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President’s Message, Reconciliation and New Strategic Paradigm
September 27, 2011 | Dilawar Sharzai
The recent incidents in Afghanistan have, to a great extent, affected the people, the government and the US and other allies of the country. The people feel very much insecure, and the social psychology has further moved towards pessimistic tendencies. The US has not been able to digest these incidents readily and ...
US, Entangled in Israel’s Mess
September 27, 2011 | Jawad Rahmani
On Friday, Sept. 23, Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, addressed the 66th United Nations General Assembly after he gave the application to UN General Secretary, Ban Ki Moon for recognition of an independent State of Palestine. His speech was erupted twice as participants were clapping and gave him standing ovation. He talked ...
Decentralization of Power and Political Development in Afghanistan
September 26, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
In Afghanistan every body talks about economic development. From the President to his Cabinet ministers and onward to the Central Bank of the country, all unanimously uphold the notion that Afghanistan's economic development is and should be high on the national agenda. The international ...
The Glorious Path—Path of China’s Peaceful Development
September 26, 2011 | By Xu Feihong
The People's Republic of China will celebrate the 62nd anniversary of her founding on October 1, 2011. Over the past six decades and more since the founding of New China, particularly since the introduction of the reform and opening-up policies in 1978, the ...
The Dictator Returns Home
September 26, 2011 | Nasruddin Hemati
To prove to totalitarian regimes that no autocratic systems will last long, on itself, is a victory for the millions of people who have been marching the streets in the Arab world since the beginning of this year. The protests, however, have led to greatly successful outcomes, could promote the idea that no undemocratic force can resist against ...
Kabul, What a Capital!
September 25, 2011 | Mohd. Ahsan
Recent attacks by insurgents in capital Kabul are considered attacks on the minds, souls and hearts of government and its five million residents and the large number of foreigners living in this city. Two black Tuesdays – 13 and 20 September – give shocking reflection of the situation in Afghanistan years after US invasion. Taliban insurgents ...
The Death of Britain’s Multicultural Society
September 25, 2011 | Musa Khan Jalalzai
Ethnic minorities, colors and diversity have made British society more colorful. These colors and beauties once played important role in economic and cultural development, but the present shape of Britain's social and cultural diversity, prevailing criminal culture and institutional racism have threatened national security and social ...
Autonomy of Universities in Punjab
September 25, 2011 | Farman Nawaz
Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has formed a committee to grant additional administrative and financial autonomy to state-owned universities. Hence, governor of the province will not remain the chancellor of universities; a search committee would be formed to find a suitable person for the job amongst educationists, retired ...
Afghanistan’s Problems Become Complicated
Mehdi Rezaie | September 24, 2011
Never before throughout the past ten years did the situation in Afghanistan look so hopelessly grim for both the people and the government, as well as, the international community. The assassination of the High Peace Council chief, Burhanuddin Rabbani, has casted a heavy aura of uncertainty over what the future has in store for an ...
Decaying Security and Af-Pak Relations
September 24, 2011 | Dilawar Sharzai
The security situation in Afghanistan and Af-Pak relations do not seem to be improving. Both have been the victims of uneven fluctuations. On some occasions the situation seems to be improving and right on the other everything is lost. Two recent incidents in Kabul (the bombing and shooting on US Embassy and NATO headquarters and other ...
Widening the Perimeter of Reconciliation
September 24, 2011 | Farman Nawaz
Reconciliation is the heritage of the slain leader Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan People's Party. For years Pakistan People's Party has challenged the Pakistani establishment but eventually Bibi came to the point to resort to reconciliation with the establishment as well as political parties of Pakistan. She extracted this notion of reconciliation ...
Donors Suspending Aid to Afghanistan
September 22, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
The Kabul bank collapse and the subsequent refusal of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deliver its aid packages have caused a stir in the government of Afghanistan. The Kabul Bank crisis led to the collapse of the bank and forced Da Afghanistan Bank, the country's Central Bank, and government of Afghanistan to take swift ...
President Karzai in NY and Points for Consideration
September 22, 2011 | Sher Alam Saqib
President Karzai discusses transition with the US president, Barack Obama in New York on the sidelines of the 66th UN General Assembly Meeting. Ben Rhodes, the US deputy national security advisor for strategic communications said, "This is the first meeting the president will have with Karzai since ...
Don’t Drive a Truck Without Brake
September 22, 2011 | Jawad Rahmani
Is the notion true that we, human beings, generally accept something which goes to the favor of our personal stature? In other words, do we accept something which is favorable to us easily in comparison to what goes against us? I leave the answer to psychologist and sociologist, but what happens with current peace process initiative somehow ...
On the Assassination of Rabbani, High Peace Council Chief
September 21, 2011 | Sher Alam Saqib
Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in a suicide attack on late Tuesday, September 20, 2011. This was shocking news for all Afghan people. It is said that Rabbani, the Jamiat-i-Islami leader, was in a meeting with two key Taliban leaders at the time of the attack in his house. It is also reported that one of ...
American Long-Term Military Presence – Weighing Pros and Cons
September 21, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
The once rampant gossips about a long-term/permanent American military presence in Afghanistan have now turned into a reality, with the government in Kabul saying that the imminent strategic deal with the U.S. will involve American access to military bases inside Afghanistan on a long-term footing. Afghanistan ...
Peace in Afghanistan: Seems not to be Coming
September 21, 2011 | Mohd. Ahsan
Today is Worlds Peace Day which is also called International Day of Peace and it occurs annually on September 21st. The day is marked by many nations across the world including Afghanistan. Seminars and workshops are held by government and national and international NGO's to throw light over the significance of peace in the context of ...
Night Raids - Needed to Win the War Against Taliban
September 20, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
The issue of nighttime raids, during which Afghan and foreign forces conduct searches of homes and compounds of local people, have always been controversial. President Karzai has many times lambasted the NATO-led forces for the raids, saying the raids lead to civilian casualties, violate the privacy of Afghans and ...
Palestinian Bid for Statehood
September 20, 2011 | Dilawar Sharzai
Mahmoud Abbas seems firm in submitting a bid to UN Security Council for Palestinian state-hood in the meeting of the General Assembly next week. He has made it clear that the Palestinians have the right to have full membership status in the U.N.; therefore he will go for the same option, which makes the issue more controversial. Though he has the ...
That Is Ridiculous
September 20, 2011 | Jawad Rahmani
A week ago, in a seminar held at the center of Mahr Media Center in Kabul city, statements of some of the Afghan analysts amazed me that how unintentionally we - Afghans - lead our country into consistent chaos and instability. From those statements, it can be claimed with certitude that still our so-called intellectual layer has not come to ...
Quarrels Over the Militant Network
September 19, 2011 | Nasruddin Hemati
Indications that have appeared so far clearly suggest that the government-proposed peace talks have been travestied by Taliban. In different stages, they have intensified war and have vowed to continue war against afghan government and its international backing allies. Struggling to keep the unwanted peace offer alive, the government of ...
Afghanistan’s Other Half
September 19, 2011 | By Adam Valen Levinson
There were, once, Buddhas in Bamiyan, known to locals as Salsal and Shamama, standing in the shadow of the Hindu Kush. In 2001, only two years after he had promised to protect them, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar forced townspeople to drill charges of dynamite into the statues, the largest of which was 180 feet tall — then, the ...
Afghan Cultural War & Cross Cultural Dialogue
September 18, 2011 | Dr. Davood Moradian
Creed is one of the driving forces of many wars, alongside greed and grievances. Culture, value –system, national identity and historical narratives are the objects as well as the battlegrounds of warring parties. The Afghan conflict is partly a cultural war, intermingled with other domestic, regional and international factors. This ...
‘Opiumistan’ and the War on Poppy
September 18, 2011 | Abbas Daiyar
According to a recent report by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, there was seven per cent decrease in opium cultivation in Helmand during 2010. It has been the result of a two-year eradication campaign by the Anti-Narcotics Ministry. One wonders, why such a sluggish result? Billions of dollars are spent on this eradication ...
Heroes
September 18, 2011 | Paul Kokoski
Today's world desperately needs authentic heroes and heroines - not the kind that live in Hollywood and who find it fashionable to promote themselves and their own ideologies, but the kind like Mother Teresa, who allow us, by their very lives, to catch a glimpse of the true greatness and holiness to which we are all called.From the beginning men ...
Experts: Don’t Lead the Country towards Chaos
September 17, 2011 | Jawad Rahmani
In a day-long seminar held at Mehr Media Center in Kabul, some analysts vividly expressed concern over the so-called 'strategic pact' about to be signed, according to some available reports, before the commencement of second Bon Conference in Germany. According to them and their supporters, comprising different spectra in society - from ...
No Quick Fix for Global Economic Woes
September 17, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
One of my favorite issues to write about is the status of the world economy and the economies of Europe and North America, which constitute a major share of the global economy. Things have certainly become very interesting in recent months and woes and doom and gloom are once again ruling over the world economy. In America, people have suffered a ...
Karachi: Private Militia, Blackwater and Arms Smuggling
September 17, 2011 | Musa Khan Jalalzai
Much has been happening in Middle East lately. The political circumstances are changing rapidly and there are evident signs of many important developments in the region. The current conflict that seems to be rising between Israel and Turkey will definitely have considerable resonance in the power dynamics of the region. Turkey this ...
A New Generation of Afghan Women Demands Rights
September 15, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
Ten years after the birth of a new era in the history of Afghanistan, women and the girls remain the most vulnerable and oppressed section of Afghan society. There has been a marked improvement in the overall quality of life for the Afghan people in recent years. However, the gains made have not been translated into a better life for ...
Kabul Attacks - Going After the Haqqanis
September 14, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
Another day of bombings, suicide attacks, gun-battles, death and destruction in the heart of capital, Kabul, has gone by. The sheer audacity of the attacks and the desperate efforts of the security forces, who were caught unaware, have once again brought alive memories of the 90's and Kabul's bloody street battles. The shocking attacks of ...
Karzai Plays Well
September 14, 2011 | Jawad Rahmani
For the first time when Afghan Independent Election Commission announced the result of parliamentary election which prompted some circle within and out of the country to claim that oppositions of President Karzia had largely found way into the house, the thing which was recognized as slap on his face and a preface for new round of ...
US-Iran Rivalry and Afghan Government’s Silence
September 14, 2011 | Mohd. Ahsan
More than three decades of burning conflict, entrenched opium production, drugs addiction and trafficking, deep-rooted corruption, severest political and economic instability and lack of social justice have turned Afghanistan to resemble a hell. The lingering instability in the country has made almost all Afghans analyzers of political ...
“Transition Doesn’t Mean Disengagement”
September 13, 2011 | Dilawar Sharzai
The weary war against terrorism that was launched after the incident of 9/11, brought with itself different sorts of influences and impacts on the lives of people in Afghanistan, South Asian region and U.S. in particular and the world in general. The war, though has done much to topple down the Al-Qaida favoring reign of Taliban and has been ...
John Allen’s Tale of Victory
September 13, 2011 | Mehdi Rezaie
General John Allen, the commander of the NATO-led international coalition in the country, has dropped a bombshell on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In a ceremony held in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to commemorate the 9/11 tragedies and attended by Afghan and foreign officials, he has said that the forces under his command are winning ...
Corruption Hinders Stability
September 13, 2011 | Abdul Samad Haidari
Perhaps, many articles are being published daily on corruption, which analyze its unlikely consequences on our country's political stability and progress. Writers are intensively complaining about the root causes of corruption which has taken a very rooting position in the country currently on the basis of acquiring some personal interest ...