CIVIL - MILITARY FUSION CEN TRE Afghanistan Review Week 23 08 June 2011 Comprehensive Information on Complex Crises INSIDE THIS ISSUE This document provides a weekly overview of developments in Afghanistan from 01 June—07 June 2011, with hyper-links to source material highlighted in blue and underlined in the text. For more information Economic Development on the topics below or other issues pertaining to events in Afghanistan, feel free to contact the members of Governance & Rule of Law the Afghanistan Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org. Humanitarian Affairs Infrastructure Security & Force Protection Socio-Cultural Development Economic Development Steven A. Zyck ► [email protected] he Indian government recently an- The transport trade agreement, which was nounced that it would be cutting tariffs originally slated to be implemented as of 12 ABOUT THE CFC on many goods imported from Af- February 2011, is now slated to take effect in T The Civil-Military Fusion Centre ghanistan and that a smaller number of Af- mid-June 2011, says Dawn. (CFC) is an Information and ghan exports could be imported into India Farmers in Kapisa province, in an indication Knowledge Management duty free, reports Tolo News. Representatives of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and of what may be a nation-wide trend, told the organisation focused on Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) improving civil-military interaction, Industries (ACCI) said that the new regula- tions would particularly help Afghans in- that their agricultural production has declined facilitating information sharing and significantly as a result of the government's enhancing situational awareness volved in exporting raw and dried fruits to India. Afghanistan exports approximately ban on ammonium nitrate fertilisers. This sort through the CimicWeb portal. USD 200 million in goods annually to India. of fertiliser has been detected in bombs used by insurgents in the country, thus leading the CFC products are developed with India Times noted that the Indian govern- ment‟s relaxation of duties on Afghan exports Afghan government to ban it last year. The open-source information from a was part of its broader Duty-Free Tariff Pref- declines in per hectare yields are major, more wide variety of organisations and erence policy, which also benefits Cambodia, than 75% in many cases, and appear to apply media sources. Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Madagascar. equally to cereals such as wheat as well as to fruits and vegetables. Some Afghan govern- The CFC is represented in Kabul by In a related story, Pajhwok Afghan News says ment agriculture officials dispute the impact of a Forward Military Liaison Officer, that exports from Afghanistan to Pakistan and the ammonium nitrate ban on agricultural pro- Lt. Col. Gary Evans, who is Uzbekistan, two of the Afghanistan‟s largest ductivity while others note that the govern- embedded within ISAF. trade partners, declined by 33% over the ment made two alternative types of fertiliser course of the past two years. ACCI officials, available in order to replace ammonium ni- By design, CFC products or links to who announced the decline, indicated that the trate. independently produced articles do fall off in Afghan exports is related to a num- In a separate article, IWPR reported that Af- not necessarily represent the ber of factors, including: (i) 2010 floods in Pakistan, which damaged infrastructure and ghanistan's northern provinces, particularly opinions, views or official position Balkh, Sar-e Pul and Jowzjan, contain up to of any other organisation. prevented exports; (ii) visa problems between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan; and 1.8 billion barrels of crude oil. One oil well in (iii) flooding in Afghanistan, which reduced Sar-e Pul is already producing 800 barrels per . CONTACT THE CFC the country's ability to export agricultural day. The oil sector is seen to pose significant economic opportunities for Afghanistan, For further information, contact: products. Tolo News, also quoting ACCI offi- though challenges remain. These include the cials, indicates that Afghan experts over the Afghanistan Team Manager past year were 43% lower than during the pre- low quality of crude oil being extracted, which Erin Foster ceding year. tends to include a number of contaminants, as [email protected] well as the country's limited domestic refining However, exports from Afghanistan may in- capacity. Only one refinery, near the Afghani- The Afghanistan Team crease if the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit stan-Uzbekistan border crossing at Hairatan, [email protected] Trade Agreement (APTTA) is soon imple- exists in the country. In addition, organised mented, according to Dawn, a Pakistani news- crime and what some refer to as "fuel mafias" paper. A delegation from Pakistan‟s Ministry could potentially take control of the industry, of Commerce (MoC) recently finalised many according to traders interviewed by IWPR. implementation arrangements for the APTTA. Finally, an American Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Afghan security control in July 2011. While the province‟s recently organised a conference on tourism in Afghanistan's leading role in the mujahideen resistance and its potential for Panjshir province, according to the Agence France-Presse. outdoor activities (e.g., kayaking) may attract tourists, the lack The conference attempted to identify particular types of tour- of hotels and restaurants were noted as challenges during the ism which would be unique to Panjshir, which is one of the conference. However, officials in the province are eager to first provinces in the country to transfer from international to gain the revenues which tourism could potentially generate. Governance & Rule of Law Amber Ramsey ► [email protected] ith the planned drawdown of US troops set to begin „key shift‟ in peace negotiations with the Taliban, says The in July, as reported by USA Today, media outlets Guardian. have focused heavily on the drive towards a politi- W President Karzai has once again failed to keep his promise to cal solution to the Afghanistan conflict. According to Reuters, the bottom line remains that the Taliban have rejected all at- submit a full list of candidates to the Wolesi Jirga (Lower tempts at peace talks until all international troops have with- House of Parliament) for a vote of confidence, reports drawn from the country, a prerequisite regularly reiterated by Pajhwok. A deputy spokesman for the president informed Taliban leader Mullah Omar in the past. However, a recent members of parliament (MPs) last week that the list would be article by Pajhwok Afghan News suggests that talks have al- submitted on Saturday, 04 June. However, Karzai later in- ready taken place with the Taliban and other insurgent groups. formed speaker of the house Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi in a tele- According to the head of Afghanistan‟s High Peace Council, phone conversation that the list was still incomplete. Karzai Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani, initial discussions have been held apologised for the delay at a news conference on 31 May, with all of the country‟s opposition groups, including the Tali- blaming the security situation for the hold-up in submitting his ban. Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Cabinet nominations, and again promised that the complete list that as peace talks become more of a reality in Afghanistan, would be submitted „soon‟. In response to the delay, 140 out of tensions have arisen as members of a new anti-Taliban move- 149 MPs have voted to postpone their summer recess for 15 ment, Besij e Melli or the National Movement, argue that any days to allow Karzai additional time to finalise the list. peace deal with the Taliban would inevitably lead to conces- Pajhwok adds that according to Afghan law, acting ministers sions being made by the Afghan population, a position particu- can hold their positions for one month under specific circum- larly held by the movement‟s leader, former intelligence direc- stances. Seven acting ministers have been holding ministerial tor Amrullah Saleh. Saleh is among the most outspoken oppo- positions in Afghanistan for the past 18 months. One MP from nents of peace talks, arguing that “[the Taliban] must become a Ghazni province explained that it is the duty of the Wolesi mainstream political force” that doesn‟t use the threat of vio- Jirga to work day and night to create a functioning govern- lence to gain political power. In a roundtable discussion organ- ment. On Monday, 06 June, the deputy speaker of the Wolesi ised by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Saleh claimed that Jirga announced that a delegation would meet with Karzai to the government of Afghanistan has not drawn clear red lines, discuss several key issues, including the introduction of cabi- net nominees. which he suggests could worsen the situation. When arguing against the Afghan government‟s plan to broker a deal with the The much-anticipated announcement of a new coalition of Taliban, Saleh explained that “[a]n anti-Taliban constituency Afghan opposition leaders is close to being finalised, reports can mobilize society around the grand strategy of a prosperous Tolo News. The new coalition is said to include several current Afghanistan largely immune from Talibanization”. political leaders, former government officials and members of In what some consider the most apparent indication that west- various provincial and local councils. According to the article, ern powers are seeking a negotiated peace