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www.afghanistantimes.af www.facebook.com/ afghanistantimes www.twitter.com/ afghanistantimes MONDAY. FEBRUARY 22. 2016 -Hoot 03, 1394 HS Yo ur Yo ur ad ad he re he re 0778894038 0778894038

KABUL: Former President Hamid Karzai met Sunday with a number of tribal elders, influential figures and the youth of the Aryoub Jaji district of Paktia province, who called Karzai as the founder of national unity. They said that Afghanistan is the home for every Afghan, adding that they would give sacrifice for the national unity. Karzai asked them to pay serious attention to their children’s education. “Only through education, we can save the country from adversity, misery and aliens’ colonialism.”

Afghan army evacuates By Akhtar M. Nikzad three bases in KABUL: The Afghanistan Free- Former President Hamid prosecution of law, insecurity, in- AFH urged the government to dom House (AFH) on Sunday said Karzai had earlier ordered for eval- coordination between administra- establish a special court to prose- volatile that 1.95 million of state lands have uation about usurpation of state tions as the main factors for usur- cute dossiers of suspects and those been grabbed by powerful individ- lands which found out 4.5 million pation of state lands. individuals involved in usurpation uals in 18 provinces in the past 10 state lands usurped. According to the report, if one of state lands should be punished Helmand years. But Murtazawi highlighted meter square of land costs 2.5 dol- strictly. Afghanistan Freedom Shah Hussain Murtazawi, that the AFH findings show that lar, 1,297,000 acres of lands esti- House is a media body founded in Major general Mohammad head of the AFH told newsmen that 19.5 million state lands had been mate 6.4 billion dollars and 4.5 2014 to launch investigation report Moeen Faqir, commander of The Deputy Speaker of Wolesi Jir- that security forces have sup- 215 Maiwand Army Corps they conducted a three-month grabbed only in 18 provinces in million acres of lands estimate over and research studies in area of jour- said Sunday that Afghan Na- ga (Lower House of Parliament), pressed Daesh fighters. search on usurpation of state the past 14 years. 22 billion dollars. nalism. Zahir Qadir, on Sunday expressed "You [Daesh fighters] are fight- tional Army (ANA) troops lands. He did not identify the ‘pow- have withdrawn from three his deep concerns over the con- ing in Afghanistan at the behest of He said that the AFH launched erful individuals’ involved in land bases in Musa Qala and Naw- struction of military installations others. Go and live with your fam- the search over trust-worthy doc- usurpation, but termed some pre- zad districts in a move to im- by Pakistan in bordering districts ilies, otherwise you will be elimi- uments related to the Independent vious ministers, lawmakers, polit- prove security situations in the of eastern Nangarhar province. nated," he added. Land Authority, Special Parliamen- ical leaders, local elders, command- volatile province. Qadir said that Pakistan is Meanwhile, residents of Achin tary Commission, Attorney Gen- ers, provincial council members, The three bases evacuated building military installations in district, pledged to stand beside eral’s Office, Kabul Municipality, governors and some jihadi com- by the Afghan army are Sher Zero Point areas along the border. Afghan security forces against mil- Ministry of Urban Development, manders as elements behind land Ghazian and Roshan tower He warned of negative conse- itants. bases in Musa Qala and Dahni Independent Directorate of Local grabbing. base in Nawzad district. quences if Pakistan does not stop "Daesh militants are still ac- Governance, Special Presidential “So far the judiciary organs the construction of the installa- tive in some villages. We urge se- As Taliban insurgency in Report and the High Office of have received 10,000 dossiers of Helmand shows no sign of tions. curity forces to eliminate them," Oversight and Anti-Corruption. grabbers but all of them remained ending, officials from Helmand "We urge the Afghan govern- said Gul Ahmad, a resident of He said that the lands have without prosecution and the gov- provincial council have warned ment to discuss the issue with Pa- Achin. been grabbed in 18 provinces. ernment has not played any posi- the move will further deterio- kistan through diplomatic ways," Daesh rebels are believed to Murtazawi pointed out that tive role to date.” rate security in the area. he added. have widespread presence in some figures belong to the Independent Afghanistan Freedom House The Ministry of Defense Despite undermining the districts of Nangarhar. The Minis- Land Authority and the Special marked lack of implementation of however has yet to comment peace process, Qadir warned the try of Defense (MoD) recently Parliamentary Commission show law, non-suit of dossiers, immuni- on the move and the number installations will have other seri- said that their large-scale operation of troops who were deployed that around 1.2 million state lands ty of guilty, uprising of land price, in these bases. ous consequences. against Daesh in the province was were usurped in 34 provinces. incapability of judiciary organs for Hinting at intensified fighting a success. However, residents of between Afghan security forces the province are still concerned and Daesh militants in Achin dis- about the presence of the terrorist NPC APPROVES trict of the province, Qadir said group. 31 DRUG Gilani appointed 25 CONTRACTS TRAFFICKERS new chairman WORTH OF ARRESTED of HPC AFG636 MILLION AT News Report The National Procurement Com- KABUL: The court of Criminal mission (NPC) on Saturday ap- Justice Task Force (CJTF) on Sun- proved 25 contracts worth of 636 AT News Report day said that 31 drug runners were million Afghanis. NPC meeting arrested though different opera- chaired by President Mohammad tions in the past one month. KABUL: Forty children treated in the Germany’s Peace Village Hospital Ashraf Ghani reviewed 36 con- A press statement issued here returned home on Sunday, an official of the Afghan Red Crescent Soci- tracts of 11 ministries and govern- the CJTF said that 31 smugglers ety said. ment entities but the remaining were apprehended by the Counter “These children were suffering from broken-bone disease and it was Senate chairman Fazel Hadi Mus- cated. But it depends on the vigi- were either rejected or recommend- Narcotics Police through different limyar has said that the govern- lance of government of Afghani- not possible to treat them at home,” Mohammad Taib Yousufzai said. ed for technical rectification. The crackdown in Nangarhar, Herat, “After six months and one year periods of free treatment in Germany, ment must take advantage of the stan on how to use the opportuni- commission saved AFG290 mil- Kabul, Logar, Parwan and Kunduz split within the Taliban especially ty in the interest of the country," they returned to Kabul.” lion in 21 contracts on maintenance provinces. He pointed out that this was the 72th group treated by the as new factions continue to emerge Muslimyar said. An influential political and reli- of facilities of the Army Corps. After primary investigation, German Peace Village hospital. within the group. In a recent move, a new Tali- gious figure Pir Syed Ahmad Gi- The meeting was also attended by the detained drug traffickers were He said that the current pow- ban faction comprising about 600 lani has been appointed as the new He illustrated that the treatment program for the broken-bone dis- handed over to CJTF for criminal ease had begun in 1992 by the Afghan Red Crescent Society with the second Vice-President Mohammad er struggle within the group could fighters announced its existence in Chief of the Afghan High Peace Sarwar Danish, Chief Executive proceedings. help bring them back to the nego- Paktika province under the leader- Council. cooperation of the Peace Village hospital in Germany. Some 1208 kg of Heroin, 1500 According to Yousufzai, the doctors of Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah, tiating table. ship of Mullah Honar. There are The former Afghan Vice Pres- Minister of Finance Eklil Ahmad kg morphine, 1430 kg of opium, While divergence within the also reports that another faction is ident Karim Khalili has been ap- German Peace Village hospital regularly visit Afghanistan to specify sick 18668 kg hashish, 20 kg precursor children. Hakimi and Minister of Justice group in some way complicates the expected to announce its emergence pointed as the Deputy Chief of Abdul Basir Anwar. and 810 liters of alcoholic bever- peace process, many believe that in Faryab province. the High Peace Council along with The families of the sick children expressed happiness for the treat- ages recovered and confiscated ment program by the Afghan Red Crescent Society, calling this “very This was 41st weekly meet- this also offers an opportunity to The emergence of these new Mawlavi Ata-ur-Rehman, Maw- ing of NPC which has so far ap- from the abovementioned smug- government to act and get the Tal- factions among the Taliban will lavi Khaibar and Habiba Surabi. helpful program” for the vulnerable families. glers, mentioned the statement. The German Peace Village hospital is a charitable organization that proved around 600 contracts worth iban to join the talks process. also impact the war as Pakistan The new appointments comes of 96 billion Afghanis. It is worth to be mention that Following Mullah Akhter pursues new games to undermine days after the major international every year more than 100 patient children from across country free 32 drug traffickers were arrested treated and bring back to their families. In these contracts, the com- Mansour's appointment as succes- the Afghan peace process, say crit- donors suspended aid to the coun- mission has saved 13 billion Af- and handed over to judiciary or- sor to group's longtime leader ics. cil due to the lack of the leader- It’s worth to mention since 1988 German Peace Village collabora- gans for inquiry in previous month. tion with Afghan Red Crescent has treated more than 3,350 children. ghanis. Mullah Omar, rival factions op- "The split within the Taliban ship. posed to his appointment refused creates more dissimilarities, this The council officials said ear- to endorse his leadership, an issue helps the government of Afghani- lier this month that the major do- which has led to a splintering of stan to get the benefit of the op- nors that have suspended finan- the group. portunity more and more. But si- cial aid included the United States Mansour's appointment as multaneously with the peace ef- Agency for International Develop- successor to Omar led to the emer- forts, the government of Afghani- ment and the government of the gence of a rival faction under Mul- stan should also plan more inclu- United Kingdom. lah Mansour Dadullah and the two sive programs for continuing the A senior member of the coun- groups have fought several battles war," civil society activist Ahmad cil, Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar, on various fronts across the coun- Zaki said. confirmed that the donors have try. But as hopes grow for a re- suspended financial support to the KABUL: As the security situation pre-election interests, he said. the war on drugs had been an area counter-narcotics campaign that "This is an opportunity for the newed round of peace talks, it's High Peace Council since the be- in the war-devastated country de- Yuri V. Krupnov, an advisor to of common interest for the Rus- stopped when the US Treasury government of Afghanistan. How- not yet known which faction, or ginning of the year, citing lack of teriorates, Russia has withdrawn the head of Russia’s antidrug agen- sians and the Americans. Department imposed sanctions in ever, the split among Taliban how many, will join the peace chairman for almost a year and is- cooperation with the United States cyViktor P. Ivanov, told the daily But cooperation in the 2014 on Ivanov, a close associate makes the peace process compli- talks process. sues within the secretariat of the in Afghanistaninfo-icon, The New of President VladimirPutin. council. York Times reported on Sunday. Krupnov said the US, while The current Minister of For- Russia’s envoy to Afghanistan- pursuing its interests, was unin- eign Affairs Salahuddin Rabbani Zamir N. Kabulov recently said terested in the views of Russia or was previously serving as the they had already told the Ameri- anybody else. “The Obama admin- chairman of the council while the cans Moscow would not be part istration buried this promising line acting Minister of Defense Ma- of talks between the Talibaninfo- of cooperation. All room for co- soom Stanikzai was the secretari- icon and the Afghan government. operation is exhausted.” at chief. The newspaper quoted the An unnamed Afghan official- The Afghanistan High Peace diplomat as saying: “Honestly told the newspaper Russiasaw the Council was formed by the former speaking, we’re already tired of Afghans as part of the larger game President Hamid Karzai in mid joining anything Washington with the United States. Kabul had 2010 to provide a platform for rec- starts.” The Kremlin had no desire struggled to convince the Putin onciliation talks between the Af- to attend what the Americans or- administration on certain issues, he ghan government and the Taliban ganise ‘on the fly’ for their own said. (Pajhwok) group. This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTAN TIMES 5.5-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Afghanistan, tremors felt in Kabul A 5.5-magnitude earthquake has struck northern Afghanistan, USGS reported. The tremors were felt in the country’s capital, Kabul, local media said. The quake happened 43km south of the village of Jarm, 64km and 75km from the city of Fayzabad, the provincial capital and largest By Huma Naseri city in Badakhshan Province in northern Afghanistan. The city has a population of about 50,000. International Mother Language The quake was at a depth of 176.7km, USGS added. Day is an annual celebration of The tremors were also felt in neighboring Pakistan, according to multilingualism and cultural diver- reports on social media. sity. February 21, 2016 will mark The Himalaya region, which includes northern Afghanistan, is the 16th anniversary of Interna- one of the most seismically active regions on Earth. The area is right tional Mother Language Day. This where the India and Eurasia plates collide. day was officially recognized for In December 2015, dozens were injured in a powerful 6.3-magni- the first time by UNESCO – the tude earthquake that hit the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region. United Nation Educational, Scien- In October 2015, more than 270 people were killed and hundreds tific and Cultural Organization in more were injured in a 7.5-magnitude earthquake, which struck north- 1999 and since 2000 February 21 ern Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Massive tremors jolted New is celebrated by nations around the Delhi, Islamabad and several other major cities. world. The Mother Language Day started in recognition of students from Dhaka University who sac- rificed their lives during a demon- stration in 1952 demanding a rec- ognition for Bangla, their mother tongue, to be one of the official languages of East Pakistan. The students were shot dead on Feb- ruary 21 by Pakistani police in Dhaka. From that moment on, the Language Movement became the prominent protest which lead to Bangladesh independence in 1971. On 16 May 2007 the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/61/266 called upon Member States “to promote 3 ANA soldiers among 13 the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world”. By the same resolu- dead in Takhar gun battles tion, the General Assembly pro- because I was afraid of making mother tongue begins. Like any and philosophical literature of their will not face extinction. The learn- TALOQAN : Three Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and 10 claimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote mistakes which may hurt the cul- other relationship, the relationship language. She felt so good when ing of our mother tongue will Talibaninfo-icon fighters were killed in a clash in the Khwaja Ghar unity in diversity and internation- tural sensitivities of native speak- between a person and mother she mentioned that we have a proved us the opportunity to district of northern Takhar province on Sunday, an official said. al understanding, through multilin- ers. But with time I learned the tongue requires commitment, hon- world in our language that we have study our culture and preserve Police spokesman Col. Abdul Khalil Aser told Pajhwok Afghan gualism and multiculturalism. culture and it gave me an enormous esty, faithfulness, love, respect, given to English and the world is family bond. News the insurgents staged predawn attacks on military check-posts The bond with one’s mother confidence to speak in English and harmony, and protection. The Kindergarten – a preschool educa- In this International Mother at around 3:00am. tongue is unbreakable. I am sure interact with people. above example of bangale students tional interaction for the transition language day, I would congratulat- He said 10 rebels, including their commander Mullahinfo-icon every one of us loves to speak in After 9/11 many people is very relevant in this context. from home to school. However the ed all those who in one way or Shakir, were killed in counterattacks by ANA soldiers. The clash their own tongue because it is the around the globe became aware of They raised their voice in sup- contribution of German langue is other has made effort to protect was still underway in the area, the plice official added. language that we learn in our moth- Afghanistan and to an extentof its port and protection of their mother not limited to Kindergarten and has their mother tongue. Shamsuddin, a resident of locality, confirmed the fighting was ers’ lap, It’s our language that help culture and traditions. A week ago, tongue. given great literature in science and This International Mother still underway between the Taliban and security forces in Pul-i- us form the way we see things, I was talking to one of my Ameri- The nature of this relationship philosophy to the world. Language day I would like to con- Momin neighbourhood. express things and hence becomes can friend who is working in Af- becomes apparent when we take a So what can we do to preserve gratulate all those who in one way Four months back, the Taliban captured Khwaja Ghar district, part of our identity. When we come ghanistan, and asked her if I can look at the literature and scientific and enrich our language? In this age or the other have made efforts to but security forces took wrested it back after three days. across a person speaking the same arrange accommodation for her in researchand its contribution to of technology there is a lot we can protect and enrich their mother Pajhwok) language, we do not feel the need my parent’s house where she one’s education. I have lived in do. For example now there is tongue. I wish we understand and of introducing ourselves beyond would be very warmly welcome. Germany for a couple of years. Google translator, a software appreciate the fact that each lan- our names because our shared lan- The response that I got back from One day I was talking to my Ger- which translates languages. It was guage has its own distinct charac- guage automatically brings in all the my friend made me very happy man friend and I told her that even once unimaginable a generation teristics and beauty which need to ‘Organic produce’ from Afghanistan details of culture and tradition. and I reflected on it for a bit. She though Germans knew that my back. We need to make the best be preserved. Personally I speak Language works as a carrier of all said “you are always so kind and German language skills were much use of technology and get our lan- six languages, fluent in four and now available in Hong Kong the cultural rules, nuances and cat- generous. A true Afghan”. Now weaker than my English skills but guage enriched with knowledge and able to communicate in two. It is a egories. On the other hand when here my friend identified me with they still preferred to speak to me literature of both social and natu- wonderful feeling to be called a we come across people speaking a my culture and hence my language in German. Her reply to my en- ral sciences. With the help of tech- multilingual. Huma Nasery is an different language we always feel because all these cultural values are quiry was enlightening. She told nology we should try to make dic- Afghan analyst and writes on reg- the need of knowing their cultural encoded in our language. This clar- me that it was because they were tionaries, translate famous books ular basis for her blog, online news sensitivities and traditional rules ifies the relationship of identity very proud of their own language and write our oral stories for our portals and magazine covering is- for better understanding. For ex- with mother tongue but the story and she was very happy to inform upcoming generations.Only with sues related to Afghanistan. She ample in the beginning I was a lit- does not end here rather it’s the me that Germans have contribut- modern knowledge and literature, holds a Masters in International tle hesitant to speak in English, point where our relation with our ed enormously to both scientific there is a chance that our language Relations and Political Science. AFGHANISTAN CRICKET BOARD PLANS TO MAKE CRICKET PART OF SCHOOL CURRICULUM The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and Ministry of Education has signed a memorandum of under- standing (MoU) to launch ‘School Cricket’ project all over Afghanistan making cricket game a part of the school curriculum. The project will go Implemented at the start of 2017. First of its kind initiative, the idea has to generate spaces for quality cricket in Afghanistan. In 2011 Afghanistan Cricket Board initiated School Cricket in Afghanistan under domestic cricket calendar in T20 format only. Now the ACB has planned to include Think "organic produce" and Afghanistan does not spring to mind. one day format as well. Todd Darling wants to change that. School Cricket idea has played a vital role in pro- Darling, the founder of online grocery store Homegrown Foods moting and strengthening the Afghan cricket. Best (www.homegrownfoods.com.hk), has spent years trekking to some of players in school cricket find pathway to their re- the world's most exotic and dangerous locations in search of unique gions and from regions to the national team. organic products. In 2014, that quest took him to war-torn Afghani- stan, a land that had been bypassed by the chemical agricultural revo- Worth mentioning here; the school cricket idea lutions of the 1970s. Afghan farmers never had the oppor-tunity to added many players to national level team, like Hash- use chemical fertilisers, meaning that the nation's products are organic matullah Shahidi; Yameen Ahmadzai; Afsar Zazai. by default. Tariq Stanikzai; Navin-Ul-Haq; Muslim Musa and Todd Darling (third from right) together with armed guards, in Yousaf Zazai are now playing with Under 19 players Embassy of India, Kabul (Afghanistan) Afghanistan. With the help of the Hummingfish Foundation, a Hong Kong who find way from school level Cricket. NGO that nurtures sustainable businesses in developing Asian coun- Mohammad Samim Zakhilwal is the best player Press Notice tries, Darling went about sourcing products in the hope that the farm- from school Cricket and now he is playing in with ers would continue growing legally exportable crops instead of switch- Under 16 national team. He said that,” I had a great Embassy of India, Kabul invites sealed item rate bids on behalf of the President of India represented ing to controversial ones, such as opium poppies. success going to U-16 team and I am trying my best "Our travels to Afghanistan were eye-opening experiences," says through the Director (PM), CPWD, Kabul (Afghanistan) from the eligible registered contractors of Darling. "Learning of the hardships farmers faced in a conflict country to go to U-19 and then to national team.” and the passion that remained towards their environment, wildlife and “ACB launched the inter school contest with a Afghan/Indian Nationals only for the work “Strengthening of Emergency Shelter”. farm products was very inspiring." vision to promote cricket at the school level and it a) Time of completion: Two months Farmers packing up goods in Afghanistan. has been a success,” Chairman Afghanistan Cricket New produce from Afghanistan now available at Homegrown Board Nasimullah Danish said. He added that the b) Cost of bid document: Free of cost Foods' online store includes honey (HK$68/120 grams), mulberry syrup (HK$68/120 grams), walnuts (HK$68/100 grams), pistachios ACB is working hard to take the idea to another level c) Eligibility : (HK$78/150 grams) and red and rose raisins (HK$78/200 grams). for making more spaces for cricket in the country. 1) For Afghan Nationals “We have developed a curriculum for school re- garding Cricket which will go implemented as soon as i. The agency must be owned by Afghan Nationals we get funds. Based on the project we have planned ii. The agency must be registered with Afghan Investment Support Agency to train school teachers as well. Also, we have planned to construct pitches in schools all over the country”, said Nazeem Jaar Adbdulrahumzai, Domestic Man- (2) For Indian Nationals: ager ACB. i. Agency must be owned by Indian Nationals and presently working in The idea is equally applicable on girls’ school as Afghanistan for Government of India or Government of Afghanistan or well. The ACB women cricket department has been organizing T20 tournaments every year in girls’ ii. The agency must be registered with Afghan Investment Support schools. The national women cricket team got the Agency majority of the players from school cricket tourna- (3) For Joint Ventures : Joint venture agencies are not acceptable ments played among schools in various provinces of Afghanistan i.e. Kabul, Hirat, Kunduz and Mazar Sharif. The applications shall be received up to 15.00 hrs on 01.03.2016 in the office of ”School girls are very enthusiastic to play crick- Director(PM), CPWD, Embassy of India, New Chancery Building, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul and et, and the annual tournaments have helped in this connection”, said Tuba Sangar, Manager Women Crick- bidding documents shall be issued to the eligible agencies up to 16.00 hrs on 02/03/2016. The bids et. shall be received up to 15.30 hrs on 05.03.2016 and the same shall be opened on the same day at The ACB has tried hard to reach out to potential 16.00 hrs. funders in this regard due to lack of funding at the moment. As soon as the ACB gets funding the School Cricket idea will be extended as per the design. “We Director (PM) are in negotiation with donor agency to fund school CPWD, C/o Embassy of India cricket in Afghanistan”, said Shafiq Stanikzai, Chief Executive Officer ACB. Kabul (Afghanistan) This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTAN TIMES

Afghan photo journalist die with family

FYROM closed its southern bor- members in der with Greece to Afghan mi- Turkish coast grants Sunday, allowing entry only for Iraqis and Syrians. Afghan journalist drowned off in FYROM authorities con- Turkish coastAn Afghan photo firmed earlier reports by Greek journalist has drowned off Turk- police, saying they are responding ish coast along with his family to a "domino effect" of similar re- members as they tried to reach strictions by their neighbors to the Europe, putting the number of north. journalists to 9 died since the start "The Serbian side has stopped of the year. EMERGENCY the entrance for Afghan refugees," An organization supporting CALLS FYROM police spokeswoman open media in Afghanistan, NAI, Natalija Spirova Kordikj told The reported that the photo journalist, Associated Press, adding that there Feroz Muzafari’s boat capsized as Police is no official explanation from the he was on his way to Europe. Serbian side for the move. Calling the death of Muzafari 100 - 119 FYROM police started re- a major loss to media in Afghani- stricting the flow of migrants stan, NAI, said the family mem- across the Greek-FYROM border bers of Muzafari also drowned off Hospitals Saturday, conducting body search- the Turkish coast and their dead es and demanding passports. Ear- bodies were recently taken back FMIC Hospital lier, they had accepted Greek po- to Kabul where they laid to rest. Behind Kabul Medical lice's official documents attesting NAI expressed concerns re- that an individual had been pro- garding the growing number of Af- University: ghans leaving the country due to cessed. 0202500200-+93793275595 The moves have led to a build- deteriorating security situation, up of migrants waiting at the Greek uncertain future, lack of employ- side of the border. Greek police said ment and corruption, mainly head- Rabia-i-Balkhi Hospital 800 were stranded at the border ing towards the European coun- tries by passing through danger- Pule Bagh-e- Umomi Sunday and another 2,750 were ous routes. 070263672 waiting in 55 buses nearby. According to NAI, over 250 In the 24 hours to 6 a.m. local reporters and media activists have (0400 GMT) Sunday, only 310 left the country during the past Khairkhana Hospital migrants had been allowed into two years, which includes 70 jour- FYROM. nalists from Balkh province only. 0799-321007 At the collection center in Ta- The organization warned that 2401352 banovce, on the FYROM side of the growing number of media ac- the border with Serbia, a total of tivists leaving the country will have 617 Afghan refugees are waiting to a negative impact on media sector Indira Gandhi Children be allowed into Serbia, Kordikj of the country, urging the govern- said. ment of national unity to take nec- Hospital, Wazir Akbar "367 have been waiting since essary steps in ensuring security Khan, Kabul 2301372 Friday. Another 250 arrived at the of the journalists and media activ- collection center (Saturday)," she ists. said. Ibn-e- Seena AFGHANISTAN Ghosts of Guantanamo Pul-e-Artan, Kabul SOME THINK TIME NOT RIGHT 2100359 AND THEIR haunt Afghanistan’s future FOR TALKS WITH TALIBAN Wazir Akbar Khan BOX-OFFICE Hospital The Afghan government’s drive for raids and send in additional troops ever, they don’t want peace to PULL negotiations with Taliban insur- to advise and assist Afghan forces. come at the expense of everything 2301741, 2301743 gents has been met with increasing The escalating bloodshed has that they achieved, and if it means Mohammad Nabi is whir of arms skepticism by some Afghans who led many to question whether this reverting back to the era of the and legs. Then he hangs almost believe the time is not right for a is the right time for a political so- 1990s.” Ali Abad stock still in mid-air. The left arm, his wrong arm, stretches above his peace process, fearing that negoti- lution to the war. The Taliban indicated during Shahrara, Kabul head and plucks a ball that was in ations could lead to unfavorable “The first thing that needs to informal meetings in Norway and the air space beyond the long-on compromises with an enemy that be done is for the Afghan state to Qatar last year that they would 2100439 boundary back into the field of remains far from beaten on the bat- once again reach a higher position allow better treatment of women play. For a moment, it looks as if tlefield. than the insurgents in the combat and minorities within the frame- he had taken the catch of the tour- “We have to continue the peace field, and it’s impossible for the work of “Islamic law” as they see Malalai Maternity nament to dismiss Oman opener and half-centurion Zeeshan Maq- process, but what I worry is that Afghan security forces to do that it. Although difficult to gage, some Hospital sood. He didn't but in that moment, Afghanistan right now is at its alone,” Malikyar said. “That is studies show about 10 percent of 2201377/ 2301743 he was everything the Afghanistan weakest position since the fall of why the U.S., once again, has to Afghans support the group. cricket team has been portrayed the Taliban in 2001,” said local increase its combat mission in Af- “They’re not a monolithic or- as. Eye-catching, flamboyant and analyst Helena Malikyar. “So I ghanistan and help the Afghan ganization the way that some peo- Banks box office. think this would be a very bad time state push back the Taliban, to ple want to paint them as,” U.S. A tall, strapping fast bowler for the Afghan government to reach some degree at least.” State Department spokesman walks out at No. 9. The scoreboard Da Afghanistan Bank asks him to hit 10 runs in five balls. a settlement.” The U.S.-led coalition in Af- John Kirby said of the Taliban ear- He takes guard deep in his crease. Representatives from Afghan- ghanistan ended its combat mis- lier this month after insurgents 2100302, 2100303 Dawlat Zadran, with his almost istan, the United States, Pakistan sion at the end of 2014 and the claimed responsibility for a dead- Waqar Younis-like action and al- and China have been meeting to insurgents have taken advantage of ly suicide attack outside a police Bakhtar Bank most Waqar Younis-like yorkers, work out a road map for peace the absence of their superior fire- station in Kabul. “We still think knows what to expect even if it is talks involving the insurgents and power both on the ground and in that there’s room to make [peace 0776777000 a spinner bowling the 20th over. In comes the fuller ball on off the Afghan government. The fourth the air to press Afghan forces, con- talks] happen. And again, today’s Azizi Bank stump, out comes the slash over meeting of the so-called Quadri- tinuing their offensives well into attack is just that much more of a extra cover, up jumps the fielder lateral Coordination Group is winter, when they normally would reminder that that’s really the an- 0799 700900 in the deep but he is beaten. Ajay scheduled for Tuesday in Kabul. retreat to havens in Pakistan. As a swer here.” Lalcheta dials the blockhole again Taliban guerrillas have been invit- result, both sides have suffered While critics maintain that the Pashtany Bank and gets the wrong number. Six ed to attend the upcoming session, record casualties, officials say. unsettled tensions within the Tal- 2102908, 2103868 again and game over. but they have not yet said they Critics of the government’s iban could lead to the splintering It has been easy to paint Nabi, Dawlat and Afghanistan as larger will attend. push for negotiations include some of the group, thus making it more Air Services than life. But today, in Fatullah, it Since he assumed office in high-profile politicians, including difficult to reach a deal because wouldn't have hurt them to be a September 2014, President Ashraf Ahmad Zia Massoud, who served some factions would likely not bit more down to earth. Ghani has made peace talks with as vice president under former Af- accept it, others believe the timing Safi Airways A Gulbadin Naib delivery in the Taliban a priority of his ad- ghan President Hamid Karzai from is ideal. the 17th over whooshed past the ministration. He also has reached 2004-2009 and is the younger “All indications appear to be KABUL // When Ahmad Khandan But apart from the more 020 22 22 222 batsman on the full and touched returned to Afghanistan after be- prominent examples of Guantana- down in front of the wicketkeep- out to the Pakistanis, who are of- brother of national hero Ahmad favoring a division among the Tal- Ariana er. Mohammad Shahzad was late ten blamed by distrustful Afghans Shah Massoud, who was killed by iban,” said strategic analyst Nawaz ing held as a prisoner at the US mo’s continued impact on Afghan- in trying to put some of his body for tacitly helping the Taliban and al-Qaida, shortly before the 9/11 Shuja. “If there can be an oppor- detention camp in Guantanamo istan, the camp also haunts many 020-2100270 behind the ball because instinct had providing a safe haven for the terrorist attacks in the United tunity to talk, I think more and Bay, Cuba, he barely recognised of the less well-known former pris- taken over by then and he was try- group’s leadership. States. more Taliban groups might break his family. He now had a young oners, leaving psychological scars ing to avoid injury. A flail of the Exploratory talks between “Many people now believe free of the centralized leadership.” son, Bilal, whom he had never met they say will never heal. Kam Air arms at the bowler suggested he representatives of the insurgents that a military victory against the “When you don’t engage, you and his brother, Qadir, had grown To these men, Guantanamo is 0799974422 was not at all impressed. Five no- a beard. His mother and sister had a symbol of American abuse of balls gifted away. and government fell apart last sum- Taliban is achievable, and that there can’t really differentiate between Naib was trying too hard and mer after the announcement that should be no concessions given to the different groups within the both died in the intervening years power and the ongoing war is the ball had slipped. It was the 17th longtime Taliban leader and insurgents,” Massoud said. Taliban,” he said, “and I think it’s and he was convinced it was “be- proof that it has fuelled radicalism Hotels over, so the yorker had been on founder Mullah Mohammad Omar Thomas Ruttig, co-director of important to be able to do that so cause of the sorrow and sadness” in their country. Safi Landmark his mind. Understandable tactics, had died two years before. His the Afghan Analysts Network, said that you can peel away those caused by his ordeal. Mr Khandan was among a but he didn't need the magic deliv- successor, Mullah Akhtar Man- the issue has become “very polar- groups that may have genuine lo- “I didn’t feel the happiness of small number of former detainees ery. His gentle pace gave the bats- freedom,” he told The National. and civil society activists who 020-2203131 man nothing and nagging lines soor, faced serious challenges to izing” among Afghan citizens, part- cal grievances that can be ad- his leadership from rival factions. ly because the four-country group dressed.” After 9/11 and the October called for the closure of Guantana- around the off stump fetched him ERENA 2 for 24 off his four overs. It could Since then Mansoor, who was has not revealed what incentives According to the Council on 2001 US-led invasion of Afghani- mo at a protest outside the US S have been 2 for 24, minus five no- in charge of the guerrillas during might be offered to insurgents, or Foreign Relations, “the United stan, the US began to transfer pris- embassy in Kabul last month. balls. last year’s tentative peace moves, what concessions might be grant- States has a vital interest in pre- oners to Guantanamo Bay in Jan- “The important members of 0799654000 When a match is decided in the appears to have consolidated his ed. serving the many political, eco- uary 2002. They were classified the Taliban were released in a deal final over, by margin of three wick- power. In the meantime, the Tali- Afghanistan has seen improve- nomic and security gains” in Af- as “enemy combatants” and ini- and are now based in Qatar,” he New Rumi Restaurant ets, those are the mistakes that sting tially denied any protection under said. “But the poor and innocent the most; the kind that could have ban have launched a series of of- ments in areas such as women’s ghanistan. 0776351347 been easily avoided. fensives that have stretched gov- rights, freedom of expression, free- “A resurgence of the Taliban the Geneva Conventions. are still in jail.” Aamir Kaleem dug a yorker ernment forces to the limit. dom of speech, and democratiza- insurgency could once again turn A total of 220 Afghans have In early 2009 the US president into the covers and set off for a The insurgents now control tion over the past decade — all Afghanistan into a terrorist save since been held there, the largest Barack Obama signed an order to Internet Services risky single because his partner number of detainees from any close Guantanamo within a year. more territory than at any time things that conflict with Taliban haven,” it said in a recent report. UA Telecom Adnan Illyas was doing a spectac- since the U.S.-led invasion 15 ideology, and which the group “Moreover, internal instability in country. While the majority of the Having faced persistent opposi- ular impression of a revolving door prisoners have been released, the tion from Congress, he is still be- 0796701701 / 0796702702 - any ball directed straight at him years ago that ousted them from suppressed when it controlled the Afghanistan could have larger re- was being whacked away. The power. In the fall, the insurgents country from 1996-2001. gional ramifications as Pakistan, camp remains open and continues lieved to want to shut the camp fielder at cover had the chance to briefly captured the northern city “The majority of Afghans India, Iran, and Russia compete for to affect the conflict in Afghani- before stepping down from office Exchange Rate punish Kaleem for his greed but of Kunduz — the first time it con- want peace with the Taliban,” said influence in Kabul and among in- stan — casting a shadow over the in January next year. the throw wasn't great, the bowler trolled a major urban center since Ahmad K. Majidyar of the Naval fluential subnational actors.” battlefield and the negotiating ta- Since Guantanamo was first Purchase: Dawlat couldn't collect it and ev- 2001. In southern Helmand prov- Post Graduate School, who advis- Zubair Babakarkhail and Stars ble. opened, 779 prisoners have been eryone was fuming over another ince, they have closed in on gov- es the U.S. military in Afghanistan. and Stripes reporter Slobodan Le- In May 2014 insurgents from held there. Of the 91 who remain, silly mistake. From almost turn- a group known as the Haqqani net- eight are Afghans. According to US One US$ = ing sixes into catches, they had ernment forces in key areas, lead- “They are tired of decades of war kic contributed to this report. now fluffed a ready-made run-out. ing the U.S. to launch bombing that has ruined their lives. How- [email protected] work freed a captured American government documents, Mr Khan- 68.78Afs Afghanistan captain Asghar soldier, Bowe Bergdahl, in ex- dan was detained in Khost, east- One Pound Sterling= Stanikzai might feel aggrieved at a change for five Taliban prisoners ern Afghanistan, in September personal level too. He had come in held at Guantanamo. 2002. He was transferred to 98.50Afs at 5 for 1 and lit the fuse for the The five men were flown to Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, One Euro = chase of 166 with a hat-trick of Qatar, where they were required before eventually being sent to fours against Lalcheta: two re- 76.78Afs sounding sweeps sandwiching a to remain for a year as a condition Guantanamo on February 6, 2003. bludgeon over midwicket. Then of their release. Their travel ban He was given the internment serial 1000 Pak Rs = both Stanikzai and Noor Ali was later extended as talks over number 831. The US assessed Mr 638Afs Zadran carved Munis Ansari for their future continued. Khandan as a prisoner of “medi- four fours in the fifth over: a cut to Other former detainees have um intelligence value” who had Sale: the point boundary even when the become high-profile associates of links to a local Al Qaeda “bomb- One US$ = ball wasn't that wide, a straight ISIL’s Afghanistan branch. One, making cell” and the Taliban. Part drive with considerable sting, and 68.98 Afs a couple of on-drives with con- Mullah Abdul Rauf, pledged alle- of the evidence used against him One Pound Sterling= trolled whips of the wrists to beat giance to the group before he was was that he worked in a hospital mid-on to his right, and deep mid- killed in a drone strike in the south- run by the mujaheddin party Hizb- 99.30Afs wicket to his left. Afghanistan ern province of Helmand last year. e-Islami during the war against the One Euro= were 57 for 1 now, their run-rate A second, Abdul Rahim Muslim Soviets and their Afghan allies — 77.38 Afs was 11.40, the required rate was Dost, has given his support to a cause backed by Washington. only 7.26. ISIL’s self-declared caliphate. thenational 1000 Pak Rs= 646Afs This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY . FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTAN TIMES CHINESE OPPORTUNITY BEING OVERBLOWN, SAYS HINA es on issues pertaining to constit- uency delimitation and citizenship, and that India was confident these would be followed through. Oli is RABBANI KHAR learnt to have assured that the pending issues would be addressed in a time-bound manner. Modi told Oli that India has always wanted peace, stability and prosperity of Nepal and that it would extend all possible help to ensure its all-round development. The conversation took place weeks after Nepal’s parliament passed two constitutional amend- ments which are expected to ad- dress the grievances of the Mad- hesis and other minorities. The long acrimony between India and Nepal over the newly promulgated constitution had led to massive disruption of essential supplies to the Himalayan nation, Jaishankar said that Oli’s visit was not a “recriminatory” one, but “for- ward-looking”. On combating terrorism, Modi said that it was clear that “Nepal’s stability is linked to India’s secu- rity” and the two sides agreed to fight growing extremism and ter- rorism. “We will not allow terrorists Describing the acrimony between countries and their people.” Nepal sign 3 deals, put off power he said, “The announcement of the and criminals to use our open bor- Harbouring great expectations created a lot of apprehensions India and Nepal in the last five Oli meets Modi today, focus pactKathmandu waits for PM new constitution in Nepal came der. In this regard, the security agen- with regard to China as panacea among the Europeans, especially months as “misunderstandings”, on new Nepal ConstitutionNepal Modi with red carpet, dealsOli after decades of struggle there… I cies of the two countries will in- for all its ills would do no good to incidents like Paris attack were visiting Prime Minister of Nepal border firing: PM Modi speaks to meets Modi today, focus on new appreciate the contribution of the tensify cooperation.” Pakistan as the former’s own role seen with a great concern. K P Sharma Oli on Saturday said KP Oli, expresses 'shock' over kill- Nepal ConstitutionNepal border political leadership and people of Before the talks between the in the emerging scenario would “I go to schools and kids ask his main mission behind the bilat- ing of IndianIndia looks to Nepal firing: PM Modi speaks to KP Oli, Nepal for it… But its success de- PMs, External Affairs Minister matter a lot in the upcoming great me whether the militants would eral visit to India was to “clear the PM Khadga Prasad Oli to break expresses 'shock' over killing of pends on consensus and dialogue. Sushma Swaraj called on Oli. The game in the region. come riding boats,” she said, add- misunderstanding” and take ties deadlockNepal: K P Oli takes over, IndianIndia looks to Nepal PM I am confident on the basis of these Nepalese PM told her that his Former foreign minister Hina ing that the right wingers were ex- between the two countries to the says normalising ties with India a Khadga Prasad Oli to break dead- principles and through political country is and will remain a “reli- Rabbani Khar, who was among the ploiting such concerns to their ben- same level as in 2014, when Prime top priorityIndia, Nepal sign 3 lockNepal: K P Oli takes over, says dialogue and by taking all sections able” friend of India, and that he panelists at a session titled ‘Con- efits. Minister Narendra Modi had vis- deals, put off power pactKath- normalising ties with India a top together, you (Oli) will be able to wanted to “move forward in the temporary Great Games’ and She said Italy was a homoge- ited Nepal. mandu waits for PM Modi with priorityIndia, Nepal sign 3 deals, resolve all issues relating to the relationship, which is not man- moderated by historian Ahmad neous society but the influx of ref- After the bilateral talks with red carpet, dealsOli meets Modi put off power pactKathmandu constitution satisfactorily and take made but entirely natural and civil- Rashid, said this. ugees would change it, rather the Modi, Oli said, “The misunder- today, focus on new Nepal Con- waits for PM Modi with red car- Nepal forward towards the path isational”. Others in the panel included whole Europe. standing that persisted in the last stitutionNepal border firing: PM pet, deals of development and stability.” The two sides signed nine Swedish Pakistani Qaiser Mah- Ms Roza, who had been a few months is no longer there. I Modi speaks to KP Oli, expresses While Oli described Nepal’s While the two leaders de- agreements, ranging from infra- mood, US journalist Steve Coll, member of Kyrgyzstan commu- believe our relationship will great- 'shock' over killing of IndianIndia constitution as “historic”, Modi scribed the document differently structure to rail and road transit. Italian journalist Vivana Mazza nist party, said while her country ly benefit from our discussions. It looks to Nepal PM Khadga Pras- called it a “major achievement”, — showing the distance in the un- Oli also thanked Modi and and former Kyrgyzstan president was still coming out of the hang- is high time to look at India-Nepal ad Oli to break deadlockNepal: K and stressed that its success de- derstanding of issues — Foreign people of India for “spontaneous Roza Otunbayeve. over of communist rule, it was con- relations with a forward-looking P Oli takes over, says normalising pends on “consensus and dia- Secretary S Jaishankar said the support” in the aftermath of the Ms Rabbani said there was no fronted with radical Islam. approach in the interest of the two ties with India a top priorityIndia, logue”. With Nepal PM listening, Nepalese PM has given assuranc- earthquake. denying the fact that Chinese in- She deplored that the non-state vestment was going to impact Pa- actors were getting stronger as they kistan in a big way, strategically were mobile and were infiltrating President and economically, but the prospect schools. was being “overblown”. Steve Coll said like Pakistan says 88 Indian fishermen arrested She said China was more mas- there were many governments in sively investing in Central Asia as the United States including Con- KARACHI: The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) on Saturday arrest- compared to Pakistan. The actual gress and Pentagon and that era of Sri Lanka ed 88 Indian fishermen for fishing in Pakistani waters, an official said. Great Game would unfold in South counter insurgency interventions “The Indian fishermen were arrested by the MSA while they were China sea and the areas around it, was over. today has no fishing in Pakistani waters of the Arabian Sea in the early hours of she added. He said though there was a dis- Saturday,” said an official at the Docks police station. “Their (Indian She said in the contemporary cussion going upon defining Paki- enemies in fishermen’s) 16 fishing boats have also been seized by the MSA. They great games the non-state actors stani Identity and the struggle were later handed over to police from where they would be produced had a much more important role. among various identities, but he the world before the respective courts.” He said the Docks police had registered a To Ahmad Rashid’s query had a great faith in the binding pow- case against the arrested Indian fishermen on behalf of the state under about the response of Europe, es- er of Pakistani nationalism, which Sections 3/4 of the Foreign Act and 3/9 of the Fishery Act. The arrest of pecially Italy, to the migrant or was even stronger than American President Maithripala Sirisena Indian fishermen came as third such incident in three months after the refugee crisis, Ms Mazza said: nationalism. says Sri Lanka today has no ene- two countries agreed in Dec 2015 to reinitiate the dialogue process “The crisis had been used by right- Qaiser Mahmood hoped Eu- mies and this was made possible during Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj visit to Pakistan. winger political parties to legiti- rope would adapt to the change after his Government took office. However, the scheduled talks between the foreign secretaries of the two fishermen had also come to a halt from the two sides for the past several mise their stance against immi- being heralded by refugees crisis The President said that he countries were postponed after the Pathankot airbase attack in India months causing concern among the families of their arrested loved ones grants. by “finding a new way to define concluded successful State visits last month. The fisheries officials said that the release and exchange of on both sides of the border. She said the refugees crisis had ourselves”. to Germany and Austria wining many benefits for the betterment of the country. “My tour in Austria and Ger- many turned out to be very good. Concluding this tour, we have been able to bag many benefits. We have been able to convince the business community why they should con- sider Sri Lanka for investment and collaboration,” he said. The President made these re- marks when he met with the mem- PETALING JAYA : Malaysia's bers of the Sri Lankan community government has clarified that its living in Austria in Vienna, today. suspension of the recruitment of Sri Lankans representing all foreign workers does not affect the communities including Sinhala, validity of the memorandum of Tamil and Muslim attended the understanding (MoU) signed be- gathering held at the premises of tween Putrajaya and Dhaka last the Austrian National Library in week. Vienna. President Sirisena was Malaysia's Human Resources warmly welcomed by the Sri Lan- Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot kan community when he arrived Jaem said that the MoU signed at the venue. with the Bangladesh government Ambassador Priyani Wijesek- was still official. era thanked the President and the He added that further details community for organising the on the decision to freeze foreign event which included cultural worker•recruitment were to be an- items. nounced by the Federal Govern- “Today, my country has no ment. enemies in the world. No country "I welcome the statement of or organisation is against us. Since the Deputy Prime Minister I came to power I worked with all (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Ha- countries and organisations to midi) as it is a positive statement. work together with Sri Lanka. It is "It clearly reflects the (Human as a result of this friendship that Resources) Ministry's priority in the Austrian government invited a for the people when they were in the Government," he said. "Now that they are no longer in power or holding any position, they are accusing the Government of flip-flop." Speaking providing employment opportu- at an Excellence Award Presentation ceremony for the Home Ministry workforce at a hotel here yesterday, he referred to the critics as gila talak (meddlers). "He thinks he is the cleverest, state leader from Sri Lanka to visit nities for local workers," Riot said their country. I am lucky that I the best, the most excellent."His time is over, please respect the ruling Government," said Dr Ahmad Zahid, adding he was not specifically referring to any individual. Former prime in a statement. minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had on Friday (Feb 19) said the flip-flop in policy caused uncertainties among the people. "We see flip-flop happening all the time. They introduce could make it happen,” the Presi- On Thursday (Feb 18), a dent further said. the policy, they reverse the policy and then they re-introduce it again, in all things, including the automotive sector," Mahathir said. "I think there is some confusion about what you MoU was signed between Putra- have to do, which has forced them to reverse every time," he said in a press conference after launching the Let's Read The Quran 2016 campaign here yesterday. Meanwhile, SME He said that it is very impor- jaya and Dhaka to allow male and tant that Sri Lanka builds on this Association of Malaysia president Michael Kang urged the government to release details and guidance for SMEs on the proper solutions and policies to follow. "After collecting the female Bangladeshi workers to be levies, a certain amount of money should be allocated to the SME to upscale our own local staff, so we can gradually reduce our dependency on foreign workers," said Kang. The SME platform to make sure that no war brought into the service, construc- repeats in the country and that Association works closely with the Human Resource Development Fund, aiming to provide training to local staff in terms of automated machinery training and guidance to improve tion, farming, plantation and man- workflow efficiency and productivity. everybody lives happily and in ufacturing sectors. harmony. The next day, Dr Ahmad Za- He said passing of the 19th hid announced that the government Amendment to the constitution had suspended the recruitment of US HELPS SRI LANKA CUSTOMS TO DEVELOP TRADE POTENTIAL set the background for what is be- all foreign workers, including those ing experienced in Sri Lanka now from Bangladesh, pending a review Legal experts from the US Depart- “The United States is working at sition Sri Lanka to meet its com- and the country needs to build on of the levy and rehiring programme. that platform and rise as a great ment of Commerce and US Cus- all levels in Sri Lanka – govern- mitment under the World Trade Malaysia freezes recruitment toms and Border Protection collab- ment, private sector, and develop- Organisation Agreement on Trade nation in the world,. of all foreign workers including “This is the right time. If Sri orated with 20 senior officials from ment groups – to help strengthen Facilitation. The sessions ad- those from Bangladesh Sri Lanka Customs in Colombo last the economy for the benefit of all dressed issues key to Sri Lanka Lanka was not the proper place to In Kuching, Deputy Prime live in, owing to the grey period in week on reforming customs proce- Sri Lankans,” said US Ambassa- realising its export-led develop- Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad dures to enhance trade. The effort dor Atul Keshap. ment plan, including advance rul- our history, I assure you that this Zahid Hamidi chided former gov- is the right time for many thou- seeks to improve efficiency and “These reforms will send im- ings, valuation and classification, ernment leaders who accused the transparency for businesses, allow- portant signals to the trade com- and customs appeals. In addition, sands of Sri Lankans to return to Government of policy flip-flop. Sri Lanka and start contributing ing Sri Lanka to develop more fully munity that Sri Lanka is open for the U.S. experts held a one-day "The Government reversed its export potential and advance business.”The 3-day workshop, training for 30 District Court and their knowledge and experience to certain policies because it is sensi- build the nation Sri Lanka,” he fur- investment opportunities, the US provided in cooperation with the Magistrate Judges who common- tive to the people's calls. "The same embassy said in a media statement. US Embassy, will also better po- ly hear customs appeals. ther said. former leaders had acted similarly This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY . FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTAN TIMES News-in-Brief Jeb Bush ends 2016 British campaign to stay in EU presidential takes lead campaign The British campaign to stay in the European Union has tak- en a 15 percentage point lead over opponents of membership, according to a Survation opin- for renewed peace negotiations, ion poll for the Mail on Sun- but the truce has faltered as fight- day newspaper. ing on the ground has intensified. In the first opinion poll In an interview with AFP on since Prime Minister David February 12, before the deal was Cameron clinched a deal on announced, Assad defiantly Britain's membership terms pledged to retake the whole of the from other EU leaders, 48 per- country. cent of voters said they want- Speaking to El Pais, he said he ed to stay in the EU while 33 was “ready” for a ceasefire, but percent were in favor of leav- warned that it should not be ex- ing. ploited by “the terrorists” to im- Republican Jeb Bush ended his But 19 percent were unde- prove their positions, using the campaign for the presidency Sat- cided, the newspaper said. The regime’s term for all rebel groups. urday after a disappointing finish poll showed that 35 percent of “It’s about preventing other in South Carolina, acknowledging voters believe Cameron did well countries, especially Turkey, from his failure to harness the hopes of at the summit negotiations sending more recruits, more terror- Republican voters angry at the while 30 percent said he did ists, more armaments, or any kind political establishment. badly, the newspaper said. of logistical support to those ter- The former Florida governor Cameron on Saturday called rorists.” and political scion told support- a June 23 referendum on mem- Syria’s regime has been press- ers that he’d tried to stay true to bership of the European Union ing an offensive in the northern what he believes. Still, he was lag- that could have far-reaching Aleppo region backed by Russian ging far behind in the primary in consequences for Britain's uni- air strikes and troops from Iran and South Carolina, where his well-or- ty and for the viability of the Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has ganized campaign was outmatched world's biggest trading bloc. forced tens of thousands to flee. by insurgent billionaire Donald Assad said the support of his Trump, and Sens. Ted Cruz and Russian and Iranian allies had been Marco Rubio. Syrian opposition “essential” in the recent major ad- “I’m proud of the campaign vances made by regime forces. that we’ve run to unify our coun- agrees to truce, “We definitely need that help try and to advocate conservative with caveat for a simple reason: because more solutions,” a visibly emotional than 80 countries supported those Bush said. “The presidency is big- Syria's opposition has agreed President Bashar al-Assad says he ters its sixth year, left open the ia as president -- but that doesn’t my duty. terrorists in different ways,” he ger than any one person. It’s cer- to a two- to three-week truce wants to be remembered 10 years question of whether he would still mean I’m still going to be presi- “If the Syrian people want me told El Pais. tainly bigger than any one candi- on condition that Russia stops from now as the person who saved be president by then. And he said dent in 10 years, I’m just talking to be in power, I will be. If they Some backers helped “direct- date.” its air strikes, sieges are ended Syria, according to an interview he was ready to implement a long- about my vision of the 10 years,” don’t want me, I can do nothing, I ly with money, with logistical sup- “I firmly believe the American and access for aid allowed with Spanish newspaper El Pais sought ceasefire, but only if the he said in an interview published mean, I cannot help my country, port, with armaments, with recruit- people must entrust this office to across the country, a source published on Saturday. rebels and their international back- on the newspaper’s website. so I have to leave right away.” ments. Some other countries sup- someone who understands that close to peace talks said on Sat- Assad, whose fate has been a ers such as Turkey did not use it “If Syria is safe and sound, and World powers have been push- ported them politically, in differ- whoever holds it is a servant not urday. key sticking point in efforts to end as a chance to gain ground. I’m the one who saved his coun- ing for a so-called cessation of hos- ent international forums,” he told the master,” Bush said. Russian air strikes began Syria’s bloody civil war as it en- “In 10 years, if I can save Syr- try -- that’s my job now, that’s tilities in Syria to pave the way the daily. The son of George H. W. Bush last September and turned the and brother of George W. Bush tide in Syria's five-year civil war entered the race to huge expecta- in Bashar al-Assad's favour, to tions in June, and quickly fueled the frustration of the United them with fundraising. Working States and its allies who have with an outside funding group that supported rebels trying to top- has supported his candidacy, Bush ple the president. and allies raised more than $150 Several attempts to agree a million by the end of 2015 - far truce have failed in recent more than any of his Republican months. rivals. "The message has been However, Bush’s presence in conveyed very clearly now that the race and fundraising potential the opposition is willing to en- wasn’t enough to dissuade more ter into a two- to three-week than a dozen other Republicans truce, and that's open to renewal from entering the race, including if the conditions are right and Libya’s prime minister-designate, its own administration and parlia- lamic State group to establish a fellow Floridian, Sen. Marco Ru- both sides are willing to renew Fayez al-Sarraj, on Saturday pre- ment called the General National foothold, and ISIS now controls bio. it," the source said. sented the program of his new na- Congress. the port city of Sirte and its sur- Bush’s failure to ignite was not The opposition also wants tional unity government before the The United Nations has been roundings. simply a factor of the size of the vulnerable prisoners, including parliament of the internationally pushing both sides to back a unity LANA reported that 14 mem- Republican field. Bush, like oth- women and children, to be re- recognized government ahead of a government. bers of forces loyal to the recog- ers, was caught off-guard by the leased, the source said. confidence vote. The Presidential Council, born nized government were killed in durable popularity of political out- Russia and the U.S. are “The members of parliament of an agreement in December un- clashes in second city Benghazi in siders - particularly Trump. jointly chairing a United Na- discussed with the Presidential der U.N. auspices between repre- the east on Saturday. The final stage of Bush’s cam- tions meeting in Geneva aimed Council the proposed unity gov- sentatives of the rival parliaments, LANA, quoting medical sourc- paign became an all-out bout with at trying to secure a cessation ernment’s program as well as the on Monday proposed the forma- es in hospitals in Benghazi and the the outspoken real estate mogul - of hostilities in Syria. names of ministers,” the Libyan tion of a unity government of 18 nearby city of Marj, the two frequently referring to U.S. and Russian military news agency LANA, which is close members. also said that 34 other mem- each other as a “loser.” Bush took officials met ahead of the wider to the recognized authorities, re- Before a confidence vote bers of the forces were wounded shots at Trump’s lack of experi- meeting, diplomats said on Fri- ported. scheduled for Tuesday, the MPs in the fighting. ence while Trump attacked Bush’s day. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Hawks (TAK), a group that once It added that the session was in Tobruk had asked that Sarraj For a year and a half, Beng- family legacy, particularly the un- A truce would be renewable Davutoglu on Saturday called on had links to the PKK, on Friday adjourned after several hours of appear before them. hazi has seen bloody fighting be- popular Iraq war waged by his and supported by all parties the United States to give uncondi- claimed responsibility for the “heated debate” and was set to re- It was not immediately clear if tween armed groups including ISIS brother George W. Bush. except Islamic State, the source tional support in the fight against bombing. However, Davutoglu said sume on Sunday at 0800 GMT. Sarraj would attend Sunday’s ses- and Ansar al-Sharia, which is close Bush, meanwhile, offered him- said. It would also be condition- Syrian Kurdish militants, illustrat- that did not rule out the responsi- The oil-rich North African sion also. to al Qaeda, and forces loyal to the self as an experienced public exec- al on the al Qaeda-linked Nusra ing growing tension between An- bility of the YPG, calling the TAK country has had rival administra- Libya has been torn by strife government. utive and potential world states- Front no longer being targeted, kara and Washington over policy a “proxy” that claimed the bomb- tions since the summer of 2014 since Muammar Qaddafi was over- Saturday’s parliamentary ses- man informed in part by his fa- at least to start with, the source in northern Syria. ing to shield the international rep- when the internationally recognized thrown and killed in 2011 follow- sion came a day after a U.S. air ther’s and brother’s wartime pres- said. Davutoglu also said Turkey utation of the Syrian Kurdish fight- government fled Tripoli after a ing a rebellion supported by West- strike against an ISIS training camp idencies. But it wasn’t a case The Nusra Front is consid- would tighten security across the ers. YPG denial militia alliance including Islamists ern military intervention. in Sabratha (70 kilometers, 43 miles strong enough to translate into ered a terrorist organisation by country, especially the capital, af- The YPG’s political arm has overran the capital. The chaos that has reigned west of Tripoli), killed 49 people, votes. the U.N. Security Council and ter a car laden with explosives was denied the group was behind the That alliance has established since has allowed the jihadist Is- probably including a top Islamist. There were other problems as banned. detonated near military buses in Ankara attack and said Turkey was well. The policy-oriented Bush Asked if the opposition's Ankara on Wednesday, killing 28 using the bombing to justify an was overshadowed in early de- insistence on the Nusra Front people. escalation in fighting in northern bates by Trump and Rubio, which no longer being targeted was the Turkey says the Syrian Kurd- Syria. Turkey reserves the right to dramatically slowed his early au- main stumbling block, he de- ish YPG, which the United States carry out operations at home and tumn fundraising. scribed it as "the elephant in is backing in the fight against ISIS abroad against terror threats, Pres- Bush went on to finish sixth the room". in Syria, was involved in the bomb- ident Tayyip Erdogan was quoted in the Iowa caucuses, but barely "They have to deal with ing, working with the outlawed as saying on Saturday, in com- squeezed ahead of Rubio in New this very delicately or they are Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). ments that suggest Ankara could Hampshire for a fourth place fin- going to end up with a civil war Washington, which does not increase shelling of YPG positions. ish. in Idlib on their hands," the4 consider the YPG a terrorist orga- “Turkey will use its right to South Carolina was viewed as source said. nization, has said it is not in a po- expand its rules of engagement be- a last early voting state for Bush Nusra fighters are fighting sition to confirm or deny Ankara’s yond (responding to) actual at- to make a mark. alongside other rebel groups in charge the militia was behind the tacks against it and to encompass Having previously kept his some areas, including Idlib. bombing. “The only thing we ex- all terror threats,” the pro-govern- family at arm’s length, Bush pect from our U.S. ally is to sup- ment Daily Sabah newspaper quot- brought all family ties to the fore- Central African port Turkey with no ifs or buts,” ed him as saying at a speech in front ahead of South Carolina. His Davutoglu told a news conference Istanbul. father and brother both won the Republic: following a five-hour security Washington has called on Tur- South Carolina primary when they meeting with members of his cab- key to stop its recent shelling of were seeking the presidency, and Touadera wins inet and other officials. the YPG. Ankara says it is doing he had set his hopes high there for election “If 28 Turkish lives have been so within the rules of engagement a campaign revival. claimed through a terrorist attack and in response to cross-border Despite support for the Bush The former prime minister of we can only expect them to say fire from the insurgents. family among a segment of devot- Central African Republic Faus- any threat against Turkey is a President Barack Obama on ed South Carolina Republicans, tin Archange Touadera has won threat against them.” Friday spoke to Erdogan in an 80- Bush himself had a halting final the country's presidential elec- The disagreement over the minute telephone call, sharing his week of campaigning. At a Wednes- tion, the national election body YPG risks driving a wedge be- concerns over the Syrian conflict day town hall meeting in Summer- announced. Main rival Anicet tween the NATO allies at a critical and promising his support. ville he was offered more advice Georges Dologuele, another point in Syria’s civil war, as the A State Department spokes- than policy questions, the same former prime minister, who United States pursues intensive man later told reporters Washing- day he learned South Carolina took the most votes in the first talks with Syrian ally Russia to ton would continue to support Gov. Nikki Haley had endorsed round, accepted the result that bring about a “cessation of hostil- organizations in Syria that it could Rubio. Still, Bush amassed crowds put Touadera on 63 percent of ities”. count on in the fight against ISIS - growing crowds in the primary the ballots cast. At a press con- The Kurdistan Freedom an apparent reference to the YPG. campaign’s final days. ference on Saturday night, Do- loguele said he will accept the results and recognise Touadera as president, although he ex- France issues eviction order for Calais refugees pressed concern about irregu- larities, the Associated Press France has given refugees living in area. The expulsion order came a zeneuve countered in a news agency reported. Turn- part of a Calais refugee camp until week after Prefect Fabienne Buc- written reply that the out in the runoff, held on Feb- Tuesday evening to leave or face cio announced that the southern evacuation would go ruary 14, was put at 61 per- forcible removal. sector of the 18-hector camp on ahead "progressively." cent and the constitutional Residents of the southern part the edge of Calais would be razed. The order cited a court now has a week to vali- of the camp, known as 'The Jun- 'Progressive evacuation' series of problems, date the result. Election offi- gle', were told to take their pos- Humanitarian groups say the from violence to grow- cials bring ballot boxes to the sessions and leave the area on Sat- number of people living in the af- ing anti-refugee ten- central election commission urday evening, so that authorities fected area exceeds 1,000. sions among extreme- warehouse to be processed in can demolish the tented settlement Eight associations working in right elements, a lack of Bangui, Central African Repub- that has formed in the area. the camp, including Doctors of the hygiene and human dig- lic [AP/Jerome Delay] Touad- The order issued by the state World, sent a protest letter on nity. era served as prime minister for authority for Calais said police will Thursday to the French interior The camp is home Francois Bozize who was top- forcibly remove any one who re- minister contending that alterna- to refugees fleeing con- pled by the mostly Muslim fuses to comply with the order, tives proposed by the state are flict in Syria, Iraq, and Seleka rebel coalition in 2013. the Associated Press news agency "very far from answering the needs Afghanistan, as well as The Seleka installed their lead- reported. of the problems encountered". those trying to escape er, Michel Djotodia, as head of Calais refugee children wait to The letter predicted refugees poverty and political state that year, but widespread be allowed into UK who refuse them could scatter repression in other human rights abuses prompt- Authorities have not yet said along the coast. Asian and African coun- ed reprisal attacks. when they will move in to raze the Interior Minister Bernard Ca- tries. This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTANTIMES

We a r e a n a t ion a l in st it u t ion a n d n ot t h e voice of a gov t or a p r iva t e or ga n iza t ion AFGHANISTAN TIMES Editor: Abdul Saboor Sarir Phone No: +93-772364666 E-mail: [email protected] John Bell Email: [email protected] www.afghanistantimes.af Photojournalist: M. Sadiq Yusufi Advisory editorial board Saduddin Shpoon, Dr. Sharif Fayez, Dr. Sultana Parvanta, Dr. Sharifa Sharif, Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, Setara Delawari, Ahmad Takal Graphic-Designers: Edriss Akbari and Bilal Marketing & Advertising: Mohammad Parwiz Arian, 0708954626, 0778894038 Mailing address: P.O. Box: 371, Kabul, Afghanistan Our Bank Accounts: Azizi Bank: 000101100258091 / 000101200895656 Printed at Afghanistan Times Printing Press The constitution says

Article 137 Article One Hundred Thirty-Seven: The government, in preserving the principles of centralism, shall transfer necessary powers, in accordance with the law, to local administrations in order to accelerate and improve economic, social as well as cultural While Syria burns and great pow- national climate against occupation ence the grander scheme, it will enough goodwill or political will matters, and foster peoples’ participation in developing national life. ers run towards collision there, the marked by the BDS movement. deteriorate into yet another end- in the highest circles to make the French government has formally The French have added a twist less and fruitless process - and crucial difference. put forward a new initiative for to their proposal: If Israel rejects therein lies the rub. Otherwise, diplomacy is often Israeli-Palestinian peace. The it, they may recognise a Palestin- The lessons from Syria part and parcel of a larger strategy three-step process (consult with ian state adding to a growing inter- abound. On that file, some have that includes changing conditions both sides, convene an internation- national climate against occupation already stated that "diplomacy that on the ground. al support group, and convene an marked by the BDS movement. perpetually, and falsely holds out It is Russia and Bashar al-As- international summit to restart However, Israeli Prime Min- the prospect of imminent progress sad in Syria, and the Israeli gov- talks) is the brainchild of now ister Benjamin Netanyahu has the can end up providing cover and an ernment in the West Bank and former French Foreign Minister option of engaging France suffi- excuse for inaction". Jerusalem that have cynically but Laurent Fabius. ciently, if only to buy time, until a This may not be the French effectively used this approach. Despite Syria, Yemen, Iraq and new US president comes to office. intention, but there may be plenty Settlements grow, Assad gains Productivity via water management Libya, the French government feels The Israeli prime minister may of diplomatic room for an Israeli ground, while diplomats talk - even that this ageing conflict is central try to walk the tightrope between prime minister to have yet anoth- sometimes because diplomats talk to the problems of the region and his right-wing base and interna- er "excuse for inaction" towards a instead of their countries taking The government is gradually realizing importance of water resourc- needs to be resolved. In this view, tional pressure until a president permanent solution. action. es in the process of development. Exploitation of the water re- disenfranchised and occupied Pal- closer to his liking and inclinations Diplomacy can be a very at- Whether the French have a estinians remain at the heart of enters the scene. tractive process. It has the virtue clear and sustainable policy in this sources is need of the hour. It will help in strengthening national Arab grievance. The deeper problem with this of being "jaw jaw" rather than "war case remains to be seen. It may economy. It is imperative to take full advantage of the available The proposed initiative fol- initiative is the gap between the war", and it is often seductive to well be that the French are serious lows a familiar pattern, and indeed salons and the situation on the those involved because if feels as about recognition of a Palestinian water resources including rivers, glaciers, springs and streams as some would say it is outdated. So ground. In Jerusalem and the oc- if something exciting and high lev- state should their initiative be re- far, there is no reason to believe it cupied West Bank, the situation el is going on, even when nothing jected by Israel. more and more people are turning towards agriculture sector. This will go anywhere because the po- remains perilous. is. It can also always be excused That, at least would be a poli- sector serves as backbone of our national economy and providing litical stars are not aligned today Lack of political horizon by the compelling argument that it cy with some teeth. It may also be in its favour. The lack of political horizon is always better to try rather than that the French initiative may jobs to over 50 percent population. This sector has immense po- UpFront - Does the Israeli is a breeding ground for violence, not. coopt the Israeli prime minister tential to grow and accommodate thousands of people and reduce occupation fuel 'extremism'? and despite illusions, the Israeli However, the gap between the into a process where he has to make There is no real interest in it PM cannot keep the situation ful- lakesides in Geneva and the hells concessions that he was previous- Afghanistan’s reliance on foreign made products. Unfortunately, on the Israeli side, and Palestinian ly contained. This is why some of Homs or the darkness in He- ly unwilling to consider. Or, more farmers are facing different challenges including irrigation water short- demands have not changed. Pales- Israeli officials, including some in bron can be vast. A process that grandly, it is a step on the march tinian Foreign Minister Riyad al- the defence and security sectors, neither reflects realities nor con- towards summoning sufficient in- ages and unavailability of electricity to modernize agriculture. Maliki has said that Palestinians are encouraging a more serious en- nects to them risks consequential ternational pressure to resolve the will "never" return to direct talks gagement with the French. failure: After Camp David 2000, problem. It might have come sooner than most people expected. Presi- with Israel; they naturally seek the The same gap between reality an Intifada broke out; after US Sec- The jury is out and the initia- dent Ashraf Ghani pledged the other day to exploit the water re- multilateralism that France is pro- on the ground and talk tragically retary of State John Kerry's recent tive may be worth a try. As some posing. applies in Syria where the Geneva attempt on Israel-Palestine, vio- great and many trite philosophers sources through better management. His Saturday’s statement clearly US won't give up primacy talks were abruptly interrupted by lence broke out, including in Jerus- have promised, process is a natu- indicates that this time the government is serious about utilization The Americans are also not air strikes by one of its sponsors, alem and Gaza. ral part of life. likely to give up their primacy in alongside a bold military move by After expectations are raised However, in a conflict that of the water resources to control the wastage. A well-thought mech- this process to the French. Instead, one of the protagonists. and unmet, even subtly, there are has gone on for over four genera- anism and proper distribution of water for irrigation can improve Washington promises future re- Such interruptions are sadly reactions; diplomacy is not with- tions, what Israelis and Palestin- engagement, possibly, a la Clinton reminiscent of destructive actions out its consequences. ians need are results - and a sense agricultural output. 2000, in the narrow and tricky in Israel and Palestine in the 1990s Traditional diplomacy ... of clear responsibility (and poli- window between the November that regularly upset the apple cart works when the situation on the cy) by those pursuing diplomatic For centuries Afghanistan’s water flow to the neighboring coun- elections and the January presiden- of negotiations and ultimately cast ground is ripe enough for the sides action. tries and Afghanistan could not utilize its water resources to the tial inauguration. them into the dustbin. to put aside war for politics... John Bell is director of the Indeed, like the refrain from Under such conditions, why The reality is also that diplo- Middle East Programme at the utmost advantage—to improve agricultural sector. President Ghani the Talking Heads song, the Israel- would the French put it forward macy is inevitably the handmaid- Toledo International Centre for said that it is his government’s priority to control the flowing wa- Palestine conflict remains "same as at this time? Some point to the ego en of policy. If there is no policy, Peace in Madrid. He is a former it ever was". of a departing foreign minister who as in the case of the US over Syria, UN and Canadian diplomat, and ters because without management of water, Afghanistan would nei- The Obama Administration is wished to leave a legacy behind, or then the implication is clear: Di- served as a political adviser to the busy elsewhere: the expanding the vestigial legacy of a waning plomacy is only a process that can Personal Representative of the UN ther become self-sufficient in term of economy and nor achieve a troubles in Syria and a region up- power pining to play a role. be used or abused by those with Secretary-General for southern durable stability. Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock ending itself in new troubles every Less cynically, it may simply clearer policies, for better or worse. Lebanon and adviser to the Cana- day are rather all-consuming. be a real belief by the French gov- Traditional diplomacy (not the dian government. (MAIL) was also instructed to draft a plan how to promote and The French have added a twist ernment that the question of Israel preventive variety) works when The views expressed in this develop domestic agricultural products. to their proposal: if Israel rejects and Palestine needs to be resolved. the situation on the ground is ripe article are the author's own and do it, they may recognise a Palestin- However, if this wish cannot enough for the sides to put aside not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's Taking into account the potential of Afghanistan in terms of agri- ian state adding to a growing inter- be translated into results or influ- war for politics, or when there is editorial policy. culture sector, unfortunately, Afghanistan still imports around 600,000 tons of wheat from neighboring countries and spends millions of dollars on purchasing food stuffs. Water resources are of utmost importance for cultivable lands because without irrigation system these lands are of no use. It is like a body with no soul. Modern irrigation system is vital for growth of agriculture sector. Therefore, water management is the need of the hour. Thus, President Ghani should translate his words into action and accelerate efforts to pre- vent water waste through modern irrigation system. A nationwide irrigation channel is important to bring more areas under cultiva- tion. Afghanistan is an agricultural country and it desperately needs water for irrigation. It is also necessary to lead the country towards self-sufficiency, at least in agricultural sector. There is no denying to the fact that water scarcity has significant impact on food pro- duction, especially in terms of food security. Without better water management our farmers do not have means of watering their crops. Therefore, the government shall deliver on its pledges. In order to do so the relevant ministries shall launch sustainable and innovative research. Educating farmers about modern technologies can also be beneficial.

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MONDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTANTIMES

By Afrasiab Khattak PM Nawaz Sharif’s statement crit- extremist elements in Pakistan to Claims of commitment to democ- icizing NAB has been the main use violent means for coming into racy by political parties will have focus of discussion in Pakistani power here. So the destiny of dem- a hallow ring to it as long as there media this week. The electronic ocratic forces in both the countries is no democracy with in political media in particular went into a fren- was never before so closely inter- parties. The culture of patronage Hamid Dabashi zy in its campaign for accountabil- linked as today. Hence the need and lack of meritocracy is a blot ity of the rulers. No one can dis- for mutual solidarity. on the face of democratic system. agree with the need for across the While one can understand the Reforms in these areas by politi- The news of the death of someone opened and delimited the field of ists like Salman Rushdie did not imagining Eco inhabiting that board accountability. But has the anxiety of the elected government cal parties will give them the nec- like Umberto Eco hits you like a hermeneutics to such a wondrous like him; professional reviewers space. Right in front of the City media ever shown any interest in at getting reduced to the status of essary moral ground and public thunderbolt - when you least ex- humanistic spectrum no one ever criticised his novels. But readers Hall, I remember there was a dem- the accountability of generals and an appendage to the deep state but support for reforming the state judges who also constitute impor- there is no explanation for the lack system and bringing the deep state pect it, and you don't know what before or after could imagine. around the globe devoured his daz- onstration against a proposed plan tant part of the ruling elite? No of initiative for reforming the sys- under constitutional control. But hit you. It leaves you blank, sud- His fame, however, suddenly zling brilliance. to privatise water resources. that is not on their radar. tem. In fact it is also true about all Pakistan needs to come out of the denly emptied, eerily silent. What became wildly global with the pub- Soon after 9/11, when his fel- For Eco, aesthetics, politics, It is hardly surprising. “Free the political who claim to be cham- paralyzing shackles of present di- media” in Pakistan knows the lim- pions of democracy. Political par- archy. It shouldn’t be considered a does that even mean? "Umberto lication of his first novel, The low Italian journalist and novelist and hermeneutics dwelled some- its of its freedom. The deep state ties have to start the reform pro- zero sum game and abiding by the Eco, 84, best-selling academic who Name of the Rose (1980), which Oriana Fallaci was suddenly af- where between the heart of the has been able to by and large tame cess from themselves. Use of the country’s constitution should be navigated two worlds, dies." was later turned into a movie star- flicted and diagnosed with a nasty mundane and the mind of the sub- the electronic media by making an development funds by parliamen- an honor and not humiliation for example out of some journalists tarians is an obvious source of cor- any individual or institution.— I have had that feeling before - ring Sean Connery in the lead role case of the racist disease of Isla- lime. and media houses. The rest of ruption that needs to be stopped. (The Nation) three or four times I think: when of William of Baskerville. mophobia and began spewing ha- All my students know my en- them have fallen in line and inter- my most immediate teachers His prose was replete with the tred of unfathomable depth and during indebtedness to his theo- estingly there is a competition among most of the talk show an- George Makdisi and Philip Rieff vertiginous wit of a polyglot thriv- ferocity against Muslims, Eco ries of hermeneutics and semiot- chors about their “creativity and Has the world become died, and then when Edward Said ing at intertexuality and virtuoso wrote a gentle but dismantling ics, to his happy, hopeful, joyous innovation” in toeing the line of died, and then when Ingmar Berg- performance of his astounding er- piece against her without even swinging from Homer to Mickey the deep state in its machinations against the republic. It is obvious numb to the utter man died while I was, in fact, in udition. mentioning her name, insisting on Mouse. One particular gem among that the huge commercial empires Sweden. The Name of the Rose is a placing the civilised discourse on his myriad of ideas is his famous of the media houses can’t afford You stare into the world, but study in semiotics, hermeneutics, track of his own exemplary hu- triangular theory of interpretation: to incur the wrath of the real state. brutality in Syria? So attacking corrupt politicians Brooklyn Middleton for a moment you don't see any- biblical exegesis, and medieval phi- manism. located somewhere among the in- remains the safe bet for the show thing. It is as if the light in your losophy cast ingeniously as a mur- Italian author Umberto Eco tention of the author, the inten- to go on. After all memories are At least 50 people were mercilessly killed when Russia and the eyes is gone. You cannot hear any- der mystery. [EPA] tion of the reader, and the inten- short and not many people remem- Assad regime bombarded several hospitals – including a Doctors ber that the dictatorships of Gen- Without Borders (MSF)-supported facility – in Syria this week. thing. It is as if your life has been He would write a few other A few years ago, while I was tion of the text. eral Ayub, Zia and Musharraf had Schools being used as shelters were also targeted. MSF officials suddenly silenced. novels, and his sublime wit and ex- in Milan, I was invited to the Uni- The name Umberto, long be- used accountability as a tool for indicated the attack on their hospital in Maarat al-Numan, Idlib Colombia declares three days quisite sense of humour were for versity of Bologna where he was fore he passed away, had tran- perpetuating their despotic rules province, appeared deliberate, with four missiles hitting the site and the country was never within just minutes of each other. Meanwhile, a women and chil- of mourning for Marquez many years on display when he the president of the Graduate scended his mortal coil and became cleansed. It is not for the first time dren’s hospital in Azaz, was targeted in a brutal ballistic missile towering presence wrote regular columns in Italian School for the Study of the Hu- a citation informing his texts. during his present tenure that PM attack. According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW), a total of I met Eco in the late 1980s, or newspapers. His prose was replete manities. I went to Bologna hap- The intention of the author Nawaz Sharif has hinted at invisi- seven hospitals and two schools in Syria bore the brunt of the attack ble hands busy in destabilising the on 15 February alone. system. Earlier during the sit in by The Russian military and the Assad regime carried out these certain political groups in Islama- criminal attacks only days before a “cessation of hostilities” was bad for overthrowing his govern- slated to take place – a so far meaningless agreement brokered by ment Nawaz Sharif and some of Washington DC and Moscow officials. his closest lieutenants had point- Five years since the beginning of the conflict, the horrors inflict- ed out in no uncertain terms that ed on the Syrian people are now intensifying, with Russia and Bashar the aforementioned agitation was al-Assad’s disgraced regime continuing to massacre with impunity. choreographed by certain elements This week underscored Moscow’s latest strategy, which appears to from within the security establish- be conning the U.S. and other involved actors into assessing it is ment of the country. So much so interested in halting the bloodshed in Syria while it worsens its that the defense minister even attack on Syrian civilians on the ground. named the now retired head of the The number of attacks that intentionally hit sites providing most important intelligence agen- critical care this week is staggering. Five years on, it seems the world cy of the country for being the is at serious risk of becoming numb to the utter brutality in Syria. moving spirit behind the failed at- Attack aftermath tempt to overthrow the elected Activists circulated one especially haunting photograph on twit- government. This allegation was ter after an attack in Azaz: A colourful blanket wraps a badly man- never denied or challenged by any gled woman and her dead baby, which was still attached by the one. Not even the otherwise super umbilical cord to her own corpse. active and vocal ISPR had any Another photo shows two toddlers, one in a red and white comment to make on it. It is pret- striped onesie and another in a green sweater, laying lifeless and ty obvious that the defense minis- covered in dust. “Goodbye cruel world,” wrote @RevolutionSyria. ter could not have leveled such a The targeting of hospitals – an Assad regime strategy being upheld serious charge without having sol- by Russia – serves a broader purpose than just obliterating health id evidence to prove it. It is only care temporarily. natural to ask the question as to As attacks continue to target civilians and those attempting to why no legal action was taken provide life-saving care, it is worth asking how large scale of a mas- against people involved in conspir- sacre would have to be committed to trigger intervention on behalf acies for toppling the elected gov- of Syrian civilians ernment? Again it is pretty obvi- Brooklyn Middleton ous that the deep state would not During an interview with PBS Newshour, New York Times allow the trail of any of its sitting Beirut bureau chief Anne Barnard explained why so many medical or even retired member. The trea- facilities and schools are being intentionally targeted. “There may be son trail against General Mushar- a strategy of trying to depopulate areas...that are not likely to come raf for abrogating the constitution back into the government fold,” she noted. Such deliberate planning is a case in point. Even the highest for the future further highlight Assad’s commitment to maintaining courts of the country were not able his grip on power. Amid the horrific attacks in recent days, the to ensure his appearance in the United Nations was reportedly able to gain access to at least five court let alone putting him on trail. besieged areas, delivering critical aid to approximately 82,000 peo- The trail has come to a grinding ple. halt and there have been no TV Meanwhile, U.N. officials have indicated that plans for human- talk shows for unearthing the rea- itarian aid drops appear to be progressing toward implementation. sons behind it. Such developments are indeed positive but unless the Assad regime But before getting into the has agreed to stop using siege and starvation as means of warfare – NAB controversy PM Nawaz including in Aleppo – the suffering is likely to continue in the long- maybe in the early 1990s - I can- with the vertiginous wit of a poly- pily hoping I might get to see him. Umberto Eco became the voice res- Sharif had to face public embar- term. not remember now - soon after I glot thriving at intertextuality and I could not. onating in the intention of his texts: rassment on another issue. It was As attacks continue to target civilians and those attempting to about the recent terrorist attack in provide life-saving care, it is worth asking how large scale of a mas- had joined Columbia and he had virtuoso performance of his as- He was too ill to attend my varied, vivacious, brilliant, dizzy- the Indian town of Pathankot. As sacre would have to be committed by the Assad regime, Russia or come there by the invitation of our tounding erudition. talk, but he had asked for a copy ing. All that now remains is the we know PM Nawaz Sharif had any other nefarious actor, to trigger intervention on behalf of Syrian Casa Italiana (Italian Academy) to Flying like Peter Pan of my World of Persian Literary enduring gaze and grace of those phoned Indian PM Narendra Modi civilians. The longer this bloody conflict continues, the more likely to assure that his government will we are to have an answer. deliver a lecture series. I had read In his writing, he flew with the Humanism which had just been text awaiting any and all those for- take legal action against anyone ______him long before and I read him long ease and playfulness of Peter Pan published. I left a copy for him tunate enough to find their lost from Pakistan who will be found Brooklyn Middleton is an American Political and Security Risk after. from medieval aesthetics to liter- with mutual friends and colleagues way into the labyrinth of his mag- involved in the incident. Indian Analyst currently based in New York City. She has previously government claimed to have sent written about U.S. President Obama's policy in Syria as well as Eco had found his gradual, sys- ary criticism, semiotics, hermeneu- with a note of humility and grati- nificent, enabling, beautiful some evidence against the pro- Bashar al-Assad's continued crimes against his own people. She tematic, and increasingly towering tics, media and cultural studies, and tude written for him on the first thoughts. Hamid Dabashi is Ha- scribed organization JeM. Initial- recently finished her MA thesis on Ayatollah Khomeini’s influence presence in the scholarly world then diving with all his literary page. gop Kevorkian Professor of Irani- ly there were some vague reports on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, completing her Mas- about the detention of some lead- ter's degree in Middle Eastern Studies. You can follow her on Twit- first and foremost as an exquisite might for a quick column in a news- The mind of the sublime an Studies and Comparative Liter- ers of the aforementioned organi- ter here: @BklynMiddleton. semiotician and soon after that, as paper before soaring into a daz- I spent that day in Bologna ature at Columbia University in zation and the closer of its offices. a hermeneutician. zlingly brilliant novel that would with friends and colleagues, walk- New York. The views expressed Later on a closer scrutiny of the news reports revealed that it was With two particular books, take the world by a storm. ing around Piazza Maggiore, visit- in this article are the author's own not true. But the ultimate embar- Open Work (1962) and Limits of No one would know what he ing San Petronio Basilica, sitting and do not necessarily reflect Al rassment for the government Interpretation (1990), he had had up his sleeve. Jealous novel- down for a quick bite and a coffee, Jazeera's editorial policy. emerged with the claiming of re- sponsibility of Pathankot incident by some self proclaimed Jihadi el- ements based in Pakistan. The Prime Minister had to eat a hum- LETTER TO THE EDITOR ble pie as it become quite clear that taking action against “good Tali- ban” is beyond the powers of the civilian government. Apart from being public embarrassment for the PM it is also a set back for the Women discrimination intolerable country’s security and foreign pol- Some female civil society activists in southeastern Khost province are facing discrimination in government offices. Some days back, in a icy. Who will take the Prime Min- three-day workshop on eliminating violence against women some female civil society activists said that they faced discrimination in ister’s or his government’s pro- government offices. They called for gender equality and the empowerment of women in the gathering. nouncements about fighting against Women are part of our community, they need to be aware about their rights and work together with men in civil, political and educational terrorism or about implementing processes. The government should take every necessary steps to avoid discrimination for women staffers while they are approach any National Action Plan seriously af- government offices. ter this? The government should not turn its blind eye over the issue, because discriminatory policy against women is not tolerable and it’s also in Unlike the past when civil- contrary with the Islamic teachings. Putting a glance to the Afghanistan Constitution, women are fully allowed to participate in all military divide in Pakistan would process, but it seems that their constitutional rights have been denying. The government should pay attention to their plights by asking be watched for predicting the fu- all the government offices to put a halt to the women discrimination and don’t create headache in front of their fundamental rights of ture of republic in Pakistan this equality. time round the fate of republic in Habibi Khanzai, Kabul, Afghanistan Afghanistan is also closely con- nected with struggle between re- publican and authoritarian forces in Pakistan. It is an open secret Letter to editor will be edited for policy, content and clarity. All letters must have the writer’s name and that the project of Talibanisation address. You may send your letters to: [email protected] of Afghanistan is actively support- ed by the patrons of “good Tali- ban” in Pakistan, the same circles that wouldn’t allow civilian gov- ernment in Pakistan to formulate Disclaimer: security and foreign policy. It is also pretty clear that the predom- inance of Taliban in Afghanistan The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the author(s) will have a fall out for Pakistan. If and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Afghanistan Times. the past experience is anything to go by the ascendency of Taliban in Afghanistan is sure to encourage This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY . FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTANTIMES

Annastiina Kallius and Babak Ar- "We [Annastiina and Babak] levels. She would need to find a mit based on international human- zani met in a theatre group in Hun- feel pressure over the issue, not job with a significantly higher sal- itarian protection (refugees, asy- gary five years ago and fell in love only because we find the bill to be ary than the average in the area to lum seekers and protected immi- shortly afterwards. morally reproachable, but also be- be able to return to Finland with grants). However, if the bill is The Finnish-Iranian couple, cause for our generation, employ- her future husband. passed, those who are granted hu- who are also activists, have been ment opportunities back home in "With this bill I would be wel- manitarian protection status would sharing a life together since, with a Finland are rather bleak," Kallius come to Finland only conditional- also be affected. They will have to dream of moving to Finland when told Al Jazeera. ly, with a well-paid job, because I apply to bring their families with- the right time comes. "If I were to move to Finland, made the costly mistake of falling in three months after receiving their "We fell in love in the back- there is absolutely no guarantee I in love with a foreigner," Ryökäs residence permits. stage of the theatre production, and could find a job that would pay told Al Jazeera. We see the current proposal revealed it to the other people in me enough to bring my partner to "The bill basically bans the as discriminatory and inhumane, the group only in the opening my country." right for family life to poorer fam- as well as a form of simply utterly night," Kallius, a 29-year-old stu- The bill indicates that a citi- ilies - the vast majority of Finnish unreasonable refugee policy. dent recruitment coordinator, zen who wants to live with a non- families - with cross-cultural back- Mikko Aarnio, Amnesty Inter- says.I have found it hard to be- EU spouse in Finland should have ground … It just breaks families national lieve that I would not be welcome a monthly net income of at least and, therefore, lives,” she said. "Amnesty sees family reuni- back to my home country just like 1,700 euros ($1,900). The Finland branch of Amnes- fication as one of the safe, con- that. I have always taken it for A family of four with two chil- ty International, the UK-based trolled and favourable means of granted that there is a place I be- dren would need a net income of at human rights group, has been ac- helping those most in need of in- long to. Aiski Ryökäs least of 2,600 euros ($2900). With tively campaigning against the bill. ternational protection," Aarnio Arzani, 29, is a software engi- the high tax levels in Finland taken The group launched a petition said. neer from Esfahan, Iran, who is also into consideration, this corre- against the bill called "I miss my "The Finnish government is currently living in Hungary. sponds to a gross income of about mom!", putting stress on the how talking a lot about the need to help But their dream of moving to 4000 euros ($4500). the new practice would break fam- the integration of refugees to the Finland might face a serious ob- "I have found it hard to be- ilies if it became law. society, but just how is integra- stacle, if a bill drafted by the inte- lieve that I would not be welcome "The proposed income re- tion made easier by preventing the rior ministry is passed by the Finn- back to my home country just like quirements are unreasonable and enjoyment of normal family life ish parliament and becomes law. that. I have always taken it for would be too harsh even for many and close relationships with the The bill, which is currently at granted that there is a place I be- Finns. We see the current propos- nearest and dearest." "The income limit is unnecessary requirements for Finns married to quirements have not been applied the consultation stage, demands long to," says Aiski Ryökäs, 28, al as discriminatory and inhumane, Uproar over the bill is grow- for Finns. They do not represent non-EU citizens who want to set- to them. This is the approach we high levels of income for Finns and who has been in a relationship with as well as a form of simply utterly ing with more pressure on the min- the original intention, which has tle their families in Finland, than took in the preparatory work, but foreigners under humanitarian pro- her Iranian partner Behrooz Torki unreasonable refugee policy," istry to amend it, particularly to- been to eliminate pull factors spe- residents with international hu- we'll see how we'll move forward," tection (refugees, asylum seekers for four years. Pressure Mikko Aarnio, the legal adviser to wards the elements affecting Finn- cifically with respect to asy- manitarian protection, as they can Riitta Koponen, a legislative ad- and protected immigrants) holding Ryökäs, who lives in Hunga- Amnesty, told Al Jazeera. ish citizens. lum seekers," Sampo Terho, the apply to do so within three viser at the interior ministry, was a residence permit, who want to ry at the moment, points out that Current income requirements Even The Finns, the country's party's parliamentary chairman, months. "Finnish citizens have quoted as saying by Finnish me- live in Finland with their non-EU her profession, cultural manage- for family reunification do not con- anti-immigration far-right party, said. If the bill becomes a law at its previously been the exception in dia. - Additional reporting by Ree- citizen spouses and children. ment, is a field with low income cern anyone with a residence per- opposes the bill in its current state. current state, there will be stricter the law because the income re- ta Paakkinen

With both candidates scrambling endorse Sanders, said she agreed moting policies that drove mass the economy from the brink of to win over African-American vot- with the senator’s assessment, and incarceration — also gave her collapse, pass landmark health re- ers ahead of primary and caucus that she was speaking for herself pause. form and reform Wall Street,” the contests in Nevada and South and not representing the caucus. In recent debates, Clinton has Clinton office’s statement added. Carolina, Sen. Bernie Sanders has Clark County is home to the state's attacked Sanders for questioning Issues that affect the African- said that his rival Hillary Clinton’s largest city, Las Vegas. Obama’s decisions and policies. American community have taken outspoken support of President “In my personal opinion, it Sanders reminded Clinton in the center stage in this year’s contest Barack Obama amounts to trans- appears she has done a lot of pan- sometimes testy exchanges that for Democratic primary votes, parent pandering to black voters. dering to the African-American she, not he, choose to challenge more so than in 2008. In the last Sanders has largely closed the community for votes,” Williams Obama in the then-Illinois sena- two years, controversial killings of gap in polls between himself and told Al Jazeera. tor's successful 2008 bid for the unarmed black men and women by Cultural destruction has always organization’s founder told jour- ple are being killed, enslaved, raped Clinton among likely participants Williams added that she had Democratic presidential nomina- law enforcement — with some been a part of warfare. Nazi Ger- nalists after the map launched. or forced to flee, some might ques- in the Nevada Democratic Caucus been a Clinton supporter until she tion. such deaths captured on now-ubiq- many’s attempt to remodel Europe From Mali to Syria, heritage tion whether the protection of set for Saturday. The Vermont sen- heard Sanders speak in person, Sanders said that the he bears uitous cell phone cameras — have according to its own worldview sites are being razed to the ground. buildings and archaeological sites ator made the statement in an in- delivering a message of battling job- the president no ill will, and that drawn calls from black civil rights was not limited to invasion and (Source: Antiquities Coalition) is really a priority. terview with the BET network, set lessness and poverty that afflict they have worked together in the activists for changes to how po- mass atrocities: hundreds and thou- The map is made up of several For Irina Bokova, head of to air Sunday night — less than a African-Americans in Nevada. past. lice treat members of their com- sands of books, works of art and layers. The first layer displays the UNESCO, the U.N.’s cultural arm, week before the Democratic Pri- She said Clinton’s campaign "I think he has done a great job munities. other cultural relics were destroyed areas that are under the direct con- it’s not the buildings themselves mary in South Carolina, where had reached out to the CCBC for a in many respects," Sanders said. Both Clinton and Sanders have or looted. trol of terrorist groups. The sec- that matter: it’s what they repre- Clinton leads Sanders by double meeting last summer, but then nev- "But you know what? Like any planks in their platforms devoted Today is no different. From ond uses red marks to indicate cul- sent. “The destruction of culture digits among voters overall, and er got back to the group to follow other human being, he is wrong on to police reform and expanding Mali to Syria, heritage sites are tural heritage sites that have been has become an instrument of ter- among African-American voters as up on ways of addressing the con- certain issues." social welfare programs to low-in- being razed to the ground. Even deliberately targeted by extremists. ror, in a global strategy to under- well. "Hillary Clinton now is try- cerns they raised about jobs, vot- The Clinton campaign blasted come African-American communi- by historical standards, though, the The third layer pin-points mine societies, propagate intoler- ing to embrace the president as ing rights and education. back at Sanders early Friday, after ties — including a $125 billion plan actions of ISIS have left many UNESCO World Heritage sites (in ance and erase memories. This cul- closely as she possibly can. Ev- “I have seen a lot of her mes- the news of his accusation came Clinton announced Wednesday in shocked: “In Iraq, they’ve gone on blue) and the fourth highlights tural cleansing is a war crime that erything the president does is won- sages change and redirect their fo- out. Harlem. Sanders has said that a rampage of destruction not seen museums (orange). The full inter- is now used as a tactic of war, to derful. She loves the president, he cus on black issues as the black "It's disappointing that Sena- through his push to reduce income since the Mongol’s sacking of active version provides more in- tear humanity from the history it loves her and all that stuff,” Sand- electorate has become more impor- tor Sanders thinks the only reason inequality and expand access to Baghdad in 1258,” CNN reported formation on each of the sites. shares,” she wrote on this blog ers said, according to CNN, whose tant,” Williams said. a Democrat would be proud of education, life will improve for as ISIS ran bulldozers through Syr- The Antiquities Coalition has back in January. correspondent conducted the in- “Sanders’ message hasn’t President Obama's work would be people of color. ia’s ancient city of Palmyra. also put together a collection of “This is why the protection terview. “And we know what changed. It’s been consistent since a political ploy to court African- Williams said she feels that A new map from the Antiqui- “before and after” photos that re- of culture must be an integral part that's about. That's trying to win day one,” she added, saying that American voters," Clinton’s office Clinton’s campaign seems to re- ties Coalition hopes to bring at- veal the damage inflicted across the of all humanitarian and security support from the African-Ameri- Clinton has simply tried to “use” said, according to Politico. volve too much around the candi- tention to the scale of this loss, Middle East by terrorist organiza- efforts, and cannot be delinked can community where the presi- the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, "We know Senator Sanders date herself, while Sanders is bring- and highlight those sites that are tions. In Syria alone, six UNESCO from the protection of human lives dent is enormously popular,” Sand- where lead-tainted water hit com- believes the President has shown ing a message of collective civic still at risk. “We talk a lot about World Heritage sites have been and the support we owe to all the ers added. munities of color hard. Williams failed leadership, but like Hillary action that is larger than him as a cultural heritage destruction, but damaged and destroyed since the victims.” Yvette Williams, chair of the said Bill Clinton’s legacy in the Clinton, most Democrats have a politician. it’s the visual aspects of it that start of the civil war. Stéphanie Thomson is an edi- Clark County Black Caucus White House — including making different view. We are proud of "With Bernie Sanders it's about captures people’s attention,” the But when thousands of peo- tor at the World Economic Forum. (CCBC), which recently voted to welfare harder to access and pro- President Obama's work to rescue 'we,'" she said. Arabic language startup helps Syrian refugees find hope, income A new U.S. startup aims to help something to do and a reason to neighboring countries such as Tur- to the platform’s loose structure and informal vibe. “Now I have friends from all over the world,” she said. get struggling Syrian refugees back be,” she added. key, Lebanon and Jordan. on their feet by trading their Ara- Rasha Jamal Ishak, who was “Not only are these people bic language skills for cash has been studying English literature in Syr- watching their country go to com- gaining ground, its creators say. ia before fleeing to the northern plete shambles - they probably Called ‘NaTakallam’, meaning Lebanese city of Tripoli when war have family still stuck there [Syr- ‘we speak’ in Arabic, the website broke out, now works as one of ia], they are scarred by what they allows people from all round the the platform’s ‘conversation part- have seen, lived, lost,” Sara said. world to practice Arabic and con- ners.’ “Even for the average person, nect with Syrian refugees – many After hearing about NaTakal- being stuck with nothing to do with whose host countries' policies lam through a friend, she said she your skill set is extremely diffi- make it difficult for them to work signed up to benefit herself both cult, as I am sure anyone who has legally. financially and mentally. job hunted can relate to,” she add- “Not only would you be prac- (Screengrab from NaTakal- ed. ticing the Syrian dialect, but you’re lam's website) Common dialogues between also hearing the story of your con- “It’s really difficult to find both parties range from arts to lit- versation partner, and you're de- work as a refugee, every time we erature to everyday life. veloping a friendship - you're get- look and search for work we don’t “There is a significant inter- ting direct exposure to what they're find any, and they look down on cultural component to ‘Natakal- coming from,” Aline Sara, NaTakal- us as people who do not have the lam’ that really gets you to the lam’s founder, told Al Arabiya qualifications and are of a lower people directly, unfettered by any English. standard.” outside interference which is a NaTakallam’s three creators, Getting to the source huge problem today,” the founder who graduated from Columbia Syrian refugees in Lebanon, told the news agency. University in New York and have who are estimated to number at “The Syrians are excited to Middle Eastern roots, say that so over 1.5 million, now make up show the world that they’re not far they have signed up around 25 around a fifth of the population. ‘Daesh’ or helpless refugees, as Syrian conversation partners, and Almost all Syrians of working often portrayed through the mono- hope for more funding to expand. age in in Lebanon, who make up chromatic image of refugees in the As well as helping refugees to around 60 percent of the total Syr- media.” survive by making money - a sum ian refugee count, find themselves Ishak, the refugee, said that the currently set at $15 for an hour of in informal, unstable and low-end platform “is giving me importance tuition - the platform also gives jobs. as someone educated and who participants a sense of purpose. Since the start of the Syrian worked hard and in the end I could “You can give them [refugees] civil war in 2011, around 6.5 mil- use my education to do something money and food and shelter but lion Syrians have been displaced beneficial.” that only goes so far - it is also within the country, while roughly Bonds between tutors and important to provide them with 5 million have sought asylum in pupils are commonly warm, due This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY . FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTANTIMES

HOUSTON This week, Saudi Oil The fact that OPEC members Minister Ali Al-Naimi will for the are talking to each other offers a first time face the victims of his ray of hope, according to some in- decision to keep oil pumps flow- dustry figures, an indication that ing despite a global glut: U.S. shale the kingdom's own fiscal pain oil producers struggling to survive could prompt it to change tact and the worst price crash in years. lead efforts to reach a deal. On While soaring U.S. shale out- Tuesday, Standard & Poor's down- put brought on by the hydraulic graded Saudi Arabia's credit rating. fracturing revolution contributed to "The pain is at a threshold right Iranians go window shopping at the Palladium shopping center in northern Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 18, 2015. oversupply, many blame the 70- now. People are now willing to sit percent price collapse in the past down and talk about possible rem- Iran’s economy minister said his national sanctions last month af- earlier this month were reconnect- es for next year, with about $15 sources of revenue. Attracting for- 20 months primarily on Naimi, edies to that pain," Mills said. country is seeking $45 billion in ter the U.N. certified that Iran has ed to SWIFT, a Belgian-based co- billion in direct foreign investment,” eign investment is seen as a neces- seen as the oil market's most influ- Texas, where oil production foreign investment following the met all its commitments to curb operative that handles wire trans- he told a press conference. sary must-do step towards that ential policymaker. has more than doubled over the implementation of a landmark nu- its nuclear activities under last fers between financial institutions. Tayebnia said Iran signed an goal. During his keynote on Tues- past five years thanks to the Eagle clear deal with world powers last summer’s accord. Tayebnia said Iran’s strategic agreement with Japan earlier this Tayebnia, however, said Iran day at the annual IHS CERAWeek Ford and Permian Basin fields, is month. Iran expects an economic location, political stability and month for $10 billion in invest- welcomes foreign investment only conference in Houston, Naimi will feeling acute pain. Ali Tayebnia told reporters breakthrough after the lifting of population of 80 million has made ments and is seeking similar deals if it leads to strengthening Iran’s be addressing U.S. wildcatters and The state lost nearly 60,000 Saturday that Iran expects $15 bil- sanctions, which has allowed it to the energy-rich Persian state into with other nations. economy. executives who are stuck in a zero oil and gas jobs between Novem- lion in direct foreign investment access overseas assets and sell an attractive place for foreign in- Iran is now seeking to reduce “We won’t welcome any pro- sum game. ber 2014 and November 2015, ac- alone in the next Iranian calendar crude oil more freely. vestment. reliance on oil revenues and move posal that doesn’t lead to transfer "OPEC, instead of cutting pro- cording to the Texas Alliance's most year, which begins March 20. Iran already has access to more “All these factors have led to towards an economy that depends of technology and capital (to Iran) duction, they increased produc- recent data. Only 236 rigs are still The historic agreement than $100 billion worth of frozen a capacity to attract more than $45 on taxation, or doesn’t boost production and tion, and that's the predicament actively drilling wells in the state, brought about the lifting of inter- overseas assets and Iranian banks billion in foreign financial resourc- tourism, agriculture and other exports,” he said. we're in right now," Bill Thomas, down from more than 900 in late chief executive of EOG Resources 2014, Baker Hughes data showed. Inc (EOG.N), one of the largest Financial distress among U.S. U.S. shale oil producers, told an producers has deepened. More industry conference last week, re- than 40 U.S. energy companies ferring to 2015. have declared bankruptcy since the It will be Naimi's first public start of 2015, with more looming appearance in the United States as lenders are set to cut the value since Saudi Arabia led the Organi- of companies' reserves, often used zation of Petroleum Exporting as collateral for credit. Countries' shock decision in No- Anadarko Petroleum Corp vember 2014 to keep heavily (APC.N) and rival ConocoPhillips pumping oil even though mount- (COP.N) both cut their dividends ing oversupply was already send- this month, unusual moves that ing prices into free-fall. showed financial stress. Naimi has said this was not an The last time Naimi spoke at attempt to target any specific coun- CERAWeek, seven years ago, tries or companies, merely an ef- OPEC was slashing output to lift fort to protect the kingdom's mar- prices that sank to $40 a barrel ket share against fast-growing, amid the global financial crisis, and higher-cost producers. he railed against speculators who It just so happens that U.S. he blamed for the price plunge. Americans will get back some so they don't feel deprived (and as The NerdWallet survey wasn't shale was the biggest new oil fron- Few oil executives anticipated $330 billion in tax refunds this year, a result, end up binge-spending lat- all about financial responsibility. tier in the world, with much higher Naimi's willingness to let prices and more than half of that is ear- er). Look it at in terms of dieting: Thirty-four percent of taxpayers costs than cheap Saudi crude that collapse this time around. marked for savings accounts or starving yourself on a crash diet surveyed said they want to spend can be produced for a few dollars a Some of them, such as Harold paying down debt. That's the high- can lead to a suddenly empty tub their refund on a vacation, home barrel. Hamm, the chief executive of Okla- est percentage since 2007. of ice cream. improvement or splurge. Another "I'd just like to hear it from homa-based Continental Resourc- Some 66 percent of individual Millennials, currently the fa- survey showed that, this year, him," said Alex Mills, president of es (CLR.N), even called his bluff. taxpayers will get a refund check vorite of consumer studies, come Americans really want to get away the Texas Alliance of Energy Pro- Shortly before the November in 2016. According to a National in for special attention by the NRF. from it all: the likelihood of book- ducers. "I think it should be some- 2014 OPEC meeting, Hamm Retail Federation's annual survey More than 57 percent of people ing vacations with refund money thing of concern to our leaders in cashed in Continental's hedges, released Thursday, about 50 per- between the ages of 18 and 24 told was far greater than spending on Texas and in Washington," if in fact calling OPEC a "toothless tiger." cent of them will plow it into sav- the group's pollsters they plan to new TVs or gaming systems, ac- his aim is to push aside U.S. shale In an investor call in August, ings while 35 percent will also use save their refunds. That number cording to the web site Consum- producers, Mills said. Hamm said he expected OPEC to it to pay down debt. While it's ratchets down to 52 percent for erAffairs. It found more than 80 Last week's surprise agreement begin cuts in September, adding, perhaps a sign of self-discipline taxpayers between 25 and 34, for percent of those surveyed cited a by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Russia and "we think that may be the first of that Americans want to shore up whom paying down debt is almost desire to spend on a trip, compared Venezuela to freeze oil output at many." Those have yet to come. their finances, it's a bad sign for as big a priority: Some 45 percent with 19 percent for a TV or gam- January levels - near record highs - A Continental spokeswoman consumer sentiment, and by exten- of them plan to use their tax wind- ing system. did not offer much solace and the declined to comment on whether sion the U.S. economy, which re- fall to pay off creditors. It also seems the affinity some global benchmark Brent crude Hamm would attend Naimi's lies on you spending as much of Not to be outdone, a survey younger taxpayers have for all (LCOc1) ended the week lower at speech. your money as possible. by web site NerdWallet found mil- things vintage may extend to how $33 a barrel and U.S. crude futures Continental shares have tum- NRF President Matthew Shay lennials also have ambitious sav- they file their taxes. The NRF sur- (CLc1) ended unchanged at just bled more than 60 percent during put a positive spin on the num- ings plans. While 41 percent of vey found 67 percent of Ameri- below $30. (O/R) the downturn, cutting Hamm's bers by saying "money saved is those polled said they saved or cans plan to file online—the high- Prices fell sharply on Tuesday personal fortune by more than $10 GCC governments have a unique visory firm, Gartner, defines dark spending potential down the invested their refund last year, 54 est percentage since 2007. But after Iran, the main hurdle to any billion since 2014. opportunity to leapfrog Europe in data as information assets that or- road." And in fact, it's not all de- percent expect to do so this year. NerdWallet's survey shows that production control in its zeal to While producers may be more deploying digital citizen services, ganizations collect, process, and layed gratification for retailers: A Before they get that refund, many millennials aren't among recapture market share lost to sanc- cautious now than before, some are one of the world’s leading technol- store in the course of their regular good chunk of refunds will still pay though, they'll be stressing out. them: some 17 percent of taxpay- tions, welcomed the plan without still betting that OPEC will bail ogy companies announced over business activity, but generally fail for vacations (11.4 percent) and Eighty percent of millennials fear ers between the ages of 18 and 34 commitment. Iraq was also non- them out. the weekend at the IDC Middle to use for other purposes. Dark cars and TVs (9.2 percent), accord- doing their taxes, with 22 percent plan to file paper forms, while only committal. EOG's Thomas reckons pric- East CIO Summit. data often comprises of large ing to the survey of more than worried about making a mistake, 8 percent of taxpayers 35 and old- Many U.S. industry execu- es will shoot up as high as $80 a As the Digital Economy accel- amounts of unstructured data, and 7,000 people. 17 percent concerned with not get- er plan to do it the old fashioned tives understand that all is fair in barrel in the second of the year - in erates, global government spend- can contain sensitive information, Rather than socking cash away ting the biggest possible refund, way. That makes sense in a way, love, war and the oil market, but part, he says, because OPEC will ing on mobility is set to grow at a putting businesses at high risk for pennies of interest, a little and 13 percent fearful of paying said NerdWallet personal finance "the Saudis have probably over- eventually be forced to yield in the CAGR of 5.7 percent, topping $30 amid the advancements in cyber- splurge may actually be the re- too much. expert Liz Weston, in part because played their hand," said Bruce Vin- face of fiscal strains. billion by 2019, according to a re- attacks. sponsible thing to do—at least In the ''some things do improve the simpler financial lives of mil- cent, former president of Houston- "The whole world is under cent IDC report. These large volumes of un- from a psychological standpoint. with age" category, only 60 per- lennials mean they have less need based shale oil producer Swift En- stress," he said. "I don't care who Governments are increasingly structured data, also known as Personal finance experts suggest cent of taxpayers 55 and older for complicated returns, and less ergy (SFYWQ.PK), which filed for you are. Even the Saudis are under using omni-channel services such databergs, are presenting regional people spend a little money now worry about preparing their taxes. cash to pay for a tax preparer. bankruptcy late last year. stress." as marketing, citizen engagement, businesses with expensive IT bills, e-government, and case manage- as companies continue to accumu- ment. late, and store unpredictable user- “With Middle East govern- generated data, with increased glo- ments processing trillions of U.S. bal digitization, and the absence of dollars in daily transactions, GCC data categorization tools. Venezuela's President Nicolas governments are leap-frogging “We expect dark data manage- Maduro said Wednesday he would many European countries in ment will be a top priority for raise the price of gasoline and de- adopting omni-channel platforms GCC businesses in 2016, as value the bolivar currency, as he that enable citizens to conduct se- ‘databergs’ grow to seemingly un- faced growing pressure to ease an cure government transactions as manageable levels, and we are coun- economic crisis. easily as the private sector,” said seling our customers to think long- The socialist leader said he Melvina Tarazi, Head of Business er term about what data they real- would raise the pump price of pre- Development and Industries, SAP ly need to keep, how they can bet- mium gasoline from its current su- MENA. ter access it, and why it is so im- per-low level of $0.01 per liter to SAP co-innovates with more portant for them to deploy busi- the equivalent of $0.95 at the fixed than 25,000 public sector custom- ness analytics to realize competi- official exchange rate. ers worldwide, and is seeing strong tive advantage in their respective The move risks sparking pro- Middle East public sector demand industries,” says Andrew Calthor- tests in a country where citizens for SAP Hybris, the world’s fast- pe, CEO of Condo Protego. are struggling with soaring infla- est-growing Omi Channels plat- In addition to the financial im- tion and shortages of basic foods form. The world’s exponential data plications of storing these large and goods. growth will be felt in the GCC more amounts of data, Condo Protego “This is a necessary action, for strongly than ever in 2016, forcing says that GCC businesses face the which I take responsibility,” Ma- organizations to more intelligent- initial challenge of distinguishing duro said in a televised address. ly plan how they choose to keep valuable components of dark data Venezuela has the biggest and use their information. that should be retained and se- known oil reserves in the world, Two trends for 2016 involv- cured, from redundant data that but has suffered from the plunge ing increasing data volumes are the should be eliminated. The next chal- in world oil prices over the past growth of ‘dark data’ and the cre- lenge businesses face is how to year and a half. change rate. A similar gasoline price hike in 1989 sparked deadly riots in the volatile nation. Maduro also said the government would “simplify” ation of the ‘databerg’, according extract the potentially valuable With the previous subsidies, a the country's complex exchange rate regime from Thursday. The current three-tier system of exchange rates will be slimmed down. From Thursday to Condo Protego, one of the re- data, and transform it into infor- Venezuelan could fill a car with there will be just two rates: a protected official rate for food and medicine imports and a parallel “floating” rate for other transactions. Under the gion’s leading IT consultancies. mation that can establish a com- gasoline for the equivalent of less rate for food and medicine, the bolivar will weaken by 37 percent from 6.3 to 10 bolivars to the dollar. Analysts will be watching closely to see what Technology research and ad- petitive edge in the market. than a dollar at the state-fixed ex- levels the bolivar reaches against the dollar at the floating rate. 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If you’re an admirer of the slick ture memories in his distinct way. Marri is currently working on camerawork that projects such as This went on for a few years until a video documenting Karachi and Coke Studio, Uth Records and graduation arrived. Photography plans on shooting one or two fea- Dekh Magar Pyar Say are famous soon took a back seat and Marri ture films later this year. About his for, you must have heard of this started working as an architect ongoing project, he said, “It is such 38-year-old called Kohi Marri. upon his return to Pakistan. an interesting city that has so many The photographer, who Back home he met Saher Us- sides to it which people never see. chooses to stay away from the man who used to work at a private If you reside in Gulshan, for in- limelight for the most part, was TV channel. Usman pitched the stance, you don’t know what’s never really a tamer of the lens. It idea of “clicking heritage sites and happening in Defence, so on and all started for him with a particu- historical homes” as part of a so forth. We are a segregated lar course he had to take up, while project. He signed up for it and bunch, living in different areas,” he reading for a degree in architec- that’s how Walled Memories came stated. ture at UK’s Oxford Brookes into being. The show gave him an By capturing “different hu- Bollywood's first lady Gauri Khan ing no make-up. She smiles and ebrated avenues for designer show- she was a student of history at University in 2001. Talking to opportunity to make photography man activities” like people making talks about toppling 'star wife' with apologises for being late. case, in Paris. "Just being there was Lady Sriram College in Delhi. The Express Tribune, he recalled, his chief trade and he even hosted their way to work early morning 'design connoisseur' in her bio, "I have been travelling. The inspiring. At our stall, we wanted "When we studied the architecture “While studying architecture, the show for a while. “We ran or rickshaw driver navigating building a hard shell and pinning kids are here, and they leave for to showcase the best of India. So of Indian temples, I was fascinat- this one particular course required about eight to 10 episodes focus- through the city’s major roads dur- down globetrotting son AbRam London tomorrow. But AbRam is we had the wheel of Konark rep- ed," she remembers. Gauri fol- us to keep cameras at hand and ing on old historical homes located ing rush hour, Marri intends to Gauri Khan agrees to this in- with Shah Rukh in Goa. That child resented on stools, and a gorgeous lowed it up with a stint at the Na- click images of heritage sites.” primarily in Abbottabad, Lahore immortalise life on the city streets terview. When she realises it's a is a globetrotter. He is never here. peacock wallpaper. tional Institute of Fashion Tech- This compulsion cultivated his and Karachi. The programme gar- with his video project. “Precisely one-on-one, she requests for an e- People just pick him up and run - Our stall was named the most nology, and an interior design love for capturing photos, and he nered a lot of following but since it documents a day in a life of a chat. We prefer it in person, we my mum, Shah Rukh - nobody beautiful. Watching others at work course. never really made a conscious ef- the channel was in a transitionary Karachiite from different aspects.” say. wants to leave him." inspires you," she says. "I'd go for evening classes, but fort for it. period, switching from English to The photographer said his en- We lose a week. She is keen to steer the con- Like it did with Jean Francois it was always design [that I pur- It didn’t stop there. A few of Urdu, the show was eventually gagements with local artists and Her spokesperson gets in versation to design. "When head- Lesage, the scion of one of France's sued], in whatever form." his friends were music enthusi- discontinued.” musicians influence his work and touch to say Gauri has agreed to lines are only about Shah Rukh, I legendary embroidery families. But her formal initiation into asts who would perform around The channel may have back- perspective deeply. “They have a meet. But she has a request: Can get upset," she admits. "There is The man known for luxurious interiors kicked off when she was the UK. Marri would accompa- tracked but Marri never looked very different view on life and that she see your questions? no value then to what I do. His hand-embroidery on cushions, pil- working on her sea-facing Bandra ny them to the gigs in London, back once and, today, he firmly is why I end up doing more We say, that won't be possi- achievements are his, and I have lows and throws collaborated with Bandstand heritage home. "I had Oxford and Birmingham, taking believes that pictures do speak projects for them,” he said. ble. And come to a compromise. no part in them. I do what I do." Gauri on the stall. In 2013, Lesage already started collecting. So when pictures of their performances. louder than words. “If there is a Apart from films, fashion For someone fastidious, Gauri What Gauri does is design - began working with Indian crafts- the house was being made, I ended While this was happening, anoth- complex picture, and it has cap- shoots are also on the cards for appears with her guard down when furniture, interiors and sarees. In men, which is why Gauri says, it up designing rooms around pieces er friend decided to get married. tured every precise detail, it can him. “I plan to approach things we meet her at Mannat, the man- 2014, she launched Gauri Khan made sense to team up. "I'd like to of furniture," she laughs. He requested Marri to take pic- easily translate into more than differently and I hope they will sion she has built and lives in with Designs, a label that curates furni- think that my aim is to take Indian The luxurious living room we tures at the events and help cap- 3,000 words!” excite me.” actor husband Shah Rukh Khan, ture and collectibles from across art wherever I can. My travels and sit in is littered with art, but she and children, Aryan (19), Suhana the world. Her recent big strike was experiences just add a modern won't pick a favourite. "I like it all, (15) and AbRam (2). showcasing her collection, Turned touch to it." and I don't want to upset anyone She is dressed in all black, her Wood on Brass, at the Maison & She knew design piqued her by mentioning another. But I like Fighting for his hair is pulled back and she is wear- Objet, one of the world's most cel- interest as far back as the '80s when Subodh Gupta and have a few pieces by him," she says. What life, film legend she's particular about is to show- case Indian talent. "We have so Habib waits for much talent here. Why would I buy an international artist?" govt to fulfil promise OMG! SALMAN IN LEGAL TROUBLE YET AGAIN Habibur Rehman was one of the The Supreme court on Friday is- biggest stars of Pakistani cinema sued notice to filmstar Salman back in the day. Commonly called Khan on the Maharashtra govern- film star Habib, he was the heart- CHICAGO: Police unions in the cities of Nashville, Tampa and ment's petition challenging a Bom- throb of his time; an actor who was Miami are urging officers not to volunteer at singer Beyoncé’s up- bay High Court verdict acquitting on the forefront of the class of coming concerts, on account of what they claim was an anti-police him in a 2002 accident case. suave, urbanised youth who had message in her Super Bowl performance from February 7. The Issuing notice returnable in six begun taking up film as a profes- superstar sparked a controversy by making a public reference to weeks, an apex court bench com- sion. However, that Habib is no the issue of police killings of men of colour and allegedly, paid prising Justice Jagjit Singh Khehar more. The Habib of today breathes homage to the Black Panther Party, which called an end police and Justice C. Nagappan told Sal- through a ventilator and is strug- brutality. Some of the party’s members have also been convicted of man Khan that "it would be much, gling between life and death at the murdering police officers. much better if he gets acquittal from intensive care unit of Lahore’s It- Nashville Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) president Danny this court as it will save him from tefaq Hospital. His physical health Hale claimed that while Beyonce has every right to support Black all the repercussions". indeed may be beyond anyone’s Lives Matter, she went much too far at the Super Bowl. “If you Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, control but for his financial condi- throw up the Black Panther Party as some sort of positive mes- appearing for Salman Khan, took tion, he blames the government. sage, it is an anti-police message. The party has always been anti- the court through the proceedings Almost 24 years ago, the min- policing,” said Danny in telephonic interview. Leaders of the Tam- of the trial court, contending that istry of women development had pa and Miami FOP sent the same message to their members on his conviction was based on the requested the star make a film on Thursday, urging them not to sign up for overtime shifts working testimony of one person, which the practice of karo-kari (honour security at the concerts. Police departments in all three cities said cannot be relied upon. killing) prevalent in the rural areas that if they do not get to volunteer officers to work, they will He said besides that there was of the country. He willingly obliged mandate shifts in order to provide public security, as per media no other evidence before the trial and poured his life’s earnings into reports. court to convict Salman Khan in the project, casting mega stars of According to Danny, the boycott is meant to send a message, as the case. the time such as Sultan Rahi, Ghu- opposed to leaving the concerts with no security. “Ultimately, the However, Attorney General lam Mohiuddin and Hina Shaheen. police department, for public safety purposes, will have to man- Mukul Rohatgi that besides the Bakhshi Wazir had put together date officers to work,” he said. “We are professional and will do the sole witness being pointed to by music for the film that was named job.” Sibal, there were scores of other Baghi. The film managed to do rea- The halftime performance show at the Super Bowl is tradition- witnesses at the accident spot who sonably well. The government had ally, one of the most watched television events in America. This saw Salman Khan in the driver's promised to reimburse the expens- year, nearly 112 million viewers tuned in from across the world, to seat of the vehicle that ran over a es possibly thinking that promis- watch Beyoncé, Coldplay and Bruno Mars perform together. Be- group of people sleeeping on a es are meant to be broken. The yoncé previewed her new single Formation — a power anthem for pavement, killing one of them. subsequent years broke not only race and feminism. The video for the song features graffiti that Habib’s back but also his war reads “stop shooting us,” suggestive of the Black Lives Matter chest. Talking to The Express Tri- movement. The singer and her backup dancers also wore black bune, his wife said, “Two weeks berets, which also are being considered a Black Panther reference. ago, he had purchased a packet of Beyoncé is scheduled to play in Miami on April 27, Tampa on envelopes to write letters to gov- April 29 and Nashville on May 5. ernment officials again.” The wom- an, who chooses to call herself Mrs Habib only, said the actor had in the past knocked doors of all Vanessa Hudgens under Ryan Reynolds in talks for Mars mission film politicos but to no avail. “He had Actor Ryan Reynolds is in talks to star with "Mission: Impossi- spent all his earnings on the film. ble - Rogue Nation" star Rebecca Ferguson in "Life", a Skydance Things never remained the same investigation for defacing rock Productions film focusing on a Mars mission that finds intelligent for us after Baghi.” How much the Actress Vanessa Hudgens and said the incident involving Hud- for this investigation -- it takes alien life. film contributed towards the cause her boyfriend Austin Butler are gens and Butler "is under investi- as long as it takes. The maximum Daniel Espinosa will direct the film from a script by Rey- against karo-kari is a separate de- under investigation for reported- gation", reports etonline.com. punishment for this is $5,000 nolds' "Deadpool" writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. bate, what can be said with cer- ly carving their names in a heart "Officials at the Coconino National and/or six months behind bars." Espinosa and Reynolds teamed previously on the 2012 Amer- tainty is that it did push Habib into a rock formation in Sedona, Forest became aware of the inci- Eyebrows were raised after Hud- ican action thriller "Safe House". into a downward spiral. She said Arizona. dent (Monday) when the media gens posted a photograph of the Skydance's David Ellison and Dana Goldberg are producing despite Habib’s terrible condition, A public affairs officer for alerted them of the situation," the carving on Instagram, but the with Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn. Paramount is expected to be the government doesn’t seem to Coconino National Forest has officer said. "There is no deadline post has since been deleted. the distributor. care one bit. This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF. MONDAY. FEBRUARY 22, 2016 AFGHANISTANTIMES Dada 5000 in stable condition after his heart reportedly stopped following loss to Kimbo Slice

Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris is cur- ing years cultivating the street rently in stable condition after suf- fighting scene in Miami’s Dade fering a major medical scare that County. Harris was the subject of hospitalized the fighter after his the documentary “Dawg Fight” loss to Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Fer- and had formed a rivalry with fel- guson at Bellator 149. low Miami street brawler and Harris was initially sent to the YouTube sensation-turned-MMA hospital for what appeared to be fighter, Kimbo Slice. The heated extreme fatigue after his third- rivalry culminated at Bellator 149 round TKO loss to Ferguson. But in a forgettable fight where both his situation only worsened from fighters were extremely fatigued there as his heart reportedly by the time Harris stumbled away stopped and he was placed on ven- and landed face first on the canvas tilator. After being resuscitated by as exhaustion was more so the cul- a doctor at a nearby Houston hos- prit than any punch Slice threw. pital, Harris remained in critical But considering that Harris care but appears to be doing much had never fought at this level, there better as his condition has now can be a considerable amount of been labeled as stable. blame placed on how he mishan- Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Bot- dled his weight cut that led to the ter was first to report Harris’ health scare. Prior to the fight, ARCADIA: Paulina's Love held health scare following the co-fea- Harris was required to provide the off Stormy Lucy to win the tured bout with his longtime rival. Texas Department of Licensing $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes for There was concern that Harris may and Registration with both EKG older fillies and mares by a neck not survive through the night but and EEG exams before he would Saturday at Santa Anita. the 38-year-old is currently in re- be cleared to fight. Even though he Ridden by Hall of Famer Gary covery. was cleared, the street fighting leg- Stevens, Paulina's Love ran a mile Bellator released a statement end still needed to shed 40 pounds on turf in 1:36.06 and paid $9.60, Saturday afternoon from the Har- to get to the 265-pound heavy- $4.80 and $3.80. She earned her ris family regarding his condition weight limit for the fight and the first stakes victory. that stated that he is “resting com- toll it took on his body was sim- Stormy Lucy returned $4.60 fortably” in a Houston-area hos- ply too much. and $3.20 as the 7-2 second pital. According to the statement, He remained down in the cage choice. Kerri Belle rallied three- Located more than 3,000m above sea level, Darbandsar Ski Resort is Harris had “accumulated extreme- after the fight was stopped and wide turning for home and finished ly high levels of potassium in his was carted away on a stretcher to another 1 3/4 lengths back in third. perched high in the Alborz moun- tain range in the shadow of Mount blood which led to severe dehy- the backstage area where he re- She paid $5 to show dration, fatigue and renal failure.” ceived oxygen before being trans- Damavand, Iran's highest peak. Trained by Richard Baltas, “The high potassium levels ported to a nearby hospital. Paulina's Love was second ap- A favourite weekend destina- were likely caused by his 40-lbs. Things took a turn for the worse proaching the far turn before tak- tion for many Iranians, the ski re- weight loss in preparation for the when his heart stopped at the hos- ing command five-sixteenths of a sort is about an hour's drive from fight.” pital – refuting some reports that mile from the finish. the capital, Tehran. With the lift- It was only Harris’ third pro- Harris suffered cardiac arrest in the ''I rode her with a lot of confi- ing of the sanctions on Iran and fessional mixed martial arts fight, cage – but it appears that he’ll make dence, like she was the favorite,'' and first since 2011, after spend- a full recovery. said Stevens, who is 3 for 5 on the the gradual reopening of the coun- filly. ''She minds, she lets me do try to foreign visitors, Darbandsar what I want, whatever the pace could become the next destination scenario is. When she's done, I'd for snow lovers around the world. Rory McIlroy in hunt like to take her home and put her From November to May, Dar- in my backyard.'' bandsar ("gateway of the moun- The victory, worth $120,000, tain" in Persian) opens its doors increased Paulina's Love's career to visitors for hiking, climbing, going into Sunday in earnings to $304,990, with four skiing and snowboarding. wins in 13 starts. first Riviera tourney Boasson Hagen wins Tour of Oman fifth stage Let's get the pun out of the way tention. Marc Leishman, who was now. The man from Holywood is in the three-man playoff for last Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway in contention to win in Holly- summer's British Open, is part of won the fifth and penultimate wood. a five-way tie for fifth with McIl- stage of the Tour of Oman in Mus- Rory McIlroy, who hails from roy, Scott and Choi, as well Kevin cat on Saturday. that town in Northern Ireland, shot Chappell. The Dimension Data rider 4-under 67 on Saturday in the third Then again, McIlroy, who de- edged Belgium's Greg Van Averma- round of the Northern Trust Open. cided to make his first start here et and Marco Canola of Italy in a He trails Bubba Watson by two this year because of the high es- sprint finish to the 119.5km run shots on 10-under 203 heading into teem in which the course is held from Sifah to the Tourism Minis- his first-ever Sunday at Riviera among his peers, expected nothing try building. Country Club. less. "My goal is to be in good form It wasn't a pretty round for "Quality courses produce a for the classics," said the 28-year- McIlroy, but the highlight was a quality leaderboard, and you just old stage winner. Houdini-like escape on the 18th have to look at the names up there Astana team leader Vincenzo hole. Stuck behind a eucalyptus ... Bubba, Dustin, myself, Adam, Nibali of Italy retained the overall tree and near a hospitality area, the all very, very good players," he leader's red jersey, 15 seconds four-time major winner had to find said. "It's going to be a bit of a ahead of Frenchman Romain Bar- a way to get up-and-down for par. shootout tomorrow. I'm happy det (AG2R La Mondiale) and 24 He managed to find the green at that I stayed at 10 under and didn't seconds better than teammate Ja- the finishing hole, leaving a diffi- drop to nine." kob Fuglsang of Denmark. cult 18-foot par putt that the 18th The challenge for McIlroy to- "We were able to block any tower broadcast team seemed to morrow is to find fairways. His attacks, we were very careful," think wasn't going to drop. McIl- typically strong driving game observed former Tour de France roy, sensing the importance of ev- lagged on Saturday, with the Ul- champion Nibali. ery stroke on a golf course that sterman hitting just five of 14 fair- Sunday's final stage starts at tends to produce tight leader- ways. When he's found the fair- The Wave Muscat and ends on the boards, then made the putt. way, or even been close, good Matrah Corniche after a run of The 54-hole leaderboard is scores have followed. 130.5kms. tight, as usual. It's also stacked. "I feel like my iron game is Watson leads. Dustin Johnson and sharp," he said. "Short game has Adam Scott are with a shot and been pretty good. My putting was two shots, respectively. Former nice today. I holed out well, and I Classy Kyrgios sets up Cilic final in Marseille Players winner K.J. Choi is in con- have to continue to do that." Nick Kyrgios stormed into the fi- seven points on serve nal of the Open 13 with a hugely in the match and fired impressive straight-sets triumph down 15 aces to pre- over second seed Tomas Berdych vent Berdych – the on Saturday. winner of their recent Having sprung a surprise in the third-round meeting at last eight by dropping just four the Australian Open – games against Richard Gasquet, from gaining a foothold. Kyrgios proved dominant on serve A solitary break in as he beat Berdych 6-4 6-2 in the first set gave Kyr- Marseille. gios, who had complet- Marin Cilic stands between the ed victory over Australian and a maiden ATP Gasquet with four suc- World Tour title after the 2014 US cessive aces, the open- Open champion triumphed 6-2 6- ing set before he reeled 7 (3-7) 6-3 against Benoit Paire. off five games in a row Home hope Paire had beaten to book his place in a top seed Stan Wawrinka in the pre- second ATP final. vious round, but was undermined Gasquet was the by a poor first-service percentage man to beat Kyrgios in against Cilic as the world number his previous final ap- 12 prevailed. pearance at the 2015 In contrast to Paire's struggles, Estoril Open. Cilic, Kyrgios delivered something of a meanwhile, will be masterclass to see off a player seeking a 15th ATP ti- ranked 33 places above him. tle on Sunday and his The 20-year-old gave up only first since October. 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23 Taliban insurgents killed in By Farhad Naibkhel Badakhshan: KABUL: The Central Bank an- nounced Sunday that it would put American drone $200-300 million on sell in a cou- ple of weeks to prevent the Af- MoI ghani currency from dropping crashes in Kandahar; AT News Report against foreign currencies in the market. hostile fire ruled out KABUL: Twenty-three Tali- “In order to prevent the drop ban insurgents were killed and of Afghani value against foreign KABUL: An American drone has crashed in southern Afghanistaninfo- icon but there have been no casualties, the US Air Force said on Friday. five others injured in a clear- currency particularly the US dol- ance operation lunched by se- lar, the Central Bank plans to put Seen as an effective tool in the war on terror, the MQ-9 Reaper went curity forces Sunday in the on sell $200-300 million in the down at the Kandahar Airfield late Saturday, Capt. Bryan L. Bouchard market at the current month,” said said. In a statement, Bouchard said the cause of the unmanned aircraft’s Argo district of the northern the Central Bank Governor Khalil crash was being investigated. "But hostile fire was not a factor," he Badakhshan province, minis- Sediq. added. The USmilitary has lately intensified its air campaign against try of interior said. He said that the Central Bank militant groups, relying heavily on armed drones. The Islamic State is “The security forces also monetary policy was on right track one of the main targets. (Pajhwok) arrested nine insurgents and and had been set in accordance to seized a large number of am- the current situation and econom- munition in the militants’ hide- ic standards of the country for last outs,” the ministry said in a year. He said that monetary policy statement. “All the villages had no role in the drop of Afghani of Argo district have been value in the past one year. cleared from insurgents.” On He termed insecurity, econom- the other hand, the provincial ic challenges, political issues, draw- cess as other objective behind losing of Afghani value in the country. It is pertained to mention that DAB informs of selling of $300 within coming weeks, while in the past police chief Col. Sakhidad Haidari down of foreign troops, decrease said that a seven- in the activities of the NGOs and one and half year Afghani currency lost it is value by 21 percent against dollar. One dollar was exchanged for 49-50 one and half year ago, while currently the exchange rate of one dollar is 69 Afghani. member group of armed investment as well as immigration insurgents joined the peace problems as the main factors be- hind the drop of Afghani in the past Kunduz governor listens to security process in the province. one and half year. TORKHAM BORDER POLICE BASE COMES He added that Qari Bis- “Although Afghani lost values concerns in Chardara millah, Taliban’s by 21 percent in the past one and UNDER CROSS-BORDER ATTACK military chief in Argo district half year, but still inflation is near KUNDUZ CITY: : The newly- the main district bazaar. Located JALALABAD : A border security rockets were fired from the gate, but Afghan forces prevent along with his comrades armed to zero percent.” appointed governor of northern one kilometer from the police HQ, forces’ base in the Torkham town Landikotal area of Khyber Agen- the project, he added. with AK-47 machine guns He highlighted that the Cen- Kunduz province on Sunday trav- the once bustling bazaar wears a of eastern Nangarhar province has cy, where a radar system of the Attaullah Khogyani, the gov- joined the pace process. “Their tral Bank regularly monitors cir- elled to Chardara district, where deserted look. come under rocket strike from Pakistani border forces is located. ernor’s spokesman, confirmed the joining will put a positive ef- culation in the currency market and he listened to residents’ concerns One shopkeeper told the gov- across the Durand Line an official Two of the rockets hit the cen- rocket strikes but said the inci- fect in security situation.” makes utmost efforts to keep it over the worsening law and order ernor: “We want security, nothing said on Sunday. tre and others landed in surround- dent caused no casualties. Qari Bismillah said: “I had under control. situation. else.” A provincial council member, ing areas, Sahak said, recalling the Shina, a shopkeeper in Comparing the loss of curren- Asadaullah Umarkhel, a former Khair Mohammad, another Javed Zaman, told Pajhwok Afghan Pakistanis had invited them to a Torkham, confirmed the incident been wasting my time with the cy values in other countries such member of the peace committee, shopkeeper, said: “We are tired of News 10 rockets were fired inter- meeting scheduled for Tuesday. and said the situation in the area Taliban for three years. But as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Brazil was appointed as governor three displacement. Please, find a solu- mittently from across the border Pakistaninfo-icon wanted to had been tense over the past few now, I realize that war does and Turkmenistan, Afghani’s val- months after the capture of the tion to the conflict so that durable into the dusty town early Sunday build terminal near the Torkham days. (Pajhwok) not help us to have a calm life, ue is still stable, he noted. provincial capital by the Taliban- peace could be ensured.” morning. so, I wanted to stand with se- He said that Afghani currency info-icon. Also on Sunday, the MoI an- He said a number of the rock- curity forces to defend my value had a 21 percent drop against Chardara inhabitants ex- nounced the arrest of Syed Reza, ets hit the base of the border forc- the US dollar, while Kazakhstan’s homeland.” pressed their grievances over se- Taliban’s shadow governor for es, but he had no information about currency had an 84 percent lost, The head of the high peace curity at a time when the Minis- Chardara, during a raid by securi- casualties. council in Badakhshan Ghaus- Tajikistan 45 percent, Brazil 41 A local security official, wish- percent and Turkmenistan curren- try of Interior (MoI) announced ty personnel. al-Rahmani said since the be- the detention of Taliban’s shadow The Taliban leader was in- ing not to be named, said that some cy lost value by 23 percent it is of the rockets landed inside the ginning of the pace efforts in value in the past one year. district chief for the district. volved in insurgent activities in the 2010, more than 600 militants Umarkhel visited the torched district and other areas of the prov- military centre. Mr. Sediq beside aforemen- had joined the peace process building for the district police head- ince, a statement from the minis- But Col. Rahimullah Sahak, a tioned issues termed drawdown of border police commander, said the in the province. requirements and purchasing pro- quarters, from where he walked to try said. This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com. The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only. This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF.