In this bulletin:

• NATO, Afghan operation killed 30 Taliban: police
• Afghanistan a source of worry
• Pakistan needs to do more, says US
• Clinton meets with Karzai, U.S. troops
• Osama not seen in Pakistan: Taliban leader
• Kabul welcomes US comments on Qaeda
• Pakistani tribesmen back Afghan border fence
• Bomber targets Afghan soldiers, workers
• First British soldier killed this year in Afghanistan
• Foreign military contractors survive Afghan suicide blast
• Body of slain engineer found in Ghazni
• Explosion targets organization training Afghan women
• Afghan officials show seven bodies of militants to media
• Former Pakistan official comments on US claim of Al-Qa'idah presence
• Pakistan should end Taliban support to remove ‘stigma’
• Editorial: Conflicting signals
• Former Afghan commander gunned down in Herat
• Inmates in Afghan prison adamant to end strike
• Japan, NATO vow closer ties on Afghanistan, global security
• Afghan mission support rebounds slightly
• Merkel insists no decision taken to send warplanes to Afghanistan
• German Greens wants parliament to decide about sending planes to Afghanistan
• Pakistan keen to expedite IPI project: Aziz

NATO, Afghan operation killed 30 Taliban: police

Kandahar (AFP) - A military operation in which a British soldier died in Afghanistan at the weekend left about 30 Taliban fighters dead, Afghan police said.

The British forces, however, could not confirm the rebel toll but said "possibly a significant number" were killed in the fighting in the Kajaki district of the southern province of Helmand that started Saturday.

"In the two-day operation 30 Taliban were killed and another 20 were wounded," Helmand police chief Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhail told AFP. He said the operation concluded Sunday. "Some of the insurgents' bodies are still left at the battle site," he said on Sunday.

Lieutenant Colonel Rory Bruce of the British task force in Helmand said there were no other casualties to the troops beside the death, the first this year among the roughly 40,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan.

"A number of Taliban were killed in the course of the action, but we don't know how many ... possibly a significant number," he told AFP. A purported Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Yousuf Ahmadi, said only three fighters were killed and eight wounded.

The hardliners routinely understate their own casualties while exaggerating those of the Afghan or foreign militaries, the main targets in an insurgency launched after the Taliban were forced out of government in 2001.

Death tolls in clashes between security forces and rebels in Afghanistan's dragging insurgency are usually impossible to verify, with various sides giving different accounts including over whether civilians are killed.

Around 4,000 British troops are based in Helmand, one of the most volatile provinces in Afghanistan and where some areas fall outside of government control.

Helmand produces most of the country's opium crop -- which makes up 90 percent of the world supply -- and the narco-trade is said to feed the insurgency, which was its deadliest last year.

Afghanistan a source of worry

By Julian E. Barnes and Peter Spiegel Times Staff Writers January 13, 2007

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressed deep concern Friday over the stability of Afghanistan, and a top U.S. military official said additional troops might be needed to strengthen the government in Kabul, which is under growing pressure from Taliban forces.

Gates plans to travel soon to the region to look for ways to aid the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gates appeared worried by the rising violence in Afghanistan, where military commanders have warned that the spring thaw may bring one of the most brutal fighting seasons since the 2001 U.S. invasion.

"We mustn't let this one slip out of our attention and, where we have had a victory, put it at risk," Gates told senators in describing his upcoming trip. "One of the things that I am focused on particularly is, what will it take to reverse the trend line in Afghanistan and to strengthen the Karzai government?"

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated that he was open to raising troop levels in Afghanistan as well as Iraq. Despite concerns that U.S. land forces are overstretched by their growing commitment in Iraq, the Pentagon could sustain an increase of forces in Afghanistan as well, he said.

About 22,000 U.S. military personnel are in Afghanistan; about half of them are fighting along with 32,000 other foreign troops under the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who is to stop in Afghanistan during a trip to the Middle East starting this weekend, said she believed that President Bush's plan to increase troops in Iraq was misguided and that new troops instead should be sent to Afghanistan, where, she said, U.S. policy was on "autopilot."

"I wish we were discussing additional troops for Afghanistan," Clinton said, speaking in Washington. "We are hearing increasingly troubling reports out of Afghanistan, and we will be searching for accurate information about the true state of affairs both militarily and politically."

The comments by Gates and Pace came at a hearing on the Bush administration's revised Iraq policy.

The Armed Services panel includes several senators — Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) — who have been outspoken supporters of a troop buildup.

McCain said those who want to begin withdrawing troops "have a responsibility to tell us what they believe are the consequences of withdrawal in Iraq. If we walk away from Iraq, we'll be back, possibly in the context of a wider war in the world's most volatile region."

Still, Democrats voiced skepticism about the administration's new strategy. The new committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), advocates a timetable for troop withdrawals and opposes the new plan.

"The reality behind the president's new rhetoric is that the open-ended commitment continues," Levin said. Gates said he thought that Bush, who "has a longer view," at times had to make decisions that didn't "have broad support of the American people."

Pakistan needs to do more, says US

Dawn By Anwar Iqbal - WASHIINGTON, Jan 13: Pakistan needs to do more to prevent the Taliban and Al Qaeda from using the tribal areas as a safe haven, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview.

But in the same interview to BBC Arabic, recorded before she left for the Middle East on Friday, Ms Rice also praised Pakistan as `an excellent ally’ in the `war against terror’.

The top American diplomat indulged in this balancing act while commenting on a statement by the outgoing Secretary for Homeland Security, John Negroponte, who on Thursday named Pakistan as the centre of an Al Qaeda web that radiated out to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

Ms Negroponte will soon join the State Department as Ms Rice’s deputy. In a testimony to a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Mr Negroponte wrote, without naming Osama bin Laden or Ayman Al Zawahiri, that Al Qaeda leaders were holed up in a secure hideout in Pakistan.

Ms Rice indicated that the United States had taken up this issue with Islamabad and expects it to uproot Taliban setups established in the tribal zone.

“And so what the Pakistanis need to do, and I think are trying to do, is to make certain that that area cannot be a safe haven for Al Qaeda or for the Taliban,” she said.

“And I do think they’ve made some progress, but obviously, we’d like to see more progress made,” she added. The allegation that Pakistan was not doing enough to uproot Taliban sanctuaries inside its territory has soured relations between Islamabad and Kabul.

Clinton meets with Karzai, U.S. troops

Kabul (AFP) - U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ate with U.S. soldiers from New York and Indiana at the main U.S. base in Afghanistan on Sunday before meeting with the top U.S. general in Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai, officials said.

Clinton, a Democrat from New York who is considering running for president, traveled here with U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh (news, bio, voting record), a Democrat from Indiana, and Rep. John McHugh (news, bio, voting record), a Republican from upstate New York. All three are members of armed services committees.

On Friday, Clinton said she is hearing "increasingly troubling reports out of Afghanistan" and would be searching for "accurate information about the true state of affairs" militarily and politically on her trip.

The Taliban last year launched a record number of attacks, and some 4,000 people died in insurgency-related violence, Afghanistan's bloodiest year since the Taliban was ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in late 2001.

Some 23,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Afghanistan, about half under the NATO flag and half under control of the U.S.-led coalition. Clinton has said she wants to see more troops in Afghanistan, without saying how many.

Her meetings with U.S. military officials and Karzai were closed, and the senator did not make any statements to the media.

The delegation's trip to Kabul comes a day after a visit to Iraq, where Clinton expressed doubt that Iraq's government would follow through with its promises to secure Baghdad as she met with top Iraqi officials and American commanders there.

South of Kabul, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy of foreign construction workers and Afghan soldiers, wounding one civilian, said Mohammmad Asif, a police official.

Qalat is about 220 miles south of Kabul, and Clinton and her colleagues were far from any danger.

Osama not seen in Pakistan: Taliban leader

Daily Times 14 January 2007 - DUBAI: A top Taliban leader in Pakistan said in remarks aired on Saturday his group would protect and guard Al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri if they turned up in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. “I have not met Osama or Zawahri and they did not come to our region. We hope to see them and if they show up in our area we will protect them with our bodies and souls,” Mullah Mohammad Nazir told Al Jazeera television in remarks dubbed into Arabic. US intelligence chief John Negroponte said on Thursday Al Qaeda leaders were holed up in a secure hideout in Pakistan, but the Pakistani government says the United States has not given it any information about their presence in Pakistan. reuters

Kabul welcomes US comments on Qaeda

Daily Times 14 January 2007 - KABUL: Afghanistan said on Saturday an assertion from the US spy chief that Pakistan was harbouring the Al Qaeda terror network had come late, but would hopefully see more focus on routing the militants. The charge by US spy chief John Negroponte to Congress this week has angered Pakistan. “Time-wise it was late, but we consider this a good step,” Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told reporters. “We wished it would have been made clear sooner that the leaders of Al Qeada and the terrorists are operating outside Afghan borders against world security,” he said. The Foreign Ministry said it hoped the statement would see more cooperation from the world and Pakistan in particular against militants crossing into Afghanistan to fight. afp

Pakistani tribesmen back Afghan border fence

Daily Times 14 January 2007

WANA: Tribesmen from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have announced support for the government’s decision to fence the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, but opposition to mining.

In a grand jirga on Saturday, tribesmen said the measure would bring an end to the Afghan authorities’ accusations of terrorist infiltration.

Tribal elders Malik Saifullah, Malik Gul Rahman, Malik Said Nawaz and Mushtaq Shalozani from North and South Waziristan and Kurram Agency addressed the jirga.

Pakistani tribesman, they said, had no role in the deteriorating law and order in Afghanistan. The fencing of the border would not divide families, they said, but “increase love among tribesmen”.

They said the people of the tribal areas had chosen to join Pakistan and were not taken into confidence earlier when the Afghans and the British made the Durand Line deal.

The jirga opposed the mining of the border saying the measure would risk the lives of innocent people and wildlife. online

Bomber targets Afghan soldiers, workers

Yahoo News 14 January 2006

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber attacked a group of foreign construction workers and Afghan soldiers in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, injuring one civilian, a police official said.

The blast went off south of Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, killing the bomber, said Muhammmad Asif, a police official. None of the foreigners or Afghan soldiers was wounded, but a passerby was hurt in the blast, he said.

The foreigners were working on the construction of a building to be used by Afghan security forces, he said.

Asif could not say what nationality the foreigners were or the name of the company they worked for.

On Saturday, a mine blast in another southern province destroyed a police vehicle, wounding two Afghan border policemen, said Raziq Khan, a border police official.

The blast occurred in Spin Boldak area of Kandahar province and Khan blamed Taliban militants for planting the mine on the road.

First British soldier killed this year in Afghanistan

Saturday January 13 - KABUL (Reuters) - Insurgents attacked NATO troops in southern Afghanistan on Saturday and killed a British marine, the first foreign soldier killed in Afghanistan this year, the alliance and the Ministry of Defence said.

The ministry said the marine was killed during a mission to clear Taliban positions in northern Helmand province. Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001.

More than 4,000 people were killed, most of them Taliban militants, but including nearly 170 foreign soldiers killed in attacks or accidents during operations.

Foreign military contractors survive Afghan suicide blast

Sun Jan 14 - KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - A suicide attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body as a convoy of foreign military contractors sped by in Afghanistan but only one civilian was hurt, police said.

The body of the attacker lay in bloody pieces at the site of the explosion in the southern town of Qalat, capital of Zabul province, but the foreigners were unhurt, police officer Mohammad Asif told AFP from the scene.

The blast wounded a civilian working in a nearby bus station, he said.
"The suicide attacker's body is in pieces scattered around the area with blood stains but luckily he caused no fatality. Only one civilian was wounded," he said.

Asif said the convoy involved belonged to Contrack International, a US-based construction and logistics company. This could not be independently confirmed.
The company is helping to build an Afghan army brigade camp in Qalat, according to its website.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force that has a base in Qalat confirmed there had been an explosion but said the cause was not immediately clear.

"Our troops on the ground are investigating," spokeswoman Captain Janneke Benen told AFP from a key ISAF base in the southern city of Kandahar. The ISAF deployment in Zabul is made up of Romanian and US nationals.

There have three suicide blasts already this year in Afghanistan, which in 2006 saw a dramatic upsurge in Taliban-linked violence including suicide and roadside bomb blasts.

One on Friday near the capital Kabul wounded three US nationals working for a contracting firm and two Afghan passersby.

Insurgency-linked violence last year claimed more than 4,000 lives, with most of the dead militants.

The past several weeks have seen a scaledown in attacks with winter snow blocking mountain passes, making it difficult for fighters to move around.

Body of slain engineer found in Ghazni
GHAZNI CITY, Jan 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Body of one of the abducted MRRD engineers killed by Taliban on Thursday has been found in the Andar district of the southern Ghazni province.

The ill-fated engineer Najibullah, resident of the Charkh district of the central Logar province, was kidnapped along with his four other colleagues while on way from the southeastern Paktika province to Kabul more than three weeks back.

The slain and his other colleagues are employees of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD).

Police chief of the Andar district Abdul Malik told Pajhwok Afghan News the body was found in Sahib Khan village of the province Thursday afternoon. He said the corpse bears marks of shots in the chest and face.

On Thursday, a purported Taliban commander, introducing himself as Nasir Kakar, told this news agency that one of the engineers had been killed. He warned they would kill the remaining four hostages if the government failed to fulfill their demand.

Taliban had demanded release of their five members imprisoned in Kabul. Names of the five people were not provided to media, but the abductors said they had communicated the names to the government.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zmaray Bashari, on Thursday, told Pajhwok Afghan News they would not struck a deal with the criminals. Police chief of the Ghazni province, where the five people were kidnapped, had said search was on to recover the hostages.

Explosion targets organization training Afghan women

Text of report by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Taloqan, 13 January: An explosion occurred this morning in the office of BRAC [Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee] in the city of Taloqan. A number of office rooms, including parts of a mosque, were damaged as a result of the explosion, but there were no casualties.

Maj Khalilollah, the official in charge of the Criminal Prosecution Department of the Takhar Security Command, told Pajhwok that the explosion occurred at around five thirty this morning in the office of the Bangladeshi BRAC organization which is located in Ward 4 of Taloqan city. Some office rooms, the wall of a mosque and the windows of the surrounding homes were broken as a result.

He said the perpetrators were the enemies of peace and added that the police was trying to arrest them.

Mohammad Karim, a resident of Ward 4 in Taloqan, said: "Early in the morning, I wanted to go out for prayers when I heard a powerful sound. When I looked, I saw that the offices of the Bangladeshi BRAC organization and the walls of the mosque which is next door to the mosque, were damaged and the windows of homes, including my home, were broken."

An official of BRAC who did not want to be named told Pajhwok that the aim of the explosion had been to prevent women from receiving loans from the office.

Over the last four years, the Bangladeshi BRAC organization has been active in the fields of literacy and training in smaller crafts and professions for women in the city of Takhar.

Two days ago, an explosion took place in the office of Rebuilding Afghan Women's Crafts organization in the city of Taloqan. The office was damaged as a result of the explosion but there were no casualties.

Fazellah Balkhi, the head of the above mentioned organization, says that the aim of the explosion has been to stop women from working.

Razm Ara Hawash, the head of the Takhar Province Women's Affairs Department, condemned the explosions and warned that unless something was done to prevent the recurrence of such explosions women would be too frightened to leave their homes to go to work.

Afghan officials show seven bodies of militants to media

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

Sharan, 13 January: Governor of Paktika and ISAF zone commander showed seven dead bodies of anti-government elements and huge amount of recovered ammunition and weapons.

The seven people are those of 150 who were killed in ISAF air and land strikes in Barmal District of the southeastern Paktika Province two days back. ISAF authorities claimed they had killed about 150 terrorists in the attack.

Dr Akram Khpalwak, governor of Paktika, told Pajhwok Afghan News seven people had military uniform and had long hair and beard that resembled former Mojahedin.

He said their aim of showing corpses to media was to prove that all of the dead were the militants, who crossed border and there were no civilian casualties. The governor also promised launching some uplift projects in the province.

Abdul Latif, a commander of the national army, said: Due to severe cold, we are unable to climb the mountains and bring down all the dead bodies. The weapons showed to media were including both heavy and light arms.

(?Lecsan), commander of South zone of coalition forces, also visited the area where the clash took place. General Benjamin Frankly, 76th operational force commander in Bagram military base in a press conference, said that all those killed in Barmal District were belonging to the militant group and there were no civilian casualties.

He said that those people were supported by Hekmatyar, Mullah Mohammad Omar and Mawlawi Jalaloddin Haqani. He said they had captured a wounded, who said he was working for Haqani.

He said: Hekmatyar, Mullah Omar and Haqani send his people to Afghanistan from other side of the border, but we are ready to fight them at any time and we will destroy them

Frankly said they wanted to decrease war through reconstruction projects, as they had launched projects at the cost of 23 million dollars and they will run more projects this year.

Former Pakistan official comments on US claim of Al-Qa'idah presence

Text of interview with retired Lt-Gen Assad Durrani, former director-general of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence, on phone, broadcast by Dubai-based Pakistani television GEO TV on 12 January

[Journalist Kamran Khan] US National Intelligence Director John D. Negroponte in testimony in the US Senate said that information suggests that the Al-Qa'idah is reorganizing in Pakistan and it is also making its second //base// in Pakistan. He stated this during a //hearing// in the Senate. At the same time, US Defence Intelligence Agency Director Lt-Gen Michael D. Maples has also said that reports in Pakistan say that Al-Qa'idah is reorganizing in the border areas. This kind of direct allegation at the highest //intelligence level// in the United States has never been levelled earlier. This kind of claim was never made earlier at the official level in such a direct manner. Two highest US intelligence officials said this during a //hearing// in the Senate on the same day. Pakistan has protested such claims and Pakistan Military Spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan told a foreign news agency that the United States has not conveyed any communication to Pakistan in this connection and Pakistan has received no //specific// information from the US //intelligence// about the presence of Al-Qa'idah in Pakistan and that is why Islamabad rejects the allegation outright.

Pakistan has dismissed the US allegation, but why these serious allegations are being levelled at the highest intelligence level in the United States. We will analyse this with retired Lt-Gen Assad Durrani, former director-general of Inter Services Intelligence [ISI] and prominent defence analyst, who is with us on the telephone line.

Peace be upon you, general. [Durrani] Peace be upon you, Kamran.

[Khan] Very //specific allegation// has been levelled by the US National Intelligence Director and the Defence Intelligence Agency Chief, which //specifically// claims that the Al-Qa'idah is reorganizing in Pakistan and according to them Al-Qa'idah is once again strengthening in Pakistan. Please tell us in your views what is the importance of levelling these charges at this highest level?

[Durrani] Kamran, these charges on such occasion [US Senate hearing] should be viewed from two to three angles. Firstly, yes, the allegation, perhaps, has not been levelled earlier at this level and especially the allegation has never been //targeted// or was //specific// like this, but this is being mentioned for quite long time. We have been told that the people's movement is continuing and that the Al-Qa'idah elements may also be present in the border areas and other such things. And, now if these things have been //updated// during the Senate hearing, it may also be because Negroponte is about to move to other post, or as he has made the statement before the Senate Committee, he, perhaps, needs more support from the Congress, etcetera, for the additional military operation in Iraq and that is why he is enhancing the terror //threat// perception. Second reason could be seen in what we especially saw yesterday that quite a big action [of NATO forces] was taken inside the Afghan border and it appears that Pakistan's action to fire at some vehicles in North Waziristan after quite some time was //synchronized// with NATO forces action. If you start viewing these developments in this //perspective//, you would start wondering whether the situation in our region is about to deteriorate and whether a //direction action// by the United States is about to take place because once such allegation is levelled, the second question would arise what should be done next. There are only two options left. First, now as the pressure is mounting on Pakistan, it has to [words indistinct] and start sharing information and resume military action to throw out or drive away these [Al-Qa'idah] people. A dangerous situation would develop if the United States takes //direct action// with its US //Predators// and its military might and it will have //serious implications//, especially for us in Pakistan. And, if we have to make some special preparations after viewing all these factors in a broader //perspective//, I would advise that the US warning should be taken seriously and we should not only have a second thought about the //military action// we take in the tribal areas, but also be ready for the situation, God forbid, if some thing //builds up// in //coming weeks and month// in our western neighbour Iran because Bush will not like to retire with only failures in his bag, failure in Iraq, failure in Afghanistan, and that is why it is possible that some //commotion// is created there [in Iran]. So, after viewing the situation from all these angles, the thoughtfulness and preparation is very necessary for facing what may be called the //worst case scenario//, although someone may //wishfully// say it will not happen. It may not happen, but thoughtfulness and readiness is very necessary.

[Khan] General, the statements by the US National Intelligence Director and the Defence Intelligence Agency Director that the Al-Qa'idah is reorganizing in Pakistan are generally being taken here with a //pinch of salt//, but it could also be possible that the US intelligence information, in fact, is correct.

[Durrani] You see, I cannot comment in this connection because the intelligence information is not always correct and it may be incorrect because of various reasons or it may be planted because of some specific reasons. Unless it is //checked out//, unless we get more //information// in this connection and examine it individually [preceding word as heard], it will be wrong to say that the US information is correct.

[Khan] Thank you very much. Retired Lt-Gen Assad Durrani, former ISI Director General and defence analyst, was talking to us from Islamabad.

Pakistan should end Taliban support to remove ‘stigma’

* Apparently US wants Durand Line to become permanent border
* US policymakers plan to reduce Pakistan to Punjab and Sindh

By Khalid Hasan - Daily Times (Pak) 14 January 2007

WASHINGTON: The “stigma” of Pakistan abetting Taliban fighters will remain unless Islamabad chooses to terminate their activities, according to a commentary.

Abid Mustafa, an analyst of Muslim affairs, writes in the current issue of Countercurrents, an online publication, that Pakistan’s unwillingness to withdraw support to the Taliban and other Pushtoon fighters is being fuelled by the US which continues to support Pakistan’s policy of embracing Taliban militants. Despite the growing international pressure, especially from NATO members, the White House has hitherto refused to apportion blame at Musharraf’s government for incubating militants on its soil.

He writes that it is also apparent that the US is quietly supporting Pakistan’s efforts to make the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan permanent and this explains much of the hostility of the Kabul government towards the measures. The Afghans still dispute the Durand Line which was invented by the British in 1893 to divide Afghanistan from British India. Afghans consider the agreement illegal and regard Peshawar and Quetta part of Afghanistan.

America’s current plan is to buy precious time for the Taliban to take leadership over the Pushtoon resistance and then execute a major offensive against Kabul in the Spring of this year. Thereafter, the US will convene an international conference to construct a new government in Kabul - one that enjoys the support of the Pushtoons; resolves the border issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and integrates the tribal belt into the civil polity of Pakistan.

Mustafa believes that Rick Inderfurth, a former assistant secretary of state for South Asian Affairs, and Dennis Kux, a former US ambassador to Pakistan, have put aspects of this plan forward. In an article published in the Baltimore Sun last month, the two advocate that Afghanistan should override the jirga decision of 1948 and accept the Durand Line as the de facto border, and that Pakistan should undertake reforms with the assistance of the World Bank to integrate the tribal region. But if somehow the Pakistan’s establishment believes that America is going to safeguard Pakistan’s integrity then they are gravely mistaken. American policymakers have already discussed several plans which elaborate on how Pakistan should be divided along sectarian lines. One plan proposes to reduce Pakistan to Punjab and Sindh and its security and economy integrated with India. Musharraf often talks about sectarian violence and blames Islamists or outside powers for fomenting it. Yet it is his pro-American policies that are laying the seeds of an even bigger sectarian disaster - the dismemberment of Pakistan.

Editorial: Conflicting signals

The News International (PAK.) 14 January 2007

Simply put, the mixed signals coming from Washington regarding the situation in Afghanistan present a perplexing riddle for Islamabad. On one hand, they have the Richard Boucher, the US's Assistant Secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, visiting the country and singing praises of Pakistan's efforts in regards to the Taliban. It was the least Washington could do after Pakistan, its so-called front-line ally in the war on terror, has borne the brunt of a barrage of accusations courtesy America's political and military allies in Kabul. Mr Boucher admitted that the rising insurgency by the Taliban in Afghanistan was as much a failure of the US as it was of Pakistan. While that's not exactly the kind of praise Islamabad may have been hoping for, it is certainly leaps and bounds over the rhetoric that places the blame of Taliban resurrection solely on Pakistan's shoulders. If one is optimistic enough and willing to set aside the bit about Pakistan's 'failure,' it can be said that Mr Boucher's remarks also admit, to a certain extent, that efforts from other front-line states have been below par.

At the same time as Mr Boucher was in Islamabad, America's National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said in testimony before the US Senate's intelligence committee that the top brass of both Al Qaeda and the Taliban were in Pakistan, from where they control their networks across the world. Now, no matter how optimistic one is, there is no other way to read into these statements other than them being a direct assault on Pakistan. The qualification coming from the White House spokesman, saying that Pakistan was still an indubitable ally, does not hide the stark nature of Mr Negroponte's remarks. Islamabad should demand from the US an unconditional and immediate cessation of such remarks by its officials because not only are they inaccurate, they make life difficult for the government since its participation in the America-led war on terror is quite unpopular with most Pakistanis. Not only this, Pakistan has tried various methods to fight extremists within its own borders and has suffered much in the process, from innocent civilians being blown up by suicide bombers to several hundred soldiers losing their lives fighting militants in parts of FATA.

What is the motive behind these somewhat different public statements by senior American officials -- is there any intent or plan to them, and if so, what? Perhaps a possible reason for the seeming contradiction in what US officials have been saying is that these statements are meant for different audiences: Mr Negroponte was speaking before American legislators while Mr Boucher's remarks were meant for his Pakistani hosts and the domestic media. In any case, if Washington comes out and says that Pakistan has been doing all it can, it directly rubbishes all the statements by not only their man in Kabul Hamid Karzai, but by the top brass of the struggling international forces present in Afghanistan. Conversely, a direct implication of Pakistan would mean losing support from one of the three states that will unquestionably hold future influence over Afghanistan, by virtue of geographical proximity, especially once the US pulls out -- the others being Iran and China. The point, however, remains that such statements often do more harm than good if they are made in public. It would be unfair to say that the Musharraf government is not doing all it can to help the Americans fight the war against terror. Besides, fighting extremists and the Taliban is probably more in Pakistan's own interest. And for this the president has risked his own life escaping at least two assassination attempts. Publicly asking him and his government to do more when both are already doing quite a lot and in the face of stiff opposition from the population of the very region where the fighting is taking place is surely something Washington should understand needs to be avoided.

Former Afghan commander gunned down in Herat

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

Herat City, 13 January: A former jihadi commander was killed as unidentified armed men stormed his house in the western Herat Province last night.

The gunmen broke into the house of Mohammad Naim Zinal and shot him dead, security officials said on Saturday [13 January]. Son and brother-in-law of the slain suffered injuries.

Spokesman for the provincial police headquarters Colonel Nur Khan Nekzad suspected personal enmity behind the incident. He said Zinal had also been served as chief of the Karokh district of Herat.

He said three of the assailants had been identified and search was on to arrest them. The deceased was not holding any government position at the moment. Security officials in the northern Balkh province said they had unearthed an ammunition depot in the Sholgara district of the province.

An official of the intelligence department, on condition of anonymity, told Pajhwok Afghan News the ammunition dump was unearthed in Dallan village of Sholgara district. He said the weapons included 136 mortars, 34 rockets and large number of other arms and ammunitions. He said no arrest had so far been made in connection with the unearthing of the arms cache.

Inmates in Afghan prison adamant to end strike

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

Kabul, 13 January: Continuing their hunger strike, prisoners at the Pol-e Charkhi jail said they would not hold talks with the local officials to end the strike.

Some 600 prisoners at the third block of the notorious jail had started hunger strike against the alleged misbehaviour of jail officials on Wednesday [10 January].

The protesting prisoners said they would hold talks only with representatives of the United Nations. Officials of the Justice Ministry say they are holding talks with the prisoners and the problem will be resolved soon.

General Abdul Fatah, head of the commission formed to carry out investigations into complaints of the prisoners, said efforts were on to look into their grievances and problem.

Several relatives of the protestors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Pajhwok Afghan News jail officials had stopped water supply and electricity to the prisoners for four days. However, the ministry officials rejected the allegations as baseless.

A member of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Nader Naderi said they were investigating the reasons which forced the prisoners to start the hunger strike.

Afghan government launches police reform programme

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

Kabul, 13 January: Two key officials are among the 40 police officers who the government has removed or reshuffled as part of the Interior Ministry's police reform programme.

Amanollah Gozar, the chief of the Kabul police headquarters, and Basir Salangi, the chief of the eastern Nangarhar Police Department, are the two key officials who had been removed. Interior Ministry spokesman Zmaray Bashari announced the large-scale replacement and reshuffling programme during a press conference today.

Amanollah Gozar, who was appointed the police chief of Kabul after the Kabul riots in May 2006, has been replaced by Esmatollah Daulatzai, the chief of the investigations branch in the Interior Ministry. Basir Salangi has been replaced by Sayed Ghaffar, the regional police commander in the southern province of Kandahar.

Another Interior Ministry officer, Habib Rahman Zazai, has been moved to fill the position vacated due to the transfer of Sayed Ghafar to the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The list of the transfers and reshuffling which Pajhwok Afghan News received includes the names of 40 senior officers of the Interior Ministry. Of them, 16 are police chiefs of various provinces who have either been replaced or transferred to other provinces as part of the reform programme.

The much-hyped reform programme in the police departments started about a year back. Some two months back, the foreign media as well as foreign diplomats and donors expressed apprehension about the performance of the police department in face of the increasing incidents of lawlessness in the capital Kabul and in the provinces.

Last week, the presidential spokesman, Karim Rahimi, during his weekly press conference, said large-scale reshuffling was on cards in the police departments to improve the police performance and ensure security of the people.

Japan, NATO vow closer ties on Afghanistan, global security

BRUSSELS: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed ground-breaking moves to work with NATO in Afghanistan and said Tokyo was determined to build strong security links with the 26-nation military alliance.

The Japanese premier - the country’s first-ever leader to visit NATO headquarters - did not promise to send troops to Afghanistan where NATO is engaged in increasingly tough battles with insurgents.

But in what NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer described as a "historic" meeting with alliance officials, Abe promised close cooperation in Afghanistan between Japanese personnel working on aid, demining and reconstruction projects and the alliance’s "provincial reconstruction teams" engaged in similar development efforts.

"Japan shall step up cooperation with NATO as it addresses international challenges," Abe said at a joint news conference with Scheffer.

The Japanese premier said Japan and NATO’s provincial reconstruction teams would "cooperate in the area of humanitarian and development assistance in Afghanistan."

Abe said his discussions with NATO’s decision-making North Atlantic Council had also focused on the global security threat posed by North Korean nuclear weapons and the country’s practice of abducting Japanese and foreign nationals.

"To address these issues, we need very broad international cooperation," said Abe. Scheffer told reporters enhanced NATO contacts with Japan would include a "strong political umbrella" but also cover practical cooperation in areas such as planning for civilian emergencies and energy security.

However, no NATO forces would be deployed in north east Asia, said Scheffer. NATO diplomats described Abe’s promise to work directly with NATO in Afghanistan as a very significant step. Japanese and alliance personnel were currently working in Afghanistan "side by side" rather than on joint projects, he said.

Abe’s intention was to cooperate with NATO on Afghan health, education and humanitarian projects, the diplomat said, adding that further details of joint cooperation efforts would be worked out in the coming weeks.

Japan is already providing refuelling services in the Indian Ocean for NATO’s Afghan operation which includes soldiers from about 37 nations. Abe’s visit to NATO headquarters comes at a significant time of changing priorities and concerns for both sides.

In a review of Japan’s post-War foreign and security role, the Japanese parliament agreed last month to upgrade the Defence Agency to a full ministry and to expand the "primary duties" of the Self- Defence Forces (SDF) to foreign peacekeeping operations, including support for the US military.

In remarks made to NATO envoys, diplomats said Abe had made clear that Japan would not hesitate to send members of its Self-Defense Force abroad for the purpose of international peace and stability.

Japan’s new military assertiveness has raised concerns in China and South Korea given the region’s memories of brutal Japanese army action during World War II.

NATO, initially set up as a Cold War alliance against communist Soviet Union, has also expanded its role to include anti-terror operations and tackle wider global security concerns.

Scheffer has repeatedly insisted that NATO’s ambitious peace and stabilization mission in Afghanistan is the alliance’s "number one priority."

The Japanese leader’s pledge to build stronger ties with NATO is a boost to the alliance’s plans to expand its global security role following the end of the Cold War.

NATO leaders meeting in the Latvian capital Riga last November approved plans for stronger partnerships with Japan and other Asia- Pacific nations, including South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

As part of the new blueprint, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has already held discussions with Scheffer and diplomats said New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark is expected to visit alliance headquarters shortly.

Afghan mission support rebounds slightly

Peter O'Neil, CanWest News Service - National post January 13, 2007

OTTAWA -- Support for Canada's mission in Afghanistan has grown over the winter as memory of a wave of bloodshed during the summer and early autumn fades, according to a new national poll provided exclusively Friday to CanWest News Service.

The online Jan. 8-10 survey of 2,206 Canadians by Innovative Research Group found 58 per cent of respondents support the military action compared to 38 per cent who are opposed.

The numbers are in line with a previous Innovative survey done last June, but up from a follow-up October poll that had just 54 per cent of Canadians backing the mission and 42 per cent opposed.

Of the 37 Canadians who died in Afghanistan last year, 26 perished during the July-to-October period.

Innovative Research president Greg Lyle said his research shows Canadians are prepared to support the dangerous overseas mission as long as they are convinced Canadian soldiers are providing critical assistance and bringing peace and democracy to the war-plagued country.

"The idea that we're a bunch of pacifists sitting around singing Kumbaya just isn't the way Canada is."

David Bercuson, programs director for the Calgary-based Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, said the expected fighting lull in Afghanistan during the winter months isn't the only likely reason for the increased public support.

He said Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government's stepped-up communication efforts, combined with generally positive media coverage of the conflict over the holiday season, have illustrated to Canadians that the military is engaged in reconstruction as well as combat.

"More Canadians seem to believe we are providing critical assistance to local Afghans," Bercuson said.

He noted, however, that the country remains divided, with opposition to the conflict most intense in Quebec. Support, he said, is also conditional for many Canadians.

"This is not a World War Two, where it's so obvious to everybody that everyone's interest is at stake to some degree," he said.

"So some people will say, `If I think we can win this (in Afghanistan) I'll support this. If I don't think we can, I won't."'

The Innovative poll shows Canadians are evenly split on whether they respect Harper's motives for strongly backing and showcasing the troops' efforts.

Forty-five per cent of respondents said they believe the Harper Tories are championing the mission because "they think it is the right thing to do."

But 44 per cent agreed with the statement that the Conservatives are keeping troops in Afghanistan "because they want to make the U.S. happy."

Lyle said the considerable cynicism doesn't pose a political problem for Harper because 45 per cent is more than enough to win a majority government, assuming all Canadians who believe he's doing the right thing vote Tory.

The poll, according to Bercuson and Lyle, shows there are strong conditions attached to Canadians' support.

Sixty per cent, up seven points from October, agreed that Canadians "are providing critical assistance to local Afghans and are trying to create a peaceful and democratic country." Just 30 per cent agreed to an opposing proposition that the government is putting Canadian lives at risk for "no apparent reason."

Roughly the same majority, 58 per cent, agrees with the proposition that Canada should send troops to dangerous, war-torn, underdeveloped countries threatened by ``systematic human rights abuses.''

The online poll is considered accurate to within 2.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20, according to Innovative.

The strongest support for the mission is in Alberta, with 69 percent support in Harper's home province, while the lowest is in Quebec, with 46 per cent backing the mission.

British Columbians were slightly above the national average, with 61 per cent backing the mission, while 59 per cent of Ontarians were in favour.

On the issue of cynicism, Harper's Tories are viewed as trying to do ``the right thing'' in Afghanistan by 48 per cent of West Coast respondents, while 39 per cent agreed that the prime minister is simply trying to please U.S. President George W. Bush.

In Quebec, where Harper has made numerous efforts to win public support, respondents were the most cynical. Just 37 per cent said the Tories are trying to do the right thing, while 54 per cent said the government is trying to win American favour.

The error margin for regional figures is higher.

In B.C., 316 people were surveyed, resulting in a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points. The Ontario sample of 978 results has a margin of 3.1 points, Quebec's 448-person sample has a margin of 4.6 points, while in Alberta the sample of 163 leaves an error margin of 7.7 points.

Merkel insists no decision taken to send warplanes to Afghanistan
Jan 13, 2007, 14:20 GMT Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Bremen, Germany - German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Saturday that no decision had been reached yet on a NATO request for German Tornado reconnaissance aircraft to assist ground troops in southern Afghanistan.

Speaking after an executive meeting of her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), in the city of Bremen, she said the topic was still under review. This meant that the issue of whether parliamentary approval was required did not pose itself yet.
'There has been no decision yet,' she said.

The previous day, the caucus leader of her Social Democrat coalition partners, Peter Struck, had spoken in the EU capital Brussels of an agreement in the coalition to send over the jets.

German troops are confined to Kabul and the comparatively peaceful north of Afghanistan, but NATO has asked the Germans for six air- force jets to pass data to NATO ground troops fighting the Taliban in the south.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Friday that approval from Berlin would be 'highly welcome.'

The pacifist Left Party in Berlin announced Saturday it would haul the government before Germany's Constitutional Court if the jets were sent to Afghanistan without any parliamentary vote. He said assisting the fighting would be a grave alteration to the existing authorization.

Berlin is under intense pressure from other NATO nations, including the United States, to send troops to boost NATO's increasingly difficult military operation in volatile southern Afghanistan.

German Greens wants parliament to decide about sending planes to Afghanistan

Text of report by German news agency ddp on 13 January

Baden-Baden: The Greens have made a demand for parliament to decide about dispatching German Tornado reconnaissance aircraft to Afghanistan; otherwise they will go to the Federal Constitutional Court. "Should the federal government dare to do this without parliament, we shall have to consider going to the Karlsruhe court," the Greens' Bundestag Group Chairwoman Renate Kuenast told Germany's SWR TV on Saturday [13 January]. It was the view of her group that the Bundestag had to decide about whether or not to dispatch German Tornados to Afghanistan.

The International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan had won great respect worldwide because it linked civilian reconstruction with a military mission. "That is why the German Bundestag must have a thorough debate on whether the Tornado dispatch fits in with the ISAF package," Kuenast stressed. The Greens' politician left it open whether the Greens would support the dispatch of German reconnaissance aircraft. Before the start of such a mission, it had to be clear "what the purpose was and who would get the data".

Pakistan keen to expedite IPI project: Aziz

Dawn - By Ahmed Hassan

ISLAMABAD Jan 13: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday said that Pakistan was keen to expedite the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project to meet growing energy requirements of both India and Pakistan and to create linkages and interdependence to promote peace in the region.

The prime minister said this while talking to Indian Minister for External Affairs, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, who called on him at the PM House on Saturday.

The prime minister said that South Asia was at the cusp of economic take-off and it could become a major force in the world once it was able to resolve bilateral disputes.

Mr Aziz said that peace between Pakistan and India should not become hostage to incidents beyond the control of the two countries.

Reciprocating, Mr Mukherjee said that India was also keen to resolve all issues with Pakistan to establish good neighbourly relations.

He said he agreed with the prime minister that the peace process between the two countries should not be allowed to become hostage to stray incidents of terrorism.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan was keen to peacefully settle all its disputes with India, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir, so that both countries could progress and prosper in an atmosphere of peace and amity.

He said Pakistan was of the view that a lasting peace in the South Asia could only be achieved after the resolution of the Kashmir dispute which must include the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, and be acceptable to both Pakistan and India.

The prime minister said Islamabad was committed to the on-going process of the composite dialogue which needed to be made more meaningful and result-oriented.
He said Pakistan was also committed to Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) which had helped improve ties between the two countries.

Mr Aziz said Islamabad was also committed to the objectives of Saarc, including Safta, to promote economic cooperation in South Asia but “our vision will remain unfulfilled unless the Organisation is energized and made effective to exploit the full potential of its member states.”

He said Pakistan expected India to address its trade regime with Pakistan with a view to providing a level playing field by removing hurdles such as non-tariff barriers.

The prime minister said that it was encouraging that the trust deficit between the two countries was reducing, and they were moving in the right direction.

He said both Pakistan and India needed to observe the Indus Basin Treaty in letter and spirit so that new projects were strictly in the purview of the treaty.

The Indian external affairs minister said he was happy to visit Pakistan.
He handed over Mr Aziz a letter of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, inviting the former to attend Saarc summit being held in New Delhi on April 3-4, 2007.

The prime minister accepted the invitation of the Indian PM, and reiterated his invitation to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan.

[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.]