Current Projects
Officials: Taliban Brief Pakistan About Talks With Kabul
Three senior Taliban members traveled to Pakistan this week and held a series of meetings with Pakistani officials in Islamabad, mainly to brief them about the recent talks held in Qatar between the Taliban and Kabul, a senior Taliban official, an Afghan diplomat and a Pakistani official said Saturday. The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, said he was aware of the meetings but refused to offer details. "We know about these recent meetings but we don't know what was discussed between the Taliban and Pakistani officials," he said. According to a senior Taliban official, the Taliban who were sent to Pakistan were Mullah Salam Hanifi and Mullah Jan Mohammed, both former ministers in the Taliban government, and Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. A senior Pakistani security official confirmed the latest meetings between the Taliban and Pakistani authorities, saying Islamabad is playing its role to ensure peace in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly said it will support any effort aimed at bring peace in Afghanistan. "We will keep making efforts to facilitate talks between Kabul and the Taliban, as we did in July 2015, but the world knows who scuttled the peace process at the time and we do not want to discuss those bitter things," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media on the record on the issue. Pakistan arranged the first ever face-to-face talks between Kabul and the Taliban in 2015, but the peace process broke down after the Afghan government announced the death years earlier of the Taliban's one-eyed founder and leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. In the time since, a leadership struggle within the Taliban's ranks broke into the open and Omar's successor was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan. The latest development came after Taliban and Afghan government officials held new secret talks in Qatar aimed at restarting peace negotiations...
Afghanistan’s Opium Cultivation Jumps 10 Percent In 2016
Afghanistan's cultivation of opium poppy has risen by 10 percent in 2016, according to a new report released by the United Nations. According to the key findings of its annual Afghanistan opium survey, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the total area of land devoted to poppy cultivation had risen 10 percent in 2016 to 201,000 hectares. The jump in cultivation is due to the favorable weather, the government’s loosening grip on security, and a drop in international support for counternarcotics operation, the UN report said. "The survey shows a worrying reversal in efforts to combat the persistent problem of illicit drugs and their impact on development, health and security," UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov said in a statement. "Eradication has dropped precipitously to 355 hectares -- a fall of some 91 percent," Fedotov said. The report also said cultivation was also spreading to new areas, as the number of poppy-free provinces fell to 13 from 14 out of a total of 34. "It is very disturbing to see a considerable increase in poppy cultivation in the north, which may be linked with a deteriorating security situation in the region," said Andrey Avetisyan, head of UNODC in Afghanistan. The UN also said there has been a 30 percent increase in the estimated yield from poppy cultivation. Poppy farmers in Afghanistan are often taxed by the Taliban, which uses the money to fund their insurgency against the government and NATO forces. General Mohammad Ahmadi, deputy interior minister for the counternarcotics police, said his forces had conducted 1,263 operations this year, in which they arrested 1,408 opium traffickers including government employees and foreigners, confiscated just over 238 tons of opium, and destroyed at least 35 labs across the country. Billions of dollars have been spent on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan in the past decade, including programs encouraging farmers to switch to other cash crops like wheat, fruit, and saffron. But...
Afghanistan Agony for Returning Refugees
At Kabul airport on Tuesday, I met a group of Afghans – three women and 10 men – who had just arrived from Turkey. It was not a joyous homecoming. They had joined the waves of several hundred thousand Afghans whose bid for safer lives abroad in the face of worsening insecurity at home ended in limbo in Turkey, blocked from claiming refugee status or continuing onward to Europe. They told me that to encourage them to return, Turkish government representatives had given each of them US$25 and promised they would receive more financial aid upon arrival in Kabul. When I met them, a representative of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had just dashed those hopes by informing them that no such payment would be forthcoming from any government or aid group. When I left them, the group was still struggling to accept the false promises that led them back into the chaos of Afghanistan. Their plight is far too common. Since July 2016, police and provincial authorities in Pakistan have intensified pressure on Afghans living in the country in what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency, has called “a concerted push” to repatriate large numbers of Afghan refugees before the end of the year. Between July 1 and October 15, 370,000 Afghans returned, nearly 220,000 of them registered refugees, with a record 52,000 coming last week alone. Many returned after spending decades abroad, some even having been born in Pakistan, after their families fled Afghanistan as refugees in the 1980s and 1990s. This is not because the situation in Afghanistan has improved – quite the contrary. In Pakistan, the UNHCR office attributes this surge to deteriorating conditions and “decreased acceptance” for Afghans in several areas of Pakistan, in particular Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. This week, Pakistani authorities launched an operation to seize “shops, property, cars and other belongings” of unregistered Afghans. Returnees have told...
The Bride Price: The Afghan Tradition of Paying For Wives
Weddings are hugely expensive affairs in Afghanistan, with excessive costs for wedding halls, lavish meals and usually a bride price. The bride price is the money paid by the groom’s family for the bride to her family. It is a contested tradition that is viewed as having no foundation in Islamic law and does not appear in the new draft marriage law. It is also not to be confused with the dowry (mahr) which should be given to the bride in case her husband dies or divorces her. High bride prices can lead to debt for grooms and their families and early marriage to unsuitable men for the daughters of poor men; fathers of many daughters, however, may benefit from the practice. AAN’s Fazal Muzhary investigates the tradition and finds that current, local attempts to curb high bride prices are proving more successful than previous attempts by the state. Wedding Negotiations and Bride Price Almost all weddings in Afghanistan start with matchmaking. The groom’s family initiates a marriage proposal and it is up to the bride’s family to agree or not. When the families have agreed to the marriage the real negotiations around the wedding and the bride price start and usually take place at the house of the bride-to-be. The negotiations about the actual wedding and its costs, including food and catering, clothes for the bride’s relatives and payment for the imam, who drafts the marriage contract and performs the ceremony, can be quite quick. However, the negotiations about the bride price can be lengthy. The couple are nowadays often consulted about the marriage proposal, but they have a very limited role in the wedding and bride price negotiations and have to accept what their families decide (for detailed information on marriage practices in Afghanistan The father of the bride, or in his absence her oldest brother, specifies how much he would like to receive from the groom’s family for his daughter. The amount is often based on family credentials, education, skills, age,...
UN wWarns of Displacement Crisis in Afghanistan
More than 323,000 Afghans were internally displaced across the country in the first 10 months of this year, according to UN agencies, in a continuation of an upward trend over the last four years. The UN on Thursday warned anew of a deteriorating crisis of displacement in Afghanistan as the conflict escalates, imploring the government and international donors to step up support especially for a “lost generation” of children. “Warnings by humanitarian partners suggest that many more IDPs could be displaced by the end of the year, yet attention and resources allocated to their needs seem to be waning rather than increasing,” UN special rapporteur Chaloka Beyani said in Kabul. “The displacement picture in Afghanistan is changing as the conflict evolves and intensifies. “Displacement is becoming more protracted for more people as the security situation has led many to make the difficult decision not to return to their homes.” Beyani called on the Afghan government and its international partners to step up emergency responses for those in “protracted displacement”. Tens of thousands of Afghans have been uprooted from their homes as the Taliban have stepped up their insurgency across the nation — from Kunduz in the north to Helmand in the south. Children, in particular, have paid a heavy price. “It is no exaggeration to speak of a lost generation of displaced Afghan children deprived of education since children constitute about 56 per cent of the displaced population,” Beyani said. Aid groups have warned that yet more displacement is likely to take place as the conflict intensifies before the onset of winter, when fighting usually tapers off. Afghanistan has been beset by conflict and the crisis of displacement for decades. In September, the UN issued a flash appeal for USD 150 million to meet urgent needs, including winter assistance packages, by the end of the year. “I urge the donor community to respond generously and rapidly to that call,” Beyani said. This article...
China-Russia-Pakistan Axis Looks Real: What Course will Delhi Chart Vis-a-Vis Islamabad?
Before it becomes a 'universal truth', driven by the echo-chamber effects of mass media, it is time to challenge a notion that is of late gaining huge traction in India - that post Uri, Pakistan now lies boxed in a sulky diplomatic corner. Subscribers of this view point to recent Indian success in leading five Saarc nations into boycotting the host Islamabad. The Narendra Modi government's efforts to boost Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative For Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) ties - a regional realignment excluding Pakistan and comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal - and the decision to invite the leaders during the recent Goa Brics Summit have been lauded as a diplomatic masterstroke that further reinforced Pakistan's isolation. Though Brics and Bimstec declarations refrained from taking Pakistan's name, Indian foreign policy experts have pointed to the meaty stress on terrorism, from what are essentially geo-economic alliances and have interpreted these as more proofs of Pakistan's growing ostracisation. If anything, China has masterfully sought to fuel this impression. In its state-run mouthpiece Global Times, it accused India of using Brics-Bimstec Summit to "outmaneuver and force Pakistan into becoming a regional pariah", conveniently forgetting its own role in influencing Russia against checkmating India's almost every move of cornering Islamabad. As usual, the truth is layered and infinitely more complex. Behind India's ceremonial triumphalism and China's smoke-and-mirror game lies the fact that Pakistan is no more isolated on international stage now than it already was before Uri. If anything, the shifting sands of global power and realigning of regional forces indicate that Islamabad now sits more smug than ever due to its close relationship with the world's newest superpower - China. It was seen as little more than a frustrated bluff from Pakistan when one of Nawaz Sharif's 22 envoys recently...
India Left with Limited Options
India’s policy of isolating Pakistan got a serious setback after the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit in Gao as before and after the meeting China clearly defended the later and refuse to buy Modi’s remarks of ‘mother-ship of terrorism’ against Islamabad. When asked about Indian PM Narrendra Modi’s comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged the international community to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation. However she said, “We also oppose the linking of terrorism to any specific country, ethnicity or religion.” This is China’s consistent position,” she told a daily news briefing inBeijing held after the BRICS Summit. Earlier, Modi had indicated that it would go ahead with its policy of isolating Pakistan and he had also invited Bangldesh, India, Myanmar, Srilanka Nepal, Thailand and Bhuttan — all members of The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Techinical and Economic Cooperation — to the BRICS Summit in the mid of October. Three days before the Summit in India’s Gao, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong told reporters in New Delhi that no country should pursue its own political gains in the name of counterterrorism. BRICS was not the first occasion where India policy for isolating Pakistan met failure. India lobbied in different countries especially in the US, which has been demanding of Islamabad for long to take action against Haqqani network and other banned outlets, to sanction Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism. Contrary to the expectation of New Delhi, the US clearly ruled out any sanctions against Pakistan, which according to the US State Department engaged in a serious fight against terrorists. Last month New Delhi tried to disrupt the growing ties between Russian Federation and Pakistan, and urged Moscow to not carry out joint military exercise in Pakistan, but the Indian plea was rejected. Tension between India and Pakistan, the two South Asian rival armed with nuclear arsenal,...
Exclusive: Former Leader’s Bombshell Letter Exposes Internal Taliban Struggles
A key confidant of the Afghan Taliban’s founding leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, now wants the hard-line movement to undergo a complete overhaul of its strategy and tactics to secure a role in the country’s future. Syed Mohammad Tayyab Agha wants the Taliban’s current leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, to dramatically reduce violence, sever covert ties with key foreign backer Pakistan, adopt a new political approach, and redefine the Taliban’s ties with other jihadists. In the comprehensive letter, exclusively obtained by Radio Mashaal, reveals Agha has inadvertently provided great insight into the internal struggles of one of the world’s most secretive militant Islamist organizations. Agha, seen as a key Taliban ideologue, questions the Taliban’s current strategy, which mainly relies on overrunning rural territories and complex urban attacks that often result in a high number of civilian casualties. “How can the Taliban leadership, now camped in Pakistan, demand that people in Afghanistan or elsewhere pledge allegiance to them?” he wrote, confirming that the insurgent movement’s leaders still operate from safe havens in Pakistan. “Can we consider such acts in accordance with Islam?” Agha relinquished his position as head of the Taliban’s political office in Qatar last year and has sharply questioned key Taliban ideological tenets. In the letter, he urges Akhundzada to give up the title of Amir al-Muminin, or Leader Of The Faithful, and to drop the Taliban’s formal name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. “It will be better to employ the term ‘movement’ instead of ‘emirate’,” he wrote, arguing that without either control over most of the country including the Afghan capital, Kabul, or recognition as a legitimate government it is impossible for the Taliban to pose as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. “A reliance on media propaganda and forming [shadow] government institutions, control of rural territories, and most of the movement’s leadership being in a...
Key to Peace Lies in Talks: Sartaj Aziz
The National Advisor on Foreign Affairs (NAFA) Sartaj Aziz on Friday said that Pakistan had no favorites in Afghanistan and will follow the priorities that elected government in Kabul determines for pursuing peace and reconciliation. Welcoming the deal between the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Hezb-e-Islami, Aziz, said this agreement seems to have motivated and encouraged other groups to come to talks. These groups should realize that it is a different Afghanistan that wants peace and where the dominant majority would like to go back to the past. He was speaking with the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) for Beyond Boundaries Phase II, a Track I.5/II dialogue series undertaken by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in partnership with Afghan counterpart Women Peace and Security Organization (WPSO) to foster better understanding and cooperation between civil society members of the two neighbors. He also said that Pakistan’s message to all the combatants is loud and clear; nobody can capture Afghanistan on its own, and the key to peace lies in talks. We desire that both the NUG and the Taliban sort our issues among themselves and we will stand by them for any support we can lend to the process. He also welcomed unanimity of approach on the peace process within Kabul and hoped it would encourage all parties to join the process. He added that Pakistan is doing whatever it can to persuade all Taliban factions to become part of the peace process and indications are that many of them are now interested in joining the process. He promised to the PAJC’s concerns regarding the plight of Afghans in Pakistan. The PAJC also met with retired army general and Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Abdul Qadir Baloch. Baloch said that Pakistan remains committed to safeguarding lives and assets of Afghans living in Pakistan. They are our ambassadors and we cannot afford to send them back with bitter feelings. He added...
CHINA WATCH [OCTOBER 19-21] FROM CPEC TO EAST INDIA COMPANY:
CPEC was in the news for contentious reason. Upper House of Parliament compared it with East India Company. Chinese envoy in Islamabad highlighted the possibility of Iran’s inclusion in CPEC as a positive development. The envoy held a meeting with Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) and was assured that the protest call in Islamabad is not against the CPEC. Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) said it will provide satellite monitoring of CPEC. The civilian security agency, Intelligence Bureau (IB), raised alarm about foreign conspiracies against CPEC. KP once again raised the issue of neglect of development of Western route. And finally, China announced to provide Pakistan with eight stealth submarines. ‘East India Company’: Pakistani lawmakers from the upper house of Parliament have shown renewed concerns about the fallouts of CPEC. Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee, Senator Tahir Mashhadi, made a rather blunt statement saying that “[A]nother East India Company is in the offing; national interests are not being protected. We are proud of the friendship between Pakistan and China but the interests of the state should come first.”[1] It should be remembered that East India Company was precursor to the British colonization of Subcontinent. Upon the information that major chunk of CPEC finances will be borne by local sources, Mashhadi warned that the consequences will be severe as “poor people of Pakistan” will have to pay for these costs at the end of the day.[2] Another Senator was critical of whopping power tariffs demanded by the Chinese investors. Compared to 71 paisa per unit set by NEPRA, the Chinese had demanded 95 paisa per unit.[3] Similarly, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief, Sirajul Haq, lamented that there is “nothing for” FATA and AJK in CPEC.[4] It’s one of the main domestic concerns regarding CPEC that might be raised time and time again in the future. Iran: China’s envoy to Pakistan has said that the prospect of...
TOP STORIES
TESTIMONIALS
“
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.