In this bulletin:

· U.S. Commander Sure of NATO in Afghanistan
· Bush says US will stand behind Afghan, Iraq democracies
· Afghan mission needs support: Labor
· Security of Indians in Afghanistan to be enhanced
· Bamiyan police seizes two tones of narcotics in Yakaulant
· France Provides Bikes For Afghanistan's Takhar Agri Dept
· Yearender: Post-war Afghanistan on way of reconstruction, reconciliation despite militancy
· Afghan Interior Ministry selecting general officers
· Opium: Old enemy, new threats
· New Afghan TV channel to begin broadcasting in 2 months
· Afghanistan's New Day: A Promising Step for Afghan Women
· Iran committed to IPI pipeline, says deputy oil minister
· Int’l madrassa student deportations to start in 2 days
· Independent Balochistan is unfinished agenda of Partition’
· Musharraf sees foreign hand in Balochistan
· Japan to develop Iran oilfield

U.S. Commander Sure of NATO in Afghanistan

Kandahar (AP) - A U.S. commander expressed confidence Friday that NATO-led peacekeeping troops will aggressively keep up the fight against insurgents when they take over control of southern Afghanistan from American troops in the spring.

Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, the U.S.-led coalition's operational commander, also called a recent rise in suicide bombings a sign of the insurgency's increasing desperation over Afghanistan's successful parliamentary elections in September and other democratic advances.

"As we approached the elections I think the enemy realized what was at stake," Kamiya told reporters at the U.S. base in Kandahar, a southern city that was the former stronghold of the ousted Taliban religious militia.

NATO foreign ministers approved plans earlier this month to send up to 6,000 mostly European and Canadian soldiers into volatile southern Afghanistan, while about 10,000 NATO troops continue to watch over the north and west.

The expansion, which is expected to begin in May, will free U.S. forces to focus on counterinsurgency operations against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters along the country's southern and eastern frontier with Pakistan, where insurgents are most active.

The plans give the NATO peacekeepers a stronger self-defense mandate, guarantee support from U.S. combat troops if they face a serious attack and set rules for handling detainees — all issues concerned some European allies mulling participation in the expanded force. Kamiya said NATO troops would be aggressive in the fight against insurgents.

"I feel very, very confident ... that each nation understands what the conditions are here," Kamiya said during a visit by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is making a six-nation tour to rally U.S. troops during the holidays.

Canadian Col. S.J. Bowes said his nation, which will assume responsibility for Kandahar, was prepared to extend the offensive nature of the operation. "It's clear that this is not a peacekeeping mission," he said, although he stressed that he couldn't speak for the British army, which will command the NATO mission in the south.

The British Foreign Office had no comment on the comments by Kamiya and Bowes. However, the Ministry of Defense said several tasks needed to be carried out around the country and the British government recognizes that Taliban remnants are active in southern Afghanistan.

This year has been the deadliest in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led offensive ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida training camps. More than 1,500 people have been killed as militants loyal to the Taliban, al-Qaida and other groups have stepped up attacks.

Two suspected Taliban suicide bombers died Thursday when explosives they were strapping to their bodies exploded prematurely in the south, officials said. The blast followed a string of suicide attacks and came days after a top rebel commander claimed more than 200 insurgents were willing to kill themselves in assaults on U.S. troops and their allies. Kamiya dismissed the claim by Mullah Dadullah as propaganda but acknowledged such attacks have been rising.

"Suicide bombers were almost nonexistent when we came here in March. What we did notice though is that the rise in suicide bombings began in June," he said. "The enemy began to realize that every time he came at us directly he would always lose great numbers of fighters and insurgents. So this caused him to adapt his tactics."

Unlike in Iraq, suicide attacks were relatively rare in Afghanistan until September, fueling fears that rebels could be adopting tactics used in the Middle East.

There have been about a dozen such attacks the past few months, including twin assaults in Kabul on Nov. 14 that targeted NATO-led peacekeepers and killed a German soldier and eight Afghans.

A suicide bomber also set off explosives near a U.S. and Afghan military convoy in Kandahar on Dec. 11, killing himself and wounding three civilians. A week earlier, a suicide bomber killed a civilian and wounded a Canadian soldier.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced earlier this month that the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be cut from 19,000 to about 16,500 by spring, but he cautioned that removing forces too quickly could impede the long-term hunt for terrorists.

That was welcome news to Army Specialist Aaron Krueger, 21, of Mentone, Ind. "The sooner we get the job done the better," he said after listening to Pace address troops at Kandahar.

Bush says US will stand behind Afghan, Iraq democracies - HindustanTimes.com 31 Dec 05

Lauding the "brave men and women" of the American armed forces for advancing the cause of freedom overseas, President George W Bush has said the US will continue to stand behind the young democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The New Year is a time of hope as we reflect on the past and prepare for the future," Bush said in his Greetings Message along with that of the First Lady Laura Bush.

"The great strength of our nation lies in the hearts and souls of the American people. This past year, Americans responded with an outpouring of compassion to help the people of the Gulf Coast region recover from one of the most devastating natural disasters in our nation's history (hurricane Katrina)," he said.

Taking specific note of the developments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush said, "In the past year, we continued our work to spread freedom and peace."

"In 2005, Iraqis three times exercised their right to vote in free elections, and the Afghan people conducted successful parliamentary elections. In the coming year, America will continue to stand beside these young democracies and lay the foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren," he said.

"We appreciate the brave men and women in uniform who protect our country and advance freedom around the world. We are grateful to their families for their support and sacrifice, and we pray for all those who have lost loved ones in freedom's cause. Our nation will always remember the heroes who have given their lives to protect us all," the President remarked.

Afghan mission needs support: Labor - The Weekend Australian by John Kerin December 31, 2005

AN Australian military reconstruction team should not be sent to Afghanistan without adequate protection and air support, according to the Labor Party.

Defence Minister Robert Hill confirmed yesterday that Australia's plans were awaiting a decision by the Dutch parliament on sending a 1400-strong assault force to Afghanistan.

But Labor defence spokesman Robert McClelland said the team would need helicopter support for medical evacuation and supplies. "There is no way Australians should be sent to any hostile sphere without adequate troop and air support," he said.

Defence sources have told The Weekend Australian that the Government is relying on the Dutch contingent to provide air and other support to a 200-strong provincial reconstruction team it is preparing to send to the troubled country.

Though the Dutch cabinet has given its approval to sending 1400 troops, including Apache helicopters and F-16s, to the southern Uruzgan province, it has made the deployment contingent on parliamentary approval.

But the Dutch parliament is divided over the proposal because of concerns that a resurgence by Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters could result in heavy casualties.

The Dutch move is part of a wider plan by NATO to expand its forces in the country to 16,000, freeing up US forces to take on the fighters in the mountainous regions bordering Pakistan, where they are mostly hiding out.

Australia has already deployed a 190-strong special forces taskforce to Afghanistan to help NATO and US troops put down a resurgent Taliban and provide security for elections.

Australian special forces have been involved in a series of clashes with gangs of Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters. The Dutch parliament is expected to make its decision within weeks.

The Australian Government is expected to then make a decision on the composition and size of the reconstruction team. A spokeswoman for Senator Hill said yesterday that he would await the decision of the Dutch parliament before any announcement was made.

The developments came as Finance Minister Nick Minchin defended the Defence Department over another damning audit report that showed it could not account for more than $4.4 billion in assets.

Senator Minchin said enormous pressure had been brought on the department to improve its accounting practices. But Labor treasury spokesman Wayne Swan said Defence was "completely out of control".

Security of Indians in Afghanistan to be enhanced- Press Trust of India New Delhi, December 30, 2005

Alarmed by the killing of BRO jawan MR Kutty and threats issued to other Indians in Afghanistan, the strength of the security personnel deployed for the protection of Indians in the war-torn country is likely to be increased.

A high-level team of Indian officials has returned from Afghanistan after assessing the threat perception and conducting a review of the security arrangements for the Indians, official sources said.

The sources said the contingent of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), deployed for security of the Indians there, would have be increased in view of the threat perception.

Modalities in this regard would be worked out. The officials had been deputed to Afghanistan soon when several Indians, working on various developmental projects there, received threatening letters from suspected Taliban.

The threats came a few days after Kutty was kidnapped and killed by Taliban in Kandahar. Kutty was one of about 300 personnel of BRO (Border Roads Organisation) working on construction of a vital road between Delaram and Zaranj in Kandahar province. The killers of Kutty had left a slip demanding that BRO wind up its operations in Afghanistan and leave the country.

Bamiyan police seizes two tones of narcotics in Yakaulant – Dec. 31, 2005 - Paktribun

KABUL: Bamiyan police has seized around two tones of narcotics in Yakaulant district of the province here the other day. According to the details Bamiyan police had seized around two tones of narcotics in Yakaulant district and burnt it near the office of the Provincial Reconstruction Department in presence of newsmen.

The narcotics Ministry of Afghanistan hailed this step adding that northern to southern parts of Bamiyan had become a route for narcotics smuggling. Chief of law enforcement agency of Bamiyan, Samoon Jan told that though poppy cultivation had been checked in the area but its smuggling through it is still continue.

Governor Bamiyan, Habiba Sarhadi appreciating performance of the police said that smuggling in narcotics province would also be discouraged. She however also admitted the problems in checking the narcotics smuggling in the province.

France Provides Bikes For Afghanistan's Takhar Agri Dept

TALOQAN, Dec 30 Asia Pulse - The government of France has provided motorbikes, bicycles, mates, furniture and computers for the agriculture department in the northern Takhar province, officials said on Thursday.

Nazarullah Yousaf, official of the French Embassy here, told Pajhwok Afghan News the bikes and bicycles worth US$48,000 would be distributed among officials of the agriculture department.

Head of the Agriculture and Livestock Department Moeenuddin said this would address transportation problems faced by officials, who perform duties in far-flung areas.

Staffers usually face with problems as public transports rarely ply the unpaved and uneven roads. Majority of people are doing farming in rural areas of Takhar province.

Yearender: Post-war Afghanistan on way of reconstruction, reconciliation despite militancy – Xinhua 12/30/2005

While a series of upheaval and challenges, particularly in the fields of security and economic recovery, have slowed down the reconstruction process in war- battered Afghanistan, the year 2005 still saw the central Asian state achieve a host of vital projects, including the landmark legislative polls.

As a stride toward durable stability in the country, the parliamentary elections, held for the first time in three decades amid tight security on Sept. 18, facilitated the war-weary Afghans to move toward national unity and begin their political fight inside the parliament house rather than on the battleground.

President Hamid Karzai selected one third or 34 members of the 102-member Mushrano Jirga or the Upper House of the two-chamber parliament, in the post-Taliban country just days ahead of inaugural session of the legislation on Dec. 19.

The majority of the parliamentarians were former anti-Soviet resistance leaders, remnants of erstwhile USSR-backed regimes and ex-officials of fundamentalist Taliban regime, who had fought each other and been involved in the past 25 years of war and civil strife.

In another stride toward stability and national unity, the Afghan government launched a national reconciliation program and so far over 300 opposition elements with the majority of them Taliban fighters, according officials, have laid down their arms and joined the peace process throughout the outgoing year.

Though no prominent military figure of the hardliner militants has been seen among the Taliban defectors, the head of the Reconciliation Program Sibghatullah Mujadadi and newly elected president of the Mushrano Jirga predicted more desertion of Taliban fighters to government in the coming year.
True, the process of reconciliation is slow, but it has paved the way for the armed opponents to contact government. That is why several former Taliban officials contested the legislative polls and even a few of them, including ex-notorious commander Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi and Mawlawi Mohammad Islam Mohammadi, who governed Bamyan during the destruction of giant Buddha's statues in March 2001, have secured seats in the parliament.

To further boost its popularity, the Karzai-led administration launched a one-week Accountability Program late last month, during which all ministers and head of independent bodies briefed the nation on their performance over 2005.

In addition to hosting two regional conferences to boost economic activities with countries in the region, Afghanistan also received over a dozen of world leaders and foreign dignitaries in the outgoing year.

Prime Ministers of Pakistan, India, Norway, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State and dignitaries from other countries toured Afghanistan in 2005 to side with the post-Taliban nation to rebuild itself.

Afghanistan under President Karzai in 2005 was able to sign a joint declaration with the White House and paved the way for long- term presence of the U.S. troops in the war-shattered country.

The leadership also succeeded in convincing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to expand its mission in Afghanistan and the western military pact has announced its deployment to the militancy-plagued southern region from next year. Meanwhile, economy in the post-war country also recorded a 14 percent growth in 2005, as against 8 percent in the previous year.

More than 2,480 national and international firms have registered to invest over 600 million U.S. dollars in the country, of which half has been realized during the outgoing year, mostly in the construction sector.

According to the Commerce Ministry, Afghanistan exported 120 tons of fresh and dried fruits in 2005 from 42 tons in the previous year, while the export of hand-woven carpets rose to 2 million square meters in the year from 1.5 million square meters in 2004.

In value, the country's total export also jumped to 500 U.S. dollars in the outgoing year from 300 million U.S. dollars in 2004. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's request for joining the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was also accepted in 2005.

The strength of the under training Afghanistan National Army ( ANA) also reached 31,000 while the number of national police as per schedule reached 55,000 in the outgoing year.

Nevertheless, despite the country's myriad of achievements, curbing militants and strengthening central government's control in the vast rural areas, particularly in the militancy-hit southern and southeastern region, remained a daunting challenge as the Taliban-led militants and its al-Qaida allies still frequently struck the government and US military interests.

In the outgoing year, the anti-government militants, contrary to people's expectations and predictions, further intensified their activities, during which over 1,500 people, including 80 U.S. soldiers, were killed.

Afghan Interior Ministry selecting general officers - Story by Air Force Capt. Dave Huxsoll Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s Ministry of the Interior, with the assistance of the Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan, has entered the second phase of a rank reform process that will make the Afghan National Police a more efficient and streamlined organization, with clearer chains of command.

The ministry is in the middle of a three-step process that will select ANP senior officers to fill 86 general-level positions in the force. The first phase of rank reform concluded last month when Afghan President Hamid Karzai approved generals to fill the 31 highest ranking positions in the MOI and ANP.

Rank reform is designed to reduce the number of senior level positions in the ANP and increase the number of junior officers, sergeants and patrolmen. Currently the number of general and field grade officers outnumber police sergeants by a ratio of almost three to two.

“We want to increase the number of the low ranking officers and decrease the number of high ranking officers to make our working environment more efficient,” said Maj. Gen. Sakhi Muhammad Baiani, ANP Administration Chief.

A concurrent process of pay reform within the ANP will result in significant salary increases for almost all members of the police force, so although some members may not maintain their current rank, if they remain on the force they will be making substantially more money.

Phase Two kicked off in Kabul Nov. 23 and 24, when more than 180 general officers filled out applications and took a written exam. Following the Kabul session, a team from the Afghan MOI and OSC-A’s Police Reform Directorate traveled to the regional training centers in Gardez, Jalalabad, Mazar-E Sharif, Kunduz, Herat and Kandahar to brief ANP officers on the reform process, accept applications from interested candidates and administer the written exams.

“The current general officers of the ANP are taking a very courageous step forward in the rank reform process,” explained Army Col. Paul Calbos, chief of OSC-A’s PRD Ministry Reform Division. “The generals have to consider this as a necessary step for Afghanistan ’s internal security and the safe future of their grandchildren.”

“We know many officers are strongly opposed to losing rank,” Baiani said, “but this is necessary for the good of the country. We have a fair process to select the qualified officers for the top positions.”

Those not selected in Phase Two can compete for lower ranking positions during Phase Three. They are not fired, and we value their experience.”

The team completed the application and testing portion Dec. 14. The remainder of the selection process mirrors that of the first stage, with a candidate file review and interview. The file review will examine each candidate’s education, variety and depth of experience, and professional training. A board of officers from the MOI, along with a representative from OSC-A’s PRD and the German Special Ambassador for Police Reform will review the files and conduct the interviews.

The board will recommend a list of names to Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Moqbil, who will forward the final list to President Karzai for approval. “The reform process is going well,” Baiani said. “The goal is that after we implement the reforms we will have an educated and professional police force that serves the people the way they deserve to be served.”

The selection process for Phases Three (field grade) and Four (company grade) will be similar to the first two phases, Baiani said. “We want to select the most talented and professional officers for these positions.”

Opium: Old enemy, new threats

Afghanistan's big business finances warlords, terror - Canadian troops find poppy trade flourishing - Dec. 30, 2005. BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH – Toronto Star OTTAWA BUREAU

OTTAWA—Canadian troops headed to Afghanistan won't tackle what some military commanders have called the biggest security threat facing the country — the flourishing drug trade.

Afghanistan's opium business is the livelihood for millions of residents, a mainstay of its economy and even the financing for the insurgency that has put Canadian soldiers in the crosshairs, according to Ottawa's own intelligence assessments.

"Narcotics profits (are) integral to militant attacks," warned a June report from the federal integrated threat assessment centre. "The Afghan narcotics industry is thriving," read the heavily censored report, obtained under Access to Information by the Toronto Star's Michelle Shephard.

But for now, it won't be a priority for the 2,000 Canadian troops poised to deploy to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, Defence Minister Bill Graham said in an interview.

"We do not see the military role as involved in the eradication of drugs. That is very much a police function," Graham said. "We create the conditions of stability that enables them to do their jobs. We believe that if troops were to get involved in that, it raises a lot of other concerns about operations that would not be appropriate."

Opium production has boomed in Afghanistan since the Taliban regime fell after the U.S. invasion in 2001. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that this year the country produced 4,100 tonnes of opium valued at $2.7 billion (U.S.), down slightly from last year. That amounts to 87 per cent of the world's supply.

Earlier this month, an American commander warned that Afghanistan's burgeoning drug business posed a greater threat than a Taliban resurgence. "For my money, the Number 1 problem in Afghanistan is drugs," U.S. Gen. James L. Jones told Associated Press in Kabul.

And when the bulk of the Canadian soldiers arrive in Kandahar in February, they'll find the poppy trade — source of the opium — flourishing right under their noses. A recent UN report warned that cultivation in Kandahar province was up by 162 per cent this year, making it the second largest poppy growing region in the country.

Graham called the situation "very complicated." "While production is up in some places, production is dramatically down in others."

He pointed to efforts by the Canadian International Development Agency to encourage farmers to trade their poppies for other crops and "create a climate where drug growing is not an attractive economic activity." "I think that is everyone's game plan," he said.

Retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie agrees with the military decision to steer clear of directly confronting the drug lords, saying the Afghan mission was sold to Canadians on the grounds that troops would be going after Taliban and Al Qaeda members. "I don't think we'd be terribly happy getting involved in the drug war over there. It's a little harder to justify," he said.

Still, he conceded it's a tough call for coalition military forces, given that a portion of the massive profits generated by the drug trade is likely helping fuel the growing insurgency in southern regions of the country.

"Delineating the boundary between the warlords and the poppy trade and Taliban and the Al Qaeda is not something that's terribly easy to do," MacKenzie said in an interview.

MacKenzie visited Kandahar and Kabul last month and met with local officials who assured him they were making progress in persuading farmers to abandon poppy cultivation in favour of alternative crops.

"But one had to put tongue in cheek when having that conversation," he said. "It's what supplies the warlords with their presence, their authority and it would take a massively complicated campaign to persuade people to give up what is pretty lucrative for them."

In February, the Afghan government unveiled an eight-point counter-narcotics strategy that included stepped-up law enforcement, eradication, encouraging farmers to plant other crops and even addiction treatment for Afghans hooked on the drugs.

This year, President Hamid Karzai could claim some success: the area devoted to poppy fields dropped by 21 per cent to 104,000 hectares and his government boasted that 50,000 farmers refrained from planting opium poppies.

However, actual opium production was down just 2 per cent because of higher yield. UN drug experts called the progress "fragile" and warned it could be undone in a single growing season.

"The international community must have the wisdom to fight drugs and poverty simultaneously," Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN drug office, noted in his agency's annual report on Afghanistan. And in a worrisome development, another drug appeared on the radar screen — the survey found 30,000 hectares set aside for cannabis cultivation.

To combat the drug business, the UN has urged the removal of corrupt governors and government administrators involved in the drug trade; the disarmament of militias, a legal crackdown on drug traffickers as well as assistance to farmers who give up drug cultivation.

But John Watson, president and chief executive of CARE Canada, holds little hope the opium trade will be stemmed any time soon. "Just look at it from the economic point of view. There's one world-dominating industry that Afghanistan is successful at and that's the drug trade," Watson said. "That means jobs, however distasteful, for millions of Afghans.

New Afghan TV channel to begin broadcasting in 2 months - TMCnet.com

(Asia In Focus Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Dec 30 Asia in Focus - ARZO, a new private TV channel in Afghanistan, will formally begin broadcasting in the northern Balkh province in two months, officials said on Thursday. The new channel will cover an area of 100 square kilometers and will broadcast in other provinces including the capital Kabul.

Publication director of the channel Mohammad Ismail Taimor told Pajhwok Afghan News: "We want to strengthen culture with setting up this new TV channel that will help in promoting our literature." About one thousand candidates, both male and female, applied for jobs with the new channel, officials said.

Afghanistan's New Day: A Promising Step for Afghan Women - December 29, 2005 - FOX News (submitted on Dec. 2)

Four years after the U.S.-led coalition and Afghan resistance overthrew the Taliban, Afghanistan is still stumbling on the path to peace and stability. However, there are glimmers of hope everywhere.

The country is nowhere near as violent as it was before, although in the past few months there has been an increase in insurgent attacks. It has a new constitution that enables the establishment of civil institutions like an independent judiciary and human rights commission, and foreign investment is trickling in. The brightest developments have been the inauguration of the new Afghan Parliament on Dec. 19 after more than a 30-year absence from the political scene and the political involvement of Afghan women in the rebuilding of their country.

Significant milestones have been achieved by the Afghan people over the last few years that have enabled the new Afghan Parliament to convene. The Bonn Accords of December 2001 created a roadmap for the next few years to establish security, begin reconstruction and create the first institutions of a democratic government. Meetings in Tokyo in 2002 and Berlin in 2004 continued the process.

To the surprise of many, Afghanistan met those initial targets despite much skepticism. Four years later, we are witness to the successful implementation of a modern constitution, presidential and parliamentary elections, and many other benchmarks that were set at these international donor conferences. The popularly elected parliament marked this country's final step in its transition to democracy as set forth in the Bonn Accords.

Afghan women are finding their voices in many sectors of society, including politics. They have started to become actively involved in the political arena of their country, demanding increased representation in government and legislatures. Out of the 5,800 registered candidates who participated in the historic parliamentary elections on Sept. 18, 565 were women.

The new constitution of Afghanistan, instituted in January 2004, mandates that at least a quarter of the elected posts be reserved for women—putting the country ahead of Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. in terms of female representation in government. This means that women are guaranteed 68 of the 249 parliamentary seats, and 26 of the 102 seats reserved for the senate, or upper house.

Election results indicate that many Afghan men voted for Afghan women in the recent elections because some of the highest vote recipients were women – even in some of the most conservative provinces of the country – resulting in more elected seats than the 25 percent quota originally reserved for them.

The new parliament is a challenging mix of former mujahideen, communist and Taliban leaders, who may try to push for reinserting religion into the politics of the country. The academics, technocrats and women may try to liberalize the society, which in turn could result in some potentially dangerous tugs of war among the new parliamentarians. Some analysts believe it could take months before the parliament will be able to fully perform its duties. Many of the legislators have little or no experience in politics and scant knowledge about how a parliament functions.

Regardless, the parliament is seen as a significant step towards the development of a modern Afghan nation, carving out a legally protected space for women to participate and engage in politics and overall society.

Despite their second-class status in much of Afghanistan, women appear committed to the country's democratic process. More than 40 percent of the eight million who voted in the October 2004 presidential election were women, and similar figures hold true for the September 2005 parliamentary elections.

But, what has been ratified and mandated by the Afghan people and government must now be put into practice for real change to occur. Afghanistan has much work ahead, and hopefully with the continued support of the international donor community and peacekeeping troops, its fragile new democracy will develop and flourish so the Afghan people can become truly self-sufficient and independent, living in peace and security.

Khorshied Samad is the former Kabul bureau chief for Fox News, and is the wife of the Afghan Ambassador to Canada.

Iran committed to IPI pipeline, says deputy oil minister - Daily Times 30 Dec 05 By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: Iran remains committed to a proposed $7 billion natural gas pipeline running to India via Pakistan, its deputy oil minister said on Thursday.

“We will continue to do our best to implement it,” Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian told reporters at a news conference. The pipeline faces opposition from the United States which accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms, funding anti-Israeli militias and stirring militant attacks against US forces in Iraq.

But Nejad-Hosseinian, speaking after talks with Indian officials in New Delhi, said: “I don’t think Pakistan and India will yield to US pressure. This pipeline will bring peace to the region.”

India and Iran said in a joint statement at the news conference that they were discussing options on price structure for the gas, which would be taken forward at a March meeting between oil ministers of the three countries in Tehran. “We are going to prepare a draft agreement in March which will include the structure of the project, framework agreement, responsibility of each government and framework of price formula,” Nejad-Hosseinian said.

Pakistan and India said this month that they hoped to start building the pipeline from Iran by 2007 despite US objections. The proposal has been on the drawing board for years but uneasy relations between the nuclear-armed rivals prevented progress.

The project is expected to be owned and operated by a consortium of Iran’s National Iranian Gas Export Company and National Iranian Oil Company, GAIL (India) Limited and Pakistani as well as international energy companies.

An Indian official said on Monday that the three countries had agreed to set a four-to-six month target to finalise the tripartite agreement. Iran also signed a deal with India in June to export 5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually for 25 years from the end of 2009.

Nejad-Hosseinian said on Thursday Iran was trying its best to get the LNG deal ratified by the cabinet’s council of economy as soon as possible

Staff Report adds: Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum Muhammad Naseer Mengal said on Thursday that the government will take a decision on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project in the next two months.

“There has been progress on the project and a financial advisor will be appointed in a week,” he told reporters after signing the petroleum exploration licence agreement between the government and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL).

He said that the petroleum secretary recently visited India to discuss various issues related to the project. The minister said that meetings of the joint working group have also been held.

Int’l madrassa student deportations to start in 2 days - Daily Times 30 Dec 05 By Hasan Mansoor

KARACHI: The government has cancelled the visas of all international students studying at or admitted to madrassas across the country and has announced they will be deported by the start of next year. The Karachi Special Branch Registration DSP Mohammad Aslam Khan issued a notice to the principal of Jamia Binoria SITE Town on Thursday informing him that “all the foreign students studying [at the] madrassa must leave Pakistan by Dec 31 positively otherwise legal action will be taken against them”.

The government’s announcement has created a great deal of concern among leaders of the Ittehad Tanzeematul Madaris-e-Deeniya Pakistan (ITMDP), a confederacy of five seminary boards controlling around 14,000 madrassas, who have started hectic efforts to have the government’s action deferred, ITMDP insiders told Daily Times. Provincial home secretary Ghulam Mohammad Mohtarram said on Thursday that the authorities in Islamabad had cancelled the visas of all the foreign students admitted with seminaries, paving the way for their deportation after the deadline was expired. “All the foreign students admitted with seminaries will be deported after the deadline expires,” Mohtarram said.

The government has calculated that there are around 1,400 foreign such students of which around 650 are enrolled in Sindh alone. Some 600 of students in Sindh are enrolled with Karachi madrassas, official figures show. A good number of international students, including girls, want to stay in Pakistan till the end of their studies. A senior Islamabad-based official at the interior ministry said the government had yet to decide whether the girls would also be deported. “But the visas of all international male students [at madrassas] have been cancelled and we have decided to have them deported,” said the official. Instructions to all provincial authorities have been issued to make arrangements for the expulsions, he said.

Madrassa insiders in Sindh said they had received directives from the provincial government to furnish the complete details of their international students. “We have such instructions from the authorities but we are waiting for guidelines from the Wafaq,” said an official of a Deobandi madrassa affiliated with the Wafaq-ul-Madaris al-Arabia. The Wafaq is the largest of the five madrassa boards forming the ITMDP. The Wafaq controls 9,000 out of the 14,000 seminaries in Pakistan. The Wafaq’s secretary general Hanif Jalandhari said he was shocked to learn about the government’s decision and said he had discussed the issue with all major politicians, government and opposition. “We have been cooperating with the government on all disputes relating to madrassas but it has now become clear that the government itself is not set to respond with the same sincerity,” Jalandhari said. PML(Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, ministers Ijazul Haq and Shaikh Rashid Ahmed, the MMA’s Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the PPP’s Makhdoom Amin Fahim are some of the people he has approached. “They have all supported us and have assured of their unconditional help,” said Jalandhari. He said the Wafaq and the ITMDP have told their member seminaries not to obey the government’s order to expel the foreign students. “We want to try till the end to save the future of these innocent students,” he said.

Independent Balochistan is unfinished agenda of Partition’ - Daily Times 30 Dec 05 By Mohammed Rizwan

LAHORE: “The struggle for an independent Balochistan is part of the unfinished agenda of Partition,” claims B Raman, a retired Indian bureaucrat who works at the South Asia Analysis Group, an Indian think tank. The article written by the former cabinet secretary may reflect the roots of the latest Indo-Pak spat in which Islamabad and New Delhi took a swipe at each other over Balochistan, say analysts in Islamabad.

Mr Raman goes on to say that “since the Baloch resistance is fighting its second war of independence (uprising of the 70s being the first), India should not hesitate to draw the world’s attention towards the ruthless massacre of Baloch nationalists at the hands of the Pakistan Army so that they should draw inspiration from the Bangladesh struggle for independence and unite not only among themselves, but also with Sindhi nationalists, the Shias of Gilgit and Baltistan and the people of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, who had seen how the Pakistan Army treated them as an expendable commodity after the recent earthquake in order to achieve their common objectives. Their strength will be in their unity. Disunity will be fatal.”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has picked up this theme and fired the first shot at Pakistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Office responded with the statement: “We are intrigued by this provocative statement at this time when both countries are engaged in the peace process to address all issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.”

Leading Baloch nationalist Senator Sanaullah Baloch told Daily Times that international forces could only exploit such a situation in their favour when such a situation existed in the first instance. “People around the world who have their own interests to pursue can only benefit from the situation in Balochistan if the injustices continue to be inflicted on them and the army operation continues to suppress the genuine voice for their rights,” said Sanaullah Baloch on Wednesday. “What is going on in Balochistan is not an operation or a crackdown, it’s a war against the Baloch who only want their genuine rights,” said the BNP leader. “Islamabad has pushed us back to the wall and resentment will continue to increase if the iron hand does not stop whipping us,” he added.

The views were echoed by a senior Punjabi journalist and seasoned Balochistan watcher. “I am not surprised by Raman’s views. Whenever there is an internal problem people will take advantage of it and one can’t get away with blaming outside forces. Obviously the Indians will want to poke their nose in if there is already trouble on the ground here. When the people’s genuine desire for economic and political rights are being crushed the way they are then you create more rebels than you kill. However, I am surprised by the way India has openly meddled in our internal affairs. Normally, states are circumspect about the things they plan to do. Moreover, the statement from India was absolutely at cross-purposes of the ongoing peace process. Obviously Balochistan is our internal business, but let us start handling our own business,” he said.

Musharraf sees foreign hand in Balochistan - Says turning back on dams amounts to treason; PML-Muttahida alliance brought normalcy in Sindh - By Mayed Ali - The News International 30 Dec 05

LAHORE: President Pervez Musharraf has said that the recent Indian concern over the situation in Balochistan has revealed the channel providing funds for hiring mercenaries and supplying arms for carrying out subversive activities in the province.

Addressing a luncheon hosted by the Council of Pakistan Newspapers’ Editors (CPNE) here on Thursday, the president hinted at involvement of foreign hand in the ongoing tribal insurgency in Balochistan. He said he favoured a negotiated political solution to the issue. However, he made it clear that no one would be allowed to make the country hostage.

President Musharraf justified the paramilitary operation in the province, saying it was in retaliation to the Balochs’ attacks on the IG Frontier Constabulary (FC). "The FC is acting in self-defence. They have a right to retaliate."

The president said the federal government’s attempts at developing the province were being sabotaged by miscreants. He said the government had a huge financial package of Rs 130 billion for the province, yet the saboteurs had other plans. The detractors were trying to hamper exploration of resources, construction of roads and other infrastructure and all other developmental projects, including the Gwadar Port.

The president believed the source of subversive acts was the same irrespective of the fact those had been carried out in Quetta, Chaman, Gwadar, Kohlu or any other part of the province. "We will get these sources and uproot them forever."

The president maintained that the people in the troubled parts of the province were fed up with the local tribal chiefs. "I am telling you the public pulse, the Marris are happy with the operation against their chiefs."

However, the president added, they were apprehensive of being left in the lurch by the government once the purpose was served. The president assured that the government would not abandon the people at any cost this time around.

Musharraf said the government was for a political solution in Balochistan. Nevertheless, he went on to say, it would not bow and could not be blackmailed. He said the government could not adopt a policy of appeasement under any circumstances. The president assured he would support the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee’s report. He also said the committee should also submit the constitutional recommendations at the earliest. He maintained the government would reach out to the people, and help in resolving their problems.

Talking about the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, the president said the chief ministers of all the four provinces had empowered him in writing to take a decision on the award. "I have been empowered and will decide the matter soon," said the president. He said the federal government had already been allocating more resources to smaller provinces with Balochistan bagging the most.

He lauded Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for being generous in this regard. He said it was unfortunate the NFC Award issue had not been resolved yet. He thought the provinces were focusing short-term gains while creating hurdles in the solution of the NFC Award, while ignoring long-term financial benefits the solution was expected to bring.

Musharraf made it clear that the government would soon start work on any of the three dam projects. He said turning back on the issue amounted to treason, and he just couldn’t ignore the significance attached to it. He maintained that despite being at a loss politically, he would pursue the issue against all odds as it was lifeblood for Pakistan’s economy in the decades to come. "I could have simply slept over the issue like the successive governments. But I could not as it amounted to treason on anyone’s part. It is suicidal for the country if dams are not constructed in immediate future," he added.

He said the construction of two or three dams was imperative before 2016 as the country would face power deficit from next year. He said more and cheap power was needed for making the industrial sector viable so it could compete in the international market.

Similarly, the president added that 70 per cent of the Pakistan’s population was engaged in the agri sector. The mounting water shortage would deal a blow to this sector, which was the backbone of the country’s economy. The farmer of this country would suffer if the decision on the construction of dams would be delayed as the silting of the existing dams would halve the combined utility of Tarbela and Mangla dams by 2010.

Moreover, the country’s economy would go nowhere in 15-20 years’ time if new sources of power and water were not tapped. He said the decision on the issue was in the offing, and the timing was being considered. That is, whether it should be made before or after the general elections in 2007.

Japan to develop Iran oilfield - Al Jazeera

Japan will start to develop a massive oilfield in Iran next year despite opposition from the United States about the investment in the Islamic republic, a Japanese newspaper has said.

Japan had signed a $2bn-deal with Tehran in February 2004 to develop the massive Azadegan oilfield in southwestern Iran to try to ensure stable oil supplies for the resource-poor Asian nation.

Inpex, the Japanese oil firm which acquired the development rights, plans to start work in early 2006, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed Inpex officials. Production is expected to start in 2008, a year later than initially scheduled, the report added.

Washington has repeatedly objected to Tokyo about the project, keeping the Japanese government, the largest shareholder in Inpex, prudent over when work should begin.

"Inpex may lose its (development) rights if it fails to start the project soon," an Inpex official was quoted as saying in the report.

European and Chinese firms are also interested in acquiring shares in the Iranian oil development, it noted. Inpex officials were not immediately available.

The company has already begun preparing for constructing drilling and other facilities with an environmental assessment approved in July, the report said.

"The government should handle the oil development issue separately from the nuclear allegation," an Inpex official said in the report, referring to US concerns that Tehran is acquiring the technology for a nuclear weapons programme.

Ever since the 1973 oil crisis, Japan, which imports nearly all of its oil needs, has developed its own diplomacy with key oil producers in the Middle East, often putting it at odds with the United States, especially over Iran.

Initial production in the field is seen at 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) within 40 months, rising to 150,000 bpd after 52 months and 260,000 bpd in eight years.

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