Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, second from left, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, inspect a guard of honor at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 24, 2005. Aziz on Sunday pledged 'seamless cooperation' with Afghanistan in fighting terrorism and extremism, while violence flared along the countries' shared border. (AP Photo/Shah Marai, Pool)

Pakistan pledges help on Afghan election security - By Yousuf Azimy

KABUL, July 24 (Reuters) - Pakistan assured Afghanistan on Sunday it would do all it could to prevent militant violence ahead of September elections and announced $100 million of aid for its war-battered neighbour.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz visited Kabul after repeated Afghan complaints that Taliban militants have infiltrated from safe havens in Pakistan to launch attacks in which hundreds of people have died this year.

While Aziz was in Kabul, the U.S. military said one its its soldiers had been killed and another wounded earlier in the day in a suspected Taliban attack in southern Afghanistan.

In another incident, a suicide attacker blew himself up just inside Pakistan near trucks preparing to cross into Afghanistan carrying fuel for U.S. forces, wounding a man and a woman, a Pakistani security official said.

Aziz told a joint news conference after talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai they had held detailed discussions on ways to boost security for Afghanistan's U.N.-backed parliamentary polls on Sept. 18.

"We have assured the president that, like we did before, we (will) even make extra ... efforts so that the security of Afghanistan is not jeopardised in any way during the elections," Aziz said after his one-day visit. "The whole idea is to prevent flow of people who are undesirable on either side, both ways."

Karzai said he hoped the two countries could find ways to deal with militants "effectively and soon". Pakistan stepped up border security to prevent militant infiltration ahead of Afghanistan's presidential elections last October and they passed off largely without incident.

Aziz said Pakistan had deployed nearly 80,000 troops along its Afghan border and would station more there if needed. Most of the insurgent violence this year -- the worst since U.S.-led troops overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 -- has happened near the border with Pakistan.

The death of the U.S. soldier in Helmand province brought to at least 36 the number of American troops killed in combat in Afghanistan this year. Aziz and Karzai also discussed trade, economic development, investment and the battle against illegal drugs.

Aziz announced an aid package of $100 million to assist Afghanistan's post-war reconstruction and proposed the building of a border railway to facilitate trade.

Pakistan became a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks on the United States, but was the main supporter of the Taliban until then.

While Pakistan has arrested hundreds of al Qaeda militants since 2001, it has detained relatively few Taliban fighters, even though many are thought to have found refuge there.

On Tuesday, Pakistani police said security forces arrested a handful of Taliban officials from a refugee camp northwest of Islamabad last weekend. Pakistani newspapers quoted unnamed sources as saying that Mawlavi Abdul Kabir -- a deputy of the Taliban's elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar -- was among those arrested, but senior Pakistani officials were unable to confirm this.

Pakistani PM in key border talks – BBC 7/24/05

The Afghan and Pakistani governments have announced plans to improve security along their joint border. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said steps would be taken to ensure Afghanistan's forthcoming parliamentary elections passed off peacefully.

The talks in Kabul follow a spate of attacks largely blamed by Afghan officials on militants allegedly sheltering inside Pakistani territory. It has led to increasingly tense relations between the two countries. Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of failing to prevent such infiltration.

The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says the meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Mr Aziz was an attempt to bury the hatchet after weeks of rising tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our correspondent says the two leaders wanted to give the impression that the accusations had now gone, and both were now emphasising their shared interests.

President Karzai said the two countries are like twins joined together, where anything that hurts one also hurts the other. Mr Aziz insisted his government was taking seriously concerns about the flow of militants across their joint border.

Pakistan now has close to 80,000 troops in its tribal border areas - more than ever, he said. And they would do whatever they could to safeguard Afghanistan's September elections. Afghan officials say they want to believe this means real change. But our correspondent says that they remain very sceptical.

They point out that exactly the same happened last year when Pakistani forces helped prevent any serious disruption to the presidential elections. But, said one, for some reason they were not able to stop a renewed flow of militants into Afghanistan this year.

Our correspondent says this display of unity does not mean a sudden outbreak of trust between the two neighbours, because suspicions run too deep. The one day of talks were Mr Aziz's first visit to Kabul as prime minister.

Officials said that Sunday's agenda for talks also covered regional and international issues of "mutual concern" including the drugs trade and the enhancement of economic, trade and political ties.

Earlier, President Karzai warmly received Mr Aziz on his arrival at the presidential palace, where a contingent of armed forces presented a guard of honour. Talking to reporters before his departure, the prime minister said the visit was part of efforts to maintain close ties with Afghanistan. He said that being a next-door neighbour, Pakistan has always maintained direct contact with Afghanistan.

Pakistan ended support for the Taleban in 2001 and has denied the accusations that Taleban fighters are launching attacks in Afghanistan from safe havens within Pakistan's tribal border areas.

More than 700 people have been killed in attacks by suspected Taleban fighters in eastern and central Afghanistan in recent months. Mr Aziz said that Pakistan and Afghanistan are bound in cultural, historical, and religious bonds and there was a need to move these friendly relations forward.

Pakistan premier vows efforts to halt infiltration into Afghanistan - July 24

(Kyodo) _ Pakistan will make extra efforts to prevent the infiltration of Taliban fighters across its border into Afghanistan in the run-up to its neighbor's Sept. 18 parliamentary polls, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Sunday.

Aziz, who was on a one-day visit to Kabul, told a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai that his government will do its best to secure the borders during the electoral period to prevent the "flow of people who are undesirable on either side."

Afghanistan has often accused Pakistan of allowing Taliban fighters, who are continuously launching attacks in Afghanistan, to operate from safe havens within Pakistan's tribal border areas.

Pakistan says it has deployed about 75,000 troops along its porous border with Afghanistan to track down al-Qaida and Taliban militants who fled into the region after the ouster of the hard-line regime in late 2001 by a U.S.-led force.

Aziz, who was leading a high-level delegation, including Pakistan's interior and foreign ministers, said his government has agreed with Afghanistan to increase the level of bilateral cooperation.

"We agreed to make the level more seamless cooperation, be it in diplomacy, be it in security, or be it in economic matters," he said.

Aziz also announced another $100 million grant for Afghanistan's reconstruction. Pakistan had already allocated a $100 million grant to be spent in five years, which has already been largely spent.

One US soldier, one militant killed in Afghan clash

Kabul (AFP) - One US soldier and a militant were killed when up to 20 insurgents attacked a coalition unit in southwest Afghanistan, the US military said.

Another American soldier and a coalition interpreter, as well two militants, were also wounded in the gunfight in the Gerishk district of Helmand province, the US military said in a statement on Sunday.

"A US soldier was killed today and another wounded when their unit was attacked by 15 to 20 enemies in southwestern Afghanistan," it said. “In returning fire, US and Afghan forces killed one enemy and wounded two others."

All the injured were being treated, and the two coalition personnel were later released, while the conditions of the attackers, identified only as "enemy fighters", was unknown.

US attack aircraft and helicopters were dispatched to the scene of the clash and forces from the Kandahar Airfield base were also searching for the attackers, who had fled.

An Afghan army commander earlier told AFP that US-led forces had clashed with Taliban fighters in the battle at Qala-e-Gaz area in Grishik district, some 520 kilometers (325 miles) south of Kabul

"In the almost two-hour exchange of fire with the Taliban, one Talib was killed and two others were wounded in Qala-e-Gaz," said Afghan National Army southern corps commander General Muslim Hamid. "We also seized rocket-propelled grenades, PK machine guns and AK-47s in the operation," Hamid said.

Attacks by militants of the ousted hardline Islamic regime and their allies have increased ahead of scheduled September parliamentary elections. More than 770 people have been killed this year, most of them militants.

An 18,000-strong US-led coalition force remains in Afghanistan to hunt down Taliban fighters, mainly in the south and southeast of the country, large parts of which remain a lawless hotbed for insurgents.

In an incident Saturday, a bomb attack destroyed a 20-bed hospital in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province but caused no casualties, said Kandahar province deputy police chief Mohammed Hakim Angar. And a rocket hit Kandahar city late Saturday, also without causing casualties, said city intelligence director Saadullah, who uses one name.

General: Hard-Hit Taliban Recruiting Kids - By DANIEL COONEY, Associated Press - Jul 24

KABUL, Afghanistan - Fierce fighting in recent months has devastated the ranks of the Taliban, prompting the rebels to recruit children and force some families to provide one son to fight with them, a U.S. commander said Saturday.

The fighting has fractured the Taliban's command structure, preventing the militants from regrouping, even though there has been an upsurge in violence, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, the U.S. military operational commander in Afghanistan, told The Associated Press in an interview.

Despite the setback — more than 500 rebels have been killed since March — the militants are likely to step up attacks in the lead-up to crucial Sept. 18 legislative elections, he said.

"The Taliban and al-Qaida feel that this is their final chance to impede Afghanistan's progress to ... becoming a nation," Kamiya said. "They will challenge us all the way through Sept. 18."

He said the rebels were desperately trying to recruit new fighters to replace those killed recently, and has even forced families in some areas "to give up one son to fight."

"They have been hit so hard they now have to recruit more fighters. They are recruiting younger and younger fighters: 14, 15 and 16 years-old," Kamiya said. "The enemy is having a hard time keeping its recruit rates up."

While the rebels have long been thought to have children in their ranks, there have been few reports of wide-scale child recruiting by the Taliban — especially of those as young as 14.

Kamiya's comments come two days after the United Nations said that the majority of an estimated 8,000 child soldiers in Afghanistan — mostly in the ranks of private militias now allied to the government — would have been demobilized and enrolled in education programs by the end of this year.

The effort has focused largely on areas outside the country's southern and eastern regions, where the Taliban are strongest.

Afghan officials repeatedly have said that many of the Taliban's fighters come from Islamic boarding schools, or madrassas, in Pakistan. But Kamiya said the Taliban was now getting most of its fresh recruits from inside Afghanistan

He said part of the reason the rebels have suffered such unprecedented losses recently was that they have been caught gathering in large groups three times since April and pounded by airstrikes and ground forces. Some 170 suspected insurgents were killed in a weeklong battle in June in a mountainous militant hideout.

"There is no (rebel) organizational chain of command ... because we have succeeded thus far in disrupting their means to regroup and conduct a coordinated attack," Kamiya said. "They can no longer move around with impunity."

His comments came despite U.S. forces last month suffering their deadliest loss since ousting the Taliban in 2001, when militants ambushed a U.S. Navy SEAL team killing three commandos, and hours later shooting down a special forces helicopter with 16 troops on board. Since March, when the rebels increased their attacks, 45 U.S. troops have been killed.

Hundreds of Afghans also have been slain in recent months in near-daily ambushes, bombings and execution-style killings. The increase in violence has prompted local politicians and international observers to caution that three years of progress toward peace was threatened.

In the latest violence, suspected rebels fatally shot a district judge in southern Kandahar province Saturday, a day after militants killed a local administrator in the same area. Two Afghan election workers were kidnapped by unidentified assailants in northeastern Nuristan province Friday, but released unharmed the next day, officials said.

The violence has prompted the U.S. military to deploy an extra 700 troops to Afghanistan to bolster the 20,000-strong U.S.-led coalition. A separate 8,000-strong NATO-led force is also bringing in 3,000 more troops to boost security ahead of the polls.

Australian PM firm on troop commitment to Afghanistan

AFP - Prime Minister John Howard stood firmly behind his commitment to despatch soldiers to Afghanistan despite a new poll that found many Australians believe the deployment increases the country's chances of becoming a target for Islamic extremists.

A poll conducted for the Ten Network found that 51 percent of respondents said committing 150 Special Air Service (SAS) troops to Afghanistan would increase the chance of an attack occurring in Australia.

Thirty-eight percent said it would make no difference. "I think the real issue is what is right and what is wrong," Howard said on the network's Meet The Press programme.

"The right thing for Australia was to increase our commitment in Afghanistan and the right thing for Australia is to maintain our commitment in Iraq until the job is done."

Earlier this month Howard announced that Australia would deploy the 150 elite soldiers to Afghanistan. Australian troops were brought home from the Central Asian warzone in late 2002 after deploying in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Howard has been a firm ally of US President George W. Bush in the "war on terror" and Australia has about 900 soldiers in Iraq.

The prime minister would not spell out a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq but said that it would depend on a range of factors including the ability of local security forces to work effectively against the insurgency and of the democratic structures to function.

"Now you can't fix a precise date and I'm not going to get into that game," he said. "The public, in a commonsense way, knows what is meant by the expression 'finish the job'."

Afghan president says open to future diplomatic ties with Israel - By The Associated Press July 24, 2005

Afghan President Hamid Karzai believes progress in the Middle East peace process and Palestinian statehood could augur possible diplomatic relations between Israel and Afghanistan, a newspaper on Sunday quoted him as saying.

"At this stage we do not have relations of any kind with Israel. But let us wait and see what happens in the future. The more the peace process moves forward, the more a new era of possibilities will be created in the area, especially as our Palestinian brothers see a brighter future, as a state and a nation, Afghanistan can weigh relations with Israel," Karzai reportedly told a reporter from the Maariv daily following a lecture in Rome.

Karzai was in the Italian capital as part of a European trip focused on Afghanistan's economic development and other issues. Israel has diplomatic relations with 163 states, an increase of 71 since the convening of the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991, but no official diplomatic ties with Afghanistan. Maariv quoted Karzai as saying his country was interested in a Middle East peace that would include "the rights of all the sides, peace that takes into account the rights of the Palestinians, and peace that will include the rights of the Israelis."

"I personally hope for peace in this part of the world," Karzai was quoted as saying. "I hope for peace that will keep both peoples happy. Loss of life, whether you are talking about Israelis, Palestinians, Jews or Muslims is terrible. Everyone is a human being," he said.

In Jerusalem, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel hoped it could have "normal and correct diplomatic relations with all countries in the Asian continent" and saw "no reason why such relations couldn't develop."

"We have good relations with many Asian countries and we hope it will not be long before the remainder also establish diplomatic relations with Israel," Regev said.

Afghanistan Elections: Endgame or New Beginning?
Asia Report N°101 - 21 July 2005 - International Crisis Group

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Elections for Afghanistan's National Assembly and Provincial Councils are a critical opportunity to achieve a sustainable peace in a country that is still emerging from a quarter century of conflict, created and exacerbated by ethnic, sectarian, regional and linguistic divisions. A representative and functional National Assembly could prove a crucial step in stabilising Afghanistan by allowing diversity of voices in decision-making. Provincial Councils could also help extend the authority of central government by introducing legally approved layers of devolution.

But the September polls will only succeed in stabilising Afghanistan's political transition if the elections are for institutions with properly defined roles and responsibilities; if the electoral system enables a true reflection of popular will; if the election process, including registration and vote counting is properly run; and if overall security is sufficient to allow for as free and fair a contest as possible in a country which still bears the scars of civil war.

In the 2004 presidential polls, Afghans had demonstrated immense enthusiasm for the political transition despite formidable security and other challenges. Preparations for these more complex elections are, however, set against a backdrop of electoral delays and neglect for the future institutions that will emerge.

Institutions . Little groundwork has been laid for legislative or locally devolved bodies. Instead all the eggs of state have been put in the basket of one man, the chief executive, President Hamid Karzai. Indeed the political environment created over three and a half years of the transitional process must call into question the ability of the new representative bodies to have a real voice in the future of Afghanistan.

If Afghanistan is to proceed on the path to stability, President Karzai's government and the international community will have to urgently build the new legislature's capacity. Defining the roles and the responsibilities of the Provincial Councils must become a priority for the National Assembly. And just weeks before elections are due, all stakeholders must collectively strive to make the process a success.

Electoral System . Instead of empowering political parties, essential for a successful political transition, Karzai's hostility has only added to their difficulties. The new Electoral Law -- not released until May, which excludes the use of party symbols on ballot papers, has undermined nascent democratic groupings, while old jihadi networks continue to have access to power and resources. The multi-member constituency Single Non-Transferable Voting (SNTV) system also works against new political parties that are, as yet, incapable of the sophisticated strategising and discipline needed to translate popular support into electoral victories. By encouraging appeals to narrow ethnic interests rather than broad-based constituencies, the electoral system could result in the absence of workable caucuses within the new National Assembly, further raising fears about the seeds of future instability.

Election Process . This has been marred so far by the lack of strategic planning on the part of the United Nations and the Afghan government. The two parts of the process that the Bonn Agreement specifically earmarked for the UN -- a pre-poll census and a voters' registry -- have been amongst the least satisfactory. This lack of planning has held these polls captive to a tight six-month timetable. And technical needs rather than the political aspirations of the Afghan people continue to drive preparations. Ballot production and distribution have received more time than the vetting of candidates in a land where numerous unpunished atrocities have taken place. Widespread civic education, essential given the lack of democratic experience, only got underway once the electoral process had begun. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees who took part in the presidential poll are likely to be disenfranchised for reasons of cost and convenience.

Despite the shortcomings of the electoral process, there are also some signs of hope. The Joint Electoral Management Body Secretariat (JEMBS), overseeing the election process, is pushing ahead with the hand it has been dealt and driving technical preparations for infinitely more complex polls at a faster pace than during the lead up to the presidential poll.

Over 5,000 candidates might make every stage of the preparations harder through sheer numbers, but these impressive numbers also demonstrate continued public interest in creating an Afghanistan where the ballot prevails, not the gun.

Tight electoral timelines place more emphasis on getting the work done, rather than capacity building. But some attention is finally being turned to the sustainability of electoral institutions and future polls. In the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) and Provincial Election Commissions (PECs), the country has important new electoral bodies in place.

Security . Yet heightened insecurity continues to pose one of the gravest challenges to free and fair elections. In recent months anti-government activity, particularly cross-border attacks from Pakistan, has been on the rise, and election workers have been attacked. With multiple provincial contests, these elections may well see an increase in factional violence as local power structures are challenged and, in some cases, long-term rivals put in direct competition. Much of this could take place after the announcement of results as the new political landscape creates winners and losers.

These elections thus stand as both a testing ground and incentive for a number of on-going programs to build security. These include the disarmament of both official and unofficial armed groups; the expansion of the Afghan National Army (ANA); the professionalisation of the Afghan National Police (ANP); as well as reform of the judicial system and imposition of the rule of law.

The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) program, aimed at officially recognised armed groups, has moved some 60,000 men out of the security equation and the ANA can also be seen as an embryonic success, adding to stability on polling day and beyond. Other processes, including the disbanding of Illegal Armed Groups (IAG) have, however, lagged behind. District and provincial governors, along with local police also remain a major source of intimidation, largely because of a failure, thus far, to professionalise the police and to rid local administrations of corrupt individuals.

While electoral vetting cannot substitute for a transitional justice process, a disappointing level of prudence over political will prevailed in assessing candidate eligibility, allowing many responsible for human rights abuses to contest the polls. Both the Karzai administration and its international supporters must recognise that the pursuit of stability and an end to impunity should proceed in tandem. The government must also ensure that the backroom deal-making which allowed some commanders to keep their place on the ballot in exchange for undertakings of ongoing disarmament is zealously followed up.

As largely trusted actors, the international security forces in Afghanistan will have to play a particularly crucial role in providing security and building trust before, during, and after the elections. However, the slow pace of extending a robust peacekeeping presence outside Kabul during the transitional period has allowed regional commanders to entrench themselves. Indeed, instability, combined with a climate of impunity, could undermine the electoral process. Building a secure environment to allow people to confidently exercise their secret vote and to react quickly to factional fighting in the run up to, during and after the polls, should be the focus of attention for both national and international military forces.

But, above all, preparations for the new representative institutions should be urgently accelerated if they are to have a real voice and not descend into chaos and paralysis. Within Afghanistan a multiplicity of voices needs to be heard in setting future development and other pressing priorities, ending the historic intolerance of political opposition.

The international community too must not regard the polls simply as a convenient exit strategy. These historic polls stand closer to the beginning than the end of Afghanistan's political transition. History has already shown the catastrophic consequences of allowing the Afghan state to wither. As the transitional period comes to an end, the Karzai government and the international community must commit themselves to ensuring that Afghanistan and its citizens can continue to follow the path of a sustainable peace.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To the Karzai Government:

1.  Foster security and voter confidence by:

(a)  taking firm, immediate action against officials involved in intimidation of candidates, electoral workers or voters; this should include the President's Office coordinating relevant ministries and electoral oversight bodies, including the JEMB, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and domestic observers such as the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), to identify offenders who should be dismissed;

(b)  instructing the Ministries of Defence and Interior to aggressively monitor ongoing candidate disarmament, turning over information on non-compliance to the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) through the Joint Secretariat; this should be accompanied by wider efforts at accelerating the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG).

2. Better prepare for the new institutions by:

(a)  instructing the Civil Service Commission to prioritise the training of a strong core of staff and legislative advisers for the National Assembly;

(b)  creating liaison points within all ministries for consultation with the new National and Provincial Assemblies;

(c)  ensuring that the Ministry of Finance builds in budget lines for the National Assembly, Provincial Council and future elections;

(d)  committing sufficient funds for resources and capacity-building to ensure effective participation by women and minority groups; and

(e)  building momentum for the currently undefined Provincial Councils through pre-election public consultations in the centre and regions on devolution, using the results to draft legislation and create extensive briefing papers for the new National Assembly to take the final decision.

3.  Ensure some representation for refugees through presidential appointees to the Meshrano Jirga; this should be preceded by extensive pre-election consultations by the Ministry of Refugees and Returnees.

4.  Continue the vetting process by having new members of the National Assembly and Provincial Councils sign legally binding affidavits before taking their seats, attesting that they had not been involved in any criminal activities, human rights abuses, or the narcotics trade.

5.  Develop the capacity of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and assist it in devising the framework for future elections by:

(a)  instituting a transparent process for the appointment of members to the IEC and Provincial Election Commissions;

(b)  ensuring that core national and regional election staff are retained; and

(c)  actively participating in the Post Election Strategy Group.

To the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) and the Independent Election Commission:

6.  Help build greater public awareness and candidate recognition by extending the formal campaign period through the remaining two months and abolish restrictive campaign rules.

7.  Call an urgent summit on civic education, including regional representatives of the JEMB, NGO partners and donor groups to assess progress and penetration.

8.  Ensure transparency and credibility on polling day by:

(a)  deploying trained polling staff, well in advance;

(b)  widely disseminating information on candidates' party affiliations and candidates who have been disqualified; and

(c)  devising an appropriate system to select small groups of election observers and candidates' agents to accompany ballot boxes to counting centres;

9.  Immediately after the elections build momentum for future polls by:

(a)  publishing a wide-ranging and critical lessons learned report, with particular reference to the performance of the SNTV electoral system;

(b)  preparing for the district elections in consultation with the Ministry of Interior and the Central Statistics Office; and

(c)  institutionalising ongoing civic awareness programs paying particular attention to areas of low female participation.

To the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC):

10.  Create a climate of candidate responsibility by:

(a)  publicising electoral offences and candidate eligibility criteria along with the standard of evidence needed for such complaints to succeed, and issuing regular updates on the status of such complaints;

(b)  disqualifying candidates where necessary.

11.  Ensure adequate resources are in place to enable proper examination of complaints, directly appealing to donors where they are not.                

To the International Community:

12.  Assist the election process and the institutions it will create by:

(a)  immediately filling the funding gap for the National Assembly and Provincial Council elections;

(b)  giving firm commitments to assist with funding elections and the electoral institutions for several more cycles, while setting specific goals for capacity building, local ownership and sustainability;

(c)  committing funds for resources and capacity building of the National and Provincial Assemblies; and

(d)  urging the government to allow foreign funding for political parties and creating, with the IEC, a transparent pool (with strict reporting requirements) to strengthen party activities.

13.  Help foster security and confidence by:

(a)  putting formal and informal pressure on Pakistan to seal its border against militant infiltration; and

(b)  retaining extra election-time troops until at least the end of the year.

Kabul/Brussels, 21 July 2005

Journalist Jailed for a Year in Kabul Feels Abandoned by U.S. as He Seeks Ways to Survive - By CARLOTTA GALL The New York Times July 24, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 19 - On visitors day at Kabul's once-notorious Pul-i-Charkhi prison, there is one inmate who stands out from the Afghans, wearing blue shades and an American T-shirt. It is Edward Caraballo, 43, an independent filmmaker from the Bronx, who was one of the three Americans found guilty last year by a Kabul court of running a private jail and torturing hostages.

"I usually wear Afghan clothes," he said during the visit earlier this month, referring to the baggy shirt and pants that is the local dress. "But today is the Fourth of July, so I put on my T-shirt in honor of my country."

A year ago this month, Afghan security forces raided a residential house here in the Afghan capital and arrested three Americans: Jonathan K. Idema, 48, known as Jack, a former member of the Special Forces and the ringleader of the group; Brent Bennett, 28, an Army-trained forward air controller; and Mr. Caraballo.

The security personnel said they found a number of Afghans detained in the house and signs of interrogations. The Americans were shown little mercy by the Afghan authorities or their American counterparts in Afghanistan and were sentenced to 8 to 10 years in prison. The terms were later reduced by an appeals court judge; Mr. Caraballo is now serving a two-year sentence.

A year after their arrests, as their case nears its final appeal before the Afghan Supreme Court, the three Americans are chafing for freedom, living among more than a thousand Afghan and foreign prisoners, including some members of Al Qaeda.

They receive a weekly visit from a United States Embassy official - often an Afghan staff member who brings them mail and mineral water - and the occasional journalist.

"I feel abandoned by my own government," said Mr. Caraballo, a four-time Emmy award winner, who had followed Mr. Idema and Mr. Bennett to Afghanistan for a documentary on their hunt for terrorists.

Caught up with them in the raid, Mr. Caraballo says he was swept into prison and put on trial, despite his status as a journalist. Neither Washington nor any professional organizations have taken up his case.

Now, after a year in detention, and in a bid to win his freedom, he is seeking to separate himself from Mr. Idema, whom Washington has said is neither a member of the American military nor an undercover antiterrorist operative, as he has claimed. In April, Mr. Caraballo succeeded in moving to Block 1, a compound for less dangerous criminals that stands slightly separate from the main Soviet-built prison on the eastern outskirts of Kabul where the others remain.

He now has his own cell. "I moved to be on my own, really, to express the fact that I am not part of Jack's group," he said in a recent interview in the prison grounds. "I came to Afghanistan as a filmmaker to document this group."

Mr. Idema wanted a journalist to document his mission, he said. "I wanted to see the state of affairs in Afghanistan and what the U.S. influence was here, so it seemed like a perfect match," he said.

Former colleagues have suggested that Mr. Caraballo was hired by Mr. Idema to make the film about him, and therefore had crossed the line between being an independent filmmaker and a member of Mr. Idema's team.

But Mr. Caraballo said he was acting like any journalist embedded with a military unit, eating with the unit and using the military's transportation but maintaining editorial control over his film.

He said that although he had been hired by Mr. Idema in the past for editing and Web site work, that was not the case on this project. He paid for his own flight to Afghanistan, he said, using money that one of the three major American broadcast networks had supplied as an "investment in the project." He would not name the network.

He does not deny that the interrogations took place, but he said he was not present for many of them and was not ultimately responsible for what went on. "It was not my job to decide if the techniques were proper or improper," he said. "It's my job to report it, and to let the world decide on what the imagery represents."

Missing home and his 3-year-old daughter, Mr. Caraballo is focusing his efforts on surviving in the volatile atmosphere of an Afghan prison. He converted to Islam to gain the acceptance of the Afghan inmates, who would not eat or sit with him.

He was given his own cell, for his own safety, but he makes a point of showing his face and making friends. He teaches English to a few inmates and guards. He has even made peace with an Arab inmate in his block who he said was one of the Qaeda members who started a riot in December, seizing weapons from the guards and trying to break into the Americans' cell to kill them.

The Afghans have surprised him. "They all love Bush, because he liberated their country," he said, "and they all say Osama bin Laden is Bush's friend," suggesting that in their minds there is a conspiracy that allows Al Qaeda's leader to remain at large.

"The young people all want to learn English here," he said. "They want to become Westernized. The top three requests I get at every corner are - No. 3: do I have any American cigarettes? No. 2: do I have an American magazine for them? And the top request is: 'Please take me to America.' "

He keeps a journal, writing in a thick blue notebook in tiny script, detailing his days and charting his mood swings on a graph that looks like a heart monitor. When he feels down, he pulls out a file of letters from home and rereads them.

He praises the guards and prison commanders for treating him well. "I try to make it easy for them and they for me," he said. He seems to have won them over. "He's an innocent man, and a good man," said Gen. Zaher Zaheruddin, commander of Pul-i-Charkhi prison. "He's a journalist," the general added. "You should put pressure on the American government to take him out of here."

Washington Insider Takes on Envoy Role - By SALLY BUZBEE, AP Jul 23

BAGHDAD, Iraq - He is virtually unknown to most Americans. Yet since the day of the Sept. 11 attacks, Zalmay Khalilzad has handled some of his country's most-delicate diplomatic assignments.

Now, the man known at the White House and CIA as just "Zal" takes on his biggest challenge — running America's relations with Iraq. As he does, Khalilzad may be forced to scale back the high profile he held as ambassador to Afghanistan, where he met the Afghan president so often that some believed he virtually ran the place.

But Khalilzad, who started his new job Saturday at meetings with Iraq's president and prime minister, shows no signs of shrinking from sight.

"Iraq is different than Afghanistan, and Afghanistan is different from Iraq — but I am the same person," Khalilzad said just before heading to Baghdad. "I know the Iraqi leaders and they know me ... If they need my help, I'm going to be available no matter what time it is of the day."

Apparent proof of his words came Saturday, when Iraqi President Jalal Talabani greeted him as "our old, dear friend" then closed the meeting with a warm embrace.

In one sign Khalilzad has few plans to give up control, he takes the Iraq job even while retaining his title as President Bush's special envoy to Afghanistan — in effect, making him the point person on America's two top overseas hot spots.

Yet Iraq is definitely different, with a new government sensitive on the topic of U.S. military occupation and political influence. Already this week, one prominent Iraqi Kurd accused U.S. officials of interfering in the constitution-drafting process.

"I think he knows Iraq isn't Afghanistan and that his profile has to be different," said Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Nevertheless, Khalilzad already has pushed hard on the constitution, calling its completion by an Aug. 15 deadline vital. He also plans to plunge into another sensitive topic — talks over eventually reducing U.S. military forces here.

"When to start reduction will be something that will be condition-driven, and we will get agreement with the Iraqis. I look forward to starting those discussions," he said recently in Washington.

Another priority will be improving U.S. reconstruction aid, now widely viewed as lagging and leaving Iraqis demoralized. "My approach will be to under-promise and over-deliver," Khalilzad said Saturday.

It is Khalilzad's closeness to Bush, to Vice President Dick Cheney and to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that many view as the source of his influence.

He worked under Cheney when Cheney was defense secretary for the first President Bush, then served as the second Bush administration' transition head at the Pentagon. After that, Khalilzad moved to the White House's National Security Council — the inner circle of foreign policy advisers to the president.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Khalilzad — born in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif — was the only policy-maker of Afghan heritage, or even much expertise, inside the White House. During the war to oust the Taliban, Khalilzad worked closely with the Pentagon.

He never shied from offering his opinions, earning a reputation as the true power behind U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai. The two usually met several times a week, often for private lunches in the presidential palace or to walk in its gardens.

Khalilzad's influence was on view last October when crucial presidential elections were threatened by Karzai's rivals' decision to boycott the vote. The U.S. ambassador raced around Kabul, meeting each politician individually until he successfully convinced each to drop the protest.

Such prominence brought security threats: Afghan intelligence agents said they scuttled a plot to assassinate Khalilzad in June — just the latest in a string of attempts, U.S. officials say. Even while busy with Afghanistan, Khalilzad had a hand in Iraq.

Before the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in March 2003, Khalilzad was a special envoy to the Iraqi opposition and held a key prewar meeting with opposition leaders in Kurdistan.

One of the trickiest issues he will face now is coordinating U.S. diplomatic and aid efforts with U.S. military actions in Iraq. In Afghanistan, Khalilzad had good relations with the military, said Cordesman.

"He has studied military tactics and counterinsurgency operations, but I don't think this is someone who sees himself as a commander," Cordesman said. "This is someone who sees himself as a stimulator."

India to continue Iran pipeline talks despite deal with US

AFP - India will press ahead with talks on a pipeline deal to deliver natural gas from Iran despite an agreement with the US for the sale of civilian nuclear technology, weekend reports said.

Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, who this year secured cabinet approval for the pipeline first mooted in 1994, said the nuclear technology agreement with Washington was not a "quid pro quo" for abandoning the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.

"I don't think there's any connection between the two," said Aiyar when asked if India had promised to scrap efforts to import natural gas from Iran in return for Washington providing nuclear technology and fuel for power generation, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

On Monday US President George W. Bush announced he would ask Congress as well as allied nations to lift sanctions preventing Indian access to civil nuclear technology after talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington.

India was denied access to large nuclear reactors and fuel under sanctions imposed on it after it conducted nuclear tests in 1974 and later in 1998.

Washington opposes the 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) pipeline, voicing its objections to New Delhi buying gas from Iran. The US accuses Iran of supporting terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb.

Aiyar, however, said India would press ahead with the negotiations on the 4.5-billion-dollar pipeline. "All difficulties notwithstanding, we will continue to proceed and we will, God willing, succeed."

The minister echoed remarks by premier Singh last week in Washington that the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project was fraught with risks.

"In my view it is going to be extremely difficult to put together a financial consortium to finance the project and run as world-class project," Aiyar said. But he added India's "enormous energy requirement cannot be met without accessing gas in Iran.

India imports 70 percent of its crude oil needs and produces just half the gas it requires. The fuel import requirements of the country of more than one billion people are seen growing rapidly as its economy surges. "We are continuing with negotiations which at present are at a preliminary stage," Aiyar said.

In an interview in the Washington Post, Singh had said he was "realistic enough to realise that there are many risks" associated with the pipeline "considering all the uncertainties of the situation there in Iran."

"I don't know if any international consortium of bankers would probably underwrite this. But we are in a state of preliminary negotiations, and the background of this is we desperately need the supply of gas that Iran has."

Iran's proposal for the pipeline in the 1990s failed to make headway due to India's worries over the security of the pipeline passing through nuclear-armed rival Pakistan.

[Disclaimer: The content of this news bulletin does not necessarily reflect the view or policy of the Afghan Government, unless specifically stated as such. The collection of articles and commentaries from Afghan and international news sources is provided for informational purposes, and accuracy of the news is the responsibility of the original source.]