President Karzai is Saddened By the Blast in Takhar Province

Presidential Palace, Kabul – H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is saddened by the news of an explosion in Takhar province yesterday that left five Afghans killed, 2 ISAF soldiers missing and four others, including 3 Afghans and one ISAF soldier wounded.

The explosion occurred near an airfield in Rustaq district of Takhar province when a sizable store of ammunition was being segregated and prepared for future destruction.

In his reaction to the news, the president said: “I am deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident. The ISAF and the Afghan workers lost their lives in the service of Afghanistan, and the Afghan people remain grateful to them for their sacrifice. I present my sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wish prompt recovery to the injured.”

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

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaction to the statements of the Russian Foreign Minister - Press Release

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan noted, with deep regret, the recent remarks by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.

The Russian Foreign Minister told a news briefing after talks with NATO Secretary General that terrorists trained in basis inside Afghanistan are
targeting Central Asian States.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly rejects claims regarding the presence of terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and considers such allegations as totally baseless.

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, a victim of terrorism itself, is on the frontline of the war against terrorism and is committed to continue the
fight to remove this international menace.

Afghanistan expects countries of the region to sincerely join in the efforts to eliminate terrorist elements.

Released by the Office of the Spokesperson
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Kabul, Afghanistan - June 25, 2005

Explosion Kills Five Afghans, Two Germans - By DANIEL COONEY

KABUL, Afghanistan - (AP) A massive explosion at a weapons dump near an airfield in northern Afghanistan killed five Afghans and two German soldiers, officials said Sunday.

The blast was believed to be an accident and occurred Saturday in northern Takhar province as some of the weapons were being moved before being destroyed, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said in a statement.

Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal said the five Afghans were working as porters carrying the arms to trucks. A sixth Afghan was also wounded and along with an injured German were to be flown to Germany for treatment, said Maj. Joseph Bowman, an ISAF spokesman.

The German army confirmed that two soldiers who were initially classified as missing had died. Remains of the two, who were no identified, were found Sunday, it said.

A fourth German soldier was also wounded, but only lightly, according to a statement issued from the German division's headquarters at Schwielowsee outside of Berlin. Some 2,250 German soldiers serve in the ISAF force.

President Hamid Karzai said he was "deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident." ”The ISAF and the Afghan workers lost their lives in the service of Afghanistan, and the Afghan people remain grateful to them for their sacrifice," he said in a statement. "I present my sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wish prompt recovery to the injured."

The weapons were being stockpiled near the airfield in the town of Rustaq after being collected as part of a national program to disarm militias. Afghanistan is awash with weapons after a quarter century of war and U.N., U.S. and NATO forces report the discovery of weapons caches almost daily. Though a vast arsenal has been collected, officials estimate many thousands of tons of arms are still scattered across the country.

There have been a series of explosions at weapons dumps. Last month, a warlord's stockpile of explosives dated from the Afghan resistance against occupying Soviet troops in the 1980s detonated accidentally, flattening a half dozen houses and a mosque and killing at least 26 people.

U.S. Reasserts Control in Afghanistan - By TOMAS MUNITA – AP

KHAKERAN VALLEY, Afghanistan - (AP) Skimming low over the desert in helicopters with guns at the ready, American troops advanced Sunday into southern Afghanistan, seeking to reassert control after a spate of attacks raised fears of an Iraqi-style insurgency here.

The troops hopped from village to village in Khakeran Valley, searching mud huts and wheat fields, meeting village elders and detaining at least two men.

Up to 300 insurgents are believed to be holed up in the valley, about 130 miles northeast of the main southern city of Kandahar, said Lt. Luke Langer, a platoon leader in the 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.

“The enemy has been using the Khakeran Valley as a sanctuary," he said. "Without question, I know the Taliban are in the area and I'm sure we will make contact. From talking to local people, we know the enemy are very angry with us being here."

About 465 suspected insurgents have been reported killed since the start of a major upsurge in March, when snows melted on mountain tracks used by the militants. In the same period, 29 U.S. troops, 38 Afghan troops and 125 civilians have been killed.

Blistering U.S. assaults against nearby mountainous camps last week left 178 suspected militants dead. Flying in a convoy of two CH-47 Chinook helicopters, a Black Hawk and two Apache attack choppers, about 50 American troops moved up the river valley from village to village, searching for militants.

At the first hamlet, soldiers rushed from the aircraft as a handful of mangy chickens scampered away in clouds of billowing dust. A few farmers stood around sharing nervous, but curious, looks as the troops searched the few mud huts and fields of wheat and tomatoes that made up their community. Nothing suspicious was found.

A report then came over the radio that a group of suspected militants were spotted milling around in the next village. The troops ran back to the helicopters and flew toward it, below the brows of the barren, sun-scorched hills that border the valley.

They landed out of sight of the village and a small scouting party sneaked off to get a closer view. The other troops waited, ready to attack if the presence of insurgents was confirmed. But then word came back: the group of people were not fighters, but guests at a local wedding.

Back on the helicopters the troops went, and they flew to Mangal Khan, the main village in the valley, which used to house a local police contingent before the Taliban attacked in March and the officers fled.

They landed on the outskirts of the village and walked in, searching houses as they went. Two men were led out of one of the homes with their hands tied. The troops declined to say why they were detained.

The soldiers walked into the remains of the local police station, its windows smashed, its walls partly burned and pocked with bullet holes. A meeting was called with the village elders. Sitting in the yard in the shade of a tree, next to a rusting anti-aircraft gun, the American commander announced that they weren't leaving.

"We are here to stay. We are going to rebuild this police station," Capt. Michael Kloepper told the villagers. Then, speaking to The Associated Press, he outlined his approach to his job in Afghanistan. "I came here to help the people, but I also came here to kill the Taliban," he said. "I like fighting the Taliban."

The biggest loss for the insurgents was in the three-day barrage by American aircraft against rebel camps in Miana Shien district, Kandahar province, last week. While about 80 militants, including two top Taliban commanders, are still believed to be in the area, dozens of others are believed to have fled _ some possibly toward Khakeran Valley.

American spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said troops were operating across the whole region, "taking away enemy sanctuaries." "The enemy forces are not dumb. So when they get a sense that we're doing an operation in area 'X,' they will move onto area 'Y,'" he said. "It is our goal to be in area 'Y' before they set anything up."

Afghan Taliban rejects reports of heavy losses - June 26, 2005

KABUL (Reuters) - A senior Taliban commander on Sunday dismissed as false Afghan government reports that 178 guerrillas were killed in a U.S.-backed offensive in southwestern Afghanistan last week.

Mullah Dadullah, one of two top Taliban commanders the government said had been surrounded in the fighting, telephoned Reuters to say that only seven or eight guerrillas had been killed, including one commander, Mullah Mohammad Easa.

Speaking by satellite phone from an undisclosed location, Dadullah said the guerrillas had killed about 20 Afghan police and army troops and 14-18 from the U.S.-backed foreign force hunting militants in Afghanistan.

"The government was claiming that it killed 178 Taliban," he said. "That is not true." "The government was claiming that it had surrounded Mullah Dadullah, Mullah Brother, Mullah Adbul Hanan, Mullah Abdul Basir and Mullah Abdul Hakim and that they would soon arrest or kill them," he said. "This was completely wrong."

The Defence Ministry said on Thursday that Dadullah and Brother, members of the Taliban leadership council led by elusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, and the three other commanders were surrounded in an area where the provinces of Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul meet. It later said they appeared to have escaped.

The government has said that most of the guerrillas were killed by U.S. air strikes, in what by its figures would have been one of the bloodiest setbacks for the Taliban since their 2001 overthrow by U.S.-led forces.

It said three of its troops were killed in the operation and three hurt, while the U.S. military said six of its soldiers were slightly wounded. Dadullah also said the guerrillas had shot down two U.S. helicopters in the fighting.

The U.S. military said two of its Chinook helicopters were damaged by small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire during fighting on Tuesday and one had to make an emergency landing, but both returned to base without casualties.

The U.S. military on Wednesday gave an estimate of 40-50 guerrillas dead in the fighting but then referred reporters to the Afghan authorities for updates on casualties.

U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban government after it refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, but three-and-a-half years on, they have been unable to subdue the insurgency or catch bin Laden.

U.S. and Afghan forces have reported killing more than 200 insurgents in the past week alone and nearly 400 since March as they move to prevent guerrilla efforts to derail Sept. 18 parliamentary elections.

WB to release $265m for uplift projects - By Zainab Mohammadi

KABUL, June 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): World Bank (WB) has agreed to release a grant of $265 million for uplift projects in Afghanistan during the current year.

Abdur Rauf Zia, the WB's press officer here, told Pajhwok Afghan News the amount had been approved for a period of one year from May 2005 to June 2006.

The target areas are under consideration and the government of Afghanistan will later communicate it to the World Bank.

Aziz Shams, press officer for the Finance Ministry, said highways construction, health and education sectors and capacity-building were the main areas where the governmental intended to utilise the amount.

Since 2002, the WB has given more than $865 million to Afghanistan for a number of projects. Half of the amount is in the form of grant, Zia added.

Afghanistan's total annual budget stands at 212.735 million afghanis ($4.38 billion). Total development budget and half of the annual budget of the country depends on foreign donations.

Afghanistan committed to fight against narcotics: official - Jun 26

KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan said it has mounted a serious campaign to tackle its booming narcotics trade and punish traffickers in the wake of a United Nations warning that narco-traffic was undermining the country's security.

As officials torched 30 tons of drugs to mark the UN international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, counter-narcotics minister Habibullah Qaderi said the country was beginning to turn the tide against drugs and expected a significant reduction in the planting of poppies for opium.

"The poppy crop in 2004 was the largest ever because everybody thought they could grow poppy with impunity, but we have already turned the corner, as a Rapid Assessment Survey of this year's crop showed in February," Qaderi said in a statement on Sunday.

The survey, carried out jointly by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, indicated that the area of poppy cultivation had decreased compared to 2004 in all but five of the country's 34 provinces.

President Hamid Karzai has said he expects a 30 to 40 percent drop in the area of opium planted by year-end. However UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa said that while opium production was set to drop in 2005, the nation's per-hectare productivity was up.

Estimating revenues at 2.8 billion dollars in 2004, Costa said "traffickers, warlords and insurgents in Afghanistan control quasi-military operations and run military-type operations. "An effective response depends on the deployment of corresponding force," he said.

In addition a number of senior officials, provincial governors and police chiefs -- or their families -- are deeply involved in the country's opium trade, Afghan and western officials have said.

Opium provides the bedrock of Afghanistan's economy, accounting for 40 to 60 percent of growth, and produces almost 90 percent of the world's supply of the drug used to make heroin.

Qaderi said law enforcement was being strengthened and Afghanistan had made progress in the bid to arrest traffickers. A Criminal Justice Task Force has been established with Afghan investigators, prosecutors and judges, and will number 80 people in the next few months.

"The first group are now operational and have referred at least 25 cases to the Kabul Criminal Primary Court. They are investigating lower-level drug traffickers," Qadri said, adding that preparation were under way to tackle "more difficult cases" in the near future.

Some 60 tons of opium, heroin and other drugs burned in Afghanistan - June 26

About 60 tons of opium, heroin, hashish and other drugs were burned in massive bonfires across Afghanistan on Sunday, the government said _ the biggest destruction of narcotics in one of the world's top suppliers.

"These destroyed drugs will never be injected into the arms of children on our streets or on the streets of Europe," Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said in a statement. "These destroyed drugs will never be sold to profit drug traffickers. And these destroyed drugs will not undermine the security of our country."

The largest drug stockpile was in the capital, Kabul, with 13 tons of opium, 9 tons of hashish, 2 tons of heroin and 6 tons of other narcotics burned, the statement said.

Hundreds of plastic bags and sacks that officials said were filled with drugs were piled on top of each other on the outskirts of the city. Workers doused the stash with gasoline before lighting it up. Huge clouds of blueish smoke billowed into the sky and across the desert.

Seven stockpiles totaling about 32 tons of drugs were destroyed in other provinces, Gen. Mohammed Daoud, deputy interior minister for counternarcotics, told reporters.

The event was held Sunday to mark the United Nations' International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. ADVERTISEMENT

Afghanistan's government is under fire for not being tough enough on the burgeoning drugs trade, which now supplies nearly 90 percent of the world's opium. It has sparked warnings that the country is fast becoming a "narco-state" less than four years after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban.

Last week, Counternarcotics Minister Habibullah Qaderi told The Associated Press that some provincial governors and police chiefs are suspected of involvement in the drugs trade, but none are being investigated because of a "lack of evidence." He declined to name the officials who are suspected.

The minister said many of the heads of the drug trafficking networks are also warlords, some of whom were commanders in the U.S.-backed Afghan force that drove the Taliban from power in 2001.

President Hamid Karzai last month predicted a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction this year in the amount of opium being grown, but Qaderi said strong rains after years of drought may lead to a bumper crop.

The United States, Britain and other countries are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into an anti-drug campaign. The cash is being used to train police units to destroy laboratories, arrest smugglers and destroy opium crops, as well as to fund projects to help farmers grow legal crops.

However, the drug traffickers have hit back at the threat to their business. Late last month in two attacks on subsequent days, gunmen killed 11 people associated with a U.S.-sponsored project encouraging farmers not to grow poppies.

Qaderi said that so far this year 130 drug laboratories have been smashed, three opium markets raided, 130 tons of opium seized and 30 tons of chemicals used to process opium into heroin destroyed. These figures compare with 135 tons last year, and 3 tons in 2002.

School set ablaze in Baghlan - Pajhwok Afghan News 06/25/2005

PUL-I-KHUMRI - Unidentified bandits torched a girl's school in the Charshanba Tipa district of the northern Baghlan province on late Friday night.

A letter, believed to be written by the outlaws, has also been recovered from the wreckage, warning the teachers and headmaster of the school of dire consequences if they did not stop teaching 'immoral lessons' to the students. Hundred of benches, chairs, desks, tents and stationery have been burned to ashes and the students as well as teachers have to sit on ground.

Mohammad Nabi, headmaster of the school, told Pajhwok Afghan News the 12 armed men had hurled threats at the teachers not to teach to the students. "You are misleading the children and imparting them immoral education," read the letter they had left.

The school had been used as religious seminary during the ousted Taliban era. Some 700 students are getting education in the school at present. Distrcit administrative chief Alhaj Mohammad Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News no one had been arrested so far. He said search was on to bring the culprits to the book.

Afghan interior minister lauds Iran's help in anti-drug campaign - Kabul, June 26, IRNA

Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali on Sunday lauded Iran's assistance to Afghanistan with its anti-drug campaign. Speaking in an international ceremony on anti-drug fight where some 62 tons of all types of narcotic drugs were burnt, he said the Islamic Republic of Iran by setting up border checkpoints have taken a significant stride in anti-drug campaign.

Despite very comprehensive anti-drug fight in the country, Afghanistan is now in the early stages of such a fight, he said. The campaign is a very time consuming procedure, he pointed out.

He warned all those who are active in production and cultivation of narcotics in the country and said no one is safe from punishment. The government should try to promote irrigation system in farming lands which have been demolished during 25 years of war, he said.

He called on the international community to help find a suitable market for agricultural products in Afghanistan in outside world. Over 4,000 tons of narcotic drugs were produced in Afghanistan last year which set a world record, he concluded.

Pak new ambassador arrives in Kabul

KABUL, June 25 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Miangul Akbarzeb, Pakistan's new ambassador to Afghanistan has arrived here on Saturday. Zafar Ali Khan, third secretary of Pak embassy in Kabul, told Pajhwok Afghan News the new ambassador had been arrived and would take charge of his office on Sunday.

Akbarzeb is going to replace Rustam Shah Momand, who was in Kabul since the fall of Taliban. Earlier, Pakisatan's Minister for Information and Culture, in an interview with this news agency, had said the new ambassador would work for further cementing ties between the two neighbouring countries. Akbarzeb had called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ahead of his departure to Afghanistan.

During the meeting, said the minister, Aziz had pledged his country's all-out support to the Afghan government in the reconstruction efforts. He had assured Pakistan would continue to pursue the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan.

Pakistan president sceptical of US claims about bin Laden - Jun 26

DUBAI (AFP) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf dismissed as "speculation" claims by senior US officials that they know where Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is hiding, in remarks reported.

"Any talk about his whereabouts is mere speculation," Musharraf told the Emirati daily Al-Khaleej. "Some are saying that bin Laden is in Pakistan, and what I want to tell them is: Please come and tell us where he is. Anyone can say that he (bin Laden) is anywhere, so why talk about his presence here (in Pakistan)?"

US and Afghan officials have previously said they think bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda kingpins are hiding out in the mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. But last week, US ambassador in Kabul Zalmay Khalilzad said that bin Laden was not in Afghanistan.

On Thursday, US Vice President Dick Cheney said he had "a pretty good idea" of where bin Laden was hiding, echoing comments by Central Intelligence Agency director Porter Goss, who said he had an "excellent idea". Neither official specified in which country they believed they had located the Al-Qaeda leader. The Pakistani president has been on a visit to Saudi Arabia which he was due to wrap up later Sunday.

Tell us where Osama is hiding, says Musharraf

ISLAMABAD – The News International: President Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday that no one has any real evidence of where Osama bin Laden is hiding, and anyone who believes the al-Qaeda chief is hiding in Pakistan should tell him where.

"There are a lot of people who say that Osama bin Laden is here in Pakistan," Musharraf told reporters in Islamabad before leaving on an official visit to Saudi Arabia. "Please come and show us where he is or tell us where he is. We will act on such information."

Musharraf’s comments came little more than a week after US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar were probably not in Afghanistan. He didn’t say where the two were hiding.

"He (bin Laden) could be anywhere," Musharraf said on Saturday. He said Pakistan is working closely with Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism and has already taken steps to secure their shared border to prevent militants from crossing into or from Afghanistan, where US-led coalition forces are operating. "There is a total and complete understanding between us," he said.

Musharraf spoke twice with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the telephone this week. When asked what they had discussed, Musharraf said "a small difference of opinion was discussed and resolved."
Last week, Karzai’s spokesman, Jawed Ludin, said Islamabad wasn’t doing enough to fight the militants, and said there would never be peace in Afghanistan until the two nations "join hands together to fight terrorism."

Mideast issue, OIC reforms discussed: Musharraf-Abdullah meeting

RIYADH – The Dawn, June 25: President General Pervez Musharraf and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud held wide-ranging talks here on Saturday with a thrust on cementing the multifaceted relationship between the two countries.

The two leaders exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest, including the Middle East situation, reform and restructuring of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Pakistan-India relations and counter-terror and security issues.

The president said that resolution of political disputes affecting the Muslim world with justice would be vitally helpful in the establishment of durable peace and stability.

He briefed the Crown Prince about Pakistan’s efforts for establishment of peace in South Asia through a just settlement of Jammu and Kashmir dispute with India. Crown Prince Abdullah said Riyadh supported Pakistan’s efforts for a resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

The two leaders agreed on enhancing relations in the political, economic, commercial, investment and counter-terror and security areas. Gen Musharraf called for greater trade between the OIC countries as a means to reduce poverty which he has repeatedly described as one of the major causes of extremism.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are coordinating efforts aimed at making the OIC a vibrant voice of the Muslim world, capable of steering its socio-economic development. Islamic countries’ foreign ministers are due to meet in Sana to finalize recommendations for restructuring of the OIC.

The president briefed the Saudi leaders about Pakistan’s recent economic success and said the country offered vast investment opportunities for Saudi investors. The Crown Prince said that Saudi Arabia viewed Pakistan’s economic achievements with admiration.

The president is paying an official visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Saudi leadership. He will also perform Umrah and pay his respects at Roza-i-Rasool (Peace Be Upon Him).

Earlier, President Musharraf was seen off at Islamabad by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Senate chairman Mohammedmian Soomro, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Ehsanul Haq and Vice Chief of Army Staff General Ahsan Saleem Hayat.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, he noted progress in the Pakistan-India peace process, saying: “It is proceeding well”. He said there was an understanding and harmony between the leadership of the two countries and “good intentions on both sides to resolve the (Kashmir) dispute peacefully”.

“We are moving forward. Flexibility is being shown by both sides which is a good omen,” he said and added: “We see light at the end of the tunnel”. On the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the president rejected speculation that the Al Qaeda chief was in Pakistan.

“There are lot of people who say that Osama bin Laden is here in Pakistan. All that I would like to tell them, please come and show us where he is or tell us where he is. That is not the case,” he said, adding that people were just conjecturing on his whereabouts. He (Osama) could be anywhere, the president said.

Answering a question about Pakistan-Afghanistan ties, he said the two countries were well-coordinated in struggle against terrorism in Pakistan’s western border and Afghanistan.

“Operations are going well and intelligence coordination is there,” he pointed out. Referring to his recent telephonic conversation with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, he described it as good, saying “small differences of opinion” were discussed and resolved amicably.

“There is total and complete understanding between us. We have resolved that whenever there is any point of view, we need to talk to each other and resolve them very amicably, which we have done,” he said. Ruling Pakistan Muslim League chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal are accompanying the president.—APP

Our Correspondent adds: The Saudi Crown Prince hosted lunch in honour of the Pakistani delegation. President Musharraf initially had a one-to-one meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah. Later, their aides joined the talks.

Sources said that President Musharraf inquired after Khadim-al-Harmain Sharifain Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who is currently recovering from a lung ailment in a Riyadh hospital. The president wished the Saudi monarch early recovery.

The Iraq issue and the situation in Afghanistan also came under discussion at the meeting between Gen Musharraf and Crown Prince Abdullah. Ways to improve coordination between the two countries on issues of counter-terrorism and on checking drug trafficking were also discussed at the meeting.

Afghan paper calls on US to withdraw support from Pakistan - Arman-e Melli 05/25/2005

An editorial in the independent daily Arman-e Melli says that Pakistan exports terrorism to Afghanistan today in order to influence, and ultimately, to rule that country and calls it the "bully" of the region. The paper calls on the US to withdraw its military and security support for Pakistan, because only then will that country change its policies, hand over Al-Qai'dah leaders, and the "government of mullahs will collapse in Peshawar and democracy will emerge".

It points out that since the United States claim to be sponsoring democracy in the world and in the Middle East, it should not continue with its support for the Pakistani military regime. The following is the text of report titled "Musharraf's blatant behaviours", published by Afghan newspaper Arman-e Melli on 23 June:

As the country is about to hold the parliamentary elections to conclude the Bonn Agreements and as the economic order is being reinforced in our country, [the government] signs the strategic memorandum of understanding with the United States to help continue the present trends. It signed it to use the assistance of the United States, as a friendly country, until our military national forces are formed and we develop the capacity of defending our national security, independence and sovereignty.

But Pakistan, which has been benefiting from US economic and military support, harbours ill intentions and is upset with the present status quo of our country. Without good diplomatic manners and observing international norms, the Pakistani military leader said that the 11 September incident would not have happened if the United States had recognized the Taleban.

There would be no Kashmir dispute or no Pashtunestan issue if Britain had not brought into existence Pakistan to serve its expansionist purposes. Afghanistan and India would have lived peacefully side by side and the region would have been a region of peace and economic prosperity, because there would not have been any servants of colonialism in the region.

There would have been no Pakistan if the United States had not taken the British advice and had not signed a bilateral military treaty to defend the country.

There would be no Pakistan if His Excellency Mohammad Zaher Shad had not made the mistake of taking side with Pakistan and assured the country about no threats from Afghanistan when it was fighting on two fronts of Bangladesh and Kashmir. Such an assurance helped Pakistan to focus all his military might on the two fronts.

Pakistan would have exploded if the United States had not economically supported the governments of Nawaz Sharif and Bhutto. There would have been a different Pakistan today if the United States had not acted as a broker in the Kargil war [1999] between Pakistan and India. Pakistan could not have acquired nuclear power if the United States had not turned a blind eye.

Pakistan would not have been so powerful if the Soviet Union had not made the mistake [of attacking Afghanistan] that led to its own collapse and the destruction of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan would not have needed the assistance of 35 countries and Pakistan could not have interfered in Afghan affairs if the Jihadi leaders had not been deceived by the Pakistani Islamic slogans and if they had let the power be peacefully transferred, according to the UN peace plan, from Dr Najibullah's regime and let the military forces of that regime come under a unified Jihad leadership.
General Musharraf should bear in mind that all those ifs made Pakistan powerful and Afghanistan a weak country. Pakistan exports terrorism to Afghanistan today and does not even obey its supporter, the United States in this regard. It even wants to assassinate the US ambassador and the Afghan interior minister. In spite of all these scandals, he [Musharraf] says in Australia that the 11 September incident had not have happened if the United States had recognized the Taleban.

He means the terrorist, anti-enlightenment, anti-freedom and undemocratic regime of the Taleban who were Pakistani mercenaries and Al-Qa'idah, that had waged a Jihad against the United States before 11 September, should have been recognized to prevent such incidents. He asks the Australians not to send their forces to join the international coalition forces in Afghanistan. It shows that Pakistan has not changed its policies.

It behaves gently towards India to first succeed in Afghanistan. It wants to frighten the United States that is now grappling with the issue of Iraq about the spread of terrorism in Afghanistan. It wants to convince the United States to leave Afghanistan to avoid another front like Iraq. Then Afghanistan can be at the mercy of Pakistan. Based on this very policy, Pakistan promises Iran to let it transport its gas via Pakistan to other countries.

Pakistan thinks it can affect the situation in Afghanistan through its influence over some political and military figures in Afghanistan and agitating against the US presence and by calling democracy an imported good. This is not a new Pakistani policy. It is as old as Pakistan.

Particularly when Russia was leaving Afghanistan, Pakistan made it clear that: 1) All Afghan capacities should be destroyed 2) a pro-Pakistan weak government should take power in Afghanistan 3) that government should put an end to the issue of Durand and 4) obliterate the idea of Pashtunestan and Pashtunism.

Such a policy was adopted after the collapse of Dr Najibullah, but, since 1994, it changed as follows: 1) Establishment of a puppet government in Afghanistan that enters strategic ties with Pakistan 2) Alienation of Afghanistan from India 3) Pakistani access to the Central Asian markets via Afghanistan.
Having acquired new appetite, Pakistan has become blatant. We Afghans love peace and brotherhood in the region and consider them to be in the interest of the two countries and the rest of the region. But Pakistan does not want to speak in an Islamic, human and diplomatic language. It wants to bully. Therefore, to protect its interests, the Afghan government should warn the nation about a threat that is jeopardizing their territorial integrity and independence and take measures to rally its national forces. Since the youth have been trained in the course of a long war, such a force does not need military training.

Retaliatory actions should be taken if Pakistan trains the terrorists inside its territory to send them into our country. We should use force against the one who uses force. Pakistan will not change its present policies and will always play the same strategic game if Afghanistan does not purge the country of the pro-Pakistan elements, both Taleban and non-Taleban, and if it does not strengthen its security and military forces.

There are many disaffected people inside Pakistan. The Baluchi people are not satisfied with the government. And supporters of democracy are dissatisfied. Except a short period under Zolfaqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan has never experienced democracy. The Pakistanis are deeply affected by the growth of democracy in the war-ravaged Afghanistan. They are surprised when they see the patience of Afghans towards the export of terrorists from Pakistan. I am still sure that Pakistan will change its policies if the United States stops its military and security support for the country. Bin Ladin will be soon captured and Mollah Omar will be handed over to Afghanistan. The government of mullahs will collapse in Peshawar and democracy will emerge.

Otherwise, Pakistan will go on to be the safe haven for terrorists, Al-Qa'idah and other destructive forces. And the United States, that claims to be sponsoring democracy in the world and in the Middle East, and [at the same time] supports the Pakistani military regime will be held responsible. Such a double standard policy will undermine the credibility of this country before the Americans and the world.

Over 10% of Karachi's Afghan population repatriated this year - Islamabad, June 25, IRNA

The UN refugee agency said on Saturday it had assisted more than 10 percent of the remaining Afghan population in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi to voluntarily repatriate to Afghanistan so far this year.

The total number of Afghans returning from Karachi this year reached 15,000 as the District Coordination Officer Karachi, Fazal-ur-Rehman said goodbye to 600 Afghans returning to Afghanistan in a ceremony at the UNHCR registration center in Songal on Saturday morning.

A government of Pakistan census, assisted by UNHCR, earlier this year counted more than 3 million Afghans in Pakistan who had arrived since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. If this number 135,734 were living in Karachi and other areas of Sindh province.

"UNHCR teams have been visiting Afghans throughout Karachi and other cities of Sindh to assist those, who have decided to repatriate from the province," Kazuhiro Kaneko, head of the UNHCR office in Karachi, said at departure ceremony. "The numbers are lower than in previous years, reflecting the falling Afghan population here."

Kaneko said the office operated one registration center in Karachi and was also sending mobile teams to other areas of Sindh where Afghans wishing to return to Afghanistan could receive UNHCR repatriation assistance.

According to the recent census, the majority of Karachi's Afghan population are ethnic Pashtun while Tajiks are the second largest group. A large proportion of the population originates from Kunduz and Baghlan provinces of Afghanistan.

Afghans in Karachi live mostly from daily wage work, providing cheap labour to Pakistan's business capital. The voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Pakistan is governed by a tripartite agreement signed in 2003 between the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR that expires in March 2006.

A decision on what will follow the present agreement is expected later this year. Under the agreement, more than 2.4 million Afghans have so far been assisted to voluntarily repatriate to Afghanistan. UNHCR expects around 400,000 will return during 2005.

Afghans returning home under the program are entitled to receive from $3 to $30 as a travel grant depending on the distance to the destination and an additional $12 each to help them reestablish in Afghanistan. The assistance is paid inside Afghanistan at encashment centers near returnee destinations.

Returning Afghans, above the age of six, have to go through an iris test at UNHCR centers in Hayatabad Peshawar and Baleli Quetta to get the assistance. The iris test, introduced in late 2002, ensures returnees receive assistance only once. Since the start of the UNHCR voluntary repatriation in 2002 around 253,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Karachi and other parts of Sindh, UNHCR said.

Afghanistan seeks help from Sri Lanka to rebuild damaged Buddha statues

COLOMBO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan has urged the Sri Lankan government to help the country rebuild the Buddhist statues destroyed during the former Taliban regime, the Local Website Lankapage said on Monday. The country asked for the assistance of Buddhist scholars and the Department of Archaeology from Sri Lanka in the task of reconstructing the Buddha statues.

Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Visva Warnapala said the Afghanistan government made the request when he met Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Haider Reza and Deputy Minister of Labor Walmohe Rasooli in Colombo recently. They also asked for Sri Lanka's assistance to develop the health, trade and higher education sectors, the minister said.

Building political institutions vital to Afghanistan's recovery - Pentagon finds Afghan moderates winning battle to stabilize the country Source: United States Department of State / June 22, 2005 - By Merle D. Kellerhals, Jr., Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - As important as the security dimension is in Afghanistan, helping the Afghans build vital political institutions is the most important part of current operations there, says a senior Defense Department official.

The Afghans are building political infrastructure while systematically filling the vacuum left by the defeat of the Taliban regime, says Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.

Rodman testified June 22 before the House Armed Services Committee, which was conducting a hearing to assess current operations and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.

While coalition forces are hunting down remnants of the Taliban army and al-Qaida forces militarily, Afghans are marginalizing and isolating the extremists politically, he said.

"Our analysis -- our strategic analysis -- is that the moderates of the country are winning their battle, they're building their institutions, and that the extremists are isolated," he said. Nevertheless, Rodman said that it is likely there will be a spike in violence as the Afghans prepare to elect a new National Assembly and provincial councils on September 18.

Rodman said one of the most important developments in 2005 was the joint declaration of strategic partnership, which President Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on March 23 during Karzai's visit to Washington. Its objective is to make sure that Afghanistan never again serves as an incubator of terrorism, he said.

"The strategic partnership that the two presidents agreed upon does declare a long-term American national commitment to Afghanistan's well-being, helping them in the economic area, political area, security area," he said.

At the same hearing, Nancy Powell, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, testified that one of the continuing challenges confronting the Afghan government is the illicit drug trade.

"In 2004, Afghanistan produced a historically high opium-poppy crop of 206,700 hectares under cultivation, with 4,950 metric tons of potential opium production accounting for the majority of the world's illicit opium supply," she said.

There are reports that the amount produced in Afghanistan will be down from 2004's high levels, but it will still be too high, she said. "And there is no reason to expect that the drug threat in Afghanistan will abate any time soon," she said. "We must continue to make combating the drug trade emanating from Afghanistan one of the major priorities in our overall efforts to help Afghanistan."

Powell said that the profound destruction and disruption of normal life in Afghanistan caused by more than 25 years of conflict, the weakness of legitimate income sources and the limited enforcement capacity of the national government have left an environment for Afghanistan that is still conducive to narcotics production and trafficking.

"Even though our programs to assist the government of Afghanistan in combating the drug trade are working reasonably well in their initial stages, we have encountered major challenges, notably with regard to helping the Afghan authorities in destroying poppy fields when self-restraint is not sufficient to curb production," Powell said.

Afghan sergeant major leads Army to strong future - June 25, 2005 - Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs) By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Mack Davis Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan Public Affairs

KABUL , Afghanistan – Since the formation of the first Afghan National Army unit in May 2002, the ANA has grown in size and capability and continues to gain respect as a reliable, professional and determined force.

A key part of the ANA’s success comes from the experience and leadership of Soldiers who have served from the beginning, Soldiers who remember where the army evolved from. One of those Soldiers is Command Sgt. Maj. Shamsadin, the command sergeant major of the 3rd Brigade, 201st Corps, located at Camp Pol-e-Charkhi near Kabul .

Shamsadin, who like many Afghans uses only one name, has been in the ANA from the early days and was recently given the title “Grandfather of the ANA” by the Ministry of Defense.

His interest in an Army career began one day in Pakistan when he heard of the Coalition’s defeat of the Taliban. Like many Afghans, Shamsadin’s family had relocated to Pakistan during the Soviet occupation. They remained there for 12 years that included the Taliban era.

“I heard a group of people talking about Afghanistan creating an army. The Coalition forces wanted Afghan people to come and join the army,” said Shamsadin. “We also wanted an army for our country because I know that an army is the backbone of a country. So I wanted to be a part of the group that would bring security for the Afghan people.”

The first ANA kandak (battalion) was formed at the Kabul Military Training Center . Trained by U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers, the team was called the Commandos.

“We were lucky to be trained by the Special Forces because they trained us hard and gave us this special name,” said Shamsadin. It was there that Shamsadin received his first leadership position as a squad leader. Once the kandak was trained, they were deployed to many areas. After each deployment, Shamsadin continued to move up the noncommissioned officer chain of command.

“After our first mission in Paktika, I was made platoon sergeant because of my service in the area,” said Shamsadin. “From there we also did a mission in Khost. I helped build, with my own hands, the Khost Province base camp with the Special Forces. While deployed, we also built the Special Forces compound in Gardez. On our missions we captured many of the al-Qaida during that time.”

When the Commando Kandak returned to Pol-e-Charkhi, the ANA’s new Central Corps had been formed. Within the Central Corps were assigned the 1st, 2nd and 3rd brigades. From that point on the Commandos would be known as the 1st Kandak of the 3rd Brigade.

Because of his exceptional service, Shamsadin was selected to serve as the 1st Kandak command sergeant major and was sent to the new noncommissioned officers course at the Kabul Military Training Center .

Soon after, when the Central Corps manning roster was completed, Shamsadin was promoted to the 3rd Brigade command sergeant major position. Shamsadin said he has noticed big changes over the last few years in the way the Afghan people perceive the ANA.

“When we first deployed, the people used to have bad words to say about us. They thought we wanted to capture their province,” he said. “But now we show them we are Soldiers who represent the Pashtuns, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Tajiks. We began to work with the chiefs of police, meet with their governors, and introduce ourselves as their army. Now, we have provinces requesting Soldiers in their areas to provide peace.”

As the senior enlisted soldier for the 3rd Brigade, Shamsadin works daily with his kandak command sergeants major to instill in his NCOs the importance of continuing their own training at KMTC and to bring that information back to their soldiers.

“We have a good picture in our mind for the Afghan Army. It is for one peace, one army and one country. That is our wish,” said Shamsadin. “One thing special about our army is if we have a Soldier from Jalalabad, we have him do service in Paktika. We want the people to know we serve one country.”

As Soldiers conduct missions throughout Afghanistan , they ask the people of the villages to send their young men to serve Afghanistan in the ANA. “As the Afghan people see Soldiers from a different province serving in their area, we ask them ‘Who will represent your province?’” said Shamsadin.

Shamsadin is said to be a strong leader for the ANA, and a lot of his knowledge was gained from his experiences working with U.S. mentors. “Shamsadin has a real understanding of what it takes to lead his solders, and it has been a great experience for me to be able to serve with him and the Afghan Army,” said U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Duthie of the Montana Army National Guard, who serves as Shamsadin’s embedded mentor. “Shamsadin sees a vision for the ANA that most don’t, of not only providing security for the Afghan people, but putting Afghanistan back on the map as a viable part of the world.”

Shamsadin feels the embedded mentor program is important for the ANA. “We are happy to have the Americans to help train us,” he said. “They have become friends to the Afghan Army and they bring such good experiences. We make the most of their time because one day the U.S. will leave and it will be up to us to continue to train our own Soldiers.”

As Shamsadin continues to develop the soldiers of his brigade, he also has a vision of better benefits for soldiers who continue to serve. “I would like to see better pay for Soldiers who continue to serve in the ANA after their initial tour and a death benefit,” he explained.

Shamsadin is one of many Soldiers in the Afghan Army who give and expect great things for the ANA. With this type of dedication, the people of Afghanistan can grow more comfortable knowing that the peace and security of their nation is in good hands.

Election Winner Wants Iran to Be a Model - By BRIAN MURPHY, AP June 25

TEHRAN, Iran - The winner of Iran's presidential election, whose landslide victory dealt a setback to reformers, said Saturday he seeks to make his country a "modern, advanced, powerful, and Islamic" model for the world.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's taped statement, broadcast on state-run radio, appeared aimed at easing worries that his ultraconservative views would clash with Iran's attempts to expand its economy and international ties. Ahmadinejad, however, made no mention of any new policies regarding the social reforms opposed by some of his supporters.

"Let's convert competition to friendship. We are all a nation and a big family," he said in apparent reference to the rifts between liberals and hard-liners in Iran that deepened in the campaign for Friday's runoff election.

"My mission is creating a role model of a modern, advanced, powerful and Islamic society," he said in the short message broadcast shortly after the announcement of final results sealed his stunning defeat of moderate statesman Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani.

The results, announced on state television, gave Ahmadinejad, currently Tehran's mayor, 61.6 percent of the vote over Rafsanjani's 35.9 percent. The rest of the ballots were deemed invalid.

Nearly 28 million ballots were cast, or more than 59 percent of Iran's approximately 47 million eligible voters. In last week's election, the turnout was close to 63 percent.

The victory gives conservatives control of Iran's two highest elected offices — the presidency and parliament — enabling the non-elected theocracy to rule with a freer hand.

Real power in Iran lies with the country's clerics and their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who can overrule elected officials. But reformers, who lost parliament in elections last year, had been hoping to retain some hand in government to preserve the greater social freedoms they've been able to win, such as looser dress codes, more mixing between the sexes and openings to the West.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore indicated the result would not change the U.S. view of Iran, and what it considered to be a fundamentally flawed election that refused to accept scores of candidates, particularly women.

"With the conclusion of the elections in Iran, we have seen nothing that sways us from our view that Iran is out of step with the rest of the region in the currents of freedom and liberty that have been so apparent in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon," Moore said.

Ahmadinejad supporters will go to mosques to "thank God for this great victory," said his campaign manager Ali Akbar Javanfekr. He said no public celebrations were planned.

Ahmadinejad is expected to start consultations soon on his Cabinet. He will be watched to see if he chooses clerics such as Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, a firebrand who has been considered for the Culture Ministry, which controls publications as well as the arts.

Ahmadinejad, 49, campaigned as a champion of the poor, a message that resonated with voters in a country where some estimates put unemployment as high as 30 percent. He struck the image of a simple working man, casting Rafsanjani as a wealthy member of the ruling elite.

"The real nuclear bomb that Iran has is its unemployed young people," said Ali Pourassad, after voting for Ahmadinejad at a polling station set up in the courtyard of a mosque in the middle-class south of Tehran. "If nothing is done to create jobs for our young people, we will have an explosion on the streets."

But Ahmadinejad also vowed to return Iran to the principles of the Islamic Revolution more than a quarter-century ago. Such comments and reports about his inner circle of supporters — members of the Revolutionary Guard, the vigilantes who enforce public dress codes and some of the most hard-line clerics in Iran's theocracy — frightened Iran's reformers.

Ahmadinejad (pronounced "Aah-MA-dee-ni-JAHD") had not been expected even to make the runoff. But he squeaked ahead of his rivals into the No. 2 spot in last week's first-round vote. There were accusations that Revolutionary Guards and vigilantes intimidated voters to sway the vote in his favor.
During Friday's voting, the reformist-led Interior Ministry reported "interference" at some Tehran polling stations. A ministry worker who was at a polling station reminding officials to watch for violations was arrested after he got in an argument with representatives of one of the two candidates, ministry spokesman Jahanbakhsh Khanjani said. An Interior Ministry observers' group reported 300 complaints of violations in Tehran, said group leader Ibrahim Razini.

In the eyes of most, Rafsanjani — who was president from 1989-97 — represented the status quo. Backers felt confident he would continue the many social changes introduced by outgoing President Mohammad Khatami, including youth-supported freedoms such as dating, music, and colorful headscarves for women.

Rafsanjani may retain his seat on the Expediency Council, which mediates between parliament and the ruling clerics. But he appears to be finished as a politician, having already been humbled in 2000 when he failed to win a seat in parliament.

Ahmadinejad's surprising strength alarmed moderates and business groups at home and was watched with concern by international officials. He is expected to be a tough negotiating partner in Iran's talks with Europe over its nuclear program. Iran says the program is to produce energy but the United States contends nuclear weapons are the goal.

Ahmadinejad has criticized Iran's current negotiators as making too many concessions to Europe — particularly in freezing the uranium enrichment program — and he was expected to put Iran's nuclear program into the hands of some avowed anti-Western clerics.

The pragmatic Rafsanjani appeared more willing to negotiate on the nuclear program. But a Foreign Ministry spokesman Friday underlined that the suspension is temporary and that enrichment will eventually be restarted no matter who wins the election.

But for many Iranians, the biggest issue was an economy that has languished despite Iran's oil and gas riches. Iran's official unemployment rate is 16 percent, but unofficially it is closer to 30 percent — and the country has to create 800,000 jobs a year just to stand still. In the fall, another million young people are expected to enter the work force.

Ahmadinejad, the son of a blacksmith, presented himself as the humble alternative to Rafsanjani, whose family runs a large business empire. He has promised Iran's underclass higher wages, more development funds for rural areas, expanded health insurance and more social benefits for women.

[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.]