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Putin Envoy: There Is No Quick Solution in Afghanistan
Russia’s presidential envoy to Afghanistan has said there is no cheap and quick solution in Afghanistan, blaming foreign forces that have been deployed in the country for 15 years. Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Afghanistan and the Foreign Ministry's director of the Second Asian Department, spoke to Anadolu Agency in Moscow about the situation in Afghanistan, developments in the region, and Russian foreign policy. Kabulov said that the situation in Afghanistan has aroused deep concern. "Today in Afghanistan there are not three important elements such as the economy, good governance, and strong armed forces. The absence of these three elements creates anxiety and pessimism. It is very difficult to offer a solution in these conditions. There is no cheap and quick solution in Afghanistan right now.” Kabulov said the situation in Central Asia originating from Afghanistan could pose a threat to Russia's national security, adding that the worsening of the situation in Afghanistan would negatively affect the region. "As countries in the region, we are in favor of Afghanistan's stability, because this is our common area and what happens there directly affects us," Kabulov said. Kabulov stated that Russia supports the Kabul administration, but stressed that it does not mean that they are ignoring administrative failures, adding, "In today's conditions, the future of Afghanistan is quite bleak. But it does not mean it will be bad in the future because everything is bad. We will work to prevent Afghanistan from sliding into chaos. " On Russia's support for Afghanistan, Kabulov also said, "This year we gave 10,000 Kalashnikovs to Afghan police. We have already given similar assistance. Every year we train Afghan police and soldiers. We have humanitarian aid directly and through the UN.” Kabulov said Russian businessmen had not invested in Afghanistan due to various reasons, and are not considering investing large sums there. ‘The Taliban is a real...
Ghani Wants Taliban Chief to be Included In UN Security Council Sanctions List
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani wants the United Nations Security Council to include the supreme leader of the Taliban group Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada to be included in the sanctions list. During a meeting with the UNSC delegation in Kabul, President Ghani urged the delegation to include the names of the terrorists together with Taliban chief in the sanctions list. President Ghani also insisted on international talks to help curb the financial resources of the militants which he believes are mainly guaranteed through criminal economic issues, specifically with the smuggling of drugs. He said the second major contributor to the militants’ financial resources is the illegal extraction of mines in the country and the government of national unity has terminated several contracts in the past two years in a bid to create capacity for the better management of mining. In regards to the ongoing insurgency in the country, President Ghani said the violence in Afghanistan has regional roots and more than 30 insurgent groups are contributing to the complex Afghan war. President Ghani also discussed regarding the provision of sanctuaries to the terrorists by certain countries, emphasizing for the declaration of clear stance against those supporting the terrorist groups as well as jointly working on various issues including the transactions of black money which reach to the terrorist groups. The UNSC sanctions committee delegation in their turn promised full support to help dry the financial resources of the terrorist groups as well as other criminal activities that fuel insurgency, including opium cultivation and smuggling and money laundering. This article originally appeared on www.khaama.com, 14 November, 2016. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.
900,000 Afghan Refugees Return from Pakistan And Iran
About 900,000 Afghan refugees have returned this year from Pakistan and Iran surpassing all previous years, said Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR) on Tuesday. More than 600,000 refugees have returned from Pakistanwhereas 300,000 from Iran, according to the MoRR. "Government has announced the allocation of $100 million USD for the returnees, some financial cooperation has been considered for each returnee," the Tolo News quoted media advisor to MoRR, Hafiz Ahmad Miakhail as saying. Meanwhile, the World Food Program (WFP) has said that among those return-refugees there are about 23,000 children of which many are suffering from malnutrition. Spokesman to WFP, Wahidullah Miakhail said, "There are about 23,000 children among the families repatriated and these children either suffer from malnutrition or are threatened with malnutrition and we are trying to help these children." An Afghan returnee Rozi Khan said, "Government has failed to deliver on its promises regarding the refugees; the refugees are living in very bad conditions." "We left Pakistan five days ago, now there is no shelter for us to live in and no food to eat, we have a lot of problems," said another refugee Mohammad Jan. This article originally appeared on www.business-standard.com , 15 November, 2016. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.
All Roads Lead to Gwadar
On 10th April 2016, talking to the Washington Post, Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company said that his company could spend a total of $4.5 billion on roads, power, hotels and other infrastructure for the industrial zone, which he said would be open to non-Chinese companies. The company also plans to build an international airport and power plant for Gwadar. This would be the first time where a country deliberately and unequivocally has given a direct incentive for growth to the manufacturing and production sectors in another country. This is just one of the features that are coming to light with the development of Gwadar. Economists and analysts around the world are of the view, that if Gwadar develops as per plans between the Chinese and Pakistan government, it will be one of the most booming port cities in Asia. It is the apex point of the $50 Billion plus investment by China in Pakistan under the umbrella of CPEC, One Belt One Road Initiative and Maritime Silk Projects. It seems that the strategic position of Pakistan which has been a curse from a historical perspective is finally transforming into a promising treasure holding immense rewards for the nation. The Gwadar port is among the initial construction works to be completed. The port is being built in two phases after being inaugurated in 2007. Now, that the Gwadar port management and completion on time has been sublet to the Government of China. Gwadar port is all set to have more trade volume capacity than Karachi and Port Qasim combined. Gwadar is without a doubt a unique entity in its own. It is a city in the southwestern coast of Balochistan, just 600 Kms away from Karachi. Included in the overseas possessions of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman since 1783, it was purchased the Government of Pakistan in 1958. This was, not a coincidence of any sort but rather a deliberated strategy that came after the authentic “Deep Water Report” issued by the United States...
Afghans Return Deadline May Be Extended
The deadline for the repatriation of Afghan nationals will probably be extended till 2018, as political parties on both sides of the ideological spectrum have increased pressure on the government in this regard. The decision was taken on Monday at an in-camera conference of parliamentary parties, chaired by Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch. The participants in the meeting, however, decided that a new date for the deadline would not be announced to the public. Speaking to reporters after the conference, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said they had arrived at the decision to repatriate 1.5 million Afghan nationals by the end of 2017. Other participants at the conference, however, explained that the date could be extended up till 2018. Mr Qureshi said it was strange that even political parties in the government were not on the same page regarding repatriation. “We noted that there was no national law regarding refugees in the country...we must do something about this,” he said. Yet even senior members of the PTI appeared to have differing opinions on the subject, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak opposing the extension of the deadline. “There has to be a deadline — the issue of repatriation cannot be left open-ended,” he told the media. One of the participants at the conference told Dawn that Mr Khattak had vehemently opposed an extension of the earlier deadline set for March 31, 2017. “He said that his own shops had been rented out to some Afghan nationals but that did not mean that it added to the province’s economy.” Mr Khattak had gone on to say that his province had suffered because of the presence of many undocumented people and demanded a plan to deal with the situation. The participant, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had decided to ‘unofficially’ extend the deadline to 2018 but would not announce it publicly as it could negatively impact...
7 Soldiers Martyred In India’s Deadliest Provocation
Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed on Monday when Indian troops violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Bhimber Sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the latest and deadliest provocation that Islamabad warned might lead to ‘strategic miscalculation.’ Monday’s incident compelled Pakistani government and strategists to analyse the current situation with an aim to find out what the Narendra Modi administration wanted to achieve by ratcheting up tensions along the LoC. Although the two nuclear-armed rivals have frequently exchanged fire at the LoC and Working Boundary in recent months, this is the first time since 2003 that the Pakistan Army has suffered causalities in such a large number in a single day. That was the reason the reaction from Pakistan’s political and military leadership was swift, condemning the Indian aggression with a vow to hit back befittingly. Those who lost their lives while on duty include Havaldar Zafar Hussain, Havaldar Ibrar Ahmed Awan, Lance Naik Muhammad Shoukat, Lance Naik Muhammad Haleem, Sepoy Pervez, Sepoy Muhammad Ilyas and Sepoy Muhammad Tanveer. Their funeral prayers, held in Jhelum, were attended by army chief General Raheel Sharif and other senior army officials. In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the army chief was briefed on the current situation along the LoC after the funeral. According to the military’s media wing, the army chief said Pakistan would continue to give an effective response to Indian provocation and pledged to leave ‘no stone unturned to defend the motherland’. On the diplomatic front, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry summoned Indian High Commissioner Gutam Bumbanwalay and condemned the “unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Indian occupation forces on the LoC, resulting in the Shahadat of seven Pakistani soldiers in Bhimber area.” According to an official handout, the foreign secretary deplored increasing Indian ceasefire violations at the LoC and Working...
Dream Debut: Gwadar Port Ships Off First CPEC Cargo
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday launched from Gwadar port the first shipment of trade goods to arrive from China via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), officially kicking off trade activity at the harbour and across the multibillion-dollar road network. “Today we have gathered to witness the dream of CPEC turning into a reality, further strengthening bilateral ties between China and Pakistan which have stood the test of time, he said while addressing the launch ceremony of the first mega pilot trade cargo, attended by the three services chiefs, joint chiefs of staff committee chairman, Balochistan chief minister, members of the federal cabinet, Chinese dignitaries, a number of envoys and others. Terming the arrival of the trade convoy from Kashghar to Gwadar a ‘watershed event’, the premier said “CPEC, conceived by the leadership of China and Pakistan, has materialised, bringing a dawn of immense trade and commerce opportunities for the whole region.” Premier Nawaz said Pakistan is a proud partner of China and assured that his government would leave no stone unturned to complete all development projects under the aegis of CPEC on time. He lauded the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “vision of shared regional prosperity which coincides with Pakistan’s vision of development of 2020” and called it “the need of the hour in a conflict-ridden and increasing polarised world.” “CPEC is the fusion of President Xi’s concept of ‘one belt and one road’ project which integrates trade activities of various regional countries through enhanced connectivity, thus transforming Pakistan into a major hub of commerce,” he added. Premier Nawaz said Pakistan enjoys a unique geostrategic location at the crossroads of three major engines of growth – South Asia, China and Central Asia – and by serving as a major trade hub, would change the fate of region’s three billion people. He reiterated that CPEC would open a world of opportunities for China, Pakistan and the region....
Deporting Sharbat Gula
SHARBAT Gula became the world’s most famous refugee after a photograph of her appeared on the cover of a 1985 issue of the National Geographic. She made headlines again recently when she was arrested by the FIA for living in Pakistan illegally on forged papers. She was charged under Section 14 of the Foreigner’s Act and for violating the Pakistan Penal Code, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Nadra Ordinance. She was slapped with a fine of Rs110,000 and was ‘fortunate’ enough to be jailed for only 15 days and not for years, as provided for under the law. What is highly disconcerting, however, is that she was deported as soon as she was released. Sharbat Gula suffers from hepatitis C. She is also a widow and a mother of four children; she deserved to remain in Pakistan on health and humanitarian grounds. Desperation, abject poverty and the lack of better opportunities have driven many Afghan refugees to take residence in Pakistan illegally. In other words, they have no other choice, and it goes against the core norms of international human rights for Pakistan to punish these individuals for violating its immigration laws. Amnesty International also recently voiced this sentiment in a press release that further tarnished Pakistan’s reputation for its recent treatment of refugees. Following the APS attacks, Pakistan has hardened its stance on Afghan refugees. Scores have been subjected to harassment and torture in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. These conventions, which Pakistan has ratified, make no distinctions between the treatment of citizens, refugees or those who are illegally present in a country. Pakistan must have a more long-term and inclusive strategy to deal with Afghan refugees. While it is true that Pakistan is not a party to the...
Turning Afghanistan Into a More Modern State
From 2009 through 2012, Washington Post reporter Joshua Partlow covered the war in Afghanistan and the United States’ frustrated efforts to turn a former terrorist haven into a modern state. In his no-nonsense writing style, Partlow explains in “A Kingdom of Their Own” how Washington ended up supporting the extended family of Hamid Karzai, its choice for president in a country that had never held a Western-style election for its highest office. He also tells why, after 15 years and America’s longest war, a well-functioning, modern and responsible government has remained out of reach in the rugged southwest Asian country. A reader may wonder why this country has spent billions of dollars and several thousand lives to bring a sort-of democracy to Afghanistan. The answer is simple: Afghanistan was where Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida hatched plans to attack the United States on 9/11. The George W. Bush administration wanted to create a stable government and ally there. The U.S-led NATO alliance in Afghanistan has accomplished several things. Primarily, it has kept the Taliban from re-establishing a national government, though the fighting has been hard and the results tenuous. (The Taliban is what originally allowed al-Qaida to use Afghanistan as a base.) Second, with intense U.S. oversight, NATO allowed an elected president, Karzai, to assume power for the first time in Afghanistan’s history. Yet the tribal nature of Afghan life continues to confound national unity. “President Karzai’s dream throughout his presidency was to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict with the Taliban,” Partlow writes. “He mentioned that goal when he was sworn in for his second term, and he pursued the prospect of peace talks until he left the palace. The record of those efforts has not been written; most of it took place in the shadow worlds where spies and militants intersected.” Karzai’s goals were not what Washington wanted. The Bush and Obama administrations sought to turn the...
“People That Hate Us”: What can Afghans expect from President Trump?
If Hillary Clinton had won Tuesday’s race for the White House, the world would now have a good sense of who her top officials would be and what her foreign policy would look like. With a Secretary of State-turned-president, Afghanistan could have expected business to carry on pretty much as normal. With Donald Trump coming into office in January, however, nothing is certain. The US is Afghanistan’s main backer in terms of funding and foreign troops and also has a substantial continuing influence on government policy. Whatever readers may think about the US role in Afghanistan, any major or sudden shift in US policy would be bound to have huge repercussions. So, despite AAN being the Afghanistan, not the America, Analysts Network, senior analysts Thomas Ruttig and Kate Clark have had a first attempt at working out what the Trump presidency might mean for Afghanistan. Foreign policy was not exactly a key issue in the election campaign and Afghanistan – where America is fighting its longest war ever – barely featured at all. It got one (factual, rather than policy) mention in the first Clinton v Trump televised debate (see video in this article) and failed to make it into the second and third debates at all. Associated Press has tried to find a reason why this happened: The next president will face a new set of tough choices on Afghanistan early in his (…) term, including whether to increase or reduce U.S. troop levels and, more broadly, whether to continue what might be called Obama’s minimalist military strategy. The difficulty of these choices may explain, at least in part, why Trump and Clinton have been largely silent on Afghanistan. The most striking mention of Afghanistan probably came when Trump campaign spokeswoman Katrina Pierson appeared on CNN in October 2016 and, speaking about 2007, said: “Remember, we weren’t even in Afghanistan by this time. Barack Obama went into Afghanistan.” Perhaps, she mistook the ‘surge’ for the 2001 invasion. During a campaign...
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I am also a member of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. Recently, we held a meeting with the Director General of Radio Pakistan and we told them to initiate such local programs (like Constituency Hour) in regional languages to educate and inform people. Even Indian Radio can be heard in FATA which is being used for propaganda purposes and must be closed. Therefore, we should launch some standard and quality programs like CRSS that will change the taste of the listeners.