Six Afghans on U.S.-Funded Project Killed

Suspected Taliban militants gunned down six Afghan employees of a U.S.-funded anti-drugs project in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, the second fatal attack on project staff in two days, officials said.
The victims were driving to Kabul with the body of one of five men killed Wednesday when they were attacked in Zabul province's Shahjoy district, said Naik Mohammed, a doctor at a hospital in Qalat, where the victims' bodies were taken.

Rick Marshall, the Kabul spokesman for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said the six Afghans killed Thursday are believed to be employees of Chemonics International Inc., a Washington-based consulting firm.

The five killed Wednesday also were employees of Chemonics, which is managing a USAID-sponsored project to provide alternative livelihoods to farmers growing opium, the raw material for heroin.

Police search Afghan neighborhoods as deadline passes with no sign of kidnapped Italian – AP 5/19/05

Heavily armed police fanned out across poor neighborhoods of the Afghan capital on Thursday searching for a kidnapped Italian aid worker, after a deadline set by a man who claimed to be holding her passed.

A man claiming to have abducted CARE International worker Clementina Cantoni, 32, warned in a telephone interview broadcast on Afghan television that he would kill her unless his demands were met by Wednesday evening.

Police said on Thursday they had no information on the fate of Cantoni. But police commander Gen. Mahboubullah Amiri played down the threat to kill her, saying "we don't believe the ultimatum was serious."

"There is no news on the fate of Clementina. We are trying to get in contact," he said. Cantoni was seized by four armed men from her car in Kabul on Monday night.

It was the latest in a series of attacks targeting foreigners in the city, and authorities have said they suspect it was the work of the same criminal gang accused of abducting three U.N. workers last year.

Amiri said about 400 police were searching Kabul and that road blocks had been set up to stop the kidnappers from smuggling Cantoni out of the city. Dozens of heavily armed security forces fanned out across one poor neighborhood in southern Kabul, interviewing residents and searching cars.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, speaking during a visit to Japan, said he believed Cantoni was safe. "I know in general that there has been a contact and hopefully the lady will stay safe, I know that she is safe, and she will stay safe, and she will be released," he said.

In Italy, the nation anxiously waited for news. "Kabul, Fear for Clementina," said the front-page headline of newspaper L'Unita. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi declined to give details on the case, except to say that "we are working on it," news agency Apcom reported.

In the television interview broadcast by the privately-owned station Afghan Tolo, the purported kidnapper made three demands: for more Islamic boarding schools, "alternative livelihoods" for farmers being forced to stop growing opium, and for a liberal radio station called Arman to stop broadcasting a program about young people's social issues.

The Afghan government did not immediately react to the demands, and CARE declined to comment. The kidnapper, who called himself Temur Shah, said Cantoni's health was "very critical." He claimed she had internal bleeding, was vomiting and had not eaten in three days. He said she hurt her head during her abduction, when four men dragged her from her car.

The man did not offer any proof that he was holding Cantoni, although the television station said it contacted him by calling the hostage's cell phone. Cantoni has been in Afghanistan since 2002 working on a project to help Afghan widows

Italian's Afghan kidnapper eases demands: official – Reuters 05/19/2005

KABUL - The kidnapper of an Italian aid worker seized from her car in the Afghan capital has dropped most demands for her release, an Afghan official said on Thursday.

Clementina Cantoni, 32, who works for the CARE International aid agency, was snatched on Monday when four gunmen stopped her vehicle on a central Kabul street and bundled her into a white Toyota car.

The abduction raised fresh fears among Kabul's 2,000-strong foreign community of Iraq-style kidnappings by anti-government insurgents, but an Interior Ministry spokesman said the kidnapper was called Timoor Shah and led a criminal gang.

The spokesman denied Shah's claims to media that Cantoni's health was critical or that her captors had set an ultimatum. "We are in contact with the kidnapper. He has assured us about her health," said the spokesman, Lutfullah Mashal. "He has only one condition, but I cannot reveal it."

A man claiming to be Shah has spoken to several media organisations in Kabul saying he was holding Cantoni and listing three demands including the banning of a radio programme deemed "vulgar", compensation for opium farmers who have to abandon their crop, and more Islamic education.

The man rang the private Tolo television on Wednesday listing three similar demands and saying Cantoni was critically ill, had not been eating and was suffering internal bleeding after receiving a blow to the head when she was kidnapped.

The caller said he might "finish" Cantoni if his demands were not met by Wednesday evening. A similar threat was made on Thursday to a news agency. Afghan officials said on Wednesday the man's claim and demands were not credible but on Thursday Mashal said Shah was indeed the kidnapper.

Shah was no longer insisting on the three demands he mentioned to the media. Now he only had one demand but he had not issued an ultimatum, Mashal said. "We heard about the ultimatum from the press but he says he has not issued one," he said.

Afghanistan has seen a surge in kidnap for ransom, including of children, since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taleban in 2001. Three U.N. election workers were kidnapped in Kabul in October and held for 27 days before being released unharmed.

Officials initially believed Cantoni's kidnappers might be from the same gang that kidnapped the three U.N. workers but Shah was not believed to have been involved in the earlier kidnapping, officials said. Aid agencies have warned staff in recent weeks after two unsuccessful attempts to kidnap foreigners in the capital.

UN calls for immediate release of abducted aid worker in Afghanistan

KABUL, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday called for immediate and safe release of Italian female aid worker, kidnapped from the Afghan capital Monday night, an UN official said.

"UNAMA is deeply troubled over the abduction of humanitarian aid worker Clementina Cantoni and wishes her speedy and safe release," Richard Provencher, the spokesman of the UN body here, said at a press conference.

The abductors of the lady, claimed to be affiliated with an Islamic group have set conditions for her release the other day.

They wanted Afghan government to ban liquor, improve religious schools condition and ban airing vulgar programs on radio and televisions, Temor Shah who spoke on behalf of the group told a Kabul-based radio the other day.

The mushroom establishment of private radios and television channels, airing songs and screening Indian and western films since the collapse of Taliban regime in late 2001, has been strongly opposed by some Islamic extremists.

Afghan law enforcing agencies backed by NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have already doubled their efforts to secure the safety and speedy release of the abducted Italian national. Enditem

Italian's kidnapping angers Afghan press - BBC News / 19 May, 2005

The Afghan press has reacted with dismay and concern to the kidnapping of the Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni earlier in the week.

Some papers say the incident could endanger much-needed aid programmes and presents a serious security challenge to the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Others want to know how a foreigner could have been kidnapped in the heart of Kabul despite the presence of so many Afghan and foreign security forces.

The enemies have rolled up their sleeves to undermine the current state of relative security and stability... to stop aid organisations helping the oppressed Afghan people and to weaken and destabilise the government. Unless the security authorities take practical and tough measures to prevent the kidnapping of foreign nationals, appoint professional and honest officials, and severely punish the perpetrators, the number of security incidents will increase dramatically. Erada
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An Italian woman in charge of aid programmes for widows in Afghanistan has been kidnapped. If tough measures are not taken to prevent kidnappers' activities, they will not only call into question the security authorities' popularity and reputation, but will also hamper aid programmes for the poor Afghan people. Eslah
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It is crystal clear that the terrorists and enemies always try to undermine security and stability when we are in the process of achieving democracy and development. The fact that armed attacks against foreign nationals are being carried out despite the presence of thousands of International Security Assistance Force, NATO and government security forces worries Afghans. Anis
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Our people are very concerned and distressed about the recent kidnapping. We strongly condemn this inhuman crime, and want the security authorities to tell us how gunmen can kidnap foreigners in the heart of the city. Hewad
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Does not this ominous incident show how volatile the security situation in the capital is? Arman-e Melli
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Kabul residents every now and then ask why the expensive and solid security cordons of the city are so unsafe. The president should cleanse the interior ministry of notorious communist figures to improve the situation. Cheragh
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaus abroad.

Japan Pledges Further Support for Afghanistan Steve Herman – 19 May 2005

Afghanistan is receiving a positive reception from Japan for continued support amid a rising tide of violence directed at foreigners in the country. Afghanistan's foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, wrapping up an official visit to Japan, has called on Tokyo and others to continue to support the U.S.-backed government that replaced the Taleban.

"This is what we expect from Japan - to stay with Afghanistan, committed in long term. That's what we are expecting [from] the United Nations, to stay in Afghanistan," he said. "Recently President Karzai visited Brussels. He asked for NATO's long-term partnership."

Japan has responded positively. The country's foreign ministry says Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told Mr. Abdullah that Japan is willing to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, as well as Japanese aid for the country's reconstruction efforts.

The renewed pledge comes amid escalating violence against foreigners and Afghan civilians there. Suspected Taleban militants on Thursday ambushed and killed at least six people working for an international aid group as they were driving on the main national highway in the southern part of the country. It is the second attack in two days against Western groups assisting with the reconstruction of the war-shattered nation.

Mr. Abdullah will soon travel to Washington with Afghan President Hamid Karzai where they are to meet President Bush, other U.S. lawmakers and the new head of the World Bank.
Despite recent anti-American protests in Afghanistan, the foreign minister says Mr. Karzai will push for a "strategic partnership" with the United States that would include long-term military assistance, as well as strong political and economic ties.

Afghan FM rejects amnesty for fugitive Taleban leader, warlord – AFP 05/19/2005

TOKYO - Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah ruled out an amnesty for the leader of the ousted Taleban regime and a most wanted warlord after a commission suggested bringing them into the political mainstream.

Afghanistan's reconciliation commission said on May 9 that former Taleban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and veteran guerrilla Gulbuddin Hekmatyar could be pardoned if they disarmed and obeyed the new government.

But Abdullah, in an interview published Thursday in the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's top-selling daily, dismissed the proposal by the autonomous commission.

"The two men are terrorists who are said to have links with the international terrorist group Al Qaeda. They should not be part of that" amnesty offer, he said.

Omar has been on the run since his hardline Islamic regime was toppled in a US-led invasion following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. A Taleban source earlier said Omar would not accept an amnesty.

Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and warlord who fought the Soviets in the 1980s, heads the fundamentalist Hezb-i-Islami faction and has been declared a terrorist by Washington for trying to destabilize Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered an olive branch to rank-and-file Taleban fighters last year and said all but a hardcore of 150 militants wanted for human rights violations would be able to rejoin the political process.

Karzai has blamed opponents of reconciliation for recent protests that led to at least 14 deaths. The violence came after Newsweek reported that US interrogators flushed the Koran, Islam's holy book, down a toilet to rattle a Muslim prisoner held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The magazine issued an apology on Sunday and later retracted the story. "There were those who turned demonstrators into a mob by taking advantage of the situation," Abdullah told the Yomiuri Shimbun.

"The action was against reported activity by American soldiers and not against America," said Abdullah, who is on a visit to Tokyo. "It is extremely regrettable because it was a mistake made by a highly trusted magazine," he added.

Afghan govt slams US over raid – AFP 05/19/2005

KABUL - Afghanistan's defense ministry on Wednesday called on the US-led forces to coordinate operations in consultation with Afghan forces after an old man was shot dead during a raid by US troops. The US military said its troops had shot dead a man during a search operation on Monday in the southeastern province of Khost in which three suspected bomb makers were also arrested.

"An Afghan man was killed in the raid after he ignored both a verbal warning from an interpreter and a warning shot from coalition forces," it said in a statement. Coalition spokeswoman Lt Cindy Moore said the operation was aimed at capturing bomb makers but added that the dead man had not been accused of anything.

Defense ministry spokesman Gen Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the incident highlighted the need for the occupation forces to coordinate with the Afghan side.

"As it is clear that the Afghan National Army and the coalition forces fight terrorism jointly and the operations take place on Afghan soil, that is why before any operation, necessary coordination and consultation should take place," Gen Azimi said.

New party coalition established - Afghan Press Monitor (No 74, 19 May 05) - published by the Institute for War & Peace Reporting

(Eslah) A second opposition alliance, the National Democratic Front of Afghanistan, NDFA, has been formally launched in Afghanistan to challenge the government. The bloc comprises 13 parties and groups including Hizb-e-Azadi-Khahan-e-Afghanistan, Hizb-e-Taraqi Milli Afghanistan, Hizb-e-Rifah Afghani. According to Mia Gul Wasiq, spokesperson for the new group, the coalition aims to provide a check on the government and ensure democratic progress. NDFA's manifesto says its prime objectives are to defend the country's independence and national unity, to strengthen democracy, to participate in parliamentary elections, to respect laws and to promote freedom of expression. The alliance also plans to eliminate corruption from government offices and increase public sector salaries. It follows the creation of another opposition bloc, the National Understanding Front, by Yunus Qanuni. (Eslah is an independent daily newspaper.)

Afghan parliamentary registration extended - Pajhwok Afghan News 05/19/2005
By Lailuma Sadid

KABUL - Registration of candidates for the September Afghan parliamentary elections has been extended due to recent civil unrest caused by violent riots across the country, officials said Wednesday.

The initial deadline for the registration process was scheduled to end 20 May; the term has now been extended by three days in the entire country, except in eastern Nangarhar, where the riots were instigated, to 6 days.

Besimllah Besmil, the head of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) a joint Afghan-UN body which organizes the elections speaking to a news conference Wednesday said the that temporary closure of the registration offices in some provinces was due to security concerns in the country.

But Besmil added that the other reason for extending the registration process was due to the low number of women candidates participating in the Provincial Council and Lower House elections.

He urged all those who intended to register but didn't find the time to register for the parliamentary elections slated for September 18. Although the registration deadline has been extended, Besmil urged all potential candidates to register themselves soon.

"With this extension, we urge all Afghans, especially women to use the short time left for registering themselves for the Wolesi Jerga and Provincial Council elections," Besmil said.

The JEMB closed down its office in Nangarhar a week ago after a mob attacked several NGO's including the Pakistani Consulate, following a publication in US magazine claiming the desecration of the holy Koran by US military interrogators in Guantanamo Bay. At least 16 people were killed in the bloody demonstrations that later expanded to 13 provinces, and nearly 100 were injured.

Canada to base around 1,250 troops in Afghanistan (BY: Reuter)

OTTAWA - Canada will raise the number of of troops in has in Afghanistan by about 1,250 by February next year to help boost security and rebuilding efforts, Defence Minister Bill Graham said on Monday.
Canada will close its base in Kabul and transfer troops and equipment to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. In early 2006 a battle group of 700 soldiers and a brigade headquarters unit comprising 300 personnel will be sent to Kandahar for up to a year.

Graham also told reporters that a 250-strong reconstruction team would be sent to Kandahar this August and would stay in Afghanistan for around 18 months. Last year Canada had 2,000 troops in the NATO-run International Security Assistance Force in Kabul but most have now left the country.
Hazrat Ali stands down as Nangarhar police chief

JALALABAD, May 19 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Nangarhar police chief Commander Haji Hazrat quit his job on Thursday and announced his candidacy for upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for mid-September.

He unveiled his decision at a function here attended by Nangarhar Governor Haji Din Mohammad, senior police officer Haroon Aseffi, the independent provincial human rights commission chief, the regional UNAMA office head, government officials and hundreds of elders.

"I thoroughly discussed my plans to run for the election with Governor Din Mohammad and President Hamid Karzai at a meeting two months back," he told the participants.

He promised to return to the government state resources he had received as provincial police chief well before the elections. The commander, widely seen a regional strongman, pledged he would not misuse his power or resources to influence the vote.

Sher Ali invited the masses to present to him their grievance against personnel of his force within two days, saying his doors would remain open to all. "Over the next two days, I will welcome public complaints against the police," he observed.

Speaking on the occasion, the provincial governor highlighted the services Hazrat Ali had rendered during the Jihad against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and observed the commander's contribution to the welfare of the country would long be remembered.

"Currently, we are in talks with the central government on the nomination of Harzat Ali's successor, who will hopefully strengthen security situation in the province," Din Mohammad added.

Nangarhar HR Commission head Jandad Spinghar also hailed as positive and consistent Hazrat Ali's role in boosting security. "If other departments emulate the precedent set by Ali, our dream of institutional reforms will come true," he concluded.

General Malek comments on unrest in northern district – AIP 05/19/2005

Peshawar - Gen Abdol Malek says armed men belonging to Gen Abdorrashid Dostum have killed and wounded 20 members of his election campaign team.

Commenting on recent incidents in Shirin Tagab District [of northern Fariab Province], Gen Abdol Malek, the leader of the Freedom Party [of Afghanistan], told the Afghan Islamic Press from Mazar-e Sharif: "Several days ago, the Freedom Party dispatched an election commission, led by Gol Mohammad Pahlawan [Gen Malek's brother], to Shirin Tagab District to start the campaign for the forthcoming parliamentary elections there. Unfortunately, Gen Dostum's supporters attacked them and prevented them from campaigning. The local people began large demonstration in our support and Dostum supporters fired on the demonstrators."

Gen Malek added: "Some 20 demonstrators were killed and wounded as a result of firing by the Dostum supporters." [Passage omitted: One person died in hospital in Mazar-e Sharif from his wounds."

Gen Malek angrily rejected as lies reports that Dostum's militias had been disarmed in Shirin Tagab District in accordance with the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration programme. He said they still have a lot of weapons there and it was with these weapons that they fired on our colleagues. [Passage omitted: Conflicting reports on what happened in Shirin Tagab]

It seems that compared to Gen Dostum, Gen Malek enjoys more influence in his ancestral land Shirin Tagab. According to Gen Malek, Dostum does not want the Freedom Party to emerge as a force in the region.

Although one can look at Gen Malek's remarks as accusations against his opponent, but in April 2004, Gen Dostum's forces, in order to gain power in the region, attacked Maymana [the capital of Fariab Province], forcing Qazi Enayatollah Enayat, the governor appointed by the central government, to flee. Gen Dostum supporters have also taken control of government departments in other regions of Fariab Province. That is why Gen Dostum enjoys more influence in Fariab Province then the central government's administration.

Russian Foreign Minister Criticizes Afghan Reconciliation Policy

Sergei Lavrov on 15 May criticized the ongoing Afghan policy, supported by the United States, to reconcile with most members of the former Taliban regime, ITAR-TASS reported. Discussing the recent violent confrontations between protestors and the security forces in Uzbekistan, Lavrov alleged that "various groups from Afghanistan from the Taliban camp" took part in the uprisings. Then turning to the Afghan policy, he said that if "we continue to condone terrorists and apply 'double standards' to them, including the notion of a moderate wing to the Taliban," then the "entire region" would be placed on the "brink of a crisis." During a visit to New Delhi in December 2004, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov also criticized Karzai's reconciliation policy, calling it an attempt to "Pashtunize Afghanistan," which prompted Kabul to ask for clarification of Moscow's position on the issue (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 December 2004). AT

Taliban officials brought in from the cold - The Guardian, UK 05/18/2005 Declan Walsh - Authorities pin hopes on reconciliation effort to break insurgency

Khost - Peals of laughter rang through the remote Afghan farmhouse as neighbours rushed to welcome home the long-lost son of the soil. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged. Teenage boys offered trays of sweet tea. The women waited patiently in a back room, silent and unseen as ever.
The bearded man at the centre of the hubbub, Mufti Habib-ur-Rehman, allowed his solemn face to crack into a grin. "It's good to be back," he said.

Smile he might. Days earlier Mr Rehman, 35, a one-time Taliban governor, had been a wanted man. He lived as a fugitive across the border in Pakistan, 20 miles to the south. He had not seen his family in years. US troops were offering a $2,500 (£1,360) award for his capture, dead or alive.

Last month, after secret negotiations brokered by local mullahs - and promises from the Americans not to shoot - he came in from the cold.

"I am not a terrorist. I am here to work for the reconstruction of my country," he said before pledging allegiance to the president, Hamid Karzai. Mr Rehman is one of dozens of mid-level Taliban officials who have defected to the government this year, a process which US officials hope is the beginning of the end for the insurgency that has dogged them since 2001.

Reconciliation efforts in at least four southern provinces - led by governors, mullahs and tribal leaders - have netted a small but influential group. They include a handful of commanders and the former governor of Helmand province.

On Tuesday the former Taliban foreign minister, Mullah Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, said he would contest a seat from Kandahar in next September's parliamentary elections.

The US military, anxious to free troops for Iraq and reduce its $10bn annual bill in Afghanistan, is four-square behind the reconciliation efforts. The generals also want to quell trouble before the parliamentary election, shortly after which 5,000 British troops are due to arrive.

US officials advocate narrowing the wanted list to about 100 senior Taliban, allowing the remainder to return home free, and they say reconciliation is working.

Last week Colonel Gary Cheek, the US commander for eastern Afghanistan, said: "Our enemies are significantly weaker than a year ago and their influence continues to wane."

Col Cheek had given the green light to Mr Rehman, who held a press conference at which he embraced Khost's governor, Merajuddin Pathan. "The past is clear for everyone," Mr Rehman told the cameras. "What counts now is the future."

It may not be so simple. Last week Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban leader, scotched hopes of an early truce by rejecting an amnesty offer from the Afghan government's lead negotiator, former president Sibghatullah Mojaddedi.

"We don't need any guarantee of safety from the government," a Taliban spokesman, Abdul Latif Hakimi, told Reuters. "Mullah Omar, our leader, is not hiding. Rather, he is fighting."

On a bad day, talk of the Taliban collapsing seems utterly fanciful. Since early last month the coalition and insurgents have had a series of bloody exchanges that have killed 30 Afghan soldiers, three Americans, one Romanian and, reportedly, 150 Taliban.

In one incident nine Afghans were killed in a machine-gun ambush as they got off a truck; in another two US marines were shot inside a cave. In another attack suspected Taliban militants killed five Afghans working on a US-funded reconstruction project.

Determined to scuttle rumours of their impending demise, the militants relaunched their radio station, Voice of Sharia. They evaded the authorities by using a mobile transmitter.

Afghan officials insist a peaceful solution is within reach. Three programmes in Khost - a town once home to Osama bin Laden - claim to have attracted between 10 and 20 militants each. Their focus is North Waziristan, a mountainous areas across the border in Pakistan, which has by all accounts become a Taliban bolthole.

Syed Muhammad, a returned Talib, said that in Miriam Shah, North Waziristan's main town, Taliban fighters cruised the streets and local mullahs preached jihad."They say that Islam is in danger from America. It is destroying Afghanistan first, and then it will come to Miriam Shah," he said during an interview in the governor's garden.

Pakistani's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) plays a hotly disputed role. Three former Taliban said that the spy agency, which fostered the Taliban in the 1990s, was funding and training its militants. "It is an open secret," said one, who requested anonymity.

According to Mr Pathan, rogue ISI officers are working against their government and the military intelligence service, which is loyal to President Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan's leading anti-terrorist commander, Lt Gen Safdar Hussain, denied the allegations. "There is no state within a state," he said at his headquarters in Peshawar. "The old guard from the jihadi days are long retired. Everyone in the ISI works under my command."

Whatever their support base - Arab donors are also suspected of contributing money and arms - many Taliban are getting sick of fighting, said Mullah Rahmatullah Mansoor, a militant cleric who returned home last year, and later secretly met Mr Karzai.

One issue hindering reconciliation was the continued detention of Afghans at Guantánamo Bay, he added, an issue that sparked nationwide riots last week after Newsweek alleged that a Qur'an had been flushed down a toilet. About 17 people were killed and 100 injured.

A political minefield lies between the Taliban and a happy homecoming. Analysts say Mr Karzai has stalled announcing a full amnesty because he fears a backlash from the former Northern Alliance, whose leaders were once bitter Taliban enemies and now hold powerful positions in Kabul.

Human rights groups say the Taliban must be held accountable for their numerous abuses, such as the stoning of women charged with adultery and the mass execution of enemy soldiers.

Despite the optimism of the peaceniks, scepticism about a mass return remains. Amir Shah Kargar, a burly Khost man who spent five years in a Taliban jail, shook his head slowly.

"Only the American spies will come back," he predicted. "But the hard core, those with a real ideology, they will never give up alive."

Transnational Islamic militants and Afghan drug mony making central Asia another time bomb - India Daily 05/18/2005 By Sudhir Chadda

Central Asia is slowly but surely becoming a hot bed of transnational Islamic militants that bears similarity to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Kyrgyzstan said on May 17 that various groups of transnational Islamic militants seeking to create a global Islamic caliphate are being activated in Central Asia.

A source from the country's border control services told Kyrgyz media that militants coming from Afghanistan financed by arms and drugs trafficking are gathering near Kyrgyz borders, and that the illegal entry of foreign nationals and individuals without any citizenship into Kyrgyzstan is on the rise. The source further reported that militants are now primarily gaining access to the region by passing through official checkpoints using forged documents.

It can be a ticking time bomb for India, Israel, United States and Russia. Even China may be affected. Recent violence in Uxbekistan, events in Kyrgyzstan and some pockets of Islamic militant activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan is really worrisome.

What Bush Administration has achieved through fantastic diplomacy in Pakistan and balanced special operations in Afghanistan is saving the world for the time being from Islamic militancy.
Russians are trying hard to contain the Chechens too. Rasul Tambulatov, the Islamist militant leader of Shelkovsky District, Chechnya, was killed by Russian special forces who also took his five associates -- all specialists in bomb making -- prisoner, Russian media reported May 17, citing the Russian Command in the North Caucasus. Tambulatov reportedly is responsible for several major attacks against the Russian military and civilians for the last two years. A large cache of landmines, improvised explosive devices, motor shells, grenade-launchers and small arms was confiscated during the operation. In Chechnya, Russia should address the grass root issues and bring all Chechens into Russian mainstream politics.

The recent episode in Uzbekistan did not help. The number of Uzbek refugees entering Kyrgyzstan following violence in Uzbekistan's Andijan province could potentially reach 1 million and could significantly weaken the Kyrgyz economy, Kyrgyz Ombudsman Tursunbay Bakir said May 17. Bakir, Kyrgyzstan's chief human rights official, made the comments after visiting the Kyrgyz border with Uzbekistan, adding that the state of the Kyrgyz economy makes accepting even a thousand refugees difficult. Bakir said Kyrgyzstan could offer to set up refugee camps along the border, and that international organizations should provide funding for them.

The Central Asia is slowly becoming the sanctuary for the Islamic militants. Al-Queda has transformed itself into a decentralized operation with pockets of sleeping cell. The Central Asia is also a hot place for Al-Queda. The Central Asia can fuel in the future unprecedented levels of terrorist activities unless it is taken care of now!

Kabul to Jerusalem - JTA Daily 05/18/2005

An Afghan Cabinet minister said his country is interested in establishing ties with Israel. "We are very interested in returning to the folds of the international community and be respectful of all different countries," the country's minister of women's affairs, Massouda Jalal, told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. The country is still rebuilding in the wake of the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban regime.
She said Afghanistan supported ties with the "countries in partnership with the U.S., and Israel is one of those countries." But Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah was quoted as saying that bilateral relations could only be established following a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Jalal, Afghanistan's first female presidential candidate, credited American Jews with helping to rebuild her country.

"There are many Jews in the U.S. and the U.S. is our No. 1 helper," said Jalal. "Maybe a big part of the help comes from the Jewish people. We realize they are working hard in making money and they share money with us and they want us to live happily and peacefully. All this goodness we will never forget."

Afghan Poppycock, Hamid Karzai's halfhearted jihad - 05/18/2005 By David Bosco

There's all sorts of good news coming out of the Afghan drug war. Hamid Karzai recently announced that opium cultivation might be down as much as 30 percent this year. In April, the United States nabbed alleged Afghan drug lord Haji Bashir Noorzai. U.S. and European money are helping Karzai's government build special drug courts and train paramilitary interdiction teams. One might almost be convinced that Afghanistan—site of an ongoing political renaissance—has pulled off another miracle.

Don't believe it. The truth is that the war against opium in Afghanistan is stumbling badly. A bureaucratic struggle on counternarcotics strategy inside the U.S. government produced an unhappy compromise. For its part, the fragile Afghan government is too timid to do serious crop eradication. There may be a drop in opium production this year, but it will be due primarily to recent flooding and to the huge stockpiles from last year's bumper crop.

The campaign is certainly not foundering for lack of passionate rhetoric. A few days after his election victory was assured last December, Karzai delivered a table-thumping speech to a collection of Afghan tribal elders. Afghanistan's booming opium trade, he said, was an affront to Islam. "Just as our people fought a holy war against the Soviets, so we will wage jihad against poppies."

The poppies may turn out to be the more stubborn foe. Afghanistan now produces more than 80 percent of the world's opium. In 2004, poppy cultivation reached an all-time high, and the drug economy now accounts for between a third and half of the country's economic output. A World Bank study estimates that opium cultivation can generate at least 12 times as much income as wheat, the main alternative crop. Because drug money flows to regional warlords and other malcontents, it threatens to derail an otherwise remarkably successful nation-building effort. (Last month, several more Taliban big fish accepted the government's amnesty offer and another batch of refugees returned from Pakistan, cheered on by Angelina Jolie.)

Karzai faces a torturous choice in trying to kick his country's habit. If he attacks the trade too aggressively, he could cripple the country's economy and generate a nasty political backlash. Aerial spraying is particularly touchy, since many Afghans still remember napalm runs by Soviet aircraft as they tried to crush the mujahideen. Rumors—unfounded, it appears—that spraying was under way forced Karzai to issue a flurry of denials and call in foreign diplomats for stern conversations. The United States is sensitive to Karzai's political limits, and outgoing U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad helped deflect pressure for a massive eradication campaign. Karzai, the administration realizes, would be a terrible thing to waste.

But if Karzai moves too slowly, the drug trade may infect his country's fragile institutions and fill the coffers of violent opponents including, possibly, al-Qaida (the intelligence on where drug money ends up is spotty at best). According to former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles, "One of the fastest ways you could design to cripple a young democracy is to allow the influx of substantial drug money."

In Washington, the opium dilemma has become a tussle between the State Department and the Defense Department. Curiously, the hawks on this issue are at State. Charles and his colleagues argued for large-scale aerial eradication and the involvement of U.S. and coalition military forces in interdiction. "The success we've had in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia," he says, "has always involved the military."

The prospect of a militarized drug war makes the brass nervous. The Defense Department is keen to keep its footprint light and is wary of a drug war that could set the population against U.S. troops (last week's Newsweek-inspired anti-American riots will only deepen that fear). The Afghans, after all, have a history of kicking out technologically superior foreign soldiers. So the military has kept drugs on the back burner. Instead of getting its troops directly into the interdiction business, Washington is sending a few teams of DEA agents who will fly around the country in leased helicopters.

The generals aren't alone in resisting a full-on drug war. The idea is anathema to many regional experts, who believe that attacking Afghanistan's economic base without first establishing an alternative is political suicide. Barnett Rubin, an irascible NYU Afghan expert, has no patience for the drug warriors. "There's absolutely nothing to lead one to believe that you can abolish 40 percent of the economy without major implications." He argues for a slow, sequenced approach that begins by creating alternatives for Afghan farmers. Crop eradication, in his view, comes at the end—not the beginning.

That argument has had an effect, and U.S. policy has downshifted. Afghan officials, aided by U.S. contractors, are manually destroying some poppy fields, although it won't be many. Funds earmarked for massive eradication are being directed instead to supporting alternative livelihoods. (Rubin calls these funds a "a drop in the bucket.") For now, the Afghan drug war is a patchwork of sporadic manual eradication efforts, occasional clashes with traffickers, and a trickle of money to Afghan farmers for alternative crops.

It's a dangerous game for Karzai. Having called for jihad, his credibility is on the line. In deference to the president's exhortations, some Afghan farmers may have decided not to plant poppies this year. They'll be expecting assistance in return. If they don't get it, they may take out their frustration in this fall's parliamentary elections—or less constructively. Meanwhile, Karzai and his new security forces are poking at the country's nest of traffickers and drug labs without knocking them out. For the time being, Karzai and his Western backers have no choice but to hope they can continue cultivating a new democracy in a bed of poppies.

Who wants to break up Pakistan? Rediff (India) / May 18, 2005 The short answer to this question is no one.

Not the ethnic nationalists who are clamouring for their right to control their resources, their politics and their destiny within their provinces; Not the political parties of Pakistan which are trying their best to avoid an armed confrontation between the Pakistani security forces and the ethnic nationalists by evolving a formula that not only strengthens the federal structure but also addresses the aspirations of the nationalists;

Not the neighbours of Pakistan who fear the fallout of a balkanised Pakistan on their own countries; And certainly not the sole superpower, that has a critical interest in a stable Pakistan.

And yet, the dialectics of the developing situation suggest that Pakistan is once again going to be in the throes of a life-and-death struggle to keep its federation intact.

The middle ground is fast disappearing and in spite of the fact that neither the ruling military establishment nor the agitating nationalists want an armed clash, the positions they have taken seems to be pushing them inevitably on the course of a bloody confrontation.

That the situation has deteriorated to this extent under General Musharraf is somewhat surprising because when he took the reins of power in 1999, he unveiled a seven point agenda which included a resolve to 'strengthen the Federation, remove inter-provincial disharmony and restore national cohesion.'

At the time Musharraf pledged to restore inter-provincial harmony, it appeared as though Pakistan had finally seen the back of ethnic nationalism and separatism. But some five years down the line, Balochistan is on the verge of an armed insurgency.

The Pashtun-dominated North West Frontier Province and Tribal Areas are restive on account of the situation in Afghanistan and military operations in the tribal areas. As a result, Pashtun nationalism (different from separatism) is once again manifesting itself. Discontent is rising in Sindh. And sectarian tensions in the Northern Areas (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) are giving rise to sectarian nationalism.

The Pakistani federation is therefore once again showing signs of strain, and many Pakistanis fear that the resurgence of ethnic nationalism will inevitably lead to armed clashes between the ethnic nationalists and the Pakistani security forces, which could well shake the foundations of the State.

Already the blame game has started and Pakistani officials and media are busy pointing fingers at the 'foreign hand,' especially in Balochistan. The usual suspects are India, Iran Afghanistan and US. But so far not a shred of evidence has been produced that would implicate any of these countries in the troubles confronting Pakistan in Balochistan.

Until now there are only suspicions and insinuations, which emanate primarily out of a failure to understand the phenomenon at work inside Pakistan. In any case, the 'foreign hand' theory doesn't stand the test of logic.

Iran is being implicated because it is felt that the Iranians are wary of US presence in the region and are using Baloch nationalism to hit back at the Pakistanis. But Iran would be loathe to supporting Baloch nationalism because it too has a Baloch problem and would not like to do anything that creates troubles in the Iranian Balochistan. And without Iran, India would find it impossible to meddle inside Balochistan.

Any Indian intervention through Afghanistan also cannot take place without US approval. And it is unlikely that the US will be interested in destabilising Pakistan because this would unravel the entire US game plan in Afghanistan. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, the government there is hardly in a position to mess around with its neighbours.

There is some talk of the US using Pakistan and Afghanistan to train Iranian Baloch to create troubles inside Iran. But why would the Pakistanis cooperate in any such adventure, especially since it is having a blow back effect on its own territory in the shape of a Baloch rebellion?

While it is entirely possible that the arms and ammunition being used by the insurgents in Balochistan are coming through Iran or Afghanistan, this in no way implicates any of the States being accused of providing assistance to the Baloch rebels. With the whole region being awash with all sorts of weapons, procuring weapons is hardly difficult for a set of determined people.

The problem really lies inside Pakistan and its State structure. There is something seriously wrong with the political and bureaucratic structures of South Asian States -- and this includes India -- that allows problems to grow and assume Frankenstein's monster proportions before any degree of serious attention is paid to them.

What is worse, the State structures are so insular and unresponsive that unless a set of aggrieved people pick up the gun, no one in the power structure is willing to give them a hearing and solve their concerns.

The mantra of the ruling elite is to not address something today that can be left for tomorrow, and that tomorrow only comes when the big bang takes place. Compounding the problem is the supercilious attitude of the military-bureaucratic establishment, which believes it has the all the knowledge of not just the problems but also their solutions. This is exactly what has led to the situation in Balochistan coming to a head, and what will create problems in Sindh and NWFP in the future.

It was this supercilious attitude that led the Musharraf regime to start a series of mega-projects in Balochistan -- the Gwadar port being the most notable. The idea was that these projects will address the issue of lack of development in Pakistan's most resource rich and yet economically most backward province. In principle, there was nothing wrong with these projects. But rather than uplifting the lot of the Baloch, they served to alienate them further.

The reason was simple. The Baloch had not only no control over these projects, they had no stake in them -- the entire labour force was imported from other parts of Pakistan and cronies of the establishment reaped all the benefits from these projects.

At the same time the Pakistan army decided to establish a string of military cantonments across the province. This again was seen by the Baloch as a step to tighten the stranglehold of Islamabad on the resources of the province. The mega-projects and military cantonments were also seen as measures to alter the demographic composition in the province and reduce the Baloch into a minority.

With matters reaching a head, and an incipient armed insurgency breaking out in Balochistan, the politicians tried to resolve the matter by forming a parliamentary committee to try and resolve matters politically.

The recommendations of these committees are quite revolutionary and if implemented in letter and spirit will leave only defence, communication, currency and foreign affairs in the hands of the federal government and leave everything else to the provinces.

Many observers feel this will give the provinces the autonomy they desire and satisfy the aspirations of the nationalists. But the recommendation of the committees is probably a case of too little too late.
The Baloch nationalists have already dismissed these recommendations by saying that they don't go far enough to satisfy them. The rejection by the nationalists of what some Pakistani observers have called a 'Magna Carta' for Pakistan, reflects a disconnect between the mainstream politicians (mostly from Punjab) and the ethnic nationalists from the demographically smaller provinces.

The mainstream is unable to understand or appreciate the aspirations of the nationalists and the nationalists feel outraged at the lack of sensitivity towards their aspirations and concerns by the Pakistani mainstream.

The mainstream wants to keep Pakistan together but is not willing to accept the measures it will take to keep the country united. The nationalists would prefer a united Pakistan, but will not shed any tears if the intransigence of the mainstream leads to a break up of the country.

The mainstream politicians and the military-bureaucratic establishment believe the nationalists want to break up Pakistan. But this is hardly the case. What the nationalists want is a restructured Pakistan in which they have control over their resources and wealth.

Unlike the past the nationalists no longer want independence. Rather, they would prefer to have their autonomy within Pakistan so that they can partake all the advantages of a united Pakistan while at the same time enjoy control over their own destiny and their resources.

In other words, the nationalists want a greater stake within Pakistan than without. From the point of view of Pakistan's neighbours, a restructured Pakistan is not such a bad deal.

For one, by satisfying the restive populations in the smaller provinces, Pakistan will increase its own stability. Second, with a relatively weaker centre Pakistan will be more at peace with itself and with the neighbouring countries than a monolithic Pakistan with a tendency to indulge in adventurism in the neighbourhood.

Third, since most of the ethnic nationalists have a progressive and one daresay secular approach to politics, it will help in keeping the radical Islamists at bay. Finally, it will end the interference of the Pakistan army in politics and put Pakistan firmly on the democratic path.

Uzbek troops enter border town after unrest - Reuters

Uzbek forces retook control of the eastern border town of Qorasuv early on Thursday after days of unrest in the aftermath of bloody clashes in nearby Andizhan.

Interior ministry troops rolled into the town on the border with Kyrgyzstan at 4 a.m. and, encountering little if any resistance, quickly established control over bridges and other key points, local people said.
A dozen soldiers in full combat gear on Thursday lounged near the bridge spanning the small river that forms part of the border with Kyrgyzstan, drinking soup and sipping tea. There were few soldiers elsewhere in the town and no signs of violence.

But the atmosphere was tense and the few people out on the streets were reluctant to speak. "We are scared to be punished. Even walls have ears," one of them told this correspondent.

The small town with a population of about 25,000 has seethed with unrest since last Saturday when about 200 or so people rebelled and destroyed a local police headquarters. The unrest came a day after bloodshed in Andizhan when, witnesses say, troops opened fire on rebels and protesters, killing hundreds.

The violence in the tightly-controlled Central Asian state has led to expressions of concern from the West and the United States, which regards the mainly-Muslim country as an ally in the war on terrorism.

The Uzbek government says 169 people were killed in the May 13 Andizhan violence, most of them "bandits" who themselves had killed civilians and security officials. But witnesses said some 500 people, including women and children, were killed when security forces opened fire on rebels and protesters.

The trouble in Andizhan was sparked by a trial of 23 businessmen and blamed by President Islam Karimov on Islamic extremists. But locals said neither politics nor Islam had anything to do with the Qorasuv unrest. They said many people had taken advantage of events in Andizhan to vent their anger over the closure of bridges with Kyrgyzstan that had divided families for years.

One 30-year-old who identified himself as Adaham discounted foreign news reports of a rebellion led by an Islamic leader, Bakhtiyor Rakhimov, who said he intended to build an Islamic state. "Rakhimov has no strong influence. Residents simply wanted good for the people who have not been able to see their relatives for six years," he said.

The BBC earlier reported that Rakhimov was arrested by the troops who swept into the town on Thursday. Prosecutor General's office in Uzbek capital Tashkent could not immediately confirm his arrest.

Soldiers refused to discuss their operation and waved away press photographers. Earlier, witnesses on the Kyrgyz side of the border said a military helicopter hovered over the town in the morning. One trader who crossed from Uzbekistan into Kyrgyzstan said troops had been hunting down people connected to unrest.

Though the border was open for routine trade and visits by local families on Thursday, Uzbek police were questioning people crossing in from Kyrgyzstan. In Tashkent, a state security spokesman said: "Even if there are any arrests (in Qorasuv) they are being carried out only within the framework of criminal investigations.

"The situation there is stable. Border and customs services are functioning normally," Alimzhon Turakulov said.

Washington has urged President Islam Karimov to be open about events in Andizhan, while the United Nations and the European Union have called for an independent inquiry.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has called on Karimov to agree to an independent international inquiry. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Thursday that the U.S.-led alliance was "very worried" about the bloodshed and would like to see free access to the region. (Additional reporting by Maria Golovnina)

[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.]