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Govt. Interfering in WJ Affairs: MPs
September 19, 2011
KABUL - Some parliamentarians on Sunday identified government interference as the main reason behind the Wolesi Jirga's inefficiency. However, the government rejected the allegation.
The parliamentary election was held on September 18, 2010, but results were announced two months later. Finally, the lower house was inaugurated by President Hamid Karzai on January 26, 2011 after widespread demonstrations ...
US to Provide $268m for Combating Drugs
September 19, 2011
KABUL - The US government would provide $268 million (12.8 billion afghanis) for law enforcement and combating the scourge drugs under an agreement signed in Kabul on Sunday. The accord was inked between Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Ludin and Hans G. Klemm, coordinating director of rule of law and law enforcement ...
Health Centers’ Problems with Taliban Resolved: MP
September 19, 2011
QALAT - Problem between health centers and Taliban have been resolved in southern province Zabul province, a public representative said on Sunday. Health centers have been closed in Shahr-i-Safa, Mezan, Dai Chopan, Shah Joi, and Shamalzai districts due to disagreements between the ...
Silk Road Exhibition Concluded in Bamyan
September 19, 2011
KABUL - A three-day Silk Road Exhibition, involving concerts, circuses and agricultural products, ended in the central province of Bamyan late on Saturday night. More than 11,000 people participated in the event. Aimed at promoting tourism in the province, the exhibition was ...
Afghanistan Needs Long-Term Aid: EU
September 19, 2011
KABUL - The EU special representative has said post-transition Afghanistan will require significant assistance from the international community for the foreseeable future.
Speaking at the Rîga Conference, a major foreign and security policy forum in Northern Europe, Ambassador Vygaudas Uðackas said on Saturday ...
Private Firms Lash Out at Agriculture Ministry
September 19, 2011
JALALABAD - If the agriculture ministry does not buy their improved seeds, all private agricultural companies will collapse, the National Group of Improved Seeds in Afghanistan said on Sunday. The ministry had promised 39 national companies that it would purchase quality seeds from them under a plan, prompting the firms to produce 32,000 metric tons ...
MPs Refuse to Bail Out Kabul Bank
September 18, 2011
KABUL - Afghanistan could run into a severe financial crisis if Parliament did not approve a $52 million fund to bail out Kabul Bank, Minister of Finance Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal warned on Saturday.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will not deliver new aid to Afghanistan as long as it does not resolve issues with banks, the finance minister told lawmakers.
Kabul Bank, the country's largest private bank, faced ...
Afghanistan, Pakistan Agree on Joint Anti-Terror Efforts
September 18, 2011
ISLAMABAD - Afghanistan and Pakistani have agreed on a framework for cooperation in reconciliation and counterterrorism efforts, officials said on Friday.
Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, after a meeting of the working group of the ...
HIA not to Attend Bonn Conference
September 18, 2011
JALALABAD - The Gulbadin Hekmatyar-led Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) on Saturday rejected a media report about its willingness to attend the second Bonn conference.
On September 10, a report said the party was willing to attend the conference, if invited as an independent entity. The report added an ...
Young Afghan Fighters Eager to Rejoin Taliban
September 18, 2011
KABUL - The teenage insurgents spend their days learning to make shoes and bookshelves, listening to religious leaders denounce the radical interpretation of Islam they learned as children.
But when they return to their cells at Kabul's juvenile rehabilitation center, the boys with wispy beards and cracking voices ...
Karzai, Obama to Discuss Strategic Partnership
September 18, 2011
WASHINGTON - President Hamid Karzai would meet his US counterpart, Barack Obama, on Tuesday in New York to discuss the strategic partnership and enduring relationship with United States, a US top presidential aide said on Friday.
This would be the first time the two Presidents would meet after ...
President Launches Nationwide Anti-Polio Drive
September 18, 2011
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai on Saturday launched a three-day nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign, involving 52,000 volunteers, his office said.
As many as 7.8 million children below five years of age would be administered polio vaccine. Some 4.6 million children under the age of ...
Huge Rare-Earth Material in Helmand: USGS
September 17, 2011
WASHINGTON - The Khanashin carbonatites in southern Helmand Province have an estimated one million metric tones of rare earth material, according to a US Geological Survey (USGS) estimate.
This estimate came on Wednesday from a 2009-2011 USGS study, funded by the Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). "This is just one more piece of evidence that Afghanistan's mineral sector has a bright ...
China Calls for Early Stabilization in Afghanistan
Saturday September 17
BEIJING - China has called for an early resumption of stability in Afghanistan one day after the U.S. embassy in Kabul was attacked by Taliban militants.
"The Chinese side has noted the incident and gives its attention to the security situation in Afghanistan," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in response ...
Afghanistan World’s Largest Opium Producer: Obama
September 17, 2011
WASHINGTON - Identifying 22 major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries, US President Barack Obama has said Afghanistan remains the world's largest producer of opium.
"Afghanistan remains the world's largest producer of opium poppy and a major source of heroin," Obama said in a presidential ...
US Presence Seen as Perpetuating War
September 17, 2011
KABUL - A long-term US military presence in Afghanistan in the wake of the strategic cooperation pact could perpetuate the war, with increased meddling from neighboring countries, political analysts warned on Thursday. Speaking at a day-long seminar at the Mahr Media Centre in Kabul, analyst Wahid Muzhda said China, Russia ...
Japanese Firm to Rebuild Kabul Airport Airfield
September 17, 2011
KABUL - A Japanese firm has been awarded the contract for rehabilitating the Kabul International Airport's airfield, the Afghan embassy in Tokyo said on Friday.
The Dai Nippon Construction, with a legacy of working on projects in Afghanistan, was given the contract last month, a statement from the ...
Al-Qaeda May Flee Afghanistan and S.Asia: Petraeus
September 15, 2011
WASHINGTON - America's new intelligence chief David Petraeus has predicted that Al-Qaeda leaders may flee Afghanistan and the entire south Asia as they were being pressed hard by American forces.
In his first week on the new job as the CIA chief, Petraeus said that within 18-24 months, the core of the Al-Qaeda could be degraded to the point that the group will fragment and exist mostly as a propaganda ...
Karzai Calls for Combating Terror, Extremism
September 15, 2011
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai underlined on Wednesday the need for combating the twin scourge of terrorism and extremism, which have created serious problems for the region.
"We realize that a peaceful Pakistan is in interest of the entire region," Karzai said during a meeting with visiting Indian ...
Japan to Provide $15m for Paving Bamyan Roads
September 15, 2011
KABUL - Afghanistan and Japan signed on Wednesday an agreement on improving a road in central Bamyan province, the two sides said. The agreement was signed between Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Jawed Ludin and Japan's Ambassador to Afghanistan Reiichiro Takahashi. Minister of Public Works Abdul QudusHamidi was ...
Kabul Attack Won’t Deter Commitment: US
September 15, 2011
WASHINGTON - The latest attack on Kabul will not deter the American administration's commitment to the process of transitioning security from NATO-led troops to Afghan forces, the White House has said. "It's important to make clear that this will in no way deter our commitment to the mission, which is to provide for security, as we work ...
Troops Must Head Out of Afghanistan: US Senator
September 15, 2011
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, back from his second trip to Afghanistan within 18 months, says he saw or heard nothing to change his mind that U.S. military forces should be headed out even quicker than President Obama announced back in June. Although he praised U.S. diplomats ...
3 Policemen Killed, 6 Injured in Kabul Attacks
September 14, 2011
KABUL - At least three policemen and two suicide attackers were killed and six others, including four civilians, wounded in three back-to-back explosions -- followed by gunfire -- in Kabul on Tuesday, security officials said.
One policeman was killed and a taxi driver wounded when four attackers stormed a building under construction in the Abdul Haq Square, said Lt. Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi, the commander ...
Pentagon Plans to Cut ANSF Training Cost
September 14, 2011
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is trying to cut the cost of one of its main efforts in Afghanistan, the building of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) able to secure the country after international forces leave.
Several defense officials said Tuesday that they're reassessing the ...
Spanta Hints at US Bases in Afghanistan
September 14, 2011
KABUL - The United States may set up military bases in Afghanistan after the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement, President Hamid Karzai's national security advisor said on Tuesday.
Testifying before senators, Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, who recently returned from a visit to the US, said the strategic pact would not be ...
Interior Ministry Rejects HRW Report on ALP
September 14, 2011
KABUL - The Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Tuesday rejected the Human Rights Watchdog (HRW) report that the newly-created Afghan Local Police (ALP) force was involved gross human rights abuses.
Confirming ALP officials' complicity in the harassment of locals, MoI spokesman Siddiqullah Siddiqui rejected at a press conference in Kabul ...
Afghan Troops to Be Provided with Armored Personnel Carriers
September 14, 2011
KABUL - Afghan army would by the end of this year be provided with armored personnel carriers that no other countries have except the United States, deputy commander of the NATO training mission in the country said on Monday.
Major General Michael Day, Deputy Commander of the NATO training ...
MTN Holds Gold Lucky Draw
September 14, 2011
KABUL – MTN recently wrapped up their Ramadan promotion which saw 6 weeks of prizes, 42 daily winners of 50g of gold and 2 grand prize winners of 200g of gold for a total of 2.5Kg of gold. For the third time this year, MTN is benefiting their customers with life changing rewards following the previous two apartment ...
President Karzai Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Kabul
September 14, 2011
KABUL – President Hamid Karzai has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Kabul Tuesday afternoon.
Initial reports indicate that terrorists launched attacks in three different locations in Kabul's Abdul Haq Square, Deh Mazang and on the Dar-ul-Aman Road. The attacks are reported to have injured some ...
Embassy Attack will Not Stop US Efforts in Kabul: Clinton
September 14, 2011
>Washington - US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, said the coordinated Taliban attacks on the US embassy and other targets in Kabul on Tuesday would not harm American efforts in Afghanistan.
'We will be vigilant but we will be continuing with an even greater ...
EU Condemns Kabul Attacks
September 14, 2011
KABUL - European Union (EU) Special Representative Ambassador VygaudasUšackas condemned on Tuesday's attacks that left several dead and injured in Kabul. Ambassador Vygaudas Ušackas expressed his grief over the attacks, saying such acts would never prevent Afghans from reaching an everlasting peace and reconciliation in their ...
MPs’ Boycott Leaves Parliament in Limbo
September 13, 2011
KABUL – More than half of Afghanistan's lawmakers are boycotting parliament over an election authority's decision to replace nine MPs, a walkout that has pushed the legislature below quorum and extended a nearly year-long limbo.
The fraud-marred elections for parliament were held last September, but months of disputes between President Hamid Karzai and parliament over the results first delayed the opening of ...
ALP Guilty of Gross Abuses: HRW
September 13, 2011
KABUL - The newly-created Afghan Local Police (ALP) force is involved in gross human rights abuses, an international watchdog said on Monday.
With the government failing to provide proper oversight, the US-backed force was accused of killings, rape, arbitrary detention, ...
NATO Committed to Train ANA Beyond 2014
September 13, 2011
KABUL - NATO is committed to train and equip the Afghan National Army (ANA) after the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) end their combat operation by the end of 2014, a NATO general said on ...
‘Elements in Pak Supporting Insurgency in Afghanistan’: NATO
September 13, 2011
BRESSELS - As US sets in motion phased withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan, NATO has said that elements in Pakistan are supporting insurgency in the war-torn country.
The US-led military grouping also said the security situation in both Pakistan and Afghanistan was 'far from satisfactory' even though Osama ...