NGOs form 'parallel' government in Afghanistan: minister

Ahady said aid to Afghanistan needed to be funnelled to the government directly instead of through aid agencies which have "become a parallel government." "The function of the government has been taken over by others," he said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here on Tuesday.

Ahady questioned why most health services and education were administered by non government organizations instead of the education or public health ministries. "The government is accountable to the people. NGOs are not accountable to the people," he said. Ahady noted that non-governmental agencies do not pay taxes or levies on the materials they import and do not risk their own money like private investors.

"We welcome them, but they should get their money from somewhere else," rather than from the pool of international aid, he said. Ahady said his country would need considerable amounts of continued international aid as it rebuilds.

"Afghanistan was a failed state. The objective was to rescue that failed state," Ahady said of the complete political and economic reconstruction Afghanistan undertook after the fall of the fundamentalist Taliban regime in 2001. "Our own resources are absolutely inadequate."

Ahady said Afghanistan is in the middle of a "comprehensive social revolution," in which both values and institutions change dramatically. The minister said the transition to a liberal economy was encouraging private investment and that the security situation was improving with warlordism "almost finished."

But, he said, Afghanistan could not sustain the changes without support from donor countries in the form of grants, not loans. "We need, if not billions, than at least hundreds of millions of dollars for roads," he said. "We cannot really borrow a large amount to rebuild our infrastructure. If we borrowed, we would very soon end up in a fiscal crisis."

Karzai urged to release list of wanted Taliban - By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL, April 20 (Reuters) - An Afghan newspaper urged President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday to publish a list of 150 Taliban members wanted for alleged atrocities, saying this would facilitate reconciliation with moderates from the group.

Karzai, installed in power after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001, has repeatedly offered amnesty to Taliban members, except for a hard core of about 150 who he says are responsible for terrorist acts or linked to al Qaeda. But the government has yet to publish the list.

In an editorial, the privately run English daily "Outlook" said the government should reveal the names. "If Karzai would announce the names of those 150 culprits, the whole job will become easier to demarcate the boundaries between criminal and the so-called innocent Taliban," it said.

The daily said the entire nation was interested in seeing the list and its publication would make it easier to hunt wanted Taliban members. No government spokesman was immediately available for comment.

So far at least five mid-level Taliban figures have responded to the amnesty offer and held talks with the government, officials say. Hardline leaders of the Taliban, including the group's elusive supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, have dismissed the amnesty as an attempt to create a rift in the movement and vowed to continue an insurgency aimed at toppling Karzai and driving foreign forces from Afghanistan.

At the same time, the Taliban have also called on the government to reveal the names of the 150 wanted members. U.S.-led troops overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 after they refused to hand over the al Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, the architect of Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. cities.

Last week, the number two in the Taliban movement, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, rejected as baseless reports that he had held reconciliation talks with Karzai's government. Afghan Chief Justice Fazl Hadi Shinwari said recently that senior Taliban figures, including Kabir, had been in touch with him about giving up their insurgency.

Kabir served as the Taliban's top military commander in the east of Afghanistan during the group's rule. Afghan sources say he played a big role in providing safe passage in 2001 for senior al Qaeda figures, including bin Laden, who had been trapped by U.S.-led forces in the Tora Bora mountains after the Taliban's fall.

Taliban guerrilla activity has picked up after a winter lull that followed the group's failure to make good their vow to disrupt last October's presidential elections, which Karzai won. But activity is down on past years, fuelling speculation that the movement may be struggling to find recruits and resources.

Afghanistan's Taliban launching coordinated attacks, says US - April 20, 2005

KABUL (AFP) - Taliban guerrillas are coordinating attacks on American and Afghan forces as part of a new springtime campaign of violence, the US military said after 17 militants died in a gunbattle. Afghanistan has recently seen some of its fiercest fighting for months with more than 30 insurgents linked to the ousted Islamic regime dying in firefights in the past week, according to officials.

"I think that there is a coordinated effort by the insurgents to make attacks against the ANA (Afghan National Army) and coalition forces," US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Cindy Moore told reporters in Kabul.

Three years of operations by an 18,000-strong US-led coalition have fragmented the ousted Islamic regime, but a top US commander warned last week they could coalesce ahead of parliamentary elections due in September.

Moore attributed the surge in violence to the warm spring weather, which has historically allowed militants to leave the mountainous hideouts they use during the freezing winter months. "I think we are seeing attacks of similar nature... to the last couple of years in spring," she said, adding that Afghan and US forces would "aggressively pursue" the insurgents.

Local commanders said gunbattles in southeastern Zabul province on Monday left 17 militants dead, including some linked to the Al-Qaeda network. Officials said another 16, at least five of them Pakistani and Chechen nationals, were captured.

Also on Monday, Afghan soldiers killed two Taliban militants and seized three others including a senior commander, officials said. One week earlier US helicopter gunships and jets killed 12 militants after a Taliban ambush in southeastern Paktia province, officials said.

Early Wednesday insurgents in a Pakistani border village fired at least four "long-range" missiles which landed near a US-led military outpost in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province, the provincial security commander told AFP.

Afghan officials have repeatedly accused militants of crossing the porous border and using Pakistani territory to attack targets in Afghanistan. However, the US-led military has repeatedly praised Pakistan's military activities against the insurgents, most recently during a meeting between US, Afghan and Pakistani representatives in Islamabad.

US military claim angers Pakistan - BBC News / Wednesday, 20 April, 2005

A Pakistani general says US claims that Pakistan is planning a new offensive against militants in its Waziristan region are "highly irresponsible". Lt Gen Safdar Hussain, who commands Pakistani forces in Waziristan, was responding to comments by David Barno, head of US forces in Afghanistan.

Gen Hussain said he had no reports on which to base a new operation. Pakistan stepped up military operations a year ago against suspected al-Qaeda and Taleban militants in the region.

'Speculation' - Gen Hussain was responding to Lt Gen Barno's comments that a new Pakistani operation would happen soon. Gen Barno was in Pakistan this week as part of counter-terrorism talks.

Gen Hussain said in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province: "It is only speculation that terrorists are in North Waziristan. "We are gathering intelligence but there is no report on the basis of which I can begin an operation.

"There is no organised base of terrorists. They are on the run. I will not let them reorganise." Gen Hussain, who met Gen Barno this week, said: "I told Gen Barno he should better take care of Afghanistan and we can do ourselves in Pakistan."

Disciplinary action - His comments came a day after Pakistani army spokesman Maj Shaukat Sultan also criticised the statement by Gen Barno, saying: "We decide for ourselves what needs to be done, when and where."

Analysts say that although Pakistan remains a key ally in the US-led war against terrorism, it is highly sensitive to suggestions of US involvement in its operations. Pakistan has deployed about 70,000 troops to the Afghan border region in its operation against militants.

The army has said in the past that hundreds of militants, including Arabs, Afghans and Central Asians, have been based in the area. In his comments on Wednesday, Gen Hussain also said for the first time he had taken action against soldiers involved in the killing of civilians.

The action included their replacement from command positions, stripping them of seniority and sending them home. he refused to give any further details or numbers. Gen Hussain also said was sure al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was not hiding in Pakistan.

He said Bin Laden's security ring was such that any movement in Pakistani areas would have left his signature. But he said Pakistani forces were nevertheless continuing the search.

Pakistan asks coalition forces to check movement by militants from Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP)  Pakistan's military has asked U.S.-led coalition forces to do more to stop Afghan militants from entering Pakistan, a spokesman said Tuesday. The army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, said they made this demand at a meeting of senior defense officials and diplomats from Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States, who met at Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital Islamabad on Monday.

He also dismissed the suggestion by Lt. Gen. David Barno, America's senior military commander in Afghanistan, that Pakistan will soon launch an offensive against militants in its North Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border. ``We decide for ourselves what needs to be done, when and where,'' Sultan said.

Pakistan, a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, has launched major military operations in its tribal regions near the Afghan border to flush out al-Qaida linked militants over the past year. However, Islamabad has been criticized by U.S. and Afghan officials for not doing enough to stop Taliban militants crossing from Pakistan to launch attacks inside Afghanistan. 

Action planned in N. Waziristan: US general's briefing - Dawn (Pakistan) / April 19, 2005

ISLAMABAD, April 18: Pakistan is planning to launch an operation against terrorists in North Waziristan as US forces prepare to undertake a spring offensive in Afghanistan.

This was stated by Commander of the coalition forces in Afghanistan, Lt-Gen David Barno, while talking to journalists at the US Embassy here on Monday.

Referring to a meeting of the Tripartite Commission of the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan held earlier in the day, he said: "We collectively feel that there is a need to undertake an operation in North Waziristan. That's an area where I think the Pakistani military is about to undertake a military operation to keep pressure on terrorist networks.

"We are in the middle of beginning a spring offensive and the Pakistani forces are busy moving troops to North Waziristan to continue to put pressure on terrorist networks," he said.

Gen Barno, who completed his tenure in the region after having been posted in October 2003, said he visited Pakistan frequently during his 18-month stay to hold meetings with senior military and intelligence officers. He said that besides Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, his areas of responsibility included Pakistan as head of the combined forces in Afghanistan.

Replying to a question about incidents of firing between Pakistan and Afghan troops along the border, Gen Barno said the number of such incidents had reduced significantly as Pakistani liaison officers deployed at the coalition operational headquarters in Afghanistan shared information on activities of forces on both sides of the border.

Gen Barno warned that remnants of Taliban and Al Qaeda were planning to stage some high visibility attack over the next six to nine months that would 'get them back on the scoreboard' after suffering major strategic defeats last year. "There are continuing threats out there. The enemy operations taper off during winter and make resurgence during spring which has been a pattern over the last few years."

The US general said though the popular support for the Taliban and their remnants in Afghanistan had decreased the terrorist threat was still there. "Terrorists are not going to go away and the only way to combat them is to put pressure on them and disrupt their operations. We will continue to see attacks in Afghanistan. The war is not over."

About the pockets of support for the Taliban and others terrorist groups, Gen Barno identified areas in northern and eastern Afghanistan where coalition forces or the central government were not present.

He said the number of Nato troops in Afghanistan would be increased from their current strength of 8,500. By June 1, Nato forces would have the military responsibility of the northern Afghanistan and would expand further into the western parts of the country, he said.

Gen Barno said the hunt for Osama bin Laden remained an intelligence challenge. He said as compared to a military operation, the hunt for a single individual in rugged mountains was a difficult task, but efforts to find Osama would not be given up till success was achieved.

Talking about major challenges in the coming days, Gen Barno said Al Qaeda wanted chaos in the region and remnants of the Taliban regime, including Gulbadin Hekmatyar's group and others, were still a threat and efforts were on to tackle them.

When asked about Iranian influence in Afghanistan, especially in Herat, Gen Barno said Iran had an interest in that area as it was situated on their border. "I have not seen indications that they are sending weapons into Afghanistan.

When asked if arms had made way into Balochistan to create trouble in Pakistan, Lt-Gen Barno said: "I don't know. I have not seen any intelligence report in this regard. But we don't have any intelligence focussed on that part of the border on either side."

In reply to a question about poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, he said it had declined during the past three months and the UN had documented that there was a significant decrease in the first part of this year. However, he said, a narcotics network operated in Afghanistan and the Karzai government had launched an operation to tackle the problem.

TRIPARTITE MEETING: The tenth meeting of the tripartite commission held here on Monday was attended by Pakistan Army's Director-General Military Operations Maj-Gen Mohammad Yousaf, Lt-Gen Sher Karimi of the Afghan army and Lt-Gen Barno of the US military.

According to an official statement, the three sides expressed satisfaction over successes achieved in 2004 and agreed to further improve coordination and information-sharing to enhance the effectiveness of counter-terrorist operations.

The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said the three sides welcomed the recent visit of President Hamid Karzai to Pakistan and stressed the importance of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The parties welcomed the establishment of a counter-narcotics working group, a body operating in parallel to the Tripartite Commission, formed to facilitate discussions of officials of the three parties on counter-narcotics issues. The Tripartite Commission will meet again in June 2005 in Kabul.

U.S. Military Chief in Afghanistan Meets with Tajik President

General Barno, President Rahmonov discuss Afghan elections, narcotics
U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe Dushanbe, Tajikistan; U.S. State Department

Terrorist organizations might try to interfere with the upcoming parliamentary elections in Afghanistan “but they will be unsuccessful” and the Afghan people will go to the polls in September just as they did for the 2004 presidential election, says the United States’ senior military officer in Afghanistan, Army Lieutenant General David Barno.

“The Afghan people will come out and vote once again for their future,” said Barno in an interview in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, following his meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov April 15.  “They have rejected terrorism and they voted for democracy, and that makes the whole region a safer place.”

The general said he and Rahmonov discussed the current military situation in Afghanistan and the state of U.S.-Tajik military cooperation and U.S. assistance to Tajikistan for border security and counternarcotics.

“I have been in Afghanistan in my posting for about a year and half now, and I have seen a continual improvement of the security situation,” Barno said. In 2004, terrorists suffered “four major strategic defeats” when:

• The Afghans passed their constitution;

• 10 million Afghans registered to vote;

• 8.5 million Afghans came out and voted for democratic government; and

• President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated and appointed his cabinet.

In addition to President Rahmonov, Barno met with Minister of Defense Colonel General Sherali Khairulloev, Chairman of State Border Control Committee Colonel General Saidamir Zuhurov, and Director of Drug Control Agency Lieutenant General Rustam Nazarov.

 “We had very extensive discussions on the threats posed by the narcotics trade and how collectively Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the U.S. and Coalition military can help to stem and interrupt that trade,” Barno said.

Following is a transcript of Lieutenant General Barno’s press briefing provided by the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe:

Transcript of the press conference at the Tajik Presidential Dacha following the meeting of President Rahmonov with Lieutenant General David W. Barno, Commander Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan Anti-terrorist Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan, Richard E. Hoagland.

Question: (Avesto Information Agency): General Barno, what were the main issues you discussed with President Rahmonov?

General Barno (GB): We had a very good meeting and looked at many security issues that affect both Afghanistan where I am stationed and Tajikistan.  We had very extensive discussions on the threats posed by the narcotics trade and how collectively Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the U.S. and Coalition military can help to stem and interrupt that trade.  We agreed that a very important part of that was working collectively to help secure the borders between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.  We recognize that the Tajik border security forces had a lot of success in stopping narcotics trade and making arrests, and I talked to the President about our U.S. military role here in conjunction with the State Department, the United Kingdom, and the international community to help build the same kind of capabilities with the Afghan border forces.

We also talked about the continuing threat that terrorism poses to the nations in the region and looked at ways that we can work collectively on the military-to-military side to help interrupt that threat and to prevent it from having impact on the countries of this region who seek peaceful outcomes and a peaceful future.

It was a very good meeting and helped to reinforce the already good relationship between the U.S. and coalition military, the Afghan military, and the Tajik military and border forces.

Question (IRNA, Iranian Information Agency):  How do you evaluate the security situation in Afghanistan on the eve of parliamentary elections?

GB: I have been in Afghanistan in my posting for about a year and half now, and I have seen a continual improvement of the security situation.  Last year, in my view, the terrorists there - Al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, Hekmatyar's group - suffered four major strategic defeats.  They were defeated when the Afghans passed their constitution; they were defeated when the Afghan people came out in over 10 million in numbers to register; they were defeated during the election when 8.5 million Afghans came out and voted for democratic government; and they were defeated a fourth time when President Karzai was inaugurated and appointed his cabinet.  Those were four major losses for terrorists last year.

This year we have five more months before the parliamentary elections in September, and I am sure that the terrorist organizations are going to try to interrupt that - but they will be unsuccessful.  The Afghan people will come out and vote once again for their future.  They have rejected terrorism and they voted for democracy, and that makes the whole region a safer place.

Question (ITAR-TASS, Russian News Agency):  General, did you discuss with President Rahmonov the support that Tajikistan can make to your anti-terrorist actions in Afghanistan?

GB:  We had more broadly focused discussions looking at counter-narcotics issues and border-security issues - more with regard to how we can continue to build close relations with Tajik military forces and border forces here.  We continue to look at opportunities for the U.S. military and the Tajik military to work together to help build better capabilities for counterterrorism here in this region.

Question (Reuters):  Will the number of U.S. troops change in Afghanistan in the next year?

GB:  We continue to look at the requirements for security forces and troop presence in Afghanistan.  For the first time recently, there is a larger force in the Afghan National Army - the new national army - than there are with coalition military forces that under my command.  The Afghan National Army now has over 22,000 troops.

We continually evaluate the number of forces required in Afghanistan based on the threat and the success of Afghan National Army and now the new expansion of NATO as they continue to grow their forces in Afghanistan and take a larger and larger security role.  But I can tell you the United States has a long-term commitment to the success of the Afghan people as they embark on their democratic processes.

Afghan Leader Karzai Seeks Ban on Forced Marriages - By Sayed Salahuddin / April 19, 2005

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai Tuesday called on the country's Islamic clerics to help stop forced marriages of young girls. At a religious gathering in Kabul, Karzai urged Afghan scholars to follow the lead of Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, who earlier this month termed forced marriages un-Islamic and said violators should be jailed.

"Last week I became very happy when I heard the Ulema (scholars') fatwa by the brotherly country and heart of Islam, Saudi Arabia," he told the assembly, which included some women. "In this fatwa they mentioned that forced marriages of girls is unjust in Islam. We have similar problems in Afghanistan. I hope that the noble Afghan Ulema issues a similar fatwa like the Saudi Ulema to end the oppression of Afghan women and girls."

He said some Afghan women were still oppressed three and a half years after U.S.-led forces overthrew the radical Taliban government that barred women from education and most outdoor work. While the Taliban greatly restricted women's rights, ordering them to wear coverall burqa garments when venturing outdoors, they themselves opposed forced marriages of girls.

The group's reclusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar issued a decree banning forced marriages but the practice, which has been going on for centuries, has continued. In some parts of the country, girls of 12 or younger are still given in marriage to settle tribal disputes, especially in southern areas bordering Pakistan which are home to ethnic Pashtuns, Afghanistan's biggest tribe.

Despite an easing of restrictions on women's rights since the Taliban's overthrow, many women continue to wear burqas to avoid inflaming conservative sentiments, and dozens commit suicide every year to escape abuse by their husbands.

Afghan Opium Eradication Plan Continues - By NOOR KHAN, Associated Press / April 19, 2005

SANZERI, Afghanistan - Afghan police and soldiers are pressing ahead with a plan to eradicate the world's largest opium crop, moving from field to field in southern Kandahar province with cutters and large sticks as angry farmers look on.

Authorities have destroyed almost 50 acres of illegal poppy crops since Sunday in and around Sanzeri, Haji Mohammed, the local police chief, told The Associated Press. Similar operations are under way in other parts of the country, though it will be some time until officials get a clear sense of how much of this year's crop is destroyed.

The eradication campaign was suspended April 12, its first day, when police sent to destroy poppy fields in Kandahar opened fire on rock-throwing protesters. At least seven people were hurt, though officials denied reports of fatalities.

Local and central government authorities have held meetings with tribal elders in an effort to restore calm, and it seemed to be working. On Tuesday, there was anger but no violence among the farmers as they watched officials hack through their crops.

"I had no idea whether growing this was legal or illegal," said one farmer, Mohammed Gull. "All I know is that I was about to harvest my field and now the government has destroyed everything. They have ruined me. I've lost everything." Another farmer, Yar Mohammed, said the government has promised aid for the drought stricken region, but none had arrived.

"I have not seen it. The government should provide us with schools, roads and electricity and give us some other job we can do to make money if they don't want us to grow poppies," he said. "After this I will have no choice but to go begging for work in town to feed my family."

President Hamid Karzai has called for a "holy war" on drugs after Afghanistan's share of the market for opium, the raw material for heroin, leapt to 87 percent last year, sparking warnings that it is fast turning into a narco-state.

The president sent Gen. Mohammed Daoud, the deputy interior minister in charge of counter-narcotics, to Kandahar on Tuesday to oversee the operation. Countries including the United States, Britain and France are training new police units to destroy poppy fields, smash drug labs and arrest smugglers while providing hundreds of millions of dollars to help farmers switch to legal crops.

But it is expected to take years to replace a crop that has powered Afghanistan's post-Taliban revival and provided a lifeline to war-impoverished rural communities. Much of the country's opium crop is expected to be harvested in coming weeks, meaning time is of the essence. But in Kandahar, the going has been extremely slow.

Police have waited for days for the go-ahead from the governor to start eradication in other districts in the province. Haji Mohammed, the district police official, expressed sympathy for the farmers but he said he would follow his orders.

"Certainly, the people in the area are very poor and need the help of the government and the international community," he said. "They should be given an alternative business or get help to improve their agriculture. But in accordance with our directives, we must destroy all their poppy fields.

Pakistan plans 12 entry points: Afghan border - By Khaleeq Kiani / Dawn (Pakistan) / April 19

ISLAMABAD, April 18: The government plans to establish around 12 entry points on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border through a road network in a few years to boost trade activities with Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs), sources say.

A senior official of the ministry of communications told this correspondent main objective of the initiative, backed by the Asian Development Bank, was to provide access to the CARs and Afghanistan to Gwadar port.

According to the official, the forthcoming budget was expected to include allocations for establishing at least four entry points on the Afghan border. The number of the entry points would be gradually increased to 12 in two to three years, keeping in view the security situation in Afghanistan.

These entry points will not only benefit Pakistan but also Afghanistan because it will have access to another port for handling of its transit trade goods. Afghanistan had already asked Pakistan to provide warehousing facilities at Gwadar port, the official said.

He said Pakistan and India would also be opening two more routes on Jammu-Sialkot and Madarpur-Poonch border in a few months, initially for a bus service like the one between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar.

He said the Azad Kashmir government had been asked by the federal government to be prepared for providing required facilities and to improve relevant road network on the two routes. The routes could also become trade routes at a later stage, subject to progress in the ongoing peace process, he added.

The party's over for Afghan NGOs - By Ramtanu Maitra (Asia Times)

On April 4, Afghan President Hamid Karzai finally stepped out of outgoing US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad's shadow and called some of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating inside Afghanistan "corrupt".

After making known Article 8 of the new Afghan legislation that prevents NGOs from bidding for Afghan government-sponsored project contracts, Karzai called a meeting with ambassadors and representatives from the United Nations and donor countries based in Kabul.

Voicing his strong concern that some NGOs were responsible for squandering the precious resources that Afghanistan received in aid from the international community, Karzai told the gathering: "We have a responsibility towards the Afghan people, as well as the taxpayers in the donor countries, to stop NGOs that are corrupt, wasteful and unaccountable."

The Afghan president announced the establishment of a joint task force consisting of Minister of Economy Mohammad Amin Farhang, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development Haneef Atmar and chief of staff of the President's Office Umer Daudzai to examine the issue and submit recommendations in no more than a month.

Bashar Dost's accusations - To many observers of Afghan developments, Karzai's denouement of the NGOs was overdue. Last November, Abdur Rasheed Saeed of the Institute for War and Peace (IWP) reported that Planning Minister Dr Ramazan Bashar Dost had told him of thousands (there are some 3,000 NGOs operating within Afghanistan, of which close to 350 are foreign-based) of NGOs that had failed to deliver effective assistance to the stressed Afghan people. In December, ostensibly under pressure from the NGOs and the countries they represent, Dost was forced to resign. It was evident that in asking Dost to step down, Karzai, whether he liked it or not, had to succumb to the external pressure.

Since becoming the planning minister in March 2004, Bashar Dost made it clear publicly that the NGOs were ineffective and had wasted money that should be being spent on the Afghan people. Pointing out that existing Afghan law "didn't clarify the responsibility of NGOs and the procedure for their control", Dost spearheaded a draft law that would regulate their operations. He noted that when an NGO received funds, either from a government or a non-governmental source, they are supposed to distribute most of those funds to the people of Afghanistan. "I have yet to see an NGO that has spent 80% of its money for the benefit of the Afghans and 20% for their own benefit," he said.

"International NGOs get big amounts of money from their own nations just by showing them sensitive pictures and videos of Afghan people, and there are even some individuals who give all their salaries to NGOs to spend it on charity here. But [the NGOs] spend all the money on themselves, and we are unable to find out how much money they originally received in charitable funds," Bashar Dost told the IWP.

Dost advocates elimination of "NGO-ism" - and not NGOs. He told the IWP that there are some so-called NGOs that operate for profit, like private companies. "I haven't seen any NGO at all which works efficiently yet," he added.

A predictable uproar - Dost's comments angered the NGOs and the United Nations. Paul Barker, country director of the aid agency CARE, declared: "These ill-founded, unsubstantiated and generalized attacks, from a government minister, are creating a climate in which the government is seen to be legitimizing attacks on NGOs." Of course Parker did not want to urge the Karzai government to investigate and substantiate Dost's charges, suggesting he is wholly aware that the planning minister was not whistling in the dark, and that evidence of a cobweb of corruption may come out if such investigations were carried out.

Instead, Barker, speaking for the NGO community, took the high road, accusing the planning minister of aiding attacks on the NGOs. Similarly, without making reference to the Afghan minister's charges, UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva told a news briefing in November: "Justification of violence in general, and against NGOs in particular, is unacceptable. The government has a paramount duty to uphold law and order and it cannot be involved in legitimizing or condoning physical aggression in any way."

Missing the real issue - The UN spokesman's statement is certainly true, in general. But both Dr Parker and the UN are dodging the real issue. The fact is that NGO activity in Afghanistan raises many legitimate questions. For instance, using their foreign and donor nations' links the tax-exempt NGOs have gotten access to government contracts that tax-paying local commercial companies should have won. The NGOs, using their political muscle and their well-oiled linkages to the International Security Assistance Forces, won some contracts by developing access to government officials, including ministers, some of whom were formerly their employees. Because of the higher pay they can offer, some of these NGOs have hired qualified individuals who would otherwise be available to serve the government.

One can get a whiff of the type of "NGO-Raj" that angered Dost in an article published in Outside magazine (December 2003): "When the world community of do-gooders arrives to rescue a nation from itself, the first sign is the blinding white traffic jam. White Land Rovers stack up thick at the airport; white Nissan Pathfinders block the streets at lunch; miraculous white-on-white Toyota Land Cruisers choke the traffic circles of the lucky target country. This caravan of chariots was triple-parked outside the Mustafa Hotel in downtown Kabul on a Saturday night. Late-model 4x4s filled the avenue and circled the block, churning up dust as the chauffeurs maneuvered for parking. I threaded my way through a cluster of acronyms: UN, UNESCO, UNDP, UNHCR, FAO, UNICEF, UNICA, UNAMA, UNOPS, UNEP, MSF, ACF, MAP, MACA, IRC, WFP, IOM, IMC. Even the hotel was painted white. I could hear Shakira [Colombian singer and sex symbol] playing faintly from above."

Similarly, a writer for the Chennai-based Indian daily The Hindu, posted in Kabul, observed: "People working in some of these NGOs lead a lavish lifestyle. A look at their offices and their houses, the way they are furnished, the air-conditioned cars they drive, all add to the resentment of the people, as it all comes out of the aid being pumped into the country."

In an article that appeared on March 26 in Der Spiegel, under the title "Afghanscam", Susanne Koelbl made a case, pointing out that in a country where the per capita income is just US$200, foreigners, or more appropriately the "$1,000 men" are jostling the streets of Kabul. Koelbl says the so-called $1,000 men were everywhere, hired by donor institutions like the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank. Recently, a list of salaries surfaced, causing a medium-sized political earthquake in the government. An employee of the British consulting firm Crown Agents, for example, received $207,000 for his 180-day placement in the Aid Coordination Office, plus expenses. Another submitted a bill for $242,000 for 241 days - 10 times as much as the Afghan minister responsible for running the ministry earns in a year.

The $1,000-a-day men - In addition, hundreds of consulting firms are competing for huge projects, and the number of active consultants in Afghanistan is estimated to be at least 3,000. "Suddenly there were more consultants than flies and dogs in this city," said an employee of the US Embassy who has worked in Kabul for two years. One German diplomat estimates that at least a quarter of US relief aid is spent on foreign experts alone, Susanne Koelbl wrote.

The article discusses one such consultant, William Strong, a 67-year-old Californian who recently landed a $30 million contract. Strong has a valid background making money in almost all of the world's crisis regions. He lives together with a dozen international co-workers in a $12,000-a-month villa in the northern part of Kabul. Working for a company called Emerging Markets Group, he has been given the task by the Afghan government of surveying the country's land and clarifying property ownership. "This is a huge market," a rapturous Strong said, before complaining that it's hard to find people who are "more interested in their job than money", Koelbl reported.

Koelbl's article also looks at another successful company, Bearing Point. With its headquarters in McLean, Virginia, the global consulting firm's Afghanistan budget alone is more than $100 million. Reports indicate the company's chief executive, Ed Elrahal, has succeeded in placing 70 of his company's consultants in the government. Elrahal's employees aren't allowed to talk to the press and in the few cases where they are, they can only do so under strict supervision. Nevertheless, one of the company's employees in the Finance Ministry told Koelbl why he is working here - anonymously, of course. In Kabul, he earns the same amount he would in far more dangerous Iraq - a daily rate plus a supplement of 50% for hardship and danger pay. But he refuses to disclose the amount - "It's a company secret," he said. But those with experience here know that the daily rate for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which operates globally, is $840.

The lifestyle of the foreign NGOs is not all that draws the ire of Afghan locals. Objection has also been raised to the corruption associated with the forming of fake community organizations, delivering small credits to the rich or friends of the NGO staff, reporting fake community development schemes, sharing the funds allocated for such schemes with a few community members, conducting meaningless training just for the sake of training, and over-budgeting the same to the donors. What angers other Afghans is the exuberance of the NGOs in funding programs related to "gender and development", which the more religious types perceive as "anti-Islam."

There is also a deeper, political point. Bashar Dost is among those who point out that NGOs in Afghanistan have not always functioned the way they are now. When the Taliban were in power, most NGOs were truly involved in humanitarian activities. But now there exists a semi-functioning government that the international community - in other words, the United States - wants to strengthen.

Donors like USAID want NGOs to work hand-in-hand with the Afghan government and the US military, and to wear donor political support on their sleeves. They are reportedly being asked to subjugate their anti-poverty missions to broader, more complex political and sometimes military goals. And this raises serious issues that ought not to be swept under the rug.

Ramtanu Maitra writes for a number of international journals and is a regular contributor to the Washington-based EIR and the New Delhi-based Indian Defence Review. He also writes for Aakrosh, India's defense-tied quarterly journal.

President Khatami receives Afghan Martyrs Minister - Tehran, April 19, IRNA

President Mohammad Khatami received here Monday the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's Minister of Martyrs Seddiqa Balkhi.

According to the Presidential Media Department, President Khatami referred to the great hardships endured by the Afghan nation and their epic of resistances, pointing out the Iranian nation and government's sympathy and constant readiness to offer humanitarian aide to their Afghan brethren.

The IRI president meanwhile expressed Iran's readiness to transfer its experiences and expertise in a bid to help organize the affairs related to the Afghan martyrs and the families, as well as war disabled veterans and their families.

Evaluating the presidential election in Afghanistan as "Positive", President Khatami expressed hope that the Islamic country could achieve its deserved and appropriate position in regional and international spheres. Emphasizing the necessity of fast renovation and reconstruction of Afghanistan, the President said "Iran has been punctually duty-bound to its vowed commitments regarding your country."

The Afghan minister, for her part, praised the Iranian government and nation for their "great support" of the Afghan people. She expressed hope that the Afghan Martyrs Ministry could be benefitted from the hard achieved experience of Iran's Martyrs Foundation throughout its long history. Balkhi also welcomed the idea of boosting cooperation and establishment of regular consultation sessions between the women of the two Islamic countries in different fields.

Evidences of ruins dating to Buddhist era found in Kabul - Pajhwok Afghan News 04/20/2005 By Zainab Mohaqiq

KABUL - The winter rains experienced by many provinces throughout Afghanistan has unearthed the ruins of an ancient building, believed to date back to the pre-Islamic Buddhist era, in Paghman district northwest of Kabul.

The head of the archeology department at the ministry of information and culture in Kabul, Mohammad Nader Rasuli said initial investigations suggest that the ruins were unearthed near Kunjaki Hill, near Oryakhail village, which was linked to Buddhism. Rasuli added that this may mean that other Buddhist statues may be found in the same vicinity.

Mohammad Nader, the owner of the land where the monument was discovered said that stones of the building surfaced after heavy rains washed away soil. "Then I reported the finding to the information and culture ministry," he said.

The ministry officials have been excavating the area for the past three days. "We have started the excavation in order to enlighten dark angels of history," Rasuli said.

Fazluddin a resident of Kunjaki village is in charge pf the excavation program. "During the Taliban, this area was excavated illegally and the Taliban officials did not allow ordinary people to visit the site," Fazluddin said. An American organization that carries out archeological research will fund the research project for the excavations to be conducted by Afghan archeologists.

Baloch shadow over China-Pakistan ties - By B Raman / Asia Times Online / April 19, 2005

The decision by Pakistani and Chinese authorities to cancel the program for the formal inauguration of the newly constructed Gwadar port by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during his recent visit to Pakistan gave a clear indication of the further deterioration in the situation in Balochistan.

The first stage in the construction of the Chinese-aided port had been completed ahead of schedule by the Chinese engineers after the death of three engineers in a terrorist explosion by suspected Uighur terrorists last year. Its formal inauguration was one of the principal functions planned by the two countries during the visit of Wen.

However, on the eve of his arrival in Pakistan, the authorities of the two countries decided to cancel the function. Though the Pakistani authorities have attributed the decision to serious damage to the roads in the area due to the recent heavy floods in some parts of the province, Pakistani media have reported that the cancellation was for security reasons.

It is said that the Pakistani authorities were worried that the Baloch nationalists, who have been opposing the port, might stage a spectacular incident during Wen's visit to the province to draw world attention to their opposition. On the other hand, the Chinese were reportedly worried that the Uighur terrorists, who have been sheltered by the Taliban in its camps in the province, could pose a threat to Wen.

It has been indicated by the Pakistani authorities that the port would now be commissioned by President General Pervez Musharraf or Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz after three or four months. It is not clear whether the 450 Chinese engineers who were working on the first stage of the project continue to stay there to participate in the construction of the second stage or whether they have all left the province due to security concerns, as claimed by the Baloch nationalists.

The News of April 14 reported as follows: "The port has been constructed at a cost of US$248 million. China has paid $198 million while Pakistan has contributed $50 million. China also offered expertise in the form of technical staff. Plus they have given the bulk of the equipment. Their work done, most of the 450 Chinese personnel have left for home. Phase 2 of the port will be constructed adjacent to Phase 1. It will be bigger. But for now, some ships have already started berthing at this port. Pakistan Petroleum, which is exploring off shore gas, is using the port loading and off-loading equipment fairly regularly."

Details are only now available of the 10-hour-long battle between the Frontier Corps (FC) troops and Balochi nationalists belonging to the Bugti tribe on March 17. Twenty-eight members of the Bugti tribe and 33 Hindus living under the protection of the tribe were killed during the exchange of fire. Of the Hindus killed, 19 were children.

Since this incident, there has been an exodus of Hindus from Balochistan into Sindh. Even earlier, the military-intelligence establishment had forcibly removed a large number of Hindus and some Sikhs who were living in the Gwadar and other areas on the Mekran coast, since it viewed them as a possible threat to the security of the port. The number of Hindus living in Balochistan has further thinned down as a result of the latest exodus, but the numbers involved are not available.

The prestigious Friday Times of Lahore has reported as follows in its issue for the week ending March 31: "Because of the clash, a large number of Hindu residents of Dera Bugti have reportedly migrated to Sindh's Khandkot, Kashmore and Jacobabad towns ... Hundreds of Hindus and Sikhs have migrated to the towns and villages of Sindh and Balochistan adjacent to Dera Bugti. There are still many who have sent off their families, but stayed back themselves, to lend support to Akbar Bugti [leader of the tribe], whose ancestors have protected them for over 400 years."

While the Baloch nationalists have claimed to have killed 35 FC personnel in the clash, the FC has asserted that it lost only eight. According to the Baloch nationalists, during the clash of March 17 and thereafter, the Pakistan army and the FC have diverted to Balochistan from South Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas some of the troops deployed there for operations against anti-US foreign mercenaries and much of the equipment given by the US for use against the remnants of al-Qaeda, such as helicopter gunships and communication equipment. This equipment is now being used to crush the Baloch nationalists.

To enable it to focus on its campaign against Baloch nationalists, the Pakistan army has reached a ceasefire agreement against the leaders of the pro-al Qaeda tribes in South Waziristan, after paying them large amounts as bribes in return for a promise by them that they would not indulge in any violent incidents in South Waziristan when the army was engaged in its counter-insurgency operations in Balochistan.

The army has further strengthened the iron curtain that was already there in the province to prevent details of the situation from spreading to other parts of Pakistan and the rest of the world. Despite this, many details have started coming out as a result of tours of the area undertaken by members of parliament and intrepid journalists.

The Nation of March 26 quoted Musharraf as having told the leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Qaide Azam, PML-QA) as follows: "The government strongly desires to resolve this issue once and for all, but not on the terms and conditions of Baloch nationalist Akbar Bugti. Bugti at present harbors his private army of 7,000 people; Marri [Khair Bux Marri] 9,000 and Mengal [Ataullah Khan Mengal] 10,000. Who is funding them and providing ammunition they are using to meet their nefarious designs? The situation is very alarming. The government cannot be cowed down by the threats being hurled by Akbar Bugti."

Musharraf told a public meeting in Kasur (Punjab) on April 11 that only one worthless tribal leader (his reference apparently was to Akbar Bugti) in Sui was creating problems and the government would protect all national installations at all costs. He warned that any attack on the FC or military would invite swift retaliation.

While thus ostensibly taking a strong line, a concerned Musharraf has been encouraging Chaudhry Shujjat Hussian, leader of the PML-QA, who enjoys his confidence, to negotiate with Akbar Bugti to find a solution to the grievances of the Bugti tribe in matters such as an increase in the payment of royalties to the tribe for the gas extracted from their areas. Under an agreement reached with Bugti, the tribe as well as the FC have already withdrawn many of the armed pickets set up by them after the March 17 clash.

Musharraf has embarked on a three-pronged strategy. First, to remain firm in his determination to go ahead with the construction of new military cantonments in Balochistan and Gwadar and other projects involving non-Baloch labor to which the Baloch nationalists are opposed. Second, to show flexibility in settling the grievances of the individual tribes in matters relating to their tribal rights with regard to issues such as payment of royalties for the utilization of the natural resources found in their territory by entering into separate negotiations with the leaders of each tribe. Third, to refuse to negotiate with the Baloch fighters and to crush them through the army and the paramilitary forces.

He is emulating the policy of divide and rule followed by the Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto government in the 1970s when it crushed the Baloch freedom struggle, which had erupted after the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, by creating differences between the Bugti tribe on the one side and the Marris and the Mengals on the other. Bhutto then used the Bugti tribe to crush the Marris and the Mengals.

Now, the Baloch fighters, wise from the experience of their predecessors of the 1970s, remain determined that they will not allow Musharraf to succeed in his policy of divide and rule. They know that this is a "now or never" struggle for them and their success will depend on their remaining united. Musharraf has not only been trying to create differences among different tribes, but he has also been trying to drive a wedge between the Baloch Sunnis, who are in a majority, and the Shi'ites.

"Remain united. Don't betray the Baloch cause." That is the call reverberating across the hills and valleys of Balochistan. Remaining united and resolute in the pursuit of their objective is the sine quo non of their new freedom struggle. But that alone may not be adequate. They need to strengthen their capability for waging a relentless struggle inside and outside their homeland.

B Raman is additional secretary (retired), cabinet secretariat, government of India, New Delhi, and currently director, Institute for Topical Studies, Chennai, and distinguished fellow and convener, Observer Research Foundation, Chennai Chapter.

Afghanistan notch up big win in ACC Cup By Our Sports Reporter 20 April 2005

DUBAI — Sajid Khan and Hasmathullah feasted on a thread-bare Hong Kong attack, smashing scintillating centuries as Afghanistan scored a massive 217-run victory in a quarter-final match of the Asian Cricket Council under-15 tournament at the DCC-2 ground yesterday. The two openers lit up the grey Dubai skies with an attractive stroke-play which had the hapless Hong Kong bowlers marvelling in awe the hitting power of the two youngsters.

Sajid slammed 118 off 105 ball with 10 four and four sixes while Hasmathullah cracked an equally elegant 105 off 124 balls with 11 hits to the fence. Thanks to their 237-run opening stand, Afghanistan put up a mammoth 267 for five in the allotted 40 overs. Hong Kong opening bowler Zuaid Khan took three wickets for 58 runs, but the damage has already been done.

Hong Kong, in reply, crashed to 50 with Man of the Match Sanaullah and Izathullah sharing all the 10 wickets. Sanaullah conceded 17 runs for his five-wicket haul while Izathullah gave away just 11 for his five wickets.

A Disarming Presence In a Dangerous World - The Washington Post 04/20/2005 By Pamela Constable

It was an especially bleak moment on a frozen night in Afghanistan, just before Thanksgiving in 2001. An assortment of grizzled correspondents was crammed into a filthy hotel. That week four of our colleagues had been ambushed and killed by gunmen on the highway to Kabul, and we were all in shock. One evening several of us were lingering over coffee in the dining room, too depressed to head back to our rooms to work.

Out of nowhere, a perky blond apparition materialized at the table. She looked about 16, and she was wearing pajamas with cartoon animals under an Afghan robe. She introduced herself as Marla and started chirping about how she had just come from California to work on human rights issues. We all stared at each other in disbelief. She seemed so young and vulnerable that we were seized with the identical, protective thought: Marla, go home.

But Marla Ruzicka stayed on, working to bring public awareness and official help to the plight of war victims in Afghanistan. Later she moved her one-woman human rights crusade to Iraq, where she was killed Saturday in a suicide bombing at age 28.

In Kabul, she flitted like a cheerful sprite through our hard-bitten war correspondents' world, alighting on our couches for the night and floating off with a backpack in the morning. She never had any money, but she had an amazing knack for organizing parties, procuring hidden vodka and making foreigners in a war-ruined Muslim capital feel at home.

Everyone stationed in Kabul after the fall of the Taliban knew her. The men fell in love with her and the women were reminded of themselves, a decade or two younger. At first, Ruzicka seemed too much of a flower child to be taken seriously. Ivan Watson of National Public Radio recalled her kick-boxing with the Afghan cook in the back yard of his house; another correspondent described her giving everyone back rubs after long days.

I remember her scribbling little thank-you notes and invitations with smiley faces on them, and yet another correspondent recalled that when she was leaving Kabul, Ruzicka came to her house early that morning with a gift and a long goodbye note. Over each letter "i" was a heart instead of a dot.

Ruzicka was far from a simpering sandalista. There was a determined agenda behind her ditsy persona, an earnest sense of purpose that enabled her to charm her way through military checkpoints and wring pledges of aid for war victims from congressional offices. While no one was paying much attention, she began systematically compiling data on casualties and damages that resulted from the U.S.-led attack on Kabul. In the spring of 2002, she led a group of Afghan families to the gates of the heavily guarded American embassy to demand compensation for the victims.

After that, we all viewed her with new respect.

"Marla had no guile. There was a complete lack of cynicism, a total selflessness in what she did," said Catherine Philp, a foreign correspondent for the Times of London and one of Ruzicka's closest friends, speaking from New Delhi. "We live in such a jaded community, and she alone seemed untouched. She was like an angel of life, but an angel with a broken wing. It made her seem so fragile that everyone wanted to help her."

After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Ruzicka shifted her efforts to Iraq. By then she had founded a Washington-based organization called the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict. She shifted from handwritten notes to a barrage of e-mails to friends, journalists and congressional offices. She was still broke, but by the time she arrived in Iraq, many Kabul correspondents had also shifted to Baghdad, so she found a plethora of couches to crash on.

Her mission was the same: to document the damage done to Iraqi civilians and their homes by the war. Baghdad was a far more dangerous place to work than Kabul, with foreigners exposed to far greater risks from suicide bombings, sniper fire and kidnappings. Major news organizations acquired armored cars and armed guards, and many Western journalists were confined to their homes or hotels much of the time.

Once again, Ruzicka took on the role of hostess and hovering angel for the exhausted and stressed-out Baghdad press corps. Richard Leiby of The Washington Post recalled her throwing a party called "Baghdad Needs Some Love." I saw her only a few times during my brief visits to Iraq, but she forged close friendships with full-time correspondents, and her e-mails mixed breezy, Valley Girl jargon with emotional appeals for her project to document and seek compensation for victims of wartime violence.

"She happily reminded me of many of the Greenpeace kids I worked with in the 1980s . . . a bulldog of energy with absolutely no constituency or power," said William Arkin, a peace activist and military affairs writer who worked with Ruzicka in Iraq. Even hardened generals and policymakers, he wrote in an e-mail to a friend Sunday, were disarmed by a beautiful "spitfire of disorganization" who badgered and begged for their help.

Despite her youth, Ruzicka, a native of Lakeport, Calif., had spent much of the last decade as a volunteer for political causes, visiting Cuba and Israel while attending Long Island University, and later joining Global Exchange, a nonprofit group that promotes concern for world poverty and suffering.

While in Iraq, the diminutive Ruzicka ventured out to places few other foreigners dared go, visiting families who had lost relatives or homes in military or terrorist attacks. She took limited precautions, traveling with a single Iraqi assistant and driver, Faiz Ali Salim, who was also killed Saturday by the suicide bombing on a road near the Baghdad airport. Her only protection was the thin disguise of a traditional black abaya, from which wisps of telltale blond hair constantly strayed.

Peter Baker, a Post reporter, first met her in Afghanistan in 2001. "She looked like a high school girl. I remember thinking she was going to get herself killed," he said. But over time, she became such a familiar presence in war-torn settings, and exuded such an ethereal quality, that she seemed somehow impervious to the evils of war. "There are so few truly good souls anywhere, but especially in that part of the world," Baker said. "It never occurred to me to think she would be in danger."

For all her moxie, Ruzicka confided to friends that she endured periods of deep self-doubt and anxiety. Despite her nurturing nature, she sometimes seemed to hint at the realization of her own vulnerability. In one recent e-mail to a journalist friend, she signed off with a casual "good vibes to you," but she also added this darker sentence: "I need angels in my life."

[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.]