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Reg: No 352 Volume No. 3452 Wednesday November 30, 2016 Qaws 10, 1395 www.outlookafghanistan.net Price: 15/-Afs Quote of the Day Email: [email protected] Phone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019 www.thedailyafghanistan.com Fear is the mother of foresight. Thomas Hardy KABUL - The Meshrano Jirga or Senate on Tuesday decided to summon the officials con- cerned over increased fuel prices, corruption and fre- quent power load-shedding. Safiullah Hashemi, a Me- shrano Jirga or upper house of parliament member, com- plained at today’s about re- peated load-shedding and in- creased fuel prices in capital Kabul. He said residents of some parts of Kabul were deprived of electricity for 24 hours a day and people in other parts enjoyed electricity for only eight hours a day. MAZAR-I-SHARIF - Presi - dent Ashraf Ghani on Tues- day praised good coordination among security institutions in the north, but said their management needed to be re- viewed. On his return from a three-day visit to Turkmenistan, the pres- ident landed in Balkh province and attended a briefing on the security situation in the largely clam north. The briefing, organised by the Shahin Military Corps, was also attended by Balkh Gov- ernor Atta Mohammad Noor and top security officials. Ghani praised good coordina- tion among security organs in 1 Mln People Internally Displaced in Afghanistan in 2016 Senate Criticizes Load-Shedding, Hiked Fuel Prices Funding Requested to Update 53 Blackhawk Helicopters for Afghan Forces EU-funded Initiative to Boost Afghanistan’s Trade Capacity 15 Dead as Taliban Storm Kandahar Check-Posts Kunduz Commission Set to Start Collecting Unlicensed Arms Ministry of Refugees Struggling with Paucity of Funds Management of Security Institutions in North Needs Review: Ghani KANDAHAR - Fourteen Taliban militants and a policeman were killed during an overnight clash in Nesh district of southern Kan- dahar province, an official said on Tuesday. The militants reportedly cap- tured three checkpoints in Hajji Alam, Shna-Gariz and Sharak localities during Monday’s night coordinated attack, a claim secu- rity officials rejected. A resident of Nesh district, Hani- fullah, told Pajhwok Afghan News the militants launched a coordinated attack on the dis- trict. He said fighters from Ghor- ag and Tirinkot, the capital of Uruzgan province, had joined the attacking comrades, he said. The Taliban were able to capture three check-posts in the district, the resident said, adding both the sides suffered causalities but had no exact figures. The fighting was underway in the area. Hanif said it was for the first time in the past 16 years that Taliban captured check-posts from secu- rity forces. Samim Khpalwak, the gover- nor’s spokesman, confirmed the attack on Nesh district but strongly rejected the capturing of three check-posts by Taliban.The Taliban have not yet commented about the incident. (Pajhwok) KUNDUZ CITY - A newly formed military commission would start collecting illegal arms and impounding unregistered vehi- cles in northern Kunduz province, an of- ficial said on Tuesday. Police chief Brig. Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangal Bagh told Pajhwok Afghan News the commission led by top security offi- cials would commence work in a couple of days. He alleged hundreds of illegal weapons and vehicles in the city posed a huge threat to security. He believed illegal weapons and vehicles were used in criminal and militant activities. Meanwhile, residents welcomed the police initiative to collect illicit weapons and ve- hicles, claiming 90 percent of the automo- biles the city were unregistered. Impound- ing all of them might not be possible, they opined.But Sher Agha, hailing from Kun- duz City, said there was no problem in collecting illegal arms. The government should stop undocumented vehicles at en- try points. (Pajhwok) KABUL - The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) on Tuesday said it was face with a budget deficit, struggling to facilitate internally displaced persons (IDPs). At least 90,000 people are said to have been displaced by war during the current year. Fifty-eight percent of the IDPs are children, who are in dire need of basic fa- cilities in 11 provinces of the country. Addressing a press conference here, MoRR Director of Planning and Policy Fazal Ahmad Azimi linked much of the displacement to conflict in Sar-i-Pul, Nangarhar, Uruzgan, Helmand, Ghor, Badghis, Paktika, Baghlan and Jawzjan provinces. The number of IDPs was nearly one mil- lion and addressing their problems need- ed enough resources, but the ministry lacked the required funds, Azimi said, asking different ministries and the inter- national community for help. He added the 93,000 families that re- turned from Iran and Pakistan in 2016 needed basic services such as education and health. Mohammad Qasim Haideri, deputy min- ister for policy and coordination, said: “A policy on addressing refugee and IDP is- sues was formulated two years ago, but has not been implemented yet.” Expressing concern over the situation of returnees and IDPs in different parts of the country, he said providing basic fa- cilities should be a top priority of the au- thorities ...(More on P4)...(5) KABUL - The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has reportedly re- quested funding to refurbish and update at least 53 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), it has been reported. A spokesman for DoD, Adam Stump, told Reuters “The Department of Defence has determined that procuring U.S.-made helicopters is a more sustainable long-term solution to meet the require- ments.” According to the paper, the $814 million request, made KABUL - Funded by the Eu- ropean Union, a three-year trade assistance initiative seeking to speed up Afghani- stan’s integration in inter- national commerce was un- veiled in Kabul on Tuesday. The initiative, Afghanistan: trade for economic growth and regional cooperation (ATEG), is aimed at boosting the country’s trade capac- ity and creating a business- friendly environment, offi- cials said. Afghanistan and its regional partners becoming a vibrant regional economic hub is a long-term goal of the €4.5 million project that will use trade as a lever for economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction and enhancing re- gional cooperation. The project, which follows the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, will be imple- mented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) in close collaboration with the Minis- MOSCOW - One million Af- ghan people are internally displaced as of late Novem- ber 2016, the World Food Pro- gramme (WFP) reported. One million people in Af- ghanistan, including returnees to the country, are internally displaced as of late Novem- ber 2016, the World Food Pro- gramme (WFP) said in a report on Monday. “There are now one million people on the move in Afghan- in a budget amendment sub- mitted this month, would also provide money for other new attack aircraft for the Af- ghans. It would help push the total funding for Afghan security forces to $4.2 billion for 2017, surpassing the $1.2 billion re- quested for arming and sup- porting local forces in Iraq and Syria. Stump further added that the delivery of the helicopters will begin within two years once the Congress approves the funding. The budget also requests funding ...(More on P4)...(6) try of Commerce and Indus- tries. In the initial phase, the EU said, the project would build the capacity of policymakers to negotiate, formulate and implement trade policies and strategies, including by en- suring private-sector partici- pation. A detailed needs-assessment mission was carried out by ITC in 2015. The project will focus on developing and im- plementing a national export strategy for the Afghan gov- ernment, with ITC will support the estab- lishment of a National Trade Facilitation Committee, building the capacity of SMEs to comply with cross-border procedures and requirements and improving mechanisms needed to ensure a construc- tive public-private dialogue. Afghanistan acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in July 2016 and has placed ...(More on P4)...(4) He also said fuel prices had usually soared with the ad- vent of winter but the gov- ernment was yet to take re- medial measures. According to Pajhwok Af- ghan News’s economic re- ports, in July one liter of pet- rol was sold for 38 afghanis, the same quantity of diesel for 35 afs and a kilogram of liquefied gas for 45 afghanis. However, the current price of one liter diesel is 46afs, the same quantity of petrol price is 47afs and a kilogram of gas is 65afs. Another senator, Nabia ...(More on P4)...(2) the region but said their man- agement should be reviewed. “An officer should be an offic- er and a soldier should serve as a soldier,” he remarked, order- ing security forces to change their position from defensive to offensive against militants with the arrival of winter. He said security forces should eliminate all militants in the northern region before spring. “Balkh is important for the security and stability of the north; we should keep that stability,” he said. The president also com- mended the performance and achievements of Governor Atta ...(More on P4)...(1) istan. UN OCHA has reported that over 485,500 Afghans have been displaced by conflict in 2016. For the first time, all 34 provinces in Afghanistan are hosting in- ternally displaced people,” the report said. The WFP said it has launched ...(More on P4)...(3) Govt. Retakes Control of Tagab District in Badakhshan Efforts Underway to Provide Mortgage Facilities in Afghanistan FAIZABAD - Tagab district of north-eastern Badakhshan has been cleared of Taliban insurgents and is once again under govern- ment control following an opera- tion by security forces, local offi- cials said on Tuesday. The district fell to the Taliban nine months ago. Ahmad Naweed Frotan, a spokes- man for the provincial governor, said the operation was conducted by the Afghan National Police, the KABUL - Efforts are underway to provide mortgage facilities for the residents of the country as the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing is busy to resolve the housing issues being faced by the residents of the country. The latest attempts to provide mortgage facilities to pave the way Afghan National Army and the National Directorate of Security (NDS) forces. “The Taliban left the district after fighting the security forces and re- treated to Yamgan district of the province,” Frotan said. In the meantime, Gen. Sakhi- dad, a military commander in the province, believes that “when the Taliban was in Tagab they were threatening Faizabad and Takhar highway.” (Tolonews) for the smooth sale and purchase of the properties comes as the country witnessed an unprecedented hike in properties values since the fall of the Taliban regime, putting the ordinary citizens of the country in a difficult situation to procure hous- es and properties. In the ...(More on P4)...(7)
