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Afghan Weekly (Dec 10 – Dec 16, 2016)

The Taliban militants group in Afghanistan has offered new demands for ending their insurgency in the country this week, including direct talks with the United States. Their new conditions entail recognition of their political office in Qatar and removal of the group's members from the UN blacklist.[1] In a formal letter sent to the UN Security Council, the Government of Afghanistan urged to remove the sanctions from the leaders of the Hezbi Islami organization[2] while, on December 14, Hekmatyar’s notorious Commander Faryadi Zardad was deported from the UK to Afghanistan. According to the Human Rights Watch, this poses dangers for witnesses who testified against the former warlord in his 2005 conviction for torture and hostage taking.[3] On the other hand, a group of 34 Afghan asylum seekers arrived in Kabul on Thursday after being deported from Germany, the first such batch to be sent back after their applications were rejected. According to Islamuddin Jurat, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Refugees, around 10,000 Afghans have had to return from Europe this year, even as the security situation has been worsening in the country amid an escalating Taliban insurgency.[4] More such updates on security, internal politics, international engagements and socio-economic developments in Afghanistan from the past week follow below. Security Overview A top Al-Qaeda leader who was channeling funds to the militants in Afghanistan was arrested during an operation in eastern Nangarhar province, the MOI revealed last Friday. [5] 14 militants were killed in separate airstrikes conducted in southern and western parts of the country, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said on Saturday.[6] The US Army will deploy an armor brigade and an aviation brigade totaling about 2,300 soldiers to Afghanistan this winter, the service announced.[7] A major operation involving the air and ground forces of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) has been underway in...

The Tangled History of the Afghanistan-India-Pakistan Triangle

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, speaking at the sixth Heart of Asia Conference in Amritsar, India, not only criticized Pakistan but, importantly, also rejected $500 million in aid from Pakistan, recently pledged at the Brussels conference in Europe. Just after his return to the country, Ashraf Ghani went further, saying “We want dignified relations, not charity.” The Afghan president, in a fit of optimism, added, “If we are allowed [to live] peacefully we can find $500 million and if [there is peace] for five years we would be in a situation to give others $500 million.” Ghani’s rejection marked the lowest ebb of bilateral relations between Kabul-Islamabad in the last 15 years and particularly during the rule of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Afghanistan. True, Kabul-Islamabad’s honeymoon ended long ago, and the NUG has snubbed Islamabad already since Pakistan’s failure to bring the Taliban to negotiating table for promised talks in March 2015 and later in March 2016. However, Ghani’s latest remarks are the first time in the last 15 years that Kabul has rejected a nation’s aid. This change in Kabul’s Pakistan policy sparked enormous reactions in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s foreign affairs adviser and top representatives at the Heart of Asia Conference, slammed Ghani’s remarks as “baseless accusations.” He said, “It is simplistic to blame only one country for the recent upsurge in violence. We need to have an objective and holistic view.” When Aziz returned home, he told reporters in Islamabad that “Ashraf Ghani’s statement was meant to please India.” He added, “India’s efforts to divide us [Pakistan and Afghanistan] will not go very far.” Reactions in Kabul, however, were mostly positive. The Pakistani reaction can be clearly understood by a look into Pakistani print and electronic Urdu and English media, where Ghani’s snub was covered widely initially and then vanished from headlines as media turned their attention to news of...

CPEC: An Opportunity for Further Opportunities

Much has been written about how the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project will turn Pakistan’s fortunes around merely by being a transit for raw materials and energy resources to western China. There is the notion that Gwadar will become a ‘new Dubai’, a glimmering El Dorado on the shores of the Arabian Sea and the source of untold riches. Indeed, many pictures of a supposed future Gwadar are actually of Hong Kong, the epitome of modernity with its iconic towering skyscrapers. However, what is required is a ‘new Rotterdam’, a vast container port stretching out endlessly into the desert with the purpose of getting goods in and out of the country. Gwadar should therefore be considered more of a gateway to landlocked Asia due to the CPEC available to also serve the Central Asian states via Afghanistan. These states could be encouraged to use Gwadar by offering an area of the container storage facility for their exclusive use if they in return used Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) vessels for transport. While containerisation is the hallmark of maritime trade today, however, there is still scope for further opportunities for Pakistan (and others) to expedite exports, (especially to the Arabian Peninsula), by establishing a cargo ferry service. Combined road/sea transportation could be considerably cheaper than air freight for some foodstuffs for example that could travel via Gwadar, embarking on a ferry to an peninsula port for onward travel via its road network, while facilitating Middle Eastern trade with Pakistan, China and Central Asia in reverse. There would also be further opportunities for Pakistan to exploit if such a ferry service was established. It would also provide Pakistan with a strategic sealift capability through the use of these vessels as naval auxiliaries to be chartered or requisitioned in times of crisis, such as environmental/humanitarian/disaster relief operations, support of regional UN missions, and military support to...

Gwadar, CPEC and Emerging Global Order

Earlier, last year the security of Gwadar port was entrusted to Pakistan Navy. The task has since been conscientiously executed via an agile and efficient Marine battalion of the navy. Sited roughly 635 km from Karachi and 120 km from the Iranian border by road, Pakistan’s strategic port of Gwadar constitutes what may be called “bedrock” of CPEC. The government to government CPEC agreements have created bright prospects for optimum utilization of Gwadar port. The mammoth project will harness the benefits accruing out of regional trade connectivity of western China, CARs and Afghanistan with this port. To connect port to the highway network, “Gwadar port Eastbay Expressway” project was agreed for funding under CPEC. The project was approved by ECNEC at an estimated cost of Rs 14 billion. The “Expressway” will connect Gwadar port with Makran coastal highway, a distance of 18.9km. A double track rail link along the “Expressway” is also part of the project. In addition, a “Free Zone” spread over an area 9.23 sq km adjacent and north-west of the port is also being established. The likely economic benefits that Gwadar can produce are tremendous. An estimated revenue of US$40 billion and generation of two million jobs could be enormous impetus for Pakistan’s economy as an emerging market. By now however external actors inimical to CPEC have come out openly with their malevolence. India is doing what it may take to ensure that CPEC does not happen. As part of Modi-Doval doctrine, India has violated the ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) 103 times during the past one year and 58 times following the Uri incident. In early November, Indian navy conducted a major exercise in North Arabian Sea along the coast of Gujrat, just next to Karachi. The current situation in North Arabian Sea and South Asia is extraordinary and unsettling. All channels of communications between India and Pakistan including media, track II diplomacy etc are blocked. This upping the...

Sabawoon Showcase: Regional Review of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

December 13, 2016, Peshawar: The Center for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) flagship radio program Sabawoon’s latest episode was under the theme of Da Semi Jaaj (regional review) on Tuesday. This program consolidates the most significant news in the region, and provides crisp analysis. Included in the program were reports that highlighted: the problems faced by the locals in Shabqadar bazaar due to the excessive road traffic and lack of traffic police in the bazaar the issues faced by local government (LG) representatives in Tehsil Lachi of Kohat the problems faced by students in Government High School in Yaka Ghund, Mohmand Agency the opening ceremony of electricity production project by a nonprofit organization in district Swat the strike of doctors in Dera Ismail Khan due to a recent attack of political workers on the Gynecology Department in the district’s Government Hospital About Sabawoon Sabawoon is a flagship radio program by CRSS in the KP/FATA region, designed to highlight local issues, and promote fundamental global values such as women’s rights, rule of law, equal citizenry, democracy, governance and accountability. It airs four times a week, under four themes. On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and issues, coupled with government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Semi Jaj gives a holistic regional overview of the most important stories across the length and breadth of KP/FATA. On Wednesday, Jwandei Jazbay covers issues most important to youth, students and females. Finally, on Thursday, Ranra covers social issues that have a cultural angle and/or impact.

What is Modi up to? 10 pieces of advice

Modi would do well to listen to the spectrum of opinion at home and in the region Indian hardliner party Shiv Sena, according to an editorial in Saamana, wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban Pakistani film and artists. “Can the government declare that those who give work to Pakistanis are the enemies of India,” the editorial read. (In September, the party had given Pakistani artists a 48-hour deadline to leave the country). Home Minister Rajnath Singh threatens that “Pakistan has been divided into two countries (in 1971). If it does not stop cross-border terrorism, it will soon be in 10 pieces.” His premier, Modi, plus National Security Advisor Ajit Doval are threatening to wage a water war on Pakistan and to turn Balochistan into Kashmir (by offering support and asylum to dissidents such as Brahamdagh Bugti). And a good number of Indian intellectuals and former civil-military officials concur; one can glean from bilateral interactions that they endorse Modi’s rhetoric on water and Balochistan as “expanded strategic options” that he is exercising to rein in and teach a “reticent and wayward” Pakistan a lesson. This cacophony of statements against Pakistan smacks of a strong sense of self-righteousness that borders arrogance. It invariably reminds me of a conversation I had with the former Israeli prime minister Shimon Perez a decade ago at his office back in April 2006: You will see the benefits if Pakistan enters into even a working relationship with us. He asked, probably rightly, what was the point in acrimony if Pakistan had no direct dispute with Israel. He pointed to Israel’s business relations with the UAE and Turkey. He also pointed to the utility of Pakistan-Israel relations for their impact on Pakistan-US relations. There are enormous benefits out there, Perez had told us during his meeting with a German media delegation. Many Indians frame their responses in more or less similar way by pointing to the “dividends of peace” that “Bangladesh Nepal...

EU Ambassador To Afghanistan 'Eager To Work' With Trump

Franz-Michael Mellbin: Afghanistan is facing a war. There is a determined enemy, which is challenging the state and which has a military ambition. It has not been able to fulfill this ambition by taking over parts of Afghanistan. But many observers would use the terms "war-like conditions" or "armed conflict" for what is happening in Afghanistan. The enemy decides what is going on there. The enemy's ambition is to gain permanent territorial control. Last month, Taliban militants attacked the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif. As a consequence, the diplomats have permanently shifted to NATO's Resolute Support mission's Camp Pamir. What signal does that send to the Afghan public? I think it sends a very positive signal that Germany has decided to keep the consulate running in Mazar. It would have been preferable to move back in the same premises, but the attack has made that impossible. It is clearly not possible to continue working there because of the damage to the building. It is less than an ideal situation though. After so much effort and billions of euros spent, how could this mission go so wrong? I would not say it went wrong. I think it has been a very important international effort in Afghanistan. We could have achieved more with the enormous resources that we had. Certainly, the results do not measure up to the resources that we put into Afghanistan. For a long time, the emphasis from the international side was on who was winning the war. But at the recent Brussels conference, we made a shift; now we are trying to "win" peace. The new strategy will allow Afghanistan to move decisively towards peace. We are now trying to align our security, economic, developmental and regional efforts towards the goal of peace. Do you think Afghanistan is safe enough for Afghan refugees and migrants to return to from Europe? The security situation varies from place to place in Afghanistan. You cannot go everywhere, but you can certainly go to a lot of places, especially...

EU Ambassador To Afghanistan ‘Eager To Work’ With Trump

Franz-Michael Mellbin: Afghanistan is facing a war. There is a determined enemy, which is challenging the state and which has a military ambition. It has not been able to fulfill this ambition by taking over parts of Afghanistan. But many observers would use the terms "war-like conditions" or "armed conflict" for what is happening in Afghanistan. The enemy decides what is going on there. The enemy's ambition is to gain permanent territorial control. Last month, Taliban militants attacked the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif. As a consequence, the diplomats have permanently shifted to NATO's Resolute Support mission's Camp Pamir. What signal does that send to the Afghan public? I think it sends a very positive signal that Germany has decided to keep the consulate running in Mazar. It would have been preferable to move back in the same premises, but the attack has made that impossible. It is clearly not possible to continue working there because of the damage to the building. It is less than an ideal situation though. After so much effort and billions of euros spent, how could this mission go so wrong? I would not say it went wrong. I think it has been a very important international effort in Afghanistan. We could have achieved more with the enormous resources that we had. Certainly, the results do not measure up to the resources that we put into Afghanistan. For a long time, the emphasis from the international side was on who was winning the war. But at the recent Brussels conference, we made a shift; now we are trying to "win" peace. The new strategy will allow Afghanistan to move decisively towards peace. We are now trying to align our security, economic, developmental and regional efforts towards the goal of peace. Do you think Afghanistan is safe enough for Afghan refugees and migrants to return to from Europe? The security situation varies from place to place in Afghanistan. You cannot go everywhere, but you can certainly go to a lot of places, especially...

Strengthening Key Public Service Institutions Critical for Good Governance, KP Police Reforms are Part of the Same Vision: KP Minister For LG&RD

Owing to the challenges of War-on-Terror (WoT) and realizing the Counter-terrorism roles of Police, reforming police in KP was crucial. Strengthening key public service institutions is critical for good governance and KP police reforms have been brought as part of the same vision. The idea was to reform KP police into an operationally autonomous organization which, at the same time, is democratically controlled. One of the top considerations for police reforms was easy access to justice for average citizen. The sacrifices made by the KP police – going above and beyond the call of their duty – are commendable and should be acknowledged by the public. We are proud of the police and appreciate how it is performing better than other provinces. These were the remarks made by Mr. Inayatullah Khan, Senior Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during a public forum on police reforms at press club, Peshawar. Mr. Faisal Shehzad, SSP Investigation, Peshawar and former KP Information Minister Mr. Shaukat Yousafzai also spoke on the occasion. The event was participated well by the members of community with diverse backgrounds including lawyers, local government representatives, media, academia and youth representatives. The forum was part of the project “Ulasi Police” an awareness and advocacy campaign undertaken by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) – as part of USAID Small Grants and Ambassadors’ Fund Program – to strengthen the rule of law in KP province by promoting and disseminating the significant police reforms aimed at incorporating local communities’ policing needs and international human rights standards. The endeavor aims to tackle the trust deficit between the public and police, help KP police become an accountable and community-focused police force. Mr. Shaukat Yousafzai said that the police today in KP has been completely de-politicized and professionalized to meet the formidable contemporary challenges facing...

Strengthening Key Public Service Institutions Critical for Good Governance, KP Police Reforms are Part of the Same Vision: KP Minister For LG&RD

Owing to the challenges of War-on-Terror (WoT) and realizing the Counter-terrorism roles of Police, reforming police in KP was crucial. Strengthening key public service institutions is critical for good governance and KP police reforms have been brought as part of the same vision. The idea was to reform KP police into an operationally autonomous organization which, at the same time, is democratically controlled. One of the top considerations for police reforms was easy access to justice for average citizen. The sacrifices made by the KP police – going above and beyond the call of their duty – are commendable and should be acknowledged by the public. We are proud of the police and appreciate how it is performing better than other provinces. These were the remarks made by Mr. Inayatullah Khan, Senior Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during a public forum on police reforms at press club, Peshawar. Mr. Faisal Shehzad, SSP Investigation, Peshawar and former KP Information Minister Mr. Shaukat Yousafzai also spoke on the occasion. The event was participated well by the members of community with diverse backgrounds including lawyers, local government representatives, media, academia and youth representatives. The forum was part of the project “Ulasi Police” an awareness and advocacy campaign undertaken by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) – as part of USAID Small Grants and Ambassadors’ Fund Program – to strengthen the rule of law in KP province by promoting and disseminating the significant police reforms aimed at incorporating local communities’ policing needs and international human rights standards. The endeavor aims to tackle the trust deficit between the public and police, help KP police become an accountable and community-focused police force. Mr. Shaukat Yousafzai said that the police today in KP has been completely de-politicized and professionalized to meet the formidable contemporary challenges facing...