t afford to be isolated once again.” “Once we have the Qatar office, it also will be easier for important countries to approach us,” he adds.
Of course, all this apparent new momentum toward renewed talks could once again founder on the same obstacle that broke up the previous preliminary discussions with the U.S.: the issue of prisoner releases. A key Taliban demand was and seems to remain the release from the U.S. lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, of a handful of Mullah Omar’s top commanders, including his former army chief, Mullah Fazl Akhund. Washington failed to deliver on that key demand last year, and even a reelected President Obama may find it no easier to facilitate the release of these commanders who have the blood of innocents on their hands, according to many members of Congress who would have to approve the deal.
But at least the Taliban are setting up an infrastructure in Qatar to receive the prisoners if they are released. If the men are freed, they will live in Qatar under the Qatari government’s guarantee that they not be involved in any military activities and that they will help facilitate the peace process. Those restrictions may not be acceptable to the Taliban, who would prefer to see the prisoners back in the field commanding their fighters once again.
While this new momentum towards a renewal of negotiations seems positive, the road to any Afghan peace clearly is going to be very long and rocky.
Ron Moreau is Newsweek’s Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent, and has been covering the region for the magazine for the past 10 years. Since he first joined Newsweek during the Vietnam War, he has reported extensively from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Sami Yousafzai is Newsweek's correspondent in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he has covered militancy, al Qaeda, and the Taliban for the magazine since 9/11. He was born in Afghanistan but moved to Pakistan with his family after the Russian invasion in 1979. He began his career as a sports journalist but switched to war reporting in 1997.
For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.
Afghanistan asks West to help recover bank fraud cash
AFP March 6, 2013
KABUL - The Afghan government has urged Western nations to help recover millions of dollars smuggled abroad in what it called the "largest and most complex financial crime in the history" of the country.
A court in Kabul on Tuesday jailed 20 people, including two senior executives, for their roles in the $900 million fraud that caused the collapse of Kabul Bank in 2010.
Cash stolen from the bank through fake loans was used to buy property in Britain, Dubai, Switzerland and the United States, and the finance ministry in Kabul said it was determined to recover the losses.
"With these verdicts we now expect our international partners to assist us in the confiscation and return of the stolen assets that are deposited or invested in different Western countries," it said in a statement.
The bank's former chairman, Sher Khan Farnoud, and its former CEO Khalilullah Ferozi, were given five-year jail terms. Eighteen other officials were also convicted.
Authors of an independent inquiry into the fraud complained that the sentences were too light and that some of those convicted had little or no involvement in the crime.
A brother of President Hamid Karzai and a brother of Vice President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim were shareholders in the bank and are alleged to be linked to the scandal. They were not charged.
But the finance ministry lauded the court's ruling as a sign that corruption was being tackled.
"These verdicts show that Afghan legal institutions have the capacity and will to prosecute and adjudicate the most challenging criminal cases," it said.
"Many observers doubted that these prosecutions would ever go forward, much less come to a successful conclusion."
It said the collapse of Kabul Bank, the largest in the country, had "cast doubt upon the sustainability of our growth and future prosperity" but the convictions showed Afghanistan was facing up to its economic challenges.
The scale of the fraud, in which some cash was smuggled abroad in airline food trays, shocked Afghanistan's donor nations and the International Monetary Fund temporarily halted loans to the country. Billions of dollars in aid have been pledged to help Afghanistan after NATO combat troops withdraw in 2014, but on condition that high-level government corruption is brought under control.
US soldier smuggled $1m out of Afghanistan
An American soldier was sentenced to five years in jail for helping to smuggle more than $1 million (£664,000) out of Afghanistan.
Telegraph.co.uk By Harry Alsop 06 Mar 2013
Tonya Long, 30, will serve five years in jail, followed by three years probation, on charges of bulk cash smuggling and aiding and abetting bulk cash smuggling.
District Judge Terrence Boyle also ordered her to pay back $1 million in restitution.
She was said to have spent almost $500,000 on herself and her family, including on plastic surgery, a holiday and an 18 wheel truck and trailer.
Long served in Afghanistan as a customs inspector with the 189th Combat Sustainment Battalion between 12 January 2008 and 5 April 2009, according to court records.
She was responsible for checking personal items belonging to troops before they were sent back to the USA in containers.
Her co-conspirator, who has not been named, was responsible for sourcing the cash in what authorities have called "a double-billing kickback scheme".
In order to hide the money, the pair would strip out the components from VCR machines and fill them with cash.
Long would then clear the items through customs, before they were shipped to Pope Air Force base in North Carolina.
On her return, Long picked up the boxes and took them to an apartment she shared with her co-conspirator.
The pair failed to declare the money when returning the USA, as required by law.
US attorney Thomas G Walker said: "Tonya Long betrayed her team and while other soldiers were fighting for our country, she was stealing money intended to support the mission."
He added: "Her conduct undermined her fellow soldiers and our nation's reputation."
Andra Gandi Child Hospital to Receive Japan Aid
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Wednesday, 06 March 2013
Japan and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will give medical diagnostic equipment to the Andra Gandi Child Hospital in Kabul amid ongoing efforts to train the staff and equip the centre.
Medical equipment to the cost of $53,000 will be given for medical treatment of children.
IOM director of migration management Irena Vojackove said the organisation will continue to support the hospital in building capacity of the doctors.
"IOM handed over the equipment funded by the Japanese government to the value of $53,000. It will help the hospital because in Afghanistan we have a high mortality rate of children and mothers so we hope this contribute to their health," Vojackove said.
Andra Gandi chief Noorulhaq Yousafzai welcomed the assistance.
"The equipment is helping diagnose children's illnesses in our hospital. It includes a blood detection machine which to some extents will solve the problems," Yousafzai said.
The hospital officials added that the hospital faced a staff shortage and needs renovations and further construction.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
By KIMBERLY DOZIER | Associated Press – Wed, Mar 6, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan president on Wednesday called on his security forces to end incidents of torture and abuse of the Afghan people, a shift from past speeches that have solely blamed NATO troops for the violations in the country.
In an address to parliament, Hamid Karzai said Afghan forces are also violating their own people's rights, making it harder for him to raise the issue when abuses are carried out by foreigners.
"It's not forgivable ... Our Afghan people are not safe in their houses," because of Afghan troops' treatment, he said. "Why should I blame foreigners?"
The Afghan leader said he did not initially want to believe reports that his own security forces had tortured prisoners, for instance, but that now he was calling on Afghan forces to respect human rights.
An Afghan government investigation last month found widespread cases of abuse at government-run prisons, backing up the results of a U.N. investigation that Karzai had initially repudiated.
Karzai's speech is likely to be welcomed by diplomats who have called on him to acknowledge his own troops' responsibility for incidents of abuse.
But with the remarks, the Afghan leader also made a veiled reference to his recent calls for the withdrawal of U.S. special operations forces from Wardak province, neighboring Kabul, because of alleged incidents of abuse by U.S. and Afghan forces there. U.S. officials have said they are investigating the allegations.
Karzai also called on the Afghan Taliban to acknowledge his offer to open negotiations with them through an official Taliban office, which is due to open in Qatar. The senior Taliban leadership has not responded to the offer.
And in a possibly troubling statement for the international community, Karzai criticized the cost of the last presidential elections, saying that paying for international advisers and enablers drove up the price of each vote to between $30 and $40.
He said elections next time around should be run solely by the Afghans, calling into question whether his government would welcome international monitoring. The last round of elections was widely criticized for incidents of fraud.
"Our election must be an Afghan-led election without the interference of foreigners," Karzai said, adding that although the law prohibits him from running for another term, he wants to ensure a free and fair election.
"A good election would bring to Afghanistan more stability and prosperity," he said.
The progress of Afghan forces, however, has been uneven.
A weekend attack on an army convoy in Badakshan province killed 16 soldiers, according to Abdul Marouf Rassekh, a spokesman for the province's governor. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Then on Sunday, Afghan forces thwarted an attempted jailbreak by rioting prisoners at the central jail in Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, according to the chief of Afghan prison system, Gen. Amir Mohammad Jamshid.
Jamshid said his forces disrupted a complex plot in which Taliban fighters planned to launch suicide attacks outside as rioters attacked guards inside the jail.
The rioting prisoners managed to take three guards hostage and at one point controlled large portions of the jail, but when a group of prisoners freed two of the guards, vicious infighting ensued among the rioters and several were injured, Jamshid said.
Late Tuesday night, Afghan security forces managed to retake most of the prison and freed the final guard through negotiations, he said. A small group of prisoners was still in a standoff with the police in one section of the prison Wednesday, demanding improved conditions, including weekly visits by family members and more freedom of movement within the prison, Jamshid said.
Staff at a nearby hospital said nearly a dozen people — mostly prisoners but also some Afghan security forces — were being treated for injuries sustained during the riot. The medical staff spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential medical records.
____
Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report from Kabul.
US to equip Afghan army with drone capabilities: Gen. Mattis
By Meena Haseeb - 07 Mar 2013, 3:17 pm Khaama Press
A top US military general on Wednesday said Afghan national security forces will be equipped with drone capabilities in a bid to keep a watch on the tough terrain along its eastern border with Pakistan.
Gen James Mattis, the commander of US Central Command, told members of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, “The Afghans do not have that capability yet. It’s one of the enablers that we are trying to build into them before we leave.”
He said, “The long-term view is that we will continue this so long as we are there, and we will transition this capability, standing it up inside the Afghan forces so when we leave, they have the ability to keep an eye on that border area.”
“I’ve operated in many areas around the world, and I’ve never had more difficult military terrain to operate in than along that border.” the US General said while referring to the difficult terrain along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.
In the meantime US Congressman Ron Barber expressed concerns regarding the ability of US and its NATO allies to target terrorists including Haqqani Network on Pak-Afghan border.
Gen. Mattis was responding to Ron Barber’s question which focused on any possible long-term plan for American unmanned reconnaissance after the planned drawdown of American troops.
The US Congressman also questioned the capacities of the Afghan national security force have for unmanned aerial platforms to target terrorists’ networks.
British PM announce £10m fund for Afghanistan mining program
By Ghanizada - 07 Mar 2013, 11:09 am Khaama Press
British Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed to fund £10m to help exploit Afghanistan’s huge natural resources program, BBC reported.
According to reports around $1-3tn worth of gold, gems, iron ore, and oil and gas lies underground in Afghanistan.
While speaking during an event at Downing Street British PM David Cameron announced that the fund will be granted to ministry of mines of Afghanistan in a three year program to support Afghan natural exploitation.
This comes as there have been growing concerns regarding corruption for awarding mining contracts in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Particular criticisms were raised over the Afghan government after the exploitation project of Ainak Copper mine was awarded to a Chinese company which has a duration of 30-years.
Amid growing rumours of bribery and kick-backs, Britains new support is reportedly aimed at improving the process in a bid to bring better regulation and more transparency for future Afghan mining concessions.
Prime Minister David Cameron said United Kingdom had already played “a huge and honourable role” in stabilising Afghanistan, but that the country needed “prosperity, growth, jobs, investment and wealth”.
The announcement by David Cameron was welcomed by mining companies in United Kingdom.
Afghan Women Rally For Rights In Kabul
By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan March 7, 2013
KABUL -- Hundreds of women have taken to the streets of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on the eve of International Women's Day in a government-sponsored rally.
The demonstrators held posters demanding more rights for women in Afghan society, denouncing domestic violence against women, and calling for a greater political, economic, and social role for women.
The march was organized by nongovernmental organizations and Afghanistan's Ministry for Women's Affairs.
Similar rallies were held in other Afghan cities and towns.
International Women's Day is marked on March 8 every year.
The United Nations has declared the theme of this year's International Women's Day "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women."
Herat Hosting First Women's Film Festival
March 7, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
The western city of Herat is hosting Afghanistan’s first international women’s film festival.
The event is being held from March 7-9 as part of celebrations marking International Women’s Day.
The festival is being organized jointly by the Arman Shahr Foundation and the Roya Film House, in cooperation with 40 other national and international organizations.
Khalida Khursand, a member of the organizing committee, is quoted by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as saying supporters hope “to encourage women in filmmaking, promote a culture of film watching, and to contribute to the welfare of women in Afghanistan through art.”
The festival will not award any prizes this year.
Organizers said around 100 film submissions were received, around 40 of them produced by Afghans.
Downing St backs Afghan mining projects
Financial Times By Michael Kavanagh March 6, 2013
The UK government has thrown its weight behind attempts to draw investment from London-based institutions to back a range of mining and oil and gas projects in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK’s Department for International Development would provide a three-year programme of support to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines costing £10m aimed at helping the country develop its mineral and hydrocarbon sector.
London-listed Dragon Oil, which holds interests in neighbouring Turkmenistan, is among early-stage investors in the country. Last December it announced its participation in a consortium including Kuwait Energy and TPAO of Turkey that plans to explore for oil and gas in the Afghan-Tajik basin of northern Afghanistan. The consortium expects to complete negotiations with the Ministry of Mines early this year.
Afghan Gold and Minerals – backed by City of London banker Ian Hannam, former BHP chief executive Chip Goodyear and Jan Kulczyk, the Polish billionaire – also emerged in December as the preferred bidder for the Balkbab copper exploration licence close to Kabul, which is one of three gold and copper exploration licences put out for tender.
Mr Cameron, speaking at a forum for investors at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, described Afghanistan as a “country blessed with extraordinary mineral wealth”. But while he said Norway and Chile had exploited their natural resources well, he pointed to Liberia and other African countries as examples of places that had been blighted by their mineral wealth.
“We must make sure this mineral wealth is a blessing and not a curse for Afghanistan,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, Wahidullah Shahrani, Afghanistan’s Minister of Mines, said: “Afghanistan is a vast mineral-rich country but one that is essentially under-explored.”
Progress in developing Afghanistan’s moribund natural resource sector is a key aim of World Bank officials, who believe the likely royalties and taxes that could be generated from mining and oil deposits estimated to be worth up to $3tn will be key to establishing financial stability in the country following the withdrawal of Nato troops by the end of 2014.
But they have also warned of the need for full transparency on the licensing of mines and oil and gas blocks. Justine Greening, the UK’s development secretary, said it was essential that tax receipts flowed back to health and education projects to prevent a backlash against foreign companies investing in the country.
The US government funded a wave of airborne gravitational and magnetic surveying during 2006 and 2008, criss-crossing the war-torn country that was aimed at building on Soviet-era geological data to identify likely locations for mineral and hydrocarbon deposits.
But attempts to launch large scale developments have been hampered by the security situation. Metallurgical Corp of China, which was granted a licence in 2008 over the Mes Aynak copper deposit in the country, was recently forced to evacuate Chinese workers after attacks on the site.
The Taliban Peacemakers
In a dramatic reversal, the Afghan insurgents now want to make friends with the U.S. By Ron Moreau and Sami Yousafzai.
The Daily Beast By Ron Moreau, Sami Yousafzai Mar 6, 2013
Nearly one year after announcing it was “suspending all dialogue” with the U.S. over its “ever-changing position,” the Taliban seem keen to enter into preliminary peace talks once again. The Taliban’s sudden desire to reopen talks with the U.S., and perhaps even with the government of President Hamid Karzai, whom the insurgency has consistently denounced as an unrepresentative American puppet, represents a sudden and dramatic U-turn. Over the past month a number of high-ranking Taliban officials have been traveling between their Pakistani safe haven in Quetta and the Gulf state of Qatar, the scene of the previous talks, apparently in an effort to set up shop and to rekindle the dialogue. “Our leaders are now regularly running between Qatar and Quetta,” says Zabihullah, a Taliban political operative whose information has proved reliable in the past.
Amir Khan Motaqi, the important head of the insurgency’s propaganda office recently made the trip, and reported back to Quetta. Abdul Wasi, the former deputy head of the Taliban’s Red Crescent Society, who was released from an Afghan jail one year ago, arrived in Qatar last month in order to set up a permanent office for negotiations. Several Taliban officials who are now in Qatar living in guesthouses are in the process of moving into apartments and houses. Some are bringing their families.
According to two high-ranking Taliban, the family of deceased Defense Minister Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, who died in Pakistani captivity nearly three years ago, is being moved from Karachi to Qatar, along with the family of former insurgent spokesman Ustad Yasir, who is still imprisoned in Pakistan, in an effort to begin building a small Taliban-friendly community in Qatar and receive released insurgent prisoners.
All this recent traffic between Quetta and Qatar, with Pakistan’s approval and assistance, shows that the growing Taliban delegation is no longer isolated from the leadership council in Quetta as it was in the past. Over the past two years, timely communication between the negotiating team in Qatar and the ruling shura, or council, in Quetta was practically nonexistent.
Not anymore.
“The communication gap between Quetta and Qatar has been removed,” says a former senior Taliban minister. “Now the Taliban can confidently set up an office and keep in touch with and receive instructions from the shura.” Pakistan, which at first was lukewarm about the Taliban’s Qatar office and the peace talks there, is now cautiously supportive and is issuing visas and travel documents to the Taliban officials visiting Qatar. “Pakistan keeps a close watch on the Taliban’s travels between Quetta and Qatar but seems happy with the idea of a Taliban office in Qatar now,” says a high-ranking member of the Taliban’s Quetta shura. “If Pakistan allows the Taliban and other Afghan groups to talk together freely, then peace in Afghanistan is a real possibility,” adds another ranking insurgent official who declines to be quoted by name.
“The Taliban does not want to lose the opportunity to improve relations with the international community.”
The insurgency’s political leadership is making this political and ideological about-face with some trepidation. It dares not move too quickly on the peace front for fear of alienating more hardline military commanders who are skeptical of any peace talks, especially as long as American and NATO forces remain in Afghanistan. Previously the Taliban had demanded a total foreign-troop withdrawal before any substantive talks could begin. As a result of its changed position, the Taliban has delayed issuing a new statement regarding the establishment of the Qatar office and a resumption of the talks, fearing it could alienate these senior commanders. The senior military leaders appear to be split. One powerful commander, Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor, according to one ranking Taliban, “has positive thoughts about peace.” But the position of the insurgency’s most powerful, hardline commander, Abdul Qayyum Zakir, is said to be unclear. Worried about a split among the top military commanders, the insurgency’s political leadership simply can’t agree on the wording of a new communiqué. Indeed, a strong backlash by angry commanders could once again jeopardize the establishment of the Qatar office and the talks. “If someone militarily strong suddenly rises up and says no to peace and insists that jihad is the only answer for years to come, then we could have problems,” says Zabihullah.
Not only are some commanders leery of peace, so are many fighters in the field. Although tired of combat, many are still doggedly committed to the fight and would feel that their sacrifices in blood are being betrayed by the Qatar dialogue. “We have to be sensitive and reach out to each Taliban to explain and convince them of the necessity of the talks,” says a former high-ranking Taliban diplomat. “If we don’t, we could suffer a revolt and even some serious defections to the government.”
To get the commanders and fighters in the field on board, several Taliban officials say they will explain in a widespread propaganda effort that the negotiations will not only be between the insurgency and the Americans, and perhaps even the Karzai regime, but among all Afghans, including their former foes in the Northern Alliance militia grouping, the anti-Taliban union that is largely composed of ethnic minorities. These officials say Karzai’s representatives have told them that any talks between Kabul and the insurgency can only include the Taliban and the government’s High Peace Council, the organization Karzai appointed to make contact and negotiate with the rebels, and not other Afghans. That, these insurgent officials say, is unacceptable. “We want to talk to everyone in Afghanistan, including the Northern Alliance and representatives of all ethnic groups,” says the Quetta council member.
Another reason the insurgency is pursuing the talks is that it does not want to remain a pariah, an outcast from the international community as it was when Mullah Mohammed Omar was in power until late 2001. With a Qatar office, the Taliban hope that it will be able to more easily reach out not only to the U.S. and Afghans but to other nations in the Gulf, in Europe, and even to former foes such as Iran and Russia. “The Taliban does not want to lose the opportunity to improve relations with the international community,” says Zabihullah. “We can’t afford to be isolated once again.” “Once we have the Qatar office, it also will be easier for important countries to approach us,” he adds.
Of course, all this apparent new momentum toward renewed talks could once again founder on the same obstacle that broke up the previous preliminary discussions with the U.S.: the issue of prisoner releases. A key Taliban demand was and seems to remain the release from the U.S. lockup in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, of a handful of Mullah Omar’s top commanders, including his former army chief, Mullah Fazl Akhund. Washington failed to deliver on that key demand last year, and even a reelected President Obama may find it no easier to facilitate the release of these commanders who have the blood of innocents on their hands, according to many members of Congress who would have to approve the deal.
But at least the Taliban are setting up an infrastructure in Qatar to receive the prisoners if they are released. If the men are freed, they will live in Qatar under the Qatari government’s guarantee that they not be involved in any military activities and that they will help facilitate the peace process. Those restrictions may not be acceptable to the Taliban, who would prefer to see the prisoners back in the field commanding their fighters once again.
While this new momentum towards a renewal of negotiations seems positive, the road to any Afghan peace clearly is going to be very long and rocky.
Ron Moreau is Newsweek’s Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent, and has been covering the region for the magazine for the past 10 years. Since he first joined Newsweek during the Vietnam War, he has reported extensively from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Sami Yousafzai is Newsweek's correspondent in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he has covered militancy, al Qaeda, and the Taliban for the magazine since 9/11. He was born in Afghanistan but moved to Pakistan with his family after the Russian invasion in 1979. He began his career as a sports journalist but switched to war reporting in 1997.
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Afghanistan asks West to help recover bank fraud cash
AFP March 6, 2013
KABUL - The Afghan government has urged Western nations to help recover millions of dollars smuggled abroad in what it called the "largest and most complex financial crime in the history" of the country.
A court in Kabul on Tuesday jailed 20 people, including two senior executives, for their roles in the $900 million fraud that caused the collapse of Kabul Bank in 2010.
Cash stolen from the bank through fake loans was used to buy property in Britain, Dubai, Switzerland and the United States, and the finance ministry in Kabul said it was determined to recover the losses.
"With these verdicts we now expect our international partners to assist us in the confiscation and return of the stolen assets that are deposited or invested in different Western countries," it said in a statement.
The bank's former chairman, Sher Khan Farnoud, and its former CEO Khalilullah Ferozi, were given five-year jail terms. Eighteen other officials were also convicted.
Authors of an independent inquiry into the fraud complained that the sentences were too light and that some of those convicted had little or no involvement in the crime.
A brother of President Hamid Karzai and a brother of Vice President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim were shareholders in the bank and are alleged to be linked to the scandal. They were not charged.
But the finance ministry lauded the court's ruling as a sign that corruption was being tackled.
"These verdicts show that Afghan legal institutions have the capacity and will to prosecute and adjudicate the most challenging criminal cases," it said.
"Many observers doubted that these prosecutions would ever go forward, much less come to a successful conclusion."
It said the collapse of Kabul Bank, the largest in the country, had "cast doubt upon the sustainability of our growth and future prosperity" but the convictions showed Afghanistan was facing up to its economic challenges.
The scale of the fraud, in which some cash was smuggled abroad in airline food trays, shocked Afghanistan's donor nations and the International Monetary Fund temporarily halted loans to the country. Billions of dollars in aid have been pledged to help Afghanistan after NATO combat troops withdraw in 2014, but on condition that high-level government corruption is brought under control.
US soldier smuggled $1m out of Afghanistan
An American soldier was sentenced to five years in jail for helping to smuggle more than $1 million (£664,000) out of Afghanistan.
Telegraph.co.uk By Harry Alsop 06 Mar 2013
Tonya Long, 30, will serve five years in jail, followed by three years probation, on charges of bulk cash smuggling and aiding and abetting bulk cash smuggling.
District Judge Terrence Boyle also ordered her to pay back $1 million in restitution.
She was said to have spent almost $500,000 on herself and her family, including on plastic surgery, a holiday and an 18 wheel truck and trailer.
Long served in Afghanistan as a customs inspector with the 189th Combat Sustainment Battalion between 12 January 2008 and 5 April 2009, according to court records.
She was responsible for checking personal items belonging to troops before they were sent back to the USA in containers.
Her co-conspirator, who has not been named, was responsible for sourcing the cash in what authorities have called "a double-billing kickback scheme".
In order to hide the money, the pair would strip out the components from VCR machines and fill them with cash.
Long would then clear the items through customs, before they were shipped to Pope Air Force base in North Carolina.
On her return, Long picked up the boxes and took them to an apartment she shared with her co-conspirator.
The pair failed to declare the money when returning the USA, as required by law.
US attorney Thomas G Walker said: "Tonya Long betrayed her team and while other soldiers were fighting for our country, she was stealing money intended to support the mission."
He added: "Her conduct undermined her fellow soldiers and our nation's reputation."
Andra Gandi Child Hospital to Receive Japan Aid
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Wednesday, 06 March 2013
Japan and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will give medical diagnostic equipment to the Andra Gandi Child Hospital in Kabul amid ongoing efforts to train the staff and equip the centre.
Medical equipment to the cost of $53,000 will be given for medical treatment of children.
IOM director of migration management Irena Vojackove said the organisation will continue to support the hospital in building capacity of the doctors.
"IOM handed over the equipment funded by the Japanese government to the value of $53,000. It will help the hospital because in Afghanistan we have a high mortality rate of children and mothers so we hope this contribute to their health," Vojackove said.
Andra Gandi chief Noorulhaq Yousafzai welcomed the assistance.
"The equipment is helping diagnose children's illnesses in our hospital. It includes a blood detection machine which to some extents will solve the problems," Yousafzai said.
The hospital officials added that the hospital faced a staff shortage and needs renovations and further construction.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com