In this bulletin:

• President Karzai Welcomes Comments by Imam of Kaaba
• Body of German recovered in Afghanistan
• Merkel rejects Taliban demand to leave Afghanistan
• U.S. Force Not Ruled Out in Pakistan
• O'Connor: 'We have to train Afghan army quickly'
• More Propaganda and Confusion from Defence Minister on Afghan Mission
• Britain losing 'hearts and minds' in Afghanistan
• Iran attaches importance to Afghanistan stability: spokesman
• Canada could step back as Afghan army expands, O’Connor says
• ISAF SAYS SOPHISTICATED BOMBS IN AFGHANISTAN DO NOT ORIGINATE IN IRAQ
• Strong action in tribal areas could split Pak army: Report
• India rejects "baseless" reports on RAW-trained Afghan bombers
• U.S.-Afghan foreign policy
• Jude Law makes Afghan peace visit – BBC
• REGION: Assessing reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan —Nazia Hussain
• Who Lost Pakistan?
• The Night Belongs to the Taleban
• Feature: Old palaces in need of reconstruction

President Karzai Welcomes Comments by Imam of Kaaba

Office of the President (Kabul) - President Karzai welcomed the recent comments made by Imam (prayer leader) of the Holy Kaaba, Dr Sheikh Abdul Rehman Al-Sudais.

Imam Al-Sudais has recently said that Muslims need more education now than any other time, as education overcomes ignorance, which leads to disunity and fighting. Imam Al-Sudais said, “Islam is the religion of peace, safety and love and leaves no space for violence.”

 Imam Abdul Rehman expressed concern that Muslims are deviating from the Islamic instructions, thus presenting a negative image from Islam.

 Imam Abdul Rehman called upon Islamic scholars to help fight off this mentality and show the world the true image of the sacred religion. He urged Muslims that they can pursue higher scientific studies and make progress.

In a separate news, Saudi Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz called upon Muslim youths to stay away from the “Fake Jihad”. He added, the elements are using the name of Jihad to serve their own aims.

 Mufti Abdul Aziz said that there were large numbers of such elements, which were giving lessons of fake jihad to the youth and misguiding the common man.

 Sheikh Abdul Aziz said that jihad, in present time, was to shun evil and follow the teachings of Islam.

Body of German recovered in Afghanistan

By AMIR SHAH - Associated Press Sun Jul 22

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan villagers found the body of a German aid worker kidnapped in southern Afghanistan, a police chief said Sunday, while a delegation of South Korean officials arrived hours before a purported evening deadline set for 23 Korean hostages.

The body of the German was found in southern Wardak province, where two Germans and five Afghans were kidnapped on Wednesday, said provincial police chief Mohammad Hewas Mazlum.

A purported Taliban spokesman on Saturday said militants shot and killed the Germans because Germany hadn't pledged to pull its 3,000 troops from Afghanistan. But Afghan and German officials said intelligence indicated that one died of a heart attack and the other was still alive.

Mazlum said he did not immediately know the cause of death of the German whose body was recovered.

The eight-man Korean delegation planned to meet with President Hamid Karzai and Afghanistan's foreign and interior ministers, said Sidney Serena, a political affairs officer at the Korean Embassy in Kabul.

A senior South Korean official said the team would negotiate with the Taliban through intermediaries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, has said the hard-line militia would release the 23 Koreans in exchange for the freedom of 23 Afghan prisoners. The militants kidnapped the Koreans on Thursday while they were riding on a bus from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar.

Ahmadi has said that 7 p.m. Sunday was the deadline for the Afghan government to agree to the trade. Neither the Afghan nor Korean governments have commented on the purported offer.

U.S. and Afghan forces moved into the region in southern Ghazni province where the Koreans are thought to be but haven't started any offensive operations, the Afghan Defense Ministry said.

"We will only launch rescue operations or military action at the request of the Afghan and Korean governments," said U.S. Lt. Col. David Accetta. "We do not want to jeopardize the lives of the Korean civilians, and we expect that the governments of Korea and Afghanistan can secure their release peacefully through negotiations."

Serena said the 23 South Koreans, including 18 women, work at an aid organization called the Korea Foundation in Kandahar. Though the Koreans have been reported to be Christians, Serena said the embassy "strongly denies" that they were carrying out any sort of religious activities.

The chief of the South Korean parliamentary defense committee, Kim Sung-gon, said Sunday in Seoul that the country's 210 troops in Afghanistan have started preparations to pull out of the country by the end of the year as planned.

The Defense Ministry stressed that the process had begun well before the Taliban demanded the withdrawal of South Korean troops from the war-ravaged country.

Merkel rejects Taliban demand to leave Afghanistan

Sunday, July 22, 2007 - BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that Germany would not give in to the demands of the Taliban to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and would not allow itself to be blackmailed.

"We will not react to demands from the Taliban," Merkel said in an interview with Germany's ARD public television. "We will not give into blackmail."

She said she had "no new hard information" about the status of a German engineer being held hostage in Afghanistan or the circumstances surrounding the death of another German hostage, who the government believes died of stress in captivity.

U.S. Force Not Ruled Out in Pakistan

By HOPE YEN - The Associated Press Sunday, July 22, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. would consider military force if necessary to stem al-Qaida's growing ability to use its hideout in Pakistan to launch terrorist attacks, a White House aide said Sunday.

The president's homeland security adviser, Fran Townsend, said the U.S. was committed first and foremost to working with Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, in his efforts to control militants in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. But she indicated the U.S. was ready to take additional measures.

"Just because we don't speak about things publicly doesn't mean we're not doing things you talk about," Townsend said, when asked in a broadcast interview why the U.S. does not conduct special operations and other measures to cripple al-Qaida.

"Job No. 1 is to protect the American people. There are no options off the table," she said.

Responding to earlier comments by Townsend, Pakistan's foreign minister, Khurshid Kasuri, said Sunday that the country's military was in the best position to attack al-Qaida, if the U.S. provided intelligence.

The national intelligence director, Mike McConnell, said he believed that Osama bin Laden was living in the tribal, border region of Pakistan. Bin Laden is the leader of the al-Qaida network and mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

McConnell said Musharraf's attempt at a political solution to peace in the region had backfired by giving al-Qaida a place and time to regroup.

"Al-Qaida has been able to regain some of its momentum," McConnell said. "The leadership's intact. They have operational planners, and they have safe haven. The thing they're missing are operatives inside the United States."

In the National Intelligence Estimate released last week, analysts stressed the importance of al-Qaida's increasingly comfortable hideout in Pakistan that has resulted from a hands-off accord between Musharraf and tribal leaders along the Afghan border.

That 10-month-old deal, which has unraveled in recent days, gave al-Qaida new opportunities to set up compounds for terror training, improve its international communications with associates and bolster its operations.

Since then, U.S. officials have said they expect Pakistan to launch more military strikes on Islamic militants while the Bush administration pumps hundreds of millions of dollars in development aid into lawless tribal regions to fight extremism.

On Sunday, Townsend reiterated the importance of Musharraf's efforts. "We should also be clear that we believe Pakistan has been a very good ally in the war on terrorism," she said. "Musharraf has been the subject of numerous assassination attempts. Al-Qaida's trying to kill him. They get what the problem is. And we're working with them to deny al-Qaida and the Taliban the safe haven."

McConnell also sought to bolster the leader of Pakistan, a key U.S. partner in its fight against terrorism. "President Musharraf is one of our strongest allies," McConnell said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he agreed with Townsend that the U.S. should consider going after al-Qaida militarily "wherever they are."

"We have the NIE report, which just came out, that says al-Qaida during this administration is stronger than ever. I don't think we should take anything off the table. Wherever we find these evil people we should go get them," Reid said.

But Kasuri said Pakistan was ready to act on any intelligence from the U.S. "Let the United States provide us with actionable intelligence and you will find that Pakistan will never be lacking," he said. "Pakistan's army can do the job much better and the result will be that there will be far less collateral damage."

Townsend spoke on "Fox News Sunday" and "Late Edition" on CNN. McConnell appeared on "Meet the Press" on NBC. Reid was on "Face the Nation" on CBS. Kasuri was on CNN.

O'Connor: 'We have to train Afghan army quickly'

Updated Sun. Jul. 22 2007 - CTV.ca News Staff

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor says by the time the 22nd Regiment, known as the Van Doos, takes over the mission in Afghanistan in August, the Canadian military will be shifting from combat to the classroom.

O'Connor, appearing on CTV's Question Period Sunday, said the Van Doos will be training up to four or five battalions of the Afghan army -- about 3,000 soldiers.

A small contingent from the Van Doos began arriving in Kandahar last week. Next month, there will be about 2,500 new Canadian soldiers on the ground -- 2,330 from Quebec.

O'Connor's comments come after new poll numbers emerged last week suggesting Canadians' opposition to the mission is rising.

Nationwide, opposition is at 59 per cent, but the total number of those opposed in Quebec remains higher at 75 per cent.

O'Connor said those numbers are largely due to Canadians' lack of clear understanding of Canada's successes in Afghanistan, as well as the challenges faced there.

He said there is reason to believe that the situation in Afghanistan is improving, and Canada's frontline role will soon be reduced.

O'Connor said Canadian troops recently sponsored an Afghan infantry battalion, providing intense mentorship and training, and as a result the battalion is now conducting its own operations.

He described it as a success that will be used as a model for training other battalions, and will eventually take pressure off the Canadians.

But this could also take pressure off the Conservative government, especially in Quebec where opposition to the mission runs highest.

Amir Attaran, a University of Ottawa professor with expertise on global development and governance issues, says getting the Van Doos out of harm's way is a strategic move.

"The Conservatives want to make sure that nobody out of Quebec dies," Attaran told CTV News. "The Van Doos are going to be protected from casualties even if it means the war isn't won."

NDP Leader Jack Layton, who has been calling for an early end to the mission, was also critical of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"I guess Mr. Harper feels he has to beef up his public relations strategy and I think that is unfortunate," Layton said.

O'Connor also renewed his call for other NATO nations to step up their involvement and allow their troops to take part in combat operations in the more volatile regions of the country.

At the moment, most of the heavy lifting is being done by Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands and the United States.

"It would help the situation if more NATO nations sent troops to the south and the east but we can't put all our eggs in one basket. We have to train the Afghan army as quickly as possible and that's what we're doing," O'Connor said.

With a report by CTV Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife

More Propaganda and Confusion from Defence Minister on Afghan Mission

July 23, 2007 - MONTREAL - Conservative Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has once again put political interests ahead of honesty and transparency, Liberal Defence Critic Denis Coderre said today.

"Every week, the Conservative government adds confusion to the question of when the combat role for Canadian troops will come to an end in Afghanistan," said Mr. Coderre. "This deliberate campaign to mislead Canadians about a war fought in their name is completely reprehensible."

Appearing on CTV's Question Period yesterday, Mr. O'Connor said Canada's new rotation of soldiers now arriving in Afghanistan, the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment, known as the Van Doos, will be moving away from combat to an emphasis on training battalions for the Afghan Army. Their goal, said the Minister, is to have about 3,000 Afghan soldiers on the ground within six months, at which time Canadian troops would be better able to move out of the front lines and "into reserve."

"Yesterday the Minister said 3,000 Afghan soldiers would be enough, but only three months ago, he put that figure at 70,000," said Mr. Coderre. "In April the Minister said Canadian withdrawal, which could happen by 2010, is conditional on Afghan forces reaching targeted levels of expansion, a number agreed to by the international community to be 70,000 soldiers and 62,000 police. Just where has the Minister's new benchmark of 3,000 come from?"

Mr. O'Connor's remarks yesterday also sharply contradicted reported remarks made last week by Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier, who said that there will be 3,000 Afghan soldiers on the ground in Kandahar by August 1, 2007 and that he didn't expect the Afghan army to be capable until next spring, nor would it be able to entirely take over for Canadian troops: "I believe that by spring ... this organization will be very capable. It won't be perfect. It won't be stand-alone."

Mr. Coderre also compared the Minister's remarks yesterday with those made two years ago by U.S. President George Bush. In August 2005, facing pressure for his policies in Iraq, the President said "We're also training Iraqis. Our troops will come home as soon as possible. 'As soon as possible' means when those Iraqis are prepared to fight. As Iraq stands up, our coalition will stand down."

"Again we see the Conservatives borrowing from the Bush playbook," said Mr. Coderre. "Canadians deserve better than this. If the goal of the Afghan army's sufficiency comes up empty in 6 months, will further rotations of Canadian troops also be emphasizing training instead of combat? The Minister must end the politically driven double-speak and present a clear and practical strategy for Canada's mission in Afghanistan."

Britain losing 'hearts and minds' in Afghanistan

By David Harrison - Sunday Telegraph (UK) Sunday, July 22, 2007

Britain faces a critical 18 months in Afghanistan and may need to send troops in US-style "surges" to defeat the Taliban, a senior Foreign Office official has warned. He said that British troops were losing the battle for "hearts and minds" because of rising civilian casualties and war damage.

The official, who has worked for a long time in Afghanistan, told The Sunday Telegraph: "The next 18 months will be crucial. If we do not make progress in that time then we could be in deep trouble.

"We are losing the consent of the Afghan people and that is a serious concern. There is a real risk that Nato might win the battle but lose the war." Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that the head of the Army has warned colleagues that Britain has almost run out of troops to defend the country.

In a memo, Gen Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, said that fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, training commitments and leave meant that only a single battalion of 500 troops would be available in the event of an emergency. In the memo, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, he wrote: "We now have almost no capability to react to the unexpected."

The warnings follow a Commons Defence Committee report last week which said that Nato was beginning to fail in Afghanistan, and called for thousands more soldiers to be deployed to take on the resurgent Taliban and accelerate the pace of construction projects.

In their report, the MPs said they were "deeply concerned" that the reluctance of some Nato members to provide troops for the Afghanistan mission was undermining Nato's credibility.

Army generals fear that failure in Afghanistan could lead to an Islamist government seizing power in Pakistan and spark a regional civil war between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

The high-ranking Foreign Office official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that British and other Nato soldiers were losing support because so many innocent civilians were being killed and their homes were being destroyed.

He said he feared that Nato might not have the "strategic patience" to continue the fight for 10 years or more, whereas the Taliban would fight on for 20 or 30 years. There was a genuine possibility that Holland and Canada would pull their troops out of Afghanistan after 2009, he said.

"We may have the watches but the Taliban have the time," the official added.

The official said that to achieve a serious breakthrough it was "crucial" to open talks with the Taliban and try to persuade their less extreme members to "cross over" in return for a stake in the government of Helmand and other volatile provinces.

But this had to be done by the Afghan government and not by Nato, he said. He feared that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan leader, was not strong enough to carry this out.

Increased reconstruction work, creating hundreds of local jobs and providing locals with water and electricity, was necessary to regain the support of local people, the official said.

Britain has provided 7,700 out of Nato's 36,750 troops, in Afghanistan, the second biggest contribution after the US.

Iran attaches importance to Afghanistan stability: spokesman

Tehran, July 22, IRNA - Iran has always attached importance to reinforcing stability and security in Afghanistan, Foreign Ministry spokesman said here Sunday.

Mohammad-Ali Hosseini made the remark at his weekly press conference when asked about a report by the defense committee of Britain's House of Commons which welcomed Iran's positive role in reconstruction of Afghanistan's western parts.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran regards Afghanistan's stability and security in line with its own national interests," he said. He added, "We are happy that realities in Afghanistan are looked upon as they really are."

The spokesman said, "Iran regards statement by a British official on the case as a correct step in a correct path." Asked about confessions by two Iranian-born US agents detained in Iran for acting against the country's national security, he said, "The confessions showed the US long-term plan and its extensive efforts in different countries in the region."

The Channel One of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) aired a program called `In the Name of Democracy' Wednesday night featuring three Iranian-born US agents Haleh Esfandiari, Yahya Kian Tajbakhsh and Ramin Jahanbeglou, who were arrested in Iran for engaging in subversive activities.

It was a special program on Esfandiari, 67, head and founder of the Middle East Program of Wilson Center in the United States which is financed by the US Congress.

Hosseini recommended US officials to avoid any approach which would increase distrust and instead amend their approach.

Canada could step back as Afghan army expands, O’Connor says
Ottawa Citizen , Sunday, July 22, 2007

OTTAWA - Canadian troops may be able to scale back combat operations in Kandahar by year's end as Afghanistan's own army continues to expand, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor said Sunday.

But a leading military analyst and the Liberal defence critic accused O'Connor of wishful thinking and being out of step with NATO's overall emphasis of trying to find more troops for Afghanistan - not cut back the ones already there.

Speaking on CTV's Question Period, O'Connor said he hoped that by the end of the current six-month rotation of Quebec-based troops from the Royal 22nd Regiment, enough new Afghan army troops would be trained and able to take the lead in securing the volatile country, relegating Canada to a back-up role.

"We're hoping by the end of this rotation . . . the so-called Van Doos rotation, we'll have about 3,000 Afghan army operating within the Kandahar province. And as we train more and more the Afghan army to carry out their own operations, we will continue to withdraw, train them, put more emphasis on training, and at some stage basically be in reserve," O'Connor said.

O'Connor's assessment is the latest in a series of comments by top Conservative government ministers, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, that suggests the groundwork is being laid so Canada can scale back its combat operations when its current commitment to its NATO partners expires in February 2009.

Harper has said the combat mission will end unless opposition parties reach a consensus to extend it by a vote in the House of Commons. Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay told CanWest News Service his department is expanding its presence in Kabul and Kandahar in a strong signal that Canada will soon be emphasizing diplomatic efforts over military assistance.

Retired major-general Lew MacKenzie said it makes no sense for Canada to scale back militarily in southern Afghanistan because NATO still needs a minimum of another 10,000 troops to fight the insurgency.

Even if the Afghan army can contribute 3,000 more troops by the year-end, that still won't be enough for Canada to pull back, said MacKenzie. "They don't have anywhere near enough troops in the south," said MacKenzie. "There's 400 kilometres of porous border with Pakistan, for one thing."

MacKenzie said O'Connor is being overly optimistic in thinking the Afghan army can take over from Canada within six months.

 "All politics is local. So naturally if we're able to say we're turning over our area of responsibility to the Afghans, that's good news. But there's not enough people in our area now to win, to stabilize or control the situation," said MacKenzie.

Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre said O'Connor and the Conservatives are sending mixed signals to the Canadian people as well as their NATO allies by suggesting that Canada can simply scale back its combat role and turn it over to the Afghans.

"I think he improvises all the time. That's why people are so confused because of the lack of transparency," said Coderre.

"That story doesn't hold. How can you say on one hand you will play just a monitoring role, a role of reserve, when everybody knows we need more troops, and there's a process to go through our allies, to NATO?"

Coderre reiterated the Liberal party's call to immediately notify NATO of its intention to end combat operations in February 2009 so the alliance can plan for a replacement.

"The first thing we need to do is be honest with NATO. To give an impression that we might be there on reserve' might have consequences," said Coderre.

"He (Harper) doesn't have a consensus. The Liberals, who are part of the official opposition, will pull the plug on the combat mission in February 2009. We should say right away, to the allies, let's find a contingency plan." Coderre said it is time for other NATO countries to contribute more troops.

O'Connor also renewed the government's call for other NATO countries to contribute more troops to the combat efforts in southern Afghanistan, where Canada, the Netherlands, Britain and the United States are bearing the brunt of the front-line fighting.

 "It would help the situation if more NATO nations sent troops to the south and the east," O'Connor said. "We have to train the Afghan army as quickly as possible and that's what we're doing."

NATO has about 37,000 troops in Afghanistan from its 26 member countries and 11 other non-alliance partner countries. That includes the 2,500 Canadian military personnel stationed in Kandahar.

ISAF SAYS SOPHISTICATED BOMBS IN AFGHANISTAN DO NOT ORIGINATE IN IRAQ
7/20/07 - A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announced on July 19 that five explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) have been found in Afghanistan this year, but it said the sophisticated bombs do not appear to come from the same source as those used in Iraq, Xinhua News Agency reported. EFPs are a type of explosive device capable of penetrating armored vehicles.

Colonel Tom Kelly, a deputy chief of ISAF counterexplosives operations, told a press conference in Afghanistan that no EFPs have been found in Afghanistan before this year. But he said that ISAF does not see a link between the EFPs found in Iraq and those found in Afghanistan, which he said have "their own unique signature."

He added that most militants in Afghanistan seem to lack access to the complex technology needed to construct EFPs. U.S. and NATO officials have previously expressed concern that EFPs may be entering Afghanistan via Al-Qaeda elements in Iraq, Pakistan, or Iran (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 5 and 20, 2007).

In particular, U.S. State Department officials have stated that the United States has "irrefutable evidence" that arms shipments to Afghanistan are coming from Iran's government, an allegation both Iran and Afghanistan have dismissed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 15, 2007). JC

Strong action in tribal areas could split Pak army: Report

The Times of India -NEW YORK: A strong action in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan by beleaguered Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf could lead to a spilt in the army, a media report said on Saturday.

Detailing a multitude of troubles that Musharraf faces at home, Time magazine quoting a former head of the powerful intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence said many foreign observers believe that his days are numbered as leader of Pakistan, raising the issue of who could possibly replace America's primary ally in the war against terror in this critical region.

The Pakistan President has come under strong criticism from the United States for his policy of non-engagement in the tribal areas which is now considered a complete failure.

Washington is demanding that Musharraf do more to rein in terrorists, extremists and religious fundamentalists. But in an interview with the magazine, Hamid Gul, former head of ISI, has warned that if Musharraf does take both gloves off in tribal areas, it would just increase the likelihood of a split in army.

"The officer cadres are liberal, secular, they come from the elite classes. But the rank and file of the army were never secular, they were always religious," Gul said.

"If there is a face-off between the army and people, the leadership may lose control of the army. The army does not feel happy. They are from the same streets, the same villages, the same bazaars of the lower and middle classes, and they want the same thing (Islamic law) for their country."

The increasing suicide attacks in Pakistan in the wake of storming of Lal Masjid by army in which a large number of militants were killed have brought some relief to Afghanistan.

Time reported that the spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan seems to have cooled the immediate sense of crisis in Afghanistan.

Word on the streets of Kabul is that the suicide bombers from Pakistan's tribal areas who until recently headed west into Afghanistan to train Afghan militants or carry out attacks themselves are now heading east into the cities of Pakistan, where they have new motives and better targets to attack, it added.

"Normally the Pakistanis come to Afghanistan, but now they are busier in Pakistan," Waheed Muzhda, an Afghan political analyst who worked for the foreign ministry during the Taliban regime, is quoted by Time as saying.
"The media is also focusing on Pakistan's violence. That is why everyone thinks the violence has been reduced here."

Talking about jubilations following reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Time has said the decision is a major blow for Musharraf who is facing increased resistance to his rule, new pressure from Washington to crackdown on militants and a wave of suicide bombings in the country.

India rejects "baseless" reports on RAW-trained Afghan bombers

Press Trust Of India - 07/20/2007

Amid a spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan following the Lal Masjid operation, officials and an opposition leader have reportedly alleged that most of these attacks were carried out by "Afghan" bombers trained by Indian intelligence agencies, a charge rejected as "baseless" and "mischievous" by the Indian mission here.

Pakistani intelligence agencies during a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Wednesday claimed that 25 "Afghan terrorists" had links with RAW agents in Indian consulates at Jalalabad and Kandahar, 'Daily Times' reported quoting officials.

Also, Gen Nasarullah Babar, former Interior Minister and a senior leader of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), alleged during a meeting of lawyers in Nowshera in NWFP that agents of RAW working through the Indian consulates in Afghanistan were responsible for the current bomb blasts in Pakistan, 'The News' reported.

Reacting to the reports, an Indian diplomat in Islamabad told PTI that "these are baseless and mischievous allegations and we reject them entirely. As we have said before when such reports surfaced, a stable peaceful and prosperous Pakistan is in India's own interest.

"The sources for such reports seek to vitiate the current friendly atmosphere and dialogue process between the two countries. India is determined not to fall into their trap. We are sure the government of Pakistan shares this determination."

U.S.-Afghan foreign policy

Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Letter

As founding co-chair of the U.S.-Afghan Caucus, I am intimately aware of Afghanistan's critical role in our foreign policy.

For more than 30 years, the Afghan people were subjected to a systematic loss of rights and liberties. In a region hindered by terrorist regimes that work relentlessly to see democracy fail, recent successes in Afghanistan are making a lasting impact.

To bring stability to this region means safer lives for everyone all over the world.

The Aga Khan Development Network is guided by the Islamic ethic of compassion for the less fortunate. AKDN is dedicated to improving living conditions and opportunities for the poor, without regard to their faith, origin or gender.

The network's founder and chairman, His Highness the Aga Khan, who is marking his Golden Jubilee by completing his 50th year as the hereditary spiritual leader of the Ismaili community, is a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad.

AKDN's mandates range from health and education to architecture, disaster relief, rural development and the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalization of historic cities — all of which are catalysts for development in places like Afghanistan.

Its agencies spend in excess of $320 million annually on social and cultural development and operate more than 200 health care institutions (including nine hospitals) and more than 300 schools in the developing world. His Highness the Aga Khan has been instrumental in the development and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

AKDN's work can serve as a model on how governments and NGOs can partner effectively to create enabling environments. For example, the largest mobile phone company in Afghanistan sponsors microfinance projects that enable women to become independent entrepreneurs by selling phone services or repairing mobile phones. This private sector partner also provides playgrounds, meals, cultural and school projects for street children.

U.S. REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE - Washington, D.C.

Jude Law makes Afghan peace visit – BBC

Oscar-nominated film star Jude Law is in war-torn Afghanistan to promote the UN's annual Peace Day on 21 September.

Accompanied by British filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, he travelled to hostile areas in the east of the country to film ordinary people for a documentary.

Mr Law told the BBC: "Across the board we have met with incredible positive response. My overall impression of this country is one of great hope."

The UN voted unanimously to adopt Peace Day in 2001 after a campaign by Gilley. His 1999 documentary, Peace One Day, was used to lobby the United Nations General Assembly.

Gilley has since travelled to nearly 50 countries including Somalia and Sudan and enlisted the help of key players including the Dalai Lama and former UN chief, Kofi Annan.

Gilley and Law spent last week in Afghanistan filming a second documentary about Peace Day. They visited the capital, Kabul, as well as the troubled eastern provinces of Laghman and Nangarhar. The trip was kept secret for security reasons.

Gilley told the BBC that he hoped Peace Day this year would be marked with "life-saving activities", such as vaccinations, aid deliveries and pauses in battle zones.

He said: "If we want to move from a culture of war to a culture of peace, then every single one of us is going to have to make a commitment to that process."

Law - an ambassador for Peace Day - told the BBC he believed the peace message would be especially strong if it came from Afghanistan.

"Wouldn't it be a wonderful international message to come from a country which is perceived as a country purely of conflict, that this message of peace can sing out of it?" he asked.

The documentary is expected to be premiered in Afghanistan next year before being distributed globally.

REGION: Assessing reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan —Nazia Hussain

Ensuring Afghanistan’s stability is imperative for peace in the region and the world. The international community needs to rework its efforts for moral, human and practical reasons. The cost of failure this time is too steep

Despite efforts by the donor states to overhaul Afghanistan and making pledges through the Bonn Agreement and the London Compact, the Afghans have fared poorly. The donors point to the construction of infrastructure and improvements in economy as notable achievements. This is true, but only partially. The effects have not reached the poverty-stricken people. Add to this heightened violence, opium production and processing and the almost non-existent writ of the state and the failure to win hearts and minds may eventually be the undoing of the international effort to put Afghanistan right.

The results of an extensive survey released in February 2007 by CSIS (Centre for Strategic and International Studies) reveal that people are losing trust in the government, with deterioration in all key areas targeted for development. While high economic growth and a more open business environment have improved the general health of the Afghan economy, these benefits have not translated into sufficient employment and income-generating activities for the ordinary citizen.

Narcotics production now accounts for more than a quarter of the Afghan economy and drug lords sit in the corridors of power. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports, most of the processing of opium is now taking place within the country. Insurgency has increased and security forces are incapable of combating warlords and drug traffickers. The common Afghan is more insecure than ever.

The situation presents a dilemma. Can something be done?

Critics have generally focused on lack of adequate developmental aid from the donor states compared to the expenditure on military budgets. Questions are raised about the sustainability of massive aid flows over a long period, potential donor fatigue, funding the current massive projects and even the payment of salaries of Afghan professionals after the donors exit the scene.

While these arguments hold, it is imperative to more deeply probe the implementation and pace of the development agenda instead of merely focusing on aid flows. The reconstruction agenda rests on the relationship between security and development — i.e., security is not possible without addressing development issues in failed/fragile states that may be, or are, a threat to the developed world. At the policy level, this implies that donor countries will undertake state building along with international organisations to prevent the negative spill-over of refugees, terrorist threats etc into their countries. This has resulted in setting unrealistic goals for building state institutions, promoting liberal values and bringing democracy.

Not only is it harsh to expect war-torn Afghanistan to rebuild institutions and adopt and imbibe liberal values at such speed, it is also out of sync with the historical and cultural legacy of the country. At an operational level, this has resulted in new mechanisms aiming at goals like decentralisation and representative democracy — for example, the formation of provincial shura committees which point out the community’s needs but lack monetary independence from Kabul and the donors. The provision of such structures may be in accordance with the pre-requisites of democracy but their inefficacy leaves them susceptible to losing moral ground in public view. Also problematic is delegating the highly political task of state-building to technocrats who, despite the best intentions, are not accountable to the people of the country in the event of things going wrong.

Another controversial aspect of the security-development nexus is the formation of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) — a mix of development professionals and soldiers required to carry out the reconstruction agenda. At present, PRTs are functioning in 22 provinces in Afghanistan, each under a different donor country and pursuing a separate model. While the PRTs are carrying out development projects to their best capacities, humanitarian organisations have criticised the encroachment of space in these welfare-oriented tasks on grounds of endangering the lives of civilian relief workers who might be deemed as pursuing western agendas by the ordinary Afghans.

NGOs point out that helping the ordinary Afghans in order that they be used as potential spies, destroys the spirit of humanitarian assistance’s neutrality. The venerable organisation, Medecins sans Frontieres pulled out of Afghanistan in 2004 after five of its members were killed in an attack, citing “the co-optation of humanitarian aid by the coalition for political and military motives”, as one of the reasons. Officials of CARE, Canada, also expressed concern over the role of the military also carrying out reconstruction operations.

Another pressing argument relates to military operations endangering the civilian population. In 2006 alone, more than 3700 people died as a result of air strikes. Conservative estimates of this year report at least the loss of a thousand lives. Compensation in most cases is non-existent or negligible, while the resultant loss of possessions for the poor is unaccounted for.

This state of affairs raises concern about the pace and implementation of the reconstruction agenda. While the blueprint of peace-building policy statements cannot be changed in a realistic world, the execution of the agenda can at least be questioned.

For one, the security of the civilian population should be ensured to prevent losing the goodwill earned from the development assistance. The working relationship between the PRTs and humanitarian organisations should also be smoothed out as the latter have worked in Afghanistan for a longer period of time and thus have an edge over the PRTs. Additionally, the dialogue between the PRTs and international organisations also needs to be harmonised as they are important drivers in the development agenda.

While the international organisations possess the experience, knowledge and funds to carry out big projects, there is need to improve the capacity of the Afghans and take account of their aspirations. This would ensure popular support for policies and ensure the sustainability of the development agenda.

Furthermore, the uncertainty over how long the donor countries will stay also needs to be addressed. This has resulted in the setting of impossible deadlines by the donor governments, which while commensurate with their exit deadlines, raise fears of sustainability of the development agenda being pursued.

Ensuring Afghanistan’s stability is imperative for peace in the region and the world. The international community needs to rework its efforts for moral, human and practical reasons. The cost of failure this time is too steep.

The writer is an independent researcher based in Toronto

Who Lost Pakistan?

TIME - 07/20/2007 By Aryn Baker and Simon Robinson

Since Sept. 11, the Bush Administration has hailed Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as a stalwart ally in the war on terrorism, providing as much as $10 billion in aid to his government. The U.S. believes Musharraf's autocratic rule is preferable to what might replace it: a nuclear-armed, fundamentalist regime sympathetic to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. But there are growing doubts about how long Musharraf can hold on to power. Al-Qaeda's leadership has regrouped in Pakistan's tribal areas, while the country's middle class has taken to the streets to protest Musharraf's decision to suspend Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. (A suicide attack during a pro-Chaudhry rally on July 17 killed more than a dozen.) On July 10 Musharraf ordered the army into Islamabad's Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, to arrest Islamic extremists who had holed up there for months. Islamic radicals have vowed revenge for the siege, which killed scores of militants. A guide to Pakistan's ongoing crisis:

Why is Musharraf so unpopular?

Islamic fundamentalists, who want Pakistan ruled by Islamic law, and foreign extremists like al-Qaeda, who are hiding in Pakistan's mountainous and lawless borderlands, hate Musharraf because of his ties to Washington. Moderate Pakistanis dislike him because he seized power by force and seems determined to stay in office even if that means suspending the chief justice, who could be a potential block on Musharraf's bid for another term.

Is the current unrest helping al-Qaeda rebuild in Pakistan?

Probably, but it may have happened anyway. Growing resentment against Musharraf's heavy-handed tactics has fueled defiance across the country. Rule of law in the tribal areas, already weak, has collapsed entirely. A 2006 peace accord with Islamic militants in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, forced the army back to the barracks, allowing al-Qaeda to flourish, according to the National Intelligence Estimate. Now the agreement has failed, and al-Qaeda is even stronger.

Does that mean Musharraf could be ousted from power?

Possibly. Radical clerics have declared jihad on the government in retaliation for the mosque siege. Suicide attacks are gathering pace in the North-West Frontier Province, the gateway to Afghanistan. A July 18 bombing there killed 17 Pakistani soldiers. And even religious groups once aligned with the government are turning against Musharraf. Machine-gun fire directed at the President's plane on July 6 marked the first assassination attempt on Musharraf's life in several years.

We've heard Musharraf promise to go after Islamic militants before. The Bush Administration says Musharraf's policies "haven't worked." Why is this time any different?

For the first time, perhaps, he has nothing left to lose. Though he has alienated religious groups with his raid on the Red Mosque, most Pakistani moderates support his stand against extremism. Elements within the army or intelligence services that remain sympathetic to the extremists may finally see them as the threat that they are. The risk is that Musharraf's anti-radical stance may widen divisions in the army and intelligence forces, costing the President their support when he needs it most.

Given Musharraf's political weakness, is the U.S. backing the wrong guy?

Certainly Washington seems to have put all its eggs in one basket. Musharraf's unpopularity fuels many of the problems in the country, and Pakistani opposition groups argue that the U.S. would do better promoting democracy over a single military dictator. Elections are due in a few months. Musharraf wants the current national and provincial assemblies to extend his term before that vote takes place. If they refuse, it's possible he will delay a vote or even use the increasing violence as an excuse to declare martial law--which would fuel more chaos.

The Night Belongs to the Taleban

IWPR - 07/20/2007 By Wahidullah Amani in Wardak. In Wardak, just 40 kilometres from Kabul, the Taleban are operating openly, terrorising residents and paralysing the government.

It is at night that the letters are posted on walls, that doors are banged open, that television sets are broken, that those deemed faithless are beaten, or worse. When the sun sets, the Taleban begin their patrols, openly displaying their weapons, unchallenged by police or other government authorities. Wardak, where once people never thought to fasten their gate latches in the evening, is now a province of fear.

"I saw them one night, tacking a ?night letter' to the wall of our mosque," said Matiullah, 28, of Sayed Abad district, in southern Wardak province. "I saw their guns, and I was afraid to even speak to them."

The next morning, said Matiullah, he went to read the night letter - normally a note or poster the Taleban pin to trees, mosques or schools warning locals not cooperate with the authorities, international forces or overseas aid groups.

"It was written that those who work with the government or foreign NGOs will face a harsh death," he said. "And it called for people to start jihad against the Americans and the government, and to help the Taleban."

Matiullah paused to consider his words, then continued, "I have never seen the situation as bad as it is now." A guard in one the district's schools, who did not want to be named, echoed Matiullah's experience.

"The Taleban have come to the school three times in the past 20 days," he told IWPR. "Always they come at night. They do not hurt us, but they tell us not to come out of our guard room, while they paste the night letters."

The letters are much the same content as those in the mosque, he continued, "They do not say We will burn the school' or anything, just do jihad against the Americans." Wardak province had a rash of school burnings in 2005, but in the past two years, the phenomenon has slowed.

In Chak district, the Taleban have been more aggressive, warning residents not to watch television in their homes. Those with telltale satellite dishes on their roofs can expect trouble.

One young man, who was afraid to give his name, told of his family's experience, "We had a dish antenna on our house for a long time. The Taleban kept pasting night letters on our gate, saying that we should not watch TV, but we did not care. One night they came to our house, broke our television and our antenna, and beat us. They slapped me and kicked me."

This was not an isolated incident, according to provincial authorities. Mohammad Ibrahim Sadeq, the district governor of Chak, confirmed that several people had reported similar incidents. While not condoning the Taleban's actions, he was not ready to excuse the "offenders".

"These young people are also wrong," he said. "They watch channels and programmes that are not appropriate for our culture and our religion. They should work instead of watching bad things on television, or they should watch educational programmes."

Mullahs are also joining the battle, said the governor. During Friday prayers they incite their listeners to join the jihad against the government and the foreigners, he explained.

"We have arrested some mullahs who were preaching like this and handed them over to the central government," said Sadeq.

Chak seems to be the district of Wardak most affected by the newly aggressive Taleban. Some observers, including the district governor, trace the beginning of the problems to the release of Mullah Yassar, one of five Taleban leaders who were exchanged for Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo in March.

Yassar is a native of Chak. While no one is ready to say that he has returned to his original homeland, many affirm that the insurgents were encouraged by his release, and began to accelerate their campaign.

"It is true that the situation deteriorated after Yassar was let go," said Sadeq. "It is bad now, and it is going to get a lot worse."

One of the major reasons for the district governor's concern has been the lack of response from the central authorities. "I have been asking the provincial government for months to send us more police, to make more checkpoints," he complained. "But I have not received any answer."

The police and army seem unable to address the problem, giving the Taleban free rein. Things have deteriorated to such a point that the Taleban are now carrying out armed attacks in broad daylight.

According to eyewitnesses, in late June the Taleban attacked a car with two German diplomats, who were on their way to Kabul after visiting a hospital in Chak.

"We were two people in an armed car following the German diplomats," said Lal Gul, the hospital's chief of security. "We saw Taleban up ahead, armed with RPGs and machine guns. They ordered us to stop, and we opened fire. Then they shot back at us, and our car was burned. We got out and retreated, shooting at the Taleban the whole way. We got to where the Germans were waiting for us, then we all escaped back to Chak."

Lal Gul said that they had called the district police for help, but no one came. Noor ul Haq, the head of the anti-crime unit of the Chak police, said he had not been informed of the Germans' plight until after it was over.

"We patrolled the hospital grounds that night, and escorted them back to Kabul the next day," he insisted. Almas Khan, commander of Chak's auxiliary police, confirmed that the security situation was becoming critical.

"Things are very bad," he said. "We are not sure who is behind all of this. The Germans were attacked, we have had rockets fired on government buildings, there are mines on the roads ? these are very bad people."

According to Almas, the situation was markedly worse during the night, when the police were restricted to a four-kilometre radius of the district centre. When asked why the police did not patrol the entire area, Almas just laughed. "We leave it to God," he said.

Local residents have suffered from the absence of police patrols, which leave them at the mercy of the Taleban. Mohammad Omer, a 48-year-old farmer in Chak, told IWPR he was stopped by the Taleban when he went out at night to water his land.

"They asked me what I was doing, and I said I was a farmer," he told IWPR. "Then they said I should not carry a flashlight. They told me to make sure that I had a big light with me that was always on - otherwise, they said, they would think I was police and they would shoot me."

Sayed Wali, 28, a resident of Sayed Abad district, is fed up with the government's weakness. "The Taleban tell people ?don't work with the government, don't send girls to school', they attack oil tankers in broad daylight, and they fire on cars. We have complained about this to the district centre, but no one pays attention."

Gul Rahman 36, also of Saidabad, said he had quit his government job after receiving a series of warnings, and now makes a living driving a taxi. "I was afraid of being killed," he said. "The Taleban carry their courts in their pockets. If they decide you are guilty they just take out their knife and behead you."

Feature: Old palaces in need of reconstruction

KABUL, July 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Once reckoned among the glorious construction of this capital city, three prominent pre-war era palaces and buildings are in dilapidated condition and presenting a worn out look to locals as well as foreign visitors.

The crumbled and bullet-riddled walls of the once glorious edifices telling the stories of three decades of war and civil strife which thrust a never-ending insurgency upon the coming generations of Afghans.

Despite enormous funds committed by the international community for reconstruction process, none of the government functionaries has ever showed interest to renovate the buildings which are corroding with the passage of time.

While residents accuse government officials of daydreaming as for as the renovation and reconstruction of those structures is concerned, officials complain non-availability of budget was the main impediment in their way.

Constructed on European style, Darul Aman Palace or place of peace is one of those old buildings. Located some eight kilometres from the centre of the city, the historical structure needs attention of the incumbent government.

According to Abdul Sabir Junbish, member of the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences, Darul Aman Palace was constructed during the 1920s as part of the reformist king Amanullah Khan's modernisation drive.

It is an imposing building on a hilltop overlooking a flat, dusty valley in the western part of the Afghan capital. The edifice was gutted in 1969. It was restructured to house the Kabul Museum and later the Defense Ministry during the 1970s and 1980s.

During the Communist coup of 1978, the Palace, which was housing the Defence Ministry, was set on fire. The destruction of Darul Aman marked the end of the Saur Revolution, which lasted two days. But it was destroyed again as rival mujahideen factions fought for control of Kabul during the early 1990s. Heavy shelling after the end of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by the mujahideen converted the splendid building into a skeleton.

Tajibaik is another such building which needs renovation and reconstruction to restore its old grandeur. Located in the southwestern side of Darul Aman, the palace was erected in 1924 which is also in poor condition. The third such palace is the Chilsitoon which dates back to the 1930s.

Habibullah Rafi, a noted historian and advisor to the Afghanistan Academy of Sciences, said Chilsitoon was being used as a guest house for kings while Darul Aman was the official residence of the Royal family. He said the Tajibaik Palace was housing a military department some 80 years back.

Basking under a tall green tree at the remnants of the Chilsitoon Palace, 93-year-old Haji Tamim recalled high-profile guests and foreign dignitaries used to be greeted and welcomed at this crumbled building.

"I don't know why the government does not pay attention to this historical heritage," questioned the aged man who is living in a mud house close to the old structure.

Those buildings were the pride and cultural heritage of Afghans, said Abdul Wahab, 60, who also loathed the government for not reconstructing it despite huge expenditures on other projects.

According to the Ministry of Finance, nearly $17 billion has been spent on reconstruction projects over the previous five years in the country, but the government has a priority list and there are more projects to be accomplished first before kicking off work on reconstruction of the palaces.

Muhammad Dawood Nazim, press information officer at the ministry, said the government's priority list included construction and reconstruction of schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure to facilitate the people. He said a boundary wall was being constructed around Chilstoon Palace at the cost of $200,000 provided by the government of Japan.

General Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Defence Ministry, termed reconstruction of Darul Aman and Tajibaik palaces as important and said it would be reconstructed in the days ahead.

[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.]