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THANKS RUSSIA 4 THE SHARE.... and respecting our troops like we respect yours :-)
????????? ?????? ? ??????????? Canadian troops in Afghanistan (Russian and Canadian translat.)
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eyiIun4RNt0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyiIun4RNt0&feature=share
God bless our Afghan people- Canada loves u so very much...
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NewAgeNazi Muslim terrorists- who kill, plunder and butcher innocent Muslim women, children, aged gleefully and destroy everything and anything Muslim- Islam, Qu'ran- r a joke 2 the cowards.....
THIS IS WHAT COWARDS DO AND - THEY HIDE BEHIND UNITED NATIONS AND GLOBAL POLITICAL BULLSHIT.... BUT...NOW.... there is sooooooo much going on... in ...soooooo many Arab nations.... that the NewAgeNazi Muslim Butchers just can't keep up....
The Free Syrian Army a motley collection of fanatics Islamists Chechen and Afghan mercenaries terrorists murderers rapists torturers looters thieves arsonists you name it... is yet again exposed in this column practising war crimes this time
RUSSIA- t Pravda - Thursday 25th July, 2013 The Vatican news agency Fides is the latest to confirm that the Free Syrian Army, which Cameron, Hollande and Obama from the FUKUS Axis (France-UK.US) back as being the alternative to President Assad, has been practising the forced starvation of civilians in Aleppo, living in areas supporting the Government. As we reported in this column last week, the situation is ... - See more at: http://www.afghanistannews.net/#sthash.bnDpqN09.dpuf
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Afghan Leader Plans Pakistan Visit
Afghan President Hamid Karzai will visit Pakistan soon in an effort to improve ties between the two neighbors
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Interview: 'The Lives Of Afghan Women Can And Must Be Improved'
For her latest book, "The World Is A Carpet," Russian-born, U.S.-based journalist Anna Badkhen spent a year in a tiny village in northern Afghanistan to watch impoverished ethnic Turkmen women weave carpets that would go on to be sold for a small fortune abroad. RFE/RL correspondent Daisy Sindelar spoke to Badkhen about her book and continued concerns about the rights and security of Afghan women after 12 years of war.
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WELL... GOOD..4... PAKISTAN- the NewAgeNazi Muslim butchers of innocent Muslims is bringing shame 2 the whole Muslim world now of such proportions... that the Islamic religion is becoming destroyed..... and on this planet on this day.... Islam needs the peach on which the beautiful religion was formed.... ALLAH IS VERY ANGRY WITH the NewAgeNazi Muslim killers of innocent Muslims globally... and it's showing....
Despite promises to talk, new Pakistan PM gets tough on insurgents
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Months after promising peace talks with Islamist insurgents, Pakistan's new prime minister appears to be backing down and accepting that the use of... (photo: Press Information Dept. of Pakistan)
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UNITED KINGDOM- AFGHANISTAN MILITARY AND COPS
Afghanistan War: Troops risking their lives for a chance of normality
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6:00pm Monday 29th July 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Tom Jennings, covering Witney and West Oxfordshire. Call me on 01865 425403
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/10577570._/
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(rather live free than die on r knees.... God bless Afghans.... free at last and they will nev-a give up their hard earned freedom- they matter)
More Afghan women join police
Afghanistan News - Thursday 25th July, 2013 Despite traditional barriers in war-torn Afghanistan, more and more women are now joining the police in a bid to secure their country's future. "I joined the Afghan National Police (ANP) to defend my country. I want to help my war-weary people. They have been suffering from war and conflicts over the past three decades. I want to serve them by providing a peaceful environment," policewoman ... - See more at: http://www.afghanistannews.net/#sthash.bnDpqN09.dpuf
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WELL AIN'T THAT THE DAMM TRUTH... STILL... our Nato troops learned that way back in 2002- did u know the media could NOT find photos of troops killed, wounded and the enormous millions of good deeds done in Afghanistan and Iraq..... mind u - REMEMBER RWANDA 100 DAYS OF MEDIA SILENCE.... the truth walking and talking...
Why do American Politicans and United Nations destroy any and all the good about this world???? UNITED NATIONS was formed over the ashes of League of Nations- Jewish Holocaust.... the idea was freedom, peace and betterment 4 the poor and helpless..... $7BILLION YEARLY SALARIES UN gets along with luxuries in the nicest places.... ????
Afghan finance minister accuses foreign media propaganda for the declining Afghani
Posted by wadsam | July 22, 2013
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul on Sunday, Afghan Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal alleged that the foreign media painted a negative picture of Afghanistan’s economy situation after 2014—a propaganda that has resulted in the declining value of the Afghani currency against the US dollar.
http://www.wadsam.com/afghan-finance-minister-accuses-foreign-media-propaganda-for-the-declining-afghani-232/
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Dr. Abdullah Abdullah- the Obama of Afghanistan's youth- the next president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Abdullah, Atmar and Ahadi to Run for Presidency: CCPPCA
TOLOnews 26 July 2013 By TOLOnews.com
Members of the Cooperation Council of Political Parties and Coalitions of Afghanistan (CCPPCA) held a meeting at the residence of Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on Thursday to decide on the candidates for the upcoming Presidential election.
At the meeting, a committee comprising representatives of all political parties announced that Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Mohammad Anif Atmar and Anwar Ul Haq Ahadi will be running as candidates for the next year's Presidential vote.
The CCPPCA formed a committee to choose candidates for the Presidential election. The committee after several rounds of discussions said that these three people will be contesting the election for the political parties.
In one of the previous meetings, all the political parties were asked to submit names of their candidates for the elections. The party members told TOLOnews that the Afghan National Coalition Party, Right and Justice Party and Afghan Milat Party have finalised the names of their candidates.
However, the Afghan National Front Party has requested for a week's time to submit the names of the candidates representing their party.
Additionally, it is being reported that the CCPPCA is working on a plan to form a 'single unit' comprising of few chosen candidates agreed upon by the committee. But, it is still unclear whether it is possible to form a 'single unit' for the Presidential election.
Holding of free, fair and transparent elections has been one of the biggest aspirations of the people of Afghanistan and international community. The Presidential election is scheduled to take place on April 5, 2014.
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Afghan women suffer setback as parliament lowers quota for female lawmakers
KABUL - Afghanistan’s parliament has passed a law lowering the proportion of provincial council seats reserved for women.
The Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament, this week approved a revised electoral law that included the reduction of the guaranteed proportion of the 420 provincial council seats allotted to females from 25 percent down to 20 percent.
The purpose of guaranteeing some seats for women was to ensure female representation in the male-dominated society where women and girls are still often treated as second-class citizens.
Many worry this is yet another step in restricting women’s rights in a country that has made many strides in this area during the last decade. After the U.S.-led military invasion that toppled the austere Taliban regime 12 years ago, women and girls were given the opportunity to rejoin society. They were given the allocated seats in the country’s legislature to help with the process of integration.
They were also given the right to work outside the home and millions of girls went back to school – privileges they did not have under the Taliban.
But amid reports of possible negotiations with the Taliban and attempts to bring them back into the political fold, the new law makes it clear it isn’t just the Taliban that women need to worry about – it’s their own government.
Human Rights Watch said the decision – one of many similar recent moves by various government bodies – indicated "a broad-based attack on women’s rights."
"It’s perverse that Afghanistan’s parliament is devoting its time and energies to attacking women’s hard-fought legal protections," said Brad Adams, the Asia director for HRW. "Afghanistan’s foreign donors should be loud and clear that they won’t stand by while Afghan women’s hard-won rights are swept away."
Female parliamentarian Shukria Barakzai said that the fact that women kept as many seats as they did was an achievement.
"In the last three years, I should say that [Afghan] women have been lost from the attention of international community and civil society. They are not getting as much support as they had in the past," she said. "It’s not a good step that the seats were reduced, but on the other hand this 20 percent is still a big deal for us, we risked even losing the 20 percent."
The latest decision comes after conservatives in the upper house of parliament, Mishrano Jirga, surreptitiously removed a law that stipulated there should be at least 25 percent female representation in the provincial council earlier this year. Female politicians discovered what had happened and fought to have the decision recalled.
Barakzai said women should not take the decrease in seats allocated to them sitting down, and should campaign harder to win the seats independently.
"They should do the work themselves and not wait for others to give it to them," she added. "It is their job and their duty."
Some Afghans agreed with the new law and applauded the decision.
Muhammad Moeen Marastial, a former member of parliament, called the reduction "reasonable" and said that it fairly represented the country’s status quo in regards to gender equality.
"It is dependent on our society’s conditions, and for now it is hard for women to work and represent themselves. So because of the current situation the step taken by the parliament is a right decision." Marastial said. "Also, if you look at the parliaments around the world, you will be able to find they are only 20 to 30 percent made up of women."
But Marastial added that he believes parliament should do more in the future to give women more opportunities and create more equality between men and women.
Kabul mechanic Mohammad Daoud said he is fine with the lessening of female representation and added that they should reduce male representation as well.
"They should end the parliament and provincial councils all together," the 42-year-old said. "What have they done for our society? They are useless and just an extra expense for our government."
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Afghanistan’s first female governor receives Ramon Magsaysay Award
Posted by wadsam | July 25, 2013 | 0
habiba sarabiAfghanistan’s first female governor, Habiba Sarabi, was selected as one of the recipients of the prestigious Ramon Masaysay Awards.
Habiba Sarabi, 57, was chosen for helping build a functioning local government and pushing for education and women’s rights in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province despite working in a violent and impoverished environment in which discrimination is pervasive, the foundation said. Public education and the ratio of female students have increased in her province, where more women are taking up careers that were forbidden under the 1996-2001 Taliban regime. (Huffingpost.com)
"In the face of widespread hostilities toward women assuming public roles, her courage and determination are outstanding," the foundation said of Sarabi, a member of an ethnic and religious minority in Afghanistan.
Sarabi is a hematologist, politician, and reformer of the post-Taliban reconstruction of Afghanistan. In 2005, she was appointed as governor of Bamyan Province by President Hamid Karzai, becoming the first woman to ever be a governor of any province in the country. She previously served in Karzai’s government as Minister of Women’s Affairs as well as Minister of Culture and Education. Sarabi has been instrumental in promoting women’s rights and representation and environment issues. She belongs to the ethnic Hazara people of Afghanistan.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay’s example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia’s Nobel Prize. The prize was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York City with the concurrence of the Philippine government.
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WB To Use $ 100 m To Improve Afghan Health Sector
http://bakhtarnews.com.af/eng/health/item/7452-wb-to-use-$-100-m-to-improve-afghan-health-sector.html
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17 Indian Companies to Invest in Afghanistan
http://tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/11122-17-indian-companies-to-invest-in-afghanistan
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Afghan base handover likely to prove tricky for Karzai
Afghanistan News Sunday 28th July, 2013
The Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, is likely to bear the brunt of the decision to give military bases to the United States. President Karzai's chief of staff has said the country will expect an enduring peace and security in exchange for the handover. Abdul Karim Khoram, speaking to local media, said Kabul would have to live with the hostility of regional countries by allowing the US to maintain a presence on permanent military bases. Xinhua has reported Afghanistan and the United States will soon sign the Bilateral Security Agreement. The security pact will first have to be discussed by the country's highest decision-making body, the Loya Jirga. At this time Loya Jirga members are said to be against the pact which would also give legal immunity for US forces in Afghanistan. While the US and Afghanistan had been having talks on judicial immunity for American troops, there has been a deadlock. The US and its allies entered the war in Afghanistan in October 2001. After more than 11 years, foreign troops have still not been able to establish security in the country. - See more at: http://www.afghanistannews.net/index.php/sid/216076349/scat/6e1d5c8e1f98f17c/ht/Afghan-base-handover-likely-to-prove-tricky-for-Karzai#sthash.k63qKC1Y.dpuf
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8 Afghan companies to embark on infra projects
Posted by wadsam | July 23, 2013 | 0
Funded by the World Bank, infrastructure projects would be executed in the Qala Zal, Kashm, Tagab and Wars districts of northern Kunduz, north-eastern Badakhshan, central Bamyan and northern Baghlan province.
The projects worth USD 7.4mn are given to eight Afghan companies and are expected to be made operational within a year.
Deputy Minister of Public Works Mohammad Akbar Barakzai said the projects would benefit thousands of residents and have a positive impact on healthcare, education, security and economy in the provinces.
The infrastructure projects include construction of 7 roads and 2 bridges.
According to the Ministry of Public Works, more than 11,000 km of roadways and several bridges have been constructed in numerous villages across the country.
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Afghanistan begins to export products directly to India for the first time in its history
Posted by wadsam | July 28, 2013 | 0
Afghanistan’s export activities through the ChabaharPort in southeastern Iran officially began on Saturday.
The port serves as the best alternative to the Pakistan’s Karachi Port where export activities were constantly interrupted by political restrictions and high storage cost.
"But it doesn’t mean an end to exports via the Wagah border between Pakistan and India. However, the Chabahar option is more economical and profitable for Afghanistan," Pajhwok Afghan News quotes Abdul Qadeer Mustafa, spokesman to the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA).
The Port of Chabahar is a seaport in Chahbahar in southeastern Iran. Its location lies on the border of Indian Ocean and Oman Sea. It is the only Iranian port with direct access to ocean.
Afghanistan will be able to export its products directly to India, Kazakhstan, Gulf and European states in an efficient manner.
According to Mr. Mustafa, this would be Afghanistan’s first time in its history to directly dispatch products to India.
Located 72km west of Pakistan’s Gwardar port, Chabahar port holds immense strategic and economic significance for India.
India’s interest in Chabahar came after China had expressed interest in taking the Gwadar port in Pakistan.
In a trilateral meeting last year, India, Afghanistan and Iran discussed ways to expand trade and economic ties among the three countries starting, with Chabahar being the main focus.
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Karzai joins Open Jirga on TV to answer citizens queries on anything and everything
Afghanistan News - Monday 29th July, 2013 A debate programme named 'Open Jirga' on Afghan TV has given an opportunity to the citizens for the first time to directly question the politicians on security fears and rampant corruption in Afghanistan. A co-production of the BBC and state-run Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), the programme has given Afghans an unaccustomed taste of political accountability on a national stage, the ... - See more at: http://www.afghanistannews.net/#sthash.bnDpqN09.dpuf
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U.S. can easily help Afghans resist return to terrorism
Army could donate, rather than destroy, materiel left behind
By Joanne King Herring | July 23, 2013 | Updated: July 24, 2013 10:50am
"Military planners for the U.S. Army have decided not to ship back more than $7 billion of equipment - about 20 percent of what the Army brought into Afghanistan - because the shipping costs are too high and the need for the used equipment too low. Instead, the Army is destroying the equipment in-country: Shredding it, crushing it and selling it on the Afghan scrap market.
"[D]onating it to the Afghans is complicated owing to thorny rules surrounding giving equipment to other countries," the Post reported. "As such, Army officials have opted to destroy it."
Afghanistan, devastated by the Soviet invasion, became a hotbed of terrorist training. Yet the Afghans were, and are, not belligerent. Civil society there simply collapsed under the stress of war. We can - must - help keep this from happening again. Afghans live by a strong code of honor. With modest assistance, Afghanistan will become a force for peace. This has a humanitarian aspect. Yet, at its base, doing so is a critical move to protect Americans from future acts of terror.
It is a travesty and tragedy to bulldoze the nontactical, nonlethal resources that could be used to help stabilize the Afghan economy and social order.
These resources include more than 100 bases - each with the infrastructure of a small city - that can be used to restore Afghanistan, including to repatriate refugees. This would include food, clothing and shelter, as well such things as hand tools and ovens.
http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/U-S-can-easily-help-Afghans-resist-return-to-4682306.php
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Handover ceremonies of equipment for schools in Badakhshan, Balkh and Takhar
Posted by wadsam | July 28, 2013
http://www.wadsam.com/handover-ceremonies-of-equipment-for-schools-in-badakhshan-balkh-and-takhar-232/
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40% increase in Afghanistan’s exports during the first quarter
Posted by wadsam | July 29, 2013 | 0
http://www.wadsam.com/40-increase-in-afghanistans-exports-during-the-first-quarter-232/
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Afghanistan and World Bank sign USD 12.5mn agreement on improving public pension schemes
http://www.wadsam.com/afghanistan-and-world-bank-sign-usd-12-5mn-agreement-on-improving-public-pension-schemes-232/
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USAID Pledges $200 Million for Women Development Programs
http://www.bakhtarnews.com.af/eng/business/item/8363-usaid-pledges-$200-million-for-women-development-programs.html
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Rasmussen Meets With Italian PM, Praises Italy's Role in the Afghan Mission
TOLOnews 26 July By Shakeela Ahbrimkhil
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen met with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in Rome on Friday and assured that NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan will be completed by the end of 2014. Mr. Rasmussen added that the International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) mission will switch to an advisory mission, aimed at providing military training and support to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
During the meeting, Secretary-General Rasmussen appreciated the contribution of Italy in the NATO-Afghan mission and reaffirmed that the NATO will terminate its combat mission in Afghanistan post-2014.
"By the end of 2014 our combat mission will come to an end. We are now planning a new non-combat mission to train, advice, and assist the Afghan forces. And I thank Italy for your intention to participate and play a leading role in this new mission," said Mr. Rasmussen.
Presently, there are 3,034 Italian soldiers, assisting the NATO in its combat mission in Afghanistan. Majority of the Italian troops are deployed in western Herat province.
"You are making a significant contribution to our mission in Afghanistan. Italy is playing a pivotal role in ISAF by leading our efforts in the West, and we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the Italian troops," added Mr. Rasmussen.
Mr. Rasmussen talked about the troops' withdrawal at a time when the fifth and final phase of security transition process from the international forces to the Afghan security force is underway. The transition process is regarded as a crucial event for the ANSF. Even though, the foreign troops will provide support to the ANSF post-2014, experts doubt whether it would be able to ensure security and protect the country from internal and external security threats.
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Australian PM Visits Afghanistan
By RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan July 27, 2013
KABUL -- Australia's prime minister has arrived in southern Afghanistan on an unannounced visit.
Kevin Rudd arrived on July 27 accompanied by Defense Ministry officials, his national security adviser, and the Australian ambassador to Kabul.
Rudd met the governor of southern Uruzgan Province, Amir Muhammad Akhundzada.
Rudd said Australia is committed to continuing to help the Afghan government after the planned withdrawal of its troops by the end of 2014.
Australia has around 1,600 troops in Afghanistan, most of them based in Uruzgan Province.
The provincial governor praised the help Australia has provided to Afghanistan over the last decade.
The visit is Rudd's first to Afghanistan since he became prime minister at the end of June.
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THE RULES CHANGE AFTER 2014- BECAUSE AFGHANS CAN MAKE THEIR OWN JUSTICE AGAINST... these NewAgeNazi Muslim butchers- with no respect 4 Afghans, Islam or the Qu'ran...
Just watch Afghans getting even..... 4 these Muslim monsters crawling under the skirts of their Afghan women and hiding behind Afghan kids and elders.... it's coming folks - it's coming....
Afghanistan - free at last... free at last..
Al-Qaeda just surviving in Afghanistan, says senior US commander
REUTERS Saturday 27 July 2013
KABUL - Pockets of Al-Qaeda militants will endure in Afghanistan beyond next year’s departure of most Western combat forces, but they have lost the ability to mount serious attacks of the kind that triggered the Afghan war, a senior US commander said.
Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman, the deputy operations chief of Afghanistan’s NATO-led force, said small numbers of Al-Qaeda fighters remained entrenched in the rugged eastern mountain province of Nuristan, where the forested terrain and plunging valleys provided natural havens.
"They are less than 100, I would say, and they are in fact just trying to survive at this point," Osterman told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday. "I think what you find is that it’s not necessarily that they have got a springboard in there."
Both Afghan security forces and NATO commanders have been keen to talk up gains in the 12-year battle against the Taleban and its insurgent allies, pushed from power by the US-backed Northern Alliance following the Al-Qaeda attacks on US targets on Sept. 11, 2001.
But isolated Nuristan, alongside Pakistan and straddled by the Hindu Kush mountains, has been something of a void for NATO forces, although Al-Qaeda and allies have used it as a conduit for attacks on Kabul and nearby provinces like Nangarhar and Laghman.
While NATO occasionally says it has killed Al-Qaeda commanders or "facilitators" in the province, most recently in May, Afghan commanders say some districts in the province are at risk of falling completely into militant control.
The former US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, in 2010 ordered American troops out of Nuristan, although special forces still operate there alongside thinly stretched Afghan forces, as well as anti-Taleban militias in the main villages of Kamdesh and Barg-e-Matal.
Armed US drone aircraft also carry on strikes against insurgents there, although the number of attacks by drones has fallen off amid concern about civilian casualties.
"They continue to push against these guys and they continue to kill them, and really keep them from being a viable entity," said Osterman, a Marine commander who first came to the country as part of a US military surge in 2010.
It is not clear if the presence of Al-Qaeda militants could derail efforts to bring the Taleban into talks in the Gulf state of Qatar, given USdemands that the insurgent leadership renounce all ties to Al-Qaeda.
Osterman said in Nuristan, which has almost no roads or infrastructure, Al-Qaeda had become almost indistinguishable from the Taleban and other groups like Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin.
"They have been up there for a while, so they have inter-married with some of the population," he said.
"It’s one of those things where they do have some local support in that regard. But it’s not necessarily support for Al-Qaeda or support for the Taleban, in as much as they have been up there long enough that they have perhaps been accepted by some of the people."
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U.S. has to accept Afghan conditions before inking BSA: Official
KABUL, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Chief of staff of President Hamid Karzai's office has categorically stated that Afghanistan has its conditions for inking security pact known as Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States. "Since Afghanistan would pay high price for giving military bases to U.S, the country has its conditions before inking the security pact and one of the conditions is ensuring durable peace and security in our country," Abdul Karim Khuram said during a recent interview with a local television channel TV-1.
Khuram noted "It would make no difference to have security pact with U.S. but Afghans live in misery, suffering from suicide attacks and bomb blasts".
He also added that inking security pact with United States would earn the enmity of regional countries with Afghanistan.
Although the document for inking the security pact has not been finalized, Afghan conditions are clear, Khuram said, adding the conditions include guaranteeing viable security, equipping the national security forces and supporting Afghanistan's economy by United States to achieve self-reliance.
However, he added that since the talks on security pact has not been finalized no date has been set for holding the traditional Loya Jirga, the country's highest decision-making body, to discuss the issue at national level.
Replying the question on peace process and talks with Taliban, Khuram reiterated that the process must be Afghan-led and Afghan owned, noting the High Peace Council, a government-backed peace- making body, has been authorized to talk with the Taliban.
He also said that opening Taliban office with the emblem of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (name of ousted Taliban regime) in Qatar was against the Afghan agreement with United States and a conspiracy to seed middle-east like situation or divide Afghanistan and the Afghan government thwarted it.
Khuram stated that the United States should pursue the terrorists inside their sanctuaries and not in Afghan villages. In this regard, he said that killing, arresting and pushing people to the wall in Afghan villages would create more enemies. He also noted that terrorists are in Pakistan and Afghanistan is the victim of terrorists.m He once again called for the United States to clarify its policy with regard to Pakistan.
Stressing on the forthcoming presidential campaign, Khuram noted that the once-every-5-year election is to be held on time and the sitting President will not seek his third term.
He ruled out the rumor that President Karzai has the candidate in-favor and would remain impartial during the whole process.
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Afghanistan can't thrive if its women can't learn
CNN International By Ahmad Zia Massoud, Special to CNN July 26, 2013
Editor's note: Ahmad Zia Massoud is a former vice president in the regime of President Hamid Karzai and is the leader of the National Front of Afghanistan.
(CNN) -- Afghanistan cannot be expected to be a stable and contributing member of the international community when Afghan women are generally denied early and lifelong educational opportunities, are largely unable to work, and in some parts of the country suffer far worse.
While this is a very easy claim to make, fundamentally improving the rights women have and creating the institutions to support those rights is much more difficult to implement given the current on-the-ground realities.
Allowing an 8-year-old to marry, as often happens in Afghanistan, isn't driven by some bizarre desire to give away one's children. In the absence of viable choices, families tend to stay with the comfortable and the accepted -- no matter how horrific and foreign those decisions may seem to outsiders.
Practices such as forced child marriage and limited women's rights are symptoms of a country clinging to old ideas in a vacuum of realistic alternatives.
To believe a secure and prosperous Afghanistan can be left to the next generation while denying basic human rights to half the population is an exercise in mass delusion. It is equally delusional to believe this will change overnight, or even in this generation. But this change is possible. The question is how do we get there?
If history is any guide, shifts in attitudes are unlikely to occur by decree from the Afghan National Assembly, and even less likely under pressure from the West. The driver of change will be food security for the majority of the country and innovative ideas that expand economic development within the realities of a largely cashless and agrarian society.
According to the World Food Programme, Afghanistan consistently ranks in the bottom of the world in terms of food security and a 2012 study by the Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit highlighted the connection between food insecurity and lack of educational opportunities. Progress in this regard ultimately would allow more women to enter the workforce.
An Afghan family dealing with uncertainty and poverty simply cannot make optimal choices about the future. Sometimes the choice is between finding illicit means of income or holding onto antiquated ideas and practices, which is what we see in Afghanistan now. This cycle has to be broken.
Would the current opposition to women's rights be so fierce if Afghanistan were substantially richer or self-sustainable?
Likely not, because it would be far less threatening to the established order. Taking crucial steps to expand the economy in creative ways is fundamentally a decision about human rights and regional security, not purely an economic decision in isolation.
I have written previously about new ways to develop Afghanistan's rich natural resources in ways that are both transparent and benefit the majority of the country, not just those working in and around the mines.
Returning Afghanistan to its status as Central Asia's "bread basket" through improved water management is another crucial step toward our own self-sufficiency. However, we must also understand that economic development in isolation without the direction of core beliefs will be squandered and the next generation will be struggling with the very same problems we have today.
This change can only be accomplished with strong, values-based leadership in the Presidential Palace that is focused on the economic growth of the country as a whole and not just for a few friends and family members. We can then use that growth as the driver of positive change that can be sustained for decades.
Afghanistan desperately needs economic innovations to reduce dependence on foreign partners and significant agricultural advances to reduce uncertainty for our families.
A simple statement about rights without the economic capacity and social institutions to support them is doomed to failure but economic growth combined with core values on rights and education is how real change can happen. Then and only then can we have any hope of fighting the insurgency and securing a brighter future for all citizens, women and men alike.
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ANSF Casualties on the Rise in Helmand: Officials
TOLOnews 26 July 2013 By TOLOnews.com
Security officials of Helmand province on Friday expressed their concerns over the sudden increase in the number of Afghan National Security Forces' (ANSF) casualties.
Officials of the 215th "Maiwand" Corps said that since the beginning of the Afghan year, so far, over 500 ANSF soldiers have been killed and wounded. They further added that last year during the same time the number of casualties was very low.
General Sayed Malook, the head of the 215th "Maiwand" Corps cited increase in the number of armed oppositions groups as the reason behind the rise in ANSF casualties.
Gen.Malook pointed out that during the first four months of the current year, 115 ANSF soldiers died and over 400 were wounded as a result of mine blasts and terror attacks.
Additionally, Gen. Malook accepted that along with the soldiers, several civilians have also lost their lives. Gen. Malook criticised the security forces' for lacking coordination and inability to act in a timely manner.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Masoud, Governor of Helmand, accepted the issue and assured that efforts are being made to reduce the casualties and bring security into Afghanistan.
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Audit raps USAID for wasting almost $50 mln in Afghanistan
July 29, 2013 04:04 PM
A watchdog body criticised the U.S. Agency for International Development Monday for spending nearly $50 million on programmes in Afghanistan which had so far failed to strengthen local government or improve stability.
The projects were intended to expand the authority and legitimacy of Afghan provincial governments by helping them implement development and governance initiatives in local communities.
16 months into the four USAID programmes, which have an overall budget of more than $203 million, SIGAR said none of them had awarded grants to communities to address sources of instability.
SIGAR has found waste under just about every rock it's kicked over in Afghanistan. It recently found that a brand-spanking new $34 million headquarters for the Marines at Camp Leatherneck was unnecessary and may never be used.
"It's troubling that after 16 months, this program has not issued its first community grant," SIGAR's special inspector general John Sopko said in a statement.
"Rather, it has spent nearly $50 million -- roughly a quarter of the total program budget -- on conferences, overhead and workshops. This looks like bad value for U.S. taxpayers and the Afghan people."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2013/Jul-29/225484-audit-raps-usaid-for-wasting-almost-50-mln-in-afghanistan.ashx
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Ramadan-The Month of Fasting
Posted by wadsam | July 8, 2013 | 0
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ramadan karemWhat is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, when Muslims fast during daylight hours.
There are several reasons why Ramadan is considered important:
?The Qur’an was first revealed during this month
?The gates of Heaven are open
?The gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained up in Hell.
The Qur’an revealed
The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong [al-Baqarah 2:185]
The actual night that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad is called Lailat ul Qadr, and to stand in prayer on this one night is said to be better than a thousand months of worship.
Ramadan is often called ‘month of the Qur’an’ because of this, and Muslims attempt to recite as much of the Qur’an as they can during the month. Most mosques will recite one thirtieth of the Qur’an each night during the Taraweeh prayers.
No one knows on which particular night the Qur’an was first revealed, but it is said to be one of the last ten nights of Ramadan.
The gates of Heaven are open and the gates of Hell are closed
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are put in chains." (Agreed upon)
Muslims believe that their good actions bring a greater reward during this month than at any other time of year, because this month has been blessed by Allah.
They also believe that it is easier to do good in this month because the devils have been chained in Hell, and so can’t tempt believers. This doesn’t mean that Muslims will not behave badly, but that any evil that they do comes from within themselves, without additional encouragement from Satan.
Almost all Muslims try to give up bad habits during Ramadan, and some will try to become better Muslims by praying more or reading the Qur’an.
Muslims believe that this is one way that the chaining up of the devils is manifested, since there is no other reason for them to do so.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/practices/ramadan_1.shtml
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Afghanistan participates in an arts and culture exhibition in Turkey
artisticAfghanistan displayed its cultural and artistic compositions in a festival that is held in Turkey every year.
Opuses from over 140 countries were showcased in the festival. Afghanistan has been participating in this festival for the past 11 years.
According to the Afghan-Turk School’s Advisor in Afghanistan, Emaduddin Saraji, Afghanistan’s artistic a
nd cultural pieces were highly acclaimed.
The festival opened on May 24 and will remain open for three days.
"Such festivals are a good means of bringing the arts and culture of various nations together," said a visitor.
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Exhibition of facsimile prints on Mughals Arts, Culture and Empire held in Kabul
Posted by wadsam | May 21, 2013 | 0
mughals artsAn exhibition on the selection of facsimile prints on Mughals:Arts, Culture and Empire from the British Library collections is being held in Queen’s Palace, Babur Garden in Kabul city.
This exhibition is based on an earlier exhibition of Mughal treasures entitled ‘Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire’ shown at the British Library in London. The exhibition, which ran from the 9th November, 2012 to 2nd April, 2013, was largely based on artworks and objects from the British Library Collection, with added loans from other art institutions and private individuals.
‘The Mughals: Art, Culture & Empire’ exhibition is organized by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the British Library, and is supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, as part of the Afghan Cultural Initiative, and will be on show at the Queen’s Palace in Baghe Babur for the public on the 13th of May to 25th of June, 2013. The display features a selection of facsimile prints from the British Library collections, originally part of the exhibition at the British Library.
British Library
The British Library, the national library of the UK, serves business and industry, researchers, academics and students, in the UK and worldwide. Its collection includes well over 150 million items, in most known languages, with 3 million new items added every year. The Library holds manuscripts, maps, newspapers, magazines, prints, drawings and photographs, music scores, and patents. It receives a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland. Treasures include the Magna Carta, Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook, the Times first edition from 18 March 1788 and the recordings of Nelson Mandela’s Rivonia trial speech. The library was originally a department of the British Museum, and became a separate entity in 1973. For more information on the BL’s activities please visit www.bl.uk
Aga Khan Trust for Culture
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) focuses on the physical, social, cultural and economic revitalisation of communities in the Muslim world. It includes the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia, the on-line resource ArchNet.org and the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Museums & Exhibitions unit coordinates the development of a number of museum and exhibition projects. AKTC’s initiatives in Afghanistan have focused on the physical rehabilitation of some of the country’s most important historic sites, including Baghe Babur in Kabul, the Iktyaruddin Citadel in Herat, and the Noh Gunbad mosque in Balkh. Coupled with socio-economic and upgrading activities in historic quarters such as the old cities of Kabul and Herat, the program has contributed to improving the living and economic conditions of thousands of residents in some of the most impoverished communities in these cities. For more information on the AKDN/AKTC’s activities please visit www.akdn.org
Baghe Babur Trust
Kabul Municipality, the Ministry of Information and Culture and AKTC signed a tripartite ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ in 2008 to establish the independent Baghe Babur Trust. Tasked with the overall responsibility of effectively managing and maintaining the site, the 75 full-time staff of the Trust have ensured that Baghe Babur remains accessible to the more than 2.6 million Afghan and international visitors since 2008 and that revenue collected through visitations and the hire of facilities is reinvested towards the operation of the site – resulting in the financial self-sustainability of the operations since 2010.
Exhibit Details:
The exhibition is organized in 8 sections: (1) Founding the Mughal Empire, (2) The Mughal Emperors; (3) Life in the Mughal Empire; (4) The Art of Painting; (5) Religion; (6) Literature; (7) Science and Medicine; and (8) Decline of the Empire.
Section 1 begins with a print depicting Babur’s great defeat of the Sultan Ibrahim Lodi of Delhi at the Battle of Panipat in 1526, and the Battle of Kanua in 1527. Section 2 continues with a print showing the 14 Mughal emperors sitting with their common ancestor, the great Central Asian ruler Timur. Also on display are a number of fine miniatures of the ‘Great’ and ‘Later’ Mughal emperors, from the Empire’s founder Babur to Bahadur Shah II.
Section 3 highlights courtly life in the Mughal Empire, from politics to leisure, and includes a print of the 1761 Battle of Panipat, a miniature depicting Babur’s Garden, and Mughal architectural styles.
Section 4 shows the development of Mughal artistic styles from early miniatures to European-influenced painting styles. The exhibit features illustrated manuscripts of Hafiz’s poems, paintings by Behzad and other distinguished artists of the Mughal Studio, and folios of the celebrated Dara Shikoh Album.
Section 5 features a number of fine illustrated religious manuscripts. On display is a print of the holy Qur’an written in different styles of calligraphy dating from the 16th century and poetry by the Sufi Mullah Shah, originally from Badakhshan.
Section 6 includes a printed excerpt of the earliest known dated manuscript of the Baburnama written in the Turkic language Chaghatay, and pages from Bedil’s ‘Irfan.
Section 7 highlights observations of wildlife and scientific developments in the fields of astronomy and medicine. It includes a 17th-century world map, the Jantar Mantar observatory in Delhi and a section of a 12-m long route map from Delhi to Kandahar featuring the Kabul river and Ghazni.
Section 8 shows the gradual dissolution of power and the end of the Mughal Empire. On display is a photograph of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, awaiting trial in the Red Fort for his part in the Uprising of 1857.
The exhibit concludes with an impressive panoramic view of Delhi.
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Mazar-e-Sharif Suicides: Poisonous Freedom for Afghan Women
Sun 28 Jul 2013
Share 0 Women in Mazar-e-Sharif have straddled the worlds between Western freedoms and conservative traditions for a decade. As the Taliban gains strength and the West pulls out, Afghanistan's... (photo: US Army / Justin A. Moeller)
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Getting the best and Afghanistan has some of the finest Military minds now...
Afghan parliament dismisses interior minister over worsening security
Reuters July 22, 2013 - 09:39 KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's parliament voted on Monday to dismiss one of the country's chief security ministers, impeaching... (photo: US DoD / Glenn Fawcett)
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Afghan Religious Leader Approves Of Restrictive Edict On Women
In the latest worrying indicator of the state of women's rights in Afghanistan, a Taliban-inspired fatwa has gained the approval of one of the country’s top religious figures.
More
Noorzia Atmar, a former rights campaigner and lawmaker in the national parliament, has gone into hiding since she was stabbed and threatened by her former husband.
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Trailblazing Afghan Female MP Forced To Take Shelter
Afghan Noorzia Atmar, once a lawmaker and a prominent women's rights activist, now finds herself in a shelter for abused women. Her plight highlights the erosion of women's rights in Afghanistan, and fears that the situation will further deteriorate once international forces withdraw.
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