In this bulletin:

• Civilian killed by ISAF forces in southeast Afghanistan
• Twenty-five Taleban surrender arms, join Afghan government
• Would-be suicide bomber tells of quest for "paradise" in Afghanistan
• Afghan presidential spokesman announces police reshuffle
• Washington moves to calm Islamabad, Kabul
• Pakistani fence plan opposed on invisible Afghan border
• Pakistan to complete Afghan border fencing in July amidst int''l opposition
• Pakistan rejects criticism of mining and fencing of Pak-Afghan border
• Pakistan Will Reconsider Plan to Mine Areas of Afghan Border
• MacKay rejects Pakistan's border mining plan
• Canada offers help to control Afghan border without mines
• Rallies held in two Afghan provinces in protest at border fencing plan
• Afghan TV debates Pakistan's plan to fence Durand Line border
• Pakistan president, PM discuss Afghanistan with Canadian minister
• Wheelchair Program Hailed by Afghan Envoy to Canada
• Afghanistan going to plan - Hoon
• How the Taliban keep their coffers full
• Troops out of Afghanistan
• COMMENT; Blaming Pakistan for Taliban insurgency —Ijaz Hussain
• Opinion: Pak-Afghan engagement
• "Pak-Afghan tribal belt has the potential of destabilising entire SA"

Civilian killed by ISAF forces in southeast Afghanistan

Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kabul, 9 January: The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) shot dead a civilian suspecting him for a terrorist in the southeastern Paktika Province.

Spokesman for the Provincial Governor Ghamai Khan confirmed the killing of the civilian but did not give further details.

An official of a private telecom company in Argun District told Pajhwok Afghan News the incident happened this morning and the slain was working at the ISAF base in the province.

Meanwhile, a statement released here said the ISAF convoy was returning to its operating base in Argun District when the incident happened.

"The troops were returning to its base when a civilian vehicle approached the convoy from the rear at high speed. A warning shot was fired; however the vehicle failed to stop. A disabling shot was subsequently fired, regrettably killing one civilian, who worked at the ISAF base in Argun," said the statement. It added investigations had been ordered into the incident.

Twenty-five Taleban surrender arms, join Afghan government

Text of report by Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency - Herat, 9 January: A number of Taleban have announced they are to join the government.

The head of the Peace and Reconciliation Commission of the southwestern zone, Sayed Sharif Mojaddedi, told a press conference in Herat Province today: "Twenty five Taleban from Badghis Province, bringing with them various different weapons, came to Herat today and announced that they were joining the government."

He added: "There are two commanders among these Taleban and one was the assistant of Mullah Khairollah Khairkhwa, the former governor of Herat Province during the rule of the Taleban, and the other was the head of the Ghowrian District of Herat Province at that time."

The regional head of the Peace and Reconciliation Commission avoided releasing their names because of the security problems. It is worth mentioning that officials have issued the same reports but the Taleban has strongly rejected them.

Would-be suicide bomber tells of quest for "paradise" in Afghanistan

AFP 01/09/2007 - KABUL — Hainuallah's days in a destitute border village in Pakistan all seemed exactly the same: a trip to the madrassa (religious school), the return home, dinner, and then creeping into bed.

Of course it was boring, says the Pakistani teenager from the border province of Waziristan. Then one day, a preacher told him about a way out of the boredom - a sure ticket to a paradise filled with voluptuous virgin nymphs and milk and honey running under fruit-laden trees.

"I came to Afghanistan to carry out a suicide attack on Americans," Hainuallah, who uses only one name, said a reporter. "The mullah said it would earn me entry into Paradise where you live with houris (virgin nymphs) and streams of milk and honey forever."

The dishevelled young man with a few soft hairs on his chin, wearing a grimy traditional shalwar kamiz, was presented in an underground cell inside the Afghan intelligence department in the capital Kabul.

His interrogators said he had been there for two days, after being arrested in late December 60km away, in the southern town of Ghazni. He was caught wearing an explosives-packed waistcoat, they said.

Looking tired and grubby, Hainuallah calmly delivered his account in front of several intelligence officers. It differed little from one provided earlier by the secret police. The teen said he had not been manhandled, although he did have a light graze under his left eye.

Another alleged suicide bomber also presented, who identified himself as Jandol, denied the charges against him, insisting his interrogators forced him to sign a statement of confession.

The nervous Jandol was captured in the eastern city of Jalalabad in late 2006, his interrogator said, alleging the bearded pale-faced man had also been wearing a bomb-filled vest.

The long, black waistcoat that Hainuallah was caught wearing was similar to one worn by many Afghans and some Pakistan men, and easily available at any local bazaar for a few dollars.

Explosives were packed between the garment's outer material and its lining. A cable passed from a tiny hole in the lining to a detonator positioned at around waist level. "My job was to press the button," said Hainuallah. "The Americans would've gone up."

When reminded that he too would have been killed, the young man offered a bitter smile, seeming not to totally grasp the risks of his deadly assignment. "Yes, then I could go to Paradise. And if I survived, they said they would pay me big money," he said.

His story backs up claims by some officials that most suicide bombers are poor and ignorant young Muslims recruited from Islamic schools that do little more than make their students recite the Holy Qur'an.

"Most of the bombers are being recruited from poor and uneducated communities," said Sayed Ansari, a spokesman for the intelligence department, which captured more than two dozen would-be suicide bombers last year.

"Some are mentally ill, some are addicted to drugs and most are brainwashed by mullahs," Ansari said. Hainuallah said he was given "special tablets" to ease the tension before his planned attack. "Once you take one of those tablets, fear leaves you," he said.

The tablets found in his pocket were yet to be examined in a laboratory, the young man's interrogator said, asking not to be identified.
Another high-ranking intelligence official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said recruits were trained by "foreigners" in camps in Pakistan's tribal areas along the border before being sent to Afghanistan.

The country suffered nearly 120 such attacks in 2006, the bloodiest year since 2001, when the Taliban movement - now leading a vicious insurgency - was ousted from government.

Such bombings were once unheard of in this Central Asian nation: the first is believed to be that which killed legendary anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud on September 9, 2001.

President Hamid Karzai last month directly accused Pakistan - a key US ally in its "war on terror" - of supporting Taliban-led militants carrying out suicide attacks, which he said were designed to scare him out of office.
In Hainuallah's case, the former religious student said he was persuaded to join the "holy fighters" by a friend who introduced him to a local mullah.

The mullah tantalised him with tales of "paradise" before handing him over to a Taliban commander for training.

The commander took him to a walled compound in a village five hours by car from his own, in the Wana district of South Waziristan. Hainuallah recalled driving on bumpy roads in the back of a pick-up truck in October.

He was trained using fake bombs and explosives for several weeks by men who did not introduce themselves but spoke his language, Pashto, spoken by most Taliban, he said.

Then he was handed over to another group - bearded men armed with AK-47s and machine guns - who walked him through the rugged mountains into Afghanistan, to what Hainuallah said he was told was a village outside Ghazni.

More trainers then gave the Pakistani youth tours of the dusty town, which is patrolled by Afghan and ISAF soldiers. Once they went on a motorbike, another time in a car. Sometimes they walked.

The men wore police uniforms as they moved through the town, occasionally passing military convoys and government buildings - potential targets.

One day, the young man said, he was handed the deadly waistcoat and shown the detonator. But as he prepared to walk out of the compound to find his target - perhaps an ISAF convoy - intelligence police seized him.

Ansari, the intelligence department spokesman, said the agents and police had been tipped off about Hainuallah and his hideout.
"Just imagine if he had succeeded," the official said. "Lots of lives would have been lost."

Young and impressionable, Hainuallah, instead of finding the paradise he was promised, now faces court and several years in an Afghan jail.

Afghan presidential spokesman announces police reshuffle

Excerpt from report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kabul, 9 January: Presidential spokesman Karim Rahimi on Tuesday [9 January] said transfer and reshuffling would be made in the police department as part of the ongoing reforms process.

Speaking at a news conference here, Rahimi said some senior officials of the Interior Ministry would be replaced with others while more would be transferred to other departments in the days ahead.

"You will see some high-level changes in the police soon," said the spokesman without elaborating on the issue. Reforms in the police department were ordered by President Hamed Karzai in May 2005.

Washington moves to calm Islamabad, Kabul

Dawn - By Anwer Iqbal - WASHINGTON, Jan 9: The United States has sent its pointman for South Asia to Kabul amid growing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan that threaten to undo the US-led alliance against terrorism.

Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, last met Afghan President Hamid Karzai at Ashkabad on Dec 28 during the funeral of Turkmen President Sapramurat Niyazov.

According to Afghan officials, Mr Boucher extended his support to the Afghan proposal for holding peace jirgas along the Pakistan-Afghan border and urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to launch a joint campaign to eliminate terrorism.

But since that meeting, the already tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated. The latest dispute revolves around Islamabad’s decision to fence and mine parts of the border with Afghanistan.

Last week, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz visited Kabul and defended the decision to fence the border during a meeting with President Hamid Karzai. He also told the Afghan leader that Islamabad wanted the three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan to go home.

Afghan authorities claim that insurgents use the tribal belt for launching attacks inside Afghanistan. They also use the adjoining Pakistani territories for regrouping and planning their attacks.

Pakistan says that the proposed fencing and the repatriation of refugees could help end both the problems. The fences could prevent cross-border movements while the repatriation would deprive the insurgents of their safe havens along the border because they use Afghan refugee camps for hiding among their compatriots.

The United States so far appears reluctant to take a stand on Afghan-Pakistan disputes. “These are ongoing issues which are better addressed by the two governments,” said a State Department official when asked for comments.

“We understand that the Taliban are still there. We are working to combat the insurgency,” the official said when asked if fencing the border would help reduce militancy.

“Terrorism and militancy within and along the border remains a security issue for both countries and it must be addressed,” the official said. “We continue to encourage the Pakistani and Afghan leaders to review all their options for meeting such a challenge, to coordinate their effort and ensure the safety of civilians in the border area.”

Pakistani fence plan opposed on invisible Afghan border

Reuters - 01/09/2007 - KULLI MUSA, Pakistani-Afghan border - The unmarked border between Pakistan and Afghanistan passes invisibly through Kulli Musa village.

Now its ethnic Pashtun residents are alarmed by a Pakistani plan to fortify parts of the frontier to stop Taliban rebels crossing over to fight Afghan, NATO and U.S. troops on the other side.

"How can we allow fencing and mining between us. We will never accept this. Not at any cost," said Dost Mohammad, a bearded, turbaned villager from Kulli Musa.

The border snakes 2,500 km (1,500 miles) through rocky mountains and across deserts and is a major front line in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The fiercely independent Pashtun tribes have never paid much heed to the boundary dividing their lands.

"Half of our village mosque is in Pakistan and the other half in Afghanistan," said Mohammad, fingering a string of prayer beads as he spoke.

His brother's home is just across the border dividing the collection of mud-walled houses lying partly in Pakistan's Baluchistan province and partly in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since U.S.-led troops ousted the Taliban in 2001. Most of the violence was in provinces bordering Pakistan.

Pakistani forces have also been battling pro-Taliban militants on their side of the frontier, and President Pervez Musharraf fears the Taliban insurgency could escalate into a "peoples' war" because of the alienation of Pashtuns, particularly by the Afghan government.

Pakistan, which has far more troops manning the border than Afghanistan and its Western allies, hopes fencing and mining on parts of the border will end accusations it is not doing enough to stop militants from infiltrating into Afghanistan.

But the plan, announced last month, has further strained relations with Afghanistan, which says Pakistan should instead tackle Taliban sanctuaries.

Part of the problem is that Afghanistan does not recognise the colonial-era border, and argues that fortifying it would split Pashtun communities spread across both sides. Despite the conflict, normal life goes on in one of Pakistan's most deprived regions.

"Government people know better about fencing the border but may Allah damn those who lay mines. They'll kill our youngsters," said Hajania, 45, a villager who regularly drives her donkey cart across the border. "We're poor people, we have no hostility with anyone."

Villager Hayat Khan, 50, said: "Pashtun tribes have already been destroyed by the bombing and fighting. Now they want to destroy us further."

There has been a reduction in militant attacks on the Pakistani side since the military forged a pact in September with tribal leaders in North Waziristan, a hotbed of Taliban and al Qaeda support in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region.

But U.S. forces complain of increased attacks in Afghanistan. The border was a Cold War front line in the 1980s when Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the West backed Afghan holy warriors and foreign militants battling Soviet occupiers in Afghanistan.

The Taliban, who are mostly Pashtun, emerged from religious schools on the border in the early 1990s. Although recognised internationally, the border, known as the Durand Line after the British colonialist who drew it in 1893, has soured ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan since Pakistan was founded in 1947.

Afghans say it was imposed under duress and robbed Afghanistan of Pashtun lands to the west of the Indus river. Pakistani border security officer Colonel Masood Ahmed believes the fencing and mines will end illegal movement.

"Landmines will be laid three yards apart. Passing through them will not just be difficult but impossible," Ahmed said. "The Afghan government's concocted allegations against Pakistan have become routine. It's a good way to protect the international frontier."

An Afghan counterpart says the fortifications won't work. "Fencing and mining won't end cross-border Taliban movement," said Lieutenant General Abdul Razaq Khan in the Afghan border town of Spin Boldak.

"Pakistan should end Taliban training camps in its territory. The problem can't be solved by creating difficulties for the people."

The crossing between Spin Boldak and the Pakistani town of Chaman is the only legal crossing point on this part of the border. Thousands of people pass through its Dosti, or friendship gate, every day.

But countless numbers -- villagers, smugglers and militants -- stream across unofficial points up and down the border.

"The secret, illegal crossings will never close," said Alam Khan, 45, who was driving a jeep loaded with fertiliser into Afghanistan through an illegal crossing. "We can just bribe the Pakistani and Afghan guards. We've been doing it for years," said Khan as he wiped dust from his face with his shawl.

Pakistan to complete Afghan border fencing in July amidst int''l opposition

POL-PAKISTAN-CANADA-FENCING - ISLAMABAD, Jan 9 (KUNA) -- The fencing of borders between Afghanistan and Pakistan's Southwestern Baluchistan province will complete in July as the United Nations and Canada oppose the proposal of mining the borders.

The task of fencing at Pak-Afghan borders in Baluchistan sector will be completed by July, Federal Interior Ministet Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told reporters on Tuesday. Other sectors of the borders will also be fenced, he said, adding that Pakistan was against the cross-border movement of militants and that peace in Afghanistan would benefit Pakistan, he underlined.

"Meanwhile, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said in a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mahmoud Kasuri "Fencing, I think, is part of the solution, particularly in high-traffic areas, and there have been experiences with fencing that have been very effective." However, the Canadian minister opposed mining of the border as had been proposed by Islamabad despite suffering casualties among NATO forces in Afghanistan. Canada cannot compromise its support for an international protocol to against the use of landmines, he added.

A day after criticizing Pakistan for not controlling Taliban activities, the Canadian Minister refuted Kabul allegations, saying, ""Nobody in the international community, in my view, would indicate with any degree of fairness that it's Pakistan's problem alone." UN Deputy Representative in Afghanistan Chris Alexander Monday opposed Pakistan's proposal to mine the border, saying the use of landmines is a very serious threat to the security of people living in nearby places.

Facing unabated criticism from Afghanistan and other countries for not doing enough to control cross-border movement of Taliban militants, Pakistan has announced a plan to mine and fence part of the rugged 2,500-kilometer borders with Afghanistan. (end) amn.gb.

Pakistan rejects criticism of mining and fencing of Pak-Afghan border

Daily Times 10 January 2007 - ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday took serious note of a statement attributed to the deputy special representative of the United Nation’s Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) as reported by the UN News Service, saying that Pakistan’s decision to selectively fence or mine the border is motivated by the need to control the two-way cross border movement by undesirable individuals.

“Those who criticise Pakistan’s decision should offer viable alternatives on controlling such activity. The suggestion that some of the 142 Taliban on the 1,267 Sanctions Committee may be in Pakistan is an unsubstantiated assertion that demonstrates ignorance of ground realities in Afghanistan and insensitivity to Pakistan’s efforts to counter militancy and terrorism,” a Foreign Office statement said.

The FO said the actions taken by Pakistan had led to the arrest of several Taliban leaders. “One may ask how many Taliban on the list have been apprehended by the Afghan and multinational forces especially when the statement implies their presence inside Afghanistan,” the FO said, adding that Pakistan was not solely responsible for taking action against militants and terrorists.

The FO said that capturing undesirable elements and preventing them from entering into Pakistan was the responsibility of the forces operating on the Afghan side. “Unfounded statements such as those attributed to the UNAMA officials by the UN News Service will certainly not help cooperation that is needed to address the common challenges in the area to counter extremist and terrorist elements.”

The statement said the UNAMA officials should restrict themselves to their mandate and refrain from questioning the intentions and sincerity of Pakistan, which had done more than any other country in the international efforts against terrorism.

Pakistan Will Reconsider Plan to Mine Areas of Afghan Border

By Paul Tighe - Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan will reconsider a plan to mine areas of its border with Afghanistan to stop terrorists crossing the frontier, after Canada offered to help find alternative controls, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said.

Pakistan is ``happy to receive suggestions,'' Kasuri said after meeting Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay yesterday in Islamabad, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan. The government ``will give due consideration'' to proposals for an effective border control system without the use of mines.

Canada has long experience managing its border with the U.S., Mackay said, adding it is willing to provide technical support, including improving aerial surveillance, training for border guards and satellite telephones.

An escalation of the insurgency by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan last year resulted in a deterioration of relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan over the issue of security. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of failing to stop fighters training in camps on Pakistani territory and crossing the mountainous 2,430-kilometer (1,510-mile) border, a charge Pakistan denied.

Pakistan's plan to mine and fence border areas won't curb terrorism, Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said last week after talks in Kabul with Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Agence France-Presse reported at the time.

``Pakistan is fed up will accusations'' about illegal movement across the border, Kasuri said yesterday, adding the authorities want to control the frontier while allowing people to go back and forth legally.

Canada understands Pakistan's frustration, Mackay said, according to APP. ``I have come with the intent of sharing ideas and suggestions that are a better alternative'' to laying mines, he said at a news conference.

Canada signed the international Mine Ban Treaty, agreed in Ottawa in 1997 and now ratified by 155 nations. Pakistan is among countries, including the U.S., that have made a political commitment to join the treaty.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, in a meeting with Mackay yesterday, agreed that Canadian and Pakistani officials would meet to discuss a border control plan, APP reported. Securing the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is a joint responsibility, Musharraf said.

Pakistan and Afghanistan must end their ``war of words'' and cooperate in fighting the Taliban, Chris Alexander, the deputy representative in Afghanistan for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said two days ago in Kabul.

The UN's 1999 resolution that imposed sanctions on Taliban leaders and associates named 142 leaders of the movement, said Alexander. Only a handful have been captured or been reconciled with the Afghan government since the Taliban were ousted.

Pakistan rejects Alexander's comments and has arrested several leading Taliban operatives, APP cited Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tansim Aslam as saying yesterday in Islamabad.

``Pakistan is not solely responsible for taking action against militants and terrorists,'' she said. ``To capture undesirable elements and prevent them from entering into Pakistan is the responsibility of the forces operating on the Afghan side.''

Pakistan became a key U.S. ally against terrorism after Musharraf withdrew support for the Taliban regime that sheltered al-Qaeda and was ousted from power in 2001. His government has arrested more than 600 suspected terrorists since then, including alleged al-Qaeda leaders Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Ramzi Mohamed Abdullah Binalshibh, both accused of helping plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S.

Islamic parties in Pakistan oppose Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The army has deployed 90,000 soldiers in the Afghan border region.

MacKay rejects Pakistan's border mining plan

Updated Tue. Jan. 9 2007 - CTV.ca News Staff

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has told officials in Pakistan that Canada opposes the plans to mine parts of its border with Afghanistan.

MacKay is in Pakistan for talks on the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan and on the contentious issue about how to prevent Taliban and al-Qaeda militants from crossing the border.

MacKay spent Tuesday morning discussing the issue with his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Kasuri, and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and will later hold talks with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

MacKay told a news conference after the first round of talks that Canada opposes the plans to mine parts of the border, based on its obligations under the Ottawa Treaty that bans the laying of landmines.

He said he offered instead Canada's help in surveying the rugged border, such as aerial reconnaissance, training of border guards and a delivery of satellite telephones.

"We want to be co-operative and we want to be constructive in coming forward with solutions that we think are better alternatives,'' MacKay said.

Kasuri told reporters that Pakistan will "give consideration'' to the Canadian suggestions, but added that Pakistan will not backtrack on its "desire to control the border.''

Pakistan has been struggling to prevent cross-border activity by Taliban and al-Qaeda guerrillas, in an effort to stave off western criticism that it is not doing enough to stop the insurgency. It announced last week that it would plant mines and build barbed-wire fences at selected areas along the border.

Pakistan is not a signatory of the Ottawa Treaty. MacKay said the plan to erect the fence could play a role in the solution.

Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada, Omar Samad, told Canada AM Tuesday that MacKay is a welcome voice at the table for bringing peace to the region.

"I think that Minister MacKay's visit to Afghanistan and then to Pakistan today is very important, not only for security in Afghanistan but security around our border regions with Pakistan, which means security for the rest of the world -- because this is a very pivotal dangerous part of the world where many al-Qaeda and Taliban militants have escaped to."

Afghanistan also opposes the plan to fence and mine the border, saying it would not prevent the insurgency and would only hinder free travel by tribal groups who live on both sides of the frontier.

"We don't think that mining the border is the right approach," Samad said, citing as well the Ottawa Treaty.

"We hope to find solutions, practical solutions to this."

He added that he believes the solution lies in more diplomacy.

"We have to address this issue by talking and allowing the locals, the people on both sides to prevent militancy and extremism from taking hold. And the Pakistani government has a lot more to do. We all have a lot more to do.

"We need to cooperate sincerely and practically in order to achieve this. Otherwise, we'll all face in 2007 hardships."

Canada offers help to control Afghan border without mines

* Canadian FM says Musharraf agreed to Canadian offer of assistance
* Kasuri says mining plan was made following Afghan accusations
* PM wants stable Afghanistan

Daily Times 10 January 2007 - ISLAMABAD: Canada on Tuesday opposed Pakistan’s idea of mining its side of the Pak-Afghan border and offered technological assistance that could provide an alternative method to check unwanted cross-border movement.

Both counties agreed to discuss options to control cross-border movement without laying mines, Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri and his Canadian counterpart Peter Gordon MacKay said at a joint press briefing at the Foreign Office.

“We are not in favour of mines. I have offered to President General Pervez Musharraf and Kasuri our share to man the border, using our vast experience of managing the long Canadian-American border. The president has agreed that he would be open to any such idea. Groups from both countries will sit together to discuss proposals like use of biometric technologies, unmanned drones and mutually acceptable documentation between Pakistan and Afghanistan at crossing options,” MacKay said. He termed the option of fencing the border a “part of the solution”.

He said he had discussed with the president the issue of holding free and fair general elections.

Both countries were determined to counter terrorism and Pakistan had a key role in this regard, he said. “It is evident to all that Pakistan is the key to bringing stability in Afghanistan and the region,” he said. He said Pakistani forces had made sacrifices to stop terrorists from entering Afghanistan. “We want to stem the Taliban mutually without blaming Pakistan,” he said.

Foreign Minister Kasuri said the options of selective fencing, aerial surveillance, and use of modern technology like biometrics wee discussed during the meeting.

He said Pakistan had decided to mine parts of the border following accusations that Islamabad was complicit in dispatching the Taliban into Afghanistan. He said the proposal to mine the border did not aim at sealing it or stopping meetings of people on either side of the border.

“There must be entry and exit points on the border but we have to control unwanted movement,” he said, adding Pakistan had accepted the Canadian offer of technical assistance. He said both countries had renewed their commitment to take steps to strengthen economic ties, commercial interaction and cooperation in education, science, technology and culture.

Meeting with prime minister: Earlier, the Canadian foreign minister met Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The premier said Pakistan was keen to develop a strategic relationship with Canada, covering the diplomatic, political, economic, defence and security fields. He said Pakistan would continue to support the Karzai government and a stable Afghanistan was in the interests of the peoples of the two countries. He said Pakistan was outlining modalities for securing its border with Afghanistan in a way that would not affect human rights.

He said both sides should play their part to restrict unauthorised cross-border movement. He said during his recent visit to Kabul, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to ensure a “systematic, phased and orderly” repatriation of over three million Afghan refugees who are still in Pakistan. The return of Afghan refugees would help achieve regional security. He asked Canada to help Pakistan in sending the refugees back home.

Rallies held in two Afghan provinces in protest at border fencing plan

Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kabul, 9 January: Hundreds of people rallied in the southeastern province of Paktika to register their protest against the border fencing and mining decision by Pakistan.

Spokesman for Paktika governor Ghamai Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News residents of the Orgun District gathered in the district centre and chanted slogans against the border fencing proposal by the neighbouring Pakistan.

Tribal elders, religious scholars, students and common citizens participated in the protest rally. They demanded of the United Nations to stop Pakistan from giving practical shape to its border fencing plan.

A similar protest demonstration was also staged in the eastern province of Laghman. Haji Alif Shah, chief of the Alingar District, where the demonstration took place, said the protestors chanted slogans against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan announced border fencing plan last month to put an end to the infiltration of terrorist. But the Afghan government said the step would divide tribes and families living on the two sides of the border.

Afghan TV debates Pakistan's plan to fence Durand Line border

Afghan politicians and political experts have debated Pakistan's plan to plant mines and install a barbed wire fence along the Afghan-Pakistan border in a debate on Tolo TV's weekly discussion feature, the "Gozaresh-e Shashonim" ("The 6:30 Report"), broadcast on 8 January.

Asked about the reasons for Pakistan's plan to fence the border, a senior adviser for the Afghan Foreign Affairs Ministry, Daud Moradiyan, said the international community understood that there were connections between the security problems in Afghanistan and certain circles in Pakistan. He said: "The world community has applied pressure on Pakistan over the last few months. The Pakistani authorities are trying to reduce the international community's pressure by taking such initiatives. It is only a publicity campaign rather than being a practicable plan."

Najib Mahmud, a political science and law faculty teacher, said that Pakistan was able to plant mines and install a barbed wire fence along the border and added that they might use this as a powerful tool in the regional peace jerga. He said: "If Pakistan failed to attain the expected achievements, it will focus on this plan. Pakistan is a friend of the USA and Western countries and they are strategic allies."

Asked what factors might be behind Pakistan's plan to plant mines and install a fence along the border, Mahiddin Mehdi, head of the United National Front Council, said he believed there were two factors behind the plan. He said: "First, Pakistan is trying to resolve its border problems with Afghanistan. Second, it wants to know what the countries which are directly involved in Afghanistan think about Afghanistan and the plan."

On the same issue, Habibollah Rafi, an Afghan writer and researcher, said that Pakistan had proposed this plan to attract billions of dollars from the world community by telling them that it would fence the border in order to prevent suicide attacks on NATO and American forces operating in Afghanistan. He added that Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz did not come to Kabul to improve bilateral ties but to impose Pakistan's decision to install a barbed wire fence and plant mines along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Turning to the subject of the proposed peace jerga involving tribes on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, Mahiddin Mehdi said that there were controversial expectations of the regional peace jerga between the two countries and added: " Pakistan is insisting on convening the peace jerga between the tribes living on both sides of the border but the Afghan government has invited 10 representatives from each province. In addition, Pakistan is endeavouring that the peace jerga should not discuss the Durand Line issue. Therefore, the government of Pakistan is reluctant to convene the regional peace jerga and it wants to postpone or question the peace jerga with its recent plan."

Asked whether it was time for talks on the Durand Line, Bashir Bizhan, the deputy leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan, said the Durand Line issue should be discussed at the international conference proposed by the Italian foreign minister. He urged the government of Afghanistan to take a precise stance against the Durand Line issue and discuss it with Pakistan at that conference. He said: "If that issue is discussed at the conference, it will be addressed legitimately in the presence of the world community." He also underlined the importance of discussing this issue as soon as possible.

On the government's objections to the border fencing plan, Daud Moradiyan said there were four reasons behind the government's stance: "First of all, it is an inhuman act. If this plan is put into action, it will separate thousands of families. Second, we signed a United Nations convention against the planting of anti-personnel mines. Third, this proposal is not practicable because building a physical wall is impossible. The fourth reason is that it is an ineffective and impracticable plan. The problem in Afghanistan is not the cross-border insurgency, but the supporters of terrorism. Building a physical wall cannot make us wipe out terrorism."

The presenter of the programme said that Pakistan had exerted serious pressure on President Karzai by proposing the border fencing plan and went on to add that numerous political analysts had suggested that the president could also take action by obstructing the water of the Kabul and Konar Rivers. He added: "This plan can be put into practice by two means. First, water from the Kabul, Konar and Panjsher Rivers should be channelled to the Ashad, Kama and Dasht-e Kamberai deserts and work should start on an electricity project. That would make Pakistan stop fencing the border. Blocking the water from the Kabul and Konar Rivers, which flow into the Sindh River, could seriously harm Pakistan's economy. In this case, Pakistanis would never tolerate it. There are various ways for the Afghan government to apply pressure on Pakistan so that they can persuade Pakistan to stop interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan."

Jafar Rasuli, an Afghan political analyst, underlined the important role of a strong government in Afghanistan and said that if a strong government is established in Afghanistan, it will impact on the whole region, especially in Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Iran. He focused on water resources in Afghanistan saying that people still fight for food in the country and criticized the neighbouring countries of plotting and causing crisis in Afghanistan.

The presenter concluded the programme by saying that if the Afghan government approved the Durand Line, Pakistan would continue to interfere in the internal affairs of Afghanistan by other means. He said that Pakistan exists because of its dispute with India over Kashmir and other issues with Afghanistan. If Pakistan stopped interfering in these issues, he said, its domestic problems would cause serious crisis in the country.

Pakistan president, PM discuss Afghanistan with Canadian minister

Text of report by Pakistan's PTV World television on 9 January

The president, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has said that securing Afghanistan-Pakistan border is the joint responsibility of all sides. The president was talking to Canadian Foreign Minister Mr Mackay, who called on him in Islamabad. President Musharraf underlined the importance of building an expanded and broad-based relationship between the two countries, characterized by growing cooperation in diverse fields. The president outlined Pakistan's perspective on various aspects of the Afghanistan situation. He said Pakistan remains committed to work with international community to promote the shared objective of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan.

Mr Mackay offered to share Canada's experience of managing the long Canada-US border and indicated Canada's readiness to extend assistance to improve controls along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Canadian foreign minister said Canada is interested in strengthening the strategic relationship with Pakistan on a broad spectrum of issues, including counterterrorism. Mr Mackay extended an invitation from the governor-general of Canada to President Musharraf to visit Canada. The president accepted the invitation.

And the Canadian foreign minister also called on the prime minister, Mr Shaukat Aziz. Talking to him, the prime minister said Pakistan is keen to develop a strategic relationship with Canada covering diplomatic, political, economic, defence, and security fields. He expressed satisfaction over the upward trend in the bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. He said Pakistan is keen to get greater access to Canadian markets, which will be possible after a free trade agreement is signed between the two countries. He said Pakistan would welcome Canadian investment in agri-business, telecom, IT [information technology], oil and gas, and textile sectors.

Mr Shaukat Aziz said sustainable peace in South Asia can only be achieved with the settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

He said Pakistan is working out the modalities for securing its border with Afghanistan to prevent cross-border movement of undesirable elements. This, he said, would not affect legal movement of the tribal people.

The prime minister told the visiting dignitary that the parliament is poised to complete its full term for the first time in its history. The Canadian foreign minister said his country is keen in furthering relations with Pakistan in all fields.

[Mackay] We discussed, of course, furthering our economic ties, broadening [words indistinct] interaction when it comes to events that affect both countries and share experience [incomplete sentence as heard] [end of recording]

Wheelchair Program Hailed by Afghan Envoy to Canada

Ottawa – Afghan Ambassador Omar Samad expressed his appreciation to Wheelchair Foundation of Canada for their recent assistance and delivery of 560 wheelchairs for disabled Afghans in the province of Kandahar.

In a phone talk with Ms. Christiana Flessner, Executive Director of the Foundation, Monday, Amb. Samad thanked her and all the donors for the “valuable and life-changing humanitarian help”.

Ms. Flessner, whose organization in several countries delivers thousands of wheelchairs yearly to the needy, said that the wheelchairs will help the recipients with mobility to seek jobs, education and a better quality life.

Conservative MP Russ Hiebert, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence announced last week that Canadian forces in Kandahar have started to distribute the aid to Afghan recipients.

The Afghan Ambassador also expressed hope for the continuation of the Afghan wheelchair program through fundraising and other activities to continue to promote the initiative in the South as well as across other regions of Afghanistan.

It is estimated that one in five Afghan adult males is maimed by decades of warfare and millions of landmines and un-exploded ordinances. Each Chinese-made wheelchair’s full cost amounts to CAN $110.

For more information or donation pledges, please refer to http://wheelchairfoundation.ca/

Embassy of Afghanistan - January 9, 2006

Afghanistan going to plan - Hoon

BBC 9 Jan 07 - Foreign office minister Geoff Hoon has responded to claims British forces in Afghanistan are "overstretched" and said the mission is going as planned.

Mr Hoon, defence secretary in the 2001 invasion, said the resistance curently being faced in the south had been anticipated and "always...planned for".

Tory MP Sir John Stanley had told MPs in a Westminster debate that UK troops were "more than pulling their weight". But, he said, they were undermanned and lacked vital equipment.

Sir John, who visited Afghanistan six weeks ago with two other members of the Commons foreign affairs committee, told MPs during the Westminster Hall debate that Britain was "right" to be in the country.

"We are right to have removed the Taleban, we are right to be there, but we have got to do more in terms of deploying resources there to make certain we win on security grounds and we have got to be prepared to be there for the long haul."

And he warned: "Unless we get on top, satisfactorily, of the security situation in Afghanistan we are not going to be able to achieve long-term stability for that country."

British, American and Canadian forces were "more than pulling their weight", he told MPs. But Nato forces were too "thinly spread" in the south, putting them in "constant vulnerability of finding themselves significantly outnumbered" by Taleban fighters.

He called on the government to exert more pressure on other Nato countries deployed in Afghanistan to lift their restrictions on sending troops to the south of the country.

But he also criticised UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who he said had failed to deliver on his promise to give British troops all the equipment they wanted.

"There is little doubt that the present government's reductions of the size of the British army and an insufficiency of operational aircraft, particularly helicopters, is producing profound overstretch, as between Iraq and Afghanistan," said Sir John.

There were too many troops in Iraq, in the context of what they could realistically achieve, and not enough in Afghanistan, he added. He also called for greater efforts to fight corruption in the Afghanistan government.

"There is very serious, and I think it would not be no exaggeration to say, all-pervasisve corruption within the Afghanistan government," Sir John told MPs.

Labour MP Paul Flynn also highlighted "endemic corruption" in the Afghan government, with the exception, he said, of president Hamid Karzai. He called on British troops to be withdrawn from Helmand province, in the south of the country, as they faced an "unattainable" mission.

Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said the coalition's aim of handing control over to the Afghan police and army by 2010 was "vastly over-optimistic".

In reply, Mr Hoon said MPs were being too pessimistic about progress in Afghanistan and he praised the way Afghans had "effectively rebuilt their nation from scratch" since 2001.

The "key state institutions are now in place" the economy was growing rapidly, five million children, 37% of them girls, were in school and "much of Afghanistan is at peace", Mr Hoon told MPs, but he conceded "challenges remain".

"We cannot win in Afghanistan through military action alone. "There is a need to extend the rule of law and the writ of the democratically elected Afghan authorities across those parts of the country where there are still challenges.

"The Afghan government wants and needs to take responsibility for the security of its country and its people as soon as it can.

"But until a new Afhgan national army and a reformed Afghan national police force have been trained and equipped and are fully deployed, international forces will need to remain in Afghanistan."

Asked if there were enough troops in Afghanistan, the Europe minister insisted military operations were going to plan.

"We always anticipated that the resistance, particularly of the criminal and terrorist elements in the south, would be one of the most difficult problems, so it is not surprising that we are facing those kinds of attacks in the south.

"That was always anticipated and it was always planned for." But he conceded corruption in the country's government "remains a major challenge".

How the Taliban keep their coffers full

Asia Times 01/09/2007 By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - Just as the Taliban move across the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan with impunity, so does the money needed to sustain the Taliban-led insurgency flow unrestricted between the countries.

In the wake of September 11, 2001, the financial squeeze instigated by the United States and its allies in the "war on terror" severely disrupted the flow of funds for al-Qaeda and the Taliban, mainly through closer international scrutiny of bank accounts.

However, as the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq testify, the money has certainly not been stopped. The major reason for this is that Washington and its allies made the mistake of looking for and applying high-tech solutions.

Had the focus been more on the "unschooled wisdom" prevalent in the mountains of Afghanistan and in the deserts of Iraq, the US might not be in such a poor position as it is now.

I met Habibullah and Abdul Jalil in a small room in Banaras Colony in Karachi, the largest Pashtun community (1.5 million people) in any city in the world. From here, the Pashtuns control all of the transport business in Karachi and beyond. We were later joined by several dozen more Taliban, all of them from southwestern Afghanistan.

Also joining us were several noble and rich Pashtun elders. Most of the Pashtun people in Karachi are unskilled laborers, while those higher up the social ladder have a firm grip on the transport business.

Once everyone in the room was settled, Jalil began to speak. "The jihad has been raging in Afghanistan [for five years] and it will be highly intensified this spring. We are confronting the enemy, which is a world superpower, and we have just the power of our faith. I invite you to visit Afghanistan and see how the mujahideen [holy warriors] are steadfast at the front. They have scarce food and few warm clothes to cover them in the cold winter nights.

"At the same time, we are confronting a superpower which is like an uncontrolled elephant aiming to crush us all under its feet. It has the world's most powerful technology, air supremacy and bombs. But we are the vanguard of Islam, and our only weapons are our flesh and blood to be sacrificed for our nation and for the religion.

"We need equipment and supplies to dismiss the foreign invaders once and for all from our soil. I beg you all to contribute to the liberation movement of Afghanistan and beg you to hand over your hard cash for the resistance and the mujahideen."

Within an hour, Jalil had collected 700,000 Pakistani rupees (more than US$11,600), with each person in the room handing over various sums of cash.

"Local Afghans have also contributed a lot and now, with this much money, our Panjwai district [in Kandahar province in Afghanistan where the Taliban have a strong presence] will have the resources to fight for six months," Jalil said.

Jalil's contacts and relatives in Banaras Colony had already tapped up people to make contributions, so the meeting was more of a formal handing over of the money, and an opportunity for him to say thank you.

Fellow Taliban sitting beside Jalil had already been to other places in Karachi and Lahore to gather money for their respective fronts in Helmand and Kandahar.

According to Jalil, local Kandahari tribesmen take care of all routine expenditures of food, satellite telephone cards, fuel etc, and the additional money is used partly to help injured Taliban receive treatment.

In essence, this is the traditional tribal system of taking care of their own, without the sophistication of a modern financial system.

Within the Afghan tribal system, the Noorzai tribe is the most pro-Taliban, while the Achakzai tribal people partially support the Taliban. Between them, they dominate trade in the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Their region spans the southwestern parts of Pakistan and the southern areas of Afghanistan. On the Pakistani side, they control the Chaman markets and on the Afghan side the Spin Boldek markets.

Sardar Shaukat Popalzai is the president of the Balochistan Economic Forum, which conducts research on economic trends in Balochistan. Being connected with the royal Popalzai tribe of Afghanistan, Shaukat also keeps good track of the economic situation in Afghanistan.

"There are only 100 members of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce, but there are over 3,500 importers and exporters in the Chaman market," Shaukat told Asia Times Online.

"Most of them have offices in Dubai and Jabal-i-Ali [in the United Arab Emirates] and they deal mostly in motor vehicles and clothes. It really looks like a wonderland when you go to the wastelands of Chaman and find many really affluent people actually live there. They have such a monopoly on trade that the regional agent of Three Fives cigarettes - which is the most expensive brand in Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia - is based in Chaman.

"They also have a monopoly on the import of used heavy vehicles, which they refurbish and resell in the regional markets, beside reconditioned cars. After Dubai, they have set up offices in Europe as well, importing vehicles," Shaukat explained.

"If you get the chance to go to the Japanese cities of Nagoya and Osaka, you will see Chaman businessmen operating successfully there. They have such an edge over everybody that they have ample cash liquidity - so much so that they can occupy whole floors of five-star hotels for months whenever they visit Japan," Shaukat said.

All of these traders are either from the Noorzai tribe (100% pro-Taliban) or from the Achakzai tribe (partially pro-Taliban). These tribesmen wield immense financial clout in Kandahar and most newly constructed hotels belong to them.

The UAE, though, remains the hub for the Taliban's finances, with money moving through the traditional hawala (paper-free transfer) system or through direct contacts.

Taliban commanders who have not yet made it on to any wanted list frequently visit the UAE, where they link with the Afghan diaspora to make financial appeals in support of the Afghan resistance. Before the spring offensive of last year, one-legged former Taliban intelligence chief Mullah Dadullah went to the UAE to raise money.

And getting the money back to Pakistan and then to Afghanistan is not a problem, as the Taliban don't use banks and they move freely across borders.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.

Troops out of Afghanistan

By Tim Dunlop News.com.au  January 10, 2007

The President is due to announce his new “plan” for Iraq on Wednesday, US time.  Part of that is likely to be some sort of increase in the number of US troops in Iraq.  It is clear that few people, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, think this is a good idea, but that seems to be his intention.

So one question that arises is, where will the troops come from?  Well, one answer seems to be, Afghanistan:

As a last-ditch effort, President Bush is expected to announce this week the dispatch of thousands of additional troops to Iraq as a stopgap measure, an order that Pentagon officials say would strain the Army and Marine Corps as they struggle to man both wars.

Already, a U.S. Army infantry battalion fighting in a critical area of eastern Afghanistan is due to be withdrawn within weeks in order to deploy to Iraq.

According to Army Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Tata and other senior U.S. commanders here, that will happen just as the Taliban is expected to unleash a major campaign to cut the vital road between Kabul and Kandahar. The official said the Taliban intend to seize Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city and the place where the group was organized in the 1990s.

Unbelievable.  Even the Iraq Study Group report, the one led by former Secretary of State James Baker, highlighted the problems associated with bleeding Afghanistan in order to prop up Iraq:

The situation in Iraq is linked with events in the region.  U.S. efforts in Afghanistan have been complicated by the overriding focus of U.S. attention and resources on Iraq. ...And the longer that U.S. political and military resources are tied down in Iraq, the more the chances for American failure in Afghanistan increase. ...Increased deployments to Iraq would also necessarily hamper our ability to provide adequate resources for our efforts in Afghanistan or respond to crises around the world.

...At the same time, we must not lose sight of the importance of the situation inside Afghanistan and the renewed threat posed by the Taliban. Afghanistan’s borders are porous. If the Taliban were to control more of Afghanistan, it could provide al Qaeda the political space to conduct terrorist operations. This development would destabilize the region and have national security implications for the United States and other countries around the world. Also, the significant increase in poppy production in Afghanistan fuels the illegal drug trade and narco-terrorism.

The huge focus of U.S. political, military, and economic support on Iraq has necessarily diverted attention from Afghanistan. Seems Mr Bush still doesn’t get it.

COMMENT; Blaming Pakistan for Taliban insurgency —Ijaz Hussain

Daily Times 10 January 2007 - Before forcing Musharraf to adopt a military solution of the issue it is imperative for the West to first satisfy Pakistan regarding NATO’s commitment to defeat the Taliban. Mere verbal assurances will not do. NATO will have to demonstrate it through practical steps

After remaining silent over the war of words between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the US has finally spoken up and in favour of the latter.

The Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher has accused Pakistan of letting the Taliban use its territory for sanctuary, command and control, regrouping and supplies purposes. This line is no different from the one relentlessly pursued by President Hamid Karzai according to which Pakistan is responsible for sponsoring, arming, training and funding the Taliban in addition to providing sanctuaries to them. The only difference between the two is that whereas Karzai is blunt, vocal and reluctant to give Pakistan the benefit of the doubt Boucher is diplomatic, low-keyed and sensitive to the constraints under which he is operating.

However, both of them more or less hold Pakistan responsible for failing to stem the Taliban insurgency. How far is the charge justified?

Pakistan accepts that Taliban use certain areas on its side of the Durand Line for operations in Afghanistan but denies that it is the epicentre of their activities. It contends that by putting the entire or principal blame on it Karzai and the US Administration are trying to cover their own failure in defeating the Taliban. There is considerable evidence that Pakistan’s argument is weightier. For example, according to a senior Dutch official 40 percent of all Taliban come from Pakistan which means the remaining are indigenous. Similarly, Taliban are now operating in areas such as Ghazni which are closer to Kabul than South and East which are their stronghold. They obviously cannot be operating from their sanctuaries in Pakistan. The following reveals how the Afghan government and the West are contributing to the Taliban insurgency.

The record of the Afghan government in dealing with issues like corruption and the drug trade is dismal. For example, the government in Kabul relies heavily on corrupt warlords, who were first co-opted by the US in defeating the Taliban and subsequently helped Karzai win the Pashtun vote during the two Loya Jirgas and the two elections. Now, these warlords are openly involved in drug trade, cutting deals with criminal gangs and the Taliban in addition to skimming money from development projects. No wonder that the governor of Helmand province — who was appointed following the removal of his corrupt predecessor not long ago on the insistence of the British NATO troops — has reportedly been dismissed because of the drug lobby’s pressure. Even Karzai’s brother is reportedly involved in the drug trade. The Karzai government has resultantly failed to eliminate an estimated $3 billion worth of drug trade, part of which goes to finance the Taliban’s war activities.

As far as NATO is concerned, by and large it lacks commitment to fight terrorism because its members do not agree on the source of threats to them. Thus excepting Britain, Canada and Holland, most members have got their troops stationed in the North rather than the South — bordering with Pakistan — which is the hub of insurgency.

Gen. James Jones, the Supreme Commander of NATO and American forces in Europe calls this lack of commitment on NATO’s part as its ‘operational cancer’. The recently concluded Riga summit tried to remedy this shortcoming but failed to do so as the NATO members agreed to move their troops to the South only ‘in emergency’. It also failed to motivate them to contribute a few thousand more troops it had requested (only Poland agreed to contribute 1000 troops). On the heels of the Riga summit, Paris decided to withdraw its 200-strong Special Forces after it deemed the death of its seven soldiers as ‘too high’ a price. The foregoing shows that that NATO generally lacks stomach to fight.

The West has also largely failed in the reconstruction effort. Jim Dobbins, President George Bush’s former special envoy to Kabul who led the Clinton Administration’s rebuilding efforts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti and Somalia describes Afghanistan as “the most under-resourced nation-building effort in history”. During the five years of ISAF presence in Afghanistan a mere US$8 billion have been spent on reconstruction activities as opposed to more than US$80 billion on military operations. The expenditure per Afghan per year is also abysmally low as it comes to $67 as against $249 in Bosnia and $256 in East Timor. On top of it, most of the reconstruction funds have been spent on the salaries of NGO employees through which they were channelled rather than on reconstruction activities per se.

Instead of attending to their own omissions as well, the West and the Afghan government are solely mounting relentless pressure on Musharraf to jettison his present policy and take military action against the militants in the tribal areas and Balochistan. Resultantly, the latter finds himself between a rock and a hard place. If he succumbs to the Western pressure that will not only affect his credibility in the army — his support base — but also spread the disease of Talibanisation to the settled areas of Pakistan. The US must realise that pushing Musharraf too far could result in his exit which will harm the US cause irreparably.

If Musharraf resists, there is a danger that the Bush Administration may deal with Pakistan the way it did with Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The two American attacks on Bajaur at the beginning and the end of 2006 are perhaps a pointer towards that. The US must realise that this will not secure Afghanistan for it, as the attack on Cambodia did not secure Vietnam but will certainly lead to horrendous consequences for Pakistan and the region.

Musharraf seems to be proceeding on two assumptions in his Afghan policy that Pakistan’s security establishment shares. First, the NATO forces are not there to stay and sooner rather than later they will quit Afghanistan. He is justified in his belief by the results of the Riga summit where the NATO members not only refused to move their troops from their smug positions in the North to the combat zone in the South but also did not agree to increase their troop strength. On top of it, the withdrawal of the French Special Forces after the loss of seven soldiers has become a metaphor for NATO’s lack of commitment to Afghanistan.

Secondly, Musharraf believes the Taliban are a force that cannot be wished away as they are there to stay. In his estimation the latter are bound to fill the vacuum after the departure of the Western troops. Consequently, he wants to stay on their right side, as Pakistan will have to deal with them subsequently.

In light of the foregoing, before forcing Musharraf to adopt a military solution of the issue it is imperative for the West to first satisfy Pakistan regarding its (NATO) commitment to defeat the Taliban. Mere verbal assurances will not do. NATO will have to demonstrate it through practical steps.

If the West is serious about achieving success in Afghanistan it will have to take a number of other steps, two of which are most critical. First, it needs to force Karzai to put his house in order by taking effective measures to eliminate the drug trade and corruption. Secondly, NATO would need to shed its image of an occupation force as it is in the process of transforming the Taliban militancy into a popular resistance movement. For this purpose, NATO needs to go back to its original purpose of winning the hearts and minds of people rather than getting engaged in search and destroy missions, which at present increasingly seem to drive it.

The writer is a former dean of social sciences at the Quaid-i-Azam University. He can be reached at hussain_ijaz@hotmail.com

Opinion: Pak-Afghan engagement

BY NASIM ZEHRA - 10 January 2007

PAKISTAN Prime Minster Shaukat Aziz’s January 4 trip to Kabul ended in blunt words by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai. They disagreed on Pakistan’s fencing plan and a common position on the jirga is still to be worked out.

These seemingly intractable issues notwithstanding, there was progress on the construction of a rail link from Chaman to Spin Boldak, on the dualisation of the Jalalabad-Torkham Highway linking the two countries. Supply of electricity from Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan is also being planned.

Increased media interaction is already underway. Pakistan’s media delegation was recently in Afghanistan to look into ways of promoting people to people understanding. Pakistan has announced increase in development funds for the rehabilitation of Afghanistan from $250 to $300 million, which would be spent on the reconstruction of schools and hospitals.

The Afghan President is a bright, bold and pragmatic man. In the high-stake power game he deftly adjusts to changing realities. At times, owing to power compulsions, he has too willingly altered positions; and as subsequent developments would tell, unwisely. For example, the retraction of his earliest position that as President he would politically engage with the Taleban. Washington’s prompt and public displeasure triggered his retraction. The bright and articulate Karzai has since been ably articulating a progressive Islamic and humane vision for his war-torn country. However, alongside his vision, Karzai has also regularly articulated the hurdles he believes Pakistan has created in the way of Afghan progress.

In Pakistan, Musharraf has consistently engaged with Karzai’s complaints. Mindful of the lingering distrust in Kabul of Islamabad’s past policies, the Pakistani president personally sought a paradigm shift in Islamabad’s Afghan policy. Suspicions from the past and even from the present ran too deep. It was impossible without mutual trust that the troubled relationship between the two neighbours, bound by history, culture, trade and security, could be brought back on track. Numerous one-on-one Musharraf-Karzai meetings were held as the two visited Kabul and Islamabad. Musharraf directed all relevant institutions including the security agencies to track at all levels of movement and responded to incessant complaints by Karzai plus sections of the international community with specific measures. A policy which the former prime minister was only partially able to alter, General Musharraf, with his control over the security agencies, was better placed to change. Along with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Musharraf led policy change on the political/security and trade/commercial fronts.

Concrete steps have included candid dialogue between Pakistani and Afghan politicians, security officials and bureaucrats, sharing intelligence information, meeting of intelligence officials, regular meetings of the Tripartite Border Commissions, devising of ways, even if imperfect, including the Waziristan deal to contain the tribal situation and its spillover into Afghanistan.

The Taleban issue is also a political problem, as Karzai fully understands, so expecting a solution from Islamabad alone is unrealistic. There is remorse among those who were the earlier architects of Afghanistan’s political landscape for excluding the Taleban from the earlier configuration. And in her December 4, 2006 article Lyse Doucett, the BBC analyst on Afghanistan writes that, "Lakhdar Brahimi worries that he and others were wrong not to bring the Taleban into the political process as early as 2002." In fact for a more comprehensive and perceptive view of current Afghanistan the link http://news.bbc.co.uk/ go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/ south_asia/6205220.stm carries an article by Lyse Doucet’s: Afghanistan a Job Half Done, which deserves a read.

Meanwhile, the alienated and now insurgent Taleban also get some support from influential MMA individuals in the NWFP and Baluchistan governments and even some individuals from the ranks in security agencies must still continue. In his characteristic style, General Musharraf event went to the extent of accepting that some elements from the past may still be instrumental in providing support to some Taleban groups. He was keen to look into complaints about Taleban leadership presence in Pakistan personally made by Karzai. Musharraf has had his own reasons to contain and disarm groups spreading violence and fanaticism. He fully understands the linkage between these groups and the problems at home of hate, violence and insecurity. Pakistan’s goodwill gestures have included the logistical support provided by the government of Pakistan during the recent presidential election in Afghanistan to the hundreds of thousands of voters among the Afghan refuges who were voting for Karzai. The aggressive push on trade has led to the manifold increase in trade which is now around 1.2 billion dollars.

But for all of Pakistan’s confidence building moves Pakistan-Afghan tensions have spiraled. There has been name calling, constant complaining and open accusations. President Karzai is a man under pressure. Almost unabated, his accusations have continued; that Pakistan has given shelter to Osama Bin Ladin, that Pakistan’s government is not doing enough to stop the Taleban, that Pakistan’s wants to ‘enslave’ Afghanistan. In private meetings with senior Pakistani ministers the Afghan president has complained that Pakistan is still pursuing its old policy of controlling Afghanistan to acquire "strategic depth" vis a vis India.

As Afghanistan’s security situation deteriorates, the economic condition does not improve, the political chaos continues and the Taleban insurgency gains unprecedented momentum, the inadequacy of NATO forces becomes evident, the failure to control the border movements continues unchecked, Kabul’s failure to administer Afghanistan is obvious, the paucity of development and the absence of good governance and the inadequacy of international support, translate into a huge pressure on Karzai.

The Taleban warn of bloodier battles ahead and the world listens to them attentively, if fearfully. NATO forces look for larger number of troops to battle them. Others including the British believe some political arrangements are also required. Musharraf has been the most vocal in warning of the Taleban increasingly gaining popular support. He knows the growing appeal as it attracts an increasing number of towns in Pakistan’s NWFP province’s settled areas. In the tribal areas where the Taleban support has not evaporated, Pakistan tries various approaches to neutralise them, to win them over or to even contain them. Meanwhile, as a man under tremendous pressure, Karzai falters. He does what is now almost second nature to him; repeated outbursts against Pakistan — against its support for the Taleban and for destabilising Afghanistan. Karzai’s complaints combine with US and NATO criticism have forced Pakistan to demand that Afghanistan take back its still over three million refuges. Pakistan is finding it difficult to manage this extremely large refugee population that moves in thousands across the Pakistan-Afghan border on a daily basis. Islamabad has asked the UN to make arrangements for their repatriation. In Kabul, the Pakistan Prime Minister categorically stated that Kabul and Islamabad have agreed to work on resettling three million Afghan refugees back in Afghanistan and removing the sanctuary that refugee camps provide to insurgents. He explained that, "Refugee camps on our side of the border sometimes are safe havens for elements who are from Afghanistan and take safe haven there after conducting activities."

The other step taken by Pakistan is the partial fencing of the Pakistan-Afghan border. Pakistan has announced placing of additional paratroops along the borders, mining and fencing of the border selectively to attempt to prevent unchecked crossings. Only selective sections of the 2,430 kilometres long border can be fenced and mined. Such a measure will have to be carefully implemented to avoid mining of areas that could create civilian causalities or undermine or endanger normal movement of people and goods.

However, Karzai’s outbursts against mining betray lack of clear thinking. Hamid Karzai said the plan announced by Islamabad this week would do nothing to stop terrorism. He calls for removal of sanctuaries for terrorists. He condemned the plan as one that would "merely divide families already split by the British-drawn frontier" is mere populism. Afghanistan and Pakistan are two different countries and both reserve the right to protect borders as they deem fit, however, without hindering normal movement. There is repeated assurance from Islamabad that, when the mining and fencing begins, peoples’ interests will be protected.

Afghanistan’s journey to recovery is likely to be a difficult one. Yet, for Pakistan the only policy option is to provide substantive support and at all times remain engaged in dialogue with Afghanistan. For Pakistan’s own interest and the interest of the entire region, Afghanistan’s rapid recovery and reconstruction has to be a priority goal. The temporary irritants in the Pakistan-Afghan relationship notwithstanding, as Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz aptly put it in Kabul is Pakistan "believes in a sovereign, independent Afghanistan and will stand by it in all odds."

Nasim Zehra is a fellow of Harvard University Asia Center, Cambridge, Mass. and Adjunct professor at SAIS Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC

"Pak-Afghan tribal belt has the potential of destabilising entire SA"

Washington, Jan 9 (ANI): If the political and diplomatic sources here are to be believed, the Pakistan-Afghanistan tribal belt was gradually getting converted into a conflict zone, and it had the potential of destabilising entire South Asia unless it was brought under control.

According to them, cross borders attacks had increased since the signing of the North Waziristan accord, and mine explosions and rocket attacks against the Pakistan Army were continuing and the writ of the government had been reduced significantly.

After consolidating their position in South and North Waziristan, the Taliban had started organising themselves in other FATA agencies, including adjoining towns like Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Kohat, and the Dir and Malakand region.

Local populations and tribes are fearful of the wrath of the Taliban and are forced to support them even financially, the Daily Times quoted them as saying.

According to them, there are three main Taliban factions in North Waziristan headed by Sadiq Noor, Abu Kasha, and Najimuddin Uzbek. Sadiq Noor heads the most powerful and effective Taliban group from among the local population of North Waziristan.

Over the last three years, the Taliban and Al Qaeda have gained enormous political and administrative control in South and North Waziristan, they said and added that their human, financial and moral support from the local population is increasing. In the last few months, the Taliban's ability to communicate and coordinate with insurgent groups in Afghanistan has improved significantly.

The three main Taliban centres are located in Miran Shah, Mir Ali and Said Gai. In contrast to past practice, agency entrance gates in both North and South Waziristan remain open after 5 pm and are used by the Taliban and drug and arms smugglers.

The sources said that in the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe, there were 14 groups of Taliban until November 2006, but after the appointment of Mullah Nazir as commander, all of them were brought under one leadership. Two Taliban commanders, Ghulam Jan and Ifthikar, do not accept Mullah Nazir as commander.

However, Mullah Nazir remained the most powerful Taliban commander. He and other Taliban commanders like Muhammad Umer, Sharif, Noor Islam, Maulvi Abbas and Javed are affiliated with JUI-F. A separate group under commander Zanjeer, associated with Gulbadin Hikmatyar of Hizbe Islami is connected to the Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan. (ANI)

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