Newsletter 13 English

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eTruthisabiweeklypublicationoftheAfghanistanWatchsupportedbytheInternationalCentreforTransitionalJustice(ICTJ).Itisintendedto

ovideasnapshotofhowtheAfghanmediadebateandapproachthesekeyissuesfacingthecountry:transitionaljustice,corruption,elections

nsparencyandnegotiationswiththearmedinsurgents.

youwishtosubscribepleasesendanemailtopublication@watchafghanistan.orgorvisitourwebsite:www.watchafghanistan.org

Numbe r 13, June 15, 2010A publication of Afghan istan watch

andanalysisonthesubject.

The analytical article of this issue is an

articlebyDr.SimaSamar,theChairperson

of the Afghanistan Independent Human

Rights Commission. Mrs. Samar has

expressedheropinionsregardingthetalks

with insurgent groups, focusing in

particularglanceon justice inconnection

withtheattemptsforreconciliation.

Transitional Justice: This section contains

themostimportantmediadebatesonthe

National Consultative Peace Jirga and

consequencesofamnestyforwarcriminals

andtheTaliban.Inthemeantime,thelikely

presence of criminals and violators of

humanrightsinthenextparliamentofthe

countryalsoremainsacauseofconcernfor

manywritingintheAfghanmedia.

PeaceNegotiationswith insurgentgroups:

The Kabul Peace Jirga and its

recommendations have faced diverse

reactions and different sorts of analysis

publishedontheassembly,highlightingthe

huge importance of peace efforts. The

governments determination to implement

decisions made by the Peace Jirga

delegationsandTalibansoppositiontothe

Jirgahasbeenechoeddifferentlybythepro

DearreadersSALAAM.

AfghanistanWatchisdelightedtorelease

thefirstissueofsecondroundofHaqiqat.

The newsletter will retain its 2009 focus

on the following themes in the Afghan

media: transitional justice, negotiation

and

talks

with

the

insurgent

groups,electionstransparencyandcorruption. In

addition to these four categories, two

new sections are added: a section for

expertsopinionsonnegotiationswiththe

insurgentgroupsandanothersection for

references to articles published by other

organizationsonthementionedissues.

Inthe13thvolumeoftheTruth,about70

news articles are selected from different

printmediapublicationsinAfghanistan. In

thefirsttwoweeksofJune,asthefocusof

themediawasmainlyonpeacetalkswith

theTalibanasthetoppoliticalissues,there

islessattentionpaidtoTransitionalJustice.

Therefore, in this print here are only 5

news articles on Transitional Justice. 40

news articles on negotiations with the

insurgent groups are indicating that the

print media have sufficiently covered the

efforts,publishingdozensofnewsarticles

governmentmediaandtheones belonging

to the oppositions. The controversies of

releasingTalibanprisonersandtheremoval

of the top militants names from the UN

blacklist are believed to be facing many

challenges,theanalystssay.

ElectionsTransparency:Excludingnames

of some candidates from the

parliamentaryelection list,ambiguitiesof

the election process, security situation

and the prevention of likely frauds and

irregularitiesduringtheprocessareseen

as the main challenges against the

parliamentaryelection.

Moreobviouslyinthenewsandanalyses

of this section, there are accusations of

corruption by relevant agencies of the

government against some individuals,

mostly being vanished without any

prosecution.AccusingAhmadWaliKarzai,

provincialgovernorsandmanyotherhigh

rankingofficialsarethecaseswhichhave

ended without any legal prosecution by

thejudicialsystem.

Note: Truth biweekly magazine welcomes

your articles and opinions and your

suggestionsonthemagazineingeneraland

speciallyontalkswiththeinsurgentgroups.

ThirteenthNote

PeacenotAttainablewithoutJustice

In my view Afghanistan presently looks like apatientwhose real illness is not diagnosed but isforced to take painkillers to alleviate its paintemporarily. There here are no efforts made toidentify the causes of the disease and to heal itpermanently. Page19


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ElectionsTransparency140 Complaints Submitted to Electoral ComplaintsCommissionwithinTwoDays 13Disgruntled Candidates: Removal of Some CandidatesNamesbyElectionCommissionIllegal 13Another Chance for the Candidates Removed from thePreliminaryListofParliamentaryElection 13

MPs

Civil

Protest

and

Karzais

Desperation

13The Law must be Applied Equally on Candidates forParliamentaryElection 13ExcludedParliamentaryElectionCandidatesSeekingInnocence 14AhmadWaliKarzaiTrappedByTolo 14PoliceForceintheNorthInsufficient 14KarzainottoPresentMinistersListtotheParliamentSoon 14UNEnvoy:EndingCurrentSituationanAfghansJob 14

Corruption 227 Corruption Cases, an Achievement by the AntiCorruptionPolice 15Ahmad Wali Karzai: If no Proof, the Ministry Has toRehabilitatereputation 1515YearsforExofficialofHajj andDevotionsMinistry 15PeoplesOutrageagainsttheGovernors 16DemonstratorsCallforDissolvingtheParliament 16ComplaintsagainstNuristanGovernorSubmittedtoAttorneyGeneral 16PeaceJirgaOfficials:WeareAccountable 16AhmadWaliKarzai: IfthePeopleDontWantMe,IResign 17UtilizingPeaceJirgaBudgetonGovernmentsPoliticalAgenda 17PeaceJirgaOutcome,aWasteofNationalBudget 17AhmadWaliKarzaiTrapped ByTolo 17Farooq Wardak: Claims of Extravagance Expenses FalseAllegations 17Narcotics,aLucrativeSourceforInsurgentGroups 17School

Textbooks

sold

at

Bazaar

17Would Fighting Corruption be Effective on MiddleRankingOfficials? 17InvestmentMeltdowninBalkhProvince 18TheMainReasonsUSNotYetGainedVictoryinAfghanistan 18Corruption,MajorCauseofthePlaneCrashinAfghanistan 18AttorneyGeneral:AhmadWaliKarzaiNotSeizedLandinKandahar 18

Articles&Interveiws 19PeacenotAttainablewithoutJustice

NewPublications 21

InsideThisIssue

TransitionalJusticeTalks Only with Those Who Respect the Past NineyearAchievements 3PublicInterests,aPlatformforExemptingtheCriminals 3WarlordsDominanceinParliamentaryElection 3PeacewithoutJusticeNotAchievable 3List of Candidates Accused of Links with Armed Groups

Compromised 4NegotiationwitharmedoppositionGroups

ApowerfulTalibanCommanderJoinAfghangovernment 5MaldivesMeetingattheEveofPeaceConsultativeJirga 522InsurgentsJoinPeaceProcess 5WilltheConsultativePeaceJirgaFollowtheGovernmentsAgenda? 6PeaceJirgaandtheHugeChallengesItisFacing 6NationalAllianceFrontObjectstheCompositionofPeaceJirga 6Consultative Peace Jirga Rejected in Televised ProgramKabulDiscussion 6Wahid Omar: Representatives from All Social Groups andSpectrumsacrossAfghanistanattendtheJirga 6What

will

be

the

Achievement

of

Peace

Jirga?

7AmbiguitiesoftheConsultativePeaceJirga 7A Jirga, Which is not National; Unorganized Initiation andFruitlessConclusion 7WarIntensifiesattheEveofPeaceJirga 7GhazniPeopleComplainonSelectionProcessofParticipantsofPeaceJirga 7AfghanSenatorstoParticipateinPeaceJirga 8HizbeIslamiFactionSupportsPeaceJirga 8PoliticalAnalyst:ReconciliationInitiativeNotPossiblePresently 8Bilateral Cooperation between Afghanistan and PakistanVitalforpeace 8PeaceJirga:AnAssemblywithEnormousCost 8MarkSedwell:JirgaanOpportunitytoEndWar 8AhmadMotawakil:ConfidencebuildingCrucialforReconciliation 8ExchangeofaTalibanCommanderRejected 8Experts:RemovalofTalibanLeadersfromtheUNBlacklist,aUnilateralSuggestion 9MotawakilandZaeefnotParticipatedinPeaceJirga 9PeaceJirgaOrganizedwithAbstractandOutdatedPlans 9AbsenceofBaluchsinPeaceConsultativeJirga 9PeaceConsultativeJirgaandtheExpectations 9BanKiMoonExpressesSupporttoKabulPeaceJirga 9ConsultativePeaceJirgaEnds,issuingitsFinalDeclaration 10TheGovernmentExpandsTalibanArmy 10PeaceJirgaHasNoLegalGround 10KarlEikenberry:U.S.HelpsAfghanistanto ImplementPeace

JirgaDecisions 10AbdullahTermsPeaceJirgaaDrama 10HezbeIslamiFactionRejectsPeaceJirgaDecisions 10The Government Determined to Follow Peace JirgaRecommendations 11TalibanandHezbeIslamisImplacableStanceonPeaceJirga 11ResignationofTopSecurityOfficials:AnotherConcessiontoTalibanandPakistan 11Relevance of Security Officials Resignation and Release ofTalibanPrisoners 11KarzaisPeaceTalks,aDisgracetoAfghanistan 11SimaSamar:PrisonersCasesmustbeCarefullyreviewed 11Richard Holbrooke: International Community Funds Afghan

PeaceTalks 11WorriesonPakistansInfluenceinsideAfghanGovernment 12


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http://www.watchafghanistan.org

No13,June15,2010

thatbyignoringlawandsilencingorderandregulationtheycan

betterpursuetheirgoals. WarlordsDominanceinParliamentaryElection

Bakhtardaily,issueNo246,MondayMay31,2010,Page3

ByBahramAzari

Election commission officials say that the warlords, who are

linked to illegal armed groups, have kept their presence

dominant intheparliamentaryelectionas inthepast.What is

being suggested by the commission also existed in the past

parliamentaryelectionandtheissuewasraisedbysomegroupsatthetime.Itisobvioustoallthatnowthewarlordscontrolthe

parliament.Somerepresentativesfromthe lowerhouseofthe

parliamentarerepeatedlyaccusedofviolationofhumanrights

by internationalhumanrightsagencieswhilemanyoftheMPs

who have obtained Parliamentary impunity by votes of the

people, had been involved in the past threedecades of civil

war.PassageofthesocalledNationalReconciliationCharterby

theparliamentisaimedtosecurethewarlordsfromanyjudicial

prosecutions. In the new political era in Afghanistan, most of

the warlords were isolatedand their unlimited vicious power

weakened, but the sorrowful fact is that some of them have

revivedtheirpresenceinrecentyears.

During past nine years, the government did not support the

Transitional Justice Program initiated by Afghanistans Human

RightsCommissionandsubsequentlytheopportunityhasbeen

provided for the warlords to reemerge in the political scene.

The governments noncommitment approach towards the

ustice process impeded restoring justice and as its result the

warlordsreboundedtopower.

PeacewithoutJusticeNotAchievable

8Subhdaily,issueNo349,MondayMay31,2010,Page5

ByZafarShahRooyi

TransitionalJusticeCoordinationGroupconsistedof25national

and internationalorganizationsurgedpresidentKarzaiandthe

National Consultative Peace Jirga to revoke the National

Reconciliation Charter and strengthen the judicial system in

ordertopursuecrimesagainsthumanity.

WeedaAhmad,amemberofthegroup,saysthatsincemostof

the human rights violators hold high positions in the

government, no one is listening to the voices of the victims.

Transitional Justice Coordination Group in their open letter to

thepresidenthasurgedhimandtheparticipantsofPeaceJirga

to end the culture of impunity and stop ambiguous talks withthe insurgent groups. Emphasizing on implementation of

Transitional Justice, the group has asked the president to bar

TransitionalJustice

TalksOnlywithThoseWhoRespectthePast

NineyearAchievements

RaheNajatdaily,issueNo1430,May18,2010,page3

Inrecentdays,manyagenciesactiveonhumanrightsissuesand

women rights as well as some civil society organizations have

launched protest rallies, demonstrating their concerns about

theongoingnegotiationswithinsurgentgroupswhomtheysay

areresponsibleofhumanandwomenrightsviolation.Theyask

the government not to negotiate with those who are

responsibleforcrimesagainstthehumanity,buttobringthem

tojustice.

SiamakHerawi,aspokesmanforthepresidentsofficesaidthat

if there is submission of complaints against past or current

insurgents who are accused of human rights violations, the

governmentwouldbringthemtotrial.

Peace process is a general and widerange program in

which we cannot talk about specific persons. When the

peace process is succeeded, the government will decide

about bringing the violators of human rights to trial and

udicial agencies will start working to trial them, Herawi

said.Humanrightsorganizations havealwaysstressedthat

there should be no talks with Taliban, stating that the

Taliban regime has committed various atrocities such as

murder, genocide, torture etc. This group had been the

foremost violator of human and women rights during its

dominanceinAfghanistan.

PublicInterests,aPlatformfor

ExemptingtheCriminals

8Subhdaily,SaturdayMay29,2010,IssueNo881,Page2,Editorial

The prevalence of culture of impunity for the murderers and

those responsible for past war crimes, unlawful negligence

towards them and more importantly legal support by a

parliamentarian lawapprovedbythepresident,haspavedthe

wayforspreadingcrimesandirregularities.

The justification is rising as a legal reference that while the

criminalsandviolatorsofhumanrightsarebeing forgivenand

their trials are avoided by vague terms of national and public

interest and they even are praised in the highest levels, the

Taliban also should be exempted and even be allowed to

participate in politics and power sharing. Here, it is the law

whichistheutmostdevastatedvaluewhichnooneisthinking

about.

Afghanauthoritiesyetdonotunderstandthattheonlyeffectiveantidote against crimes, corruption and decadence in the

society is justice and dominance of law. They virtually believe


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No13,June15,2010

those who are accused of human rights violation from

government posts and also expel those who currently hold

positionsinthegovernment.

TransitionalJusticeCoordinationGroupwhichheldthemeeting

Victims Jirga for JusticeonMay9th inKabulsaidtherewas

noresponseyetfromthepresidenttotheircall.

ListofCandidatesAccusedofLinkswith

ArmedGroupsCompromised

Bakhtardaily,volumeNo247,June1,2010,Page1

Based on information from a high ranking official of the

EuropeanCommission,theElectoralCommissionhadtoexclude

350names fromtheparliamentarycandidates listduetotheir

connectionswithillegalarmedgroups,butasresultofpressures

from the candidates or their supporters, the Independent

Election

Commission

has

reduced

the

list

of

debarments

to

85names.According to the source, the list is reviewed under the

surveillanceofministryofinterioraffairs.Asthewarlordshave

their ultimate influence in the election, it is obvious that they

willsecuretheirpresenceintheparliament.Thosewhoareable

toinfluence the ministry of interior and the relevantcommissionsofficialstounblocktheirnamesdefinitelywillbe

able to steal the peoples votes. It is possible that powerful

candidates have also had their influence in the commission

designated to examine competency of the parliamentary

election candidates. Most people believe that information

about the content of the list has been leaking outside to thecandidates, helping them to find a way out before the list is

finalize


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No13,June15,2010

NegotiationwitharmedOppositionGroups

participation of any representative from the Afghan

government inMaldivesmeeting and termed thegatheringasweird.TheTalibanhavealsodeniedthegroups involvement in

the meeting, declaring that those who participated in the

gatheringasTalibansrepresentatives,havelongagoseparated

fromthegroupandareunderdominanceofKabulGovernment.

22InsurgentsJoinPeaceProcess

SorosheMellatdaily,volumeNo369,May242010,Page7

Hazrat Mohammad Sharif Mojaddadi, head of Peace

Consolidationcommission in thewestern zone of thecountry,

said that Mullah Nabi and Mullah Qayoum, two Taliban

commanders,withtheir18armedmenjoinedthegovernment.

They have been involved in insurgency activities against the

government in Khake Safid district of Farah province,

Mojaddadi said. Headded that now the two commanders are

committedtosupportthegovernmentandworkforpeaceand

security intheregion.Theyaregrantedamnestyandtheycan

liveapeacefullifenow,hesaid.

Meanwhile, Abdul RaufAhmadi, spokesman of the West Zone

Police, told reporters that Ziauddin and Abdul Momin, two

otherTalibaninsurgents,,joinedPeaceConsolidationProgram.

Headdedthattheywereinvolvedininsurgencyintheoutskirts

ofQalaeNaw,thecapitalcityofBadghisprovince.

According to Mujaddai, the head of Peace Consolidation

CommissionintheWest,1750insurgentsinFarah,Ghor,Herat

ApowerfulTalibanCommander

JoinAfghangovernment

RaheNajatdaily,SundayMay16,2010,issueNo1428,page2

AfghanarmyofficialssaidthatMullahMustafa,aseniorTaliban

commander in western Ghor province accompaniedbyone of

his armed men has joined the government. According to the

reports, in past years Mullah Mustafa have repeatedly carried

outattacksongovernmentinstitutionsaswellasontheSalma

damproject.

Najibullah Najibi, spokesman for Zafar 207 army corps in thewestofthecountrysaidthearmyauthoritiesintendedtohand

securityresponsibilityofGhorHerathighwaytoMullahMustafa

andhismen.

Surrender of the commander comes after two other

commandersofTalibannamedSayedMirzaandSayedSaleem

handedovertheirarmsandjoinedthegovernmentbutshortly

afterrearmedagainstthegovernment.

According to another report, Abdul Manan, a Taliban

designated commander in Kuhistan district of Faryab province

surrenderedtogovernment.AhmadJawidBidar,spokesmanof

Faryab

governor,

said

Amir

Abdul

Manan

had

surrenderedhimselffullyinhisownwillandtheywelcomedhim.

MaldivesMeetingattheEveof

PeaceConsultativeJirga

Soroshe MellatDaily,SundayMay23,2010,IssueNo368,Page2

Representatives from Taliban, HezbeIslami Hekmatyar and

Afghan government lately had a meeting in Maldives, the

reportssaid.

According to the reports, 45 representatives from the

mentionedpartiesandHekamtyarssonFeroozhadparticipatedin the meeting which had been called by Homayon Harir,

Hekmtyarssoninlaw.

There are also unverified reports about presence of a UN

representative in the meeting. AIt is said that a highprofile

delegationwasrepresentingTaliban inMaldivesMeeting.AThe

sources say there were potentially risk of arrest of Taliban

delegates,ifthemeetingwasheldinKabul.

AspokesmanfromMaldivesgovernmentconfirmedthereport

and added that the Maldives state is not involved in the

meetingandtheonlyaimforMaldivesgovernmentisrestoring

peaceandstabilityinAfghanistan.

WhiletherearereportsonKarzaisgovernmentrepresentative

participating in the meeting, his spokesman denied the


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No13,June15,2010

agovernmentalassemblyratherthananationalgathering.

Peace Jirga has no legal ground and value and it does not

followatransparentandspecificagenda,Sancharakisaid.

Sancharaki claims that the representatives invited to the Jirga

donothaveasignificantroleincurrentconflictsinthecountry.

Headdedthattheroleandcapabilityofsomeoftheprominent

political groups such as the National Alliance were completely

ignored.

ConsultativePeaceJirgaRejectedinTelevised

ProgramKabulDiscussion

Mandegardaily,ThursdayMay27,2010,IssueNo332,Page1

In a televised program on National Consultative Peace Jirga,

Abdul Hafiz Mansoor, a prominent political analyst, said the

gatheringpavesthewayformorecrisesinthecountry,putting

the authority of Afghan government under question and

creating propitious groundwork for offending law and

regulations.AccordingtoMansoor,theJirga itselfwillbecome

groundwork for more crises in the country. He insisted that

instead of the Consultative Peace Jirga has no ground in the

AfghanistansconstitutionandthereshouldbeheldaLoyaJirga,

supremeassembly,fordiscussingonhowtonegotiatewiththe

Talibaninsurgents.

Muhmmad Akbari, a member of parliament, also called the

assembly ineffective and said that presence of MPs in the

gatheringwouldputthecredibilityofAfghanParliamentunder

question. He rejected the idea that the outcome of theConsultativeJirgawouldbeanationalconsensus.

But representatives from the government insisted on the

effectiveness of the gathering. They said the Jirga will set a

ground forbringingpeace inthecountry.Someparticipants in

the televisedprogram,mostlyuniversitystudents, confronted

thecommentatorswithquestions andexpressedthebeliefthat

the assembly will be unable in bringing peace to the country.

The participants labeled the mechanism of the Consultative

PeaceJirgaasfaultyandunlawful.

WahidOmar:

RepresentativesfromAllSocialGroupsandSpectrums

acrossAfghanistanattendtheJirga

SorosheMellatDaily,ThursdayMay27,2010,IssueNo372,Page8

Wahid Omar, spokesman of the president said that the

president himself oversees the process of preparation for the

National Consultative Peace Jirga.The Jirgas commission was

directed by him to choose and invite representatives from all

acrossAfghanistan,Omarsaid.Speakingatapressconference,

Omaraddedthatinregardofthestructureandcompositionof

theJirgathepresidenthasconsultedallpartiesinthecountryas

wellasspeakersofbothparliamenthouses..

WahidOmarpointed that the presidentassures thepeople of

AfghanistanthatthePeaceJirgawillbeagatheringofAfghans

and Badghis provinces have quitted insurgency and joined

peaceprocesssince thebeginningof thepeaceprocess in the

westernzonein2007.,.

Will

the

Consultative

Peace

Jirga

Follow

the

GovernmentsAgenda?

NokhostWeekly,WednesdayMay26,2010,issueNo15,Page1

BySahar

Dr. Farooq Wardak, head of the commission responsible for

organizingKabulPeace Jirga,mentionedtechnicalproblemsas

thereasonfordelayoftheJirga,butapparentlythechallenges

forthisisfarbeyondwhatWardakhastalkedabout.Whilethe

government istrying itsbesttoarrangetheassemblytofinda

progress for the reconciliation initiative, members of the

parliament have continued their protest against the

government on some issues such as repeated delays in

submitting names of the remaining cabinet members to theparliamentandKarimKhalilisrefusaltocometothehouse.The

MPs warned if the government does not comply with their

demands;theywillboycotttheConsultativePeaceJirga.

Karzaiandhisteamareworkinghardtopreparethegroundfor

a successful Peace Jirga,forit is the only way for Karzai to to

assure his Western allies of improvements in Afghanistan,

though the peace efforts may not lead into any sort of

agreementbetweenthetwosidesoftheconflict.

In London conference Karzai put his focus on the negotiation

with the Taliban and tried to convince the international

community

to

fund

millions

of

dollars

for

implementations

oftheinitiative.Ifthereconciliationeffortsofthepresidentfail,he

losesmuchofhiscredibilityintheeyesofwesterncountries.

PeaceJirgaandtheHugeChallengesItisFacing

Nokhostdaily,WednesdayMay262010,issueNo15,Page2,Editorial

Although after the presidents visit to Washington the Afghan

officials have not commented on whether the Taliban leaders

are invited to the Consultative Peace Jirga or not, lately there

were some reportsquotingTaliban spokesmen that thegroup

hadnotifiedAfghanofficialsovertheirconditionalpresence in

theJirga.

Accordingtothereports,themainconditionsoftheTalibanfor

participating in the National Consultative Peace Jirga are

releasing their prisoners and removing their leaders names

fromthesocalledUNblacklist..

NationalAllianceFrontObjectsthe

CompositionofPeaceJirga

SorosheMellatdaily,issueNo.371,WednesdayMay26,2010,Page

National Alliance Front criticized the structure of Consultative

Peace Jirga and called the process with all its qualities and

quantitiesasineffective.SayedFazelSancharaki,thespokesman

oftheFront,speakingatapressconferencelabeledtheJirgaas


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No13,June15,2010

rejected unanimously troops withdrawal and passed another

warbudgetforthewarinAfghanistan.

Having no legal and constitutional ground, the Jirga had no

appeal to the people and now almost half of Afghansare

denyingitslegitemacy.TheresultoftheJirgawillobviouslybea

failure. Most of the people feel that the Jirga as othergatheringswillbeunproductiveandjustisawasteofthecapital

belongingtothepeople.

WarIntensifiesattheEveofPeaceJirga

RaheNajatdaily,volumeNo1440,May302010,Editorial

The main opposition group, Hope and Change Coalition, led by

formerforeignministerDr.Abdullah,announcedthatitisgoingto

boycott the Consultative Peace Jirga. Regarding the remaining

cabinetmembers,thecoalitionsinfluenceinparliamentprovedto

beeffectiveasthelowerhouseiscontinuingitsprotestagainstthe

presidentbyholdingparliamentsessionsinsilence.The insurgent

groups,disappointed by theUS and afghan government ignoring

theirinterestofconditionalparticipationintheJirga,haverecently

escalatedtheirbloodyattacksandbegunanewwaveofcampaign

inFaryab,Nuristan andsomeotherprovincesofeastandnorthof

thecountry.

AsofficialsarepreparingfortheJirga,theoppositiongroupsweigh

to show that without their participation, achieving peace would

remain an unachievable desire. On the other hand, the armed

insurgent groups, waging a bloody war, are trying to affect the

atmosphere of the Jirga by their demands and to compel the

participantsoftheJirgatoadvisethepresidentandUSgovernment

toacceptinsurgentsdemandsforrestoringpeace.

GhazniPeopleComplainonSelectionProcessof

ParticipantsofPeaceJirga

8Subhdaily,IssueNo348,SundayMay30,2010,Page2

ThepeopleinGhazniprovinceexpresstheirdissatisfactionover

theselectionofrepresentativesoftheprovinceforparticipating

inPeaceJirga.Theyclaimthatthosewhoareparticipatinginthe

gatheringdonot representthepeopleofGhazniprovinceand

havetheirowntieswiththeofficials.

Abdul Ali Khan Zada, a member of Ghazni provincial council,

says that the Peace Jirga enjoys a good reputation, but the

participants of the Jirga, including Ghazni representatives, do

not really represent the people of Afghanistan. Most of the

participants of the Jirga are government officials such as

governorsandotherofficials.

AfghanSenatorstoParticipateinPeaceJirga

AfghanistanDaily,volumeNo1108,Monday,May31,2010,Page8

Afghan Senate members agreed to participate in the National

ConsultativePeaceJirgainsupportofeffortsseekingpeaceand

stability in the country. The Upper House of the parliament

yesterdayalsocalledontheHouseofRepresentativestoattend

and the peace process and negotiation with the insurgent

groupswillbeimplementedasthepeopleswillandagreement

requires.

In response to a question about Dr. Abdullahs comments on

not being invited to the Jirga, the Presidents spokesman said

afghans representatives will be invited to the Peace Jirgaselectedfrom13or14specificcategoriesandnooneisinvited

totheassemblyyet.Andso,representativesfromallgroupsand

spectrumsinthecountry,includingwomenwhowillaccountfor

20 percent of the Jirga, will gather in the assembly, which is

unprecedented in Afghanistans history of such traditional

gatherings,Omarsaid.

WhatwillbetheAchievementofPeaceJirga?

Eradadaily,volumeNo789,May29,2010,Page4

ByAbdulShakorAliZada

In Afghanistans political and security Affairs, Pakistan has

undeniablyacrucialroleandtheneighborcountrywillhavethe

same role in any peace negotiations in the future. After the

London conference, Islamabad officials suggested to play a

uniqueroleinnegotiationswithTalibaninsurgents.

Lately, there have been a wave of distrusts and suspicions

between the two neighbor countries which in some cases

escalated tensions between Kabul and Islamabad. If the

distrusts are to be continued, peace negotiations with the

insurgents would be affected the most and in that case the

possibilityofsuccessinfuturenegotiationswilldiminish.

If Pakistan is not considered as a major player in any futurepeacedialoguebytheConsultativePeaceJirga,Islamabadmay

continue its harmful games and negative role towards Afghan

peaceefforts.

AmbiguitiesoftheConsultativePeaceJirga

AfghanistanDaily,SaturdayMay29,2010,IssueNo1106,Page7

While the commission that is responsible for launching the

National Consultative Peace Jirga, or assembly, has been

preparing for the gathering for a long time, some political

analysts cast doubts on the possible results of the Jirga andexpresstheirworriesonthedecisionsthatwillbemade inthe

assembly.Afterrisingtensionsonsomebilateralissuesbetween

parliament and the government and Wolesi Jirga, there are

hearsays thatsome of theMPsarenotgoing toparticipate in

theJirga.ButGulAgha,theJirgasofficialspokesman,saidthat

noonefromtheinsurgentgroupsisinvitedtotheJirgaandall

MPsfrombothparliamenthouseswillattendtheassembly.

AJirga,WhichisnotNational;

UnorganizedInitiationandFruitlessConclusion

Mandegardaily,volumeNo334,May302010,Page6,

Ignoring Afghan governments peace negotiations with the

insurgent groups and in the eve of Peace Jirga, US Senate


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No13,June15,2010

outlinefortalkswiththeinsurgentgroups,thenthePeaceJirga

initiativeprovestobemeaningless.Moreover,thestructureof

the Jirga is designed in a way that the participants will barely

have the chance to express their own opinions. According to

certifiedreports,theadministrativepaneloftheJirgaisalready

selectedandtheparticipantswillbedividedincategories,everygroupcontaining50representatives.

Some experts say, in order to prevent any expression against

the predesigned peace initiative, the government has

intentionally planned to not provide the opportunity for the

representativestotalkpersonallyontheissues.

Therewouldalsobesevererestrictionsonthemedia.Itappears

that by quarantining Peace Jirga representatives and blocking

information from themedia, the government is going to keep

thepeopleawayfromongoingaffairs.

MarkSedwell:JirgaanOpportunitytoEndWar

SorosheMellatdaily,volumeNo376,June1,2010,Page1

NATOcivilianrepresentativeinAfghanistan,MarkSedwell,said

thePeaceJirgawasagoodopportunitytoendwarandrestore

security in Afghanistan. The event has support from the

internationalcommunity,NATOandISAF,hesaid.

AfghanpresidentHamidKarzaihasrepeatedlyemphasizedthathe

does not intend to talk with AlQaeda terrorist organization. The

TalibanhaverejectedtheirparticipationinthePeaceJirga,whichis

goingtobeheldinKabulinJuly.AfghanofficialssayTalibanleaders

are not invited to the Peace Jirga but the Afghan governmentwould not prevent them to participate in the assembly, if they

wantto.

AhmadMotawakil:

ConfidencebuildingCrucialforReconciliation

Mandegardaily,volumeNo336,June1,2010,Page7

Wakil Ahamad Motawakil, former Talibans foreign minister, says

confidencebuilding between the Afghan government and the

Talibanistheonlywayforbringingpeaceinthecountry.Motawkil

affirmed that in order to start reconciliation with the Taliban, thegovernmentneedstoshowaresolutewillandpurgethesuspicions.

TheTalibanera foreignministersaid thatsuchgatheringwithout

presence of the Taliban does not result to bring peace in

Afghanistan.Afghangovernmenthasnotdoneenoughtocourtthe

Taliban to come to peace and reconciliation negotiations,

Motawakilsaid.MotawakilalsodemandedthattheTalibanshould

begivenimpunitytoopenapoliticaloffice.Hedidnotdetailthe

suggestionbutinsisteditwasinevitableforpeacetalks.

ExchangeofaTalibanCommanderRejected

[

RaheNajatdaily,volumeNo1442,June1,2010,Page1

OfficialsinBaghlanprovincerejectedanofferoftheTalibanto

theJirga,despiteoftheirprotests.

Fazl Hadi Muslimyar, an official of the Upper House of the

parliament, said he would ask officially the representatives to

participateinPeaceJirga.

HizbeIslamiFactionSupportsPeaceJirga

RaheNajatdaily,volumeNo1441,May31,2010,Page1

Hadi Arghandiwal, leader ofa disjoinedbranch of the Hezbe

Islami Hekmatyar insurgent faction, announced his partys

support to the National Consultative Peace Jirga. Arghandiwal

askedhissupporterstoparticipateinthePeaceJirgaandshare

theirviewsandsuggestionsforbringingpeaceinthecountry.

PoliticalAnalyst:ReconciliationInitiativeNot

PossiblePresently


A political analyst Wahid Mojhda, said the aim of the Peace

ConsultativeJirgatobringaboutamechanismfortalkswiththe

insurgents might not be achievable. The insurgents demands

areclearandiftheirdemandsareacceptedtheywouldjointhe

peacetalks.HeaddedthattheoutcomeoftheJirgawouldbea

mechanism for talks with preconditions being set such as

continuanceofforeigntroopspresenceinthecountryandthat

theconstitutionwillnotchangeatanycircumstances.

The governments efforts to offer a mechanism for talks with

wellknowninsurgentssuchasgranting amnestytotheTaliban

leaders and the obligation of the insurgents to give up

insurgencyandhanddowntheirarms,wouldnotbeseenasa

nationalpoliticalconsensusbytheTaliban,Mojhdasaid.

BilateralCooperationbetweenAfghanistanand

PakistanVitalforpeace


USforcescommanderinAfghanistan,GeneralStanleyMcChrystal,

speaking at a press conference said the political efforts to bring

insurgentsbacktothesocietyandofferingwelfareservicesbythegovernment needed a coherent and transparent mechanism. In

ordertobesuccessful,itmustbecarriedoutasanationalprogram

alloverthecountry,McChrystalsaid.

TheUSandNATOforcescommandertoldthereportersthatthe

Peace Jirga would be an Afghan assembly and the US fully

supporttheinitiative.

PeaceJirga:AnAssemblywithEnormousCost

8Subhdaily,volumeNo349,May31,2010,page1

Itissaidthatthegovernmenthasarrangeda36pagesinitiativefor negotiation with the insurgent groups. Therefore, if the

report comes true and the government has a preplanned


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prominent political parties. Hajji Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader

ofthe IslamicUnityPartyofAfghanPeople,saidthattheJirga

hadnobalanceofethnicrepresentatives.Insistingthatitisnot

suitableforsuchaPeaceJirga,Mohaqiqaddedthatmorethan

1000 of the participants were representing a specific ethnic

group. More importantly, the Hope and ChangeFront led byDr. Abdullah Abdullah, did not participate in the Peace Jirga,

callingitagovernmentalassembly.

AbsenceofBaluchsinPeaceConsultativeJirga


Baluch'srepresentativesclaimthattherehadbeennodelegates

representing the ethnic group in the National Consultative

Peace Jirga. They complained that they had called on the

government officials to invite representatives from Baluchs to

the gathering, but the officials did not consider their request

and ignored to invite Baluch delegates. Complaining in their

letter, the parliament members said that the Jirga was a

governmental program with personal motives rather than an

allinclusiveassembly.

PeaceConsultativeJirgaandtheExpectations

RaheeNajatdaily,volumeNo1443,June5,2010,Page2

StressingonUSsupportforKarzaispeaceefforts,USSecretary

ofStateHillaryClintonsaidmanyoftheconflictscouldnotbe

solved by military means and alongside military operations

there should be political efforts. Only those insurgent groupswhichsevertheirtieswithAlQaeda,quitviolenceandrespect

Afghanistans Constitution should be included in the

reconciliationprocess.There seems to be no change neither in Clintons tone nor in

other Western leaders' announcements,who commented on

Afghanistan in recent days. The final declaration of the Peace

Jirga contains much positive recommendations. Most of the

recommendationssomehowarerelatedtoforeignersorcannot

befollowedwithouttheirconsent.

Oneofthepositivepointsisthatthereisabroadunderstanding

among the participants of the Jirga that the foreigners are

playingavitalroleinanyfuturenegotiationsforbringingpeace

in the country. Considering this fact, the declaration asks

Afghangovernment to follow thepeaceefforts incooperation

withtheinternationalcommunity.

BanKiMoonExpressesSupporttoKabulPeaceJirga


United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki Moon expressed his

supporttotheAfghanPeaceJirga,whichwasheldonJune2in

Kabul. Speaking on the phone with President Karzai, the UN

chief expressed the United Nations support to the peaceassembly and hoped the gathering would bring lasting peace

andsecuritytothecountry.

exchangeacommanderofthegroupnamedShahWali.Butalso

some reports, quoting a Taliban official, say that the

commander has been already freed in exchange with some

AfghanArmysoldiers.

Experts:RemovalofTalibanLeadersfromtheUN

Blacklist,aUnilateralSuggestion

Afghanistandaily,volumeNo1112,June5,2010,Page1

Helaluddin Helal, an Afghan MP from Baghlan province, says

thattheUNwouldnotremoveTalibanleadersnamesfromthe

socalled blacklist until it is assured that the insurgents will

abandon theviolence. Even if theTaliban leadersnamesare

removed from the list, I dont think it would have any

productiveresult,Helalsaid.Helalinsistedthatitisnotenoughtohavethenamesremoved

fromtheUNblacklist,becauseatfirsttherehavetobeagreenlight from the Taliban side. Eng. Younos Fakoor termed the

removal of Taliban leadersnames from the UN list a fruitless

effort and an unilateral concession to the Taliban. The

concessions and confidencebuilding measures must not be

unilateral,Fakoorsaid.Fakoorsaysthatitmustbetoldtothe

Talibanthatwedofreeyourprisonersandremoveyournames

fromtheblacklist,butyoualsohavetostop?attackingschools

andaccepttheconstitution.'

MotawakilandZaeefnotParticipatedinPeaceJirga


Mawlawi Wakil Ahmad Motawkil, former Talibans foreign

minister and Abdul Salam Zaeef the regimes ambassador to

Pakistan have not accepted the governments invitation to

participateinthePeaceJirga.Mr.ZareefsaidthathehasbeeninvitedtotheJirgabutdueto

someotherreasonshedidnot goingtoparticipateinthePeace

Jirga.HestressedthatparticipantsoftheJirgashouldoffernew

andeffectiveinitiatives,endthenamesofTalibanleadersbeing

blacklistedandthetalksmustimmediatelybestartedvigorously

andwithoutpreconditions.

PeaceJirgaOrganizedwithAbstract

andOutdatedPlans


Some of the prominent political figures such as Dr. Abdullah

Abdullah, General Abdul Rashid Dustum, Hajji Muhammad

Muhaqqiq, Atta Mohammad Noor, Ahmad Zia Massoud and

someparliamentmemberswhohaveimportantrolesinpolitics

of the country did not participate in thegovernmental Peace

Jirga.General Abdul Rashid Dustum, the leader of NationalMovement of Afghanistan, in a statement rebuked Karzai and

his governments failure on the boycott of the Jirga by some


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saidthepartiesoftheconflictwererequestedtoavoidputting

forward preconditions which impedes the talks. According to

Ludin, one of the main demands the participants of the Jirga

asked from the international community, was to respect the

decisionsoftheJirgaandaccepttherecommendations.

Eng.MohammadAasem,amemberofAfghanparliamentwho

iscriticaloftheJirga,believesthattheNationalAdvisoryPeace

Jirgahasno legalground inAfghanistansconstitutionand the

decisions made in the assembly would not be functional in

peacetalks.Afghanconstitutionhascertifiedthreesourcesas

legal decision makers for the national affairs: the parliament,

supremeassemblyorLoyaJirga,andreferendum,Aasemsaid.

Headdedthat,exceptthesethree noneothersourcehasthe

legal authority to make decisions on national and political

affairsinthecountry.

KarlEikenberry:U.S.HelpsAfghanistanto

ImplementPeaceJirgaDecisions


US ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, speaking at a

pressconference,saidthatnowaftertheendofthePeaceJirga

it was the Afghan governments responsibility to follow the

recommendationsoftheJirga.

EikenberryaddedthattheUSwouldhelptheAfghangovernment

in this course. We are waiting to receive the nonobligatory

decisions made in the threeday Peace Jirga from the Afghan

governmentandwehopetojointlyworkonthepeaceprocess,ina

cooperationbetweenKabulandtheinternationalcommunity..

AbdullahTermsPeaceJirgaaDrama


AbdullahAbdullah,Karzais main challenger in the lastpresidential

election, labeled theConsultativePeace Jirgaa dramaandsaid its

recommendationsoffersnothingnewforthepeaceprocess.

Abdullah claimed that the agenda handed over to the

committees was set in advance and most of the participants

were unaware of the issues surrounding the peace initiative.

ButGulAfghaAhmadi,spokesmanoftheNationalConsultativePeace Jirga, rejected the allegations and said that the

participants discussed in the committees and presented their

recommendations to the final declaration, which was

announcedonthefinaldayoftheassembly.

HezbeIslamiFactionRejectsPeaceJirgaDecisions


HezbeIslamiFaction,ledbyGulbuddinHekamtyar,rejectsthe

outcomeoftheJirgasayingithasnosuggestiononwithdrawal

offoreignforcesfromAfghanistan.

Haroon Zarghoon, a spokesman of the insurgent group, described

theoutcomeoftheJirgaasafailureandasdisappointing.

ConsultativePeaceJirgaEnds,issuing

itsFinalDeclaration


TheNationalConsultativePeaceJirgaannouncedadeclarationand

presented its peace recommendations to the government ofAfghanistan on its final day of sessions. The declaration contains

morethanahundredarticlesbutasummarizedversionconsisting

of16articleswasreadinthelastsessionoftheJirga.

Thedeclarationof thePeaceJirgacalledon thegovernmentand

theforeigncountriestosetagoodgesturewiththereleaseofthe

prisonerswhoareindetentionbasedonfalsereports.Italsoasked

theAfghangovernmenttodelistTalibanleadersfromthesocalled

UN blacklist in a cooperation effort with the international

community. Italsoemphasizesonapplying the lawequallytoall

citizensinordertodevelopsocialjusticeinthecountry.

TheAfghangovernmentaswellastheinternationalcommunityisrequestedbythedeclarationtoguaranteeforthesecurityofthose

whojointhepeaceprocessandprovidethemimpunityinorderto

return themtocivilianlife.Theassemblysdeclarationalsocalled

the government to pursue the peace process as a longstanding

strategyandtolaunchasupremepeacecounciltoimplementit.

TheGovernmentExpandsTalibanArmy


Experts believe that recommendations offered to the

governmentbythePeaceJirgatofreeTalibanprisonerswould

nothelpnegotiationswiththe insurgentsbutmakethemeven

moredeterminedtofightthegovernment.MohmmadAasem,a

memberoftheparliament,saysthatthecasehadoccurred in

thepast.

AccordingtoAasem,someimportantfiguresoftheTalibanwho

were in detention of the government or foreign troops joined

backtotheTalibaninsurgentsandstagednewwaveofattacks

afterbeingfreedfromthedetentioncenters.

WahidMojhda,apoliticalexpert,believesthattherehasbeen

some arrangements between the US forces and the Afghan

government to free some suspected detainees from the

detentioncenters.

He says that top US commander general McCrystal asked the

governorstwoweeksagotoprovidehimalistoftheprisoners

they think are innocent in order to release themfrom US

controlleddetentioncenters.

PeaceJirgaHasNoLegalGround

8Subhdaily,volumeNo352,June6,2010,Page5

TheUNsecretarygeneralBanKiMoon,theUSembassyinKabul

and the Germen foreign ministry announced yesterday their

support for the final declaration of the Kabul Peace Jirga.AttaullahLudin,aformercommanderofHizbIslamifactionand

amemberoftheparliamentwhowasaparticipantintheJirga,


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generalofnationalsecurityPakistaneasilyand intimeachieved

oneof itsmaingoalssackingheadsofAfghancriticalsecurity

agencies from their post. In their absence, now Pakistan can

testKarzaisgoodwilltowardsthesocalledpeacenegotiations

with theTaliban, the favoriteagents for Islamabad.Withtheir

resignation, now the insurgents have the ground for peacetalksandgainingmoreconcessions.

RelevanceofSecurityOfficialsResignationand

ReleaseofTalibanPrisoners


ByMisaddeqParsa

Accordingtotheleakeddetailsabouttheresignationoftwotop

security officials, possibly Amrullah Saleh, who is said had

serious disagreements with the president on the release of

Talibanprisoners,hasresigned andpresidentKarzaihaveused

Hanif Atmar as a victim to justify sacking Saleh and avert

internationalanddomesticobjections.

KarzaisPeaceTalks,aDisgracetoAfghanistan

RaheNajatdaily,volumeNo341,June9,2010,Page1

Amrullah Saleh, former chief of National Directorate for

Security, criticized the reconciliation talks with the insurgents

describing it as a disgrace to Afghanistan. Saleh specified that

heresignedfromhispostbecausehesawhimselfanobstacleto

Karzaispeaceinitiative.TheformerchiefofNDSsaidthemain

reasonofhisresignationwasPresidnetKarzais lastdecreeonthereleaseofTalibanlinkedprisoners.

SimaSamar:

PrisonersCasesmustbeCarefullyreviewed

8Subhdaily,volumeNo355,June9,2010,Page5,ByZafarShahrooii

Doctor Sima Samar, head of the Independent Human Rights

Commission,welcomedthemeasurestoreleasethoseprisoners

who she says are being detained without any charge. But she

insisted that those who are proven guilty shouldnot be freed

under

the

shield

of

goodwill.

Thosewhoarenotchargedmustbereleased,buttheprisoners

whoare facingcriminalchargesshouldbebroughttotrialand

remainbehindbarsuntilthetimeoftheirsentenceisover.

Wahid Omar, presidential office spokesman, told in a press

conference that it is not the case only with the Taliban or

anothergroupbutitisaboutthoseprisonerswhoaredetained

basedonfalsereportsornotprovencharges.

RichardHolbrooke:InternationalCommunityFunds

AfghanPeaceTalks


US special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke says the

Hesaid,itwassettolegitimatizethepresenceofforeignforces

in the country. He pointed that the declaration says the

prisoners should be freed from Afghan and US forces

detention centers, adding it was not clear whether the US

would accept the recommendations of thePeace Jirga ornot.

HerebukedtheparticipantsoftheJirgabecausetheyhavenotset a withdrawal date for foreign forces, but instead have

emphasizedoncontinuanceoftheirpresenceinAfghanistan.

TheGovernmentDeterminedtoFollow

PeaceJirgaRecommendations

Bakhtardaily,volumeNo250,June7,2010,Page1,BySajjadMohammadi

Just a day after ending the threeday Peace Jirga in Kabul,

PresidentKarzaihas issuedadecree,appointingacommission

toworkonthereleaseoftheTalibanlinkedprisonerswhoare

detained

based

on

inadequate

and

unaccountable

evidences.

Thecommissionisheadedbythejusticeministerandthemembers

of the commission are representatives from the Supreme Court,

thegeneralattorney,thePeaceConsolidationCommissionandthe

Presidential Judicial and Advisory Board. The commission is

assignedtostudythecasesofthesuspecteddetaineesandrelease

thosewhoaredetainedbyillprovenevidences.

Furthermore,theUNspecialenvoy forAfghanistansaidthat if

theinsurgentsstopfightingagainstthegovernmentandaccept

theAfghanConstitution,theUNSecurityCouncilwouldembark

ondelistingthemfromtheUNblacklist.

TalibanandHezbeIslamisImplacable

StanceonPeaceJirga

Bakhtardaily,volumeNo250,June7,2010,Page4,BahramAzari

ATalibanspokesmansaidalthoughtheTalibanwereignoredto

be invited to the Peace Jirga and their conditions were not

considered, they respect some decisions of the Jirga. A

spokesmanoftheTalibantoldthemediathattheTalibanwould

come to negotiation table if the Afghan government

implementstherecommendationsofthePeaceJirga.

HestressedthattheonlyissuenotdealtwithbytheJirga,isthe

withdrawalofforeignforces.WahidMojhde,apoliticalanalyst,

said a key condition of the Taliban is the withdrawal of the

foreign forces, but in a more resilient position, HizbeIslami

HekmatyarfactiondemandsadeadlineforNATOforces.

ResignationofTopSecurityOfficials:Another

ConcessiontoTalibanandPakistan

Cheraghdaily,volumeNo1567,June7,2010,Page2

Acceptingtheresignationoftwotopsecurityofficials,President

Karzai approaches another step towards the Taliban with his

peaceinitiative.

In fact, by resignationof Afghan Interior minister anddirector


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No13,June15,2010

internationalcommunity will promise more financialassists to

supportAfghangovernment'speacetalksinaConferencetobe

convened soon in Kabul. In London Conference the

internationalcommunityallocated$140millionforsupporting

thepeace initiative. Japan,United StatesandBritain were the

biggestdonorsofthefund.

TheAfghanfinanceministerOmarZakhilwalsaysthatonlyfew

numbersofTalibanwillacceptthepeaceproposal.Accordingto

Zakhilwal,theinsurgentswantsolidguaranteesthattheforeign

NATOledtroopswillnotpursuetheminthefuture.

WorriesonPakistansInfluenceinsideAfghan

Government


ByJamshidYama

Pakistan

is

seeking

to

convince

the

US

and

the

Afghangovernment to talk with theTaliban through the mediationof

Islamabad officials and President Karzai intends to use

Pakistans influenceontheTaliban inordertostopthebloody

war in the country, Jawid Kuhistani, a security and political

analyst, said. Kuhistani added that during their visits to

Washington Pakistani officials have urged the US officials to

turnoverTalibantalkstoPakistanis.


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No13,June15,2010

electioncommissionisresponsibletoexaminethequalification

ofthewouldbecandidates.

AnotherChancefortheCandidatesRemovedfrom

thePreliminaryListofParliamentaryElection

Soroshe Mellatdaily,WednesdayMay26,2010,IssueNo.371,Page7

TheElectoralcomplaintscommissionsaidthat ithasexamined

thecomplaints from thosecandidateswhosenameshadbeen

excluded from the preliminary list for the parliamentary

election.

According

to

the

commissions

officials

most

of

thecandidates were removed from the list due to some technical

reasons.Negligenceofthecandidatestowritethenumbersof

vote cards of their supporters and candidates illsigns or

fingerprints were the main reason for the removal of the

candidatesnamesfromthepreliminarylist.

Ahmad Zia Rafaat, spokesman of the Electoral Complaints

Commission, said that for the strengthening of the countrys

democracy, the candidatesexcluded from the list by technical

reasons will be given another chance of candidateship: they

mustcorrecttheirregistrationwithinfivedays,Rafaatsaid.

According to the reports, overall 226 parliamentary election

candidates names have been excluded from the electoral

preliminary list by the Electoral Complaints Commission and

most of the candidates have officially protested against the

decision.

MPsCivilProtestandKarzaisDesperation

MandegarDaily,ThursdayMay27,2010,IssueNo332,Page2,Editorial

BylaunchingthesocalledNationalConsultativePeaceJirga,or

assembly,Mr. Karzai isstruggling to finda way to legitimatize

hisadministrationwhichwidelyfacedlegitimacycrisisafterlast

year presidential election marred by widespread fraud andirregularities.

Karzais political allies, aware of his unstable position,have

increased efforts to pressurize him so that he accepts his

electiontime promises and allies expectations. Karzais team

also with full adroitness raises new issues in the country to

pressurizehisalliesinordertoscaledowntheirexpectations.

TheLawmustbeAppliedEquallyonCandidatesfor

ParliamentaryElection

8Subhdaily,issueNo349,Monday,May31,2010,Page2,Editorial

A special commission evaluating the qualification of

parliamentaryelectioncandidatesaccused80ofthecandidates

140ComplaintsSubmittedtoElectoralComplaints

CommissionwithinTwoDays

RaheNajatDaily,sundayMay16,2010,IssueNo1428,Page1

In the first two days of receiving complaints regarding to the

parliamentaryelection,120complaintsweresubmittedinKabul

and 20 cases in provincial offices of the electoral complaints

commission.

Ahmad Zia Rafaat, a member of electoral complaints

commission,speakingtoagatheringofparliamentarianelection

candidatesinHeratProvincestressedthatjustthosecomplaints

willbeconsideredforinvestigation,whicharedocumented,notthe ones (relying) based on fabrications for defamation

purposes.

Inordertospeeduptheprocessofcomplaintsconsiderationin

the country, the provincial offices of the commission are

authorizedtoworkonthecomplaints.

DisgruntledCandidates:RemovalofSome

CandidatesNamesbyElectionCommissionIllegal


Twentycandidates fromatotalof226candidates forthenextparliamentarian election race, whose names re excluded from

thepreliminarycandidateslist,askedtheIndependentElection

Commissiontoquitthedecisionwithinoneday.

AbdulJabbarSabit,oneofthecandidateswhosenamesarenot

on the list, representing about twenty disgruntled candidates

said on Monday, the decision to exclude dozens of the

nomineesfromthepreliminaryelectionlistwasagainstthelaw.

The election law does not allow the IEC to omit any names

fromthepreliminary listandthis isobligatory forthe IEC.He

added: The IEC did not consider some wrongdoings of the

approvedcandidatesandweareasking the IEC to includeour

namestothelistandreturnourreputation,Sabitsaid.

Abudul Jabbar Sabit stressed that their names were excluded

fromthelistwithoutanyreason.Hewarnedthatiftheirrequest

is not answered within the next day, they will consider other

measures.TheIndependentElectionCommissionofAfghanistan

saidthatthedisgruntledcandidatesnamesareremovedfrom

theelectionpreliminarylistduetosomeerrorsintheapproval

votesheetsof226candidates.

ZakariaBarkzai,deputychiefoftheIECssecretariatlabeledthe

objectionsasmisplacedandsaid:Wehavethelegalandofficial

authority to check the approval votes of a candidate and the

voters

list

in

order

to

examine

whether

the

given

data

andinformationarecredibleornot.

According to the article 3 of the election law, the complaint

ElectionsTransparency


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No13,June15,2010

police force is capable of providing security of the next

parliamentary election. He added, since last month the police

forceinthenorthhasaclosepartnershipwiththeIndependent

Election Commission in the preelection process. Police is

prepared to take the security responsibility of 97 percent of

voting

centers,

Patang

said.

According

to

the

Police

Chief

in

thenorth,someareasinBaghlan,KunduzandFaryabprovincesare

facing security challenges and it may not be possible to open

ballotboxesinsuchareas.

KarzainottoPresentMinistersListtothe

ParliamentSoon

KabulWeekly,IssueNo409,June9,2010,page2

AhamdBehzad,amemberofAfghanparliament,saidthereare

evidencesthatKarzaiisplayingaprocrastinationgameuntilthe

parliamentstenureisended.Usingthegovernmentsauthority

and capital, Karzai and his team are going to influence the

parliamentary election in order to bring about a submissive

parliament for approving his favorite nominees for cabinet

posts,Behzadadded.

UNEnvoy:EndingCurrentSituationanAfghansJob

DailyAfghanistan,IssueNo1118,June12,2010,Page8

Staffan di Mistura, UN Secretary Generals special envoy to

Afghanistan, said during avisit to Herat province that security

was the biggest challenge to the forthcoming parliamentary

electiontobeheldthisyear.HestressedontheimportanceofAfghanistansparliamentaryelectionandsaidthe international

communitywouldworkcloselywiththeAfghangovernmentto

ensureafairandtransparentelection.

to have connections with illegal armed groups. According to

Afghanistans constitution, those who committed crimes

againsthumanityordeprivedofcivilrightsarenotqualifiedfor

participatingintheelection.

Therearefearsthatinthisyearsparliamentaryelectionjustthe

lowermembersofthegroupsarebarredfromelection,notthehighprofile ones who are responsible for past crimes in the

country.

However,nooneisofficiallyaccusedbythejudicialagenciesof

the country and the commission has no authority to bar the

accused candidates from the parliamentary election. In this

case,itismostpossiblethattheelectoralrulesarenotapplied

and just the junior suspects will be left out of the election in

favoroftheseniorcandidates.

ExcludedParliamentaryElectionCandidates

SeekingInnocence

KabulWeekly,VolumeNo408,June2,2010,Page2

The Electoral Complaints Commission said that illliteracy of

some election candidates and in some cases negligence of

Independent Election Commission's staff in guiding the

candidates resulted in the candidates failure in providing the

essentialdocumentsandfillingproperlytherelevantforms.But

Mr Noor, spokesman of Independent Election Commission,

rejectedaccusationsofnegligenceofthecommissionsstaffand

said that they had provided each candidate a package of

guidelines abut the process a week before the registration

started. He also added that the candidates were routinelyinformed by the election commission personnel. Some of the

parliamentary election candidates, whose cases are revised,

said that the overall process of studying the documents were

faultyandmismanaged.

AhmadWaliKarzaiTrappedByTolo

Mandegardaily,VolumeNo339,June7,2010,Page8,ByAhmadOmran

Ahmad Wali Karzai, President Karzais brother and head of

Kandaharprovincialcouncil,talkingtoToloTVtriedtodisprovethe

accusations

against

him.

Talking

incoherently,

Karzai

could

notprovideconvincingreasonsagainsttheaccusationsheisfacing.

Withunconvincingreasoning,hearguedthatsomemediainthe

West have raised the allegations against him with the aim to

pressurizePresidentKarzai.

Ahmad Wali Karzai insisted he had no role in last year

presidentialelection,butthepeopleinKandaharhavedifferent

views and said that their votes had been stolen in favor of

HamidKarzai.

PoliceForceintheNorthInsufficient

Eradadaily,IssueNo797,June9,2010,Page3

GeneralPatang,policechief innorthzoneofthecountry,says


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No13,June15,2010

devotions, is sentenced to 15 years in prison by the court for

embezzlement of more than 860000 dollars. The verdict was

issuedinanopentrialsessionatAntiNarcoticsJudicialCenter.

Mohammad Rashad, the prosecutor of the case, said that the

defendant was arrested at Kabul airport when he came back

from Saudi Arabia. He added that asuspiciousamount of 362

000 US dollar was found in his baggage. According to the

prosecutor, more than 37 million Afghanis belonging to the

public budget was confiscated from Noors personal bank

accounts.HeaddedthatsomeofthesumwasthefeespaidbyHajjis which Mr Noor, the extreasurer of the ministry, had

inserted to his personal account and forged the official data,

instead of settling the cash to the ministrys account. On the

details of Mr Noors case, Mohammad Rashad added that Mr

Noorhadbeeninvolvedillegallyinsecretdealswiththeprivate

transportationcompaniesandreceivedconsiderableamountof

cashasbribe.

ButMohammadNoor,rejectingtheaccusationsallegedthatthe

sentencewasunjustandtherewereforeignconspiracyagainst

him. He claimed that he was transferring the amount of cash

confiscated from him at Kabul airport from Saudi Arabia to

AfghanistanbythedirectionofministryofHajjofficials.Abouttherestofthesumheclaimedthatitwashispersonalassetand

notbelongingtothegovernmentsassets.

227CorruptionCases,anAchievementbytheAntiCorruptionPolice

RaheNajatDaily,SundayMay16,2010,IssueNo1428,Page3

Mr.HaidarBasirsaidthattheAntiCorruptionPoliceislaunched

within the establishment of interior ministry nine months ago

and now this unit is working as mobile teams in six zones.

AccordingtoBasir,theAntiCorruptionPoliceisnowconsisting

of42people.

Major Mohammad Wakil Akbari, head of the investigation

departmentoftheministryofinterioraffairs,saidtheplanisto

increase the number of anti corruption police officers to 540,ninetyineachteam.Thefirstteamcanonlyfightcorruptionin

the establishment of police force, he added. As Major Akbari

said, from the beginning of its establishment, the anti

corruptionpolicehasdetected277corruptioncasesofwhich50

casesweresenttotherelevantagencies.

AhmadWaliKarzairefusingareportfromthedefenseministry:

IfnoProof,theMinistryHasto

Rehabilitatereputation


AhmadWaliKarzai,PresidentKarzaisbrotherandtheheadof

Kandaharprovincialcouncil,protestedagainstareportfromthe

defenseministrywhichclaimshehastaken landsbelongingto

theministryinKandahar.AhmadWaliKarzaisaidtheprovincial

councilmembersprotestingagainstthisreporthaveshutdown

thecouncil.Karzaisaidtheministryofdefenseaccusedhimof

occupyingitslargeplotsoflandsinKandaharanddistributingit

betweenhisrelativesandsupporters.Thereisnoreactionfrom

the defense ministrys officials yet and it is said that a

committee from the ministry had lately gone to Kandahar for

observingtheissue.

TheaccusationofoccupyingthedefenseministryspropertiesbothoccupiedandstillfreelandsinKandaharisthrownonme.

ThearmysofficialsinKandaharsignedthereportandsentitto

allgovernmentalagencies.Karzaisaid.

Heurged,I say this must be investigated by a commission in

frontofmediaeyes. If Ioccupied thepropertyof thedefense

ministry,Iamreadyforpunishment,butifitisprovedtobejust

anaccusationImustberehabilitatedbytheministry.

15YearsforExofficialofHajj

andDevotionsMinistry

SorosheMellatdaily,volumeNo370,Tuesday,May25,2010,page1

Mohammad Noor, an extreasurer in the ministry of Hajj and

Corruption


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No13,June15,2010

PeaceJirgaOfficials:WeareAccountable


The officials responsible for organizing the Consultative Peace

Jirga said that some statistics of expenses for the Peace Jirga

announcedbythemediaareabsolutelylibels.

GulAghaAhmadiWardak,responsiblefortheMediaCenterof

Peace Jirga, rejecting the details of the Jirgas expenditure

reported by the media said they will report about the events

expenses.ThereweresomereportsquotingtheJirgasofficials

thatthePeaceJirgasbudgetcalculated160milliondollars.

AhmadWaliKarzai: IfthePeopleDontWant

Me,IResign


AhmadWaliKarzai,theheadofKandaharProvincialcounciland

ajuniorbrothertoAfghanpresidentHamidKarzai,rejectingthe

allegationshe hadconnections withdrug trafficking, said they

arebaseless.

Nevertheless, the head of Kandahars provincial council said if

thepeopleopposehimon thepost,hewouldresign fromthe

post. In regard to the allegations Karzai had taken lands in

Kandahar,AfghanAttorneyGeneralrejectedtheclaimsandsaid

thatthereisnocredibleevidencesontheaccusations.

Utilizing

Peace

Jirga

Budget

on

Governments

PoliticalAgenda

EqtedareMelliWeekly,volumeNo364,June5,2010,Page2,Editorial

It isobviousthatsomeoftheauthoritarianofficials,whohave

control over national resources, embezzle millions of dollars

from the unaccounted national programs. Beside these facts,

there are reports that Karzais team is involved in embezzling

PeaceJirgasbudgettosupporttheirfavoritecandidatesinthe

parliamentaryelection.

Accordingtothisreport,byusingnationalbudgetthegroup is

organizingtosupportgovernmentalcandidatesandtoweaken

the candidates of other opposition political groups. Suchprojects need to have financial support which has to be

providedbyresourcesliketheReconciliationPeaceJirga.

PeaceJirgaOutcome,

aWasteofNationalBudget

EqtedareMelliWeekly,volumeNo364,June5,2010,Page3

ByHadiTawhidi

OrganizingthePeaceJirgahadhugeexpenses.Itissaidthatwhile

thecommissionresponsiblefororganizingtheassemblyhadbeen

preparing

for

the

Jirga,

daily

500

up

to

800

people

were

served

inthehugeLoyaJirgatent.

This is at a time when the thousands of government and public

PeoplesOutrageagainsttheGovernors

SorosheMellatdaily,volumeNo370,Tuesday,May25,2010,page2

ByMaisamMehryar

TheheadofthePresidentialComplainsCommission,Asadullah

Wafa,

said

that

on

the

basis

of

complaints

from

Nuristansprovincial council and elders of the province, police will

prosecute the governor of Nuristan and police chief of the

province. He added that the officials have not been on their

dutiesforsixmonthsandmoreoverthegovernordismissedsix

district officials appionted by the president and has not

deliveredreliefassistancetothepeopleoftheprovince.

ButJamalddinBadr,thegovernorofNuristanprovince,saidhe

isreadytoanswertotheaccusationsatanycourt.Ihavebeen

present at my duty and the reason I relieved the district

governorsfromtheirpostsisthattheyhadconnectionswiththe

insurgents and were not doing their job properly, Badr said.

Pointing to the accusations on relief assistances, the governorstressed that there were no relief assistance for Nuristan and

themotivesoftheaccusationsarepolitical.

DemonstratorsCallforDissolvingtheParliament

SorosheMellat,WednesdayMay26,2010,issueNo371,Page7

Hundreds of relieved army officers protesting at a rally asked

forthedissolvingoftheparliament.

Najibullah Mujahid, head of a military council in the country,

said, the parliaments tenure is over and its continuance is

againstthelaw.

By using their legal authorities, some of the MPs usurp public

properties, Mujahid added. The demonstrators also were

insisting that the MPs strike on the issue of 11 remaining

cabinetmembersisillegal.

ComplaintsagainstNuristanGovernor

SubmittedtoAttorneyGeneral

SorosheMellatDaily,ThursdaydayMay27,2010,IssueNo372,Page1

Asadullah Wafa, head of the presidential complainthearing

commission, after hearing tens of complaints from the triballeadersonabsenceofthegovernorfromhisprovincialdutysaid

Jamaluddin Badr, the governor of Nuristan province, has not

donehisjobproperlyneitherdeliveredthereliefassistancesto

thepeopleoftheprovince.Theheadofpresidentialcomplaint

hearing commission insisted that the complaints will be

examinedthoroughlyandcarefully.

I personally asked the issue from Nuristan governor, Wafa

said.Headdedthegovernorsanswerwasthathehasnotbeen

inNuristanProvinceforsixmonths.

Wafasaidtheprosecutorsofficewill investigatethe issueand

findoutwhowasresponsible forthewrongdoings. Inabsence

ofthegovernororpolicechief,naturallythereisapotentialriskofattacks fromtheenemyside,even theprovincemay fallto

Taliban,Wafasaid.


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No13,June15,2010

Narcotics,aLucrativeSourceforInsurgentGroups


Taliban insurgency, corruption and incapability of government

officials are the main factors which led the fighting against

narcotics

into

a

fiasco.

Recently,

Russian

deputy

prime

ministerurgedtheinternationalcommunitytostepupfightingnarcotics

in Afghanistan. Moscow officials have repeatedly called the

narcoticsproducedinAfghanistanaglobalthreatandcriticized

USled efforts during the past eight years to wipe out the

phenomenon.

InordertoeliminatetheproductionofnarcoticsinAfghanistan,

which is emerging as a regional security challenge, Afghan

government and the neighbor countries must strengthen

bordersecurity. Iftheborders remain insecureandcorruption

spreads unabated in government structure, the illegal drugs

tradewillthriveevenmoreandcausesthestrengtheningofthe

insurgentsgroups.

SchoolTextbookssoldatBazaar


Having no access to textbooks, school students in Baghlan

province said that new textbooks are openly sold at bazaars

provided by some education officials of the province. School

textbooks being sold at bazaars is not only claimed by the

studentsbut thebooksellersalso agree thatschoolbooksand

other school materials donated by foreign organizations are

freelyavailableatbazaars.

WouldFightingCorruptionbeEffective

onMiddleRankingOfficials?

Afghanistandaily,volumeNo1116,June9,2010,Page4,ByM.AminMirzad

In order toeliminatecorruption, US officialshave nowshifted

focus from highranking officials to lower circles such and

middleclassofficials.Moreparticularly,theUShasescalatedits

effortson fightingcorruption inthestructureofAfghanpolice

force.

Thomas Emberg, head of NATOs Anticorruption Mission in

Afghanistan,saidthat inordertopreventbriberywithinpolice

structure, monthly wage of police soldiers was raised to 240

dollars.Toidentifythosewhostealoilsandsellthematbazaars,

NATOtroopsaddspecificbluecoloredsubstancetoit,hesaid.

According to a survey, the amount which is given as bribe in

Afghanistanequalstoone fourthofAfghanistansnetrevenue

peryear.

A study by a research organization covering ten provinces of

Afghanistan shows that every Afghan family in order to have

accesstopublicservicespaidasumof100USdollarsperyear

to the government officials. The coordinator of the research

project said that the prevalent culture of impunity andunaccountability of government officials are the main factors

for the spreading of corruption and this has caused a

servicepersonnelhave minimalwagesandprivileges.Butinsuch

programs,evenifmillionsofdollarsarewasted,therewouldbeno

voice on the issues from the prosecutors office and other anti

corruptionagencies.

AhmadWaliKarzaiTrappedByTolo

Mandegardaily,VolumeNo339,June7,2010,Page8

ByAhmadOmran

Ahmad Wali Karzai, President Karzais brother and head of

Kandaharprovincialcouncil,talkingtoToloTVtriedtodisprove

theaccusationsagainsthim. Talking incoherently,Karzaicould

not provide convincing reasons against the accusations he is

facing.

AhmadWaliKarzaiclaimedhehaddonethebestforKandahar,

whilethepeopleoftheprovincesaythatthecity is facingnot

only security challenges but also huge social problems and

reconstructionshortcomings.Millionsofdollarsprovidedbythe

international community for Kandahar has been wasted or

embezzled,bringingnochangetodailylifeofKandaharpeople.

The international community has repeatedly accused Ahmad

Wali Karzai of being involved in drug trafficking and of

interference in Kandahars regional administrative affairs,

allegations which cannot be totally baseless as Karzai himself

claims.

The accusations against Wali Karzai have also plagued his

brother Hamid Karzai and the question risen by the people is

why Karzais government does not deal with the issue

transparently.IftheaccusationsarefalseasWaliKarzaiclaims,why do the prosecutors and the judicial officials not come

forwardtopresenttheirassessments?

FarooqWardak:ClaimsofExtravaganceExpenses

FalseAllegations


BySajjadMohammadi

Farooq Wardak, head of Peace Jirga Commission accused the

critics of Peace Jirga expenses as malignant and said the

adversaries have staged the campaign to sabotage the peace

process.Alltheexpensesaretransparent.Ihaveconfidenceon

the management and not even one Afghani is embezzled,

FarooqWardaksaid.

Although the budget for the Peace Jirga was not at my

disposal, I am fully responsible and confident about the

transparency of the process, Wardak insisted. The head of

Peace Jirga said that the sum of money budgeted for the

Peace Jirga was 120 million Afghanis and due to President

Karzais visit to Washington, the Jirga was postponed for a

month.

The last and final budget presented by the commission was

about3milliondollars,Wardaksaid.Headdedthattheentirebudgetmaynotbespentanditisnotobligatorytospenditby

hundredpercent.


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No13,June15,2010

provethatAhmadWaliKarzai,abrothertoPresidentKarzai,has

notbeeninvolvedinArmyspropertiesseizuresinKandahar.

Sayed Jalal, head of the inspection department of public

prosecution,speakingatapressconferencesaidtheallegations

against chief of Kandahar provincial council have not been

provedyetandtheAfghanNationalArmyofficials inKandaharhavenotprovidedevidenceswhichproveclaimsaboutArmys

properties seizure. Lack and shortages in the rule of law in

Afghanistan is a major factor for disputes on properties. He

assured that such violations would be prevented by the

extensionoftheruleof lawandregulation.Kabulmunicipality

has also set forth complaints concerning the occupation of

public lands by power lords and urged the government to

preventitdecisively.

widespreaddistrustsamongAfghanstowardstheofficials.

InvestmentMeltdowninBalkhProvince

KabulWeekly,volumeNo409,June9,2010,Page5

Officials of financial institutions in Balkh province said

obstructions by the local government offices and security

challenges are the main reasons for the decrease of

investments in the province. A foreign investor said that the

investors feel that the attitude of regional government offices

arecounterproductiveandrepeltheinvestmentsratherthanto

absorbit.

FinancialexpertsbelievethatuntilAfghanistanslegalsystemis

not modified and corruption is not eliminated, serious

challenges to international and domestic investments will

unabatedlyremain.

TheMainReasonsUS

NotYetGainedVictoryinAfghanistan

KabulWeekly,volumeNo409,June9,2010,Page6

If the US had followed a decisive policy towards Afghanistan,

today the Afghan government would not be crippled by

widespreadcorruptionwhich issquanderingmillionsofdollars

donated by US and other Western countries. (Here?) the US

must seriously call on the Afghan government to sack and

charge corrupt officials and wipe out corruption from the

country.

Corruption,MajorCauseofthePlaneCrash

inAfghanistan

Eradadaily,volumeNo797,June9,2010,Editorial

Asitisobvious,therearemanycorruptandirresponsiblecircles

insidetheAfghangovernmentwhichleadsthesysteminaway

thatthereisnocareforcitizenslivesandalldaytodaymatters

are dominated by embezzlement, forgery and corruption. If

therewerestrictregulationsonnationalandprivateairwayswe

wouldnothavefacedsuchhorribledisasters.Thewornoutand

nonstandardplanes of Pamir Airways had to be preventedofendangeringpeoples lives.Andnowasthecauseofthecrash

comesout,theflightsofthecompanymustbesuspended.But

it is a fact that any sort of violation is common in the

administrationandevenlivesofthepeopleareatstakebecause

oftheprevalentbribery.

AttorneyGeneral:AhmadWaliKarzaiNotSeized

LandinKandaharAfghanistanDaily,volumeNo1117,June10,2010,Page8

Afghan prosecutors rejected reports on Ahmad Wali Karzai

seizing properties belonging to the defense ministry saying hehas not taken lands belonging to 205 Attal Army Corps in

Kandahar. According to afghan prosecutors office, probes


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No13,June15,2010


No13,June15,2010

5 ReformingtheJudiciaryandtheLawEnforcementAgencies:

The law enforcement agencies and the courts need to be

fundamentally reformed. In many situations, instead of being

theenforcersof lawandprotectorsofhumanrightsandrights

of the suppressed, they are seen as sources of insecurity and

injustices. To resolve their disputes, most people resort to

traditionalmechanismssuchasJirgas.

AftereightyearsandahalfsincecollapseofTalibanregime,the

countryremains fragileandmanyofthosehighand legitimate

hopes of the Afghan people remain unfulfilled. Efforts to

address these challenges were slow, sometimes held back by

lack of political commitments and have in some cases

experiences disappointing setbacks. To the contrary, Taliban

have been making a comeback in many parts of the country

engaging in bloody warfare with both the Afghan and

internationalforces.

Mostoftheeffortsaredealingwiththesymptomsratherthan

thecausesandarenotguidedbyproperdiagnosisoftheillnessof the society. One such initiative is the Consultative Peace

Jirga. The quest for peace and stability is running deep in the

Afghan society. But will initiatives like the Peace Jirga achieve

the intended results? Is thisaddressingthe rootcausesor the

consequencesonly?

As a citizen of Afghanistan who has closely witnessed past

conflictsandwars,Isupportanylogicalandtransparentprocess

which results to peace and stability in the country. But in my

view,thefollowingshouldnotbecompromised:

Justiceandhumanrightsshouldbeguaranteed

Thepeaceprocessmustbelegitimateandtransparent

The reconciliation process should go ahead with support of

thepeople

Womens participation in reconciliation process should be

guaranteed

TheKabulPeaceJirgafailedtomeettheminimumstandardof

transparency.Thedelegationswerechosenbyspecificofficials

responsible for organizing the assembly. Purposefully, there

wereeffortstoinvitethepeopletotheJirgawhoareinfavorof

the

governmental

peace

agenda

and

a

program

designed

by

thegovernment.EvenmembersofadministrativepaneloftheJirga

werenotdemocraticallyelectedandwereratherannouncedto

leadtheassemblyinadesireddirection.

Although as the results of campaigns by women and civil

organizations,presenceofwomenweresomehowappreciable

in the Peace Jirga, comprising overall 20 percent of the

participants of the Jirga. But their numerical strength was not

matched by the opportunities available for them to exercise

meaningful influence on the process and outcomes of the

event.

The outcomes of the Jirga are also seen with doubts and

concerns. The Jirga was an advisory assembly and its

recommendations are not obligatory to the government, but

now there are efforts to put them into effect as obligatory

decisions. There is no substantive information given to the

publicastohowtheprocessisbeingmovedforward.Acentral

concernisthatkeyvaluesofthepostTalibanAfghanistanmight

besacrificedasawayofappeasingtheconservativeinsurgents.

Animportantaspectofthesocalledreconciliationisitscostto

our society. Will the outcomes, which so far remain obscure,matchthecostithasincurred?Manyofoureffortssofarhave

come at high prices without real and tangible outcomes. Can

the same amount of political and financial resources not be

usedtofixshortcominginothercriticalareas.

The role and the approach of the international community

towardsreconciliationarecrucial.Theyneedtoensurethatthe

keyobjectiveof international intervention inAfghanistan such

asdemocracyandhuman rightsarenotovershadowedby the

growing sense of urgency for an exit strategy. It must also

recognizethatshortsightedapproachesandcompromiseshave

not and are not stabilizing Afghanistan a precondition of any

exit strategy. It must focus its resources on areas which

continue to provide the breeding ground for the rise and

growth of insurgency. Ending a culture of impunity, improving

theruleof law,fightingcorruptionandensuringaccountability

mustbeatthecentreofallnationalandinternationalefforts.

Peace and end of the nine year war are noble and desirable

outcom

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