In this bulletin:

• Ninety Afghan frostbite victims have amputations
• Cold snap kills 760 in Afghanistan: authority
• Al-Qaeda, Taliban chiefs hiding in Pakistan: US official
• Afghanistan backs "bin Laden in Pakistan" charge
• U.S. seeks Turkey's help in Afghanistan
• All sides must raise their game in Afghanistan: British FM
• Ashdown blames Afghan politics for UN envoy veto
• Growing strength of Afghan forces sign of success in Afghanistan: commander
• Road paving in southern Afghanistan helps the living, honours the dead
• Afghan border province angry Kabul 'doesn't bother'
• Top US Military Officer Visits Pakistan's Northwest
• Afghan President condemns suicide attack in Pakistan
• Jalozai refugee camp to be closed by mid-April
• Helmand’s Opium Habit Here to Stay
• Ceasefire: A lull before the storm

Ninety Afghan frostbite victims have amputations

HERAT, Afghanistan, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Doctors said on Sunday they have amputated the fingers or toes of more than 90 frostbite victims in western Afghanistan as one of the worst winters in living memory engulfs the country.

The freezing weather has killed more than 750 people and nearly 230,000 cattle since winter set in mid-December last year. The western provinces of Herat and Badghis have been particularly badly hit.

"The victims of frostbite are increasing every day and most of them have to have their fingers or toes amputated," Dr. Barakatullah Mohammadi told Reuters at a hospital in Herat.

"The victims are men, women and children, some of them are in a critical condition," he said. Some 40 people were hospitalised on Saturday, he said, and most of them needed amputation. Abdul Rahman had to have the toes of his left foot cut off.

"I was caught in a blizzard for seven hours before someone rescued me," he said. "There are many people in my village who are frostbitten but cannot afford to come to the hospital."

Many key roads linking outlying districts with provincial capitals have been blocked due to the heavy snowfall, hindering deliveries of supplies. The harsh winter has pushed up prices of food and fuel.

The World Food Programme last month appealed for additional food assistance for 2.55 million Afghans until the next harvest in June. (Reporting by Sharafuddin Sharafyar; Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Cold snap kills 760 in Afghanistan: authority

Sat Feb 9, 6:04 AM ET - KABUL (AFP) - More than 750 people have died in the harshest winter to have hit Afghanistan in decades, the disaster authority said Saturday.

More than 500 homes, mostly traditional mud brick houses, have been destroyed and tens of thousands damaged by the heaviest snowfalls in 30 years, said Ahmad Shkeb Hamraz, an official at the National Disaster Management Authority.

Nearly half the villages in the poverty-stricken country were still cut off from major cities, he told AFP.

"According to the latest figures, about 760 people have died since the start of the winter across the country," Hamraz said. "The figures are likely to increase as more information and data are being collected," he added.

Thousands of livestock have also died of the cold, Hamraz said, adding the western region bordering Iran was hardest hit.

Al-Qaeda, Taliban chiefs hiding in Pakistan: US official

by P. Parameswaran - Sat Feb 9, 12:12 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar and their top commanders are hiding in Pakistan, posing a "huge challenge" to the security of the country and neighboring Afghanistan, a senior US administration official said.

"There is no question that the iconic leaders of Al-Qaeda -- (Ayman al-) Zawahiri, bin Laden ... are in the tribal areas of Pakistan," the official said at a media briefing.

"We believe that the Taliban's shura (consultation) council leaders led by Mullah Omar reside in Quetta in Pakistan," he said, referring to the capital of rugged Baluchistan province bordering Afghanistan.

The sanctuaries were not only helping Taliban fight the insurgency against Afghan President Hamid Karzai's administration, which is backed by US and NATO troops, but also posing a threat to Pakistan and beyond central Asia, the official said.

"There is a threat to the east into (Pakistan), in the west into Afghanistan and there is threat beyond Central Asia to the extent that Al-Qaeda has reach," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Just as Mullah Omar is giving strategic direction for the Taliban from Quetta, the Al-Qaeda senior leadership is in the FATA doing its planning," he said.

Pakistan's federally administrated tribal areas (FATA) borders Afghanistan. It is among the clearest statements by the United States on the location of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.

Pakistan has repeatedly denied the presence of bin Laden or Omar in its territory. Washington has placed multi-million dollar rewards for their heads.

The Taliban was ousted in a US-led invasion in 2001, after the September 11 terror attacks masterminded by bin Laden, who was provided sanctuary by the extremist regime in Kabul at that time.

More than six years after the ouster, US and NATO-led troops are still waging an uphill battle against the Taliban.

The US official said the United States had seen clear links between the insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Pashtun group, an ethnic minority mostly living along the troubled Afghan-Pakistani border.

"We also know that there are very clear Pashtun tribal links up through the FATA, especially in north and south Waziristan, where Pashtuns who live in Pakistan are supporting Pashtuns, who are fighting in Afghanistan.

"In some cases, they are the one and same people -- they live in Pakistan, they commute to the fight, they fight for a while in Afghanistan and retreat back into safe haven inside Waziristan," the official said.

He said that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda over the last six months had not only taken up their fight from their "safe haven" west into Afghanistan but also into the east, into the areas of Pakistan itself.

Underscoring concerns over the militant groups' logistical gains was the December assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, a city where the army has its headquarters, about seven miles from the capital Islamabad, he said.

CIA Director Michael Hayden said last month that suspected Al-Qaeda militants and allies of Pakistani tribal leader Baitullah Mehsud were behind Bhutto's murder and warned of a "newly active alliance" between Pakistani and international terrorists against President Pervez Musharraf's administration.

"Now you have a Pashtun-based insurgency that is fighting to regain control of Afghanistan, retaining safe haven, protecting its safe haven in the FATA and in some cases has now declared open hostilities with the Pakistani government as well," the US official said.

"So, you have got this sort of layering of insurgencies here that really makes this both geographically, politically and militarily a very complex setting," he said. "It is a huge challenge."

The official also said that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, her British counterpart David Miliband and Karzai had discussed in Kabul this week the appointment of a new United Nations envoy to Afghanistan.

Karzai had earlier refused to endorse senior British politician Paddy Ashdown, who was also the international community's former envoy to Bosnia.

"We are looking for someone who can work well inside the UN structure, someone who can bring coherence to this extremely complex mission and someone who can serve as Karzai's teammate, partner," the official said.

Afghanistan backs "bin Laden in Pakistan" charge

By Sayed Salahuddin - February 10, 2008 - KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan said on Sunday it backed a senior U.S. official's assertion that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar were operating from neighbouring Pakistan.

Afghanistan has long said al Qaeda and Taliban leaders receive safe refuge in parts of Pakistan's lawless tribal regions, souring relations between the neighbours. But since a large tribal council last August, the two countries agreed to work more closely to fight the joint militant threat and ties have improved.

The U.S. official said Bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri and other network members were operating out of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, bordering Afghanistan.

Mullah Omar and other ousted Afghan Taliban leaders, meanwhile, were directing insurgent operations in Afghanistan from the Pakistani city of Quetta, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan has rejected the charge, but a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed it.

"We are glad that finally a high-ranking American official confirmed this matter," said spokesman Humayun Hamidzada.

"The government of Afghanistan has said for years the administration centres, havens and regrouping bases of the enemies of Afghanistan and Taliban are outside Afghanistan."

U.S.-led and Afghan troops overthrew the Taliban government in 2001 after its leaders refused to hand over bin Laden in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Many militant leaders are believed to have fled to Pakistan, but Taliban rebels regrouped and relaunched their insurgency two years ago with a wave of guerrilla attacks and suicide bombs. More than 6,000 were killed in Afghanistan last year alone.

Hamidzada said the problem had to be dealt with at source. "The government of Afghanistan in the past has repeatedly said the roots of terrorism, its original sources and bases should be dealt with," he said.

"Certainly, the war in Afghanistan should continue, but the war should be taken to the source of terrorism where it is. We are not naming any country."

The assertion by the U.S. official about the presence of militants' leaders in Pakistan comes after the killing in January of top al Qaeda commander Abul Laith al-Libi in a suspected U.S. missile attack in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

It also coincides with an increase of attacks, including suicide bombings, by militants in Pakistan.

A Taliban spokesman said Mullah Omar was leading the insurgency from within Afghanistan and said the U.S. official was preparing the ground for a military operation in Pakistan.

"This is false. Mullah Omar is not in Quetta but present in Afghanistan and commanding the Taliban," Qari Muhammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press.

"The claims that Mullah Omar is in Quetta or any other place are aimed at finding a pretext for conducting an operation in the concerned area."

U.S. seeks Turkey's help in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The United States has reportedly asked Turkey to send combat troops to fight Taliban and al-Qaida militants in Afghanistan.

Turkish troops deployed in Afghanistan can only use their weapons if fired upon or threatened. However, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has written a letter to Turkish officials asking them to either send fighting troops or redefine its military role in Afghanistan to be more proactive, the New Anatolian and Ankara reported Sunday.

The New Anatolian cited observers saying U.S. officials want Turkey to reciprocate in Afghanistan for U.S. support in Turkey's ongoing battle against Kurds in northern Iraq.

All sides must raise their game in Afghanistan: British FM

Sun Feb 10, 12:23 AM ET - LONDON (AFP) - The international community and the Afghan government alike must raise their game this year to stop Afghanistan from tearing itself apart, Britain's Foreign Secretary said.

International efforts in the country needed to move to a new phase -- and there would be "no military solution" to Afghanistan's problems, David Miliband wrote in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

"The military can only provide the space for the reconstruction and development, without which progress will be temporary," he said.

"Our strategy in Afghanistan must combine the immediate military focus on fighting the Taliban with the economic development and clean government that is the best defence against insurgency."

He said the Afghan police force needed to be strengthened and better trained, while the government needed to build up the capacity of local institutions.

Young Afghans needed better opportunities to learn and make a living to avoid being sucked into the drugs trade, said Miliband, who visited Afghanistan last week with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Miliband called for closer ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying their fortunes were closely bound together.

"Unless there is a joint plan for addressing the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other insurgents, the two countries risk shunting the problem back and forth across the border. Both sides must put their shared interest in fighting the terrorist insurgency above historical differences," he wrote.

"Both the Afghan government and the international community have a mutual interest and a mutual responsibility to raise their games over the next year.

"For the Afghan government the responsibility is to deliver strong leadership that unites the country, roots out corruption and builds a partnership with its neighbours to promote stability.

"For the United Nations, NATO and the European Union, there is the responsibility to ensure the scale of our efforts matches the severity of the challenge and deliver a more coherent and comprehensive approach."

Britain and the United States have been calling not only for reinforcements in Afghanistan, but also for their freer use around the country, sharing the burden of front-line fighting against the Taliban insurgency.

Ashdown blames Afghan politics for UN envoy veto

February 10, 2008 - LONDON (AFP) — Domestic Afghan politics were behind President Hamid Karzai's veto of Paddy Ashdown as the new United Nations envoy there, the senior British diplomat said Sunday.

Ashdown said Kabul's objections to his candidacy -- and Karzai's recent criticisms of British and US military tactics -- were "almost certainly" to do with internal Afghan politics.

"President Karzai, a man whom I respect and I wish him well and I wish his government well, is a politician," the former British political party leader and international envoy to Bosnia-Hercegovina, told BBC television.

"He's lining up, hopefully, as he would see it, to win the presidential elections likely to be in 2009.

"I suppose he must have calculated that beating up on Britain -- an ex-imperial power -- beating up on the United States, was not going to do him any harm in a proud Afghanistan amongst the (ethnic) Pashtun vote."

Ashdown said he had not wanted the job when he was first approached by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in October and made it clear the role needed the active support of the Afghan government.

It was not about having the power he had in Bosnia because Afghanistan is a sovereign state, but instead concerned co-ordinating the international community, he said.

He said he had spoken to Karzai and understood the conditions were in place, until he fell out of favour.

According to a Financial Times report on February 4, Karzai and his government's fury at a secret British plan to train former Taliban militants was behind the expulsion of two senior UN and EU diplomats late last year.

The Afghan leader has also said the security situation had worsened in the volatile southern province of Helmand, despite the efforts of the 7,800 British troops who are mainly based there, prompting criticism in London.

Ashdown told the BBC that the British ambassador to Kabul had told him that "Britain is being used to get at you", prompting him to withdraw his candidacy for the post in the wider interest of bringing security to Afghanistan.

Describing Afghanistan as a "failed state", he said it was more important now to work out how to defeat the militants and most importantly, keep public opinion there on side or else face a long, more difficult task.

The former British military officer said: "I remember in Belfast in 1969 when I was a young soldier, we were welcomed by the Catholics with cups of tea and sandwiches.

"It took us a year to lose their support and 35 years to gain it back again."

Growing strength of Afghan forces sign of success in Afghanistan: commander

The Canadian Press - February 10, 2008 - KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Statistics and reports suggesting rising violence and the failure of coalition efforts in Afghanistan don't match with the impact of Canada's efforts in Kandahar, says the commander of overseas military operations.

Though the "finish line" is still far away, success in those areas of the volatile southern province where Canadian troops are working is obvious, said Lt.-Gen. Michel Gauthier, the commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command during an interview on his 20th trip to the country.

More Afghan National Army soldiers are on the ground, the Afghan National police is growing stronger by the day and direct attacks by insurgents are down, Gauthier said.

"We've geographically expanded the security bubble in which we can operate and in which Afghans can live, we've had a serious disruptive effect on the insurgency and we're seeing the results of that," Gauthier said.

"Yes, they're having limited success with IEDs, that's the only thing they can succeed with right now. They can't succeed with attacks on us or attacks on the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police we're working with. That's all positive."

According to statistics released last week by NATO, incidents involving attacks from improvised explosive devices were up 65 per cent in 2007 over 2006, and they predicted more of the same for the coming year.

Even the new leader of Regional Command South, Canadian Maj.-Gen. Marc Lessard, admitted when he took over his post that incidents in the six southern provinces were up 50 per cent.

A number of high-profile reports by the U.S. government and international think tanks have also all suggested the insurgency is regaining the upper hand as NATO efforts falter.

But Gauthier said how he measures success is looking at the select few districts where Canadian forces are at work in Kandahar province.

"You can only do so much with the troops that you have, you've gotta make those tough decisions," Gauthier said. "You've got to take Kandahar and bite if off one bite at a time and that's effectively what we've done here."

The bubble of Canadian operations in Kandahar has shrunk over recent months.

Where troops used to be scattered throughout the area, they now concentrate mostly on a handful of districts - Zhari, Panjwai, Spin Boldak, Sha Wali Kot and the Arghandab.

In those areas, development dollars are flowing and people are moving back home, though security is still a threat.

Among other things, the fact that the roads are not secure is still holding up the arrival of a turbine that would bring electricity to the people of Kandahar city, who have been sitting in the dark for the last two months.

But in other areas of the province, like Maywand and even some villages in the Panjwaii, the insurgents remain an active threat.

"You have got to make decisions about where you are going to apply your effort so what do you do?," Gauthier said of the decision by Canadian forces to focus only in a few districts.

"Manley panel, bring another battalion to Kandahar, good. Marines coming in, good, but in the meantime we focus."

Canada's current commitment in Afghanistan is set to expire in one year, but the Conservative government tabled a motion on Friday proposing an extension until 2011, provided NATO countries supplied an additional 1,000 troops for Afghanistan.

Over 3,000 American soldiers are also expected to arrive in the coming months to join the international coalition's work in Kandahar.

Military officials often cite the increased use of IEDs as a sign of a weakened insurgency but the non-stop use of the improvised bombs over the traditionally quiet winter months has produced discomfort among soldiers and commanders alike.

Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, the commander of the current rotation of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, acknowledged recently that the pace of operations hasn't changed much in the field since the summer months.

It will be spring again before the real sign of how well things are improving in Kandahar becomes clear, said Gauthier.

That's when the fighting season will begin anew. "The measure of success will be where we'll be in May to September as compared to where we were last year," he said.

"And I am confident that we will be better off, the security situation will have improved in those areas." Gauthier says improvement year over year has been the case since troops first hit the ground in Kandahar in February 2006. Each fighting season has been stronger than the last, he said.

Gauthier attributes that almost completely to the growing strength of the Afghan National Army and police, both able to hold ground that six months ago was easily swallowed up by insurgent forces.

"There is a finish line somewhere down the road and with what has been accomplished over the last six months we are moving towards that finish line," he said.

Road paving in southern Afghanistan helps the living, honours the dead

By Stephanie Levitz The Canadian Press February 9, 2008

PANJWAII DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Roads are for the living but the Canadian military has begun a massive road-building project that will also honour the dead in one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan.

The $4.5 million project to pave 6.5 kilometres of road that a local elder called the "Spine of the Panjwaii" is a two-year undertaking that will give jobs to more than 400 Afghans.

It also demonstrates the Canadian military's efforts to stabilize the region west of Kandahar city.

Years of war, roadside bombs and the punishing extremes of weather have laid siege to the main route passing through Panjwaii district, the heartland of Kandahar province and birthplace of the Taliban.

Chunks of pavement are interspersed with gravel and sand, perfect hiding spots for the dozens of IEDs - improvised explosive devices - that have been sown along the road in the last two years.

"There's not a day where we don't hear about an IED on that road or find an IED on that road," said a Canadian soldier who works with the Afghan military.

The harsh terrain makes it difficult for villagers in the district to bring their produce to market or get to work or go to the three schools that serve the population. It's especially bad in the rainy season when the sandy ground turns to mud.

"With the road, the people of Panjwaii will be able to come back, to start business again," said Haji Baran Shah, the district leader in Panjwaii.

Elders estimate that as many as 50 Afghans have died along the road in the last six months.

In the middle of January, five Afghans were killed and three were injured when a roadside bomb likely meant for a Canadian convoy hit a taxi.

"I lost my heart, my son. Who is responsible for that?," said Juma Gul, whose son Abdul Samad, 33, was among the dead. "Who will feed our family any more?"

More than 100 other Afghans are buried in cemeteries that flank a turn in the highway that winds past the major mosque in the district.

A paved road will help people reach this holy and sacred place. In the course of the road construction, walls will be built to help protect the graves.

The road will also help pay tribute to two Canadians who lost their lives.

"Just over there, we lost two guys," said Warrant Officer Nicolas Cote with the Civil Military Co-operation Team.

He was pointing to the spot where Cpl. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp, 28, of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier, Que., and Pte. Michel Levesque, 25, of Quebec's Royal 22nd Regiment, were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle Nov. 17. An Afghan interpreter also died and three Canadians were injured.

"That we can come back here and rebuild this spot, well, it's an important thing," Cote said.

Recent statistics released by NATO suggest the road is among the most dangerous in Afghanistan - in the 10 per cent of districts that have 12 "IED events" per month for every 10,000 inhabitants.

The Canadian International Development Agency and the military spend thousands of dollars on infrastructure projects like road building in Afghanistan. CIDA estimates its funding has helped rehabilitate 210 kilometres of road in Kandahar.

The current road-paving project is being financed by the military and only came through after Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier saw the conditions of the route himself and gave Capt. Michel Larocque, the head of the CIMIC in the area, the go-ahead.

"It wasn't just about a tactical need," said Larocque.

"It was about information operations - showing the Afghan people they can count on us to do the right things in the their area."

Though it is being welcomed by the people of Panjwaii, the road is also causing anxiety.

Threatening "night letters" have been sent to people applying for jobs along the route, warning them away from working on a project conducted by Canadians.

Fatima, 35, was hoping her two older sons would get jobs paving the road and then use the skills learned for future employment.

"Then I got this letter telling me my sons and I would be killed for working on this road," she said through an interpreter.

"But what else can we do? I need them to work because we need the money."

Local leaders have encouraged people to expose those who are sending the letters. Larocque went as far as inviting them to explain themselves to a public gathering of the community - called a shura.

Meanwhile, round-the-clock security will be provided for the road's construction, 800 metres at a time. Afghan police and military and massive search lights will be used to deter anyone from planting explosives to hold up construction.

"These kind of projects are preventing people from going to the Taliban side," said Haji Mahmoud, who is overseeing the hiring of people from Panjwaii to work on the road. "Now they have a job to do and they won't fight."

Afghan border province angry Kabul 'doesn't bother'

by Beatrice Khadige Fri Feb 8, 3:02 AM ET

SHARAN, Afghanistan (AFP) - With only one female doctor, three hospitals and little potable water, electricity or roads, Afghanistan's eastern province of Paktika is angry with the powers that be in the capital Kabul.

Its position on the border with Pakistan makes the province a transit route for Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters trained outside the country, but there has been little real help to deal with insurgent unrest, locals say.

And the lack of security is considerably slowing down development for a population estimated at around 350,000. An indicator of the dire state of affairs is education. Only 185 students passed their final exams last year, says education adviser Siddiq Batman.

There are about 100,000 pupils for 297 schools that "are badly run and not very effective, mainly because they lack teachers," admits provincial governor Akram Khepelwak.

There is no secondary school for girls in the entire province, officials say. This leads to problems in the health sector. There are only two trained female nurses and one female doctor -- and she only arrived in September.

There are five trained midwives -- none of them from the province and two from Pakistan, health officials say.

"The result is that women do not want to come for treatment until they are seriously sick," says Mohammad Hassan, director of the main hospital in the provincial capital Sharan.

Tradition and religion mean Afghan women will not be examined by men.

Hassan is from Jalalabad, a town 200 kilometres (124 miles) northeast of Sharan. He cannot bring his family with him because there is no suitable accommodation and security is precarious.

That is also why few non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operate in the province, some choosing to not even leave the relative security of Kabul.

Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs have captured or killed dozens of aid workers for political reasons or for ransom. A US aid worker was kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the southern city of Kandahar more than a week ago.

In Paktika it is NATO-linked military-led units called provincial reconstruction teams (PRT) that do most of the work in getting the area running.

They have equipped, built or rebuilt schools, mosques and administrative buildings, put in solar panels where the power lines don't reach or sunk wells.

The budget last year was 79 million dollars, says US General Eduardo Fernandez, the PRT commander in Paktika.

But locals say there is a lot more to do that the authorities in Kabul -- about 200 kilometres to the north -- would not know about because most of the eight provincial parliamentarians rarely visit their constituencies.

"Many things are decided in Kabul but the development strategies don't take into account what is really happening in Paktika," says Khepelwak.

Batman agrees there are gaps. "We voted five years ago for funds to develop education in Paktika but we have not spent them," he says.

Influential tribal chief Ahmadzai Wazir, from the border district of Bermol, says the main issue is insecurity.

"The terrorists are trained by the intelligence services of Pakistan who then help them come here," he says, adding that he is "very angry" he has not seen any aid from Kabul to secure his area.

"We don't have any problems among ourselves," he says. "But we are tired of being without drinking water, without electricity, without schools. We are too far for Kabul to really bother about us."

Top US Military Officer Visits Pakistan's Northwest

By VOA News 10 February 2008 - The top U.S. military officer met with Pakistani military commanders in the North West Frontier Province Sunday.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, traveled to the provincial capital Peshawar to discuss Pakistani military efforts against al-Qaida and the Taliban in the region near Afghanistan.

His visit came a day after meetings with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in Islamabad.

The admiral said Saturday that the threat of Islamic extremism is growing in Pakistan.

The U.S. military chief noted the increasing number of suicide bombings in the country and said that such terrorist activity is a threat to both Pakistan and the United States.

Admiral Mullen also said he believes Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is secure, and that he is not concerned the nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists.

Mullen added the U.S. will always respect Pakistan's sovereignty and will continue to provide counter-terrorism training to Pakistan's military.

President Musharraf has rejected offers by U.S. defense officials to send U.S. troops into Pakistan to combat terrorists.

Afghan President condemns suicide attack in Pakistan

KABUL, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday put the suicide attack on terrorists that left over two dozens people dead in Pakistan and strongly condemned it.

"Terrorists once again by shedding the blood of the innocent who gather for a peaceful rally showed their enmity against the rightful aspirations of the people," a statement released by Afghan Presidential palace said.

According to local reports, a suicide bomber blew himself up ata campaign rally attended by hundreds in Charsadda district, NorthWest Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan Saturday, killing at least 27 persons and injuring more than 50 others.

In the statement, the Afghan leader on behalf of Afghans also expressed sympathy with the families of the victims and the government of Pakistan.

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan have been suffering from militancy and terrorist attacks over the past couple of years as Taliban militants and al-Qaida operatives have been fighting both the neighboring states since the fall of Taliban regime in late 2001.

Jalozai refugee camp to be closed by mid-April

* Refugees to return to Afghanistan or be relocated to camps in Dir

Daily Times (Pakistan) / February 10, 2008

PESHAWAR: The government has decided to abolish the Jalozai Refugee camp in Nowshera district by mid April despite protest by inhabitants that situation in Afghanistan was not favourable for their return.

Located around 30 kilometres east of Peshawar, the camp, one of the oldest in the country, was scheduled to close down in August last year. However, the process was halted following request by elders of the camp for an extension of another six months. However, as the extension period is going to expire by end of this month, the dwellers say they are not ready to move to their country due to non-availability of basic facilities such as clean drinking water, health and education. Besides, security situation is also mentioned as the major block in their return to Afghanistan.

Afghan elder Malik Gul Khan told Daily Times, they would move into the nearby villages if the government forced them to vacate the camp. How can we go back when there is no health and education facilities while the security situation is worsening day by day, he questioned. Thirty five-year-old Asadullah, resident of Gardez city in Afghanistan, said they did not want to return to Afghanistan without the provision of proper shelter, and facilities like health and education.

However, officials say the refugees have no option but to return to their country under the UN sponsored Voluntary Repatriation Programme. Afghan Refugees Commissioner Dr Imran Zeb told Daily Times that there would be no further extension. “Jalozai refugee camp has to be closed and all the legal inhabitants will have two options — either to move to their country or be relocated to other camps.”

He said the camp was to be shut down in August last year, however, the process was halted due to the upcoming winter season and the month of Ramazan (fasting month). Following an undertaking from the elders, an extension of six months was given which is going to end this month, he explained.

Relocation: The commissioner said they would be shifted to refugee camps in Dir. The first option with inhabitants of Jalozai camp was to move to their own country while the second was their relocation to Dir district, he elaborated. Dr Imran said the repatriation process of refugees would begin in the first week of March and would continue till mid April, following which the camp would be closed. Around 80,000 Afghan refugees are presently living in the Jalozai camp.

Helmand’s Opium Habit Here to Stay

The government makes a strong start to its annual eradication effort in Helmand, but farmers predict the enthusiasm will be short-lived.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

By Mohammad Ilyas Dayee and Aziz Ahmad Tassal in Helmand and Jean MacKenzie in Kabul (ARR No. 283, 08-Feb-08)

One of the first signs of spring in Helmand, along with the cheerful chirping of the swallows and the first tender green shoots poking up through the mud, is the start of the anti-poppy campaign.

This year, just like last year and the year before, the government is making all the right noises. This time it is serious, this time there will be no corruption, this time it really will destroy the poppy fields without mercy.

But almost before the words had dissipated in the still-frozen air, Helmand’s farmers were trying to make deals with local law enforcement officials. The message these farmers are sending out to reporters was that it is business as usual in the world’s opium production centre. This year’s crop is safe.

The 2008 eradication campaign began at the end of January, with tractors rolling onto farms in the village of Bolan village, just two kilometres from the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

This is rich poppy-growing country – oddly enough, since most of the land in Bolan belongs to the government. Farmers have moved in here and appropriated plots of land on which they carefully tend their illegal crop.

The governor of Helmand, Assadullah Wafa, oversaw the proceedings, his face impassive, his signature karakul cap protecting his white head against the cold.

“I will not tolerate the reputation that Helmand has been given by the international community,” he said. “I am very pleased that we are taking practical steps to cut down on poppy. Last year there was fraud during the campaign, with government officials and police taking bribes. But this year we will get rid of this black mark against our name. These poppy farms will be eliminated.”

Wafa may be fighting a losing battle. Helmand is the undisputed leader in opium production, supplying almost half of the world’s raw material for heroin.

In 2007, more than 102,000 hectares were planted with poppy and according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, which released its latest survey last week, the situation is roughly the same this year.

Much of this land lies within Taleban-controlled areas, where government forces cannot patrol, let alone embark on eradication.

Wafa, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the foreign presence and its failings, placed the blame for the campaign’s limited reach squarely on the NATO forces, which he accused of not being supportive of his eradication efforts.

“I told them I was ready to carry out the [eradication] campaign in Taleban-controlled areas, if they would conduct military operations there. But they said that they wouldn’t assist us if we conducted the campaign there. They haven’t permitted us to do eradication in Musa Qala, Baghni or Baghran.”

Wafa went on to suggest that such obstructions were the reason why many people in Helmand say the eradication campaign is selective and unfair. “I understand people who say that the poppy is not eliminated fairly,” he said. “Why should poppy be eradicated in some areas and not in others?”

Helmand’s British-led Provincial Reconstruction Team, one of the joint civilian and military forces designed to bring security and development to rural Afghanistan, released a statement to put the record straight about who is responsible for what.

It said, “The poppy eradication is government-of-Afghanistan-led. There are two programmes for poppy eradication - governor-led eradication [which is] the responsibility of the governor of Helmand, and government-led eradication… co-ordinated by Kabul. The Afghan Ministry of Counter-Narcotics targets certain areas so that eradication does not hit the poor unfairly but also includes those richer opium growers with political connections.”

According to Wafa, the Afghan interior ministry had pledged to secure troops from the national army to help with the eradication campaign, while additional police should be arriving from Kabul within weeks.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, will also provide assistance, although no foreign troops will actually be involved in eradication, according to British sources.

“The ISAF forces are trying to win the hearts and minds of the population through development projects organised by the Provincial Reconstruction Teams – usually rebuilding productive assets,” said a report released last week by the World Bank and the UK’s Department for International Development.

“They certainly do not want to associate themselves with eradication of the poppy crop, which can have negative repercussions.” Wafa complained that so far, the provincial government had found itself on its own.

“We called on the international community to assist us, but it did not do so,” he said. “So we had to begin the campaign ourselves, with our very modest resources. It is our religious obligation. I told the international community that if they wanted Helmand cleared of poppy, they should give us three million dollars. But they gave us only 20,000 dollars. That’s nothing. But even if we have to spend our own salaries, we will continue this campaign.”

Such resolve will be no comfort to those farmers whose fields were being ploughed under in Bolan. One of them, Sakhidad, his face black with anger, watched as the tractors destroyed his crop.

“This tractor is poking a hole in my heart,” the elderly man told IWPR. “This action by the government is completely illegitimate. I swear I have nothing else - my family depends on this farm.”

Faqir Askar, the local police chief, was unmoved. He himself was astride one of the tractors, in a friendly competition with other drivers to see who could complete their work the fastest. Thick smoke poured out of exhaust pipes as the machines moved up and down the rows of young growth.

“I know people cultivate poppy because they are poor,” said Askar. “But why do they keep on with it? The government has repeatedly told them to stop growing poppy, but still they plant it. I am very pleased to be destroying their farms.”

The crowd watching the display was bitter. Most voiced the opinion that within a few days, things would get back to normal - farmers in other parts of Helmand would scrape together their money, hand a wad of cash to the local constabulary, and their fields would be left untouched. The only ones paying a high price by losing their crops were an unlucky few in Bolan, selected as the showcase.

“We weren’t even given a chance to get rid of them [officials] by bribing them,” moaned Anwar Aka, a landowner in Bolan. “Last year, too, police and government officials came and destroyed our farms, but poppy farms in other districts remained intact. Most people saved their farms by bribing police.”

Ahmad Jan, a young man shivering in the cold, was watching the destruction of his plantation.

“Are we crazy or is it the government?” he asked. “We have told the government again and again that we’ve got nothing to eat, and we are so poor. If poppy is not allowed, what are we to do?”

“Two months ago my father was about to engage my sister to an older man who already has one wife. My sister was crying, but my father was forced to do it because we are poor. I told him, ‘No, wait a bit. We will get the poppy harvest and we will manage somehow.’ But now my father will have to let this man marry my sister.”

In Afghanistan, especially in Pashtun tribal areas like Helmand, men pay a hefty bride price to marry a girl. It is not uncommon for a man to give his daughter out of financial need or to settle a debt.

Ashraf, another resident of Bolan, is in a similar predicament.

“I have been a farmer since I was born,” he told IWPR. “Never has the government helped me. When funds are given in the name of alternative livelihoods, the government just embezzles the money. The farmers get nothing. I swear I will have to sell my young daughters.”

Along with eradication, the international community has promoted alternative livelihood schemes where farmers would be encouraged and subsidised to grow other crops like wheat or cotton.

However, Ghulam Nabi, the provincial director of agriculture, told IWPR that such schemes were not the answer.

“What can we give farmers that will make them more money than poppy?’ he said. “We are not going to get them to stop poppy cultivation by giving them a sack of wheat. The only way of getting rid of poppy is to destroy their farms.”

Governor Wafa also pronounced himself a sceptic on the alternative livelihoods issue.

“There is no other way than the present campaign,” he told IWPR. “I oppose the alternative livelihood programmes the foreigners propose. What do they matter? Where are they? There are no signs of such a programme, there is just theft and looting. To tell you the truth, I have never even seen their office, nor has anyone told me about any such programme.”

The United States reportedly pours close to one billion dollars a year into a complex counternarcotics strategy aimed at revamping the country’s judicial system, as well as promoting alternative livelihood programmes.

In Helmand alone, the US invested over 100 million dollars last year to promote legal crops, while the UK contributed 20 million.

But nothing seems to be working. Between 2006 and 2007, Helmand’s poppy crop soared by close to 50 per cent, according to the UNODC.

One resident of Marja district was bitter about his experience with alternative livelihoods. He had eliminated his poppy fields and had turned to cotton, one of the crops being considered by the international community as a substitute for poppy. But the farmer, who would not give his name, said that he had learnt a bitter lesson from trusting official assurances.

“I have learned how government pledges go unfulfilled,” he spat. “The man who has pledged several times to buy our cotton for a high price is still sitting in the governor’s palace. He has never kept his promises. I bring cotton to sell, but all I get is problems. People tell me, ‘no, not today, come back tomorrow’. I have spent the whole price of my crop on transportation.”

Engineer Abdul Manan, head of the department of counter-narcotics for Helmand, told IWPR he was pleased with early progress in this year’s campaign.

“We have already eliminated 250 hectares of poppy, and, God willing, the process will continue,” he said.

Earlier, Manan had told IWPR that the eradication campaign would not force farmers into destitution.

“It’s still early - they can cultivate wheat or other crops,” he said. “We will carry out this campaign in all districts that are under government control.”

The law enforcement agencies have also pledged to get tough on poppy farmers. In addition to destroying farms, they are threatening prosecution for those who defy the law. Police arrested 500 poppy farmers in December.

“We won’t let them go no matter how many there are,” said Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, Helmand’s police chief. “We have told them not to grow poppy, yet still they do it. We are going to punish them severely.”

But just days after the arrests, most of the farmers were back at work. “I paid 1,000 afghani [20 US dollars] and they let me go,” said one landowner from Nawa district. “I will never stop growing poppy. The government has not fulfilled its pledges to me or to the rest of the people.”

The local population saw the wave of arrests as just another indication of the government’s fickle approach to counternarcotics. Many, like Daad Muhammad, a resident of Hazarjuft village in Garmseer, complain that the government’s counter-narcotics effort is inconsistent, biased and corrupt.

“The government is not consistent in what it is doing,” Daad Muhammad told IWPR. “We see that some people collect money and bribe the authorities in one village, so the police then go and arrest people or eradicate crops in some destitute place where there’s no money to bribe them. That just further inflames people’s emotions. If the government would reconstruct our canals and streams, if they would provide us with seeds and fertilisers, we would never grow poppy again.”

Another farmer seemed happy enough to pay off officials and be left alone. “We really don’t pay any attention to the government,” said this man who did not want to give his name. “We just pay 10,000 afghani [200 US dollars] and they leave our village alone. The government can’t imprison people - they can’t even feed those criminals they have caught. What would they do with these farmers?

“The government is only serious for a few days. Then everything is alright and there’s nothing to worry about.”

A young civil servant delivered a damning verdict on the eradication effort, saying, “The government will achieve nothing with this campaign. It just makes people hate the authorities. Eradicating and prohibiting poppy cultivation is impossible in Helmand.”

The civil servant, who did not want to be named, said the problem of how to end opium production required an international solution and would take years.

“It isn’t going to help if they put me in jail today and you in jail tomorrow,” he said. “People in districts that are not under government control have to cooperate with the Taleban, even if they feel loyal to the government. Eradicating poppy will create a lot of problems - it will just drive people towards the Taleban, and result in the expansion of the conflict.”

Mohammad Ilyas Dayee and Aziz Ahmad Tassal are IWPR staff reporters in Helmand. Jean MacKenzie is IWPR’s Afghanistan Programme Director.

Ceasefire: A lull before the storm

By Syed Saleem Shahzad Asia Times Online / February 9, 2008

REVOLT IN PAKISTAN'S TRIBAL AREAS, Part 1

PESHAWAR, North-West Frontier Province - The ceasefire deal between the Pakistani security forces and a leading member of the al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, brokered by two stalwart Afghan commanders who persuaded Mehsud to stay in Afghanistan, is just the lull before a big storm and the beginning of a new chapter of militancy in Pakistan.

On Thursday, the government officially announced a ceasefire in the restive South Waziristan tribal area on the border with

Afghanistan. At the same time, Mehsud's spokesperson announced a ceasefire throughout the country.

"A ceasefire has been agreed. This is why there has been little by way of major exchange of fire in the past few days," a senior Pakistani official said on Thursday night.

Over the past few months, Mehsud, a hardline Takfiri - a believer in waging war against any non-practicing Muslims - has become isolated from the Taliban leadership, with Mullah Omar "sacking" him because of his fixation in waging war against the Pakistan state. Mehsud has widely been accused of complicity in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpinidi on December 27.

The ceasefire deal, brokered by Taliban commanders Sirajuddin Haqqani and Maulvi Bakhta Jan, is face-saving for both the militants and the security forces and provides them with breathing space; they had reached a stalemate in South Waziristan.

The militants had laid siege to the main military camps at Razmak Fort and Ladha, and were firing missiles and mortars from three sides into the camps, at the same time cutting off their supply lines.

Earlier, commandos from Pakistan's Special Services Group launched an operation to catch Mehsud, but the mission only resulted in them losing several score men and the militants about a dozen.

At this point, Islamabad reached the conclusion that its only option was to unleash an aerial assault on suspected militant camps. However, local tribal elders intervened and assured the authorities they would get Mehsud to retreat.

Once this was guaranteed, the authorities accepted with alacrity, mindful of the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 18 and the demoralization of their troops in the bitterly cold weather and harsh terrain.

It's not over yet

The Afghan Taliban see the ceasefire as the ideal opportunity to step up their preparations for their annual spring offensive - they rely heavily on the Pakistan border areas for manpower and provisions.

Acutely aware of this, the US State Department has indicated its disapproval of the ceasefire. A ceasefire in North Waziristan in September 2006 - after partial ones beginning in April of that year - led to the Taliban's strongest showing in the battlefield since being ousted in 2001.

Even before Thursday's ceasefire, the Taliban's preparations in the strategic backyard of Pakistan were well underway. This included the isolation of Mehsud and appointing a new team of commanders in the Pakistani tribal areas. Most of the new appointments are Afghans, to signify the importance of fighting a war in Afghanistan rather than in Pakistan. The two main commanders are Abdul Wali in Bajaur Agency and Ustad Yasir in Khyber Agency.

A key component of the Taliban's offensive this year will be to counter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) plans against them and al-Qaeda.

Last year, the New York Times published a story of a classified US military proposal to intensify efforts to enlist tribal leaders in the frontier areas of Pakistan in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. This was to be part of a broader effort to bolster the Pakistani forces against an expanding militancy, US military officials said.

This would include pumping more military trainers into Pakistan, providing direct finance to a tribal paramilitary force that until now has proved largely ineffective, and providing funds for smaller militias to fight against the militants. The US currently has only about 50 troops in Pakistan, according to the Pentagon, and this number could grow by dozens under the new approach.

A contact affiliated with al-Qaeda told Asia Times Online on condition of anonymity, "Pakistan has already tried to revive an outdated tribal system to counter the Taliban, but by killing tribal elders in Waziristan, the Taliban effectively stopped that scheme. Now the Americans and the Pakistani government are working on tribal elders of the Shinwari and Afirdi tribes of Khyber Agency, which is the main route of NATO supplies to Afghanistan. Approximately 80% of supplies pass through this route.

"But since the Taliban want to chop off NATO supplies from Pakistan into Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban have warned these tribal elders to stay away from the conflict. However, the elders have received huge bribes [funds] from NATO, and so they are obsessed with providing protection to the supply convoys. Therefore, the Taliban will increase their activities in Khyber Agency, which means a war with the elders of the Shinwari and Afirdi tribes," the contact said.

The second sector of Taliban activity will be in Nooristan and Kunar provinces in Afghanistan, where US forces are conducting huge counter-insurgency operations.

"This year, the Taliban will focus their main attention on a new plan specifically aimed at Kunar and Nooristan. The details of the plan cannot be revealed at this point," said the contact.

The contact said that the al-Qaeda camp in Pakistan is convinced that American pressure will be so strong that the ceasefire will not be long-term.

This perception is not without substance. Wana military airfield in South Waziristan and Miranshah airfield in North Waziristan have been upgraded from makeshift airstrips into proper runways with backup facilities, which indicate plans for a powerful air operation.

The deployment of US forces at Lowari Mandi and Ghulman Khan checkpoints (both on the Afghan side of the border near North Waziristan) and the construction of a new military camp near Shawal (North Waziristan), on the Afghan side, indicate that the US is not planning on peace for very long.

The only real issue is which side will strike first, and where.

[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.]