Tens of parliament members listen to the explanation on the hall, ahead of the upcoming historic opening in Afghanistan's parliament hall in Kabul, on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005. Afghans voted for a 249-seat lower parliament house in September, as well as for provincial councils that subsequently elected two-thirds of the 102-seat upper chamber. President Hamid Karzai appointed the remain one-third this week. Formation of the National Assembly, which is slated to open Dec. 19, marks the final step on an internationally backed path to democracy laid out following the ouster of the Taliban in a U.S.-led military campaign in 2001. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

In this bulletin:

• Suicide car bomb blast kills two in Kabul: police
• Afghan killed for teaching girls
• Cleric stabbed to death in Kandahar
• Drugs Called No. 1 Threat in Afghanistan
• First Afghan parliament in decades to meet Monday
• Taleban threaten to target ‘fake’ Afghan parliament
• Afghan war crimes plan hailed, but key tests ahead
• Kazakh-China oil pipeline opens
• Afghan Muslims begin their Haj
• Afghan News Site Claims Bin Laden Tape
• Taliban re-emergence
• Microfinance could help eradicate forced marriages in Afghanistan, expert says
• Afghanistan coach likes India’s style
• Kazakh-China oil pipeline opens

Suicide car bomb blast kills two in Kabul: police

Kabul – (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday near a building where a new parliament is due to meet for the first time next week, killing a suicide attacker and one other person, police said.

The explosion on a road between the Kabul zoo and the former King's palace in the west of Kabul damaged a NATO peacekeeping vehicle, but initial reports said there had been no casualties among the soldiers, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said.

A police officer at the scene, who did not want to be identified, said a car bomb had killed a suicide attacker and one other person.

Wreckage of a burnt-out car could be seen about 500 meters (yards) from the building where Afghanistan's first elected parliament since the 1970s is due to hold its first session on Monday.

Major Andy Elmes of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said an ISAF vehicle suffered minor damage. "First reports are no casualties on the ISAF side," he said.

Afghan killed for teaching girls – Reuters 12/16/2005

KABUL - Suspected Taliban guerrillas dragged a teacher from a classroom of teenagers in southern Afghanistan and killed him at the school gate after he ignored their orders to stop teaching girls, police said on Friday.

The attack was carried out by two armed men who arrived at the secondary school in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province by motorcycle on Thursday, Helmand police chief Abdul Rahman Sabir told Reuters.

"They dragged the teacher from the classroom and shot him at the school gate," he said. "He had received many warning letters from the Taliban to stop teaching, but he continued to to do so happily and honestly -- he liked to teach boys and girls," Sabir said.

He identified the teacher by the single name, Laghmani. The fundamentalist Taliban banned education of girls during their rule before being overthrown by U.S.-led forces in 2001. The guerrillas have carried out a series of attacks in the provinces on schools teaching girls since them, often burning them down at night.

Cleric stabbed to death in Kandahar – 15. December 2005,

KANDAHAR (AIP) - Unidentified attackers stabbed to death a religious scholar and member of Kandahar Ulema Council in Kandahar city, police source said Wednesday.

Provincial police chief of Kandahar, Colonel Abdul Malik Wahidi while giving details to Afghan Islamic Press said, “Maulvi Ahmad Shah, deputy of preaching wing of Kandahar Ulema Council was killed by unidentified people in Herat Darwaza area of Kandahar city last Monday.” He did not provide further details of the incident.

Meanwhile, a member of Kandahar Ulema Council told Afghan Islamic Press on condition of anonymity that Maulvi Ahmad Shah was coming home from Mulla Muhammad Omar Mosque when he was killed. It is said that Ahmad Shah was stabbed to death.

Although it is not clear that who was behind the killing of Ahmad Shah but the chief of the same Ulema council, Maulvi Abdullah Fayaz was killed by Taliban on May 29, 2005. Similarly Taliban killed several members of ulema councils time by time in different parts of the country.

It is to be mentioned here that ulema councils are existing in all provinces of the country and they support the government. Its central office situated in Kabul and chief Justice of Supreme Court of Afghanistan, Maulvi Fazl Hadi Shiwari is the chief of these councils.

Drugs Called No. 1 Threat in Afghanistan

Kabul (AP) - 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.

Opium production has boomed since the fall of the Taliban, stoking fears that Afghanistan — source of 80 percent of the world's heroin — is becoming a narco-state.

"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 in Kabul killed a German peacekeeper on NATO duty and 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 also has seen the recent deaths of two Swedish soldiers and one from Portugal.

Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said the suicide attacks marked a sign of weakness from an enemy that dares not engage Afghan and coalition forces in combat.

He repeated a claim that the suicide bombers were coming from abroad. "A lot of these suicide attacks have not been made by Afghans. It is by foreigners," he told reporters after meeting Jones.

"I don't think it will reach a magnitude that we will not be able to handle," he added. Jones also said he saw no risk of the Taliban making a major comeback.

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 said he was confident the southward expansion would happen as planned around June.

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. But it stresses that NATO's role will be a supportive one and won't involve soldiers burning poppy fields or launching military raids against drug producers.

First Afghan parliament in decades to meet Monday – Reuters 12/16/2005 By David Brunnstrom

KABUL - Four years after the overthrow of the Taliban, a new Afghan parliament will meet for the first time on Monday in the culmination of an international plan to bring democracy to the country following three decades of conflict.

Lineups of the 249-seat Wolesi Jirga, the lower house, and the 102-member upper house, or Meshrano Jirga, read like a Who's Who of protagonists of the bloody past -- to the bitter disappointment of many victims.

Former Communists, leaders of guerrilla groups which overthrew them and ex-Taliban will sit side by side in a parliament which emerged from U.N.- backed September elections.

Trying to limit their influence will be idealistic new politicians, including technocrats and women's rights activists.

The parliament is seen as a means of reconciliation and a potential counterbalance to the administration of President Hamid Karzai, installed after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001 and elected president last year.

Karzai's record has been patchy, but analysts say it remains unclear how much influence parliament will be able to exert.

"It is a very mixed group of people with very different backgrounds," said Niamatullah Ibrahimi of the Crisis States Research Centre.

"Many are not experienced in legislative and parliamentary issues and will have difficulties focusing on national agendas."

Self-styled opposition leader Yunus Qanuni has been seeking to create a front of support, but after an election held on an individual, not party basis, the assembly is expected to be a disparate body with a parochial focus.

Security will be tight for the opening after a wave of attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents and their al Qaeda allies.

The threat was underlined on Friday when a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb between two Norwegian peacekeeping vehicles near the parliament, killing himself and wounding two passers-by.

The Taliban said the bomber had intended to target the "bogus" parliament but took the opportunity to attack the peacekeepers. Spokesman Qari Mohammed Yousuf vowed more attacks to disrupt the parliament, "a symbol of American occupation".

In a country which has not seen a representative parliament since the 1970s, procedures still have to be laid down and what happens after the inaugural session is unclear.

It should sit for nine months, but may adjourn until spring, given logistical problems posed by winter and January holidays. Parliament's first task will be to elect presidents of the two chambers.

More than a dozen people are vying to lead the lower house, including Qanuni, two women and several factional leaders dubbed warlords by their critics and accused of serious rights abuses. The parliament must also endorse Karzai's cabinet.

Before the September vote, Qanuni predicted his National Understanding Front would win more than 50 percent of the lower house seats and said it might not endorse all Karzai's ministers.

Analysts say he appears short of his target, but he is not alone in criticising Karzai's administration, which many Afghans complain has failed improve their lives.

Tens of thousands of U.S.-led foreign troops and billions of dollars of aid have ensured relative stability and brought new prosperity to cities like Kabul.

But the Taliban insurgency has intensified and beneficiaries of the boom have been the already rich, while the poor struggle with soaring prices.

Plans to reform the judiciary and other parts of government have achieved little, and many people opted not to vote in polls critics say were marred by significant fraud and allowed many figures blamed for abuses to seek legitimacy and influence.

Human Rights Watch says up to 60 percent of deputies are warlords or their proxies, boding ill for efforts to account for abuses and to stamp out a huge opium and heroin trade.

Woman MP Safia Seddiqi, bidding for the lower house presidency, also vowed to oppose some cabinet members.

"We need to reform the entire structure of the government. Some ministers are not capable of doing their jobs. It is parliament's job to restructure the government and cabinet."

Even so, Karzai appears to have enough support to avoid major problems, although he will need to court interest groups, which could water down essential reforms further, analysts say.

While the United States and its partners will hail the new parliament as a success in countering Islamist radicalism, analysts say it is not the end of the story.

"I think the international community has a high motivation to portray the technical success of the elections as a sign of real victory," said Sam Zarifi of Human Rights Watch.

"But many Afghans see a failure of the political process. There will be be a heavy burden to show this is not just a talkshop where warlords and druglords further their interests."

Taleban threaten to target ‘fake’ Afghan parliament - (AFP) 16 Dec. 2005

KABUL - A purported spokesman for Afghanistan’s ousted Taleban on Friday dismissed the parliament to sit next week as a fake body set up by “invader Americans”, and warned it would be a target of attacks.

“It’s not a real parliament,” purported Taleban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf Ahmadi said. “We’ll attack them as we attack the government and invading American infidels.”

“The parliament has been made up by invader Americans. They want to impose it on Afghans,” he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Afghan war crimes plan hailed, but key tests ahead – Reuters 12/15/2005
By David Brunnstrom

KABUL - The United Nations and rights groups welcomed Afghanistan's adoption of a plan to address war crimes and other abuses committed during decades of conflict but said on Thursday the test would be to ensure it was implemented.

Participants at a three-day U.N.-sponsored conference in Kabul to discuss justice for victims of war crimes said in a closing statement they had expressed a strong desire for investigation of such crimes and to see perpetrators prosecuted.

The participants, who included officials, rights activists and clerics, also said there was a pressing need to remove rights abusers from President Hamid Karzai's administration and vetting officials should be an immediate priority.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in decades of war that began with a Soviet invasion in 1979.

They include victims of the former communist regime as well as Western-backed guerrillas who overthrew it, then began fighting among themselves and later against the Taliban. After months of delay, Karzai's government adopted an Action Plan for Peace Reconciliation and Justice on Monday.

It commits the government and the international community to reforming the justice system and setting up a five-member task force by the end of the year to draw up a plan to deal with the abuses.

This task force, to comprise nominees from the rights commission and the United Nations and three named by Karzai, will have until the end of 2007 to present its proposals.

Rights groups welcomed the fact that the action plan ruled out amnesties for serious abuses, a response to concerns that perpetrators in government and the new parliament, due to sit for the first time on Monday, might try to block prosecutions.

It also provides for the exclusion of those responsible for crimes from government and the administration. "The adoption of the action plan is a significant step towards accountability, justice and peace building," Ahmad Nader Nadery, a commissioner of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), told Reuters.

Richard Bennett, head of the U.N. Human Rights office in Kabul, called it "an important step forward", but added:

"The important thing now that the plan has been adopted is to ensure it is implemented fully in accordance with the timelines." The government has committed itself to implementing the plan within three years, with rights groups hoping for a system that could include a South African-style truth and reconciliation commission and tribunals.

"We need to deal with those crimes to prevent a recurrence today and tomorrow. It is a major issue," Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah told the closing session.

However, Abdullah underlined government worries about the dangers of the process, saying its priority was peace. "We cannot sacrifice peace for justice," he said.

But Sima Samar, head of the AIHRC, questioned that caution. "National reconciliation must not happen at the price of ignoring justice," she said.

"If we are to build a stable Afghanistan in which human dignity is respected, we must investigate the past of Afghanistan. It is not just for revenge, not just for trials, but for shaping the future."

Afghan Muslims begin their Haj – Reuter 12/15/2005

Hundreds of Afghans began their annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Inside the biggest mosque in the capital Kabul, more than a thousand Afghans went through the process of registration and getting vaccination ahead of the pilgrimage.

Health experts have warned that the millions of pilgrims who gather in Mecca for the annual haj pilgrimage risk creating conditions in which a pandemic strain of flu could emerge.

Around 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims from over 160 countries head for Mecca each year in one of the world's biggest religious rituals. The next haj is expected to start in January.

The deadly H5N1 form of bird flu has killed 67 people in five countries in Asia over the past two years. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, has confirmed seven deaths.

The virus cannot pass among people the way seasonal flu does, but experts fear it could mutate into a form which can be transmitted from person to person. Experts say the risk of mutation would be increased if anyone with bird flu came to Mecca and mingled with people with seasonal flu among the huge crowds.

Many of those who arrived at the Eid Gah mosque were elderly men and women who have travelled all the way from the southern areas of Afghanistan.

The Afghan government has designated 5 airports all over the country to ensure that the estimated 25,000 pilgrims will be able to fly to Mecca without any problems. One of those who traveled for hours to the capital is Haji Zaman Khan from the southeastern province of Paktia.

"Going to Mecca is incumbent on each single Muslim of the world. This shows the unity of Muslim. I pray for myself and all the Muslims in of the world that Allah will bless us," said Khan.

And for one Afghan, Mohammad Nayeem, peace and unity among Muslims will be the main theme of his prayers. Nayeem had spent one year imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, along with hundreds of other detainees arrested following the September 11 attacks in the United States.

"When I arrive at the Kaba (or House of God), I will pray and ask from God that 'Almighty God bless me and the whole Muslim of the world, oh God bring all the Muslims together and make them united and strong. Oh God rescue those Muslims who are under the threat around the world and give them a prosperous life," said Nayeem who was once a commander of a local Taliban unit in Paktia.

The ritual represents a major experience in the life of a Muslim. For at least once in their lives, each Muslim endeavours to make a pilgrimage to Mecca - the holiest shrine of worship for Muslims everywhere.

Afghan News Site Claims Bin Laden Tape - December 15, 2005

WASHINGTON  — U.S. officials are treating skeptically a report on an Afghan news site about a new video showing Usama bin Laden.

The story from Pajhwok Afghan News , dated Tuesday, describes a new 30-minute tape with a message from Taliban commander Mullah Dodallah and the Al Qaeda leader, according to the IntelCenter, a U.S. government contractor that does work for intelligence agencies.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity in compliance with office policy, said the government could not confirm the tape's existence but said officials are aware of the media report. U.S. authorities are viewing it skeptically, the official said.

Bin Laden has not been heard from since a December 2004 audio statement. That is the longest stretch the terror leader has been publicly quiet since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Taliban re-emergence - DR IJAZ AHSAN – The Nation Column 12/15/05

In 1995 or thereabouts, the Taliban rose to power in lawless Afghanistan after stopping the collection of ‘goonda tax’. In those days, there was no central government in that country, each region being controlled by a different warlord. On a highway close to Qandahar, dacoits had been looting passengers of passing buses and cars for quite some time, with no one taking any notice. Then one day a detachment of the Taliban attacked and killed these bandits, hung the bodies up by the roadside, and burned down their houses. There was no reaction, in fact the people sided with the Taliban. Encouraged by this, the latter established their authority over increasingly larger areas, and finally virtually the whole of Afghanistan.

During recent days there has been a chilling replay of the above incidents, only this time inside Pakistan. In an area of North Waziristan near Miranshah, bandits had made it a habit of collecting ‘goonda tax’ from passing vehicles. However, no effort had been made by the political administration or the Frontier Corps to stop them from doing so. One day the bandits asked a jeep-load of Taliban to pay ‘goonda tax’. The Taliban had even agreed to pay, but an altercation ensued, and the bandits killed three of the Taliban. The fourth member of the Taliban killed three of the bandits. On hearing of this, a party of Taliban killed many bandits and hung their bodies up from electricity poles.

They also burned down as many as eight houses used by the bandits for gambling and other vices. On hearing about the success of the operation by the Taliban against the dacoits, the people distributed sweets. At the same time, hundreds of people took to the roads to witness the successful operation for themselves. Encouragement by the success and popularity of their operation against the bandits induced the Taliban to enlarge the area under their ‘control’. They moved about 30 kilometers east towards Amir Ali, where they arrested two more dacoits, beheaded them and hung their bodies from electric poles.

While all this was happening, neither the Frontier Corps(FC) nor the Pakistan Army, each deployed in large numbers in Miranshah and other parts of Waziristan, intervened to stop the clashes or apprehend the fighters using sophisticated weapons. Even when the Taliban attacked the bandits with rockets near the FC’s own doorstep, the main gate of their Fort in Miranshah, the administration as well as the troops looked the other way.

Now, the depressing aspect of this whole sordid affair is this: the Afghanistan of the 90s was a completely wild frontier. There was no central authority. There was no equivalent of our armed forces or our political administration. There were only several warlords, none of them part of any organised government. In that environment, for the Taliban to behave as a sovereign entity was at least understandable. But in today’s Pakistan with its supposed government, this is incredible. 

Such anarchy results when, over a period of decades, every successive government abdicates its powers to different groups and mafias. When the police are part of the business; when the politicians are corrupt and encourage the mafias; when army rulers are content with the privileges and perks they enjoy. 
The questions whose answers people have a right to know are these: firstly, why had the authorities been doing nothing about the bandits who were so openly collecting ‘goonda tax’ from travellers? The only reason one can think about is that they had a share in the bandits’ loot! Why else? Secondly, when the Taliban took the law into their own hands outside the Frontier Constabulary’s fort, why were they allowed to do so? If the government wishes to regain any of its lost credibility, they better find the answers to these questions and take action against the officials responsible.

Never mind our people, even our American bosses are going to be upset about the impotence of our authorities in front of the Taliban. The Americans want us to arrest wanted Taliban and hand then over to them. What to say of that, we do not seem to be able to do anything about the latter even when they take the law into their own hands. Therefore, if not to satisfy the people, our rulers ought to do something to pacify at least their American bosses, whose wishes have always been their commands. E-mail: drijaz@nation.com.pk

Microfinance could help eradicate forced marriages in Afghanistan, expert says - via PakTribune Thursday December 15, 2005

KABUL, December 15 (Online): Managing director of Parwaz Microfinance Institute Katrin Fakiri said that institutions of microfinance would greatly affect business of the usurers and would also help in protecting women from forced marriages.

Speaking at a microfinance conference organized by the World Bank in New Delhi, she said 90 per cent of the poor people were borrowing money from unofficial and private moneylenders. In the event of borrowers were not able to pay the loans, they were often giving their daughters hands to the usurers, she added.

The small loan or micro-credit system provides short term loans to the poor and needy women to improve their economic plight. In some countries, this system is also called as poors’ bank. [passage omitted]

Said Hashimi, manager of the microfinance project in the World Bank, said the programme was not only meant for womenfolk, but the poor men could also avail the chance.

On this occasion, chief of Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) Amjad Arbab hoped microfinance institutions would get firm roots in the field of business and marketing in five years. Working under the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry, MISFA has been able in establishing 12 microfinance institutions in 17 provinces across the country since 2003. He urged the officials of the microfinance institutions to be clear, transparent in their work and keep international standards of accounting in their dealings.

Deputy Director of MISFA in Kabul Joyce Bortager said they had planned to set up microfinance unions in 34 provinces of the country in the next five years. She said, "We hope to have 250,000 customers by the next year."

Afghanistan coach likes India’s style - Football Asia Dec 15, 2005
Nick McCormack in Karachi

KARACHI – Afghanistan coach Klaus Staerk is leaning towards an India victory over Bangladesh in Saturday’s SAFF Championship final, with the German praising the style of Syed Nayeemuddin’s side.

“India has so much experience and they knew how to play against the Maldives. I like their open style of play and they are a very well organised side.”

Although Staerk felt that home support could have tipped the other semi-final in Pakistan’s favour he did rightly suggest that “only one goal could decide the game.”

And with Bangladesh sharing the best defensive record with Pakistan, having conceded just once in the competition so far – Saturday’s tournament decider is likely to prove an intriguing battle.

Staerk has not had experience of leading Afghanistan against either of the two finalists, although they did play against both the Maldives and Pakistan and while the Afghans lost both games their performances couldn’t have been more different.

After being swept aside 9-1 by the SAFF 2003 runners-up they picked themselves up immediately and put up a spirited showing against Pakistan just two days later when they narrowly lost the 2005 hosts by a single Muhammad Essa goal.

“We knew the Maldives game would be a big problem for us because of the hard journey,” Staerk recalled. “It was two days travel and the players hadn’t slept well, they had bad nutrition and were very weak. They couldn’t resist against a strong team like the Maldives.

“Although we played well sometimes, especially in the second half but our problem was we just couldn’t deal with their three key players and let in too many goals.”

The opening game hammering could have easily shattered the confidence of the inexperienced Afghans but Staerk and Team Manager Ali Askar Lali knew exactly how to revive the players flagging spirits.

“Me and Ali had the same opinion that we wouldn’t be angry or punish the players and say we want to change everything. “We gave them a soft training session the next day and advised them on how to play against Pakistan because we all knew that we can play much better than we played against the Maldives.

“This was the right decision as they gave 100% and played with tactical discipline. “For me and Ali the result was a big success and even the coach of Pakistan said at the press conference there were two winners. He said they had won the game but Afghanistan was the moral winner.”

The performance against Pakistan motivated the players and inspired them to an impressive 2-1 win over Sri Lanka, their first win in six SAFF matches. “To take all three was unbelievable,” beamed Staerk, who has also spent time coaching in Lebanon and Kazakhstan.

“The Afghan people in Karachi celebrated like we had won the tournament and we saw Afghanistan flags hanging from buses on the way from the stadium.

“The first SAFF win was very special but it is just one match. We have to build on it and if we do then I believe we can compete at SAFF level in the next two or four years.

“The Afghan players need to be playing in competitive league games every week to get match experience. It is not enough just to have training and a couple of international games.

“We are just beginning. Give us a few years and the right development and we can be competing with the likes of Nepal and Bangladesh and we will not be afraid of any of the SAFF teams.”

Kazakh-China oil pipeline opens – BBC News, Almaty

Kazakhstan and China have inaugurated a 1,000km-long (620-mile) oil pipeline to supply Kazakh oil to energy-hungry western China. It is the first major export pipeline from the landlocked Central Asian republic which does not cross Russia.

It will eventually export oil to feed China's booming economy from huge reserves around the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan wants to become one of the world's top oil exporters in the next decade or two

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev pushed a ceremonial button to start filling the new pipeline with Kazakh crude, marking a new stage in his country's emergence as an oil exporter.

Construction began last year on the pipeline from Atasu in central Kazakhstan to Alashankou on the Chinese border. It should be fully operational by the middle of next year, providing a new source of oil for China to develop its western Xinjiang region.

Eventually another pipeline will link up with this one from the Caspian region in west Kazakhstan, where the huge new Kashagan oilfield is being developed. With the help of Western oil companies, Kazakhstan has doubled its production to more than a million barrels a day since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

That puts it among the world's top 20 oil producers now, but Kazakhstan has ambitions to triple this amount in the next decade or two.

Until now the country has had to export most of its oil through two pipelines on Russian territory. This meant that ultimately it was Moscow's hand on the tap and Russian policy has been to use its control over oil and gas pipelines to pursue its own interests in Central Asia.

Kazakhstan will gain significant leverage in future deals once it has an alternative export route and a thirsty new market. Kazakhstan is also in talks about exporting its oil through the new Baku-Ceyhan pipeline from the Caspian to the Mediterranean which opened earlier this year.

Oil pundits say the more export routes there are from this once inaccessible region, the better for customers and for the oil producers themselves.

[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.]