Afghan President Hamid Karzai waves from a jeep during a ceremony marking the 13th anniversary of the Mujahedin victory over the Soviet-backed government in Kabul.(AFP/Shah Marai)

Afghans Celebrate Mujahideen Defeat of Communists - By Sayed Salahuddin – Apr. 28. 2005

KABUL (Reuters) - Soldiers marched, tanks lumbered down the streets and helicopters hovered in the sky as Afghanistan marked the 13th anniversary on Thursday of the defeat of its last communist government.

The victory by mujahideen holy warriors over President Najibullah's government in 1992 marked the final chapter of Soviet involvement, but also the beginning of years of vicious factional battles that ultimately saw the Taliban sweep to power.

"Our jihad was a unique uprising and resistance of an oppressed, but valorous nation against the invasion of the former Soviet Union, despotism and oppression of the then rulers," President Hamid Karzai said in a speech.

Giant billboards of Karzai and Ahmad Shah Masood, the legendary mujahideen leader who battled the Soviets in the 1980s and the Taliban in the 1990s, dominated the parade route in Kabul.

Masood was killed by suspected al Qaeda suicide bombers two days before the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Many of his old comrades have been in government, having helped U.S. forces drive the Taliban from power weeks later.

One of the government's top priorities as it prepares for a parliamentary elections in September is to disarm about 65,000 of those old faction fighters and their commanders who secured victory 13 years ago. Afghanistan's aid donors, including the United States, say disarming factional militias is essential for the success of the polls.

Wearing the traditional civilian garb of a shalwar and kamiz baggy shirt and trousers, hundreds of disarmed former faction members took part in Thursday's parade as thousands of people looked on.

Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak spoke of the "significant progress" of the disarmament drive, known as the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) program.

"More than 80 percent of the DDR process has been implemented and this program will be completed in the coming two months," he said. Members of the new army and police force, being trained with the help of the United States and other allies, also took part in the parade.

Dilapidated but freshly painted Soviet-era tanks rumbled down the street and among the artillery pieces on show were two cannons which the fiercely independent Afghans used during wars against British colonialists in the 19th century.

Nearly a million Afghans lost their lives while about six million became refugees in the years of fighting that followed the Soviet invasion and occupation.

Mujahideen forces arrived in Kabul in April 1992, seizing power from the communist government three years after the last Soviet soldier left. Najibullah took refuge in a U.N. compound.

But within days, inter-factional rivalry gave way to a new chapter of conflict that resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 civilians in the capital alone. Frustration with the warring factions was a main reason behind the Taliban's emergence from nowhere and rapid rise to power.

The Taliban took Kabul in 1996, and their first act was to grab Najibullah and his brother from the U.N. compound, execute them and string up their bodies up on the street.

On Thursday, Karzai reiterated a call for the Taliban to give up the insurgency they have been waging since they were ousted, as part of an amnesty offer for rank-and-file members

Commander ISAF addresses Mujahedeen Victory Day – 4/26/05

KABUL, Afghanistan -- "On the occasion of the Mujahedeen Victory Day, I would like to extend to all Afghans my best wishes from all of ISAF. This day marks the culmination of the tireless efforts and countless sacrifices of the Afghan Nation, which down to every member of it, had to undertake despite arduous challenges and ordeal brought by foreign occupation.

Eventually, the determination and patriotism of the Afghan Nation claimed victory in return for a dear price. This displayed once again the capability of this most revered nation to overcome one of the most severe ordeals the last century has witnessed, setting an example what the Afghans could achieve once they are united aiming to attain a collective objective. This gives us the hope that the Afghan Nation can walk towards peace, security and stability as well as welfare and prosperity in this country ensuring that the immense blood shed for the independence of this country was not wasted."
Lt. Gen. Ethem Erdagi

Commander of ISAF

Afghan parliament to decide on proposed security partnership with US: Karzai

KABUL, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Afghan parliament would take decision on the proposed plan of long-term security partnership with the United States, President Hamid Karzai announced Thursday.

"In order to ensure durable security in Afghanistan and not to re-migrate our people, we are considering the issue of establishing long-term partnership with the United States and submit it to the coming parliament for approval," Karzai told the nation on the 13th anniversary of Mujahideen or resistance groups' victory in Afghanistan.

The first-ever post-Taliban parliament is the only authority to take decision on the proposed plan, said Karzai. Afghanistan needs international support especially from the United States to overcome the post-war challenges and stand on its feet, he added.

"To avoid repeating past miseries, to deter foreign interference and to achieve these goals we need international guarantee and want to have international guarantee," Karzai noted while referring to Afghanistan's over two decades of war, displacement and destruction.

After the fall of Moscow-backed regime 13 years ago and induction of Mujahideen-led administration, a bloody factional fighting erupted among several armed groups over power in the capital city which left more than 50,000 dead and some 200,000 homeless.

Karzai, who came to power with US support following the fall of Taliban regime in late 2001 at a joint press conference with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld early this month, disclosed that he favors permanent American presence in the post-Taliban central Asian state.

Afghanistan Celebrates 13th Anniversary of Victory Day

A Statement by the Embassy of Afghanistan - Ottawa

Afghanistan commemorates Victory Day on April 28. On this day in 1992, a regime that had been kept in power against the will of the Afghans collapsed following the withdrawal of the former Soviet Union’s military earlier in 1989.

Afghanistan’s 23 year-long journey of suffering and conflict that ended with the demise of the Taliban outfit in late 2001 started with the violent coup d’etat of April 1978 - engineered by then pro-Soviet Afghan communist military and party members. This event unleashed war and immeasurable destruction, and eventually led to forced military occupation, followed by internal strife, and later, the de facto takeover by international terrorist groups.

From the onset, Afghans all across the country began to resist the communist regime and its brutal methods of repression. By the mid 1980s many countries in the region, in the Islamic world and around the globe took the side of the Afghan people and provided vital support for the cause of freedom.

April 28 marks the culmination of numerous sacrifices and a period of history that saw the violent victimization of millions of Afghans, the destruction of the country’s economic foundation and the displacement of more than a third of the country’s population.

Afghans faced many other challenges following Victory Day, including international abandonment. But, since 2001 and the fall of the Taliban, the historic UN-sponsored Bonn Agreement paved the way for the process of renewal in Afghanistan, focusing attention on rebuilding the economy, national institutions, the adoption of a new Constitution and the holding of free elections with the active engagement and assistance of the international community.

The accomplishments thus far are noteworthy. But, more needs to be accomplished to fulfill the objectives for durable peace and stability, an enabling environment for regional prosperity, and many more challenges, including the fight against narcotics, the acceleration of the reconstruction programs and holding parliamentary elections among others. (Issued April 27, 2005)

Afghanistan moves to gain control of aid

Government passes law to weed out groups that are profit-making entities - By VICTORIA BURNETT Thursday, April 28, 2005 The Globe and Mail

KABUL -- Afghanistan is feting the 13th anniversary of the collapse of Communist rule this week, but it's also fighting a new battle for independence. Under pressure to deliver results and vexed by what it sees as the profligacy of international aid organizations, the government is trying to gain more control over the foreign aid flowing into the country.

"Nobody's obliged to help us. But if they volunteer to do so, we should know how they spend their money. So should their taxpayers," Minister of Economy Amin Farhang said.

About one-third of this year's $4.7-billion (U.S.) budget for Afghan reconstruction will pass through government hands, according to the Finance Ministry. The rest goes directly from donors to aid agencies and private contractors, which the government argues is an expensive way of rebuilding the country.

Three years into a multibillion-dollar aid operation, most Afghans continue to live without electricity, clean water or proper roads. In February, a United Nations report ranked Afghanistan's level of development 173rd of 178 countries. It said 70 per cent of people in rural areas go without access to safe water, while one child in five dies before the age of 5.

Against this destitute backdrop, the privileged lifestyle common to foreign aid workers has become a focus of resentment. "They fill the restaurants. They hold parties on Friday nights," Mr. Farhang complained of foreign development organizations. "That's Afghanistan's money."

Kabul has turned its frustration toward non-governmental organizations, the humanitarian groups that have run clinics and schools and built roads and dams in Afghanistan for decades.

This month, the government passed a law banning NGOs from bidding for government contracts -- preventing them from providing health and education services or from doing construction work. The law sparked a furor among donors and NGOs and is under review.

The government says the law is intended to weed out groups that call themselves NGOs but are in fact profit-making entities. Of 2,400 NGOs registered in Afghanistan, it says just 20 per cent are legitimate.

NGO representatives and diplomats welcome the regulation of upstart NGOs, many of which sprang up during the long civil war because of the legal hurdles involved in setting up a private company.

"There are serious problems with [some] NGOs that would never meet NGO criteria in another environment," said Paul Barker, the country director of U.S.-based NGO Care International.

But they said it is wrong to single out NGOs as wasteful. Country directors for an international NGO earn $55,000 to $70,000 a year, they noted -- a bargain compared to the daily rates of up to $1,000 charged by foreign consultants working on contract for donor countries and the UN.

Afghan officials acknowledge that NGOs played vital roles in running social services during the civil war and under the Taliban, but they say this role should now pass to the government.

"People want roads, clinics, schools. What comes with an elected government is a responsibility to deliver these things," said Jawed Ludin, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai.

But Barbara Stapleton, advocacy and policy co-ordinator for Acbar, an organization that represents about 80 NGOs in Afghanistan, warned that if aid groups were banned from government contracts, "all national development programs, including those that focus on health and education, would collapse."
Afghan officials involved in reviewing the NGO law say they expect a compromise to be reached. NGOs might continue to provide services such as health and education but would no longer be contracted to do construction work. This would be left to the private sector.

The friction between the government and NGOs has clouded the question of how to get more aid flowing through government hands, according to diplomats. The government insists it is capable of handling more aid, but some donors are unconvinced. Afghans and foreign officials complain of rampant nepotism in ministries and an entrenched system of kickbacks to secure jobs, contracts or housing.

Frederick Schieck, deputy administrator for USAID, an American government agency, said this month that Washington will channel more money through Kabul when there is "greater confidence in the capacity of the institutions of this government to manage."

Afghan officials say foreign donors should train locals to do things themselves in order to build that confidence. "The aid community's obligation is to be enablers of human talent, and if they don't do that, they've failed," said Ishaq Nadiri, senior economic adviser to Mr. Karzai. "We're importing Pakistanis to lay bricks here. It's a crazy situation."

NGOs say they are careful to focus on training local staff. But the government says much more focus is needed. "This country cannot forever be run by foreigners," Mr. Nadiri said.

Afghan election process complex say election officials - Pajhwok Afghan News 04/26/2005 By Makia Monir

KABUL - Selection of candidates for the parliamentary elections will be one of the most difficult phases of the elections for officials. Saying this in a press conference on Monday, JEMB Secretariat Chief of Operations Richard Atwood added: "We will be dealing with thousands of candidates".

He said candidates should submit their applications to the provincial election offices in 34 provinces. Registration will be from April 30 to May 19. A sample list of candidates will be announced from June 4-9 to give people the opportunity to express their objection to any candidate. "Everyone can express their problems if they have any with any candidate to our provincial offices", Atwood confirmed.

The second list of names prepared after taking into consideration the complaints will be issued later and candidates whose names are taken out will be able to apply to provincial offices for clarification.

According to the electoral law anyone can complain about a candidate during the period specified by the election commission. Atwood said the final list, which would be confirmed by JEMB would be issued on July 12.

Ayub Asil, JEMB Deputy Chairman said "If some one objects to a candidate but cannot prove his objections the candidate will carry on in the elections".
In the presidential elections there were more than hundred complaints about some of the candidates but they all were able to take part in the elections.

According to the electoral law candidates cannot any means that are against Islam or Islamic principles to win the elections. In addition, candidates can't use force use illegal armed forces, illegal financial resources or spread disaffection on grounds of ethnicity or gender.

Asil added that candidates have to sign a declaration promising that they d not have illegal armed forces and will not break the rules and regulations of the electoral law.

Asil said some amendments to the electoral law were being introduced and these were currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Justice. Atwood said they would conduct a lottery to allocate electoral symbols for each candidate. Peter Erben the head of JEMB said "This election is one of the most complicated elections that have been supported by UN". He said Afghans would show the same keen interest for democracy as they did in the presidential elections and make the elections successful.

U.S., UN Say Alleged Afghan Drug Lord Supported Taliban Regime - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

U.S. authorities in New York have arrested a reputed Afghan drug lord who is accused of providing explosives, weapons, and militia fighters to the Taliban regime. Haji Bashar Noorzai is charged with trying to smuggle more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States. He is one of 10 people and organizations on a U.S. list of most-wanted drug traffickers. RFE/RL looks at alleged ties between Afghanistan's former Taliban regime and the illegal narcotics trade in light of the Noorzai arrest.

Prague, 26 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Federal prosecutors in the United States say the arrest of Haji Bashar Noorzai in New York is a major step forward in their battle against the international heroin trade.

U.S. President George W. Bush in June identified Noorzai as one of the world's most-wanted drug traffickers under the so-called Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. That law is designed to identify drug traffickers who pose threats to U.S. security, foreign policy, or the economy.

Speaking at a federal courthouse in New York yesterday, U.S. prosecuting attorney David Kelley alleged that Noorzai built up a fortune by producing and smuggling Afghan heroin.

"We are here to announce the arrest of Noorzai, who is perhaps the most notorious Afghan drug lord and has built over the last 15 years a multimillion-dollar heroin business by forging an unholy alliance with Mullah Mohammad Omar and the Taliban," Kelley said.

The indictments against Noorzai charge that he has led an international drug-trafficking organization since 1990 that used laboratories in Afghanistan and Pakistan to manufacture heroin. The indictment says Noorzai controlled fields in Afghanistan where opium poppies were grown and harvested.

Kelley said Noorzai's organization arranged to smuggle large shipments of heroin into the United States and Europe.

"We unsealed a two-count indictment charging Noorzai with conspiring to import into the United States and to possess with the intent to distribute more than five hundred kilograms of Afghan heroin worth more than $50 million," Kelley said.

Kelley said the case highlights the relationship that existed between the former Taliban regime and the Afghan drug trade.

"In case there is any doubt about the relationship between the Taliban and the Afghanistan drug lords, the indictment also alleges that Noorzai and the Taliban had a symbiotic relationship," Kelley said. "Between 1990 and 2004, Noorzai and his organization provided demolitions, weaponry, and militia manpower to the Taliban. In exchange, the Taliban permitted Noorzai's business to flourish and served as protection for Noorzai's opium crops, heroin laboratories, and drug transportation routes out of the country."

Today, Taliban spokesman Abdul Havee Motmaeen told the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press that Noorzai never helped the Taliban regime with money or weapons. Motmaeen said the Taliban government struggled hard against narcotics and banned poppy cultivation during its last year in power.

But Alexandre Schmidt, the UN Office of Drug Control's deputy country director in Afghanistan, disagreed with Motmaeen's claim.

Schmidt told RFE/RL that poppy cultivation increased every year under the Taliban until its final year -- 2001. He said the Taliban's one-year ban on poppy cultivation came only under international pressure -- and that the ban actually increased the ability of the Taliban to profit from stockpiles of opium it had built up.

"That the Taliban had decided, in fact, in the last year of their regime to have a total ban on opium poppy cultivation is true. And there was a tremendous decrease in cultivation," Schmidt said. "But at the same time, [this caused] an increase in the price due to the market trends. And stocks were still available under the Taliban regime. So, of course, they were making profits from it. But to say that [the Taliban] were totally intolerant of drug cultivation -- I would not phrase it like that. They were using a situation [of first] promoting cultivation, [and later] having a ban on cultivation. It was a matter of getting more income."

Schmidt also said he supports the allegation by U.S. prosecutors that Noorzai gave equipment to the Taliban regime.

"Definitely, [his arrest] is a major step because Mr. Haji Bashar Noorzai is one of the most known Taliban supporters and drug traffickers in Afghanistan," Schmidt said. "So, definitely, having this person arrested is a major step in the counternarcotics efforts. We know that Mr. Noorzai is part of the Noorzai tribe from Kandahar Province. He is a quite wealthy person. And Mr. Noorzai was supporting the Taliban during the Taliban regime in providing required equipment."

Schmidt said his UN office does not expect other Afghan drug traffickers to step into the void seemingly created in the illegal market by Noorzai's arrest.

"We do not have any major concerns that a vacuum might be created," Schmidt said. "To the contrary, the fact that a major drug trafficker has been arrested is going to have a major impact on the drug trafficking system, as such. And have more of a kind of risk assessment for other drug traffickers."

But officials in Kabul suggested Noorzai's arrest does not reflect a direct crackdown by Afghan authorities against major Afghan drug lords. Mirwais Yassini, the deputy minister in charge of Afghanistan's counternarcotics campaign, told RFE/RL today that his officers did not play any role in the Noorzai case. He said the charges against him originated in the United States rather than in Afghanistan.

Still, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told journalists in Kabul today that he is pleased with the results of poppy-eradication programs this year -- the focus of Afghanistan's counternarcotics campaign.

"We have had successes this year, fortunately, on this issue," Karzai said. "We have destroyed the poppy fields and people themselves are refraining from planting poppies. They are turning back to normal agricultural commodities. So it is likely that the poppy production will be 30 percent to 40 percent this year [compared to the record level of cultivation seen in 2004] -- as the UN and British sources estimate. But we will have to wait to know exactly how less poppy production there is."

The UN's Schmidt said it will not be possible to estimate the size of this year's opium poppy crop in Afghanistan until the summer.

If convicted, Noorzai faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Kelley said U.S. authorities also could seize at least $50 million of Noorzai's alleged illicit profits.

Stinger seized in Kabul - Pajhwok Afghan News 04/28/2005 By Mustafa Besharat and Zainab Mohammadi

KABUL - Security officials recovered a Stinger missile from the fifth district, west of Kabul city, on the eve of the anniversary of mujahideen's victory.

In a chat with this news agency, an official at the security headquarters here said on Thursday the missile was seized from Afshar (Kota Sangi). Afghanistan is awash with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which the United States had supplied in bulk to different jihadi outfits then engaged in a prolonged war with invading Soviet forces.

The security official told Pajhwok Afghan News by phone that foes of the Karzai government wanted to fire the missile to disrupt the celebration of the mujideen's victory. He added the elements, who wanted to fire the rocket, escaped from the scene in a private car. Police were looking for the culprits, he concluded.

Disarmament In Afghanistan - Which Militias and What Weapons? RFE/RL
04/27/2005 By Amin Tarzi

With the Afghan parliamentary elections set for this fall, many observers are focusing on the successes and shortcomings of the UN-backed Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program. Few would dispute that in the absence of a comprehensive disbanding of Afghan militia forces the elections are likely to be disrupted by voter intimidation and even violence.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Development Program are supporting Afghanistan's New Beginnings Program (ANBP), which is aimed at coordinating DDR efforts in the country.

After initial setbacks, the DDR program began its pilot project in the northern Konduz Province in October 2003. By mid-April, nearly 48,000 members of the Afghan Military Forces (AMF) -- the catch-all label for various Afghan militia units -- had been disarmed, according to the ANBP. More than 43,000 have been demobilized, and more than 42,000 have reportedly been reintegrated into society. Most of the former militiamen have been absorbed into the agricultural and small-business sectors, are undergoing vocational training, or are awaiting job placements.

The ANBP officially recognized some 45,000-50,000 AMF members -- that is, individuals earmarked for the DDR process, suggesting that the program should be nearing completion. The ANBP also reports that nearly 9,000 heavy weapons have been collected.

This is all good news for a country that since 1978 has been a storehouse for weaponry brought in by Soviet invaders, provided to Afghans to counter the Soviets, or offered by other countries in the region to client militias during Afghanistan's brutal civil war in the 1990s.

However, there are two issues that could delay, hinder, or even derail Afghanistan's slow progress toward bolstering the rule of law unless they are addressed by the ANBP or another disarmament program.

The first is connected with the myriad unofficial militias or armed bands with shifting loyalties that the ANBP has not slated for disarmament. Conservative estimates put the figure at 850 such groups, with more than 65,000 members.

Militias outside the DDR program are controlled by warlords, drug lords, or even Kabul-appointed governors. While the Afghan government seems prepared to compromise with many warlords -- or await a more opportune time to either crush them or absorb them into the central government -- the parliamentary elections are scheduled for September. Such militias will likely still exist -- unofficial, but armed and potentially dangerous.

The second major issue of concern is connected with the ANBP's focus on collecting heavy weapons. While the current DDR program lists a number of small arms and light weapons in the inventory of armaments it has collected, there arguably has been no genuine effort to deal with small arms.

In post-Taliban Afghanistan, with a multitude of foreign troops armed with the most modern weaponry as well as total command of Afghan airspace, heavy weapons are not the weapon of choice for local or regional militias. Since early 2002, only once have warlords used main battle tanks against each other. Even antigovernment forces such as the neo-Taliban do not rely on heavy weaponry. The power of warlords, regional commanders, and others in control of armed groups outside the government is determined by the number of fighting men and the availability of small arms.

Discussing the issue of arms and the parliamentary elections in a recent editorial, the pro-government Kabul daily "Anis" wrote that Afghans "cannot set up a healthy parliament reflecting people's expectations and aspirations unless armed men are disarmed prior to the polls." Expressing doubts about the Afghan government's claims regarding progress in the DDR program, "Anis" added that many Afghans believe that "disarming men and certain military units, which are also shown on television, are more cosmetic than practical...[and that] local commanders still own huge arsenals of weapons in their regions" for use when needed.

For Afghanistan to truly emerge from under the rule of the gun, a genuine DDR program needs to tackle the issue of small arms. While there is not enough time before the elections to collect the hundreds of thousands of unregistered small arms, a practical step would be to declare them illegal. This would at least serve to delegitimize those who carry such weapons. Also, by extension, those who command such armed bands may be legally barred from participating in the elections.

Unless a drastic step is taken to make weapons -- especially small arms -- less accessible and illegal before the elections, those controlling the guns are likely to gain seats in the parliament and thus legitimize their tactics -- and perhaps their regional influence.

T.H.Y. And Other Turkish Air Companies Will Soon Start Flights To Afghanistan – TurkishPress 04/27/2005

ANKARA - Turkish Minister of Transportation Binali Yildirim has remarked today (Tuesday) that Turkish Airlines and other private Turkish air companies will soon start flights to Afghanistan.

Afghani President's Senior Advisor and Trade Minister Hidayet Amin Arsala is in Ankara for a meeting of the Turkey-Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission. Arsala met Yildirim at Yildirim's office.

Answering AA's questions, Yildirim stated that Turkey is active in Afghanistan to assist the reconstruction efforts there. ''Our businessmen and businesswomen are either working themselves or in cooperation with American business community in Afghanistan,'' said Yildirim.

''Afghanistan's Airlines has begun direct flights to Istanbul and Ankara recently. We are working on flights from Turkey to Afghanistan. Turkish Airlines (THY) and a few other Turkish private air companies will have flights to and from Afghanistan soon,'' told Yildirim.

Yildirim indicated that an agreement on Land Transportation with Afghanistan will also be signed. ''The Turkish Council of Ministers made a decision to improve ties with Afghanistan. Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) will be very active in Afghanistan. We will help the Afghani people in health and education related matters,'' commented Yildirim.

Afghan teachers' strike keeps 70,000 out of school

KABUL, April 26 (Reuters) - Nearly 70,000 children have been locked out of school in western Afghanistan because their teachers have gone on strike for more pay, a provincial governor said on Tuesday.

Improving the education system, largely neglected during years of war and Taliban rule, is a top priority for the new government but funding is a chronic problem.

"The teachers have issued a resolution as part of their protest -- an increase in salaries, the issue of (ration) coupons and the establishment of a teachers' township," said Assadullah Falah, the governor of Farah province on the border with Iran.

Classes have stopped in about 130 schools, for both boys and girls, for a week. The province's 1,238 teachers say they will not go back to work unless their demands, especially the pay rise, are met, but the education ministry has ruled out an increase, Falah said.

Average salaries for government employees are at most $60 a month in Afghanistan which relies heavily on foreign aid. Nearly half the government's annual budget of $580 million budget comes from aid, government officials say. Girls were banned from school during the rule of the deeply conservative Taliban, who were driven from power by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

Shops demolished as part of Kabul city clean up plan - Pajhwok Afghan News 04/27/2005 By Zarghona Salehi

KABUL - Efforts to clean up the chaos caused by years of war are underway in Kabul, with the city's municipality demolishing 400 shops last week.

Once considered one of the most beautiful capital cities, Kabul bore the brunt of fighting with different groups bombarding the capital in a bid to gain control of the seat of power. Apart from the 400 shops the municipality also took away 250 shipping containers which are used as shops.

The ongoing demolition is the second phase of the plans to clean up the city. Nearly 3000 shops and containers were demolishes in the first phase. Shah Mahmood Ameri the chief of the 16th municipality region of Kabul told Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday "We destroyed the shops according to the decision taken by the President and security officials"

Illegal mining of coal in Kulfgan district of Takhar province - Pajhwok Afghan News 04/26/2005 By Rohullah Arman

KUNDUZ – Illegal mining of coal continues in the northern province of Takhar despite directions to the provincial government to put an end to it, according to Engineer Mohammed Ali Madad, director of government coal enterprise of northeast zone.

Madad told Pajhwok Afghan News that though they sent a formal application to the Governor's office in Takhar to stop illegal mining from the coal mine in Kizistan of Kulfgan district of Takhar province, the illegal mining continued.

Madad, who was heading a delegation of three investigating the illegal mining handed over three persons to the governor's office saying they were engaged in the illegal activity. He told Pajhwok Afghan News,"as long as a new law is not made for mining coal from the coal mine by the ministry of mines and industries, nobody can mine the coal. Those do so will be punished and the coal confiscated."

Provincial officials however said they were doing their best to identify and arrest those involved. Engineer Mir Mohammed Sediq the Minister of Mines and Industries had earlier told Pajhwok Afghan News that after the war started in Afghanistan, the mines went out of the control of the government, with most of them coming under the control of local commanders.

The Minister had said that five coal mines, one ruby mine in Badakhshan and two mines in Nangarhar were controlled by government. More than 300 mines including mines of gas, aluminum, bronze, gold, coal, etc are there in Afghanistan.

The Gazistan coal mine of Kulfgan district of Takhar province is situated 100 kms from the center of Takhar province. Locals say they have seen people engaged in illegal mining.

Mohammed Ullah from Kulfgan said that he himself has seen coal being extracted from the mine in recent days. "Although we have not heard about the decree of the government we have seen people extracting the coal and selling it in the market."

But Mohammed Kabir Mirzaban the governor of Takhar province said that it was not impossible that illegal mining would take place since the government did not have full control over that area. He added that they would continue to follow the case. The police chief of Takhar province Mohammed Akram said they were investigating the case.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News: "although we have no reports in the last days about the illegal extraction from the coal mine, we are still trying to identify the people and arrest them."

How the new voice of Afghan youth has made conservatives hopping mad - By Nick Meo in Kabul The Independent – UK 27 April 2005

With his spiky hair, ripped jeans and beaming grin, the music show presenter Shakeb Isaar makes an unlikely corrupter of youth. The front man for daily youth show Hop has become Afghanistan's first celebrity television presenter. Everywhere he goes he is mobbed by crowds, although the fan mail is punctuated with death threats from al-Qa'ida.

Shakeb, 22, is one of the talents driving a television revolution in a land where viewers were used to nothing more exciting than folk singers and speeches by government ministers.

The channel behind this revolution is Tolo TV, the country's first private station, which went live in Kabul in October with a mix of entertainment and investigative journalism the like of which Afghans had never seen before.

The formula has been a success; the station has beaten its state rival in the ratings war to grab 80 per cent of the viewers. But it has also provoked fury among conservatives.

The station is the brainchild of three sons of an Afghan diplomat who grew up in Australia. Saad Mohseni, a former investment banker now living in Kabul, said: "We wanted to do what we could to reunite the country."

The output on the station is eclectic. On a cooking programme guests stress useful tips, such as always wash your hands. There are a number of sports shown, including women's tennis, which was denounced as pornographic by the conservatives.A satire programme is planned that will include a sketch on Charles' marriage to Camilla - Afghans were baffled that the prince didn't marry a woman younger than him.

There's even an art house movie night, featuring such films as The Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa's classic tale of a village terrorised by bandits.

"Japan had a civil war like us," Mr Mohseni said. "Films like this have resonance in Afghanistan. We showed the Bosnian war film No Man's Land a few days ago."

However, the show that has made the most fuss is Hop. The shows are popular with a young generation hungry for entertainment. Thousands of them vote by SMS every week for their favourite singer on Hop's sister programme, Top 10.

By Western standards it's pretty tame. Any hint of cleavage or gyrations by the Bollywood and Uzbek dancers is cut and the station would not dare show Afghan women dancing.

However, Hop has been condemned by the conservative establishment. Fazl-e Hadi Shinwari, the chief justice, branded Shakeb a corrupter of youth.

The presenter does not feel intimidated. "That's nothing," he said. "The Taliban and al-Qa'ida have said they will kill me. But I don't care. This is the new Afghanistan and they are not a part of it."

Mr Mohseni believes the conservatives feel threatened by a youth culture they don't understand. He said: "Look at the demographics of this country, it has one of the youngest populations in the world. The old conservatives fear becoming irrelevant. A few years down the line and they will have lost most of their power."

The station is particularly proud of its investigative journalism, which is starting to ask questions of Afghanistan's elite.

The channel has aired programmes on paedophilia, the power of the warlords, illegal logging, miners stealing from a state-run emerald mine and the return of the Taliban.

Tolo TV's investigators got their first real scalps this month when two junior ministers were jailed for corruption in a scandal over ripping off pilgrims to the Haj after the station had doggedly followed the story.

Mr Mohseni said the journalists love nothing better than making waves. "It takes courage to do this kind of thing," he said. "We have to be careful."
The risk is real enough for the Tolo TV studio to be behind a blast barrier and to employ a small army of armed guards.

Jahid Mohseni, who works as a lawyer in Australia, said the station enjoys the furore over its youth shows. But it is the journalism that they are really proud of.

He said: "The style in Afghanistan has been to go to minister's press conferences and listen attentively, but we want to cover the real stories - the ones that other people won't."

Afghan team wins medals in international competition in traditional wrestling - Pajhwok Afghan News 04/26/2005 By Frozan Danish

KABUL - The Afghan Korish team won one silver medal and two bronze medals in an international competition held in Uzbekistan where 19 countries participated.

Korish is a traditional Afghan sport and a federation was formed in 2003 to promote the sport. It was formed by Saeed Mohmood Zia Dushti the deputy of the national Olympic Committee of Afghanistan.

According to Dushti, the international tournament was held in Termiz city close to the Afghan-Uzbek border from April 21 to April 23. He told Pajhwok Afghan News that Hikamt Ullah Hakimi won a silver medal in 75 kgs weight and Mohammed Asif and Abdul Fatah won bronze medals in the weight categories of 85 kgs and 75 kgs respectively.

He added that last year players under 20 participated in the international youth Korish tournament in Uzbekistan and they got a silver medal and the second position in the tournament.

Afghan Army receives M113s from U.S.- By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mack Davis - Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan – The Afghan National Army is getting a new look over the next few months. As a result of a recent equipment donation, they will appear a little less Soviet and a little more like their Coalition partners.

The ANA recently took delivery of 10 x M113A2 armored personnel carriers from the United States at Camp Pol-e-Charkhi, on the outskirts of Kabul. This was the first shipment of vehicles with more to follow.

Lt. Col. David Braxton, logistics operations chief at the Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan, said, “Based on the force structure designed for Afghanistan’s internal threat, armored personnel carriers were identified as a requirement for the Afghanistan National Army. The U.S. M113A2s are an excess defense article, which allows them to be donated. Given the performance and popularity of the M113s around the world, it is an excellent match for the ANA’s APC requirement.”

The M113s already have a home. They will become part of the 2nd Kandak (Battalion) Mechanized Infantry, in the 201st Corps’ 3rd Brigade, located in Kabul.

The 218th Infantry Regiment of the South Carolina Army National Guard, part of Task Force Phoenix, has been tasked with training the ANA to operate and maintain the new vehicles.

According to 1st Sgt. Bobby Duggins, one of the kandak’s embedded training team advisors, “The ANA soldiers are totally excited about receiving this vehicle. The M113 is a new vehicle for them and there is always a level of excitement when you introduce something new.”

“Because this APC is so versatile, it can be used in many ways,” added Duggins. While the ANA will use the APCs primarily to transport troops, Duggins added that the M113 “can also be used as a squad heavy weapon (to fire mortars), and it can be used by medical units and maintenance teams going into the battlefield.”

In addition to the 10 M113s that arrived recently, Braxton said, “We expect 45 M113s and 16 M577s (command vehicles) to begin arriving the second week in May. The remaining vehicles will be in country throughout the next month for a total of 63 M113s and 16 M577s.”

Because the 2nd Kandak Mech team was previously fielded with another APC, the Soviet BMP1, training on the M113 was a smooth transition.

Prior to the arrival of the U.S. M113s, the kandak soldiers were trained by the International Security Assistance Force’s Norwegian Battle Group using five modified M113s they deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year. According to Lt. Col. Jon Mangersnes, Norwegian Battle Group commander, “We conducted two weeks of practical training. This type of training cannot be conducted in a class room; you have to get hands on the vehicle.”

The training covered the basic operation and maintenance of the M113, including how to start, steer and maneuver, and how to manipulate the operator switches. “It was a lot of fun for my guys,” added Mangersnes. “The Afghan soldiers were very receptive to the training and the younger soldiers are extremely proud to be in the Afghan Army.”

This is not the first time the Norwegians have worked with the ANA. The battle group provides security in the Kabul area and often trains and works with the ANA.

Future training on the M113s will be provided to new soldiers during basic training at the Kabul Military Training Center by U.S. and Coalition mobile training teams.

The total donation, including repair parts, is estimated to be worth $10 million. The U.S. is the only country providing the M113s, ensuring that all the M113 variants are the same so they will be less expensive to maintain.

“To sustain the M113s here in country, the ANA’s 3rd Brigade is receiving a one-year stock level of repair parts,” said New Hampshire Army National Guardsman Chief Warrant Officer Gill Colon, the Task Force Phoenix logistics officer and embedded training team advisor to the 3rd Brigade. In order to support the M113s in Pol-e-Charkhi, several changes had to be made. “We have converted our warehouse to accommodate the APC spare parts and have converted some of the Quonset huts into maintenance bays,” said Colon. The maintenance for the M113 fleet will be conducted by ANA mechanics who will be trained by U.S. mobile training teams.

The South Carolina Army National Guardsmen who normally train the 2nd Kandak will be leaving Afghanistan in a few months. According to the unit’s executive officer, Maj. Greg Cornell, “We want to get the ANA mechanized team at least to team-level proficiency on the M113 before we leave. A special range is being prepared so that we can work on maneuvers and team-level live-fire exercises.”

Cornell added, “The range training will teach the ANA soldiers to take two vehicles, placing one in an overwatch (security) position, and the other in a position so that the dismounts can flank the enemy and engage. We also want the ANA to be able to move and provide weapons fire.”

Cornell said, “The ANA soldiers in the mechanized 2nd Kandak that we have been working with are just ingenious; they have the ability to take any mission and figure out a way to accomplish it. They have done phenomenal things with minimum resources. As we (coalition partners) are able to provide more resources and support, there won’t be much they will not be able to accomplish.”

The Afghan people will get their first look at their army’s newly painted M113s at the Afghan National Day Parade, scheduled for April 28 in Kabul.

EU decides to quadruple assistance to Pakistan – Daily Times 4/28/05

LUXEMBOURG: The European Union (EU) on Wednesday announced to quadruple its economic assistance to Pakistan, following talks between Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and the EU Troika.

The EU troika comprising Foreign Minister of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn, EU High Representative for Common and Security Policy Javier Solana and Commissioner for External Relations for EU Ms Benita Ferrero-Waldner. Foreign Minister Kasuri thanked the EU for quadrupling the assistance and pointed to the issues of related to GSP plus and anti-dumping duties on bed-linen.

The commission proposed to hold an anti-dumping investigation meeting in Dubai, shortly and the proposal will be considered by the Ministry of Commerce. The EU offered assistance for education and development particularly in the NWFP and Balochistan, the details of which would be worked out between Pakistan and the commission, subsequently. This year’s troika is the first high-level interaction with the EU since the upgradation of relations between Pakistan and the EU, after the ratification of the Third Generation Agreement, in September 2004. The discussions during this year’s troika meeting focused on the EU-Pakistan relations, world peace and security issues, regional security, strategic issues and the reform of the United Nations.

Kasuri also raised the mistreatment to Senator Maulana Sami-ul-Haq during his visit as part of the parliamentary delegation to the EU and lodged a strong protest. He said that he was also writing a letter to the current President of the Council, Jean Asselborn, to take up this matter and to ensure that such incidents did not recur.

The foreign minister also took note of the story reported in the press of an incident which took place at the London’s Heathrow Airport on the departure of Senator Sami-ul-Haq. He said Pakistan was a pluralistic society. He said there was a clear distinction between religious political parties of Pakistan and the Taliban, stating that religio-political parties in Pakistan have been participating in elections and in the democratic process in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent for the last one hundred years, starting from the electoral reforms of 1909, 1919 and 1935.

Kasuri said, in the past the US and countries of Europe supported the Taliban as they brought peace and stopped drugs. Later, because of their policies towards women, education and culture, they were isolated internationally.

The President of the Council, Jean Asselborn, regretting the incident, promised to take this up with the concerned members and the President of the EU Parliament. Kasuri has also invited Jean Asselborn to visit Pakistan, which he accepted.

On the Indo-Pak dialogue, the EU has expressed satisfaction on recent developments and praised President Pervez Musharraf. The foreign minister said there could not be a lasting peace in the region unless there was a resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

Regarding the Iranian nuclear issue, which was raised by the EU, he informed that Pakistan was extremely concerned as Iran was a neighbour and brotherly country, and Pakistan wanted a peaceful negotiated solution to be arrived at, through negotiations. He said the issue between Iran and the EU, needed to take into account the international rights and obligations of all parties.

The foreign minister reiterated Pakistan’s principled position on the expansion of the Security Council, which should only be in the non-permanent category to make it more representative, and stressed that this issue should be by consensus without any artificial deadlines. The EU agreed that the issue of the expansion of the Security Council was very complex, including in Europe, and suggested that movement should be made on other issues of UN reform on which there was general agreement.

The meeting with the troika was helpful in the process of developing a format that would enable Pakistan and the EU to remain in constant contact with each other on important global and bilateral issues.

With the Join Commission meetings envisaged under the Third Generation Agreement, frequent contacts both at the working level and the political leadership would ensue. This would provide both Pakistan and the EU to move their relationship to a more solid basis and to further evolve contacts into a diverse range of areas. The EU has offered to hold a high level meeting in Brussels, shortly, to hold preliminary discussions on the implementation of the Third Generation Agreement and to discuss a variety of subjects, including negotiations on the Readmission Agreement.

The last troika meeting was held at Islamabad on February 18, 2004 in which the EU delegation was led by the Irish Foreign Minister, Brian Cowen, in his capacity as the President of the Council. This delegation included Minister Bernard Bot, representing the Dutch Presidency and Commissioner Patten representing the European Commission.

No match for Pakistan in terror war: US

LAHORE: Few countries suffered as much from terrorism in 2004 as Pakistan, and few did as much to combat it, a State Department’s annual report on terrorism said on Wednesday.

Pakistan also continued to pursue Al Qaeda and its allies aggressively throughout the country and initiated large-scale military operations in the FATA, the report said, adding “Pakistani Army and Frontier Corps destroyed key Qaeda havens in South Waziristan, killing over 100 foreign terrorists and dispersing several hundred more.” These operations significantly degraded Qaeda’s capabilities in the region, but at the cost of approximately 200 Pakistani servicemen killed in action, the report said. It said, “Pakistani security services are cooperating closely with the US and other nations in a successful campaign to eliminate terrorism both within Pakistan and abroad.” daily times monitor

[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.]