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Zakhelwal assuages investors' concerns

KABUL (PAN):  Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhelwal has asked foreign and local investors not to worry about post-2014 Afghanistan's scenario, assuring no change is going to take place in the system.

"Some investors have reduced their capitals in Afghanistan, but they need not to worry about their investments beyond 2014," Zakhelwal told Pajhwok Afghan News in an interview.

He said negative romours forecasting a bleak future were being spread by individuals or groups with a vested interest.

The minister said some businessmen fearing instability with foreign troops pullout had withdrawn their investments from the country.

"People remain concerned about the safety of their capitals in a  foreign country. In Afghanistan, the reality is that no change will come to the system and the security will be more better than the current," the finance minister.

"2013 and 2014 are the years of opportunities for investors in Afghanistan because we will have a further enhanced security and a strong administration," Zakhelwal said.

US Drone Strike Kills Pakistani Warlord: Officials

US drone strikes killed a prominent warlord who had sent insurgents to fight in Afghanistan as well as nine other militants in Pakistan's tribal belt, according to local officials.

Mullah Nazir was the main militant commander in South Waziristan, part of the tribal zone where militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have bases. He is one of the highest-profile drone victims in recent years.

Pakistani officials said a US drone fired two missiles at his vehicle in the Sar Kanda area of Birmil in South Waziristan, and five of his loyalists including two senior deputies were also killed.

"Mullah Nazir and five associates died on the spot," one of the officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official said the attack happened at 10:35 pm on Wednesday (1735 GMT) but that it took time to confirm the reports from such a far-flung and mountainous area along the Afghan border.

Another Pakistani official said Nazir and his fighters were targeted as they prepared to swap vehicles when their pick-up encountered a mechanical fault.

Two of his influential deputies, Atta Ullah and Rafey Khan, were among those killed, the official added.

Local residents later told AFP that funeral prayers were said for Nazir and his associates around 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, and markets and shops closed.

In the neighbouring district of North Waziristan, two more missiles fired from a US drone killed four other militants on Thursday but their identities were not immediately known, other Pakistani security officials said.

Although Nazir's fighters have long been targeted by US drone strikes, he reached a peace deal with Washington's ally Islamabad in 2007 and had testy relations with the Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting a domestic insurgency.

He was wounded in a suicide attack in South Waziristan on November 29 and had survived previous attempts on his life.

Nazir was understood to be close to the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, a faction of the Afghan Taliban blamed for some of the most high-profile attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan in recent years.

Analysts were divided on the impact that his death would have on Pakistan and on the US-led war against an 11-year insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Pakistani author and expert on the tribal belt, Imtiaz Gul, suggested there would be little fallout for Pakistan, which is trying to assist efforts by the Western-backed Kabul government to broker a peace deal.

"The Americans and Afghans suspected Mullah Nazir of sheltering and hosting Arab Al-Qaeda operatives," Gul told AFP.

20 Released From Bagram in Peace Process: Sherzai

At least 20 prisoners from the eastern provinces of Laghman, Kunar and Nangarhar were released from Bagram Prison Thursday as part of the reconciliation process, Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai said.

The prisoners were released as a result of involvement from local tribal elders and the High Peace Council. The men have promised to cooperate with the peace process, Governor Sherzai added.

"The release of this group helps us in the peace process and we ask all the involved groups to join the government in order to strengthen the peace process," he said.

Those released are thought to be former insurgent fighters, but it is unclear what precise role, if any, they could play in the peace process. But the High Peace Council said it will monitor the activities of those released.

"The prisoners who joined the peace process are our colleagues in this process, and we will supervise their cooperation to see how they could help us," Head of Nangarhar Peace Council Malik Nazir said.

The former inmates asked the government to help them in reintegrating into society.

"We ask the government to pave the way for us to find work," one former inmate said.

Thanks Tolo news

Media Will Face Curbs, Pressures Post-2014: Afghan Watchdog

The media's activities will be affected by curbs and pressures after the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, Afghan media watchdog Nai said Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, head of Nai, Wahidullah Tawhidi, said that Afghan journalists faced threats, financial problems and a lack of access to necessary information in 2012. These problems will become more acute in 2014, he said.

“As everybody is concerned about the situation after 2014, I don’t believe that the regime will change or that the situation will worsen [significantly]. But the [powerful] individuals and entities implicated by the media for wrongdoing will try to limit the activities of media outlets,” Tawhidi said.

Freedom of expression and a flourishing media are considered to be among Afghanistan's major achievements in the past decade.

But Afghanistan still remains a hostile environment for journalists. According to Nai statistics, more than 60 threats and incidents of violence aimed at journalists were recorded in 2012. Several were killed or beaten.

Afghanistan Faces Uncertain Future: Ghani

Afghanistan will face major threats post-2014 if its national forces are not fully trained and equipped, Head of the Transition commission Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai said Thursday.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with TOLOnews, he added that the country's national identity could be in jeopardy and some neighboring countries might be banking on the government's collapse.

"We are facing the threat of losing our national identity. Our neighbors, some international experts and those who do not want the good of Afghanistan are waiting for a regime collapse," Ahmadzai said.

There's anxiety among ordinary Afghans about the future, but Ashraf Ghani added that even government officials are worried about the future.

"Government officials are also afraid of the uncertain situation of the country after 2014," Ghani added.

This comes as top Isaf commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, has presented three contingencies about the presence of US troops in Afghanistan after 2014.

The first scenario calls for 6,000 troops, and the second and third plans ask for 10,000 to 20,000 forces after 2014.

President Hamid Karzai will visit his American counterpart next week to discuss these and other security-related issues.

Lack of capacity, inadequate resources and a functionally nonexistent air force are considered the main shortfalls of the Afghan security forces as they take charge of protecting the country after the withdrawal of the foreign forces from Afghanistan.

To ease the pressure on the security forces, Afghanistan is trying hard to bring the Taliban into peace negotiations. Pakistan seems to be cooperating lately, but the process is still far from being on a stable track

Solar power installation

Solar power installation companies and vendors complain that the government has failed to support production of solar power in the country.

They say the power generated from solar was less harmful than the power produced by other sources, like hydro power dams.

During the last three years, the Kabul Municipality illuminated about fifty kilometers of roads inside the capital Kabul by the installation of street lights. But these lights are said to pollute the environment.

Mayor of Kabul Muhammad Younis Noandesh says the Kabul Municipality is trying to brighten the Kabul streets either by solar power or LED lights.

Noandesh believes this system will not only prevent environmental pollution but also reduces power consumption by twenty percent.

Noandesh told to Ariana TV that if the donor countries financially helped them, they had major programs in hand to build large solar power stations.

“As this system is too costly, we couldn’t apply it in all cases.”

Based on statistics, the solar power is used only for some streets in Kabul while through this system thousands of families in Paktia and Bamyan provinces are provided electricity.

NATO forces kill a religious lecturer in Faryab

Qari Qiyam-ud-din, a lecturer at the department of Islamic studies has been killed in NATO and Afghan forces night raid in Maimana city of the northern Faryab province last Wednesday night.

According to Mr. Amin, the father of the late Qiyam-ud-din, “His son was engaged in teaching Holy Quran and Islamic studies and had no links with any anti-government group or network”.

He called the government officials recent statement about Afghan security forces independent operations as fraud.

Meanwhile, Mualvi Ghulam Nabi Ghafouri, the deputy of Faryab Ulema Council said,” Qari Qiyam-ud-din had no deals with political parties and was teaching Islamic studies to nearly 1000 young and children.

On the other hand, ISAF forces based in Faryab province issued a press release which says, “A key member of “Junbesh”, an Uzbek terrorist network has killed in Maimana city of Faryab province and also detained his 2 fellows”.

The killed one was engaged in terrorist activities and prepared the youth to suicide attacks, the release added.

Faryab provincial officials denied to provide any information to media and said that the central government should send a delegation for further clarification of this incident.

The incident occurred in such narrow time, that recently Afghan and NATO military officials had handed over the command of night raids to Afghan security forces in a formal meeting.

According to another report, Zulfiqar Commando Forces in Northern Zone claims about the beginning of their second independent operation in Ghormach district of Faryab province.

A number of armed Taliban were killed and wounded in these operations, Jawed Saleem, the spokesman of Zulfiqar Commando Forces said.

The Afghan minister of information and culture

The Afghan minister of information and culture expresses concerns over the destruction of monuments in Balkh.

Minister Syed Makhdom Rahin, who visited to Balkh province for opening the reconstruction of damaged parts of Shrine of Hazrat Ali and Imam Bakri Bridge in Mazar-i-Sharif, said more than a thousand monuments, some recently repaired, were at risk of collapse.

Though, the restoration of more than a thousand monuments in Afghanistan is a difficult task, most of these historical sites have been repaired by the assistances of some foreign countries, Rahin said.

He said restoration of more than one thousand historical sites needed huge amount of money and the ministry was unable alone to repair these all monuments.

“It’s really sad to say that in Afghanistan about one thousand and two hundred monuments are in verge of collapse. Of them, more than seven hundred sites are in the historical city of Herat. It doesn’t mean that we forget monuments in Balkh. We are trying to address these problems throughout the country.”

Uruzgan Woman Moved to Kandahar Hospital for Domestic Violence Injuries

A woman who sustained severe injuries to her face and teeth from beatings by her husband and father-in-law in Uruzgan's Chora district has been moved to Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar.

Latifa said her husband beat her badly, breaking several of her teeth and slitting her mouth with a knife in the process. She also has several broken bones.

"My husband and father-in-law beat me. My teeth are broken and my mouth is cut by a knife by my husband," Latifa told TOLOnews from her hospital bed.

"I want my rights," she added.

Latifa's parents took her to Kandahar for medical treatment after they discovered her wounds. They are now asking the government and rights organizations for help in seeking justice.

"We want the government to provide justice and to enforce the law on the perpetrators," said Abdulbari, Latifa's brother.

The Kandahar provincial office of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has asked the courts to take the case seriously.

"We are very distressed about this incident, which is one in a series of domestic violence cases in the southern parts of the country. We want the judicial organs and the police force to examine the incident," said Shamsuddin Tanweer, deputy AIHRC head in Kandahar.

According to AIHRC figures, more than 300 cases of violence against women have been recorded in the south in 2012. There have been 100 cases of self-immolation by women.

Afghanistan in 2014 Could Face Chaos It Saw Post-USSR: Hekmatyar

The leader of insurgent group Hizb-e-Islami, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, said recently that Afghanistan will face the same crisis in 2014 that it witnessed after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the country.

In an interview with a British newspaper, Hekmatyar said that a peaceful political transition should happen in the country to avoid chaos and crisis after the complete withdrawal of foreign combat forces from Afghanistan.

"The situation is deteriorating everyday. Maybe we will face a kind of crisis that no one predicts," Hekmatyar said.

But the Ministry of Defense slammed his statements, saying that the Afghan National Army will prevent any kind of chaos in the country and will work hard to curb any group trying to destabilize the country.

"The Afghan National Army is committed not to let anyone destabilize the country. They will repel any threat with force," Defense Ministry Spokesman General Zahir Azimi told TOLOnews on Wednesday.

Analysts, however, urged the government to be alert and take all threats seriously.

"Hekmatyar's comments come at a very critical time. The government should take this issue seriously," researcher Idrees Rahmani said.

Afghanistan is relying on the long-term agreement with United States and other major powers to help defeat the insurgency. The US and its allies have been trying to reassure Afghanistan that they will stand by the country after 2014 to help train and equip the Afghan security forces.

Two Afghan carpets,

Two Afghan carpets, woven in Bamiyan and Kabul, have been selected for the international Carpet Design Awards at the DOMOTEX Flooring Trade Fair 2013 in Germany, the Afghan Carpet Producers and Exporters Union said Wednesday.

The Union has said that the selected carpets are unique and high-quality, woven with natural dyes.

The design of the carpet produced in Kabul is inspired by a Mamluk Sultan carpet woven around 500 years ago in Egypt, while the carpet produced in Bamyan reflects an abstract image.

"This carpet of ours is designed from a Mamluk Sultan carpet woven in Egypt in the 16th century. We are sure that this year again Afghan carpets will win first place," said Haji Nabi, a Union official.

A Bamiyan carpet won the award in 2008.

Held in Hannover, Germany, DOMOTEX is an international fair of flooring trade, with 1,400 exhibitors from more than 60 countries for 2013, among which a number compete for the Carpet Design Awards.

Union officials asked the government to offer greater support to the carpet industry, one of Afghanistan's main traditional crafts that offers jobs to a large number of people.

Troops' role changing as 2012 ends in Afghanistan

There has not been a British fatality for more than a month in Helmand. In part, it can be explained by the quieter winter - the insurgency is at its most deadly during the hot summer months. But it also reflects the changing role of the British military as they prepare to pull out.

It is the Afghan police and army that are now largely leading the fight, as British forces are lowering their profile. Nearly 60% of the British military bases in Helmand have either been handed over to the Afghans or dismantled.

Over the past year the British forces' focus, along with their Nato allies, has been on training up the Afghan security forces, in what is now becoming a more advisory role.

It is a task that still comes with risks, and 2012 has seen a dramatic rise in so-called "insider" or "green on blue" attacks, when rogue Afghans in uniform target foreign troops. A quarter of the 44 British troops who have died in Helmand this year have been killed in such attacks.

Mission continues The most recent "insider attack" on a British soldier took place at Camp Shawqat in Nad Ali. Capt Walter Barrie was shot dead by an Afghan in uniform as he was playing football on Remembrance Sunday, the last British fatality of 2012.

His comrades who witnessed the tragedy are still training Afghans to detect roadside bombs on the same patch of muddy sand on which he was killed.

 The men still grieve for Capt Barrie, seen here with his son Callum, who was killed on Remembrance Sunday

Capt Barrie's friend, Maj Andy Lumley, admits the incident gave his men "pause for thought". But he said in a show of "sheer bloody-mindedness" they were out playing football with the Afghans again the next day. Maj Lumley says the men still grieve for Capt Barrie, but they will not allow one incident to derail the mission.

There are, though, some doubts about the mission, which is training up the Afghans to provide their own security. While nearly every soldier in Helmand talked of real progress when asked, there is still a recognition that hard-fought gains could be lost.

Kingsman Ben Shaun of 1 Lancs sounded optimistic about the future, but if you read his words carefully you will detect concerns shared by other British soldiers regarding what will happen when they leave.

"Hopefully they'll keep to it. Maybe not as much now we're not there observing what they're doing. Maybe they'll slack it a little bit. But hopefully we don't have to come back and do the same job again," he says.

'Huge pride' An Afghan military depot illustrates part of the the problem. Afghan engineers are able to carry out repairs on their old American Humvees, but outside the workshop there are more than 100 idle vehicles, waiting for spare parts. The logistical supply chain has still not been sorted out. How will they cope when international troops leave with all their kit and help?

Yet the British commander in Helmand, Brig Bob Bruce, is convinced that it is the right time to hand over control to the Afghan security forces. He says "they're ready and have huge pride in the job".

 Brig Gen Sherin Shah has been fighting the Taliban for 10 years That is certainly shown by the top Afghan Army commander in central Helmand, Brig Gen Sherin Shah. He has been fighting the Taliban for more than a decade and his chin bears a large shrapnel scar to prove it. The insurgency has proved resilient, but so has he.

Gen Sherin Shah says he is not worried about the British withdrawal from Helmand, as it is not "sudden" but carefully planned. He insists the 438 British troops who have lost their lives in Afghanistan "have not died in vain". Before the British came, he says, Helmand was a violent province with no security and no democracy. Now 65,000 boys and girls are able to go to school.

There are real signs of progress in Helmand. But there are also reminders of the failures of past foreign intervention. Camp Shawqat, where Captain Walter Barrie died, is surrounded by the ruins of an old fort. The sandy mud walls that glow in the winter evening sun were built and occupied by British forces in the second Anglo Afghan War. But they were driven out and defeated in 1882.

This time the hope is that Britain will have left a more enduring legacy. But for now it is a "hope" and not a guarantee.