Hanan Habibzai

The Chief of Defence Staff’s Strategic Communication Officer Major General John Lorimer said: “British Armed Forces have again participated in a co-ordinated strike against Libyan Air Defence systems in support of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. “The UK launched guided Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) from a Trafalgar Class submarine at Air Defence targets as part of the coalition plan to enforce the resolution. “Britain and her International partners remain engaged in Operations to support United Nations Security Resolution 1973, to enforce the established No Fly Zone and to ready the UK’s contribution to the NATO arms embargo of Libya.”

Military Intervention By Charles (Chip) Hauss A generation ago, the terms "military intervention" and "conflict resolution" would almost never have been uttered in the same breath. The field of conflict resolution has its roots in the peace movements that dotted the 20th century, most of whose members found the use of force abhorrent. Militaries have intervened in the domestic affairs of other countries time and time again, but rarely have they done so in an attempt to end a complex emergency or intractable conflict -- until recently. What Is Military Intervention? There are many forms of military intervention. Until the last decade or so, military force was used most often to achieve a state's geopolitical goals of protecting and/or enhancing its territory, population, and other critical resources. It was rare for states or international organizations (IOs) to use force for "humanitarian" purposes in the intractable conflicts that are often

Tribal Musicians caught up as militancy increases in khyber pakhtunkhwa By Hanan Habibzai Veterans Today Afghanistan Bureau Music shops in Peshawar are now struggling to stay open as the Taliban’s influence on daily life continues to spread further into government-controlled areas. One such shop owner, Shaid Gul who used to own a chain of music shops across the tribal areas, has been forced to close all of his outlets. ‘Now, our business has been ruined, Gul says. ‘’Our branches in Tal, Parra Chinar, Hango, Deera Ismail Khan and Kohat regions have been ruined. We also lost our branch in Sawat region. Our business remainss very small about 20 % of our business has survived’’, he said. Even here in Peshawar, the capital city of the tribal areas, things are not safe. In May 2009 the cinema next to Shaid Gul’s shop was virtually destroyed by a car bomb that also killed eight people. The militants are targeting films and music and everything they see as obscene. Many people are

By Hanan Habibzai Veterans Today Afghanistan Bureau In aftermath of Taliban regime in 2001 Afghanistan’s capital ‘Kabul’ gradually becomes a city of foreign intercourse, and also a city of military decisions. The phrases like, the fall of Taliban, new Afghan friends and western allies were the topic of media and statesmen. Apparently, they were speaking the end of war, but behind the doors Kabul was a place for remapping military surges. Taj Malik was struggling to fund a national cricket team for Afghanistan. “We were struggling in the beginning but Olympic Committee denied our application” ‘he says. “The Olympic Committee associates cricket to the Taliban. I told them this is not a Taliban game this is an international game. Yet they replied, “We call it Taliban game because the idea of cricket has come from Pakistan to Afghanistan just like the Taliban did”, Mr Malik added. Taj Malik succeeded to meet president Karzai following his rejection by the Afghan Olympic officials in

By Hanan Habibzai The war in Afghanistan has entered its 10 th  year, a year of both stalemate and suffering.Everyone is thirsty to see peace and stability in his or her environment across Afghanistan but they are not sure.  Even the idea of peace carries great danger. “If the war criminals who tried to destroy innocent families who worked with the Taliban gain power, returning to peace will be impossible,’ said 23 year old Jailani. His father was amongst those Taliban prisoners who were  captured in Kundoz province in  October 2001 never to be seen again. Jailani was 13 when his father Shah Ghasi left him behind along with his mother and elderly grandmother. ‘He was working at the provincial police headquarter when the Taliban decided to surrender Kundoz to  US backed Northern Alliance forces .  American air power had made holding this region untenable for the Taliban. “Later we have been told that my father has taken to Shaberghan but he never returned,” he said.Jailani

This article has been signed by several Afghan anti-war organisations and human rights activists based in Europe,America and Canada. Afghans for Peace,Afghan Youth ,Peace Volunteers,Afghan Canadian Student Association,Afghan Perspectives. Careful examination of numerous reports, and images/video footage, along with eye-witness and victim testimonies, clarify that Afghan civilians are the main targets of deadly attacks by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Although the Coalition forces claim that previous civilian massacres were accidental, Afghan-led peace movements believe that the killings are at best negligent to at worst intentional in nature. Foreign military presence and intervention in the past ten years has worsened the Afghanistan situation while civilian casualties have increasingly created tension between the Coaliton forces, the Afghan government, and the people of Afghanistan. These events have further brought

To mark International Women’s Day today, Reporters Without Borders is releasing a report on the problems of women who work as journalists. It reaffirms several important principles, contains interviews with women journalists throughout the world and describes all the different problems they encounter, ranging from everyday discrimination to the most tragic forms of violence. « The role of women in the media and the protection of women journalists are key issues for reinforcing media freedom and diversity of opinions. In some countries, women are excluded from the media but in others they have made significant progress. A great deal of effort is nonetheless needed to ensure real equality in a profession still largely dominated by men. The place of women in the media is still a reflection of their place in society,”  Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard said. “They often run greater risks than men and have to deal with a great deal of prejudice. Certain

By Hanan Habibzai  Nearly two weeks ago , [on 7 August 2010] 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 staff   Abdul Rashid Dostum  have become the instruments of warlordism and   criminal activities. mass-grave of thousands of Taliban prisoners in

Intelligence says, a Pul-i-Charkhi prisoner was guiding suicide bombers Jafar Haand ,from Kabul ,Feb10, 2011 GMT. 11:29 Translation: By Hanan Habibzai Originiol story in Pashto available here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/pashto/afghanistan/2011/02/110210_hj-nds-terrorists.shtml Afghan National Security Directorate that frequently reports the arresting of some terrorist groups and circles, once again announced the arresting of two terrorist groups on Thursday which according to the directorate had been involved in a number of attacks in Afghanistan. The spokesman of the Intelligence Lutfullah Mashal says, one of arrested groups had also planned the attack on a trade market ‘Finest’ located in the capital Kabul which resulted the killing of some civilians. Mr.Mashal says, this group was directed from Miran Shah to attack the Finest trade centre and says, they targeted Finest because they had been told that French soldiers and their leaders are there. Mr.Mashal says, arrested peo