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Iran Sets Aside $25m to Derail Afghan-US Deal
May 26, 2012
KABUL - Iran has earmarked $25 million for blocking the parliamentary approval of the Afghan-US strategic cooperation agreement, a knowledgeable source said on Thursday. The neighboring country has allegedly paid a colossal amount of money to Wolesi Jirga member Hazrat Ali in return for opposing the deal, signed ...
US Senate Body Approves $5.7b for ANSF
May 26, 2012
WASHINGTON - A key US Senate committee on Thursday unanimously voted to approve $5.7 billion in fiscal year 2012 for Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) Fund to build the capacity of Afghan army and police. Passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the National Defense ...
Hollande Meets with Troops in Afghanistan
May 26, 2012
KABUL - French President Francois Hollande defended pulling French combat troops out of Afghanistan early, saying, "The time has come for Afghan sovereignty." The newly elected Hollande, who made a surprise visit Friday to Afghanistan, said 2,000 troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end, The Guardian ...
Afghanistan to Assign Massive Security Force to TAPI Project
May 26, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines said Thursday it aimed to purchase 1.5 million cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan after the implementation of the TAPI gas pipeline project. It also said that the Afghan government will assign as many as 12,000 Afghan security personnel to safeguard the security of the TAPI project ...
Summit A Milestone for Afghanistan: Allen
May 26, 2012
WASHINGTON - The just-concluded NATO summit in Chicago was a milestone for Afghanistan as the international community not only firmed up its troop's withdrawal plan, but also pledged its long-term commitment to the country, America's top general said Wednesday."I left the summit heartened by the overwhelming international commitment ...
Dana Should Apologize: Karzai
May 24, 2012
WASHINGTON - President Hamid Karzai on Monday stood firm on his government's decision not to allow US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher to enter Afghanistan and he should apologize, alleging the American lawmaker's political statements were aimed at splitting the nation.
"Definitely not," Karzai sternly told the CNN during an interview when he was asked: "So you are not going to let him back into your country, Dana Rohrabacher?"
Karzai, who led an Afghan delegation to the two-day 25th NATO summit, was interviewed by the American cable network in ...
Rohrabacher Won’t Apologize to Corrupt Karzai
May 24, 2012
WASHINGTON - Virtually entering into a verbal clash with President Hamid Karzai, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said on Wednesday that he would not apologies to him.
"I will not apologies to Karzai or any other corrupt leader. Afghanistan is failing because Karzai and his corrupt clique are ...
Kabul Bank Stakeholders’ Properties in UAE Up for Sale
May 24, 2012
KABUL - Properties purchased with Kabul Bank loans in Dubai are being sold, senior officials told the Wolesi Jirga on Wednesday, warning borrowers of referring their cases to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) if they failed to return loans within 10 days.
Kabul Bank, once the country's largest private sector lender, ran ...
Foreigners Spend Billions without Accountability: MoE
May 24, 2012
KABUL - The Afghan government has to account for every cent it spends but foreigners in Afghanistan have spent billions without any transparency or accountability, the Afghan Minister of Economy said Wednesday.
Abdul Haid Arghandiwal accused foreigners for abusing as much as $49 billion in international aid which has been sent to Afghanistan, and ...
NATO Sets ‘Irreversible’ Transition in Motion
May 23, 2012
KABUL - NATO leaders agreed to an "irreversible" transition to withdraw almost all foreign troops from Afghanistan by 2015 at the end of landmark two-day meeting in Chicago, while both the US and President Karzai warned that the risk of the country's instability is still high. Similar to his address to the US nation on May 2 from Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base, US President Barack Obama sought to appease the American public with statements like "the Afghan war, as we understand it, is over" in his public address.
However, in order to shore up support from the NATO allies to ...
Pakistan’s Role Crucial in Stemming Terror: Karzai
May 23, 2012
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON - President Hamid Karzai on Monday told world leaders the sacrifices of Afghans should not be overlooked and there is a pressing need for addressing shortcomings in the approach to fighting terrorism."As we celebrate our shared achievements of the past decade, we must not overlook the immense sacrifices and suffering of ...
Large American Footprint Counterproductive: Obama
May 23, 2012
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON - Strongly defending his timeline for transition and withdrawal of US-led international forces from Afghanistan, President Barack Obama told his countrymen that a large American footprint in that country could be counterproductive."Frankly, the large footprint that we have in Afghanistan over time can be ...
‘Green on Blue’ Attacks Not an Indicator of Taliban Infiltration: Allen
May 23, 2012
KABUL - Less than 50 percent of so-called "green on blue" attacks are perpetrated by Taliban infiltrators into the Afghan army, the US and NATO Commander General John Allen said Sunday. The shooting deaths of foreign soldiers by Afghan army personnel, or Afghans in army uniform, were found to not be the work of the Islamic
Karzai, Rasmussen Back French Troop Exit
May 23, 2012
CHICAGO/ WASHINGTON - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday supported the decision of new French President Francois Hollande to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by the end of this ...
We Don’t Want to be Burden: Karzai
May 22, 2012
needs to be completeCHICAGO - President Hamid Karzai on Monday said Afghanistan did not want to burden the international community and insisted the transition process should be completed as scheduled in 2014.
Karzai told reporters after holding talks with his US counterpart Barak Obama on Sunday, on the sidelines of the ongoing NATO Summit in Chicago, the meeting had been productive.
He said his government would take full control of the country's security once coalition troops handed over security affairs to Afghan forces.
"The transition process is a very vital issue for Afghanistan it ...
NATO to Endorse Afghan Exit Plan, Seeks Routes Out
May 22, 2012
CHICAGO - NATO leaders will endorse plans to hand over combat command in Afghanistan by mid-2013 on Monday and seek practical progress in opening routes to bring an international army of more than 130,000 back home from an unpopular, resource-draining war.
The strategy for a gradual exit from Afghanistan is aimed at holding ...
Kabul, Washington Agree on Ending the War
May 22, 2012
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON - Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his American counterpart Barack Obama on Sunday agreed that a lot of hard work had to be done to achieve the goals in Afghanistan, even as significant progress had been made.
"We recognize the hardship that the Afghan people have been ...
Strategic Pact Signed with Australia
May 22, 2012
CHICAGO - President Hamid Karzai and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Monday signed a strategic partnership agreement on cooperation in security, economic development and trade.
The signing took place in Chicago, where the two leaders are attending the 25th NATO summit, at which Afghanistan's future is being ...
NATO Wants Pakistan to Facilitate Afghan Stability
May 22, 2012
CHICAGO - NATO on Sunday said countries in the region, particularly Pakistan, had important roles in ensuring enduring peace, stability and security in Afghanistan and in facilitating the completion of the transition process. While hailing the progress on transit arrangements with Central Asian partners and Russia, the alliance said it continued to work with ...
Financing ANSF Costs Less than Maintaining Foreign Army: Karzai
May 21, 2012
KABUL - Training, equipping and financing Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) will cost much less than it does to maintain the foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said Saturday in separate interviews with German media.
In his interview with both RTL and ZDF German TV stations, Karzai said as foreign forces leave Afghanistan, they are saving money, some of which could be invested back into the Afghan security forces.
"With completion of security transition, the expenses of ...
NATO Leaders Seek Common Path Out of Afghanistan
May 21, 2012
CHICAGO - NATO leaders gather in Chicago on Sunday for a summit that will chart a path out of Afghanistan, as Western nations seek to fend off fissures in their alliance and ensure Afghanistan can hold a still-potent Taliban at bay when foreign troops withdraw. President Barack Obama hosts the summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after leaders of major ...
Strategic Pact to Be Inked Soon with Turkey
May 21, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul would soon sign a long-term strategic partnership agreement, a move that would further boost the existing robust relations between the two nations, the Presidential Palace in Kabul said on ...
Obama Tries NATO Fix for Afghanistan Security
May 21, 2012
HICAG0 - US President Barack Obama on Sunday faces the task of persuading financially pressed European governments and their war-weary citizens to back Afghanistan's security over the next decade.
As the 28 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and ...
Afghanistan Fighting Alliance Remains Strong: Rasmussen
May 21, 2012
CHICAGO - The United States and NATO leaders are insisting the Afghanistan fighting coalition will remain whole despite France's plans to yank combat troops out ...
Gillard to Sign Afghan Aid Deal
May 21, 2012
SYDNEY - The future of Australia's aid to Afghanistan will be mapped out in an agreement Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Afghan counterpart will sign on the sidelines of a major NATO summit in the United States.
The agreement will focus on aid and development but also touch on trade, investment and cultural ...
Rohrabacher Urges Clinton to Invite ANF to Chicago Summit
May 20, 2012
WASHINGTON - A key US lawmaker on Friday urged US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to immediately invite Afghan National Front (ANF) to the NATO summit in Chicago, arguing that peace in Afghanistan could not be achieved without its cooperation.
"The National Front must be at the table when the future of their country is being discussed," Congressman Dana Rohrabacher wrote in a letter to Clinton, which was released to the press. There was no immediate reaction from the State Department.
"The overly centralized (President Hamid) Karzai's government ...
Joint Strategy Stressed to Boost Pak-Afghan Trade
May 20, 2012
PESHAWAR - At the concluding session of two-day National Conference on Afghan Transit Trade, the experts and analysts have called for adopting a joint strategy to boost up trade relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which could be beneficial for economic prosperity and improvement of trade activities in the ...
Obama, Hollande Agree on Much, But Not Afghanistan
May 20, 2012
WASHINGTON - New French President Francois Hollande told President Barack Obama on Friday that he will stick by his pledge to withdraw France's troops from Afghanistan at year's end, a note of discord in an otherwise convivial first meeting between the two ...
G8 Focusing on Greece; NATO, on Afghanistan
May 20, 2012
CHICAGO - World leaders huddling at the Group of Eight meeting on Saturday are "unified in their approach" to Iran's nuclear ambitions, President Barack Obama said in his opening remarks at Camp David. The leaders agree that Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear power, Obama said, but they harbored "grave concern" that ...
Afghanistan Yet to Benefit from IRU Facilities
May 20, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan has been unable over the past 37 years to benefit from joining the International Road Transport Union (IRU) due to decades of conflict. Renewing Afghanistan's agreement with the IRU in 2010, transport officials had said Afghan vehicles carrying commercial goods would be able in seven months to travel ...
Obama, Karzai to Discuss Afghan Future
May 19, 2012
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama would have a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Chicago, a top presidential aide said on Thursday.
At the same time, officials noted, no bilateral talks were scheduled between Obama and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, who would be attending the summit at the invitation of the NATO secretary-general.
"The first meeting that he (Obama) will have on Sunday will be with President Karzai of Afghanistan -- obviously an important meeting because a central focus of the NATO summit will be on Afghanistan and ...
France to Continue Helping NATO Mission, Hopes US
May 19, 2012
KABUL - Despite its new president's campaign pledge to withdraw French troops from Afghanistan this year, France would continue to contribute to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, the United States said on Thursday.
Scheduled to pay his maiden visit to the White House on Friday ahead of the G-8 summit, President Francois Hollande plans to announce a ...
Japan-Funded Hospital to Treat Communicable Diseases
May 19, 2012
KABUL - A special Japanese-funded hospital that would treat communicable diseases would soon take shape in the capital Kabul, after the foundation stone was laid by officials on Thursday. The hospital, costing $28 million, will be constructed on 2.5 acres of land in the Darul Aman area in Kabul's west and funded by Japan, Minister of Public Health Dr. Soraya ...
Pakistan has Abiding Interest in Afghan Prosperity: Khar
May 19, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has renewed its abiding interest in Afghanistan's stability and prosperity, saying its leadership remained committed to working closely with the government in Kabul to achieve the objective.
Foreign Minister Khar reiterated Pakistan's desire at a meeting with ...
Pakistan Opens NATO Supply Route: Officials
May 19, 2012
PESHAWAR - Pakistan allowed four containers of office supplies for the US embassy in Kabul to cross into Afghanistan for the first time following a six-month blockade, officials said on Friday.
The trucks were permitted to cross as Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari prepares to meet NATO ...