PRESS STATEMENT ON AFGHANISTAN BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT

Following is today’s press statement on Afghanistan by Security Council President Bayani Mercado ( Philippines):

The members of the Security Council heard a briefing by Mr. Hédi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General on the situation in Afghanistan.

The members of the Security Council welcome the holding of the Parliamentary (Wolesi Jirga) and Provincial Council elections on 18 September, the final milestone of the Bonn Process.  They commend the Joint Electoral Management Body for its dedicated efforts, and the people of Afghanistan for their determination and commitment to rebuilding their State through a democratic process.

The members of the Security Council hope that the ballot counting and certification process will be conducted peacefully in the coming weeks.  In this regard, they strongly call on all participants in Afghanistan to continue to work constructively towards the early establishment of the new Parliament.

The members of the Security Council express their appreciation to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force, Operation Enduring Freedom coalitions, donor countries and all domestic and international observers for their contribution in the holding of the elections. NY 09/22/05

Ballot boxes sealed as Afghan vote complaints begin

Kandahar (AFP 09/23/05) - Election officials said they had quarantined several boxes of votes cast in Afghanistan's landmark parliamentary poll last weekend to investigate complaints of rigging.

Candidates in the southern city of Kandahar, the stronghold of the former Taliban regime, alleged some boxes had been stuffed with ballots after polling booths closed, and that some men used women's voting cards to vote twice.

The September 18 election for a new national assembly and provincial councils was the first in Afghanistan after more than 30 years, during most of which the country was at war. The ballot boxes were sealed until the complaints could be investigated, election official Abdul Qahir Wasifi told AFP.

"We have a number of boxes in quarantine and later on it will be known if these complaints were true or not," said Wasifi, from the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) that organised the poll. One candidate in Kandahar, Abdul Nasah Himat, said a "massive number of men used the registration cards of women to double vote."

"Some JEMB employees also had numerous registration cards... and cast numerous ballots behind the walls after the closure of the polling station," said Himat, who was standing for a seat in the national assembly. In some cases ink used to mark voters' fingers to stop them from voting twice had come off easily, he said. A similar complaint marred last year's presidential vote that elected Hamid Karzai.

A candidate for the Kandahar provincial council, Bismillah Afghan, also alleged election officials had "cast multiple votes themselves". In the town of Spin Boldak near Kandahar thousands of women's votes were cast by male family members and "some boxes were stuffed with ballots after the voting site was officially closed," he told AFP.

The Electoral Complaints Commission was receiving complaints but did not yet have details of them, commissioner Grant Kippen said. "A lot of them right now pertain to election day incidents. We are just getting reports in of numbers and it is very preliminary at this time," Kippen told AFP.

Another election official said corruption was rife in Afghanistan and it was clear some of this had spilled over into the election. In some cases though it appeared candidates were making complaints to discredit their opponents, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The main body of observers, Free and Fair Elections in Afghanistan, said Tuesday it had noted some intimidation on election day, mostly in Kandahar. Its complete assessment would only be finalised later this month, it said. The final results of the election are not expected until late October.

Afghan Count Reveals Kabul Indifference

Kabul (AP- 9/22/05) - Nearly two-thirds of registered voters in Kabul apparently stayed away from Afghanistan's landmark legislative polls, an election official said Thursday as workers counted ballots under the close watch of candidates' representatives.

The U.N.-Afghan chief electoral officer, Peter Erben, said early reports from nearly all polling centers suggested nationwide turnout averaged about 53 percent, with some 6.6 million voters casting ballots in the country's first parliamentary elections in 36 years.

But turnout in Kabul appeared to have been about 36 percent, he said. The drop in voter participation from the 70 percent recorded in last fall's presidential election has tempered celebrations of Sunday's vote as another big step to democracy.

It sends a message that the government and its Western backers must move fast to rebuild the country, boost the economy and improve security or risk embittering Afghans disgruntled over the pace of change after decades of bloodshed and hardship. Erben declined to speculate on possible reasons for the low turnout in Kabul and the surrounding province.

Sarah Lister, head of the Afghan Research Evaluation Unit, an independent Kabul-based research group, said people in the capital might have felt let down when improvements did not come as quickly as hoped for after the election of President Hamid Karzai. There is anger about rising prices and perceptions of abuses in Western-aided reconstruction efforts, she said.

Lister said another factor could have been voter confusion from the large number of candidates with similar messages in Kabul. Election observers and human rights activists also have said fears of violence, anger over warlords on the ballot and distrust of politicians kept many people away from the polls. Some Afghans who did not vote said they had seen little improvement in the economy or their own lives. Erben reiterated his upbeat assessment of the elections, saying that in countries emerging from war, turnout in the first election is often higher than in the next vote.

Workers began counting ballots Tuesday, and Erben said officials hoped to have complete provisional results by Oct. 4. The target date for certified results is Oct. 22. Erben urged tens of thousands of observers monitoring the counting process on behalf of parties and candidates to follow rules limiting the frequency and length of their visits.

Crowds of observers and agents have been milling outside some of the 32 counting centers, and Erben said some stay longer than the allotted two hours once inside. "We have experienced some scenes at some counting centers which have disrupted the count," he said.

Taliban rebels will keep fighting well into next year even though they have suffered heavy losses in recent battles, the U.S.-led coalition's operational commander said Thursday.

Afghan election raises the bar - By Ahmed Rashid

Guest journalist and writer Ahmed Rashid reflects in his latest column for the BBC News website on Sunday's parliamentary and provincial elections in Afghanistan. Imagine standing in an election in which candidates have no idea of their role, responsibility or powers once they are elected.

That was the case for the thousands of Afghan candidates - one quarter of them women - who stood for 430 seats on the 34 provincial councils because the election law was only published three weeks ago. So it was not surprising that ahead of the polls, the law had not been read by most candidates.

But despite the chaos, the elections were still a historic milestone, the culmination of the political process inaugurated by the Bonn agreement signed in December 2001 between the victorious Afghan factions who helped the West defeat the Taleban.

Every major step - a new constitution, presidential elections - has been monitored by the United Nations and endorsed by the international community giving it unparalleled legitimacy. Despite the glitches Afghans, better known for street fighting than street politics, have taken to elections like ducks to water.

Their enthusiasm was palpable. The countryside was festooned with posters of the 6,000 candidates, and even attacks by the Taleban - killing ordinary civilians for carrying voter ID cards - did not deter the population.

Stories of individual electoral heroism are just as moving as the sacrifices made by the Afghans whilst fighting the former Soviet Union in the 1980s or the Taleban in the 1990s. Hundreds of women bravely defied custom to stand and campaign in a predominantly male environment.

However public expectations from the elections were also running high - far too high given the lack of resources available. The days after the elections will bring enormous uncertainty as to the future of this country.

Afghanistan, once home to al-Qaeda and now home to a resurgent Taleban movement and heroin production that provides 87% of the world market should have remained top of the international agenda but it has not.

For two years the crisis in Iraq has sucked the oxygen out of Afghanistan. Now Hurricane Katrina has only added to the loss of attention and resources.

The West's commitment of resources and military manpower to protect this fledgling democracy, which is still the third poorest and least developed country in the world has been far too little. Now it appears to many Afghans that with a job just half done, the West is now seeking an exit door.

Recently US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld let it be known that he wanted to pull out up to a quarter of the 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan over the next six months. The American drawdown would supposedly be filled by Nato which maintains a separate 11,000-strong peace keeping force in the country, while the Americans do the fighting.

The American and Nato commands are supposed to merge next spring, but major Nato countries such as France and Germany are refusing to carry out combat or counter insurgency operations against the Taleban under a merged command. "Over time it would be nice if Nato developed counterinsurgency capabilities, which don't exist at the moment," a heavily sarcastic Mr Rumsfeld told a recent Nato meeting in Berlin.

Increasingly worried as to who would maintain the peace next year President Hamid Karzai urged that after the elections, "the international community should not immediately think Afghanistan's work has been done and its over", and just go home.

Afghanistan still needs to be protected by the West and given more money. Four years after 11 September not a single new power station has been built and rebuilding the major road arteries has just begun. Ask any Afghan why he voted and his reply invariably is he is that four years on he is still hoping for change and to see the benefits of the end of the Taleban regime.

However Mr Karzai has also failed to generate the spirit of nation building. After winning presidential elections last October he was supposed to deal toughly with warlords, drug dealers and criminals.

Instead in order to shore up his own position he has refused to move against them, despite overwhelming evidence that that is what the public wants. Not a single warlord or drugs dealer has faced a trial or sentencing.

A fledgling army, police, justice system and bureaucracy is being trained at Western expense, but President Karzai's immediate team offers little example in the way of sacrifice and service that could inspire these institutions or the nation.

Those candidates who do get elected are likely to be angry and frustrated. The new parliament, rather than being a venue for discussing development goals, could become an overheated venue for anti-Karzai criticism.

Mr Karzai still has the time and public goodwill to rediscover the vision he had for his nation in the aftermath of the Taleban defeat.

Ultimately only a renewed Western commitment rather than withdrawal will give the Afghans the confidence to tackle their horrendous list of problems and encourage them to push ahead with nation building.

Afghan Taliban commander said surrounded, 10 killed

KABUL, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. and Afghan forces have surrounded a Taliban commander in a central province, an Afghan official said on Friday, after fighting in which the U.S. military said 10 insurgents and an Afghan soldier were killed.

Uruzgan governor Jan Mohammad Khan said Afghan and U.S. forces launched an operation on Thursday after learning that senior Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah was in the area.

"We have information that Dadullah has come and is here. Fighting is going on," Khan said. The U.S. military said 10 Taliban had been killed in the fighting in Uruzgan province. An Afghan soldier was killed and a U.S. soldier wounded.

But a U.S. spokesman said he had no information about a Taliban commander being surrounded. U.S. air support, including attack helicopters, had been involved in the battle against insurgents using heavy machineguns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, he said.

U.S. General: Taliban Will Keep Up Fight

Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya's comments came amid the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces invaded in late 2001, with more than 1,200 people killed in the six months leading up to Sunday's historic legislative elections.

On Tuesday, President Hamid Karzai challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying his government does not believe there is still a "serious terrorist challenge."

Karzai said that in tackling the militants, foreign governments should "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases" — a veiled reference to support that Taliban insurgents allegedly get in neighboring Pakistan.

Kamiya told reporters at Bagram, the U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan, that while "part of the problem may extend from Pakistan," the insurgency is mainly fueled internally.

He predicted violence would ease during the winter, but would pick up again when snows melt on high winter passes used by the rebels. "There will be an enemy resurgence in spring," Kamiya said.

Troops say Afghanistan is not ready for U.S. drawdown - GIs on ground disagree with Afghan president’s assessment - By Steve Mraz and Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Thursday, September 22, 2005

MEHTAR LAM, Afghanistan — For troops at the forward operating bases in the hinterlands of Afghanistan, word that Afghan President Hamid Karzai questioned the need for major military operations was news to them. Overwhelmingly, they said that Afghanistan is not ready for a scaled-down U.S. presence.

“While it sounds nice, it’s going to leave a smaller U.S. presence here,” said Army Reserve Sgt. Timothy Sersig, with the 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion out of Phoenix. “I don’t feel it’s safe enough to drawdown troops here if that’s what they’re talking about.”

Karzai also called for an end to U.S. airstrikes, but Sersig said air support provides relief to troops on the ground. In early August, Sersig was traveling in a convoy when a roadside bomb exploded near a Humvee. Jets arrived soon after and stayed in the area to offer air support if needed.

“Just to know that air support was there eased my mind along with a lot of other soldiers and Marines,” Sersig said. If U.S. troops were to leave now, everything they have accomplished would have been in vain, said Sgt. Jonah Brenner, with the San Antonio-based 321st Civil Affairs Brigade, which is attached to the 492nd Civil Affairs Battalion.

“If the U.S. pulls out now before security is stabilized, it’s going to go back to the same way it was before,” said Brenner, 29. “They’ll do another strike against us, and we’ll be back here a few years later.”

Brenner’s current deployment to Afghanistan is his second since the October 2001 invasion. While Brenner said the country has progressed greatly since his first deployment, Afghanistan is just not ready for U.S. troops to leave. “I’d love to go home, but we’re over here doing a greater good,” Brenner said.

Lt. Col. Jerry O’Hara, Combined Joint Task Force-76 spokesman, said Karzai’s demand that raids be cleared through the Afghan government was largely already happening. Most military operations now involve Afghan National Army or Afghan National Police forces along with American or NATO troops, he said.

The preference is Afghans taking the lead “with coalition forces taking a supporting role,” O’Hara said. “We agree there is a requirement for consultation and coordination. We see a need to inform the Afghan government in almost everything we do.”

Lt. Col. Tim McGuire, commander of the 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment and also commander of Task Force Fury in Paktika province, said Karzai’s wish for the Afghan government to be informed is already happening. And virtually every patrol involves ANA and/or ANP forces “and preferably both. That is what we do here in Task Force Fury.”

McGuire said it is “imperative that we work hand in hand” with Afghan authorities and said that’s already happening. Sgt. Christopher Page of the 391st Engineer Battalion said he hadn’t heard Karzai’s comments, but said U.S. forces are still needed in country “in a support role. The ANA just isn’t where it needs to be yet.”

Others asked expressed some surprise at hearing the news. Communication with the outside world is limited at most forward operating bases. But they joined their commander in saying that much of what Karzai was suggesting was already happening.

Popular local singer, six others killed in northern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - (AP) Unknown assailants killed a popular local singer and six other people in northern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Friday.

The bodies of Qorban Nazar and six of his friends were found by a shepherd in the Chemtal district of Jawsjan province on Thursday, a day after Nazar had performed at a wedding in the area, Gov. Guma Khan Hamdard said. They had been killed by AK-47 gunfire, he said.

Hamdard said the motive for the killings was not known, but that it did not appear to be theft, because the victims' cell phones and other belongings were not taken.

Two soldiers killed in Paktia clash

KABUL, September 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Defence ministry Thursday said two Afghan National Army soldiers were killed and two wounded in a clash with suspected Taliban in the southeastern Paktia province.

The ministry's spokesman Zahir Azimi told Pajhwok Afghan News the clash occurred overnight in Shakin district near Pakistan border.

Azimi further said some armed men, believed to be the militants, attacked a police post in the border area. In the ensuing fight, two soldiers killed and two others sustained injuries.

He said the wounded soldiers had been evacuated to the US forces' hospital at Bagram, north of Kabul, where their condition was stated to be out of danger.

People stopped from staging protest on fencing issue

KABUL, September 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Officials in the southern Zabul stopped people who want to carry out protest rallies and stage demonstration against remarks of Pakistani authorities regarding border fencing with Afghanistan.

Pakistan Pervez Musharraf floated the suggestion of fencing the 2,400-kilometre porous border to end the blame-game between the two countries once and for all.

Gulab Shah Alikhel, spokesman for Zabul governor, said the government blocked the people from staging protest demonstration to avoid any untoward incident.

Tough security measures had been adopted across the country to discourage insurgents from carrying out attacks to disrupt the elections or counting process which is presently underway in 32 provinces.

He said they feared if the Pakistani authorities continued with their fencing rhetoric, it might cause unrest in the province, which is in proximity with Pakistan.

He said people of the bordering provinces had rejected the fencing proposal but they banned them for fear that Taliban might not cash the opportunity to carry out terrorist attacks.

Durand Line agreement expired in 1993: Khalil

PESHAWAR – The News International: Not new to controversy, the NWFP Governor Khalilur Rahman apparently created another one when he opined here Wednesday that the Durand Line agreement demarcated by the British and marking Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan expired in 1993.

Talking informally to journalists invited for lunch at the sprawling Governor’s House, he said the Durand Line agreement signed in 1893 was for 100 years. He said he had asked President General Pervez Musharraf to talk to the Afghan government for extending the agreement.

The Governor said tribes living on both sides of the border were opposed to fencing of the Durand Line because it would restrict their movement and interaction. Governor Khalil-ur-Rahman’s statement could reopen the Durand Line issue, which in the past poisoned relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Already, President Musharraf’s proposal for fencing the almost 2,500-kms long border has generated controversy and prompted many Afghans including President Hamid Karzai to question its necessity and worthiness. Most members of the Frontier intelligentsia and politicians, including both nationalists and Islamists, have also opposed fencing of the largely mountainous border that has divided families, villages and Pashtun tribes.

There is also disagreement whether the Durand Line agreement has expired or is still valid. Certain Afghan scholars led by Dr Hasan Kakar believe it expired on completion of 100 years. But most Pakistani scholars including Dr Azmat Hayat and Fida Yunis are of the view that there was no time limit in the terms of the agreement on Durand Line between the British, who ruled undivided India, and the Afghan government.

Dr Azmat Hayat, who is author of a book on Durand Line and is director of the Area Study Centre (Russia, China and Central Asia), University of Peshawar, told The News that the agreement on Durand Line wasn’t for a period of 100 years as claimed by certain scholars. "I did research for my book at the India Office Library in London and in other available archives in Pakistan. Nowhere is it mentioned that the Durand Line agreement was for 100 years," he argued. He claimed the Afghan foreign ministry didn’t have record that supported the view that the agreement was due to expire after 100 years. Besides, he referred to a letter from the then Afghan king Zahir Shah to the Pakistan government in which he clearly stated that Afghanistan had no claim on territories in the Frontier.

The Governor also passed critical comments on the role of Baitullah Mahsud, former commander of tribal militants in South Waziristan who has made his peace with the Pakistan Army. His criticism was at variance with the praise that Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Safdar Hussain has been showering on Baitullah Mahsud. The Corps Commander has met Baitullah Mahsud and described him on at least two occasions as a "soldier of peace." When reminded as to what the Corps Commander thought of Baitullah Mahsud, the Governor remarked that the "soldier of peace" should work for peace instead of promoting illegal activities aimed at Talibanization of South Waziristan.

Afghan election raises the bar - By Ahmed Rashid – BBC 9/22/05

Guest journalist and writer Ahmed Rashid reflects in his latest column for the BBC News website on Sunday's parliamentary and provincial elections in Afghanistan.

Imagine standing in an election in which candidates have no idea of their role, responsibility or powers once they are elected. That was the case for the thousands of Afghan candidates - one quarter of them women - who stood for 430 seats on the 34 provincial councils because the election law was only published three weeks ago.

So it was not surprising that ahead of the polls, the law had not been read by most candidates. But despite the chaos, the elections were still a historic milestone, the culmination of the political process inaugurated by the Bonn agreement signed in December 2001 between the victorious Afghan factions who helped the West defeat the Taleban.

Every major step - a new constitution, presidential elections - has been monitored by the United Nations and endorsed by the international community giving it unparalleled legitimacy.

Despite the glitches Afghans, better known for street fighting than street politics, have taken to elections like ducks to water. Their enthusiasm was palpable. The countryside was festooned with posters of the 6,000 candidates, and even attacks by the Taleban - killing ordinary civilians for carrying voter ID cards - did not deter the population.

Stories of individual electoral heroism are just as moving as the sacrifices made by the Afghans whilst fighting the former Soviet Union in the 1980s or the Taleban in the 1990s. Hundreds of women bravely defied custom to stand and campaign in a predominantly male environment.

However public expectations from the elections were also running high - far too high given the lack of resources available. The days after the elections will bring enormous uncertainty as to the future of this country.

Afghanistan, once home to al-Qaeda and now home to a resurgent Taleban movement and heroin production that provides 87% of the world market should have remained top of the international agenda but it has not. For two years the crisis in Iraq has sucked the oxygen out of Afghanistan. Now Hurricane Katrina has only added to the loss of attention and resources.

The West's commitment of resources and military manpower to protect this fledgling democracy, which is still the third poorest and least developed country in the world has been far too little. Now it appears to many Afghans that with a job just half done, the West is now seeking an exit door.

Recently US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld let it be known that he wanted to pull out up to a quarter of the 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan over the next six months.

The American drawdown would supposedly be filled by Nato which maintains a separate 11,000-strong peace keeping force in the country, while the Americans do the fighting.

The American and Nato commands are supposed to merge next spring, but major Nato countries such as France and Germany are refusing to carry out combat or counter insurgency operations against the Taleban under a merged command.

"Over time it would be nice if Nato developed counterinsurgency capabilities, which don't exist at the moment," a heavily sarcastic Mr Rumsfeld told a recent Nato meeting in Berlin.

Increasingly worried as to who would maintain the peace next year President Hamid Karzai urged that after the elections, "the international community should not immediately think Afghanistan's work has been done and its over", and just go home.

Afghanistan still needs to be protected by the West and given more money. Four years after 11 September not a single new power station has been built and rebuilding the major road arteries has just begun.

Ask any Afghan why he voted and his reply invariably is he is that four years on he is still hoping for change and to see the benefits of the end of the Taleban regime. However Mr Karzai has also failed to generate the spirit of nation building.

After winning presidential elections last October he was supposed to deal toughly with warlords, drug dealers and criminals. Instead in order to shore up his own position he has refused to move against them, despite overwhelming evidence that that is what the public wants.

Not a single warlord or drugs dealer has faced a trial or sentencing. A fledgling army, police, justice system and bureaucracy is being trained at Western expense, but President Karzai's immediate team offers little example in the way of sacrifice and service that could inspire these institutions or the nation.

Those candidates who do get elected are likely to be angry and frustrated. The new parliament, rather than being a venue for discussing development goals, could become an overheated venue for anti-Karzai criticism.

Mr Karzai still has the time and public goodwill to rediscover the vision he had for his nation in the aftermath of the Taleban defeat. Ultimately only a renewed Western commitment rather than withdrawal will give the Afghans the confidence to tackle their horrendous list of problems and encourage them to push ahead with nation building.

Putting steel into Karzai - The Economist 09/22/2005 - A relatively peaceful vote, but Afghanistan's future is still not secure

ONCE again, Afghanistan has confounded the doom-mongers. The parliamentary and provincial elections held on September 18th were violent, with 19 polling stations attacked by Taliban insurgents and a dozen people killed. Intimidation and fraud were evident, compounded by a confusing voting system, whereby each candidate stood as an independent. But this was much less chaos than had been predicted; local elections in Pakistan last month were bloodier. And if turnout was down on Afghanistan's uplifting presidential vote last year, at around 50%, it nonetheless bespoke strong support for democracy and for accountable governance. As a milestone on Afghanistan's post-conflict journey, this should be celebrated, but cautiously—for the promised recovery lies further ahead than ruination lies behind.

To the long list of Afghanistan's dysfunctional institutions may soon be added its parliament. By preventing its being organised around political parties, President Hamid Karzai sought to ensure a weak opposition to his strong executive. At first squint, this might look wise: preaching national unity, Mr Karzai has done heroic service. Yet it makes Afghanistan too reliant on one good man, who risks assassination daily, and whose weak strategic vision the ploy typifies. In future elections, the chance of a single seat in an ineffectual parliament will surely fail to persuade warlords to give up their guns.

In this election, as another example of Mr Karzai's weakness, few were obliged to give them up: of 207 "commander-candidates" identified before the poll, merely 32 were disqualified. This was woeful, it disgusted many Afghans, and Mr Karzai is to blame. Before the vote, he received assurances from the two foreign armies in Afghanistan—an American-led coalition fighting the Taliban, and a NATO-led peacekeeping force—that hell-raising from disqualified candidates would be robustly dealt with. He must now undo the harm his weakness has done, and ensure that no elected candidate, or other official, maintains a militia.

To persuade Mr Karzai to do this, his allies must add steel to their assurances. Even as America pledged to secure the poll, it plotted to withdraw several thousand troops next year. Amid the usual squawking from Germany and France over the ideal role for NATO troops, it was uncertain whether America's European allies would fill the breach as it would like. They must do so. There is more at stake than bolder leadership from Mr Karzai. There are the fights against the Taliban and al-Qaeda and against the Afghan drug dealers who supply 90% of the world's opium. And there is the future of multilateral state-building and, it could be argued, of NATO itself.

Ultimately, however, no western power can end the insurgency raging in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where over 1,000 people have been killed this year, including 77 Americans. That will take years, by bringing greater prosperity to these desolate regions, after first instituting badly-needed economic reforms at the centre. But an eastern power, Pakistan, could reduce the killing. Money sent from Pakistan, as well as sanctuary there for the Taliban leadership, underlies the insurgency's vigour. Pakistan's claim to be unable to police its rugged border no longer rings true: a good portion, adjoining its tribal areas, is now mostly controlled. So should the rest be, and Pakistan must arrest its old friends, the Taliban leaders. Failing this, it will seem more than hapless in the ongoing violence. It will seem complicit.

The Afghan Difference – Editorial, The New York Times, September 22, 2005

Afghanistan and Iraq were both invaded by United States-led forces, which overthrew outlaw regimes. Both have new constitutions, guided by the same American diplomat. Both have foreign armies of significant size on their sovereign soil. But Iraq is careering toward civil war, while Afghanistan has just completed an encouragingly inclusive parliamentary election. Iraq cannot even begin to talk about defending itself without American troops. Afghanistan is already saying it's time for the United States to cease major military operations on its territory.

While no one should underestimate Afghanistan's serious problems, including a resurgent Taliban, a shattered infrastructure and rampant drug trafficking, no one can fail to see the many signs of progress there, while only the most die-hard Bush administration spinners pretend to see any significant and lasting gains in Iraq. It is important to try to understand why this is happening.

One reason, surely, is that Afghanistan, for all of its ethnic diversity and political turbulence, has a long continuous history as a single nation. International intervention can, with skill and luck, revive a battered and prostrate nation. But it cannot easily create one where the population has no real history of, or desire for, willing coexistence and cooperation.

Another is that the full backing and support from the United Nations for Afghanistan's transformation and recovery encouraged the provision of international financial support and expertise and, even more important, endowed the new government with crucial international legitimacy. That imposed a useful measure of self-restraint on neighboring countries like Pakistan and Russia, which had long meddled in Afghan affairs with highly destructive consequences.

Afghanistan has also benefited from the skilled and effective leadership provided by President Hamid Karzai, a surprisingly adept domestic politician and international diplomat. Mr. Karzai has not hesitated to criticize the United States and Pakistan when necessary. He has also struck an acceptable balance between two powerful forces. One is the political need to reach out to other ethnic groups and to former Taliban members who are willing to play by the new rules of peaceful politics. The other is the moral and strategic necessity of gradually marginalizing the most notorious warlords and pressuring all of them to disarm their unacceptable private militias.

The world has a chance to help Afghanistan build on this hopeful start. In particular, the international community needs to put more pressure on President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan to end Taliban activities, especially recruiting, on Pakistani soil. And NATO countries must send the additional troops that are badly needed to ensure enough security throughout Afghanistan to rebuild roads, reservoirs and power plants, and to attract private investment.

The challenges facing Afghanistan are enormous, but with luck and continued international cooperation, this is one American-led intervention that could wind up actually making people's lives better.

"There is no place for secularism in Afghanistan" - Qanooni - Asia Times 09/21/2005 By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The opposition face of Afghanistan

KABUL - The national resistance to the decade-long occupation of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union in the 1980s is a source of national pride for the country.

In the chaotic years after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, the victorious mujahideen (holy warriors) fought a bloody civil war as they vied with one another to fill the political vacuum. This contributed directly to the rise of the Taliban and their seizure of Kabul in 1996.

When the Taliban fled in the face of the US-led invasion in late 2001, mujahideen leaders once again rose to prominence as interim (now elected) President Hamid Karzai struggled to establish his writ beyond the capital.

One of these is Yunus Qanooni, Karzai's chief rival in last year's presidential elections and a candidate in the weekend's parliamentary elections. Qanooni, a former education and interior minister under Karzai, has substantial support within the Panjsher Valley in the north of the country. Like slain Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Masoud, Qanooni is an ethnic Tajik Panjshiri. He fought beside Masoud against both the Soviets and the Taliban. He also served as Masoud's personal spokesman, as well as one of his senior military and political advisers.

When Masoud was assassinated by al-Qaeda operatives days before September 11 in 2001, Qanooni effectively took control of the militias Masoud had commanded. In the past four years he has smartly turned the former armed bands into effective political activists, and their presence was highly visible across Kabul in the elections.

Qanooni is not particularly popular with the US-led forces in Afghanistan as he now opposes Karzai, but he has positioned himself as an indispensable feature of Afghan politics, whether he holds office or not.

In a rare interview with the foreign media, Qanooni spoke to Asia Times Online. Asia Times Online: What is the future of the mujahideen in the new parliamentary politics of Afghanistan?

Yunus Qanooni: The mujahideen's importance cannot be down-played. They were important and they will remain important.  Nobody can reject them. That's why they are contesting the polls and they will form a dominant presence in the upcoming parliament. [The results of Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in more than three decades will not be known until early October.]

ATol: The West is skeptical of the mujahideen, will it tolerate their heavy mandate in parliament, and their role in decision-making?

YQ: The West does not have a choice. They have to respect public opinion. The West is only concerned about peace and stability in Afghanistan. Only the mujahideen can ensure that.

ATol: Is the future of Afghanistan secular or Islamic?

YQ: Afghanistan is a Muslim country, with a 99% Muslim population. There is no place for secularism in Afghanistan. Our official religion is Islam and no system will be acceptable other than Islam. However, let me make clear here that the Taliban's concepts of Islam are not acceptable. Islam is a progressive and tolerant religion. Moderate and tolerant Islam is the future of Afghanistan and the international community should not be concerned on that because an Islamic welfare state of Afghanistan would not pose any threat to anybody, nor have any agenda against anybody.

ATol: People in Kabul seem to be concerned about the dearth of human resources in Afghanistan. Who will run the system?

YQ: I do not agree with this notion. We have qualified Afghans all over the world who can serve their nation and country. The same people also came to Afghanistan after the collapse of the Taliban, but due to the wrong handling of the incumbent Afghan government, they went back. At the same time, I would also like to mention that the government wrongly projects the literacy rate in the country. It is more than it projects. If the future government keeps upright policies, qualified people will return and definitely serve Afghanistan.

ATol: The Karzai government has announced a general amnesty for all Taliban. Is there any chance for people like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar? [ Hekmatyar heads the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) . Hekmatyar is a legendary mujahideen figure who fought against the occupying Soviets in the 1980s and became premier in 1993. He remains active in the Taliban-led insurgency.]

YQ: I disagree with the Karzai government's dialogue policy with the Taliban. As a result of this wrong policy, violence and terrorism is encouraged in Afghanistan. I do not see any chance that the government will achieve any success with this policy. The Taliban have only exploited this chance and the number of their attacks has intensified. I tell you, the Taliban have a rigid ideology and they will not compromise on that until their ideology gets recognition in the government, and they will not give up their fight against the government.

As far as ordinary Taliban are concerned, we have no problem with them, but there should not be any compromise with their leadership. As far as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is concerned, I do not see any chance of an amnesty for him as his policies are in contrast with the present government and the coalition forces.

ATol: But Hekmatyar's HIA is likely to call the shots in the parliament as 25% of the candidates came from this party, even though some leading figures claim that they have left it.

YQ: I disagree that the HIA will get any significant representation in parliament. Nonetheless, the real authority is public opinion. It's up to them whom they elect and whom they do not.

ATol: Warlordism is a problem in Afghanistan. Why it is not controllable?

YQ: This problem has not really been identified - who is a warlord and who is not? There is no absolute definition when one talks about warlordism in Afghanistan. When it suits, they are given government offices and they are not blamed as warlords, but when political differences emerge, they are blamed for warlordism. The same with terrorism in southern and southeastern Afghanistan. This does not mean that the Taliban are strong in those areas, it means that the government strategy is weak. There is a strong presence of the national army, police and coalition forces, and despite that, if violence is not controlled, it means that the government's strategy is flawed.

ATol: What share does Pakistan have in the insurgency in Afghanistan?

YQ: Pakistan supports the Taliban. However, it is neither in the national interest of Pakistan nor of Afghanistan. Both countries should take care of each other's interests and should have a policy of friendship.

ATol: Do you have any specific idea of how and where Pakistan supports the Taliban?

YQ: To me this is not important. The important thing is that the Taliban are working against the interests of Afghanistan and they are getting support from Pakistan.

ATol: Afghanistan has become a narco-state. Who is responsible? [See Opium gold unites US friends and foes, Asia Times Online, September 3]

YQ: The narco trade is an international problem. A full syndicate is involved in this trade. Therefore, a coherent joint international strategy is required. There should be a security belt all around Afghanistan on all borders of Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Tajikistan. Zones should be earmarked where Interpol's role should be ensured. The Afghan government is responsible for not taking this problem seriously. It has not devised any effective policy to combat this crime. When I was minister of interior for six months, I devised a policy for a security belt all around the borders so that narco trafficking could be stopped. Ironically, later on that policy was not implemented.

Lawmaker says international help needed to strengthen Afghanistan after recent elections - 09/22/2005

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Afghanistan needs international help to keep its postelection government from dissolving into corrupt factions and to help regular Afghans keep faith in democracy, the senior House foreign affairs lawmaker said Thursday.

Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, told a hearing on U.S. Afghanistan policy that disappointing voter turnout during Sunday's legislative elections, 20 percent below the presidential vote in October, might have been a symptom of Afghan disenchantment with the democratic process.

Hyde said failure by the world to help fight the country's huge problem of illegal drug production and smuggling, insurgency by the formerly ruling Taliban militia and citizen apathy would "undermine the credibility of the democratic process."

The State Department's Afghanistan coordinator, Maureen Quinn, said the elections were "calm, orderly and secure" despite huge logistical and procedural obstacles, which included almost 6,000 candidates and 142 tons of ballots distributed by airplanes, helicopters, trucks, horses and donkeys.
Still, she said "urgent steps" are needed to keep Afghans safe and the government free of corruption.

Rep. Tom Lantos of California, the committee's top Democrat, criticized NATO for what he considered a weak presence in Afghanistan. He said that South Asian country is "one of the great potential success stories in the civilized world, which still hangs in the balance because NATO is so timid, pathetic and unwilling to step up."

Peter Rodman, an international security affairs official at the Defense Department, said certain NATO countries were helping in Afghanistan, while others "don't go to the latrine without voting in parliament. This is not helpful."

He did not say which countries he meant. Lantos also asked Rodman to evaluate comments made Tuesday by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who challenged the need for major foreign military operations in his country.

"Was this a momentary lapse of realism?" Lantos asked. "What was behind this incredibly puzzling and, to some of us, disconnected statement from reality?"
Rodman said he wasn't sure what Karzai was thinking. "We see this as, the fight is still on, and he knows that," Rodman said. "Operationally, our relationship with them is good."

Speaking at the Pentagon, President Bush said 18,000 U.S. troops serving in the Afghan campaign have not yet finished their mission. "The international community is helping Afghanistan become a lasting democracy," he told reporters after getting a military briefing on the global war on terrorism.

Karzai had said that in tackling the militants, foreign governments should instead "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases" -- a veiled reference to support that Taliban insurgents allegedly get in neighboring Pakistan.

Outside view: Afghanistan's future - By Pyotr Goncharov Outside View Commentator Published September 22, 2005

MOSCOW -- What future awaits Afghanistan after last Sunday's parliamentary elections? Will the new parliament facilitate or block reforms? Afghanistan's major donors are waiting for the outcome of the elections with natural apprehensions -- in accordance with the Bonn agreements they have been investing heavily into the nation's liberal and democratic reforms, and its effort to build a new economy, army and government structure. It is clear that the new government will be akin to the new parliament.
    
Until now the Karzai team has been making a good effort in reforming Afghanistan, with considerable assistance from the United States and the West. Will the new government be loyal to Karzai if Islamists get a majority in parliament? The answer to this question is worrying the United States and other Western nations because an Islamic conservative parliament is bound to block democratic reforms.

Is this concern justified? Let's turn to the results of the elections. The military-political lineup has not changed much. The armed opposition is represented by the same old guys -- warlords of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Islami) led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, isolated groups of the Taliban, and al-Qaida guerrillas.
    
Pro-government forces continue to be confidently led by the prominent Mojahed leaders Burhanuddin) Rabbani, (Mohammad Yunos) Qanuni, and (Abdul Rasul) Sayaf who are competing for the speaker's seat. Technocrats and intellectuals are the main supporters of the ongoing reforms, but they are too weak and isolated to offer serious resistance to the mujahedin.
   
Independent political expert Ahmad Shah Obaid, who ran in the elections as an independent candidate, thinks that the technocrats will rank third in parliament after the regional elite and warlords: "These are not our elections. The intellectuals are obviously weak in Afghanistan. Karzai will have to face opposition from the warlords who are likely to have the biggest number of seats in parliament. It remains to be seen how tough the opposition will be on the president's domestic and foreign policies, the last being even more important."
    
Many experts believe, however, that there is no need to dramatize the situation. Karzai is ready for this turn of events. In a recent interview with a Western newspaper he reminded the United States and other Western nations that they themselves had brought the mujahedin to life in order to fight the communist regime. In other words, Karzai called on the donor countries to treat a potential opposition as a reality of today's Afghanistan.
    
Much will depend on who will lead the opposition in parliament. Most experts think that prominent Afghan politician Yunus Qanuni has the best chances. He represented Afghanistan at the Bonn conference in 2001, and was the minister of the interior in the transitional government. Qanuni has already set up a bloc of a dozen parties, and may well become the parliament's speaker.
    
Experts believe that the Qanuni-led opposition will be generally mild. It will be adamant only on major issues, such as the distribution of key portfolios (defense, interior, foreign affairs, finances), or the presence of the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition forces on Afghan territory. This is an old "headache" for the mujahedin, and they will demand that Karzai sets a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. military bases from Afghanistan.
    
The parliament, or Jirga (council of local authorities), has traditionally played an important role in the political and social life of Afghanistan. Major Afghan politicians and experts believe that the restoration of this institution, which was destroyed more than 30 years ago, will be instrumental in removing political tensions.
 
Pyotr Goncharov is a political commentator for the RIA Novosti news agency. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti.

Afghan returns pass 400,000 mark in 2005, reaching 4.2 million overall - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

KABUL, September 22, (UNHCR) – The number of Afghans seeking assistance to return home this year surpassed 400,000 on Thursday, and now stands at just under 3.5 million since 2002, the UN refugee agency said. Including those who have returned without assistance, the overall total has now reached 4.2 million.

The Afghan repatriation, now in its fourth year, is the biggest organized repatriation operation globally in 2005, and, taken in its entirety, is easily the largest such operation in history.

By Thursday, following the resumption of the repatriation operation which had been suspended during the Afghan election period, the number of Afghans returning to their homeland with UNHCR assistance in 2005 had reached 415,512. Of these, 365,575 have come back from Pakistan and a further 49,025 from Iran.

Since UNHCR's repatriation programme began in 2002, after the fall of the Taliban regime, a total of 2.9 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan and 1.3 million from Iran. A census of Afghans living in Pakistan, conducted earlier this year, showed that some three million remain in the country – or triple the number remaining in Iran, which is estimated to be around 900,000.

The decision by the Government of Pakistan to close all refugee camps in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has triggered a sharp increase in the number of Afghans opting to return. The most recent closures affected more than 100,000 people. The majority have chosen to repatriate with UNHCR assistance, while others accepted the Pakistan government's offer of relocation to another existing camps. The order to close the camps was given on security grounds. Most of the returns have been to Afghanistan's eastern provinces of Paktya, Khost and Nangarhar.

The return of the former FATA camp residents over a brief, five-week period has put UNHCR's reintegration operations within Afghanistan under significant pressure, the agency said in a statement in Kabul. Together with the relevant government ministries, other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, the UN refugee agency is working to ensure that families and individuals are able to settle into their places of origin before winter sets in.

"Many of the families are returning to areas where there has been limited development due to the security situation," said Jacques Mouchet, UNHCR's Representative for Afghanistan. "There are also a large number of individuals who left Afghanistan 25 years ago and who face challenges in reintegrating into their former communities. In coordination with local authorities, the immediate task of UNHCR is to identify and assist those individuals who are particularly vulnerable."

Under UNHCR's repatriation programme, each returning Afghan is eligible for transport assistance ranging from $4 to $37, depending on the distance to their destination. They also receive a grant of $12 each to help with additional costs.

The return assistance is complemented by programmes designed to help former refugees resume their lives in their original communities. In all, during 2005, the UN refugee agency said it will help build or repair more than 24,000 returnee homes across the country. Short-term employment as well as skills training is being provided to vulnerable individuals as part of UNHCR's income generation activities. Water points which will benefit some 65,000 individuals are being dug, while co-existence programmes are underway in an attempt to ensure that tensions within communities are resolved peacefully.

PAKISTAN: UNHCR resumes Afghan repatriation programme

ISLAMABAD, 21 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday resumed its repatriation assistance programme for Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan after a week-long break due to the parliamentary and provincial elections in Afghanistan held on Sunday.

"All the repatriation centres across the country have reopened today. Around 2,000 Afghans comprising some 385 families have been processed at different locations," Babar Baloch, a UNHCR spokesman, said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Under the UNHCR voluntary repatriation assistance programme, close to 400,000 Afghans have returned so far this year from Pakistan, while the number amounts to more than 2.6 million since the start of the programme in 2002.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency has resumed processing Afghan refugees using its iris scanning system from the northwestern city of Peshawar in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The centre remained closed for about two weeks after hundreds of Afghans waiting in long queues for registration attacked the agency's site office in the first week of September in protest against the slow pace of repatriation.

Iris verification – serving as a record and reducing fraud - is mandatory for every Afghan over the age of six wishing to receive UNHCR assistance for repatriation. Meanwhile, UNHCR has increased travel assistance for returning Afghans by 10 percent.

"Afghans returning under UNHCR's voluntary repatriation assistance programme will now receive between US $3 to $37 per person, depending on the distance to their destination," said the UNHCR spokesman. In addition, each returnee is entitled to get $12 to help them resettle in Afghanistan, he added.

UNHCR's voluntary repatriation assistance programme for Afghan refugees living in Pakistan operates under the tripartite agreement between the two governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan and UNHCR. The agreement has recently been extended to December 2006.

Five major items’ exports to Kabul decline

ISLAMABAD - The Dawn, Sept 21: Pakistan’s export of five major commodities — rice, construction materials, sanitary wares, electronic goods and sugar — to Afghanistan declined during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year, over the same period last year.

Official data available with Dawn showed that only a few items, mainly cement, paints and varnishes, mild steel products, fruits and vegetables, milk and pulses, recorded a growth in exports to Kabul during the period under review.

However, the value of total exports to Afghanistan increased by 32.8pc to Rs11.380bn during the July-Aug period, as against Rs8.568bn in the same months last year.

It is believed that Indian products are penetrating in the Afghanistan market because of their competitiveness and quality. Moreover, the Indian officials posted in Afghanistan were also promoting their products by giving more facilities to their exporters.

The product-wise analysis showed that Pakistan’s exports of rice declined by 5.7pc to Rs317.881m during July-August, as against Rs337.136m last year; sugar decreased by 58.9pc to Rs204.170m against Rs497.504m; sanitary wares declined by 50.6pc to Rs6.699m against Rs13.562m; and construction materials dipped by 24.3pc to Rs156.801m against Rs207.308m.

No single electronic item was exported to Afghanistan during the first two months of the current fiscal year, as against the export of Rs30.801m worth of electronic goods exported during the same period last year.

The export of wheat and flour to Afghanistan increased by 19.7pc during the July-Aug period to Rs1.136 billion against Rs949.295m during the same period last year; ghee increased by 7.8pc to Rs924.622m against Rs857.651m; cement by 45.2pc to Rs974.338m against Rs670.819m; paints and varnishes by 69.8pc to Rs325.011m against Rs191.361m; and mild steel products increased by 49.7pc to Rs715.433m against Rs477.84m.

The export of electric goods to Afghanistan during the first two months of this fiscal year increased by 156.5pc to Rs166.179m against Rs64.769m; medicines by sevenpc to Rs113.342m against Rs105.881m; other grains and pulses by 749.6pc to Rs27.683m against Rs3.258m; fruits and vegetables by 110.5pc to Rs118.736m against Rs56.405m; and milk and cereals increased by 65.4pc to Rs197.573m against Rs119.406m.

Ex-Taliban Diplomat Sentenced in Fraud - Associated Press Sep 21

NEW YORK - A former envoy for Afghanistan's Taliban leadership who pleaded guilty to cheating on his taxes and lying on a bank loan application has been sentenced to two months behind bars.

Noorullah Zadran, once a top spokesman for the Taliban in the United States, pleaded guilty June 17 to federal charges in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Besides the two months' imprisonment, he was also fined $5,000 Tuesday and ordered to serve three years of supervised release, the Justice Department said Wednesday. He had faced up to eight months in prison.

Zadran admitted failing to report $1,541 in income on his 2000 federal tax return. He also said he wrote on a loan application that his wife was working when she was unemployed to get a lower interest rate.

Zadran was dispatched to New York in the late 1990s to lobby for United Nations recognition of the Taliban — a task complicated by the U.S. attack on the bases of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1998 and his government's subsequent refusal to hand over the terrorist.

In interviews at the time, Zadran described bin Laden as a "guest of our country" who had promised Taliban leaders "that no act of terror would be initiated from our soil." Zadran is now a U.S. citizen.

German doctors to treat handicapped children

GHAZNI CITY, September 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Officials in Ghazni said about 130 handicapped children would be treated by German doctors from all provinces of the country.

Head of the physiotherapy branch of the department for the disabled, Dr Abdul Khaliq Asadi said children who were disabled by birth or lost their body parts during war, would be treated under this programme.

Only children from Zabul, Paktia, Paktika and Lugar provinces would be given treatment by the German doctors during the current phase.

Nearly 400 disabled children were examined by the doctors who recommended 130 for further treatment.

Dr Asadi said after thorough check up, the German medical experts recommended 130 disabled children who would be cured at a German hospital in Maidan-Wardag province.

German doctors visit Afghanistan on yearly basis and treat handicapped children during their stay in the country, which usually last for two weeks.

Pakistan warns of new turmoil if Iran targeted: Kasuri says US briefed

UNITED NATIONS – The Dawn, Sept 21: Pakistan has told the United States that any military action against Iran would create unprecedented turmoil in the region and that Pakistan seeks a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue, Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said on Tuesday.

Talking to Dawn following a half hour meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottakil on the sidelines of UN General Assembly, Mr Kasuri observed: “Pakistan has had difficult time in the past during the Afghan war and another violent action in the region would destabilize the region”.

He said: “I informed him that our position on the issue has been consistent with the non-aligned movement’s position and we want peaceful resolution of the issue.”

Mr Kasuri assured his Iranian counterpart that Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Iran recalling the historical cultural and religious ties between the two countries. Besides, he noted that economic cooperation between the two countries has improved substantially.

Recalling the Taliban era when relations between Iran and Pakistan were strained, Mr Kasuri said: “We do not want to return to the time of Taliban,” adding, “we want to resolve any outstanding issues with Tehran.”

Asked whether the issue of Iranian gas pipeline issue came up in the meeting, Mr Kasuri said: “Yes we discussed the Iranian gas pipeline issue saying that the project was on track and we have had extensive talks with India on the issue.”

Speaking about his meeting with the Palestinian delegation, Mr Kasuri said that he assured them of Pakistan’s total commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state on the basis of the UN resolutions which call for withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territories.

[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.]