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Afghanistan's Karzai seeks Indian military aid amid tensions with Pakistan
Reuters By Hamid Shalizi 19/05/2013
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to discuss potential arms deals with Indian officials during a trip to New Delhi this week, officials said, at a time when tensions are running high on Afghanistan's disputed border with Pakistan.
Kabul's overtures to New Delhi are likely to rile Islamabad where a new government led by two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif is set to take office soon, promising improved ties with India.
Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi said the Afghan leader would discuss the flare-up on the Durand Line, the colonial-era border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in addition to ways to strengthen Afghan security institutions.
"Afghanistan has already agreed and signed a strategic pact with India and based on that agreement, India assists Afghanistan on several grounds, including the military sector," Faizi said.
"In order to strengthen Afghan security forces, we will ask India to help us with military needs and shortages," he said.
India has been training a limited number of Afghan military officers for years at its military institutions, but provided little weapons assistance except for some vehicles.
In 2011 New Delhi signed a strategic partnership agreement with Kabul, allowing the two sides to expand training as Afghan forces prepare to takeover security from foreign troops at the end of 2014.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said New Delhi's cooperation with Afghanistan was focused on development projects but security was also an important aspect given the challenges it faced.
"While we are striving to realise this vision of an economically viable Afghanistan ... we have no illusions that we can ignore the political and security issues that stand in the way of realising that vision," said Syed Akbaruddin.
He added the question of equipping Afghan forces was best discussed through the strategic partnership agreement and that a meeting would be held later this year to discuss security and political matters.
TENSIONS WITH PAKISTAN
Pakistan also proposed a strategic partnership with Afghanistan and offered military training to the Afghanistan national army, but Kabul has been cool to the idea.
Earlier this month border guards from the two countries, which have blamed each other for providing sanctuary to militant groups, clashed at their disputed border on the Durand Line.
Afghanistan said a policeman was killed, and accused Pakistan of using heavy artillery and tanks during the fighting along Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province. It added several Afghan border posts were destroyed.
Pakistan said the clashes were the result of unprovoked Afghan action.
Afghan security forces have since asked for better equipment to deal with the border threa. An official said that during the trip to New Delhi the Afghan delegation would explore the possibility of equipping the army with Indian artillery.
A NATO diplomat in Kabul said Afghanistan was also seeking to build up its air force and had sought aircraft to beef up border defences.
"The Afghans are taking the border problem very seriously. They have asked us for equipment ... emotions are very high," the diplomat said. (Additional reporting by Amie Ferris-Rottman in KABUL and Frank Jack Daniel in NEW DELHI; Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
Afghanistan needs India's military help: Shaida Mohammad Abdali
The Times of India May 19, 2013
PUNE - Ambassador of Afghanistan to India, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, said here on Saturday that Afghanistan needs India's commitment in the defence sector not only for tackling problems such as terrorism in Afghanistan, but also to avoid a spillover effect of the same in India.
"India and Afghanistan are facing very similar situation. India's military engagement in Afghanistan is a requirement. It is not a choice that someone has to make, but it is an imperative," Abdali said.
Abdali, who is also a former deputy national security advisor to Afghanistan, was responding to questions after delivering a special lecture on 'Indo-Afghan relations: A perspective on political, economical and security situation'. The lecture was jointly organized by the Pune International Centre and Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture.
"Afghanistan is not an isolated problem as far as India is concerned," Abdali said in response to a question regarding Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to India next week and the expectations from India's military role in the country after the withdrawal of the US-led NATO alliance troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
"The question is do we allow a situation that will be far more dangerous than the one during 1990 when terror infrastructure was relatively growing against its firmly connected and established state now. Do we allow the problem to revive and have a spillover effect in India," he asked.
Abdali said, "There are only two choices, either give in or confront the problem. The situation is going to affect Afghanistan and India equally and this requires both the countries to take some bold steps. We have done our part by getting into a strategic partnership with India and we need India's support to train and develop our army into a strong fighting force. We need equipment and weapons to fight and, above all, trained soldiers."
On the Afghan approach towards the Taliban post-2014 and its impact on India, Abdali said, "The peace process is on. We are in discussions with Taliban leaders and Taliban supporters and we have put forward certain conditions for them to become a part of the national mainstream and political process. One of these conditions is that they should renounce violence which has no place in any society. We hope our conditions are met."
Abdali said, "Afghanistan's relation with India is very unified vis-a-vis the peace process. I don't think we have any issues over the understanding of the peace process. India is supportive of resolving issues politically." But, Afghanistan's relations with Pakistan "are not on good terms", Abdali said. He, however, hoped the newly-elected government in Pakistan and the positive statements made by the new leadership would help in tackling terrorism. He said that while Afghanistan and Pakistan were working towards a shared goal, "we still have problems like terrorism and cross-border insurgency, terror sanctuaries".
Earlier, in his speech, Abdali said India and Afghanistan's relations have been multi-dimensional and the two countries have a shared history and civilization that has withstood the test of time. He acknowledged India's role in the process of rebuilding of Afghanistan. Through the strategic partnership that the two countries signed in 2011, the focus now is on forming working groups for different areas of development, he said.
"There are numerous investment opportunities in every other sector in Afghanistan. We have identified 24 such market areas that include energy, minerals, transport, agriculture, small and medium industries, information and communication technology, finance, health and construction, among others," he said.
Senior members of the PIC, including former Union finance secretary Vijay Kelkar, senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, MCCIA director general Anant Sardeshmukh, former president Mukesh Malhotra and others were present.
Afghanistan to begin first commercial oil production
ABC Online By resources reporter Sue Lannin 18/05/2013
Afghanistan expects to begin the first commercial oil production in its history in a little under two months.
The country's mining minister, Wahidullah Shahrani, has told the ABC processing will start at the Amu Darya basin in Afghanistan's north in July.
The project is operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation and is expected to eventually supply Afghanistan with its domestic energy needs so it can stop importing oil.
Mr Shahrani is in Australia for talks with Government officials and to attend mining development conferences in Sydney next week.
Australia provides funding so Afghan mining officials can study at Australian universities, and it is helping Afghanistan develop its mining industry under the Mining for Development Initiative.
Mr Shahrani says the Australian aid is helping his country.
"We have got a number of students (who) are studying at Australian universities," he said.
"They will transfer back to Afghanistan, they will help the ministry of mines and petroleum in Afghanistan to manage the resources in the right way."
Afghanistan has untapped mineral and energy reserves estimated to be worth up to $US3 trillion with vast deposits of resources including oil and gas, iron ore, gold and copper.
But it is one of the poorest countries in the world, with the World Bank estimating per capita income of $470 per year.
Chinese and Indian companies have led the way in developing Afghanistan's resources.
Australian mining companies have also expressed interest in investing in Afghanistan's mining industry.
ASX listed Buccaneer Energy applied for the Amu Darya tender, according to the Afghan ministry of mines website, although the company later denied it was interested in exploration in Afghanistan.
Industry challenges
The biggest challenge facing the industry is the lack of security due to the Taliban insurgency and the operations of private militias run by warlords, such as Abdul Rashid Dostum.
Insurgent rocket attacks and work to preserve Buddhist antiquities have stalled operations at the $3 billion Aynak copper project in Logar province, south-east of the capital Kabul.
Mr Shahrani remains upbeat despite the risks and the planned withdrawal of foreign troops next year.
"Security is an concern, is a challenge, but it doesn't mean the entire Afghanistan is insecure," he said.
"And the more investment we get it will also lead to a higher degree of stability."
Professor Amin Saikal from the Australian National University (ANU) says the security situation remains fragile with the Taliban launching its spring offensive.
"The success of all these investments that have been made and future investments depends on how the security situation is going to evolve," he said.
Professor Saikal also says corruption is a major concern.
Afghanistan is ranked number eight on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating a higher level of corruption.
Mr Shahrani says Afghanistan is committed to improving governance and transparency and has signed up to international programs such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which seeks to disclose how mining revenues are collected and spent by resource-rich countries.
"For each and every major deal, from day one when the tender process begins until the conclusion of the contract negotiation and the award of the contract, we have appointed international monitors," he said.
EITI will hold its biennial conference in Sydney next week.
Afghanistan's draft mining law is waiting to be passed by the parliament.
Mr Shahrani says he expects five or six major tenders to be awarded next month for projects covering oil and gas, copper, gold and iron ore.
Tenders for the development of the Afghan-Tajik basin, the biggest oil project in the country, were awarded to Turkish, Kuwaiti, and United Arab Emirates companies.
Effort to Strengthen an Afghan Law on Women May Backfire
New York Times By ALISSA J. RUBIN May 18, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan - Even with some legal protections in place, Afghan women, and sometimes even little girls, can be sold to pay family debts. In the country’s vast rural areas, just talking to a man who is not a close relative can be punishable by death. And in some places, girls are routinely married at puberty.
And now, preserving any protections long-term appears to be in question, as the country’s tiny women’s rights movement faces an unenviable decision: leave intact the only law that attempts to halt such abuses, or continue to present changes to Parliament and run the risk that a growing conservative bloc could dismantle the law entirely.
The quandary became evident on Saturday, when a bid to add more robust protections was rapidly withdrawn in Parliament after stinging rebukes. Angry mullahs and conservatives who never supported the law in the first place complained that it and the proposed revisions were un-Islamic and asked who could better decide than they who and when their daughters should marry.
Some women in Parliament were not supportive either, citing the measure’s backing of shelters for battered women. Many Afghans believe shelters are little better than brothels and tarnish a girl’s reputation.
To cut off the onslaught, the proposal was sent back to committee, its future uncertain.
The push to bring up the law in Parliament has split the small group of Afghan women’s rights advocates. Despite fears of the conservatives, some argued that quick action had to be taken before the exit of the United States, which, along with the European Union, has championed better lives and protections for Afghan women.
But others resisted. “We know who is in the Parliament,” said Soraya Sobrang, a women’s rights activist and part of a hastily organized effort to stop the law from coming up in Parliament, referring to the former militia commanders, mullahs and other conservatives who take a dim view of many Western-backed protections for women. What would stop them, she asked, “from pulling a list from their back pocket” of changes that would weaken the protections against child marriage or even rape?
The drive to amend the law was led by one of Afghanistan’s more visible champions for women’s issues: Fawzia Koofi, a determined, ambitious woman who gained a seat in Parliament in 2005 and in 2010, survived an attempt on her life by gunmen thought to be Taliban.
“There is a step back on women’s issues,” Ms. Koofi said, explaining her drive to revise the law in the plenary session of Parliament this weekend. “The government used to be more supportive.”
Ms. Koofi is a somewhat controversial figure. Closely allied with the predominantly Tajik former Northern Alliance faction in Parliament, she has sometimes been criticized as pursuing policies for her own political gain. However, she insisted that her motivation to amend the women’s law was to help solidify it, though not all supporters of women’s rights here agree.
Ms. Koofi said the proposed changes would allow the government to prosecute cases of abuse even when the woman who had been abused withdrew her claim. Women frequently come under family pressure to drop complaints of domestic violence.
Ms. Koofi said she also added a provision prohibiting sexual harassment, calling it increasingly pervasive as more women go to work in offices. And, she said, she included a provision to require men to pay women child support if they leave them or take other wives. No written version of the amendments was publicly available, so it was difficult to verify their contents or wording.
The law — the Elimination of Violence Against Women Act — was issued in 2009 as a decree by President Hamid Karzai. In a first for the country, it outlined basic protections from practices common throughout Afghanistan, including child marriage, forced marriage, physical abuse and the practice of giving women in marriage to settle disputes between families, called baad.
Ms. Koofi said her prime worry was that, with elections due in less than a year, the law might be annulled by a new president. Parliament’s endorsement would enshrine it more securely, she argued.
“If we wait for the best moment when there is no opposition, we will wait forever,” she said. “Our worry is that things will get worse after 2014, and there’s no guarantee that the next president will support the women’s issues. We should have done it even earlier.”
Women who opposed Ms. Koofi’s gambit said they were resigned that it might already be too late to do more in Parliament than safeguard the current law.
“It’s gambling with the law with this kind of Parliament,” said Mahbooba Saraj, a women’s advocate who joined a news conference at the offices of the Afghan Women’s Network, one of the larger women’s rights organizations here, to urge that Parliament remove discussion of the act from its agenda this weekend. “It’s a gamble with the lives of Afghan women.”
Last week, the Afghan Women’s Network, along with a number of Kabul-based civil society organizations, began sending out alarmed e-mails to embassies and international organizations, as well as reporters, to rally opposition to the effort to revise the law.
Western diplomats in Kabul also strongly advised Ms. Koofi not to push ahead with a full debate unless she was absolutely sure that the law could be protected from evisceration.
Georgette Gagnon, the head of the human rights office for the United Nations here, who has studied how the law has been carried out, described taking the measure before the Parliament as “fraught with all kinds of risk.”
“Ultimately, the losers could be millions of Afghan women,” she said.
The existing law is far from ideal. Human rights lawyers say it lacks a definition of honor crimes and offers little clarity on how the police or prosecutors should treat a woman who runs away from home to escape violence. Often a woman who flees is imprisoned on charges that she intended to commit adultery; numerous women interviewed in jails by the United Nations for its 2012 report on the law’s enforcement said they left home to avoid a forced marriage or domestic violence. And women come under enormous family pressure to drop any charge of domestic violence.
Enforcement remains woefully insufficient: in the first full year that the law was put into effect, from 2010 to 2011, courts relied on it in just 4 percent of the 2,299 reported episodes that could be defined as crimes under the measure, according to a November 2011 report by the United Nations human rights division. However, prosecutors have begun to use the law, especially in the larger urban areas like Kabul and Herat, and human rights groups hope that as prosecutors become familiar with it, they will rely on it more frequently.
At a minimum, the law provides a basic set of protections for women that prosecutors, judges, lawyers for women and women’s advocates can look to in determining whether prosecutable abuses have occurred.
“The potential risk of opening this Pandora’s box is enormous,” said Heather Barr, the director of the Human Rights Watch office for Afghanistan, referring to the risks inherent in letting the full Parliament reconsider each provision.
“Just look at a photograph of the Parliament. What planet would you have to be on to think that they would vote to send themselves to prison if they married off their under-aged daughter, or send themselves to jail if they beat their wives?”
Jawad Sukhanyar and Rod Nordland contributed reporting from Kabul.
Afghanistan to purchase An-74 cargo planes for Afghan forces
By SAYED JAWAD - 19 May 2013, 10:31 pm Khaama Press
The national security council (NSC) of Afghanistan on Sunday instructed Afghan finance ministry provide $100 million to Afghan defense ministry for the purchase of 5 Russian made transport air-crafts.
According to a statement released by Afghan presidential palace media office, the decision was taken during the national security council (NSC) meeting chaired by Afghan president Hamid Karzai.
Afghan defense minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi during NSC meeting insisted that five An-74 air crafts were needed by Afghan defense ministry, and urged for immediate financial arrangement to purchase the required air-crafts.
Afghan presidential palace media office in its statement added that national security council of Afghanistan instructed finance ministry to provide the amount from the budget of the Afghan government.
National security adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta, defense and interior ministers along with the head of the national directorate of security also briefed the national security council regarding the transition of armed militia covered by US troops to Afghan control.
According to reports around 290 armed militia were transitioned to national directorate of security formation in Urgon district of eastern Paktika province, and further steps have been taken to transfer the remaining armed militia men to Afghan control in Kandahar, Kabul, Nangarhar, Kunar and Khost provinces of Afghanistan.
ISAF plane makes hard landing, leaving no casualty
KABUL, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A plane with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) made hard landing in Logar province 60 km south of Kabul on Sunday, a statement of the alliance released here said.
"An International Security Assistance Force C-130 had a hard landing in Logar province, Afghanistan today," the statement added.
The statement without providing more details stressed that, " There are no casualties, and there was no indication of insurgent activity in the area at the time."
Previously, in a similar incident, a helicopter crashed in Logar province on April 22, during which Taliban militants captured nine people including eight Turkish nationals aboard the chopper and set them free after nearly two weeks keeping in captivity.
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Afghanistan Business Level Dips By 35% During One Year
TOLOnews.com By Zabiulah Jahanmal Saturday, 18 May 2013
Afghanistan's business level has dipped by 35 percent during one year, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said on Saturday.
The officials of ACCI believe that the decrease has been caused by high costs of municipality fees and extortions in the country.
High customs tariff on imported goods especially raw materials, increase in extortion, smuggling of goods by powerful figures, collection of municipality taxes in each city, decrease in the number of construction projects have caused not only a decrease in the business but also inflated the prices of raw materials in the country.
ACCI officials added that each trader has to compulsory pay 15,000 Afg (around $300) to the municipality for each container of goods transported at the entry gate of each city which is extremely high.
"We had solved the problem in consultation with the President of Afghanistan but again the problem has come up," ACCI Deputy Chairman Khan Jan Alokozai said.
"The problem here is that the people misuse municipality names by making illegal check points and they take as much money as they want," Afghan lawmaker Waghma Safi said.
"I think that extortion puts pressure on the public so they are seeking ways to leave the country," Afghan lawmaker Habiba Danish said.
Report: Obama Trims Afghan War Budget Request
VOA News May 18, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama is trimming his funding request for the Afghan war.
The Reuters news agency quotes an unidentified White House aide as saying the president has decreased his request for funding the war in Afghanistan by 10 percent for the 2014 fiscal year budget. The report says the president reduced his original request from $88.5 billion to $79.4 billion.
The White House issued a statement Friday saying the change was made to account for the drawdown of troops set to begin next year.
The president has set 2014 as the target for withdrawing most of the troops while maintaining sufficient personnel there to support Afghan forces and carry out some operations.
A reporter for VOA's Deewa service says the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is seeing increased traffic as more trucks loaded with military hardware are leaving Afghanistan ahead of the U.S. troop withdrawal.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department is seeking congressional approval to shift nearly $10 billion of its budget to cover the increased costs of the war in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon request, made late Friday, is larger than the $7.5 billion limit that Congress set for annual transfers between accounts.
It is not clear how Congress will respond to the request.
Afghans With Disabilities Fight For The Right To Rights
NPR By Sean Carberry May 19, 2013
Climbing the rickety metal staircase is precarious enough if you aren't on crutches, but it's simply dangerous if you are. At the top is the office of Janbazan-e-Mayhan, one of many social councils for disabled Afghans. Men missing arms, legs or hands sit around the small room.
Afghanistan isn't an easy place for anyone to make a living. But for those with disabilities, it's a downright hostile environment. Tens of thousands have been maimed and disabled during decades of conflict. Jobs are scarce, and there's almost nothing that's handicapped-accessible.
Activists like Hussein Karimi, head of Janbazan, are demanding change.
Earning A Living
Karimi lost a leg during the decade-long war against the Soviets in the 1980s. He says he couldn't find work, so he started the council to help some of the more than 100,000 registered war-disabled Afghans. He says that among other services, the council helps provide vending carts to its 200 members. That way they can earn money, rather than beg for it in the streets like countless amputees across Kabul.
"The government doesn't provide elevators, ramps or roads that help us," Karimi says. "But we can't worry about these issues, because we have to focus on feeding our families."
Haji Amarullah, 45, lost his lower legs to a land mine during the Soviet war. Because he is uneducated, he couldn't find a desk job, and because of his prosthetic legs, no one would hire him for any unskilled work.
Amarullah says he registered for the government stipend for those with war-related disabilities. The annual $350 is about what the typical Afghan makes in a month. If you're one of the nearly 1 million Afghans the government says are disabled from birth or by an accident, you get no financial support.
Inaccessible
Until now, it's largely fallen on private nongovernmental organizations like the Red Cross to care for the disabled. At their orthopedic center in Kabul, men hunch over drill presses, lathes, and molds to make nearly 2,000 prosthetic limbs each year. They also provide thousands of physical therapy sessions a month.
Najamuddin Helal is the head of the center and is himself disabled. He lost his legs to a landmine in the '80s. He says disabled Afghans face barriers everywhere they turn.
"Even the private clinics, private hospital, they are not accessible," he says.
And good luck finding elevators, ramps or handicapped-accessible bathrooms in Kabul. The Red Cross makes it a point to hire people like Helal. He says that Afghans are accepting of disabled people, to an extent.
"They think they should be in a corner, just they are sorry for them," Helal says. He says the disabled aren't allowed or encouraged to express their potential. "There is not a feeling of the right of the disabled," he says.
Taking It To The President
Hundreds of disabled Afghans took to the streets of Kabul earlier this month. They were mostly aging Mujahedeen fighters who limped and crutched their way toward the presidential palace to demand their rights.
They carried coffins — one was to symbolize a man who died at a government clinic while waiting to be treated. The protesters with empty coffins said if the government wasn't going to help them, then the police should simply shoot them in the streets.
Among their various chants, the protesters called for the government to pass a law protecting the rights of the disabled.
The demonstration achieved its initial goal: President Hamid Karzai agreed to hear their demands. Activist Mohammad Daud Sayar attended the meeting with the Afghan president.
"We have visited President Karzai 25 times, but this time he treated us very differently, the meeting had a very friendly environment," Sayar says.
He says Karzai was receptive to their list of demands, including seats in Parliament, more health and education services, a higher stipend and housing. Sayar says for now everything is on paper, but he says Karzai gave orders to the ministries to act.
"We take it as a good sign and hope all our demands will be met," he says.
The Government's Limits
Dr. Suraya Paikan is deputy minister in the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled. She says that the country must respect the rights of the disabled and provide all the services it can. But, she says, the disabled community must be realistic in their demands.
"They want free land, they want free house. It is impossible," she says.
Paikan says some of the demands would require constitutional changes that are unlikely to happen. Plus, the government needs help from the international community, she says, because the government doesn't have the money required to address the problem.
"Big money [is] needed, $200 million needed because all these people are poor people, they don't have any income," Paikan says.
She knows well the challenges ahead, as her ministry still struggling to get a working elevator in its own building.
NPR's Aimal Yaqubi and Sultan Faizy contributed to this report.
Kidnappers Executed in Herat Province
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Saturday, 18 May 2013
Two kidnappers involved in the murder of an eight-year-old boy named Ali Sina, son of a Herat based businessman were executed on Saturday in the western Herat province of Afghanistan.
The execution was approved by President Karzai and the residents of Herat province welcomed the order.
Family of Ali Sina believe that the hanging of these convicts will send out a strong message to all the criminals and may put an end to kidnapping crimes inside Herat province.
The kidnapping cum killing of the eight year old boy resulted in a huge outcry amongst the people. As a result, President Karzai ordered the judiciary to investigate case of the boy.
"I am happy that justice is now being done in Afghanistan and I hope that such incidents don't happen again and the citizens don't feel the pain as I felt," Ali Sina's father Nasir Ahamd Nawrozi told TOLOnews.
It is said that a delegation from the Presidency, Attorney General, a religious scholar and Ali Sina's family were present while the hanging took place.
"I request the government to continue this process. Whoever kills children should be hanged. People are happy with the decision."
Additionally, the security forces of the province expressed support for the execution and added that they will endeavour to stop such crimes from happening again."
"I am happy that whatever people and police wanted was implemented," Herat Police Chief Rahmatullah Safi said.
Ali Sina an eight-year-old boy was kidnapped five months ago by a group of kidnappers in western Herat province where he was killed after 38 days by the kidnappers.
UNESCO to Support Education in Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Saturday, 18 May 2013
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General, Irina Bokova in a recent visit to Kabul on Saturday asked the people of Afghanistan to promote education especially for the girls in the country.
The Director-General said that UNESCO is committed to fight all the challenges in the education sector, grant new aids and standardise the education system in Afghanistan.
Irina Bokova visited the Ayesha-e-Durrani High School in Kabul.
Currently, more than 400 schools are closed due to lack of security and over 3 million children are deprived of school education.
"Education is not against any religion and educating the girl is not a religious sin. I don't think any religion in the world- Islam or Christianity or Buddhism says that educating the girl is a sin. If you educate a woman, you educate the whole family," UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Education Minister warned that no one can stand on the way of education especially when it comes to educating the girls or prevent them from going to schools.
The Education Minister Farooq Wardak asked UNESCO to support Afghan students in the same way as they did for Malala Yousafzai the Pakistani girl activist who was recently attacked for her campaign promoting girl's education.
"No one can forbid girls from going to schools. If they burn down schools or shut them, we have to go to each and every household and teach them. We seek the help of UNESCO in this matter. 9 million Afghan students supported and prayed for the Pakistani student activist Malala Yousafzai which shows that Afghan children also want to learn and attend school," Farooq Wardak said.
Although, Afghanistan has made lot of progress in the education sector but lack of professional teachers, infrastructure for schools and several other issues are posing a threat to impart education in Afghanistan.
UNHCR Pays 14 Million Pakistani Rupees, Afghan Attaches in Pakistan Deny
TOLOnews.com By Abdulhaq Omeri Saturday, 18 May 2013
Corruption has scaled new heights with the Afghan Attaches in Pakistan denying to have received any financial aid from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). The organisation pays 14 million Pakistani Rupees to Afghan Immigration Ministry Attaches in three states of Pakistan every year, TOLOnews findings show.
An official of UNHCR in Pakistan told TOLOnews that the organization has annually paid thousands of dollars in cash to Afghan Attaches for solving Afghan refugee's problems in Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Koita cities of Pakistan.
"In all these places, solving the problems of immigrants and their supervision, all is done by UNHCR. To some extent, we financially help them and I think that in the current year we may give them $28,000," United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Pakistan Fawad told TOLOnews.
But the Attaches of Afghanistan Immigration Ministry in Pakistan have rejected all the claims and said that they have not received any kind of funding in cash from the organization.
"They have not given any financial aid for the immigrants so far," Afghan Immigration Ministry Attache in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Misri Khan Momand said.
TOLOnews findings revealed that UNHCR has paid more than 14 million Pakistani Rupees to Afghan Attaches who are deployed in the above mentioned three states of Pakistan.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
Reuters By Hamid Shalizi 19/05/2013
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to discuss potential arms deals with Indian officials during a trip to New Delhi this week, officials said, at a time when tensions are running high on Afghanistan's disputed border with Pakistan.
Kabul's overtures to New Delhi are likely to rile Islamabad where a new government led by two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif is set to take office soon, promising improved ties with India.
Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi said the Afghan leader would discuss the flare-up on the Durand Line, the colonial-era border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in addition to ways to strengthen Afghan security institutions.
"Afghanistan has already agreed and signed a strategic pact with India and based on that agreement, India assists Afghanistan on several grounds, including the military sector," Faizi said.
"In order to strengthen Afghan security forces, we will ask India to help us with military needs and shortages," he said.
India has been training a limited number of Afghan military officers for years at its military institutions, but provided little weapons assistance except for some vehicles.
In 2011 New Delhi signed a strategic partnership agreement with Kabul, allowing the two sides to expand training as Afghan forces prepare to takeover security from foreign troops at the end of 2014.
An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said New Delhi's cooperation with Afghanistan was focused on development projects but security was also an important aspect given the challenges it faced.
"While we are striving to realise this vision of an economically viable Afghanistan ... we have no illusions that we can ignore the political and security issues that stand in the way of realising that vision," said Syed Akbaruddin.
He added the question of equipping Afghan forces was best discussed through the strategic partnership agreement and that a meeting would be held later this year to discuss security and political matters.
TENSIONS WITH PAKISTAN
Pakistan also proposed a strategic partnership with Afghanistan and offered military training to the Afghanistan national army, but Kabul has been cool to the idea.
Earlier this month border guards from the two countries, which have blamed each other for providing sanctuary to militant groups, clashed at their disputed border on the Durand Line.
Afghanistan said a policeman was killed, and accused Pakistan of using heavy artillery and tanks during the fighting along Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province. It added several Afghan border posts were destroyed.
Pakistan said the clashes were the result of unprovoked Afghan action.
Afghan security forces have since asked for better equipment to deal with the border threa. An official said that during the trip to New Delhi the Afghan delegation would explore the possibility of equipping the army with Indian artillery.
A NATO diplomat in Kabul said Afghanistan was also seeking to build up its air force and had sought aircraft to beef up border defences.
"The Afghans are taking the border problem very seriously. They have asked us for equipment ... emotions are very high," the diplomat said. (Additional reporting by Amie Ferris-Rottman in KABUL and Frank Jack Daniel in NEW DELHI; Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
Afghanistan needs India's military help: Shaida Mohammad Abdali
The Times of India May 19, 2013
PUNE - Ambassador of Afghanistan to India, Shaida Mohammad Abdali, said here on Saturday that Afghanistan needs India's commitment in the defence sector not only for tackling problems such as terrorism in Afghanistan, but also to avoid a spillover effect of the same in India.
"India and Afghanistan are facing very similar situation. India's military engagement in Afghanistan is a requirement. It is not a choice that someone has to make, but it is an imperative," Abdali said.
Abdali, who is also a former deputy national security advisor to Afghanistan, was responding to questions after delivering a special lecture on 'Indo-Afghan relations: A perspective on political, economical and security situation'. The lecture was jointly organized by the Pune International Centre and Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture.
"Afghanistan is not an isolated problem as far as India is concerned," Abdali said in response to a question regarding Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to India next week and the expectations from India's military role in the country after the withdrawal of the US-led NATO alliance troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
"The question is do we allow a situation that will be far more dangerous than the one during 1990 when terror infrastructure was relatively growing against its firmly connected and established state now. Do we allow the problem to revive and have a spillover effect in India," he asked.
Abdali said, "There are only two choices, either give in or confront the problem. The situation is going to affect Afghanistan and India equally and this requires both the countries to take some bold steps. We have done our part by getting into a strategic partnership with India and we need India's support to train and develop our army into a strong fighting force. We need equipment and weapons to fight and, above all, trained soldiers."
On the Afghan approach towards the Taliban post-2014 and its impact on India, Abdali said, "The peace process is on. We are in discussions with Taliban leaders and Taliban supporters and we have put forward certain conditions for them to become a part of the national mainstream and political process. One of these conditions is that they should renounce violence which has no place in any society. We hope our conditions are met."
Abdali said, "Afghanistan's relation with India is very unified vis-a-vis the peace process. I don't think we have any issues over the understanding of the peace process. India is supportive of resolving issues politically." But, Afghanistan's relations with Pakistan "are not on good terms", Abdali said. He, however, hoped the newly-elected government in Pakistan and the positive statements made by the new leadership would help in tackling terrorism. He said that while Afghanistan and Pakistan were working towards a shared goal, "we still have problems like terrorism and cross-border insurgency, terror sanctuaries".
Earlier, in his speech, Abdali said India and Afghanistan's relations have been multi-dimensional and the two countries have a shared history and civilization that has withstood the test of time. He acknowledged India's role in the process of rebuilding of Afghanistan. Through the strategic partnership that the two countries signed in 2011, the focus now is on forming working groups for different areas of development, he said.
"There are numerous investment opportunities in every other sector in Afghanistan. We have identified 24 such market areas that include energy, minerals, transport, agriculture, small and medium industries, information and communication technology, finance, health and construction, among others," he said.
Senior members of the PIC, including former Union finance secretary Vijay Kelkar, senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar, MCCIA director general Anant Sardeshmukh, former president Mukesh Malhotra and others were present.
Afghanistan to begin first commercial oil production
ABC Online By resources reporter Sue Lannin 18/05/2013
Afghanistan expects to begin the first commercial oil production in its history in a little under two months.
The country's mining minister, Wahidullah Shahrani, has told the ABC processing will start at the Amu Darya basin in Afghanistan's north in July.
The project is operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation and is expected to eventually supply Afghanistan with its domestic energy needs so it can stop importing oil.
Mr Shahrani is in Australia for talks with Government officials and to attend mining development conferences in Sydney next week.
Australia provides funding so Afghan mining officials can study at Australian universities, and it is helping Afghanistan develop its mining industry under the Mining for Development Initiative.
Mr Shahrani says the Australian aid is helping his country.
"We have got a number of students (who) are studying at Australian universities," he said.
"They will transfer back to Afghanistan, they will help the ministry of mines and petroleum in Afghanistan to manage the resources in the right way."
Afghanistan has untapped mineral and energy reserves estimated to be worth up to $US3 trillion with vast deposits of resources including oil and gas, iron ore, gold and copper.
But it is one of the poorest countries in the world, with the World Bank estimating per capita income of $470 per year.
Chinese and Indian companies have led the way in developing Afghanistan's resources.
Australian mining companies have also expressed interest in investing in Afghanistan's mining industry.
ASX listed Buccaneer Energy applied for the Amu Darya tender, according to the Afghan ministry of mines website, although the company later denied it was interested in exploration in Afghanistan.
Industry challenges
The biggest challenge facing the industry is the lack of security due to the Taliban insurgency and the operations of private militias run by warlords, such as Abdul Rashid Dostum.
Insurgent rocket attacks and work to preserve Buddhist antiquities have stalled operations at the $3 billion Aynak copper project in Logar province, south-east of the capital Kabul.
Mr Shahrani remains upbeat despite the risks and the planned withdrawal of foreign troops next year.
"Security is an concern, is a challenge, but it doesn't mean the entire Afghanistan is insecure," he said.
"And the more investment we get it will also lead to a higher degree of stability."
Professor Amin Saikal from the Australian National University (ANU) says the security situation remains fragile with the Taliban launching its spring offensive.
"The success of all these investments that have been made and future investments depends on how the security situation is going to evolve," he said.
Professor Saikal also says corruption is a major concern.
Afghanistan is ranked number eight on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating a higher level of corruption.
Mr Shahrani says Afghanistan is committed to improving governance and transparency and has signed up to international programs such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which seeks to disclose how mining revenues are collected and spent by resource-rich countries.
"For each and every major deal, from day one when the tender process begins until the conclusion of the contract negotiation and the award of the contract, we have appointed international monitors," he said.
EITI will hold its biennial conference in Sydney next week.
Afghanistan's draft mining law is waiting to be passed by the parliament.
Mr Shahrani says he expects five or six major tenders to be awarded next month for projects covering oil and gas, copper, gold and iron ore.
Tenders for the development of the Afghan-Tajik basin, the biggest oil project in the country, were awarded to Turkish, Kuwaiti, and United Arab Emirates companies.
Effort to Strengthen an Afghan Law on Women May Backfire
New York Times By ALISSA J. RUBIN May 18, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan - Even with some legal protections in place, Afghan women, and sometimes even little girls, can be sold to pay family debts. In the country’s vast rural areas, just talking to a man who is not a close relative can be punishable by death. And in some places, girls are routinely married at puberty.
And now, preserving any protections long-term appears to be in question, as the country’s tiny women’s rights movement faces an unenviable decision: leave intact the only law that attempts to halt such abuses, or continue to present changes to Parliament and run the risk that a growing conservative bloc could dismantle the law entirely.
The quandary became evident on Saturday, when a bid to add more robust protections was rapidly withdrawn in Parliament after stinging rebukes. Angry mullahs and conservatives who never supported the law in the first place complained that it and the proposed revisions were un-Islamic and asked who could better decide than they who and when their daughters should marry.
Some women in Parliament were not supportive either, citing the measure’s backing of shelters for battered women. Many Afghans believe shelters are little better than brothels and tarnish a girl’s reputation.
To cut off the onslaught, the proposal was sent back to committee, its future uncertain.
The push to bring up the law in Parliament has split the small group of Afghan women’s rights advocates. Despite fears of the conservatives, some argued that quick action had to be taken before the exit of the United States, which, along with the European Union, has championed better lives and protections for Afghan women.
But others resisted. “We know who is in the Parliament,” said Soraya Sobrang, a women’s rights activist and part of a hastily organized effort to stop the law from coming up in Parliament, referring to the former militia commanders, mullahs and other conservatives who take a dim view of many Western-backed protections for women. What would stop them, she asked, “from pulling a list from their back pocket” of changes that would weaken the protections against child marriage or even rape?
The drive to amend the law was led by one of Afghanistan’s more visible champions for women’s issues: Fawzia Koofi, a determined, ambitious woman who gained a seat in Parliament in 2005 and in 2010, survived an attempt on her life by gunmen thought to be Taliban.
“There is a step back on women’s issues,” Ms. Koofi said, explaining her drive to revise the law in the plenary session of Parliament this weekend. “The government used to be more supportive.”
Ms. Koofi is a somewhat controversial figure. Closely allied with the predominantly Tajik former Northern Alliance faction in Parliament, she has sometimes been criticized as pursuing policies for her own political gain. However, she insisted that her motivation to amend the women’s law was to help solidify it, though not all supporters of women’s rights here agree.
Ms. Koofi said the proposed changes would allow the government to prosecute cases of abuse even when the woman who had been abused withdrew her claim. Women frequently come under family pressure to drop complaints of domestic violence.
Ms. Koofi said she also added a provision prohibiting sexual harassment, calling it increasingly pervasive as more women go to work in offices. And, she said, she included a provision to require men to pay women child support if they leave them or take other wives. No written version of the amendments was publicly available, so it was difficult to verify their contents or wording.
The law — the Elimination of Violence Against Women Act — was issued in 2009 as a decree by President Hamid Karzai. In a first for the country, it outlined basic protections from practices common throughout Afghanistan, including child marriage, forced marriage, physical abuse and the practice of giving women in marriage to settle disputes between families, called baad.
Ms. Koofi said her prime worry was that, with elections due in less than a year, the law might be annulled by a new president. Parliament’s endorsement would enshrine it more securely, she argued.
“If we wait for the best moment when there is no opposition, we will wait forever,” she said. “Our worry is that things will get worse after 2014, and there’s no guarantee that the next president will support the women’s issues. We should have done it even earlier.”
Women who opposed Ms. Koofi’s gambit said they were resigned that it might already be too late to do more in Parliament than safeguard the current law.
“It’s gambling with the law with this kind of Parliament,” said Mahbooba Saraj, a women’s advocate who joined a news conference at the offices of the Afghan Women’s Network, one of the larger women’s rights organizations here, to urge that Parliament remove discussion of the act from its agenda this weekend. “It’s a gamble with the lives of Afghan women.”
Last week, the Afghan Women’s Network, along with a number of Kabul-based civil society organizations, began sending out alarmed e-mails to embassies and international organizations, as well as reporters, to rally opposition to the effort to revise the law.
Western diplomats in Kabul also strongly advised Ms. Koofi not to push ahead with a full debate unless she was absolutely sure that the law could be protected from evisceration.
Georgette Gagnon, the head of the human rights office for the United Nations here, who has studied how the law has been carried out, described taking the measure before the Parliament as “fraught with all kinds of risk.”
“Ultimately, the losers could be millions of Afghan women,” she said.
The existing law is far from ideal. Human rights lawyers say it lacks a definition of honor crimes and offers little clarity on how the police or prosecutors should treat a woman who runs away from home to escape violence. Often a woman who flees is imprisoned on charges that she intended to commit adultery; numerous women interviewed in jails by the United Nations for its 2012 report on the law’s enforcement said they left home to avoid a forced marriage or domestic violence. And women come under enormous family pressure to drop any charge of domestic violence.
Enforcement remains woefully insufficient: in the first full year that the law was put into effect, from 2010 to 2011, courts relied on it in just 4 percent of the 2,299 reported episodes that could be defined as crimes under the measure, according to a November 2011 report by the United Nations human rights division. However, prosecutors have begun to use the law, especially in the larger urban areas like Kabul and Herat, and human rights groups hope that as prosecutors become familiar with it, they will rely on it more frequently.
At a minimum, the law provides a basic set of protections for women that prosecutors, judges, lawyers for women and women’s advocates can look to in determining whether prosecutable abuses have occurred.
“The potential risk of opening this Pandora’s box is enormous,” said Heather Barr, the director of the Human Rights Watch office for Afghanistan, referring to the risks inherent in letting the full Parliament reconsider each provision.
“Just look at a photograph of the Parliament. What planet would you have to be on to think that they would vote to send themselves to prison if they married off their under-aged daughter, or send themselves to jail if they beat their wives?”
Jawad Sukhanyar and Rod Nordland contributed reporting from Kabul.
Afghanistan to purchase An-74 cargo planes for Afghan forces
By SAYED JAWAD - 19 May 2013, 10:31 pm Khaama Press
The national security council (NSC) of Afghanistan on Sunday instructed Afghan finance ministry provide $100 million to Afghan defense ministry for the purchase of 5 Russian made transport air-crafts.
According to a statement released by Afghan presidential palace media office, the decision was taken during the national security council (NSC) meeting chaired by Afghan president Hamid Karzai.
Afghan defense minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi during NSC meeting insisted that five An-74 air crafts were needed by Afghan defense ministry, and urged for immediate financial arrangement to purchase the required air-crafts.
Afghan presidential palace media office in its statement added that national security council of Afghanistan instructed finance ministry to provide the amount from the budget of the Afghan government.
National security adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta, defense and interior ministers along with the head of the national directorate of security also briefed the national security council regarding the transition of armed militia covered by US troops to Afghan control.
According to reports around 290 armed militia were transitioned to national directorate of security formation in Urgon district of eastern Paktika province, and further steps have been taken to transfer the remaining armed militia men to Afghan control in Kandahar, Kabul, Nangarhar, Kunar and Khost provinces of Afghanistan.
ISAF plane makes hard landing, leaving no casualty
KABUL, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A plane with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) made hard landing in Logar province 60 km south of Kabul on Sunday, a statement of the alliance released here said.
"An International Security Assistance Force C-130 had a hard landing in Logar province, Afghanistan today," the statement added.
The statement without providing more details stressed that, " There are no casualties, and there was no indication of insurgent activity in the area at the time."
Previously, in a similar incident, a helicopter crashed in Logar province on April 22, during which Taliban militants captured nine people including eight Turkish nationals aboard the chopper and set them free after nearly two weeks keeping in captivity.
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Afghanistan Business Level Dips By 35% During One Year
TOLOnews.com By Zabiulah Jahanmal Saturday, 18 May 2013
Afghanistan's business level has dipped by 35 percent during one year, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said on Saturday.
The officials of ACCI believe that the decrease has been caused by high costs of municipality fees and extortions in the country.
High customs tariff on imported goods especially raw materials, increase in extortion, smuggling of goods by powerful figures, collection of municipality taxes in each city, decrease in the number of construction projects have caused not only a decrease in the business but also inflated the prices of raw materials in the country.
ACCI officials added that each trader has to compulsory pay 15,000 Afg (around $300) to the municipality for each container of goods transported at the entry gate of each city which is extremely high.
"We had solved the problem in consultation with the President of Afghanistan but again the problem has come up," ACCI Deputy Chairman Khan Jan Alokozai said.
"The problem here is that the people misuse municipality names by making illegal check points and they take as much money as they want," Afghan lawmaker Waghma Safi said.
"I think that extortion puts pressure on the public so they are seeking ways to leave the country," Afghan lawmaker Habiba Danish said.
Report: Obama Trims Afghan War Budget Request
VOA News May 18, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama is trimming his funding request for the Afghan war.
The Reuters news agency quotes an unidentified White House aide as saying the president has decreased his request for funding the war in Afghanistan by 10 percent for the 2014 fiscal year budget. The report says the president reduced his original request from $88.5 billion to $79.4 billion.
The White House issued a statement Friday saying the change was made to account for the drawdown of troops set to begin next year.
The president has set 2014 as the target for withdrawing most of the troops while maintaining sufficient personnel there to support Afghan forces and carry out some operations.
A reporter for VOA's Deewa service says the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is seeing increased traffic as more trucks loaded with military hardware are leaving Afghanistan ahead of the U.S. troop withdrawal.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department is seeking congressional approval to shift nearly $10 billion of its budget to cover the increased costs of the war in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon request, made late Friday, is larger than the $7.5 billion limit that Congress set for annual transfers between accounts.
It is not clear how Congress will respond to the request.
Afghans With Disabilities Fight For The Right To Rights
NPR By Sean Carberry May 19, 2013
Climbing the rickety metal staircase is precarious enough if you aren't on crutches, but it's simply dangerous if you are. At the top is the office of Janbazan-e-Mayhan, one of many social councils for disabled Afghans. Men missing arms, legs or hands sit around the small room.
Afghanistan isn't an easy place for anyone to make a living. But for those with disabilities, it's a downright hostile environment. Tens of thousands have been maimed and disabled during decades of conflict. Jobs are scarce, and there's almost nothing that's handicapped-accessible.
Activists like Hussein Karimi, head of Janbazan, are demanding change.
Earning A Living
Karimi lost a leg during the decade-long war against the Soviets in the 1980s. He says he couldn't find work, so he started the council to help some of the more than 100,000 registered war-disabled Afghans. He says that among other services, the council helps provide vending carts to its 200 members. That way they can earn money, rather than beg for it in the streets like countless amputees across Kabul.
"The government doesn't provide elevators, ramps or roads that help us," Karimi says. "But we can't worry about these issues, because we have to focus on feeding our families."
Haji Amarullah, 45, lost his lower legs to a land mine during the Soviet war. Because he is uneducated, he couldn't find a desk job, and because of his prosthetic legs, no one would hire him for any unskilled work.
Amarullah says he registered for the government stipend for those with war-related disabilities. The annual $350 is about what the typical Afghan makes in a month. If you're one of the nearly 1 million Afghans the government says are disabled from birth or by an accident, you get no financial support.
Inaccessible
Until now, it's largely fallen on private nongovernmental organizations like the Red Cross to care for the disabled. At their orthopedic center in Kabul, men hunch over drill presses, lathes, and molds to make nearly 2,000 prosthetic limbs each year. They also provide thousands of physical therapy sessions a month.
Najamuddin Helal is the head of the center and is himself disabled. He lost his legs to a landmine in the '80s. He says disabled Afghans face barriers everywhere they turn.
"Even the private clinics, private hospital, they are not accessible," he says.
And good luck finding elevators, ramps or handicapped-accessible bathrooms in Kabul. The Red Cross makes it a point to hire people like Helal. He says that Afghans are accepting of disabled people, to an extent.
"They think they should be in a corner, just they are sorry for them," Helal says. He says the disabled aren't allowed or encouraged to express their potential. "There is not a feeling of the right of the disabled," he says.
Taking It To The President
Hundreds of disabled Afghans took to the streets of Kabul earlier this month. They were mostly aging Mujahedeen fighters who limped and crutched their way toward the presidential palace to demand their rights.
They carried coffins — one was to symbolize a man who died at a government clinic while waiting to be treated. The protesters with empty coffins said if the government wasn't going to help them, then the police should simply shoot them in the streets.
Among their various chants, the protesters called for the government to pass a law protecting the rights of the disabled.
The demonstration achieved its initial goal: President Hamid Karzai agreed to hear their demands. Activist Mohammad Daud Sayar attended the meeting with the Afghan president.
"We have visited President Karzai 25 times, but this time he treated us very differently, the meeting had a very friendly environment," Sayar says.
He says Karzai was receptive to their list of demands, including seats in Parliament, more health and education services, a higher stipend and housing. Sayar says for now everything is on paper, but he says Karzai gave orders to the ministries to act.
"We take it as a good sign and hope all our demands will be met," he says.
The Government's Limits
Dr. Suraya Paikan is deputy minister in the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled. She says that the country must respect the rights of the disabled and provide all the services it can. But, she says, the disabled community must be realistic in their demands.
"They want free land, they want free house. It is impossible," she says.
Paikan says some of the demands would require constitutional changes that are unlikely to happen. Plus, the government needs help from the international community, she says, because the government doesn't have the money required to address the problem.
"Big money [is] needed, $200 million needed because all these people are poor people, they don't have any income," Paikan says.
She knows well the challenges ahead, as her ministry still struggling to get a working elevator in its own building.
NPR's Aimal Yaqubi and Sultan Faizy contributed to this report.
Kidnappers Executed in Herat Province
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Saturday, 18 May 2013
Two kidnappers involved in the murder of an eight-year-old boy named Ali Sina, son of a Herat based businessman were executed on Saturday in the western Herat province of Afghanistan.
The execution was approved by President Karzai and the residents of Herat province welcomed the order.
Family of Ali Sina believe that the hanging of these convicts will send out a strong message to all the criminals and may put an end to kidnapping crimes inside Herat province.
The kidnapping cum killing of the eight year old boy resulted in a huge outcry amongst the people. As a result, President Karzai ordered the judiciary to investigate case of the boy.
"I am happy that justice is now being done in Afghanistan and I hope that such incidents don't happen again and the citizens don't feel the pain as I felt," Ali Sina's father Nasir Ahamd Nawrozi told TOLOnews.
It is said that a delegation from the Presidency, Attorney General, a religious scholar and Ali Sina's family were present while the hanging took place.
"I request the government to continue this process. Whoever kills children should be hanged. People are happy with the decision."
Additionally, the security forces of the province expressed support for the execution and added that they will endeavour to stop such crimes from happening again."
"I am happy that whatever people and police wanted was implemented," Herat Police Chief Rahmatullah Safi said.
Ali Sina an eight-year-old boy was kidnapped five months ago by a group of kidnappers in western Herat province where he was killed after 38 days by the kidnappers.
UNESCO to Support Education in Afghanistan
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Saturday, 18 May 2013
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General, Irina Bokova in a recent visit to Kabul on Saturday asked the people of Afghanistan to promote education especially for the girls in the country.
The Director-General said that UNESCO is committed to fight all the challenges in the education sector, grant new aids and standardise the education system in Afghanistan.
Irina Bokova visited the Ayesha-e-Durrani High School in Kabul.
Currently, more than 400 schools are closed due to lack of security and over 3 million children are deprived of school education.
"Education is not against any religion and educating the girl is not a religious sin. I don't think any religion in the world- Islam or Christianity or Buddhism says that educating the girl is a sin. If you educate a woman, you educate the whole family," UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Education Minister warned that no one can stand on the way of education especially when it comes to educating the girls or prevent them from going to schools.
The Education Minister Farooq Wardak asked UNESCO to support Afghan students in the same way as they did for Malala Yousafzai the Pakistani girl activist who was recently attacked for her campaign promoting girl's education.
"No one can forbid girls from going to schools. If they burn down schools or shut them, we have to go to each and every household and teach them. We seek the help of UNESCO in this matter. 9 million Afghan students supported and prayed for the Pakistani student activist Malala Yousafzai which shows that Afghan children also want to learn and attend school," Farooq Wardak said.
Although, Afghanistan has made lot of progress in the education sector but lack of professional teachers, infrastructure for schools and several other issues are posing a threat to impart education in Afghanistan.
UNHCR Pays 14 Million Pakistani Rupees, Afghan Attaches in Pakistan Deny
TOLOnews.com By Abdulhaq Omeri Saturday, 18 May 2013
Corruption has scaled new heights with the Afghan Attaches in Pakistan denying to have received any financial aid from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). The organisation pays 14 million Pakistani Rupees to Afghan Immigration Ministry Attaches in three states of Pakistan every year, TOLOnews findings show.
An official of UNHCR in Pakistan told TOLOnews that the organization has annually paid thousands of dollars in cash to Afghan Attaches for solving Afghan refugee's problems in Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Koita cities of Pakistan.
"In all these places, solving the problems of immigrants and their supervision, all is done by UNHCR. To some extent, we financially help them and I think that in the current year we may give them $28,000," United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Pakistan Fawad told TOLOnews.
But the Attaches of Afghanistan Immigration Ministry in Pakistan have rejected all the claims and said that they have not received any kind of funding in cash from the organization.
"They have not given any financial aid for the immigrants so far," Afghan Immigration Ministry Attache in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Misri Khan Momand said.
TOLOnews findings revealed that UNHCR has paid more than 14 million Pakistani Rupees to Afghan Attaches who are deployed in the above mentioned three states of Pakistan.
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