In this bulletin:

• President Karzai's Congratulatory Message to the Chairman of the Parliament and Senate
• Opposition leader elected as Afghan upper house president
• Karzai rival gets assembly post
• Rumsfeld in surprise Afghan visit
• Rumsfeld doubts Bin Laden control over Al-Qaeda
• Taleban leader dismisses Afghan parliament as a US forgery
• Afghan lawmakers clash on 1st day, Suicide bombing wounds six
• New Parliament Must Cope With Deep Divisions
• Afghanistan's parliament finds the cupboard bare
• Australia, Afghanistan sign counter-terrorism MOU
• Australia's foreign minister discusses commitment to Afghanistan
• NATO must cover U.S. Afghan troop cuts -- U.N.
• Canadian soldiers hurt in Afghanistan say they'd go back
• Afghan rights groups says US must come clean about 'secret prisons'
• Key U.N. Diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi Retiring
• Two Muslim Nations in Diplomatic Overtures to Israel
• Maulana Samiul Haq expelled from MMA
• Khadr was dealing in missiles
• Returnees key players in Afghanistan's battle of the air-waves

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, shakes hand with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld after a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2005. 'The United States has assured us of continued support and assistance on all matters,' Karzai said at a joint news conference with Rumsfeld. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

President Karzai's Congratulatory Message to the Chairman of the Parliament and Senate - Date of Release: 21-December-05

Presidential Palace, Kabul –H.E Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, sent congratulatory messages to Hazrat Sebqatullah Mojjadedi for being elected as the Chaiman of the Meshrano Jirga (Senate) and Mohammad Younus Qanuni being elected as the Chairman Of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament).

Below is the text of the congratulatory message: “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to both of you and the people of Afghanistan for your election to these important national roles, and Pray to the god almighty for you success and serving our dear homeland Afghanistan.

I am certain that your election to these positions of significant responsibility well serve the interest of our people, stability and peace in our country. May god the almighty grant both of you health and length of life and bless

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

Opposition leader elected as Afghan upper house president

KABUL, Dec. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Leader of the opposition alliance Qanooni has been elected as the president of Afghan Wolesi Jirga (Lower House) on the second day of the parliament meeting, the official said Wednesday.

"Mohammad Yunus Qanooni has got 122 votes from the all 244 voters that made him win the position of the president of the Wolesi Jirga," Haseebullah Noori, the press officer of the parliament told Xinhua.

"Since the two parliament members were killed, and three others were absent today, there are 244 members participant today's meeting. Except five blank votes, Qanooni got the majority among 239 valid votes," he added.

Qanooni, the leader of the opposition alliance the National Understanding Front, got 108 votes in the first round of voting intoday's meeting.

Afghanistan's former president Sibghatullah Mujadadi was elected as President of Musharno Jirga or Upper House of the post-war country's first parliament as more than half of the 102-member house voted for him on Tuesday.

The first-ever Afghan parliamentary elections in 36 years have been held on Sept. 18, from which 249 members of Lower House and 102 members of Mushrano Jirga have been elected. Enditem

Karzai rival gets assembly post – BBC

Yunus Qanuni, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's main rival, has been elected as president of the lower house of parliament (the Wolesi Jirga). He was elected in the second round of voting after no candidate gained enough votes to win the first round.

Correspondents say the post is influential, especially given the lack of organised political parties in the new parliament. Mr Karzai defeated Mr Qanuni in the 2004 presidential elections. But Mr Qanuni's election will be seen by many as a defeat for President Karzai's camp in the

In Wednesday's second round, Mr Qanuni defeated Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf, a supporter of Mr Karzai who critics describe as a warlord, by 122 votes to 117.

FIRST ROUND RESULTS 

Yunus Qanuni - 108 votes 

Rassoul Sayyaf - 88 votes S

ayed Ishaq Qilani - 16 votes 

Noorulhaq Olumi - 12 votes

Shukriya Barakzai - 9 votes 

Qadriya Yazdanparast - 6 votes 

Safia Siddiqi - 5 votes

In the first round, the two won 108 and 88 votes respectively but since none of them won 51% of the votes a second round of election was needed.

Former Afghan president Sibghatullah Mujadidi, a pro-Karzai Mujahideen leader, was earlier chosen to lead the Meshrano Jirga or the upper house of parliament. Many Afghans were concerned in the run-up to the parliamentary elections that the country's legislature would fall in the hands of those accused of being warlords.

Both Mr Qanuni, now leader the lower house, and Sibghatullh Mujadidi as the leader of the upper house, belong to Mujahideen factions which threw the country into civil war in 1992.

Rumsfeld in surprise Afghan visit - Karzai: 'We are assured of continuing U.S. support'

(CNN) -- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday said a planned reduction of U.S. troops in his country did not concern him. Karzai's comments came during a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan.

"We are assured of the continuing U.S. support," Karzai said. "I don't think it will have an impact on the situation on the ground." Earlier, Rumsfeld said he had authorized a reduction of U.S. troops in Afghanistan from 19,000 to 16,000, largely because of an increase in NATO troops there. Asked whether the United States operates secret prisons in Afghanistan, Rumsfeld replied, "Not to my knowledge."

In response to another question, Rumsfeld, who was having difficulties with his translation device, said: "If the question is, are we supporting human right violators and offenders, the answer is no." He said he was in Afghanistan to thank U.S. troops. "It seems to me a perfectly appropriate thing to do," he said.

The visit came after Rumsfeld spent Tuesday touring different U.S. military outposts in Pakistan, including facilities set up to aid victims of the October 2 earthquake that killed more than 70,000 people in Pakistan.

At a makeshift medical facility, Rumsfeld praised U.S. soldiers for the work they are doing, noting they are away from their families at the holidays. He also met with Australian troops in Pakistan. Because Rumsfeld was running behind schedule, a planned meeting with Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan staff at Camp Eggers was canceled.

He boarded a UH-60 helicopter and headed straight for the presidential palace to meet with Karzai. The defense secretary will overnight at Bagram Air Base, officials said. Vice President Dick Cheney also visited Pakistan this week.

On Tuesday, Rumsfeld told reporters en route to Pakistan via Shannon, Ireland, that capturing Osama bin Laden is still a priority of the U.S. government, but would not speculate on whether the al Qaeda leader is still alive.

"I think it is interesting that we haven't heard from him in a year, close to a year," he said. "I don't know what it means. I suspect that in any event if he's alive and functioning that he's probably spending a major fraction of his time trying to avoid being caught.

"I have trouble believing that he's able to operate sufficiently to be in a position of major command over a worldwide al Qaeda operation, but I could be wrong. We just don't know."

Rumsfeld doubts Bin Laden control over Al-Qaeda

Islamabad (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he doubted that Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was now capable of supervising the global operations of the militant organisation.

"I have trouble believing that he is able to operate sufficiently to be in a position of major command over a worldwide Al-Qaeda operation but I could be wrong. We just don't know," Rumsfeld told reporters aboard his plane en route to Pakistan.

"I suspect that in any event if he is alive and functioning, that he is probably spending a major fraction of his time in trying to avoid being caught," he said on Wednesday. "I think it is interesting that we have not heard from him for a year, close to a year. I don't know what it means."

Pakistan has been a key ally in the US-led "war on terror" and during his visit, Rumsfeld was to tour areas of the country that were hit by the October earthquake, which killed more than 73,000 people here.

The United States has been a major contributor to the relief effort, and Rumsfeld stressed Washington's cooperation with "moderate" Islamic nations. "I think it is important that the world recognizes the relationships the United States has had in the past with moderate Muslim states and what we do," he said.

Rumsfeld said the world should "see that the activities of the United States are to support those ... who are opposed to the people who cut off heads ... and engage in violent extremist activities." He called Pakistan "a moderate Muslim regime in the world that is demonstrating ... partnership."

Bin Laden's whereabouts are unknown but speculation has focused on the rugged mountainous terrain along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Taleban leader dismisses Afghan parliament as a US forgery - (AFP) 20 December 2005

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A statement attributed to the leader of the ousted Taleban regime on Tuesday dismissed Afghanistan’s first parliament in 30 years as a US forgery and vowed the American “invaders” would be forced out.

The parliament, the first after three decades of war and occupation, was inaugurated on Monday in a ceremony attended by US Vice President Dick Cheney. It was Afghanistan’s latest step in a transition to democracy launched after the Taleban were toppled in a US-led attack in 2001.

“Americans have a policy whenever they decide to carry out a military invasion of a country—they fake documents for their invasion,” said the statement read to AFP over the telephone by a purported Taleban spokesman.

In Afghanistan’s case this included the “so-called government” that was set up immediately after the Taleban regime was removed, according to the statement attributed to fugitive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

“Later they make the symbolic so-called elections—they were forcing people to vote and register to vote, even to the point if someone did not register, they would consider him as an enemy,” it said.

“The special budget for this election was given by (US President George W.) Bush and now a forged parliament has been created...,” it said, noting Cheney’s presence at the inauguration ceremony.

The statement attributed to Omar, who has a 10-million-dollar bounty on his head, said there would be no let up in the Taleban insurgency. “We assure all Muslims and Afghans that ... they (the United States) will not be able to firm their steps in Afghanistan but as in Iraq, we will force them out with our resistance,” the statement said.

Afghan lawmakers clash on 1st day, Suicide bombing wounds six - The Associated Press 12/20/2005

KABUL - The first full session of Afghanistan's new Parliament almost broke down Tuesday after a lawmaker demanded that all warlords -- some of whom are delegates -- be brought to justice.

Meanwhile, a suicide bombing in the western city of Herat wounded six people, three of them Italian peacekeepers and the rest civilians, underscoring the continued security threat to the fledgling democracy.

Herat police chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi said the civilians included a woman who was hospitalized in critical condition. He said the NATO peacekeepers were on their way to the airport when the bomber's car pulled up next to their vehicle and exploded. The bomber was killed.

The attack occurred as the national assembly in Kabul, which was inaugurated in an emotional ceremony on Monday, convened its first working session. Good feelings quickly gave way to a stormy debate over procedural matters, as well as the potentially explosive issue of warlords sitting among the elected representatives.

One delegate, Malali Joya, called for all of Afghanistan's human rights abusers and "criminal warlords" to be brought to justice. Delegates responded by pounding their fists on the tables to demand she sit down.

Joya refused, shouting that it was her right as an elected official to speak her mind. She rose to prominence with a similar display at the 2003 loya jirga -- or grand council -- under which Afghanistan's constitution was hammered out.

Another delegate, Sayed Mubat Shah, appealed for calm, saying, "We have a big responsibility. We all have equal rights. We are the voice of the Afghan people." The popularly elected parliament marked this country's final step in its transition to democracy after the ouster four years ago of the hardline Taliban.

The country has had no elected national assembly since 1973, when coups and a Soviet invasion plunged it into decades of chaos that left more than 1 million people dead. That was followed by the disastrous rule of the Taliban, the hardline Islamic government ousted in late 2001 by the U.S.-led invasion for sheltering Osama bin Laden.

Among those in the parliament with allegedly bloody pasts are Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a militia leader accused of war crimes by Human Rights Watch, and Abdul Salaam Rocketi, a former Taliban commander who has since reconciled with the government. "It's still a confusing situation," said Mirahammad Joinda, one of the delegates. "Everybody is backing their own side. It's not clear what will happen."

The legislature has come under fire for including many regional strongmen, raising concerns over whether it can truly be a positive political force. More than 30 delegates made statements before the assembly Tuesday. The debate on how to select the bodies' leaders was to continue Wednesday.

Afghans voted for the 249-seat lower house in September, and elected provincial councils that then chose two-thirds of the 102-seat upper chamber. President Hamid Karzai appointed the remaining 34. Most of the government's power is still concentrated in the hands of the president, although the parliament will be able to pass laws and veto Cabinet selections.

New Parliament Must Cope With Deep Divisions - RFE/RL 12/20/2005 Amin Tarzi

With the certification of the results of the 18 September voting for the Afghan National Assembly's People's Council (Wolesi Jirga) and provincial councils last week, Afghanistan came one step closer to having its first parliament in place since 1965. Most of Afghanistan's 34 provincial councils have completed their local elections to appoint members for the National Assembly's Council of Elders (Meshrano Jirga), paving the way for the opening of the National Assembly on the target date of 19 December.

Despite the more than 70 officially registered political parties in Afghanistan, the vast majority of the candidates for the Wolesi Jirga and provincial council seats ran as independents. Nonetheless, many of the new lawmakers are affiliated with political parties and there are political coalitions, although most are based on short-term political expediencies and have no clearly stated joint policy goals.

No clear-cut political map of the new National Assembly can be drawn. This factor, plus the personality-based nature of Afghan politics and the history of radical shifts of alliances among Afghan political figures in the past, has caused some commentators and news writers in recent days to claim that the future parliament would be support Afghan President Hamid Karzai, while others have predicted that the National Assembly will be dominated by conservative mujahedin leaders. Both of the above assessments could be true, but the first postulate is subject to change.

The 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga can be divided into four broad and often overlapping camps: first, former mujahedin, including the 40 or so members of Hizb-e Islami who have distanced themselves from their party leader and current antigovernment fugitive Gulbuddin Hekmatyar; second, independents, technocrats and those tribal leaders who are not affiliated with other parties; third, former communists and other leftists (ironically some of the former communists abandoned their mustaches --symbol of Afghan communists -- in favor of beards and joined mujahedin parties and even allied themselves with the Taliban, so there can be some overlap between this group and groups one and four); and fourth, former members of the Taliban establishment. Since a large number of Taliban leadership had previous association to the mujahedin parties, this last group could overlap with the first group.

In the absence of official political party lists in the Afghan parliament and because of the fluidity of the Afghan political loyalties it is very difficult, if not impossible, to gauge how the National Assembly will act before they convene. Their immediate agenda, however, includes retroactive action on many of Karzai's decrees, his cabinet nominations, and his choices for the Supreme Court.

The best assessment is that at the outset, the mujahedin and their affiliates will enjoy a majority. This however does not necessarily mean that the parliament in Afghanistan would have a majority bloc pushing for specific agendas as the mujahedin, almost from the beginning of the struggle in 1978, have been and remain hopelessly divided.

Among the mujahedin, a number of the more prominent figures -- such as Abd al-Rabb al-Rasul Sayyaf and possibly leader of the Jami'at-e Islami (Islamic Society) party and president of Afghanistan in the 1990s Burhanuddin Rabbani -- are currently in Karzai's camp. Most of the members of Hizb-e Islami and former Taliban members, lacking any strong leadership, being mostly Pashtuns, and having to deal with the stigma of past association with Hekmatyar or the neo-Taliban, are mostly likely to back Karzai for now. Karzai seems to enjoy strong support among the technocrats and women, most of whom belong to the second grouping mentioned above. The tribal leaders should be expected to stick on ethnic lines and perhaps more than any other group be sensitive to the interests of their constituencies.

In this unscientific calculation of the Wolesi Jirga, Karzai fares well at the outset, but he must navigate very dangerous currents. Some of his allies among the mujahedin may push for reinserting religion -- their prerogative --into the politics of the country. The technocrats, women, and the leftist camp may try to liberalize the society, which in turn would push the mujahedin closer together.

Many elected members of the Wolesi Jirga have fought in opposing groups and have committed atrocities that still haunt the Afghan people. Whether the past bloody memories can be forgotten is another test for the new parliament. As a related issue, Karzai would be placed in a compromising position if, as expected, some members of the Wolesi Jirga who have voiced concern about the crimes committed against the Afghans by some of their colleagues, try to debate past human rights abuses.

Afghanistan's parliament finds the cupboard bare - Financial Times - By Rachel Morarjee in Kabul December 19 2005

The insistent sound of saws and hammers pervades the ruined landscape of western Kabul as workers put the finishing touches to Afghanistan's temporary parliament building, where the country's first legislature since 1969 will convene today.

This last-minute dash to finish the parliament's interim home reflects a continued delay in an Indian project to renovate the bombed out remains of Darulaman palace - planned as the permanent parliament headquarters - whichwill not be finished for another three years.

But Afghanistan's fledgling democracy has to contend with wider problems.

After spending more than $160m (€133m, £90m) on helping the country to hold the September parliamentary elections, the international community has little left to fund the day-to-day workings of the legislature.

So the 249 elected members of the lower house and 102 senators will be housed in a temporary facility with no office space, no personal staff and a salary of around $1,000 a month - an amount that does not cover rent, transport or telephone bills in the capital, where international aid dollars have driven prices sky high.

Low wages for parliamentarians mean that those with independent sources of wealth - principally drug kingpins and warlords running rackets with their own henchmen - will be in a position to wield power by buying votes, diplomats say.

Another challenge will be the safety of parliamentarians in an atmosphere of rising violence. A car bomb apparently targeting Nato peacekeepers exploded 1km from the interim parliament building in a suicide attack yesterday, killing the bomber and wounding two passers-by.

Much has been made of the fact that 27 per cent of Afghanistan's legislature consists of women - the 20th highest parliamentary representation of women in the world. But lack of resources will weaken their voices.

"It makes it difficult for women from the provinces to build political strength, when they can't afford anywhere to live," says Shukria Barekzai, a 33-year-old MP and journalist on the weekly Woman Mirror newspaper who is running against Mujahideen heavyweights for parliamentary speaker.

Whoever wins the position of speaker will be able to set the tone of the parliament. Ms Barekzai is a dark horse candidate - the favourites for the post are architects of Afghanistan's civil war, many of whom have been accused of serious human rights abuses.

Burhanuddin Rabbani is widely seen as the frontrunner, despite being seen by many Afghans as having started the civil war when he refused to step down as president in 1992. Other contenders include Mohammad Mohaqeq and Abdul Rasoul Sayyaf, both warlords accused of rights violations.

It is likely that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, will have to cut deals with such figures to drive forward reform, because a clear-cut majority in the parliament is not immediately apparent, diplomats say.

"Past allegiances are no indication of whether people will back Mr Karzai now. It is very fluid and you can't tell what kind of chemical reactions will take place to prompt coalitions," says a western diplomat in Kabul.

The parliament will be fragmented along ethnic lines, with wide divisions between urbane foreign-educated city dwellers and barely literate strongmen from the rural areas. Female gym instructors from western Afghanistan will sit in the same chamber as former Taliban clerics, but Mr Karzai will have to appeal to all groups.

Four years after US-led forces defeated the Taliban, the Afghan president is under increasing pressure to deliver economic growth and push forward reconstruction.

Even in Kabul, most residents get only four hours of electricity every third day, and the bulk of economic activity in the country continues to depend on illicit drugs. A Taliban insurgency in the south and east has further alienated people in the majority Pashtun areas, where violence has stalled reconstruction.

There are signs of hope, with some former fighters swapping bullets for ballots. Mullah Abdul Salam, for example, known as Rocketi for his prowess with a rocket-launcher, is a former Taliban commander elected as the representative for Zabul.

Australia, Afghanistan sign counter-terrorism MOU

The Foreign Affairs Minister has signed a counter-terrorism memorandum of understanding with his Afghan counterpart. Alexander Downer has held meetings with the Afghan President, Defence Minister and Foreign Minister in Kabul.

He says the formal agreement will improve communication on counter-terrorism and could help Australia trace links between terrorist groups in South-East Asia and the Middle East.

"The Afghan Government and Afghan Intelligence Agency have a lot of information that they can share with us, we have information we can share with them and it just is a component of developing our overall counter-terrorist capabilities," he said.

Australia's foreign minister discusses commitment to Afghanistan – ABC Radio Australia

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer has met his Afghan counterpart, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, in Kabul. The two discussed Australia's military commitment in Afghanistan and plans to send a reconstruction team in the middle of next year.

Mr Downer told Dr Abdullah the inauguration of the new parliament this week and the parliamentary elections earlier this year are important steps in the evolution of democracy in Afghanistan.

"These are tremendously important developments where Afghanistan can have a government that reflects the will of the people in Afghanistan and not a government imposed on them," Mr Downer said. "And it is most heartening to see the way the people of Afghanistan have embraced the processes of democracy."

It is the first time in more than 30 years that a democratic-elected parliament has convened in Afghanistan.
It follows elections for the 351 members in September. The sitting of the parliament is the final step in an internationally agreed transition to democracy for Afghanistan after the Taliban regime was toppled in a US-led invasion four years ago.

NATO must cover U.S. Afghan troop cuts -- U.N. - 20 Dec 2005

KABUL, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Planned cuts in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan must be covered by deployments of NATO-led peacekeepers due to take place next year, the U.N.'s peacekeeping chief said on Tuesday.

Jean-Marie Guehenno, U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said after the New York Times reported the planned U.S. troop cut there was no reason to believe there would be a gap between the troop movements.

"I think it would be very important to have a continuum there and a solid engagement of the international security presence in Afghanistan," he told a news conference during a visit to Kabul.

Guehenno said he had held talks with NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and would meet the commander of the separate U.S.-led force battling Taliban insurgents. "We will make that point very clear," he said.

"I think that as ISAF takes on new responsibilities in Afghanistan, it will be important to maintain the same level of support for the security of Afghanistan," he added. "The Afghan army and the Afghan National Police are making progress, but they still need our support."

The New York Times said on Tuesday U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had signed orders that would cut U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan to 16,000 from 19,000 by next spring.

A U.S. troop cut has been anticipated since NATO agreed to take over in southern Afghanistan next year, but NATO states have yet to say how many troops they will deploy.

The New York Times quoted a senior military officer as saying Rumsfeld's orders meant a U.S. brigade would deploy only 1,300 troops to Afghanistan not 4,000 as scheduled previously. The troops staying at home would be on standby, the official told the newspaper.

Rumsfeld signed the orders on Monday and a Pentagon announcement was expected on Tuesday, it said. NATO is looking to boost its 9,000-strong ISAF peacekeeping force to 15,000 and expand into the volatile south, where Taliban and allied insurgents are most active.

However, on Monday, the Dutch cabinet delayed a decision on sending more troops as part of the expansion amid mounting concerns about security. Dutch ministers said they had postponed a decision until Thursday. Parliament must also vote on the troop deployment, but is not expected to debate the subject until January.

The centrist D66, junior partners in the Dutch ruling coalition, has threatened to vote against the mission and most opposition parties in parliament are also opposed.

Britain, which is due to take command of ISAF next year and deploy troops in the south alongside Canadian and Dutch forces, has yet to say how many troops it will send.

The Taliban, meanwhile, have stepped up attacks on the ISAF. On Tuesday, three Italian peacekeepers were wounded slightly in a suicide car bomb attack in the western city of Herat. That attack came four days after a similar suicide attack on Norwegian peacekeepers in Kabul slightly wounded two passersby.

Canadian soldiers hurt in Afghanistan say they'd go back - Last Updated Tue, 20 Dec 2005 CBC News

Two Canadian soldiers wounded in a blast that shattered their vehicle in Afghanistan are willing to return to the country. Pte. Ryan Crawford and Capt. Manuel Panchana-Moya appeared before reporters in wheelchairs and hospital garb in Edmonton on Tuesday.

They both suffered broken bones when a bomb exploded under their light military vehicle, a Mercedes-Benz Gelaendewagen (known as a G Wagon) on Dec. 12 near Kandahar.

Both men were in good spirits and said "I'd go back" when asked if they would serve in Afghanistan again. Crawford was calm as he described what happened.

"We got blown up," said Crawford, who had just turned 24 at the time. "It was my birthday. My life pretty well flashed before my eyes." Speaking French, Panchana-Moya said he was angry, but not afraid.

After the explosion, "it was very dark and very dirty" as dust and oil obscured his vision. He was in a lot of pain, but was able to crawl out when the door opened.

Other people in the G Wagon helped them about 50 metres away, and a U.S. helicopter picked them up about 30 minutes later and took them to get their first medical care.

They were flown to Germany and then Edmonton, where their unit – 3rd battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry – is based. Both soldiers spoke well of their vehicle. "I believe the G Wagon did take care of us very well," Ryan said.

Panchana-Moya said the armour helped protect them, although he was not sure it was the best vehicle available. "We consider ourselves very, very lucky."

About 250 Canadian soldiers are part of a provincial reconstruction team operating near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. As many as 1,250 Canadian soldiers will be serving in Afghanistan by February.

Afghan rights groups says US must come clean about 'secret prisons'

Kabul (AFP) - Afghanistan's main rights group has demanded the United States come clean about reported secret detention centres in the country while an Afghan official played down the existence of such facilities.

New York-based Human Rights Watch, citing inmates as sources, said in a report this week that the United States operated a secret prison near the capital Kabul where detainees were abused and tortured as recently as 2004.

The watchdog's Asia research director Sam Zarifi told AFP at the weekend that US forces were indefinitely detaining and mistreating people without charge at various undisclosed bases around the country.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked about the allegations at a media briefing in Kabul Wednesday with President Hamid Karzai, who, after translating the question for him, said: "I am sure you don't have them, say you don't have them."

"If I had, then they would be secret," Rumsfeld replied on Wednesday. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said the allegations were credible and shocking.

"The revelation of secret detention centres is very shocking and concerning," commissioner and spokesman Nader Nadery said. "We demand the Afghan government and US-led coalition force make public the name and locations of these detention facilities," he said.

Nadery said the commission had not received complaints from released inmates about abuse in detention facilities but had been told by some prisoners that they had been held in places outside of known US bases.

"Some prisoners released from US detention said that they were held in places which were not in the known US fire bases in the provinces," he said. He would not give further details. A high-ranking Afghan intelligence official however cast doubt on the existence of secret detention facilities.

"I don't think that the United States -- the coalition or the CIA -- are running such facilities," he said on condition of anonymity. "The CIA only gathers information and when they detain suspects, they hand them over to us for questioning."

The US military in Afghanistan could not comment. Human Rights Watch said its attorneys had been told by eight detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba that they were held at a site near Kabul which they called "Dark Prison."

They said they were chained to walls, deprived of food and drinking water, and kept in darkness with loud rap, heavy metal music, or other sounds blared for weeks at a time. Since toppling the Taliban in late 2001, the United States has run an anti-insurgency operation in Afghanistan involving some 19,000 troops.

Key U.N. Diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi Retiring - 20 December 2005 - By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

Top U.N. diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi is retiring after more than a decade in hotspots from Afghanistan and Iraq to Haiti and Nepal, the U.N. spokesman announced Tuesday.

The former Algerian foreign minister will leave his post as special adviser to Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the end of the year, said the spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. Brahimi, 71, began work at the United Nations in 1994 after serving as Algeria's foreign minister from 1991-93.

In his first U.N. job, he helped oversee elections that brought Nelson Mandela to power. He was then named special representative for Haiti, a post he held until 1996.

Annan picked Brahimi to be his special envoy for Afghanistan in 1997, and the veteran diplomat spent more than two years unsuccessfully trying to get warring factions to sit down together and talk peace.

Annan then put Brahimi in charge of a review of U.N. peace-related operations. The panel's report issued in 2000 -- now known as the Brahimi report -- called for a major overhaul of U.N. peacemaking efforts.

Brahimi later resumed work in Afghanistan after a U.S.-led force ousted the Taliban. In the last two years, he has focused on peace and security issues around the world. In Iraq, for example, Brahimi played a major role in helping put together the interim government that took power on June 30, 2004.

While Brahimi is highly regarded by many U.N. diplomats, Israel sent a formal protest to Annan in April 2004 after Brahimi described Israeli policy as "the great poison" in the Middle East.

Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman called Brahimi's comments "vitriolic and biased" and said they heightened concerns about the U.N.'s impartiality in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Brahimi responded that he was reflecting views in the Arab world, and much of the rest of the world.

Two Muslim Nations in Diplomatic Overtures to Israel
15:44 Dec 20, '05 / 19 Kislev 5766

IsraelNN.com) Despite comments by Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Islamic states establishing relations with Israel would suffer Islamic "wrath", two more Muslim nations have made overtures to the Jewish State.

According to Israeli newspaper Yediot Acharanot, an Afghani ambassador to an unidentified third country invited his local Israeli counterparts to join him celebrating Afghanistan's Independence Day at the Afghan embassy. Similar contacts between Afghani and Israeli diplomats stationed in other countries were also reported.

In a similar move, a senior diplomat from Bangladesh stationed in a third country offered to open regular contacts with his Israeli counterpart. The Israeli ambassador reportedly accepted the proposal.

Maulana Samiul Haq expelled from MMA - By Muhammad Anis- The News Int

ISLAMABAD: The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on Monday expelled Maulana Samiul Haq, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), as its member. The decision was taken at a meeting of the MMA Supreme Council, presided over by alliance’s President Qazi Hussain Ahmed.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, MMA Secretary-General Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam Shura itself decided to dismiss Maulana Samiul Haq from the party office. "Accepting decision of JUI-S, we today expelled Maulana Samiul Haq from MMA," he said.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed and other central leaders were also present at the briefing. He maintained that the JUI-S would continue to be member of the MMA, which at Monday’s Supreme Council meeting was represented by Pir Abdur Rahim Naqashbandi and MNA Qari Gul Rehman, who would represent the JUI-S at MMA Supreme Council meetings in the future.

Fazl said the meeting also reviewed matters related to water reservoirs, adding that the MMA supports construction of new water reservoirs. The Supreme Council is, however, of the view that a consensus among all the provinces be evolved over the construction of new water reservoirs, particularly the Kalabagh dam.

He advised the government to avoid creating a situation that might harm the federation. He said a new site might also be taken into consideration for construction of the Kalabagh dam. Fazl said the MMA also demanded an in-camera briefing about the Kalabagh dam issue. "All the four provinces should be taken into confidence before reaching a decision on the construction of Kalabagh dam."

The MMA Supreme Council failed to reach a consensus on Fazl’s participation in National Security Council meetings and a proposal in this regard was referred to the MMA Supreme Council.

Khadr was dealing in missiles - Michael Friscolanti and Stewart Bell, National Post - Published: Tuesday, December 20, 2005

TORONTO - Police yesterday disclosed new information about the alleged terrorist exploits of Abdullah Khadr, charging he was part of a plot to kill Pakistan's prime minister and that his arrest occurred as he was buying missiles for attacks on coalition troops in Afghanistan.

RCMP and FBI affidavits released as part of the 24-year-old's extradition case also say his father, the late Ahmed Said Khadr, was assigned by Osama bin Laden in 2001 to organize militias in eastern Afghanistan to fight international troops.

In 2003, the father was given "operational responsibility" for mounting attacks against U.S. and other foreign troops along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, according to the police documents based on interviews with Abdullah -- his eldest son -- that were conducted in Pakistan and Toronto.

"Khadr's father asked him to assist in this effort by procuring munitions to use against the U.S. and coalition forces," says an affidavit written by RCMP Corporal Richard Jenkins.

"During a six-month period in 2003, Khadr purchased approximately $20,000 worth of AK-47 rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar rounds."

Investigators also allege the Khadr patriarch met in Iran in the late 1990s with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the virulently anti-Western Afghan warlord who is now believed to be leading the remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda against Canadian and other international troops in Afghanistan.

Although allegedly sympathetic to bin Laden, whom he had known since childhood, Abdullah Khadr also stood to profit from his arms dealing, the affidavit continues. When the Toronto native was arrested in Pakistan in October, 2004, he was in the process of buying missiles from a former member of a Pakistani terrorist group for $1,000 each. He intended to re-sell them to an al-Qaeda weapons broker for $5,000, the affidavit says.

Abdullah Khadr all but disappeared after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but resurfaced in Toronto this month. RCMP officers arrested him on Saturday night at the request of U.S. authorities in Boston, who have charged him with possession and conspiracy to possess a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Wearing blue running shoes and an orange jumpsuit, Mr. Khadr made a brief court appearance yesterday in Toronto, where a judge ordered him to remain behind bars pending another bail hearing tomorrow morning. Police led him away from the courtroom in handcuffs.

The scene was a stark contrast from 10 days earlier, when a smiling and talkative Mr. Khadr told a select group of reporters he has no links to al-Qaeda and is not a threat to national security. "I have no problem with anybody," he said at the time. "Why should anybody have a problem with me?"

U.S. authorities have 60 days to convince the Canadian Department of Justice there are sufficient grounds to extradite Mr. Khadr to stand trial in the United States. But even if Ottawa agrees, a judge must approve the decision, which means it could be years -- if ever -- before Mr. Khadr appears before a Massachusetts judge.

Returnees key players in Afghanistan's battle of the air-waves - 21 Dec 2005 Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

KABUL, Afghanistan, December 21 (UNHCR) – The decades of violence which devastated Afghanistan have ended, but across the country a new battle is being waged. It is a campaign fought in the simple mud homes of the country's rural farmers and in the garish mansions of Kabul's newly-rich.

Under the Taliban anyone found owning a television would certainly have been beaten and would quite likely have been imprisoned. Today, Afghans face an unprecedented number of television and radio stations competing for their attention, and many of the leading figures in this broadcasting war are former refugees.

In west Kabul, site of a viciously contested front line during Afghanistan's civil war, Feriba Charkhi discusses the coming week's programming with the technical staff of Aryana Television. Feriba is one of the station's best known presenters and, as executive producer, is also responsible for Aryana's more than 30 programmes.

Nine years ago, as the Taliban took control of Kabul and much of the country, Fariba, a married mother of three, fled with her family to Peshawar in Pakistan. For five years they lived as refugees, performing odd jobs and planning for the day when they could return. In early 2002, they were among the first to make the journey home to post-Taliban Afghanistan under the UN refugee agency's organized repatriation operation.

State-run Radio-Television Afghanistan, previously restricted to a single radio station broadcasting religious discussions and readings from the Koran, had resumed its television service and was in need of on-air talent.

"There was a sudden demand for women in the media," says Fariba. "But most women were not even willing to present radio programmes, and certainly not television, for fear of being recognized."

Fariba was soon appearing on television screens across the country. Her decision to play a role in the country's emerging media was supported by her husband, but many were opposed. "In the early days, strangers would come up to me on the street and insult me. Even my family said the time was not yet right for women to be so visible. Now, if some one approaches me it's to pay a compliment or to comment on our programmes."

Aryana is one of four private stations currently broadcasting in Afghanistan, with a fifth due to go on air in the coming months. All but one of them have been operating for under a year, which makes the staff of TV Tolo – or Dawn – veterans of the country's rapidly changing media landscape. Broadcasting since 2004, Tolo was launched following the earlier success of its sister station Radio Arman – or Hope.

Neelab Ahmadi began working at Radio Arman a year ago, after spending nearly a third of her life as a refugee in Iran. In 2003, with the assistance of UNHCR, she and her family returned to Kabul where the fluent English speaker was able to work as a translator. After securing a part-time job with Radio Arman, she went on to become the station's first woman presenter of the peak evening time-slot and now hosts a nightly three-hour programme that combines music with phone-ins from listeners.

"At first people complained a lot about our programmes," she says, recalling the turbulent early days of Afghanistan's first private radio station. "They didn't like the music we played, and they particularly didn't like male and female presenters chatting and laughing with each other live on air."

Calls to the station today are more often to make a song request than to complain about supposed inappropriate behaviour. Neelab's contact with a largely young audience has made her keenly aware of how much has changed in Afghanistan, and how much still needs to. "Everyone has a mobile phone now, so they can call and tell us about their lives. We still get many calls from young girls who say their families won't let them out or attend school."

Returning to Kabul from Tehran, the modern Iranian capital, Neelab and her family were confronted with a way of life very different from the one they had experienced over the previous seven years. Neelab's adolescence had been spent surrounded by radio and television programmes, and she had worked on a magazine aimed at Afghan refugees. The absence of such outlets in her own country was striking.

In Kabul and across the country that void is rapidly being filled, and for Neelab and the other returnees working with her at Radio Arman, coming home has provided an opportunity to be a part of an industry that is profoundly affecting Afghanistan.

In the offices of Aryana Television, Feriba Charkhi is confident that the media can be a positive force for change. "I strongly believe that we're moving in the right direction," she says as she enters the studio. "Through our programmes we can inform people's lives and influence their opinions. That's something I want to be a part of, and I'm proud of what I do."

By Tim Irwin In Kabul

[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.]