President Karzai Is Deeply Saddened By the Death of Seventeen Spanish Soldiers - Date of Release: 16 August 2005

Arg, Kabul – H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is saddened by the tragic death of seventeen Spanish soldiers in a helicopter crash caused by a sandstorm in Herat.

The President said “the people of Afghanistan will remember the services of these brave soldiers who have made sacrifices so that the people of Afghanistan could live in peace and rebuild their war-ravaged country”.

The President, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan and the Government, expressed his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the people of Spain.

Released by the Office of the Spokesman to the President
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Spanish defense minister arrives in Afghanistan

KABUL, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono arrived in Afghanistan's western Herat province Wednesday to investigate the cause of helicopter crash that left 17 Spanish soldiers dead Tuesday.

"The defense minister along with his chief of defense staff arrived in Afghanistan this morning and currently is in Herat," spokesman of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Andy Elmes told Xinhua.

However, he declined to give more details. In the incident that took place during an exercise 25 km south of Herat city, 17 Spanish soldiers lost their lives and over a dozen others were injured.

"It may have been an accident, or it may have been an attack from the outside. It has absolutely not been ruled out that it might have been an attack," Bono told a news conference in Madrid Tuesday.

Besides investigating the cause of the deadly crash and meeting his soldiers, the Spanish defense minister will also have talks with NATO-led ISAF commanders and Afghan leaders including President Hamid Karzai during his stay in Afghanistan.

Over 900 Spanish soldiers have been serving Afghanistan in the framework of the International Security Assistance Force to stabilize security in the post-Taliban nation. Enditem

Investigators probe Spanish helicopter crash in Afghanistan –AFP 8/17/05

Kabul - Spanish investigators searched through the wreckage of a military helicopter for the cause of a crash that killed 17 NATO peacekeepers in western Afghanistan.

There have been conflicting unconfirmed reports about what made the AS532 Cougar plough into the desert near the city of Herat on Tuesday -- including hostile fire, a sandstorm or a collision with another helicopter.

"The investigation is under way and the Spanish are taking the lead on that and they have a team of investigators up in Herat," said Major Andy Elmes, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). "We still believe it was an accident, we don't believe it was hostile fire," he added, saying that the exact cause of the crash had not yet been established.

The 17 Spaniards were on a training exercise for upcoming parliamentary polls when they died. Another five were injured when a second Cougar made a forced landing after seeing the first helicopter crash. Spanish Defence Minister Jose Bono told reporters in Madrid Tuesday that the possibility of an attack could not be ruled out.

The impact happened on flat ground where an emergency landing should have been possible, said Bono, adding: "That explains why we have not ruled out the possibility of an attack."

Those aboard the second helicopter "saw a column of black smoke, and thinking there had been an attack from the ground, made an emergency landing," Bono said, ruling out suggestions that the two helicopters might have collided.

In June 16 US servicemen were killed when suspected Taliban militants in eastern Afghanistan shot down an American Chinook helicopter, the deadliest single attack on US forces in the war-torn country. However the Spanish crash happened in western Afghanistan, which is regarded as more peaceful than the Taliban heartland in the south and east.

The dead servicemen were part of an 850-member Spanish contingent attached to ISAF, which is patrolling northern and western Afghanistan ahead of September's legislative polls. Among the 17 dead, eleven were privates and the highest-ranking officer was a captain.

The Spanish crew of the downed helicopters were part of the 4th airborne battalion based in Seville, and the infantrymen aboard were with the 22nd regiment of Light Infantry Airborne.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer offered his condolences after the crash while US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington was "deeply saddened".

This is the second major loss for Madrid's contingent in Afghanistan. In May 2003, 62 Spanish peacekeepers died when an obsolete Ukrainian Yak-42 plane bringing them home crashed in Turkey.
As well as hostile fire, air crews over Afghanistan have to contend with craggy, high-altitude terrain and a lack of air traffic control. There have been more than 10 helicopter crashes in Afghanistan since 2001,

Eighteen people including three civilians were killed when a US Chinook helicopter went down in a dust storm in the southeastern province of Ghazni in March.

Annan says objective of stability in Afghanistan remains to be met

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Tuesday that the overall objective to restore peace and stability in the war-torn country of Afghanistan remains to be met.

Elections alone "will not be sufficient for the establishment of lasting peace in Afghanistan," Annan said in his latest report to the Security Council on Afghanistan. "Security, effective institutions and development will require time and concerted effort to build upon the political achievement of the past three-and-a-half years."

He noted that the security situation remains a paramount concern, saying "it is impossible to overestimate the importance of restoring security in Afghanistan as a condition for the sustainability of the peace process."

Annan also noted a rise in the level of insurgency in that country, as well as in the sophistication of the insurgents' weaponry and in the types of attacks being carried out. The southern and eastern parts of the country have borne the brunt of the recent upsurge in violence, he said.

The Secretary-General pointed out that even without the burden of violent insurgency, the reconstruction of Afghanistan faces a truly formidable combination of challenges, including the pervasive drug economy, some of the worst social and economic indicators in the world and the consequences of what was one of the deadliest confrontations of the Cold War.

"It will no doubt require long-term commitment on the part of the international community to see this process to a successful conclusion," Annan said.

Afghanistan's myriad difficulties, including internal and external, and those inherited from the past, should not draw attention away from the "remarkable achievements" such as the election of a new government and the adoption of a new constitution, all over the past two and half years, since the Bonn Agreement set the country on the road to stability in 2001, he said.

Preparations for the Sept. 18 elections that will wrap up the Bonn process are on track, with over 5,000 registered candidates and about 1.5 million newly registered voters, Annan said. He also warned that ballot faces a serious funding gap and some31 million US dollars is urgently needed in order to avoid a delayin holding the elections.

He urged government of Afghanistan and international security forces to remain vigilant with regard to all sources of intimidation and violence against voters and candidates.

Pull out or else, Taliban kidnappers tell Turkish firm

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug 17 (Reuters) - A Turkish company operating in Afghanistan had only hours on Wednesday to decide to pull out of the country or face the execution of a kidnapped employee, Taliban rebels said.

The Taliban have said they kidnapped Lebanese engineer Mohammad Reza on Sunday while working for a U.S.-funded road project. Reza told Reuters on Wednesday his captors were treating him well.

But Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said the Turkish Construction Company, which hired Reza to work on the road project, had until noon (0730 GMT) on Wednesday to decide to withdraw.

"After this time we will do our decision," Hakimi said, referring to an earlier threat to kill the engineer. No one from the Turkish company was immediately available for comment, but a Reuters correspondent was allowed by the Taliban to speak briefly to the kidnapped Lebanese by satellite telephone.

"My name ... is Reza, my father's name is Mohammad. I am a resident of south Lebanon, he told Reuters in English. "My wife's name is Fatima. She cannot speak English. She can only speak Arabic. Kindly tell her on telephone that I am OK, alright and alive. I am working in a Turkish firm and had gone from Kabul to Kandahar when I was kidnapped."

Taliban guerrillas say they seized Reza from his car while passing through the restive southern province of Zabul. Suspected Taliban members have kidnapped several Turkish and Indian nationals working on road projects in Zabul, but have released them unharmed after ransoms were paid.

The Taliban, ousted by U.S.-led forces in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, have vowed to disrupt Afghanistan's parliamentary elections scheduled for next month.

Lebanon seeks to free Afghanistan - 17th August, 2005 Big News

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it is asking local and U.S. authorities for help regarding a Lebanese engineer kidnapped in Afghanistan by Taliban gunmen.

Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told reporters in Beirut Tuesday that the ministry commissioned the embassy in Pakistan to conduct urgent contacts with Afghani authorities and the U.S. forces to clarify the fate of Ahmed Reda and secure his release.

Reda who worked with a Turkish construction company was kidnapped in southern Afghanistan by the Taliban movement who threatened on Monday to kill him within 24 hours if the company did not pull out from the area. Lebanon has no embassy in Afghanistan and Pakistan-based diplomats will be following up the issue, Salloukh said.

Six enemy killed near Deh Rahwod - August 16, 2005 - Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs)

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan –Afghan and U.S. forces killed six enemy forces after militants fired at a forward operating base near the city of Deh Rahwod in southern Afghanistan Aug. 14.

The militants engaged the FOB with small arms and rockets. Afghan National Army and U.S. forces returned fire with small arms and called for close air support. They also captured one light machine gun, four assault rifles and one radio.

“Afghan and U.S. forces are engaging and killing the enemies of Afghanistan at every turn,” said Lt. Col. Jerry O’Hara Combined Joint Task Force-76 spokesperson. “It has been proven, time after time, that the enemies of Afghanistan cannot stand face to face with Afghan and U.S. forces and expect to be successful.” There were no Afghan or U.S. forces injured in the incident.

Afghan court sentences kidnapper, thieves to death - By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL, Aug 17 (Reuters) - An Afghan court sentenced seven men to death, including one for kidnapping three foreign election workers last October, a senior judge said on Wednesday.

The six others were given the death sentence for committing a series of highway robberies. The judge, who handed down the sentences, said 35-year-old Sharifullah had confessed to his role in the kidnapping of the three elections workers -- a woman with dual Irish and British citizenship, a Kosovan woman and a Filipino -- in a closed door trial held on Tuesday.

Officials say several other men were also involved in the kidnapping and all of them are at large. The foreigners were released unharmed after nearly a month of captivity following reports of payment of ransom. A Taliban splinter group at the time claimed to be holding the three.

The judge said Sharifullah admitted he was a key member of a criminal gang but had no connection with the Taliban. "But he did say that he had established contact with the (Taliban) group to sell the three, but did not reach an agreement," the judge said.

He said the convict stated that the only purpose of the kidnapping was to seek ransom and release of colleagues held by Afghan authorities. The judge said the six other convicts also confessed their crimes and all seven could appeal against their sentence.

President Hamid Karzai has the final say over their fate even if a final court approves the death sentence, the judge said. Afghanistan had its first execution last year since the overthrew of the Taliban government in 2001. The Taliban publicly used to execute alleged criminals as part of their harsh interpretation of Islam and it had helped clamp crimes.

Fifty criminals have been handed out death sentence by various courts and are awaiting a decision from Karzai. The West-leaning Karzai has in the past strongly opposed execution verdicts ordered by courts.

Afghan Press Monitor - Published by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (No 132, 14-15 Aug 05)

Leading Taleban figure killed - (Hewad) Qari Ahmadullah, a prominent Taleban commander, has been killed in Paktika province in recent clashes. He was believed to have led more than 500 fighters in Paktika. He bears the same name as the Taleban's intelligence chief, but neither the Afghan government nor US officials have confirmed whether the same man is involved. US forces said Ahmadullah's death would have a powerful effect on the Taleban's operations in this part of Afghanistan. (Hewad is a state run daily mostly in Pashto.)

Pakistanis find alleged Taleban spokeman - (Islah)Mohammad Yassar, who claimed to be a spokesman for the Taleban movement, was arrested in Pakistan on August 11. Yassar, 65, was arrested on the Mardan to Naw Shar highway by intelligence officers, according to reports. He had been living in areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001. Pakistani officials have not issued a statement about his arrest, but members of his family have already spoken to reporters. (Islah is a state-run daily mostly in Dari.)

Three arrested in Helmand for Taleban links - (Anis)Police arrested two Taleban fighters and a man suspected of links to the movement in the Nawzad district of Helmand province on August 13. According to interior ministry's press office, the two known insurgents were Mullah Noorulhaq and Mullah Qasem. Police found a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a remote-control mine on the men. (Anis is state-run daily published mostly in Dari.)

Former Ghazni governor arrested - (Arman-e-Milli) The Afghan National Army, ANA, and US-led Coalition Forces have detained a former governor of Ghazni, Maulavi Taj Mohammad (also known as Qari Baba) after conducting a joint assauot on his house in the Andar district. During the mujahedin period, Taj Mohammad was a commander with the Harakat-e-Inqilab-e-Islami faction. In the early Nineties, he held the post of governor of Ghazni province, a job he also served in briefly under President Hamed Karzai. A senior officer with the ANA's [203rd] Thunder Corps said Taj Mohammad had been arrested for keeping a large quantity of illegal weapons in his house. The police chief in Andar district confirmed the incident, adding that two of Taj Mohammad's grandsons had also been arrested. (Arman-e-Milli is an independent daily)

Candidates again urged to turn in weapons - (Outlook) The Afghan National Army has warned candidates in Nangarhar province that they must turn in any weapons they possess to the government ahead of the elections slated for September 18. General Aminullah Patiyani, corps commander for the eastern provinces, said on August 13 that anyone who was found to be still in possession of arms after being elected to the National Assembly or the provincial councils would be stripped of their mandate. The warning came shortly after former police chief in Nangarhar had surrendered a large amount of weapons. However, parliamentary hopeful Malik Mohammad Hassan Kamalzai claimed that many of his fellow-candidates still held weapons illegally. (Outlook is an independent daily published in English.)

Alleged kidnapper denies army officer assisted his escape - (Cheragh) Timor Shah, the alleged kidnapper of Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni, has said he made no deal to secure his release from police custody last week. The interior ministry has said that that a general in the Afghan National Army helped Timor Shah to escape after he had been arrested by police. The officer is accused of taking a bribe and is now under investigation in custody. Timor Shah - now back on the run - denies paying money to anyone. A kidnap gang released Cantoni in late May after police freed Timor Shah's mother from detention. (Cheragh is an independent daily run by the Development and Democracy Association.)

Land dispute leaves one dead in Paktia - (The Kabul Times) One man has been killed and two injured in a clash between two tribes involved in a land dispute in the southern province of Paktia. Provincial security chief Ghulam Nabi Salem said the firefight erupted between the Darawal and Daulatzai tribes, some 10 kilometres from the regional centre Gardez on the morning of August 13. Gunfire continued until four in the afternoon, when police intervened. Salem said the dead and injured all belonged to the Darawal, and he said about 60 people including armed men from both sides had been taken into custody. A similar dispute the day before in neighbouring Khost province, involving nomadic Kuchis and members of the Matun tribe, left about a dozen people injured. (The Kabul Times is a state-run paper published in English every other day.)

Two die in Nangarhar flooding - (Erada) Floods in Nangarhar province have washed away two people and hundreds of animals and damaged farmlands and houses. According to local officials, the Haska Mina, Rodat, Chaparhar Lalpur and Mohmand Dara districts were all badly hit by the flooding. Nazir Jan, a resident of Mohmand Dara, said a woman had been killed as the result of the previous night's flooding in his neighbourhood. Haji Naeem Shinwari, the district chief in Pachiragam, said the floodwaters swept away a man and more than 100 animals, and washed over hundreds of acres of farmland. Nangarhar suffered heavy losses in similar flooding just two months ago. (Erada is an independent daily run by the Afghan Media and Resource Center.)

Ten Taleban killed over three days - (Outlook) At least 10 suspected members of the Taleban militia have been killed and 14 others detained in the past three days, according to Afghan and US military sources. On August 11, troops of the Afghanistan National Army killed six suspected Taleban members and captured 13 others in the Wazokhah district of Paktika province, a press release from the Afghan defence ministry said. US-led Coalition Forces reported at least four Taleban insurgents killed and one captured in August 12 incidents in Urozgan and Kabul respectively. (Outlook is an independent daily published in English.)

Arms cache attributed to Taleban - (Anis) Officers of the National Security Directorate have discovered an arms cache in the Bala Koo area of Mahipar, between Kabul and Jalalabad. According to a source in the directorate, the arms were dumped by Taleban insurgents in preparation for attacks during the forthcoming parliamentary election. The weapons have been transferred to Kabul. (Anis is a state-run daily published mostly in Dari.)

Eight million dollars for Sar-e-Pul reconstruction - (Islah) Some eight million US dollars has been allocated for reconstruction of the northern Sar-e-Pul province, from the National Solidarity Programme. The funding was decided after a government delegation including Rehabilitation and Rural Development Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Refugees and Repatriation Minister Mohammad Azam Dadfar and Frontier and Tribal Affairs Minister Abdul Karim Brahui went to Sar-e-Pul to evaluate the problems facing people, such as the shortage of roads, electricity, drinking water, health clinics and schools. (Islah is a state-run daily mostly in Dari.)

On Afghan visit, PM may skip Jalalabad - EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 16: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unlikely to visit Jalalabad during his upcoming visit to Afghanistan due to security concerns. While the security team is in Kabul to assess the situation, sources said, Jalalabad will have to be dropped from the itinerary.

It’s learnt that the trip on August 27 may just turn out to be a one-day affair with security agencies not keen on letting the PM stay overnight. There are also other complications given the different forces responsible for security in Kabul leading issues in co-ordination. However, a decision on this will be taken only after the security team returns.

Refugees blast Afghan govt for breaching promise

ISLAMABAD, August 16 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghan refugees living in two camps in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi Tuesday accused the Afghan government of failing to keep its promise of providing them with shelter.

Soon after the interior ministry here set the September 15 deadline for the refugees to vacate the camps by returning to their country or shifting elsewhere in Pakistan, the Afghan government held out an assurance it would provide plots to the evicted returnees

Representative of the camp in Islamabad, Khalil Rahman said the Afghan government had pledged at a meeting with the elders two months ago that it would allot them plots if they returned. "But the commitment has not been honoured as yet," he alleged.

"Our elders had gone to Kabul to raise with the Afghan authorities the issue of shelter for the refugees who are going to be forced out of the camps. However, the government has failed to translate its pledge into action," Khalil said.

Sayed Ahmad, a resident of the camp, the government had not helped even one of the refugees who returned recently to Afghanistan in the hope of getting plots.

However, refugee and returnee affairs' officials in Kabul insisted they were doing all they could to facilitate new arrivals. Hafeez Nadeem, spokesman for the ministry, said the government had allocated lands in different provinces for the returnees.

He explained a piece of land sufficient for 40,000 refugees had been earmarked for the returnees in Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan. He went on to say 17 new township schemes were underway for the refugees while the government was in a bid to further augment these facilities.

Khalil also criticized the Afghan embassy in Islamabad for its apathy towards refugees' plight. He observed the poor souls were being driven from pillar to post but the embassy did not move to mitigate their predicament.

But Engineer Omarzada, in charge of the refugee affairs at the embassy, said they had talked to Pakistani officials on facilitating refugees of the two camps. "Afghan Ambassador Nangyalai Tarzai had also met Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on setting back the deadline," said Omarzada.

United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Babar Baloch said the refugees were not forced to leave Pakistan. "They have been given the option to move to another camp inside Pakistan."

Afghan flag raised along with Maple Leaf as Canada takes over Kandahar site - TERRY PEDWELL / The Canadian Press, Aug 16

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The flag of Afghanistan was raised along with the Canadian Maple Leaf as Canada formally took over command Tuesday of a provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar.

In a low-key ceremony marking the occasion, the flags were hoisted on separate poles inside the compound after an American flag was lowered for the last time. Canada took over the compound from the United States, which had operated from the site over the past two years. Roughly 250 Canadian soldiers now call the base home - at least for the next six months - more than double the size of the American force that was, for the most part, replaced earlier in the week.

Canada's team will also include members of the RCMP, along with personnel from Canada's International Development Agency, CIDA, and Foreign Affairs, who were to arrive within the next two weeks.

Raising both flags over the compound was a signal to local residents that, while Canada controls the site, they are there on behalf of the government of Afghanistan, said the team's commander, Col. Steve Bowes.

"The Afghan flag simply allows us to send that symbol to say that, yeah we're Canadians, and there's more members of the international team here, but we're working on your behalf," he said.

The symbolism doesn't just send a message to Afghans, however, said Chris Alexander, Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan. It also tells Canadians why their soldiers are in the country.

"It's important for Canada because it's part of completing the job that we started," Alexander said. "Our troops were here in Kandahar in 2002. We made a big commitment in Kabul in 2003, and this is the next step."

The government of President Hamid Karzai has been ridiculed by some for having little authority outside Kabul. While other regions of the country have been relatively stable, the situation in Kandahar, and the region of southern Afghanistan that surrounds it, remains volatile with continued attacks by insurgents.

Canada wants to help bring the stability seen in Kabul to Kandahar, said Alexander. "The challenge in Afghanistan now is in the regions," he said. "It's about bring the government institutions that now exist under an elected president in Kabul to all the provinces of the country."

As the ceremony took place, Canadians continued patrolling the streets of Kandahar, as well as areas outlying the violence-plagued city. They hope to bring stability to the region as Afghanistan approaches national elections scheduled for Sept. 18.

Working in Kandahar is not about peacekeeping, stressed Bowes, who again warned that Canadian soldiers could easily come into harm's way as they work toward the election date and beyond.

"It's important for Canadians to understand this is not a peacekeeping mission," he said. "Peacekeeping missions traditionally mean . . . we go in between two sides and we actively try to keep the peace between two opposing forces." "We're not here to do that. We've chosen sides and we're here to support that."

AFGHANISTAN: Debate on justice reform - [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

KABUL, 16 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - State institutions involved in the justice system along with the United Nations and other national and international organisations, are discussing justice reform at a three-day workshop that began on Monday in the capital, Kabul.

A 24-page strategy paper entitled 'Justice for All' is being used as the basis for discussion at the meeting and is expected to form the foundation of future policy for the justice sector.

"The paper emphasises the need for capacity building and improvements in law schools, which are two of the root causes of the current problems in the justice sector," Mir Hayatullah Pacha Alhashimi, the Afghan deputy justice minister, said as he opened the workshop on Monday.

"We are also witnessing a serious lack of coordination among donors. They are duplicating projects and I hope this strategy paper will tackle this problem," he said. According to Alhashimi, the government will need at least US $60 million to fund basic requirements in the justice sector reform over the next ten years.

The justice ministry says a lack of professional staff or court buildings are serious problems in the administration of justice. Only 15 of 380 designated courts across Afghanistan have buildings within which to hold hearings. There is also a shortage of both prisons and training facilities in Afghanistan's crumbling justice system. Prisons in more than 20 provinces have no proper premises or facilities according to the ministry.

After three decades of conflict, civil war and rule by the hard-line Taliban regime, the legal system in rural areas has been rendered at best ineffective and in many places completely non-existent. In the absence of any state system, traditional tribal courts and local justice fill the void. Even in Kabul, where the justice apparatus is more developed than elsewhere in the country, people complain about corruption, long delays in cases coming to court and general inefficiency.

"The paper is taking a strategic planning approach and I think that is a very new thing," said Inge Fryklund a USAID advisor on the rule of law, attending the workshop. "The idea of this strategic planning is to look into the future - how Afghanistan's justice sector would look in ten years time."

The paper lays out plans for the training of judges, recruitment of lawyers, improvement of law schools and the establishment of police training in human rights.

Mole crickets destroy grape gardens in Parwan

CHARIKAR, August 16 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Grape orchards in the central Parwan province are facing a serious threat as swarms of mole crickets attack the roots leaving thousands of plants defoliated.

Farmers in the Bagram district of the province feared if quick steps were not taken to control the attack, the insects would fully destroy the plants in the next few weeks. Some non-governmental organisations (NOGs) had helped the farmers to plant grape orchards to boost agriculture in the province.

Gul Mohammad, owner of a grape garden in Bagram, said: "The winged insects have attacked the garden and I don’t think we will have as much grapes as last year." Plants protection official in the Parwan province Lala Mir confirmed the attack saying the insects first hit the roots and then damage the stem and leaves.

Chief of the provincial agriculture and livestock department Abdul Hafiz Hadid told Pajhwok Afghan News 16 million plants were existed in the province but the two and half decades of war and the recent insects attack had reduced the number to 800. He said the mostly damaged area is the Totam Dara, central part of the province, where the plants were badly affected by the insects.

Mir Agha, another gardener, complained the agriculture department had done nothing to control the situation and save the plants from destruction. But Lala Mir said they had little resources to help the farmers.

Tro Ardam, representative of the US agriculture ministry in the Provincial Reconstruction Team, said they planned to train farmers on new agriculture techniques in Parwan, Kapisa, Panjshir and Kabul provinces.

Iranian paper warns Afghans not to yield to US occupation - IRNA, 08/16/2005

A morning daily warned Afghans on Tuesday not to be "lulled by the seditious idea that 26 years of constant warfare and displacement have dampened their spirits and made them yield to the Americans." Referring to the present situation in Afghanistan the 'Kayhan International' said that the country was involved in a "war of attrition with no sign of peace for the people."

Strongly criticizing the US "cowardly tactics" on its "witch-hunting" in Afghanistan under the pretext of finding Taliban fighters, the editorial said that Washington should be ashamed as it was trying to "deceive public opinion both at home and in Afghanistan by keeping its clandestine ties with the real Taliban, especially the commanders that the CIA had groomed in the 1990s to recruit ignorant elements in the name of Islam for tarnishing the image of Islam."

The daily also said US "protectionist policies" have led to creation of a new class of poppy cultivators and the drug smuggling barons in Afghanistan as a result of which Kabul would finally be forced "to import foodstuffs mostly from the US, thereby lining up the pockets of those who orchestrated the September 11, 2001 incidents to attack and occupy Afghanistan."

Stressing that the Afghan Muslim masses were the main sufferers of the current situation in Afghanistan, the paper regretfully said that it seemed the Afghan nation sorely lack its "famed spirit of resistance." It added "Those who had led the struggle against the Taliban terror have been bought over by the Americans with posts and money.

"In such a situation" said the paper, "unless the Afghans regain their consciousness and wake up to the realities by organizing a mass resistant movement that needs sacrifices, the foreign enemies will continue to slowly grind them into dust."

Criticizing Kabul's helplessness as "the real power is in the hands of the Americans," Kayhan International suggested that an organized resistance" against the American occupation would be welcomed by most officials as it would revive the fact that "independence and freedom is part of the innate nature of Afghans who have a bright record of refusal to yield to foreign yoke." The daily warned Afghans against the dangerous sedition of the US and urged them to follow the Iraqis pattern of resistance against the US occupation.

"If the Iraqis can continue the resistance to US occupation despite a longer period of oppression and disaster on a wider scale, why can't the Afghans?" the paper questioned.

Who's afraid of the six-party alliance? - By Aamer Ahmed Khan - BBC News

Four years ago, Pakistan's largest religious alliance - the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) - was under fire from secular parties for being the blue-eyed boy of the country's powerful military establishment.

The unprecedented success of the six-party alliance in October 2001 general elections was attributed by their rivals to the support lent by Gen Pervez Musharraf's government.

Today the alliance is accusing the government of trying to hound it out of the political arena. Over the past two weeks, President Musharraf has repeatedly urged people to "shun retrogressive and orthodox politicians".

In the run-up to local elections, being held on 18 and 25 August, his pleas have been interpreted to mean the MMA has clearly fallen out of favour with the military government.

"The government needs to be seen to be dumping its religious allies, so it is doing just that," says Dr Asad Sayeed, a political economist. "Whether it is a tactical move or a strategic one - to use military parlance - remains to be seen," he says.

Dr Sayeed believes that the "military and the mullahs remain long-term bedfellows" and the apparent tensions between the two are temporary in nature.

But his contention is contested by the MMA. "We are facing a situation where President Musharraf has himself emerged as our greatest adversary," says Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, a senior Jamaat leader.

"There is little doubt now that we will soon be facing the wrath of his administration." Many are inclined to believe that Prof Ahmed's apprehensions are not mere political rhetoric.

On Monday evening, Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said that four terror suspects arrested over the weekend had admitted to being members of the Jamaat-e-Islami - a key member of the MMA.

Mr Jamil said the four suspects were part of a 21-member gang which also included activists of the party's student wing, the Islami Jamiat-e-Tulaba. The gang had planned to carry out attacks in Karachi during local elections, he said.

The Jamaat denied these claims, arguing that if the government was confident then it should prove the linkage in a court of law. Leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the Jamaat's main rival in Karachi, were quick to seize the opportunity.

Farooq Sattar, MQM leader, said that the police chief's statement had established Jamaat's links with al-Qaeda, and called for an immediate ban on the party. MQM has been accusing Karachi's former mayor, Naimatullah Khan, of corruption.

Besides a barrage of daily press statements, the party has put up billboards all over the city detailing expenses of the Jamaat-backed Mr Khan when he was mayor.

Few of these allegations have stuck - given Mr Khan's clean reputation - but the venom in the MQM's campaign has increased steadily in the run up to the polls.

In a newspaper interview last week, President Musharraf accused the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam of aiding the Taleban in Pakistan's border belt with Afghanistan. It was the first direct reference that he has made to possible linkages between Islamic militants and mainstream religious parties.

Observers believe that the three-year understanding between religious parties and the military government - which allowed the two to coexist despite differing views - may be nearing its end.

Some argue that if the MMA loses a majority of the districts in local elections in North-West Frontier Province it may be only a matter of time before the religious parties find themselves in the political wilderness again.

Pakistan 'hate' paper crackdown - By Aamer Ahmed Khan BBC News, Karachi

Three papers have been banned for publishing "hate material" in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The periodicals are the first to be outlawed in President Pervez Musharraf's crackdown on provocative religious material.

The crackdown came soon after the London bombings which killed 52 people and injured around 300 more. The three periodicals banned by the Sindh government are Zarb-e-Islam, Wajood and Friday Special.

Mohammed Tahir, the editor of Wajood, has been arrested and remanded in custody. The associate editor of Friday Special, Abdul Latif, was also arrested but later released on bail.

Mr Tahir told the BBC News website that he was arrested by policemen in plainclothes who said his paper was writing against Gen Musharraf's government. "They never mentioned anything about hate material," he said.

The editor of Friday Special, Yahya bin Zakria, said that the ban on his paper was aimed at silencing a vociferous critic of the government. Friday Special is one of several publications published by associates of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamic fundamentalist party.

"We will employ all legal means to resist such attempts at gagging the press," Mr Zakria said. He said he would raise the issue with the All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) - Pakistan's leading press owners' association.

Qazi Asad, APNS secretary general, said the organisation had not yet been formally notified about the banned periodicals. "We have to examine the grounds on which their declarations were cancelled before we can form an opinion," he said. Officials said these publications were banned on the recommendation of the home department and the city police chief.

The two said in separate appraisals that the content was instigating hatred and violence among people of different sects. Home department officials said 13 publications based in the southern province of Sindh are on a watch-list. Officials in Punjab are also said to be monitoring another 20 publications.

Women candidates defy conservatives in Pakistan's 'burqa belt'

(AFP) - When two men called at Razia Sultana's house late one night to persuade her not to stand in upcoming local elections, it made her more determined to fight.

The 35-year-old is one of thousands of women in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province who are bravely defying an illegal ban on female candidates and voters imposed by Islamic clerics and conservative politicians.

"They came to my house and pressurised me not to stand in the election," she told AFP. "So I told them to bring a letter from President Musharraf saying I couldn't be a candidate, otherwise I would go ahead."

Sultana remains scared and has demanded military protection for herself and for female voters in her constituency in Charsadda -- where hardliners last month torched dozens of television sets after a cleric ruled them un-Islamic.

The controversy highlights not only the fight against religious intolerance in Pakistan but also the second-class status still endured by many women in the Islamic republic of 150 million people.

Military ruler Pervez Musharraf has often vowed to rid Pakistani society of extremism. Last month he expelled foreign students from Islamic schools after possible links emerged with some of the July 7 London suicide bonbers.

He also went to the Supreme Court to overturn a bill introducing a Taliban-style moral policing system in North West Frontier Province, where many women still wear all-enshrouding veils known as burqas.
And for some, the increasing number of female candidates in the province -- 6,497 have filed nomination papers compared with 4,740 who ran in the last elections five years ago -- gives cause for hope.

The local council elections are being held in two phases, on August 18 and 25. Although they are being held on a party-less basis, they will nevertheless indicate how much influence conservative Islam still wields in Pakistan.

"In a society where females enjoy no rights, contesting elections in such a big number indicates a women's revolution is on its way," 27-year-old candidate Shad Begum told AFP.

She is contesting a seat in the remote northern district of Dir, where Islamic fundamentalists last week reached an agreement with local politicians to bar women from voting or standing in elections. A women's rights activist and her 17-year-old daughter were shot dead in Dir in June. Her killers are still at large.

"What else can you call it but a revolution, when women in an extremely hostile environment are defying clerics and a ban imposed by so-called liberals and democrats?" said Begum, who regarded the dead activist as her mentor.

Pakistan's top electoral officer vowed this week to annul any election results in districts where women had been prevented from either contesting seats or from casting their ballots.

The husband of another female candidate praised the courage of women who defied the ignored the threat posed by fundamentalists. "This is a big revolution," said Sherzada Khan, whose wife Kishwar Sultana is also standing in Dir. Muslim leaders were unrepentant, however.

Since taking power in 2002, an alliance of Islamic parties that rules the province has set up separate university and medical colleges for women, stopped male sports instructors coaching girls and banned music in public transport.

"In Western democracies, women have right to vote or contest elections," said Qazi Fazlullah, the alliance's leader in Dir. "But we have Islamic systems in this province and western democracy is not compatible with Islamic laws."

Osama heading for Iraq: Report - Press Trust of India, August 17, 2005

Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, is headed for Iraq to boost his network's standing as it embarks on an "offensive whose scale and importance rival September 9/11," a media report said.

Coded electronic signals intercepted in recent days among Al-Qaeda's Middle Eastern elements across secret Internet sites carry the message that the terror network's supreme leader has come out of his hiding in Afghanistan and has set out, or is about to set out, for Iraq, Debkafile, a weekly, known for investigative journalism reported.

Some of the signals schedule his date of arrival as the second half of September when Ramadan is estimated to begin, it said. The signals cap a secret exchange of messages in recent weeks in which the organisation's Iraq commander, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, attempted to persuade Bin Laden to leave Afghanistan and take command of the Ramadan offensive in Iraq.

According to Debkafile's exclusive counter-terror sources, Zarqawi is said to have argued that Bin Laden's presence in Iraq would boost Al-Qaeda's standing before setting on an "offensive whose scale and importance rival the September 2001 operation" and goes well with his own safety.

The secret contents of the messages, which the weekly claimed to have been authenticated by its experts, have begun to leak out and set up a huge flap in Al-Qaeda networks, cells and affiliates in many countries and talk of "a new jihad to honour the leader", the report said.

Among the possible routes that the terror chief can take is the long way round through Pakistani and Iranian Baluchistan and across the border into Iraq, it said.

Another alternative route, which he might find easier because of the organisation's established marine network through Pakistan, is the sea route.

The weekly had earlier reported that Al-Qaeda has established a new marine base in the remote Gawatar Bay, a Persian Gulf inlet down the middle of which runs the Pakistani-Iranian border.

Its operatives are said to be active on both shores, on the Pakistani side, using the Baluchi villages strung along the River Dasht which empties into the divided bay as sanctuaries. On the Iranian side, they move around the Baluchi port of Chah-Bahar (Bandar Beheshti).

The global terror network has for months been running a sea corridor of smugglers' vessels into the southern Iraqi port of Basra from both these places, the report said.

If these signals are a true representation of Bin Laden's plans and not a red herring, what is planned is a dramatic landmark battle in the global war on terror and the Iraqi conflict.

[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.]