On September 5, 2002, an Afghan security guard tried to kill the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, in the southern city of Kandahar. He was saved by his American bodyguards who killed three men. Hamid Karzai is now seen for what he really is: an imposed American puppet. Many Afghan people, fractions, and warlords would like to reduce the American influence in their country, and Karzai is in the way. Now he has probably more enemies than friends in his own country. This shows that the US has done a poor job in pacifying Afghanistan.
On July 6, 2002, the Afghan Vice-President and Minister for Public Works, Haji Abdul Qadir, was killed in Kabul as he left his ministry. Qadir, an ethnic Pashtun, was gunned down by automatic fire. The identities of his killers were not immediately known. He was a warlord, governor of a province, an entrepreneur, but also a rare Pashtun who had good relations with the Tajik of the Northern Alliance. It is a big loss for President Hamid Karzai. Thousand of Afghans assembled at the graveyard in the eastern city of Jalalabad for his funeral. His body was drawn on a gun carriage from the White Mosque to the cemetery.
Afghanistan is preparing itself for the return of the tourists. The first tour organised by a British travel agency should take place in August 2002. Travelling in this war-ravaged country is still very risky but some people are ready to go. The main interest of these early tourists is said to be architecture, anthropology, and archaeology rather that seeing the effects of the war.
On August 13, 2002, the Iranian President, Mohammad Khatami, went to Kabul, where he was received with honour by the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. He said that Iran had handed over to their government all presumed al-Qaida fighters who escaped to Iran. This confirmed that 16 Saudi nationals were sent back to their home country. In a press conference he said that Iran had a longer experience fighting terrorism than the USA. But he also added with clear reference to the US: "Fighting terrorism should not mean imposing the will of one country unilaterally on other countries of the world". This visit was the first by an Iranian head of state in 40 years. He offered Afghanistan an aid package worth $500 m as well as help in fighting opium production.
On August 20, 2002, the British government offered up to £2,500 to the Afghan families -£600 to the single person- that were living in Britain on a temporary basis (asylum seekers) if they accepted to go home on a voluntary basis. This offer was valid for 6 months, and up to 20,000 people were involved. In addition the government would also pay the travel costs. It was foreseen that up to 1,000 people could accept the offer straight away. The Refugee Council and Amnesty International have reservations on this proposal. Even if Afghanistan is not considered safe enough for the return of refugees, between 1 and 2 millions have already come back from Iran and Pakistan.
On September 9, 2002, the young son of the Afghan resistance leader Ahmad Shah Masood participated, together with many people, to a ceremony in Kabul commemorating the death of his father, two days before September 11, 2001. At that two suicide bombers posing as journalists murdered Masood, 48 years old, a hero of the war against the Russians, and a leader of the resistance to the Taliban. Al-Qaida is believed to have been behind the killing. If he had not been killed, he would probably now lead Afghanistan, as he was very popular.
One year after the war in Afghanistan started and nine months after the international community promised $5.2bn worth of aid over five years -in addition to reconstruction assistance- very little has been done. Afghanistan expected a total of $1.8bn this year, but until now -October 2002- less that half has been given, and the prospect of a war in Iraq does not prelude well for the future. Meanwhile the Afghan people were still suffering, and their government has little authority outside Kabul. In conclusion, the US and Britain should finish the Afghan campaign, as they said they would, before engaging in another costly war in Iraq.
In the first few days of November 2002, the Afghan people were rushing to the banks to change their cash as the value of their money, the Afghani, is devaluating fast, 49 % in the last few weeks. This was due in part to the decision of the government to exchange the present Afghani for new ones that would be worth 1,000 old ones. However, it is not clear if enough new money has been printed. It is not clear either how much old ones are in circulation and the exchange procedure is complex, due in part to the time required to count the old currency that exist mainly in small denomination. After the Taliban defeat in December 2001 one US dollar was worth 14,000 Afghani; now the US dollar is worth between 56,000 and 60,000 old Afghani. It is understandable why the people are not so much interested exchanging their old Afghani for new ones; they prefer to exchange them for US dollars.
President Hamid Karzai showed some signs of authority by dismissing about 20 low level provincial civil servants and army officials accused of wrongdoings, such as drug trafficking, corruption, or not doing their job. This is a beginning but a lot remains to be done.
For the first time the Afghan students rioted in Kabul asking for restoration of the water and electricity supplies in their derelict dormitories; they also complained about the quality of the food they receive. They threw stones at the police who opened fire, killing four students and wounding dozens of others.
In Afghanistan, in December 2002, the Afghan women are being treated the same way as they were under the Taliban regime. This was true especially outside Kabul and in the small villages. They still cannot talk with men outside their close family and, on the street, they have to be fully covered by a burqa. They also have problem finding a school.
In January 2003, President Bush declared Afghanistan a "least developed beneficiary" country; a move that will allow Afghanistan to exports 5,700 products into the US.
The Afghan national army now has 1,725 trained recruits (January 7, 2003) and it is planned to increase their number to 9,000 by early 2004. The aim is to have a force of 70,000 soldiers that would then be able to control the whole country. This will not happen before 2007.
On January 18, 2003, an important Afghan warlord, Padsha Khan Zadran, who opposed the American-backed government of Hamid Karzai, might finally agree to back the central government. Zadran, a Pashtun tribesman from eastern Afghanistan, helped the US in their war against the Taliban and al-Qaida, but now he is a kind of independent warlord again.
On May 9, 2003, the US deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, was in Kabul where he promised that the USA would help the reconstruction of the country at the same time that it would help Iraq. This was an answer to the persistent criticism that the Bush administration had lost interest in Afghanistan. He admitted that the situation in the country was "difficult" and that little had been done to help its reconstruction and provide security, especially outside Kabul. The Afghans accuse Bush of being obsessed with hunting down the remains of al-Qaida and Taliban fugitives at the expense of helping the ordinary Afghan people. They also claim that much of the money promised has never reached Afghanistan. There were demonstrations in Kabul lately to protest against the lack of jobs and security.
On May 19, 2003, President Hamid Karzai threatened to resign if Afghanistan regional governors go on hoarding custom revenues instead of handing them to the central government. This shows how little power he has outside Kabul. In the provinces the rebellious warlords (such as Ismail Khan in Heart and Abdul Rashid Dostum in Mazar-i-Sharif) and religious fundamentalists still control the land.
On May 23, 2003, the Afghan vice-Defence minister, Abdul Rashid Dostom, became military adviser of President Hamid Karzai. Dostom is an ex-general, pro-communist, and he heads the "Uzbek" militia of Jumbesh. He controls a big part of northern Afghanistan and he is one of the more powerful warlords of the country.
On June 6, 2003, we were told that the south of Afghanistan is again the theatre of big battles between the local warlords, ex-Taliban, and the pro-government forces. As a result insecurity and violence are the normality in this region and especially in the province of Kandahar, near the Pakistani border. This is also the home ground of Mullah Omar, the spiritual head of the Taliban, and a friend of Osama bin Laden. Many fighters are killed and wounded on both sides. It seems that these guerrilla fighters are moving into Afghanistan from Quetta in Pakistan where they were hiding since they lost the war. It is possible that the Pakistani government is pushing them out of the country. The Pakistani cannot let the Americans chase them on their own land due to the Islamic political strength, especially in the border regions. Moreover Pakistan needs to have Afghanistan on its side in the dispute with India over Kashmir, as it was during the Taliban regime.
In the last days of June 2003, bombs and rockets were fired in Jalalabad and Kandahar. Mr Straw visiting Afghanistan met President Hamid Karzai who complained that the international community was not providing enough money for reconstruction. Of the $5bn promised, only $1.8bn has arrived. He also asked that the international forces operate beyond Kabul. Mr Straw discussed also the opium problem; its production dropped to a low level under the Taliban regime, but since it has come back to its pre-war level, if not higher.
Jack Straw left a rather peaceful Afghanistan capital, Kabul, on July 1, 2003, for a short visit to Kandahar, the former heartland of the Taliban. He saw that the Taliban are still powerful there; travel is dangerous, corruption is the rule, opium production is back to normal and a local warlord, Gul Agha Sherzai, not nominated by the central government, is the provincial governor. The day before Straw's arrival a grenade wounded 19 people in the Abdurrab Mosque whose Mullah, Abdullah Fyaz, is a critic of the Taliban. People there complain about the lack of law and order, the un-kept financial promises and commitment made by Blair and other politicians, and the high level of unemployment. The Afghan rebel leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who came back to Afghanistan from Iran last year, is urging Afghans to "cut off the hands of the foreign meddlers", and drive all foreign troops out of the country. This shows that the resistance is directed to the US-led troops as well as to the puppet president, Hamid Karzai.
At the end of July 2003, the situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating even more every day as a result of the coalition policy. Improving the situation would require enough peacekeeping soldiers bringing order to all the country. At the present time, they only are located in the capital Kabul and its neighbourhood, and the warlords are running most of the country; they have their own army, they are fighting between themselves, they collect the tax -imposing their own-, and they ignore completely the central government. Some of the most important warlords are also in the government, but they act independently; this is the case, for instance, of Mohammed Fahim, the minister of Defence. The Americans are still paying the warlords to combat the remaining Taliban and al-Qaida in their territories. Hamid Karzai, the leader imposed by the US, has no authority over them even if he does what he can, which is very little. Free elections should take place within one year, but it is not certain if they can be organised.
On September 7, 2003, Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, arrived in Afghanistan to bolster president Hamid Karzai's government that had become more and more emarginated by the continuous attacks by the so-called ex-Taliban or new al-Qaida fighters. Both men agreed that the number of NATO peacekeepers should be increased and urged to act in all the country, but Rumsfeld added that security was an Afghan responsibility. At the present time there are about 18,000 US soldiers and 5,000 peacekeepers in Afghanistan; in addition the US is spending $900m a month on military operations and $900m a year on economic assistance and training of the Afghan army. Mr Karzai has delayed by two months the approval of the new constitution. This could also postpone the free election expected in June next year.
On October 5, 2003, The Observer related how the Afghan women are still being badly treated in their country. With the Taliban regime gone, it was said that women would be free, but it is still rarely the case, especially outside Kabul. Women wearing burqas, we were told, would soon be something of the past, but this is yet far from the general rule. However many more women can now go to school and work, but their rights are still limited. The Americans, as usual, made a lot of promises, but as soon as they stopped bombing, they left the Afghans alone, and forgot the promises. Amnesty International maintains that most Afghan women are still subject to men violence and abuses that, generally, go unpunished.
On November 29, 2003, President Hamid Karzai said that his country was facing three main problems: terrorism, drugs production and trafficking, and provincial warlords. The 11,600 US led-coalition troops are fighting terrorism especially in the provinces at the border with Pakistan. The west had promised to help rebuilt Afghanistan -economically and politically- but nothing much has been done.
On December 4, 2003, Donald Rumsfeld met with two Afghan warlords, General Rashid Dostum and the Uzbek General Attah Mohammad, to request that they disarm. These two warlords fought with the US troops against the Taliban and are not ready to comply.
On December 9, 2003, the Red Cross asked a budget of $716m for next year, $27m less that last year due to the improving situation in Afghanistan. They will continue their risky operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other dangerous countries.
On March 30, 2004, Hamid Karzai said that he saw no way of building a "safer and better" Afghanistan unless the international community gives him £15bn over the next seven years for its reconstruction. Karzai was speaking the day before the opening of a two-days conference that will take place in Berlin on March 31 and April 1. More than 50 countries will be represented but the probably he will get this amount of money is small. He added that the drug trade was a threat to his country, as it could become the only financial resource if no help is given.
On April 7, 2004, it became known that the warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum's 3,000 Afghan soldiers have crossed into Faryab province to rein in the governor and the military command, both Hamid Karzai's allies. On April 8, Dostum's troops took over the capital of the province, Maimana. Such a confrontation between a warlord and the government occurred already one month before in Herat. There, the warlord Ismail Khan, following a bloody battle with pro-government fighters, took over the city. Obviously Hamid Karzai has still no authority outside Kabul. Dostum's troops have taken over the whole province, threatening the stability of the whole country. On April 9 he refused to back down. Dostum asked President Hamid Karzai to sack some officials including the Defence Minister, Mohammad Qasim Fahim, adding that if he refuses the government will fall. Apparently government troops have restored order in the capital Maimana, but not in the rest of the province.
On May 2, 2004, we were told that three young girls in the province of Khost, eastern Afghanistan, were in poor condition in hospital after being poisoned by so-called militants for going to school. In the recent months there has been quite a few attacks on girls' schools, above all in the south.
In July 2004, Afghan President Hamid Karzai fired his vice-president, Marshal Mohammad Fahim, one of the country's most powerful warlords. In September, Karzai sacked Ismail Khan, as the governor of Heart, another influential warlord. The moves were designed to expand the influence of the central government. Yet, at the end of September 2004, it is obvious that both sackings have failed to produce the desired effect.
On July 12, 2004, President Hamid Karzai said that the warlords and private militias -that did the dirty work for the American soldiers during the invasion of Afghanistan- are now considered to be the greatest threat to the country security, even greater than the Taliban. This follows the decision to delay for a second time the presidential elections until October 9 and to postpone the parliamentary elections until next spring, all of this justified by the increasing violence in the country. Karzai estimates that the warlords have about 50,000 militiamen at their disposal. Taliban have been blamed for the recent violence but the warlords are taking advantages of the degraded situation outside Kabul.
On July 7, 2004, a four-year-old boy was killed and another child was wounded when a vehicle attempted to run a U.S. checkpoint in western Baghdad. The man driving the vehicle tried to pass by other waiting cars and didn't obey an order to stop. The man, once he was apprehended, said the brakes on his car weren't working. U.S. soldiers then tested the car and found the brakes worked well.
On July 12, 2004, President Hamid Karzai said that the warlords and private militias -that did the dirty work for the American soldiers during the invasion of Afghanistan- are now considered to be the greatest threat to the country security, even greater than the Taliban. This follows the decision to delay for a second time the presidential elections until October 9 and to postpone the parliamentary elections until next spring, all of this justified by the increasing violence in the country. Karzai estimates that the warlords have about 50,000 militiamen at their disposal. Taliban have been blamed for the recent violence but the warlords are taking advantages of the degraded situation outside Kabul.
On July 29, 2004, the British Common Foreign Affairs Select Committee said that Afghanistan could fall apart unless Nato countries send more troops soon. Violence is increasing ahead of the presidential election foreseen for October and this could lead the country to implode. The committee also expressed concern over Iraq's stability in their report "Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism". In it they said "Iraq has become a battleground for al-Qaida with appalling consequences for the Iraqi people". They also noted the complete failure in the battle to eliminate poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. The British are heading this fight but without success, the drug production has increased notably since the Taliban defeat.
On August 16, 2004, the US military said that it is ready to help the authorities to stop factional violence in western Afghanistan, where fighting killed at least 20 people on August 14 and 15. Forces loyal to Herat Governor, Mohammad Ismail Khan, and his rival, Amanullah Khan, had been fighting in the Herat and Badghis provinces over the past several days but the situation was calm today. The Afghan government has sent more than 400 soldiers into the region to stop the unrest
Despite promises to the contrary, at the middle of August 2004, it is plain that Washington did not have a coherent strategy for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Mr. Rumsfeld and his top Defence Department officials are now saying that from the outset of the war in 2001, the US focus in Afghanistan would be almost exclusively be on the military matters: the defeat of the Taliban regime, the hunt for al-Qaida operatives and the subsequent redeployment of as many troops as possible to Iraq. Afterward, scant attention -and far too little money- was devoted to such crucial problems as how to extend the rule of law throughout the country, disarm the warlords who still control huge parts of territory, and develop the institutions needed to allow a functioning democracy and a national economy. It is in this economic and political vacuum that the drug trade flourishes.
On August 18, 2004, US government officials helped broker a ceasefire between two rival militia commanders in western Afghanistan. Forces supporting Commander Amanullah were reported to have moved within 20km of the city of Heart after overpowering troops controlled by the provincial governor, Ismail Khan. Shops and businesses closed, and foreign workers were told to stay in their compounds. The situation has calmed down for the moment with reports that the ceasefire is holding.
On August 24, 2004, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he had been in touch with a senior Taliban official ahead of the elections and will meet him "soon". Karzai added that he was in contact with former Taliban foreign minister Wakeel Ahmed Mutawakil. Karzai and Mutawakil, considered a moderate in the hardline regime, discussed ideas on how to strengthen peace in Afghanistan.
The United States told NATO allies on August 25, 2004, it is sending 110 more soldiers to help strengthen the alliance peacekeeping force in Afghanistan ahead of the country's key presidential elections in October. The infantry company, equipped with lightly armoured vehicles, will form a quick reaction force in support of NATO's mission in the Afghan capital, Kabul. NATO leaders agreed at a June summit to a request from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to reinforce the alliance's 6,500-strong peacekeeping force for the election. Spain and Italy last month said they would to provide the bulk of the extra troops by sending a battalion each - more than 1,500 soldiers in total. The United States is helping airlift the reinforcements to Afghanistan.
On August 28, 2004, the Afghan government and Western officials were trying to use a recent attack against the governor of the western province of Herat to remove him before the presidential elections scheduled for October. The removal of the governor, Ismail Khan, is part of a broader plan to reorder politically the western part of the country, which has been plagued by clashes since June. One of the commanders who attacked Mr. Khan two weeks ago was brought to Kabul on Friday as the first step of that plan, which aims to disarm the remaining militias in the region and to install new governors and security officials in Herat and neighbouring provinces. The Afghan National Army and American forces intervened because they feared that the city, also called Herat, was going to fall to his rival, Amanullah Khan. Ismail Khan's position is so fragile that if he does not leave Herat now, his region could become ungovernable. The implication was that this time, neither the central government nor the Americans would step in to save him. Ismail Khan was being offered several positions in the central government in Kabul. "He deserves a position of respect, this is a man who has given a lot of his life and part of his family to Afghanistan." Ismail Khan has rebuffed earlier attempts to lure him to Kabul but he could change his mind this time.
On August 28, 2004, Afghan government officials have confirmed that a renegade militia commander, Amanullah Khan, has been brought to Kabul from western Herat province. Mr. Amanullah's troops clashed with forces loyal to provincial Governor Ismail Khan, increasing security concerns in the region ahead of the presidential elections in October. A US-brokered cease-fire halted the advance of Mr. Amanullah's forces on the provincial capital 10 days ago. It is not clear whether the renegade commander is under some form of arrest, but the Afghan government said that Mr. Amanullah agreed to be brought to Kabul.
On August 28, 2004, President Hamid Karzai asked Pakistani religious leaders to use their influence over the Taliban to ensure that the on October 9 elections are peaceful. The government is considering sending Maulana Fazlur-Rehman, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) general secretary and chief of his own Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) faction, to convince the Taliban. Taliban insurgents, operating mainly in the ethnic Pashtun belt in south and southeastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border, have attacked election offices, killed electoral workers and vowed to disrupt the polls. President Karzai, a Pashtun, is depending on these areas for votes. President Karzai is also trying to negotiate with Taliban leaders; he already admitted that he was in touch with a senior Taliban official, the former foreign minister Wakeel Ahmed Mutawakil.
Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah arrived in the Uzbek capital on August 29, 2004, for an official visit aimed at improving regional relations with his country's Central Asian neighbours. At a press conference in Tashkent, Abdullah said the future of Afghanistan "depends on the level of relations with our neighbours." He added that the Afghan government wanted to create a modern Silk Road, which would see Afghanistan once again becoming a transit country between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The struggle against terrorism and the drug trade were also central issues in his meetings with Uzbek authorities, including Prime Minister Shankat Mirziev and Foreign Minister Sadyk Safaev. The two sides signed joint protocols on creating an Uzbek-Afghan commission on trade and economic relations, on increasing transit and transport cooperation, and allowing for consultations between their respective foreign ministries.
On September 1, 2004, Afghanistan foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi, detailing the use of a 400 million dollars reconstruction package. India has been a major partner in Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts since the fall of the Taliban regime after September 11, 2001. India has pledged funds to improve Afghanistan's infrastructure, health facilities, transportation networks, power transmission, and educational institutions. Indian officials will also train Afghan diplomats under the same agreement.
On September 1, 2004, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is planning to extend 600 million US dollars in assistance to Afghanistan over the next three years. The loan from the ADB's Asian Development Fund, prepared in collaboration with the Afghan government and totalling 570 million dollars over the three years will be used to finance 12 programs and projects. Additional grant assistance amounting to 30 million dollars will come from the ADB's technical assistance special fund. The three-year program will continue to support economic growth, poverty reduction, reconstruction and development. The 12 projects and programs concern natural resources, transport, energy, the financial sector and public sector.
Afghanistan needs billions in aid and several more years will be necessary to rebuild the country after 30 years of war, the American ambassador to the country said on September 2, 2004.
On September 3, 2004, the Asian Development Bank granted $750,000 to help Afghanistan improve its gas supply. The money will be used to draw a plan to establish an independent regulator for gas supply and help it drawing laws and regulations. The Manila-based bank said Afghanistan is rich in natural gas -its potential gas reserves are estimated at 120 billion cubic meters- but the country currently only produces 600,000 cubic meters a day, a quarter of its output in the 1980s.
On September 4, 2004, President Hamid Karzai lauded Afghanistan's 3 million former refugees for "voting with their feet" by returning to support their homeland's budding democracy. But in the eyes of many returnees - who will cast key votes in the incoming elections- the US-backed leader has failed to provide assistance to those who come home. While foreign security forces and aid workers fret about militant bombings, many former refugees have more basic concerns: a place to live and a job. The capital is buckling under the problems. About 27 percent of the returnees since the Taliban fell in 2001 have settled in the city, whose population has tripled to an estimated 3-4 million.
In theory, Afghanistan's constitution guarantees women political and economic equal rights with the men, eradicating the legacy of Taliban rule that reduced their status virtually to that of non-persons. Implementing those guarantees is proving difficult in September 2004 amid Afghanistan's ongoing uncertainty. A few Afghan women are making the most of whatever economic opportunities are open to them such as craft making.
On September 12, 2004, protesters angered at President Hamid Karzai's sacking of a warlord governor in the west of the country ransacked U.N. compounds and clashed with security forces, leaving as many as three people dead and dozens wounded, including three US troops who were hit with stones.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a bid to extend his control across the country ahead of the October 9 presidential elections, on Saturday September 11, 2004, replaced Ismael Khan, the governor of Heart, with a little-known diplomat, Syed Mohammad Khirkhah. The replacement triggered a violent demonstration and hundreds of Heratis took to the streets and denounced the change as unacceptable.
The newly appointed governor of Heart in west Afghanistan, Syed Mohammad Khirkhah, assumed office amid tight security and increasing violence Sunday September 12, 2004. Afghan Vice President Niamatullah Sharani who introduced the new governor to provincial authorities at a heavily guarded ceremony returned to Kabul, presumably for security reasons, the same day. Many officials have also left the city. The ousted former governor Ismael Khan was absent. Rumors have circulated that the defiant former warlord was kept under US custody, but this could not be independently verified. Khan, the strongman of west Afghanistan, who has been appointed Minister for Mines and Industries Saturday, is reluctant to accept the new post. He said he would give up governorship but prefer to stay at home instead of assuming the new charge. Khan's removal triggered unexpected violence as hundreds of his supporters took to the streets Saturday evening and Sunday. At least five people, including a soldier of the Afghan National Army (ANA), have been killed. Beside chanting anti-Karzai and anti-US slogans, the protesters attacked, vandalized, and set fire to offices of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), UN Refugees Agency (UNHCR), and many others offices including those of the Pakistani consulate in the city.
President Hamid Karzai told an election rally on Saturday September 18, 2004 that the foreign troops would remain in Afghanistan until the Afghan forces can insure stability. "Even now we have only managed to keep them here with thousands of pleadings and lamentations," he said about the 17,000 foreign troops stationed in Kabul. Some Afghans, however, look with suspicion on the process, believing the US favours a weak Afghan army to justify their presence. Radio Tehran meanwhile reported that Karzai has threatened to leave the country if the demands for his stepping down were not stopped.
Afghanistan took its first steps towards a capital market with an auction Sunday September 19, 2004, of capital notes, which will allow the country's banks to determine a market-driven interest rate. The overnight rate of the Afghanistan Bank's Capital notes was set at 3.5% and the one-month lending rate at 3.6%. Previously bureaucratic and political decisions rather than market forces set the country's interest rates. The notes are the first short-term capital instrument in the embryonic banking system and will sharply increase liquidity.
On September 21, 2004, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai speaking to the United Nations General Assembly says terrorism is one of the main challenges still faced by his country. Mr. Karzai said Afghanistan still has some of the highest poverty and illiteracy rates in the world. He called for continued commitment by other nations.
Afghanistan, not Iraq, will likely be the primary focus of NATO's fight against terrorism for a generation to come, Canada's ambassador said Thursday September 23, 2004. While the United States has directed its military power and 130,000 troops to Iraq, NATO's primary global theatre in the fight against terrorism remains Afghanistan. The complicated task of stabilizing the country will take years, Juneau added, noting that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been stationed in Bosnia for 13 years.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday September 24, 2004, said that it would help Afghanistan to stimulate private sector activity and attract foreign direct investment by co-financing an investment guarantee facility. The ADB said in a statement that it had approved a 5 million US dollars loan and a guarantee of 10 million dollars to provide political risk guarantees to eligible investors and financiers. Citing an analysis by the World Bank, the ADB said that there is an encouraging potential level of foreign direct investment in Afghanistan, with demand coming from sectors such as energy, telecommunications, Internet services, banking, hotels, housing, food and agribusiness, textile, steel, oil and gas, and mining. Although the international community is exerting considerable efforts to support Afghanistan's rebuilding and development, available official flows are not enough to sustain the reconstruction effort.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai travelled north on Sunday September 26, 2004, to inaugurate a road project, his first domestic trip since he survived a rocket attack 10 days ago. This journey was not officially a part of his election campaign. However the visit to Shiberghan, 250 miles northwest of the capital, Kabul, was widely seen as a campaign trip in all but name, with Karzai keen to open reconstruction projects and counter criticism he has done little to improve infrastructure in outlying areas.
Afghanistan must break out of its vicious cycle of insecurity, informal economy, and drugs to end the poverty and violence that plagued the country for three decades, the World Bank said on September 26, 2004 in its first report of Afghanistan in 25 years. The World Bank added that up to 90 per cent of Afghanistan was an informal economy, denying the government of much needed taxes, and other revenue necessary to develop the country. Furthermore, most donors' funding does not cover the cost of crucial government administrative functions.
The Unified Energy Systems of Russian (EES Rossii) said on September 27, 2004, that it could enter Afghanistan's energy system via Tajikistan. "Afghanistan is even now receiving electric energy from Tajikistan that is in turn connected to Russia. EES Rossii could join China's energy system.
As part of its € 400 million package to Afghanistan for 2003-04, the European Commission has adopted on October 1, 2004, a proposal for a Sixth Reconstruction Programme with a total budget of € 34 million. The purpose of this Programme is to enhance the living conditions of the ordinary Afghan population, with a particular focus on rural poverty and restoration of farming activities. This Programme will continue to contribute to the restoration of political stability and stronger public administration, promote respect for the rule of law and human rights, especially those of women, and alleviate poverty by improving levels of economic activity. The Programme underlines the Commission's continuing commitment to the rebuilding of Afghanistan, as the country approaches its landmark Presidential election, to be held on 9 October.
The Global Humanitarian Agency CARE International on October 8, 2004 warned
that Afghanistan's elections should not be seen as the solution to its troubles
as the country's future remains threatened by corruption, lack of rule of
law, and the drugs trade.
What Afghanistan needs is:
- Disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of ex-combatants must be
significantly stepped up. Increased efforts are urgently necessary to find
different means of making a living for poor farmers who are cultivating
poppies.
- Improving irrigation systems to make alternative crops possible is a priority.
- The support of the international community will be critical to carry out
these decisions and to help Afghanistan make progress.
- The power of the drug lords, commanders, warlords and anti-government
elements with a vested interest in insecurity must be reduced. However they
will still be well armed and motivated to pursue their divisive activities.
The number of armed men in private militias is estimated to be around 60-100,000
even if, as of 6 September, approximately 16,000 ex-combatants have been
demobilised. At the same time, there are only 13,000 recruits in the Afghan
National Army against a target of 70,000 by 2005. The figures are similar
when it comes to the amount of trained Afghan police and border guards,
who currently number only 20,000.
The US would like a more active role for India in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, but ruled out any security role for New Delhi, saying it could lead to "power politics". US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad also told a group of visiting Indian journalists here that there was no possibility of any immediate disengagement by Washington from the country.
The government of India as part of its contribution in rebuilding post-war Afghanistan has decided, on October 13, 2004, to help build a parliament house for the post-Taliban central Asian state. This building with an estimation of 20 million US dollars will be built near the Darul Aman Palace in southwest Kabul. The first-ever Afghan parliamentary election is expected to be held in 2005.
The United States is trying to fast-track Afghanistan's objective of having a 70,000-strong army within five years, the American envoy to Kabul said on Friday October 15, 2004. Khalilzad added that German-led efforts to train Afghan police personnel would also be stepped up. Last year, 20,000 Afghan police personnel were trained. The United States has nearly 9,000 troops in Afghanistan. They are still seeking to pacify the country's southeastern border regions three years after the fall of the hard line Islamic Taliban regime. NATO has a 9,000-strong International Security Assistance force primary involved in peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts. Khalizad said it would "take as long as 10 years" for Afghanistan "to be a truly successful country in terms of security, economic development, and of being a successful democratic state."
Turkmen President Saparmurad Atayevich Niyazov said Thursday October 21, 2004, that his country will cooperate with NATO in its peace efforts in Afghanistan. He added Turkmenistan is not worried about the Atlantic alliance's eastward expansion and "is ready to cooperate." NATO's General Secretary, de Hoop Scheffer, said he came to Ashgabat to seek support for NATO's next Afghanistan operations. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) will extend its mandate to the west of the country around Herat, near the Turkmen border. He asked for the Turkmen's agreement to allow the transit of NATO troops and equipments across their land. During his Central Asia trip, which also took him to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, de Hoop Scheffer highlighted the fight on terror and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; he also urged collective efforts in maintaining regional security. He said the Central Asia was of great importance to NATO and the alliance hopes to enhance cooperation with countries in the region as well as regional organizations here.
On November 6, 2004, Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf visited the newly elected president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. During their meeting in Kabul, Musharraf promised to wage a common battle against terrorism and to provide more help to reconstruct Afghanistan. Musharraf was the first foreign leader to visit Kabul after Karzai's election.
NATO defence ministers announced on February 18, 2005, that the International
Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan would move into the western part
of the country. The mission will provide security and help extend the authority
of the central government. Troop commitments to the new mission are expected
from Italy, Spain, and Lithuania. The US has also some forces in the area.
The extended force will increase security for a greater number of Afghans.
Under a joint program with the United Nations, Afghanistan has disarmed
80 percent of the estimated 50,000 militiamen we were told on February 18,
2005. A total of 40,104 militiamen have handed in their weapons under the
program that provides training to help find jobs in civil society. The northern
region of Mazar-I-Sharif was declared disarmed in December and Jalalabad
in the east followed earlier this week. Afghanistan has created a national
army of more than 21,000 soldiers since the Taliban regime was ousted in
December 2001. The US-led coalition has 18,000 soldiers in Afghanistan hunting
fugitives from the Taliban and the al-Qaida terrorist network. The North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has 8,500 soldiers in the UN-authorized
International Security Assistance Force responsible for security in Kabul.
President Hamid Karzai on Saturday February 19, 2005, praised Iran's assistance in the reconstruction of his war-torn country. Addressing the 6th Annual Jeddah Economic Forum, he said that Iran played an important role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan's economic infrastructure. He added that the establishment of several connection routes was part of the Iranian assistance. Afghanistan's future economic strategy will focus on exporting fruits, Karzai said.
Afghanistan Wednesday March 2, 2005, named its first female provincial governor, a step forward in the slow political progress of women since the fall of the Taliban. Habiba Sorabi is the new governor of Bamiyan. She was chosen from an all-female short list, after serving as women's affairs minister in the previous interim administration of President Hamid Karzai. Conditions for women have gradually improved since the overthrow of the Taliban regime, which barred them from education and from going outdoors unveiled. However, conservative Muslim in much of the country still believes that women effectively are second-class citizens and few occupy senior jobs. Karzai's new administration contains three women ministers.
The Minister of economic affairs and finance on March 6, 2005, said that trade between Iran and Afghanistan has totalled $260 m in the past two years. He added that if Tehran and Kabul have managed to boost economic interaction between the two countries it was due, to a great extent, to Iran's framework programme of assistance to Afghanistan.
The US Department of Defence said on March 16, 2005, that it is studying the possibility of setting up permanent bases in Afghanistan. The US military has kept about 18,000 soldiers in Afghanistan since defeating that country's former Taliban government in 2001. It also has forces deployed in neighbouring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Reaction from Afghanistan's neighbours to such a move would likely be mixed.
The US, which wants to lead the democratisation and westernisation movements in Afghanistan, has sent First Lady Laura Bush to the capital, Kabul on March 30, 2005. Ms. Bush visited a teacher-training centre and a primary school in Kabul with the US Ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, who is of Afghan origin. The First Lady emphasized the vital importance of education for Afghan democracy, and donated $17.7 million for an American University and $3.5 million for an international primary school. Making positive contributions to the image-making wish of the Washington administration, Ms. Bush met with the Afghan President Hamid Kharzai and representatives of some woman organizations. Her last stop was at the Bagram US military base where she dined with US soldiers.
Zalmay Khalilzad, a former White House official who has served as US ambassador in his native Afghanistan, was named Tuesday April 5, 2005, ambassador in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced his selection at a State Department ceremony, where Khalilzad pledged to work to improve the lives of Iraqis through post-war reconstruction so the country ''can stand on its own feet.''
Afghanistan's defence minister on Tuesday April 5, 2005, gave one of the clearest signs yet that Kabul is open to allow the US to have permanent military bases in the country, saying his government was in discussions with the US that could include air bases in Afghanistan after the current nation-building process ends. The details of what would constitute a long-term US presence are still under discussion but Kabul was eager for "enduring arrangements" that could include permanent air bases or "pre-positioned" military equipment that would be used by rapidly deployed US forces in a crisis. The discussions have been under way for several months, but both Afghan officials and US have been reluctant to discuss the issue given geopolitical sensitivities in the region, particularly in neighbouring Iran. Senator John McCain, an influential Republican on defence issues, first hinted at such a possibility in February, when after a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, he said it was his "personal view" that permanent joint bases should be established. Last month, General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged during a trip to Afghanistan that the US was considering such a move. Such comments come as the US continues to expand its capabilities at its main air base in Bagram, a Soviet-era facility north of Kabul, where it is building a new runway. Bagram would be the most likely location of a permanent US presence. The Afghans dismissed the idea that the US was using Afghanistan as a staging base to conduct reconnaissance operations in Iran.
Ministers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan met on Tuesday April 12, 2005, to discuss Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline. The Afghan Minister for Mines and Industry Mir Muhammad Saddiq assured that Afghanistan would guarantee security of the multi-billion gas pipeline that will bring gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan. Islamabad has no reservations if India joins the project.
On April 13, 2005, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his country wants a long-term security relationship with the United States. Mr Karzai was speaking after meeting with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the capital, Kabul. Mr Rumsfeld flew into Afghanistan from Iraq. He then went to Pakistan for talks on military ties and the war on terror. The US is assessing the future military role of American troops in Afghanistan. The possibility of setting up permanent US military bases in Afghanistan figured in the discussions but Mr Rumsfeld skirted the issue.
Afghanistan will ensure the safety of a proposed gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan, an Afghan government minister said on Wednesday, April 13, 2005. The long-delayed project envisages a $3.3 billion pipeline running 1,600 km and providing Turkmenistan with a new outlet for its gas, Afghanistan with transit revenue and Pakistan with much needed energy. Among reasons for the delay have been worries about security in Afghanistan and questions over the size of the reserves in Turkmenistan's Dauletabad gas field.
On April 17, 2005, Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed, in principle, to send troops of his country to Iraq. And this at a time when Afghans are complaining against the worsening security situation in their own country.
Afghanistan's Finance Minister, Anwar Ul-Haq Ahady, said on April 20, 2005, that non-government organisations are running a "parallel" unaccountable government in his country as they work to rebuild its economy. He added that aid to Afghanistan should be funnelled to the Government directly instead of through aid agencies. Mr Ahady questioned why most health services and education were administered by non-government organisations instead of the education or public health ministries.
On April 29, 2005, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, apparently changing his mind, opposed the construction of permanent US military bases in Afghanistan by saying that it would not be in the interests of his country. The United States had established military bases in different countries, including Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, for which it is paying huge amounts of money.
Twenty-nine-year-old Amina was publicly stoned to death near Faizabad, the capital of the northern Afghanistan province of Badakshan on May 2, 2005. Accused of adultery by her husband, she was dragged from her parents' house and stoned by her husband and local officials. Amina had reportedly asked her husband, who had been away in Iran for five years, for a separation on the grounds that he could not support her. Provincial police chief Shah Jahan Noori said they are investigating the attack.
Several hundred women demonstrated on the streets of the Afghan capital, Kabul on Thursday May 5, 2005, calling on the government to improve their security and to bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of five women over the past two weeks, three of them on Wednesday.
On May 8, 2005, Afghanistan National Congress Party (ANCP) has strongly opposed the proposal of establishing US permanent military bases in Afghanistan. "The decision of installed regime to have US permanent military bases in Afghanistan is tantamount to the complete occupation of the country," Payam-e-Mujahid quoted a statement of the ANCP. President Karzai, who is advocating long-term security partnership with the United States is going to meet elders and the members of former constitutional Loya Jirga or grand assembly ahead of his tour to White House late this month.
Demonstrations began Tuesday, when protesters burned an effigy of President Bush over a report that interrogators at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, placed Korans on toilets to upset suspects, and in at least one case "flushed a holy book down the toilet." Shouting "Death to America," demonstrators angry over the alleged desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay smashed car and shop windows and stoned a passing convoy of U.S. soldiers Wednesday May 11, 2005, in eastern Afghanistan. Police opened fire on the protesters, killing four and injuring at least 71. The U.S. troops fired into the air before quickly leaving the area in Jalalabad. It was the biggest outpouring of anti-American sentiment since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Mobs also attacked the Pakistani consulate along with the offices of two UN agencies and a Swedish relief organization. No foreigners were. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan said staff at its Jalalabad office took refuge on the roof as a mob stole, smashed or burned their equipment and torched two of their cars. The Pakistani consulate building as well as the consul's residence were in flames. People broke into two UN compounds and burned two cars. Most of the injured were students, many suffered gunshot wounds. University and high school students held similar but peaceful protests in cities in neighbouring Laghman province and Khost, further to the south. Witnesses said students also demanded the release of all prisoners from Guantanamo, and that "American troops don't stay in Afghanistan forever."
Saudi Arabia has voiced "deep indignation" on May 13, 2005, at reports that a copy of the Koran was desecrated at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Riyadh called for a quick investigation into the alleged incident and for the perpetrators to be punished. It is the first Arab state to comment officially on the reports. Reaction in the Arab world has been muted. US Secretary of State promised prompt action if allegations of desecration prove true. At least seven people have died in Afghanistan in anti-American protests sparked by the reports.
Protests against the alleged desecration of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay have spread across the Muslim world on May 13, 2005, with three Afghans dying in fresh violence and hardliners rallying in Pakistan and Indonesia. The worst anti-US demonstrations since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 entered a fourth day in Afghanistan, spreading to new cities. The three latest deaths occurred when about 1000 people took to the streets near Faizabad, capital of the north-eastern province of Badakshan, bringing the number of people killed since Tuesday to 10. Twenty-one people including three policemen were also injured and protesters torched the office of aid agency Focus Canada. New protests also broke out in the capital, Kabul, although witnesses said only about 50 people turned out and they ended peacefully. In neighbouring Pakistan, hundreds of hardline Muslims burned US flags and effigies of President George W Bush. Demonstrators in several cities chanted "Death to America", while speakers at rallies called by an alliance of religious parties. About 6000 Afghan refugees also staged a demonstration in a camp near the conservative north-western city of Peshawar, before dispersing peacefully. During a rally in southern Karachi, a senior MMA member Mairajul Huda told protesters people "should rise against the anti-Muslim policies of the United States". In Jakarta, Indonesia, hundreds of Muslims staged a rally at a mosque against the alleged sacrilege. Students in the Indonesian city of Makassar on Sulawesi island took to the streets and searched hotels and the airport for any Americans. No Americans were found.
Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government was trying to restore order Saturday May 14, 2005, after 14 people died in increasingly violent protests against the alleged desecration of the Koran by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay. Anger directed at the United States spread throughout the Muslim world with Palestinian demonstrators taking to the streets and protests in Pakistan and Indonesia. Seven Afghans died on Friday alone as security forces and enraged protesters clashed in several towns and cities. Afghan troops shot dead three people as protesters tried to storm the governor's house in southern Ghazni province. The police chief of Ghazni was shot in the chest. Another three died when around 1,000 people took to the streets near Faizabad, capital of the northeastern province of Badakshan. Twenty-two people including three policemen were also injured and protesters torched the offices of three foreign aid agencies. The army also opened fire on some 300 protesters in the southeastern city of Gardez, killing one and injuring at least three.
An Italian aid worker was kidnapped Monday May 16, 2005. Clementina Cantoni, 32, has worked with CARE International in Kabul for almost two years caring for widows and their families. Four men kidnapped her at gunpoint in downtown Kabul. Most U.N. workers stayed home from work on Tuesday. All cars leading out of Kabul were stopped and searched to see if Cantoni was being smuggled out of the capital.
The Italian aid worker kidnapped in Afghan capital Kabul has been killed, the kidnapper said on Friday May 20, 2005, adding "the Italian woman had been strangled to death after Afghan government refused their demands." But Afghan government spokesperson denied the information, and said the lady was still alive.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai heads to the United States on May 20, 2005, in a visit that threatens to be overshadowed by the most violent anti-US protests to rock Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban and new allegations of prisoner abuse by US soldiers. Since helping to bring down the extremist Islamic regime in 2001, Washington has remained Karzai's biggest supporter, both in terms of reconstruction aid and its military presence, with 18,000 troops on the ground here.
US officials, on May 21, 2005, said Afghan President Hamid Karzai is partly responsible for the failure of poppy eradication efforts in Afghanistan. Mr Karzai, meanwhile, wants US concessions on key security issues. Mr Karzai - who is due to meet President George W Bush on Monday - said he would request the handover of all Afghan detainees in the US custody and also control over US military operations in Afghanistan. The Afghan leader earlier also demanded action from the US after new details emerged of alleged abuse of prisoners by US troops in Afghanistan.
On May 22, 2005, Afghan president Hamid Karzai was accused to be "soft" on opium trade. He is seeing Bush in the next few days and was going to complain about the conduct of US soldiers in his country. It has been revealed that many Afghans arrested often without reason were tortured and abused while under US custody. Moreover Newsweek story that US soldiers threw copies of the Koran in the toilets at Guantanamo Bay, even if the magazine retracted it, is still in many Muslim minds, as they do not believe that Newsweek was wrong. The same information came out before already and now the Muslim believe that Newsweek has been pressurised by Bush's administration to say that they were wrong.
On Sunday May 22, 2005, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai was made doctor honoris causa of Boston university. On May 23, he met president Bush and they signed a strategic treaty on political security that will also guarantee the economic interests of both nations. This "strategic partnership" memorandum allows the US military forces continued access to the key Bagram Air Base as well as other military facilities as "may be mutually determined". Mr Karzai said the memorandum of understanding is a "long-term partnership" to enable Afghanistan "to stand on its own feet."
On May 25, 2005, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that his meeting with President George Bush was "friendly." However, Bush declined to cede control of the US forces in Afghanistan, or the Afghan prisoners, to the national government. This did not perturb Mr Karzai who thanked his host and said that his country will "continue to need a lot of support". Bush says that Afghanistan is an example of new democracy following a dictatorship but on the spot the situation is not so nice. Violence, manifestations against the USA and the Americans, guerrilla and increasing poppy production are the real thing.
On May 25, 2005, Mr Karzai underplayed disagreements with the US. He insisted that the strong displeasure he expressed in a CNN interview over the issue of the abuse of Afghan prisoners by the US forces these concerned only "individual acts". Mr Karzai also complained that the United States and its allies were not doing enough to help come up with alternatives to poppy cultivation for heroin, which is currently estimated to account for 40 to 60 per cent of Afghanistan's economy.
The Afghan government criticised the Italian embassy in Kabul on May 26, 2005, for "meddling" in efforts to free an Italian aid worker kidnapped last week. It accused the Italians of trying to establish contact with the alleged kidnappers without informing the authorities in Kabul.
On May 27, 2005, US President George W Bush has nominated a career diplomat now serving in Iraq, Ronald Neumann, to be the new US ambassador to Afghanistan. Once approved by the Senate, he would replace Zalmay Khalilzad, whom Bush nominated last month to become US ambassador to Iraq.
On June 10, 2005, Clementina Cantoni who was kidnapped in Kabul on May 16 was finally released. It is not known if a ransom was paid. According to some sources, the Afghan police arrested the mother of the leader of the kidnappers. If this is true then Miss Cantoni was freed in exchange for the release of the mother. However we do not know what really went on. Clementina Cantoni had been working in Afghanistan for three years for the ONG "Care International." She said that she was treated well during her detention.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has fallen sick on June 13, 2005, with a stomach bug and had to put off a scheduled visit to neighbouring Tajikistan. The 47-year-old Karzai had been scheduled to travel on Monday for talks with Tajik authorities and to inaugurate a U.S.-built bridge linking the two countries. The president plans to go to Tajikistan once he was feeling better.
Suspected Taliban gunmen kidnapped and hanged a pro-government tribal leader in southern Afghanistan we were told on July 16, 2005. Agha Jan, an ally of President Hamid Karzai, was kidnapped Thursday with his two sons, brother and two nephews from his home in southern Zabul province. Agha Jan's relatives were freed unharmed, but the tribal chief's body was found Friday. Dozens of prominent supporters of Karzai's U.S.-backed administration, along with more than 700 others, have been killed during an upsurge in violence since March.
Violence against women remains a huge problem in Afghanistan, a visiting United Nations official said in the capital Kabul, on Monday July 18, 2005. Yakin Erturk, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and consequences, had spent ten days visiting Afghan cities. She said child marriages, many of them forced, continued to be a source of violence against women and girls. Erturk, a Turkish national, urged the Afghan government and donors to prioritise the elimination of violence against women as an integral part of public policy and to link donor support to progress on human rights and the protection of women.
Taking a diplomatic post his father once held, Ronald E. Neumann was sworn in Wednesday July 27, 2005, as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and promised to work with the president of the war-damaged country. Neumann said that the U.S. struggle with terrorism was not "a clash between civilizations," but a clash within Islam that seeks to remove U.S. influence and restrict human freedom. Muslim scholars, Neumann said, reject such a view. Neumann's father, Robert, was ambassador to Kabul more than 30 years ago, in addition to serving as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. It was the first time an American ambassador has taken a post once held by his father. But three generations from the Adams family served as minister to Great Britain before the United States created the rank of ambassador in 1893.
On 26 July, a crowed estimated to number at least 1,000, chanted slogans against the United States at the main U.S. military facility in Bagram, in the northern Parwan Province. The protestors had gathered before the gates of the heavily guarded base to protest the detention of a local commander and seven other people, including a local mullah. The commander whose arrest sparked the riot has been identified as Hamidullah, an engineer who was once associated with the radical Hizb-e Islami group led by fugitive former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. While most sources have described the commander at the centre of the Bagram riot as Hamidullah, Kabul-based Tolu Television in a 26 July broadcast identified the commander as Hajji Mohammad Hashem, also formerly associated with Hekmatyar's party.
Afghan provincial and parliamentary voting will take place on September 18, 2005.
Uzbekistan's decision to evict the United States from a key military base will not affect operations in neighbouring Afghanistan, the U.S. military said on Monday August 1, 2005. The United States was told on Friday of Uzbekistan's decision to evict it from the Karshi-Khanabad air base, which has been used as a hub for combat and humanitarian missions to Afghanistan since just after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on September 13, 2005, the US and other international forces need to reconsider their approach to bringing peace to Afghanistan. Violence largely blamed on the Taliban has claimed at least 1,000 lives this year -the worst toll since 2001. He told the BBC there had to be a focus on "sources of terrorism" where those involved get training and inspiration. US-led forces head General Karl Eikenberry said the coalition had a very good strategy. It would take time to build a new Afghan army and police force in time to bring about good governance. Coalition forces working with Afghans were now patrolling areas in the south and east of the country still beyond the reach of a weak central government.
Afghanistan has rejected on September 14, 2005, a proposal by Pakistan to construct a security fence along its border with Afghanistan to prevent incursion by Taliban and drug smugglers. The border runs for more than 2,400 kilometres.
President Hamid Karzai on September 2, 2005, challenged the need for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying that air strikes are no longer effective and that US-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks. His call for a new approach to tackling militants was made amid the fiercest fighting in Afghanistan since US-led forces invaded in late 2001, with more than 1,200 people killed in the six months leading up to Sunday's elections. Karzai demanded an immediate end to foreign troops searching homes without his government's authorization. He also said foreign governments should ''concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases, on the supply to them, on the money coming to them" -a veiled reference to support that militants allegedly get from neighbouring Pakistan. Afghan officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan of aiding Taliban rebels and other militants, a charge Islamabad vehemently denies.
Responding to complaints by Afghanistan's president, a top U.S. general said Thursday September 22, 2005, that air strikes have been decisive against insurgents and that American troops usually search homes jointly with Afghan soldiers. Major General Jason Kamiya, the U.S.-led coalition's operational commander, said American forces need air power as they expect to be battling Taliban rebels well into next year.
Afghanistan's interior minister, one of the most prominent faces in President Hamid Karzai's Cabinet, announced his resignation Tuesday September 27, 2005, after struggling to combat Afghanistan's booming drug trade. Karzai's office played down the significance of Ahmad Ali Jalali's decision to quit, ostensibly to pursue an academic career in the United States. The president's chief of staff, Jawed Ludin, denied Jalali had disagreements with Karzai on fighting narcotics.
France said on Tuesday October 3, 2005, it opposed combining NATO-led forces and U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan under one command, putting it at odds with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai told the French newspaper Le Figaro the two missions would eventually work for one command under the NATO banner.
The United States will cancel all the debt owed to it by Afghanistan - approximately 108 million dollars- State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Tuesday February 7, 2006. Te U.S. action will be done through normal Paris Club procedure. Germany and Afghanistan's other Paris Club creditors, also intend to provide 100 percent cancellation.
Germany will cancel all debt owed to it by Afghanistan the country's Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday February 8, 2006. Germany has already begun to cancel the debt owed by Afghanistan, which amounts to 44 million U.S. dollars. Afghanistan can use the money to eliminate poverty, but Germany will not intervene with the specific use of the money.
A court in Afghanistan sentenced to death a former intelligence chief who was found guilty of systematic killings and other human rights violations in Afghanistan. Asadullah Sarwari headed the intelligence department of the first communist government in 1978.
US President George W Bush has praised the progress of Afghan democracy on his first visit to the country on Wednesday March 1, 2006, where the US helped eject the Taliban in 2001. On a surprise first stop of his maiden trip to South Asia, Mr Bush told Afghan President Hamid Karzai his country was "inspiring others". He said he was still confidant Osama Bin Laden would be brought to justice.
Some 169 Taliban commanders surrendered to the Afghan government in the past two months in western Afghanistan, we were told on Tuesday February 28, 2006. Under an amnesty launched by President Hamid Karzai in November 2004, hundreds of anti-government militants have surrendered to government. ---