Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

We Should be Ready for More Violence

March 12, 2012 7

As the cold winter is saying good-bye to Afghanistan and a new spring is looming, people wish the coming year will be a wonderful year of development, peace and prosperity. But that is what we have been wishing for in the last three decades. If we listen to Afghan government then all is well: security is improving, Afghan ...

An Effort to Keep Women’s Rights Discourse Alive

March 12, 2012 7

In Afghanistan, concerns are glaringly growing about possible tradeoff of women's rights in the ongoing bid to bring Taliban and other insurgent groups back to the fold. Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization (AHRDO) - a Kabul-based local organization working to promote human rights in the country-in ...

The Gross Inequality

March 12, 2012 7

Amidst vague and unclear negotiation process with Taliban leaders and approaching deadline for foreign military withdrawal, there are worrying reports about the democratic achievements of Afghan women. Human rights activists are worried that weaknesses of the government do not lead the country towards further chaos and instability ...

Need for Strategic Blueprints

March 11, 2012

Afghan people believe that the possible strategic agreement between Afghanistan and the United States of America will insure them against a descent into any violence, chaos and disorder. Therefore, they strongly back the deal and want president Karzai's government to sign it as soon as possible to ward off the preventive attempts ...

School Burning Negates all Positive Thoughts about Taliban

March 11, 2012

There are views that, over the last ten years, Taliban's mentality has changed in several areas. They are no more against sending boys and girls to schools as they have committed to local people that they would not create hurdles, if children attend schools. They are not against TV channels that broadcast programs keeping ...

Agreement on Prisons’ Control, Night Raids

March 11, 2012

After months of unrealistic demands of the transfer of detention centers from the US control to Afghan security forces, for the strategic partnership agreement between the two countries, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between Defense Minister Rahim Wardak and the American military commander Gen Allen. At ...

Shahid Mazari’s Political Thought and Plan are Today’s Dominant Political Discourse

March 10, 2012

The seventeenth anniversary of Shaheed Abdul Ali Mazari, known as Baba (father) Mazari, was commemorated on Friday, March 09, 2012 with the participation of tens of thousands of people, government officials, leaders of political parties, intellectuals and civil society activists here in Kabul. Every ...

Controversies May Become Clashes

March 10, 2012

The controversies about Iran's nuclear program are becoming very much serious. United States of America has been insisting on tightening the sanctions against Iran so as to make it turn more flexible regarding its stand. It has mentioned clearly that its nuclear program is totally friendly and does not possess threat to world ...

Sticking to Unjust Narratives

March 08, 2012

Afghanistan's attempts to have a radical departure from unjust narratives appear to be foundering and there are inclinations towards realignment with the Taliban and other lunatic fringes. President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday, March 06, 2012 endorsed a guideline published by the Ulema Council that calls for segregation of males and ...

A Chronic Problem with Trivial Solutions

March 08, 2012

As far as a decade ago, Afghan women were denied their basic human rights. The Taliban regime, under fanatic and radical views of Islamic teachings added to the tribal culture, allowed huge gender violence take place in Afghanistan. The problem however didn't emerge fist during Taliban; it was carried on from old ages in ...

Taliban Fight Hard to Maintain Influence in Helmand

March 08, 2012

Against the abundant number of weighty claims about improvement in security condition in Afghanistan, insurgents remain potent of targeting foreign and Afghan troops and civilians. Death tolls on both military and civilian sides have gone increasing with the passage of every year. As the NATO mulls to get out of Afghanistan by the ...

A Better Understanding of Ground Realities is Important

March 07, 2012

Discussion over finalizing the strategic partnership deal between the US and Afghanistan has halted. Apparently, the parties have not reached a common understanding over night raids and transfer of prisons from US to Afghan control. This is at times when the US-Afghan relations have turned significantly low after the burning of holy ...

Woman’s Day and a Boast Being Undone

March 07, 2012

Tomorrow is International Woman's Day. Over the last ten years, Afghan government has been boastful of relative achievements of women in terms of their participation in politics and social activities as compared with the Taliban era. But one of the government's main boasts appear to be being undone as the situation of women ...

Mr. President Supports Ulema’s Guidelines

March 07, 2012

President Hamid Karzai supported the guideline of Afghan Ulema Council regarding sex-segregation. Last Friday, Ulema council, in meeting with President Karzai, submitted a declaration, which is released monthly by the council, noticed that women should be separated from men in all social spheres. It also says that according to ...

Controversies May Become Clashes

March 06, 2012

The controversies about Iran's nuclear program are becoming very much serious. United States of America has been insisting on tightening the sanctions against Iran so as to make it turn more flexible regarding its stand. It has mentioned clearly that its nuclear program is totally friendly and does not possess threat to world ...

Karzai’s Behavior Makes or Breaks

March 06, 2012

Reports say that the US has suspended talks on strategic agreement with Afghanistan. This strategic agreement is imperative for the long-term stability of Afghanistan and political groups and people in the country back this. But unfortunately President Hamid Karzai has been bidding to gain personal political advantages from the ...

The First Sign of Taliban’s Return

March 06, 2012

We are just a few days away from March 8th, the international women day. The day has special significance for Afghan women, as their country has been rated the worst place for women to live. In Afghanistan women have remained deprived of their basic rights since centuries. Violence against women has brought forward shocking incidents where women have suffered physical tortures that have resulted in ...

High turnout: A Victory for Conservative Wing

March 05, 2012

The first parliamentary election in Iran after controversial presidential election in 2009 was held reportedly in peaceful environment and nothing went wrong. The turnout was around 65 percent as previously estimated by conservative wing in the country. The level of participation in comparison to ...

Manipulation of Afghans’ Religious and Patriotic Feelings

March 05, 2012

When the Taliban emerged as a movement in the political stage of Afghanistan, they had Holy Quran in their hands to show to the people that their words and acts would be guided by the Holy Quran. They did attract people at the beginning to some extent. But soon they not only did not stick to the message and content of ...

Hamid Rahimi—World Boxing Union Champion

March 05, 2012

During the senseless protest demonstrations during the last two weeks, a good news for Afghanistan went unnoticed largely in media. Afghan boxer Hamid Rahimi won the World Boxing Union championship on February 24, 2012 in Hamburg city of Germany. A crowd of enthusiastic fans and officials of the Olympics Committee welcomed him yesterday at ...

Reconciliation Process to be Made Inclusive

March 04, 2012

As the reconciliation process is proceeding, the concerns about it are increasing as well. In fact, it has not been Afghanized in the way it should be. Not only representatives of opposition groups, minorities and civil society members are excluded from the process, but the Afghan government as well has not been made the part of the ...

11th Anniversary of Destruction of Bamyan Buddhas

March 04, 2012

This week marks the 11th anniversary of the destruction of Bamyan Buddha statues by Taliban. It was at the cost of the destruction of the two giant statues that the world was alerted of the horrible brutalities of Taliban regime. They not only redefined brutality by committing a war against human civilization by destroying the ...

Afghan Tortured Killed in Indonesia

March 04, 2012

Over the last thirty years, the lives of Afghan people have been at great stake both inside and outside their country. USSR invasion of Afghanistan, the civil war and then the Taliban brutal era caused millions Afghans to migrate to neighboring and other countries of the world. Even after the ouster of Taliban government ...

Threats to Democratic Stability

March 03, 2012

Democratic stability in multiethnic societies was the topic discussed in an academic seminar in Kabul. Afghanistan is a multiethnic society. If ethnic cleavages are not managed properly and wisely, they could lead to plunging the country into ethnic conflicts once again. Dr. Mohammad Amin Ahmadi, the head of Ibn-e-Sin private university ...

Security Threat from Within

March 03, 2012

Abdul Saboor, the police intelligence officer at the Interior Ministry who is alleged to have murdered two American advisers last Saturday is still at large. It is a matter of serious concern the way he opened fire inside a room of Ministry and could easily escape the building without anyone attempting to arrest him. It is also ...

Highest Death Record in Central Provinces

March 03, 2012

>One of the challenges ahead of Afghan people is a harsh winter. Every year many lose their lives due to cruel freezing weather and avalanches. The current winter is also not moving ahead without victims. Rather it is going to be one of the harsh winters with high losses. There were reports about avalanches in Badakhshan province this ...

Taliban’s Attempts to Reassert their Violent View of Afghanistan

March 01, 2012

After the Koran burning incident at Bagram Air Base, Taliban militants have been making attempts to reassert their view of how Afghanistan should look like. They claimed responsibility for the death of two American officers inside the Ministry of Interior in the capital, Kabul. The Taliban militants also asserted responsibility ...

State of Afghan Children

March 01, 2012

A latest UNICEF report The State of World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World highlights the plight of Afghan children, particularly the challenges faced by them in urban areas. Besides the fact that children have been the worst victims of the last four decades of conflict in Afghanistan, they are still the most vulnerable ...

An opportunity that will never knock our doors again

March 01, 2012

After the international troops' withdrawal in 2014, indisputably, the security condition in Afghanistan will further deteriorate. But 'bad security' is not the only threat waiting for Afghanistan; an economic downfall is being called as something inevitable. Need to mention, today ...

Civilians Go Home; Military Battles

February 29, 2012

With instability spreading across the country, Afghan government remains in a wavering position to address the current and potential challenges once the international forces will have left the country. The biggest achievement in military is now doubted as more Taliban members appear to have penetrated the Afghan security apparatus. Following ...

Recent Arrests by NDS Exposes the Fact

February 29, 2012

About day after the killing of two foreign advisers in Ministry of Interior (MoI), the National Directorate of Security (NDS) said it has arrested four government officials in connection with spying for neighboring countries. Of them one worked for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and three others were employees of local organizations ...

A Fearsome Trend

February 29, 2012

At least seven people are reported to have been killed in a bomb explosion inside a house in Helmand province. The victims are said to be six women and a young man. There are conflicting reports on the causes of the incident- that is to say- the explosion occurred when a rocket impacted the house but another account suggests that the ...

Abrupt Withdrawal, Extremely Disastrous

February 28, 2012

After the Koran burning, the situation has turned extremely dangerous in Afghanistan. The incident has antagonized Afghans who have firm religious hold on their minds and become easily emotional and aggressive over sensitive issues pertaining to Islam. Four NATO soldiers have been killed by individuals linked to ...

Grave Consequences of the Demonstrations

February 28, 2012

President Karzai and other senior Government officials and parliamentarians have said protest demonstrations are the right of Afghans to express their anger against the disposal of Koran at Bagram. It is beyond understanding why they are reluctant to clearly condemn the madness and violence started since last week that has taken about ...

Attacks on Foreign Forces Intensified

February 28, 2012

A suicide car bomber struck yesterday at the gates of Jalalabad airport in eastern part of the country, killing nine people and injuring several others. Right after the attack, Taliban claimed the responsibility, saying the attack was revenge against those soldiers who burned holy Koran. The NATO forces spokesman, Capt. Justin ...