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Afghanistan’s Cycle of Corruption
Allegations reflecting the country’s deep levels of corruption surfaced in a dramatic session of the Afghan Parliament. Mujib Mashal reports from Kabul.
The Daily Beast By Mujib Mashal May 16, 2013
The impeachment of Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, on charges of accusing M.P.s of smuggling, began like any other. Zakhilwal patiently listened to members of Parliament ask their questions—about budget cuts, nepotism in his ministry, and tax evasion by large companies. But the one and a half hours of response time allotted to the minister ended in utter embarrassment for at least six M.P.s, dramatically highlighting a cycle of alleged parliamentary corruption that many believe has taken President Hamid Karzai’s government hostage. The revelations were unprecedented, but coming from an official who is himself under allegations of graft further throws the anti-corruption struggle into a political tit for tat without clear accountability.
The usually taciturn Zakhilwal spoke spiritedly and aggressively for the first hour of his impeachment. He explained how the talk of withdrawal by U.S. troops and their coalition partners has created an uncertain business climate. The details he presented next, however, revealed surprising stories of alleged corruption: Haji Zaher Qadeer, a former deputy speaker of the Parliament, has smuggled $269 million worth of flour from Pakistan, Zakhilwal claimed. This has cost the treasury $7.3 million, Zakhilwal declared. Haji Hamid Lali, the burly M.P. from Kandahar, asked the minister for nearly 2000 illegal vehicles to be processed, Zakhilwal alleged, and then read Lali’s written request, which specifically asked the minister to “ignore the ban” from President Karzai’s cabinet on processing the vehicles. Lalai also personally smuggles alcohol when he returns from trips abroad, the minister claimed.
“Yesterday [Lalai] called the customs official who has leaked this issue and threatened him to death,” Zakhilwal said.
Zakhilwal further exposed three other M.P.s for allegedly smuggling oil tankers and alcohol, for pressuring him into appointing their relatives as customs officials, and influencing the fate of large supply contracts. The session ended in chaos, as the accused Lalai, brandishing documents he claimed showed Zakhilwal’s corruption, demanded that his side of the story be heard. Qadeer, accused of the $269 million worth smuggling, sat there smiling quietly.
The M.P.s have denied the accusations against them.
“The minister of finance only accused those people who had requested his impeachment,” Lalai told The Daily Beast. “That’s because we have documents on his corruption—and this show was hatched up at the house of the speaker of the Parliament.”
Lalai denied trying to pressure the minister into signing an illegal document regarding the vehicles, and claimed the minister and the speaker of the Parliament had joined hands to put on such a show to shift the attention away from their own corruption.
After six M.P.s were singled out, the entire Parliament—except for four representatives—voted overwhelmingly to keep the minister of finance in his position. The move seemed to show that they appreciated the minister helping them pick out the rotten apples, says Yama Torabi, the director of Integrity Watch Afghanistan.
“But it is not few individuals—a lot of people believe the majority of the M.P.s are involved in illegitimate businesses,” says Torabi.
Torabi put equal blame on international aid and military organizations for fuelling the cycle of corruption. As much as a quarter of the M.P.s have construction or logistics companies, his research shows. They are rewarded with contracts by foreign aid and military organizations.
“Legally, the M.P.s are not allowed to run such business when in Parliament. By awarding them contracts, the international organizations completely ignore that,” Torabi adds.
While corruption has plagued the country over the past decade, it continues to spiral out of control.
While corruption has plagued the country over the past decade, it continues to spiral out of control. Integrity Watch found that Afghan citizens paid $1.25 billion in bribes in 2012. The corruption at the Parliament has come to the forefront in recent months, as officials have begun to speak up against M.P.s allegedly using the threat of impeachment as blackmail for favors.
Recently the minister of Interior complained that in his four months at the helm, he received over 15,000 requests from the M.P.s and got called to the Parliament for questioning 45 times. This is job harassment, he said. The minister of Finance said M.P.s have walked into his office with illegal demands, and have blackmailed him with “50 signatures in their pockets” calling for his impeachment if he doesn’t oblige. The running joke on the streets of Kabul is that whenever national holidays near and M.P.s are low on cash before they go home, they will be sure to impeach some ministers. Then the cash starts flowing.
“There is a crucial election coming up that needs financing and planning. There are large issues that need addressing,” a source close to the minister said. “And all the M.P.s do is harass [cabinet ministers] for personal gains.”
The recent scandal comes days after President Karzai admitted to receiving undisclosed amounts of cash that were dropped off by the CIA at his office.
With the flow of tremendous international money over the past decade, political power in Afghanistan has become intricately tied to cash. While the president uses cash to ensure his own political standing, he is wary of others gearing up to do the same, as a crucial election looms and he prepares for a political transition.
Karzai’s national-security council recently held a meeting to discuss “money being given to political parties” by ANHEM, a Dubai-based firm that recently won a contract worth as much $8.1 billion to provide food supplies for U.S. troops, palace sources say. Many senior political figures that will play an important role in the presidential elections are believed to be on board with ANHEM as consultants. Jawed Ludin, Karzai’s deputy foreign minister, recently stepped down to take up an executive position with ANHEM. Ludin has assured the president that his joining ANHEM is not to work against him, sources close to him insist.
President Karzai has exhausted his own constitutional term limits and cannot run again. But it seems he is worried about the money that such consultancies would inject into the campaign against a candidate of his choice. While he is yet to announce his support for one individual as his successor, the continuity of businesses owned by those close to him (and which have flourished during his tenure) are a major driving factor regarding who he puts his weight behind, analysts believe. For a leader heavily reliant on patronage, the continuation of such business networks means the continuity of his political relevance after he leaves the palace.
The public exposure of the allegedly corrupt M.P.s was welcomed in Kabul, but some commented that it was just a ploy by Zakhilwal to shift the conversation away from his own alleged corruption. A recent investigation by TOLOnews, Afghanistan’s largest private news channel, reveled more than $1 million in deposits into the minister’s accounts, largely “from private companies and personal figures.”
Zakhilwal, in his impeachment, denied the allegations with a bizarre and dramatic swear: “If this minister of Finance has stolen a single penny from the Afghan treasury—or I have intended to steal a single penny—may it end with the demise of my children,” he said.
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Mujib Mashal is an Afghan journalist, whose writing has appeared in The Daily Beast, The New York Times and Al-Jazeera English, among other publications.
For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.
Airing Of Dirty Laundry Raises Afghan Hopes That Corruption Will Be Tackled
RFE/RL By Abubakar Siddique May 16, 2013
The very public trading of graft accusations in Afghanistan's parliament this week has all of Kabul talking.
It has turned the country's finance minister into an instant hero but also kindled hopes that the issue of corruption will finally be addressed in a more serious manner.
Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal became an overnight sensation, when, facing potential impeachment, he turned the tables on lawmakers by publicly naming and shaming MPs allegedly involved in corrupt practices.
Zakhilwal's detailed accusations shed a spotlight on the world of graft and influence peddling that has come to be associated with men of power in Afghanistan but is rarely discussed in public.
Speaking to a stormy session of the lower house of Afghan parliament, the Olasi Jirga, on May 13, Zakhilwal accused leading MPs of profiting to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars by evading duties on everything from flour to car imports. He also accused some lawmakers of importing illegal crates of alcohol from foreign travels and pressuring him to appoint relatives to lucrative posts in the customs department.
Amid applause and cheering, Zakhilwal accused Mohammad Naeem Lalai Hameedzai, a deputy from the southern province of Kandahar, of pressuring him to allow the illegal import of nearly 2,000 cars.
Taking Down Names
As Hameedzai shouted insults, Zakhilwal dropped another bombshell by accusing him of forcing alcohol shipments through airport customs. Alcohol is illegal in the conservative Islamic nation.
"Every time this respected lawmaker has traveled abroad on an official passport, he has forced a stash of alcohol through customs," Zakhilwal said. "I can show you the proof. Yesterday he personally called one of my customs officials and threatened him with murder unless he allowed the illegal alcohol through customs."
Zakhilwal further embarrassed lawmakers Samilullah Sameem, Arif Rehmani, and Mohammad Azim Mohseni, accusing them of pressuring him to release illegal shipments of fuel and alcohol.
He claimed that another parliamentarian, Mehmud Khan Sulaimankhel, offered large sums of cash to his deputies to get his son appointed as the head of the customs department on a busy border crossing into southeastern Afghanistan.
Zakhilwal's most daring move, perhaps, was to accuse a powerful lawmaker from eastern Afghanistan of being involved in large-scale smuggling of flour from neighboring Pakistan.
Zakhilwal told lawmakers that Haji Zahir Qadeer's shadowy business interests in flour, a staple food in the country, ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
He accused Qadeer of having evaded millions of dollars in custom duties for years.
"Some 4,583 truckloads of flour were smuggled over the past few years," Zakhilwal said. "We estimate the value of the smuggled flour to be $269 million. This caused us a loss of more than $7 million in revenues. Now according to the law, we need to recover all of the $269 million because customs duties were evaded."
Moving On
The accusation attracted an angry rebuttal from Qadeer. Speaking to lawmakers on May 15, he accused Zakhilwal of engaging in a vendetta against the parliamentarians who had pushed for his removal.
"If he had known about alleged practices since 2010, then he is also involved in committing such crimes," Qadeer said. "The finance minister should have been languishing in prison along with being impeached."
Qadeer also said that with a fortune of some $370 million, he had no need to evade import duties.
Despite the denials by lawmakers, media coverage and public sympathies in the wake of the exchanges have overwhelmingly sided with Zakhilwal. He easily survived the impeachment vote.
More importantly, says Abdul Satar Saadat, a Kabul-based legal-affairs analyst, the confrontation has made Zakhilwal a hero among ordinary Afghans whose daily lives are hounded by official corruption and raised some hopes that the issue may finally be tackled.
Saadat says it's all a good omen for the fight against graft in Afghanistan, which is consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations worldwide. According to Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, the country came in 174th place, sharing last place in the survey with North Korea and Somalia.
"If we have more revelations like these, it will undermine trust and break bonds among those engaging in corruption," Saadat says. "Furthermore, if these allegations are followed up in a rigorous judicial process to punish the real culprits, it will break the chain of corruption in this country."
Even if that rosy scenario doesn't come to pass, Saadat believes this week's episode will push both lawmakers and cabinet members to be more cautious before engaging in future illegal deals.
"Ultimately, it will contribute towards reforming the political system," he says.
U.S. commander offers security assurances after Kabul suicide bombing
McClatchy By Rezwan Natiq May 16, 2013
Kabul, Afghanistan - Two U.S. soldiers and four American civilian security contractors died Thursday when a suicide bomber in a Toyota Corolla rammed into a military convoy in Afghanistan’s capital, security officials said.
The deadliest attack in Kabul since March, it also killed six Afghan civilians, including two children. At least 30 people were wounded.
The attack occurred at around 8 a.m. local time, security officials said. It targeted an American military convoy as it drove through the eastern part of the capital. An Afghan army base is nearby, but it wasn’t thought to have been a target.
The street was crowded with children on their way to school.
The U.S.-led coalition condemned the attack, noting that it took place “in a residential area of the most populated city in Afghanistan.”
The statement, attributed to Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the American who commands the international coalition here, also attempted to counter arguments that the bombing underscored insurgents’ ability to carry out violence in the heart of the capital.
“While today’s attack shows the insurgents remain dangerous, they are not a threat to the Afghan government and its forces,” the statement said. “In the end, today’s tragedy shows that the insurgents can offer no positive vision for the future.”
A spokesman for a militant group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an insurgent commander who once served as Afghanistan’s prime minister, claimed responsibility. The spokesman, Haroon Zarghoon, said the attack had been carried out by a militant from Logar province. Hekmatyar’s group, Hezb-i-Islami, is a rival of the Taliban movement.
The Afghan government’s ability to fend off attacks has become an especially sensitive issue as U.S.-led international forces end their combat role. All American combat troops are to leave Afghanistan next year, and it’s yet to be determined how many, if any, U.S. troops will remain afterward to help train the Afghan military.
Moments after the blast, Afghan security forces sealed off the scene, worried that another suicide bomber might be in the area to target rescue workers and others flocking to the scene. Eventually, however, the area was opened to journalists.
According to witnesses interviewed at the scene, the Toyota headed straight toward the U.S. military vehicles, which had slowed apparently for a speed bump. The blast left a large crater in the road and damaged nearby houses.
Afghan Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammadi confirmed that six Afghans had died in the attack. Most of the wounded were schoolchildren, he said.
11 insurgents killed in E. Afghan operations: ISAF
KABUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Eleven insurgents have been killed in military operations in eastern Afghan provinces within the last 24 hours, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) on Friday morning.
"Afghan National Security and Coalition Forces killed 11 insurgents, detained three suspected insurgents, discovered one weapons cache and found and safely cleared seven improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours," the ISAF's Regional Command-East said in a press release.
The operations were conducted in Ghazni, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktika and Wardak provinces, the release added.
Afghan and ISAF officials use the term insurgents for referring to Taliban.
However, the insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency for more than one decade, has yet to make comments.
The Afghan security forces and the ISAF troops have intensified operations against Taliban and other militant groups recently. But the insurgent responded by bombings.
On Thursday morning, six U.S. personnel and nine Afghan civilians were killed and more than 30 civilians wounded when a suicide car bombing hit a two-vehicle convoy with the coalition in a residential area in Afghan capital Kabul.
More than 10 houses were severely damaged and several civilian vehicles were destroyed in the attack which claimed by Hizb-e- Islami, the second militant group after Taliban.
Afghanistan wants lethal weapons from India; Karzai visit from Monday
Indian Express By Express News Service 17th May 2013
New Delhi - Ahead of its President Hamid Karzai’s visit next week, Afghanistan has asked India to supply lethal defence hardware as part of the intensified bilateral cooperation and even seemed to indicate that it would welcome troop deployment on its soil.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will be arriving here on Monday for a three-day visit, his second in six months, but at a crucial juncture with only a year left for the foreign troops pullout from Afghanistan.
Vigorously batting for a stepped-up Indian role, Afghan ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali said, “Investment in the security of Afghanistan is in India’s interest, to prevent spillover effects of terrorism on Afghanistan”. He noted that while India had been training Afghan security personnel, it was not adequate to address the issues of a difficult security situation. “Given the time, we are required to sit down and discuss the contours of our defence cooperation to ensure predictability,” he said, adding that current level of cooperation was hardly enough to “take preventive and pre-emptive action” against common threats.
India has so far been training Afghan security personnel only in Indian institutions. It has also supplied limited number of non-lethal equipment like jeeps and trucks, and plans to hand over transport helicopters. “So, we would like to have both lethal and non-lethal assistance to our forces in Afghanistan,” he said.
A more engaged defence cooperation is likely to be a major topic of discussion during Karzai’s visit, which will also see him travelling to Jalandhar to receive a doctorate from a universtiy.
“If we don’t bother with the sensitivity of Pakistan, why should India bother? This is what I don’t understand,” he added. Abdali said Pakistan had to realise that India was building institutions in Afghanistan, which would ensure that terrorism wouldn’t come back and affect it. He said India’s cooperation in Afghanistan would ultimately serve Pakistan’s national interests too. Incidentally, European Union’s special representative Afghanistan Vygaudas Usackas, who is here on a short visit, said it will be upto the Indian and Afghan governments to decide on the intensity of defence cooperation. “India is viewed favourably (in Afghanistan),” he said. Both Usackas and Abdali stressed the need for regional stakeholders to work together.
Violence against women act modification sparks furor in Afghanistan
By MIRWAIS ADEEL - 17 May 2013, 2:44 pm Khaama Press
A number of civil society organizations including independent human rights commission of Afghanistan expressed concerns for modifying the violence against women act.
According to reports modification of violence against women act has been mysteriously and secretly included in the working agenda of the house of representatives, which has sparked furors and concerns among the women rights activists and members of the civilian society organizations.
A group of the civilian society members including members of the human rights commission on Wednesday also visited Afghan parliament to express their concerns in this regard.
The delegation urged Afghan lawmakers to remove modification of violence against women act from their working agenda.
An official speaking on the condition of anonymity said, “a number of the political figures and parties are looking to modify the main articles of the violence against women act.”
In the meantime, Afghan lawmaker and women rights activitist Farkhunda Zahra Naderi insisted that the violence against women act has been enforced and must be implemented.
Farukhdan Zahra Naderi said, “Apparently a number of the political circles are looking to play with the achievements of the Afghan women which they have gained during the past ten years. However, the violence against women act has been passed and is implementable which is being used by judiciary institutions.”
She said, “The Afghan parliament should including other important acts in their working agenda including higher studies act which is vital for the Afghan people rather than focusing on violence against women act.”
“The inclusion of violence against women act in the working agenda of the Afghan parliament risks the modification of important articles of the act which has sparked concerns among the civil society officials specifically human rights commission and other womens’ rights activists,” Naderi said.
Afghan lawmaker representing Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, Dr. Nelofar Ibrahimi also called the modification of violence against women act a political deal and urged the Afghan government to implement the act.
Ibrahimi said, “The violence against women act is comprised of articles which are vital for the act, which is not acceptable for a society dominant by men. If the main articles of the act is not approved then it will become useless and ineffective.”
The modification of violence against women was included in the working agenda of the Afghan parliament earlier, however, it was later removed after the interference of civil society and a number of Afghan lawmakers.
The violence against women act was approved by Afghan president Hamid Karzai in 2009, which bans violence against women, premature marriages, sale and purchase of girls and any kind of severe harm to women that would led them to commit suicide.
Afghan Official Challenges U.S. Tax Audit
Wall Street Journal By NATHAN HODGE May 16, 2013
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan's top finance official is disputing an audit by a U.S. government agency that accuses the Afghan government of improperly levying hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes on American contractors.
A report this week by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or Sigar, said the Afghan Ministry of Finance has assessed more than $921 million in business taxes and other penalties on dozens of contractors that work on U.S.-funded reconstruction projects. The activities are generally exempt from taxation under various bilateral agreements, although the Afghan government and U.S. government agencies have differing interpretations of the exemptions.
In a Thursday letter to the Sigar, Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said the audit was "deeply flawed." The U.S. agency "neglected to consult with or seek meaningful input from" Afghan officials responsible for overseeing tax collection in the country, he wrote.
"It appears from review of the audit report that Sigar relied heavily upon information gathered from the taxpayers themselves, some of whom may have been subject to fines or other sanctions for violations of Afghan law," the letter states. "It would be naive for the authors of the report to rely upon the testimony of self-interested parties without also obtaining the views of the public authorities."
Sigar spokesman Philip LaVelle said the agency's auditors "made repeated requests for information of the Afghan Revenue Department—which refused to provide the documentation we sought. Sigar stands by this report 100%."
Mr. Zakhilwal has been burnishing his credentials as a national political figure. The former economics professor recently survived a confidence vote in the Afghan parliament after publicly naming lawmakers for their alleged corruption.
Write to Nathan Hodge at nathan.hodge@wsj.com
United Arab Emirates to Build 111 Residential Blocks in Kabul
TOLOnews.com By Abdul Wali Arian 16 May 2013
In an effort to strengthen the bilateral relations, United Arab Emirates has planned to build 111 residential blocks in Khuaja Rawash area of Kabul.
The project priced at $179 million was inaugurated by President Karzai on Thursday. The project is expected to be completed within three years.
"This project is one of the important steps that will strengthen the relations with United Arab Emirates. The project will also serve the needy people who are not able to buy a house because of the ever escalating real estate prices," Afghan president, Hamid Karzai told reporters.
Mr. Karzai emphasized that these houses will be donated to the poor and homeless people.
Lack of shelter in Kabul city has created plenty of problems for the residents and so investors are building these residential blocks.
"The project is spread over 268 acres of land and the apartments will be constructed as per the architectural standards," Hasan Abdullahi, Minister of Urban Development Affairs said.
The residential project will have facilities such as masjid, school, kindergarten, proper sewage system, parking and asphalted roads, he added.
Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates emphasized on rendering timely assistance to Afghanistan and calls this project as one of its commitments.
Mohammad Al Saidee, Acting Head of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development said, "The Qasabah project that we have started will provide a proper life to the homeless and poor Afghans."
Lack of shelter in recent years forced many people to in the capital to construct illegal houses in mountains and green areas.
Afghan treasures display in Melbourne tells a different Afghanistan story
by Xu Yanyan, Song Dan
MELBOURNE, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Several hundred priceless antiques from ancient Afghanistan, which are now on exhibit here, provide Australians with a rare opportunity to view the war-torn country in another angle.
The "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum Kabul" puts on display around 230 precious artifacts dated between 2200 BC and AD 200, which were discovered in four major archaeological sites in northern Afghanistan in the last 70 years.
According to the introduction from Melbourne Museum that conducts the show, the treasures miraculously survived the decades- long conflicts in Afghanistan because they were hidden by some courageous Kabul museum staff in a bank vault at the presidential palace.
Since then the gorgeous jewellery, glass and ornaments were believed to be lost for 15 years until they were recovered in 2003 when the staff who risked their lives to protect them decided to bring the artifacts to light after the invasion of Afghanistan by U.S. and multinational forces.
For many Australians, the exhibition has a sentimental value not only because the items on display are unique but also because of Canberra's deep military involvement in Afghanistan since 2001.
"This is the first time that those once lost treasures come to Australia, providing us an unusual chance to understand the Central Asian country," Mark Oliver, a 46-year-old teacher who visited the exhibition from Sydney, told Xinhua.
"In the past ten years, all that we knew and learned from the media about that country were the intense fighting and terrorist attacks as well as the Australian casualties which broke our heart, " said Oliver.
Australia participated in the Afghanistan war in late 2001 with the code name of "Operation Slipper", which is still ongoing.
According to the Australian Department of Defense, 39 Australian military personnel were killed and 252 others were wounded in the decade-long war until April 2013.
"We are sick of the news of bombing and bloodletting, which only reflect the ugly side of humanity. I'm deeply touched today because the artifacts on display represent the rich and glorious culture of Afghanistan. It gives us a very different angle to observe this country," said Laura Smith, who visited the exhibition with her husband.
According to Smith, what impressed her most was the proud statement of the National Museum of Kabul that said "a nation stays alive when its culture stays alive."
"That makes me understand what is really important for Afghanistan and its people, and where the country's future will be, " Smith said.
What is remarkable is that the treasures survived due to the tremendous courage of the workers in the National Museum of Kabul, people who never considered themselves heroes but just said that they were only doing their job.
"This noble character of Afghan people, despite civil war and uncertainty, is something we need to tell as many people as possible," archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert told local newspaper the Age.
"This sort of courage and sense of history and culture makes me very optimistic about the future of Afghanistan," said Hiebert.
Delay in the Election Law Approval will Put 2014 Election in Trouble
TOLOnews.com By Jawed Stanikzai 16 May 2013
Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Leader of National Coalition warns that if the approval of election's law is delayed any further it will pose a threat to conducting free and fair election in 2014.
He said that the Parliament should decide regarding election law's approval as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Head of Transition Process said that the government, political parties and civil bodies should adopt necessary measures for holding transparent and fair elections.
It's important to note that less than one year remains for the next Presidential election in the country and till now the election law has not been approved.
The leader of National Coalition is constantly criticizing the delay being caused in the election law implementation.
The Leader of National Coalition said, "Parliament should not delay the approving of election's law. Without the law, upcoming Presidential election will have to face some serious challenges."
Adding to it, the Head of Transition Process said that holding transparent and fair elections has a direct connection with the future of the country.
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai said, "This year the most important task is to pave the way for holding transparent and fair elections. It is not only a duty of the government but also of the various political parties and civil bodies."
Holding transparent and fair elections is one of the most important desires of the Afghan people and the international community.
Afghan soldiers' incompetence raises concerns about U.S. withdrawal plans
CBS News By Charlie D'Agata May 16, 2013
Mansurabad, Afghanistan
A suicide bomber drove his car into a U.S. convoy in Afghanistan's capital Thursday, causing a massive explosion.
Six Americans died: Two soldiers and four civilian contractors. Nine Afghans were also killed. Islamic militants claimed responsibility.
American combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan after next year and are training Afghans to take over security.
But are they ready?
Afghanistan suicide blast targeting NATO convoy kills 2 U.S. troops, 4 American contractors Deadly day for U.S. troops in Afghanistan Panetta arrives in Afghanistan as 2014 troop withdrawal looms
U.S. troops may be pulling back from other parts of Afghanistan, but not in Mansurabad.
Will Neves from Spanish Fork, Utah, and his men were going to search for roadside bombs, but first he needed to round up his Afghan partners.
With U.S. helicopters providing cover, Neves' platoon followed the Afghan soldiers.
Putting Afghans in the lead isn't just a military doctrine. On foot patrols like this, it is a daily reality: Afghans out in front backed up by American soldiers.
About two miles into the patrol, there was a problem. The Afghan soldiers had forgotten batteries for their mine detector, and needed the U.S. soldiers to help.
The American soldiers didn't say a word, but their frustration was obvious.
While the handful of Afghan soldiers spread out ahead, U.S. soldiers were more cautious.
Step by step, they carefully followed a path marked by powder.
When the minesweeper detected a possible threat, it was marked with a warning to steer clear.
"The main thing is just stay in a file," Neves said. "Stay right behind one another."
It's the same when the soldiers are taking fire.
"Yeah, we've been here a long time, they know our tactics. If they shoot at us, we're going to go seek cover. And a lot of times that's where they've placed IEDs. So right now we're just trying not to get blown up, basically."
The strategy of putting Afghan forces in the lead is supposed to mean that U.S. troops stay out of local villages.
But that's not what CBS News saw.
U.S. troops visited at least once a day to back up their Afghan partners. The Taliban is still a threat.
A U.S. troops gear up for another fighting season with their Afghan partners, the idea of an American withdrawal seems a distant idea.
Embassy Row: After Afghanistan for NATO
The Washington Times May 16, 2013
“In together, out together,” Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende explained when asked how long his country’s combat troops would stay in Afghanistan after U.S. forces leave next year.
“But we are not going to abandon Afghanistan overnight,” he added.
Hungary has been training Afghan troops and policing the Kabul international airport as part of its commitment to the international force fighting Taliban militants and trying to bring stability to a notoriously volatile region.
Mr. Hende, on a Washington visit this week, discussed the future of the NATO alliance after Afghanistan — a mission that took the United States and its European allies far outside its Cold War boundaries established at the birth of the coalition in 1949.
“There is no doubt that the end of the mission in Afghanistan leaves us with the question of which way to go,” he said.
NATO first reassessed its purpose after the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
“The enemy passed away overnight. It was no longer there,” Mr. Hende said.
NATO became a stabilizing force for the Eastern European nations of the old Warsaw Pact and intervened in the Balkans with a bombing campaign against Yugoslav forces in 1999, the year Hungary joined the alliance.
NATO entered Afghanistan in 2003, two years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban for sheltering al Qaeda terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. In 2011, NATO intervened in Libya’s civil war and helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Mr. Hende noted that defense ministers from the 28 NATO nations are discussing the alliance’s future but agree on the threats still facing the security of their countries.
“The wise statesmen of the alliance see threats to our security from Islamic radicals, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction,” he said.
Columbus, Ohio, is more than 4,700 miles from Budapest, Hungary, but soldiers from the Buckeye State and the Central European country have fought shoulder-to-shoulder in conflicts over the past two decades.
“Exactly 20 years ago, we created a partnership with the Ohio National Guard and Hungarian Defense Forces,” Mr. Hende said of his meeting this week with Ohio’s congressional delegation before traveling to Ohio for more celebrations.
Hungarian immigrants flocked to Ohio in the 19th century; today, Ohio has one of the largest ethnic-Hungarian communities outside of the old country. Cleveland, with 130,000 Hungarian-Americans, is sometimes still called “Little Hungary.”
After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the Ohio National Guard reached out to the newly democratic Hungary to offer support for its military. What started as a campaign to donate hospital equipment in 1993 evolved into a joint fighting force.
Hungarian soldiers and Ohio Guardsmen finished their last operation training Afghan troops in February.
Mr. Hende met Wednesday with Ohio Reps. Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat,and Republicans Michael R. Turner and Steve Stivers, a colonel in the Ohio Guard. Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland Republican whose father was born in Hungary, joined the delegation.
Herat Residents Welcome Execution of Kidnappers
TOLOnews.com By TOLOnews.com 16 May 2013
The residents of the western Herat province on Thursday welcomed President Karzai's order to execute the two kidnappers of a Herat based businessman's son. The residents demand that the kidnappers should be publicly executed in the presence of media.
The son of a Herat businessman was killed by his captors 35 days after he was kidnapped and held for ransom.
The two convicts kidnapped the boy (Ali Sina) in the western Herat province. The family of the boy (Ali Sina) believes that executing the two kidnappers will send out a strong message of zero tolerance to any crime in the region. Also, it will serve as a good lesson for other kidnappers.
It is said that Afghan president Hamid Karzai has signed the execution papers of the kidnappers and they will be executed within the next few days.
"I hope that crime rate decreases in Herat after the execution of these two kidnappers. My son was killed and I don't want such incidents to ever happen again in the province," Ali Sina's father Nasir Ahamd Nawrozi said.
"The execution will send out a strong message and people will not commit crime," a resident said.
Additionally, the Human Rights Commission in Herat province also expressed optimism over the execution order by the President.
"The Human Rights Commission's position is clear. Whoever commits a crime must be sentenced and we support the execution of these two men," Abdul Qadir Rahimi, Head of Human Rights Commission in Herat said.
According to reports, Afghanistan's courts have released warrants for the execution of 300 murderers whose files are still awaiting the President's assent.
Afghan Star Khaled Hosseini's New Book
Wall Street Journal By ALEXANDRA ALTER May 16, 2013
As a boy growing up in Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini heard lots of fables and fairy tales about divs and jinns, the demons and spirits that frequently appear in Islamic literature and folklore.
The stories stuck with him. Mr. Hosseini's new novel, "And the Mountains Echoed," opens with a myth about a giant, horned div who steals children from villagers. Mr. Hosseini made up the dark fable to give a thematic foundation to the novel, which explores exile, self-sacrifice and complex sibling relationships. The book is structured more like a collection of connected short stories than his previous epics, "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns."
The book begins in an Afghan village in 1952, where a boy named Abdullah travels on foot through the desert with his father and his younger sister, Pari. From there, the novel spirals out into eight interlocking narratives that span three continents and nearly 60 years. The cast of characters includes the conflicted son of an Afghan drug lord, an old housekeeper in Kabul and a celebrated Afghan poet who lives in France and struggles with alcoholism.
"The real challenge of writing this book was to find the connecting fibers of the characters and to find how their stories overlapped in time and structure and themes," Mr. Hosseini said.
Mr. Hosseini's 2003 debut novel, "The Kite Runner," about an Afghan refugee's attempt to atone for a childhood betrayal, spent nearly two years on the best-seller lists. It was published in 70 countries. His second novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns," about two Afghan women and their struggles to survive marital abuse, drought and poverty, was a No. 1 best seller in 2007. The two books combined have sold more than 38 million copies.
Mr. Hosseini, a 48-year-old former internist who lives in San Jose, Calif., with his wife and two children, spoke about his new novel before setting off on a 41-city book tour. Below, an edited transcript.
There are so many story lines and voices in this novel. How did it evolve? Did one character provide the starting point?
It began with a single idea about these three characters that popped into my head almost fully delivered. A guy walking across the desert pulling a wagon and inside was a little girl, and there was a boy shadowing them. And it came with perfect clarity. So I began to explore who these people were and what their story was. It became almost like a tree. One story was a trunk but there were all these branches.
The novel opens with a frightening fable about a demon that steals children. Where did that idea come from?
When I grew up I heard a lot of stories that had divs and jinns, but this particular one was created by me and came somewhere in the middle of the writing process. But I thought it belonged in the beginning because it was an allegory to what followed.
The narrative structure of this novel is much more complex than anything you've written before. How long did it take you to write this?
I worked on this book from November 2009, and I let my publisher know that I had a manuscript to deliver in August of 2012.
Your publisher didn't know about the book until it was done? You didn't get an advance?
No, I hate to do that. I did that with my second novel and I really didn't like the feeling. I'm never certain that I'm going to actually be able to write the book. I don't want to be paid for something that I may not be able to finish.
A lot of critics noted that your second novel was more subtle and nuanced than "The Kite Runner," which had clearly delineated victims and oppressors, and a strong moral message. You seem to be going for even greater realism with this new book.
I didn't sit down and say, "I want to write more complex characters," but as I wrote the characters, I noticed that they are more complex and that they're not as archetypal as the characters in my earlier books, certainly in "The Kite Runner." I think this book is the most morally ambiguous of the three. It's kind of hard to find a hero or villain.
When the movie based on "The Kite Runner" was about to be released, several young Afghan actors had to be whisked out of the country to protect them from possible attacks by extremists who were angered by the film. Did that make you wary of using Afghan actors in future adaptations?
Yeah, it definitely did. The intention was an honorable one. It's an Afghan story, and we wanted Afghans to tell their story and take a sense of ownership over a story that's become so well known around the world. But if I were to do it again, certainly I would think very much twice about using actors who live in Afghanistan and may face consequences for taking part in a film, especially one that contained potentially controversial issues.
You've been described in the past as "the best-known Afghan in the world." Does that feel strange, being cast as a representative for a country that you left when you were 11?
I never intended for my books to be any kind of sociological or anthropological dissertation on Afghanistan. I do realize nevertheless that for some people, my books are a window into Afghanistan, occasionally the only window, so I do want to be responsible in that sense. But I also want to distance myself from the notion that I'm a representative of the country or a spokesperson for all things Afghan. That's not a moniker that I'm interested in.
Write to Alexandra Alter at alexandra.alter@wsj.com
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
Allegations reflecting the country’s deep levels of corruption surfaced in a dramatic session of the Afghan Parliament. Mujib Mashal reports from Kabul.
The Daily Beast By Mujib Mashal May 16, 2013
The impeachment of Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, on charges of accusing M.P.s of smuggling, began like any other. Zakhilwal patiently listened to members of Parliament ask their questions—about budget cuts, nepotism in his ministry, and tax evasion by large companies. But the one and a half hours of response time allotted to the minister ended in utter embarrassment for at least six M.P.s, dramatically highlighting a cycle of alleged parliamentary corruption that many believe has taken President Hamid Karzai’s government hostage. The revelations were unprecedented, but coming from an official who is himself under allegations of graft further throws the anti-corruption struggle into a political tit for tat without clear accountability.
The usually taciturn Zakhilwal spoke spiritedly and aggressively for the first hour of his impeachment. He explained how the talk of withdrawal by U.S. troops and their coalition partners has created an uncertain business climate. The details he presented next, however, revealed surprising stories of alleged corruption: Haji Zaher Qadeer, a former deputy speaker of the Parliament, has smuggled $269 million worth of flour from Pakistan, Zakhilwal claimed. This has cost the treasury $7.3 million, Zakhilwal declared. Haji Hamid Lali, the burly M.P. from Kandahar, asked the minister for nearly 2000 illegal vehicles to be processed, Zakhilwal alleged, and then read Lali’s written request, which specifically asked the minister to “ignore the ban” from President Karzai’s cabinet on processing the vehicles. Lalai also personally smuggles alcohol when he returns from trips abroad, the minister claimed.
“Yesterday [Lalai] called the customs official who has leaked this issue and threatened him to death,” Zakhilwal said.
Zakhilwal further exposed three other M.P.s for allegedly smuggling oil tankers and alcohol, for pressuring him into appointing their relatives as customs officials, and influencing the fate of large supply contracts. The session ended in chaos, as the accused Lalai, brandishing documents he claimed showed Zakhilwal’s corruption, demanded that his side of the story be heard. Qadeer, accused of the $269 million worth smuggling, sat there smiling quietly.
The M.P.s have denied the accusations against them.
“The minister of finance only accused those people who had requested his impeachment,” Lalai told The Daily Beast. “That’s because we have documents on his corruption—and this show was hatched up at the house of the speaker of the Parliament.”
Lalai denied trying to pressure the minister into signing an illegal document regarding the vehicles, and claimed the minister and the speaker of the Parliament had joined hands to put on such a show to shift the attention away from their own corruption.
After six M.P.s were singled out, the entire Parliament—except for four representatives—voted overwhelmingly to keep the minister of finance in his position. The move seemed to show that they appreciated the minister helping them pick out the rotten apples, says Yama Torabi, the director of Integrity Watch Afghanistan.
“But it is not few individuals—a lot of people believe the majority of the M.P.s are involved in illegitimate businesses,” says Torabi.
Torabi put equal blame on international aid and military organizations for fuelling the cycle of corruption. As much as a quarter of the M.P.s have construction or logistics companies, his research shows. They are rewarded with contracts by foreign aid and military organizations.
“Legally, the M.P.s are not allowed to run such business when in Parliament. By awarding them contracts, the international organizations completely ignore that,” Torabi adds.
While corruption has plagued the country over the past decade, it continues to spiral out of control.
While corruption has plagued the country over the past decade, it continues to spiral out of control. Integrity Watch found that Afghan citizens paid $1.25 billion in bribes in 2012. The corruption at the Parliament has come to the forefront in recent months, as officials have begun to speak up against M.P.s allegedly using the threat of impeachment as blackmail for favors.
Recently the minister of Interior complained that in his four months at the helm, he received over 15,000 requests from the M.P.s and got called to the Parliament for questioning 45 times. This is job harassment, he said. The minister of Finance said M.P.s have walked into his office with illegal demands, and have blackmailed him with “50 signatures in their pockets” calling for his impeachment if he doesn’t oblige. The running joke on the streets of Kabul is that whenever national holidays near and M.P.s are low on cash before they go home, they will be sure to impeach some ministers. Then the cash starts flowing.
“There is a crucial election coming up that needs financing and planning. There are large issues that need addressing,” a source close to the minister said. “And all the M.P.s do is harass [cabinet ministers] for personal gains.”
The recent scandal comes days after President Karzai admitted to receiving undisclosed amounts of cash that were dropped off by the CIA at his office.
With the flow of tremendous international money over the past decade, political power in Afghanistan has become intricately tied to cash. While the president uses cash to ensure his own political standing, he is wary of others gearing up to do the same, as a crucial election looms and he prepares for a political transition.
Karzai’s national-security council recently held a meeting to discuss “money being given to political parties” by ANHEM, a Dubai-based firm that recently won a contract worth as much $8.1 billion to provide food supplies for U.S. troops, palace sources say. Many senior political figures that will play an important role in the presidential elections are believed to be on board with ANHEM as consultants. Jawed Ludin, Karzai’s deputy foreign minister, recently stepped down to take up an executive position with ANHEM. Ludin has assured the president that his joining ANHEM is not to work against him, sources close to him insist.
President Karzai has exhausted his own constitutional term limits and cannot run again. But it seems he is worried about the money that such consultancies would inject into the campaign against a candidate of his choice. While he is yet to announce his support for one individual as his successor, the continuity of businesses owned by those close to him (and which have flourished during his tenure) are a major driving factor regarding who he puts his weight behind, analysts believe. For a leader heavily reliant on patronage, the continuation of such business networks means the continuity of his political relevance after he leaves the palace.
The public exposure of the allegedly corrupt M.P.s was welcomed in Kabul, but some commented that it was just a ploy by Zakhilwal to shift the conversation away from his own alleged corruption. A recent investigation by TOLOnews, Afghanistan’s largest private news channel, reveled more than $1 million in deposits into the minister’s accounts, largely “from private companies and personal figures.”
Zakhilwal, in his impeachment, denied the allegations with a bizarre and dramatic swear: “If this minister of Finance has stolen a single penny from the Afghan treasury—or I have intended to steal a single penny—may it end with the demise of my children,” he said.
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Mujib Mashal is an Afghan journalist, whose writing has appeared in The Daily Beast, The New York Times and Al-Jazeera English, among other publications.
For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.
Airing Of Dirty Laundry Raises Afghan Hopes That Corruption Will Be Tackled
RFE/RL By Abubakar Siddique May 16, 2013
The very public trading of graft accusations in Afghanistan's parliament this week has all of Kabul talking.
It has turned the country's finance minister into an instant hero but also kindled hopes that the issue of corruption will finally be addressed in a more serious manner.
Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal became an overnight sensation, when, facing potential impeachment, he turned the tables on lawmakers by publicly naming and shaming MPs allegedly involved in corrupt practices.
Zakhilwal's detailed accusations shed a spotlight on the world of graft and influence peddling that has come to be associated with men of power in Afghanistan but is rarely discussed in public.
Speaking to a stormy session of the lower house of Afghan parliament, the Olasi Jirga, on May 13, Zakhilwal accused leading MPs of profiting to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars by evading duties on everything from flour to car imports. He also accused some lawmakers of importing illegal crates of alcohol from foreign travels and pressuring him to appoint relatives to lucrative posts in the customs department.
Amid applause and cheering, Zakhilwal accused Mohammad Naeem Lalai Hameedzai, a deputy from the southern province of Kandahar, of pressuring him to allow the illegal import of nearly 2,000 cars.
Taking Down Names
As Hameedzai shouted insults, Zakhilwal dropped another bombshell by accusing him of forcing alcohol shipments through airport customs. Alcohol is illegal in the conservative Islamic nation.
"Every time this respected lawmaker has traveled abroad on an official passport, he has forced a stash of alcohol through customs," Zakhilwal said. "I can show you the proof. Yesterday he personally called one of my customs officials and threatened him with murder unless he allowed the illegal alcohol through customs."
Zakhilwal further embarrassed lawmakers Samilullah Sameem, Arif Rehmani, and Mohammad Azim Mohseni, accusing them of pressuring him to release illegal shipments of fuel and alcohol.
He claimed that another parliamentarian, Mehmud Khan Sulaimankhel, offered large sums of cash to his deputies to get his son appointed as the head of the customs department on a busy border crossing into southeastern Afghanistan.
Zakhilwal's most daring move, perhaps, was to accuse a powerful lawmaker from eastern Afghanistan of being involved in large-scale smuggling of flour from neighboring Pakistan.
Zakhilwal told lawmakers that Haji Zahir Qadeer's shadowy business interests in flour, a staple food in the country, ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
He accused Qadeer of having evaded millions of dollars in custom duties for years.
"Some 4,583 truckloads of flour were smuggled over the past few years," Zakhilwal said. "We estimate the value of the smuggled flour to be $269 million. This caused us a loss of more than $7 million in revenues. Now according to the law, we need to recover all of the $269 million because customs duties were evaded."
Moving On
The accusation attracted an angry rebuttal from Qadeer. Speaking to lawmakers on May 15, he accused Zakhilwal of engaging in a vendetta against the parliamentarians who had pushed for his removal.
"If he had known about alleged practices since 2010, then he is also involved in committing such crimes," Qadeer said. "The finance minister should have been languishing in prison along with being impeached."
Qadeer also said that with a fortune of some $370 million, he had no need to evade import duties.
Despite the denials by lawmakers, media coverage and public sympathies in the wake of the exchanges have overwhelmingly sided with Zakhilwal. He easily survived the impeachment vote.
More importantly, says Abdul Satar Saadat, a Kabul-based legal-affairs analyst, the confrontation has made Zakhilwal a hero among ordinary Afghans whose daily lives are hounded by official corruption and raised some hopes that the issue may finally be tackled.
Saadat says it's all a good omen for the fight against graft in Afghanistan, which is consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations worldwide. According to Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, the country came in 174th place, sharing last place in the survey with North Korea and Somalia.
"If we have more revelations like these, it will undermine trust and break bonds among those engaging in corruption," Saadat says. "Furthermore, if these allegations are followed up in a rigorous judicial process to punish the real culprits, it will break the chain of corruption in this country."
Even if that rosy scenario doesn't come to pass, Saadat believes this week's episode will push both lawmakers and cabinet members to be more cautious before engaging in future illegal deals.
"Ultimately, it will contribute towards reforming the political system," he says.
U.S. commander offers security assurances after Kabul suicide bombing
McClatchy By Rezwan Natiq May 16, 2013
Kabul, Afghanistan - Two U.S. soldiers and four American civilian security contractors died Thursday when a suicide bomber in a Toyota Corolla rammed into a military convoy in Afghanistan’s capital, security officials said.
The deadliest attack in Kabul since March, it also killed six Afghan civilians, including two children. At least 30 people were wounded.
The attack occurred at around 8 a.m. local time, security officials said. It targeted an American military convoy as it drove through the eastern part of the capital. An Afghan army base is nearby, but it wasn’t thought to have been a target.
The street was crowded with children on their way to school.
The U.S.-led coalition condemned the attack, noting that it took place “in a residential area of the most populated city in Afghanistan.”
The statement, attributed to Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the American who commands the international coalition here, also attempted to counter arguments that the bombing underscored insurgents’ ability to carry out violence in the heart of the capital.
“While today’s attack shows the insurgents remain dangerous, they are not a threat to the Afghan government and its forces,” the statement said. “In the end, today’s tragedy shows that the insurgents can offer no positive vision for the future.”
A spokesman for a militant group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an insurgent commander who once served as Afghanistan’s prime minister, claimed responsibility. The spokesman, Haroon Zarghoon, said the attack had been carried out by a militant from Logar province. Hekmatyar’s group, Hezb-i-Islami, is a rival of the Taliban movement.
The Afghan government’s ability to fend off attacks has become an especially sensitive issue as U.S.-led international forces end their combat role. All American combat troops are to leave Afghanistan next year, and it’s yet to be determined how many, if any, U.S. troops will remain afterward to help train the Afghan military.
Moments after the blast, Afghan security forces sealed off the scene, worried that another suicide bomber might be in the area to target rescue workers and others flocking to the scene. Eventually, however, the area was opened to journalists.
According to witnesses interviewed at the scene, the Toyota headed straight toward the U.S. military vehicles, which had slowed apparently for a speed bump. The blast left a large crater in the road and damaged nearby houses.
Afghan Interior Minister Bismillah Mohammadi confirmed that six Afghans had died in the attack. Most of the wounded were schoolchildren, he said.
11 insurgents killed in E. Afghan operations: ISAF
KABUL, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Eleven insurgents have been killed in military operations in eastern Afghan provinces within the last 24 hours, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) on Friday morning.
"Afghan National Security and Coalition Forces killed 11 insurgents, detained three suspected insurgents, discovered one weapons cache and found and safely cleared seven improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours," the ISAF's Regional Command-East said in a press release.
The operations were conducted in Ghazni, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktika and Wardak provinces, the release added.
Afghan and ISAF officials use the term insurgents for referring to Taliban.
However, the insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency for more than one decade, has yet to make comments.
The Afghan security forces and the ISAF troops have intensified operations against Taliban and other militant groups recently. But the insurgent responded by bombings.
On Thursday morning, six U.S. personnel and nine Afghan civilians were killed and more than 30 civilians wounded when a suicide car bombing hit a two-vehicle convoy with the coalition in a residential area in Afghan capital Kabul.
More than 10 houses were severely damaged and several civilian vehicles were destroyed in the attack which claimed by Hizb-e- Islami, the second militant group after Taliban.
Afghanistan wants lethal weapons from India; Karzai visit from Monday
Indian Express By Express News Service 17th May 2013
New Delhi - Ahead of its President Hamid Karzai’s visit next week, Afghanistan has asked India to supply lethal defence hardware as part of the intensified bilateral cooperation and even seemed to indicate that it would welcome troop deployment on its soil.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will be arriving here on Monday for a three-day visit, his second in six months, but at a crucial juncture with only a year left for the foreign troops pullout from Afghanistan.
Vigorously batting for a stepped-up Indian role, Afghan ambassador to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali said, “Investment in the security of Afghanistan is in India’s interest, to prevent spillover effects of terrorism on Afghanistan”. He noted that while India had been training Afghan security personnel, it was not adequate to address the issues of a difficult security situation. “Given the time, we are required to sit down and discuss the contours of our defence cooperation to ensure predictability,” he said, adding that current level of cooperation was hardly enough to “take preventive and pre-emptive action” against common threats.
India has so far been training Afghan security personnel only in Indian institutions. It has also supplied limited number of non-lethal equipment like jeeps and trucks, and plans to hand over transport helicopters. “So, we would like to have both lethal and non-lethal assistance to our forces in Afghanistan,” he said.
A more engaged defence cooperation is likely to be a major topic of discussion during Karzai’s visit, which will also see him travelling to Jalandhar to receive a doctorate from a universtiy.
“If we don’t bother with the sensitivity of Pakistan, why should India bother? This is what I don’t understand,” he added. Abdali said Pakistan had to realise that India was building institutions in Afghanistan, which would ensure that terrorism wouldn’t come back and affect it. He said India’s cooperation in Afghanistan would ultimately serve Pakistan’s national interests too. Incidentally, European Union’s special representative Afghanistan Vygaudas Usackas, who is here on a short visit, said it will be upto the Indian and Afghan governments to decide on the intensity of defence cooperation. “India is viewed favourably (in Afghanistan),” he said. Both Usackas and Abdali stressed the need for regional stakeholders to work together.
Violence against women act modification sparks furor in Afghanistan
By MIRWAIS ADEEL - 17 May 2013, 2:44 pm Khaama Press
A number of civil society organizations including independent human rights commission of Afghanistan expressed concerns for modifying the violence against women act.
According to reports modification of violence against women act has been mysteriously and secretly included in the working agenda of the house of representatives, which has sparked furors and concerns among the women rights activists and members of the civilian society organizations.
A group of the civilian society members including members of the human rights commission on Wednesday also visited Afghan parliament to express their concerns in this regard.
The delegation urged Afghan lawmakers to remove modification of violence against women act from their working agenda.
An official speaking on the condition of anonymity said, “a number of the political figures and parties are looking to modify the main articles of the violence against women act.”
In the meantime, Afghan lawmaker and women rights activitist Farkhunda Zahra Naderi insisted that the violence against women act has been enforced and must be implemented.
Farukhdan Zahra Naderi said, “Apparently a number of the political circles are looking to play with the achievements of the Afghan women which they have gained during the past ten years. However, the violence against women act has been passed and is implementable which is being used by judiciary institutions.”
She said, “The Afghan parliament should including other important acts in their working agenda including higher studies act which is vital for the Afghan people rather than focusing on violence against women act.”
“The inclusion of violence against women act in the working agenda of the Afghan parliament risks the modification of important articles of the act which has sparked concerns among the civil society officials specifically human rights commission and other womens’ rights activists,” Naderi said.
Afghan lawmaker representing Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, Dr. Nelofar Ibrahimi also called the modification of violence against women act a political deal and urged the Afghan government to implement the act.
Ibrahimi said, “The violence against women act is comprised of articles which are vital for the act, which is not acceptable for a society dominant by men. If the main articles of the act is not approved then it will become useless and ineffective.”
The modification of violence against women was included in the working agenda of the Afghan parliament earlier, however, it was later removed after the interference of civil society and a number of Afghan lawmakers.
The violence against women act was approved by Afghan president Hamid Karzai in 2009, which bans violence against women, premature marriages, sale and purchase of girls and any kind of severe harm to women that would led them to commit suicide.
Afghan Official Challenges U.S. Tax Audit
Wall Street Journal By NATHAN HODGE May 16, 2013
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan's top finance official is disputing an audit by a U.S. government agency that accuses the Afghan government of improperly levying hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes on American contractors.
A report this week by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or Sigar, said the Afghan Ministry of Finance has assessed more than $921 million in business taxes and other penalties on dozens of contractors that work on U.S.-funded reconstruction projects. The activities are generally exempt from taxation under various bilateral agreements, although the Afghan government and U.S. government agencies have differing interpretations of the exemptions.
In a Thursday letter to the Sigar, Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said the audit was "deeply flawed." The U.S. agency "neglected to consult with or seek meaningful input from" Afghan officials responsible for overseeing tax collection in the country, he wrote.
"It appears from review of the audit report that Sigar relied heavily upon information gathered from the taxpayers themselves, some of whom may have been subject to fines or other sanctions for violations of Afghan law," the letter states. "It would be naive for the authors of the report to rely upon the testimony of self-interested parties without also obtaining the views of the public authorities."
Sigar spokesman Philip LaVelle said the agency's auditors "made repeated requests for information of the Afghan Revenue Department—which refused to provide the documentation we sought. Sigar stands by this report 100%."
Mr. Zakhilwal has been burnishing his credentials as a national political figure. The former economics professor recently survived a confidence vote in the Afghan parliament after publicly naming lawmakers for their alleged corruption.
Write to Nathan Hodge at nathan.hodge@wsj.com
United Arab Emirates to Build 111 Residential Blocks in Kabul
TOLOnews.com By Abdul Wali Arian 16 May 2013
In an effort to strengthen the bilateral relations, United Arab Emirates has planned to build 111 residential blocks in Khuaja Rawash area of Kabul.
The project priced at $179 million was inaugurated by President Karzai on Thursday. The project is expected to be completed within three years.
"This project is one of the important steps that will strengthen the relations with United Arab Emirates. The project will also serve the needy people who are not able to buy a house because of the ever escalating real estate prices," Afghan president, Hamid Karzai told reporters.
Mr. Karzai emphasized that these houses will be donated to the poor and homeless people.
Lack of shelter in Kabul city has created plenty of problems for the residents and so investors are building these residential blocks.
"The project is spread over 268 acres of land and the apartments will be constructed as per the architectural standards," Hasan Abdullahi, Minister of Urban Development Affairs said.
The residential project will have facilities such as masjid, school, kindergarten, proper sewage system, parking and asphalted roads, he added.
Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates emphasized on rendering timely assistance to Afghanistan and calls this project as one of its commitments.
Mohammad Al Saidee, Acting Head of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development said, "The Qasabah project that we have started will provide a proper life to the homeless and poor Afghans."
Lack of shelter in recent years forced many people to in the capital to construct illegal houses in mountains and green areas.
Afghan treasures display in Melbourne tells a different Afghanistan story
by Xu Yanyan, Song Dan
MELBOURNE, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Several hundred priceless antiques from ancient Afghanistan, which are now on exhibit here, provide Australians with a rare opportunity to view the war-torn country in another angle.
The "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum Kabul" puts on display around 230 precious artifacts dated between 2200 BC and AD 200, which were discovered in four major archaeological sites in northern Afghanistan in the last 70 years.
According to the introduction from Melbourne Museum that conducts the show, the treasures miraculously survived the decades- long conflicts in Afghanistan because they were hidden by some courageous Kabul museum staff in a bank vault at the presidential palace.
Since then the gorgeous jewellery, glass and ornaments were believed to be lost for 15 years until they were recovered in 2003 when the staff who risked their lives to protect them decided to bring the artifacts to light after the invasion of Afghanistan by U.S. and multinational forces.
For many Australians, the exhibition has a sentimental value not only because the items on display are unique but also because of Canberra's deep military involvement in Afghanistan since 2001.
"This is the first time that those once lost treasures come to Australia, providing us an unusual chance to understand the Central Asian country," Mark Oliver, a 46-year-old teacher who visited the exhibition from Sydney, told Xinhua.
"In the past ten years, all that we knew and learned from the media about that country were the intense fighting and terrorist attacks as well as the Australian casualties which broke our heart, " said Oliver.
Australia participated in the Afghanistan war in late 2001 with the code name of "Operation Slipper", which is still ongoing.
According to the Australian Department of Defense, 39 Australian military personnel were killed and 252 others were wounded in the decade-long war until April 2013.
"We are sick of the news of bombing and bloodletting, which only reflect the ugly side of humanity. I'm deeply touched today because the artifacts on display represent the rich and glorious culture of Afghanistan. It gives us a very different angle to observe this country," said Laura Smith, who visited the exhibition with her husband.
According to Smith, what impressed her most was the proud statement of the National Museum of Kabul that said "a nation stays alive when its culture stays alive."
"That makes me understand what is really important for Afghanistan and its people, and where the country's future will be, " Smith said.
What is remarkable is that the treasures survived due to the tremendous courage of the workers in the National Museum of Kabul, people who never considered themselves heroes but just said that they were only doing their job.
"This noble character of Afghan people, despite civil war and uncertainty, is something we need to tell as many people as possible," archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert told local newspaper the Age.
"This sort of courage and sense of history and culture makes me very optimistic about the future of Afghanistan," said Hiebert.
Delay in the Election Law Approval will Put 2014 Election in Trouble
TOLOnews.com By Jawed Stanikzai 16 May 2013
Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Leader of National Coalition warns that if the approval of election's law is delayed any further it will pose a threat to conducting free and fair election in 2014.
He said that the Parliament should decide regarding election law's approval as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Head of Transition Process said that the government, political parties and civil bodies should adopt necessary measures for holding transparent and fair elections.
It's important to note that less than one year remains for the next Presidential election in the country and till now the election law has not been approved.
The leader of National Coalition is constantly criticizing the delay being caused in the election law implementation.
The Leader of National Coalition said, "Parliament should not delay the approving of election's law. Without the law, upcoming Presidential election will have to face some serious challenges."
Adding to it, the Head of Transition Process said that holding transparent and fair elections has a direct connection with the future of the country.
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai said, "This year the most important task is to pave the way for holding transparent and fair elections. It is not only a duty of the government but also of the various political parties and civil bodies."
Holding transparent and fair elections is one of the most important desires of the Afghan people and the international community.
Afghan soldiers' incompetence raises concerns about U.S. withdrawal plans
CBS News By Charlie D'Agata May 16, 2013
Mansurabad, Afghanistan
A suicide bomber drove his car into a U.S. convoy in Afghanistan's capital Thursday, causing a massive explosion.
Six Americans died: Two soldiers and four civilian contractors. Nine Afghans were also killed. Islamic militants claimed responsibility.
American combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan after next year and are training Afghans to take over security.
But are they ready?
Afghanistan suicide blast targeting NATO convoy kills 2 U.S. troops, 4 American contractors Deadly day for U.S. troops in Afghanistan Panetta arrives in Afghanistan as 2014 troop withdrawal looms
U.S. troops may be pulling back from other parts of Afghanistan, but not in Mansurabad.
Will Neves from Spanish Fork, Utah, and his men were going to search for roadside bombs, but first he needed to round up his Afghan partners.
With U.S. helicopters providing cover, Neves' platoon followed the Afghan soldiers.
Putting Afghans in the lead isn't just a military doctrine. On foot patrols like this, it is a daily reality: Afghans out in front backed up by American soldiers.
About two miles into the patrol, there was a problem. The Afghan soldiers had forgotten batteries for their mine detector, and needed the U.S. soldiers to help.
The American soldiers didn't say a word, but their frustration was obvious.
While the handful of Afghan soldiers spread out ahead, U.S. soldiers were more cautious.
Step by step, they carefully followed a path marked by powder.
When the minesweeper detected a possible threat, it was marked with a warning to steer clear.
"The main thing is just stay in a file," Neves said. "Stay right behind one another."
It's the same when the soldiers are taking fire.
"Yeah, we've been here a long time, they know our tactics. If they shoot at us, we're going to go seek cover. And a lot of times that's where they've placed IEDs. So right now we're just trying not to get blown up, basically."
The strategy of putting Afghan forces in the lead is supposed to mean that U.S. troops stay out of local villages.
But that's not what CBS News saw.
U.S. troops visited at least once a day to back up their Afghan partners. The Taliban is still a threat.
A U.S. troops gear up for another fighting season with their Afghan partners, the idea of an American withdrawal seems a distant idea.
Embassy Row: After Afghanistan for NATO
The Washington Times May 16, 2013
“In together, out together,” Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende explained when asked how long his country’s combat troops would stay in Afghanistan after U.S. forces leave next year.
“But we are not going to abandon Afghanistan overnight,” he added.
Hungary has been training Afghan troops and policing the Kabul international airport as part of its commitment to the international force fighting Taliban militants and trying to bring stability to a notoriously volatile region.
Mr. Hende, on a Washington visit this week, discussed the future of the NATO alliance after Afghanistan — a mission that took the United States and its European allies far outside its Cold War boundaries established at the birth of the coalition in 1949.
“There is no doubt that the end of the mission in Afghanistan leaves us with the question of which way to go,” he said.
NATO first reassessed its purpose after the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
“The enemy passed away overnight. It was no longer there,” Mr. Hende said.
NATO became a stabilizing force for the Eastern European nations of the old Warsaw Pact and intervened in the Balkans with a bombing campaign against Yugoslav forces in 1999, the year Hungary joined the alliance.
NATO entered Afghanistan in 2003, two years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban for sheltering al Qaeda terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. In 2011, NATO intervened in Libya’s civil war and helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Mr. Hende noted that defense ministers from the 28 NATO nations are discussing the alliance’s future but agree on the threats still facing the security of their countries.
“The wise statesmen of the alliance see threats to our security from Islamic radicals, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction,” he said.
Columbus, Ohio, is more than 4,700 miles from Budapest, Hungary, but soldiers from the Buckeye State and the Central European country have fought shoulder-to-shoulder in conflicts over the past two decades.
“Exactly 20 years ago, we created a partnership with the Ohio National Guard and Hungarian Defense Forces,” Mr. Hende said of his meeting this week with Ohio’s congressional delegation before traveling to Ohio for more celebrations.
Hungarian immigrants flocked to Ohio in the 19th century; today, Ohio has one of the largest ethnic-Hungarian communities outside of the old country. Cleveland, with 130,000 Hungarian-Americans, is sometimes still called “Little Hungary.”
After the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the Ohio National Guard reached out to the newly democratic Hungary to offer support for its military. What started as a campaign to donate hospital equipment in 1993 evolved into a joint fighting force.
Hungarian soldiers and Ohio Guardsmen finished their last operation training Afghan troops in February.
Mr. Hende met Wednesday with Ohio Reps. Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat,and Republicans Michael R. Turner and Steve Stivers, a colonel in the Ohio Guard. Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland Republican whose father was born in Hungary, joined the delegation.
Herat Residents Welcome Execution of Kidnappers
TOLOnews.com By TOLOnews.com 16 May 2013
The residents of the western Herat province on Thursday welcomed President Karzai's order to execute the two kidnappers of a Herat based businessman's son. The residents demand that the kidnappers should be publicly executed in the presence of media.
The son of a Herat businessman was killed by his captors 35 days after he was kidnapped and held for ransom.
The two convicts kidnapped the boy (Ali Sina) in the western Herat province. The family of the boy (Ali Sina) believes that executing the two kidnappers will send out a strong message of zero tolerance to any crime in the region. Also, it will serve as a good lesson for other kidnappers.
It is said that Afghan president Hamid Karzai has signed the execution papers of the kidnappers and they will be executed within the next few days.
"I hope that crime rate decreases in Herat after the execution of these two kidnappers. My son was killed and I don't want such incidents to ever happen again in the province," Ali Sina's father Nasir Ahamd Nawrozi said.
"The execution will send out a strong message and people will not commit crime," a resident said.
Additionally, the Human Rights Commission in Herat province also expressed optimism over the execution order by the President.
"The Human Rights Commission's position is clear. Whoever commits a crime must be sentenced and we support the execution of these two men," Abdul Qadir Rahimi, Head of Human Rights Commission in Herat said.
According to reports, Afghanistan's courts have released warrants for the execution of 300 murderers whose files are still awaiting the President's assent.
Afghan Star Khaled Hosseini's New Book
Wall Street Journal By ALEXANDRA ALTER May 16, 2013
As a boy growing up in Afghanistan, Khaled Hosseini heard lots of fables and fairy tales about divs and jinns, the demons and spirits that frequently appear in Islamic literature and folklore.
The stories stuck with him. Mr. Hosseini's new novel, "And the Mountains Echoed," opens with a myth about a giant, horned div who steals children from villagers. Mr. Hosseini made up the dark fable to give a thematic foundation to the novel, which explores exile, self-sacrifice and complex sibling relationships. The book is structured more like a collection of connected short stories than his previous epics, "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns."
The book begins in an Afghan village in 1952, where a boy named Abdullah travels on foot through the desert with his father and his younger sister, Pari. From there, the novel spirals out into eight interlocking narratives that span three continents and nearly 60 years. The cast of characters includes the conflicted son of an Afghan drug lord, an old housekeeper in Kabul and a celebrated Afghan poet who lives in France and struggles with alcoholism.
"The real challenge of writing this book was to find the connecting fibers of the characters and to find how their stories overlapped in time and structure and themes," Mr. Hosseini said.
Mr. Hosseini's 2003 debut novel, "The Kite Runner," about an Afghan refugee's attempt to atone for a childhood betrayal, spent nearly two years on the best-seller lists. It was published in 70 countries. His second novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns," about two Afghan women and their struggles to survive marital abuse, drought and poverty, was a No. 1 best seller in 2007. The two books combined have sold more than 38 million copies.
Mr. Hosseini, a 48-year-old former internist who lives in San Jose, Calif., with his wife and two children, spoke about his new novel before setting off on a 41-city book tour. Below, an edited transcript.
There are so many story lines and voices in this novel. How did it evolve? Did one character provide the starting point?
It began with a single idea about these three characters that popped into my head almost fully delivered. A guy walking across the desert pulling a wagon and inside was a little girl, and there was a boy shadowing them. And it came with perfect clarity. So I began to explore who these people were and what their story was. It became almost like a tree. One story was a trunk but there were all these branches.
The novel opens with a frightening fable about a demon that steals children. Where did that idea come from?
When I grew up I heard a lot of stories that had divs and jinns, but this particular one was created by me and came somewhere in the middle of the writing process. But I thought it belonged in the beginning because it was an allegory to what followed.
The narrative structure of this novel is much more complex than anything you've written before. How long did it take you to write this?
I worked on this book from November 2009, and I let my publisher know that I had a manuscript to deliver in August of 2012.
Your publisher didn't know about the book until it was done? You didn't get an advance?
No, I hate to do that. I did that with my second novel and I really didn't like the feeling. I'm never certain that I'm going to actually be able to write the book. I don't want to be paid for something that I may not be able to finish.
A lot of critics noted that your second novel was more subtle and nuanced than "The Kite Runner," which had clearly delineated victims and oppressors, and a strong moral message. You seem to be going for even greater realism with this new book.
I didn't sit down and say, "I want to write more complex characters," but as I wrote the characters, I noticed that they are more complex and that they're not as archetypal as the characters in my earlier books, certainly in "The Kite Runner." I think this book is the most morally ambiguous of the three. It's kind of hard to find a hero or villain.
When the movie based on "The Kite Runner" was about to be released, several young Afghan actors had to be whisked out of the country to protect them from possible attacks by extremists who were angered by the film. Did that make you wary of using Afghan actors in future adaptations?
Yeah, it definitely did. The intention was an honorable one. It's an Afghan story, and we wanted Afghans to tell their story and take a sense of ownership over a story that's become so well known around the world. But if I were to do it again, certainly I would think very much twice about using actors who live in Afghanistan and may face consequences for taking part in a film, especially one that contained potentially controversial issues.
You've been described in the past as "the best-known Afghan in the world." Does that feel strange, being cast as a representative for a country that you left when you were 11?
I never intended for my books to be any kind of sociological or anthropological dissertation on Afghanistan. I do realize nevertheless that for some people, my books are a window into Afghanistan, occasionally the only window, so I do want to be responsible in that sense. But I also want to distance myself from the notion that I'm a representative of the country or a spokesperson for all things Afghan. That's not a moniker that I'm interested in.
Write to Alexandra Alter at alexandra.alter@wsj.com
www.afghanistannewscenter.com