Yesterday's Afghan News

Tuesday, March 9, 2010


Gates says US Troops in Southern
Afghanistan to Lead New Fight Against Taliban


U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates

VOA News / March 9, 2010

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has met with members of a U.S. battle unit in southern Afghanistan that suffered heavy losses last year in the fight against the Taliban.

He told the troops they will soon be part of a "decisive phase" in the war.

Gates paid tribute to the sacrifices of the U.S. combat brigade Tuesday as he spoke to soldiers at an outpost about 50 kilometers north of Kandahar city. The brigade has lost 22 soldiers and has seen 62 others wounded since its deployment last year.

Secretary Gates told the troops they will be at the "tip of the spear" when the U.S. military launches an expected offensive against the Taliban in Kandahar province later this year.

He also met with U.S. and British generals overseeing a current operation against Taliban militants in neighboring Helmand province.

Speaking in Kabul Monday, Gates said he was encouraged by the progress of the Marjah offensive, but warned that "very hard fighting" remains ahead for NATO troops.

NATO and Afghan forces have been trying to clear insurgents from the city of Marjah in Helmand province since last month to allow Afghan authorities to take control of the area.

Gates held talks in Kabul with the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, who said his next goal is to retake Kandahar, the Taliban's traditional stronghold.

McChrystal said that, unlike Marjah, the operation to secure Kandahar will be more gradual as Washington sends thousands of additional troops to the region in the coming months.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


Robert Gates warns of 'hard Afghan fight ahead'

BBC News / March 9, 2010

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned that "hard fighting" lies ahead, in his first visit to Afghanistan since the launch of a major offensive there.

After meeting military chiefs overseeing the anti-Taliban operation in southern Helmand province, Mr Gates also said some progress had been made.

Preparations have already begun to secure control of neighbouring Kandahar province, military commanders said.

Additional troops ordered by US President Obama have begun arriving.

About 6,000 of the 30,000 extra forces assigned to Afghanistan have already arrived in Afghanistan. Thousands more are due to arrive over the next few months.

But Mr Gates warned: "People still need to understand there is some very hard fighting, very hard days ahead."

Kandahar target

The offensive in Helmand, targeting the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, has been described as the biggest operation since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 - it involves Nato, US and Afghan troops.

But officials have recently hinted that the current action in Marjah is a "prelude" to a bigger operation.

Nato commander Gen Stanley McChrystal has made it clear that Kandahar is the next priority for troops, once enough reinforcements have arrived.

The general said that, although the district was not under Taliban control, it was "under a menacing Taliban presence, particularly in the districts around it".

The BBC's Chris Morris in Kabul says that, as was the case with Marjah, international commanders are making little effort to conceal plans about where they intend to take the fight to the Taliban.

There is a vast swathe of territory across southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces from which forces want to drive the Taliban before re-establishing a functioning civilian infrastructure, our correspondent says.

But, he adds, military operations are deeply unpopular with local people and military commanders are aware of the need to get the balance right.

Afghan police and government agencies have already started to deploy in and around Marjah but officials warn that the region is not yet totally free from Taliban influence.

On Monday Mr Gates discussed the progress of the operation with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

On Sunday President Karzai visited the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah for the first time since the beginning of the offensive in Helmand.

He promised elders that the town would be rebuilt and appealed to local people for support.


Afghan gov't bans using vehicles with tinted glasses

KABUL, March 9 (Xinhua) -- In efforts to strengthen security in the militancy-hit Afghanistan, the Afghan Interior Ministry has banned using vehicles with tinted glasses, spokesman for the ministry Zamarai Bashari said on Tuesday.

"From now on no one has the right to drive a vehicle with tinted glasses and police have been ordered to tear the tints glued to the windows of automobiles," Bashari told a press briefing here.

The decision has been taken in the wake of increasing security incidents and criminal activities particularly multiple attacks organized by Taliban militants on the capital city Kabul recently.

Afghan officials often use expensive automobiles with tinted glasses and police exempted them from checking.

However, locals believe those with tinted glasses roaming in the city are involved in criminal activities including kidnapping for ransom and terrorist attacks.

Pretend to be government officials, the terrorists and criminal gangs take arms into the city and carry out illegal activities, locals say. "The aim of this decision is to strengthen security in capital Kabul and others cities. There is no exemption and will be applied to all citizens including government officials," Bashari stressed.

The Taliban militants, who have made a bloody comeback four years ago, carried out a series of multiple attacks on Jan. 18 and Feb. 26 leaving dozens of people including civilians and some foreigners dead.


Air strike kills 15 insurgents
in Taliban birthplace: Official

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Air raids against militants' hideouts in Taliban birthplace Kandahar province in south Afghanistan left more than a dozen insurgents dead, said a statement of provincial administration released here Tuesday.

The statement said that acting upon intelligence report, the NATO-led aircrafts raided a hideout of Taliban outfit in Mianshin district on Sunday killing 15 insurgents.

It also asserted that there were no casualties on civilians.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have yet to make comments.

Kandahar in south Afghanistan has been regarded as the Taliban stronghold over the past eight years. Afghan and NATO-led forces, according to officials would soon launch a major operation against Taliban militants in Mianshin and other parts of Kandahar.

Around 15,000 NATO and Afghan soldiers are involved in a massive operation against Taliban in the neighboring Helmand province since Feb. 13 which has left over 120 militants dead.


Huge weapon cache
discovered in NE. Afghan province

KABUL, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Security forces have discovered a huge weapon cache in Faizabad, the capital of peaceful Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan, spokesman for the provincial administration Abdul Marouf Rasikh said Tuesday.

"Containing 296 mortar rounds, 108 mortar fuses, 23 artillery shells, nine boxes of heavy machine gun magazines and 12 fuses of 28 mm shells, the weapon cache was discovered on Monday in Yaftal village outside the provincial capital Faizabad," Rasikh told Xinhua.

No one has been arrested so far in this case, Rasiksh added.

Taliban militants whose regime was toppled by a U.S. led military campaign in late 2001, have been attempting to infiltrate from their traditional hotbed in the southern region to the peaceful northern provinces of Afghanistan.


Afghan forces detain 22 insurgents

KABUL, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have detained 22 suspected insurgents over the past 24 hours, Defense Ministry said in a statement released on Tuesday.

"National security forces backed by the NATO-led troops during series of operations elsewhere in Kandahar, Helmand and Khost provinces have captured 22 insurgents since Sunday," the statement added.

All the suspected terrorists have been handed over to concerned departments for interrogation, it added.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have yet to make comment.


Iranian president to visit Afghanistan on Wednesday

TEHRAN, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Afghanistan on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday.

"It has been decided that the president will visit Afghanistan on Wednesday," Mehmanparast told reporters in his weekly press conference.

The visit will mark Ahmadinejad's first official visit to the country since the re-election of Hamid Karzai as Afghan president.

An unidentified Afghan official said Monday that Ahmadinejad has postponed visit to Afghanistan which is originally scheduled on Monday.


Afghan President to visit Pakistan
for seeking help to hold talks with Taliban

By Hamid Hussain

ISLAMABAD, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai will pay a two-day visit to Pakistan on Wednesday and is expected to officially ask Pakistan for its assistance in the talks with Taliban, political analysts here said.

They said that the president will also seek the extradition of the top Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar from Pakistan to Afghanistan for a court trial.

Sources from Pakistani Foreign Office said that President Karzai will meet his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and some other civil society members.

Anti-terrorism battle, U.S. army surge, repatriation of Afghan refugees and progress in the war-ravaged country will also be discussed during the meeting with Pakistani high-ups, they said.

Analysts believed that Pakistan will raise the issue of border infiltration of militants from Afghanistan and of its missing persons while Afghanistan will seek details for the recovery of the abducted Afghan diplomat Abdul Khaliq Faraakhi.

Afghan Interior Minister Hanif Atmar has asked for Baradar extradition when he held a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik in Islamabad last month. But circumstances changed when a Pakistani court ordered not to hand over Mullah Bardar to any country.

Saleem Safi, a leading journalist and expert on Afghan affairs, told Xinhua that President Karzai's visit is very important because the situation has changed and American authorities have given a green signal for negotiations with Taliban, adding that Pakistan could play a crucial role in the negotiations with Taliban.

It is the first visit of Karzai to Pakistan after he won his second term as President in November 2009, Safi said.

"Approach in Pakistan's policy towards President Karzai has changed too much but there is slight shift in policy towards Afghanistan," said the expert.

Maryana Babar, an analyst on foreign affairs agreed that the visit is very important in the backdrop of the new U.S. policy for Afghanistan, in which Pakistan has asked for a role in the negotiations process.

Babar said that Pakistani Army Chief General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani, in his recent trip to Kabul, told the Afghan government and U.S. authorities that Pakistan could provide training to Afghan troops.

She said that the Afghan president will bring a plan of action and will ask Pakistan's assistance in the process of reconciliation and reintegration with Taliban as Karzai has openly asked Pakistan and the Saudi Arabia for assistance in bringing Afghan Taliban to talk table on the sidelines of London conference in January.


Salarzai lashkar sets fire to
130 Taliban houses in Bajaur

Two pro-government tribal leaders killed in South Waziristan

By Hasbanullah Khan
Daily Times (Pakistan)
March 9, 2010

KHAR/TANK: A Salarzai tribal lashkar on Monday set ablaze 130 Taliban houses in Bajaur Agency, officials said.

One Taliban was killed and nine arrested in a joint operation of the political administration and an armed lashkar of the Salarzai tribe. Official sources told Daily Times that Assistant Political Agent (APA) Iqbal Khattak had decided that action against the Taliban would continue until the agency was purged of all terrorists.

The Salarzai tribal lashkar, consisting of thousands of armed tribesmen, have strictly prohibited the locals from providing shelter to the Taliban. They have announced a Rs 2 million fine for any tribesman helping the terrorists, and warned that violators’ houses would be set on fire.

Attack: Meanwhile, two pro-government tribal leaders were killed while another was injured when some unidentified Taliban blew up their car in Shakai area of South Waziristan, sources said.

Sher Ali and his associates were riding a car in Mazdak, Shaki tehsil, when the Taliban blew it up, killing Ali and Syed Nawaz on the spot. Another tribal leader Abdullah was injured in the blast. The political administration officials took the bodies into their custody and shifted the injured to the local hospital for medical treatment.

The Taliban have been threatening tribal leaders of dire consequences, if they do not stop supporting the government.

Last week, the house of a pro-government tribal elder was blown up in Aliabad area of Hangu.


Japan grants US $19.5 Million
to promote literacy in Afghanistan

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

UNESCO and the Ministry of Education launch 2nd phase of the Programme for Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA 2)

Kabul, 09 March 2010 - UNESCO will receive a grant of US$ 19.5 million from the Government of Japan for the 2nd phase of the Enhancement of Literacy in Afghanistan (ELA 2) programme. The ELA 2, to be jointly implemented by UNESCO and the Ministry of Education, will benefit 300,000 youth and adults, particularly women in rural villages in 15 provinces in Afghanistan.

The official signing ceremony was held in the Ministry of Education today, along with the Ambassador of Japan, Mr Shigeyuki Hiroki, and the Director of UNESCO Kabul office, Mr Shigeru Aoyagi, in the presence of the Afghan Minister of Education, Mr Farooq Wardak. During the ceremony, Mr Aoyagi expressed his deep appreciation to the Government of Japan for its continuous support and the Ministry of Education for its strong initiatives in improving persistent illiteracy problem in Afghanistan.

Nearly three decades of conflict in Afghanistan have resulted in the emergence of an illiterate and non-professional generation who have had limited to no access to education. As a result, Afghanistan has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world, with only 34% of the population being literate. In particular, one of ten women in rural areas cannot read and write. Given the present context, equipping the population with sufficient literacy skills is essential to peaceful, democratic and sustainable nation building in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Ministry of Education developed the National Education Strategic Plan (NESP), which is the national strategic plan for education and identifies literacy as one of its priorities for the recovery and reconstruction of the country. To contribute to achieving the national literacy goals set forth in the NESP, the 1st phase of ELA was launched in March 2008 through a grant from the Government of Japan. The ELA 1 is currently operating in 9 provinces of Afghanistan (Badakhshan, Balkh, Bamiyan, Daikundy, Ghor, Nangarahar, Samangan, Paktika and Wardak), and will provide literacy education to 300,000 youth and adults during a period of three years. To date, approximately 92,000 people have participated in 9 month literacy classes. In addition, construction of Provincial/District Literacy Centre (PLC/DLC), which aims at enhancing institutional capacity of Ministry of Education, particularly its Department of Literacy, was completed in 3 provinces.

In 2009, the Ministry of Education developed NESP II and the National Literacy Action Plan (NLAP) with the support from UNESCO and other partners. While NESP II aims to 'increase the literacy rate of the population aged 15 and over to 48% (43% females and 54% males)' through 'providing literacy courses for 3.6 million learners by 1393/2014 (At least 60% of learners will be women)', the NLAP provides the government, donors and all other literacy stakeholders with a common vision, guiding principles and a sound national strategy that lays out a general framework necessary for the effective implementation of literacy programmes and plans. In line with NESP II and NLAP, the 2nd phase of ELA (ELA 2) will cover an additional 9 new provinces (Badghis, Faryab, Ghazni, Khost, Kunar, Nimroz, Nooristan, Urozgan and Zabul) and 6 provinces from the 1st phase, in which a further 300,000 youth and adults will participate in the literacy programme and selected graduates will be trained in skills development.

Literacy is a fundamental human right and its contribution towards social, economic and political benefit is well documented. Furthermore, empowering disadvantaged people through literacy will play a crucial role in building peace in Afghanistan. Through its 1st and 2nd phases, ELA will greatly contribute to building peace in Afghanistan and ensuring enhancement of individual life skills and community development throughout the country.

For further information please contact:

Mohammad Amin Sadiqi, Public Information Officer, Kabul

a.sadiqi@unesco.org
Tel: +93 (0) 799 125292
www.unesco.org/kabul


New journalism training
hub in Jalalabad swings into action

By Tilak Pokharel, UNAMA

9 March 2010 - Barely a month into its existence, a regional journalism training hub in Jalalabad has already trained 13 broadcast journalists from four provinces of eastern Afghanistan as of last week.

The training hub, one of just two in the country, is run by a local media development organization called Nai.

Nai conducted a series of trainings for local journalists in the lead up to last year’s presidential elections with support from international media development organization, Internews whose mission is “to empower local media worldwide.”

“We want practical training for journalists,” said Parisa Saadatmand of Internews who has been advising the Jalalabad office of Nai. “We just hope for the success,” she added.

The other hub dedicated to training journalists is being set up in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The topics covered in the six-day-long training were, among others, news values and ethics, working for radio, interview skills, technical writing, reading and producing a radio story.

A needs assessment was conducted prior to the establishment of the training hub so as to know how best “we can cater to the people’s needs,” said Ms Saadatmand.

Nai and Internews are working together to develop modules for specialized and basic journalism training.

Also, the hub is going to have a multimedia studio for training soon.

Ziar Samim, 18, one of the youngest journalists to receive the first training at the hub, said he learned in the training that journalism is a “fact job.”

“We learned how radio journalism is different from print journalism,” said Mr Samim, who works for local Spinghar Radio as a reporter covering social and development issues.

Another participant, Hamidullah Hashimi of Jala Radio, said interview techniques and handling equipment were some of the new skills he has learned from the training.

Nai’s two “experienced trainers” – Nazibullah Nayel and Shama Ahmadzai – gave the training to the first batch.

Mr Nayel said the training he gives at the hub is “more focused and in-depth,” adding that the participants are asking for more and more advanced form of training.

“The trainers are amazing and the participants are passionate about their work,” said Ms Saadatmand.

Talking about the participants’ absorption in the training, she said: “I was observing (a practical exercise) on ethical conundrum. They were discussing. One was saying ‘this’ and the other said, ‘No, we should do that.’ And the first one said, ‘Oh, I had never thought about that.’”

Journalists of eastern Afghanistan’s budding media industry – which is much needed in Afghanistan’s transition -- are also upbeat about the newly established training hub.

“Journalists here just have basic skills,” said Abdul Moid Hashimi, vice president of a journalists association in Jalalabad.

Mr Hashimi, who works as a reporter for the Pajhwok Afghan News, said the local journalists need rigorous and in-depth training to hone their skills.

Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the spokesperson of the Nangarhar provincial governor, hopes that the new training hub will provide “comprehensive” training to local journalists.

“It’s so important to have a training hub for journalists. Some journalists need training on report writing while others need photojournalism and video training,” he said.

One year down the line after the hub trains local journalists, Ms Saadatmand expects to see the media persons do their job “more professionally and with more understanding,” and with more inclusion of women in the media field.

“We also want to see journalists from different regions meet and discuss ethical concerns, challenges and success,” she added.


Diverse cultures blend well in Afghanistan

By Tilak Pokharel and Shafiqullah Waak, UNAMA

9 March 2010 - It wasn’t just the Muslims of Jalalabad who celebrated the holy festival of Eid with pomp and jubilation in the last week of November 2009.

In downtown Jalalabad, minority Hindu-Sikhs were also euphoric about the festival of their Muslim neighbours.

They reached their Muslim brothers’ homes with stacks of big packets wrapped in a white piece of cloth.

Each packet called “thali” contained a big rectangular-shaped steel tray filled with a variety of locally-made chocolates and a piece of cloth for making shirts and pyjamas.

The long list of recipients of the gift also included the powerful governor of Nangarhar Province, Gul Agha Sherzai, and government department heads.

Earlier that month, Muslims went to the homes of Hindu-Sikhs and their temple called Gurudwara, to greet them on the occasion of Puranmasi, one of the two biggest festivals, which is the birthday of their God incarnation, Guru Nanak.

This is how the two diverse communities blend together, maintaining a symbiotic relationship and at the same time preserving their cultural identity, in Pashtun-dominated Jalalabad.

“We have an excellent relationship with our Muslim brothers here,” said Dr Harmeet Singh, 36, who is the spokesperson of the Jalalabad Gurudwara.

Dr Singh, a medical doctor by profession, who graduated from the Nangarhar University, said the Gurudwara also runs a free medical dispensary, which is open to everyone regardless of their religious and ethnic views.

However, in the past, things were not as rosy as they are now.

The head of the Gurudwara, Rawail Singh, said over 26,000 Sikh families – with about 8,000 families in Nangarhar Province alone – were scattered across Afghanistan 30 years ago.

Besides Nangarhar, their concentration was mostly in Kabul, Ghazni, Kandahar, Kunduz and Helmand.

“The number is just 160 in this province now,” said Mr Singh, who holds an MA in Pashto literature.

“After the war started, they came to the cities from districts and then moved to other countries,” he says, recalling that the Sikhs and the Hindus were forced to flee during the mujahideen period.

He said thousands of missiles landed in their communities. “I also had a home, but I sold it. Before the mujahideen period, there was no religion dividing Muslims and non-Muslims.”

In a single incident on 8 March 1989, a rocket in the Gurudwara killed 18 people.

He said with a sigh of relief that relations are better now. “However, there are some crooks who take joy in seeing others fight. But, the majority are good.”

Dr Singh said some people make fun of their appearance, with their unique turban.

Underlining the historical significance of the place, Mr Singh said that Guru Nanak lived for 40 days in the place where the Gurudwara stands now, in 1520.

There are two Gurudwaras and one Hindu temple in Jalalabad city.

The Hindu-Sikhs, who are mostly traders and businessmen, also earn praise from local Muslims.

Daud Wafa, a senior lecturer of literature at Nangarhar University, said the cultural diversity promotes development. “They can play a very good role in the economy,” said Mr Wafa, who is also a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Admitting that the cultural minorities like the Sikhs had serious problems during the first years of the mujahideen regime, the Government and the mujahideen later realized that “these people are very quiet and they don’t create problems”.

The Sikhs have demanded with the government certain facilities like waiver of electricity bills of their Gurudwaras as is the case with mosques.

But, Mr Wafa said the Government is not ignorant towards minority rights, but it hasn’t met their demands because the Government lacks adequate resources.

“Government is not able to solve all their problems,” he said. “But, it’s in no way related to ethnicity or religion.”

But, the Sikhs regret that they are forced to send their children to India, among other countries, to study because there is no school in Afghanistan for them.

Assadullah Musafer, an officer with UNAMA’s Governance section, says Hindus, Sikhs and Pasai tribe make the cultural minority in eastern Afghanistan. “Most of these minorities mix well with the Pashtuns, which constitute about 99 per cent of the population,” said Mr Musafer. “They preserve their cultural identities, but the minority people other than the Sikhs are not visible in the public.”

A few yards from the Gurudwara across the road, 18-year-old Farhad, who owns a general store, says both communities have benefited from each other’s presence there.

“We eat together when they invite us for dinner/lunch parties or participate in the ceremonies in their houses during festivals,” said Mr Farhad.

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