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Govt. Won't Be Able to Fund ASF after 2014: Eikenberry
October, 26 2011
WASHINGTON - A former US ambassador to Afghanistan said that the cost of maintaining Afghanistan's Security Forces (ASF) after 2014 will be more than three times government revenue, and the shortfall will have to be picked up by the international community.
Speaking on a visit to the Australian capital, Canberra, on Monday, former US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said that building an effective security force will cost about $7 billion annually, dwarfing the $2.5 billion annual revenue of the Afghan ...
Afghanistan Needs $1bn to Fight Drought
October, 26 2011
KABUL - The Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development said on Tuesday that more than 7 million people are facing drought and starvation in the country. The Natural Resources and Environment Committee of Afghan Parliament said that more 90 per cent of rain-fed lands have not had enough rain ...
MPs Split on Participation in Loya Jirga
October, 26 2011
KABUL - A hundred Wolesi Jirga members have filled out forms for participation in the proposed traditional Loya Jirga on an Afghan-US strategic cooperation pact, but others said they would not take part in the event.
More than 2,000 government officials and elders are scheduled to meet in mid-November in Kabul to discuss the pros and cons of the ...
Pakistan, US Agree on ‘Blueprint’ Seeking Peaceful End to War in Afghanistan
October, 26 2011
ISALAMABAD - The United States and Pakistan have agreed on a "blueprint" seeking a peaceful end to the decade-old war in Afghanistan, according to a media report. The Afghan endgame took centre stage during extensive talks between Washington and Islamabad during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ...
Haqqaniswill Not Talk Afghan Peace Alone: Commander
October, 26 2011
PESHAWAR - The Afghan Haqqani militant group will not take part individually in any peace talks with the United States and negotiations must be led by the Taliban, a senior commander told Reuters on Tuesday.
"They (the Americans) would not be able to find a possible solution to the Afghan conflict until and unless they hold talks with ...
MPs Reject Afghan-ISAF Cooperation Pact
October 25, 2011
KABUL - The Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of Parliament, on Monday rejected an agreement on technical and military cooperation between the Afghan government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
But the house endorsed with a majority vote four other agreements on the creation of a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation university, a SAARC food bank, legal cooperation between Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on social and ...
Afghanistan Owes more than $2bn: MoF
October 25, 2011
KABUL - The Afghan Ministry of Finance said Afghanistan owes about $2.3 billion to various countries and international organizations. These loans have funded projects in Afghanistan and many of them are zero-interest loans, the ministry said. The Ministry of Finance expects that most of these loans will be ...
Jirga on Strategic Pact in Mid-November
October 25, 2011
KABUL - More than 2,000 government officials and elders are scheduled to meet in mid-November in Kabul to discuss the pros and cons of an Afghan-US strategic cooperation pact.
The traditional Loya Jirga, convening at the Polytechnic University, would also confer on a mechanism for peace negotiations with Afghan ...
Security Situation Deteriorates After Transition
October 25, 2011
BAMYAN CITY - A defense delegation of the Meshrano Jirga or upper house of Parliament on Monday said the security situation in four provinces has deteriorated after the security responsibly was transferred to Afghan forces from their foreign counterparts. The investigation team said it had assessed the security situation in ...
Afghanistan Sliding into Autocracy: Hamdard
October 24, 2011
GARDEZ - The governor of southeastern Paktia province on Sunday warned the present government system of Afghanistan is sliding into a monocracy, with a particular tribe grabbing more and more political power.
In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Juma Khan Hamdard urged the international community to preserve the gains of the past decade by preventing Afghanistan from slipping into monocracy.
"The government system has changed into a ...
Some Ministers Have Embezzled Millions: Ludin
October 24, 2011
KABUL: At least two Afghan cabinet ministers have embezzled millions of dollars of public money, the country's anti-graft chief said at the weekend, adding to Western pressure on President Hamid Karzai to clean up his government. Donor countries say corruption in Karzai's administration is endemic ...
Mohammadi Survives Attempted Assassination
October 24, 2011
KABUL - The Afghan government says a key Cabinet minister has survived an assassination attempt just north of Kabul. The government says bodyguards for Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi shot and killed a would-be suicide bomber who was waiting for the minister's convoy Sunday in Sayyed Khel district of Parwan province, north of ...
MPs Divided on Karzai's Remarks about Pakistan
October, 24 2011
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai's overnight interview with a private Pakistani television channel drew a mixed response from Parliamentarians on Sunday. Speaking to Geo News, the president said peace talks with the Taliban Haqqani network should take place in Pakistan. "I should say the Taliban shura is in Pakistan, we all know the Haqqani group is in ...
Pak, Afghanistan Should Take Decisions to Deal with Security Challenges: Clinton
October, 24 2011
WASHINGTON - Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has a point when he says that Afghanistan has to deal with its own problems instead of blaming Islamabad for them, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. In an interview with Fox News, when asked to comment on Kayani's ...
We have Reached out to the Taliban: Clinton
October 23, 2011
KABUL – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. has spoken with representatives of the Islamic militant Haqqani network, which has been carrying out attacks on Americans in Afghanistan.
Clinton, speaking in Pakistan today, said there was one meeting with the Haqqani network. It was held a few months ago, prior to attacks on the Intercontinental Hotel and the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, that the U.S. says were carried out by the Haqqanis, operating from ...
A Threat to Mankind!WJ Oks ANDMA, ACCI Laws
October 23, 2011
KABUL - The Wolesi Jirga on Saturday approved with a majority vote a rule concerning the disaster-management body and amendments to Afghanistan's Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) law.
The parliamentary environment protection commission's head, Obaidullah Ramin, told the house the law on disaster management ...
Preparations for Istanbul Conference Discussed
October 23, 2011
KABUL - A day-long meeting, aimed at discussing preparations for the upcoming Istanbul conference, was held in the capital Kabul on Saturday, with representatives and ambassadors from 26 countries in attendance.
Slated for November 2, the regional cooperation conference will ...
Afghanistan to Support Pakistan in Case of US Attack: Karzai
October, 23 2011
KABUL - Afghanistan and Afghan people will be standing with Pakistan and their Pakistani brethren if any one including US and India attacked Pakistan, President Hamid Karzai told a local private TV channel, during an interview. Karzai said that no one including US, India and China could incite Afghanistan and Afghan people against Pakistan. He said if ...
Clinton Urges Afghan Neighbors to Play Role in Securing Afghanistan
October 23, 2011
DUSHANBE - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Central Asian nations on Saturday to play a role in securing and rebuilding war-torn Afghanistan, promoting the concept of a "new Silk Road" that would benefit the entire region. She also pressed authorities in the region about improving their record on human ...
No Peace without Peace in Afghanistan: Gilani
October 22, 2011
ISLAMABAD – Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday said there can be no peace in the region without peace in Afghanistan. Talking to Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, member of Wolesi Jirga and the Chairman of Commission on Law and Justice of Wolesi Jirga at the Prime Minister’s House Islamabad, Gilani said Pakistan is ready to train the Afghan army, police and administration to cope with the aftermath of ...
Thousands of Drought Hit Families Receive Aid
October 22, 2011
TALOQAN - Thousands of drought-hit families received food aid, improved seeds and animal feed in northern Takhar province, officials said on Thursday. About 10,000 affected families from 15 districts of the province benefitted from the assistance, the deputy minister of agriculture and ...
Many Daikundi Schools without Buildings
October 22, 2011
NILI - With almost 76 percent of schools across Daikundi province having proper buildings, more than 100,000 students are still studying under tents, officials said on Friday. A total of 334 schools are operating in the province, Director of Education Sardar Ali Jafri told Pajhwok Afghan News. As many as 118,104 students are taught under trees, in mosques and rented ...
110 Houses Built on Govt. Land Razed
October 22, 2011
JALALABAD - As many as 110 residential houses built illegally on government land have been demolished in eastern Nangarhar province, officials said on Thursday. Police demolished the houses in Surkhrod and Momand Dara districts, the Surkhrod district chief, Syed Ali Akbar Sadat, told Pajhwok Afghan ...
Clinton Presses Pakis akis akistan an t to o A Act ct A Agains ains ainst Ter er error or oris is ist t Ha Havens ens
October 22, 2011
ISLAMABAD - In a blunt message to Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today demanded greater cooperation from the country to "squeeze" the Haqqani network responsible for attacks in Afghanistan, saying Islamabad could not keep "snakes" in its backyard to strike its neighbors. "It's like that old...
Karzai to Name Cabinet Picks Next Week
October 20, 2011
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai is expected to refer next week his ministers-designate to the lower house of Parliament for a vote of confidence, the Wolesi Jirga speaker said on Wednesday.
Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi told the house he had talked to the president, who promised sending his Cabinet choices and two members of the Constitutional Oversight Commission during the upcoming week.
Ministries of water and energy, women's affairs, public health, transport and aviation, information technology and higher ...
Afghanistan Seeks Greater Indian Investments
October 20, 2011
KABUL - Seeking enhanced economic engagement with India, war-ravaged Afghanistan on Wednesday asked the Indian industrial houses to invest in sectors like mining and manufacturing and construction activities. Speaking at the CII organized Indian Global Summit on MSMEs 2011 here, visiting Afghanistan Trade and Industry Minister, Anwar Ul Haq ...
France Begins Troop Pullout
October 20, 2011
PARIS - France's military says the country has begun its planned drawdown of troops from Afghanistan by pulling out 200 soldiers — reducing its total deployment there to 3,800. France has pegged its withdrawal in proportion to the planned U.S. pullout of troops through 2014 when Afghan forces are expected to take over full responsibility for ...
ADB to Give $222m for Roads, Rail Tracks
October 20, 2011
KABUL - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged $222 million in aid to Afghanistan for the construction of 145 kilometers of roads and establishment of an independent railways department, officials said on Wednesday. A contract to the effect was signed between ADB's Country Director Robert Rinker and Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal at a ceremony ...
US Should Focus on Afghanistan, Not Pakistan: Gen. Kiyani
October 20, 2011
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's army chief told parliament's defense committee the United States should focus on stabilizing Afghanistan instead of pushing Pakistan to attack militant groups in a crucial border region, a committee member told Reuters on ...
ANSF May Soon Guard Nearly Half of Afghans
October 20, 2011
KABUL- The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) may soon be in charge of security for nearly half of their population, under plans for the second stage of a security transfer that NATO nations hope will serve as firm evidence their troops can come home on ...
CNPC Agrees Oil Deal with Afghanistan: Official
October 20, 2011
ABUL - Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has reached final agreement with the Afghan government to develop an oil field there, an Afghan mines ministry official told Reuters on ....
Afghanistan Needs more Advanced Weapons: Wardak
October 19, 2011
KABUL - A fully fledged Afghan National Security Force (ANSF), including army and police, will cost about $5 billion a year after international combat forces pull out in 2014, defense minister told reporters on Tuesday.
Afghanistan needs more advanced weapons, like fighter jets, to defend against foreign threats, while the current firepower is enough to deal with insurgents, defense minister Abdul Rahim Wardak ...
India Has “Constructive” Role in Afghanistan: US
October 19, 2011
WASHINGTON - Brushing aside Pakistan's reservations, the US has said it views India's role in Afghanistan as "constructive" and wants all the three nations to pull in the same direction for the war-torn country's stability. State Department spokesman Mark Toner asserted that the situation in South Asia was not a zero-sum game. "We need ...
Afghans, NATO Launch ‘New Push Against Haqqanis’
October 19, 2011
KABUL - Afghan security forces and their NATO allies have launched a new push against the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network along the troubled Pakistani border, senior defense officials said Tuesday.
The United States recently accused the Haqqanis of orchestrating a 19-hour siege of the U.S. embassy in Kabul, a September truck bombing ...
India to Deliver 1,000 Buses Soon: Najafi
October 19, 2011
KABUL - India would soon deliver a thousand public transport buses to Afghanistan, the acting transport and aviation minister announced on Tuesday, amid public complaints about a shortage of vehicles in the ...