In this bulletin:

• Refugee school torched in eastern Afghanistan
• Twenty insurgents killed in Afghanistan: officials
• Taliban commander vows bloody 2007 in Afghanistan
• Former Afghan king ill
• Pakistan PM to visit Afghanistan amid border row
• Pakistan begins fencing on its border with Afghanistan
• Selective fencing on Pak-Afghan border to help improve law, order on both side: PM
• Durrani calls on Sayyaf, extends invitation to visit Pakistan
• Nato laments Afghan civilian dead
• Outside View: Europe's Afghan test
• Canada cautious with Afghan campaign’s early success
• President Hamid Karzai Expresses His Deep Regret at the Plane Crash in Indonesia
• 'A challenging year with not as much progress as expected'
• Rare British India documents surface
• Solve our land problem, or we leave domicile: warn Kuchis

Refugee school torched in eastern Afghanistan

Agence France-Presse 3 January 2007 - Insurgents torched a newly-built school for refugee children in eastern Afghanistan, officials said, in the first such attack in 2007 blamed on Taliban militants.

There was a spate of similar attacks last year on schools and teachers that
were mostly blamed on Taliban rebels conducting an insurgency to overthrow
the government and expel foreign troops trying to bring stability.

The school set alight Monday night in the eastern province of Nangarhar
near the border with Pakistan was made up of tents from the UN children's
fund, UNICEF, provincial spokesman Hazrat Hussain said on Tuesday.

"Five tents of a new UNICEF-built school were burned down last night in
Behsud district," he told AFP.

Hussain blamed the attack on the "enemies of Afghanistan", a term often
used by Afghan officials to refer to the Taliban movement ousted from
government in late 2001.

Gul Pacha Khalizay, the deputy education director of the province, said
about 200 boys and girls from a nearby refugee camp used the primary
school.

Thousands of Afghans who fled into Pakistan during the country's decades of
war have filtered back since the fall of the hardline Taliban, which denied
girls an education and allowed the school system to fall into ruin.

The British-based charity Oxfam said in November there had been a five-fold
increase in enrolments since the Taliban fell but more than half of
children -- about seven million -- were still not in school.

Education minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar said in August that suspected
Taliban had killed at least 41 teachers and students in Afghanistan in the
previous 12 months and security concerns forced 208 schools to close.

Twenty insurgents killed in Afghanistan: officials

January 3, 2007 - KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Afghan and foreign troops killed 20 rebels, including two commanders, in operations against militants in southern Afghanistan, officials said.

Seventeen, including the commanders, were killed in the southern province of Helmand in a three-day operation that wrapped up Monday and involved Afghan and NATO-led troops, interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP on Wednesday.

About 4,500 British troops are in Helmand serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

An ISAF spokesman in the capital, Kabul, confirmed there had been "sporadic incidents" in the area, but could not confirm the interior ministry's death toll.

Provincial police chief, general Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhail, said two Taliban pickup trucks were destroyed in the operation in and around the province's Kajaki district.

British troops make up the second-largest contingent in the 37-nation ISAF, after the United States.

The separate US-led coalition focused on counterterrorism operations said its troops had called in an air strike on Monday against insurgents seen planting improvised bombs in Uruzgan province, also in the south.

Three were killed, it said. Uruzgan is the base of most of the 2,200 Dutch troops in ISAF.

The onset of winter has seen a drop in Taliban-linked violence, which soared to new heights last year. Most of the unrest was in the south, the heartland of the militia that was in government from 1996 to 2001.

The fighting killed about 4,000 people in 2006 -- most of them rebels. ISAF said Wednesday that the past year had been difficult, but the force had ended it on a strong note.

"No one is pretending it has been an easy year," spokesman Mark Laity told reporters. "We have had many difficulties, many challenges. But we have ended the year strongly and successfully."

"The insurgency has had a very, very bad year," Laity said, adding: "If they launch the same kind of attacks this year as they did last year, the same thing will happen, which is they will take very, very heavy casualties."

Taliban commander vows bloody 2007 in Afghanistan

By Saeed Ali Achakzai - REUTERS 2:37 a.m. January 2, 2007 - SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan – The Taliban will step up attacks on foreign troops in Afghanistan this year and kill anyone who negotiates with the government, a top rebel commander said on Tuesday.

Taliban fighters staged a surprise comeback last year with the bloodiest violence since U.S.-led troops forced them from power in 2001. More than 4,000 people were killed on both sides in 2006 including nearly 170 foreign troops.

Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah said the new year would see more attacks on NATO and U.S. forces.

'Suicide and guerrilla attacks on NATO, American and coalition forces will continue and increase this year. The Taliban will inflict heavy casualties on them,' Dadullah told Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.

Dadullah did not refer to the death last month of Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, the most senior Taliban commander to be killed by U.S. forces since 2001.

Osmani was killed in a U.S. air strike in the south, and another rebel commander, who declined to be identified, said earlier his death would be a blow to the Taliban.

About 40,000 foreign troops are in Afghanistan, some 32,000 of them under NATO command. They are trying to ensure enough security to enable development projects to get started.

Dadullah said the Taliban had used a winter lull in fighting to draw up new war plans to inflict maximum damage on foreign forces. Afghan fighting traditionally falls off during the bitter winter when snow blocks mountain passes. 'They will soon come to know about the Taliban's strength and war strategy. We will attack with such a force they will have no time to settle,' Dadullah said.

The rebel commander ruled out any negotiations while foreign troops were in the country and threatened dire consequences for anyone who did so. 'Those who negotiate in the name of the Taliban will be killed,' he said. He did not elaborate.

The government has a reconciliation programme aimed at persuading Taliban members to give up their fight and rejoin society but few insurgents have taken up the offer.

Some Afghan politicians have said peace will be impossible unless elements of the Taliban are included in talks. A Taliban spokesman said last month the rebels might take part in planned tribal councils that Pakistan and Afghanistan aim to hold on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border.

But other Taliban members quickly denied there was any chance of the insurgents attending the councils. Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was reported to have denounced the proposed meetings as an American trick in a message last week.

Former Afghan king ill

Web posted at: 1/3/2007 - Source ::: REUTERS - KABUL • Afghanistan’s former king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, is ill, a spokesman for the family said yesterday.

“He is under the care of doctors in bed and that is why he can’t hold meetings,” said the spokesman, Fazl Ahmad Popal.

Popal did not give details about the former king’s illness but said it was linked to his age. Zahir Shah is 92.

Zahir Shah holds no power but was given the symbolic role of “Father of the Nation” after he returned to Afghanistan from decades of exile in Italy in 2002, after the Taleban were ousted.

Since then he has been living in Kabul, often holding meetings with tribal leaders. Zahir Shah ascended the throne in 1933 after his father was assassinated by a deranged student.

He was king until 1973 when he was overthrown in a bloodless leftist coup led by a cousin. His rule is regarded by many Afghans as a golden age of tranquility and stability.

But critics say the he did not do much for the country’s development. Popal said the former king recently went to a Gulf country for a medical check-up.

Pakistan PM to visit Afghanistan amid border row

January 3, 2007 - ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will visit Afghanistan for talks with President Hamid Karzai amid a row over Pakistan's decision to fence and mine their joint border, the foreign ministry said.

Aziz, who is visiting Afghanistan on Karzai's invitation, would "review all aspects of bilateral relations", the ministry's spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a briefing Wednesday.

"We attach great importance to our relationship and interaction with Afghanistan. These contacts are helpful in addressing challenges that our two countries face," Aslam said.

The visit comes on Thursday amid tensions between the two key allies in the US-led war on terror. Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to crack down on Taliban militants crossing from its side of the border.

Pakistan last month announced that it had tasked its army to work out the logistical details for fencing and mining parts of the rugged 2,500-kilometre (1,500-mile) frontier.

The decision is likely to figure in Aziz's meeting with Karzai, who has said he would use "every method" to stop mines being planted on the border. Karzai has said mines would prevent families and tribes straddling the border from moving across it.

Aziz told a press conference in the southern port city of Karachi Wednesday that Pakistan would go ahead with its plans to mine and fence the border at selective points. "We will go ahead with selective fencing and mine," Aziz said.

The decision to fence and mine the frontier had been taken to check cross-border movement of extremists, he said. "Afghanistan has taken a different position over the issue but it has been taken keeping in view our national interest and security," he said.

Pakistan is among some 40 countries that are not signatories to a 1997 treaty against the use of landmines. Taliban-linked unrest soared in Afghanistan in 2006 and Karzai last month for the first time publicly accused Islamabad of backing the Islamists, adding that Pakistan wanted to turn Afghans into "slaves".

Islamabad has denied the allegations, which have soured relations between the neighbours. Pakistan said it had deployed 80,000 troops along the border to hunt down Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.

Some 4,000 people -- including 1,000 civilians, but mostly rebels -- died last year in insurgency-related unrest, making 2006 Afghanistan's bloodiest year since the fall of the Taliban five years ago.

Pakistan begins fencing on its border with Afghanistan

Islamabad, Jan.3 (ANI): The Pakistan Army has started fencing and mining work at Pakistan-Afghanistan border; and is in the process of identifying specific areas, said Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam on Wednesday.

Aslam said the entire border would not be covered with barbed wire and the Pakistan Army would identify the specific areas that were experiencing repeated and increased turbulence.

"Pakistan-Afghanistan relations are singular in nature, and the prime minister's visit would consolidate these bilateral relations," Aslam said, adding that both governments would be giving thought to the challenges before them during the visit.

Selective fencing on Pak-Afghan border to help improve law, order on both side: PM

KARACHI, Jan. 3 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here Wednesday that the objective of selective fencing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is to check the movement of elements who create law and order problem. The fencing is mainly to be done at points where there is higher movement, he told a news conference at the Governor House.

He however stressed that there will be no problem for those crossing the border legitimately. Fencing will improve the situation and talks in this regard are being held with the Afghan government, he said.

Pakistan, Afghanistan to promote, strengthen relations in media - Wednesday, 03 January 2007

KABUL, Jan 3 (APP): Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday decided to promote and strengthen their relations in media through exchange of delegations and extending technical assistance in this vital field.This was agreed during a meeting of Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Muhammad Ali Durrani and Afghan Minister for Information and Culture, Abdul Karim Khuram.

After the meeting, Muhammad Ali Durrani while talking to the media persons said that both the countries and people enjoy close and cordial relations.

He said the two countries having various similarities including the religion and culture enjoy historic, deep rooted and strong relations.

The Information Minister said that Pakistan will extend its full support and help to increase the efficiency of Afghan TV and their news organization to further strengthen the brotherly relations.

Durrani said both the countries will continue their cooperation to ensure progress, prosperity and peace in the region.

The Afghan Information Minister giving the details of the meeting said that the two sides discussed ways to further promote cooperation in the fields of media, tourism and culture.

He said the exchange of media delegations between the two countries will further promote and strengthen the bilateral relations. He invited the Pakistani media to visit Afghanistan for observing the pace of reconstruction and development in his country.

The Afghan Minister termed the meeting as very positive and expressed the hope that it would help further improve technical cooperation between the two countries in the field of media, specially the television. via The Pakistan Link

Durrani calls on Sayyaf, extends invitation to visit Pakistan

KABUL Jan. 3 (APP) Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani Wednesday called on Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf, Head of Commission on International Relations of Afghanistan, and extended an invitation to him from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to visit Pakistan. Bilateral relations were discussed during the meeting. Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf accepted the visit invitation, which was extended to him on behalf of Chairman Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed. He said he would visit Pakistan very soon.

            Muhammad Ali Durrani, explaining the purpose of his visit, said it was to promote people to people relations and boost cooperation in the field of media.

            The Minister said media could play important role in promoting understanding, brotherhood and bilateral relations between the two countries. He said negative statements in the press could effect the relations of the two countries.

            Durrani said Pakistan wants to play positive and constructive role in the progress and prosperity of Afghanistan. He said many leading Pakistani media groups wanted to open their set up in Kabul with a programme to open tv channels and newspapers.

            The Minister said both Pakistan and Afghanistan could play more active role in the Muslim Ummah through cooperation in various fields for the progress, prosperity and development of the Ummah and for the benefit of the people of their countries.

            Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf, a former Jehadi leader, emphasized the strong and traditional relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan said there should be more exchange of delegations to further promoted these strong ties.

            He said the two brotherly and neighbourly countries are important part of the Muslim Ummah. "We want a strong and stable Pakistan so that it could expand its cooperation to Afghanistan for the benefit of the people of two countries," he said.

            The Afghan leader, underlining the need to promote cooperation between the two countries, said that both the countries should work closely, seriously and with sensibility to strengthen the bilateral relations.

            He said if any thing will happen in Afghanistan, it will have direct impact on Pakistan. Therefore, a strong and stable Afghanistan is also in favour of its neighbours including Pakistan, he said.

            Referring to Jirga system, the Afghan leader said it is a good opportunity and way forward to resolve the disputes. He said the disputes and problems should be resolved through negotiation with mutual discussion instead of discussing these problems in public.

            Emphasizing the need to promote exchange of delegations between the two countries, Sayyaf said the people could play more active role in promoting understanding and strengthening ties.

Nato laments Afghan civilian dead – BBC 1.3.07

Nato has said its biggest mistake in Afghanistan in 2006 was killing innocent civilians. A spokesman for the Nato-led force, said efforts were under way to reduce civilian deaths in military operations.

But he said Nato had killed far fewer people last year than the Taleban, who launched more than 100 suicide attacks. President Hamid Karzai cried last month as he spoke of his inability to stop militant attacks and coalition forces "killing our children".

He has come under growing pressure over civilian deaths as violence has raged across the south and east. Bloodshed in Afghanistan last year returned to levels not seen since the fall of the Taleban in 2001.

The BBC's Dan Isaacs in Kabul says, according to Nato, there is to be a greater emphasis on the strategic targeting of the Taleban leadership.

He says the extent of the civilian deaths, often in air strikes on local communities believed to be harbouring Taleban fighters, has brought much criticism of Nato both from within and outside Afghanistan.

Nato forces in Afghanistan are accused of killing civilians in a number of air strikes and gun battles during operations against the Taleban and their allies.

In one incident in Kandahar province in October, 20 members of one family were among villagers killed by Nato bombing, Afghan officials said.

Speaking in the capital, Kabul, Nato spokesman Brigadier Richard Nugee said the alliance was working to change its tactics in 2007 - and civilian casualties were the number one issue to be addressed.

"I believe the single thing that we have done wrong and we are striving extremely hard to improve on is killing innocent civilians," he said. But he also said the Taleban's mistake was to take its fight to Nato forces.

"I would suggest it was a year of two halves. In the first half the Taleban believed their own rhetoric and believed that Nato responsible for security across the whole country would not fight.

"So they took us on in a place of their choosing, in a hard fight - and they lost." In December, President Karzai made impassioned pleas for foreign forces to be more careful. He met Nato commanders in Kandahar and accused alliance troops of "shooting around".

The head of Nato troops in Afghanistan, Lt Gen David Richards acknowledged the concerns, saying procedures had to be reviewed.

The authorities say about 4,000 people died last year in attacks by the Taleban and their allies and in raids by Nato-led troops - about a quarter of them civilians.

Until winter set in suicide attacks, roadside bombings and coalition raids, particularly in the south and east, were an almost daily occurrence. Relations between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan have worsened as violence has risen.

Pakistan denies it is not doing enough to stop cross-border incursions by militants opposed to Mr Karzai's Western-backed government.

At the end of December, Mr Karzai sharply criticised Pakistani plans to build a fence and plant landmines along parts of the common border. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is due for talks in Kabul on Thursday.

Outside View: Europe's Afghan test

By ROBERT HUNTER UPI Outside View Commentator

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- On Sept. 12, 2001, the European allies rose as one in support of the United States, struck by terrorists the day before. For the first time in its history, the North Atlantic Council invoked NATO's cardinal commitment, the "all for one" pledge to defend any ally subject to aggression.

European nations were not motivated by sentiment or charity. They knew that at some point, al-Qaida would target them. And they knew that unless they supported America in its hour of need, the United States could hardly be expected to respond if and when Europe again needed the weight of American power. America's cause was, indeed, shared by the Western alliance in common -- strategically, politically and morally.

Five years later, the European allies watch the U.S. debate about Iraq with a mixture of schadenfruede and bemused detachment, but also with a good deal of apprehension and even fear for the impact of possible U.S. failure in Iraq or, worse, a new inward-turning on the part of the American people.

Of course, little has changed in European attitudes towards U.S. involvement in Iraq. The supporting coalition (led by Britain) is as narrow as before. There are no new volunteers for combat roles, and the recent NATO summit in Riga only produced commitments to help train Iraqi security forces -- precious little comfort for the Alliance's beleaguered "indispensable nation."

But like the day after Sept. 11, 2001, there is something Europe needs to do to help America today, not just because the United States is in trouble but because all will share in the consequences of what happens now, for good or ill, in the greater Middle East.

Within the limits of European politics and attitudes, allies can serve their own interests as well as America's by radically stepping up their collective commitment to Afghanistan. Here, there is no ambiguity and there should be no ambivalence.

The United Nations mandated the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The NATO allies unanimously accepted responsibility for its success. All 26 allies have deployed troops and other security personnel, as have 11 non-NATO countries. All must understand that a resurgent Taliban, ISAF failure, and allied retreat would impose severe penalties. NATO has, in fact, "bet the alliance" in Afghanistan and all the allies helped make that wager.

The good news at the Riga summit was that allied heads of state and government did focus on Afghanistan. The bad news is that they came up far short of what they have to do to reverse declining fortunes. NATO's military commanders gained a paltry number of new troop pledges. Those allies unwilling to face the risks of conflict agreed to modify their so-called "national caveats" that keep them out of harm's way, but only in an emergency, and tactical airlift will still fall far short of basic needs.

Even so, the military shortfall is a small part of the overall problem. Equally consequential are the continuing inadequacies of the Afghan government (about which outsiders ultimately can do little) and severe limitations on the non-military civilian effort that is a sine qua non of Afghanistan's future.

Allies with responsibilities for police training (Germany), fostering a viable judiciary (Italy), and stemming the renewed flood of opium poppy production (Britain) have fallen far short of what they agreed to do. Worse, there is no overall coordination of civilian activities undertaken by governments, international institutions and non-governmental organizations, and far too few resources.

It is a truism that Western drug addicts are putting more hard currency into Afghanistan than Western governments. The best that could be done by NATO at Riga was to adopt a weak French proposal for a "contact group." This is an oft-used device to advise on peace negotiations, but a non-starter for mobilizing resources, pinning responsibility and exercising leadership.

Leadership should be assumed by the European Union. Its members have all the needed resources and skills in governance, education, health, agriculture, and the like. Many have vast experience in so-called "nation building."

The EU has been demanding respect from NATO and the United States for its foreign policy and security ambitions. By assuming a greater role in Afghanistan, Europeans can show Washington that they are prepared to take on serious security responsibilities in the Middle East, not just to kibitz and criticize what the United States is doing in Iraq or not doing in Arab-Israeli peacemaking.

Action won't be cheap; and the Europeans must give authority to a first-class political personality as civilian "supremo" in Afghanistan, working in tandem with ISAF and the Afghan government.

Afghanistan is put up or shut up time for European nations in general and the EU in particular in the greater Middle East. Meeting responsibilities is in their own self-interest and is needed to forestall the first-ever failure by the Western alliance.

Robert E. Hunter is a senior adviser at the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research organization. He was U.S. ambassador to NATO from 1993 to 1998 and recently visited Afghanistan.

Canada cautious with Afghan campaign’s early success
CanWest News Service -Tuesday, January 02, 2007

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Intelligence reports from village elders have been instrumental in making the latest campaign to remove Taliban insurgents from Kandahar province a success, according to Canada’s top military commander based in Afghanistan.

However, Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant also acknowledged that certain areas remain firmly under enemy control. Grant said his troops count on local elders, who have started to come forward with useful information about Taliban numbers and movements.

This is a risky business, however. Villagers in Panjwaii who co-operate with NATO and Afghan national forces risk being tortured and killed by insurgents.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday,  Grant said there is still an opportunity to “either capture or kill” Taliban in the districts of Panjwaii and Zhari, west of Kandahar city, but added his troops will “not put an end to them forever.”

His comments come as Canadian soldiers continue to participate in Operation Baaz Tsuka, the NATO-led campaign meant to separate so-called tier two insurgents from more extremist tier one Taliban in Kandahar, and to deliver aid to local villagers.

Grant said he has “significant evidence that low level Taliban have simply put down their weapons and run away,” rather than take on Canadian and coalition troops in Panjwaii and Zhari districts.

“Where they have run to is a second question,” he added. He did not provide an answer; however, Grant suggested some “hardline” Taliban have fled to Pakistan.

Grant stressed that the Taliban “have not given up ... they continue to use that area which has been their traditional home as a logistics base and continue to conduct operations both there and in other parts of the province. But their ability to do so has been reduced dramatically ... I would say the number of hardliners we are dealing with are in the dozen as opposed to the hundreds.”

Without naming villages where the Taliban still dominate, Grant suggested they lay in his area of responsibility. On the other hand, villages south of the Arghandab River, which is an American area of operation during Operation Baaz Tsuka, have been liberated.

Grant acknowledged Tuesday that the Taliban continue to harass villagers in Panjwaii district. But he insisted more local Afghans are joining the coalition “team.”

Village elders, he said, “are giving us tremendous information, tremendous intelligence, and at the right time we will go in and deal with the Taliban, in conjunction with security forces, the (Afghan) police and the (Afghan) army.”

President Hamid Karzai Expresses His Deep Regret at the Plane Crash in Indonesia

Date of Release: 02 January 2007  - H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, expressed his deep regret at the plane crash in Indonesia.

According to reports, Indonesia’s Boeing 737-400 Adam airplane was en route from Surabaya in Java to Manado in northern Sulawesi when it came down on Monday, killing 90 of the 96 passengers and six crew. 12 people had survived the crash.

In his reaction to the news, the President said, “Our thoughts go out to those families who have lost their loved ones in yesterday’s plane crash.”

The President, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, expressed his heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Indonesia.  

Released by the Office of the Spokesman to the President - Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

'A challenging year with not as much progress as expected'

Pajhwok News - 01/02/2007 - KABUL - The United Nations office in Kabul said on Sunday that Afghanistan could not fulfil the progress it expected during the outgoing year, but determination to move ahead by both Afghans and the world community was still firm.

In a message on occasion of the Eid-ul-Adha to Afghans, deputy special representative of the UN secretary general to Afghanistan Chris Alexander said: "This past year has been a challenging one for Afghanistan.  Progress has not been as rapid as we would have liked."

But the determination of Afghans to overcome conflict and improve their lives remains tremendously resilient just as the support of the international community for this effort remains undiminished, deputy head of the UN office in Kabul said in the message.

He also said: "Overcoming a legacy of conflict takes time: much remains to be done." Briefly counting achievements of the year, Alexander added activation of the new parliament was giving ordinary people a voice in future of their country.  

Deputy chief of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan hailed President Hamid Karzai's efforts for launching the Action Plan of Peace, Justice and Reconciliation and for 're-dedicating' himself for a general disarmament program.

He noted that re-establishing the rule of law in Afghanistan will be an overriding priority in 2007.

In the message, the deputy special representative of the UN secretary general to Afghanistan extended best wishes to all Afghans on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, 'a celebration of both the meaning of sacrifice and the vital importance of peace'.

Rare British India documents surface - By Alastair Lawson

Documents and papers shown to the BBC by a relation of the commander of British troops during the 1897 siege of Malakand - in what is now Pakistan's North West Frontier Province - provide a fascinating new insight into the struggle for South Asia.

The papers belong to Ben Tottenham, a relation by marriage of William Hope Meiklejohn, who commanded British and Indian troops at the Malakand garrison, which was besieged by thousands of tribesmen for 10 days before it was successfully relieved.

Colonel Meiklejohn's four-year-old daughter, Meg - Mr Tottenham's mother-in-law - was in the garrison throughout the siege in the scorching heat of the high summer of 1897. She would almost certainly have been killed by the tribesmen - not renowned for taking prisoners - if it had fallen.

The tribesmen were led by Mullah Mastun, known by the British as the "Mad Mullah of Malakand". He roused them against British rule and decreed that it was their duty under Islam to remove foreigners from what was then India.

Among the rare mementos seen by the BBC are photos and pictures of Malakand and the surrounding area in 1897 as well as letters and telegrams sent by Col Meiklejohn to his wife.

"We are attacked by fanatics almost every night," wrote Col Meiklejohn in one of his daily letters to his wife.

But even though he was responsible for the fort and the surrounding military outposts, he still found time to reassure her that their young daughter was safe and well. But it was Meg's nanny who was responsible for writing to Mrs Meiklejohn about their daughter's safety.

"My dear Mrs Meiklejohn, just a line in a hurry to let you know that Miss Meggie is quite well, covered in prickly heat... But do not worry a bit about your dear baby girl, you must know that we are quite safe," the letter said.

"In retrospect, her nanny may have understated the seriousness of the situation," Mr Tottenham told the BBC News website.

"These papers provide a fascinating personal and first-hand insight into events on the ground at the time. "They are a historian's dream, and show that the forefathers of the Taleban were every bit as ruthless as they are today."

According to one history book - Frontier Ablaze by Michael Barthorp - Col Meiklejohn found himself facing "wave after wave of close-packed tribesmen who flooded out of the darkness, scrambling over defences and yelling and screaming while their war-drums thundered to encourage them".

The attackers were urged into action by their mullahs who promised the delights of paradise for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Among those who wrote about the siege was a young Winston Churchill, whose description of it shows that in some ways little has changed for British troops today in similar terrain not far away across the border in Afghanistan.

Then as now, British troops faced a determined enemy described by Churchill as people who "fight without passion and kill without loss of temper".

"The inhabitants of these wild but wealthy valleys are of many tribes, but of similar character and condition. Except at times of sowing and harvest, feud and strife prevail," he wrote in an account of the siege.

"The strong aboriginal propensity to kill, inherent in all human beings, has in these valleys been preserved in unexampled strength and vigour."

The tribesmen - who were able riflemen - attacked the garrison almost every night, but on each occasion were repelled by the "skilled musketry" of British and Indian troops.

"The Mad Mullah himself had been wounded - contrary to earlier assertions that he was invulnerable - and another influential mullah was killed," historian Michael Barthorp wrote.

"These losses, together with their own heavy casualties, caused the tribesmen to lose heart.

"Over successive nights of heavy fighting, the British army and its Indian battalions stood their ground successfully against thousands of fanatically brave assailants who did not count the cost."

Eventually the tribesmen were forced to withdraw and Malakand and "Miss Meggie" were saved. But Col Meiklejohn's duties were not over.

Promoted to brigadier as a result of his action in Malakand, his next duty was to relieve the garrison's outposts at Chakdara - which was under sustained attack by tribesmen.

These two victories for British and Indian troops were not without cost - several officers and soldiers were killed.

"No-one knew, though many were wise after the event, that these tribesmen were as well armed as our troops, and that they proved to be brave and formidable adversaries," Churchill wrote.

"Never despise your enemy is an old lesson but it has to be learnt afresh, year after year, by every nation that is warlike and brave."

It was a principle put into practice in 1897 by Col Meiklejohn and it is a principle that is no doubt equally relevant to British troops today.

Solve our land problem, or we leave domicile: warn Kuchis

KHOST CITY, Jan 01, 2007 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Tired of long-standing land dispute with local tribes, Kuchi nomads in the southeastern Khost province have asked the government and the United Nations to solve their problem or find residence for them in other countries.

On Saturday, Kuchi representatives said 10 of their men were killed, 15 were wounded and nine were taken hostage in clashes with Babakarkhel tribe over a desert surrounded by mounts in Baak district. The dispute has claimed 30 lives so far from both the sides.

Haji Nader Khan, a Kuchi elder, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Monday they convened a meeting today in Sabrai district to ask President Hamid Karzai and the UN to solve their land problem or send them abroad.

"We are ready to give up our Afghan nationality and go to any other country," said Mirajgai, another Kuchi man.

If none of the two options are provided, then the nomads in Baak district will migrate to Pakistan, said Mirajgai.

The Saturday night fighting, Kuchis say, forced 2,7000 families to flee to other areas from Baak. The nomads blame Babakarkhel tribesmen for triggering the fight.

However, Naseem Khan, a representative of Babakarkhel said Kuchis first opened fire, but he admitted capturing some nomads, including a woman, as he did confirm burning of some homes of Kuchis during the fighting.

[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.]