In this bulletin:

• Five children killed in Afghan quake
• Land-Mine Donkey One of Two Afghan Attacks
• Education official killed in central Afghanistan
• US soldier, Taliban killed in firefight in S. Afghanistan
• Tripartite Commission Meets in Kabul – MOFA Press Release
• Afghan parliament to convene for the first time in 30 years
• Job Creation Key to Fighting Terrorism, Says Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister
• Drugs great security threat in Afghanistan, NATO commander says
• Afghanistan destroys 181 heroin labs -
• Afghanistan: As Winter Approaches, Things Heat Up
• Afghanistan: Lawmakers' Slayings Pose Hard Questions
• Afghanistan: Haji Zaher, Commander of the frontier brigade in the Eastern region, voluntarily surrenders stockpile of ammunition
• Pakistan general hurt in attack

Five children killed in Afghan quake - Associated Press - 12/14/2005

Police and government officials are today struggling to assess the level of damage from a powerful earthquake that rocked the northern fringe of Afghanistan, but said initial reports indicated it was relatively light.

Police said five children died when the roofs of their homes collapsed. At least 19 others were reported injured.

The government held an emergency meeting last night to co-ordinate its response to the quake, but efforts to assess the damage were hindered by the area's remote location and the lack of communications there.

The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.7 quake was centred in the remote Hindu Kush mountains of north-eastern Afghanistan. It struck shortly before 2:30am local time yesterday.

The five children were killed when their homes collapsed in Tili, a village in the south-east area of Badakhshan, according to local police chief Abdul Malik. Shah Jahan Noori, the chief of police in Badakhshan, said about 100 houses were damaged and 250 to 300 cattle died.

Land-Mine Donkey One of Two Afghan Attacks

Kabul (AP) – A suicide bomber blew himself up near a major shrine in a northern Afghanistan city Wednesday, and a donkey carrying a land mine exploded near a foreign aid agency's car in a separate incident, police said.

In Faizabad, on Afghanistan's northeastern fringe, the donkey carrying a mine on its back exploded on a main road near a German aid agency's vehicle but caused no injuries, said Shah Jahan Noori, the chief of police in Badakhshan province. He said terrorists were suspected, but further details were not available.

Earlier Wednesday, a bomber with explosives wrapped around his body blew himself up in a park beside a large shrine in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province. He was outside the shrine when the explosives went off, according to Sheir Jahn Durani, spokesman for the local police.

The bomber's motive was not immediately clear. There were no other injuries. Mazar-e-Sharif, in the country's far northern region, has been spared much of the violence that has wracked southern and eastern parts of the country.

But a roadside bomb tore through a vehicle carrying NATO-led peacekeepers there late last month, killing two Swedish soldiers. On Oct. 29, gunmen killed a British soldier and wounded five others by firing at their vehicle.

Education official killed in central Afghanistan - 2005-12-15

KABUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The head of district education department and one school staff were kidnapped Wednesday and their bodies were found Thursday in Afghanistan's central province of Ghazni, a local official said.

"The head of the education department of Giro district Assadullah Khan and one of the school staff were kidnapped by a group of militants yesterday, and their bodies were found today in Andar district. We are very sorry to say they have been shot dead," Abdul Wakil Kamaib, head of intelligence service of Ghazni told Xinhua.

Kamaib condemned the enemies of Afghanistan, a term used to point at Taliban militants, to carry out the brutal attack against civilians, and said the searching operation in the area has been taken, no one has been arrested till now.

Two months ago in the same district of Giro, a group of Taliban militants set fire and destroyed two school buildings. About 1,500 people, with the majority of them Taliban militants, have been killed in the Taliban-linked militancy since the beginning of this year. Enditem

US soldier, Taliban killed in firefight in S. Afghanistan - 2005-12-15

KABUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- One US service member and one Taliban militant were killed Thursday during a firefight in Afghan southern province of Kandahar, US military said.

"One US service member and one enemy were killed today during a firefight northeast of Kandahar. Afghan and US troops were conducting a joint combat patrol when they came under small arms fire from enemy forces. US and Afghan forces returned fire and nearby Coalition attack aircraft and helicopters responded, engaging enemy positions. The enemy broke contact and fled the scene," US military said in a press release.

"A US Soldier and one Afghan National Army soldier also were wounded. They are in stable condition at a nearby US medical facility," it said. "This is a sad day for us all here in Afghanistan," said Brig. Gen. Jack Sterling Jr., deputy commanding general (support) of Combined Joint Task Force-76. "The loss of one of our own is a tremendous weight on all our hearts."

Taliban militants, vowed to continue jihad or holy war, have intensified the attacks against foreign and Afghan troops. The about 20,000 strong US-led Coalition troops stayed in Afghanistan after the collapse of Taliban in 2001, for further cleanup operations in the mountainous country. More than 80 US soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year, which makes 2005 the bloodies one for US military since 2001.

Tripartite Commission Meets in Kabul – MOFA Press Release

The Tripartite Commission, composed of senior military and diplomatic representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, held its fourteenth meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 15th. Delegates included General Ahsan Saleem Hyat, Vice Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan, General Bismullah Khan, Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army and Lieutenant General Karl W. Eikenberry, Commander, Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan. This Tripartite meeting marked the first official visit of General Hyat to Kabul.

The session began with short summaries of the recent Border Security Subcommittee meeting hosted by Pakistan at the Khyber Rifles Mess and the Counter-IED and Military Intelligence-Sharing Working Group meetings hosted by Afghanistan in Kabul. The parties agreed that they should continue further enhancements in cooperation, communication, and intelligence sharing against extremists who threaten the peace, progress and stability in the region.

The delegations then briefly summarized the role their military forces played in relief efforts after the October 8 th earthquake in Pakistan, and discussed ways their forces could cooperate to continue relief efforts throughout the winter and respond to future emergencies. All parties agreed that military forces provide unique capabilities in such situations and that the deployment of Pakistani, US, Afghan and Coalition relief contingents enhanced the international relief efforts. Pakistan appreciated and acknowledged the US, Afghan and other international humanitarian relief efforts for the victims of the Earthquake.

The delegates then moved to an examination of the future of the Tripartite Commission and ways to expand their cooperative security efforts in other areas. The Coalition briefed its concept for expanding the existing Coalition-facilitated Afghan-Pakistani staff exchanges and gave an overview of the structure and mission of its Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan. For its part, Pakistan explained how it is increasing stability in the tribal areas by combining security operations and substantive and effective socio-economic development through its own resources and help from the U.S.

This plenary session marked the third time that NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (NATO-ISAF) observers attended the session as guests of the Tripartite Commission. All parties welcomed the observers and looked forward to the expanding NATO-ISAF role in Afghanistan.

The Tripartite Commission will meet again in February 2006 in Kabul.

Released by the Office of the Spokesperson Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kabul, Afghanistan December 15 th, 2005

World Bank approves US $80m grant to Afghanistan

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Thursday, 15 December: 12.20 CET) – The World Bank has approved a grant for Afghanistan of US$80m to help support the country’s post-conflict reconstruction.

The bank's country manager for Afghanistan, Jean Mazurelle, said in a Tuesday press release that “the program supported by the grant is at the core of the government's objective to build an accountable and effective state. This is critical for successful poverty reduction”.

The World Bank has contributed over US$900 million to post-war Afghanistan since 2002, with President Hamid Karzai making significant progress in implementing economic reforms. The post-Taliban period has seen strong economic growth reaching 8 per cent in 2004, and is projected to reach 14 per cent in 2005.

Afghan parliament to convene for the first time in 30 years

Kabul (AFP) - Afghanistan's parliament convenes on Monday for the first time in 30 years, signalling the return to the political foreground of warlords responsible for decades of ruinous conflict, and the arrival of women.

It will be another milestone for the country following the adoption of a new constitution, last year's presidential election and September's legislative vote, all made possible with the toppling of the Taliban regime in 2001.

But despite the political reforms and the support of the international community and its military, notably the United States, the situation in the country remains precarious and threatened by growing insecurity, corruption and the trafficking of drugs.

There is much that is still unclear about the new parliament, which will have 249 seats in the lower house and 102 in the upper house. Even details for its first sessions have not yet been finalised, according to MPs at an orientation course this week.

Monday's opening will be a ceremony of government officials and foreign dignitaries with the parliament likely adjourned immediately afterwards until January when it will sit for two weeks, they said. After a break for February's harsh winter, it is expected to convene again in March.

What is clear though is that the body will have wide-ranging powers, particularly the lower house (Wolesi Jirga) which will be able take decisions on matters of national sovereignty, alter the constitution, approve the budget, reject government appointments and even put the president on trial.

What is still to be seen is whether the president will find majority support in both houses. "Karzai needs a majority at the parliament because he's in a sensitive position: in the provinces, people are angry because of slow reconstruction, despite billions of dollars of international aid, the rise of prices and corruption," said analyst and former minister Hamidullah Tarzi.

The allegiances within the parliament are difficult to determine because of the absence of political parties. Alliances could form along the lines of pro- or anti-Karzai camps, or ethnic loyalties with the Pashtuns -- the president's own group -- in the majority and traditionally in power, analysts said.

Or the divisions may be historic, given the high presence of mujahedin and with at least 25 percent of seats taken up by women, a revolution in a country that once hid them from public view.

MP Shukria Barakzai played down suggestions factions would emerge that would hinder the work of the national assembly. "At first there will be ethnic divides but soon the atmosphere will change and I think the majority of the MPs will try to work with the government and to push for reforms ... to establish law and security in the country," she said. "We want to start working as soon as possible," she added.

But analysts said it could take months before the parliament will be able to get down to its business of working on laws, with most parliamentarians coming from a tribal background that has little to do with Western democracy.

"Only 10 to 12 percent of those elected really know how parliament functions," said National Democratic Institute analyst Neik Mohammed Kabuli. "They are first going to think about their own personal benefits, then of their province and lastly of the interest of the country."

"All that could help corruption for the profit of the government or of drugs barons who have their representatives in parliament," he said.

Once they do begin work, one of the main topics facing the new MPs will be delicate questions about the destitute country's future links with the international community on which it is heavily dependent. The matter will be the subject of a conference in London early next year.

Another important question will be how to deal with human rights abuses committed in Afghanistan's decades of conflict, with some of the new MPs accused of war crimes.

Job Creation Key to Fighting Terrorism, Says Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister - Source: Embassy- Canada, December 14th, 2005 By Sarah McGregor - The government of Afghanistan needs to curb the illicit drug trade if it wants to reap economic benefits, say IMF and Carleton professor.

Mahmoud Saikal slips in a half hour media interview while a handful of Ottawa-area entrepreneurs break for tea and figs. Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister of Economic Affairs is convening a business seminar in the living room of the country's official residence in Ottawa.

Meeting with high-level government officials and small-time shop owners, Mr. Saikal is on a frenzied dash to promote economic recovery in one of the world's poorest and most unstable nations.

"Undoubtedly, the elements of threat are still there. But at the same time, we firmly believe we've reached a turning point," says Mr. Saikal. "If we ignore the economic, trade and commercial activities, I don't think we'll see the further enhancement of security itself."

Mr. Saikal was in Ottawa last week as NATO announced an expansion of 6,000 more troops in southern Afghanistan, the country's most volatile region. Days ago, it was the scene of a bloody bomb attack on three Canadian soldiers and a journalist, which destroyed the vehicle that carried them.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de hoop Scheffer, in announcing the military expansion, also called on the European Union, the United Nations and G-8 countries to renew their financial commitments to Afghanistan for economic development.

Mr. Saikal says the nearly 9,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission and separate force of almost 20,000 U.S. troops are essential in eliminating the terrorist threat. He says their presence has already secured "80 to 90 per cent of the country," and will pave the way for prosperity.

With an elected government in place, politicians like Mr. Saikal are now promising financial prudence to citizens who had been forced under Taliban rule to survive on a subsistence economy and local trade. The nation had little infrastructure and no manufacturing base at the time of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, which led to the overthrow of the Taliban.

Mr. Saikal explains that rooting out violence that persists in some regions is a parallel priority to creating employment for the impoverished people.

"Where we have poverty the terrorists can go and recruit. When you have young men with no income, it's very easy for Osama bin Laden's men to offer them monthly pay," says Mr. Saikal. "But if we create jobs, and an income for them, we are fighting terrorism."

Development spending is a key job creator, says Mr. Saikal, but he calls agriculture the "backbone" of the economy. He says prospective infrastructure projects in irrigation, a gas pipeline between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the creation of power grids pose long-term employment opportunities.

Afghan authorities are tasked with eliminating the country's illegal opium trade; which is no small task as poppy cultivation is the leading wealth generator. It accounts for about half of the country's gross domestic product, according to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Ottawa. The CIA World Fact Book's latest figures show Afghanistan's GDP was $21.5 billion in 2003.

The International Monetary Fund reported this month that Afghanistan's economy could expand by 14 per cent next year with favourable agriculture growing conditions and a boom in construction. But the country faces "lingering insecurity, the effects of the illegal opium industry activities and poor infrastructure and institutions," reports the IMF.

Dane Rowlands, associate professor of Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa, says the smooth functioning of the Afghanistan's economy hinges on the government's ability to curb the illicit drug trade. "The more it takes root, the more difficult it's going to be build a national economy," he says.

Mr. Rowland points out that the recruitment of bored youth to terrorists groups is an unfortunate reality because so many people are unemployed in Afghanistan. He also notes that the country faces a geographical challenge, being landlocked and without an industrial foundation on which to build.

"I think in the short term the best they can hope for is a gradual development of the institutions: the courts, the banks. That will facilitate investment and give security. The second side is to provide security at least in the region where people will undertake economic activity," he says.

An international conference in London between Jan. 31-Feb.1, 2006 will likely have at its central theme institutional reform aimed at bolstering security, good governance and economic development in Afghanistan.

At the event, Afghan President Hamed Karzai, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will launch an "Afghanistan Compact" that includes a five-year economic development plan that is in the midst of completion. Mr. Saikal says he hopes there to collect money pledged by donor governments and to secure new funding for the future.

He is also urging nations to put more resources under the control of the fledging government, rather than in the hands of aid groups. "We are hoping to see future funding go through the government because we are in the front seat. We are the ones at the end of the day that will receive blame if things go wrong," he says. In the meantime, Mr. Saikal is looking to promote trade and economic cooperation with neighbouring countries and around the world.

Drugs great security threat in Afghanistan, NATO commander says - Pravda- Russia - 2005-12-15

Drugs are a greater security threat in Afghanistan than a Taliban resurgence, NATO's top operational commander said Thursday, despite a rise in attacks blamed on remnants of the hard-line Islamic regime and their al-Qaida allies. "For my money, the number one problem in Afghanistan is drugs," U.S. Gen. James L. Jones told reporters during a stopover in Qatar on his way to the Afghan capital, Kabul, for talks with President Hamid Karzai.

Jones said it was too early to say if the spate of suicide bombings against NATO and U.S. forces represented isolated copycat incidents, or a long-term shift by Taliban fighters and their foreign allies toward the tactics used by insurgents in Iraq.

"The fact that there are any (attacks) is worrisome," Jones said, adding that part of his two-day Afghan visit would be to gather information from commanders on the ground about the recent attacks.

Last month, a suicide car bomb killed a German peacekeeper on NATO duty in Kabul, as well as eight Afghans. Other recent suicide bombings have targeted U.S. and Canadian troops in the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Increased violence against the 9,000-strong NATO-led force has also seen the recent deaths of two Swedish soldiers and one from Portugal.

Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said last month that intelligence indicated a number of Arab al-Qaida members and other foreigners had entered Afghanistan to launch suicide attacks. Wardak cited similarities to attacks in Iraq. However, Jones saw no risk of the Taliban making a major comeback. "I don't see that within the realm of the possible," he said.

The attacks have raised concerns among NATO allies as they prepare to send up to 6,000 more troops to expand the peacekeeping mission into the more volatile southern region around Kandahar, freeing U.S.-led forces to focus on counterinsurgencies.

The Dutch government has postponed a decision to authorize the deployment of more than 1,000 soldiers to play a key role in restive Urzgan province, due to public concern.

But Jones was confident the southward expansion would happen as planned early next year. "The slowdown right now has to do with Dutch parliamentary issues," he said. "I'm very confident that will be resolved."

NATO foreign ministers last week approved the southern expansion plan, which includes a more robust mandate for the troops and closer cooperation with the separate U.S.-led combat force of about 20,000.

The NATO force is currently limited to Kabul and the relatively calm north and west. The new mandate also gives NATO a stronger role in supporting Afghan efforts against the burgeoning opium business, which supplies 80 percent of the world's heroin. But it stresses that NATO's role will be a supportive one and won't involve alliance soldiers burning poppy fields or launching military raids against drug producers, reports the AP.

Afghanistan destroys 181 heroin labs - 2005-12-14

KABUL, Dec. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The government of Afghanistan in its war on drugs has destroyed over 180 heroin labs and 200 tons of narcotics in the past year, Deputy Interior Minister on narcotics Mohammad Daud said Wednesday.

"Personnel of Counter-Narcotics Force have discovered and destroyed 181 heroin labs and 200 tons of illicit drugs across the country over the past one year," Daud told journalists at a pressconference here.

During the year 649 persons have been arrested on charge of drug smuggling while over 400 cases have been investigated, he added. His remarks came amid concerns at the United Nations circles that the poppy cultivation would further grow next year. Daud rejected the concerns as groundless, saying the Afghan government is committed to eliminating poppy cultivation in the country.

Doris Buddenberg, the representative of the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) in Afghanistan, has predicted a new surge in the poppy production in Afghanistan next year. The Afghan Ministry for Counter Narcotics also spurned the concern as baseless.

The Ministry of Counter Narcotics found recent remarks of the UNODC representative to Afghanistan about the increase of poppy cultivation in 2006 as irresponsible. The ministry strongly calledon the world body to avoid remarks that create confusion among Afghan public, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

A survey conducted by Afghanistan and UN early this year indicated 21 percent drop in poppy cultivation. Under a strategy initiated by the Afghan government in May 2003,poppy cultivation in the country would be reduced by 75 percent by 2008.

Afghanistan: As Winter Approaches, Things Heat Up
Dec 12, 2005 – Strategic Forecasting LLP

Afghanistan is seeing a surge in combat activity between U.S.-led coalition forces and Taliban militants and their al Qaeda-affiliated allies. This is largely due to the seasonal pattern of military operations
in a country where winter weather in mountainous terrain dictates the tempo of ground combat. In recent months, however, jihadists have begun reinvesting in Afghanistan, as conditions improve in the country and the militants fear losing their traditional rural support base. The coalition has met this surge head-on and losses have been high for the insurgents.

Analysis Things are heating up in southern Afghanistan as the U.S. military and its coalition and Afghan allies engage the Taliban and what they call "al Qaeda-affiliated militias." As political and social conditions improve in southern Afghanistan, it appears that the insurgency is being reinvigorated by an influx of new foreign fighters -- and a corresponding increase in suicide bombings. The coalition is meeting this problem head-on and is trying to kill as many of the fighters as possible before winter puts a halt to most military activity.

Initially, when the influx of foreign fighters began in late summer and early fall, U.S. casualties spiked, with nearly 35 occurring in August, as combat became more intensive and frequent. In recent weeks, U.S. forces in the area around Kandahar province have experienced larger-scale engagements
more reminiscent of maneuver warfare than a counterinsurgency. U.S. forces report killing literally hundreds of militants in these engagements. Although the number of attacks has increased, U.S. and coalition casualties have actually been declining over the last three months, while the insurgents have been suffering high losses.

The disproportionate losses suffered by the insurgents indicate that their ranks are being bolstered by poorly trained and led recruits, most likely foreign jihadists brought in by al Qaeda and infiltrated into Afghanistan from Pakistan. This trend can also be seen in the increase in suicide bombings, a tactic favored by Arab jihadists and not by the predominantly ethnic Pashtun Taliban. However, despite their losses, the militants continue to regroup and fight. If coalition or Afghan forces leave an area long enough, they will return to find the area reinfiltrated by Taliban and al Qaeda-affiliated fighters who must be dislodged again.

The Taliban and al Qaeda also are having problems not directly caused by the coalition military. Along with reversals on the battlefield, developments in Kandahar City are depriving the militants of their rural support base. Road construction in Kandahar province has stimulated the local economy. There also is an ever-growing population of Shiite Muslims moving to Kandahar province, and traffic on the Kandahar-Herat highway has increased significantly. From the south, traffic along Highway 4 into Pakistan has tripled. And as the economy of Kandahar City has improved, prosperity has spread into areas around the provincial capital.

For all practical purposes, roads are the most important part of Afghanistan's physical infrastructure, making it possible for everything else. Irrigation for a village cannot be provided, for example, if there
are no roads leading to the village. Roads enable isolated provincial areas to become centers of commerce, allow for security in those areas and empower local tribal leaders and warlords whose territory they cross. As new roads spread out from Kandahar (built by contractors from India, Pakistan and Japan), the Taliban and their allies are deprived of the isolation they need to operate.

Any recent increase in al Qaeda's investment in Afghanistan could represent a rapprochement between the jihadist network and the Taliban. Relations between Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar became strained after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan deposed the Taliban in
late 2001. After the invasion of Iraq, al Qaeda channeled more resources into that theater at the expense of its operations in Afghanistan, leaving the Taliban to fend for themselves against the U.S.-led coalition.

The fighting in Afghanistan will continue until winter sets in and the mountain passes used by the insurgents are closed (which usually occurs by the end of December). Possible fence-mending between Omar and bin Laden could have provided the Taliban with a new supply of recruits to throw against the superior firepower of the coalition forces in an effort to stay in the fight. As political, social and economic development continues in Afghanistan, however, the Taliban will find themselves harder pressed in their fight for Afghan hearts and minds.

Afghanistan: Lawmakers' Slayings Pose Hard Questions

The 4 December killing of Esmatullah Mohabat, who was elected to the People's Council (Wolesi Jirga) of the Afghan National Assembly on 18 September, has reopened questions regarding politically motivated killings in Afghanistan and the effectiveness of the country's disarmament program. It has also forced the Afghan authorities to suspend the current electoral law.

Mohabat was a warlord in Laghman Province, east of Kabul, and was captured after clashing with U.S. forces in neighboring Nangarhar Province in 2004. He spent time in U.S. detention, suspected of having links to the neo-Taliban, before being released a few months prior to the September 2005 elections, in which he won one of four seats allocated for Laghman. Mohabat officially participated in the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) in order to become eligible to appear on the ballot.

President Hamid Karzai has appointed a commission to investigate Mohabat's killing, but the circumstances surrounding the murder remain murky.

While Afghan officials have indicated that Mohabat was trying to confront a "businessman" who had captured one of his men when he was killed along with his bodyguard, his brother Hajji Naqibullah blamed "enemies" for attacking Mohabat's vehicle while he was traveling to their sister's home.

Protests In Mehtarlam - Following Mohabat's murder, authorities reported the arrest of Mohammad Sardar, whose relationship with Mohabat was not elaborated, on suspicion of involvement in the killing. However some of the slain parliamentarian's supporters took the law into their hands and on 8 December set fire to Sardar's house in Mehtarlam, the provincial capital of Laghman, and implicated governmental officials -- including Laghman Province Governor Shah Mahmud Safi -- in the case. The protestors hurled stones at government buildings in Mehtarlam and demanded the resignation of a number of security officials and Safi's dismissal.

In addition, the protestors demanded that Mohabat's seat in the People's Council be transferred to his brother Naqibullah. Naqibullah blamed his brother's murder on the DDR process, telling the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press on 8 December that "on several occasions we asked the authorities to provide weapons to Mohabat so he could protect himself." However, he added, these

Mohabat is the second parliamentarian-elect to have been killed under mysterious circumstances since the September election. Mohammad Ashraf Ramazan, elected to the People's Council from northern Balkh Province, was gunned down with one of his bodyguards on 27 September as he drove from a vote counting station in Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh's provincial capital. Posthumously, Ramazan was certified as having won one of the province's 11 seats in the lower house.

Following Ramazan's killing, many of his supporters accused Balkh Province Governor Ata Mohammad Nur of involvement in the assassination. Protesters, reportedly as many as 1,000 people, tried to block the main road linking Balkh and points south, include the capital Kabul, prompting the central government to send a unit of rapid-reaction troops to Balkh. The protestors in Balkh, like those in Laghman, demanded the removal of officials and that Ramazan's brother, Ahmad Shah Ramazan, be allowed to occupy the seat that his slain brother seemed poised to win.

The killings of two members-elect of the People's Council has opened a debate among Afghan commentators and media outlets on whether the electoral law as it stands has encouraged the killings by rival political groups hoping to occupy the vacated seats. The law stipulates that if a candidate is not able to take his or her seat in the lower house for any reason, the seat will be allocated to the candidate of the same gender who received the next largest number of votes.

These concerns have prompted the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) to keep Mohabat's seat vacant while apparently awaiting either changes to the law or intervention by the government. The Afghan cabinet in a meeting held on 12 December suspended the clause regarding replacing slain members of the legislature. However it is not clear what specific steps the government has recommended for filling Mohabat's seat in Laghman. According to the information on the JEMB's website, Ramazan's seat in Balkh has been taken over by Sayyed Zaher Masrur, who came in second in the district. In Laghman, Mohabat is still identified as one of the representatives from that province.

Meanwhile, Karzai appointed Ramazan's brother Ashraf Ramazan as one of the 34 members of the Council of Elders (Meshrano Jirga) -- the upper chamber of the National Assembly -- that the Afghan Constitution requires be appointed by president.

An ad hoc measure may also be taken in the case of Mohabat's brother to satisfy his supporters. But the larger and long-term question of reforming the electoral law remains unanswered. Moreover, a more through investigation of Mohabat's murder may reveal the extent to which DDR-process requirements were actually abided as regards candidates who officially gave up their military assets to become Afghanistan's future lawmakers. Unless these cases are pursued with vigor and preventive measures are put in place to prevent politicians from becoming targets or themselves targeting their opponents, lawlessness may prevail among those who will make Afghanistan's laws.

Afghanistan: Haji Zaher, Commander of the frontier brigade in the Eastern region, voluntarily surrenders stockpile of ammunition - Source: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Date: 15 Dec 2005

On December 14th, the Commander of the Frontier Brigade of the Eastern Region, Haji Zaher, surrendered a significant stockpile of ammunition: 400 boxes of ammunition, 1,648 unboxed ammunition - including 690 mortars rounds and other heavy caliber weapon rounds – as well as anti-personnel landmines. The collected ammunition, handed over to the government of Afghanistan in compliance with the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) process, was verified by the Afghanistan's New Beginnings Programme (ANBP) teams. Ammunition in good condition will be used by the Government of Afghanistan for the security of the country; unstable ordnance will be destroyed.

By voluntarily surrendering some ammunition, Haji Zaher has partially complied with an instruction from the Ministry of Interior whereby government officials known to illegally detain and use weapons or ammunition have been asked to hand them over to the provincial weapons collection point.

Haji Zaher has demonstrated his willingness to participate in the DIAG process; it is now expected that he will fully comply with DIAG, as stated by his deputy in the speech he gave during the hand over ceremony, where he emphasized Haji Zaher's readiness to further contribute to DIAG.

The DIAG process was launched on 11June, 2005 when officially announced by Vice President Khalili.

As of 13 December:

- 16,126 weapons, including 14,413 light and 1,713 heavy weapons

- 24,763 pieces of boxed and 54,125 pieces of unboxed ammunition have been handed over to and verified by ANBP collection teams in Afghanistan.

- 4,857 of the collected weapons have been handed over by 124 candidates to the parliamentary and provincial council elections.

Afghan Daily Report - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty - 14 December 2005

Neo-Taliban Renew Fatwa Ordering Death Of Supporters Of U.S. In Afghanistan...

Qari Mohammad Yusof, purporting to speak on behalf of the neo-Taliban, said in a telephone interview on 13 December that a new fatwa in the "form of a pamphlet and a poster" has been issued on the present situation of Afghanistan, the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported. According to Mohammad Yusof, "a few days ago, about 100 religious scholars" discussed the current affairs of Afghanistan and based on Islamic texts, they decided that U.S. forces came to Afghanistan "not at the invitation of Afghans," but rather "they invaded" the country as "an aggressor." As such, Mohammad Yusof told AIP that "jihad against the Americans has become a duty." The fatwa orders the Afghans to have "no sympathy for infidels" and to avoid cooperating with them. Moreover, the fatwa instructs that "anyone who supports them [U.S. forces] morally or materially should be killed." The fatwa warns Afghan government employees to quit their jobs and that "anyone who has a father working for the Americans should cut their relations with them and treat them as an enemy." The neo-Taliban have issued similar fatwas in the past, starting with one in early 2003 which was issued in the name of the former leader of the Taliban regime, Mullah Mohammad Omar (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 April 2003). AT

…But Karzai Is Not Singled Out

Commenting on media reports that the fatwa issued by a number of religious scholars sympathizing with the neo-Taliban specifically called for killing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Mohammad Yusof told AIP on 13 December that no one's "name was mentioned in the decree, but it is said in general in the decree that all those who support the Americans should be killed." Karzai's spokesman Mohammad Karim Rahimi downplayed the fatwa in Kabul on 13 December, Xinhua News Agency reported. "By fabricating such propaganda and labeling marks against the president, the enemies of Afghanistan attempt to sabotage peace in the country and create problems for the people," he said. Rahimi described Karzai as a "good Muslim and servant of the Afghan people," adding that any "conspiracy against him will be foiled." AT

Kabul Faults Remarks Made By UN Counternarcotics Representative

The Afghan Ministry of Counternarcotics has criticized recent remarks made by the Kabul representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Doris Buddenberg. The Ministry of Counternarcotics said in a statement that it "strongly calls on the world body [UNODC] to avoid remarks that create confusion among the Afghan public." It was referring to comments made by Buddenberg in Kabul on 12 December that predicted an increase in poppy cultivation in 2006. Buddenberg made the comments while announcing her agency's report revealing that the poppy cultivation area in Afghanistan has dropped in 2005 by 21 percent compared to 2004 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 December 2005). "I think Afghanistan has established an effective foundation this year to build on for the years to come in its counternarcotics campaign," Afghan Minister of Counternarcotics Habibullah Qaderi said, adding that his side does not see "the purpose behind such a statement by UNODC, because the autumn planting season...is not yet over." While the cultivation of poppies has declined considerably, the UNODC has expressed concern over the sustainability of the trend. AT

Karzai Appointments To Upper House Of Parliament Questioned

Some of the 34 appointments of President Karzai to the Council of Elders (Meshrano Jirga) in the Afghan National Assembly have been criticized, the London-based "Daily Telegraph" reported on 13 December. Among Karzai's appointees are former Defense Minister and United Front (Northern Alliance) strongman Mohammad Qasim Fahim; former Helmand Province Governor Sher Mohammad Akhundzada; mujahedin-era Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Sabur Farid; and Mawlawi Arsala Rahmani, the former deputy minister of higher education (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 12 and 13 December 2005). Sam Zafiri of the New York-based Human Rights Watch said the Afghan "government has tried to accommodate these different groups, but in doing so they trade short-term gains for long-term political stability." He added that the government is "losing the confidence of the Afghan people." Shukria Barakzai, an elected member of the People's Council (Wolesi Jirga) from Kabul, said that Karzai "has chosen people to try to effect reconciliation rather than chosen people who are capable of running the country." Meanwhile, Karzai spokesman Rahimi insisted on 13 December that all of Karzai's appointments "have been made in the supreme national interest." AT

Pakistan general hurt in attack – BBC

The head of Pakistan's Frontier Corps and his deputy have been wounded after shots were fired at their helicopter in Balochistan province, officials say. Maj Gen Shujaat Zamir Dar and Brig Salim Nawaz have bullet wounds to their legs. It is not clear who shot at them.

They had been inspecting an area where separatists fired rockets on Wednesday during a visit by President Musharraf. Gas-rich Balochistan has seen months of violence as tribal groups push for greater political and economic rights.

Provincial interior secretary Humayun Khan said he had visited the Frontier Corps inspector general and his deputy in hospital in Balochistan's capital, Quetta.

"Both of them were wounded in the leg but both are in stable condition," he told Reuters news agency. The two men had been visiting Kohlu, about 220km (135 miles) south-west of Quetta, when their aircraft came under fire. The helicopter landed safely. No group has said it carried out the attack.

On Wednesday, police said six rockets had been fired in Kohlu, three of them hitting areas near military camps in the town. No one was hurt. The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army say they carried out the rocket attacks, which came while President Musharraf was in Kohlu on a three-day tour of the province.

Observers said his visit was aimed at trying to win the support of local leaders for the building of a controversial dam on the Indus river in neighbouring Punjab province.

[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.]