Statement by Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation - Date of Release: 22 August 2005

The Government of Afghanistan Asks the Government of Pakistan to Postpone Closure of the Afghan Refugee Camps in Korm Agency and Bajawar Agency

Today, the Government of Afghanistan sincerely thanks the Government and people of Pakistan for their wholehearted support to the Afghan refugees as wells as their kind hospitality during the past 25 years.

The Government of Afghanistan stresses that every decision about the fate of Afghan refugees is legally bound to be taken in accordance with the international law and the provisions of a tripartite agreement reached between the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the UNHCR.

The Government of Afghanistan also stresses that enough time be given to the Afghan refugees so that they can settle their transactions with the local population with complete peace of mind.

The Government of Afghanistan is committed to the implementation of the Tripartite Agreement which ensures the voluntary, gradual and dignified repatriation of Afghan refugees to their country.

Notes: The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has decided to close 32 refugee camps in Korm Agency and Bajawar Agency where more than 240,000 Afghan refugees have been living for many years. The Pakistan Interior Ministry authorities have informed these refugees to evacuate the camps not later than 31 August 2005.

The Afghan refugees have well established themselves in these settlements over the past years and have built up many businesses which entail financial and commercial transactions with the local Pakistani residents and it will take time to settle these accounts before their departure.

Afghan raids 'kill 100 militants' – BBC

More than 100 suspected militants have been killed in the past three weeks in operations in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the US military says. More than 40 were killed in operations in eastern Kunar province, where the US lost 19 personnel in June. Another 65 died in fighting in southern Zabul province, the US military said.

The Taleban have stepped up violence ahead of next month's parliamentary elections but on Monday said they would not attack polling stations. On Sunday, suspected insurgents killed four US soldiers with a roadside bomb in Daychopan, in Zabul.

The coalition forces' "Operation Whalers" in Kunar province was launched to "clear the way for successful elections", the US military said. "We had over 29 separate engagements with enemy forces that resulted in over 40 enemy killed in action and many others wounded," said Lt Col Jerry O'Hara.

Maj Gen Jason Kamiya said insurgents had a choice of joining the democratic process or "to continue to live in the shadow of continued military confrontation, violence, death and defeat".

It is not possible to independently verify the US figures and the Taleban have not yet commented on them. Kunar's mountainous region has witnessed several deadly attacks on US forces in recent weeks by suspected insurgents who have vowed to derail the 18 September poll.

In June, three Navy SEALs were killed in fighting in Kunar and a helicopter sent to rescue them went down, possibly under enemy fire, killing 16 more US personnel. The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says since then US and Afghan forces have been concentrating on Kunar, trying to root out insurgents.

However, sources have told the BBC that al-Qaeda supporters are still active in the area, in some cases using videos of insurgent attacks in Iraq to try to recruit people.

But our correspondent says the latest statement from the Taleban's purported spokesman, Latifullah Hakimi, that they will hold off from attacks on polling stations may afford some comfort as that is largely what happened at last year's presidential elections.

A US spokesman was cautious but said he hoped "this was a sign of better things to come". On Sunday, Latifullah Hakimi, said Taleban fighters had detonated the roadside bomb that killed four US soldiers in Zabul. Three US soldiers were also hurt.

Also on Sunday a second bomb hit a US embassy convoy near Kabul, injuring two officials. The Taleban claimed responsibility for that attack too although their statements could not be independently verified.

The US now has about 20,000 troops in Afghanistan and has lost close to 200 since Operation Enduring Freedom began following the ousting of the Taleban regime in late 2001.

G.I. Death Toll in Afghanistan Worst Since '01 - By CARLOTTA GALL, The New York Times, August 22, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 21 - This year is already the deadliest for American soldiers in Afghanistan since the war of 2001, and the violence is likely to intensify before the nation's legislative elections on Sept. 18.

Four soldiers were killed Sunday, meaning that 13 have been killed in August alone. Sixty-five Americans have been killed this year.

The latest four were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the south. Three others were wounded in that bombing, the American military said. And two United States Embassy employees were wounded when their convoy was hit by an explosion close to Kabul, the capital, the military said.

While some fighters want to disrupt the elections, one Afghan general said others are coming in to help the ousted Taliban or Al Qaeda with the long-term aim of dislodging American troops from Afghanistan.

"The fact that fighters come across the border, that cannot be denied," the Afghan defense minister, Gen. Abdur Rahim Wardak, said in a recent interview. "There are more people crossing on mountain trails" connected to Pakistan, he said. Most of those coming in are described as Afghans, but others are said to be Pakistanis. General Wardak said the Taliban were saying they had acquired new antiaircraft missiles.

A senior security official said Al Qaeda was paying renewed attention to the country this year. More money is coming in, probably from Arab countries, and a unit of Qaeda fighters has returned to the region from Iraq to teach local fighters an unspecified "new tactic they learned in Iraq," one security official said, explaining that he could not be identified because of the clandestine nature of his work.
While election workers and candidates have been attacked, the violence has spread wider, with the killings of more than six clerics and tribal elders since May. On Sunday, a cleric and another man were killed outside a district mosque, the latest of several attacks on pro-government clergy in which Taliban insurgents are suspected.

More than 40 Afghan National Army soldiers have been killed in combat since March, the defense minister said. And more than 50 policemen were killed in June and July, Interior Ministry figures show.
A total of 181 American soldiers have died in Afghanistan since military operations began in October 2001, more than 100 of them in attacks. One of the worst attacks took place in June, when 19 Americans died in the ambush of a Navy Seal team and the downing of a helicopter.

Foreign fighters from Pakistan and Central Asian states, and even from the Middle East and North Africa, have also been coming in, General Wardak said. "Dozens have been captured in the last two to three months," he said.

The soldiers killed Sunday were taking part in an operation to disrupt enemy forces in the Deychopan district of Zabul Province, an area of continued Taliban activity, the American military said in a statement. The three wounded men were injured in secondary explosions from ammunition in the stricken vehicle as they tried to save the men inside, it said.

The attack on the embassy convoy was perhaps more surprising, because it occurred close to Kabul, and was the first such attack in the area and on United States Embassy personnel in Afghanistan. The vehicle hit was part of a two-car convoy traveling on routine embassy business, said the embassy spokesman, Lou Fintor.

"Two Americans experienced minor injuries in the explosion and have been treated," he said. "The incident is under investigation." The attack occurred on a dirt road in Paghman, a district west of Kabul. Although the area is known for its armed militias and thieves, no previous roadside bombings had occurred there.

A local television station showed videotape of the damaged American vehicle, with its hood blown off and the windscreen sprayed with dirt, but Afghan officials said that because it was an armored vehicle the passengers suffered only minor injuries.

Another Afghan security official, who asked not to be identified because he was not permitted to speak to reporters, said he suspected that Taliban elements were responsible rather than local militias, adding that the Taliban had supporters in every area.

In other incidents, Maulavi Abdullah Malang, the leader of the religious council in Panjwai district in Kandahar Province, and a supporter of the Afghan government, and a villager were fatally shot outside his mosque before dawn prayers on Sunday, Niaz Muhammad Sarhadi, the local district chief, said in a telephone interview.

Three men on a motorbike were seen fleeing the scene, he said. He blamed Taliban supporters for the attack. "They do not want people to cooperate with the government," he said. "They do not want good people and educated people."

Two Afghan policemen were also killed in Oruzgan, an adjacent province, and two fuel trucks destined for an American military base were ignited in Kunar Province in the east, The Associated Press reported.

Afghan officials said they expected more violence, in the form of bombings in major cities, assassinations of candidates and election officials and other "soft" targets, and armed attacks on polling stations or local government offices in some areas. Pakistanis who were arrested recently and Taliban fighters who surrendered to the government under an amnesty program described similar plans in recent interviews.

The Afghan officials said it was increasingly clear in recent weeks that the elections were not the only target,++ and they accused Pakistan, in particular, of supporting a long-term strategy of destabilization in Afghanistan to keep the country weak. "Maybe they see a stable Afghanistan as a threat to themselves," the security official said.

US fury at wild-west militants who flee back to Pakistan - Sydney Morning Herald - August 22, 2005 - By Paul McGeough, Chief Herald Correspondent in Kabul

It should have been a slam dunk. In Afghanistan's eastern border region, US troops say they photographed Taliban fighters firing a rocket-launcher at them from the safety of the Pakistani side - within sight of a Pakistani military observation post. But a frustrated US military official in Kabul explains: "We thought we had them.

"But when we showed the pictures in Islamabad they said, 'We saw nothing.' It's the same when we call on our direct communications lines to say we're chasing the Taliban over the border - they see us coming and they refuse to pick up the phone," he said, speaking anonymously.

Islamabad's failure to stem the rising flood of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters on deadly cross-border forays from Pakistan's wild west has sapped US hopes of defeating the infiltrators any time soon. And it has reduced relations between Islamabad and Kabul to an icy low.

More than 700 Afghans and 45 Americans have died as border raids intensified since the northern winter. This is all the more puzzling because Pakistan says it has sent 74,000 troops to the border region to rein them in.

Despite superficial civility and an aid cheque for $US100 million ($133 million) from Islamabad, a spokesman for Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, recently told reporters: "All the weapons, ammunition, budgets, money transfer systems and safe havens for terrorists are located in Pakistan."
Afghan officials suspect parts of Pakistan's military and intelligence services that are loyal to the Taliban have been training the fighters to use more sophisticated remote-controlled bombs.

Pakistan denies Afghan claims that a system of extremist training camps operates in Pakistan. But Zulfiqar Ali, a Pakistani journalist, reported visiting such a camp. Men and boys as young as 13 took an 18-day "ideological orientation" and weapons training.

After September 11, 2001, Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf, promised to crack down on terrorist fighters in Pakistan and the fundamentalist schools, madrassas, which indoctrinate their foot soldiers.
General Musharraf repeated the promises after the revelation of Pakistan's links to last month's London bombings. After a Central Asia analyst, Ahmed Rashid, challenged General Musharraf last week, the President said he had arrested 800 militants and deported 1400 foreigners at Pakistani madrassas since the London attacks. He argued his hands had previously been tied - by confrontation with India, local elections or global or domestic political insecurities. But he insisted: "The situation is now far different from what I faced before. Now I'm much stronger."

But General Musharraf's admission his Government would no longer distinguish between "terrorists" seemed to confirm analysts' views that Islamabad deals with them selectively.

The analysts say there is zero-tolerance for non-Pakistani militants - mostly Arab and Central Asian - who seem to be deftly weeded from among home-grown militants who have done Islamabad's dirty work in the disputed territory of Kashmir. And in Afghanistan many in the Pakistani security forces believe the militants will be needed as a "moderate Taliban" to step in when, as they suspect, the Karzai Government in Kabul collapses.

Despite General Musharraf's promises, the gunmen and the bombers keep arriving in Afghanistan, and only a few hundred of the estimated 15,000 madrassas in Pakistan have complied with his demand that they register with the authorities. All that, he says, is about to change.

NATO's civilian representative in Kabul and a former Turkish foreign minister, Hikmet Cetin, said last week: "The madrassas in Pakistan remain a critical issue. The border between these countries is 2400 kilometres and very mountainous. It's very difficult to patrol, and with 2 million Afghan refugees still in Pakistan it's easy for them to bring the Taliban ideology back here when they come home."

The recent discovery of four remote-controlled bombs in the border region in an Afghan taxi passenger's baggage underscored his point. Afghan police say the man confessed to entering the country with four Pakistanis after being trained at Shamshatu, which is home to a big United Nations-run refugee camp for Afghans near Peshawar, just over the border in Pakistan.

The new US ambassador to Kabul, Ronald Neumann, said last week: "We are urging the Government of Pakistan to take all possible action to control extremism. We'll work with both countries to bring about better relations and institutions to fight terrorism. I think we are having some success."

The US military official speaking on condition on anonymity spoke more bluntly. "We are looking for commitment - we've seen none in the last 12 months. All they do is arrest someone on the eve of an official US visit to Islamabad, and they release them once we've left town."

Most US criticism of the ease with which the Taliban slip away into Pakistan has been confined to soldier level in the US forces. They are often forced to halt while in hot pursuit when they come to what they believe is the border. Known as the Durand Line, the 1893 British-drawn frontier is ill-defined and disputed.

The US military officer seemed to share his men's frustration, exclaiming: "Anyway, where is the f---ing Durand Line?"

Taliban Promises Not To Attack Elections - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

22 August 2005 – Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said that the Taliban will not attack polling stations during the parliamentary elections which are due to be held on 18 September. The Defense Ministry in Afghanistan has welcomed the promise, as did the Interior Ministry.

Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi told Radio Free Afghanistan: "We never said that we want to disrupt the coming election. It is not important for us to disrupt the election. All claims are fabricated by the press that we want disrupt the election. They want to defame our struggle. We didn’t attack elections centers before and we won’t start now."

Defense Ministry spokesman General Azimi said: "I have not heared such announcement from the Taliban spokesman. The Defense Ministry welcomes such remarks but we should wait and see in action whether they attack on the candidates and our office of the elections commission. Afghan government believes that war cannot solve the problem of Afghanistan right now."

Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal's reaction to the statement from the Taliban is: "We welcome every Afghan whether from the Taliban, Mujahedin or any other group who is committed to the national interest of Afghanistan. We appreciate their help but we will never let any group act against our national interest and elections."

Campaigning is already underway in Afghanistan for the last weeks. There are around six thousand candidates for the national and provincial assemblies.

Doctor Kabir Rangbar, head of Afghanistan’s Lawyers Association and expert on Afghan affairs, commented on Taliban statements that they would not attack polling stations during the elections. Doctor Rangbar said that "the Taliban wants to show the people and the government that they are very much a presence and a threat. They want to show they can choose to disrupt the elections or to ignore them and not do anything." Dr.Rangbar also said that by these statements the Taliban wants to come to a political stage.

Man blows up himself in Kandahar

KABUL, August 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): An unidentified terrorist Monday blew up himself in the Spin Boldak district of the southern Kandahar province as police tried to chase and arrest him, officials said.
Kandahar security chief Colonel Abdul Malik Ahmadi told Pajhwok Afghan News the man believed to be a suicide attacker, entered the bordering district from Pakistan in a car laden with explosives.

He said, on suspicion, police chased the car but the man blew up himself before nabbed by the police party. The security chief further said five missiles, ready to be fired at a target, were also defused by police a day earlier.

Four rockets fired at Maidan Shahr

GHAZNI CITY, August 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Two security guards were wounded in a rocket attack on provincial capital of the Maidan Wardak province on Sunday. Four rockets, fired from an unknown location, hit building of the communication department in Maidan Shahr, west of the central capital.

Colonel Masoom Khan, deputy police chief of the province, told Pajhwok Afghan News the rockets were fired from Lalandar area, six kilometres south of the provincial capital.

Giving details, the police chief said three of the four rockets missed the target and landed in the surroundings, while the fourth hit the building resulting in injury to two security guards. He said security was beefed up in and around the city and police had arrested two suspected people in connection with the attack.

Afghanistan FM says country needs long-term international support (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Afghanistan’s foreign minister said Monday his strife-torn country needs a long-term commitment from the international community to support its development and to strengthen peace in the region.

On a visit to New Zealand, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah told the country’s National Radio international support will “consolidate the achievements of the past three and a half years.”

While the security situation had improved in most parts of the country, violence continues in border areas, he said. “The overall picture is one of security and further stabilization of the country,” he said.
Abdullah also said that while it “will take time before we put an end to (all security) problems ... it will happen.”

Visiting New Zealand to thank it for its contribution to stability and reconstruction so far, Abdullah said it would be a long-haul effort before stability and security were assured. “It is important that support for Afghanistan continues from friendly countries like New Zealand,” he said.

The small South Pacific nation has 40 elite commando troops fighting insurgents in Afghanistan’s border regions and a 120-strong army reconstruction team deployed in Bamiyan province.

Continuation of international support “will guarantee the future of the country, the future of peace in that part of the world,” Abdullah said.

Australia and Afghanistan are looking at signing an agreement to fight terrorism that will enable both parties to share information on terrorist networks in the region and Abdullah said he expected to discuss a similar agreement with New Zealand counterpart Phil Goff later Monday.

New Zealand offers support to Afghan elections

WELLINGTON, Aug 22, 2005 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand will contribute 1 million NZ dollars (700,000 US dollars) to the United Nations to assist in the running of elections in Afghanistan on Sept. 18, Aid Minister Marian Hobbs announced Monday.

He said after meeting with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah that the new funding emphasizes New Zealand's commitment to helping Afghanistan's progress and development.

By the end of this year, New Zealand will have contributed more than 110 million NZ dollars (77 million US dollars) in assistance to Afghanistan. The aid includes work to rebuild schools and a university, reconnect safe drinking water, and recently work began on a maternity wing for the hospital in Bamyan province.

On a visit to thank New Zealand for its contribution to stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan so far, Abdullah said it would be a long-haul effort before stability and security were assured. "It is important that support for Afghanistan continues from friendly countries like New Zealand," he said.

There are currently 180 New Zealand Defense Force staff stationed in Afghanistan to assist in the reconstruction effort. In Bamyan Province, New Zealand's Provincial Reconstruction Team ( PRT) plays a role in ensuring the elections to take place in a safe and secure environment.

Canada's bridge to Kandahar - By BILL GRAHAM August 22, 2005

Amid considerable public discourse about Canada's new role in Afghanistan -- and the risks associated with the mission -- I feel that, as Minister of National Defence, I must comment on some of the public statements to ensure that Canadians know why our presence in Afghanistan is in our national interest and why it reflects Canadian values.

Canada has been significantly involved in Afghanistan since 2001, when the federal government deployed the Canadian Forces there in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Our forces have remained in Afghanistan since then to help bring peace, stability, hope and opportunity to a people oppressed and deprived of basic human rights for decades.

This reflects Canadian values, and our contribution to date has been recognized by the Afghan people and byour allies in the field. Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah have often spoken of their appreciation, and that of the Afghan people, for the professionalism and cultural sensitivity our troops show to the needs of the Afghan people.

But there's no doubt that our new mission in Kandahar differs from our current operation in Kabul. It will require a more combat-ready approach (and Kabul has by no means been risk-free). Southern and southeastern Afghanistan are dangerous: The Taliban, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups continue to try to destabilize the area through violence and to prevent the return of civil order and civil life.

Canada, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Afghan government agree that these insurgents must be defeated and the Kandahar region stabilized and rebuilt if Afghanistan is to become a peaceful country. As they move into southern Afghanistan, our forces will face a dangerous, experienced enemy in very hostile terrain. They will be called on to meet this threat with courage, professionalism, cultural sensitivity, negotiation abilities and, ultimately, combat skills.

It also bears mention that the mission in the Kandahar region, while more likely to involve open combat with a determined foe than Kabul, is not a departure from our past role in Afghanistan. Canadian Forces personnel served in Kandahar in 2002; many will be returning to a region they know. And Canada's goal remains the same: to work with the international community and the Afghan people to re-establish a civil society, thereby enhancing global security. This will be advanced by the Afghan parliamentary and provincial elections in September (facilitated by NATO forces, including Canadians).

The Provincial Reconstruction Team we are establishing in Kandahar will bring Canada's "3D" approach (defence, diplomacy and development assistance) to bear in the region, providing increased security, aid and governance guidance. The task force of about 1,000 troops we will deploy in February will help extend the Afghan government's authority over the southern part of the country. We will also be assuming command of the multinational force in Kandahar for a period of time. All these operations fulfill Canada's foreign policy goals.

Much has been made of recent comments by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier, regarding this mission. Some characterize his remarks as a change from the traditional Canadian approach. Nothing could be further from the truth: Gen. Hillier's comments accurately characterize a difficult mission in a dangerous region. He has my unqualified support as he prepares our troops for this challenging task.

Defeating terrorism and rebuilding failed states requires determination, complex solutions and a clear understanding of the risks. The professional competence, operational experience and cultural sensitivity of our troops position Canada to make an important contribution to the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Fundamentally, that is why the Canadian Forces have been in Afghanistan for more than three years, and are now undertaking new missions in that country. Bill Graham is Minister of National Defence.

Tripartite commission to meet on 24th

ISLAMABAD, August 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The tripartite commission comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States will hold its meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday. This was announced by Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Naeem Khan while addressing weekly press briefing here on Monday.

He said the meeting would discuss a host of issues with a special focus on border security, incidents of terrorism and economic and trade links between the two neighbours.

To a question about replacement of Pakistan ambassador to Kabul, the spokesman rejected the possibility saying the envoy had come to Islamabad to attend a day-long course here. "No such decision has been taken so far."

Regarding the allegations of Pakistan sending fighters in Afghanistan, he described it as baseless propaganda. "More than 70,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed to guard the border and stop infiltration in Afghanistan. How can we push miscreants into that country in such a situation?" he asked. Besides the border issue, said the spokesman, bilateral trade and commerce would also come under discussion.

Afghanistan's Farah gets $20m for poppy eradication

KABUL, August 21 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Afghan government announced Sunday an allocation of $20 million dollars to the western Farah province for eradication of poppy cultivation and providing farmers an alternative source of living.

After a meeting here between officials from Farah and representatives of several ministries involved in the counter-narcotics effort, Dr Omar Zakhelwal, advisor to the minister for rural rehabilitation and development, mad the announcement.

Speaking to reporters, he said 50 percent of the allocation was available for spending on a project aimed at providing Farah people an alternative to poppy cultivation. The rest of the funds to be spent on development and reconstruction projects would come from international donors.

According to Counter-Narcotics Ministry officials, $380 millions have been pledged to the government for financing alternative livelihood and reconstruction projects to benefit growers shunning poppy cultivation.

Of the aid committed by different donors, $200 millions have been handed over to the government, which is awaiting the remaining payments for immediate allocation to the provinces by the end of the year.

Sunday's meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel comes after last week's session with leaders from Badakhshan and Sar-i-Pul. In recent months, central government representatives have gone into a string of meetings with governors and senior officials from Laghman, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Balkh and Samangan.

A Rapid Assessment Survey, carried out by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in February, indicated poppy cultivation level in the western province of Farah had increased significantly.

Zakhelwal recalled $92,000 had been spent last year in Farah under the government-run National Solidarity Programme. Farah deputy governor Mohammad Juma Ghamkhor welcomed the move, saying most residents of the province were cultivating poppies because other crops could not meet their needs.

Pakistan's EPB to organise trade fair in Kabul

ISLAMABAD, August 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) would arrange an exhibition of Pakistani products in Kabul in November, an official said on Monday.

EPB spokesman Shakir Hussain hoped the five-day trade fair, slated for November 21-25, would afford Pakistani entrepreneurs an opportunity to introduce their products to consumers across the border.

Last year's successful exhibition in Kabul had lent a huge boost to Pak-Afghan bilateral commercial links, said the spokesman, who put the annual trade volume between the neighbours at more than a billion dollars.

"A wide variety of machines, leather products, sports gears, surgical instruments, medicines, decoration pieces, food items, building materials, auto-spares, motorbikes, fans, etc, will go on display," he added.

Arbab Mohammad Ali, a Rawalpindi-based businessman, welcomed the EPB plan, saying the event would spur trade relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He recalled Afghan brethren had extended all-out cooperation to Pakistanis at last year's trade fair held in the Afghan capital. "Next month's exhibition will help further improve the two-way trade," he maintained.

A dry-fruit merchant in Peshawar, Mian Rahman was too eager to miss the chance. With an eye on Afghan market, he is determined to come to Kabul and explore business opportunities.

Female voters in Kandahar in need of poll awareness

KANDAHAR CITY, August 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): With the landmark parliamentary election less than a month away, majority of female voters in this southern province do not know how to exercise their right and choose the right candidates.

The women folk, who view the voting a novel experience in this war-ravaged country, say although they have obtained the registration cards well in time, but clueless how to elect their representatives.

Karima (40), a housewife, when asked whom she want to vote, said: "What is all this hue and cry about election. We have recently voted to elect the president and now they are again asking us to revive the practice."

When told, this time, they were going to elect people to run the parliament she retorted with utter indifference that they did not make out what the whole process was meant for.

Referring to the parliamentary election, another woman, Ayesha said: "I have got the registration card and repeatedly hear the word on radio but don't know what it means."

Said Bibi, resident of the Loya Wayala area, who had come to the Malalai Hospital to get medical treatment, shared the same views. "Last time, we have elected the 'King' but don't know whom to choose this time," said the 45-year-old lady.

Although the official radio stations were doing enough to inform and educate the people and especially women about the polls, majority of them fail to get the message.

Robina, another housewife, said she used to hear the word whenever turn on radio but unable to understand its language. "My father-in-law is a regular listener and we too join him every now and then but can not understand the words parliament, president etc.

Rangina Hamidi, provincial head of the Afghanistan Civil Society, urged the ministries concerned to adopt concrete measures to inform and educate women about the oncoming parliamentary election.

She complained the women affairs department was paying lip-service and failed to take practical steps on this count. Some local NGOs have got funds from donors in the name of educating women ahead of the polls, but they too did nothing so far, Rangina continued.

Approached for comments by Pajhwok Afghan News, head of the Kandahar women affairs department Safia Amma Jan rejected the allegations. "All the women are fully aware of the election and the process involved in vote casting as they had the experience of the last year presidential elections," she argued. In the same breath, she said the department was short of funds and other resources to reach each and every house in the province.

Abdul Hadi Patmal, in charge of the public awareness programme run by Sayara, a media and communication organisation for the southwestern region, said they had planned 45 sessions for the region to educate women about the election. Of these, 25 have been allocated for Kandahar alone. However, poor participation often mars our efforts, he added.

The public awareness programme in Kandahar is assigned to the Afghan Development Association headed by Agha Khan Sherzad. Asked for comments, Sherzad expressed satisfaction over the progress of the drive saying: "A large number of people have registered their names signifying success of the programme."

Pakistani security finds guns, wigs stashed at fake madrassa, arrests 10 – AFP

Security forces arrested 10 suspected militants from Pakistan's turbulent tribal regions and recovered weapons, wigs and women's outfits from a fake madrassa, the military said.

The raid on a deserted compound which was designed to look like one of Pakistan's thousands of religious schools happened late Sunday near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan region, it said.

"The compound was being used as terrorist den and security forces carried out a search following a tip-off by locals that suspected militants visited the compound," the military said in a statement on Monday.

During the search the troops recovered grenades, fuses, guns, binoculars, daggers and commando uniforms, as well as female costumes and wigs, it said.

"The madrassa had been established in an unpopulated location and is an attempt on part of terrorists to use the cover of religious places for sabotage activities," the military said.

In a "related development", security forces arrested seven suspected terrorists from Mera Din town in Shawal Valley in the tribal belt while three others were held from various places in the area near the Afghan border.

The detainees were all aged between 18 and 25 but their identities could not be established immediately, the military said. They were handed over to security agencies for interrogation, the statement added.

Pakistan's controversial madrassas have come under international scrutiny after it emerged that at least one of the suicide bombers involved in the July 7 attacks on London's transit network may have visited some.

India, Iran sea routes are still 'at sea' - New Delhi, Aug 22, IRNA

Despite starting two-years ago with a lot of fanfare, the "Chabahar route" that could have shortened the distance between India and Iran is still incomplete, reports 'The Statesman'.

The agreement to open the route that would connect Mumbai and Chabahar was part of the Delhi Declaration 2002, between India and Iran which would give India more immediate access to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The chief advantage of Chabahar is its location towards the Pakistani border in southern Iran, significantly decreasing distance and travel time. The distance from Mumbai to Bandar Abbas is 1,987 km, while it is just 768 km till Chabahar.

It is also closer to Afghanistan, cutting the period for goods to travel from the port to their destination by several days, compared to Bandar Abbas. Therefore, Iran has been keen to develop Chabahar port, which it foresees as having high potential as it's located on a lucrative trade route.

A private consortium of Indian companies had signed up for two projects - development of the port and a 600 km railway line from Chabahar to Bam via Fahraj. At Bam it will blend into the national rail network, which goes up to the Central Asian states.

Interestingly, the private consortium had suggested that the Indian government should undertake the construction of the rail link at a cost of about Rs 870 crore. But it had been rejected as officials felt that there was not much advantage for India to take part in the BoT project.

"The Indian authorities had asked us to get involved during the visit of the Iranian supreme national security council security advisor last year. With no rail link from Chabahar and port development still at a preliminary stage, India has a cautious, but interested, attitude towards the port.

Pakistan to meet with UN nuclear agency on Iranian uranium contamination

Vienna (AFP) - The UN nuclear watchdog is to meet here next week with Pakistani officials as part of its efforts to determine if Iran was using smuggled Pakistani equipment to make enriched uranium that could be used for atom bombs, diplomats said.

Pakistan had in May sent centrifuge parts to the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency at its headquarters in Vienna to enable the IAEA to compare microscopic traces of uranium on them with that found on equipment in Iran believed to have been smuggled in from Pakistan.

The IAEA has concluded that "the highly enriched uranium appears to emanate from Pakistan," from the imported equipment and not from Iranian enrichment work, a Western diplomat close to the IAEA told AFP.

Enriched uranium, made by passing a uranium gas through a series, or cascade, of centrifuge machines, can be fuel for civilian nuclear power reactors or, in highly refined form, the raw material for atom bombs.

The diplomat said Saturday that a "Pakistani delegation is coming to Vienna to begin talks Monday with IAEA safeguards officials to review the IAEA findings." The IAEA's ruling out that Iran was doing work that could have produced weapons-grade uranium "will be seen by those in favor of Iran as another checkmark in their column" to back up Tehran's rebuttals of US charges that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons, the diplomat said.

The father of Pakistan's atomic bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has admitted to running an international nuclear black market ring that supplied Iran with atomic technology and parts.

The IAEA has since February 2003 been investigating US charges that the Islamic Republic, which says its nuclear program is a peaceful effort to generate electricity, has a covert weapons program.

The enriched uranium contamination issue was a main sticking point in the investigation, although others still remain. The diplomat said the talks with the Pakistanis were part of a review of the IAEA findings that will later in the month also involve independent experts.

Pakistan had in May insisted that the centrifuge parts it sent to the IAEA remained technically under its control and would be brought back home by Pakistani experts, a second diplomat said. The diplomat said the Pakistanis did not want anyone outside the IAEA to have access to information that could reveal Pakistani nuclear secrets.

IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozedecky refused to comment on details but said: "The corroboration process continues and we hope to report on the contamination issue in the September report" to the IAEA board of governors.

The September 3 report will be on Iran's compliance with international nuclear safeguards as well as an IAEA resolution urging it to re-suspend nuclear fuel work in order to continue talks with the European Union on guaranteeing that its atomic program is peaceful.

If Iran does not comply, the EU has threatened to ask the IAEA to bring Iran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. The first diplomat said the results of tests comparing the Pakistani equipment with that in Iran for traces of low enriched uranium (LEU), which is below weapons-grade, were "murky." The diplomat said the "LEU issue will probably never be solved."

LEU is uranium that is enriched to below 20 percent of the key isotope uranium 235 and which is not considered weapons-grade. But LEU can relatively easily be enriched up to high levels.

Another diplomat said the inability to resolve the LEU question meant that the investigation's results "don't prove Iran's story is true. They prove it is plausible."

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on August 11 that while "all declared (nuclear) material in Iran is under verification... we still are not in a position to say that there is no undeclared materials or activities in Iran."

"The jury is still out," ElBaradei said, speaking after an emergency meeting of the IAEA which called on Iran to suspend all fuel-cycle work and ordered the September 3 report.

Military doctor patches up 8-year-old Afghani girl’s heart - August 22, 2005 - Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs)

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Karishma tried to be like any other eight year old, running and playing with boundless energy, but for her, there was an end to the energy. She could never have had a normal, long life because of heart problems – until a year ago.

Two U.S. Special Forces medical personnel, a medical sergeant and doctor, crossed paths with Karishma in September 2004 ultimately leading up to a successful lifesaving closed-heart surgery performed Aug. 14 by Dr. (Maj.) Michael Myers, a cardiothoracic surgeon stationed at the Bagram Airfield hospital.

“The surgery went extremely well,” the surgeon said. “She is a strong little girl. She will live a long, happy, healthy life.” Karishma was three months old when her family found out she had heart problems from a doctor in Peshawar , Pakistan . They diagnosed her with Ventricular Septal Defect -- a hole in the heart’s wall -- a type of heart malfunction present at birth.

Seven years later, village elders introduced her father, Abdula, to the Special Operations Forces medical sergeant and doctor. They had been conducting sick-call near Jalalabad in September 2004.

“I told Abdula that I could not treat Karishma, but I would do some research on the Internet about the problem and asked him to return a few days later,” said the SOF medical sergeant. “I researched the condition and found three non-profit organizations that could help. The same day I received a response from the Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, N.J., offering to perform the surgery free for the family through a program called ‘Children of the World Program.’”

The Deborah Heart and Lung Center reviewed Karishma’s charts and made a final diagnosis that she had Patent Ductus Arteriosus, where a part of her aorta did not close and develop after birth.

Everything was set for Karishma and her mother to travel to New Jersey for the operation. The entire trip and operation would be free of charge for the family. But, things took another turn.

Almost a year after initially seeing Karishma in Jalalabad, the SOF doctor overheard Dr. Myers saying he had done a similar surgery. He asked Dr. Myers if he would like to do another. The SOF doctor relayed this information to his medical sergeant. The sergeant later learned that Myers had actually performed the same surgery on another patient about a week earlier.

“I told Dr. Myers about Karishma and asked him if he was interested in doing another one, and he said, ‘Sure, why not’,” the SOF doctor said. The family learned of Myers’ ability and willingness to perform the surgery at Bagram. They joyfully accepted the offer.

Abdula, who is a tailor with five sons and five daughters, could have never afforded the operation. “I am very happy and very thankful to the Americans for helping Karishma,” Abdula said.

“She is very playful and energetic, she just gets tired real easy,” said the SOF doctor. Karishma is currently in recovery at Bagram and expected to return home within a week.

[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.]