In this bulletin:

• Attacker dies in failed assault on coalition convoy in southern Afghanistan
• Government official shot dead in south Afghanistan
• Explosive device destroyed before Coalition compound in Kabul
• Afghanistan opposes missile names
• Afghanistan urges Pakistan to stop naming missiles after its heroes
• Kabul Says Taliban List Presented To Islamabad
• UN envoy to Afghanistan gives priority to human rights, capacity building
• UNAMA's top leader optimistic about Afghanistan's future security situation
• NATO will be in Afghanistan for years: military chief
• Afghanistan needs help for 10 years, NATO nations told
• Afghanistan: A U.S. Commitment 'For The Very Long Term'
• Pak, Afghan, US trilateral commission to meet on Feb 25
• India spreads its net for gas, any gas
• Efforts against bird flu insufficient
• Canadians send Afghan boy with cancer to Pakistan for specialized care
• Reservist Goes to Trial in Afghanistan

Attacker dies in failed assault on coalition convoy in southern Afghanistan Thursday, February 23rd, 2006 Brandon Sun

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - A suicide attacker drove a car loaded with explosives into a coalition military convoy in southern Afghanistan Thursday, but the bomb failed to detonate, an Afghan official said.

Coalition forces killed the attacker when he got out of the car and threw grenades at a heavy jeep in the convoy, said Obaidullah Khan, chief of Shawali Kot district in Kandahar province where the attack happened around 1 p.m. local time. No coalition troops were hurt, he said.

Government official shot dead in south Afghanistan

KABUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- A local official was shot dead by unknown armed men Thursday morning in the troubled southern province of Helmand in Afghanistan, local official said.

"Armed men gunned down Mohammad Zarin, the administrative chief of Nad Ali district, at 8 a.m. (3:30 a.m. GMT) this morning on his way to office," district police chief Abdul Rahman told Xinhua.

He blamed no group or individual for the attack and Taliban hasyet to make any comment. Over 1,500 people had been killed in Taliban-led militancy in 2005 and some 100 people have died in militias attacks so far thisyear.

Explosive device destroyed before Coalition compound in Kabul

KABUL, Feb. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. troops destroyed an explosive device Wednesday night in front of the heavily secured Coalition compound in Afghan capital Kabul, a local official said.

"This afternoon at about 4 p.m. (11:30 a.m. GMT) a suspected explosive was found in front of the Coalition compound which led to the full block of the way. After five hours' work, U.S. troops destroyed the explosive in the area," a local police officer told Xinhua.

Many foreign soldiers from International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and local policemen have already been there to cordoned off the area for the security.

The explosion site is a heavily secured area in which Coalition compound, UN compound and French embassy are located, and only 300 meters far away from the presidential palace. The investigation about the person and the time to put the explosive is still going on.

Taliban militants, vowed to drive all the foreign troops out of Afghanistan, have intensified attacks against them since the beginning of last year.

In a bomb explosion Wednesday afternoon targeting ISAF troops in the northern Kunduz province, two Afghan persons were killed, and 14 others including a German soldier were injured.

About 20,000 strong U.S.-led Coalition forces and 10,000 ISAF troops stayed in Afghanistan for the further peace keeping and anti-terrorism operations since the collapse of Taliban in late 2001. This year U.S. military planned to withdraw about 3,000 its troops while the vacancy will be replaced by 6,000 more ISAF soldiers.

Afghanistan opposes missile names - By Mark Dummett - BBC News, Kabul

Afghanistan has asked the Pakistani military to stop naming its nuclear missiles after the heroes of Afghan history. Information Minister Sayed Makhdum Rahin said he had sent a letter to Islamabad requesting they avoid naming weapons after Afghanistan's rulers and emperors.

"Their names should be bracketed with academic, cultural and peace-promoting institutions, not with tools of destruction and killing," he said. "World-famous Afghans, like (Mahmud) Ghaznawi, (Ahmad Shah) Abdali and (Shahabuddin) Ghauri, had spread knowledge and civilisation from Afghanistan to the subcontinent of India," he added.

The Ghaznawi, Abdali and Ghauri missiles - capable of carrying nuclear warheads - were developed by Pakistan to counter the threat posed by its arch-rival India's nuclear arsenal.

The missiles are a source of huge national pride in Pakistan, which named them after Muslim conquerors who defeated Hindu rulers and governed parts of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Only last week its nuclear weapons programme tested the short range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, the Haft-II Abdali, named after the founder of the powerful Durrani dynasty, which helped shape modern Afghanistan.

The Ghauri missile, designed to threaten major cities across India, is named after Mohammed Ghauri, who in 1192 defeated a Rajput Hindu king near to where the Pakistan-India border now runs.

The Ghaznavid missile is named after Mahmud Ghaznavi, who was never defeated on the battlefield, and conquered Punjab in 1021. Pakistan has refused to comment. Rahin said Pakistan was welcome to use the names for peaceful things like monuments and conference rooms. Many Afghans believe Pakistan interferes too much in its internal affairs.

Relations have been damaged by the presence of Taleban and al-Qaeda-led militants in the Pashtun tribal areas on both sides of the border. Last week Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Islamabad to urge Pakistan do more to crack down on the militants.

Afghanistan urges Pakistan to stop naming missiles after its heroes
Thursday February 23

KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan's government said it had asked neighboring Pakistan to stop naming its nuclear-capable missiles after Afghan heroes.

Kabul had also asked Islamabad in a letter to consider renaming its current Ghauri and Abdali missiles, named after conquerors of parts of the subcontinent, Information and Culture Minister Sayed Makhdom Raheen told AFP on Thursday.

Mohammad Ghauri was a 12th-century Muslim conqueror of India who came from Afghanistan. The 18th-century Pashtun king Ahmad Shah Abdali led several invasions into India and founded the first Pashtun dynasty in 1748.

Pakistan also has a missile named after Mahmud Ghaznavi, who lived in the 11th century and invaded modern-day India as many as 17 times. He died in Ghazni in southern Afghanistan in 1030.

"Afghan kings and emperors such as Ghauri, Abdali and Ghaznavi spread art and civilization across the sub-continent," the minister told AFP. "Their names should not be used for tools of war and killing."

Afghanistan would not mind if Pakistan used the names of Afghan heroes on their peaceful inventions, Raheen said.

Pakistan has developed its nuclear arsenal amid a half-century standoff with its historic rival India. The neighbours have already fought three wars and routinely carry out tests of nuclear-capable missiles.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad meanwhile are tense over an insurgency in Afghanistan, blamed by Afghan officials in large part on militants based in Pakistan.

The Afghan government has demanded that Pakistan do more to crack down on the militants, who are linked to the ousted Taliban regime and the Al-Qaeda terror network.

Kabul Says Taliban List Presented To Islamabad - RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Nawid Ahmad Moez told Radio Free Afghanistan on 21 February that Kabul related "at the highest level" to the Pakistani authorities specific information on people believed to be involved in terrorism in Afghanistan. Moez said the information did not include an alphabetical list of names, but rather the names of the people of concern for Afghanistan were included as part of the evidence presented to the Pakistanis.

Afghan deputy presidential spokesman Siamak Herawi told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on 21 February that he is surprised by Islamabad's announcement that it does not have a list of wanted fugitives from the Afghan government.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that during his recent trip to Islamabad, he gave his hosts a list of enemies of Afghanistan in Pakistan, but Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneen Aslam denied receiving such a list. According to Herawi, the Afghan delegation presented Pakistani officials with evidence of activities aimed at destabilizing Afghanistan, including the names of Taliban members allegedly living in Pakistan.

UN envoy to Afghanistan gives priority to human rights, capacity building

KABUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The newly appointed envoy of the UN secretary general to Afghanistan said Thursday that human rights and capacity building would be his priorities during his mission in the post-war nation.

"I have a priority for human rights implementation and I thinkin the development field what is most needed is capacity development," Tom Koenigs said at Meet the Press program.

The former German diplomat also noted that he would work on theabove subjects to help the war-ravaged country's recovery.

"I would work to orient our action into these two directions, which does not mean that I would neglect anything else," he emphasized.

His remarks came amid increasing reports of women rights violation and Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission over the induction of former commanders and warlords in important government departments.

"We all want justice, the people want it and the internationalcommunity wants it," the former commissioner of human right policy in the German government said. "Each and every donor, each and every organization who supporthuman rights and equality has to support women rights in Afghanistan," he told a questioner.

The Afghan government in its national development strategy for the next five years presented to London conference under Afghanistan Compact called for more international support.

The Afghanistan Compact is a framework for future partnership between the Afghan government and the international community to bolster the country's security, economic development and counter-narcotics efforts.

To achieve the goals of the Afghanistan Compact, the international community pledged 4.5 billion U.S. dollars to be disbursed over the next two years.

"Afghanistan Compact, which has been agreed between the international community and Afghan government, set priorities. These are in the field of human rights, in the field of security and in the field of development. These are my priorities too," Koenigs pointed out.

Koenigs, who assumed his new post early this month, said that Afghanistan would gradually recover from devastation and rebuild its economy.

"I am optimistic that Afghanistan comes out of the debt of wareconomy into a peace economy," he noted. The veteran UN diplomat linked the economic recovery of the war-torn Afghanistan to establishing friendly relations with its neighbors.

"For the development of economy of Afghanistan being in the middle of six immediate neighbors, development of trade and relations to these neighbors is vital," he noted. He also added that the United Nations would do everything to improve the relations between Afghanistan and its immediate and regional neighbors. Enditem

UNAMA's top leader optimistic about Afghanistan's future security situation Source: Xinhua

The new special representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ( UNAMA) has expressed his optimism about the security situation in Afghanistan.

"People on all levels have to understand security is most needed for all other development. I do hope and I am always optimistic that those who desagree pronounce disagreement in a peaceful form, because the election has given the poossibility to oppose in a democratic and peaceful form, and make the point of someone who disagrees in a legal way," Tom Koenigs said in his meeting with media guys in the UN compound here Thursday.

Answering the question about the security situation in Afghanistan, Koenigs said "The security situation changes everyday, ...One of the main problems for economic and social development is the security situation."

Koenigs also showed his concern about the attacks against schools and teachers in the country. "I can't understand why anyone would target schools and teachers. These attacks amount to a denial of human rights and education to the children of Afghanistan. The United Nations will help reopen schools that have been attacked as soon as possible," the UN official said.

Tom Koenigs has benn appointed by United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan as his Special Representative for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

NATO will be in Afghanistan for years: military chief - Thu Feb 23

LONDON (AFP) - Afghanistan has "huge problems" and     NATO troops will be in the country for "years and years", the commander of Canada's forces in Afghanistan told a British newspaper in an interview.

Major General Michel Gauthier, who’s Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, has taken a lead role in the hostile south of the country, made the warning to The Guardian daily.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is due to increase by about 6,000 troops in the coming months to number 16,000 to deploy in southern Afghanistan, where a US-led coalition of about 20,000 soldiers has been leading counter-insurgency operations.

The incoming soldiers will be charged with reconstruction and fighting the drug trade in Helmand province, where remnants of the former Taliban regime and fighters loyal to     Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terror network and opium growers persist.

The build-up of NATO troops in southern Afghanistan over the coming months is the alliance's "biggest operational, and perhaps strategic, challenge in years, if not decades," Gauthier said on Thursday.

He said southern Afghanistan was an "unpermissive environment" and the country was facing "huge problems". Asked if NATO troops would be in Afghanistan for decades, he replied: "For years and years".

A bomb fixed to a bicycle struck a convoy of NATO peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing one person and wounding 13 others including a German soldier.

ISAF troops are frequent targets of an insurgency blamed primarily on militants allied to the hardline Taliban government ousted in a US-led campaign in late 2001.

The insurgency, which has seen a rash of suicide blasts in the past months, has been focused on eastern and southern Afghanistan from where the ultraconservative Taliban rose to control most of the country by 1996.

The major general predicted there would be fewer suicide attacks than at present. They were "counter-cultural" to Afghans, the majority of whom wanted a peaceful and better life.

"What is clear, [is that] narcotics, criminality, terrorism and insurgency, are all linked," he added.

Afghanistan needs help for 10 years, NATO nations told - PAUL KORING

WASHINGTON -- Canada and other NATO nations need to be ready for a long, dangerous commitment to Afghanistan, said General Ray Henault, chairman of the alliance's military committee.

"It's an ambitious undertaking for NATO but Afghanistan is Job 1," he said.

But Gen. Henault, a former Canadian chief of defence staff, declined to offer casualty estimates as Canadian, Dutch and British troops move into remote and contested areas of southern Afghanistan where U.S. forces have been suffering a steady stream of killed and wounded in combat operations.

"The consequences have to be clearly laid on the table for nations, and that includes the possibility that there will be casualties," Gen. Henault said during a two-day visit to Washington, where he conferred with top U.S. commanders before heading to Ottawa for meetings today with the new Canadian Conservative government.

"We're saying to nations that this will be a task for NATO for 10 years or so," Gen. Henault warned. He said he was confident NATO nations providing troops knew what they were getting into.

Canadian troops have already come under repeated attacks as they attempt to take over the volatile Kandahar region in southern Afghanistan, once the heartland of the now-ousted Taliban regime, which sheltered Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group. To date, only one Canadian civilian, a senior diplomat, has been killed but several soldiers have been gravely injured.

Sending forces to Afghanistan is risky. These "decisions are not taken lightly by any of the nations involved," Gen. Henault said, although he acknowledged that it remains to be seen whether governments will pull back if casualties mount, as happened among U.S.-led coalition allies in Iraq.

The general, the top-ranking Canadian military officer in Brussels, said he was confident NATO would successfully make the transition from a static, Cold War, defensive posture to mobile, responsive forces fit for 21st-century security needs.

"It's not your granddaddy's NATO, " Gen. Henault said. "NATO is there to counter terrorism, . . . to assist failing or failed states," and to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, he said. That's not just an echo of Bush administration doctrine but rather NATO policy, agreed to by all 26 nations.

"That's why we are there," the general said, "to make sure Afghanistan doesn't turn back into a breeding ground for terrorists." the general said in an interview after talks at the Pentagon.

Afghanistan: A U.S. Commitment 'For The Very Long Term' - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty;

21 February 2006 The United Nations' Security Council on 15 February unanimously expressed its support for the "Afghanistan Compact," under which international donors promised on 1 February to provide long-term help to the Afghan government. That sign of support for the Kabul government comes at a time when a rise in violence and renewed strains in Afghanistan's relationship with Pakistan are again throwing the spotlight on the fragility of efforts to rebuild the country.

Nazira Karimi of RFE/RL's Afghanistan Service asked a U.S. congressman familiar with Afghanistan, James Colby from Arizona, for his reflections on the overall situation in Afghanistan. RFE/RL: How do you see Afghanistan now, almost four years after the reconstruction process started? Do you think it has benefited the population at large, especially women and the young? James Colby: Well, I have been in Afghanistan on several occasions, most recently two months ago, in November and December. We had an opportunity to visit some of the schools that have recently been opened.

I was struck by what I regarded as the courage of some of the teachers that we listened to and heard from, who all through the Taliban years -- secretly in their homes -- continued to teach young girls. They would put a sign out that would say 'Cooking Lessons' or 'Sewing Lessons' or 'Koran Lessons' but they were also teaching them academic subjects. They were teaching them reading and writing and math. So they kept the kernel of education alive for these girls in those years so the Afghan nation did not lose as much as it would have done otherwise. Many of these teachers suffered greatly when they were caught by the Taliban.

Some died, others were imprisoned and punished in other ways…Today it's wonderful to go to schools and see the girls learning -- at a younger age -- right alongside the young boys, and, as they get older, in their own schools of course but having the same educational opportunities, the same programs for learning that young men have. RFE/RL: The government of President Hamid Karzai has never had very easy relations with Pakistan due to the recent history of relations between the two countries. However, during his latest trip to Pakistan, President Karzai appeared to take a harder line than before.

What do you think could have caused that? And how does that reflect on relations between the United States and Pakistan? Colby: We believe that President [Pervez] Musharraf of Pakistan has been a good ally for the United States in the war on terror, since, less than three days after the terrible events of 11 September, President Musharref pledged his support for this fight against terror.

And while not everything perhaps has been perfect, at least as it relates to the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, we've seen enormous changes take place in Pakistan. The Pakistani-Indian relationship is infinitely better today than it was then and I think the Pakistani-Afghan relationship is better today.

But there are literally centuries of hard feelings and enmities that have to be overcome. But in the end Pakistan has to understand that it is in [its] interests to have a stable government in Afghanistan [and] a stable and growing economy because they will have great opportunities to trade and export to that country. RFE/RL: In Afghanistan we heard for years about wars, interethnic and interregional fighting but never about suicide bombings.

Is this the effect of the war in Iraq? Colby: Suicide bombers are something that it is very hard for those of us in the West to understand; [it is very difficult to understand] the mentality of [people who] would destroy themselves, kill themselves and, more importantly, kill innocent women and children who have done nothing that is wrong. So we deplore that and we hope that this does not become a trend that becomes larger in Afghanistan, as it has in Iraq.

We believe we are going to defeat this insurgency, this suicide bombing, in Iraq. But we certainly hope it does not begin in Afghanistan in a major way. RFE/RL: With Iraq proving a bigger burden on the U.S. budget than anticipated, how committed will the United States remain to Afghanistan? Colby: There is no question that this government is committed to a long-term relationship with Afghanistan and I am certain that, regardless of what administration follows President Bush, there will be a similar commitment. This a commitment that we understand is there for the very long term.

Pak, Afghan, US trilateral commission to meet on Feb 25

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Online: Pakistan, Afghanistan and United States trilateral commission will meet in Afghan city of Khost on February 25 to discuss border affairs and other related matters.

The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held today (Thursday) but was postponed due to some unavoidable circumstances now it would be held on February 25. High military officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan and United States will attend the meeting.

Pakistan side would be led by Director General Military operations. Army sources told Online that the commission has been summoned to meet on Pakistan’s request and matters related to Afghan forces border violations and avoiding incidents like the Bajaour incident would be discussed.

The matter of interference by Indian consulates in Afghanistan into Balochistan, supply of arms and RAW activities would also be raised. Matters related to intelligence sharing and improving intelligence would be discussed. Matters related to curtailing Taliban activities would also be discussed.

India spreads its net for gas, any gas - Asia Times Online By Siddharth Srivastava 2/22/06

NEW DELHI - While efforts are under way to seal nuclear deals with the US and France to generate electricity, India's efforts to tie up gas resources as another alternative to fossil fuels have gathered momentum.

Following the decision by Myanmar to supply gas to China, India is now making swift maneuvers to ensure that the US$1 billion Myanmar-Bangladesh-India (MBI) gas pipeline materializes. And significantly, India has virtually decided to join the US-backed

Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) pipeline, in part because of the geopolitical difficulties involved in the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline that Washington opposes. Paradoxically, New Delhi has found an uncommon ally in Islamabad, which is pushing for India's involvement in the TAP as well as the IPI.

This month, Delhi for the first time took part as an observer in a meeting of the steering committee of the TAP project. Now it appears ready to sign on as a participant in the Washington-backed $3.5 billion gas pipeline as an alternative to the IPI.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed the IPI proposal with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and his Pakistani counterpart, Amanullah Khan Jadoon. Jadoon reiterated Islamabad's commitment to the IPI, despite US misgivings, and at the same time extended support for India's bid to join the TAP.

While India, Pakistan and Iran go through the motions of pursuing the IPI project, apparently unaffected by the International Atomic Energy Agency's referral of Tehran to the UN Security Council, most observers claim that the prospects of the pipeline materializing are now remote. Despite domestic political pressures, India has so far sided with Western powers against Tehran pursuing an independent nuclear program.

In this context, India was an observer at the recent TAP meeting in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat. Dinsha Patel, minister of state for petroleum and natural gas, led the Indian delegation and expressed willingness to join the TAP. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at the conclusion of the two-day meeting, under which Turkmenistan will supply 3.2 billion cubic feet gas per day to Pakistan for a period of 30 years.

India is closely studying the project's geopolitical, financial and technical aspects. Afghanistan and Pakistan have been seeking India's participation as vital for the TAP's viability.

"We have 90 days to get necessary official approvals to join the project. Once approved by the cabinet, the project will be renamed TAPI," for Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, Deora said in a statement. According to reports, the Oil Ministry will now seek government approval for joining the project within the next three months.

New Delhi, it seems, is satisfied with the availability of gas resources as well as the viability of the project, which has the backing of the Asian Development Bank. The TAP would stretch from the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border in southeastern Turkmenistan to Multan, Pakistan (1,270 kilometers), with a 640km extension to India.

Importantly, TAP does not involve Iran or the US, which means none of the geopolitical problems involving the IPI. The TAP not only provides a southern exit route for land-locked Central Asian gas that will not have to cross Iran or Russia, it is also an important cog in Washington's Afghan rehabilitation plan as it will earn substantial transit fees.

Turkmen Oil, Gas and Natural Resource Minister Gurbanmyrat Ataev said that Ashkhabad considered TAP to be a priority gas export route. "This market is attractive first of all because of its closeness and rapid growth in consumption and secondly because Turkmenistan, as a neutral state, can in fact help strengthen regional cooperation and increase the economic prosperity of the people in the region."

With potential hydrocarbon reserves of over 45.44 billion tonnes of oil equivalent, Turkmenistan can significantly increase supplies to the international market.

Irked by the delays in implementing the Myanmar-Bangladesh-India pipeline, Myanmar recently inked an MoU with PetroChina to supply 6.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas from Block A of the Shwe gasfields in the Bay of Bengal for over 30 years.

The decision came as a major blow to India's bid to tap gas from its eastern front. It also marked one more victory for Beijing energy giants, which have consistently been beating Indian energy firms in the acquisition of oil and gas reserves around the world. India's state-owned oil giant Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has lost to Chinese companies, in Kazakhstan, Ecuador and Angola.

Now, with Block A-1 gas going to China, the cost of the MBI will increase as the available block close to Bangladesh is A-2, which will require an additional 150km of pipeline for the gas to reach India.

This has provoked India to appoint Brussels-based Suz Tractebel as technical consultants to study a different route for the pipeline through the northeast, bypassing Bangladesh. The European infrastructure consultants appointed by the Gas Authority of India (GAIL) have been briefed to "carry out a study for preparing a detailed feasibility report, an environment management plan and a rapid risk analysis study via the northeast Indian territory", the Ministry of Petroleum announced.

GAIL is also exploring the idea of transporting gas from Myanmar via the sea. According to reports, GAIL is planning to invite bids for a long-term chartering service of ships or barges for the purpose.

These moves come a year after India, Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a trilateral pact to collaborate on the MBI project, which is also aimed at helping Bangladesh carry gas from its surplus regions to deficit areas.

The demand for compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas continues to grow in India, with over 300 CNG stations and over 300,000 vehicles running on CNG. The delay in Bangladesh firming up the agreement saw a worried Yangon, which is keen to exploit the financial viability of its new gas finds, acceding to China's demands for gas supplies after persistently urging India to tie up alternative plans, including setting up power projects near the gasfields.

Myanmar is concerned that India will be unable to evacuate gas once the reserves are certified by a third party agency and are made available for commercial production. India's ONGC and GAIL, along with two South Korean companies, Korea Gas and Daewoo, have agreed to jointly develop the block. But there is no agreement on evacuation, with both India and China at an equal distance from the gas blocks.

Though Bangladesh stands to earn substantial transit fees of $125 million per year, it has set conditions that include creation of corridors through India to carry out trade with other neighbors, such as Nepal and Bhutan, as well as steps to reduce its $2.5 billion trade deficit with India. Clearly, New Delhi has made up its mind to bypass Dhaka, even though the cost of the pipeline stands to increase substantially.

For the past year, New Delhi and Yangon have been exploring independent alternatives for importing gas. Bangladesh was not invited to the third meeting on the project. New Delhi has talked of the possibility of constructing the pipeline from Myanmar into Mizoram and onwards to Assam (both in northeast India) and culminating in West Bengal. The shortest pipeline route is from Myanmar to Bengal through Bangladesh, while the alternative land route would be twice the distance.

Thus, given the economic advantages as well as higher feasibility, India opened another window for negotiations with Bangladesh. Former foreign minister Natwar Singh visited Dhaka in August last and said that the tri-nation project would not proceed without the involvement of Bangladesh.

Last month, former petroleum minister Mani Shanker Aiyer visited Beijing. India and China signed a slew of MoUs on energy cooperation, including between ONGC Videsh Ltd, India's flagship firm for overseas oil and gasfield acquisitions, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). In the first instance of Sino-Indian cooperation, India and China won a joint bid in December last to buy PetroCanada's 37% stake in Syrian oilfields for $573 million.

However, most observers believe that any cooperation in future can only be on a case-by-case basis, with the Myanmar-China deal demonstrating that when it comes to energy security, nations will go it alone if they can.

Efforts against bird flu insufficient – FAO

KABUL, 22 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that efforts by Afghan authorities and the donor community to mitigate the risk of a potential outbreak of avian influenza, otherwise known as bird flu, have been insufficient.

“With cases of the deadly disease detected in Iran and India, Afghanistan is practically surrendered," Serge Verniau, FAO representative in Afghanistan, said at a press conference at the Kala-e-Hashmat Khan Lake, outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday. "Today we can say that an outbreak of the disease among birds in Afghanistan is virtually unavoidable."

Further underscoring that point, he warned that the country was more at risk than ever and Afghanistan needed strict action before avian flu hit the country.

"[The] FAO reiterates its call that emergency action, which is estimated to cost US $1.5 million, should be taken without delay," the FAO official maintained.

According to the FAO, the country's veterinary services have fallen into decay after more than two decades of violence and years of oversight, despite the fact that about 85 percent of the country's 30 million inhabitants live in close proximity with poultry.

The FAO has called for immediate action in strengthening animal disease surveillance and laboratory testing; communication and public awareness to safeguard the health of poultry farmers and their families; as well as preparing an effective contingency plan for emergency procedures to contain a possible outbreak.

To date, avian influenza, a highly contagious viral disease affecting mainly chickens, turkeys, ducks and other birds, has killed some 80 people worldwide since it was first reported in 2003, mostly in Asia.

Experts fear the H5N1 virus that is deadly to humans could precipitate a global flu pandemic if it mutates into an easily transmissible form.

The FAO, with the support of Italy, through a regional project, has reinforced the capacities of a diagnostic laboratory at the department of animal health within the Ministry of Agriculture in Kabul. Initial tests have been carried out and are continuing, according to the FAO in Kabul.

“We have tested 455 suspicious samples of birds during the last three weeks and further testing is also under way in an FAO reference laboratory in Italy,” Dr Abdul Habib Nawroz, an FAO medical expert, said.

Commenting on the potential risk of a bird flu outbreak in the Central Asian state, Dr Abdullah Fahim, an Afghan health ministry spokesman, said that the government had banned imports of all poultry and poultry products from counties infected with bird flu.

"We have provided specific training on avian influenza to 300 medical personal and they are deployed in the border areas of the country to strengthen the surveillance system," Fahim noted.

But facing such a possible pandemic will require much more. The war-ravaged country has minimal health services and relies on the World Health Organization (WHO) for diagnosis of any possible signs of bird flu.

"In case of detecting any sign of bird flu in the country, we would send the samples to the WHO-supported regional laboratory in Islamabad (capital of Pakistan),” Fahim said, conceding their own inability to fully detect the virus in their own laboratories.

Afghanistan mostly depends on poultry imports from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, and it’s also a stop for birds during their annual migration from Siberia to the warm waters of the Indian subcontinent and vice versa.

Avian influenza is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. The disease, which was first identified in Italy more than 100 years ago, occurs worldwide, according to the WHO.

All birds are thought to be susceptible to avian influenza, though some species are more resistant to infection than others. Infection causes a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness to a highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease resulting in severe epidemics. The latter is known as “highly pathogenic avian influenza”. This form is characterised by sudden onset, severe illness and rapid death, with a mortality that can approach 100 percent.

The WHO notes that 15 sub-types of influenza virus are known to infect birds, thus providing an extensive reservoir of influenza viruses potentially circulating in bird populations. To date, all outbreaks of the highly pathogenic form have been caused by influenza A viruses of sub-types H5 and H7.

Migratory waterfowl, most notably wild ducks, are the natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses and these birds are also the most resistant to infection. Domestic poultry, including chickens and turkeys, are particularly susceptible to epidemics of rapidly fatal influenza, the UN health body warned.

Direct or indirect contact of domestic flocks with wild migratory waterfowl has been implicated as a frequent cause of epidemics. Live bird markets have also played an important role in the spread of the disease.

Canadians send Afghan boy with cancer to Pakistan for specialized care
LES PERREAUX

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Canadian soldiers sent an Afghan boy with a massive tumour on his face to a cancer hospital in Pakistan early Thursday morning, where he will likely live out his final days in a little less pain.

Namatullah, a six-year-old boy with a large growth near his mouth that appears to have spread down his neck and into his organs, rode off just before dawn on an trip that was organized with military precision by Canadian troops and an Edmonton church. The boy came to the Canadian provincial reconstruction team site on the weekend with his grandfather, Taj Mohammed, looking for treatment for his malignancy.

The region of Afghanistan barely has functioning hospitals, let alone specialized cancer facilities or palliative care. Touched by the boy's cries of pain and knowing a modern cancer hospital exists in Pakistan, Cpl. Brian Sanders, an ambulance driver at the camp, contacted his church in Edmonton to see if it could help.

The North Edmonton Christian Fellowship church raised $10,000 Sunday morning, with money still flowing in after news reports publicized Namatullah's case.
"Back in Canada you don't really see this stuff," Sanders said.

"You see it on the news, it's on TV, it's in the papers. We're almost numb to it." "To see it first hand, changes everything. To have it show up on your doorstep changes everything." "He is just one of thousands of boys, tens of thousands of boys who have similar situations."

The army organized travel to the Shaukat Khanum Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. The boy left by taxi just before dawn. He will drive to Quetta, Pakistan where he will fly to Lahore."The entire army pretty much pulled together," Sanders said.

"We put a battle plan in place and by yesterday afternoon everything was in place." Capt. Adrian Norbash, the army reconstruction team's doctor, said he is holding out slim hope the hospital might be able to treat the child. "The tumour on his face is so huge, so destructive. It's invading his mouth, his eye," he said.

"I've got a really bad feeling. Having said that, we have no laboratory capability here and no imaging capability here." "My impressions are purely a gut feeling. My diagnosis is by no means 100 per cent." "I still have a small hope but not a large one. Just looking at him it looks scary, looks malignant."

A local Afghan non-governmental organization called the Urugzan Construction Association is taking charge of the boy's travel and treatment in Pakistan, with oversight by the army. "I'll never be able to watch those kids on TV again without a having a different perspective on it," Sanders said.

Reservist Goes to Trial in Afghanistan - By ALICIA A. CALDWELL AP

FORT BLISS, Texas — Army prosecutors in the final case involving an Army reserve unit from Ohio linked to prisoner abuses in Afghanistan say a sergeant abused two prisoners while they were shackled and helpless.

Sgt. Alan Driver's attorney countered in opening arguments in his prison abuse trial Wednesday that the military policeman was putting his life at risk to guard dangerous terrorists at Bagram Air Base detention center.

Both sides rested their cases Wednesday afternoon and closing arguments are expected Thursday.

In the only day of testimony in the trial, Jeffrey W. Haggard, a member of the Cincinnati-based 377th MP Company and the prosecution's final witness, testified he saw Driver pick up Omar al-Farouq and throw the former top al-Qaida operative in Southeast Asia against a wall while the shackled and handcuffed man was sleeping.

When questioned by the defense, however, Haggard, who has since left the Army, said Driver never took his hands off al-Farouq and it was not uncommon for MPs to forcefully wake sleeping detainees.

Capt. Stephen Coutant, one of Driver's lawyers, told jurors that al-Farouq left Bagram the day Driver is accused of attacking him and did not return while the 377th was there.

Sgt. Darin Broady, a defense witness who prosecutors say was in the room when Driver slammed al-Farouq against a wall, also testified he never saw Driver mistreat anyone.

In his opening statement, Capt. John B. Parker told the jury of three enlisted soldiers and five officers that Driver abused his power at Bagram. "Keep your eye on the ball," Parker said. This case "is about excessive use of force."

But Capt. Michael Waddington, another of Driver's lawyers, argued that the reservist was putting his life at risk to guard dangerous terrorists. "He's guilty. He's guilty of being a patriotic citizen soldier. He is guilty of working in a job inside of a prison he wasn't trained to do," he said.

Driver, of Indianapolis, is the last of 11 soldiers from the 377th to be tried on charges of abusing detainees, including two who later died. Only one soldier has been convicted by an Army jury, and he was spared jail time.

The investigation was launched shortly after two detainees, men known as Dilawar and Habibullah, died within days of each other in Bagram in December 2002.

No one has been prosecuted for the detainees' deaths, though both cases were ruled homicides and the Army claims the men were beaten to death inside the jail. A pretrial hearing in Driver's case revealed that al-Farouq escaped from Bagram last summer.

[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.]