In this bulletin:

• US plans major Asian power grid
• US plans major Asian power grid
• US sets pace for key power line from Central to South Asia 
• India may stay away from Iran pipeline
• Pakistan ties top Afghan priority - foreign minister
• Musharraf offers to pull troops back from Afghan border
• UN envoy to Afghanistan says positive trends must spread to south – UN News Center
• Pakistan must prevent Talibanisation in Afghanistan: UN
• Pakistan's pro-Taliban tribes unite against army
• Afghan, Pakistani Border Guards Clash in Eastern Afghanistan
• Former Taleban deputy minister arrested in Afghanistan
• UN representative in Afghanistan to visit Iran
• Govt, Pakistan launch dialogue, differ on Iran
• Australia, U.S. Warn of Afghan Attacks
• Taliban leader vows jihad against US, UK
• US grants $40m to Afghanistan for education
• Road construction project inaugurated in Parwan
• OIC pledges $1.8m for construction of 20 hospitals
• Wolesi Jirga discusses annual budget
• Durand Line: Turning the Great Game on its head
• Karzai must not allow Pak diktate his choice of friends
• Canadian soldier hit in head with an axe out of coma, joking with nurses
• Canada not alone in Afghanistan
• For NATO, make or break
• World businesswomen summit, with leaders' wives, begins in Turkey
• Life ending before it's begun
• Russia, collective security treaty nations offer to help rebuild Afghan economy
• IRAN: Afghan repatriation resumes
• Iranian national arrested with 2kg of heroin
• Pics of slain leaders in great demand as Mujahideen Day approaches

US plans major Asian power grid - By Ian MacWilliam BBC Central Asia

The United States has outlined an ambitious energy project to develop the energy sources of the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia. The plan would develop a regional power grid from Kazakhstan to India.

The grid would feed the growing energy needs of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and help integrate the economies of Central and South Asia. The far-reaching plan would also reduce Central Asia's reliance on routes through Russia for its energy exports.

The US Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Boucher, presented the plan to committee in Congress. He explained how the development of a power grid through Afghanistan would enable the energy-rich nations of Central Asia to sell electricity to energy-poor India and Pakistan.

The impoverished mountainous republics of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan both want to develop their large hydro-electricity potential. Kazakhstan, with abundant oil and gas, is rapidly becoming a top energy producer while Turkmenistan has some of the world's largest gas reserves.

India and Pakistan have both been seeking ways to import Central Asian oil, gas and electricity to fuel their expanding economies.

Even Afghanistan now needs more energy as its war shattered economy begins to recover. Mr Boucher said the opening up of Afghanistan meant that it should now be seen as a bridge not an obstacle between Central and South Asia.

Historically, Central Asia always had close ties with Afghanistan and India until they were broken by Soviet isolationism imposed by Moscow.

But continuing insecurity in parts of Afghanistan has long prevented the rebuilding of economic ties. Now American officials and other observers say the best way to reintegrate Afghanistan and to improve stability in the entire region is to boost economic integration.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has been increasing its efforts to recover lost economic influence in Central Asia, but US policy has long been to wean the Central Asian republics away from their old reliance on Moscow.

US sets pace for key power line from Central to South Asia  

WASHINGTON, Apr 27 (AFP): The United States wants to spearhead a mammoth project transmitting electricity from Central Asia across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India, a senior State Department official said yesterday.
Under the plan, a regional power grid stretching from Almaty to New Delhi will be fed by oil and gas from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and hydropower from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

"This vision is within our grasp," Richard Boucher, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, told a Congressional hearing.

"Within the next few years, we expect to see private investment lead to the establishment of a 500 kilovolt power line transmitting much-needed electricity from Central Asia across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India," he said.

The United States, he said, would like to have a strategic dialogue with the countries of the region to advance regional economic development and integration, of which the high-voltage power project was a critical component.

Central Asia has an abundance of existing and potential oil, gas, and electricity sources that the growing economies of South Asia need. "Together with other donors, we are exploring ways to export electricity from Central Asia to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India," Boucher said.

Boucher said that in partnership with multilateral development banks and other donors, the United States wanted to help "build new links" among the countries of the broader region and connect them more closely to the rest of the world. "One of our leading objectives is to fund a greatly expanded Afghan power grid, with connections to energy sources in Central Asia.

"It's a winning solution for both sides, providing much-needed energy to Afghanistan and serving as a major source of future revenue for countries like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan," he said.

India may stay away from Iran pipeline - Dawn - By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, April 27: India is expected to formally join $5billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan gas pipeline by mid May and stay away from Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline in the wake of its civil-nuclear energy pact with the United States.

Pakistan has been informed through informal channels that Indian cabinet would approve a plan by early next month to request Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan to join the pipeline through the Asian Development Bank.

The project would then be renamed as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project, sources in the petroleum ministry said on Thursday. The Indian petroleum ministry, they said, was believed to have already referred the case of TAPI to the cabinet for approval.

Based on interactions with Indian authorities recently, the sources said, it was Islamabad’s understanding that India would not be joining the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project at least for the time being, leaving Iran and Pakistan to pursue the project.

The sources, however, said a number of issues on the TAP project were still to be legally resolved, including certification of the Daulatabad gas field reserves, gas volumes to be transported by the pipeline, gas pricing, pipeline security and the overall project structure, which is presently being examined.

Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan had formally asked India on Feb 15 this year to decide about joining the gas pipeline project by May 15, 2006.

The project is expected to take precedence over Iranian and Qatari gas imports to India and Pakistan because of its cost effectiveness. It would cost $5billion against $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India and $8 billion Qatar-Pakistan-India pipelines.

A clear response from India on the TAP project is a must before launching of the detailed feasibility study and engineering design of the project by June this year.

The ADB had already prepared various projects structures of the gas pipeline but a decision on “India factor” would be required before it is presented to possible consortium partners. These sources said Turkmenistan had told participants that an independent firm had confirmed gas reserves of over 2.3 trillion cubic meters at the Daulatabad field.

Pakistan ties top Afghan priority - foreign minister – By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters 04/27/2006) - Improving relations with Pakistan is Afghanistan's foreign policy priority and Kabul hopes the sometimes uneasy neighbours can work together to fight militancy, the new Afghan foreign minister said on Thursday.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are vital U.S. allies in its war on terrorism, and a recent sharp deterioration in their relations has raised concern about prospects for security cooperation.

"Afghanistan hopes for the expansion of relations, and this is the important part of Afghanistan's foreign policy," Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta told Reuters in an interview, referring to ties with Pakistan.

"We have no alternative but to strengthen our relations with Pakistan to fight terrorism. We hope that Pakistan cooperates with us more in the campaign against terrorism," he said.

Bilateral relations soured in February when Afghanistan, facing a bloody wave of militant bombings, said Taliban and al Qaeda militants were operating from Pakistan.

Pakistan angrily rejected the accusations, raised questions about the competency of the Afghan leadership and suggested some Afghan officials were out to malign Pakistan.

Spanta, a German-educated former foreign policy adviser to President Hamid Karzai, said Pakistan would only gain from a stable Afghanistan, which could be a commercial "corridor" linking Central Asia with South Asia and the Middle East.

"We live in a very dynamic region," he said. "Asia has the most economic growth, possesses major strategic resources and at the same time is a major consumer."

An example of where Afghanistan and Pakistan could gain from cooperation is a proposed gas pipeline, linking Turkmenistan with energy-hungry Pakistan, through Afghanistan.

Spanta said he was optimistic about the pipeline, and did not feel its construction could be thrown into question by another proposed pipeline, from Iran, through Pakistan to India. "The energy requirements of the region are so vast that one or two pipelines cannot be enough," he said.

Spanta said another priority was improving relations with Afghanistan's western neighbour, Iran, while maintaining a special, long-term relationship with Kabul's most important ally, Washington.

The United States, which has more than 19,000 troops in Afghanistan, is spearheading efforts to pressure Iran to abandon nuclear enrichment activities that could enable it to produce fuel for atomic weapons.

Spanta, a member of Germany's Green Party when he lived there, urged a diplomatic solution. Asked if Afghanistan would allow U.S. forces to use Afghan territory in the event of an attack on Iran, Spanta said no country based its foreign policy on hypothetical questions. "It is important for us to strengthen our friendship with both countries," he said.

An ethnic Tajik from the western city of Herat, Spanta said Afghanistan still faced danger from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. "All the evidence shows that both bin Laden and Mullah Omar are alive and both are involved in organising terrorist operations against Afghanistan," he said.

He said he did not know where the two militants leaders were but suspected they were hiding out on the lawless Afghan-Pakistani frontier. "They have found a nest behind the front of the terrorists, in the only place where terrorists can find a safe haven," he said.

Musharraf offers to pull troops back from Afghan border

Islamabad (AFP) - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has told tribal chiefs that he would pull troops out of a restive region on the Afghan border if they expelled foreign militants and ended their militancy.

Musharraf, speaking to a jirga or council of tribal elders in the northwestern city of Peshawar, also promised development projects provided peace was maintained, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan said.

"I am ready to sanction any mega project (in the region) if the people cooperate with the government in its endeavour to purge their areas from the elements of terror and extremism," he said on Wednesday.

He called upon the council to help frustrate terrorism and extremism in their areas and maintain peace for development, integrity and solidarity of the country.

Musharraf urged the tribal elders "to curb terrorism and extremism through the traditional jirga system to pave the way for the federal government to minimize the deployment of the security forces and consequently withdraw them from the tribal areas," the news agency said.

He said foreign terrorists were using "our soil for the fulfillment of their nefarious designs and putting them (tribesmen) in trouble and danger."

"I assure you that these foreigners are not your friends and they are here to fulfill their own agenda which has no concern with Islam," he said.

President Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led "war on terror", last month warned foreign insurgents to leave the tribal belt or be killed. The meeting followed fierce clashes between Islamic militants and Pakistani soldiers in the tribal regions of North and South Waziristan last month in which around 250 people were killed.

Pakistan has deployed 80,000 troops on the border to hunt militants who took refuge in the lawless tribal belt after the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was toppled in US-led operation following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

A tribal gathering this month urged Islamabad to withdraw troops from their troubled region and rejected an official ban on carrying weapons in the area. Pakistani officials say local tribesmen are harbouring Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants who fled from Afghanistan in late 2001.

UN envoy to Afghanistan says positive trends must spread to south – UN News Center

27 April 2006 – The senior United Nations envoy to Afghanistan today reported economic growth in the war-ravaged nation, but emphasized that strengthened cooperation with Pakistan is key to stability in their volatile border region.

Briefing reporters in Kabul, Tom Koenigs, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said the country's gross domestic product (GDP) has risen by 13.8 per cent, up from 8 per cent last year.

But growth was only found in three quarters of the country, he said, acknowledging that the security situation in the south has not stabilized. “That is where we have to improve. I say explicitly 'we' because UNAMA will try to take its share [of responsibility] to improve the situation,” he said. “We will try to increase our presence in the southern provinces in the course of this year to support the Government to function and to improve their functions.”

Mr. Koenigs, who met recently with officials in Pakistan, said they are “aware that they have to prevent a Talibanization of Afghanistan and Pakistan.” During his meetings in Pakistan, he said he urged the Government to continue its cooperation with Afghanistan on security issues.

Responding to questions, he pointed out that both Pakistan and Afghanistan are fighting in the border regions the Talibanization through military actions against Al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists.

“You know that the Pakistani Army and the Afghan National Army are losing soldiers in this battle,” he said. “Civilians are dying on both sides and there is a clear knowledge that stability in Afghanistan and stability in Pakistan are closely linked.”

Emphasizing that security operations must be accompanied by improved governance, he voiced optimism that change would come. “I think the efforts being made at this moment in the southern provinces are very promising,” he said. “Looking back over the last four years, the security situation has improved and quite a number of conflicts have ceased to exist, and that is why we are optimistic.”

He emphasized that peace lies in tolerance and not extremism. “Extremists, terrorists and other enemy action in Afghanistan will only lead to what you have experienced in the last decades,” he said.

“The international community and the United Nations are clearly committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism and extremism.”

Pakistan must prevent Talibanisation in Afghanistan: UN

Kabul (AFP) - Pakistan must help prevent the spread of the resurgent Taliban militia in Afghanistan and within its own borders, the United Nations Special Representative to Afghanistan said.

The two countries must also cooperate instead of constantly accusing each other publicly of failing to act against the Islamic fighters, Tom Koenigs told reporters in Kabul on Thursday.

But Koenigs said he was he was optimistic about the security situation in Afghanistan in the medium term because of the number of foreign forces in the country.

"The government of Pakistan is aware they have to prevent a Talibanisation of Afghanistan and Pakistan", he said. "Blaming the neighbour doesn't help, cooperation does."

US-led forces and former anti-Soviet fighters toppled the Taliban in late 2001 after the movement refused to hand over Osama bin Laden following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

But they have waged a bloody insurgency since then which has stepped up in recent months with a spate of suicide blasts and roadside bombings targeting foreign and Afghan forces.

Pakistani tribesmen loyal to the Taliban have also launched attacks on Islamabad's security forces on their side of the rugged border dividing the two Islamic republics.

The UN's Koenigs said however that there was hope for the future of war-shattered Afghanistan. "There is good reason to be optimistic, maybe not in the short term but in the medium term," he said.

"The military forces here present have clearly said that this is not a short-term presence, so the presence here includes the knowledge that this is at least a medium-term challenge."

He emphasized that NATO's impending takeover of operations in the restive south of Afghanistan in July from the United States would put more soldiers on the ground.

Canada has already deployed 2,300 soldiers in Kandahar province, one of the most violent and the birthplace of the Taliban. Britain is about to send 3,300 troops into the equally dangerous province of Helmand.

The Netherlands will send 1,200 into Uruzgan province in a few weeks. In total the number will more than compensate for the 3,500 US soldiers currently in the area, Koenigs said.

But he said that a purely military solution would not work. "The strategy must include civilian administrative and military and police elements". He added that the UN would "try to increase our presence in the south over the course of this year to help the government".

Pakistan's pro-Taliban tribes unite against army

Islamabad (AFP) _ Pro-Taliban tribes in northwest Pakistan have buried ancient feuds and joined forces to fight the army, posing a new threat to President Pervez Musharraf's anti-militant drive, analysts and officials said.

Up to 5,000 tribesmen are launching near-daily rocket and bomb attacks on military bases and convoys in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, while the headless bodies of alleged US spies are dumped on the streets, they said.

Brought together by religion and their hatred of Musharraf's ties to Washington, the tribes are stepping up their defiance of military efforts to control the region and flush out foreign Al-Qaeda suspects, they added.

"The unending bloodbath is alienating the Pashtun tribes, who are known to sympathise with the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda leader (Osama bin Laden)," said retired Brigadier Mahmood Shah, who oversaw a 2003-4 operation to clear militants from South Waziristan, one of seven agencies in the tribal belt.

Since Pakistan's creation in 1947, the government has allowed the devoutly Islamic, ethnic Pashtun tribes in the region to live outside Pakistani law, ruled loosely by federal administrators.

That began to change after the clans offered shelter to Al-Qaeda rebels and fundamentalist Taliban miltants, from the same ethnic group as the tribes, who fled from the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.

In 2003, Musharraf deployed 70,000 troops along the border and claimed to have rid South Waziristan of foreign fighters.

But then late last year violence erupted again, this time in neighbouring North Waziristan. The army says it has killed 300 militants since March, including two senior Egyptian Al-Qaeda members.

The figures are impossible to confirm because journalists have been both threatened by tribesmen and denied access to the tribal areas by the authorities.

Local sources said the prolonged military campaign has resulted in Wazir tribesmen -- who give Waziristan its name -- linking hands with their long-term rivals, the Dawar tribe, to protect their joint independence.

Previously the tribesmen were distracted by blood feuds and cycles of revenge, fuelled by the ready availability of weapons since the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan during the 1980s, the sources said.

"This (the alliance of the tribes) is not a good sign for the government in North Waziristan, because in the unrest in South Waziristan they never really faced a combined resistance," a former security official who hails from the region said on condition of anonymity.

The two firebrand clerics the military says are behind the current resistance -- Abdul Khaleq and Sadiq Noor -- are both from the Dawar clan and are commanding members of their rival Wazir clan, the sources said.

The security official added that the number of people who had joined the local Taliban was anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000.

Moreover, residents say that the troops in the tribal areas have recently spent most of their time in their bases, ignoring militant hideouts on their doorsteps and taking action only when they are attacked.

As a result the area is becoming increasingly "Talibanized", with strict Islamic Sharia law replacing normal governance, edicts on beard lengths and newspapers burned on pyres for describing the tribesmen as militants, they say.

Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said that the army was using force only as a last resort. "It does result in army taking more casualties but our effort is to prevent collateral damage and we avoid using big force," he said.

Sultan admitted that the situation was "not that good" but said that the problem lay with militants from Afghanistan, along with some locals, who wanted to use the region to launch attacks on coalition troops across the border.

Analysts say the military offensives in North Waziristan have led to a situation where the only functioning structures are the army and the militants.

"With the passage of time the tribal chiefs have weakened and three years of military operations have further weakened this insitution," defence analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.

"Now in the tribal areas the focal point of political attraction is the mullah who is now defiant of the tribal chief, the Pakistan military and the United States."

Afghan, Pakistani Border Guards Clash in Eastern Afghanistan

RFE/RL 04/27/2006

Four Afghan policemen were injured in a clash between Afghan and Pakistani border forces in the Spina Shaga area of Paktiya Province on April 25, the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported on April 26.

The governor of Afghanistan's neighboring Khost Province, M'erajuddin Patan, told AIP on April 26 that the conflict erupted "when Pakistani forces wanted to build a border gate inside the Afghan territory." However, the report added that Paktiya Governor Mohammad Hakim Taniwal has been quoted by other sources as saying that the clash occurred when Pakistani forces attacked Afghan border police. The report did not include any casualty figures on the Pakistani side. Kabul has consistently refused to recognize the joint border.

Former Taleban deputy minister arrested in Afghanistan - Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kabul, 27 April: The Afghan forces claim to have arrested a fighter loyal to the fugitive warlord Golboddin Hekmatyar in Konar Province, eastern Afghanistan.

A Defence Ministry press release issued today said that the detained man, Mawlawi Najibollah, was a member of the six-member advisory committee under Hekmatyar.

He was arrested with a Kalashnikov during a raid in Omar village of Manogai District of the province the other day, said the release. He is presently under investigation.

Confirming the arrest, the governor of the province, Asadollah Wafa, told Pajhwok Afghan News that Najibollah was deputy finance minister during the rule of the Taleban.

UN representative in Afghanistan to visit Iran

Kabul, April 27, IRNA - United Nations special representative in Afghanistan Tom Koenigs said here Thursday that the world political tension should not contaminate the favorable neighborly relations between Iran and Afghanistan.

Speaking to reporters, he said that he will visit Tehran in the current year to discuss further improvement of Iran-Afghanistan ties.

"In a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the issue, I was asked to convey the Afghan people's message of peace, friendship and will for cooperation to the Iranian nation," he added.

Turning to the historical and religious commonalties as well as the common language of the two states and the fact that Iran is one of best neighbors of Afghanistan, Koenigs urged Iran to invest in the Afghan market and enter into trade with it.

"Iran's nuclear program and the pressure by the international community on it can never affect its relations with Afghanistan. After the downfall of Taliban, all of its friendly neighboring states cooperated to promote peace and stability in this country, despite the discord among them," he said.

The UN envoy said that the neighboring countries should realize that they can hardly manage to establish tranquility and stability in Afghanistan, unless they collaborate with each other.

"Rather than accusing one another of interference in each other's internal affairs, they should attempt to reach accord through dialogue," he added.

Koenigs said that the growth of every of the neighboring states will directly have an impact on the other, adding that for instance, improvement of the economic situation in Iran accounts for the acceptable development in the neighboring Afghan city of Herat.

"The United Nations currently makes effort to raise the level of regional cooperation among Afghanistan's neighboring states and so far Iran, India and Pakistan have had the greatest share in the country's reconstruction," he added.

He referred to Iran and Afghanistan as two of the 191 UN member states and said that during his upcoming visit to Tehran, he will discuss with Iranian official the prospect of raising the level of ties between the two countries.

Koenigs visited Pakistan a while ago and he is scheduled to tour Afghanistan's neighboring countries to discuss the improvement of mutual relations.

Govt, Pakistan launch dialogue, differ on Iran

Washington (Reuters) - The government and Pakistan launched a new strategic dialogue on Thursday that sought to emphasize partnership on an array of issues but quickly demonstrated divisions over Iran, one of Washington's top foreign policy priorities.

While the Washington side stressed the need for punitive action against Iran for defying the U.N. Security Council with its nuclear activities, the Pakistani side declined to endorse sanctions and stressed Iran's importance as a neighbor.

The talks were conducted by Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Raiz Khan to implement a commitment made when President George W. Bush visited Islamabad last March.

Burns told a news conference with his counterpart that since the September 11 attacks, Pakistan had become "a critical ally of the United States with which we wish to establish a stable long-term relationship."

The discussions focused on bilateral concerns such as stability in South Asia, broader regional issues like Iran, counterterrorism cooperation, trade, education and efforts to develop Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal border regions where al Qaeda and other militants live.

They took place a day before Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is expected to tell the U.N. Security Council and the agency's board that Iran has not stopped purifying uranium or fully answered IAEA queries from a month ago.

Burns said Washington hoped for Pakistan's support in the Iran crisis. Although he did not specify what Islamabad should do, Burns said Iran had defied U.N. demands, which required a "significant international response."

Asked if Pakistan backed sanctions on Iran, Khan said his country was not on the Security Council and so "will not be engaged in any discussion" on the issue.

Pakistan is concerned about Iran but opposes the use of force to keep it from developing nuclear weapons and does not support efforts to change Iran's government, Khan said.

"We want a friendly Iran. Iran is a very important neighbor of Pakistan," Khan said. The issue is sensitive for Pakistan, which like its South Asian rival, India, developed nuclear weapons in defiance of international opinion.

Iran says its nuclear activity aims solely to generate electricity. The government says it is a clandestine effort to make atomic bombs.

Burns reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to a diplomatic solution to the crisis but also the administration's support for $75 million to encourage grass-roots democracy in Iran.

Australia, U.S. Warn of Afghan Attacks

Kabul (AP) - Australia warned Thursday of a high threat of terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital during celebrations marking the overthrow of communist rule by mujahedeen fighters.

Friday commemorations of the 1992 overthrow of the communist-backed government in Kabul could result in an "extremely dangerous security situation and the very high threat of terrorist attack," the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said.

"We continue to receive a stream of reporting indicating that terrorists are planning attacks against a range of targets including places frequented by foreigners," the department said.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul posted a warning Thursday advising Americans to limit their travel in the next two days due to the holiday and two bombings Tuesday on the road leading to Kabul's airport, which wounded two people.

The U.S. warning mentioned no specific security threats and embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting possible terror attacks.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi said extra forces will be deployed to protect the celebrations in Kabul, particularly a speech by President Hamid Karzai and a military parade.

"We have taken all necessary security measures and are confident that we are going to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the mujahedeen victory," Azimi said.

Australia said possible terrorist targets in Kabul included the Intercontinental and Serena hotels, clubs, restaurants, markets and the airport.

A communist government ruled Afghanistan for three years following the 1989 withdrawal of Soviet forces that ended a decade-long occupation.

The government was toppled in 1992 by the same mujahedeen fighters who opposed the Soviets and who then dragged the capital into a bloody civil war that lasted four years, killing an estimated 50,000 people, until the hard-line Taliban regime took control.

The Taliban were ousted by a U.S.-led invasion following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for harboring Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror organization.

Taliban leader vows jihad against US, UK

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani Taliban leader vowed on Thursday to wage an unrelenting holy war against US and British troops in Afghanistan from his stronghold in Pakistan’s tribal lands. Speaking by telephone from South Waziristan, where his forces have gathered strength in recent months, Haji Omar denied harbouring Al Qaeda members, but said he was organising attacks inside Afghanistan. “There is no Al Qaeda here. There is only ... the Taliban of Waziristan,” Omar said. “We do send mujahideen to Afghanistan. We send mujahideen to areas where American and British troops are concentrated ... we will continue our jihad against them. It is our religious obligation.” Reuters

US grants $40m to Afghanistan for education

KABUL, Apr 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): United States Agency for International Development (USAID) granted $40m to education ministry for enhancing education standard across the country.

Speaking at a one-day seminar here the outgoing Higher Education Minister Said Amir Shah Hasanyar said it was the biggest opportunity for training of teachers in Afghanistan. He said libraries, labs would be established and curriculum would be reviewed. Hasanyar said there were 16 universities functioning across the country, besides Kabul University.

In addition a number of local officials, representatives and teachers of Indiana and Nebraska universities also attended the seminar. Head of Academy of Educational Development (AED) Sajia Sultani said teachers would get higher degrees with establishment of new project.

About 300 teachers were masters, 6000 were diploma holders, 8000 had graduated from teacher training faculties and 70,000 were 12 th class graduates and remaining dont have higher education. Deputy Education Minister Mohammd Seddiq Patman said there were 150,000 teachers across the country.

Road construction project inaugurated in Parwan

CHARIKAR, Apr 27 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The US-led coalition forces stationed in Bagram will construct an eight kilometres road linking Jabl-us-Saraj and Saidkhel districts of the central Parwan province.

The road construction project will be completed at the cost of $200,000, said Lt Colonel Harper Russ, in charge of the provincial reconstruction team (PRT). Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, he said the 8-kilometre road would be built in four months.

Provincial Governor Abdul Jabbar Taqwa performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the road on Thursday. On this occasion, the governor hoped the project would help end problems of hundreds of people belonging to the two districts.

He said the dusty and uneven road linking Jabl-us-Saraj with Saikhel had become a perpetual problem for the people of those areas.

OIC pledges $1.8m for construction of 20 hospitals

KABUL, Apr 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has pledged to provide $1.8 million to build 20 hospitals in 10 provinces this year.

The pledge was made under an agreement signed by Public Health Minister Syed Muhammad Amin Fatimi and Executive Director of OIC Omar Ismail Al Dafa here on Wednesday.

Speaking to journalists, Fatimi said the 20 hospitals would be constructed in Baghlan, Faryab, Paktia, Jawzjan, Samangan, Parwan, Sar-i-Pul, Kapisa, Takhar and Kunduz provinces in the coming 11 months. However, he would not say when they were going to start work on the projects.

In addition to this, the ministry was planning to build 274 hospitals in other provinces this year, said the minister. He thanked the OIC for the generous assistance.

Addressing the media men, Al Dafa said the organisation would also extend help to the Ministry of Public Health in constructing health centres in different areas in the future. He said the OIC had so far lend a helping hand to the Afghan government in repatriation of refugees and digging of wells in areas where clean drinking water was unavailable.

Ismail Kawosi, press officer for the health ministry, said a hospital constructed with financial assistance from OIC was inaugurated today in the Chehelsitoon area of Kabul.

Wolesi Jirga discusses annual budget

KABUL, Apr 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Wolesi Jirga (lower house) Wednesday started discussion on annual budget for the current fiscal year. Earlier, the budget was approved by the Meshrano Jirga (upper house) and latter forwarded to the lower house for approval.

The Wolesi Jirga will pass the annual budget soon. The financial affairs and budget assessment commission of the lower house presented its views on proposed budget that triggered discussions among the MPs.

The total $2.07bn annual budget was presented to Wolesi Jirga (lower house) for approval in late March. Of the total budget, $1.26bn was reserved as development budget which would be spent on reconstruction projects while $830 million is operating budget that would be used for salaries for government employees and other expenses of offices.

Some MPs criticised the budget as insufficiently planned since it was drafted by three ministries of the cabinet, two of which were merged or removed in the new setup. A member of the parliament Muhammad Hussain Alami Balkhi said: "I will reject this budget since there is no transparency in its ways of spending."

Forwarded to the Wolesi Jirga on March 29, if the lower house failed to pass the draft by April 29, it would be automatically approved, as constitution grants only one month time to lower house for its approval.

Some MPs were unsatisfied with the short time. The parliament spent much time this month on holding talks on vote of confidence for the proposed cabinet, sidelining the budget issue till now.

Wolesi Jirga speaker Younus Qanuni said they had to take more time to discuss both the operating and development budget in order to avoid approving or rejecting it with closed-eyes.

Durand Line: Turning the Great Game on its head - Indian Express 04/27/2006 By C Raja Mohan

The future of the Durand Line has emerged as the most important geopolitical question in our western neighbourhood

As British and other Western troops pour into Afghanistan to assist the Hamid Karzai government defend itself against a resurgent Taliban and the al Qaida along the Durand Line, the Great Game is being turned on its head.

In its relentless 19th Century competition with Czarist Russia for territories and political influence, British India drew the Durand Line between itself and Afghanistan in 1893 to the disadvantage of Kabul and converted the nation into a protectorate.

Today, the West is approaching the Durand Line from the other side, determined to defend Afghanistan against the incursions from Pakistan, which inherited its western borders from British India after the Partition.

The Bush Administration is increasingly concerned that its political success in Afghanistan could easily be turned into defeat if it does not quickly put down the growing challenge from Taliban. Canadian troops in Kandahar are confronting Taliban attacks; British troops have arrived in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation — leading the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan—is expanding military activity to stabilise the provinces along the Durand Line.

While there is hardly any reporting in India on the unfolding war along the Pak-Afghan border, the future of the Durand Line has emerged as the most important geopolitical question in our western neighbourhood.

While the Pakistanis can't stop talking about India's growing profile on its western borders, it is really the international community that has geared itself up to bring stability by use of force on the Durand Line.

Best of times, worst of times

In much of Afghanistan, these are the best of times and the worst of times. Four years of relative peace in Afghanistan, after nearly three decades of civil war, have begun to transform the nation. Returning to Kabul after three years, this reporter found bustling markets and traffic jams. At the same time, insecurity in Afghanistan has dramatically increased.

Even Kabul is no longer immune from attacks by the Taliban. Only last week, a rocket fell right between the Indian Ambassador's residence and the US embassy, which are just across the road. Sources in the United Nations and the ISAF concede that the security situation in the country has worsened in the last few months. Security arrangements have tightened at all important sites.

The impudent Pajeros and Land Cruisers, with their bullet proof protection, that dominate the traffic in Kabul, reflect the new insecurity in the nation.

For the first time in its history, Pakistan now faces serious military pressure on its western borders. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, it was Pakistan that was on the offensive on the Durand Line supporting the jihad against the "godless Russian Communists".

Pakistan now faces troops from the US and its allies on the Durand Line. While the troops are not too many, the West is now turning the heat on Islamabad to do more to curb cross-border activities of Taliban and al Qaida.

During his visit to Islamabad last month, President George W Bush publicly applied pressure on Pakistan when he said one of the reasons for his visit was to see whether General Musharraf was keeping his word on Taliban.

NATO sources here say the main objective behind their deployment is to signal to Islamabad that the international community would not abandon Afghanistan and therefore, it is not sensible for Pakistan to keep the Taliban option alive.

Meanwhile, the war in Afghanistan is spilling over into Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan that hug the Durand Line. Areas like Waziristan, that have hardly been administered by any state, have become the natural sanctuaries for Taliban and the Al Qaida.

Pakistan says it has deployed 70,000 troops near the Durand Line and is actively combating the Taliban and the al Qaida; but few in Kabul are willing to accept Islamabad's claims.

The dilemma of the US is clear. For the Bush Administration, stabilising Afghanistan, which has been declared a strategic partner last year, is of the highest priority.

At the same time, Washington is aware of Pakistan's importance in the great war on terror. Islamabad's ambitions to exercise influence in Afghanistan and the deep distrust of Pakistan in Afghanistan.

Seeking to overcome this contradiction, the US set up a tripartite commission of force commanders and senior officials from the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to develop a coordinated strategy against Taliban and al Qaida.

Last week, at the latest round of the tripartite commission in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan's vice army chief, General Ahsan Saleem Hyat, hosted the US commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General Karl Eikenberry, along with Afghan army chief General Bismullah Khan for talks in Rawalpindi.

This is the first visit by the Afghan Army Chief to Pakistan. The three generals also discussed a joint military manoeuvre named "Inspired Gambit 06", to be conducted in May. A unit of Afghan National Army will also take part in these games for the first time at the invitation of Pakistan.

Whether Pakistan offers genuine cooperation or not, one thing is certain. The Durand Line will not be the same again. The big American stake in Afghan success is forcing a military globalisation of the Durand Line that for long has been a lawless frontier.

Karzai must not allow Pak diktate his choice of friends
By Allabaksh - Syndicate Features – Asian Tribune 04.28.06

It is understandable why Hamid Karzai has to do a tight rope walking on Indian soil and underplay his apparent disgust with Pakistan’s reluctance to catch the remnants of the Taliban sheltered by the Pakistani tribesmen near the Afghan borders. Any reproach of Pakistan by him while on a visit to India would provide an instant propaganda boon to Islamabad which has been regularly spreading the canard that Kabul’s charges against Pakistan are instigated by India. Nonetheless, at least in the interest of his own country, the Afghan president need not be ambiguous in speaking out his mind on certain matters, regardless of the fact whether he is in his country or in a foreign land.

One such matter is the question of allowing transit of Afghan-bound Indian goods across the Pak territory. While in Delhi, Karzai hoped that a day would arrive soon when Pakistan would allow transit of Indian goods to Afghanistan and beyond. In the same breath, he linked his optimistic prediction to India agreeing to allow free transit of Pakistani goods bound for destinations in East Asia.

This is rather strange, to say the least. As far as one knows Pakistan has not shown any interest in sending its goods through the Indian land route to East Asia, though Pakistan does seem to want unfettered access for its ‘goods’ to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh—in the shape of more arms and other material for the terrorists trained by its ISI. Besides, Pakistan already has a direct road link with China, which has been used in the past, among other things, for secretly transporting nuclear equipment from China and missile components from North Korea. Even if it is assumed that there has been a Pakistani demand for permission to export its ‘goods’ to East Asia through India it is not clear if such an arrangement will suit Pakistan or will be a better option.

Assuming that a Pakistani container is being sent to Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam through the land route it can be said with some certainty that the time it will require for transit from its origin in Pakistan to its destination may not be less than a direct shipment to ports in either country. Apart from the slow pace with which goods move across the Indian roads with all the checks at the point of entering different states, not to speak of many natural hazards like floods and storms, and foreseen human ‘hurdles’ including hold ups, goods moving across two or three countries will take a long time to complete their journey after getting through the two or three custom barriers.

India is among the largest aid donors of Afghanistan and is heavily engaged in rebuilding a new Afghanistan. This has generated a lot of goodwill for India that Pakistan obviously resents. Some of the Indian efforts are hampered by the cost and time taken for moving goods, particularly machinery and heavy goods, from the sea route to Iran and then by land route into Afghanistan. Should the US decide to go to war against Iran, the Iran supply route will get blocked making Afghanistan completely dependent on Pakistan for its export-import trade more since the land route via central Asia is not much developed.

It does look therefore Karzai is dodging the question of pressing Pakistan for allowing passage to Afghan-bound Indian goods. Both suspicion and jealousy prevented many previous Pakistani governments, as also the present one headed by its military chief, Gen Pervez Musharraf, from agreeing to any arrangement that facilitates access of Indian goods into Afghanistan. Pakistan has in the recent denied transit facilities even for humanitarian consignments from India.

Being landlocked, Afghanistan certainly has a strong case for being granted land transit facilities through Pakistan. But Karzai regime has shown reluctance to press President Musharraf too much, fearing that it may lead to Pakistan further opening up the terrorist taps on Afghanistan and thus dash whatever little hope that Kabul may have of getting Islamabad’s ‘cooperation’ in rounding up of the former Taliban elements living East of the Durand Line.

India can understand the reasons why Karzai does not want to annoy the mercurial General too much. Even the General’s strongest patrons in Washington have to suffer his tantrums such as the one he is throwing currently at being denied a nuclear ‘package’. But what does not become clear to many in India is why Karzai should gratuitously advocate something on behalf of Pakistan. It cannot be called a fine balancing act because no matter what he says or does in India or about India, Pakistan is bound to remain sullen as there is little possibility of it regaining its ‘strategic depth’ that came its way when Taliban controlled Afghanistan. That Pakistan has become a dirty word for many Afghans adds to the discomfort of the Islamabad rulers who have been hoping to keep post-Taliban Afghanistan under its thumb.

It is not known whether these and other related issues figured in the Karzai - Manmohan Singh, talks, but it is natural for India to expect Karzai to effectively and publicly rebut the Pakistani canard that Indian diplomatic missions in his country are being used to fuel trouble in Pakistani canard that Indian diplomatic missions in his country are being used to fuel trouble in Baluchistan and North Waziristan. The Pakistani ploy looks kike a crude attempt to hide the patently anti-Indian activities directed from its own diplomatic missions in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Pakistanis have raised a hue and cry about the presence of Indian security guards sent to Afghanistan for the safety of Indian workers engaged in the country’s gigantic reconstruction task. Islamabad had tried, without much success, to seek Washington’s ‘intervention’ in putting a stop to even the opening of Indian missions beyond Kabul. Pakistan has no right or role in deciding where the Indian missions should be opened and what India should do to protect its nationals. More so since Kabul has no objections to Indian missions operating from one or more centres in Afghanistan or the presence of Indian security for the latter’s personnel. In the kind of situation that prevails in Afghanistan, India has every right to take measures for the security and safety of its workers. Kabul must transmit this message to Islamabad strongly.

There is every reason for India to suspect a Pakistani hand behind some of the attacks on Indian workers in Afghanistan. These attacks have ostensibly been carried out by the Taliban—sent from across the border. Karzai may have to be more subtle in talking about it but he has to convey to his ‘brothers’ in Islamabad that the days when they could interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan are gone and in no way can Islamabad dictate Kabul’s choice of friends.

Canadian soldier hit in head with an axe out of coma, joking with nurses - Camille Bains, The Canadian Press - Thursday, April 27, 2006

VANCOUVER -- A Canadian soldier who suffered severe head wounds in an axe attack in Afghanistan has gone from a drug-induced coma to quipping with nurses about his beer-drinking skills, according to his wife.

The recovery of Capt. Trevor Greene, a civil-military co-operation officer, after the incident on March 4 is detailed in a blog by Debbie.

She responded by telephone to an e-mail request for an interview and confirmed she wrote the entry, but she declined to provide any more details or give her last name. "Some would say it is a miracle he has made it this far,'' she said in the entry, dated Wednesday.

She said Greene began physiotherapy this week at Vancouver General Hospital, where he was transferred after a brief stay at a U.S. military facility in Landstuhl, Germany.

Greene, 41, was attacked while he was sitting down for what he thought would be a friendly gathering of elders in an Afghanistan village. He had put down his weapon and removed his helmet during the meeting when a villager in his teens snuck up behind him, pulled an axe from his clothing and struck him in the head.

Following the attack, the villager was shot dead, kicking off a firefight where insurgents threw a grenade and traded small arms fire with Canadian and Afghan troops.

"Every week we see improvements in Trevor's recovery but the trend is definitely upwards,'' Debbie said in the blog that includes hundreds of postings from well-wishers, including Greene's childhood friends.

Debbie said Greene has begun eating a regular diet, including a daily latte, chocolate, sushi and fresh fruit. "He is now in the longest chapter of the healing process, rehabilitiation.''

Debbie described Greene's speech as "soft and a bit patchy,'' adding that a nurse remarked how the soldier told him: "Wow, you can sure suck back the water!''

"Having said nothing to her all night, he said, `You should see me drink beer!' Hopefully that gives some comfort about Trevor's state of mind,'' the soldier's wife wrote.

From his classmates in journalism school at University of King's College Halifax, to colleagues Greene worked with in Toyko before he joined the Canadian forces and even a man who met him in a Vancouver coffee shop, countless people have posted e-mails to express their shock at what happened to Greene.

Postings on the blog describe him as a selfless and dedicated soldier with a great sense of humour and a love for music. There's one from a family whose daughter dated Greene in high school, another from a man whose son played minor football with him 25 to 30 years ago and still another from a childhood friend who worked on a model airplane with the soldier when the two were kids.

"We went to Japan together in September 1988 and had some great times,'' said one posting. "I was convinced he was never going to be able to learn Japanese! He proved me wrong, big time. I think he is the type of person that touches everyone he comes across.''

Debbie said in the blog that Greene continues to receive letters and cards that will all be shared with him. "Keep them coming, he'll get a great chuckle out of them one day.''

Debbie said despite Greene's experience, she still supports Canada's mission to Afghanistan and that she'd known since he met him that he wanted to help the country's people. "I don't feel any anger or acrimony towards the Afghan people for the accident,'' she said. "I don't believe Trevor would (either).''

"I have learned more about our involvement in Afghanistan and really feel that they need the help of our troops and the support of Canadians to enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted.''

Canada not alone in Afghanistan - Apr. 27, 2006 Toronto Star letter

In reading and listening to media reports, one would think Canada is the only country, other than the United States, that has placed troops in harm's way. Nothing could be further from the truth. Twelve NATO countries currently have a total of 15,000 troops deployed, of which Canada has supplied 2,300. Regrettably, 15 Canadians have lost their lives. But so, too, have many brave soldiers from other countries — all of which deserve mention, honour and our gratitude: Germany 18, Spain, 17, U.K. 7, France 4, Italy 3, Romania 3, Denmark 3, Sweden 2, Australia 1, Norway 1, Portugal 1. We stand together.

Don Mustill, Unionville

For NATO, make or break - Douglas Goold - National Post, April 25, 2006

NATO HEADQUARTERS, Brussels - On Saturday, four of our solders were killed in a roadside explosion near Kandahar, bringing the number of Canadians who have died in Afghanistan to 12. But the shock waves from the rising violence in Afghanistan are being felt not just in Canada, but in the capitals of our allies and at NATO headquarters here in Brussels.

Fifteen years after the end of the Cold War, the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is on the line, in large part because of its involvement in Afghanistan. Who could have imagined that the fate of the alliance established to deter Soviet aggression in Europe would depend upon events in a poor, land-locked country thousands of miles from Europe?

Afghanistan's importance to the alliance was made clear to me from several days of interviews with senior officials at NATO headquarters. Operations in that country are "make or break for us," one of NATO's executive officers said in a briefing. "We can't afford to leave with our tails between our legs. Great Britain, Russia and the United States failed in Afghanistan. Are we going to be the fourth?"

The United States headed a coalition including Canada that invaded Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In August, 2003, NATO took command of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, its first assignment beyond its traditional area of operation.

Last year, NATO forces moved beyond Kabul to the far more dangerous south and east of the country. As part of the NATO effort, which includes a force of more than 15,000, Canada has sent 2,300 troops to Kandahar, its largest deployment overseas since the Korean War. Separately, the U.S. has an estimated 16,500 troops in the country.

NATO's involvement in Afghanistan is the latest in a long list of often controversial initiatives that have transformed the body since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The organization, in its own words, "crossed the Rubicon" in February, 1994, when it shot down four Bosnian Serb planes that were violating a UN flight ban. That led to a nine-year deployment in Bosnia beginning in December, 1995, the first time the alliance had used force.

The alliance used air strikes against Kosovo in 1999, with Canada playing a major but underreported role, and took action in Macedonia in 2001.

"Only eight years ago, it would have been almost inconceivable to imagine NATO operating out of Europe," a senior official told me. "That we would be providing aid to Darfur, in our ex-colonial backyard, holding joint patrols with the Russians and even remotely considering the admission of Ukraine would be unthinkable."

Yet a high level of activity doesn't necessarily mean success. NATO stood aside from the Persian Gulf war and is only marginally involved in Iraq. It has not been active on key issues such as European arm sales to China or the faceoff with Iran over nuclear weapons. Members squabble over funding and have trouble providing something as simple as a couple of helicopters for the Kabul airport.

But the greatest problem is the strained relations between the Europeans and the Americans, the relationship at the heart of NATO.

The fundamental difficulty lies in the fact that Americans have come to distrust fixed alliances, preferring to round up allies on a case by case basis. In U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's famous phrase, "the mission will define the coalition, not the other way around." Whether the intractable problems in Iraq will make them see things differently remains to be seen.

That is why Afghanistan is particularly important to NATO, quite apart from the benefits that will flow from reconstruction and security in that country. Afghanistan provides the alliance with an opportunity to show the Americans that NATO can be a partner in countries that are important to the U.S.

There clearly has been some progress in Afghanistan, where the ultimate goal is to affirm the authority of the central government throughout the country and establish a viable political system and economy that is not beholden to tribal leaders or drug lords. Incomes and school enrolment are up, and a "test tube democracy" -- in the words of Nicholas Grono, a vice-president with the International Crisis Group -- has been created.

But the cost of helping Afghanistan will be in the billions. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban remain active, as Saturday's deadly bombing and continuing rocket attacks attest, and the drug trade has a virtual stranglehold on the economy.

Neither the money nor the number of troops ever seems sufficient. The former Secretary-General of NATO, Lord George Robertson, has written that "if NATO applied the Bosnia template to Afghanistan, it would need to deploy some 700,000 soldiers." Moreover, NATO remained in Bosnia for nine years, and Bosnia is far smaller and more advanced than Afghanistan.

Any solutions to the problems of Afghanistan will ultimately depend upon the Afghans themselves. But the real question for NATO is whether its members, Canada included, have the political will to stay the course for the long haul, possibly a decade or even more. The future of both Afghanistan and NATO may hang in the balance. - Douglas Goold is the president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. www.ciia.org.

World businesswomen summit, with leaders' wives, begins in Turkey - Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia

Istanbul, 27 April: The World Businesswomen's Summit has begun in Istanbul in association with the Women in Business International and the Turkish Businesswomen's Association (TIKAD).

First ladies of many countries are attending the summit as the guests of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's wife Emine Erdogan.

Zinet Karzai, wife of the Afghan President; Turkish Cypriot first lady Oya Talat; Ronda Beri, wife of the Lebanese parliament Speaker; and Syrian first lady Asma al-Asad are among the guests of the summit.

Making opening remarks of the summit, Emine Erdogan said: "Problems of women cannot be resolved only with efforts of governments. We should take action."

"Unfortunately, rights and freedoms of women are restricted in some societies. We still experience honour killings in many countries. In fact, participation of women in social life and equal rights for everyone are of vital importance in increasing living standards of societies," she added.

Asma al-Asad said that women should work together to settle peace and prosperity in the Middle East region.

Meanwhile, Zinet Karzai thanked Turkey for supporting Afghanistan for years. "During the Taleban regime, all rights of women were violated. Girls were not allowed to attend schools, women were not allowed to work and they were deprived of health services. After the elections in November 2002, positive developments have begun occurring. New constitution granted equal rights to Afghan women; 28 per cent of the Afghan parliamentarians are women now," she added.

Oya Talat, on her part, called on the international community to lift isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Life ending before it's begun - The Star, South Africa 04/27/2006 By Paul Garwood

Fayruza's doll-sized body leans limply across the forearm of her aunt, who became the infant's adoptive mother minutes after her birth three months ago.

The death of the withered baby's natural mother soon after delivery at home epitomises what President Hamid Karzai last week called war-ravaged Afghanistan's "great tragedy" - its appalling rates of child malnutrition and maternal mortality, among the world's worst.

"The morning she was born I became an aunt," said Shirinja, who goes by one name, as she cradled Fayruza in the cramped confines of an infant ward at Kabul's Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital. "But by the afternoon after my sister died I had become her mother."

The baby has spent the past 18 days in the hospital, suffering chronic malnutrition. Some 600 infants and 50 mothers die on average per day in Afghanistan, says the UN's child health agency, Unicef. This country has the world's second-worst rate of mothers dying during labour - 1 600 per 100 000. The worst is Sierra Leone.

It also ranks among the lowest for child mortality. Some 135 children die within the first year of life out of every 1 000 born.

Another 220 will die before they reach 5, compared to eight in the United States. A quarter century of war and Taliban rule all but destroyed Afghanistan's meagre health services. Deep poverty, under-spending, restrictive social customs and illiteracy have compounded the crisis.

"Our country is rebuilding itself with the help of the international community after almost three decades of conflict, war and infighting and in every sector we have problems and challenges, particularly health," says Dr Abdul Salam, director of the Indira Gandhi hospital.

Almost 90% of the hospital's patients come from remote provinces where the health problems are worst. Access to healthcare is limited by widespread insecurity because of militant attacks and banditry, and by the isolation of communities. Another obstacle is poor education, particularly among women.

"Illiteracy is one of the biggest problems because people don't know how to take care of their children," says hospital paediatrician Hamid Mazin (37), as he helps feed formula milk to malnourished babies.

"Women have no right to leave their homes due to village traditions, so they stay inside to the very end, even if they are having complications."

Afghan Health Minister Mohammed Amin Fatemi says most births are not attended by trained medical staff and are conducted in village homes often too far from health centres equipped to deal with emergencies.

Training 12 000 community health workers - half of them women - and 6 000 midwives by 2010 is a health ministry goal to deal with the death rates, Fatemi says on the sidelines of a regional health conference last week, attended by Karzai.

Afghanistan's widespread poverty must also be addressed if health indicators are to improve, he says. "We have to break this vicious cycle, where poverty causes these mortality rates and mortality rates contribute to poverty."

Chronic malnutrition - primarily a lack of energy and protein - for children under 5 in Afghanistan runs at 54%, behind only Burundi at 57%.

Poverty's bitter relationship with poor child and maternal health in Afghanistan are evident inside the bombed-out ruins of west Kabul's Aliabad Hospital, once the capital's leading medical facility. Now, it is home to up to 50 refugee families too poor to afford to rent or buy a home.

Sixty-year-old Alam Gul lives with his wife Ghutai, who is roughly half his age, and their nine children, including twins, in a tiny room without electricity, running water or gas.

Cold drafts blow down the corridor towards bathrooms in which cracked pipes leak human waste onto the floor from families living above. "My children are very sick because of the dirty water, diseases and unclean state of everything," Ghutai says. "My baby twins are ill and hungry because the don't have enough mother's milk. I don't know how we will all keep living."- Sapa-AP

Russia, collective security treaty nations offer to help rebuild Afghan economy - Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS

St Petersburg, 27 April: The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has sent proposals for restoring Afghanistan's economy to the leaders of the country, journalists were told today by Chairman of the Federation Defence and Security Committee Viktor Ozerov at the end of a sitting of members of the Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and members of the CSTO that was held in Tavricheskiy Palace. One of the meeting's main topics was coordinating efforts by the CSTO member states to help Afghanistan with post-conflict reconstruction.

"Russia has never refused - and is now ready - to take part in restoring Afghanistan's economy," Ozerov said. In the event of a positive reply from the Afghan authorities, the CSTO member countries are ready to take part in restoring Afghanistan's economy, he said.

Ozerov said today's meeting also considered issues of military and technical cooperation within the CSTO framework. It was noted that this cooperation meets the interests of each individual state and of the organization as a whole. The participants also looked at issues linked to the unification of legislation within the CSTO.

Ozerov noted that not all documents adopted by the CSTO have been ratified. Russia alone has 10 unratified documents dating from 2001-2005.

IRAN: Afghan repatriation resumes - [This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

ANKARA, 27 Apr 2006 (IRIN) - The Iranian government predicts that half a million Afghan refugees will return to their homeland from Iran when the country’s voluntary repatriation operation resumes on 29 April, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Iran said on Wednesday.

“Following the government of Iran’s wish, 500,000 refugees are anticipated to voluntarily return. Our [UNHCR] own internal planning figures on assistance of refugees are 150,000. That’s our first goal for now, but it can be increased,” Safak Pavey, UNHCR’s public information officer in Iran, said from the capital, Tehran.

Iran is host to one of the largest refugee populations in the world. More than 1.4 million Afghans have returned from Iran since April 2002, 844,000 of whom have received assistance from UNHCR.

Since the UN refugee agency began its Afghan voluntary repatriation programme in 2002, more than 3.5 million Afghan refugees have returned from Pakistan and Iran - the two largest host countries to the Afghan diaspora.

“We work in 25 refugee camps and in Voluntarily Repatriation Centres (VRCs) in Iran. Afghans can come and get information at these centres. If refugees have obstacles, such as legal issues or financial difficulties we have offices that can provide help,” the UNHCR spokesman added.

The UN-assisted repatriation process from Iran aims to ensure all Afghan refugees who are registered with the Iranian authorities return on a voluntary basis and is bolstered by assistance with reintegration once in Afghanistan.

There remain 940,000 registered Afghans in Iran, according to a recent registration exercise by Tehran. Together with returnees from Pakistan, the operation is the largest regional return exercise in the history of UNHCR.

Iranian national arrested with 2kg of heroin

KABUL, Apr 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Security officials in the western Nimroz province arrested an Iranian national with two kilograms of heroin on Wednesday.

Provincial police chief Khalilullah told Pajhwok Afghan News the man was named Faramarz, who was resident of the Mazindran city of the neighbouring Iran. He was detained in the provincial capital of Zaranj. He said the man wanted to smuggle the narcotics to Iran through Nimroz. He was under investigations with the police.

Head of the press office of the Interior Ministry Dad Mohammad Rasa said the foreigner was arrested this morning. Nimroz province is sharing a border with Iran and Pakistan and the route is used by drug traffickers.

Pics of slain leaders in great demand as Mujahideen Day approaches

KABUL, Apr 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): As preparation are in full swing to celebrate the 14th Mujahideen Day on Friday, photographs of Ahmad Shah Masoud and former last pro-communist president of Afghanistan Dr Najeebullah are being sold at all stalls and other places in the central capital.

Fourteen years ago, the mujahideen (holy warriors), through their armed struggle and sacrifices, compelled the red forces to leave the country. The day is celebrated on official level throughout the country since then.

Fourteen years back, Dr Najeeb was incarcerated in the UN compound after the mujahideen leaders, including Ahmad Shah Masoud, captured the capital. Pictures of both the leaders, who are no more in this world of mortals, are sold like hot cakes in every nook and corner of the city as the day is approaching.

While late Najeebullah is hero for thousands of Afghans, they are opposed to the role of late Ahmad Shah Masoud. In the same token, Masoud's innumerable fans are raising accusing fingers at Najib for his pro-communist and anti-mujahideen stance.

Zainuddin, running a roadside makeshift stall in the capital, said sale of photos of both the departed leaders has got momentum at the approach of the Mujahideen Day. Without telling whose pictures attract more fans, he said sale of those photos had increased in the previous few days. "In routine, I use to sell 10 to 15 pictures a day, but now the number has shot up to 50 per day," said Zainuddin. Prices of the photographs range from five to 30 afghanis depending on their size.

Keeping the market demand of snapshots of the one time powerful leaders in mind, Nazer Hussain (10), started his mini business three days back. He said photos of the two leaders were in great demand and brought more income than usual days.

Both the slain leaders have supporters and opponents. Their pro and anti elements cross each others. While Dr Najeeb was murdered by Taliban after capturing the capital Kabul in 1996, Ahmad Shah Masoud was assassinated in a terrorist attack in September 2001 by two foreigners posing as journalists.

[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.]