In this bulletin:

• Suicide bomber kills 5 Afghan children
• Two aid workers kidnapped in Afghanistan
• France To Send 150 Additional Trainers To Afghanistan
• Romania to increase its presence in Afghanistan
• Swedish Forces Expand in Afghanistan
• Polish troops assumes duties for two provinces in Afghanistan
• US forced to plug helicopter gap in Afghanistan: Gates
• NATO to step up training for Afghan army, offers more embedded instructors
• NATO targets Afghan casualties 
• NATO Soldier Killed in Afghanistan
• Canadians escape two close calls in Afghanistan
• Canada may pay to restore Afghan dam
• Iran forcibly deports 100,000 Afghans
• Camp destruction stirs resentment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan
• Tories take heat over Afghan detainees
• No proof of Mulla Omar's presence in Balochistan, believes Boucher
• What are US hopes for Pakistan?
• Khalifa discusses bilateral relations with Karzai
• Thriving yet threatened
• Afghanistan Hopes To Be Free Of Polio In Two Years
• Women of Afghanistan hold public prayer for peace on Mother's Day

Suicide bomber kills 5 Afghan children

Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:38 AM EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Suicide bombers attacked foreign troops in central and southern Afghanistan on Friday, killing five child bystanders and wounding at least two soldiers, local police and a provincial government official said.

Separately, a U.S.-coalition soldier was killed in combat in eastern Paktika province on Friday, the U.S. military said. In both south and east Afghanistan, Taliban insurgents are waging an insurgency against the Afghan government and its foreign allies.

In the first suicide attack, a bomber rammed his car into a convoy of international troops in Tirin Kot, capital of the central province of Uruzgan, killing five children playing nearby, a provincial government official said.

"Two international soldiers were wounded," Mohammad Nabi told Reuters. Three civilian adults were also wounded, he added.

A second suicide bomber attacked a foreign troop convoy in the southern city of Kandahar, wounding at least five civilians, a police official said. He did not know if there were any troop casualties in the Kandahar attack. An eyewitness said a man with explosives strapped to his body had approached the convoy and blew himself up.

A spokeswoman for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan could not immediately give details about either reported suicide attack.

A U.S. military spokesman said the soldier killed in Paktika province had died from wounds sustained in combat. He declined to give any details or the nationality or name of the soldier

Two aid workers kidnapped in Afghanistan

BRUSSELS, Jun 15, 2007 (Xinhua) -- Two Afghan staff members of a Dutch medical aid organization have been kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan, Radio Netherlands reported Friday.

The two staff members of HealthNet TPO, a doctor and his chauffeur, were on a work visit and failed to return to the hospital where they are based, said Radio Netherlands, without specifying the time of the incident.

A ransom demand for 100,000 U.S. dollars was later received by telephone. The kidnappers are threatening to behead the two men if the ransom is not paid, Radio Netherlands said.

The abduction happened in the troubled Nangahar province, where the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. forces are operating against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

HealthNet, a non-governmental organization, has informed the United Nations mission in Afghanistan of the situation in the hope that it can mediate in the hostages' release.

France To Send 150 Additional Trainers To Afghanistan

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

PARIS, June 15, 2007 -- France is preparing to expand its training efforts with the Afghan army, planning to deploy an additional 150 instructors to the country.

The country's Defense Ministry's spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau said providing high quality training to the Afghan forces and especially its officers is an "absolute priority." A 50-strong French training team is already on the ground. The exact timing and assignment of the additional contingent of trainers has yet to be decided.

Romania to increase its presence in Afghanistan

HotNews.ro, Jun 15, 2007

Romania may send supplementary troops in Afghanistan, in addition to the 900 military already present there. The statement was made last night by the Romanian Foreign Minister, Adrian Cioroianu, during his visit to the US.

"We are ready to increase the number of Romanian military, mainly for a mission to instruct the Afghani troops", said Cioroianu, according to the AFP press agency.

"Any changes in the configuration of our troops will be based on negotiations with our allies", said Cioroianu, mentioning that the 500 military in Iraq will continue to be a controversial subject for a while.

"Romania, hosting the 2008 NATO summit, will continue to involve in fighting the terrorism, along with its allies", Cioroianu added.

UPDATE: Contacted by Hotnews, Foreign Ministry officials explained that the statement made by Cioroianu bears more nuances, referring to both the number of soldiers and the efforts for post-war reconstruction.

Swedish Forces Expand in Afghanistan

Sweden is to beef-up its force stationed in Afghanistan, replacing Danish and Polish soldiers returning from duty in the north of the country.

The 30-strong group will join Sweden’s existing force of 330 troops in four northern provinces, serving as part of the 16,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

The security and humanitarian situation in the country has worsened in recent months. Sweden’s contribution to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan has attracted criticism, as Sweden is not a member of the alliance

Polish troops assumes duties for two provinces in Afghanistan

UPDATED: 09:12, June 15, 2007 Source: Xinhua

The Polish Combat Group has assumed responsibility for two provinces in Afghanistan, spokesman of the Poland's Defense Ministry Jaroslaw Rybak said Thursday. Polish troops will be responsible for the provinces of Ghazni and Paktika.

On Thursday commander of the combat group Lieutenant Colonel Adam Strek took over duties from commander of a U.S. battalion Lieutenant Colonel David J. Woods, Polish PAP news agency reported.

The Polish Combat Group, composed of three teams, has been the last element of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan to attain combat readiness.

Poland has sent over 1,000 soldiers to join the NATO-led ISAF peace-keeping force in Afghanistan.

US forced to plug helicopter gap in Afghanistan: Gates

June 15, 2007 - BRUSSELS (AFP) - The United States is forced to keep helicopters in Afghanistan for the NATO-led security force for another six months because no other ally has stepped forward, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.

Gates said NATO allies came forth with some offers of additional contributions to the 40,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, but not enough to meet the requirements of the force's commander.

The pledges made at a two-day meeting of alliance defence ministers included an additional maneuver battalion and some teams of advisors embedded with the Afghan security forces, he said.

Several countries also announced that they were removing restrictions on the use of their forces, Gates said, which would allow commanders to deploy them more easily to hostile areas.

But he said ISAF commander General Dan McNeil had asked for four maneuver battalions and medium to heavy lift helicopters capable of operating in Afghanistan's high mountains.

"I announced that in the absence of any available apparent substitute, that I would extend the assignment of our helicopters in Kandahar to ISAF for an additional six months," Gates told reporters.

"But I expect the allies to come up with a solution at that time in terms of helicopters that have the capability to operate in Afghanistan," he said.

A US defence official traveling with Gates said the secretary was referring to 20 CH-47 medium lift helicopters now assigned to ISAF.

NATO to step up training for Afghan army, offers more embedded instructors

The Associated Press - Friday, June 15, 2007

BRUSSELS, Belgium: NATO allies agreed Friday to deploy more trainers with the Afghan army, aiming to build it up so it can eventually replace the 50,000 international troops in Afghanistan.

However, the offer fell short of requirements and NATO's top diplomat joined Afghanistan's defense minister in urging a greater commitment from allied governments to provide more instructors and troops.

"We have to do more to train and equip the Afghan National Army," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. "We do need more training teams to keep up the pace, to increase the speed at which we can help ... with training, I'm not yet satisfied."

NATO commanders are seeking to deploy almost 50 teams with about 50 military experts each who can integrate into Afghan units and provide in-field training as they take the battle to Taliban insurgents. They are seen as essential for building up the effectiveness of the local armed forces.

At a meeting of NATO defense ministers that wrapped up Friday, France offered to form three such units. Italy, Canada, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia also stepped forward. De Hoop Scheffer told a news conference those offers would bring the total to almost 30.

Joining his NATO counterparts, Afghan defense minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said an eventual handover to local forces was the only way to sustain long-term security in the country.

"We do not want to be a permanent burden on the international community," he told reporters. "We want to stand on our own two feet."

The Afghan army currently numbers about 50,000 soldiers and but is due to increase up to 70,000 by the end of next year. Training facilities are being expanded to accommodate up to 3,000 new recruits monthly, in contrast to about 600 at the moment.

However, NATO officers say the army can field only about 20,000 soldiers at any one time, and that low salaries and poor morale contribute to a 40 percent desertion rate from the force. NATO planners acknowledge international troops will need to stay for the foreseeable future. The alliance has raised its troop levels to almost 40,000 and the United States maintains about 13,000 troops in a separate counterinsurgency force.

Wardak said the recent beefing up of international forces had brought success, preventing a feared spring offensive by the Taliban.

"The tides are turning in our favor," he said. "The Taliban have suffered heavy casualties ... They are on the defensive."

But there is concern the Taliban are increasingly switching to the tactics of insurgents in Iraq and U.S. officials have claimed the Afghan rebels are receiving arms and support from Iran despite the long-standing hostility between Iran's Shiite rulers and the fundamentalist Sunni Taliban.

American and NATO officials pointed out continuing shortfalls in the alliance's International Security Assistance Force.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he told the NATO defense ministers that Washington will extend the use of about 20 helicopters in Kandahar for another six months after other NATO allies failed to come up with replacements.

But he said he warned that he "expected the allies to come up with a solution by that time, in terms of helicopters that have the capability to operate in Afghanistan."

A number of allies pledged to send extra units. Officials said Denmark was sending more combat troops, the Czech Republic was sending a reconstruction team and other offers came from Italy and Romania.

Gates added that several allies announced they will remove restrictions on their forces that have made some operations difficult. That move, he said, "was a very important contribution in my view."

The NATO ministers also stressed the need to avoid civilian casualties following a series of fatal incidents involving international troops.

"Tactics, procedures, rules of engagement will be kept under constant review," said NATO spokesman James Appathurai said. "Ministers agreed on the need to investigate incidents promptly and transparently."

The NATO ministers accused the Taliban of deliberately targeting civilians with a recent spate of suicide bombings and increased use of roadside bombs. A suicide car bomb blast aimed at a NATO convoy Friday killed five children on the street, a top official in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province said Friday.

NATO targets Afghan casualties 

By Mark John and Andrew Gray -  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO said on Friday a review of its policies in Afghanistan had led to a fall in civilian casualties caused by its troops and blamed Taliban insurgents for using ordinary Afghans as human shields.

NATO defence ministers agreed its 40,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would do everything it could to stem casualties the West fears are sapping public support for the international presence in Afghanistan. 

But they signalled no major change in military strategy, which has made extensive use of air power to get troops out of tight spots, and said the main change had been an effort to tighten coordination with other international and Afghan forces.

"NATO-ISAF doesn't indiscriminately kill people -- the Taliban does," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said after a meeting of the 37 countries that contribute to the ISAF force.

"Put the blame where it lies -- they are using civilians as shields. We are not in the same moral category," he told a joint news conference with Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.

A NATO spokesman said ISAF procedures had been tightened over the past 12 months and noted that internal NATO statistics "show in the past few months a clear decline in civilian casualties caused by ISAF". He said the data was classified and declined to give more details.

U.S. forces on Tuesday mistakenly killed seven policemen in an air strike in the east of Afghanistan, and the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that Western forces must do more to prevent civilian casualties when bombing insurgents.

Germany in particular has raised concerns over dozens of civilian deaths in recent months. While some result from ISAF action, others have stemmed from the presence of a separate U.S.-led coalition and the Afghan army.

Wardak, whose government has criticised Western forces as not doing enough to prevent casualties, noted the review of ISAF procedures as evidence that NATO was "very sensitive" to the issue but added: "Sometimes in a war it is ... difficult."

Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led invasion knocked the Taliban from power, and while a threatened spring offensive by insurgents has not materialised, violence has continued through suicide bombings and other attacks.

Wardak said cooperation with Pakistan over securing their mutual border -- long a bone of contention between the two countries as insurgents mount attacks in Afghanistan before dashing back to Pakistan -- had been improving.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said NATO had made progress in fighting the Taliban but needed more military and police trainers and reconstruction experts.

Diplomats said seven countries at the meeting had pledged extra military trainers -- France, Canada, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia -- while others offered equipment including drones or unmanned aerial vehicles.

A NATO military spokesman said Denmark had pledged to send 600 more troops to Afghanistan, while officials said the United States had agreed to leave a number of helicopters in south Afghanistan longer than their scheduled tour.

"We need to sustain what has been achieved in Afghanistan so far by meeting commitments the allies have made in areas of security assistance and development," Gates said.

NATO Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 15--A soldier with the US-led occupation died of wounds suffered in combat in eastern Afghanistan Friday, the force said.

The killing took to 82 the number of foreign troops killed in the country this year.

The occupation said in a statement that its forces were engaged in combat operations in Paktika province when the service-member sustained the fatal wound.

The occupation includes about 13,000 US soldiers and a few hundred troops from other nations.

Most of the foreign soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan this year were US nationals and died in combat.

Meanwhile, an attacker rammed his car into a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan Friday, killing five children and wounding five adults including two soldiers, an official said.

ISAF could not immediately comment on the blast in Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province.

Deputy provincial governor Mohammad Nabi said "a suicide attacker detonated explosives in his vehicle close to a NATO convoy in Tirin Kot, killing five children nearby and wounding three elderly civilians".

He added that two NATO soldiers were also wounded in the blast. Most of the ISAF soldiers in Uruzgan are Australian or Dutch nationals.

Another bomber attacked a foreign troop convoy in the southern city of Kandahar, a police official said, adding that at least five civilians were wounded. He did not know if there were any troop casualties in the Kandahar attack.

A spokeswoman for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan said there had been an "incident" but could not immediately give details.

Southern Afghanistan has been hard hit by a fierce Taliban-led insurgency. Attacks are mainly targeted at Afghan and foreign forces but kill and maim more civilians.

In another development, Afghan police and US forces killed more than 20 Taliban militants in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, a statement said Friday.

Militants in Sangin district in the province Thursday attacked some Afghan policemen and coalition soldiers.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the country since the beginning of this year due to rising Taliban-linked insurgency.

Canadians escape two close calls in Afghanistan

Updated Fri. Jun. 15 2007 8:52 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff

A Canadian convoy was one of several targets attacked by Taliban militants in Afghanistan on Friday.

A suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into the Canadian troops in Kandahar. The vehicle was badly damaged but no one was injured in the strike, which took place in a "treacherous" part of the city, CTV's Paul Workman reported from Kandahar.

Later, there were reports that another Canadian convoy had hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, though no Canadians were injured in the attack. One Afghan was taken to hospital, The Canadian Press reported.

The convoy was travelling from the Zhari and Panjwaii districts and was just entering Kandahar city when the bomb detonated.

Several Canadian vehicles have struck improvised explosive devices in recent days. Canadian Trooper Darryl Caswell was killed on Monday when his convoy was struck by an IED.

Also on Friday in southern Afghanistan, another suicide car bomber targeting a NATO convoy left five children dead, according to reports.

Several Afghans and two NATO soldiers were hurt in the strike in Tirin Kot in Uruzgan province, but there is no word yet on the nationalities of the injured troops or how badly they were hurt.

Purported Taliban spokespeople have warned Afghan civilians to stay away from military convoys, which are often the targets of suicide strikes. Civilian deaths often result from the convoy attacks.

Four other clashes between coalition and Afghan forces and militants took place in the south on Friday, NATO said, leaving at least 24 militants dead. One coalition soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika province.

Workman said commanders have acknowledged there has been an increase of Taliban activity in recent days.

"They have noticed an upsurge. That seems to be the only indication of more Taliban activity. They have not gone away, that's the story," Workman told CTV Newsnet.

More than 2,300 people have died in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year, according to a tally from The Associated Press based on U.S., UN, NATO and Afghan figures.

Seventeen of the 57 Canadian military personnel who died in Afghanistan have been killed by IEDs.

Canada may pay to restore Afghan dam

Crumbling Dhala irrigation dam needs $100-million infusion
CanWest- Friday, June 15, 2007

SHAHWALI KOT, Afghanistan -- A long-neglected dam in the midst of this volatile pocket of Kandahar province could become one of Canada's biggest aid projects in Afghanistan, military and civilian officials say.

Federal authorities are seriously looking at helping pay to refurbish the 50-year-old Dhala irrigation dam, a project unofficially estimated to cost about $100 million.

Canada has already sent a team of experts to examine the site. Fixing the country's second-largest dam has the potential to transform Kandahar province's agricultural sector, giving it much-needed insurance against drought.

"The Dhala dam is really crucial to the improvement of living conditions," said Mohammed Ehsan Zia, Afghanistan's minister of rural rehabilitation and development.

"Agriculture is the backbone of the economy in Kandahar, to which the Dhala dam plays the most important role . . . This project is such an important one."

In fact, it has become a top priority for President Hamid Karzai, Zia said. Boosting the area's economy and creating more jobs is considered central to sapping the Taliban of support among the people.

The structure happens to be in the midst of a district that, in recent weeks, has become a gathering place for Taliban and allied Arab and Chechen fighters, according to Canadian officers.

U.S. and Canadian forces are battling the militants in the north of Shahwali Kot, a few hours drive from the dam itself, and securing the area is important for the development project, said Col. Mike Cessford, deputy commander of the Canadian forces here.

Dhala was built in the 1950s by the U.S. government, part of a Cold War competition for influence in Afghanistan between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

It traps water in years of good rainfall and can provide sufficient irrigation for two years of drought, said Kevin Rex of the Canadian International Development Agency.

Between 1952 and 1970, the earthen dam tripled the amount of land that could be used for agriculture along Kandahar's Arghandab river valley, said Rex, an adviser to the Canadian general in charge of the Afghanistan mission.

Since the early 1970s, however, it has been all but ignored and heavy silting appears to have significantly reduced its capacity, he said.

Five government and private-sector experts from Canada recently visited the site to assess its condition, said Rex. Interim recommendations have already been provided to the Afghan government.

Iran forcibly deports 100,000 Afghans

By ALISA TANG - Associated Press Fri Jun 15

AFGHANISTAN-IRAN BORDER - Dumped at this frontier outpost alongside hundreds of weary Afghan laborers, Khalil Jalil stepped out of Iran and back into Afghanistan only days after he said Iranian authorities beat him, threw him in the trunk of a car and locked him in a detention center.

The 23-year-old's violent ejection is part of a broad Iranian crackdown on illegal Afghan migrants that has pushed more than 100,000 deportees across the border the past two months, leaving hundreds of Afghan families stranded without shelter and straining the impoverished country's resources.

Like Jalil, many of the deportees come with stories of abuse: Men beaten so badly that their legs and collarbones were broken, and legal refugees whose government-issued cards were cut into pieces by police.

Iran denies the allegations of abuse and says it has forced laborers back home because the 1.5 million undocumented Afghan migrants are an enormous burden on its economy.

As a result, about 2,000 Afghans a day are being sent out of Iran, where many sought better jobs or a stable home outside war-torn Afghanistan. Most are men, but entire families are being kicked out as well.

At the Islam Qala border crossing, about 75 miles west of the Afghan city of Herat, 1,200 people flow back into Afghanistan a day. Some carry suitcases, but several wear their work uniforms and are penniless, not having had a chance to collect their salaries or savings.

One man had only crumbling bits of stale bread, a small bottle of water and another of soda tied up in a tattered black scarf.

Iran has sent undocumented Afghans home every year and announced these deportations in advance. But the numbers have been staggering, with more than 100,000 deported the past two months compared with 146,387 deported in all of 2006, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said.

Jalil entered Afghanistan wearing a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, the only possessions he could grab after two men in army uniforms and two in plainclothes woke him up with kicks and punches.

"They yelled at us, 'Get out, Afghan trash!'" Jalil said, describing how he was handcuffed to another laborer and thrown in the trunk of a green sedan.

He had lived in Iran for seven years, and his parents and siblings were still there. They had entered with passports and visas but stayed on after their documents expired.

Like many interviewed here, Jalil said he paid his own $11 bus fare to be deported. Others said they bribed authorities to be deported immediately rather than being locked up in filthy, overcrowded detention centers.

"It is not how humans treat other humans. The rooms were full, so they put us in the bathrooms," said Nabiullah Jamshidy, 28, who had been deported after living in Iran for 14 years.

Noor Ahmad Mohammadi, who performs medical checkups at the border, said that in the past month he has seen about seven deportees severely beaten, with broken collarbones, legs, arms and stitches on their faces.

Iranian authorities "are behaving very badly with the deportees," said Naik Mohammad Azamy, head of the UNHCR office in Islam Qala. "Maltreatment is common, and abuses for all of them."

Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan dismissed the allegations as "propaganda and rumors," but said the government would respond to any documented claims.

"We believe there are huge rumors inside Afghanistan because many Afghan refugees don't want to return to their country. They mention many things, but most of them are not reality," Ambassador Mohammad R. Bahrami said.

About 1.5 million illegal migrants live in Iran on top of 950,000 registered Afghan refugees, he said. Some go legally and carry on with their lives after their passports expire, while others pay to be smuggled by human traffickers.

The enormous number of Afghan refugees and undocumented migrants takes a huge chunk out of Iran's subsidized health care and basic infrastructure, Bahrami said.

Iran originally had planned to deport 5,000 illegal migrants per day but scaled that back at Afghan President Hamid Karzai's request. Bahrami said deportations would continue until a "suitable conclusion to our project."

Once back in Afghanistan, deportees receive assistance from U.N. agencies and aid organizations, and move on to larger cities or home. But many have been living in Iran for decades and have nowhere to go.

Hundreds of Afghans, including several families, are living "in the open air" without shelter, UNHCR said.

The deportations have infuriated lawmakers, who last month voted to oust the Repatriation and Refugee Minister Mohammad Akbar Akbar for mishandling the issue.

U.N. and Afghan officials have found that some refugees with documents issued by the Iranian government have suffered the same ordeals as the illegal migrants.

Ahmad, an 18-year-old who was born in Iran and had never set foot in Afghanistan, had heard that illegal migrants were being violently rounded up and deported, but his pink government-issued refugee card meant he was legal.

At a traffic roundabout where day laborers gather, a man in blue jeans and a white button-down shirt offered Ahmad a job making bricks at $1 for 200 bricks. The man led him to a red minibus, and as Ahmad looked at the other Afghans in the vehicle he realized he had been caught.

He was going to show the Iranian police his refugee card, but he said he saw police kicking several detainees and cutting their cards into pieces. He hid his own under his shirt.

At Islam Qala, an Iranian policeman told deportees that anyone with a refugee card would be released, but Ahmad was too scared his would be destroyed.

He crossed the border and stepped into Afghanistan for the first time ever. The UNHCR, which is helping to reunite Ahmad with his family in Tehran, asked that he only be identified by his first name so as not to jeopardize his case.

"I don't want anything from the Iran government. I just want them to send my mother, brother and sisters here to Afghanistan," said Ahmad, whose father died seven years ago. "Even if we die of hunger here, it would be better than me being alone and them being there without me. I'm the head of the family."

Camp destruction stirs resentment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan

The Associated Press - Friday, June 15, 2007

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistani authorities on Friday bulldozed homes at an Afghan refugee camp earmarked for closure, stirring anger among residents unwilling to return to their troubled homeland.

Police and officials supervised the destruction of about 10 houses at the Katchagari camp, a warren of mud-walled houses near the northwestern city of Peshawar, on Friday morning.

None of the buildings were occupied and residents said clearance work began weeks earlier after families began accepting U.N. assistance to cross the border to their homeland.

But knots of men in the once-busy bazaar — now lined with rubble from demolished shops — eyed the work with resentment, saying eviction would wreck their already marginal existence.

"We will not go to Afghanistan. There is no peace, no water, and no place to live. Otherwise everyone loves their own country," said Shaikh Mohammed, a 60-year-old man with a long white beard and a black and white turban. "We spent 20, 30 years in Pakistan and we are happy here."

Katchagari is one of four camps — together housing more than 220,000 refugees — that Pakistan aims to close by September as part of a drive to persuade Afghans to go home.

Most of the refugees, who flooded into Pakistan and Iran during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and the civil war that followed, have returned since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

However, some 2 million remain in Pakistan and authorities want them all to repatriate by the end of 2009, despite the escalating violence in Afghanistan and the deep roots of many families in Pakistan.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has said the camps are havens for Taliban militants and drug smugglers from Afghanistan, source of most of the world's illicit opium and heroin.

Officials initially set Friday as the deadline for the closure of Katchagari and the Jungle Pir Alizai camp near Quetta, further south.

However, both have been given a little more time. Saddiq Ahmed Khan, a government official watching the work on Friday, said Katchagari residents now have until June 30 to leave. He said officials had faced no resistance.

A recent U.N. report found that 84 percent of Afghans still in Pakistan do not intend to return. Of those, 41 percent cited insecurity as the primary reason — double the figure recorded during a refugee census in 2005.

Sanam Khan, a 45-year-old timber merchant who came to Katchagari camp from Afghanistan's Nangarhar province when he was 7, said about 250 families had already left and that the others had little choice but grudgingly to follow.

However, he pleaded with authorities to give families more time to organize their future. "Those who have some resources are gone," he said. "Those still here are helpless. What else can we do?"

Tories take heat over Afghan detainees

(CP) - OTTAWA -- The Conservative government is under fire again over the Afghan detainee controversy.

This time, opposition parties are questioning the government's version of who will have access to the results of a probe into torture claims by Afghan detainees.

Since signing a revised prisoner transfer agreement, the Conservatives have insisted that the International Red Cross will be informed of the results of the investigation by Afghan authorities.

But the Red Cross now says it has no such role in the war-torn country and is not expecting a report of any kind. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion called on the government yesterday to admit that the only ones investigating torture complaints are the Afghans themselves.

Government House Leader Peter Van Loan responded that the revised agreement has put the onus on the Afghans to investigate abuse complaints, to then take corrective action and to advise both Canada and the Red Cross.

He also said that under international law, the Red Cross has a right to visit prisoners.

No proof of Mulla Omar's presence in Balochistan, believes Boucher

The News International (Pakistan) June 15, 2007

QUETTA: US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher on Thursday praised Islamabad's role in the "war on terror" and agreed to the Pakistani assertion that there was no solid evidence of Mulla Omar's presence in Balochistan.

Boucher met Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yusuf here on Thursday. During the meeting, Jam Yousuf dispelled the impression that Quetta was the Taliban headquarters. "There is no headquarters of Taliban in Quetta, nor Mulla Omar or Osama bin Laden are present in Quetta or any other part of Balochistan," he said, according to an official statement.

The statement said that Boucher agreed that there was no concrete "evidence that Mulla Omar was present in Balochistan" and that he appreciated Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism.

The statement said Jam informed the US assistant secretary of state that Pakistan was an important ally of the United States in the global war on terror and President Gen Pervez Musharraf was determined to eliminate terrorism from the country with the support of the people. "Pakistan's soil would in no way be used for terrorist activities," he said while pointing out that special measures had been taken to stop the movement of terrorists on the porous Pak-Afghan border.

He also briefed the US official about the background of terrorist incidents in the province. Jam said terrorist activities had been controlled significantly, following effective measures taken by the government in the province.

Referring to the presence of Afghan refugees in the province, Jam said Pakistan was seeking an honourable repatriation of the refugees. However, he stressed the need for improving the law and order situation in Afghanistan. "Around 1 million refugees are living in the province and majority of them do not want to go back to their country due to the poor law and order situation."

Referring to the measures adopted for the development of the province, he said the province was being developed on a fast-track - thanks to the special interest being taken by President Musharraf. He said work was in progress on projects amounting to some Rs 200 billion in the province.

During the course of the meeting, wide-ranging issues, including elimination of terrorism in the region, cross-border movement on the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman, fencing of the border and introduction of the biometric system, deployment of security forces and vigilance of the border, prospects of international investment in Gwadar and other mega projects, were discussed.

Expressing deep interest in development of Gwadar, Boucher assured that the US investors would be informed about the prospects of investment in Balochistan and motivated to make investment in the province.

Boucher also met opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly, Mir Kachkol Ali, and other opposition leaders including PPPP's Shafiq Ahmed Khan, PkMAP's Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal and Azam Musakhail.

During the separate meetings with the opposition leaders, different matters of mutual interest came under discussion. Kachkol Ali reportedly sought the role of the US in the restoration of democracy, independence of judiciary, holding of free and transparent elections and setting up of an autonomous Election Commission. He also sought the support of the US government in resolving the problems of Balochistan.

He presented a memorandum on the issues of Balochistan which included non-implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Balochistan Assembly, centralisation of administrative and financial powers with the Centre instead of the provinces, not taking the people of the province into confidence over the mega projects launched in the province, etc.

Meanwhile, Boucher visited a display centre for the draft electoral rolls set up by the Election Commission of Pakistan at the St Mary School, Quetta Cantonment, and also talked with the staff present there. Provincial Election Commissioner Javed Khursheed briefed him on the preparations of the electoral rolls and other related matters.

Extraordinary security arrangements were made for Boucher's visit. Some areas, especially those leading to the Chief Minister's House and the Balochistan Assembly, were literally sealed. Educational institutions located on the Zarghoon Road were closed and the students were asked to leave when they reached there on Thursday morning.

APP adds: Boucher also visited the border town of Chaman where he saw biometric system installed by Pakistan on Pak-Afghan border with the objective to check illegal cross-border movement.

He appreciated the system and hoped that it would help stop terrorists fighting in Afghanistan from entering Pakistan. He urged Afghan authorities for taking effective measures in this regard. Earlier, Col Masood Ahmed of Balochistan Frontier Corps briefed Boucher about the security arrangements at the Pak-Afghan border at FC Fort Chaman.

What are US hopes for Pakistan?

By Ilyas Khan BBC News, Karachi Friday, 15 June 2007

The US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs, Richard Boucher, has spent three days in Pakistan meeting government officials, election authorities and opposition politicians.

His arrival was preceded by well publicised comments from the US Department of State on the elections in Pakistan due later in the year.

And now Mr Boucher has been joined in Pakistan by the US Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte.

The US visits comes in the wake of a deepening political crisis in Pakistan, but the government here is trying to play down their significance. The reasons may not be too hard to find.

On Wednesday, Mr Boucher told Pakistani opposition leaders in Islamabad that the US was "pressuring" military ruler President Musharraf to "fulfil the promises" he made regarding his re-election.

A day earlier, the US Department of State had elaborated on those "promises".

"There are going to be some important elections coming up in the fall time for a parliament. The parliament will then choose who will be Pakistan's next president," spokesman Sean McCormack told a State Department briefing on Tuesday.

In other words, parliamentary elections come first. That's what the opposition in Pakistan believe is constitutionally correct. And it's also what they want because they believe the next parliament will be far less sympathetic to Gen Musharraf, thus putting his re-election in doubt.

This American understanding of the sequence of events contrasts with recent statements emanating from Gen Musharraf's camp that he would be re-elected by the present parliament, before its term expires in the autumn.

Another point of departure between the two is General Musharraf's avowed desire to remain president as well as army chief for another five year term.

Sean McCormack said Gen Musharraf had already pledged that if he "continues in political life", he will "put aside the uniform". "We take him at his word at that, and we would expect him to follow through on his commitments," he said.

Do these remarks signal a change in the US policy towards Gen Musharraf and Pakistan? Most political circles in Pakistan tend to answer in the affirmative.

"It is an important statement; it is carefully worded and comes on the day Mr Boucher embarked on his visit," says Farhatullah Babar, a former journalist and official spokesman of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

They also consider Mr Boucher's meeting with opposition politicians and the election commission officials in Islamabad and Quetta as significant.

But political analysts believe the US State Department comments and Mr Boucher's activities in Pakistan merely reflect some policy readjustments in view of the changing ground realities of the country.

"There has been a fundamental dichotomy between the aims of the Bush administration and the perceptions of the American civil society," says analyst and former diplomat, Tanvir Ahmad Khan.

"While the US administration defends its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a campaign for democracy, the civil society is increasingly seeing it as propping up a military dictator in Pakistan."

Much of this new perception is due to Gen Musharraf's failure to resolve the crisis caused by his attempts to sack the chief justice of the Supreme Court in March.

That has provoked a rare wave of opposition unity. Fingers are pointed at Gen Musharraf's allies in Karachi who stand accused of starting the rioting one weekend in May that left 41 people dead.

Furthermore, Gen Musharraf's subsequent attempts to crack down on media have gone down badly in the US.

The fear in Washington is that if Gen Musharraf is toppled by a military coup, or by the Islamists, or gives in to other political pressure and steps down, then the next government may be hostile to Washington.

Over the last few months, the US Congress has been pushing for tougher legislation to regulate military ties with Pakistan, while influential sections of the US media and think-tanks have been asking the administration to distance itself from Gen Musharraf.

"The US administration now feels the need to narrow this gap," says Tanvir Ahmad Khan. But analysts do not expect the US to abandon Gen Musharraf altogether.

"The 'war on terror' still remains the main priority with the US administration" says another former diplomat and analyst, Najmuddin Shaikh. "They know it cannot be fought successfully without the help of the Pakistan army."

In order to achieve this goal, the US would be "loathe to help scale down Pakistan army's political powers to the level of the armies in democratic countries," he says.

So what role do the Americans have in mind for Gen Musharraf given the current turbulent times in Pakistan? Analysts believe the US would like Gen Musharraf to survive the crisis by broadening his power base.

"We cannot rule out efforts by the US administration to somehow bring the PPP chief, Benazir Bhutto, closer to Musharraf in a future government, which will give the system a popular base and still keep it geared for the 'war on terror'," says Mr Shaikh.

The PPP has been showing signs that it may offer Gen Musharraf a power sharing arrangement, and ultimately an 'exit strategy'.

But its leaders have publicly stated that they cannot accept President Musharraf staying on as head of the army. Nor can they accept him calling presidential elections before parliamentary elections.

Analysts believe the US State Department's comments, and Richard Boucher's activities in Pakistan suggest that the US may be aiming for a rapprochement that presupposes a weakened Gen Musharraf and a broader power sharing arrangement.

And they are doing it the only way they know. As Mr Khan puts it, "It is a part of the US understanding of Gen Musharraf that he only accepts suggestions under pressure."

Khalifa discusses bilateral relations with Karzai

Compiled from WAM, Abu Dhabi: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a telephone call yesterday from Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai who discussed with him the recent developments in Afghanistan. They also conferred about the bilateral relations between the two countries. President Karzai also expressed his appreciation for UAE's efforts to help the Afghan people through various humanitarian projects being implemented by UAE since 2003.

Thriving yet threatened

Jun 14th 2007 | KABUL - From The Economist print edition

Mourning Zakia; burying freedom?

RADIO WATANDA is broadcast from a basement in a suburb of Kabul. It has no presenters; just music and a jingle that counts out a phone number. When Watanda went on air in 2004, listeners were baffled. Those who rang had their confused calls broadcast. Those who asked for songs found their requests ignored. But the first person to realise he could use the station as a platform rang in to harangue the authorities about the capital's crippling electricity shortage. Thousands followed, expressing any view they wished.

Three years later, unstructured on-air debates have become Afghanistan's talk radio. A caller recently complained that the dress of Kabuli women was too revealing. For days callers, including many anonymous women, talked of little else. “In Afghanistan the media has always been controlled by the literate,” says Mirwais Social, the station's youthful manager. “On Watanda there is no presenter to intimidate people. We have removed everything to prevent them talking.”

Freedom of expression is intoxicating in a conservative country where the government and religious establishment have long kept a tight rein and where the Taliban regime banned music and television. Since its overthrow in 2001 more than 60 FM radio stations, hundreds of magazines and newspapers and eight independent television channels have been founded. Young Kabulis devour satellite television and the unrestricted internet. The media, say many Western commentators, have been one of Afghanistan's few clear-cut success stories of the past six years.

But many government members think the freedoms have gone too far. They argue that journalists are often poorly trained, biased and prone to defame institutions and individuals. The government of Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, has supported a free press, but has been hurt by press criticism at a time when it wants to counter Taliban propaganda.

Episodes of press intimidation and harassment have been on the rise. On April 17th, staff at Tolo TV, the country's leading independent broadcaster, were beaten by police. The attorney-general, Abdul Jabar Sabet, had ordered their arrest because he objected to the editing of an interview he had given. Tolo hit back by airing footage of the raid. Then this month a prominent female journalist, Zakia Zaki, was murdered by unknown gunmen. Her murder, following the Taliban's beheading of two pressmen in April, has rattled nerves.

No less worrying to local journalists and Western governments is debate over a new media law. Freedom of speech is enshrined in the constitution and the existing media law is the most liberal in the region. But the lower house of parliament has just finished discussing a law that includes ill-defined bans on “discussion that would ridicule, offend or defame an individual” and, more vaguely still, on anything that has an impact on “the manners and psychology of people, especially children”. Even so, it is less the wording of the law than the spirit in which it will be interpreted that worries Afghan journalists. Saad Mohseni, Tolo TV's founder, is one who argues that the press can expect little protection from harassment by government officials and other bigwigs.

The new law still has to win approval in the upper house of parliament. But there it is not likely to become more liberal. A bill put forward by the upper house's National Reconciliation Commission suggests censoring “trite movies and those TV programmes that are contrary to Afghan beliefs...and harm the feelings of our people”. It proposes an increase in religious programming instead.

Afghanistan Hopes To Be Free Of Polio In Two Years

BERNAMA June 15, 2007 19:53 PM By Haslinda Zainal

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 (Bernama) -- Afghanistan targets to fully eradicate the deadly poliomyelitis (polio) virus within two years with the support of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states, said its Health Minister Dr Muhammed Amin Fatimi.

He said some 7.4 million children in Afghanistan needed to be immunised against polio and that there was also the need for education programmes on it (polio immunisation) as some families with limited knowledge were against vaccination of their children, fearing the vaccine might cause harm to them.

Polio is a highly infectious disease and mainly affects children under five years of age. It is easily transmitted in unsanitary conditions with the virus entering the body through the mouth and multiplying in the intestine.

The viruses then invade the nervous system and can cause total permanent paralysis in a matter of hours. In order for a country to be considered polio-free, there must be no new reported cases for two years. Afghanistan recorded two cases so far this year.

"Decades of war also affected our health care system. However, after the collapse of the Taliban regime, the new government developed a National Health Policy, which has been implemented very successfully for the good of the Afghan people," Dr Muhammed Amin told Bernama on the sidelines of the KL-OIC Health Ministerial Conference 2007, which ended today at Bandar Sunway, near here.

He added that the country was not only intensifying efforts to address this but also other health problems like malnutrition among children, poor sanitation and difficulty in getting access to clean water.

"We are giving more scholarships to our men and women to take up various health courses so that all Afghans can look forward to a better future ahead in regard to the health of their families," added Dr Muhammed Amin.

Women of Afghanistan hold public prayer for peace on Mother's Day

June 14, 2007 - 2:35 pm By: STEPHANIE LEVITZ

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Heartbreaking sobs pierced the soothing melodies of prayer as the mothers, daughters and sisters of war-torn Afghanistan gathered to do the only thing left they can think of - pray.

Thursday was Mother's Day in Afghanistan, and from house to house went the call for women to gather at the one of Islam's holiest sites in what some say is the first such public prayer event by women in Kandahar.

Women said doors to education, health care and jobs have opened to them since the fall of the Taliban, but the continuing instability in the country is holding back progress.

"We are sick and tired of waiting," said Majuba, 55, who like all of the women would only give her first name.

"We can't wait anymore for international forces or government employees. If they cannot hear our cries, we want to let God hear our cries."

About 1,000 women flooded the square and mosque of the Shrine of the Prophet's Cloak, reputed to house a garment belonging to the founder of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad. It's said to have been stolen and brought to Afghanistan in 1768 by a former ruler, Ahmad Sha Durrani.

The mullah, or holy leader, of the shrine said the site is always open to women on Thursdays, but the Mother's Day gathering was much larger than usual. And for the first time they used the public-address system to make their voices heard throughout the crowd.

"They were here to pray for peace, for their families," the mullah said through an interpreter.

"They were welcome."

The International Red Cross said earlier this week that the current conflict is holding up development efforts across the country and having a greater impact on the population than earlier times.

Some estimates suggest that at least 1,000 civilians were killed last year.

"It's insecurity, the killing and the suicide bombing that has really left the community back in a very fearful state," said Gulpati, 37.

"We can't really hope about development or making ourselves better because we're every day dealing with deaths and crimes."

Gulpati said she's known only war in Afghanistan her entire life and prays not to die before seeing peace.

It is prayer that holds her country together, she said.

"The one thing that keeps us strong, that keeps us going is our faith and belief in God in spite of all these international forces, every country snatching at one piece or one part of Afghanistan," she said.

"If any other country had lived through the chaos that Afghans lived in these past 30 years, they would not be a nation today."

Gatekeepers at the shrine allowed the women to use of the public-address system, sending the voices of the 150 women who each recited a chapter of Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, soaring over the crowd polka-dotted with the palette of burkas on display.

The floor-length garment made mandatory for women by the Taliban captivated the world's attention in the late 1990s. It was seen as a symbol of all that was repressive about the Taliban regime.

But six years since the fall of the Taliban, blue and green burkas are still commonly seen along the dusty streets.

Women are quick to point out the burka is the least of their concerns.

"After the Taliban, women are going out to work in non-governmental organizations, working with the government, going to school," said Amanah, 42.

"The burka is not preventing them from getting anything in their lives, it is just the opportunity to get educated that will change things."

Illiteracy runs rampant in Afghanistan, with some 90 per cent of rural women unable to read or write at a functional level.

Though schools for girls have opened across the country, it requires a massive cultural shift to get more children behind the desks, said Rangina Hamidi of Afghans for Civil Society, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization founded by the brother of Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

"There are schools but it takes a strong father to send his daughter to class," Hamidi said.

"We need people to fight against the tradition that girls have to stay home."

It's been particularly hard on the mothers, the women said, watching an entire generation of children know only war.

"As a mother my biggest wish and desire for my children is they would all become college graduates and at least have bachelor's degrees," said Majuba.

"But they only have basic minimum education. I'm sad and I'm mad as to why as a mother I was not able to fulfil my dreams and my children will also not have their dreams fulfilled."

[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.]