DOCSLIB.ORG

Asia Briefing, Nr. 31: Elections and Security in Afghanistan

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Asia Briefing, Nr. 31: Elections and Security in Afghanistan ASIA Briefing Kabul/Brussels, 30 March 2004 ELECTIONS AND SECURITY IN AFGHANISTAN I. OVERVIEW meant to promote accountable, democratic government; Representatives of the Afghan government, the UN establish much more quickly the promised and the major donor countries and institutions will robust international security presence beyond assemble in Berlin on 31 March and 1 April for the Kabul, which is vital to the disarmament and first high-level diplomatic meeting on Afghanistan in reintegration (DR)2 of Afghanistan's militias and more than two years. The principal objective is to in turn to fostering an environment in which a secure substantial long-term aid commitments -- the culture of democratic politics can develop; and Afghan government seeks U.S.$27.6 billion over give greater attention to the legal and institutional seven years. In addition to meeting this global figure, infrastructure required for democratic politics. it will be important for donors to make multi-year pledges that provide a basis for predictability and to The international community's failure thus far to increase cash on hand for immediate projects over extend a strong security umbrella beyond Kabul is the coming year. All this is needed if Afghanistan's perpetuating, indeed deepening, the political and governance and security institutions are to be economic power of regional commanders. Even reconstructed, development goals met, and poverty Kabul, where militiamen from Panjshir and Shamali alleviated.1 remain concentrated more than two years after their entry into the capital, is not yet demilitarised. NATO Unless conference participants also set in train still lacks troop commitments from its member states discussion of the political framework within which to deploy additional Provincial Reconstruction Teams aid can be effectively utilised, however, they will (PRTs) across northern Afghanistan by September, only be doing part of their job. In particular, there as its already slow plan for gradually extending its is need to: presence in the countryside envisages. Nor has it obtained a commitment of troops for forward-basing discuss candidly the security failings and other rapid reaction forces as originally planned. internal obstacles that are seriously hindering implementation of the Bonn Agreement and The new Afghan National Army (ANA) has suffered endangering the success of the September 2004 setbacks that limit its ability to extend the authority presidential and parliamentary elections that are of the central government, facilitate DR, and provide security during the elections. Ministry of defence control of the recruitment process initially led to a disproportionate representation of Tajiks in the ANA, 1 The conference will be guided in part by a document, a situation that has prompted the U.S. to establish "Securing Afghanistan's Future: Accomplishments and recruitment centres in Jalalabad, Kabul, Gardez and Strategic Pathway Forward", that revises cost estimates for Bamiyan in an effort to encourage a more diversified national reconstruction. It was prepared by the Afghanistan army. The desertion rate in the ANA reached 10 per Assistance Coordination Authority, headed by Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, and includes several technical annexes produced by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) that assess, often frankly, the 2 For greater simplicity and in the hope that the usage will degree of progress made in such key areas as disarmament, become more common, ICG employs in its reporting the demobilisation, and reintegration; police and national army abbreviation DR, to include, as appropriate to individual training; and judicial and civil service reforms. Available at situations, the concepts of disarmament, demobilisation, http://www.af. See also, Finance Ministry, "Press Release on repatriation, resettlement, and reintegration that are elsewhere Berlin Conference", 24 March 2004. often abbreviated as DDRRR or DDR. Elections and Security in Afghanistan ICG Asia Briefing, 30 March 2004 Page 2 cent during the summer of 2003. A number of to identify the target personnel. The program is measures have been taken to address the desertion intended to cover 100,000 militiamen over three years; problem but the present strength of approximately that figure is based on negotiations with the ministry 7,500 is still far short of the 40,000 projected by not on informed estimates of the actual number of Coalition officers.3 active-duty and reserve forces affiliated with the militias. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan DR programs to cut down the many militias around (UNAMA) estimates the maximum number of the country are going slowly. The proposed troops in the militias recognised by the ministry at establishment of new Special Forces-led militia units 45,000.4 ICG's own observations at militia corps and (Afghanistan Guard Forces, AGF) would cut across division bases, coupled with interviews with Afghan those programs, providing a disincentive to DR. professional officers, suggest that the number of There is, moreover, no publicly disclosed plan for active duty personnel is lower still. The elasticity of the eventual disarmament and demobilisation of the membership in militia units and the paucity of AGF. The hazards in the AGF concept include information about district level command structures increasing the authority and armament of militia make any projection of potential strength inherently commanders as well as potential command and speculative.5 control problems. With most militia commanders maintaining only a President Hamid Karzai has yet to issue either a draft relatively small number of combatants on active duty electoral law or a presidential decree on the provincial but retaining the capacity to mobilise many more and district boundaries that would form electoral through "team leaders" (sargroups) in each village, constituencies. The registration of political parties has the scope for abuse of the process is considerable. proceeded very slowly, in part due to a cumbersome Not surprisingly, the first ANBP pilot project in structure for registration that involves screening by Kunduz -- which collected arms from 1,008 former six different government departments or ministries, combatants, slightly above the target figure of 1,000 -- but also due to political pressure exerted by yielded a high proportion of effectively demobilised fundamentalist leaders. Only about 1.5 million voters combatants: small farmers who had not seen active out of an estimated potential electorate of 10 million combat since the intervention against the Taliban in have been registered, and those unevenly. Registration the northeast.6 Moreover, some troops ostensibly is markedly lower in the south and southeast in both demobilised during the subsequent pilot project in absolute numbers and the proportion of women. Mazar-i Sharif were later re-recruited by their commanders. There is inherent risk in downsizing, There is a real risk that elections under present rather than decommissioning militia units.7 conditions will merely confirm an undemocratic and unstable status quo. To avoid this, the international A major impasse developed in early 2004 over ANBP community needs to make serious efforts over the implementation in the central region, encompassing next few months to invigorate the disarmament and the provinces of Kabul, Parwan, Kapisa, Wardak, and reintegration process, guarantee the independence Logar, and including the key units directly accountable and impartiality of electoral institutions, and ensure to Vice President and Defence Minister Mohammad that Afghan authorities create opportunities for non- Qasim Fahim. The main phase of DR there was militarised political parties and independent candidates originally slated for February but was stalled by the to participate meaningfully in the electoral process. defence ministry. The Army Chief of Staff, General Bismillah Khan, insisted that all pilot projects should be completed before the main DR phase was launched II. DISARMAMENT AND REARMAMENT The salient feature of the UNDP-managed DR fund, known as Afghanistan's New Beginnings Programme (ANBP), is that it is an essentially voluntary process, 4 Ibid. 5 with the ministry of defence having ultimate authority See ICG Asia Report N°65, Disarmament and Reintegration in Afghanistan, 30 September 2003. 6 Mark Sedra (BICC/UNAMA), "Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants", in 3 See Dr. Antonio Giustozzi and Mark Sedra, "National Army: "Securing Afghanistan's Future", op. cit. Technical Annex", in "Securing Afghanistan's Future", op. cit. 7 ICG interview with an ANBP official, 25 March 2004. Elections and Security in Afghanistan ICG Asia Briefing, 30 March 2004 Page 3 in Kabul.8 Subsequent developments led some Harakat-i Islami faction led by Agriculture Minister international observers to speculate that the ministry Sayyid Hussain Anwari; and Regiment 42, a Pashtun was attempting to stall those other pilot programs in unit. Of the units to be decommissioned, the most order to protect the militia presence in Kabul.9 significant politically would be Division 10, based in Getting the ministry to field its operational groups West Kabul, near Sayyaf's stronghold of Paghman; (the units assigned to the ANBP for registration, neither Rabbani nor Anwari wield much authority in collection, and storage of weapons, and other tasks) the capital.12 has been a persistent problem, as has been delivery of vehicles for the operational
Load more

Recommended publications
  • “TELLING the STORY” Sources of Tension in Afghanistan & Pakistan: a Regional Perspective (2011-2016)
    “TELLING THE STORY” Sources of Tension in Afghanistan & Pakistan: A Regional Perspective (2011-2016) Emma Hooper (ed.) This monograph has been produced with the financial assistance of the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the position of the Ministry. © 2016 CIDOB This monograph has been produced with the financial assistance of the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the position of the Ministry. CIDOB edicions Elisabets, 12 08001 Barcelona Tel.: 933 026 495 www.cidob.org [email protected] D.L.: B 17561 - 2016 Barcelona, September 2016 CONTENTS CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES 5 FOREWORD 11 Tine Mørch Smith INTRODUCTION 13 Emma Hooper CHAPTER ONE: MAPPING THE SOURCES OF TENSION WITH REGIONAL DIMENSIONS 17 Sources of Tension in Afghanistan & Pakistan: A Regional Perspective .......... 19 Zahid Hussain Mapping the Sources of Tension and the Interests of Regional Powers in Afghanistan and Pakistan ............................................................................................. 35 Emma Hooper & Juan Garrigues CHAPTER TWO: KEY PHENOMENA: THE TALIBAN, REFUGEES , & THE BRAIN DRAIN, GOVERNANCE 57 THE TALIBAN Preamble: Third Party Roles and Insurgencies in South Asia ............................... 61 Moeed Yusuf The Pakistan Taliban Movement: An Appraisal ......................................................... 65 Michael Semple The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan .......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
    ESCAP UNECE United Nations Economic and Social United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific Commission for Europe Приложение I UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR THE ECONOMIES OF CENTRAL ASIA (SPECA) 2012 SPECA EVENTS (Bangkok, Thailand, 26-28 November 2012) LIST OF PARTICIPANTS SPECA NATIONAL DELEGATIONS AFGHANISTAN H.E. Mr. Jawed LUDIN Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Malik Asghar Square Kabul Tel: + 93 798 01 03 09 E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Azizullah OMAR Deputy Director of Economic Affairs Directorate Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Malik Asghar Square Kabul Tel: + 93 700 24 34 06 E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Abdul Halim QUARIZADA Member of RECCA Desk Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Malik Asghar Square Kabul Tel: + 93 799 80 40 59 E-mail: [email protected] -2- AZERBAIJAN Mr. Adalat MURADOV Director Department of Economic Policy, Analysis and Forecasting Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku Tel: + 994 12 493 11 86 Fax: +994 12 493 55 76 E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Nemat ALIYEV Desk Officer Department of Economic Cooperation and Development Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku Tel: + 994 12 596 90 68 Fax: +994 12 492 68 25 E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Allahverdi PASHAYEV Head of Section Department of Foreign Trade Policy and WTO Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku Tel: + 994 12 493 88 61 Fax: +994 12 598 07 81 E-mail: [email protected] KAZAKHSTAN H.E.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Agenda Citpax Oct 2007
    The Evolution of PRT Models: Towards the Pre-eminence of the Civilian Dimension? Meeting between Afghan Civil Society, PRT and International Organisations Representatives AGENDA Madrid 16 - 17 October 2007 Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales Plaza de la Marina Española, 9 Sponsored by With the support of Tuesday, 16 October 2007 9:00 – 9:30 Welcome remarks: Bernardino León, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Spain Juan Pablo de Laiglesia, Secretary General, Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) 10:00 – 14:00 The role of Civil Society consultation processes and fora in the PRT strategic and operational planning: short term and medium term prospects Introductory interventions: Fahim Hakim, Vice-President, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) Kanishka Nawabi, Managing Director Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU), Afghanistan Discussants: Hakan Abaci, former civilian coordinator of the Turkish PRT in Wardak Chair of the session: Clare Lockhart, Director, State Effectiveness Initiative o How can CS contribute to the work of PRTs? Are the existing civil society consultation fora effective? To what extent do PRT master plans reflect CS recommendations and therefore meet the expectations of the local population? o Wrap up session, conclusions and proposals. 14:00 - 15:30 Lunch 15:30 – 19:00 The civilian role of PRTs: towards a specialised delivery platform for the development and implementation of ANDS (Afghan National Development Strategy) Pilar 1 (Political and Security) Introductory remarks: Bernardo Álvarez del Manzano, Commander of Operations Command, Spain Aziz Rafiee, Managing Director, Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF) Discussants: Gavin Buchan, former Political Director, Kandahar PRT; current Special Advisor to DG International Security Policy, Department of National Defence, Canada Colonel Norton, Head of UK PRT in Helmand Chair of the session: Jawed Ludin, Afghan Ambassador to Norway and former Chief of Staff to President Karzai o Short term vs.
    [Show full text]
  • Study on Security Cooperation in The
    This publicaion has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publicaion are the sole responsibility of ATR Consuling and can in no way be taken to relect the views of the European Union. CONTENTs Execuive Summary 1 Acronyms 2 Acknowledgements 5 Background and 6 Context Concept and 7 Background of the Heart of Asia Building r Commitment 8 States to the Heart of Asia Process Among Membe Map 1: 9 Heart of Asia Member States Exising Studies 10 on the Heart of Asia Process Approach and 11 Methodology Approach 11 Research Quesions 11 Methodology 12 Findings 13 Security Cooperaion’ Looking Beyond the Tradiional Deiniion of ‘ 13 Security Threats 14 in the Region Security Cooperaion 17 Mechanisms in the Region Obstacles to 22 Efecive Security Cooperaion in the Region Opportuniies for 23 Intensiied Security Cooperaion Incenives for 25 Intensiied Security Cooperaion Policy Opions 26 for the Heart of Asia Conclusion 29 Appendix I: 31 Afghanistan Most Relevant 32 Security Threats to Afghanistan Exising Security 32 Cooperaion Mechanisms Obstacles to 35 Efecive Security Cooperaion Opportuniies aion and 38 Incenives for Intensiied Security Cooper Promising Policy 40 Opions for the Heart of Asia Process Map 2: 40 Proposed Route of TAPI Gas Pipeline Project Appendix II: 42 Azerbaijan Most Relevant 43 Security Threats Exising Security 44 Cooperaion Mechanisms Obstacles to Efecive Security Cooperaion 45 Opportuniies and Incenives for Intensiied Security Cooperaion 46 Promising Policy Opions for the Heart of Asia Process
    [Show full text]
  • Statement by H.E. Jawed Ludin Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at the International Contact Group Meeting
    د افغانستان اسﻻمی جمهوری جمهوری اسﻻمی افغانستان د بهرنیو چارو وزارت وزارت امورخارجه Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Ministry of Foreign Affairs STATEMENT BY H.E. JAWED LUDIN DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONTACT GROUP MEETING BERLIN, 14 MAY 2013 Your Excellency Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Ambassador Michael Koch Excellencies. Ladies and gentlemen, Foreign Minister Westerwelle, thank you very much for Germany’s brilliant organisation of this ICG meeting and the generous hospitality extended to us on the occasion. Thank you also for your strong statement of commitment and friendship, and may I say also for the personal engagement and leadership you have demonstrated in the context of the international community’s crucial partnership with Afghanistan. Ambassador Koch, I wish to thank you for hosting today’s ICG meeting, for leading so effectively this important forum, and for ensuring the continuity of the international community’s engagement as Afghanistan makes its crucial transition in the security, political and economic spheres. On behalf of my colleagues from Afghanistan, I wish to highlight the importance of the present juncture and the timely convening of this ICG meeting. We gather here today at a time when we must, together and in one voice, affirm the gains of the past 12 years of partnership, gains that have come about not only at the cost of money but also at the heavy cost of sacrificed lives, both Afghan and from the various countries represented around this room today. We must also recognise that safeguarding and consolidating those precious gains will require that we continue our partnership and that we continue to address the residual challenges that still lie between a hopeful Afghanistan and a future of peace, prosperity and promise for the Afghan people.
    [Show full text]
  • Afghanistan Assessment
    AFGHANISTAN COUNTRY REPORT April 2005 Country Information & Policy Unit IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY DIRECTORATE HOME OFFICE, UNITED KINGDOM Afghanistan April 2005 CONTENTS 1 Scope Of Document 1.1 - 1.12 2 Geography General 2.1 – 2.2 Languages/Main ethnic groups/Religions 2.3 - 2.5 3.Economy 3.1 - 3.8 4 History Overview to December 2001 4.1 Post Taliban 4.2 – 4.13 January 2004 – December 2004 4.14 – 4.59 January 2005 onwards 4.60 – 4.66 5.State Structures The Constitution 5.1 - 5.8 The Constitutional Loya Jirga 5.9 – 5.13 Citizenship and Nationality 5.14 – 5.16 Political System Overview 5.17 – 5.26 Elections: - General 5.27 – 5.29 - Presidential Election 5.30 – 5.40 - Presidential Election Results 5.41 – 5.42 - Lead up to Parliamentary Elections 5.43 – 5.47 Political Situation in Herat 5.48 – 5.50 Judiciary 5.51 – 5.64 Land Court 5.65 – 5.66 Legal Rights/Detention 5.67 - 5.83 Death Penalty 5.84 - 5.86 Internal Security Developments following 11 September 2001 5.87 - 5.90 Security Sector Reform (SSR) 5.91 - 5.94 General security situation 5.95 – 5.112 Security situation in different regions: - Kabul 5.113 – 5.116 - Central 5.117 - South and Southeast 5.118 - 5.122 - North 5.123 – 5.124 Internal Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Provincial Reconstruction 5.125 – 5.150 Teams (PRTs) Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programme (DDR) 5.151 – 5.166 National Security Directorate (Amniat) 5.167 – 5.170 Army 5.171 – 5.174 Police 5.175 – 5.184 Prisons and Prison Conditions 5.185 - 5.208 Military Service 5.209 - 5.212 Medical Services
    [Show full text]
  • A Transatlantic Charter on Afghan Sovereignty, Security, and Development
    A transatlantic charter on Afghan sovereignty, security, and development Atlantic Council trilateral dialogues on Afghanistan The Atlantic Council is a nonpartisan Rockefeller Brothers Fund advances organization that promotes social change that contributes to a constructive US leadership and more just, sustainable, and peaceful engagement in international affairs world. based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting today’s global challenges. Cover image: Faizabad Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Courtesy of Sohaib Ghyasi. Otherwise, there is considerable risk of a return to civil war, which would destroy the hard-won achievements that have been made, open the field for terrorist groups, and trigger a large-scale humanitarian and refugee crisis. The participants of the Atlantic Council / Rockefeller Brothers Fund Strategic Dialogues have been working for the past eight months to develop a long-term strategic outlook to promote Co-chairs’ letter stability in Afghanistan consistent with Afghan, US, and European interests and values. This group Shaharzad Akbar of distinguished European, American, and Afghan Secretary Madeleine Albright diplomats, military officers, scholars, and analysts Rector Federica Mogherini brought to our deliberations a deep understanding of the context both on the ground and among the fter nearly twenty years of a historic allies. We explored a diplomatic-security partnership between the United States, framework based on the minimal conditions and A Europe, and the Afghan people, variables necessary to realize a long-term vision of Afghanistan has reached a watershed moment. a sovereign, unified, democratic, peaceful, and The United States and its NATO allies have prosperous Afghanistan and generated announced the withdrawal of troops while recommendations to support this vision.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded for Personal Non‐Commercial Research Or Study, Without Prior Permission Or Charge
    Hakimi, Aziz Ahmed (2015) Fighting for patronage: American counterinsurgency and the Afghan local police. PhD thesis. SOAS, University of London. Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Fighting for Patronage: American counterinsurgency and the Afghan Local Police AZIZ AHMED HAKIMI Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Development Studies School of Oriental and African Studies University of London 2015 1 Abstract This thesis examines the emergence and evolution of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), a pro-government militia supported by the US military as an entry point for exploring the fluid security and political terrain of post-2001 Afghanistan. The study reveals how the ALP emerged as a compromise between the US ambition to scale up the use of local militias and the Afghan president’s attempts to control the local armed groups and the flow of patronage that the US support to these groups represented.
    [Show full text]
  • Strengthening Nordic Development Cooperation in and with Afghanistan
    Norad Report Discussion 3/2009 Strengthening Nordic Development Cooperation in and with Afghanistan March 2009 Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation P.O. Box 8034 Dep, NO-0030 OSLO Ruseløkkveien 26, Oslo, Norway Phone: +47 22 24 20 30 Fax: +47 22 24 20 31 ISBN 978-82-7548-370-4 ISSN 1502-2528 Strengthening Nordic Development Cooperation in and with Afghanistan Petter Bauck (Norad) and Arne Strand (Chr. Michelsen Institute) 5 March 2009 Table of Contents Content ................................................................................................................................... 2 Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 4 The Development Framework ................................................................................................ 5 Denmark ................................................................................................................................. 6 Finland .................................................................................................................................... 7 Iceland .................................................................................................................................... 9 Norway ................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Afghanistan Tazkera, Passports and Other ID Documents
    Report Afghanistan: Tazkera, passports and other ID documents Report Afghanistan: Tazkera, passports and other ID documents LANDINFO – 22 MAY 2019 1 About Landinfo’s reports The Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre, Landinfo, is an independent body within the Norwegian Immigration Authorities. Landinfo provides country of origin information to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (Utlendingsdirektoratet – UDI), the Immigration Appeals Board (Utlendingsnemnda – UNE) and the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. Reports produced by Landinfo are based on information from carefully selected sources. The information is researched and evaluated in accordance with common methodology for processing COI and Landinfo’s internal guidelines on source and information analysis. To ensure balanced reports, efforts are made to obtain information from a wide range of sources. Many of our reports draw on findings and interviews conducted on fact-finding missions. All sources used are referenced. Sources hesitant to provide information to be cited in a public report have retained anonymity. The reports do not provide exhaustive overviews of topics or themes, but cover aspects relevant for the processing of asylum and residency cases. Country of origin information presented in Landinfo’s reports does not contain policy recommendations nor does it reflect official Norwegian views. © Landinfo 2019 The material in this report is covered by copyright law. Any reproduction or publication of this report or any extract thereof other than as permitted by current Norwegian copyright law requires the explicit written consent of Landinfo. For information on all of the reports published by Landinfo, please contact: Landinfo Country of Origin Information Centre Storgata 33A P.O.
    [Show full text]
  • Afghanistan Pakistani and Afghan Officials to Hold Security Talks Tomorrow Pakistani and Afghan Officials Are Scheduled to Hold Border Security Talks Tomorrow
    PACIFIC DISASTER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION NETWORK (PDMIN) 1 Jarrett White Road MCPA-DM, Tripler AMC, HI 96859-5000 Telephone: 808.433.7035 · [email protected] · http://www.coe-dmha.org Asia-Pacific Daily Report August 20, 2003 Afghanistan Pakistani and Afghan officials to hold security talks tomorrow Pakistani and Afghan officials are scheduled to hold border security talks tomorrow. Jawed Ludin, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that cross-border attacks by Pakistanis and Arab nationals loyal to the ousted Taliban regime were of great concern to the Afghan government and that the issue would be raised with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri when he arrives in Kabul tomorrow. Afghan officials allege that Sunday’s (August 17) attack by heavily armed militants on a police headquarters in Barmal district in southeastern Paktika province that left at least 22 people dead was launched from Pakistan. Ludin said Pakistan and Afghanistan have to work together to counter such militant attacks that are a threat to the peace and stability of both countries. Kasuri told the Pakistani-based English daily "The News” yesterday that his visit to Kabul would help remove misgivings and misunderstandings between the two countries. Kasuri said the two countries were already sharing intelligence, adding that it needed to be strengthened further to avert any misunderstanding by either side. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense since the opposition Northern Alliance, with the help of the US, ousted the hardline Taliban regime in 2001. The Tajik-dominated Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai remains wary of Pakistan, which once supported the Taliban.
    [Show full text]
  • Right to Read: Education for Afghan Women & Girls Kelowna, British Columbia
    Right to Read: Education for Afghan Women & Girls Kelowna, British Columbia Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan is a volunteer not-for-profit organization founded in 1996 with thirteen chapters across Canada. The goals are to advance education for Afghan women and their families; and to engage and inform Canadians about human rights in Afghanistan. Thank you 2010 Sponsors: CanadianWomenfor Women in Afghanistan Membership Right to Read: Education for Afghan Women and Girls Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan KELOWNA, October 14-16, 2010 This newsletter is one in a series of Special Edition Newsletters produced by CW4WAfghan. The purpose of the newsletter is to highlight the very successful workshop series held in Kelowna in October 2010, and to share with our members the update on our projects in Afghanistan and many of the activities undertaken by our network here in Canada. The theme of this year’s workshop was: Right To Read: Education for Afghan Women and Girls. These ongoing events are a way to engage Canadians in open dialogue, with a focus on education as a pathway to peace in Afghanistan. Delegates gather together each year for two and a half days to share the many success stories from Afghanistan, reflect on challenges and learn about the activities relating to education in Afghanistan. Our network is now busy planning for this year's conference in Oakville, ON Sept 30-Oct 1, 2011. The following summarizes these past and future events: PLEASE JOIN US! 2003: Pathway to Peace,
    [Show full text]