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Women: The Companions not Competitors
March 17, 2012 | Abdul Samad Haidari
Man challenges the time to go ahead of it before it comes. Man competes with each other to go ahead of each other. Competition has become the philosophy of today's mankind. With everything competition, man today has violated every rule of law, overwhelmed and divested the status of women and they are widely depressed. They ...
Shifting Public Perceptions
March 15, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan and the United Statesare about to sign a much-talked talked about and anticipated strategicpartnership. Much has been said and talked about this deal. At a minimum, theAmerican side is pushing for keeping a relatively small contingent of troops inAfghanistan beyond the point when the combat operations by Americans would ...
Women’s Rights: From Ethical Commitment to Political Compromise
March 15, 2012 | Abdul Kabir Salehi
Afghan Ulama Council released a declaration last Friday emphasizing on gender-segregation of men and women at the workplace, educational institutions and other social spheres. The declaration also insisted that women are to be dominated by men according to the verse one and thirty four ...
Kandahar Civilian Massacre: How the US is Still Getting Afghanistan Wrong
March 15, 2012 | Ahmad Shuja
The debate following the Kandahar massacre shows that Americans at home and in Afghanistan still don't quite understand the meaning of events in that country. Domestically, the calls for a swifter withdrawal are not only divorced from the realities of logistical constraints but also displays a reckless disregard for the ...
The Naïve Risky Move
March 14, 2012 | Nasruddin Hemati
President Karzai administration appears to be gaining the upper hand in recent controversies with his US counterparts. Arguments on the US-Afghanistan strategic partnership documents revolved mainly around the two preconditions set by President Karzai for signing the strategic pact. Karzai insisted on handing over US-controlled ...
The Prospective Looks Grim
March 14, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
Perhaps, international community's military and political officials did not think that counterinsurgency struggle might last a decade or even longer. But it did and still Taliban-led insurgencies have remained a potential threat to Afghan government and democratic achievements in the absence of foreign security forces. Two main ...
Relations Between Afghanistan and India
March 14, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan needs the assistance of the international community. Among them, India has been a prominent country. In recent years, India has been at the forefront of assisting Afghanistan to succeed in its rebirth and long-awaited renewal. The modern relations between the two countries have a historical dimension, going far back to ...
Afghan Security Forces are Yet to Stand on Their Own!
March 13, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
As there have been concerns about the capability of Afghan security forces to take on the responsibilities of security of entire nation, at the same time there are serious concerns about financing the forces as without enough financial support the security forces will not be able to overpower the foes. After the withdrawal ...
Shadow of Afghanistan: 1959-2012
March 13, 2012 | Abbas Daiyar
Shadow of Afghanistan: 1959-2012 is a compilation of over 100 hours of video shots by two Oscar-nominated filmmakers Jim Burroughs and Suzanne Bauman, who made 18 trips to Afghanistan over the last 26 years of war and chaos. The film is now released with publication of Blood on the Lens: A Filmaker’s Quest for ...
The Crisis Continues Unabated
March 13, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
The wreckage from the financial crisis in the developed world continues to be a fountainhead of troubles. The collapse of the housing market in the U.S. that unraveled in 2008 produced an enormous cache of foreclosed homes. Hundreds of thousands of American families, who had previously taken out mortgages and bought homes ...
Afghanistan: The War Within
March 12, 2012 7 | Musa Khan Jalalzai
Last year, an interview with a journalist, Sirajuddin Haqqani claimed that some people within the government department in Afghanistan share political and military information with his group. The recent debates on the Taliban infiltration and their secret networks within the Afghan Army, police and intelligence infrastructures ...
A Serious Issue to Ponder Upon!
March 12, 2012 7 | Dilawar Sherzai
Human beings are fortunate that they are blessed with variety of energy resources that have enabled them to live their lives on the planet Earth. It is because of these energy sources that human beings have performed miracles by inventing various ways of ensuring satisfaction and facilities for themselves. From the facilitation ...
Changing Political Climate in Iran
March 11, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
It has been elections time in Iran. Parliamentary elections were held in early March and a new Majlis is going to be sitting in Tehran very soon. As the atmosphere in Iran was distinctly changed during the days and weeks in the lead-up to the elections, so was the atmosphere in Iran's rocky relations with the West, involving the ...
Corruption in Afghanistan
March 11, 2012 | Hujjatullah Zia
Comparing Afghanistan to other countries in the cosmos, it ranks 1.4 on the Transparency International corruption scale – the worst in South Asia. Of the 178 countries assessed, the only countries lower ranked than Afghanistan are Myanmar and Somalia. Bribery and corruption are to their critical points. From our Big Brothers to ...
Is Equality Attainable?
March 11, 2012 | Dilawar Sharzai
Human beings, living in today's world of ours, seem to be losing contentment and satisfaction. There are many incidents taking place in different parts of world that depict that human beings are not able to attain bliss and fulfillment that are really essential for them and that they should have achieved by now. There ...
Discrimination Against Women in Afghan Society
March 10, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
There have been endeavors to heighten the position of women within Afghan society; however, there are serious concerns still intact in this regard. Though improvements have been observed, the basic factors that are responsible for the discrimination of women have not been uprooted considerably. Strict tribal norms and values ...
Taliban are a Historical Aberration in the History of Afghanistan
March 10, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan has undergone a massive transformation ever since the first bombs were dropped on Taliban positions and sent them scurrying for cover in the winter of 2001. Only a few weeks earlier few believed that an entirely different ...
Threats to Women Achievements
March 10, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
Recently, I took part in a meeting with Dutch ambassador, Mr. Radninck J. van Vollenhoven, along some other Afghan journalists where we discussed the issue of freedom of expression, press developments and progresses as well as loosely about women achievements. There, one of the participators put down a very interesting view ...
Balkh Province and a Recipe for Reforms
March 08, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan, over the past one decade, has been dealing with an array of challenges among which stemming the tide of a roaring Taliban insurgency has been only one. If on one hand, dealing with the threat of a re-Talibanization of Afghanistan has been difficult enough, on the other, bringing rapid development in the areas of economy as well as politics have ...
Beating War Drum?
March 08, 2012 | Nasruddin Hemati
With the radical principalists claimed victory in Iran's parliamentary elections and a huge blow to the reformism there, the international community is put at a greater stake on Iran's nuclear issue. The country signaled it was ready to resume talks with six powers but the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have accused the country of not ...
Every Maternal Death is Unacceptable and Avoidable
March 08, 2012 | Kara Blackburn
As we reflect on another International Women's Day and the progress made by women globally, it is painstaking to know that 1000 women still tragically die every day in childbirth or from pregnancy related complications. This statistic remains overwhelmingly confronting, especially when the vast majority of these ...
Audit, Control and Vigilance Against Corruption
March 07, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Financial audit and control of the performance of government departments in both the center and provinces is one of the most important duties of the government. The Control and Audit Office bears this responsibility and its duties are deemed very important in checking corruption and financial irregularities although this office's jurisdiction overlaps to some extent with ...
The Declaration of Ulama Council about Sex-Segregation
March 07, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
Three years ago when I came to Afghanistan from India where I used study during summer holiday, the provincial election was about to be held. In order to know how the democracy works out in villages, I was taking part almost in meetings and discussions arranged by local elders and religious scholars. It is clear that villages ...
Afghanistan’s Possible Political Scenario Beyond 2014
March 06, 2012 | Muhammad Younas
If we take a look the past two months Afghan politicians' statements, we will easily get the real political picture of Afghanistan, which clearly shows a great deal of political rift and mistrust going between the Kabul government and the opposition ...
What Self-Immolation Means to Afghan Women
March 06, 2012 | Dr. NAHID AZIZ
Afghanistan has experienced a long and chronic political conflict. Three decades of war have profoundly affected the lives of at least two generations of Afghans. The devastating wars have caused the Afghan population to endure severe adversity, including chronic stress, displacement, the experience of traumatizing events, loss of family members and loved ones, violations ...
Council of Ulema Flexes Muscles – It’s all Deja vu Again
March 06, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
The Council of Ulema (religious leaders) of Afghanistan has come out with a high-profile five point declaration that, among other things, deals with and "strictly" requests for gender segregation in public places such as universities and work places. This might not seem significant at the first glance but the fact ...
Inclusiveness Matter both in Reconciliation and Power
March 05, 2012 | Sher Alam Saqib
Afghan people yearn for peace. They want their government and international community to bring peace to their country. Afghan government has come to the conclusion that peace can be brought only by negotiating and reconciling with the insurgent groups ...
On 11th Anniversary of Bamiyan Buddhas’ Destruction
March 05, 2012 | Abbas Daiyar
This week marks the 11th anniversary of the destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas. Of all the atrocities Taliban did to Afghanistan, blowing up centuries old symbol of a civilization and human heritage redefined evil. Some former Taliban officials who are branded as 'moderates' nowadays, never ...
Freezing Cold and Afghan Children
March 05, 2012 | Nazir Hussain Merzaie
Winter is a cold and a harsh season and Afghanistan is a mountainous country and its winter is very cold and overbearing. Our children are not able to live within the minimum facilities and equipment in such as condition. The winter of this year was the hardest and coldest winter in the past years and many of our innocent children ...
Buddhas’ Destruction: A Dark Chapter in the History of Afghanistan
March 04, 2012 | Mohd. Ahsan
Every year, the beginning of March refreshes the pain of losing the Buddhas of Bamyan among Afghans. Eleven years back from today on 2nd March, 2001, on the order of Mullah Mohammad Omar, Taliban's spiritual leader, the Taliban regime started destructing the Buddha statues in Bamyan. The Buddhas ...
Population Explosion – A South Asian Fate Awaiting Afghanistan?
March 04, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan is going through a demographic revolution. The country's population is fast growing. Such a rapid increase in Afghanistan's population is unprecedented. Never in the long history of this country have the waves of demographic change been so intense. Afghanistan's population is set to leapfrog to more than 45 ...
Hope Ulema Take notice of the Fragility of the Situation
March 04, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
On Friday February 02, 2012 a suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a NATO convoy in the southern province of Kandahar, wounding seven people including four soldiers and an official. Reportedly, he rammed his motorcycle into a convoy of NATO troops in Dand district. The attack was confirmed ...
Talks with Taliban - Contradictions and Blunders
March 03, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
The idea of talks and negotiations with Taliban was originally an American one. It was the U.S. in the waning months of the George Bush Administration that began to seriously talk of talks and offered the "political resolution" of the conflict as a viable option on the table. The Karzai government in Kabul later caught up with the idea. Prior to that, such ...
The Outrage Continues
March 03, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
The burning of Holy Quran in the Bagram base has enraged different strata in Afghan society to a great extent. It is not only the religious circles that have shown their concerns, the overall Afghan society has stood strong against the act. There is no doubt that the act is careless and above all humiliating, if not intentional. Careless ...
Curative International Marketing: The Next Step up
March 03, 2012 | Michael R. Czinkota
Even though much economic growth has been built by marketing, the field increasingly has a poor reputation. Marketing is becoming a pejorative term, which sets back the prospects of understanding and satisfying consumers. Curative international marketing must be the next step to restore the marketing field's reputation and ...