$100m Allocated for District Development Plans

May 02, 2011

KABUL - The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development had allocated $100 million (4.539 billion Afghanis) for the implementation of development projects during the ongoing year, the minister said on Sunday. The amount had been specified for the construction of roads, bridges, water supply systems, electricity and other infrastructure development projects, Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister...

Taliban Prisoners Escaped Through Gate, Not Tunnel: Gov.t

May 02, 2011

KABUL - Afghan Justice Minister has said Kandahar jailbreak did not happen through tunnel, but the Taliban prisoners were helped to escape through the main gate of the jail.
There has been collaboration between Taliban detainees and Kandahar dungeon chiefs in Kandahar jailbreak, Justice Minister Habibullah Ghalib has said.
Deputy Chief of Afghan intelligence has accused neighboring countries'...

Unemployment Fuelling Insecurity: Senators

May 02, 2011

>KABUL - Some members of the Meshrano Jirga, lower house of Parliament, on Sunday identified unemployment as the main cause of insecurity in the country.
Senator Fauzia Sadat called for reviving defunct industrial units across the country to generate work opportunities for unemployed youth.
Joblessness was one of the key reasons for the youth swelling the ranks of...

Parliament Approves TAPI Gas Agreement

May 01, 2011

KABUL - Afghan lawmakers Saturday approved Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas agreement.
International Liaison Commission of the Afghan parliament viewed the agreement as an economy booster in the country and said Turkmenistan's gas flow through Afghanistan would help to strengthen business relations between the members of the projects.
A member of international liaison commission of the Afghan House of Representatives Mohammad Anwar Akbari...

Tangible Progress Made in Afghanistan: Pentagon

May 01, 2011

WASHINGTON - The United States and its Afghan partners have made progress over the last six months in not just arresting the Taliban's momentum, but reversing it in a number of key areas, a senior defence official has said.
"We've taken away, we've wrested away areas that the insurgents have had under control for years in a number of cases," the...

Khalili Wants Dist Councils to Monitor Uplift Projects

May 01, 2011

KABUL- Second vice president, Mohammad Karim Khalili, on Saturday called for close monitoring of projects to ensure quality and better use of government resources.
Addressing the first-ever conference of newly-established district development council members, Khalili said: "Lack of a proper monitoring system is the principal reason behind low quality of ...

ISI, CIA Relationship is Almost Unworkable: Blair

May 01, 2011

ASHINGTON - US is shifting its terror-killer drones from Pakistan to Afghanistan after Islamabad asked it to shut down UAV bases on its territory, but America has vowed to continue hitting militants based in Pakistan's tribal areas.
Pakistan has asked CIA to remove its personnel from the Shamsi airbase, about 350 km southwest of Baluchistan's capital Quetta, where some of the drones are based, 'New York Times' reported quoting senior ...

Miliband Calls for Council on Regional Stability

May 01, 2011

ASHINGTON - Former British foreign secretary David Miliband, saying one cannot rely solely on the High Peace Council, has called for the creation of a council on regional stability to bring all players together on one platform.
"I think internally we can't just...

Afghan War in New Phase, with New Team

April 30, 2011

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama Thursday charged his reshaped national security team with managing a "new phase" in the long war in Afghanistan -- the struggle to put Afghans in charge of their own security.
Obama nominated CIA boss Leon Panetta as defense secretary, veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker as ambassador to Kabul and chose Lieutenant General John Allen as the new Afghan war commander, refashioning his security brain...

Kabul Bank’s Corrupt Shareholders Named

April 30, 2011

KABUL - Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank Abdul Qadir Fitrat on Wednesday named some of Kabul Bank shareholders who were allegedly involved in misusing clients' deposits.
Despite risks, the stakeholders were named to resolve the crisis, Fitrat told the Wolesi Jirga -- the lower house of the Parliament, which summoned him to explain the story of Afghanistan's largest...

Russia Supports Afghan Peace Process

April 30, 2011

KABUL - Russia's Special Representative to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulove on Friday supported the ongoing peace effort and pledged his country's cooperation in this regard.
During a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, he agreed with President Hamid Karzai on strengthening trade cooperation between the neighboring counties.
The Afghan president and his Russian counterpart had pledged to boost trade links at a meeting in Moscow five months ago, Karzai's office said...

Mujahidin Victory Day Marked Without Parade

April 30, 2011

KABUL - Despite elaborate preparations, the 19th anniversary of Mujahidin's Victory Day was celebrated without the traditional military parade and other high-profile events in Kabul on Thursday.
A coup by the Soviet-backed Communist Party on April 27, 1978 saw the collapse of President Muhammad Daud Khan's government.
Daud's assassination paved the way...

Afghan Violence Rises Amid Troop Surge: Pentagon

April 30, 2011

WASHINGTON - A surge of foreign troops into Afghanistan has dealt a blow to the Taliban insurgency but total violence has risen since last fall, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The Pentagon, in a twice-annual report to the U.S. Congress, said the increase in overall security incidents, which includes roadside bombs, direct fire and other violent acts, was due in part...

WB Oks $50m for Telecom Sector

April 30, 2011

KABUL - The World Bank (WB) has approved a $50 million grant to help the Afghan government expand connectivity, mainstream the use of mobile applications and support the development of the local information technology industry.
The individual development account (IDA) is meant for the Afghanistan Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Sector Development Project that builds...

Afghan Transition Strategy to Continue: NATO

April 30, 2011

BRUSSELS - NATO is congratulating Gen. David Petraeus on his nomination as CIA head, saying its forces in Afghanistan will continue implementing his strategy of handing control to local security forces.
Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday the 150,000-strong NATO force "has seen many successes under his command."
Petraeus has said advances in Taliban strongholds have given NATO the initiative. The transition to...

EU Envoy, AKDN and MAIL Representatives visit EU-funded Biotechnology Laboratory

April 30, 2011

KAUBL - The European Union Special Representative and Head of the EU Delegation to Afghanistan, Ambassador Vygaudas Ušackas, the AKDN Diplomatic Representative Aly Mawji and the Deputy Minister, Abdul Ghani Ghuriani, of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock paid a visit to the Plant Biotechnology Laboratory in Badam ...

Washington Reviews Pak-Afghanistan Strategy

04/27/2011

KABUL - US President Barack Obama reviewed the US strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his top national security and intelligence officials.
The review session was attended by Defence Secretary Robert Gates, UN ambassador Susan Rice, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and James Clapper, Obama's director of national intelligence, Vice President Joe Biden, the top US Commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, General David ...

Paktia Governor Survives Blast

04/27/2011

GARDEZ - Three policemen and a civilian were injured in a bomb attack on Governor Juma Khan Hamdard's vehicle in the southeastern province of Paktia, an official said on Tuesday.
The roadside bomb went off at 8:30a.m, wounding three gubernatorial guards and a passerby, but the governor escaped unhurt, Khan's spokesman Roohullah Samoon told Pajhwok Afghan...

65 Escaped Prisoners Recaptured

04/27/2011

KANDAHAR - Officials say Afghan and international forces have recaptured 65 of nearly 500 inmates who escaped from a jail in southern Afghanistan, in a massive security breach claimed by the Taliban.
The prisoners, mostly Taliban militants, streamed out of Kandahar province's Sarposa prison overnight Sunday through a 300-meter long tunnel built over a five-month ...

Prison Break was Inside Job: Karzai Office

04/27/2011

KABUL – President Hamid Karzai's office on Tuesday acknowledged signs of "cooperation and facilitation from inside" in a huge Afghan prison break in which hundreds of Taliban inmates escaped.
"The escape of all inmates through the tunnel is an indicator of cooperation and facilitation from inside the prison," a statement from the palace said, following an initial report from ...

Roshan Plans $100m Spend in 2011: CEO

04/27/2011

ABU DHABI - Afghan telecoms group Roshan plans to invest up to $100 million in its home market this year and expects subscriber numbers to grow to 5.75 million as it expands into new areas.
Chief Executive Karim Khoja also said the company planned to offer third-generation (3G) services in the war-battered country and the roll-out was expected to start in the ...

Afghan Govt. Has No Idea of Police Strength: US

04/27/2011

WASHINGTON - In the absence of a centralized automated system, the Afghan government has no idea how many policemen are actually are on its rolls, this increasing the prospects of ghost employees, a top US official told lawmakers.
"The risk that we are finding, first of all, is that there is no centralized automated system put in place by the Ministry of Interior...

Key Al-Qaida Figure Killed: NATO

04/27/2011

KABUL - A NATO airstrike earlier this month killed a key al-Qaida operative in Afghanistan — a regional commander in charge of suicide bombings and cash flow, the international military coalition said Tuesday.

NATO identified the man killed in the April 13 airstrike in Dangam district of eastern Kunar province as Abu Hafs al-Najdi, also known as Abdul Ghani. The alliance said the strike also killed a number of other insurgents, including ...

488 Prisoners Escape From Kandahar Jail

04/26/2011

KANDAHAR CITY - Two of the 488 political prisoners, who escaped after the Taliban tunneled into the high-security Kandahar Central Jail early Monday morning, were killed and 24 others rearrested, officials said.
Hundreds of prisoners, many of them militants, fled the jail in Kandahar City through a 360-metre-long tunnel dug by the fighters, Governor Toryalai Weesa told a news conference. The passage linked a nearby house in the Sarpuza area to a cell...

Karzai’s Office Rejects Receiving Proposal from Pakistan

04/26/2011

KABUL - President Karzai's Office on Monday denied having received a proposal from Pakistan consisted of Pakistani government demands.
At a press conference President Hamid Karzai's Spokesperson Waheed Omar called the reports claiming Pakistan submitting a proposal to Afghanistan inaccurate.

Mr Omar told reporters that Pakistan had not offered any ...

WJ Again Rejects Current Year’s Budget

04/26/2011

KABUL - The Wolesi Jirga (WJ), lower house of Parliament, once again rejected on Monday the budget for the new financial year that commenced on March 21.
Passed by the Senate, or Meshrano Jirga, the budget had earlier been rejected by the assembly on March 28, despite Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal's appeal for early...

Pepsi Deal Boosts Investment Chances in Afghanistan

04/26/2011

KABUL - A huge investment of Alokozay Group of Companies in Pepsi production in Afghanistan will be a big booster of jobs and investment, AISA said on Monday.
Afghan Investment Support Agency (AISA) said establishment of a $60 million beverage plant in Afghanistan could persuade other world investors to work on big projects in the...

Vote Recount Not Transparent: FEFA

04/25/2011

KABUL - The recount of votes from last year's parliamentary election lacked transparency, because procedures for the exercise were not put in place beforehand in any province, the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) said on Sunday"In most provinces, it was observed that representatives of the organs forming the provincial recount staff constantly changed. For example, a representative attending the recount today was replaced by another the next day," the election watchdog said in a...

No Permanent US Military Bases in Afghanistan: Karzai

04/25/2011

KABUL - President Hamid Karzai has refused to accept establishment of US permanent military bases in Afghanistan, Interior Minister said on Sunday.
After the Afghan House of Representatives summoned security officials to brief the house on security situation which is being unprecedentedly worse in recent weeks. Interior Minister and Deputy ...

Insurgent Attacks Hit Records Last Month

04/25/2011

KABUL - A total of 440 insurgent attacks have happened nationwide in the past one month, a senior official in Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Sunday. Over 325 militants were killed and 65 others were hurt, Interior Ministry Spokesman Zemarai Bashari told reporters at a press conference.
Around 767 have been arrested and more than 749 roadside bombs ...

India Won’t Back Out of Dam Project: Diplomat

04/25/2011

HERAT CITY - A major dam project, which is estimated to cost more than $180 million, (Afs 8.191 billion) Afghanis will be completed in the Chasht Sharif district of western Herat province by end of 2012, the Indian consul general promised on Sunday.
Once completed, the hydroelectric plant will produce 42 megawatts of ...

MPs Allow Accession to UN Convention

04/24/2011

KABUL - The Wolesi Jirga on Saturday approved Afghanistan's accession to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The convention and its Optional Protocol were adopted in December 2006 by the United Nations and accession to began on March 30, 2007.
Syed Alimi Balkhi, head of the commission on disabilities, martyrs and widows, said the Afghanistan's accession to such conventions after three decades of war.
With the ratification of the ...

9,000 Civilians Killed in the Past Three Years: Report

04/24/2011

KABUL - More than 9,000 civilians have lost their lives in the past three years in Afghanistan, a joint report by UN and Independent Human Rights Commission said.
There has been a 15-percent rise in civilian casualties in the country, the report said.
In the past three months more than 420 civilians have lost their lives nationwide, it said.
It said most of the deaths have been caused by Taliban...

Band-e-Amir National Park Attract Thousands

04/24/2011

BAMYAN - Afghanistan's first national park in Band-e-Amir, is already attracting 2,000 visitors each weekend, three years before it even becomes official
Afghanistan's first national park must wait three years before it is officially recognized, but it is already proving popular with locals who flock to the area on summer weekends.
Situated at Band-e-Amir, near ...

Maliki to Mullen: Iraqi Troops Can Take Over

04/23/2011

BAGHDAD – Iraq's prime minister has told the top U.S. military officer that Iraqi forces are able to maintain security in their own country, as discussions intensify over whether to keep any U.S. forces in Iraq past this year.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made the remark during a late Thursday meeting with Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of ...