In this bulletin:

• Troops 'attack key Taleban base'
• Afghan, Coalition forces foil Taliban ambush in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan's humanitarian needs growing: EC
• US backs down over Afghan poppy fields destruction
• Czech parliament approves plan to prolong foreign military missions 6/12/07
• Italy, Spain agree on need to review Afghanistan strategy
• 'Pak worried about New Delhi's growing ties with Kabul'
• Sen. Bennett says Afghanistan progress slow, but U.S. involvement a long-term commitment
• Afghanistan passes law to enable first Bar Association
• Afghanistan’s Creaking Court System
• PESHAWAR: Ban placed on flour export to Afghanistan
• Berlin okays German aid team to work in Afghanistan
• Afghan widows build life through own hands
• Afghanistan: Hope from honey
• UN prepares for repatriation of over half a million refugees
• Security Firms in Afghanistan: Part of the Problem?
• Pakistan dancing girls fear Taleban

Troops 'attack key Taleban base'

BBC News / Friday, 7 December 2007

Taleban fighters in the strategic Afghan town of Musa Qala in Helmand province say they are under attack from British and Afghan troops. There was no immediate confirmation of the attack from UK sources, but the governor of Helmand province said earlier that the assault was under way.

The Taleban defences include hundreds of mines. Musa Qala has been the main centre of drugs trading in Afghanistan since the Taleban retook the town in February.

A local Taleban commander said the Friday's attack began in the afternoon, from three directions. He said that British troops and Afghan army soldiers were moving together on the ground and there had been exchanges of fire.

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says this is the first significant move since an operation intended to take Musa Qala began on Tuesday. He adds it is the first big test of the new Afghan army, which is to take the lead in the offensive.

Hundreds of local people fled after tribal elders were told of the attack and warning leaflets dropped from the air.

The Taleban say they have more than 2,000 fighters ready for the defence of Musa Qala, the only substantial town they hold. For now, they say they are holding their ground.

The Taleban takeover of Musa Qala was in contravention of a deal brokered with tribal elders when British troops withdrew from the town last year.

The highly controversial move was portrayed at the time as a "win-win" situation, with the Taleban and British pull-out leaving local forces to assume control of local government.

British officers maintained it was a redeployment rather than a withdrawal; freeing them up to take on Taleban forces in other parts of Helmand.

It was even suggested that it could act as a model for reducing violence in the volatile province. But the deal was strongly criticised by some Afghan and US officials.

Afghan, Coalition forces foil Taliban ambush in Afghanistan

KABUL, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the U.S.-led Coalition soldiers foiled a Taliban ambush in Kariz-e Sadeqin area of western Afghan Farah province on Dec. 5, said a Coalition statement issued here Friday.

"The combined force was conducting a reconnaissance mission fora weapons cache when two squad-size elements of insurgents ambushed them with small-arms, rocket and indirect fire," the statement said.

ANSF returned small-arms and mortar fire, which allowed them to out-maneuver the insurgent forces and engage them with close air support, it said.

"The combined forces overwhelmed the insurgents with superior firepower, despite the arrival of enemy reinforcements," the Coalition statement further added. It however did not give the figure of casualties on the militants.

Afghan government forces backed by foreign troops have intensified operations against anti-government elements across the country over the months as the Taliban were trying to overrun some districts in western and southern provinces including Farah through attacks.

Rising militancy-related violence and conflicts so far have killed over 6,000 people mostly insurgents this year in the war-torn country.

Afghanistan's humanitarian needs growing: EC

KABUL (AFP) - Worsening security in Afghanistan is pushing up the need for humanitarian help while increasing risks for aid workers, 41 of whom have been killed this year, a European Commission aid official told AFP.

Growing conflict linked to a Taliban-led insurgency has also put more places out of bounds for humanitarian groups and the return of thousands of exiles is adding to the pressure, Esko Kentrschynskyj said late Wednesday.

"It doesn't look very bright from a humanitarian point of view," said Kentrschynskyj, the head of European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) unit for Asia and Central and South America.

"Our reading of the situation is actually that humanitarian needs are growing after several years of humanitarian work," he said at the end of a week-long visit.

"This is because overall the situation in the country has deteriorated... conflict is not abating. It is going on and it's spreading to several parts of the country," he said.

The growing need for help meant the European Commission, the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, planned to boost its help for Afghanistan to 31 million euros (45.5 million dollars) for 2008 from 27 million this year.

ECHO aid is funnelled through groups that include the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross to provide things such as shelter for returning refugees, emergency food aid and water to drink.

Kentrschynskyj said it was "staggering" that 41 humanitarian and aid workers had been killed this year, up from 31 for each of the previous two years. The 2007 figure includes about seven foreign nationals, according the UN.

"It is absolutely very preoccupying especially when we know that the needs for humanitarian intervention are growing," he said.

Areas that had been inaccessible to aid workers were once largely in the south but had now spread to pockets in all corners of the country. "It is not impossible to work but it is getting more difficult," the official said.

Refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan are among the most vulnerable with few having land or jobs.

A government scheme launched in 2005 to allocate land has "not been working very well" and only 3,000 families had received plots, Kentrschynskyj said.

About 4.7 million Afghans have returned from exile since the Taliban government was ousted in 2001 and the country's neighbours are trying to speed up the return of the remaining three million.

Insecurity, including that caused by international military operations against insurgents, meant meanwhile that there were about 150,000 displaced people inside the country, Kentrschynskyj said.

The "situation has turned so bad that actually there is a more urgent need for humanitarian assistance despite the fact that development work has been going on already," he said.

US backs down over Afghan poppy fields destruction

Anna Bawden - Friday December 7, 2007 Guardian Unlimited (UK)

The US government has conceded defeat in its attempt to persuade the Afghanistan government to begin the aerial destruction of poppy fields as part of its opium eradication strategy.

"We have decided to stop pursuing the aerial spraying of poppy fields in Afghanistan," said Thomas Schweich, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

US officials have climbed down in the face of widespread criticism from the Afghan government and other coalition partners, notably the UK.

Although attempting to destroy poppy crops from the ground can be dangerous, the Afghan government is against the use of aerial spraying because of fears about the herbicide glyphosate's effect on the environment, other smaller crops and on health.

"The United States has always indicated that we would not pursue any counter-narcotics activity in Afghanistan that did not have the full support of the government of Afghanistan," said a spokeswoman in the US State Department.

"While we believe there are advantages to using aerial spray to augment existing eradication programmes, president Karzai is on record opposing the use of aerial spray and we respect his decision in this matter."

The decision was met with widespread approval. "We agree with the Afghanistan government that the best way forward is through the building up of law enforcement, treating addiction and providing alternative livelihoods," said a spokesman at the Foreign Office.

Schweich, now touring Europe to explain the change in policy and to drum up support for other counter-narcotics initiatives, wants to "dramatically expand" the so-called Good Performers Intiative, which pays communities to finance local infrastructure if they cease poppy farming.

The thirteen provinces declared poppy free in August will each receive $500,000 (£244,000) in development assistance. Next year, this is set to rise to $1m.

The US and UK governments have allocated over $25m for the initiative. The US administration wants to go further and has already asked Congress for an additional $50m.

Schweich hopes to persuade other countries, including Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Austria to support the programme. "I hope we can get to over $100m," he said. But the US is still committed to destroying poppy fields.

"Gound-based eradication ... will continue, but the decision on whether to proceed with ground-based spraying is still under discussion with the government of Afghanistan," said the US State Department spokeswoman.

Reducing the country's reliance on the opium trade will be difficult. Afghanistan's poppy harvest this year is expected to be 17% bigger than that recorded in 2006, according the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The country produces 93% of world's heroin supplies, worth around $4bn.

Czech parliament approves plan to prolong foreign military missions 6/12/07

PRAGUE, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic's lower house of parliament approved a plan Wednesday to maintain its troops in Iraq next year and reinforce its mission in Afghanistan.

A total of 415 troops could be deployed in Afghanistan next year, compared with the current 224, according to the plan, which was also approved by the Senate.

Beginning next March, a separate Czech Provincial Reconstruction team will operate in the central Logar province, comprising 180 soldiers and civil specialists.

Meanwhile, the country will cut its troops in Iraq from July next year from the current 100 to 20. The Czechs will remain at Basra airport in southern Iraq.

The Czech military will maintain its 555-strong contingent in the Balkans in 2008.

Three Czech soldiers will take part in the EU operation in Chad and the Central African Republic next year.

The participation of Czech soldiers in foreign missions will thus cost about 107 million U.S. dollars, accounting for about 3.5percent of the country's annual budget.

Italy, Spain agree on need to review Afghanistan strategy

People’s Daily Online - Italy and Spain agreed that the international community's political strategy in Afghanistan needs to be rethought from scratch, Italian News Agency ANSA said on Wednesday.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema discussed the situation in Afghanistan with his visiting Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos during a bilateral summit in Naples on Wednesday.

The required change of strategy will involve the organizing of an international conference and the nomination of a United Nations envoy in the central Asian country, according to D'Alema.

The minister said in an interview published in southern Italian daily Il Mattino on Wednesday he believed the envoy should be a prominent political figure who would be the "tangible sign of the international community's commitment."

NATO foreign ministers are expected to discuss these issues when they meet in Brussels on Dec. 6 and 7. D'Alema spoke of Italy's call for a new strategy in Afghanistan in his interview with Il Mattino but insisted he was not talking about a withdrawal of Italian soldiers.

'Pak worried about New Delhi's growing ties with Kabul'

rediff.com - Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC | December 07, 2007 08:28 IST

US Senator John F Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommitttee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs -- that has jurisdiction over policy pertaining to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan -- has called for the resolution of the Kashmir imbroglio, saying that the simmering problem is the rootcause of mistrust between Islamabad and New Delhi, that apparently causes Pakistan's paranoia over even New Delhi's relations with Kabul.

In a major speech delivered at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington,DC, titled 'A Winning Strategy in Afghanistan', the former Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, said, "Pakistan fears India is trying to improve relations with the (Afghan president Hamid) Karzai government at its expense."

Kerry said, "The US and international community efforts to build trust between these two neighbours, including in Kashmir, could go a long way toward relieving Pakistan's need to hedge its bets in Afghanistan. Ultimately, Pakistan must make a strategic decision to support a stable Afghanistan."

The contention among several South Asia analysts both in the US and elsewhere, was that at the time the Pakistani intelligence service ISI conceived of and supported and armed the Taliban, the primary policy goal by Islamabad was to acquire strategic depth vis-a-vis India.

But the Taliban consequently became a monster that the Pakistanis had to turn against in the wake of 9/11 under the US threat of either "you are with us or against us", following Taliban-controlled Afghanistan being used as the base of al Qaeda.

But now with the resurgence of the Taliban, there is concern in intelligence circles that once again certain elements in Pakistan, through some rogue sections of the ISI, are promoting the Taliban to keep the Karzai government on edge, partly owing to the latter's close relations with New Delhi.

Kerry said that there needs to be a recognition that Afghanistan "cannot be fully stabilised unless Pakistan and others fully join the effort", and argued that as long as "the Taliban and al Qaeda have a sanctuary right next door, we've got a problem--and so do the people giving them sanctuary."

He said that 80 percent "of suicide bombers in Afghanistan now originate in Pakistan", and hence said that the US policy should be targeted toward bolstering "efforts to root out extremists in the tribal areas--in part by supporting a 'frontier corps' made up of local tribesmen who know the terrain".

"At the same time," he added, "we should ensure that our $750-million aid package actually reaches the people we seek to influence. As we seek to spread economic opportunity, we should push the Pakistani government to do the same and also integrate these areas into national political life."

Kerry made these remarks even as his colleague in the Foreign Relations Committee Senator Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrat--who has already written to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raising concerns following a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that Pakistan was diverting much of this aid to fight the war on terror to purchase sophisticated weaponry, including F-16 fighter aircraft and anti-ship Harpoon missiles to be used in a conventional war with India--had scheduled a hearing on US aid to Pakistan to explore these assertions, with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher in the hot seat.

According to Kerry, Pakistan had to be part of a regional dialogue designed to help stabilise Afghanistan. "It is no secret that real tensions exist between Presidents (Pervez) Musharraf and Karzai."

"We have to redouble our efforts to bring about cooperation between these two governments," he said, and asserted that "you can't have a free flow of extremists along their wide-open border".

Kerry said "this cooperation must be one of the central tasks of our diplomacy today", and declared that "both Pakistan and Afghanistan's futures depend on it."

In this regard, the lawmaker argued that "ultimately, a Pakistan headed down the path of civilian democracy is best equipped to deal with extremism," and said, "it is in our vital security interest to help foster a government with the strength and legitimacy to fight terror."

Kerry said, "Now that Musharraf has taken off his uniform, we must push him to lift the state of emergency, restore the rule of law and judicial independence, free all political prisoners, and hold verifiably free and fair elections consistent with the Constitution."

He said this was the reason, he and Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had introduced legislation that calls for the suspension of US aid for strategic weapons systems to Pakistan that are not directly tied to counterterrism, "if Musharraf does not follow through on his promise to take these critical steps toward civilian democracy."

"We need to look at how the billions of dollars we provide to Pakistan can most effectively advance our interests," he said. "Our massive Coalition Support Funds should be reviewed to ensure accountability and transparency."

He bemoaned that "at the same time, less than 10 percent of our aid goes to development and humanitarian assistance," and called for targeting "more of our aid to projects that directly help the Pakistani people."

Earlier in his remarks, Kerry making no bones about the contention in Congressional and intelligence circles that Pakistan is the epicenter of terrorism, declared that the mission in Afghanistan to root out terrorism and stabilize that country is paramount, because it is, "right next door to a sanctuary for al Qaeda and to the crisis of Pakistan," and remains "as it always was, the true frontline of the struggle against terrorism."

"I don't need to remind you what's at stake," he warned. "The very same people that attacked us on 9/11 are still there, right where we left them," and recalled that "our nation's own National Intelligence Estimate warned us this July that the Taliban and al Qaeda have reconstituted themselves on the Afghan-Pakistan border and are planning more attacks on our homeland."

Sen. Bennett says Afghanistan progress slow, but U.S. involvement a long-term commitment

Sltrib.com/The Salt Lake Tribune 6/12/07

WASHINGTON - Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, returned from a trip to Afghanistan buoyed by his meetings with Afghan officials and members of the U.S. military, but he also warned that progress is slow - very slow.

Withdrawal of troops "is not something that is going to happen as soon as many Americans would like," he said during a press conference Wednesday at the Capitol. "We are probably talking about decades."

Bennett led a five-person Republican delegation on a venture to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. He participated in the World Economic Forum meetings in India, before slipping into Afghanistan and then Pakistan. The trip lasted nine days, with stops in Prague and Budapest, before the delegation returned to Washington on Tuesday.

"That part of the world is optimistic," Bennett said. "It is focused on growth. It is focused on change and progress, even those regions of Afghanistan where the war is raging."

Despite these findings, Bennett said he experienced "a great deal of pro-American feeling" and he expressed confidence in Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his administration.

"I came away impressed with their ability to get the job done if we do not abandon it too rapidly," Bennett said.

But he also agreed with other members of the congressional delegation who are pushing for the U.S. government to send more people to train the Afghans.

"It is not about the Taliban. It is not about Al Qaeda. It's about how long it will take to train the military," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. "Although we are doing a good job, the time line is too long."

Afghanistan passes law to enable first Bar Association

Legalbrief Today 07 December 2007
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has signed into law legislation which creates the country’s first ever Bar association; the Afghan Bar Association, the International Bar Association says.

Since 2004, the IBA’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has been engaged in a project to establish an independent Bar association in Afghanistan under a grant from the Swedish Foreign Ministry. Dr Phillip Tahmindjis, the IBA Programme Lawyer managing the project says ‘IBAHRI has worked closely with the Afghan Ministry of Justice for the last three years to establish the basis of a non-political, independent association which will both protect and advance the legal profession and also promote the rule of law in Afghanistan’. He added, ‘The new Afghan Bar Association is a big step forward in re-establishing the justice system in Afghanistan.’

Afghanistan’s Creaking Court System

Most Afghans prefer the traditional, tribal system of justice to state courts, according to a new report.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting By Wahidullah Amani in Kabul (ARR No. 276, 06-Dec-07)

The area around the Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul is teeming with people, both plaintiffs and defendants. Some have spent months, even years waiting for a resolution to their problems. Many have given bribes; many more have lost cases on lower courts because, they say, they could not afford to pay the judge.

But one thing unites them all - their anger and dissatisfaction with the Afghan justice system. “In our courts, bribery is at such a level that anyone with money can buy a decision in his favour,” said Mohammad Zaki. “There is no justice.”

Zaki has spent seven months trying to find out what has happened to his wife. While he was away in Iran working as a labourer, his wife became pregnant by another man. Zaki is convinced she was raped, and brought a case in a tribal court against the man he holds responsible.

The elders sitting in judgement ruled that the alleged rapist must pay Zaki the equivalent of 15,000 US dollars so that he could remarry.

The man accused, however, rejected this decision, and insisted that the case be brought before a state court. After a judicial hearing, the man was briefly jailed, but soon bought his way out.

The wife, meanwhile, remains imprisoned, on charges of having sexual relations outside marriage.

Zaki now has no wife, no money, and no decision on his case.

“I preferred the decision of the elders,” said Zaki. “The accused has money, so he paid the court and they released him. But I still know nothing about my wife, or the child.”

Zaki is now making the rounds of the Supreme Court. “There is no one here who will listen to me,” he complained. “They just send me from office to office.”

His case illustrates the difficulties of the Afghan justice system, where two traditions exist in uneasy symmetry, with the population caught in between.

On the one hand is the formal justice system, where written laws are administered by official courts, in a manner similar to the western legal tradition.

On the other is the centuries-old tribal system, where councils called “jirgas” or “shuras” make decisions based on local traditions and mores.

According to a recent report by the Centre for Policy and Human Development at Kabul University, the state system lags far behind the traditional courts in terms of public confidence and effectiveness.

In a questionnaire cited by the report, fewer than 20 per cent of Afghans put the state courts first when asked “Whom do you trust most to resolve any dispute you might have?” while over 70 per cent said that tribal or community elders and shuras were their preferred option.

The study condemned the state court system for corruption and ineffectiveness, saying that problems in the judiciary were jeopardising the entire structure of state governance.

“Corruption in the judiciary undermines confidence in governance, as it facilitates corruption across all sectors of government,” read the report.

The Supreme Court reacted swiftly and decisively, summoning several of the authors to the court for a dressing down.

“This report is an absolute lie,” said Abdul Rashid Rashed, spokesperson for the Supreme Court. “These people are just against the system. They were summoned to the Supreme Court and questioned about the accuracy of the report, and in the end they accepted that their report was not based on truth. And they apologised.”

According to Rashed, Afghans do trust the courts and use the legal system to resolve their problems.

“We only have problems in some areas like Khost, Kunar, Paktia and Paktika provinces,” he told IWPR, referring to Pashtun-dominated areas on Afghanistan’s southern and eastern fringes. “The rest of Afghanistan goes to the courts, and respects their decisions.”

Rashed acknowledged that bribery and corruption were an issue, and that claimants faced long delays in having their cases resolved. However, he maintained, steps had been taken to remedy these problems.

“In the past year and a half, we have fired or replaced approximately 700 judges,” he said. “Nowadays people do trust the courts.”

According to Rashed, those who have access to state courts both trust them and use them. This accounts for approximately 60 per cent of the population. The rest, he said, may live in remote areas where the state system has not yet penetrated.

Some of the compilers of the report denied that they had apologised. They were not able to give their names, however, as they said the Supreme Court had warned them not to talk to the media.

But Dr Daoud Saba, one of the report’s main authors, insisted that the document was produced according to international standards, and was founded on scientific methods.

“This report reflects the reality of Afghanistan,” he said.

Those milling around the Supreme Court seem to agree. Most complain about delays in decisions, corruption, and bribery.

“It has been more than two years since a commander claimed my property,” said Najibullah, from Ghor province. “There’s still no result. It was heard in provincial courts, and now in the Supreme Court - but no decision yet.”

Land issues are particularly difficult to resolve given Afghanistan’s turbulent recent history. Returning refugees may find that their property has been taken by a local strongman; neighbours quarrel over borders or water rights. In many cases, no formal deeds or proof of ownership exist. The legal system has not yet developed ways of dealing with the issues.

“One of the primary challenges to land administration, and thus a central cause of land disputes, is the absence of an effective legal framework for land issues,” according to the report.

Najibullah said that he had not paid any bribes or been asked for money.

But bribery does not always solve the problem, as a man from Takhar province found out to his cost.

“I have money, and I paid the judge,” said the man, who did not want to give his name. “But the other side also has money, and they too paid the judge. So my case has been dragging on for 12 years.”

Nasrullah Stanekzai, former deputy minister of information and culture, now a professor of law at Kabul University, sees serious problems with the study.

“I do not accept this report at all,” he said. “They did not contact any of the Afghan legal institutions when they were compiling this report. They did not contact the law department at the university. But it is clear that people are turning to the jirgas to solve their problems. This is particularly true in Pashtun areas.”

Stanekzai disagrees with the report’s conclusions.

“I do not believe that only 20 per cent of the people trust the justice system,” he said. “If we look at the cities, where millions of people live, there are only state courts. But unfortunately, Afghanistan’s justice system is not complete. It is not independent, and there is a lot of corruption. The procedures take too much time, and are very difficult. For all of these reasons, people go to the traditional jirgas.”

The jirga system also has its problems, as the report points out. Many practices embraced by local tradition are in violation of Afghan legislation, such the tradition of “bad”, an exchange in which a woman or girl is offered in marriage as a means of settling a dispute.

As time goes on, the report says, the two systems should cooperate and reinforce each other. Its authors propose “a hybrid model for justice in Afghanistan, in which alternative dispute resolution mechanisms remain important in providing justice, but under the regulation of state institutions”.

Wahidullah Amani is an IWPR staff trainer, reporter and editor in Kabul.

PESHAWAR: Ban placed on flour export to Afghanistan 6/12/07

Dawn - PESHAWAR, Dec 5: The NWFP government has banned export of wheat flour to Afghanistan, apparently to curtail price spiral of the commodity in the local market.

Naeem Butt, chairman of the All Pakistan Flour Mills Association, told Dawn that officials of the provincial food department, accompanied by police, had on Wednesday seized near Hayatabad more than a dozen trucks going to Afghanistan.

He termed the provincial government’s action illegal and contrary to federal government’s policies. He said wheat flour was an exportable item under the federal trade policy.

Mr Butt said that last month Frontier Corps personnel deployed at border checkpoints of Khyber and Kurram agencies had stopped more than two dozen trucks from crossing into Afghanistan. The trucks were later allowed to cross the border when the commerce ministry was involved.

He said they had contacted the secretary and the director of the NWFP food department to know under which law the movement of exportable items to Afghanistan had been stopped. The two officials, he added, had failed to give a satisfactory reply and said the ban had been imposed by the provincial government.

Despite attempts, other senior authorities of the food department could not be contacted to know details of the decision to ban flour export.

Berlin okays German aid team to work in Afghanistan

Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) December 7, 2007

Berlin_(dpa) _ Germany's government has given its blessing for a development-aid firm to work in a poor part of southern Afghanistan where the Taliban is active, an aid ministry spokesman in Berlin said Friday.

The Netherlands is to pay for the 20-million-euro (29-million-dollar) project, which includes employing Afghans to build roads, promoting agriculture and improving local administration in the Urusgan province.

The scheme will be managed by GTZ International Services, the commercial arm of the German federal development-aid organization GTZ. Germany has flatly refused to send any troops to fight the Taliban in the war-torn south.

The venture will be the biggest project with German involvement in the south of the troubled country since the Taliban government was toppled six years ago and German troops arrived to help secure Kabul and then the north.

A delay of months in approving the GTZ project upset the Dutch government, sources said. The Germans made approval conditional on Dutch troops, the main western force in the Urusgan area, remaining.

A week ago, the Dutch government extended the force's authorization till 2010. dpa jbp sc

Afghan widows build life through own hands

by Zhang Yunlong, Lin Jing - KABUL, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- "No one can imagine how miserable a widow's life could be," said Fatima Akbari, 42, an Afghan widow and former refugee.

Mrs. Akbari, who migrated to Iran to feed and raise her three children, after the killing of her husband -- the family's only bread earner by Taliban some 12 years ago, returned home in 2004 and established a carpentry school to generate income one year later.

Standing in the carpentry school, a mud-walled courtyard in Afghan capital Kabul, Fatima, the school's principal, told Xinhua that the vocational institution, with support from an international organization, is offering free carpentry education to the widowed sisters so as to help them earn bread through own hands.

"An Afghan woman, once becoming a widow, will not be welcomed by neither her own or her husband's family," said Fatima, with lightening color shining in the eyes. "We're left to count on ourselves."

Several years' life as a refugee working between construction sites in the neighboring Iran made Fatima capable of carpentry, a kind of work usually chosen by men in Afghanistan.

Back to her homeland three years ago, Fatima developed a plan, which finally turned out to be a carpentry vocational center.

"We are able to create value and generate income for ourselves through our own hands," said Fatima. "I want my fellow sisters to understand the point, and that's why I have started the school."

Women are among the weakest groups in terms of economic power and social rights in Afghanistan, a conservative country, which has seen decades-long of war, factional fighting and civil strife.

Taliban regime during its six-year reign, which was toppled in late 2001 by the U.S.-led invasion, had confined women in their homes and deprived them of education and work rights. Those women, after losing their husbands, had to shoulder the life burden alone in the war-torn country, though most of them were unskilled.

Over two million widows, mostly caused by war, are now living in the post-Taliban nation and those who are unskilled or with little work experiences have even been forced to beg. In Kabul's dust-filled roads, usually jammed by imported used cars, one can always see women begging, holding a baby in arm.

A total of 60 widows, Fatima said, are currently learning carpentry in the school which in fact is an income generating project located in one of the poorest areas of western Kabul's suburbs, from where majority of their learners come.

A six-month long training course on carpentry technique is free of charge to the learners. Besides Fatima, who serves as principal and instructor, the school has two other teachers.

Under a large tent in the courtyard, Xinhua reporter saw women were busy working in three groups under teachers' guidance, and besides them are piled wood, two carpentry machine tools and a couple of pieces of newly-made furniture. Fatima said after three-months training, the learners have already gained the ability of making small tables, television stands, and chairs, etc.

What's more encouraging is that the widows' carpentry school has managed to sign contracts with furniture marketing firms and sell the work of arts by the learners a little cheaper than the prices in market.

Half of the revenue will be paid back to the supporting organization and the remaining half goes to the pockets of the learners or junior women carpenters.

"Each learner can earn a monthly average of 2,500 Afghanis (about 50 U.S. dollars)," said Fatima. "Sometimes if we are lucky each one can earn 15,000 Afghanis (or 300 dollars)."

Aziza, 40, a known diligent learner here, is very grateful to the school for helping improve her life. "My husband was killed in war and I had to raise six children by myself," she said. "For a long time we could only survive through begging and receiving donation food."

Aziza never attended school before and it was hard for her to catch up with the carpentry course in the first beginning.

"I was upset, and even doubted if carpentry might be just unsuitable for women," she said. "But finally, with the help of fellow sisters, I have gotten the capability and it is a really happy thing for me to see my own work being sold to furniture companies."

"The most important is that, now I am confident that I can work and stand on my own feet," Aziza stressed.

Like many other women at the vocational center, Aziza has confidence about her future. After graduation from the widows' carpentry school, Aziza wishes to run a similar school to help fellow widows in the war-devastated country.

The Post-Taliban Afghanistan has been experiencing pleasing changes and positive development including enrollment more than six million children to school and women empowerment in political and social and economic field, though it is believed that it takes more time for the Central Asian country to fully recover from war aftermath.

Afghanistan: Hope from honey

Source: Mission East December 6, 2007

Both Sohaila Khan, 25, and Maa Begum, 50, lived in extreme poverty in northern Afghanistan. It was a constant struggle to feed themselves and their children. "There was no light at the end of the tunnel," says Sohaila. Until July 2006.

"We didn't even have a small piece of land where we could grow food for ourselves," says Maa Begum (bottom picture). For years her eldest son tried in vain to provide for nine family members with a monthly income of merely 54 dollars. He was the only one who was lucky enough to be able to find a job.

A couple of months after Sohaila’s wedding, her husband, Ahmad Khan, was forced to leave her to look for work in Iran.

The two families were considered some of the poorest and most vulnerable in their villages. So when Mission East started the agriculture project in Badakhshan in northern Afghanistan, the local councils recommended Sohaila and Maa as participants.

So, in July 2006, together with 18 other poor women, they were provided with a beehive, protection gear and training in honey production. In just one year the honey has turned their lives around.

"This year, because of the honey, I have earned enough to send my children to school. It is a miracle. I had given up hope of ever earning my own money and being able to provide for my children," says Sohaila. Maa proudly adds:

"We can now afford to buy uniforms and books and pay fees for our children to go to school. We can also afford food items and soap for washing our children."

Because of their own hard work Sohaila and Maa has been able to expand their production with more beehives. This year Sohaila harvested 87 kilos of honey. She sold 72 kilos at the local market and the money she earned pays for food, clothes and other necessities for her family.

She is truly grateful for the help and is now looking forward to the future:

"I wish to have five more beehives. And I want to help women in my village to support themselves – just as I have been helped."

There is a great demand for honey in Badakhshan in the northern Afghanistan where Maa and Sohaila lives. So great that the few beekeepers in the area can’t meet the demand. That leaves a good opportunity for more people to work their way out of poverty if they are taught how to produce honey.

UN prepares for repatriation of over half a million refugees

KABUL, 5 December 2007 (IRIN) - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has asked for about US$100 million from donors for its Afghan operations in the coming two years, according to UNHCR Global Appeal 2008-2009.

The UNHCR will need over $49 million in 2008 and over $50 million in 2009 to assist 540,000 Afghan refugees who are expected to return primarily from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.

“This 2008-2009 edition is the first Global Appeal to cover a two-year period. It corresponds to our new biennial budget cycle which, among other advantages, should help the predictability of funding,” Antonio Guterres, UN high commissioner for refugees, said in a statement.

The new funding appeal shows a slight decrease in UNHCR’s budget for its Afghan operations. The UNHCR has a budget of about $52 million for its refugee and internally displaced person (IDP) support activities in 2007, Nader Farhad, a UNHCR spokesman in Afghanistan said.

Afghanistan is the second largest operation for UNHCR after Chad where it has demanded $73.6 million funding, the UNHCR document says.

The security situation and a lack of economic opportunities are two major concerns which have affected repatriation trends to Afghanistan in the past two years, Afghan officials and the UNHCR said.

“Insecurity and lack of land, shelter and livelihoods in Afghanistan are the main obstacles to return for refugees,” said the Appeal, which was released on 4 December. Insecurity is also hampering aid agencies’ access to volatile parts of the country.

Almost half of Afghanistan’s 652,225sqkm territory is currently considered “extremely risky” by UN agencies, according to a leaked aid map of Afghanistan published by a British newspaper, The Times.

Another challenge is Afghanistan’s weak institutional capacity to effectively manage returnee and IDP affairs: “Despite UNHCR’s efforts, the capacity of relevant government counterparts remains limited due to the high turnover of officials both at the central and provincial levels,” says the UNHCR appeal.

Over four million Afghan refugees have returned to their country from Iran and Pakistan in the past six years. About three million Afghans still live in Pakistan and over one million live in Iran, the UNHCR reported in December 2007.

A combination of armed conflict between the Afghan government and anti-government elements, and natural disasters have displaced tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan, the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) estimates.

Most IDPs, mainly in restive parts of the country in the south, southeast and southwest, are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, the president of ARCS told IRIN earlier.

The UNHCR plans to spend $114,310 on IDP assistance and support, the UNHCR global appeal says: “With respect to IDPs, in 2008 and 2009 UNHCR will provide return assistance on an ad hoc basis and will assist new groups such as battle-affected IDPs,” the appeal says.

Security Firms in Afghanistan: Part of the Problem?

Private security companies are contributing to the rising tide of lawlessness, according to both Afghan and international experts.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting By Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul (ARR No. 276, 06-Dec-07 )

Former commanders, ex-special forces, demobilised militias – at times it seems like the streets of Kabul are crammed full of strongmen looking to capitalise on their most marketable skill – the ability and readiness to fight.

Many have gravitated towards the new industry of private security firms, which guard banks, embassies, international organisations, and even some of the trendier restaurants in the capital.

But the Afghan government is now cracking down on these heavily-armed and often unlicensed firms, saying that several have been implicated in major crimes including armed robbery, kidnap and murder.

Some observers worry that the closure of security firms will make a bad situation even worse. The Afghan police cannot fill the gap, they insist, and turning thousands of armed and unemployed men loose on the streets will create an even more unstable environment.

“Over the past few months we have conducted a review and have concluded that many of the armed robberies and murders have been carried out by members of these firms,” said Zmarai Bashiri, spokesman for the interior ministry. “The illegal use and sale of weapons is also common among these companies.”

Several high-profile cases have highlighted the problem. In August, for example, a British security expert was shot dead while transporting 200,000 US dollars in cash. Police questioned members of his staff in connection with the killing.

“We have arrested a number of people connected with the [security] companies; these people were engaged in murder, kidnapping and armed robbery,” said Bashiri. “We will deal with them in accordance with the law.”

The interior ministry has already closed down ten private security firms, and in recent days has conducted raids on several more.

One international company was found to have a large stockpile of illegal weapons, including 60 Kalashnikov rifles, nine heavy machine guns, and huge stores of ammunitions.

Various estimates exist on the number of firms in the country. According to Bashiri, there are currently 60 private security companies in operation, employing a total of between 18,000 and 25,000 men. The majority are based in Kabul.

Bashiri explained that there are three categories of security firms being investigated by the ministry.

“First are those companies that are known to be involved in crime,” he said. “Then we have those that have not registered with the interior ministry, and lastly we have those whose licenses have expired. They are all illegal.”

The ministry has begun drafting a new law to regulate security companies, he said, adding, “The interior and justice ministries are working on this draft jointly, and it will set out all the required conditions including weapons, uniforms, duties and responsibilities, plus geographical restrictions.”

Bashiri argues that the security firms are spreading chaos and are just making things worse. “They have proved a headache for us,” he said. “We will close them all.”

Men with guns are certainly not a new phenomenon in Afghanistan, which has gone through decades of war and internal strife. Many former militia commanders from the civil war of the Nineties have gone through one or more of the generously-funded but notoriously ineffectual disarmament processes, but have still been able to use stocks of weapons and loyal followers to create profitable security enterprises, while retaining much of their former power.

Mohammad Nasir, a resident of the Baghlan provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri told IWPR that a former regional strongman was now “masquerading” as the head of a security firm.

“The commander has gathered all of his men and given them new uniforms,” said Nasir. “They may be guarding NGOs [non-government organisations], but the commander still uses them to demonstrate his power. People still see him as a commander, he is still armed, and he can do anything he wants.”

This contributes to an atmosphere of tension in Baghlan, he continued.

“When people on the street see this company’s weapons and special vehicles, they feel frightened. They do not have good memories of these commanders during the time when they ruled the streets.”

But it may not be so easy to dispense with private security firms and the service they provide.

Given Afghanistan’s growing instability, many organisations do not feel comfortable operating without armed protection. The Afghan police cannot provide enough officers to guard the large number of local and foreign organisations, and many do not trust the police anyway.

“The police cannot ensure the security of the government, the cities, or the highways, let alone the thousands of NGOs operating in Afghanistan,” said an official from a Chinese company building roads in Faryab province. “We have no guarantee that anyone will be able to protect us if the government shuts down our security firm.”

To date, no security firm in Afghanistan has been implicated in the kind of controversy that surrounds the US company Blackwater, which is accused of killing 17 civilians in Iraq.

But, as in Iraq, confusion over rights and responsibilities contributes to a climate of fear and insecurity.

“Afghans do not know who security companies are and what they are doing in their country,” said Susanne Schmeidl, co-author of a study on private security companies issued in mid-November by the Swisspeace research institute. “Many Afghans are not able to distinguish the private security sector from the international armed forces, or from their own Afghan National Police and Afghan army, and general confusion prevails.”

Firms must be more closely regulated, she emphasised, to convince the population that security firms are doing more than contributing to the crime problem. And those who argue that security firms provide employment to men who would otherwise be a danger to the population are just postponing an inevitable day of reckoning.

“While there is a positive argument to be made that private security company employment keeps former strongmen and their militia off the streets… the dilemma of what happens to these militia when the contract ends needs to be addressed,” said Schmeidl.

Private security firms defend their presence, and insist that they are providing a valuable service.

Amir Mohammad, an official with RONCO, an international company that provides demining as well as security services, said the firm has a valid license and has not been shut down. Still, he opposes the interior ministry’s plan to close other security companies.

“This is a mistake by the interior ministry,” he told IWPR. “Thousands of people are employed by these firms, and they could end up on the street. These firms also pay huge annual taxes, and this will be a financial blow to the government. Foreign companies cannot rely on the Afghan [state] security agencies, so if the private firms are closed, no foreigner will invest in Afghanistan.”

Demining projects run by RONCO and others would be in jeopardy if their security could not be guaranteed, said Amir Mohammad.

“If the government continues with its plan, demining will stop in Afghanistan,” he said. “No foreigner will work in certain areas without a bodyguard. We work in Helmand, Kandahar and Jalalabad, where the police cannot provide security.”

But the interior ministry is determined to close down those firms operating outside the law.

“It is much better not to have a corrupt body than to have it,” said Bashiri. “We have found that these organisations are not useful. We have to adopt another means of licensing them. All of their current operations are illegal because no working procedure exists.”

Bashiri insists that the interior ministry will provide security cover once the illegal firms are closed.

“We will provide our own forces to ensure security when the firms are shut down. Charity organisations and business entities will be safe and they won’t have any complaints,” he said.

But Mohammad Fareed Hakimi, a political affairs analyst in northern Afghanistan, points to the deteriorating situation across the country, and expresses doubt that the interior ministry is up to the task of managing the situation.

“The government has closed these companies, but how can it fill the gap?” he said. “They cannot increase the number of police to what is required. If the interior ministry now has to guard banks and NGOs, the security gap will get even bigger.”

Added to this is the old problem of neutralising the power of former commanders and their armed militias.

“The government has to solve this problem in a way that will not make things worse,” said Hakimi. “Many security firms are owned by former commanders and their men. If these firms are closed, these men will once again gather around their leaders, and controlling them will be impossible.”

Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi is an IWPR staff reporter in Mazar-e-Sharif

Pakistan dancing girls fear Taleban

By M Ilyas Khan - BBC News, Swat, northern Pakistan, Thursday, 6 December 2007

On a chilly October night, a late visitor bangs the huge steel gate of a house in a narrow alley of Mingora city, the headquarters of Pakistan's troubled northern district, Swat.

But no-one answers. A painted sign on top of the gate says: "No more singing and dancing from today - 8 August 2007."

A curious neighbour walks up to the visitor, telling him the girls inside "have got letters from the Taleban, advising them to put an end to their business if they don't want their house blown up".

People in the Bunrh neighbourhood, the so-called music street of Mingora, confirm this information.

"Dozens of families have shifted to other cities, while many others are stuck here without any means of a living," says Fazl-e-Maula, the father-in-law of a local dancing girl, Nasreen.

Local Taleban have been spreading their influence in Swat since 2005, and are currently holding large swathes of territory just north of Mingora.

Last August, they distributed a dozen letters across the Bunrh neighbourhood threatening bomb attacks unless the dancers and musicians gave up their professions.

Swat has been long known for its fair-skinned dancing girls, popular with people who wish to have dancing at a wedding party or any other private party across most of northern Pakistan.

Unlike some dancing girls in the Shahi Mohallah area of Lahore, the women in this conservative city have never had a reputation for providing any sexual services.

Many people visit the girls in Swat at their houses in Bunrh for a glass of whisky and a dance.

Down the decades, many of the girls have shown themselves to be talented radio singers or movie stars. But in recent years the tide has turned against them in a big way.

It started with the "Islamisation" policy of former military ruler, Gen Zia ul-Haq, in the 1980s, which saw the rise of the clergy's influence in social life. This made dance parties at weddings increasingly unpopular.

In 2002, a religious alliance, the MMA, came to power in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and banned all cultural shows where these girls performed. At the turn of the millennium, many girls were on their way out of business.

"I was too old to dance by then," recalls Shah Bano, 38. "My daughter had her admirers, but when the MMA came to power, invitations to wedding parties began to get few and far between. And there was the risk of arrest and public humiliation."

Two years ago her husband, Babu - "the best drummer in Mingora" - died. This gave her son, a staunch opponent of dancing in the family, a chance to force his sister out of business.

"I work for a local butcher," says Shaukat Ali, Shah Bano's son. "The wages are not great, but I'm glad my sister doesn't have to dance for a living."

The girls who turned to music concerts and stage shows, often held in Peshawar, the capital of NWFP, were thrown out of business when the cultural shows were banned.

Some of them benefited temporarily when the aficionados and businessmen on NWFP's dance and music scene diversified into the video CD business, producing and distributing long plays and dance sessions on VCDs and DVDs.

But a violent campaign by militant Taleban has caused this business to decline across large parts of NWFP. Hundreds of video outlets have been blown up. Others have voluntarily closed down or switched to other businesses.

These repeated reverses have frustrated many girls and their families. Nasreen, 26, a mother of two, is one of them.

She says she was "hurt when some maulanas [clerics] sighted her and banned her stage show in Peshawar four years ago".

"It was a problem because the men of the house - my husband and father-in-law - knew no other trade except to play musical instruments."

In 2006, she received almost half a dozen contracts to perform for music video CDs, often recorded on private premises. It brought her enough money to buy a passenger van for her husband. However, due to his inexperience the income from the van has been far from satisfactory.

She says she tried to supplement the household income by receiving guests at home, until the Taleban in Swat issued their threats in August, leading to a complete ban on all singing and dancing in Mingora.

"This is too much. I don't feel like dancing any more," she says. But Mingora's music street is not without its optimists and rebels. "My heart tells me that things will change for the better, but I hope I'm alive by then," says Palwasha, an enthusiastic 18-year-old novice.

And for a novice she has done very well so far. Unlike Nasreen, she has taken risks and done more than 20 CD plays and video dance sessions, despite an explicit ban by the Taleban.

She has also sung numbers or performed on songs for the official Pakistan Television (PTV) and a Pashto language private TV channel, AVT Khyber.

Three months ago, she did a small role for a teleplay produced by Pakistan's Geo Entertainment TV channel. She aspires to go to Lahore and act in movies, but neither she nor her uncle and guardian have any contacts there. And it is dangerous to stay on in Mingora.

"I have defied the Taleban's ban, and sometimes I suspect that they know it. I only hope to get out of here before they blow me up," she says. The names of some of the people in this article have been changed.

[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.]