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Afghanistan Attack: Local Policeman Kills 5 Colleagues
By AMIR SHAH 03/22/13 07:34 AM ET EDT AP
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A member of Afghanistan's government-backed militia program has shot and killed five of his colleagues, an official said Friday.
The shooting occurred Thursday morning in a remote part of Qadis district of Badghis province, said provincial spokesman Mirwais Mirzakwal. He said he did not have additional details on the shooting because the region was difficult to reach by telephone, and investigators had been sent to the site.
The attacker was a member of the Afghan Local Police, a program in which the Afghan government and its international allies train and pay villagers to defend against insurgents and other militants.
It was the latest in a string of insider attacks by members of the Afghan security forces against their colleagues or foreign troops. Such attacks threaten the strength of the Afghan forces as they work to take over responsibility from international forces. Afghan police and soldiers are scheduled to take over security responsibility for the entire country sometime next year.
Separately Friday, an NATO forces service member was killed when a homemade bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan, the international military coalition said in a statement. The coalition did not provide details or give the nationality of the service member killed.
Including the latest death, at least 11 members of the international forces have been killed in Afghanistan so far this month.
Beechcraft seeks to halt work on contested Afghan plane order
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Beechcraft Corp said on Thursday it was suing the U.S. Air Force to halt work on a contested aircraft contract won by Brazilian planemaker Embraer (EMBR3.SA) and its U.S. partner while federal auditors review Beechcraft's protest against the contract.
The Air Force last week authorized U.S.-based Sierra Nevada Corp and Embraer to resume work on a $428 million order for 20 light attack planes for Afghanistan, overriding a stop-work order issued after a protest filed by Beechcraft with the Government Accountability Office.
On Thursday, Beechcraft challenged the Air Force's decision to allow continued work on the program by filing a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
The Air Force said it was aware of Beechcraft's lawsuit, but remained confident about the way the competition was handled, and planned to continue work on the program.
"Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation will continue work on the (Light Air Support) contract pending any further direction from the court," said spokesman Ed Gulick.
"The override to the stay of performance was issued to honor a critical and time-sensitive U.S. commitment to provide air support capability to the Afghanistan Air Force," he said.
Thursday's court filing by Beechcraft is the latest twist in an ongoing battle over the Afghan plane orders - a dispute that has drawn the ire of the Brazilian government and which could complicate U.S. plans to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.
Privately-held Sierra Nevada said it and Embraer were moving forward on the contract.
"We fully understand the urgency of this mission and intend to provide a superior product right on schedule," Sierra Nevada said in a statement, adding that the contract would support 1,400 jobs across the United States.
Embraer last week signed a 10-year lease on a 40,000-square-foot facility in Jacksonville, Florida, where it plans to assemble the 20 A-29 Super Tucanos for delivery to Afghanistan.
Sierra Nevada said the signing of the lease was "an important step toward fulfilling the LAS contract and further developing the U.S. aviation industrial base."
Brazilian officials expressed dismay last year when an original December 2011 award to Sierra Nevada and Embraer was withdrawn.
The Air Force is racing to get new planes to Afghanistan and train pilots to fly them as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw from the country after over a decade of war.
Beechcraft emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. The aircraft maker has called the Air Force's latest move to continue work on the contract "misguided."
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Bob Burgdorfer)
Feature: Afghan New Year marked with hope for peace
Xinhua By Abdul Haleem, Jawed Omid March 22, 2013
KABUL - On the eve of the Afghan New Year, President Hamid Karzai called on Taliban militants to lay down arms and join the government in the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
"I once again call on Taliban as brothers... to lay down foreigners' arms from your shoulders," Karzai said in his message.
"Come back to your beloved motherland and home and join hands with your fellow countrymen for progress and development of your country and for strengthening Islam and Afghanhood so that our country could be relieved from foreign dependence," Karzai said.
He also congratulated the Afghan people on the occasion and expressed the hope that the New Year would bring peace, security and progress to Afghanistan.
As the country celebrated Nawroz (New Year) on Thursday, there was only one wish in the minds of most Afghans: they can finally live in peace.
"We are fed up with the endemic war and continued conflicts in Afghanistan. Today I am praying for the return of lasting peace to our country, something that we have always longed for,"Mohammad Jamil, 35, said.
Jamil said without peace, Afghans cannot hope to be happy and the country cannot move forward.
Nawroz, which falls on Thursday (March 21), the first day of the year 1392 in the Afghan calendar, is celebrated amid tight security across the country.
Nawroz has been declared a public holiday and Afghans from all walks of life celebrated the day by holding parties, visiting families and friends, touring shrines and holy places, and praying for a better future.
Afghanistan has suffered a lot from more than three decades of war and conflicts.
Even on Nawroz, two blasts claimed the lives of eight Afghans and injured eight others in the southern and northern parts of the country.
On Wednesday, a Taliban loyalist, who served as police constable, opened fire on his colleagues in Qadis district of northwestern Badghis province killing five policemen. He later joined the Taliban militants.
Meanwhile, Afghans are worrying over the withdrawal of NATO-led troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 in the midst of the unabated suicide attacks and ambuscades staged by Taliban militants in different parts of the country.
"It is a critical issue and a matter of concern for all Afghans that the Taliban-led insurgency is widespread and yet the NATO-led coalition forces are withdrawing from Afghanistan with the mission, the war on terror, still unresolved," Faridon, 38, said.
Faridon appealed to the Taliban to give up fighting and join the government-initiated peace process for the sake of their country.
Typecasting 'AfPak'
The West's clichés about Pakistan and Afghanistan don't match the signs of democratic progress or opposition to Islamic radicals like the Taliban.
Christian Science Monitor By the Monitor's Editorial Board March 21, 2013
Americans are inclined to write off Pakistan and Afghanistan as chronic hotbeds of Islamic fanaticism, beset with weak governance and prone to tampering by big powers. Better to accept the stereotypes and withdraw aid, troops, and then hope for stable democracy. At best, let drones or Navy SEALs pick off Taliban or Al Qaeda who are menacing the West.
Well, not so fast.
On May 11, Pakistan is set to reach a milestone with its first democratic transfer of civilian power. That’s because the government of Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was able to complete a full, five-year term in March, allowing it to call for an election.
A peaceful transition would be quite an achievement for a nation with a history of military coups, massive corruption, terrorist bombings, factional politics, high-level assassinations, paranoia about India, and devastating floods and earthquakes.
Most of all, it would signify progress toward Pakistan seeing itself as both a Muslim and democratic state. The conflict between those two identities has dogged the South Asian nation ever since independence 66 years ago, with jihadists often allowed to operate openly.
The May election will also mark the first time that political parties will be allowed to compete for the vote in the tribal areas, home to the most radical Islamic groups. The nation’s constitutional process will be geographically complete.
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, dozens of villages in an area once seen as a Taliban stronghold are showing signs of rising up against the militants because of their violent brutality and heavy-handed influence.
Since February, residents near the key city of Kandahar have openly rallied against the Taliban, showing a confidence in Afghan forces and elected officials. Polls in the area show less than a third of the people approve of the Taliban.
This grass-roots solidarity reflects the country’s progress in other areas, such as a sharp drop in infant mortality and illiteracy (especially among girls). The country had only 10,000 land-line telephones a decade ago; now two-thirds of its people have cellphones. Finally connected to the world, Afghans can dream of following the aspirations of Arab Awakening protesters and other hopeful trends.
Like Pakistan, Afghanistan faces a crucial test of its democracy with presidential and parliamentary elections due in 2014 and 2015. This will be the third national election since the United States and NATO liberated the country in 2011 from Taliban rule.
Both countries may face difficult times ahead. But it will be hard to reverse new freedoms and a desire for representative government once the people have had time to experience them.
The West has often missed the ground-level passion for liberty in many countries by focusing too much on strategic interests. Concern about Iran’s nuclear program, for example, led the US to not support that country’s pro-democracy protests in 2009. And the Arab uprising that began in 2011 was hardly anticipated. It was only cautiously favored in Western capitals out of fear of possible implications for Israel, oil supplies, and other interests.
Creating the conditions for democracy to grow is never easy. But when democracy starts to take root, it deserves more attention and nurturing.
Afghans Hail Effort To Protect Rare Raptors From Smugglers
RFE/RL March 22, 2013
Afghan authorities are welcoming a foreign-based NGO's actions to help curb a runaway trade in smuggled exotic birds from Afghanistan.
The group, Nada Al-Sheba Lel-Hayat Al-Bariya from United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), invited journalists to an event to mark the freeing on March 17 of 30 such birds near the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif.
The animals had been seized from smugglers in the Middle East, where reports on such trafficking from South Asia suggest there is high demand for birds of prey and other exotic animals among the very wealthy.
Last year alone, some 5,000 wild birds were smuggled out of Afghanistan, according to the head of the country's Environmental Protection Agency, Mustafa Zahir. Falcons, hawks, and geese are said to be among the smugglers' favorites.
The most highly prized falcons can reportedly sell for as much as $100,000.
Afghan authorities are constrained by budget limitations and other obstacles to enforcement after decades of war and hardship, with infrastructure, security, and rebuilding projects generally regarded as more urgent priorities.
So Zahir was in Mazar-e Sharif on March 17 to lend government support to a newly launched wildlife protection center.
"Unfortunately, the smuggling of birds that is continuing from Afghanistan must stop," Zahir says. "In Mazar-e Sharif, in Herat, and Bamian the hunters are hunting the falcons and hawks. Most of these birds are smuggled to Gulf nations."
Zahir adds that such rare birds will vanish unless "stark steps" are taken.
So the U.A.E.'s opening of a wildlife research farm in northern Afghanistan is seen as a good omen.
Nada Al-Sheba Lel-Hayat Al-Bariya has pledged to invest some $1 million in the Afghan effort.
“God willing, our main goal is to protect wildlife in Afghanistan, and we are trying to attract the attention of other organizations, mainly in the Gulf nations," says Sayeed Abdul Samad Munib, the U.A.E. group's local head.
Munib says the NGO plans to launch a bird-breeding program in the near future for release into the wild.
The choice of locations for his group's operations -- about 50 kilometers from Mazar-e Sharif -- was important because the sandy deserts outside the Balkh Province capital provide an ideal habitat for such wild birds to nest and brood.
The EPA's Zahir says mature female hawks lay about four eggs a year and the NGO is determined to protect those eggs in order to boost Afghan bird populations.
Decades of near-constant conflict in Afghanistan has held dire consequences for its wildlife. The plight of millions of internally displaced persons, drought, and deforestation have contributed to the endangerment of Afghanistan's wildlife.
Zahir suggests the U.A.E. NGO will expand its operations southward, to Nimroz and Helmand provinces, by setting up similar wildlife protection centers there.
-- Mustafa Sarwar in Prague and Latif Sahak in Mazar-e Sharif
Nowruz Criticism as Un-Islamic is Baseless: Govt
Thursday, 21 March 2013 20:02 Written by Parwiz Shamal toltonews.com
The recent criticism of Nowruz as an un-Islamic celebration is baseless, the Afghan Ministry of Culture and Information said Thursday.
Speaking in a ceremony in Kabul, Deputy Minister for Information and Culture Mobarez Rashidi said that Nowroz is a festival that has been celebrated for thousands of years in the region.
"We should not use religion to fight with the beauty and traditions which have been embraced for generations," Rashidi said.
"There has been no reaction to the spring festival from our religious leaders in the history. How can we say that God brings a green spring and we should say we are against it?" Rashidi said.
The Norwoz festival which ushers in the Persian new year at the start of spring has been denounced by some religious scholars and elements within the government as a celebration that belongs to religions and cultures other than Islam.
Thousands of Afghans gathered in Kabul and in the country's northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif at ceremonies to celebrate the event.
President Hamid Karzai attended a regional celebration of Nowroz in Turkmenistan, where his counterparts from the region, including Tajikistan, has come for the celebration.
Takhar District Governor Killed by Roadside Bomb
Thursday, 21 March 2013 21:06 Written by TOLOnews.com
A district governor in northern Takhar province has been killed on Nowruz when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, officials said Thursday.
The governor of Takhar's Eshtamish district Abdul Manan Hakimi was travelling with his bodyguards when the vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in the road in the district.
Hakimi and two of his bodyguards were killed instantly in the blast.
Kunduz and Takhar - the two northeastern provinces - have seen frequent assassinations of senior government officials over the past two years.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the high profile attack.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
By AMIR SHAH 03/22/13 07:34 AM ET EDT AP
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A member of Afghanistan's government-backed militia program has shot and killed five of his colleagues, an official said Friday.
The shooting occurred Thursday morning in a remote part of Qadis district of Badghis province, said provincial spokesman Mirwais Mirzakwal. He said he did not have additional details on the shooting because the region was difficult to reach by telephone, and investigators had been sent to the site.
The attacker was a member of the Afghan Local Police, a program in which the Afghan government and its international allies train and pay villagers to defend against insurgents and other militants.
It was the latest in a string of insider attacks by members of the Afghan security forces against their colleagues or foreign troops. Such attacks threaten the strength of the Afghan forces as they work to take over responsibility from international forces. Afghan police and soldiers are scheduled to take over security responsibility for the entire country sometime next year.
Separately Friday, an NATO forces service member was killed when a homemade bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan, the international military coalition said in a statement. The coalition did not provide details or give the nationality of the service member killed.
Including the latest death, at least 11 members of the international forces have been killed in Afghanistan so far this month.
Beechcraft seeks to halt work on contested Afghan plane order
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Beechcraft Corp said on Thursday it was suing the U.S. Air Force to halt work on a contested aircraft contract won by Brazilian planemaker Embraer (EMBR3.SA) and its U.S. partner while federal auditors review Beechcraft's protest against the contract.
The Air Force last week authorized U.S.-based Sierra Nevada Corp and Embraer to resume work on a $428 million order for 20 light attack planes for Afghanistan, overriding a stop-work order issued after a protest filed by Beechcraft with the Government Accountability Office.
On Thursday, Beechcraft challenged the Air Force's decision to allow continued work on the program by filing a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
The Air Force said it was aware of Beechcraft's lawsuit, but remained confident about the way the competition was handled, and planned to continue work on the program.
"Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation will continue work on the (Light Air Support) contract pending any further direction from the court," said spokesman Ed Gulick.
"The override to the stay of performance was issued to honor a critical and time-sensitive U.S. commitment to provide air support capability to the Afghanistan Air Force," he said.
Thursday's court filing by Beechcraft is the latest twist in an ongoing battle over the Afghan plane orders - a dispute that has drawn the ire of the Brazilian government and which could complicate U.S. plans to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.
Privately-held Sierra Nevada said it and Embraer were moving forward on the contract.
"We fully understand the urgency of this mission and intend to provide a superior product right on schedule," Sierra Nevada said in a statement, adding that the contract would support 1,400 jobs across the United States.
Embraer last week signed a 10-year lease on a 40,000-square-foot facility in Jacksonville, Florida, where it plans to assemble the 20 A-29 Super Tucanos for delivery to Afghanistan.
Sierra Nevada said the signing of the lease was "an important step toward fulfilling the LAS contract and further developing the U.S. aviation industrial base."
Brazilian officials expressed dismay last year when an original December 2011 award to Sierra Nevada and Embraer was withdrawn.
The Air Force is racing to get new planes to Afghanistan and train pilots to fly them as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw from the country after over a decade of war.
Beechcraft emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. The aircraft maker has called the Air Force's latest move to continue work on the contract "misguided."
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Bob Burgdorfer)
Feature: Afghan New Year marked with hope for peace
Xinhua By Abdul Haleem, Jawed Omid March 22, 2013
KABUL - On the eve of the Afghan New Year, President Hamid Karzai called on Taliban militants to lay down arms and join the government in the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
"I once again call on Taliban as brothers... to lay down foreigners' arms from your shoulders," Karzai said in his message.
"Come back to your beloved motherland and home and join hands with your fellow countrymen for progress and development of your country and for strengthening Islam and Afghanhood so that our country could be relieved from foreign dependence," Karzai said.
He also congratulated the Afghan people on the occasion and expressed the hope that the New Year would bring peace, security and progress to Afghanistan.
As the country celebrated Nawroz (New Year) on Thursday, there was only one wish in the minds of most Afghans: they can finally live in peace.
"We are fed up with the endemic war and continued conflicts in Afghanistan. Today I am praying for the return of lasting peace to our country, something that we have always longed for,"Mohammad Jamil, 35, said.
Jamil said without peace, Afghans cannot hope to be happy and the country cannot move forward.
Nawroz, which falls on Thursday (March 21), the first day of the year 1392 in the Afghan calendar, is celebrated amid tight security across the country.
Nawroz has been declared a public holiday and Afghans from all walks of life celebrated the day by holding parties, visiting families and friends, touring shrines and holy places, and praying for a better future.
Afghanistan has suffered a lot from more than three decades of war and conflicts.
Even on Nawroz, two blasts claimed the lives of eight Afghans and injured eight others in the southern and northern parts of the country.
On Wednesday, a Taliban loyalist, who served as police constable, opened fire on his colleagues in Qadis district of northwestern Badghis province killing five policemen. He later joined the Taliban militants.
Meanwhile, Afghans are worrying over the withdrawal of NATO-led troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 in the midst of the unabated suicide attacks and ambuscades staged by Taliban militants in different parts of the country.
"It is a critical issue and a matter of concern for all Afghans that the Taliban-led insurgency is widespread and yet the NATO-led coalition forces are withdrawing from Afghanistan with the mission, the war on terror, still unresolved," Faridon, 38, said.
Faridon appealed to the Taliban to give up fighting and join the government-initiated peace process for the sake of their country.
Typecasting 'AfPak'
The West's clichés about Pakistan and Afghanistan don't match the signs of democratic progress or opposition to Islamic radicals like the Taliban.
Christian Science Monitor By the Monitor's Editorial Board March 21, 2013
Americans are inclined to write off Pakistan and Afghanistan as chronic hotbeds of Islamic fanaticism, beset with weak governance and prone to tampering by big powers. Better to accept the stereotypes and withdraw aid, troops, and then hope for stable democracy. At best, let drones or Navy SEALs pick off Taliban or Al Qaeda who are menacing the West.
Well, not so fast.
On May 11, Pakistan is set to reach a milestone with its first democratic transfer of civilian power. That’s because the government of Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was able to complete a full, five-year term in March, allowing it to call for an election.
A peaceful transition would be quite an achievement for a nation with a history of military coups, massive corruption, terrorist bombings, factional politics, high-level assassinations, paranoia about India, and devastating floods and earthquakes.
Most of all, it would signify progress toward Pakistan seeing itself as both a Muslim and democratic state. The conflict between those two identities has dogged the South Asian nation ever since independence 66 years ago, with jihadists often allowed to operate openly.
The May election will also mark the first time that political parties will be allowed to compete for the vote in the tribal areas, home to the most radical Islamic groups. The nation’s constitutional process will be geographically complete.
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, dozens of villages in an area once seen as a Taliban stronghold are showing signs of rising up against the militants because of their violent brutality and heavy-handed influence.
Since February, residents near the key city of Kandahar have openly rallied against the Taliban, showing a confidence in Afghan forces and elected officials. Polls in the area show less than a third of the people approve of the Taliban.
This grass-roots solidarity reflects the country’s progress in other areas, such as a sharp drop in infant mortality and illiteracy (especially among girls). The country had only 10,000 land-line telephones a decade ago; now two-thirds of its people have cellphones. Finally connected to the world, Afghans can dream of following the aspirations of Arab Awakening protesters and other hopeful trends.
Like Pakistan, Afghanistan faces a crucial test of its democracy with presidential and parliamentary elections due in 2014 and 2015. This will be the third national election since the United States and NATO liberated the country in 2011 from Taliban rule.
Both countries may face difficult times ahead. But it will be hard to reverse new freedoms and a desire for representative government once the people have had time to experience them.
The West has often missed the ground-level passion for liberty in many countries by focusing too much on strategic interests. Concern about Iran’s nuclear program, for example, led the US to not support that country’s pro-democracy protests in 2009. And the Arab uprising that began in 2011 was hardly anticipated. It was only cautiously favored in Western capitals out of fear of possible implications for Israel, oil supplies, and other interests.
Creating the conditions for democracy to grow is never easy. But when democracy starts to take root, it deserves more attention and nurturing.
Afghans Hail Effort To Protect Rare Raptors From Smugglers
RFE/RL March 22, 2013
Afghan authorities are welcoming a foreign-based NGO's actions to help curb a runaway trade in smuggled exotic birds from Afghanistan.
The group, Nada Al-Sheba Lel-Hayat Al-Bariya from United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), invited journalists to an event to mark the freeing on March 17 of 30 such birds near the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif.
The animals had been seized from smugglers in the Middle East, where reports on such trafficking from South Asia suggest there is high demand for birds of prey and other exotic animals among the very wealthy.
Last year alone, some 5,000 wild birds were smuggled out of Afghanistan, according to the head of the country's Environmental Protection Agency, Mustafa Zahir. Falcons, hawks, and geese are said to be among the smugglers' favorites.
The most highly prized falcons can reportedly sell for as much as $100,000.
Afghan authorities are constrained by budget limitations and other obstacles to enforcement after decades of war and hardship, with infrastructure, security, and rebuilding projects generally regarded as more urgent priorities.
So Zahir was in Mazar-e Sharif on March 17 to lend government support to a newly launched wildlife protection center.
"Unfortunately, the smuggling of birds that is continuing from Afghanistan must stop," Zahir says. "In Mazar-e Sharif, in Herat, and Bamian the hunters are hunting the falcons and hawks. Most of these birds are smuggled to Gulf nations."
Zahir adds that such rare birds will vanish unless "stark steps" are taken.
So the U.A.E.'s opening of a wildlife research farm in northern Afghanistan is seen as a good omen.
Nada Al-Sheba Lel-Hayat Al-Bariya has pledged to invest some $1 million in the Afghan effort.
“God willing, our main goal is to protect wildlife in Afghanistan, and we are trying to attract the attention of other organizations, mainly in the Gulf nations," says Sayeed Abdul Samad Munib, the U.A.E. group's local head.
Munib says the NGO plans to launch a bird-breeding program in the near future for release into the wild.
The choice of locations for his group's operations -- about 50 kilometers from Mazar-e Sharif -- was important because the sandy deserts outside the Balkh Province capital provide an ideal habitat for such wild birds to nest and brood.
The EPA's Zahir says mature female hawks lay about four eggs a year and the NGO is determined to protect those eggs in order to boost Afghan bird populations.
Decades of near-constant conflict in Afghanistan has held dire consequences for its wildlife. The plight of millions of internally displaced persons, drought, and deforestation have contributed to the endangerment of Afghanistan's wildlife.
Zahir suggests the U.A.E. NGO will expand its operations southward, to Nimroz and Helmand provinces, by setting up similar wildlife protection centers there.
-- Mustafa Sarwar in Prague and Latif Sahak in Mazar-e Sharif
Nowruz Criticism as Un-Islamic is Baseless: Govt
Thursday, 21 March 2013 20:02 Written by Parwiz Shamal toltonews.com
The recent criticism of Nowruz as an un-Islamic celebration is baseless, the Afghan Ministry of Culture and Information said Thursday.
Speaking in a ceremony in Kabul, Deputy Minister for Information and Culture Mobarez Rashidi said that Nowroz is a festival that has been celebrated for thousands of years in the region.
"We should not use religion to fight with the beauty and traditions which have been embraced for generations," Rashidi said.
"There has been no reaction to the spring festival from our religious leaders in the history. How can we say that God brings a green spring and we should say we are against it?" Rashidi said.
The Norwoz festival which ushers in the Persian new year at the start of spring has been denounced by some religious scholars and elements within the government as a celebration that belongs to religions and cultures other than Islam.
Thousands of Afghans gathered in Kabul and in the country's northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif at ceremonies to celebrate the event.
President Hamid Karzai attended a regional celebration of Nowroz in Turkmenistan, where his counterparts from the region, including Tajikistan, has come for the celebration.
Takhar District Governor Killed by Roadside Bomb
Thursday, 21 March 2013 21:06 Written by TOLOnews.com
A district governor in northern Takhar province has been killed on Nowruz when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, officials said Thursday.
The governor of Takhar's Eshtamish district Abdul Manan Hakimi was travelling with his bodyguards when the vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in the road in the district.
Hakimi and two of his bodyguards were killed instantly in the blast.
Kunduz and Takhar - the two northeastern provinces - have seen frequent assassinations of senior government officials over the past two years.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the high profile attack.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com