Eye on the News [email protected] Truthful, Factual and Unbiased Vol:XI Issue No:176 Price: Afs.20 www.afghanistantimes.af www.facebook.com/ afghanistantimeswww.twitter.com/ afghanistantimes WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 25. 2017 -Dalw 06, 1395 HS ‘US MUST ENSURE THAT PAKACTS LIKEANALLY’ Former Afghanistan President Ha- mid Karzai spoke to The Sunday Guardian. Excerpts: ON EXPECTATIONS FROM PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Plenty... My advice to him (President Donald Trump) would be to do an in depth analy- sis of what is going on in Afghani- stan. Must also consult deeply with the regional countries, those who have concerns about the situ- ation in Afghanistan, concerns about the rise of new forms of ex- tremism in the region, namely Daesh (ISIS). It’s time for the US China to and for the Indian government to think deeper and go back to the support uplift drawing board. ON ADVICE TO PRESI- DENT TRUMP: We know that projects heavy handed military action in AT News Report Afghanistan did not bring the de- KABUL: Finance Minister Eklil sired result, rather it caused mas- Hakimi and Urban Development sive alienation of the Afghan peo- Minister Sayed Saadat Mansoor ple and suffering to the Afghans Naderi met with Yao Jing, Ambas- By Farhad Naibkhel and to the Americans. Hoping to- sador of People’s Republic of Chi- wards change in Pakistani behav- na to Kabul on Tuesday, talking KABUL: The Attorney General iour towards Afghanistan or poli- on Beijing’s support to the con- Office (AGO) ordered the arrest Policemen kill five Taliban cies on the whole did not bring them struction and development of nine bodyguards of First Vice what they were seeking. Pakistan projects in Afghanistan, the min- President Abdul Rashid Dostum to escape captivity continued to do what it wanted. istry of finance said. on charges of abduction and sexual AT Monitoring Desk On both these fronts the US must “They discussed bilateral co- assault of Ahmad Khan Ishchi, change track. One, begin to help operation between Afghanistan former Jawzjan governor. He was KABUL: Two police officers managed to escape Taliban captivity after Afghanistan in reconstruction, in and China, fund and implementa- allegedly kidnapped on 25th No- killing five fighters of the insurgent outfit in Baghlan province, provin- improvement of the economy of tion of developing projects, build- vember, and was under captivity cial officials said on Tuesday. Spokesman for the provincial police chief, Afghanistan rather than wasting ing 10,000 residential apartments, for 16 days. Zabihullah Shuja, said that the two escaped policemen were captured in resources on military action in Af- railway, construction of new build- “The prosecution team of Burka district of the province on Monday. “A police unit arrived in the ghanistan. They should start look- ing of Ministry of Finance in Dar- AGO has decided to issue arrest area after two policemen had killed five insurgents. The policemen fought ing at Afghanistan as a place where ul-Aman and some other impor- warrants of nine bodyguards of the the insurgents for three hours before leaving the area with the two they can invest and earn from. tant subjects,” it said in a state- first vice president on charges al- comrades that had been captured,” TOLOnews quoted the spokesman, Secondly, on Pakistan, they ment. leged against them. They were al- as saying. must be very clear that a country “Minister of Finance thanked leged of kidnapping and raping Ish- However, the terrorist group did not comment, so far. that they call ally must become an China for its support to Afghani- chi,” AGO’s spokesman Jamshid It is worth mentioning that Taliban insurgents in their spring offen- ally and follow the same objectives. stan.” Ambassador of People’s Re- Rasuli said. He added that AGO sive have carried several attacks in Afghanistan. However, the Afghan You cannot be allies and yet walk public of China reassured his coun- “would put utmost efforts to ob- security forces pushed them back in all fronts. in two different directions...one try’s continued support in fund- serve the law, and we want the ar- Last year, the Afghan security forces rescued more than 100 police- seeking an end to extremism and ing and implementing developing rest warrant to be implemented” men and Afghan Local Police from the Taliban siege in the Baghlan-i- the other, promoting extremism. projects, according to the state- Markazi district of northern Baghlan province. See P2 See P2 ment. The Role of People in Implementation of the Citizen’s CharterProgram Despite many difficulties, our brave people came together and took an active part in their country social-economic growth for the sake of development. As observed, their active role in implementation of welfare projects of the National Solidarity Programme of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD/NSP) had a positive impact on development process across the country. A standard mechanism has been put in place to help villagers select their representatives serving within the framework of Community Development Councils (CDCs) established through transparent democratic election process almost in every community of Afghanistan. Over more than a decade of operations, the CDCs have been able to make decisions at community level and the same councils consisted of both men and women elected representatives have been accepted by people. Meanwhile, these CDCs have always been cited as a prime example of local leadership considering the competence and capabilities they had. The CDCs have received certain national fame by implementation of thousands of NSP welfare projects as well as resolving many conflicts amongst villagers in the rural communities. In addition, more than 10% community contribution (labor, cash or in-kind) in the execution of projects was another positive role played by the CDCs at village level. The CDCs established through the NSP will carry on the development activities uninterruptedly although the NSP has ended successfully after an operation period predicted for this community-driven development program. In fact, the CDCs are the executors of people’s decisions as they play a vital role in progressing the communities that they are representing towards reconstruction, proper leadership, problems resolution and socio-economic growth. It means the decisions taken by the CDCs are indeed the ambitions of the communities. In order to foster sustainable development, alleviate poverty, improve livelihoods, advance rural and urban areas and promote socio-economic growth the National Unity Government has initiated another extensive development program called “Citizen’s Charter Program” upon successful completion of the NSP. The Citizen’s Charter Program, very identical to NSP, will make great achievements and will lead the country towards development in many aspects of life. Indeed, the success of the Citizens’ Charter will be more prominent since it is committed to developing the urban areas besides the rural communities of Afghanistan. With due consideration to its design, the success of the Citizen’s Charter is embedded into active participation of communities. People, therefore, have to play a vital role in advancing their communities under the Community and Urban Development Councils functioning in the form of Cluster Community Development Council (CCDC). As far as the Citizen’s Charter is an inter-ministerial program and is a bilateral commitment between Government and people, it facilitates grounds for communities to actively participate in the reconstruction and development of their communities across Afghanistan. Furthermore, the experiences acquired by the CDCs over past one decade prove that they could also help the Citizens’ Charter move towards success. In addition, people have learned from the NSP how to enhance their capabilities, ensure unity and fraternity among people, foster accountability and transparency, contribute towards their projects, monitor projects from maintenance and sustainability viewpoints. The villagers have already known their responsibilities as they pretend that the projects are their own property. Since these projects have been built by them, they always attempt to monitor them in terms of transparency, sustainability and operations. Moreover, one of the main tasks and responsibilities of people in Citizen’s Charter is to observe line ministries’ activities in order to create accountability in the disbursements made for projects implementation. The essential role of people in Citizen’s Charter has been approved and hopefully we will witness further achievements in this regard. In other words, the activities of line ministries will be monitored by the CDCs and UDCs as the President addressed the CDC representatives in the inauguration ceremony of the Citizen’s Charter Program: “You should take account of every single Afghani; however, you will give counting for every single Afghani too. What is the reason behind this? We are blamed for corruption on a daily basis. Do you think that the world would agree on a one-milliard dollar program with us if the National Unit Government would not make measures to combat the corruption? This is why we are being observed for ensuring thorough transparency”. WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 25, 2017 AFGHANISTAN TIMES KABUL — Over the past eight years, Afghans have become in- creasingly disillusioned with the American role in their country. Many blamed President Barack Obama’s policies for an increase in Afghan corruption, for air at- tacks that killed civilians, and for a foreign troop presence that failed to stop Taliban insurgents and was pulled out too quickly. So it is not surprising that, like American voters who supported Donald Trump out of a longing for change, many Afghans are looking to his presidency as a chance for a fresh start. Most know little about Trump except that he may do something bold and unexpected. For now, that sounds appealing. “Obama was too predictable. Sometimes a small dose of mad- ness can be good,” said Davood Moradian, director of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies.