Casting doubts: Afghan Taliban reject Kabul Ulema moot

The Afghan Taliban have rejected an upcoming conference of religious scholars, proposed during the Afghan peace envoy’s Islamabad visit last month, maintaining it was nothing short of ‘clear American intrigue’.

“While it appears that this gathering has been convened by the Kabul administration, the real players behind it are the Americans,” read a Taliban policy statement on Thursday.
“They want to survey Afghan religious scholars’ opinion regarding the 11-year jihad,” the statement maintained, adding, “This is clear American intrigue… they want to use the Ulema to clear their own ‘black picture’ and at the same time create mistrust among Mujahidin, paving a way for the US to perpetually control Afghanistan.”
The Taliban urged all religious scholars across the world, particularly those from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to boycott what they termed a ‘fraudulent gathering’.
“Participation in this gathering at a time of defeat shows not only your (Ulema’s) support for the US, but also your unfaithfulness towards the Mujahidin, who are your spiritual offspring… You are intellectually and religiously obligated to support your Mujahidin brothers, who follow the footsteps of the companions of the Holy Prophet (pbuh),” the statement said, while addressing the Ulema.

While the Afghan government has started preparations for the conference, the Taliban’s statement raises concerns regarding the attendance of Pakistani religious scholars.
In a veiled reference to the Afghan Taliban, Maulana Samiul Haq, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S), said the ‘main part to the conflict’ should also be invited to the conference.
“There are many Ulema in Afghanistan… If you invite scholars from the whole world but do not accommodate the Afghan Ulema’s opinion, then the conference will not produce any result,” Haq said while talking to The Express Tribune. He stressed, however, that religious scholars can play an important role in resolving the Afghan problem.
According to Afghan sources, a delegation of Afghan religious scholars is scheduled to visit Pakistan for a meeting with their Pakistani counterparts to extend an invitation to the conference and discuss other matters. They added the visit will be announced once Islamabad gives it a green signal.
Meanwhile, the Afghan ambassador in Islamabad, Umar Daudzai, recently met Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) to discuss the conference, a JUI-F leader told The Express Tribune. According to him, Rehman told the envoy that he would discuss the subject with his party. The JUI-F chief is believed to weild considerable influence on the Afghan Taliban.

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Really - what lies

Beheading Afghan girl for refusing prostitution condemned

The Amnesty International strongly condemned the beheading an Afghan girl by her family after she refused prostitution.

“The tragic fate of Mah Gul is one more incident that highlights the violent atmosphere that women and girls face in Afghanistan and the region,” said Suzanne Nossel, Amnesty International USA executive director. “They are raped, killed, forced into marriage in childhood, prevented from obtaining an education and denied their sexual and reproductive rights. Until basic human rights are guaranteed to women and girls in the region, these horrible abuses will continue to be committed.”

Nossel called on the Afghan government to enforce a 2009 law on eliminating violence against women, which the rights organization said is still only sporadically enforced.

Mah Gul, 20, was beheaded after her mother-in-law attempted to make her sleep with a man in her house in Herat province last week, provincial police chief Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada told AFP.

The young woman’s mother-in-law, father-in-law, husband, and alleged killer have all been arrested in connection with the killing.

According to local police chief Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, the young woman’s mother-in-law tried to make her engage in prostitution multiple times before allegedly luring a man in to kill her. The story comes amid international outcry over the Taliban shooting of Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai.

Gul was married to her husband four months ago and her mother-in-law had tried to force her into prostitution several times in the past, Sayedzada said.

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Over 500 Afghan security forces killed or injured per month

       NATO-led International Security Assistnace Force following a statement disclosed the latest statistics and casualties of the Afghan National Security Forces.

According to ISAF Afghan National Security Forces are around 337,187 of 352,000 (96%) in uniform and are three-quarters of the uniformed defenders of Afghanistan.

As per ISAF Afghan Surge (Dec 09 to Oct 12): 195,508 to 337,187 (+140,679); more than four times the U.S. surge of 30,000 troops in the same period.

Afghanistan has recruited all 187,000 Soldiers and all 157,000 Police—new recruits are awaiting call-up to training centers, ISAF said.

-Afghan National Army: 184,676 of 187,000 (99%); 100% inducted by December 2012; trained, equipped, and fielded by December 2013.
• In 2012, the Army averaged 243 killed and wounded per month.
• The Army has met all recruitment goals.
• For Soldiers, 62% re-enlist, above the goal of 60%.
• Attrition stands at 27% this year, as compared to 31% last year. The goal is to keep attrition below 16.8% annually.

-Afghan National Police: 146,339 of 157,000 (93%); 100% inducted by February 2013; trained, equipped, and fielded by December 2013.

• In 2012, the Police averaged 292 killed and wounded per month.
• The Police have met all recruitment goals.
• For Police, 63% re-enlist, above the goal of 60%.
• Police attrition stands at 15% this year, as compared to 18% last year. The goal is to keep attrition below 16.8% annually.

-Afghan Air Force: 6,172 of 8,000 (77%); inducted by December 2014; ready by Dec 2017.

• In 2012, the Air Force averaged 2 killed and wounded per month.
• The Air Force has met all recruitment goals.
• For Airmen, 81% re-enlist, above the goal of 60%.
• Air Force attrition stands at 14% this year, as compared to 18% last year. The goal is to keep attrition below 16.8% annually.

Here are some key considerations regarding today’s Afghan National Security Forces as per the International Security Assistance Force

1. The surge of troops from U.S. and coalition nations enabled the Afghan surge.

2. The Afghan National Army is the most respected national institution in the country. The Afghan National Police also rank highly.

3. Today, Afghan instructors train most Afghan Soldiers and Patrolmen. Afghans teach 85% of the classes.

a. Army: 2709 of 2709 instructors (100%) are on duty.
b. Police: 1111 of 1497 instructors (74%) are on duty.

4. Literacy training is required for all illiterate Afghan recruits; up to 85% arrive unable to read and write. After four weeks, up to 90% of these former illiterates graduate reading at the first-third grade levels. This “Afghan G.I. Bill” is a huge incentive for recruiting and reenlistment.

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Afghan president Karzai blasts anti-Islam film

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the production of an anti-Islam film and publication of cartoons perceived as insulting to Muslims cannot be justified as freedom of speech or expression, but that they also must not be used as an excuse for violence. “The world is shaken by the depravity of fanatics who have committed acts of insult against the faith of over 1.5 billion Muslims,” Mr. Karzai told the U.N. General Assembly. “We strongly condemn these offensive acts, whether it involves the production of a film, the publication of cartoons, or indeed any other acts of insult and provocation,” he added. The low-budget film that mocks Islam’s prophet Muhammad was produced in the U.S. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have condemned it, as did several world leaders who addressed the U.N. session on Tuesday. Mr. Obama, too, focused a large part of his address earlier in the day on the film and the deadly protests that followed in the Muslim world. Four Americans, including Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, have been killed in the violence. Mr. Karzai said the production of the film and publication of cartoons lampooning the prophet can “never be justified as freedom of speech or expression.” “Equally, they cannot give reason for the genuine protests to be used to incite violence and chaos with terrible losses of innocent lives,” he added. The Afghan leader expressed concern over “the menace of Islamophobia,” which he described as a “worrying phenomenon that threatens peace and coexistence among cultures and civilizations.” Mr. Karzai called on Western leaders, politicians and the media, to confront Islamophobia. “We must work to defeat the protagonists of the conflict of civilizations, and support the voices of tolerance and understanding,” he said. On the issue of terrorism, Mr. Karzai reprised his often-repeated assertion that its roots lay beyond Afghanistan’s borders — a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan. “It is in deference to the immense sacrifices of the Afghan people, and the precious lives lost from the international community, that the campaign against terrorism must be taken to the sources of terrorism and must be result-oriented,” he said. Mr. Karzai urged the U.N. to remove sanctions on Taliban leaders so as to facilitate direct negotiations with the militants. He said he was hopeful Pakistan would play a critical role in the reconciliation process, but that incidents such as the recent shelling of Afghan villages risked undermining efforts by both governments to work together. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who addressed the session earlier in the evening, said his country supports the Afghan government’s efforts make peace with terrorists. Mr. Zardari said a search for peace must be “Afghan-owned, Afghan-driven and Afghan-led” and that Pakistan would support any process that “reflects Afghan national consensus.” The Taliban considers Mr. Karzai a Western puppet and has refused to hold peace talks with his government. The Taliban broke off peace talks with the U.S. in March. It cited, as one of its reasons for its decision was that the Obama administration had not released five high-value Taliban operatives from the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This was a key demand of the Taliban when it signaled its willingness to start official peace talks with the U.S. in January. Keywords:

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Talks on safe passage for Taliban willing to join peace process

सुभान अल्लाह  Talks on safe passage for Taliban willing to join peace process

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US are in talks on modalities of providing safe passage to the Taliban willing to join reconciliation talks. At the inaugural session the three sides reiterated their commitment to peace and remaining engaged on safe passage. At the inaugural session the three sides reiterated their commitment to peace and vowed to remain engaged on the issue of safe passage. “Delegations from Kabul, Washington and Islamabad participated in today’s meeting and agreed to continue further discussions aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” a Foreign Office statement said after the meeting without giving details of any progress made at the meeting. A western source said the talks on Wednesday focused on determining which of the Taliban might need safe passage and how could their travel through Pakistan be facilitated. A Pakistani participant described the talks as cordial and positive. The decision to set up a group on safe passage for the Taliban for peace talks was one of the two initiatives on which Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US had agreed at the their trilateral meeting in Islamabad in April. The other was to set up another group in New York to work on delisting reconcilable Taliban from the UN sanctions list. Officials from Pakistan and US had welcomed the agreement on the setting up of a sub-group on safe passage as an important achievement of the trilateral process. The safe passage offer was meant to guarantee safe travel to Taliban leaders and officials in reaching out to the Afghan government or to travel abroad for talks. Pakistan is accused of playing host to a number of Taliban leaders, including the group’s Chief Mullah Omar. Hence its cooperation for providing a safe passage to Taliban is considered crucial. Arrest in Pakistan of some Taliban leaders who were believed to have been preparing to join peace talks was said to have caused a major setback to the process. Taliban had in April spurned trilateral group’s safe passage offer to so-called reconcilable leaders and dismissed the move as an American attempt to divide their ranks.

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आफगानिस्तान के आज का सच -Afganistan the truth today Local residents clash with Taliban in eastern Afghanistan

आफगानिस्तान के आज का सच -Afganistan the truth today

Local residents clash with Taliban in eastern Afghanistan

According to local authorities in eastern Paktiya and Nuristan provinces of Afghanistan local residents resisted against hundreds of Taliban militants and forced to pull back from these provinces. Paktiya deputy provincial governor Abdul Rahman Mangal said around 400 Taliban militants attacked Mirazka district in this province early Monday morning around 2 am. Mr. Mangal further added the assailant militants wanted to destroy district compound however Afghan security forces backed by local residents resisted the Taliban fighters. He also said Taliban militants have left the district and at least 1 Afghan police and 2 Taliban militants were killed following clashes. In the meantime local residents in eastern Nuristan province said local residents resisted and clashed with the Taliban fighters in this province. Mawlawi Ahmadullah Mohid Afghan parliament member representing easern Nuristan province said Taliban militants were looking to close schools and religious Madrasas after NATO troops carried out airstrike against militants safe havens in this province. This comes as local residents in Andar district of eastern Ghazni province resisted and clashed with the Taliban militants to reopen the schools and health clinics in this province. Earlier local residents in northern Faryab province resisted against the Taliban militants at Almar district.

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