Yesterday's Afghan News

Sunday, February 7, 2010


Karzai wants civilian lives
spared in NATO operations

Press TV / February 7, 2010

As NATO forces prepare for a bloody confrontation with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, Kabul calls on the international presence to end military raids on villages and spare the lives of civilians.

Speaking at the annual Munich Security Conference, President Hamid Karzai said Sunday that he was hoping to see civilian casualties ceased completely in the war-torn country.

He went on to urge the United Nations and international agencies to cooperate with the Afghan government instead of acting as its rival, which he said was "undermining in reality the buildup of the Afghan state and its institutions."

The Afghan president has been denouncing the killing of civilians, which has fueled anti-American sentiments in Afghanistan.

A UN report released in January has painted a grim picture of the stepped-up military action aimed at killing militants. The report showed that the number of civilians killed in 2009 was higher than in any year since the 2001 US-led invasion.

Reciting the 2009 civilian death toll that surpassed 2,400 people and rose by 14%, Karzai criticized foreign forces at the London meeting on Afghanistan in January for the rising number of civilian deaths in NATO-led raids, saying the figures were "unacceptably high."

The United States and its allies argue militant hideouts are being targeted in their military operations, which include the imprecise drone attacks that result in civilian casualties.


Ahead of NATO operation,
400 Afghan families displaced

Press TV / February 7, 2010

Hundreds of Afghan families are fleeing their homes in the Helmand city of Marja, after US and British forces announced plans for a bloody end game with the Taliban in the volatile southern province.

Taliban militants have managed to keep their hold on Maja, which lies 30 Km (18 miles) to the west of the provincial capital of Lashkargah for several years.

Authorities in Helmand say more than 400 families have been uprooted for fear of the bloodbath that could emerge out of NATO plans to launch a major offensive against the militants, a Press TV correspondent in Kandahar reported on Sunday.

Last week, the US-led presence and Afghan security forces unveiled plans for the operation, codenamed “Battle of Marja,” which is to take place in several stages and aims at placing the national security forces at the frontline of the conflict.

The battle has been billed by the forces as the bloodiest since the start of the conflict eight years ago, when the Taliban regime was ousted by the US-led invasion in 2001.

The operations will combine the efforts of Afghan, American and British forces, as a “demonstration of our capability in a series of operations,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters on the sidelines of a Munich security conference.

In response, the Taliban has promised to launch counter attacks, vowing to hold on to its southern stronghold. 


Planned Afghan Assault To Send 'Strong Signal'

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

February 7, 2010

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, says a major military offensive about to start will "send a strong signal" to Taliban insurgents that the Afghan government is expanding its security control.

McChrystal said in Kabul today that the offensive planned for southern Afghanistan aims to clear out insurgents so local civilian authorities can retake control.

A big force of U.S. Marines as well as NATO and Afghan soldiers are expected to launch the offensive -- said by commanders to be the largest assault against Taliban-led militants since the war began -- in Helmand Province within days.

RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan has reported that residents of four major towns in Helmand are fleeing their homes ahead of the offensive.

Residents of Gereshk, Marjah, Naad Ali, and Baba Jee have already begun evacuating their homes and villages.

An RFE/RL correspondent said they are mostly heading for the provincial capital, Lashkargah, to seek shelter.

AFP reported earlier that hundreds of people have left Marjah, a city of 80,000.

"The government of Afghanistan will reclaim Marjah as one of its own," said the British commander of the operation, General Nick Carter.

NATO forces have been dropping leaflets in the region for weeks, warning residents of the impending assault.

A Taliban spokesman told AFP the insurgents were massing fighters around Marjah and "ready to fight."

with agency reports


Karzai considers introducing Afghan conscription

BBC News / Sunday, 7 February 2010

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has told a conference of the world's top defence officials in Germany that he is considering introducing conscription.

The Afghan president said at the summit in Munich he wants to build an army and police force of 300,000 by 2012.

His comments come as US-led forces are poised to launch a major offensive in Helmand province against the Taliban.

The Nato commander, General Stanley McChrystal, said the operation would "send a strong signal".

Mr Karzai told the Munich conference that a number of Afghan community leaders had urged him to consider conscription.

"Afghanistan should be able to provide security for its people, so we are no longer a burden on the shoulders of the international community and the partners that are there with us today," he said.

The idea of reintroducing a military draft - which was used in Afghanistan until 1992 - has been suggested before.

Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said last week there was no need for conscription as the army had no lack of recruits.

'Prepare for casualties'

The Nato commander in Afghanistan, Gen McChrystal, promised a major offensive about to begin in central Helmand would send a "strong signal that the Afghan government is expanding its security control".

Thousands of coalition and Afghan troops are converging for the operation to capture the town of Marja, a Taliban stronghold.

The attack - codenamed Moshtarak, which means "together" in the Pashtun language of southern Afghanistan - is expected to begin any day.

UK Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said on Sunday the British public should be ready for military casualties once the offensive begins.

"We shouldn't deny or pretend to people that ... casualties are not a very real risk on these kind of operations and people have to be prepared for that," he said.

Planning has been under way for weeks, with Nato helicopters dropping leaflets on the area warning residents to flee.

Provincial officials said about 35,000 residents of Marja were taking the advice and heading to other parts of Helmand.

One Marja resident, Gul Muhammed, told AFP news agency why he had left town.

"There are Taliban all over the place and foreign troops around Marja," he said. "So I was scared that we might get hurt."

The forthcoming offensive will be the first major military action since US President Barack Obama announced his surge of 30,000 extra US troops for Afghanistan in December.

Meanwhile, three Afghan policemen died on Sunday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb near the southern city of Kandahar.

In a separate development, Nato-led forces said they had arrested an Afghan police commander alleged to have worked with Taliban insurgents to distribute and plant roadside bombs.

Attaullah Wahab is also accused of corruption and of being linked to a murder.

His activities are said to have taken place in the north of the country at Bagram, site of the country's main US military hub, and in the provinces of Parwan and Kapisa.


Taliban reject Karzai's "reconciliation" offer

Press TV / February 7, 2010

Afghanistan's Taliban have rejected President Hamid Karzai's call for reconciliation talks as pointless, emphasizing on their goal for complete independence.

"This is not the first time that the Kabul regime and the invading countries want to throw dust into the eyes of the public of the world by announcing reconciliation in words and, in practice, make preparation for war," Afghan Taliban said in a Sunday statement.

Karzai had earlier offered reconciliation with members of the Taliban who lay down arms, renounce violence and accept the Afghan constitution. He has the backing of Western states for the proposal.

The Taliban have, however, said on their Website that the conditions set by Karzai amount to a call to surrender.

"Our first priority is to achieve these goals (complete independence and the establishment of an Islamic system) through talks and negotiation," added the statement, noting that Karzai's peace offer is the consequence of the militants' spreading influence.

They also reject Western support for such efforts as a way to silence the anti-war protesters in the West.

Taliban governed Afghanistan from 1996 until they were overthrown in late 2001 during Operation Enduring Freedom.

In recent years, Taliban members have gained strength, fighting against the Western-backed Afghan government and the occupying foreign forces.


'Occupiers main source
of instability in Afghanistan'

Press TV / February 7, 2010

Iran's ambassador to Afghanistan has described the occupation forces as the root cause of insecurity in the country and said their interference in domestic affairs is intolerable.

In an interview with the Afghan weekly Eqtedar Melli published on Saturday, Ambassador Fada Hossein Maleki strongly criticized the numerous instances of Western intrusion in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

Iran is really looking forward to a day when Afghanistan, as a sovereign nation, is able to determine its own destiny, he said.

“Bright prospects are expected for Afghanistan as Afghan youths enjoy great talent, God-given intelligence, and strong determination to put their country on the track of progress,” Maleki said.

He emphasized that regional problems should be solved through comprehensive approaches, saying regional states should make serious efforts to resolve the current crises before they become more complicated.

Touching on the situation in the Middle East, he stated that the countries which have entered the region using the campaigns against illicit drugs and terrorism as pretexts are the main source of instability in the region.

Afghanistan belongs to the Afghan people and the country's problems can only be solved through diplomacy and not military solutions, Maleki observed.


Afghan police commander detained for corruption

Press TV / February 7, 2010

The US military have detained a local Afghan police commander allegedly involved in acts of militancy, including facilitating improvised explosive device parts.

NATO-led forces claim Atahullah Wahaab, deputy police chief of Kapisa province, has been involved in the storage, distribution and deployment of the explosive devises on roads in the region.

The police "commander was arrested by ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) and coalition forces for illegal activity and corruption," the US military said in a Sunday statement.

A NATO statement also alleges that the senior official has been involved in corruption and criminal activities.

"He has been clearly linked to criminal activities including a murder during the summer of 2009," added the statement.

Local officials say they have no evidence in support of the allegations. President Hamid Karzai has promised to root out corruption among officials. But prosecutions are extremely rare.


NATO forces attacked in N Afghan province

KABUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Anti-government militants attacked a convoy of NATO-led troops in Baghlan province north of Afghanistan Sunday, provincial police chief Mohammad Kabir Andarabi said.

"Soldiers from Hungary went to Andarab district today but on the way back to their base in Baghlan's provincial capital Pul-e- Khumri, they came under attack," Andarabi told Xinhua.

During the firefight a Taliban insurgent was killed and another sustained injuries, Andarabi added.

Meantime, Zabir Sadiqi, who claims to speak for Hizb-e-Islami -- an associate militant group to Taliban, accepted responsibility and, in talks with media via cellular phone from unknown location, said insurgents inflicted casualties on the troops by firing rockets.

However, Andarabi rejected the claim, stressing that there were no casualties on the NATO soldiers.

A civilian-military unit of Hungary -- the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) -- is based in Pul-e-Khumri to help strengthen security and reconstruction process in the northern Baghlan province.

Some 360 Hungarian soldiers within the framework of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have been serving in Afghanistan to maintain security there.


2 foreign troops killed in N. Afghanistan

KABUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Two service men with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) died following a small-arms fire attack in northern Afghanistan Sunday.

A press release issued by the ISAF confirmed the casualties but failed to disclose details.

Earlier the day, local police in northern Afghanistan's Baghlan province told Xinhua that an ISAF convey was attacked by insurgents' light-arms fire.

The ISAF forces returned fire, killing one insurgent.


NATO chief seeks broader ties with China, India

by Lorne Cook
Sun Feb 7, 8:18 am ET

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) – The head of NATO said Sunday its troubles in Afghanistan showed it was vital to boost ties with nations like China, India and Pakistan and transform the alliance into a global security hub.

Drawing from flaws exposed in Afghanistan, where NATO is struggling to hold off a Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgency, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the military alliance should become a forum for consultation on major hot spots.

"This is a key lesson we are learning in Afghanistan today ... we need an entirely new compact between all the actors on the security stage," he said at a major security conference in Munich, southern Germany.

"India has a stake in Afghan stability. China too. And both could help further develop and rebuild Afghanistan. The same goes for Russia. Basically, Russia shares our security concerns," he said.

NATO and its partners have more than 110,000 troops in Afghanistan, but they have been unable to put down the insurgency more than eight years after a US-led coalition ousted the Taliban from power.

Under a recent switch of strategy, almost 40,000 extra troops are streaming into the conflict-torn country, aiming to protect civilians and win their support, rather than hunt down fighters, many re-supplied from Pakistan.

Following last month's conference in London, the strategy also involves a "surge" of civilian experts, backed by redoubled efforts from major donors, financial institutions and bodies like the United Nations and European Union.

"We cannot meet today's security requirements effectively without engaging much more actively and systematically with other important players on the international scene," Rasmussen said.

"The alliance should become the hub of a network of security partnerships and a centre for consultation on international security issues -- even issues on which the alliance might never take action," he went on.

"What would be the harm if countries such as China, India, Pakistan and others were to develop closer ties with NATO? I think, in fact, there would only be a benefit, in terms of trust, confidence and cooperation."

Rasmussen underlined that he did not seek to replace the work of the United Nations, and his stance was backed by German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.

"We don't want to enter into any competition with the United Nations," the minister said. "We don't want to turn NATO into a global security agency."

The alliance's top military officer, US Admiral James Stavridis added: "NATO is not a global actor, but an actor in a global world. There's a huge difference."

Rasmussen said he envisaged a forum in which NATO and its partners world-wide could air views and concerns, and exchange best practice.

"And where, if it makes sense -- if we decide that NATO should have a role -- we might work out how to tackle global challenges together."

NATO has 28 member nations, but its partnership involves 44 countries in Afghanistan, as well as ties with other regional forums, such as the group of Mediterranean nations.

But Rasmussen said militaries did not train, plan or organise together, while non-governmental groups avoided armies out of concern it might harm their image, but that changing practices would require a "cultural revolution".

"NATO is much more than just 28 allies," said Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay. "Partnerships are integral to NATO's ability to meet security challenges at a distance."


Leading stories in today’s Afghan media

UNAMA

7 February 2010 - Top UN envoy warns NATO defence ministers against over-militarization in Afghanistan; UN SRSG says humanitarian aid should not be distributed by military forces; UN Security Council welcomed on Friday the results of the London Conference on Afghanistan; and USAID to donate US$ 30 million to farmers to improve farming system in Afghanistan.

AFGHAN TV NEWS

Ariana TV Headlines

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the Afghan foreign minister said giving bribe to the Taliban would not avert the Taliban’s indulgence in war, but added that Taliban members would be helped to find livelihood if they turn away from war.

The UN Security Council on Friday welcomed the results of the London conference on Afghanistan.

In their recent operations, security forces killed 16 Taliban in Helmand.

Shamshad TV Headlines

A number of people in Kapisa staged demonstrations against the arrest of a Kapisa Police Public Security officer by US soldiers.

The Asian Development Bank assisted Kunduz province with US$ 27 million to extend electricity from Tajikistan to Kunduz.

Tolo TV Headlines

The Afghan foreign minister said Afghanistan will not succeed in its counter-terrorism campaign unless a general regional counter-terrorism strategy is launched, especially by Pakistan, adding that Afghanistan will seriously fight against the Al-Qaeda.

A number of Afghan analysts said President Karzai did not have any achievements from his meeting with the Saudi king.

Border Police killed seven civilians in Kandahar.

UN SRSG said humanitarian aid should not be distributed by military forces. He added that the ongoing year would be full of challenges.

UNICEF said 1.2 million children are below the age of five, and that 550,000 pregnant women face malnutrition and various diseases in Afghanistan this year.

The Disaster Management Department said the displaced ought to have a certain place for their residence.

Districts that make efforts for peace will accelerate the reconstruction process, said the caretaker minister for Borders and Tribal Affairs.

AFGHAN PRINT MEDIA

Afghanistan Times

At the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, President Karzai will ask world leaders for enhanced coordination with his administration for the stabilization of Afghanistan, said the President’s office.

Afghan Ambassador to Canada Jawed Ludin lodged a strong protest against a Canadian opposition leader, Michael Ignatieff, for the latter’s remarks in which he accused the Karzai government of “being highly corrupt.” While the Afghan government makes no claim to being an exception to the systemic flaws that affect many poor countries around the world, any wholesale labelling of the government as corrupt, crooks and warlords is unjustified, Ludin said in a strongly worded statement.

Speaking at a NATO Defence Ministers Conference in Istanbul, UN Special Envoy for Afghanistan Kai Eide warned against the dangers of a development where the military runs out of patience with the civilian components of Afghan institutions and international structures and takes on more of the civilian tasks.

Arman-e-Milli Daily

Kabul Police said it has arrested five Indian citizens who kidnapped 40 Indians and brought them to Afghanistan to be exploited. The hostages were kept in a house in Qala-e Fatola in Kabul.

Daily Afghanistan

Judiciary organs said they have sentenced 15 drug traffickers to 16 years in jail, and seized 200 kilos of heroin and 280 litres of chemical materials linked to drug production.

Kabul Times

The UN Security Council on Friday welcomed the results of the London Conference on Afghanistan which pledged new funds and outlined a strategy to transfer security responsibility to Kabul within five years.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will donate US$30 million to farmers to improve their farming system in eastern and southern areas of Afghanistan, said a USAID press release.

State Media Editorials

Eslah Daily

To root out civilian casualties and to speed up reconstruction efforts in the country, militants should accept the Afghan government’s reconciliation plans and join in the peace process.

Hewad Daily

The recent London Conference on Afghanistan and the gathering of NATO defence ministers in Istanbul show that Afghanistan is still a priority for the international community. What creates concern for the Afghan government is the way aid is delivered in the country. Some donors want to spend their aid through regional authorities and tribal elders which is weakening the central government. Therefore, all international aid should be spent through the government channels.

Private Media Editorials

Daily Afghanistan

Afghan people expect the NATO’s defence ministers to implement their decisions, unlike decisions made during other international conferences.

Erada Daily

Referring to President Karzai’s trip to Saudi Arabia, the editorial says it has been 30 years that Afghan leaders are helping foreign countries interfere in Afghanistan’s affairs without consulting with their fellow countrymen. Karzai has to pay the price of his inefficient administration.

Soroash-e Millat Daily

Pointing to the UNICEF’s remarks on the situation of Afghan children and women, the editorial criticized Afghanistan’s wealthy people for not assisting the poor in their society.

Payam-e Mujahed Weekly

The London Conference has shown that the international community is tired of its counter-terrorism campaign as it already wants to stop this campaign.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Nangarhar (RTA) Headlines

In a gathering in Jalalabad, religious scholars expressed their full support for President Karzai’s reconciliation process and the London Conference. They called on armed militants to join the reconciliation process.

A sapling planting campaign has begun in Nangarhar. According to the agriculture director, around 6 million saplings will be planted.

Kandahar (Surgar Weekly) Headlines

During his visit to Kandahar, Afghan Interior Minster Hanif Atmar said security will be restored in volatile southern provinces.

Kandahar (RTA) Headlines

Kandahar border police interrogated six border policemen who were involved in the killing of seven civilians.

The district governor for Shamulzai in Zabul said Afghan National Police have detained a prominent Taliban commander, Mullah Masoud, during a search operation in the district.

The US government will provide Afghan farmers with US$ 30 million to assist them in the south and east of the country.

Balkh (RTA Balkh) Headlines

The Pamir 303 northern regional police spokesperson Lal Mohammad, in a press conference in Mazar-e-Sharif on Saturday, announced the enrolment of 200 new trainees from nine northern provinces in the Afghan National Police, adding that 3,000 eligible Afghans have joined the police force since last spring from the north alone.

Paktya (RTA) Headlines

A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-filled car into an international military convoy Saturday in the Manduzi district of Khost. No casualties have been reported yet.


Pakistan Army Recaptures NW Militant Stronghold

Pakistan's military says its troops killed some 60 militants in the new offensive

VOA News
February 7, 2010

Pakistan's army says its forces have recaptured a key Taliban stronghold in a region near the Afghan border.

A year ago, Pakistani forces had declared the group of villages called Damadola free of militants following a 2008 offensive. But officials say Taliban and al-Qaida militants recently returned to defend the strategically-located stronghold north of Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal agency.

Pakistan's military says its troops and a tribal militia, backed by warplanes and helicopter gunships, killed some 60 militants in the new offensive. The military's account has not been independently verified because aid workers and journalists are largely barred from the region.

Damadola has been the site of several U.S. drone missile strikes in recent years targeting al-Qaida leaders.


Livestock Development: The
peaceful Afghan rural livelihood

By Sayed Barez, UNAMA

7 February 2010 - Being primarily driven by an agro-economy, Afghanistan has a lot of livestock that are the main and, in some places, the only income-generation machine for thousands of families whose cattle are their livelihood.

The main challenges for domestic dairy producers in Afghanistan have been a weak market and unprofessional animal health care. They normally take care of their animals in traditional ways that increase the chances of high animal mortality rate and the outbreak of infectious diseases.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) started the German government-funded ‘Integrated Diary Development Scheme in Afghanistan’ in Dehdadi district of Balkh province in 2002. This program hopes to improve food security by raising the productive capacity of the national dairy sector through the development of integrated model dairy schemes in the country.

Dehdadi district in the south-western outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif is famous for its dairy products, with farmers keeping a lot of cows and producing thousands of liters of milk each day to supply the markets in Mazar-i-Sharif, the population center of Balkh province.

After the opening of the project, FAO started its ‘Improved Cattle Management Training’ project where 720 women were trained on the best methods of cattle rearing. FAO’s technical support and assistance have resulted in doubling milk productivity. The daily milk production per house has since risen from three liters to 6.5 liters per day.

FAO’s initiative of forming the Balkh Livestock Development Union (BLDU) was followed by an excellent contribution in 2007 from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which built a dairy-products pasteurizing factory in the center of this district. The factory cost US$ 650,000 and the USAID later handed it over to BLDU.

“It is Dehdadi’s milk that sufficiently supplies the market in Mazar. It is clean, healthy, well-packed and stays longer,” said Abdul Rasool, a customer who bought packed milk from one of Balkh’s 27 dairy shops in Mazar.

Now, everyday, over 2,000 liters of milk are collected by milk collection centers which bring the milk for pasteurizing to the factory where the best dairy products – such as packed milk, yogurt, cheese and butter – are produced.


Helmand Heroin Menace Grows

Poppy producing area diversifies into heroin as crop price falls.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
By Aziz Ahmad Tassal in Helmand (ARR No. 351, 04-Feb-10)

Helmand, the Afghan province that alone produces more than half of the world’s opium poppy, now presents another menace. As the price of the raw opium from the poppy plant has declined precipitously, local businessmen have branched out by refining it into heroin.

Marjah, a district close to the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, is both a Taleban stronghold and the centre of heroin production. The connection is not accidental: the drug trade thrives in areas under insurgency, which protects the trade in return for tribute and taxes.

As the United States gears up for a renewed military effort in Afghanistan, Marjah has become the focus of a major operation to clear out the Taleban and hold the area. It will be a difficult battle: both fighters and those involved in the narcotics industry have much to lose.

“If the Americans come to Marjah, it will be very difficult for us to earn enough to feed our families,” said a 28-year-old worker in a heroin laboratory, who did not want his name to be used. “They have already moved many of the labs up into the mountains, and it is a very long way to go. We are afraid that someone will report us to the Americans. The Taleban say they will fight them, but we do not know what will happen.”

It is difficult to estimate the number of heroin laboratories in Helmand, but in 2007, when the British, American and Afghan forces retook the northern district of Musa Qala from the Taleban, more than 300 were discovered and destroyed, according to government sources.

Drug workers say that Marjah is now much bigger in the heroin trade than Musa Qala ever was. “There are hundreds of labs in Marjah,” said one worker from a heroin processing plant, who did not want to be named.

Heroin laboratories are not technically sophisticated, requiring little more than a heat source and some enamel containers for boiling the raw materials. It demands a steady supply of specific chemicals, mainly acetic anhydride, an acid which is not available in Afghanistan and has to be smuggled.

“It is smuggled in just like heroin is smuggled out,” said one laboratory worker. “Mostly it comes from Iran.”

Those involved in the trade say that Nimroz province, on the border with Iran, is a popular conduit for the substance. Taleban accompany the shipments, say the smugglers, and are well paid for their trouble. Each factory pays between 50,000 and 100,000 Pakistani rupees (590 to 1,180 US dollars) per month to the Taleban, say those involved in the trade.

Pakistan is also a rich source of the acid, says Sher Khan, a laboratory worker from Jalalabad.

“It comes in through Jalalabad,” he said. “If we hit a checkpoint, we say it is common acid. The police don’t know the difference.”

Once processed, the heroin leaves Afghanistan through a well-developed network, say smugglers.

“Most of the heroin goes out through Baramchi and Nimar to Iran,” Sher Khan said. “From there it is taken to Turkey. The heroin routes are very special. No one can smuggle heroin without the Taleban’s permission; if they try, the Taleban will confiscate it. The Taleban get the heroin out through familiar passages, because mines have been planted along other routes.”

For those who work in the heroin laboratories, the money is good.

“They pay me 800 Pakistani rupees (10 dollars) per day,” said one worker, who did not want to be named. “Why would I work anywhere else? I know that I am running a risk – I could be bombed, or attacked, but I have no choice. When the foreigners come to the surrounding villages, we run away and hide. This is the only way we can save ourselves. Now that I am experienced, the owner of the lab will not let me leave. It is very difficult to find good people.”

His friend, who gave his name as Sobhan, was also satisfied with his job.

“The good thing is that we work at night,” he said. “During the day I work on a farm, but I am happy to come here at night. They pay me in cash. And the foreigners cannot find us. We have made very good hideouts. And if the foreigners do come, we will fight them. The Taleban have told us to shoot anyone who comes here during the night when we are working.”

But one young man complained of the difficulties of processing heroin.

“It is harmful,” he insisted. “A lot of people get sick. The weather is hot, and we work close to the fire. I am used to it now, but it was very hard at the beginning. There is no more difficult work than this.”

The owner of a laboratory in Marjah acknowledged that it is difficult to find good help in the heroin trade.

“We openly compete with each other for skilled labour,” he said. “Anyone can do the work, but professionals produce a better product.”

The majority of Marjah residents are involved in the drug trade in one way or another, he added, but still it paid to be careful.

“We have only a few professionals, but not many labourers,” said the owner. “If a smuggler needs a large quantity of heroin he will bring us the labourers. We do not hire people from the street because we do not trust them. They might inform on us to the government.”

He said that the best workers came from Jalalabad – a former centre of opium which has now been declared poppy-free.

To the residents of Marjah, the heroin trade is just business as usual.

“The people here are happy about the heroin labs,” said one man. “The price of opium has declined, and if the price goes down, people’s economic condition deteriorates.”

The price of opium has fallen precipitously, due mostly to overproduction, experts say. Raw opium could fetch as much as 140 dollars per kilogramme in 2007; in 2009, the same quantity went for less than 40 dollars.

The Taleban are not the only ones getting a cut of the action, insisted another resident.

“The government also cooperates with the smugglers,” he said. “The smugglers pay them in order to let the heroin through. The Taleban take money just like the government, but they also let the smugglers rent their vehicles to transport the drugs.”

An official in Helmand’s department of counter-narcotics, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied that the government was involved. He also maintained that the heroin trade was not as large as some have made out.

“We discovered and destroyed many factories this year,” he said. “The business is not as good as people say.”

Aziz Ahmad Tassal is an IWPR reporter in Helmand.

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