In this bulletin:

• UN council presses Afghanistan to rein in Taliban
• Karzai seeks greater cooperation against terrorism
• Leaders rally to Afghan convert
• Rice Phones Karzai Over Afghan Christian Case
• Mood hardens against Afghan convert
• Outcry rises over Afghan Christian convert
• Afghan parliament mulls new cabinet
• Afghan foreign minister replaced
• Afghan foreign minister loses job
• Afghan FM says he declined another post in Karzai government
• New Afghan FM not good Omen for Pakistan
• An India friend bows out of Afghan government
• An India friend bows out of Afghan government
• Afghanistan official's ouster angers East Bay community
• Afghan Forces Destroy Suspected Taliban Command Post
• 'Many militants die' in Pakistan
• Leave Pakistan or die, Musharraf warns militants
• Blast at Afghan arms dump kills two, injures 40
• Outrage in Afghanistan
• Why risk our troops for Afghanistan?
• Defending the Afghan war effort
• Afghan convert controversy mirrors cartoons row
• Revolution in the Pakistani mountains

UN council presses Afghanistan to rein in Taliban - March 24

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council, alarmed by rising violence in Afghanistan, pressed the government on Thursday to counter a growing threat from the Taliban and other illegal armed groups.

A resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council also urged U.S.- and NATO-led forces in the war-torn central Asian nation to keep helping the authorities address the threat to stability and security posed by extremist groups.

The resolution, which extends the U.N. assistance mission in Afghanistan for a year until March 2007, expresses "concern at the increasing threat to the local population, national security forces, international military and international assistance efforts by extremist activities."

It urges the Afghan government and international supporters to "continue to address the threat to the security and stability of Afghanistan posed by the Taliban, al Qaeda, other extremist groups and criminal activities."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a progress report submitted to the council earlier this month, said a sharp rise in suicide bombings and attacks on schools in Afghanistan underscored the challenge facing the Kabul government as it struggled to become a viable democratic state.

Taliban guerrillas have been fighting the government since their regime was ousted from power after the September 11 attacks, But Annan's report said attacks by anti-government fighters had soared since mid-2005 and continued unabated throughout the winter, in contrast to previous years, when they tapered off during the harsh cold season.

The U.N. mission supports and advises the Afghan authorities on economic and political development, justice reform, humanitarian aid and anti-drug programs, with 189 international employees, 795 local staffers, 12 military observers, 8 civilian police officers and 29 U.N. volunteers.

Karzai seeks greater cooperation against terrorism

ANKARA, Mar 23 (Pajhwok Afghan News): President Hamid Karzai Thursday stressed the need for concerted efforts to root out the scourge of terrorism and secure a peaceful world.

Speaking at a conference titled Global Terrorism and International Cooperation in this Turkish capital, Karzai called terrorism a universal challenge and said the menace could be eliminated with sincere efforts and close cooperation among countries across the globe.

"States must be sincere in their support for the common fight and must pursue zero-tolerance policy towards individuals, groups and governments that may be complacent," Karzai said. 

He said Afghanistan was a good example to go by in the war against terror. It was international cooperation in fields, from military and security to diplomacy and development that had led the country to overcome the challenge of terrorism. Such cooperation had been instrumental in the transformation of Afghanistan over the past four years, continued the president.

"We live in an interdependent world and it is true that no one is secure if there is violence and terrorism in any part of the globe," he warned, adding: "Since terrorism is a universal threat, I believe it is only through international cooperation that we can defeat this common enemy. Once again the experience of Afghanistan is a good model."

He noted that despite the international determination and support to eliminate terrorism in Afghanistan, the country was still undermined by the menace with killing of innocent people in attacks everyday. "Afghanistan is determined to play an active role in our collective effort to build a peaceful world," he vowed.

The president appreciated Turkey for its support to the reconstruction and peacekeeping efforts in Afghanistan. He said deployment of Turkish troops as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan represented a valuable contribution to the security of that country.

Leaders rally to Afghan convert - BBC

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has added his voice to growing concerns about the fate of an Afghan man on trial for converting to Christianity.

Abdul Rahman, 41, is charged with rejecting Islam and could be executed under Sharia law unless he reconverts. John Howard said, "This is appalling. When I saw the report about this I felt sick, literally."

Many other world leaders, including those with troops in Afghanistan, have expressed concern about the trial. On Thursday US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice phoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai seeking a "favourable resolution" to the case.

Austria, current holders of the European Union's rotating presidency, said they would strive to protect Abdul Rahman. "We will leave no stone unturned to protect the fundamental rights of Abdul Rahman and to save his life," Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said.

The Afghan government says it is up to the judiciary to decide Abdul Rahman's fate. But, the Afghan judiciary is dominated by religious conservatives, and many feel it will be difficult for the president and the government to confront the judiciary, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Kabul says.

The bigger problem confronting the president, however, may be that an overwhelming number of ordinary Afghans appear to believe Mr Rahman has erred and deserves to be executed, he says.

Nevertheless, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday that he had received assurance from President Karzai that Mr Rahman would not be executed.

"He (Karzai) certainly conveyed to me that we don't have to worry about any such eventual outcome. "He had already spoken prior to my call to the attorney-general of Afghanistan about dealing with the situation," he told a news conference.

Mr Rahman converted 16 years ago as an aid worker helping refugees in Pakistan. His estranged family denounced him during a custody dispute over his two children.

His mental health was questioned by the judge earlier in the week and on Thursday prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said there were doubts about whether he was fit to stand trial under Sharia law. But Mr Rahman told the court: "They want to sentence me to death and I accept it, but I am not a deserter and not an infidel. I am a Christian which means I believe in the Trinity."

Observers say executing a converted Christian would be a significant precedent as a conservative interpretation of Sharia law in Afghanistan. Mr Rahman's is thought to be Afghanistan's first such trial, reflecting tensions between conservative clerics and reformists.

Rice Phones Karzai Over Afghan Christian Case - By David Gollust State Department 23 March 2006 VOA

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Thursday telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to raise concern about an Afghan facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity. President Bush has called the case deeply troubling.

The United States had raised the issue of the Christian convert, Abdul Rahman, through the U.S. embassy in Kabul some days ago. But it has elevated the matter to the senior level amid an outcry over the case in the United States, and apparent inaction by Afghan authorities.

Rahman, 41, has been accused of apostasy, a capital offense, and jailed under Afghanistan's Islamic legal code even though the country's new constitution nominally guarantees freedom of religion.

He has said he converted to Christianity several years ago while working for a Christian aid group in Pakistan. His religious conversion became a legal issue when he went to court seeking custody of his two children.

Countries with troops serving in Afghanistan including Germany, Italy and Canada have all voiced concerns about the case.

U.S. Christian and conservative groups have urged the Bush administration to intervene, and President Bush said Wednesday he found the matter deeply troubling.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said Secretary of State Rice called in Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who's visiting Washington, for a meeting on the issue late Wednesday, and followed it up with a telephone call to Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday morning.

The spokesman said the secretary told the Afghan officials the United States stands forthrightly for the principles of freedom of religion and freedom of _expression, and urged a favorable resolution of the case at the earliest possible moment.

The Afghan embassy in Washington late Wednesday issued a statement urging public understanding of the sensitivity of the case, and also said Afghan authorities were evaluating questions about Rahman's mental fitness, giving rise to press speculation the case might be dropped on those grounds.

However Spokesman McCormack said the United States looks to a solution that would reaffirm Afghanistan's commitment to basic freedoms enshrined in its own constitution and in international human rights covenants:

"I've seen these news reports about this possible avenue to resolve the case. I think in our view, it's important that as this issue is resolved, and we do seek a favorable resolution to it at the earliest possible moment, that there be a reaffirmation of those principles which we do see in the Afghan constitution, and we share and are enshrined in documents around the world," he said.  "These are universal values, as the president talked about yesterday, and they're fundamental values to any democracy and vitally important for emerging democracies as they struggle with these kind of issues."

In his remarks Wednesday, President Bush said the United States has influence in Afghanistan and intends to use it to remind Kabul authorities about the need to uphold universal values.

Spokesmen for U.S. Christian organizations say continued deployment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan would be hard to defend if a Christian convert was put to death.

The Council on American Islamic Relations, an American Muslim advocacy group, has also joined the call for Rahman to be released, saying Islam supports both freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.

The Afghan embassy statement reiterated that the country's constitution protects religious freedom and said the Kabul government will ensure that the constitutional rights of its citizens are respected. It urged that the judicial process be given time to resolve the Rahman case.

Mood hardens against Afghan convert - By Sanjoy Majumder BBC News, Kabul
3/24/06

Increasing international pressure over the case of Christian convert Abdul Rahman is forcing the Afghan government to play a tight balancing act between its Western allies and religious conservatives at home.

Under the interpretation of Islamic Sharia law on which Afghanistan's constitution is based, Mr Rahman faces the death penalty unless he reconverts to Islam.

"The Prophet Muhammad has said several times that those who convert from Islam should be killed if they refuse to come back," says Ansarullah Mawlafizada, the trial judge.

"Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, kindness and integrity. That is why we have told him if he regrets what he did, than we will forgive him," he told the BBC News website.

The judge's comments are one indication of why President Hamid Karzai, who already has a reputation of being pro-Western, faces some difficult choices.

The president has yet to comment publicly on the trial but statements put out by his office point out that while the government respects human rights and personal freedom, the country has an independent judicial system.

In practice, it is even more complicated. The Afghan judiciary is dominated by religious conservatives, many of them with strong religious ties or backgrounds. Many feel it will be difficult for the president and the government to confront the judiciary.

But the bigger problem confronting the president is that an overwhelming number of ordinary Afghans appear to believe Mr Rahman has erred and deserves to be executed.

At Friday prayers in mosques across the Afghan capital, the case of Abdul Rahman and the consequent international outcry is the hot topic of discussion and the centrepiece of sermons.

"We will not let anyone interfere with our religious practices," declared cleric Inayatullah at Kabul's Pulakasthy mosque, one of the city's largest. "What Rahman has done is wrong and he must be punished."

The issue has not reached the stage of street protests, as was the case recently during demonstrations against the publication in the West of cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.

But there is little doubt that feelings run deep and can easily be inflamed. "What is wrong with Islam that he should want to convert?" asks an agitated Abdul Zahid Payman. "The courts should punish him and he should be put to death."

Few were willing to listen to the growing condemnation in the West. "According to Islamic law he should be sentenced to death because God has clearly stated that Christianity is forbidden in our land," says Mohammed Qadir, another worshipper.

US President George Bush says he is "deeply troubled" by the case. That cuts no ice with Mr Qadir. "Who is America to tell us what to do? If Karzai listens to them there will jihad (holy war)."

Western backers of the Afghan government are pressing to create a country that is a moderate and progressive democracy, able to turn its back on its Taleban past. But analysts say they often forget that Afghanistan is a deeply conservative country rooted in tribal traditions.

"This is a Muslim country. The state is Muslim, people are Muslim 99%," says Judge Ansarullah. "This is a very sensitive issue." Afghanistan's constitution, written in 2004, enshrines the country as an Islamic state under which no law can contravene Islam.

But it also protects personal freedom and respects international human rights conventions. "It is a deliberately ambiguous document which tries to paper over the cracks and contradictions of Afghanistan," says one Afghan law professor privately. "But now the contradictions have risen to the surface."

Outcry rises over Afghan Christian convert

Kabul (Reuters) Growing international pressure on Afghanistan to respect the religious freedom of a Christian convert was met in Afghanistan on Friday by a clamor of calls for the man to be executed for denying Islam.

The controversy over 40-year-old Abdur Rahman, whose trial is due to begin next week, threatens to drive a wedge between Afghanistan and Western countries that are ensuring its security and bankrolling its development. But President Hamid Karzai cannot ignore the views of conservative proponents of Islamic law or appear to bow too readily to outside pressure.

A group of several hundred people, including a former prime minister and religious and former faction leaders, met in Kabul and urged that Rahman be tried under Islamic law, and threatened trouble if the government caved in to Western pressure.

Rahman was detained last week for converting to Christianity and could face the death penalty if he refuses to become a Muslim again, judicial officials say. Death is the punishment stipulated by sharia, or Islamic law, for apostasy. The Afghan legal system is based on a mix of civil and sharia law.

The case has sparked an outcry in North America and Europe but that appeared only to harden positions in Afghanistan. Several clerics raised the issue during weekly sermons in Kabul on Friday, and there was little sympathy for Rahman.

"We respect all religions, but we don't go into the British embassy or the American embassy to see what religion they are following," said cleric Enayatullah Baligh at Kabul's main mosque. "We won't let anyone interfere with our religion, and he should be punished," he said.

The United States wants Afghanistan to show that it respects religious freedom and quickly resolve the case. President George W. Bush has vowed to use U.S. leverage over Afghanistan.

Several other countries with troops in Afghanistan, including Canada, Italy, Germany and Australia, have voiced their concern. Some foreign critics have urged that their troops be withdrawn.

Canada said on Thursday Karzai had pledged that Rahman would not be executed. A presidential spokesman in Kabul declined to comment, but a government minister said a solution could be found.

Analysts say they doubt the man will be executed and his case could hinge on interpretations of the new constitution, which says "no law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam."

It also says Afghanistan will abide by international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrines freedom of religion.

Rahman told a preliminary hearing last week he had become a Christian while working for an aid group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan 15 years ago. He was detained after his family informed authorities he had converted, apparently following a family dispute involving two daughters, a judicial official said.

Virtually everyone interviewed in a small sample of opinion in several parts of the deeply conservative, Muslim country on Friday said Rahman should be punished. Religious and political figures meeting at a Kabul hotel said the government should ensure Islamic law is enforced.

The group included former prime minister Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai and a senior Shi'ite cleric who commanded anti-Soviet forces in the 1980s, Asif Mohseni, who said Rahman should be executed. It said if its demands were ignored, "the Muslim people of Afghanistan would consider struggle their legal and religious duty."

A cleric and member of parliament from Badakhshan province said Rahman should be executed. "It would be better to get no aid or military help from the West for 100 years than accept this affront," said Sadullah Abu Aman.

A prosecutor has raised questions about Rahman's mental state, and a judge said that could be taken into account. Rahman has denied he is mentally unstable. A judge said legal proceedings were expected to begin next week.

Afghan parliament mulls new cabinet - By Rachel Morajee March 24 2006 02:00 Financial Times

Afghanistan's parliament will begin this week debating the new cabinet line-up proposed by Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, including his replacement of Abdullah Abdullah, who has been foreign minister since the fall of the Taliban.

The reshuffle had been expected for weeks but the government must now get the new cabinet approved by the country's fledgling parliament, which will have its first chance to flex its muscles in a process that could take as long as six weeks.

The cabinet is to be cut from 27 members to 26. Fourteen ministers have kept their jobs, four have changed portfolios, and eight are new faces, according to a list from the president's office. Mr Abdullah will be replaced by Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, a presidential adviser on foreign affairs. Rachel Morajee, Kabul

Afghan foreign minister replaced – Financial Times - March 23 2006

Afghanistan’s parliament will begin this week debating the new cabinet line-up proposed by Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, including his replacement of Abdullah Abdullah, who has been foreign minister since the fall of the Taliban.

The reshuffle had been expected for weeks but the government must now get the new cabinet approved by the country’s fledgling parliament, which will have its first chance to flex its muscles in a process that could take as long as six weeks.

The cabinet is to be cut from 27 members to 26. Fourteen ministers have kept their jobs, four have changed portfolios, and eight are new faces, according to a list from the president’s office. Mr Abdullah will be replaced by Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, a presidential adviser on foreign affairs.

The move had been expected after relations between Mr Karzai and Mr Abdullah had dramatically soured due to disputes over appointments for ambassadors, according to foreign observers.

The change was aimed at making the foreign ministry run more smoothly because although Mr Abdullah had a high profile internationally, he was not an adept manager, Afghan officials and western diplomats said.

Mr Abdullah was a prominent member of the Northern Alliance, which toppled the Taliban, and was the last powerful minister with ties to Ahmed Shah Massoud, the assassinated Panjishiri leader, although Massoud’s brother holds the ceremonial vice-president post.

Mr Abdullah’s departure from the cabinet marks the exit of the last major Northern Alliance leader from the Karzai government. The president removed Mohammed Fahim and Yunus Qanooni from his cabinet in a reshuffle in 2004.

Among key ministers who keep their jobs are Habibullah Qaderi, counter-narcotics minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak, defence minister, and Amin Farhang, economy minister. The minister for women’s affairs, Masooda Jalal, will be replaced by Surya Rahim Subhrang, a women’s rights activist.

There are doubts over whether parliament will approve Mr Karzai’s choice for foreign minister and uncertainty over how much the government will be impeded during the weeks that Mr Karzai’s cabinet choices hang in the balance.

“It’s very hard to move forward on questions of how international aid money is handled when nobody is sure who will be appointed to each ministry,” said a western diplomat.

Mr Karzai had initially considered a dramatic overhaul of the cabinet, slashing the number of ministries by almost a third to make his team more manageable. The reshuffle is the first since elections last September saw the creation of a new parliament after a quarter century of war.

Afghan foreign minister loses job

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Thursday, 23 March: 14:40 CET) –For some, his name just as recognizable as his country's president. But, according to news reports, Afghanistan's foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, will be replaced pending parliamentary approval.

President Hamid Karzai announced his cabinet changes yesterday, including the replacement of Abdullah with the his adviser on foreign affairs, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.

According to the Pakistan daily, Dawn, Karzai's office released a statement saying that the president "has appointed a new cabinet as well as members of the Supreme Court and presented it to the Wolesi Jirga for approval”.

The Associated Press said that the move was expected due to tension between the president and Abudullah. He had held the foreign minister position for four years.

Before his appointment, he was the foreign minister of the Afghan Northern Alliance. Along with former interior minister Yunis Qanuni and former defense minister Qasim Fahin, Abdullah was a member of the powerful Shura-e Nazar faction. The trio was said to have used their control to negotiate cabinet positions.

Radio Free Europe quotes the Afghanistan country director for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Jean McKenzie, as saying:"It's a little soon to tell what it is going to mean for Afghanistan's foreign policy.

"Certainly, Abdullah Abdullah has been quite a figure in Afghanistan's foreign policy for the past several years. [But] we don't know yet exactly what this means or how the [Afghan] parliament is going to react to the list - to the cabinet reshuffle - in general."

RFE also quotes its Afghanistan analyst as saying that Abdullah was not as powerful as he may have seemed. "His [real] power base is very weak. He was not considered as one of the most powerful members of that group -- of the Shura-e Nazar," he says. "It doesn't seem that he personally can do much unless he is supported by other colleagues.

Maybe there is an agreement between Mr. Karzai and Mr. Karzai's first deputy -- which we shouldn't forget is Mas'ud's own brother. So there may be a split within this [Shura-e Nazar] faction. But Mr. Abdullah, by himself, doesn't have any power base -- either military or political -- to do anything on his own," Amin Tarzi said.

AP quotes a senior official in the Afghan government as saying that the move by Karzai "was intended to make the Foreign Ministry more active in promoting the country's interests and in hopes of improving relations with other nations". (By ISN Security Watch staff, RFE/RL, Dawn, AP)

Afghan FM says he declined another post in Karzai government

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Afghanistan's outgoing foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, said he had been offered another position in President Hamid Karzai's government but declined.

Abdullah, whose ouster was announced while he was on a high-profile trip to Washington, said he had asked Karzai to hold off on any cabinet reshuffle until after he returned from a lengthy foreign tour.

"I was assured that it would not coincide with that trip, it would be after my return. But I think there has been perhaps some constitutional compulsion to do it earlier," Abdullah told an audience at the American University here. Karzai called him in Los Angeles last week "and asked me if I was interested in any other post in the cabinet," Abdullah said, noting that he declined.

"That's the choice for the president," Abdullah said of the announcement in Kabul Wednesday that a new 26-member cabinet list had been sent to parliament for approval. It named chief international politics adviser Dadfar Rangin Spanta as foreign minister. "He has made the choice. ... I respect it and I welcome it. Of course I would have preferred it in different circumstances," Abdullah said.

New Afghan FM not good Omen for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, March 23 (SANA): Reports emanating from Kabul say the anti Pakistan Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is being changed and a new face Rangeen Dad is being appointed as the new Foreign Minister of the country.

A Peshawar based analyst said that although Dr. Abdullah Abdullah had been inducted in the Afghan cabinet for some reasons and now he is no more relevant a figure for the Afghan government. The next Foreign Minister Rangeen Dad is a more anti-Pakistan person than the previous, he added.

He had links to Maoist movement in India and had some communist type of thought that is why he is regarded as controversial personality. He had left for Germany after the Taliban took over but had returned after the US invasion on Afghanistan.

He had resumed his academic activities at the Kabul University from where he used to issue anti-Karzai statements and thus Hamid Karzai appointed him as his advisor on International Affairs. He is known as an anti Pakistan person that is why many analysts fear that his induction is not a good omen for Pakistan.

Another analyst is of the opinion that the purpose behind removal of Abdullah Abdullah from his office is to establish good relations with neighbouring countries.

The expert on Afghan affairs said that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has proposed a new 27 member cabinet, which will be approved by the parliament. In the proposed cabinet, there are 14 old ministers and 8 new, while portfolios of four ministers have been changed. Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah has been replaced by a quite new person Rangeen Dadfar Esponta, who is like Abdullah also a Tajik from Herat.

To question that as to whether reason behind the reshuffling in the cabinet is current Pak-Afghan tension, the analyst said, to him, it was a constitutional requirement because the elections have been held in Afghanistan and the Parliament is in place.

He said the parliament may oppose his nomination. With the nomination of Rangeen Dadfar, it appears that Hamid Karzai wants to bring his supporters in the cabinet. The new foreign minister is one of Karzai’s supporters and he does not belong to Northern Alliance.

Doctor Abdullah, his predecessor Younus Qanooni and erstwhile Defence Minister Qasim Fahim, all belonged to Northern Alliance Hamid Karzai is bringing his supporters in his cabinet to reduce their influence, he said.

When asked whether Rangeen Dad’s taking charge as the Afghan Foreign Ministry will help normalize relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the analyst said he thinks there will be no major change, because Rangeen Dadfar has criticized Pakistan.

Also, few days ago, in an Afghan Television programme he repeated the same accusations which Dr. Abdullah or other members of the Karzai’s cabinet have been leveling against Pakistan. “I think, with Dad’s taking charge as Foreign Minister will not usher in a big change that can help improve Pak-Afghan relations”, he added. (Kashar World News)

An India friend bows out of Afghan government - Indo-Asian News, 03/24/2006 - By Mahendra Ved

New Delhi - Abdullah Abdullah, axed as Afghanistan's foreign minister, has been a loyal friend of India, one whose family resides here and a man who has always been bitterly anti-Taliban.

His exit, or change of portfolio as some reports suggested, was expected in the context of Afghanistan's political kaleidoscope. His successor, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, who took over as advisor to President Hamid Karzai on international affairs last year, was seen as someone waiting in the wings.

Little is known about Spanta who began to make his presence interacting at international gatherings. For years, Abdullah was the face of Afghanistan's resistance against the Taliban, much before Karzai came into prominence.

He was also the handsome face of Afghans, thanks to his exceedingly good looks and urbane manners. He used to frequent New Delhi during the days of resistance, emerging from the battle front in northern Afghanistan controlled by his leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, address the media about Afghan developments, before flying to the UN. He did not sport a beard then.

While some other Afghan leaders who had made India their second home from the days of the resistance have since moved them out, Abdullah's wife and four children continue to reside in New Delhi.

Another Abdullah colleague, former defence minister Mohammed Fahim, appears to have gone into the background if not retirement from public life (he is a diabetic) after Karzai dropped him in 2004.

The other leading light of the Northern Alliance was Younis Qanooni, who was education minister in the Karzai government but fell out, contested against the president, polling a fairly high number of votes and is now in the opposition. Critics say Karzai has unfairly marginalised the Northern Alliance, which fought the Taleban until the bitter end.

Abdullah lacks his own power base within the Northern Alliance, which might explain why he lasted so long in the Karzai government - but could also be the reason for his eventual replacement as foreign minister.

Abdullah was born in Kandahar in 1961, studied ophthalmology at Kabul University's department of medicine and obtained his M.D in 1983. He worked as an ophthalmologist in Kabul until 1985, after which he worked with Afghan refugees in Pakistan, where he came into contact with anti-Soviet resistance.

Abdullah then joined the Panjshir Resistance Front and in 1986 became an advisor to Ahmad Shah Masood, who was also engaged in the anti-Soviet war. Abdullah was foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government from 1998. In 2001 he was elected foreign minister for the Afghan interim administration, a post he lost in a cabinet reshuffle Wednesday.

He is generally considered, along with former ministers Mohammed Fahim and Yunus Qanuni, leader of the Tajik faction, although his mother is actually an ethnic Pashtun. An inveterate opponent of the Taliban and their mentor Osama bin Laden, he questioned the latter's right to speak for the Muslims of the world in the light of the Iraq developments.

He told Radio Free Europe Jan 26, 2006: 'Osama bin Laden is the murderer of Afghan people and hundreds of other Muslims around the world. He has betrayed Muslims of the world greatly. Now that he is putting himself in the position of defending Afghan Muslims and Muslims in Iraq, it is strange.

'While in the case of Afghanistan he has been the cause of the wretchedness. And before there were any foreign forces in Afghanistan, Osama and his followers caused the death of thousands of people and forcing them into exile.

'Now that he declares his position as defender of Muslims, especially of Afghanistan, I find it strange. But he must be found, and must be punished, he and his followers who have been with him in all the crimes all this time.'

Afghanistan official's ouster angers East Bay community

Foreign minister removed following visit to Fremont - Inside Bay Area By Aman Mehrzai 3/24/06

FREMONT — Just days after visiting Fremont, the foreign minister of Afghanistan has been replaced by an Afghan-German official. Rangeen Dadfar-Spanta, former presidential adviser on foreign affairs, will replace Dr. Abdullah, who goes by only one name, pending approval from the Afghan parliament.

The change was part of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's efforts to reshuffle his entire cabinet, the first such move since last year's parliamentary elections.

In a visit to Fremont last week, Abdullah warned Afghan Americans of a continued threat to the stability of their homeland, despite positive steps to curb escalating violence in the southeastern part of the country.

Several times throughout his speech, Abdullah blamed Pakistan for not making a serious effort to control cross-border attacks by local Pashtuns and foreign fighters from Pakistan's unruly Northwestern Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan.

The replacement of Abdullah has sparked outrage among some East Bay Afghan Americans who feel the move is an effort by Karzai to remove all former mujahedeen ("freedom fighters") from power, an act U.S. officials have supported.

"Who kicked the Taliban and al-Qaida out of power?" asked Aziz Omar, owner of the popular restaurant De-Afghanan in the Centerville district of Fremont. "It was the Northern Alliance, and Dr. Abdullah is one of those who gave Afghanistan our independence."

The reason for Abdullah's removal might stem from his criticism of Pakistan, Omar said. "(It) is just an effort by the Karzai regime to appease Pakistan and America."

Another East Bay man, who wished to remain anonymous, believes Karzai next will target other officeholders, to rid the government of those connected to the Northern Alliance.

"It is known that Dr. Abdullah is on bad terms with Pakistan," said the man, a Fremont resident. "They will go from top to bottom. Next it will be the governors and anyone else involved with the mujahedeen."

Atiqullah Atifmal, the Afghan consulate general of Los Angeles, disputes the idea. "This is not an effort to remove any of the former mujahedeen of Afghanistan," Atifmal said. "It is simply for the betterment of the government and for the people of Afghanistan." The only warlord remaining in Karzai's cabinet is Herat's Ismail Khan.

Sa'id Tayeb-Jawad, Afghan ambassador to the United States, said such cabinet reshuffling is common in the Karzai regime. "This is not new," the ambassador said. "This is a part of the democratic process. The president has made his decision, and now it will go to the parliament for approval."

Fremont resident Faridoon Ahrary said he felt Abdullah's removal was needed. "Change is good," Ahrary said. "We constantly need change in Afghanistan to bring fresh minds with fresh perspectives (for) progress."

Abdullah had been visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington, D.C., this week, said Ashraf Haidari, Afghanistan's first secretary of political affairs.

Abdullah could not be reached for comment. Sources say he was offered several lower positions in the government but refused. Other removed cabinet officials include Massouda Jalal, who ran against Karzai in 2004, the first woman to ever run for president.

Afghan Forces Destroy Suspected Taliban Command Post

March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Afghan army units destroyed a suspected command cell of the Taliban militia in an operation in the central province of Uruzgan, carried out with the support of coalition forces, the U.S. military command said.

Six fighters were killed in the incident yesterday in an area where Taliban operatives have bases, the Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan said on its Web site. Afghan soldiers recovered materials ``intended for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices,'' the command said.

The Afghan National Army, which has about 30,000 soldiers, is fighting with the U.S.-led coalition in regions of southern and eastern Afghanistan where suspected Taliban fighters operate. The Taliban militia had its stronghold in the south before it was ousted in the U.S.-led war on terrorism in 2001.

Afghanistan in 2005 had its worst year of violence since the Taliban regime was ousted, as suicide bombers increased their attacks. Tensions have risen between Afghanistan and Pakistan over Afghan charges that Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters use bases in Pakistan to carry out attacks on Afghan territory, a charge Pakistan's government denies.

Pakistan yesterday protested to Afghanistan over the killing by Afghan soldiers of 16 Pakistanis on March 21 near the southern town of Spin Boldak, Agence France-Presse reported. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the men were tribesmen. The Afghan government they were suspected Afghan Taliban fighters who crossed the border to carry out attacks, AFP said.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said last month relations with Afghanistan are becoming tense because of Afghan criticism that Pakistan isn't doing enough to stop cross-border attacks. Pakistan has about 80,000 soldiers fighting terrorists in the border region, in an operation that began in 2003.

Al-Qaeda and other non-Pakistani terrorists hiding in Pakistan will be killed in the event they don't leave the country, Musharraf said yesterday at a rally in Lahore, AFP reported.

``These foreign militants are indulging in acts of terrorism not only in Pakistan but elsewhere in the world,'' the president said. ``I warn them to leave Pakistan, failing which we will eliminate them.''

Musharraf, in comments earlier this month, said intelligence reports on Taliban operatives provided by the Afghan government in February proved to be out of date. Afghanistan was wrong to blame all the problems on their 2,430-kilometer (1,510-mile) border on Pakistan, he said.

Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah earlier this week called on Pakistan to do more to combat Taliban fighters on Pakistani territory.

Sebghatullah Mojadeddi, the leader of the Afghan upper house of parliament known as the Meshrano Jirga, escaped an attempt by suicide bombers on March 12 to kill him in the capital, Kabul. He later accused Pakistan of being behind the incident, a charge Pakistan's government on March 13 described as ``absurd and highly irresponsible,'' AFP reported at the time.

Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban's fugitive leader, in a purported statement issued March 16 said fighters will intensify suicide attacks to make the country like a ``flaming oven,'' AFP reported at the time. Young people have ``filled lists'' volunteering for such attacks, he said.

'Many militants die' in Pakistan - BBC News 3/24/06

Pakistani troops have killed at least 15 militants in fighting near the Afghan border, officials say. The army used helicopter gunships against the militants after a rocket attack on an army post killed a soldier in the North Waziristan region.

On Thursday, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf warned foreign militants suspected of operating in North Waziristan to leave the country. More than 150 people have been killed in the region this month.

The latest fighting took place near the main town in North Waziristan, Miranshah. "They attacked a check post with rocket fire and when we responded the miscreants withdrew into the darkness," military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told Reuters news agency.

Witnesses say gunship helicopters were also used. The spokesman said soldiers had recovered weapons and ammunition from the militants who managed to escape. Several of the militants are thought to be foreigners.

On Thursday, President Musharraf warned foreign militants alleged to be fighting in the area to leave or be "crushed". Earlier this month, three days of heavy clashes with security forces in North Waziristan left more than 120 militants dead, the army said.

Thousands of Pakistani soldiers have been deployed in the volatile tribal region along the Afghan border to flush out Taleban and al-Qaeda militants believed to be hiding in the area.

Observers say North Waziristan is among the last bases for the resurgent Taleban in their battle against the Afghan government.

Leave Pakistan or die, Musharraf warns militants - Thu Mar 23

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Foreign militants hiding in Pakistan should either leave or face annihilation, President Pervez Musharraf said in a strongly worded speech on Thursday marking a national holiday

Pakistan has captured or killed hundreds of al Qaeda members since Musharraf joined a U.S.-led war on terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

But security forces are still battling remnants of al Qaeda and their sympathizers among tribes on the border with Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden is widely believed to be hiding somewhere in Pakistan along with his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.

"These foreign terrorists are not only spreading terrorism in Pakistan, but in the rest of the world," Musharraf told a rally that also marked the centenary of the formation of the ruling Muslim League party during the British Raj.

"I want to warn them, that they should leave Pakistan. Go away or we will finish them off," Musharraf said in an open air address beside a national monument in the eastern city of Lahore.

Musharraf has survived several al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempts since he sided with Washington, and he spoke from a dais, protected by a transparent, bullet-proof screen.

Nevertheless, Pakistan's commitment, particularly with regard to stamping out Taliban fighters still running an insurgency in Afghanistan and jihadi groups fighting Indian-rule in Kashmir, often comes under critical scrutiny from neighbors and Western governments alike.

U.S. President George Bush, who counts Musharraf as an important ally, said one of the main purposes of his visit to Islamabad earlier this month was to check that Pakistan remained fully committed to the war on terrorism.

Over the years Pakistan became a refuge for Islamist militants not only belonging to al Qaeda and remnants of the Taliban militia ousted from Afghanistan, but also from Chechnya and Central Asia.

Many settled in the semi-autonomous Pashtun tribal lands straddling the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistan army has deployed up to 80,000 troops in the tribal lands but is still struggling to root out militants.

Earlier this month around 200 tribesmen in North Waziristan were killed in clashes with the army after answering a call to arms by militant Muslim clerics following a Pakistan special forces' air and ground assault on an al Qaeda camp.

Blast at Afghan arms dump kills two, injures 40 - 24 Mar 2006

KABUL, March 24 (Reuters) - An explosion at a store of confiscated weapons at an Afghan military base killed two people and injured 40, police said on Friday. The accidental blast on Thursday evening damaged houses near the base in the town of Jabul Saraj, north of the capital Kabul, said Abdul Rahman Sayedkhail, police chief of Parwan province.

The cause of the blast was being investigated but Sayedkhail ruled out sabotage. "It was the carelessness of the soldiers that caused the explosion," he said. The two people who were killed and 22 of the injured were civilians, he said. The rest of the injured were soldiers.

The base was used to store weapons confiscated under a government drive to disarm factional fighters. Afghanistan is still rife with weapons after decades of conflict.

Outrage in Afghanistan - The New York Times MARCH 24, 2006 Editorail

What's the point of the United States' propping up the government of Afghanistan if it's not even going to pretend to respect basic human rights? President George W. Bush himself said it was "deeply troubling" that an Afghan man is facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity.

In fact, the case is more than deeply troubling; it's barbaric, and we were glad that Bush promised Wednesday to press for religious freedom in Afghanistan. The Afghan man, Abdul Rahman, was arrested two weeks ago. His parents reported him to the police for converting to Christianity 16 years earlier while working for a Christian aid organization in Pakistan. He was hauled before a judge, where he said he had no regrets. "If he doesn't revert back to Islam, he's going to receive the death penalty, according to the law," an Afghan Supreme Court judge told Agence France-Presse.

And maybe Afghanistan should also return to stoning women to death for adultery? The United States, Britain and every other country helping the Afghan government should take a hard look at its legal institutions. Muslim leaders would also do well to condemn this strongly; those who continue to hold the teachings of Islam hostage to intolerance do grievous harm to their religion.

There appears to be a move afoot to declare Rahman mentally incompetent as a way to avoid the mess. That would be a cheap trick because the law would remain on the books. Afghanistan is not the only American ally that enforces cruel religious laws. But this is a country that was liberated from the Taliban by American troops and whose tenuous peace is enforced by those troops. If Afghanistan wants to return to the Taliban days, it can do so without the help of the United States.

Why risk our troops for Afghanistan?

No country aiding in the rebuilding of the nation should tolerate a man on trial for his life over his choice of religion - Friday, March 24, 2006 – Vancouver Sun editorial

During his recent visit to Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that Canadian troops must remain in the country in order to continue securing freedom and human rights for the Afghan people.

Similarly, in a meeting with The Vancouver Sun editorial board on Monday, Omar Samad, Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, and David Sproule, Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, spent considerable time detailing the ways in which Afghanistan's human rights situation has improved thanks to the work of Canadians.

Abdul Rahman might think otherwise. The Afghani man, who converted to Christianity 16 years ago while working for a Christian aid organization in Pakistan, was arrested two weeks ago and could face the death penalty if he fails to return to Islam.

This abhorrent situation is one that no country aiding in the rebuilding of Afghanistan should tolerate. After all, why should we allow our troops to risk their lives to support Afghan institutions if those institutions don't even respect fundamental freedoms such as freedom of religion?

Fortunately, many countries have expressed their disapproval. Italy, Germany and the United States have all called on Afghanistan to drop the case, and on Thursday, Harper telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to express "deep concern" over the situation. Karzai apparently assured Harper "that respect for human and religious rights will be fully upheld in this case."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also apparently received similar assurances. However, it now appears that Rahman's rights will be upheld through a sneaky face-saving gesture, rather than through Afghanistan affirming freedom of religion.

Kabul prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari told the Associated Press that he thinks Rahman "could be mad" and, if so, he could be declared mentally unfit to stand trial. This would allow Afghanistan to drop the prosecution of Rahman, but Canada and other countries must demand much more.

Indeed, we must demand nothing less than full religious freedom for the Afghan people. The constitution of Afghanistan currently endorses international human rights conventions and gives non-Muslims the right to exercise their faith, but it also states that "no law can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions of the sacred religion of Islam."

Given that Karzai has allowed Islamic conservatives to run the judiciary, it's not surprising that such ambiguous wording would be interpreted as permitting -- or requiring -- the death penalty for those who forsake Islam.

But it is shocking. And if we're to continue our participation in the rebuilding of Afghanistan, the country must affirm its commitment to freedom of religion. Otherwise, Afghanistan might not be worth fighting for.

Defending the Afghan war effort - By MATT KIELTYKA, 24 HOURS News - Vancouver

The Afghan ambassador to Canada rejected claims that Afghanistan was in better shape under Taliban rule during a visit to Vancouver yesterday. Omar Samad was a featured speaker on a Fraser Institute panel, along with Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan David Sproule. He said he doesn't agree with recent pressure to pull Canadian troops out of the country.

"There are very strong reasons for Canada to be a part of this," said Samad when asked about recent anti-war protests in Canada. "Let's talk about the women, children and men of Afghanistan that had lost their rights [under the Taliban]. Where were the human rights protests when our women were being thrown in jail?"

Samad said an overwhelming majority of Afghans are thankful for the international community's help in rebuilding the country and that such help is needed for a few more years.

"We need breathing space and time to rebuild our institutions," he said. "The point is not to have the international community in Afghanistan forever, we have another four years to go for our institutions to be in place so we can take care of ourselves."

Sproule reiterated Canada's role in Afghanistan, saying that their focus was on demilitarization, security and dealing with poverty. The Canadian ambassador said Canadians are also heavily involved in training and preparing Afghanistan's police force and national army, both of which must be in place before foreign forces can pull out of the country.

Afghan convert controversy mirrors cartoons row - By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor Thu Mar 23

ROME (Reuters) - The strong Western response to a threatened death sentence for an Afghan convert to Christianity looks something like a mirror image of the Muslim reaction to the Prophet Mohammad caricatures printed in the European press.

There have been no riots or sackings of Afghan embassies, unlike the violence that marked the uproar in Muslim countries after the Danish cartoons were published, but the shock and mutual incomprehension expressed in both cases are similar.

The difference lies in the issues at stake. In the cartoons row, Muslims stressed the sanctity of Mohammad, whom they say nobody -- even non-Muslims -- can criticize. The subtext was resentment against perceived Western prejudice against Islam.

Now, Western governments and societies are speaking out for religious freedom and against the death penalty. The fact many Western troops now help defend the Afghan government against al Qaeda and Taliban remnants heightened the outrage in the West.

Amin Farhang, the Afghan economy minister who lived in exile in Germany for 22 years before returning to Kabul in 2001, saw the parallels and warned against any escalation.

"Following the row about the cartoons, which has cost so many lives, we should look calmly at things and work for a fair solution," he told the German daily Koelner Stadt-Anzeiger.

But he stressed the gulf between western-style freedoms and traditional Muslim societies that consider conversion from Islam to be an insult punishable by death." Afghanistan cannot switch suddenly from one extreme to the other," he said.

The uproar sparked off by the case of Abdur Rahman, now on trial in Kabul for renouncing Islam, showed that Westerners saw religious freedom as a norm and not an extreme.

"It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another," President  George Bush said on Wednesday.

Some critics suggested NATO states withdraw their troops from Afghanistan. A few even suggested that Western troops kidnap Abdur Rahman and bring him along when they leave.

Among the strongest critics are evangelical Christians in the United States, a core constituency that has backed Bush so far on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"How can we congratulate ourselves for liberating Afghanistan from the rule of jihadists only to be ruled by Islamists who kill Christians?" Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council asked.

Another leading figure, Charles Colson, said: "If we can't guarantee fundamental religious freedoms in the countries where we establish democratic reforms, then the whole credibility of our foreign policy is thrown into serious question."

Canada's top Anglican prelate, Archbishop Andrew Hutchinson, said of the Islamic punishment for apostasy that Rahman faces: "I'm absolutely horrified to think that this kind of fanatical literalism would be applied in this day and age."

European newspapers ran bitter commentaries. Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung said Kabul was "tolerant like the Taliban." Die Welt in Berlin wrote that Afghanistan faced "the dark ages of barbarity" if it executed Rahman.

"We have a duty not to cooperate in bringing back the burning of heretics at the stake," the Dutch daily Trouw wrote. Milan's Corriere della Sera said Western states helping Afghanistan should launch a movement to reform Islam there.

In Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, the daily that first ran the Mohammad cartoons, quoted Syrian-born member of parliament Naser Khader saying: "If necessary, Danish troops should liberate Abdur Rahman and Denmark should offer him asylum. "This matter underlines that sharia (Islamic law) must be fought wherever it exists," he said.

France's Marianne magazine made clear Western critics might not be satisfied if the Kabul court arranges to avoid the death sentence by declaring Rahman insane and unfit for trial. "If he is not tried, he will probably end up in a psychiatric hospital, which for a man of sound mind is sometimes worse than death," it commented.

Revolution in the Pakistani mountains - Asia Times Online By Syed Saleem Shahzad 3/23/06

KARACHI - The Taliban have established a foothold in the Pakistani tribal areas of North and South Waziristan along the Afghanistan border, but it is not simply a question of their having marched in and established their writ.

Their ability to impose themselves, which is the result of a virtual revolution in the region, has far-reaching consequences for both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
News reports tend to focus on the renewed capabilities of the Taliban, in terms of their reorganization, their base in Pakistan,

improved weaponry and their mass of suicide bombers. What is overlooked in the troubled tribal areas is an astonishing change in local dynamics, which neither the British Raj nor successive Pakistani or Afghan governments had been able to engineer, the ramifications of which threaten the existing order of the whole region.

The seeds of the revolution were sown by former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif in the late 1990s, who introduced electoral colleges in the tribal areas based on adult franchise. Previously, the tribal areas had representation in both the upper and lower houses of parliament, but the delegates were chosen by the jirga (tribal council) system.

In terms of this, a few tribal chiefs sat together and chose representatives from their ranks. As a result, the tribal chiefs held all the political clout, and they grew rich and powerful.

The electoral system broke this supremacy, and in the most recent general election, in 2002, the power and base of the tribal chiefs were destroyed. For the first time, downtrodden clerics, many of whom owned no more than an old bicycle or a mud house, were elected as members of the Senate and the National Assembly.

This coincided with the re-emergence of the Taliban, driven out of Afghanistan in 2001, and in effect the centuries-old tribal order was no more. Youngsters in their teens and early 20s became the new "chiefs", and even took over the jirgas. More than 100 tribal chiefs were killed; the remainder either fled to the cities or began a new life under the rule of poverty-stricken but highly religiously motivated youths.

Three major tribes live in North Waziristan, which has become the Taliban's prime stronghold outside of Afghanistan: the Wazirs, the Mehsuds and the Dawar.
British soldiers referred to the Wazirs as wolves, and the Mehsuds as panthers of the mountains. The Dawar have traditionally been peace-loving, preferring shopkeeping to guns and towns over mountains.

The Mehsud and Wazir tribes, though, have been arch-rivals for centuries. Traditionally, the Mehsuds have been part of the Pakistani establishment, and as recently as the past few years they supported the military's actions against Wazir tribes, who are mostly Taliban.

In today's North Waziristan, though, Maulana Sadiq Noor and Maulana Abdul Khaliq are the unbending leaders of the Taliban-led resistance. They are both Dawar and, even more startling, the Wazirs and the Mehsuds are under their command. The man in charge of launching mujahideen raids into Afghanistan is Maulana Sangeen, an Afghan from neighboring Khost province.

In South Waziristan, Haji Omar, a Wazir, is the leader of the resistance against Pakistani forces, while Afghan operations run from the area are taken care of by Abdullah Mehsud, of the Mehsud tribe.

"Nobody has seen such an arrangement in centuries, where the Mehsuds and Wazirs are fighting side-by-side, and more, under the command of the Dawars," said a local bureaucrat in Waziristan who spoke to Asia Times Online on the condition of anonymity.

The revolution that is sweeping across Waziristan is not confined to the region. It is on the march, with the eventual targets being Kabul and Islamabad.

The overall command center is in South Waziristan, where al-Qaeda No 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri calls the shots, while Tahir Yaldevish, leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and a key figure in the Afghan resistance, moves around Paktika province in Afghanistan.

Well-placed sources in the Taliban movement who spoke to Asia Times Online claim that the Taliban communicated "final messages" to Afghan and Pakistani officials, warning of direct attacks across both countries against top army and civilian officials. As a result, according to the sources, Pakistan stopped military operations in North and South Waziristan that were aimed at rooting out Taliban and foreign forces.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban strategy is to terrorize Afghan officials and prevent them from cooperating with foreign forces. And once the allied forces are alienated, attacks on them will be intensified.

In both Afghanistan and Pakistan, skirmishes have already reached some settled areas: Ghazni and Helmand have suffered direct Taliban attacks in the former, while in the latter Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan in Northwest Frontier Province have seen attacks recently. On Sunday, six security personnel and two passers-by were killed and six others injured when a remote-controlled bomb hit a police van in Dera Ismail Khan.

At the same time, the administrations in the capitals of the two countries are becoming increasingly isolated. The US-backed ruling royalists in Kabul are now threatened by Islamists who completely dominate parliament after recent general elections.

There is no doubt that radical Islamists, whether those of the Hizb-i-Islami, the Ittehad-i-Islami led by Professor Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, the alliance led by Yunus Qanooni or dozens of independent former Taliban, are now at the helm of political affairs in Kabul.

And the US-backed ruling and nominally secular officers of the Pakistani army are more on their own than ever before. A silent alliance of religious elements and religious parties is keeping a sharp eye on developments in the mountains, waiting for its chance to join in the revolution as it rolls off the mountaintops. .

[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.]