In this bulletin:

• Statement by the Prime Minister on the Raham (Abdul Rahman) case and freedom of religion in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan says court to decide fate of convert
• Afghan foreign minister loses job
• Faryab governor survives life attempt
• Norouz in Afghanistan
• Christian convert may be unfit to stand trial, Afghan officials say
• 15 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan bordering on Pakistan
• Canadians in Afghanistan foil planned bomb attack
• Afghanistan splits with US on question of terror
• Sen. Biden says administration has forgotten about Afghanistan
• Afghanistan begins bird flu cull
• 'Bombs defused' near Kabul shrine
• 100 tones drug seized in Afghanistan last year: Gen. Dawood
• Extra £800 million for Iraq and Afghanistan breaks £5bn barrier
• Pakistani Taliban takes control of unruly tribal belt
• Afghanistan's Ariana on EU blacklist of airlines
• Employment Centre Opens in Afghanistan's Herat Province
• UNICEF concerned at low literacy rate in Afghanistan

Statement by the Prime Minister on the Raham (Abdul Rahman) case and freedom of religion in Afghanistan

March 22, 2006 -Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement after the conclusion of his telephone call to Afghanistan President Karzai.

“I called President Karzai today to express my deep concerns regarding the Raham case and the issue of freedom of religion in Afghanistan.

President Karzai listened to my concerns and we had a productive and informative exchange of views.

Upon the conclusion of the call, he assured me that respect for human and religious rights will be fully upheld in this case.”

Afghanistan says court to decide fate of convert
Wed Mar 22, 2006 By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - Under mounting international pressure over the case of a man facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity, Afghanistan said on Wednesday that its judiciary alone would decide the case.

U.S. President George W. Bush said he was deeply troubled by the case of Abdur Rahman, who an Afghan judge said this week had been jailed for converting from Islam to Christianity and could face the death penalty if he refused to become a Muslim again.

Death is one of the punishments stipulated by Sharia, or Islamic law, for apostasy. The Afghan legal system is based on a mix of civil and sharia law.

"We in Afghanistan have the prosecutor who observes the law and the court that executes it. Whatever the court orders will be executed as the court is independent," said Mahaiuddin Baluch, a religious affairs adviser to President Hamid Karzai.

Bush said in Wheeling, West Virginia: "It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another."

"We have got influence in Afghanistan and we are going to use it to remind them that there are universal values," he said.

The United States and three other NATO allies with troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday urged respect for religious freedom. German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her voice to those of Western leaders expressing concern.

In response, Afghan Economy Minister Mohammad Amin Farhang criticised the "heated and emotional reactions of German politicians" and said proposals there to withdraw German troops in protest amounted to blackmail against Karzai's government.

INTERFERENCE

"We don't interfere in Germany's internal affairs or in running court cases," he told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung.

The case is sensitive for Karzai, who depends on foreign troops to battle Taliban and al Qaeda militants and foreign aid to support the economy. But he also has to consider the views of conservative proponents of Islamic law.

Asked about the international outcry, Baluch said, "Everybody has the right to express their view."

Rahman, 40, has not been formally charged yet.

He told a judge at a preliminary hearing last week he became a Christian while working for an aid group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan 15 years ago.

"I'm not an apostate. I'm obedient to God but I'm a Christian, that's my choice," Rahman told the hearing.

Washington, which counts Karzai as a key ally in the region, raised the case with the then visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens' constitutional right to choose their faith.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic advocacy group, said Rahman's conversion was a personal matter and urged the Afghan government to release him.

Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini has said Rahman would probably not be executed.

Fini, whose country was one of four with troops in Afghanistan to speak out about the case, told Italian television on Tuesday he had indications the Islamic punishment for apostasy would not be imposed on Abdul Rahman.

"From what I've been told, and I have no reason to doubt it, the death sentence will not be carried out," said Fini. He gave no other details.

CONCERN EXPRESSED

The top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, said in a statement he was following the case with grave concern.

"It is my wish that Mr Rahman's legal and human rights will be upheld and that this matter does not create a rift between Afghanistan and its international partners," Koenigs said.

Freedom of religion, including the freedom to change one's religion, was enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Afghanistan had adhered to, he said.

Some officials have raised questions about Rahman's mental state, and Farhang said Rahman would not be executed if he were found to be unstable.

Germany and Canada, both of which also have troops in Afghanistan, have also raised their concern.

A political analyst in Kabul said the case might hinge on differing interpretations of the constitution.

Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic country and 99 per cent of its more than 25 million people are Muslim. A court sentenced two Afghan journalists to death for blasphemy three years ago but they escaped and sought asylum abroad.

Afghan foreign minister loses job

BBC News, 22 March 2006

Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah has been dropped in President Hamid Karzai's first reshuffle since parliamentary elections last autumn.

Dr Abdullah, a Tajik, is replaced by Dr Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, the president's former adviser on foreign affairs.

The cut-size cabinet has no seat for Dr Abdullah who led foreign policy before and after the Taleban in the 1990s.

The new cabinet contains 25 ministers, and all major ethnic groups have seats. Each minister must be approved by MPs.

The list was confirmed within hours of the deadline set by the Afghan constitution after elections six months ago.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says Dr Abdullah's replacement comes as a surprise - reports say he was offered several lesser posts but refused them.

Only one former warlord, Herat's Ismail Khan, keeps his seat in the cabinet, which our correspondent says retains a reasonable ethnic balance.

Just one women is represented in the cabinet - new women's affairs minister Dr Suraya Rahim Subrang.

She replaces Massouda Jalal, who stood against Mr Karzai in presidential elections in 2004. Two other cabinet rank women lose their seats.

Corruption

Afghanistan's new cabinet is the first in 30 years to be based on a parliamentary contest.

Merging smaller ministries means it has four fewer seats than the one composed of unelected ministers which the president picked when a parliamentary poll was delayed by security fears last year.

Mr Karzai faced accusations in the past that certain key jobs were allocated to satisfy competing tribes and ethnic groups.

Observers say what Afghans hope the new cabinet can deliver is an end to ethnic infighting and corruption.

Faryab governor survives life attempt

MAIMANA, Mar 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Governor of the northern Faryab province survived an attack by unidentified armed men on Tuesday.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday, Governor Dr Latif Ibrahimi said he was on way to the provincial capital when came under fire in the Khwaja Sabzposh district on Tuesday night.

The police party escorting him instantly retaliated and the attackers run away. However, two of the governor's bodyguards suffered injuries. He said investigations had been ordered into the incident.

Asked about identity of the miscreants, the governor said they were enemies of peace. He refrained from specifically raising accusing finger at any group; however, the word 'enemy' when used by Afghan officials is commonly considered a pointer to the Taliban fighters.

Deputy Governor Ahmad Saeed, when asked for comments, said the two wounded bodyguards were taken to hospital for treatment. Ahmad Naim Qadiri

In Afghanistan, the famous banner named after Imam Ali is erected in the morning on Norouz, and this way the ceremonies officially start and last for several days and nights

Norouz in Afghanistan

Tehran, 23 March 2006 (CHN) -- In Afghanistan, New Year is called Navrouz pronounced Nawrooz, which literally means new day and is one of the oldest holidays celebrated in Central Asia. In Afghanistan the New Year begins on March 21 and is celebrated with community gatherings and special meals.

The holiday begins with the raising of religious banner or janda in the courtyard of the city’s magnificent blue-domed shrine. That is where, according to Afghan traditions, Imam Ali, cousin and son in law of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the first Shiite religious leader, is buried (It must be noted that Imam Ali’s holly shrine is actually located in the city of Najaf in Iraq; however, the Afghans believe that it is not). For several weeks until the janda is taken down in a second ceremony on the 13th day of the New Year, the city will host tens of thousands of visitors from across Afghanistan. During this period, all of those who have a heartfelt wish and the ailed stay at the foot of the banner and crave for their wish to come true. It is said that many of the patients have recovered under this very banner. They also believe that should the banner be held smoothly the year ahead would be a prosperous one.

Their reasons for journeying north are as varied as the provinces from which the pilgrimage hails. There are giddy young men who come to dance in the streets or listen to concerts. There are devout who come to pay solemn homage to Imam Ali. And there are parents of disabled children who come to beg for a miraculous cure.

Within each group Afghans from vastly different provinces are mingling with a degree of ease that is notable in a nation still struggling to forge a national identity after years of regional conflict.

That sense of community was one of the few uplifting aspects of the Chila Khana. A large fenced-off out door nock in Mazar-e- Sharif shrine’s western wall, the Chila Khana or House of Forty, is reserved for the most seriously ill and disabled of worshipers. According to tradition, those who sleep here each night until the janda is taken down will be cured of whatever ails them.

A few days into Norouz, more than 100 pilgrims were huddled there in a tableau of human misery.

Buzkashi matches are held during Norouz or Persian New Year. Horsemen race each other while fighting for a headless goat carcass. Buzkashi is said to date from the time of Genghis Khan. With their Asiatic feature, high heeled boots and quilted jackets and sashes, the professional players look as though they step out of another area, but they had also accessorize their outfits with a few touches from Afghan’s more recent past including olive green Soviet tanker’s helmets from 1980s and black plastic knee pads that would have fit in with the rollerblades in Rock Creek Park.

Every few minutes the scrum of horsemen whooshed by in a blur of clattering hoofs, rearing horses and cracking whips. Then the announcer would call out of the name of the player judged to have gained possession of the carcass never an obvious choice and the winner ride up to receive a fistful of cash from the sponsor of that round.

Christian convert may be unfit to stand trial, Afghan officials say

MICHAEL DEN TANDT AND ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ

Globe and Mail Update

OTTAWA and TORONTO — An Afghan man facing a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity may be mentally unfit to stand trial, a state prosecutor said Wednesday amid growing international condemnation of the case.

Abdul Rahman, 41, has been charged with rejecting Islam, a crime under this country's Islamic laws. His trial started last week and he confessed to becoming a Christian more than a decade ago. If convicted, he could be executed.

"We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person," prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said in an interview.

Moayuddin Baluch, a religious adviser to Afghan president Hamid Karzai, said Mr. Rahman would undergo a psychological examination.

"If he is mentally unfit, definitely Islam has no claim to punish him," he said. "He must be forgiven. The case must be dropped."

A western diplomat in Kabul and a human rights advocate — both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter — said the government was desperately searching for a way to drop the case.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper telephoned Mr. Karzai on Wednesday to discuss the case, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Canadian government officials were also in direct contact with their Afghan counterparts yesterday afternoon to express concern about the case, sources familiar with the situation said.

The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement late in the day, after Mr. Harper's phone call.

"I called President Karzai today to express my deep concerns regarding the Raham case and the issue of freedom of religion in Afghanistan. "I called President Karzai today to express my deep concerns regarding the Raham case and the issue of freedom of religion in Afghanistan.

"President Karzai listened to my concerns and we had a productive and informative exchange of views," Mr. Harper said in the statment.

aPs="boxR"; var boxRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,250,ai,'j',nc); He added: "Upon the conclusion of the call, he assured me that respect for human and religious rights will be fully upheld in this case."

Meanwhile, Canadian church groups and key players in the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan demanded Wednesday that the Afghan government prevent the execution of the man who was arrested for converting to Christianity.

Mr. Rahman, 41, has been charged by a Kabul court for his conversion from Islam 14 years ago, which contravenes Afghan law. The prosecutor is seeking the death penalty and a judge is expected to deliver a verdict in two weeks.

Response from the United States, Germany and Italy, all of which, like Canada, have troops in Afghanistan, was swift and unequivocal.

The United States raised the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens' constitutional right to choose their faith. Italy called in the Afghan ambassador to Rome, while two German cabinet ministers spoke out on the issue.

Most Rev. Andrew Hutchison, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, called the Rahman case an example of fundamentalist fanaticism that raises doubts about Canada's involvement in Afghanistan.

"I'm absolutely horrified to think that this kind of fanatical literalism would be applied in this day and age," he said.

Franklin Pyles, president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, said his organization is appalled that Mr. Rahman's life is at risk because he converted to Christianity.

"We urge the Canadian government to step into this issue immediately and bring pressure to bear on this," he said. "If we are not going to fight for all freedoms, then what are we doing there?"

The United Church of Canada wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay asking that Canada work to protect Mr. Rahman and intervene with Afghan authorities on his behalf.

"We are aware of the government of Canada's support for the new government in Afghanistan, part of that support has included investing Canadian military troops and resources in the reconstruction and recovery efforts in Afghanistan to promote democratic rights," the letter says.

"In that light, we encourage you to share our hopes that a new Afghanistan will respect the universal declaration of human rights, including the rights of Afghans to choose and change religion without fear of losing their lives."

Reporters' questions to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mr. MacKay were referred to bureaucrats at the Department of Foreign Affairs, which issued a seven-point statement.

"This case is of concern," the statement read. "We are currently attempting to ascertain additional facts."

The statement noted that Afghanistan is a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which enshrines freedom of religion, and that "Canada will continue to encourage the Afghan government to adhere to its human-rights obligations."

Asked whether the Canadian government would pressure the Afghan government to secure Mr. Rahman's release, Dan Dugas, a spokesman for Mr. MacKay, said, "We haven't reached that point yet."

Mr. Dugas said that the trial is still under way and that, should Mr. Rahman be sentenced to death, the Canadian government would likely intervene. "I would think so, yes," he said. "We would want to talk to the Afghan government to remind it of how it signed onto the international convention."

Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Pamela Greenwell, asked whether Ottawa intends to discuss the case with Afghan officials, said "at this point we're looking into it, I don't know if we're there yet."

A telephone request for comment to the office of Public Security Minister Stockwell Day, who is identified with the Christian wing of the Conservative party and in opposition frequently spoke out on overseas human-rights issues, elicited no response yesterday.

Nor did similar calls to the offices of Tory backbench MPs Diane Ablonczy, David Anderson, Colin Carrie, Leon Benoit, and John Cummins.

Jason Kenney, the MP for Calgary Southeast, was the lone government MP available to comment on the issue yesterday. "This is very troubling. . . . I know that sharia [Islamic law] scholars would have different views on a question such as this. And I would hope that with Canadian soldiers risking their lives to establish the basic norms of democracy and respect for human rights in that country, I would hope that Afghanistan would live up to those standards."

Two opposition politicians reacted cautiously.

"I'm sure that our ambassador will be asked to make our views known," Liberal Leader Bill Graham said. ". . . It's very clear that our support for Afghanistan is a support that's based upon moving forward into a modern democratic situation. But let's leave the Afghan authorities a chance to deal with this particular challenge, to them, at this time."

NDP defence critic Dawn Black said it would be "appropriate for Canadian officials to indicate a real unease and concern about this."

The Christian and Missionary Alliance's Dr. Pyle called on Muslims in Canada to speak in support of Mr. Rahman.

"It is important that we hear from them and that they stand up on this issue calling for the same respect and freedom of religion for Mr. Rahman in Afghanistan as they themselves enjoy in Canada."

With a report from the Associated Press

15 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan bordering on Pakistan

Source: Xinhua

Fifteen Taliban militants were killed Tuesday night by Afghan police in Afghan southern province of Kandahar bordering on Pakistan, a local official said.

"Last night we fought against a group of Taliban militants in Shoro Oba area of Spin Boldak. We killed 15 militants and no casualty in the police side," Abdul Razaq, the border police commander told Xinhua.

Afghan police, according to the commander, have got some reports from intelligence department about the action of the militants, and carried out the attack in the area.

According to local source, the people killed were not militants, but a big group of gang. But the provincial governor and the commander of ANA (Afghan National Army) declined to confirmed the news.

Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in a message released a week ago, said Taliban militants will raise another new surge of attacks against foreign and Afghan troops during the Afghan new year, which began from Tuesday.

The provincial governor of northern province of Faryab survived a life attempt Tuesday afternoon when unknown culprits opened fire at his car.

More than 100 people have been killed since the beginning of this year in Taliban-linked militancy. This attack was the deadliest one against Taliban militants this year.

Canadians in Afghanistan foil planned bomb attack

KABUL: Canadian engineers in Afghanistan thwarted an attempted bomb attack in a village near Kandahar, underscoring heightened tensions in the violence-racked nation as it celebrated an ancient festival banned under the Taliban.

Troops from the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) disassembled unarmed bombs, which were concealed inside the seats of the motorcycles in the village of Hajiwan, northwest of Kandahar.

"The explosives were hidden within the foam seats of the vehicles," Lieut. (Navy) Mark MacIntryre, a Canadian Forces spokesman told The Canadian Press.

"It doesn’t look like they were visible with the naked eye."

A local tipped off Afghan authorities to the presence of two suspicious motorcycles that were parked in a garage.

In turn, they notified the Canadians troops at the base in Kandahar, who sent out a force that specializes in defusing bombs.

"As we were told by military representatives here this evening, it’s about as happy an ending as you can get because there was no explosion, and also it demonstrated good co-operation between locals and the intelligence they were willing to share," CTV’s Ellen Pinchuk reported from Kandahar.

MacIntyre said it appears the bombers planned to use the motorcycles as roadside improvised explosive devices, also known as IEDs.

No one has yet been arrested in connection with foiled bomb attack, but an investigation was underway.

Coalition troops have been bracing for a rising tide of violence to coincide with the ancient festival of Nau Roz, or the Afghan New Year, which comes on the first day of spring.

Police blamed the attempted attack on the Taliban, which banned the festival as a pagan ritual when it was in power.

In addition to defusing the motorcycle bombs, Canadian troops provided security for a picnic hosted by the governor of Kandahar province.

Fears that Taliban violence could mar the celebrations forced local officials to move the festivities away from the city itself.

Indeed, this year’s festivities were met with cautious optimism by locals, who are experiencing a surge in violence.

"I’m hoping Afghanistan will be in good condition and I’m hoping it will be good for us, please God, in the future," said Abdul Hanan, a local driver.

"Hopefully we’ll have good police and a good government in the future who will stop thieves and robbers."

Afghanistan splits with US on question of terror

March 22, 2006

LONDON, March 22 (IranMania) - Afghanistan's foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah said that his country did not share Washington's concerns about Iran as a terrorist threat, saying Kabul has benefitted from Tehran's aid, AFP reported.

In answer to a question at a Washington press conference about alleged evidence of Iranian terrorism in Afghanistan, Abdullah said: "We have established good neighborly relations with almost all our neighboring countries."

"Iran has been helping us in the reconstruction process. Iran has been supportive of the political process in Afghanistan," Abdullah said here after two days of talks with senior Washington officials.

"Friends of Afghanistan have encouraged always promotion of good relations in interactions between Afghanistan and its neighbors," he said, adding that on the question of terrorism, "we don't have evidence of ... efforts against Afghanistan" by Iran.

Abdullah made his remarks after US Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, at the same press conference, leveled a litany of accusations against Tehran over its role as alleged purveyor of the tools of terrorism to US enemies.

"Iran is helping to support Al-Qaeda, or at least not cracking down on them within their own country, allowing them to roam free, and perhaps even supporting them," Burns said, AFP added.

"The Iranian government of President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad continues the 25-year tradition of making Iran the central banker of the terrorist groups in the Middle East, and also the leading director of terrorist incidents in the Middle East," Burns charged.

"We in the United States have been on the receiving end of terrorist attacks sponsored by the Iranian government, going all the way back to the early 1980s in Lebanon, and that has continued over the last two decades," Burns said.

He cited in particular alleged Iranian efforts to supply insurgent groups in     Iraq with sophisticated technology for the development of improvised explosive devices that have been used with devastating effect against US forces in Iraq.

"One of our major objections to the policies, not just of Ahmadinejad but of the predecessor governments, has been this unstinting support for terrorism. It remains one of the great American concerns about that government," Burns said.

"Along with the fact that we object very strongly to their seeking a nuclear weapons capability," he said, "this issue of terrorism is also on the front line of our concerns with the Iranian government."

Abdullah met Monday with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Issues touched upon during this week's talks included the US-led war on terror, the fight against narcotics production and trafficking, and US efforts to help train troops in Afghanistan's national army.

Iran had tense relations with the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan and tacitly supported its removal by US-led forces. It has provided reconstruction aid to the new Kabul government and denied any links to the Taliban or Al-Qaeda.

Sen. Biden says administration has forgotten about Afghanistan

(Columbia-AP) March 21, 2006 - US Senator Joe Biden told a crowd at the University of South Carolina Tuesday the Bush administration has wrongly turned its attention away from Afghanistan.

In Greenville County Monday, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also told Democrats that conditions in that country have deteriorated since the Taliban was defeated four years ago.

Biden is also making port security a focal point of his trip.

Senator Joe Biden also spoke with WIS' David Stanton Tuesday.

Senator Biden said that he is planning to run for President in 2008.

In an interview for the Newswatch program, the Delaware Democrat also said Iraq is on the verge of civil war.

"There are militias out there, not just the insurgents, but there are three major militias, that is, private armies that exist there. And there's no political settlement yet. If they don't end up with a government that all the major parties buy into by this summer, we're, our guys are going to have to get out of there faster than even the President's taking them. Right now we're being shot at by 18,000 insurgents and about 1,200 jihadists."

Sen. Biden said President Bush needs to bring together the international community to press for a settlement.

You can see the interview with Sen. Biden Sunday morning at 10:30 on Newswatch.

Biden also has another speech planned in South Carolina. He will speak in Charleston Wednesday before visiting other port cities including New Orleans, Seattle and Boston.

Afghanistan begins bird flu cull

22 Mar 2006 : Reuters

KABUL, March 22 (Reuters) - Afghan workers in protective suits and masks fanned out through a Kabul neighbourhood of low, mud-brick homes on Wednesday, rounding up chickens and spraying disinfectant, hoping to stamp out the H5N1 birdflu virus.

The H5N1 virus was confirmed in chickens in the capital and an eastern province last week and is assumed to have spread to at least three other provinces, officials said.

The cull was delayed for several days while impoverished Afghanistan tried to find protective suits for the teams. Eventually, the U.S. military provided enough to get going.

"Two cases were confirmed in this village, some chickens already died here, some pigeons also died here," Azizullah Osmani, chief of the Agriculture Ministry's veterinary department, told reporters as the cull was launched.

Bird flu has killed 103 people since late 2003, most of them in Asia.

Although difficult for humans to catch, experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between people and trigger a pandemic that could kill millions.

There have been no human cases in Afghanistan but there is concern that, with veterinary and health sectors still recovering from decades of conflict, the country could struggle to contain an outbreak.

Many Afghan chicken farmers and traders are illiterate and have little knowledge of the disease. Authorities have yet to produce much public information on the danger.

Osmani said that as well as collecting and culling all chickens in the area, pens and yards were being sprayed with disinfectant.

Teams would monitor a zone 5-10 km (3-6 miles) from the site of the cull, he said, and if sick chickens were found, the process would be repeated there.

Culls would be conducted in at least three other areas of Kabul province, he said.

Residents of the neighbourhood in the west of Kabul, where many people keep a few chickens in back yards, appeared resigned to losing their birds.

One man, Mohammad Ibrahim, said his 20 chickens had all suddenly died as had a cat that ate one of the carcasses.

Officials have said it will be important to compensate people whose chickens are culled.

Afghanistan's poultry industry was decimated by several years of drought up to 2005 and is small-scale with only an estimated 12 million chickens in the country.

'Bombs defused' near Kabul shrine

BBC News, Tuesday, 21 March 2006

Police in the Afghan capital, Kabul, say they have defused two powerful bombs near a major Shia Muslim shrine ahead of a major festival.

Thousands of people are expected to visit the shrine to celebrate the ancient Persian festival of Nowruz, marking the new year.

The bombs were apparently hidden near the shrine when they were discovered.

Police blamed the attempted attack on the Taleban, who banned the festival when they were in power.

"Thank God we discovered the bombs, they could have caused lots of casualties," Gen Abdul Manan Farahi, head of the counter-terrorism police force, told the AFP news agency.

Security is tight around Shia shrines across Afghanistan, he told the BBC.

Nowruz celebrations had been banned during the hardline Taleban regime which said it was un-Islamic.

But the festival has attracted many since then.

Music concerts have been planned in Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

People in Kabul can be seen wearing new clothes.

Attacks

There has been an increase in violence in southern and eastern Afghanistan in recent months, mostly blamed on Taleban militants and their supporters.

Last year, attacks mostly in the south and east left 1,400 people dead.

It was the country's bloodiest year since US-led forces ousted the Taleban in 2001.

100 tones drug seized in Afghanistan last year: Gen. Dawood

Kabul: The head of the Anti-drug Programme at the Interior Ministry, General Dawood has said that more than a hundred tones of drugs were seized in Afghanistan, last year.

General Dawood declared the other day that President Hamid Karzai’s government made great achievements by reducing drug and their trafficking. He said that the government took measures against narcotic smugglers during 2005 as compared to 2004.

He claimed that poppy cultivation was reduced 20 percent in the country, last year. He said that more than seven hundred drug smugglers were arrested and interrogated by the Anti-Drug Department.

He said that huge quantities of drugs were seized last year. He pointed out that poppy crops was destroyed in various provinces including Badghis, Helmand, Frah, Heart, Kandarhar, Laghman and Nabgarhar. He said that government has set up a special anti drug force.

Extra £800 million for Iraq and Afghanistan breaks £5bn barrier

By Michael Evans, Defence Editor of The Times

The cost of Britain’s military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003 is set to exceed £5 billion by next year, following Gordon Brown’s Budget announcement of a further £800 million for the two campaigns.

The Government is hoping that conditions in Iraq will stabilise to justify substantial troop withdrawals over the next 18 months. But the Chancellor’s approval of another injection of funds from the special reserve for 2006/2007 indicates that Iraq is still going to be a major drain on resources for the foreseeable future.

However, next year an increasing proportion of the extra cash will have to go towards the Afghan mission because of the planned deployment by July this year of a 3,300-strong battle group to Helmand province in the south.

This means that balancing the books for the two operations is going to become increasingly difficult next year unless the military presence in Iraq can be reduced.

John Reid, the Defence Secretary, announced this month that the 8,000-strong force in Iraq would be cut back by 800 in May when the next rotation of units takes place, but was unable to give any timetable for further cutbacks.

The financial burden arising from Operation Telic, codename for the mission in Iraq, is now well in excess of the Government’s original estimate for the mission.

In the 2003 Budget, the Government allocated £3 billion to cover "the full costs of the UK’s military obligations" in Iraq. However, the annual cost of the Iraq operation has shown that the original estimate was unrealistic.

In 2002/2003 the Government allocated £848 million for Iraq from the special reserves. This increased to £1.3 billion in 2003/2004, because it included the combat phase of the mission. In 2004/2005, the cost was still high, at £910 million, and the estimate for 2005/2006 is £1.3 billion, although this includes funding for the expanding operation in Afghanistan.

Mr Brown’s promise of another £800 million for next year will also have to be shared out between Operation Telic and Operation Herrick, codename for the peace-support mission in Afghanistan.

From 2002/2003 to 2006/2007, the Government, therefore, will have spent or pledged £5.2 billion for the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Brown also announced today an additional £200 million for other peacekeeping operations which would include Bosnia and Kosovo.

Liam Wren-Lewis of Iraq Analysis Group which has been studying the funding of Operation Telic, said: "The Government is providing no serious breakdown of where this money is going, nor any explanation as to why the cost of operations appears to be rising while spending on aid and reconstruction in Iraq dwindles."

He added: "After three years of effectively writing blank cheques for the MoD, it’s time that exact details of the special reserve allocations were made public, and a clear estimate given for the total cost of the conflict.

Pakistani Taliban takes control of unruly tribal belt

· Militia inflicts major blow on 'war on terror'

· Music and films banned as Islamic court takes over

The Guardian
Declan Walsh in Peshawar
Tuesday March 21, 2006

A powerful new militia dubbed "the Pakistani Taliban" has effectively seized control of swaths of the country's northern tribal areas in recent months, triggering alarm in Islamabad and marking a big setback in America's "war on terror".

The militants are strongest in North and South Waziristan, two of seven tribal agencies on the border with Afghanistan. Strict social edicts have been handed down: shopkeepers may not sell music or films; barbers are instructed not to shave beards. Yesterday a bomb blew up a radio transmitter in Wana, taking the state radio off the air.

Militants collect taxes from passing vehicles at new checkpoints, and last week an Islamic court was established in Wana to replace the traditional jirga, or council of elders. Rough justice has already been dispensed elsewhere. A gang of seven alleged bandits were executed in Miran Shah in December and their bodies were hung from a post in the town centre.

The violent puritanism is spreading. On Sunday a remote-controlled bomb ripped through a police vehicle in Dera Ismail Khan, near South Waziristan, killing seven people. More than 100 pro-government elders and politicians have been killed in the past nine months, said a diplomat.

The Pakistani military deployed 70,000 troops to Waziristan two years ago to rein in the militants. But the campaign is faltering. An army assault against an alleged al-Qaida training camp outside Miran Shah on March 1 left more than 100 dead.

Fareed Ullah Khan, a resident, said he cowered inside his home for three days as shells whistled overhead and the air rattled with gunfire. As the fighting intensified, his family scurried from room to room in search of safety.

"We were afraid the bullets might land where we were hiding," said Mr Khan, who has since fled to Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier province. President Pervez Musharraf has vowed to quell the revolt. Since declaring a curfew in Miran Shah, government troops have regained control. But some people are worried. "The so-called war on terror is going badly," said one diplomat.

Comparisons to the emergence of the Afghan Taliban in the early 1990s are increasing. Although they have distinct identities, the groups are strongly linked - both are ethnic Pashtun - and Afghans use Waziristan as a rear base.

Analysts say the Pakistani Taliban is a loose alliance of tribal militia operating under radical clerics such as Sadiq Noor and Abdul Khaliq. Many are angered by heavy-handed Pakistani military attacks against suspected al-Qaida hideouts, which are thought to have killed hundreds of civilians over the last two years.

The tribesmen are allied with al-Qaida fugitives, mostly from Uzbekistan and Chechnya. The foreigners have blended into the tribal structures, buying loyalties and marrying local women.

Foreign reporters are banned from the area and most local journalists have fled. One, Hayatullah Khan, 32, was abducted in December and is still missing.

The US is impatient to catch more senior al-Qaida figures. Unmanned Predator drones, now armed with Hellfire missiles, sweep over the tribal areas on surveillance missions so often that villagers now recognise their engine noise.

In January American forces destroyed a house in Bajaur tribal agency where it thought al-Qaida's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was hiding. Thirteen villagers were killed. The US has carried out several strikes, said a well-placed diplomat, but it has let Pakistan claim responsibility.

Such attacks have won the militants much support. "These are not the proper Taliban," said the refugee Mr Khan. "They are the common people who have revolted against the [Pakistani] government and targeted killings by Americans."

The Taliban presence in northern Pakistan also concerns Britain, which is deploying more than 3,300 troops in the southern Afghan provinces of Helmand and Kandahar.

British intelligence contributed "heavily" to a list of about some 150 Pakistan-based Taliban suspects that the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, brought to Islamabad last month, the diplomat said.

Afghanistan's Ariana on EU blacklist of airlines

Brussels, March 22, IRNA

EU-Airlines-Blacklist
The European Union Wednesday issued its first blacklist of airlines which are banned to fly in the European Union as they are considered unsafe.

The list consists of 92 companies, mainly from Africa, which face a complete ban and 3 companies which face operational restrictions The ban includes Ariana Afghan Airlines, BGB Air Kazakhstan, GST Aero Air Company Kazakhstan, Phoenix Aviation Kyrgyzstan, Phuket Airlines Thailand, Reem Air Kyrgyzstan.

The operating ban on Ariana Afghan Airlines applies to all aircraft operated by this air carrier except the following one : A310 registration number F-GYYY, according to the EU list.

Air Bangladesh, Buraq air of Libya and HBA of Congo face operational restrictions.

Companies banned in one EU Member State are banned in the whole EU.

"This black list will keep dubious airlines out of Europe. It will also make sure that all airlines operating in Europe's sky meet the highest safety standards". said Jacques Barrot, EU Commissioner responsible for transport.

The bans that are now imposed throughout the EU concern both passenger flights and cargo companies, said an European Commission statement.

Through its wide publication the list will have an impact world- wide. The Commission advises people to avoid travelling with these airlines in other parts of the world.

The list will be updated as often as is necessary and at least every three months.

If an airline feels that it should be taken off the list because it again complies with safety standards, it should contact the Commission or a Member State, noted the statement.

The EU decided last year in summer to prepare the blacklist following a number of air crashes in which more than 500 people died worldwide.

Employment Centre Opens in Afghanistan's Herat Province

HERAT CITY, March 21 Asia Pulse - An employment centre was inaugurated on Monday in Afghanistan's western Herat province, where about 70 per cent of the population is jobless, officials said.

With the new centre, large numbers of people are expected to be inducted in various government departments.

A ceremony in line with the opening of the centre held here was attended by Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Ahmad Ghous Bashiri, head of Labour and Social Affairs Department Mohammad Azim Hoshmand, local influential and government officials.

Addressing a ceremony, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Ahmad Ghous Bashiri said: "Four million people throughout the country and 70 per cent in western Afghanistan (Herat, Ghor, Farah and Badghis) have no job, the sole aim of the centre is to provide them adequate employment opportunities."

Unemployment caused disorder and crimes in society, he said, adding they had planned to provide these people with work not only inside the country but also to send them abroad like to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The minister said according to an accord inked with the United Nations the international organizations would grant employment to Afghans.

On this occasion, Head of Labour and Social Affairs Department of Herat Mohammad Azim Hoshmand said some 2,000 forms were distributed through the German non-governmental organization (NGO) to the people, of which 270 people, including women and girls, would be granted jobs.

Ali Ahmad, 28, a high school graduate, who has obtained an employment form, said: "I had no job for two long years, I have to support a family comprising eight members, I am ultra hopeful the centre would help me in getting a job."

The growing unemployment in the western part of the country had forced hundreds of youth to test their luck in foreign countries.

Juma Gul, 28, hailing from Anjil district of Herat province said: "Due to meager jobs in the impoverished country, I am compelled to go back to Iran to feed my children."

According to the procedure of the centre, an official Ali Ahmad Aria said all unemployed people could apply for jobs without any gender discrimination. They would introduce the jobless people to both local and foreign institutions to help them in providing appropriate jobs, Aria contended.

The German NGO officially started work, and was set up some six months back in Herat under labour and social affairs ministry.

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

UNICEF concerned at low literacy rate in Afghanistan

KABUL, Mar 21 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Tuesday urged Afghan government and international community to redress the problems of children and women in the impoverished country on priority basis.

A press release issued here by UNICEF branch had showed concern on death ratio of mother and child during delivery cases and low entry of both boys and girls in schools.

A senior official of UNICEF for Afghanistan Reema Salah, who arrived in Kabul on a week-long visit had described the number of girls students in schools very low.

A press statement quoting Reema said equal opportunities of education would be proivded to all children from Wednesday (tomorrow), without any discrimination. Every second girl was deprived of education, she said. The Afghan government has announced to celebrate Wednesday (tomorrow) as Education Day in central capital and all provinces.

The press release citing Reema added: "One among each five children dies before attaining school age, several break their career for assisting their families in domestic work. Such situation may hamper country development." She urged the international community to enhance its aid for children and women in the worn-torn country.

UNICEF also showed deep concern on torching of schools in country by some unidentified gunmen, the press statement said, adding the people should devote their children for education.

According to UNICEF about 600 children of under five-year age died every year due to many diseases, the statement contended. Likewise, about 50 women died every day during delivery or due to other pregnancy complications, the statement concluded.

Reported by Zubair Babakarkhel & translated by Rahman

[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.]