In this bulletin:

• Interview: Afghan President Karzai Talks To RFE/RL
• Mortar Lands Near U.S. Base in Afghanistan
• Pakistan says killed 40 militants near Afghan border
• Taliban claim destroying Afghan troops check-post in Kunar
• Twelve Taleban arrested in south Afghanistan
• Netherland to deploy troops in Uruzgan
• U.S. official: Pakistan, Afghanistan must cooperate to defeat Taliban
• Leader of terrorist group killed on Iran-Afghan border
• Fierce clashes near Afghan border kill 20
• Fighting Afghan drugs risks more violence-UK report
• Tories allow debate on Afghanistan mission
• MPs fearful over Afghan mission
• The resurgence of Taliban on Pak-Afghan border
• EDITORIAL: Fewer madrassas, less extremism?
• French carrier to provide Afghan air support
• Vote of confidence: Defence, Justice ministers brief MPs
• Afghan agriculture minister defends record, outlines future plans to MPs
• Afghan analysts argue new cabinet ministers enjoy public support
• Abdullah’s ouster internal affair: FO – The News Int. (Pak.)
• Most schools have no buildings in Faryab
• Kazakhstan ready to invest in Afghan economy - foreign minister
• AFGHANISTAN: Female farmers rebuilding orchards

Interview: Afghan President Karzai Talks To RFE/RL - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty 4/6/06

RFE/RL: The important story these days in Afghanistan is the proposed cabinet that you have submitted to the lower chamber of parliament -- the Wolesi Jirga -- for approval. Are you following the details of this parliamentary process through the media?

Karzai: Unfortunately, I don't really have time to follow all the details. However, I do receive reports from my media department. The other day, as I was on my way to the celebrations of the birth of the Prophet [Muhammad], I saw a short clip of the procedures on television. They were discussing the selection of the defense minister. It made me happy that we have representatives of the people and a good structure of political discourse. This is a great psychological source of strength.

RFE/RL: How sure are you that the cabinet you have proposed will be approved by the parliament?

Karzai: According to Afghanistan's Constitution, it is the duty of the president to choose the members of his cabinet. It is the job of the parliament to accept or reject those choices. It has the full power for such decisions. My hope, as an ordinary person as well as the president, is that our deputies will accept or reject these choices according to professional standards, their patriotism, and their integrity; and that no other criteria should determine their decisions. I have also done the same as the president of Afghanistan. And those who have advised me on the matter also followed the same line without any regional or ethnic bias. And I would like to hear the reasons why they were accepted or rejected. If a minister is rejected, I hope that the reasons given for the rejection will be enunciated so that we know why our proposed ministers were not acceptable.

RFE/RL: If the parliament rejects some of your cabinet proposals for any reason, do you have alternative proposals in mind?

Karzai: Yes, of course I do. It is the right of the parliament to reject these names. If the reasons are acceptable to me -- and if the reasons are clear so that the people of Afghanistan can see where things stand -- then, of course, we will accept them. But I do hope to have clear reasons. The most important issue is that the reasons should be very clearly spelled out.

RFE/RL: Did you choose your proposed cabinet independently? That is, did you consult representatives of different ethnic groups? Or did you make these choices personally by yourself?

Karzai: Yes, yes. Of course I consulted. I consulted a lot. In the past four years of my [term in] office, I have been accused of consulting too much. But luckily it has been proven that this is very positive because it has yielded good results. I have talked to all of my advisers, my deputies, with other brothers. We have had some very difficult discussions, too. After a lot of discussion and consultations which have been -- at times -- very difficult, we came to these conclusions. And this is a very positive thing -- to be able to discuss issues as a part of the decision-making process. Yes, my decisions have passed through the different layers of consultations. In all democracies of the world, it is the same. People discuss the issues. People consult. And once they have made a decision, they stand by it. Yes we have made our decisions based on consultations.

RFE/RL: One of the most striking elements in your proposals is the fact that Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has been removed from the post of foreign minister and Dr. Rangin Dadfar Espanta has been nominated to replace him. This follows your earlier decision to remove Marshall [Mohammad Qasim] Fahim from the post of Afghan defense minister. And in some media and political circles, it is said that this is an open move to sideline a certain military-political group. What is your response to this?

Karzai: Marshal Fahim is one of the sons of our [mujahedin], a patriot and [a man who loves] his country. I have a great deal of respect for Marshall Fahim. He has been my close friend and confidant. He has his own unique place in Afghanistan. He has been a respectable military man. He is a five-star general. And he is a senator. I hope that officially as my adviser, he will continue to cooperate with me. He comes to all of the National Security Council meetings. His is my dear brother. No one can ever reduce the respect that Marshal Fahim has earned for himself.

Dr. Abdullah is a mujahedin of Afghanistan. He has served this nation and we have great respect for that. He is my friend and I have a great deal of respect for him. He has served the cabinet for four years. And I have been very happy with his service as foreign minister. He has not been dropped from the cabinet at all. I have suggested to him that since we are restructuring the cabinet and creating an important new ministry -- the Ministry of Trade and Industry -- he should be in charge of that. He did not accept that. When he was in America [in March], I phoned him personally three times and requested that he become the minister of trade and industry before I made the decision. But he turned down my offer every time, saying that he thought he was more qualified for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But I wanted to create changes in the cabinet.

I also did the same with Hannif Atmar, who was a very successful minister of rural development. I requested that he take up another ministry -- the Ministry of Education. But similarly, I have made changes which are based upon my wish to change the structure of the cabinet.

Reshuffling is quite a normal step taken with any cabinet. This helps change the approach. It is possible I will not be a candidate [in the next election]. And even if I am a candidate for the presidency in the next election and people don't choose me, I will be happy to leave office. No post should be considered as a permanent position in politics. None of the positions of the Afghan government are permanent.

RFE/RL: There is one more point being made about your proposed cabinet. It is the fact that there is only one woman on your list. Some say this is not sufficient.

Karzai: That's a very good question. In the past three or four years, the cabinet has been the main representative of the people from various segments of Afghan society. It has operated as a cabinet. It has operated as the law-making power of the country. It also had executive roles. After the National Assembly was formed -- with lower and upper chambers of a legislative branch of government -- then the separation of powers became possible. There we saw that women had a lot of support in society. Some 27 or 28 percent of the parliamentary seats are held by women. So as you can see, their place is secured. Now that the cabinet is being proposed, it has more of an executive function. We have one woman in the cabinet. And it is possible that in the future there will be more women. Perhaps there will be three or four women.

[But] the cabinet is formed for practical reasons. This is not for political reasons. Today there may be one woman. Tomorrow there may be more. Likewise, today we may have so many representatives from Herat or Jalalabad and tomorrow that may change. Change is always possible in a cabinet. But one thing has been proven. That the place of women in Afghanistan has been secured and women have the support of the people.

RFE/RL: There has been commentary in the media -- and also within political circles in Kabul -- about ethnic representation within your proposed cabinet. The claim being made is that your proposals are based on ethnic preferences [that are not representative of the nation]. Some say you have been persuaded by advisers. What is your reaction to such remarks?

Karzai: Well, every ethnic group has a right to have a place in the government of Afghanistan. But no official position belongs to any one ethnic group. Today I am the president. And I am from Kandahar. In the past, we had my brother (eds. Not his biological brother), the honorable Ustad Rabbani, who is from Badkhshan Province. Tomorrow we may have someone from Parvan, Panjshir, Faryab, Nuristan, and so on. We must strive for a system in which any person in Afghanistan would feel they could reach the highest office. The government of Afghanistan is not just for the main large ethnic groups or main provinces of Afghanistan. The government of Afghanistan is a place for all people of Afghanistan. We cannot have four or five main ethnic groups -- Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, or Hazara -- claiming a right to all posts. We cannot have the Pashtuns say we are a large ethnic group and must have the Ministry of Defense or Foreign Affairs, and the Tajiks saying we must have the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Education. [We cannot have] Hazara claiming this ministry and Uzbek brothers claiming something else. Every person in Afghanistan, regardless of their ethnicity, has a right to the ministries of Afghanistan. No ministry in Afghanistan belongs to any particular group and every ministry in Afghanistan belongs to all groups.

Mortar Lands Near U.S. Base in Afghanistan - April 6, 2006

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A mortar exploded near a U.S. air base north of Afghanistan's capital Thursday, killing an Afghan civilian and wounding at least two others, a police official said.

The mortar landed less than a mile from the main gate of the base in Bagram, destroying a truck delivering food to U.S. military personnel, said Gen. Abdul Rahman Sayedkhail, chief of Parwan province, about 40 miles north of Kabul.

There were no U.S. casualties, he said.

Police detained two Afghans at the scene of the explosion for questioning, he added. The Bagram base is the largest U.S. military facility in Afghanistan, where militants loyal to the toppled Taliban government have stepped up a campaign of violence against coalition and Afghan forces.

Pakistan says killed 40 militants near Afghan border

ISLAMABAD, April 6 (Reuters) - Pakistani forces killed at least 40 pro-Taliban militants in a troubled tribal region near Afghan border, the military said on Thursday, sharply raising the tally from the previous day's fierce fighting.

"Latest information shows that at least 40 miscreants were killed," military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters, raising the tally from 16.

Pakistani forces launched a counter-offensive using helicopter gunships on Wednesday after militants killed four paramilitary troops in an attack on their post in the Shawal area of North Waziristan.

A statement from the administration of tribal affairs in North West Frontier Province said 19 militants were arrested and they all belonged to North and neighouring South Waziristan. It said about 150 militants were involved in the fighting.

Tensions have been running high in North Waziristan since clashes last month in which around 200 tribesmen were killed. The tribesmen were answering a call to arms by militant Muslim clerics following a special forces attack on an al Qaeda camp.

Officials say Shawal -- an upland valley with forests and meadows -- serves as a safe haven for militants who fled military operations in neighbouring South Waziristan in 2004. Hundreds of security forces and militants were killed in those battles.

Shawal is about 50 km (30 miles) west of North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah. Three paramilitary troops were injured in another attack by militants in nearby Datta Kheil area on Tuesday, and on Monday, five people were killed in a landmine explosion and two militants were killed in a clash with security forces in the same area.

President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, last month warned foreign militants hiding in the tribal region to leave Pakistan or face annihilation.

A large number of al Qaeda remnants and Taliban fled to Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt after U.S.-led forces toppled the radical Taliban regime in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Washington and New York.

Elusive al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding somewhere in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Taliban claim destroying Afghan troops check-post in Kunar - Paktribun April 05, 2006

KUNAR: Taliban claim to have to destroy the Afghan troops check post guarding the US forces Radar system. Dr. Hanif told Radio Tehran that the Taliban carried out attack on the check post of Marawara district of Kunar province last night destroying it completely.

He said that the Taliban carried out attack on a check post in Khogiano district of Nangarhar province killing one policeman and injured four others.

Twelve Taleban arrested in south Afghanistan - Excerpt from report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kandahar city, 5 April: Forces of the US-led coalition and Afghan National Army (ANA) on Wednesday detained 12 suspected Taleban fighters in separate joint operations in southern Helmand and Zabol Provinces. A statement issued by the coalition forces from Bagram base stated that 10 insurgents were apprehended in Sangin District after a short clash with Afghan and coalition troops.

"In the course of the combined operations aimed at eradicating enemy forces, insurgents engaged Afghan and coalition forces with small-arms fire," the statement said. The Afghan and coalition forces returned fire. This left three militants wounded and the search to track down other militants is still going on, the statement added.

Meanwhile, in a separate operation officials arrested two militants in Shamalzai District of restive Zabol Province. Provincial police chief Lt-Gen Nabi Mullahkhel told this news agency they prompted a search operation on a tip-off that some Taleban were planning to carry out a terrorist attack in the region.

They had nabbed the two outlaws along with three Kalashnikovs and the search for other insurgents is ongoing, he added.

Netherland to deploy troops in Uruzgan

KABUL, Apr 5 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Dutch Defence Minister Henricus Gregorius Joseph Wednesday announced his country would send 2,000 troops to Afghanistan as part of the NATO expansion plan to the volatile southern parts.

In a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak here, the visiting dignitary said his country would soon send troops for deployment in the volatile Uruzgan province.

The Dutch troops will take charge of security operations from the US forces currently running a civil-military provincial reconstruction team (PRT).

The 26-member NATO alliance last year agreed to contribute troops to the country's southern parts, where the US-led coalition forces are fighting insurgency and terrorism. The NATO forces are set to replace American troops in the coming summer.

Canada had already taken charge of the PRT from US forces in the troubled Kandahar province, while Britain had sent about 150 soldiers in the Helmand province. The rest of its 3,300 troops are scheduled to arrive in the volatile region next month.

Presently, 429 Dutch soldiers are involved in peacekeeping in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The soldiers are mostly deployed in the central capital and the northern provinces.

U.S. official: Pakistan, Afghanistan must cooperate to defeat Taliban –

By: MATTHEW PENNINGTON - Associated Press

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan and Afghanistan must cooperate to defeat the "common enemy" of the Taliban and Islamic extremists that control the shared border, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.

The comments from Richard Boucher, U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, follow weeks of tensions between the two countries -- both key allies in Washington's war on terrorism -- over militant infiltration along the rugged frontier.

Boucher, who visited Afghanistan earlier in the week, met Wednesday with Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

"We realize both Pakistan and Afghanistan face threats and both want to deal with those threats," Boucher told a news conference. "There's a common enemy in the form of the Taliban and extremists. There's a common problem in terms of extending the control of government into border areas." He added: "The only way to stop this is to have cooperation."

The often touchy relations between the Asian neighbors deteriorated in February after Afghan President Hamid Karzai gave Pakistan a list of Taliban figures hiding inside Pakistan and the locations of alleged terrorist training camps.

After Afghan officials publicized that they had shared the intelligence, Musharraf retorted that the information was outdated and maintained that Pakistan -- a former supporter of the Taliban militia -- was doing all it could to stop militants from launching cross-border attacks.

Boucher said the United States was satisfied that Pakistan was making a "maximum effort" to fight terrorists, the Taliban and al-Qaida, whom he said were trying to kill Pakistanis, Afghans and Americans.

Boucher's visit coincided with the latest flare of fighting between Pakistani security forces and pro-Taliban militants in the border region of North Waziristan, about 190 miles southwest of the capital, Islamabad. The army reported that 16 suspected militants and four soldiers were killed.

Leader of terrorist group killed on Iran-Afghan border - Tehran Times

TEHRAN – In a military operation on Iran’s eastern borders, Abdolmalek Rigi, the ringleader of a terrorist group who abducted nine Iranian border guards and martyred another 26 Iranian citizens at a later date in Sistan-Baluchistan Province last winter was killed, the Fars news agency reported on Wednesday, quoting an Interior Ministry source.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said Rigi, the leader of the terrorist group known as Jondollah (soldiers of Allah) and 11 companions were killed on the Iran-Afghanistan border.

In two vicious acts, the group kidnapped nine Iranian border guards in early winter and took them to Pakistan, and later blocked the road between Zabol and Zahedan and killed 26 Iranian citizens and kidnapped five others in March.

The report has not been confirmed by the law enforcement forces yet, the news agency reported.

Fierce clashes near Afghan border kill 20 - 4/6/2006 1:35:20 Agencies

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan: Pakistani security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, killed 16 pro-Taleban militants in fierce clashes in a troubled tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, a military spokesman said yesterday.

The clashes erupted in the Shawal area of North Waziristan after an overnight attack by militants on a paramilitary post during which four soldiers were killed.

Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan said eight militants were killed in the retaliatory attack during the night while another eight were killed in fighting yesterday.

Tensions have been running high in North Waziristan since clashes last month in which around 200 tribesmen were killed. The tribesmen were answering a call to arms by militant Muslim clerics following a special forces attack on an Al Qaeda camp.

“According to our information, bodies of eight miscreants have been found,” Sultan said, adding that their identities were being ascertained. He said the security forces also captured 19 militants.

Sultan said the security forces used “all necessary resources” in their assault on the militants holed up in fortress-like huge compounds. Residents of the area said the forces used helicopter gunships in their assaults.

“Helicopter gunships have been flying in and out of Miranshah towards Shawal since morning,” a resident of Miranshah said. Officials say Shawal, an upland valley with forests and meadows, is used as a safe haven by militants

who fled military operations in neighbouring South Waziristan in 2004. Hundreds of security forces and militants were killed in those battles.

Shawal is about 50km west of North Waziristan’s main town of Miranshah.

Intelligence officials said three troopers were injured in a separate overnight attack in the nearby Datta Kheil area. On Monday, five people were killed in a landmine explosion and two militants died in a clash with security forces in that area.

President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terrorism, last month warned foreign militants hiding in the tribal region to leave Pakistan or face annihilation.

A large number of Al Qaeda remnants and Taleban fled to Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt after US-led forces toppled the radical Taleban regime in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York.

Elusive Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Al Zawahiri are believed to hiding somewhere in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan, a key US ally in the war on terror, has deployed about 80,000 troops in its tribal regions near Afghanistan in an effort to flush out Al Qaeda and Taleban militants.

The latest clashes came as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz visited the United States and US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher made his first visit to Pakistan.

Asked to comment on a perception that Pakistan often launches crackdowns against militants when a senior US official is visiting here or a Pakistani leader travels to the United States, Sultan said: “Did we ask them to attack (the troops) last night?”

Fighting Afghan drugs risks more violence-UK report - 5 Apr 2006 Peter Graff

LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - Attacking Afghanistan's drugs trade could make the country more dangerous for British troops and other NATO peacekeepers, and provoke more violence in the short term, a parliamentary report said on Thursday.

Britain will send more than 3,000 troops to southern Afghanistan's restive Helmand province in the next few months in the vanguard of an expanding ISAF peacekeeping force, part of an ambitious new NATO mission announced earlier this year.

The British government says its troops are being sent to help stabilise Afghanistan and also to help it fight a narcotics trade that produces the opium used to make 90 percent of the world's heroin. A quarter of Afghan opium is grown in Helmand.

But parliament's defence committee said the government had not fully explained what British forces' role in fighting drugs would be, and it worried that counter-narcotics operations could cause more violence.

"There is a fundamental tension between the UK's objective of promoting stability and security and its aim of implementing an effective counter-narcotics strategy," the cross-party committee said in its report. "It is likely the more successful the deployment is at impeding the drugs trade, the more it will come under attack from those involved in it."

As of now, foreign troops in Afghanistan are divided into two forces -- NATO peacekeepers involved in reconstruction in the north and the tougher U.S.-led "Operation Enduring Freedom" counter-insurgency mission hunting guerrillas in the south.

But over the next year the two forces are due to merge under the command of a British general at a NATO headquarters. British, Canadian and Dutch troops will go to the southwest, and Americans already in the southeast will put on NATO badges.

The report expressed concern that some NATO allies would place "caveats" restricting how their forces can be used, making it necessary for Britain and other countries with fewer restrictions to take on dangerous missions in the south.

"We remain concerned that national caveats risk impairing the effectiveness of the ISAF mission in the southern provinces where conditions are likely to be most challenging," it said.

It expressed concern about overstretching the British military, especially high demand troops like helicopter crews, intelligence personnel, translators and medics. Drawing down Britain's commitment in Iraq, where it has 8,000 troops, would make it easier to meet the requirements in Afghanistan, it said.

Tories allow debate on Afghanistan mission - 05 Apr 2006 CBC News

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has agreed to opposition demands and will allow a debate in the House of Commons about Canada's military role in Afghanistan.

However, there will be no vote on the mission. The discussion is being characterized as a "take-note" debate to allow politicians to express their views. It is set for Monday night. Harper had previously rejected a debate on the issue, saying it would undermine the work of soldiers in the field and put troops in danger.

"Such a debate or such a lack of strength by any of the political parties in Canada will merely weaken the resolve of our troops and will even put our troops in even more danger," Harper said last month.

But Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said it's important for Canadians to understand the purpose of the mission and the need to have Canadian troops in Afghanistan. But he stressed the discussion is only to provide information about the mission.

"The initial mission when the previous government decided to send troops there was not the subject of a vote," MacKay said. "And in my opinion, and in the opinion of this government, that is not a positive thing for our Canadian forces to have a vote now on that mission."

There are about 2,200 Canadian troops currently serving with U.S. command in southern Afghanistan as part of the U.S.-led multinational coalition known as Operation Enduring Freedom. A transition to NATO leadership is scheduled for the summer of 2006.

The NDP has been pushing for the debate. It's demanding that Canada operate under United Nations auspices, not under the umbrella of the United States. NDP Leader Jack Layton welcomed the news of the debate. "This is very important because things have changed," he said, referring to the mission.

"We were of course supposed to be operating under a NATO command. That has not happened. We are still a part of [U.S. President] George Bush's Operation Enduring Freedom. "This is not what Canadians had imagined taking place. There are many issues to be discussed in the debate and we're glad it's taking place."

MPs fearful over Afghan mission - BBC Thursday, 6 April 2006

British troops preparing to deploy to Afghanistan face "fundamental tension" over their mission, MPs have warned. The Commons Defence Committee said attempts to crack down on drug lords in the area, one of the troops' missions, could result in increased violence.

The MPs also expressed concern that the 3,300-strong force lacked close air support and transport helicopters. The Army is preparing to deploy the full task force, led by 16 Air Assault Brigade, to start operations in June.

The troops are intended to restore security and stability in the southern region of Helmand, which has recently seen outbreaks of violence by the Taleban.

But they may also be asked to support anti-narcotics operations in the province, which has the highest concentration of opium poppy-growing in the country.

BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs said MPs are not yet sure what the troops will be required to do in Afghanistan. "But, according to them, it's likely that the more successful the deployment is in impeding the drugs trade, the more it'll be attacked, and the worse security will get," he said.

The MPs' report said the task force "faces significant obstacles, and the security situation is fragile. "The opium trade flourishes and the livelihoods of many people rely on it. There is therefore real tension between the tasks of achieving security and reducing the opium trade.

"It is likely that the more successful the deployment is at impeding the drugs trade, the more it will come under attack from those involved in it."

The committee said that the Taleban, who are believed to number as many as 1,000, were becoming more active in the drug trade. MPs also questioned the Ministry of Defence's decision to withdraw a squadron of RAF Harrier GR7 fighter-bombers from an air base at Kandahar.

The commission said support from US and Dutch warplanes may not be sufficient.

The six Chinook and four Lynx helicopters currently assigned to the detachment may not be enough to support the troops in terrain which often impossible to cover, even with back-up from US and Dutch helicopters, according to the MPs.

They were also worried that the RAF's Hercules transport planes were not fitted with adequate "defensive aids suites" to prevent them being shot down from the ground.

The resurgence of Taliban on Pak-Afghan border - NewKerala.com

Tank (Waziristan): Even after the installation of a democratic government in Afghanistan, the Taliban seems to be active in the country and running parallel government in tribal areas along Afghanistan-Pakistan border, forcing people to practice “true Islam”. In an incident last evening, dozens of Taliban attacked a wedding ceremony in Tank district to disrupt a music programme.

One person was injured in the attack, which took place only a few days after the Taliban ordered the Bhittani tribesmen in the Tank district to grow beard.

A local leader told said that dozens of Taliban attacked the music programme at the wedding in Maghzey village of Tank district. “They came by vehicles and opened fire at the participants in the music programme, wounding one late on Monday evening,” the Daily Times quoted Naib Nazim Haji Abdur Rehman as saying.

Tank district Nazim Riaz Kundi confirmed the incident, but declined to give details. “I am still gathering information. Everyone ran for cover when the bearded Taliban attacked the programme. The music was stopped and all the frightened music-lovers went home,” he said.

The attack came three days after a Taliban chief in Jandola, a town on the Tank border with South Waziristan, ordered Bhittani tribesmen to grow beards within three weeks. “Maulana Asmatullah, who claims to be the Taliban chief in Jandola, asked every adult to grow a beard or severe punishment will be awarded after the deadline expires,” the paper quoted a local shopkeeper in Jandola bazaar as saying.

Such incidents are seen as an indication of resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Recent media reports from Waziristan have suggested that a Taliban-style parallel administration was set up disperse justice under Sharia.

But, a key tribal commander Baitullah Mehsud denied that the Taliban had set up a parallel government in the tribal areas. “Reports about the establishment of a parallel administration or parallel government in Waziristan are baseless and it is a media smear campaign against Islam and Pakistan,” he reportedly said in a statement.

EDITORIAL: Fewer madrassas, less extremism? - Daily Times 6 April 2006

A new study released in Washington has concluded that “earlier assertions about the pervasiveness of madrassas in Pakistan appear to be baseless”. It says that less than one percent of all full-time enrolled students attended them. There is also “scant evidence” that madrassas contribute substantially to the

recruitment of militants. It does however concede that “madrassas may contribute to conditions that are conducive to supporting terrorism and militancy”. It has found that “density of madrassas contributes to sectarian violence” and that the “ulema” produced by them are “irrelevant and ill-prepared to contribute to the needs of a modern Muslim state”.

Scant consolation can be drawn from the above report. The madrassa dominates through high-visibility clerics who spread its rejectionist worldview. The media and the mosque indoctrinate everyone in the street and in the bedroom, and fill them with hatred of the outside world and contempt for domestic governance. In Khyber Agency, FM radios have been spreading the sectarian message from the madrassa, leading to a tribal war.

There are at least 30 FM radio stations set up in mosques and madrassas in the NWFP inciting people to “pious” violence. In Swat, for instance, the madrassa of the son of Sufi Muhammad — serving time for taking a private madrassa army into Afghanistan in 2001 — has used FM radio to get women to donate their jewellery and men to destroy shops selling video films. The madrassa rejects the nation state and spreads extremism and violence. It doesn’t matter if there is no evidence that it is directly training terrorists. What it does to the mind is more lethal. Such reports are shallow because they don’t understand the dynamics of Islamism in a post-colonial state.

French carrier to provide Afghan air support - By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL - Published April 5, 2006

France is to station an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean from mid-May to provide aerial support to NATO troops deploying in Afghanistan.
   
The Brussels-based military alliance is currently in the process of boosting troop numbers in Afghanistan from 8,000 to 17,000 as the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force moves into volatile southern and eastern provinces. Most of the soldiers for ISAF's third-stage expansion are from Britain, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark.
    
The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which is currently carrying out military exercises in the Indian Ocean, will stay in theater after mid-May to provide NATO troops with extra strike capability if they run into difficulties. Alliance spokesman James Appathurai told reporters Wednesday that the French vessel would provide "robust capabilities to ensure stability and security through the Stage Three expansion."
    
ISAF has strike aircraft at its disposal in Afghanistan -- as does the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom, which is hunting down Taliban and al-Qaida remnants in the mountainous east of the country. But with insurgent attacks mounting and thousands of troops on the move, the French deployment will bring added firepower to enforce ISAF's more muscular mandate in the war-ravaged state.

Vote of confidence: Defence, Justice ministers brief MPs – Pajhwok 04/05/2006

KABUL - As a first step to get vote of confidence from the parliament, Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Justice Minister Sarwar Danish Tuesday briefed the MPs about their ministries previous performance and future plans.

Wardak was the first who spoke about the achiements of his ministry. He reckoned the ongoing disarmament programme and training to Afghan National Army (ANA) as major achievements of his ministry over the past 16 months.

Answering volley of questions from the parliamentarians on issues, including trimming of the ministry staff, training of ANA and land-grabbing in Shirpur by some influentials, the minister said 63,000 militiamen had been disarmed in accordance with the general disarmament programme started before his assuming charge of office.

Replying to a question from an MP about the three year compulsory military service for all youths, Wardak said procedure about resumption of such a programme had not been finalised yet. At the same time, he said the programme had been delayed becuase the goal of complete peace in the border area was

yet to be achieved. He sited non-availability of funds as another factor hampering resumption of the military service programme.

To a question about recruitment in the ministry vis--vis ethnic background fo the staff, the minister claimed he had kept a balance. However, he did not come out with a satisfactory reply when questioned whether the US forces used to get permission of his ministry before conducting military operations.

The other cabinet member who spoke and faced questions from MPs was Justice Minister Sarwar Danish. He said about 150 laws had been approved during his during in office as minister. Approval of all the laws and codes were done in line with the normal procedure. He sought cooperation from the parliamentarians in law-making so as to bring perfection and improvements.

Regarding recent riots in the Pul-i-Charkhi jail and the killing of six prisoners, the minister claimed the revolt was successfully overcome and the dispute solved. He said their sticking to a negotiated solution of the problem had solved many more lives. About the demands of the prisoners, Sarwar Danish described their protest and riot as unjustified and illegal. At the same time, he admitted prisons in some 14 provinces were in poor condition. The reason he sited was non-availability of funds to reconstruct the existing and build new jails.

Asked about more than due punishment to prisoners, he said a commission comprising representatives of the Supreme Court, office of the Attorney General, human rights organisations and the Justice Ministry had been formed to seek a solution to the problem.

He clarified that he had no regard for ethnicity or language in appointments in the ministry. The minister could not deliver a satisfactory reply when asked about the fate of Afghan detainees in the US Guantanamo Bay prison and some cases in Bagram.

Afghan agriculture minister defends record, outlines future plans to MPs

Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kabul, 5 April: In accordance with the ongoing vote of confidence process, Minister designate for Agriculture and Irrigation Obaidollah Ramin on Wednesday informed MPs about the ministry's previous achievements and future plans.

Answering a barrage of queries from MPs, Ramin said that the ministry had started work on some threeyear projects worth 75m dollars. Great attention would be given to farmers and nomads in the schemes funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), he added.

About his future plans, the minister designate said he would constitute 5,300 bodies of both farmers and farm owners to encourage agriculture in the country.

Answering a question, Ramin owned that 50 per cent of farms had vanished, 60 per cent of which belonged to nomads. He said that his ministry had planned several uplift programmes to boost the farming system that would soon be implemented.

The ministry would also provide a drinking water facility to nomads along with launching some mobile veterinary centres to ensure quality treatment for their cattle, he added.

Responding to another question, Ramin admitted land grabbing by some influential people, but he also blamed the weak response of the courts in this regard. He said: "In some cases even courts have favoured the grabbers and thus the government has lost some land."

According to a survey conducted in 25 provinces, Ramin said reports showed that over 7m acres of land had been illegally occupied by people. He said they would conduct a survey in the remaining provinces and then would plan some solutions to the problem.

Answering another query, Ramin said they were doing research to plant saffron as a substitute for the poppy crop in some provinces. He said: "Poppy should be eradicated from today, but saffron would need five years to generate its market." He said if they wanted to make the growing of saffron common, first

they should create a market for the crop.

Regarding fruit, Ramin said the quality of dry and fresh fruit needed to be enhanced to win an international market for them. About deforestation, the minister confessed that in some provinces 60 per cent and in others 40 per cent

of forest had been destroyed. He said illegal cutting of trees and giving short shrift to forests were the major causes behind the country's sparse woodland.

He said his major plans included restoring forests in eastern Konar and western Badghis Provinces.

Afghan analysts argue new cabinet ministers enjoy public support

Text of report by Afghan independent Tolo TV on 5 April

[Presenter] Speaking about [Afghan President] Hamed Karzai's proposed ministers and [member of parliament and former planning minister] Ramazan Bashardost's recent remarks accusing the proposed ministers of lacking professional competence, a number of political analysts believe the selection of ministers is to some extent based on greater focus.

Ramazan Bashardost, an MP, has made serious claims that none of Hamed Karzai's proposed ministers have a clear and transparent background. He said the proposed ministers had not yet provided parliament with any documents to prove that they had surrendered their dual nationality.

A number of political analysts, in interviews with Tolo television, reject Ramazan Bashardost's remarks, saying that the proposed ministers enjoy a good reputation.

[Fahim Dashti, editor-in-chief, Kabul Weekly] I believe Mr Bashardost's remarks, saying that none of the proposed ministers have a good reputation or clear background, are somehow oppressive. In the proposed list, we have ministers with a clear background who enjoy public trust.

[Ghafoor Lewal, director, regional affairs study centre] Whatever we talk about, we should avoid extremist and biased comments because we cannot jump to conclusions about an entire group of people.

Abdullah’s ouster internal affair: FO – The News Int. (Pak.)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says that it looks forward to whoever is appointed as the new foreign minister by President Hamid Karzai in his latest cabinet reshuffle.

According to reports from Kabul, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah is being replaced by his adviser on foreign affairs Rangeen Dadfar Spanta. "This change in the Afghan Foreign Ministry is purely an internal affair of Afghanistan and we look forward to working with the new foreign minister," spokesperson at the Foreign Office told The News on Wednesday.

This latest move by Karzai, a sign that he is becoming more confident, especially after the recent visit of President Bush, is third in the series of easing out hardline members of the Northern Alliance. It has been no secret that Karzai has been quite uncomfortable with the presence of Abdullah Abdullah.

Earlier Karzai had eased out General Fahim and Qanuni. For Pakistan it makes really no difference because if it was Abdullah who, for reasons known best to him, was continuously hitting out at what he said were the failures of Pakistan to combat terrorism, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta is not any different and in fact a bigger hawk on Pakistan.

This is quite apparent from the statements that Spanta made in several interviews before the latest visit this year of Karzai to Pakistan. "President Hamid Karzai will explain to the Pakistani leadership that the people of Afghanistan want an end to terrorism and there has been no decisive campaign (by Pakistan) about it," he was quoted as saying.

He went as far as to accuse Pakistan of training and equipping Taliban suicide bombers. If Spanta is appointed as the new foreign minister, it was not Pakistan that was the reason for the change. It appears to be either domestic politics or maybe even involvement from Washington. A couple of days ago Abdullah was quoted as defending Iran and saying that Iran which was helping Afghanistan could in no way add to destabilization of the country.

Most schools have no buildings in Faryab – Pajhwok 04/05/2006

MAIMANA - Non-availability of school buildings in the northern Faryab province has confronted both students and teachers with extremely tough times.

Director of Education Department in Faryab Maulvi Asadullah Jamali told Pajhwok Afghan News on Tuesday that only 84 of 400 schools in the province had buildings.

The number of current students was .3m, including, girls and boys, he said, adding other 35,000 more students were also registered in primary schools in this New Year.

Citing an example of Jamshidi School in Miamana city, Jamali said the school now gave a deserted look as a result of the devastating war. The students were now reading under tents, he added. He said they had ordered construction and renovation of about 200 schools in Pashtonkot, Qaisar and Almar district of the

province.

In the last one year, Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) had built 30 schools and World Food Program (WFP) had constructed ten schools in Maimana, he added. He said about 7 million students would be registered this year throughout the country.

Ghulam Ali, a student of Jamashidi School said: "We study in the open and often become ill due to harsh weather." Mohammad Ishaq, a teacher of the school said, "The school had no building since 35 years and still no one seemed worried about erecting a building for the school."

Kazakhstan ready to invest in Afghan economy - foreign minister

Text of report by Kazakh Khabar TV on 3 April

[Presenter] Kazakhstan is ready to invest in the Afghan economy, Foreign minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev has said this during his working visit to that country. Training qualified personnel in Kazakh educational establishments should also become part of a contribution to the restoration of the Afghan

economy. Our correspondent reports:

[Correspondent over video of Tokayev meeting Afghan President Hamed Karzai in a hall] This is the first visit by Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev to Afghanistan in the history of bilateral relations. Tokayev passed a letter from the Kazakh president [Nursultan Nazarbayev] to Hamed Karzai in which Nazarbayev invited the Afghan leader to take part in [a meeting of] the Conference for Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is now making first steps to restore the state. However, the country which had long been in a state of bloody war is still in the captivity of internal contradictions. Armed clashes still take place here. Problems relating to security in the region and ways to take Afghanistan out of a long-standing crisis were the topics of discussion in the international conference called "Partnership, trade and development in a geater Central Asia".

[Maulen Ashimbayev, captioned as deputy secretary of the Kazakh Security Council] If we want security, stability and prosperity in Central Asia, then Kazakhstan should actively promote security and stability in Central Asia in the next few years and in mid-term prospects through specific projects, not

verbally or by conducting endless debates.

[Correspondent] Trade between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan totalled 160m dollars last year. However, experts say that the two countries have enough potential to double this figure. Transit routes for the planned transport of Kazakh hydrocarbons to South Asian markets go through Afghanistan and the country can make a lot of profit from this. However, the main obstacle is the security issue.

[Kasymzhomart Tokayev] The issue of creating so-called a greater Central Asia is being actively discussed. If Afghanistan joins a greater Central Asia, which is very desirable, then oil and gas pipelines will be laid through Afghanistan, and Central Asia will naturally be linked to South Asia.

[Correspondent] Many donor countries are now investing funds in the restoration of Afghanistan. Over 100 projects of various international organizations and financial institutions are being carried out there. Afghanistan may become another world market for Kazakhstan to sell its raw materials. The Great Silk

Road is being restored at the dawn of the 21st century, which, as is known, also went through Afghanistan.

[ Jan Kubis captioned as EU special representative for Central Asia] Kazakhstan is ready to take on a certain role in developing such relations together with some other Central Asian countries. I have positive views on this.

[Correspondent] Kazakhstan is ready to invest in the Afghan economy and we have an opportunity to take part in the restoration of this country, Tokayev said. The minister said that Kazakhstan could also take the task of providing training for young people of Afghanistan so that they can obtain technical and

medical degrees. However, according to general views, Afghanistan will achieve the set goals only by ensuring stability and security in the country and combating the production and smuggling of drugs.

AFGHANISTAN: Female farmers rebuilding orchards Source: IRIN

BALKH, 5 April (IRIN) - For the first time in her life Maruim is sowing seeds and planting fruit trees in nurseries close to her simple house near the town of Balkh in the province of the same name in northern Afghanistan.

Traditionally the work of men, a new programme is getting women out of the home and into the fields and orchards in order to improve food security and boost rural incomes.

"I feel happy while working in the fields planting apricots, almonds and walnut trees, soon the money will come in as a result" said the 35-year-old mother of six.

She's part of a food-for-work project organised by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Balkh district, around 35 km west of the provincial capital Mazar-e-Sharif.

The three-year programme, which was launched in October 2005, has established two nurseries that comprise hundreds of thousands of fruit and other kinds of trees in both Balkh and Nahar-e-Shahi districts.

"The project provides training to around 800 women to give them skills in planting trees, irrigation, weeding and other farming activities," said Mohammad Ismail, WFP's field monitor in Mazar-e-Sharif.

The WFP scheme is designed to boost women's economic situation in this impoverished part of Afghanistan by providing the means to grow fruit and crops for cash.

"Many women are confined to their houses and welcome the opportunity to work outside their homes and earn money to support their families," said 23-year-old Huzra, while weeding a field of juicy apricots destined for market in Mazar-e Sharif.

Until the crops mature and start generating income, the UN food agency provides participants with enough provisions to get by. "We are providing 2.88 kg of food, including wheat, vegetable oil and salt to each worker per day," Ismail noted.

The nurseries are expected to produce around 1.5 million fruit and non-fruit trees each year and will be extended to other parts of the province where jobs are scarce and women, many of whom are widowed as a result of decades of conflict, have few opportunities to earn a living.

Afghanistan used to be famous for its fruit orchards, but three decades of brutal civil war and six years of drought have caused massive devastation to the sector.

During 2005, WFP's northern regional office in Mazar-e Sharif assisted more than 400,000 people in five provinces with a variety of programmes, including school feeding schemes and responding to emergencies.

[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.]