President Karzai Meets with Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Discuss Security for the Parliamentary Elections – Released 6/7/05

Presidential Palace, Kabul – H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, met this afternoon at the Presidential Palace with H.E. Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO.

In the meeting, H.E. Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo explained NATO’s expansion to the west of Afghanistan and NATO’s commitment to contribute to the security of the Parliamentary elections.

The President welcomed H.E. Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo to Afghanistan and thanked him for NATO’s contribution in bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan. The President said that the cooperation from NATO, the Coalition Forces and our neighbours was crucial for the Presidential election last October and he hoped that similar collaboration will ensure that the Parliamentary elections take place in a secure environment.

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

Government of Afghanistan to Make Donations to the Families of the Victims of the Kandahar Mosque Bombing - Date of Release: - 07 June 2005

Kabul – The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in the Cabinet meeting today, decided to Donate money to all the families of the victims of the Kandahar mosque blast.

On 1st of June 2005, at least 20 mourners were martyred and many others were injured by a suicide bomber at a gathering to mourn the death Mawlawi Abdullah Fayaz at Abdul Rab Akhund Mosque in Kandahar City, Kandahar.

The President and the Cabinet agreed to Donate 200,000 Afghanis to the families of the martyred and donate 100,000 Afghanis to the families of the injured.

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

Kabul wants continued reconstruction support

KABUL, June 5 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah Sunday urged upon the world community to continue their support for the ongoing re-construction process in Afghanistan.

Addressing a press conference here after return from a foreign trip, Dr Abdullah said the government was discussing post-election agenda and needed cooperation from the international community after the end of the parliamentary elections.

He said the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) had prepared a draft agreement on the post election era and the ongoing reconstruction process in the country. Regarding his visit to Canada, Abdullah said that country had pledged to donate $ 8 million to Afghanistan for the elections.

Abdullah said the United Nations had assured its support for peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan. He concluded the reconstruction of the country was a salient feature of the draft UN agreement.

Afghanistan says mosque bombing part of Al-Qaeda 'maximum shock' plot

Kabul (AFP) - Last week's bombing at a southern Afghan mosque was part of a plot by militants from Al-Qaeda and the ousted Taliban regime to derail upcoming elections, Afghanistan's government said.
The suicide bombing in Kandahar which killed 21 people during the funeral Wednesday of an anti-Taliban cleric coincided with a rocket attack on a US-led coalition aircraft, presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin told reporters in Kabul on Tuesday.

"It's only logical to assume that the enemies of Afghanistan -- the remnants of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda elements with links to circles outside the country -- would have chosen this time to obviously set a plot in motion," he said.

Afghanistan is gearing up for its first post-Taliban vote in September. Militia from the ousted regime, toppled by US-led forces in late 2001, have stepped up attacks in recent months, sparking fears they may mount a coordinated assault.

The Taliban previously claimed responsibility for the murder of the cleric and the bombing, while Ludin said the rocket attack took place on the same day as the suicide strike on the mosque.

"We think that all of these were in fact related... part of a single plot aimed at creating maximum shock among the people," Ludin added. "They may have gathered all their resources to do this... this time is significant because of the election process," he said. Ludin also reiterated the government's claim that a foreign suicide bomber was responsible for the blast in the former Taliban stronghold.

The brother of Kabul's police chief, who died in the attack, told reporters in Kandahar late Monday that he believed Afghans were behind the blast and that it was detonated by a remote-controlled device.

However Ludin said there was "no evidence" to show that an Afghan was involved and that "initial findings available to us show that it was in fact a suicide attack," Ludin added.

The explosion, the deadliest attack in Afghanistan for two years, occurred as mourners gathered for the funeral of Muslim cleric Maulvi Abdullah Fayyaz, who was gunned down May 29 after speaking out against the former Taliban regime. Some 50 other people were wounded in the bombing. President Karzai condemned the attack as "an act of non-Muslim and defeated terrorists."

Kandahar bombing draws widespread condemnation

KABUL, June 7 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Religious leaders and parties widely condemned the suicide bombing in Kandahar last week and said Islam does not allow targeting innocent people.

About 20 people were killed and 60 others wounded last week when a suicide bomber blew himself in Abdul Rab Akhunzada Mosque where people were performing qul for Maulvi Abdullah Fayaz.

In a meeting in the eastern Laghman province, religious leaders and students unanimously condemned the deadliest attack and termed it an inhuman act. The participants also announced their fullest support to President Hamid Karzai government in the peace and reconciliation efforts, Pajhwok learnt.

In the central capital, leader of the Naqshbandi sect Ahmad Amin Mojaddedi flayed the attack and said it was against the spirit and teachings of Islam. In a statement, Mujaddedi said it was a cowardly act and in no way resembled to Islam or Afghan traditions.

Prayer leaders in the northwestern Badakhshan province also slammed the suicide attack and asked the government to award exemplary punishment to the perpetrators. In a gathering in the provincial capital Faizabad, some 50 religious scholars unanimously backed the government's peace efforts and said the attackers were the enemies of Islam and Afghanistan.

Earlier, former jihadi leader Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani termed the attack an act of sabotaging the ongoing peace and reconstruction process in the country. "The attack is against the whole nation," Gilani had said in a hurriedly released statement.

Leader of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan also condemned the bombing and demanded of the government to bring the killers of the 20 innocent people to book. The government had ordered inquiry into the incident and initial investigations revealed the bomber was an Arab national. Jh/by/dk

Afghanistan to light 'beacon of hope' for kidnapped Italian

Kabul (AFP) - Afghan authorities said they would light a beacon on the hills above the capital to keep the fate of a kidnapped Italian aid worker in the public eye, as her ordeal stretched into its third week.
People "will set a big fire on top of one of the mountains outside Kabul, it's the fire of hope for her release," Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told AFP on Monday.

United Nations officials Monday put their names to a petition for Clementina Cantoni's release which was also signed by hundreds of the Afghan widows she had worked with.

Pope Benedict XVI and Cantoni's mother both appealed Sunday for her release. "I add my appeal to that of the presidents of Italy and Afghanistan, and of the Italian and Afghan people, to release the Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni," said the pope after giving the traditional Angelus blessing to the faithful gathered in Saint Peter's Square.

Cantoni, 32, who works for the aid group CARE International, was snatched on May 16 while driving in the capital's Qala-i-Musa district.

She had managed a project which provides food and income-generating activities for 11,000 widows and their children since September 2003. Cantoni's kidnappers, who are thought to be from criminal gangs, released a video last week showing her alive but flanked by two armed men.

The Afghan Government and the United Nations begin discussion of the post-parliamentary election agenda - UNAMA, Press Releases 06/06/2005

Kabul - The Government of Afghanistan and UNAMA have initiated discussions regarding future cooperation between Afghanistan and the international community after the holding in September of the parliamentary election, which will mark the formal completion of the Bonn process.

It was agreed that the close partnership between Afghanistan and the international community, which has characterized the past three and a half years, must continue. In particular, it was recognized that sustained international support is required over the coming years with a view to the achievement of security, full disarmament, justice and a competent civilian administration in all provinces.

It was also recognized that the support of the international community is essential to the implementation of a robust development strategy that can benefit all Afghans and provide farmers with alternative livelihoods that will help rid the country of narcotic drugs; the full implementation of the Afghan constitution; and the promotion of the human rights of the men and women of Afghanistan.

The Afghan government and the United Nations also stress that, based on the experience of the past three years, the implementation of some key principles will contribute to further enhancing the cooperation between the Afghan government and the international community. These include:

- The leadership role that the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan must play in all aspects of the reconstruction process;

- The need for a just allocation of domestic and international reconstruction resources across the country;

- The critical contribution that countries of the region can make; and the value of the peace process in Afghanistan for strengthening relationships within the region;

- The need to ensure that international efforts should serve to build lasting capacity and sustainable institutions;

- The importance of combating corruption and ensuring public transparency and accountability in the allocation of resources;

- The value of public information and participation in order for the goals of the post-election agenda to be fully understood and achieved;

- The continued role of the United Nations in the consolidation of peace in Afghanistan.

The Government of Afghanistan and the United Nations agreed that the discussion of the postelection agenda offers a unique opportunity for a broad dialogue between Afghanistan and the international community, and in particular the countries of the region. It is also an opportunity for a broad dialogue within the country, which will pave the way for the endorsement of the post-electoral agenda by the National Assembly. This dialogue will focus on priorities for the coming years, and the respective contributions that Afghans and international partners can make to the security and prosperity of the country.

JEMB to press on with poll preparations

KANDAHAR, June 06 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Officials of the Joint Electoral Management Body vowed on Monday, a day after a JEMB worker was shot dead, to push ahead with their task in southern provinces.

A JEMB spokesman in Kandahar, Trerence White, told a press conference the killing of the Afghan worker would not deter them from pressing on with preparations for the first post-Taliban parliamentary polls.

He told a questioner the election worker was gunned down in the Uruzgan province after being captured by a group of 20 Taliban. He lashed out at the insurgents for killing innocent people.

White said anybody could approach the joint electoral body with complaints till next Friday: "Anyone who has objections against any candidate will be required to fill out a form listing their complaints."

Names of the complainants would be kept confidential, he assured, saying they were in contact with the disarmament and re-integration commission in the region over aspirants who had not yet disarmed.

Six, including senior policeman injured in Afghan attacks – AFP 06/07/2005

KANDAHAR - Two roadside bombs planted by suspected Taleban militants exploded separately in southeastern Afghanistan, injuring six people including a senior police officer, officials said on Tuesday.

The deputy police commander of Khak-i-Afghan district in Zabul province and two of his guards were "badly" injured when a bomb detonated on Monday, provincial spokesman Gulab Shah Alikhil told AFP. "It was a bomb planted by the Taleban," he said without giving details.

In neighboring Kandahar province, the former stronghold of the Taleban, a similar device Monday injured three soldiers patrolling in Shahwali Kot, a hotbed for the ousted Taleban insurgency outside Kandahar city, police said.

Kandahar, the birthplace of the hardline Taleban regime, was the scene of a deadly suicide attack at a mosque last week in which 21 people including the police chief of the capital Kabul were killed.

The Taleban, who were forced out of power by a US-led invasion in late 2001, have stepped up attacks on US and pro-government targets over recent months after a winter lull in fighting.

Suspected militants Tuesday fired two rockets over a government building in Qalat, the capital town of the insurgency-hit Zabul, Alikhil said, adding that the attack did not cause any casualties.

More than 350 people -- 65 of them over the past week and a half -- have died in Taleban-related violence this year, including two US soldiers who were killed Friday when their vehicle hit a bomb in southeastern Afghanistan.

Candidate's father gunned down in Paktia

PAKTIA, June 6 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Unidentified gunmen shot dead father of the parliamentary election candidate Mirwais Danish in the Zurmat district of the southern Paktia province.

Mualim Sher Ahmad, who was also a tribal elder, was shot dead in the area on Sunday. In contact, Mirwais told Pajhwok Afghan News they had no enmity with any one. Zurmat district chief Mirza Mohammad confirmed the killing and said investigations had been ordered to arrest the culprits.

17 insurgents captured near border - June 7, 2005 Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs)

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Seventeen insurgents armed with rifles were apprehended by Afghan and Coalition forces along the Pakistani border yesterday and are in Coalition custody.

The insurgents were in possession of automatic rifles, Taliban-sponsored reading material and letters threatening Afghans not to cooperate with Afghan and Coalition forces.

“Insurgent forces have to use violence and the threat of violence to coerce cooperation from Afghans,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. John Sterling, Combined Joint Task Force-76’s deputy commanding general. “The insurgents and those who support them have been marginalized to the point that the only way they can operate in Afghanistan is through violence and force. That they are forced to resort to threatening letters tells us they are afraid and incapable of operating in sight of Afghan citizens. Afghans know that the government of Afghanistan has already made life here measurably better then it was under the oppressive rule of the Taliban and that each day brings the promise of a better, brighter, more secure future.”

The insurgents are in Coalition custody and will be transferred to the detainee holding facility at Bagram Airfield.

Pakistanis detained on kidnap charges

KABUL, June 6 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police in the southwestern Farah province said on Monday they had detained three Pakistanis while trying to kidnap an Afghan child.

The Interior Ministry confirmed the alleged kidnappers were arrested on Sunday in Askarabad, near the provincial capital. They were reportedly trying to abduct Nisar Ahmad when security officials held them, the press office of the ministry said.

Incidents of child kidnaps have sharply increased in many parts of the country. Residents of Kandahar and Herat provinces recently staged a string of demonstrations to seek an end to the crime.

Dozens of illegal aliens held in Baghlan

PUL-I-KHUMRI, June 7 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Security officials have detained 25 foreign citizens in the northern Baghlan province for allegedly staying in Afghanistan without valid travel documents, officials said Tuesday.

Colonel Mohammad Mukhtar, a senior police official, said eight of the detainees were Pakistanis but the rest of them had no identification documents. Mukhtar added the illegal migrants had been arrested from Pul-i-Khumri and Dhana Ghori districts of Baghlan after being identified by security personnel.

But the detainees claimed they were not aliens but had come to the area in search of employment from tribal regions of the country. The arrests were made as part of the Interior Ministry's bid to crack down on illegal foreigners linked to terror attacks and suicide bombings.

Taliban backbone said broken, but still a danger - June 7, 2005

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan security officials in the troubled south of the country say Taliban guerrillas are finished as a threat on the battlefield but they will be able to stage ambushes and bomb blasts for some time yet.

The Taliban insurgency flared this spring after a lull over the snowbound winter months, disappointing many in the government and international community who thought the rebels had been mortally starved of resources and recruits.

But in Kandahar, one of the provinces where the insurgents have been most active, officials said despite the recent violence, the Taliban were now a nuisance, not a military threat.

"The Taliban have lost the ability to confront us face to face," General Muslim Amid, army commander for several southern provinces including Kandahar, told Reuters in an interview late on Monday.

About 100 insurgents have been killed in a series of clashes since late March. Dozens of government security men and 10 U.S. soldiers have also died in fighting.

There have also been several bomb attacks in cities, including Kabul and Kandahar. A suicide bomber killed 20 people in an attack on a mosque in Kandahar last week as mourners paid respects to an anti-Taliban cleric killed by gunmen three days earlier.

The Taliban have been blamed for that blast. Amid said he was not involved in the investigation of the bombing but acknowledged the insurgents could still carry out small but deadly strikes.

"They can manage to plant mines and carry out small-scale attacks or ambushes, but I can say that their backbone has been broken," he said. The last major clash with Taliban and al Qaeda fighters was last month in neighbouring Zabul province, he said.

Kandahar and Zabul were bastions of the Taliban regime until it was overthrown by U.S.-led forces in 2001 for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Amid said the Taliban were still getting outside help which would keep them alive for some time to come. "They receive foreign aid, supplies and money. They have Arab, Chechen and Pakistani fighters in their ranks," he said.

A Kandahar police official said the public was worried about security but he too insisted the situation was improving. "There are concerns among the people about worsening security but the overall situation compared with last year has improved," General Salim Khan said on Tuesday.

"But we can't remove the worries and concern from people's hearts. Of course, there have been and will be small-scale attacks, planting of mines and blasts, but it has to be said these won't impact overall security."

Amid said the Taliban had links with opium traffickers who provided the rebels with funds. He and Khan said much of the violence in the south and east was the work of bandits and drug-runners.

"It will take time to overcome all of these concerns," Khan said. Amid said his troops together with U.S.-led forces would now concentrate on security for delayed parliamentary elections on Sept. 18.

U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai won a presidential election last October. Taliban fighters and their allies vowed to derail the vote and killed several election workers in the run-up but polling day passed off smoothly.

There were bound to be attempts to spoil the parliamentary vote but Amid said his men would ensure security. "There are challenges ahead but the Taliban do not have the ability to disrupt the election."

In Afghanistan, Koran abuse a touchstone for wider grievances

Jalalabad (AFP) - Farydoon Darwatia is ready to give his life for the Koran, and allegations that it was desecrated at Guantanamo Bay were enough to bring the engineering student into the streets with thousands of other protesters last month.

Sitting outside his dormitory Darwatia, 23, said he was more horrified by the alleged mishandling of a Muslim holy book than by recent allegations that two Afghans had been tortured to death by US military investigators at Bagram Airbase in 2002.

"Of course the Koran is more important than the lives of those people. Human life is nothing compared to the Koran. We gave one-and-a-half million lives during the jihad against the Soviets," he said amid a crowd of students who nodded in agreement with him.

In Afghanistan, where the majority of the population is illiterate, the Koran abuse allegations publicized by Newsweek magazine were the match that ignited a dry tinder of broader underlying resentment.

Students and officials in this eastern Afghan city cite frustration about the glacial pace of reconstruction, efforts to wipe out the opium trade which underpins the Afghan economy, and anger about the US presence in their country.
After its source expressed doubts, Newswe

k retracted the story that a Koran had been flushed down a toilet to rattle Muslim prisoners.

However the US military said Friday that an investigation found five instances of mishandling of the Koran at its detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They included kicking, stepping on and accidentally urinating on the Islamic holy book.

Darwatia joined peaceful protests at Jalalabad University over the Koran abuse on May 10. A day later the protests turned violent and sparked a nationwide burst of riots which left at least 15 people dead and 120 wounded.

Afghan authorities have said the demonstrations, which saw protesters torch United Nations and other foreign offices, were orchestrated by extremists opposed to the country's reconstruction. Either way, there was plenty of discontent waiting to be tapped.

Resentment has been stoked by US military raids on houses in the country's conservative Pashtun south and east, where women are kept behind closed doors. The US troops make up the majority of an 18,000-strong coalition still hunting the remnants of the hardline Taliban and Al-Qaeda more than three years after the United States helped oust the Taliban regime.

"Every day, the anger towards Americans grows because their actions are against Afghan culture," said Zabiullah, 20, an engineering student who goes by one name.

Ahead of a recent visit to Washington, President Hamid Karzai called on the US military to ask permission from Afghan authorities before conducting house searches but failed to win solid assurances from President George W. Bush.

US Colonel James Ruf, who heads the Nangahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, conceded that US military operations in the area have raised ire. "There is some frustration with coalition operations, with the government and there has been a lot of disinformation," he told AFP.

But many in eastern Afghanistan are suspicious of a closer embrace of the United States. "I think some people wanted to make a problem for president Karzai travelling to the US (to sign) a strategic partnership," Nangahar governor Haji Din Mohammed told AFP. Karzai last month signed a pact with Washington that allows a long-term US military presence in Afghanistan.

Another complaint is the restriction of poppy cultivation, which is down between 70 and 90 percent in the eastern province of Nangahar, leaving people jobless and disgruntled, Mohammed said.

"The alternative livelihoods programs are small and slow. Now there are lot of people with no money in their pockets in the bazaar. People are saying 'Haji Din Mohammed has made promises but he's given us nothing'," the governor said. His house was torched during the protests.

People are also looking at the potholed roads and patchy power system and wondering where billions of dollars in reconstruction money went.

"There are promises but we haven't seen reconstruction. The international community brings money and they spend it on themselves," said Zabiullah, who also took part in demonstrations but denies joining the rioters.

As the elation that surrounded Karzai's October election deflates and local powerbrokers get ready to contest parliamentary polls in September amid deteriorating security, the grievances are unlikely to dissipate.

"There is a growing anti-foreign sentiment because of what people perceive as a lack of reconstruction, as the euphoria which surrounded President Hamid Karzai's election has subsided," said Joanna Nathan, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group think-tank in Kabul.

Hot on the trail of al-Qaeda - By Syed Saleem Shahzad-Asia Times June 7

KARACHI - The high-profile arrests of al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, the most recent being Abu Faraj al-Libbi, have led to intense speculation that the really big names could be next: Tahir Yuldash of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the biggest catch of them all, Osama bin Laden.

But Asia Times Online investigations reveal that these top figures in the international struggle against the US are not together in one place, and remain a step ahead of their pursuers.

Pakistani intelligence agencies indicate that Shabkadar (a town near Peshawar in Pakistan's North West Frontier province), and Bajur and Mohmand agencies (two federally administered tribal areas) have been under close surveillance for more than a month as strong information emerged about bin Laden being in the vicinity, or in adjoining areas - Nanghar and Nooristan - across the border in Afghanistan.

In Shabkadar and Bajur especially, the Pakistani military increased its presence and conducted exhaustive search operations. These activities did not meet with any resistance as the local tribals, though sympathetic to Arab fighters, would not put themselves in a conflict situation with the Pakistani army. (This in stark contrast with the South and North Waziristan tribal areas, where similar military intervention has met with fierce and bloody resistance.) Al-Qaeda sympathizers, nevertheless, might have spread the word in advance of the operations.

According to analysis based on information extracted from detainees and ground checks in the Pakistani tribal areas, bin Laden was likely recently in Nooristan in Afghanistan for meetings with close aides. Nooristan is a rugged, remote mountainous region where the population is Salafi. The area was previously the stronghold of a famous commander of the anti-Soviet resistance of the 1980s, Abdul Aziz Nooristani, who later also fought in Bosnia. Veteran Afghan mujahideen leader and former Afghan premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar also dwelled in Nooristan for some time after returning from exile in Iran in 2002.

That al-Qaeda's top members remain on the loose can in some ways be attributed to the training cadres receive. They are well versed in withstanding interrogation and in engaging their interrogators by appealing to their religious sentiments - at least in the short term. This buys other members vital time to change their positions, an intelligence operator told Asia Times Online.

Meanwhile, there have been reports that Yuldash was sighted in the Afghan region of Birmal, where he is believed to have grouped dozens of guerrilla fighters of Chinese, Pakistani, Afghan, Uzbek, Chechen and Arab origin. They have been engaged in acts of sabotage in Paktika province, notably a recent attack on Argon in which two US soldiers were killed. US convoys and their military bases are constant targets.

Some of the world's most difficult terrain starts at Argon and continues to Birmal and then Shawal (part of which is in Afghanistan and part in Pakistan). It is wholly pro-Taliban. Guerrillas carry out attacks and then melt into the local population, either in Birmal or in the thick forests of North Waziristan across the border. Recent US bombing in North Waziristan followed guerrillas being chased by US gunships and fighter aircraft - some stray bombs and missiles landed in Pakistani territory.

Zawahiri, bin Laden's deputy, has also reportedly been seen in different places in the past few weeks, from Zabul (Afghanistan) to South Waziristan. Both foreign and Pakistani intelligence agencies conclude that the frequent sightings indicate that Zawahiri is acting as the main go-between among Arab, Uzbek, Chechen, Pakistani and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

These intelligence agencies believe that Khost, Paktika, Paktia and Zabul will emerge as the key hotbeds of the Afghan resistance. About a dozen murders in and around South Waziristan of pro-government tribal leaders indicate that the nerve center is again near South Waziristan. Syed Saleem Shahzad, Bureau Chief, Pakistan, Asia Times Online.

Afghan suspect denies killing journalists

KABUL, June 6 (Reuters) - A man accused of involvement in the killing of four journalists in Afghanistan in 2001, including two from Reuters, on Monday denied murdering them.

Speaking from his bed in a Kabul hospital where he was recovering from a leg wound after police shot him while capturing him on Saturday night, Zar Jan said he had not been the accomplice of another man already sentenced to death for the murders.

"I didn't kill the journalists," he told Reuters. A policeman with an automatic rifle and a security official were guarding the gaunt, moustachioed man.

Four journalists, including Australian television cameraman Harry Burton and Afghan photographer Azizullah Haidari, both employed by Reuters and 33 years old, were killed on Nov. 19, 2001, at Tangi Abrishum, about 90 km (55 miles) east of Kabul.

Spaniard Julio Fuentes of El Mundo and Italian Maria Grazia Cutuli of Corriere della Sera were the other two victims.

The journalists were stopped on the road from Pakistan by a gang of about a dozen gunmen while trying to reach Kabul days after the defeated Taliban had withdrawn from the city. They were shot dead shortly afterwards.

Authorities have in the past reported the arrests of several suspected accomplices of Zar Jan in the murders, describing him as the leader of a criminal gang.

Authorities said Zar Jan was wounded during a shootout. Zar Jan said police had raided his home in Sarobi, 50 km (30 miles) east of the capital Kabul, shot him and brought him to Kabul. He said he did not know why.

One man accused of being an accomplice of Zar Jan was sentenced to death in November for the killing of the journalists. Reza Khan, 29, said his gang had been acting on the orders of a Taliban commander.

Zar Jan told Reuters he knew Khan but they were enemies. He said he had been working for a government intelligence agency and had informed on Khan and three others detained on suspicion of involvement in the killings.

He said he had been imprisoned during Taliban rule and released only three days before the murders. "If there is any evidence that I killed the journalists I should be sentenced to death," he said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said on Sunday Zar Jan was also wanted on suspicion of armed robbery, kidnapping and other killings and had been arrested along with four members of his gang.

- Arman-e Melli 6/06/2005 - Mojahed [weekly] falsely attributed certain remarks to me. I will take legal action against them.

Arman-e Melli: Some Internet web sites, independent publications and Mojahed, which is run by Jamiat-e Eslami [Islamic Society], have published reports that Dr Masuda Jalal, minister of women's affairs, has called for the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel. These reports prompted many reactions in traditional Afghan society. To learn the truth, an Arman-e Melli correspondent interviewed Dr Masuda Jalal.

She said: An American journalist interviewed me at my office. All the questions were about the performance of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the status of Afghan women. A journalist who worked for a paper called Jerusalem [as published] and the Israeli Jerusalem Post newspaper finally asked me: What is your opinion about AKI [Italian news agency web site] saying that Islam is an intolerant religion?

The journalist added: A number of Jews who lived in Afghanistan left the country for Israel or European countries following the events of the past two-and-a-half decades. They are not willing to return to Afghanistan and argue that the Muslims will kill them once they return. I gave her a clear answer. I recited a verse from the Koran and told her that Muslims believe in the divine book and the prophets. Even our Hindu compatriots, who have no divine book, live freely in our country. No danger threatens them. Jews, Christians, or the followers of other religions who were citizens of this country all follow a divine book. Muslims pose no threat to them. Like our Hindu compatriots, they can engage in economic and trade activities.

I wanted to explain to her that Islam is not an intolerant religion and that Muslims are not murderers. This accusation that is levelled against Muslims is wrong.

Mrs Jalal added: We did not talk about the establishment of political and diplomatic relations with Israel, regional issues or the Arab-Israeli dispute. If the journalist has written anything, these were her own personal views.

Dr Jalal said issues like the establishment of political and diplomatic relations with other countries and regional and universal political issues are the job of the Foreign Ministry. This is not my job, and it is parliament which can decide on this.

When explicitly asked about Israel's behaviour towards the Islamic world, she said: The status of women and girls in Afghanistan is like an insidious tsunami. Due to the lack of health services, 70 women and 700 children die every day. We are the poorest country in the world. Poverty affects women more. My duty is to tackle those problems. I have to help Afghan women. I have nothing to do with other issues.

On the subject of the article published in Mojahed, Masuda Jalal said: The author of that article is not named, but the editor-in-chief should act responsibly. I am a member of the cabinet. It will create problems for the cabinet if sensitive comments are attributed to me. Whatever is published in Mojahed is a move against women. It shows animosity towards the women's movement. It has created problems for the Ministry of Women's Affairs and it is a personal challenge to me.

I am sorry. They refuse when I ask them to cover one of our meetings which is beneficial for growth and development, but they quickly publish unfounded libels that could create problems. Masuda Jalal said she would take legal action against the publication of these inaccurate and unfounded accusations.

Commanders accused of forcible Zakat collection

KABUL, June 6 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Residents of the northern Takhar province have accused local commanders of forcibly collecting Zakat from them. However, the commanders rejected the allegation as baseless.

They complained Commander Peram Qul and Bashir Chah Aabi - from Rustaq and Chah Aab districts respectively - were harassing people into giving them a portion of their earning including crop yields.
Dwellers of other districts like Khwaja Ghar, Dasht-i-Qala and Yangi Qala also complained local strongmen coerced them into a similar extortion. Last week, people staged demonstrations in Rustaq and Chah Aab districts against the highhandedness of local commanders.

Noorullah (41), a resident of Hazar Somoj village in Rustaq, told Pajhwok Afghan News the commanders had asked him to give one-tenth of the recent harvest in the name of Zakat. Similar accusations came from Ewaz Mohammad of the Chahab district against Commander Bashir Chah Aabi.
However, the two commanders spurned the charges, saying they did not need people's money. "We have handed over our arms to the government and do not want to get involves in extortionist practices."

Thousands of people last week took to the streets against Peram Qul for his support to an education officer who refused his transfer orders issued by the central government.

People in those districts also staged violent protests against Commander Mahmood, who was allegedly involved in sexually abusing young girls.

A spokesman for the Takhar governor, Mohammad Younus Abrar, was unaware of the illegal taxes. However, he vowed errant commanders would be brought to book if complaints against them were found valid.

Weeklong trade fair in Kabul

KABUL, June 6 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Food items, construction material and industrial and technical products from 19 countries would go on display at an exhibition here from today, officials said Monday.

Bacu Company, a member of the six-firm Gohar Group, will organise the international trade event, which will conclude on June 13. The group is currently operating in Dubai and the United Kingdom.

Siywash Abbasi, an official of the Gohar Group in Tehran, told Pajhwok Afghan News 75 companies would display their products including cake and cookies, motorcycles, computers, construction cables, etc.

The US, the UK, Australia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan and other southern countries will be taking part in the trade fair.

Abbasi added the willingness of so many companies to take part in the fair showed they felt secure in Afghanistan, "which is steadily marching on the road to progress and development."
Afghan economist Hamidullah Farooqi said such trade events played an important role in boosting a country's economy. He expected technological information as well as potential business agreements could also be concluded with foreign companies during the fair.

Karzai gives away awards to athletes

KABUL, June 7 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave away prizes to 62 medal-winners at international athletic competitions, the presidential office said on Tuesday.

Speaking on behalf of Afghanistan's National Olympic Committee (ANOC), Nadir Wadid told Pajhwok Afghan News Hamid Karzai had appreciated athletes' performance in his speech, saying: "Not only do you improve your health, but also win medals and bring laurels to Afghanistan."

Over the last three years and a half, the athletes superbly performed in different international championships. Karate player Zuhra Akhtari told Pajhwok Afghan News: "The government should take measures for promoting sports, building playgrounds, providing athletes with equipment and hiring foreign trainers."

Mohammad Anwar Jagdalak, head of the ANOC, recalled under the Taliban regime the country had lost its membership of the International Olympic Committee and as a consequence could not take part in Asian Games.

But after hectic efforts by the present government, he added, Afghanistan regained its membership of the International Olympic Committee, with its athletes eligible to contest various events on the global circuit.

[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.]