Afghanistan

Karzai Stresses Pakistan's Role In Afghan Reconciliation

Thursday, 11 March 2010 11:07 Written by rferl

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (right) meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Islamabad.

Visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Islamabad has an "important" role to play in Kabul's proposed reconciliation talks with Afghan insurgent groups.

In a joint press conference today with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Karzai tried to shun speculation that Kabul is attempting to sideline Pakistan while reaching out to Afghan Taliban leaders.

Without Pakistani cooperation, he said, "Afghanistan cannot be stable or peaceful."

"There is a recognition now -- I am certain, in both nations -- of the opportunities together and on the dangers that we have faced together," Karzai said. "And that it is upon both of us a responsibility towards our own nations and towards the future generations that we notice the dangers and that we work together to remove them, to take them away from amongst us, and to work together toward stability and peace in both countries."

During his visit, Karzai made visible efforts to convince Islamabad that Kabul would not allow India to use its soil against Pakistan. The effort is an attempt to challenge Pakistani strategic thinking, which experts say emphasizes supporting Afghan extremist groups to counter the influence of its South Asian archenemy in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, Karzai told journalists, did not want to become a battleground for power struggles between major regional or world powers.

"Afghanistan does not want any proxy wars on its territory. It does not want a proxy war between India and Pakistan on Afghanistan. It does not want a proxy war between Iran and the United States on Afghanistan," he said. "It does not want any big or small country, nearby or far, to engage in any activity against another nation in Afghanistan."

'Double Game'

Karzai's comment also comes after Iran and the United States this week traded accusations of double dealing over the conflict in Afghanistan.

{There needs to be much greater effort to reach out, not just to disaffected Afghans, but to the country's neighbors and near neighbors.}

On March 10, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad used a trip to Kabul to lambast Afghanistan's Western allies, including an accusation that it was Washington -- not Tehran -- who was playing a "double game" in Afghanistan.
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Iran attacks US Afghan role

Wednesday, 10 March 2010 10:15 Written by source agency

Ahmadinejad's comments came in front of Karzai who met with the US' Gates two days earlier

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, has accused the US of playing a "double game" in Afghanistan, following talks in the country with his counterpart Hamid Karzai.

The accusation, made in the capital Kabul on Wednesday, was the same as that made against Iran by Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, on a trip to Afghanistan this week.

Asked at a news conference with Karzai about Gates' comments, Ahmadinejad responded: "The question is what are you [Gates and troops] doing here in this region?

"You are 12,000km away on the other side the of the world. What are you doing here? This is a serious question.

"They are not successful in their fight against terrorists, because they are playing a double game. They themselves created this excuse of terrorism themselves, and now they say that they want to stop them. It is not possible.

"The fight against terrorism is not a military one it requires the work of intelligence, through respecting nations and to separate people from terrorists."

'Double dealing'

While on a three-day visit to assess a US and Nato troop increase in the country, Gates had said that Tehran is "double dealing" in Afghanistan by stating that they are a good neighbour to Kabul while providing "low level support" to the Taliban.

Gates was on the last day of his visit in Afghanistan when Ahmadinejad arrived on Wednesday.

Ahmadinejad and Karzai had met to talk about "bilateral relations between the two countries and expansion of economic relations between the two countries", Siamak Hirawi, Karzai's spokesman, said.

Common concerns
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Karzai In Unannounced Visit To Afghan Battle Zone

Sunday, 07 March 2010 11:01 Written by rferl

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Afghan President Hamid Karzai today made an unannounced visit to Marjah, the former Taliban stronghold in the country's south that has been the target of a massive allied offensive in recent weeks.

Accompanied by the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, Karzai addressed a meeting of Marjah elders.

He promised to provide security for the newly recaptured area, to open schools, and to build roads and clinics. He also listened to the elders' complaints.

Thousands of U.S.-led allied troops drove the Taliban out of most of Marjah last month, in the biggest offensive of the eight-year conflict.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location today that militants had fired rockets at a delegation that included Karzai.

A NATO official in Kabul said there had been a rocket or mortar strike on Marjah, but that no one was hurt. Add a comment

Chile Begins 3 Days of Mourning for Quake Victims

Sunday, 07 March 2010 11:16 Written by voa

A woman sleeps in front of a makeshift camp set by earthquake survivors in Concepcion, Chile, 05 Mar 2010

Chileans are beginning a three-day period of national mourning for the hundreds of people killed in the country's devastating earthquake.

National flags are flying at half-staff across Chile Sunday in honor of those who died when the 8.8-magnitude quake and tsunami struck the country last week.

Officials are still struggling to establish an accurate death toll. The Chilean government has lowered the official number of people killed by the quake from more than 800 to 452. Authorities say they will add victims to the count only after their remains have been positively identified.

The earthquake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, leaving two million people homeless. Sanitary conditions are a growing concern for people still living on the streets.

Health officials have begun a vaccination program to help prevent the spread of disease, administering tetanus and hepatitis vaccine to those at risk in disaster zones.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited quake survivors on Saturday. At the site of a toppled apartment building, Mr. Ban said, "We are with you...our hearts are with you."

A charity telethon to raise money for relief supplies received pledges of nearly $60 million -- twice the goal of organizers. Some of Latin America's biggest stars performed on the broadcast. Add a comment

Red Cross Condemns Use of Improvised Mines in Southern Afghanistan

Saturday, 06 March 2010 09:58 Written by voa

A US Marine, left, gives medical treatment to an Afghan mine victim in the city of Marjah, Helmand province, 01 Mar 10

The International Committee of the Red Cross has condemned the use of improvised mines and other explosive devices in the Marjah area of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The Red Cross says such bombs are putting civilian lives at risk and preventing a resumption of normal life.

The International Committee of the Red Cross does not explicitly point its fingers at the Taliban. But, it strongly condemns the use of improvised explosive devices, which are the main weapon in the Taliban arsenal. It calls them completely unacceptable.

The U.S.-led assault on Marjah was launched on February 13 to dislodge entrenched Taliban fighters. The active fighting has ended. But Red Cross spokesman Simon Schorno says the large number of land mines and other improvised explosive devices left behind continue to pose a deadly threat to civilians.

"In Marjah, the population is really unable to move about and get access to basic services, including health. We had a first aid post during the offensive where operations had to be suspended," he said. "This first aid post is operational again, but people really cannot access the few medical facilities in the area. So, mines and unexploded ordnances and improvised devices are a major threat to the population."

The United Nations says nearly 28,000 people left the Marjah and Nad Ali areas before the U.S. Marine-led assault against the Taliban began. As of now, the United Nations says only 4,500 people have returned to their homes.

The Red Cross says sooner or later, residents and displaced people will have no choice but to move about, if only to find food and water.

When this happens, Schorno says, casualties will be unavoidable. He notes improvised mines and unexploded homemade bombs do not differentiate between a military vehicle and a boy on a bicycle.

"The use of improvised mines and makeshift unexploded bombs is, of course, runs counter to international humanitarian law," said the spokesman. "The use of those weapons is banned under the mine-ban convention and their use is unacceptable. Furthermore, the ICRC calls on the parties to take the utmost precautions and all efforts to clear the affected areas as soon as possible, so the population can return to a semi normal life."

Decades of conflict have left Afghanistan with a lethal legacy of millions of anti-personnel landmines.

The Red Cross notes international humanitarian law requires that parties to an armed conflict take all possible measures to protect the civilian population from the dangers posed by mines and explosive remnants of war in areas they control after active fighting.

A United Nations report earlier this year found the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties in the Afghan war are caused by Taliban attacks, mostly using improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. Add a comment