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Fighting season is testing ground for Afghan force
By KATHY GANNON | Associated Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Abdul Malik and his fellow Afghan soldiers were driving across the arid and volatile south when their armored personnel carrier struck a roadside bomb. Malik found himself outside the vehicle, dazed but aware of his three comrades nearby. One had a serious head wound.
Help came quickly: U.S. helicopters swooped in and took them to the Afghan military hospital in Kandahar, the largest in the region. Malik lost his leg below the knee. Without the quick rescue, he would likely have lost his life. His three buddies all died.
"I could see his brains on the ground near me," Malik said.
As part of preparations for the final withdrawal of international combat troops by the end of 2014, Afghanistan's security forces are being pressed into service — alone. This year's fighting season is the first in 12 years of war that Afghan troops are responsible for security in 90 percent of the country.
But the Afghans are still heavily dependent on international air support to ferry the wounded to hospitals and for gunships to defend troops who are isolated and under attack.
With NATO and the U.S. military providing only advice and assistance on request, the Afghans' battlefield performance this year will decide how much equipment and training they still need.
After 2014 the U.S. is expected to leave behind a residual force of 8,000 to 10,000 troops, mostly as mentors and trainers. NATO is being asked to contribute several thousand as well, but so far only Germany has promised 800 troops.
Some in the U.S. military see a steep learning curve ahead for the 350,000 Afghan service personnel.
In eastern Nangarhar province where the U.S. 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne division, is advising the Afghan National Army, Lt. Col. Matthew Stader said Afghan troops need advisory teams for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. They lack the drones used heavily by U.S. forces.
Still, Stader said Afghan troops are doing their own patrols, clearing routes and removing roadside bombs.
"I think they are doing well, but it just looks different than the Americans," said Stader, of Annapolis, Maryland.
Afghan forces can resupply themselves with food and fuel and water but are still struggling with planning, logistics, equipment maintenance and contracting, Stader said, adding that the brigade he is currently mentoring in eastern Afghanistan needs at least another year of advising before it will be able to operate independently.
"For years we've created Afghan helplessness, so we as advisers have to reset that," he said, referring to the years that NATO and the U.S. took the lead in fighting and logistics, relegating their Afghan allies to a support role.
Yet Afghans are optimistic.
Sitting behind his oversized desk in a fortress-like compound surrounded by reinforced concrete blast walls and protected by four separate security gates, Gen. Abdul Raziq, southern Kandahar province's police chief, has one of Afghanistan's most dangerous jobs. Even so, he says he is looking forward to the withdrawal of international forces.
"NATO's leaving is a positive thing because now we have our land and our authority back," he said, reflecting the sensitive and often complicated relationship between Afghan troops and their coalition partners. With frustrating regularity President Hamid Karzai has outraged the U.S. military by referring to international troops as occupiers or suggesting they were colluding with the Taliban in order to justify staying longer in the country
Relations between Afghan security forces and international troops have been equally tumultuous. The number of attacks by Afghan police and soldiers opening fire on foreign soldiers has sharply increased. Fearful that one of their own will do the same, Afghan commanders have banned foreign trainers from Afghan firing ranges where live bullets are used in target practice.
But Raziq says his confidence comes from a better cut of recruit entering the police and army, government-imposed controls that have taken absolute power — which they often abused — out of the hands of the security forces, and what he says is waning support for the Taliban movement among Afghans, particularly majority ethnic Pashtuns.
In the last five years Afghanistan's premier police training academy in the Afghan capital has restarted its four-year training program for officers. Courses like human rights and ethics have been introduced into the curriculum. New police recruits now have to have some education, unlike in the past when most were illiterate.
"Before 2007, 2008, our structure was incomplete. Police had no controls. They could do anything. They thought they had unlimited power," Raziq said. "But now there are constraints, restrictions. They have only the power to arrest. The education level of recruits is also improving. In 2010 they were much better than in 2007, and in 2013 they are even better."
Raziq also said the Taliban are a different type of enemy today, relying heavily on roadside bombs and suicide attackers, rather than the less deadly rocket launchers and short range missiles.
For the Afghan troops the battlefield has been a harsh taskmaster so far this year. As of May 15, according to statistics compiled by The Associated Press, 441 security forces have died violently. That's more than twice the number of security personnel killed during the same period last year. Hundreds more have been wounded, losing limbs to bombs and suffering debilitating injuries.
By contrast the number of U.S. and other foreign troops killed in action between Jan. 1 and May 15 this year has dropped dramatically to 58, compared with 153 in the same period last year
"Since the new year we have had too many casualties," says Gen. Said Asim, commander at the Afghan military hospital in southern Kandahar.
Asim said his 400-bed hospital treats all casualties of war, including civilians and even suspected Taliban.
He stopped at a room just off the emergency ward where 19-year-old Hamidullah, a suspected Taliban fighter, was handcuffed to the steel frame of his bed.
Shot in the abdomen, arms and legs, Hamidullah, who like many Afghans uses only one name, said he was in his fields in Girisk district of volatile Helmand province when a battle started between Taliban and a joint force of Afghan and American soldiers.
"I don't know who shot me. There was firing all around," he said. When the shooting stopped, his uncle brought him to Kandahar's main Mirwais Hospital. He was transferred first to the U.S.-led coalition hospital and later to the Afghan military hospital.
Hamidullah played with his wisp of facial hair as he told of how his family has collected letters from district officials vouching for his identity as a farmer and not a Taliban fighter.
"So far no one has questioned me. I don't know who was fighting but we have one compound of foreigners near our farm," he said showing a 15-centimeter (6-inch) scar that ran the length of his abdomen where Afghan doctors at the military hospital had removed the bullet.
Raziq, the police chief, said talking to the Taliban is the only way to end the war.
"We have to talk to the Taliban. They are our people and many feel they have no choice because once you have raised your gun it is difficult to lay it back down and so they keep fighting," he said.
But some soldiers in the military hospital were confused by the concept of fighting while talking.
"I am a little disheartened at why we are talking and still fighting," said Malik, the soldier who lost his leg. "We should not be engaging with each other like that."
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Associated Press writer Kristin Hall, who was in eastern Afghanistan with the U.S 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne division, contributed to this report. Kathy Gannon is AP Special Regional Correspondent for Afghanistan and Pakistan and can be followed on www.twitter.com/kathygannon
NATO, Afghan Forces Kill Five Insurgents, Arrest Others
May 28, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says coalition forces and Afghan troops have killed five insurgents during military operations in Afghan provinces.
ISAF says three insurgents were killed and a senior Taliban leader was arrested in the northern province of Baghlan on May 27. It says two militants also were also killed on the same day in the northeastern province of Kunar.
Meanwhile, an ISAF statement says Afghan and coalition forces arrested a senior leader of the militant Haqqani network on May 28 in the eastern province of Paktia.
The militant leader is suspected of plotting kidnappings of Afghan civilians, as well as planning and carrying out attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
The ISAF statement said seven other militants were arrested in Paktia together with the Haqqani network leader.
Militants Kill Afghan Police Officers At 'Friendly' Dinner
May 28, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Local officials say seven police officers have been shot dead by two militants during a "friendly get-together" at a checkpoint in the southern Kandahar Province.
Haji Abdul Ghani, the chief of the Arghistan district where the incident occurred, said the police officers were acquaintances of the assailants and had apparently invited them to dinner at the checkpoint late on May 27.
Ghani said the two men fired at the police officers and then escaped after taking the officers’ weapons and vehicle.
Another police officer was seriously injured in the attack.
In a statement sent to media, the Taliban insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban claimed the police casualty toll was higher.
Gunmen kill Afghan senate chairman secretary in Nangarhar
By KHAAMA PRESS - 28 May 2013, 4:20 pm
According to local authorities in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, unknown gunmen assassinated secretary of Afghan senate chairman in Chaparhar district.
The report has also been confirmed by Chaparhar district governor.
A spokesman for Nangarhar police department Hazrat Hussain Mashriqi said, “Shafiqullah, secretary of Afghan senate chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Lalma area in Chaparhar district on Monday.”
No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident, however, Nangarhar police department spokesman said an investigation has been launched in this regard.
In the meantime Chaparhar district governor Sediqullah Dawlatzai said Shafiqullah was followed and approached by unknown gunmen when he left Jalalabad city and was shot dead in Chaparhar district.
Beaten on the Job, an Afghan Police Officer Goes on TV and Hits Back
The New York Times By Azam Ahmed and Habib Zahori May 27, 2013
Kabul, Afghanistan - When the son of the most powerful military commander was stopped here by a police officer with the temerity to search his vehicle, he responded with a typically privileged attitude: he had his men beat the policeman.
Far less common, however, was what happened afterward. The police officer, Mohammad Kabir, gave an interview to Tolo News describing his abuse, setting in motion a chain of apologies and accusations that has briefly upended the social order that prevails both within the Afghan government and on the streets.
Now, the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police forces, is calling for charges against Ahmad Zia Karimi, a major in the Afghan Army and son of Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, the army chief of staff. Already, at least three delegations of army officials have been to the checkpoint to find out what happened and appease the ruffled officers.
And at least a few policemen are now speaking out about the rampant abuse they suffer at the hands of the powerful while trying to carry out their jobs.
“I feel very depressed and disappointed,” said a colleague of Mr. Kabir’s who witnessed the beating and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal. “Yes, I am an ordinary policeman, but that doesn’t mean that any rich or powerful person has the right to beat me when he wants.”
The episode happened around 6 p.m. Sunday at a security checkpoint in Pul Mahmood Khan, near the Defense Ministry, a massive compound surrounded by high stone walls topped with concertina wire.
Mr. Kabir, instructed by his superiors to search each car that passed, called out to the driver of a white Toyota Corolla to pull over and pop the trunk, according to witnesses and his interview with Tolo News. An argument ensued with the car’s passenger, Major Karimi.
According to Mr. Kabir’s account, Major Karimi yelled: “Who are you to try to stop me? The whole city knows who I am.”
Mr. Kabir’s colleague said he had seen Major Karimi produce his Defense Ministry badge. He also noted that, among other things, there was a language problem — Major Karimi was speaking Pashto, and Mr. Kabir was speaking Dari.
Eventually, Major Karimi’s car pulled over, and he stepped out to make a call. Mr. Kabir said he had heard him phoning his men to come to the checkpoint. Two truckfuls arrived shortly after.
“About 17 to 18 men, all armed, started beating me,” Mr. Kabir said in his interview.
Mr. Kabir’s colleagues at the checkpoint were told to stay put. When the beating ended, they called their superiors and drove their friend to a hospital.
At the scene on Monday, police officers huddled with three senior officials from General Karimi’s office to talk about the case. As the men spoke, a stream of tan army trucks rolled past on the barren patch of roadway, carting soldiers and officials to the Defense Ministry.
After the army officers left, the policemen aired their frustrations: their shifts are long, their pay is low, and such beatings are hardly out of the ordinary.
“We come here at 8 in the morning and stand on two legs for 24 hours, and what is our reward? Beating and humiliation,” moaned one officer, who also asked not to be identified. “This was not the first and only case where police were beaten and insulted by strongmen and their relatives.”
Evidence of the big-man primacy is easy enough to find on the streets of Kabul, where select vehicles frequently disobey traffic restrictions, block roadways and halt traffic for ease of passage. That the police are often accused of using violence to subdue, extort and generally mistreat Afghans went unmentioned by the officers at the scene of Sunday’s beating.
It is unlikely that the story would have become public, or been little more than a footnote in the annals of power abuse, were it not for the television report.
With one of its scions publicly caught abusing his position, the government has promised to handle the situation with professionalism.
“Officials at the Ministries of Defense and Interior were saddened by the news of a brawl between Maj. Ahmad Zia, an Afghan National Army officer, and a police officer, which under no circumstances represents the ethics and principles of the Afghan law enforcement agencies,” according to a statement from the Afghan Army chief of staff’s office. “The incident will be thoroughly investigated, and the culprits will be punished in accordance to the provisions of law.”
As of Monday night, however, Major Karimi remained uncharged and at large, officials said. Beyond that, the investigation is being handled by his father’s office.
Policeman Allegedly Beaten Up By Army Chief's Son
TOLOnews.com By Haseeb Maudoodi 27 May 2013
It has been alleged that the son of the Afghan Army Chief of Staff, General Sher Mohammad Karimi, beat up an Afghan Police officer in Kabul on Sunday night.
The incident took place in the Pul-e-Mohmoud Khan area of Kabul city. The police officer, Mohammad Kabir, claimed that he was beaten when he tried to stop the car of Karimi's son at a checkpoint for search.
The police officer said that Karimi's son was not letting the police search his car; instead called the Afghan National Army soldiers and got him beaten up by ten army soldiers.
"He was the son of Afghan Army Chief of Staff, General Sher Mohammad Karimi. He was accompanied by a second person. Inevitably, they had explosives, suicide vest or maybe they were transporting something illegally that they did not let us search the car and beat me up," Kabir told TOLOnews.
Interviewed in a hospital in Kabul, Kabir showed serious wounds in his head and body. His head was still bleeding two hours after the incident.
In a telephonic conversation with TOLOnews, General Sher Mohammad Karimi rejected the allegations, saying his son was not involved in the incident.
This incident has raised waves of reactions from all across the country.
The Afghan Parliament called for a serious investigation of the incident by the Parliamentary Committee of Defence.
"We want to get the incident investigated by the Parliamentary Committee of Defence and want to see what progress is made in finding out the truth," MP, Shakiba Hashimi said.
"Misuse of government positions has become a culture and we should take serious action against such activities," MP, Ali Ahmad Akhlaqi said.
A number of Kabul residents condemned the incident and sought punishment for the guilty.
"For our security, the police have the right to ask who you are, what are you doing and where are you going," Kabul resident Abdullah told TOLOnews.
In the meantime, military experts said that beating up police personnel cannot be justified in any way.
"No one has the right to physically attack any government employee, be it police or army. The incident should be investigated properly and the guilty should be punished, so that such incidents do not happen again in the future," military expert, General Amrullah Aman told TOLOnews.
The Afghan Interior Ministry has ordered the authorities to investigate the matter.
US withdrawal from Afghanistan may pose a greater risk to Pakistan
The New York Times By D.D. Guttenplan 27 May, 2013
From multibillion-dollar military aid to stealthy and secretive drone strikes, Pakistan, perhaps even more than Afghanistan, has been the central focus of America's 12-year war on Islamist militancy.Now, as President Barack Obama's landmark policy speech on Thursday made clear, all of that is changing. Drone strikes are dwindling, the war in Afghanistan is drawing to a close and the battle against al-Qaida is receding.
Pakistani leaders who have long demanded an American exit from their region may get their wish, but a broader disengagement is also likely to diminish the funding, prestige and political importance Pakistan held as a crucial player in global counterterrorism efforts, and perhaps upset its internal stability.
The diminution of the drone campaign could ease a major point of friction between Pakistan and the West, but the tribal belt in northwestern Pakistan, where about 360 drone strikes have landed in the past decade, remains a hotbed of Islamist militancy, largely outside of government control. Although many senior leaders of al-Qaida sheltering there have been felled by CIA missiles, they have been largely replaced by committed Pakistani jihadists with ties that span the border with Afghanistan.With US combat troops leaving Afghanistan in 2014, and the drone campaign already winding down in Pakistan, analysts fear that unless the Pakistani army can assert itself conclusively, the tribal region could be plunged into deeper chaos.
"It's going to be a lot of trouble," said Hasan Askari-Rizvi, a Pakistani academic and defense analyst. "If the insurgency increases in Afghanistan, it will spill into Pakistan's tribal areas, where the Taliban will become very confident."
An American pullback poses other risks for the nuclear-armed country. For 12 years, the United States' security-driven policy has shaped power, politics and militancy in Pakistan. After 2001, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup, established himself as a steadfast ally of the West; it underwrote his authoritarian rule, which lasted until 2008. The military received almost $17 billion in US military aid, and transfers of US military hardware, solidifying its position as the dominant arm of the state.That relationship has also fostered resentment, and some Pakistani leaders welcome an American disengagement.
Blaming America's muscular presence - expressed through troops in Afghanistan and espionage and drone operations in Pakistan -for an Islamist surge that has killed tens of thousands of Pakistanis, they argue that it has been a recruiting tool for militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban.
"Less American involvement is good, not bad," said Hina Rabbani Khar, who served as foreign minister in the last government, and who said she warmly welcomed the tone of Obama's speech Thursday. "Drones help us lose the war. And the ideological space for these terrorists is the supposed US occupation of Afghanistan. Once that excuse is not there, these people will have to face the music."
America's dogged pursuit of fugitives linked to al-Qaida - first in Pakistan's cities, later in the tribal belt along the Afghan border - led to a two-faced policy toward Islamist militancy. Pakistani officials secretly accepted, and in some cases encouraged, the US drone program, while condemning it in public as a violation of sovereignty. Similarly, under pressure from Washington, Pakistan helped the CIA arrest some jihadists, while it quietly sheltered other armed militant groups, like the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba, who were seen as furthering Pakistani interests in Afghanistan and India.The American presence also created a giant blind spot in Pakistan's political psyche: With so much focus on US operations, Pakistani leaders used the US as a scapegoat to avoid tackling some homegrown problems. Lurid tales of American espionage and other skulduggery abounded in the news media, promoted by politicians and mullahs but also fanned by real-life controversies like the shooting of two Pakistanis by the
CIA contractor Raymond Davis in January 2011.
Now that calculus is shifting for Pakistani policymakers. Many fear a replay of the early 1990s when, after the departure of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the US withdrew abruptly, leaving behind a cadre of fired-up Islamist fighters, and then imposed sanctions on Pakistan for its nuclear weapons program.
Behind the bellicose speech, there is a complex dependency on both sides. While Pakistan's powerful generals have grown to resent the US, they also lean on US military aid as a steady source of income in an economy so shaky it may soon require a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The generals also rely on transfers of US military hardware to keep their fleet of F-16 fighters in the air.
From now on, Pakistani leaders will be less able to rely on the cloak-and-dagger workings of the drone program to have it both ways.
Musharraf, the former president, recently admitted that he had secretly authorized US drone strikes in the tribal belt in the early days of the campaign, from 2004. Four years later, Pakistani officials quietly helped the US assassinate Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, in a missile attack.
"I don't care if they do it as long as they get the right people," Yousaf Raza Gilani, then prime minister, told US officials in 2008, according to an American cable published by WikiLeaks in 2010.
Among the wider Pakistani public, though, the drones stoked anger, particularly over the issue of civilian casualties - a factor acknowledged by Obama last week. At the same time, the CIA's success in assassinating senior al-Qaida figures in the tribal region reduced the number of available targets.
Recently, as concern over drones mounted in the US, the number of strikes in Pakistan dropped sharply, from about 130 at their peak in 2010, to just 12 so far this year. Civilian deaths also fell sharply, as the US cut back on so-called signature strikes against clusters of militant suspects, which had caused the most casualties.
Now, Obama announced Thursday, US drones will attack only militants who pose an imminent threat to the US, virtually ruling out strikes against the Pakistani Taliban, whose stated goal is the creation of an Islamist caliphate in Pakistan.
Still, the shift signaled good news for Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister-designate, who has vowed to make Pakistan less dependent on the US A scaled-back drone campaign will, at the very least, be one less issue to argue over.
The drone campaign, however, is expected to continue, even if greatly diminished.
"This doesn't change much for Pakistan," said Ahmed Rashid, author of several books on militancy in the region. "The fact that the campaign will remain under the CIA, surrounded in secrecy, is quite depressing for Pakistanis."
The central factor now, experts say, is the US withdrawal from Afghanistan next year. The US will seek a smooth exit from the conflict; Pakistan will seek to retain influence in its western neighbor, while ensuring the flow of money and military assistance from the West.
As ever, the relationship is shaped more by threats than possibilities, a stark contrast with Washington's trade-based relations with Pakistan's traditional rival, India.
Still, few doubt that America will remain deeply involved in Pakistan, a country with a growing population of more than 180 million people, a network of seemingly indefatigable jihadi groups and a stockpile of over 100 nuclear warheads.
The question now is how Washington will pursue those enemies, and what level of cooperation it will enjoy from its Pakistani allies. "The Pakistanis look to the US for financial and other support; the Americans are pursuing senior al-Qaida," said Shamila N. Chaudhary, a former Obama administration official, now with the Eurasia Group. "Even after 2014, that mutual dependency will not go away."
Kabul University spawns next generation of freedom fighters
Afghanistan's prestigious centre of higher education continues to be institution where intellectual leaders cut their political teeth
Guardian By Emma Graham-Harrison 27 May 2013
Kabul - In the rising heat of a May morning, Afghan riot police wielding batons and shields separate a cluster of students and young activists, one shouting support for a women's rights law the other an undergraduate group stopping traffic with a loud march backing their embattled professor.
Around the corner, dozens of students on the eighth day of a hunger strike lie listlessly beside blast-resistant concrete barriers watching supporters and the idle curious file past. More than 80 had pledged not to eat until Kabul University removed the head of the social science department, the man the second group were marching to endorse.
All three protests were organised by the young and increasingly vocal members of a boom generation swelling the ranks of undergraduates nationwide, keen to have a greater say in Afghanistan's future. After decades of war, more than two-thirds of the population are under 30, UN statistics show.
The ideological turmoil on Monday spilled out of the capital's university, the country's prestigious centre of higher education and a place where history offers student radicals of almost any persuasion the tantalising possibility that their activism could pave the way to a permanent place in Afghan school books.
The university was particularly influential in the 1960s and 70s, when it nurtured men who would go on to lead the anti-Soviet resistance and then drag the country into civil war.
Among the leaders who cut their political teeth there were Ahmad Shah Massoud, the so-called Lion of the Panjshir, who was assassinated on the eve of the 9/11 attacks on the US, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, once a US-supported mujahideen commander, now a Taliban ally.
It was also the intellectual birthplace of the communists and other foes, including Rawa, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, an underground feminist movement founded in 1977 by Meena Kamal. She was assassinated a decade later.
Today the institution is still home to students of every ideological stripe, as keen as undergraduates in other places to challenge their government and society. The hunger strikers say they were inspired by the non-violent ideals of the Indian independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi.
"In the past every demand was fought for with guns, we want peaceful protest," said Hamidullah Mohammadi, one of the student co-ordinators. They appeared to have emulated Gandhi's success, albeit on a tiny scale, as that afternoon ministers visited the camp and agreed to their demands.
The concession may only end one protest, however, as hundreds had marched in support of the department head, some accusing the hunger strikers of unpatriotic connections. "They want to bring us teachers from Iran," said 23-year-old Samir Rasouli. "They want changes in our university and we don't agree."
And the women and a handful of men demanding parliament pass a key law on women's rights may be marching for years. The legislation was shelved indefinitely, after strong opposition from conservatives who said clauses including a ban on forced marriage were "un-Islamic".
Protesters say many women who planned to attend were scared away at the last minute by letters from conservative students warning the demonstration was un-Islamic. Several hundred undergraduates aligned with Islamist groups, some reportedly flying the Taliban flag, had staged their own demonstration against the law days earlier, so the warning bore weight.
Those who dared to march dismiss their hardline classmates. Islam protects women from violence, said Parwana, 24. And as the number of educated women rises, so will the number defending their rights.
"We are not only our voice, we are talking on behalf of many others who could not come today," she told the Guardian. "My mother was 14 years old when she was married and didn't go to school. Our young generation do not want that life for themselves or their daughters."
1300 Register For Voter ID On First Day, Low Female Turnout
TOLOnews.com By Shakeela Ahbrimkhil 27 May 2013
On the first day of voter's registration, approximately 1300 individuals received their voter ID. Out of the 1300 individuals, 200 women got themselves registered.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) anticipates that before the 'Election Day' about 4 million citizens will receive their voter ID. But low attendance of women has raised some serious concerns.
Political parties in the country are urging the people to actively participate in the election process.
The individuals who came at the centres are urging others as well to register and participate in the election process.
Ahmad, a student said, "The people are excited to get their voter ID and elect their President."
Ahmad Zia Massoud, leader of National Front of Afghanistan said, "The country is at a crucial juncture and we ask all of our countrymen to get their voter ID, especially the youth because if God willing, the political destiny of the country will change."
Sayed Aqa Fazel Sancharaki, Spokesperson of the National Coalition said, "The most important thing is that IEC conducts the process transparently and prevents duplicity of the voter IDs. Counter-measures should be adopted to prevent it and instructions should be given on differentiating between a fake ID and an original one. Currently, no such steps have been taken in this regard."
Political parties call insecurity, manipulation in the election process, misuse of political power and use of old voter ID as serious challenges ahead of the upcoming elections.
Presently, 41 registration centers have been opened all across the country. Kabul has three centres, big provinces have two centers and other provinces have opened one centre each.
Unemployment boost insurgency and crime
Khaama Press By Sadaf Shinwari and Omar Safa 27 May 2013
Khost, Afghanistan - Just before the sunset, they are heading back to homes desperate, tired, hopeless and sad.
Visiting any open space but mostly central squares of major Afghan cities, your eyes will simply catch people gathered in big groups looking for jobs.
If you ask anyone of them about jobs, everyone will clearly criticize the government’s inadequacy for not creating sustainable jobs for them and for other job seekers in their country.
Nearly 12 years and after spending 10s of Billions of dollars by international donation still the Afghan government has not been able to create long lasting jobs, to prevent people particularly unemployed Afghans from economics crisis and unemployment.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MOLSAMD) currently, 4 million Afghans are unemployed countrywide.
However authorities from workers’ union disagree with the statistics above presented by the afghan government and says, it’s even higher than what have been presented by the ministry.
Some experts and ordinary Afghans believe, after 2014 when international community and U.S military decrease their presence in Afghanistan, many afghan will lose their jobs, unemployment rate will increase and be the real case of poverty in the country.
Afghanistan, a country badly affected by three decades of civil war, has experienced poverty and unemployment in its history.
But unemployment has adapted a new face nowadays, while talking to unemployed workers on the city’s waiting for jobs, most of them criticizing the Afghan government for being failed to create proper jobs opportunities for the citizens.
They are threatening the government to support insurgency and take part in unlawful activities if unemployment issues continue.
Khost, not well developed but fairly well-heeled in south-eastern Afghan province, bordering tribal areas (Pakistan), where you can easily find many jobseekers on the road’s side and intersections every morning.
In the city’s central square groups of working force are gathering every day looking for jobs.
If someone is walking or driving by, they directly contact him with eyes in hope for job and this eyes contact sometimes turning in to a big crowd, while the others see negotiation between two persons.
Meanwhile some of those working force are using their toolkits as pillow and taking a nap on the square for being jobless.
Gull Mohammad 19, an uneducated man from Tani District Khost province with others the same ages come to the city’s central square every morning before sunrise and stand there all-day long in hope of a daily wage job if not permanent one.
“There are no jobs, the unemployment rate is even growing, and I am standing here all-day long, like other youths to get a job, the government has done nothing yet to create jobs.” Said Gull Mohammad.
Gull says, most workers are heading back hopeless to their homes, without getting any job while their families are waiting for them to bring foods and other things needed for their daily needs.
As a mild-complaint he added:“The country’s new and forthcoming generation will face with even more snags than we are now, unless the government provides more jobs’ opportunities, and due to unemployment they’ll have to join illegal armed groups and will take part in anti-government acts, such as insurgency, robbery and etc.”
He thinks, neither him nor the others want to kill or murder any acquitted human being or use any kinds of drugs but unemployment and poverty is pushing them towards illegal activities and other related crimes.
“Said Gull Mohammad said, If the government don’t create jobs for work force like us, there will be no way for us, but just to join the insurgents, commit robbery, starting using and trafficking drugs, or help the insurgents with transferring heavy and small weapons, bombs, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), because unemployment and poverty have lift them no other option.”
Unemployment is not only bothering Gull Mohammad, Hakmatullah 20 from Matoon is also suffering from related matter and says,“The government itself helping youths’ interest toward drugs, joining rebels groups, taking part in illegal and devastating activities.”
According to Hakmatullah, if the government create job opportunities and provide opportunities for the youths to become self-sufficient economy wise to support their families then they will never consider to join or support any kind of insurgency in the county.
“Many jobseekers are waiting here, but still no sign of jobs, if the governments don’t provide jobs for us, we have no alternative other than to join illegal armed groups and drug traffickers in order to earn money. It’s even easier to join or work for insurgents rather than to work for the government.” Said Hakmatullah.
Unemployment and poverty is not a mounting problem only among uneducated youth, but educated individuals are facing the same issue.
Those who are graduated from universities taking months, years and longer to get a job and occasionally they can’t even find one and are still unemployed.
They are accusing the government for kick-backs and nepotism.
They say, “Finding a job for wealthy and those who have relatives’ works for Government and others agencies is not a problem, but it’s a crisis for those who have no money to give bribe or relatives for support, they are suffering for months and years to find a job, If they pass the test and interview, priorities are still the ones who are having money or relatives.”
“I graduated Computer Science faculty in 2011,I have been looking for a job since then, but it takes forever to get one, you have to have enough money to bribe or know someone in any of those organizations you’re applying for a job with” Jawas Khan says.
Some social experts and members of the social affairs organizations are blaming the government for futile jobs creating plans, and some of them are even agree with what the unemployed youth have said.
They believe, if no sustainable jobs become available for the working force despite crimes will increase, the involvement of youth in illegal activities will also threaten the scoiety.
As the unemployment is spreading rapidly across the country and Khost is one of the provinces where unemployment rate is very high, the youths are getting involved in committing illegal activities due to lack of jobs.
Kids have been also negatively affected by unemployment and poverty, while they are not attending schools or being busy with some sort of work, they are hanging around with people already involved in criminal acts, and become part of the crimes as well.
Youth from Khost are not only facing such problems but from neighbors provinces Paktia and Logar has the same problems.
Bashir is residence of Paktia province waiting at Gardez city’s central square to find a job.
He said, “I have been coming here since four years every day, for daily wages job, I merely find a jobs for some time but mostly no job’s at all, since we have nothing to do, around10:00 or 11:00am, we are heading toward the river or somewhere else, where it’s safe to use drugs, some of our friends are committing robbery, all what we do is because of unemployment.”
But, Mir Agha from Logar province is telling me heart touching stories about two of his neighbors he witnessed.
“One of my neighbor was very poor and did his best to find a job, as always there was no job available and he couldn’t afford to see his kids starving, which forced to carry out suicide attack after seeing his kids starving and crying.”
“Due to poverty and lack of jobs the other neighbor had to sell his 18 months old daughter to get food and others life supporting goods to the rest of his family.” Said Mir Agha from Logar province.
When I was doing research about unemployment high rate and its effects in our society, I have noticed unemployment also negatively affected kids as well. Therefore, I visited the Khost provincial juvenile detention and training center to see what kids have been through as a result of unemployment.
A dark, narrow and one person fitted street will lead you through a broken and wobbly door to a compound surrounded by old short mud build, washed out walls. Seeing barbed-wires over those walls in between residential area will give an image of a well secured building.
You will see handcuffs laying all over and rolls of chains, the next you step in to the compound.
Furthermore, you well have to walk on stones and broken bricks to cross the pond type yard to the bend in dark rooms where you will see cute, beautiful and lovely kids, handcuffs on and shackled, living in harsh situation under the government observation.
I talked to few kids under 18, who were forced by unemployment and poverty to become part of illegal activities and were accused for serious crimes.
A juvenile from Khost who did not want his identity to be exposed in public, is now under the government observation in the provincial juvenile detention and training Center said.
“Because of poverty and unemployment I was always hanging around with people who were not having any responsibilities, I am now accused for kidnapping my cousin,” said the teenager.
He adds. “I had to study instead, being in the juvenile detention and training center, neither I nor my father had a proper job at that time, because of unemployment and poverty I become friend with wrong people and have followed their wrong ways.”
The other kid who also didn’t want to be identified said. “I always stayed with bad friends, I start stilling money from people as my bad friends have advised me, because of that I am now here and it’s outcome of unemployment and poverty.”
“Nearly 30 detainees under age18, are kept in this center.” Said the provincial, juvenile detention and training center in charge Noor Bad Shah.
He point out three factors behind kid’s involvement in crimes.
“Unemployment, careless Parents and poverty, because of those three factors kids turn in to illegal activities and even get involved in political crimes as well.” He said.
Currently a number of organizations acting in the provincial capital Khost in subject to find jobs for unemployed youth.
“We have had completed training programs for some educated youths who were jobless. Afterward they have been placed on jobs with Afghan Governmental and other organizations by the support of the Administrative Reform Commission. Currently, they have appropriate jobs.” Said Anwar Zaid, the youths’ affaires chief, Directorate of Culture and information Khost.
He says, “Most of those programs we have had facilitated for jobless youths contained computer training, English language learning courses and some others programs.”
The Khost provincial director of (MOLSAMD), Mohammad Kamal Zadran is thinking the same way as Zahid. We have been doing our best to create jobs opportunities to the young generation and have already placed numbers of youths on jobs through different programs with different governmental Organizations.
“The number of unemployed youths is very high in order to create jobs for them, it needs a broad and long term plans, it’s the central government to look after this issue and decide how to create jobs and reduce the current high unemployment rate.” Said Zadran.
Some local analysts, members of the social work organizations disagree with the ideas’ of the government officials responsible of creating jobs for youths.’
According to the analysts and social affairs organizations, Afghan government has not yet placed convenient programs and most officials or in favor to relationship rather than qualification.
“For Afghan Government it would be better to set up vocational and professional institutes, other long-lasting programs rather than just those short terms programs to reduce the unemployment in the country.” Said a social Affaire analyst, Yousuf Entazar.
He further added. “In country like Afghanistan, corruption is natural, because the three decades of civil war made law enforcement a tough job for the government.”
Asadullah Tani, lecturer in Sheikh Zayed university of Khost province approving unemployment and its risky consequences in the region said he is proposing a way out from this catastrophe.
He said, “Due to not enough jobs opportunities most of our youths are enforced to reduce their family’s economic crises and feed their family through illegal conducts.”
“Currently, a big number of youths are involved in, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and drug using and in comparable other activities,” he added.
According, to Tani, “ending up unemployment and poverty’s crises in the country, the afghan government (GOIROA) have to redevelop the country’s agriculture system, mining sector, education enlargement and plan others similar strategic and long-terms developments projects.
Farooq Jan Mangal, a journalist and member of the social work organization says, “Unemployment and literacy are the two key factors that help insurgents to trickster youths to make them be part of their illegal activities.”
“If the unemployment’s crisiss situation continue the way as it’s now, no doubt youths will be joining insurgents and those as well how are involved in planning insurgency in the country.”
He recommended, in order to keep youths away from being part of illegal activities. We better use working force instead of machines, this way we can achieve two goals at the same time. First, to keep the youth busy and second we can reduce the poverty and crimes.
According to this research, it’s crystal clear that Unemployment and poverty is the mother of varieties crimes and illegal activities across the country.
After talking to several unemployed youths the main reason for their involvement in illegal activities and crime is poverty and lack of jobs, and some of them were talking about bribe and its priorities over qualification in the governmental organizations.
Most of the youth whom I talked to criticized the government inadequacy for not creating sustainable jobs.
Even though governmental officials are not denying unemployment’s rapid incensement countrywide, meanwhile emphasizing their efforts and plans to create more jobs and say, for the current high unemployed situation of the country a broad and long term strategy is needed and that they are working on to be developed.
The social experts and social organization alongside with young generation is blaming the government for not doing their tasks efficiently to create sustainable jobs opportunities, with suitable amount of time and money available. Big amount of donors’ money pumped in to Afghanistan’s economy is wasted to a wrong directions, and now it is quite a hard job in the ocean of joblessness Afghanistan, to guide the ship of unemployed Afghan youths’ to a safe direction.
Afghan Rugby Star Gives Of Himself To Save His Mother
By Farangis Najibullah and Safiullah Stanikzai May 28, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Afghan sportsman Mustafa Sadat is no stranger to the spotlight.
At the age of 25 Sadat, a former kickboxing champion, is a star in the country's fledgling rugby league. But none of his sporting success has brought him the fame he has found since giving part of himself to save another's life.
Sadat's popularity among Afghans has skyrocketed since he risked his health and his career to donate part of his liver to his mother, a procedure that is not universally accepted in Islam.
On February 15 at a private clinic in New Delhi, mother and son underwent a total of 17 hours of surgery. The procedure was a success, and the two are well on the road to recovery.
Sadat says the decision to travel to India for the risky operation -- called living donor liver transplantation -- was an easy one.
"I immediately offered to become a liver donor to my mother. She has seen many hardships and I was ready to sacrifice my life for her," Sadat says. "The surgery was successful. I consider myself very lucky to be able to save my mother's life. Much to my delight, my mother's health is improving."
Sadat is expected to make a full recovery and lead a normal and healthy life. He is now preparing to resume his rugby career.
'Many Were Praying'
He took up rugby just two years ago when Afghanistan's first team was formed. Many in the country were already familiar with Sadat's kickboxing career -- he has a number of trophies and a national title to his name -- and he quickly became one of the most visible rugby stars in the country.
Since the surgery, according to Afghanistan Rugby Federation chief executive Asad Ziar, Sadat's fan base has become even more vocal in its support.
"Comments and messages were pouring in from Afghanistan," Ziar says, referring to the federation's Facebook and Twitter accounts. "Many, many people were praying for the patients' recovery and praising Mustafa's decision to put his life and career at risk to save his mother's life."
Organ transplantation is rare in Afghanistan and is not universally accepted. Some question whether the procedure is compatible with Islam. One interpretation holds that organ transplants violate the "special honor" accorded to the human body, whether living or dead. As a result, not all of the comments about the surgery have been positive.
"I don't usually delete any posts on Facebook," Ziar says, "but this time I decided to remove the negative comments because I thought it was the last thing Mustafa needed while he was recovering from a major surgery."
Ultimately, says Abdul Rauf Herawi, director of the Justice Ministry's law and investigations department, Sadat has helped to spark a healthy debate.
"According to the Koran, 'Whosoever saves the life of one person it would be as he saved the life of all mankind.' Mustafa's case will have a positive impact on public opinion," Herawi says. "It's a commendable action, and we should be proud of him."
'Never Lost Hope'
Sadat has five siblings -- two sisters and three brothers -- but the older ones are married and the younger ones are too young, making him best suited to be the donor.
"I was completely sure of and have never regretted my decision to give part of my liver to my mother because she is my mother and a mother is irreplaceable," Sadat says. "Of course, I thought about my future, too. Especially my future in sports. I would think about how I had been training and playing sports for years and how I had finally made some achievements.
"So, I've had some emotional moments. But I never lost hope that I would fully recover soon and resume my career in sports."
The cost of the surgery, including doctors' fees, living, and traveling costs, came to around $60,000. The family borrowed most of the money from relatives and friends.
"Obviously, it was a difficult decision, because there are many risks involved with any surgery, let alone with a major transplant surgery," Sadat says. "I knew I was risking my future career, too, because rugby is a very hard, very physically demanding sport. We discussed it with doctors thoroughly and they assured me that I had a great chance of making a full recovery and returning to sports within a year."
Sadat's return to the pitch cannot come too soon for Ziar, whose federation oversees 10 semiprofessional teams.
"The charismatic and talented Sadat is the federation's single best asset," he says.
Until Sadat is physically able to compete, the federation is negotiating to have him become a coach or consultant.
"He has a star's ability to draw people and keep them together, so we want him just to be there and give advice," Ziar says. "We just need his presence."
Written and reported by Farangis Najibullah in Prague and RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Safiullah Stanikzai in Kabul
Taliban Criticises Kabul's Pink Balloon Art Project
TOLOnews.com 28 May 2013
The Taliban in an article has criticised the art project in which 10,000 pink balloons were distributed in Kabul to spread the message of peace.
The Taliban said that the event was un-Islamic.
The article which is published on the Taliban's official website said that the project was a trick to promote Western values among the young Afghan volunteers who helped hand-out the balloons.
"The West is using different techniques to promote their culture in Afghanistan, sometimes they do it in an undercover way," the article said published on Sunday.
"Some girls were without headscarves, with tight jeans and tops on, and even with mini-skirts on the streets. The boys were also dressed in Western-style outfits. After distributing some balloons, they wandered around Kabul aiming to break the culture of hijab," it said.
The criticism comes in after a number of volunteers participated on Saturday morning in an art project and distributed 10,000 pink balloons to the residents of Kabul.
More than 100 volunteers distributed the neon-pink "peace" balloons to workers, families and shoppers.
The project, brainchild of a 31-year-old New York based artist, Yazmany Arboleda, was aimed at spreading the message of peace in the country and put an end to the numerous violations.
The volunteers distributed pink balloons to the residents of Kabul. The volunteer's chanted- "We believe in balloons", while distributing balloons on the Kabul streets.
This project was previously organised in India, Japan and Kenya. The project will now move to Colombia, Belgium, United States and Australia as well.
Women And Activists Demand An Approved EVAW Law
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi 27 May 2013
A group of civil society and women rights activists put up demonstrations demanding an immediate approval of the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) Law on Monday.
The activists gathered in front of the National Assembly and said that none of the articles in the Law is against the Islamic Sharia Law. They emphasized that this Law has to be approved by the Lower House without any amendment and at the earliest.
On the other hand, the Women Commission of the Lower House said that the Law will be drafted again in consultation with the religious scholars.
Tamana Hila, a women rights activist said, "We seek the approval of EVAW Law without any amendment. This law is in no way violating the Islamic Sharia Law. In fact, some of the MPs don't even have proper knowledge about the Law."
Nilofar Mehdi, a civil society activist said, "The MPs should not keep any political vendetta behind the EVAW Law. We demand that the Lower House should approve the Law."
Meanwhile, the Women Commission of the Lower House said that this Law was not approved because there were differences in opinion among the MPs over certain provisions in the Law. And, efforts are being made get the Law approved.
Fawzia Kofi, Head of the Women Commission of the Lower House said, "Even though there were differences in opinion among the MPs on the Law, we intend to table it again in consultation with the religious scholars and get it approved."
Samiha Sadat, member of the Lower House said, "We are against those provisions of the Law which are in violation of the Islamic Sharia Law. We will try to remove all the objectionable provisions in the Law and get it approved soon."
The civil society activists emphasized that if some circles within the Parliament misuse this law for their personal interests and ignore women rights, the country will witness an increase in violence against women.
Karzai to Visit Turkmenistan for Railway Project Inauguration
TOLOnews.com 27 May 2013
The Afghan President Hamid Karzai will visit Turkmenistan for the inauguration ceremony of the joint railway project of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
The railway project between the countries will be inaugurated soon, according to President Karzai's office.
"On Sunday, President Karzai met the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov. The Turkmenistan Foreign Minister has handed over to President Karzai, an invitation from the President of Turkmenistan, requesting him to visit Turkmenistan for the inauguration ceremony of the joint railway project," Karzai's office said in a statement.
"Accepting the invitation, President Karzai called the railway project good not only for the welfare of the three countries but also to be in the best interest for the region," the statement said.
"President Karzai thanked Turkmenistan for its assistance and cooperation in the past ten years," it said.
The Presidents of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a railway line linking the three countries.
Hamid Karzai (President of Afghanistan), Emomali Rahmon (President of Tajikistan) and Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (President of Turkmenistan) have signed the MoU on March 20 in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat.
The 400-kilometer rail project will connect the Afghan town of Akina-Andkhoy to Atamurat Ymamnazar in Turkmenistan and Pyandzh in Tajikistan.
The construction is planned to begin in July in Turkmenistan. Turkmen workers are going to build the Afghan section of the railway project.
A 75-kilometer rail-line from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan began operating in 2011.
Skateistan opens second skate park in Mazar-e-Sharif city
By SADAF SHINWARI - 28 May 2013, 4:49 pm Khaama Press
Another skate park was opened in northern Mazar-e-Sharif city of Afghanistan by the Australian skateboarder Oliver Percovich.
This was the second skate park opened in Afghanistan after a similar park was created in capital Kabul by Skateistan, an Afghan NGO that works with youth from a range of ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds to build trust and to provide empowerment through a combination of skateboarding and educational activities.
It was established in 2007 and is based in Kabul, Afghanistan, which approximately 40 staff worldwide, and dozens more volunteers.
The program in Afghanistan is currently providing trainings for over 400 Afghan children who are taking part in skateboarding lessons with few hours in the classroom.
Skateistan started operations in Afghanistan with initial financial support of $50,000 from Canadian embassy, Norwegian Embassy and the Danish Embassy, Oliver Percovich, Founder & Executive Director of Skateistan said during an interview with the ABC News.
“It was extremely difficult. The kids were always very enthusiastic about doing it, but it was a little bit harder to convince other people that a skateboarding project made sense in Afghanistan at all, and it took a lot of time to show that, hey, this is something that can be built on,” he said.
Oliver Percovich said, “We’ve got two in Afghanistan now. We’ve just opened a brand new one in Mazar-e-Sharif. The one in Kabul is 1,700 square metres. It’s a large indoor skatepark. We’ve got a marble floor in there – it’s definitely a skatepark that would be a really good one anywhere in the world, let alone in Afghanistan.”
Skateistan was founded in 2007 when Percovich arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, with three skateboards and quickly met a group of local boys and girls eager to learn how to skate.
It later turned into a bigger skate park after Percovich started lessons at a local empty fountain. The 1750m2 Skateistan park officially opened in capital Kabul on October 29, 2009, giving boys and girls in Kabul a secure environment and an indoor skatepark to come to every week.
Karzai Requests The Transfer of Guantanamo Detainees
TOLOnews.com By Mursal Mansoory 27 May 2013
The Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday has urged the US to hand over all the Afghan detainees from Guantanamo prison.
"President Hamid Karzai welcomed the US President Barack Obama's efforts to close the Guantanamo prison and transfer all the Afghan detainees to their country," Karzai's office said in a statement.
"President Karzai, in an effort to live up to the expectations of his people, requested the transfer of the Afghan prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan soon," Karzai's Deputy Spokesman, Fayeq Wahidi told TOLOnews.
Karzai's comment comes in after the US President had called on the Congress to close Guantanamo Bay last week. Obama encouraged the use of diplomatic power to address the issue of terrorism originating from the region.
Obama called on the Congress to end the laws they passed, restricting the administration from moving the 166 captives who are held in the US jail for allegedly promoting terrorism in Cuba.
Karzai had previously urged the US officials to hand over the Afghan detainees in Guantanamo prison.
Meanwhile, General Nurul Haq Ulumi, an Afghan political expert has criticised Karzai's comment about the transfer of the Afghan detainees and accused him of supporting the insurgents.
"Consciously or unconsciously in view of patriotism, it is a support being given out to terrorism and it is dangerous for the country," General Nurul Haq Ulumi told TOLOnews.
The US military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has been used to detain insurgents since the start of the US-led war in Afghanistan.
The Taliban had said that along with the office in Qatar, it sought the release of Taliban detainees held at the American military prison in Guantánamo Bay.
The Afghan government has been pushing hard to get the Taliban negotiate a peace deal before the end of 2014.
MCIT Launches DEWAE Programme To Encourage Innovations
TOLOnews By Shahla Murtazaie 27 May 2013
In an effort to encourage innovations in the country, the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology (MCIT) has started the DEWAE (Innovation Beacon) programme and will give away cash awards ranging between $2000 to $80,000 for innovative solutions in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The DEWAE programme aims to develop a culture of innovation through the use of ICTs.
DEWAE is mainly expected to address the problems and challenges faced in delivering government services efficiently and effectively and developing effective ways for the government to deliver quality services on time, using ICT and mobile technologies as enabling tools.
It is expected that the development of ICT and mobile technology based solutions will address various governance and public service challenges. It will also help to strengthen the culture of innovation in the country and be an effective catalyst for sustained development of the country's ICT industry sector.
The MCIT said that DEWAE programme has been planned at a cost of five million dollars ($5m).
Through the DEWAE programme, the MCIT will announce several challenges and will seek proposals from the citizens to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.
There will be four categories under which the awards will be provided: Mobile Government, Mobile Technology, Young Technologist and Innovators (Student), and ICT Champion Awards.
Amirzai Sangin, Minister of Telecommunication and IT said, "Awards will be in the form of cash prize. The cash prizes are $2000, $5000 and $80,000. Whoever presents the best solution for solving the problems of governmental institutions via use of computers and mobile technologies will be awarded with the $80,000 cash prize.
According to MCIT, the programme of DEWAE will run for three years and will give away 200 awards. The programme has been financed by the World Bank and the Afghanistan Information Management Services (AIMS) is contracted by MCIT to implement and manage the programme.
Afghan Athlete Wins Bronze in Bodybuilding
TOLOnews.com By Mir Sayed Sediqqi 27 May 2013
The Committee for Afghan Athletes in Europe said that Osman Anwari, an Afghan athlete won a bronze medal in the Europe Bodybuilding Championship on Sunday.
The two-day event was organised in Kive, capital of Ukraine.
Osman Anwari is an Afghan athlete living in Austria.
Athletes from 16 countries had participated in this competition.
A week before this victory, Osman Anwari had also won the Austria Bodybuilding Championship title for the eleventh time in the 90 kilogram weight category.
By KATHY GANNON | Associated Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Abdul Malik and his fellow Afghan soldiers were driving across the arid and volatile south when their armored personnel carrier struck a roadside bomb. Malik found himself outside the vehicle, dazed but aware of his three comrades nearby. One had a serious head wound.
Help came quickly: U.S. helicopters swooped in and took them to the Afghan military hospital in Kandahar, the largest in the region. Malik lost his leg below the knee. Without the quick rescue, he would likely have lost his life. His three buddies all died.
"I could see his brains on the ground near me," Malik said.
As part of preparations for the final withdrawal of international combat troops by the end of 2014, Afghanistan's security forces are being pressed into service — alone. This year's fighting season is the first in 12 years of war that Afghan troops are responsible for security in 90 percent of the country.
But the Afghans are still heavily dependent on international air support to ferry the wounded to hospitals and for gunships to defend troops who are isolated and under attack.
With NATO and the U.S. military providing only advice and assistance on request, the Afghans' battlefield performance this year will decide how much equipment and training they still need.
After 2014 the U.S. is expected to leave behind a residual force of 8,000 to 10,000 troops, mostly as mentors and trainers. NATO is being asked to contribute several thousand as well, but so far only Germany has promised 800 troops.
Some in the U.S. military see a steep learning curve ahead for the 350,000 Afghan service personnel.
In eastern Nangarhar province where the U.S. 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne division, is advising the Afghan National Army, Lt. Col. Matthew Stader said Afghan troops need advisory teams for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. They lack the drones used heavily by U.S. forces.
Still, Stader said Afghan troops are doing their own patrols, clearing routes and removing roadside bombs.
"I think they are doing well, but it just looks different than the Americans," said Stader, of Annapolis, Maryland.
Afghan forces can resupply themselves with food and fuel and water but are still struggling with planning, logistics, equipment maintenance and contracting, Stader said, adding that the brigade he is currently mentoring in eastern Afghanistan needs at least another year of advising before it will be able to operate independently.
"For years we've created Afghan helplessness, so we as advisers have to reset that," he said, referring to the years that NATO and the U.S. took the lead in fighting and logistics, relegating their Afghan allies to a support role.
Yet Afghans are optimistic.
Sitting behind his oversized desk in a fortress-like compound surrounded by reinforced concrete blast walls and protected by four separate security gates, Gen. Abdul Raziq, southern Kandahar province's police chief, has one of Afghanistan's most dangerous jobs. Even so, he says he is looking forward to the withdrawal of international forces.
"NATO's leaving is a positive thing because now we have our land and our authority back," he said, reflecting the sensitive and often complicated relationship between Afghan troops and their coalition partners. With frustrating regularity President Hamid Karzai has outraged the U.S. military by referring to international troops as occupiers or suggesting they were colluding with the Taliban in order to justify staying longer in the country
Relations between Afghan security forces and international troops have been equally tumultuous. The number of attacks by Afghan police and soldiers opening fire on foreign soldiers has sharply increased. Fearful that one of their own will do the same, Afghan commanders have banned foreign trainers from Afghan firing ranges where live bullets are used in target practice.
But Raziq says his confidence comes from a better cut of recruit entering the police and army, government-imposed controls that have taken absolute power — which they often abused — out of the hands of the security forces, and what he says is waning support for the Taliban movement among Afghans, particularly majority ethnic Pashtuns.
In the last five years Afghanistan's premier police training academy in the Afghan capital has restarted its four-year training program for officers. Courses like human rights and ethics have been introduced into the curriculum. New police recruits now have to have some education, unlike in the past when most were illiterate.
"Before 2007, 2008, our structure was incomplete. Police had no controls. They could do anything. They thought they had unlimited power," Raziq said. "But now there are constraints, restrictions. They have only the power to arrest. The education level of recruits is also improving. In 2010 they were much better than in 2007, and in 2013 they are even better."
Raziq also said the Taliban are a different type of enemy today, relying heavily on roadside bombs and suicide attackers, rather than the less deadly rocket launchers and short range missiles.
For the Afghan troops the battlefield has been a harsh taskmaster so far this year. As of May 15, according to statistics compiled by The Associated Press, 441 security forces have died violently. That's more than twice the number of security personnel killed during the same period last year. Hundreds more have been wounded, losing limbs to bombs and suffering debilitating injuries.
By contrast the number of U.S. and other foreign troops killed in action between Jan. 1 and May 15 this year has dropped dramatically to 58, compared with 153 in the same period last year
"Since the new year we have had too many casualties," says Gen. Said Asim, commander at the Afghan military hospital in southern Kandahar.
Asim said his 400-bed hospital treats all casualties of war, including civilians and even suspected Taliban.
He stopped at a room just off the emergency ward where 19-year-old Hamidullah, a suspected Taliban fighter, was handcuffed to the steel frame of his bed.
Shot in the abdomen, arms and legs, Hamidullah, who like many Afghans uses only one name, said he was in his fields in Girisk district of volatile Helmand province when a battle started between Taliban and a joint force of Afghan and American soldiers.
"I don't know who shot me. There was firing all around," he said. When the shooting stopped, his uncle brought him to Kandahar's main Mirwais Hospital. He was transferred first to the U.S.-led coalition hospital and later to the Afghan military hospital.
Hamidullah played with his wisp of facial hair as he told of how his family has collected letters from district officials vouching for his identity as a farmer and not a Taliban fighter.
"So far no one has questioned me. I don't know who was fighting but we have one compound of foreigners near our farm," he said showing a 15-centimeter (6-inch) scar that ran the length of his abdomen where Afghan doctors at the military hospital had removed the bullet.
Raziq, the police chief, said talking to the Taliban is the only way to end the war.
"We have to talk to the Taliban. They are our people and many feel they have no choice because once you have raised your gun it is difficult to lay it back down and so they keep fighting," he said.
But some soldiers in the military hospital were confused by the concept of fighting while talking.
"I am a little disheartened at why we are talking and still fighting," said Malik, the soldier who lost his leg. "We should not be engaging with each other like that."
___
Associated Press writer Kristin Hall, who was in eastern Afghanistan with the U.S 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne division, contributed to this report. Kathy Gannon is AP Special Regional Correspondent for Afghanistan and Pakistan and can be followed on www.twitter.com/kathygannon
NATO, Afghan Forces Kill Five Insurgents, Arrest Others
May 28, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says coalition forces and Afghan troops have killed five insurgents during military operations in Afghan provinces.
ISAF says three insurgents were killed and a senior Taliban leader was arrested in the northern province of Baghlan on May 27. It says two militants also were also killed on the same day in the northeastern province of Kunar.
Meanwhile, an ISAF statement says Afghan and coalition forces arrested a senior leader of the militant Haqqani network on May 28 in the eastern province of Paktia.
The militant leader is suspected of plotting kidnappings of Afghan civilians, as well as planning and carrying out attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
The ISAF statement said seven other militants were arrested in Paktia together with the Haqqani network leader.
Militants Kill Afghan Police Officers At 'Friendly' Dinner
May 28, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Local officials say seven police officers have been shot dead by two militants during a "friendly get-together" at a checkpoint in the southern Kandahar Province.
Haji Abdul Ghani, the chief of the Arghistan district where the incident occurred, said the police officers were acquaintances of the assailants and had apparently invited them to dinner at the checkpoint late on May 27.
Ghani said the two men fired at the police officers and then escaped after taking the officers’ weapons and vehicle.
Another police officer was seriously injured in the attack.
In a statement sent to media, the Taliban insurgent group claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban claimed the police casualty toll was higher.
Gunmen kill Afghan senate chairman secretary in Nangarhar
By KHAAMA PRESS - 28 May 2013, 4:20 pm
According to local authorities in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, unknown gunmen assassinated secretary of Afghan senate chairman in Chaparhar district.
The report has also been confirmed by Chaparhar district governor.
A spokesman for Nangarhar police department Hazrat Hussain Mashriqi said, “Shafiqullah, secretary of Afghan senate chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Lalma area in Chaparhar district on Monday.”
No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident, however, Nangarhar police department spokesman said an investigation has been launched in this regard.
In the meantime Chaparhar district governor Sediqullah Dawlatzai said Shafiqullah was followed and approached by unknown gunmen when he left Jalalabad city and was shot dead in Chaparhar district.
Beaten on the Job, an Afghan Police Officer Goes on TV and Hits Back
The New York Times By Azam Ahmed and Habib Zahori May 27, 2013
Kabul, Afghanistan - When the son of the most powerful military commander was stopped here by a police officer with the temerity to search his vehicle, he responded with a typically privileged attitude: he had his men beat the policeman.
Far less common, however, was what happened afterward. The police officer, Mohammad Kabir, gave an interview to Tolo News describing his abuse, setting in motion a chain of apologies and accusations that has briefly upended the social order that prevails both within the Afghan government and on the streets.
Now, the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police forces, is calling for charges against Ahmad Zia Karimi, a major in the Afghan Army and son of Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, the army chief of staff. Already, at least three delegations of army officials have been to the checkpoint to find out what happened and appease the ruffled officers.
And at least a few policemen are now speaking out about the rampant abuse they suffer at the hands of the powerful while trying to carry out their jobs.
“I feel very depressed and disappointed,” said a colleague of Mr. Kabir’s who witnessed the beating and spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal. “Yes, I am an ordinary policeman, but that doesn’t mean that any rich or powerful person has the right to beat me when he wants.”
The episode happened around 6 p.m. Sunday at a security checkpoint in Pul Mahmood Khan, near the Defense Ministry, a massive compound surrounded by high stone walls topped with concertina wire.
Mr. Kabir, instructed by his superiors to search each car that passed, called out to the driver of a white Toyota Corolla to pull over and pop the trunk, according to witnesses and his interview with Tolo News. An argument ensued with the car’s passenger, Major Karimi.
According to Mr. Kabir’s account, Major Karimi yelled: “Who are you to try to stop me? The whole city knows who I am.”
Mr. Kabir’s colleague said he had seen Major Karimi produce his Defense Ministry badge. He also noted that, among other things, there was a language problem — Major Karimi was speaking Pashto, and Mr. Kabir was speaking Dari.
Eventually, Major Karimi’s car pulled over, and he stepped out to make a call. Mr. Kabir said he had heard him phoning his men to come to the checkpoint. Two truckfuls arrived shortly after.
“About 17 to 18 men, all armed, started beating me,” Mr. Kabir said in his interview.
Mr. Kabir’s colleagues at the checkpoint were told to stay put. When the beating ended, they called their superiors and drove their friend to a hospital.
At the scene on Monday, police officers huddled with three senior officials from General Karimi’s office to talk about the case. As the men spoke, a stream of tan army trucks rolled past on the barren patch of roadway, carting soldiers and officials to the Defense Ministry.
After the army officers left, the policemen aired their frustrations: their shifts are long, their pay is low, and such beatings are hardly out of the ordinary.
“We come here at 8 in the morning and stand on two legs for 24 hours, and what is our reward? Beating and humiliation,” moaned one officer, who also asked not to be identified. “This was not the first and only case where police were beaten and insulted by strongmen and their relatives.”
Evidence of the big-man primacy is easy enough to find on the streets of Kabul, where select vehicles frequently disobey traffic restrictions, block roadways and halt traffic for ease of passage. That the police are often accused of using violence to subdue, extort and generally mistreat Afghans went unmentioned by the officers at the scene of Sunday’s beating.
It is unlikely that the story would have become public, or been little more than a footnote in the annals of power abuse, were it not for the television report.
With one of its scions publicly caught abusing his position, the government has promised to handle the situation with professionalism.
“Officials at the Ministries of Defense and Interior were saddened by the news of a brawl between Maj. Ahmad Zia, an Afghan National Army officer, and a police officer, which under no circumstances represents the ethics and principles of the Afghan law enforcement agencies,” according to a statement from the Afghan Army chief of staff’s office. “The incident will be thoroughly investigated, and the culprits will be punished in accordance to the provisions of law.”
As of Monday night, however, Major Karimi remained uncharged and at large, officials said. Beyond that, the investigation is being handled by his father’s office.
Policeman Allegedly Beaten Up By Army Chief's Son
TOLOnews.com By Haseeb Maudoodi 27 May 2013
It has been alleged that the son of the Afghan Army Chief of Staff, General Sher Mohammad Karimi, beat up an Afghan Police officer in Kabul on Sunday night.
The incident took place in the Pul-e-Mohmoud Khan area of Kabul city. The police officer, Mohammad Kabir, claimed that he was beaten when he tried to stop the car of Karimi's son at a checkpoint for search.
The police officer said that Karimi's son was not letting the police search his car; instead called the Afghan National Army soldiers and got him beaten up by ten army soldiers.
"He was the son of Afghan Army Chief of Staff, General Sher Mohammad Karimi. He was accompanied by a second person. Inevitably, they had explosives, suicide vest or maybe they were transporting something illegally that they did not let us search the car and beat me up," Kabir told TOLOnews.
Interviewed in a hospital in Kabul, Kabir showed serious wounds in his head and body. His head was still bleeding two hours after the incident.
In a telephonic conversation with TOLOnews, General Sher Mohammad Karimi rejected the allegations, saying his son was not involved in the incident.
This incident has raised waves of reactions from all across the country.
The Afghan Parliament called for a serious investigation of the incident by the Parliamentary Committee of Defence.
"We want to get the incident investigated by the Parliamentary Committee of Defence and want to see what progress is made in finding out the truth," MP, Shakiba Hashimi said.
"Misuse of government positions has become a culture and we should take serious action against such activities," MP, Ali Ahmad Akhlaqi said.
A number of Kabul residents condemned the incident and sought punishment for the guilty.
"For our security, the police have the right to ask who you are, what are you doing and where are you going," Kabul resident Abdullah told TOLOnews.
In the meantime, military experts said that beating up police personnel cannot be justified in any way.
"No one has the right to physically attack any government employee, be it police or army. The incident should be investigated properly and the guilty should be punished, so that such incidents do not happen again in the future," military expert, General Amrullah Aman told TOLOnews.
The Afghan Interior Ministry has ordered the authorities to investigate the matter.
US withdrawal from Afghanistan may pose a greater risk to Pakistan
The New York Times By D.D. Guttenplan 27 May, 2013
From multibillion-dollar military aid to stealthy and secretive drone strikes, Pakistan, perhaps even more than Afghanistan, has been the central focus of America's 12-year war on Islamist militancy.Now, as President Barack Obama's landmark policy speech on Thursday made clear, all of that is changing. Drone strikes are dwindling, the war in Afghanistan is drawing to a close and the battle against al-Qaida is receding.
Pakistani leaders who have long demanded an American exit from their region may get their wish, but a broader disengagement is also likely to diminish the funding, prestige and political importance Pakistan held as a crucial player in global counterterrorism efforts, and perhaps upset its internal stability.
The diminution of the drone campaign could ease a major point of friction between Pakistan and the West, but the tribal belt in northwestern Pakistan, where about 360 drone strikes have landed in the past decade, remains a hotbed of Islamist militancy, largely outside of government control. Although many senior leaders of al-Qaida sheltering there have been felled by CIA missiles, they have been largely replaced by committed Pakistani jihadists with ties that span the border with Afghanistan.With US combat troops leaving Afghanistan in 2014, and the drone campaign already winding down in Pakistan, analysts fear that unless the Pakistani army can assert itself conclusively, the tribal region could be plunged into deeper chaos.
"It's going to be a lot of trouble," said Hasan Askari-Rizvi, a Pakistani academic and defense analyst. "If the insurgency increases in Afghanistan, it will spill into Pakistan's tribal areas, where the Taliban will become very confident."
An American pullback poses other risks for the nuclear-armed country. For 12 years, the United States' security-driven policy has shaped power, politics and militancy in Pakistan. After 2001, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup, established himself as a steadfast ally of the West; it underwrote his authoritarian rule, which lasted until 2008. The military received almost $17 billion in US military aid, and transfers of US military hardware, solidifying its position as the dominant arm of the state.That relationship has also fostered resentment, and some Pakistani leaders welcome an American disengagement.
Blaming America's muscular presence - expressed through troops in Afghanistan and espionage and drone operations in Pakistan -for an Islamist surge that has killed tens of thousands of Pakistanis, they argue that it has been a recruiting tool for militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban.
"Less American involvement is good, not bad," said Hina Rabbani Khar, who served as foreign minister in the last government, and who said she warmly welcomed the tone of Obama's speech Thursday. "Drones help us lose the war. And the ideological space for these terrorists is the supposed US occupation of Afghanistan. Once that excuse is not there, these people will have to face the music."
America's dogged pursuit of fugitives linked to al-Qaida - first in Pakistan's cities, later in the tribal belt along the Afghan border - led to a two-faced policy toward Islamist militancy. Pakistani officials secretly accepted, and in some cases encouraged, the US drone program, while condemning it in public as a violation of sovereignty. Similarly, under pressure from Washington, Pakistan helped the CIA arrest some jihadists, while it quietly sheltered other armed militant groups, like the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba, who were seen as furthering Pakistani interests in Afghanistan and India.The American presence also created a giant blind spot in Pakistan's political psyche: With so much focus on US operations, Pakistani leaders used the US as a scapegoat to avoid tackling some homegrown problems. Lurid tales of American espionage and other skulduggery abounded in the news media, promoted by politicians and mullahs but also fanned by real-life controversies like the shooting of two Pakistanis by the
CIA contractor Raymond Davis in January 2011.
Now that calculus is shifting for Pakistani policymakers. Many fear a replay of the early 1990s when, after the departure of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the US withdrew abruptly, leaving behind a cadre of fired-up Islamist fighters, and then imposed sanctions on Pakistan for its nuclear weapons program.
Behind the bellicose speech, there is a complex dependency on both sides. While Pakistan's powerful generals have grown to resent the US, they also lean on US military aid as a steady source of income in an economy so shaky it may soon require a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The generals also rely on transfers of US military hardware to keep their fleet of F-16 fighters in the air.
From now on, Pakistani leaders will be less able to rely on the cloak-and-dagger workings of the drone program to have it both ways.
Musharraf, the former president, recently admitted that he had secretly authorized US drone strikes in the tribal belt in the early days of the campaign, from 2004. Four years later, Pakistani officials quietly helped the US assassinate Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, in a missile attack.
"I don't care if they do it as long as they get the right people," Yousaf Raza Gilani, then prime minister, told US officials in 2008, according to an American cable published by WikiLeaks in 2010.
Among the wider Pakistani public, though, the drones stoked anger, particularly over the issue of civilian casualties - a factor acknowledged by Obama last week. At the same time, the CIA's success in assassinating senior al-Qaida figures in the tribal region reduced the number of available targets.
Recently, as concern over drones mounted in the US, the number of strikes in Pakistan dropped sharply, from about 130 at their peak in 2010, to just 12 so far this year. Civilian deaths also fell sharply, as the US cut back on so-called signature strikes against clusters of militant suspects, which had caused the most casualties.
Now, Obama announced Thursday, US drones will attack only militants who pose an imminent threat to the US, virtually ruling out strikes against the Pakistani Taliban, whose stated goal is the creation of an Islamist caliphate in Pakistan.
Still, the shift signaled good news for Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister-designate, who has vowed to make Pakistan less dependent on the US A scaled-back drone campaign will, at the very least, be one less issue to argue over.
The drone campaign, however, is expected to continue, even if greatly diminished.
"This doesn't change much for Pakistan," said Ahmed Rashid, author of several books on militancy in the region. "The fact that the campaign will remain under the CIA, surrounded in secrecy, is quite depressing for Pakistanis."
The central factor now, experts say, is the US withdrawal from Afghanistan next year. The US will seek a smooth exit from the conflict; Pakistan will seek to retain influence in its western neighbor, while ensuring the flow of money and military assistance from the West.
As ever, the relationship is shaped more by threats than possibilities, a stark contrast with Washington's trade-based relations with Pakistan's traditional rival, India.
Still, few doubt that America will remain deeply involved in Pakistan, a country with a growing population of more than 180 million people, a network of seemingly indefatigable jihadi groups and a stockpile of over 100 nuclear warheads.
The question now is how Washington will pursue those enemies, and what level of cooperation it will enjoy from its Pakistani allies. "The Pakistanis look to the US for financial and other support; the Americans are pursuing senior al-Qaida," said Shamila N. Chaudhary, a former Obama administration official, now with the Eurasia Group. "Even after 2014, that mutual dependency will not go away."
Kabul University spawns next generation of freedom fighters
Afghanistan's prestigious centre of higher education continues to be institution where intellectual leaders cut their political teeth
Guardian By Emma Graham-Harrison 27 May 2013
Kabul - In the rising heat of a May morning, Afghan riot police wielding batons and shields separate a cluster of students and young activists, one shouting support for a women's rights law the other an undergraduate group stopping traffic with a loud march backing their embattled professor.
Around the corner, dozens of students on the eighth day of a hunger strike lie listlessly beside blast-resistant concrete barriers watching supporters and the idle curious file past. More than 80 had pledged not to eat until Kabul University removed the head of the social science department, the man the second group were marching to endorse.
All three protests were organised by the young and increasingly vocal members of a boom generation swelling the ranks of undergraduates nationwide, keen to have a greater say in Afghanistan's future. After decades of war, more than two-thirds of the population are under 30, UN statistics show.
The ideological turmoil on Monday spilled out of the capital's university, the country's prestigious centre of higher education and a place where history offers student radicals of almost any persuasion the tantalising possibility that their activism could pave the way to a permanent place in Afghan school books.
The university was particularly influential in the 1960s and 70s, when it nurtured men who would go on to lead the anti-Soviet resistance and then drag the country into civil war.
Among the leaders who cut their political teeth there were Ahmad Shah Massoud, the so-called Lion of the Panjshir, who was assassinated on the eve of the 9/11 attacks on the US, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, once a US-supported mujahideen commander, now a Taliban ally.
It was also the intellectual birthplace of the communists and other foes, including Rawa, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, an underground feminist movement founded in 1977 by Meena Kamal. She was assassinated a decade later.
Today the institution is still home to students of every ideological stripe, as keen as undergraduates in other places to challenge their government and society. The hunger strikers say they were inspired by the non-violent ideals of the Indian independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi.
"In the past every demand was fought for with guns, we want peaceful protest," said Hamidullah Mohammadi, one of the student co-ordinators. They appeared to have emulated Gandhi's success, albeit on a tiny scale, as that afternoon ministers visited the camp and agreed to their demands.
The concession may only end one protest, however, as hundreds had marched in support of the department head, some accusing the hunger strikers of unpatriotic connections. "They want to bring us teachers from Iran," said 23-year-old Samir Rasouli. "They want changes in our university and we don't agree."
And the women and a handful of men demanding parliament pass a key law on women's rights may be marching for years. The legislation was shelved indefinitely, after strong opposition from conservatives who said clauses including a ban on forced marriage were "un-Islamic".
Protesters say many women who planned to attend were scared away at the last minute by letters from conservative students warning the demonstration was un-Islamic. Several hundred undergraduates aligned with Islamist groups, some reportedly flying the Taliban flag, had staged their own demonstration against the law days earlier, so the warning bore weight.
Those who dared to march dismiss their hardline classmates. Islam protects women from violence, said Parwana, 24. And as the number of educated women rises, so will the number defending their rights.
"We are not only our voice, we are talking on behalf of many others who could not come today," she told the Guardian. "My mother was 14 years old when she was married and didn't go to school. Our young generation do not want that life for themselves or their daughters."
1300 Register For Voter ID On First Day, Low Female Turnout
TOLOnews.com By Shakeela Ahbrimkhil 27 May 2013
On the first day of voter's registration, approximately 1300 individuals received their voter ID. Out of the 1300 individuals, 200 women got themselves registered.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) anticipates that before the 'Election Day' about 4 million citizens will receive their voter ID. But low attendance of women has raised some serious concerns.
Political parties in the country are urging the people to actively participate in the election process.
The individuals who came at the centres are urging others as well to register and participate in the election process.
Ahmad, a student said, "The people are excited to get their voter ID and elect their President."
Ahmad Zia Massoud, leader of National Front of Afghanistan said, "The country is at a crucial juncture and we ask all of our countrymen to get their voter ID, especially the youth because if God willing, the political destiny of the country will change."
Sayed Aqa Fazel Sancharaki, Spokesperson of the National Coalition said, "The most important thing is that IEC conducts the process transparently and prevents duplicity of the voter IDs. Counter-measures should be adopted to prevent it and instructions should be given on differentiating between a fake ID and an original one. Currently, no such steps have been taken in this regard."
Political parties call insecurity, manipulation in the election process, misuse of political power and use of old voter ID as serious challenges ahead of the upcoming elections.
Presently, 41 registration centers have been opened all across the country. Kabul has three centres, big provinces have two centers and other provinces have opened one centre each.
Unemployment boost insurgency and crime
Khaama Press By Sadaf Shinwari and Omar Safa 27 May 2013
Khost, Afghanistan - Just before the sunset, they are heading back to homes desperate, tired, hopeless and sad.
Visiting any open space but mostly central squares of major Afghan cities, your eyes will simply catch people gathered in big groups looking for jobs.
If you ask anyone of them about jobs, everyone will clearly criticize the government’s inadequacy for not creating sustainable jobs for them and for other job seekers in their country.
Nearly 12 years and after spending 10s of Billions of dollars by international donation still the Afghan government has not been able to create long lasting jobs, to prevent people particularly unemployed Afghans from economics crisis and unemployment.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MOLSAMD) currently, 4 million Afghans are unemployed countrywide.
However authorities from workers’ union disagree with the statistics above presented by the afghan government and says, it’s even higher than what have been presented by the ministry.
Some experts and ordinary Afghans believe, after 2014 when international community and U.S military decrease their presence in Afghanistan, many afghan will lose their jobs, unemployment rate will increase and be the real case of poverty in the country.
Afghanistan, a country badly affected by three decades of civil war, has experienced poverty and unemployment in its history.
But unemployment has adapted a new face nowadays, while talking to unemployed workers on the city’s waiting for jobs, most of them criticizing the Afghan government for being failed to create proper jobs opportunities for the citizens.
They are threatening the government to support insurgency and take part in unlawful activities if unemployment issues continue.
Khost, not well developed but fairly well-heeled in south-eastern Afghan province, bordering tribal areas (Pakistan), where you can easily find many jobseekers on the road’s side and intersections every morning.
In the city’s central square groups of working force are gathering every day looking for jobs.
If someone is walking or driving by, they directly contact him with eyes in hope for job and this eyes contact sometimes turning in to a big crowd, while the others see negotiation between two persons.
Meanwhile some of those working force are using their toolkits as pillow and taking a nap on the square for being jobless.
Gull Mohammad 19, an uneducated man from Tani District Khost province with others the same ages come to the city’s central square every morning before sunrise and stand there all-day long in hope of a daily wage job if not permanent one.
“There are no jobs, the unemployment rate is even growing, and I am standing here all-day long, like other youths to get a job, the government has done nothing yet to create jobs.” Said Gull Mohammad.
Gull says, most workers are heading back hopeless to their homes, without getting any job while their families are waiting for them to bring foods and other things needed for their daily needs.
As a mild-complaint he added:“The country’s new and forthcoming generation will face with even more snags than we are now, unless the government provides more jobs’ opportunities, and due to unemployment they’ll have to join illegal armed groups and will take part in anti-government acts, such as insurgency, robbery and etc.”
He thinks, neither him nor the others want to kill or murder any acquitted human being or use any kinds of drugs but unemployment and poverty is pushing them towards illegal activities and other related crimes.
“Said Gull Mohammad said, If the government don’t create jobs for work force like us, there will be no way for us, but just to join the insurgents, commit robbery, starting using and trafficking drugs, or help the insurgents with transferring heavy and small weapons, bombs, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), because unemployment and poverty have lift them no other option.”
Unemployment is not only bothering Gull Mohammad, Hakmatullah 20 from Matoon is also suffering from related matter and says,“The government itself helping youths’ interest toward drugs, joining rebels groups, taking part in illegal and devastating activities.”
According to Hakmatullah, if the government create job opportunities and provide opportunities for the youths to become self-sufficient economy wise to support their families then they will never consider to join or support any kind of insurgency in the county.
“Many jobseekers are waiting here, but still no sign of jobs, if the governments don’t provide jobs for us, we have no alternative other than to join illegal armed groups and drug traffickers in order to earn money. It’s even easier to join or work for insurgents rather than to work for the government.” Said Hakmatullah.
Unemployment and poverty is not a mounting problem only among uneducated youth, but educated individuals are facing the same issue.
Those who are graduated from universities taking months, years and longer to get a job and occasionally they can’t even find one and are still unemployed.
They are accusing the government for kick-backs and nepotism.
They say, “Finding a job for wealthy and those who have relatives’ works for Government and others agencies is not a problem, but it’s a crisis for those who have no money to give bribe or relatives for support, they are suffering for months and years to find a job, If they pass the test and interview, priorities are still the ones who are having money or relatives.”
“I graduated Computer Science faculty in 2011,I have been looking for a job since then, but it takes forever to get one, you have to have enough money to bribe or know someone in any of those organizations you’re applying for a job with” Jawas Khan says.
Some social experts and members of the social affairs organizations are blaming the government for futile jobs creating plans, and some of them are even agree with what the unemployed youth have said.
They believe, if no sustainable jobs become available for the working force despite crimes will increase, the involvement of youth in illegal activities will also threaten the scoiety.
As the unemployment is spreading rapidly across the country and Khost is one of the provinces where unemployment rate is very high, the youths are getting involved in committing illegal activities due to lack of jobs.
Kids have been also negatively affected by unemployment and poverty, while they are not attending schools or being busy with some sort of work, they are hanging around with people already involved in criminal acts, and become part of the crimes as well.
Youth from Khost are not only facing such problems but from neighbors provinces Paktia and Logar has the same problems.
Bashir is residence of Paktia province waiting at Gardez city’s central square to find a job.
He said, “I have been coming here since four years every day, for daily wages job, I merely find a jobs for some time but mostly no job’s at all, since we have nothing to do, around10:00 or 11:00am, we are heading toward the river or somewhere else, where it’s safe to use drugs, some of our friends are committing robbery, all what we do is because of unemployment.”
But, Mir Agha from Logar province is telling me heart touching stories about two of his neighbors he witnessed.
“One of my neighbor was very poor and did his best to find a job, as always there was no job available and he couldn’t afford to see his kids starving, which forced to carry out suicide attack after seeing his kids starving and crying.”
“Due to poverty and lack of jobs the other neighbor had to sell his 18 months old daughter to get food and others life supporting goods to the rest of his family.” Said Mir Agha from Logar province.
When I was doing research about unemployment high rate and its effects in our society, I have noticed unemployment also negatively affected kids as well. Therefore, I visited the Khost provincial juvenile detention and training center to see what kids have been through as a result of unemployment.
A dark, narrow and one person fitted street will lead you through a broken and wobbly door to a compound surrounded by old short mud build, washed out walls. Seeing barbed-wires over those walls in between residential area will give an image of a well secured building.
You will see handcuffs laying all over and rolls of chains, the next you step in to the compound.
Furthermore, you well have to walk on stones and broken bricks to cross the pond type yard to the bend in dark rooms where you will see cute, beautiful and lovely kids, handcuffs on and shackled, living in harsh situation under the government observation.
I talked to few kids under 18, who were forced by unemployment and poverty to become part of illegal activities and were accused for serious crimes.
A juvenile from Khost who did not want his identity to be exposed in public, is now under the government observation in the provincial juvenile detention and training Center said.
“Because of poverty and unemployment I was always hanging around with people who were not having any responsibilities, I am now accused for kidnapping my cousin,” said the teenager.
He adds. “I had to study instead, being in the juvenile detention and training center, neither I nor my father had a proper job at that time, because of unemployment and poverty I become friend with wrong people and have followed their wrong ways.”
The other kid who also didn’t want to be identified said. “I always stayed with bad friends, I start stilling money from people as my bad friends have advised me, because of that I am now here and it’s outcome of unemployment and poverty.”
“Nearly 30 detainees under age18, are kept in this center.” Said the provincial, juvenile detention and training center in charge Noor Bad Shah.
He point out three factors behind kid’s involvement in crimes.
“Unemployment, careless Parents and poverty, because of those three factors kids turn in to illegal activities and even get involved in political crimes as well.” He said.
Currently a number of organizations acting in the provincial capital Khost in subject to find jobs for unemployed youth.
“We have had completed training programs for some educated youths who were jobless. Afterward they have been placed on jobs with Afghan Governmental and other organizations by the support of the Administrative Reform Commission. Currently, they have appropriate jobs.” Said Anwar Zaid, the youths’ affaires chief, Directorate of Culture and information Khost.
He says, “Most of those programs we have had facilitated for jobless youths contained computer training, English language learning courses and some others programs.”
The Khost provincial director of (MOLSAMD), Mohammad Kamal Zadran is thinking the same way as Zahid. We have been doing our best to create jobs opportunities to the young generation and have already placed numbers of youths on jobs through different programs with different governmental Organizations.
“The number of unemployed youths is very high in order to create jobs for them, it needs a broad and long term plans, it’s the central government to look after this issue and decide how to create jobs and reduce the current high unemployment rate.” Said Zadran.
Some local analysts, members of the social work organizations disagree with the ideas’ of the government officials responsible of creating jobs for youths.’
According to the analysts and social affairs organizations, Afghan government has not yet placed convenient programs and most officials or in favor to relationship rather than qualification.
“For Afghan Government it would be better to set up vocational and professional institutes, other long-lasting programs rather than just those short terms programs to reduce the unemployment in the country.” Said a social Affaire analyst, Yousuf Entazar.
He further added. “In country like Afghanistan, corruption is natural, because the three decades of civil war made law enforcement a tough job for the government.”
Asadullah Tani, lecturer in Sheikh Zayed university of Khost province approving unemployment and its risky consequences in the region said he is proposing a way out from this catastrophe.
He said, “Due to not enough jobs opportunities most of our youths are enforced to reduce their family’s economic crises and feed their family through illegal conducts.”
“Currently, a big number of youths are involved in, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and drug using and in comparable other activities,” he added.
According, to Tani, “ending up unemployment and poverty’s crises in the country, the afghan government (GOIROA) have to redevelop the country’s agriculture system, mining sector, education enlargement and plan others similar strategic and long-terms developments projects.
Farooq Jan Mangal, a journalist and member of the social work organization says, “Unemployment and literacy are the two key factors that help insurgents to trickster youths to make them be part of their illegal activities.”
“If the unemployment’s crisiss situation continue the way as it’s now, no doubt youths will be joining insurgents and those as well how are involved in planning insurgency in the country.”
He recommended, in order to keep youths away from being part of illegal activities. We better use working force instead of machines, this way we can achieve two goals at the same time. First, to keep the youth busy and second we can reduce the poverty and crimes.
According to this research, it’s crystal clear that Unemployment and poverty is the mother of varieties crimes and illegal activities across the country.
After talking to several unemployed youths the main reason for their involvement in illegal activities and crime is poverty and lack of jobs, and some of them were talking about bribe and its priorities over qualification in the governmental organizations.
Most of the youth whom I talked to criticized the government inadequacy for not creating sustainable jobs.
Even though governmental officials are not denying unemployment’s rapid incensement countrywide, meanwhile emphasizing their efforts and plans to create more jobs and say, for the current high unemployed situation of the country a broad and long term strategy is needed and that they are working on to be developed.
The social experts and social organization alongside with young generation is blaming the government for not doing their tasks efficiently to create sustainable jobs opportunities, with suitable amount of time and money available. Big amount of donors’ money pumped in to Afghanistan’s economy is wasted to a wrong directions, and now it is quite a hard job in the ocean of joblessness Afghanistan, to guide the ship of unemployed Afghan youths’ to a safe direction.
Afghan Rugby Star Gives Of Himself To Save His Mother
By Farangis Najibullah and Safiullah Stanikzai May 28, 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Afghan sportsman Mustafa Sadat is no stranger to the spotlight.
At the age of 25 Sadat, a former kickboxing champion, is a star in the country's fledgling rugby league. But none of his sporting success has brought him the fame he has found since giving part of himself to save another's life.
Sadat's popularity among Afghans has skyrocketed since he risked his health and his career to donate part of his liver to his mother, a procedure that is not universally accepted in Islam.
On February 15 at a private clinic in New Delhi, mother and son underwent a total of 17 hours of surgery. The procedure was a success, and the two are well on the road to recovery.
Sadat says the decision to travel to India for the risky operation -- called living donor liver transplantation -- was an easy one.
"I immediately offered to become a liver donor to my mother. She has seen many hardships and I was ready to sacrifice my life for her," Sadat says. "The surgery was successful. I consider myself very lucky to be able to save my mother's life. Much to my delight, my mother's health is improving."
Sadat is expected to make a full recovery and lead a normal and healthy life. He is now preparing to resume his rugby career.
'Many Were Praying'
He took up rugby just two years ago when Afghanistan's first team was formed. Many in the country were already familiar with Sadat's kickboxing career -- he has a number of trophies and a national title to his name -- and he quickly became one of the most visible rugby stars in the country.
Since the surgery, according to Afghanistan Rugby Federation chief executive Asad Ziar, Sadat's fan base has become even more vocal in its support.
"Comments and messages were pouring in from Afghanistan," Ziar says, referring to the federation's Facebook and Twitter accounts. "Many, many people were praying for the patients' recovery and praising Mustafa's decision to put his life and career at risk to save his mother's life."
Organ transplantation is rare in Afghanistan and is not universally accepted. Some question whether the procedure is compatible with Islam. One interpretation holds that organ transplants violate the "special honor" accorded to the human body, whether living or dead. As a result, not all of the comments about the surgery have been positive.
"I don't usually delete any posts on Facebook," Ziar says, "but this time I decided to remove the negative comments because I thought it was the last thing Mustafa needed while he was recovering from a major surgery."
Ultimately, says Abdul Rauf Herawi, director of the Justice Ministry's law and investigations department, Sadat has helped to spark a healthy debate.
"According to the Koran, 'Whosoever saves the life of one person it would be as he saved the life of all mankind.' Mustafa's case will have a positive impact on public opinion," Herawi says. "It's a commendable action, and we should be proud of him."
'Never Lost Hope'
Sadat has five siblings -- two sisters and three brothers -- but the older ones are married and the younger ones are too young, making him best suited to be the donor.
"I was completely sure of and have never regretted my decision to give part of my liver to my mother because she is my mother and a mother is irreplaceable," Sadat says. "Of course, I thought about my future, too. Especially my future in sports. I would think about how I had been training and playing sports for years and how I had finally made some achievements.
"So, I've had some emotional moments. But I never lost hope that I would fully recover soon and resume my career in sports."
The cost of the surgery, including doctors' fees, living, and traveling costs, came to around $60,000. The family borrowed most of the money from relatives and friends.
"Obviously, it was a difficult decision, because there are many risks involved with any surgery, let alone with a major transplant surgery," Sadat says. "I knew I was risking my future career, too, because rugby is a very hard, very physically demanding sport. We discussed it with doctors thoroughly and they assured me that I had a great chance of making a full recovery and returning to sports within a year."
Sadat's return to the pitch cannot come too soon for Ziar, whose federation oversees 10 semiprofessional teams.
"The charismatic and talented Sadat is the federation's single best asset," he says.
Until Sadat is physically able to compete, the federation is negotiating to have him become a coach or consultant.
"He has a star's ability to draw people and keep them together, so we want him just to be there and give advice," Ziar says. "We just need his presence."
Written and reported by Farangis Najibullah in Prague and RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Safiullah Stanikzai in Kabul
Taliban Criticises Kabul's Pink Balloon Art Project
TOLOnews.com 28 May 2013
The Taliban in an article has criticised the art project in which 10,000 pink balloons were distributed in Kabul to spread the message of peace.
The Taliban said that the event was un-Islamic.
The article which is published on the Taliban's official website said that the project was a trick to promote Western values among the young Afghan volunteers who helped hand-out the balloons.
"The West is using different techniques to promote their culture in Afghanistan, sometimes they do it in an undercover way," the article said published on Sunday.
"Some girls were without headscarves, with tight jeans and tops on, and even with mini-skirts on the streets. The boys were also dressed in Western-style outfits. After distributing some balloons, they wandered around Kabul aiming to break the culture of hijab," it said.
The criticism comes in after a number of volunteers participated on Saturday morning in an art project and distributed 10,000 pink balloons to the residents of Kabul.
More than 100 volunteers distributed the neon-pink "peace" balloons to workers, families and shoppers.
The project, brainchild of a 31-year-old New York based artist, Yazmany Arboleda, was aimed at spreading the message of peace in the country and put an end to the numerous violations.
The volunteers distributed pink balloons to the residents of Kabul. The volunteer's chanted- "We believe in balloons", while distributing balloons on the Kabul streets.
This project was previously organised in India, Japan and Kenya. The project will now move to Colombia, Belgium, United States and Australia as well.
Women And Activists Demand An Approved EVAW Law
TOLOnews.com By Rafi Sediqi 27 May 2013
A group of civil society and women rights activists put up demonstrations demanding an immediate approval of the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) Law on Monday.
The activists gathered in front of the National Assembly and said that none of the articles in the Law is against the Islamic Sharia Law. They emphasized that this Law has to be approved by the Lower House without any amendment and at the earliest.
On the other hand, the Women Commission of the Lower House said that the Law will be drafted again in consultation with the religious scholars.
Tamana Hila, a women rights activist said, "We seek the approval of EVAW Law without any amendment. This law is in no way violating the Islamic Sharia Law. In fact, some of the MPs don't even have proper knowledge about the Law."
Nilofar Mehdi, a civil society activist said, "The MPs should not keep any political vendetta behind the EVAW Law. We demand that the Lower House should approve the Law."
Meanwhile, the Women Commission of the Lower House said that this Law was not approved because there were differences in opinion among the MPs over certain provisions in the Law. And, efforts are being made get the Law approved.
Fawzia Kofi, Head of the Women Commission of the Lower House said, "Even though there were differences in opinion among the MPs on the Law, we intend to table it again in consultation with the religious scholars and get it approved."
Samiha Sadat, member of the Lower House said, "We are against those provisions of the Law which are in violation of the Islamic Sharia Law. We will try to remove all the objectionable provisions in the Law and get it approved soon."
The civil society activists emphasized that if some circles within the Parliament misuse this law for their personal interests and ignore women rights, the country will witness an increase in violence against women.
Karzai to Visit Turkmenistan for Railway Project Inauguration
TOLOnews.com 27 May 2013
The Afghan President Hamid Karzai will visit Turkmenistan for the inauguration ceremony of the joint railway project of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
The railway project between the countries will be inaugurated soon, according to President Karzai's office.
"On Sunday, President Karzai met the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov. The Turkmenistan Foreign Minister has handed over to President Karzai, an invitation from the President of Turkmenistan, requesting him to visit Turkmenistan for the inauguration ceremony of the joint railway project," Karzai's office said in a statement.
"Accepting the invitation, President Karzai called the railway project good not only for the welfare of the three countries but also to be in the best interest for the region," the statement said.
"President Karzai thanked Turkmenistan for its assistance and cooperation in the past ten years," it said.
The Presidents of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a railway line linking the three countries.
Hamid Karzai (President of Afghanistan), Emomali Rahmon (President of Tajikistan) and Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (President of Turkmenistan) have signed the MoU on March 20 in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat.
The 400-kilometer rail project will connect the Afghan town of Akina-Andkhoy to Atamurat Ymamnazar in Turkmenistan and Pyandzh in Tajikistan.
The construction is planned to begin in July in Turkmenistan. Turkmen workers are going to build the Afghan section of the railway project.
A 75-kilometer rail-line from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan began operating in 2011.
Skateistan opens second skate park in Mazar-e-Sharif city
By SADAF SHINWARI - 28 May 2013, 4:49 pm Khaama Press
Another skate park was opened in northern Mazar-e-Sharif city of Afghanistan by the Australian skateboarder Oliver Percovich.
This was the second skate park opened in Afghanistan after a similar park was created in capital Kabul by Skateistan, an Afghan NGO that works with youth from a range of ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds to build trust and to provide empowerment through a combination of skateboarding and educational activities.
It was established in 2007 and is based in Kabul, Afghanistan, which approximately 40 staff worldwide, and dozens more volunteers.
The program in Afghanistan is currently providing trainings for over 400 Afghan children who are taking part in skateboarding lessons with few hours in the classroom.
Skateistan started operations in Afghanistan with initial financial support of $50,000 from Canadian embassy, Norwegian Embassy and the Danish Embassy, Oliver Percovich, Founder & Executive Director of Skateistan said during an interview with the ABC News.
“It was extremely difficult. The kids were always very enthusiastic about doing it, but it was a little bit harder to convince other people that a skateboarding project made sense in Afghanistan at all, and it took a lot of time to show that, hey, this is something that can be built on,” he said.
Oliver Percovich said, “We’ve got two in Afghanistan now. We’ve just opened a brand new one in Mazar-e-Sharif. The one in Kabul is 1,700 square metres. It’s a large indoor skatepark. We’ve got a marble floor in there – it’s definitely a skatepark that would be a really good one anywhere in the world, let alone in Afghanistan.”
Skateistan was founded in 2007 when Percovich arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, with three skateboards and quickly met a group of local boys and girls eager to learn how to skate.
It later turned into a bigger skate park after Percovich started lessons at a local empty fountain. The 1750m2 Skateistan park officially opened in capital Kabul on October 29, 2009, giving boys and girls in Kabul a secure environment and an indoor skatepark to come to every week.
Karzai Requests The Transfer of Guantanamo Detainees
TOLOnews.com By Mursal Mansoory 27 May 2013
The Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday has urged the US to hand over all the Afghan detainees from Guantanamo prison.
"President Hamid Karzai welcomed the US President Barack Obama's efforts to close the Guantanamo prison and transfer all the Afghan detainees to their country," Karzai's office said in a statement.
"President Karzai, in an effort to live up to the expectations of his people, requested the transfer of the Afghan prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan soon," Karzai's Deputy Spokesman, Fayeq Wahidi told TOLOnews.
Karzai's comment comes in after the US President had called on the Congress to close Guantanamo Bay last week. Obama encouraged the use of diplomatic power to address the issue of terrorism originating from the region.
Obama called on the Congress to end the laws they passed, restricting the administration from moving the 166 captives who are held in the US jail for allegedly promoting terrorism in Cuba.
Karzai had previously urged the US officials to hand over the Afghan detainees in Guantanamo prison.
Meanwhile, General Nurul Haq Ulumi, an Afghan political expert has criticised Karzai's comment about the transfer of the Afghan detainees and accused him of supporting the insurgents.
"Consciously or unconsciously in view of patriotism, it is a support being given out to terrorism and it is dangerous for the country," General Nurul Haq Ulumi told TOLOnews.
The US military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has been used to detain insurgents since the start of the US-led war in Afghanistan.
The Taliban had said that along with the office in Qatar, it sought the release of Taliban detainees held at the American military prison in Guantánamo Bay.
The Afghan government has been pushing hard to get the Taliban negotiate a peace deal before the end of 2014.
MCIT Launches DEWAE Programme To Encourage Innovations
TOLOnews By Shahla Murtazaie 27 May 2013
In an effort to encourage innovations in the country, the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology (MCIT) has started the DEWAE (Innovation Beacon) programme and will give away cash awards ranging between $2000 to $80,000 for innovative solutions in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The DEWAE programme aims to develop a culture of innovation through the use of ICTs.
DEWAE is mainly expected to address the problems and challenges faced in delivering government services efficiently and effectively and developing effective ways for the government to deliver quality services on time, using ICT and mobile technologies as enabling tools.
It is expected that the development of ICT and mobile technology based solutions will address various governance and public service challenges. It will also help to strengthen the culture of innovation in the country and be an effective catalyst for sustained development of the country's ICT industry sector.
The MCIT said that DEWAE programme has been planned at a cost of five million dollars ($5m).
Through the DEWAE programme, the MCIT will announce several challenges and will seek proposals from the citizens to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.
There will be four categories under which the awards will be provided: Mobile Government, Mobile Technology, Young Technologist and Innovators (Student), and ICT Champion Awards.
Amirzai Sangin, Minister of Telecommunication and IT said, "Awards will be in the form of cash prize. The cash prizes are $2000, $5000 and $80,000. Whoever presents the best solution for solving the problems of governmental institutions via use of computers and mobile technologies will be awarded with the $80,000 cash prize.
According to MCIT, the programme of DEWAE will run for three years and will give away 200 awards. The programme has been financed by the World Bank and the Afghanistan Information Management Services (AIMS) is contracted by MCIT to implement and manage the programme.
Afghan Athlete Wins Bronze in Bodybuilding
TOLOnews.com By Mir Sayed Sediqqi 27 May 2013
The Committee for Afghan Athletes in Europe said that Osman Anwari, an Afghan athlete won a bronze medal in the Europe Bodybuilding Championship on Sunday.
The two-day event was organised in Kive, capital of Ukraine.
Osman Anwari is an Afghan athlete living in Austria.
Athletes from 16 countries had participated in this competition.
A week before this victory, Osman Anwari had also won the Austria Bodybuilding Championship title for the eleventh time in the 90 kilogram weight category.