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International Women’s Day Celebrated in Kabul
March 10, 2012
KABUL - The Embassy of Canada in Kabul commemorated International Women's Day by hosting an event with Afghan women to provide an opportunity, especially for young women, to meet and network with other inspirational women, the embassy said on Thursday.
The Wednesday event was attended by Afghan women politicians, civil ...
Pakistan Needs to make Sure Minorities Rights: Alistair
March 07, 2012
LONDON – British Parliament issued a resolution asking government to pressurize Pakistani government for absence of Justice with Hazara community in Pakistan. British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Afghanistan/South Asia, counter terrorism/proliferation), Alistair Burt, said that "Media reports claim that ...
EU Supports Gender Equality in Afghanistan: Ušackas
March 08, 2012
KABUL - The European Union on Wednesday pledged continued support for programs that advocate for women's rights and assist victims of violence.
Over the past few months there had been several cases of violence against women in Afghanistan, EU Special Representative Vygaudas Ušackas said on the eve of International Women's Day.
The Afghan government, people and the international community were unified in their condemnation of the horrific acts and demanded the ...
9 Cabinet Ministers Sworn in
March 08, 2012
KABUL - Nine new ministers in the Cabinet of President Hamid Karzai were sworn in at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on Wednesday.
Taking oath after winning a trust vote from Parliament, the ministers promised to follow Islamic teachings, the Constitution and other ...
UN Wants Women’s Protection Law Enforced
March 08, 2012
KABUL - The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and UN Women on Wednesday urged the government of President Hamid Karzai to fully and promptly implement the law on Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW).
"As long as women and girls in Afghanistan are subject to ...
US Interested in Afghan Strategic Ties: Obama
March 08, 2012
ASHINGTON - The unfortunate Quran desecration incident in Afghanistan and subsequent protests and violence showed that it was time for transition in the country, US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.
"The situation with the Quran burning concerns me. I think it is ...
Cameron to Discuss Afghanistan Exit Plans with Obama
March 08, 2012
WASHINGTON - PM to hold US talks to ensure allies are in 'lock step' after six British soldiers go missing, believed dead, in Helmand
David Cameron will hold talks with Barack Obama next week to ensure that Britain and America are in "lock step" over their forces' role in Afghanistan in the wake of news that six British ...
US will Not Stay in Afghanistan Longer than: Obama
March 08, 2012
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the United States was committed to long-term ties with Afghanistan but did not want to keep troops there longer than needed to disable al Qaeda and ensure a modicum of stability as foreign forces withdraw.
"President (Hamid) Karzai understands we are interested in a ...
Senators Cobble Together New Alliance
March 07, 2012
KABUL - Members of the Meshrano Jirga, or upper house of Parliament, on Tuesday announced the formation of a new political alliance that would work to ensure respect for the law and promote national unity.
"The parliamentary group is aimed at adherence to the law and ending prejudices to pave the ground for national solidarity," the coalition head, Maulvi Abdul Wahab ...
Women Lose Out in Afghan Clerics’ Rule
March 07, 2012
KABUL - Women are subordinate to men, should not mix in work or education and must always have a male guardian when they travel, according to new guidelines from Afghanistan's top clerics that critics say are dangerously reminiscent of the Taliban era.
The guidelines appeared in a statement that also encouraged ...
Karzai Defends Scholars’ Guideline Regarding Women
March 07, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday said a guideline concerning women issued by the Afghanistan Ulema Council, involving the country's top religious scholars, was in accordance with the Sharia.
Issued on Feb. 2, the guideline prohibits women from meeting men in public places like bazaars, offices and educational institutes. It said ...
Progress Made on Deal with US: Karzai
March 07, 2012
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai, rejecting reports discussion had been halted on the strategic cooperation pact with the United States, said on Tuesday that progress had been made on reaching the agreement.
At a joint media briefing with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski ...
Etisalat Afghanistan Signs MoU with MoWA
March 07, 2012
KABUL – Etisalat Afghanistan announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) to support gender equality through the use of mobile money technology during a ceremony held in Kabul. The signing comes several days before International Women's Day, which will be observed around the world on ...
We’ll Stay Beyond 2014 If Afghans Want: Gen. Allen
March 06, 2012
LASHKARGAH - International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) top commander in Afghanistan Gen. Johan Allen on Monday said his troops would stay in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 deadline if the Afghans desired so.
During a visit to southern Helmand province, Gen. Allen, accompanied by Afghan High Peace Council deputy head Farhadullah Farhad, met local officials and foreign troops.
After a meeting with Governor Gulab Mangal, the ISAF commander told a press conference in Lashkargah ...
All Cabinet Nominees Win Vote of Confidence
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March 06, 2012
KABUL - All the nine ministers-designate received a vote of confidence from to the Wolesi Jirga, lower house of Parliament on Monday, after sharing their priorities with lawmakers.
Two weeks ago, Karzai named Mohammad Ismail Khan as water and energy ...
Foreign Ministry Reaffirms Terms for Deal with US
March 06, 2012
KABUL - The Afghan government remained willing to sign the strategic cooperation pact with the United States if the traditional Loya Jirga's recommendations were accepted, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said on Monday. Held in mid-November 2011, the assembly of elders and government officials proposed the deal should be signed if the US guaranteed ...
Putin Wins Russian Presidential Election
March 06, 2012
KABUL - Vladimir Putin has won his third term as Russia's president, securing nearly 64% of the vote, election officials said according to the BBC.
He has spent the past four years as Russia's prime minister because the constitution would not allow him three consecutive terms as ...
Afghanistan Wants Independent Relations with Pakistan: Daudzai
March 06, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Afghan Ambassador Umer Daudzai has said that Pakistan and Afghanistan want no more incident-prone relations, therefore, intended to be a bit faster in cooperation.
"In the area of reconciliation and to institutionalize our cooperation, there should be a mechanism. Our president made comments a ...
Afghans Face Acute Malnutrition, Food Insecurity: WB
March 06, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan faces an acute problem of malnutrition and food insecurity, with children suffer from one of the highest levels of chronic malnutrition in the world, according to the latest data from the government and the World Bank. Fifty-four percent of Afghan children under five are chronically ...
Lack of Afghan Mission Clarity ‘Disturbing’: Romney
March 05, 2012
DAYTON - Republican Mitt Romney, campaigning for president in Ohio Saturday, said President Obama has failed to adequately explain the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
After Vicki Chura, 54, of Fairfield told Romney her daughter, who serves in Army's 82nd Airborne Division, has repeatedly expressed confusion about the role of the U.S. military in Afghanistan nearly a year after Osama bin Laden was killed, CBS News reported.
"Every e-mail, every time we Skype, we hear 'I want ...
Australia Done a Bad Job in Afghanistan: WH
March 05, 2012
KABUL - The Australian military's mission in Afghanistan has failed and the federal government has done a bad job of explaining Australia's role there, a defense strategist says.
Professor Hugh White from the Strategic Studies Institute at the Australian National University said it is "past the point where ...
Cabinet Nominees Spell Out Future Plans
March 05, 2012
KABUL - Four of the nine ministers-designate nominated by President Hamid Karzai for a vote of confidence from the Wolesi Jirga on Sunday briefed parliamentarians on their future plans.
Karzai named nine people for Cabinet slots two weeks ago. Mohammad Ismail Khan has been nominated as water and energy minister, Amirzai ...
Afghan Investigator Insists Quran Burnings Intentional
March 05, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan - While U.S. investigators say the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. military base was a mistake involving at least five Americans who may face a disciplinary review, Afghan investigators claimed it was an intentional desecration.
The conflicting accounts highlight rising tensions between the two ...
Gen. Karimi Warns against another NATO Blunder
March 05, 2012
KABUL - The burning of Korans at a NATO base in Afghanistan advanced the Taliban's cause and any repeat of similar "negligence" by Western forces would be disastrous, the Afghan army chief of staff has warned.
The destruction of the holy books, which the United States described as unintentional, triggered widespread protests and fatal attacks on ...
First Afghan-Pak-China Trilateral Dialogue Held in Beijing
March 04, 2012
KABUL - The first Afghanistan-Pak-China trilogies was held in Beijing, and chaired by Ambassador Luo Zhaohui, Department of Asian Affairs of the Minister of the Foreign Affairs of China.
Director General of the First Political Department of the Ministry of Department of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Dr. Amanullah Jayhoon and Ambassador Alamgir Babar, additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.
H. E. Mr. Yang Jiechi Foreign Minister of China met the heads of the three delegations on ...
MPs Relax Rules on Trust Vote for Cabinet Picks
March 04, 2012
KABUL - A majority of parliamentarians on Saturday relaxed the Wolesi Jirga procedure regarding the re-introduction of rejected Cabinet nominees. The relaxation will benefit several ministers-designate.
The changes come days after President Hamid Karzai named seven Cabinet picks who were rejected by lawmakers during the previous term ...
US Determined to Complete its Mission in Afghanistan: Panetta
March 04, 2012
KABUL - US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said the United States is determined to complete its mission in Afghanistan despite the spate of killings of ISAF forces there.
Speaking at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, Mr Panetta said the United States has considerably weakened al-Qaeda and decimated its ...
Pak-Afghan Ties Should Be Based on Trust: Khar
March 04, 2012
KABUL - Links between Pakistan and Afghanistan should be based on trust, Pakistani media reported the foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, as saying.
Pakistan is seeking a "trust-based relationship" with Kabul that sets aside the past associated with support for the Taliban ...
Kabul Clings to Terms for Strategic Deal with US
March 04, 2012
KABUL - Afghanistan would not ink the proposed strategic agreement with the United States as long as recommendations of the traditional Loya Jirga were not implemented, a presidential spokesman said on Saturday.
In mid-November, the grand assembly recommended the signing of the pact that allows the creation of American bases in the country for a ...
CIA-Led Force May Speed Afghan Exit: US Officials
March 04, 2012
WASHINGTON - Top Pentagon officials are considering putting elite special operations troops under CIA control in Afghanistan after 2014, just as they were during last year's raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan, sources told The Associated Press.
The plan is one of several possible scenarios being debated by ...
Peace Process Should be Inclusive: UN
March 03, 2012
KABUL - The United Nations top diplomat in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, on Thursday said that the on going reconciliation and peace process should be inclusive.
Addressing a news briefing in Kabul, Mr. Kubis acknowledged there were some hurdles to national reconciliation in Afghanistan.
The views of the opposition parties should be considered to make the peace drive a success, he said. "Regarding what is our concrete role, first of all, we need to hear from Afghan parties what they would like us to do. But we will be more than ...
Clinton Defends America’s Afghan Mission
March 03, 2012
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama is in the process of transitioning out of Afghanistan in an appropriate manner and in keeping with decisions that have to be made about helping Afghans defend themselves, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.
Clinton told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing: "I think ...
Rasmussen Calls for Early Signing of Afghan-US Pact
March 03, 2012
KABUL - The NATO secretary-general says the US-Afghan strategic cooperation agreement be signed ahead of the Chicago conference, but President Hamid Karzai insists on his government's conditions being met.
Karzai and NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed the strategic pact providing for US bases in the war-torn country during a conversation ...
Turkey Pledges Continued Support to Afghanistan
March 03, 2012
KABUL - Turkey on Thursday promised it would continue to support Afghanistan beyond 2014, when all foreign forces are scheduled to leave the war-battered country.
Turkish ambassador to Afghanistan Bassat Ozturk held out the promise at a meeting in Kabul, marking the 91st anniversary of a friendship ...
Karzai Stresses Deeper Pak-Afghan Collaboration
March 03, 2012
ISLAMABAD - President Hamid Karzai on Friday underlined the need for equitable and deeper collaboration between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A recent Afghan-Iran-Pakistan summit in Islamabad offered yet another opportunity to pursue bilateral dialogue, Karzai said in a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza ...