Karzai to tour Europe, US for more support - Xinhua 05/04/2005

KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai would embark on an important journey from next week to Europe and the United States, a presidential spokesman said Tuesday.

"The president is going to visit Europe next week, during which he would deliver a speech to the European parliament besides meeting the king of Belgium and secretary general of NATO," Jawed Ludin told journalists here at a news conference.

The talks with European leaders including the king of Belgium and head of European parliament would focus on further cementing relations, continued European support and NATO's expansion acrossthe post-Taliban central Asian state, said the spokesman.

Karzai, who in the past paid several visits to European countries and the United States, would seek persistent backing in reconstructing his nation. The Afghan leader's visit to the United States will begin by the end of May, Ludin disclosed.

"In addition to meeting President Bush at the White House, the Afghan president would deliver speeches at Boston and Nebraska's Universities,"he noted. The universities would grant doctorate degrees to the president.

20 Militants Killed in Afghan Fighting - STEPHEN GRAHAM, AP

U.S. soldiers and Afghan police backed by war planes and helicopters clashed with insurgents in the southeastern mountains near Pakistan, and about 20 suspected militants and one policeman were killed, the U.S. military said Wednesday. Six Americans were wounded.

Tuesday's clash, one of the deadliest in recent months, occurred in Dehchopan district of Zabul province, the U.S. military said in a statement. Zabul lies in a swath of Afghan territory along the border with Pakistan where Taliban-led militants opposed to the government of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai have revived their 3-year-old insurgency after a winter lull.

Clashes and bombings in recent weeks have killed dozens of rebels and Afghan forces, several civilians, a U.S. soldier and a Romanian soldier. The military said the American soldiers wounded Tuesday were in stable condition, and two of them had returned to duty. The other four would be flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany for treatment.

The fighting began when gunmen fired on a group of U.S. soldiers and Afghan police investigating a reported beating of an Afghan man, the military said. U.S. troops and the policemen "cordoned off the insurgent forces by use of small-arms fire and support from coalition fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft," it said.

"Initial reports indicate approximately 20 insurgents were killed and one wounded," the statement said.

The statement said five Afghan police officers also were wounded, but it cautioned that the casualty figures were still preliminary. Six insurgents were detained.

The U.S. military gave no details on the identities or affiliations of the suspected insurgents killed Tuesday but said a local leader also was detained after villagers "reported him as a Taliban member." The military said it was trying to organize assistance to the village, which was not identified.

Pakistan 'catches al-Qaeda chief' – BBC

Senior Libyan al-Qaeda suspect Abu Faraj al-Libbi has been arrested in Pakistan, the government says. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that Libbi had been captured in the past few days. He was held with at least five other foreign al-Qaeda suspects in a clash in Waziristan in North-West Frontier Province, security sources said. Libbi is said to have become third in the al-Qaeda hierarchy after Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was caught in 2003.

Mr Ahmed said security agents had already gathered "a lot of tips" from the arrested men which meant they were "on the right track" to eventually capturing al-Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden.

Libbi is wanted in connection with two attempts on the life of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003 in which 17 people died. He was also regarded as the prime suspect in a number of bombings in Pakistan, including an attempt last year to kill Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Pakistan had put a reward of 20m rupees ($340,000) on the head of Libbi in August last year. The US had put up a bounty of $5m. "This is a very important day for us," Mr Ahmed said.

Two Pakistani security officials told the Associated Press the men were held after a gun battle in Mardan, 50km (30 miles) north of Peshawar, capital of North-West Frontier Province. A senior security official told the AFP news agency: "It is a very big success because he was the hand who was moving all the terrorist puppets in the country."

US custody - Libbi reportedly took over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's role after the latter was transferred into US custody. It is not known where Mohammed is being held. He was allegedly al-Qaeda's number three after Osama Bin Laden and Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has claimed he had the idea for the plane-based attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September, 2001. Libbi appeared on a most-wanted list last year, along with Amjad Hussain Farooqi, who was killed in a battle with forces in southern Pakistan last September.

Farooqi was also accused of involvement in the assassination attempts. Pakistan has been a key ally in what the US calls its war on terrorism. Islamabad has handed over more than 700 suspected al-Qaeda operatives to US custody.

One was Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a key suspect in the bombings of two US embassies in East Africa in 1998, whose transfer was announced in January this year. Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said it was too early to say if Libbi would be handed over to the US.

'Bring me the head of Bin Laden'- BBC News / Wednesday, 4 May, 2005

The CIA sent a team to Afghanistan days after 9/11 with orders to kill Osama Bin Laden and bring back his head, a former agent has revealed. Gary Schroen flew out soon after the attacks on New York and Washington, helping to set up the 2001 invasion, he told US National Public Radio.

He recalled his orders from the CIA's counter-terrorism chief. "Capture Bin Laden, kill him and bring his head back in a box on dry ice," he quoted Cofer Black as saying.

As for other leaders of Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan, Mr Black reportedly said: "I want their heads up on pikes." Contacted by the radio network, Mr Black would not confirm that these were his exact words but he did not dispute Mr Schroen's account.

The agent told NPR he had been stunned that, for the first time in 30 years of service, he had received orders to kill targets rather then capture them. But he says he replied: "Sir, those are the clearest orders I have ever received. "I can certainly make pikes out in the field but I don't know what I'll do about dry ice to bring the head back - but we'll manage something."

One more mission - Mr Schroen, 59 when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, had just begun the CIA's retirement transition programme but he was asked to put it on hold two days after the attacks of 11 September 2001.

As a former station chief in both Kabul and Islamabad, he was considered to be ideally placed for the Afghan mission. According to NPR, there was no doubt at CIA headquarters that the 9/11 attacks were the work of Bin Laden.

Mr Schroen was given a double brief, it reported: to liaise with anti-Taleban warlords on the ground as preparation for the overthrow of the regime, and to then assassinate Bin Laden and other top al-Qaeda figures.

The agency allowed Mr Schroen to pick his own six-man team and, exactly one week after 9/11, they were on a plane flying to the region, equipped with laptops, hand-held radios, instant coffee and $3m in $100 bills.

Mr Schroen has released memoirs called First In, a reference to the fact that he and his team were the first US government personnel on the ground. He says he is surprised that the CIA has still not managed to track down Bin Laden after nearly four years.

Former Taliban Minister Speaks To RFA On Reconciliation Talks - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

4 May 2005 -- A former foreign minister during the ousted Taliban regime, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, spoke to Radio Free Afghanistan (RFA) today on the reconciliation efforts between former Taliban representatives and the Afghan government.

Former minister Muttawakil spoke to the RFA reporter from an undisclosed location saying that the reconciliation talks, which are currently being under way, are not working properly. Muttawakil said, "So far, the governmental commission [in charge of the talks] is not working properly. There should be some clarity about the procedure and that would certainly happen. As far as I know, these talks may not be in a phase that could be called decisive."

The former Taliban minister Muttawakili also said during the interview that in order to strengthen and improve the talks between the two sides, he believes "any process that is pushed forward with honest intentions and with negotiations that are conducted in a really good way, avoiding assertions that could have negative impact on some or other issues, would be for the better and would be for the benefit of the future of Afghanistan and its people. So, the negotiations should be comprehensive and based on sympathy."

Muttawakil, seen by political analysts as a Taliban moderate, was

etained by U.S. forces after the ouster of the Taliban government in late 2001 and released two years later.

US general warns of forces strain - BBC News / Wednesday, 4 May, 2005

The top US general, Richard Myers, has warned that ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan could limit the ability of the US to fight another war. Current commitments can be met, but a new conflict could take longer and cause more casualties, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

He expressed his views in a classified report to Congress, parts of which have been leaked to the media. There are about 130,000 US troops in Iraq and some 16,000 in Afghanistan. The US Congress is currently considering whether to approve a further $82bn to fund the operations there.

'We will prevail' - The ongoing US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are placing heavy demands on personnel and equipment. Gen Myers indicated to journalists that if the military were called upon to fight another war then current expectations regarding how long it would take to win that war might have to be revised.

But he said the US military was able to meet all of its current commitments. "We will prevail," he said. "The timelines [to winning a new war] may have to be extended and we may have to use additional resources, but that doesn't matter because we're going to be successful in the end."

The document reportedly says that future conflicts may result in longer campaigns, higher casualties and greater collateral damage. Independent US military analysts say the US could theoretically fight another war in Iran, say, or on the Korean peninsula, but it would place massive stress on the armed forces, especially the army.

Lt. Gen. Eikenberry assumes command of CFC-A
COMBINED FORCES COMMAND – AFGHANISTAN - COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN May 4, 2005 - By U.S. Army Pfc. Vincent C. Fusco

CAMP EGGERS, Afghanistan – Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry assumed command of Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan from Lt. Gen. David W. Barno during a change-of-command ceremony as a steady rain fell here May 3.

“Rain is good luck,” said Gen. John P. Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command, referring to an earlier statement made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai at a breakfast meeting with the generals. The wet weather is also welcome in a country suffering from more than six years of drought.

Abizaid conducted the passing of the colors. A formation led by CFC-A Command Sgt. Maj. Cynthia Pritchett represented elements of CFC-A: Combined Joint Task Force-76, the Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan, Task Force Phoenix and Coalition allies.

Barno, an Endicott, N.Y., native, leaves Afghanistan to serve as the U.S. Army’s deputy chief of staff for installation management. At the ceremony he was presented with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Meritorious Service Medal. He also received an antique rifle from Afghan Minister of Defense Abdurahim Wardak. The rifle signifies courage and bravery in Afghanistan.

“General Barno has achieved great victories in the war against terrorism,” Wardak said. Barno has worked since assuming command in November 2003 to defeat terrorism, develop the Afghan National Army and reconstruct Afghanistan.
Eikenberry served for a year as the U.S. security coordinator and chief of the Office of Military Cooperation in Kabul and worked to set up the ANA before leaving the country in September 2003.

“It’s a real honor and privilege to come back to Afghanistan,” Eikenberry said . In his speech, Eikenberry gave thanks to the service members of the United States and Coalition forces, and pledged to continue CFC-A’s mission.

“I give a pledge to this command to follow in General Barno’s footsteps,” he said. “We will continue to work together, build security forces and support the rebuilding of Afghanistan.”

As Barno had done for the Afghan presidential election last year, Eikenberry will work with the Afghan government to support the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“Our mission will continue in the same direction, … working with the United Nations, Coalition forces, and most importantly, the Afghan government,” Eikenberry said.

CFC-A is comprised of more than 18,000 troops -- 16,700 U.S. and 1,600 personnel from 22 allied nations who conduct full-spectrum operations, from combat to humanitarian activities, to defeat terrorism and establish enduring security in the country.

“We will continue to prosecute the war against terror in partnership with the Islamic government of Afghanistan and be relentless as we move forward,” said Eikenberry. “So much has been accomplished, and so much has to be done.”

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Eikenberry has master’s degrees from Harvard University in East Asian studies and Stanford University in political science. He received the Department of State Superior Honor Award and Afghanistan’s Akbar Khan Award presented by President Karzai. Eikenberry’s last assignment was as the director of strategic planning and policy for U.S. Pacific Command.

Afghan clerics plan 'Mullah' TV station - Mail & Guardian / May 3, 2005

Radical Afghan clerics on Tuesday unveiled plans to launch the country's first Islamic television channel since the fall of the fundamentalist Taliban regime more than three years ago.

A group of hardline religious scholars, or mullahs, based in the capital Kabul said the station would counter what they say are immoral and un-Islamic programmes being broadcast by other channels.

"We plan to launch our own TV channel and through this channel we will broadcast Islamic programmes," said Qyamuddin Kashaf, a spokesperson for the Ulema Council, the group behind the plans.

Afghanistan has witnessed a rapid growth in television stations since the fall of the hardline Taliban in late 2001, which banned all cinemas and televisions during its rule from 1994 to 1996..

The Taliban itself last month launched a pirate radio station operating from a secret mobile transmitter which broadcasts religious material as well as invective against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

The clerics, who are not linked with the ousted regime, have not yet chosen the TV channel's name but they said it would start transmitting in the near future. The spokesperson added that President Hamid Karzai had promised to help them but did not give an exact date or give details of how the station would be funded or operated.

Karzai's spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. In addition to state-run TV, four television channels run by local warlords and private companies are operating in Afghanistan, and there are also several cable providers.

Most of the private stations run Western music videos and movies and have come under heavy criticism from conservatives who call the programmes un-Islamic. The cable operators have been shut and reopened several times under pressure from conservative groups.

"We've said -- not once, not twice, but dozens of times -- that their programmes are against Islam," Kashaf said. "They are not helping Afghan society. Our TV will help society with morality as well as healthy education." Kashaf said women would appear on screen but under a full Islamic veil.

Afghanistan's new Constitution, approved by a gathering of tribal chiefs and religious leaders in 2002, protects freedom of expression and a free media which includes TV stations. - Sapa-AFP

Afghan girls kick down old barriers - By Ben Arnoldy, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor - Wed May 4

From the corner of a Kabul basement, next door to a barber shop, come high-pitched and most unusual sounds. A small posse of Afghan girls shout "heey-ya!" as they practice karate jabs, kicks, and punches.

The eldest of the bunch, Nargas Rahimi, returned to her Afghan homeland last year after growing up in Iran. "I saw that Afghan women didn't have the faintest idea about exercise. So I came here to act as an example for Afghan girls and to help them take part in Afghan society," she says.

With the help of several new Kabul fitness clubs (with women-only hours) like the Khusal Khanmeena gym, Afghan girls and women are getting their first taste of sports. Girls' schools here are also introducing athletics, and the women's Olympic committee is now training some 1,500 Afghan girls to compete abroad. Last summer, for the first time in the nation's history, two women competed in the Olympics.

After years of being cloistered in their homes during Taliban times, women are now looking to private gyms and sports clubs as one of the few pathways opening up for women and girls trying to reemerge into a society that remains highly segregated - and dangerous. Two weeks ago, a woman was stoned to death for adultery.

"Sport can be used as a vehicle for creating a safe space, an entrance into the public sphere," says Martha Brady, a program associate with the Population Council in New York who has worked on bringing sports to girls in Egypt. In many countries, she says, "you can see an 8-year-old girl outside kicking a ball around. You don't see her when she's 13 because she's sequestered at home."

In Afghanistan - a nation where women are still seldom seen in public - there are few socially acceptable public places for women outside of schools or universities, and even fewer facilities for sports.

This is slowly changing as more girls head back to school. So far, 1,600 girls schools have opened, but according to UNICEF, on average 60 percent of girls' under 11 - more than 1 million - are still not attending lessons. Out of some 5 million children enrolled in schools nationwide, girls made up just 35 percent, the World Bank said in its latest report on education in Afghanistan.

Robina Muqimyar's world changed in 2003 when officials at her school in Kabul gathered together her classmates and asked for volunteers for a new basketball team. "I was the first one to raise my hand," the self-confident teen says.

Her boldness paid off when her athletic gifts were noticed by the country's fledgling women's Olympic committee, which offered to train her as a runner. In the 2004 Olympics, Ms. Muqimyar ran the 100-meter dash as one of the country's two female athletes at the games.

Emboldened by Muqimyar, more young girls are signing up for international competition in 14 different sports including football, volleyball, basketball, and the martial arts. Most are middle class, and many are returned refugees.

"The five years of Taliban rule hurt the girls psychologically," says Shamsulhayat Alam, head of Afghanistan's women's Olympic committee. "Two years after the Taliban, we were not able to get even one girl who was interested in playing sports."

That's now changing. The girls travel internationally to compete, with upcoming trips to Japan and Iran. The girls are also sent to schools across Afghanistan to work as trainers and, more importantly, to spread their "can do" attitude.

"It has energized me in terms of getting more studies done," says Muqimyar. "I want to have more promotion in my life." The term "promotion" doesn't refer to a Nike sneaker deal but is often used to describe a desire to be educated and independent.

Women have made some advances in the past four years in Afghanistan, particularly in politics. The new governor of Bamiyan is a woman, as are three government ministers. A quarter of the seats in the new parliament's upper house must be female.

These gains, however, have done little to change women's social roles, partly because even women with some political influence are reluctant to push for rapid social change.

"We shouldn't be in a hurry for getting promotion because the people are just going to be against it. The work that has been done so far, it has been enough," says Safia Siddiqi, gender adviser to the ministry of rural rehabilitation.

Still, some women are cautiously pushing the boundaries in small ways. More women's faces are visible on the streets. Driving schools for women have opened in Kabul, and recently in Herat. The capital now has several women's shelters. In April, the first class of 138 midwives graduated with the hopes of curbing the worst maternal and child mortality rates in the world.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to these changes, but I think these changes are quite tiny," says Parween Hakeem with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. "And at the same time we cannot limit the map of Afghanistan to Kabul. These issues are only related to Kabul.

Ms. Hakeem points to the stoning of a woman in Faizabad as indicative of the "fundamentalist" atmosphere in Afghanistan. Media reports say the woman was accused of adultery by her husband who had returned from an extended time abroad. Often such women are left with little money to fend for themselves while their husbands are away. It remains highly difficult for an Afghan woman to divorce, and even harder to remarry.

Many of the girls interviewed for this story had to overcome family objections - mostly about modesty - before taking part in sports. When Muqimyar ran at the Olympics she wore a full body suit with a hood.

Some families still prevent athletes from traveling abroad. Afghans often try to prevent female relatives from spending much time outside the home. President Hamid Karzai, widely seen as moderate on social issues, does not bring his wife to public events. The thinking goes that "if a woman takes less part in society, does not go out of the home, then she would provide more honor to her family," says Hakeem.

In the West, research has shown that American high school girls who participate in sports have better grades, fewer discipline problems, and stronger college aspirations than their non-athletic peers. Female athletes also tend to have higher self-esteem and a more positive body image.

Some of these trends can be seen among the Afghan athletes as well. "From my time with the girls, I have noticed that these girls have become more interested in their studies. They've become more self-confident, more independent," says Ms. Alam, the Olympic coordinator.

Access to sports, however, remains very limited for both Afghan boys and girls. Most schools have no equipment. Wahidullah Ebrahimkheil, the sports procurement officer in the education ministry, says he has no budget for equipment. Instead, he recycles old equipment and gets occasional overseas donations. "Officials will come in and say they have 300 to 400 schools in their province, but we can only provide them with seven or eight balls," he says.

Fund Shortage Could Close Leprosy Shelter That Survived Taliban Killings - Ron Synovitz - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty - May 3, 2005

Edda Dohm is a 66-year-old German nurse who is trying to keep a leprosy clinic and shelter running in central Afghanistan. Most residents fled the area around the "Zuflucht" shelter in Bamiyan Province during January 2001 when the Taliban began mass killings of ethnic Hazara residents. The Taliban also burnt part of the Zuflucht compound to the ground. But they left two women leprosy patients alone there in the ruins. Today, those women still live in the compound along with other leprosy patients who have nowhere else to call home. But Dohm says a shortage of funds and qualified health workers may force the shelter to close.

Prague, 3 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The "Zuflucht" leprosy clinic and shelter was set up in the remote Yakaolang District of Bamiyan Province in 1992 -- mostly with private funds.

Six leprosy patients now live within Zuflucht's simple walled compound. Nestled beneath a towering mountain range, there is one mud-brick house, a vegetable garden, and one medical professional to help them -- a 66-year-old nurse from Darmstadt, Germany, named Edda Dohm.

"In the beginning, we did mainly health education to the community, going to the villages and taking care of the untreated leprosy patients," Dohm said. "But finally, it became necessary to make a home for patients who really were on the road and who had no place to stay."

One of those patients is an ethnic Hazara woman with leprosy named Fatima who moved into the compound seven years ago. Fatima was at the Zuflucht shelter when Taliban forces seized control of Yakaolang District in January 2001 and carried out a brutal campaign against the Hazara civilian population

Researchers from Human Rights Watch have documented how the Taliban went on house-to-house searches through Yakaolang -- gathering together men for mass executions and leaving their bodies piled up near several relief agencies. Human Rights Watch researchers say the Taliban executed seven men at a crossroad near the Zuflucht leprosy clinic one afternoon.

Because of their disabilities, Fatima and another woman with leprosy named Zuhra were unable to flee with others. Fatima still remembers the killings. "It was really hard living during the time of the Taliban," she said. "They were beating everyone and I was really scared because whatever was happening, we couldn't say anything. We were scared. They shot some people right there. We were shocked."

Although the Taliban burned part of the Zuflucht compound to the ground, they left the two women there alone. Dohm said it was their disease that, ironically, saved their lives.

"They were forced to stay here. They could not leave as quickly as the others. They just had to stay. But one good thing for them was because of people's fear of leprosy -- especially those who look [disfigured]. Although [the Taliban] was not afraid of them, they left them alive. They did not kill them," Dohm said.

Leprosy is one of the world's oldest recorded diseases. The Health Ministry in Kabul says there are 15 to 20 new cases diagnosed in Afghanistan every year. Statistics from both the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Afghan government show that Bamiyan Province has the highest number of leprosy cases in the country.

Since many leprosy patients become outcasts, they often require long-term social care as well as medical treatment. Dohm tries to offer both -- and since the collapse of the Taliban regime, Zuflucht has become a refuge for four other leprosy patients.

Zuhra said her own daughter was repulsed by her disease and left her alone more than nine years ago. "We will stay here for as long as it is open," she said. "This lady has kindly taken us in here. And we don't know of any other place to go to."

But the clinic and shelter are facing new challenges that threaten their existence. After decades of work in Afghanistan and at refugee camps in Pakistan, the 66-year-old Dohm says the physical task of taking care of leprosy patients is taking its toll on her. "Younger people should take over. I was waiting, actually, for help," she said. "I'm the only foreigner here. And in this home, the main responsibilities are resting on me, actually, which I honestly can say has become too much."

And although Zuflucht regularly gets some assistance from United Nations groups like the World Food Program and UNHCR, Dohm says funds for day-to-day operations are running out.

"I have several times said to our people here , 'I'm very sorry. I think perhaps I must send you home.' But they don't have a home. [I have said,] 'I think I have to send you away and we don't have the money anymore.' It's just impossible for them. They don't know where to go and it is impossible to send them out on the street," Dohm said.

Still, Dohm concludes that without a fresh influx of funds and at least one medical worker to take over the job when she retires, the leprosy shelter that outlasted the Taliban regime will be forced to close.
20,000 Afghan refugee children risk exclusion from education in Pakistan - Source: World Vision / May 3, 2005

REGIONAL - By Rebecca Lyman- Around 20,000 Afghan refugee children will be denied a primary school education due to a 40% reduction in the United Nations Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) budget for Pakistan's refugee camps this year.

Already crowded classrooms will swell to up to 100 children per teacher as staff are laid off, subsequently reducing the quality of education children receive.

Ultimately, thousands of children will be forced out of school and into Madrassah's, religious seminaries, whose credentials are not accepted in either Pakistan or Afghanistan for gainful employment purposes or onto the streets to beg, steal, engage in hazardous labour or prostitute themselves to survive.

'To feel at home', is the UNHCR theme for this year's World Refugee Day on 20 June. The international community must join hands with the Government of Pakistan and UNHCR to ensure that all Afghan refugee children have access to education and 'feel at home' in Pakistan," said Sigurd Hanson, National Director for World Vision in Pakistan.

"While the needs of refugees are great, it costs just US$36 a year to give a refugee child an education," adds Hanson.

A recent UNHCR-funded population census indicates more than three million Afghans still remain in Pakistan, about 1.8 million of them in the North West Frontier Province living both in refugee camps and in urban areas.

Despite substantial repatriation in recent years, the impact on refugee camp school enrolments has been relatively negligible. During 2005, UNHCR aims to repatriate 400,000 Afghans, which based on past trends means a reduction of only 3,000 students in camp schools.

The Government of Pakistan and UNHCR also recognise the importance of education to equip Afghan children with knowledge, skills and a sense of self-worth so that they can face the harsh and difficult task of returning home to rebuild their lives and country.

'Education for All, and 'Inclusive Education', both promoted and under implementation by the United Nations, include refugee children, who constitute one of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups and who live at the mercy of host countries, humanitarian agencies and donors.

World Vision Pakistan wants to see 'Education for All' a reality in Pakistan and respond to the request by the Government of Pakistan's Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees (CAR) to facilitate securing additional donor funding that is critical to help educate refugee camp children during this funding crisis.

Basic Education for Afghan Refugees (BEFARe) requires approximately US$600,000 to maintain the same sound quality of education and ensure that 20,000 students at risk of being forced out of school have the opportunity to receive a primary school education.

BEFARe, an off-shoot of the German GTZ as the main implementing partner of UNHCR has been providing education to over 100,000 camp refugee children since 1996 – the largest refugee education program worldwide.

The budget cuts oblige BEFARe to cut its support per student, per school year from US$35.90 in 2003 to US$21.11 in 2005.

"This is not about supplying funding for deficits. This is about Afghan girls and boys and their futures. We know the alternatives facing Afghan refugee children when they don't go to school", said Hanson.
"UNHCR, international agencies and donors recognise the Government of Pakistan's aggressive leadership in seeking immediate solutions to this crisis", he added.

Last year, BEFARe had 2,500 trained teachers on its payroll. The programme will rehire and retrain teachers that have been laid off due to budget cuts once additional funding becomes available. Administration costs will be reduced and teacher-student ratios will be increased within manageable limits.

"We look forward to working with you in this noble task of educating the young who are the hope for a future stable and prosperous Afghanistan," said CAR Chief Commissioner, Jehangir Khan. In 2004 BEFARe distributed 'Gift-in-Kind' donated by World Vision US, on behalf of World Vision Pakistan.

Currently, World Vision Pakistan in coordination with BEFARe is developing teaching materials for master trainers in a pilot project to train BEFARe teachers in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

Delegation carries requests of Afghans in Pakistan back to Kabul government - Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) By Babar Baloch, UNHCR Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, May 4 (UNHCR) – After two weeks of hearing Afghans in Pakistan talk about obstacles to their repatriation, a delegation from Afghanistan has headed home to press the Kabul government to incorporate the needs of Afghan exiles in its future planning.

The tour by the delegation, with members from the Afghan ministries and political factions from Balkh, Jawzjan, Mazar-i-Sharif, Sar-i-Pul and Faryab provinces of northern Afghanistan, ended last week. The UNHCR-sponsored visit was aimed at strengthening the ongoing voluntary repatriation process to these provinces.

"We told Afghans in Pakistan that their government has not forgotten them and has the desire for all Afghans to return home slowly, gradually and voluntarily," said Abdul Basir Marefat, the director of legal affairs for the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, who was in the delegation.

"The delegation will emphasize to the Afghan government the need to put into their plans the concerns of Afghans from the five northern provinces living in Pakistan. We will be presenting these concerns as our findings from the 'come and talk' visit," he added.

The nine-member team travelled to Pakistan's four provinces and the federal capital, Islamabad. They shared with Afghans information on the recovery process and re-establishment of national institutions and organisations in Afghanistan, the disarmament campaign, the revival of the Afghan national army and the police, and the political advances.

"We encouraged returning Afghans to get in touch with the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, which is present all over the country. Now there are no forced recruitments for the national army, no illegal tax collection and there is a special court for refugees to re-claim their properties in Afghanistan," said Marefat.

The delegates are members of the Return Commission Working Group, formed nearly three years ago to help remove obstacles in five provinces of Afghanistan where factional rivalries were hindering repatriation.

"The Afghan government, through a presidential order, has announced a general amnesty for all Afghans involved in minor crimes," Mohammad Karim Nazar, a human rights trainer in the team, told Afghans in Karachi.

Apart from telling them about conditions in the north of Afghanistan, the visiting delegation also took note of the concerns blocking their voluntary return to Afghanistan.

Mohammad Yaqoub Ayoubi, a political assistant with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said that many Afghans reported they were staying in Pakistan due to a lack of shelter, a lack of confidence in the political stability and continuing concerns with the security in Afghanistan.

"Our analysis, after discussions with Afghans in Pakistan, suggests they have different reasons for their unwillingness to return for the time being. There were Afghans who have social economic problems. They usually compare the availability of facilities in both countries and have also established strong links in Pakistan," he said.

He stressed the need to resolve the problems of specific groups like the nomadic Kuchis. "There is a need for special planning to reintegrate them in Afghanistan and the government will also need to look into the issue of whether Kuchis should return to their old ways of life or settle somewhere permanently. On this issue, the delegation will give recommendations to the government to specially consider this case."

Ayoubi added, "The Afghan government needs to make efforts for well-established businessmen like the Turkmen to encourage their return. They might agree to take back their whole carpet-weaving operations to Afghanistan."

Land and shelter issues surfaced during the meetings as a main impediment to Afghans' return. UNHCR plans to provide shelter in Afghanistan to 6,000 vulnerable returnee families this year. But, aside from helping sometimes to settle ownership disputes, UNHCR cannot resolve questions of land distribution that must be resolved by the Afghan government.

With the UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme for 2005 underway, the delegation from northern Afghanistan also met Afghans who were ready to return. More than 2.3 million Afghans have already returned home voluntarily from Pakistan under the programme since it started in 2002.

UNAMA's Ayoubi attributed the returns to the parliamentary elections expected in October, improvements in security, the best rains in decades after years of drought, and other developments.
A recent census of Afghans in Pakistan – the first ever – revealed there are more than 3 million Afghans still living in Pakistan. During the last three years, the UN refugee agency has organized "go and see" visits for them to see conditions in their parts of Afghanistan before making a decision on their repatriation.

The voluntary repatriation of Afghans is continuing under a Tripartite Agreement signed between UNHCR, Pakistan and Afghanistan that expires next March. UNHCR estimates that around 400,000 Afghans will return home from Pakistan this year.

Operator says Afghan mobile market getting crowded - Robert Birsel / May 4

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's telephone market is going to get very crowded when the government issues two more GSM mobile licenses, one of the country's two operators said on Wednesday.

The Telecommunications Ministry invited bids last week for two new GSM licenses, saying it wanted to attract competition and develop the country's telecommunications. The new operators are expected to launch services by early next year.

The chief of the leading mobile operator, Roshan, said the government had always said there would be a third operator from the beginning of 2006, but he had not expected a fourth.

"What surprised me is that, I believe without much consultation, they've decided to go for four," Karim Khoja, chief executive officer of Roshan, told Reuters.

"My belief is now, with the regime that the government has taken, where it's going to license two more operators, you've got an over-subscription of services," he said.

Roshan, started by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Monaco Telecom International and U.S.-based MCT Corp., has been operating in Afghanistan for 18 months.

With the country's landline system virtually non-existent after decades of conflict and neglect, Roshan and the other GSM provider, Afghan Wireless Communication Company, have about 800,000 subscribers, or three percent of the population.

That total is expected to grow to one million by the end of the year, Khoja said. The Telecommunications Ministry says the new licenses will generate revenue for the government in fees, attract more than $200 million in new foreign direct investment and create thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs.

"OPPORTUNISTIC?" - State-owned Afghan Telecom, which provides a mobile service using CDMA technology, will also be eligible for a GSM license early next year. That raises the prospect of five operators in a country of about 25 million people with an annual per capita income of about $200.

"We have no problem with a third operator. We think competition is good, but when you start having five operators ..." Khoja said.

"I ask the question: is the government being opportunistic in trying to cash in, on the only sector that actually has proven itself, without having done the true analysis to see."

Khoja listed a litany of difficulties any new operators would face, including security worries, transport and power problems, graft and a heavy tax burden. "Trust me, getting a license is the beginning of the pain," he said.

"My customer service people get put into prison weekly, and I have to go to a minister, because we won't give free sim cards and free air time." The new operators would also be stepping into a competitive market, he said.

"When we came in to Afghanistan 18 months ago you used to pay $3 a minute for an international call, $1.50 for a local call and you used to have to pay $350 to have the access unit to get the service."

"Today, you can go into a bazaar and you can basically get service from one of the two operators for about $60, with a phone and sim card, and you're paying 10 cents a minute anywhere in the country and, at most, 50 cents for international calls per minute. Very, very competitive."

The deadline for the submission of bids is July 16 and a final announcement and award will be made on Aug. 22, the government said. The new companies are expected to launch their services by January.

Even in Afghanistan taxes as sure as death

By Simon Cameron-Moore / May 5, 2005
KABUL (Reuters) - Karim Khoja was happy to secure a $45 million (23 million pounds) loan for his firm -- Afghanistan's biggest mobile phone operator. But his mood darkens when asked about government talk of promoting the private sector.

"They are not matching the rhetoric," said Khoja, chief executive officer of the Roshan telephone company.

He rattles off a list of taxes his company is paying in newly democratic, post-conflict Afghanistan under a tax regime he believes is hindering business growth.

There's a 20 percent corporate tax, 12.5 percent tax on gross receipts, a five percent withholding tax on services for imported foreign know-how and five to seven percent to be paid on whatever capital equipment is brought into the country, plus a rental tax.

Stepping in after a quarter century of conflict to help Afghanistan develop an economy to support its fledgling democracy, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have advised the government how to start a tax regime.

Entrepreneurs already have a list of problems to contend with -- heavy security, off-and-on electricity, extreme weather, bad roads, and buying land can be a metaphorical minefield. Yet Afghanistan's taxes are higher than fast-rising East European economies such as Hungary and Poland.

Roshan, started by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Monaco Telecom International and U.S.-based MCT Corp., is one of the biggest tax payers in Afghanistan.

Two-thirds of the 600,000 people using mobile phones use Roshan, which shelled out $17 million in tax last year. Khoja reckoned Roshan accounted for six percent of total tax revenues.

Admittedly, only seven percent of Afghanistan's budget is funded from revenues raised internally. The rest comes from foreign aid. Saad Mohseni, director of Moby Capital Partners, said the current tax regime could prove counter productive.

"Taxation is another hindrance. The more legitimate a business is, the more tax it will have to pay, so the more likely businesses are to try and stay in the illegitimate economy," he said.

Mohseni, who runs several media ventures including the private Tolo TV channel with his brother, Jahid, is among those Afghans who have returned home after being raised in the West.

He believes the government should think in terms of incentives not cash cows, and should start with low taxes to bring more people into the system. Instead, more taxes are on the way. A payroll tax is being implemented in June. There is also talk of a 10 percent services tax, which would hit the scratch card business of Roshan and its rival, Afghan Wireless Communication Company.

"You can't keep coming back to the same well. You're inhibiting the growth of business," Khoja said, after signing an agreement with the Asian Development Bank and France's PROPARCO for the largest loan awarded to a private-sector Afghan firm to expand Roshan's network.

LOW BY WHOSE STANDARDS? - Steven Symansky, an IMF adviser attending the Afghan Development Forum earlier this month where there was much talk of enabling the private sector, was unapologetic about the demands put on nascent businesses in an immature economy.

There were taxes before -- just not official ones, he says. "The problem is not the legitimate taxes. The problem is the illegitimate taxes. In other words, there are nuisance taxes. There are things being collected ... people collecting revenues illegally. That is the real burden."

Moreover, he said donors would probably be less generous if the government did not make some effort to develop sustainable revenue streams. "It isn't a high rate of tax. The total tax revenue relative to GDP is four percent. It's almost the lowest anywhere," said Symansky.

Custom rates are also among the lowest, if not the lowest, in the region. But business people complain the rates are low to stop smuggling rather than to benefit Afghanistan, which needs to import capital goods and know-how.

The rationale behind hitting big firms, such as Roshan, is that their tax is easy to collect. "When it comes to domestic tax the thing to do is concentrate on your large tax payers," said Symansky. "The idea is that it's an easy administrative way to do it."

The big firms are also the big employers, hence a payroll tax rather than income tax, though Symansky says it would only apply to higher income employees.

Ideally, a consumption tax would be best, but there are not the resources to collect such a tax for now, which in any case would hurt small- and medium-sized business, he said.
Symansky believes Afghanistan's big, young corporates are overstating their case. "Yes, 20 percent corporate tax, but accelerated depreciation and loss carried forward. So anyone seriously investing here will pay zero tax." Mohseni scoffs.

"We don't even have accountants to work out depreciation. Experts don't exist here. Who's going to say what depreciation you're entitled too -- the official doing the collecting?"

War and peace in Waziristan - By Amir Mir / Asia Times Online / May 4, 2005

KARACHI - The American commander of the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General David Barno, stated on April 18 that terrorists were infiltrating into Afghanistan from Pakistan, and that Islamabad had been asked to begin a fresh operation against remnants of Taliban and al-Qaeda presently hiding in the Waziristan region of Pakistan.

However, Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain was quick to dismiss Barno's claim on April 20, describing it as a highly irresponsible remark: "Lt Gen Barno should not have made that statement. It was a figment of his imagination. There is no bloody operation going on until we have the right intelligence." Safdar, while ruling out joint military operations with the US-led coalition forces, added, "My strategy is to achieve the end goal without firing a shot."

The Peshawar corps commander's statement was followed by Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Shaukat Sultan's rejoinder, claiming, "No such military operation is being launched, and we decide for ourselves what needs to be done and when and where." Barno made his statement during a meeting of the tripartite commission of the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan that was held in Islamabad on April 18.

According to Pakistani media reports, the US general claimed during the meeting that remnants of Taliban and al-Qaeda were planning to stage some high visibility attacks over the next six to nine months, which would get them back on the scoreboard after suffering major strategic reversals. "The coming spring would therefore see a fresh operation in North Waziristan to nip their planned offensive in the bud," Barno was quoted as saying.

Ten days later, on April 28, Barno in an interview to The New York Times stated further: "The Americans have been training Pakistanis in night flying and airborne assault tactics to combat foreign and local fighters in the tribal areas of Pakistan near the Afghan border." Significantly, this was the first time the American military acknowledged the training. Barno further admitted that the presence of American troops in Pakistan was regarded as extremely delicate, adding that he had visited the Special Services Group headquarters of the Pakistan army at Cherat, near Peshawar, recently, where he watched a display by the units trained by the US in their new Bell 4 helicopters.

However, the New York Times report also quoted ISPR's Sultan as saying that there were no American military trainers at Cherat and that Barno had probably been referring to joint military exercises between the two countries. He told the newspaper in a phone interview, "The Pakistan army has been training with many countries of the world. We have also been conducting joint military training with the US Army many a time earlier. They benefit from each other's experience. They learn from each other. That's what has been happening, and nothing else." Yet, contrary to the claims of the Pakistani generals, the report stated that the Pakistan army was gearing up to go into the last redoubts of al-Qaeda and foreign fighters - the tribal areas of North Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan.

In all likelihood, Barno's statement was not a "figment of his imagination"; he had just made public something Safdar and his superiors did not want the Pakistani people to know. The Pakistan army has been fighting the invisible enemy in Waziristan without much success, often giving an impression of failure. Whatever the truth, statements and counter statements by American and Pakistani generals clearly indicate that the troubles in Waziristan are far from over. Since military authorities have banned the entry of the media into the region, nobody knows what is actually going on in Waziristan. The only available source of information is the ISPR spokesman, whose claims are always contested by the opposition and the media in public.

US intelligence sleuths stationed in Pakistan evidently believe that the country continues to be a potential site of militant recruitment and training, and al-Qaeda's "operational commander" Abu Faraj al-Libbi, presently hiding in Pakistan's tribal belt, continues to hire local recruits to bolster up his terrorist organization's manpower, which continues to grow in strength despite the capture of over 500 of its operatives from within Pakistan over the past two years. According to intelligence sources, most of the al-Qaeda fugitives on the run from Afghanistan are being sheltered by the heavily armed populace on the Pak-Afghan border, where they are being trained in terror.

US intelligence findings indicate specifically that some of the al-Qaeda training camps have already been reactivated along the southeastern side of the Pak-Afghan border. These reports further suggest that Osama bin Laden, and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, may also be in the region. Meanwhile, President General Pervez Musharraf also confirmed that bin Laden is not only alive, but is residing in the Pak-Afghan tribal area. "Osama is alive and I am cent percent [100%] sure that he is hiding in Pak-Afghan tribal belt," he stated during an April 22 interview with CNN. Similarly, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the American special presidential envoy and ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, have repeatedly alleged that terrorists continue to operate against Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Barno's apprehensions that "the Taliban and al-Qaeda can launch their big offensive from North Waziristan in next nine months", consequently, appears to carry weight and belies repeated claims by Pakistan that the Waziristan area has returned to normalcy after successful army operations. As a matter of fact, the Peshawar corps commander, Hussain, had declared in January that the "back of the terrorists has been broken" and that only a few of them had survived, "roaming around in small batches". The corps commander's statement came two years after the Pakistan Army started operations in South Waziristan in January 2003. The army had to launch the operations after being alerted by the Americans to the presence of Taliban and al-Qaeda elements in the Waziristan region. Hussain had further announced in January that out of the 6,000 foreign terrorists, 600 had already been captured and another 150 killed. He also admitted that, during the operations, 200 Pakistan army personnel had been killed at the hands of the terrorists.

The heavy losses suffered by the Pakistan army eventually compelled its High Command to suspend the military campaign and pursue peace pacts with the local tribes. The first such accord was signed at Shakai with Waziri warlord Nek Mohammad in April 2004. Nek Mohammad reneged and was killed by an American-guided laser missile. The second agreement was signed at Sararogha in February 2005 with Baitullah Mahsud, the chieftain of the Mahsud tribe. The deal was mediated by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, at a ceremony that ended with shouts of "Death to America". Interestingly, the pact with Baitullah Mahsud did not forbid Abdullah Mahsud, the most wanted fugitive from the Mahsud tribe, from attacking the US forces across the border in Afghanistan. Despite reports of his being killed in a Pakistan army ambush in February 2005, the fact remains that Abdullah is still alive and remains the foremost militant commander in the Waziristan area.

Interestingly, the Sararogha peace pact did not require that Abdullah surrender the foreign terrorists allegedly taking shelter with him; it simply bound him not to attack the Pakistan army and not give shelter to foreign terrorists. It did not bind him to lay down arms or not fight across the Durand Line, which demarcates the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The man swears allegiance to Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban amir (chief); he moves around in a bullet-proof car and is followed by some 30 armed guards; he owns two castle-like houses in North and South Waziristan. As Abdullah Mahsud has apparently failed to honor his side of the bargain, the Pakistan army has once again been asked by the US to launch fresh operations in its territory. Earlier, Barno had declared that in February, after the signing of the Sararogha agreement with Baitullah Mahsud: "The foreign fighters in the tribal belt had to be killed or captured instead of being given amnesty through so-called peace accord."

Interestingly, however, both peace accords make no mention of the Pakistan army's previous condition that the tribal militants must produce foreigners hiding in Waziristan and ensure their registration. The army's insistence on this condition had led to the collapse of the Shakai agreement signed between the Peshawar corps commander and Nek Mohammad's militant group in April 2004. The militants' failure to produce the foreign militants hiding in the area had triggered a new round of fighting that ended up in Nek's death on June 19, 2004 (see Syed Saleem Shahzad's The legacy of Nek Mohammed, July 20, 2004).

The February 2005 peace agreement took an intriguing turn on February 8, with Safdar Hussain claiming that tribal militants demanded Rs 170 million (US$2.8 million) during the course of peace negotiations, and eventually settled for Rs 50 million to repay debts they owed to al-Qaeda-linked foreign militants. The BBC quoted the corps commander as saying that the four former wanted militants had insisted they needed the money to pay back huge sums to al-Qaeda. Haji Sharif and Maulvi Abbas received Rs 15 million each, while Maulvi Javed and Haji Mohammad Omar were each paid Rs 10 million.

The disclosure fueled speculation that the government had been paying money to buy off militants in South Waziristan. However, Haji Omar, on behalf of the Wana militants, denied the corps commander's claim and made it clear that he and the four other militants had only been paid Rs 4.2 million by retired Colonel Inamullah Wazir and the ISI officials who negotiated with him and the other four militants on behalf of the army, and this amount was for rebuilding their houses that had been destroyed during the military operations.

"Each of us received around Rs 800,000. My brother Haji Sharif and I got a total of Rs 1.6 million, while our third brother, Noor Islam, who wasn't part of the peace agreement, didn't receive any money. This amount was far less than the losses we incurred as a result of the damage suffered by our apple orchards and demolition of our family houses plus a hospital in Kalooshah that alone was worth more than Rs 4 million," he added.

The ongoing "war on terror" being waged in the Pakistani tribal areas has clearly not been without its share of controversies, charges and counter-charges. This was inevitable given the difficult nature of the military operations and the enigmatic relationship of the partners involved in fighting terror. But the angry public exchange between the Peshawar corps commander and the commander of the US forces in Afghanistan could easily have been avoided with a little discretion. Given the strong public sentiments against the Bush administration in Pakistan, especially in the areas bordering Afghanistan, such controversies are bound to evoke a strong public reaction and embarrass the government. Amir Mir, senior assistant editor, Monthly Herald, Dawn Group of Newspapers, Karachi.

[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.]