Afghan President Hamid Karzai salutes when inspecting a guard of honor during a military parade for the 14th anniversary of the Mujahidin victory in Kabul Friday, April 28, 2006. Karzai on Friday called upon Taliban militants to give up militancy and let the Afghans to reconstruct their war-ravaged country. Afghans celebrated the 14th anniversary of the victory of Mujahidin, or anti-Soviet resistance groups, on Friday. (AP Photo / Xinhua, Zabi Tamanna)

In this bulletin:

• Afghanistan's Karzai offers olive branch to Taliban
• NATO commits to Afghan expansion
• Taliban kidnap Indian engineer in southern Afghanistan
• ‘Pakistan doesn’t support insurgency in Afghanistan’
• Al-Qaida Leader: U.S. 'Broken' in Iraq
• Pakistan rejects Zawahiri's call to revolt
• Pakistan military vows full control in tribal region
• Taleban Call the Shots in Ghazni
• People Power
• Corruption eroding Afghan security
• Soldier hit by axe asks to return to duty
• `A Virgin Market'
• Turkmen President proposes new scheme of electric power supply to Afghanistan
• Stolen US military secrets on sale in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan: The Brief History Of Media Freedom
• Apparent text of Pakistani president's speech to tribal leaders

Afghanistan's Karzai offers olive branch to Taliban - By Sayed Salahuddin
Fri Apr 28, 5:32 AM ET

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai marked the 14th anniversary of the defeat of a communist government on Friday with a call to the Taliban to give up their insurgency and rejoin society.

Mujahideen holy warrior forces captured Kabul on April 28, 1992, ending the rule of a pro-Soviet government but ushering in a civil war that only ended when the Taliban seized power in 1996.

The Taliban, ousted by U.S. and mujahideen forces in late 2001, have in recent months unleashed a wave of roadside and suicide bombings, ambushes and raids, in their drive to oust foreign forces and defeat Karzai's government.

"I call upon all brothers who are still unconsciously the slaves of propaganda ... not to cause killing, bloodshed and insecurity under the orders of others, and ask them to return to their homes and serve their countrymen," Karzai said in a victory day speech.

Karzai, who has been leading Afghanistan since shortly after the Taliban were ousted, first called on rank-and-file Taliban to rejoin society more than two years ago and has repeated it several times, but few have taken up the offer.

A Taliban commander, speaking shortly before Karzai's latest call, urged Afghans to join the jihad, or holy war, to force out foreign "infidels," just as Soviet troops were forced out in the 1980s.

"The victorious jihad against the Soviet Union is being celebrated at a time when Afghanistan is occupied by infidels under the leadership of America," deputy Taliban chief and former defense minister, Obaidullah Akhund, told Reuters.

Akhund, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, said the United States and its allies toppled the Taliban and installed a "puppet government" after intense bombing that "martyred thousands of innocent Afghans."

"The Afghan people should stand up against the infidels for the independence of Afghanistan and join the Taliban in the freedom struggle and force out foreign troops like Soviet forces," he said.

Friday's celebration included a military parade along a road not far from some of the ruins left over from the civil war that followed the capture of Kabul.

Tens of thousands of people were killed as factions battled for the city, reducing whole neighborhoods to rubble. Some of the commanders who fought then now hold positions in government, or seats in parliament. Others are Taliban allies.

The military parade was led by trucks pulling two old British cannons, captured during a bloody British incursion into Afghanistan in the nineteenth century. A stream of old but newly painted Soviet-era armored personnel carriers, tanks and truck-mounted multiple-rocket launchers followed.

Jets and helicopters thundered over the parade that was watched by Kara and other top officials as well as senior U.S. and other foreign military officers. Several dozen Afghan women held a protest outside U.N. offices in the Pakistani capital to demand democracy and the prosecution of "warlords."

"Today is a black day because it brought civil war to our country in which 65,000 Afghans were killed and now, those criminals are in parliament," said Danish Hamid, a spokeswoman for the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.

NATO commits to Afghan expansion - April 28, 2006

SOFIA (Reuters) - NATO backed a plan on Friday to take foreign troop numbers in Afghanistan to their highest level since the Taliban's overthrow sending the alliance on what is set to be the toughest ground mission in its 58-year history.

The NATO strategy nearly doubles its troop numbers to more than 16,000 from July to help the United States wind down its presence in the perilous south and gives peacekeepers greater scope to engage insurgents.

Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, alliance Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said they had given a strong commitment to expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

They also agreed the troops would be able to employ "robust" rules of engagement, he said. "Only a sustained and concerted effort will yield success," de Hoop Scheffer told the Sofia meeting, stressing NATO was determined to see its mission through despite a rise in violence directed at international troops.

The NATO expansion will take the numbers of foreign soldiers in Afghanistan to around 32,500 by July and August, the highest level since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001.

About half the total will be with a separate U.S.-led force hunting the Taliban and its allies since 2001.
NATO officials said there had been no consensus on when ISAF would take over responsibility from the U.S.-led force in the east of the country, where Islamist insurgents are also active.

NATO's operations commander, U.S. General James Jones, has urged this as early as August, but General Ray Henault, a Canadian heading NATO's Military Committee, told ministers it was expected by the year-end, but there was no timetable.

NATO hopes in the coming weeks to conclude a broad cooperation agreement with the Western-backed government in Kabul under which it will offer military training, equipment and planning personnel to work in the Afghan defence ministry.

The pact will also cover support in civil emergency planning and efforts to encourage civilian control of the military, NATO officials said.

NATO's move south should help the United States, stretched by the Iraq war, wind down its troop presence in Afghanistan from 19,000 to 16,500 by around August.

It follows Afghanistan's worst period of violence since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001 for failing to give up Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda chief behind the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities, who remains at large.

Afghanistan has seen a rise in Iraq-style suicide bombings and nearly 1,500 people died in insurgent-linked violence last year, including almost 60 Americans, making it the bloodiest for U.S. forces since they invaded.

Eighteen foreign troops, 13 American, have been killed this year and the guerrillas announced a spring offensive in March.

The fourth stage of ISAF expansion, into the east, could see the NATO-led force grow to 20,000-25,000. However, these will include soldiers now with the U.S.-led force and it is unclear what U.S. troop levels will be then, NATO officials said.

Britain, Canada and the Netherlands are due to lead the deployment to the south, which includes Afghanistan's main opium-growing region and most dangerous territories. The dangers were underscored when four Canadian soldiers were killed in a roadside blast on April 22.

Taliban kidnap Indian engineer in southern Afghanistan

Kabul (AP) - Taliban militants kidnapped an Indian engineer in restive southern Afghanistan on Friday, a spokesman for the ousted regime said.

The abduction of the engineer, who was working as a contractor for Roshan, Afghanistan's mobile phone network, was confirmed by several independent sources.

"Today at 5 o'clock (1230 GMT) one Indian engineer has been caught on the Kabul-Kandahar highway. He is okay, he has not been harmed," a Taliban spokesman said. The engineer was abducted in Sharjoy district in Zabul province, a local official said on condition of anonymity.

"One person has been kidnapped," the provincial spokesman Gulan Shah Alikhil told AFP, refusing to give any more information. "All we know is that one of the engineers working for one of our contracting companies has gone missing this afternoon," Altaf Ladak, Roshan's marketing director in Kabul, told AFP.

"He's an Indian national," Ladak said, but added that he could not say the abduction was the work of Taliban militants. "I can't confirm that at the moment," he said.

Several foreign nationals working in security and reconstruction projects in war-ravaged Afghanistan have been kidnapped since the toppling of the Taliban government in a US-led operation in late 2001.

Some kidnappings have been blamed on Taliban militants and some of those abducted have been killed, including a Briton and an Indian national last year.

‘Pakistan doesn’t support insurgency in Afghanistan’ - Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri again reiterated Pakistan’s stance, and said that it was not involved in insurgency in Afghanistan.

In an interview with BBC on Friday, Kasuri rejected the Afghan government’s allegations and termed them “baseless stories, aimed at vitiating ties between the two countries”. He said, “We have strong commitment against terrorism and extremists and that commitment is in terms of the losses that we have suffered and there have been attempts on President Pervez Musharraf’s life.” He said there was no particular reason for Afghan President Karzai to give such irresponsible statements against Pakistan.

Earlier in another interview with CNN, Kasuri said that Pakistan had assured the world that it would never be involved in nuclear proliferation in future. Commenting on the Iran nuclear issue, he said that an attack on Iran would be irrational step. He said, “An attack on Iran will be regarded as an attack on another Muslim country, which will strengthen the hands of extremists.” He said that Indo-US nuclear deal wasn’t a matter of concern since Pakistan was a nuclear power and could defend itself.

Al-Qaida Leader: U.S. 'Broken' in Iraq

Hundreds of suicide bombings in Iraq have "broken the back" of the U.S. military, al-Qaida's No. 2 said in a video posted Saturday — the latest in a series of messages from the terror network.

The video by Ayman al-Zawahri, posted on an Islamic militant Web forum, came within the same week as an audiotape by al-Qaida's top leader Osama bin Laden and a video by the head of al-Qaida's branch in Iraq — a volley of messages by the group's most prominent figures.

Al-Zawahri, an Egyptian militant believed to be hiding in Afghanistan or Pakistan, also denounced the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq as "traitors" and called on Muslims to rise up to "confront them."

He said that U.S. and British forces in Iraq had bogged down in Iraq and "have achieved nothing but loss, disaster and misfortune."

Al-Qaida in Iraq "alone has carried out 800 martyrdom operations (suicide attacks) in three years, besides the sacrifices of the other mujahedeen, and this is what has broken the back of American in Iraq," al-Zawahri said.

The video by al-Zawahri was first obtained by IntelCenter, a U.S. contractor that provides counterterrorism intelligence services to the U.S. government. U.S. counterterrorism officials were aware of the video and analyzing it, two officials said on condition of anonymity.

One of the officials, who would not be identified in compliance with office policy, said it was part of al-Qaida's ongoing propaganda blitz to demonstrate the terror group remained relevant.

Bin Laden issued an audiotape on Sunday accusing the United States and Europe of supporting a "Zionist" war on Islam in what many analysts saw as an attempt to draw support from moderate Muslims.

Two days later, the head of al-Qaida in Iraq — the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi — issued an audiotape in which he showed his face for the first time and denounced Iraq's attempts to form a new government. He called on Sunni Arabs to join the "jihad" or holy war in Iraq.

It was not known what prompted the release of bin Laden's, al-Zawahri's and al-Zarqawi's messages within the space of one week — and to what degree they were coordinated.

Al-Zawahri's 16-minute video posted Saturday, entitled "A Message to the People of Pakistan," was mainly dedicated to criticism of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, accusing him of undermining his own country to help the United States, Israel and India.

There was no date in the video, but al-Zawahri mentioned a "recent" visit in early March by President Bush to India and Pakistan. During the visit, Bush "gave a great push to India's nuclear program while handing out orders and instructions in Pakistan," al-Zawahri said.

"Every soldier and officer in the Pakistani military should know that Musharraf is throwing them into the burner of civil war in return for the bribes he is getting from the United States," al-Zawahri said

"For this reason I call on every soldier and officer in the Pakistani army to disobey the orders of his commanders to kill Muslims in Pakistan or Afghanistan or otherwise he will be confronted by the mujahedeen," he said.

In the video, the gray-bearded al-Zawahri sat indoors, in front of a semi-translucent white curtain with rows of lace embroidery on it. Wearing a black turban and white traditional robes, he motioned often with his right hand, while his left arm remained largely still, as it has in other recent videos.

Al-Zawahri, who last appeared in a video on March 4, has been the most vocal spokesman for al-Qaida. While bin Laden was silent for nearly a year — ending his silence with an audiotape in January — al-Zawahri has frequently released messages, using videos while bin Laden only issued audiotapes. U.S. intelligence officials have said they believe the two are hiding separately.

Al-Zawahri messages have closely followed bin Laden ones in the past, suggesting a degree of coordination. Al-Zarqawi's tapes, however, have often appeared more closely timed with events in Iraq.

Pakistan rejects Zawahiri's call to revolt

Shawal (AFP) - Pakistan dismissed Al-Qaeda's call for the army to disobey President Pervez Musharraf, and the military said the president had the full backing of the entire armed forces.

Chief military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said there was no doubt that the armed forces were fully behind Musharraf, when asked to comment on the videotape statement by Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"Certainly there should be no doubt about it," Sultan said on Saturday, standing at a border post in North Waziritsan's Shawal valley, overlooking Afghanistan's Paktika province.

Sultan accompanied a team of foreign journalists for a visit to the volatile hub of pro-Taliban militant activity. In a video statement posted on a jihadist website, Zawahiri called on the people and army of Pakistan to fight Musharraf's regime.

"I call on the people of Pakistan to work to remove this traitor from power...and I call on every officer and soldier in the Pakistani army to disobey their commanders' orders to kill Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said.

Zawahiri escaped a US missile attack in Pakistan's Bajur tribal agency in January, which killed 18 people. Sultan said Zawahiri's effort to create dissension in Pakistan would fail.

"You see the army here and what they are doing," Sultan said, pointing towards Pakistani troops in combat fatigues deployed along the volatile Afghan border. Zawahiri "is trying his best to do what he is trying to do, but he is miserably failing," Sultan said.

Pakistan military vows full control in tribal region

Miranshah (AFP) - The Pakistani army is in full control in the troubled tribal region of Waziristan where 324 militants have been killed in operations over the past nine months, officials said.

The military took a team of foreign journalists to Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan, the second such media visit.

Briefing journalists at a heavily fortified military headquarters in the town, top officials said 39 "major operations" had been conducted since July last year to flush out Al-Qaeda linked foreign and local militants.

Miranshah was the scene of fierce battles between pro-Taliban militants and the army in March which killed 145 militants including 23 foreigners, chief military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told reporters on Saturday.

In April near Miranshah, the military said it had killed senior Al-Qaeda operative and explosives expert Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah, also known as Andur Rehman al-Muhajir, indicted in the United States over the 1998 twin embassy bombings in east Africa.

Sultan however acknowledged that the body of the suspect had not been found. "We have reasons to believe that he was among those six to eight foreigners who were killed in the attack," he said.

"Although we do not have his body, intelligence reports indicate his presence so we believe he was killed."

He said a total of 76 foreign militants were among those killed in the operations while 56 soldiers had also been killed in the region since July 2005.

The officer commanding the anti-militant operations in the rugged region, Major General Akram Sahi, insisted the army was in control in North Waziristan and the reports that Taliban had taken over the area were "untrue."

President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview published by British newspaper The Guardian that the war was almost won against Al-Qaeda in the Waziristan border region.

"Because of our successes in the cities where we got 600 to 700 of them, and then in the mountains where we occupied their sanctuaries, thankfully they are on the run," Musharraf said.

Taleban Call the Shots in Ghazni

Government forces appear to be struggling to quell the insurgency in a volatile southern province. By Borhan Younus in Andar (ARR No. 213, 25-Apr-06) Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Just south of Ghazni city, on a wide, dusty plain, lies Andar, a predominantly Pashtun district that has lately seen an upsurge in Taleban activity.

The roads in Andar, Ghazni’s largest district, are eerily quiet these days, with just a few bicycles and donkeys ferrying people between villages or to the provincial capital. But it is not poverty or backwardness that has silenced motor traffic in the area. It is a battle of wills between the Taleban and the government.

Following the latest in a series of assassinations, the government in mid-April banned unregistered motorcycles and pillion-riding throughout the district, depriving the insurgents of their preferred mode of attack.

Not to be outdone, the Taleban promptly issued a decree of their own: no vehicular movement would be allowed in the district at all. Those defying the order would be prime targets for Taleban revenge.

The result is that the roads are almost empty of traffic. Ten days after the bans, motorcycles started to trickle back, but very few cars, testimony to the fact that residents fear the Taleban much more than the government.

“We very rarely see a police patrol or a government team to come to our village, but we see armed Taleban patrolling the area every day,” said Rahmatullah, a shopkeeper in Safaraz village. “Whom should we fear more?”

“This is a test of who rules the area,” said one Taleban commander, who did not wish to be named. A fierce Taleban-led insurgency in recent months has placed Ghazni, which lies just 135 km south of Kabul, among the most volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan.

According to one government source, 28 officials have been gunned down by the insurgents in Andar alone in the past six months.

The most widely publicised incident was the mid-March assassination of the province's former governor, Taj Muhammad. Qari Baba, as he was known, had recently taken over security in the district and had vowed to stop the insurgency.

The Taleban have warned that they will step up their campaign this year, calling 2006 “the year of defeat” for the enemy. But the government is playing down the confrontation in Andar.

Abdul Rahman Sarjang, police chief of Ghazni province, denied that the Taleban had control of any area in the region. There are, he said, no restrictions on the movement of vehicles or people. "There are many… roads in Andar and nobody can block all of them," he said.

Interior ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai also denied that any area was under the control of the Taleban, and said that the provincial police were taking care of the situation.

Following the Taleban’s decree, the provincial police, the Afghan National Army and US-led Coalition forces launched a joint operation and arrested 25 suspected Taleban fighters in Andar.

But residents of the district tell a different story. Zahir Khan, from the village of Rustam in Andar, said he was sitting in a small town when a group of more than dozen Taleban riding motorbikes paused and distributed handwritten papers, warning people to avoid travelling in cars.

“You risk your life travelling by car in Andar now,” he said. In the days immediately following the ban on cars, the insurgents shot out the tyres of four vehicles that had ventured out onto the road.

Those most seriously affected are the sick, who are not able to get to hospitals and health clinics. “Some people end up walking to the provincial capital on foot,” said Zahir Khan.

Jandad Khan, a bus driver who travels regularly from Andar district to Ghazni city, said that outside district headquarters, security posts and major roads, the government exerts little authority.

"The real authority in the countryside is in hands of the Taleban who are patrolling in the area freely, without any fear, day and night," he told IWPR. "It looks like 100 years ago. Everyone travels by bicycle or donkey. They do not dare to bring their vehicles on roads."

Local Taleban commander Mullah Muhammad Anas (not his real name), who claims to be appointed by the militia's so-called governing council to lead insurgency operations in Andar, claimed that the authorities are reluctant to confront his forces.

“Their strategy is to avoid the Taleban,” he said. “We see police in checkpoints along the roads standing idle. We pass by them constantly.”

According to Anas, the Taleban are winning in Andar, not only because of better equipment and tactics, but also due to the increasing support and growing sympathy of the population.

“We are gaining influence among the people,” he said. “We had very few sanctuaries in the district two years ago, but now there is a place for us in every village." Borhan Younus is a freelance reporter in Kabul.

People Power IWPR 04/25/2006 By Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi in Mazar-e-Sharif

Community-based development programme can boast some remarkable successes, but some say it falls short of its lofty rhetoric.

For Mohammad Jaan, nothing is more important than the four hours a day he spends at school. But up until a couple of years ago, the 14-year-old from the Daulatabad district of Balkh wouldn't have had the time for study, as he spent much of the day ferrying supplies of drinking water for his family.
"Now I spend the time at school, because the National Solidarity Programme has built a well in our village," he said, grinning. "My father spent his whole life saving us from thirst. But now my life will be different from my father's."

The National Solidarity Programme, NSP, which aims to reduce poverty and improve living standards in rural areas, was launched in August 2003, with the slogan "for the people, with the people, by the people".

At the heart of the initiative, coordinated by the ministry of rural rehabilitation and development, is community ownership of infrastructure projects: village residents elect community development councils – consisting of between five to 15 members – which select projects for funding, decides on who will implement them, and monitors progress.

The consortium of donors behind the programme - which includes the World Bank, the European Union, and the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Germany - had together pledged over 375 million US dollars to the project by August 2005.

By the end of last year, the NSP had spent a total of 166 million dollars, reaching 194 of Afghanistan's 364 districts – around 10,000 communities. To reach its target of 20,000 of the latter by June 2007, it will have to move ahead at full speed.

"We have not spent our allocated budget," said Fazel, a coordinator with the programme. "Since we started from zero, it was slower at the beginning - we need about four months to get a council to stand on its feet. But our plans are going quicker year by year and we are not far behind [schedule]."
According to Fazel, 6,900 communities will be added to the project in 2006, and the NSP will reach its target comfortably. Over the next five years, the rest of Afghanistan's districts will be drawn into the programme. For many of the villages that have benefited from the NSP, life has changed dramatically.
"We now have eight wells and a reservoir in our village," said Mohammad Hassan, a member of the local community development council in the village of Baghawi, in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul. "Water was our main problem, and no one had done anything for us."

The village is proud of its accomplishment, he said, and pleased that its residents had a say in the process. "These local councils are our own. They talk to us and ask us about our problems and we ourselves advise them what to do for us," he said.

In cases where the project chosen requires specialised skills, experts are brought in from one of 24 non-governmental organisations, NGOs, working with the NSP.

"All of these projects need specialists," said Engineer Najia, project coordinator for the NSP. "They include building bridges, roads, schools, flour mills, wells. The rural areas of Afghanistan have neither engineers nor experts, so the councils mostly implement the projects by the NGOs working within the NSP."

The local councils, she added, can monitor the NGOs and they have the authority to launch enquiries. In some villages people themselves implement the projects.

Mohammad Shah, who lives in Sar Asiab, a village in Balkh province, said the village was doing without NGOs. "We have built many things such as a well, a road and a bridge over the past two years," he said. "People work themselves, make money as well as build their village. This is a big opportunity for us."

But many people are not so enamoured of the NSP. "We really need a school and a health clinic," said Maulawi Qader, a resident of the village of Kishindi, also in Balkh. "We have been asking for three years, but the NSP just says that they do not have schools and clinics in their plan for the current year.
"Instead, they build bridges for people who have no rads." Another villager, Khair Mohammad, a council member in Baghawi, confirmed this. "I myself have given three jeribs [6,000 square metres] of land so that people can build a school," he said. "But when we asked the NSP, they said they don't have schools in their plan. "We do not trust any government programmes. We don't need any bridges, yet they are building them for us."

Najia acknowledged that there were problems in some areas. "Most of the time when we put the request for a school in to the ministry of education, they say they cannot provide teachers. So we tell people that we have to postpone building a school and make them focus on other development projects," she said.

Health clinics present a similar problem when there are no doctors to staff them. "Building a hospital or clinic without [medics] is useless," said Fazel. "In areas where people have asked for clinics, the health ministry may not have personnel."

The NSP concentrates on infrastructure, he said, rather than other necessities such training or operating expenses. The amount given to each village is calculated on the basis of 200 dollars per family.

"If we use the money for teachers' salaries or generator fuel, it will soon run out," said Fazel. "We are trying to have people spend the money on infrastructure so that they'll have something permanent."

But Najia said the NSP has done more than just build wells and bridges - it has increased the capacity of villages to run themselves. "At first people in rural communities knew nothing about how to get anything done," she said. "But now they are able to organise development projects in their villages. Certainly there are many problems - it is a new programme. But we will solve them gradually."

Corruption eroding Afghan security

Violence is spreading beyond the restive south, fueled in large part by poor governance, say analysts. CSMonitor 28 April 06 - By David Montero | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Nearly five years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan's security situation continues to be dragged down by endemic corruption, roving militias, and a growing nexus between narco-warlords and remnants of the Taliban, officials and analysts say.

The melting snows of spring often bring an uptick in violence, as rebels emerge from their mountain redoubts. Yet there are indications of a deepening instability beyond the seasonal surge. More than 70 foreign troops, mostly Americans, have been killed this past year, making it the deadliest period since the conflict began. Violence, meanwhile, seems to be spreading beyond the volatile south, encroaching on areas formerly considered outside the zones of conflict.

"What is often labeled as Taliban violence is not," says Joanna Nathan, a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group in Kabul. "It's a whole set of fluid alliances, cross- border attacks from Pakistan, drugs, tribal feuds, and of course the Taliban."

What these security issues have in common, she and others say, is the poor governance and official corruption among provincial governors, police chiefs, and others tasked with securing the country and bringing development. The implication: Stabilizing the country increasingly means providing better government.

"The state we're in now is because of the policy decision to co-opt those people who in the past committed human rights abuses. There's a culture of impunity. They continue in many cases to abuse the rights of people under them," says Ms. Nathan, adding that this not only causes violent flare-ups, but creates sympathy for the Taliban. These troubles, she says, are by no means limited to the south. "There are drug problems in the north, tribal problems, sheer criminality."

In the past, violence rarely spilled beyond the south, where NATO troops are slowly replacing US forces. But recent attacks have cropped up in the north and west, too:

• Rockets slammed into a nongovernmental organization and a house in the northeastern province of Badakhshan on Tuesday when militants protesting poppy eradication missed a police station. No casualties were reported.

• Also on Tuesday, two bomb blasts along the road to Kabul's airport wounded three people. That followed a powerful rocket attack near the US Embassy and the presidential palace on April 19, wounding one Afghan security contractor.

• Bomb blasts were reported Saturday outside a politician's home 30 miles west of the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif.

• And the prosperous western province of Herat, once considered a model of stability, was rocked by a suicide bombing in early April, killing two Afghans outside a NATO compound.

"We do have a problem in the south, but it is spreading north. The path for these activities in the north has already formed," says Gen. Hilaluddin Hilal, the former deputy minister of the Interior Ministry, and now a member of parliament.

Many governors and chiefs of police, rather than confronting the Taliban and neutralizing drug lords, are increasingly intertwined with them, either for political or monetary gain, some analysts say. Amid the lawlessness, military intelligence has become a political game, a tool for blackmail or settling old scores, analysts allege.

President Hamid Karzai has replaced or re-assigned a number of governors in an effort to tackle these problems, which have plagued Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. Badsha Khan, for example, once the governor of Paktia Province, was removed in 2002 amid allegations of corruption and passing information to US forces that led to the bombing of his political enemies.

In the northern Balkh Province, Gov. Atta Mohammad Nur sacked several officials this February for their alleged involvement in the drug trade, including the district government head, the chief of police, the chief of security, the chief of staff, and the prosecutor.

But many such types remain. "There is probably no smoking gun, and it might be not be easy to present [a] case before a court," says one Western diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "But the names of quite a few of these people are well known."

Government officials insist they are cracking down, but Kabul's writ is still weak in many places. Even the more sanguine government officials, when speaking off the record, say that collusion between governors and the Taliban has hampered counterterrorism. Many villagers have little incentive to cooperate, officials say, when they see their government representatives siding with the enemy.

More than breeding resentment, corruption is playing into the hands of the Taliban. "[P]eople had the expectation that the government would do something for them, that their lives would improve. But it didn't happen," says Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketi, a former Taliban commander who is now a member of Parliament. "When people get disappointed, it benefits the Taliban."

Others agree, saying that such widespread corruption and lawlessness was what brought the Taliban to power in the first place in 1995.

Remedies, such as there are, include more concerted efforts to disarm illegal militias. So far, some 60,000 people have been disarmed under a UN initiative, but many observers say greater resources and political will need to be put toward this effort. The arrival of NATO troops in the south might also bolster security, provided that such an effort is coupled with serious commitments to governance and nation-building.

Soldier hit by axe asks to return to duty- Apr. 28, 2006. CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER — A Canadian soldier recovering from a near-fatal axe attack mustered up the strength earlier this week to whisper to a doctor that he wanted to go back to Afghanistan to complete his mission.

The doctor then told Trevor Greene what happened to him, but the soldier's father says he suspects his son is disappointed he won't be able to fulfil his mission in Afghanistan despite the brutal attack that almost killed him.

Richard Greene said Friday his son had no idea that an axe-wielding Afghani youth had attacked him from behind until the doctor explained to him precisely how he landed in hospital.

"He asked the doctor if he would go back to Afghanistan once he recovered from these injuries and that was the key on Wednesday for the doctor to inform him of what happened and the fact that he will not be recovered until the deployment is back in Canada," Greene said.

The doctor told his son that treatment would be ongoing and that the healing would progress slowly.

"He accepted that," Greene said. "He's discussing it and he's coping with it. I'm sure that he's very, very disappointed that this happened and he's not over there doing the work that he was trained for.

"He was blindsided, he was hit from behind so he doesn't really know what happened. We know what happened. We've been informed of exactly what happened, step by step, by military personnel."

Greene, 41, is recovering at Vancouver General Hospital, where he was transferred after a brief stay at a U.S. military facility in Landstuhl, Germany. He was attacked March 4 while sitting down for what he thought would be a friendly gathering of elders in an Afghanistan village.

`A Virgin Market' - By Ann Marlowe 26 April 2006 The Wall Street Journal

KABUL -- The recent Yale graduate I was chatting with at a party here spoke Chinese and had lived in China, the seeming epicenter of all things capitalist. "Why did you decide to come to Afghanistan?" I asked. He stared at me. "This is the largest rebuilding and development effort in the history of the world. Who wouldn't want to be here?"

After decades of conflict and the crippling legacies of communism and fundamentalism, Afghanistan is finally open for business. The signs are everywhere, from Kabul's traffic jams to Mazar-i-Sharif's building boom; from the opening of a Coca-Cola bottling plant to the country's first private university, the American University of Afghanistan, offering programs in business administration and information technology.

According to the World Bank, Afghanistan is ranked 16th among 145 countries for ease of opening an enterprise. The Afghan Investment Support Agency, the one-stop shop for investing in Afghanistan with streamlined business registration, reports that 754 foreign companies have registered investments of $1.3 billion in Afghanistan; some well-known names include Siemens (rehabilitating dams) and Serena Hotels (Kabul's first five-star). There are 13 private banks, including Standard Chartered Bank, Commerzbank-affiliated Kabul Bank, and ING-managed Afghanistan International Bank. A third mobile phone company, Lebanon's Investcom, will launch service in Kabul in June, having paid $40 million for its 15-year operating license. At least $100 million will be invested in cement manufacturing in 2006.

Writers of a certain ideological stripe whine that because Afghanistan isn't Switzerland, it's yet another sign that the U.S. can't get anything right. But fortunes are being made here by those who think for themselves. And there are few countries where Americans are as welcome. A recent BBC poll reports that 72% of Afghans see American influence as positive, as opposed to just 25% of the French and 21% of Germans.

The security situation is far better than the media and the $500-a-day security companies would have you believe. British-educated Minister of Communications Amirzai Sangin notes that Americans are losing opportunities due to fears about security: "There is potential for five mobile companies here. The fact that Investcom paid $40 million for their license -- and that another company is in negotiations with us now -- should give you the assurance that there is security here. We have 3,700 employees in every one of the 34 provinces and to date no person has been killed or kidnapped."

Since the kidnapping of an Italian woman in May 2005, there have been no attacks on foreigners in Kabul -- no robberies, kidnappings, assaults or murders. In fact, part of the problem is that because Afghans don't see the situation in most of their country as unsafe, they haven't addressed the outsider perception. As a Western-educated Afghan who sees it from both sides told me, "What Afghanistan needs to do right away is to hire a good PR firm to tell people that it's safe to come here!"

Afghanistan is also making encouraging steps toward self-sufficiency. In 2005, Minister of Finance Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady explained, "domestic revenue paid for more than 60% of the operating budget of Afghanistan for the year ended March 2006, up from 48% in 2005. The majority of this is from customs revenue but we are slowly building a tax base." According to the IMF, gross domestic product increased 22.5% between 2002 and 2004; 14% growth is predicted for this year. The government says it will be able to fund the operating budget within nine years. The trade-off now is balancing the IMF/World Bank goals of quickly reducing donor dependence with the need to attract large investors -- and reward those who are already here.

Minister Ahady is a fast-talking, intense 54-year-old, educated in the U.S. and previously an American professor of political science. He has an unusual willingness among Afghan civil servants to court controversy. Recently, for instance, the Ministry of Finance with its USAID privatization advisers did something almost unimaginable a few years ago: They went around the country on a roadshow explaining to Afghan businessmen how to bid on State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) being sold off. Most of these entities are valuable mainly for their land, although some are going concerns. Others have quasi-monopolistic positions that the government doesn't want to lose but doesn't want to run. But to a nation accustomed to paternalistic and then communist rule, SOE privatization is a huge step.

And larger privatization moves are on the way. Minister Sangin, who has a substantial background in the private sector, explained that a decision will be made later in the year to either privatize or seek a strategic partner for Afghan Telecom, a landline phone company, which was spun out from Ministry of Communications ownership in September 2005. With installed capacity for 165,000 lines and a so far unique ability to deliver Internet access, some experts believe it could be sold for hundreds of millions. The ministry will also be selling its 20% stake in AWCC, a successful mobile telecom company.

In 2005, the tax system was revamped and the monopoly of the state-owned insurance company eliminated, and the battle began to eliminate the many nuisance taxes imposed by quasi-governmental entities called "tassadies." The new laws aren't perfect -- much of the business community thinks the flat 20% tax rate is twice as high as it should be, and even the Ministry of Finance people think the insurance situation needs work. But there is a lot for business to be happy about: the most accelerated depreciation rates in the region (two years for equipment and four years for real property); 100% deductibility of dividends; and unlimited Net Operating Loss carryforwards. As Hedayat Amin-Arsala, the genial minister of commerce, quipped, "Of course the business community would prefer that there be no taxes at all."

Frank Chapman, CFO of Roshan, the dominant Afghan telecom company and Afghanistan's largest company and taxpayer, says, "Given the risk environment here, the tax burden is still very high. If we had a purely profit motivation [Roshan is 51% owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development], we might not have come here, but we have been a lot more successful than we anticipated. Roshan is committed to Afghanistan's long-term development."

One of the most prominent businessmen, Saad Mohseni, who has started a media empire that includes radio and TV stations, an ad agency and a magazine, suggests a 10% rate and nearly no other corporate taxes. "Afghanistan's ambitions to become a regional banking, trading and manufacturing hub could depend entirely on the taxation regime," he says. Nevertheless, Mr. Chapman says that "the situation has improved a lot and they are making progress; Minister Ahady has supported some very good initiatives. One of his advisors, John McDonald, has started a number of working groups between business and the Ministry dealing with tax issues."

Mr. McDonald, an eloquent advocate of the ministry's commitment to an investor-friendly environment, explained that he'd taken a year's leave from his Chicago practice as a Baker & McKenzie tax partner "because I felt I needed to serve my country in some capacity while it is at war." He continued: "The big companies that are here are providing a slipstream for other businesses to come in. They are fulfilling a social goal by making a profit and showing the way. If big business is willing to stick it out, there's tremendous opportunity here. Afghanistan is not Iraq. Kinko's should be here. Although," he added, "there's no copyright law here yet." In his view, the biggest barriers to investment currently are the rule of law -- there is no secured interest in loans for assets within Afghanistan, so it is much more difficult for banks to collect on a default -- and the land-title issue. Under the constitution, foreigners can only lease rather than own land, but in Kabul the titles for many properties are missing after 23 years of war. Minister Ahady is quick to add that there are also major power supply issues that will take a couple of years to iron out.

It's worth noting, though, that while foreigners tend to stick close to the dozens of expat-oriented restaurants of Kabul, much of the real economic action takes place in the provinces, where land titles are less confused. Whereas Kabul is without power most of the day (businesses and foreigners have generators), the situation is much better in the secondary cities of Herat and Mazar. And while Afghans lack education and management skills, their culture values honor and honesty. First MicroFinance Bank has made 9,000 loans, and its plan is to double the number each year. "It is likely that some of these borrowers have died, in a country with a life expectancy of 45, but somehow every loan has been repaid," says FMB's Bruno de Goy.

These problems are part of the price paid to enter what Minister Ahady calls "a virgin market." Some of the things Afghanistan doesn't have: a functioning cement factory, private planes for rent, a bowling alley, drive-yourself car rental agencies, a fast-food chain, a full domestic postal service, a plastics factory, a ski resort, a coffee shop chain or drive-in movie theaters. And Kinko's. The obvious and not so obvious potential opportunities are enormous.

Unfortunately Americans are slow to realize this. That young Yale grad I talked to at the Kabul party is a Canadian.

Ms. Marlowe is the author of "The Book of Trouble" (Harcourt, 2006), a memoir.

Turkmen President proposes new scheme of electric power supply to Afghanistan - Turkmenistan.ru 04/25/2006

Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov received today the Afghan official delegation headed by Mohammed Ismail, Minister of Energy and Water Resources of this country. As the Ashgabat correspondent of Turkmenistan.ru reports, the Afghan delegation was composed of Muhammad Ismail, Minister for Power and Water Resources, Muhammad Jalil Shams, Deputy Minister for Power, and Thomas Heinz of USAID Energy Group.

According to the Turkmen State News Service (TDH), a wide range of Turkmen-Afghan relations was discussed. Special attention was paid to the cooperation in the power sector, and particularly to increasing power supply from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and construction of new power transmission lines.

On considering the request of the Afghan side, Saparmurat Niyazov proposed a new scheme of supplying Turkmen electric power along the extended network of the supply ring, including Turkmenistan-Herat-Kandahar-Kabul-Mazar-e-Sharif-Herat. The Turkmen leader emphasized that the Turkmen side would construct 350 km Power Transmission Line LEP-500 from Mary Power Station to the Turkmen-Afghan border at its own expense. Such approach with simultaneous development of power supply systems in Afghnaistan would allow for up to 800 megawatt of power supply to Afghanistan.

The Afghan Power Minister fully supported the Turkmen President's initiative and stressed that the Afghan side currently constructs separate lines of the system that could become the integral part of the indicated power network.

During the meeting, the Afghan debt for the supplied Turkmen power and construction of power facilities carried out by Turkmenistan in Afghanistan were also considered. Demonstrating the good will and with a view to help the Afghan state, Saparmyurat Niyazov said that he made a decision to slash the debt by 50%. The Afghan side promised to pay the remaining part of its debt by the end of this year, and these funds will be spent by the Turkmen side for construction of the power facilities on the Turkmen-Afghan border.

Discussing the cooperation in water management, the Turkmen leader proposed to construct a joint trans-border dam-reservoir at the Murghab River for the mutually beneficial use of water resources of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Mohammed Ismail, having underscored the importance of this project, spoke for the urgent necessity of preparing the project.

TDH also reports that draft agreements on cooperation in the sphere of power supply and on construction of the dam on the Murghab River will be signed during the Afghan President's visit to Ashgabat. The visit is likely to take place in October 2006 during the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the independence of Turkmenistan. President Niyazov extended formal invitation to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

Stolen US military secrets on sale in Afghanistan - April 28, 2006

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AFP) - Computer disks stolen from a US base in Afghanistan said to contain military secrets are on sale in a bazaar despite an ongoing investigation and a security clampdown, witnesses said.

Dozens of memory chips are openly displayed for sale in shops at the public bazaar in Bagram, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Kabul, where the base is located.

The US military spokesman at Bagram Air Base, Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick, said the scam was being investigated, but did not rule out that discs containing sensitive information were still being smuggled out.

"I think it's possible," Fitzpatrick said. "Bagram and other coalition bases are taking significant steps to investigate and to review and update policies regarding the physical security of materials."

Earlier this month the Los Angeles Times reported the information included classified military assessments of enemy targets, names of Afghan officials alleged to be corrupt and details of American defences and personnel.

The data was smuggled out of the main US military base at Bagram on flash memory drives stolen from computers by Afghan cleaners and garbage collectors working inside the compound, the paper said.

The computer drives were sold in the bazaar along with other used goods, like knives and combat fatigues, it said. They fetched between 20 and 80 dollars.

Since the report, the US military has bought up several of the devices and tightened security, but a shopkeeper told AFP the information was still being smuggled out, mainly by Afghans working as laundry collectors.

"No one, but no one can stop them," the shopkeeper told AFP, requesting not to be identified by name. A man who works in the base, which is home to thousands of US soldiers, said the security was tight and any Afghan workers entering or leaving the base were being screened by guards at the gates.

"The search has become very tight since two weeks," said the worker, who asked not to be named. Shopkeepers did not allow potential buyers to check the contents and a source at the Bagram base said some of the disks were brand new, brought from Kabul in the hope of selling them back to American soldiers.

"I believe some of the equipments are unused and brought from other places such as Kabul. They (traders) bring them to trick US soldiers," the source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

The United States has some 19,000 troops running an anti-insurgency operation in Afghanistan since toppling the hardline Taliban in late 2001. Bagram is the force's main base in Afghanistan from where it coordinates and launches its strikes against Taliban and other militants.

Afghanistan: The Brief History Of Media Freedom

Amin Tarzi Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty April 28, 2006

The Afghan media environment appears to have embarked on an upward trend since the anomalous days of fundamentalist Taliban repression ended in October 2001. The media might, in fact, be poised for better days than at any other time in Afghan history. But ensuring a healthy, professional, and independent media will require the Afghan public and its officials to draw lessons from the past and critically evaluate the country's nascent media law.

Afghanistan's first experiment with an independent media sector began in the late 1940s and was restricted solely to newspapers. Prime Minister Shah Mahmud allowed relatively open elections and the establishment of what has come to be known as the "Liberal Parliament."

The new legislature soon passed a press law that led to the launching of several newspapers -- most of which were in opposition to the monarchy, the prime minister, or both. Conservative religious figures and their supporters in the government were the most frequent targets of attack. The experiment ended abruptly in 1953 when Mohammad Daud became prime minister and ordered the closure of independent newspapers.

The Post-1964 'Decade Of Democracy' - The country's second major experiment with independent media began with the promulgation of the 1964 Afghan Constitution by King Mohammad Zaher. That document ushered in what is commonly referred to as Afghanistan's "decade of democracy." The constitution decreed that "every Afghan has the right to express his thoughts in speech, in writing, in pictures, and by other means, in accordance with the provisions of the law." The 1964 constitution further states that every Afghan has the right to print and publish ideas in accordance with the law, without prior screening by state authorities.

The government soon promulgated the 1965 press law to regulate the media sector. That reiterated the constitutional guarantees, but it also forbade obscenity and any "matter implying defamation of the principles of Islam or defamatory to the King." While broadcast media remained the prerogative of the state, the number of independent newspapers mushroomed under the new legal framework.

The next media shake-up came in 1973, after Mohammad Daud led a coup d'etat that ended the country's monarchical system. The result was nearly three decades of intense strictures on a free media, culminating in the hard-line Taliban regime's crackdown until it was ousted by international military intervention in late 2001.

Since The Taliban Fell - The establishment of an internationally backed interim government in December 2001 ushered in dramatic changes for Afghanistan's media landscape. The Bonn Agreement that guided Afghan political life under the transitional period largely deferred to the 1964 constitution on issues of the press.

A new constitution followed in January 2004 which described freedom of expression as "inviolable" and guaranteed to every Afghan in the form of "speech, writing, illustration, or other means." It explicit prohibited the state from requiring a priori approval of "printed or published" materials.

The constitution also seeks to avoid arbitrary limitations on the media. It states that directives related to the dissemination of information -- whether in print or broadcast -- will be "regulated by law."

Two other clauses in the constitution indirectly influence media freedoms in Afghanistan. First, in Article 7, the state is obliged to abide by international conventions it has signed -- including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. More controversially, Article 3 stipulates that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam."

More recently, President Hamid Karzai issued a decree setting out a new law on mass media in December 2005 -- just days before the inauguration of the country's first directly elected legislature. But despite the odd timing and the resulting ambiguity, the document could enable Afghanistan to become a democratic state with a fully functioning -- and free -- mass media. However, that depends on the strength of the yet untested press-freedom commitment of those interpreting and enforcing the new law.

Apparent text of Pakistani president's speech to tribal leaders

Peshawar, 26 April: Following is the rendering into English of the speech of President Pervez Musharraf to the grand jerga [assembly of elders] of Federally Administrated Tribal Areas [FATA] here on Wednesday [26 April].

"I am very happy to see that all the elders and maliks (chieftains) have gathered here belonging to South, North Waziristan, Bajaur and other agencies. The country is proud of you .This I say every time and you also know about it and this has been also said in the address of welcome of Malik Waris Khan. You are people who always speak the truth and [you are] God fearing people.

It is in your traditions that whatever you speak, you also honour it with your heart and soul and these are your qualities. You are the brave people and gallantry is your tradition. It should not happen that the terrorists or the extremist elements should become brave and you should come under their pressure.

To become suppressed and fearful is not your tradition and the situation demands [of] you that you demonstrate bravery and gallantry. Stand up and join me, I will fight for you.

I am not demanding anything from you for myself but want your progress and prosperity. In the address of welcome you have demanded vacancies in the colleges.

You want development of your area and setting up of industries. This is no problem. With the grace of God Pakistan has progressed a lot and in terms of economy, Pakistan is so much advanced that we can do everything for your welfare.

Pakistan has attained a status in the community of nations and any country whom we will approach for help they will respond positively to our demand…

Think of your future generations. Do you want to see them move forward or pushing them backward to some old era? The grave problem of today is that we are standing at crossroads. The entire Pakistan and Pakistani nation, FATA and Frontier Province and if started from the basic level, the entire agency, and the entire nation (Pakistan) are standing at crossroads…

You must think what the country did for you and what you did for it. You have rendered great sacrifices for the country since 1947. It was really true and we realize it. This area was a cradle of peace. You have your own culture and traditions and you work and live according to it. You have your own system. You work according to these. It is a right path. But if there are some weaknesses in it. And some people violate them, and work against these and violate the agreements then what about it. If I make an agreement with you and it is violated from your side, then what is its worth. We should think over it and evolve a solution.

This is not your tradition and you people always speak the truth. Now we see what is the problem with your people and the problems is that some foreign elements which you call "Al-Qa'idah["] or whatever you call them have come to your area and hiding in your area.

Any person who is denying their presence is telling a lie because I know this is not an old age and it is an era of new technology and their movements can be watched and their discussions can be listened. First of all I will tell you that foreign elements are present.

There is another dangerous thing and the world calls it the Talebanization and it is a thinking of some people that the Taleban want to impose their ideas on others. No one has the right to impose his ideas on others. If you have ideas impose them on yourself and don't impose them on others.

No one should also not say that give up your ideas, he is also extremist. If some one say you to change your ideas don't do it and don't tell the same to others. Don't do anything forcefully and don't try to kill others.

I know there are extremists' ideas which include forbidding music, and watching television. If anybody who wants to watch TV let him watch and if you don't want to watch don't watch it.

There is not only extremism in the area but an armed action and militancy is taking place in the area. The people are being killed under this menace. We should control these both. All the people, elders, maliks and notables who are sitting here I am noting that there is some weakness in the control. We must inject power in it. If there is any deficiency, then the government is with you. It wants to empower you. There are two things which must be rectified and corrected. The first thing is that we must expel the terrorists.

The second problem is that we must eradicate extremism. If you can do this then the army can be pulled out and sent back to barracks. It is there to do this task and maintain peace and security. If you can do this and bring peace and order to the area, then today it is a day to make right decisions in this regard. We must think and make [the] right decision today. First of all we must decide that who is our true friend. All tribals should go back to their areas in the agencies to take along this message. Who is their true friend. Whether it is the foreigner who has come for personal purpose and vested agenda. Believe me that he is not doing any thing for your interest. He is putting you in danger.

He is defaming you in the whole world. I am talking about China who said that our friendship was higher [than the] Himalayas. It is [the] route of our friendship. This Karakoram Highway was our link. The Chinese leaders said that our friendship is taller than mountains and deeper than sea. But I am ashamed that the terrorists killed their persons in your area in our country. Foreign terrorist[s] are causing damage to your area and our country.

Tell the people that these foreign elements are not our friends and they will put you in danger. These elements are causing threats to your lives and our lives.

People say that [the] Bajaur incident harmed our sovereignty. I want to ask you that those who are sitting for years in our territory illegally without any passport or visa are they not harming our sovereignty, and they should also leave our country. It is our agreement with Afghanistan that forces which are operating in Afghanistan and those Pakistani forces which are working in our country will not enter each other's territory. You are a brave nation and warring nation but commonsense and those who deny the presence of foreign elements in your areas are wrong. You should first have the ability to face the threats.

The second thing is that what was the real essence of Islam. Whether it was brotherhood or killing, bombing innocents or commit[ting] suicide bombing. This all was not according to Islam. The suicide and killings were contrary to Islam. Islam preached moderation and not extremism. The middle way was the tolerance and to bear each other. We must show it in our actions. Recently 47 innocent persons were killed in Karachi. I asked the ulema [clerics] in Karachi that I am confused what to do. I asked the scholars to pray for these innocent people. God may rest their souls in eternal peace. He said those who committed this heinous act or who planned this terrorist act were doing very wrong and against the teachings of Islam. They are defaming Islam and doing no service of religion. They have defamed and given [the] wrong interpretation and image of Islam in outside world. Wherever I went outside the country I noted the wrong image about Islam in those countries.

President Musharraf said that some people do not read the Holy Koran like those who do not read Bible. I have not read Bible and we have not read about Buddhism.

Those people who don't read the Holy Koran view the Muslim only on the basis of how he acts. He said Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance and those foreign elements sitting in your houses in the tribal areas are causing damage to Islam.

These people are not presenting the true image of Islam you think that Islam teaches militancy and intolerance. He said we have to punish them who are damaging the name of Islam. We have to punish them who are damaging you and we have punish them who are damaging Pakistan. [preceding paragraph as carried]

I am seeking your support, I need your cooperation you should yourself deal [with] these elements and you have stated in your address of welcome that you want to proceed in accordance with the tribal customs and tradition and you are most welcome to do it. "I am with you," he said. [as carried] I say if you succeed we will withdraw our troops from here but I am telling you what you have to do.

The foreign elements have to be expelled to curb extremism. This extremism has to be stopped, he added. He stated that previous Corps Commander Gen Safdar had signed a peace agreement with Baitullah Masood and Nek Muhammad and army halted its operations and then what did they do. They did not honour the agreement and they stabbed [the army] in the back.

This was not in accordance with the Pashtun traditions. You also know they broke the agreement and again resorted to same activities, as a result Nek Muhammad was killed. You know what is Baitullah Masood doing now. He is telling lies. He is indulging in harmful activities, he will be dealt with.

If you take action according to traditions then I will support you and the army would make a ceasefire. You should dissociate yourself from these elements. If you are successful then the army will be pulled out. But if anybody [de]frauded with us then this process will not continue. The time has passed and we want on ground action now otherwise the army will continue its action. And I assure you that this all happening on the Afghan side, whether American or NATO or ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] will remain there. They will remain there for ten years and you will not be able to expel them. Then keep on fighting and damaging yourself.

Now I want to tell you that what we can do for you. The tribal elders have not asked for anything. I am thankful to them if they had wanted anything I would have given them then. First of all I want to assure you that the government was committed to the development of FATA. We want to do this and do it with the grace of God. The annual development has been enhanced five times from 1bn rupees to 5bn rupees but this is nothing. We want that we may spend at least 10bn rupees for the development of FATA. We have finances for it. We will spend this money and you must tell us how to spend it. Whether on schools, colleges, water supply or roads, you must ensure that the money would be spent in a proper way and organized manner, and make projects for them. Besides this, from US we have Reconstruction Opportunity Zone (ROZ), it means that any factory or industry installed in your area would have duty free access to the market.

It is a big achievement. All benefits would go to you there would be factories in your areas. Your export would be very high. The people will come and set up industries in your areas because its exports would be duty free. As compared to other countries if your production is cheaper then buyers would get it as it would be attractive. It was another factor. Besides this, we would spend rupees ten billion for your development. A plan has been made for this purpose. Your representative is the governor. Also FATA representatives are there, we will ask them for refining this project. Federal Minister Jehangir Tareen has made a good plan aimed at poverty alleviation, providing jobs and lessen[ing] unemployment. All your projects including industry, agriculture, water supply, education, health system, these all are included in this project. We have enough money and supply more money than 10bn rupees if it is required and is properly implemented.

There should be no doubt in anybody's mind that we will not do development works in those areas where disruptive activities were going on. First of all you should cooperate in this regard for maintenance of peace and order. In the area, where there will be more cooperation and improved law and order situation, more funds would be utilized. In the areas where there will be extremism and terrorism we will see to it. And when it is controlled we will spend money there. We will also ask the people of the area that what development they want. Whether they want development and take along coming generations on the path of progress and prosperity or the old pattern of extremism and terrorism which is harming them and also damaging Pakistan and image of Islam. It was crossroad, it is up to you which way you chose. The trend of fence-sitting has gone which meant extracting benefits from both sides while sitting in the middle of road. This era is not that one, either you should take one side or the other.

I know which side you are supporting. You all support us. You should talk about people's problems and the issues you are facing. You should face them with courage, seek our support and we are with you. I want to tell you that we had formed a committee headed by Sahibzada Imtiaz. We have asked them how we can strengthen political agent, FATA secretariat, how the provincial government can be attached to strengthen the system. In FATA efficient persons would be deployed as political agents. They would be provided with power in the form of Levies Force. In this force thousands of people would be provided job opportunities. The political agent must have Levies force to help you. Also the governor has a plan of agency council or jerga in each agency. It will comprise elders of the area so that they have a link with the political agent. Whatever help you want from political agent or government we will provide it to fight these terrorists. The political agent would provide force and we would back him up. The governor will himself see that the instructions which I have given to him, that whatever you want I informed him about it. I have also told you that whatever dangers we are facing, what hopes I have attached with you, what the nation wanted of you and what was good in your interest. And what you have to do for Islam, that is for your religion. I want promise from you about these things and not to just raise your hands…

[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.]