Helmand Refugees
Fleeing
Ahead Of Anti-Taliban Offensive
February 8, 2010
By Elias Dai, Ron Synovitz
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Hundreds of Afghan families have been fleeing
Taliban-controlled territory in the southern Afghan province of
Helmand ahead of an expected offensive by NATO and Afghan
government troops.
As many as 2,000 Taliban fighters reportedly are concentrated
and fortifying themselves in and around the town of Marjah.
Fearful of being caught in the violence, some residents are
heading for Helmand's provincial capital of Lashkar Gah or places
in neighboring Kandahar province that they consider to be
relatively safe.
At the central bus station in Lashkar Gah, buses arriving
straight from the town of Marjah have been packed full of the
displaced in recent days. Meanwhile, many trucks can be seen along
the road -- loaded with furniture, home appliances, and other
personal belongings of fleeing families.
Mauwla Dad, a truck driver from Marjah, tells RFE/RL he has
made more than a dozen recent journeys, shuttling families and
their belongings to safe haven.
"Every day, I have been providing transportation for three or
four families," Dad says. "People are leaving Marjah amid rumors
that the [anti-Taliban] offensive could begin any day now."
A Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent in Helmand Province
reports that villagers also are escaping to the nearby districts
of Baba-ji, Nad-Ali, and Gereshk.
But Brigadier James Cowen, the British commander of Task Force
Helmand, tells Reuters in Lashkar Gah that he thinks reporters are
blowing the civilian movements out of proportion.
"I think those reports of fleeing residents is a little
exaggerated, in fact. I mean there are some leaving the area, but
by no means the numbers that the news are reporting," Cowen says,
according to Reuters. "I think we may see more of that in the
forthcoming days, but we are keeping a close eye on it."
Families Uprooted
Ghulam Farouq Noorzai, who heads the Afghan government's
refugee affairs department in Helmand Province, says officials
have formed an "emergency commission" with plans to receive 15,000
families. They have also sent a delegation to meet with UN
humanitarian aid officials responsible for southern Afghanistan.
"The World Health Organization, the World Food Program, and the
United Nations Refugee Agency -- the UNHCR -- have accepted our
plan," Noorzai says.
Noorzai tells RFE/RL that villagers in and around Marjah are
gravely concerned about the expected military offensive. He says
many are staying in their homes for now because they have no place
to go, but adds that a flood of displaced families are expected in
Lashkar Gah and in nearby Kandahar Province once the anticipated
offensive begins.
"Around 400 to 500 families already have arrived [in Lashkar
Gah]," Noorzai says. "Our emergency commission is registering
these displaced people. We have created a refugee center at a
school ground in Lashkar Gah and plan to move them there soon."
Haji Akhtar Mohammad, a resident of Marjah, tells Reuters that
he considers the offensive a necessary step by Afghan and NATO
forces to keep the province free from the kind of intimidation
that Taliban fighters have imposed on residents of his community.
"The military operation is being launched in our village in
order to keep us from any possible danger," Mohammad says,
according to Reuters. "I decided to leave the village [for now]
and we are heading to Lashkar Gah to rent a house."
Military Might
Meanwhile, NATO and Afghan government checkpoints have been set
up around the Marjah district in an attempt to stop Taliban
fighters from slipping out of the area among the fleeing civilian
population.
RFE/RL's correspondent in Helmand reports that scattered
clashes were occurring today at villages in the nearby district of
Nad-Ali, where NATO and Afghan government troops have set up
blocking positions.
Marjah sits near the dividing line between British forces who
patrol the northern part of Helmand Province and U.S. Marines who
patrol the southern areas. The British-led NATO contingent is
nearly 10,000 strong while U.S. forces number about 15,000.
Thousands of Afghan security forces also are expected to take
part in the offensive -- codenamed "Operation Moshtarak." They
include troops from the Afghan National Army as well as about 100
specialists from Afghanistan's elite police unit -- the Afghan
National Civil Order Police.
Brigadier James Cown, the commander of British forces in
Helmand, says the Afghan security forces will play a greater role
than in any previous offensive involving NATO forces in
Afghanistan.
Their training has included work on locating and removing land
mines and improvised explosive devices -- which are expected to be
a prevalent in terrain where Taliban fighters have been preparing
defenses.
"All of our officers in the ANCOP team are ready for any kind
of operation," Colonel Qadam Shah, a brigade commander in the
Fifth Battalion of that elite Afghan police unit, says. "I am
proud of my role for being a part of it."
U.S. Marines, the first wave of a U.S. troop surge ordered by
U.S. President Barack Obama, pushed Taliban fighters out of much
of southern Helmand Province last summer while British forces
captured Taliban strongholds in the north.
However, those forces met weaker than expected resistance
because many Taliban apparently fled to strongholds in Marjah and
nearby villages. Marjah district is crisscrossed by irrigation
canals -- terrain that is well suited to the Taliban's style of
guerrilla tactics.
New Dynamic
NATO-led air strikes have targeted Taliban forces in previous
operations where the Taliban has been concentrated. But air
strikes also have the potential to alienate the local population
when they miss their targets and kill innocent civilians.
NATO military leaders have said the offensive on Marjah will be
one of the defining operations in their counterinsurgency campaign
in Afghanistan the collapse of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
Already the U.S. troop surge has created a new dynamic on the
ground in southern Afghanistan. In years past, spring offensive
operations have been Taliban guerilla campaigns against NATO and
Afghan government forces -- as well as bombings and assassinations
of civilian Afghan officials in provincial areas.
But with thousands more foreign troops on the ground -- along
with better trained and equipped Afghan security forces -- the
Taliban now looks set to be on the receiving end of a spring
offensive in Afghanistan.
A Taliban statement during the weekend criticized the buildup
of forces around Marjah at a time when the government in Kabul has
been trying to convince the Taliban that reconciliation and peace
talks are possible.
RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Habib Qadir
contributed to this report
Taliban defiant as Afghans flee
ahead of assault
by Nasrat Shoib
February 8, 2010
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – NATO commanders urged the Taliban
to surrender as troops dug in Monday for a major assault on a key
insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan, sending thousands of
residents fleeing.
The Taliban remained defiant as civilians of the Marjah plain
accused the militia, which is leading an eight-year insurgency, of
massing fighters and arms for a bloody battle in Helmand province
expected to start this week.
Taliban fighters "prefer to stay and fight," Yousuf Ahmadi, a
purported Taliban spokesman, told AFP by telephone from an
undisclosed location.
"Afghan and foreign forces have come to the Marjah area and our
mujahedeen forces are also in the area firing rockets at them," he
said.
The Marjah operation -- dubbed Mushtarak ("Together") -- is the
biggest push since US President Barack Obama announced a new surge
of troops to Afghanistan, and military officials say it is the
biggest since the 2001 US-led invasion.
It is seen as pivotal to a new counter-insurgency strategy,
which meshes military operations with the civil and political aims
of establishing governance and security as the basis for
development.
Brigadier General Eric Tremblay, spokesman for NATO's
International Security Assistance Force, called on the militants
to lay down their arms, and said the aim of the operation was to
"separate the insurgents from the population".
"From a strategic perspective it would be better but they are
under very high instructions from their senior leadership to stay
and fight, and they are still under the impression that they are
winning," he said.
Frightened families were leaving Marjah, as provincial
authorities set up reception centres and stockpiled food and tents
for up to 10,000 people.
Ghulam Farooq Noorzai, head of the provincial department of
refugees and repatriation, said more than 400 families, or
2,000-3,000 people had relocated and "people are still leaving the
area".
"We have provided some 70 tents with the help of the
international military and in Lashkar Gah we have set aside two
schools to shelter people as they arrive," he said.
Shir Ali Khan, who arrived Monday in Lashkar Gah with 25
relatives, said he would keep his loved ones in the city until
Marjah was safe.
"We left the area because lots of aircraft were flying over and
lots of forces moving back and forth," he said.
But local officials sought to reassure people and prevent a
mass exodus.
"Everything is OK," said Governor Habibullah of the Nad Ali
district, where Marjah is located.
"We have organised local gatherings and described the
objectives of these operations, and assured people they do not
need to leave the area, that they will not be harmed in the
upcoming operation," he said.
Thousands of foreign and Afghan troops have massed around the
area in the central Helmand River valley to take on the Taliban in
one of the last areas of the province where they hold sway.
Shadow structures, including courts that dispense rough
justice, are operating in place of government institutions,
officials said.
The Taliban have skillfully exploited a lack of public
confidence in the Afghan government to spread their footprint
across vast swathes of the country.
General Stanley McChrystal, commander of 113,000 US and NATO
forces in the country -- where another 40,000 are to deploy by
August -- has said the Marjah operation aims to push the Taliban
out and re-establish government control.
The insurgency, now in its ninth year, has been concentrated on
Helmand, and neighbouring Kandahar province, fertile agricultural
regions where farmland has been transformed under insurgent
control into poppy plantations.
Billions of dollars worth of opium and heroin help to fund the
Taliban-led insurgency, which has the Marjah region in its grip.
Four NATO soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Sunday -- two
Swedes in the north and another two whose nationalities were not
disclosed in the south.
The latest deaths took to 61 the number of foreign soldiers
killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year, according to an
AFP count based on a tally kept by independent icasualties.org
website.
Fleeing on foot
at night
KABUL, 8 February 2010 (IRIN) - Hundreds of civilian families
are fleeing parts of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, ahead
of a major military operation by foreign and Afghan forces.
The offensive is expected to drive Taliban insurgents out of
Marjah, which has an estimated population of 80,000 people,
according to government officials, and the surrounding area.
"Marjah has been surrounded by Afghan and foreign forces but
people have told us the Taliban are not allowing them to get out
of there," Ahmadullah Ahmadi, director of the Afghan Red Crescent
Society (ARCS) office in Helmand, told IRIN.
Many were fleeing the area on foot at night, and without taking
any belongings with them, he said, adding: "About 300 families
have fled the Nad Ali and Babaji areas and over 100 families have
left Marjah over the past week."
Some had sought refuge in Lashkargah, the provincial capital,
while others had gone to other relatively secure districts.
Dawod Ahmadi, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand, said 95
families had arrived in Lashkargah from Marjah as of 8 February.
Leaflets
The government says it is not encouraging people to leave their
homes.
"The operation has been designed to avoid harm to civilians and
we have not asked people to leave their homes," provincial
spokesman Dawod Ahmadi told IRIN.
However, leaflets warning of an imminent military operation
dropped in Marjah by NATO helicopters may have prompted some to
leave, though the insurgents are reportedly preventing civilians
from moving out of areas currently under their control.
The UN and rights watchdogs have accused the insurgents of
deliberately using civilians and their homes as a defensive
shield. No Taliban spokesperson was immediately available for
comment.
Among those leaving Marjah and its environs are some Taliban
supporters or sympathizers who may not opt to seek refuge in
Laskargah city, aid workers say.
"These families usually go to other districts but often do not
receive assistance" said ARCS's Ahmadi.
However, the provincial authorities have given assurances that
a relief committee set up to assist the displaced would seek to
provide aid without discrimination.
"Those fleeing the conflict are not fighters but innocent women
and children and we would assist them," said Dawod Ahmadi, the
provincial spokesman.
Shelter
Whilst many displaced people are believed to be seeking
temporary refuge with relatives and friends in Lashkargah city and
elsewhere in the province, some would inevitably need shelter
assistance, according to aid workers.
"The weather is cold and shelter is need number one for the
displaced," said ARCS's Ahmadi.
The provincial government has earmarked a newly-built school in
Lashkargah city to shelter about 100 displaced families.
Provincial spokesman Ahmadi said: "We believe this will be a
short-term displacement and people will be able to return to their
homes soon after military operations are complete."
Leading stories
in today’s Afghan media
UNAMA
8 February 2010 - President Karzai emphasizes peace talks with
the armed opposition and ensuring security in Afghanistan; General
McChrystal says security jobs will not be assigned to Afghan Army
until it is ready for such job; President Karzai calls on foreign
forces to halt military raids on Afghan villages; Afghanistan
needs strong international backing for plan to woo former
militants - Karzai; and US not in direct talks with Afghan Taliban
- Holbrooke.
AFGHAN TV NEWS
Tolo TV Headlines
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, President Karzai
emphasized on peace talks with the armed opposition and the
ensuring of security in Afghanistan.
NATO chief says Russia, China, India and Pakistan can play
stronger roles in ensuring stability in Afghanistan.
Defense Ministry says Afghan Army will not be able to respond
to the security challenges unless it has modern arms and a
powerful air defence force.
Speaking at the NATO session in Turkey, President Karzai asked
NATO leaders to work more seriously for the strengthening of the
Afghan Army.
General McChrystal says security jobs will not be assigned to
the Afghan Army until it is ready for such a job.
The NATO civilian representative to Afghanistan says the
organization will not be able to provide civilian services to the
Afghan people in the absence of security.
Helmand authorities say 450 families have been displaced from
the Marja District because of fear of military operations there.
Floods left five women and six children dead in Pur Chaman
District of Farah.
Ariana TV Headlines
Helmand authorities say hundreds of families have left Marja
District for other places because of fear of military operations
there.
Asking for urgent assistance, Herat authorities says floods
destroyed more than 90 houses in Injil District of that province.
Reports say heavy snowfall has cut transportation links between
remote areas and the capitals of Kandahar and Faryab provinces.
AFGHAN PRINT MEDIA
Kabul Times
Eleven people drown as floods submerge three villages in Farah,
said provincial police officials.
Afghanistan Times
Afghanistan needs strong international backing for a plan to
woo former militants and their leaders back into civil life, and
it should consider re-introducing conscription, President Karzai
told the Munich Security Conference.
At a news conference on Sunday, NATO’s senior civilian
representative in Afghanistan said the international community is
supportive of the Karzai administration’s open policy regarding
peace with the Taliban.
The Afghan Women Network (AWN) has asked the government to
consider women’s human rights and justice during reconciliation
talks with the Taliban.
Outlook Afghanistan
The National Solidarity Programme completed three development
projects in Balkh, according to an NSP press release.
President Karzai called on Sunday for a halt to military raids
in Afghan villages by international coalition forces and a
complete end to civilian casualties. “We believe that the war on
terror is not in the Afghan villages and homes. We believe this
war on terror is in the sanctuaries, training grounds and the
motivational factors and financial resources beyond Afghan
borders,” Karzai told the annual Munich Security Conference.
The US is not in direct talks with the Afghan Taliban, and any
eventual discussions would have to go hand in hand with military
success, said US Special Representative for Afghanistan Richard
Holbrooke in Munich on Sunday.
The success of a planned major US-Afghan offensive in the south
depends on how quickly troop and civilian development workers can
get public services up and running once the Taliban have been
driven away, US and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal said
Sunday.
State Media Editorials
Eslah Daily
Our people have asked private media to prioritize the national
interest and cultural values of the Afghan people in their
broadcast programmes.
Hewad Daily
The international community should help strengthen the Afghan
government to take charge of all its affairs by putting an end to
the parallel structure within the government and bringing basic
changes in the activities of PRTs, international NGOs and other
international institutions in the country. The international
community should also prevent civilian casualties during military
operations, house searches, and the arrest of Afghans.
Anis Daily
According to NATO’s Civilian Representative in Afghanistan,
NATO troops will try to weaken the Taliban and maintain security
for the Afghan people in the current year. Before conducting any
military operation, the international community should consider
the situation of local Afghan civilians. It should also consider
that most of the vulnerable villagers cannot just leave their
villages.
Private Media Editorials
Outlook Afghanistan
It is important to get the support of locals to prevent the
penetration of the Taliban. But it is equally important to make
sure that the central government is not sidelined. It should also
be mentioned that the Afghan people do not have good experience in
strengthening tribal structures. Good governance and development
will be better incentives for tribes to cooperate with the central
government and the international community in repelling the
Taliban. It is also worth mentioning that going after tribes
should not lead to paying less attention to equipping and training
Afghan forces.
Afghanistan Times
The achievements of our athletes in the South Asian games are a
matter of pride for every Afghan. They deserve to be admired and
supported by the government, the private sector and ordinary
people.
Daily Afghanistan
Both the international community and the Afghan government
expect something from each other. If they want to reach their
aims, they ought to respect each other’s expectations.
Hasht-e-Subh Daily
Reports say American soldiers arrested the Kapisa deputy police
chief yesterday. Referring to this, the editorial expressed
surprise, asking how he has been able to penetrate a security
organization. The editorial added that maybe he has links with
some other terrorists inside the police force who still have to be
identified.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Herat (RTA) Headlines
Italian PRT funded the construction of a primary school and a
health clinic at the cost of 200,000 euros.
Paktya (RTA) Headlines
A two-day workshop on women’s rights was held at the Department
of Women Affairs (DoWA) at Gardez city in Paktya. The workshop was
initiated by UNAMA’s Human Rights Unit in the southeast region
with the cooperation of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights
Commission (AIHRC) and DoWA.
Paktya (Benawa Pashto Web) Headlines
Agriculture department officials in Ghazni province Sunday said
orchard owners would be provided with more than 50,000 apple tree
seedlings free of cost with support from the United States Agency
for International Development.
Nangarhar (RTA) Headlines
The governor of Nangarhar had an introductory meeting with
Rafiullah Baidar, the new director of the AIHRC for eastern
provinces.
Afghan war claims
2 US-led soldiers
Press TV / February 8, 2010
At least two US-led foreign soldiers have been killed by an
explosion in Afghanistan, according to NATO's International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
"Two ISAF service members died following an IED (improvised
explosive device) strike in southern Afghanistan yesterday," NATO
said in a statement on Monday.
The statement does not provide a specific location or give the
nationalities of the service members.
Sweden's armed forces said earlier that two Swedish army
officers and an Afghan interpreter were killed Sunday near the
northern Afghan city of Mazar Sharif.
More than 110,000 international troops are in Afghanistan, with
another 40,000 arriving to be deployed in the war-torn country.
At least 11 NATO service members have died in Afghanistan so
far this month.
Thousands of Afghan civilians have also been killed in the
controversial war which the US launched to allegedly destroy the
militancy in Afghanistan
'Afghan war to claim more UK
soldiers'
Press TV / February 8, 2010
The British government has warned the country to brace for more
casualties, ahead of a major offensive against the Taliban in
southern Afghanistan.
Thousands of troops from Britain, the United States and
Afghanistan are preparing to launch 'Operation Moshtarak'
('Together') in Helmand province within days.
According to Press TV, over 400 families have so far evacuated
the Marjah plain in the central Helmand River valley, where the
offensive is to be centered.
The assault is dubbed as the largest against the Taliban
militants since the war began.
Reports say up to 4,000 troops from Britain, which has 9,500
service personnel in the country, may be involved in the attack.
UK Defense Minister Bob Ainsworth said on Sunday that such
operations can never be made "risk-free."
"Of course casualties are something that we have to expect when
we are involved in these operations," Ainsworth told reporters.
He also warned that the number of kits and amount of equipment
provided for the troops would make no difference as the
environment of the operation is "not in any way safe."
The development comes as the US-led coalition forces have been
preparing the ground to bring the Taliban militants to the Afghan
government by trying to open dialogue with the militant group.
The US invaded the county to allegedly destroy militancy in the
country.
The costly conflict is stretching into its ninth year as
thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed both by acts of
violence, including bombings and daily fighting, and US military
operations in the country.
US rejects
'direct talks' with Taliban
Press TV / February 8, 2010
US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has
rejected any direct talks between the United States and the Afghan
Taliban but hints that 'discussions' with the militant group are
under way.
"I want to state very clearly that our nation is not involved
in any direct contacts with the Taliban," he said at the Munich
Security Conference on Sunday.
Holbrooke replied to earlier reports that the UN special
representative to Afghanistan Kai Eide had met with Taliban
leaders on January 8. The Taliban later denied the claims.
"Of course you saw that the UN senior representative said he
had contacts. That's up to him; there have been other contacts,
there is a lot of track-two diplomacy," Holbrooke argued.
He added that any talks would run parallel to military efforts,
referring to the deployment of almost 40,000 more international
troops to Afghanistan.
"Negotiations and military operations, however you define
negotiations, can run in parallel ... (but) success in military
operations will affect whatever the discussions are," the US
diplomat said.
The talks with the militant groups which are said to be aimed
at bringing Taliban into Afghan government comes more than eight
years after the US invaded the country.
Thousands of Afghan civilians have been killed in the
controversial war which the US launched to allegedly destroy the
militancy in Afghanistan.
Police constable
kills 1 colleague;
explosion claims 2 lives in W Afghanistan
KABUL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- A police constable opened fire
killing one of his colleagues and wounding four others in
Afghanistan's western Herat province while explosion claimed the
lives of two civilians there, officials said Monday.
In the first incident, according to police spokesman in west
Afghanistan Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, a police constable opened fire on
his colleagues Sunday night killing one police constable and
injuring four others.
Ahmadi also added that the culprit after opening fire and
killing a police constable run away but on the way his car rammed
into a tree and badly injured.
In another incident, an explosion rocked a bazaar in Shindand
district on Sunday and wounding two brothers, governor of Shindand
district Lal Mohammad Omarzai told Xinhua.
Flood kills 16
people, damage
510 houses in S Afghanistan
KABUL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rain and flooding claimed the
lives of at least 16 persons and damaged over 500 houses in
Kandahar province south of Afghanistan, spokesman for provincial
administration Zalmai Ayubi said Monday.
"The flood washed away three vehicles in Shah Walikot district
on Sunday as a result 16 passengers were killed and of these only
six bodies have been found and search for the remaining 10 is
continuing," Ayubi told media.
He also added that 510 mud houses have been damaged in and
outside Kandahar city.
Eleven people including five children have also lost their
lives in the heavy rains and flooding that hit western Farah
province on Sunday.
Tajikistan hands over 171
prisoners to Afghanistan
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The government of
Tajikistan handed over more than 170 prisoners to Afghanistan in
the northern Kunduz province on Monday, a local official said.
"Tajikistan authorities handed over 171 Afghan prisoners to
Afghan government at the border town of Shik Khan Bandar this
morning," jail director in Kunduz province Shah Mir Amirpoor told
Xinhua.
This is the second bunch of detainees handed over to the Afghan
government by Tajikistan over the past one week. On Thursday the
Tajik government handed over 81 Afghan detainees to the Afghan
administration.
Amirpoor further said that remaining Afghan detainees would be
handed over to the Afghan side in the coming days. However, he did
not give the number of detainees still held in Tajikistan but
added all these people had been arrested on charge of drug
smuggling and other crimes over the past four to five years.
District chief
arrested in NW Afghanistan
KABUL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan authorities in the country
's northwestern Badghis province have arrested the chief of the
Balamirghab district on charges of cooperation with Taliban
militants and involvement in corruption, a private television
channel reported Monday.
"Authorities arrested Hajji Amin on charges of providing
information to Taliban insurgents and selling public lands to
individuals," said Tolo broadcast in its news bulletin.
However, it did not say the exact date of detaining the
official.
This is the second arrest of ranking officials reported over
the past two days.
In the first such case, Afghan and the U.S. military arrested
the deputy police chief of Kapisa province, 80 km north of capital
city Kabul, with similar charges on Friday.
The Afghan government has been under international pressure
especially the U.S. government to act against graft and fight
corruption in the post-Taliban country.
Senior Afghan
policeman held over planting bombs
BBC News / Monday, 8 February 2010
A senior Afghan policeman has been arrested in connection with
planting and storing roadside bombs, Nato officials said.
The policeman was held by Afghan and coalition forces in
northern Parwan province on Friday.
A Nato statement said that the policeman was "linked to
criminal activities, including a murder."
Roadside bombs are frequently used to attack foreign and Afghan
forces in Afghanistan, correspondents say.
Taliban fighters make roadside bombs, known as IEDs (improvised
explosive devices), from mines and explosives.
They are activated by pressure plates, trip wires or mobile
phones.
As foreign troops have become better at detecting IEDs, the
militants have become more sophisticated in modifying their
designs, our correspondent adds.
In November 2009 five British soldiers were killed by an Afghan
policeman they were mentoring.
Correspondents say policemen in Afghanistan are badly equipped
and poorly paid.
Many in the force complain that they are neglected and morale
in many police units is low.
Afghan President
demands judicial independence
BERLIN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said
here Monday his country wanted to regain complete judicial
independence as soon as possible.
To reduce civilian casualties completely, international
military forces need to stop operations in Afghan villages, Karzai
said at the Munich Security Conference, adding "we believe the war
against terrorists is not in Afghan villages and homes."
"Ending military operations in Afghan villages is what Afghan
people are seeking as a priority. That means Afghanistan regains
judicial independence completely and rather very very soon.
"Afghan must be able to, as a sovereign government to justice
its people, to explain the reason why people are arrested. The
arrested people must not be arrested by international forces. The
suspects must be taken by Afghan forces through the Afghan
judicial system and through the laws of Afghanistan." Karzai said.
Karzai also asked the international community to play roles of
"supporters" instead of "rivals" for Afghan government and "remove
any parallel activities toward Afghanistan."
"Any activity that is conducted in the matter of functions of
government by our international friends as parallel to our
government is reducing the capacity of Afghanistan," he said.
The 46th Munich Security Conference (MSC) entered its third and
last day Sunday. About 300 high-level representatives discussed a
range of tough topics, including "resource security and shifting
global power", "the future of European and global security", "arms
control and the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)", "NATO's
new strategy and mission" and "the Afghanistan."
The Munich Security Conference was founded as the Wehrkunde
Conference by the German publisher Ewald von Kleist in 1962.
Ajmal Khattak passes away
Daily Time (Pakistan)
February 8, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Prominent writer, poet and former Awami National
Party president Ajmal Khattak died in Akora Khattak on Sunday
after a prolonged illness. He was 85 years old.
According to private TV channels, Khattak’s funeral prayer
would be offered on Monday in his native city of Akora Khattak
after Zuhr prayers.
In separate condolence messages to the bereaved family, Prime
Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari
expressed grief over the sad demise of the politician.
Eulogising Khattak’s services for promoting democracy, Zardari
said his death had deprived the country of a courageous
politician.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also sent their condolences to the
bereaved family. staff report/app
UN completes
winterization
programme in Paktya and Khost
By Dilawar Khan Dilawar, UNAMA
February 8, 2010
The United Nations has completed its "winterization" programme
in two provinces of the southeast region benefiting 5,000 families
in all.
The programme targeted nine districts in Paktya province, and
four districts in Khost province. The beneficiaries were the
extremely vulnerable individuals/families, vulnerable returnees,
returned internally displaced persons and the poorest families
among the local communities.
Before launching this programme, local non-government
organisation Afghanistan Planning Agency (APA) conducted a general
survey in November and December last year to select the
beneficiaries.
The beneficiary selection committee comprised representatives
from the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority, the Afghan
Red Crescent Society, government departments, Provincial Council
members and district authorities.
"On behalf of the Governor's office, I want to thank UNHCR
(United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), IOM
(International Organization for Migration), GTZ (Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit or German Technical
Cooperation) and other agencies that helped our poor people in
these rainy days. I would also like to thank APA for conducting a
survey with the government of Afghanistan and executing this
programme," said Qazi Sahibzada Tariq, executive director of the
Governor's office.
In all, UNHCR contributed 3,000 kits for 1,500 families in
Paktya and 1,500 families in Khost. Each kit contained blankets,
plastic sheets, shoes, socks and sweaters for the entire family,
and 220 kilos of firewood.
The other actors involved in this programme were IOM and
GTZ-DETA which, besides contributing non-food items, essentially
funded the field level operations of the winterization programme.
IOM also contributed family kits for 500 families in Paktya and
1,000 families in Khost.
UNHCR has been distributing winterization assistance since 2002
in the southeastern region and keeps improving this programme to
meet the needs of extremely vulnerable people.
Afghanistan: More
than 600 vulnerable
families in Maidan Wardak district receive food aid
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
February 8, 2010
Throughout December and January, more than 600 families of the
Jalriz district in the province of Maidan Wardak received food
packages funded by the Italian Government and distributed by UNOPS.
With an average of seven members per family, over 4,000 people
directly benefitted from the recent distribution of food packages
to vulnerable families in the Jalriz district.
Each family received a food package containing 100kg wheat
flour, 50kg rice, and 18 liters of cooking oil. The families come
from the seven villages of Zawalat, Jalriz, Sangalakh, Takana,
Sayakhak, Salmanfars and Kotiashro.
The food distribution is part of the community development
efforts of the Italian Government and UNOPS in connection with the
rehabilitation of the highway from Maidan Shar to Bamyan.
The food distribution is implemented directly by the District
Development Assembly. The primary focus is to ensure the poorest
and most vulnerable households in the district receive the much
needed food assistance, while at the same time promoting the role
of the District Development Assembly in providing social services
through a transparent and participatory process.
The Ministry of Public Works is presently rehabilitating 136 km
of highway under this project with Italian funding. Rehabilitation
of the stretch from Maidan Shar to Onai Pass is halfway completed.
The tender process for the rehabilitation of the stretch from Onai
Pass to Bamyan city is under process. Additional small scale
community works are also planned for the next months.
For further information, please contact Katsui Kaya, UNOPS AGOC,
E-mail: katsuik@unops.org or Website: www.unops.org, or Italian
Cooperation Office – Embassy of Italy, email: press@coopitafghanistan.org
Back to Top
