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Showing posts from October, 2010

Welcome Russia: Afghans are waiting with love

By Hanan Habibzai  Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who well knows how much the Russian army is hated by the Afghans, through this knowledge tried to advise the Russian leadership not to venture into Afghanistan to support NATO on the ground. This was done because one that Russians had already suffered a defeat at the hands of the Afghans and secondly because countless Afghans were killed that rendered a large population either disabled or deprived of their bread earners. When I heard this News that Russia will redeploy its military in Afghanistan I was taken aback. It reminded me of the atrocities that my family went through during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1980s. Several members of my family lost their lives at the hands of the Soviet troops, those who survived are still suffering the pain and agony given by The Red Army. No Afghan is willing to accept this return for multiple reasons, rather the hate the very idea of their return to Afghanistan. I have disabled o

Iranian woman turned Afghan MP

By Hanan Habibzai An Iranian woman will play a role of an Afghan MP in the next Parliament. A c opy of an Iranian National ID card has been released recently evidents Farishta Amini an Iranian national who nominated herself from Nemroz province southwest of Afghanistan,near Iran's border. She got enough votes to gain a set in the next parliament. Iran has influential role within Hamid Karzai regime,a serious concern for western countries funding Afghanistan's current political and military process.  It is not clear how she been allowed to be a parliamentary candidate but it is obvious that Iran has momentous and enormous  influence inside Afghan government. Iranian dominant regime in Afghanistan will dismiss the interests of western allies and other key neighbors who keep close ties with United States and the European countries.

official circles in Afghanistan dominated by Iranian influence

By Hanan Habibzai The presence of Iranian diplomat in a key international meeting raised concerns over Iran’s controversial role in Afghanistan. It is first time, an Iranian representative attending a meeting on Afghanistan’s development issues organised by an international group. ‘’Iran will attempt to influence international strategies, if it regularly allowed attending such meetings ‘’ A Kabul University student Qadimullah Masoomi expressed his concerns. According to The New York Times, the move welcomed Monday by both the American and international officials. Iranian high ranking diplomat Ali Qanezadeh was also present at a briefing by Gen.David H Petraeus on NATO’s strategy for transition in Afghanistan. Double game: At the meantime some sources within Hamid Karzai government are thinking that Iran is aiding the Taliban. They say several Iranian citizens have been held in Afghanistan for supporting the Taliban. ‘’Iran can not see the American presence in Afghanistan and t

Intelligence agency forced journalist Mujadadi to be informer before arresting him

Radio station director  Hojatullah Mujadadi  is currently the only journalist detained in Afghanistan. Although President Hamid Karzai ordered his release, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), an Afghan intelligence agency, is still holding him in appalling conditions, without allowing him the right to be defended by a lawyer. His arrests violates Afghan law, under which all cases involving journalists should be handled by the Media Commission.   Reporters Without Borders has an audio recording that clearly show that the NDS wanted to silence Mujadadi. Irritated by his independent reporting in the northeastern province of Kapisa, where he has been  Radio Kapisa FM ’s director for the past several months, the security forces found a way to arrest and charge him last month. The recording also sheds light on the disturbing methods used by the NDS to recruit journalists as informers.   In the audio recording made by Reporters Without Borders last May, Mujadadi said he had been summ

Karzai government is unable to deliver basic services

By Hanan Habibzai  Hamid Karzai's government is unable to deliver basic services ,such as security,food and shelters. Intangibility is growing by every day and Widespread concerns increasingly reflect hopelessness and shed nervousness for public safety. Increasing corruption in Afghanistan is contribuitng to increased porverty and a serious neglect of human rights in the country.  T he majority of Afghans live in poverty despite the fact that some $35bn (£23bn) of aid was poured into the country between 2002 and 2009. T he world community is focusing too much on military efforts and too little on long-term development.  The office of the UN human rights commissioner highlighted the concerns in its report March this year. widespread corruption further limits access to services for a large proportion of the population.blaming Afghan officials of advancing their own interests at the expense of the general public.  Farther more  Afghan population remained careless. The United nation

Afghanistan is still suffering in result of Russian invasion in the 1980

Almost three decades since Russian invaded Afghanistan,they finally defeated by brave Afghans bu my country is still suffering in the result Afghanistan hit the world's headlines in 1979. Afghanistan seemed to perfectly summarize the Cold War. From the west's point of view, Berlin, Korea, Hungary and Cuba had shown the way communism wanted to proceed. Afghanistan was a continuation of this.   In Christmas 1979, Russian paratroopers landed in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The country was already in the grip of a civil war. The prime minister, Hazifullah Amin, tried to sweep aside Muslim tradition within the nation and he wanted a more western slant to Afghanistan. This outraged the majority of those in Afghanistan as a strong tradition of Muslim belief was common in the country.   Thousands of Muslim leaders had been arrested and many more had fled the capital and gone to the mountains to escape Amin's police. Amin also lead a communist based government - a belief

A key warlord to lead peace council

By Hanan Habibzai Powerful warlord, Burha nuddin Rabbani, was appointed on Sunday to lead a delegation tasked with starting peace talks with Taliban. A cleric like many of the Taliban, but an ethnic Tajik like many of their opponents. He and his party has no interest to the returning of Taliban, he fought against the Taliban and  there would be little trust on so called reconciliation efforts under him. He was once the leader of a rebel party during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and served as president in the 1990s when mujahideen factions waged a war for control of power and killed tens of thousands of civilians in capital Kabul and other part of Afghanistan. His gorilla regime ended with the Taliban's rise to power in the 1996. Rabbani subsequently became the political leader of the alliance of Afghan factions, with the help of the foreign countries and United States, overthrew the largely Pashtun Taliban in 2001. After the fall of Taliban regime, the ke

Barack Obama names Tom Donilon national security adviser

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/08/barack-obama-tom-donilon Tom Donilon – a sceptic on Afghanistan troop increase – gets top job following resignation of General James Jones Ewen MacAskill in Washington  US commanders will come under greater pressure to begin withdrawing significant numbers of troops from  Afghanistan  next July after the appointment today of a new White House national security adviser, Tom Donilon. He takes over from General James Jones, whose resignation after less than two years was announced today by Obama. Donilon is expected to be much more forceful than Jones as Obama's main adviser on foreign affairs and defence. Donilon, with no military background, is much more political than Jones and sided with the vice-president, Joe Biden, in pushing for as early an exit from Afghanistan as possible and was reluctant to accede to the generals' insistence on sending an extra 30,000 troops this year. His stance will put him at odds with the US commander in

Afghanistan will faces wheat crisis upcoming winter

By Hanan Habibzai Afghanistan is among the most vulnerable countries in the world for food supply, according to the Food Security Risk Index 2010, compiled with the UN's World Food Programme.The country, one of the world's poorest, faces a shortfall of 700,000 tonnes of wheat. Afghanistan's agriculture system has been destroyed during the war and destruction and most of the farmers don't have access to the farming stuff and enough water. Recently Karzai government said Afghanistan has enough wheat and there would be 15% tax on importing more wheat from foriegn countries specially Russia. now Russia faces drought as well as Pakistan flood disaster will take Afghanistan to a famine. How will Karzai government deal with 20 Million people face poverty in Afghanistan. Upcoming winter would be full of crisis? It is a big concern

Key Afghan governor has been killed

By Hanan Habibzai  Kundoz governor Mohammad Omar was among 15 others killed when early Friday a heavy bomb targeted him at a mosque in Afghanistan's northern province of Takhar. More then 20 other were wounded. The province of Kunduz ,a part of northern Afghanistan, was most troubled by Taliban insurgents but  governor had some serious tension with key high ranking officials in Kabul,sources said.  Newly appointed security chief for northern provinces General Daud Daud criticized governor Omar time to time and they had some disagreement in order to handle the situation.  He repeatedly said that insurgency is widely increasing across Kundoz province and called for security attentions.  Local population accusing him carrying out military operations that targeted local civilians.  ''Governor Omar requested air strickes on fuel tankers seized by a small group of suspected Taliban militants on September 2009 which killed 163 ordinary Afghans ,most of them were childre

Afghanistan: Land of Injustice and Warlords

Justice means peace,peace means freedom,war means violence and violence is crime. Peace can be restored only by the prosecution of war criminals in Afghanistan. By Hanan Habibzai   Nearly two weeks ago, some eight Aid Workers were put to death; this has further made the life insecure in Afghanistan where peace and development are most desired. Such wanton killings only further destabilise the country and the region. Today Afghanistan is home to the US and NATO forces who landed here for some hidden agendas but the declared objectives were to bring peace and development to Afghanistan, that’s not only a distant dream but its totally ignored. These foreign forces have patronised their warlords who are working through them to firm their grip over the country but they are getting a strong resistance from the people all over the country.  Northern Allience’s Qasim Fahim and  Karim Khalili  the first and second deputies of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his chief of army sta