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Kerry in Afghanistan to prod Karzai on future ties
By MATTHEW LEE | Associated Press – Mon, Mar 25, 2013
KABUL (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry embarked on talks Monday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai amid concerns Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with his anti-American rhetoric. The session came shortly after the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations.
During Kerry's 24-hour visit to the country — his sixth since President Barack Obama became president but his first as Obama's secretary of State — Kerry planned to meet with Karzai, civic leaders and others to discuss continued U.S. assistance to the country and how to wean it from such aid as the international military operation winds down, and upcoming national elections.
Karzai has infuriated U.S. officials by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration presses ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.
U.S. officials accompanying Kerry said he did not plan to lecture Karzai or dwell on the apparent animosity but would make clear once again that the U.S. did not take such allegations lightly, They said he would press Karzai on the need for the April 2014 elections to meet international standards and continue to stress the importance of Afghan reconciliation and U.S. support for a Taliban office in Qatar where talks could occur.
Karzai is expected to travel to Qatar within the week and some movement on the opening of an office is likely then.
Kerry, who arrived in Kabul from Amman, Jordan, had hoped also to travel to Pakistan on his trip to the region but put it off due to elections there. Instead, he met late Sunday in Amman with Pakistani army chief for Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, officials said.
The pair had a private dinner at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Jordan as Pakistan continued to seethe in the aftermath of the return from exile to the country of former president Pervez Musharraf, himself a former army chief.
Earlier Monday, the U.S. military ceded control of the Parwan last detention facility near the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul, a year after the two sides initially agreed on the transfer. Karzai demanded control of Parwan as a matter of national sovereignty.
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, handed over Parwan at a ceremony there after signing an agreement with Afghan Defense Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi. "This ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable and sovereign Afghanistan," Dunford said.
The dispute over the center threw a pall over the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral security agreement that would govern the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.
An initial agreement to hand over Parwan was signed a year ago, but efforts to follow through on it constantly stumbled over American concerns that the Afghan government would release prisoners that it considered dangerous.
They have reason to worry. Zakir Qayyum — a former Guantanamo detainee, was released into Afghan custody in 2007. He was freed four months later and rejoined the Taliban. He has reportedly risen to become the No. 2 in the Taliban.
A key hurdle was a ruling by an Afghan judicial panel holding that administrative detention, the practice of holding someone without formal charges, violated the country's laws. The U.S. argued that international law allowed administrative detentions and also argued that it could not risk the passage of some high-value detainees to the notoriously corrupt Afghan court system.
An initial deadline for the full handover passed last September and another earlier this month.
The detention center houses about 3,000 prisoners and the majority are already under Afghan control. The United States had not handed over about 100, and some of those under American authority do not have the right to a trial because the U.S. considers them part of an ongoing conflict.
There are also about three dozen non-Afghan detainees, including Pakistanis and other nationals that will remain in American hands. The exact number and nationality of those detainees has never been made public.
A new agreement, or memorandum of understanding, was signed at the ceremony by Dunford and Khan, but the U.S. military said it will not be made public. The agreement supplants one signed last March, which had been made public.
The U.S. military said in a statement that the new agreement "affirms their mutual commitment to the lawful and humane treatment of detainees and their intention to protect the people of Afghanistan and coalition forces," an apparent reference to the release of detainees deemed to be dangerous.
There are about 100,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan, including about 66,000 from the United States. American officials have made no final decision on how many troops might remain in Afghanistan after 2014, although they have said as many as many as 12,000 U.S. and coalition forces could remain.
The U.S. started to hold detainees at Bagram Air Field in early 2002. For several years, prisoners were kept at a former Soviet aircraft machine plant converted into a lockup.
In 2009, the U.S. opened a new detention facility next door. The number of detainees incarcerated at that prison, renamed the Parwan Detention Facility, went from about 1,100 in September 2010 to more than 3,000.
After Monday's handover, it was renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan and the U.S. military said it would provide the Afghan army with advisers and $39 million in funding.
The United States has spent about a quarter of a billion dollars to build the Bagram facility along with Kabul's main prison located in the capital.
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Patrick Quinn in Kabul and Rahim Faiez in Bagram, Afghanistan contributed to this report.
US Hands Full Control of Bagram Prison to Afghanistan
VOA News March 25, 2013
Afghanistan has taken full control of a controversial detention center from the United States.
Bagram military prison was handed over to Afghanistan in a ceremony Monday.
The transfer was scheduled to happen earlier this month, but was abruptly canceled just before a ceremony was to begin.
A NATO spokesman said then that the transfer would proceed once the two sides had reached a "full agreement."
A deal was finally clinched Saturday in a phone conversation between U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The U.S. partly handed over the high-security prison and around 3,000 suspected Taliban fighters to Afghan control last year.
However, Afghanistan's full control over the detention center has been repeatedly delayed over U.S. concerns that hundreds more Taliban fighters still in U.S. custody would be released.
Monday's transfer of control of Bagram prison comes a day after Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry announced President Hamid Karzai will visit Qatar to discuss the possibility of opening a Taliban office in the Gulf state.
Authorities say an office for the militants could help facilitate the negotiation of an end to the 11-year war in Afghanistan.
The meeting in Qatar is expected to take place within weeks.
Pakistan sees Afghanistan's Karzai as obstacle to peace with Taliban
Reuters By Mehreen Zahra-Malik 24/03/2013
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan, seen as critical to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, is finding it difficult to work with President Hamid Karzai due to mistrust and is reaching out to others to advance the peace process, senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry officials say.
Pakistan is uniquely positioned to promote reconciliation in neighbouring Afghanistan because of its long history of ties to militant groups fighting to topple Karzai.
But Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of backing the Taliban to further its aims, fearful it will try to install a pro-Islamabad government in Kabul, a charge Pakistan denies.
"Right now, Karzai is the biggest impediment to the peace process," a top Pakistani Foreign Ministry official told Reuters. "In trying to look like a saviour, he is taking Afghanistan straight to hell."
Karzai has said he wants peace on his own terms and could also be worried that the United States might cut a quick and risky deal with the Taliban, eager to get the bulk of its forces out of the country by the end of next year.
Either way, Pakistani officials say they are discouraged by what they call Karzai's erratic statements and provocations, apparently designed to make him appear more decisive at home in dealing with the unpopular war, now in its 12th year.
Failure to reach an agreement between the Afghan government and insurgents would increase the chances of prolonged instability and even a push by the Taliban to seize power. The last time they did it, in 1996, it was with Pakistani help.
The stakes are also high for Pakistan, a strategic U.S. ally seen as vital to Washington's global war on militancy. It fears turmoil in Afghanistan could spill over the border and energise home-grown militants seeking to topple the government.
"I have absolutely no doubt that there will be complete chaos in Afghanistan if a settlement is not reached by 2014," said the Foreign Ministry official. "Afghanistan will erupt. And when that happens, Pakistan will have to pay."
Pakistan and Afghanistan have long been suspicious of each other. A recent period of warmer relations raised hopes they could work together to lure the Taliban to negotiations.
Aziz Khan, a former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan, said it was not right to pin all the blame on Karzai.
"Everyone is hedging their bets at this point: the Pakistanis, the U.S., the Afghan government and the Taliban," he said. "No one has been clear about what they want in Afghanistan."
Although Pakistan will maintain contacts with Karzai, it is stepping up engagements with opposition figures, the Taliban, Washington and other parties to promote reconciliation, Foreign Ministry officials said.
"There is no other option but reconciliation - with or without Karzai," said the top Foreign Ministry official. "If he continues to be this stubborn, him and his High Peace Council will naturally be sidelined."
AFGHANS SAY KARZAI COMMITTED TO PEACE
A second senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry official cited several examples of how Karzai has blocked peace efforts. At a conference in January, for example, Karzai insisted there would be no more "back door" peace contacts.
The official also accused Karzai of delaying the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar that could be used in the reconciliation efforts. He did not say why.
Afghan officials say Karzai is fully committed to the peace process, but wants to ensure it is Afghan-driven.
Responding to the accusation that Karzai is an obstacle to peace, an Afghan government official said: "We totally reject this. It is a baseless allegation."
Analysts say Pakistan has a long-standing fear of an Afghan government close to its old foe, India. Karzai has said "no foreign elements or entities should attempt to own Afghan peace efforts". He also warned: "I am not going to allow other attempts to succeed."
So far, Karzai has failed to secure direct talks with the Taliban. He has repeatedly asked for Pakistan's support. Pakistan has helped Taliban representatives to travel to Qatar to make contacts with U.S. officials.
At the same time, Pakistan has been building bridges with the Northern Alliance, a constellation of anti-Taliban figures who have traditionally been implacable critics of Islamabad, and close to India.
But Kabul wants Pakistan to hand over top Afghan Taliban leaders which could prove useful in the peace process.
"All Taliban leadership are sitting in Pakistan. We need full cooperation of Pakistan in order for them to be allowed to travel and be allowed to talk," Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul told a news conference in Sydney.
Karzai's remarks during interviews and in meetings with Pakistani officials have led Islamabad to conclude he has become too inflexible. They cite Karzai's recent accusation that the United States was colluding with the Taliban.
"What does Karzai have to show for his effort to bring insurgents to the table? We've released prisoners. We've facilitated talks," said another senior Foreign Ministry official.
Late last year, Pakistan released more than two dozen Taliban prisoners who could help promote peace. It was the clearest signal ever that Pakistan had put its weight behind the Afghan reconciliation process.
Pakistan's army chief has also made reconciling warring Afghan factions a priority, military sources say.
After the prisoner releases, Afghan officials said Pakistan shared Kabul's goal of transforming the insurgency into a political movement. Such remarks signalled unprecedented optimism from Kabul.
"JOKER IN THE PACK"
But despite that, old suspicions that Pakistan uses Afghan insurgents as proxies to counter the influence of India have not been laid to rest.
Some Afghan officials believe Pakistan may still be hedging its bets and that even the prisoner releases were just a way to retain influence over the Taliban.
"The key fact here is that Pakistan has been investing in this dirty game of trying to control Afghanistan for the last thirty years through terrorist proxies," said a senior Afghan government official.
"It is now trying to reap the harvest of its investments by waiting for what they see as the inevitable complete departure of the international community from Afghanistan and keeping their proxy assets, primarily the Taliban, for the post-2014 period."
During talks last month at British Prime Minister David Cameron's official country residence, Chequers, Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to consult on future Afghan Taliban prisoner releases.
But Pakistani officials now complain that Karzai does not appreciate the goodwill gestures.
Another Pakistani Foreign Ministry official said the government was incensed by an interview Karzai gave to the British press after the Chequers meeting in which he said the peace process was being impeded by "external forces acting in the name of the Taliban", a veiled reference to Islamabad.
So exasperated was Pakistan with Karzai that at a meeting this month between Zardari, the army chief and senior officials, one top leader described Karzai as "the joker in the pack", according to an official who attended.
"He is trying to act as if he has many cards in his hands," said the first Foreign Ministry official. "But he should realise he is only hurting his country."
(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in KABUL; Editing by Michael Georgy and Nick Macfie)
2 Afghan civilians killed in blast in N. province
MAIMANA, Afghanistan, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Two Afghan civilians were killed and five were wounded in a roadside bombing in the country's northern province of Faryab on Monday, police said.
"Two civilians were killed and five others wounded when a civilian vehicle touched off a roadside bomb in Khwaja Sabz Posh district early Monday morning," provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhil told Xinhua.
He said the injured were shifted to a hospital in provincial capital Maimana city in the province 425 km northwest of capital Kabul.
The police official blamed insurgent Taliban for planting the bomb. The Taliban insurgent group uses Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or roadside bombs and suicide bombers in their attacks which also inflicted casualties on civilians.
A total of 2,754 Afghan civilians were killed in conflict- related violence in 2012, 12 percent down compared with 2011, according to a UN report released in Kabul last month.
The UN report attributed 81 percent of the civilian deaths to the attacks of Taliban and other armed groups, another 8 percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO-led forces and 11 percent were unattributed.
Taliban abduct 10 Afghan soldiers, 1 doctor in Badakhshan
By GHANIZADA - 25 Mar 2013, 11:13 am Khaama Press
According to local authorities in north-eastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, Taliban militants abducted at least 10 Afghan national army soldiers along with a doctor in this province.
Provincial governor spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasukh confirming the report said the individuals were abducted by Taliban militants during a military operation in Wardoj district around 3 days back.
Mr. Rasukh furhter added that negotiations have been started to free the army service members along with the doctor from the Taliban hostage.
This comes as Taliban militants abducted at least 20 Afghan national army soldiers a few weeks back and murdered 16 army personnel in Wardoj district. The remaining army soldiers were released by Taliban militants following negotiations by tribal elders.
Musharraf Returns to Pakistan From Exile
AFP By Guillaume Lavallee Sunday, 24 March 2013
Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf returned home on Sunday after more than four years in exile, defying a Taliban death threat to contest historic general elections.
The 69-year-old ex-dictator says he is prepared to risk any danger to stand for election on May 11, in what will be the first democratic transition of power in the history of a nuclear-armed country dominated by periods of military rule.
He seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Musharraf's Emirates flight from Dubai landed at around 12:45 pm (0745 GMT) after a journey that saw his official Facebook and Twitter accounts provide a running commentary, posting messages and photographs of him on board.
"Settled in my seat on the plane to begin my journey home. Pakistan First!" said one message posted on the @P_Musharraf Twitter account, with a picture of him wearing an off-white, traditional shalwa kameez outfit.
Some of his supporters on the flight shouted "long live Musharraf", annoying other people among the regular passengers, according to an AFP reporter on board.
Musharraf, who has been granted protective bail to lift the threat of immediate arrest on his return to Pakistan, told reporters before leaving for Karachi that he was "not feeling nervous" but admitted to some concerns.
"I am feeling concerned about the unknown... there are a lot of unknown factors of terrorism and extremism, unknown factors of legal issue, unknown factors of how much I will be able to perform (in the elections)," he said.
He was forced to scrap plans to address a public rally at the Karachi tomb of Pakistan's founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah because of security fears and will instead address supporters at the heavily secured airport.
Police withdrew permission for the downtown rally after the Pakistani Taliban threatened to dispatch a squad of suicide bombers to assassinate Musharraf.
In one of the legal cases that has long ensnared Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated when he was running the country in December 2007, three months after she returned to Pakistan from her own self-imposed exile.
Karachi, a city of 18 million, is already in the throes of record political and ethnic violence. On March 3, a huge car bomb killed 50 people in a mainly Shiite Muslim area of the city, the worst single attack in the city for years.
Just hours before Musharraf's homecoming, a suicide bomber killed 17 Pakistani soldiers by ramming a water tanker packed with explosives into a checkpoint in the tribal district of North Waziristan.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but North Waziristan is a known stronghold of the Taliban and operatives linked to Al-Qaeda. Pakistani troops have been fighting homegrown insurgents in the tribal belt for years.
As ruler, Musharraf escaped three Al-Qaeda assassination attempts. He became a prominent target for Islamist extremists after making Pakistan a key US ally in the "war on terror" after the 9/11 attacks.
In July 2007, he ordered troops to storm a radical mosque in Islamabad. The operation left more than 100 people dead and opened the floodgates to Islamist attacks in Pakistan, which have killed thousands since then.
Meanwhile Bhutto's son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is chairman of the Pakistan People's Party, has accused Musharraf of her murder.
In 2010 a UN report said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to provide her with adequate protection. His administration blamed the assassination on the Pakistani Taliban.
Musharraf is wanted by the courts over Bhutto's death, the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch rebel leader in the southwest, and for the 2007 sacking and illegal arrest of judges.
Analysts say there is a real danger to his life, which outweighs his political future in a country where he is likely to win no more than a couple of seats for his All Pakistan Muslim League party.
Kidnapped German aid worker freed in northern Afghanistan
By MEENA HASEEB - 25 Mar 2013, 10:58 am Khaama Press
According to local authorities in north-eastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, Afghan security forces freed a German citizen from the unknown hostage takers in this province.
Provincial security chief Gen. Imamuddin Mutmaein confirming the report said the German citizen used to work in a non-governmental organization in the central city of Faizabad.
Gen. Mutmaein further added that the unknown gunmen had kidnapped the German citizen from Batash village on Sunday.
He said Afghan security forces managed to free the kidnapped German citizen following a military operation conducted in Argo district at Danishmandan village on Sunday night.
At least three suspected individuals were also arrested in connection to the incident.
This comes as unknown gunmen kidnapped at least five foreigners including 2 female doctors in remote mountains of Faizabad district earlier last year.
The aid workers employed by Swiss-based aid group Medair were making their way from Faizabad city in rugged northeast Badakhshan province to visit flood-stricken areas when they were abducted about half-way to their destination.
The kidnapping of foreigners has become relatively common in parts of Afghanistan since U.S-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001, heralding a 10-year anti-insurgent war.
In 2010, 10 foreign medical workers, including six Americans, were killed in Badakhshan in an attack blamed on insurgents.
Private Security Involved in Criminal Activity: MPs
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Sunday, 24 March 2013
Private security companies in Afghanistan are involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking, the parliamentary homeland security committee said Sunday, calling for an end to the practices.
"There is still illegal activity being done by some security companies and their operations must be stopped. There are two [private] companies operating in security in Farah and Herat provinces and they must be disarmed," said Mohammad Naiam Lalai Hamidzai member of homeland security committee, adding that the company in Herat is named Aria.
Another member Shekaba Hashimi said: "In some situations, private security companies are involved in smuggling drugs and [trafficking] humans. And sometimes they are causing insecurity. These activities are really making me concerned."
Gen. Abdul Jamil Junbish, Deputy Minister of the Interior and head of the Afghanistan Public Protection Force, was summoned to parliament Sunday to answer questions on the matter.
Junbish said the process of shutting down private security companies is still ongoing until the APPF – the government's solution to replace private security – recruits and trains sufficient staff. Therefore, the government has permitted some private companies to continue.
He said that when the APPF began there were around 52 active private security companies. Of these, 20 have been disarmed and no longer operate, with many of the employees of the now working for the department of public protection.
The other 32 private security companies are only operating in monitoring sector and their responsibilities will be soon handed over to the APPF, he said.
"In terms of equipment, we are ready to take on the security of the supply convoys on the highways but our soldiers and officers still need more trainings and their training is continuing going on," Junbish parliament.
Junbish responded to questions of the fees for APPF security services on highways explaining that convoys are charged US$175 per vehicle for every 50km. This money goes to the government treasury, he said.
Afghan Govt Graft on the Rise, Corruption Monitor Says
TOLOnews.com By Azem Arash Sunday, 24 March 2013
Afghanistan's main corruption sources at the government level are its income channels with around double the national income misappropriated in the past year, according to the independent anti-corruption watchdog.
The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) said Sunday that corruption is on the rise with a study of the last six months showing that most of it stems from the national sources of income, mainly customs.
"Unfortunately, the largest amount of corruption is in departments from where the national incomes are collected, especially customs," said Sima Ghani, head of the committee's secretariat, at a press conference in Kabul.
The MEC said the corruption within government organisations is actually on the rise, suggesting that there is a lack of commitment to fight the issue which has dogged the Afghan government.
"Each year, about 200 percent of the [national] income is embezzled," Ghani added, indicating that the national income of around $1.5 billion per year has been eclipsed by the $3 billion believed to have been embezzled.
The Ministry of Finance admitted the existence of the graft in the government but rejected the amount.
"It is correct. We admit there is corruption in customs because there will be theft and embezzlement where there is money, but it is not the amount the corruption monitoring committee has said. It is not acceptable," said Najibullah Manali, adviser at Ministry of Finance.
The MEC said it will release a report this week reflecting the inspections it has carried out regarding the implementation of President Hamid Karzai's Decree 45, adding that it has sent 36 more suggestions to government organisations and the international community Sunday.
Karzai issued Decree 45 last July to fight corruption and bring administrative reform within the government departments after the international community tied the promise of its financial aid to the condition that more is done to combat graft.
The MEC was formed in March 2010 by Karzai's Decree 61. It is wholly independent from the government of Afghanistan and the international community and is comprised of six senior anti-corruption experts - three members appointed by the Afghan government and three appointed on the recommendation of the international community.
Indian Logistics Company to Export Afghan Fruit
TOLOnews.com By Zabiullah Jahanmal Sunday, 24 March 2013
An Indian logistics company has signed agreements with Afghan agricultural cooperatives to export as much as 4,000 tonnes of fruits from Afghanistan to India, officials of Afghan agriculture ministry said Saturday.
According to the ministry, the Indian company IG International will export 800 tonnes of apples, and more than 3,000 tonnes of pomegranates and grapes to India via an Iranian port. The company is also interested in opening a branch in Kabul to facilitate trades with Afghan farmers.
"The company is planning to open a branch in Kabul. It's intending to take Afghanistan's fruit to India via Iran," said Abdul Qayoum Basam, head of the ministry's private sector development department.
IG International's interest in exporting Afghanistan's fruit came after they visited an agricultural business fair in the Badam Bagh area of Kabul city.
Following the agricultural fair, a number of the Afghan farmers and traders who participated said they had received more work during those days.
"It's fairs such as this that create opportunities for people and traders to come and make these agreements with us... Most of the people coming here are from companies," one of the participants told TOLOnews.
The agricultural fair, which was open over Nowruz, is said to have had more than 100,000 visitors.
Landslide Obstructs Kabul-Jalalabad Highway
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Sunday, 24 March 2013
The series of landslides Saturday evening over the highway between the capital city Kabul and eastern Nangarhar's Jalalabad city has blocked the road, officials said Sunday.
The first landslide happened in the Darunta area of Kabul's Surobi district, 200 meters from Darunta tunnel, according to Laghman province officials.
A second landslide took place in Kabul province's Mahipar area.
According to deputy provincial governor of Laghman – which borders Kabul and Nangarhar – the incident has created problems for travelers.
"This is a big highway, and there are some problems. [But] we are redirecting the vehicles from Char Bagh to Nangarhar. There are no serious issues," said Jamiatullah Hamidi, Laghman deputy governor.
Travelers can also reach Jalalabad via the road through Qarghaee district of Laghman province.
The government is working to clear the road quickly in order to ensure the problem does not grow.
"This is a highway with economic value – most of the vehicles are coming to Kabul and Jalalabad from Torkham (port) and that is how the goods reach Kabul. If this road is constantly closed, the price of food materials will increase," said Mohammad Zaman Vaziri, commander of 201 Selab army corps which overseas Afghanistan's east.
None of the incidents so far have caused harm to people, officials said.
Border Bazaars Hurt Afghan Industry: ACCI
TOLOnews.com By Zabiullah Jahanmal Sunday, 24 March 2013
Bazaars set up on Afghanistan's borders are avoiding customs tax and damaging local industry, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said Sunday.
The border bazaars are normally dominated by traders from the neighbouring country and sell products at low prices that Afghan traders struggle to compete with, according to Azarakhsh Hafezi, head of the ACCI's international relations.
"We don't have sufficient produce to sell in these small bazaars, therefore we do not obtain the benefits," Hafezi said.
In particular, Iranian traders are taking advantage of selling their produce exempt from Afghan taxes – sometimes selling it for 22 percent less than their Afghan counterparts, he added.
The ACCI believes Iran is seeking to increase such border bazaars after losing many customers on the global scale and Afghanistan increased customs tax on imported goods. It also warned that this situation means there will be higher risk of unhealthy competition and smuggling of goods.
www.afghanistannewcenter.com
By MATTHEW LEE | Associated Press – Mon, Mar 25, 2013
KABUL (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry embarked on talks Monday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai amid concerns Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with his anti-American rhetoric. The session came shortly after the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a longstanding irritant in relations.
During Kerry's 24-hour visit to the country — his sixth since President Barack Obama became president but his first as Obama's secretary of State — Kerry planned to meet with Karzai, civic leaders and others to discuss continued U.S. assistance to the country and how to wean it from such aid as the international military operation winds down, and upcoming national elections.
Karzai has infuriated U.S. officials by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration presses ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.
U.S. officials accompanying Kerry said he did not plan to lecture Karzai or dwell on the apparent animosity but would make clear once again that the U.S. did not take such allegations lightly, They said he would press Karzai on the need for the April 2014 elections to meet international standards and continue to stress the importance of Afghan reconciliation and U.S. support for a Taliban office in Qatar where talks could occur.
Karzai is expected to travel to Qatar within the week and some movement on the opening of an office is likely then.
Kerry, who arrived in Kabul from Amman, Jordan, had hoped also to travel to Pakistan on his trip to the region but put it off due to elections there. Instead, he met late Sunday in Amman with Pakistani army chief for Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, officials said.
The pair had a private dinner at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Jordan as Pakistan continued to seethe in the aftermath of the return from exile to the country of former president Pervez Musharraf, himself a former army chief.
Earlier Monday, the U.S. military ceded control of the Parwan last detention facility near the U.S.-run Bagram military base north of Kabul, a year after the two sides initially agreed on the transfer. Karzai demanded control of Parwan as a matter of national sovereignty.
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, handed over Parwan at a ceremony there after signing an agreement with Afghan Defense Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi. "This ceremony highlights an increasingly confident, capable and sovereign Afghanistan," Dunford said.
The dispute over the center threw a pall over the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral security agreement that would govern the presence of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.
An initial agreement to hand over Parwan was signed a year ago, but efforts to follow through on it constantly stumbled over American concerns that the Afghan government would release prisoners that it considered dangerous.
They have reason to worry. Zakir Qayyum — a former Guantanamo detainee, was released into Afghan custody in 2007. He was freed four months later and rejoined the Taliban. He has reportedly risen to become the No. 2 in the Taliban.
A key hurdle was a ruling by an Afghan judicial panel holding that administrative detention, the practice of holding someone without formal charges, violated the country's laws. The U.S. argued that international law allowed administrative detentions and also argued that it could not risk the passage of some high-value detainees to the notoriously corrupt Afghan court system.
An initial deadline for the full handover passed last September and another earlier this month.
The detention center houses about 3,000 prisoners and the majority are already under Afghan control. The United States had not handed over about 100, and some of those under American authority do not have the right to a trial because the U.S. considers them part of an ongoing conflict.
There are also about three dozen non-Afghan detainees, including Pakistanis and other nationals that will remain in American hands. The exact number and nationality of those detainees has never been made public.
A new agreement, or memorandum of understanding, was signed at the ceremony by Dunford and Khan, but the U.S. military said it will not be made public. The agreement supplants one signed last March, which had been made public.
The U.S. military said in a statement that the new agreement "affirms their mutual commitment to the lawful and humane treatment of detainees and their intention to protect the people of Afghanistan and coalition forces," an apparent reference to the release of detainees deemed to be dangerous.
There are about 100,000 coalition troops in Afghanistan, including about 66,000 from the United States. American officials have made no final decision on how many troops might remain in Afghanistan after 2014, although they have said as many as many as 12,000 U.S. and coalition forces could remain.
The U.S. started to hold detainees at Bagram Air Field in early 2002. For several years, prisoners were kept at a former Soviet aircraft machine plant converted into a lockup.
In 2009, the U.S. opened a new detention facility next door. The number of detainees incarcerated at that prison, renamed the Parwan Detention Facility, went from about 1,100 in September 2010 to more than 3,000.
After Monday's handover, it was renamed the Afghan National Detention Facility at Parwan and the U.S. military said it would provide the Afghan army with advisers and $39 million in funding.
The United States has spent about a quarter of a billion dollars to build the Bagram facility along with Kabul's main prison located in the capital.
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Patrick Quinn in Kabul and Rahim Faiez in Bagram, Afghanistan contributed to this report.
US Hands Full Control of Bagram Prison to Afghanistan
VOA News March 25, 2013
Afghanistan has taken full control of a controversial detention center from the United States.
Bagram military prison was handed over to Afghanistan in a ceremony Monday.
The transfer was scheduled to happen earlier this month, but was abruptly canceled just before a ceremony was to begin.
A NATO spokesman said then that the transfer would proceed once the two sides had reached a "full agreement."
A deal was finally clinched Saturday in a phone conversation between U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The U.S. partly handed over the high-security prison and around 3,000 suspected Taliban fighters to Afghan control last year.
However, Afghanistan's full control over the detention center has been repeatedly delayed over U.S. concerns that hundreds more Taliban fighters still in U.S. custody would be released.
Monday's transfer of control of Bagram prison comes a day after Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry announced President Hamid Karzai will visit Qatar to discuss the possibility of opening a Taliban office in the Gulf state.
Authorities say an office for the militants could help facilitate the negotiation of an end to the 11-year war in Afghanistan.
The meeting in Qatar is expected to take place within weeks.
Pakistan sees Afghanistan's Karzai as obstacle to peace with Taliban
Reuters By Mehreen Zahra-Malik 24/03/2013
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan, seen as critical to efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, is finding it difficult to work with President Hamid Karzai due to mistrust and is reaching out to others to advance the peace process, senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry officials say.
Pakistan is uniquely positioned to promote reconciliation in neighbouring Afghanistan because of its long history of ties to militant groups fighting to topple Karzai.
But Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of backing the Taliban to further its aims, fearful it will try to install a pro-Islamabad government in Kabul, a charge Pakistan denies.
"Right now, Karzai is the biggest impediment to the peace process," a top Pakistani Foreign Ministry official told Reuters. "In trying to look like a saviour, he is taking Afghanistan straight to hell."
Karzai has said he wants peace on his own terms and could also be worried that the United States might cut a quick and risky deal with the Taliban, eager to get the bulk of its forces out of the country by the end of next year.
Either way, Pakistani officials say they are discouraged by what they call Karzai's erratic statements and provocations, apparently designed to make him appear more decisive at home in dealing with the unpopular war, now in its 12th year.
Failure to reach an agreement between the Afghan government and insurgents would increase the chances of prolonged instability and even a push by the Taliban to seize power. The last time they did it, in 1996, it was with Pakistani help.
The stakes are also high for Pakistan, a strategic U.S. ally seen as vital to Washington's global war on militancy. It fears turmoil in Afghanistan could spill over the border and energise home-grown militants seeking to topple the government.
"I have absolutely no doubt that there will be complete chaos in Afghanistan if a settlement is not reached by 2014," said the Foreign Ministry official. "Afghanistan will erupt. And when that happens, Pakistan will have to pay."
Pakistan and Afghanistan have long been suspicious of each other. A recent period of warmer relations raised hopes they could work together to lure the Taliban to negotiations.
Aziz Khan, a former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan, said it was not right to pin all the blame on Karzai.
"Everyone is hedging their bets at this point: the Pakistanis, the U.S., the Afghan government and the Taliban," he said. "No one has been clear about what they want in Afghanistan."
Although Pakistan will maintain contacts with Karzai, it is stepping up engagements with opposition figures, the Taliban, Washington and other parties to promote reconciliation, Foreign Ministry officials said.
"There is no other option but reconciliation - with or without Karzai," said the top Foreign Ministry official. "If he continues to be this stubborn, him and his High Peace Council will naturally be sidelined."
AFGHANS SAY KARZAI COMMITTED TO PEACE
A second senior Pakistani Foreign Ministry official cited several examples of how Karzai has blocked peace efforts. At a conference in January, for example, Karzai insisted there would be no more "back door" peace contacts.
The official also accused Karzai of delaying the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar that could be used in the reconciliation efforts. He did not say why.
Afghan officials say Karzai is fully committed to the peace process, but wants to ensure it is Afghan-driven.
Responding to the accusation that Karzai is an obstacle to peace, an Afghan government official said: "We totally reject this. It is a baseless allegation."
Analysts say Pakistan has a long-standing fear of an Afghan government close to its old foe, India. Karzai has said "no foreign elements or entities should attempt to own Afghan peace efforts". He also warned: "I am not going to allow other attempts to succeed."
So far, Karzai has failed to secure direct talks with the Taliban. He has repeatedly asked for Pakistan's support. Pakistan has helped Taliban representatives to travel to Qatar to make contacts with U.S. officials.
At the same time, Pakistan has been building bridges with the Northern Alliance, a constellation of anti-Taliban figures who have traditionally been implacable critics of Islamabad, and close to India.
But Kabul wants Pakistan to hand over top Afghan Taliban leaders which could prove useful in the peace process.
"All Taliban leadership are sitting in Pakistan. We need full cooperation of Pakistan in order for them to be allowed to travel and be allowed to talk," Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rassoul told a news conference in Sydney.
Karzai's remarks during interviews and in meetings with Pakistani officials have led Islamabad to conclude he has become too inflexible. They cite Karzai's recent accusation that the United States was colluding with the Taliban.
"What does Karzai have to show for his effort to bring insurgents to the table? We've released prisoners. We've facilitated talks," said another senior Foreign Ministry official.
Late last year, Pakistan released more than two dozen Taliban prisoners who could help promote peace. It was the clearest signal ever that Pakistan had put its weight behind the Afghan reconciliation process.
Pakistan's army chief has also made reconciling warring Afghan factions a priority, military sources say.
After the prisoner releases, Afghan officials said Pakistan shared Kabul's goal of transforming the insurgency into a political movement. Such remarks signalled unprecedented optimism from Kabul.
"JOKER IN THE PACK"
But despite that, old suspicions that Pakistan uses Afghan insurgents as proxies to counter the influence of India have not been laid to rest.
Some Afghan officials believe Pakistan may still be hedging its bets and that even the prisoner releases were just a way to retain influence over the Taliban.
"The key fact here is that Pakistan has been investing in this dirty game of trying to control Afghanistan for the last thirty years through terrorist proxies," said a senior Afghan government official.
"It is now trying to reap the harvest of its investments by waiting for what they see as the inevitable complete departure of the international community from Afghanistan and keeping their proxy assets, primarily the Taliban, for the post-2014 period."
During talks last month at British Prime Minister David Cameron's official country residence, Chequers, Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari agreed to consult on future Afghan Taliban prisoner releases.
But Pakistani officials now complain that Karzai does not appreciate the goodwill gestures.
Another Pakistani Foreign Ministry official said the government was incensed by an interview Karzai gave to the British press after the Chequers meeting in which he said the peace process was being impeded by "external forces acting in the name of the Taliban", a veiled reference to Islamabad.
So exasperated was Pakistan with Karzai that at a meeting this month between Zardari, the army chief and senior officials, one top leader described Karzai as "the joker in the pack", according to an official who attended.
"He is trying to act as if he has many cards in his hands," said the first Foreign Ministry official. "But he should realise he is only hurting his country."
(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in KABUL; Editing by Michael Georgy and Nick Macfie)
2 Afghan civilians killed in blast in N. province
MAIMANA, Afghanistan, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Two Afghan civilians were killed and five were wounded in a roadside bombing in the country's northern province of Faryab on Monday, police said.
"Two civilians were killed and five others wounded when a civilian vehicle touched off a roadside bomb in Khwaja Sabz Posh district early Monday morning," provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhil told Xinhua.
He said the injured were shifted to a hospital in provincial capital Maimana city in the province 425 km northwest of capital Kabul.
The police official blamed insurgent Taliban for planting the bomb. The Taliban insurgent group uses Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or roadside bombs and suicide bombers in their attacks which also inflicted casualties on civilians.
A total of 2,754 Afghan civilians were killed in conflict- related violence in 2012, 12 percent down compared with 2011, according to a UN report released in Kabul last month.
The UN report attributed 81 percent of the civilian deaths to the attacks of Taliban and other armed groups, another 8 percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO-led forces and 11 percent were unattributed.
Taliban abduct 10 Afghan soldiers, 1 doctor in Badakhshan
By GHANIZADA - 25 Mar 2013, 11:13 am Khaama Press
According to local authorities in north-eastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, Taliban militants abducted at least 10 Afghan national army soldiers along with a doctor in this province.
Provincial governor spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasukh confirming the report said the individuals were abducted by Taliban militants during a military operation in Wardoj district around 3 days back.
Mr. Rasukh furhter added that negotiations have been started to free the army service members along with the doctor from the Taliban hostage.
This comes as Taliban militants abducted at least 20 Afghan national army soldiers a few weeks back and murdered 16 army personnel in Wardoj district. The remaining army soldiers were released by Taliban militants following negotiations by tribal elders.
Musharraf Returns to Pakistan From Exile
AFP By Guillaume Lavallee Sunday, 24 March 2013
Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf returned home on Sunday after more than four years in exile, defying a Taliban death threat to contest historic general elections.
The 69-year-old ex-dictator says he is prepared to risk any danger to stand for election on May 11, in what will be the first democratic transition of power in the history of a nuclear-armed country dominated by periods of military rule.
He seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Musharraf's Emirates flight from Dubai landed at around 12:45 pm (0745 GMT) after a journey that saw his official Facebook and Twitter accounts provide a running commentary, posting messages and photographs of him on board.
"Settled in my seat on the plane to begin my journey home. Pakistan First!" said one message posted on the @P_Musharraf Twitter account, with a picture of him wearing an off-white, traditional shalwa kameez outfit.
Some of his supporters on the flight shouted "long live Musharraf", annoying other people among the regular passengers, according to an AFP reporter on board.
Musharraf, who has been granted protective bail to lift the threat of immediate arrest on his return to Pakistan, told reporters before leaving for Karachi that he was "not feeling nervous" but admitted to some concerns.
"I am feeling concerned about the unknown... there are a lot of unknown factors of terrorism and extremism, unknown factors of legal issue, unknown factors of how much I will be able to perform (in the elections)," he said.
He was forced to scrap plans to address a public rally at the Karachi tomb of Pakistan's founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah because of security fears and will instead address supporters at the heavily secured airport.
Police withdrew permission for the downtown rally after the Pakistani Taliban threatened to dispatch a squad of suicide bombers to assassinate Musharraf.
In one of the legal cases that has long ensnared Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated when he was running the country in December 2007, three months after she returned to Pakistan from her own self-imposed exile.
Karachi, a city of 18 million, is already in the throes of record political and ethnic violence. On March 3, a huge car bomb killed 50 people in a mainly Shiite Muslim area of the city, the worst single attack in the city for years.
Just hours before Musharraf's homecoming, a suicide bomber killed 17 Pakistani soldiers by ramming a water tanker packed with explosives into a checkpoint in the tribal district of North Waziristan.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but North Waziristan is a known stronghold of the Taliban and operatives linked to Al-Qaeda. Pakistani troops have been fighting homegrown insurgents in the tribal belt for years.
As ruler, Musharraf escaped three Al-Qaeda assassination attempts. He became a prominent target for Islamist extremists after making Pakistan a key US ally in the "war on terror" after the 9/11 attacks.
In July 2007, he ordered troops to storm a radical mosque in Islamabad. The operation left more than 100 people dead and opened the floodgates to Islamist attacks in Pakistan, which have killed thousands since then.
Meanwhile Bhutto's son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is chairman of the Pakistan People's Party, has accused Musharraf of her murder.
In 2010 a UN report said Bhutto's death could have been prevented and accused Musharraf's government of failing to provide her with adequate protection. His administration blamed the assassination on the Pakistani Taliban.
Musharraf is wanted by the courts over Bhutto's death, the 2006 death of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch rebel leader in the southwest, and for the 2007 sacking and illegal arrest of judges.
Analysts say there is a real danger to his life, which outweighs his political future in a country where he is likely to win no more than a couple of seats for his All Pakistan Muslim League party.
Kidnapped German aid worker freed in northern Afghanistan
By MEENA HASEEB - 25 Mar 2013, 10:58 am Khaama Press
According to local authorities in north-eastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, Afghan security forces freed a German citizen from the unknown hostage takers in this province.
Provincial security chief Gen. Imamuddin Mutmaein confirming the report said the German citizen used to work in a non-governmental organization in the central city of Faizabad.
Gen. Mutmaein further added that the unknown gunmen had kidnapped the German citizen from Batash village on Sunday.
He said Afghan security forces managed to free the kidnapped German citizen following a military operation conducted in Argo district at Danishmandan village on Sunday night.
At least three suspected individuals were also arrested in connection to the incident.
This comes as unknown gunmen kidnapped at least five foreigners including 2 female doctors in remote mountains of Faizabad district earlier last year.
The aid workers employed by Swiss-based aid group Medair were making their way from Faizabad city in rugged northeast Badakhshan province to visit flood-stricken areas when they were abducted about half-way to their destination.
The kidnapping of foreigners has become relatively common in parts of Afghanistan since U.S-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001, heralding a 10-year anti-insurgent war.
In 2010, 10 foreign medical workers, including six Americans, were killed in Badakhshan in an attack blamed on insurgents.
Private Security Involved in Criminal Activity: MPs
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Sunday, 24 March 2013
Private security companies in Afghanistan are involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking, the parliamentary homeland security committee said Sunday, calling for an end to the practices.
"There is still illegal activity being done by some security companies and their operations must be stopped. There are two [private] companies operating in security in Farah and Herat provinces and they must be disarmed," said Mohammad Naiam Lalai Hamidzai member of homeland security committee, adding that the company in Herat is named Aria.
Another member Shekaba Hashimi said: "In some situations, private security companies are involved in smuggling drugs and [trafficking] humans. And sometimes they are causing insecurity. These activities are really making me concerned."
Gen. Abdul Jamil Junbish, Deputy Minister of the Interior and head of the Afghanistan Public Protection Force, was summoned to parliament Sunday to answer questions on the matter.
Junbish said the process of shutting down private security companies is still ongoing until the APPF – the government's solution to replace private security – recruits and trains sufficient staff. Therefore, the government has permitted some private companies to continue.
He said that when the APPF began there were around 52 active private security companies. Of these, 20 have been disarmed and no longer operate, with many of the employees of the now working for the department of public protection.
The other 32 private security companies are only operating in monitoring sector and their responsibilities will be soon handed over to the APPF, he said.
"In terms of equipment, we are ready to take on the security of the supply convoys on the highways but our soldiers and officers still need more trainings and their training is continuing going on," Junbish parliament.
Junbish responded to questions of the fees for APPF security services on highways explaining that convoys are charged US$175 per vehicle for every 50km. This money goes to the government treasury, he said.
Afghan Govt Graft on the Rise, Corruption Monitor Says
TOLOnews.com By Azem Arash Sunday, 24 March 2013
Afghanistan's main corruption sources at the government level are its income channels with around double the national income misappropriated in the past year, according to the independent anti-corruption watchdog.
The Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) said Sunday that corruption is on the rise with a study of the last six months showing that most of it stems from the national sources of income, mainly customs.
"Unfortunately, the largest amount of corruption is in departments from where the national incomes are collected, especially customs," said Sima Ghani, head of the committee's secretariat, at a press conference in Kabul.
The MEC said the corruption within government organisations is actually on the rise, suggesting that there is a lack of commitment to fight the issue which has dogged the Afghan government.
"Each year, about 200 percent of the [national] income is embezzled," Ghani added, indicating that the national income of around $1.5 billion per year has been eclipsed by the $3 billion believed to have been embezzled.
The Ministry of Finance admitted the existence of the graft in the government but rejected the amount.
"It is correct. We admit there is corruption in customs because there will be theft and embezzlement where there is money, but it is not the amount the corruption monitoring committee has said. It is not acceptable," said Najibullah Manali, adviser at Ministry of Finance.
The MEC said it will release a report this week reflecting the inspections it has carried out regarding the implementation of President Hamid Karzai's Decree 45, adding that it has sent 36 more suggestions to government organisations and the international community Sunday.
Karzai issued Decree 45 last July to fight corruption and bring administrative reform within the government departments after the international community tied the promise of its financial aid to the condition that more is done to combat graft.
The MEC was formed in March 2010 by Karzai's Decree 61. It is wholly independent from the government of Afghanistan and the international community and is comprised of six senior anti-corruption experts - three members appointed by the Afghan government and three appointed on the recommendation of the international community.
Indian Logistics Company to Export Afghan Fruit
TOLOnews.com By Zabiullah Jahanmal Sunday, 24 March 2013
An Indian logistics company has signed agreements with Afghan agricultural cooperatives to export as much as 4,000 tonnes of fruits from Afghanistan to India, officials of Afghan agriculture ministry said Saturday.
According to the ministry, the Indian company IG International will export 800 tonnes of apples, and more than 3,000 tonnes of pomegranates and grapes to India via an Iranian port. The company is also interested in opening a branch in Kabul to facilitate trades with Afghan farmers.
"The company is planning to open a branch in Kabul. It's intending to take Afghanistan's fruit to India via Iran," said Abdul Qayoum Basam, head of the ministry's private sector development department.
IG International's interest in exporting Afghanistan's fruit came after they visited an agricultural business fair in the Badam Bagh area of Kabul city.
Following the agricultural fair, a number of the Afghan farmers and traders who participated said they had received more work during those days.
"It's fairs such as this that create opportunities for people and traders to come and make these agreements with us... Most of the people coming here are from companies," one of the participants told TOLOnews.
The agricultural fair, which was open over Nowruz, is said to have had more than 100,000 visitors.
Landslide Obstructs Kabul-Jalalabad Highway
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi Sunday, 24 March 2013
The series of landslides Saturday evening over the highway between the capital city Kabul and eastern Nangarhar's Jalalabad city has blocked the road, officials said Sunday.
The first landslide happened in the Darunta area of Kabul's Surobi district, 200 meters from Darunta tunnel, according to Laghman province officials.
A second landslide took place in Kabul province's Mahipar area.
According to deputy provincial governor of Laghman – which borders Kabul and Nangarhar – the incident has created problems for travelers.
"This is a big highway, and there are some problems. [But] we are redirecting the vehicles from Char Bagh to Nangarhar. There are no serious issues," said Jamiatullah Hamidi, Laghman deputy governor.
Travelers can also reach Jalalabad via the road through Qarghaee district of Laghman province.
The government is working to clear the road quickly in order to ensure the problem does not grow.
"This is a highway with economic value – most of the vehicles are coming to Kabul and Jalalabad from Torkham (port) and that is how the goods reach Kabul. If this road is constantly closed, the price of food materials will increase," said Mohammad Zaman Vaziri, commander of 201 Selab army corps which overseas Afghanistan's east.
None of the incidents so far have caused harm to people, officials said.
Border Bazaars Hurt Afghan Industry: ACCI
TOLOnews.com By Zabiullah Jahanmal Sunday, 24 March 2013
Bazaars set up on Afghanistan's borders are avoiding customs tax and damaging local industry, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said Sunday.
The border bazaars are normally dominated by traders from the neighbouring country and sell products at low prices that Afghan traders struggle to compete with, according to Azarakhsh Hafezi, head of the ACCI's international relations.
"We don't have sufficient produce to sell in these small bazaars, therefore we do not obtain the benefits," Hafezi said.
In particular, Iranian traders are taking advantage of selling their produce exempt from Afghan taxes – sometimes selling it for 22 percent less than their Afghan counterparts, he added.
The ACCI believes Iran is seeking to increase such border bazaars after losing many customers on the global scale and Afghanistan increased customs tax on imported goods. It also warned that this situation means there will be higher risk of unhealthy competition and smuggling of goods.
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